Trump needs a new hat this time around. Instead of MAGA, the new acronym should be BID – Burn It Down.
This is the guy whose attorneys suggest the same timeframe for two different cases, thus creating a conflict, and then plays the victim and calls for delay of both trials because of the conflict. This is the guy who baits Judge Engoron, repeatedly, in order. to throw him off his game and get him to do something that can be used on appeal. And then plays the victim because the judge is mean because Trump was found guilt
This week, he’s the guy who attacks Judge Merchan’s daughter, trying to create an impossible situation, then plays the victim because he’s running for president. There’s nothing about running for president that requires you to be able to attack judges, juries, prosecutors, family members.
This is one giant game of chicken, and it’s time for Trump to crash and burn.
The only way Trump will stop this shit is if his bail is revoked. And of course, he thinks he wants that, too, because he gets to play the victim.
To normal people, someone playing the victim is both unattractive and unappealing. What is wrong with these people who look at Trump and think he’s strong?
Just a few sentences in, I have changed my mind. Forgot Burn in Down. Let’s go with Always The Victim. ATV.
It seems that the judges are ready to say “I’ve seen enough”. Judge Merchan’s ruling on Monday.
One day following the issuance of said Order, Defendant made several extrajudicial statements attacking a family membcr of this court. Contrary to the position Defcndant took in his opposition to the People’s February 22,2024 motion for an order restricting extrajudicial statements, i.e. that his statements “plainly constitute core political speech on matters of great public concern and criticism of major public figures,” Defendant’s opposition to 2/22i24, pgs. 8-9, this pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose. It merely injects fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings, that not only they, but tbeir family members as well, are “fair game” for Defendant’s vitriol.
Thc conventional ‘David vs. (Goliath’ roles are no longer in play as demonstrated bv the singular power Defendant’s words have on countless others. Threats to the integrity of the judicial proceedings are no longer limited to the swaying of minds but on the willingness of individuals, both private and public, to perform their lawful duty before this Court. This is evidenced by the People’s representation that “multiple potential witnesses have already expressed grave concerns about their own safety and that of their family members should they appear as witnesses against defendant.” People’s 3/28/24 * Letter.
It is no longer just a mere possibility or a reasonable likelihood that there exists a thread to thc integrity of the judicial proceedings. ‘I’he threat is verv real. Admonitions are not enough, nor is reliance on self-restraint. The average observer, must now, after hearing l)efendant’s recent attacks, draw the conclusion that if they bccome involvcd in thcse proceedings, cvcn tangentially, they should worry not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well. Such concerns will undoubtedly interfere with the fair administration of justice and constitutes a direct attack on the Rule of Law itself. Again, all citizens, called upon to participate in these proceedings, whether as a juror, a witness, or in some othet capacity, must now concern themselves not only with their own personal safety, but with the safety and the potential for personal attacks upon their loved ones. ‘I’hat reality cannot be overstated.
The Washington Post article (gift link) documents his many threats to judges, and also his repeated attempts to force judges to recuse themselves from the case. If you’re female, you can’t oversee any case that impacts women. If you’re Latino, you can’t oversee a Trump case because he wants to build the wall at the border. He’s the most disgusting, racist, evil person – and the biggest threat to our way of life.
Legal experts and judges are voicing alarm about Trump’s comments on judges, cases and defendants prosecuted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, whom the former president has sought to glorify as “hostages.”
“The theme for Trump since the start of all of this has been there are two different games: one is political and one is courtroom and he’s constantly playing one rather than the other,” said Kenneth White, a former federal prosecutor in California who specializes in free speech issues. “It’s all part of a strategy which is sort of delegitimizing the entire system, delegitimizing the court system, and any judge who purports to rule on him.”
138 attacks on judges and family members!
A Washington Post analysis of Trump’s social media posts since the start of his campaign in late 2022 showed that he has gone after judges or their family members by name 138 times. The weeks of March 24 and March 17, respectively, included the second- and fourth-highest number of posts attacking judges overall. Trump criticized judges most frequently during the week of Jan. 7, with 14 individual attacks, nearly all targeted at Engoron.
Trump’s attacks also come amid growing concerns about the safety of federal judges. You think?
Trump’s attacks also come amid growing concerns about the safety of federal judges. A Reuters analysis found that threats against federal judges have more than doubled since late 2020, when Trump significantly increased his criticism of the judiciary.
Time for Trump to be the big loser in his game of chicken. Lock him up.
Old School
Not sure what is going in with Merchan’s ruling. It’s close to unreadable. Some kind of cut and paste error?
Imusselm
@Old School: looks like a copy from the pdf. The link is readable :)
sdhays
I don’t think he has actually technically violated gag orders multiple times. I think there was once and Engoron fined him, IIRC. He has violated the spirit of them a lot. But, agreed, if he blunders into a clear violation, the judge shouldn’t flinch.
schrodingers_cat
If you are related to T voters try to convince them.
Bill K
I’ll believe it when I see it. Trump’s whole life has been playing chicken with the courts. And he’s almost never lost. The judges can do all the frowny faces they like. But somehow there is always another loophole or some shady millionaire to bail Trump out at the last minute.
Jeffro
Seconded – it’s way past time for him to be thrown in jail for his threats.
SiubhanDuinne
This is O/T, but I’m just hearing that a World Central Kitchen volunteer (perhaps more than one) was/were killed in Gaza by an Israeli strike. I am sick. Missed the top of the announcement, so will try to find details to post as available.
MattF
Big thing about Trump is that he never stops— he perseverates— over and over, again and again. He doesn’t make one post, he makes 64. He doesn’t make one threat, he makes 138. Perseveration is typical toddler behavior, a sign of neural immaturity. In adults it’s a sign of brain damage.
Starfish
@Old School: It looks like the types of errors that optical character recognition (OCR) would make. When you have e turned into c, it is because the OCR can’t figure out if it is an e or c. Other mistakes look like those types of mistakes too. They need better OCR or someone to clean up the text after it goes through OCR.
Old School
@Imusselm: Yes. I went and read it at the link.
I also copied the text from the PDF and pasted it into a Word document. The same text as above came through when pasted.
Weird.
SiubhanDuinne
@SiubhanDuinne:
OMG. Seven WCK workers killed.
https://wck.org/news/gaza-team-update
Bobby Thomson
As an observer of many sternly worded letters to the Bush administration, I say, wake me up when there’s an order.
cmorenc
Trump’s tactics are a malevolent form of the classic “pound the table” defense strategy:
When you don’t have the facts, and don’t have the law, pound the table”.
Except it’s the judges, witnesses, and potential jurors he’s threatening to sic his followers to pound upon.
MattF
@Old School: One possibility is that the PDF is a bitmap. The OCR algorithm makes the same errors because it’s (incorrectly) processing the same pixel patterns
Marmot
@Bobby Thomson: Agreed. I feel like we’ve been through this a few times.
Old School
RaflW
It’s time to aggressively sanction Trump’s lawyers. I’m sure they’re ‘just doing what the client asks’, but don’t they have standards and ethics at the bar that come before the demands of a deranged and dangerous customer?
