Pete1111

Earlier this year (May 2023) Lindsey Graham claimed the focus on Clarence Thomas is an unethical initiative by the Dems to delegitimize a conservative court. But by now isn't it clear Uncle Thomas is largely responsible for the fall in the Court's reputation? I'm not waiting for LindseyBelle to chime in again anytime soon, at least not until he learns his fate in Fulton County, whether he is indicted or is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Grand Jury election fraud case. Since that news may come soon (this week?) ol' Lindsey will need to check his hair and makeup for another turn on Fox, for more spin. Frankly, I'm not as focused on Clarence and Lindsey though. Rather, I'm excited to see The Donald have his mug shot and fingerprints taken before appearing in court, in Fulton County

I'm excited upcoming film "Saltburn" has a steamy, homoerotic relationship featuring Jacob Elordi and Barry Keoghan. IMO Keoghan was fantastic in Banshees and Elordi is also great. Sounds like the actors got shredded for the roles. But I dread how the woke Internet will cry foul and raise a stink the production did not cast an out gay actor. I just don't agree films should limit their cast nor do I understand where on the Kinsey scale the actor must land to avoid being fired.

That's it, in a nutshell, although how the lamestream media keeps framing the race with messaging about Biden's unpopularity is not helping. Rather, they could explore data showing how Biden is not optimal yet he remains preferable to TFG, due to Trump's potential dementia, his indictments, grifting by his company, sexual abuser, etc. But the lamestream media remains hands-off in too many ways. Similarly, they could frame the Manchin 3rd party candidacy with the inevitable Trump win and by pointing to what Ayres predicts in @stevenkesslar post, 4 years of retribution, not to mention more Trump crimes and more pardons. But the media does not focus on those issues. Not enough anyway.

Economically, if the strikes don't settle soon, that's going to hurt. Barry Diller talked about it on Face the Nation, Sunday. I'm not concerned about lack of new content. I will ramp up my reading.

Love Mel Brooks.

One might draw a parallel how @Lucky's original OP, whether Alvin Brag's 34 count Felony indictment against Trump was a good idea, got dragged into a trans debate like MAGA does, keeping our eye off the ball, when our focus was on TFG's crimes. They toss their current dog whistle style smoke bomb tactics into a debate. So, circling back to the OP, it is a fair question that many were asking. Trump fucked around and broke the law to keep hidden what could have hurt his candidacy. It worked. Trump didn't get Comey'ed like Hillary did. So, does America want to go after Trump now? The deed was done. Trump won. His scheme worked. What good does it do now to make Trump pay for that unlawful activity. In my mind (and I am an engineer, not a lawyer) the answer is yes. Justice should be blind to the person committing the crime. Right? But in this case many were questioning that belief. Justice should not be blind. Alvin Bragg charging Trump would only help Trump raise money and help his poll numbers. Therefore New York should just let it go. Fast forward three months, Lucky's OP is more and more apropos, and the media is parroting the same arguments. Jack Smith and Fani Willis have Trump in their sites. The media responds how Trump fund raising and poll numbers will benefit. The dialogue has shifted slightly. Barr, Pence, Haley and their ilk are now claiming how sticking Trump in prison (vs. Indicting Trump) would be wrong for America. Me, I would stick Trump in Guantanamo. But back to the OP. As an engineer and not a lawyer, I would logically ask if forgiving Trump for his crimes in NY is best, then which crimes rise to a level that cries our for Justice? My opinion is Trump is part of a dangerous situation threatening our Democracy. His crimes must not be ignored at any level. History must make clear every crime he is guilty of and we must assign a just sentence in every case. Not making Trump pay for all his crimes is a terribly, risky path to take. LOCK HIM UP!

You make a good point. Even if the Dems kept their nose clean 24/7, how the GOP spreads culture war misinformation and spreads lies about our government and the Dems needs a far better response. The GOP may be shooting themselves in the foot by supporting criminal and ignorant politicians yet the Dems could be taking better advantage. Back to the OP, Corporate America knows that workplace diversity is a competitive imperative. So, I say "no, the gays have not gone to far." Then, can the Dems wake up Corporate America to help stop this ant-diversity crazy train the GOP is on? Or can the Dems pay attention to the Lincoln Project and to the clever young Dems in the House that are rubbing the GOP's nose in their mess? Or do we just need more @stevenkesslars out their banging on doors. Or all of that and more. Yet, a lot of voters base their decision on their personal economic situation. Do the Dems know how to make a better case for that? I fear they don't. So maybe it is time to throw away the rule book. Our gay lives are at stake.

