WORDS: 3,044 — No question the Jan. 6th Committee must investigate the insurrection completely. But should the goal be to nail Trump for some misdeeds and toss his overweight, overbearing, and authoritarian ass into jail, or should it all be only to afford legislative corrections for the future… and make the history books accurate? What exactly is to be gained by dragging Trump into a courtroom? Justice? Perhaps we should then ask ourselves the final question here, will the pursuit of justice be worth the pursuit?
What’s My Greater Point Here?
The nation is in a bit of a transitional mess.. politically, socially, and morally. An understatement for sure. Do we really need what will amount to an “O.J.” style judicial media frenzy-on-steroids smack in the midst of a world economy in upheaval, Russia’s war, trying to recover from a pandemic… and at home here higher prices at the pump exceeding all previous records, baby formula supplies faltering, food prices skyrocketing, a coming mid-term election with all the candidates jockeying for position in a completely divisive political environment.. both sides literally trying to grab or retain political power by stretching our right to even vote in order to gain an edge at the polls? The nation can’t even come to grips on what truth is, much less arriving at some level of truth in order to administer fair justice on those guilty of a crime. Alternative truth? Uh, huh. We had an insurrection attempt January 6th of ’01 where a good portion of Americans think it was only an average day of tourists… or blowing the smoke that it was all about some politician (Democrat of course) failed to defend the Capitol.
Let’s add to this already substantial mess the general mood of the American public… the not-so-undercurrent of percolating violent discourse, mostly Right Wing neo-whatevers. Perhaps spawned by the last decade or so of of the growing political grievance and advancing nationalism, then reaching a bit of a crescendo with the likes of Trump and Trumpism-inspired lies and false conspiracies, forcing a strong uncompromising national political and social divide. Then comes the inherent struggles of life in general in living inside a pandemic, a lockdown isolating the society…. the subsequent faltering of the economy… the current economic effects of that along with the Russian war kicking up the costs of living.. increased random gun violence… mental health aberrations across the board… global environmental impacts… each of these things adding to social stresses, living stresses. Even the family unit is being affected with contrasting political and social positions casing turmoil between loved ones. Toss all of this into a growing seething cauldron of public emotions at all levels… the upcoming mid-tern election, and then that result (no matter what the result may be) will inherently feed into the 2024 election. All these issues will be the social tipping stressors continuing over the next 2-3 years… at least. Not sure yet that some level of social violence is somewhere on the horizon? Simply listen to some of the Jan. 6th Committee witnesses when they speak of threats to their lives and lives of their families for doing nothing more than their jobs according to the law.
A bit of a side note… to help illustrate the intense divide within the country check out this commercial for KAYAK. Rather genius that they are using a satire of the current family conflict over political differences to sell their product.
Now.. ask yourself a question… is it going to be worth the inevitable deaths and likely destruction of property around the country to put Trump on trial… and maybe find him guilty?
Look, I Get It….
I felt every repulsive minute of the Trump presidency… far more about the man himself than any of his policies. MAGA has been idiocy from its inception simply on the moniker context alone. The man was elected on some electoral anomaly… losing the popular vote, itself certainly an indication of him being unpopular with the majority. His obvious and diagnosed behavioral dysfunctions aside, his narcissism, extreme authoritarianism, and incompetent experience was an embarrassment to the country. But in 2020 our votes limited his impact any further, and his last gasp in office was to try and discredit the election… but more importantly he tried to interfere in the proper transition of government… and brought nearly 30%-45% of the country into believing in that lie. Oh, yes.. I certainly understand the rage to hold him legally responsible. If for nothing else but for the ongoing abuse of power, he is not above the law and therein rests a strength of our Constitution.
