Elections; 2024
POSTED BY: THG
UPDATED: Wednesday, September 9, 2026 06:05
VIEWED: 207846
PAGE 27 of 52
It looks like we get to add Virginia to the list of blue states that are now toss ups too.
That electoral college map just keeps looking worse and worse for Joe Biden* every month.
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President. 
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Quote:How stupidity is an existential threat to America
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
By Bobby Azarian | May 31, 2024, 7:00AM ET
https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/stupidity-threat/
It may sound like an insensitive statement, but the cold hard truth is that there are a lot of stupid people in the world, and their stupidity presents a constant danger to others. Some of these people are in positions of power, and some of them have been elected to run our country. A far greater number of them do not have positions of power, but they still have the power to vote, and the power to spread their ideas. We may have heard of “collective intelligence,” but there is also “collective stupidity,” and it is a force with equal influence on the world. It would not be a stretch to say that at this point in time, stupidity presents an existential threat to America because, in some circles, it is being celebrated.
Although the term "stupidity" may seem derogatory or insulting, it is actually a scientific concept that refers to a specific type of cognitive failure. It is important to realize that stupidity is not simply a lack of intelligence or knowledge, but rather a failure to use one's cognitive abilities effectively. This means that you can be “smart” while having a low IQ, or no expertise in anything. It is often said that “you can’t fix stupid,” but that is not exactly true. By becoming aware of the limitations of our natural intelligence or our ignorance, we can adjust our reasoning, behavior, and decision-making to account for our intellectual shortcomings.
To demonstrate that stupidity does not mean having a low IQ, consider the case of Richard Branson, the billionaire CEO of Virgin Airlines, who is one of the world’s most successful businessmen. Branson has said that he was seen as the dumbest person in school, and has admitted to having dyslexia, a learning disability that affects one’s ability to read and correctly interpret written language. But it wasn’t just reading comprehension that was the problem — “Math just didn’t make sense to me,” Branson has said. “I would certainly have failed an IQ test.”
So, what is responsible for his enormous success, both financially and in terms of being a prolific innovator? Branson attributes his success to surrounding himself with highly knowledgeable and extremely competent people. Branson’s smarts come from his ability to recognize his own limitations, and to know when to defer to others on topics or tasks where he lacks sufficient knowledge or skill.
This means you don’t have to be traditionally intelligent or particularly knowledgeable to be successful in life, make good decisions, have good judgment, and be a positive influence on the world. Stupidity is a consequence of a failure to be aware of one’s own limitations, and this type of cognitive failure has a scientific name: the Dunning-Kruger effect.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a well-known psychological phenomenon that describes the tendency for individuals to overestimate their level of intelligence, knowledge, or competence in a particular area. They may also simultaneously misjudge the intelligence, expertise, or competence of others. In other words, they are ignorant of their own ignorance. The effect has been widely written about, and investigated empirically, with hundreds of studies published in peer-reviewed journals confirming and analyzing the phenomenon, particularly in relation to the dangers it poses in certain contexts.
It is easy to think of examples in which failing to recognize one’s own ignorance can become dangerous. Take for example when people with no medical training try to provide medical advice. It doesn’t take much Internet searching to find some nutritionist from the “alternative medicine” world who is claiming that some herbal ingredient has the power to cure cancer. Some of these people are scam artists, but many of them truly believe that they have a superior understa
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Conservatives like Trump because of his character
Conservatives might like Trump on policy grounds, but they could get exactly the same policy from nearly any Republican. What sets Trump apart is his character. This is why his fans like him. His character. Donald Trump has:
• Been convicted of covering up an affair with a porn star.
• Been caught on tape bragging about grabbing pussies.
• Lied about President Obama wiretapping him.
• Tried to extort the president of Ukraine into digging up dirt on a political opponent.
• Worked tirelessly to illegally overthrow an election he lost.
• Promised to pardon the violent protesters who attacked the Capitol on January 6.
• Been found liable for sexual assault.
• Lied relentlessly about matters big and small.
• Claimed many of the world's worst autocrats as friends.
• Cheated customers of "Trump University" out of millions of dollars.
• Been fined nearly $500 million for business fraud.
• Fired an FBI director for refusing to end an investigation into his campaign.
• Been ordered to shut his charitable foundation and pay restitution for repeated self-dealing and legal violations.
• Pocketed millions of dollars from foreign interests staying at his hotels.
• Promoted dangerous quack "cures" for COVID-19.
• Baselessly claimed that Ted Cruz's father was associated with the Kennedy assassination.
• Said that soldiers who are wounded or die in war are suckers and losers.
Trump oozes "character" out of every pore and orifice on his body.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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USA Today: Trump is guilty. It won't matter at all this election.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/05/30/trump-guil
ty-verdict-voters-election/73912611007/
A) He's not guilty. We had a DA who ran on taking Trump down and an activist judge who was going to make sure a guilty verdict happened no matter what. All of this happened in the bluest of the blue areas in the country, with a hand-picked jury from an area who voted 85% for Joe Biden* in 2020.
This will be appealed and thrown right in the trash where it belongs, and was nothing more than a stunt to be able to have news articles calling Trump a convicted felon leading up to the election.
B) Oh... It's going to matter. Trump is going to win by an even bigger margin than he was going to win by last week before this verdict.
Tick Tock
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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If America turns against Trump, he’d rather see America burn to the ground
"I'm afraid of him going to jail, not for him, not for his safety, that's on him. I'm more concerned for you and for all of us and our families and for the American people because this clown had four years of being debriefed on national security issues. On top of that, if he becomes the Republican nominee he gets debriefed again, starting now, think about this," Cohen said.
He added: "You have now a Republican-leading candidate who is a felon who is going to be debriefed on national security issues knowing how loosely lipped he is...My concern is, in a prison situation, he's willing to give away these secrets for a bag of tuna or a book of stamps and he will do it because he doesn't care. If America turns against him he rather see America burn to the ground and that's who Donald Trump is."
https://www.newsweek.com/michael-cohen-raises-alarm-donald-trump-going
-jail-1907123
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s Arrogance Has Reached New Levels
Dahlia Lithwick: Justice Alito, in recent weeks, is making very real and serious errors in his opinions. They’re actually prompting corrections from sources that he cites, who say, “No, my work reflects the opposite of what you’re claiming.”
Mark Joseph Stern: This happened just last week in the racial gerrymandering case out of South Carolina. Alito cited the Brennan Center, a left-leaning pro-democracy group, to support the proposition that the racial turnout gap is growing—white people are voting at significantly higher rates than racial minorities. And Alito said this fact leads to the conclusion that racial data is actually less useful in drawing maps, so the court should assume that the map-drawers didn’t look at racial data, because it’s not very useful. Even though the map-drawers in this case shifted 30,000 Black residents to a new district with almost surgical precision to make a competitive district less diverse.
The Brennan Center responded that Alito completely misunderstood its work, and in fact got it backward. Bizarrely, he cited an old blog post rather than a more recent, comprehensive analysis of this issue, which would’ve shown why he was wrong. The Brennan Center said that what it actually showed was that South Carolina has better data, on the individual and community level, about racial identity than political affiliation. If Alito had read four more sentences of the blog post he cited, or read the full report that elaborates on this issue, he would have seen that the map-drawers in this case had every incentive to look at racial data! It’s clearer and more useful than data about voters’ political preferences. Alito just butchered the Brennan Center’s analysis and used it to mean the opposite of what it meant.
He received a similar rebuke from a source he cited in his dissent from the CFPB decision, too, right?
Yes. In his dissent asserting that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded unconstitutionally, Alito cited a book by Georgetown Law professor Josh Chafetz called Congress’s Constitution. Not once, not twice, but eight times. And it’s a very good book! But Alito cited it for the proposition that the Framers would never have wanted to let a federal agency draw its budget the way the CFPB does. And that the Framers and their English forebears would have wanted the judiciary to limit how Congress funds the executive branch.
Chafetz was so irritated by this that he felt moved to tweet that Alito got it dead wrong. Because Chafetz preemptively rebutted the theory that Alito embraced: In the book, he wrote that “text of the Constitution allows for indefinite appropriations in all contexts other than the army,” which is limited to two-year appropriations. That explicitly contradicts Alito’s pseudo-originalist claim. Also, Chafetz wrote about how the appropriations power was, early on, used in a broad and nonspecific way, which Alito deemed unconstitutional. And Chafetz wrote that this power was meant as a check on the executive by the legislative, not a judicially enforceable limit on Congress. Again, that’s the opposite of what Alito asserted. Yet the justice cited Chafetz’s book for support over and over again!
What’s really alarming is that the other conservatives are going along with it. They just accept that King Alito can decree these new realities and facts and histories.
I would just add that this is entirely predictable from somebody who has proven, day after day after day, that he doesn’t believe reality. Justice Alito is at a place where he thinks the entire Justice Department is going after Trump and Jan. 6 insurrectionists because they’re witch-hunters. He believes the media is a bunch of liars and the world is out to get him. He believes the insurrectionist flag is benign, a foam finger that screams “Go George Washington.”
So yes, it’s entirely predictable that somebody like Alito would bend every single fact to conform with his own reality. That he w
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Trump saying a felon cannot be allowed in the White House.
Funny...
T 
Trump: Hillary shouldn't be allowed to run for president
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The time for Biden to show restraint has long since passed.
Trump was just unanimously convicted by a jury of his peers for election interference. He had his hapless fixer pay off Daniels not “for personal gain,” as the Biden campaign statement alleges, but to defraud the American people, to deprive them of the information that they needed to make an informed decision on Election Day 2016 and to illegitimately obtain the most powerful office in the world on behalf of the country’s far right. Donald Trump covered up his affair with Daniels so he could appoint Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. He committed felonies so that the insurrectionists at the reactionary Heritage Foundation could rewrite the nation’s tax laws to make rich people richer. And so on.
Biden likes to repeat the canned phrase “Don’t compare me to the Almighty; compare me to the alternative”—a motto he attributes to his father and which is about as edgy as a mid-aughts Verizon Guy commercial. But what the hush money case demonstrates clearly is that Trump is a genuinely terrible human being. What kind of man has unprotected sex with an adult film star while his wife is home recovering from labor and delivery and caring for an infant? What kind of terrible employer has an underling borrow against his own home to cover up his boss’s sordid lies and extramarital affairs?
For years, leading Democrats have danced around a truly blunt assessment of Trump without ever coming out and saying it directly: The man is an evil, amoral cretin willing to betray those closest to him without a second thought. Find some coded language that can puncture the epistemic closure of conservative evangelical Christians. Call him the worst person in the entire country, which is basically what he is. Tap into the robust public opinion of the majorities who believe that extramarital affairs are morally wrong by asking: “If Melania can’t trust him, why should you?”
Whatever path they choose requires departing from the warmth and safety of “No one is above the law” framing. Letting the conviction more or less speak for itself is a conservative strategy that would make sense if Biden were decisively leading the race and wanted to avoid unforced errors. But as hard as it might be for everyone in the White House to accept, the president’s campaign is clearly trailing, according to public opinion polling. Yes, the margins are narrow, but if the election were held tomorrow, it is more likely than not that Donald Trump would win it. You can’t run out the clock when you’re losing. And that means that Biden needs to go on the offensive, just like dozens of leading Democratic officials and strategists are asking him to.
Yet Biden and his team clearly feel that having Biden stay out of the whole thing can help legitimize the prosecutions and whatever verdicts follow. This is wishful thinking. Take one fleeting glance at how people on the right are reacting to Trump’s conviction—that should be sufficient to disabuse the White House of the notion that there is anything it could possibly do to reach hardcore MAGA voters. Former Fox anchor Megyn Kelly promised prosecutions of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for unnamed offenses: “We’re going to have to look at what the statutes of limitations are on the various crimes they surely committed, “ she intoned. Charlie Kirk, the young MAGA media superstar, implored his followers to “indict the left, or lose America.” Donations to the Trump campaign surged. Nearly all Republican officeholders deemed the verdict somehow illegitimate. In other words, keeping the Trump prosecutions at arm’s length earned Biden precisely nothing from the right, which has existed in a state of continuous rage for so long that it does not have any other emotional register to draw upon.
