There is something especially sweet about the number of Black officials in Georgia who are involved in the prosecution of tRump, with Fani Willis foremost.
This is also true of some other prominent players, e.g., DA Alvin Bragg in NY and Judge Tanya Chutkan in DC. And don't think Trump and the MAGAs haven't noticed.
It it must be especially stinging to the racist, misogynistic and immigrant hating Trump to have Judge Tanya Chutkan, a black woman from Jamaica presiding over one of his indictments.
I'm a little surprised that Trump seems to have underplayed that in his social media rants. OTOH, it's almost certainly going to get worse -- until Judge Chutkan orders him arrested. ;-)
It's those previous rants post-elx 2020 under the Twitter handle of @POTUS that will be used against in the most. Not so much as threats rather to demonstrate he was predominantly speaking as candidate Trump, not as President Trump. Just as he is now doing on Truth Social.
Pretty difficult for Trump's attys to argue the GA case belongs in Federal Court when his rants and his phone calls to officials do not mention his presidential duties regarding elections instead follow the same old-same old I, I, I, me, me, me.
Same will apply in US District Courts in FL and DC on top of the 0-62 court cases, the debunking of false election claims by AG Barr and the DoJ, Trump (not President Trump) hired 2private firms that found no consequential fraud, his own campaign (emphasis campaign) officials along with a slew of other non-partisan election experts, and states that engaged in different forms of election result validations, and recounts.
Is critical to separate and establish the candidate from the president in every one of these cases and destroy any defense of "I was acting as President/CinC". If not, Trump walks itthah from the case being dismissed or by a jury.
You're so right about the importance of separating the candidate from the president -- and that's something that Trump himself is apparently incapable of doing. With him it really is I, I, I, me, me, me.
Trump is a pathetic example of a hooman, a man, a husband, and a father. Sometimes that gets lost in all the other discussions. Chuckle when the Christian conservatives attempt to cover just that with their invocation of God chooses imperfect vessels...as Trump autographs their holy book.
So, separating the candidate from the presidency assists in next seeing all the components of Trump. Just as we should do with ourselves and something Trump failed to do even once in his existence. To this day have not come across a more inauthentic living being in my life. Continues to be something his followers relate to and also project themselves onto him.
Continue to weep for this nation and her good people. Am grateful many are here
Yes! I’ve been wondering where he was? I even thought perhaps he was in a witness protection program! Ha, guess he’s as dumb as I thought! He had a chance. They’ve all had a chance. Can’t wait to see what happens between now and next Friday!
Defendant picks the 'best people'!! I agree - always thought he was a dummy - in fact, that's why he was chosen. He makes Defendant seem smart! All the smart people got fired long ago!
Nope, she is on a mission. As she should be. She and Jack Smith make me proud. Seriously. I've been watching both dangerous, violent people, along with political hacks, chip away at our Constitution for eight years now and I've had enough. So it's nice to see someone stand up against the bully.
And it's only led by those two as the legal systems avatars, this is backed by thousands as well as an aroused and fed-up citizenry, composed of people like you and I and millions more!
Naturally the right wing kooks in the guise of "reasonable conservatives" (hah!) are disturbed to see this at all but they home in on a real danger from their despicable perspective: progressive heroes who might help counter the fascistic cult of personality surrounding Donald J. Trump!
1. (5 May) The Hero as Divinity. Odin. Paganism: Scandinavian Mythology
2. (8 May) The Hero as Prophet. Mahomet: Islam
3. (12 May) The Hero as Poet. Dante; Shakspeare
4. (15 May) The Hero as Priest. Luther; Reformation: Knox; Puritanism
5. (19 May) The Hero as Man of Letters. Johnson, Rousseau, Burns
6. (22 May) The Hero as King. Cromwell. Napoleon: Modern Revolutionism
Summary
Carlyle was one of the few philosophers who lived through the British industrial revolution but maintained a non-materialistic view of historical development. The book included lectures discussing people ranging from the field of religion through to literature and politics. The figures chosen for each lecture were presented by Carlyle as archetypal examples of individuals who, in their respective fields of endeavour, had dramatically impacted history in some way.[2] The Islamic prophet Muhammad found a place in the book in the lecture titled "The Hero as Prophet". In his work, Carlyle outlined Muhammad as a Hegelian agent of reform, insisting on his sincerity and commenting "how one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades". His interpretation has been widely cited by Muslim scholars to show Muhammad without orientalist bias.[3] *****
He ain't down yet! Only a conviction and a LONG sentence in a real Federal prison -- not one of those "country club prisons"-- would be true justice done.
I think he has less chance of getting any relief if he is convicted in Georgia. Those words feel weird to me as a type them. No way I would have had that opinion 4 years ago.
C'mon, wouldn't you settle for a country club prison? That's the only place he could be locked up that could accommodate his security detail, poor guys ...
Me, too, of course. Our only hope is if potus removes the detail (deservedly so, I think) just as he used executive privilege to extend security to the Trump kids six months after it should have ended.
You have a point. Also, politically, it would look like piling on. However ... if he's convicted of all we know him to have done, why the hell should he not be treated like every other treasonous SOB?
Interesting that Rudolph Giuliani, who in consort with the New York office of the FBI, pioneered the use of RICO to bring down the Italian Mafia’s Commission, is now indicted under that statute.
The pictorial history of Rudolph Rudy America's Mayor Giuliani.
-USA SDNY Giuliani holding a presser on organized crime announcing RICO charges.
-Mayor Giuliani "noun, verb, 911" strolling down to the Pile.
-Guiliani being Borated in supine position on a hotel bed with his hand down in his pants.
-Master investigator/attorney Guliani holding a presser at Four Seasons Landscaping opposite a Porn Shop with hair dye (made from Havana cigar juice) streaming down his temples.
-GA booking photo of washed-up Guiliani indicted on RICO charge(s).
I watched it too and now I’m going to sleep as well! I’m glad she completed it today, really now Tuesday! I’m curious who will turn themselves in by August 25! Good night all and I can sleep a little better tonight!
