'Melania Trump Seen Wearing “I Don’t Care” Jacket'
'PALM BEACH (The Borowitz Report)—Melania Trump, who made headlines in 2018 by wearing a jacket emblazoned with the words “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?,” was spotted wearing the garment again Thursday evening.'
'Mrs. Trump, who was seen in the controversial jacket while taking a stroll around the grounds of Mar-a-Lago, offered no explanation for donning it other than that she “was really in the mood to wear it tonight.”
'The former President’s wife projected an air of calm that was in sharp contrast with the tense scenes unfolding inside the residence, according to reports.'
'Sources said that an emergency cleaning crew had to be summoned to Mar-a-Lago to mop up what was described as a “river of ketchup.” (Satire, NewYorker)
I think you said it best. I have tried purposely not to think about her because it's sickening to do so. T hired Stormy Daniels to have a "fling" right after Melania had a baby. This is a behavior I find so cheap, sad, and miserable that it is beyond me. I don't get it and I don't want to.
J. Nol, Newt's mother named him appropriately. Perhaps Elon could round up Newt, all of TFG's immediate family, McConnell, the offending SCOTUS members. and the Freedom Caucus and offer them free transport on Space X to Mars.
I agree. It's not as though Donald was ever handsome, intelligent, or anything but crass and disgusting, and I doubt she had any illusions or hopes of making him a better man (as if), so it's a case of "what you see is what you get". I feel sorry for Baron. He looks so unhappy, and certainly has nobody to offer support.
She has her own money, you know. She successfully sued The Daily Mail for defamation when they said that she obviously does “things” outside of modeling.
👏🤣 - Honestly, that's likely a kind, yet no less discomforting thought that only occurred to me via 'you' so kindly thinking and sharing it 'Treker'.... What more will be revealed once that 'snowball' makes a sudden 'stop' at some bottom ?
They are just plain blind. In addition to satire and irony, they are blind to all those things they claim to be: patriotic and Christian, plus decency isn't a part of their understanding either. They are running around shouting Woke from every corner. I even found it on a thread about Oregon basketball.
Not surprising about the “river of ketchup.” Remember the broken plate and catsup on the wall in the White House dining room? TFG needs a padded, plastic-covered cell. Where, oh, where is the cartoon with this bad child in a high chair? The diaper balloon is fine, but the chair with catsup on the wall would emphasize the bad child image. Mary Trump has not gotten enough press time, although I appreciate the danger of over-exposure of another “member of the family.”
I believe that Melania has been on a "payroll" of several hundred thousand a month to stay with Trump...deposited into an account out of the country. His wealthy supporters would gladly fund that cause. It only stops when he definitely can't win another round in the White House or when she dumps him.
Will, I share your sentiment and even woke up our upstairs neighbors with my whooping, though their English is probably not good enough to appreciate my choice of joy-filled obscenities. I will spare everyone the details.
However, we are by no means out of the woods. Getting Trump behind bars in a Federal prison is still a long way off, and there is so much that could go wrong between here and there that just thinking about it has already begun to ruin my day.
Kudos to Alvin Bragg for his fearlessness. I sure hope his colleagues in Georgia and at the DOJ are not afraid to pile on once they see that the NY indictments have not caused the sky to fall. Coraggio!
David, I doubt he will ever be actually physically behind bars, but I don't think that is necessary for justice to prevail (house arrest and no phone will do). Furthermore, I wrote here the other day that a criminal conviction for tfg is not high on my priority list of "Necessary Things to Mend America," and that our desire to see it happen springs from mostly a thirst for poetic justice. I expectedly got some pushback from folks, but I feel they were missing the point. It feels like the right thing to happen, because it would indeed be the right thing to happen, I hope it happens, and - as I hope my initial comment today demonstrates - I will be quite elated if/when it does happen. HOWEVER, the true prerequisites to mending our country take the form of positive policy enactments, rather than the deserved punishment of any indivudual.
I therefore recommend again that we turn the brunt of our attention away from armchair speculation of tfg's legal fate, let the lawyers do their thing, and instead focus on lifting up positive developments that provide systemic benefit to the whole of our society, such as those highlighted in Professor HCR's letters and President Biden's current Invest in America press tour. After celebrating again tonight, obviously.
Certainly celebrate, but the real challenge is to eliminate the MAGA cult from Congressional halls and the brainwashing from our society. The threat to our democracy and Constitution is real and it’s not diminishing. Look at Desantis’ posturing about not extraditing-he has no shame in threatening to violate the Constitution as a sitting Governor. Look at the GOP minions objecting to the investigations and retaliations. Yes, it’s a clear and present and ongoing threat to what we hold dear.
Desantis is a Harvard educated lawyer, who knows better. I will never understand how even Trump’s political rivals bend the knee, even at risk to themselves. I do understand that Republicans have concluded that they can’t win elections without the rabid base being fired up and angry enough to vote in large numbers, but trying to tiptoe along the tightrope of pleasing the base and not pissing Trump off makes them all do dishonorable things. I don’t know how they sleep at night.
It's pretty clear to anyone who has been watching and listening to Ron DeSantis that he didn't learn much from , and doesn't place much store in, his years at both Yale and Harvard. He's gone on record saying that he worries that his advanced degrees would prove a "political liability" with the voters he was trying to woo.
I think that both Yale and Harvard should unburden Mr. DeSantis, rescinding the degrees they conferred, on the grounds that based on his public statements, they are willing to accommodate his desires.
De Sauron's statement that Florida would “not assist in an extradition request”, in violation of the plain language of the US Constitution, would seem to me to be grounds for rescinding his law degree at the very least, and if he's now (or in the future applies to become) a member of any state or federal bar, for permanent disbarment.
I know that Yale and Harvard are THE schools but based on a few graduates I know personally I find that they know less than they think do about technical things. Add DeSantis, Cruz, etc. and you might start to conclude something similar about their law schools.
Yale and Harvard have released a good number of ignorant and evil fools on the country. It appears that making money is far more important than service and integrity within those ivy covered walls.
I suggested some years ago to a professor of history at Duke University, who had written a book on the influence of the Koch brothers on universities, that Stephen Miller’s Duke degree be rescinded. She wrote that it couldn’t be done. Now that Miller is among the Trump advisors up for questioning by Jack Smith, wondering if degree rescinding could be reconsidered.
If his degrees would be a turn-off to MAGA voters, we should tag him with Yale and Harvard at every opportunity. The way he uses labels like woke radical liberal Marxist.
Did Yale and Harvard make the man DeSantis has turned out to be? What one does with the experiences, knowledge, and challenges to ideas and law lays at the feet of the student. Colleges don't train, but teach, with an emphasis on critical thinking. DeSantis came to both universities with intelligence, a good education, and ideas and values of his own. The conservative 20-year old earned his degrees and chose to follow opportunities to gain power and lead. That he is willing and able to pervert the laws he was taught or to wrap himself in the baseness of MAGA-conservatism rests with him. Dragging the universities into this is a mistake, a distraction, I suggest, from what DeSantis is politically and ethically. He is Trump with a better pedigree, which he actually earned, unlike Trump. Were I his professor or mentor, I might both marvel and be disappointed in his career and political choices, and vote against his rise to power every chance I had to do so, recognizing full well that he was a talented student pursing goals not of my preference.
He is a Harvard educated lawyer but that doesn't mean he is a good one. He and his (sleeping?/un-woke?) staff didn't notice the section in the Disney agreement that neutered the handpicked minions he thought would hamstring Disney and its ability to express its own social stands. He didn't know better on that contract and he doesn't know better in a lot of other areas too. It's proof that leadership is more than shouting buzzwords for applause during speeches and squinting into the camera with a clenched jaw, like you think you're the High Plains Drifter.
My RepubliQan friends are all changing their FB cover photos to the National Colors flying upside down. Deprogramming the cult is going to take a lot of time, energy, and effort.
But those upside down Russian flags are probably confused with Luxembourg flags. I'm sure you know what Im getting at. To be a fool of Putin's fool is to be a fool of Putin yourself.
DeSantis waited until he heard that TFG was going to surrender before issuing his "I'm not going to help with extradition threat." He won't have to follow through... It's a BLATANT attempt to grab Trump's base while he's off defending himself. If DeSantis really wants to be Prez, he needs to worry more about wooing independents who probably won't feel too great about him threatening to violate the Constitution. I guess he thinks the primary fight is the tougher one.
I'm with you Will. We have no control over what now proceeds in New York re: TFG (and as a resident of New York City and its environs in the 1970s and 1980s, I can tell you: this is a loooong time coming!). But we do have control over who populates Congress, who populates state and local legislatures, who populates the executive offices in states and cities, and how they address the pressing problems and challenges of this nation, including the not-so-creeping-now fascism that is happening all over.
Red states over run with MAGA & Christian Nationals will not be so easy especially with their electoral college votes which could really skew an election. The super majorities of these states are enacting laws re districting , Voting rights, who appoints judges etc. any law that continues their power in their state
Carole, I agree with your concerns, but on the flip side of that, the Millennial vote is expected to be the majority generational vote next year. Like the indictment of the Orange Russian Witch, this warms my heart and gives me hope.
I disagree with one point. House arrest, no phone AND no internet access. Perhaps no visitors, too. The Golden Cage: solitary confinement with all the hamburgers he want.
- all the hamburgers he wants, minus the ketchup. This later requirement has been requested by the clean up crew at Camp Cupcake or wherever he winds up.
Agree - “the true prerequisites to mending our country take the form of positive policy enactments, rather than the deserved punishment of any indivudual (sic).” And those policy enactments need to happen on the local level as well as state and national levels.
Indeed. The infamous Lewis Powell memo of 1971 laid out a course for modern day corporatocracy.
We need a similar document in the reverse -- a policy document -- that dismantles systemic systemic racism, poverty, classism, oppression.
Our history? A nation built on the genocide of Indigenous peoples and made morbidly rich by the kidnapping and enslavement of Africans, leading to the current day bondage of BIPOC, the poor, and working poor people, by systems created to keep them oppressed by profiting off of their misery. Reading “Poverty by America” by Mathew Desmond right now and he so confirms all of the modern day shackles on and the bleeding of the poor and working poor. When I was a single mom in the ‘90s, working like mad to support my two children and myself, my bank would let a $1 error cost me hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees. Granted. I made mistakes. I sometimes played “checkbook roulette” when we were hungry or the kids had to have something for school or if I didn’t pay daycare or for after school we could lose our place. I just needed another day or two. Or a little grace. AND my bank made bank off of me and the millions of other folks such as I who were paycheck to paycheck, a health insurance lapse away from bankruptcy.
And I had white privilege.
Black single mother friends not only lacked that edge, they lived with the unrelenting racism and aggressions that never let up and grated at their health and well-being in ways I have since studied and written about. The injustice of Black maternal and infant mortality being almost four times what it is for whites is glaring evidence of what systems and policies promulgated by the morbidly rich are doing to our nation’s people.
The Trump indictment? May it be a turning point toward Justice. Please!
I just want our nation to forget about him, or for him to just go away, and for us to look at the facts at hand: the trauma and inequity we foment is killing us, and killing some of us earlier and earlier.
There are solutions; they are in the science of positive and adverse childhood experiences, PACEs science. For those who want to know more, here’s a great read:
Check out the website where the piece is published. The answers are on it. It’s all about preventing and healing trauma; creating community wherein people can get go from dysregulation to regulation to connected to partnerships. When hurt people heal and stop hurting and hating people, we can heal.
Thanks for the link. It is illuminating. I knew the outline of Putin's growing up, but the details are stunning.
Ironic, isn't it: Two world leaders of similar age: One grew up in wealth and privilege, isolated from the normal responsibilities of life. The other grew up in extremes of poverty and remnants of a violent war. Both suffered from the trauma of lack of supportive family life. And both now exhibit personality disorders that continue that isolation from normal human interaction. Both physically aging while clinging to illusions of grendeur. Both threats to world stability. Their aggression reminds me of people I have known who are abusive and controlling to hide their fear of their own inner chaos- and sometimes, I think, to avoid suicide. They are the ones who scare me the most.
Well said. We all need to be more aware of the stressed among us. (Don't get me started about banks!!! I will never again use a bank after the same thing happened to me, as you described. )
As I read the recounting of yours, and others, experiences as single moms, the banking error experiences really hit home. Imagine, your $1 error trying to stretch to make ends meet, left you in perilous financial hardship with no one to help you escape growing onerous fees but aggressive saving and cost cutting, and/or generous family or friends. Those same banks on the other hand, carelessly lost millions in the 80's, then billions in '08 and billions more this year, but each time they were immediately rescued by a firehose of cash from the Fed.
We definitely need to be kinder to each other and have a greater sense of community, but we also need government and corporate policies that are kinder to us. Business models that pounce on consumers like a lion from the tall grasses for the smallest errors or mishaps, with government policies that are written to enable it, sentence people to cycles of debt and despair and are likely a major reason so many are on edge and quick to cut down their fellows in the same boat. I do hope the legal cases against TFG change the tide of elite impunity, and that they open more eyes to see that there are other policies and situations with similarly dangerous effects for us all that need us all to address from the ballot box.
Exactly! I think of someone in my position who was just a wee bit more upset. Or who didn’t have faith. Banks and landlords likely prompted despairicides — deaths of despair — among hundreds, if not thousand of us, as we stretched to make ends meet and prevent our children from feeling the sense of impending doom that comes from too few dollars (low pay) chasing too many goods and services that are suddenly squeezed even more tightly by corporate greed in the form of dines.
Thank you! Yes. I am deeply grateful for myriad amazing miracles and miraculous humans in my life! Kids are now 30 and 33 and thank God are great. I love my life and job and am grateful beyond belief. I appreciate your kind words! Love this community!
I believe this also explains some of the gun violence in the inner cities. Drive by. Robbery that ends in fatal shootings. Some as young as 12.
In fatherless homes where moms are preoccupied with basic survival, boys, mostly boys, feel ignored and disconnected. Gangs lure these kids in by providing the sense of belonging they hunger for and introduce guns that alleviate their sense of powerlessness. These children received no empathy at home and have no empathy for others.
Blessedly, this describes only a small percentage of 1-parent homes. But when the malevolent stars align, it creates monsters.
I remember checkbook roulette. This was when you could write a check two days before payday that you knew you couldn't cover but would hope wouldn't make it to the bank too quickly. Also putting my bills in a hat each month and picking up to the point where the $$ was gone. You can't do that now although now we just fo it by charging to a credit card. And yes this was with white privilege. I didn't have to defend myself ad a person with every daily interaction. This is what should be taught in schools. The real life misery of communities of people who live in the shadow of the real America.
God help us if nazi desantis charms his way to the presidency. SURELY, the National Democratic Party is letting floriduh burn as an example of what the nation would look like.
As far as I can tell there has been no situation in which DeSantis has exhibited even the tiniest amount of charm--certainly not in public. It's rather doubtful that he has any charm at all.
Lynn, Meatball is going nowhere fast here. Lots of smoke, some thunder, he is past his tipping point. The trump wave is cresting, yes, still visible and viable though, as time leaves them in its wake.. As for wake, or WOKE, if you will, Trump awakened us to the existence of so many of our fellow Americans we were unaware, had simply never acquired desire, or ability to think fully for themselves. Authoritarian bully leaders are a perfect fit for them, it seems. Cognitively, and developmentally, America trudges forward with so many folks lost as ever as modern life speeds up every passing moment, while they remain lost.
Personally, I think Florida will suffer in the financials department. No one wants to go to a state where they might get killed. Tourism could drop exponentially and we could see many more people suffering of low income and worse, bad healthcare. Just my two cents.
Well said, Will. Fascism still is alive in America, and plenty of work remains. Yet, we can take a moment to take in some schadenfreude in the news of the indictment (and, perhaps, more to come).
Will, it seems we agree on the objective(s), but not necessarily on strategy or tactics.
I think there is no higher value in our less-than-perfect democracy than the rule of law and the revolutionary notion that it should be applied evenly to all law breakers based on the crime(s) they may have committed, not on their station in life, political beliefs or the friends/enemies they may have. If running for president could get crooks off the hook, then they would be counseled to do so by their attorneys. Perhaps Trump will be remembered as a pioneer in this sense, but it will be the end of everything most of us hold dear.
There is no mention in the Constitution of special privileges for anyone suspected of committing a crime, with the sole exception of a sitting President, and there is no reason to think that crimes committed while in office should be forgotten, forgiven or glossed over in any way once the suspected criminal is out of office and subject to prosecution. Period.
