#expedited review

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Mike Luckovich

* * * *

Jack Smith calls the question.

December 12, 2023

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

          Monday brought multiple positive developments for those who yearn for the courts to serve as a bulwark against Trump's effort to assume dictatorial powers. Let’s review the threads of hope that run through the judicial developments on Monday relating to Trump.

Jack Smith goes directly to the Supreme Court on the question of Trump's presidential immunity defense in the D.C. election interference case.

          Trump's primary defense against the 91 federal indictments secured by Jack Smith is delay. His claim of presidential immunity for all acts undertaken as president is not a serious defense but is structured to create delay. It is one of the few defenses that can lead to a pre-trial appeal—and lengthy delay of trial.

          Judge Chutkan denied Trump's motion to dismiss the D.C. election interference case, and Trump appealed to the D.C. Circuit. After the D.C. Circuit rules, the matter can go to the Supreme Court. Even with expedited briefing in both the D.C. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, that process might delay Trump's criminal trial until after the 2024 election.

          Everyone knows that Trump's claim of presidential immunity will eventually end up in the US Supreme Court, so Jack Smith called the question on Monday by asking the Supreme Court to take the case without an intervening stop in the D.C. Circuit. The procedure invoked by Smith has been used in extraordinary cases—including US v. Nixon.

          The historical background is discussed by Lucian K. Truscott IV in his excellent Substack newsletter. See Lucian K. Truscott IV, It's called the Nixon rule, and the Supreme Court should uphold it without delay (substack.com). I highly recommend Truscott’s analysis—so much so that I will assume you have (or will) read it so that I can skip some of the details he ably covers.

          Jack Smith’s petition is here: U.S. v. Donald J. Trump | Petition for Writ of Certiorari Before Judgment.

          Before addressing Smith’s petition, let’s skip to the end: Smith has undertaken a bold, brilliant, gutsy move that prioritizes the interest of the American people in knowing whether the leading GOP presidential candidate is a criminal before they are asked to vote for (or against) him in November 2024.

          Smith is, of course, taking a gamble by front-loading the ‘overwhelming question’ that will determine whether Trump is above the law. Framed as a two-part question by Jack Smith in his petition, he asks the Supreme Court to decide the following:

Whether a former president is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office, or

Is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted [in the Senate] before the criminal proceeding begins.

          The answer to those questions is plainly “No.” The questions posed by Smith can be reframed as, “In America, is any person above the law?” Again, the answer is plainly “No.”

          Given that Trump's defense is meritless and should be summarily rejected, Jack Smith’s petition poses the following question to the Supreme Court:

          Will the US Supreme Court aid and abet Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election by delaying his trial until after the 2024 election—preserving the possibility that Trump will dismiss the prosecutions against himself if he is elected?

          Stripped to its essence, Jack Smith is challenging the Supreme Court to put its legitimacy and legacy on the line. Indeed, he is offering the Court the opportunity for partial rehabilitation. If they decline that opportunity, the justices will deserve the judgment of history that would follow a refusal to consider the matter on an expedited basis and rule that “No person is above the law.”

          Let’s now look at the procedural posture of the petition. Jack Smith is asking for two forms of relief: (a) to skip over the D.C. Court of Appeals by granting a “writ of certiorari” (a fancy word for appellate review), and (b) that the Supreme Court grant review on an expedited basis.

          In a positive sign, the Supreme Court ordered Trump to respond to Smith’s request for expedited review on Wednesday, December 20, 2023. As explained by Professor Tribe on Lawrence O’Donnell’s “The Last Word,” the fact that the Supreme Court ordered Trump to file on an opposition on an expedited basis suggests that there are five votes on the Supreme Court to grant Jack Smith’s request for expedited review.

          If the Supreme Court is inclined to grant expedited review, that is a very good sign. It suggests that Trump will be tried for election interference before the November 2024 election. Although a conviction is not guaranteed, Jack Smith will present evidence of Trump's guilt on the eve of the 2024 election. That is all we can ask for.

