H E A D L I N E S : 2 0 2 2 & 2 0 2 3

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Shiftless2 said:
... or that some future GOP President doesn't decide to pardon him
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a) That's possible, & perhaps in a Trump 2nd term, likely.
b) The U.S. presidential oath of office - ARTICLE 2. SECTION 1. 7
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
c) The U.S. president's role / rank in U.S. federal government - ARTICLE 2. SECTION 2.
1 The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and ...

Cause for concern / alarm (though not a surprise) that a U.S. president never to have obtained majority support would be so publicly reckless gamble U.S. sovereignty.
“We fell in love.” President Trump commenting on his relationship w/ NK/KJU
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- a comment on the G.O.P. on 23/06/06 -

New Hampshire Governor Sununu (R) has announced he is not a presidential candidate for the 2024 race. His stated reason: "candidates with no path to victory must have the discipline to get out".

Ironically former New Jersey Governor Christie (R) is joining the race seemingly for similar reason.

It's easy to identify Trump as the nucleus of the GOP's woes. BUT !!
Trump is only an issue because of his overwhelming popularity among Republican party voters. In recent polls Trump not only more popular than any other Republican candidate, more popular than all the others combined.

Thus Trump may seem to be "the problem". More likely, Trump is the symptom of a dysfunction that pervades the Republican party.

Good news for Biden?
 

What the US should do with its A-10 Thunderbolt​


A10Thunderbolt03b.JPG
Sen. Marco Rubio / Wed, June 7, 2023 at 7:00 AM EDT
After years of obstruction, Congress is finally approving the Air Force’s plan to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt. This is the right call, as the A-10 is no longer suited to America’s geostrategic needs. However, we should not simply dispose of this venerable plane; in the hands of our international partners, it can continue advancing the national interest. ...
However, the A-10 can still do a lot of good if transferred to allies and partners in need of it. The most obvious example is Ukraine, which is preparing to mount a counteroffensive against Soviet-era tanks and entrenched Russian positions.

news.yahoo.com

What the US should do with its A-10 Thunderbolt

Let's kill two birds with one stone.
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com

The A-10 Thunderbolt / Warthog is a formidable weapon platform. The stogie seen protruding from the nose of the aircraft is:

GAU-8 Avenger​

American 30mm autocannon (1977–present)​



The General Electric GAU-8/A Avenger is a 30 mm hydraulically driven seven-barrel Gatling-style autocannon that is primarily mounted in the United States Air Force's Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. Designed to destroy a wide variety of ground targets, the Avenger delivers very powerful rounds at a high rate of fire.

This is a rare confluence of need and opportunity.
The U.S. has diminished need of the A-10 which is not "stealthy" and thus vulnerable to radar operated Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA). BUT !!

Russia has depleted its military assets, leaving it to replenish its battlefield equipment with older Soviet era weapons. That's the equipment the A-10 is designed to destroy.

Senator Rubio (R) is precisely right about our aged A-10's.
The U.S. should begin training Ukraine's pilots on the A-10 today, and expedite the transfer of as many A-10's to Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has room for.
 
... a peek into sear's back yard:

Canada is on fire.
My house is downwind.
So I'm practicing shallow breathing while hoping to post some deep topics.

A burning wildfire produces many different kinds of particles, many of which aren’t great for your health. But what health authorities and researchers spend most of their time worrying about are those particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, known as PM2.5—for reference, human hairs range in width of between 17 and 180 micrometers. Our bodies have defenses like nose hairs designed to keep particles from entering our lungs when we breathe, but tiny PM2.5 particles are small enough to get past those barriers and settle in the lungs, which is why they’re of particular concern. From there, they may be able to enter the bloodstream, potentially damaging other parts of the body.

time.com

What Wildfire Smoke Does to the Human Body

Wildfire smoke is blanketing much of the U.S. Northeast and Midwest. Here's how it could affect your health.
time.com time.com

Smokey Bear says, only you can prevent forest fires, eh.
 
A little Associated Press good news to start out the weekend?

Illinois adopts new LGBTQ+ protections for community deemed 'under attack' in the US​

CLAIRE SAVAGE
Fri, June 9, 2023 at 6:34 PM EDT

J. B. Pritzker / 43rd governor of Illinois since 2019

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed into law two measures aimed at safeguarding the rights of LGBTQ+ people as other states move to restrict the community, just days after the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans.

One of the new laws will update language in existing acts to be more gender inclusive in order to affirm LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, and the other will make it easier for LGBTQ+ couples to marry. The laws will be effective on Aug. 8 and on Jan. 1, 2024, respectively.
Illinois is one of several U.S. states with Democratic-majority legislatures that has worked to reinforce LGBTQ+ rights, as Republican-led legislatures in other states advance bills that target the community, including restrictions on gender-affirming care, bans on transgender youth participation in sports, and " bathroom bills." The two new pro-LGBTQ+ Illinois laws were signed about a week into Pride month, a season intended to celebrate the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ communities, but which this year takes place in a contentious political climate.

news.yahoo.com

Illinois adopts new LGBTQ+ protections for community deemed 'under attack' in the US

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed into law two measures aimed at safeguarding the rights of LGBTQ+ people as other states move to restrict the community, just days after the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans. Savage is a corps member for the...
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com

I suppose this means it's headed to SCOTUS. Legal standards on such matters rendering illegal in some States what is legal in others doesn't work. BUT !
Far from reassuring that it would be the Roberts court to decide this.
 

