Trump

[SkyDekker 1,465]

On 9/13/2024 at 8:24 PM, nigel99 said:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-djt-stock-truth-social-no-intention-of-selling-lockup/
 

I wonder why so many idiots buy his lies? What are the odds that he sells shares within a month and blames it on Harris/Biden?

Which would be another lawsuit.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

11 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

Yes. He has already defiled too many of our institutions. Lets hope he doesn't also permanently defile our secret service.

He already has. Some examples are:

• Anthony Ornato
• Jan 6 text messages

 

[winsor 236]

There's a bizarre quality to the people shooting at The Donald.

If either was a skilled marksman and experienced hunter (not given to 'buck fever'), we would have a different candidate.

The first case was reminiscent of "The Day of the Jackal," in an amateurish kind of way.  If you had someone climbing onto that roof as part of a screenplay I'd have called bullshit, no way could he have made it up there with the place crawling with cops and Secret Service, etc..  Okay, so apparently it happened.

In the most recent go around the perp survived, but didn't have much of an escape plan.  His choice of kit for a long range money shot seems to have been whatever was at hand.

Sarah Jane Moore and Lynette Fromme come to mind as examples of technically inept people pointlessly attempting assassination (Ford was a pretty decent guy by all accounts).

I'm coming to the point where I think Presidents and Legislators should be drafted at random from a pool of qualified individuals, like jury duty.  Someone seeing it as an onerous responsibility, rather than the brass ring, is likely to do a better job.  They could hardly do worse.

BSBD,

Winsor

 

 

[SkyDekker 1,465]

10 minutes ago, winsor said:

I'm coming to the point where I think Presidents and Legislators should be drafted at random from a pool of qualified individuals, like jury duty.  Someone seeing it as an onerous responsibility, rather than the brass ring, is likely to do a better job.  They could hardly do worse.

Yes, grouping people and then establishing a ruling class. What could possibly go wrong.

[ryoder 1,590]

So much winning!

I get so damned tired of the GOP thinking they are above copyright law. Of course if they can get this to SCOTUS, they could win it.

Donald Trump loses legal fight over using Eddy Grant song without permission

[JoeWeber 2,836]

26 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

Yes, grouping people and then establishing a ruling class. What could possibly go wrong.

You might also ask what could go right. I can not see our flawed system of choosing leaders working better with more people voting, and there will be more people. 

[winsor 236]

53 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

Yes, grouping people and then establishing a ruling class. What could possibly go wrong.

Telling that you take that as my recommendation.

Does qualification to serve on a jury put one in the ruling class?

[billvon 3,075]

40 minutes ago, ryoder said:

Donald Trump loses legal fight over using Eddy Grant song without permission

RIGGED!

And the other day Trump tripped walking down a hallway in Mar-A-Lago.  The floor was RIGGED!

[nigel99 569]

4 minutes ago, billvon said:

RIGGED!

And the other day Trump tripped walking down a hallway in Mar-A-Lago.  The floor was RIGGED!

Seen on Reddit “ the concept of an assassination attempt “

[JerryBaumchen 1,442]

17 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

It's been abundantly clear for quite a while that the porn model wants NOTHING to do with him.

I found this in about 10 seconds. Further searching will undoubtedly find a lot more.

https://www.tiktok.com/@betches/video/6903608019867684101

Hi Joe,

It must be a sad day when the woman that you bought & paid for will not even hold your hand.

Jerry Baumchen

[JerryBaumchen 1,442]

9 hours ago, kallend said:

Native born Ohioan kills and eats cat:

 

On Aug. 26, Canton police charged a 27-year-old woman with animal cruelty and disorderly conduct after she “did torture, kill, and eat a cat in a residential area in front (of) multiple people,” according to a police report.

But Allexis Ferrell is not Haitian. She was born in Ohio and graduated from Canton’s McKinley High School in 2015, according to public records and newspaper reports. Court records show she has been in and out of trouble with the law since at least 2017. Messages seeking comment were not returned by several attorneys who have represented her.

Hi John,

I know and have often worked with an engineer who was born in Berlin in 1944.  After WW II, his mother & he lived with her parents in Berlin.  They often ate 'roof rabbits.'  This is slang for cats.

Times were very tough for them back then.

Jerry Baumchen

[JerryBaumchen 1,442]

6 hours ago, wolfriverjoe said:

I don't know about that.

Typically, when the cult leader dies, the cult dies along with it.
The same thing with a dictatorship.
Unless there's a clear successor*, who can mesmerize the fools as well as the original leader, it usually ends up in infighting and chaos.

Watching Vance try to take over the MAGA movement would be hilarious.
As is typical with dictators (both actual and 'wannabe') Trumpty Dumpty has made sure that anyone actually capable of leading doesn't stay around.