Here’s what the court says about the behavior of these legal eagles: “The arguments
counsel makes are at best strained and at worst baseless misrepresentations which are
uncorroborated and rely upon innuendo and exaggeration. Put mildly, the assortment of allegations presented as ‘facts’ and cobbled together, result in accusations that are disingenuous and not rational. To argue that the most recent attacks, which included photographs, were ‘necessary and appropriate in the current environment,’ is farcical.”
Shouldn’t making farcical arguments founded on baseless misrepresentations cause a lawyer to get in some god-dammed trouble? C’mon!
pat
@Old School:
It looks to me that someone was trying to copy it on the computer and kept getting the fingers on the wrong keys. Or keya, as it started out…..
I had to chuckle at a couple of points, especially at the family members.
they should worry not only for themselves, but-for lheir loued znel’dr rzell.
hehe
catclub
Image to text translator was baffled.
OzarkHillbilly
Somebody is in dire need of spell check. That one paragraph was enough for me. Trying to decipher it gave me a brain cramp.
Jinchi
He’ll play the victim regardless. Give him what he wants.
WaterGirl
@Old School: oops I’m not at home will fix when I get back!
Barbara
@OzarkHillbilly: It’s a copy and paste from a PDF file. It often gets garbled. Spellchecking is almost impossible. It would likely be faster to retype it by hand.
Dorothy A. Winsor
I saw that this morning. Apparently WCK had told the IDF where they’d be to avoid this kind of destruction
Jeffro
I hope that our blessed ‘normies’ and low-info voters wake up and see what’s coming. They think trump’s running for president. We all know that trump is running to stay out of prison, and that means he will do literally anything.
J6 (from the fake electors plot to the attack on the Capitol) should have already demonstrated that to them. Here’s a guy who was willing to let his armed mob – and he knew they were armed and “not there to hurt [him]” – beat on cops and force their way into the House and Senate chambers.
At the rate he is collapsing, he’ll be in jail before Mothers’ Day for making these threats. After that, anything goes.
OzarkHillbilly
@OzarkHillbilly: I’m glad to see I’m not alone in this.
SiubhanDuinne
@Old School:
“This happens in war.“
Shrug emoji, probably.
Fuck him.
Barbara
@Jinchi: Yeah, threatening judges and juries is far across the line — even gang members limit themselves to witnesses and usually try to be stealthier about how they do it. Revoke bail now.
Ten Bears
Needs to be hog-chained to its’ knees at Gitmo, black bag over its’ head
Yes, it …
OzarkHillbilly
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Pro-tip: Don’t give the IDF your coordinates.
Ksmiami
@Jeffro: Seriously. Lock him up
SiubhanDuinne
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Yes. It’s beyond tragic and outrageous. For some reason, this incident has triggered me in a way that others don’t, at least not with the same emotional gutpunch.
Jinchi
It’s some sort of software reader error.
The original linked document looks fine, but if you search for the misspelled words (e.g. “Defcndant”) it will find the exact example you’ve given, but not others.
Again, it’s clearly correct in the original. Cutting the visually correct text will give the wrong version when pasted into a text editor.
sdhays
Too bad no one believes Netanyahu gives even one shit about anyone inside Gaza. Netanyahu has always been genocidal when it comes to the Palestinians, so he has no credibility whatsoever.
Betty Cracker
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m also sick over the news. I admire Chef Andrés and his team so much.
Old Man Shadow
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I don’t want to think that anyone would be the type of person who would target charity aid workers to discourage them and others from trying to help “the enemy”, but I’m having difficulty getting that thought out of my head.
Bokonon
@Old School: The WCK car was part of a convoy … prominently marked with their logos … and their location and activities were coordinated with the Israeli military.
Draw your own conclusions. Either this was deliberate, and some element in the Israeli military used the WCK’s coordination as a way to drop a bomb on them, or it is further evidence that the Israeli forces on the ground are out of control.
Old Man Shadow
Yeah, but I don’t think anyone will do it. Our system of ‘justice’ has thus far proven completely incapable of holding him to account and I don’t think it will change. We’re going to have to keep winning at the ballot box every goddamned election until he’s dead.
Jinchi
@SiubhanDuinne: @Bokonon:
It’s not even a tragic accident. The vehicle itself was directly targeted, then they were targeted again when rescuers moved them to another vehicle. They were going after these people directly.
Gin & Tonic
@Betty Cracker: They’ve managed to work in Ukraine for two years with no casualties. Yes, more room there, but if you’re in more danger from the IDF than from russian shelling, that’s really sad.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
@Old School: I was guessing that it was an OCR (optical character reader) or whatever you call that these days, where a computer program decodes the text from the graphic image. And maybe somebody spilled coffee on the graphic image.
Jinchi
I doubt they’re stupid enough to specifically target the WCK. It’s just that the Likud government has convinced themselves that every adult in Gaza is a legitimate target.
brendancalling
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Trump is correct that we have a two-tiered system of justice. As a very poor person, I wouldn’t get away with even .01% of what he’s gotten away with. The minute I talked smack on a judge (never mind the judge’s family) it’d be off to the pokey for me (and for any of us commenting here).
But ol’ Trumpleshitskin, he gets to say and do what he likes because he’s rich.
Old Man Shadow
@Jinchi: Intentional or not, it’s already having the effect of convincing other aid organizations that it’s too dangerous to send people to deliver food.
cope
@SiubhanDuinne: Chef Andrés is the complete antithesis of Trump, just trying to do good things and helping people in distressed and tragic situations. It really hurts to realize how inequitable the world can be.
brendancalling
@Jinchi: This reminds me, I’ve been invited to pesach this year at my dad’s house. I plan to decline. I can’t, in good conscience, celebrate Israel’s escape from slavery when they’re carrying out a genocidal war.
Yes, I know—”not all Israelis, yadda yadda.”
RSA
This is a perfect task for a large language model like ChatGPT:
Manyakitty
@brendancalling: you could suggest refocusing and remembering where we came from. We will remain long after that shitstain Bibi is nothing but a bad memory, but Israel may not survive him.
RaflW
@Dorothy A. Winsor: While this was probably, in a specific sense, an error/accident, the overall behavior of the Israeli military has been to not give a shit about civilian and non-combatant casualties. The pattern is clear, and I don’t find any expressions of remorse credible, other than Netanyahu et al wanting to avoid having US military aid cut in response to what I see as intentional malpractice.
Cacti
@sdhays: Good thing Joe has sent Israel a fresh supply of 2,000 lb bombs.
I’m sure my betters will tell me that’s okay, because Joe supports a kinder, gentler genocide than Trump.
Jackie
OT WaterGirl, MJ covered The Plain Dealer editorial you Front Paged the other day. Mika Brzezinski liked it as much as we did 😊
New Deal democrat
I think with the veiled threats to the Judge’s family, Trump has finally crossed a line where a contempt order throwing him in jail at least for a night – for the next, inevitable, violation – might be upheld by an appellate court.
In the first, civil, trial, Judge Engoron had to move gingerly with gradually increased fines. When – and it’s almost certainly a “when” – Trump violates this Order, Judge Merchan should take judicial notice (a shortcut to an evidentiary hearing when the relevant evidence is already widely publicly known) that fines obviously have not worked, and have Trump escorted to jail for the night (or, better yet, the weekend if it’s a Friday).
