Lord Liaden Posted May 30 Report Share Posted May 30 40 minutes ago, unclevlad said: If he *does* end up with jail time...I feel bad for the Secret Service. They'd still be obligated to protect him. But they'll get to watch him suffer every day. I imagine that would be some measure of compensation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted May 30 Report Share Posted May 30 I'm wondering if this is going to change the polling at all. I don't expect Trump's support to drop significantly, but I do hope this shakes some of his support out of his (rather rotten) tree. 1 minute ago, Lord Liaden said: But they'll get to watch him suffer every day. I imagine that would be some measure of compensation. How close would they have to be? We can reasonably assume it'll be a white collar prison if anything, but still, you'd think they'll have to be rather close, which would have to be *very* stressful...both in terms of doing their jobs, and keeping themselves safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted May 30 Report Share Posted May 30 House arrest. PS: Wonder if Biden would pardon him if he wins election.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted May 30 Report Share Posted May 30 1 hour ago, unclevlad said: If he *does* end up with jail time...I feel bad for the Secret Service. They'd still be obligated to protect him. Theoretically so would the jail, no way he goes to gen pop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted May 30 Report Share Posted May 30 This has been coming for a while. We have to wait until we see what the sentencing will be but the verdict is encouraging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted May 30 Report Share Posted May 30 9 minutes ago, Starlord said: House arrest. PS: Wonder if Biden would pardon him if he wins election.... State conviction, he cannot. Pattern Ghost and Lord Liaden 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted May 30 Report Share Posted May 30 Cancer and DShomshak 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcw43921 Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 Pariah, tkdguy, Lord Liaden and 4 others 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 1 hour ago, Iuz the Evil said: Theoretically so would the jail, no way he goes to gen pop. I'm okay with putting him in solitary for the duration of his stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 2 hours ago, unclevlad said: I'm wondering if this is going to change the polling at all. I don't expect Trump's support to drop significantly, but I do hope this shakes some of his support out of his (rather rotten) tree. The talking heads on NPF think it won't change any true believers, and is more likely to rally waverers. OTOH out elections are now decided by fractions of percentages in a handful of states. A few percent, in the small cohort of remaining independents, could be decisive. Unfortunately, there's still no reason to believe Trump couldn't win legitimately. Dean Shomshak PS: Getting really tired of NPR's chosen style of reporters interviewing other reporters, with questions like "What will Biden do?" Ask Biden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt the Bruins Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 On 5/28/2024 at 7:19 PM, unclevlad said: Schools would be almost as bad as social security; they'd set up state schools with state-dictated curricula You'd be surprised how much Texas already dictates curricula, and not just for Texas. Cygnia, Old Man, Pariah and 1 other 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 mmm.....pleasantly bloated... To celebrate the events of the day...quick side trip to grab some appropriate beverages. Settled on Founder's Dirty Bastard...a lovely strong porter, and totally appropriate. And a bottle of Woodford Rye. Grown rather fond of rye in the last...oh, year or so, I think. Then splurged on a PJ's meats pizza. Not even the sycophantic post-verdict comments from Johnson and Lake can dull my buzz tonight. I hope you're all enjoying it as much as I am. Old Man 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 Lord Liaden, Old Man, Pariah and 2 others 1 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 18 minutes ago, Clonus said: Fortunately there's nothing on there I really care about. I might have to have some celebratory Taco Bell now, in fact... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 We are also a week away, June 6th of someone else brought down by the testimony of women. Lucky Luciano was convicted partly on the testimony of prostitutes. He disparaged them thinking no-one would believe them because of their profession. Dewey thought otherwise and convinced the jury. I must admit that I am gloating about the verdict. He has had it coming for a while. There is a degree of schadenfreude seeing his reaction and those of his allies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWolf Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 (edited) Plus side, personally happy about this particular piece of news. President is a job, not a sacred kingship get out of jail free forever free card. And yes, I'd say the same about a Democrat, Libertarian, or anyone else as well. On the minus side (yes, there are minuses to this news) I've seen threats of violence