In Michael Cohen's trial in federal court, where he earned a 2-1/2 yr prison term, tRump was continually referred to as "Individual-1", an unindicted - or shall I say, an "unindicated - co-conspirator, and under whose orders Cohen did his criming. tRump definitely is under threat of a criminal conviction, and he and his allies - from all quarters - are trying vainly to sink the pending trial.
Folks, despite what the Supremes or Aileen Cannon may attempt or are attempting to bollix his two principal federal indictments, DA Bragg is carrying forth, secure in the knowledge that no federal court can interrupt the trial and prosecution of this life-long criminal, full stop.
Oh yes. That scene was so disturbing to me that I have avoided watching any films with this theme. So I never saw Good Fellas and wondered how I remembered that scene.
“Trump would be running for president as a convicted felon, even without the D.C. verdict, and that could and should be a bridge too far for many swing voters.”
It’s a bridge that should have been too far for them ages ago.
I keep seeing reports that Trump will lose support if convicted. I seriously doubt he will lose as much as claimed.
The people who still support him now but *claim* they won’t if he’s actually convicted of something are just looking for some justification for their continued support. They want Trump, know it’s not something they can defend, so offer the ridiculous justification of not-found-guilty-yet as if that were some moral high ground.
Literally just heard some guy at work talking about his tax fraud case and saying "It's ridiculous. He didn't hurt anyone. They only prosecuted him because Biden doesn't like him and the DOJ is corrupt". I mean soooo much wrong with that statement but these are the people who will support him even if he's in prison. And I agree, it's been a bridge too far since J6 to be honest.
thanks! I'm actually pushing for a department ban on political talk. A couple of them are horrible, a lot of "Biden is too demented to wipe his own butt" and "he needs to be institutionalized" talk. But I can't say how I feel and wouldn't because it's not worth losing a job over. So I'm going with "hostile work environment" as my basis for getting it shut down. Wish me luck on that! :)
Absolutely file a complaint about a hostile work environment.
If others are making comments like you describe and you feel you can’t respond without risking your job, that seems like something that should worry the HR Debt. If not because they don’t like the situation, out of fear as to what legal consequences you could bring.
I cannot imagine what state you live in where this topic is common. In Chicago we are not afraid to put up Biden signs. In fact, I would be more afraid to put up a Trump sign, if the people doing it were smart enough to understand their children's social ruin doing that. Still, I can not tell you how many people talk to me about his age. I have things to say because it is so biologically stupid. Anyway, you should tell them Trump needs staff to help him change his diapers. That usually includes butt wiping. I don't believe Melania is having any of that.
Florida would be another state where this happens. Seems like everywhere I go. “Florida Man” was always kinda funny but now we have the abhorrent “MAGA Florida Man.”
You are so right! "All big businesses do what he did." "Inflating property value isn't a crime and is between the borrower and lender". Any excuse to justify his crap. They will, in fact, support him no matter what.
I would have chewed that guy's head off. I presume you didn't which is why he is lucky he works with you and not me. I I have no patience for adult fools.
Oh I totally agree. But still I honestly think there were a lot of people who thought he would just go, not quietly and not admitting he lost but would leave without major incident. Those who were on the fence then should have jumped off on J6. Those still hanging on and waiting for criminal convictions have already come too far. I mean hoping enough jump off on the moral side but we'll see.
LOL! I said for four years that he would be dragged out in shackles, kicking and screaming. I hadn't expected the Coup attempt. Now I'm concerned about Coup II, as that is a given at this point.
Two of my friends ( honestly bright and kind guys) voted for Trump in 2016 and one actively campaigned for him. One of these men has his PhD in clinical psychology and the other has at least a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. So being educated and intelligent has little to do with how some people make decisions.
Oh for sure. My sister and BIL both were very strong supporters and very intelligent people. Both are avid Faux News viewers and still have some lingering belief that the election was stolen. And while theysay they don't "like" trump anymore they would never vote for anything but Republican. Still baffles me how the highly intelligent support him, I know some do because they will never vote Democrat so they have to believe in their candidate right? I don't get the logic myself but I've never been party loyal.
“ logic “. Many people use their superior intellect to justify what they feel. They lack emotional intelligence, something that many grade school kids have in spades. Consider this. You are a 10 year old kid playing baseball or checkers and one of the kids you play with refuses to accept loss and makes life intolerable for the rest of the kids who won’t give him his way. I cannot recall anyone like that. And I suspect much of the reason is kids still have some emotional common sense. Remember the song “ You Have To Be Carefully Taught “ I think from South Pacific.
No, they don’t believe him. They just don’t care because they like that he gives them permission to be their terrible selves.
They *say* they believe it’s a which hunt because they know their real reason, “I want to be an asshole.”, doesn’t sound good and they’d be criticized for it.
The maga people are only 20% of voters, there’s nothing we can do about them. It’s the centrist Republicans and right leaning Independents we have to win over. They are persuadable, we have to persuade them.