There may still be some bleeding-heart appellate judges willing to cut Trump a break, but I suspect it’s a small minority at this point.
And contrary to Trump’s boasting, he will not come out with guns a-blazing. He’ll probably appear in court like a whipped puppy until the proceedings are over.
Quadrillipede
I wonder what will finally Make this Asshole Go Away?
(OT: Just about to board my flight back to Van, ETA 10 hours…)
tam1MI
@sdhays: Too bad no one believes Netanyahu gives even one shit about anyone inside Gaza. Netanyahu has always been genocidal when it comes to the Palestinians, so he has no credibility whatsoever.
I am honestly shocked his statement was as conciliatory as it was. I thought sure he’d accuse the food workers of being terrorists.
SiubhanDuinne
@Jackie:
I noticed that and meant to mention it, but forgot or got distracted. I’m glad you remembered. That one editorial seems to be getting a lot of oxygen.
Chief Oshkosh
@Ten Bears: Which “it”? Trump or Bibi?
TeezySkeezy
@brendancalling: Yeah, exactly, another very stern “ruling” that has no tangible result.
TBone
@RaflW: the repeated, flagrant frivolity is something I truly thought would cause the Courts (way more than once!) to invoke sanctions, at the very least, but apparently mendacity and blatant disregard for the Rule of Law is now AOK if you’ve got a mob of idiots in your corner. SMDH
brendancalling
@Manyakitty: I’d just as soon skip the whole thing, so i’m sticking to that plan.
Jackie
@Old Man Shadow: I can’t find a link, but on one of MSNBC’s programs – maybe Lawrence O’Donnell? – it was mentioned if TIFG continues to threaten anyone the extended gag order covers, the judge will deny him private access to the jurors names – thus preventing him from going after their families. Apparently the jurors names won’t be made public, but TIFG and his lawyers will have them.
Cacti
I’m also wholly unsurprised at the total kid gloves treatment Trump has received from the criminal justice system.
It has never been interested in holding the wealthy and powerful accountable. The only difference is that the mask has fallen off now.
It’s not that they can’t do anything to Trump. It’s that they actively choose not to because of the class he belongs to.
John S.
@Old Man Shadow:
Which is exactly the outcome that Netanyahu wanted.
TeezySkeezy
@Jackie: Long past time for that now. If he did miraculously stop today, his past behavior shows he’s likely to start up again once he gets the jurors’ names. It’s absolutely insane to let them have the names now. This freaking “you better get your act together, mister!!! I mean it!!!” crap is getting old.
TBone
It’s gonna be the longest election season we’ve ever had to endure. I’m girding my loins in anticipation of ever-growing outrageous shit hitting the fan on a daily basis due to cornered rat syndrome with the dementia as the cherry on top.
Manyakitty
@brendancalling: whatever works for you. I think it’s essential to remember that Bibi is not all of us. It’s very easy to forget that when we see such unforgivable behavior.
For my part, I’ll engage with the Haggadah and the Seder and think about how to make things better.
We comprise 0.2% of the world’s population. Why do we get all the blame? Again, Bibi gets no pass from me. He should have been retired, (one way or another 🤮) ages ago.
I just wanted to know I had somewhere safe to go if this place turned to shit and now there’s nothing.
pat
@TBone:
And I am sick and tired of the emails I’m getting from the Biden campaign that I don’t even want to open. Talk about OMG things couldn’t be worse…..
They go to my Promotions on gmail, but my god who wants to read that crap? I have not voted for any republican in decades. If one is running unopposed, I don’t vote.
danielx
New York judges? Sentence the miserable bastard for contempt and have him spend a little quality time at Rikers Island.
Manyakitty
@danielx: lock him up with his buddy Weisselberg.
Jeffro
True…but mostly for the Rs! Seven more months of watching trumpov swirl the drain, dragging them all down.
(well, unless he ‘pivots’ and suddenly becomes presidential material and all, of course ;)
mrmoshpotato
Where do we even start?
Betty
@SiubhanDuinne: Netanyahu says he’s sorry. Not that that will stop either the violence or blocking aid to Palestinians.
WaterGirl
Okay, I’m back, and I made a first pass through the optical scanning mess, and made corrections.
rikyrah
UH HUH
UH HUH
Serious Black![]()
(@NicsuPR) posted at 4:49 PM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
FORMER Governor of Maryland and current Republican candidate for Senate Larry Hogan RETURNED $900 million in federal funding (meant for Baltimore) and shifted $736 million of state money to roads in the surrounding, predominantly White counties.
#MarylandTough #BaltimoreStrong
(https://x.com/NicsuPR/status/1774916924301873183?t=hzQDAsE8_CPZDkxU2-iGbg&s=03)
rikyrah
KAPOW
2RawTooReal (@2RawTooReal) posted at 4:10 PM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
Progressives: “we need trump back in office to disrupt our comforts.”
Black voters: “When tf have we ever been comfortable?” https://t.co/mOOzcfMWhP
(https://x.com/2RawTooReal/status/1774907298663563325?t=InBV_YHnyBtpe28YjD3hkg&s=03)
Manyakitty
@rikyrah: holy shit. That’s sketchy AF.
beckya57
@Bill K: same. No judge is going to put the GOP nominee in jail. TFG knows this, and thus feels no constraints. He’ll continue the attacks, he’ll get meaningless fines, and he’ll keep going. The only way out is to vote against him and hope the election isn’t close enough to steal.
rikyrah
Hope Restored In DFW (@Kennymack1971) posted at 2:23 PM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
MAGA and their adjacents are the modern day Nazis. And back then people thought the Nazis were a joke until they weren’t.
Y’all listen to these![]()
spreading disinformation and bullshit if you want to….I don’t have any intention of doing that.
(https://x.com/Kennymack1971/status/1774880304454353069?t=9CBaJAwRVtxI4kcVo7We4g&s=03)
rikyrah
John V. Moore (@johnvmoore) posted at 10:05 AM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
Bruh, we need to start mobilizing MFers right now. This “lesser of two evils” or lukewarm “I guess I’ll vote for Biden” stuff needs to end. We have to get folks hyped to vote for Biden and to destroy the fuck out of the white supremacy Trump & Republicans represent.
Hope Restored In DFW (@Kennymack1971) posted at 10:07 AM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
It’s going to require some aggressive hurting of feelings. We’ve allowed some people to slide for too long and the stakes are too high for us to let these jokers slide.
(https://x.com/Kennymack1971/status/1774815971116564618?t=93xBmWYz54spcvC4B3o1sg&s=03)
Manyakitty
@rikyrah: no lies found here
rikyrah
philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) posted at 1:06 PM on Mon, Apr 01, 2024:
Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” led to a boost in streams for Black country-based artists Brittney Spencer, Shaboozey, Tanner Adell, Reyna Roberts, Willie Jones and Tiera Kennedy
https://t.co/Ydx0bkMCCm
(https://x.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1774860830846410897?t=kWGUmf8DiyI7so8e51PgzQ&s=03)
Betty
@Jackie: He reposted a false video about the judge’s daughter after the order was entered. So we’ll see.
mrmoshpotato
@Jeffro:
Fixed.