More at https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/06/trump-president-biden-felo
n-alvin-bragg-democrats.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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'Two days and it's over': Russian arms dealer endorses Trump amid call for U.S. civil war
By David Edwards | June 3, 2024 2:55PM ET
https://www.rawstory.com/viktor-bout-donald-trump/
Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer dubbed the "merchant of death," endorsed former U.S. President Donald Trump and suggested a new American civil war was needed.
While guest-hosting with Alex Jones on Monday, Bout was asked about his views on Trump.
"Look, one thing is clear," Bout said. "That Trump is for real. He is real, and he is alive."
The arms dealer said President Joe Biden was "like a zombie."
"We can discuss all the points, but at least he is a real person who is honestly, full-heartedly, not willing to see America being ruined and killed by the globalists," he continued.
"So this is a, you know, situation where we all hope that Trump finally will quickly act after he was inaugurated, and literally make sure that this deep state or those globalists who are fully controlling the American administration would be unable to make more harm to the human being on the planet and stop killing, first of all, Americans."
Viktor Bout was freed from a U.S. prison in 2022 in a swap for basketball star Britney Griner.
Later in Monday's show, he agitated for a second American "revolution."
"They're gonna try to really attempt on the life of the Trump, and they said, oh, sorry, you know, we killed him," he warned. "Who knows, maybe they're gonna get hostages of Trump's family and put him to negotiate some."
"So in this level, I guess all American people have to do their maximum to really show to the globalists," he added. "If you mess up with this, it would be, you know, our strong response. Look, if people go to the street in America, the real America, who they are, it's over."
"It's two days, and it's over. Forget about January 6th, it was a joke."
Jones argued that Jan. 6 was a false flag operation.
"Yeah, exactly, but think of this, if people everywhere will go on the street, not only in D.C., but everywhere, that's it," Bout agreed. "Who, police gonna attack all people, hell no. Military, they're gonna send military against American people."
"But this is a moment for another American revolution."
Watch the video below from the Alex Jones Show.
https://www.rawstory.com/viktor-bout-donald-trump/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Yup, trump is and always has been, in bed with Putin, Russia.
T
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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T
Can Former President Trump 'Make Felonies Great Again'?
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The Hill: Regardless of the Trump verdict, Biden’s in trouble
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4696046-despite-trump-guilty-verd
ict-biden-is-in-trouble/
Yup.
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Yup...
T
Trump breaking up alliances within the Republican party
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Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
Yup...
T
Trump breaking up alliances within the Republican party
Good. Fuck the Republican party and the Bushite NeoCon trash you follow at The Lincoln Project.
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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If Trumps gotta keep lying he isn't winning.
T
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Ben, a 42-year-old white guy from Texas, explaining to a focus group why he's moving away from Trump:
“As far as porn stars go for affairs, he could have set a better example for who to have an affair with.... There are so many wonderful porn stars out there.... But I want a president who’s going to be able to cover up a $130,000 bribe to Daniels. If he can’t pull that off, I’m not going to trust him with the nuclear football. This seems like such an easy thing for him to screw up. I’m kind of leaning toward Biden now.”
The traditional way of paying hush money is with a briefcase full of hundred-dollar bills. If Trump had stuck to that he never would have been caught.
But no. Like the Nazis meticulously accounting for every death at Auschwitz, Trump had to bribe Stormy Daniels in a way that required meticulous accounting on his company's books. So now he's a convicted felon.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/06/04/opinion/trump-verdict-f
ocus-group.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Republicans Who Voted Against Contraception Access
Jun 05, 2024 at 8:00 PM EDT
1. John Barrasso of Wyoming
2. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
3. John Boozman of Arkansas
4. Ted Budd of North Carolina
5. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virgina
6. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
7. John Cornyn of Texas
8. Tom Cotton of Arkansas
9. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota
10. Mike Crapo of Idaho
11. Ted Cruz of Texas
12. Steve Daines of Montana
13. Joni Ernst of Iowa
14. Deb Fischer of Nebraska
15. Chuck Grassley of Iowa
16. Josh Hawley of Missouri
17. John Hoeven of North Dakota
18. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi
19. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
20. James Lankford of Oklahoma
21. Mike Lee of Utah
22. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming
23. Roger Marshall of Kansas
24. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
25. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma
26. Rand Paul of Kentucky
27. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska
28. James Risch of Idaho
29. Mike Rounds of South Dakota
30. Marco Rubio of Florida
31. Eric Schmitt of Missouri
32. Rick Scott of Florida
33. Tim Scott of South Carolina
34. John Thune of South Dakota
35. Thom Tillis of North Carolina
36. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama
37. Roger Wicker of Mississippi
38. Todd Young of Indiana
Another nine Republicans joined indicted Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey in sitting out the vote:
1. Mike Braun of Indiana,
2. Katie Britt of Alabama,
3. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina,
4. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee,
5. John Kennedy of Louisiana,
6. Jerry Moran of Kansas,
7. Mitt Romney of Utah,
8. Dan Sullivan of Alaska
9. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-republicans-who-voted-against-contr
aception-access-1908825
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Ben, a 42-year-old white guy from Texas, explaining to a focus group why he's moving away from Trump:
“As far as porn stars go for affairs, he could have set a better example for who to have an affair with.... There are so many wonderful porn stars out there.... But I want a president who’s going to be able to cover up a $130,000 bribe to Daniels. If he can’t pull that off, I’m not going to trust him with the nuclear football. This seems like such an easy thing for him to screw up. I’m kind of leaning toward Biden now.”
Yeah. I'm sure "Ben" is a Trump voter. Nobody at the New York Times has ever had a single conversation with a Trump voter.
Maybe somebody ought to show "Ben" all of the footage of Biden* fucking up every other sentence off the teleprompter when he's not staring off into space and forgetting completely where he is, before turning around and shaking hands with ghosts and finally getting off the stage after one of his aides comes and takes his arm.
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:I have had ten thousand hours of conversation with Trump voters. Never once have any of them understood that they are the cause of all their problems or even realize they are grossly failing their responsibilities. Their problems are always somebody else's fault. Biden's fault most recently. But before that, Obama's. Before that, Bush's. In between? Democrats' fault in general.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Yeah. I'm sure "Ben" is a Trump voter. Nobody at the New York Times has ever had a single conversation with a Trump voter.
Maybe somebody ought to show "Ben" all of the footage of Biden* fucking up every other sentence off the teleprompter when he's not staring off into space and forgetting completely where he is, before turning around and shaking hands with ghosts and finally getting off the stage after one of his aides comes and takes his arm.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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If Donald Trump wins back the White House, Putin stands to rake home all the chips. Trump told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (so Orbán subsequently said) that his plan to end the war quickly was to cut off all aid to Ukraine — in other words, to let Putin win. However, if Putin has attacked a NATO country before the election (spurring all the other NATO members to respond under the treaty’s Article 5, which says an attack on one is an attack on all) or fired off nuclear weapons (breaking the “nuclear taboo” in place since 1945), then even Trump might have a hard time letting Putin have his way.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/06/ukraine-strikes-russia-war
-biden-putin-red-line.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:I have had ten thousand hours of conversation with Trump voters. Never once have any of them understood that they are the cause of all their problems or even realize they are grossly failing their responsibilities. Their problems are always somebody else's fault. Biden's fault most recently. But before that, Obama's. Before that, Bush's. In between? Democrats' fault in general.
Sure thing, buddy...
Says the guy who bitched nonstop for the last 3.5 years straight while his party is running things. The same guy who hasn't gone a single day of his life without posting the ex-President's name.
How often have I brought up Obama's name in the 2020's? How often did I bring up Obama's name since I've gone sober?
Did I bitch about personal shit in the last 7.5 years of sobriety. Damn sure did. Both when Trump and when Biden* were President.
I've taken ownership of ALL of my bad choices. I'm not going to say that to you again.
And I hate to break it to you, but even in the worst circumstances I'm not anything like any alleged Texas Trump voter you think you know. I own everything I have, and I own zero debt to anyone or any financial institution. I can make a very, very, very little go a really long way.
I get to sit back and wait it all out whenever the pendulum swings way to far one way and the inevitable over-correction the other way gears up.
That's where we are at right now.
Don't believe me?
Were you even aware we are 5 days into Pride Month in 2024?
And when that pendulum swings so far the other way it makes you wish it was 2003 and GWB were still President, maybe you'll remember that he was responsible for about half of the government overreach there is today. Overreach that neither party is ever going to fight to remove because they are the sole benefactor.
I know I won't ever forget.
I'm not a Republican. I've never been a Republican.
But when that pendulum does swing hard that way and they've damn near militarized the place to combat all the stupid shit that the Left did when the pendulum was about to snap out the left side of the fuckin' cuckoo clock, I'll be right here to tell you that I told you so. Again.
And then, I finally get to shit talk Republicans for a while again and give them their due.
Well... Maybe...
Yanno... if the Democrats don't get their way now and hand the government the reins to the internet. One day down the road you wake up and realize that the Republicans get just as much benefit and use out of all the laws and rule changes they pretend they're half-hardheartedly fighting against. Maybe by 2030 both "sides" finally get their way and they can just start breaking down people's doors and pulling them out into the street for things they've said online like they do anywhere else in the world.
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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What the U.S. and Britain Can Learn From Singapore
Data shows that in key areas, Singapore is better at governing than the U.S. and Britain.
By Graham Allison | June 5, 2024, 4:33 PM
Graham Allison is a professor of government at the Harvard Kennedy School.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/06/05/singapore-us-uk-government-compar
ison-elections-citizens-governance-politics/
When asked whether the U.S. government works, most Americans say no. According to recent polling by Ipsos, more than two-thirds of adults in the United States think the country is going in the wrong direction. Gallup reports that only 26 percent have confidence in major U.S. institutions, such as the presidency, the Supreme Court, and Congress. Nearly half of Americans aged 18 to 25 say that they believe either that democracy or dictatorship “makes no difference” or that “dictatorship could be good in certain circumstances.” As a recent Economist cover story put it: “After victory in the Cold War, the American model seemed unassailable. A generation on, Americans themselves are losing confidence in it.”
Most Singaporeans have a very different outlook on their government, a managed political system that has elections but nonetheless facilitates the dominance of one party, the People’s Action Party. According to a Pew Research Center report, three-quarters of Singaporeans are satisfied with how democracy is working in their country. Moreover, 80 percent think their country is heading in the right direction—the highest number in any of the 29 countries surveyed in the May Ipsos poll.
In 2024, both the United States and Singapore are facing one of the most challenging tests of any system of government: the transfer of power from one leader to the next. Textbooks on government identify this as an arena in which democratic systems have the greatest advantage over authoritarian or managed alternatives. Yet, as this year shows, that isn’t always the case.
In May, as then-Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong passed the baton to his chosen successor, Lawrence Wong, Singaporeans almost unanimously applauded the orderly, peaceful transition. In contrast, Americans’ sense of gloom is growing as they approach a presidential election in which voters will have to choose between two candidates who claim that the other’s victory would mean the end of U.S. democracy. According to an April Reuters/Ipsos poll, two-thirds of U.S. voters believe that neither candidate should be running.
These comparisons invite the question: Is Singapore simply better at governing than other countries?
To answer this, consider the following three Report Cards, which use data from international organizations to assess Singapore alongside two countries holding major elections this year: the United States and Britain. Each report card grades the countries on how well they have fulfilled the requirements that Singapore’s founder and first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew—the father of Lee Hsien Loong—believed were the function of government: to “improve the standard of living for the majority of its people, plus enabling the maximum of personal freedoms compatible with the freedoms of others in society.”
The first Report Card considers citizens’ well-being, which we’ve assessed based on categories for which there is ample data, such as income, health, safety, and sense of security.
