#impeach 45

[sleepyleftistdemon]

[porterdavis]

Ryan Shead (The Villain)

@RyanShead

Donald Trump was the first president…

In 28 years not to serve a second term. In 45 years not to release his tax returns.

In 89 years to lose the presidency, Senate, and House in one term.

To have zero public service before being elected.

To be taped detailing how he sexually assaulted women.

To have 26 sexual assault allegations.

To marry a porn model.

To be married three times

To be impeached twice

To begin their term with a negative approval rating.

To never reach an approval rating above 50%.

To ask for and receive election assistance from a known foreign enemy.

To refuse conceding after losing.

To tell Americans the election they lost was a fraud.

To incite an insurrection resulting in hundreds being charged and convicted.

To have 81 associates charged with crimes.

To lose their security clearance after leaving office.

To have home raided by FBI for espionage.

[erik-even-wordier]

I really don’t owe my Trump-supporting friends an apology. I’ve been critical of Trump these last several years, and am still exhausted from the experience.

But to be fair, Trump wasn’t that bad…………..other than when:

1. he incited an insurrection against the government,

2. mismanaged a pandemic that killed a million Americans,

3. separated children from their families, lost those children in the bureaucracy,

4. tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church,

5. tried to block all Muslims from entering the country,

6. got impeached,

7. got impeached again,

8. had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history,

9. pressured Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe Biden,

10. fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia,

11. bragged about firing the FBI director on TV,

12. took Vladimir Putin’s word over the US intelligence community,

13. diverted military funding to build his wall,

14. caused the longest government shutdown in US history,

15. called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate,”

16. lied nearly 30,000 times,

17. banned transgender people from serving in the military,

18. ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions,

19. vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers,

20. refused to release his tax returns,

21. increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion,

22. had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history,

23. called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers,

24. coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist,

25. refused to concede the 2020 election,

26. hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House,

27. walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl,

28. called neo-Nazis “very fine people,”

29. suggested that people should inject bleach into their bodies to fight COVID,

30. abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey,

31. pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans,

32. incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic,

33. withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords,

34. withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal,

35. withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block China’s advances,

36. insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter,

37. pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op,

38. failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies,

39. called Haiti and African nations “shithole” countries,

40. called the city of Baltimore the “worst in the nation,”

41. claimed that he single handedly brought back the phrase “Merry Christmas” even though it hadn’t gone anywhere,

42. forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader,

43. believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,

44. berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe,

45. suggested the US should buy Greenland,

46. colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges,

47. repeatedly called the media “enemies of the people,”

48. claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID we’d have fewer cases,

49. violated the emoluments clause,

50. thought that Nambia was a country,

51. told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public,

52. called his exceedingly faithful vice president a “p---y” for following the Constitution,

53. nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet,

54. nominated a corrupt head of the EPA,

55. nominated a corrupt head of HHS,

56. nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department,

57. nominated a corrupt head of the USDA,

58. praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies,

59. refused to allow the presidential transition to begin,

60. insulted war hero John McCain – even after his death,

61. spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president,

62. falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote,

63. called the Muslim mayor of London a “stone cold loser,”

64. falsely claimed that he turned down being Time’s Man of the Year,

65. considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions,

66. mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID,

67. locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones,

68. used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the “China virus,”

69. hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser,

70. pardoned several of his shady associates,

71. gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressmen who amplified his batshit crazy conspiracy theories,

72. got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!),

73. had a Secretary of State who called him a moron,

74. forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history,

75. botched the COVID vaccine rollout,

76. tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him,

77. charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties,

78. constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate,

79. claimed that COVID would “magically” disappear,

80. called a U.S. Senator “Pocahontas,”

81. used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivanka’s merchandise,

82. opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling,

83. got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers,

84. claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US,

85. ignored or didn’t even take part in daily intelligence briefings,

86. blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining,

87. redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle,

88. got played by Kim Jung Un and his “love letters,”

89. threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution,

90. botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico,

91. threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them,

92. pressured the governor and secretary of state of Georgia to “find” him votes,

93. thought that the Virgin islands had a President,

94. drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane,

95. allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing,

96. rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos,

97. pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID,

98. rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers,

99. held blatant campaign rallies at the White House,

100. tried to take away millions of Americans’ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man,

101. refused to attend his successors’ inauguration,

102. nominated the worst Education Secretary in history,

103. threatened judges who didn’t do what he wanted,

104. attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci,

105. promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didn’t),

106. allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues,

107. struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble,

108. called an African-American Congresswoman “low IQ,”

109. threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders,

110. went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic,

111. claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were “witch hunts,”

112. seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution,

113. demanded “total loyalty” from the FBI director,

114. praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles,

115. completely gutted the Voice of America,

116. placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service,

117. claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower,

118. suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country,

119. suggested that COVID wasn’t that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public,

120. overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported,

121. reduced the number of refugees the US accepts,

122. insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames,

123. gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address,

124. named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old who’d previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties,

125. eliminated the White House office of pandemic response,

126. used soldiers as campaign props,

127. fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him,

128. demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade,

129. hired a shit ton of white nationalists,

130. politicized the civil service,

131. did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked the U.S. government,

132. falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts,

133. claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won,

134. insulted reporters of color,

135. insulted women reporters,

136. insulted women reporters of color,

137. suggested he was fine with China’s oppression of the Uighurs,

138. attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him,

139. summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House to pressure them to overturn the election,

140. spent countless hours every day watching Fox News,

141. refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas,

142. hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer,

143. tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him,

144. acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney,

145. attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a prominent lady who accused him of sexual assault,

