The whole Greenland thing has nothing to do with Donald Trump’s claimed ‘national security needs,’ since a healthy NATO is exactly what thwarts Russia. And wrecking NATO is Putin’s dream. It also has nothing to do with ‘rare earths’. (Norway has more and far more easily accessed.) Just like Venezuela had almost nothing to do with ‘oil,’ there are other explanations.
Is “Greenland!!” possibly a ploy to divert attention? Sure, from Epstein… but also aiming attention to the far-north, when the next manic strike by imperial confederatism will actually be southward? And much closer to Trump’s Florida estate.
Indeed, what the neo-confederate GOP masters may have in mind is something almost identical to a slave-state ambition way back in the 1850s! And an obsession for mafiosi since 1959.
Keep your eye on Cuba.
== But let’s get back to Greenland! ==
Hm, maybe. But it’s my job to speculate outside normal narratives. So, Iet’s ask… does the Greenland Thing go deeper than just wrecking NATO for Vlad? And Trump wanting to be remembered for some grandiose, map-grabby-grabby?
After all, why should a solipsist care how others remember him, after he is gone?
Or else… will he be ‘gone?’
Remember that his White House is infested with tech-weirdos, from his VP (Peter Thiel’s hand puppet) to jibbering, would-be Machiavellis like Mencius Moldbug and Stephen Miller, to whoever Elon planted in the staff. And one thing that’s guaranteed to have been broached to the Don is… cryonics.
== The ultimate self-pardon and escape plan! ==
Cryonics? We’re talking about body-freezing after death (or nowadays just the head, unless you pay way-extra), with the aim of being revived – or upload-downloaded into a fresh young body – in some future era.
Can you honestly tell me that you doubt Trump would leap at signing a contract, once they tell him about it?
But… how to ensure that revival? Why will future-folks, in that 23rd Century, scientifically-advanced era, go to the effort of repairing all your cells and giving you a great young bod, even if they have the tools and means?
One thing is certain. They won’t do it in fondly-recollected gratitude for goodness or beneficence; not in this case! Those aren’t Trump’s calls to fame.
Most current cryonics customers are at least somewhat rich. I know some who have assured me (perhaps a little frantically) that their investment accounts – funds carefully not bequested to living heirs – will more than pay for revival, someday! A way for rich guys to “take it with me!” Maybe this explains why Trump needs to ‘acquire’ more and more and more wealth by any means, no matter how filthy… in order to make that mountainous bribe convincing enough to cross centuries!
As if future folk could not simply shrug and say “that’s not how we roll here, great-grampa! We’re adjusting the ledgers, now, and applying that capital to something useful.”
Trying to prevent that -- and force a stable, money-based standard of revival -- may be among the top reasons why Trump… along with some of the other New Lords and Olde Families… are engaging in their current worldwide putsch! A full-court press to end the Enlightenment Experiment and re-establish dismal feudalism. Because a feudal society can ensure the continuity and power of inherited or self-bequeathed wealth. In fact, that’s why feudalism dominated for 6000 years, on five continents!
But then, instead of mere lucre, let’s go back to fame! Trump’s passion - for all his life - would naturally extend into purported afterlife!
“They’re sure to revive someone who was as interesting as me! Or who had such great ratings!”
Fame has always been called a version of immortality, right? And can anyone doubt that the same theme pounds through every fiber of Trump’s being?
And what better way to ensure epic fame than doubling (Tripling? Mercator sextupling?) the size of the United States?
== A modest proposal ==
Which brings us to a weird suggestion. (Weird? From me? Never!) And mind you, I am not actually doing this thing that I’m about to discuss, only speculating about it, as if in a sci fi story. Indeed, I might write it, with all the names changed!
Still, it’s a transactional offer that seems straight off the pages of The Art of the Deal. One that might compel something that we want… without violating any current law, whatsoever. And if I’m right about this motive – consistent with the techie-incel brats who now infest the White House – then it goes straight to the core of Donald Trump’s greatest wish and goal.
“Dear Mister T, have we got a deal for you.
“First, if the core supposition of this missive is wrong, then all of what follows is just moot speculation, worthy of a sci-fi flick.
“But given the nature of the men who have been planted around you, it’s a pretty good guess that you have by now been persuaded to make arrangements. For your cadaver – after death – to be cryonically stored, which is by law merely a process for disposing of human remains, like burial or cremation.
“To be perfectly clear – none of us intend in any way to hasten that demise! Indeed, we vow to prevent or delay it, if ever any of us find ourselves in a position to influence such matters.
“But let’s assume that an end to this life/incarnation does come (it happens to us all) and that – clutching both a death certificate and a cryonics contract – your body commences a voyage of chilled storage and delayed delivery to some future time.
“In that case, it is inevitable that we or others will discover the facts about that body-disposal arrangement. And hence, we now propose a deal! A non-disclosure agreement or NDA (your favorite kind of agreement), under which we’ll refrain from openly revealing the location of your remains, or in any way acting on that knowledge, providing only that the following terms have been fulfilled –
“-- that you have resigned from the office of U.S. president by May 2026… and that you take JD Vance with you. And that whatever foundation or trust you set up, to pay for eventual revival, shall preserve capital for that purpose (what remains after lawsuit settlements), but use the interest in service of what future generations will assess to be good causes.
“Again, this is not, in any way, shape or form, a threat to you, as a living human being. Indeed, each of us vows to protect your life and health from harm, if ever any such power presents itself. We are assuming that neither foul play nor self-harm - nor some crazy 'early freezing' - were involved. We expect that you intend to eke out every minute of this life that your health and modern medicine can provide, as do nearly all of us. The topic here is only what happens after 'natural causes.' And whether you intend - as thousands do - for your remains to be entrusted to specialists who have made promises.
“Furthermore, we are assured that revealing the location and condition of a corpse is routinely done in a vast majority of burials and/or cremations today. There is no rational reason that yours – perhaps in a secure and guarded refrigeration crypt – should not be a matter of public record and/or historical/archaeological or even medical interest. Some folks may even visit yours as a shrine! Whatever others decide to do with the information is not something we care to even imagine. But if your intention is to keep the actual location secret – even (or especially) from your still-living heirs - then our offer stands. With plenty of time and incentives and out of sheer curiosity, we’ll find it. At which point, the NDA will kick in!
“That’s it. A mutually beneficial deal, taken from your book and your business dealings and personal practices. And we who are involved in offering you this deal will feel honor-bound to keep it. And you know that many people do believe in honor. Even if you never did. And we promise to urge others to keep the same deal. Assuming that you keep your side of the bargain.
“And now we’re done… except to remind you that crushing the dreams of a vast majority of human beings on this planet may not be the best way to ensure a safe and successful arrival at your desired, promised land of personal immortality.”
== Take the deal, Don ==
Is this entire scenario likely?
I could not possibly venture what the betting odds might be. Only that it is entirely consistent with the openly-stated thinking of the worm-tongues who now surround an impressionable old dementian. And we’re doing him a favor by getting him to reconsider and reexamine the ice-cold-voyage scenario that those Trump-whisperers have been offering him.
There are implications that Moldbug (Yarvin) or Miller or Vance won’t have mentioned. And maybe Donald Trump ought to ponder them.* And consider perhaps sacrificing a little near-term power in exchange for future immortality. And then – through his early absence – allowing us to resume scientific and social progress that are prerequisites for the kind of future on which his plans depend.
