leh-nerd skin-erd

What a fascinatingly pedestrian tale you've woven together here! Clinton was handled in a different manner. She was extended courtesies that did not include a tactical raid on her home. She was allowed the opportunity to review email and decide what to share, what she preferred to keep from investigators, and the question of intent was not decided by prosecutors but the director of the FBI. Concepts like cooperation and intent are abstract and thus subject to interpretation, allowing some to be pursued while others vindicated. Terms like malicious prosecution and political persecution exist because they occur rather frequently in our system, and the sad fact is this sure feels like one of those times. When viewed through the lens of FBI/DOJ protection of Joe Biden's dealing with Hunter, China and Russian oligarchs, and the plethora of scandals under any variety of US Presidents that involve misinformation, money, injury and death to our soldiers abroad, none of which resulted in FBI tactical raids----coupled with Russiagate, Ukrainegate, and the 1/6 just-before-midterms-tribunal, it's near certain it's political persecution run amuck. Regardless, you'll see it your way, and you've offered nothing of substance to me from your partisan perch. In fact, your analysis that we are at "bullet #4 of the Clinton timeline" would be comical if not for support of tyranny it potentially represents. Still, the record shows what it shows, and the numbnuttery of 'Hillary Clinton as hero' is pretty funny.

To recap just for a minute.... The folks who fretted about Trump not leaving office and authoritarian rule....now pointing to the special privilege extended to Hillary Clinton including, but not limited to, the director of the FBI making prosecutorial declarations that a crime isn't really a crime....see the FBI kicking in doors and raiding the home of a political opponent with the power to actually declassify intelligence....as evidence that the country is moving in the direction of freedom and away from...authoritarian rule? Break out the popcorn!

So….Jeremy spoke in….spoke in class today?

And away we go.

I don’t understand intellectual cowardice, and you seem to be afflicted with it. You declared the following as an unequivocal standard: “But that is not my point. Anyone who starts to suggest any election they lose is rigged is aiming towards a dictatorship.”. The upper echelon of the Democrat party did just that in 2015-2019. Trump was called an illegitimate President, one prominent Democrat suggested a coup had taken place, the former director of the CIA under Barrack Obama accused Trump of treason, and the American people were promised that certain political leaders had clear and convincing evidence to prove each and every point. Of course, we all know what happened with each those claims, and that is, nothing beyond casting serious doubt on the legitimacy of our elections—-something that seems to bother you, but only now. It seems pretty obvious you support autocracy so long as your people are running it. You’re part of the reason that Stop the Steal works.

Let’s stop this silliness. Do you believe Trump was an illegitimate President, assumed power as a result of a coup, and was guilty is treason? Also, assuming what you have suggested is true, what’s the standard in an election run up? Apparently the use of a data and intel (real or imagined) provided by foreign nationals is perfectly normal.

Absolutely, and the reality is ChiGoose and others here know that. However, it’s far easier to shrug one’s shoulders, yammer on about conspiracy theories and talk about the free press, or at least the free press that they ascribe to and suits their political agenda. It’s silly, really.

In fairness he may have just been Nedtoddler7 way back then.

The ship on complete bodily autonomy sailed a long time ago, maybe around the time the wild, wild west was de-wilded, though it’s probably long before that. We have all sorts of rules and regulations that suggest that what someone does with their body is a matter of collective concern. If you have a point to make, settle down, breathe the air and if you’re over 21 years of age and can prove it with a government issued identification card, stop by a government-regulated beverage store, pick out a bottle of something with a kick to it, pay for it after calculating the government-approved tax, find a place to go and take the edge off. Be sure to check local open container regulations if you plan to imbibe in public, and by all means don’t drink on your scooter and obey the laws set in place for the common good. Come back when you’ve cooled off, you’ll be better for it. Or, don’t. It’s a completely free and unregulated world!

This exchange was really remarkable in a very dark way. That it was just another day in Washington in a chat with a media personality, no pushback whatsoever speaks volumes about what goes on behind closed doors.

Your completely and absurdly preposterous proposition that "the media"--Washington Post, NYT, the major networks, liberal leaning cable stations with a myriad of supposedly dialed in guaranteed-to-remain-anonymous sources in the know deep within the Washington bureaucracy all reached the same erroneous conclusion on a story with the potential to impact one of the most divisive elections in modern history not-withstanding, the Hunter Biden debacle is reason enough to discard "the media" as anything approaching trustworthy when it comes to important news sources. While the 'enemy of the people' is a bit hyperbolic for my liking and after all, the NYPost nailed the story early on), it's certainly fair and appropriate to consider the media 'the enemy of truth'.

