331 Comments

Defeating Project 2025 begins with electing Ds up and down the ticket.

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SCOTUS recent Snyder v. United States ruling makes it legal for officials to accept rewards or gifts given after the fact. So Alito and Thomas can retire early in exchange for a "gratuity." And give Trump 2.0 and the 2025 gang the chance to replace them with younger clones. Something to discuss on their next fishing trip.

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Scary thought

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I hate them more and more.

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This is a call out to world wide democratic nations. When they all when we realize that no country wants unlimited migration and that the ugly backlash is inevitable populist extreme right wing response, we will begin taking back out nation states. Examples: Le Pen and the French right wing insurgents, Boris Johnson’s Brexit, German populism raising its ugly head after Angela Merkle opened the borders to unlimited migration, the Italian right now in office and our own southern border. Doesn’t anybody get it?

Good evening.

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This did NOT occur solely on the basis of immigration. It occurred based on religious ideologies, racism, power of Cotizens United, purchasing power to bribe the Supreme Court, the Heritage Foundation, and the vile idiocy of the Federalist Society. Blaming immigration is an excuse (invalid as it is) is NOT a reason. Immigrants pay taxes and receive NO benefits. None. So RWNJ MAGA fucktards can kiss why white ass.

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"We will begin taking back out nation states."

Every guy named Katz is the mortal enemy of European demagogues.

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Nah… I won’t respond. You know what I meant.

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Absolutely! I'm quoting you in our weekly Indivisible newsletter!

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It seems to me that Project 2025 is already here with the Chevron decision, anti environmental decisions, outlawing Roe, Cannon

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Jun 30·edited Jun 30

The white Christian nationalist Heritage Foundation Republican Oligarchy has executed a coup. They gerrymandered and voter-suppressed the electorate; they won state and federal houses by the dozen, they secured a 6-3 fascist majority in the Supreme Court. Project 2025 will be implemented without hesitation. It's over until another several decades of determined effort reverses the process. It took them decades! Dobbs, Loper, Project 2025 constitute a declaration of war no different than southern seccession in 1861, just less bloody, for now.

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Don't forget to thank Mitch McConnell. And Leonard Leo.

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It would only take a "few decades" James if you don't throw in the global HEATING - it's already past the point of warming.

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Jul 1·edited Jul 1

I agree, James. I've just written an LTE to our countywide newspaper and a longer Op-Ed in our regional alternative paper. Everyone else can do that, too. Each of us can inform our neighbors about Project 2025 through writing, social media, conversations, etc. It's up to us to make sure we prevail.

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Thank you!

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Re White Supremacists. Heritage 2025 Project is just the warm up for the REAL agenda. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSnB_Ol-COw

https://fpwellman.substack.com/

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Yes, the not so supreme Court is doing a lot of their work for them, - but that ws the plan of the Federalist society all along - stuff the courts with "true believers" who will ignore the Constitution.

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Jul 1·edited Jul 1

The calls to violence from the so-called Christian nationalists are extremely alarming. But when you bring up the court, Fay, I am reminded that they just legalized bump stocks with a surreal explanation about how the mechanism differs from a true machine gun mechanism. This justification is so far fetched that it made me wonder why it is so important for the court to allow bump stocks to be made available. So, remembering what Alito said to Lauren Windsor about how the two sides are irreconcilable and that "we have to win," is it reasonable to suppose that they are looking to make sure their side is armed with maximally lethal weapons?

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That has been my conclusion all along. They believe and probably rightly that the evil libs won't buy these weapons and will be cowed by those who will. And we will have no legal protection from the right wing local law enforcement.

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Time to stop being "alarmed" we are way past that. Unfortunately it is time to drop the "al" off of alarmed and prepare for the worst, a hybrid pseudo christian oligarchy that prowls for those it can turn against an imaginary "other" with a court that will rule with their conservative thumbs on the scale, to support whatever cockamamie zealot can get the requisite number of social media clicks. Oh, how fast and far we have fallen if we do not learn to shoot back.

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They certainly have ignored precedents, but which precise parts of the constitution have they ignored?

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A LAW passed by Congress is not to be discarded by 5 of 9 people; especially those who LIED to The Senate during confirmation: Roe WAS Settled and Had Precedence and wouldn’t be overturned.

