292 Comments

In all his legalese Mr. Clark still demonstrated the basic 5 vowels consistent with himself, his former boss, and his cronies: Arrogance, Entitlement, Ignorance, Obfuscation, and Unrepentance. Reap what you sow and pass it on to everyone else who soiled 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Now that’s hilarious Mark!!!! Thanks for first laugh today

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...and sometimes "Y" for Yokel! (Excuse me for butting in. Your words are great!)

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I was thinking "And sometimes Why." ;-)

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I think that’s “and sometimes Whine.”

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or, "Yahoo"?

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Mark...love your 5 vowels!

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“Oh the arrogance of those people!” was my first thought when I read Joyce’s post. Thanks for adding the others.

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Aug 25, 2023·edited Aug 25, 2023

"How dare you treat me like one of the common people!"

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Wishing H was a vowel, as all I could think of as I read Joyce’s fabulous piece today was…HUBERIS!

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Five vowels! Perfect. Thanks. I hope to use this in a sentence one day!

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Boom!

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that is so perfectly accurate.. even a firing squad would be too dignified..

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Love this, Mark.

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Also, Mr Clark could find alternate employment as an underwear model...nice look, there, Jeff!

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Aug 23, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Every instalment of civil discourse is a model of expository writing. But this one is in a class of its own.

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Touché👏

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Coulé?

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No one worked harder to make Jeffrey Clark Attorney Genera than Scott Perry, Congressman from Pennsylvania's 10th District. No Members of Congress have been caught up in the four indictments. It is left to the people of PA 10 to remove Scott Perry and the rest of us to help. Support Shamaine Daniels https://secure.actblue.com/donate/24announce?refcode=website. She is Perry's only opponent and can win with enough support.

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founding

Done! Where’s the PAC that’s targeting the freedom caucus, some if whom were complicit in the coup plot and all of whom have the House stuck in PARK?

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You can send money to Hakeem Jeffries https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGtwqFGqlcJpmwRCpMPQGrgWhJJ. Or you can send me your email address (to lenlubinsky@gmail.com) and I will, not immediately, put together for you (and for me) a list of the Freedom Caucus members, who their opponents are, and which ones it makes sense to support their opponents.

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Excellent point.

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Thanks. Consider my newsletter Len's Political Notes https://lenspoliticalnotes.com

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Donation completed.

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Donation completed.

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Although we are told not to be gleeful about such a serious situation, it is hard not to feel delighted to see these miscreants, who ran roughshod over our elections, our country, our laws, our democracy, squirming under the thumb of the law as they get their day in court (and certainly not the one they hoped for).

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Flash forward to films, mini series, and documentaries that will start flowing by 2026 and years to come. That is when the ultimate pleasure will come.

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I think we can safely assume that while the writer's strike is occurring that there are some writers during their down time will be gathering documents and video and formulating, creating ideas and scripts for these events.

Some will be serious like "All the President's Lawyers" and others comedic like "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Capitol"

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And don’t forget Randy rainbow!

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I’m sure Michael, but in all seriousness part of this whole tragedy is us having some not only moments of brevity and fun but like our mentors getting out the message of the delivery Biden just materminds every day.

Today early I spoke on FB about The Save Program , low and middle income students getting relief on their mounting college debt, work being done in the very face of the ‘student loan forgiveness program’ thwarted! Another newsy item most would miss -the newest mitigation /near seal the deal in the Mar-A-Largo case . Simon says GET THE BIDEN DELIVERY out there…( THEY'RE assure not talking about it!) and while they do their thing incessantly WE can keep the heat/the REAL News/the important progress there for those needing to see slow and methodically hmmmmm ….working Leadership !

YUP!

There’s a lot being accomplished ..even for them!

Their states are benefitting from OUR President attending to business …and their reps are taking the credit …they voted against it …b.t.w…..but they’ll take credit.

But it’s OK too for us to throw some pie in their face once in a while TOO .

So ,I’ll get back to spreading the good stuff and thank you all for a fun day , Biden has a bunch of great ads coming out to be sure to share .

I’ll not watch the debate tonight …thanks Steve I’ll wait for your succinct synopsis.

You, Heather, Joyce, Charlie, Simon wonderful , amazing gathering info , and explaining details of the workings. So appreciated.

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I appreciate what you are saying, and I have been busy these past few weeks noting the names of people who will be running against some of the more unpleasant members of Congress, to have fodder for my postcard writing group. I’m sure everyone else who reads this substack is equally engaged and spreading the good word. But it’s OK to have a few minutes when we are NOT serious.

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Thank you DW, I applaud you and your efforts as well as so many others. Sorta feels like a whole new family working for a common HUGE job and passionate .I learn everyday something new that just makes me wiser and so very proud of this amazing collective.