I was just thinking about that today. I used to be one of those "centrist Republicans" and I bet there are a lot of people like me. I was raising kids and working and had no time to spare to be aware of what was going on politically. I guess the horror that Trump and his cronies are causing to this country will have to get so bad that even over-loaded working mothers will notice and vote accordingly.
I think the independents are easier than the centrist Republicans. Still many in that Republican group that won't vote Dem to save their lives even if they don't like trump. Also many in both catagories that think Biden is too old even though they are too close in age to use that excuse IMO. If you can't win them over just remind them they can vote all the way down the ballot and leave the vote for President blank.
He was prosecuted because "people don't like him" and "the justice system is weaponized by Biden". It's not because he actually did anything wrong... I mean that is the MAGGOT loyal belief
Remember what people say publicly and what they actually do in private can be 2 different things. I suspect that many are afraid of his base and since voting for office is private may just vote for Biden or abstain from voting for president. Maybe I’m wrong but I have a feeling that I’m not.
Reasonable article in my opinion but I disagree with “And while she admittedly showed poor judgment by opening herself up to something that might sully her reputation during such a big, public case, we need to keep in mind that the allegations have little to no bearing on the case.” She did nothing wrong and we cannot walk through our life living in fear of judgement by fools. We need to defend our lives rather than cower to the corrosive judgements of the mindless masses.
I respectfully disagree. The public needs to have full trust and faith in their public servants, and Fani Willis bringing on an outside consultant without significant criminal prosecutorial experience already raised eyebrows. For her to then have a romantic affair with him damages the trust people have in the integrity of her case, even if the judge winds up finding no conflict of interest. It also creates a sideshow around one of the most important cases in the country, and with that in mind she should have been prepared to set aside her personal interests in the service of the prosecution. This is my opinion, and there isn’t any right or wrong to it, but I believe we do a disservice to the system when we don’t hold our public officials to the highest of standards when the stakes are this high.
I don't disagree that she should have been more careful, but it's also true that if it had been a white male DA involved with someone in his office (no conflict of interest, anyway), even if it had been brought up by the defense, everyone would have looked the other way. For some reason, Blacks, and Black women in particular, seem to have to match up to a higher standard than, say, me.
I respect your opinion but I thought about it from a white womans perspective and actually came up with a different opinion. It might even be worse for a white superior to hire his white girlfriend.
Well that's one problem here. I don't have any experience as a woman! :-) But I it seems like white superiors get away with more, but maybe that's changing since #metoo? I've never done the kind of stuff that can get you in trouble like that in the workplace, and luckily I haven't been around other guys who have that I know of (I've been fortunate in my work life and have been around mostly really decent people). So my perspective is mostly what I read about taking place at other companies/institutions, etc.
Maybe, too, when you say when he hires his gf, it depends on what type of work relationship she had. Wade didn't have prosecutorial chops, but was said to be a good manager/organizer, which was what Willis was said to be looking for. All that said, I do think she was unnecessarily sloppy, given the importance of this case. I mean, frankly, if I'm trying to take on Trump in a historic legal case, I'm probably holding off on my trip to Belize with my honey until after I win.
Ah, but one thing. It still has nothing to do with Trump's case. If Willis acted inappropriately, that's for the voters to decide when she runs for another term, and if she acted worse by funneling money Wade's way, it's a matter for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. At the end of the day, there is no conflict of interest, and her actions re:Wade have no relevance to the case. I would argue that if the judge sides with the defense here, he is responding to his background as a good ole boy from a rural Georgia county, which is where he began his legal career. He has a better reputation than that, so hopefully what he's really doing here is making this case appeal-proof. The only reason I ramble on about this is that I live in Georgia and get a lot of updates from the Atlanta paper on this. I usually don't know much, lol, but I've been following this pretty closely.
Standards? Reputation? I certainly understand where you are coming from. However, who sets those standards? What critical thinking is involved in reputation? As far as “without significant prosecutorial experience” it seems to me the prosecution has created a strong case. Therefore, I do not judge their experience.
My concerns go deep. I have researched all the amazing brilliant women in science where men stole their brilliance and went on to fame. I have noticed that it seems black women are at the forefront of fighting to save this country. I am aware and becoming more aware of the wonderful contributions to this country by different ethnicities in all areas of culture. Thus, for me, equality is a much bigger issue than standards and reputation and must be defended with ferocity of a honey badger or a mother protecting her children.
As a white male I’m primarily just an observer who attempts to discern the reality of what is going on. I thank you for your respect but the real respect goes to all the women, all the minorities and all those not respected as equals who are on the front lines of this war against bigotry and injustice.
Some of those standards are actually pretty well defined, at least in other countries. I work for an anti corruption commission in my country, and her behaviour would have been enough to at least open an investigation for conflict of interest in the hiring process.
Even so, the potential conflict would not actually be something the defendant in a case could appeal against because I can't see how it would have disadvantaged them in their defence. It's obviously just a smear campaign / delay tactic from the Trump team to deal with it this way.
My full faith in public servants comes from their ability to do their job well. Fani Willis is about the only one in our ravaged country willing to take on this mob of Russians and all the threats and defamation it brings to her. How many men did she try to enlist before asking Wade?? It’s not like they were beating down her door to sign up for this wretched work.