=======
======================= side addenda ============
Well, well. What I posted just before this may be just fantasy from an over-eager imagination... based on knowing some cryonics customers personally. And they range from pro-enlightenment decents all the way to ingrate ‘neo-feudalists’who infest this administration and their loony zillionaire ‘accelerationist prepper‘ backers.
Across that broad spectrum are those who want jus tone thing - to cheat death. Is that too much to ask?
Immortalists, whom I have discussed elsewhere, seek ways to evade nature’s programmed final demise. So let me repeat an important point: some of these fellows - nearly all male - are actually fine guys and not involved in the prepper-feudalist thing at all! They invest in lifespan extension companies and research that might benefit us all. They blog to share the latest advice for healthy living. Some of them are still friends. And I have never - in this article or elsewhere - dissed them for having cryonics contracts! Indeed, this essay is not about whether Donald Trump shouldarrange for freezing after death. By all means, as they say, knock yerself out! This posting is only about knowledge of it, if true. Whether everyone should know if ex-Don is stored… and where.
But there’s something else.
Whether or not there’s a cryonics angle to Donald Trump, I would also offer wager stakes that he’s one of the rich dudes who is buying young blood.
It’s a cult notion that’s based on mouse experiments -- they suppose that transfusions from young healthy human donors will re-set their physical clocks and give them more, vigorous lifespan. (I’m a skeptic; for reasons I discuss here, NO mouse experiments apply very much to humans when it comes to lifespan; bet me on that. Still, there are reports of marginally positive effects.)
Yes, it’s creepy to contemplate, calling to mind the “organlegger” scenarios in Larry Niven’s magnificent early novels. And there’s nothing at present immoral or illegal about it! The young folks are presumably well-paid and can replace the pint they sell within a month. As I do, each time I donate. (I just gave the blood bank pint #108.)
Hey, no coercion, no foul. Though it’s easy to imagine the fetish getting out of hand! In a neo-feudal future.
Anyway, one can well envision why they want to keep it secret, whether or not the purchases and transfusions are legal and completely ethical, mutually beneficial business deals. I can’t blame these fellows for not wanting the lurid (and for now, unfair) “vampire!” accusation.
Is there any way all of this can be exposed for public scrutiny and discussion?
Well, consider how I just bragged over my record of over a hundred blood donations. It prompted me to ask a question that maybe no one asked before: “What do the rich blood-suckers… I mean fair and karma-free blood-buyers… do with the OLD blood that they need to drain from their bods, in order to make room for the good, new stuff?”
I’ll refrain from spelling it out. For now… just think about it. I’ve already given you clues and it opens a wide trail for some Sherlock, or Hercule, or Ms. Marple.
But let me add one more. The BRUISING on Trump’s hands? The cankles? It’s been theorized they come from needle/injection sites. For drugs? Sure. But none of that is inconsistent with desperate-measure transfusions. Though… no… the CLUE that I offered, to answer the paragraph before this one does not apply to Donald Trump… and never will. And that, too, is a clue.
=======
*Or the South Park guys.
241 comments:
1 – 200 of 241 Newer› Newest»Last time I asked the regulars here if this title works for my AI book.
AiLIEN MINDS
or
AILIEN MINDS with the initial AI in red?
I like it.
With a subtitle maybe... "R(ai)sing our newest children"
Re: Fearless Leader agreeing to be put on ice ahead of schedule, odds hover around 0.1%. No matter what future enticements are promised to him, he judges the entire world by his own trustworthiness, and if HE were promising future immortality - that person's warming corpse would be inhabiting the bottom of a Trump golf course water hazard within hours of the freezing process, well weighted down.
Pappenheimer
I never said 'ahead of schedule!' That would make me contemplating murder or suicide and I explicitly rejected any such thought.
But I have added the following para to make that clear:
“Again, this is not, in any way, shape or form, a threat to you, as a living human being. Indeed, each of us vows to protect your life and health from harm, if ever any such power presents itself. We are assuming that neither foul play nor self-harm nor some crazy 'early freezing' were involved. We expect that you intend to eke out every minute of this life that your health and modern medicine can provide, as do nearly all of us. The topic here is only what happens after 'natural causes.'
I believe a much more likely occurence is that the Orange one will kick the bucket and it will be concealed
An animatronic puppet will be built that will continue to be the puppet president
If Donald starts being more coherent - less rambling - then it may have happened
There is a good chance that he has already had a stroke sometime this year. His behaviour fits that. I'd guess a better than even chance but not by much.
Well,
Often I say something only when I notice that prevailing opinion around here is leaving out some valid arguments, which is why I often get perceived as a lefty on rw sites, and a raving conservative on me sites.
But man, I can't even come up with an alternative perspective for trying to bully Denmark into selling us Greenland. Its simply nuts.
One, it makes NATO think we're a bigger threat than Putin.
Two, We already effectively control it due to having a.big base there. It's not as if 50k or so locals could stop our military there if there was some strategic need to stop China or Russia.
Three, if Russian hypersonic missiles mean we need more extensive warning systems, wouldn't all of NATO want something like that? So just propose it to our r80-year allies.
Four, if its about exploiting natural resources now becoming accessible with global warming, uhh see three above. Pretty !such all of Europe would want that. Seems to me we can come to some kind of mutually beneficial development agreement that involves firms in all of NATO. Its a found money situation so that the parties should be agreeable.
Five, if four is the big rationale, uh huh how does that square with calling global warming a hoax?
Six, the only thing that makes sense is Trump wants The Great posthumously attached to his name and be recognized as the First Emperor of. the American Empire. At the very least he wants to be seen as a transformative President that expanded the US a la Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase.
What the Hell? Is this coming from Stephen Miller, or some oligarchs who aspire to become the worlds first Trillionaire through controlling vast swaths of new natural resources?
I'm sorry John, I've read your post twice, and I don't get it. What is your point.
Maybe he just wants to be buried in the ice sheet. He always was a cheapskate and a bit of a luddite.
@ Larry:
I hope you don't mind if I ask a somewhat personal question. If you choose not to answer, I won't ask again.
I wrote comments two or three times, but did not get published. I share my initials with you, L.H. and the city I'd name is Oldenburg, Lower Saxony, Germany.
Maybe we should give Greenland to Trump and all of MAGA.
As a penal colony.
Good idea. Especially the latter.
With Greenland on the front page, nobody is talking about the Epstein Files now are they?
Uhhh...my point is that Trump attempting to intimidate Denmark into selling Greenland to thr USA makes no sense. His asserted reasons don't make sense.
BTW, some time ago I made a post about "low level fascism," which I said has grown over the last 30 years by the tactics police use in citizen encounters to get around constitutional rights.
Well, ICE tactics in Minnesota are amped up to no pretense of respecting ANY restriction. They're using pure force and demanding total compliance to any whim.
Police have been trained to issue demands phrased as questions, hoping to intimidate citizens to "give permission" for searches and trick and lie to suspects to get confessions. ICE agents are smashing through windows and dragging people out of cars for no apparent reason.
One video showed ICE agents smashing through the window of a guy with his hands on his steering wheel, while offering no signs of apparent belligerence. Of course, you can do a lot by showing truncated clips of an incident, but some of these explanations just don't wash.
When I wrote that post not long ago, little did I image wed see such immediate evidence how that "low level" fascism can explode into full on federal officers run amok.
"I share my initials with you, L.H."
"How much longer can I go on being an atheist?"
