tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94793982024-03-19T01:03:55.239-05:00Adventus"I would like to say 'This book is written to the glory of God', but nowadays this would be the trick of a cheat, i.e., it would not be correctly understood."--Ludwig Wittgenstein<br><br>"OH JESUS OH WHAT THE FUCK OH WHAT IS THIS H.P. LOVECRAFT SHIT OH THERE IS NO GOD I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS—Popehat
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21198125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-89331683782831008262024-03-19T01:03:00.002-05:002024-03-19T01:03:55.093-05:00I Kinda Assume Michael Cohen Knows What He’s Talking About <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump's failure to pay $464M fraud debt could open him to perjury charge: Michael Cohen<a href="https://t.co/1MJGlhYEvS">https://t.co/1MJGlhYEvS</a></p>— Raw Story (@RawStory) <a href="https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1769842187263488103?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p> On this topic, at least. </p><blockquote>He's in the real estate industry. Much of his assets are leveraged," said Cohen. </blockquote><blockquote>
"Let's not forget, if he sells the asset there's also a tax consequence that would be due. He has long-term capital gains. Because it's New York, you also have city and state tax, so you're looking at effectively a 40 percent taxable rate. </blockquote><blockquote>
"He also has on top of that mortgages attached. So state taxes, federal taxes come first, then followed by the mortgage, then whatever is left over would ultimately go to pay off the judgment or to repay the bond." </blockquote><blockquote>
That, he explained, is why no one is taking such a deal.
</blockquote>This; not so much.<blockquote>"It's effectively impossible. What does that tell you?" Cohen asked. "It tells you that he's not nearly as rich as he sold himself to the American people, that he — even at the trial he told the judge he had at least $400 million in cash. If that's true, post it, and if it's not true, it could be a perjury charge."</blockquote>Well, he did say, outside court if not also in, that MAL alone was worth nearly $3 billion. Or at least $1.5 billion.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">At Trump’s deposition in the NY case, he testified under oath that he had $400 million in cash and his net worth was minimum $3.2 billion. He said Mar-a-Lago was worth $1.5B. After reading that, I figured he could come up with bond money with what he found in his couch cushions.</p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1769879964667588878?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Or $1.5 billion. Can he not borrow against that? Was that a lie? Very likely. Was it material to the fraud case? Only insofar as it proved it (which, IIRC, Engoron noted in his judgment). Still, it must be a lie, else he could fund the bond easily. He also said there was no debt on it. Ooops! Another lie?<div><br /></div><div>Yeah, probably.</div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">'I'm confident': Alina Habba says she expects Trump's $464M debt will be dismissed<a href="https://t.co/XxU3aTOFED">https://t.co/XxU3aTOFED</a></p>— Raw Story (@RawStory) <a href="https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1769854052689408148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Which sets up this:<blockquote>"Despite the fact that witnesses frankly had said that they were great clients, we all made money, they did nothing wrong, we got slammed with this egregious number, and I'm confident we'll overturn it," she said during an interview with the online podcast X22 Report, which was reported by Newsweek. </blockquote><blockquote>
Habba claimed in the interview that New York Attorney General Letitia James had set the Trump Organization up for certain defeat. </blockquote><blockquote>
"We lost before we even walked in," she said.
</blockquote>Does she understand the trial was for damages? That they had lost on liability before they walked in?<div>Anyway, the claim was fraud, which the court found was proven. If Trump indeed lied on the stand, that fraud judgment is pretty solid. Which means it’s pretty sure you aren’t going to overturn it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Besides, Habba said Trump would come up with the bond for this case.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-62013078805329754342024-03-19T01:03:00.001-05:002024-03-19T01:03:26.034-05:00“This Is Not America!”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Lol wow <a href="https://t.co/WkfiKXzXpo">pic.twitter.com/WkfiKXzXpo</a></p>— Acyn (@Acyn) <a href="https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1769925775921135675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>I really want to see one of these assholes put his money where his mouth is and walk into a courtroom and show off his big brass clanging ones by shouting this at the judge. Instead of into a studio microphone.<div><br /></div><div>I mean, if he’s got the courage of his convictions, take ‘em where they can get things done. Don’t be shy! Step right up and cut loose!</div><div><br /></div><div>There’s a reason they don’t, of course. Because this is America. And they know where the real power lies. Just ask Elmo if he really wanted to buy Twitter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Quislings.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-70696304483524869772024-03-18T20:36:00.004-05:002024-03-18T20:37:14.007-05:00(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Opinion | I was a lifelong liberal Democrat. Then I read in the New York Post that Biden is wearing Hoka Transport GTX shoes with extra cushioning.</p>— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougJBalloon/status/1769854247397409031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>He can’t be a man <div>Because he does not wear </div><div>The same kinda shoes </div><div>As me</div><br /><div>Yeah, it’s a thing:</div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Wait, are those Hokas? Dude, I have a pair of those. <a href="https://t.co/gMgJVsCBJ4">https://t.co/gMgJVsCBJ4</a></p>— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/status/1769717014975910016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>I wear cowboy boots for maximum stability and comfort. And for my flat feet and my bad back. What of it? Biden and I are both old enough to prefer comfort and stability over style. FDR spent his entire Presidency across three plus terms, in a wheelchair. Does that make a difference, either?