146. held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present,

147. didn’t disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media,

148. stopped holding press briefings for months at a time,

149. “ordered” US companies to leave China even though he has no such power,

150. led a political party that couldn’t even be bothered to draft a policy platform,

151. claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers,

152. tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course,

153. suggested that the government nuke hurricanes,

154. suggested that wind turbines cause cancer,

155. said that he had a special aptitude for science,

156. fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure,

157. blurted out classified information to Russian officials,

158. tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida,

159. fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban,

160. hired notorious racist Stephen Miller,

161. openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them,

162. interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel,

163. abandoned Iraqi refugees who’d helped the U.S. during the war,

164. tried to get Russia back into the G7,

165. held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden,

166. seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive,

167. lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated,

168. falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they weren’t,

169. shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies,

170. still hasn’t come up with a healthcare plan,

171. still hasn’t come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated “Infrastructure Weeks,”

172. forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID,

173. told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by,”

174. fucked up the Census,

175. withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic,

176. did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule “President Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,”

177. allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act,

178. seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican,

179. stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win,

180. constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president which presumably includes four that were assassinated and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump,

181. claimed Andrew Jackson could’ve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened,

182. said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake,

183. claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him,

184. claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President,

185. created a commission to whitewash American history,

186. retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain,

187. claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldn’t have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there,

188. hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre as a reason to ban Muslims,

189. had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others,

190. bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties,

191. apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House,

192. stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians,

193. falsely claimed Biden wanted to defund the police,

194. said that the head of the CDC didn’t know what he was talking about,

195. tried to rescind protection from DREAMers,

196. gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic,

197. tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax,

198. said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didn’t count blue states,

199. deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented,

200. claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln,

201. touted a “super-duper” secret “hydrosonic” missile which may or may not be a new “hypersonic” missile or may not exist at all,

202. retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile,

203. forced through security clearances for his family,

204. suggested that police officers should rough up suspects,

205. suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs,

206. tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender,

207. suggested the US not accept COVID patients from a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher,

208. nominated a climate change sceptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy,

209. retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden

210. had played a song called “Fuck tha Police” at a campaign event,

211. hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags,

212. accused Democrats of “treason” for not applauding his State of the Union address,

213. claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter because they were “spending too much time” on Russia,

214. mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault,

215. obsessed over low-flow toilets,

216. ordered the rerelease of more COVID vaccines when there weren’t any to release,

217. called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek),

218. hijacked Washington’s July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech,

219. took advice from the MyPillow guy,

220. claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists,

221. said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition figure,

222. never seemed to heed the advice of his wife’s “Be Best” campaign,

223. falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent,

224. announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest,

225. insulted the leader of Canada,

226. insulted the leader of France,

227. insulted the leader of Britain,

228. insulted the leader of Germany,

229. insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!),

230. falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues,

231. blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually,

232. continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders,

233. said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their “Sony televisions” if the US were ever attacked,

234. left a NATO summit early in a huff,

235. stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of 5 knows not to do that,

236. called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary,

237. refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and kept his promise.

238. Don’t forget that he took many classified & top secret documents with him when he left the White House, many of which have not been recovered & may have been compromised.

I’m sure there are a whole bunch of other things I can’t remember at the moment.

Plz copy and paste. Whoever wrote this deserves credit but I don't know who it is.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Forget hush money payments to porn stars hidden as business expenses. Forget showing off classified documents about Iran attack plans to visitors, and then ordering the pool guy to erase the security tapes revealing that he was still holding on to documents that he had promised to return. Forget even corrupt attempts to interfere with election results in Georgia in 2020.

The federal indictment just handed down by special counsel Jack Smith is not only the most important indictment by far of former President Donald Trump. It is perhaps the most important indictment ever handed down to safeguard American democracy and the rule of law in any U.S. court against anyone.

For those who have been closely following Trump’s attempt to subvert the results of the 2020 election, there was little new information contained in the indictment. In straightforward language with mountains of evidence, the 45-page document explains how Trump, acting with six (so far unnamed, but easily recognizable) co-conspirators, engaged in a scheme to repeatedly make false claims that the 2020 election was stolen or rigged, and to use those false claims as a predicate to try to steal the election. The means of election theft were national, not just confined to one state, as in the expected Georgia prosecution. And they were technical—submitting alternative slates of presidential electors to Congress, and arguing that state legislatures had powers under the Constitution and an old federal law, the Electoral Count Act, to ignore the will of the state’s voters.

But Trump’s corrupt intent was clear: He was repeatedly told that the election was not stolen, and he knew that no evidence supported his outrageous claims of ballot tampering. He nonetheless allegedly tried to pressure state legislators, state election officials, Department of Justice officials, and his own vice president to manipulate these arcane, complex election rules to turn himself from an election loser into an election winner. That’s the definition of election subversion.

He’s now charged with a conspiracy to defraud the United States, a conspiracy to willfully deprive citizens the right to vote, a conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and obstructing that official proceeding. If you’re doing the math, that is four new counts on top of the dozens he faces in the classified documents case in Florida and the hush money case in New York.

So far Trump has not been accountable for these actions to try to steal an American election. Although the House impeached Trump for his efforts soon after they occurred, the Senate did not convict. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in voting against conviction in the Senate despite undeniable evidence of attempted election subversion by his fellow Republican, pointed to the criminal justice system as the appropriate place to serve up justice. But the wheels of justice have turned very slowly. Reports say that Attorney General Merrick Garland was at first too cautious about pursuing charges against Trump despite Trump’s unprecedented attack on our democracy. Once Garland appointed Jack Smith as a special counsel to handle Trump claims following the release of seemingly irrefutable evidence that Trump broke laws related to the handling of classified documents, the die was cast.