Indictment brings Trump story full circle​

WASHINGTON — There was a time, not that long ago really, when Donald Trump said he cared about the sanctity of classified information. That, of course, was when his opponent was accused of jeopardizing it and it was a useful political weapon for Trump.
Throughout 2016, he castigated Hillary Clinton for using a private email server instead of a secure government one. “I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information,” he declared. “No one will be above the law.” Clinton’s cavalier handling of the sensitive information, he said, “disqualifies her from the presidency.”

news.yahoo.com

Indictment Brings Trump Story Full Circle

WASHINGTON — There was a time, not that long ago really, when Donald Trump said he cared about the sanctity of classified information. That, of course, was when his opponent was accused of jeopardizing it and it was a useful political weapon for Trump. Throughout 2016, he castigated Hillary...
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com


faviconV2

Snopes.com

Yes, Trump Said 'No One Will Be Above the Law' Regarding Protection of Classified Information​

Claim: On Aug. 18, 2016, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump said, "In my administration, I'm going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law."
Fact check by Snopes.com: Correct Attribution
 

Ted Kaczynski, known as the Unabomber for years of attacks that killed 3, dies in prison at 81​

Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who retreated to a dingy shack in the Montana wilderness and ran a 17-year bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others, died Saturday. Branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI, Kaczynski died at the federal prison medical center in Butner, North Carolina, Kristie Breshears, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons, told The Associated Press. Years before the Sept. 11 attacks and the anthrax mailing, the Unabomber’s deadly homemade bombs changed the way Americans mailed packages and boarded airplanes, even virtually shutting down air travel on the West Coast in July 1995.

 
Precedent has been (hopefully) set.

UiwuBNi.png


A New Mexico judge ordered Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin be removed from office, effective immediately, ruling that the attack on the Capitol was an insurrection and that Griffin’s participation in it disqualified him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. This decision marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under Section 3, and the first time that any court has ruled the events of January 6, 2021 an insurrection.

Next step is for a judge to disqualify Trump from serving in any political office because he incited the insurrection. Even if the ruling is simply that his name can't appear on a ballot in that state (don't know if that's a question of state law or federal law - if it's state law can the Supremes overrule it?)
 
Doesn't that require the law in question to be unconstitutional?
titan said:
Yes.
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Doesn't that require the law, or at least its application, to be unconstitutional?

And correct me if I'm wrong but don't the individual states decide whose name goes on the ballot and even what the ballots look like?
 
t #290
Are you sure?
titan said:
Yes.
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Well alrighty then.
Shiftless2 said:
Doesn't that require the law in question to be unconstitutional?
Doesn't that require the law, or at least its application, to be unconstitutional?
And correct me if I'm wrong but don't the individual states decide whose name goes on the ballot and even what the ballots look like?
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I'm only guessing S2, but yes, I thought States have broad leeway on election procedures, though not on the date the election is to be held.
It's not merely Gerrymandering. Republicans have been trying to restrict voter access in a variety of ways, requiring photo ID for example.
You've now got me wondering about federal minimum polling place access. For example, I gather it would be illegal for Republican authorities to open the polls in a Democrat district for only one minute on election day.
I suspect it that's not legal, that it's as a result of court ruling. I can't name the precedent though.

I don't mean to suggest you meant otherwise, but by "individual States" I gather you mean, not the feds.
In New York State for example there are many local political races, including law judges, town supervisors, highway superintendents, etc.
Thus the configuration of the ballots must vary from one district to the next.
You knew that, but I figured clarification might help.

Unconstitutional? Totally. I can't think of an example of "the Supremes" (#289) striking down a statute (law from a legislature) whether federal, or State, on a basis other than unConstitutionality.
 
Republicans have been doing things like closing polling stations on university campuses and refusing to accept student ID's a proof of residence in the state and so forth.
 
OK
The submersible imploded. 5 persons of wealth and privilege were lost, crushed by many tons of sea water (over a ton per square inch at depth).

But what are the messages that evade this headline?

Titanic submersible: What a 'catastrophic implosion' means and ...
17 hours ago ... A fault or failure in the hull of the Titan could have led to an implosion, as the vessel gave way to the high pressure of the deep sea, ...

https://abcnews.go.com/US/titanic-submersible-catastrophic-implosion-means-officials-found/story?id=100317214

Consider this context:

Over 500 migrants drowned near Greece: Fortress Europe and the ...
7 days ago ... More than 500 migrants fleeing war, environmental disaster, poverty and oppression are dead or missing after their ship sank southwest of ...

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/16/mmcb-j16.html

What accounts for this disparity?
Both incidents were reported.
Which obtained the more lavish news coverage?
Which obtained the $costly governments response?

Who is indicted by this disparity? Newspaper subscribers? Newspaper editors? "If it bleeds, it leads"?

Not necessarily the best explanation, but to put it into words, it does suggest as we read between the lines, the net $worth aboard the Titan submersible likely exceeded the net $worth aboard the sunken refugee vessel.
So the real news is not the persons, but the $wallets? If not that, what !?
 
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