And it’s arrogance to use your own moral compass to pass judgement on a woman from a different culture seeking companionship thru difficult times.
This is one of those times that really reveals who people are.
I was thinking the same. Indeed, one would assume that even her right-wing supports should be outraged over her keeping a New York murderer in "pristine" Arizona! Shouldn't she be returning criminals to where they came from?
Exactly. The local Dems need to be aggressive and the GQP fanatics are writing the campaign ads and billboards for them. Use the fanatics own words against them (and then when they try to backpeddle, call them flip-floppers . . .).
Another interesting data point: right wing Islamophobes frequently claim a high murder rate in Sweden and blame it on Syrian and other refugees. Trouble is: the murder rate in Phoenix is roughly ten times as high as in Sweden. Sweden has a population of 8 million and had 116 murders in 2023. Phoenix has 1.6 million people and around 400 murders. And that's after the Phoenix murder rates dropped dramatically since 2021.
any idea where to find a meme about the crime rate of New York versus Arizona?
It’s easy to Google …
“The comparison showed 2,408 crimes in Phoenix per 100,000 residents, to 1,688 in New York. The murder rate was 6.4 in Phoenix to 5.2 in New York. In Phoenix, the forcible rape rate was 18.6, while in New York it was 8.0.”
Is there a Republican with political points to make who cares about data? Meanwhile some actual alleged murderer is going free without a jury deciding on the allegations.
Republicans with any morals or ethics already denounced the MAGA Cult. There are still plenty of Independents though, who can be swayed with factual evidence of crimes. Which is why Trump is trying so hard to delay or dismiss his trials. Trump spends a lot of his time spinning lies to his supporters. Trials bring out hard evidence that will unravel those lies and prove his guilt.
I just posted above: right-wingers often claim that Sweden is crime ridden. In reality, Phoenix has more than twice as many murders as the whole country of Sweden, despite having only 20% the population.
You literally cannot make this stuff up. I am riveted to all the hearings and reading everything I can get my hands on. Thank you, Jay, for your ability to make some sense of it all.
We will not be safe from Trump until he is locked up. The astronomical penalties seem to have little effect on him or his base, except giving him more reasons to whine about being the victim. His rabid supporters will just run to buy his ridiculous golden sneakers to raise him more money. He needs to be physically contained, where he can't go anywhere, can't speak anywhere, can't be on camera or on social media.
Do you think EVEN then? His kids, his supporters of big and small names, and the MAGA Congress and in the states' legislatures, will carry on. It feels like I'm gonna live out my life with this all hanging on.
Some may try to keep Trump’s name in the media spotlight, but when he is convicted and looses the election, his name may be more of an albatross than a political booster. Remember, he and those he endorsed have already lost in 2020 and 2022. The 2024 election is a Hail Mary for the GOP and what is left of the big money GOP donors. The one thing that trumps their love for Trump is watching their beloved money be wasted. 💸 They’ve already began switching from MAGA candidates in lesser political races and Trump himself does not bring in actual dollars to the GOP. ALL TRUMP’S donations go straight to Trump and not to the Republican Party. With Trump it’s “all for one and…”, well basically that it. The Party is left Running on fumes.
We are ready to push back with all we got. We need to call out their lies constantly and not let them spread their propaganda. This is a great piece thanks for posting.
As I've been saying, when the Bloated Yam is back on his throne, there will only be state governments in "Red States."
"Blue States" will be federalized, and prosecutions of anyone who supports the Bloated Yam will be cancelled, guilty verdicts reversed, prisoners freed.
There is an assumption in the "when" that is both troubling and defeatist. It appears increasingly likely that Trump and the rump Republican/MAGA/white supremacist party will get badly thumped in November. We need to do everything we can to ensure that it happens, and that the rule of law is firmly institutionalized afterwards, to prevent this crazed minority from ever again coming close to power.
It has more to do with my life experience than anything...my good deeds regularly go heavily punished.
For example, two hours after I was given my 10th award at my newspaper, the editor who gave it to me fired me. He also told me he would see to it I would never work in the newspaper industry again. He got his wish. My crime was that one of my pals on the paper hadn't got his award, was being hammered by the bosses, and I wanted to boost his morale, so I took the award of the editor's desk and gave it to the reporter. My editor accused me of "usurping his job." There was probably more going on -- two weeks later, he was removed from his post and sent back to his previous paper in the chain -- but I don't know what. Maybe he was moved because he sacked me, maybe it was in the works. I'll never know.
In 2021, I labored like Hercules to write the booklet we gave out for the State-of-the-City Address, and it was a hell of a piece of work. The night of the speech, I missed a step on the order about putting the accompanying press release (which I also wrote) to all of our employees, and sent it out electronically too early. The Business Administrator was furious -- he and "a plethora" of people told my boss that my doing so obviated the need for city employees to go to the speech.
The day after the speech, a Friday, my team had a big lunch to celebrate the successful event. Our office's Chief of Staff gave an invocation, which specifically thanked me for the incredible work I had done.
