185 Comments
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Civik USA's avatar

The Prairieland sentences are the sharpest fact here. Eight protesters received thirty to one hundred years under federal antiterrorism statutes, while the executive order authorizing that prosecutorial framework, as the Brennan Center notes, cites no statute or constitutional provision because no domestic terrorist designation authority exists. The legal nullity of the designation did not prevent its operational use: a label Congress never authorized became the basis for sentences that exceed what the January 6 seditious conspiracy convictions produced. That gap between legal authority and executive action is where the republic's internal boundary system is supposed to hold — and in this case it did not.

Linda Weide's avatar

I am hoping these sentences and this case will be thrown out on appeal. If not, it is just further evidence that the USA is a rogue state.

Eadie Sharron's avatar

It's evidence that we have a very corrupt judge.

Rex Page (Left Coast)'s avatar

Yes, but the US became a rogue state when it committed piracy and murder in the Carribean and eastern Pacific.

Linda Weide's avatar

It did and continues to do so, as well as in the South Pacific from what I understand. Trump's regime does not follow international laws of decency with our own population either.

Daniel Streeter, Jr's avatar

Right you are, Eadie, and right Linda is as well. The MAGA-influenced US District Judge Reed O'Conner has long proven he is Judge Roy Bean, albeit with far less charm and wit, and a lot more fascistic intent. The history of previously democratic governments deteriorating into authoritarian regimes demonstrates that the gradual march of otherwise capable public servants--- be they in the judiciary, bureaucracy or elsewhere within the duly constituted instruments of a properly functioning State---toward fealty to a charismatic, power aggrandizing, rationality degrading Leader, rather than to their intrinsic obligations, is an early sign of slipping into fascistic darkness.

J. Busby's avatar

Judge O'Connor has a rap sheet of his own. He is the go-to Judge for the Republicans and his rulings have been overturned way more than upheld. Even at the Supreme Court.

Susanna J. Sturgis's avatar

Thanks for the info -- I was about to look this guy up, because his sentences were off the wall. As to "slipping into fascistic darkness," the Project 2025 crowd was around long before 2025 -- remember Lindbergh and the America Firsters during the New Deal? Hell, their roots go a lot further back than that. We must count ourselves lucky that they had to hitch their fortunes to such a weak vessel as D. J. Trump.

J L Graham's avatar

So it would seem.

GJ Loft ME CA FL IL NE CT MI's avatar

"It's evidence that we have very corrupt judges and Supreme Court Justices."

Can't wait for the birth right citizenship verdict to come out this week. Maybe we can get rid of Melania and Marco Rubio for starters if the SCOTUS rules in favor of Trump and his corrupt DOJ.

Bryan Sean McKown's avatar

2 judges are involved in the entire proceedings.

Eadie Sharron's avatar

Thank you. Can you provide more details? What was the crime?

Bryan Sean McKown's avatar

Per local KERA, "The two U.S. District Judges involved in the Prairieland sentencings in the Northern District of Texas are Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor and U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman."

Eadie Sharron's avatar

I don't understand the legal authority these two judges had to lock up 8 or 9 people in prison for 100 years. Are there any lawyers challenging these verdicts. Are these people going to appeal?

Bryan Sean McKown's avatar

"The sentences handed down on Tuesday were unusually long, said Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor who served as the US attorney for the eastern district of Michigan during the Obama administration."

“Most often, judges will sentence defendants for separate counts concurrently. Here, it appears that the judge stacked the sentences for each count consecutively. I would have expected lengthy sentences here, more in the ballpark at 15 to 25 years, but nothing like 50 to 100 years,” she wrote in an email."

Vindictive "sentence stacking " is not the only judicial error by the 2 judges involved is this patent Texas miscarriage of justice by Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor and U.S. District Judge Mark T. Pittman.

Linda Weide's avatar

I think Texans should be protesting those judges.

GJ Loft ME CA FL IL NE CT MI's avatar

Meanwhile, Trump's and MAGA's brownshirt Army can murder anyone they feel like with immunity and impunity.

Linda Weide's avatar

Exactly. Trump is pushing the legal system to its limit and counting on the SCOTUS to back him up which they are doing in a lot of human rights violations let along US constitutional ones as well.

Ligia Jamieson's avatar

It is under this administration.

Homo Viator's avatar

The danger begins when authority no longer derives its legitimacy from law, but from its ability to act despite the law.

D4N's avatar

Well condensed ~ bravo

JDinTX's avatar

Exactly where we are, but holding the scales and claiming legitimacy

Eadie Sharron's avatar

CIVIC, Is there any remedy? Can the judge be accountable for his actions?

Linda Weide's avatar

Let us hope that ultimately all of them will be held accountable, although in Germany not all of the people responsible were held accountable either with the Nazis or with the East German Socialist regime. So, there is that.

Fred W. Cox's avatar

One of those members of the East German regime who escaped is named Vladimir Putin.