"An animatronic puppet will be built that will continue to be the puppet president"
Given Elon Musk's obsession with humanoid robots, I've speculated that this is already happening. That the necrotic carcass is being animated cybernetically.
Like any good story, it explains a lot.
...As a penal colony.
I've thought the same about Mars. But Greenland might be easier.
It seems like Trump's had his TACO moment over Greenland?
In announcing his (illegal) tarrifs vs the European countries that sent troops to Greenland, Trump had this to say:
“Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland have journeyed to Greenland, for purposes unknown. This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet,”
So it sounds like someone in the JCS sitting Trump down, and pointing out that there's a stick of SAS in Greenland now, so any plan for a bloodless takeover of Greenland relies on them not being stubborn. And there's a squad or two of German troops there, so any plan for a bloodless takeover relies on them not following orders to defend the place.
Now there have been historical occasions when British troops were not stubborn, and there have been historical occasions when German troops didn't follow orders, but man that's a bad bet.
I then and now mention things being slippery slopes. Like, torture and extrajudicial killings of islamist terrorists.
c plus quoting DJT:
"This is a very dangerous situation for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Planet,”
Me quoting Batman villain The Minstrel:
"So what? Who cares? It's their world!"
The German contingent has been ordered back, officially because the bad weather prohibited a further exploration. They were brass evaluating the situation and showing support.
Technically, we have a brigade of rapidly deployable soldiers ("Gebirgsjäger/Mountain Rangers") trained for operations in that climate.
That said, I believe it mostly was to make a political point Instead of a "Recon Mission"it was declared at.
Currently, news are that economic counter-sanctions are discussed.
BTW, the Dog sleds Trump uses to mention in a deragoratory way:
Yes, they have them. They are loaded with a rifle capable of killing polar bears at a distance and explosives.
Denmarks current King served with them.
And ICE might have a bit of difficulties filtering out Danes inserted into the US by racial profiling alone. Just saying.
AILIEN MINDS in the continuing American Civil War would necessitate the use of the term Antebellum Cerebellum AC/DC Quorum.
Rum tum diddly rum tid dee eye tie, in all respect.
https://www.threads.com/@briantylercohen/post/DTntPbzEXUm
More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland.
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
Take Illinois too, please.
How about a third option for your new book title?
"Alien Minds", paired with colored & capitalized "A" and "I" so those letters pop off the cover, as in "Alien MInds.
I still think that you have Trump all backwards, as he is an absolute master of Reverse Psychology, starting with his 2016 dismissal of NATO (which dramatically INCREASED Europe's pro-NATO commitment), his attempted Ukrainian peace deal (which made Russia's NATO trading partners declare Russia an 'existential threat' & offer up 'boots on the ground' there), his unpopular demand for the release of the Epstein files (which suddenly became a Democrat imperative after Trump dismissed them as 'a nothing') and his recent Greenland takeover proposal (which prompted our hands-off NATO allies to actually show some interest in defending it for a change).
Trump even drove some of his opponents to overdose-related suicide, simply by suggesting that Tylenol may be bad for them.
It's said that notorious conman Bernie Madoff also mastered this same technique as he frequently refused to take his mark's money until his otherwise street-smart investors BEGGED him to do so.
I mean, really, is there anything our Conman-in-Chief can't force his opponents to do for him by just suggesting (or saying) that he is against it?
Best
There is already puppet-in-waiting (courtesy of Peter Thiel, who may be watching as we speak. Hi Peter.)
Alfred Differ, late in previous comments:
"I have. I'm not a big fan of 70's science fiction movies."
You might give Soylent Green another try, specifically in light of current events. I wasn't that fond of it when I saw in in theaters in the 70s, but ever since the first Trump term, it's resonated more with me.
"As for your non-violence POV..."
Well, if I were built like the Game of Thrones guy called The Mountain, I would choose violence. Given the physical reality of the situation, I have to be more Dinsdale Piranha instead and use sarcasm, irony, and pathos.
"Its simply nuts." Might BE the answer. He is getting some kind of endorphin rush every time someone bends the knee. And he seems to have to constantly 'escalate' to get it again. Acquiring Greenland is not (by any sane measure) worth destroying all of our alliances and making us hated by the world. The reputation and safety of the US are not his concern. However, many Billionaires fear an "event". Climate change, massive immigration, pandemics, angry-lied-to poor people with pitchforks and torches. The value of Greenland property is going to go up -- and Trump builds resorts and hotels.
JV,
In rumpT regime 1.0, one of his supporters, Ron Lauder, sold him on acquiring Greenland:
"...Trump later told New York Times journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser in an interview for their book, The Divider, that he was enamored by the deal for the size of the island, and thought it was a great real estate deal that would secure his place in history."
Wikipedia
Ron Lauder is the Estee Lauder cosmetics nepo baby, served in Government under Reagan, and has large investments in...wait for it...real estate.
One of things not all of us may remember about the Louisiana Purchase is the huge amount of land speculation that occurred just before and right after it. Several fortunes were made and, iirc, lost. Does anyone here think that rumpT would not cut himself a real estate deal if Greenland changed hands by rifle or checkbook?
So, blame Mercator (for his projection), greed, and thirst for fame. To quote the old song, "I'm going to live forever, people will see me and die." The questions are, who is bidding on rumpT's tomb? Will it have his face on it? I remember an architect pitching Alexander on carving an entire mountain into the Great One seated on a throne, with a city in the valley of his lap*.
Geopolitics is done. As several writers have noted, it's all Game of Thrones now, personal and dynastic interests.
*Al was tickled, but being raised in hilly Macedon, asked how much farmland was in the area. There wasn't enough arable ground to feed a city, so he declined.
Pappenheimer
Addendum:
Squaring climate change denial with accessing minerals uncovered by that selfsame climate change is trivial. It depends on what must believe at the moment in order to get loot, and it's possible insist that all climate change is natural while doing so.
After all, humans are a part of nature.
Pappenheimer
There is another solution for Trumps irrational desire to conquer Greenland: He is an alleged multiple rapist.
He desires to humiliate and degrade people and nations, his own and others, and especially those who defined him.
He wants to rape the world.
Danes have experience defending Greenland! See how a couple of dog-sled crews attacked a Nazi incursion on the icy east coast, forcing them to evacuate. (11:30 into the video.) In fact, I realize something now. The Germans evacuated the incursion on June 3 1944. Which means they ceased sending weather reports home by 4 days before the D-Day Normandy landings, which succeeded in part due to the allies' better weather information!
So, a few dogsledding Danes helped to free Europe from an earlier version of Trumpism, even while their home nation was under cruel occupation by said MAGA precursors. And next time those fogsled guerillas will have drones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufig2ip-_PI
Didn't I just say all that in the main post?
Would be an interesting and well-parsed speculation... if any of it were even remotely true. But good tale about Madoff.
Have been listening in on the discussions of what do to with the cadaver politic in the US, but it's been moving a little quickly for me to throw in my tuppence.*
Book title, though. I appreciate the (near obligatory) riff on 'AI', but have a problem with the 'alien' reference. They may be different from us, but these models are still products of ourselves, rather than of the 'other'. An alternative suggestion I have is 'Children of the Id', which covers one of David's long held opinions about how best to train a sane AI, as well as hinting at the cautionary tale provided by the Krell of 'Forbidden Planet'. (There's your 'ailiens'. Speaking of which, where's my TASAT link...?)