<div><br /></div><div>These things that pass for knowledge I don’t understand.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-49705758207004549362024-03-18T20:15:00.000-05:002024-03-18T20:15:01.397-05:00I Came To That Conclusion…<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Okay, I’ve seen enough. Not only should Aileen Cannon not be sitting on this case, but she should not be sitting on the federal bench at all. This is utterly nuts. <a href="https://t.co/vdRT4StONl">https://t.co/vdRT4StONl</a></p>— George Conway (@gtconway3d) <a href="https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1769865638787326310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>...during the case prior to this case, when the 11th Circuit all but told Cannon to resign.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thx to <a href="https://twitter.com/emptywheel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@emptywheel</a> for reminding me that the 11th circuit already said Trump lacked a personal or possessory interest in the records.<br /><br />DOJ’s response to this order from Cannon will be … interesting. <a href="https://t.co/mwVwfFo5BQ">https://t.co/mwVwfFo5BQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/3sxCsshr6n">pic.twitter.com/3sxCsshr6n</a></p>— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/status/1769868751342637447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>And yes, this is why Loose Cannon is dumber than Alina Habba.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-7786666909389277632024-03-18T20:02:00.002-05:002024-03-18T20:02:57.933-05:00You Go First <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Why are there no Republican multi-billionaires offering to lend President Trump the funds to file his appeal in the outrageous case in NY state? Are none of them liquid enough to help or join with others to help? This is an outrage.</p>— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) <a href="https://twitter.com/marklevinshow/status/1769860733125189637?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Although berating people for not giving Trump half a billion dollars, gratis, is an interesting way to persuade them. I wonder how that works for him.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-6138692868871339902024-03-18T17:05:00.000-05:002024-03-18T17:05:45.560-05:00I’ll Go Out On A Speculative Limb Here<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">To appeal the order denying disqualification prior to trial, the defendants must obtain a certificate of immediate review within 10 days from the date of the order. <br /><br />Even if Judge McAfee issues a certificate, the Georgia Court of Appeals could still decline to hear the case.</p>— Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnnaBower/status/1769819682083619011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>And surround myself caveats that I don’t know anything about Georgia law or criminal procedure. But, the central claim of the motion was that a conflict of interest existed, which required removal of the entire AG’s office from the case.<div><br /></div><div>No such conflict was found. That’s a question of fact: whether the conduct alleged rose to the level of a conflict under Georgia law. The allegation was that Willis improperly benefited from the case, by hiring Wade to help prosecute it, and then going on trips with him. The court reacted to the appearance issue, without finding actual conflict of interest sufficient to force the AG off the case. And here’s my speculation:</div><div><br /></div><div>The court gave Willis two choices: throw the case to the Prosecuting Attorney’s council for reassignment; or fire Wade. The option allowed McAfee to toss a bone to the appellate court (and the public), without effectively dismissing the charges. McAfee effectively gave the appellate court a reason to say “good enough,” and not send it back to tie up McAfee’s time any more, and to keep either of them from being the court that dismissed all charges based on rather negligible grounds.</div><div><br /></div><div>Had McAfee said “FUCK THIS SHIT! GET OUTTA MY COURTROOM!,” it would likely just come back to him for more pointless fact finding. Had he essentially ruled “same answer,” greatly possibility of same result: coming right back at him. As it is, he split the baby, and all parties lose something. These were never grounds for dismissal (the telos of the motion), and yet it made the AG’s office look bad (not ready for prime time).</div><div><br /></div><div>It’s also not a matter the court wants to take up in interlocutory proceedings, for the reasons listed above. Now the appellate court can say: “Well, Wade is gone. That’s all you’re gonna get right now.”</div><div><br /></div><div>Close enough quite often is good enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>And Trump keeps burning money on legal fees like he was a rich man.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-41241277808043600152024-03-18T16:09:00.003-05:002024-03-18T16:09:45.347-05:00Begun, The Presidential Campaign Has <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">MSNBC: President Biden's reelection campaign announced its biggest fundraising month yet. The campaign raised $53 million in February and have $155 million in the bank to spend. Trump is expected to be at a significant disadvantage <a href="https://t.co/nQBg8jhY3r">pic.twitter.com/nQBg8jhY3r</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769821369410187277?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