The second Report Card covers what the World Bank calls “governance,” or a government’s effectiveness in facing issues, making policy choices, executing policy, and preventing corruption.
The third Report Card, which considers both individual rights and citizens’ satisfaction with their government, is more difficult to interpret. It includes the judgments made both by international organizations and by polls that gauge how citizens feel about their democracy.
It’s worth reflecting on nine takeaways related to these Report Cards. First, Lee Hsien Loong left to his successor a population that is now wealthier than Americans—and almost twice as wealthy as their former British colonial ove
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Quote:I love it when you post long comments. I love listening to Trumptards describe how the world works. It reminds me how wacko you and the typical Trumptard are. I find it comforting to know that there is karma, that people who are wacko have wacko lives. The wackos are not aware of themselves. When the daily disappointments hit them, the wackos blame either people who don't live wacky lives or a generalized conspiracy against wackos.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Sure thing, buddy...
Not that wackos can understand why, but bad things happen to wackos for good reasons.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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The contrast between how Republicans and Democrats behave in Court
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/06/hunter-biden-trial-defense
-trump-hush-money-comparison.html
Following the news of Hunter Biden’s trial this week after covering Donald Trump’s hush money trial for the past six, one thing is clear to me: Hunter Biden’s defense strategy is much more typical than Trump’s, and thus much likelier to produce an acquittal. The differences in defense tactics are representative of the differences in temperaments between the two men, but they could also be critical to the outcomes for both.
Hunter Biden, the son of current President Joe Biden, faces criminal charges related to lying about drug addiction on a federal form when he purchased a gun in October 2018. The first major difference comes down to how Hunter Biden and Trump presented themselves to jurors. Throughout his trial, Trump closed his eyes and appeared unresponsive during almost all the critical moments of testimony and argument. Jurors responded similarly coldly to the former president, all of them declining to look at Trump every day as they walked right past him at the defendant’s table. Hunter Biden, by contrast, is reportedly deeply engaged, even waving at one prosecution witness, a former girlfriend, when she took the stand.
Defense attorneys have attempted to portray Hunter Biden sympathetically, as a deeply flawed addict who has made some mistakes but is looking to get his life back in order. A jury that reportedly includes jurors who have had family members who have experienced addiction already seem responsive to these efforts—as CNN reported on Monday: “One juror appeared to become emotional during defense attorney Abbe Lowell’s opening statements. The juror reached for tissues in her bag and dabbed her eyes and her nose several times. It’s unclear what prompted the reaction.” Essentially, Hunter Biden has already been humanized for the jury. Trump’s defense attorneys, by contrast, tried to portray him as a very important former president who was above having to face the same criminal justice system the rest of us do. Trump’s demeanor came across this way as well. This did not work.
The second difference is in the support systems that showed up for each defendant in court every day. Trump usually had a parade of sycophantic political and media cronies around him, seemingly looking to leech off of the power of the presumptive Republican nominee for president.
In terms of family representation, Trump’s son Eric showed up many days, and his son Donald Jr. showed up a few, and daughter Tiffany showed up one, but most notable were the absences. Trump’s daughter Ivanka never showed up, nor did his wife Melania. Contrast this with Hunter Biden, who has been there every day with his sister, Ashley; the woman who raised him, first lady Jill Biden; and his wife, who has reportedly helped him get sober. (Jill even showed up on her 73rd birthday.) President Joe Biden has not attended, but that is likely to avoid injecting politics into the case, which is the opposite of what Trump attempted to do.
Third, there is already a deep contrast in the approach that Trump’s attorneys took with adverse witnesses, compared with how Lowell, Hunter Biden’s defense attorney, is responding to prosecution witnesses in his case. During Trump’s trial, defense attorneys outright abused witnesses in a way that made them more sympathetic to jurors. This was most blatant with the woman who alleged the affair that resulted in the illegal hush money scheme, Stormy Daniels, with Trump attorney Susan Necheles using every disreputable trope in the “he-said, she-said” book to try to shame and tarnish Daniels. Again, it did not work.
Conversely, Lowell has been very tame with the women who have walked through stories of Hunter Biden’s drug addiction, only questioning them briefly and never attacking them. This was true of Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, Kathleen Buhle, who shared heartbreaking stories of her former husband’s addiction. But it was also true of Hunter Biden
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Video of Trump saying US shouldn’t have a president with a felony conviction
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/viral-tiktok-resurfaces-video-
of-trump-saying-us-shouldn-t-have-a-president-with-a-felony-conviction/vi-BB1nCul7
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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THE QUESTION
Is Donald Trump no longer able to visit 37 countries as a convicted felon?
WHAT WE FOUND
At least 10 countries have laws that restrict convicted felons from entering their country.
Canada has a law that restricts people who have been convicted of a crime from entering the country. However, some convicted felons may still be able to enter Canada if they meet certain criteria “depending on the crime, how long ago it was” and how the person has behaved since committing the crime, the Government of Canada says.
In Mexico, authorities have the option to turn away convicted felons if “they have been charged with or convicted of a serious crime in Mexico or elsewhere,” the Department of State says.
Australia also restricts convicted felons from visiting the country, but it's up to government officials to determine if the committed felony is a threat to the country. In order to visit the country, a person must pass a “character test.”
Much more at https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/donald-trump/claims-tha
t-donald-trump-is-no-longer-able-to-visit-37-countries-now-that-hes-a-convicted-felon-need-context/536-7d6b43aa-4962-43a6-8c26-f1221e1bbd42
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Are Trumpers in a cult; yup.
T
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Call it whatever you'd like, Ted.
Biden* loses in November either way.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Republicans Watching Your Daughter
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Keep Republicans Out Of Your Bedroom
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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The New York Times
A Popular Political Site Made a Sharp Right Turn. What Steered It?
Real Clear Politics has been catering to campaign obsessives since 2000. It pitches itself as a “trusted, go-to source” for unbiased polling. The Trump era changed its tone, and funding sources.
But less well known is how Real Clear Politics and its affiliated websites have taken a rightward, aggressively pro-Trump turn over the last four years as donations to its affiliated nonprofit have soared. Large quantities of those funds came through two entities that wealthy conservatives use to give money without revealing their identities.
Real Clear’s evolution traces a similar path as other right-leaning political news outlets that have adapted to the upheaval of the Trump era by aligning themselves with the president and his large following, its writers taking on his battles and raging against the left.
As the administration lurched from one crisis after another — impeachment, the coronavirus, a lost election the president refuses to concede — Real Clear became one of the most prominent platforms for elevating unverified and reckless stories about the president’s political opponents, through a mix of its own content and articles from across conservative media.
In recent days, as Mr. Trump and his loyalists repeated baseless claims of rampant voter fraud and counting errors, Real Clear Politics gave top billing to stories that reinforced the false narrative that the president could still somehow eke out a win. Headlines on Monday — more than a week after Mr. Biden had clinched the race — included “There’s Good Reason Not To Trust Election Results” and “Trump Attorney Says Results in Several States Will Be Overturned.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/us/politics/real-clear-politics.htm
l
Biden is going to win.
tick tock
T
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Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
The New York Times
A Popular Political Site Made a Sharp Right Turn. What Steered It?
Real Clear Politics has been catering to campaign obsessives since 2000. It pitches itself as a “trusted, go-to source” for unbiased polling. The Trump era changed its tone, and funding sources.
But less well known is how Real Clear Politics and its affiliated websites have taken a rightward, aggressively pro-Trump turn over the last four years as donations to its affiliated nonprofit have soared. Large quantities of those funds came through two entities that wealthy conservatives use to give money without revealing their identities.
Real Clear’s evolution traces a similar path as other right-leaning political news outlets that have adapted to the upheaval of the Trump era by aligning themselves with the president and his large following, its writers taking on his battles and raging against the left.
As the administration lurched from one crisis after another — impeachment, the coronavirus, a lost election the president refuses to concede — Real Clear became one of the most prominent platforms for elevating unverified and reckless stories about the president’s political opponents, through a mix of its own content and articles from across conservative media.
In recent days, as Mr. Trump and his loyalists repeated baseless claims of rampant voter fraud and counting errors, Real Clear Politics gave top billing to stories that reinforced the false narrative that the president could still somehow eke out a win. Headlines on Monday — more than a week after Mr. Biden had clinched the race — included “There’s Good Reason Not To Trust Election Results” and “Trump Attorney Says Results in Several States Will Be Overturned.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/us/politics/real-clear-politics.htm
l
Biden is going to win.
tick tock
T
Wow. NYT is scared.
I guess they'll go after Nate Silver and FiveThirtyEight next.
Trump's up 1.5 points nationally there.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/nati
onal/
That no darn good Russian traitor Nate Silver is going to pay!
What happened, Ted?
I thought that you were going to throw Trump in prison and Biden* was going to win by default.
Guess not, huh?
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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FiveThirtyEight doesn't look much better for battleground state polling either...
Wisconsin: Trump +1.3
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/wisc
onsin/
Arizona: Trump +4.8
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/ariz
ona/
Georgia: Trump +5.7
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/geor
gia/
Michigan: Trump +0.9
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/mich
igan/
Pennsylvania: Trump +1.9
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/penn
sylvania/
North Carolina: Trump +6.7
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/nort
h-carolina/
Nevada: Trump +6.0
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/neva
da/
Also, New Hampshire is within the margin of error and a closer race than North Carolina, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona are.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/new-
hampshire/
Washington will also be a state to watch.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/wash
ington/
Those are some of the best state by state polling numbers for Trump I've ever seen. And they're on 538.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Updated: 06/06/2024 01:21 PM EDT
A federal judge has ordered Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, to report to prison by July 1 for his conviction for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, previously paused Bannon’s four-month sentence while he appealed his conviction. But on Thursday, Nichols ruled that the original reasons for the postponement no longer apply because a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled strongly and unanimously last month against Bannon’s position.
Bannon intends to continue appealing the case to the full bench of the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court. But unless one of those courts steps in to block Nichols’ decision, Bannon is unlikely to be able to stave off prison in the meantime.
If Bannon indeed heads to prison on July 1, it would put him behind bars until just before the November election. In addition to keeping Bannon — who hosts a popular far-right podcast — off the air for a crucial stretch of the election cycle, Nichols’ decision would also effectively pardon-proof Bannon’s jail sentence. (Trump pardoned Bannon on the final day of his presidency on federal fraud charges.)
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/06/steve-bannon-prison-jan-6-sub
poena-trump-00162065
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Updated: 06/06/2024 01:21 PM EDT
A federal judge has ordered Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, to report to prison by July 1 for his conviction for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, previously paused Bannon’s four-month sentence while he appealed his conviction. But on Thursday, Nichols ruled that the original reasons for the postponement no longer apply because a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled strongly and unanimously last month against Bannon’s position.
Bannon intends to continue appealing the case to the full bench of the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court. But unless one of those courts steps in to block Nichols’ decision, Bannon is unlikely to be able to stave off prison in the meantime.
If Bannon indeed heads to prison on July 1, it would put him behind bars until just before the November election. In addition to keeping Bannon — who hosts a popular far-right podcast — off the air for a crucial stretch of the election cycle, Nichols’ decision would also effectively pardon-proof Bannon’s jail sentence. (Trump pardoned Bannon on the final day of his presidency on federal fraud charges.)
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/06/steve-bannon-prison-jan-6-sub
poena-trump-00162065
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
Censorship is an excellent tool of the Democrat Party.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Oh. I forgot to mention Virginia.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/virg
inia/
Virginia is in play too. According to 538, it's a virtual tie.
Somebody had better put that no-good Putin loving Nate Silver in prison soon.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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What Donald Trump’s Criminal Trial Reveals About a Potential Second Trump Administration
The picture that emerged in the New York courtroom was of a person on top of details, aware of what his team is doing. Along with outside events, it suggests Trump will be even less constricted by rules and norms than he was before.
