Cont: 2020 Presidential Election part 3

[Vixen]

BREAKING: Postal worker admits fabricating allegations of ballot tampering, officials say

Postal worker admits fabricating allegations of ballot tampering, officials say
A Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims have been cited by top Republicans as potential evidence of widespread voting irregularities recanted to U.S. Postal Service investigators.
washingtonpost.com

That would be Richard Hopkins of USPS, who claimed his supervisor told staff to backdate late ballot paper arrivals. He did not explain why he signed the false affidavit.

US$1m has been offered to anyone who can prove election fraud. No takers so far...?

 

[Aridas]

That kind of reminds me of the Goldsboro incident, which AFAIK is the closest thing we've ever had to a non-test nuclear explosion in the US. "Hey, it was nothing, the fourth and final failsafe worked" is hardly something to get excited about.

Fun fact. Apparently, when companies were trying to figure out ways to economically get natural gas out of the ground, they tried nukes multiple times. The main reason why that stopped was that the cost of using the nukes meant that the operations operated at a loss. That accounted for apparently 3 of the 31 nukes exploded in the US in 27 tests to try to find peaceful uses for nuclear explosions.

 

[Vixen]

There have been several claims there is a coup d'état underway, ever since Mike Pompeo made his ridiculous comment that Trump second administration was underway. It seems unlikely to most that this could succeed. Bu could it?

Clayton Thyne and Jonathan Powell's dataset of coups defines attempted coups as "illegal and overt attempts by the military or other elites within the state apparatus to unseat the sitting executive."[1] They arrive at this definition by combining common definitions in the existing literature, and removing specificities and ambiguities that exist in many definitions.

wiki

You wouldn't need the entire armed forces and intelligence behind you, you just need the goodwill of the Police Chiefs, Generals, Commanders, Admirals and Field Marshalls and it is done. Where would the opposition come from? People on the ground, sure, but the gun lobby mob will mostly be MAGA supporters. Support will come from Bonsaro Brazil's right wing president, Alexander Johnson? hmmm, the UK is hardly a major world power these days. NATO? Maybe. China, certainly. Russia, hmmm....?

 

[The Don]

There have been several claims there is a coup d'état underway, ever since Mike Pompeo made his ridiculous comment that Trump second administration was underway. It seems unlikely to most that this could succeed. Bu could it?

wiki

You wouldn't need the entire armed forces and intelligence behind you, you just need the goodwill of the Police Chiefs, Generals, Commanders, Admirals and Field Marshalls and it is done. Where would the opposition come from? People on the ground, sure, but the gun lobby mob will mostly be MAGA supporters. Support will come from Bonsaro Brazil's right wing president, Alexander Johnson? hmmm, the UK is hardly a major world power these days. NATO? Maybe. China, certainly. Russia, hmmm....?

IMO it depends on the process that gets you there.

If the election result is ratified and Joe Biden is declared President but President Trump and his administration fail to vacate the White House, then I don't see that being effective.

OTOH if there are actions like SCOTUS ruling, faithless electors overturning the election result or Republican representatives refusing to ratify the election result then that could be effective because there would be a (quasi) legal basis for a second term.

edited to add......

...and it is the latter that almost the whole of the GOP is working towards.

Does anyone really think that Mitch McConnell would ratify an election result that would make Joe Biden President if there was any way at all not to do so ?

 

[Vixen]

IMO it depends on the process that gets you there.

If the election result is ratified and Joe Biden is declared President but President Trump and his administration fail to vacate the White House, then I don't see that being effective.

OTOH if there are actions like SCOTUS ruling, faithless electors overturning the election result or Republican representatives refusing to ratify the election result then that could be effective because there would be a (quasi) legal basis for a second term.

edited to add......

...and it is the latter that almost the whole of the GOP is working towards.

Does anyone really think that Mitch McConnell would ratify an election result that would make Joe Biden President if there was any way at all not to do so ?

Can the Supreme Court override the constitution? Its only jurisdiction is to uphold it and ensure it is adhered to. I know Trump hastily swore in his own choice despite protests from the Democrats to wait but would she go against her own legal training of impartiality...?

