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                  :-)