By Andrea Bernstein | June 5, 6 a.m. EDT
https://www.propublica.org/article/donald-trump-criminal-trial-second-
term
Trump is currently leading in the polls. It’s entirely possible he will be elected president. Yet he’s continuing to aggressively pursue business deals in countries that will have a long list of issues on which they will be seeking U.S. support.
The Trump Organization entered a full-on partnership with LIV Golf, an entity majority-owned by the government of Saudi Arabia, for tournaments at his golf courses. And last year, a New York Times reporter and photographer visited what the reporter called a “multibillion-dollar project backed by Oman’s oil-rich government that has an unusual partner: former President Donald J. Trump.” The project was launched and is being built while Trump is the front-runner for a second presidency. But neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign tried to defend or separate the project from the candidate who, while not running the company, still makes money from it.
It isn’t just the foreign deals. In April, right around the time Trump was about to be criminally tried in New York, he offered oil executives gathered at Mar-a-Lago “a deal,” the Washington Post reported. The publication summarized his message as: “You all are wealthy enough that you should raise $1 billion to return me to the White House.” In exchange, the Post said, Trump promised to reverse President Joe Biden’s initiatives to slow climate change, vowing to roll back some of them “on Day 1.”
And, as has been widely reported, with Truth Social going public, Trump has set up a perfect avenue for potential corruption. It’s a way for Trump’s supporters to personally offer him financial support at a time when he desperately needs it. By propping up the share price of the stock of the cash-hemorrhaging social media company, shareholders have potentially put billions of dollars in Donald Trump’s pocket.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Get fucked with your propaganda.
Trump will be your next President. If you don't like it, please feel free to leave my country.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:My ancestors were here hundreds of years before Trump's arrived from Germany or your stepfather arrived from Mexico. My prosperous descendants outnumber all your relatives, either the 6ixStringJackasses struggling with poverty and mental illness or pretending they are still middle-class. I have NOT been sick even once in the 21st Century while your health is terrible. You and Trump are going extinct because of your execrable behavior. There will be no redemption or even a future for you and you know it, Sicko. You and Trump despair because you know what happens next, the same thing that happened to Roy Cohn, Trump's mentor. It is not Trump and you who will be fine.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Get fucked with your propaganda.
Trump will be your next President. If you don't like it, please feel free to leave my country.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Bogus doomsaying is bad for progressives
By Kevin Drum | June 7, 2024 – 9:59 am
https://jabberwocking.com/bogus-doomsaying-is-bad-for-progressives/
Why do so many people think that things in the US are far worse than they really are? A big part of the reason is that it's not just individual scientists who are manipulating data to protect their own fiefdoms. On the left, practically the entire think tank industry is dedicated to doomsaying in order to keep the public focused generally on the need for stronger social programs.
We need an eviction crisis to maintain focus on the homeless. We need a safety net crisis to maintain focus on the poor. We need an incarceration crisis to maintain focus on racism. We need a wage crisis to maintain focus on the working class. We need an education crisis to maintain focus on the children. We need a police shooting crisis to maintain focus on social justice. We need a jobs crisis among the young to maintain focus on Gen Z. We need a democracy crisis to maintain focus on Donald Trump. We need a tuition crisis to maintain focus on higher education. We need a lead crisis in Flint to maintain focus on Black people. We need a pandemic education crisis to maintain focus on in-person learning.
Never mind that there is no eviction crisis.
https://jabberwocking.com/evictions-dont-appear-to-have-risen-over-the
-past-year/
Never mind that social spending has skyrocketed over the past few decades.
https://jabberwocking.com/conservatives-have-not-killed-the-welfare-st
ate/
Never mind that incarceration rates among all races have been falling for over a decade.
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-incarceration-of-black-men-has-plum
meted/
Never mind that the debate over flat wages is way out of date. Household earnings have increased 0.6% a year for the past 20 years and 1.4% a year for the past decade. Yes, of course this is adjusted for inflation.
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/his
torical-income-households.html
Never mind that test data suggests American children are actually doing pretty well.
https://jabberwocking.com/pisa/
Never mind that police shootings of unarmed suspects—of all races—have plummeted over the past decade.
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-police-shootings-of-unarmed-suspect
s-are-way-down/
Never mind that Gen Z is doing fine, both on the employment front and elsewhere.
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-wages-and-employment-of-the-young/
Never mind that democracy in the US is in excellent shape, both before and after the Trump era.
https://jabberwocking.com/how-are-we-doing-on-the-democracy-front/
Never mind that university tuition hasn't actually risen more than a smidgen over the past several decades.
https://jabberwocking.com/the-cost-of-college-has-barely-changed-in-th
e-past-30-years/
Never mind that the kids in Flint are fine.
https://jabberwocking.com/the-tragedy-of-flint-is-not-what-most-people
-think-it-is/
Never mind that pandemic learning losses seem to have nothing to do with remote learning.
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-test-scores-were-the-same-in-states
-that-kept-schools-open-and-closed-during-covid/
https://jabberwocking.com/us-does-surprisingly-well-on-covid-declines-
in-latest-pisa-test/
Needless to say, conservatives do the same thing: They cherry pick statistics to "prove" dubious points that are politically convenient. But generally speaking they use anecdotal outrage to keep their audience motivated. Lefties use an endless barrage of social crises.
What this means is that both sides are in a relentless battle to paint America as a hellscape. Is it any wonder, then, that so many people think America is a hellscape?
This is a particularly bad strategy for progressives. When people are frightened and scared, they tend to vote conservatives. That's why scaring people is a core part of movement conservatism. Conversely, people tend to
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:My ancestors were here hundreds of years before Trump's arrived from Germany or your stepfather arrived from Mexico. My prosperous descendants outnumber all your relatives, either the 6ixStringJackasses struggling with poverty and mental illness or pretending they are still middle-class. I have NOT been sick even once in the 21st Century while your health is terrible. You and Trump are going extinct because of your execrable behavior. There will be no redemption or even a future for you and you know it, Sicko. You and Trump despair because you know what happens next, the same thing that happened to Roy Cohn, Trump's mentor. It is not Trump and you who will be fine.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Get fucked with your propaganda.
Trump will be your next President. If you don't like it, please feel free to leave my country.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
Somebody needs to teach junior how sex works.
I don't have any of my step-father's genes, dummy.
We all know everything you have to say about yourself is complete bullshit, so whatever. Don't forget to take the trash out for your mom this week.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Bogus doomsaying is bad for progressives
By Kevin Drum | June 7, 2024 – 9:59 am
https://jabberwocking.com/bogus-doomsaying-is-bad-for-progressives/
Why do so many people think that things in the US are far worse than they really are? A big part of the reason is that it's not just individual scientists who are manipulating data to protect their own fiefdoms. On the left, practically the entire think tank industry is dedicated to doomsaying in order to keep the public focused generally on the need for stronger social programs.
We need an eviction crisis to maintain focus on the homeless. We need a safety net crisis to maintain focus on the poor. We need an incarceration crisis to maintain focus on racism. We need a wage crisis to maintain focus on the working class. We need an education crisis to maintain focus on the children. We need a police shooting crisis to maintain focus on social justice. We need a jobs crisis among the young to maintain focus on Gen Z. We need a democracy crisis to maintain focus on Donald Trump. We need a tuition crisis to maintain focus on higher education. We need a lead crisis in Flint to maintain focus on Black people. We need a pandemic education crisis to maintain focus on in-person learning.
Never mind that there is no eviction crisis.
https://jabberwocking.com/evictions-dont-appear-to-have-risen-over-the
-past-year/
Never mind that social spending has skyrocketed over the past few decades.
https://jabberwocking.com/conservatives-have-not-killed-the-welfare-st
ate/
Never mind that incarceration rates among all races have been falling for over a decade.
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-incarceration-of-black-men-has-plum
meted/
Never mind that the debate over flat wages is way out of date. Household earnings have increased 0.6% a year for the past 20 years and 1.4% a year for the past decade. Yes, of course this is adjusted for inflation.
https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/his
torical-income-households.html
Never mind that test data suggests American children are actually doing pretty well.
https://jabberwocking.com/pisa/
Never mind that police shootings of unarmed suspects—of all races—have plummeted over the past decade.
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-police-shootings-of-unarmed-suspect
s-are-way-down/
Never mind that Gen Z is doing fine, both on the employment front and elsewhere.
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-wages-and-employment-of-the-young/
Never mind that democracy in the US is in excellent shape, both before and after the Trump era.
https://jabberwocking.com/how-are-we-doing-on-the-democracy-front/
Never mind that university tuition hasn't actually risen more than a smidgen over the past several decades.
https://jabberwocking.com/the-cost-of-college-has-barely-changed-in-th
e-past-30-years/
Never mind that the kids in Flint are fine.
https://jabberwocking.com/the-tragedy-of-flint-is-not-what-most-people
-think-it-is/
Never mind that pandemic learning losses seem to have nothing to do with remote learning.
https://jabberwocking.com/raw-data-test-scores-were-the-same-in-states
-that-kept-schools-open-and-closed-during-covid/
https://jabberwocking.com/us-does-surprisingly-well-on-covid-declines-
in-latest-pisa-test/
Needless to say, conservatives do the same thing: They cherry pick statistics to "prove" dubious points that are politically convenient. But generally speaking they use anecdotal outrage to keep their audience motivated. Lefties use an endless barrage of social crises.
What this means is that both sides are in a relentless battle to paint America as a hellscape. Is it any wonder, then, that so many people think America is a hellscape?
This is a particularly bad strategy for progressives. When people are frightened and scared, they tend to vote conservatives. That's why scaring people is a core part of movement c
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Quote:6ix, lying and being stupid caused your troubled life. But you are exactly like every other Trumptard, including Trump.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Kevin Dumb is working overtime doing those mental gymnastics to make his world view fit the actual real world which looks nothing like the world he sees from his hospice bed.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
Car sales are just fine, despite what Trumptards claim
https://jabberwocking.com/car-sales-are-just-fine/
Another headline today:
Really? Naturally this got me curious, especially since I was pretty sure I knew the answer. Here are new vehicle sales:
From 2000 through the beginning of 2020, unit sales clock in at an annualized rate of 16.13 million. For the last 12 months sales have averaged 16.15 million. There's no decline.
As it happens, most of the article is just a bitch session among enthusiasts about how new cars can't hold a candle to old cars. The old ones had V-8s, stick shifts, knobs instead of touch screens, etc. etc.
Fine. Nothing wrong with bitching. But if you're going to say that unhappiness about new cars is widespread enough to cut into sales, you should check first to see if sales are actually down.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Democrats are in a fight against fascism
By Edward McKinley, Austin Bureau, Houston Chronicle, June 8, 2024
Beto O’Rourke thinks this year’s election is not just a battle between Democrats and Republicans but a fight between democratic values and the spread of fascism in America.
“There’s no use trying to save people's feelings in the process,” he said in an interview Friday from his home in El Paso. “I think we just have to be really direct. And make sure everyone’s eyes are wide open and understand the stakes of this election.”
Former President Donald Trump is seeking to “bring dramatic fascism to this country” in his bid for a second term.
O’Rourke said Trump’s talk about immigrants poisoning America and his since-deleted social media post last month mentioning a “unified Reich” would have been at home in Mein Kampf or straight “from the mouth of Adolf Hitler.”
https://tinyurl.com/2xcuvfwc
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Democrats are in a fight against fascism
No they're not.
Democrats are fascists.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:6ix, lying and being stupid caused your troubled life. But you are exactly like every other Trumptard, including Trump.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Kevin Dumb is working overtime doing those mental gymnastics to make his world view fit the actual real world which looks nothing like the world he sees from his hospice bed.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
Troubled how?
I don't ever have to do anything I don't want to do. Ever.