The most overtly political thing Garland could do at this point is to fail to indict.
House arrest -- instead of prison time -- with no phone calls would be an invitation to subsequent leaders to commit further criminal acts and would set a democracy-cancelling precedent.
Does this mean that Ronald Reagan, Dubya Bush and a slew of their enablers ought to have gone to jail for a variety of illegal (often secret) activities, admittedly carried out with some sort of highish-minded intention to further national security? My instinct is to say yes and that we are in this situation with Trump because some of his predecessors were held to an inadequately high standard, but as they were never impeached or seriously investigated by the FBI or DOJ, enough time has passed that it becomes a moot point.
As important as Biden's good governance is, it is second on my list of urgent necessities.
Hugely agree, Will. Keep our spirits high with thoughts of a conviction, yes, but keep our eye on the “ball”..the real “ball”! Systemic relief thru the positive, empathic action of all of us is key.
Fully agree with you, Will. I've gotten pretty tired of the pettiness of so many comments here (esp repeaters). Thank you for your last paragraph, expecially. It makes a sadly necessary and critical point about where our priorities need to be for MENDING our country instead of gleeful playground dissing. I am hoping we can move on (and back) to the kind of conversation that helps illuminate what our future can be as a nation and as a society.
We might begin that discussion by blocking T and Co. from our minds for a while. Imagine what kind of country would we want to have before the MAGA megaphone grab. What would that look and feel like? We need something to aspire to, not just be opposed to. Push forward.
Oh, man, Susan, do I ever agree with you on that! Why I don't post here much these days (tired of reading the same old whines over and over). I am busy working on other things. LOL- I might even be appointed Justice of the Peace to fill an opening when one resigned in my town. JOP is a position that in VT has no assigned duties other than being present at elections and Town Meeting (used to function as a magistrate, but that was removed a very very long time ago).
BUT I found out that though elected at town level, they are actually a part of the state judiciary system. Which would put me in a wonderful position of working within town government without having to answer to it (my town is just now really moving from dysfunctional to possibly functional after years of screwups and actual illegalities).
I'm not a lawyer but do read law, and startled the "chair" of the town D committee, who thought that because the law required parties to have an "organizing meeting" before election season every two years, that was the only meeting they could have. LOL. I explained that the law meant that any political party is required to hold an organizing meeting, which meant that they then went forward as an independent nonprofit organization that made its own rules, created its own structure, and all of the local committees then communicated through that structure to create platforms and select candidates. OMG. He didn't know that. And even our rep didn't know that JOPs are, under the law, part of the state judiciary, not the town gov.
Sometimes this is fun. Sometimes it is hair-pulling. But we do finally have a woman on the select board, and if I get the JOP position (in Governor's hands now), I'll be in the middle of everything along with the other people who are tired of tearing their hair out. These changes start at the local level, and it is time for the five old farts who are running things let some of the rest of us in. We need to start planning for the future instead of just doing the same thing over and over. Next year I am going to run for the town committee chair and use it to make the party visible here so that new people know where to go.
Haven't heard about the JOP yet- gov is not required to appoint a replacement of our choice, but that is how our law works. If I don't hear, I'll contact gov office to find out.
Amen! Focus is best served being placed on the positive- what to do about solving these diversions and get back on track with what we should DO and not what we should not do.
I vote for revising our educational systems to include solutions for those things we would want our children, and all students, to learn and focus on and emulate. I keep ranting about critical thinking skills but I truly see that as the means to achieve a knowledgeable and positive next generation.
Annie, I agree with you (and Will) that we need to "move on (and back) to the kind of conversation that helps illuminate what our future can be as a nation and as a society."
I think this kind of conversation -- despite all the distracting noise generated by all things Trump -- is happening all the time, even here at HCR's Letter. But we have an immediate problem that needs to be dealt with decisively before any truly constructive conversations can bear fruit in terms of electoral results, improvements to the social state, inclusion of historically excluded minorities, fairer wealth distribution, etc., to say nothing of "dealing with" climate change, reversing the destruction of fauna and natural habitats, and eliminating nuclear weapons (still our most immediate existential threat as it has been since the first A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima).
The problem -- as embodied by Trump -- is that a sizable chunk of the US population really believes the greatest impediment to America becoming "great again" is that there are too many of "those" people doing and believing in terrible things that threaten the lives and mores of "real" Americans, and that much of this is being planned and carried out by a "deep state" that will try to "replace" them -- the real Americans -- with racial, ethnic and religious minorities who will then "take over" everything.... and of course the rest is just too terrible to even imagine, so I won't even try.
If close to half the voting population is living a terrifying and totally false fantasy that the rest of us struggle to take seriously in factual terms, and this is bringing us all to the edge of an abyss of societal breakdown, then clearly this is the most urgent and immediate problem to be dealt with. Simply putting Donald Trump on a desert isle (literally or figuratively) somewhere will not make this terror ("theirs" as well as "ours") go away, but a government that deals with a lying, serially criminal former President in the same way it deals with other lying serial criminals (garden variety?) will reestablish its own credibility and increase its popularity just enough to take effective control of both houses of Congress in 2024 and then deal seriously with all the other problems our current political configuration just cannot handle.
When a rabid dog has his teeth in the seat of your trousers and is trying to rip them to shreds before going for the meat, it is useless to wonder how you are ever going to sew up those trousers you like so much.
Trump is a rabid dog who needs to be suppressed. If he ever achieves some measure of self-knowledge, staring at his toes all day in a very bland room day after day, he will thank us. Let's help him and us and just call it tough love.
David, I can tell you feel strongly about this. But the only thing I can think of in reply is this: you're not saying anything that hasn't been gone over and over and over repeatedly for months. Years. As a young thoughtful and appropriately nervy young woman said not too long ago: "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." I'm with her. I'm hoping for dialogue about how we get there, not words that are almost scripted by now.
Okay, Annie, fine. There is a lot of blah, blah here, not only mine. And clearly nothing is going to solve our and the world's problems unless we can express a government able and willing to make big changes in the way we do things, and I expect we are in substantial agreement as to what those things are.
So, either enough people vote the right way in the next general elections to set us on a whole new path to societal survival or we slide into authoritarianism following some sort of disaster involving large crowds of angry people doing violent things to one another as they express their deeply held convictions with the hundreds of millions of AR-15s that even 15 year olds can easily acquire.
And the climate scientists tell us time is running out.
I think legally removing Trump from the equation asap is step number one. What would you do first, given that blah, blah seems to do nothing in the absence of acts?
You are so right Will. tfg has wrecked havoc on our country and our very lives, most especially by him receiving the attention that he craves with the news. I doubt that any of us can really imagine wanting the kind of attention that he seems to thrive on. We have work to do trying to accept the fact that some (even family & friends) believe much of the cr*p that various members of his fan club spew. At times it seems like just a bad dream. We owe Heather so much because of her writings of history and the deep background to history that reveals the “why” to so much. With our week coming to a close, I’m ready for a good night’s rest after saying a prayer for all those affected by the tornadoes of the afternoon & this evening. I for one feel blessed. G’night my friends
The problem is that Trump could be locked up in jail and still run for President. The only thing that could have eliminated that possibility is impeachment with conviction by the Senate. Convicted felons might not be able to vote in many states, but they can still run for office. Still, it would be something for the GOP to end up with a convicted felon as their Presidential candidate in 2024. The GOP should be so proud - they could have an ex-convict candidate leading their party, just like the Nazi party's Hitler.
Will, Fani's not afraid, and neither is Jack. This is just the start. I share your hopes for mending our country - that is paramount if we are to survive.
Well, Nancy, we'll see. Alvin has walked the walk and will probably require an armed escort for the rest of his life. Win or lose he has my eternal admiration.
David, I agree. Fani Willis already has a security detail and I'm sure Jack Smith is watching his back. Still, they are obviously diligently working to wrap up their investigations, and I think they have the skill and determination for positive outcomes. As you suggest, I just can't envision a less than positive result, regardless of his punishment. I just wish we could coalesce enough to have street scenes like those in Bibi's neighborhood.
Nancy, diligent is as diligent does. The jury is still out on Fani and Jack, but I imagine they can feel the heat and will do their best. I will continue to be an optimist until that is no longer a reasonable option.
Well, I'm probably not a good barometer, as I was certain that tFFFFg would never be elected, but Jack Smith has apparently been making lots of progress with his investigation, and I'm really impressed with Fani Willis. To begin with, her no-nonsense demeanor helped her to beat an apparently-corrupt veteran prosecutor, and she has been dogged and tight-lipped in her pursuit of Public Enemy No. 1.
If he goes to a Federal prision....I hope they don't select Terre Haute, IN. People here would probably help him escape! I do believe a lot of his people live not far from me. I see their 2024 signs for him.
I can understand your rejoicing--my reaction was more of relief...FINALLY! All I can say is that, one by one, my prayers are being answered. Just wait and see what's coming down the pike....
Trump is being indicted in NY for paying hush money from his campaign money to woman to keep her quiet about the two of them having sex.
Now, while this is apparently a crime, it pales in comparison to the treasonous crime of sponsoring the attempted violent overthrow of the United States Government on Jan 06 2021. Or working with the Russians to sway the 2016 election. Or never renting to any black people in NY City, ever. Or (a long list of stuff here).
Yet, We have not heard a peep from anyone in the United States Justice Department about Trump's real crime of treason and a coup attempt outside of assigning "Jack Smith" as "prosecutor".
Now? After 70 years of letting the Trump's run roughshod over NY City (including Fred Trump's misadventures), there is finally a DA that cannot be bought off. Gee, I guess I will celebrate a little. But, not much.
I do not feel much glee at all that a hardened, long time, treasonous criminal like Trump has been charged with a fairly minor crime in a City that let him and his father run a criminal enterprise for two generations.
This indictment? Compared to the many crimes Trump has sponsored in his life?? Getting him on this one brings to my mind one word: Paltry.
Where is the United States Justice Department?
We, the United States, have a treasonous Russian agent running for President in the United States of America and nobody is doing anything about it.
DLM, it is true we do not know what the indictments will actually be, but, we know what the targeted crime was: Using campaign money to pay off a hooker to keep her quiet.
Now, it is not illegal, that I know of, for a man in NY City to pay a hooker although it is illegal, but, mostly tolerated, to BE a hooker; however, it is illegal to use campaign money to do it.
I feel that this is a crime that is tiny compared to what I have seen of Trump.
Why did you call Stormy Daniels a 'hooker' and in another post a 'prostitute'? She was a striper before directing and acting in the 'adult entertainment' business. otherwise known as a porn star.
Teflon Donald is an asshat who thinks he's Hugh Hefner and thinks with his dick. It's quite possible that Stormy outsmarted him. But we can't ass/u/me anything. Circus arraignment on Tuesday. 34 counts. Should be interesting.
Above all, Stormy Daniels is a brave woman and we wouldn't have an indictment of Trump without her. And I don't know or care why she went into his hotel room. I just hope it wasn't one that I've slept in.
She took money on account of a sexual encounter with tfg. The fact that the payment was delayed by several years and associated with a post-hoc NDA doesn't change that fact. When you take payment, you become a hooker. When you pay, you become a john.
It seems paltry when compared to his history of felonious behavior, but it's huge for the justice system to finally cross the chasm and label a former president, particularly this one, as equally beholden to the law as the rest of us. I'll take this as the down payment on a very large debt he owes to all of us.
Nathan: Exactly! And while it may be too much to expect from the DOJ that there is a level of coordination between themselves, NYC, and the State of Georgia, there is certainly a hint of serendipity.
Consider, as Heather points out that there is probably less sympathy for Trump in NYC than in most other places, therefore the absence (so far) of civil protest over this development, which could help set the tone for future indictments on the more serious charges of say, sedition and even perhaps treason. And also as stated “A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.” So if the indictment turns out to be criminal in nature it cuts off the possibility of Trump taking refuge in Florida. This in turn enables that jackal, DeSantis, to howl to the heavens over "the injustice" (while privately wringing his hands in glee), further splitting the Republican Party's base for 2024. And finally, it "breaks the ice" of an indictment of a former president as being unprecedented. Baby step, perhaps, but an important first step.
Is this the squeaky sound of "the fickle finger of fate", finally slipping on its rubber glove? We can only hope.
Yes; as soon as the announcement was made, the bloom came off the rose, s.t.s. And, at least some of the country will take their cue from New Yorker's disdain for the defendant, as the NY press swings into action during proceedings. The outrage will inevitably extinguish to a degree on both sides of the gallery as a long winded, drawn out trench war evolves. Even the MAGA crowd can only be whipped so far. Maybe the feds are intentionally allowing the states to issue their indictments first in order to take heat off of the federal court when it kicks off its proceedings.
IMO, once fingerprinted and mug shot, he is in the criminal system. Like the geni that escape the bottle, you can't ever not be a part of the criminal/justice system. His life will always be different, diminished, caught, a failure in his own mind, despite the rants and redirects he does to get public attention. He will always be one of the "usual suspects" eligible to be looked at more seriously by the legal system and no longer eligible for the passes he might have received in the past because judges that he appeared before considered him among the powerful. In the future, IMHO, it will become easier to cuff him, mirandize him, and wreak havoc on his defense fund raising. No mater how he appears in the public mind, as a narcissist he will always see himself in an orange jumpsuit because he has been lowered in his own impression of his superiority, his infallibility, his fantasy, because his whole personality is based upon never getting caught, never having to follow the mores of the ordinary, never one the failures he derides. His narcissistic self is based upon never getting caught out. Indictment, printing, and the photo of him pasted in every criminal record system and on every bus in NYC and TV station in Florida will be the irreparable crack that makes him ordinary, most of all a petty criminal, an actual loser. Thanks, Mr Bragg.
As usual, I agree with your core sentiments, Mike. While it's tempting to get excited about any indictment of this monster, I contain my enthusiasm for now.
But let's see what's actually in the indictment. That will be quite soon.
I see this one as a trickle of water slowly dribbling out of an old unsafe dam. The trickle increases daily. The volume slowly undermines the whole structure. And then it collapses. A devastating flood ensues. And the only people living below the dam are the liars and enablers who claimed the dam was safe and needed no attention.
Bill, I also find the timeline of the announcement particularly rejuvenating; news reports of the long Easter recess left a lot of us feeling crestfallen as delay after delay doused hopes of justice employed, and then, Bragg says “wait a minute, hold my beer”
We are dreadfully impatient (I say as I stand in front of the microwave tapping my foot and willing it to hurry up). The whole process has been excruciating!
I tried to give Garland the time to dot the i's and cross the t's. Deep breath, girl! It's gonna happen. But ...remembering it only takes 18 months to birth an elephant, what the hell is taking so long. We're talking 3 years here! Enough ranting. My tea is done.
I agree that this is small potatoes compared to all his other crimes. (BTW, it's my understanding that paying hush money isn't a crime. The reason and the lying about it is what is the crime.) Anyway, remember back in the day when mobsters were massacring people, they were finally snagged because of their tax crimes. Small potatoes, but that started the convictions....
Your simple sentence captures my feelings but it’s not just sad, it’s infuriating. If the prosecutors before Mr. Bragg had done their job, acted upon the belief that no one is above the law and cared about the contractors Trump stiffed, the people of color he denied housing to and others impacted by his manipulations and shady behavior we would not be where we are today.
Mike, I think you might have misunderstood the significance of the charges we are likely to see. It’s not about the sex. That’s just silly titillation. It’s about the payoffs, and how they were accounted for by the Trump administration, and why. And that, right there, might be construed as election interference, which is a Big Deal. Proving that Trump’s motivation was to help his campaign rather than to hide his tawdry affair from his wife sounds pretty difficult, but let’s not forget how Al Capone was finally caught. I don’t think Trump will go to jail for this, even though Cohen did. But it does set the precedent that former presidents are not, in fact, above the law, and that’s a very good thing. It will make the GA and justice department indictments easier to make, and that’s also a very good thing.
I really hope there is at least one state conviction, if only to have something that he can't be pardoned for if another corrupt R should be elected to the presidency.
"You'll be broke and I'll have money; will I help you? Don't be funny! Just you want Donny Trumpy, just you wait." (With apologies to Lerner and Loewe.)
But, this was the number one crime that got him into the Presidency by paying to deceive the voters. Without that crime the other bigger ones would not have happened.
Thank you Will. I feel like I am the only frustrated out he got charged by NY first. Although it was actually an attempt to subvert our democracy his base is getting mileage talking about paying off a porn star as a normal occurrence. I had hoped GA would go first with the indictments because they have him on tape. This does not feel to me like it will have a good ending for democracy. I hope I am wrong.
