Bits: Ohio voters reject GOP authoritarianism; DJT lunacy continues; Wisdom from the Peanut Gallery

In a bit of good news, Ohio voters rejected the GOP's attempt to assert party power over voters. Issue 1 was solidly rejected. According to the NYT, with > 95% of the votes counted, 57% say no to 43% who voted yes. Now, abortion rights can be put into the Ohio constitution. The rural-urban divide is clear. Rural voter continue to support authoritarianism and reduced civil liberties.

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Everyone is reporting that DJT is in crazy-go-nuts mode. He's lying, slandering and crackpotting a galactic scale, and we're talking a huge galaxy, not a little one. A couple of examples:

Trump Pushes Total Lie About Georgia Prosecutor Sleeping With Gang Member | The former president baselessly accused Fani Willis, who is investigating his 2020 election meddling, of having an “affair” with a “gang member”

DJT lawyer John Lauro contended that the DoJ “will never be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump had corrupt or criminal intent.”; An expert blandly commented: “Here's an example: I honestly believe my bank has ripped me off and stole my deposit money. That's a sincerely held belief, but it doesn't mean I could go to the bank and rob the bank. It's not an excuse. Just because you think your cause is righteous, that doesn't mean you have to break the law in response to try to fix it.”

Trump Tells Supporters His Criminal Indictments Are About ‘You’; The former president, who has made his 2024 campaign principally about his own personal grievances, is attempting to convince supporters to see themselves in him.; As lawyers for Donald J. Trump float various legal arguments to defend him in court against an onslaught of criminal charges, the former president has settled on a political defense: “I’m being indicted for you.” 

Yeah, and this Bud is for you too! MAGA!! Implausible as it is, maybe this latest indictment really is going to actually nail his lying, dictator ass with a few felonies and, Gasp!, possibly some jail time. DJT is acting like it. Lock him up? Nah, that's too good to be true. Slap his naughty wrist! That sounds more like it.

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A comment from the peanut gallery struck me as worth a mention. A WaPo opinion by Alberto Gonzales, No, fellow Republicans, the Justice Department is not biased against us, argued rationally about the DJT legal situation. Gonzales was the 80th attorney general of the United States and counsel to President George W. Bush.

The peanut gallery commented: Why do GOP folks always need to have “was” in their summary statement to have any sort of moral compass or backbone? . . . . It's a rhetorical question. We all know the answer.

MAGA!! to that insightful rhetorical  question.

Another peanut gallery denizen snarked about the DoJ, They are biased against criminals!

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From the Christian Nationalist Theocracy Files: The New Republic reports about a rabid Christian nationalist Trump judge in Texas flying off the rials:

Texas Judge Orders Airline Lawyers to Take Training From Far-Right Hate Group

A Trump-appointed Texas judge has ordered three senior Southwest Airlines lawyers to take eight hours of “religious-liberty training” from the far-right Christian hate group Alliance Defending Freedom.

In his late Monday ruling, U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr specifically mandated the lawyers take the training as part of court-ordered sanctions for religious discrimination. He described ADF as one of several “esteemed non-profit organizations that are dedicated to preserving free speech and religious freedom.” The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated ADF as an extremist hate group.

That's what radical right, authoritarian CN theocracy looks like in the legal system.

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Ars technica writes about wonderful steady advances in AI:

Author discovers AI-generated counterfeit books written in her name on Amazon

Amazon resisted a removal request, citing lack of “trademark registration numbers”

Upon searching Amazon and Goodreads, author Jane Friedman recently discovered a half-dozen listings of fraudulent books using her name, likely filled with either junk or AI-generated content. Both Amazon and Goodreads resisted removing the faux titles until the author's complaints went viral on social media.

In a blog post titled "I Would Rather See My Books Get Pirated Than This (Or: Why Goodreads and Amazon Are Becoming Dumpster Fires)," published on Monday, Friedman detailed her struggle with the counterfeit books.

That's just like the credit rating agencies making a mistake in your credit rating and then refusing to fix it. I just love tales like this from unregulated capitalist markets running free, wild and butt naked. They're arrogant, unaccountable and happy.