Let’s not forget, the man went through two impeachments in the House for alleged improprieties regarding conduct in office. The first being an abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in events surrounding the hustling of Ukraine for personal gain in the days before the Russian invasion. The second impeachment was indeed for his role in the insurrection as a result of inciting a lie about 2020 election results. An impeachment normally weighs heavy with any president, and with the public and politically, yet not with Trump. These two impeachments, given all that has transpired on domestic problems, political “noise”, and world events since, has all but been forgotten. Yet his devoted supporters still encompass extreme Right Wing radicals, to typical nationalists, to all the way into “average” Americans who feel a grievance toward anything pertaining to government and/or its institutions. For them defense of Trump always includes the “whataboutism” comparisons with Biden, as if the debate about Trump is just about policy, which is not the case at all in establishing Trump accountability.
But let’s break all this down to understand the future risks if the inclination that the Jan. 6th Committee should lead to an indictment of Trump is pressed forward.
First, CAN He Even BE Charged With Anything? (Do We Bother?)
It seems that a number of possible “crimes” being suggested from the testimonies obtained from the Jan. 6th Committee require a measure of establishing intent… meaning, did Trump realize that he was doing something illegal. Not sure I understand that one given I’ve always been led to believe that ignorance of the law is not an excuse for breaking it. But apparently some legal minds are indicating that these crimes require some establishment of state of mind. He has some defense with the fact that he was listening to his legal advisors, and as we know, a couple of those guys were pushing Trump to move forward on pushing Pence to act contrary to his Constitutional position. Others were in fact trying to push him against all that.
The following is from a NYT article you can check out HERE in greater detail.
In a civil case related to the committee’s work, a federal judge concluded in March that Mr. Trump and a lawyer who had advised him, John Eastman, had most likely committed felonies in their effort to overturn the election. “The illegality of the plan was obvious,” Judge David O. Carter of Federal District Court for the Central District of California concluded in that case.
Judge Carter cited two crimes that he said the two men were likely guilty of committing: conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Members of the House committee have made similar suggestions, and some lawyers have contended that Mr. Trump could also be vulnerable to a charge of seditious conspiracy.
But successfully prosecuting the potential charges suggested by Judge Carter and others could depend on establishing Mr. Trump’s intent — an issue that his statement this past week appeared to address with the argument that he believed his challenges to the outcome were grounded in legitimate questions about the conduct of the election.
Former Federal Prosecutor Renato Mariotti echoed similar speculation in a short CNN video clip interview on Smerconish, HERE .
“It’s very easy to tweet out or write an op-ed saying what people want to hear, it’s a very different thing to prove in a court of law.”
Yet certainly as we get more detail from Jan. 6th Committee testimony there is a growing emotional and actual factful impetus to want to see some indictments coming from the DOJ to address crimes by Trump and any of his complicit minions. While the growing pressure is on Merrick Garland to do indictments the expectation is that he indicts Trump for something. Indicting Trump’s complicit cohorts is a given, of course, and honestly Trump supporters could care less what befalls them. Trump people will presume that any charges levied against Trump are fraud, fake, unfounded, contrived, and the result of a hate-Trump conspiracy of the Liberal Left. After all, they believe in the Big Lie that Trump won in 2020… and that those election results should be reversed… and anything done to assure voter results in his win in the next election is justified. Use of violence an option.
So, to answer the “can he be charged?”.. likely that is a yes. But that does not assume he would be convicted. There is also the next consideration.
Second, SHOULD He Be Charged With Anything? (Should We Bother?)
Ah… now this is the big question. To try and answer that we would have to explore the sub-question… why would we NOT charge him if evidence supports it? For the sake of our discussion here let’s presume that Trump has enough evidence to be charged something.
No American is above the law, not even Presidents or ex-Presidents, hence if there is evidence of a crime having been committed then a person should be prosecuted, and of course given a chance to prove their innocense. Should a conviction be rendered then there is a process of appeals to assure proper review of evidence and Constitutional rights of the accused are maintained. This is a bedrock principle of our Constitution to assure justice for all. More important, this, plus our vote, makes us American.
Yep… as Americans this is what we are all about. But………………….
Third, Publicly, What Do We Expect If He Ends Up In Court? (What Do We Get In The End If We Bother?
……….there are some very serious considerations that we might consider before we decide to indict Trump over and above judicial requirements.
