leh-nerd skin-erd

Somewhere, a liberal is devising a magma tax to offset the effects of magma magmatizing.

Listen, you’re every bit as much a true believer as I am a grand conspiracy theorist talking about golden toilets. I’ll repeat what I’ve said previously. 75% of the people running for Prez/VP in 2020 violated the law as described by James Comey in my post above. I’d hazard a guess that if someone did a little snooping around on Kamala Harris, that number would be 100%. In 2016, Hillary Clinton violated the law as described by James Comey as outlined above. Pence, given his recent admission probably did as well, and it’s likely that Tim Kaine likely did as well. Why? Because the standard seems well-established. It’s a thing people like that do. So, if there are rules that people—high profile, top of government types——live by, it’s perfectly logical to assume that the system isn’t broken, their actions define the system. None of that, of course, addresses Biden’s actions, which were quite extreme indeed. He had &$#@ stashed everywhere, decades in the making, with no safeguards in place, running his mouth, and the allegation is that potentially critical information was destroyed in spite of the SC investigation, all perfectly acceptable in the context of protecting national security as if that really is a thing. Trump did what he did—-he exposed his throat to political enemies intent on his destruction and that’s on him. I’ll pass, however on the ginned up outrage on obstruction in light of all that we already know, and with the understanding that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg. One need not be a lawyer to see this entire process is a giant steaming pile of 🤬. Getting back to the original point, yeah, Jack Smith is probably pretty good.

Jeez, between crazy "grand conspiracy" talk, golden toilets and money laundering through Iran, I feel like I tuned in to hump day on The View. You would be in the Joy Behar role. It seems silly to argue with a true believer, so I'll leave it at this. If you're certain there are not political, personal or power plays in government, you haven't been paying attention. If you're certain that every person is treated in the same way, every time as the wheels of justice grind onward, you're incredibly naive. Here's what I know. In the old days, back when LL Cool James Comey spoke about Hillary Clinton, he stated the following: Our investigation looked at whether there is evidence classified information was improperly stored or transmitted on that personal system, in violation of a federal statute making it a felony to mishandle classified information either intentionally or in a grossly negligent way, or a second statute making it a misdemeanor to knowingly remove classified information from appropriate systems or storage facilities. After detailing the evidence that the FBI found evidence that classified information was: Improperly stored; On a personal system; in violation of a federal statute..making it a felony to mishandle...intentionally or in a grossly negligent way... ...And so on. He indicated that no reasonable prosecutor would bring an action against her, for activity that seems quite clearly criminal based on the standards as he shared them. I'll move past the part where what's "unreasonable" to one person may be quite "reasonable" to another (and both might be considered reasonable), and that stating that no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case is wholly and not subtly different than "no evidence of a crime was found". When we look to Biden's activities, we know that after declaring Trump's behavior outrageous, Team Biden supersized reckless disregards and intentional acts, including sharing classified documents and material with people not authorized to receive said information, over a number of years and as a public and private citizen. Additionally, at a bare minimum, the appearance of obstructive behavior by a number of parties occurred in the wake of the investigation, and Old Scranton Joe declared himself the victim of a witch hunt to boot. The outcome? Today's version of "no reasonable prosecutor" for what are obvious criminal acts as described by the former director of the FBI. Which bring me back to my point. If one were to consider reasonable and fair treatment as the goal, and laws that were broken were really only pretend/maybe laws that no one really follows (though Comey did suggest that others in the same situation might face adverse actions), why would it be unreasonable to think a few boxes in the steam room were anything to worry about as it relates to an armed raid, or life in prison? No, sir, it's ok to be a true believer in the decency of all parties involved, but the reality is that Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and potentially Mike Pence were actually, literally above the law.

