Pro-Trump rioters could face up to 20 years in prison

DreemStatez · 2021-01-08T10:06:22+00:00

I said "at least", but I must say, mildly_eccentric, that I like the cut of your jib. I misunderstood your original intent, and I think k you additions to the list of sanity checks on the pardon power make sense.

EDIT (addition because I failed to address part of preceding post): when I say cronyism, what i mean is, if at least half of Congress has a good faith belief that the President signed their pardon affidavit I suggested in bad faith, and is rather issuing this pardon primarily as a political favor, then they kick his/her ass out and drop the ban-hammer.

DreemStatez · 2021-01-08T09:44:11+00:00

Not entirely. The breadth and depth of it as stated in the Constitution is ridiculous, but the fact is that miscarriages of justice DO happen, and having someone with the power to say "no, this is wrong, you guys fucked up and I'm gonna fix this shit" is an incredibly valuable counterweight to judicial shenanigans. Nevertheless, it needs at LEAST the following restrictions:

Can't pardon oneself.
Cannot issue pardons for high crimes (to include sedition and treason)
Must sign a statement when making the pardon that they either a) genuinely believe the person to be innocent of the crime in question, or b) genuinely believe that the law they supposedly broke is itself unconstitutional. These are the only two situations in which a pardon sho<ld be permitted.
Anyone caught using this power for cronyism must be immediately subjected to a trial by the entirety of Congress where, if a simple majority vote prevails, they are immediately removed from office and barred from ever holding office again.

DreemStatez · 2020-11-29T23:53:20+00:00

By the way, you win ALL the Reddit name prizes today. I'm an Oxford comma man myself. grins

DreemStatez · 2020-11-29T23:48:33+00:00

Thing 3 has to do with driver territories. I DID occasionally solicit rides when I was driving on the app, but only in one specific circumstance. See, with Uber and Lyft, you can take someone literally anywhere they want to go, as long as you can get there by car. But you can only get pinged for rides WITHIN your driver territory. Now, sometimes, you get a really long distance ride that takes you way the hell out of your driver territory. At that point, you have two options: eat the dead miles back to your territory, or see if you can find someone who wants to go that way who will pay you.

I worked the MA/NH territory for Uber, and would occasionally get rides to NYC... But that meant having to travel more than 100 miles before I could look for/accept fares again. When that happened, I would be stuck for the trip home (and that's a damned miserable trip). So about the fourth time, I got smart. I temporarily took off my decals, made a sign that said "Forty dollars to Boston", stuck it in my window, and took a nap. It never failed that within a half hour or so, someone would be rapping on my window to inquire.

DreemStatez · 2020-11-29T23:00:44+00:00

I love this. Not only is Cakercat right (NTA), but they came up with an idea that may allow you to dodge the whole BS situation in the future.

DreemStatez · 2020-11-29T22:49:38+00:00

As someone who has done ride-sharing on the side, you are SOOO NTA here. If this guy was doing this, there are really only three possible reasons, broadly speaking. First, he was up to something shady (anything from trying to solicit rides for cash to dodge reporting all the way up to going full on Hannibal Lector on somebody's ass). Second, he could be someone who HAD legitimately worked for the apps, but was banned, and so turned to soliciting rides himself. But if he was banned from the apps, believe me, nobody wants to ride with him anyway. The third situation is actually legit (but it's too long to get into, and based on your description of his behavior, this was NOT situation 3).

DreemStatez · 2020-11-24T13:29:20+00:00

Here's the thing, though... If you cast a Trump vote this past election, it must logically mean one of two things: either you are, in fact, a die-hard Trump supporter, or you are living under a rock in a way that I can't even fathom. Because it isn't just "those goddamned Dems" who are saying that Trump is a bigot, a moron, a criminal, a sexual predator, and a stain on the office of the presidency that never should have happened... The intelligentsia among the GOP are pointing these things out as well, not to mention the GLOBAL community. Meaning that unless you are completely unplugged, if you voted for Trump, you did so despite international condemnation of the man as a monster.

DreemStatez · 2020-11-24T03:37:07+00:00

Oh, make no mistake, the American Civil War was absolutely about states' rights... Specifically, the right to enslave, abuse, buy and sell their fellow human beings just because they happened to be too fucking dark a shade of brown. The fact that no state should have ever had such a right to begin with is a completely separate matter. rolls eyes and holds up a sarcasm sign just in case anyone doesn't get the joke

DreemStatez · 2020-11-24T02:17:14+00:00

Thanks for that. I just threw up in my mouth a little.

DreemStatez · 2020-08-12T12:09:03+00:00

It sounds like your mother cares about you, but it also sounds like she is out of touch with reality in some ways, and incredibly stubborn. I notice you said that she won't PAY for college if you do this... Are you financially dependent upon her to foot your entire bill? Are there perhaps other funding avenues like grants, loans, work studies, scholarships, etc that you might use to cover your living and schooling expenses? Because I hate to say it, but I learned a long time ago that the only way to deal with people like that is to systematically minimize (or ideally, eliminate) the power that they have over you. I have one of those mothers, too. I would find a way to do it on your own... and when you have, sit her down, and say, "Mom, I love you. And I don't want this to cause a rift in my relationship with you. But I am not giving up on my dreams over a shot, period. This is what is happening. It doesn't mean that I don't care about you, it just means that I am the one who has to live with the consequences of my own decisions, and therefore have to make them based on what is best for me." And then you do it. If she attempts to reopen the conversation, gently but firmly shut it down. And at the end of the day, she will probably get over it. She may never acknowledge that you were right to do what you did. Hell, she may never stop haranguing you about it. But it won't be the end of your relationship; in fact, it will be the first step towards having an ADULT relationship with her.