          But there is more good news. As Jack Smith was filing his petition with the Supreme Court, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals also indicated that it would move expeditiously by granting Smith’s separate motion for an expedited hearing before the D.C. Circuit. On Monday, the D.C. Circuit ordered Trump to file a response by Wednesday, December 13, in opposition to Smith’s request for an expedited hearing in the D.C. Circuit.  

          Here is the way to think about the dual proceedings in the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court. Unless and until the Supreme Court grants Jack Smith’s petition for a writ of certiorari, the D.C. Circuit retains jurisdiction over the case. If the Supreme Court grants Smith’s petition, the D.C. Circuit loses jurisdiction; if it denies Smith’s petition, the D.C. Circuit retains jurisdiction.

          In effect, Smith is on “two fast tracks” to review Trump's defense of presidential immunity. He has hedged his bets and called the question. Good!

[cupsofsilver]

Y’all ever read the reviews for Beechey Island?

[vaugarde]

my stance on shipping pokeani kids since i was an older teen has generally been “its cute but these characters are infants to me so idrc all that much” and that’s only gotten more true as ive aged. how are people in their 30s and sending death threats over which companion ash ends up with

[frmulcahy]

Professor: for your first research paper you should cover an artwork that already has a lot of resources

Me: okay but have you considered the fact that Man Proposes God Disposes by Edwin Landseer is fucked up and scary and I think that’s neat?

[moonsinkfoxgirl]

had a dream that we had a huge family party on some mountain near home except it was also in Nepal and for some reason I volunteered to bring some stuff back and forth from home with somebody but I couldn't take a car because my driving skills suck and i could go 30km/h at best which would take us like an hour plus or something back and forth, so instead i took the helicopter we somehow had which was somehow fine and i could do the trip in 15 minutes

but the helicopter was super small and i brought bad boxes so I had a super hard time loading it up and was worrying that some plates and bowls would break, so i resorted to many questionable storage methods and still had to leave an important tightly packaged book behind that was important because it could be the book that would save the country, and we would have to show it to a certain monk who could check if it was the right one, so i left it at home since if we lost or damaged it on the trip then Nepal might never be whole again

[ridethehammett]

hate when my parents talk about “they’re so old” like they social security ain’t about to kick in REAL soon.

[chaos64sprinkles]

Ballpoint Pen In Art Pixel Animation! (Piskel)

Sprinkles: Bark! Bark! Ow! (Beauty, the next supporting character who appeared only once in 2 parts and never appeared on camera again is Ballpoint Pen, a critic who came to the III show to criticize it about its functions and elements that make the show a work-cousin, but he had complained about some things that didn't go very well, like box getting hurt, mephone4 stuck in his own challenge and the floor eating the tower of pie in an extravagant way and then leaving them all drooling, so mephone4 shows him the challenge of getting to the middle of the bridge but after the end of the challenge ballpoint pen was trying to tell the host that he said he liked the card game bridge and not the bridge itself but then he explains that he doesn't It's a card game that he said is about where mephone4 will end up after not having finished the second season, which he is trying to escape because of psychological pressure after several situations including with toilet and with cobs, saying what will be the point of this and he sent the results of the expedition to mephone4 saying ''You can't do this forever'', which means that mephone4 can't move on without finishing the second season first, like fluttering around and waiting so as not to come back, but Today it changed, I think and to finish it off he sent me the review also saying the same thing and then he had disappeared, as if it were a lesson in life,

[jamesfitzjamesdotcom]

My thoughts on Matthew Betts' 'HMS Terror', which book contains some questionable statements about Fitzjames and Admiralty orders:

[armthearmour]

Book Review: Henry of Lancaster’s Expedition to Aquitaine

Henry of Lancaster’s Expedition to Aquitaine, 1345-1346: Military Service and Professionalism in the Hundred Years War serves as a detailed study of the army and campaign of the Earl of Derby in Aquitaine, a prelude to the famous Crécy campaign of King Edward III which was to follow. It is the fame of Edward’s campaign, Gribit argues, that has caused Lancaster’s Aquitaine campaign to be overlooked by historians. It is this lacuna which Gribit seeks to fill with this book.

