TrueBlue4ever

I take no issue with the statement that domestic terrorism is a main threat in the US, but it is premature to lay blame on the right wing before the facts are known. Just as irresponsible as those who blame ANTIFA and BLM for riots ahead of the facts. And it is especially wrong to say they should be “rightfully blamed until proven innocent”. This is the kind of division that o would like to see the ISA walk away from, it has done too match damage already. There is talk of this being a suicide bombing, but it is odd that it was done very publicly with the intent of causing mass damage but with care not to inflict harm on humans. 6:30 am on Christmas with warning announcements in advance. Why go through such trouble if all you wanted to do was kill yourself. The profiler in me wonders if someone wanted to cover up a murder and left an already dead body in the RV and then staged a suicide bombing? Far-fetched but I have heard of more elaborate plots. But it would explain the public display but concern for others’ safety. Who the RV is tied to will give some more answers. One big flaw in my alternate theory is how long it would take to amass that amount of explosive, which would take away from a need to cover up a murder, unless it was very premeditated . Anyway, just a random theory meant to not overlook anything, not making an assertion.

And happy Festivus to all. This year we’ll take a break from the airing of grievances as it would take all of 2021 to get through it, and as for feats of strength we’ve all survived the year, and that takes some serious strength. All the best to everyone this holiday season.

Can’t re-impeach him either, even if all the folks who ducked subpoenas before are forced to testify. NY state will get him on his tax stuff and get a more substantial sentence than anything the Feds will get. The government system was always predicated on a President being checked by the other branches and his own conscience to not wield his power for corrupt reasons. Partisanship has eroded the checks and balances of the first safeguard, and a narcissistic sociopath like Trump exposed the flaws in relying on the second. The Constitution, long touted by Americans as the “greatest living document in history” is showing its warts once again.

You can’t legally prosecute someone twice for the same crime. Pardons are stupid, whichever President hands them out , but it is Constitutionally allowed. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

Making the GOP accountable with hearings won’t stop their behaviour, and it won’t turn the Conservative public against them. It will make them martyrs. So as much as the anti-Trump brigade would love that comeuppance, and the news media on both sides would eat up the spectacle (left wing could crow about the corruption, right wing could scream witch hunt and hypocrisy, and neither side would really care about the principles at play so long as it meant ratings), nothing of substance would be gained. The failed Trump impeachment resolved nothing, and only hardened each side’s pre-existing mindset of the other side, without truly exposing what we already knew or obviously suspected. So as fun as the circus/drive-by car crash might be, it would not get the nation anywhere productive and just cost a lot of money to put on political theatre. I think Biden knows how tired the nation is and sees giving it a rest from the freak show as the way to go. Now, if he gains control of the Senate in January then it will be much easier to skip the retribution hearings and heal the nation his way, since the GOP will need to bend to his will and cooperate to get anything from him, since he will hold the cards.

Anyone want to take odds on if Kyle Rittenhouse gets a pardon? 100-1, 25-1, 10-1, even money? If Roberts wanted to take Trump down, he totally had his chance at the impeachment hearing when he could have stepped in and demanded more evidence be presented before the Senate trial. Not sure why he would change his stance between January and August. Sounds like, what’s that phrase, “fake news”?

Watched The Late Show tonight and Colbert had President and Dr. Biden on for an interview. I was struck by the plain decency of the man. Lots of mud has been slung by all sides and certainly this thread is no exception. But amid so many calls to make the current administration accountable for its corruption and take down all of Trump’s enablers for their action or inaction, I heard an incoming President tonight look past all of it. Call it naive, call it blissfully out of touch, call it hopelessly optimistic, but here was a man and his wife rising above, shrugging off the partisan attacks and personal shots against his son as being a nuisance but one that will not drag them down. Colbert himself said “you are a better man than I could be”. Maybe Biden sees no need to score political points against those who would keep the MAGA spirit alive, maybe he truly sees that there are more pressing needs in America and the world than revenge or comeuppance, but he sounds like someone who wants to just move forward, not focus on the past, and still believes in the best of all Americans - that the last 4 years is not really who Americans are. It could be seen as hokey, but it was uplifting to hear such calm patience. And then I heard him talk about Christmas at his house, and he talked about decorating the tree. Jill joked about how obsessive he was about hanging the tinsel, and he said without apology and full sincerity how vital it is that he hangs each strand individually, how you just cannot throw clumps at the tree. And it hit me - some think of him as the grandpa of the nation, but in that moment I saw my father. My father was a paediatrician for 45 years and the kindest person I have ever known. And he had the same obsession with tinsel, one strand at a time, and I know it was more than just his compulsive nature (a trait I am proud to share). It was about this perfection making things happier for all of us, to see a beautiful tree that brought joy in its pristine state, his labour was a labour of love. Hearing Biden talk about it with such reverence brought many memories and tears flooding back for a man I lost 3 years ago. I can only hope Biden is as good as his word and that all Americans truly give him a chance to fulfill his vision of decency and a better tomorrow. We all really need it, but it is on us to make it happen - together. Because if he can turn that optimism into reality, he will bring much joy, like I saw my father bring to my life. I guess I am getting sappy in my advancing age. Anyway, it was a nice moment in a very tough year. And by the way, Colbert’s band leader Jon Batiste, who is another amazingly positive soul and by all accounts a genuinely good person, did a beautifully soulful performance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” to close the show, and you could not hear it and feel bad afterwards. A stirring rendition that just makes you feel better about the world.