But Trump has the outreach effort.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump says auto workers are dumb for not supporting him <br /><br />He previously attacked them for “negotiating” higher “wages” <a href="https://t.co/8qRHx36Qgi">pic.twitter.com/8qRHx36Qgi</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769826381842489606?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">A delusional and confused Trump calls into MAGA radio show to rant about the 2020 election, insisting he won (he didn’t) and claiming it was rigged (it wasn’t) <a href="https://t.co/E3LDoJUron">pic.twitter.com/E3LDoJUron</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769828932273009044?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Polls prove voters are obsessed with who won on 2020 and universally believe the vote was rigged. <div><br /></div><div>Or not.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump, who reportedly said Hitler ‘did some good things’: Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They should be ashamed of themselves <a href="https://t.co/Y9biUt8v7P">pic.twitter.com/Y9biUt8v7P</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769830408235978900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Rabbi Trump.<br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">NEW AD: Many MAGA Republicans are saying Trump’s “bloodbath” comment should be put in context.<br /><br />So we put it in context. <a href="https://t.co/XwhLinVBOA">pic.twitter.com/XwhLinVBOA</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769762983696081311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Let’s see what $155 million will buy. Besides lawyers, I mean.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-75815611111822631102024-03-18T15:08:00.003-05:002024-03-18T15:08:53.144-05:00“A Clown Living On Credit”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">What happened to this? <a href="https://t.co/BuLFC25WWy">https://t.co/BuLFC25WWy</a></p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1769754308038279253?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Better to be pretty than smart. And if you’re neither?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, <a href="https://t.co/T3hYHCpVBT">pic.twitter.com/T3hYHCpVBT</a></p>— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1769773872574877828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>💯
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump’s Motion Today: In short, "a bond of this size is rarely, if ever, seen. In the unusual circumstance that a bond of this size is issued, it is provided to the largest public companies in the world, not to individuals or privately held businesses." Id. 9 16.<br /><br />On 2-16-24: <a href="https://t.co/JGZcat0q9M">https://t.co/JGZcat0q9M</a></p>— Ben Meiselas (@meiselasb) <a href="https://twitter.com/meiselasb/status/1769742942963466284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Sucks to be you, bro. And it’s time to reiterate that a final judgment is presumptively valid unless and until a superior court finds otherwise. The appeal bond is to secure that validity against attempts to use the appeal to escape execution of the judgment by extra-legal means.<div><br /></div><div>So I’m pretty sure the court’s response to this motion will be: “Sucks to be you, bro. Put or shut up.”</div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Whatever the *direct* effect of the Judicial Conference judge-shopping policy, the real story is that *that* body is so publicly disavowing a practice that had principally been the subject of only *academic* criticism. It’s another sign that public attention to procedure matters.</p>— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) <a href="https://twitter.com/steve_vladeck/status/1769753437774778614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
?????<div><br /></div><div>Because appeal bonds are a procedural matter. Trump is unlikely to get a break not usually given to others. Attention to procedure matters. And Trump has brought a lot of attention to himself, and so to the procedure followed in this case.</div><div><br /></div><div>😎 </div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sad trombone. <a href="https://t.co/cp602gQhU8">https://t.co/cp602gQhU8</a></p>— Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrJonCryer/status/1769801385913036956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Donald Trump is not a billionaire. Alternatively, “billionaire” doesn’t designate what we all think it designates. That is, Trump is a billionaire; but “billionaire” doesn’t mean anything.<div><br /></div><div>Rick Wilson says a properly rich man insisted to him that Trump was not rich, but “a clown living on credit.” Looks like we’ll finally find out.<br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump to judge <a href="https://t.co/jXT0bfuqCs">pic.twitter.com/jXT0bfuqCs</a></p>— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) <a href="https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1769775017531781284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-83785268355105811012024-03-18T13:34:00.000-05:002024-03-18T13:34:06.434-05:00New RNC GOTV Effort: “It Couldn’t Hurt!” 🤷🏻♂️ <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">If they rebuild a business empire after repeated failures and bankruptcies on lies and fraud by creating the veneer of wealth and success when it is all just a house of cards. <a href="https://t.co/liWuZkiSSk">pic.twitter.com/liWuZkiSSk</a></p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1769752503007035721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump’s new campaign slogan: Vote for me, what the hell do you have to lose? <br><br>This is also the same thing he said when he was telling people to take various drugs he saw on the internet during the pandemic. <a href="https://t.co/n7ZqBE7357">pic.twitter.com/n7ZqBE7357</a></p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1769776719345357118?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-62640903025874469542024-03-18T10:51:00.002-05:002024-03-18T10:51:56.232-05:00Just A Reminder <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump talked about a “bloodbath” if he’s not elected. But what does he really mean?</p>— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougJBalloon/status/1769382546394013836?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Apparently the MAGA talking point started with the New York Times:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">My comment is: Fuck the New York Times. <a href="https://t.co/4oowQGHfVE">pic.twitter.com/4oowQGHfVE</a></p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1769162431589122086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Or the NYT was just parroting a MAGA talking point. I don’t know which came first. But the earnest question is: what did he really mean?