No, you’re wrong here. It borders on the absurd to think that the controls supposedly in place to protect our national secrets in a post 9/11 world are simply broken. It’s infinitely more likely that Biden’s actions (and Clinton’s and Pence) represent the standard, not the exception. That is to say, powerful people are often above the law, and what passes for an explanation to the masses starts with some vague explanation of shrinkage and ultimately morphs into how acceptable it is to reveal classified documents and/or leave top secret info wherever the 🤬you want so long as you’re part of the inside crew. I’m under no illusion that Trumps case is the same as Biden’s case. I accepted long ago that certain people are in a protected class while others are not. Whether Trump returned material or not, the Biden DOJ was coming for him. All it takes is a novel theory of prosecution, or an aggressive prosecutor, or enough political support and popular support. All this does is bring me back to the beginning. The government is a very formidable foe, and holds all the cards. It’s nothing new.

I would hope so. He's perpetually playing with a significant home field advantage. Since this began, he's controlled the raid, what was taken within the scope of what was supposed to be taken, what was seized outside the scope of what was supposed to be taken, the leaks that shape the public narrative---all with the full scope, weight an authority of the US government. In addition, he is unrestrained by budgetary or personnel concerns, the ability to formulate legal tactics without concern as to the cost of research v probability of success, and ultimately, no financial downside to him or anyone on his team if he does not prevail in this matter. In addition, it seems obvious that there is anarchy when it comes to the handling of classified/top secret material at the highest levels of our government. It seems there are no safeguards, no hard and fast rules on who can do what, and what the punishment might look like for those that stray. That feeds into the narrative in a big way, imo, providing cover to him with the rather odd notion that anarchy and blatant disregard for the rules by high ranking, obviously well-informed politicians with decades of experience in handling classified materials is fair, reasonable and completely acceptable behavior. Jack Smith has the political power, time, money and power to be the tsunami. It would be quite amazing if he wasn't.

Decide what, exactly, Tibs? You suggested that at some point, the right to choose gives way to the right to life. Those were your words. Now, it seems you're willing to cede control of what you think, and why you think it? Seems you thought something then, but suddenly are weak in the knees about it? I have no interest in surrendering my opinion or vote because someone else thought they knew better, nor would I ever suggest my wife or daughter do that. You're free to submit to those you feel known better than you, but you lack the standing to ask others to follow your descent into subjugation.

She's got game for sure. I like her style.

the frankish reich = blossoming musk-eteer-er?

Good for you, Tibs, to acknowledge at some point, you become pro-life. What point in a normal, healthy pregnancy is that for you? What would you think is a reasonable point for our society to transition from the right of a person to terminate a pregnancy, to concern for the life of the child? Let’s assume carve outs exist for reasons such as sexual assault, etc.

Ah, you’re referring to the southern Rapture, when everything was one way then suddenly it became something else. The phrase “pretty simple” definitely applies to your analysis!

I understand why the officer shot her that day, or at least try to understand the fear and adrenaline that likely drove him to shoot her at that point in time, on that particular day. However, the response from liberals and democrats (politicians especially) is quite telling. All the supposed outrage over officers, use of force and how/what they should do was immediately and summarily dismissed. Suddenly, it was ok to shoot to kill--they just need the deceased to meet certain criteria. Suddenly, it was ok to shoot an unarmed individual. Suddenly it was ok to for a male officer to dispatch a female. Suddenly, it was ok--and heroic, in fact, for a highly skilled/trained law enforcement officer to kill an unarmed female with no warning shot, no extended conversation, and no attempt to disable with a shot to the leg. All you need for people to abandon their principles is the right type of victim and/or risk that hits close to home. Maybe why we see this today: https://nypost.com/2024/03/29/us-news/kathy-hochul-leaves-nypd-officer-jonathan-dillers-wake-after-confrontation/

I'm assuming he didn't have a side hustle playing semi-pro basketball, or perhaps Mr. Biden and Co may have made more of an effort to secure his release.