Everything else is just gravy.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:I hear the same words from Texas Trumptards a thousand times per year. It comes down to We Trumptards are the best Americans while the Democrats, especially the Clintons, the Obamas, the Bidens are the worst. This self-praising is coming from Trumptards who I have seen are the worst people America every produced. Dishonest, lazy, stupid people who refuse to understand they screwed up their own live. Blaming Democrats doesn't make sense when I know, even if they won't admit it, that the Trumptards suffer because of what they did with their lives.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Democrats are in a fight against fascism
No they're not.
Democrats are fascists.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:I hear the same words from Texas Trumptards a thousand times per year. It comes down to We Trumptards are the best Americans while the Democrats, especially the Clintons, the Obamas, the Bidens are the worst. This self-praising is coming from Trumptards who I have seen are the worst people America every produced. Dishonest, lazy, stupid people who refuse to understand they screwed up their own live. Blaming Democrats doesn't make sense when I know, even if they won't admit it, that the Trumptards suffer because of what they did with their lives.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Democrats are in a fight against fascism
No they're not.
Democrats are fascists.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
You just said Republicans were fascists.
The same rules don't apply to you. Imagine that, huh?
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:As with Trump, the troubles his Trumptards and 6ix get into are their own fault.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
You just said Republicans were fascists.
The same rules don't apply to you. Imagine that, huh?
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
Trump’s Bizarre Moments With Dr. Phil and Hannity Should Alarm Us All
Earth to media: The criminal prosecutions of Trump are legitimate. The “revenge” he’s promising would be wholly illegitimate. Time to make that a whole lot clearer.
By Greg Sargent | June 8, 2024
https://newrepublic.com/article/182480/trump-dr-phil-hannity-bizarre-m
oments-alarm
The whole idea that Trump is seeking “revenge” is itself spin. There is nothing for Trump to legitimately seek revenge in this manner for, as Biden and Democrats did not unjustly victimize him with these prosecutions; he brought them upon himself. So what’s the proper response to such elaborate levels of deception and propaganda?
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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All the trouble you get into is your own fault.
All the trouble anybody gets into is their own fault.
Next.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:Trump is in trouble but he says it is the judge's fault, not his.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
All the trouble you get into is your own fault.
All the trouble anybody gets into is their own fault.
Next.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
Trump Wants to Jail His Judge. Here’s the Truth: He’s a Hero
The judge Trump called “a tyrant” regularly shines the light of fairness and empathy on defendants with mental illnesses.
By Michael Daly | Jun. 08, 2024 9:49AM EDT
The judge whom Trump had called a “devil” and “crooked” and “a tyrant” is in fact as close as New York City has to a hero on the bench, regularly bringing the light of fairness and empathy to Part 59M.
Instead of Donald Trump, the defendant’s chair was occupied by a woman who had entered a program for defendants with a serious mental illness after pleading guilty to theft and assault. She had been scheduled to appear on the morning of May 29 for a monthly evaluation, but it was rescheduled because the Trump jury was deliberating. The jurors had returned early the following evening and repeated the word “guilty” 34 times while people in the packed courtroom strained to discern even the tiniest sign of Trump’s reaction.
The courtroom was now largely empty, but the 62-year-old jurist on the bench was the same. New York County Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan began by addressing this defendant just as he had the defendant in the hush-money case.
Merchan has been the presiding judge in Manhattan Mental Health Court since its inception 13 years ago. It convenes every Wednesday to provide what The New York State Office of Court Administration describes as “a comprehensive system of oversight and treatment to eligible defendants with mental illness.” He is not some reflexively permissive pushover; if you fail to live up to your commitments, you are liable to do more time than if you had never entered the program. He is assisted by Amber Petitt-Cifarelli, a resource coordinator who sits to his right. She says that many of the successful defendants share a motivation.
“They don’t want to disappoint the judge,” she said. “People feel really seen and heard by the judge and have a sense of fairness in the courtroom,” Petitt-Cifarelli told The Daily Beast.
More at https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-trumps-devil-judge-juan-merchan-sho
uld-really-be-known-for
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Nobody cares about your TDS dude.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:6ixStringJackass, you are a stupid asshole like all Trumptards. That's why Trumptards are bitter and angry at the world, which is punishing them for what they are.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Nobody cares about your TDS dude.
The real world knows you for what you are and what you do. Excluding from knowing are other Trumptards. They don't even know why Trump earned the punishment he is receiving.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Trumptards (and their media enablers) are into an all-out attack on critical thinking and the rule of law
By Mike Lofgren | June 9, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)
https://www.salon.com/2024/06/09/what-a-fool-believes-donald-and-ameri
cas-bogus-respect-for-faith/
Last summer’s federal indictment of Donald Trump for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol released a flood of concern-trolling from the establishment media. The arguments revealed something sadly defective about the intellectual tenor of the present age, a mindset that cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy. It is the root cause of American political and social dysfunction.
The verdict of the prestige journals was remarkably consistent: Trump’s eventual trial would hinge, not upon facts, evidence and patterns of behavior involving him or other actors in the case, nor on whether the trial scrupulously upheld the law and proper judicial procedure, but on subjective matters concerning the defendant’s beliefs, feelings and motivations, as well as how the public perceived the trial through the polarizing lens of political partisanship.
You know what’s coming when you read a headline like this New York Times howler: “Trump Election Charges Set Up Clash of Lies Versus Free Speech.” Really? Conspiring to violently overthrow the government and then inciting a mob to do it is just a little free-spirited political rhetoric, such as to allow legitimate disagreement? Does that require us to set aside the fact that people were killed?
The Wall Street Journal, as you might expect, chimed in with this one: “Trump Is Being Prosecuted, but Justice Department Is on Trial, Too.” Both-sides-ism, much?
But the absurdity of the media mentality is perhaps best captured by this Washington Post headline: “Heart of the Trump Jan. 6 indictment: What’s in Trump’s head.” Absent some breakthrough in neuroscience, what goes on in the minds of others is denied to us; just as a scientist can’t infer the intentions of the solar system, only its behavior, we can only draw conclusions from a person’s words and actions, not his subjective state of mind. In all the media reports I have cited, the journalists seem to have made Trump the final arbiter of his own intent.
If criminal conviction depended on a defendant’s own representation of his state of mind, there could be no law enforcement. But the unspoken premise of legal experts typically quoted in the media is that a default assumption of benign intent only applies to certain claimants like Trump. Try robbing a 7-Eleven or stealing a police cruiser and I doubt the judicial system will be unduly concerned about what was going on in your head, or your claims that it was free expression under the First Amendment.
More at https://www.salon.com/2024/06/09/what-a-fool-believes-donald-and-ameri
cas-bogus-respect-for-faith/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:6ixStringJackass, you are a stupid asshole like all Trumptards. That's why Trumptards are bitter and angry at the world, which is punishing them for what they are.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Nobody cares about your TDS dude.
The real world knows you for what you are and what you do. Excluding from knowing are other Trumptards. They don't even know why Trump earned the punishment he is receiving.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
Awwwwwwwww...
Somebody is really salty that they're about to lose everything in the upcoming election.
Boo hoo
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Pure evil, photographed...
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Here are three charts showing fiscal discipline for every president since Ronald Reagan. They show three things.
First, Republicans raise a lot less revenue than Democrats. Second, Republicans blow up spending while Democrats keep it under control. Third, as a result, deficits generally get worse under Republicans and improve under Democrats.
There's a bonus fourth chart at the bottom that shows annual GDP growth. Democratic presidents rank first and third, so there's obviously no penalty for Democratic policies.
POSTSCRIPT: Is the spending chart unfair to Donald Trump since it includes lot of bipartisan COVID spending? Sure. But his second budget was 6.3% higher than his first one. He was on track to blow up spending all on his own.
https://jabberwocking.com/three-charts-about-presidential-taxing-and-s
pending/
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1oNvZ
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Yup, he sure is.
T
'A draft dodger': Vets slam Trump in new Biden campaign ad
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Opinion | The Day My Old Church Canceled Me Was a Very Sad Day
By David French | June 9, 2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/09/opinion/presbyterian-church-evangel
ical-canceled.html
This week, the leaders of the Presbyterian Church in America will gather in Richmond, Va., for their annual General Assembly. The Presbyterian Church in America is a small, theologically conservative Christian denomination that was my family’s church home for more than 15 years.
It just canceled me.
I am now deemed too divisive to speak to a gathering of Christians who share my faith. I was scheduled to speak about the challenges of dealing with toxic polarization, but I was considered too polarizing.
I was originally invited to join three other panelists on the topic of “how to be supportive of your pastor and church leaders in a polarized political year.” One of the reasons I was invited was precisely that I’ve been the target of intense attacks online and in real life.
The instant my participation was announced, those attacks started up again. There were misleading essays, vicious tweets, letters and even a parody song directed at the denomination and at me. The message was clear: Get him off the stage.
And that’s what the conference organizers chose to do. They didn’t just cancel me. They canceled the entire panel. But the reason was obvious: My presence would raise concerns about the peace and unity of the church.
Our family joined the P.C.A. denomination in 2004. We lived in Philadelphia and attended Tenth Presbyterian Church in Center City. At the time, the denomination fit us perfectly. I’m conservative theologically and politically, and in 2004 I was still a partisan Republican. At the same time, however, I perceived the denomination as relatively apolitical. I never heard political messages from the pulpit, and I worshiped alongside Democratic friends.
When we moved to Tennessee in 2006, we selected our house in part because it was close to a P.C.A. church, and that church became the center of our lives. On Sundays we attended services, and Monday through Friday our kids attended the school our church founded and supported.
We loved the people in that church, and they loved us. When I deployed to Iraq in 2007, the entire church rallied to support my family and to support the men I served with. They flooded our small forward operating base with care packages, and back home, members of the church helped my wife and children with meals, car repairs and plenty of love and companionship in anxious times.
Two things happened that changed our lives, however, and in hindsight they’re related. First, in 2010, we adopted a 2-year-old girl from Ethiopia. Second, in 2015, Donald Trump announced his presidential campaign.
There was no way I could support Trump. It wasn’t just his obvious lack of character that troubled me; he was opening the door to a level of extremism and malice in Republican politics that I’d never encountered before. Trump’s rise coincided with the rise of the alt-right.
I was a senior writer for National Review at the time, and when I wrote pieces critical of Trump, members of the alt-right pounced, and they attacked us through our daughter. They pulled pictures of her from social media and photoshopped her into gas chambers and lynchings. Trolls found my wife’s blog on a religious website called Patheos and filled the comments section with gruesome pictures of dead and dying Black victims of crime and war. We also received direct threats.
The experience was shocking. At times, it was terrifying. And so we did what we always did in times of trouble: We turned to our church for support and comfort. Our pastors and close friends came to our aid, but support was hardly universal. The church as a whole did not respond the way it did when I deployed. Instead, we began encountering racism and hatred up close, from people in our church and in our church school.
The racism was grotesque. One church member asked my wife why we couldn’t adopt from Norway rather than Ethiopia. A teacher
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The difference between a 6-3 Supreme Court and a 7-2 or 8-1 Supreme Court is enormous
I am begging the justices to learn from Ruth Bader Ginsburg's historic mistake.
No matter how far the Supreme Court moves to the right, liberals will always win some high-profile victories before the justices. That’s because lawyers are smart, and when the Court lurches rightward, right-wing lawyers start bringing more and more aggressive cases to see what they can get away with until they eventually find the point where a majority of the justices balk.
Earlier this term, for example, the Supreme Court reversed a decision by the right-wing United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which declared the entire Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unconstitutional. The Fifth Circuit’s decision rested on a completely made-up theory of the Constitution that even Justice Clarence Thomas deemed to be a bridge too far. It also threatened to so disrupt the US banking system that the Fifth Circuit’s approach could have triggered a second Great Depression.
Yet, while this catastrophe was averted, the vote was not unanimous. Two justices – Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch – voted to roll the dice on an economic depression. So did seven judges on the Fifth Circuit.
The point is that many Republican appointees to the federal bench embrace arguments that no rational person would endorse. And, with each seat Trump fills on the Supreme Court, the risk increases that the Court will do permanent damage to the United States, its economy, and its democracy.