As a NYC person I can’t get over the irony of Rudy Giuliani, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY who charged and jailed mobsters under federal RICO laws, is now himself defendant in a Georgia RICO indictment.
I recently read a gag-inducing transcript of a conversation between a drunk and/or drugged Giuliani and a frightened young female intern(?) or assistant, in which he exposed himself, demanded access to her breasts and ordered her to engage in oral sex with his Viagra-stiffened uh…excuse me while I retch.
Yes, I read it too and I gasped! Completely nauseating! But guess what? That turd is going bankrupt. He has sold his place in NY to get funds. Sometimes what goes around, comes around. Of course, we want this to happen to TFG also. 🤞🏼🤞🏼
Italian Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto
Directed byElio Petri Screenplay by Elio Petri Ugo Pirro Produced by
Marina Cicogna Daniele Senatore Starring Gian Maria Volonté Florinda Bolkan
Cinematography Luigi Kuveiller Edited by Ruggero Mastroianni Music by Ennio Morricone 1970 (Italy) Running time 115 minutes Box office ₤1.928 billion Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Italian: Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto) is a 1970 Italian crime drama film directed by Elio Petri, starring Gian Maria Volonté and Florinda Bolkan. It is a psychological, black-humored satire on corruption in high office,[1] telling the story of a top police officer who kills his mistress, and then tests whether the police would charge him for this crime. He begins manipulating the investigation by planting obvious clues while the other police officers ignore them, either intentionally or not.
The film was released in Italy by Euro International Pictures on 9 February 1970, to widespread acclaim from critics. It won the Jury Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival, and the David di Donatello Awards for Best Film for Best Actor (Gian Maria Volonté). In the United States, it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Petri and his co-writer Ugo Pirro were nominated for Best Original Screenplay.[2]
In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."[3] *****
By pure chance a friend and I went to the Grandview Theater, spring semester of 1974, near Macalester College, matinee showing, to see
And Investigation was on the bill first - still one of the most brilliant, powerful, salubriously disturbing and thought-provoking films I have ever seen, was glad at the time the theater (dates back to 1933 & it is a college neighborhood, after all) had the cinematic nous to cycle it through the process, with "Tricky Dick" Nixon still in the throes of potential metanoia or more stone-walling.
Now we have the ironies you emphasize, history does not repeat but it rhymes!
What interests me is the question of whether the Donors decide this is reason enough to finally drop Trump. The problem is they don’t have a substitute to galvanize the MAGA base, who get more galvanized with each indictment. I just can’t imagine a presidential election with a major party contender on trial for a couple dozen felonies, and maybe under house arrest. But that’s what’s going to happen. Republicans don’t really have a choice.
“Rainin’ indictments in Georgia!” Maybe this is the night the lights go OUT for TFG. I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to sleep: visions of RICO indictees filling my head.
Lucian, I hope you're getting some rest. Covid may not seem as serious as it used to be, but it's still nothing to mess around with.
I just breezed through the indictment, and it is comprehensive and detailed. I am a little worried that so many of the acts recounted don't seem to have a direct connection to Georgia. Not certain Willis's jurisdiction will hold up on all of them. But, whatever the acts lack in location they more than make up for in their number. Phew! Trump can be as dismissive as he wants, but these are serious.
Mention of 'the Donald's' name was a constant refrain during the entire discourse. I don't recall the precise number of times his name was mentioned, although the number 120 seems to stick in my memory. It is clear though that Donald Trump was orchestrating this effort, and that he was involved in every phase of its execution. That said, he will come in for the lion's share of the criminal responsibility assigned to this multi-state plot to steal our election, and to destroy democracy as we know it. It must by now become obvious to Trump that this particular set of allegations against him cannot be wished away, bargained away, threatened away, watered down, or delayed ad infinitum.
Traditional Republican-leaning political and election consultants are probably thinking that they're going to have to shoot the moon if they have any hope and prevailing in the upcoming election. With four sets of indictments against Trump now in the public domain, cumulatively occupying a 500-sheet ream of paper, this is going to be a very tough sell. Right now, the MAGAhats are responding to Trump's donations for money to pay his lawyers. The 'smart money' usually supplied by the donor class is sitting on their hands on the sidelines. I am trying to imagine what it is like for a traditional Republican donor, typically some trust fund heir, or Fortune 500 legatee, sitting on his plush, over-upholstered couch, watching the dialogue on CNBC or MSNBC, and quietly absorbing the commentary about the seriousness of the charges, and Trump's relatively poor prospects in escaping conviction. These men are no fools; and a fair number of them attended law school themselves. They may not have been former federal prosecutors, having likely opted to corporate or real estate practice, and a good fraction of them join business firms to become a Vice President and General Counsel to their companies before assuming executive positions, or membership on their boards of directors.
They also know, because it was staring them in the face during Trump's term of office how incomprehensibly stupid and incompetent Trump is, and how he plays to the rabble incessantly, if only to squeeze forty or fifty bucks a month from their meager incomes in his incessant grifting and fundraising. By temperament, these men cannot afford to be alienating significant members of the public; nor can they afford to be like Ron DeSantis as a self-appointed culture warrior who destroyed, almost single-handedly, the State of Florida's symbiotic relationship with the Disney Corporation to the extent that Disney shut down its proposed expansion of operations in Florida, choosing instead to remain in California. That new investment in Florida what had been projected to be worth up to $1 billion. And now DeSantis is sinking in the polls like a lead balloon. Who else is out there who might be worth supporting? The answer is, nobody. Trump sucks all the oxygen out of the room, and all these other would-be presidential contenders are looking to be Team Trump's second banana with the expectation that Trump himself will not be around long enough to start a second term in office, let alone complete one. Our hypothetical business executives/donor might be looking around to see who is on the horizon to be the Republican Party's White Knight to save the party from itself. The fact remains that as of today there is nobody of sufficient stature to provide a credible alternative to a Republican Party who wants Trump, and only Trump. Ron DeSantis started his campaign by promising to be a more efficient and capable version of Trump; and as of now, DeSantis would not get the votes of those who were put off by Trump at a personal level, but like him for whatever his administration accomplishing during the four years he was in office. They don't like Joe Biden because of his politics, and they cannot stand Kamala Harris. The best they can hope for is to "take a knee" and wait until 2028 when hopefully, Trump will be long gone; Joe Biden will be long gone; the Democrats will be putting up some left-wing scarecrow who will be offputting to everybody, and the Republican Party can get back to the task of rebuilding and sensible decision-making.The best thing that members of the donor class can hope for is that the MAGAhats stay home on election day, and let Joe Biden do his thing until he is no longer capable of holding office.