Oh, heck no, Marj. I was hoping that the indictments out of Georgia would be first, because there is absolutely NO defense to what fpotus did on those calls. Period. I was mulling this in my pre-caffeinated state this morning and unable to recall if DA Willis had empaneled a criminal Grand Jury to hear the evidence as yet. She's in the absolute cross-hairs of the RepubliQans in Georgia with their "remove a DA for cause" statute.
Ally, the stipulations of the statute you referred to can't be put into effect until long after Willis has brought her indictments to the fore. No complaints can be filed before July of this year and then they wouldn't be acted on until well into 2024. Willis's term expires at the end of '24. There is no danger at all of Willis being removed, so rest easy. (I've been searching for the past half hour trying to find the info I had on that and I can't find it....GGGRRR!!!)
AH! Found it! The bill provides the following regarding the establishment of the commission:
"The commission shall commence by October 1, 2023, and the rules and regulations promulgated by such commission shall be established no later than April 1, 2024. No complaint shall be filed before July 1, 2024. The commission shall not receive complaint submissions regarding misconduct that occurred prior to July 1, 2023, unless such alleged misconduct is related to a continuous pattern of conduct that continues beyond that date."
"Given the requirement of 'willful misconduct' and the prohibition of the filing of a complaint until July 1, 2024, it seems unlikely that the statute can be used to remove Fani Willis for indicting Trump—especially if the special grand jury recommended the indictment (as seems to be the case here). Willis’s current term in office expires in December 2024, so her prosecution of Trump will be subject to review by voters before a complaint against her can be filed, adjudicated, and appealed."
At some point, this will either be cast in full daylight, or indictments will come. By casting what Mr. Olear is reporting as less important than the attempted overthrow of the government. we will see indictments. If losing tfg as an informant/mole is more important than the very foundation of our democracy, we are in more trouble that we could even imagine.
What brings me joy is that whether he ever sees a jail cell or not, he'll be miserable and scared every day from now until the end of his worthless, too-long life.
“Step right up, don’t be shy, see the painted lady and the Orange (suited) Strongman perform magic right before you; ‘open your wallets, close your eyes; presto chango, they are now empty. Amazing!!!”
Yes finally. But let us hope that it s the first of many more. His house of cards must fall and, as numerous other commenters point out here,, perhaps then we can begin to cure America from the terrible disease of hate that Trump has unleashed.
👏🤣 ! I do 'so get that' Karen. However, and sorry to emote this, but I'm thinking that especially now - in this moment is when, armed by our good doctor with facts in evidence - it's critically 'my turn' to actively support a system I must have 'faith in' via whatever little 'actions' I can take. So, on my FB wall, I 'pinned' to the top a very fundamental truth statement that I will pin here in italics. I will also 'share' that truth statement with every single broadcast outlet I can comment on to hopefully drown out the faithless negativity that Putin and the autocrat 'wanna be's ' have made their mission in life to 'undermine the pillars of democracy' fundamentally. "My part - My J_O_B and mission I can accomplish and insist / persist to 'do'. I posted, pinned, and will share this message - perhaps more, but this is as short as a 'sound bite' that those opposed are so fond of. If you will, see and share if you like, add or whatever, but I seek to 'keep it simple' >>> " **Indicting citizen trump is a legal 'prosecution' that you, I, or any "Joe or Jane" citizen would face if we potentially broke the law. He is *not any personally* persecuted 'victim' as he bawls he is; he is not above the laws we all live under. He has no standing above those laws. 'If' he is innocent, a judge and jury of law will by order of our laws discover that or not."
Damn.. I see some typo's I made.. Drat. If you share it, please correct my omissions and typo's. I will so in a minute. Drat. I get ahead of my thoughts some times - apologies...
That was a long yes and finally some accountability!! I will be really happy when the rest of the repugnants and cronies are held to accountability as well !! The repugnants would rather cry about their orange buffoon than deal with the issues that would help or hinder the American people. I wish they would actually do the jobs they were voted to do !
Trump has been Putin's useful idiot for years, and too many Americans don't seem to know or care. We're at this point due to the many missed opportunities over decades at every level of the justice system to hold Trump accountable for cheating, lying, grifting, conning, etc- he's a veritable thesaurus of disgusting behavior. Let's stay vigilant and salute everyone who ensures the rule of law endures.
Y'all seen those T-shirts that say "I'd rather be a Russian than a Democrat!"? I always think "Okay! Great! MOVE THERE, THEN!"
Considering how often these Denizens of Derp Dynasty list the threat of "communism" as the reason Democrats are so icky, advertising their preference for Russia - the actual poster child of murderous communist regimes - just illustrates so, SO clearly that either one or both of the following is true: 1) They are not thinking this through by a long shot, and/or 2) their gripes are not actually about the dangers of any economic philosophy and more simply about the presence of non-white people. Hmmm...
They are responding to the "socialist" dog whistle and cannot distinguish between socialism and communism, or between legitimate protest and a seditious insurrection to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Plus, they are racist as heck.
I often wonder how many MAGA’s suffered with learning disability’s all thru their public education and now seeth with vengeance (for having never felt smart enough) at the “librul” elites. It really seems they need an enemy to direct their angst towards. Mind blowing they would align with Putin just to hate on being informed with truth.
That meme of those two old geezers in those t-shirts reminded me that only 32 years ago these same guys were probably ranting about 'Reds, Commies, Pinkos' and probably spent a week chest pounding and bumping that the USSR was crumbling! But now they are good with them? They like an authoritarian Strongman and his Oligarchs better?
It has been my daily mantra since 2016. How someone who made fun of a person with a disability became president of the United States of America stunned. Then received so many votes the second time. Knowing that there is so much willful ignorance in a country that so many around the world see as shocking for the adoration of a dangerous con artist is constantly playing somewhere in the windmill of my mind. What happened? Have there always been this many angry, resentful, hate-filled Americans? Even more complacent Americans? Is this a reason there are so many mass shootings in America? Why American children have to learn to hide from possible slaughter? How someone from Texas (Cruz) representing his constituency can say publicly that there just needs to be more police in American schools and no one questions this??? WTF. I could not 'adjust' to it. I had to leave.
Agreed. "Don't confuse me with facts; my mind is made up". (Note, punctuation mine; never theirs because they have no command of proper usage and grammar)
We have failed to hold more than just ex-Pres Trump accountable. Nixon was inappropriately pardoned for his Watergate crimes. Reagan/Bush Sr. were inappropriately excused for their Iran/Contra crimes. Bush Jr./Cheney were inappropriately excused for their Iraq war crimes. Hopefully we are finally breaking this pattern with Trump.
Agree. The three rivers that brought us here were making money, making war, and political lack of fortitude.
American citizens have mindless lionized the office of the military and the Presidency in thousands of ways, most induced by propaganda. Think flyovers, presentations of the colors, pledges of allegiance, Hails to the Chief ad nauseam. The result has been to inculcate Presidents with an aura of invincibility, begging for hubris to burrow its way into their souls, giving them a sense of almost papal infallibility and a will to use the military. I date this orgy of dialed up reverence to around the time of the Iran hostage crisis. In all likelihood, it seems that Reagan brokered a deal to have the hostages held until his first day of office (that one has the odor of Roger Stone), and spent his Presidency painting America in warm muted colors, to bring along an unsuspecting population.
People, desperate for succor from the scabs of Vietnam, jumped aboard, and America became a temple of the military and the Presidency. Unsurprisingly, Congress plunged out of favor (13% favorability) ratings and defaulted most significant decisions to the President. Equally unsurprising, American presidents ensnarled upon wars and threats of war. A document called Project for a New American Century (advocating almost casual world dominance through regime change attracted the the eyes of Bush II and the country began its descent into reckless, violent shows of hegemony.
My point is this. This indictment of Trump has an aura of virtue beginning to re-establish itself. Trump’s behavior, pre-Presidency, was tawdry, immoral and deeply offensive to good people. When he became President, it worsened by orders of magnitude.
Presidents should be the zenith of probity. If there is a desire in the American psyche to elevate the office to one of truly high standing, then electing people who ooze offensive personal characteristics is not the best way to go about accomplishing.
For Karen McDougal, E. Jean Carroll, Summer Zervos, Stephanie Clifford and all the honest contractors Trump stiffed along the way, this is a worthy indictment and trial.
I don’t care that is the “least of the charges@. I was offended when a *left* wing media reporter characterized it as a “nothing burger”., compared to Georgia and the DOJ.
For God’s sake America, get behind this in a full throated way. Run this rat ragged.
AMEN to all that. His arraignment will likely be muted, but I would surely like to see him doing the standard perp walk in handcuffs. I am still angry at his treatment of the steelworkers: for that alone, I would have him up on charges. There's no forgiving that.
You may be right about that. But I don't think so. NYC is not Washington: the police force is prepared, and the National Guard is probably going to be on standby. So any shenanigans those MAGATs try will be properly snuffed out, in short order. No worries there. Did you see the dwindling size of the crowds at his rallies? He couldn't even draw a decent audience in Waco. I say, bring it on, Repugnant Republicans. Let the s**t show begin. If the chart I saw on MSNBC tonight is correct, T**** is facing eight major legal problems. And most of them have irrefutable, incontrovertible evidence. Problem is, even if he's convicted, sentenced, even incarcerated, he can still be the candidate. Aye, there's the rub. If we can't disqualify him somehow, then we have to continue to make him look ridiculous and insane. That shouldn't be too hard; we've got plenty of clips of him that can be used against him, with proper editing, and appropriate background music.
Couldn’t agree more. He’s on his way out into the darkness of historical infamy. But his movement is coherent, engaged, and anxious to flex its muscle. This is one case where the inmates really have taken over the asylum. They don’t need Trump now.
Or you could flip the dice again and ask what would happen if Hillary had won in 2016. But I'm not sure where all this time travel think tank stuff really gets us.
I did my residency in Family Practice in Michigan in the early Eighties. I grew up in the Mountain West, so that was my first real experience with Mid-westerners. The people I met and worked with seemed like the real salt of the earth types: steadfast, trustworthy, well-thought-out, genuine. I don't know what has happened there since, but I remember thinking in 2016 when Trump won, how all those salt-of-the-earth mid-western white men would feel when they found out that they just elected the Kremlin to the White House. Seems like most of them still either don't know or don't give a sh!t. Still surprises me.
Please stop the MSM/TFG talking point that “This is the first time in history a former United States president has ... “
But remember history as TFG remembers it for all of us -- he was the first United States president to be impeached twice. With that ignominious past, he’s just the first United States president to have been alleged to have committed so many crimes. The unprecedented part is not his indictment, but what led to it. Keep the emphasis where it belongs, not on his indignation, which no one should give a damn about.
Impeachment is a political indictment, not punishable in criminal terms. It would have disqualified him from running again, which would have been a huge favor to the country, essentially forcefully retiring him from national politics, but this criminal indictment is a far bigger event for the country and justice system. It's grease on the skids for Georgia and the DOJ.
Crooked political officials are certainly no novelty, but a US president who is a walking crime wave, and a US party so thoroughly committed to crime, so far as I know sets a new low, especially the brazen and coordinated attempts to overturn the election, along with the despotic all lies, all the time, approach to governance.
It's always about Russia, isn't it? I read the Mueller report, and one footnote really struck me: A redacted person wrote in a text to a Russian oligarch (Dmitriev, who had met with Erik Prince in the Seychelles), minutes after Hillary conceded: "Putin has won." Let us now hope this is the beginning of the end of the Putin - trump reign of terror.
Laurie, thank you a thousand times for this post. Betsy DeVos-Erik Prince, brother and sister. Republican gifts to the destruction of US, not often enough invoked.
Thank you! The Mueller report was full of shocking facts, but Barr gaslit America. The DeVos/Prince family is corrupt, and they are still using their fortune to destroy the public schools (and find another way to profit).
It's going to take a while to seat a jury, as most New Yorkers hate his guts. A true jury of his peers would be 12 soulless amoral grifters, but if anywhere can scrounge up a dozen of those, it's probably Manhattan. :)
This indictment means everything as it will begin revealing trumps way of destroying or hiding evidence - which will in turn lead to more indictments and more evidence revealed. He can’t hide from his actions. His supporters may spin it but it’s going to come out. Those supporters won’t change but the public record will remain forever. The evidence will bring accountability. No more Barrs to help him sweep it under the rug.
My hope is that this indictment is the first “snowball” of a coming avalanche of accountability for him and his enablers. Fingers crossed for justice to be done…all due process procedures in place of course.
Indeed Barb; there is an actual avalanche coming. Guilty traitors on Capital Hill are en mass, wetting their pants; wealthy traitors and enablers that worship at the Church of Greed are as well. Watch for some to leave the country.. good riddance !
Dillard: the key is 34 Counts! The irresponsible talking heads on CNN and MSNBC continue to trash “the case” without having even seen the indictment, or any corroborating evidence and witnesses, or any of the key texts! How ridiculous is that? My guess is that the seriousness of this legal accumulation of corroborating evidence will embolden significant Republican political fallout with respect to his run for president? And when the next shoes drop: 1) with respect to his deliberate effort to hide national security secrets and classified documents long after he left the WH; 2) his obvious attempt to cheat the rule of law by desperately trying to pressure the SOS “to find 11,000+” votes in Georgia, and 3) his active conspiracy to overturn the national election by insurrection will all prove to a solid national majority that he is a crook, a liar, a cheat, a traitor, and a national disgrace! He can keep his MAGA co-conspirators company but not as President ever again!
Today, CNN apparently thought the correct answer to "Who should we highlight in order to provide a thorough, educated view and valuable, objective context on this groundbreaking development to our millions of viewers?" was "I know, let's see if the former toady for the Indict-ee wishes to give his tupPence about this whole shebang! We'll let him deflect and get in some digs on ethical current President, too! Journalism!"
Reminder: CNN have always been sensationalist, hacky trash, but have recently become a whole new kind of trash, and nobody here should be supporting them with your eyeballs under any circumstances.
Will, CNN and CBS demonstrated quite openly their business model during their first interviews with Blinken talking about Biden’s “failures” during the Afghan debacle They are simply clickbait whores, and yes, whores is the proper terminology here
The word that finally came to mind after seeing Pence give his opinion of the indictment was 'unctuous'. That will have to do until after I've had more coffee.
I agree. Trump will be held accountable. He will be tried in a court of law, there will be evidence presented, each side has their say, and a jury will decide guilty or not guilty. Trump is not above the law. This isn't political. The man is a criminal.
Agree, any person who has documented proof (due process) of them aiding and abetting his actions—he certainly needed collaborators to pull this off—must be held accountable as well, not just the foot soldiers/fodder for his coup attempt.
And your closing paragraph is a real zinger: “In the end, as legal dominoes begin to fall, it might be that Americans do not, in fact, remember the history of his presidency from ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ forward the same way Trump does.”
Great Letter, Heather Cox Richardson! Makes yesterday's startling events crystal clear. You often say that your skill set is in American History and Politics; however, what a fine job you do describing European, Russian, Chinese and other countries relevance to us here in the US. Thank you. I'm the one who lived next to Polands when I lived in Round Pond in the 1990s.
The election of chump in 2016 stank from the git go. I never believed that he won legitimately; Putin’s paws were all over the whole Schitt show. And, Russia was always in the shadows for the whole horrible four years of his crime spree.
I’m praying he flees to some isolated island, lives in luxury, paid for in MAGA donations, flaunting his total disgust and disregard of his cult base as they continue to fund his largesse
To Catch a Thief; a liar and bully; a rapist, misogynist, racist, antisemite, and cruel beyond measure; children in cages; incompetent and ignorant; to catch the insurrectionist ex-president who paid a porn star with hush money; to actually indict him, the real-estate hustler, former president, Donald J. Trump and the porn star, Stormy Daniels, now that’s a story!
“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head,” DeSantis said. “The [billionaire donor George] Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney [Alvin Bragg] has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.”
In his statement Thursday, DeSantis said the state would “not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.”
The consequences of this indictment not only for Trump but, most importantly, for the US. The MAGA movement is out to destroy the state, and the Republican Party is in its hands. What of the country that didn’t catch the lying, thief for fifty years, whose system and voters elected him as President? Is the US also in MAGA’s hands or will Americans wakeup and the so-called ‘Rule of Law’ fulfil its mission and save our so-called Democracy?