Emma's avatar

1. Any chance you have a copy of the charging doc(s) for these 8 and the 7 or so who plead earlier? I quickly skimmed through 6 or 7 links from those provided above but didn't see anything. I am curious about the language and jury instructions based on something the judge said, I guess in trial, re it not mattering whether the org was called A or B [can't remember his example now but it isn't relevant to my q], and the prosecutor wanting antifa named. How is group identity not at issue?

2. Are you aware of historical examples of conduct prosecuted based on material support, or whatever, of a late designated group - ie after the date of conduct in question? [Sorry I am being lazy and just asking rather than looking. Figure someone probably knows already]. This feels whack on a gut level, but maybe it is historically normal but for the general insanity of the entire thing.

Linda Weide's avatar

While Joyce Vance did not write about this today, she would be someone whom I would ask about that if you subscribe to her substack.

Dutch Mike's avatar

It’s the try-out. Next step is shooting people directly for being “Antifa”. The only proof they need is, well, they got that special look in their eyes, see, this radical leftist communist libtard look, you see, and then you know you can start shootin’…

Michael Abeshouse's avatar

Trump’s Iran war of choice has been an epic failure and a total humiliation. He can tell us 43 times that they’ve surrendered and accepted all terms. But they are just lies upon lies per usual. Let the voice of the people be heard in the midterms and this grotesque presidency be brought to a halt!

Linda Weide's avatar

The humiliation is not my concern. The fact that he is financially ruining us and the global economy, and that he has made the world a less safe place in a myriad of ways is more concerning. He has encouraged countries to see that they need nukes in order to have a sufficient deterrent to being taken over by other countries. He has encouraged Iran to develop nukes no matter what they agree to in any deal, which an MOU is not anyway. They have encouraged many countries to start training their 15-30 year olds on drone warfare. Is any country really safe from drone warfare at this point?

Merrill's avatar

If a "leader" can claim terrorists damaged a pool renovation totally misconceived and mismanaged by that leader, then no citizen is safe and we are living in the foggy vapors of Alice in Wonderland.

Anne-Louise Luccarini's avatar

Where's Lewis Carroll? We need another sequel.

Carolyn Nafziger's avatar

He's madder than the Hatter. But his "young, lean and hungry" handlers would only allow impeachment if he tried to get rid of them.

Loren Bliss's avatar

More likely the intensifying vapors of Zyklon B.

It's Come To This's avatar

The humiliation should most certainly concern you as well, along with all the rest of it.

In a world filled with the unchecked spread of nuclear, biological and cyber weaponry, the credibility of any enforcement or regulatory power is only as good as the collective faith in the integrity of the enforcers themselves. A self-humiliated superpower that no one takes seriously any longer because its word can no longer be trusted for much of anything is truly the must dangerous world you or I could imagine.

Linda Weide's avatar

No! I do not care whether we are humiliated as the clear losers of a war which we should have never started. We were in the midst of negotiations where Iran had agreed to a better deal than the Obama administration got, and now where are we? Where we bombed them in the middle of our diplomacy and made everything worse. We should bare that humiliation. I also do not think the US is a good superpower and should not be the one that people should turn to. I am turning more to Carney's model of collectives of middle powers. May the US end up being one that people are willing to collectively align with.

It's Come To This's avatar

You missed the point entirely. There is nobody else out there who can enforce the rules of the game. There is no other referee waiting in the wings, Canadian or otherwise. Others are simply taking care of themselves — something predictable (and predicted) in a self-help world. That is not the same thing as a systemic world where rule-enforcers set up regulatory mechanisms that are pretty much accepted by all players in the game.

Linda Weide's avatar

I did not miss it, I disagree with it. Clearly we have different POV on American use of its power.

J L Graham's avatar

It is my hope that some organization is keeping tabs on the total costs, direct and extended that will plague or society in the future as a result of this collected, destructive rampage.

Linda Weide's avatar

That is my hope too. I know I have a friend who is gathering stories of corruption, but costs will be harder and harder to calculate. In the end, we need to sue the Trump family fortune for restitution.

Virginia Witmer's avatar

Linda Weide, thank you. From your perspective, the bitter truth. The good news is that Americans may be waking up.

Linda Weide's avatar

I hope they are waking up and saying NO to oligarchs and the evil people they support.

Was in a British book club discussion yesterday where the author was present. The book being discussed was Billionaire Backlash : The Age of Corporate Scandal and How It Could Save Democracy by Pepper Culpepper and Taeku Lee. Pepper discussed how people are starting to turn against Oligarchs and I was relieved to hear it.

Then, I was watching a discussion on DW of how the new Left Party in Germany is so against Oligarchs that they want to get rid of billionaires by redistributing their wealth. Of course, if you tax someone at 75% who has 100 billion, you are still not going to stop them from being a billionaire. The party is attracting a lot of young women needless to say.

Still, it is a reflection on the role people see oligarchs as playing in society. People are starting to see that problems they cause for the rest of us in their drive to make everyone else subservient to their wishes and whims.