Redshift
Remember Stuart Stevens’ explanation that the only actual principle they believe in is “We get to tell you what to do. You didn’t get to tell us what to do.” As long as he’s defying the courts (no matter how whiny or incoherent he is about it), they see it as being “strong”.
I’m sure the judges’ top concern is protecting the trial and not doing anything that would increase the chance of being overturned on appeal, so they have to ratchet up one step at a time. But it seems impossible that anything will ultimately restrain him short of being thrown in jail.
WaterGirl
@Old Man Shadow:
Which is EXACTLY the result that fucking Bibi wanted.
Convince me that this wasn’t intentional, as a deterrent to aid for Palestinians on the ground.
Oh, and fuck Bibi. He and his government are totally out of control. I want to see him brought up for war crimes
How furious do we think Joe Biden is?
rikyrah
17 GOP-held Biden districts targeted to flip blue (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 10:35 AM on Sun, Mar 31, 2024:
People nowadays say weak sh¡t like “deeply divided nation” rather than admit that ~22% of the country are disruptive, Klansman white domestic terrorist Nazi trash.
It’s also what is said when the speaker’s bosses want the leader of such a movement elected for profits & tax cuts.
(https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1774460442104017318?t=HSalshuVFvEQTYI0Ed2hWA&s=03)
Betty
@WaterGirl: Biden needs to tell us how furious he is. The balancing act is hurting him as the atrocities pile up.
Sure Lurkalot
@brendancalling:
That’s true but it’s also because he’s running for president and he and his fellow mouth breathers scream in unison that his candidacy is the reason he’s being persecuted. Wish there were one judge who rejects that bullshit and imposes a real penalty while making it clear that his candidacy is no safe haven from the consequences of his deliberate actions.
Manyakitty
@WaterGirl: Biden is PISSED. He’s not really even trying to hide it.
Meanwhile, I’d like to strap Bibi, trump, musk, and Putin to the nearest rocket and yeet them into the sun. I know, I know, the sun deserves better, but still.
cain
@New Deal democrat:
Quite likely he will attack them as well. All judges will be attacked GOP or dem leaning.
Grumpy Bunny
Testing
JWR
@SiubhanDuinne:
Same here, but I guess it shouldn’t surprise. It’s exactly what happened a few months ago when Palestinian EMT’s coordinated with the IDF to rescue that 6 year old girl and they all just somehow got blown to bits. It’s either a colossal fuckup, or a lack of giving a shit who they kill. Or it could be intentional, which is what I suspect it was.
TeezySkeezy
@rikyrah: There are no good Republicans.
EDIT: Well…I guess there are, if you consider the old cliche…
bbleh
@Bill K: @Jinchi: @brendancalling: @New Deal democrat: @TBone: @Cacti: @Redshift: what I think may be different here is, as with Engoron, Trump is baiting the judge. This is the guy who’s going to sentence him if, and presumably when, he’s found guilty. And judges can and do take criminals’ behavior during and after trial into account in their sentencing.
And look at what happened with Engoron. On paper, and more importantly in his wallet, which is central to his self-image, Trump is in a WORLD of hurt right now. Even with the reduction in the bond amount (which btw wasn’t unreasonable, given what often happens on appeal with very large verdicts like this), he had to scramble. Speculate all one may about MBS or Putin slipping him some dough on the side, the evidence so far is that securing $270-odd M in bonds hasn’t been easy for him. (And srsly, if you were a bond company, would you take money from Putin? What happens if you can’t give it back?)
He’s going too far with the judges, just like he did with Carroll. He can’t govern himself. To me it’s another clear sign that he’s failing mentally. And for all these reasons, I don’t think he’s by ANY means guaranteed to skate on this one.
Mike in NC
Millions of us were first exposed (that’s for sure!) to the odious Fat Bastard when he was a frequent guest on a really horrible 1980s TV show called “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”, where he couldn’t stop bragging about how rich he was (thanks, dad!) and how smart he was and all women found him irresistible (!!!). That immediately tripped my bullshit alarm. Too bad there are so many morons out there willing to open their wallets for a racist, fascist misogynistic cretin.
rikyrah
@SiubhanDuinne:
Because all they were trying to do is FEED PEOPLE.
Nothing more.
Just FEED PEOPLE IN A WAR ZONE.
And, yes, I believe they were killed ON PURPOSE.
rikyrah
The Katie Phang Show (@katiephangshow) posted at 11:59 AM on Sat, Mar 30, 2024:
“Elon does not like it when people criticize him… for the hate, the vitriol, misinformation, sheer vile content on Twitter – which he unleashed when he took over the platform,” @kaplanrobbie on the lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X Corp. against @CCDHate. https://t.co/XYcwTS4xMY
(https://x.com/katiephangshow/status/1774119177294352800?t=jqYcbkyFfbvwhNd46SnLXQ&s=03)
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Manyakitty: yeah- initially the Gaza strike was O/T but the more I think about it, Trump thumbing his nose at the rule of law here with his threats to the judge’s & jurors families and Bibi’s killing of anyone bringing aid to Gaza represent two sides of the same mindset – anyone who tries to stop me will get hurt and anyone who helps them will also get hurt. There’s no principle at work except laws don’t apply to me.
BTW after Israel accused UNWRA of helping Hamas (immediately after the International Court of Justice ruled, probably timed to drown out any news about that) and every nation promptly withdraw funding & support, Israel was asked to provide proof of its claims and …… nothing. They were providing as much support to Hamas as Chef Andre’s world kitchen.
rikyrah
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 9:11 AM on Sun, Mar 31, 2024:
Clyburn on using federal funds to rebuild the Baltimore bridge: I will always remember how some of my colleagues failed to come to the assistance of a certain part of the country, until it came to their backyards and then all of a sudden they saw the need for it.” https://t.co/SqW3pKTR4f
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1774439279441170814?t=6sRJyPXNV514ZnNIT92shA&s=03)
Chief Oshkosh
@Betty:
My limited experience with younger voters (nieces, nephews, students, maybe a total of 20 voters) suggests that Biden is really fucked with that group if he doesn’t do something that clearly separates him from Netanyahu. Maybe my tiny sampling doesn’t mean anything, but for this group, they simply are not going to vote for Biden at this point. Wish it were otherwise, and for the few among them still willing, I continue to engage them on the election overall, but Biden has lost them because of Bibi as of now
ETA: I’m sure many of us here see what we consider flaws in the reasoning of these young voters, but they are YOUNG (i.e., inexperienced at almost anything in life) voters. People who want their votes don’t have the luxury of ignoring their concerns.
tam1MI
@Betty: Biden needs to tell us how furious he is. The balancing act is hurting him as the atrocities pile up.
Yes, because the “Uncommitted” types would rather throw the election to the party with members openly calling for nuking Gaza than work with the President moving in the direction they pretend they want him to.
