I am so glad to hear about all of your animals. I don't have as many as you do, but I am charmed by their individual personalities all the time. You clearly appreciate that in yours. it's also wonderful to hear about the human side of you. It looks like you live in a beautiful spot with wonderful animal friends! Thanks so much for sharing this.
Ah the "dinosaur" feet!! Years & years ago, I had 4 or 5 hens (I think they fell off a chicken truck & we "rescued" them). They and their feet were huge - likely intended to be meat chickens. They all had well-deserved retirement benefits with me. When I moved to the place I live now (35-40 years ago) they all came with me, plus my ducks! All had names & all were loved. My flowers did take a beating tho, from those feet!
Bless you Maggie for rescuing the chickens💛 They indeed have unique personalities. I rescued two baby Mallard ducks from a pond where a fox had killed several adults. They ended up with 'wry' leg from the rescue (both the right leg). I took them to a vet who put casts on them and told me I could house them in my large country bathroom - one of the only rooms in my farmhouse that did not have wood floors and antique rugs. He told me never to touch them because ducks pattern after humans.....and would not separate from me if I picked them up or held them. I named them Daphne and Dexter. I had long hair at the time - and one day while I stood bent from my waist to the left, with my right leg extended to the right -- drying my long hair with my hand held dryer, I happened to glance in the full length mirror over the sink - Daphne and Dexter (then fluffy yellow babies with white casts on their right legs) had patterned after me - and both had their heads tipped to the left with their right (casted) legs straight out to the side as far as they could place them. Not touching them was all over from that point because they had already decided I was 'mama.' Eventually, their casts came off and I moved them to a friend's home with a pond and a greenhouse where her own ducks slept safely every night. Dexter healed perfectly and could run, swim and fly. Daphne had been more severely injured and could run with a limp, swim, but could not fly. Thus, she would never be safe from predators. My friend herded the ducks into the greenhouse each night for safety. One night I was a dinner guest at my friend's home. I had not seen Daphne and Dexter for a couple of months and I could not distinguish them from the other Mallards on the pond. I planned to help herd them into the greenhouse after dinner - hoping to at least spot Daphne with her limp. I had brought cooked potatoes and a hand mixer so I could make mashed potatoes. As soon as I turned on the mixer, two ducks came squawking from the pond, flapping their wings and running up the hill as fast as they could. One was limping, and I knew it was Daphne. The other one was Dexter - but both with brown feathers. Up the steps they came to the veranda - and hunkered down at the screen door going into the kitchen. I was breaking up laughing but explained to guests that they remembered me from living for a couple of months in my bathroom, they thought the mixer was a hair dryer, and 'mama had come to take them 'home':))
I could barely explain that these were the babies I had homed for a while - I was laughing so hard. I live on a river now - I've decided the ducks choose to greet one - or not. I'm blessed when they swim to within a few feet of my dogs and me as we sit having first coffee on the bank.
Oh my gosh what a great story! I had ducks too - started with 6 - at one time we had 36!! One of my hens (duck) disappeared from the pond & was gone for weeks (?) she re-appeared with a huge chunk taken from the back of her neck - My mom had some penicillin so I would gather Tucker up in a crate & take her down ever few days & we would syringe penicillin in her wound. It healed & when I moved from where I lived - Tucker duck came with me! Long long time ago.
Truly. They definitely know 'home' and 'mama.' My friends Tom and Nan lived on Long Island some years ago. Ducks took up residence on/in their pool, so one day (Nan was the animal lover in the household, but it became a kind of 'save the marriage' thing) they gathered them and drove them to upper New York. The ducks beat them home.
OMG. So very glad I signed onto your Substack. So much interesting information. I live in RI where a charismatic mayor of providence eventually spent several years in federal prison after being convicted under RICO acts. Im not a lawyer But Buddy Cianci was definitely not a Trump. Justice for Buddy should equal Justice for trump And thank you so much for the kitten and chickens and dog photos. !
Joyce, you may not have managed to get your chickens to do the RICO, but you connected them beautifully in 'Chickens & Rico'. May I also add, Tofu, the new kitten, in addition to the loyal and amazing dog, Bella, as they were en scène as well. This was a legal menagerie from heaven. What a great class; thanks to Joyce, the Chickens, Tofu, Bella & RICO!