It is hard to overstate the stakes riding on this indictment and prosecution. New polling from the New York Times shows that Trump not only has a commanding lead among those Republicans seeking the party’s presidential nomination in 2024; he remains very competitive in a race against Joe Biden. After nearly a decade of Trump convincing many in the public that all charges against him are politically motivated, he’s virtually inoculated himself against political repercussions for deadly serious criminal counts. He’s miraculously seen a boost in support and fundraising after each indictment (though recent signs are that the indictments are beginning to take a small toll). One should not underestimate the chances that Donald Trump could be elected president in 2024 against Joe Biden—especially if Biden suffers any kind of health setback in the period up to the election—even if Trump is put on trial and convicted of crimes.

A trial is the best chance to educate the American public, as the Jan. 6 House committee hearings did to some extent, about the actions Trump allegedly took to undermine American democracy and the rule of law. Constant publicity from the trial would give the American people in the middle of the election season a close look at the actions Trump took for his own personal benefit while putting lives and the country at risk. It, of course, also serves the goals of justice and of deterring Trump, or any future like-minded would-be authoritarian, from attempting any similar attack on American democracy ever again.

Trump now has two legal strategies he can pursue in fighting these charges, aside from continuing to attack the prosecutions as politically motivated. The first strategy, which he will no doubt pursue, is to run out the clock. It’s going to be tough for this case to go to trial before the next election given that it is much more factually complex than the classified documents or hush money cases. There are potentially hundreds of witnesses and theories of conspiracies that will take much to untangle. Had the indictment come any later, I believe a trial before November 2024 would have been impossible. With D.C. District Judge Tanya Chutkan—a President Barack Obama appointee who has treated previous Jan. 6 cases before her court with expedition and seriousness—apparently in charge of this case, there is still a chance to avoid a case of justice delayed being justice denied.

If Trump can run out the clock before conviction and be reelected, though, he can get rid of Jack Smith and appoint an attorney general who will do his bidding. He could even try to pardon himself from charges if elected in 2024 (a gambit that may or may not be legal). He could then sic his attorney general on political adversaries with prosecutions not grounded in any evidence, something he has repeatedly promised on the campaign trail.

Trump’s other legal strategy is to argue that prosecutors cannot prove the charges. For example, the government will have to prove that Trump not only intended to interfere with Congress’ fair counting of the electoral college votes in 2020 but also that Trump did so “corruptly.” Trump will put his state of mind at issue, arguing that despite all the evidence, he had an honest belief the election was being stolen from him.

He also will likely assert First Amendment defenses. As the indictment itself notes near the beginning, “the Defendant has a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he had won.” But Trump did not just state the false claims; he allegedly used the false claims to engage in a conspiracy to steal the election. There is no First Amendment right to use speech to subvert an election, any more than there is a First Amendment right to use speech to bribe, threaten, or intimidate.

Putting Trump before a jury, if the case can get that far before the 2024 elections, is not certain to yield a conviction. It carries risks. But as I wrote last year in the New York Times, the risks to our system of government of not prosecuting Donald Trump are greater than the risks of prosecuting him.

It’s not hyperbole to say that the conduct of this prosecution will greatly influence whether the U.S. remains a thriving democracy after 2024.

[qqueenofhades]

I hate hate HATE the fact that putin probably has this shit eating grin on his face w all this denial of ukraine aide. I know there are a couple of other packages where congress can piecemeal it in the future but still. Fuck!!!!!!!! HOW is it all so obvious AND so badly done by the Rs lol

It just illustrates the extent to which the GOP has become the Group of Putin on pretty much every level. There are many reasons for this and they are all equally important to understand:

They love Putin anyway because of all the pro-Trump election interference in 2016, and they're hanging their hat on it being just enough to squeak Trump back in for 2024.

They hate Ukraine to start with because a) it was the cause of Trump's first impeachment (the failed extortion of Zelenskyy) and b) it's central to their current flailing and failing attempts to portray Biden as doing some kind of crime in Hunter's business interests there (in Burisma).

They also loathe the idea of democracy in general and think autocrats, especially their buddy Putin, should have the right to do whatever they want, as well as subscribing to the isolationist America Only xenophobia that was also prevalent in the late 1930s right before WWII. So any noble appeals to maintain Ukraine's democracy and freedom hold no water with them, when they're busy trying to destroy those things here in America as well.

They're heavily influenced by Russian dark money and Russian propaganda, which is part of the larger nexus of Russian influence that operates within and enables the European and American far-right in a creating an anti-Western illiberal fascist theocratic far-right global coalition. If you're interested in this topic, I recommend this (excellent but extremely depressing) book.

As such, yes, the growing anti-Ukraine sentiment in the Treason Caucus is giving plenty of unfortunate credence to Putin's hypothesis that if he can just hang on in Ukraine until 2024, the Republicans will get elected/into full power and instantly be able to cancel all US support for Ukraine. Which they would probably do, and which would be an unmitigated calamity for Ukraine, America, and the world, because that's how the Group of Putin likes to roll.

The Kremlin talking heads are thrilled about this entire development, because obviously of course they are.

The budget resolution to keep the government open for the next 45 days doesn't directly affect aid to Ukraine -- at least for now. The previously agreed-upon financial and military assistance will continue to be paid out, and since a new package will have to be negotiated soon anyway, it's highly likely that Ukraine aid will be included either in that one or a separate bill beforehand.

The Senate Republicans, aside from the usual suspects, are generally supportive of aid to Ukraine. To give -- choke, ugh, wheeze -- Mitch Fucking McConnell 0.2% of credit, he has consistently held the old-fashioned anti-Russia pro-Ukraine line against the crass Putin-smoochin' of his comrades, and made sure to appear jointly with Schumer during Zelenskyy's recent visit to DC. However, he is toadstool slime who may well attempt to price in Ukraine support by trying to cut other American domestic programs or Biden accomplishments. So. Mixed bag.