Peke Daddy
@Jinchi: Feed the temper tantrum. Reinforce the prevailing frame.
skerry
Israel is using famine as a weapon of war.
pat
What does Israel think will happen in the future, after Gaza is reduced to a rubble-strewn wasteland and hundreds of thousands of its residents are dead or starving. Of course Hamas seems to have been using it as a staging ground and no one has been able to say, get out of this hospital, or what not….. But can anyone imagine how many young Gazans are now willing to join Hamas?
I just don’t get it.
Manyakitty
@pat: he’s creating a new generation of enemies, just like trump did with his immigration and border policies. Stupid on every level.
Warblewarble
The IDF flew to Damascus and killed prominent Iraians in a precision strike. Today was the turn of aid workers to be precision targeted. The IDF knows who it is killing and who it wants to kill.
Manyakitty
@tam1MI: just so. It’s much easier to sit around and complain, then wonder what happened to reproductive health care, no fault divorce, labor laws, etc., etc., but at least they showed their asses to that patient old man who tried to make things better for everyone.
pat
@Manyakitty:
Afraid so. Probably it’s because I have never had to live where there was always danger from the people just across the border, but how can anyone think this is not just going to escalate?
As it is in the entire middle east, I guess..
Manyakitty
@pat: it’s only going to get worse as climate change creates even more refugees.
Betty
@tam1MI: I am not uncommitted but I sure am deeply disappointed that only yesterday more arms were approved for the Israelis. I understand the anger of young people and Arab Americans.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: That was a good interviewee’s with Clyburn.
What was he referencing when he said that about failing to come to their assistance until it affected them?
I should probably know, but i do not.
Ksmiami
@pat: as I said before, Netanyahu will destroy Israel.
Ksmiami
@Chief Oshkosh: glad they really don’t care about the future in America.. love that for them.
Chief Oshkosh
@WaterGirl: I’m thinking NOLA and Katrina, but maybe there was a hurricane that hit black communities in SC that got similar “attention” from white people in power.
The Thin Black Duke
How many young women are willing to give up their reproductive rights this November because of the clusterfuck in Gaza? Horrible as the ongoing atrocities are, it’s still an abstract concept happening thousands of miles away, whereas it’s guaranteed every woman knows someone who is being impacted by Dobbs. Maybe it’s cynical, but I’m counting on informed self-interest making a difference.
Manyakitty
@Betty: plenty of American Jews feel that way, too! We are not a monolith, but biased purely on my anecdotal experiences, nobody wants to see innocent people harmed. Of course, that includes innocent Jews in Israel and we’re apparently not supposed to acknowledge them any more.
Ksmiami
@rikyrah: because WCK is beyond reproach and Israel has turned into something monstrous. Tbh, this is probably the incident that has lost the war for the IDF.
UncleEbeneezer
@Chief Oshkosh: You might want to explain to them that the brutality and death toll of Palestinians is going to increase exponentially if Trump gets elected. And all of that blood will be on their young hands. Plain and simple.
Ksmiami
@WaterGirl: if I were Biden, I’d stop all aid to Israel and reroute it to Ukraine. Bibi is finished. He just doesn’t realize it yet.
rikyrah
@Chief Oshkosh:
Kushner is on the record for wanting to get rid of the Palestinians to ‘ redevelop’ the area.
Your group wouldn’t be able to find ONE Republican to say ANYTHING in defense of the Palestinians…
But,JOE BIDEN is the one that won’t get their vote?
Do they have an answer as to what the Orange Menace will do if he gets back in, with regards to the Palestinians?
rikyrah
@The Thin Black Duke:
Black people catching hell all over the world, including the USA,
but, I’m supposed to not vote or throw my vote away on a third party..
because of Palestine?
Get the ENTIRE PHUCK OUTTA HERE!
Ksmiami
@rikyrah: because he’s a piece of shit. Horrible person despite the so-called moderate window dressing
Chief Oshkosh
@Ksmiami: Young voters don’t have the life perspective that some BJers do. We as commenters on a top 10,000 blog have the luxury of condescension as a response to what we believe is their shortsightedness.
Political candidates do not.
Biden needs to get out in front of this in some clear manner. How? Sorry, that’s above my pay grade.
Ksmiami
@Manyakitty: Eh. as a Jewish person by heritage, I’ve long since realized that Israel is the last place you want to go. Better to vote Dem and preserve the USA as a mostly safe place for religious minorities. Because if the US falls, there’s nothing.
The Thin Black Duke
@rikyrah: Most black and brown people have always voted pragmatically, which is why the GOP is all in on voter suppression. Only fraudulent “progressives” wearing rose-colored glasses can afford the luxury of not voting.
brendancalling
@Manyakitty: I never said “we all get the blame.” I don’t shop eat at Chik Fi’la because the owner is a gay-hating, anti-abortion bastard. I don’t blame the Chik Fil’a employees, i just won’t give that company my money.
I, personally and only speaking for me, will not engage in a celebratory feast when the nation/people that feast honors is busy killing food aid workers. Again, just speaking for me.
rikyrah
@WaterGirl:
Don’t you remember, when Hurricane Sandy happened, and the GOP was like, ‘ well, we need to find cuts elsewhere to balance out the cost of federal help’
Don’t you remember them hemming and hawing everytime a disaster happened in a Blue State?
Yet, when something happens in their red state, their hands are out and all that bullshyt about ‘finding cuts to balance out aid’ goes out the window.
Old Man Shadow
I don’t know what the average Israeli thinks, but I think the government figures that that would be a good start and they should finish the job.
Ksmiami
@Chief Oshkosh: I agree that he has to separate the uS from Bibi and in a very clear manner. I think it’s going to happen and in a weird way, I’m hopeful that the WCK tragedy is a turning point.
UncleEbeneezer
@The Thin Black Duke: This. Every election since Dobbs has been about Roe. And none will be more so than this November. Putin, the GOP are trying to make it about something, anything else, knowing that en election that is a referendum on Abortion is a likely blowout win for Dems. It’s on all of us to keep our eyes on the big picture and keep this election focussed on our winning hand.
BR
@Chief Oshkosh:
Right now the administration is also scoring a number of own goals on this front for no obvious reason by continuing to approve arms sales to Bibi. They could pause or extreme-slow-walk it if they really can’t bring themselves to just halt them completely for the time being. Every new transfer of weapons / sales brings a new story that reminds voters already inclined to make this their single issue that they are angry about it.
Manyakitty
@Ksmiami: kinda my point, but I like knowing Israel is there.
Chief Oshkosh
@UncleEbeneezer: Au contraire. I don’t need to do that.
Biden does.
That is literally the job of the candidate – get more votes that the other guy.
If I’m going to help him, Biden needs to give me more ammo on this front.
Manyakitty
@rikyrah: yep. Super obvious, super gross.
JWR
@Betty: I’m with you all the way that it’s far past time for conditions to be set on weapons transfers, but the recent transfer of arms was signed in 2008 or some equally ridiculous timeframe, and I don’t have a clue whether Biden could perform some of his Green Lantern magic and halt the delivery.
But now I see on Aljazeera that this is being considered:
But…
Ksmiami
@Manyakitty: sort of. But the extremist settlers groups and the constant rule of Netanyahu has really turned me off from the entire project.
Trollhattan
@rikyrah: When The Big One unleashes in California I expect Republicans to a one to respond in unison with heartfelt, “How can we best help?”
