I am sure the majority of readers here, like me, have been hoping that the grinding of the judicial mill will result in Donald J. Trump spending the rest of his natural life wearing an orange jump suit in prison, where he has belonged since he was a pre-teen caught throwing rocks at a toddler in a playpen next door to his home in Jamaica, New York.
There is no real authority for invalidating the state indictments or trials and convictions. Federal rules about trying a sitting president apply only to federal offenses. How would Trump kill the NY and Georgia indictments and possible convictions in felony cases? Just curious. Also, IF Trump were convicted in the Jan. 6 insurrection trial, it is likely he would be ineligible to run for any elected office in the US. If the guilty verdict were delivered before election day, that would seem to eliminate Trump as a candidate. A conviction after the election might be problematic..... There is no end to this.
Regarding Georgia, if he wins re-election, that will change a lot of Republican minds down there, and there is the new law that lets them remove a DA. And the governor can commute sentences. In New York, it's a trial with a criminal end, but not the kind that would send him to jail for a long time, like Georgia would.
The end of this increasing peril of losing our democracy is our winning the presidency, the House and the Senate. That is where our energies must be directed, as powerfully as we each can, however we can, each and every one of us.
yeah, but right now, I don't see anybody who's really electable. what's bothering me, right now, are these psychopathic scumbags who suddenly want to run in "third parties." a few years back, I might have asked myself something like "what can Cornel West be thinking?" but the last decade or so has taught me that whatever and whomever Cornel West might have been thirty years ago, he's been a self-aggrandizing, profit-driven, grandiose media presence, period. what's hwe published since the '90s that's worth anything?
I saw him on one of those two -r three-hour BookTV interviews awhile back with his "conservative" team-teaching buddy from Princeton, and it looked nice and "American" and all that. then I saw the buddy's name (is his last name "George"...I know he's one of those "two first name" goyim) attached to statements and opinions that were just about as reactionary as any other piles of steaming, odiferous bullshit I come across. somebody else I was reading the other day did some deeper research and came up with the fact that Cornel West has done nothing in several decades but make appearances and write little articles for which he is paid much too much money. so what's he claiming..."undo the neoliberal order!" I am as sympathetic to this point of view as anybody else who hates what this system has become since those "Reagan days" which no politician running for anything in any party dares to speak of in less than admiring terms. but THIS time? REALLY?? and those "No Labels" criminals are...LYING criminals. that is to say, the kinds of criminals who lie to other criminals, violating yet another Great Bob Dylan Epigram: "to live outside the law you must be honest."
and today, I guess the thing to do is to put aside whichever delightful Hollywood history I've been reading and get right to Miles Taylor.
and I'm changing my avatar today in honor of Jubal's fourteenth birthday by using a picture of him I took a few months back. I celebrate Daisy's birthday (her twelfth this year) the same day (which it actually could be, although I'm more inclined to think that hers is actually a few weeks back), so I'll put her up in a day or two. for now, we must all bask in his leonine glory; if anyone doesn't, I'm gonna hear about it and suffer for it...you have no idea.
...and I haven't even thought for more than three consecutive sentences about this nutty deal about "expunging" TFF's impeachments. how would work for historians, exactly? pages of redactions?
that wasn't actually a serious question. or rather, it's as serious as the issue deserves.
I assume the answer is "of course." I assume expunging the impeachments would include removing those days from "The Congressional Register" (or, why do it?). but there are people like journalists and historians who have a way of rendering events in such a way, that no one really ever forgets them. or at least, they TRY. and there's this vast video record, so I'm thinking the history will take care of itself. eventually.
I changed my avatar too David. It’s my sweet Natalie who crossed over 3 years ago. My oldest cat Tommy is behind her but kind of hard to see. And Happy Birthday to Jubal and Daisy.
Yes, it is, Bliss. But we still outnumber them. It's just we must get the message out to the non-voters about how urgent their vote will be in November 2024.
The state issue was the first I thought of. Maybe he could dream up some federal offense for his pet DOJ types to charge her with? With tRump in charge I can see an executive order prohibiting black females from prosecuting white males, and who could say him nay?
To amen I would add, as a history professor, I have had about enough of hearing about the judgment of history. The republican judgment of history is that the enslaved were happy to have jobs.