Loren Bliss's avatar

More likely the United States is [breaking] up -- and is doing so beyond any possibility of repair. (I challenge Dr. Richardson to find us a government that has [ever] recovered from such a total rejection of humanitarianism.)

gwHornPlayer's avatar

May the American people raise their voices in November about the Prairieland nine and not just about their skyrocketing prices.

Loren Bliss's avatar

Unfortunately that sort of humanitarian protest remains unlikely in a nation the ruling ethos of which -- clearly demonstrated by the 77-million-vote to cancel the American Revolution -- is the incurably self-obsessed moral imbecility inescapably mandated by neoliberalism, which itself is but an Orwellian euphemism for Nazism.

gwHornPlayer's avatar

I’m gonna take that as a probably not..

elle vj's avatar

American voices will be heard in the midterms, but without Congress we’ll endure two more years to “halt the grotesque.'

TJB's avatar

"the Senate passed a war powers resolution requiring Trump to get congressional approval to continue military actions against Iran. Four Republicans joined all Democrats but one to pass the measure." Any guesses on who the lone Dem Senator that voted against the resolution?

Rick Sender's avatar

Heather, I think one of your listeners here all 2 million of them should get naked and get in the reflecting pool and fuck themselves. That's how important the reflecting pool is. Let's talk about Solyndra instead of talking about a few millions let's talk about 500 million shall we?

Got any other deflections yes you do each and every day half a story, half the truth, biased information or no truth whatsoever because you deflect to a different story.

Where is the report on How many record million of dollars of gallons are flowing through the strait today huh?

Boy that's not a story but

But the lagoon. That's rocking the world right now. You're so sad that you have to lead your people around with half truths and distortions. All for five bucks a month why don't you start telling people the whole truth here how many would you lose almost immediately? They would only flee over the blue sky, so you can hear more bullshit and continue to swim in their own piss.

Anne Matarrese Everton's avatar

Keep a civil tone when you disagree, Rick Sender. Pretend you are talking to the professor face-to-face. (Or is that how you address people in person??)

Rick Sender's avatar

I’m not pretending I’m talking to the professor. I’m hoping I’m talking to the professor. I would love to have a nice debate with the professor and show the audience what she’d never tells the audience and what they need to hear and every time Trump has a great day like ending the nuclear threat from Iran she talks about shit like the Lakota Indians were some prehistoric day in ancient history so she doesn’t have to cover the good stuff.

And today she’s talking about the fucking pond. Which means nothing to nobody, and in the meantime, there’s a war going on and millions and millions of gallons are flowing through the straight of Home’s almost record numbers of gallons. Do you think she’d cover that? Nope because that would show that Trump is doing a good job.

It’s so sickening to see people with degrees and professorships and Advanced degrees like doctorate, etc., and they have no relationship with reality

Rick Sender’s Mother's avatar

The pond is a metaphor, baby. Look it up.

Anthony O Neill's avatar

Hi Anne,

Unfortunately for you, you have discovered the nature of the commentator posting under the name ‘Rick Sender’. He behaves like this with all of us, and probably is best ignored. Rudeness is one trait, poor syntax and rambling messaging are others. Don’t let his/her nonsense upset you, just ignore whatever he says. We’ve all (many of us) fallen for it, and learned that it is pointless to engage with him/ her.

Regards, Anthony.

Rick Sender's avatar

Oh, let me see if I can fake a good British accent as well. I love the people that have to put down their three names here to make them sound more Erudite. Helllohhhhh. Do you not know whooooo you ahhhh addressing ?

Why don’t you read the content and and apologize For your ignorance

You know what I tell people like you I tell them this make sure your brain is engaged before you put your mouth in gear

Rick Sender's avatar

Take the civil tone, and you can know what you do with it. If this woman ever was honest with you, I’d have a little bit more respect for her and for you, as a matter of fact, as a lemming that follows her nonsense, she tells the story by using Zanie left-wing liberal links never a center politically base link and never God forbid a right wing link so that the story would be balanced.

She never ever tells you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and that’s her problem and guess what it’s become yours and I don’t respect people that do that

She has to earn her respect and all she earns is the allegiance of a couple million people who don’t even question what she says. It’s almost like praying and genuflect at the same time. It’s sickening to watch.

Best president of your lifetime and when it’s all set and done, it’s going to be the best president of all time of all presidents not only of the United States, but of the world he is undoubtedly now the most positively influential human being on planet earth maybe if you weren’t so previously biased, you would see that but the rest of you all you do is live in the past the ancient past maybe it’ll help you because I understand epstein is still alive. They found him in Israel in a little village. He was having lunch with somebody you might remember and this guy that was having lunch with had the entire epstein files on his table ready to give them to everybody to give them up to anybody who wanted them

And you know who it was you know who epstein was having lunch with Julius Caesar I think Heather said that LMAO

Daniel Streeter, Jr's avatar

Rick,

Tonight you are not only off your meds, but you appear to be hallucinating so highly as to make the late, great Hunter S. Thompson appear to be a Parson in a quiet, country parish.