Given all the caveats to consider as I pointed out in the first couple paragraphs of this post regarding the political, social, and even moral mood of the country… the very possible likelihood of street violence, random violence into the once safe havens offered by our own neighborhood, the very apparent rise in Right Wing challenges to our democratic way of life, proliferation of guns along with the loosening of their regulations, and realizing that if the polls are to be believed that nearly 30%-35% of Americans have an intense grievance toward government and its institutions enough to consider non-Constitutional remedies, including violence…………… we might want to choose to reconsider charging Trump with anything, at least at this time. The alternative of a long and protracted judicial process, intensely media hectic daily, could suggest stress would lash out by damage and/or intentional destruction of property, and lives lost. The latter is important… we know people will die.
Given all the very possible ramifications of a Trump indictment (I mean.. imagine the huge outcry at the start over a possible release of Trump’s booking photo, which in itself would take on a life of its own across the entire planet.) every judicial step could be a trigger of some sort to his supporters. We should remember that part of that agitation sent to the more fringe elements of Trump supporters will also be the media reporting of anti-Trump Americans in a celebratory mood that Trump finally got nabbed for something. This could very easily split the nation more… and along more violent lines.
To Qualify This Thought…
At present Trump and/or his business is being investigated by a grand jury or two for other potential criminal activities. The following is a list of actions against Trump himself and/or his organization. Many of these are civil complaints… but a number are not. This list is compiled and maintained by LITIGATION TRACKER. (Hover over any selection below for a link to more information.)
E. Jean Carroll Defamation and Federal Tort Claims Act Litigation
Doe v. The Trump Corporation Class Action
Reps. Karen Bass et al. Incitement Suit for Jan. 6 Capitol Attack
Eric Swalwell Incitement Suit for Jan. 6 Riots
Capitol Police Suit for Jan. 6 Riots
Second Capitol Police Suit for Jan. 6 Riots
Third Capitol Police Suit over the Jan. 6 Riots
Metropolitan Police Suit over the Jan. 6 Riots
NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund Voting Rights Case for Post-Election Actions
New York Attorney General’s Civil and Criminal Investigations
Scotland Unexplained Wealth Orders
Michael Cohen Retaliatory Imprisonment Suit
Criminal Investigations into Trump’s Finances
DC AG Incitement Criminal Investigation
Fulton County, Georgia Criminal Election Influence Investigation
Westchester, New York Criminal Investigation of Trump Organization Golf Course
National Archives Investigation: Mishandled Classified Material
I firmly believe that what will result in the greatest impulsive reaction from Trump World would be some indictment as a result of the Jan. 6th Committee given they are the villains associated as the epitome of Trump hatred and conspiracy theories of the Right. Keep in mind that the Committee knows full well that they much conclude their investigation before the mid-term election this November. Any indictment as a result of that investigation will be looked upon as being entirely political in order to disgrace Trump and Republicans prior to the election. Also, once an indictment is started a Republican/Trump controlled Congress cannot stop it. So any trial would likely run smack into the general election in 2024… thus affecting any idea of Trump running on that ballot… and threatening any Republican grab for the White House. A lot of tension will be at play.
So What’s The Best Action (Or Not) To Take?
- Indict Trump per the Constitution as evidence presents itself… or…
- …hold off indictment and try and save the country… and possible lives?