The constitution is the first U.S. laws, and the writers of that first set of legal guideposts Knew the world would change and they allowed for big changes with Amendments.

A LAW (Roe) and rules (Chevron) with precedence for Years and have been safeguarding the People of America (water, pharmaceuticals, air quality, should be respected & our people should be Protected by scotus (intentionally not capitalized out of my disrespect).

Just because they think they’re all powerful - they are not. The Constitution names 3 Equal Branches of Government and the scotus saying THEY deem a law to be Wrong, Incorrect, Written poorly IS NOT THEIR Mandate. They are supposed to decide Cases - Not ReWrite Law.

Then to tell the Senate they can’t have oversight of them- IS Such UnConsitutional Arrogance it’s pure, corrupt bullshit on a shingle!!!

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Please get clear. Roe was NEVER a law passed by congress. Both Roe and Chevron deference were Supreme Court RULINGS that were reversed by other Supreme Court rulings. Everything the Supreme Court has done has been constitutional, even though it may be bull shit. The Supreme Court can be overruled by a constitutional amendment which is exceedingly difficult with a divided country. Supreme Court justices can also be impeached and convicted, which is also extremely difficult in a deeply divided country My solution is for Congress to pass a law saying making Chevron deference the law of the land. If a Democratic House is elected in November, this may be possible.

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Register Democrats to make it possible.

https://www.fieldteam6.org/

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That's the solution! I'm going to the nearest swing state and driving people to the polls.

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Congress is not functional, as I'm sure you're aware. The only part running on six cylinders is the extreme court.

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Congress has been in gridlock through much of American history. It's in only been in a minority of times when everyone has lined up agreed on almost everything and passed a lot of legislation.

We had a liberal Supreme Court from 1954 through 2010, and liberals were happy with that. The Supreme Court gave liberals what they want without them having to work to achieve legislative consensus. Now, the wind has changed and now the Supreme Court is the villain.

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They’ll discard it. This scotus is vile and don’t give a crap.

Roe common/judicial law in 1973. That was law and precedent. This court just disregarded 50 fucking years of legalized abortion. Dont tell ME it wasn’t a law because I had that right and chose to exercise it in 1978.

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Every precedent that was overturned, was constitutional. So which is it? You people piss me off.

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Every law passed by congress is constitutional until it is repealed. The military draft was constitutional from 1941 until Congress repealed it toward the end of the Vietnam War. Every Supreme Court decision is constitutional until it is either reversed by a later Supreme Court or by a constitutional amendment. The Constitution is a process, not a destination. It's a set of rules by which we keep changing things. I am sorry that the country cannot be frozen in place just the way you want it to be. But I rather live in this country by this constitution than anywhere else.

I challenged you to take a constitutional law class and pass it.

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Amendments 1, 10, 14 for starters, you can check Fay's Rants for more.

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Whether it's in the mouth of trump or anyone else, I never find vague very convincing. One specific incidence would have been far more helpful.

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Ok on overturning Colorado's decision to keep Trump's name off the primary ballot. Amendment 14, section 3 "No person shall be a Senator, or elector of President or Vice President, OR HOLD ANY OFFICE , civil, or military, under the United States, or under any State, who having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or an OFFICER OF THE UNITED STATES, or a s a member of any State Legislature, or as executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."

The 'excuse given by the anti-consitutionalists' was that Colorado could not "speak" for the whole Country. Colorado was speaking ONLY for Colorado. And Article 1, Section 4, (which you can look at online for yourself) clearly leaves manangement of elections to the States.

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That amendment does not clarify who determines that an insurrection has taken place and who is a participant. During the Civil War era, the actions of the Southern Army and southern government were repeatedly identified as an insurrection by acts of Congress. Based on that precedent, it is my belief that the Congress continues to be the body that identifies insurrections and insurrectionists and not any state authority. So I'm with the Supreme Court on this one. Would you like it if Alabama went around identifying insurrectionists? Would you support the right of the legislatures of Texas and Alabama to identify insurrectionists?

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So did you come here to troll sane people with your Ph.D. in “Bible Studies” and your own brand of Christian Nationalism? 🤬

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I very much love the constitution, and I am planning to go to a swing state and drive Biden voters to the polls this November. Worked for Biden election in 2020 as well. Voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. My goal is to help educate people regarding the constitution and the fact that it's a difficult process to live with. Emoting doesn't help.