The one thing our donor has to worry about is the president's coattails. Our donor instinctively knows that the Republican Party has gone overboard with its obsession about abortion, and Christian-nationalist self identification. The kind of stuff that they're pulling now is found mostly in Gothic novels and streaming video movies. If anything, the American public has become decidedly less religious then it was a generation or two ago, and the Christian nationalists of today have an unsavory air about them that may make them attractive to gun manufacturers or survivalists, but, generally speaking, are bad for business. A healthy, consumer-oriented business wants to communicate a persona that is friendly and helpful to anyone who wants to do business with them, and that could be anybody. That's why HR departments have a stick up their ass when it comes to tolerating employees who might be inclined to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or personal gender issues. As long as employees are not pressing for union affiliation, our donor could care less about what their preferences are in terms of bedside companionship, who they marry, how they style their hair, or what they do on their own time. The Democrats make a big deal about social equity, while our donor class doesn't give a shit. None of these people are going to show up on the golf course or at the country club dining room, and that's just fine by him. Trump's people are a problem because of their inability to manage their lives without outside help. Trump and DeSantis want to restrict immigration at the southern border, not for any policy reason, but because it deflects attention away from wages and working conditions that employees are having to grapple with, and employers want to keep off their bottom line. 'Not my problem'. That goes for drug addiction, housing / homelessness, or whatever else ails humanity. Keeping it out of sight might incentivize people to make it go away. Most corporate employers would be happy to have enhanced immigration like we had in years gone by, before Trump went off on a tear, calling Mexicans thugs and worse, and forgetting that these are the people who take the lousiest jobs in the worst pay willingly, just so they can get a foot in the door. That's the way it's always been around here, and there's no reason why it should not continue. Instead, we have idiots like Florida's DeSantis and Texas' Greg Abbott who pulled political stunts by hiring long-haul buses to take the newcomers as far away from the southern border risk they can on a strict budget, and let the people at their destination pick up the freight charge of housing in dealing with these people. Nothing wrong with that; but it causes problems when, as what happened last week, a three-year-old child died along the way on the way to their family's destination in Chicago. Much as the Texas governor wants to pretend that child's death was not in his watch, Abbott bears primary responsibility for that family's tragedy.
So our hypothetical Republican donor has a problem. Trump looks to have a short shelf life as a candidate, and more likely than not he will end up in jail. The Democrats aren't stupid, and Joe Biden is someone our donor can cut a deal with. The Republican Party has been making inroads in state governments for decades, but it isn't going to help that their policies towards abortion are likely to get them defeated in the upcoming election. If our donor is smart, he plays both sides. He gives the Republicans just enough to remind them who he is, and he gives money to the Democrats to get the stuff he really wants. That's the way it's always been. If he's lucky, he'll meet someone like Jesse Unruh, long deceased, but an absolute powerhouse in California politics during the 1950s and 1960s, when he took lobbyists' money and doled out to members of the California State Assembly, so that those members stayed loyal to him. Our donor has to know that red and blue are always trumped by green.
Upvoted in general and especially for the Jesse Unruh reference:
Jesse Marvin Unruh (/ˈʌnru/, UN-roo;[1] September 30, 1922 – August 4, 1987), also known as Big Daddy Unruh, was an American politician who served as speaker of the California State Assembly and as the California State Treasurer.
Early life and education
Born 1922 in Newton, Kansas, Unruh served in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, he enrolled at the University of Southern California, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and journalism in 1948.[2] *******
In 1959, he wrote California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination by businesses that offer services to the public and was a model for later reforms enacted nationally in the 1960s and 1970s. Unruh was Speaker of the California State Assembly from 1961 to 1969 and a delegate to Democratic National Convention from California in 1960 and 1968. *******
Unruh was California campaign manager for John F. Kennedy in 1960 and a close Kennedy associate throughout his presidency. He helped convince Senator Robert F. Kennedy to enter the 1968 presidential race and managed his California campaign. Kennedy won the California primary, but was assassinated shortly after his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. *******
After an unsuccessful effort, managed by Unruh and Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago, to draft Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Unruh released California delegates to vote their conscience and announced that he would support Eugene McCarthy at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. ****** And now for the "Big Daddy" out of Cat on Hot Tin Roof power-broker maneuvering:
In 1973, Unruh ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Los Angeles.[5]
California Treasurer
When he campaigned for state treasurer in 1974, the post was considered insignificant.[6] Unruh's radio advertisements assured voters, "Make no mistake about it, I really want this job." Once elected, Unruh politicized the office. The Wall Street Journal noted he became "the most politically powerful public finance officer outside the U.S. Treasury".[6] California pension funds were a major source of revenue for Wall Street underwriting companies, and Unruh secured campaign contributions in exchange for doing business with them. The New York Times said he had gained control of "an obscure post whose duties had long emphasized bookkeeping. In characteristic fashion, he soon transformed the job into a source of financial and political power that reached from California to Wall Street."[7] Because as Treasurer he was an ex officio member of many California boards and commissions, Unruh supervised "the raising and expenditure of virtually all the state's money and consolidated his influence over billions of dollars in public investments and pension funds".[7] *******
If you're going to jump into the corrupt political maelstrom, at least roll the really big dice
and prepare yourself to weather the storms in a good cause, right?