‘The sinister forces trying to kill America have done everything they can to stop me, to silence you, and to turn this nation into a socialist dumping ground for criminals, junkies, Marxists, thugs, radicals, and dangerous refugees that no other country wants. No other country wants them. If those opposing us succeed, our once beautiful U.S.A. will be a failed country that no one will even recognize. A lawless, open borders, crime-ridden, filthy, communist nightmare. That’s what it’s going and that’s where it’s going. . . . That’s why I’m standing before you, because we are going to finish what we started. We started something that was a miracle. We’re going to complete the mission. We’re going to see this battle through to ultimate victory.’
“I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage,” Pence said Thursday night in an interview on CNN. “This will only further serve to divide our country.”
I don't want to use an expletive; how about calling him a 'weirdo'? What do you think, Pat?
Outrage or outage? More like an outing. Except that in NYC everybody knew.
More like the end of the very, very long fuse to an almost unending chain reaction, indictment upon indictment upon indictment.
Time to read or reread Henry Fielding's remarkable novel, The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild the Great, a biography of London's erstwhile crime boss, the greatest criminal of the age AND a deadly satire of England's 18th century Bibi Netanyahu, Robert Walpole.
Note that Fielding was not only a great novelist and the dominant playwright of his age but London's chief magistrate and the founder of London's first police force, the Bow Street Runners.
To end on a cautionary note, Fielding's deadly satires failed to unseat Walpole, one of history's grandmasters of political corruption... Read:
Pence is a sorry excuse for a person with no backbone. Trump wanted to have him hung and and he’s trying to talk around it.
This guy will never get two votes in a primary if he runs for president.
Why is everybody still afraid to stand up to trump? They all hate him and if they had stuck together he would have been done for a long time ago.! Amen!
Exactly!! They ARE afraid to stand up to him. Whether they like him or not is irrelevant to them. He's the disruption they crave. And we can't ever lose track of that.
Among Trump supporters, paying off a prostitute is not, likely, viewed as weird. In fact, it probably makes him look good to them. Hey, he is a regular guy.
PS 'Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born Stephanie A. Gregory; March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels,[7][8] is an American pornographic film actress and director[9][10] and former stripper. She has won many industry awards and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.' (Wikipedia)
Why did you call her a prostitute? Do you know that for a fact?
Well, just think about it...between Stormy and the former Playboy Bunny, tfg paid $280k for a couple of brief rolls in the hay. The fact that payment was delayed and included a post-hoc nondisclosure clause doesn't change the fact that when the money changed hands, those two became perhaps the highest paid hookers in modern history and he became one of the most notorious johns in recent memory.
Nathan, this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the case - this payoff money wasn’t for the sex, which seems to be kind of like exciting sordid click-bait for some people. The money was to keep the women from selling their stories during the campaign; i.e., it was hush money. That doesn’t make either woman one of the highest paid “hookers” in modern history, or a “hooker” at all. Porn stars are just that: porn stars, not prostitutes. I’m not saying they might not also take money for sex; they might, but we should not make those kind of assumptions. It’s misogynistic to do so. I think that’s the point Fern is trying to make, although I don’t want to put words into her mouth.
'Hooker' is a word for prostitute. I have not read anywhere, except written here by a couple of uninformed males, that they were or are prostitutes. You may not care to read my post just before yours, so I am copying it for your edification: 'Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born Stephanie A. Gregory; March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels,[7][8] is an American pornographic film actress and director[9][10] and former stripper. She has won many industry awards and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.' (Wikipedia)
My comment was about Pence not about 'Trump supporters'. Were they threatened with death during the 1/6 attack on The Capitol? Pence was VP under Trump. Have you paid attention to Pence's behavior and public statements?
Jeeze Fern you are a formidable foe. And Pencey is still playing coy boy, like a baby kangaroo playing peekaboo. Now you see me now you don’t. I’m trying here to contain myself. No I’m not. I haven’t crashed into the “Old Man of the See” yet, but looking forward to adding his insight to yours. Between Peter and you it’s a feast fest. Like Odysseus I want to chain myself to the mast and hear the Siren’s song.
One thing sticks in my mind concerning this indictment: We need to remember (and continually reiterate) that Donald Trump is innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his peers. Of course the obvious irony of this pronouncement of Innocence is the unabashed pronouncement of the “obvious” GUILT of DA Bragg, George Soros, the Demonic Left, etc.
Paul, I agree. That’s the bedrock of our judicial system, that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty. I’m feeling as gleeful as everyone else! But Trump is entitled to the same protections under law as everyone else. I fervently hope he is also subject to the same penalties as everyone else, when he breaks the law and it’s proven in court that he has done so. Without that, I think we are lost.
Exactly, KR. I am willing to give Trump a fair trial. (That kinda takes away that whole “weaponization” argument that Trump Nation is promoting.) The more Patriotic we can be about our judicial system the more we can demonstrate to Trump Nation how REAL Patriots behave in such circumstances.
DJT sure didn’t care about the innocence of the Central Park Five. His indictment is necessary for the rule of law to prevail-even if he’s not convicted.
No, Trump did not care about the innocence of the Central Park Five. I DO NOT WANT to be like Trump. Currently, Trump & Trump Nation views their “opposition” as GUILTY until “proven” INNOCENT. I REFUSE to be like Trump & Trump Nation.
Paul, Trump's innocence or guilt of civil and criminal charges will be determined in a court of law, not by the opinion of pundits and members of the public.
Well, the day has arrived. TFG has been indicted. For what, exactly? We have no idea. The indictment is sealed until he presents himself before the judge next week. So, all the speculation we are hearing on the media about the charges. It’s just that. Speculation. Period.
Now, another ‘speculation’ we are hearing. Or better yet. A lot of media time spent on discussing why this indictment first. Why not one of the other investigations being first?
This is strictly my opinion. But I’m looking at this as a type of “time line”. I always drew up a time line in every investigation. This way I knew at the end when I presented it to the State Attorney’s office, I had all my ducks in a row and my investigation was complete. Made their job so much easier.
Back to this case. This is the first step leading up to the other investigations which are all involving his time while in office, and with a future election. So, this being the first of his political criminal acts, it’s fitting that he hit the courts on this first. And, it will not surprise me if in the very near future we don’t see indictments coming from Georgia, then from Washington DC.
I suspect that the three attorneys might have been communicating just this scenario. MAYBE they all want to get him in New York, out of Florida, and then hit him with the other charges. There’s no telling what the plan is, but you can bet your bottom dollar that’s there’s a plan, and it’s being held very close to the vest.
There is two things we all do know. First, TFG is in a huge pile of deep do-do. The more he yaks now on his social media and in a microphone the deeper he’s digging his hole. Second. We all know, beyond any shadow of any doubt, that TFG, as well as his enabled Republicans in the House and Senate can’t keep their yaps shut!
Hold on to your seats folks. Get you a huge bowl of popcorn popped, and a case of your favorite drink on ice. This show is just fixing to get good!
True, the indictment remains under seal pending after a "limited unsealing order" likely by NY state Judge Merchant who handled a prior NY state action against the Trump Organization.
However, NBC News is reporting multiple Counts, enhanced felony Counts which will be accurately reported by Lawfare when publicly available explaining how the Counts were charged.
We will have to wait like everyone else but, I am expecting well crafted charges supported by stark admissible evidence.
Bryan, can you link to where NBC reported that? I have had nowhere near the time to read every reliable source this afternoon, but everywhere I have seen says ~25-30 counts, with no information as to misdemeanor or felony.
I think 117 might be the number of this type of case that the Manhattan DA's office has prosecuted this term so far.
I taped Rachel & I will review. UPDATE with Mea Culpa: You are correct scrowel2, Rachel in her opening monologue stated that DA Alvin Bragg has brought this "falsification of biz records" charges 117 prior times in his short time as DA.
Rachel observed that "overheated expectations" are bound to disappoint & warned that the NY state proceedings will be "boring". I do not think it will be boring but, will rely on Lawfare for accurate reporting & court document attachments.
Joyce Vance reported 34 separate indictments, according to the NYT. She could not firgure out just where they all were coming from, so some of them may indeed be a surprise.
March 30, 2023 will go down in the history books as a date to remember. There's such incredible poetic justice in hush money payments to a porn star being the lead off batter in this game of indictments that's coming. Spring training is finally over folks. Let the games begin. Hallelujah. Cue Leonard Cohen, the backup singers and the B-3. This performance is perfect for this moment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q
Double the Ides...I like it. I shot a gig with KC in DC about 10 years ago that I think was for the Chamber of Commerce. KC had not aged too well...but he had this total amazon woman dancing with the band. She stole the show...she was the show. I commented to an older gentleman who was "gettin' down" with his date, that"I wasn't sure she was the same species that we were." Google KC...you'll see what I mean.
Whoa . . . what happened to him? Would love to see the Amazon woman--do you have a link to the video? Glad you like the Ides! Kind of a pun: I like the Odds . . .
I can't find any video. But this Forbes article has a photo...if this isn't the same woman...they are similar. I think "mine" was taller and more towering over KC.
My son was on the phone telling us he is getting married when a text came in about trump's indictment!!! Not sure which was the most joyous as we have been hoping for both for a long time!!! There will be a lighter step and much happiness on the 'ole pickleball court this morning!! 💃 😆
I am usually a tad loquatious when I think of something to say around these parts. Tonight, all I have to say is:
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
F#cking *finally*
'Melania Trump Seen Wearing “I Don’t Care” Jacket'
'PALM BEACH (The Borowitz Report)—Melania Trump, who made headlines in 2018 by wearing a jacket emblazoned with the words “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?,” was spotted wearing the garment again Thursday evening.'
'Mrs. Trump, who was seen in the controversial jacket while taking a stroll around the grounds of Mar-a-Lago, offered no explanation for donning it other than that she “was really in the mood to wear it tonight.”
'The former President’s wife projected an air of calm that was in sharp contrast with the tense scenes unfolding inside the residence, according to reports.'
'Sources said that an emergency cleaning crew had to be summoned to Mar-a-Lago to mop up what was described as a “river of ketchup.” (Satire, NewYorker)
With this indictment, Melania can start planning her escape route.
she is not nor has she ever been a prisoner, she just loves the money.
If the money is so great, why does she have such awful looking clothes?
They both look as dressed in bags ... of course, his owes to his addiction to Depends.
No true class. No true good taste.
I think you said it best. I have tried purposely not to think about her because it's sickening to do so. T hired Stormy Daniels to have a "fling" right after Melania had a baby. This is a behavior I find so cheap, sad, and miserable that it is beyond me. I don't get it and I don't want to.
Just like Newt asking for a divorce from his wife when she was being treated for cancer. These guys really don't see women as real human beings.
J. Nol, Newt's mother named him appropriately. Perhaps Elon could round up Newt, all of TFG's immediate family, McConnell, the offending SCOTUS members. and the Freedom Caucus and offer them free transport on Space X to Mars.
Is there a factual basis to Trump hiring Stormy Daniels?
No, according to her last report, he cornered her as she was exiting a RR.
Apparently, there was something about the "horse-faced" "not my type" 'moving picture' personality that roused his toadstool.
Sounds more like the encounter began as in the E Jean Carroll story. Ignorant Newscasters have turned it into an 'affair' or more.
Good Luck to Ms Carroll on April 25!!
If you had the Forbes magazine she spanked him with, you could make a lot of money.
She's doing the job she was recruited to do. Now she's just living out the terms.
I agree. It's not as though Donald was ever handsome, intelligent, or anything but crass and disgusting, and I doubt she had any illusions or hopes of making him a better man (as if), so it's a case of "what you see is what you get". I feel sorry for Baron. He looks so unhappy, and certainly has nobody to offer support.
But he will be like all he knows, sadly
I agree, but she'd better take advantage of her most recent iteration of her prenup before his cash is totally used up.
She doesn't need an escape plan--hubby's going to prison. BTW, they're both cut from the same cloth....
She has her own money, you know. She successfully sued The Daily Mail for defamation when they said that she obviously does “things” outside of modeling.
👏🤣 - Honestly, that's likely a kind, yet no less discomforting thought that only occurred to me via 'you' so kindly thinking and sharing it 'Treker'.... What more will be revealed once that 'snowball' makes a sudden 'stop' at some bottom ?
Just to note that The Borowitz Report is sub-headed, “Not the news.”
Excellent point. Remember that supporters of the defeated former president are likely to believe anything and are incapable of recognizing satire.
They are blind to irony, as well.
They are just plain blind. In addition to satire and irony, they are blind to all those things they claim to be: patriotic and Christian, plus decency isn't a part of their understanding either. They are running around shouting Woke from every corner. I even found it on a thread about Oregon basketball.
Oh, for pity's sake! "Woke" and Basketball. Good grief!
And we have a responsibility, when quoting satire, to label it clearly as such UP FRONT.
Not surprising about the “river of ketchup.” Remember the broken plate and catsup on the wall in the White House dining room? TFG needs a padded, plastic-covered cell. Where, oh, where is the cartoon with this bad child in a high chair? The diaper balloon is fine, but the chair with catsup on the wall would emphasize the bad child image. Mary Trump has not gotten enough press time, although I appreciate the danger of over-exposure of another “member of the family.”
He needs a sharpie too, so that he can write on the walls.
Hahahahaha! Thanks, Fern! This one from Borowitz hasn't come into my IN box yet.
Oh Fern, I adore Borowitz!!
Should have bought shares in Heinz ketchup... I would be a millionaire !!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
LOL
LOL!
I believe that Melania has been on a "payroll" of several hundred thousand a month to stay with Trump...deposited into an account out of the country. His wealthy supporters would gladly fund that cause. It only stops when he definitely can't win another round in the White House or when she dumps him.
Will, I share your sentiment and even woke up our upstairs neighbors with my whooping, though their English is probably not good enough to appreciate my choice of joy-filled obscenities. I will spare everyone the details.
However, we are by no means out of the woods. Getting Trump behind bars in a Federal prison is still a long way off, and there is so much that could go wrong between here and there that just thinking about it has already begun to ruin my day.
Kudos to Alvin Bragg for his fearlessness. I sure hope his colleagues in Georgia and at the DOJ are not afraid to pile on once they see that the NY indictments have not caused the sky to fall. Coraggio!
David, I doubt he will ever be actually physically behind bars, but I don't think that is necessary for justice to prevail (house arrest and no phone will do). Furthermore, I wrote here the other day that a criminal conviction for tfg is not high on my priority list of "Necessary Things to Mend America," and that our desire to see it happen springs from mostly a thirst for poetic justice. I expectedly got some pushback from folks, but I feel they were missing the point. It feels like the right thing to happen, because it would indeed be the right thing to happen, I hope it happens, and - as I hope my initial comment today demonstrates - I will be quite elated if/when it does happen. HOWEVER, the true prerequisites to mending our country take the form of positive policy enactments, rather than the deserved punishment of any indivudual.
I therefore recommend again that we turn the brunt of our attention away from armchair speculation of tfg's legal fate, let the lawyers do their thing, and instead focus on lifting up positive developments that provide systemic benefit to the whole of our society, such as those highlighted in Professor HCR's letters and President Biden's current Invest in America press tour. After celebrating again tonight, obviously.
Certainly celebrate, but the real challenge is to eliminate the MAGA cult from Congressional halls and the brainwashing from our society. The threat to our democracy and Constitution is real and it’s not diminishing. Look at Desantis’ posturing about not extraditing-he has no shame in threatening to violate the Constitution as a sitting Governor. Look at the GOP minions objecting to the investigations and retaliations. Yes, it’s a clear and present and ongoing threat to what we hold dear.
Desantis is a Harvard educated lawyer, who knows better. I will never understand how even Trump’s political rivals bend the knee, even at risk to themselves. I do understand that Republicans have concluded that they can’t win elections without the rabid base being fired up and angry enough to vote in large numbers, but trying to tiptoe along the tightrope of pleasing the base and not pissing Trump off makes them all do dishonorable things. I don’t know how they sleep at night.
It's pretty clear to anyone who has been watching and listening to Ron DeSantis that he didn't learn much from , and doesn't place much store in, his years at both Yale and Harvard. He's gone on record saying that he worries that his advanced degrees would prove a "political liability" with the voters he was trying to woo.
I think that both Yale and Harvard should unburden Mr. DeSantis, rescinding the degrees they conferred, on the grounds that based on his public statements, they are willing to accommodate his desires.
And I had no idea that ghouls slept at night.
De Sauron's statement that Florida would “not assist in an extradition request”, in violation of the plain language of the US Constitution, would seem to me to be grounds for rescinding his law degree at the very least, and if he's now (or in the future applies to become) a member of any state or federal bar, for permanent disbarment.