Even setting aside this risk, countless rights that millions of Americans take for granted will be on the chopping block if Sotomayor and Kagan are swapped out for, say, another Clarence Thomas.
More at https://www.vox.com/scotus/354381/supreme-court-sotomayor-kagan-retire
-now
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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While Trump remains free on his own recognizance, he will soon be interviewed by a probation officer or psychologist for a pre-sentence report that Judge Merchan will use to help decide his punishment.
During the interview, Trump can “try to make a good impression and explain why he or she deserves a lighter punishment,” according to the New York State Unified Court System.
The report may also include interviews with Trump’s family and friends, as well as others involved in the case. It may also include Trump’s personal history, criminal record, and recommendations for sentencing.
How Trump’s Life Will Change Now That He’s a Convicted Felon
https://time.com/6985067/donald-trump-felon-travel-guns-voting/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Over the last two decades, Republican Supreme Court justices have accepted gifts valued at $4,780,720.
"Public servants who make four times the median local salary, and who can make millions writing books on any topic they like, can afford to pay for their own vacations, vehicles, hunting excursions and club memberships — to say nothing of the influence the gift-givers are buying with their 'generosity.'"
Republican Justice Thomas received gifts totaling $4,042,286.
https://www.newsweek.com/scotus-gifts-explained-3-charts-supreme-court
-justices-clarence-thomas-1909482
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Over the last two decades, Republican Supreme Court justices have accepted gifts valued at $4,780,720.
"Public servants who make four times the median local salary, and who can make millions writing books on any topic they like, can afford to pay for their own vacations, vehicles, hunting excursions and club memberships — to say nothing of the influence the gift-givers are buying with their 'generosity.'"
Republican Justice Thomas received gifts totaling $4,042,286.
https://www.newsweek.com/scotus-gifts-explained-3-charts-supreme-court
-justices-clarence-thomas-1909482
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
They're way behind Nancy...
Heard that she and Paul just made a killing recently on microprocessors. What a lucky market pick.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Here's the website that Newsweek was using as a source for that article.
https://fixthecourt.com/2024/06/a-staggering-tally-supreme-court-justi
ces-accepted-hundreds-of-gifts-worth-millions-of-dollars/
Right toward the top they have a link that says "See a list of all the gifts here".
Oh, great! We've got everything documented to look at for ourselves.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14l25NLvBOd9sk4mArK4k7dtV0MUwxr
5GBuLHL5Sp8lo/edit?pli=1#gid=957411191
In 1996, Thomas got a ticket to a Cowboys game valued at $500.
In 1992, he was provided with round trip private airfare to a Cowboys game that was valued at $68,333. (More than my house cost when I bought it with cash in 2012).
These numbers are hyper-inflated, especially for the time they took place.
Looking at this list is like watching an episode of Storage Wars and watching those dummies ramble off what the junk in the locker they bought is worth and the money just piling up in a graphic on screen for all the dummies watching it to just believe that all the crap they bought was actually worth something.
How much are Dallas Cowboys tickets now?
Quote:
How much are Dallas Cowboys tickets?
https://seatgeek.com/dallas-cowboys-tickets
Ticket prices for Dallas Cowboys games vary depending on factors such as seat location, venue, the opposing team and whether it’s a preseason, regular season or playoff game. This season, the lowest price for Cowboys tickets is approximately $23, with an average price of $501. Ticket prices fluctuate daily, so to stay up-to-date on the best pricing, hit the ‘heart’ icon on the event listing you’re interested in.
The average price of a Cowboys ticket in 2024 is $501, with the lowest price currently at $23.
But Roberts was gifted a single Cowboys ticket in 1992 and 1996 (30 years ago on average) that were both valued in the chart at $500.
In 1996 he was gifted a ticket to a Florida Panthers hockey game that was also valued at a nice round $500. Now I can't find any information about ticket prices for the Panthers, but I do have some ticket stubs from 1996 here.
$26.48 is the price listed on the ticket here.
https://buylase.ru/product/276004433228
And this one was for the 1996 Stanley Cup, listed at only $160.
https://www.flapanthersvault.com/item/stanley-cup-game-1-ticket-1996/?
postId=1814
If you're going to collate a lot of data and make claims like this, you'd better be able to back up those claims. Nobody with two firing brain cells is going to look at this list and take it seriously.
I'm all for making sure that every person working for the government isn't allowed to make money off of their positions outside of the salary that comes with the job. But we don't get to cherry pick who gets taken down by gifts when they ALL take gifts.
And half-assed, hit-piece efforts like this with made up figures are not helping anyone remediate any problems.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack (May 31st):
It looks like we get to add Virginia to the list of blue states that are now toss ups too.
That electoral college map just keeps looking worse and worse for Joe Biden* every month.
Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack (June 7th):
Oh. I forgot to mention Virginia.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/virg
inia/
Virginia is in play too. According to 538, it's a virtual tie.
Somebody had better put that no-good Putin loving Nate Silver in prison soon.
New Polls Make Virginia a "Toss-Up" State in 2024 Election
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/06/10/tom_bevan_new_polls
_make_virginia_a_toss-up_state_in_2024_election.html
Yup.
Tick Tock
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:You missed that Justice Thomas is accepting bribes from Corporations with cases he is deciding in their favor.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Over the last two decades, Republican Supreme Court justices have accepted gifts valued at $4,780,720.
"Public servants who make four times the median local salary, and who can make millions writing books on any topic they like, can afford to pay for their own vacations, vehicles, hunting excursions and club memberships — to say nothing of the influence the gift-givers are buying with their 'generosity.'"
Republican Justice Thomas received gifts totaling $4,042,286.
https://www.newsweek.com/scotus-gifts-explained-3-charts-supreme-court
-justices-clarence-thomas-1909482
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
They're way behind Nancy...
Heard that she and Paul just made a killing recently on microprocessors. What a lucky market pick.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:You missed that Justice Thomas is accepting bribes from Corporations with cases he is deciding in their favor.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Over the last two decades, Republican Supreme Court justices have accepted gifts valued at $4,780,720.
"Public servants who make four times the median local salary, and who can make millions writing books on any topic they like, can afford to pay for their own vacations, vehicles, hunting excursions and club memberships — to say nothing of the influence the gift-givers are buying with their 'generosity.'"
Republican Justice Thomas received gifts totaling $4,042,286.
https://www.newsweek.com/scotus-gifts-explained-3-charts-supreme-court
-justices-clarence-thomas-1909482
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
They're way behind Nancy...
Heard that she and Paul just made a killing recently on microprocessors. What a lucky market pick.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
I didn't miss it. I ignored their claims that he has. They can't even bother to get small details right with their "research", so I'm not going to buy any claims they're making on the bigger picture. I went into detail on the post below the one you quoted.
Be better reporters, data gatherers, and fact checkers, and serious people might take your claims seriously.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Freedom’s Just Another Word for Not Paying Taxes.
Why America’s oligarchs are rallying around Trump.
June 10, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET
An American flag being flown upside-down next to the flag of the Heritage Foundation.
Outside the Heritage Foundation in Washington on May 31.Credit...Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press
After Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, the Heritage Foundation — a right-wing think tank that has, among other things, produced the Project 2025 agenda, a blueprint for policy if Trump wins — flew an upside-down American flag, which has become an emblem for support of MAGA in general and election denial in particular.
This action may have shocked some old-line conservatives who still thought of Heritage as a serious institution, but Heritage is, after all, just a think tank. It’s not as if upside-down flags were being flown by people we expect to defend our constitutional order, like Supreme Court justices.
Oh, wait.
But Heritage’s embrace of what amounts to an attack on democracy is a useful symbol of one of the really troubling developments of this election as it heads into the final stretch. Heritage presents itself as a defender of freedom, but its real mission has always been to produce arguments — frequently based on shoddy research — for low taxes on rich people. And its tacit endorsement of lawlessness illustrates the way many of America’s plutocrats — both in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street — have, after flirting with the crank candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., been rallying around Trump.
Why would billionaires support Trump? It’s not as if they’ve done badly under President Biden. Stock prices — which Trump predicted would crash if he lost in 2020 — have soared. High interest rates, which are a burden on many Americans, are if anything a net positive for wealthy people with money to invest. And I doubt that the superrich are suffering much from higher prices for fast food.
Wealthy Americans, though, are surely betting they’ll pay lower taxes if Trump wins.
Biden and his team have offered fairly explicit guidance about their tax agenda, which would directly raise taxes on high-income Americans and also raise corporate taxes, which would indirectly be mainly a tax on the wealthy. These measures wouldn’t produce taxes at the top remotely comparable to what they were during the Eisenhower years, when the top marginal income tax rate was 91 percent and large estates could face inheritance taxes as high as 77 percent. Still, Biden’s plans, if carried out, would make the rich a bit less rich.
Trump has been far less explicit, but he clearly wants to retain his 2017 tax cut in full, and his allies in Congress are committed not just to tax cuts but to starving the Internal Revenue Service of resources, which would allow more wealthy Americans to evade the taxes they legally owe.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/opinion/trump-biden-billionaires-ta
xes.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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NEWS FLASH
The twice-impeached convicted felon Republicans are running for President — an adjudicated rapist who has been found liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in civil penalties and now awaits trial in three much more serious criminal cases — who cheated to get into college and cheated to get out of the draft, cheated on his wives, cheats at golf, cheated on his taxes, cheated contractors, cheated with his charity and stiffed creditors of the four companies he put into bankruptcy — “the undisputed world champion of destroying things,” as Tucker Carlson put it, whom dozens of his own former top staffers consider dangerously unfit for the job — met with his probation officer yesterday.
Is this a great country or what?
https://andrewtobias.com/120786-2/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Trump Finally Admits What He Thinks of His Supporters
Trump’s latest admission of apathy while holding rallies that keep sending people to the hospital speaks volumes about Trump’s perception of his base.
“He talked all the time about the people themselves being disgusting,” Olivia Troye, former homeland security adviser to Vice President Mike Pence and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told The New York Times in 2020 while discussing Trump’s view of his supporters. “It was clear immediately that he wanted nothing to do with them.”
https://newrepublic.com/post/182499/trump-admits-thinks-supporters
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Freedom’s Just Another Word for Not Paying Taxes.
Why America’s oligarchs are rallying around Trump.
June 10, 2024, 7:00 p.m. ET
After Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, the Heritage Foundation — a right-wing think tank that has, among other things, produced the Project 2025 agenda, a blueprint for policy if Trump wins — flew an upside-down American flag, which has become an emblem for support of MAGA in general and election denial in particular.
This action may have shocked some old-line conservatives who still thought of Heritage as a serious institution, but Heritage is, after all, just a think tank. It’s not as if upside-down flags were being flown by people we expect to defend our constitutional order, like Supreme Court justices.
Oh, wait.
But Heritage’s embrace of what amounts to an attack on democracy is a useful symbol of one of the really troubling developments of this election as it heads into the final stretch. Heritage presents itself as a defender of freedom, but its real mission has always been to produce arguments — frequently based on shoddy research — for low taxes on rich people. And its tacit endorsement of lawlessness illustrates the way many of America’s plutocrats — both in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street — have, after flirting with the crank candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., been rallying around Trump.
Why would billionaires support Trump? It’s not as if they’ve done badly under President Biden. Stock prices — which Trump predicted would crash if he lost in 2020 — have soared. High interest rates, which are a burden on many Americans, are if anything a net positive for wealthy people with money to invest. And I doubt that the superrich are suffering much from higher prices for fast food.
Wealthy Americans, though, are surely betting they’ll pay lower taxes if Trump wins.
Biden and his team have offered fairly explicit guidance about their tax agenda, which would directly raise taxes on high-income Americans and also raise corporate taxes, which would indirectly be mainly a tax on the wealthy. These measures wouldn’t produce taxes at the top remotely comparable to what they were during the Eisenhower years, when the top marginal income tax rate was 91 percent and large estates could face inheritance taxes as high as 77 percent. Still, Biden’s plans, if carried out, would make the rich a bit less rich.