Lucien; I subscribe to your Substack from New Zealand. I find your writing in analyzing USA politics and society, elucidating. Why has it taken 3 years to bring these charges against Trump? As outsiders to your country’s institutions it appears that assault and murder cases can be tried relatively promptly and within a year. Will these cases against Trump and associates take precedence over his electioneering? It would appear logical to try the most serious case first. How is seriousness defined?Does an immediate appeal against a state of Georgia case keep Trump out of jail ( to be tried on Federal offences)? Either way can running for President take precedence over court action within your legal system? Regards Murray
Murray, fantastic questions which all of us have asked over the years. It takes a long time to thread the needle properly, and all the prosecutors have done that. Jack Smith took seven months to indict Dump for the January 6 insurrection. We are all feeling hopeful this will end dumps’s power and put him behind bars. Fani Willis is incredible. Thanks for joining this conversation, It affects the whole world, for better or worse.
See, that was simple, Murray, so your answer is "it depends," "we need more facts," and more practically based on what's already available: Trump would lose, the process and the facts are being marshalled against his flimsy outpost such that it's raining all the time inside, so to speak.
Btw I always wanted to visit New Zealand to see the sights, the Kiwis, and also take a look at the libraries of your capital, Wellington:
Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull (14 September 1868 – 28 June 1918)[1] was a New Zealand merchant, dandy[2] and book collector.[3] On his death, his collection became the nucleus of the Alexander Turnbull Collection, initially housed in his residence, Turnbull House, but as of 1987 housed with the collections of the National Library of New Zealand, a body formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of three libraries, including the one bearing Turnbull's name. In 1913 Turnbull anonymously donated his Māori and Pacific artefacts to the Dominion Museum (now the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa).[4]
Biography
Born in Wellington to Scottish merchant Walter Turnbull (1823–1897) and his wife Alexandrina Horsburgh (1827–1896), Turnbull grew up in Wellington but the family moved to London in 1881, where he attended Dulwich College. His brother Robert attended Wellington College, Berkshire. Two brothers Walter (born 1862) and William (born 1863) drowned in the River Tweed, Scotland on 1 September 1871.[5] He had three other siblings, Isabella Thornburn (born 1858), John Horsburgh (born 1860), and Joanna Elizabeth (born 1870).[6]
By the time he returned permanently to New Zealand in 1892, joining his father's merchandising firm, he was already collecting books. His particular interests were New Zealand, Pacific exploration, Scottish history, English literature, the art critic John Ruskin, and the poet John Milton. Turnbull had a standing order with the London bookseller Bernard Quaritch, which was regularly updated to include more subjects. An analysis of Turnbull's collecting history has been explored through his correspondence with book sellers in Australasia, the United Kingdom, America, and continental Europe.[7]
After his death, Turnbull's collection contained approximately 55,000 books, as well as manuscripts, photographs, paintings and sketches (the artefacts having already been given to the Dominion Museum). The collection is no longer housed in his purpose-built house (which is now in the care of Department of Conservation and is known as Turnbull House), but in the same building as the other collections held by the National Library. Turnbull's Milton collection continues to be added to, by purchase and donation; a number of significant additions were made in the 1970s.[11]
I would probably throw myself on the mercy of the immigration system, get a Work-Study card, transfer as many of my grad school credits as possible to Monash U. and never look back, but what the hell, a dream is still a journey of its own, too!
Synchromysticism is the practice of attributing mystical or esoteric significance to coincidences. The word, a portmanteau of synchronicity and mysticism, was coined by Jake Kotze in August 2006.[1] Synchromysticism has been described as a phenomenon "existing on the fringe of areas already considered fringe".[1] Steven Sutcliff and Carole Cusack describe synchromysticism as "part artistic practice, part spiritual or metaphysical system, part conspiracy culture",[2] while Jason Horsley describes it as "a form of postmodern animism" that "combines Jung's notion of meaningful coincidences with the quest for the divine, or self-actualization through experience of the divine."[3]
Precursors and concept
Synchronicity is a concept first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl Jung, which holds that events are "meaningful coincidences" if they occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related.[4] Jung defined synchronicity as an "acausal connecting (togetherness) principle", "meaningful coincidence", and "acausal parallelism."[5]
Jung's belief was that, just as events may be connected by causality, they may also be connected by meaning. Jung used the concept in arguing for the existence of the paranormal.[6] A believer in the paranormal, Arthur Koestler wrote extensively on synchronicity in his 1972 book The Roots of Coincidence.[7]
45 is the best president ever at getting indicted.
Oh, it feels good to laugh!
Yes, he WINS at being indicted!!
I have the most indictments and the most charges of any President ever!
There is something especially sweet about the number of Black officials in Georgia who are involved in the prosecution of tRump, with Fani Willis foremost.
This is also true of some other prominent players, e.g., DA Alvin Bragg in NY and Judge Tanya Chutkan in DC. And don't think Trump and the MAGAs haven't noticed.
It it must be especially stinging to the racist, misogynistic and immigrant hating Trump to have Judge Tanya Chutkan, a black woman from Jamaica presiding over one of his indictments.
Oh yes, they've noticed! And are writhing in racist rage!
I'm a little surprised that Trump seems to have underplayed that in his social media rants. OTOH, it's almost certainly going to get worse -- until Judge Chutkan orders him arrested. ;-)
It's those previous rants post-elx 2020 under the Twitter handle of @POTUS that will be used against in the most. Not so much as threats rather to demonstrate he was predominantly speaking as candidate Trump, not as President Trump. Just as he is now doing on Truth Social.
Pretty difficult for Trump's attys to argue the GA case belongs in Federal Court when his rants and his phone calls to officials do not mention his presidential duties regarding elections instead follow the same old-same old I, I, I, me, me, me.
Same will apply in US District Courts in FL and DC on top of the 0-62 court cases, the debunking of false election claims by AG Barr and the DoJ, Trump (not President Trump) hired 2private firms that found no consequential fraud, his own campaign (emphasis campaign) officials along with a slew of other non-partisan election experts, and states that engaged in different forms of election result validations, and recounts.