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You have a lot of nerve coming to the Joyce Vance page and impersonating a Constitutional legal scholar before a very informed audience, I will grant you that, but I will be muting you because I don’t trust a word you say.

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Have you considered following up each of my comments with a plea to other readers to refute me?

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I am a professional historian and I believe that it is part of my job to be very familiar with the government of the United States, which includes the court system.

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Sorry constitutinal law is not Bible Studies." And yes, such things matter in a civilized society.

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I got a PHD in biblical studies, but I have spent my whole life reading history and regarded as my job to be very familiar with US government, which includes the court systems. Why don't you call on other readers to correct me when I'm wrong?

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And the section that gives Congress Constitutional control over the Supreme Cult.

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And which one is that? I have a hard time associating jokes with descriptions of legal principles.

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Article 3 section section 2

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Here's article three section 2:

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed.

It says that the Congress will direct where criminal trials will take place. So I guess I'm not seeing the relevance.

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Intelligence is required to "get" a joke.......

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It is also required to figure out which jokes are dumb and not contributing to a serious discussion.

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All of them

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Can u imagine how much worse it would be under Trump? I agree the wheels r turning from scotus to bring us to a total maga (un)america.

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Sadly...very sadly...I agree. 😔

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Sadly so. More reason to get everyone out to vote blue up and down the ballot.

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“Restoring the family as the centerpiece of American life and protecting children—protecting children has become code for everything from censoring books to discriminating against gay and transgender people.”

In regards to the above- what about saving our children from guns 🤬

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When did the family STOP being the centrepiece of American life? It always has been, is, and always will be.

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It's Nazi rhetoric for male dominated society.

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That is so important to call out!!!! What is more important than working to keep guns out of the hands of people who may use them to harm children. When you compare the school shootings in the US vs the rest of the world it is staggering!!!! AND - what about protecting and supporting those children that will be born when they are not wanted due to rape or incest or born into a family that may have to put them up for adoption due to financial constraints- what is in Project 2025 to take care of them?

I think the thing that bothers me so much is that so much of this is under the umbrella of “Christianity and religion”! But I believe so much more that being a Christian is to love those that are different from us and to help those in need. And not call them criminals. It’s so hypocritical.

But I do have hope that people are starting to get it. And if SCOTUS pushes the immunity back to the lower court - WE NEED to have the hearing on what part of the Jan 6th indictments were part of trumps official role as president (I.e., NONE of them!!!).

I appreciate you Joyce and frankly every who comments here. I live in MAGA land and feel so isolated. I was behind a truck yesterday with a FJB on the back and just got so mad. I wonder which Baptist church he was at this morning ?????? Sigh. I do feel better. Thanks my friends for keeping me sane!!!!

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You are not alone! Thank you for writing.

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That doesn’t count.

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There is nothing "conservative" about "project 2025", which outlines tyranny, bigotry, and devastation to Americans at the hands of and extremist theocratic minority. It's the opposite of a conservatism which insists government be LESS dictatorial of personal decisions, and MORE responsible for how gov't spends money, for example. tRump's tyranny will be fed by gross invasions of privacy and individual dignity (Dobbs is just the start), zero accountability for the promised concentration and death camps, process-free deportation, imposition of law based in a minority's religion, and so on. "Conservative" is a high euphemism for the taliban rule we'll see if tRump/Koch/Heritage/OpusDei take the wheel.

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Thanks for saying that Elizabeth. At least until Reagan-hood got elected, American conservatism was about protecting a revolution of Liberalism against authoritarian rule. Today's so-called conservatives would take us back to 1776 and install a king and have Church of England as the official religion.

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They have already got the wheel, I’m afraid.

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There's zero likelihood Bannon will be rehabilitated in any fashion. He will come out playing the victim, as usual.

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Yes, but at least he is actually in prison; another one of Trump's lackeys who is servicing time!

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Yes, that part cracked me up...can you just see Bannon's face and hear his snickering when the prison counselor explains their plan to make him an honest man? LOL

Nevertheless, he goes to jail. Praise God.

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And off the air through October.

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Well that's not very long!

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Indeed, I was kind of hoping for forever.

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One would hope, forever. But, 4 months leaves him only 1 week to rile up the base. Not that it would take all that long to ratchet them up even more that many already will be....

