Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

Everyone was having a nice time agreeing with each and telling each other that they’re absolutely right and you had to go and spoil that by bringing up abortion, one of the only issues here where there’s significant disagreement even amongst the Rs. THAT was my joke. Now go wipe the snot and tears from your face ya big galoot.

[lineygoblue]

The only reason I have tears and snot on me is because my grandson is here today and I have nose wiping duty.

So there.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Anyways if you missed it, I thought this was an interesting article/survey about Evangelicals that I thought you and Geezer might find interesting as the most religious among us (as far as I know at least)

The State of Theology

[froot loops]

Unfortunately, one of them has been selected as the best chance to rid us of Whitmer this year. Furthermore, it appears that the R's is going to let the D's carry her to that hill on which to die on.

What candidate ran in the GOP primary that didn't have the same abortion views as Tudor Dixon? The only one who didn't echo Dixon's stance was Kevin Rinke and he gave a wormboy answer that didn't provide a different viewpoint, he just said it was up to the legislature.

Dixon was by far the best candidate for the GOP, she is a formidable opponent for Whitmer. If there was somebody in the GOP that was a better candidate, they didn't throw their hat in the ring.

[THE_WIZARD_]

The Prog playbook is on full display here...

[Tom W]

What candidate ran in the GOP primary that didn't have the same abortion views as Tudor Dixon? The only one who didn't echo Dixon's stance was Kevin Rinke and he gave a wormboy answer that didn't provide a different viewpoint, he just said it was up to the legislature.

Dixon was by far the best candidate for the GOP, she is a formidable opponent for Whitmer. If there was somebody in the GOP that was a better candidate, they didn't throw their hat in the ring.

That's the problem.. there wasn't a better alternative presented. She's a lousy candidate and the R's aren't doing anything to help her out.

Of course, the obsession over the "abortion" issue continues to be downright maddening. From both sides. I don't have a horse in the race, but I do (and all of us do) own a share of the track and am sick of both sides trashing it.

[Mike]

Hey, I finally saw a Tudor Dixon ad! It was awesome. She was in a factory wearing safety glasses and the narrator said she'll help businesses by cutting red tape.

SOLD

[Dr. Strangelove]

FRAUD!!!

Teflon Don pleads the Fifth!

"I AIN'T SAYIN NUTHIN", pouts furious man-child!

New York sues Donald Trump, Trump Organization for fraud (cnbc.com)

[Mike]

They got him this time.

[Dr. Strangelove]

They got him this time.

Actually, I think they might. Weisselberg will be testifying against him. They have copious amounts of evidence, The lawsuit is hundreds of pages of examples of Trump wildly overvaluing his property. For example he claims his penthouse apartment is 33,000 sq. feet when it's actually only 11,000. His valuation of it, as collateral for loans, would put it above the most expensive apartment ever sold in New York City.

A couple months ago Trump was stuck with the hard choice of protecting himself in either this civil case or a potential criminal case down the road. He chose to protect himself from criminal liability by pleading the 5th hundreds of times in deposition. But that can and will be used against him in the civil case. The State of NY won't have to prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt; they just need the jury to believe there's a 51% chance he intended to defraud.

Ultimately I think he'll lose but one, I don't know if the punishment will be terribly significant and two, his best defense may be some claim of selective prosecution.

[Mike]

Oh, he'll likely lose the civil case but it will be a years-long process between the trial and determining what he owes. The far more interesting case will be a criminal trial should charges be brought and given the revelations of the civil suit, it seems highly likely. We'll probably have to live through a Trump 2024 campaign at the same time he's involved in multiple trials.

[Hannibal]

Hey, I finally saw a Tudor Dixon ad! It was awesome. She was in a factory wearing safety glasses and the narrator said she'll help businesses by cutting red tape.

SOLD

The Rs are being dragged kicking and screaming to a narrow victory this fall. You couldn't do more to lose a winnable election cycle if you tried.

[Da Geezer]

Well, with the exception of abortion. WHEN they pass the law that makes abortion on demand part of the Constitution, they'll want it enforced at the point of a gun.

Amending the Constitution will never happen Liney. It is far too difficult.

The time abortion on demand will become the law of the land is when the Ds take control of the Senate and do away with the filibuster. They then will place new justices (probably 6) on the SC and that SC will find a right to unlimited abortion in the penumbras and emanations of the Constitution. Then a simple law will pass.

I doubt there is a single person here who thinks it is moral to kill a baby in utero. Liney, our religion tells us so, and we face judgment for that kind of sin. But even those with no religious background can tell right from wrong. Dems never even mention the baby, and it is the baby that is most innocent and most at risk.

Rather, they want to make things convenient for Mom, who has already made her choice by engaging in unprotected sex. Abortion as a form of birth control is simply obscene, in addition to being financially stupid.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Took awhile but after sourcing information on the political events inside Russia I've got a clearer picture of what Russia watchers think Putin is doing with his actions in the last 48h.

Analysts believe that failing this "self mobilization" program declared by the Chechen commander Kadyrov, Putin, with the recent laws he's enacted and sham referenda he's directing inside Ukraine, is doubling down on his bet that he can appeal to Russian ethnonationalism. His intent is to build up his army in the name of defending Russian citizens and territory against the west's proxy forces in the form of the Ukrainian armed forces.

There are multiple internal obstacles inside Russia to achieve this goal. First even the expanded pool of Russian men who are potential soldiers is rushing to either find their way out of Russia or find legal ways to avoid "partial" mobilization (Putin's term to avoid the use of the term "full mobilization" in that, "we are at war.") Second, word is spreading among big city residents previously isolated from knowing what is actually going on in Ukraine. Putin has attempted and is now failing to keep what are seen as Russian elites and their families in the dark about Ukraine, feeding them a constant stream of factually inaccurate propaganda. Third, the Russian MOD, in order to replace devastating losses of army officers and soldiers with combat experience, has transferred staff officers out of administrative and training positions to the front. Shoigu has managed to drain organizations of the personnel required to manage and train whatever shows up for training at military camps and schools intended for that purpose. Russia cannot train the soldiers that will become replacements for 8 months of staggering losses of soldiers deployed to Ukraine for Putin's special military operation. The net result will be sending untrained soldiers into the heat of battle in Ukriane to be killed for what?

The conclusion is that Putin will fail to achieve any of his strategic objectives in Ukraine with a poorly lead, mostly incompetent and poorly trained fighting force. That fighting force also lacks the necessary equipment and morale to conduct successful military operations, either offensive or defensive. It will take a few weeks maybe months for Putin to assess that he has failed in Ukraine and fashion alternatives to restore his image of invincibility from which his political power derives. He will come up with something and that something could be dangerous. He is that when he is cornered and facing the shit sandwhich he's being served up.

Diplomatically, we can hope people who have access to Putin can fashion an outcome where neither side is seen as losing. He needs that before he unleashes the kind of shit he is more than capable of unleashing.

[Hannibal]