I almost never read you 'til the morning, but am sleepless in Phenix City, AL, tonight. Thanks for the chicks. If I may ask, what is anyone going to do about the 14th Amendment thing and trump not being eligible to run anyway, and when do we get to see him on the Sexual Offenders Registry, and maybe Fani shouldn't have set up the barriers and security two weeks ahead of anything?! Exhausted. I got out of FL almost a year ago. Turns out AL is just as newsworthy!! Jesus, something every day! 💃 Thank you for your time and care and insight. 💐❤
On the 14th Amendment, Section 3: you can email, call or write to your Secretary of State asking that person to invoke Amendment 14, Section 3 and not to allow Trump's name to appear on the ballot. Since you live in Alabama I wouldn't hold much hope since apparently those leading the Legislature in your State don't believe they have a duty to uphold the Constitution, or the Law.
FYI...Trump won't be on a Sexual Offenders Registry because the case was tried under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law allowing sexual-assault victims to file civil suits beyond expired statutes of limitations. Since it was a civil case, not a criminal case, he doesn't have to register.
It has nothing to do with hiding. It's the indignity of being on the list with the rest of the scumbags and perverts. It's the fact that Trump would have been labeled as the sexual offender he is. It is the stigma or having to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.
FYI...It is a federal crime for an individual to knowingly fail to register or update his or her registration as required pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). For example, a sex offender is required to update their registration in each jurisdiction they reside, are employed, or attend school. Offenders convicted of this crime face statutory penalties.
And, then the Republican Party, every Republican politician, and every voter who supports Trump, would have had to "own" the fact that they are supporting a sexual offender for president.
The reality is that Trump is a confirmed rapist, and they should all "own" that. But, if he was on the list, it would be more difficult for them to pretend otherwise.
Thank you so much for pointing to this. I completely agree. I posted in a prior Joyce Vance article that he had the audacity to try to sue E. Jean a few days after she had won her case and the $5 Million award. E. Jean had appeared on an interview with Robbie Kaplan in which she stated 'he raped me' (I'm paraphrasing). Trump immediately trotted back to the same court, same judge with a trumped up (pun intended - I usually refer to him as 'Trumped Up') charge to sue E. Jean and void her award, claiming he had been exonerated. I'm sorry I'm not more exact on his claim, but that's the gist. However, the important part is that the judge told him: You. Raped. Her. And sent him packing. Then Robbie went to court for an increased settlement amount. I'm not sure the outcome of that. But the judge's determination of 'indeed you raped her' was definitive, regardless of how broad the New York legal definition for rape. It says so right here in this WaPo link that Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/19/trump-carroll-judge-rape/
Thank you SusanB. for clarifying this. Let's beat the drum to get him registered.
I took a month off from this Substack, and politics in general, and must have missed it. I think part of the reason I needed a break was that I was outraged that Trump said the trial confirmed that he didn't rape E. Jean Carrol, and then, of course, he continued to defame her. I can't even tell you how much better I felt after Judge Kaplan explained in great detail how "narrow the definition of rape is," and that he absolutely raped her. I believe the next defamation trial is in January of 2024.
Actually, there is nothing we can do about "getting him registered." It was a civil case, not a criminal case, and therefore it wasn't classified as a "crime" per se, although, of course it was.
At the time, I was sure it would matter to all women (and men who care about us)--even Republicans--that Trump was proven to have raped E. Jean Carrol. But, it didn't seem to. Instead, Trump used it as another fundraising vehicle. I can't even fathom how "brain-dead" these MSGA women and Republican women must be, if the rape didn't affect their support of him. I try not to think of it.
Not trying to create angst for you: the MAGA women absolutely know about the rape conviction and his abuse of other women. But for them, the over-riding event is the 'party.' Their 'Republican party' that was hijacked by a non-Republican with no morals is not the Republican party of my parents and aunts and uncles who had a core. Trump has no core and neither do the MAGA including the women who have jumped on the Trump bandwagon. A fair number of them were never registered voters prior to his 2015 campaign. Folks talk about what 'history' will say about this period. I think the MAGA voting is a political science PhD waiting to happen. Much as was the Sudendeutsche in West German politics from 1945 to 1973 (and prior years). The impact will last decades but having published research will help as a preventative. And that's my big concern: what happens after 'he' is gone. Another PhD waiting to happen is how Trump was able to make the hijack in the first place? But that's for the 'don/caporegimes' students in political science and criminal sociology. Someone(s) is making this guy impervious - and causing the Republican ring kissers to beat a path to Mara Lardo. (I'm not interested in doing a second PhD - but I can see a couple of bricks to add to the wall of academe by new scholars - and then a book(s). I think it would be an interesting story, especially the voting trends of the largest MAGA populations, new registrations, etc. And looking at trends for this new election. The trials will provide research trails to follow. Stories waiting to be told. And to be used as preventatives.
