I mention these things in answer to a recent question, “what if Trump runs again.” The actual question is, “Can you run for President if you are in prioson?” I’m not really sure what the answer to the question is. Every few days, or at least, every week or so, another penny drops, or perhaps, another straw is added to the back, of the camel, as we march steadily if overly metaphorically towards the day Trump is indicted. There is plenty of time for cases to be built, trials to be held, sentencing to be handed out. He will be in a prison cell before the Republican National Convention. That will either be the end of Trump as a politician, or if the Republican Party actually nominates him as their Presidential Candidate while he is serving a number of years in the stir, it will be the end of said party. Or, if he is nominated, and wins, it will be the end of the subject of that famous quip by Ben Franklin.
Joel Greenberg has plead (or, perhaps, pleaded) guilty of sex trafficking of a minor. Joel is Congressperson Matt Gaetz (Republican, as if you needed to be told that) who is said to be implicated in such sex trafficking as well.
A plea like this sometimes comes a part of a deal to turn on a bigger fish. Such as a member of Congress. Congressperson Gaetz is said to be under investiation as to whether he violated lays by having sex with the aforementioned sex trafficked minor. According to the New York Times,
Mr. Greenberg did not implicate Mr. Gaetz by name in court papers filed by prosecutors in Federal District Court in Orlando. But Mr. Greenberg admitted that he “introduced the minor to other adult men, who engaged in commercial sex acts” with her, according to the documents, and that he was sometimes present. The others were not named.
Jut in on Twitter (hat tip Kyle Griffin): “A banner plane has been flying over the courthouse in Florida with a sign that reads, ‘Tick Tock Matt Gaetz’.”
Mr. Greenberg, who has been meeting with prosecutors for at least five months, has told investigators that Mr. Gaetz had sex with the girl and knew that she was being paid, according to a person briefed on the inquiry.
Mr. Gaetz has repeatedly denied any … [bla bla bla]
Federal officials raided the home and office of Trump’s lawyer, Rudolf Giuliani, a few weeks ago. Today, there is some court action on this case. We hear that Giuliani is begging for money and other help from Trump. If Trump helps Giuliani, it would be the first known instance of Trump helping someone. If Giuliani is in big trouble, which may well be the case, and Trump refuses to help him which may well be the case, the Giuliani, a man very experienced at the art of the deal where the deal is with a Federal prosecutor, may well be the case that Giuliani “flips.” Not talking about pancakes.
Meanwhile, the United States House of Representatives is about to consider (and vote on?) starting an investigation of the Big Lie Insurrection of 1/6.
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It’s worth noting that Andrew Clyde, the asshole who just last week described the trump-endorsed terrorists who stormed the Capitol as “a normal tourist visit”, was photographed during that assault on democracy helping to barricade a door (to keep the tourists out?).
The video at the top of this story shows the shitstain clyde dodging a question about whether he stands by describing the attack on democracy as a visit from tourists. It’s the face of any person who defends trump or denies that the assault on January 6 was a trump endorsed and motivated assault on democracy.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/captiol-riot-andrew-clyde-chamber-b1848332.html
And there is another photo showing him cowering behind an armed security agent, pissing in his pants.
I’m investing in popcorn futures. Someone needs to invent the perfect word for a group of scoundrels. A “snide”?
“Someone needs to invent the perfect word for a group of scoundrels”
Republican leadership? Libertarian? Both would work, but probably both only hit a subset of the target.
Not the gop but the threat of attack by the gop: UNC’s journalism school wanted to offer Nikole Hannah-Jones a tenure-track position, the chancellor agreed, but the trustees decided against it for “concern about upsetting the right-wing board of governors”.
She was offered a five-year fixed term appointment.
Bad move caving to the right on anything, especially education, but very bad caving to the right based on “fear of upsetting them”.
We know that the republicans have been on a jihad against education for decades: it doesn’t seem to be stopping.
Indeed. Republicans have long been railing against public education, calling it left-wing indoctrination. Liz Cheney, who deserves credit for unwaveringly opposing Trump’s Big Lie, opposed Common Core because she though it didn’t sufficiently praise U.S. historical performance.
The Texas GOP platform in 2012 had a plank opposing the teaching of critical thinking skills. And their SBOE once included Don McLeroy. Wikipedia notes:
The attitude that well-rounded education should be reserved for an elite goes back a long way. In Left Back, Diane Ravitch quotes education reformer Louis W. Rapeer as follows:
Media critic Douglas Rushkoff also writes about this elitist view of education.
And now Michael Flynn has said (on video, so neither rickA nor mikeN can lie and say it didn’t happen) that the US needs a Myanmar style coup.
If the repeated attacks by republicans on voting rights, vaccines and the need to get more serious dealing with covidand on women, and the environment, and democracy in general aren’t enough to get the public scared we’re really in trouble.
Add to that the stupidity of cruz’s comments about the New Green Deal and gaetz, schlapp, and convicted felon d’souza all fell for retweeting a picture of lee harvey oswald in honor of veteran’s day, and you gotta say that anyone who still backs those shitwads doesn’t have an ethical, moral, or intellectual gene in their body.
Added: paid conservative disinformation writer candace owens tried to claim the picture of Oswald was “a soldier with oswald’s face photoshopped into place”. it wasn’t: it was (a scan of) the picture found in oswald’s pocket the day he was arrested.
Cruz gets owned and gets his slime right back.
https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2021/06/03/ted-cruz-tries-to-insult-kamala-harris-with-monty-python-clip-and-twitter-throws-it-right-back-at-him
Thinking about that tweet by cruz and mtg’s letter demanding an investigation of non-existent mishandling of the pandemic by fauci be completed by June 31, the only conclude there’s an ongoing battle at the top of the QOP for the title of “Dumbest Elected Scumbag”.