tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post3710300716256758278..comments2024-03-29T06:44:19.414-04:00Comments on the daily howler: SATURDAY: Is "our democracy" in peril?<b>bob somerby</b>http://www.blogger.com/profile/02963464534685954436noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-43015093787194055362022-05-16T11:38:08.203-04:002022-05-16T11:38:08.203-04:00My takeaway is not up for discussion here. Option ...My takeaway is not up for discussion here. Option #3: Somerby never mentions it. mhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-27820438798661708342022-05-16T09:45:55.344-04:002022-05-16T09:45:55.344-04:00There are at least 10 counts of obstruction of jus...There are at least 10 counts of obstruction of justice and witness tampering outlined in Volume 2 of the Mueller report, committed by the gangster in broad daylight. Slam dunk. Put it in front of a jury.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-26262501283222959442022-05-16T08:34:55.630-04:002022-05-16T08:34:55.630-04:00mh, your comment shows how you are tilted toward ...mh, your comment shows how you are tilted toward partiality. From the reports, it seems clear that this was a racist attack - the apparent perpetrator admits that was his motive. That he killed two whites shows what? maybe he was somewhat indiscriminate in who he shot - but the initial evidence seems clear, he was motivated by what can reasonably be characterized as 'racism.' Was he "mentally ill." Certainly, it wouldn't be beyond the pale to suggest that anyone who commits this type of crime is mentally sick; it seems very unlikely that the perp will succeed on an insanity defense in these circumstances, however. Will TDH 'probably' say this was not racially motivated because 2 victims were 'white?" I doubt it, though we'll see. Why is it that you jump to this conclusion? What's the take away from this incident, over and above the fact that this one sicko committed these acts? that's where the politics comes in, legitimate to one degree or another. How many and who can be blamed for what happened who didn't commit the act?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-78411164261675098942022-05-15T19:54:55.245-04:002022-05-15T19:54:55.245-04:00That the nature of Trump's "disordered&qu...That the nature of Trump's "disordered" thinking is <br />a penchant for accusing others of lawlessness with no <br />foundation, while at the same time ignoring his own <br />rancid, perhaps illegal behavior was apparent from the<br />outset. The chants of "lock her up" never troubled <br />Bob, but the opposite, however an invention of his own <br />mind, are DEEPLY troubling <br /> That there might be a price for ignoring Trump's lawlessness would seem never to occur to Bob. Should <br />the Dem's hold their next convention in the <br />White House would that snap him out of it? Would <br />he ever try to make a case that Trump's grotesque <br />election tampering in Georgia was legal or will he in <br />all things give the right a "mulligan", like The former<br />President cheating on the golf course? <br /> Bob is a doddering idiot. A bully who invariably <br />sides with other bullies. His lazy, immaterial Frost <br />quote really illustrates how much thought HE has given <br />these issues. <br /> Mao helps here. THAT is who Bob would surrender <br /> any national honor we have left to. Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288008924419574934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-36285208450043934092022-05-15T15:18:49.772-04:002022-05-15T15:18:49.772-04:00Forget the pressure on GA to find 11,000 votes, wi...Forget the pressure on GA to find 11,000 votes, with recording of the call.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-66333440624914216902022-05-15T14:14:52.285-04:002022-05-15T14:14:52.285-04:00anon 6:20 - that's certainly a list of alleged...anon 6:20 - that's certainly a list of alleged crimes, with a lot of conclusory allegations. The alleged assaults on 27 women - I assume statute of limitations issues. A "blind eye" to grifting appointees, making him an "accomplice?" - do you have any idea what it would take to convict somebody on that basis? Your whole list doesn't seem a strong, practical basis for criminal prosecution. No slam dunks. The whole "lock up" Clinton over her emails thing was bogus (abetted by the so-called liberal media) and a lot of the lock up Trump mania is in the same category (e.g., colluding with a foreign nation to subvert an election). TDH''s take on this is quite reasonable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-70927308797676269792022-05-15T13:42:20.549-04:002022-05-15T13:42:20.549-04:00We appreciate your attentive proofreading, dear de...We appreciate your attentive proofreading, dear dembot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-71074800432403363802022-05-15T13:26:55.910-04:002022-05-15T13:26:55.910-04:00Mao says: "And that's all there is to it...Mao says: "And that's all there is to it, dead mh."