Judge Cannon has set the documents trial for May 20, 2024.
In the Friday order, Cannon wrote that Trump’s arguments about his status as a current presidential candidate were “unnecessary to resolution of the Government’s motion at this juncture.” It leaves room for the issue potentially to reappear in the future, but takes it out of consideration for now.
Trump’s lawyers will try to push that further down the road, of course. I’m not going to try to guess if Jack Smith will try to move it up.
Tony Bennett died, age 96. He had a good run.
The Guardian is reporting that Fani Willis is preparing to bring racketeering charges against Trump.
The Guardian mentions that charges against Trump were delayed because some of the fake electors flipped at the last minute. They flipped at the last minute because Fani Willis had offered immunity in exchange for testimony BUT THE LAWYER FOR THE FAKE ELECTORS DIDN'T TELL THEM! The lawyers were paid for by the Georgia GOP, but if Trump didn't have a part in it, I'll eat my hat.
The fake electors who agreed to testify (my guess) will implicate Rudy as the prime mover of the scheme. Rudy will also be charged. He will either flip or take the fall. Trump can not pardon Rudy for Georgia crimes. BTW, Georgia CAN broadcast trials.
Regarding Judge Loose Cannon: At some point, she establishes the appearance of favoritism, which is the standard for removal. Whether or not this is it, Jack will tell. Trump will continue to make motions from Cannon – she will want to give Trump anything she can that won't get her removed. I don't think Trump's smart enough to see the problem. If/when she denies Trump a ridiculous request, will he threaten to sic the mob on her?
Regarding Hunter Biden, Lewis Carroll’s famous poem The Hunting of the Snark comes to mind. (the Snark is an imaginary animal).
A favorite, repeating verse:
What’s to do with Republicans, other than to jail them where possible, or laugh in their faces?
And Tony Bennett was a very good man, a very good human being, too.
A lot of people may not know it, but he was heavily involved in our civil rights fights in the 50's and 60's – which coincides with the early prime of his musical career.
A lot of the White guy singers of that era were also involved in civil rights.
I guess it's true:
Music is color-blind.
@gulag – so much American music owes its existence to black people, all good musicians know this – and Tony Bennett surely did. I was telling somebody about the Beatles' refusal to play in concert halls which were segregated – it was in their contract. Sir Paul often spoke about how the song "Blackbird" was about the struggle of blacks in America.
What's tragic is that younger people are astonished by such tales of altruism, they're like people in a deep dark cell who only very occasionally see rays of light.
I've long held the phrase "believe in" as a source of amusement. It's used to measure faith in Santa Clause and Jesus with equal sincerity. As someone expressed here recently, science doesn't care if you belive in science.
But I realized recently that I believe in elections. And Donald Trump and his minions do not. This is the fundamental flaw that makes them not just evil, but dangerous.
There can be bad actors in positions of counting votes. The system is designed to dilute their power. Votes are tabulated locally and reported (publicly) up and tallied at the top (and certified) So a corrupt person at the precinct level seldom has the power to overturn an election and changing the tally at the top will be discovered.
No election is perfect but since the time of Mayor Dailey, I think they've been called according to the count. (Except FL in 2000 – and that count was honestly close)
The GOP is corrupt and evil as they have not previously been in my lifetime because they now only want to count the votes of people who agree with them. "One Person – One Vote" is not how they want to count. It looks like Trump will be charged with officially trying to disenfranchise voters or dilute the power of black voters.
But this might be an issue that resonates with voters in '24.
Do you believe in elections?
@doug – to get picky – we believe in things we cannot see, such as the historicity of Jesus and the claims made about him.
Things like elections are agreements or contracts about how power is exercised in a society. There are many such contracts we abide by (or choose not to) every day – for example, staying on your side of the line down the highway, or not acting up in a supermarket checkout line. If you marry someone, you've entered into an agreement to not date others. Or the way people talk to each other: one person talks while another listens, whereupon the conversants can switch roles. There is a whole elaborate set of agreements/contracts people enter into when they talk to each other, which is all implicit and happens almost instantly, only communication experts have written it out.
What a minority of people want in this country is to do away with the rule of law, which is an elaborate set of agreements, that includes fair and free elections. I was reading something by Heather Cox Richardson today, where IIRC, she says Thomas Paine was noted for saying "We have no King, the Law is King", which was an entirely novel idea back then. The minority wants to do away with this, and install the modern day version of a king, the demagogue. The demogogue will then be the law, dictating the agreements that everyone must submit to. Or else.
“The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.”
— H. L. Mencken
We currently have a plethora of demagogues in positions of power, unfortunately…along with even more idiots.
Republicans don't believe in Democracy!
Bonnie, Republicans have been conditioned to think that "Democracy" means government that favors Democrats. The actual meaning is government by the majority with protections for the rights of the minority.
MAGAs do not want protection for the rights of minorities and they do not care about the will of the majority. (Some people are still registered Republicans who subscribe to old-time conservatism and they do still believe in Democracy.)
Biden can't comment on Trump's criminal predicament which is gonna get worse. If he could comment, I think Biden would ask why Trump thinks he's above the law. If he's not above the law, why won't he respond to the criminal charges by embracing the opportunity to defend himself in court? It's the hallmark of a tyrant to exempt himself from the law.
All this is obvious to the regulars on Mahablog, but getting the light to go on with conservative-leaning people is gonna be a feat. By getting the light to go on, I mean reminding them of the principles of Democracy and how the Trump supporters have rejected them. And link Trump's fear of objective legal truth in a court of law to Trump's subversion of the law.
Word of the Day
Soph·ist·ry
/?säf?str?/
noun
Im just watched abc news do stories on Drs that did not want to get vaccinated against covid as condition of employment in Houston.
Then they run biden and his DOD censoring twitter re misinfo on covid vaccinations . thesr go back the past 2 and 3 years.
Trying to make biden etc to blame for a disease a highly mutating one and even giving. Rfkjr cred because his tweets were opposedby "government" censorship and govt getting peoples twitter accts.
Wwhine
No mention that doctors vaccinate you me. Every minute every day and what about our rights that dr religion matters but yours and mine not so and that. Covid vac may have been associated with low sperm counts. Lots of smear tactics here lots of old garbage dredged up as fact. To make Dems are controllin censoring and vaccinated and the poor "real amurikans" are victims.
Not one mention of which party has legislated to destroy bodily autonomy privacy etc etc and no mention of the president who told people to drink bleach.
Smear. And pro RW nonsense
As the neighborhood song dropper I feel obligated to comment on one of the many recent manufactured wing-nut hissy fits. If Jason Aldean actually could write songs, play guitar, and sing he wouldn't have had to participate in a highly produced well financed "own the libs" tabloid exercise. This guy can't strum or hum his way out of a paper bag. The first time I saw/heard this twit (10 years ago or so) I thought: yeah another short, fake cowboy hat, trying to be cool, trying to be Steve Earle, nope not even close. I hate to even acknowledge the whole episode, reminds of Paris Hilton or the Kardashian’s, problem is it's mixed in with the hateful right wing. Fuckin trash, can we afford to ignore them, I don’t know the answer?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNpBLcb15Y8
Merle Haggard – Okie From Muskogee (Live) – YouTube
If you have an hour or so!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTNU_6Q5f5I