Update no.1162

 Update from the Sunland

No.1162

15.4.24 – 21.4.24

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- After the House impeached Homeland Secretary Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas [1152, 1161], the Articles of Impeachment were presented to the Senate. On Wednesday, the Senate rejected a motion to proceed with the trial of Secretary Majorkas [Senate: 51-49-0-0-(0)]—the equivalent to a judicial motion to dismiss. The vote was on strict party lines. The impeachment trial for Secretary Mayorkas was officially dismissed by the Senate. This little episode of partisan politics is over . . . for now.

From my perspective, this affair was never about Mayorkas. It had everything to do with Republican desperation, especially with the impending general election. The Republicans blindly follow ihr Lieber Anführer to reject the negotiated bipartisan immigration reform bill, so that they can turn around and impeach the secretary, and criticize the government for not doing the job the way they want it done. Damn them all to hell!

-- On Monday, Little Fingers’ criminal business fraud trial—People of New York v. Trump [NYSC, Cty of NY Indictment No. 71543/2023] [1107]—began with jury selection. Lots of folks in the Press and elsewhere call this trial the hush money trial. Is it really about hush money? NO! It is all about the business accounting fraud, Tiny sought to hide the hush money. There is a huge difference. ‘Hush money’ for a porn star mistress is more salacious than accounting fraud. Let us not be confused by the misnomer. By Thursday morning, when the court reconvened, they lost two jurors, but at the end of the day, they gained seven to seat a full jury. The judge declared, “We have a jury.” They completed the full panel with six alternates on Friday. Opening statements will be delivered this coming Monday. We head into the evidentiary phase of the trial.

-- Arizona House tried again to repeal the 1864 abortion prohibition law. The effort failed again blocked by Republicans, some of whom seemed to be quite satisfied to take all Arizona women back 160 years. The draconian, century-plus law will take effort when the temporary stay imposed by the Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes [AZ SC No. CV-23-0005-PR (2024)] [1161] ruling expires in two days.

-- In what history may well record as a master stroke, Speaker Johnson broke up the critical foreign aid defense bill into separate bills [1158] requiring a recorded vote for each bill. He was successful against the resistance of the ‘Freedom Caucus.’

* H.R. 8038; 21^st Century Peace through Strength Act [House: 360-58-0-13(4)]]. Both the far-right and far-left voted against the bill in a bipartisan vote for passage.

* H.R. 8036; Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 [House: 385-34-1-11(4)]. Only the far-right minority voted against this bill with a large bipartisan majority voting for passage.

* H.R. 8035; Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 [311-112-1-7(4)]].  A majority of Republicans voted against the bill, while all of the Democrats voted for it.

* H.R. 8034; Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 [House: 366-58-0-7(4)]. Again, the far-right and far-left voted against the bill.

Speaker Johnson’s maneuver finally broke the logjam. The package of bills will be passed to the Senate, where they should pass with similar bipartisan majority and be signed into law promptly. These defense aid bills should have been passed months ago, but better late than never. Unfortunately, the Ukrainians have lost ground against the Russians as their ammunition was running short. I expect the president to authorize transfer from U.S. reserves until the procurement contracts are issued. The Ukrainians are most in need of our assistance—NOW! Let us not forget, we are not sending cash anywhere with these bills. We are contracting with American companies to produce specific defense materials and shipping them to the countries involved. The money stays in the United States; the ammunition and equipment go overseas.

The same MAGAt bunch that voted against the negotiated bipartisan immigration reform bill that would have strengthened the southern border protection provisions. Then, they blocked the foreign aid provision using an excuse that we should defend our border first. Speaker Johnson did the right thing and finally overcame the MAGAt idiots.

-- In the wake of the passage of the foreign aid bills [above], the MAGAts accused the Democrats of prioritizing foreign governments with these aid packages rather than American issues like border security. The irony in all this nonsense, it was the Republicans that rejected a negotiated bipartisan immigration reform bill that significantly strengthened border security. These MAGAts must be voted out of office. Any progress of improvement of the nation will be long and tortuous as long as these crazies are allowed to have their slimy, crooked fingers on the instruments of state.

The ‘Freedom Caucus’ far right wing of the Republican Party led by MTG (Marjorie Taylor Greene) failed to cower most Republicans, and they are livid they failed to stop the passage of the foreign aid supplemental bills as directed by ihr Lieber Anführer. They vowed to proceed with their motion to vacate. If they are successful, they will thrust the House of Representatives into yet another episode of leadership turmoil like we experienced last fall with Kevin McCarthy [1134].

-- After numerous procedural obstructions [1161], the House finally voted in a near equal bipartisan basis [259-128-0-43(5)] to table the motion to reconsider the previous passage of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act. The Senate moved swiftly to overcome the MAGAts and passed the bill [60-34-0-6(0)]. The bill has been presented to the president for approval. Section 2 of the bill significantly restricts the FBI’s use of FISA §702 for surveillance of United States citizens. The bill has been presented to the president for approval.

-- The Israeli Air Force carried out a small, limited air raid deep into the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) in response to the Iranian attack on Israel [1161]. They reportedly destroyed a Russian-supplied air defense radar site near a military base at Isfahan. This seemed more like a demonstration than a concerted counterattack. The IRI immediately began to cover-up the attack signaling tit-for-tat violence may be over for now. From my perspective, the Israelis accomplished far more than the Iranians in this exchange.

 

The chaos of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives continues unabated. The House leadership is being held hostage at gunpoint by the Freedom Caucus wackos (extremists). Speaker Johnson is doing what has to be done to break the grip of MAGAts. This insanity has got to stop. The ‘Freedom Caucus’ is not and never has been about freedom. The group is solely about power and dictating how everyone else should live; That is NOT freedom by any definition. We must stop this chaos. We must vote this fall.

 

Continuing comment to Update no.1160:

“Tell me Cap-if a jury cannot be formed how is he is he investigated further?“

My reply:

They will keep grinding on until they can agree upon 12 jurors (plus six alternates) who presumably can keep an open mind and render judgment based on the evidence and the law. The jury selection process may take weeks. At some point, if the judge decides they cannot find an impartial jury, they could seek a change in venue. If that does not work, a mistrial would be declared pushing the case back to the prosecution to alter the case somehow. I do not expect it to go that far; I believe they will seat a jury of 12; it just may take longer than usual. We shall see.