*Two notable exceptions are DPRK (North Korea) and the old Soviet Union.
Kim Il Sung made sure his son would take over, and subsequent sons have done the same. It's a 'family dynasty' very similar to medieval Europe.
In the old Soviet Union, there were often a few different individuals who were capable of leading. And sometimes a few who thought they were, but the Politburo didn't agree. Because the secondary leaders wanted to stay in power, they made sure there was a reasonably smooth transfer of power when the leader died.
 

Hi Joe,

In 1953, when Stalin died, Beria made an attempt [ somewhat of a coup ] to grab power.  Kruschev and a few others got to him first.  He ended up being shot in the dungeons of the Kremlin.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Kremlin is Russian for prison.  

 

[SkyDekker 1,465]

1 hour ago, JoeWeber said:

You might also ask what could go right. I can not see our flawed system of choosing leaders working better with more people voting, and there will be more people. 

Because it would just consolidate power with the SCOTUS, which is already more political than judicial. 

[SkyDekker 1,465]

43 minutes ago, winsor said:

Telling that you take that as my recommendation.

Does qualification to serve on a jury put one in the ruling class?

Before or after voir dire?

A Stone - Loomer ticket would indeed be such an improvement.

[JoeWeber 2,836]

49 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

Because it would just consolidate power with the SCOTUS, which is already more political than judicial. 

I just think democracies are doomed to collapse at a certain population threshold. Probably somewhere around 350 million it appears.

[olofscience 489]

17 minutes ago, JoeWeber said:

I just think democracies are doomed to collapse at a certain population threshold. Probably somewhere around 350 million it appears.

India can arguably be called a democracy, and they're 1.4 billion.

[obelixtim 150]

7 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

All very good points but I'd hope that the assassination "attempts" would stop. He gets sympathy, fund raising and attention off each attempt.

When you call upon your base for violence. When you promise to pardon your coup partners. When you act as a mafia boss, you have to keep cool to sustain the Teflon facade.

Then there is the trump underlings calling for retribution:

"Hours after what the F.B.I. called a second attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump, Elon Musk wrote on his social media site — and then deleted — a post suggesting it was odd that nobody had tried to kill President Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mr. Musk said the post on X had been intended as a joke."

Musk is an odious creep. His idea of a "joke" is extremely dangerous. You can expect some loon to have a go at Harris or Walz. He knows exactly what can happen, which is why he thought twice and deleted his post. 

[JoeWeber 2,836]

17 minutes ago, olofscience said:

India can arguably be called a democracy, and they're 1.4 billion.

I'll take the Swedish commissions definition of electoral autocracy over democracy 

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

1 hour ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Joe,

In 1953, when Stalin died, Beria made an attempt [ somewhat of a coup ] to grab power.  Kruschev and a few others got to him first.  He ended up being shot in the dungeons of the Kremlin.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Kremlin is Russian for prison.  

 

Yup. That's exactly what I was referring to. I didn't want to go into detail because Soviet history isn't a super popular subject in the US.

Typically they had at least a 'concept of a plan' for succession, there were alliances (and rivalries) in the Politburo. Mostly they wanted a smooth transition. Revolutions tend to get messy, they put the rest of the leadership at very high risk and they leave the country vulnerable to outside intervention.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

54 minutes ago, JoeWeber said:

I just think democracies are doomed to collapse at a certain population threshold. Probably somewhere around 350 million it appears.

Not sure it is a population issue. I think any democracy is doomed when the spread between the have and have nots gets too big.

[billvon 3,075]

11 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

Not sure it is a population issue. I think any democracy is doomed when the spread between the have and have nots gets too big.

AND when money confers political power.  The combination of those two things are what neuters democracies.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

1 hour ago, billvon said:

AND when money confers political power.  The combination of those two things are what neuters democracies.

agreed, but that was somewhat implied. What is the purpose of money if it doesn't give you time and power?

 

Edited to add to that: I have stated here before that I think history will eventually show the Citizens United decision to be the beginning of the end. 

Edited September 16, 2024 by SkyDekker

[nigel99 569]

48 minutes ago, SkyDekker said:

Not sure it is a population issue. I think any democracy is doomed when the spread between the have and have nots gets too big.

I agree that’s the primary issue, but another aspect is people losing a sense of communal responsibility- one of the few benefits of organised religion. 

[SkyDekker 1,465]

31 minutes ago, nigel99 said:

I agree that’s the primary issue, but another aspect is people losing a sense of communal responsibility- one of the few benefits of organised religion. 

I don't think that is lost at all, I think it is very strong. But the communities have split and each is convinced only their community has the right answers.....very much like a religion.

[ryoder 1,590]

3 hours ago, JerryBaumchen said:

Hi Joe,

In 1953, when Stalin died, Beria made an attempt [ somewhat of a coup ] to grab power.  Kruschev and a few others got to him first.  He ended up being shot in the dungeons of the Kremlin.

Jerry Baumchen

PS)  Kremlin is Russian for prison.  

 

"The Death of Stain"(2017) is an entertaining film on the topic. It is a dark comedy.