Re: Cuba. European diplomats are well versed in acts of political legerdemain. I wouldn't be surprised if something like this hasn't already occurred to them (I would go with Panama, myself). However, Trump has the tact of a Coronal Mass Ejection, so it doesn't surprise me that a trans-Atlantic airlift is now underway. I can only hope you're right, and that no US general will obey Trump if he gives the order to invade. Even more hopefully, that Congress gets its act together to make sure that no such order can be given unilaterally. (Even *more* hopefully, that it will finally happen... but no. Some things will do so in their own time.)
Minnesotans make it clear that the US *will* get through this era of Caligulan insanity, but it still has to be gotten through, and a few more pieces of china are going to be broken in the process.
* Given that the theme of the proposals was 'first aid stuff' that could stabilise things while deeper policies were decided on, I would add an act to shift election days to the weekend, when more people could get to polling stations. After all, what could possibly be more simple than a change in week day?
Well, well. What I posted above may be just fantasy from an over-eager imagination... based on knowing some cryonics customers personally. And they range from pro-enlightenment decents all the way to ingrate 'neo-feudalists' who infest this administration and their loony zillionaire 'accelerationist prepper' backers.
Across that broad spectrum are those who want jus tone thing - to cheat death. Is that too much to ask?
Immortalists, whom I have discussed elsewhere, seek ways to evade nature's programmed final demise. So let me repeat an important point: some of these fellows - nearly all male - are actually fine guys and not involved in the prepper-feudalist thing at all! They invest in lifespan extension companies and research that might benefit us all. They blog to share the latest advice for healthy living. Some of them are still friends. And I have never - in this article or elsewhere - dissed them for having cryonics contracts! Indeed, this essay is not about whether Donald Trump should arrange for freezing after death. By all means, as they say, knock yerself out! This posting is only about knowledge of it, if true. Whether everyone should know if ex-Don is stored… and where.
But there’s something else.
Whether or not there's a cryonics angle to Donald Trump, I would also offer wager stakes that he’s one of the rich dudes who is buying young blood.
It's a cult notion that’s based on mouse experiments -- they suppose that transfusions from young healthy human donors will re-set their physical clocks and give them more, vigorous lifespan. (I’m a skeptic; for reasons I discuss here, NO mouse experiments apply very much to humans when it comes to lifespan; bet me on that. Still, there are reports of marginally positive effects.)
Yes, it's creepy to contemplate, calling to mind the "organlegger" scenarios in Larry Niven's magnificent early novels. And there's nothing at present immoral or illegal about it! The young folks are presumably well-paid and can replace the pint they sell within a month. As I do, each time I donate. (I just gave the blood bank pint #108.)
Hey, no coercion, no foul. Though it's easy to imagine the fetish getting out of hand! In a neo-feudal future.
Anyway, one can well envision why they want to keep it secret, whether or not the purchases and transfusions are legal and completely ethical, mutually beneficial business deals. I can't blame these fellows for not wanting the lurid (and for now, unfair) "vampire!" accusation.
Is there any way all of this can be exposed for public scrutiny and discussion?
Well, consider how I just bragged over my record of over a hundred blood donations. It prompted me to ask a question that maybe no one asked before: “What do the rich blood-suckers… I mean fair and karma-free blood-buyers… do with the OLD blood that they need to drain from their bods, in order to make room for the good, new stuff?”
I’ll refrain from spelling it out. For now… just think about it. I’ve already given you clues and it opens a wide trail for some Sherlock, or Hercule, or Ms. Marple.
Previous comment: "I’ll refrain from spelling it out. For now… just think about it. I’ve already given you clues and it opens a wide trail for some Sherlock, or Hercule, or Ms. Marple."
But let me add one more. The BRUISING on Trump’s hands? The cankles? It’s been theorized they come from needle/injection sites. For drugs? Sure. But none of that is inconsistent with desperate-measure transfusions. Though… no… the CLUE that I I offered, to answer the paragraph before this one, does not apply to Donald Trump… and never will. And that, too, is a clue.
"The questions are, who is bidding on rumpT's tomb? Will it have his face on it? I remember an architect pitching Alexander on carving an entire mountain into the Great One seated on a throne, with a city in the valley of his lap*."
A couple design proposals have already been submitted
https://medium.com/extra-extra/trump-imposes-special-hygiene-protections-at-future-gravesite-539e1d598cf8
And then there's this proposal
Tony have you already read the section in my book in which I diagnose LLMs as creatures of id... lacking ego or superego
No, I haven't. Something about the discussion triggered memories of 'Forbidden Planet'.
I know you asked for some feedback volunteers a while back, but I didn't get round to responding.
Put aside your hatred of Trump for a moment and acknowledge that Trump, with all his negativity, bluster & bombast, has done more to strengthen NATO resolve & funding then any other post-coldwar US president:
Every NATO country is finally contributing its contractually obligated 3% to NATO; they're rebuilding their decimated militaries; they've weaned themselves off Russian gas, oil & coal; they've stopped selling contraband to both Iran & Russia; they've give security guarantees to Ukraine; they've united against Russia; they're seriously considering conscription; and they've even sent token military forces to a chronically undefended Greenland.
NATO is now demonstrably stronger & more resolute than it was in 2016, simply because Trump is a huge asshole, and this an undeniable end result.
NATO_is_stronger_because_Trump !!
Heinlein's "Methuselas Children" has young blood as the elixer of life - the Howards discontinued the experiment due to adverse effects on the donors - I think they put the old blood into the youths - the final solution was blood grown in laboratories
I like the AiLIEN MINDS - with the Ai in red
While thinking about Trump and "imortality" what about Epstein - is he really dead?
A mortician on youtube was looking at his autopsy photo and saying that he was alive when the picture was taken
Personally, I think we in California should counter-offer with a buy-out offer for Greenland AND Denmark*. We would adopt them as Californians in order to grow our numbers in the House. Much better than screwing around with congressional district boundaries. 8)
*Onion style of course. Offer issued by our Governor.
Okay. I'll give it another watch.
The Mountain intimidated the other aristos who were honor bound to fight him a particular way. You aren't in that class, so you'd show up with guns and fire.
I'm not openly advocating for it, but it is the little guy barbarian in the US who is the most dangerous. Not just the white guys with their trillion bullet ammo dumps either. You. Me. Any of us with a bit of education and a "f&ck this" attitude.
Land Speculation was the primary game of many of our Patriots too.
Lovely river land you have there. We are sending settlers.
There's a really good Atlantic article analyzing the effects of Trump's actions on the world order called America vs. the World. Given the conversations here lately I thought I would share a gift link for it (warning, it's depressing, but that's not really a spoiler):
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/03/trump-national-security-greenland-spheres-of-interest/685673/?gift=U96MwE-klL_WbnRFspASA9-cguZ8JmiASF1ZGc--Vn8&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
Just a quick remark since some people try to sanewash Trump:
"Making NATO stronger" is not an argument, since Trump tanks what is most important for any war effort - the economy. Also the retributive measures will do much damage to all economies in NATO members states.
Also see and hear Malcolm Nance on that matter: https://youtu.be/qYKpN5rib10?si=zX3iB_4sYEi_r0-n
Dr. Brin, 6:30 pm:
Oh, _*you.*_ Stop teasing us! What did our Struldbrugs do with their old blood? I am sure you have a super-scabrous skiffy scenario to dismay, disgust, and delight us. So don't hold back! Tell us what you really think!