 . . . Round two:

“Good day once again Cap. Many thanks for your response to my question. Yes, it sounds as I expected a jury of 12 eventually to get the case mobile. It does however highlight the great differences in view of the population. Especially in that region. Do your remember Courts Marshall? That happened without argument it is a good system. Providing you weren’t being charged for something that you definitely didn’t do!”

 . . . my reply to round two:

They made surprising progress yesterday seating seven jurors. The expectation is now that they may complete jury selection by Friday. The judge has notified the defense and prosecution to be prepared for opening statements next Monday. Things are moving along. I just hope the lawyers have done a good job in selection. We need 12 jurors who will be open-minded and fair in their judgment of the evidence and the law. First and foremost, it must be a fair trial.

Yes, I am familiar with and remember the military courts martial process. I never faced one or had to participate in a court martial, but I know the rules and read enough transcripts to know how they work. Yes, I agree; it is a good system. But as with all judicial systems, they are run by humans and thus subject to errors or mistakes. They all do the best they can. I expect no less in the case of Little Fingers.

 . . . Round three:

“Thanks Cap-good to read your last. So things could be moving along. let’s get this done. We do not need errors or mistakes in this. The closest I came was marching two aircrew-pilot and navigator-into the COs office on a charge of dangerous and reckless flying- i.e. flying up the taxi track actually with full afterburners -reheat- at about 10 feet ASL. I actually heard it approaching looked out and had look down to see the aircraft! Things that you never forget!”

 . . . my reply to round three:

Judge Merchan, the presiding judge in the current fraud trial of Little Fingers, has been cautious, perhaps overly cautious, to ensure the defendant’s rights are protected in court. Personally, I think he has been too tolerant of Little Fingers mouth and antics. Yes, indeedie, let’s get this done, and spot on, we do not need any errors or mistakes. We need precision and fairness.

We call that kind of flying “flat hatting.” I must confess to my share of such flying, although I think I did not take reckless risks.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1161:

Comment to the Blog:

“Early Arizona Territory history would make a fine Western comedy with a Blazing Saddles level of absurdity. Most of the foundational law, the Howell Code, was copied wholesale from state laws elsewhere in that Victorian era. Why the State Supreme Court would honor that code 160 years later mystifies me. Other Howell Code provisions, including an age of consent of 10 years, were scrapped long ago.

“I’m opposed to the overreach of the FISA Act, and I haven’t studied the full situation on the renewal. MAGAts’ obedience to Little Fingers still amazes me.

“Supporters of the Zionists continue to ignore Israel’s role in the Middle East conflict and the presence of oil off the Gaza coast, among other factors.

“Per ABC and The Washington Post, the FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

“We expect today to be the first day of Little Fingers’ first criminal trial. Note for ‘this day in history.’”

My response to the Blog:

There are many other subsequent laws that overrode the territorial laws, but some of those subsequent laws did not explicitly repeal the abortion prohibition. I suppose the Arizona Supreme Court majority wanted to make multiple statements in their Mayes ruling, none of them explicitly stated. We have an abortion protection referendum on the ballot for this November, but I have not yet seen the precise wording. The wording, as of today, establishes an Arizona constitutional amendment that creates a provision for abortion as a fundamental constitutional right up to the point of fetal viability (today circa 20-22 weeks) and allows post-viability action to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual. I hope and expect that We, the People, in Arizona, will settle this issue in November. Until then, we suffered confusion and uncertainty.

The overreach of which you speak was an execution matter by overzealous agents. FISA is a necessary tool to fight worldwide terrorism for ourselves and our allies. We need FISA.

Absolutely, the blind obedience of the MAGAts to ihr Anführer is mind-boggling. I suppose I can understand some of such blindness by intelligent, educated people who are so desperate for change that they will hitch their wagon to such a lame horse. Others, like white supremacists, Christian nationalists, racists, and fascist elements, do not have another candidate who will voice and act on their rabid ideologies. The chain must be broken.

Yes, quite so. A federal criminal investigation has reportedly been opened. I suspect the NTSB has found some unusual evidence in the event recorder data and/or the interviews of the pilots and crew. They will sort out what happened and why, and they will place those facts in a very precise timeline.

Yes, the trial has begun. It appears jury selection is going to take weeks. The gears of justice grind on.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“I hope the people of Arizona will pass an abortion referendum, as we have here in Ohio. Beware the rule-making process that follows, though. We passed an abortion referendum and one to legalize marijuana here in Ohio, and both are still hung up in the implementation process due to a legislature catering to its redneck base.

“The overreach of FISA is in Section 702.

“A central interest of mine is social psychology. The MAGAts and the Nazis are examples of its importance.

“I’ve already seen reports of Little Fingers falling asleep during the first day of his trial. I almost expect at least one of the Presidential candidates to have a major medical event before the election.”

 . . . my follow-up response: 

I will do my part. I am comfortable with the wording of the referendum as it is today, but I need to see the final wording on the ballot before I can affirm my vote. I am also well aware of your caution and admonition; we have exactly the same social conservative bunch in Arizona. They will eventually be overcome for progress to continue, but I hold no illusions that it will be a swift endeavor. As we witnessed with the Arizona Supreme Court Mayes ruling [1161], social conservatives are quite willing to take us back 160 years to satisfy their sense of propriety.

The FISA reform law is in a hung-fire status at the moment in Congress. The reform bill does adjust §702 activities, perhaps not enough but movement is in a positive direction. We need FISA.

Understood and agreed, social psychology is a vitally important realm of study for a host of reasons.

