I can’t even look at election news any more. It’s all doom and gloom. The fact that the Republican party can talk openly about cutting Social Security and Medicare without fear of punishment at the polls is astonishing. That a Nazi like Doug Mastriano is in Pennsylvania spouting blatant anti-Semitism as the Republican nominee for governor is astonishing. That the rummage pile of damage that is “Herschel Walker” might possibly defeat the Rev. Raphael Warnock is astonishing. I’m not sure there’s any coming back from this. We don’t have a country any more. What used to be the United States just a big dysfunctional socio-cultural-political garbage heap.
Yesterday the Fifth Circuit, “America’s Trumpiest Court,” declared that the entire Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional. The court’s reasoning is already being called “novel.” It used to be that courts were there to save us from the idiocy of politicians. Now there’s no one to save us from the idiocy of courts.
On that cheerful note … it’s looking more and more likely that Trump is going to face criminal charges for something, eventually. You probably heard about this yesterday —
Former President Donald J. Trump signed a document swearing under oath that information in a Georgia lawsuit he filed challenging the results of the 2020 election was true even though his own lawyers had told him it was false, a federal judge wrote on Wednesday.
The accusation came in a ruling by the judge, David O. Carter, ordering John Eastman, the conservative lawyer who strategized with the former president about overturning the election, to hand over 33 more emails to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Judge Carter, who serves with the Federal District Court for the Central District of California, determined that the emails contained possible evidence of criminal behavior.
“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public,” Judge Carter wrote. He added in a footnote that the suit contained language saying Mr. Trump was relying on information provided to him by others.
I understand these emails will be made public eventually. And then this week Trump was deposed in the E. Jean Carroll defamation lawsuit. What he said in the deposition has not been made public. But it’s interesting to note that Trump’s original defense was that whatever defaming thing he said about Ms. Carroll was said while he was President and acting in the capacity of POTUS. Even if judges agree with that, which is questionable, the moron repeated the same statements that inspired the lawsuit on his social media platform. And he wasn’t acting as POTUS then.
After Judge Kaplan denied Mr. Trump’s request to delay, Mr. Trump blasted Ms. Carroll in a lengthy social media post, repeating the kind of statements that had prompted her to sue in the first place.
“This ‘Ms. Bergdorf Goodman’ case is a complete con job,” Mr. Trump said in his statement. He said that Ms. Carroll was not telling the truth, that he did not know her — and that she was not his type: “While I am not supposed to say it, I will.”
That was before he was deposed. After he was deposed he “shared videos on Truth Social calling E Jean Carroll ‘crazy’ and mocking her rape claims against him just hours after he was deposed in her defamation case against him.” So if she didn’t have a strong enough case against him before, she’s got a stronger one now.
Also, Trump’s fundraising isn’t going so well. Bloomberg reports that he’s spent 91 cents to raise each dollar. Of course, that there are still people willing to donate to Trump is kind of astonishing.
In other court news, today Lindsey Graham lost another appeal to block the subpoena from the Fulton County Grand Jury.
This just in — the SCOTUS rejected a request to block implementation of the Biden administration’s student debt relief program.
I believe this is the most recent development in the Mar-a-Lago documents case —
An excerpt from a new audiobook revealed that President Donald J. Trump shared classified letters from Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, with the journalist Bob Woodward and seemed to acknowledge that they were sensitive material that he should not be sharing.
“Don’t say I gave them to you,” Mr. Trump said in December 2019, according to a copy of Mr. Woodward’s audiobook obtained by CNN, adding that “nobody else” had the letters and imploring the journalist to “treat them with respect.”
The Washington Post reported that a month later, in January 2020, Mr. Woodward also asked to see letters that Mr. Trump had written to the North Korean leader. Mr. Trump replied, “Oh, those are so top secret.”
The original letters between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump were among the voluminous number of presidential records that the National Archives tried to recover from Mr. Trump after he left office. Mr. Trump resisted returning the boxes of documents he had taken to his Florida estate, describing them to several advisers as “mine.”
I’m sure there’s something I’m forgetting. Too much going on.
Oh, I disagree, maha.
tRUMP's been acting as president then, when he was president, and after noon of 1/20/20, and last week, and, what time is it now?
The key word there is "acting."
He's still "acting" like he's president.
Didn't he kind of model his new office at Merde-Duh -Lardass after the Oval Office?
Kinda weird, you ask me…
And yeah, maha: I'm very depressed at the polls. They make me want to stick knitting-needles in my eyeballs.
I hear turn-out's good, though.
So, I'm not quite suicidal.
Yet.
Totally agree. When Democrats can't seem any more desirable than open Nazis or people who want to cut social programs, I also wonder what the hell the Democrats' strategy is.
I suspect their donors know, though.
The premier sage of the 20th Century (Yogi Berra) said, "It ain't over till it's over."
Do NOT believe the polls and what the corporately owned media tell you they mean. Too much of the poll 'results' are pre-determined by how they word their questions and what choices of answers they give you and how they word those answers.
Disregard the 'interpretations' and 'gut instincts' and 'experience' of the corporately owned media. Remember that the "Inside-The-Beltway Conventional Wisdom" is really group-think.
Maybe there will be a RoeVember.
Hell, maybe tRump and a large number of his fellow coup conspirators will be indicted and go to jail.
The last few weeks before an election are always excruciating so let's close with more Yogi Berra quotes: "It’s like déjà vu all over again." "You can observe a lot by just watching." "The future ain't what it used to be."
non sequitur – "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six."