"Solyndra"?!? You're replaying the long lost hits of the Murdochian Ministry of Mendacity, back when rubes like you were still freaked out by the middle name of a recent responsible President from Illinois.

And as for telling HCR's followers to go "fuck themselves", I doubt that your flaccidly firing synapses can conjure up the concept of "projection" but, when you stop spinning your wheels looking for birth certificates in Hawaii, perhaps you can practice escaping from your ignorance and illiteracy by looking that one up.

Rick Sender’s Mother's avatar

He is definitely off his meds.

Rick Sender's avatar

I love when you guys deflect it’s hysterical. I’m an independent pal I don’t need anyone else’s adoration. I don’t need anyone else commiserating with me. I know I don’t need to be wrong day after day and have people pet me on the back and tell me how good I am or how smart I am or how nice I am.

I’m a bearer of awareness and facts no more no less And as things happen exactly as they should happen based on facts you’re gonna go well shit RICK was right all the time but you’re never ever ever ever ever ever ever gonna come close to admitting it and I really don’t give a shit because I’ll be smiling the whole time

Rick Sender's avatar

Yes, I am. That’s exactly what I’m doing because I want to make sure that you understand that if Donald Trump had to fix a problem vandalized or not for $15 million that it was not even a piss that he took compared to Obama’s $500 million fucking debacle of Solyndra. Oooooo;s. Let me see how many times would Trump have to fix the pond to spend that kind of money?

And as usual, Danielle, your comparisons, false strategically and logically flat as usual And I see the acronym junior there and I wonder if your father would be proud of you

You might not know this, so I’ll help you the smartest people in America Are now members of the largest party, Of America the independent voter And you liberals are a dying breed and I love it. Did you see what happened in New York today? Three more socialist I love it. I’m gonna watch New York die and we’re all gonna sit in our big arm chairs. Nice air-conditioned rooms and watch them continue to fail for lack of money to pay for all the goodies that they thought they were gonna have. And the number of people they’re gonna start fleeing the state. It’s gonna be awesome when they realize oh shit I didn’t know this was gonna happen. Good night, Danielle

Daniel Streeter, Jr's avatar

Rick,

This is a respectful commentary section, wherein people who subscribe to Heather's Letters may comment, this way, that way or any other about the subjects she comments upon and the corollaries therefrom. We agree, we disagree, but it is usually done with perception, discretion, wit and without rancor, while often with passion.

You, on the other hand, are so far beyond the pale of the barest of intelligent and sentient beings, that you dive to the Trumpian sub-levels of depths, wrapping yourself in the ignorant, the false, the defamatory, the juvenile and the plain stupid.

You are such a knuckle dragger that you think that by constantly feminizing my name as only grade school (i.e., Trumpian) repugnants and cowards do, (in spite of my repeatedly requesting that you cease and desist from doing so) that you are somehow affecting me, or humiliating me in the eyes of those who (Visine bottles in hand) have to read your steady stream of septic slang. You are not.

So please crawl back into your Titan of Trolls place under the bridge in whatever backwater burg you hail from, and leave we who do not drag our knuckles as we ambulate alone.

Rick Sender's avatar

So be logical, be rational, Store your hate under your mattress, post some thing with facts, evidence, and back up rather than insult, hate and empty ( and mostly historical ) accusations… bearing no effect whatsoever on today or tomorrow. None none none none none.

Then we might be able to communicate

Rick Sender's avatar

Oh, and I forgot one last thing. There are people here DANIEL. LOL. I actually had to type that out…. That post 20 30,40 times a day sometimes and I’ve never ever heard any of you call them trolls

The only time I’ve seen you use the word troll is when somebody deigns or dares To dispute the upside down stories, the distortions, the lack of facts, the lack of evidence, the lack of support , to what you post here. Posts, utterly consumed in hate

And then I become a troll. Lololol. If That’s my moniker I wear it with pride.

Rick Sender's avatar

Trust me if I wanted to humiliate you I would do so blatantly criticizing the attempts of your posts to be sensible, logical, rational, meaningful, helpful, or truthful. how’s that? That better?

I voice text your name that’s how it comes out go complain to the software writer who handles voice texting errors.

Rick Sender’s Mother's avatar

Don’t you know how to proof read and edit, Darling? I’m certain you do. (Stupid excuses for stupid actions).

Rick Sender's avatar

Hey, by the way, Daniel, I don’t feminize your name believe it or not as I pulled everybody here 1000 times I voice text everything and I say the word Daniel and I’ve noticed that sometimes it comes out Danielle. I have one guy here that calls me

P rick. Just like that. Hurts me, so I almost die. I can’t read and grab a box of Kleenex my eyes are just watering so . I go and ask a psychiatrist what I should do because it hurts so very deeply and it’s so offensive.

