leh-nerd skin-erd

Good stuff. Let’s get to it.

I think the Flynn case is anything but simple, especially when someone with your legal background struggles to explain his perspective to a humble man of God like me. If the plea is vacated, and the case dropped, in your world, is he still guilty? If the plea is vacated, and General Flynn set free, and the DOJ continues to espouse his innocence, was he still convicted (maybe) as you have halfheartedly argued? Or....is your suggestion that because he initially plead guilty (as he surely did), and may subsequently be vindicated, plea withdrawn and charges dropped, that he was guilty from ××/xx/17 to ××/xx/20? It just seems that so many things are unresolved. Warmly. LS

Ok. Now I follow. You're saying it's resolved with open questions on the part of the prosecution, defense, judge and that there are maybe convictions with unusual circumstances yet to be resolved. I understand things as you see them now. I wonder how General Flynn is holding up under all this unresolved certainty.

I'm not a legal expert and never claimed I was. It seems that you believe you are an expert on legal matters, and that's fine. I will leave you with this. As it stands right now, three "experts" or "teams of experts" in the field have come up with three different ways of moving forward with the curious case of Michael Flynn. That was after multiple "experts" in law enforcement debated the initial allegations of wrongdoing by General Flynn, with a variety of opinions before the charges were filed, and a slew of experts performing the post-mortem of the case and cast of characters involved have rendered varying opinions about the legalities and processes followed by the initial "experts" in the case. Nothing is resolved at this point, and onward we go. Even a rube like me can see that. Please feel free to mock me further for my lack of legal acuity. If you find the time down the road to button up your crackerjack maybe/maybe not/probably conviction argument, let me know.

Wrong. We all use judgement when discussing these issues, though I try to stick to facts that support my judgement. I assumed you were doing the same until you riffed on the phrase "conviction". I'm just following the logic of the case, the actions of the various players. As I said a few posts back, as sad as this case appears to be, it reveals what a citizen can accomplish when he/she avails him/herself of the full scope of the justice system. My particular issue on your last guesstimate was that the case had reached the point where a 'conviction' had been attained. It wasn't my guesstimate, it was yours. You hedged a bit by indicating you were not following closely, though apparently closely enough to annoint kindly Judge Atticus Finch-Sullivan fair beyond a reasonable doubt, it just seemed to me that would be easy enough to verify. As it stands, it's a guess, conjecture, a whisper in the wind. We can both agree there is not much to be gained by debating guesses on factual matters?

Wait a second...you're telling me I'm wrong because you've opted to guess about the status? While that's a bold play, I politely decline to engage in speculation as to my knowledge, there has been no conviction.

I always wonder if people are embarrassed by post like the one referenced, at least upon reflection. In this case, @transplantbillsfan and @Deranged Rhino have gone back and forth on Biden for quite some time. Transpy has been quite vocal on Biden being an exceptional candidate of virtue, and on him running away with the election come November. Objectively, he's been at least as guilty of preemptive celebration as DR, if not more. True, he seems to be less vocal since he was brought up to snuff on Joe's personal spelunking peccadillos, but he may just be struggling with the acceptance phase of the cycles of grief. It's got to be so difficult to have found out the high horse you're so proud of is actually an oversized Scranton Gutter Rat. Then again...I'm hearing WaPo is about to break a story that Tara Reade is actually a paid operative of the KGB and a harlot from Trump's personal stable...backed up by 23 anonymous sources, which should make Transpy really happy. Take it to the bank.

I understand concepts, and while I appreciate the use of italic font, it's unnecessary here. Absent the DOJ, the judge is irrelevant. When the DOJ decided the case was bogus, they had the option to pursue or dismiss. I already acknowledged the judge has the right to act as he sees fit, and is doing so. "Eminently fair" simply reflects words of art, with no application here. The judge has revealed himself to be politically motivated throughout the course of the trial, and you hit the nail on the head by suggesting"...the judge doesn't trust Barr here". Simple answer --who gives a sh*t? The judge sees to the end of his desk, the end of his caseload and nothing more. His role is not to be the judge of the Attorney General--he lacks capacity, knowledge, understanding and experience in the role. In short, he's practicing judicial activism, and should rightly be treated as such. DOJ brought charges. Flynn opted to plead. Flynn realized a plea was the wrong way for him to proceed. DOJ decided to withdraw the charges. When is it coming? ?