Here’s my thought…. if the goal is to keep Trump from getting elected back into the White House at any cost then we can consider his age for one thing. He’s now 76 and would be 78 in 2024. His health is risky. If he doesn’t succumb to some health malady that limits his ability to move or his faculties, he may not want the remaining days of his life in the White House. He really doesn’t like being there anyway because it’s not his plush domiciles. He’s not even crazy of Air Force One. He’s got an affinity to winning.. that’s all. This was entirely the reason for the Big Lie… he hates losing. He doesn’t want to go through that again. Perhaps of more notable importance… who will serve His Majesty once he gets into the White House? Everyone certainly knows by now that serving him likely means future Congressional scrutiny, testifying, subpoenas.. the world of criminal litigation… all due to his excesses while in office. No one will be lining up for his inner circle bullshit of constant chaos. This could be Trump’s greatest Achilles Heel…. no one willing to serve him if he does run in 2024. Certainly no one of any caliber, experience, or talent. He will face an “alone” presidency. Congress, even if entirely GOP, will know how to control him this time around. The man is done. Hence, the risk of a future with him in the White House is not important…. and coupled with his age… he’s done serving. Also because of his age.. he gets sent to prison and any sentence could be a “lifetime” sentence.. even if a “country club” prison. What will the nation have proved? The Constitution wins the day? Honestly, that means something to me. But again.. when it’s all said and done what will it have cost the country to get Trump into a courtroom?
Seems to me defending the Constitution is not always about beating some foreign enemy trying to challenge our democratic republic. Not every line of defense is on a battlefield somewhere… but maybe it’s also a line we opt to draw within ourselves to defend by asserting what we believe is our form of justice in order to preserve the Constitution from within. Do we refuse that line of defense because we think the nation will have some rocky moments? Even if those rocky moments means death for some and destruction for many? Do we accept… enforce… the Constitution without exception or do we make exception?
Let’s ask ourselves, how likely will people die in the event of civil disruption over Trump? In fact, by what method are they likely going to die? By guns, of course. Feel the irony here. The Founders gave us the Second Amendment to presumably defend ourselves from invading armies.. that now broadly interpreted by the Supreme Court allows for everyone to own one.. thus ensuring a lifetime of random civil unrest for any disgruntled reason.
But Trump still has a loud voice and it carries with 30%-40% of Americans… so far. Discrediting him among his believers is the best we can all hope for. While he’s wrapped up in a trial other GOP’ers, like DeSantis, who are campaigning, could end up jumping in to fill the void before 2024. It seems the nation still benefits even if Trump doesn’t get convicted. The battle will consume him and the public doubt will remain.
As for me… for now I am leaning that should the evidence reveal Trump should be indicted I support that in support of the Constitution. I have no desire to see it in some “hate Trump” retribution thing. As for my perception/prediction of the threat of civil unrest and death and damage in the event Trump gets charged and booked… I can only hope I am wrong in that prediction. Does that mean I am willing to morally accept even one death due to Trumpian-motivated civil unrest in order to see Constitutional justice against him is carried out? Since nothing is assured in any of this… I can only accept responsibility, moral or otherwise, for that which I have direct control. But the dilemma is apparent for anyone.
As you know, I am not an American. But nothing would make me happier than to see Trump hauled off to jail in handcuffs to serve the proverbial 99 years and one day. Because I know how much he would hate to be ‘just a prisoner’, and never to be listened to again. But then I have the luxury of living in a foreign country, and would not have to experience any potential backlash.
What would I get from that? I would get the satisfaction that ‘entitlement’ does not stop you being imprisoned.
(Unlike our former Price Andrew, who proves the opposite is currently true.)
Best wishes, Pete.
Now we have our Conservative-leaning Supreme Court (thanks to Trump selections) saying states have no right to require a reason should someone wishing to conceal & carry… striking down long standing state statutes. It tosses out an over 100 year law in New York. Stay tuned… the Court Conservatives have more changes to traditional law coming. Abortion is next before they end their session this year. It’s a brave new world over here, Pete..
Doug – Borrowed from another blog, but it captures the essence of the ruling, in my assessment:
The right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to human dignity. To say to someone that they are not entitled to defend their lives lest they harm someone else is to elevate the dignity of ‘someone else’ over the dignity of the person being stripped of a right to self-defense. To say that you have the right to defend yourself but not the right to the tools that would make such a defense practicable is to say that you don’t really have the right after all — somewhat like a right to freedom of the press, but a prohibition on presses and similar technologies.
‘Human dignity’, to be allowed to carry out mass murder? You are what is wrong with the USA, and will drag it down to a third world country of gangs and muderers.