Oh, you want me to guess? Okay, I'll play along:
* They pumped their decrepit old blood into their donor/victims, even though they're sure it causes progeria.
* They donated it to the blood bank, even though see previous sentence.
* They dumped it down the drain, into a creek that smells metallic to this very day.
* They put it in red paint, for their brothels.
* They put it in red ink. But is a contract still valid when the ink clots?
And my favorite...
* They put it in _*cat kibble.*_
Top that!
Well, I for one welcome out new Danish overlords.
https://www.newsweek.com/petition-denmark-buy-california-signed-thousands-11379999
Danish Petition To Buy California From Trump Signed by Thousands
A satirical petition calling on Denmark to “buy” California has surged past 200,000 signatures as an apparent response to the Trump administration’s renewed calls for the U.S. to acquire Greenland.
The campaign—hosted on Denmarkification.com—imagines a world where Denmark purchases America’s most populous state, rebrands it “New Denmark,” and even renames Disneyland as "Hans Christian Andersenland."
https://denmarkification.com/
Let’s Buy California from Trump – Denmark’s Next Big Adventure
Have you ever looked at a map and thought, "You know what Denmark needs? More sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates." Well, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality.
Let’s buy California from Donald Trump!
Yes, you heard that right.
California could be ours, and we need your help to make it happen.
And since the Danish flag is mostly Red we can have another remake of "Red Dawn" with Denmark occupying the USA with scrappy American guerrillas fighting against 3 months of paid vacation, extensive maternity leave, early retirement, compulsory pensions, free health care and free college.
Or instead of Red Dawn, a remake of "The Mouse that Roared" with Denmark instead of the Grand Duchy of Fenwick.
I would love to see America surrender to Denmark.
"The Mountain intimidated the other aristos who were honor bound to fight him a particular way."
I was picturing the later season in which The Mountain had been almost killed, but was saved by arcane means and became a kind of super-powered zombie, loyal to the queen.
In that season, an armed religious cult had gained power, basically the way Putin has, by being threatening violence against any opposition. When they showed up at the palace to re-arrest the queen (after promising not to), The Mountain was the one who stood in their way. When one of the zealots informs the queen that, if she doesn't submit, "there will be violence," she responds, "Ok. I choose violence." When the guy then charges The Mountain with a hatchet, he laughs it off and slaughters the whole bunch.
It is in that sense that I would "choose violence" if only I had Superman's powers.
"Lovely river land you have there. We are sending settlers."
I've mentioned before the Netflix series I'm watching called "Turn" subtitled "Washington's Spies", which takes place during the American Revolution.
Although the Patriots are the protagonists, and the audience is rooting for them, the series does a fair amount to show that they weren't all pure as the driven snow. Some of the British officers are portrayed sympathetically as well.
@Cari,
DJT is unwittingly playing the part of the alien squid in Watchmen, uniting the world against the common enemy.
But aside from 3 months of paid vacation, extensive maternity leave, early retirement, compulsory pensions, free health care and free college, what have the Danes ever done for us?
Denmark lost more soldiers per capita in Afghanistan than the US did.
How much resolve do you need?
locum says something true! Strike up the band! "Put aside your hatred of Trump for a moment and acknowledge that Trump, with all his negativity, bluster & bombast, has done more to strengthen NATO resolve & funding then any other post-coldwar US president."
Yes. And a world pandemic got us to invest far more in pandemic response systems! And Breszhnev's huge 80s war buildup got us re-arming after Vietnam! All sorts of stuff happens in response to horrifically bad news.
Though 98% of NATO buildup is a result of Russia's madness in Ukraine. Duh.
Of course the old blood would go to surgery patients and get unnoticed in the mix. As is MINE! The age cutoff went away and they want mine at age 75! Turns out saving someone from bleeding out is more important than some less-methylated DNA. GO figure!
But this reply of mine is a clue how to find which rich guys are doing the vampire thing.
It'd give a chance to spring him.
Very clever paradoctor. But the progeria effect is hugely overstated. Your #2 would be welcomed by blood banks which are always in short supply. Of course the old blood would go to surgery patients and get unnoticed in the mix. As is MINE! The age cutoff went away and they want mine at age 75! Turns out saving someone from bleeding out is more important than some less-methylated DNA. GO figure!
But this reply of mine is a clue how to find which rich guys are doing the vampire thing. It should be easy to find out which Rich Dudes also brag (as *I* do!!) about donating. And - as I said - THERE IS NOTHING KARMIC OR BAD (so far) about buying a pint every 3 months from some healthy twenty year old. Or ten of them. Nothing at all! So long as it stays like this. (It won't, if feudalism resturns. See JUPITER ASCENDING.)
Ask Californians what WE think! And we are thinking.
Asking the natives is outdated./s
By the way, what is never mentioned:
Greenlanders aren't "White people".
That must make a guy like Stephen Miller mad.
Greenlanders aren't "White people".
Neither were Americans. :)
Miller is probably thinking Vikings, or at least Scandinavians.
Fun Fact: 70% of US Insulin and 100% of US Ozempic are produced in Denmark.
Imagine cutting the US off these drugs.
And all LEGO.
Hey, Legoland is then miles from where I sit.
A Russian Government owned paper published a fawning article about Trump's attempt to conquer Greenland. The article targeted Trump's vanity and desire to be remembered. This is transparent attempt to manipulate Trump through flattery. There is no need to look for any blackmail hold over Trump. His ego is a much more effective one in his case.
Loved the new dos equis "most interesting man in the world ad on the college championship game (it's the same actor at age 87).
I also love the parody ads like the most boomer man
https://youtu.be/3f6OpqnMW00?si=lRoI6c9GWfrRHran
And the most greatest generation man
https://youtu.be/48PN_g8A_qo?si=Xkgc5p7XE4T-9iqf
utterly delusional that flattery alone can explain all this, or GOP complicity. Refusal to face the blatantly obvious is one of the mental illnesses on our side.
I was not talking about the rest of the Republicans. I was talking only of Trump and his relationship with the Russians, Putin especially. The role of blackmail in the behaviour of the rest of the Republicans is a separate issue.
Thanks Celt. Tell us when that ad actually runs? The others hit hard!
Legoland is [ten] miles from where I sit.
Ask for asylum.
At long last, he's back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhNWMHbltBY
Ask for asylum
Not a good idea under the new EU asylum rules. They could deport you to the nearest safe country. I believe they desgnated Colombia, in your case./s
Heh. I was on the receiving end of two transfusions at age 51 due to an attack by my own immune system that left my smaller capillaries (lots of those in the kidneys and lungs) looking like Swiss cheese. I was so anemic I couldn't think straight enough to realize the danger I was in. Two bags of blood (I don't care where they came from) and a whopping big dose of prednisone gave me time to generate my own red blood cells to keep up with how fast I was pissing them away.
Some donor out there (probably two) saved my life and it doesn't matter how old they were. I'm less perforated now and still making my own. I just needed a little boost to get to where I could.
Larry,
It is in that sense that I would "choose violence" if only I had Superman's powers.
Yah. I remember seeing some of that season. The opposition relied on people willing to die for a god. Their power derived from the imbalance caused by the fact that many of us are unwilling to go that far for much of anything. We all DO, though, if the right justification is found. Well... most do.
