My feeling is that the rot is so deep that for Garland to expose it would bring the whole charade down. I do not feel there will be justice in the true sense of the word - for those at the top, at least.
That being said, the universe has its own way of handling things, so I do not feel that all is lost.
I am more concerned that voting rights remain at risk as well as various civil liberties for women and the LGBTQIA community. If left unchecked, that is a dark road ahead.
But I feel that we are in such a state of flux at the moment - so many potentialities, hard to see what the outcome will be. So I remain hopeful.
I saw this the other day:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/23/nyregion/trump-investigation-felony-resignation-pomerantz.html
I honestly didn't hold my breath with Trump, I think it's quite unfair just how likely it is that he will get away with "it". To indict a president would shame american belief and trust in the eyes of those abroad.
My feeling is that the rot is so deep that for Garland to expose it would bring the whole charade down.
I think that's another reason Garland has to be methodical and meticulous in building the case. Best to pull out all the roots and dig up the foundations of the charade instead of leaving the bad guys something to work with. And with the power of the people involved he's got to be very, very cautious about how he manages the evidence-gathering and subpeona execution.
I agree with you and others that there is a feeling that Trump and his cronies may get away with it. That being said, there is one factor Garland must consider.
Namely, politics.
Remember, Trump is the defacto leader of the Republican party. Republican candidates have basically sold their soul to this orange Satan because they believe they can't win without him.
But consider this; Trump recently withdrew support from Mo Brooks because he was losing. Many other Trump candidates are underperforming in their races.
If this continues, and people like Cheney and Kemp win their primaries, then it will signal to the Republicans that kissing Trump's ring is no longer a guarantee to win elections.
There are other factors, certainly. If Roe v. Wade is overturned is a consideration, as it would probably cause an influx a female voters who are not too thrilled about becoming future handmaids. The Ukraine War and inflation need to be considered as well. Even Covid needs to be considered, because this will be the first election to occur after 2020. Despite not garnering much attention, I think the Republicans may find that they underperform in part because more of their voters died from Covid than Democratic voters. For comparison, Florida has over 29,000 deaths from Covid, whereas New York, a blue state, has more than 8,000. Both states have roughly the same population.
Timing is everything. If I were Garland, I would file charges against Trump between July 2022 through October 2022. First, it would be after the Republican primaries. Trump being Trump will react and either demand that Republicans swear to save them if they get elected or lash out at his enemies (like Kemp). Republicans will have to take a side. Trump won't accept anything less than absolute loyalty and lash out by demanding his voters not give their votes to Republicans. Democrats may then pull a miracle and perform better than expected.
In my mind, the make or break moment must be between June 2022 and October 2022. This is the best time to take advantage of the abovementioned factors. Any later and it will be too late.
Re Garland and Jan 6th. New today:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/03/30/jan-6-fbi-subpoena-justice/
Yesterday, a shooting happened in Brooklyn and the suspect was apprehended today in Manhattan.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/13/us/brooklyn-subway-shooting-wednesday/index.html
So as of today (well, last night) no abortion can currently be performed in Kentucky. In order to get an abortion before the 15 week limit, there are requirements which must be met but cannot actually be performed. One such example, requiring doctors to fill out forms which don't currently exist.
https://www.vox.com/2022/4/14/23025568/kentucky-abortion-law-roe-wade-beshear
@lovendures I don't understand how all these STATE passed laws take precedent over Roe V Wade which is STILL the FEDERAL law of the country. (at least for the next 5 minutes)....
I just don't get it.
@pegesus It's part performative legislation, meant to show how pro-life-y they are, and also to cause mischief. Some of it is hoping the lower fed courts will just flout Roe and won't enjoin the law. It's also meant to put laws in place that can't be stopped once Roe is overruled.
These extremist anti-women legislators are all showboating now. They're going to spend years trying to outdo themselves with ever more crazy laws.
The republicans are amazing in their ability to just make insane laws that benefit no one other than the bloodlust of their most extreme base, but I have to say it's incredible to see just how crazy they've become, with no end in sight. Stuff that would have be unthinkable even five years ago is now center stage. I'm horrified, but part of me is also just curious to see when they actually will hit bottom. How low will the go?
@lovendures @pegesus @lynnventura I have re-enrolled back in school and am working on research about this currently. Because a woman can still legally obtain an abortion federally, they create all of these TRAP laws to make it harder to obtain (targeted regulation of abortion providers). Notice how Texas bounty law isn’t against the woman, just everyone else involved.
I watched this documentary last year as part of another paper and am continuing my research this year. I highly recommend as this documentarian is phenomenal but it is not for the faint of heart. I screamed at the TV at least twice when viewing. The Mississippi clinic they focus on in here is the one on the Supreme Court docket coming up soon.
http://www.trappeddocumentary.com
I haven’t read back through this thread completely but in the last couple of weeks, Oklahoma completely outlawed abortion from time of conception. TN is trying to pass TX style bounty legislation
It is all horrifying.
@lyndsayt Thanks for sharing. I'll check it out. It all is so horrifying, and I we need to buckle up because it's only going to get worse. There are 5 radicals on SCOTUS, one super-conservative justice (Roberts) and 3 sane justices. The Brown/Breyer swap-out doesn't change that. They 5 radicals don't give an eff about how things look or how they will be perceived. This is the moment the extreme right has being waiting for since the civil rights movement and since Roe. There will be no incrementalism. They are going to take a sledgehammer to rights many have enjoyed for decades. The dems don't have the numbers to stop them.
Eventually, hopefully, the pendulum will swing, but considering SCOTUS is going to be complicit in limiting voting rights even further, that swing may take awhile. In the meantime our country is going to look increasingly alien to many of us.
Sorry to be downer, but that's how I see it, and what I feel is springing up around us. I'd be delighted to be wrong.
@lynnventura call me an optimist (because I do not generally feel optimistic about any women being forced to give birth against their will) but my intuition tells me this will eventually backfire on the GOP. They don’t have any real policies (except for tax cuts for the rich) so, what are they going to do once they obtain this goal? What are they going to fundraise on then? If shit hits the fan, I think there are enough women out there that will rise up and vote them out, voting rights or not. Don’t forget that the GOP has to convince the independent voters to their side, since their numbers are in the minority, andI don’t think those voters will tolerate it. It affects peoples lives in such far reaching ways that have nothing to do with wanting to be pregnant or not.
This is generally an excellent podcast series but I found this episode and it’s follow up episode to be especially enlightening, if anyone is interested.
How the Evangelical Machine Got Made
@lyndsayt I'm rooting for your take on this! :) I'm much better at picking up the energy of people's intentions (in this case super dark and yucky) than of the ultimate outcome. I often confuse the two. So I am totally looking forward to being wrong!
Since I don't work, I watch TV (mostly news).Sometimes when I start seeing the same clips, I'll stop by fox news. The other night, they showed a commercial about a children's book telling all about trump and his great wins etc. Nothing like brainwashing them while they're young.
We always knew that going up against BIG OIL would not be easy. We must now do this at this critical juncture.
Really? I wonder if he encouraged someone to write it.
The Flat Earth Society still exists and there likely will always be some form of TFG supporters.
Not sure if it fits here, but Elon Musk has brought out Twitter. I did a quick scan and got that his buyout will not change anything. What can we expect?
This is really big news it would seem. I am not a fan of Musk.
Imagine what positive impacts he could have done with all of that money...