 

[Aridas]

Can the Supreme Court override the constitution? Its only jurisdiction is to uphold it and ensure it is adhered to.

If only it were that simple. At last check, much of the decision-making process depends on the Judges' personal goals, with the Constitution serving more as a backdrop that shapes what they have to work with when it comes to how easily they can push their goals.

I know Trump hastily swore in his own choice despite protests from the Democrats to wait but would she go against her own legal training of impartiality...?

*snerk*

It's certainly true that the Supreme Court will not necessarily rule in Trump's favor, but I would not consider the current set of Supreme Court judges to be especially "impartial" in any particularly meaningful sense.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Supporter Arrested For Requesting Absentee Ballot For Dead Mother
The president accuses Democrats of “voter fraud,” but one of his supporters became the first person in a Pennsylvania county charged with the crime in 30...
huffpost.com


Hey Dan, I have some evidence here. Can I have some reward money now?

 

[The Great Zaganza]

It's not a crime if Republicans do it.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Not sure if this was posted already, but here's some notes on Twitter's likely action on Jan 20.
Trump's world leader Twitter exemption ends Jan 20.

The official POTUS and related accounts will automatically transfer to President Biden and staff. That's really gonna burn The FPDJT.

It could be a security risk to have a former president Trump compulsively Tweeting about every foreign policy decision of the Biden administration, as I think his ego would always outweigh any obligation to protect national security. We're talking about a guy who, shortly after taking office, divulged classified intelligence to Russian officials the way a kid says to his friends, "wanna see something cool, I know where my dad hides his gun".

 

[Aridas]

It could be a security risk to have a former president Trump compulsively Tweeting about every foreign policy decision of the Biden administration, as I think his ego would always outweigh any obligation to protect national security. We're talking about a guy who, shortly after taking office, divulged classified intelligence to Russian officials the way a kid says to his friends, "wanna see something cool, I know where my dad hides his gun".

On the silver lining to that - Trump fairly certainly could be prosecuted for any classified information that he shared, when he didn't have the authority to declassify information and a group of people working hard to cover up how he wasn't doing so under the relevant rules.

 

[Foster Zygote]

Dan Patrick the Lieutenant Governor of Texas says he will pay up to $1 million reward to people that come forward and report voter fraud.

https://www.danpatrick.org/patrick-...ards-for-voter-fraud-whistleblowers-tipsters/

"Up to" usually means "a hell of a lot less".

 

[Vixen]

"Up to" usually means "a hell of a lot less".

Note:

Anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and final conviction of voter fraud will be paid a minimum of $25,000.

Bah!

 

[varwoche]

I didn't proclaim him to have good intentions. Seriously, has everyone lost the plot so completely? This is absurd.

For some critical thinking practice:

A: Marvin is a rapist!
B: Marvin is aggressive and a bit of a misogynist, but I don't think he's a rapist.
A: Rape supporter! Marvin Fanatic! You're proclaiming Marvin's good intentions!

A: Julie wants to set the building on fire!
B: Julie talks a lot of ****, and she is an abrasive bitch, but I don't believe she actually wants to set the building on fire.
A: Arson evangelist! Julie sycophant! You're proclaiming Julie's good intentions!

Let's backtrack a few years for a discussion that actually occurred...

A: OMG, I'm terrified that Trump is going to push the reed button and start WW3!
Me: I really don't think that's likely to happen. Trump is a blowhard and a braggart and an embarrassing person to have in charge, but I don't think he will actually go that far.
A: You're a Trumpkin!
Me: No, I'm not. I just think you're way overreacting and getting wound up about something that is extraordinarily unlikely to occur. Trump sucks, but he's not, you know, the actual devil.
A: See - that's proof that you secretly love Trump!

At what point among "skeptics" did it become acceptable to assume that failure to emotionally condemn and attack a target due to baseless assumptions and fearmongering somehow get magically transmuted into support for that target? It's completely irrational.

FFS, next you'll be telling me that my failure to jump into one of the bigfoot threads and call people names means that I secretly believe in bigfoot!