Is critical to separate and establish the candidate from the president in every one of these cases and destroy any defense of "I was acting as President/CinC". If not, Trump walks itthah from the case being dismissed or by a jury.
You're so right about the importance of separating the candidate from the president -- and that's something that Trump himself is apparently incapable of doing. With him it really is I, I, I, me, me, me.
Trump is a pathetic example of a hooman, a man, a husband, and a father. Sometimes that gets lost in all the other discussions. Chuckle when the Christian conservatives attempt to cover just that with their invocation of God chooses imperfect vessels...as Trump autographs their holy book.
So, separating the candidate from the presidency assists in next seeing all the components of Trump. Just as we should do with ourselves and something Trump failed to do even once in his existence. To this day have not come across a more inauthentic living being in my life. Continues to be something his followers relate to and also project themselves onto him.
Continue to weep for this nation and her good people. Am grateful many are here
It's a great day in the neighborhood!
RICO: BY FAR THE MOST INTERESTING CASE TO DATE.
WHAT A PHOTO OP OF 19 ORANGE SUITS.
Im glad to see they included
Mark Meadows
Yes! I’ve been wondering where he was? I even thought perhaps he was in a witness protection program! Ha, guess he’s as dumb as I thought! He had a chance. They’ve all had a chance. Can’t wait to see what happens between now and next Friday!
He could be cooperating with the DOJ but that courtesy does not necessarily extend to Georgia.
thanks!
Defendant picks the 'best people'!! I agree - always thought he was a dummy - in fact, that's why he was chosen. He makes Defendant seem smart! All the smart people got fired long ago!
CYNTHIA; Love your photo with the planets most moral species.
Why, thank you!
It would be rude, wouldn't it, to hope for a mass suicide?
Well, I don’t think they have much of a deep connection… I think that idea would only confuse them.
But let’s try to come up with a different solution! Perhaps, leading them onto the Ark, 2x2, and sending them to the waters near Greece! WOW!
Nope, she is on a mission. As she should be. She and Jack Smith make me proud. Seriously. I've been watching both dangerous, violent people, along with political hacks, chip away at our Constitution for eight years now and I've had enough. So it's nice to see someone stand up against the bully.
And it's only led by those two as the legal systems avatars, this is backed by thousands as well as an aroused and fed-up citizenry, composed of people like you and I and millions more!
Naturally the right wing kooks in the guise of "reasonable conservatives" (hah!) are disturbed to see this at all but they home in on a real danger from their despicable perspective: progressive heroes who might help counter the fascistic cult of personality surrounding Donald J. Trump!
politico.com/news/magazine/2023/08/11/stop-progressive-hero-worship-chutkan-00110769
newser.com/story/338889/enough-with-the-hero-worship-of-trump-prosecutors-judges.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Heroes,_Hero-Worship,_%26_the_Heroic_in_History *****
Lectures
1. (5 May) The Hero as Divinity. Odin. Paganism: Scandinavian Mythology
2. (8 May) The Hero as Prophet. Mahomet: Islam
3. (12 May) The Hero as Poet. Dante; Shakspeare
4. (15 May) The Hero as Priest. Luther; Reformation: Knox; Puritanism
5. (19 May) The Hero as Man of Letters. Johnson, Rousseau, Burns
6. (22 May) The Hero as King. Cromwell. Napoleon: Modern Revolutionism
Summary
Carlyle was one of the few philosophers who lived through the British industrial revolution but maintained a non-materialistic view of historical development. The book included lectures discussing people ranging from the field of religion through to literature and politics. The figures chosen for each lecture were presented by Carlyle as archetypal examples of individuals who, in their respective fields of endeavour, had dramatically impacted history in some way.[2] The Islamic prophet Muhammad found a place in the book in the lecture titled "The Hero as Prophet". In his work, Carlyle outlined Muhammad as a Hegelian agent of reform, insisting on his sincerity and commenting "how one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades". His interpretation has been widely cited by Muslim scholars to show Muhammad without orientalist bias.[3] *****
See also:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sartor_Resartus - by Thomas Carlyle
The influence of this book, one of the wildest satires ever written, cannot be overestimated.
🎵 The night she drove ol' Donnie down …
. . . . and all the people were singin'
🎵 ❤️💕 🎶🎵
He ain't down yet! Only a conviction and a LONG sentence in a real Federal prison -- not one of those "country club prisons"-- would be true justice done.
I think he has less chance of getting any relief if he is convicted in Georgia. Those words feel weird to me as a type them. No way I would have had that opinion 4 years ago.
C'mon, wouldn't you settle for a country club prison? That's the only place he could be locked up that could accommodate his security detail, poor guys ...
Yeah, I guess so, but grudgingly. I'd so love to see him, for once, treated like a common criminal.
Me, too, of course. Our only hope is if potus removes the detail (deservedly so, I think) just as he used executive privilege to extend security to the Trump kids six months after it should have ended.
Interesting possibility, but I don't see Biden doing that. He's too damned decent.... : (
You have a point. Also, politically, it would look like piling on. However ... if he's convicted of all we know him to have done, why the hell should he not be treated like every other treasonous SOB?
Interesting that Rudolph Giuliani, who in consort with the New York office of the FBI, pioneered the use of RICO to bring down the Italian Mafia’s Commission, is now indicted under that statute.
The pictorial history of Rudolph Rudy America's Mayor Giuliani.
-USA SDNY Giuliani holding a presser on organized crime announcing RICO charges.
-Mayor Giuliani "noun, verb, 911" strolling down to the Pile.
-Guiliani being Borated in supine position on a hotel bed with his hand down in his pants.
-Master investigator/attorney Guliani holding a presser at Four Seasons Landscaping opposite a Porn Shop with hair dye (made from Havana cigar juice) streaming down his temples.
-GA booking photo of washed-up Guiliani indicted on RICO charge(s).
I watched it too and now I’m going to sleep as well! I’m glad she completed it today, really now Tuesday! I’m curious who will turn themselves in by August 25! Good night all and I can sleep a little better tonight!