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Even to talk about chickens!

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Both great titles.

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Aug 23, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Given the fact that Georgia proceedings are televised we will have our screen needs well met!

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yes indeed and it may be the only televised trial of Trump's myriads of criminality and here's why it will be so captivating-- https://thecrimereport.org/2023/08/21/trumps-legal-troubles-and-the-2024-election-indictments-polls-and-the-gops-dilemma/.

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...and the jokes for decades. Imagine what the late show writers will have to share.

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Two words, Rachel Maddow

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I’m sure she is working on several projects as we speak.

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founding

No better time for a screen writer to start plugging away on a documentary...ending, TBD.

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I agree. They know what they did, and I bet they aren't sleeping too good these days.

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No sleep for the wicked.

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Personally, I love the smell of schadenfreude in the morning, afternoon, evening and night. (If that makes me a bad person, well, so be it, after all the suffering they have inflicted and, through their jockstraps, continue to inflict and plan to inflict on ensuing generations. firetruck them.)

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From the penthouse to the outhouse for every last one of them!

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Today, I thought the very best thing that had happened in eight years, was the fact that Trump was forced by DA Fani T Willis to fly to Georgia and then was driven in his very long motorcade to the Fulton County jail, where he would be formally indicted, finger-printed, have his mug shot taken, and pay his bond.

But, with Rachel Maddow at the helm of the MSNBC broadcast, surrounded by Nicole, Ari, Joy, and Alex, there was a moment that made me downright gleeful. As the motorcade approached the jail, with Vaughn Hillyard recounting the play-by-play action, suddenly, out of nowhere, Rachel said something like, "This reminds me of a Pride Parade, except it's missing the dykes on bikes."

Everyone on the set laughed, although there was complete silence by Vaughan, who was at the jail site (and evidently couldn't figure out how to respond and continue), so someone on the set piped in that Rachel had rendered him silent, there was more laughter, and I, who was recovering from minor surgery, started laughing so hard, I had to take a break.

But, I've savored the moment all day. The significance for me cannot be overstated for two reasons. First, for the rest of my life, the day that Trump was indicted in Georgia will be forever entwined with Rachel Maddow saying, "This reminds me of a Pride Parade, except it's missing the dikes on bikes."

Second, ever since Trump became president and he and Republicans declared war against the LGBTQ community, I have been worried about the safety of my gay adult son and his friends. And, today, I finally realized it's time for me to take action--whatever that ends up being--rather than feeling paralyzed by my fear, that something could happen to him.

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As much as I liked the surgical precision of the federal indictments, I applaud Fani Willis for roping in 18 (so far) co-conspirators which win make the utter rot of Trump’s administration and party much more clear.

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founding

Yeah, and they’re going to fight each other to the death. It’s actually sad to see how low they can go. It is gratifying to see the wheels of justice doing some grinding.

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Right on! ....’so far’....🙌💥👍✔️

Matt....THANKS🫶

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Joyce, John Eastman's Cal State Bar disbarment proceeding resumes in LA. However, an LA Times article reports Eastman will assert his 5th Amendment right not to answer any more questions as Eastman has already scuttled his own ship. In fact, his ship is listing sharply to the right.

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Hope disbarment happens. Want that seditionist to be separated from “practicing” law - forever. A jail cell would be good too....

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Yes, we ALL do, and there’s a whole bunch going with him. It may take some time but all signs point to them one by one by two by three. I’d not want to be in their shoes, and they know who they are….🥹

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It's going down.

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👍😂

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Brilliant, Bryan!

The rats deserted that scuttled ship so as no to be embarrassed by proximity to such evil and ignorance.

Rats are not fools.

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THURSDAY very early, THANK YOU "A doc" & I was just humbled around 2 am Pacific by Pat Hodge No 100. More important is the exceptional work product ✍️ of Professor Joyce Vance. Thank you Joyce for the exceptional quality of your legal analyses. ⚖️.

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Thank you for writing about this so promptly! I, too, need to read it carefully after a night's sleep. But, I heard some of Clark's statements to the media on Lawrence O'Donnell last night, and what struck me is how entitled Clark is...for someone who does not seem terribly bright and lacks competence. The fact that these two qualities seem to be requirements for everyone who's aligned with Trump in any way, is only fitting.

And, the only enjoyable moment in the entire incident, for me, was DA Fani Willis' response to Mark Meadows attorney, which, as you say, Clark should have listened to. However, since the third quality for being aligned with Trump is cowardice, I bet both Meadows and Clark find their way to Georgia by the deadline. Still, if they don't, I would feel great pleasure if both Clark and Meadows are arrested!