<br /><br />Freudian slip?Not a rodenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216459357112547141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-76815488275988065982022-05-15T12:38:59.282-04:002022-05-15T12:38:59.282-04:00Impeachment is a legitimate constitutional tool in...Impeachment is a legitimate constitutional tool included by the framers to be used in appropriate and necessary circumstances. It is yet another facet of government that the GOP have successfully politicized, starting with their bullshit impeachment of Clinton. <br /><br />No President has more deserved impeachment than Trump, but because the GOP are a clown posse, we can expect them (along with Somerby) to view impeachment merely as a political weapon and to make a farce of that and their oaths to protect the constitution. mhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-12720527307199105362022-05-15T12:23:49.955-04:002022-05-15T12:23:49.955-04:00Actually, they did not one but two bullshit impeac...Actually, they did not one but two bullshit impeachments. <br /><br />Which means that if the other team follows suit, then from now on every US president will be impeached multiple times. <br /><br />Great, we don't mind. The more the merrier. <br /><br />...unless, which seems likely, the establishment will take it under control... Tsk. Oh well. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-43850993975439878602022-05-15T12:07:16.685-04:002022-05-15T12:07:16.685-04:00They impeached Trump, and sent it to the Senate to...They impeached Trump, and sent it to the Senate to convict. They needed just 10 Republicans to do so. There was a slight chance you could find 10 Republicans who believe treason against the United States is problematic, but there was no way all of them would be U.S. Senators.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-26449355792572100202022-05-15T11:49:03.265-04:002022-05-15T11:49:03.265-04:00"About 60 percent of the extremist murders co..."About 60 percent of the extremist murders committed in the United States between 2009 and 2019 were committed by people espousing white supremacist ideologies like the replacement theory, the Anti-Defamation League found.<br /><br />“It is the most mass-violence-inspiring idea in white supremacist circles right now,” said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. “This particular idea has superseded almost everything else in white supremacist circles to become the unifying idea across borders.”<br /><br />Yet Somerby was only last month excusing Tucker Carlson, who has been pushing replacement theory on Fox News, as an "excitable boy" who suffered child abuse because his wealthy father provided for him in luxury after his mother left the family. As if that excused Carlson's racist behavior, stoking and abetting the White Nationalist movement that has produced these sorts of mass killings and attacks on diverse people.<br /><br />Somerby should be ashamed of himself. Will he call this 18 year old an "excitable boy" too? Of course he will. How better to own the libs here?Not a rodenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216459357112547141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-88461097566396663852022-05-15T11:44:59.120-04:002022-05-15T11:44:59.120-04:00Other likely reactions from Somerby: 1) It wasn’t ...Other likely reactions from Somerby: 1) It wasn’t racially motivated because two white people were killed. 2) The shooter was mentally ill. Don’t liberals believe in mental illness anymore?mhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-14729469235772448292022-05-15T11:39:55.651-04:002022-05-15T11:39:55.651-04:00"A teenage gunman espousing a white supremaci..."A teenage gunman espousing a white supremacist ideology known as replacement theory opened fire at a supermarket in Buffalo on Saturday, methodically shooting and killing 10 people and injuring three more, almost all of them Black, in one of the deadliest racist massacres in recent American history."<br /><br />He apparently drove 200 miles with his gun to commit this shooting. No doubt Somerby will support this kid's self-defense plea and argue that the young do foolish things so he shouldn't be charged with anything.Not a rodenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216459357112547141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-39856004397011389642022-05-15T11:23:31.831-04:002022-05-15T11:23:31.831-04:00"Hundreds of thousands of Americans across th..."Hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country are marching the bans off of our bodies protest that cable news has largely ignored."<br /><br />Will Somerby complain about this? I wouldn't hold my breath.Not a rodenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216459357112547141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-28615849138630194962022-05-15T11:02:55.492-04:002022-05-15T11:02:55.492-04:00Here is what Somerby has written. Note the juxtapo...Here is what Somerby has written. Note the juxtaposition:<br /><br />"Should Donald J. Trump be charged with a crime? On the merits, we have no idea. On the politics, it strikes us a very risky maneuver.<br /><br />That said, people like Wallace are busy earning millions of dollars selling "cable news" product. You should never trust their judgment or their factual statements or the pleasing product they sell.<br /><br />First three buttons, then four: Within the realm of the fourth estate, "our democracy" was a manifest joke as of the fall of 1999.<br /><br />The conduct of the mainstream press was crazier than you think. "Our democracy" has been a form of lunacy for decades, and that isn't likely to change. "Not a rodenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216459357112547141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-47252248661268420282022-05-15T10:06:12.757-04:002022-05-15T10:06:12.757-04:00All politicians are scumbags, dear mh.