I'm somewhat relieved to hear you are not worried, because I am very worried. But maybe I worry too much. Nevertheless here are two things I worry about. First, denying service for creating a web site seems nearly benign. I am definitely one of those people that prefers not to have service from someone that is antigay. I'm careful, e.g. I would never consider surgery at our local Catholic hospital. And so on. But the idea that it is acceptable to deny service because I'm gay sounds like a scary world. Again, I worry a lot. Second, I am not confident marriage equality won't be overturned. Do we know there are already members of SCOTUS that would undo Obergefell v. Hodges? We just don't know how many. We also know there are members of far right think tanks and alt right Xtian groups that want to re-criminalize being queer. Frankly, it's slowly happening already in red state legislatures. The pendulum is swinging in the wrong direction. When Niki Haley recently campaigned how great life was back in the 1950s I thought of Tab Hunter, just turned 24, arrested in 1955 for attending a party that was busted by the cops. It was all gays and lesbians, dancing together. Tab wrote in the Hollywood Reporter he had been invited to a party by a friend and gone for the free food. Some folks prefer those terrible old ways. So I worry.

Funny (HA-HA!!!) how the lamestream media parrots Trump's claims "the indictments have driven up his poll numbers". Why bother reporting facts any longer when drama sells? My sense is the anti Trump floodgates are slowly opening. The Bret Baier interview on Fox followed by Fox unfavorable commentaries looked pretty bad. Trump got cooked. And then Brit Hume rubbed salt in the wounds. Not a machete up Trump's ass but a good start.

Former AG Bill Barr on Face the Nation suggested a former president should not serve prison time. He also compared Trump's behavior to a 5 year old boy, and that the United States should not serve as a therapy session for Trump's outrageous behavior. That said, he also confirmed Trump's legal defense is baseless, that he is guilty. As far as J6, Barr was not as forthcoming other than to reconfirm the idea that VP Pence unilaterally reversing the election result makes no sense in the same way Trump's document case defense makes no sense. Trump tends to latch onto the best sounding ideas for himself, no matter how bad, just like his MAGA and QAnon adherents latch onto nutty ideas they find on the Internet. That's frightening, especially considering a candidate with a 5-year-old mentality is running for the GOP nomination. While one might claim indicting Trump is akin to a therapy session for TFG, I would circle back to the OP, and respond that no matter how Bill Barr frames Trump's crimes, indicting TFG is necessary and important for our democracy and important for our allies to see that the US has not lost all of its marbles.

Disney canceled a 1 billion dollar investment in Orlando. That slowed his mouth a little.

I finished this one. Honestly my interest diminished as I read. Perhaps this is one young adult book that truly is meant for young adults only.

I watched the documentary Being Mary Tyler Moore and thought about the film's discussion of feminist criticism of her TV show. Nowadays are we cheated out of entertainment of that caliber when it doesn't pass a woke litmus test? A small majority of whiners and bots can make a big enough stink on Twitter to make investors and advertisers extra careful. While people have a right to their opinion, the passage of time shows how silly some criticism seems, like the feminists that didn't like The Mary Tyler More Show. It was a comedy, so one should expect a lot of squirrelly behavior. Yet it was a show where the majority of the players were women (Leachman, White, Engel, Harper and Moore) and the major dufus was a guy. The character Mary Richards ultimately inspired Oprah to pursue television. I suppose the woke mob can find fault with Oprah as well if they look hard enough. That is our world now.

I started reading All That's Left in the World. I belonged to a book club where the leader would call this book a good "beach read". A popular book. I'm liking it.

I have a memory like an Elephant. I stopped listening years ago when Warren Olney produced a piece on Jerry Sandusky abusing boys at Penn State, emphasizing the dangers of the foster care system allowing pedophiles around minors. Even though the Sandusky crimes didn't really involve foster care, Olney used it to bang the drum about sexual predators and foster care. For the 2nd half of the show Olney interviewed the president of Family Council of Arkansas discussing whether gays should be allowed to adopt children. A counterpoint was offered, but not much of one. Overall it was pretty disgusting. By the next day KCRW had launched damage control but the damage was done. People were pissed. I never saw Olney as well informed or well read. Hopefully he's faded away by now.