I don't imagine you as the fool charging with an axe. That's suicide even if it is divinely inspired. May I respectfully suggest range weapons? Buy a drone and rig it with a 'water balloon'*. It's damn cold where you live so you know the consequences of getting wet. If the opposing force has to retreat to avoid hypothermia, you've accomplished something with a tiny cost.**
* Wear gloves and prep it in a relatively clean room in case the drone is captured. Buy it with cash. Do the basic things they teach us in mystery stories for obscuring the evidential path back to you.
** If you decide to do more than water, just remember that you have to practice basic safety procedures. For example, streaming video should be encrypted and not easily tied to an account you own.
I use the "Broken Windows" metaphor. Some argue that the economy is made stronger due to the purchases that follow a 'broken window' event, but the numbers don't hold up if one accounts for opportunity costs. NATO isn't made stronger from Trump breaking windows. NATO is spending money addressing unnecessary issues Trump is creating while Russia provides plenty of necessary ones.
"I don't imagine you as the fool charging with an axe. That's suicide even if it is divinely inspired."
Well, if I were to choose violence, it would be because I was the guy who the axe didn't hurt. But that's more in Summer Daydream territory than reality.
"Buy a drone and rig it with a 'water balloon'*. It's damn cold where you live so you know the consequences of getting wet.
Hmmm. I like the idea in theory, but this week in Chicago or Minneapolis, a water balloon would quickly become a rock-hard ice ball, and would probably merit a lethal response. The forecast for this Friday would leave even a saturated salt solution in a frozen state.
https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2026/Items/Jan20-4.html
All of this said, boots-on-the-ground protest requires a lot of preparation and a lot of practice. It takes time to grow the movement. It takes time to what participants are willing and able to do. It takes time to figure out exactly what works, for your particular context, and what does not. It takes time to develop a vocabulary of protest. That is clearly happening in Minneapolis (see above), and it's happening nationally. Axios spoke to Dana Fisher, who works at American University and studies protest movements, about today's events. And Fisher said: "The vanguard in this are starting to think about how... one day, peaceful, legally permitted marches are not enough to push back. And they're starting to think through what types of tactics are ones that people are comfortable with and would be willing and open to participating in to expand the toolbox."
I think that is indeed happening.
PM Carney mentioned an "aphorism of Thucydides" today in Davos. Things are getting a bit 'FOUNDATIONal'. Sci-Fi is important.
BTW, Robert Sawyer is speaking* later this week at my local chapter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). Unfortunately, I can't make it and it won't be webcasted. Maybe YouTube later.
* New Life and New Civilizations: A Science Fiction Perspective on Exobiology
If any of you ever see validation of the DONUT battery tech, let us know. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-donut-labs-solid-state-battery-claim-faces-julian-renpenning-zhlce/
Yeah, you did. I came on here bc Greenland was simply irrational and wanted to talk about it, so I just went to the comments without even looking at your post.
LOL, turns out I independently agreed with you on almost every point....except I failed to extrapolate to attempted physical immortality (not that I think it's out of the question).
Your, less methylated DNA threw me for a bit of a loop bc metylation is one of the main ways DNA mutates.
That was until I remembered that, overall, young blood DOES have less methylation, but MORE methylation at particular sites subject to environmental exposure to various substances. So, in grad school we'd talk about increases in methylation changing DNA shape...which then changes the cell's ability to turn on or turn off specific sequences.
My reaction to the JWST's recent closeup shot of the Helix Nebula: "My god, it's full of stars!"*
* or nascent rogue planets, at least.
Hmm ... BBC leadership self-censored out the line "the most corrupt president in history" from a lecture on Moral courage ...
I'm not sure if I should post a link to the (excellent) lecture:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/bbc-reith-lectures-rutger-bregman-moral-revolution-9.7052937
Or this song: https://genius.com/Alanis-morissette-ironic-lyrics
I think that is indeed happening.
I know for a fact that it is.
As for ice balls, just make sure you aren't visible and don't make the drone return to you without a few detours.
Danish PM had no such problems (although he was censured)
Meanwhile, the Canadian PM Mark Carney tells the WEF how he sees it.
@ C plus: Thank you for sharing. Bregman nails it.
https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2026/Items/Jan21-3.html
Meanwhile, new CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil has been on the job for a few weeks, and he's surely got Cronkite spinning in his grave. He's toted the water on the Venezuela operation and ICE's actions in Minneapolis, and has been openly lobbying for an attack on Iran. He did a softball interview with Trump, and made sure to air every second of the piece, at risk of being sued by the President. And on his second night on air, Dokoupil closed with a lengthy homage to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, concluding with the declaration: "Marco Rubio, we salute you. You're the ultimate Florida man."
I'm not sure "ultimate Florida man" is the compliment he intended it to be.
Trump in Davos, TL; DW:
1) A meandering mess of lies and stupidity.
2) "Nice little country you have there. Too bad if something would happen to it."
Oh, come now. Even you have to admit that belligerently declaring "Without us right now you'd all be speaking German" in Switzerland was a lovely comedic moment.
But perhaps die Ironie entging ihm.
Not if the context is "naked Florida man attempts to rob Mcdonald's with live alligator"
Pappenheimer
Trump saying "Ich bin ein Berliner"* would be apt.
*iykyk
https://www.threads.com/@stonekettle
Emmanuel Macron addressing America: Without us back during the Revolutionary War, you'd all be speaking English!
Stupid, right? If he'd actually said that.
Meanwhile there's Trump actually addressing an audience in a country that speaks German: Without us, you'd all be speaking German!
It would be a pretty good SNL skit if he were actually doing it on purpose.
When JFK said it, he was actually saying he was a donut. The Germans were to polite to point this out to him.
https://latenighter.com/news/jimmy-kimmel-offers-trump-emmy-award-stop-ice-agents/
Jimmy Kimmel: "He [DJT] hasn't been able to get an insurrection for years. At this point, an insurrection might be the only way he can get an outsurection."
Comedy is the best medicine.
@Celt
When JFK said it, he was actually saying he was a donut. The Germans were to polite to point this out to him.
Yeah - I love that story too, though it seems to be not entirely true...
Per wikipedia (with a half dozen citations I've edited out)
There is a widespread false belief that Kennedy made a mistake by saying Ich bin ein Berliner. By including the indefinite article "ein," he supposedly changed the meaning of the sentence from the intended "I am a citizen of Berlin" to "I am a Berliner" (a Berliner being a type of German pastry, similar to a jam- or jelly-filled doughnut), amusing Germans throughout the city. However, this is incorrect from both a grammatical perspective and a historical perspective.
While the phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner" can be understood as having a double meaning, it is not incorrect to use it the way Kennedy did. The indefinite article "ein" can be omitted in German when speaking of an individual's profession or origin but is used in any case when speaking in a figurative sense. Furthermore, although the word "Berliner" is used for a doughnut filled with fruit jam or jelly in the north, west, and southwest of Germany, this use of the word is not traditional to the dialects of Berlin or the surrounding regions, where the usual word is "Pfannkuchen" (literally "pancake").
Von Schitzenpantz keeps floating trial balloons about the possibility of cancelling elections, either on account of civil unrest or just because he's so wonderful that there's no need for change. I'd like to see one reporter push back at KKKaroline Leavitt and ask what exactly would happen following the cancellation of an election--something that has never happened even during the Civil War and WWs I and II. Do they think the president and all of congress simply keep their seats? Because Constitutionally, all of those offices have set terms. If red states cancel their elections in 2026 and blue states don't, then we get a Republican Rapture in the House of Representatives. And if no president or VP is elected in 2028, then the [Democratic] speaker assumes the presidency in 2029.