Thank you for this, Tom. I have always believed we all need to work our tails off to elect Biden, with Democratic control of the Senate and House. But here’s my no doubt naive question: Is it a federal law, an ironclad tradition, or just sort of a tradition but not binding, that in the federal judicial system, deference is given to the judge presiding over the defendant’s first trial? Jack Smith is a very smsrt and experienced guy. Signs so far indicate that he really wants Trump to face justice. If we assume that’s true, why would he file the documents indictment first, knowing that Judge “Anything for you, Donald” Cannon would provide Trump with gratifying trial delays, if he had any reason to believe that this deference thing would allow Cannon to effectively scuttle the other trials, and render moot everything he and his large team are working so hard to achieve, to hold Defendant Trump fully accountable, and make it stick?
I am not suggesting any of us should slack off on working to elect Democrats, far from it. But what about the above questions? I have heard many commentators with credentials say that scheduling these trials will be a complex problem, but none of them has mentioned this deference thing.
Not being a lawyer, I don't know the answers to your questions (GaryInSanDiego and other attorneys - feel free to jump in here), but "tradition" does hold sway in the system, and given that there are two other trials in New York (E. Jean Carroll's second defamation suit and Alvin Bragg's commercial fraud case) scheduled to happen in February and March respectively, it would be difficult to stick the January 6 trial in there before the Mar-A-Lago trial. Trump could legitimately claim he was being ganged-up on.
I'm not an attorney, either. I can imagine judicial tradition has power, *and* I hope Jack Smith is determined to have Defendant Trump tried for the Jan. 6 conspiracy in time for a verdict before the 2024 election. Although it's a less desirable alternative, ultimate cheeseburger karma before that date would do.
It has always been the case, regardless of the present and future legal cases against him, that in 2024 we will have the opportunity to cast our votes for a wonderfully qualified, richly experienced candidate with an impressive record of accomplishment. We did it before and will do it again. If you haven’t already, sign up for Hopium Chronicles on Substack and you will have a treasure trove of smartly directed actions you can take and data guaranteed to inspire. Simon Rosenberg’s substack subscription offers regular opportunities for his Zoom calls that include explanation of his data, charts, and always helpful “pep talk.”
Just at a time when my energy and resources have taken a significant hit, it is harder to plod. Not much blood in this turnip, but will squeeze with all my might…
Actually, it's you guys who have created this community. When I first posted here, I had no idea if anyone would show up, and I am constantly amazed at the readers who are here, and gratified.
We've always known that "justice for all" thing is a mere bromide, now, didn't we? Our history is built on injustice, something decent people have inveighed against and crooks and liars have used to seize power and profit. I have held no false hopes about justice in the case of Trump, who, like the cockroach he is, knows how to duck under the baseboards and hide among the other roaches. One can only hope that like all beings his cellular erosion hits a critical mark sooner rather than later, but his toxic legacy will live on with the magas amongst us. And that is what we must obliterate. The new red scare is really the Red Hat scare. And because we are such a media driven world, our writers and actors must once again cast maga-ism in stark relief by turning the lights on and watching the roaches scurry to the baseboards. You and others must, absolutely must keep writing and speaking out as the other great Tom writer, Thomas Mann, did during the Hitler years.
If Trump does get convicted or found liable in any of the cases now or potentially pending, i will lay Secretariat-at-the-Belmont odds that he never spends day one in prison. There are several scenarios playing out, but the one most likely will be Smith offering a plea deal. Something similar to Agnew, you plead guilty, drop out of the race, shut down your idiotic pretend Twitter/Facebook site and forfeit all monies given to you since 2021. Otherwise, we have you dead-to-rights.
Vote and KILL NO LABELS.
There is no real authority for invalidating the state indictments or trials and convictions. Federal rules about trying a sitting president apply only to federal offenses. How would Trump kill the NY and Georgia indictments and possible convictions in felony cases? Just curious. Also, IF Trump were convicted in the Jan. 6 insurrection trial, it is likely he would be ineligible to run for any elected office in the US. If the guilty verdict were delivered before election day, that would seem to eliminate Trump as a candidate. A conviction after the election might be problematic..... There is no end to this.
Regarding Georgia, if he wins re-election, that will change a lot of Republican minds down there, and there is the new law that lets them remove a DA. And the governor can commute sentences. In New York, it's a trial with a criminal end, but not the kind that would send him to jail for a long time, like Georgia would.