*Murderers* Typo.
I think you knew that those two sentences were garbage when you wrote them. Lawful ownership and carrying of a firearm no more “allows” murder” than does the lawful operation of a motor vehicle “allows” fatal accidents.
You are free to rely on the armed agents of the State for protection of you, your family and your home. But to support the deprivation of that very basic human, Constitutional and Civil Right, is illustrative of a distinct lack of human dignity. Maybe that comes from being a ‘Subject’.
Yeah.. I know, Jeff. Kinda reminds me of the years of fear over nuclear proliferation… and maintaining a strategic parity…. both sides have the same ability to destroy each other and we tried to keep it that way. But then other nations wanted a nuke.. and because that one had a nuke other nations needed a nuke.
Conceal & carry… should I now consider doing it because others are doing it and I now feel threatened that much more?
All this over some fear of being.. defenseless.
Let me offer a premise that I believe you’ll agree on: a Citizen is at more risk of harm outside the home than in. Let me know if you disagree, but I think that crime statistics will bear that out.
So then, why would we allow the State to remove (at the barrel of a gun mind you) the ability (and fundamental Right) of a Citizen to protect oneself where the risk is greatest?
A firearm is a tool. It’s a tool that gets misused, just as any other tool (we’ll include motor vehicles in this category). So why does the anti-gun crowd project their own rather baseless fear onto gun owners? The majority of concealed carriers aren’t don’t feel ‘afraid’…….they feel they’re prepared. Just as one would have a fire extinguisher in their home…..they’re not afraid of their home burning down…..they’ve taken a step to ensure that they can mitigate the step.
This projected fear by the gun control camp, dovetails nicely with the reliance on false narratives, ignorance of firearms and the appeal to fear and hysteria. What’s worse, is that these same people wish to legislate based on the above.
You are correct.. the fear extends to both sides of the debate. The use of statistics.. and I am a statistics person.. measures frequency of occurrence in order to establish importance, hence action, or not, to be taken. The issue with guns is that their use results in injury or death because that was their designed use. Given even one life is considered sacred.. generally.. the argument becomes a moral one. If only 1% of guns are involved in harming humans.. and I am not asserting that is correct, just an example… statistically a 99% seems a reasonable safety margin for gun ownership.. except if you just happen to fall into that 1%. Per one million guns, 1% is 10,000 people. Those ten thousand.. too bad, so sad. How many of those are dead kids in classrooms? My point here.. guns are not like vehicles. Vehicles can kill but are generally not designed to do so. They are a conveyance that serves no direct Constitutional right. So, yes.. both sides have some “blowing smoke” in the overall debate. As I am writing this SCOTUS has tossed out Roe v. Wade. Buckle up… we are in a different world now.
Given even one life is considered sacred.. generally.. the argument becomes a moral one.
Sure. But then you go into a statistical model, implying that criminals will be affected by gun control legislation…and omitting those Citizens who would be killed, if they weren’t ‘allowed’ to exercise their Constitutional Right and protect themselves if their families. Is it “too bad, so sad” for them as well?
Remember, criminals already carry concealed, and always have.
It is called ‘Gilead’, Doug. Read ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. You are now living the reality of that old book, and it is going to get much worse.
Yeah.. I fear the worse is yet to come… and not only because of guns.. as there are many stressors going on right now. The gun will simply be a handy remedy for some… and I include suicide in there as much as I do impulsive trigger pulling.
I have no faith in the Congress anymore…..to me this hearing thing is political theater for we all are aware of the trash around Trump….and the power he has over our Congress….public opinion means little these days……
I cannot like this post….did I do something wrong……chuq
Not to worry about the “like” thing, chuq. I have no idea. WordPress is so skittish at times.
Regarding what you said… I feel, and fight, the same frustration, old buddy. Now we have the Conservative side of SCOTUS weighing in. Rather makes one want to move to England. Maybe Pete can put us up with Ollie. 🙂
My daughter is talking about Newfoundland……I am not liking the ideas I am hearing of the mid-terms…..things are about to get worse. chuq
I was stationed TDY for 30 days up in Goose Bay (Labrador technically). Pretty remote.. but pretty. 🙂
Doug,
I am not sure we the “we “include anyone other than certain leaders of the Democrat party and a few RINOs.