This book is organized in nine chapters, which are divided into three sections with an additional introduction and conclusion. Part I, which consists of chapters one through four, is entitled “Henry of Lancaster and the English Army: Soldiers, Payment and Recruitment”, and provides a detailed account of the army serving under Henry of Lancaster. Chapter one contextualizes the situation which had been brewing between France and England, tracing the tensions back to the acquisition of Aquitaine by Henry II in the mid 12th century. From this beginning date, the author briefly outlines the history of violence between England and France up to the beginning of Edward’s war. Gribit then provides a detailed biographical account of Henry of Lancaster’s life up to the events of the Aquitaine campaign.

Chapter two examines the composition of the army led by Henry in Aquitaine. The indenture entered into by Henry and Edward stipulated that Henry’s force should be 2,000 men: 500 men-at-arms, 500 Welsh infantry, 500 mounted archers, and 500 unmounted archers. However, Gribit calls into question the traditional historical view of armies as being composed of either infantry or cavalry, stating that this distinction does not hold true for the method of English warfare in the fourteenth century. As such, he sets out to define each of these troop types, as well as examining the composition of Henry’s army from the point of view of troop type. Gribit also examines military rank and social status. The authors argues that the archers should be understood as comprising two different social strata, i.e. those who were mounted and those who served on foot. Archers are divided into mounted archers and unmounted archers, with it being noted that mounted archers seem to represent a distinct social class unto themselves. He also argues that mounted archers did not join battle on horseback, but rather used their mounts for transportation and the chevauchée. Finally, the Welsh infantry are described as either bowmen or spearmen, and as the lowest paid troops in an Edwardian army, represent the lowest social class.

Chapter three focuses on the logistics of raising an army. Gribit identifies two primary methods of recruitment used by the English crown in the fourteenth century: indenture and the commission of array. Indentures are described as the most useful form of recruitment when the King and his Wardrobe are not present. The indenture system allowed captains such as Henry of Lancaster to raise and administer an army as specified by the terms of the indenture to fight independently of the King. Gribit identifies this system as pivotal to the multi-front war that Edward waged in France. He draws contrasts between the indenture model and the raising of troops through a commission of array, which was the “traditional” method of raising troops. This method uses local officials to raise a large number of infantry from their area of influence, however Grubit states this method was rarely used for bringing troops to France after 1369. The raising of personal retinues and pardons as recruitment tools are also discussed before tables for the composition of Lancaster’s army are given.

The fourth chapter, and final chapter of section one, considers financial administration. In particular, Grubit seeks to reconstruct a schedule of payments and trace the path money took from the King’s coffers to the pockets of the soldiers. Certain benefits of service are examined, such as the regard, an extra payment which was given to captains of men-at-arms, and horse restoration. The particular role of the exchequer in accounting for the military is also considered.

Part II of this book is entitled “The English Expedition to Aquitaine, 1345-46.” It contains chapters five and six, and provides a detailed, chronological account of Henry of Lancaster’s two campaigns in Aquitaine in 1345 and 1346 respectively.

Chapter five focuses on the first campaign of 1345. The account begins with the arrival of Henry’s army at Bordeaux on the 9th of August, 1345. Gribit follows Henry’s movements in detail, paying particular attention to the capture of Bergerac and the battle of Auberoche. The campaign (and the chapter) ends with the onset of winter, which Henry spends in La Réole.

The sixth chapter, which examines the second campaign of 1346, begins with the siege of Aiguillon. After the siege, Lancaster embarked upon a lengthy chevauchée which would take him as far as Poitiers before returning to La Réole.

Part III consists of chapters seven, eight, and nine, and is entitled “Military Service and the Earl’s Retinue for War.” In this section, Gribit provides a detailed analysis of Lancaster’s army in 1345, as well as a general consideration of military professionalism in the fourteenth century.

