People can rationalize anything.

The ones actually doing this shit can tell themselves that this is just how the game is played, that they are doing it for the right reasons, that it’s not wrong to seek a political advantage, that they earned the right to do this when they won an election, and so on. It’s bullshit, but they aren’t starting this particular conversation as idealistic believers in democracy and the rule of law. You only get to this point by either not giving a shit about democratic principles to begin with, or by accepting smaller lies along the way until you are living in fantasy world of your own making.

For their supporters, it’s a lot easier. They’re all soaking in propaganda and have an entire media ecosystem that’s designed to make them feel justified in anything they support and outraged by anything they oppose. Escaping that trap means questioning things they have already accepted, seriously reconsidering ideas that they know to be abhorrent, actively seeking out sources they have long since dismissed as untrustworthy, and potentially facing the stark realization that the worldview they have cultivated is dishonest and destructive. It’s possible for people to see the disconnect between what they claim to stand for and what they actually support, but for that to work they have to actually be principled enough to put those ideals ahead of loyalty to their side and what they perceive to be their own interests. And they need to have the perspective to see the contradiction in the first place, which is tricky when all your info is coming from sources that only tell you how right you are.

It takes a lot of work to get out of that intellectual rut and ask yourself “are we the baddies?” Much easier stay where you are and be angry at all those assholes that constantly lie and cheat because they hate everything you believe in.

Off the streets and into the Whitehouse.

Unless I’m mistaken, they would need to win every senate race, even the safest seats in the deepest of red states. Anything less than a clean sweep would mean that some number of Republicans in the senate would have to join them to get to the 2/3 majority needed to convict.

That said, if they were to get such a huge landslide in the midterms that they came anywhere near a 2/3 majority, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few Republicans decide that maybe the Trump administration isn’t something they want to be handcuffed to. Still highly unlikely, but less implausible than a clean sweep.

Throughout the speech Tuberville mentioned that “radical Islamic extremists” were a threat to America and even stated that these extremists “want every single freedom loving American dead, bottom line

So, clearly not a threat to him then?

The headline is underselling it. The settlements were part of the deal. They were literally bought off.

When covid first spread worldwide, I had hoped that it would ultimately save lives in the long run by teaching us important lessons and forcing us to take actions that would leave us better prepared for a much deadlier pandemic in the future. It never occurred to me that a significant portion of the population would look at humanity and medical science struggling against a disease and choose to side with the disease. But unfortunately, that’s the stupid fucking world we live in.

So instead of coming out of the pandemic in a state of readiness for any future threats, we’ve seen a concerted effort to dismantle our public health systems and eliminate anything that would help us respond to the next threat. And that was before we made wormbrain the secretary of health.

Thanks to the political influence of the Nurgle evangelists, we are absolutely fucked when the next pandemic rolls around.

At this point, there is no position so indefensible and abhorrent that I would bet against the Supreme Court ruling in favor of it.

Not to mention that the bullshit in AI videos made by the left would absolutely get called out in every propaganda outfit on the right. It would just give them more ammo (without the usual lies).

But even more important, it will grant legitimacy to everyone who responds to damning video evidence by claiming it was AI. We don’t need to make shit up, the reality is already horrifying. All AI will do is make it harder for people to believe their own eyes.

We need to have criminal charges for this shit and throw the assholes responsible in prison. And not the minimum security bullshit either, they need to get the same punishment that the rest of us would get if we stole that much from them.

Do that, and seize the money, and hit them with fines, and make them pay for the cost of their prosecution if they are convicted. Then we might start taking the legal risks a bit more seriously.

IIRC, a contempt charge has to be voted on (not happening) and if it passes it is then referred to the US attorney’s office for them to pursue. And since that office is currently held by a Fox News host whose only qualifications are loyalty to Trump and a total lack of ethics, that case wouldn’t go anywhere.

Assuming the 23% and the 28% aren’t overlapping, that makes 51% that think a shut down is woth it if it gets their side what they want.

Artificial Imagination

So if your character is from Alabama it could still work then.

The more we communicate in memes and pop culture references, the closer we get to going full Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

The building was on fire, and it wasn’t my fault.

Blood Rites, book 6 of The Dresden Files

Given that it doesn’t meet the legal requirements for currency but they would be passing it off as real money, it sounds more like counterfeiting to me. One more charge to add to the list.

That actually involves being slightly helpful. This is just security guard stuff. Paul Blart would be overqualified for this.

Yet another member of the administration with the Innsmouth look.

The only reason it hasn’t happened yet is because the people who would have to support it would prefer to hide behind an erratic Trump who is prone to manipulation. His cabinet can get what they want and let Trump take any heat from the consequences. And congress sure as fuck doesn’t want to be seen as betraying Trump, nor do I expect many of them want to see a president Vance, especially in the lead up to the 28 primaries.

They won’t give a fuck about the law as long as they keep getting away with violating it. But we should never stop calling them out on their criminal behavior, both because it’s important for others to see that these are criminals, and because we need to document their crimes so that they can be held accountable some day. Accepting corruption as normal only helps the corrupt.