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As a seasoned political commentator, I know to take Trump seriously but not literally. Or literally but not seriously. But never both at the same time.</p>— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougJBalloon/status/1769704047517335836?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>OTOH:<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">At a weekend rally, Donald Trump said that “Joe Biden defeated Barack Hussein Obama” for the presidency. If Biden also believes he defeated Obama, his senility will be too shocking to ignore.</p>— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) <a href="https://twitter.com/DougJBalloon/status/1769442504653316311?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-38992623787522809732024-03-18T10:25:00.006-05:002024-03-18T10:28:33.568-05:00The Horse’s Mouth <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Again, Trump confirms he doesn’t have the money. <a href="https://t.co/e0Fs6YHT8M">pic.twitter.com/e0Fs6YHT8M</a></p>— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/status/1769732426555650076?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Trump is not a billionaire. If he is, he’s a very poor billionaire. I’m a retired pastor/community college teacher, and I’m in a much better position to pay my bills as they come due than Trump is.<div><br /></div><div>Which is pretty much the threshold for entering bankruptcy. Trump clears it easily.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-61805299866637589642024-03-18T09:57:00.004-05:002024-03-18T10:22:48.449-05:00Next Stop…<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Looks like Chubb won’t secure the $464M NYAG bond. Bummer. <a href="https://t.co/UgPdxNB3JP">https://t.co/UgPdxNB3JP</a></p>— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) <a href="https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1769734387011354638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Which tells me he doesn’t have that much collateral value.<div><br /></div><div>He’s supposed to be a billionaire, right? This is half a billion dollars. By definition, he should be able to front that much, right? Or is “billionaire” just an empty term that only means “don’t look behind the facades.” Like a Hollywood set, it’s all just propped up?</div><div><br /></div><div>Sounds to me like he’s not going to have any money by November.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next stop: bankruptcy court.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.meidastouch.com/news/trump-says-he-doesnt-have-means-to-post-bond-in-ny-fraud-case" target="_blank">ADDING</a>:</div><blockquote>In a new filing with the appellate court, Trump's team said that it has become a "practical impossibility" for Trump to post the bond needed to appeal the decision. In addition, Trump's team is asserting that there are no bond companies that are willing to take real estate as collateral for a judgment of this magnitude. </blockquote>Not surprising. A) how much real estate does Trump have that isn’t already encumbered by liens/mortgages? B) real estate foreclosures go at fire sale prices. Mortgage holders look to cut their losses. Lienholders for bonds want their money back. Foreclosing on real property is a sure way to get just some of it back. With half a billion on the line, close enough is not good enough. This isn’t a loan where some of the value is in the interest payments.<div><br /></div><div>Bankruptcy is the only way to stop this now.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-28567218904068443232024-03-18T07:29:00.001-05:002024-03-18T07:30:20.902-05:00Attention Must Be Paid <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The RNC claims that rather than Donald Trump, some Deep State hoax showed up in September 2020 to debate Joe Biden and tell militia members to stand back and stand by. They say Trump's ENTIRE first debate performance was "fake."<br /><br />Okay. So why should Biden debate that "fake"? <a href="https://t.co/Fy5MdiKkmm">pic.twitter.com/Fy5MdiKkmm</a></p>— emptywheel (@emptywheel) <a href="https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1769509237309243454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>It is being paid. And this is what the (new, improved, and gutted) RNC is going with. “Who you gonna believe? Me? Or your lyin’ eyes?” 👀 <div><br /></div><div>Because all three of the “hoax/fakes” listed are on tape. The “bloodbath” comment is getting analyzed by everyone, not just on Twitter. And Team Trump (well and truly the RNC, now), is left with Robert McCloskey’s famous comic quote as their defense:</div><blockquote>I know you think you understand what you thought I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.</blockquote>Except the RNC isn’t in on the joke.<div><br /></div><div>Attention and scrutiny are going to kill them, and they know it.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-87778542237040015162024-03-17T21:04:00.000-05:002024-03-17T21:04:12.493-05:00The First Signs Of The Changing Season <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="art">💯🎯 <a href="https://t.co/Rj6YPJWZwx">https://t.co/Rj6YPJWZwx</a></p>— George Conway (@gtconway3d) <a href="https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1769492156480147518?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Primary season has ended, and the presidential campaign season has begun. Which can only mean: FULL SCRUTINY OF EVERYTHING TRUMP SAYS!<div><br /></div><div>And just a week from tomorrow Trump has to put up or shut up for his last pending judgment. Inquiring minds want to know: does Trump even have a portfolio upon which he can leverage half a billion dollars? Signs point to: “What’re you, stupid?”</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-77085325021870392492024-03-17T16:04:00.002-05:002024-03-17T16:04:42.972-05:00Saying The Quiet Part Out Loud <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Hi, yes, I have a question. Thank you. Um, what the actual fuck? <a href="https://t.co/v6Qy7L2JbY">pic.twitter.com/v6Qy7L2JbY</a></p>— Jason Karsh (@jkarsh) <a href="https://twitter.com/jkarsh/status/1769242363229274383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Regulation is always making this balance. You’re just not supposed to say so.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-64384022946349598512024-03-17T14:03:00.004-05:002024-03-17T14:03:39.370-05:00Loose Lips 👄 <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump said “they’re not gonna be able to sell those cars if I get elected. Now if I don’t get elected it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole….(pause)…that’s [he’s referring to the impact on the auto industry] gonna be the least of it. It’s gonna be a bloodbath for the country.…</p>— Gail Helt (@ghelt) <a href="https://twitter.com/ghelt/status/1769422347759472856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Huh? 🤔 <div><br /></div><div>1) “…they’re not gonna be able to sell those cars if I get elected.” Electric cars? He’s been schmoozing Elmo, but he also rants against electric cars because Biden’s for them.</div><div><br /></div><div>2) “Now if I don’t get elected it’s gonna be a bloodbath for the whole….(pause)…that’s [he’s referring to the impact on the auto industry] gonna be the least of it.” Okay… The whole what? Auto industry? Why stop in the middle, then, and start over? Because your mouth just recognized what your brain is sending down? And why shift to “that’s gonna be the least of it”? Context is important, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>3) “It’s gonna be a bloodbath for the country.” So the bloodbath extends to the entire country? If Trump gets elected? Er, doesn’t get elected? </div><div><br /></div><div>Either way, this seems inexcusably bad.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-53610656556696370492024-03-17T12:51:00.007-05:002024-03-17T12:52:23.486-05:00“Context Is All.”—E.M. Forster<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/jrpsaki?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jrpsaki</a> : "We did not miss the full context, this was not some meandering off-message comment. This is his message." <a href="https://t.co/wYMwda1Q1T">pic.twitter.com/wYMwda1Q1T</a></p>— aph/jen 🌻 (@bunnibytz) <a href="https://twitter.com/bunnibytz/status/1769415773217329260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-31991844703838306352024-03-17T12:40:00.001-05:002024-03-17T12:40:24.168-05:00Just The Auto Industry, Right?<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump calls for all Members of Congress who served on the J6 Committee to be imprisoned. <a href="https://t.co/UsbqfVcmtG">pic.twitter.com/UsbqfVcmtG</a></p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1769384439732133954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>But not anyone in the auto industry!<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-predicts-end-us-democracy-if-he-loses-2024-election-2024-03-17/" target="_blank">Reuters</a>:
<blockquote>During an outdoor speech that was whipped by strong winds and punctuated by some profane language, Trump predicted that if he does not win the Nov. 5 general election, American democracy will come to an end.