I am not particularly bothered by reports of Little Fingers dozing in court. If you have sat through a jury selection process, to me, it is a very boring, tedious, almost monotonous activity, although it is vitally important. I would be far more concerned about jurors or potential jurors or the judge nodding off.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1161

Update from the Sunland

No.1161

8.4.24 – 14.4.24

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

Arizona made headlines this week and not in a good way. The state Supreme Court rendered its judgment in a 4-2 decision (with another recusal) in the case of Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes [AZ SC No. CV-23-0005-PR (2024)]. The dissenting opinion(s) usually offers a better view of any issue, but in this case neither opinion helps me understand the law as those justices see it. As they all agreed, the case never would have reached them if it had not been for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization [597 U. S. 215 (2022)] [1067, 1068] from the U.S.  Supreme Court. Both opinions dealt with a tangled web of conflicting related laws passed before and after Roe v. Wade [410 U.S. 113 (1973)] [319]. At the bottom line, this decision reinstated a 1864 law prohibiting abortion except to save the pregnant woman’s life—1864! No other exception! No gestational period! The operative law in the court’s opinion was passed by 27 men with little skin pigmentation 48 years before Arizona became a state (1912), and 56 years before women had the right to vote in the state (1920). The court gave the legislature 14 days to do the right thing before their decision took effect. Unfortunately, the Republicans, fBICP, MAGAts in the Arizona House rejected a Democrat bill to repeal the 1864 law and untangle the body of laws created by their predecessors; they failed!

Reading judicial pronouncements like Mayes before and after Roe make me appreciate the wisdom and insightfulness of Roe. The Mayes decision is an excellent negative example of the turmoil, confusion, uncertainty, and trauma caused by a Supreme Court that abandons stare decisis to impose its ideological biases. The Mayes court mentioned nothing about a woman’s rights in any of this. To me, that reality alone is flat and absolutely wrong. The law is not some sterile combination of words. The law sits within a context of human society and culture. The abandonment of women that the Dobbs and Mayes rulings produced shows just how foolish and ridiculous the strict constructionist mentality is. Sending Arizona women back 160 years to satisfy their sense of purity is contemptible in so many ways., but I will not bore you with repeating my opinions on this topic. My perspective has not changed.

 

This article and a one-word query—Thoughts?—prompted my response.

“Need more evidence that RFK Junior is working for Trump? – (as if you needed it)”

by Robert Reich

Published: APR 9 [2024]

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/more-evidence-that-rfk-junior-is

I offered my opinion.

Oh my, I have a ton of thoughts. I'll try to keep it short unless you wish to go farther.

First, I've heard RFK Jr. speak several times so far. I believe he is a quasi-QAnon whack-o. He says and claims things that have no basis in fact, only the conspiracy theories of a weird minority. Second, I cannot verify some of the information in the article, but it sounds consistent with he publicly available facts. Third, virtually all of Jr.'s extended family have disavowed him publicly, much like Paul Gosar's family, but his name recognition is to his advantage in this situation. Lastly, I think the article is correct. Jr. looks like a Democrat because of his name and family, but his political beliefs as publicly stated are virtually identical to Little Fingers. Jr. only has to carve off a few votes here and there in a few critical states to turn to Little Fingers advantage. Thus, I believe Republican money men are sustaining and encouraging RFK Jr.'s candidacy. There will be dissatisfied Democrats who will vote for Jr. for his name alone, but Jr. is about as far away from a Democrat as you can get. The Republicans are so desperate they will try anything; this is one of those things.

 

[the person who shall no longer be named] cannot resist meddling in anything and everything not to his liking. In the latest case, ihr Lieber Anführer ordered his MAGAt followers in the House to block the renewal Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA). The House MAGAts did as they were ordered. Fortunately, saner minds convinced Little Fingers that his personal grievances and political self-interest were placing the nation and our allies in serious risk. Thankfully, he backed off. On Friday, the House passed H.R.7888 - Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act [House: 273-147-0-11(4)], which renewed and reformed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA): [PL 95-511; 92 Stat. 1783; 25.10.1978]. In a subsequent vote to table a motion to reconsider, the Chair declared the ‘ayes’ have it. However, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, née Mayerhofer, of Florida, a card carrying MAGAt and member of the Freedom Caucus in good standing, demanded a recorded vote. Further action on the question was postponed to an unspecified future date, which means the bill has not been sent to the Senate for consideration. The renewal of FISA remains in limbo, still being held hostage by the MAGAts. They do not have enough votes to stop the passage, but they can throw up more than a few obstacles to make the process more tortuous. This insanity has got to stop!

 

What would we think and more importantly what would we do if another nation fired 170 explosive drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles into the United States?

To me, such an action is the very definition of an act of war.

That is exactly what happened to Israel in the early morning hours of Sunday. The aerial onslaught was launched from the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). What happens next is yet to be determined. Fortunately, Israel’s air defense system did surprisingly well against the swarm of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles fired with the intent of overwhelming the air defense system. The IRI did not succeed, but that did not alter the fact that the IRI carried out an act of war.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1160:

Comment to the Blog:

“The legal and logistical complications of the Baltimore bridge collapse ought to be interesting. Also, a great deal of infrastructure maintenance has been neglected in the United States.

“Little Fingers’ civil fraud case continues. It’s not looking good for him.

“Remember that only a rabid minority of voters became MAGAts. Even in red states like Kansas and Ohio, their most extreme maneuvers have been soundly defeated.”

My response to the Blog:

Quite so all the way around on that one. I expect the execution of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act[PL 117-058; 135 Stat. 429; 15.11.2021] [1036] to make good progress in upgrading and repairing of our infrastructure. I will note here that the design, construction, and opening of the Key Bridge occurred nearly 50 years ago. I will argue that the design was fundamentally flawed at the outset because it did not include fender structures to protect those critical pylons from just such a collision. I suppose the designers placed too much faith in modern ship design. I hope and expect correction of that basic design flaw will be corrected with the rebuild process.

Quite so, again. I await the ruling of the appeals court in the civil fraud case. I will also note that Little Fingers’ criminal fraud case is scheduled to begin next Monday with jury selection; this is the first time he will face prison time upon conviction.