Why they bother is in my opinion is related to their vanity, hatred, and when Congresss has a House majority in power, the can do anything they want..
Evem you, a self avowed Trump hater has to recognizes that Trump managed to accomplish the majority of his campaign promises in spite of the attempts to get him out of office and/or reelected.
Now that we have experienced the damage of the Democrat leaders failed management in less than two years.
I in my opinion if they send Trump to jail, while at the same time never jail rioters who the Democrats never bothered with and even defended, the Democrats may serve to assure Trump serves another term.
Regards and goodwill blogging.
There were 7,000 demonstrations during the summer of blm riots… 93% were peaceful. A total of 19 people were killed… even one is tragic, yes… but we are talking numbers here. Since the riots were under local law enforcement jurisdiction, other than federal property, it would have been up to them to investigate and prosecute.. which by the way something like 900 over the period of time were arrested. Apples and oranges Rudy.
Doug,
Do your figures take into account the perhaps thousands who were never arrested for breaking or stealing or deatroying private merchants and never pursued or arrested by police that were evidenced and viewed by miilons watching on tv during the 7000 “peaceful” riots?
Regards and goodwill blogging
We have to worry about “perhaps thousands” now? If you prefer to presume Jan. 6th was just a few harmless tourists with too much to much to drink.. well, that’s on you. But comparing that event to the Summer of BLM love because… makes no sense at all. For that matter.. why not compare the BLM riots to the 1968 Dem National Convention in Chicago.. and Daley’s thugs just running into the hippies with batons beating away.
Doug –
Your comment, \
“We have to worry about “perhaps thousands” now? “
The worry is about the example of justice projected by the “Elite’ Congress that if someone breads into their building, they will print as many dollars as necessary to bring them to justice.
However, if rioters by the thousands, break into the non-elitists average Joes buildings, they will do nothing.
Does that seem just to you or does it make you concerned there is possibly something wrong with the Democrat party leader in Congress being blind in the sense that supposedly the justice in the USA is really sense blind” for the average Americans when compared to the elitist in Congress.
So as your post titled questions, perhaps the best thing to do is vote the elitists Democrats in office so they can return to the realities of the average joes living in the USA instead of Washington DC castles.
The people who should worry are the members in Congress who bothered to be elected in the first place Instead of sitting on thrones in Washington DC. And instead of printing dollars to pay to only prosecute rioters who attack them and jailed while waiting to be tried while thousands of other rioters are freed without bail because the victims of the rioters where just average Joes and not elitists in Congress.
Regards and goodwill blogging.
To begin with.. “their building” is OUR building… and a few actually are icons of our freedom. Seems a strange false equivalency, Rudy. Those Congressional “elites” that are sitting on D.C. thrones… well, they are there because of our votes. I don’t care if they’ve had their seat for 10 generations. Votes put them there and votes keep them there until they die or lack of votes force them out.
Doug
You really believe the million Americans who viewed the riots on TV believe, especially after seeing on TV that if a rioter enters a house or business in their neighborhood for a cause or reason, they believe is rioters destroy homes and businesses to burn steal from other homes?
If so what distinguishes the two types of rioters causes or reasons to warrant the difference rioters actions if not that justice is blind if you enter our houses if it is not elitism?
Regards and goodwill blogging.
An understatement for sure. Do we really need what will amount to an “O.J.” style judicial media frenzy-on-steroids smack in the midst of a world economy in upheaval, Russia’s war, trying to recover from a pandemic… and at home here higher prices at the pump exceeding all previous records, baby formula supplies faltering, food prices skyrocketing, a coming mid-term election with all the candidates jockeying for position in a completely divisive political environment.. both sides literally trying to grab or retain political power by stretching our right to even vote in order to gain an edge at the polls? The nation can’t even come to grips on what truth is, much less arriving at some level of truth in order to administer fair justice on those guilty of a crime. Alternative truth? Uh, huh. We had an insurrection attempt January 6th of ’01 where a good portion of Americans think it was only an average day of tourists… or blowing the smoke that it was all about some politician (Democrat of course) failed to defend the Capitol.
