Update no.1165

 Update from the Sunland

No.1165

6.5.24 – 12.5.24

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

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- [The person who shall no longer be named] was fined for two more violations of the gag order in the New York business fraud case—New York v. Trump [NYSCEF Index No. 452564/2022] [1134]. The judge said the fines have not worked. If the defendant continues to violate the gag order, he would order jail time for the former president and candidate for president if he did not cease and desist. After the admonishment on Monday, Little Fingers went to the Press and stated, “I would rather go to jail than comply with the gag order.” He is daring the judge to put him in jail. So the line has been drawn. He has not gone to jail yet. I guess he wants to be a martyr to further his grift of the American people. This insanity must end.

-- Judge Cannon, the presiding judge in the classified documents case against [the person who shall no longer be named] {United States v. Trump [USDC SDFL Case no. 9:23-cr-80101-AMC] [1117], indefinitely postponed the start of the trial citing too many serious motions she has not yet ruled on. The judge has given the principal defendant exactly what he sought—delay, delay, delay.

My opinion, for what it is worth, Judge Cannon is incompetent and quite likely a case of biased incompetence. She should be replaced as soon as possible. From my perspective, she is way over her head. If her postponement holds, Little Fingers has achieved his desired state. He is gambling that he will win the November election, and then as he has clearly stated, he intends to immediately dismiss this case and other federal cases against him. If he makes it that far, his action will surely by challenged in court. Whether his self-protection effort will hold up is highly questionable, plunging us into yet another constitutional crisis, as if we do not have enough of those crises already. The only sure way to stop him is to vote him a humiliating electoral defeat, not just beat him but embarrass him.

 

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) of Georgia, the loudmouth firebrand, Little Fingers acolyte, finally pulled the trigger and introduced her motion to vacate the speakership—H. Res. 1209. Before the resolution could be brought to the floor, a motion to table (dismiss) was brought to the floor for a vote. On the motion to table H.Res.1209, the House voted resoundingly to table the resolution [House: 359-43-7-21(5)], so ending the Freedom Caucus rebellion, at least for now. Only 11 Republicans voted against the motion to table the resolution. MTG failed. So now, the House can get back to real work doing the People’s business. I am not a fan or supporter of Speaker Johnson, but at least he recognizes reality that compromise is essential within any functioning democracy. Surprisingly, 163 Democrats voted in favor of the motion to dismiss the MTG initiative to remove Speaker Johnson. The new Congress next January must remove that damnable rule; these vacate dramas [1134] are ridiculous and a total waste of time and money.

 

A reliable, regular contributor and good friend sent along the following message: “I'm not sure the blog is ready for this, but it's a cogent and coherent argument.”

about this article:

“Expand SCOTUS & Save Democracy—While We Still have a Democracy to Save – The American people have repeatedly expanded the Supreme Court throughout our nation's history, and there's no valid reason today to delay further expansion for the same reasons”

by Qasim Rashid

dated: May 8 [2024]

with this URL:

https://qasimrashid.substack.com/p/expand-scotus-and-save-democracywhile?publication_id=2550223&post_id=144294656&isFreemail=true&r=a27i&triedRedirect=true

 . . . to which I responded:

Oh my, yes . . . quite appropriate for the Blog. I have not been able to find a URL for the article. However, in searching for the link, I found news from other similar articles in traditional news sources. I will figure out how to introduce the topic.

I like Rashid’s argument. The Court has been stable for a long time; it is kind of like stare decisis. As such, I am cautious about altering a stable system. That said, Mitch McConnell chose to unilaterally alter that stable system twice in an example of extraordinary hypocrisy that he does not lose sleep over. He unilaterally removed all constraints. In a form, by McConnell’s actions, the far right has packed the court and did so masterfully by choosing comparatively young, socially conservative justices. The only way to restore balance to the Court in any reasonable time is by expanding the size of the Court; 13 seems like a reasonable number.

