The Frankish Reich

I'm sorry, the CAPS in the title trigger a Pavlovian response that make me think about LLOYD AUSTIN'S PROSTATE

Well, this discussion went off the rails in record time… …. Here’s the real Trump doctrine: - the President could accept bribes, could have political opponents killed, etc, and he would not face arrest/imprisonment UNTIL he is impeached and “convicted” by the Senate - contrary to what Mitch McConnell and other Republicans argued on the second Trump impeachment, the new Trump doctrine says that even after the President becomes a private citizen, he’d have to be hauled before Congress and impeached/“convicted” by the Senate before criminal charges could be brought - the judges brought up absurd examples of crimes that are clearly not within the President’s official duties to see if Trump’s attorney would concede anything. “You mean even if it was undisputed that the sitting President had a rival killed, and even after his term is over, he couldn’t be criminally prosecuted unless impeached/convicted by the Senate first? And Trump’s attorney said “yup, that’s our argument” - of course, this would mean there was no reason for Ford to pardon Nixon, and that McConnell and Co were wrong when they said “it’s too late to impeach Trump, he’s no longer President, they should just prosecute him.” And it would incentivize an old codger like Biden to do all sorts of mischief in his last days in office, knowing that he wouldn’t outlive an impeachment proceeding followed by a criminal charge, etc.

Just as long as you keep at least one finger in that Dutch *****.

May be time to go back and regrade some of the recent Beane drafts/UDFAs. There's a lot of contributors there from other than rounds 1-2, both for us (Benford, Dodson, Bernard, Shakir, Knox, now even guys like Spector) and for other teams (Singletary/Moss have been important contributors for playoff/near playoff teams)

Of course the White House should've been informed. And Austin's Deputy should have been informed of the reason why his powers were transferred to her while Austin was incapacitated. I don't know the explanation other than Austin trying to keep everything private. Nonetheless, he really should at least offer his resignation. Maybe he has. We wouldn't necessarily know if Biden asked him to stay on.

B-Man, it was started as a joke thread. Someone fell for it by switching the discussion to Trump within 4 replies, and then you fell for it by taking these responses seriously. Get back to those Dutch farm protests. I'm getting worried about the tulip harvest this spring.

I don't involve myself in performative ignorance I simply call out the ignorant. Like Pizzagate Jack. The hypothetical was "could THE PRESIDENT order Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival." Not Trump. The President. It was a softball. Trump's lawyer whiffed on it. By my count, three times. Strikeout!

Were the ashes of Seth Rich in that "empty" row?

AUSTIN HID HIS SURGERY/COMPLICATIONS FROM WHITE HOUSE Dutch Farmers Call for Immediate Response

By my count, it took until the 5th posting here before we got a reference to TRUMP.

Trump's legal team advanced a "no exceptions to immunity" argument that really wasn't necessary for him to win this one, and the judges called them on it. The argument: even with a former President, a criminal proceeding based on ANY acts that he undertook while President is immune from prosecution UNLESS he has been impeached/convicted by Congress. So the example here was an extreme one - "what about something so clearly outside the scope of his Presidential duties, like ordering his opponent killed?" Trump's attorneys wouldn't even concede that. A more narrow argument might have made things easier, like "immunity unless impeached and convicted by Congress, provided that the alleged crime was at least somewhat related to his duties as President." So why take the hard road instead of the easy one? My guess: Trump himself wants the Supreme Court to grant him general immunity for everything he did while President, thereby taking care of all of the criminal actions, not just this one. He's not making life any easier for his lawyers...

I am kicking myself for not seeing this one coming ....

Yeah, kind of "hey, look over here, an important debate on EU farm subsidies!!"

True. No attorney listening to that oral argument would walk away thinking that Trump's sweeping immunity claim has a snowball's chance in hell of prevailing. Even the Republican appointee judge referred to a key point in Trump's argument as "paradoxical." The only question is how sweeping the opinion shooting down the absolute immunity argument will be.

Hmm, fight back against what? Against ... TRIMMING STATE SUBSIDIES TO FARMERS! Fight the good fight for CONTINUED SOCIALISM. Way to tell 'em, Comrade B-Man.

I read the WSJ story. They use normal rigorous journalistic standards, requiring corroboration and an editor's approval. They'd be sued if they didn't. No one's suing. I also read Musk's reply. First of all, I don't care if he's used illegal substances. But he does hold government contracts and associated security clearances, so at least in theory Uncle Sam is supposed to care. Musk's response: - I've been drug tested for three years and haven't failed But do drug screens test for ketamine for recreational use (he's prescribed it, so he'd test positive anyway)? For LSD? No. For shrooms? No. I don't even believe the latter two can be tested for. In other words, no "I have not used LSD, shrooms, or ketamine (for recreational use) since my college days" denial. Read between the lines. An admission.

I actually listened to the oral argument. The judges did what appellate judges do - they ask questions aimed at poking holes in an argument, and it's fair to say that Trump's attorney had no good answer to some of their questions.

I'm listening to the oral argument in the federal appeals court in DC "presidential immunity" claim. Trump is going to lose. At least 2 judges have Trump's attorney - a good attorney - twisted into a knot.

Who is the Egg Man? "I am the egg man" has been interpreted as referring to Humpty Dumpty (who appears in John's beloved "Alice in Wonderland" books). Eric Burden, a popular singer/musician and a close friend of John, has claimed that he was "the egg man," and that the lyric refers to a certain sexual act Eric used to perform with women. (Eric says he would crack eggs over naked women's bodies and that John witnessed him doing it one night.)

Then why is Trump not running on his greatest success, Operation Warp Speed?

More like Semolina Pilchard if you ask me.

Exactly. And in our summer home in Orchard Park, we held them to 20. That's 34 points in 2 games against the newest Offense of the Future, a team that averaged over 29 points per game.

Cite? Medical expenses was Elizabeth Warren's theory, which was subsequently shown to be wrong.

I'm not saying Biden "deserves a free pass." I'm saying that this form of argument is not persuasive to any rational person. In other words, urging the Administration to cut off the flow of public benefits, and then decrying the resulting rise in bankruptcies.

Last year: Isn't it about time we stopped all those special COVID payments, eviction moratoriums, student loan forbearance, etc? This year: Hey, look, bankruptcy filings are up! It must be Biden's fault!!