Just bought 100 Forever stamps for use with Letters to Voters. Postal rates go up (again!) on July 14. I bought commemorative stamps that say Thank You in a lovely script.

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He may not come out. He helped create this and knows too much about Trump etc. Hitler got rid of those that could cause embarrassment to the party. Roger Stone and Guiliani come to mind also. They all are brutes that served their purpose and would upset the Christian Nationalists. I'm surprised the Supreme Court threw us this bone. It's been done before in nazi Germany.

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The mental health professionals should be able to identify bannon's problem...

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How many professionals are there, and how much time do they have?

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Thank you for all your hard work Joyce. I am grateful for all you do. Thanks also to your family and pets for being your support system.

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He will be issued "hygiene items." Hallelujah! But I think it will be wasted.

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It will probably be the first time in a long time he's been required to shower, or wash his hair.

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I hope they shave his head!

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Maybe give him a bath, too?

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Gotta' wonder how many shirts he'll be allowed to wear at one time.

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So funny, but I DO wonder! LOL

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Hilarious! A rare form of punishment for big Bannon.

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founding

It’s been a tough week especially when you consider how SCROTUS (sic) is interacting with the election and Project 2025.

Here’s how I’m framing this battle:

Team Biden vs Team Trump

Team Democracy vs Team Autocracy

Team Competency vs Team Felony

Team Secularism vs Team Christian Nationalism (Team Christian Nazism?)

Team Labor vs Team Management

Team Rule of Law vs Team Pardon Supporters

Team 99% vs Team 1%

Team Rainbow vs Team White Male

Team Science vs Team Magical Thinking

Team NATO vs Team Putin

Team Legal Immigration vs Team Undocumented Labor

Team Roe vs Team Forced Birth

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founding

Team Level Playing Field vs Team Corporate Socialism: Privatize Profits, Socialize Losses

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Well done- nailed it.

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Shout out to the scrotus label !

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founding

Patricia, I can't take credit for that. That's from Giordano at TheJuiceMedia in Melbourne Australia who two years ago wrote and produced an excellent view of how SCOTUS could undermine our 2024 election: Honest Government Ad | The Supreme Court: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL5LaLT2BJM&list=LL&index=108&t=44s>

Enjoy!

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I'm using christo-fascists, Jason. Seems appropriate.

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founding

Love it! Used it when I did a similar comment on Robert Hubbell's Today's Edition Newsletter from today, 1 July: Looking Forward: <https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/looking-forward?r=5k7fz&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web>

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Ms. Vance, I agree we are all in this together and we need to stand up for and get behind Joe Biden as the jackals in the media try to cut him up. Their mantra is “if it bleeds….” and they are looking for blood.

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I work with criminal justice reform. Bannon will be spending four months in luxury.

Regarding project 2025 it’s too complicated for a layman to read all 900 pages. There needs to be a short nine biased bullet point statement of what it entails.

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As Joyce Vance said in an earlier newsletter. Pick one chapter to focus on.

I found the 900 page PDF too slow-loading to reliably open in my browser every time I want to look at it, so I downloaded the thing, where I can practice using my system's PDF reader (which might be Adobe Reader but doesn't have to be) to "mark it up" -- highlight, make comments, etc.

I don't have a subscription to Adobe services, so I don't know how to share any comments in the PDF itself. But the issues are complex, so I will probably narrow my studies down to just a section or two in that chapter I choose.

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Yes. The bullet points Joyce has listed and annotated (“ Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts identified those fronts as:”) do not express the full range of negative impacts. In fact, without the annotations, they sound pretty harmless. Even with Joyce’s annotations those bullets do not pack much of a punch.

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I used to live a few miles from FCI-Danbury. It's a Club Fed.

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Fed prison= country club.. low security is almost a joke..he will have the time of his life there.. maybe he will want to stay longer.

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Bravo!

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The Imperial Court decided to essentially ignore the case in front of it in favor of "writing a rule for the ages" --- and thereby grant Trump de facto immunity from accountability until the unthinkable possibly happens. At that point --- surprise! --- the "rule for the ages" will just have to wait. To raise the odds that could happen, (IMO, and that of others) it will remand the case back to the district court to ensure more delay, both in additional fact-finding and an almost certain second round of appeals. We can only hope that sets off public evidentiary hearings by Judge Chutkan at warp speed.