I’ll come in again.
When The Big One unleashes in California I expect Republicans to a one to respond in unison with heartfelt, “You should have known better than to live there. Good luck.”
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Manyakitty: does anyone think Bibi’s escalations are going to keep anyone safe? War creates casualties and more war creates more casualties. “Fighting them over there so we won’t fight them here” doesn’t work. The Marshall Plan worked.
If the current Israeli government was the least bit interested in keeping anyone safe, they wouldn’t have ignored warnings about Hamas’ coming attack that they received from everyone, from their own army up to and including the Egyptians: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67082047
The Likudniks the people who don’t care about keeping anyone innocent safe, Jewish or otherwise.
The Pale Scot
@WaterGirl:
Rikers sounds perfect!
Manyakitty
@Ksmiami: same-ish, but I want to get it closer to at least how it was before Bibi.
Manyakitty
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: no argument from me.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: It was the wording that threw me. I of course thought of Katrina and New Orleans, but I couldn’t see how Katrina affected them.
Now I understand that he didn’t mean “until Katrina” affected them, but until some other disaster affected them.
And yes, their “disaster help for me, but not for thee” attitude in red states is infuriating.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Ksmiami: yeah, but that’s like saying Putin is finished.
And I think he is, BTW. He can’t win in Ukraine, and his inability to defend Russia even from the Islamic Jihad is going to cost him.
It’s still going to take a while to actually get rid of him, though. Same with Bibi.
Ksmiami
@Manyakitty: well the longer this goes on, the less there will be worth saving.
WaterGirl
@The Pale Scot: I would love to see Trump spend a night in Rikers.
Big fucking coward that he is – I’m sure he thinks he wants them to throw him in jail for a night, to add to his martyrdom, but I think he would shit his pants. Literally.
Bill Arnold
@Barbara:
For better or worse, cleanup of random garbage errors like this is something that large language models can be quite effective at.
I tried this sample with a LLM (a model I’m testing ATM). Basically, the prompt was
Manyakitty
@Ksmiami: as I said above. He convinced people he was the only one who could keep them safe and if he goes on much longer, he’ll be the reason Israel goes away.
Ksmiami
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: I actually disagree as Israel is still a mostly democratic society. We have to put the screws to Bibi though and fast.
piratedan
RIP to Count Floyd…
https://www.tvinsider.com/1129950/joe-flaherty-dead-tributes-sctv-freaks-and-geeks/
There were many times when I found SCTV funnier than SNL and Flaherty had an absolute knack of playing the straight man with a tangible exasperation.
Ksmiami
@Manyakitty: he’s not intelligent- his only move is to violence.
Bill Arnold
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Sometimes, the IDF loses track of which civilians it is not supposed to kill. These things happen in the fog of war.
/s
Brachiator
Second verse, same as the first.
Draw a legal or political line in the sand. Trump will cross it. Now, he is a coward by nature, and a pretend two bit mob guy, but he knows that he can use the mantle of the presidency to give him cover for his outrages.
His cronies, friends and the GOP are working hard to keep up and shield Trump.
I would love to see some judge slap him down hard.
Will it happen? Who knows?
Tune in for the next exciting episode of WTF TRUMP?
Dangerman
Would it be rude to take a portable toilet to his grave when his time comes? I need a place to get comfortable to read Balloon-Juice or last nights scores while taking care of my needs. Luckily, high fiber diet. TMI?
Manyakitty
@Ksmiami: he’s a bully. Time to start punching them in the nose.
Sister Golden Bear
Welp, that didn’t take long: Trump Defies Gag Order In Post On Judge’s Daughter
UncleEbeneezer
@rikyrah: To make things much, much worse for Palestine!!!
That’s that part that makes it all so ridiculous.
SiubhanDuinne
@Betty:
Riiiiiiiiiiiigghhht….
NotMax
BID? ATV?
Cut to the chase: POS.
Cheryl from Maryland
@rikyrah: Hogan is sketchy AF. Those returned federal funds were for PUBLIC transportation in Baltimore! By some strange coincidence, his brother’s development company owned land near many of the areas to which Hogan directed road monies. Also his lies about abortion – the Maryland legislature appropriated funds to increase training of nurse practitioners and similar to increase the number of abortion providers; Hogan withheld those funds. I’m worried about my state and this election.
rikyrah
theGrio.com (@theGrio) posted at 11:20 AM on Tue, Apr 02, 2024:
Lawyers representing migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard nearly two years ago by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis can sue the charter flight company that transported them according to a ruling Monday by a federal judge in Boston.
Read more![]()
https://t.co/HRaFUR7rR0
(https://x.com/theGrio/status/1775196583249764572?t=ve_JZ5XZIObg6sN2oeQ-mQ&s=03)
hueyplong
@WaterGirl: Without going too deep into TMI, there is reason to believe that Trump already shits his pants, literally and daily.
He has much to fear from a wardrobe failure.
louc
@WaterGirl:
This. The reports say that they hit one van (and they hit it right on the logo) and WCK contacted the Israelis to say you hit us and then they struck again. AND again.
Then WCK (and no blame to them) withdrew from providing aid. This is exactly what Netanyahu wants. That’s why they keep hitting Red Cross and other humanitarian groups. So that they will withdraw.
Geminid
@Cheryl from Maryland: The worrisome aspect of Hogan’s candidacy is that he starts with a high favorability rating from Marylanders. Democrats need to spend a lot of money on ads tearing him down, and tying him to Trump and Mitch McConnell.
Bill Arnold
@tam1MI:
The IDF first has to decide whether it was an an accident or deliberate. Can’t easily go down both those narrative paths, though war-crimes-supporting “pro”-Israel propagandists will try.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Ksmiami: let’s hope. My fear is that in Israel — as here, in the US — the next election might be the last.
rikyrah
@Geminid:
ICAM.
And, part of the ads should be…
What did Democrats STOP Hogan from doing?
I know that the Democrats of MD stopped a lot of phuckery he wanted to do.
Aside from that, they need to nail his azz about Dobbs and abortion.
sdhays
@Manyakitty: I’ve long felt that in X0 years, Netanyahu will be remembered as the architect of the destruction of Israel.
Cheryl from Maryland
@Geminid: The other issue is that state Democrats are split between Trone and Alsobrooks. I have a horrid premonition that some D voters will not support Alsobrooks, being female, black, and from PG County, even though policy wise she is a better fit for the state.
Manyakitty
@Geminid: and making sure everyone knows about those underhanded deals and misuse of funds.
Manyakitty
@sdhays: like trump here. This year’s elections are so important for the literal future of the world.