I know that Yale and Harvard are THE schools but based on a few graduates I know personally I find that they know less than they think do about technical things. Add DeSantis, Cruz, etc. and you might start to conclude something similar about their law schools.
Yale and Harvard have released a good number of ignorant and evil fools on the country. It appears that making money is far more important than service and integrity within those ivy covered walls.
I suggested some years ago to a professor of history at Duke University, who had written a book on the influence of the Koch brothers on universities, that Stephen Miller’s Duke degree be rescinded. She wrote that it couldn’t be done. Now that Miller is among the Trump advisors up for questioning by Jack Smith, wondering if degree rescinding could be reconsidered.
If his degrees would be a turn-off to MAGA voters, we should tag him with Yale and Harvard at every opportunity. The way he uses labels like woke radical liberal Marxist.
Did Yale and Harvard make the man DeSantis has turned out to be? What one does with the experiences, knowledge, and challenges to ideas and law lays at the feet of the student. Colleges don't train, but teach, with an emphasis on critical thinking. DeSantis came to both universities with intelligence, a good education, and ideas and values of his own. The conservative 20-year old earned his degrees and chose to follow opportunities to gain power and lead. That he is willing and able to pervert the laws he was taught or to wrap himself in the baseness of MAGA-conservatism rests with him. Dragging the universities into this is a mistake, a distraction, I suggest, from what DeSantis is politically and ethically. He is Trump with a better pedigree, which he actually earned, unlike Trump. Were I his professor or mentor, I might both marvel and be disappointed in his career and political choices, and vote against his rise to power every chance I had to do so, recognizing full well that he was a talented student pursing goals not of my preference.
Maybe they sleep in their vampire coffins 😂
I believe Stumpy DeSatan claimed that he had some kind of rural plain ol' American midwest background.
I think that is a very good idea. The dude is such a cheap creep.
Legacy ???
He is a Harvard educated lawyer but that doesn't mean he is a good one. He and his (sleeping?/un-woke?) staff didn't notice the section in the Disney agreement that neutered the handpicked minions he thought would hamstring Disney and its ability to express its own social stands. He didn't know better on that contract and he doesn't know better in a lot of other areas too. It's proof that leadership is more than shouting buzzwords for applause during speeches and squinting into the camera with a clenched jaw, like you think you're the High Plains Drifter.
It is rather poetic of Disney to have included the royal life clause.
THIS!! ⬆️⬆️⬆️
I like to say that many who attend these vaunted institutions are well-schooled, but not educated.
They are motivated only by money and power. They have no souls.
I agree with all you said and how you said it! TY
Hi, dear KR! You know I agree and appreciate how you communicate the sentiments!
Hi Ashley! I hope you’re well and enjoying the finally here spring!
Me either but I'm done with all of them.
My RepubliQan friends are all changing their FB cover photos to the National Colors flying upside down. Deprogramming the cult is going to take a lot of time, energy, and effort.
But those upside down Russian flags are probably confused with Luxembourg flags. I'm sure you know what Im getting at. To be a fool of Putin's fool is to be a fool of Putin yourself.
Oooh!
Best we get started right now. I'm flipping fed up with the entire scene. The rest of us have been slowly tortured by these creeps for years.
Exactly so.
As long as the truth, justice and equality keep winning, they’ll eventually get tired of losing.
DeSantis waited until he heard that TFG was going to surrender before issuing his "I'm not going to help with extradition threat." He won't have to follow through... It's a BLATANT attempt to grab Trump's base while he's off defending himself. If DeSantis really wants to be Prez, he needs to worry more about wooing independents who probably won't feel too great about him threatening to violate the Constitution. I guess he thinks the primary fight is the tougher one.
Actually, all of these people make me sick. I'm going to take a break and feed the birds.
Our Senator Daines was quick to hit fb pages denouncing the indictment pandering to his base in MT.
Yes, let's get to work and rid ourselves of years of mindnumbing incompetence and stupidty.
I'm with you Will. We have no control over what now proceeds in New York re: TFG (and as a resident of New York City and its environs in the 1970s and 1980s, I can tell you: this is a loooong time coming!). But we do have control over who populates Congress, who populates state and local legislatures, who populates the executive offices in states and cities, and how they address the pressing problems and challenges of this nation, including the not-so-creeping-now fascism that is happening all over.
Red states over run with MAGA & Christian Nationals will not be so easy especially with their electoral college votes which could really skew an election. The super majorities of these states are enacting laws re districting , Voting rights, who appoints judges etc. any law that continues their power in their state
Carole, I agree with your concerns, but on the flip side of that, the Millennial vote is expected to be the majority generational vote next year. Like the indictment of the Orange Russian Witch, this warms my heart and gives me hope.
Our youth is our secret weapon--the sleeping giant....
The "Christians' " unabashed hypocrisy is baffling to me....
It's a HUGE worry.
Also a resident of NYC in the 70s and 80s, I concur.
I disagree with one point. House arrest, no phone AND no internet access. Perhaps no visitors, too. The Golden Cage: solitary confinement with all the hamburgers he want.
- all the hamburgers he wants, minus the ketchup. This later requirement has been requested by the clean up crew at Camp Cupcake or wherever he winds up.
I don't even mind if they throw in gallons of ketchup Marge.
And only 1 Secret Service agent!
Agree - “the true prerequisites to mending our country take the form of positive policy enactments, rather than the deserved punishment of any indivudual (sic).” And those policy enactments need to happen on the local level as well as state and national levels.
Indeed. The infamous Lewis Powell memo of 1971 laid out a course for modern day corporatocracy.
We need a similar document in the reverse -- a policy document -- that dismantles systemic systemic racism, poverty, classism, oppression.
Our history? A nation built on the genocide of Indigenous peoples and made morbidly rich by the kidnapping and enslavement of Africans, leading to the current day bondage of BIPOC, the poor, and working poor people, by systems created to keep them oppressed by profiting off of their misery. Reading “Poverty by America” by Mathew Desmond right now and he so confirms all of the modern day shackles on and the bleeding of the poor and working poor. When I was a single mom in the ‘90s, working like mad to support my two children and myself, my bank would let a $1 error cost me hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees. Granted. I made mistakes. I sometimes played “checkbook roulette” when we were hungry or the kids had to have something for school or if I didn’t pay daycare or for after school we could lose our place. I just needed another day or two. Or a little grace. AND my bank made bank off of me and the millions of other folks such as I who were paycheck to paycheck, a health insurance lapse away from bankruptcy.
And I had white privilege.
Black single mother friends not only lacked that edge, they lived with the unrelenting racism and aggressions that never let up and grated at their health and well-being in ways I have since studied and written about. The injustice of Black maternal and infant mortality being almost four times what it is for whites is glaring evidence of what systems and policies promulgated by the morbidly rich are doing to our nation’s people.
The Trump indictment? May it be a turning point toward Justice. Please!
I just want our nation to forget about him, or for him to just go away, and for us to look at the facts at hand: the trauma and inequity we foment is killing us, and killing some of us earlier and earlier.
There are solutions; they are in the science of positive and adverse childhood experiences, PACEs science. For those who want to know more, here’s a great read:
https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/how-vladimir-putin-s-childhood-is-affecting-us-all
Check out the website where the piece is published. The answers are on it. It’s all about preventing and healing trauma; creating community wherein people can get go from dysregulation to regulation to connected to partnerships. When hurt people heal and stop hurting and hating people, we can heal.
Thanks for the link. It is illuminating. I knew the outline of Putin's growing up, but the details are stunning.
Ironic, isn't it: Two world leaders of similar age: One grew up in wealth and privilege, isolated from the normal responsibilities of life. The other grew up in extremes of poverty and remnants of a violent war. Both suffered from the trauma of lack of supportive family life. And both now exhibit personality disorders that continue that isolation from normal human interaction. Both physically aging while clinging to illusions of grendeur. Both threats to world stability. Their aggression reminds me of people I have known who are abusive and controlling to hide their fear of their own inner chaos- and sometimes, I think, to avoid suicide. They are the ones who scare me the most.
Exactly.
Well said. We all need to be more aware of the stressed among us. (Don't get me started about banks!!! I will never again use a bank after the same thing happened to me, as you described. )
As I read the recounting of yours, and others, experiences as single moms, the banking error experiences really hit home. Imagine, your $1 error trying to stretch to make ends meet, left you in perilous financial hardship with no one to help you escape growing onerous fees but aggressive saving and cost cutting, and/or generous family or friends. Those same banks on the other hand, carelessly lost millions in the 80's, then billions in '08 and billions more this year, but each time they were immediately rescued by a firehose of cash from the Fed.
We definitely need to be kinder to each other and have a greater sense of community, but we also need government and corporate policies that are kinder to us. Business models that pounce on consumers like a lion from the tall grasses for the smallest errors or mishaps, with government policies that are written to enable it, sentence people to cycles of debt and despair and are likely a major reason so many are on edge and quick to cut down their fellows in the same boat. I do hope the legal cases against TFG change the tide of elite impunity, and that they open more eyes to see that there are other policies and situations with similarly dangerous effects for us all that need us all to address from the ballot box.
Exactly! I think of someone in my position who was just a wee bit more upset. Or who didn’t have faith. Banks and landlords likely prompted despairicides — deaths of despair — among hundreds, if not thousand of us, as we stretched to make ends meet and prevent our children from feeling the sense of impending doom that comes from too few dollars (low pay) chasing too many goods and services that are suddenly squeezed even more tightly by corporate greed in the form of dines.
Thank you for this information.
I am so sorry for all you had to suffer. But you obviously survived and have hopefully prospered to the point of a good life in every way.
Thank you! Yes. I am deeply grateful for myriad amazing miracles and miraculous humans in my life! Kids are now 30 and 33 and thank God are great. I love my life and job and am grateful beyond belief. I appreciate your kind words! Love this community!
I believe this also explains some of the gun violence in the inner cities. Drive by. Robbery that ends in fatal shootings. Some as young as 12.
In fatherless homes where moms are preoccupied with basic survival, boys, mostly boys, feel ignored and disconnected. Gangs lure these kids in by providing the sense of belonging they hunger for and introduce guns that alleviate their sense of powerlessness. These children received no empathy at home and have no empathy for others.
Blessedly, this describes only a small percentage of 1-parent homes. But when the malevolent stars align, it creates monsters.
I remember checkbook roulette. This was when you could write a check two days before payday that you knew you couldn't cover but would hope wouldn't make it to the bank too quickly. Also putting my bills in a hat each month and picking up to the point where the $$ was gone. You can't do that now although now we just fo it by charging to a credit card. And yes this was with white privilege. I didn't have to defend myself ad a person with every daily interaction. This is what should be taught in schools. The real life misery of communities of people who live in the shadow of the real America.
We want the Trump era behind us, but as a reminder Never Again. As you say, there are problems to see for what they are, and solutions.
God help us if nazi desantis charms his way to the presidency. SURELY, the National Democratic Party is letting floriduh burn as an example of what the nation would look like.
As far as I can tell there has been no situation in which DeSantis has exhibited even the tiniest amount of charm--certainly not in public. It's rather doubtful that he has any charm at all.
I have read similar descriptions of diSantis’ visage and presentation - rather stiff with little expression of empathy or compassion.
Then, I think of President Obama. What a guy!
Yes, but charm has nothing to do with, nor does it benefit, his aims and goals. He is most likely as psychopathic as others in his party.
Lynn, Meatball is going nowhere fast here. Lots of smoke, some thunder, he is past his tipping point. The trump wave is cresting, yes, still visible and viable though, as time leaves them in its wake.. As for wake, or WOKE, if you will, Trump awakened us to the existence of so many of our fellow Americans we were unaware, had simply never acquired desire, or ability to think fully for themselves. Authoritarian bully leaders are a perfect fit for them, it seems. Cognitively, and developmentally, America trudges forward with so many folks lost as ever as modern life speeds up every passing moment, while they remain lost.
Perfectly describes R in MT & the current State legislation & legislators
There seems to be nothing charming about DeSantis. Non charmers don't charm so we can take this off the table.
Was Hitler charming?
Personally, I think Florida will suffer in the financials department. No one wants to go to a state where they might get killed. Tourism could drop exponentially and we could see many more people suffering of low income and worse, bad healthcare. Just my two cents.
Well said, Will. Fascism still is alive in America, and plenty of work remains. Yet, we can take a moment to take in some schadenfreude in the news of the indictment (and, perhaps, more to come).
Look @ Christian Nationalism PRRI.org
Thank you for this! Bookmarked it.
Thanks for the link. I look forward to delving into the information.
Will, it seems we agree on the objective(s), but not necessarily on strategy or tactics.
I think there is no higher value in our less-than-perfect democracy than the rule of law and the revolutionary notion that it should be applied evenly to all law breakers based on the crime(s) they may have committed, not on their station in life, political beliefs or the friends/enemies they may have. If running for president could get crooks off the hook, then they would be counseled to do so by their attorneys. Perhaps Trump will be remembered as a pioneer in this sense, but it will be the end of everything most of us hold dear.
There is no mention in the Constitution of special privileges for anyone suspected of committing a crime, with the sole exception of a sitting President, and there is no reason to think that crimes committed while in office should be forgotten, forgiven or glossed over in any way once the suspected criminal is out of office and subject to prosecution. Period.
The most overtly political thing Garland could do at this point is to fail to indict.
House arrest -- instead of prison time -- with no phone calls would be an invitation to subsequent leaders to commit further criminal acts and would set a democracy-cancelling precedent.
Does this mean that Ronald Reagan, Dubya Bush and a slew of their enablers ought to have gone to jail for a variety of illegal (often secret) activities, admittedly carried out with some sort of highish-minded intention to further national security? My instinct is to say yes and that we are in this situation with Trump because some of his predecessors were held to an inadequately high standard, but as they were never impeached or seriously investigated by the FBI or DOJ, enough time has passed that it becomes a moot point.
As important as Biden's good governance is, it is second on my list of urgent necessities.
Hugely agree, Will. Keep our spirits high with thoughts of a conviction, yes, but keep our eye on the “ball”..the real “ball”! Systemic relief thru the positive, empathic action of all of us is key.
My main priority is that whatever else the outcome is, he be kept from holding any public office ever again.
I would also love if he could be kept from publicly supporting anyone else, but I doubt that would be constitutional. Oh well, a girl can dream!
Your are right. You are loquacious. :-)
Fully agree with you, Will. I've gotten pretty tired of the pettiness of so many comments here (esp repeaters). Thank you for your last paragraph, expecially. It makes a sadly necessary and critical point about where our priorities need to be for MENDING our country instead of gleeful playground dissing. I am hoping we can move on (and back) to the kind of conversation that helps illuminate what our future can be as a nation and as a society.
Annie,
We might begin that discussion by blocking T and Co. from our minds for a while. Imagine what kind of country would we want to have before the MAGA megaphone grab. What would that look and feel like? We need something to aspire to, not just be opposed to. Push forward.
Oh, man, Susan, do I ever agree with you on that! Why I don't post here much these days (tired of reading the same old whines over and over). I am busy working on other things. LOL- I might even be appointed Justice of the Peace to fill an opening when one resigned in my town. JOP is a position that in VT has no assigned duties other than being present at elections and Town Meeting (used to function as a magistrate, but that was removed a very very long time ago).
BUT I found out that though elected at town level, they are actually a part of the state judiciary system. Which would put me in a wonderful position of working within town government without having to answer to it (my town is just now really moving from dysfunctional to possibly functional after years of screwups and actual illegalities).
I'm not a lawyer but do read law, and startled the "chair" of the town D committee, who thought that because the law required parties to have an "organizing meeting" before election season every two years, that was the only meeting they could have. LOL. I explained that the law meant that any political party is required to hold an organizing meeting, which meant that they then went forward as an independent nonprofit organization that made its own rules, created its own structure, and all of the local committees then communicated through that structure to create platforms and select candidates. OMG. He didn't know that. And even our rep didn't know that JOPs are, under the law, part of the state judiciary, not the town gov.
Sometimes this is fun. Sometimes it is hair-pulling. But we do finally have a woman on the select board, and if I get the JOP position (in Governor's hands now), I'll be in the middle of everything along with the other people who are tired of tearing their hair out. These changes start at the local level, and it is time for the five old farts who are running things let some of the rest of us in. We need to start planning for the future instead of just doing the same thing over and over. Next year I am going to run for the town committee chair and use it to make the party visible here so that new people know where to go.
Haven't heard about the JOP yet- gov is not required to appoint a replacement of our choice, but that is how our law works. If I don't hear, I'll contact gov office to find out.