You’re right Lucian. Fani ain’t play’n!
As a NYC person I can’t get over the irony of Rudy Giuliani, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY who charged and jailed mobsters under federal RICO laws, is now himself defendant in a Georgia RICO indictment.
Rudy is so far gone. I feel he is drugging.
Or endogenic psychedelics are now having a party in Rudy's Neocortex, what a nightmare slaughter on Tenth Avenue that would be, Aiiiiyeeeeeeeeee!
I recently read a gag-inducing transcript of a conversation between a drunk and/or drugged Giuliani and a frightened young female intern(?) or assistant, in which he exposed himself, demanded access to her breasts and ordered her to engage in oral sex with his Viagra-stiffened uh…excuse me while I retch.
Yes, I read it too and I gasped! Completely nauseating! But guess what? That turd is going bankrupt. He has sold his place in NY to get funds. Sometimes what goes around, comes around. Of course, we want this to happen to TFG also. 🤞🏼🤞🏼
🤢
Divine retribution!
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Italian Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto
Directed byElio Petri Screenplay by Elio Petri Ugo Pirro Produced by
Marina Cicogna Daniele Senatore Starring Gian Maria Volonté Florinda Bolkan
Cinematography Luigi Kuveiller Edited by Ruggero Mastroianni Music by Ennio Morricone 1970 (Italy) Running time 115 minutes Box office ₤1.928 billion Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (Italian: Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto) is a 1970 Italian crime drama film directed by Elio Petri, starring Gian Maria Volonté and Florinda Bolkan. It is a psychological, black-humored satire on corruption in high office,[1] telling the story of a top police officer who kills his mistress, and then tests whether the police would charge him for this crime. He begins manipulating the investigation by planting obvious clues while the other police officers ignore them, either intentionally or not.
The film was released in Italy by Euro International Pictures on 9 February 1970, to widespread acclaim from critics. It won the Jury Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival, and the David di Donatello Awards for Best Film for Best Actor (Gian Maria Volonté). In the United States, it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Petri and his co-writer Ugo Pirro were nominated for Best Original Screenplay.[2]
In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."[3] *****
By pure chance a friend and I went to the Grandview Theater, spring semester of 1974, near Macalester College, matinee showing, to see
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conversation
And Investigation was on the bill first - still one of the most brilliant, powerful, salubriously disturbing and thought-provoking films I have ever seen, was glad at the time the theater (dates back to 1933 & it is a college neighborhood, after all) had the cinematic nous to cycle it through the process, with "Tricky Dick" Nixon still in the throes of potential metanoia or more stone-walling.
Now we have the ironies you emphasize, history does not repeat but it rhymes!
Renting it on You Tube tonight - thanks.
What interests me is the question of whether the Donors decide this is reason enough to finally drop Trump. The problem is they don’t have a substitute to galvanize the MAGA base, who get more galvanized with each indictment. I just can’t imagine a presidential election with a major party contender on trial for a couple dozen felonies, and maybe under house arrest. But that’s what’s going to happen. Republicans don’t really have a choice.
“Rainin’ indictments in Georgia!” Maybe this is the night the lights go OUT for TFG. I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to sleep: visions of RICO indictees filling my head.
A rainy night in Georgia
"That's the night that the lights went out in Georgia"! As Dandy Don used to say, "turn out the lights, the party's over!"
YES! And I believe RICO does not allow for probation. YAAY Lock them all up in one tiny cell
Lucian, I hope you're getting some rest. Covid may not seem as serious as it used to be, but it's still nothing to mess around with.
I just breezed through the indictment, and it is comprehensive and detailed. I am a little worried that so many of the acts recounted don't seem to have a direct connection to Georgia. Not certain Willis's jurisdiction will hold up on all of them. But, whatever the acts lack in location they more than make up for in their number. Phew! Trump can be as dismissive as he wants, but these are serious.
Ditto
Mention of 'the Donald's' name was a constant refrain during the entire discourse. I don't recall the precise number of times his name was mentioned, although the number 120 seems to stick in my memory. It is clear though that Donald Trump was orchestrating this effort, and that he was involved in every phase of its execution. That said, he will come in for the lion's share of the criminal responsibility assigned to this multi-state plot to steal our election, and to destroy democracy as we know it. It must by now become obvious to Trump that this particular set of allegations against him cannot be wished away, bargained away, threatened away, watered down, or delayed ad infinitum.
Traditional Republican-leaning political and election consultants are probably thinking that they're going to have to shoot the moon if they have any hope and prevailing in the upcoming election. With four sets of indictments against Trump now in the public domain, cumulatively occupying a 500-sheet ream of paper, this is going to be a very tough sell. Right now, the MAGAhats are responding to Trump's donations for money to pay his lawyers. The 'smart money' usually supplied by the donor class is sitting on their hands on the sidelines. I am trying to imagine what it is like for a traditional Republican donor, typically some trust fund heir, or Fortune 500 legatee, sitting on his plush, over-upholstered couch, watching the dialogue on CNBC or MSNBC, and quietly absorbing the commentary about the seriousness of the charges, and Trump's relatively poor prospects in escaping conviction. These men are no fools; and a fair number of them attended law school themselves. They may not have been former federal prosecutors, having likely opted to corporate or real estate practice, and a good fraction of them join business firms to become a Vice President and General Counsel to their companies before assuming executive positions, or membership on their boards of directors.