"If we don't win this election, I don't think you're going to have another election in this country," Trump said.</blockquote>
Pretty sure he meant another election in the auto industry.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Pelosi on CNN on Trump: "We just have to win this election because he's even predicting a bloodbath. What does that mean? He's going to exact a bloodbath? There's something wrong here... how much more do [American voters] have to see?... you wouldn't even allow him in your house" <a href="https://t.co/pLO66pGdwZ">pic.twitter.com/pLO66pGdwZ</a></p>— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1769361835386450035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
You’d probably let him drive your car, though.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Q: Why do you use words like ‘vermin’ and say immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood’ of the country? People are comparing you to Hitler<br /><br />Trump: Well that’s what they say. They’re poisoning our country <a href="https://t.co/N9HfGdn863">pic.twitter.com/N9HfGdn863</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769383468893401323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Especially the auto industry.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump defends calling for the ‘termination‘ of the Constitution <a href="https://t.co/OsurDokRoQ">pic.twitter.com/OsurDokRoQ</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769387767618802119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>"Many people are saying…” Not in the courts, but certainly in the auto industry.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-70657276501868125862024-03-17T11:52:00.005-05:002024-03-17T12:01:59.840-05:00Cars Are Cars 🚙 <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump says immigrants aren’t people <a href="https://t.co/4l9TALw0JF">pic.twitter.com/4l9TALw0JF</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769100098963652664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Good thing he didn’t say they’re automobiles. Because then, there’d be a bloodbath.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Biden-Harris campaign statement on Trump tonight promising a “bloodbath” if he loses <a href="https://t.co/8mBYh4QKnf">pic.twitter.com/8mBYh4QKnf</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769163262283706801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Yes, back to that. Immediate context v. general context. Trump may have said “bloodbath” after he mentioned the auto industry, but he also said elections would end if he lost. What’s the <a href="https://rmadisonj.blogspot.com/2024/03/i-coulda-been-watching-stooges.html?m=1" target="_blank">explanatory context for that? </a><blockquote>I wonder if anyone else wonders if the Trump regime might stem in part from the neglect of history and civics in the STEM mania in education. Though that's nothing compared with the stupid from media.</blockquote>As close as we’re going to get, eh?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-44777181092424278942024-03-17T11:46:00.002-05:002024-03-17T11:46:32.670-05:00Nothing New Under The Sun <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">With the youngest at an early Sunday morning birthday party (<a href="https://twitter.com/lushcosmetics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lushcosmetics</a>) and this caught my eye.<br /><br />Let the kids read, folks. Stop banning books. <a href="https://t.co/emnXlqkrM0">pic.twitter.com/emnXlqkrM0</a></p>— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradMossEsq/status/1769358028761973252?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>I don’t disagree. At all. I’m an absolutist about two things: voting, and books (well, and being kind to people and animals, and lots of other things. But you get my point.). I don’t care who you vote for, so much as I care that you bother to vote. And I don’t care what you read, so long as you do so. Deeply. Widely.<div><br /></div><div>But our latest “enemy” is Moms for Liberty. They didn’t originate book banning, and book banning won’t stop because they lose their clout in scandal and failure. The ABA runs a Banned Book Week every year. They’ve been doing it since the founders of Moms for Liberty were even a gleam in their parents eyes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Book bans are bad. Always have been, always will be. There are clearly books that don’t belong in school libraries; but that’s why we have librarians. I read my way through several libraries in my feckless youth. It wasn’t all up building moral teachings or deeply insightful literature. But it never did me any harm.</div><div><br /></div><div>Widely. Deeply is good; but widely is, in some ways, better. And lay off banning books. Period.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-36070635201546772682024-03-17T11:15:00.005-05:002024-03-17T11:16:02.401-05:00Nothing To See Here 👀 <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump may well have been referring to a “bloodbath” in that industry. He’s sufficiently incoherent that, as is so often the case with him, it’s hard to tell one way other what exactly he’s talking about at any given moment. 2/x</p>— George Conway (@gtconway3d) <a href="https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1769359235567993158?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>So, there’ll be a bloodbath in the auto industry if Trump is not elected?<div><br /></div><div>Well, that’s so much better!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-64838489528981117072024-03-17T08:33:00.002-05:002024-03-17T11:16:57.680-05:00I Arise Today…<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">🎯 Just heard on MSNBC: <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheRickWilson</a> on the Trump RNC takeover: "what they've done is like a mafia-type bust out where they take over a business, run up the bills so they can never be paid and when they're done they burn the place down for the insurance money."