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Friday, May 31, 2024

34

The picture above has no relation to this post except I thought his facial expression fit the subject.

People in the United States were mostly either happy, sad, or angry when the guilty verdicts of 34 counts of falsifying business records was announced. I am mostly in the sad camp, not because I don’t think Trump is guilty ( I think the man is a fraud, a cheat, a liar, and has no regard for the rule of law), but I’m sad that a former American president was convicted of not just one felony but of 34 felonies. It was a dark day in American history. A former American president and the current Republican nominee for president (officially he won’t be the nominee until after the Republican National Convention) was convicted of 34 felonies.

November 8, 2016, when a minority of Americans and a majority of the Electoral College was chosen to elect this fraud of a man president. January 6, 2021 was an even darker day when he called on his followers to try to stop the Democratic process from certifying that he’d lost the 2020 presidential election. In the past eight years, Donald Trump has been the cause of many dark days in American history.

A lot of Republicans will claim that Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts is/was politically motivated. However, I want us to keep in mind that the New York district attorney took these charges to a grand jury who indicted Trump, a grand jury made up of ordinary Americans who were doing their civic duty. Then, during the trial, a jury agreed upon by both the prosecution and defense heard the evidence presented and the district attorney and a defense put forth by Trump’s lawyers found Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony counts. 

Whatever anyone might believe about political motivations, a jury doing their sworn civic duty found him guilty because the prosecution’s case, the testimony of witnesses, and evidence of crimes was convincing and the defense’s refutation, the defense of these crimes, and the repeated claims of innocence was not convincing. This was the American judicial process at work, not a kangaroo court or a show trial, but the justice system in the State of New York working as it should.

Is this conviction likely to sway Republican opinions about Trump or cause them to admit he committed crimes? No, at least for the majority of Republicans, it won’t. As both Biden and Trump said yesterday, the true judgement will come on November 5, 2024. The ultimate judgement will come in how history remembers this period of American history.

Republicans have said over and over that the Biden administration is using the courts as a weapon. The Biden administration had nothing to do with this conviction. Furthermore, for the past four years Donald Trump has proclaimed that he would use the courts as a weapon to punish those he sees as his enemies. He has repeatedly said he would get retribution and revenge against those who have not supported his political witch hunts against his enemies, have not supported his criminal activities, or his fascist rhetoric.

November 5, 2024 will decide whether America is a democracy or if  people would rather see this country turn to fascism. I pray that the majority of Americans choose Democracy. We can only do that by exercising our civic duty and voting!


P.S. Possibly only two other American president have committed crimes that could have led to convictions: Warren G. Harding and Richard M. Nixon (both were Republicans). Harding had the good grace to die of a heart attack before his involvement with the Teapot Dome scandal and the “Ohio Gang” could be fully investigated. Nixon was pardoned by another Republican president, Gerald Ford, of any possible crimes he might have committed during the events surrounding the Watergate scandal. Harding and Nixon never faced a trial. Donald Trump has, and he has been convicted. Like Trump, Harding’s and Nixon’s criminal associates have been convicted of numerous crimes.


Because politics can leave a nasty taste in your mouth, I give you a beautiful palate cleanser, Isabella pic of the week:

Even she knows she’s beautiful. Before I put my collection of DVDs in this cabinet, she would spend a lot of time looking at her reflection in the glass. Granted, she kept walking around the cabinet trying to find the cat staring back at her, but she knows she’s a queen.

9 comments:

  1. In Canada we are flabbergasted to even imagine that such a «criminal» could be on a ballot for President of your country. More than time that ALL sensible educated Americans rise up on November 5 and vote this «trash» out of being the most corrupt president in USA.

    Your justice system is so slow that the other more important trials will not be on bvefore November 5.

    45 did say that he could kill someone on the 42th street and they would still vote for him.

    In the country of «law and order» and so call Christian faith people this is a big none sense.
    So ridiculous as in Florida this idiot Repug governer is going to put the ten commandements in EACH classrooms in the state.
    This is how twisted Repug policies would make USA backward again.
    Nothing to be fuzzing over Islamic sharia extremist countries as USA is on the verge of becoming such a dictatorship place.

    It's the future of USA to become a banana republic.

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  3. Well said Joe.

    This trial and the processes are so contentious because folks are trying to mix politics and the rule of law. It doesn't work that way. We have to continue to try to keep the politics at bay. Politics can be odious and get into everything.

    Have a great weekend.

    Hike?? I did one yesterday. Here in Colorado, we have an abundance of choices to choose from.

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  4. Isabella like all cats is above it all :)
    As for Trump, he has brought this all on himself as have his supporters. -Rj

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  5. Es increible que un delicuente que ha cometido 34 delitos pueda presentarse a unas elecciones presidenciales. Eso en España no podemos entenderlo. Si es culpable debe, primero, pagar por sus delitos en la carcel


    Ángel

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  6. José ¿por qué no pones un espejo para que Isabel pueda verse con claridad?


    Ángel

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  7. Joe, there are three main points to make. First, the adorable Isabelly deserves to look at herself in every mirror in your apartment, though she might soon concluse that your place was choc-a-bloc full of cats!!

    Second, we in England are astounded that any politician with Trump's history could stand for the presidency. Are there no norms of acceptable behaviour? Oldies like me will recall that when in 1963, our Minister of Defence, John Profumo, admitted to lying in an earlier ministerial statement in the House of Commons, he immediatly resigned and spent much of his remaining years undertaking charitable works in the poorest part of the East End. I met him there a couple of times doing the washing up (but still wearing a smart Savile Row suit!). More recently, Boris Johnson was forced by his own MPs to resign as PM on account of his unacceptable behaviour and lies.

    Third, you may recall the words of Joseph de Maistre, the French philisopher, lawyer and diplomat (1753 - 1821):"Every country gets the government it deserves". I think you'd agree!

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  8. President Harry Truman said you get what you vote for. Truman told the truth.

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  9. NB As a felon, he can no more join the US army. Which he never wanted to but he wants to be the «Commander in Chief» with the nuclear key.
    OMG! This is none sense.

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