Sooo productive and constructive, Annie!! Like you, I'm also tired of the same old, same old here. Cheering you on!!
Amen! Focus is best served being placed on the positive- what to do about solving these diversions and get back on track with what we should DO and not what we should not do.
I vote for revising our educational systems to include solutions for those things we would want our children, and all students, to learn and focus on and emulate. I keep ranting about critical thinking skills but I truly see that as the means to achieve a knowledgeable and positive next generation.
Annie, I agree with you (and Will) that we need to "move on (and back) to the kind of conversation that helps illuminate what our future can be as a nation and as a society."
I think this kind of conversation -- despite all the distracting noise generated by all things Trump -- is happening all the time, even here at HCR's Letter. But we have an immediate problem that needs to be dealt with decisively before any truly constructive conversations can bear fruit in terms of electoral results, improvements to the social state, inclusion of historically excluded minorities, fairer wealth distribution, etc., to say nothing of "dealing with" climate change, reversing the destruction of fauna and natural habitats, and eliminating nuclear weapons (still our most immediate existential threat as it has been since the first A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima).
The problem -- as embodied by Trump -- is that a sizable chunk of the US population really believes the greatest impediment to America becoming "great again" is that there are too many of "those" people doing and believing in terrible things that threaten the lives and mores of "real" Americans, and that much of this is being planned and carried out by a "deep state" that will try to "replace" them -- the real Americans -- with racial, ethnic and religious minorities who will then "take over" everything.... and of course the rest is just too terrible to even imagine, so I won't even try.
If close to half the voting population is living a terrifying and totally false fantasy that the rest of us struggle to take seriously in factual terms, and this is bringing us all to the edge of an abyss of societal breakdown, then clearly this is the most urgent and immediate problem to be dealt with. Simply putting Donald Trump on a desert isle (literally or figuratively) somewhere will not make this terror ("theirs" as well as "ours") go away, but a government that deals with a lying, serially criminal former President in the same way it deals with other lying serial criminals (garden variety?) will reestablish its own credibility and increase its popularity just enough to take effective control of both houses of Congress in 2024 and then deal seriously with all the other problems our current political configuration just cannot handle.
When a rabid dog has his teeth in the seat of your trousers and is trying to rip them to shreds before going for the meat, it is useless to wonder how you are ever going to sew up those trousers you like so much.
Trump is a rabid dog who needs to be suppressed. If he ever achieves some measure of self-knowledge, staring at his toes all day in a very bland room day after day, he will thank us. Let's help him and us and just call it tough love.
David, I can tell you feel strongly about this. But the only thing I can think of in reply is this: you're not saying anything that hasn't been gone over and over and over repeatedly for months. Years. As a young thoughtful and appropriately nervy young woman said not too long ago: "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." I'm with her. I'm hoping for dialogue about how we get there, not words that are almost scripted by now.
Okay, Annie, fine. There is a lot of blah, blah here, not only mine. And clearly nothing is going to solve our and the world's problems unless we can express a government able and willing to make big changes in the way we do things, and I expect we are in substantial agreement as to what those things are.
So, either enough people vote the right way in the next general elections to set us on a whole new path to societal survival or we slide into authoritarianism following some sort of disaster involving large crowds of angry people doing violent things to one another as they express their deeply held convictions with the hundreds of millions of AR-15s that even 15 year olds can easily acquire.
And the climate scientists tell us time is running out.
I think legally removing Trump from the equation asap is step number one. What would you do first, given that blah, blah seems to do nothing in the absence of acts?
Exactly right balance, Will. Thank you!
You are so right Will. tfg has wrecked havoc on our country and our very lives, most especially by him receiving the attention that he craves with the news. I doubt that any of us can really imagine wanting the kind of attention that he seems to thrive on. We have work to do trying to accept the fact that some (even family & friends) believe much of the cr*p that various members of his fan club spew. At times it seems like just a bad dream. We owe Heather so much because of her writings of history and the deep background to history that reveals the “why” to so much. With our week coming to a close, I’m ready for a good night’s rest after saying a prayer for all those affected by the tornadoes of the afternoon & this evening. I for one feel blessed. G’night my friends
Good call. Let's get behind Biden and his administration and push forward.
Probably not but what they could so is to publicly condemn them. That won’t happen either.
The problem is that Trump could be locked up in jail and still run for President. The only thing that could have eliminated that possibility is impeachment with conviction by the Senate. Convicted felons might not be able to vote in many states, but they can still run for office. Still, it would be something for the GOP to end up with a convicted felon as their Presidential candidate in 2024. The GOP should be so proud - they could have an ex-convict candidate leading their party, just like the Nazi party's Hitler.
Will, Fani's not afraid, and neither is Jack. This is just the start. I share your hopes for mending our country - that is paramount if we are to survive.
Well, Nancy, we'll see. Alvin has walked the walk and will probably require an armed escort for the rest of his life. Win or lose he has my eternal admiration.
David, I agree. Fani Willis already has a security detail and I'm sure Jack Smith is watching his back. Still, they are obviously diligently working to wrap up their investigations, and I think they have the skill and determination for positive outcomes. As you suggest, I just can't envision a less than positive result, regardless of his punishment. I just wish we could coalesce enough to have street scenes like those in Bibi's neighborhood.
Nancy, diligent is as diligent does. The jury is still out on Fani and Jack, but I imagine they can feel the heat and will do their best. I will continue to be an optimist until that is no longer a reasonable option.
Well, I'm probably not a good barometer, as I was certain that tFFFFg would never be elected, but Jack Smith has apparently been making lots of progress with his investigation, and I'm really impressed with Fani Willis. To begin with, her no-nonsense demeanor helped her to beat an apparently-corrupt veteran prosecutor, and she has been dogged and tight-lipped in her pursuit of Public Enemy No. 1.
If he goes to a Federal prision....I hope they don't select Terre Haute, IN. People here would probably help him escape! I do believe a lot of his people live not far from me. I see their 2024 signs for him.
Excellent letter today!
I can understand your rejoicing--my reaction was more of relief...FINALLY! All I can say is that, one by one, my prayers are being answered. Just wait and see what's coming down the pike....
Will,
Trump is being indicted in NY for paying hush money from his campaign money to woman to keep her quiet about the two of them having sex.
Now, while this is apparently a crime, it pales in comparison to the treasonous crime of sponsoring the attempted violent overthrow of the United States Government on Jan 06 2021. Or working with the Russians to sway the 2016 election. Or never renting to any black people in NY City, ever. Or (a long list of stuff here).
Yet, We have not heard a peep from anyone in the United States Justice Department about Trump's real crime of treason and a coup attempt outside of assigning "Jack Smith" as "prosecutor".
Now? After 70 years of letting the Trump's run roughshod over NY City (including Fred Trump's misadventures), there is finally a DA that cannot be bought off. Gee, I guess I will celebrate a little. But, not much.
I do not feel much glee at all that a hardened, long time, treasonous criminal like Trump has been charged with a fairly minor crime in a City that let him and his father run a criminal enterprise for two generations.
This indictment? Compared to the many crimes Trump has sponsored in his life?? Getting him on this one brings to my mind one word: Paltry.
Where is the United States Justice Department?
We, the United States, have a treasonous Russian agent running for President in the United States of America and nobody is doing anything about it.
Mike, until the indictments are unsealed and trump is charged, we do not know what or how many crimes trump will be charged.
This is the beginning of the beginning.
DLM, it is true we do not know what the indictments will actually be, but, we know what the targeted crime was: Using campaign money to pay off a hooker to keep her quiet.
Now, it is not illegal, that I know of, for a man in NY City to pay a hooker although it is illegal, but, mostly tolerated, to BE a hooker; however, it is illegal to use campaign money to do it.
I feel that this is a crime that is tiny compared to what I have seen of Trump.
Why did you call Stormy Daniels a 'hooker' and in another post a 'prostitute'? She was a striper before directing and acting in the 'adult entertainment' business. otherwise known as a porn star.
Oh the derogatory terms the boys use!
Sad we don't call trump a whore for not being able to keep his penis in his pants. Or a rapist. Or a pedophile.
…and it is a pleasure to have a gentleman in the house.
Stormy Daniels is a business woman. Period!
Hi Fern,
good question. I assumed that Stormy was being paid when she and Trump got together because, well, who would get together with that guy for free?
could be I was wrong. no doubt.
Yes, a good question to be asking ourselves as we search for the facts.
Mike,
Teflon Donald is an asshat who thinks he's Hugh Hefner and thinks with his dick. It's quite possible that Stormy outsmarted him. But we can't ass/u/me anything. Circus arraignment on Tuesday. 34 counts. Should be interesting.
Fern,
Above all, Stormy Daniels is a brave woman and we wouldn't have an indictment of Trump without her. And I don't know or care why she went into his hotel room. I just hope it wasn't one that I've slept in.
What exactly are you concerned about catching?
She took money on account of a sexual encounter with tfg. The fact that the payment was delayed by several years and associated with a post-hoc NDA doesn't change that fact. When you take payment, you become a hooker. When you pay, you become a john.
She took money to keep her mouth shut not to open her vagina.
So what does that make the congress critters who vote with whom ever pays their way?
It seems paltry when compared to his history of felonious behavior, but it's huge for the justice system to finally cross the chasm and label a former president, particularly this one, as equally beholden to the law as the rest of us. I'll take this as the down payment on a very large debt he owes to all of us.
Nathan: Exactly! And while it may be too much to expect from the DOJ that there is a level of coordination between themselves, NYC, and the State of Georgia, there is certainly a hint of serendipity.
Consider, as Heather points out that there is probably less sympathy for Trump in NYC than in most other places, therefore the absence (so far) of civil protest over this development, which could help set the tone for future indictments on the more serious charges of say, sedition and even perhaps treason. And also as stated “A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.” So if the indictment turns out to be criminal in nature it cuts off the possibility of Trump taking refuge in Florida. This in turn enables that jackal, DeSantis, to howl to the heavens over "the injustice" (while privately wringing his hands in glee), further splitting the Republican Party's base for 2024. And finally, it "breaks the ice" of an indictment of a former president as being unprecedented. Baby step, perhaps, but an important first step.
Is this the squeaky sound of "the fickle finger of fate", finally slipping on its rubber glove? We can only hope.
Since it is almost Easter it is more like DeSantis washing his hands and saying "he is yours, take him to be crucified".
Yes; as soon as the announcement was made, the bloom came off the rose, s.t.s. And, at least some of the country will take their cue from New Yorker's disdain for the defendant, as the NY press swings into action during proceedings. The outrage will inevitably extinguish to a degree on both sides of the gallery as a long winded, drawn out trench war evolves. Even the MAGA crowd can only be whipped so far. Maybe the feds are intentionally allowing the states to issue their indictments first in order to take heat off of the federal court when it kicks off its proceedings.
I had not thought of the civil uprising aspect you made. Thx!
Love this -“a down payment on a very large debt he owes us”. Perfectly stated! Thank you!
Nathan,
good point. thanks.
Mike, like I said, this is the beginning of the beginning.
trump is being investigated for a multitude of crimes. Jan 6 is another one in a long line.
The grand jury decided to indict now. This is where the first axe falls. More to come.
Let's see what happens. I think the most probable outcome is he, Trump, is the next President and pardons himself.
"Hooker"? Such a demeaning, misogynist word.
Sex for money in front of a camera; such a demeaning, misogynist behavior.
Check it out. Real people.
https://pizza-and-pincushions.myshopify.com/products/pizza-pincushions-and-playing-it-straight-paperback-edition
Ms. Daniels was -not- a hooker.
IMO, once fingerprinted and mug shot, he is in the criminal system. Like the geni that escape the bottle, you can't ever not be a part of the criminal/justice system. His life will always be different, diminished, caught, a failure in his own mind, despite the rants and redirects he does to get public attention. He will always be one of the "usual suspects" eligible to be looked at more seriously by the legal system and no longer eligible for the passes he might have received in the past because judges that he appeared before considered him among the powerful. In the future, IMHO, it will become easier to cuff him, mirandize him, and wreak havoc on his defense fund raising. No mater how he appears in the public mind, as a narcissist he will always see himself in an orange jumpsuit because he has been lowered in his own impression of his superiority, his infallibility, his fantasy, because his whole personality is based upon never getting caught, never having to follow the mores of the ordinary, never one the failures he derides. His narcissistic self is based upon never getting caught out. Indictment, printing, and the photo of him pasted in every criminal record system and on every bus in NYC and TV station in Florida will be the irreparable crack that makes him ordinary, most of all a petty criminal, an actual loser. Thanks, Mr Bragg.
In short, he is a very self-destructive person.
The swamp monster now on dry, hot land created from draining that swamp. Yes.
That is not the issue.
Misogyny is always the issue, sir. You just don't have to care.
As usual, I agree with your core sentiments, Mike. While it's tempting to get excited about any indictment of this monster, I contain my enthusiasm for now.
But let's see what's actually in the indictment. That will be quite soon.
I see this one as a trickle of water slowly dribbling out of an old unsafe dam. The trickle increases daily. The volume slowly undermines the whole structure. And then it collapses. A devastating flood ensues. And the only people living below the dam are the liars and enablers who claimed the dam was safe and needed no attention.
Bill, I also find the timeline of the announcement particularly rejuvenating; news reports of the long Easter recess left a lot of us feeling crestfallen as delay after delay doused hopes of justice employed, and then, Bragg says “wait a minute, hold my beer”
How quickly things change in Oz
We are dreadfully impatient (I say as I stand in front of the microwave tapping my foot and willing it to hurry up). The whole process has been excruciating!
I tried to give Garland the time to dot the i's and cross the t's. Deep breath, girl! It's gonna happen. But ...remembering it only takes 18 months to birth an elephant, what the hell is taking so long. We're talking 3 years here! Enough ranting. My tea is done.
Thanks Bill. I hope you are correct in your analysis.
There's nothing like good metaphor. I hope yours is good, Bill.
I agree that this is small potatoes compared to all his other crimes. (BTW, it's my understanding that paying hush money isn't a crime. The reason and the lying about it is what is the crime.) Anyway, remember back in the day when mobsters were massacring people, they were finally snagged because of their tax crimes. Small potatoes, but that started the convictions....
Elie Honing, the former SDNY mob crime division has a great podcast about the mob in Springfield MA. I started listening to season 2 yesterday.
Sad to me that NYC could have stopped Trump many decades ago.
Your simple sentence captures my feelings but it’s not just sad, it’s infuriating. If the prosecutors before Mr. Bragg had done their job, acted upon the belief that no one is above the law and cared about the contractors Trump stiffed, the people of color he denied housing to and others impacted by his manipulations and shady behavior we would not be where we are today.
Curious to know how many other Trump like folk fly under the radar and taxpayers take the hit.
Thank you Mary, for stating the obvious.
Wow! Thanks for that link! I follow Greg but had not seen that newsletter. He wrote that 3 years ago...what an eye-opener!!
Mike, I think you might have misunderstood the significance of the charges we are likely to see. It’s not about the sex. That’s just silly titillation. It’s about the payoffs, and how they were accounted for by the Trump administration, and why. And that, right there, might be construed as election interference, which is a Big Deal. Proving that Trump’s motivation was to help his campaign rather than to hide his tawdry affair from his wife sounds pretty difficult, but let’s not forget how Al Capone was finally caught. I don’t think Trump will go to jail for this, even though Cohen did. But it does set the precedent that former presidents are not, in fact, above the law, and that’s a very good thing. It will make the GA and justice department indictments easier to make, and that’s also a very good thing.
✅✅✅ the payoff for his first election interference
As was sang in 'My Fair Lady,' "Just you wait." This is only the first of at least three more indictments, two Federal and one in Georgia.
I really hope there is at least one state conviction, if only to have something that he can't be pardoned for if another corrupt R should be elected to the presidency.
"You'll be broke and I'll have money; will I help you? Don't be funny! Just you want Donny Trumpy, just you wait." (With apologies to Lerner and Loewe.)
But, this was the number one crime that got him into the Presidency by paying to deceive the voters. Without that crime the other bigger ones would not have happened.
Thank you Will. I feel like I am the only frustrated out he got charged by NY first. Although it was actually an attempt to subvert our democracy his base is getting mileage talking about paying off a porn star as a normal occurrence. I had hoped GA would go first with the indictments because they have him on tape. This does not feel to me like it will have a good ending for democracy. I hope I am wrong.