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I've been thinking about this all day. While you are probably right, as I've contemplated the decisions the Court has been handing down it seems likely to me that they'll say, "Presidents shouldn't have to worry about being prosecuted for their actions. It's too inhibiting. Furthermore if we say that presidents are not immune from prosecution, all sorts of partisan attacks are possible. For this reason we declare that presidents are completely immune from prosecution." Never mind that presidents are perfectly capable of committing treason and insurrection. Never mind that the Constitution allows for impeachment and conviction for high crimes and misdemeanors, meaning that the framers knew such things were possible. They'll ignore that and say, "The president is tantamount to a king." I really hope I'm wrong.

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Even for this Court majority that would be a heavy constitutional lift. And would cause a figurative national hernia. There is also the ramifications of what that would mean for the incumbent. There is nothing in the Constitution that even hints at absolute immunity and in fact, the whole purpose of the founding of this country was to rid itself of that very thing in the person of an actual king.

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I know. I'm just so demoralized by their horrible attitude. I never thought it was possible for someone at that level to behave as they do.

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well, if that is the court's decision, then let's get busy and elect King Biden.

I'd like a King who is not a felon.

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From what I've heard today, you were right.

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I really wish I weren't.

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And I really wish it were within my power to grant your wish.

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So do I.

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IF our Democratic candidate wins, the first order of business for the DOJ should be to release all the marijuana smokers who were imprisoned who are still there, and any other insignificant abusers of low crimes that hurt no one but themselves to make room for all the Heritage Foundation people who tried to overthrow our Democratic form of government and replace our best knowledgeable civil servants with non-government knowledge sure to hurt America whose only plus for them is bended knees to trump and lock them the hell up in those vacant prisons. They wouldn't really have to worry because shortly thereafter, trump would be imprisoned as well for his various crimes against his country. Oh, and btw, I'll take Biden over that sickening liar any day of the week. I yield back my time.

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Love this “ to make room for all the Heritage Foundation people who tried to overthrow our Democratic form of government”

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"Inmates are focused on work and other rehabilitation programs." Bannon and rehabilitation - ha! I have seen more mention of Project 2025 on news platforms, videos, guests and articles so the word is slowly getting out but much more needs to be done. The news of today is pushed out by the new of tomorrow. Bannon reporting in CT will get top coverage, if the SC hands down the immunity decision that'll push everything else to the side, including Biden's debate performance. And, in a couple of weeks we get Trump's sentencing which will make his convictions very real and will get tons of coverage. We all need to enjoy the 4th and get plenty of rest.

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I'd like a public circulation of bannon's mug shot. It's probably too much to hope for that someone will take a long range snap of him if he ventures out in the courtyard in his uniform. I wonder if he'll act like the naive jerk he is to the other inmates. The other inmates are probably not the type of people to be scared of even if he did, unfortunately. I'm glad he's there - even if only for four months.

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Every photo of Bannon is a mug shot. To borrow the president's words, Bannon is a walking crime wave.

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I love that!

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I keep asking myself (naive me) why these people want this. Bannon exemplifies it: Power. Power to keep out of jail while thwarting everything WE HOLD DEAR. Thanks, Joyce

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It’s wierd isn’t it? Folks activating and expressing their destructive inclinations. Maybe easier than activating their creative inclinations? It’s like toddlers kicking over blocks. But far far more dangerous.

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I agree with you that it’s so much easier to destroy than to create. I’ve felt for a long time that that’s at least part of what motivates Trump—he can’t create, but he wants fame, so he destroys. He has earned notoriety, not fame.

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Thanks for this look into the future. After reading this and listening to the debate, I sure need pictures of chickens

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"pictures of chickens" and ideally, occasional stories about them. So we can begin to get to know them as you do. And yes, this as periodic relief from the serious issues we deal with every day.

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Jun 30·edited Jun 30

Hi Barbara, You saw a great picture of chickens in the NY Times editorial board's hyper reactionary email/post after the debate. If you have been around chickens you've seen what happens when a shadow passes overhead: squawking, wings flapping, a tear to the coop entrance. "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Few chickens live in Joyce's protected havens.

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Hi Lynn, No, I didn't SEE a picture of chickens in the NY Times, since I don't subscribe to them. But I nevertheless got a very clear IMAGE of same!

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How do you rehabilitate a conman? And, will they make Bannon take a shower?

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