Commenter Archive

Comments by Slade the Leveller in reply to North*

On “Open Mic for the week of 11/25/2024

Jack Smith is throwing in the towel.

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/jack-smith-trump-federal-election-interference-case-dismiss-rcna181669

I always thought the Stormy Daniels payoff being interpreted as election interference was a bit of a stretch. What we did get out of this case was the Supreme Court declaring the president above the law, so I guess in a perverse sort of way DJT ought to be very happy it was even brought.

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Long delayed, in my opinion.

On “Weekend Plans Post: On a Plane to Iceland

Semifinal football game this weekend. My football officiating career is winding down and I'm starting to feel it a little bit.

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I went to a wedding this summer in NYC that I wanted to get a cotton suit for, but apparently they've gone the way of the dodo. I had a really great cotton olive suit that I wore on my honeymoon that I wish I still had, but alas! Plus, the death of the Jewish tailor men's stores seems really to have eaten into the variety of suits you can buy.

The Dad Bod does great suit reviews on YouTube, if you're interested.

On “ICC Follows Through on Arrest Warrants for Israeli PM Netanyahu & Others

Remember the episode of the Andy Griffith Show where Gomer and Barney got into a tiff and Gomer arrested Barney, shouting "Citizen's arrest!"? Kind of like that.

On “All the President’s Nominees: The Legion of Groom

Since Gaetz has withdrawn and DJT has nominated Pam Bondi, we should once again remember how little it takes to buy a politician.

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/the-trump-foundation-pam-bondi-scandal/

On “The Mandate That Wasn’t

Look for a soft landing at Heritage.

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Now *there's* a demonstration. Think Vlad's crazy enough to do it?

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That ethics report on Gaetz must have been really nasty.

On “The Mandate That Wasn’t

Interpreted by whom? I said in an earlier thread that the Dems are going to come crawling back to the filibuster.

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Heh!

I thought the analysis showed but for DJT turning his head at an extremely fortunate moment he'd be deader than a doornail. I didn't really follow that story too closely.

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No one dodges a bullet in real life. It's either bad aim or luck that saves you.

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Heh. A fortunate turn of the head doesn't count.

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John is correct in the dictionary sense.

In the political sense, at least as I understand it, a mandate is the overwhelming majority voting for someone. LBJ beating Goldwater by 22% is a mandate, FDR beating Landon by 24% is a mandate, Nixon over McGovern by 23% - mandate, Reagan trouncing Mondale by 18% is a mandate.

What is not a mandate is Trump by a percent and a half.

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Not really. But we all know that.

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LOL. I wonder if there's anyone in these here United States that actually believed that.

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As near as I could tell, the only people who thought there'd be riots in the streets if Trump won were right wing Twitter engagement farmers, and the bots that invariably sound off under the tweets.

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I’m living on Earth 2, where DJT isn’t a venal, thin-skinned narcissist.

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That's a really good question.

I think Trump has a great opportunity to reimagine government. I had to look up what the DoE even does. The DoD is a greater problem. It's been documented that it's many headed hydra would be impossible to rein in due to the outsized portion of our national economy that it occupies.

Plus, in the near term it's either Pax Americana or Pax Sinica. Given the isolationist bent of DJT and his electorate, we're inadvertently liable to end up with the former.

I also think Trump is going to squander that opportunity through graft and vengeance seeking. He just doesn't know any other way. And, at first glance, it seems as though he's stocking his cabinet with people who'll be really good at those 2 instead of the reimagining part.

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Experience at the size of the dept., that is.

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I had a longer comment that I must not have posted, but here's the summary.

The Constitution doesn't spell out any qualifications, which means the prez can nominate whoever he wants. I'd think a minimum qualification would be managerial experience at or near the level of the department the nominee is being asked to head.

On “Open Mic for the week of 11/11/2024

https://nwheap.com/

I paid into this when we bought our house on the Northwest Side of Chicago. When we purchased, the neighborhood was a little iffy, but it was where we could afford to buy. We owned the house for 30 years and we were never in danger of having to make a claim. The peace of mind was well worth it.

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