A Deeply Fractured US

[QV]

This is why it doesn't even matter what Trump did at this point. In their zeal to get him since 2016 they've committed all kinds of malfeasance, they've lied, they've broke the law, they've lost trust. And all the while ignore the other side. As a result any proceeding that can be remotely linked to his presidency or even slightly politically connected is tainted.

Just imagine what would happen to a case against any accused in Canada if it was demonstrated investigators and prosecutors broke policy, broke the law, abused power and authority, lied etc. I wouldn't want any person to be jailed under those conditions.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Not a fluff piece by the biased legacy media, but an official release from the House Oversight Committee

Biden Family Investigation - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

oversight.house.gov

 

[brihard]

Not a word about the alleged Biden crime spree? What did he promise in exchange for the alleged millions, the House Committee is holding bank accounts for? Or the WhatApp messages of Hunter's that implicate his dad? Or the IRS whistleblowers alleging being told to stand down on investigating the bidens? Or the unpaid millions in taxes, dating well back passed 2014, that are unrecoverable due to statute of limitations? And that just scratches the surface. But let's keep making it about Trump and defending biden

Are there are court records, affidavits, indictments etc that you can point us to, for those of us inclined to read such things? Opinion pieces and partisan committee testimony lack the rigourous scrutiny and challenge that helps to determine what parts of these things stand up to challenge.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Oooops.

IRS Investigation Into Hunter Biden Started As A Porn Ring Probe

The IRS investigation into Hunter Biden began as a probe into a foreign pornography ring, revealed a whistleblower transcript.

thefederalist.com

 

[Brad Sallows]

You hear Biden make verbal slips and suggest it's dementia.

I just think it's old age. Other people are alleging dementia.

Biden may not be mentally unfit, but the job is extraordinarily stressful. He simply isn't up to that demand. Few people that age would be. Jimmy Carter doesn't think it's a job for old people, and he is one of the few with experience in that position.

 

[Quirky]

I just think it's old age. Other people are alleging dementia.

The mental capacity isn't there anymore, no one is driving the bus. You can see him falling and being completely lost on stage during various events. He's just an overall embarrassment and keeping him as president in that condition is just elder abuse.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Are there are court records, affidavits, indictments etc that you can point us to, for those of us inclined to read such things? Opinion pieces and partisan committee testimony lack the rigourous scrutiny and challenge that helps to determine what parts of these things stand up to challenge.

Congressional testimony under oath counts.

The administration's unwillingness to investigate deeply does Republicans a favour. The latter can just keep collecting correspondence, documents, records, and testimony, and publicizing it. Then analysts and muckrakers can put the pieces together and keep hammering whatever drums they choose to beat.

 

[brihard]

Congressional testimony under oath counts.

The administration's unwillingness to investigate deeply does Republicans a favour. The latter can just keep collecting correspondence, documents, records, and testimony, and publicizing it. Then analysts and muckrakers can put the pieces together and keep hammering whatever drums they choose to beat.

Sure. And It’s not impossible that the administration in 2019 and 2020 obstructed investigations into all things Biden family, but for some reason I just can’t put my finger on, that seems unlikely. We do know that an investigation initiated in that time has resulted in charges against, and a guilty plea by, Hunter Biden, even while his old man is president. So there’s that.

In any case, if Joe Biden or those connected to him committed offences, have at ‘er. Investigate, impeach, prosecute- whatever the law and legal processes support. Doesn’t bother me any. I just refuse to get excited about anything until it very clearly moves apst the realm of existing in the partisan shit pile. Those inclined to wade in that muck rarely seem able to leave it.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Speaks for itself

https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-05-17-fbi-whistleblower-testimony-highlights-government-abuse-misallocation-of-resources-and-retaliation-sm.pdf

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Another official report. This one from the Ways and Means Committee about the IRS.

So much for Hunter's charges and results of the investigation and no favoritism. Interference for a sweetheart deal. No malfeasance or collusion by top officials from various departments.

Smith: Testimony of IRS Employees Reveals Biden IRS, DOJ Interfered in Tax Investigation of Hunter Biden, Revealing Preferential Treatment for Wealthy and Politically Connected – Ways and Means

waysandmeans.house.gov

Where there's smoke, there's fire. That's a lot of rank and file whistleblowers from so many different departments, talking to different committees.

I'm sure they're probably all Trump loyalists though

 

[TacticalTea]

So anyways...

Here's some news helping America become LESS fractured:

SCOTUS bans racial discrimination in affirmative action.

AFAIK, this would be impossible in Canada as Trudeau's constitution explicitly allows it.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Too bad all this stuff is burying the laptop fiasco again. There's fifty one high security people that lied in that letter saying it wasn't real. I agree with that they should all lose their security clearances , at least until they testify before Congress and explain their positions.

