Trump’s blanket pardons for stop-the-steal illegality aren’t only about settling scores from past elections. They’re about laying the groundwork to subvert future ones.
Sorry if I'm not in the mood today to read endless paeans to our military, about their wonderful culture, and how we failed them if they support Trump. THEY failed US. They are TRAITORS to everything their uniforms are supposed to represent. Even worse, most of them WOULD gladly obey an order to fire upon civilians. And what about the author, a retired military officer? How about THEM talking to the enlisted ranks, as the enlisted are much more likely to listen to them?
When asked in his 60 Minutes interview about his pardon of CZ, the former Binance CEO, Trump said he didn't know who that was or anything about it. He must have forgotten he ordered DOJ to investigate President Biden's pardons which he alleges were executed by autopen and therefore should be invalid.
There's something deeply ironic --and not in a fun way-- about Trump going after Biden for using an autopen. Setting aside that there's nothing legally compromising about signing documents that way and that using an autopen =/= being unaware of the details of whom you're pardoning, Trump's publicly admitted he didn't knew who some of the folks he pardoned were. He's falling asleep in public meetings with other heads of state. He's all but screaming for a 25th Amendment intervention. I mean, every attack really is a confession with him, isn't it?
In light of that, the timing of these latest pardons do intrigue me. I think Bill's underselling it by saying this is just a message to people he needs to steal the next election. My best working theory is the 2025 results might be making people working under Trump more nervous that Trump might not always be able to shield them. 2026 is icumen in. Odds are Dems will get control over at least one chamber of Congress, which means hearings and regulations and whatnot become a lot more likely. At least that was the vibe before Dems pissed it away with this shutdown stuff.
I'm reminded particularly of the executive order where Trump promised to take the handcuffs off cops, and just all the campaign rhetoric about roughing up protesers. Trump needs those people to be confident he'll protect them from a House hearing in 2027, otherwise they're more likely to think twice about doing what he wants. And in a sane world at least, that's a problem for Trump and more importantly for Stephen Miller if he wants people still willing to be cruel to brown-skinned people on his behalf. DOJ, all those companies basically paying Trump off to get tariff waivers or merger approvals, probably other people I'm not even thinking of need bucking up too.
With the weaponized presidential pardon how can there be free and fair elections in 2026? Seems to be willing and able to foment subversion throughout the country and then any individual who happens to get caught. This is a cudgel for which the side of democracy has no good response.
The link between a Constitution and the ways an authoritarian can turn its provisions into a permission slip for illegality and repression is both interesting and important. It deserves a lengthy examination.
The expressions of disapproval of Trump's ruling tactics are meaningless without teeth. Has anyone asked if people consider those things to be impeachable offenses?
1. She's part of a traditionally Democratic, policy agnostic class of white, small town middle class people who turned Republican as soon as it became apparent that the Democratic Party was promoting LGBTQ people and minorities, too.
2. She got her local job because of nepotism and evidently her spiritual beliefs allow for her own multiple marriages but not the only marriages of two loving gay people. The moral rot of hypocritical Americans who have had opportunities handed to them that they aren't willing to hand out to others seems to be just as prevalent in smaller communities as they do in more populated ones.
3. The fact that she was even able to get a Supreme Court appearance on a $80,000/year government salary indicates that she has long had wealthy backers who are happy to have her be the face of it. This isn't new, and left/liberal causes get promoted too under the same system, but it indicates a major ethical issue of affluent Americans buying Supreme Court time as well as paying off the judges.
On a separate note, that constant ~30%-40% of Americans who seem to be completely fine with an authoritarian dictatorship seems to match the percentage of dedicated Nazis out of the German population during the Third Reich. It seems that either because of a mixture of personality type/backgrounds/upbringing as well as personal choices, there are always going to be a certain percentage of the population that gravitate to amoral authoritarianism, and the challenge is keeping them out of leadership positions.
Last, it seems like Mar A Lago face would be a great plot for a horror movie.
I am getting such a kick out of watching Tim's video about Truth Social AI basically turning traitor on Trump and exposing his gigantic tranche of lies that I hope it goes viral and is shared on every space available from network TV to cable sites to social media outlets. Let the world proclaim that even Trump's own propaganda machine thinks he is a pathological liar and that none of his illegitimate policies turn out to be good for anybody!
Well, no need to look for a red hat to spot a Mega cult member, just check out the feline eyes, puffy lips and mermaid hair. No hair extensions for the guys, of course -- just Matt Gaetz crazy locks, always thought he looked like that old TV star Max Headroom.
My family and I were at a duty free store at the Canadian-U.S. border (on the Canadian side), and somehow the topic of Trump came up when my wife spoke to the cashier. My wife said, "Don't blame me; I didn't vote for him." The cashier's response was, "Oh, I know you're not a Trumper. We can tell who the Trumpers are really quickly."
So we all agree that Trump used the autopen to sign 77 pardons? Alert James Comer!!!
“Reading Trump’s Mind”: there’s no chance in hell that Trump knows the expression “L’etat, c’est moi.”
The link to the truth ai document isn’t working
Sorry if I'm not in the mood today to read endless paeans to our military, about their wonderful culture, and how we failed them if they support Trump. THEY failed US. They are TRAITORS to everything their uniforms are supposed to represent. Even worse, most of them WOULD gladly obey an order to fire upon civilians. And what about the author, a retired military officer? How about THEM talking to the enlisted ranks, as the enlisted are much more likely to listen to them?