I promise to read more about RICO, etc. another day but not this night. I so needed Tofu, the precious, and the dog, chickens and some peace after imagining the horror for two days of a dear old friend whose wreckage of a home and community in Lahaina, Maui has brought more horrific images than I thought imaginable. I have yet to determine if he survived or was elsewhere at the time (which would be the only way he might have survived.) Thank you for the momentary respite.
So very sorry to hear about your friend, and others. What a devastating loss! When I sad read news like that, I hug Winnie, my adorable seven-pound shelter dog, who rescued me during a period of loss and grief.
Blessings to you and your friend, that he is safely among those rescued. I lived in Maui for five years, then moved to Oahu. A heartbreaking loss for Laihaina.
Have they set up a registry on line where people who were at risk in Lahaina can post their status for the benefit of friends who are worried about them?
Thank you, Joyce. KUDOS. First off, the ongoing periodic series of "Chickens and the Vance Menagerie" pics and stories are a delightful refrain back to the more fun (mundane to some, cherished by others) aspects of life.
Secondly, it means a lot to many of us lay people (especially me) to better understand the clearly complex intricacies and context of the RICO statutes. I so applaud Fani's apparently very measured "let everybody see the big picture" approach here. I have such a good feeling about this. Yes, it will probably get ugly at times, but she and her crew have undoubtedly done a ton of homework here to cover all the bases and leave no easy back doors.
Agree! For the sake of history, Fani needs to lay out the whole picture. One of the WaPo op-ed writers (Milbank maybe?) said she'd be wiser to streamline her strategy like Jack Smith did for the sake of expediency. The generations to come, who will value and continue to protect our democracy, need a record of the intricacies of this plot.
I enjoy it so, when you tell about your chickens. Here is a short (true) story I wrote about a bantam rooster. I hope it may be acceptable.
Yellow Sunlight
Yellow sunlight streaming through wood slats in a country corn crib
Down a narrow dirt road lay a corn crib—a tin roof corn crib, made of slat wood. Over many years, the wood had warped, and small openings allowed golden sunlight. My father used to let me sit on the dusty feed corn, inside the corn crib. This was a quiet peaceful place, with motes of corn dust floating in the air. An occasional field mouse would pop his curious head from the pile of yellow corn, but he had nothing to fear from me. We were both crusty sailors on the same sea. Dreams floated on golden beams, in this place of peace.
Yellow sunlight streaming through wood slats in a country corn crib
The short trip to the corn crib, in my father’s hand, was special to me. His talk of plants he loved were heard by flick-tail squirrels, high-eared rabbits, and me. I understood little, but I heard a lot. My father taught me prose. My mother taught me poetry.
One crisp day in early fall, I spotted movement of color in the painted woods.
Look! There is a baby rooster, over there!
That is no baby rooster. It is a wild bantam rooster, Little Joe.
Can I go get him? I want him for a pet.
Sure. You go get him. And my father grinned.
As I pushed through the leafy brush, the little rooster stood and watched me, with rooster interest. After all, I was just a little guy. When I drew near, he jumped on my head and started scratching and pecking. As I ran out of the woods, rooster on my head, my father just laughed. The little rooster walked calmly back into the brush. In a few days and weeks, he became my constant friend, walking where I walked. I named him Bitterweed.
Yellow sunlight streaming through wood slats in a country corn crib
One day, a lady came to visit my mother. She wore a pretty dress and a fancy hat. Her hat was adorned with feathers, berries, and stuff I had never seen. Bitterweed had never seen it either. So, he flew up to take a look. We never saw that lady again.
Recently, a friend asked me this question.
If you could go back in history to any place, any time, with anyone at all, where and when would it be, and whom would you want to see.
I replied, I would go to a place where yellow sunlight streams through wood slats in a country corn crib, and I would see Little Joe.
Your story took me away from the awfulness of Trump. Thank you for sharing the peacefulness that was yours in the corn crib and your friendship with Little Joe.
The first day the grand jury in the GA case meets this coming week they need to indict Donald and then the next day they should indict the rest of the people in a mass filing.
Also, love your chicken, cat and dog pics and videos as always.
I had worked there for a while in 1987, and still had lots of friends, who came to work one Monday to find the doors locked, the lights off, and any hope of expense reimbursement or payroll a faint thing.
Thanks for the outline of Rico. I suspect you will be able to come up with a tribe of chickens doing the shenanigans Willis will have in her indictment.
I hope you will go on to distinguish it from "ordinary" conspiracy.
I am curious about Texas RICO. Could Abbot putting razor wire in the Rio Grand and his bus trips with undocumented people that have apparently resulted in the death of an infant be criminal predicates for state and/or federal RICO? Of course, the problem might be we need an Attorney General.
Of course, in Georgia there is a news flash that:new editions of various dictionaries plan to add a new definition of “imminent”: (x): colloquial, mainly in Georgia USA: as a legal prosecution term, “never”. (Sarcasm)
While talking about causes of action , could the corporate opportunity doctrine be used to force trump to disgorge the wealth he has acquired while in government? Of course, that would also require an Attorney General.
Nicely articulated, and a very worthy question about that partisan hack excuse-of-a-governor Abbott. The slime and dirty dealing in that administration is sickening.
Thanks for explaining the difference between the federal and Georgia RICO acts.
Little black cats always take control of the situation. :-)
And you know cats 😉
Especially little black ones. :-)
I love all your pets and hearing about their personalities.
I am so glad to hear about all of your animals. I don't have as many as you do, but I am charmed by their individual personalities all the time. You clearly appreciate that in yours. it's also wonderful to hear about the human side of you. It looks like you live in a beautiful spot with wonderful animal friends! Thanks so much for sharing this.
Ah the "dinosaur" feet!! Years & years ago, I had 4 or 5 hens (I think they fell off a chicken truck & we "rescued" them). They and their feet were huge - likely intended to be meat chickens. They all had well-deserved retirement benefits with me. When I moved to the place I live now (35-40 years ago) they all came with me, plus my ducks! All had names & all were loved. My flowers did take a beating tho, from those feet!
Bless you Maggie for rescuing the chickens💛 They indeed have unique personalities. I rescued two baby Mallard ducks from a pond where a fox had killed several adults. They ended up with 'wry' leg from the rescue (both the right leg). I took them to a vet who put casts on them and told me I could house them in my large country bathroom - one of the only rooms in my farmhouse that did not have wood floors and antique rugs. He told me never to touch them because ducks pattern after humans.....and would not separate from me if I picked them up or held them. I named them Daphne and Dexter. I had long hair at the time - and one day while I stood bent from my waist to the left, with my right leg extended to the right -- drying my long hair with my hand held dryer, I happened to glance in the full length mirror over the sink - Daphne and Dexter (then fluffy yellow babies with white casts on their right legs) had patterned after me - and both had their heads tipped to the left with their right (casted) legs straight out to the side as far as they could place them. Not touching them was all over from that point because they had already decided I was 'mama.' Eventually, their casts came off and I moved them to a friend's home with a pond and a greenhouse where her own ducks slept safely every night. Dexter healed perfectly and could run, swim and fly. Daphne had been more severely injured and could run with a limp, swim, but could not fly. Thus, she would never be safe from predators. My friend herded the ducks into the greenhouse each night for safety. One night I was a dinner guest at my friend's home. I had not seen Daphne and Dexter for a couple of months and I could not distinguish them from the other Mallards on the pond. I planned to help herd them into the greenhouse after dinner - hoping to at least spot Daphne with her limp. I had brought cooked potatoes and a hand mixer so I could make mashed potatoes. As soon as I turned on the mixer, two ducks came squawking from the pond, flapping their wings and running up the hill as fast as they could. One was limping, and I knew it was Daphne. The other one was Dexter - but both with brown feathers. Up the steps they came to the veranda - and hunkered down at the screen door going into the kitchen. I was breaking up laughing but explained to guests that they remembered me from living for a couple of months in my bathroom, they thought the mixer was a hair dryer, and 'mama had come to take them 'home':))
What a wonderful story!
I could barely explain that these were the babies I had homed for a while - I was laughing so hard. I live on a river now - I've decided the ducks choose to greet one - or not. I'm blessed when they swim to within a few feet of my dogs and me as we sit having first coffee on the bank.
Such a sweet story.
Oh my gosh what a great story! I had ducks too - started with 6 - at one time we had 36!! One of my hens (duck) disappeared from the pond & was gone for weeks (?) she re-appeared with a huge chunk taken from the back of her neck - My mom had some penicillin so I would gather Tucker up in a crate & take her down ever few days & we would syringe penicillin in her wound. It healed & when I moved from where I lived - Tucker duck came with me! Long long time ago.
Arent they wonderful, Valere??
Truly. They definitely know 'home' and 'mama.' My friends Tom and Nan lived on Long Island some years ago. Ducks took up residence on/in their pool, so one day (Nan was the animal lover in the household, but it became a kind of 'save the marriage' thing) they gathered them and drove them to upper New York. The ducks beat them home.
Too funny!!!
OMG. So very glad I signed onto your Substack. So much interesting information. I live in RI where a charismatic mayor of providence eventually spent several years in federal prison after being convicted under RICO acts. Im not a lawyer But Buddy Cianci was definitely not a Trump. Justice for Buddy should equal Justice for trump And thank you so much for the kitten and chickens and dog photos. !
And the flowers, your gorgeous flowers 🌺!
Yeah we knew about Buddy in Boston. So glad things are better there.
I was at school at Brown when Cianci was making headlines. But didn’t he come back later and get re-elected?
Yes, he did. He was very popular in Providence.
I believe he did.
Joyce, you may not have managed to get your chickens to do the RICO, but you connected them beautifully in 'Chickens & Rico'. May I also add, Tofu, the new kitten, in addition to the loyal and amazing dog, Bella, as they were en scène as well. This was a legal menagerie from heaven. What a great class; thanks to Joyce, the Chickens, Tofu, Bella & RICO!
I almost never read you 'til the morning, but am sleepless in Phenix City, AL, tonight. Thanks for the chicks. If I may ask, what is anyone going to do about the 14th Amendment thing and trump not being eligible to run anyway, and when do we get to see him on the Sexual Offenders Registry, and maybe Fani shouldn't have set up the barriers and security two weeks ahead of anything?! Exhausted. I got out of FL almost a year ago. Turns out AL is just as newsworthy!! Jesus, something every day! 💃 Thank you for your time and care and insight. 💐❤
On the 14th Amendment, Section 3: you can email, call or write to your Secretary of State asking that person to invoke Amendment 14, Section 3 and not to allow Trump's name to appear on the ballot. Since you live in Alabama I wouldn't hold much hope since apparently those leading the Legislature in your State don't believe they have a duty to uphold the Constitution, or the Law.
FYI...Trump won't be on a Sexual Offenders Registry because the case was tried under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law allowing sexual-assault victims to file civil suits beyond expired statutes of limitations. Since it was a civil case, not a criminal case, he doesn't have to register.
Pooh. But everyone will be able to identify him. It's not as though he is hiding down the street from us....
It has nothing to do with hiding. It's the indignity of being on the list with the rest of the scumbags and perverts. It's the fact that Trump would have been labeled as the sexual offender he is. It is the stigma or having to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.
FYI...It is a federal crime for an individual to knowingly fail to register or update his or her registration as required pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). For example, a sex offender is required to update their registration in each jurisdiction they reside, are employed, or attend school. Offenders convicted of this crime face statutory penalties.
And, then the Republican Party, every Republican politician, and every voter who supports Trump, would have had to "own" the fact that they are supporting a sexual offender for president.
The reality is that Trump is a confirmed rapist, and they should all "own" that. But, if he was on the list, it would be more difficult for them to pretend otherwise.
Thank you so much for pointing to this. I completely agree. I posted in a prior Joyce Vance article that he had the audacity to try to sue E. Jean a few days after she had won her case and the $5 Million award. E. Jean had appeared on an interview with Robbie Kaplan in which she stated 'he raped me' (I'm paraphrasing). Trump immediately trotted back to the same court, same judge with a trumped up (pun intended - I usually refer to him as 'Trumped Up') charge to sue E. Jean and void her award, claiming he had been exonerated. I'm sorry I'm not more exact on his claim, but that's the gist. However, the important part is that the judge told him: You. Raped. Her. And sent him packing. Then Robbie went to court for an increased settlement amount. I'm not sure the outcome of that. But the judge's determination of 'indeed you raped her' was definitive, regardless of how broad the New York legal definition for rape. It says so right here in this WaPo link that Trump was found to have raped E. Jean Carroll: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/19/trump-carroll-judge-rape/
Thank you SusanB. for clarifying this. Let's beat the drum to get him registered.