Oh, heck no, Marj. I was hoping that the indictments out of Georgia would be first, because there is absolutely NO defense to what fpotus did on those calls. Period. I was mulling this in my pre-caffeinated state this morning and unable to recall if DA Willis had empaneled a criminal Grand Jury to hear the evidence as yet. She's in the absolute cross-hairs of the RepubliQans in Georgia with their "remove a DA for cause" statute.
Ally, the stipulations of the statute you referred to can't be put into effect until long after Willis has brought her indictments to the fore. No complaints can be filed before July of this year and then they wouldn't be acted on until well into 2024. Willis's term expires at the end of '24. There is no danger at all of Willis being removed, so rest easy. (I've been searching for the past half hour trying to find the info I had on that and I can't find it....GGGRRR!!!)
Thank you for that info.
I’m glad you found it; I am almost never successful in relocating info I found.
AH! Found it! The bill provides the following regarding the establishment of the commission:
"The commission shall commence by October 1, 2023, and the rules and regulations promulgated by such commission shall be established no later than April 1, 2024. No complaint shall be filed before July 1, 2024. The commission shall not receive complaint submissions regarding misconduct that occurred prior to July 1, 2023, unless such alleged misconduct is related to a continuous pattern of conduct that continues beyond that date."
"Given the requirement of 'willful misconduct' and the prohibition of the filing of a complaint until July 1, 2024, it seems unlikely that the statute can be used to remove Fani Willis for indicting Trump—especially if the special grand jury recommended the indictment (as seems to be the case here). Willis’s current term in office expires in December 2024, so her prosecution of Trump will be subject to review by voters before a complaint against her can be filed, adjudicated, and appealed."
Now THERE'S a case we can look forward to...
At some point, this will either be cast in full daylight, or indictments will come. By casting what Mr. Olear is reporting as less important than the attempted overthrow of the government. we will see indictments. If losing tfg as an informant/mole is more important than the very foundation of our democracy, we are in more trouble that we could even imagine.
What brings me joy is that whether he ever sees a jail cell or not, he'll be miserable and scared every day from now until the end of his worthless, too-long life.
Michael, Damocles’ sword weighs mightily, huh?
Within a few minutes of this indictment he started a new fundraiser.
“Step right up, don’t be shy, see the painted lady and the Orange (suited) Strongman perform magic right before you; ‘open your wallets, close your eyes; presto chango, they are now empty. Amazing!!!”
😡🤬
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Yes finally. But let us hope that it s the first of many more. His house of cards must fall and, as numerous other commenters point out here,, perhaps then we can begin to cure America from the terrible disease of hate that Trump has unleashed.
Ding Dong and all that Happy Munchkin singalong stuff
Will, you took the words right out of my keyboard. 🎉🥂
😂 Amply loquatious under the circumstances Will !
With you, Will, from Cal!
Yes, and I LOVELOVELOVE that Bragg surprised everybody, especially everyody at M-A-L.!!! Well played, sir!
That really was icing on the cake!!!!
So many of us are doing our happy dance with you on this!!!!
👏🤣 ! I do 'so get that' Karen. However, and sorry to emote this, but I'm thinking that especially now - in this moment is when, armed by our good doctor with facts in evidence - it's critically 'my turn' to actively support a system I must have 'faith in' via whatever little 'actions' I can take. So, on my FB wall, I 'pinned' to the top a very fundamental truth statement that I will pin here in italics. I will also 'share' that truth statement with every single broadcast outlet I can comment on to hopefully drown out the faithless negativity that Putin and the autocrat 'wanna be's ' have made their mission in life to 'undermine the pillars of democracy' fundamentally. "My part - My J_O_B and mission I can accomplish and insist / persist to 'do'. I posted, pinned, and will share this message - perhaps more, but this is as short as a 'sound bite' that those opposed are so fond of. If you will, see and share if you like, add or whatever, but I seek to 'keep it simple' >>> " **Indicting citizen trump is a legal 'prosecution' that you, I, or any "Joe or Jane" citizen would face if we potentially broke the law. He is *not any personally* persecuted 'victim' as he bawls he is; he is not above the laws we all live under. He has no standing above those laws. 'If' he is innocent, a judge and jury of law will by order of our laws discover that or not."
Damn.. I see some typo's I made.. Drat. If you share it, please correct my omissions and typo's. I will so in a minute. Drat. I get ahead of my thoughts some times - apologies...
That was a long yes and finally some accountability!! I will be really happy when the rest of the repugnants and cronies are held to accountability as well !! The repugnants would rather cry about their orange buffoon than deal with the issues that would help or hinder the American people. I wish they would actually do the jobs they were voted to do !
Trump has been Putin's useful idiot for years, and too many Americans don't seem to know or care. We're at this point due to the many missed opportunities over decades at every level of the justice system to hold Trump accountable for cheating, lying, grifting, conning, etc- he's a veritable thesaurus of disgusting behavior. Let's stay vigilant and salute everyone who ensures the rule of law endures.
This `too many Americans don't seem to know or care' is the tragic motherlode.
Y'all seen those T-shirts that say "I'd rather be a Russian than a Democrat!"? I always think "Okay! Great! MOVE THERE, THEN!"
Considering how often these Denizens of Derp Dynasty list the threat of "communism" as the reason Democrats are so icky, advertising their preference for Russia - the actual poster child of murderous communist regimes - just illustrates so, SO clearly that either one or both of the following is true: 1) They are not thinking this through by a long shot, and/or 2) their gripes are not actually about the dangers of any economic philosophy and more simply about the presence of non-white people. Hmmm...
They are responding to the "socialist" dog whistle and cannot distinguish between socialism and communism, or between legitimate protest and a seditious insurrection to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Plus, they are racist as heck.
I often wonder how many MAGA’s suffered with learning disability’s all thru their public education and now seeth with vengeance (for having never felt smart enough) at the “librul” elites. It really seems they need an enemy to direct their angst towards. Mind blowing they would align with Putin just to hate on being informed with truth.
That meme of those two old geezers in those t-shirts reminded me that only 32 years ago these same guys were probably ranting about 'Reds, Commies, Pinkos' and probably spent a week chest pounding and bumping that the USSR was crumbling! But now they are good with them? They like an authoritarian Strongman and his Oligarchs better?
Indeed. That has been the real horror story for me personally.
I'm adjusting to that knowledge now, finally, but at first it was utterly nightmarish to realize.
It has been my daily mantra since 2016. How someone who made fun of a person with a disability became president of the United States of America stunned. Then received so many votes the second time. Knowing that there is so much willful ignorance in a country that so many around the world see as shocking for the adoration of a dangerous con artist is constantly playing somewhere in the windmill of my mind. What happened? Have there always been this many angry, resentful, hate-filled Americans? Even more complacent Americans? Is this a reason there are so many mass shootings in America? Why American children have to learn to hide from possible slaughter? How someone from Texas (Cruz) representing his constituency can say publicly that there just needs to be more police in American schools and no one questions this??? WTF. I could not 'adjust' to it. I had to leave.
Yep. And you can say that about almost anything.
Agreed. "Don't confuse me with facts; my mind is made up". (Note, punctuation mine; never theirs because they have no command of proper usage and grammar)
We have failed to hold more than just ex-Pres Trump accountable. Nixon was inappropriately pardoned for his Watergate crimes. Reagan/Bush Sr. were inappropriately excused for their Iran/Contra crimes. Bush Jr./Cheney were inappropriately excused for their Iraq war crimes. Hopefully we are finally breaking this pattern with Trump.
Agree. The three rivers that brought us here were making money, making war, and political lack of fortitude.
American citizens have mindless lionized the office of the military and the Presidency in thousands of ways, most induced by propaganda. Think flyovers, presentations of the colors, pledges of allegiance, Hails to the Chief ad nauseam. The result has been to inculcate Presidents with an aura of invincibility, begging for hubris to burrow its way into their souls, giving them a sense of almost papal infallibility and a will to use the military. I date this orgy of dialed up reverence to around the time of the Iran hostage crisis. In all likelihood, it seems that Reagan brokered a deal to have the hostages held until his first day of office (that one has the odor of Roger Stone), and spent his Presidency painting America in warm muted colors, to bring along an unsuspecting population.
People, desperate for succor from the scabs of Vietnam, jumped aboard, and America became a temple of the military and the Presidency. Unsurprisingly, Congress plunged out of favor (13% favorability) ratings and defaulted most significant decisions to the President. Equally unsurprising, American presidents ensnarled upon wars and threats of war. A document called Project for a New American Century (advocating almost casual world dominance through regime change attracted the the eyes of Bush II and the country began its descent into reckless, violent shows of hegemony.
My point is this. This indictment of Trump has an aura of virtue beginning to re-establish itself. Trump’s behavior, pre-Presidency, was tawdry, immoral and deeply offensive to good people. When he became President, it worsened by orders of magnitude.
Presidents should be the zenith of probity. If there is a desire in the American psyche to elevate the office to one of truly high standing, then electing people who ooze offensive personal characteristics is not the best way to go about accomplishing.
For Karen McDougal, E. Jean Carroll, Summer Zervos, Stephanie Clifford and all the honest contractors Trump stiffed along the way, this is a worthy indictment and trial.
I don’t care that is the “least of the charges@. I was offended when a *left* wing media reporter characterized it as a “nothing burger”., compared to Georgia and the DOJ.
For God’s sake America, get behind this in a full throated way. Run this rat ragged.
AMEN to all that. His arraignment will likely be muted, but I would surely like to see him doing the standard perp walk in handcuffs. I am still angry at his treatment of the steelworkers: for that alone, I would have him up on charges. There's no forgiving that.
You may be right about that. But I don't think so. NYC is not Washington: the police force is prepared, and the National Guard is probably going to be on standby. So any shenanigans those MAGATs try will be properly snuffed out, in short order. No worries there. Did you see the dwindling size of the crowds at his rallies? He couldn't even draw a decent audience in Waco. I say, bring it on, Repugnant Republicans. Let the s**t show begin. If the chart I saw on MSNBC tonight is correct, T**** is facing eight major legal problems. And most of them have irrefutable, incontrovertible evidence. Problem is, even if he's convicted, sentenced, even incarcerated, he can still be the candidate. Aye, there's the rub. If we can't disqualify him somehow, then we have to continue to make him look ridiculous and insane. That shouldn't be too hard; we've got plenty of clips of him that can be used against him, with proper editing, and appropriate background music.
Couldn’t agree more. He’s on his way out into the darkness of historical infamy. But his movement is coherent, engaged, and anxious to flex its muscle. This is one case where the inmates really have taken over the asylum. They don’t need Trump now.
Very dangerous.
I agree with everything you say here. Nice summary!
So incredibly stated. Thank you.
Really good point. What would have happened if Obama had allowed prosecution of war criminals Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush?
Reva, the flip side of that of course is what would have happened if Trump had actually won in 2020, as the crazies actually believe happened?
Or you could flip the dice again and ask what would happen if Hillary had won in 2016. But I'm not sure where all this time travel think tank stuff really gets us.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/24Bs3BwkqKEOC2C7dMf2Pm?si=3AEdYmrgSleyU6XMF2jAdw
Nazis in THE USA from 1930 to present
Funny how they all seem to be Republicans.
He was taught by Roy Cohn so be prepared for lots of distraction. Keep telling the same lie until it's mainstream and thought of as the truth.
Yes! The scuz of the scum
I did my residency in Family Practice in Michigan in the early Eighties. I grew up in the Mountain West, so that was my first real experience with Mid-westerners. The people I met and worked with seemed like the real salt of the earth types: steadfast, trustworthy, well-thought-out, genuine. I don't know what has happened there since, but I remember thinking in 2016 when Trump won, how all those salt-of-the-earth mid-western white men would feel when they found out that they just elected the Kremlin to the White House. Seems like most of them still either don't know or don't give a sh!t. Still surprises me.
Please stop the MSM/TFG talking point that “This is the first time in history a former United States president has ... “
But remember history as TFG remembers it for all of us -- he was the first United States president to be impeached twice. With that ignominious past, he’s just the first United States president to have been alleged to have committed so many crimes. The unprecedented part is not his indictment, but what led to it. Keep the emphasis where it belongs, not on his indignation, which no one should give a damn about.
Thank you, my sentiments exactly. First time in history when a mob boss cheated his way to the presidency. Tell it MSM
Well, mob toady anyway. Unless you mean the current "GOP", which also morphed into organized crime; but not nearly so professional.
Impeachment is a political indictment, not punishable in criminal terms. It would have disqualified him from running again, which would have been a huge favor to the country, essentially forcefully retiring him from national politics, but this criminal indictment is a far bigger event for the country and justice system. It's grease on the skids for Georgia and the DOJ.
“ The unprecedented part is not his indictment, but what led to it.” Absolutely!!
Crooked political officials are certainly no novelty, but a US president who is a walking crime wave, and a US party so thoroughly committed to crime, so far as I know sets a new low, especially the brazen and coordinated attempts to overturn the election, along with the despotic all lies, all the time, approach to governance.
Which scenario would cause a greater faux news talking head explosion- the current indictment, or if Biden had allegedly done the same?
Trump and Stormy colluded to cheat the electorate.
It's always about Russia, isn't it? I read the Mueller report, and one footnote really struck me: A redacted person wrote in a text to a Russian oligarch (Dmitriev, who had met with Erik Prince in the Seychelles), minutes after Hillary conceded: "Putin has won." Let us now hope this is the beginning of the end of the Putin - trump reign of terror.
Putin did win with chump, repeat last sentence ad nauseam.
Laurie, thank you a thousand times for this post. Betsy DeVos-Erik Prince, brother and sister. Republican gifts to the destruction of US, not often enough invoked.
Thank you! The Mueller report was full of shocking facts, but Barr gaslit America. The DeVos/Prince family is corrupt, and they are still using their fortune to destroy the public schools (and find another way to profit).
FINALLY! I’m glad it was NY, one of the places he won’t be able to receive a federal pardon.
…all the King’s horses and all the King’s men…
Manhattan makes it full circle, bay-bay! Playground of the famous, burial ground of the infamous.
The Justice system has something to Bragg about today.
It's going to take a while to seat a jury, as most New Yorkers hate his guts. A true jury of his peers would be 12 soulless amoral grifters, but if anywhere can scrounge up a dozen of those, it's probably Manhattan. :)
This indictment means everything as it will begin revealing trumps way of destroying or hiding evidence - which will in turn lead to more indictments and more evidence revealed. He can’t hide from his actions. His supporters may spin it but it’s going to come out. Those supporters won’t change but the public record will remain forever. The evidence will bring accountability. No more Barrs to help him sweep it under the rug.
My hope is that this indictment is the first “snowball” of a coming avalanche of accountability for him and his enablers. Fingers crossed for justice to be done…all due process procedures in place of course.
May PsychoCheeto's barrel-scraping defense attorneys have as much chance as that metaphorical snowball's chance in his final location of residence.
Indeed Barb; there is an actual avalanche coming. Guilty traitors on Capital Hill are en mass, wetting their pants; wealthy traitors and enablers that worship at the Church of Greed are as well. Watch for some to leave the country.. good riddance !
Dillard: the key is 34 Counts! The irresponsible talking heads on CNN and MSNBC continue to trash “the case” without having even seen the indictment, or any corroborating evidence and witnesses, or any of the key texts! How ridiculous is that? My guess is that the seriousness of this legal accumulation of corroborating evidence will embolden significant Republican political fallout with respect to his run for president? And when the next shoes drop: 1) with respect to his deliberate effort to hide national security secrets and classified documents long after he left the WH; 2) his obvious attempt to cheat the rule of law by desperately trying to pressure the SOS “to find 11,000+” votes in Georgia, and 3) his active conspiracy to overturn the national election by insurrection will all prove to a solid national majority that he is a crook, a liar, a cheat, a traitor, and a national disgrace! He can keep his MAGA co-conspirators company but not as President ever again!
Today, CNN apparently thought the correct answer to "Who should we highlight in order to provide a thorough, educated view and valuable, objective context on this groundbreaking development to our millions of viewers?" was "I know, let's see if the former toady for the Indict-ee wishes to give his tupPence about this whole shebang! We'll let him deflect and get in some digs on ethical current President, too! Journalism!"
Reminder: CNN have always been sensationalist, hacky trash, but have recently become a whole new kind of trash, and nobody here should be supporting them with your eyeballs under any circumstances.
Will, CNN and CBS demonstrated quite openly their business model during their first interviews with Blinken talking about Biden’s “failures” during the Afghan debacle They are simply clickbait whores, and yes, whores is the proper terminology here
The word that finally came to mind after seeing Pence give his opinion of the indictment was 'unctuous'. That will have to do until after I've had more coffee.
unctuous:
1 Excessively ingratiating or insincerely earnest.
2 Containing or composed of oil or fat.
3 Having the quality or characteristics of oil or ointment; slippery.
2 🤮 No wonder the fly
James, unctuous is as good an un-caffeinated word as any. Enjoy your coffee.