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Meadows seems to have a competent criminal defense lawyer, which means he will arrange bond rather than alienate the judge and get arrested. Can’t say the same for Clark.

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Agreed. That may be because Mark Meadows is still employed by the Conservative Partnership Institute, a very powerful, but not widely-known, (at least to Democrats) right wing organization that is well funded. https://www.cpi.org

The CEO Ed Corrigan is the person responsible for helping the Freedom Caucus become a quasi-third party in the House of Representatives. The article below is a very interesting and illuminating read.

https://themessenger.com/grid/the-democrats-the-republicans-and-the-freedom-caucus-inside-the-rights-plans-to-seize-power-in-the-new-congress

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That's a good description of how the hard right has been operating - with the added feature of scamming the rest of the Republicans into letting them do it out of fear of being labeled traitors if they work with Democrats toward common purposes.

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Well, I clicked on the CPI link. Now I have to go take another shower. Until the water runs cold. Thanks for that, but thanks for sharing this secretive group's info. All of it has to be brought out into the light because, to coin a phrase, democracy dies in darkness. (Pardon me while I go turn on the water.)

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You're welcome! I've known about this since last year. And, you're right about taking a shower after you read it. While the date of article is January 2023, it initially was written and posted on another site (which has closed down) closer to November of 2022, if I remember correctly. Since I'm not on social media, I didn't have a way to publicize it. I've written about it on the Daily Kos, but the story never received a lot of traction, which stunned me.

What I don't understand is that Democratic politicians either don't seem to know about the CPI (which I find difficult to believe, given who is involved, and all they are doing), or they do know about the organization, and are doing nothing, which is far more disturbing.

For almost two years, I wrote to my Democratic congressperson and Democratic senators about issues like this, and even sent President Biden 30 emails about my concerns. But, after seeing nothing happen about anything I felt was critically important, I stopped because there seemed to be no point, and I started having having health problems.

I am glad that you read it, and I appreciate your comment.

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Clark is a little off balance. He can’t think things through which is what got him in this mess in the first place.

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Personally, having listened to him speak, like Trump, he believes he's the smartest person in the room, is above the law, and shouldn't be indicted because of his perceived importance. I don't think he's off balanced; I think he just another narcissist who should STFU. DA Fani T. Willis will destroy him in court, and if he doesn't get with the program, he better prepare himself to adjust to languishing in the Fulton County Jail.

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Personally I also have heard him speak. He’s a white supremicist with an inflated ego perpetuated by the old boy’s continuum striving to do what they have gotten away with for far too long which is to deny the rights of all Americans who are not carbon copies of Clark’s ridiculous notion that he owns the right to power and because of that he hasn’t really thought things through in the current climate of our shifting demographics but he will find out soon enough.

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I think anyone who feels entitled is " someone who does not seem terribly bright and lacks competence. " Trump to the max! Good words!

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Thanks!

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Absolutely!

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That would be good television

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Truth is Charlie, one just could not make this stuff up!

If it wasn’t all so deadly serious and dangerous, this would be a grand hilarious comedy.

Sadly, not.

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👏👏👏👏👏👏

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Aug 23, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

Presumably, this section also precludes Meadows from arguing that the State process must halt until his application for transfer to Federal Court is heard.

If 28 U.S.C. 1455 says that, “The filing of a notice of removal of a criminal prosecution shall not prevent the State court in which such prosecution is pending from proceeding further", then it seems the Georgia process should keeps ticking along until such times as it is transferred. Meadows should have to report to the jail just as all the other defendants must.

It makes no sense to suggest that the state process goes into stasis simply because an application is made to transfer the process to another court.

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It seems that the orange traitors cronies are trying the delay tactics that have worked for him throughout his life. I'm glad to see that Ms. Willis is having none of it.

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Agreed. DA Willis made it perfectly clear that none of these men are above the law, and they will get no special treatment. For some reason, I particularly liked her closing line (the valediction) of "Yours in service." As polite as it is, to me, it sort of means "F*uck you." But, perhaps that's just my take, since I'd like to say that to all of these traitors.

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It is the perfect "fuck you" bc it says "we are aligned in our dedication to the public good through upholding the majesty of the law ... are we not, Mr. Defendant?"

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Thanks. Yours is the perfect explanation that I couldn't think of!

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The not-so-subtle jab to remind Mr. Clark that he, too, took an oath to defend the constitution.

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Of course, you're right. But, like all the rest, Clark seems so far gone that the Constitution means nothing to him. Everyone connected to Trump was "in it" for whatever they could grab when he was in power. They seem to forget that now that he's no longer in power, nobody cares about them anymore, particularly Trump.