I remain convinced the majority of Republicans remain good, loyal, American citizens. Unfortunately, far too many are intimidated by the aggressive, vociferous antics of the MAGAts, and even more unfortunately, they subvert their loyalty to the republic in their thrust to retain what power they have. Dobbs was bad enough; Republicans trying desperately to constrain the ability of the people in states to override the social conservatives and defend a woman’s fundamental right to privacy and freedom of choice is far worse to my thinking.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Based on what little I know of bridge engineering, your point about the Key Bridge not having fenders seems critically important. That still leaves plenty of liability for the ship operators.

“I’m feeling hopeful schadenfreude about Little Fingers’ troubles. However, I’m holding back on celebrating. That villain is more cunning than he seems.

“The other issue about Republicans as well as Democrats is that the national discussion has been dragged far to the right by Christian Nationalists and other radical factions financed by the oligarchs ever since Reagan. We’ve reached a point where the likes of Schumer and Pelosi are seen as centrists rather than corporate conservatives; and Lindsey Graham, Ron DeSantis, and Greg Abbott aren’t having their sanity questioned.”

 . . . along with my follow-up response:

I am not defending the ship owners / operators. There are serious questions not least of which is the critical timing of the power loss (which might well become a serious design flaw in the MV Dali). I do not like coincidences. As I stated previously, those total power failures 15 minutes earlier or later and the outcome would have been drastically different. Regardless of the ship’s potential flaws or operating failure, proper fenders would have deflected the errant ship and protected those pylons, even a ship of the mass of the MV Dali. I will add here that given such an unprotected criticality in the Key Bridge design, tugs should have accompanied the vessel (and other vessels) until it was clear of the bridge; that is a fault in harbor procedures. Bottom line: there is a lot wrong with what happened early that morning.

I underestimated the Republicans that sustained Little Fingers in 2016. I will not make that mistake again. Little Fingers loves chaos; it is to his advantage. He is doing it all again. Different words, same process. Point of fact, Little Fingers did not become the grifter conman he is by not being cunning and crafty. I give him credit for that. People believe his cons; that’s dangerous.

 

Another contribution:

“Will read now. Before things generate into chaos supreme. Have had great grandson, just left. Born on St Georges day- I have my own opinion of him as he must be nuclear powered or I need new batteries!

“Well done with your latest book.”

My reply:

Chaos remains a reality as long as Little Fingers remains a factor in American politics. He creates and sustains uncertainty and instability everywhere, even far beyond our shores. His antics encourage our adversaries. His first criminal trials starts next Monday with jury selection. There is hope.

Oh my, I know about the boundless energy of grandchildren. We do not have any ‘great’s just yet. They are a treasure, but they come with stress and strain. At least you get a break for now.

Thank you, mate. I keep writing and will continue to do so as long as I am able.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Cap good day to you. There are concerns being reported here in some newspapers that your favourite man is planning to indulge, interfere, with our next national election November 24.”

 . . . my follow-up reply:

To be frank and blunt, there are a gazillion reasons to be concerned and worried about the chaos Little Fingers intentionally creates around him. If the United States was some marginal third world backwater, it would not be so serious, but alas, that is not so (at least not yet). I would not put it past Little Fingers and his MAGAt believers to interfere with the UK elections. He wants world leaders he can con, and short of that, that he can intimidate or otherwise bully one way or another. Little Fingers is not a good human being, and his malignancy is quite destructive. I would encourage everyone to remain vigilant and critical of evolving events.

My apologies for being so dark, but that is how I see things.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-) 

Update no.1160

 Update from the Sunland

No.1160

1.4.24 – 7.4.24

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- From the Key Bridge collapse [1159], salvage crews reportedly opened a shallow draft channel for tugs, barges and small boats with less than an 11-foot draft. They are working to open other shallow draft channels. A fourth heavy lift, seaborne crane is due to arrive this week. They have a very long way to go to clear the wreckage and rebuild the bridge, but this is a good start. 

The owners of the MV Dali have publicly stated that the bridge collapse was not their fault, and their liability is limited to US$18M. Interesting claim. So much of that question will depend on the findings of the NTSB with respect to the causal factors in this event.

-- Just an FYI: The civil fraud judgment against [the person who shall no longer be named] was not reduced . . . at least not yet. The New York state appeals court reduction in the bond amount required of him to present the court [1159] did not reduce the amount of the lower court’s judgment against Little Fingers. The appeals process might well reduce the final amount of the judgment, but not yet. They only reduced the amount of the bond.

BTW: Little Fingers posted the reduced bond to the court on Monday. So the appeal process continues. Later in the week, reports began to surface that Hankey may not hold the required funds to support Tiny’s bond—an interesting twist. The attorney general is going to challenge the bond. A court hearing will be held on the 22^nd of April to ascertain the veracity of the surety bond. The twists and turns continue.

-- This week, [the person who shall no longer be named] lost a slew of motions to dismiss various criminal cases against him. This is getting to be too much for me. Sorry! I refuse to sacrifice my writing time to keep up with the trials and tribulations of Little Fingers. He is just not worth it.

BTW: I am nearly finished with chapter 17 of the first draft of my next novel—provisionally titled Anod’s Glory. Four more chapters to go, and then the editing process begins.

 

Just when I thought the week’s newsworthy activity was done, [the person who shall no longer be named] released his anticipated but not expected video message on a woman’s fundamental right to privacy and freedom of choice. He typically says he is going to do such things and then does not follow through; this time was different. As I was editing this week’s update early Monday morning before release [8.4.2024], Little Fingers released his statement. He took credit for stacking the Supreme Court with social conservative judges and the Dobbs ruling{Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization [597 U. S. 215 (2022) [1067, 1068]}, overturning Roe v. Wade [410 U.S. 113 (1973)] [319]; even though he had nothing to do with any of it. Tiny believes the decision should be left to the states, which in turn means he is perfectly comfortable with states parsing a woman’s most fundamental rights.

What is not spoken is the social conservatives in all their various forms are not happy with states deciding what rights women in their states will have. They will only accept a national prohibition. Why you ask . . . since they have long claimed it is a state’s rights issue? Well, far more states than they are comfortable with are passing popular referenda protecting a woman’s fundamental right to choose. More than a few Republican-dominated states are feverishly trying to pass serious restrictions on what the people can do by referendum, overriding the legislature. I accept social conservatives are not comfortable with a woman’s fundamental right to privacy in making her medical decision or her freedom of choice, but that does not give them the right to impose their beliefs on all women regardless of their beliefs and choices.