The end of this increasing peril of losing our democracy is our winning the presidency, the House and the Senate. That is where our energies must be directed, as powerfully as we each can, however we can, each and every one of us.
I agree Mim! It is vital to democracy’s survival. If Trump goes down there will be a fascist replacement who might even be more electable.
yeah, but right now, I don't see anybody who's really electable. what's bothering me, right now, are these psychopathic scumbags who suddenly want to run in "third parties." a few years back, I might have asked myself something like "what can Cornel West be thinking?" but the last decade or so has taught me that whatever and whomever Cornel West might have been thirty years ago, he's been a self-aggrandizing, profit-driven, grandiose media presence, period. what's hwe published since the '90s that's worth anything?
I saw him on one of those two -r three-hour BookTV interviews awhile back with his "conservative" team-teaching buddy from Princeton, and it looked nice and "American" and all that. then I saw the buddy's name (is his last name "George"...I know he's one of those "two first name" goyim) attached to statements and opinions that were just about as reactionary as any other piles of steaming, odiferous bullshit I come across. somebody else I was reading the other day did some deeper research and came up with the fact that Cornel West has done nothing in several decades but make appearances and write little articles for which he is paid much too much money. so what's he claiming..."undo the neoliberal order!" I am as sympathetic to this point of view as anybody else who hates what this system has become since those "Reagan days" which no politician running for anything in any party dares to speak of in less than admiring terms. but THIS time? REALLY?? and those "No Labels" criminals are...LYING criminals. that is to say, the kinds of criminals who lie to other criminals, violating yet another Great Bob Dylan Epigram: "to live outside the law you must be honest."
and today, I guess the thing to do is to put aside whichever delightful Hollywood history I've been reading and get right to Miles Taylor.
and I'm changing my avatar today in honor of Jubal's fourteenth birthday by using a picture of him I took a few months back. I celebrate Daisy's birthday (her twelfth this year) the same day (which it actually could be, although I'm more inclined to think that hers is actually a few weeks back), so I'll put her up in a day or two. for now, we must all bask in his leonine glory; if anyone doesn't, I'm gonna hear about it and suffer for it...you have no idea.
...and I haven't even thought for more than three consecutive sentences about this nutty deal about "expunging" TFF's impeachments. how would work for historians, exactly? pages of redactions?
that wasn't actually a serious question. or rather, it's as serious as the issue deserves.
Would have anything been recorded in the Federal Register?
I assume the answer is "of course." I assume expunging the impeachments would include removing those days from "The Congressional Register" (or, why do it?). but there are people like journalists and historians who have a way of rendering events in such a way, that no one really ever forgets them. or at least, they TRY. and there's this vast video record, so I'm thinking the history will take care of itself. eventually.
I changed my avatar too David. It’s my sweet Natalie who crossed over 3 years ago. My oldest cat Tommy is behind her but kind of hard to see. And Happy Birthday to Jubal and Daisy.
the message has been relayed, Karen.
and they're very grateful for your good wishes. I am too, of course.
I have often thought this. Pretty frightening isn't it?
Yes, it is, Bliss. But we still outnumber them. It's just we must get the message out to the non-voters about how urgent their vote will be in November 2024.
Sadly, yes.
True dat.....
The state issue was the first I thought of. Maybe he could dream up some federal offense for his pet DOJ types to charge her with? With tRump in charge I can see an executive order prohibiting black females from prosecuting white males, and who could say him nay?
Tom, Shit! Sobering. Yep. Work on the election and forget DJT until after the election.
To amen I would add, as a history professor, I have had about enough of hearing about the judgment of history. The republican judgment of history is that the enslaved were happy to have jobs.
Absolutely. Razor focus on getting us where we need to be.
Thank you for this, Tom. I have always believed we all need to work our tails off to elect Biden, with Democratic control of the Senate and House. But here’s my no doubt naive question: Is it a federal law, an ironclad tradition, or just sort of a tradition but not binding, that in the federal judicial system, deference is given to the judge presiding over the defendant’s first trial? Jack Smith is a very smsrt and experienced guy. Signs so far indicate that he really wants Trump to face justice. If we assume that’s true, why would he file the documents indictment first, knowing that Judge “Anything for you, Donald” Cannon would provide Trump with gratifying trial delays, if he had any reason to believe that this deference thing would allow Cannon to effectively scuttle the other trials, and render moot everything he and his large team are working so hard to achieve, to hold Defendant Trump fully accountable, and make it stick?