Lindsey Graham, of all people, has also emerged as a high-profile Senate GOP voice for Ukraine support. However, he is a spineless paramecium who will ultimately do whatever Trump tells him, so let's likewise not put too much faith in that.

Biden has already issued a firm statement insisting that US aid can't be disrupted in any circumstances, and there has been a bipartisan Senate statement as well. So there is existing pressure to get a new package done quickly, and an extra $300 million funding for Ukraine (a resolution, however, not a binding legislation) was approved with 300+ votes in the House just a few days ago. So there is still the ability to do it.

The main question is Kevin Fucking McCarthy. He has issued tepid and conditional statements of support for Ukraine (with the usual "we should be spending this money on our southern border!!!" Republican bullshit) and is under pressure to put a new funding bill on the floor quickly, but since the crazies oppose it and also him, he could easily be his usual brand of spineless and delay doing so. He may also try to strip Ukraine aid out of the next full-year budget resolution, which is already going to be enough of a clusterfuck, but he's going to face far more opposition from Democrats who voted for the 45-day funding package to keep the government open for now, but won't accept anything long-term without money for Ukraine.

Anyway. Republicans the worst, McCarthy sucks, Putin sucks, film at 11.

[bhodi-anjo-daishin]

First president in 28 years to not serve a second term.

First president in 45 years not to release any of his tax returns.

First president in 89 years to lose the presidency, the House and the Senate in a single term.

First president in 102 years to allow more than 120,000 Americans to die in a single virus outbreak.

First president in 129 years to lose the popular vote twice.

First president in 152 years to boycott his successors inauguration.

First president ever to fail to hit a 50% approval rating at any point during their presidency.

First president ever to be elected with the help of a foreign nation.

First president ever to be impeached twice.

First president ever to have a member of their own party vote for conviction in an impeachment trial.

First president ever to have an arrest warrant issued against him by a foreign nation.

First president ever to refuse to concede defeat.

First president to be banned from social media.

First president to refuse to ensure the peaceful transfer of power.

First president to have their home searched for official national security documents.

First former president found liable of sexual abuse, defamation & business fraud.

First former president criminally indicted (also the second, third and fourth).

First former president with a mugshot.

First former president to await a jury’s verdict as the defendant in a criminal trial.

So many firsts, so much winning.

He must be sick of it.

[phaeton-flier]

The thing about the US Supreme Court is that I do think it's a good idea to have some point of final judgement about the constitutionality of laws in the US; without it you essentially don't have a constitution because then Congress just passes whatever it wants and calls it good. It's less or more always been a backwards, conservative institution except for a period in the 20th century (see how they gutted the fucking 14th amendment) but it does serve a need that can't be filled except by itself.

But the current system is just "9 Wizards rule for life, better hope they were chosen during a D congress"; I think the better scenario would be single 9-year terms rotated in from the federal court justices, with replacements for death/impeachment/retirement serving out only the remainder of the term. Each one gets rotated in yearly, so each President gets 4 (or 8) to pick. Justices don't get too long to affect things, we don't have to worry as much as about some 45-year-old making idiotic judgements for generations to come, and because it's only a 9 year term you don't get endless fucking meetings about them.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Kevin Necessary

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 25, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 26, 2024

“I am in shock that a lawyer stood in the U.S. Supreme Court and said that a president could assassinate his political opponent and it would be immune as ‘an official act,’” lawyer Marc Elias, whose firm defends democratic election laws, wrote today on social media. He added: “I am in despair that several Justices seemed to think this answer made perfect sense.” 

Elias was referring to the argument of Trump’s lawyer before the Supreme Court today that it could indeed be an “official act” for which a president should be immune from criminal prosecution if “the president decides that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military or orders someone to assassinate him.”

The Supreme Court today heard close to three hours of oral argument over Trump v. United States, which concerns former president Trump’s claim of absolute immunity from criminal charges for “official acts”: in this case, his attempt to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election and to stay in office against the will of the voters. 

That is, like the authoritarian leaders he admires, Trump tried to steal the 2020 presidential election and seize the presidency. Sometimes I worry that the enormity of that crime against our democracy is becoming normalized. 

It was not normalized by grand jury members who reviewed the evidence of that effort; they indicted Trump in August 2023 on four counts. But Trump responded by claiming that a president cannot be prosecuted for official acts and that a former president cannot be prosecuted unless the House of Representatives has impeached him and the Senate convicted him. 

Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife, Ginni, participated in that effort, did not recuse himself from today’s hearing, and the court did not object to his presence.

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post noted that the justices on the court seemed to be weighing “which poses the greater risk—putting a criminal president above the law or hamstringing noncriminal presidents with the risk of frivolous or vindictive prosecutions brought by their successors.” 

The liberals on the court focused on the former—after all, the case is about whether Trump should answer to criminal indictments for trying to overturn our democracy. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted: “If someone with those kinds of powers, the most powerful person in the world with the greatest amount of authority, could go into office knowing that there would be no potential penalty for committing crimes, I’m trying to understand what the disincentive is from turning the Oval Office into, you know, the seat of criminal activity in this country.”

In contrast, the right-wing justices focused on the risk of vindictive prosecutions, which has been the heart of Trump’s argument for complete immunity. Trump insists that without immunity, a president will be afraid to make controversial decisions out of fear of later prosecution. Such a lack of immunity would destroy the presidency, he has argued, claiming that he is simply trying to protect the office. 

And yet he is the first of 45 presidents to be charged with a crime, and no previous president made any claim of immunity.

