2020 Political Chatter

[vertical_doug]

Of course we'll have to see, but I don't see how federal laws were broken and state laws weren't so there'd be a state level criminal case should NYS or others so choose.

I think Bannon was doing the classic grift- crowdfunding from small donors to raise money to build a wall by giving misleading representations on the nature of the organization and compensation received. I think it was classic wire-fraud case.

[ColonelJLloyd]

I think Bannon was doing the classic grift- crowdfunding from small donors to raise money to build a wall by giving misleading representations on the nature of the organization and compensation received. I think it was classic wire-fraud case.

I believe it may have been a tax-exempt entity and he used $1MM of the funds to pay his personal expenses (along with two others involved in the organization). Those entities are formed in particular states and subject to the laws therein (I'm thinking self-dealing). See Trump Foundation and NY. But, again, we shall see.

[mzilliox]

that crap ended well eh? what did people expect voting for such a moron?

[jclay]

Corso once asked me, pejoratively and out of context, if there was anything I liked about the USA; I just realized that one of the most important answers is that today could happen, and has happened every four years, for nearly three centuries.

[Clean39T]

Not usually one for an anthem - but damn, Gaga killed it.......

.
.
.

This was on my mind when I woke up today - or some combination of this and Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie. It's nice to feel some hope again.

When the Ship Comes In, Bob Dylan

Oh, the time will come up
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'
Like the stillness in the wind
Before the hurricane begins
The hour that the ship comes in
And the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking
Oh, the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'
Oh, the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real
The hour when the ship comes in
Then they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered

[davids]

President Biden
Vice President Harris

[johnmdesigner]

Amazing that Cruz has the nerve to show up.

[zachateseverything]

Amazing that Cruz has the nerve to show up.

well, he is a craven dipshit.

[johnmdesigner]

I’m ready to ship a box of black Sharpies to the White House.

[BBB]

Good riddance Trump.

What a waste of four years.

Let's try and get back on track with some of the important things. Climate change for example. Hopefully Biden can shame Australia's inept leadership to actually pull their finger out.

[colker]

Of course we'll have to see, but I don't see how federal laws were broken and state laws weren't so there'd be a state level criminal case should NYS or others so choose.

Same crime on fed and state level? If so one pardon should work but i know nothing of the US system.

[thollandpe]

When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea. We must wade.
We've braved the belly of the beast.
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace.
In the norms and notions of what “just” is, isn't always justice.
And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it.
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that it isn't broken, but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming President only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union with purpose.

To compose a country, committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else say, this is true.
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried, that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.
If we're to live up to our own time, then victory won't lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we've made.
That is the promise, the glade, the hill we climb.
If only we dare it's because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It's the past we step into and how we repair it.

We've seen a force that would shatter our nation, rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded, but while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated in this truth.
In this faith we trust, for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption.
We feared it in its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of of such a terrifying hour, but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter.
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.

So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert how could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be a country that is bruised but whole.
Benevolent, but bold, fierce, and free.

We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blenders become their burdens, but one thing is certain.
If we merged mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy, and change, our children's birthright.
So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left.
With every breath from my bronze pounded chest

We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold limbed hills of the west.
We will rise from the windswept northeast where our forefathers first realized the revolution.
We will rise from the lake when cities of the midwestern states.
We will arise from the sun baked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover every known nook of our nation.

And every corner called our country.
Our people, diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful.
When day comes, we step out of the shade of flame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms, as we free it.
For there was always light.
If only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it.

— Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate

[Corso]

Corso once asked me, pejoratively and out of context, if there was anything I liked about the USA; I just realized that one of the most important answers is that today could happen, and has happened every four years, for nearly three centuries.

Except for the election 4 years ago, right? You didn't seem to like that one very much.

All kidding aside, John I'm glad to see you happy.

I sincerely hope President Biden does well for our country. He has years of experience working with both sides (unlike the last 2 presidents), So I trust that will count for something.

[taz]

Same crime on fed and state level? If so one pardon should work but i know nothing of the US system.

Nope - President can only pardon federal crimes and governors can only pardon state crimes. A conviction then pardon of a crime on identical elements may raise double jeopardy issues if tried by another jurisdiction in the U.S. but I haven't researched the issue.

[Clean39T]

When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea. We must wade.
We've braved the belly of the beast.
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace.
In the norms and notions of what “just” is, isn't always justice.
And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it.
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that it isn't broken, but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming President only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union with purpose.

To compose a country, committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us.
We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else say, this is true.
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped.
That even as we tired, we tried, that we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid.
If we're to live up to our own time, then victory won't lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we've made.
That is the promise, the glade, the hill we climb.
If only we dare it's because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It's the past we step into and how we repair it.

We've seen a force that would shatter our nation, rather than share it.
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded, but while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated in this truth.
In this faith we trust, for while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption.
We feared it in its inception.
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of of such a terrifying hour, but within it, we found the power to author a new chapter.
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.

So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert how could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be a country that is bruised but whole.
Benevolent, but bold, fierce, and free.

We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blenders become their burdens, but one thing is certain.
If we merged mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy, and change, our children's birthright.
So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left.
With every breath from my bronze pounded chest

We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold limbed hills of the west.
We will rise from the windswept northeast where our forefathers first realized the revolution.
We will rise from the lake when cities of the midwestern states.
We will arise from the sun baked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover every known nook of our nation.

And every corner called our country.
Our people, diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful.
When day comes, we step out of the shade of flame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms, as we free it.
For there was always light.
If only we're brave enough to see it.
If only we're brave enough to be it.

— Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate

That was beautiful to watch live this morning. And to watch again now. Thank you.

[ColonelJLloyd]

That was beautiful to watch live this morning. And to watch again now. Thank you.

Shit made me cry. My wife saw me and asked me what was wrong with me. Thanks a lot for embarrassing me in front of my family, Trod Harland.

[Doug Fattic]

Amanda Gorman was amazing! Her words were powerful and the way she spoke them made her the star of the inauguration. i was really impressed.

[Clean39T]

Amanda Gorman was amazing! Her words were powerful and the way she spoke them made her the star of the inauguration. i was really impressed.

See if you can find her interview with Anderson Cooper tonight - and their discussion of her afterward. She gives me a lot of hope for the future. Not just for her, but for others like her - the next generation that I may not understand but that is thinking more freely and openly (some of them anyway) than mine was at their age. I'm going to bed tonight much less cynical than I've been in years. America has a long ways to go, always has and always will - the ship seems to be slowly steering back toward the horizon though - and that is worth celebrating even as we roll up our sleeves and get back to work on all that still needs fixing.........

[Mark Kelly]

Hopefully Biden can shame Australia's inept leadership to actually pull their finger out.

That would require Scotty from marketing to have a sense of shame. Not a highly valued attribute with the marketing team.

[Paul Jacobs]

Brexit was for me very much regretted but, until yesterday, rather a theoretical concept. I have just had to pay £92 taxes and import charges to the UK on a £380 eBay purchase from Germany. That is nearly 25%. Up until the end of last year such charges would have been £0.