Doug in all honesty I agree with most of what you have written but the above mentioned quote really hits the tip of the iceburg to all the problems we are facings. Both sides of the isle are playing political football and it is with our being able to sustain this nation, which cannot boast of its wealth around the world with the debackle we have here at home. Our politicians do not care about us be they Republican or Democrat. Truly I have had it with them all. Trump, Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, AOC and I won’t forget what a hypocrit MITCH McCONNELL has always been – he is the father of PORK! When other countries paid businesses they closed down at the height of the pandemic, here in the US McConnell whined we are not a nanny state. I would love to shove any bottle up that mans mouth he is so unitelligble.
To your issue on January 6th, they all lied. Pelosi was told to ramp up protection and she did not. But Trump incited a lot of it just like Schumer incited the threats on our SCOTUS now two years ago by threatening Kavanaugh and Gorcich. These politicians are all hypocrits. We need new blood.
Good post and write up Doug.
You state a common and growing national frustration. I certainly have no answer to it all.. but one can only have faith in the good will of people. I’m inspired by those Republicans who stood to their Constitutional convictions on or around the event of around Jan. 6… and now they and their families put up with threats to their lives. Honestly, if anyone deserve the Medal of Freedom these people do.. not the likes of a Rush L.
Rush L. is a hypocrite. I never liked that man, seriously. You know he died of lung cancer. I never liked him but that was sad. Yes, the state of affairs are sad, but I hope at the end of the day humankind will be kind and the goodness of people will win out.
Rush was born the same year as me. Rather sobering when someone your age dies before you.
Wow so true, but think of all those younger than us that die that never make it to your age or mine. We are blessed.
One benefit of dragging this one into court, finding him guilty and consigning him to care of the state for a long time might be that he cannot involve himself with our politics for awhile … It might prevent Him from winning again in 2024 and turning us into an oligarchial dictatorship with the assistance of his court, (formerly known as ‘The Supreme Court’ … now called (by me at least) “The Trump Court.” But then again, there is DeSantis who might be even worse in out-Trumping the paradigm.
DeSantis could be a real problem. He’s apparently fairly intelligent.. although not sure by what standard. Trump was/is basically a behavioral idiot (although he has lots more money than me). With DeSantis it might be more like Trump-with-brains.
Dear Doug … first let me say how much I appreciate the time and thought you put into all your blog posts. You are comfortingly thorough and I appreciate that a lot. Now just one thought on this post:
You wrote, ” ….. But should the goal be to nail Trump for some misdeeds and toss his overweight, overbearing, and authoritarian ass into jail, or should it all be only to afford legislative corrections for the future… and make the history books accurate?…..”
Owing to the fact that the Trump worshipers have spent considerable time and effort to successfully gerrymander many many voting districts — and to get ballot drop boxes declared unconstitutional or illegal in many other areas, this inconveniencing many who suffer from disabilities … and hundreds of others — have gotten state legislators to pass laws allowing state legislators to overcome decisions by members of the electoral college and thus to take away the votes of millions of their citizens — and firmly established dominant power in the Supreme Court …. taking away citizen rights by the truck load —- and all the other dirty tricks they have used to make sure they win the 2024 election by a landslide …an incontestible landslide…. a crooked landslide ….I am worried that any “Legislative Corrections” for the future are already in danger of being only legislative corrections favorable to the new Radicalized GOP “New Order” fascist-style dictatorship they are wish dreaming to achieve — and while they are doing all this, they will also rewrite all the history books so that the only “Accuracy” the books will contain will be the fabricated “Accuracies that the New Order Conservative fascists will have invented for themselves and propagandized the nation to accept and believe.