Unfortunately, I think we are out of time with this administration and Congress. Can you imagine if we expand the Court and Little Fingers wins a second term? We absolutely must vote to prevent him from attaining another term as president, AND we must elect a dominant Congress (both chambers) in order to get important legislation like this Court size matter passed through both chambers and to the president. We must vote for our future. Two can play that game.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1164:

Comment to the Blog:

“The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) was a product of the Nixon Administration, and parts of it were intended to attack Nixon’s perceived enemies they suspected of using marijuana (hippies) and heroin (black people). The CSA has done considerably more damage than other approaches used elsewhere. It’s notable that the Shafer Commission (set up under a related statute) first recommended the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana in 1973. There’s much more at 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act.

“You’re right that the MAGAts are afraid of others treating them as they treat the others. That goes back to slavery and probably to the beginning of history.

“Let’s not confuse Palestinians in general with Hamas, nor Israel’s government with its citizens. Nobody’s protesting to favor Hamas, nor are they antisemitic. Indeed, many of the protesters are themselves Jewish. However, the entire Establishment is promoting that confusion. Your compunction about property damage, etc., prompts me to remind you that slavery and most social ills were legal until those laws were overcome by advocates, not by conservatives. Homelessness is illegal still.

“I have even less respect for Biden after the speech you mentioned.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh my, don’t get me started. I could argue that the CSA has exceeded the Comstock Act as the most destructive law in our nation’s history. While some elements are probably warranted, the basis, foundation, and essence of the CSA has been wrong from the get-go. Yes, the CSA was a Nixon era law that violated one of our most fundamental inalienable rights—freedom of choice. Just because some people disagree with our choices does NOT give them the right to impose their views on other people to get them to conform to their beliefs. Imagine if we had taken a different approach back in the 60s and 70s to make consumption safe for those who so choose and safe for our communities. I remain guarded optimistic we shall one day grow up and mature as a society and stop this damnable moral projection nonsense and focus on the original objective of this once grand republic—make the public domain safe for all citizens with equality and justice for all.

We are completely agreed. The MAGAts must be returned to the distant, shadowy margins of our society—the sooner, the better. We can take a large step forward this November, if we have the will to do so.

Absolutely, Hamas is not the Palestinians, and I dare say the Netanyahu administration is not the majority of the Israeli population, just like the MAGAts are a comparatively small minority of a political party that has been led dreadfully astray by their embrace of extremism. In some narrow aspects, those right-wing extremist groups in so many countries have exerted inordinate pressure on the political structures, and they all deserve the same fate. The Palestinians must do what must be done, just as we must do so. We need to help them as best we can.

I will not go that far. I think he was spot on correct with what he said in that speech; he just did not go far enough, and he missed the opportunity.

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

 . . . Round two:

“At this point, the Palestinians aren’t changing their government, just trying to survive, and they’re having a horrendous casualty rate due to Israel’s use of American munitions, their blocking of humanitarian aid, etc.

“Biden attacked the protesters in that speech, and he made no distinction between the mostly nonviolent pro-peace protesters versus the attacking counter-protesters or the raging police. He’s also using the Establishment’s false claim of antisemitism. Plus, he never addressed the fact of genocide in Gaza. Israel has some kind of leverage on the U.S. Government.”

 . . . my response to round two:

The Israelis are not changing their government either, yet. President Biden has taken unprecedented steps to influence Israel’s actions in Gaza. We will see if it works. As Israel helped us with al-Qa’ida and ISIL, we must help them with Hamas. Hamas cannot be allowed to remain in control of Gaza.

Oh my, that is not the same speech I heard. I do not agree. I think he was careful to distinguish the constitutional right to peaceful assembly (protest) from the violence of criminal agitators. We have previously disagreed on the use of the word ‘genocide’; I suppose that disagreement persists. If there is genocide, it is Hamas. They do not fight like warriors; they kill like cowards hiding behind innocent men, women, and children. One of the essential principles of warfare since before Sun Tzu documented those principles in 512 BC is surprise. Israel sacrificed that principle to alert the people to move, giving exactly where their offensive operations were going to work. Some chose to heed the warning; others did not. The IDF was dealing with an underground network where Hamas kept their rockets, weapons, ammunition, and other supplies. That network was buried beneath apartment buildings, hospitals, roadways with access inside those buildings. I do not know whether you have ever executed tunnel warfare, but it is deadly, slow, tortuous work. They purposely kidnapped innocent people inside Israel to hold as hostages / shields to seriously complicate any tunnel operations by the Israelis. Hamas is not some honorable militia defending their people; they are a terrorist organization bent upon the eradication of Israel; and, they will do any inhuman thing to further their objective. I say all this to keep things in perspective.