<br />"They fired the…</p>— Resolute Square (@ResoluteSquare) <a href="https://twitter.com/ResoluteSquare/status/1769155244720578979?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Which, by all accounts, is drying up.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">One concern voiced repeatedly, but privately, by major GOP donors: they don't want their donations to end up funding Trump's legal fees <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaneGoldmacher?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ShaneGoldmacher</a> me <a href="https://t.co/8xWUiXVMF2">https://t.co/8xWUiXVMF2</a></p>— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) <a href="https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1769010178030997925?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump says some migrants are ‘not people’ and predicts a ‘blood bath’ if he doesn’t win. <a href="https://t.co/ComQB1Uz6o">https://t.co/ComQB1Uz6o</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/anjalihuynh?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@anjalihuynh</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/migold?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@migold</a></p>— Nicholas Nehamas (@NickNehamas) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickNehamas/status/1769172027368431907?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Biden-Harris campaign statement on Trump tonight promising a “bloodbath” if he loses <a href="https://t.co/8mBYh4QKnf">pic.twitter.com/8mBYh4QKnf</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769163262283706801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">To get people to embrace violence, fill them with existential dread- the fear that it's the Leader or the abyss. This is an incitement to violence speech. Trump is a propaganda machine devoted to destroying America. <a href="https://t.co/leYQ8K0E8I">https://t.co/leYQ8K0E8I</a></p>— Ruth Ben-Ghiat (@ruthbenghiat) <a href="https://twitter.com/ruthbenghiat/status/1769115853163794691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Not a lot of outreach there.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Hank is a former Trump voter from Tennessee: <br /><br />“I served on the NATO staff in Norway for 4 years…The idea that...unless someone wrote us a check...we would allow Russia to do, as Donald Trump put it, ‘Whatever the hell they wanted to that country,’ is just an anathema to me.” <a href="https://t.co/Jq8mgFqHhw">pic.twitter.com/Jq8mgFqHhw</a></p>— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1769015775728427502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">It’s absolutely horrifying. How on earth did we get to a place where this raving maniac is a candidate for President of the United States? I beg all Independents and sane Republicans-you love your country, you cannot support this. Please watch the thread. It’s just this easy. <a href="https://t.co/zxLiNjQpfy">https://t.co/zxLiNjQpfy</a></p>— Linda Ruscio (@LindaFaraway) <a href="https://twitter.com/LindaFaraway/status/1769163743546454086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
I guess one has to read the article:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">My comment is: Fuck the New York Times. <a href="https://t.co/4oowQGHfVE">pic.twitter.com/4oowQGHfVE</a></p>— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1769162431589122086?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Or maybe it’s a question of context.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump calls for mass detention camps and rounding up millions of Latinos, saying it will be larger than a 1950s military operation called “Operation Wetback” <a href="https://t.co/NjaVNIQ7qU">pic.twitter.com/NjaVNIQ7qU</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769103141872558163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump salutes while playing an alternative national anthem at his rally, featuringi violent January 6 insurrectionists: Please rise for the unfairly treated January 6 hostages <a href="https://t.co/dbpCHTE6OU">pic.twitter.com/dbpCHTE6OU</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769096573110108303?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump says on his “first day” he will pardon violent January 6 insurrectionists who assaulted police officers <a href="https://t.co/ZmtKXxc42c">pic.twitter.com/ZmtKXxc42c</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769097855711474167?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Trump says immigrants aren’t people <a href="https://t.co/4l9TALw0JF">pic.twitter.com/4l9TALw0JF</a></p>— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1769100098963652664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Yeah, pretty obvious he was concerned about the auto industry.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Headline writers: Don’t outsmart yourself. Just do “Trump Promises Bloodbath if he Doesn’t Win Election.”</p>— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianschatz/status/1769199484573995066?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-76079084606724520762024-03-17T08:06:00.002-05:002024-03-17T08:06:38.954-05:00His Mainspring Is Running Down <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump demands immunity for 'events that cross the line' hours after 'bloodbath' comments<a href="https://t.co/HLVeIQgNyC">https://t.co/HLVeIQgNyC</a></p>— Raw Story (@RawStory) <a href="https://twitter.com/RawStory/status/1769328617404723603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote>He then added, "EXAMPLE: YOU CAN’T STOP POLICE FROM DOING THE JOB OF STRONG & EFFECTIVE CRIME PREVENTION BECAUSE YOU WANT TO GUARD AGAINST THE OCCASIONAL 'ROGUE COP' OR 'BAD APPLE.' SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LIVE WITH 'GREAT BUT SLIGHTLY IMPERFECT.' ALL PRESIDENTS MUST HAVE COMPLETE & TOTAL PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY, OR THE AUTHORITY & DECISIVENESS OF A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES WILL BE STRIPPED & GONE FOREVER."