I have to wonder how much attacking election integrity will drive down turnout. It's a weird unknown. Speculating here: there may be a significant faction in the GOP who wants a violent confrontation and the overthrow of the government. They don't want to participate unless it's immediately leading to completely dominating liberals. Nobody's pulled the numbers scientifically but a significant number of J6 insurrectionists did not vote in the 2020 election just two months prior.
The one bit of Trump legal news you missed is from NY – Trump had been working to get the civil case moved to a different department to get a different judge AND to slow down the pace. The black lady prosecuting has asked for a date in late 2023, which I think is perfect. My opinion is that Trump wants to delay that until after the presidential election. Anyhow Trump lost the bid to have the case moved which leaves it on the fast track with a judge who's not indulged the games Trump's lawyers want to make.
They want to try the case on the basis that the prosecutor does not like Trump and that poor Trump has been singled out because he's rich and white. The judge pointed out that rich and white is not a protected class. If the prosecutor doesn't like Trump, tough ship. The case is about what Trump Did or Did Not do on the charges brought..This is not where the defense want's to be (arguing the facts.)
Related legal news: Miss Lindey will have to testify in GA and the judge spelled out what the Senator did not have to testify on and what he DID. Graham can still take the fifth and refuse to testify if he's charged, which means the jury will only hear the version of the phone call(s) from the witness for the prosecution.
The earlier report on Eastman's email which documents that Trump was aware that claims he was making under oath about fraud were false. Which puts Lindsey and Mayor Bug-eyes in even deeper water if they are charged (especially if they used those same lies that Trump did, knowing the claims to be groundless.)
Last, the Eastman email makes Trump liable for perjury if DOJ wants to charge. Ordinarily, I'd say it's too minor to pursue but that charge puts the "big lie" on trial and forces Trump to prove what Trump knows has no factual foundation. Trump and Company keep claiming they HAVE the goods and they CAN prove fraud. Fighting that battle alone, the lack of foundation for the big lie may be worth fighting.
Hahaha, "rich and white is not a protected class"! If the NY DOJ had been doing its job for the 30 years prior to 2016, Trump would have been in jail long ago. Epstein, too.
The crazy will have its season. Focus on the good, that it's likely Trump will be facing the music, although it may be a while yet. Do not dwell on the bad.
Get away from the news and get cleansed in nature. One of the best things I did this year was find LeechBlock – a free internet blocker, that lets me titrate the news.
You have to master the mental game of living in a crazy time, or you’ll get dragged into the cesspool.
Also, Trump’s fundraising isn’t going so well. Bloomberg reports that he’s spent 91 cents to raise each dollar.
I wouldn't put too much stock in that statistic. It almost goes without saying that Trump probably has got some sort of sub scam running below the surface where of that 91 cents he's getting some kind of kickback. Nobody gets to make money on the Trump name without paying their tribute to the mighty Trump. His tentacles of greed extend much further than the eye can see. Nine cents on the dollar? No self respecting Trump would ever accept a grift that returned such a measly percentage. Fred Trump would roll over in his grave!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
You said it, Maha; ignore the news, since I voted by mail over two weeks ago.
The surgeon general went on air yesterday to announce the United States has a mental health crisis. You bet we do. The election should show just how insane we are. In some places the group insanity will be over 50%. Elections do have consequences and many people will shoot themselves and possible future generations in the foot.
It has been a long time since anyone has written a utopia. Now we just dream of a more tolerable dystopia. Escapism is our primary coping mechanism. Many people want to go backward, but that door is shut to most. We have lost the skills needed to survive the old way, and we have no vision of how to get to a tolerable future.
At times like these we look to the mother country. Yet is not the least bit stable. Post Brexit it seems lost. Its currency weak and its conservative party in shambles.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder is the Wack-job rage. Many will fill out ballots with that intent. The ballot box is no place to express insanity. We have a country to try to run.
Selling memberships in a club that doesn't exist… Really, only Trump! Well, maybe the ocassional evangelist also.
16 times Donald Trump's political action committees promised worthless rewards for a donation (msn.com)
We live in a zoo.
The only consolation is at least we are not in Ukraine or Syria or Afghanistan or N Korea or locked down in China. The human race really has no idea what it is doing.
The fact that Judge Dearie has sense and some judge said the rich and white remark shows the brain disease of "i know I'm fascist and cannot hide it" has not spread everywhere.
And scotus well they must be rotten. Miss Lindsey is asking scotus to save him from DA Willis in Fulton Co Ga. Funny he thinks that these hand picked judges will help him. Doesn't that expectation prove what scotus is now?
Try to have a good weekend. Yes look at Britain. There go we. And even the talking heads immediately saw it noting that they can at least call for new government, we will be stuck for years.
" The fact that the Republican party can talk openly about cutting Social Security and Medicare without fear of punishment at the polls is astonishing"
Well that's the way our corporate media wants it, they need content and a "horse race" is content for eyeballs! The thing that gets me is how the democrats just roll over and play dead on the whole violent crime thing? All the ads here in Chicagoland by republicans are hitting democrats for the increase in crime, almost everyday we have 10-15 shootings at least a couple are deadly, and the GQP runs ads showing the headlines, democrats: crickets? If I was a democratic strategist I would run an ad blaming criminals for crime but I would make it clear that it is the republican party who made sure all criminals have easy access to guns. Without the NRA and the GQP we would have a fraction of the shootings.It's astonishing how weak the ads from democrats are, they only talk about Roe, Roe is important but I don't think only talking about Roe is a winning strategy?