I can handle the news that Daryl Talley cheats on his wife, that she is upset about it, understands it and thinks Twitter is a good place to chat about it, but I can’t stand by and let you use “tawdry” like you’re the Queen of England without saying something, Mup.

You have to worry about fall out from this killing. It’s been said it’s like throwing a stick of dynamite on a tinderbox. Great decision by Biden and the military to take this guy out though.

Your perspective is worth considering. Ty.

Absolutely. I’m sure they had plans for the invasion all drawn up, saw the Pelosi Jet Blue itinerary and tore up the plans, tossed them in the trash and set them ablaze. I admit to being a bit cynical on all the pomp and circumstance, and sincerely hope for the good people of Taiwan, that a Pelosi trip would have just that effect. Still, for the supposed foreign policy chops and expertise Biden and his insiders brought to the table, it did nothing to deter Russia from invading Ukraine. Biden was a visitor there, too.

One man’s “objective” is another’s “it’s just a far________ think tank!”.

Stewart should be acknowledged for raising awareness on some of these issues, and he appears to be willing to attack both sides of the aisle. He was critical of the Biden Afghanistan withdrawal and called him an “apologist for the Taliban”. I have no doubt Crus is telling the truth about negotiations, but it just goes to show you how these dipshyts in Congress operate.

Just to be clear, just because someone starts a sentence with “Just to be clear…” does not necessarily mean they are actually in search of clarity and shared understanding. I support the appropriate prison times for Jan 6 law breakers, but the thing about Russia is the rules and culture are different than they are here in the backwards US of A. I hope the lady is set free much sooner than later, but it’s fair to ask “What the f were you thinking going to Russia when for the last 5 years the country has been outed as a brutal and manipulative enemy looking to destroy our country??”.

I may have missed an earlier point—you see her trip to Taiwan as a dog n pony show, largely irrelevant in the grand scheme?

And how does a 82 year old socialite/politician visiting Taiwan going to accomplish that goal?

This is a weird freaking story, but if everyone is a hero, is anyone really a victim?

This is complete hogwash, though I completely agree that people should be left to live and let live. The problem is, it's a fallacy. Rules, tax policy, mandates, social security, regulations, guidance, cultural norms, arguments about 'fair share' etc...everybody has an opinion about what everyone should do, or how they should do it. Your go-to is mocking dusty fairy tales. It's the lazy man's approach to "You'll burn in hell if you don't believe as I do". #boring.

China has been eating our lunch for decades, here, in this country. We have a president alleged to have ties to China though his dopey son, a person who would be very easily co-opted by a foreign adversary based on just about every waking moment of his hooker-stripping-drug-fueled-brother's-wife-banging life. The silly symbolism of one old lady and her gang of dunces visiting Taiwan means nothing. Oh, sure, it is 1926 after all. Said message can be succinctly delivered in thought, word and deed 365 days a year.

Here's the Gaetz take on this bill: “The government’s failure to define human trafficking precisely and specifically allows this law to serve as a backdoor loophole for illegal immigration and amnesty,” Getz’s spokesman, Joel Valdez, told USA Today. “The bill also costs more than half a billion dollars to implement and gives more taxpayer money to overfunded, inefficient grant programs.” As I said earlier, if politicians and journalists were serious about addressing trafficking and victimization of people, we would not have the conditions that exist at the southern border. So, these f***wits and their "let's pretend we're doing something" bill mean very little in the grand scheme of things. The hypervigilant and intrepid reporter implying Matt Gaetz is pro-Trafficking is silly. The "reportedly under investigation" is silly--is he, or isn't he? Why not take a minute and include a statement that clarifies his position? Stupid across the board.

This is the dumb. Between fake outrage over trafficking, Gaetz “reportedly under investigation” with no sources listed and nothing beyond an arbitrary allegation, it borders on the absurd. When you consider the collectible decades of abuse, assault, death and agony that has happened on the watch of both political parties for decades—-amidst perpetual promises to fix the border by both sides with very little ever accomplished, it’s ridiculous. Less than a month ago, 53 people die a horrible death stuffed into a truck in an attempt to cross the border. Outrage ensures. Sadly it’s just another day in the life of people being victimized on both sides of the border and a whole lot of politicians getting paid. John McCain, for example, had himself a great life running the game in a border state and virtually nothing changes the entire time the Maverick ruled.