Am I wrong?
@LH
Because Constitutionally, all of those offices have set terms. If red states cancel their elections in 2026 and blue states don't, then we get a Republican Rapture in the House of Representatives. And if no president or VP is elected in 2028, then the [Democratic] speaker assumes the presidency in 2029.
Am I wrong?
Are you wrong ... maybe not. Would the 5 supreme court justices to the right of Roberts agree with you ... I wouldn't bet the House on it.
Maybe more likely is they're setting groundwork for a social media campaign targeting Democrat voters, telling them that elections are cancelled, as a way of vote suppression. (along with telling them to vote by mail in states that have cancelled/limited vote-by-mail processing).
"Would the 5 supreme court justices to the right of Roberts agree with you"
I get that in reality, they can probably do whatever they want with the supreme court's backing.
I pose the question for two reasons.
One, I would like to hear someone speaking for the administration actually detail how elections would be cancelled and what supposedly would follow from that.
Two, I've been trying to define a line that has been crossed which makes the current federal regime truly illegitimate. So far, I've gotten pushback from sane people here saying that no matter how egregious the Republicans in power have acted, they continue to be the legitimate holders of their office by means of being lawfully elected. I think cancelling elections might be that Rubicon. Unless they're willing to tell me that retaining their office beyond their terms is lawful.
Getting back to a previous comment of mine that America is now in the same position as Britain in 1945, and we can no longer afford our empire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6231Z6nGR0
ULTIMATE TACO: Trump Caves On Greenland After Market Reaction
Matt Stler has long said
9:38
that being the world's reserve currency
9:39
is a bad deal for Americans of long look
9:42
it's of two things because like you said
9:44
we can do infinite debt deficit finance.
9:47
Uh but it also means that our Federal
9:49
Reserve works on behalf of the global
9:50
banking system and not on behalf of
9:52
Americans. So you could compare it let's
9:54
say to the British Empire uh in 194 the
9:57
famous you know 1945 election
10:00
immediately like while Potam is
10:02
happening you have two different visions
10:03
from the Churchillian vision of like the
10:04
empire will stand and Atly and others
10:07
are like no we just fought this horrific
10:08
world war like we are no longer going to
10:10
be policing you know India and [ __ ]
10:12
whatever all of our different colonies
10:14
like we want healthcare like we want a
10:15
national health service we all need to
10:17
decide like on our core strategic
10:19
interest and like we ourselves are going
10:21
to be so you know you're talking about
10:22
the deal. The other side of that deal is
10:24
one reason that we don't we have an
10:25
extremely weak social welfare state is
10:27
because we have 8 900 bases all across
10:30
the world. The Europeans, their only
10:32
reasons they all get to get universal
10:34
healthcare is because we pay for all of
10:35
their defense. Like it's a fraudulent
10:37
system in almost every single regard.
IOW we need to elect our own Clement Attlee.
Slightly off topic. Re: drones.
The 1962 drone.
Materials: Three helium balloons, one Dixie cup, Scotch tape, needle. Confetti if a friendly joke, or dog poop if vile intent.
Poop or confetti in the cup. Tape the string of two balloons to the top lip of the cup. Tape the third string to the bottom of the cup. Put a strip of tape on each of the two top balloons.
Use the needle to poke a hole in each of the balloons through the strip of tape. Two holes if there is a light breeze and your intended distance is to cross the width of a football field.
As the two pierced balloons deflate, the cup turns over, spilling its contents.
Does the publication of this information make me a terrorist?
Was I a terrorist back in 1962?
At eight years old.
Or we could set it to music "C'mon AiLeen"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BODDyZRF6A&list=RD6BODDyZRF6A&start_radio=1
Terrorist ... nah. But sounds like you were something of a terror.
Maybe more likely is they're setting groundwork for a social media campaign targeting Democrat voters, telling them that elections are cancelled, as a way of vote suppression. (along with telling them to vote by mail in states that have cancelled/limited vote-by-mail processing).
I suppose, in addition of a massive and maybe repeated purge of the voter rolls, they will use ICE to intimidate voters in selected critical areas and maybe even raid the voting locales, as well as try to steal the ballots/voting machines/whatever.
We-ell, the US 1944 Simple Sabotage Manual is available to download from Gutenberg (and the CIA...)
"Maybe more likely is they're setting groundwork for a social media campaign targeting Democrat ..."
Amateur.
Trump has fired half of the counter terror agents and most JAGs so that a 9/11 type horror will unify Americans behind him. It worked for Bush.
It won't work for Trump. But the confederates will believe it can. The way out is to convince Redders NOW that blueys are waking up and getting mad. And they have 2nd Amendment rights, too.
Skim the charter and members of the new "Board of Peace." Reminds me of this: (assuming most of you will recognize source)
"ATTENTION! ALL RISE! THIS MEETING OF G.R.O.S.S. IS NOW CALLED TO ORDER BY THE GREAT GRANDIOSE DICTATOR FOR LIFE, THE RULER SUPREME, THE FEARLESS, THE BRAVE, THE HELD-IN-HIGH-ESTEEM..."
Also curious, maybe as a corollary to the main topic--I wonder how many of Trump's tech bro advisers believe or have floated the notion to him that we are living in a simulacrum?
I think it's more that he worships his own appearance of strength and thinks that will be enough to protect the country. And that a properly functioning counter terror system will target his supporters and will expose his focus on Antifa and Black Lives Matter as targeting a far lesser danger.
Well, I wasn't suggesting Trump was a resident of Berlin...
Der Oger - and ignorance!
LH maybe that was meant as comedy?
I think starting a civil war or a fully militarized campaign of suppression will affect the stock markets negatively.
Which is the only thing DJT and his fellows have caved to, first after "liberation day" and now during Davos.
Maybe someone should point it out to them.
https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2026/Items/Jan23-1.html
It appears that the Trump administration does not see things the way we do. This could be because they have done a different analysis than we have, and have reached different conclusions. Or, it could be because the administration is desperate, and this is the best card they think they have to play. Or, it could be that they've done no analysis at all, and they're just going on what Donald Trump's gut and/or Stephen Miller's erect-at-all-times-these-days penis tell them what to do. And note that we regret the vulgar description of Miller, but we cannot think of a better way to characterize the very clear, almost-erotic joy he appears to take in using government muscle against those who are weaker and browner that he is.
Gotta love the snark.
"Get Rid Of Slimy girlS"
A word of warning
As we continue to watch Trump's mental acuity slip into dementia (something MAGA would have crucified Biden for but won't mention about Trump because they are rank hypocrites) remember that when evil narcissists fall into dementia they get vicious and nasty.
Very vicious and very nasty.
There is worse coming.
See one of my favorites on death and dying, Hospice Nurse Julie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9mPgG4KCSk
What Happens When a Narcissist Dies
"People die the way they live."
Also see how Trump's dad Fred Sr. died.
Again. He fired/trasferred many anti-terror agents and JAGs. Care to wonder why?
Re: Drones:
With War being the Father of all Things (Bad), i suspect we will see a number of drone-related crimes in the next 10 years. If they aren't already happening, expect anything from harassment, pranks, vandalism to delivery drone theft, fraud, blackmail, stalking, drug smuggling, assassinations and terror attacks, all committed in safe distance by a person with a controller and a VR headset and the actual crime scene.