I took a month off from this Substack, and politics in general, and must have missed it. I think part of the reason I needed a break was that I was outraged that Trump said the trial confirmed that he didn't rape E. Jean Carrol, and then, of course, he continued to defame her. I can't even tell you how much better I felt after Judge Kaplan explained in great detail how "narrow the definition of rape is," and that he absolutely raped her. I believe the next defamation trial is in January of 2024.
Actually, there is nothing we can do about "getting him registered." It was a civil case, not a criminal case, and therefore it wasn't classified as a "crime" per se, although, of course it was.
At the time, I was sure it would matter to all women (and men who care about us)--even Republicans--that Trump was proven to have raped E. Jean Carrol. But, it didn't seem to. Instead, Trump used it as another fundraising vehicle. I can't even fathom how "brain-dead" these MSGA women and Republican women must be, if the rape didn't affect their support of him. I try not to think of it.
Not trying to create angst for you: the MAGA women absolutely know about the rape conviction and his abuse of other women. But for them, the over-riding event is the 'party.' Their 'Republican party' that was hijacked by a non-Republican with no morals is not the Republican party of my parents and aunts and uncles who had a core. Trump has no core and neither do the MAGA including the women who have jumped on the Trump bandwagon. A fair number of them were never registered voters prior to his 2015 campaign. Folks talk about what 'history' will say about this period. I think the MAGA voting is a political science PhD waiting to happen. Much as was the Sudendeutsche in West German politics from 1945 to 1973 (and prior years). The impact will last decades but having published research will help as a preventative. And that's my big concern: what happens after 'he' is gone. Another PhD waiting to happen is how Trump was able to make the hijack in the first place? But that's for the 'don/caporegimes' students in political science and criminal sociology. Someone(s) is making this guy impervious - and causing the Republican ring kissers to beat a path to Mara Lardo. (I'm not interested in doing a second PhD - but I can see a couple of bricks to add to the wall of academe by new scholars - and then a book(s). I think it would be an interesting story, especially the voting trends of the largest MAGA populations, new registrations, etc. And looking at trends for this new election. The trials will provide research trails to follow. Stories waiting to be told. And to be used as preventatives.
I promise to read more about RICO, etc. another day but not this night. I so needed Tofu, the precious, and the dog, chickens and some peace after imagining the horror for two days of a dear old friend whose wreckage of a home and community in Lahaina, Maui has brought more horrific images than I thought imaginable. I have yet to determine if he survived or was elsewhere at the time (which would be the only way he might have survived.) Thank you for the momentary respite.
Good thoughts your way through the Universe. Peace and love and life be with all!
So very sorry to hear about your friend, and others. What a devastating loss! When I sad read news like that, I hug Winnie, my adorable seven-pound shelter dog, who rescued me during a period of loss and grief.
Blessings to you and your friend, that he is safely among those rescued. I lived in Maui for five years, then moved to Oahu. A heartbreaking loss for Laihaina.
ps: I donated to the Maui Humane Society. The animals in the shelter were all safe but need re-homed to make room for rescues.
Yes. Such heart wrenching losses still untold.
Have they set up a registry on line where people who were at risk in Lahaina can post their status for the benefit of friends who are worried about them?
Unaware but last update seen said about 1,000 people were unaccounted for. 🥲
I hope for the best for your friend.
Bless you!
Thank you, Joyce. KUDOS. First off, the ongoing periodic series of "Chickens and the Vance Menagerie" pics and stories are a delightful refrain back to the more fun (mundane to some, cherished by others) aspects of life.
Secondly, it means a lot to many of us lay people (especially me) to better understand the clearly complex intricacies and context of the RICO statutes. I so applaud Fani's apparently very measured "let everybody see the big picture" approach here. I have such a good feeling about this. Yes, it will probably get ugly at times, but she and her crew have undoubtedly done a ton of homework here to cover all the bases and leave no easy back doors.
Marc
Agree! For the sake of history, Fani needs to lay out the whole picture. One of the WaPo op-ed writers (Milbank maybe?) said she'd be wiser to streamline her strategy like Jack Smith did for the sake of expediency. The generations to come, who will value and continue to protect our democracy, need a record of the intricacies of this plot.
I enjoy it so, when you tell about your chickens. Here is a short (true) story I wrote about a bantam rooster. I hope it may be acceptable.
Yellow Sunlight
Yellow sunlight streaming through wood slats in a country corn crib
Down a narrow dirt road lay a corn crib—a tin roof corn crib, made of slat wood. Over many years, the wood had warped, and small openings allowed golden sunlight. My father used to let me sit on the dusty feed corn, inside the corn crib. This was a quiet peaceful place, with motes of corn dust floating in the air. An occasional field mouse would pop his curious head from the pile of yellow corn, but he had nothing to fear from me. We were both crusty sailors on the same sea. Dreams floated on golden beams, in this place of peace.
Yellow sunlight streaming through wood slats in a country corn crib
The short trip to the corn crib, in my father’s hand, was special to me. His talk of plants he loved were heard by flick-tail squirrels, high-eared rabbits, and me. I understood little, but I heard a lot. My father taught me prose. My mother taught me poetry.
One crisp day in early fall, I spotted movement of color in the painted woods.
Look! There is a baby rooster, over there!
That is no baby rooster. It is a wild bantam rooster, Little Joe.
Can I go get him? I want him for a pet.
Sure. You go get him. And my father grinned.
As I pushed through the leafy brush, the little rooster stood and watched me, with rooster interest. After all, I was just a little guy. When I drew near, he jumped on my head and started scratching and pecking. As I ran out of the woods, rooster on my head, my father just laughed. The little rooster walked calmly back into the brush. In a few days and weeks, he became my constant friend, walking where I walked. I named him Bitterweed.
Yellow sunlight streaming through wood slats in a country corn crib
One day, a lady came to visit my mother. She wore a pretty dress and a fancy hat. Her hat was adorned with feathers, berries, and stuff I had never seen. Bitterweed had never seen it either. So, he flew up to take a look. We never saw that lady again.
Recently, a friend asked me this question.
If you could go back in history to any place, any time, with anyone at all, where and when would it be, and whom would you want to see.
I replied, I would go to a place where yellow sunlight streams through wood slats in a country corn crib, and I would see Little Joe.
©Joseph Ball. www.shoelessdreams.com
Your story took me away from the awfulness of Trump. Thank you for sharing the peacefulness that was yours in the corn crib and your friendship with Little Joe.
I simply adored your sweet story of Bitterweed!
The first day the grand jury in the GA case meets this coming week they need to indict Donald and then the next day they should indict the rest of the people in a mass filing.
Also, love your chicken, cat and dog pics and videos as always.
It was RICO which brought down Laventhol & Horwath, a 2nd-tier national CPA firm, for the lies they were said to promote for yet another real-estate partnership (https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiN6eb2vdiAAxVeM0QIHQDZDXcQFnoECBIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcasetext.com%2Fcase%2Fin-re-laventhol-horwath&usg=AOvVaw3bnca1afX5JbHKf1Yy7h7O&opi=89978449) Sorry, can't seem to get a SHORT link. There were other causes of actions, but this was the 1988 one, AFAIK
I had worked there for a while in 1987, and still had lots of friends, who came to work one Monday to find the doors locked, the lights off, and any hope of expense reimbursement or payroll a faint thing.
RICO also brought down Al Capone
Thanks for the outline of Rico. I suspect you will be able to come up with a tribe of chickens doing the shenanigans Willis will have in her indictment.
I hope you will go on to distinguish it from "ordinary" conspiracy.
Thank you, I love these! I needed them.
Thanks for the post. Love the pet pics and learning about their dynamics - so adorable!
I am curious about Texas RICO. Could Abbot putting razor wire in the Rio Grand and his bus trips with undocumented people that have apparently resulted in the death of an infant be criminal predicates for state and/or federal RICO? Of course, the problem might be we need an Attorney General.
Of course, in Georgia there is a news flash that:new editions of various dictionaries plan to add a new definition of “imminent”: (x): colloquial, mainly in Georgia USA: as a legal prosecution term, “never”. (Sarcasm)
While talking about causes of action , could the corporate opportunity doctrine be used to force trump to disgorge the wealth he has acquired while in government? Of course, that would also require an Attorney General.
My opinion.
Nicely articulated, and a very worthy question about that partisan hack excuse-of-a-governor Abbott. The slime and dirty dealing in that administration is sickening.
I was thinking of felony murder for Abbott, in fact MASS MURDER for him. Abbott is a MASS MURDERER.
I think he should be tried at the Hague for crimes against humanity !!
Agreed