Nonetheless, the right-wing justices made it clear they were more interested in the future than in the present. In their comments they stayed far away from Trump and focused instead on presidents in the past and the future. (Conservative judge Michael Luttig noted: “The Court and the parties discussed everything but the specific question presented.”)

Justice Neil Gorsuch said: “I’m not concerned about this case, but I am concerned about future uses of the criminal law to target political opponents based on accusations about their motives.” Justice Samuel Alito tried to turn the argument for accountability upside down by suggesting that complete immunity would be more likely to encourage presidents to leave office, because if a president knew they could be prosecuted for crimes, they would be less likely to leave peacefully. 

Indeed, Marcus wrote: “The conservative justices’ professed concerns over the implications of their rulings for imaginary future presidents, in imaginary future proceedings, seemed more important to them than bringing Trump to justice.” Constitutional law professor Anthony Michael Kreis was more concrete in his reaction; he found it “[u]nbelievable that Supreme Court justices who see forgiving student loans, mandating vaccines, and regulating climate change as a slippery slope toward tyranny were not clear-eyed on questions of whether a president could execute citizens or stage a coup without being prosecuted.”

The court’s decision will likely take weeks and thus will delay Trump’s trial for crimes committed in his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, likely until after the 2024 election. On Monday, April 22, former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), who served as vice chair of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, called out Trump’s attacks on the legal system and delays to avoid accountability. In a New York Times op-ed, Cheney reminded the justices that delay would mean that the American people would not get to hear the testimony and evidence Special Counsel Jack Smith has uncovered before the 2024 election. 

“It cannot be that a president of the United States can attempt to steal an election and seize power but our justice system is incapable of bringing him to trial before the next election four years later,” she wrote.

And yet, here we are. 

Voters’ right to know what a candidate for president did to overthrow the will of the people in a previous election is at stake in today’s arguments. But so is the rule of law on which our democracy stands. The rule of law means that laws are made according to established procedures rather than a leader’s dictates, and that they are reasonable. Laws are enforced equally. No one is above the law, and everyone has an obligation to obey the law. 

As Justice Elena Kagan noted today: “The framers did not put an immunity clause into the Constitution. They knew how to; there were immunity clauses in some state constitutions. They didn’t provide immunity to the president. And, you know—not so surprising—they were reacting against a monarch who claimed to be above the law. Wasn’t the whole point that the president was not a monarch and the president was not supposed to be above the law?”

Indeed.

“[W]here, say some, is the King of America?” Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense, the 1776 pamphlet that convinced British colonists in North America to cut ties with their king and start a new nation. “[I]n America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.29 (after 1920)

1920 – Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project. 1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party. 1932 – Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans. 1937 – Tongzhou mutiny: In Tongzhou, China, the East Hebei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians. 1945 – The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music. 1948 – Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London. 1950 – Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn. 1957 – The International Atomic Energy Agency is established. 1957 – Tonight Starring Jack Paar premieres on NBC with Jack Paar beginning the modern day talk show. 1958 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). 1959 – First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union. 1965 – Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay. 1967 – Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134. 1967 – During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead. 1973 – Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi. 1973 – Driver Roger Williamson is killed during the Dutch Grand Prix, after a suspected tire failure causes his car to pitch into the barriers at high speed. 1976 – In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the "Son of Sam") kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks. 1980 – Iran adopts a new "holy" flag after the Islamic Revolution. 1981 – A worldwide television audience of around 750 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London. 1981 – After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran. 1987 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel). 1987 – Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues. 1993 – The Supreme Court of Israel acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free. 1996 – The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad. 2005 – Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris. 2010 – An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths. 2013 – Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people. 2015 – The first piece of suspected debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is discovered on Réunion Island. 2019 – The 2019 Altamira prison riot between rival Brazilian drug gangs leaves 62 dead. 2021 – The International Space Station temporarily spins out of control, moving the ISS 45 degrees out of attitude, following an engine malfunction of Russian module Nauka.

[afurioushawk]

The reality show that is the House of Representatives has been the craziest shit from Congress I’ve ever seen in my life. In the past seven months, we’ve had:

Starting things off right, the Speaker taking fifteen votes to get elected. The last time it took more than one vote to secure a Speaker was over a hundred years ago. And on the fourteenth vote, Rogers had to be restrained from attacking Gaetz after he voted against McCarthy again when they were all supposed to have been on the same page at that point.

Hyperfocusing on Hunter Biden because the House GOP believes that the deletion of his nonconsenual nudes from Twitter was a move on Joe Biden’s part to influence the 2020 election (despite him not being in office at the time). It’s been nonstop talk about Hunter’s dick pics for months. You haven’t seen Republicans this obsessed with Democratic cock since Clinton’s BJ.

The House GOP pushing to dismantle the FBI and DOJ for “going woke” AKA for not stopping the indictments against 45 and not stopping the upcoming indictments against certain members of Congress.

Gaetz citing a Chinese propaganda newspaper as evidence during a House Armed Services committee hearing about US aid to Ukraine.

The Freedom Caucus voting to tank the world economy, forcing the House Dems to swoop in and save the day (and by extension, McCarthy, since it was his bill).

Santos being indicted on thirteen counts of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds, and lying on federal disclosure forms. And the House GOP have refused to have a vote on whether or not to impeach him because they need his vote.

Higgins roughly manhandling a civilian on tape.

Higgins sending a militia-coded message after 45′s second indictment telling his supporters to take the bridges and prepare for conflict.

The House GOP censuring Schiff for no reason whatsoever except out of retaliation, which backfired on the House GOP because now he’s raking in record-breaking fundraising and poised to win the CA senate seat.

Greene and Boebert getting into a pissing contest because Boebert introduced articles of impeachment against Biden first when Greene had been working for months to do it, culminating in Greene calling Boebert a “little bitch” on the House floor and getting kicked out of the Freedom Caucus for it.