On Monday morning, the same chief of staff hauled me into the Communications Director's office, and gave me a two-day suspension without pay for sending out the press release early.
That's the tip of my iceberg.
I do not believe for a fraction of a second that there is good in this world, that there is justice in this world, that there is fairness in this world, that there is mercy in this world.
There are only bullies who sadistically and harshly stomp on victims and then fall down laughing their heads off at the pain they inflict. And I admire them....they get things done. They rule through fear and terror, often for decades. Whether it's the schoolyard bully or men like Torquemada, Dzerzhinsky, J. Edgar Hoover, and Himmler, they do what they want, torture who they want, and are never held accountable.
As for schoolyard bullies...they just grow up to become kick-butt stockbrokers on Wall Street.
You’re not far wrong. I don’t know if you respect scripture, but it describes our world as run by the Rebel (“Satan”, which translates to Enemy) and the angels who sided with him (called “demons”) which is a believable explanation why mankind is divided into nations that seek to destroy one another. To them we are just a violent video game, and we are animals they can slaughter for fun.
Psychologists say it’s all within us and our ape ancestors, in tension with our good qualities of compassion and altruism. Scripture says we were made good but chose to listen to a Liar.
Religionists say it’s ALL “God’s will.” Scripture says it is not, and that doctrine is in fact a lie that dishonors the Creator. And who would promote that view? Not anyone who truly knows God.
People rightly ask, “Then where is God? Has he abandoned us? Surely this means he does not exist.”
Scripture explains. To keep it short, basically it says He will rescue us just as we reach the edge of destruction, when it is proven beyond all doubt for all time that we followed a Deceiver.
This Trump situation is in fact the whole scenario in miniature, and many are failing the test. Trump & co show the power of lies. Compare John 3:19, 20.
This thread reminds me of a guy I dated when I was in high school who was shipped off to Jesus camp and came back with some rather disturbing apocalyptic ideas--like Jesus will return, and he won't be a nice guy when he does. (I shoulda broken up with him right then and there following that conversation, but it took me another year).
This was about 31 years ago. So, a literal belief in Authoritarian Strongman Jesus has been there, ripe for exploitation by DJT's enablers. That, and the far-right-religious-right notion that DJT is God's imperfect instrument, a la King Cyrus.
I’m not the first to note that, despite this seeming to be a less profound case to be brought, it was the first obvious attempt by tRump to interfere in the election—-just part of what became a long pattern.
I saw a comment on Daily Kos that speculated this is more than just an attack on DA Bragg. It could also be the start of a federal case for the supreme court to carve out an exception to the constitutional requirement that states must extradite criminals to the state where the crime occurred. Since the republicans are all about removing federal power this makes sense. They are emboldened by Texas' actions on the US border.
I very much doubt that. States being able to refuse extradition can, and would, turn quickly against red state. For instance, states without the death penalty could refuse to extradite to Texas or Alabama.
In Michael Cohen's trial in federal court, where he earned a 2-1/2 yr prison term, tRump was continually referred to as "Individual-1", an unindicted - or shall I say, an "unindicated - co-conspirator, and under whose orders Cohen did his criming. tRump definitely is under threat of a criminal conviction, and he and his allies - from all quarters - are trying vainly to sink the pending trial.
Folks, despite what the Supremes or Aileen Cannon may attempt or are attempting to bollix his two principal federal indictments, DA Bragg is carrying forth, secure in the knowledge that no federal court can interrupt the trial and prosecution of this life-long criminal, full stop.
Thank you!
The name of the movie with the baseball scene is The Untouchables, not Good Fellas. This has been corrected.
Different name, but same Mafia tactics!
Oh yes. That scene was so disturbing to me that I have avoided watching any films with this theme. So I never saw Good Fellas and wondered how I remembered that scene.
“Trump would be running for president as a convicted felon, even without the D.C. verdict, and that could and should be a bridge too far for many swing voters.”
It’s a bridge that should have been too far for them ages ago.
I keep seeing reports that Trump will lose support if convicted. I seriously doubt he will lose as much as claimed.
The people who still support him now but *claim* they won’t if he’s actually convicted of something are just looking for some justification for their continued support. They want Trump, know it’s not something they can defend, so offer the ridiculous justification of not-found-guilty-yet as if that were some moral high ground.
Literally just heard some guy at work talking about his tax fraud case and saying "It's ridiculous. He didn't hurt anyone. They only prosecuted him because Biden doesn't like him and the DOJ is corrupt". I mean soooo much wrong with that statement but these are the people who will support him even if he's in prison. And I agree, it's been a bridge too far since J6 to be honest.
I agree, except I feel it was a bridge too far ever since he was caught on tape talking about grabbing women by their genitalia.
…Or to murder someone in broad daylight on Fifth Avenue and not lose support from his followers.
Yep. Mr. Trump could take a massive bowel movement on Fifth Avenue and his followers would flock to him with soup spoons in hand.
And mocking a disabled reporter.