What a wusssssss ! All the important things going on in the world and this is what you talk about? Do you run in the house and complain to mommy? please mommy somebody misspelled my name. Will you wipe me now please.

Rick Sender's avatar

Daniel, I’m not crawling anywhere. Tell you what with people that analyze a story and find holes in some of the things I might say, but in the end have done, a deep dive, have done an analysis, and have a rational argument. I pay them the utmost respect.

But for 95% of the losers here who are what I call radical liberal dermatologists, who do nothing but see a headline and jump on it as I said, like a bitch in heat and post it without thinking and post it without analyzing and post it without investigating and post it without validating they end up in trouble. In trouble with the truth, in trouble with the facts, and in trouble with me, because I don’t like people who don’t analyze things or just blurt shit out, it’s not true, just because they come from Donald Trump‘s mouth

Do you idiots Donald Trump could not do anything right but he’s winning in America. He’s waiting for America. He’s waiting for democracy and he’s winning all over the world. He is simply put the most positively influential human being on planet earth right now without question. The best quote I heard today was this one.

If Donald Trump cured Cancer. The people here would be complaining that he put all the oncologists out of business. That’s how bad it is with you people.

I want decent conversation if you want a modicum of respect and make sure your brain is engaged before you put your mouth in gear and put words here on the site that involve truth, facts and evidence not just hate insults, and accusations

Got it? If you do that, we’re good to go

Homo Viator's avatar

Calling attention to one issue does not prove that other issues are unimportant.

Rick Sender's avatar

It is when you avoid the important issues isn’t it let’s see page 5 of the this week’s national inquiry is about the straight of Homg’s opening for the first time in three months allowing hundreds and hundreds of millions of gallons of crude oil to pass through in record amounts adding 20% more to the Global availability of crude oil and making prices drop another $.40 a gallon within the next week or so and today I understand they were back to under four dollars

Hell, that’s not important at all of their homo is it?

Yeah, right after the story about the pond. Was the shocking story about the cost of living in California lmfao. Because nobody knows that story

Homo Viator's avatar

Choosing one subject is not the same as ignoring all others.

Rick Sender's avatar

And if she wanted to stay on that subject, she could at least be honest about it and maybe some small comparisons.

Like Obama spent 34 million fixing it in 2012 and it’s been leaking and creating algae ever since but she didn’t tell you that part did she

Nor did she tell you that this is really a pittance 12 -15$ million she could’ve said well geez. That’s really not not a lot after all we’ve already forgotten almost on purpose when Obama built his library, he seemed to forgot one of his most important exhibits

He forgot to include the SOLYNDRA EXHIBIT…… WHICH ONLY COST THE TAXPAYER $500 MILLION A YEAR AFTER HE INVESTED THE TAXPAYER MONEY INTO THAT COMPANY. $500,000,000. MILLION.

SHE ALSO DIDN’T SAY THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE WEIGHING IN THAT EVEN WITH THE ALGAE IN THE POND, THEY LOOK BETTER THAN THE OBAMA LIBRARY WITH SOME SUGGESTING THAT RAY CHARLES WAS THE ARCHITECT AND STEVIE WONDER WAS THE BUILDER NOT BECAUSE THEY’RE BLACK, BUT BECAUSE THEY’RE BLIND

Rick Sender's avatar

It is when you’re ignoring the TOP stories all the time unless they favor your party. And let me tell you what else it’s called their homo. It’s called DENIAL. I BET YOU’RE A LONG TIME SUBSCRIBER TO THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER AND WE’RE REALLY SAD WHEN MAD MAGAZINE WENT OUT OF BUSINESS

Rick Sender’s Mother's avatar

Calm the f*ck down, Boy. Right now.

Rick Sender’s Mother's avatar

Inappropriate. Rude. I am horrified.

Rick Sender's avatar

Oh, and here’s how stupid you are. This is one of the most stupid ignorant, asinine adolescent UPSIDE DOWN FABLES that you believe.

Pichture this for a second Michael you moron. The United States has lost every single warship it has The United States has lost every military aircraft it has The United States has lost every radar site that it has to acknowledge the incoming aircraft of the enemy. It’s gone. ALL DESTROYED BY OUR ENEMY

50% of our population is out of work We are losing $500 million a day by not being able to sell our most important commodity

The inflation rate in America is 84% Our entire leaders were wiped out by incoming bombs Then our second tier of leaders were wiped out by incoming bombs

Then our third set of leaders were killed or maimed By a third set of bomb

Then, in the worst situation of all all our nuclear weapons were incapacitated for the meantime.

But I want you to know America is winning the war . OK

I DIDN’T EVEN IMAGINE THAT WE HAD FRUIT CAKES, THIS STUPID LIVING IN AMERICA

Rick Sender's avatar

You know what you remind me of Michael you remind me of that song by Frank Sinatra oh, what a fool I am. And I should’ve capitalize the whole title.