To be clear, when the U.S. Constitution was written and ratified by the states, women had no rights. Females were considered to be an appendage of their husband’s rights. Every citizen’s fundamental right to privacy and freedom of choice were understood to be unalienable rights of all men (human beings). Our unalienable rights are not explicitly stated and delineated in the words of the U.S. Constitution (1787). Further, the states barely missed ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment [House Joint Resolution no. 208 (22.3.1972)], which would have taken a major step forward in codifying the rights of women. One more time, I stand with women. I am adamantly against states being allowed to parse the unalienable rights not explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution. I steadfastly believe what Republicans are doing in the name of social conservatism is wrong and a vulgar affront to our most fundamental rights. Other than that Missus Lincoln, how did you like the play?

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1159:

Comment to the Blog:

“There’s no reasonable rationale for reducing Little Fingers’ appeal bond in that civil fraud case. However, it will still be interesting to see if he comes up with it. Tiny looks less like a billionaire daily.

“Probably the strongest case against Little Fingers will be the Stormy Daniels case. Giving Little Fingers probation would create a massive nightmare, so maybe he’ll do time for that.

“Little Fingers (I like that one!) continues posting in violation of gag orders. Is that contempt of court?

“Boeing, like most corporations, is operated by finance people, not technical or customer service people. That makes a downward spiral.

“The wreck of the Dali into the I-675 bridge will be expensive and dramatically time-consuming. Who will bear the cost is in the earliest stages of discussion. Reports are breaking of failed inspections of the ship in other ports, so that may bear on the outcome.

“Little Fingers hawking merch is no news, although Bibles are especially ironic. Someone said it would be a great keepsake—a Bible signed by the Antichrist.

“I will note that something ‘gaudy and flamboyant’ (another comment) is also called ‘trumpery.’”

My response the Blog:

Well, question resolved. Little Fingers posted the reduced bond (US$175M) with the court, so his appeal(s) will proceed. I wish the appeals court had provided rationale but alas they did not. I agree. He has inflated his self-proclaimed net worth for decades to feed his ego. These court judgments are boiling off his delusional yammering. He has never been what he says he is, and now, that fact has been proven in court.

I sure hope he does hard prison time, even if it is only a few months. He deserves it. We shall see what the criminal fraud case turns out.

Yes, it would be contempt of court, but it is still questionable whether or how the judge (or other judges) will enforce gag orders. Even after the expanded gag orders were issued, he could not resist his inclination to mouth off. Yes, he could face jail time, although that is the highest level of sanction for contempt of court. Judges tend to take the lowest level of sanction to accomplish the objective. Tiny may well challenge the court’s tolerance and patience. We shall see.

Quality and safety cannot be financial decisions. Boeing is paying the price for violating that axiom.

The Dali is trapped but appears stable. It also appears to be seaworthy, assuming they correct whatever it was that caused the electrical power loss. BTW, as fate would have it, if that power loss had occurred 15 minutes earlier or later, we would not have had the disaster we have. The Dali owners are claiming it was not their fault. Those earlier inspections will be documented in the NTSB report of findings and will contribute to the final findings of fact.

Correct. He has hawked anything he thinks he can sell. To him, the Bible is just another item he can con people into giving him their precious money. Good point—the Holy book signed by the AntiChrist—quite the juxtaposition.

Quite so. No argument.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Word is Little Fingers’ bond was put up by the “king of subprime car loans”, Don Hankey, who has various legal problems https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/don-hankey-ceo-who-backed-donald-trumps-bond-under-scrutiny/ar-BB1kVIIG. I’m also hoping for Little Fingers to do hard time, but it won’t come directly from the civil fraud trial, which isn’t a criminal matter so far.

“We shall see how much more trouble Little Fingers’ mouth causes him. Selling Bibles may be okay with his base, but other Christians will catch on.

“Quality and safety pay off in the long run, but finance people don’t catch on to that. Union people do, and I’m hearing rumblings of a union effort to get Boeing on track.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

The Hankey connection has been reported in multiple separate sources. I suspect Hankey has created or is prepared to sacrifice the Knight Specialty Insurance Company for this purpose alone. He is likely gambling that Little Fingers will win the appeal and get the civil judgment dismissed or seriously reduced. If not, my guess is he will declare Knight Specialty bankrupt and close its doors. Regardless, Tiny presented the required US$175M surety bond. The gears of justice for the wealthy continue to turn. None of us would ever be able to afford such a legal gambit.

I still believe that there are judges out there who would not tolerate such antics from a malignant narcissist irrespective of his status as a presidential candidate. I sure hope good Christians will eventually see him for what he truly is and turn their backs on his clearly non-Christian behavior and conduct. His mouth and paucity of any semblance of restraint may well sink him.

Correct. Finance wonks only care about the next quarterly report. Financial wonks are now in control of Boeing. They shall reap the whirlwind. Unions getting involved in saving a company from its mismanagement is rather progressive; I wish them every success. I experienced such progressive unions during my tenure in England; very refreshing.

 

Another contribution:

“Thanks Cap-what a bloody mess. This could go on in Vinite (sorry if the spelling is rubbish) my Latin was never much use.”

My reply:

A bloody mess is putting it mildly. I am sorely tempted to use far more profane words for what that man has done to this once grand republic. That said, the embers of discontent have been present in this nation for a very long time . . . people angry over racial integration, women’s rights, non-heterosexual rights, and many other social factors that have irritated the social conservatives among us. What Little Fingers did was to fan those embers to full flame plus add logs to the fire, and he continues to do so. Like all the other political challenges this nation has faced in two plus centuries of existence, we shall overcome this challenge as well, but it will take a long time.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Upate no.1159

 Update from the Sunland

No.1159

25.3.24 – 31.3.24

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- On Monday, a five-judge panel of the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, reduced the sized of Tiny’s surety bond for the civil judgment against him in the New York State business fraud case—New York v. Trump [NYSCEF Index No. 452564/2022] [1133]—from US$464M to US$175M. They also gave him another 10 business days to present the required bond for his appeal to proceed. The judges offered no rationale for their ruling. We do not know the basis of his appeal other than the public yammering of Little Fingers, and we know how much those words are worth.