Trump has been far less explicit, but he clearly wants to retain his 2017 tax cut in full, and his allies in Congress are committed not just to tax cuts but to starving the Internal Revenue Service of resources, which would allow more wealthy Americans to evade the taxes they legally owe.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/10/opinion/trump-biden-billionaires-ta
xes.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Why Two Simple Words Bother Trump So Much
The former president’s fury over a Biden ad highlighting his comments about fallen U.S. soldiers shows he can dish out his favorite insults but can’t take them in return.
By Jake Lahut, Michael Daly | Jun. 11, 2024 4:46 AM EDT
https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-two-simple-words-bother-trump-so-muc
h
Donald Trump has always been comfortable hurling insults. Yet for all his bluster, the more the 2024 U.S. presidential election heats up, the more one thing becomes clear: The former president can dish it, but when it comes to a specific type of insult, he can’t take it.
He hates being called a “loser.” Or, for that matter, a “sucker.”
Those words came to the fore again on Sunday, when Trump demanded Joe Biden’s campaign take down an attack ad quoting back at Trump some of his most infamous insults: those directed towards U.S. soldiers, including those killed in combat.
As first reported by The Atlantic in 2020 and later confirmed by John Kelly, the retired U.S. Marine Corps general who became Trump’s second White House chief of staff, in conversations around a canceled visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France in 2018, Trump called fallen U.S. soldiers both “losers” and “suckers”.
Trump has always denied the remarks. But after the Biden campaign included them in its ad released last week, while President Joe Biden visited Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s anger showed his opponent had gotten under his skin.
First, at a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, Trump told supporters Biden “said I stood over graves of soldiers and I said: ‘These people are suckers and losers, the dead soldiers from World War I.’’’ Labeling the whole episode “made up,” Trump said the Biden campaign were “sick people” for making the ad.
Later, Trump posted similar comments to his Truth Social platform, adding: “The Military hates Crooked Joe, and all of the failure he represents. Take down the Fake Ad, Joe.”
Contacted for comment on Monday, Chris LaCivita, Trump’s co-campaign manager and a combat veteran wounded in the Gulf War, unleashed a furious near-200-word statement.
Even before the new Biden campaign ad drew so fierce a response from Trumpworld, however, former and current Trump officials who spoke with The Daily Beast agreed that among all Trump’s controversies, the one over the “suckers” and “losers” comments is one that really bothers its subject.
“He just has no concept of service, that’s the main thing here,” said one former senior Trump White House official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about a president who as a young man avoided wartime service in Vietnam. “So it’s really difficult for him to imagine why people would even [serve in combat]. It’s just a whole foreign thing to him.”
A high-ranking Trumpworld strategist, meanwhile, said Trump’s fury over the Biden campaign’s use of the “suckers” and “losers” comments pointed to perhaps Trump’s biggest fear: being called a “loser” himself.
“The biggest insult to him to get under his skin is that he lost in 2020, he lost his court case and he’s convicted now” on 34 criminal charges, the strategist said.
In comparison, the strategist said, “You can call him fat, call him an insurrectionist, call him a racist [but] that’s just not gonna stick.”
Going to the molten core of Trump’s ego—that’s how Democrats can provoke the strongest response, the GOP strategist said.
“I think his deepest fear, or the deepest psychology with Donald Trump is that he [didn’t win] the 2020 election [when] he’s won everything in life,” the Republican said. “That’s the pressure. He’s married hot women, he built famous buildings, he had a highly rated, successful TV show. And he became president, right?”
But according to the Republicans who spoke to The Daily Beast, Trump’s blow-up over the Biden ad revealed that despite the perceived professionalism of his current campaign team, the candidate’s insecurities have only gotten worse with time.
While no
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The "real crisis" for Trump comes at sentencing: "He can't apologize"
"If you refuse to acknowledge and take responsibility for wrongdoing, you're sure to get a longer tougher sentence"
By Chauncey DeVega | June 11, 2024 5:45AM (EDT)
https://www.salon.com/2024/06/11/the-real-crisis-for-comes-at-sentenci
ng-he-cant-apologize/
Donald Trump is utterly and totally predictable. He is aggressive, violent, hostile, antisocial, and impulsive with an unquenchable thirst for power in all its forms. His prime directive is to always attack. Donald Trump was taught this by his infamous mentor, the political fixer and attorney Roy Cohn. Trump’s personality and Cohn’s teachings were a perfect fit for each another.
It has served him remarkably well in politics. He won the presidency, took over the Republican Party, survived two impeachments, and is now tied with President Biden in the early 2024 polls despite attempting a coup and being convicted of a criminal felony. The latter "distinction" may actually help his popularity with his MAGA followers and other supporters.
When cornered or confronted, Donald Trump responds by lying, obfuscating, evading, and then becoming even more aggressive. To wit: After being convicted in his New York hush-money election interference trial, Donald Trump was not cowed or humbled. He instead escalated his threats of revenge and retribution against his perceived enemies. Trump’s revenge and retribution, per his repeated public statements and promises to be the country's first dictator, will almost certainly include imprisonment and executions for “treason.”
Trump will be sentenced in July for his crimes of paying hush-money payments as part of his election interference scheme. This week, Trump is scheduled for a pre-sentencing interview that will help to determine if Judge Merchan (who presided over his trial in New York) will put him in prison. Trump’s prime directive of ruthless aggression may backfire here, with him being sentenced to prison for his crimes and continued refusal to show any type of contrition.
Like Donald Trump, the American mainstream news media is also almost totally and utterly predictable. Even after eight years of experience with Trump and his assaults on democracy and norms, they continue to normalize him and the MAGA movement. This is functionally the same as surrender.
As a class, America’s elites have been trained by Trump’s constant attacks as well. They are now positioning themselves for maximum profit and opportunism (and survival) with the assumption that Donald Trump is going to defeat President Biden and become the country’s first dictator.
"Putting Donald Trump in jail will not make him more powerful, it will further diminish him."
David Cay Johnston is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and bestselling author who teaches at Syracuse University College of Law, although he is not a lawyer. He has written three books about Donald Trump, who Johnston has covered for 36 years. In this conversation, he reflects on the hush-money election interference trial and what it feels like to finally see Donald Trump held somewhat accountable for his decades-long crime spree. Johnston also puts Trump’s “guilty” verdict in a much larger context as reflecting the moral rot of today’s Republican Party and larger “conservative” movement – and American society more broadly.
Johnston also shares his thoughts about what Trump’s conviction will mean (or not) for the 2024 election and how the American mainstream news media remains most ill-equipped and negligent in how it is covering the corrupt ex-president and the existential threat to democracy embodied by his MAGA movement and the other neofascist forces.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length:
You have been reporting about Donald Trump for many years. How does it feel to finally see him convicted of a felony?
I’m not giddy or elated. This is a very sad day for America. And it's sadder beca
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T
Why Trump Will Lead Republicans to Historic Defeat
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Paul Ryan Goes Public With Urgent Warning About Electing Trump
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I see you boys are working overtime today.
Thank you, BTW Ted, for further illustrating my point that you're a NeoCon by putting Paul Ryan's unwanted mug up in here today too. You really love the Ryans and the Cheneys and all of the very worst of the GWB era Republican party.
Look at the polls and that's all you need to know.
Joe Biden* has been down since September of last year. And nothing you've done to Trump has changed any of that. Nothing you will do to Trump will change any of that.
We're only still talking about "7 swing states" and Trump is up in all of them. Even Nate Silver/538 agrees on that, and currently gives Trump even better chances than RCP does across the board.
3 or 4 of those swing states are virtually out of reach for Joe Biden* already, and there are new possible swing states entering the picture like Virginia and even Washington state.
The only way that Trump doesn't win, Ted, is if Second carries out one of his many archived threats against him before election.
Tick Tock
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Oh no, he's smelling her hair. He must be a pedophile. In Trumps case he really is.
T
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More NeoCon propaganda from our resident Jackbootlicker Ted.
*yawn*
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:Have you seen this play out in real life: a cancerous fool and his relatives insist, loudly, that he will survive when he only has a 50/50 chance?
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
The only way that Trump doesn't win, Ted, is if Second carries out one of his many archived threats against him before election.
Tick Tock
(Trump's chances are 50/50)
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:Have you seen this play out in real life: a cancerous fool and his relatives insist, loudly, that he will survive when he only has a 50/50 chance?
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
The only way that Trump doesn't win, Ted, is if Second carries out one of his many archived threats against him before election.
Tick Tock
(Trump's chances are 50/50)
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
There you go, Ted.
Maybe you can convince Second to stand by his convictions and do something about your little problem. He and "people" like him are the only thing standing between you and a 2nd Trump Presidency less than 5 months from now.
Tick Tock
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:The Secret Service is sworn to protect the US Constitution and is standing along side Trump with loaded weapons to do exactly that should Biden give the kill order. Maybe Trump ought to go into hiding on Nov 5th and not come out until he has definitely lost?
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
There you go, Ted.
Maybe you can convince Second to stand by his convictions and do something about your little problem. He and "people" like him are the only thing standing between you and a 2nd Trump Presidency less than 5 months from now.
Tick Tock
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:The Secret Service is sworn to protect the US Constitution and is standing along side Trump with loaded weapons to do exactly that should Biden give the kill order. Maybe Trump ought to go into hiding on Nov 5th and not come out until he has definitely lost?
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
There you go, Ted.
Maybe you can convince Second to stand by his convictions and do something about your little problem. He and "people" like him are the only thing standing between you and a 2nd Trump Presidency less than 5 months from now.
Tick Tock
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
Archived: https://archive.ph/o9WWd
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Hey Jaynez. Why don't you put that one in the predictions thread for us?
You read that, Ted?
Your boy Second says that your boy Joe Biden* is going to murder Trump.
Not only that, but he's 1,000% behind the idea of Joe Biden* giving the order and he feels that would be "defending the Constitution". Would you agree with Second?
And you, Second...
You're really on tilt now, aren't you boy?
You aren't one of them extremists, are you?
You're sure starting to sound like one.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:I have always hoped that you were unlike all the other Trumptards I know but you keep proving you are a goddamn idiot just like they are. P.S. Being idiotic is why Trumptards struggle in America, but since they don't understand how stupid they are, they blame others for their problems. Often their bosses, wives, children, even banks get the blame. But more and more frequently Democrats are at fault according to Trumptard mythology.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Archived: https://archive.ph/o9WWd
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:I have always hoped that you were unlike all the other Trumptards I know but you keep proving you are a goddamn idiot just like they are. P.S. Being idiotic is why Trumptards struggle in America, but since they don't understand how stupid they are, they blame others for their problems. Often their bosses, wives, children, even banks get the blame. But more and more frequently Democrats are at fault according to Trumptard mythology.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Archived: https://archive.ph/o9WWd
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
I'm not the one who keeps digging myself a deeper hole, son.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:Really? It is Trump digging his own grave with his mouth.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
I'm not the one who keeps digging myself a deeper hole, son.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
Trump’s rhetoric after his felony conviction is designed to distract, stoke fear and ease the way for an anti-democratic strongman
By Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University | June 4, 2024 8:45am EDT
https://theconversation.com/trumps-rhetoric-after-his-felony-convictio
n-is-designed-to-distract-stoke-fear-and-ease-the-way-for-an-anti-democratic-strongman-231535
After a jury convicted Donald Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a politically damaging relationship, he responded by warning viewers of his post-verdict news conference: “If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone.”
That statement simultaneously invokes the ideal of an independent judiciary and attempts to delegitimize it.
As a scholar of political communication, I study how rhetoric strengthens or erodes democratic institutions and can prime an audience to expect or accept violence. Regardless of how someone feels about the legal arguments made during Trump’s trial, Trump’s attempts to prevail in the court of public opinion continue his campaign to discredit democratic institutions and threaten anyone who gets in his way.