</blockquote>That’s why we prosecute bad cops. Because otherwise, all the bad apples would spoil the barrel.<div><br /></div><div>We’ve just never had such an egregiously bad President before.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-64841859586308737902024-03-17T06:45:00.001-05:002024-03-17T08:40:10.637-05:00St. Patrick’s Day 2024<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CRe1FNPWbG-E53pmSVvvTtLJaw_z6VxdExpH3VlTiFAa5vuekjbNz8h1X7iEfnFuUHx4C86JDzws9uKQmlehyphenhyphenXaosCIuWtO8dsMIcVfc4eg_slEdxvgxFccN3R2qrSh9eg7e/s1600/celtic_cross_of_saint_patrick_lg.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585078916100252242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CRe1FNPWbG-E53pmSVvvTtLJaw_z6VxdExpH3VlTiFAa5vuekjbNz8h1X7iEfnFuUHx4C86JDzws9uKQmlehyphenhyphenXaosCIuWtO8dsMIcVfc4eg_slEdxvgxFccN3R2qrSh9eg7e/s320/celtic_cross_of_saint_patrick_lg.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><p style="text-align: left;">
</p><p> It occurred to me this is not a prayer in the way we are commonly told to think of prayer. The situation, says tradition, is that Patrick and his converts, on an island controlled by people hostile to Patrick and his evangelism, don’t pray like this: “O God protect us and hide us from the bad guys and keep them away and don’t let them see us and keep us safe.” Patrick prays like this:</p><blockquote>I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.<br /><br />I arise today through the strength of Christ with his Baptism, through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension, through the strength of His descent for the Judgement of Doom.<br /><br />I arise today through the strength of the love of Cherubim in obedience of Angels, in the service of the Archangels, in hope of resurrection to meet with reward, in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of Prophets, in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of Confessors, in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of righteous men.<br /><br />I arise today, through the strength of Heaven; light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendour of Fire, speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea, stability of Earth, firmness of Rock.<br /><br />I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me: God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to secure me: against snares of devils, against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.<br /><br />I summon today all these powers between me (and these evils): against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul, against incantations of false prophets, against black laws of heathenry, against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry, against spells of witches, smiths and wizards, against every knowledge that endangers man's body and soul.<br /><br />Christ to protect me today against poisoning, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, so that there may come abundance in reward. </blockquote><blockquote>Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.</blockquote><p>There’s a lesson in prayer here. We think of prayer as only asking. “Supplication” is the seminary word, but it just means asking for something. Prayer, popularly, is asking for something. “O Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz.” A funny line when Janis sang it, but I have to honestly wonder how many pray a version of it in the pews of Joel Osteen’s church; and how many of them would recognize the Lorica as a proper prayer. </p><p>The prime mockery of faith is that the faithful pray, but God does not answer. You can find that in the Psalms, or in Isaiah; or, since this is Lent, even in the Passion stories. It’s a criticism that old: prayer is a bailout attempt. Its prime use is as the last resort. You use it to get something you can’t get anywhere else. That’s why there are no atheists in foxholes (it’s an ironic statement, not a universal truth. Calm down.). Prayer is supposed to be about asking; God is supposed to be about answering.</p><p>But the prayer Jesus taught, the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, is not about asking. Look at it; what does it ask for? This day our daily bread. Forgiveness for us only insofar as we forgive others. Not to be led into temptation, but delivered from evil. What else? A new car? A better job? Hot pizza?🍕 </p><p>Now look at the Lorica again. What does it ask for? It is a series of statements. It is not a series of requests. Like the Pater Noster, it doesn’t focus on us, but focuses us outwards.</p><p>It’s certainly a legitimate use of prayer to use it in dire circumstances; to use it to get something you can’t get otherwise. But how do you do that? By praying really earnestly? By putting your heart into that prayer, like Creon does at the end of “Antigone”? He prays for death, realizing all his best intentions have ended in death and tragedy. Did he simply not pray hard enough; or were the gods truly not going to let him off that easily? Or was that, in our Christian context, not the right prayer?</p><p>Patrick doesn’t pray for deliverance from his enemies; or invisibility; or even to look like a herd of deer (the stories vary). Patrick prays that he be more faithful to God. His prayer is simply a series of statements. Statements that remind him of the presence of God, and that put him in the presence of God. Put him there consciously; deliberately; purposefully. This prayer displaces self and replaces it with Christ; but Christ is in the other.</p><p>Call it the ultimate humility.</p><p>It’s not the only purpose of prayer. But it’s the one too many Protestants, at least…🙋♂️… seldom consider.</p><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-26767058245984839712024-03-16T22:59:00.004-05:002024-03-17T12:08:08.148-05:00“We Would Not Have You Ignorant, Brothers And Sisters…”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Literally the Opposite of What Jesus Said”— Lauren Boebert Claims God Isn’t Pleased With Good “Works,” Only Faith<br /><br />The internet reacts to Boebert’s theological musings <a href="https://t.co/9yTkdeHVD6">https://t.co/9yTkdeHVD6</a></p>— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) <a href="https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1768656556285997159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<blockquote>On a recent livestream, Boebert quoted a scripture from 1 Timothy and then opined that God is not pleased with works, but only faith.*</blockquote>I don’t know what verse she quoted, but I doubt it was this one:<div><br /></div><blockquote>Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. </blockquote>Boebert was ridiculed for her venture into theology, but she’s only repeating what she’s been told.<div><br /></div><div>Growing up in Baptist East Texas, I was raised in the culture of the fierce anti-Catholicism that is our American religious heritage, thanks to the Puritans and English history. That’s a long story, but the short version is the bad blood between Elizabeth I and Rome, and the Puritan determination to always ask the question: WWPopeD?, and do the opposite. I oversimplify to make a point of avoiding anything that smacks of “popery”. It’s an impulse as American as apple pie.