You know I’m not gonna bore you because I’ve already board a couple hundred people and telling them all about Iran but you’re just so fucking ignorant you don’t even read the news that matters.

I got an idea instead of using Iran war of choice. Why don’t you tell us why we’re fighting the war in the first place this is gonna be really interesting but don’t do it right now. I wanna wait till tomorrow when I can prepare a bag of popcorn and a Pepsi And really enjoy myself

You are one of the more ignorant people here, but there’s so many Guys get along so well swimming in the same piss be believing everything that Heather writes like almost like bowing and genuflecting. It’s so sickening sad

AND THIS I’M GONNA CAPITALIZE FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU’RE EVEN MORE IGNORANT THAN I THOUGHT THE PUBLIC SPOKE

TWICE. TWICE. I’M SORRY DID I REPEAT MYSELF? YOU’RE JUST ANOTHER ONE OF HEATHER’S LEMMINGS HEATHER’S LIBERAL LEMMINGS, BUT I ADD A LITTLE A DIFFERENT ADJECTIVE TO YOU DERMATOLOGIST YOU STUDY THE SURFACE OF THINGS AND NEVER DELVE INTO THE REEEEEEEEALLLL; ISSUES IN DEPTH.

YOU SEE A HEADLINE YOU LIKE AND YOU JUMP ON IT LIKE A BITCH IN HEAT

HIS GROTESQUE PRESIDENCY WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS AS THE BEST PRESIDENT AMERICA HAS EVER SEEN AND IT’S 2 1/2 MORE YEARS OF GLORY AND WONDERFUL POLICIES FOR YOU TO SWALLOW AND THEN PLEASE WIPE THE EXCESS OFF YOUR CHIN

Rick Sender’s Mother's avatar

Seriously. He’s going to sober up & be as horrified as the rest of us.

Rick Sender's avatar

Then don’t forget to take it I don’t take any. I just print factswhich you hate. I bet you’re one of the ones that flew over to blue sky as soon as you couldn’t handle Twitter being a 50-50 proposition versus the 8515 liberal it used to be lmao.

Let’s go over to blue sky, so we don’t have to hear the truth and we could swim in the same piss as all our friends bye

It's Come To This's avatar

Buh-bye. Good riddance. Don’t let the screen door hit you in the face on your way back to the Depths of Oblivion. No need to buy a return ticket…!

Rick Sender's avatar

And where do you think I’m going? I’m not going anywhere, but I am very excited about something. I love the fact that Dan goldman lost his preliminary. That is the most awesome thing because that man was nothing but a fucking hater of humanity and a Jewish antisemite just what we need. And I don’t care that the guy next to him was more radical or more socialist than him. I can’t wait for New York to turn totally socialist and wonder why they don’t have enough money to do all the things they wanna do because all the wealthy people left to Florida or Texas or the Carolina.

The funniest thing is going to be when they try opening these grocery stores because they don’t understand that the margins in a grocery store are one to 2% and they’re gonna spend $30 million according to the new idiot mayor And what none of the people understand here unless they do and they like it is that if they do that they’re gonna put privately held grocery stores out of business where they have been making a living and supporting the local neighborhoods for years with their hard earned money and hard work. Because just like when a Costco opens and a competitor opens down the road or vice versa they cut each other’s volume in half and therefore each other’s profits in half so I can’t wait until one or two or three of these grocery stores open

We’re gonna have a huge celebration all across America Watching them fail

Rick Sender’s Mother's avatar

What did you take?? This is some crazy shit you are posting. Put down the keyboard and pull yourself together.

Sandra's avatar

The MAGAverse needs to take a deep breath, maybe even do some box breathing. Yes, Kim Jong-Don is going through a particularly demented period and fantasising obssessively about someone with a box cutter making a 350 foot gash in the material he promised couldn't be compromised. But, if you have some patience, he'll pull it together enough to re-join the fascists in the attempt to create a dictatorship. Turning a flawed democracy into a fascist, theocratic dictatorial cult is a phenomenonall task. You've got to pull yourself together so you can do your bit.

Annabel Ascher's avatar

"...It appears there is in the administration a drive to create unlimited power in the executive branch that will survive no matter who is in charge."

This is what terrifies me, and why I keep saying "them" instead of "him".

As destructive as he is, he is a side show. Watch what the OTHER hand is doing.

Georgia Fisanick's avatar

Isn't that the definition of a dictatorship? I looked at some video of the "rally"--maybe a few hundred tops, milling around; nobody appeared to be listening; one heckler yelling predator. Trump is getting more and more pressured, and he certainly didn't seem to be getting the adulation infusion he needed from the crowd I saw.