They also know, because it was staring them in the face during Trump's term of office how incomprehensibly stupid and incompetent Trump is, and how he plays to the rabble incessantly, if only to squeeze forty or fifty bucks a month from their meager incomes in his incessant grifting and fundraising. By temperament, these men cannot afford to be alienating significant members of the public; nor can they afford to be like Ron DeSantis as a self-appointed culture warrior who destroyed, almost single-handedly, the State of Florida's symbiotic relationship with the Disney Corporation to the extent that Disney shut down its proposed expansion of operations in Florida, choosing instead to remain in California. That new investment in Florida what had been projected to be worth up to $1 billion. And now DeSantis is sinking in the polls like a lead balloon. Who else is out there who might be worth supporting? The answer is, nobody. Trump sucks all the oxygen out of the room, and all these other would-be presidential contenders are looking to be Team Trump's second banana with the expectation that Trump himself will not be around long enough to start a second term in office, let alone complete one. Our hypothetical business executives/donor might be looking around to see who is on the horizon to be the Republican Party's White Knight to save the party from itself. The fact remains that as of today there is nobody of sufficient stature to provide a credible alternative to a Republican Party who wants Trump, and only Trump. Ron DeSantis started his campaign by promising to be a more efficient and capable version of Trump; and as of now, DeSantis would not get the votes of those who were put off by Trump at a personal level, but like him for whatever his administration accomplishing during the four years he was in office. They don't like Joe Biden because of his politics, and they cannot stand Kamala Harris. The best they can hope for is to "take a knee" and wait until 2028 when hopefully, Trump will be long gone; Joe Biden will be long gone; the Democrats will be putting up some left-wing scarecrow who will be offputting to everybody, and the Republican Party can get back to the task of rebuilding and sensible decision-making.The best thing that members of the donor class can hope for is that the MAGAhats stay home on election day, and let Joe Biden do his thing until he is no longer capable of holding office.
The one thing our donor has to worry about is the president's coattails. Our donor instinctively knows that the Republican Party has gone overboard with its obsession about abortion, and Christian-nationalist self identification. The kind of stuff that they're pulling now is found mostly in Gothic novels and streaming video movies. If anything, the American public has become decidedly less religious then it was a generation or two ago, and the Christian nationalists of today have an unsavory air about them that may make them attractive to gun manufacturers or survivalists, but, generally speaking, are bad for business. A healthy, consumer-oriented business wants to communicate a persona that is friendly and helpful to anyone who wants to do business with them, and that could be anybody. That's why HR departments have a stick up their ass when it comes to tolerating employees who might be inclined to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, or personal gender issues. As long as employees are not pressing for union affiliation, our donor could care less about what their preferences are in terms of bedside companionship, who they marry, how they style their hair, or what they do on their own time. The Democrats make a big deal about social equity, while our donor class doesn't give a shit. None of these people are going to show up on the golf course or at the country club dining room, and that's just fine by him. Trump's people are a problem because of their inability to manage their lives without outside help. Trump and DeSantis want to restrict immigration at the southern border, not for any policy reason, but because it deflects attention away from wages and working conditions that employees are having to grapple with, and employers want to keep off their bottom line. 'Not my problem'. That goes for drug addiction, housing / homelessness, or whatever else ails humanity. Keeping it out of sight might incentivize people to make it go away. Most corporate employers would be happy to have enhanced immigration like we had in years gone by, before Trump went off on a tear, calling Mexicans thugs and worse, and forgetting that these are the people who take the lousiest jobs in the worst pay willingly, just so they can get a foot in the door. That's the way it's always been around here, and there's no reason why it should not continue. Instead, we have idiots like Florida's DeSantis and Texas' Greg Abbott who pulled political stunts by hiring long-haul buses to take the newcomers as far away from the southern border risk they can on a strict budget, and let the people at their destination pick up the freight charge of housing in dealing with these people. Nothing wrong with that; but it causes problems when, as what happened last week, a three-year-old child died along the way on the way to their family's destination in Chicago. Much as the Texas governor wants to pretend that child's death was not in his watch, Abbott bears primary responsibility for that family's tragedy.
So our hypothetical Republican donor has a problem. Trump looks to have a short shelf life as a candidate, and more likely than not he will end up in jail. The Democrats aren't stupid, and Joe Biden is someone our donor can cut a deal with. The Republican Party has been making inroads in state governments for decades, but it isn't going to help that their policies towards abortion are likely to get them defeated in the upcoming election. If our donor is smart, he plays both sides. He gives the Republicans just enough to remind them who he is, and he gives money to the Democrats to get the stuff he really wants. That's the way it's always been. If he's lucky, he'll meet someone like Jesse Unruh, long deceased, but an absolute powerhouse in California politics during the 1950s and 1960s, when he took lobbyists' money and doled out to members of the California State Assembly, so that those members stayed loyal to him. Our donor has to know that red and blue are always trumped by green.
Upvoted in general and especially for the Jesse Unruh reference:
Jesse Marvin Unruh (/ˈʌnru/, UN-roo;[1] September 30, 1922 – August 4, 1987), also known as Big Daddy Unruh, was an American politician who served as speaker of the California State Assembly and as the California State Treasurer.
Early life and education
Born 1922 in Newton, Kansas, Unruh served in the United States Navy during World War II. After the war, he enrolled at the University of Southern California, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and journalism in 1948.[2] *******
In 1959, he wrote California's Unruh Civil Rights Act, which outlawed discrimination by businesses that offer services to the public and was a model for later reforms enacted nationally in the 1960s and 1970s. Unruh was Speaker of the California State Assembly from 1961 to 1969 and a delegate to Democratic National Convention from California in 1960 and 1968. *******
Unruh was California campaign manager for John F. Kennedy in 1960 and a close Kennedy associate throughout his presidency. He helped convince Senator Robert F. Kennedy to enter the 1968 presidential race and managed his California campaign. Kennedy won the California primary, but was assassinated shortly after his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. *******
After an unsuccessful effort, managed by Unruh and Mayor Richard J. Daley of Chicago, to draft Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Unruh released California delegates to vote their conscience and announced that he would support Eugene McCarthy at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. ****** And now for the "Big Daddy" out of Cat on Hot Tin Roof power-broker maneuvering:
In 1973, Unruh ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Los Angeles.[5]
California Treasurer
When he campaigned for state treasurer in 1974, the post was considered insignificant.[6] Unruh's radio advertisements assured voters, "Make no mistake about it, I really want this job." Once elected, Unruh politicized the office. The Wall Street Journal noted he became "the most politically powerful public finance officer outside the U.S. Treasury".[6] California pension funds were a major source of revenue for Wall Street underwriting companies, and Unruh secured campaign contributions in exchange for doing business with them. The New York Times said he had gained control of "an obscure post whose duties had long emphasized bookkeeping. In characteristic fashion, he soon transformed the job into a source of financial and political power that reached from California to Wall Street."[7] Because as Treasurer he was an ex officio member of many California boards and commissions, Unruh supervised "the raising and expenditure of virtually all the state's money and consolidated his influence over billions of dollars in public investments and pension funds".[7] *******
If you're going to jump into the corrupt political maelstrom, at least roll the really big dice
and prepare yourself to weather the storms in a good cause, right?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_M._Unruh
Or Pardoned!
