Open Threads

Good news:

A New York state jury on Friday said the former long-serving National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre – as well as other executives of the gun rights group – were liable in a a lawsuit centered on the organization’s lavish spending.

The jury found that LaPierre, who was the NRA’s CEO for three decades, misspent millions of dollars of the group’s money on private flights, vacations and other lavish perks.

[…]

Attorneys working for James are asking that LaPierre and others be forced to pay penalties and to reimburse the NRA for the money taken from the organization.

Serious gun humpers probably already have another organization that serves their fetish picked out, but the NRA is the big name in human/gun intercourse, so let’s hope LaPierre has to live in a tent under a freeway underpass by the time the penalties are assessed in this case.

Tish James 1, NRA 0Post + Comments (65)

There was a discussion in the comments on my post on the Alabama IVF debacle about which forms of contraception would be allowed by our new Jesuitical overlords.  Let me cut to the chase on this one:  the answer is none, not a single one.

Anyone who grew up Catholic could give you that answer in a second, because that’s what we were taught through incessant repetition.  Only the “rhythm method” or “natural family planning” or whatever they’re calling it nowadays is allowed.  Everything else — and I mean every. fucking. thing. — is not allowed.  There’s no discussion of whether condoms or diaphragms are allowed — they aren’t.  Sterilization is out of the question (even today at Catholic hospitals, a woman can’t get her tubes tied during a C-section or right after delivery).  Of course, the pill and IUDs are already considered abortifacients by these goddam assholes, so they’re right out.   Pulling out is probably OK but you sure better not tell your priest about it.

This is where we’re heading with the current Republican party, no matter how hard they’re running away from it today.  Every sperm is sacred.  They have justices quoting scripture in the state supreme courts, and at least a couple nutcase Catholics on the US Supreme Court, and they all will come up with some reason that every form of birth control is illegal, unless we stop them.  If you think I’m nuts, tell me if you expected a court to basically outlaw IVF.  We’re in uncharted territory, and the priests are in charge.

We Are All Catholics NowPost + Comments (187)

My mom drilled this into our heads when we were growing up:  If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

The DOJ is doing just that with Alexander Smirnov.  Republicans aren’t the only ones who can choose their jurisdictions.  Over the objections of the DOJ, Smirnov was released by a magistrate judge in Nevada.  today there is a new warrant on the same or nearly identical charges, this time in California.

Smirnov’s lawyers have said that their client would NOT flee the country or otherwise try to escape prosecution.  He’s clearly an honorable and trustworthy guy; apparently the DOJ just won’t give him a break.  I hope they have better luck keeping him behind bars this time.

Oh, and this photo of him leaving the courthouse isn’t creepy at all.

(CNN)

Alexander Smirnov, the former FBI informant indicted for lying about President Joe Biden’s family and their alleged dealings in Ukraine, has been re-arrested in Nevada.

Though prosecutors fought to keep him behind bars, Smirnov was released by Magistrate Judge Daniel Albregts in Nevada on Tuesday with several conditions, including GPS monitoring and the surrender of his two passports.

Prosecutors asked the Nevada judge to delay his release, but the judge declined and Smirnov was allowed to walk out.

Now, Smirnov’s defense lawyers say their client was re-arrested Thursday on a new warrant for the exact same charges – this time signed by federal district Judge Otis Wright, who will oversee the criminal case out of California.

The unusual move means that Smirnov will need to argue for his release once again. Prosecutors had already moved for a rehearing on the matter in front of the judge in California, reasserting their concerns about Smirnov’s connections to foreign intelligence officials and his access to significant amounts of cash.

A spokesperson for special counsel David Weiss, who is prosecuting the case, confirmed Smirnov’s arrest.

Prosecutors allege that Smirnov repeatedly lied to his FBI handler, whom he worked with for more than a decade, and should not be trusted. He also has extensive contacts in Russia and elsewhere, prosecutors said, and lied to authorities about his “access to over $6 million in liquid funds — more than enough money for him to live comfortably overseas for the rest of his life.”

Smirnov has not yet entered a plea.