reported online against Juan Merchan personally. Very final violence, shall we say. That's frankly horrifying. We are a nation of laws. Judges should not get threatened. One can only hope the jurors and court staff aren't getting them but that's probably too much to expect. Mostly happy except for that ... That part makes me sad and frankly a bit scared for where things are going. Thing is, I know people say stuff like that in private but it's worse when it's online. In... Really?... News, a Senator is calling on a criminal investigation of Juan Merchan for this very case. WHAT. Not as bad as threats from fringe people of bad things but WHAT. https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-calls-for-criminal-investigation-into-judge-merchan/ Edited May 31 by MrWolf Stanley Teriaca 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley Teriaca Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 What can I say? I'm not surprised that Trump got the guilty verdict. I don't think he will get jail time, but that is probably due to social status than anything. If Trump becomes president again he will become the Convicted Criminal in Chief. How would that affect his job as President? If he never gets a pardon (doubtful they wouldn't pardon hIm if he gets elected again), how would he do his nation representing duties if he can't leave the country? Anyways, I'm not happy nor not happy about Trump getting found guilty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iuz the Evil Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 9 hours ago, Clonus said: 8 hours ago, Old Man said: Fortunately there's nothing on there I really care about. I might have to have some celebratory Taco Bell now, in fact... If they were to bring back the Tostada, that would be worthy of such a ranking in the news cycle. That broke my heart, when they pulled that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 3 hours ago, Iuz the Evil said: If they were to bring back the Tostada, that would be worthy of such a ranking in the news cycle. That broke my heart, when they pulled that. It's the chili cheese burrito for me. Especially since I know some Taco Bells still have it, just not in my state. Iuz the Evil 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 3 hours ago, Stanley Teriaca said: What can I say? I'm not surprised that Trump got the guilty verdict. I don't think he will get jail time, but that is probably due to social status than anything. If Trump becomes president again he will become the Convicted Criminal in Chief. How would that affect his job as President? If he never gets a pardon (doubtful they wouldn't pardon hIm if he gets elected again), how would he do his nation representing duties if he can't leave the country? Anyways, I'm not happy nor not happy about Trump getting found guilty. Apparent.y there are fairly strict rules about what sentences can be given for particular crimes, and since these are white-collar crimes and it's Trump's first conviction, jail time is probably not possible. A presidential pardon -- by himself or Biden -- is not possible at all, because this is all in state court. Possibly the governor of New York could pardon him. I will not speculate on why the governor might do so. If Trump becomes president again, however, it is hard to imagine how any sentence against him could be carried out if he just says, "No." As for how it affects his job as president... It's one more set of people upon whom he wants revenge, which years of statements from Trump indicate will be his top priority if back in the White House. Dean Shomshak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 MrWolf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ternaugh Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 30 minutes ago, Old Man said: It's the chili cheese burrito for me. Especially since I know some Taco Bells still have it, just not in my state. I would love to have a Bacon Cheeseburger Burrito, which was discontinued a few years after they survived the Franchise Wars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 5 hours ago, MrWolf said: In... Really?... News, a Senator is calling on a criminal investigation of Juan Merchan for this very case. WHAT. Not as bad as threats from fringe people of bad things but WHAT. https://www.vance.senate.gov/press-releases/senator-vance-calls-for-criminal-investigation-into-judge-merchan/ We're seeing the normalization of elected officials calling for investigation/impeachment/prosecution of other officials who have only done their lawful jobs, purely because they don't like the result. This has happened repeatedly at the state and federal level in recent years. The calls are coming only from the Republicans so far, and are another symptom of their authoritarian elitist mindset. It's a revenge and intimidation tactic characteristic of "banana republics," with all that implies. MrWolf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted May 31 Report Share Posted May 31 Texas’ Attorney General Is Increasingly Using Consumer Protection Laws to Pursue Political Targets Quote The men knocked on the door of a two-story, red-brick building in downtown El Paso one chilly morning in February. When a volunteer answered, they handed her a document they said gave them the right