-- Tiny’s trial in the criminal fraud (Stormy Daniels) case—People of New York v. Trump [NYSC, Cty of NY Indictment No. 71543/2023] [1107]—was moved to the 15^th of April to give his legal team time to review late breaking discovery documents. The judge rejected any further motions to delay the trial. This is the first trial that potentially has prison time as a consequence of conviction. Of course, Little Fingers has been mouthing off in advance of the trial, threatening the judge’s daughter. That man is an idiot!

-- Boeing’s actions continue to baffle me [889, 896, 1149]. With all the management induced errors of various forms, they chose a new fixer to jump in and correct the problems. Is the new fixer an engineer, schooled in the intricacy of safety and integrity? No, the chosen person is a financial wonk. Finance! Go figure! When did Boeing lose its faith in good engineering? Well, I wish the new fixer good luck. I am not impressed or optimistic.

 

Early Tuesday morning, at 01:27 [R] EDT, 26.March.2024, the Singapore-registered MV Dali impacted the southwest pylon of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsing the entire through-truss and truss suspension portions of the bridge into the 48º F. waters of the Patapsco River estuary east of Baltimore. The bridge carried two-lanes each way of the I-695 highway. The bridge wreckage closed the vital harbor of Baltimore with at least 10 other ships trapped inside the port and block the interstate highway. There are ways around the lost interstate highway branch, but there are no workaround solutions for the ships. They deployed several heavy lift, barge borne cranes to begin the process of freeing the Dali and clearing a safe channel for reopening the port.

A surveillance video looking into the harbor across the bridge was released a few hours after the accident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqipWZMo4zk

The container ship was bound for Sri Lanka. As the Dali approached the bridge, the ship appeared to lose all electrical power four times and veered to starboard directly at the southwest piling, as it approached the bridge. The massive, loaded, container ship struck the unprotected southwestern pylon supporting a major primary support for the truss bridge sections. The publicly available evidence suggests the ship lost control, likely due total electrical power failure, as it was departing Baltimore Harbor. The reasons for the power failure are as yet unknown, or at least not public yet.

The onboard harbor pilot reportedly radioed for tug assistance and made a mayday call when it became clear they did not have control of the ship. They also dropped the anchor in an effort to slow the ship, but of that was not enough to avoid the catastrophic impact. The four-lane roadway (two lanes each direction) dropped into the water. There appeared to be trucks and automobiles on the bridge when it collapsed, although on both ends of the bridge had stopped all traffic when the mayday call came in. Portions of the bridge rest on the bow of the ship, which appears to be down by the bow slightly. The ship appears to be stable and safe for now, as they await the clearing of the entanglement holding the ship in place. I sure hope they are working on resolving whatever it was that cause the original problem onboard the Dali.

We probably will not get the NTSB findings for a year or more. They have the data recorder. I am confident they will figure out the cause and corrective action(s).

 

Good Christians share their Bibles. Billionaire Christians give away Bibles to anyone who wants the Good Book. They do not try to hawk the Bible for US$59.99 in a lame attempt to raise money for legal woes that were self generated (no one else). We do not need more examples of how vile and crass that man is, but there ya go. Another example can be added to the continually growing list.

Yet, all that aside, the truly sad fact is that man has fooled, hoodwinked, and conned so many good American citizens to believe in him and support his candidacy. That reality is the greatest tragedy in this protracted sordid episode in American history.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1158:

Comment to the Blog:

“Somewhere a paralegal has the unenviable job of keeping track of all of Tiny’s cases. I’m primarily interested in the Stormy Daniels case right now because it’s a criminal case. However, it’ll be fascinating if Tiny loses properties; his ego is based on them.

“The attack in Moscow is horrendous, but the international implications are fascinating. ISIS-K claims responsibility as retaliation for Putin’s support of the villain in Syria. Putin blames Ukraine, but his worse problem is it damages his claim to protect Russians. Russians aren’t nearly as used to mass shootings as Americans.”

My response to the Blog:

I imagine it is a platoon of paralegals trying to keep track of the tangled maze of cases, motions, rulings, and dates. Yes, indeed, the Stormy Daniels case is the first of several criminal cases against Little Fingers. It is also the first time he faces potential prison time as a punishment if he is convicted.

As we now know, the New York Court of Appeals has extended the time for him to post bond in the civil business fraud case, and more importantly, they have reduced the required bond from US$464M to US$175M. In his usual post-ruling “statement,” Tiny seemed to think it was a major win for him. The appeals court ruling does not alter the size of the judgment (yet), but it seems to signal the appeals court may be leaning that way. If so, he might get away without losing any of his properties.

Horrendous, indeed! I agree with all of your observations. The Russian security services have arrested others beyond the four shooters. We will see and hear only what the Russian government wants us to hear, but hopefully, we learn more. To my knowledge, no nation on the planet suffers to mass shootings that we do; that fact alone is a terrible embarrassment to We, the People.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“I’ll follow the Stormy Daniels case against Tiny because I read her book and she expresses herself very well and also because it would be an actual criminal conviction. Be aware that when that inflated personality crashes, suicidal depression is one possibility. Heart failures and other physical dangers also lurk.

“We’ll see how Tiny fares in his civil fraud judgment. In the meantime, delay is his mode of operation, so he ‘succeeded’ by the postponement.

“Putin’s hold on Russia has been showing a few cracks. If he’s perceived as weak on internal security, that will worsen his position.”

 . . . my follow-up response:

I read her book as well. I have also listened to several interviews with her. She is an articulate, informed, and cogent person; far more believable that her antagonist. Tiny’s malignant narcissism affliction will push him beyond any or most obstacles . . . even prison. I doubt he will ever face the reality of his affliction.

Perhaps so. We shall see. He has been broadly successful in pushing potential incarceration farther away. The judicial system is inexorably chipping away at his delay actions. I still remain confident he will feel justice.