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a strain in the Reformed branch of Protestantism that harmonizes, to this day, with the Puritan desire to burn away all hints of similarities to the Roman church (their term, let the reader understand). Catholicism places great importance on helping others as a product of being a disciple. I perhaps put that too Protestantly. But works is as important as faith to Catholic doctrine, as it is in much of Protestantism. The roots of my own denomination on this continent were set down by German immigrants who almost immediately set about establishing an orphanage, a hospital, a mental health institution, even a place for boat workers on the Mississippi. As far as I know, all of them still function, almost 200 years later.</div><div><br /></div><div>You see, there are two emphases in Christianity, both related to soteriology. One emphasizes works, although that’s a reductionist way to describe it. Like the hospital and orphanage, the point is to care for others. Your faith, if you will (I prefer to say “belief,” but explaining that is another discussion, isn’t it?), is expressed in how you care for others; or at least provide for their care. I said this has to do with soteriology, although I’d prefer to teach that it is the central teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. I mean, we don’t have to entangle it with the doctrine of salvation at all. But that’s another discussion, too.</div><div><br /></div><div>The other strain of Christianity, a strain strong in American Protestantism, teaches that salvation is not only everything, it is the only thing. And while Christianity entangles soteriology with works, the corrective to that was to declare works a false witness of faithfulness. This was meant to make faith something worked out in fear and trembling, rather than acts of kindness and charity to prove God loved you. The problem is, when salvation is the point of being a Christian, it’s very hard to displace yourself from the center and replace self with other. It’s easier to turn salvation personal, and from there make your obligation saving others, make your salvation dependent on your efforts to save others. It becomes the broken echo of the teaching to care for others. In fact, care for others becomes abstract, metaphysical, and obliges you only to get others to think like you. Which doesn’t displace the self so much as it comfortably displaces the other.</div><div><br /></div><div>I’d even say it displaces God.</div><div><br /></div><div>It’s an either/or: either we are here to take care of each other, or we are here to save each other. Dorothy Day lived poor among the poor, and recognized the need to accept them as they were, never to “help” them by bringing even the salvation of good works. Day worked hard to respect the poor as people, to treat them as wholly other rather than objects receiving her charity. It’s much harder to do good works from an approach of humility, than to try to persuade someone to think, or believe, as you do. I grew up and lived through the fervor of my Baptist peers convinced that what they thought of as salvation should not be denied to me. The effect, then and in memory now, was one of being invited into a cult; and if I wouldn’t come, I was dismissed like a used Kleenex. My only value was insofar as I thought like them; and I never did. This doesn’t make me superior; and it didn’t shadow my entire childhood. What I’ve told you did happen, but only once, and only from two girls I barely knew and haven’t seen again. I mean only to present it as an example.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is where we get back to Boebert. You and I may say her statement is, indeed, the opposite of what Jesus said. But she’s just repeating what she’s been taught: that faith is a thing (I don’t think it is. Faith is only trust. As I say, I’d replace the term with “belief,” but we still have the problem of “believing what you know ain’t so,” in the words of William James. Which is not what I mean at all. So that’s the other discussion.), and that thing has to be common to others, otherwise what’s the point of them? How many people you get to think like you is the central tenet of modern (v. historical, I mean. Yeah, another discussion.) evangelism. That’s the point of the preacher: the man (typically) who “brings people to Jesus.” What else is the point of a revival? (I attended one once, in my hometown. A friend’s church, the one <i>tout le</i> town attended. 5 nights consecutively. I took notes like an anthropologist in New Guinea. I still remember a girl I knew through her boyfriend, a good friend of mine. She was a member of that church (he wasn’t, either), and I remember one night she leaned over to talk to me, unable to take it anymore. She was terribly concerned I wasn’t “getting it;” that my salvation, in short, was at risk.) The church I grew up in taught us to do for others, and provided opportunities for us to volunteer to do just that. But it was because it was right, not because we would be saved if we did.</div><div><br /></div><div>So it’s a peculiar chopping off of a limb to forego the extra mile by reducing faith to evangelism and giving works the boot. Works become an obstacle to salvation, not a sign of it. And when that happens, it’s easy to see works as inimical to “real” faith. Discarding works also lets you off the hook. If the salvation pitch doesn’t win you over, well…they tried. And why bother with any works if the object of your charity is already damned? I mean, what can you really do for them? And if they aren’t damned, why aren’t they taking care of themselves? Doesn’t God help those who help themselves? Yeah, that’s Poor Richard, but I’m pretty sure a lot of Xians think it’s from Paul, or certainly Proverbs. Boebert may even imagine it’s found in 1 Timothy.</div><div><br /></div><div>So Boebert is not actually committing bad theology. She’s just repeating the bad theology she’s been taught. Although considering how many people teach it, and how many it is taught to, it’s arrogant to say they are wrong, but I am right. So I’ll only say I disagree; and that I understand why she said what she said. And that, yes, I think she’s wrong. </div><div><br /></div><div>But who am I to judge? I disagree with her idea; I don’t accept it. But that doesn’t mean I want her to agree with me. I just wanted to note what had happened.</div><div><br /></div><div>*I don’t personally think God is pleased by works or faith, but by us being pleased because we live in the <i>basileia tou theou </i>and are all working to be last of all and servant of all. Because then all is well and all manner of thing is well.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that’s what Xianity is really all about, Charlie Brown. Much, much, much longer discussion, of course.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0