Here’s the US version of that concept a few years ago.

There is no room for this king of smut on this site. This is supposed to be about football, and I must object. Moderators, please delete this topic and censor the parties who.......... Ok, my wife left the room and stopped watching me type. As you were.

Apparently Trump has intervened to change this plan. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/13/politics/white-house-coronavirus-vaccine/index.html

Keep the name (since it identifies an army regiment, and COULD also just mean a bird), change the logo. Or just go with Hawks. As for the logo, this would be quite fitting (even if it is actually an eagle) since it is already tied to the club’s history: https://pin.it/3yp2gB3

Today is the 8th anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre. The day the NRA debate logically ended. If 26 childrens’ deaths cannot provoke meaningful gun law change, don’t think anything will. In the aftermath, conspiracy theories rose. None of this SHOULD be in a political thread, but such is the state of the USA now that this seemed to be the most appropriate place to put this piece. It begs the huge question - how did the US get to this point where this kind of thinking not only takes hold but is allowed to grow in the mainstream? What had driven so many to believe all of these conspiracy theories? https://twitter.com/shannonrwatts/status/1338497105627734016?s=20

COVID related as well.

By definition, you cannot be both unaware and aware of something. If you are ignorant, you are unaware and this have no intent to refuse to accept what you know is reality. You honestly but mistakenly believe something that is false. If you are willful then you make a conscious choice to not accept what you know is reality.

I’d watch Jets-Preds or Jets-Wild any day over seeing the Sens.

My favourite random stat of the day - Trump’s election lawyers have more positive COVID diagnoses than they do victories in court.

So quickly found 2 articles on this hypothetical. As Inigo Montoya said in “The Princess Bride”: “Let me explain. No, is too much.....let me sum up.” Short answer appears to be yes, he could preside over and cast a vote at his own impeachment. This first article basically says the Constitution screwed up in its wording and would allow the Veep to preside. Funny, I thought the Constitution was the “greatest living document” ever created. It couldn’t be that boastful Americans have again overstated their own sense of self-importance, could it? https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234182826.pdf The second article spells out that the Chief Justice of SCOTUS who presides could actually vote to break ties first based on precedent, this eliminating the VP’s power as it would no longer be a tie, but in questions where the VP is opposed and it is a tie, the question is automatically defeated before a tie breaker vote even happens. One would imagine he would be opposed to his own removal, so tie breaker vote is a moot point. Assuming that I am reading this right. I am not a constitutional law scholar. https://www.legbranch.org/can-the-vice-president-vote-in-a-presidential-impeachment-trial/

Of course. Overthought it and forgot that Harris would no longer be the deciding vote there in my alternate reality. This is why I can’t have nice things! That raises an interesting question though. If Pence was being impeached, and it went to the Senate for vote on removing him, would he be allowed to cast a tiebreaker vote if he himself was the accused party?

9-0 decision. So much for Trump’s hand-picked conservative judges returning the favour. Correct me if I am wrong, but this SCOTUS decision is NOT the Texas state suit against the swing states, correct?

Hate to go all grammar Nazi here, especially given my penchant for long-winded posts, but that opening statement had less periods than a pregnant woman. As for Trump’s babblings, a tiny (really tiny) part of me would accept him ramming a false Presidency through SCOTUS if I was promised that Dems won both run-offs. Then with control of both the House and the Senate, re-impeach him day one and get Pence too, and then let Pelosi or someone else be appointed President since they would have the votes to evict him.

The Niners shifted their offence last year to a massively run heavy game plan simply to, in the words of reporters who followed the team and talked to the coaching staff, “keep Garoppolo from costing us the game with a bad pick”. Not sure if that is completely accurate, but he is not well regarded it seems despite a gaudy won-lost record overall. Having said that, Kirk Cousins is the most overpaid QB in the game today, and would be a big downgrade. He is Jimmy without the winning percentage.

Actually, it’s “re-elect”. So they really could. And both GOP candidates did get the most votes in November, they just did not cross the magic 50% + 1 barrier needed because of 3rd party candidates on the ballot. So the Dems winning both would legitimately be the surprise. Never underestimate the stupidity of large swaths of the American public.

Well, Trump left his supporters high and dry with no buses home once after a rally. Fitting that his ride home would abandon him and leave him standing around after his next one. Actually, my favourite visual from Twitter is the person who suggested that the NYSE draft up an indictment while he is in the air from Washington, and get an arrest warrant and apprehend him the second he descends from the stairs of Air Force One in Florida. Then perp walk him in handcuffs live on TV into a waiting police vehicle before he can start his rally. Now THAT would be event television.

So quick poll question for the masses. Should the CFL allow for a window where individual teams get an exclusive chance to re-sign players that were on their club roster and that they let go when the pandemic shut down the year before they can be scooped by any other team, or should they all be treated as pure free agents free to sign with any team they want right from the get go?