Demagoguery is weaponized political communication that, as communication scholar Jennifer Mercieca explains, “undermines both democratic decision-making and democracy itself.” Demagogues use rhetoric to dominate an electorate rather than to persuade voters. Key characteristics include evading responsibility for claims and scapegoating anyone disloyal to the demagogue.
Demagogic communication includes one or more of what scholars Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt identify as “key indicators of authoritarian behavior.” Those include rejection of, or weak commitment to, democratic rules and norms; denial of the legitimacy of political opponents; tolerance or encouragement of violence; and readiness to curtail civil liberties and media freedom.
In the aftermath of Trump’s felony conviction, the demagogic rhetoric of Trump and allied Republicans delegitimizeed democratic institutions and fostered threats of violence.
‘Designed to distract’
When Trump declared that “if they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone,” he was, of course, correct. Ideally, that’s how laws work. They should apply equally to a regular citizen and a former president.
Trump’s case is extraordinary given his status as a former president, and the legal theory used by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been dubbed “novel.” Nonetheless, in the legal and national security publication Just Security, Siven Watt and Norman L. Eisen document a long history of state prosecutors going after politicians who flout laws to benefit political campaigns in similar ways.
Trump’s posts on social media were designed to distract from those facts by undermining the independence and trustworthiness of the judiciary and scapegoating anyone who isn’t a Trump supporter. That included President Joe Biden, officers of the court, immigrants and even a Fox News anchor deemed insufficiently supportive.
While the jury was deliberating, Trump set the stage, described the proceedings as a “Biden witch hunt,” the “WEAPONIZATION OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM!” and “ELECTION INTERFERENCE.” Later he asserted that the gag order imposed by Judge Juan Merchan was “UNCONSTITUTIONAL” and described members of the “DOJ and White House” as “Thugs and Monsters who are destroying our Country.”
Immediately after the jury returned its verdict, Trump intensified his delegitimization of the American legal system, asserting that “the real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people” and adding, “our whole country is being rigged right now.”
Stoking fear
A particularly important dimension of Trump’s rea
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:Quote:Really?
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
I'm not the one who keeps digging myself a deeper hole, son.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
Yes.
Really.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:Trumptards don't know that Trump is a demagogue or what one is. It is a political leader who appeals to the prejudices of people rather than using rational argument. A demagogue doesn't sound bad if your life lacks reasonableness but it is bad. Life is hard for those lacking reason, which circles back around to the reason they listen to a demagogue in the first place.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Yes.
Really.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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They Never Stop Lying: MAGA’s Shocking New Lie About Hunter Biden Verdict Is Deeply Revealing
Even the presidential son’s conviction is proof of a vast conspiracy against Donald Trump.
The reaction from MAGA personalities was swift. Many expressed relief that the criminal justice system decisively meted out punishment to the offspring of a sitting Democratic president, and acknowledged that their previously-expressed fears that the system is rigged against Trump have proved unfounded.
Just kidding! MAGA personalities are already claiming the opposite: Incredibly, they are declaring that this guilty verdict slapped on Biden’s son also proves that the system is rigged against Trump. Which reveals something essential about how dependent the MAGA worldview is on elaborate fantasies about the movement’s alleged persecution.
“Hunter Biden guilty. Yawn,” tweeted MAGA thought leader Charlie Kirk. “The true crimes of the Biden Crime Family remain untouched. This is a fake trial trying to make the Justice system appear ‘balanced.’ Don’t fall for it.”
Trump’s campaign also got in on this sordid act, putting out a deranged statement claiming that Hunter Biden’s conviction is a “distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family.” For some reason, MAGA Nation seems disappointed by the outcome, as if they were secretly hoping for the opposite.
During Hunter Biden’s trial, right-wing media figures relentlessly charged that Biden family members, including the president, were secretly trying to influence the jury and tamper with witnesses—more evidence of dark and dastardly Biden family machinations, this time geared toward getting Hunter Biden off. Now that the thing the MAGA right warned against (Hunter skating free) did not happen, it has magically been repurposed into the same Biden-orchestrated conspiracy.
Recall that the MAGA right’s primary purpose in focusing so relentlessly on Hunter Biden has been to gin up a case for impeaching and prosecuting his father, mostly around a tortured series of claims about the Bidens’ foreign dealings. Why haven’t either of these things happened? Well, House Republicans failed to find any basis for impeachment after months of trying. Despite all that effort, they still haven’t found any grounds for criminal referrals about President Biden to the Justice Department (they have referred their claims about Hunter Biden). Meanwhile, another special counsel, Robert Hur, did not recommend charging the president with criminal mishandling of classified documents because he couldn’t find evidence of it. Hur, too, was originally appointed U.S. attorney by…President Trump.
For the MAGA right, the problem here can’t possibly be that President Biden didn’t actually commit any crimes. It can only be that the Justice Department is too corrupted to prosecute them, and that House GOP leaders are too weak-kneed and feckless (another bizarre MAGA claim) to ferret them out themselves. Bizarrely, after all that, now that Hunter Biden actually has been found guilty of crimes, that also cannot possibly mean the justice system is operating as it should, because that would be exonerating to the president and affirm his claims that he is keeping his hands off the department.
The enormous contortions required to portray the justice system as rigged at every turn show yet again that pretty much everything the MAGA right is saying about these matters is about laying a pretext for Trump, once back in office, to launch prosecutions of Biden and Democrats without cause, under the guise of tit-for-tat payback for something that wasn’t actually done to Trump and his followers.
https://newrepublic.com/article/182603/hunter-biden-verdict-guilty-tru
mp
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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T
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Quote:
Originally posted by second:
For the MAGA right, the problem here can’t possibly be that President Biden didn’t actually commit any crimes.
Yeah... and I'm sure his son is a great artist and his paintings are worth millions.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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Quote:You are a braying Jackass. But then which Trumptards aren't? Certainly not Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:Quote:
Originally posted by second:
For the MAGA right, the problem here can’t possibly be that President Biden didn’t actually commit any crimes.
Yeah... and I'm sure his son is a great artist and his paintings are worth millions.
--------------------------------------------------
Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
Secret Recordings of Alito and Roberts Revealed the True Stakes of the 2024 Election
By Mark Joseph Stern, June 12, 2024 4:39 PM
Lauren Windsor taped the two justices opining, separately, about the Supreme Court’s duty to push the nation down a more “moral” or divine path.
The faithful, Alito declared, must fight “the new moral code” that is “ascendent” in secular society and allegedly breeds “hostility” toward “traditional religious beliefs.”
What, exactly, is this “ascendant moral code” that Alito decries? He had previously provided some details in a 2020 speech that condemned reproductive choice, same-sex marriage, and even COVID-related safety measures as persecution against religious conservatives. And in his own judicial opinions, Alito hits this same theme hard, warning that the expansion of rights for women and LGBTQ people necessitates the contraction of rights for Christians.
Alito agrees that the country must be returned to “a place of godliness,” and obviously believes he, as a justice, has an important role to play in this course-correction. The chief justice, by contrast, says he wants to leave moral decisionmaking to elected representatives, and keep the courts agnostic about the proper role of Christian morality in the law. On the bench, Roberts does not always abide by this precept, sometimes overriding the people’s refusal to subsidize Christianity.
More at https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/06/secret-alito-roberts-2024-
election-stakes.html
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Trump will be fine.
He will also be your next President.
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6ixStringJack, are any Indiana Trumptards convinced Michelle Obama could/should replace Biden? It is another freakishly stupid notion that my Texas Trumptards entertain. But wherever I look, stupidity predominates in their lives, not just politics!
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) suggested that Hunter Biden’s conviction in the federal gun charges case could create “an opening” for Michelle Obama to make a bid for the White House.
Ogles responded to the verdict on Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday and emphasized the “need to pursue justice” before suggesting President Biden may step back from the race amid his son’s guilty verdict.
“That being said, I think it also creates an opening for Democrats like Michelle Obama in here. The Biden family can say, ‘Hey, we’re going to take care of our house, we’re going to take care of our son,’ and then allow Michelle Obama to come in and run,” he said.
“Because again, Joe Biden can’t win this election, and they know that they are desperate for another candidate,” Ogles added.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4718557-andy-ogles-hunter-biden-
conviction-michelle-obama/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Now that he is not on trial, Trump will be running his mouth nonstop. Trumptards will love it because he is them but normal people will notice he is not right in the head, the characteristic which Trumptards find most attractive about him.
One of the advantages that Trump has had is we’ve seen less of him. One of the reasons I think the race seems closer than it will ultimately be is that people have forgotten about Trump. They’ve forgotten the reasons they didn’t like him. They’ve forgotten the reasons why.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/george-conway-donald-trump-advantage-tr
ial_n_666ab349e4b076909e1d3433?ncid=NEWSSTAND0001
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Let’s Talk About Trump’s Gibberish
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/let-s-talk-about-trump-s-gibber
ish/ar-BB1o76qk
For too long, Trump has gotten away with pretending that his emotional issues are just part of some offbeat New York charm or an expression of his enthusiasm for public performance. But Trump is obviously unfit—and something is profoundly wrong with a political environment in which he can now say almost anything, no matter how weird, and his comments will get a couple of days of coverage and then a shrug, as if to say: Another day, another Trump rant about sharks.
Wait, what?
Yes, sharks. In Las Vegas on Sunday, Trump went off-script—I have to assume that no competent speechwriter would have drafted this—and riffed on the important question of how to electrocute a shark while one attacks. He had been talking, he claims, to someone about electric boats: “I say, ‘What would happen if the boat sank from its weight and you’re in the boat, and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery’s now underwater, and there’s a shark that’s approximately 10 yards over there?’”
As usual, Trump noted how much he impressed his interlocutor with his very smart hypothetical: “And he said, ‘Nobody ever asks this question,’ and it must be because of MIT, my relationship to MIT. Very smart.” (MIT? Trump’s uncle taught there and retired over a half century ago, when Trump was in his 20s, and died in 1985. Trump often implies that his uncle passed on MIT’s brainpower by genetic osmosis or something.)
This ramble went on for a bit longer, until Trump made it clear that given his choice, he’d rather be zapped instead of eaten: “But you know what I’d do if there was a shark or you get electrocuted? I’ll take electrocution every single time. I’m not getting near the shark. So we’re going to end that, we’re going to end it for boats, we’re going to end it for trucks.”
Hopefully, this puts to rest any pressing questions among Americans about the presumptive Republican nominee’s feelings on electric vehicles and their relationship to at least two gruesome ways to die.
Sure, it seems funny—Haha! Uncle Don is telling that crazy shark story again!—until we remember that this man wants to return to a position where he would hold America’s secrets, be responsible for the execution of our laws, and preside as the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world. A moment that seems like oddball humor should, in fact, terrify any American voter, because this behavior in anyone else would be an instant disqualification for any political office, let alone the presidency. (Actually, a delusional, rambling felon known to have owned weapons would likely fail a security check for even a visit to the Oval Office.)
Nor was the Vegas monologue the first time: Trump for years has fallen off one verbal cliff after another, with barely a ripple in the national consciousness. I am not a psychiatrist, and I am not diagnosing Trump with anything. I am, however, a man who has lived on this Earth for more than 60 years, and I know someone who has serious emotional problems when I see them played out in front of me, over and over. The 45th president is a disturbed person. He cannot be trusted with any position of responsibility—and especially not with an nuclear arsenal of more than 1,500 weapons. One wrong move could lead to global incineration.
Why hasn’t there been more sustained and serious attention paid to Trump’s emotional state?
First, Trump’s target audience is used to him. Watch the silence that descends over the crowds at such moments; when Trump wanders off into the recesses of his own mind, they chit-chat or check their phones or look around, waiting for him to come back and offer them an applause line. For them, it’s all just part of the show.
Second, Trump’s staff tries to put just enough policy fiber into Trump’s nutty verbal soufflés that they can always sell a talking point later, as if his off-ramps from reality are merely tiny bumps in otherwise sensible speeches. Trum
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