Lucien; I subscribe to your Substack from New Zealand. I find your writing in analyzing USA politics and society, elucidating. Why has it taken 3 years to bring these charges against Trump? As outsiders to your country’s institutions it appears that assault and murder cases can be tried relatively promptly and within a year. Will these cases against Trump and associates take precedence over his electioneering? It would appear logical to try the most serious case first. How is seriousness defined?Does an immediate appeal against a state of Georgia case keep Trump out of jail ( to be tried on Federal offences)? Either way can running for President take precedence over court action within your legal system? Regards Murray
Murray, fantastic questions which all of us have asked over the years. It takes a long time to thread the needle properly, and all the prosecutors have done that. Jack Smith took seven months to indict Dump for the January 6 insurrection. We are all feeling hopeful this will end dumps’s power and put him behind bars. Fani Willis is incredible. Thanks for joining this conversation, It affects the whole world, for better or worse.
I'll take "Legal Appeals" for $1000, Alex!
Trump would have to win the "immediate appeal."
See, that was simple, Murray, so your answer is "it depends," "we need more facts," and more practically based on what's already available: Trump would lose, the process and the facts are being marshalled against his flimsy outpost such that it's raining all the time inside, so to speak.
Btw I always wanted to visit New Zealand to see the sights, the Kiwis, and also take a look at the libraries of your capital, Wellington:
Alexander Horsburgh Turnbull (14 September 1868 – 28 June 1918)[1] was a New Zealand merchant, dandy[2] and book collector.[3] On his death, his collection became the nucleus of the Alexander Turnbull Collection, initially housed in his residence, Turnbull House, but as of 1987 housed with the collections of the National Library of New Zealand, a body formed in 1965 by the amalgamation of three libraries, including the one bearing Turnbull's name. In 1913 Turnbull anonymously donated his Māori and Pacific artefacts to the Dominion Museum (now the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa).[4]
Biography
Born in Wellington to Scottish merchant Walter Turnbull (1823–1897) and his wife Alexandrina Horsburgh (1827–1896), Turnbull grew up in Wellington but the family moved to London in 1881, where he attended Dulwich College. His brother Robert attended Wellington College, Berkshire. Two brothers Walter (born 1862) and William (born 1863) drowned in the River Tweed, Scotland on 1 September 1871.[5] He had three other siblings, Isabella Thornburn (born 1858), John Horsburgh (born 1860), and Joanna Elizabeth (born 1870).[6]
By the time he returned permanently to New Zealand in 1892, joining his father's merchandising firm, he was already collecting books. His particular interests were New Zealand, Pacific exploration, Scottish history, English literature, the art critic John Ruskin, and the poet John Milton. Turnbull had a standing order with the London bookseller Bernard Quaritch, which was regularly updated to include more subjects. An analysis of Turnbull's collecting history has been explored through his correspondence with book sellers in Australasia, the United Kingdom, America, and continental Europe.[7]
After his death, Turnbull's collection contained approximately 55,000 books, as well as manuscripts, photographs, paintings and sketches (the artefacts having already been given to the Dominion Museum). The collection is no longer housed in his purpose-built house (which is now in the care of Department of Conservation and is known as Turnbull House), but in the same building as the other collections held by the National Library. Turnbull's Milton collection continues to be added to, by purchase and donation; a number of significant additions were made in the 1970s.[11]
I swear, Dulwich graduates are everywhere!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Chandler
You should definitely visit New Zealand!!
I would probably throw myself on the mercy of the immigration system, get a Work-Study card, transfer as many of my grad school credits as possible to Monash U. and never look back, but what the hell, a dream is still a journey of its own, too!
youtube.com/watch?v=pYCB0F_RsjE&ab_channel=tonybennettVEVO
Tony Bennett - Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away) (Audio)
^^^^^ Any excuse to listen to Tony Bennett or a good or great version of that song will
suffice, "Sufficient unto the day is the joie de vivre thereof," as remarked by J. Plutarch
Sartor Resartus, Prof. of Dreamological Synchromysticism
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchromysticism
Synchromysticism is the practice of attributing mystical or esoteric significance to coincidences. The word, a portmanteau of synchronicity and mysticism, was coined by Jake Kotze in August 2006.[1] Synchromysticism has been described as a phenomenon "existing on the fringe of areas already considered fringe".[1] Steven Sutcliff and Carole Cusack describe synchromysticism as "part artistic practice, part spiritual or metaphysical system, part conspiracy culture",[2] while Jason Horsley describes it as "a form of postmodern animism" that "combines Jung's notion of meaningful coincidences with the quest for the divine, or self-actualization through experience of the divine."[3]
Precursors and concept
Synchronicity is a concept first introduced by analytical psychologist Carl Jung, which holds that events are "meaningful coincidences" if they occur with no causal relationship yet seem to be meaningfully related.[4] Jung defined synchronicity as an "acausal connecting (togetherness) principle", "meaningful coincidence", and "acausal parallelism."[5]
Jung's belief was that, just as events may be connected by causality, they may also be connected by meaning. Jung used the concept in arguing for the existence of the paranormal.[6] A believer in the paranormal, Arthur Koestler wrote extensively on synchronicity in his 1972 book The Roots of Coincidence.[7]
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchromysticism