My concern was more about the uniform piling on Judge Cannon because her rulings fail to follow standard judicial procedure and are therefore evidence of "corruption" which most people take in the sense of taking a bribe or in this case being "in the bag" for Trump because her decision favored the desires of Trump's lawyers. Therefore, she must "be on the take" to be rewarded by the continued favors of those in power. But perhaps her goal is to give Team Trump a fair hearing containing a poisoned pill. What has been the result of her decision? First, the plea for the Special Master has blown up in their face as they can't supply evidence and that was exactly what doomed those 60 cases challenging the actual voting in the election. Now she has just ruled that the Special Master cannot decide on whether or not the papers in question may or may not be considered as proven but only in which pile of documents each item is to be placed. Once again horrors and pearl clutching at this ignorant tool of the Federalist society. But perhaps not. Perhaps her ruling at trial will again demand proof of the claims regarding the documents within the context of the trial. Could lead to total dismissal of the case as apparently happened in those 60 lower court voting cases about which we heard very little making it easy for intellectually dishonest (?corrupt) MAGA folks to continue to pound the table about the stolen election though they had neither the facts nor the law on their
side. No, Judge Cannon is corrupt if she rules that Team Trump is correct in claiming that this was an illegal search and seizure of documents that Trump was entitled to have as a matter of law in the absence of evidence placed before the court to sustain that claim. So I am glad she let them have the Special Master even if it was not the "correct" decision by the lights of standard judicial procedure. And I will wait to see if she has been as corrupt as the current majority on the Supreme Court.
So maybe the headline becomes "just enough rope" not "in the bag for Trump". Jeff
I had a top secret clearance years ago. I worked on classified documents in a vault, literally a vault with a door like a bank vault. Classified documents never left that vault. I was required by law to never reveal anything that I learned that was classified, until such time as some classified material was de-classified. A document that is stamped with a classification, usually at both the top and bottom IS CLASSIFIED. That page can only be declassified by shredding and burning. It is not possible to declare a stamped page—declassified! The content may be declassified through a specified procedure, but all stamped pages are classified until they are destroyed. Ergo, Trump cannot have declassified documents that are stamped. FULL STOP!
So, what is the appropriate response when a federal judge flaunts the rule of law and creates a special rule for the former president who appointed her to office?
My husband and I co-host Fridays at 4 (PST), a letter writing group affiliated with Indivisible Oregon and Swing Left that writes Vote Forward letters to get out the vote around the country. In 2020, Fridays at 4 sent nearly 30,000 letters to voters in swing states. The nationwide campaign, which was called The Big Send, sent almost 18 million letters, helping to put Joe Biden into office as well as two Democratic senators in Georgia.
We would like to invite the readers of Robert's Newsletter to join us. We are physically located in Ashland, OR, but offer our event solely online. Our volunteers live in various states, including California, Washington, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Montana. An expat from Australia recently joined our group, and we are hoping that more expats from around the world will join us. If there is enough expat interest, we will open a second event at a time more convenient for expats in October.
We offer a training for our new volunteers every week.
Here is our mission statement:
The journey toward justice is longer than one election cycle or one presidency or even a lifetime. That ride can be a bumpy one, full of highs and lows and setbacks. We believe the most sustainable way to stay on that path is to be on it with company. At Fridays at 4, we build on each other’s energy, passion and good will as we work in community. We pull through by pulling together.
Please join us to take effective action and to engage in stimulating conversation with a very special community. Here is the link to register for our events: https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/274619/
Immediately after registering, you will receive an email with the zoom link. We meet at 4 pm PST every Friday afternoon.
Thinking that maybe in a more primitive democracy the people personify their democracy as a goddess.*
The "Goddess of Free and Fair Elections" is one of Her titles.
The Goddess thrives on honesty but withers as if poisoned when her reputation is subversively slandered by those flaunting their Right of Free Speech declaring a stolen election without evidence,
Well, these primitive keepers of democracy let these election deniers have their say,
but slandering the princess -- ?
it sure as hell means these people of bad faith don't serve in government. (imagine they have something like our 14th Amend.Sec. where this type of sedition disqualifies you.
The People take these lying candidates/office-holders to Court.
In this primitive democracy the Justices would be devout worshipers of the Goddess -->
the seditionists are indeed disqualified.
Again, the people of this primitive democracy are not so stupid as to not put a check on people's free speech where individuals would sabotage the democracy by slandering the Goddess; not so stupid as to allow subversives to hold the reins of power.
Imagine these primitive democracy lovers as also having a Constitution where they interpret the nation's aspiration for a "More Perfect Union" as another reason to keep bad-faith liars out of government.
(* if corporations can be thought of as 'people' then why not democracy as a goddess?)
Why did De Santis go to Texas to kidnap migrants? Not enough migrants in Florida to pull off his adolescent stunt? Or are Florida's migrants primarily Cuban? A sacrosanct group that has voting power.
I know that this was not the point of this particular Newsletter, which I appreciated, and I know that this is important, however, there is little being seriously written about (that I have seen) what is happening with voting. Most everything else falls apart if the November voting is tampered with in any of the myriad ways that are seeming to be attempted. If, sir, it is possible, would you devote a Newsletter to the current status of what is happening and how it is being combated? If not, that’s okay too. I’ve learned to live with disappointment. Thank you. Thank you for your Newsletter. I look forward to it every day. Thank you.
Discussions of Sen. Graham's cruel abortion bill often fail to include its worst provision: it does not apply in any state where abortion prohibitions are harsher than his proposed 15-week ban.
Sen. Graham’s bill expressly exempts from the proposed 15-week law any state law with more severe abortion limits. If a state prohibits abortions after 12 weeks, for example, or six weeks, or from conception, Graham’s bill does not apply and that harsher state law continues in full force.
The bill would add a new law, 18 USC Section 1532, generally banning abortion after 15 weeks. The bill states, however, in proposed 18 USC 1532 (g)(1): “Nothing in this section may be construed to preempt or limit any Federal, State, or local law that provides greater protections for an unborn child than those provided in this section.”
When we discuss this bill, we should be sure to point out this feature.
Trump stole our country’s highly classified intelligence materials, knowing that President Biden had revoked his security clearance on Inauguration Day. This crime of all of the crimes Trump is being investigated for is a slam-dunk for the DOJ! He and his $3 million counselor of law both know it and are desperate!
I would argue that Trump’s game plan through life has always been to establish a Kakistocracy – government by the worst people among us – by our least suitable or competent citizens. As Trump often says, “I hire only the best people – My people: My Generals, My Judges, My Cabinet members, My Senators, My House members, My Supreme Court, and My Lie that the Democrats stole My Election.” And, as with everything Trump, “our Nation’s secrets are also mine!”
Steve Schmidt, in The Warning today, bluntly stated: “The elected officials in the Republican Party — particularly those serving in federal office — succumbed to cowardice and fear in a mass hysteria and capitulation that still leaves even the greatest admirers of soulless collaboration slack-jawed in awe. Solipsistic politics have quickly given way to nihilism, and the practice of cruelty as a binding dogma. All of it is wrapped in lie after lie and served with venomous glee by a pack of malignant hustlers looking to get rich and powerful.”
Timothy Snyder (On Tyranny – Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century) says “When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants…”
Joyce Vance in her Civil Discourse, Joyce Vance – 18 September 2022 – Will the 11th Circuit Trump Trump?) accurately presents what Snyder warns us about – Judge Cannon, one of Trump’s “obedient civil servants,” has given him yet another opportunity to be above the law. This smacks of kakistocracy. We can only hope that saner and more principled minds exist in the 11th Circuit!
Joyce Vance said: "I was wrong about Judge Cannon. I cautioned against rushing to judgment, mindful that Trump appointees across the country stood for the rule of law in the wake of the 2020 election. Judge Cannon has not stood for the rule of law and her order has been resoundingly criticized by people from across the political spectrum, including such an unlikely candidate as Trump’s Attorney General, Bill Barr. The order deserves all of the criticism."
News today that Republicans are challenging voter registrations in bulk takes me back to Maine in the 2000 presidential election. As a member of the Orono town council, I served as an election clerk at the University of Maine precinct. Local Republicans showed up to challenge random student voters.
They succeeded in slowing down the voting process, but I assured each challenged voter that their ballot (which became "provisional" on the basis of the challenge) would still be counted. I served with some local Republicans on the council and in committees, and mention of the voting challenges drew eye rolls or blank stares from them.
When does intentional election disruption become a crime?
DeSanris, Abbott, and Ducey to immigration. It has only been the last 50 years that they have had to handle immigration surges. Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Charleston, and New York handled the massive waves of the 18th through most of the 20th Centuries. Does DeSantis realize how badly Italians were treated in the south in the 1890s? 11 were lynched in New Orleans on March 14, 1891, held in jail for mob violence after being found innocent of killing the police chief which was a political assassination. The only crimes they had committed was going to work. So now DeSantis is as much an arrogant fool as those who lynched the 11 after emasculating them, the youngest was under 18. Is this his way of getting even?
He is a disgrace as an Italian American. If this is the younger generation, I didn't miss much.
SecureTheVillage is presenting an election security webinar: What Every Citizen Needs to Know: 2022 Election Cybersecurity.
Our democracy depends on getting the mid-term elections right. This means — first and foremost — getting cybersecurity right … Everything from protecting sensitive voter identities, registered voter lists, and voting machines; coming to grips with social media; and ensuring confidence in the outcomes.
Find out what’s really going on from three of the nation’s leading experts. All three are on the front-lines of election cybersecurity.
- Kim Wyman, Senior Election Security Advisor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), former Washington Secretary of State
- Kathy Boockvar, Vice President of Election Operations & Support, Center for Internet Security; former Pennsylvania Secretary of State
- Adam Powell III, Executive Director, Election Cybersecurity Initiative, USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, University of Southern California.
The webinar is September 28, 11:00-12:30 Pacific Time.
On messaging: I get pleas for donations from both sides (I suspect I have been offered up to some MAGA list somewhere as a "joke" since many of the texts and emails start off with things like "Only for the most loyal Trump supporters like you"), and I have noticed a few characteristics. Both sides use scare tactics. I'll get emails claiming it's inevitable that the other side will win a certain seat unless I pitch in $ right now. Same seat. Both sides demonize the politicians of the other party, although the GOP emphasizes the personal characteristics of woke or radical liberal voters as well as candidates more than the DEM fund raising contacts bring up GOP voter "types", and the GOP ones are notably more vague. So far I have only received $ requests from GOP sources that are so vague as to at least at first "pass" as perhaps being from DEM or other sources. I don't have a really good example at the moment because almost by definition they are fairly forgettable, but one I got today that almost qualifies is a text saying "Google banned Truth Social from their app store, stopping millions from getting the app! Add your name to stop Big Money Interests" and one earlier that said "... to stop Big Tech". Admittedly some of my confusion derives from not having a FOX and OAN-trained eye for
It does not seem far-fetched to imagine a technology which would embed some sort of trackable “fiber” in paper. And copying, photographing, or scanning the document on this paper would send a silent alarm to the monitors. (The photographing part seems difficult.)
The authorities would know where all those documents had been and where they are now if the government had had that technology. Maybe they would even know if they were buried on a golf course.
It would be very expensive, I imagine, but perhaps worth it for docs that are so sensitive.
(Grammar-wise, I did not check far-fetched, but the hyphen seems right and I used an Oxford comma, even though usually do not.)
It’s here. Ink for printers and paper itself have tough, nearly indestructible tracing chemicals that are salted in, in various proportions during manufacture. They are also placed in manufacturing of high explosives, as they survive a blast.
Sun 10/02
Hi Robert B. ,
My concern was more about the uniform piling on Judge Cannon because her rulings fail to follow standard judicial procedure and are therefore evidence of "corruption" which most people take in the sense of taking a bribe or in this case being "in the bag" for Trump because her decision favored the desires of Trump's lawyers. Therefore, she must "be on the take" to be rewarded by the continued favors of those in power. But perhaps her goal is to give Team Trump a fair hearing containing a poisoned pill. What has been the result of her decision? First, the plea for the Special Master has blown up in their face as they can't supply evidence and that was exactly what doomed those 60 cases challenging the actual voting in the election. Now she has just ruled that the Special Master cannot decide on whether or not the papers in question may or may not be considered as proven but only in which pile of documents each item is to be placed. Once again horrors and pearl clutching at this ignorant tool of the Federalist society. But perhaps not. Perhaps her ruling at trial will again demand proof of the claims regarding the documents within the context of the trial. Could lead to total dismissal of the case as apparently happened in those 60 lower court voting cases about which we heard very little making it easy for intellectually dishonest (?corrupt) MAGA folks to continue to pound the table about the stolen election though they had neither the facts nor the law on their
side. No, Judge Cannon is corrupt if she rules that Team Trump is correct in claiming that this was an illegal search and seizure of documents that Trump was entitled to have as a matter of law in the absence of evidence placed before the court to sustain that claim. So I am glad she let them have the Special Master even if it was not the "correct" decision by the lights of standard judicial procedure. And I will wait to see if she has been as corrupt as the current majority on the Supreme Court.
So maybe the headline becomes "just enough rope" not "in the bag for Trump". Jeff
I had a top secret clearance years ago. I worked on classified documents in a vault, literally a vault with a door like a bank vault. Classified documents never left that vault. I was required by law to never reveal anything that I learned that was classified, until such time as some classified material was de-classified. A document that is stamped with a classification, usually at both the top and bottom IS CLASSIFIED. That page can only be declassified by shredding and burning. It is not possible to declare a stamped page—declassified! The content may be declassified through a specified procedure, but all stamped pages are classified until they are destroyed. Ergo, Trump cannot have declassified documents that are stamped. FULL STOP!
So, what is the appropriate response when a federal judge flaunts the rule of law and creates a special rule for the former president who appointed her to office?
My husband and I co-host Fridays at 4 (PST), a letter writing group affiliated with Indivisible Oregon and Swing Left that writes Vote Forward letters to get out the vote around the country. In 2020, Fridays at 4 sent nearly 30,000 letters to voters in swing states. The nationwide campaign, which was called The Big Send, sent almost 18 million letters, helping to put Joe Biden into office as well as two Democratic senators in Georgia.
We would like to invite the readers of Robert's Newsletter to join us. We are physically located in Ashland, OR, but offer our event solely online. Our volunteers live in various states, including California, Washington, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Montana. An expat from Australia recently joined our group, and we are hoping that more expats from around the world will join us. If there is enough expat interest, we will open a second event at a time more convenient for expats in October.
We offer a training for our new volunteers every week.
Here is our mission statement:
The journey toward justice is longer than one election cycle or one presidency or even a lifetime. That ride can be a bumpy one, full of highs and lows and setbacks. We believe the most sustainable way to stay on that path is to be on it with company. At Fridays at 4, we build on each other’s energy, passion and good will as we work in community. We pull through by pulling together.
Please join us to take effective action and to engage in stimulating conversation with a very special community. Here is the link to register for our events: https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/274619/
Immediately after registering, you will receive an email with the zoom link. We meet at 4 pm PST every Friday afternoon.
We very much look forward to meeting you!
Jennifer Adrian-Thiroux and Stephen Thiroux
Fridays at 4, Indivisible Oregon
Thinking that maybe in a more primitive democracy the people personify their democracy as a goddess.*
The "Goddess of Free and Fair Elections" is one of Her titles.
The Goddess thrives on honesty but withers as if poisoned when her reputation is subversively slandered by those flaunting their Right of Free Speech declaring a stolen election without evidence,
Well, these primitive keepers of democracy let these election deniers have their say,
but slandering the princess -- ?
it sure as hell means these people of bad faith don't serve in government. (imagine they have something like our 14th Amend.Sec. where this type of sedition disqualifies you.
The People take these lying candidates/office-holders to Court.
In this primitive democracy the Justices would be devout worshipers of the Goddess -->
the seditionists are indeed disqualified.
Again, the people of this primitive democracy are not so stupid as to not put a check on people's free speech where individuals would sabotage the democracy by slandering the Goddess; not so stupid as to allow subversives to hold the reins of power.
Imagine these primitive democracy lovers as also having a Constitution where they interpret the nation's aspiration for a "More Perfect Union" as another reason to keep bad-faith liars out of government.
(* if corporations can be thought of as 'people' then why not democracy as a goddess?)
Why did De Santis go to Texas to kidnap migrants? Not enough migrants in Florida to pull off his adolescent stunt? Or are Florida's migrants primarily Cuban? A sacrosanct group that has voting power.
I know that this was not the point of this particular Newsletter, which I appreciated, and I know that this is important, however, there is little being seriously written about (that I have seen) what is happening with voting. Most everything else falls apart if the November voting is tampered with in any of the myriad ways that are seeming to be attempted. If, sir, it is possible, would you devote a Newsletter to the current status of what is happening and how it is being combated? If not, that’s okay too. I’ve learned to live with disappointment. Thank you. Thank you for your Newsletter. I look forward to it every day. Thank you.
Discussions of Sen. Graham's cruel abortion bill often fail to include its worst provision: it does not apply in any state where abortion prohibitions are harsher than his proposed 15-week ban.
Sen. Graham’s bill expressly exempts from the proposed 15-week law any state law with more severe abortion limits. If a state prohibits abortions after 12 weeks, for example, or six weeks, or from conception, Graham’s bill does not apply and that harsher state law continues in full force.
The bill would add a new law, 18 USC Section 1532, generally banning abortion after 15 weeks. The bill states, however, in proposed 18 USC 1532 (g)(1): “Nothing in this section may be construed to preempt or limit any Federal, State, or local law that provides greater protections for an unborn child than those provided in this section.”
When we discuss this bill, we should be sure to point out this feature.
Trump stole our country’s highly classified intelligence materials, knowing that President Biden had revoked his security clearance on Inauguration Day. This crime of all of the crimes Trump is being investigated for is a slam-dunk for the DOJ! He and his $3 million counselor of law both know it and are desperate!
I would argue that Trump’s game plan through life has always been to establish a Kakistocracy – government by the worst people among us – by our least suitable or competent citizens. As Trump often says, “I hire only the best people – My people: My Generals, My Judges, My Cabinet members, My Senators, My House members, My Supreme Court, and My Lie that the Democrats stole My Election.” And, as with everything Trump, “our Nation’s secrets are also mine!”
Steve Schmidt, in The Warning today, bluntly stated: “The elected officials in the Republican Party — particularly those serving in federal office — succumbed to cowardice and fear in a mass hysteria and capitulation that still leaves even the greatest admirers of soulless collaboration slack-jawed in awe. Solipsistic politics have quickly given way to nihilism, and the practice of cruelty as a binding dogma. All of it is wrapped in lie after lie and served with venomous glee by a pack of malignant hustlers looking to get rich and powerful.”
Timothy Snyder (On Tyranny – Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century) says “When political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants…”
Joyce Vance in her Civil Discourse, Joyce Vance – 18 September 2022 – Will the 11th Circuit Trump Trump?) accurately presents what Snyder warns us about – Judge Cannon, one of Trump’s “obedient civil servants,” has given him yet another opportunity to be above the law. This smacks of kakistocracy. We can only hope that saner and more principled minds exist in the 11th Circuit!
Joyce Vance said: "I was wrong about Judge Cannon. I cautioned against rushing to judgment, mindful that Trump appointees across the country stood for the rule of law in the wake of the 2020 election. Judge Cannon has not stood for the rule of law and her order has been resoundingly criticized by people from across the political spectrum, including such an unlikely candidate as Trump’s Attorney General, Bill Barr. The order deserves all of the criticism."
The Link:
https://joycevance.substack.com/p/will-the-11th-circuit-trump-trump?r=deiz&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
______
The Constitution makes no explicit reference to a colonoscopy, yet we do have them.
News today that Republicans are challenging voter registrations in bulk takes me back to Maine in the 2000 presidential election. As a member of the Orono town council, I served as an election clerk at the University of Maine precinct. Local Republicans showed up to challenge random student voters.
They succeeded in slowing down the voting process, but I assured each challenged voter that their ballot (which became "provisional" on the basis of the challenge) would still be counted. I served with some local Republicans on the council and in committees, and mention of the voting challenges drew eye rolls or blank stares from them.
When does intentional election disruption become a crime?
I cannot understand the objection of
DeSanris, Abbott, and Ducey to immigration. It has only been the last 50 years that they have had to handle immigration surges. Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Charleston, and New York handled the massive waves of the 18th through most of the 20th Centuries. Does DeSantis realize how badly Italians were treated in the south in the 1890s? 11 were lynched in New Orleans on March 14, 1891, held in jail for mob violence after being found innocent of killing the police chief which was a political assassination. The only crimes they had committed was going to work. So now DeSantis is as much an arrogant fool as those who lynched the 11 after emasculating them, the youngest was under 18. Is this his way of getting even?
He is a disgrace as an Italian American. If this is the younger generation, I didn't miss much.
William Orazio Gallerizzo
SecureTheVillage is presenting an election security webinar: What Every Citizen Needs to Know: 2022 Election Cybersecurity.
Our democracy depends on getting the mid-term elections right. This means — first and foremost — getting cybersecurity right … Everything from protecting sensitive voter identities, registered voter lists, and voting machines; coming to grips with social media; and ensuring confidence in the outcomes.
Find out what’s really going on from three of the nation’s leading experts. All three are on the front-lines of election cybersecurity.
- Kim Wyman, Senior Election Security Advisor, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), former Washington Secretary of State
- Kathy Boockvar, Vice President of Election Operations & Support, Center for Internet Security; former Pennsylvania Secretary of State
- Adam Powell III, Executive Director, Election Cybersecurity Initiative, USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy, University of Southern California.
The webinar is September 28, 11:00-12:30 Pacific Time.
For more information and FREE registration: https://securethevillage.org/event/what-every-citizen-needs-to-know-about-cybersecurity-of-the-2022-election.
On messaging: I get pleas for donations from both sides (I suspect I have been offered up to some MAGA list somewhere as a "joke" since many of the texts and emails start off with things like "Only for the most loyal Trump supporters like you"), and I have noticed a few characteristics. Both sides use scare tactics. I'll get emails claiming it's inevitable that the other side will win a certain seat unless I pitch in $ right now. Same seat. Both sides demonize the politicians of the other party, although the GOP emphasizes the personal characteristics of woke or radical liberal voters as well as candidates more than the DEM fund raising contacts bring up GOP voter "types", and the GOP ones are notably more vague. So far I have only received $ requests from GOP sources that are so vague as to at least at first "pass" as perhaps being from DEM or other sources. I don't have a really good example at the moment because almost by definition they are fairly forgettable, but one I got today that almost qualifies is a text saying "Google banned Truth Social from their app store, stopping millions from getting the app! Add your name to stop Big Money Interests" and one earlier that said "... to stop Big Tech". Admittedly some of my confusion derives from not having a FOX and OAN-trained eye for
It does not seem far-fetched to imagine a technology which would embed some sort of trackable “fiber” in paper. And copying, photographing, or scanning the document on this paper would send a silent alarm to the monitors. (The photographing part seems difficult.)
The authorities would know where all those documents had been and where they are now if the government had had that technology. Maybe they would even know if they were buried on a golf course.
It would be very expensive, I imagine, but perhaps worth it for docs that are so sensitive.
(Grammar-wise, I did not check far-fetched, but the hyphen seems right and I used an Oxford comma, even though usually do not.)
It’s here. Ink for printers and paper itself have tough, nearly indestructible tracing chemicals that are salted in, in various proportions during manufacture. They are also placed in manufacturing of high explosives, as they survive a blast.
You can have my Oxford comma, but only when you pry it from my cold, lifeless fingers.