Well, again, no. Engaging in dialogue is fine, we can go back and forth on these issues all day long. The DOJ chose to withdraw the case, so by extension, a guilty plea by General Flynn would have resulted in an travesty of justice. I suppose it's possible you believe that every case is adjudicated with fairness, that no party is ever coerced into making a plea under threat of governmental tyranny, that every prosecutor is above board and no innocent party is ever found guilty of a crime. I don't think you believe that, but it aligns with your political values in this case. Since the judge in the case has chosen to act as outlined, the only appropriate resolution is for Flynn's attorney to see it through. If the DOJ feels Sullivan is out of line, and they have the ability to remove him from the case lawfully, or isolate him generally, that would seem to be the best resolution for all parties involved. Clearly, the political animus rests with Judge Sullivan here. He's presided over the case, alleged 'treason' when no such claim was made, has chosen to disregard the thoughts of the DOJ, and sought out a politically motivated prosecutor to keep what is obviously a dog of a case forward. This squeezes Genera Flynn yet again, financially and emotionally, in spite of the obvious problems with the government case when there was one.

Time to dig up any and all dirt on a very partisan hack. He's already opined, seems far from impartial and needs to be treated as such. Obv political play by Sullivan taking care of his Irish pal Gleeson.

If you're Sullivan, or Comey, McCabe, Strozk Brennan or Joe "I didn't know nothing oh yes I actually knew everything" Biden, seems that Gleeson is a really good friend to have in your pocket.

At the time...fair question, I honestly could not tell you what I thought. I tend to believe most countries and/or militant groups have, are attempting to gather, or are planning how to start the search to obtain. For instance, this sort of #$@& qualifies: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/16/newsid_4304000/4304853.stm

I really couldn’t tell you a thing about him beyond his name, including nickname, and him calling iron mike “Mike cicely Tyson”. There are very few who can rival Mitch Blood Green’s 15 minutes of fame. “He-he-he jumping around like a B$TCH!!!”.

I would pay to see this guy on PPV.

I was not at all in the WMDs - hoax category. My assumption was that since virtually every political stripe was on the same page re: weapons of mass destruction, and that if I recall correctly, one of the chief weapons inspectors of the UN supported the claim---that WMDs were something to be concerned about. I also felt that Saddam Hussein was guilty of arrogance on a massive scale---that he could perpetually thumb his nose at the world and ^^%$# around with the inspection process. Further, I felt he overplayed his hand where W Bush was concerned, turns out he WAS the guy who would come find you in a rat hole. One last thought on that--knowing now what I know about the intelligence community, it would not surprise me in the least to find that W Bush was set up, and that many other political leaders were in on it. Hard to say how many heads that snake has. "Countless American lives lost"...this one hits home. It was post-Iraq post-WMD when yet another political cycle hit where American soldiers were betrayed (one way or the other), where lives were lost and precious little accomplished. It played a large part in me reanalyzing the world as I thought I knew it. Patriot Act--I was uneasy then...the old analysis that if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be worried about surveillance has always been troubling to me. History reveals that in spite of all the platitudes and "Man that could never happen here!", there's always someone willing to lie, cheat and take your stuff.

More silliness. Frankly, more than I expected from you. No one knows what was in General Flynn's heart, or the analysis he applied to decide to plead, and then undo the plea. What we do know is that after an exhaustive review, the DOJ has decided the case was without merit. If you would like to debate whether or not, Flynn was fooled into thinking he was guilty of something he was not, or that he 100% knew he was guilty and 100% knew he would lose and anywhere in between, that calls for more guesswork than we need to bother with. I'm just looking at the case as a whole, from soup to nuts. I'm stating that in the calm light of day, the DOJ has determined that he was not guilty of a crime. Ergo, in the eyes of the DOJ, he was not only not guilty, he was innocent.

As I watch people like John Brennan attempt to tear the country apart, it always makes me wonder why a person like the one described is still allowed to walk the planet.

I Silliness. What the facts show is that the DOJ reviewed the facts of the case as they exist, recognized that the case was bad and moved to make things right. You are correct in that General Flynn entered a plea for reasons only he can explain, ultimately chose to withdraw the plea, and the DOJ opted to discontinue the case. It happens in our justice system sometimes...people are wrongfully convicted, evidence is planted/manipulated/withheld, defendants are wrongfully convicted and in some cases plead guilty because they are being crushed under the weight of unscrupulous prosecutors. The summary: Flynn was charged; Flynn cut a deal to be done with things; Flynn realized he was being had and moved to withdraw his plea; DOJ review confirmed he was being had, released exculpatory evidence to his legal team, and dropped the case; Seems to me the judge is playing politics, we'll have to see how his actions shake out; Putting aside the crushing financial and emotional weight of being under the thumb of unethical prosecutors, the case is an example of availing oneself of the resources available when justice isn't just, and coming out the other side stronger. Thank God General Flynn had the strength to see it through.

Fair enough on the date issue, though I think the term “martial law” typically elicits a standard response. It would seem in retrospect Newsome’s assertion that he could declare martial law if he wanted to was unnecessary and a bit reckless. I was struck by the ongoing cl&strrf$ck of the beach situation. The beach is open to certain activities, but “sunbathing” is verboten? What’s that all about?

Perhaps, though were that you did know thouth was neither the furthest nor swiftest nor bestest, we might be able to discuss to wit.

They know. It’s one of the reasons people un power do so well financially, why their friends and family do as well. In the corporate world they rail against greed, bid-rigging, nepotism and sweet heart deals. In the world of government it’s business as usual.

To jump in...a friend is in the NY AG's office, worked with Spitzer and Cuomo. He's a very smart guy, liberal generally but I respect his feedback on most things. At the time, he told me that Spitzer is like the know-it-all in class, always with his hand up, always tossing his two cents in, etc. He suggested though that Spitzer might surprise me as a governor, a guy with some big ideas and a plan. I decided to go all in and support the guy once elected--and have quite a bit of fun busting my friend's chops since then. He's not a fan of Cuomo generally, but thinks he's done a good job with the virus, something we disagree on. I also asked him how the $$#@% Schneiderman was able to thrive with his problems---all about political connections. Another guy I know pretty well hates Cuomo with a passion. He was pretty high up in the facilities management at the state. He told me a story about a custom boardroom table Cuomo ordered at a cost of $18,000. He didn't like it when it was delivered, rejected it and ordered a second version. Problem was--it was custom made an non-returnable. General feedback on Cuomo--a miserable and condescending prick. I worked with David Patterson for a while on some issues starting with his Lt. Gov stint. On one occasion I met him at his house, and spent about an hour talking about a variety of topics. When he became governor I had to stop by the Mansion, met with his wife (also a very nice lady) and I politely declined when offered a tour of the mansion. She did show me, however, the pool house built specifically for FDR so he could exercise when in Albany. The pool house remains as it was in those days, and putting aside politics just for a minute, it was very overwhelming to think I was standing where one of the most influential figures in the history of the world had spent considerable time.

@ALF posed a question the other day about the one major reason for disliking Obama. The list would be much shorter is the question was "What did you like about Obama...can you think of one thing?". This theatrical stunt with regard to sanctions and expelling Russians was so nonsensical that it bordered on absurd. The truth was he and his party got their taints handed to them in the election, and at a minimum, it was obvious sanctions and expulsions were designed to create a crisis for the incoming administration. Simply put, there was no reason to do any of it as he was packing his bags for his own Mara-Lago up off the coast of Massachusetts. At a minimum it was the action of a petulant child, it certainly created a challenge for the incoming administration as the country worked through a pretty brutal election cycle where one candidate won the popular vote, got a nice plaque for her she-shed in Chappaqua while the other got the White House, and at worst it was a dangerous game of international politics that raised tensions unnecessarily. Knowing what we know now, it's fairly obvious what happened---Obama/Biden were neck deep in manipulating the American public. Put this on the pile marked "Reasons to dislike Obama".

When you’re used to being able to destroy nations, make people simply disappear and take lives from a perch of relative anonymity, it must be difficult when the light is shined on you.

I agree with you on the manipulation of the Tayvon Martin story, and always think wait and see is the best course of action. Having watched that video, I see a man running down the street and a pickup truck with one man in the bed, another armed and outside the vehicle. The story provided by the redn----men still with us is that they wanted to flag down the man running down the road to have a chat. While they were armed, in Georgia, with a pickup truck stopped in a street. I'm going to break my own rule and say...this is all on them. I'll let juries and experts talk about statutes and crime ...but I'm really not certain what young Male in America would willing stop to speak to the fat redn... men with rifles stopped in the middle of the road. When you factor race into it, I am even less certain who would willingly stop to have a chat with two %$@! ######s who've suddenly decided that they have the right to threaten you. Two men with rifles demand a female to stop because they want to talk to her. Two Hell's Angel's looking mofos eaning against their motorcycle demanding Ralph Lauren come over and talk to them. Two Crips looking mofo's demanding Opie Cunningham come talk to them. I think in every case, the little voice inside ones head starts screaming like a lib when Trump won the election. That little voice is the one that keeps you alive. I'll be back when I'm wrong, I'll revisit my emotional response to seeing a kid take several steps after being shot and die on a street like it's 1957 in the deep south and Pa and his son Bubba done did what they had to do, but for now--%$@@ these douchebags for putting this young man in what he surely knew was a life or death situation.