Update from the Sunland
No.1175
15.7.24 – 21.7.24
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
My oh my, another big thing happened while I was taking my late morning nap on Sunday. President Biden issued a public announcement that he is withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic Party candidate for president. Many believed this action was inevitable given President Biden’s recent performance. The next few weeks will be illuminating as Democrat leaders scramble to refill the ticket. If Harris will be the presidential candidate, a new vice-presidential partner is needed for the remaining campaign and election. This action comes much later in the campaign cycle than the last time we had an incumbent president withdraw from re-election [31.3.1968]. So, we add Sunday’s announcement to the history books. We are left with sorting out what follows to November.
Thank you very much, President Biden, for your five decades of public service to the residents of Delaware and to the Republic. Bravo Zulu! You stand relieved.
The follow-up news items:
-- District Judge Aileen Mercedes Cannon dismissed the superseding indictment in the case of United States v. Trump[USDC SDFL Case no. 9:23-cr-80101-AMC] [1117]—the classified documents case. She ordered the case closed. The essence of her 93-page ruling stands on her contention that the special counsel’s appointment was not constitutional, and thus he had no authority to investigate the case, set aside prosecute the perpetrators. Judge Cannon concluded, “This regulatory cherry-picking seems questionable as a means to resolve the inferior principal Appointments Clause question, although the Court admits of uncertainty in this regard, and some courts have accepted the revocability piece as ‘crucial’ in permitting an inferior-officer designation in similar contexts.” She largely depends upon the various judicial cases surrounding Nixon’s criminal conduct in the 1970s. She twists herself into knots trying to justify why United States v. Nixon [418 U.S. 683 (1974)] [870] does not apply as precedent in the present case against the former president. She cites Associate Justice Clarence Thomas’ solo concurring opinion in the immunity case { Trump v. United States [603 U. S. ____ (2024); No. 23–939] [1173]} in a passing tangential manner. She conveniently ignores the substance of the case against the former president. The result was precisely as Thomas dictated. Special Counsel John Luman ‘Jack’ Smith has vowed to appeal the Cannon ruling. I expect the Department of Justice to join the appeal.
Judge Cannon accomplished one thing for [the person who shall no longer be named], the classified documents case against him will be delayed until well past the November election, just what he sought—delay, delay, delay. He is gambling that he will be elected in November, dismiss all of his federal cases against him, and suspend all the state cases.
The Cannon ruling is disguised in the mantle of scholarly jurisprudence and ignores the body of judicial actions over many decades that sustains the employment of special counsel prosecutions. She also ignores the foundational principle for the appointment of special counsels—independence . . . to avoid any semblance of political bias in sensitive investigations and prosecutions. Legal minds far greater and more experienced than Judge Cannon’s have validated the special counsel process. I expect Judge Cannon’s appeal to be vacated in toto, and the case transferred to another more experienced judge.
Also on Monday, the Republican National Convention convened in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and officially nominated [the person who shall no longer be named] as their candidate for the presidency. Little Fingers chose Senator James David ‘J.D.’ Vance of Ohio to be his vice-presidential running mate. The remainder of the week was spent as a massive love-fest for the Convention’s nominees. Now, it is official! The Republican Party has chosen a convicted felonious grifter as their candidate for president. Ihr Lieber Anführer did his usual schtick to close the convention on Thursday night.
Senator Robert ‘Bob’ Menendez of New Jersey was found guilty on all charges in his corruption trial. On Tuesday, the calls for the resignation of Menendez came swiftly and broadly in the wake of the conviction. His wife’s trial is pending. From everything I have seen and heard, the Menendez couple is guilty as hell and deserve to suffer the full weight of the law against such corrupt conduct.
In the flying biz, we have a saying—A man who does not know his own limitations is dangerous to himself and others. The axiom has been proven far too many times.
President Biden reportedly tested positive for a COVID-19 infection and has quarantined at his Delaware home. Given that public notice, why wasn’t he wearing a mask to avoid infecting others? He also appeared quite feeble and halting as he ascended the short ladder into the belly of Air Force One. All in all, I suspect that was an excuse to force him to rest.
The clamoring for President Biden to step aside, even at this late hour in the silly season, are growing and becoming more pronounced.
Watching this whole process play out (at least the public portion) is quite sad to witness. He has been an accomplished leader and contributor to this once grand republic for decades, and we are watching him crumble before our eyes.
Yet, even in his apparent enfeebled state, President Biden is still orders of magnitude better than a convicted felon, twice impeached, four-time indicted, common grifter conman criminal bent upon chaos and destruction of the American system of governance. Little Fingers can try for the dotting grandpa image, but I am not so easily fooled, and I urge no one else fall victim to his grift. For me, the choice is clear. I also acknowledge that many American citizens are not as concerned about integrity, morality, and honesty.
I wrote the above section before the Sunday announcement and decided to leave it ‘as-is’ due to its applicability.
A security software glitch crashed Microsoft Windows operating system worldwide and across multiple industries on Thursday. If we ever needed a demonstration of how dependent we are on computers, this is the most poignant event so far. The outage was apparently caused by a routine security code update by the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, rather peculiar dontcha think! The blue screen of death was seen around the world.
Recovery
It looks like Windows didn’t load correctly.
Fortunately, Jeanne and I experienced no effects of the outage. I had a medical appointment, and we bought petrol and groceries without a twitch of a problem. We also use Apple computers at home. I hope no one else experienced any difficulties as a result of the outage.