It's going to be interesting if JD starts breaking with Trump in a bid to usher him out the door early or if Trump tries to force JD out. The situation is getting increasingly unstable. Trump got his war to distract from the Epstein files, but at a far greater cost than Hegseth told him. The weird microwave towers and demolished underground area at Epstein's Zorro Ranch, and how it was never investigated and bought by Trump's cronies who apparently did the demolition, is bizarre. Dems letting Epstein fade is a strategic mistake. The survivors deserve justice, but we need to understand the connections between Epstein and Trump and Russia. It is part of a whole tangled web of corruption that Blanche will totally suppress as AG.

Margie Seeley's avatar

That terrifies me too! I would like to enjoy my last decade or two of life under a competent administration. There will be a lot of damage to repair after the next presidential election. I’m hoping to remain sane under the next years of this one.

J L Graham's avatar

"Them" it is and always was; the "same old serpent".

It's Come To This's avatar

Just this evening, 100 former federal and state judges filed a formal grievance with the New York State Bar Attorney Complaint Division to investigate Todd Blanche for violation of the New York Rules of Professional Conduct.

And 23 Democratic Attorneys General just filed their own brief in the original Florida Trump v. IRS case to urge Judge Kathleen Williams to “rectify the fraud perpetrated upon the Court and deter future misconduct.”

There are rogue judges and rogue acting Attorney Generals and rogue acting Directors of National Intelligence out there, but little by little — painfully slow for most of us — the judicial system is waking up and separating itself from a grotesque cult of lawlessness and the abuse of legal authority.

It’s not just the paint on the bottom of the Reflecting Swamp that’s peeling away from the base…

https://joycevance.substack.com/p/101-former-judges-ask-the-new-york?utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&triedRedirect=true

GJ Loft ME CA FL IL NE CT MI's avatar

I have my doubts that the Fascist SCOTUS justices (an oxymoron at this point) will wake up.

They may finally release their decision on birth-right citizenship and we will all witness the convoluted logic of Alito, Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, Comey-Barrett and Kavanaugh.

If they rule against Trump and the DOJ, Trump is going to have a shit-fit.

Jan Taylor's avatar

Please go ahead and call out the one Democrat ("Four Republicans joined all Democrats 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒆 to pass the measure") [my italics] who voted today against the War Powers Act. Why the heck does Fetterman even still call himself a Democrat? I'm thoroghly disgusted.

Virginia Witmer's avatar

Is it a result of the stroke? I continue to wonder.

teresafbrooks's avatar

He’s like a dullish Manchin.

JDinTX's avatar

Too bad his Democrat label makes him valuable, or does it. He is a Trojan horse

It's Come To This's avatar

Poor widdle Donnie Butthurt.

As James Bruno said yesterday, if you came to visit me, only to find half of my once elegant house bulldozed and looking like a dumpster in a strip mine, my rose garden concreted over, my swimming pool choked with algae and peeling paint, and me staying up half the night to post trash and scatological smack in all-caps on the internet against people I don’t even know, you’d call the authorities to have the place condemned and make sure my screaming fat ass gets hauled away to a mental institution, too.

Gloria J. Maloney's avatar

"Today, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor sentenced eight of the Prairieland protesters to between thirty and one hundred years in prison".

That is chilling.

JDinTX's avatar

It is meant to chill all opposition

Murray Smart's avatar

America under the thumb of a demented 80 year old 2 year old......and his America Hating henchmen and women..........the Deep State come to life......destroying all of America in it's path......

J L Graham's avatar

Perhaps not so much America-hating so mush as any form of constraint, of civility, conscience, or egalitarian point of law, as barriers to their acquisition of Absolute Power.

Dutch Mike's avatar

Remember, the MAGAts love trump not despite his being an asshole, but _because_ he is an asshole.

Gwen's avatar

How much damage will we see with deplorable, dementia don in the throes of death? It only gets worse from here…

Jan C's avatar

And media keeps reporting it daily -- without suggesting that he might be as mad as a hatter. Biden had a shatteringly bad debate night, and media couldn't let go of it.

GJ Loft ME CA FL IL NE CT MI's avatar

And yet, every international paper has reported on Trump's mental decline on full display at the G-7. And they forced Trump to sign the MOU at Versailles, where all good Nazis sign their surrender documents.

190 countries on this planet and Trump could only find one (Israel) to stand with him in his war against Iran.

The oligarchs are winning and forcing us to watch and listen to their BS every day.

Anne Matarrese Everton's avatar

The Prairieland sentences are very frightening!

On an improbable note, how about this: the Reflecting Pool was vandalized by the President of the United States with his hairbrained scheme to turn it blue! What a mess.

J L Graham's avatar

His Malefence endeavors to restyle our nation's capital in the manner of a flashy casino resort.

GJ Loft ME CA FL IL NE CT MI's avatar

Meanwhile, he has funneled tens of millions from our national parks to build his shiny monuments to himself. Acadia National Park was visited by over 4 million people last year and Trump diverted the entire maintenance budget from the park. The economic impact of this one national park is estimated to be over $1.1 billion and Trump and his worthless Interior Secretary have done everything they can to ruin the experience to the Park.