Yes, it has, but he still holds a death grip on the instruments of state in Russia. I truly feel sorry for the good Russian people who must endure their own lethal authoritarian.

 

Another contribution:

“Agreed Cap, it’s not pleasant reading at all, particularly as it relates to a leader of modern society. Someone who as a leader must lead by example not a specimen of many things that many of society will see as gaudy and flamboyant.”

My reply:

Quite so! It is embarrassing that man has misled, confused, contaminated, and subverted so many good American citizens and transformed the discontent of a small minority into the domination of a once grand old political party. The longer he maintains his grip on the party the more distant a solution or correction appears. It may take generations to recover from this debacle, and the specter of our recovery passing, if not already passed, is becoming more prominent. Very sad! That man offers no positive example of good, beneficial, human conduct. He is, always has been, and always will be the antithesis of a good citizen. He is a living example of some of the worst traits of humanity. “Gaudy and flamboyant” are seriously understated words for what that man is and has done to our once grand republic. We must vote him and his brethren into oblivion for the rest of their days.

“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”

My apologies for the downer of a reply.

Keep the faith. We shall prevail. 

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1158

 Update from the Sunland

No.1158

18.3.24 – 24.3.24

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- In a court filing, [the person who shall no longer be named] claimed he was unable to produce the US$464M bond in his civil fraud case—New York v. Trump [NYSCEF Index No. 452564/2022] [1133]. He approached 30 insurance bond underwriters and none of them—not a one—would give him a US$464M bond for various reasons not least of which was the overvaluation of his proposed collateral properties. The filing means he will not be able to appeal since he has not fulfilled the district court’s order, and he is quite likely to face another court order to cease assets that have a net worth totaling the amount of the court order. He started whining that those “valuable” properties would be sold at fire sale prices if the government seized them and sold them.

Later in the week, Tiny publicly claimed he had US$500M in cash, but he chose not to spend this cash on a frivolous and false court judgment. If Tiny does not post the court-ordered US$464M bond tomorrow, he is quite likely to find out who has primacy in his business fraud court case. Stay tuned!

 

On Friday, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons in advance of a concert at the 6,200-seat Crocus City Hall in Moscow. As of Sunday evening, 137 have been killed and 100+ wounded or injured in the attack. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Greater Khorsan (ISIL-K) immediately claimed credit for the attack. Yes, ISIL terror attacks continue although not at the frequency they once did. What makes this attack different is Putin’s determination to pin this attack on Ukraine, which has denied any involvement in the attack. Frankly, Ukraine is far more believable than Putin for a host of reasons. The Russians did not deserve at attack like this. They did not instigate the invasion of Ukraine. The United States provided intelligence of an imminent terror attack that the Russian government reportedly discounted as misinformation intended to provoke Russia. My sincere condolences go to the families and friends of the deceased and injured in the attack. May God bless them all. The four primary shooters were captured and arrested. I hope and trust the perpetrators feel the full weight of the justice they deserve.

 

Well, wonder of wonders, Congress finally passed the second half of a proper appropriations bill . . . six months late . . . but hey, better late than never. The bill—Making further consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes [PL 118-xxx; H.R.2882 Senate: 74-24-0-2(0); House: 350-58-0-22(5); 137 Stat. xxx]—has been presented to the president but not yet signed. This latest action is two weeks after the president signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 [1156]. Both funding bills were bipartisan efforts. Neither bill provides the necessary supplemental funding support for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the Gaza Palestinians. They say that is to come. At the bottom line, at the least the federal government is properly funded until the end of September. Then, the process starts all over again this summer. And so it goes!

 

Of course, the so-called  “Freedom Caucus” was not pleased that “their” speaker” facilitated and agreed to a compromise that led to the appropriations bills noted above. Being upset as they as they are, they got their angry crazy white woman—Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia—file a motion to vacate the speaker’s position just as they had done with the previous speaker [1134]. The Freedom Caucus is not about conservatism, or the Constitution, or any other recognizable trait other than chaos, which, by the way, fits in perfectly with ihr Lieber Anführer. I laud Speaker Johnson, although I strongly disagree with many of his political positions; both appropriations bills were passed by substantial bipartisan margins. Whether Johnson can convince enough Democrats to stand with him to stop the motion to vacate is yet to be seen. One thing for certain, the last thing we need right now is chaos. We need order, stability, and calm. There are far too many on-going sh*t-shows in this country and the world for more chaos. Regardless, we shall endure and persevere.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1157:

Comment to the Blog:

“How much profit is SpaceX making from the taxpayers?

“It’s nice that Boeing’s failings are finally catching up with them, but let’s not let that industry shrink to one manufacturer, Airbus. Everything about aerospace and/or the military-industrial complex needs re-thinking.

“Egregious failures of parenting, as in the Crumbley case, should result in criminal charges. However, we should be cautious about regulating ordinary parenting.

“Tiny knows exactly how to manipulate the MAGAts, although I suspect he’s losing a few. The rest of the electorate needs to listen to those threats. They’re more than hints.”

My response to the Blog:

I have no idea. SpaceX is one of the companies that are a vital support for the Artemis missions to produce a permanent settlement on the Moon and Mars, so I would imagine they have contractual or grant arrangements with the USG.

It was bound to happen. We were lucky more innocent people have not died by the foolish, myopic, incompetency of past and current management. Yes, absolutely, we do not need less competition. We need a strong Boeing. Unfortunately, that is not what we have today.

The Crumbley’s are not the first parents who have failed society. Like you, I do not want the government involved in parenting any more than I want bureaucrats involved in making our medical decisions. I think the societal message here is, there were public signs that Nathan was having trouble. Those signs were ignored. The parents are ultimately responsible.

Oh my, yes he does, and yes, absolutely, we need to listen and pay attention. Yes, they are more than just hints . . . just like “Stand down and stand by.” He likes to mask his meaning in ambiguous context, but his true believers know exactly what he means. He must be stopped before he does more serious damage to our once grand republic. We need a time to heal and build, but we will be unable to do so as long as Tiny is able to spew his vile worthless snake-oil elixir on prone citizens.