That word is sufficient. Actually, beyond sufficient.
It seems that the flood gates may begin the proverbial opening... And hope springs eternal.
I agree. Trump will be held accountable. He will be tried in a court of law, there will be evidence presented, each side has their say, and a jury will decide guilty or not guilty. Trump is not above the law. This isn't political. The man is a criminal.
And, historically, Dillard, it's the Public Record that will outlast us all. Bravo!
Excellent points.
The public record for history.
Speaking of supporters, where are the indictments of Meadows, Jordan, Greene, and all the other ghouls?
Coming soon
Agree, any person who has documented proof (due process) of them aiding and abetting his actions—he certainly needed collaborators to pull this off—must be held accountable as well, not just the foot soldiers/fodder for his coup attempt.
Just bars to restrain him, or so one hopes.
I guess the weaponization caucus missed the corrupt king of political prosecution.
TFG’s indictment so lifts my mood!!
And your closing paragraph is a real zinger: “In the end, as legal dominoes begin to fall, it might be that Americans do not, in fact, remember the history of his presidency from ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ forward the same way Trump does.”
Touché, Heather!
Non-Fox watchers certainly don’t remember it the way he does. But the cult will
I worry about you, Jeri! You are right, but... give yourself a day to celebrate something! We all need it.
Fox needs to be banned, and its followers gently deprogrammed. They are, in many ways, in a cult.
Great Letter, Heather Cox Richardson! Makes yesterday's startling events crystal clear. You often say that your skill set is in American History and Politics; however, what a fine job you do describing European, Russian, Chinese and other countries relevance to us here in the US. Thank you. I'm the one who lived next to Polands when I lived in Round Pond in the 1990s.
"Makes yesterday's startling events crystal clear."
I absolutely agree!
The election of chump in 2016 stank from the git go. I never believed that he won legitimately; Putin’s paws were all over the whole Schitt show. And, Russia was always in the shadows for the whole horrible four years of his crime spree.
When he is booked, finger printed, and photographed, I hope he will be required to surrender all his passports.
I suspect that his passport(s) have had to be surrendered already.
I’m praying he flees to some isolated island, lives in luxury, paid for in MAGA donations, flaunting his total disgust and disregard of his cult base as they continue to fund his largesse
Fitting end to the Orwellian tome
Pictures! I want the Pictures!! Profile one first
Might pull a Yanokovich!
Aww, then we can't deport him to Russia! ;)
To Catch a Thief; a liar and bully; a rapist, misogynist, racist, antisemite, and cruel beyond measure; children in cages; incompetent and ignorant; to catch the insurrectionist ex-president who paid a porn star with hush money; to actually indict him, the real-estate hustler, former president, Donald J. Trump and the porn star, Stormy Daniels, now that’s a story!
“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head,” DeSantis said. “The [billionaire donor George] Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney [Alvin Bragg] has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.”
In his statement Thursday, DeSantis said the state would “not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda.”
The consequences of this indictment not only for Trump but, most importantly, for the US. The MAGA movement is out to destroy the state, and the Republican Party is in its hands. What of the country that didn’t catch the lying, thief for fifty years, whose system and voters elected him as President? Is the US also in MAGA’s hands or will Americans wakeup and the so-called ‘Rule of Law’ fulfil its mission and save our so-called Democracy?
‘The sinister forces trying to kill America have done everything they can to stop me, to silence you, and to turn this nation into a socialist dumping ground for criminals, junkies, Marxists, thugs, radicals, and dangerous refugees that no other country wants. No other country wants them. If those opposing us succeed, our once beautiful U.S.A. will be a failed country that no one will even recognize. A lawless, open borders, crime-ridden, filthy, communist nightmare. That’s what it’s going and that’s where it’s going. . . . That’s why I’m standing before you, because we are going to finish what we started. We started something that was a miracle. We’re going to complete the mission. We’re going to see this battle through to ultimate victory.’
___Donald J. Trump
Thank you Fern. His own words.
Now, how about Pence's verdict:
“I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage,” Pence said Thursday night in an interview on CNN. “This will only further serve to divide our country.”
I don't want to use an expletive; how about calling him a 'weirdo'? What do you think, Pat?
Outrage or outage? More like an outing. Except that in NYC everybody knew.
More like the end of the very, very long fuse to an almost unending chain reaction, indictment upon indictment upon indictment.
Time to read or reread Henry Fielding's remarkable novel, The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild the Great, a biography of London's erstwhile crime boss, the greatest criminal of the age AND a deadly satire of England's 18th century Bibi Netanyahu, Robert Walpole.
Note that Fielding was not only a great novelist and the dominant playwright of his age but London's chief magistrate and the founder of London's first police force, the Bow Street Runners.
To end on a cautionary note, Fielding's deadly satires failed to unseat Walpole, one of history's grandmasters of political corruption... Read:
https://www.britainexpress.com/History/Walpole-Administration.htm
Doesn't it somehow sound so very familiar?
And you thought this kind of thing was "as American as Apple Pie"...
Peter, you are keeping me up. Have you slept?
Does it really make any difference whether we wake or we sleep?
Same nightmares, same ogres and hobgoblins.
Same illusions and delusions.
Only solution: Be of good cheer -- and keep on pulling back those stage curtains...
So, this is what your dreams are like!
Pence is a sorry excuse for a person with no backbone. Trump wanted to have him hung and and he’s trying to talk around it.
This guy will never get two votes in a primary if he runs for president.
Why is everybody still afraid to stand up to trump? They all hate him and if they had stuck together he would have been done for a long time ago.! Amen!
Exactly!! They ARE afraid to stand up to him. Whether they like him or not is irrelevant to them. He's the disruption they crave. And we can't ever lose track of that.
Angelica,
Sorry, but your last word ruined an otherwise good comment for me. So divisive.
Fern,
Among Trump supporters, paying off a prostitute is not, likely, viewed as weird. In fact, it probably makes him look good to them. Hey, he is a regular guy.
Mike S,
PS 'Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born Stephanie A. Gregory; March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels,[7][8] is an American pornographic film actress and director[9][10] and former stripper. She has won many industry awards and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.' (Wikipedia)
Why did you call her a prostitute? Do you know that for a fact?
Well, just think about it...between Stormy and the former Playboy Bunny, tfg paid $280k for a couple of brief rolls in the hay. The fact that payment was delayed and included a post-hoc nondisclosure clause doesn't change the fact that when the money changed hands, those two became perhaps the highest paid hookers in modern history and he became one of the most notorious johns in recent memory.
Nathan, this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the case - this payoff money wasn’t for the sex, which seems to be kind of like exciting sordid click-bait for some people. The money was to keep the women from selling their stories during the campaign; i.e., it was hush money. That doesn’t make either woman one of the highest paid “hookers” in modern history, or a “hooker” at all. Porn stars are just that: porn stars, not prostitutes. I’m not saying they might not also take money for sex; they might, but we should not make those kind of assumptions. It’s misogynistic to do so. I think that’s the point Fern is trying to make, although I don’t want to put words into her mouth.
'Hooker' is a word for prostitute. I have not read anywhere, except written here by a couple of uninformed males, that they were or are prostitutes. You may not care to read my post just before yours, so I am copying it for your edification: 'Stephanie Gregory Clifford (born Stephanie A. Gregory; March 17, 1979), known professionally as Stormy Daniels,[7][8] is an American pornographic film actress and director[9][10] and former stripper. She has won many industry awards and is a member of the NightMoves, AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.' (Wikipedia)
Mike S,
My comment was about Pence not about 'Trump supporters'. Were they threatened with death during the 1/6 attack on The Capitol? Pence was VP under Trump. Have you paid attention to Pence's behavior and public statements?
Jeeze Fern you are a formidable foe. And Pencey is still playing coy boy, like a baby kangaroo playing peekaboo. Now you see me now you don’t. I’m trying here to contain myself. No I’m not. I haven’t crashed into the “Old Man of the See” yet, but looking forward to adding his insight to yours. Between Peter and you it’s a feast fest. Like Odysseus I want to chain myself to the mast and hear the Siren’s song.
Perfectly put, Pat.
We have come to that turning point in the Snow White tale when the wicked queen looks into her mirror, puts her daily question,
"Mirror, mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?"
And gets the "wrong" answer.
*
A dangerous moment for Snow White. A dangerous moment for America. A dangerous moment for the world.
40% of Americans still love him more than they love their own families. And, getting charged for paying off a porn star won't change that.
May he and his ilk be seen for what they are, and the US of A survive their traitorous blather and actions. Ye hear that MSM
Jeri,
Unfortunately MSM can't hear you. It only hears profits. It doesn't lead. It only follows huge movements and 💲.
So many racist code words in his remarks.
Well done, Fern! Thank you.
One thing sticks in my mind concerning this indictment: We need to remember (and continually reiterate) that Donald Trump is innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his peers. Of course the obvious irony of this pronouncement of Innocence is the unabashed pronouncement of the “obvious” GUILT of DA Bragg, George Soros, the Demonic Left, etc.
Paul, I agree. That’s the bedrock of our judicial system, that one is presumed innocent until proven guilty. I’m feeling as gleeful as everyone else! But Trump is entitled to the same protections under law as everyone else. I fervently hope he is also subject to the same penalties as everyone else, when he breaks the law and it’s proven in court that he has done so. Without that, I think we are lost.
Exactly, KR. I am willing to give Trump a fair trial. (That kinda takes away that whole “weaponization” argument that Trump Nation is promoting.) The more Patriotic we can be about our judicial system the more we can demonstrate to Trump Nation how REAL Patriots behave in such circumstances.
DJT sure didn’t care about the innocence of the Central Park Five. His indictment is necessary for the rule of law to prevail-even if he’s not convicted.
No, Trump did not care about the innocence of the Central Park Five. I DO NOT WANT to be like Trump. Currently, Trump & Trump Nation views their “opposition” as GUILTY until “proven” INNOCENT. I REFUSE to be like Trump & Trump Nation.
I’m not suggesting that anyone be like Trump-just pointing out Trump’s ideas about guilt and innocence.
WHAT! What are you talking about? Have you had too many pancakes; is it the maple syrup or that your right-wing is out of control?
Fern, has it already been determined that Trump is GUILTY?
Paul, Trump's innocence or guilt of civil and criminal charges will be determined in a court of law, not by the opinion of pundits and members of the public.
Self-indicted?
Countless times, it seems...
Best Teflon coating that money can buy.
Roy Cohn would have loved his student's skills at twisting reality.
Thank you Fern, for an excellent illustration of how DeSantis is a student of Trump.
Well, the day has arrived. TFG has been indicted. For what, exactly? We have no idea. The indictment is sealed until he presents himself before the judge next week. So, all the speculation we are hearing on the media about the charges. It’s just that. Speculation. Period.
Now, another ‘speculation’ we are hearing. Or better yet. A lot of media time spent on discussing why this indictment first. Why not one of the other investigations being first?
This is strictly my opinion. But I’m looking at this as a type of “time line”. I always drew up a time line in every investigation. This way I knew at the end when I presented it to the State Attorney’s office, I had all my ducks in a row and my investigation was complete. Made their job so much easier.
Back to this case. This is the first step leading up to the other investigations which are all involving his time while in office, and with a future election. So, this being the first of his political criminal acts, it’s fitting that he hit the courts on this first. And, it will not surprise me if in the very near future we don’t see indictments coming from Georgia, then from Washington DC.
I suspect that the three attorneys might have been communicating just this scenario. MAYBE they all want to get him in New York, out of Florida, and then hit him with the other charges. There’s no telling what the plan is, but you can bet your bottom dollar that’s there’s a plan, and it’s being held very close to the vest.
There is two things we all do know. First, TFG is in a huge pile of deep do-do. The more he yaks now on his social media and in a microphone the deeper he’s digging his hole. Second. We all know, beyond any shadow of any doubt, that TFG, as well as his enabled Republicans in the House and Senate can’t keep their yaps shut!
Hold on to your seats folks. Get you a huge bowl of popcorn popped, and a case of your favorite drink on ice. This show is just fixing to get good!
The ground was plowed by the case against Michel Cohen in which I believe "Individual 1" was assumed to be Trump. So no surprise it was first.
One small step ...
...and some very, very teensy fingers getting printed before holding up the numbers in the mugshot.
Guffaw….snort….snigger…lol…..thanks for this image….
👏👏🤣🤣
but potentially a giant leap for humanity.
True, the indictment remains under seal pending after a "limited unsealing order" likely by NY state Judge Merchant who handled a prior NY state action against the Trump Organization.
However, NBC News is reporting multiple Counts, enhanced felony Counts which will be accurately reported by Lawfare when publicly available explaining how the Counts were charged.
We will have to wait like everyone else but, I am expecting well crafted charges supported by stark admissible evidence.
Bryan, can you link to where NBC reported that? I have had nowhere near the time to read every reliable source this afternoon, but everywhere I have seen says ~25-30 counts, with no information as to misdemeanor or felony.
I think 117 might be the number of this type of case that the Manhattan DA's office has prosecuted this term so far.
That was what Rachel Maddow said less night. 117 previous prosecutions.
I taped Rachel & I will review. UPDATE with Mea Culpa: You are correct scrowel2, Rachel in her opening monologue stated that DA Alvin Bragg has brought this "falsification of biz records" charges 117 prior times in his short time as DA.
Rachel observed that "overheated expectations" are bound to disappoint & warned that the NY state proceedings will be "boring". I do not think it will be boring but, will rely on Lawfare for accurate reporting & court document attachments.
Thank you, scrowel2.
Joyce Vance reported 34 separate indictments, according to the NYT. She could not firgure out just where they all were coming from, so some of them may indeed be a surprise.
You are correct Kathleen, thank you for your comment. tfg will be arraigned next Tuesday before Judge Merchant in the state of New York.
Yes, 117 prosecutions Bragg has done in his 14 (?) months in office. cf Rachel Maddow last night.
You are correct Liz, see my "overheated expectations" errata in this thread.
117? Wow! That’s going to be some arraignment!
FYI, Professor Joyce Vance's Civil Discourse email tonite cites 34 Counts relying on a Paula Reid/CNN tweet.
34 opportunities to see some Rusky tax returns. Red line my ass!
Only 34? Well that will have to do :)
March 30, 2023 will go down in the history books as a date to remember. There's such incredible poetic justice in hush money payments to a porn star being the lead off batter in this game of indictments that's coming. Spring training is finally over folks. Let the games begin. Hallelujah. Cue Leonard Cohen, the backup singers and the B-3. This performance is perfect for this moment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q
Yes! A date to remember! March 30--Double the Ides! Cue KC and the Sunshine Band: "That's the way . . . uh huh uh huh, I like it!"
Double the Ides...I like it. I shot a gig with KC in DC about 10 years ago that I think was for the Chamber of Commerce. KC had not aged too well...but he had this total amazon woman dancing with the band. She stole the show...she was the show. I commented to an older gentleman who was "gettin' down" with his date, that"I wasn't sure she was the same species that we were." Google KC...you'll see what I mean.
Whoa . . . what happened to him? Would love to see the Amazon woman--do you have a link to the video? Glad you like the Ides! Kind of a pun: I like the Odds . . .
I can't find any video. But this Forbes article has a photo...if this isn't the same woman...they are similar. I think "mine" was taller and more towering over KC.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2019/05/23/kc-and-the-sunshine-band-on-surviving-the-disco-backlash-and-getting-the-last-laugh/?sh=656d11da33c0
What are the odds of double the Ides and little lambsy divey.
So much inspiration-So little time
Maresy Dotes plus slithy toves
will trumple the Ides
with triumphant notes.
Sp when time is short and inspiration's long
it sometimes helps to sing a song!
https://youtu.be/90Nqf5wHU9g
Thanks for the Cohen link….has been pretty much my fave singer songwriter since maybe around ‘67. Miss his wise wit and poetry via song.
I just had a sip of tequila with it...perfection.
Yes, it certainly will be remembered. What an opening day!
🙏
My son was on the phone telling us he is getting married when a text came in about trump's indictment!!! Not sure which was the most joyous as we have been hoping for both for a long time!!! There will be a lighter step and much happiness on the 'ole pickleball court this morning!! 💃 😆
Congratulations to your son and to your family on his happy news.
Thank you . . . we are thrilled!
Blessings!