Jordan and Comer backing a “whistleblower” who told them he had evidence that Hunter (and by extension Biden somehow) was involved in accepting bribes from Ukraine only to discover that not only was that not true, but the whistleblower is an unregistered foreign agent from the Chinese government, meaning the House GOP has (allegedly) been protecting and colluding with a spy to undermine the authority of the American president for months.

[ladyscroogeblr]

Biden

Our President Joe Biden is a good president! He is making America strong and thriving again! Biden is also a very nice person! He loves his wife, his family and America! He treats people with respect! He is not a coward! Biden is hard working! He wants the USA to succeed! He doesn't want to see Trump back in office! I don't care if Biden is 81! Yes he has slowed down and can be forgetful. To me that is age related! With Trump, I believe it has to connected to dementia or Alzheimer's! Trump is not cognitive to be president! He never should of been elective as the 45 th president in the first place! I voted for Biden in 2020 and will this November! I'm sure, because of his age, Biden would of been a one term President. Biden doesn't want to see Trump be president again! With the Democrats don't have a contender to battle Biden. That is another reason Biden will be the Presidential Democrat in 2024. I hope, if Biden wins in November, he works On foreign policy. He needs to end the tariffs with China! For example! I also hope the Senate and Congress have more democrats then Republicans after the November election! Maybe then Congress will get something, get something worth while! Not trying to impeach Biden! Stop going after Hunter Biden! Just two examples! Vote blue and keep making America better and better!

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Holy shit, I think it's gonna come down to a Georgia runoff again.

Dems had 36 seats not up for election

They won all their safe seats, California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Maryland [brings them up to 44]

Scahtz is almost certainly gonna win in Hawaii, another safe seat that just hasn't been called yet [45]

Bennett won in Colorado, which was right on the cusp between safe and competitive, so that's a good sign [46]

Mark Kelly is winning handily in Arizona, an unexpected 60-40 landslide so far, a major blow for Republicans in what was a deep red state for decades under McCain and Goldwater before him [47]

Fetterman is ahead of Oz in Pennsylvania, not by a huge margin but enough that a recount probably wouldn't change things [48]

Against the odds, Hassan held onto New Hampshire despite her opponent being endorsed by the very popular Republican governor Sununu who also won his own race; this is an even better sign than Colorado considering Republicans have made up a ton of ground in New Hampshire these last few cycles [49]

Nevada is anybody's game, no results at time of writing (little past midnight eastern), not even preliminarily. Zero votes reported on any news sites yet; possible repeat of 2020, could be days before we know the results. Cortez Masto was about as likely to win as Hassan in New Hampshire, so maybe just maybe she can eke by

Georgia is neck and neck. I fully expected Herschel Walker to win in a 55-45 landslide because Georgia is like Florida and can't be trusted to do anything right, but Raphael Warnock is holding his own and has even pulled ahead by a fraction of a percent. It'll be recounted, but I don't think either of them will limp to 50%, so it'll go to another runoff in January for all the marbles!

If either Warnock or Cortez Masto can hold their seats, the Senate will stay deadlocked 50-50, status quo antebellum, not ideal, but workable. If they both hold, that gives Democrats the tiniest ounce of wiggle room because then they'd only have to wrangle Manchin OR Sinema instead of both. This is nowhere near the bloodbath I feared it would be, but it's not the refutation of right-wing extremism I hoped for either.

God, please let things be clearer in the morning. Please don't let Mitch McConnell become majority leader again. We can afford to lose the House, but losing the Senate would be game over for decades, no more judges, none, zilch, nada. The worst a Republican led House can do is impeach Biden, but that's meaningless now after Trump's twofer, and any select committees they create would be toothless with the Dems in control of the DOJ. They would have bargaining power to shut down the government and fuck with the budget, but what else is new? We're not gonna default on our debts; they can only cry wolf so many times before we get wise and ignore them.

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

President Zelenskyy addressing the Congress during his worktrip in Washington

The full transcript

Recap of the speech

When President Zelenskyy entered the Congress - invited by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to address a joined Congress, both houses and parties, and talk about Ukraine's struggle and need for financial support and weapons - you could only hear clapping and cheering. Several people rushed to him and wanted to shake the hand of the man of the year. A greeting that did not necessarily have to take place in this way.

The relationship with the US in the past? Problematic. President Trump tried to blackmail him in 2019 with financial aid (in exchange for investigating Hunter Biden, President Biden's son) - the now famous phone call was later part of Trump's Impeachment trial. Trump also was a supporter, if not a friend, of Putin. And after that? A friendly and supportive alliance with Biden - but not necessarily warm. That didn't change immediately in February. While the US is one of Ukraine's strongest and most significant supporters, and Biden supported Ukraine from the beginning of the full-scale war, the tone was neutral overall. Both President's needed a bit of time to get warm with each other. Rumours made the rounds - about disagreements, fights during phone calls, Biden losing interest in Ukraine and thinking about minimizing the support. And now? A different vibe. Even making jokes with Zelenskyy during the press conference. Warmth and friendship are dominating now.

Earlier the day, Zelenskyy had landed in Washington for his first working trip abroad since the start of the full-scale war in February. Nervousness filled the air since this trip meant an extremely high personal risk to Zelenskyy. Russia is still trying to kill or harm him. Back in Ukraine, he still has to live separated from his family because of this and needs 24/7 protection. The visit itself was announced not even 24 hours before. Now, more than 300 days after the start of the war later, Biden welcomed him, holding negotiations and agreeing on new financial help and weapons. In addition, Congress was about to decide on further financial aid in 2023 (45 billion Dollar). 