Chapter seven focuses on the formation and structure of Lancaster’s 1345 retinue. Lancaster’s retinue represents the largest known military retinue from the first half of the fourteenth century, and is also exceptional in that the names of every man who served in the unit are known. Gribit begins his consideration of Lancaster’s retinue with an examination of the knights, retainers, and esquires who served in Aquitaine, and the men who served under them. He follows this with a detailed discussion on Lancaster’s knights banneret, and then the royal knights and valets Lancaster brought with him. Gribit then examines the Aquitanian knights who served under Lancaster, and finally lower status archers and attendants who accompanied the army.

Chapter eight seeks to analyze the cohesion and stability of Lancaster’s Aquitanian force. The author states that these factors were fundamental to turning Lancaster’s army into the formidable, effective fighting force that it was. In an attempt to understand the continuity of service provided by the men fighting under Lancaster, Grubit turns to an analysis by Kenneth Fowler, however Grubit disagrees with many of his findings. While Fowler argues that only a small minority of men who served with Lancaster in Aquitaine had served with him in the past, Grubit successfully argues that in fact a large majority of the men present with Lancaster in 1345 had served with him before. Some had been fighting alongside Lancaster since his service in Scotland in 1336. Grubit goes on to examine the effects camaraderie, kinship and marriage ties, and feudal obligations had on the stability of Lancaster’s force.

The ninth and final chapter of this book concerns broader questions of military careers and patterns of service. Grubit seeks to answer these questions through the service of important men who served under Lancaster in Aquitaine. In particular, Grubit examines the military histories of the many high ranking men who fought with Lancaster, and traced the number of campaigns they had served in up to 1345, the number of captains they had served under, and the earliest known date from which they had been campaigning. Grubit set his parameters for military professionalism as having served in four campaigns, and found that approximately 25% of the knights under Lancaster had met this criterion by 1345. After 1345, approximately two-thirds of Lancaster’s men would eventually serve in four or more campaigns. Grubit therefore concludes that a majority of Lancaster’s men were of a status which he considers professional.

The main body if the text is followed by a brief conclusion, an appendix which includes an transcription and translation of Lancaster’s indenture, another appendix which catalogs the men in Lancaster’s retinue, and finally a bibliography and index. This work relies very heavily upon primary documents, particularly Lancaster’s muster rolls and Edward’s exchequer rolls. A substantial body of English and French language scholarship is also referenced.

Grubit provides an intriguing analysis of an army which is generally overshadowed in modern scholarship by the more famous escapades of Edward III. His examinations are thorough and incredibly informative, however the order of the three parts of the book is somewhat confusing. Separating the two discussions on the composition of Lancaster’s army with an account of the Aquitaine campaigns was an odd choice, and the account may have been better placed at either the beginning or end of the work. Despite this modest critique, the book is a valuable work and should be enjoyed by professional historians and well read enthusiasts alike.

[capitaine-du-terror]

Lecture : Du bon usage des étoiles - Dominique Fortier

Résumé:

En mai 1845, les navires Terror et Erebus, sous le commandement de Sir John Franklin , un explorateur britannique, quittent l'Angleterre pour découvrir le fameux passage du Nord-Ouest. Francis Crozier est le commandant du Terror, l'adjoint de Franklin. C'est lui le personnage central de ce roman, personnage romanesque peu connu, il est tout le contraire de Franklin. Il est un des rares hommes de l'équipage à s'intéresser à l'autre aux esquimaux, considéré comme des sauvages. Commence alors un nouveau voyage, immobile celui-là, au cœur de la nuit polaire et vers les profondeurs de l'être, dont Francis Crozier, commandant du Terror, rend compte dans son journal. Il se languit aussi de la belle Sophia restée avec sa tante Lady Jane Francklin à Londres, où les thés et les bals se succèdent en un tourbillon de mondanités. Inspiré de la dernière expédition de Franklin, Du bon usage des étoiles offre un tableau foisonnant des lubies de la société victorienne- lesquelles ne sont pas sans rappeler certains des travers de la nôtre - dans un patchwork qui mêle avec bonheur le roman au journal, l'histoire, la poésie, le théâtre, le récit d'aventure, le traité scientifique et la recette d'un plum-pudding réussi.