 . . . Round two:

“SpaceX will eventually stand as an example of the dangers of privatization via agency capture. Missions to colonize places beyond Earth are folly while Earth herself is in danger.

“Aerospace needs much better reforms than ‘a strong Boeing.’ I would joyfully watch Boeing go under if legitimate competition arose and regulation was imposed on the entire industry. Oligarchy and monopolies endanger the nation.

“‘Stand down and stand by’ is a military command and wouldn’t be directly understood as such by most Americans. ‘There will be a bloodbath’ is very clear. Whether his delusional followers could carry it out is another question, but the attempt would be a disaster in its own right.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Perhaps . . . only time will tell. So far, they are doing a bang-up job of development. They are safely and effectively launching multiple scientific, commercial, cargo, and personnel spacecraft at an increasing rate. I do not agree with your statement that space habitation programs are folly. I believe such endeavors are as necessary as the Lewis & Clark expedition and the westward migration efforts.

Replacing Boeing would not be easy and would likely take generations to accomplish, and the market may have irreparably shifted in that amount of time. Yes, oligarchies and monopolies do in fact endanger the nation in a variety of ways.

Yes, exactly. But, the context of his “coded” message was buried sufficiently to raise reasonable doubt. Once more, he will get away with a morally irresponsible statement. I suspect there are those out there who are planning and preparing for trigger activation at the appropriate time. Semper vigilantis!

 . . . Round three:

“We shall see about SpaceX. And I still think we’d better keep the planet we have livable rather than try to abandon it. It’s a priority thing.

“Setting up another company to replace Boeing wouldn’t address the systemic issues or the underlying monopolistic economy. Think more broadly. Aerospace is obvious because of the crashes, but most of our industries are consolidated and harmful to everyone but the wealthiest owners.

“Tiny’s recent message wasn’t coded at all. ‘If I’m not elected, there will be a bloodbath’ is a clear threat. I have no idea why he wasn’t charged with sedition.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Yes, indeed! We must take care of the planet we have, but that does not preclude exploration and habitation of other celestial bodies. We can walk and chew gum.

Point taken. Competition is essential to a viable capitalistic society. I am thinking beyond Boeing, which might not survive.

Wait now, you are putting me in the position of defending Tiny, and I do not like that position. You and I read it that way, but others will stand on context. He was indeed talk about foreign auto imports and the U.S. auto industry. Even in context, “bloodbath” is not a word any president and presidential candidate would ever use . . . except for Little Fingers. Taken either way, the statement was wrong. I condemn his statement in anyway he wants to cast it. It was wrong, period, full stop.

 . . . Round four:

“We have a budget deficit and ordinary taxpayers deserve a break. We can spend money on SpaceX and other ego projects or try to keep the planet we’re on habitable. If we want both of those, we need to find money elsewhere. I could go for a defense budget no more than twice as big as the second-largest other nation’s budget, but I know that’s not a popular position. We could try to pursue billionaires’ money, but they control the government.

“Tiny isn't a clear speaker. He’s a demagogue, and there’s no telling what is actually in his mind when he speaks. It’s possible he meant to talk about the auto industry, but you and I know his followers didn’t hear it that way.”

 . . . my response to round four:

“Ego projects” . . . I think not. I might accept that moniker for Virgin Galactic, but not SpaceX or Blue Origins. The latter two are development projects in direct support of the NASA Artemis program to send humans back to the Moon and onto Mars. Those are legitimate space exploration endeavors. Taxation is the power to destroy. As such, there must be balance between too much and not enough. Clearly, with all the deductions enabled and allowed by Congress over the years, many, if not most or all, pay a lower effective rate than you or me. Many of those deductions are for the wealthy not for common citizens. I would like to start at taxing the wealthy at least at the effective rate of most citizens. We can go from there.

Tiny has never been a good orator. He was talking about the foreign auto imports, but he chose the word “country” in his bloodbath statement; that is not the auto industry. He does not get a pass for his poor juvenile use of the English language. Yes, exactly, he speaks to his core followers and could not care less for the rest of us. But, it still comes down to who votes In November.  As of today, he is ahead of Biden and everyone else in the national polls for the Electoral College count.

 . . . Round five:

“I'll note that who votes in November can be influenced by the Democrats, but they'll have to offer ordinary Americans more than they have since Clinton (who didn't fulfill his promises).”

 . . . my response to round five,

I understand and appreciate the argument. At the end of the day, we deserve what comes. I can only say, no one is perfect. We are all flawed. As in the last two presidential elections, we have been faced with a choice between an anti-democracy authoritarian wannabe and an old school, give-and-take compromise. So, we are on course for a “three-peat.” If Biden wins, it will be his last term of office. If Tiny wins, he will strive mightily to extend his term of office or repeal the 22^nd Amendment. To me, we are faced with an obscene choice—peace & calm versus chaos. The choice is ours.

“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”

 

Another contribution:

“‘morning Cap-unfortunately this individual is still cluttering our news headlines and will. I fear, do so for some time.”

URL:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68577638?xtor=ES-208-[70786_BBCNews_USElectionUnspun_Cohort_008_200324]-20240321-[bbcnews_donaldtrumptrialsanthonyzurcher_newsus]

My reply:

Unfortunate indeed! His legal woes and maneuvering will occupy our Press for at least the next year or more depending upon his success in delaying trials. Add in political and other nonsense, he seeks to dominate the news as long as he possibly can. He has a major deadline this coming Monday. If he does not post bond by Monday, NY AG James can begin seizing his "assets." It is going to be a rough road ahead for all of us.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“Thanks Cap-could I ask please-the meaning of ‘post bond’?”

Yes, absolutely. "Post bond" is an alternative to placing the cash in escrow pending his appeals.  He does not have that amount of cash. So he must raise a bond, which means he obtains a guarantee, usually from a bond insurance company, for the full amount of the judgment. The insurance companies have said, no thanks, we do not believe your valuation of the assets offered, i.e., 30 different bond insurance companies declared Tiny could not meet the bond assurance requirements. It sounds rather convoluted, but it is actually straightforward. The other way to look at this kerfuffle is that Tiny is NOT worth what he says he is.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)