to go inside and review records kept by Annunciation House, a nonprofit that for decades has served immigrants and refugees seeking shelter. An employee phoned Ruben Garcia, the nonprofit’s director and founder, who was at one of the organization’s other properties. Feeling a calling to do more to help immigrants and other people experiencing poverty, Garcia was part of a small group that formed the nonprofit in the 1970s. He’s since become an unofficial historian of the migration patterns and political response to immigration and immigrants. But in his nearly five decades helming the nonprofit, Garcia had never encountered a situation like this. Standing on the organization’s doorstep were officials sent there by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Consumer Protection Division. They were demanding to come inside and search the nonprofit’s records, including all logs identifying immigrants who received services at Annunciation House going back more than two years. “Is this a warrant?” Garcia recalls asking the group, which included an assistant attorney general and a law enforcement officer from the state agency. It wasn’t. Still, the letter the men presented stated that the attorney general’s office had the power to immediately enter the building without one. Consumer protection laws give attorneys general broad legal authority to request a wide range of records when investigating businesses or charities for allegations of deceptive or fraudulent practices, such as gas stations that hike up fuel prices during hurricanes, companies that run robocalling phone scams and unscrupulous contractors who take advantage of homeowners. But attorneys general have increasingly used their powers to also pursue investigations targeting organizations whose work conflicts with their political views. And Paxton, a Republican, is among the most aggressive. “He’s laying out kind of like the blueprint about how to do this,” said Paul Nolette, an expert in attorneys general and director of the Les Aspin Center for Government at Marquette University. An analysis by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune shows that in the past two years, Paxton has used consumer protection law more than a dozen times to investigate a range of entities for activities like offering shelter to immigrants, providing health care to transgender teens or trying to foster a diverse workplace. Not a single one of the investigations was prompted by a consumer complaint, Paxton’s office confirmed. A complaint is not necessary to launch a probe. The analysis is possibly an undercount. The attorney general’s office said it has not consistently maintained a list of the Consumer Protection Division’s demands to examine records and would need to review individual case files to determine how many requests had been sent. The agency also fought the release of certain records requested under Texas’ Public Information Act, citing exceptions for anticipated litigation. Paxton’s office did not respond to requests for comment or to detailed questions. It also did not reply to a request to speak with the Consumer Protection Division’s chief. Two attorneys representing nonprofits that Paxton recently targeted said they believe he launched the investigations simply to harass their clients and to cause a chilling effect among organizations doing similar work. Both said the attorney general’s demands violate the First Amendment, which guarantees the right to free speech, association and religion, and the Fourth Amendment, which offers protection against unreasonable search and seizure. The political weaponization of consumer protection divisions by Paxton and other attorneys general appears to be “a core violation” of constitutional laws that runs counter to what these divisions were established to do, said Georgetown Law professor Michele Goodwin. The offices were intended to protect the public, Goodwin said. “Instead,” she added, “what is taking place in these times are efforts that undermine the civil liberties and the civil rights of people who are the public in those states and the people who are in those states who are seeking to aid and assist the public.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranxerox Posted June 1 Report Share Posted June 1 10 hours ago, DShomshak said: Apparent.y there are fairly strict rules about what sentences can be given for particular crimes, and since these are white-collar crimes and it's Trump's first conviction, jail time is probably not possible. A presidential pardon -- by himself or Biden -- is not possible at all, because this is all in state court. Possibly the governor of New York could pardon him. I will not speculate on why the governor might do so. If Trump becomes president again, however, it is hard to imagine how any sentence against him could be carried out if he just says, "No." As for how it affects his job as president... It's one more set of people upon whom he wants revenge, which years of statements from Trump indicate will be his top priority if back in the White House. Dean Shomshak Michael Cohen was sentenced to 3 years for his part on the whole sorted ordeal. Why can't Trump get the same sentence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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