Sure. The democrats weren't the democrats because you don't want those democrats to be democrats. 🤔 Shocking. You jumped off topic and onto broad social justice topics pretty quickly here. If you choose to believe that liberals and democrats should be shielded from blame for all manner of injustice(s) over the years, you're fooling only yourself. Civil rights issues, health care, racism and all the rest crossed political spectrum--democrats, liberals, republicans, conservatives. There's plenty of blame to go around, and certainly plenty of heroes who swam against the tide on both sides of the aisle. Bringing us back to the point, imo pro-choice is an important part of the dialogue, but at some point, with some exceptions, the life of the child should take precedence. It's the height of disingenuousness to suggest you're in support of a person's right to choose, when in fact, you're in favor of a person's right to terminate the life of a child you suggest you might actually care about a month, week or day later.

You can parse it however you want, Tibs, and I would agree with you if the thought process is a person should never be allowed to terminate a pregnancy, ever. While I understand that thought process from a spiritual or 'life begins at conception' perspective I can't recall ever thinking that made sense societally. On the flip side, I never would have assumed abortion to birthing room would ever be a maninstream talking point. However, the current focus of the majority simply substitutes one victim for another, with the new victim denied the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. let's be sure to remember, too, that the same deep south crowd you talk about--usually democrat for generations, certainly thought they were as right as you do now when it came to identifying victims and solutions.

I have to agree here, the liberal side is winning the battle in the march to abortion on demand. On the other hand, the history of our country tells us sometimes, the majority represents carnage, injustice and apathy to innocents and the unprotected class.

The interesting part about this story to me is just how badly the city underestimated the value of the property, and by extension, the tax this very wealthy celebrity paid. With the real estate boom, it’s understandable that some properties would raise faster than a reasonable reassessment could address, but missing by $16,000,000 on an $18,000,000 sale? It makes you wonder if the city gives de facto tax breaks to residents of wealthy enclaves, or individuals in some cases. It also raises the question of the ability of the city to accurately or reasonably assess valuations to begin with. Is the undervaluation of properties systemic, intentional or a reflection of incompetence? Finally, Mr. Stewart apparently benefited from a tax windfall, and nothing would preclude him for making things right and cutting a check to make up at least some of the difference. One would assume the lost tax revenue goes toward paying for valuable services for the community as a whole, especially those less fortunate. The phrase “fair share” comes to mind.

@The Frankish Reich this seems like a fair inquiry. I'm at a loss to understand what Mr. Greenwald's sexual preference would have to do with his desire to see fair, objective and non-biased reporting.

Ah, "other than". I follow.

Well, on the bright side, it's nice when a media outlet acknowledges that it's not really all that interested in divergent voices being heard during these turbulent times. Better to acknowledge the echo chamber on the front end.

I won't debate the exceptionalism of Mayor Pete, other than to say when they have to tag you with a catchy name like "Mayor Pete", you may be lacking in the credential's department. However: "Elaine Chao" is reduced to "being from a very wealthy family" and married to Mitch McConnell? Educated at Dartmouth, Harvard MBA. Executive at Bank of America and CitiBank. Extensive experience in govt for Reagan and HW Bush. Director of Peace Corp. President of United Way. Jeesh.

If true, I think Al is ultimately a victim here. He's spent considerable time, money and effort to buy someone else's ability to pollute the planet on a massive scale, only to find it may have been for naught. #tragic

Interesting...I don't listen to Joe Rogan, have no idea what "All In" is, my podcasts (thus far) are limited to financial hosts/channels, and am unfamiliar with Bari Weiss. My social media presence is a Fb page started to follow my children, that has now grown to tens and tens of friends. However, I have to acknowledges that your timing and delivery on this one was spot on--I was waiting on an appointment at my doctor's office and I'm sure they were wondering what I was laughing at as I read your reply.

Let's see...mind-melders, grandmas, grandpas and....warriors, power-consumers, and financiers. Innovative. Thought provoking. Fascinating. I am in the "Consider the agenda while processing what they have to offer" category.

That was painful.

Comrade Kay likely will dismiss dialogue on the potato sack Ms Lennox is wearing (I was never really a fan of Eurythmics, btw, the music just seemed heavy to me), and speak to the huge impact the vinyl age of records had on the environment.