And he did the same thing with most of the other parks as well.

horhai's avatar

Donold is obsessed with dictator chic

David Glidden's avatar

Tyrants can exaggerate, prevaricate, and lie without limit as long as they can silence opposition with threats, imprisonment, or outright assassination. As Trump’s fervor rises, he is more dangerous to our freedom and our lives. Putin has shown him the way.

J L Graham's avatar

Putin, Orban, and their ilk seem to inspire Feckless Leader. Joe McCarthy's lawyer tutored him on evading the law.

Phil Balla's avatar

Most of Heather's today regales sheer mad comedy.

In one part she refers to "making our president even more unhinged than ever.” Two paragraphs later she begins with "As Trump crumbles . . .." And at the beginning she goes into his obviously insane efforts to pin blame elsewhere for his cockamamie combination of incompetence and corruption at the reflecting pool.

Still, Heather notes -- names -- the personnel around criminal Donald still intent on destroying American democracy. Courts keep ruling against him, against the fascist them, but ICE and CBP still have hundreds of millions of free taxpayer dollars for their unaccountable round-ups of persons of color across the U.S., their yet being above the law when it comes to murdering peaceful American citizens, or to harassing and arresting persons in immigration courthouses legally following procedures there.

Hilarious this ongoing insanity? Funny how stupid Donald gets? -- as Lawrence O'Donnell quoted Momhammed Ali today, on how the White House criminal is still getting "rope-a-doped" by the Iranians.

Eadie Sharron's avatar

It's not funny, when 9 people are languishing in prison.

Phil Balla's avatar

Factor in, too, Eadie, all the concentration camp / prisons criminal Donald intends.

First, get ICE and CBP to force into them hundreds of thousands of persons of color. But criminal Donald really yet seethes with hatreds for persons in our legitimate legal system who caught him out in his violent insurrection, his unlawful carting off of thousands of classified documents to his Florida palace, his money laundering for Putin's oligarchs, his arms sales to murderers such as Mohammed bin Salman and Netanyahu, and his dalliances in Jeffrey's trafficked girls.

He really wants to fill prisons with Dems, with those among us who've best defended our democracy.

teresafbrooks's avatar

And of course, Phil, that isn’t funny either. But I do appreciate Lawrence O’Donnell’s perspective - he can insert a reference now and then that does, if only for a minute or two, lighten up.

Homo Viator's avatar

Institutions are shaped less by the character of one leader than by the ambitions of those who inherit and exercise power around him.

JDinTX's avatar

And they flocked like flies to a corpse.

Virginia Witmer's avatar

If we don’t have moments of laughter in the midst of this insanity, we will all be mad. Driven by the sound of sirens, I write GOTV postcards and wait for the bits of humor from the pool. The death of the duck took some of the fun from the pool story, however.

J L Graham's avatar

It gets complicated but ridicule, especially that with a ring of truth, is a legitimate weapon against fakes and bombasts, which is why despots so violently strive to crush it.

teresafbrooks's avatar

Yeah, oh how I’m missing Stephen Colbert—seriously ! Stephen: to borrow a line from Simon & Garfunkel…. Where have you gone Stephen Co-olbert, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you, ooo, ooo, ooo 🎵 (from Mrs. Robinson)

GJ Loft ME CA FL IL NE CT MI's avatar

Thank you Virginia. Contrast everything Republicans are doing (and I am blaming ALL Republicans in DC and in the local red state legislatures that cater to Trump's every cray-cray whim), with the joyful event at the opening of the Barack Obama Presidential Center attended by over 10,000 patriotic Americans. The Obama's each gave a speech that surpassed every single speech Trump has ever made. The enthusiasm of the crowd was electric.

And look at the joy of the people that attended the wonderful party and the opera at the Lincoln Center the night the Trump name was removed. How could we resist laughing at the petulant child Trump was trying to hide the name of the Kennedy Center with a tarp and scaffolding.

And look at the innumerable hilarious memes, all at the expense of Trump and his obese contractor friend at the reflecting pool as Heather mentioned yesterday.

Meanwhile,MAGAs get their jollies from killing protesters, breaking down doors of American citizens without a warrant, hosting bizarro wresting events, bombing innocent children in Iran and innocent fishermen in the Caribbean.

Trump has become a collection of memes, all of which show us who he really is and yet the oligarchs keep throwing money at him to get their billions in contracts and favors.

Fred Krasner's avatar

What is to be the fate of those nine Prairieville protestors? What do federal sentencing guidelines say about the appropriate length of prison time for a crime that isn't in the statutes? Hoping Harry or Joyce or Barb McQuade can/will shed some light.

J L Graham's avatar

"trying to “overthrow…the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.”

And yet the modern Republican Party appears to be doing it first.

Mojave Rich's avatar

The harder they squeeze the more slips through their fingers. The sentences for these “crimes” are beyond an outrage. The charges violate the first amendment while the punishment shocks the conscience. This will only inspire more rebellion. Remember the Prairieland 8!