How difficult to work with someone (and no doubt others) voicing these absurd opinions. Sending you strength to not scream.
thanks! I'm actually pushing for a department ban on political talk. A couple of them are horrible, a lot of "Biden is too demented to wipe his own butt" and "he needs to be institutionalized" talk. But I can't say how I feel and wouldn't because it's not worth losing a job over. So I'm going with "hostile work environment" as my basis for getting it shut down. Wish me luck on that! :)
Absolutely file a complaint about a hostile work environment.
If others are making comments like you describe and you feel you can’t respond without risking your job, that seems like something that should worry the HR Debt. If not because they don’t like the situation, out of fear as to what legal consequences you could bring.
Oh how horrific. I am so sorry. What a miserable position to be in. I hope you can get a policy passed.
I cannot imagine what state you live in where this topic is common. In Chicago we are not afraid to put up Biden signs. In fact, I would be more afraid to put up a Trump sign, if the people doing it were smart enough to understand their children's social ruin doing that. Still, I can not tell you how many people talk to me about his age. I have things to say because it is so biologically stupid. Anyway, you should tell them Trump needs staff to help him change his diapers. That usually includes butt wiping. I don't believe Melania is having any of that.
Florida would be another state where this happens. Seems like everywhere I go. “Florida Man” was always kinda funny but now we have the abhorrent “MAGA Florida Man.”
When I hear them talk about Biden's dementia I always wonder if he is the same man who is able to mastermind all the prosecutions of Trump.
Good luck - I am so sorry.
As someone who has worked in public mental health for over 50 years I find that kind of talk not only ignorant and cruel but also scary.
You are so right! "All big businesses do what he did." "Inflating property value isn't a crime and is between the borrower and lender". Any excuse to justify his crap. They will, in fact, support him no matter what.
Unfortunately true
And since demeaning Gold Star parents.
I would have chewed that guy's head off. I presume you didn't which is why he is lucky he works with you and not me. I I have no patience for adult fools.
Before J6, in fact. I started sweating the insurrection-to-come with the first unfounded lawsuits in November 2020. The blood was on the wall ...
Oh I totally agree. But still I honestly think there were a lot of people who thought he would just go, not quietly and not admitting he lost but would leave without major incident. Those who were on the fence then should have jumped off on J6. Those still hanging on and waiting for criminal convictions have already come too far. I mean hoping enough jump off on the moral side but we'll see.
LOL! I said for four years that he would be dragged out in shackles, kicking and screaming. I hadn't expected the Coup attempt. Now I'm concerned about Coup II, as that is a given at this point.
Two of my friends ( honestly bright and kind guys) voted for Trump in 2016 and one actively campaigned for him. One of these men has his PhD in clinical psychology and the other has at least a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. So being educated and intelligent has little to do with how some people make decisions.
Oh for sure. My sister and BIL both were very strong supporters and very intelligent people. Both are avid Faux News viewers and still have some lingering belief that the election was stolen. And while theysay they don't "like" trump anymore they would never vote for anything but Republican. Still baffles me how the highly intelligent support him, I know some do because they will never vote Democrat so they have to believe in their candidate right? I don't get the logic myself but I've never been party loyal.
That may be part of the problem
“ logic “. Many people use their superior intellect to justify what they feel. They lack emotional intelligence, something that many grade school kids have in spades. Consider this. You are a 10 year old kid playing baseball or checkers and one of the kids you play with refuses to accept loss and makes life intolerable for the rest of the kids who won’t give him his way. I cannot recall anyone like that. And I suspect much of the reason is kids still have some emotional common sense. Remember the song “ You Have To Be Carefully Taught “ I think from South Pacific.
Don’t forget he has actually been found to have raped E. Jean Carroll. That sounds like a reason to vote against him, especially if you are a woman.
They believe him - "he's innocent" - "witch hunt" -etc.
No, they don’t believe him. They just don’t care because they like that he gives them permission to be their terrible selves.
They *say* they believe it’s a which hunt because they know their real reason, “I want to be an asshole.”, doesn’t sound good and they’d be criticized for it.
The maga people are only 20% of voters, there’s nothing we can do about them. It’s the centrist Republicans and right leaning Independents we have to win over. They are persuadable, we have to persuade them.
I was just thinking about that today. I used to be one of those "centrist Republicans" and I bet there are a lot of people like me. I was raising kids and working and had no time to spare to be aware of what was going on politically. I guess the horror that Trump and his cronies are causing to this country will have to get so bad that even over-loaded working mothers will notice and vote accordingly.
Thank you for paying attention.
I think the independents are easier than the centrist Republicans. Still many in that Republican group that won't vote Dem to save their lives even if they don't like trump. Also many in both catagories that think Biden is too old even though they are too close in age to use that excuse IMO. If you can't win them over just remind them they can vote all the way down the ballot and leave the vote for President blank.
Yeah, two juries awarded E. Jean $88.3M because they felt sorry for her? Give me a break. Trump is a rapist, as labeled by the judge.
He was prosecuted because "people don't like him" and "the justice system is weaponized by Biden". It's not because he actually did anything wrong... I mean that is the MAGGOT loyal belief
He was adjudicated a rapist. That doesn't seem to matter to MAGAs.
