TRUTHY

You're probably right.

We're all going to be red in the face if Thomas turns up alive and healthy.

Maybe Roberts just thought it wasn't any of our business why Thomas was MIA on Monday.

LAMP

Roberts had an explanation for why Thomas was absent the other time.

The problem this time seems to be that Roberts did not have an explanation for Thomas' absence.

So that leaves the question wide open for hanky-panky speculation.

And why did Trump think it was urgent for him to be there on April 25 when his immunity case is scheduled to be heard? (request denied by Judge Merchan)

Trump has never bothered to attend when any of his other cases were being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

And the judge won't let Trump off on April 25th to attend the U.S. Supreme Court hearing on his immunity case either.

I wonder if there's a connection to the report that Justice Clarance Thomas is MIA ~ Missing in Action ~ today without an explanation from Chief Justice Roberts?

Is Thomas dead, at age 75? Possibly. Does Trump think he has to be there on April 25th to intimidate the other justices? Possibly.

Roberts isn't saying much so it must be serious.

And guess what. The immunity case is coming before the Court on April 25 ~ just 10 days from now.

Could this be linked to why Trump asked to be excused from the hush money case on April 25 so he could attend the U.S. Supreme Court hearing?

Does Trump think his presence at the U.S. Supreme Court would be intimidating?

Looks like court adjourned around 4:30 EST after which Trump went on another rant about witch hunts and election interference, etc., etc. ~ all his usual spiel.

One thing I haven't heard about yet.

Who are the witnesses for the defense?

Are there any?

MSNBC is reporting that jury selection is over. No word on when court will adjourn for the day.

DONNERBOY @ #19

"Donald Trump's own words are too prejudicial against Donald Trump."

The judge won't make a decision until tomorrow morning after the hearing.

I think the prosecution will convince the judge that they need to bring up previous behavior, namely lies, etc. to counter Trump's testimony in case he decides to take the stand in his own defense.

The judge will probably agree but with some stipulations.

CORKY

You jest. But I'm sure there are people who think so.

This case is about the falsification of business records to cover up an underlying crime.

BTW, I don't see Melania in court today to support her husband.

Another hearing will be held tomorrow morning about the prosecutor's request to introduce evidence from other trials to establish Trump's lack of credibility. The defense is calling that too prejudicial.

Maybe he was asking his attorney if he could go take a nap in the limousine until after jury selections.

He looks terrible, like he hasn't had much sleep lately. And those blue cholesterol bags under his eye are enormous. He doesn't appear to be wearing his usual stage makeup.

Reporters inside the room are reporting that Trump is talking to his attorney, perhaps trying to make suggestions, and his attorney was heard to say, "No, no, no!" and wave him off.

Maybe we should start calling the Speaker John Thomas Johnson so the Brits could get the joke.

DONNERBOY

No doubt. The news just reported that the hardliners in Netanyahu's council are urging him to "go crazy" on Iran.

At the same time President Biden is urging Netanyahu to exercise restraint.

Netanyahu is peddling backward with the usual, Israel will pick the time and place, yada, yada, yada.

We'll soon see if your predictions about blowing op their new PR comes true.

Since Netanyahu's job has been hanging on a string lately, I have a feeling that whatever decision he makes will be guided by that . . . and also what side Saudia Arabia will take in the ongoing peace negotiations.

Just as a side note: Some posters (not you) are conflating Israel>>Gaza>>Palestinians with Israel>>Hamas>>Iran. Even though loosely linked, these are two separate issues and should be judged accordingly by this panel.

"The Empire managers are out early today."

What "Empire, PUMPKINHEAD? I don't see an Empire. Do you see an Empire?

President Biden did a beautiful thing on Saturday.

He prevented both Israel and Iran from escalating their war to the point that would eventually drag the United States into the conflict.

He told Iran to shut up and sit down and he told Israel that the U.S. would support their defense but would not support their offense.

As an aside, President Biden also prevented Iran from interfering with the peace accords currently being brokered by the U.S. between Israel and Saudi Arabia which is a spike-sized thorn in Iran's side.

I think a point has been made.

President Biden may talk softly because it's not his nature to parade around bellowing like a bull (like the former guy) but it's guaranteed that he still carries a very big stick.

I repeat, what kind of Mission Impossible was Iran thinking?

And yes, I understand that Iran was already too deep in the weeds to back down from their threats without looking like total wussies, but didn't they have a network of intelligence services telling them what to expect BEFORE they made their ominous threats, not only against Israel but also against the United States?

Just for future reference, here is an article that explains what Iran was up against when the launched their air attack on Israel.

What in the world were they thinking?

Getting rid of both DeSantis (he's ineligible for a 3rd term) and Trump in November and the Gaetz problem will solve itself.

CENSORED @ 197

Thanks for that briefing. I really wasn't paying much attention until Hamas attacked Israel. Now I see things much more clearly . . . except for this:

"And the bleeding heart westerners are falling for Iran and Hamas's efforts to sabotage that peace process."

It seems to me that "westerners" (by that I assume you mean President Biden) is doing everything he can to keep a lid on an expanding conflict that has the potential to drag the United States into a reginal war.

So, . . . if as you say, "Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United States were inching closer towards a transformative three-way deal," how can this "And the bleeding heart westerners are falling for Iran and Hamas's efforts to sabotage that peace process" also be true.

IOW, why would the U.S. try to sabotage a deal that they're part of sponsoring?

Do I understand you correctly? Are you saying that you think the United States should have backed Israel's retaliation instead of cooling their jets.

Whether she knew it or not, Olga Skabeeva called the U.S. Speaker of the House the Kremlin's #1 -----.

I wish I was a political cartoonist. I could have lot of fun with this.

E1G1

I can believe that. What's never been explained is what did Netanyahu do to make Hamas turn on the hand that was feeding them?

$1,000,000.00???

That's not enough.

CENSORED

Most likely Iran got President Biden's drift when he told them, "Be very, very careful where you aim."

Meaning, of course, that the U.S. would be all over Iran like ugly on an ape if a missile "accidentally" struck a U.S. military base in Israel.

And then President Biden told Netanyahu, "You don't have our support if you retaliate."

Thankfully, President Biden's cooler head prevailed.

DONNERBOY

Agreed!

What I saw was a lot of wasted money as Iran's drones and missiles got popped out of the air like clay pigeons. I don't think any of them even left a pock mark on Israeli ground.