Etiquette



DP Etiquette

First rule: Don't be a jackass.

Other rules: Do not attack or insult people you disagree with. Engage with facts, logic and beliefs. Out of respect for others, please provide some sources for the facts and truths you rely on if you are asked for that. If emotion is getting out of hand, get it back in hand. To limit dehumanizing people, don't call people or whole groups of people disrespectful names, e.g., stupid, dumb or liar. Insulting people is counterproductive to rational discussion. Insult makes people angry and defensive. All points of view are welcome, right, center, left and elsewhere. Just disagree, but don't be belligerent or reject inconvenient facts, truths or defensible reasoning.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

News bits: About DoJ stalling DJT investigation; Hunter pleads guilty; Etc.

A Raw Story article cites reactions by two people who suspected the DoJ intentionally slow walked an investigation of DJT for over a year. Reactions critical of the DoJ were triggered by yesterday's WaPo article, FBI resisted opening probe into Trump’s role in Jan. 6 for more than a year, (discussed here yesterday) reporting the intentional sabotage of by the DoJ of any investigation of DJT's role in the 1/6 coup attempt. RS writes:  
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) on Monday reacted with alarm to a new report in the Washington Post showing that the Department of Justice and the FBI dragged their feet for more than a year in launching an investigation into former President Donald Trump's role in inciting the January 6th Capitol riots.

"This Washington Post investigation confirms what I have been concerned about for almost two years: While the DOJ moved quickly to investigate the foot soldiers of the Jan 6 attack, it waited far too long to investigate leaders of the effort to overturn the election," said Schiff.

Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor who worked under special counsel Robert Mueller, delivered a scathing assessment of the DOJ's inaction on his Twitter account.

"The extent of the delay by DOJ was inexcusable," he wrote. "Not appearing political is not a reason to fail to do one’s job."
What Weissmann said about not appearing political is not an excuse to do nothing should be true. Sadly, it isn't. Our two-tiered rule of law really is political. It's heavily biased in favor of the rich, famous, powerful and high level politicians. That is true for both Dems and Repubs.
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Breaking, Earth shattering news: The NYT writes about a plea deal for Hunter: 
Under a deal with the Justice Department, the president’s son agreed to probation for filing his taxes late, and he can avoid a charge that he lied about his drug use when he purchased a handgun.

The Justice Department has reached an agreement with Hunter Biden for him to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and avoid prosecution on a separate gun charge, according to a court filing on Tuesday, moving to close a long-running and politically explosive investigation into the finances, drug use and international business dealings of President Biden’s troubled son.  
Under a deal hashed out over several months by Hunter Biden’s legal team and federal prosecutors, he will plead guilty to misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his 2017 and 2018 taxes on time and agree to probation, the court filing said.
This is the smoking cannon the radical Republicans have been looking for. What hideous, cruel crimes he committed. Late filing his taxes. The horror . . . . the horror . . . . and waddabout Joe Biden, the evil mastermind?

LOCK HIM UP!! LOCK HIM UP!! LOCK HIM UP!! 

/s
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Trump compares Hunter Biden charges to ‘traffic ticket’

Former President Trump and his allies on Tuesday bemoaned a plea deal struck between Hunter Biden and federal prosecutors over tax and firearm crimes, comparing it unfavorably to the charges Trump is facing over his retention of classified documents after leaving office.  
“Wow! The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere ‘traffic ticket.’ Our system is BROKEN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Yeah!! Hunter should have been locked up for hundreds of years, not just given probation.

Hm . . . . . if Hunter got, say, 300 years in the slammer for his crimes, then DJT should get, say, about 30,000 years. Right? 
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A new front in the radical right thermonuclear war on truth: What's this country coming to if we can't lie to people? We'll be doomed, doooomed I say!: A NYT news article reports:

I have my constitutional right to lie 
to people Goddamn it!
I'm gonna rip someone's lungs out
with my bare hands!


G.O.P. Targets Researchers Who Study 
Disinformation Ahead of 2024 Election

A legal campaign against universities and think tanks seeks to undermine the fight against false claims about elections, vaccines and other hot political topics

On Capitol Hill and in the courts, Republican lawmakers and activists are mounting a sweeping legal campaign against universities, think tanks and private companies that study the spread of disinformation, accusing them of colluding with the government to suppress conservative speech online.

The effort has encumbered its targets with expansive requests for information and, in some cases, subpoenas — demanding notes, emails and other information related to social media companies and the government dating back to 2015. Complying has consumed time and resources and already affected the groups’ ability to do research and raise money, according to several people involved.

They and others warned that the campaign undermined the fight against disinformation in American society when the problem is, by most accounts, on the rise — and when another presidential election is around the corner. Many of those behind the Republican effort had also joined former President Donald J. Trump in falsely challenging the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
This is how the modern radical right Republican Party spends its time and governs when it has power. 

Inconvenient facts, true truths, sound reasoning, political opposition and democracy itself are all in the crosshairs of the post-truth, morally rotted GOP. That the Republican Party is still competitive in federal elections in red states shows how sick and weak our democracy, the rule of law and our civil liberties have become.

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