Funny(?) you bring up examples that are so far afield, so hyperbolic. Meanwhile you ignore the specific list of dictator/thug stuff that I itemized. You know, those pesky facts that fly in the face of your apologetics. Here again, in the hope you will take it in...

• He is actively attempting to steal the election
• He had his goons attack peaceful protesters (for a photo op)
• He uses the arms of government as re-election minions
• He encouraged armed whack jobs to commit political violence
• He supported the whack jobs who plotted to take Gov. Whitmer to trial in the woods
• He encouraged violence against the media
• He didn't blink when Saudi thugs offed a US journalist
• He threatened a whistle blower with death
• He asks for political opponents to be jailed
• He openly expresses admiration for dictators

I also hope for a pony.

 

[pgwenthold]

Dan Patrick the Lieutenant Governor of Texas says he will pay up to $1 million reward to people that come forward and report voter fraud.

https://www.danpatrick.org/patrick-...ards-for-voter-fraud-whistleblowers-tipsters/

For the folks who claim it is obvious that the election is mired by extensive fraud, they are really working hard to find any.

I am going to call, though, and report my mom.

It's absolutely a case of voter fraud. I could use the money.

 

[jrhowell]

On the silver lining to that - Trump fairly certainly could be prosecuted for any classified information that he shared, when he didn't have the authority to declassify information and a group of people working hard to cover up how he wasn't doing so under the relevant rules.

What a great way to spread disinformation to America's enemies -- just tell Trump what you want them to know.

 

[eerok]

He did go to Wharton. He attended the Wharton School which is part of the U of Pennsylvania where he received an undergraduate degree in economics. What he likes people to infer... and often implies... is that he earned the much more prestigious Wharton MBA Business degree.

Yes, that's what I meant.

 

[Vixen]

For the folks who claim it is obvious that the election is mired by extensive fraud, they are really working hard to find any.

I am going to call, though, and report my mom.

It's absolutely a case of voter fraud. I could use the money.

Not enough. You have to testify and secure a conviction in court.

 

[Vixen]

There may need to be a new thread: Trump's Coup d'état.

Anthony Tata – a retired army brigadier general, novelist and Fox News commentator who called Barack Obama a “terrorist leader” – has taken control of the Pentagon’s policy department, following the resignation of the acting undersecretary of defence for policy, James Anderson.

Tata had been unable to win Senate confirmation after old tweets surfaced in which he expressed virulent Islamophobic views.

Meanwhile, Kash Patel – a former Republican congressional aide who played a lead role in a campaign to discredit the investigation into Russian election meddling – has been made chief of staff to the new defence secretary, Chris Miller.

The undersecretary of defence for intelligence, Vice Admiral Joseph Kernan, a retired navy Seal, was also reported to have resigned on Tuesday, and was replaced by Ezra Cohen-Watnick, a former aide to Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser who pleaded guilty to perjury.

<snip> Democrats raised the alarm over the wave of staff changes at the Pentagon.

“It is hard to overstate just how dangerous high-level turnover at the department of defence is during a period of presidential transition,” wrote Adam Smith, the chairman of the House armed services committee, adding that the development “should alarm all Americans”.

“If this is the beginning of a trend – the president either firing or forcing out national security professionals in order to replace them with people perceived as more loyal to him – then the next 70 days will be precarious at best and downright dangerous at worst.”

So Espers' resignation/termination and replacement was unprecedented insofar it was done during the transition period and the fact of Biden's office being denied transition handover protocols. together with Pompeo declaring Trump's 'second administration' and 'extremists' [GUARDIAN] being set up in key positions could be an indicator of the shape of things to come...?


So now Midnight Cowboy Jon Voight has joined in saying Trump supporters should fight as though it was their last fight to keep him in.

The long-standing rifts and conflicts about to come to a head?

 

[Foster Zygote]

Note:




Bah!

It's like the fine print in a mailer from a local car dealership.

"A set of steak knives??? You promised me a brand-new Corvette!!!"

"Sir, read the fine print."

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Another possibility: Trump's moles are there to destroy evidence of Trump's treasonous behavior.