Matt McIrvin
@piratedan: Oh, man, that hurts. Favorite Joe Flaherty moments:
“Quincy, Cartoon Coroner” — like many of the early SCTV sketches it goes on a bit too long, but Flaherty’s climactic rant is one for the ages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO_UM3rmzJc
“The Blood-Sucking Monkeys from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania” — wherein Count Floyd has to play horror host without a movie at all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEjdt_n1l-4
Chris
@Geminid:
Blue staters have a pathological need to find a “good” person on the other side of the aisle that they approve of and might even vote for, so they can reassure themselves that they’re responsible open-minded citizens of the polity and not partisan sheeple. Way too many bad actors, from the media running their bullshit stories to the “moderates” like Hogan that still not infrequently manage to get through, exploit this tendency to the hilt.
greenergood
@Bokonon: They, and Netanyahu’s gov’t are out of control – he is desperate to stay out of jail, and certain factions of the IDF (NOT all!) are seeing this as their last chance to decisively ‘mow the lawn’ forever. They are determined to either kill or displace all Palestinians in Gaza, cast them into the Sinai Desert, and welcome Eretz Israel (and then Kushner can build his sea-front skyscrapters on Gaza’s shores). Why else would the IDF deliberately destroy universities/hospitals/apartment blocks/libraries – really? Hamas terrorists are hanging out in universities? Pul-leeze …
Villago Delenda Est
@Old School:
Bibi himself is “tragic”. He’s Reinhard Heydrich not wearing Hugo Boss.
Eric S.
@New Deal democrat:
IANAL but I’ve always believed there wasn’t an appeal if the judge orders you locked up for contempt. Maybe eventually, but that you’d be hauled off to jail ASAP.
I don’t think that happens with DJT if it happens. I think (personal belief, no legal facts on my side) the Secret Service will step in and say they can’t guarantee his safety in jail without planning, if ever, and block the arrest. Do they have that legal authority? I don’t know.
From there we’d be in New legal territory and more delay delay delay. Just what the orangeshitstain wants.
Ksmiami
@Geminid: yep and the Dems need to get behind one candidate
JWR
More good news! From NBC:
Geminid
@Cheryl from Maryland: White Democrats have been fairly supportive of Black candidates in recent years. In 2018, they nominated and elected Lauren Underwood, Colin Allred and Jahanna Hayes in white majority suburban districts. Maryland Democrats did the same in Maryland when they elected Wes Moore in 2022. I think Barak Obama broke important groud here.
The question of electability will clearly be a factor when Democrats decide between Trone and Alsobrooks. Trone might seem the “safer” pick for the reason you suggest, but he has his drawbacks and Alsobrooks has some advantages. But whoever gets the nomination, they will have to go after Hogan hard, I think.
Villago Delenda Est
@Sister Golden Bear: Turley is a hack that somehow conned his way into tenure. Michael Cohen looks like a beacon of integrity next to Turley.
Matt McIrvin
@Eric S.: In Massachusetts, it is possible to appeal a contempt ruling:
https://www.mass.gov/rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-rule-43-summary-contempt-proceedings
Don’t know about other jurisdictions.
What’s not possible is to get sprung by a pardon. Trump was able to pardon Joe Arpaio because he was found in (federal) criminal contempt–there was actually a criminal conviction to reverse. But usually it’s not a conviction, it’s a different category of judgment, “we’re putting you in jail to make you stop misbehaving in my court.”
Geminid
@Ksmiami: I expect Maryland Democrats will unite behind the primary winner. Trone and Alsobrooks don’t have substantial policy differences, just different experience and personal profiles.
Matt McIrvin
@Chris: The Massachusetts Republicans seem to have run out of Charlie Baker types to run, or else they don’t want to any more. They tanked the last gubernatorial election by running a MAGA screwhead against Maura Healey.
rikyrah
Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) posted at 9:39 AM on Tue, Apr 02, 2024:
New: Trump almost certainly won’t go to trial in July in the classified docs case — as the Special Counsel requested — with Judge Cannon declining to set a trial schedule a month after she was presented with potential options. @guardian https://t.co/gRgHO3IL3q
(https://x.com/hugolowell/status/1775171293215650142?t=QXc2MQYCttCNjQ4Q3lKKDQ&s=03)
JoeyJoeJoe
@Mike in NC: over the weekend, I had Mystic Pizza on in the background. In one scene, there is a TV on, and it’s showing an episode of Lifestyles at Mar a Lago
JWR
@Eric S.:
There’s always solitary confinement. ;)
rikyrah
@Geminid:
I had watched Maryland for many years. They seemed to be unable to get over the hump and elect someone Black for STATEWIDE office on their own.
Found it strange in a state where 1 out of every 3 voters is Black.
But, they seem to have gotten past that block with the election of the new Governor and Attorney General.
Citizen Alan
@Chief Oshkosh: Tell the vapid little twits that if Trump wins, he will tell Netanyahu that America will be perfectly fine with it if the Gazans are exterminated to the last child. And they will be responsible for the resulting genocide.
Bill Arnold
@Sister Golden Bear:
The Judge should perhaps order Mr. D.J. Trump to appear in the judge’s court, and explain his actions.
Brachiator
@UncleEbeneezer:
This is a bad argument. People can see the Palestinians being ground into the dirt. It doesn’t matter that Trump would see them ground into a finer powder.
I absolutely believe that Biden is trying to help the Palestinians. And Bibi is trying to wipe the Palestinians out before pressure against him rises too high.
I don’t agree with them, but I can understand how many who support the Palestinians feel that the US government does not care about them.
Chief Oshkosh
@Bill Arnold: I will be interesting to see what Merchan does.
Bill Arnold
@JWR:
Lock DJT in a room. Confiscate his phone, and maybe give him a bible, with several dozen postit note bookmarks pointing to educational passages.
Brachiator
@The Thin Black Duke:
Abstract concept. The murder of innocents is hardly abstract. It might be more honest to say that some people just don’t care.
@rikyrah:
South Africa has led in efforts to try to help Palestinians. They deeply understand the importance of standing up for human rights.
Brachiator
@Sister Golden Bear:
Damn. So Fox News is willing to help Trump if a gag order shuts him down. And Fox News will hide behind the First Amendment.
What a despicable bunch of degenerates.
Old School
@tam1MI:
Close.
Warblewarble
To argue that Isreal will be free to act with greater impunity under tRUMP, is not a argument for the impunity it is being granted now. Crimes of the present are crimes of the present. The exculpation of such crimes is a problem in the present time.
Paul in KY
@Old School: I’ll bet at the operational level, it was intentional. It was an evil way to convince anyone helping out over there not to.
zhena gogolia
@rikyrah: VOTED FOR BIDEN TODAY! I’M PUMPED!
Paul in KY
@Jeffro: You are correct. I’m just forever thankful that the inbred idiots were not more heavily armed.
Eyeroller
@Paul in KY: The Haaretz report cited above certainly indicates it was intentional because the IDF thought that a “Hamas operative” was among the aid workers. So they just killed them all. That is what they have claimed every time they have attacked aid workers. Always a “Hamas soldier” is with them.
Paul in KY
@Jinchi: I think they (the IDF) are that arrogant and depraved. IMO, not an accident at all (in that they knew exactly what they were shooting at. Is like when they shoot clearly marked journalists who they know by sight/face.
Captain C
@mrmoshpotato:
Fixed again. It takes half the Delta-V to huck something out of the solar system than it does to chuck them into the sun. I like your sentiment, but there’s no sense in wasting good propellant on that sorry mfer.
Paul in KY
@beckya57: A judge with some balls or skirt would. Hopefully we have one with this Mercham fella.