Remember what people say publicly and what they actually do in private can be 2 different things. I suspect that many are afraid of his base and since voting for office is private may just vote for Biden or abstain from voting for president. Maybe I’m wrong but I have a feeling that I’m not.
True.
Goes both ways.
They *say* they won’t support him if he’s convicted but…
I have my doubts, too. But if it doesn't really need to be a big number to swing the election.
Reasonable article in my opinion but I disagree with “And while she admittedly showed poor judgment by opening herself up to something that might sully her reputation during such a big, public case, we need to keep in mind that the allegations have little to no bearing on the case.” She did nothing wrong and we cannot walk through our life living in fear of judgement by fools. We need to defend our lives rather than cower to the corrosive judgements of the mindless masses.
I respectfully disagree. The public needs to have full trust and faith in their public servants, and Fani Willis bringing on an outside consultant without significant criminal prosecutorial experience already raised eyebrows. For her to then have a romantic affair with him damages the trust people have in the integrity of her case, even if the judge winds up finding no conflict of interest. It also creates a sideshow around one of the most important cases in the country, and with that in mind she should have been prepared to set aside her personal interests in the service of the prosecution. This is my opinion, and there isn’t any right or wrong to it, but I believe we do a disservice to the system when we don’t hold our public officials to the highest of standards when the stakes are this high.
I don't disagree that she should have been more careful, but it's also true that if it had been a white male DA involved with someone in his office (no conflict of interest, anyway), even if it had been brought up by the defense, everyone would have looked the other way. For some reason, Blacks, and Black women in particular, seem to have to match up to a higher standard than, say, me.
I respect your opinion but I thought about it from a white womans perspective and actually came up with a different opinion. It might even be worse for a white superior to hire his white girlfriend.
Well that's one problem here. I don't have any experience as a woman! :-) But I it seems like white superiors get away with more, but maybe that's changing since #metoo? I've never done the kind of stuff that can get you in trouble like that in the workplace, and luckily I haven't been around other guys who have that I know of (I've been fortunate in my work life and have been around mostly really decent people). So my perspective is mostly what I read about taking place at other companies/institutions, etc.
Maybe, too, when you say when he hires his gf, it depends on what type of work relationship she had. Wade didn't have prosecutorial chops, but was said to be a good manager/organizer, which was what Willis was said to be looking for. All that said, I do think she was unnecessarily sloppy, given the importance of this case. I mean, frankly, if I'm trying to take on Trump in a historic legal case, I'm probably holding off on my trip to Belize with my honey until after I win.
I couldn’t agree more. And let’s face it, the look of impropriety matters in this case above all.
Ah, but one thing. It still has nothing to do with Trump's case. If Willis acted inappropriately, that's for the voters to decide when she runs for another term, and if she acted worse by funneling money Wade's way, it's a matter for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. At the end of the day, there is no conflict of interest, and her actions re:Wade have no relevance to the case. I would argue that if the judge sides with the defense here, he is responding to his background as a good ole boy from a rural Georgia county, which is where he began his legal career. He has a better reputation than that, so hopefully what he's really doing here is making this case appeal-proof. The only reason I ramble on about this is that I live in Georgia and get a lot of updates from the Atlanta paper on this. I usually don't know much, lol, but I've been following this pretty closely.
Standards? Reputation? I certainly understand where you are coming from. However, who sets those standards? What critical thinking is involved in reputation? As far as “without significant prosecutorial experience” it seems to me the prosecution has created a strong case. Therefore, I do not judge their experience.
My concerns go deep. I have researched all the amazing brilliant women in science where men stole their brilliance and went on to fame. I have noticed that it seems black women are at the forefront of fighting to save this country. I am aware and becoming more aware of the wonderful contributions to this country by different ethnicities in all areas of culture. Thus, for me, equality is a much bigger issue than standards and reputation and must be defended with ferocity of a honey badger or a mother protecting her children.
Exactly! Thank you so much for saying this!!! Much respect to you for speaking up! ❤️❤️
As a white male I’m primarily just an observer who attempts to discern the reality of what is going on. I thank you for your respect but the real respect goes to all the women, all the minorities and all those not respected as equals who are on the front lines of this war against bigotry and injustice.
It helps a bunch to have strong allies especially those with your qualifications willing to speak up in solidarity. ❤️
Thank you. ❤️
Some of those standards are actually pretty well defined, at least in other countries. I work for an anti corruption commission in my country, and her behaviour would have been enough to at least open an investigation for conflict of interest in the hiring process.
Even so, the potential conflict would not actually be something the defendant in a case could appeal against because I can't see how it would have disadvantaged them in their defence. It's obviously just a smear campaign / delay tactic from the Trump team to deal with it this way.
My full faith in public servants comes from their ability to do their job well. Fani Willis is about the only one in our ravaged country willing to take on this mob of Russians and all the threats and defamation it brings to her. How many men did she try to enlist before asking Wade?? It’s not like they were beating down her door to sign up for this wretched work.
And it’s arrogance to use your own moral compass to pass judgement on a woman from a different culture seeking companionship thru difficult times.
