My deeply Republican mom and I were talking about the indictment last night, and she believes that it “will just fall apart.”

It’s unclear where she got that idea.  As I pointed out, a) this is the product of some of our country’s great legal minds grinding away over a period of years, and b) we’ll be well into 2024 before the real action, e.g., jury selection, begins; it’s not just going to disintegrate.

Fox News wants to convince its viewers that this indictment in Manhattan, and those that are likely to follow in Georgia and the federal government, have no underlying validity and are purely politically motivated by the radical left.  Out of the other side of their mouths, of course, they say that criminal prosecution is actually helpful to Trump, because it energizes his base.

There is no doubt that his hardcore, heavily armed, violence-prone supporters are even more agitated than ever.  But are there enough of these morons to get Trump anywhere near the White House?  Nowhere close.

 

 

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Trump was indicted, not indicated, but why hold him accountable for poor word use rather than attempting to overthrow the U.S. government?

One has to wonder how much further Trump can push the “stolen election” narrative, as the justice system tactically dismantles his legal position and ultimately convicts him and sentences him to prison.

Speaking of prison, does anyone, regardless of the force of the criminal proceeding against Trump, expect him to wind up behind bars?  The moment he brushes up against the prospect of losing his passport, he’ll be out of U.S. airspace on his way to Russia or Saudi Arabia within a matter of a few minutes.

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I’m sure there are people all across the country whose parents watch Fox News, who are praying that their inheritances aren’t going into Trump’s pockets.

 

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I totally agree with the author of the meme here, especially given the trend toward authoritarianism we see happening in so many countries around the globe, including our own.

Demagogues need a hateful and ignorant base over which to rule, and once hate and ignorance take hold, they form a dwindling spiral, each reinforcing the other.

At a certain point, they take the culture down to the point that decent, educated people are ridiculed, in this case, as “woke.”

It’s going to take some real work to turn this around.

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Here’s a fabulous idea for the disposition of assault weapons.

Not sure we’ll have too many takers, but I like the thought.

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In my recent post, I lampooned oil and gas start-up TankHead for its appeal to investors on the basis that they’ll be able to grow their current production of 85-90 barrels of crude per day into competitive levels, and make all their investors rich.
As I pointed out, a claim that this company, now manufacturing less than one-millionth of the world’s oil supply, will ultimately become successful, is ludicrous.
I neglected to mention that General Motors, which leads the global automobile market, made 6 million cars and trucks last year, is converting to 100% electric transportation in the next few years.  How effing stupid does the prospective investor need to be?
Yes, anyone who makes investments so as to deliberately hasten the demise of our planet is a total asshole, but people who can’t follow the news and think of themselves as savvy investors are idiots.
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Many Americans remember John Kasich from the 2016 Republican primaries. He stood out from the crowd of perhaps 15 or 16 hopefuls, largely for his sane and decent nature.

Here we are, seven years later, and the Republican party has squirted even further to the right, at this point making Kasich appear to be an absolute freak.  Undeterred, the former Ohio Governor responded to the latest school shooting by suggesting, and get this, that we take legal action to keep weapons of war out of the hands of the mentally ill.

From this article:

Kasich is calling for action and saying that the American people need to demand it from their elected representatives.  He even has some suggestions on exactly how to do that. It’s time to stand up and protest, he says, taking the debate right to lawmakers.

Right on.

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Here’s an article that makes an excellent point: the coverage of Ron DeSantis, both positive and negative, is directed almost completely to the hot-button issues that the candidate’s handlers want to focus on: wokeness, LGBTQ rights, and immigration.

No one seems to want to say that DeSantis has done very little if anything for Floridians, who live in a state very close to the bottom of the list in terms of healthcare, public education spending, and economic opportunity.

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I’m sure there are thousands of memes circulating that point out the worthlessness of “thoughts and prayers,” imploring our elected officials to protect us, and especially our children, from having our bodies ripped to bits by weapons of war in the hands of the mentally ill.

The one at left stands out in the crowd, at least to me.

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From their website:
TankHead is looking for accredited investors with an interest in creating value for potential of high return on investment.
With a diverse team of experts with over 120 years of combined experience under our belt and a focus on acquiring non-operated working interest, royalty interest, and mineral interest projects, TankHead is already producing 85 to 90 net barrels of production a day and is looking to expand with the help of investors like you.
A couple of comments:
The global daily oil consumption is over 96 million barrels per day, so TankHead’s claim, if true, is embarrassing.  Why claim any current production?  This is nearly the exact equivalent of entering the tennis ball manufacturing business (300 million made each year) and saying you already produce one ball every day.
Anyone who thinks that the oil and gas sector is poised for high growth, or, worse, that TankHead is going to compete effectively in it, is an idiot.
Anyone who makes investments so as to deliberately hasten the demise of our planet is a total asshole.  From their video:  “Oil and gas men are a different breed.”  You can say that again.
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