There are ...All politicians are scumbags, dear mh. <br />There are very few exception; Ds get rid of them immediately (see Gabbard, Tulsi), but Rs don't (see Paul, Rand).<br /><br />As for Rs not always acting quite as shitty as your tribe's pols, it's understandable: they need votes of normal ordinary humyn beings. And that's all there is to it, dead mh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-60533446845539656152022-05-15T09:27:59.546-04:002022-05-15T09:27:59.546-04:00One thing that is constantly irritating is that li...One thing that is constantly irritating is that liberals constantly get blamed, not just for their own failures, but also for the failures of others. (Somerby engages in this too).<br /><br />It was quite revealing to hear the private conversations of Republicans immediately after January 6. It shows that they held Trump responsible for what was going on that day. But the Republican party showed absolutely zero leadership in trying to work with Democrats to get rid of Trump. And without that help, it was always going to be impossible for the Democrats to get rid of Trump. And so now the Democrats, as always, are left to clean up that mess with no help from the goddamned Republicans.<br /><br />Look at the difference between now and 1973. Back then, Republican Party leaders were poised to impeach Nixon and they asked him to resign. How far their party has sunk, into a party of demagogues and moral cowards. <br /><br />In a two-party system, in which the GOP hold a great deal of power, it is on them to be leaders, and prevent the rise of people like Trump in their party. That is why I partially reject the idea that they should be viewed as victims. They need to keep their own house in order, and if they’re unwilling to do that, they should not exist as a party and certainly not hold power.mhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-18070970075388096622022-05-15T09:17:12.252-04:002022-05-15T09:17:12.252-04:00“They've been trying to address a serious poli...“They've been trying to address a serious political problem—How can we persuade people to vote against Donald J. Trump?—by means of criminalization.”<br /><br />That isn’t necessarily the case. They may quite simply feel that Trump has committed serious offenses and should be held accountable. <br /><br />Besides, Somerby kept criticizing them (ie the media) for not talking about Trump’s (alleged) mental illness. Was that Somerby’s way of trying to persuade people not to vote for Trump??<br /><br />Somerby would always conclude that Trump deserved pity and that he couldn’t be held accountable for any misdeeds because his mental illness prevented him from knowing what he was doing. <br /><br />And then he would throw in his usual complaint that “liberals” just want to throw The Others in jail, as if “liberals” were only engaged in partisan score-settling when they ask that high-placed Republican lawbreakers be held legally accountable. <br /><br />Today, he is complaining about the media doing this, but he just as often goes after “liberals.” Look back at his criticisms of the Democrats’ efforts to impeach and convict Trump. <br /><br />Somerby also quoted a non-media figure the other day, Eric Holder, who is described as a cautious “institutionalist” and who is now saying there is sufficient evidence and reason to prosecute Trump, so it isn’t just the media discussing this.mhnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-61523741158793936422022-05-15T09:00:02.496-04:002022-05-15T09:00:02.496-04:00a form of coercion, blackmail, to convince authori...<em>a form of coercion, blackmail, to convince authorities not to move against Trump under threat of civil disorder. </em><br /><br />That's exactly what it is. Which makes the prosecution of that gangster even more imperative if we want to survive as a free country.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-50210099047792636312022-05-15T05:09:42.446-04:002022-05-15T05:09:42.446-04:00You are misreading.You are misreading.FDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06987676214157655750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-12166534404089840452022-05-15T05:09:12.388-04:002022-05-15T05:09:12.388-04:00Moronic gibberishMoronic gibberishFDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06987676214157655750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-65352980509879853502022-05-15T03:03:03.949-04:002022-05-15T03:03:03.949-04:00Hello!
You have been chosen at random to participa...Hello!<br />You have been chosen at random to participate in our survey.<br />Please answer this question:<br />If you find yourself in a crowded elevator and you suddenly realize an offending odor, do you:<br />A) do your best to maintain your composure and say nothing<br />B) deny any and all involvement in the production of the offending odor<br />C) blame it on the person to your left<br />D) claim complete responsibility for its production, even if you didn't produce it!<br />If you chose option D, then you should check out my favorite site: www.fartblog.com. You will be most pleased.<br />Thank you for your participation,<br />Fanny MannersAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-66261274723509448492022-05-14T20:37:18.649-04:002022-05-14T20:37:18.649-04:00One effect of acquitting Trump or failing to charg...One effect of acquitting Trump or failing to charge him at all would be to demonstrate that there is no justice in this country, that the rich can do whatever they want, that our government is not serious and our leaders have no integrity. It would further erode faith in our institutions on the left, where there has been some remaining idealism. More people will consider working outside the system to achieve change. <br /><br />I'd like to think that there would be more people in the street, but it may just make more people cynical and that can lead to much more serious problems for those who do not want to live in a fascist country.<br /><br />Meanwhile, I think that this question is being raised as a form of coercion, blackmail, to convince authorities not to move against Trump under threat of civil disorder. They have been doing this all along. Such threats shouldn't keep justice from being done.Not a rodenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216459357112547141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8611810694571930415.post-11577657420861961982022-05-14T19:38:25.565-04:002022-05-14T19:38:25.565-04:00I argue for keeping these 2 questions distinct:
1...I argue for keeping these 2 questions distinct:<br /><br />1. does Trump deserve punishment? <br />2. what would be the effect of an attempt at punishment (particularly if it resulted in acquittal)?<br /><br />As sleazy as Trump is, I don’t think there’s a slam-dunk conviction in any of the misdeeds you listed--the partial proof being he hasn't yet been charged anywhere for any of them. An acquittal at this juncture would strengthen the MAGA world’s penchant to portray him as a persecuted innocent. <br /><br />We’d all like to see Trump in ankle restraints. But “when you strike at a king, you must kill him.”<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com