This is one of those times that really reveals who people are.
Thank you Jim! It’s almost like we should have equality in this country.
Thank you. That is an excellent point. That kind of self censorship will silence only the responsible and decent.
Thank you. I do hope the Dems in Phoenix use the despicable actions of this attorney Mitchell against her in the upcoming election.
I was thinking the same. Indeed, one would assume that even her right-wing supports should be outraged over her keeping a New York murderer in "pristine" Arizona! Shouldn't she be returning criminals to where they came from?
George, Maricopa County is in play. It got more purple during the pandemic. There’s hope.
Exactly. The local Dems need to be aggressive and the GQP fanatics are writing the campaign ads and billboards for them. Use the fanatics own words against them (and then when they try to backpeddle, call them flip-floppers . . .).
What about protecting the rights of the murdered NY woman and her family? Mitchell's obvious political ploy dirties up all women, TBH. Shame on her!
Another interesting data point: right wing Islamophobes frequently claim a high murder rate in Sweden and blame it on Syrian and other refugees. Trouble is: the murder rate in Phoenix is roughly ten times as high as in Sweden. Sweden has a population of 8 million and had 116 murders in 2023. Phoenix has 1.6 million people and around 400 murders. And that's after the Phoenix murder rates dropped dramatically since 2021.
any idea where to find a meme about the crime rate of New York versus Arizona?
It’s easy to Google …
“The comparison showed 2,408 crimes in Phoenix per 100,000 residents, to 1,688 in New York. The murder rate was 6.4 in Phoenix to 5.2 in New York. In Phoenix, the forcible rape rate was 18.6, while in New York it was 8.0.”
I’d love to get this data out there .
Is there a Republican with political points to make who cares about data? Meanwhile some actual alleged murderer is going free without a jury deciding on the allegations.
Republicans with any morals or ethics already denounced the MAGA Cult. There are still plenty of Independents though, who can be swayed with factual evidence of crimes. Which is why Trump is trying so hard to delay or dismiss his trials. Trump spends a lot of his time spinning lies to his supporters. Trials bring out hard evidence that will unravel those lies and prove his guilt.
nope!🤪 I just love to be able to have some counter points for the fake news
I just posted above: right-wingers often claim that Sweden is crime ridden. In reality, Phoenix has more than twice as many murders as the whole country of Sweden, despite having only 20% the population.
You literally cannot make this stuff up. I am riveted to all the hearings and reading everything I can get my hands on. Thank you, Jay, for your ability to make some sense of it all.
We will not be safe from Trump until he is locked up. The astronomical penalties seem to have little effect on him or his base, except giving him more reasons to whine about being the victim. His rabid supporters will just run to buy his ridiculous golden sneakers to raise him more money. He needs to be physically contained, where he can't go anywhere, can't speak anywhere, can't be on camera or on social media.
Do you think EVEN then? His kids, his supporters of big and small names, and the MAGA Congress and in the states' legislatures, will carry on. It feels like I'm gonna live out my life with this all hanging on.
Well, if nothing else, I'd like to find out if it works. Don't you? For educational purposes.
G-d yes! I'd like to see who recants and who doesn't.
You are correct. The biggest fight is probably against Christian Nationalism.
Some may try to keep Trump’s name in the media spotlight, but when he is convicted and looses the election, his name may be more of an albatross than a political booster. Remember, he and those he endorsed have already lost in 2020 and 2022. The 2024 election is a Hail Mary for the GOP and what is left of the big money GOP donors. The one thing that trumps their love for Trump is watching their beloved money be wasted. 💸 They’ve already began switching from MAGA candidates in lesser political races and Trump himself does not bring in actual dollars to the GOP. ALL TRUMP’S donations go straight to Trump and not to the Republican Party. With Trump it’s “all for one and…”, well basically that it. The Party is left Running on fumes.
You forgot 2018.
that's my worry too. The poison is so widespread.
I’d like to see him 6 feet under.
He's grifting off of everything. Leopard meet spots.
We are ready to push back with all we got. We need to call out their lies constantly and not let them spread their propaganda. This is a great piece thanks for posting.
Quick correction: Al Capote (played by Deniro) wielded the baseball bat in The Untouchables, not Goodfellas.
Ah, thanks. Wrong movie!
As I've been saying, when the Bloated Yam is back on his throne, there will only be state governments in "Red States."
"Blue States" will be federalized, and prosecutions of anyone who supports the Bloated Yam will be cancelled, guilty verdicts reversed, prisoners freed.
There is an assumption in the "when" that is both troubling and defeatist. It appears increasingly likely that Trump and the rump Republican/MAGA/white supremacist party will get badly thumped in November. We need to do everything we can to ensure that it happens, and that the rule of law is firmly institutionalized afterwards, to prevent this crazed minority from ever again coming close to power.
I'm by nature a pessimist, I'm afraid.
It has more to do with my life experience than anything...my good deeds regularly go heavily punished.