Mon avis :

Dans l'ensemble, il s'agit d'une lecture rapide et agréable qui permet de retrouver des noms bien connus (Crozier, Franklin, Fitzjames, Little, Gore, Hornby, Goodsir …). J'ai eu l'impression de revoir des vieux amis après des années sans nouvelles.

On suit en parallèle la vie de Crozier et sir John et celle de Sophia et lady Jane. Cependant, l'absence d'intrigue supplémentaire rend le récit assez plat. Surtout en ayant déjà connaissance des évènements, j'avais parfois l'impression de lire un résumé romancé de l'expédition plutôt qu'une oeuvre originale.

Point positif, les personnages féminins sont ENFIN bien écrits et doués d'une véritable personnalité. J'ai pris plaisir à lire les passages sur Sophia qui m'est apparue comme une personne bien plus agréable que celle qui était dépeinte par Simmons. Lady Jane n'est pas en reste et brille par sa ténacité. Ce pan de l'histoire négligé dans Terreur est pour moi l'aspect le plus plaisant du récit. Ah, et l'humour aussi (voir extrait ci-dessous).

De nombreux évènements sont sous-entendus, il y a des allusions aux objets découverts plus tard (un gant laissé à sécher, par exemple) : autant de clin d'oeils aux lecteurs avertis. Il me semble que cet ouvrage s'apprécie davantage si l'on a déjà des connaissances de base sur l'expédition de 1845.

En bref, c'est une lecture complémentaire qui égaiera votre dimanche après-midi.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3/5

Book Blurb: She has everything she needs for a solo trek through the Arctic: a sledge heaped with supplies, a little magic, and evidently, the eye of a polar bear shifter–who shouldn't even exist. Sirin is determined to find the source of magic, and nothing is going to stop her. Not expulsion from her guild, not their warnings about her “certain death,” and certainly not the damned polar bear stalking her through the taiga.Berne is a simple bear. He likes spending time shifted, a good meal, and apparently, round little scientists. When his duty to protect a thousand-year-old secret is tested against the strange pull he feels toward her, Berne can't help but sink his teeth into the one solution that might let him keep his adorable prey.For fans of determined plus-sized heroines and cinnamon-roll bear shifters, A Polar Expedition: and Other Stimulating Research Opportunities is the first standalone novella in The Shades of Sanctuary, where the vibes are cozy, the heat is high and the mates are monstrous. Grab a cup of tea and snuggle in, because while the burn might be slow the HEA is still only a few hours away! CWs and a list of tropes are available soon.

Review:

Sirin is a researcher who is determined to find out where the source of magic that she has comes from, despite being told by everyone around her to give up such research. Even when threatened to  be expelled from her research group and told that the last people who attempted such an expedition in search for answers disappeared/died, Sirin is determined to find answers no matter the cost. Things take a turn when she spots a very handsome stranger at a tavern only to later than find herself being followed by a polar bear. Berne is a shifter, he can turn into a bear, he’s lived a simple life but he yearns for a partner, someone to share his life wife, to be there for him... so when he catches a very delicious scent in a bar and follows it... it leads him straight Sirin. When he finds that Sirin’s research is taking her straight into the forbidden land of his people and that his duty would have been to kill her if she trespassed, he find that he can’t because for some reason everything in him is telling him to protect her. The more Sirin goes after her research the more at risk she is, yet when she finds the answer will she finally get everything she wanted or will she find that what she wanted was right next to her this whole time. This was a pretty sweet romance about a researcher and a polar bear shifter! It definitely was a cozy fantasy romance.

[azazel-dreams]

Nintendo DS Game: Jewel Quest Expeditions

gameplay ❤️❤️❤❤❤

aesthetics ❤️❤❤❤❤

story ❤️❤❤❤❤

Replayable ❤️❤️❤❤❤

Overall Review: ❤️❤️❤❤❤

[chemicaljacketslut]

submitted my first college app 👍

[techdriveplay]

The Best Cars for Tall Drivers

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