Smirnov’s lawyers have denied in court any assertion that their client would flee the country or otherwise try to escape prosecution. They said in their filing Thursday that Smirnov “has remained fully compliant with his conditions of release since his court-ordered release,” and slammed prosecutors for requesting a rehearing in California with “no mention of any second, then-unserved arrest warrant for Mr. Smirnov based on the same charges.”

Also news worthy.  Democrats have a number of people who are just the people we need in this fight for continued democracy in the United States.  Marc Elias is one of them.

🚨BREAKING: Sixteen days after it filed the case and after we intervened to defend the law, Stephen Miller’s right-wing legal group dismisses its lawsuit challenging Maricopa County, AZ voting rules.

A victory for democracy and the voters of Arizona!https://t.co/dOM9SqmO91

— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) February 22, 2024

Under the heading of Trump’s lawyers have no shame.

If Judge Cannon is foolish enough to grant this groundless motion, she will be all but asking the 11th Circuit to reverse her swiftly and remand the whole case to a different judge. https://t.co/0LDHL1vfML

— Laurence Tribe 🇺🇦 ⚖️ (@tribelaw) February 23, 2024

I hope this flurry of Trump idiocy is the opening act for a right and just response from the Supreme Court today. Could someone on the SC have given a heads up to someone in Trump’s circle? There’s just no telling who might do something like that.

Trump motions in the classified docs case tonight:
— Motion to dismiss on Presidential Immunity
— Motion to dismiss on Selective Prosecution (not public)
— Motion to dismiss Superseding Indictment, and in alternative to suppress “15 boxes” on prosecutorial misconduct (not public)

— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) February 23, 2024

And I am so sick of this Fani Willis witch hunt, and I’m disgusted with McAfee for opening the door to all of this when the people raising this issue were not required to present even one single fact before he decided to hold a hearing.

@AnnaBower
NEW: Trump’s legal team wants Judge McAfee to consider additional evidence as he mulls whether Fani Willis should be disqualified. The proposed exhibit includes an affidavit from a private investigator who analyzed Nathan Wade’s cell phone location data.

Open thread.

If At First You Don’t SucceedPost + Comments (255)

Anne Laurie posted about Nikki Haley’s response to the Alabama decision basically making IVF impossible in that state (so impossible that the UAB Medical Center and Alabama Fertility  stopped IVF immediately after the ruling).

I know someone who worked in a fertility clinic, and from what this person told me, IVF is a special kind of hell for couples going through it.  First, it’s expensive, like a new car expensive, and that’s often out-of-pocket.  Second, the drugs that the female in the couple has to take are crazy making and a horrible addition to a tough process.  Third, the retrievals (of the eggs) have to be very carefully timed, as do the implantation of the embryos that result from the retrieval plus fertilization.  Also, tons of embryos are discarded by fertility clinics because they’re not viable, or the couple has all the babies they want — until the Alabama ruling, this was the quiet part that the forced birthers didn’t want to say out loud, since they do love themselves a quiverfull.

So here we have a couple that is desperate to have a baby, have probably tried a number of other ways to get pregnant before trying IVF, and are going through a process where timing is everything.  Then some god-bothering old white men and women, who happen to be Supreme Court Justices in this backwater state, decide that Jesus decreed that those embryos are little tiny frozen babies.  I can’t imagine the anguish of a couple who put their life savings into having a baby and now have some frozen embryos, or are ready for retrieval, and are unable to access care due to the nonsensical beliefs of a bunch of dotards.

Someone on Bluesky made the point that, as long as the US Supreme Court is constituted as it is today, we’re all living in a red state.  Maybe when this ruling goes to the Supremes and it’s 6-3 for frozen little babies, I’ll believe that.  But as long as that set of reactionaries are going to stick with their “states decide on abortion” “precedent” that they created with Dobbs, it sure as hell makes a big difference if you’re living in a red state and want IVF.

While we’re on the topic of old white men who don’t know shit:

Edited to add:  Thanks to Another Scott in the comments, the Bluesky poster was LOLGOP and he has a longer post on the topic here.

Every Sperm is SacredPost + Comments (154)