I am not suggesting any of us should slack off on working to elect Democrats, far from it. But what about the above questions? I have heard many commentators with credentials say that scheduling these trials will be a complex problem, but none of them has mentioned this deference thing.
Thank you again for your chilling post.
Not being a lawyer, I don't know the answers to your questions (GaryInSanDiego and other attorneys - feel free to jump in here), but "tradition" does hold sway in the system, and given that there are two other trials in New York (E. Jean Carroll's second defamation suit and Alvin Bragg's commercial fraud case) scheduled to happen in February and March respectively, it would be difficult to stick the January 6 trial in there before the Mar-A-Lago trial. Trump could legitimately claim he was being ganged-up on.
I'm not an attorney, either. I can imagine judicial tradition has power, *and* I hope Jack Smith is determined to have Defendant Trump tried for the Jan. 6 conspiracy in time for a verdict before the 2024 election. Although it's a less desirable alternative, ultimate cheeseburger karma before that date would do.
That's what I hope for every day - the fatal hamberder!
It has always been the case, regardless of the present and future legal cases against him, that in 2024 we will have the opportunity to cast our votes for a wonderfully qualified, richly experienced candidate with an impressive record of accomplishment. We did it before and will do it again. If you haven’t already, sign up for Hopium Chronicles on Substack and you will have a treasure trove of smartly directed actions you can take and data guaranteed to inspire. Simon Rosenberg’s substack subscription offers regular opportunities for his Zoom calls that include explanation of his data, charts, and always helpful “pep talk.”
Never imagined I'd be living in a Stephen King novel.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Just at a time when my energy and resources have taken a significant hit, it is harder to plod. Not much blood in this turnip, but will squeeze with all my might…
Whatever you do, even if it’s praying, etc for our success is perfect. The rest of us who are not drained got you!
Thank you, I will do as much as I can. Just hate I don't have that check from Soros yet. Ha
😂
You are so correct TC. We are the only ones who can save us.
If possible:
-sign up to write postcards or send texts, etc
-volunteer at a local high school to help voter registration
-chip in 10 bucks when available to candidates
-follow Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood, Carry Water for other concrete actions we can take
-light a candle everyday for our peeps in the Red states to have wherewithal to overcome the voter suppression in their states.
-keep talking to change the conversations in our country.
We The People can do this.
Thank you TC for creating this community.
Actually, it's you guys who have created this community. When I first posted here, I had no idea if anyone would show up, and I am constantly amazed at the readers who are here, and gratified.
We've always known that "justice for all" thing is a mere bromide, now, didn't we? Our history is built on injustice, something decent people have inveighed against and crooks and liars have used to seize power and profit. I have held no false hopes about justice in the case of Trump, who, like the cockroach he is, knows how to duck under the baseboards and hide among the other roaches. One can only hope that like all beings his cellular erosion hits a critical mark sooner rather than later, but his toxic legacy will live on with the magas amongst us. And that is what we must obliterate. The new red scare is really the Red Hat scare. And because we are such a media driven world, our writers and actors must once again cast maga-ism in stark relief by turning the lights on and watching the roaches scurry to the baseboards. You and others must, absolutely must keep writing and speaking out as the other great Tom writer, Thomas Mann, did during the Hitler years.
We, The People, have always had the 1 rite of passage in our lives no one can take away from us; OUR VOTES.
(Unless you're in prison, so
no crimes, we need all those
votes!) Thankfully, we have
16 months to run our game
on the fascists. Don't give up!
Trump and his crew have been trying to cram this
down our throats for a long
time. We haven't given in
yet and we won't! Take it to
them at the ballot box. From
County to President, House
to Senate. We MUST win!
If Trump does get convicted or found liable in any of the cases now or potentially pending, i will lay Secretariat-at-the-Belmont odds that he never spends day one in prison. There are several scenarios playing out, but the one most likely will be Smith offering a plea deal. Something similar to Agnew, you plead guilty, drop out of the race, shut down your idiotic pretend Twitter/Facebook site and forfeit all monies given to you since 2021. Otherwise, we have you dead-to-rights.
I could live with that. Given what a coward Trump is and how afraid of jail he is, he'd do it.
If the gerrymanders don’t get us ...