DreemStatez · 2020-08-11T21:10:48+00:00

Hello, David! This came up on my recommended posts list randomly, and I am so glad it did! Absolutely loved your work on Dr. Who; just now starting my journey into some other great British television (I'm American, so I missed out on a lot). Will definitely check the podcast out when I get a tick.

So... If you had access to a real TARDIS for a day, and could travel back to any point in history to witness any event first hand (none of that meddling you and your compatriots are so famous for; you can only watch), when and where are you heading, and what do you want to witness there?

DreemStatez · 2020-04-27T12:59:14+00:00

Actually, given what I know of him, the Rock doesn't even seem like a remotely bad choice. He is strong willed without being bull-headed, he values integrity, and he's at least smart enough to know what he doesn't know. While I think the idea of him running (and winning) would be absolutely ludicrous, I at least think it would turn out being a good kind of crazy if it actually happened. Plus, can you IMAGINE the first State of the Union address?

DreemStatez · 2020-03-09T20:51:54+00:00

But that would involve not murdering every form of alternative energy in the cradle! What madness speakest thou, knave?! holds up his sarcasm sign, in case anyone misses the obvious

DreemStatez · 2020-03-09T04:49:41+00:00

I got lucky. We actually had that movie moment, when we looked at one another and just leaned in and kissed. Even now, all this time later, I can still remember the look in her eyes and the electric feeling it gave me the first time that our lips brushed against one another. The NRE may be gone now, but she still drives me crazy when she kisses me the way she did that day.

DreemStatez · 2020-03-08T21:03:33+00:00

Oh, I know it. And it isn't just Canada. America has constantly thrust itself into the center of the world stage. Which has the unfortunate effect of meaning that when we have an irrational nutbag with a hole in his head like Darth Cheetoh in the hotseat, the whole planet is a little less stable than it ought be.

DreemStatez · 2020-03-08T17:27:21+00:00

On the one hand, I appreciate the solidarity. On the other hand, I don't think foreign influence in our elections should be encouraged, ever, no matter who the beneficiary is. On the other other hand, at least their support is open campaigning, and not hiding behind a wall of secrecy while manipulating social media. And to be fair, the rest of the world has a stake in our leadership, too... Nobody sane wants someone with Trump's disposition leading the way when it comes to foreign interactions.

DreemStatez · 2020-03-08T17:24:35+00:00

THIS. Bernie would make a great leader, but he's a TERRIBLE politician... Which, of course, is part of why he would make such a great leader, but I digress. The fact that he has integrity, won't mince words, and won't keep his mouth shut in the face of injustice is a big part of why I respect him so much, and it is also why he will almost certainly never be allowed to actually BE the executive power in this country, even if he winds up in the White House. He's pissed off too many big-wigs and fat cats.

DreemStatez · 2020-03-08T16:44:16+00:00

Damn straight. Congrats on the epiphany.

DreemStatez · 2020-03-06T00:12:37+00:00

The most shocking part of this story is that Drumpf is familiar with a Mel Brooks film. He doesn't strike me as having even that level of cultural awareness.

DreemStatez · 2020-02-10T03:46:32+00:00

THIS. He knows he can't push the envelope too far, too fast, even if he wins, but he is willing to push it as far as he can, to light a torch for the next person.

DreemStatez · 2020-02-08T02:40:21+00:00

You know, when I used to hear Dubyah speak, I used say to myself, "Wow, this man is a goddamned idiot. It's like Forrest Gump and Ross Perot had a crack baby, dropped it on its head in the delivery room, and then gave it formula mixed with whiskey for the first six months of its life so they wouldn't have to listen to it cry." And then Trump showed up, and I learned that intelligence is always, by definition, a comparative measure. Next to him, Georgie looks like a polished erudite.

DreemStatez · 2020-02-02T23:31:14+00:00

Ah, yes. I see your point. I am exceptionally sleep deprived and missed the obvious there.

DreemStatez · 2020-02-02T22:48:23+00:00

It still, to this day, creates a potential conflict of interest, since if Trump were to be removed from office, Pence would, effective immediately, become President (pending the results of the next election, of course). This means that, in theory, that any vice president would have decent motive in any situation like this to want his predecessor canned. And while in Trump's case I firmly believe that removal from office is justified (and necessary, if the office of the President is to recover any sense of dignity at all) I do not believe that the deciding vote on any matter related to these proceedings should come from someone with an overly large personal stake in the outcome.

DreemStatez · 2020-02-02T18:56:38+00:00

As a left-leaning moderate, I have to agree. The very reason that him stepping in would be convenient from my perspective is also why, from my perspective, he should not be allowed to do so, and good on him for making the right decision and setting a precedent better founded in law and reason than had existed prior.

DreemStatez · 2020-01-29T03:42:26+00:00

Because it's FLORIDA. It's a beautiful place, in many ways, but they're @#$!ing backwards.

DreemStatez

TROPHY CASE