Carville was in good form today! I haven’t agreed with him much in the past but this time thought his observations about the shutdown made sense.
“Lying Frump”
He lies when he pees,
He lies eating cheese,
He lies in the morning,
He lies in the breeze!
He lies in December,
He lies in July,
He lies on the ground,
And he lies to the sky!
He lies when he’s chewing,
He lies when he’s tweeting,
He lies when he’s losing,
He lies when he’s beating!
He lies for attention,
He lies for applause,
He lies just because—
Well, he lies just because!
He lies when he’s golfing,
He lies when he’s still,
He lies when he’s scheming,
And always will.
He lies when he whispers,
He lies when he shouts,
He lies so much
That the truth tapped out!
When asked in his 60 Minutes interview about his pardon of CZ, the former Binance CEO, Trump said he didn't know who that was or anything about it. He must have forgotten he ordered DOJ to investigate President Biden's pardons which he alleges were executed by autopen and therefore should be invalid.
Sam Stein did a great video with Liz Oyer on pardons yesterday: https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-cant-pardon-state-crimeshes?r=53yiyy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Gag
There's something deeply ironic --and not in a fun way-- about Trump going after Biden for using an autopen. Setting aside that there's nothing legally compromising about signing documents that way and that using an autopen =/= being unaware of the details of whom you're pardoning, Trump's publicly admitted he didn't knew who some of the folks he pardoned were. He's falling asleep in public meetings with other heads of state. He's all but screaming for a 25th Amendment intervention. I mean, every attack really is a confession with him, isn't it?
In light of that, the timing of these latest pardons do intrigue me. I think Bill's underselling it by saying this is just a message to people he needs to steal the next election. My best working theory is the 2025 results might be making people working under Trump more nervous that Trump might not always be able to shield them. 2026 is icumen in. Odds are Dems will get control over at least one chamber of Congress, which means hearings and regulations and whatnot become a lot more likely. At least that was the vibe before Dems pissed it away with this shutdown stuff.
I'm reminded particularly of the executive order where Trump promised to take the handcuffs off cops, and just all the campaign rhetoric about roughing up protesers. Trump needs those people to be confident he'll protect them from a House hearing in 2027, otherwise they're more likely to think twice about doing what he wants. And in a sane world at least, that's a problem for Trump and more importantly for Stephen Miller if he wants people still willing to be cruel to brown-skinned people on his behalf. DOJ, all those companies basically paying Trump off to get tariff waivers or merger approvals, probably other people I'm not even thinking of need bucking up too.
With the weaponized presidential pardon how can there be free and fair elections in 2026? Seems to be willing and able to foment subversion throughout the country and then any individual who happens to get caught. This is a cudgel for which the side of democracy has no good response.
The link between a Constitution and the ways an authoritarian can turn its provisions into a permission slip for illegality and repression is both interesting and important. It deserves a lengthy examination.
The expressions of disapproval of Trump's ruling tactics are meaningless without teeth. Has anyone asked if people consider those things to be impeachable offenses?
Are there any circumstances under which a pardon can be revoked in the future?
“Mar-a-Lago face”? In the immortal words of Justice Stewart, perhaps hard to describe, but “I know it when I see it.”
Kim Davis is notable to me for a few reasons:
1. She's part of a traditionally Democratic, policy agnostic class of white, small town middle class people who turned Republican as soon as it became apparent that the Democratic Party was promoting LGBTQ people and minorities, too.
2. She got her local job because of nepotism and evidently her spiritual beliefs allow for her own multiple marriages but not the only marriages of two loving gay people. The moral rot of hypocritical Americans who have had opportunities handed to them that they aren't willing to hand out to others seems to be just as prevalent in smaller communities as they do in more populated ones.
3. The fact that she was even able to get a Supreme Court appearance on a $80,000/year government salary indicates that she has long had wealthy backers who are happy to have her be the face of it. This isn't new, and left/liberal causes get promoted too under the same system, but it indicates a major ethical issue of affluent Americans buying Supreme Court time as well as paying off the judges.
On a separate note, that constant ~30%-40% of Americans who seem to be completely fine with an authoritarian dictatorship seems to match the percentage of dedicated Nazis out of the German population during the Third Reich. It seems that either because of a mixture of personality type/backgrounds/upbringing as well as personal choices, there are always going to be a certain percentage of the population that gravitate to amoral authoritarianism, and the challenge is keeping them out of leadership positions.
Last, it seems like Mar A Lago face would be a great plot for a horror movie.
I am getting such a kick out of watching Tim's video about Truth Social AI basically turning traitor on Trump and exposing his gigantic tranche of lies that I hope it goes viral and is shared on every space available from network TV to cable sites to social media outlets. Let the world proclaim that even Trump's own propaganda machine thinks he is a pathological liar and that none of his illegitimate policies turn out to be good for anybody!
Well, no need to look for a red hat to spot a Mega cult member, just check out the feline eyes, puffy lips and mermaid hair. No hair extensions for the guys, of course -- just Matt Gaetz crazy locks, always thought he looked like that old TV star Max Headroom.
My family and I were at a duty free store at the Canadian-U.S. border (on the Canadian side), and somehow the topic of Trump came up when my wife spoke to the cashier. My wife said, "Don't blame me; I didn't vote for him." The cashier's response was, "Oh, I know you're not a Trumper. We can tell who the Trumpers are really quickly."