In the continuing assessment of the Supreme’s immunity decision—Trump v. United States [603 U. S. ____ (2024); No. 23–939] [1173], we have an important and relevant interview with Laurence Tribe published in Germany.
"No One Can Guarantee that Trump Is the Last Maniacal Sociopath Who Will Want Power in America" – Renowned Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe is appalled by the recent Supreme Court ruling granting U.S. presidents immunity for "official acts." He believes the step to a dictatorship is a small one.
Interview Conducted by Bernhard Zand in New York
Der Spiegel
Published: 11.07.2024, 11.31 Uhr
The most salient and applicable answer came to the question whether it was an exaggeration that there were now no limits on what a president can do. Tribe answered, “I don't think it is an exaggeration. The only limits now are the president’s own character and his own morality.” I agree with Tribe. The Supremes have unilaterally moved us close to a dictatorship or some other form of autocracy. If anyone has the slightest concern for the impact of the Supreme’s immunity ruling, I urge you to read the Tribe interview.
What the Supremes have done is force every potential prosecution of a president or former president to take substantially longer than any normal high-profile prosecution as a significant added layer to the normal procedures and processes—the judicial determination of “official” and “unofficial.” Like all criminal that profess their innocence, future criminal presidents like Little Fingers will claim everything they do is “official.” From my perspective, that is dreadfully close to the divine right of kings. These are the times in which we live.
Comments and contributions from Update no.1174:
Comment to the Blog:
“I’m opposed to killing in general, even if it’s Little Fingers. I noted that he did several fist-pumps as the Secret Service attempted to whisk him away for treatment. Also, from what I could see in several viewings of the appropriate clip, that might not be a bullet wound. It’s a shame Little Fingers gets a chance to play martyr. I’d hoped for a heart attack. Also, in the case of either major-party candidate winning, the Vice President will likely become President before the end of the term.
“We are cursed with still more ‘interesting’ times.”
My response to the Blog:
We do not know any of those detail facts. However, something made is right ear bleed (fact). A lot of weapons could have done that, but at a reported distance of 130 yards, it had to be a rifle bullet. At that range, it was an easy shot even for a standard, off-the-shelf rifle. As Marines, we trained and qualified at 200, 300, and 500 yards. Whatever it was, it came oh so close to a different outcome. A quarter of an inch to the right and we would be talking about a different outcome. We will eventually learn the wound details & pathology. The conspiracy theories have already begun in earnest.
Yes, absolutely. Little Fingers will probably play the “chosen one” martyr to the hilt—perfect for his grift of the American people.
Yes, indeed. The ancient Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times,” appears quite applicable to the times in which we live. Nonetheless, we must and will endure.
. . . Round two:
“You’re right that we don’t know any of the details for certain. Movie magic could have made his ear bleed, based on the pictures I’ve seen. More likely, it was a fragment of the teleprompter. I’ve seen reports of that attributed to the Secret Service. We’d have to see the wound after it was clean and treated to know. A bullet, even a small graze, would have taken flesh with it.
“Between political events and climate change, the ‘interesting times’ are a bit much; you’re right, though, we will endure.”
. . . my response to round two:
The shattering glass or metal of a teleprompter would have sprayed shards down the trajectory, so I would say, not likely. Shoot, he could have cut his ear himself with the rifle reports as backdrop. Not yet discussed, the shooter had to realize his survival was not likely, so death by cop in a ‘blaze of glory.’ Anything is possible at this stage, but there is one set of facts. True, and he probably has a persistent headache. I expect we will see the wound details someday, hopefully soon.
I absolutely agree . . . a bit much! I have been tempted to turn off the news and delete my news feeds at least for a few days. So far, I hang in there.
. . . Round three:
“That shooter is of a type I don’t understand. ‘Blaze of Glory’ is as likely a motivation as any. There is one set of facts but no guarantee any one person will ever know them all.
“I’ve been keeping a lid on my news sources as needed since 9/11. It’s a good habit.”
. . . my response to round three:
I do not understand the whole episode. We may not know all the facts, but I sure hope so. We do not need more conspiracy theories filling the void, as they already are.
You are a better man than me. I am sure it is a good habit. But I find it very hard to cut the cord unless I have to do so.
Another contribution:
“We live in a difficult age. What will the future hold. You know my views on weaponry, weapons are too available for those individuals who have had none or little training in their use. A change will have to be made, a serious change. Will it ever happen?”
My reply:
Difficult indeed! I wish I could predict the future, but alas, I cannot. I share your views in large part. From everything I have read and heard so far, that shooter had minimal to no training. However, 130 yards is an easy shot for a standard rifle. I do not see the forces of such change growing at present, but we will keep watch. No matter how foolish or myopic the shooter may have been, he had to know he was not likely to survive—suicide by cop. We shall maintain our vigil.
A different contribution:
“The answer?
“Vote early and often.”
My response:
The tongue-in-cheek corruption phrase goes back quite a way in history. As for me, I trust our voting system. Yes, there are always attempts to contaminate or corrupt the process, but those efforts are largely discovered and prosecuted, although I am certain some succeed—where there is a will, there is a way. But a potential fraction of one per centum does not condemn the whole process. I shall vote by mail this year, as I have done since the pandemic. I urge everyone to trust the system and vote for the best candidates on the ballot and ignore all the yammering from the MAGAts and right-wing.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