Congress wants 'consequences' for those who signed laptop letter in 2020 * WorldNetDaily * by Bob Unruh

A Media Research Center poll after the 2020 election found more than one-third of self-described Biden voters were not aware of the evidence contained in the laptop computer abandoned by Hunter Biden at a repair shop that Joe Biden was involved in Hunter's international dealings.

www.wnd.com

 

[brihard]

if there was in fact deliberate obstruction, then I’m glad it’s come out and hopefully it leads to accountability.

On the question of the alleged ‘sweetheart deal’ for the tax offences, I don’t buy that. Those offences are usually resolved without criminal prosecution- I think I pointed to the example of Roger Stone as one instance farther upthread. There’s nothing at all unusual about charged suspects making plea deals, or in such deals mitigating sentencing considerably. There aren’t many people getting carceral sentences for tax misdemeanours.

 

[brihard]

So anyways...

Here's some news helping America become LESS fractured:

SCOTUS bans racial discrimination in affirmative action.

AFAIK, this would be impossible in Canada as Trudeau's constitution explicitly allows it.

Interesting thread from a university admissions officer that gives some useful I sight and nuance on this. Seems like a good decision. Race cannot be blindly assumed to be a proxy for life experiences, but one’s individual experience, including because of one’s race, can absolutely be considered on an individual and specific basis where articulated by a candidate.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1674437450851049472

 

[QV]

Speaks for itself

https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-05-17-fbi-whistleblower-testimony-highlights-government-abuse-misallocation-of-resources-and-retaliation-sm.pdf

This is why characterizing Jan 6th by and large as an "insurrection" is just laughable. Sure there were a handful of dumbies planning bad things, there always is, but not 98% of that crowd. There has actually been a ton of real subversive shit going on, but by the three letter agencies who are supposed to be trusted, and they gaslit a bunch of unhappy protestors to shift the attention.

 

[brihard]

This is why characterizing Jan 6th by and large as an "insurrection" is just laughable. Sure there were a handful of dumbies planning bad things, there always is, but not 98% of that crowd. There has actually been a ton of real subversive shit going on, but by the three letter agencies who are supposed to be trusted, and they gaslit a bunch of unhappy protestors to shift the attention.

In your estimation, were any of the increasing number of offenders convicted in jury trials of seditious conspiracy guilty of ‘subversive shit!?

 

[QV]

So anyways...

Here's some news helping America become LESS fractured:

SCOTUS bans racial discrimination in affirmative action.

AFAIK, this would be impossible in Canada as Trudeau's constitution explicitly allows it.

This is a big win in the battle against systemic racism. Good on the SCOTUS.

 

[brihard]

a couple interesting developments in the Trump’s document stash case:

A Freedom if information Act request was litigated over Trump’s supposed standing order to declassify information. It appears it didn’t exist:

Trump ‘Standing Order’ to Declassify Not Found by DOJ, Intelligence Agency

A “standing order” that former President Donald Trump has claimed authorized him to instantly declassify documents removed from the Oval Office could not be found by either the Justice Department or Office of Director of National Intelligence.

www.bloomberg.com

And, it appears investigation has continued post-indictment, with new grand jury subpoenas issued:

Investigation of Trump Documents Case Continues After His Indictment (Published 2023)

A grand jury has issued more subpoenas to people involved in the case after the unveiling of a 38-count indictment this month against the former president and an aide.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Blackadder1916]

A Freedom if I formation Act request was litigated over Trump’s supposed standing order to declassify information. It appears it didn’t exist:

Trump ‘Standing Order’ to Declassify Not Found by DOJ, Intelligence Agency

A “standing order” that former President Donald Trump has claimed authorized him to instantly declassify documents removed from the Oval Office could not be found by either the Justice Department or Office of Director of National Intelligence.

www.bloomberg.com

Cue the inevitable response that any copy of the "standing order" was destroyed on orders of Biden.

 

[TacticalTea]

Interesting thread from a university admissions officer that gives some useful I sight and nuance on this. Seems like a good decision. Race cannot be blindly assumed to be a proxy for life experiences, but one’s individual experience, including because of one’s race, can absolutely be considered on an individual and specific basis where articulated by a candidate.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1674437450851049472

Which is perfectly reasonable.

Quotas, however, absolutely aren't.

I hope this ruling ends quotas in higher Ed and inspires similar action in other countries, our own especially.

My problem was with upper class minorities unfairly benefitting from such policies while lower class or qualified whites and Asians were left aside.

Given how liberal academia is, the claim that racializing affirmative action is necessary in this day and age is wholly absurd.