For example, two hours after I was given my 10th award at my newspaper, the editor who gave it to me fired me. He also told me he would see to it I would never work in the newspaper industry again. He got his wish. My crime was that one of my pals on the paper hadn't got his award, was being hammered by the bosses, and I wanted to boost his morale, so I took the award of the editor's desk and gave it to the reporter. My editor accused me of "usurping his job." There was probably more going on -- two weeks later, he was removed from his post and sent back to his previous paper in the chain -- but I don't know what. Maybe he was moved because he sacked me, maybe it was in the works. I'll never know.
In 2021, I labored like Hercules to write the booklet we gave out for the State-of-the-City Address, and it was a hell of a piece of work. The night of the speech, I missed a step on the order about putting the accompanying press release (which I also wrote) to all of our employees, and sent it out electronically too early. The Business Administrator was furious -- he and "a plethora" of people told my boss that my doing so obviated the need for city employees to go to the speech.
The day after the speech, a Friday, my team had a big lunch to celebrate the successful event. Our office's Chief of Staff gave an invocation, which specifically thanked me for the incredible work I had done.
On Monday morning, the same chief of staff hauled me into the Communications Director's office, and gave me a two-day suspension without pay for sending out the press release early.
That's the tip of my iceberg.
I do not believe for a fraction of a second that there is good in this world, that there is justice in this world, that there is fairness in this world, that there is mercy in this world.
There are only bullies who sadistically and harshly stomp on victims and then fall down laughing their heads off at the pain they inflict. And I admire them....they get things done. They rule through fear and terror, often for decades. Whether it's the schoolyard bully or men like Torquemada, Dzerzhinsky, J. Edgar Hoover, and Himmler, they do what they want, torture who they want, and are never held accountable.
As for schoolyard bullies...they just grow up to become kick-butt stockbrokers on Wall Street.
I'm sorry...but that's how I feel.
You’re not far wrong. I don’t know if you respect scripture, but it describes our world as run by the Rebel (“Satan”, which translates to Enemy) and the angels who sided with him (called “demons”) which is a believable explanation why mankind is divided into nations that seek to destroy one another. To them we are just a violent video game, and we are animals they can slaughter for fun.
Psychologists say it’s all within us and our ape ancestors, in tension with our good qualities of compassion and altruism. Scripture says we were made good but chose to listen to a Liar.
Religionists say it’s ALL “God’s will.” Scripture says it is not, and that doctrine is in fact a lie that dishonors the Creator. And who would promote that view? Not anyone who truly knows God.
People rightly ask, “Then where is God? Has he abandoned us? Surely this means he does not exist.”
Scripture explains. To keep it short, basically it says He will rescue us just as we reach the edge of destruction, when it is proven beyond all doubt for all time that we followed a Deceiver.
This Trump situation is in fact the whole scenario in miniature, and many are failing the test. Trump & co show the power of lies. Compare John 3:19, 20.
Yup...that's why evangelicals support Israel. They're expecting that big Mid-East nuclear war to break out there to herald Christ's return.
Yeah, right.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord...
He is tearing down the alley in a black-and-yellow Ford.....
The evangelical interpretations are a mess. Scripture is actually a lot simpler than they make it out to be.
Christ’s “return” is provoked by Satan’s final attack on all who do not kiss his ring. It has nothing to do with the modern state of Israel.
Satan attacks when it is clear to him that his time is up.
Remind you of anyone you know?
Yeah...he has an orange face.
No beard, horns, or red skin.
But from what I hear, his businesses are run like Hell and going to the Devil....
This thread reminds me of a guy I dated when I was in high school who was shipped off to Jesus camp and came back with some rather disturbing apocalyptic ideas--like Jesus will return, and he won't be a nice guy when he does. (I shoulda broken up with him right then and there following that conversation, but it took me another year).
This was about 31 years ago. So, a literal belief in Authoritarian Strongman Jesus has been there, ripe for exploitation by DJT's enablers. That, and the far-right-religious-right notion that DJT is God's imperfect instrument, a la King Cyrus.
I’m not the first to note that, despite this seeming to be a less profound case to be brought, it was the first obvious attempt by tRump to interfere in the election—-just part of what became a long pattern.
It set his pattern in stone. He thought he got away with it; he felt emboldened. I hope DA Bragg buries him.
Thank you for the warning, Jay. They can continue to lie loud and long, but in the end, it’s all still lies. I pray people understand that.
One correction.
The movie image you want is The Untouchables not Goodfellas.
Robert DeNiro as Al Capone.
I saw a comment on Daily Kos that speculated this is more than just an attack on DA Bragg. It could also be the start of a federal case for the supreme court to carve out an exception to the constitutional requirement that states must extradite criminals to the state where the crime occurred. Since the republicans are all about removing federal power this makes sense. They are emboldened by Texas' actions on the US border.
I very much doubt that. States being able to refuse extradition can, and would, turn quickly against red state. For instance, states without the death penalty could refuse to extradite to Texas or Alabama.
It's not about refusing extradition in all cases, it's about chipping away at federal power one piece at a time.
Preeeeetty sure that Republicans aren't thinking that far ahead... 🙄😒
Following the FloriDUH blueprint, again…everyone needs to vote blue!!