 . . . Round three:

“The situation in Gaza has nothing to do with ideals. Israel has some hold on the USA much stronger than past favors.

“Genocide has nothing to do with the mode of attack. It’s targeting an entire population for death or dispersion. The Gaza situation is genocide, like the Sand Creek Massacre expanded and repeated daily. I’m not sure why you say Hamas is ‘bent upon’ eradicating Israelis when Israel is currently doing that to the Palestinians.

“Your comment about Hamas’s mode of combat is odd. It echoes the British complaint about the various colonials’ mode of revolution and ours about the Viet Cong. Hamas, like any other military, fights to win. Think My Lai. That’s about the time I became an anti-war person.

“Israel’s warnings direct the population of Gaza to the next combat zone. There’s nothing humane about that.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Perhaps so. I have no evidence of such leverage. If such leverage exists, my guess it is the abysmal treatment of Jewish refugees by the U.S. State Department during WW2.

I do not understand how you can separate Hamas from the population. It was much easier to do so during WW2, but that did not stop Hamburg, Dresden, or Hiroshima. Sand Creek is an inappropriate analogy in my humble opinion. I go by their public statements. What was the military objective of the 7.October attack? What was Hamas trying to achieve?

My Lai was a frustrated rogue unit with terrible leadership. It was not U.S. policy, rules, or instruction.

They are not coincidental. They divided Gaza into districts. They are trying to manage the innocent population as best they can. They are destroying the infrastructure that enables Hamas to operate in Gaza. I have no idea what you expect the IDF to do given Hamas’ cowardly use of innocent civilians to shield their operations. Just as we have rendered al-Qa’ida and ISIL ineffective, we must do so with Hamas.

 . . . Round four:

“Going by events, Israel has some means of controlling USA policy. Israel’s leverage has nothing to do with World War II. Let’s not mistake feelings of guilt for a concession of power. There’s some possibility Epstein’s operation is involved or some other practical form of leverage that I know nothing about. As always, ignore official statements.

“My Lai is typical of all wars.”

 . . . my response to round four:

That sounds conspicuously like a conspiracy theory. I cannot not accept the premise. No evidence. Sorry.

Perhaps, but that does make them correct or acceptable. The morality of battlefield killing will remain an active topic of debate. I shall leave it at that.

 . . . Round five:

“I think you mean ‘suspiciously’ like a conspiracy theory. It does, but I can't see a more reasonable explanation.

“My Lai and most of the Gaza deaths aren't battlefield killings.”

 . . . my response to round five:

Yes, ‘suspiciously’ is indeed a good word, but no, I chose conspicuously with intent. I certainly understand and appreciate your concern for the motivation behind U.S. policy toward Israel. But there is no evidence to support your argument.

I suppose this topic of debate depends upon our definition of the word ‘battlefield.’ To me, a battlefield is a location, area, or region where combat between opposing armed forces occurs. Hamas has chosen the battlefield. Israel is conducting operations against their opposing force within the defined battlefield.

 . . . Round six:

“In re ‘battlefield,’ it's important to note that most of the dead clearly presented no threat to the Israeli forces.”

 . . . my response to round six:

Yes, agreed, it is important to note. Where I diverge is the combat infrastructure Hamas has been using to shield their operations. Innocent people reside and work in those buildings. The IDF/IAF warned people to vacate those buildings. Some folks chose not to heed the warning. They became unfortunate but understandable collateral damage. If we want to vilify someone for those unfortunately innocent deaths, the clear culprit is Hamas. Let us place blame where blame belongs. Israel did not seek nor instigate this war; they are executing their counteroffensive. There is unfortunate collateral damage.

 . . . Round seven:

“As stated, most of the dead were no threat. They weren't involved in combat; they were simply shot and/or brutalized in the area, much like My Lai.”

 . . . my response to round seven.

On that, we shall respectfully disagree.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)