Entering the Congress was already a success for Zelenskyy, but the real victory was ahead of him. After walking up to the speaker podium and greeting Pelosi and VP Kamala Harris, Zelenskyy couldn't start his speech. The applause and cheering just didn't want to stop. Occasionally "Slava Ukraine!" could be heard - the now famous battle cry, everyday greeting and motivational sentence, representing the country's fight against Russia and the Ukrainians' resilience, courage and strong will. Almost ashamed, but most of all flustered and humbly, Zelenskyy finally remarked to Congress and Pelosi, "I think it's too much". He was visibly moved, a tear in his eye if you look closely. "It's too much for me," he admitted, in an unpretentious way (one of his character marks), before starting his speech.

Something else was also visible. After being in Bakhmut a day earlier and visiting the troops, he travelled via Poland to Washington. Immediately after his arrival, he met with Biden and held a press conference. Then, still with no rest, he rushed to other meetings and interviews to finally speak in front of Congress. Zelenskyy looked, understandably, extremely exhausted. Nevertheless, what was about to follow, was radiating energy, capturing the whole room. But he also looked stiff and extremely nervous - a rare picture from a man who made himself a name in 300 days of the war as being brilliant and naturally gifted (also trained by years of being an actor, comedian, scriptwriter and entertainer) when it comes to speaking to people - no matter the audience and usually with ease, lots of honest and open emotions, addressing each audience individually and fitting and with an understandable, but captivating speech. That even a Volodymyr Zelenskyy can get visibly nervous (which was also evidently visible during his speech) makes him even more likeable and relatable (not that this would be necessary).

After all, the address was important. Before and after the midterms, voices grew louder on the Republican side to minimize or stop the support for Ukraine. Some Democrats joined in. Talking about a ceasefire and peace talks started - ignoring the dangers this ideas posses to Ukraine as well as Russia's unwillingness for peace and diplomatic talks. Several Republican representatives spread Russian Propaganda and openly opposed Zelenskyy. And while it was almost sure the funding of 45 billion Dollars would pass, there was still the possibility of not. So the current and future help from the US depended on Zelenskyy's speech.

After the cheering ended, Zelenskyy could finally speak. What followed was a truly historic moment - for Congress. For Ukraine. And for Zelenskyy himself. 

In a ~25-minute speech, he spoke openly, honestly, emotionally, forcefully and frankly about the war in Ukraine. Including some word plays, memorable pictures and quoting US history and political figures. The address itself is a masterpiece. And, what was even more surprising: Zelenskyy gave it entirely in English, his third language. "A sign of respect" to the Congress, as he called it in an earlier press conference with Pelosi. 

While giving the speech, almost the whole Congress applauded him numerous times, as well as giving him standing ovations. After finishing his speech, the hall erupted again into loud cheering and clapping. Zelenskyy, again visibly moved, smiled from one ear to the other.

He exchanged flags with Pelosi and Harris. Zelenskyy gave them a flag the soldiers of Bakhmut had signed a day earlier and who had asked him to give it to Congress. In return, Zelenskyy received the American flag raised on the Congress earlier that day in honour of his visit.

With that speech, Zelenskyy wrote history. And wrote himself into American history forever.

A Churchillian moment?

No. 

But a Zelenskillian.

[escritordecontos]

Sábado de chuva em Curitiba

CREME DE CASSIS, nunca compre licor de creme de cassis e tenha uma garrafa em casa, porque você vai querer tomar com sorvete todo dia, várias vezes ao dia, é tipo punheta pra adolescente. Eu compro uma marca de sorvete italiano que com licor de creme de cassis fica quase melhor que rola, quase. Hoje comprei um pote de sorvete de pistache, é bom, mas achei que seria melhor. O tradicional de papaia com licor de cassis é sobremesa de churrascaria, pelo menos é a clássica do Galpão Nelore, de Londrina, na minha opinião a melhor churrascaria do Brasil, conheci no início dos 90's com meu pai, e até hoje quando vou à Londrina almoço lá pelo menos uma vez. Atualmente a churrascaria está bem sofisticada, diferente do que era na década de 90, nos loucos e deliciosos 90's, é um ambiente muito agradável que faz par com o Pobre Juan, outro lugar para comer carne que amo ir, tanto aqui em Curitiba como em Barueri, no shopping Iguatemi, Alphaville, onde tudo é outro mundo. Comer bem é um prazer que a gente nunca deve abrir mão, afinal, desta vida só se leva o que se come ou as comedias que se leva, o resto é chantilly e purpurina.

HOJE acordei muito cedo, li umas páginas de "O que vi dos Presidentes - Fatos e Versões" da queridíssima Cristiana Lobo, é difícil acreditar que a jornalista não está mais entre nós, que perda! No livro ela conta dos presidentes de Sarney pra cá, quando voltamos aos presidentes civis, quando acabou a ditadura militar. De certa forma o Figueiredo, eu me lembro muito do Figueiredo, ele foi presidente de 1979 a 1984, eu tinha de 8 anos pra cima, já tava começando a bater punheta e ter ereções lindas, foi importante para o fim da ditadura, e, claro, não teve nada a ver com minha ereções lindas. Estou lendo, do livro da Cristiana Lobo, os anos do mineiro Itamar Franco, o vice de Collor que assumiu a presidência do Brasil depois do impeachment do alagoano que foi ficou pouco, mas foi um tremendo fiasco, quando se olha para trás é impossível não perguntar como pode um sujeito como esse se eleger presidente do Brasil. Pode, tanto se elegeu como outro pior também conseguiu se eleger. Vivi todos esses tempos, desde antes de Sarney tenho memória, como citei, então, do alto do meu meio século de vida eu posso te dizer, caríssimo leitor, e acredite, que sempre pode vir um pior, um mais fiasquento, um menos apto, um mais boçal, um sujeito terrível, então cuidado, afinal, quem elege é a massa, em geral a massa manipulável, a massa rude e sebosa, a massa chocha e capenga, a massa que nunca leu um livro. O mundo não é um lugar bom para a maioria das pessoas, é ótimo para uns, uns poucos. A grande maioria só se fode, sem levar pirocada, o que é mais irônico.