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Rest assured that the bogus motions of Clark, Meadows etc are worthless and a waste of their money and that they will all be booked this week.

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These "legal" motions and other frivolous ones that the co-conspirators will raise in all of the indictments are really political arguments that may continue to float in a shrinking Trump universe and the court of public opinion, but they will have no value in the trials-- and these prosecutions are also all slam dunks as I elaborated yesterday in The Crime Report.

https://thecrimereport.org/2023/08/21/trumps-legal-troubles-and-the-2024-election-indictments-polls-and-the-gops-dilemma/.

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Well from the debate last night the candidates except Cristy and Hutchinson did their collective worst by not explaining why trump cannot be president, but they a were all in on supporting Trump even if he becomes a felon.

A fórmula for a 2024 GOP implosion.

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Meadows and Clark were denied a few minutes and will be booked by Friday or arrested later that day.

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Clark seems to be a case study of the Dunning-Kruger Effect. As I might have been overheard in the South to say, his ass is grass and Fani Willis is the lawnmower. In Dunning-Krugerland, he must think he’s the center court at Wimbledon.

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..."his ass is grass and Fani Willis is the lawnmower"; oh, you know I'm gonna be saying this!

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Aug 23, 2023Liked by Joyce Vance

You can’t make this stuff up! Oy!!

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True, it is hard to make up this stuff Tammey even in a Looney Tunes Cartoon. Eastman is the guy that used the non-privileged Chapman University email network to communicate with his Co-conspirators. Ahh, that's all folks.

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REVENANT, love your handle, "a person who returns to a place"; get back Revenant.

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Thank you for helping explain this complex chicanery so a non lawyer like me can follow!

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Bless you for doing this fabulous synopsis. And thank you for saying that Clark should be disbarred..

ps: your students here on your blog knew there were two grand juries because we recalled the prior jury foreman talking about who would be indicted. And we discussed that right here on this blog, explaining to one another how the first jury made recommendations. Nice job of teaching us by the way.🩵 Jeffrey Clark would do well to read your blog.

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DA Fani Willis has more courage than the entire Republican Party. Clark, like his cult leader, can’t believe that anyone would hold him responsible for his actions. Like the kids say: you effed around, now you find out the consequences.

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I have been following Joyce Vance and her brilliant work for years and absolutely love Civil Discourse - but can we find a moniker other than Karen for these arrogant elitists? Just sayin' 🤷🏻‍♀️

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You have a legitimate reason for disliking that moniker, trust me I know 🤷‍♂️

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🤣🤣🤣

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Great point! I've always thought it was a terrible offense to the "Karens of the world." If they had chosen "Susan," I would have been devastated.

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I wrote the same thing to her. I’m tired of my name being weaponized!

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RECLAIMING OUR NAME!

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Right?!? 🤦🏼‍♀️

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Karen Delveaux, I join you in asking that this moniker be ended. I’ve felt your pain ever since it “came into vogue” to use your name, and my lovely daughter’s name in such a disparaging way. Seeing it used that way in today’s Civil Discourse was extremely disheartening.

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Sorry Karen, I have three Karens in my family ...I and they -first report of this ..groaned 🤦‍♀️

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founding

A crazy old lawyer named Clark,

Tried a coup one day, on a lark.

But a gutsy DA

Said not a chance, J,

And said coup proved no walk in the park.

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Nicely written! In my experience, "A poem a day keeps the doctor away."

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Whoo Boy I remember after trump lost the election there was so much quiet from trump and the white house in general. People were dying every day from covid and nothing was being done, hospitals overrun, exhausted and sometimes infected personnel were trying to keep it together while saving our lives and trump.......crickets. I kept thinking there were personnel changes (none qualified) most positions were "acting" positions (not unusual for trump) but like Clark not qualified, like Ratcliff in the DOD, not qualified and so many more. Knew something was up but WOW all the scheming and planning while taping and leaving electronic footprints is breathtaking in it's idiocy. Have clear memory of Clark in his drawers outside in the am, pretty funny. Forgot about the statement from Rosen about calling him when there was an oil spill. At that time I thought OUCH if I was Clark I would have been embarrassed but like most every Karen, he wasn't. So this bunch of bumbling idiots for all their efforts and arrogance are finally getting theirs and I couldn't be happier about it. BRING IT ON DOJ (Jack and the rest), Fani Willis in GA, Laticia James, Alvin Bragg in NY, Cannon in Florida ia a very weak spot, hopefully will be addressed. I hear AZ is nearer to an indictment and hopefully all the states with the fake electors will bring indictments too........it's stunning but long overdue. JUSTICE

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