I'm looking for new sources for political news and commentary, specifically the newspapers, podcasts and vlogs you consider worthy. I read the Washington Post and the New Yorker and I listen to YouTube channels like Brian Taylor Cohen and Pod Save America. I don't plan on converting to a MAGA conspiracy adherent so anyone that enjoys Steve Bannon and the like can start their own thread to share alt right news sources. Those aren't what I'm asking about in my post. I hear folks mention Rolling Stone, The Atlantic and New York Times. What about LA Times? Politico?

Oh....they'll be indictments! Those are coming. Jail time? Time will tell. Rikers? Guantanamo? No more golf? No more YMCA jiggy? I think so.

If the TFG returns to the White House our Democracy will continue to suffer. Maybe we are fooling ourselves there is even a chance to fix things. Our state legislative bodies are elected by gerrymandered minorities. The Supreme Court has lost its prestige. The House is full of uninformed nitwits. The mainstream media is treating Biden like he's the problem while they give candidate Trump a voice as if he is not an insurrectionist. To answer S.K., IMO there is no alternative to Biden. He has done a credible job. He didn't fuck up in Afghanistan. Trump fucked that up, giving the Taliban such a sweet (art of the) deal, yet the media never focused on that. You guys love to bitch about Harris yet let's hear you list all of Pence's accomplishments. His was a great ass kisser. That's the one talent I recall. IMO the black lady has done her job like all Veeps do. Lastly will the landscape improve when Fanni Willis and Jack Smith put the hammer down with their indictments.

^ Aunt Wacky Devolder.

...and if Trump wins, all the insurrectionists and other guilty parties get out of jail, including some still not indicted yet. Our Democracy needs Biden to win. Back to the comment about our country has taken a left turn....that is just news media bullsh!t. The Dems chose Biden because he is not far left. The country is at risk from far right loonies and fascists. There is no "left turn."

I thought Bartiromo would be the first to go. That fits.

I wonder how many of the Fox viewers bother to read mainstream reporting about recent events. I doubt they understand much.

I still want to believe he's Sinatra's son. The resemblance is undeniable. Ronan Farrow attended Frank's funeral with Mia. She admited remaining close with Frank. Of course, it's all their private business. Some try to call Trump's situation as no more than a sex scandal, that too much is being made of his private business. But unlike Trump's escapades with McDougal, Cliffords, and the situation with the doorman, where he manipulated funds illegally to hush a story, Mia Farrow and Frank Sinatras' was a private relationship and is essentially none of our business. And really, Ronan may have summed it up best on Twitter when he responded. "Listen, we're all *possibly* Frank Sinatra's son." Do we need to know any more than that? But IMO we do need to know all about all of Trump's crimes.

I didn't see the article as all that nuanced, other than to remind that Bragg has not revealed what the felony crime(s) are yet, and to cover some background on the crime Trump was indicted, especially how it relates to Farrow's own researching A.M.I. and the doorman. Listening to Michael Cohen drone on last Thursday on Ben Meiseles pro democracy podcast about how "dirty" the prosecutors are in the DA's office relating to Cohen's own indictment, reinforces my suspicion of why such momentum is building against Bragg. It seems odd. Farrow obviously would have no complaints about these chickens finally coming home to roost. Me either. A crime is a crime, even if the perp is a powerful, rich white dude. If Farrow isn't your cup of tea that's fine. I enjoy him. I was quite struck by Catch and Kill so this follow up piece caught my attention. And I will always respect him for the risks he took and sacrifices he made going after Harvey Weinstein. Of course he gives all the credit to the women that went on the record for his research. He's noble that way.

Harking back to the NYC doorman, Ronan Farrow contributed a recent piece in the New Yorker focusing on the hush money case and specifically the doorman. Anyone familiar with Farrow might agree he is in a separate, more reasonable category from the hysterical talking heads on cable TV and YouTube. His article is a sanity check the hush money indictment is not the nothing-burger that too many Dems and RINO's are admitting they believe it is. When I think back to Farrow's book Catch and Kill I tend to not trust where these sound bites that throw cold water on DA Brag are coming from. Not that I suggest opening up some conspiracy rabbit hole, but rather to remind we've been lied to before, by NBC for example. Read Catch and Kill ! You'll have a deeper understanding of these players involved in the indictment, plus much more, e.g. the Harvey Weinstein cover up. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/inside-the-hush-money-payments-that-may-decide-trumps-legal-fate?utm_campaign=falcon_FCzP&utm_social-type=owned&utm_brand=tny&mbid=social_twitter&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social Finally, I think highly of Ronan Farrow. I expect his mother and his husband are both very proud of him.