Captain C
@Manyakitty: See my reply to Mr. Moshpotato as to why hucking him out of the solar system is more economical than tossing him into the sun (both of which he richly deserves).
Manyakitty
@Captain C: fair. Whatever it takes to get them off this planet.
moops
@beckya57:
I’m not as certain. Everyone is recognizing he is behaving way out of line. It is not even debated if he is out of line. He might have to spend some time locked up. He will still make a decent run for President even it jailed. In fact his lack of media contact will likely improve his polls.
Captain C
@rikyrah:
The rejoinder to that should have been, “OK, great idea! What are you offering up for cuts from your district, in particular, things that your supporters/voters actually want?”
Paul in KY
@pat: They (Likud Israel) want the Palestinians mad and ready to attack them. That way, they will never have to agree to any 2 State Solution. Just point to ongoing attacks, etc.
The Palestinians have to be peaceful and refrain from striking at Israel for a number of years to force Israel to agree to the 2 State Solution. Thus, the Likud helping of Hamas or any other “Death to Israeler”.
Geminid
@Eyeroller: If that is the same Haaretz article I read, the “senior military source” said it was clear the armed man had remained at the warehouse with the truck he rode in on, and was not with WCK workers who drove away. He expressed exasperation at the drone unit commander for striking the WCK cars without justification, but the IDF is responsible for its officers and it bears the blame.
Paul in KY
@WaterGirl: I hope to hell that he does get sent there. Probably would get extra special treatment from MAGA guards though.
If he did, that would be something we could jeer at him about: Big tough guy Donald Trump got special meal & special bed, etc. etc.
Captain C
@JWR: Or alternately, “You can stay in the cell with him.”
Paul in KY
@Matt McIrvin: Sorta riffing on the Cool Ghoul (from Cincinnati area) and others I guess. Thanks for link.
Paul in KY
@Eric S.: I think they get the person into court, do the order, and then take them off to jail right there. At least with the commons that is…
Warblewarble
As with the killing of six yearold Hind Rahab with her relatives and the ambulance crew who had been cleared to collect her, and the countless other killings of aid workers and medics. Arms suppliers to Israel have made indecent haste to accept any bullshit and move quickly on. Our arms deals are sacred , and as in the case of school shootings ,I’m sure there are “thoughts and prayers”to be offered. But ARMS DEALS ARE SACRED.
Paul in KY
@Brachiator: Why the fuck doesn’t it matter that:
A) Vote Biden and Palestinians have hard way to go with Israel
B) Vote TFG and they (Palestinians) are either dead or in concentration camps.
That is a stark choice. I hear RFK Jr. would give all the Palestinians cannabis lollypops. They should vote him.
different-church-lady
@rikyrah: Those aren’t progressives. Those are shit libs.
Brachiator
@Paul in KY:
What choice? Palestinians are being ground into the dust right now.
Who gives a shit about RFK, Jr? Why would you waste space even mentioning him?
moops
@Paul in KY: RFK Jr. can go right ahead and lock up all the Palestinian votes in November.
Warblewarble
The RFK Jr. reference shows this to be what is .Irresponsible trolling.
Ruckus
Lock him up.
ShitForBrains is going to do his bullshit till he can’t. Verbal court orders do not and will not enter into his tiny, warped, worse than useless brain
Lock him up.
He thinks he’s not just the most profound human ever, he thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants and no one can touch him.
Lock him up.
He is never, ever going to change. He is mentally unstable. He’s always thought he was the shit and now he’s trying like hell to prove it.
Lock him up.
For the sake of everyone more sane than a box of donuts. Which he isn’t.
Lock him up.
Matt McIrvin
@Paul in KY: Yeah, I think there was one in his native Pittsburgh who was his particular model.
Ruckus
@Bill Arnold:
You think he can read? And understand what is written down?
This is a person who has lost all cognitive thought. Or sold it for $1.88 (Someone over paid….)
Ruckus
@beckya57:
This is the reason that he can no longer roam free. For what he’s charged with, no he likely wouldn’t be held for trial.
But that is not the reason that he should be held. He is an asshole who HAD massive power and has zero understanding that he no longer does. He is a citizen of this country. Just like most of us on this blog and most of the people that live in this country. But he is acting like a deranged mob boss and he is inciting his followers to do things that he does not have the balls to even try.
Normally someone in his shoes wouldn’t be locked up. But he has no concept of shutting the hell up, he has no concept that he no longer has power, and that even if he did, he isn’t allowed to do what he’s trying to get his followers to do.
Lock him up.
For his and all the rest of our sakes.
Kathleen
@Manyakitty: Everything you said. I’ll also add concern for hostages and the rapes and torture they’ve endured. I understand concern for Palestinians in Gaza. I don’t understand indifference to the Jewish people and I’m not Jewish. I just don’t.
Manyakitty
@Ruckus: LOCK HIM UP
Manyakitty
@Kathleen: thank you for remembering the hostages. ❤️
VFX Lurker
I’m guessing they’re also white voters.
Paul in KY
@Brachiator: I had the time.
Paul in KY
@Warblewarble: Trolling the single-issue voters who would cut off their noses to spite their faces (IMO).
wjca
Absolutely! Bibi thinks his escalations are going to keep him safe.
Everybody else? Not so much.
Warblewarble
A better approach would be to find policies that don’t fuel this particular single issue. Instead of being the chewtoy of the Israeli extremists.
Bill Arnold
@Warblewarble:
The issue is also being amplified by USA’s adversaries, who use whatever wedges are available (IP is an excellent one vs the USA), and generally prefer authoritarian isolationist governments. (Also, I suspect, by domestic adversaries of the Democratic party, but that is less obvious (in the causality sense) in social media.)
Pink Tie
@The Thin Black Duke: yes, this. I don’t think we have to close our eyes to what’s happening in Gaza, but I’m worried about my teenagers! and I do think the Biden administration is working hard, and quietly, to ameliorate the situation in Israel just like they have done with so many other political issues. For my family, I’m very much concerned with unplanned pregnancy — you can’t fight every battle. The reversal of Dobbs is already hurting and killing many, and I would like to see my kids *survive* to be good citizens and stand up for others.
dnfree
@Manyakitty:
Israel in my youth seemed like an admirable place in many ways—full of kibbutzes and optimism. These seem like the very groups Netanyahu left high and dry to be murdered and tortured October 7. There have been demonstrations opposing Netanyahu’s Supreme Court restructuring, but he has still retained power. The ultra orthodox bloc seems more powerful than its numbers.
The two groups, Palestinians and Israelis, have never both had competent leadership at the same time. At present, neither of them does.
Manyakitty
@dnfree: hope everyone survives to learn from the mistakes of the past.
Pink Tie
@dnfree: you’re so right about what Israel represented to many of us Americans. The few of my family members who made it out of Europe during the 30’s mostly wound up in Chicago, but a lot of cousins moved to Tel Aviv. It’s so hard to figure out how to feel… I have a good friend who is Palestinian and conflates what Hamas has done with the Palestinian cause, or she both-sides the whole thing. I don’t think we need to pick a side. Guess I can see why she would, but American Jews and Palestinians would do well to come together on this somehow.