ÀS 9h30 eu já estava cortando o cabelo. Cabelo é preciso manter coitadinho, para ficar bonito. Outubro, o mês de cuidados pessoais, já estive no meu urologista, rotina de próstata que faço de 2017, tudo lindo, estou numa fase boa, colhendo os resultados de uma vida de intensa atividade física e dieta bacana. Todos os meus exames estão muito bons, aleluia! Mas ainda vou passar pelos outros médicos que me acompanham, todo ano faço um check-up geral, com exames de imagem e este ano estou determinado a fazer uma tomografia da cabeça, se o plano não cobrir, pago. Quero ver como estou em tudo. Quero estar bem por dentro e por fora. Ja estive na minha dentista que faz limpeza e polimento nas facetas, tudo lindo! Também já fiz o Botox semestral e preenchimento, bioestimulador de colágeno já está agendado, tenho sessão de laser semana que vem, mas isso está na rotina dos 45 e 60 dias, sim, estou me livrando de pelos indesejáveis de quase todo o corpo, até do saco. É preciso cuidar do corpinho, este ano me livrei da miopia e dos óculos com a cirurgia de miopia que fiz quase há três meses.

ALÉM dos cuidados pessoais é preciso se dar presentes, afinal, temos que nos mimar, ninguém merece mais que nós mesmo, semana passada me dei de presente um iPhone 15 Pro Max, e estou amando. Junto me dei também AirPods que eu ainda não tinha e achei a coisa mais legal e necessária, atualmente penso que todo mundo precisa ter AirPods, o meu é de terceira geração, mas depois que comprei fiquei em dúvida não não deverei ter investido mais um pouquinho e comprado a versão Pro. Em todo caso, estou achando incrível!

[beardedmrbean]

Attorneys representing the person accused of dressing as a clown and fatally shooting a Florida woman in the entryway of her home in 1990 are asking a judge to dismiss the case, because prosecutors made "tactical decisions" in dragging their feet and in turn prevented the defense from being able to build a case, records show. 

"This is not a ‘cold case’ in the traditional sense: the State merely picked up their investigation decades later and conducted new tests on some of the trace evidence."

Prosecutors deliberately chose to delay the indictment of Sheila Keen-Warren for decades, and then charged her with the murder of Marlene Warren in 2017 despite the lack of new evidence, the defense team argued.

As a result, defense attorneys were faced with untraceable or now-deceased witnesses, people who no longer remembered what they did or saw, and even some who had suddenly changed their accounts of events over the course of 30-plus years, lawyers wrote in a motion to dismiss for pre-indictment delay, filed Wednesday. 

FLORIDA JUDGE ON ‘KILLER CLOWN’ CASE MULLS USE OF ALLEGED COSTUME, KEY EVIDENCE AS TRIAL LOOMS

"Those charges are based, not on some dramatic cold case breakthrough, but instead almost entirely on the same attenuated circumstantial evidence that has been in the State’s possession since 1990," the filing states. It later adds: "More than 30 years after Marlene Warren’s murder, much of the evidence that Sheila Keen-Warren could have relied on to establish that someone else has confessed to the murder, to impeach the State’s witnesses, or present an alibi defense is unavailable for various reasons." 

Several experts who would be called to testify as defense witnesses, including two people "who would have testified about the mishandling of evidence," are no longer alive. 

INSIDE FLORIDA 'KILLER CLOWN' MURDER: CARNATIONS, BALLOONS THEN A FATAL GUNSHOT THE FOCUS OF DECADES-OLD CASE

Another example provided in the filing details how investigators failed to "preserve the three white LeBarons that they recovered shortly after the shooting." 

"The law permitted the State to take their time in filing charges, but not to force Sheila Keen-Warren to fight her case blindfolded with one arm tied behind her back," the filing goes on. 

Marlene Warren, 40, was shot and killed at her Wellington, Florida, home Saturday, May 26, 1990, officials said. Warren had just finished breakfast with her son and his friends around 10:45 a.m., when they spotted a Chrysler LeBaron roll into the driveway, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.

FLORIDA 'KILLER CLOWN': TRIAL DELAYED AMID NEW DETAILS OF ‘CREDIBLE’ CLOWN-SIGHTING LEADS FROM 90S MURDER

A person dressed like a clown exited the vehicle and walked to the home’s front door, police said. 

"The person dressed as the clown was carrying a flower arrangement and two balloons," the sheriff’s office explained. One balloon reportedly bore a picture of Snow White, the other was emblazoned with the words, "You're the Greatest!" 

"Marlene answered the front door and as the clown offered the items to her, witnesses heard a gunshot and Marlene fell to the ground," police said. "The person dressed as a clown calmly walked back to the LeBaron and drove away." 

27 YEARS LATER, ARREST IS MADE IN KILLER-CLOWN CASE

Warren suffered a gunshot wound to the face and was rushed to a local hospital, where she died two days later.

Police arrested Keen-Warren Sept. 26, 2017, 27 years after Warren’s death.

Investigators learned Keen-Warren, who was married to someone else at the time of the murder, went on to wed Warren’s husband in 2002. The pair had been living in Tennessee, where they operated a restaurant, police said.

Defense attorneys argued in the dismissal attempt that prosecutors suspect Warren’s husband was involved in the homicide, though he has never been charged in connection with the crime. 

Keen-Warren is slated to go to trial in May. Prosecutors have not yet responded to the defense team’s motion.