... .. That model proved gold for Democrats during Donald Trump's first term as president. The constant refrain that the "tyrant" was unraveling democracy provided their justification for tearing through standards and norms. In the name of saving the country from Trump excesses, we were told, holdover acting Attorney General Sally Yates had to defy presidential orders, the Federal Bureau of Investigation needed to lie to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a special counsel was required to dog a sitting president, the bureaucracy had a duty to "resist" Trump policy, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh had to undergo a circus inquisition, and Congress had no choice but to hold Trump officials in contempt, issue unprecedented subpoenas and impeach the president.
Just before 1 a.m. Tuesday, the Biden Justice Department's hand-picked Trump prosecutor, Jack Smith, released a report on the investigation that resulted in the indictment of Donald Trump on four counts involving the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The report did not have a lot of new information in it " Smith has poured out his evidence in filing after filing for more than a year " but it did contain Smith's assessment that he could have convicted Trump had Trump not won the presidency and is thus no longer subject to federal prosecution. What else could Smith say? That he had spent all that time and money, and stirred up the country so much, on a case he thought he would lose? Of course Smith would express confidence. He had no other option. Now that he has quit, he leaves muttering, "I coulda won, I coulda won.
After news broke last week that wildfires were tearing through Los Angeles, I checked in on Bill and Cindy Simon, longtime friends of my wife and me who live in Pacific Palisades. Bill is the son of William Simon, the investor and philanthropist who served as Treasury secretary under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. By the time we spoke, the Simons had evacuated their home and checked into a hotel in neighboring Santa Monica. Around half of the houses on their block had burned to the ground, along with the Catholic church at the end of the street, the town library, the village theater and two large grocery stores.
V Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen recently expressed what many felt at the reelection of Donald Trump: not triumph so much as relief. "I hope this last ten years increasingly is just going to feel like a bad dream," he told podcast host Joe Rogan. "I can't believe we tolerated the level of repression ... and anger and ... emotional incontinence and ... cancellation campaigns." Much of it was orchestrated or encouraged by our government. One could say many things about Trump's cabinet picks. At times, they seem to embody Government by Middle Finger. But they also, undeniably, represent Government by the Canceled: an assemblage that doesn't need to be reminded of the administrative state's ability to coerce the American public by calling in favors from Big Tech or pulling the levers of regulation, audit, or investigation. Many have experienced such treatment firsthand.
As a new wave of fire and high winds threaten Los Angeles, the media is reporting that California's elected leaders are not to blame and that right-wing influencers and Donald Trump are spreading misinformation and politicizing a tragedy. Racial and gender quotas through DEI aren't to blame. No, Mayor Karen Bass didn't cut the Fire Department's budget. No, Gavin Newsom didn't cut CalFire's wildfire prevention budget. And no, there wasn't any way to prevent these fires or the fire hydrant water from running out. Climate change made the disaster inevitable due to "whiplashing" rain levels. They're all lies
" #7 | POSTED BY REDIAL AT 2025-01-21 01:56 AM | FLAG: "
You've been really funny the past couple of days. I hope it's a new trend and not an anomaly.