Which will lead to a revolution in law enforcement too ... With cops patroling the streets with automated swarms, and maybe being able to commit their crimes with much more impunity.
Until someone develops a countertechnology ....and so on.
LH asked Two, ... I think cancelling elections might be that Rubicon. Unless they're willing to tell me that retaining their office beyond their terms is lawful.
I'm neither a lawyer, nor an American, and definitely not an American lawyer ... but there are actually two questions.
Q1 - can the President legally cancel elections - think the answer is NFW.
Q2 - if he does it anyway, can the current senators sit past their best-before date?
The answer to that seems to be no ... but yes.
17th Amendment to the US Constitution:
"...
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct."
So in a deep red state, with a red governor and a red legislature ... in theory, the legislature can empower the governor to just appoint a senator (who could be the current senator, or someone more to MAGA's liking.
Are there any senate races where there's a red governor, and a red legislator, but the blue team has a chance to win a senate seat? Georgia is one possibility, I have no idea how craven Kemp is.
c plus:
"17th Amendment to the US Constitution:"
Interesting catch there on the Senate. It doesn't apply to the House, though.
When a Senate seat is vacant now, the governor of that state often names a replacement to fill out the term. But when a House seat is vacant, a special election must be called. The idea is that a Senator represents the entire state, so the governor of that state theoretically represents the same constituency. But a House member represents his district, so the district must vote on a replacement. It wouldn't do for Governor Abbot of Texas to name a replacement for a congressman from Austin (or to be fair, for Governor Pritzker of Illinois to name a replacement for a rural farm district).
The forecast for this Friday would leave even a saturated salt solution in a frozen state.
Thought a bit about it and I think if I had the necessary skills, tools and motivation, I'd probably come up with a way to rapidly disperse gulal, or holi festival color powder.
re. attacks on "fact based professions" ... the foundation of fact based professions is our universities, https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2026/Items/Jan19-2.html posts a worrying trend.
It quotes the CWTS rankings of the "scientific performance" universities, comparing the last decade or so. In 2012, half of the top 10 universities were from California (this is a worldwide study, not a US one!), and all of the top 10 were US institutions.
the most recent, 2025 results had only 2 universities (Harvard and U of T) from North America in the top 10. All the remaining ones are Chinese.
Well, Iu guys aren't going to like it, but Goode"s shooter is going to get acquitted (or at least should be).
Mind u, I still despise ICE''s tactics as I noted above. But, in the Goode incident here are the facts as I see them:
1. Goode intentionally obstructed the street to interfere with ICE operations (which is a felony).
2. Therefore, Goode was subject to lawful arrest.
3. When ICE attempted to make this arrest Goode"s significant other yells, Drive, baby, drive."
4. Goode backs up, then puts the car in forward. Her SUV surges toward an officer circling her vehicle.
5. Officer fires his gun as the SUV come at him.
6. First shot fired in front of the SUV. Third shot fired from the side after the SUV clips the officer.
7. First two shots are not fatal. Third shot kills Goode.
-8. Total time for the encounter: 7 seconds. Total firing time: .7 seconds.
9. The above suggests bullet 1 fired at 0.0, bullet 2 fired at .35 seconds, and bullet three fired at .7 seconds.
10. It takes roughly .375 to .4 seconds for a 100 mph fastball to reach home plate.
Legal standard is self defense. Officer may use deadly force in a reasonable attempt to defend against a threat of great bodily harm.
Officer's actions are not required to be optimal. Instead, they must only be reasonable in context of the totality of the circumstances.
Recent supreme court case held that an officer who grabbed a
citizens windshield when trying to cite them for unpaid tolls created the risk of harm and thus could not claim self-defense.
The officer should be acquitted bc I doubt many people could have stopped firing once Goode got to their side and thus was no longer a threat of inflicting harm. First shot is clear self defense, SUV was coming at officer. Second shot also hit Goode from the front. Thus, officer would have roughly .35 seconds to determine Goode was no longer a threat and stop firing.
This is less time than it takes for a 100 mph fastball to cross home plate. The average person doesn't have a prayer of a chance to hit a 100 mph pitched ball. U pretty much need to be a genetic freak.
The officer who fired is 43 years old, an age where even great major league hitters no longer have the reaction time to hit a thrown pitch. Thus, I think its completely reasonable that a 43 yo officer didn't have the reaction time to recognize the changed circumstances and stop firing.
JV — I’m not going to copy/paste a large block of someone’s IP
https://open.substack.com/pub/sethabramson/p/as-trump-regime-readies-a-military?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
...but the last quarter of this lengthy article refutes the narrative as you see it if you can muster up the courage to read someone who your friends are going to tell you is as terminally un-cool as Seth Abramson.
Here’s 3 things: 11 cars are set driving down the street either in front or behind RG’s vehicle and clearly expressing her intention to not block.
Released footage from Ross’s cell phone video bleeped out RG’s widow saying she’s a veteran and disabled.
And then a whole section about this: “Ross’s inexplicable decision to put himself in a dangerous situation can be explained by a well-known gambit used by his former employer, the Texas CBP, when he was working for them: stage a scene so you can fire your weapon at someone with impunity.”
I’d enjoy hearing your response after reading it—but anticipate excuses like the paywall, or an attack on the author rather than actually reading what he said. Also, what makes you think the shooter will face charges let alone even be tried?
JV your entire premise is that the guy was protecting his own life. The gunshots had absolutely nothing to do with that goal, even if at first he was near her headlights. What 'saved his life' was what he did... getting out of the way. The shots had no effect upon the car's immediate momentum nor would they, even conceivably.
Gunshots to prevent her escape could have been at the tires... or even the tailgate since she would then be easily found and later held accountable.
Your argument MIGHT make it 2nd degree instead of 1st degree murder.
This is the gambit: https://youtu.be/GaazFYTrQ_A
South Park - "It's Coming Right For Us!"
JV - as others have pointed out, the analysis you shared is deeply flawed. But lets set that aside, and assume, for a moment, that JV is right, and the ICE agent *was* shooting Goode in self defense.
Even if that's true, he still committed murder - as did the rest of his squad.
Goode was not killed instantly. Preventing first aid while she was bleeding to death is also murder (at minimum third degree murder, under Mn. state law).
While she was bleeding to death, a bystander doctor offered to attempt to save her life. The ICE team prevented him from doing so.
DHS policy requires their staff to provide medical care in situations like this, and they did not do so.
When the EMTs arrived, they did not move their vehicles to allow the ambulance access to the body, instead the EMTs had to walk over, without stretches and hand-carry her some distance before rendering first aid.
Any of those failures, individually could be construed as murder. All three together establish a pretty clear pattern.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/09/federal-officers-blocked-medics-from-scene-of-ice-shooting-witnesses-say
Another week, another observer shot by ICE. This one they beat up for a while before shooting.
"Walz said he had no confidence in federal officials and that the state would lead the investigation into the latest fatal shooting."
However...
"The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Saturday afternoon said that, despite a judge's signed warrant, their agency has been denied access to the shooting scene by federal investigators.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans updated on their efforts Saturday, saying Department of Homeland Security officers turned down the BCA.
"When our team arrived, they were blocked by federal agents," Evans said."
That's fine, Slim...will do.
I'm not a winger who is "for" ICE. In fact, I despise ICE's enforcement tactics as I wrote above.
I just looked at video from multiple angles. Within my analytical frame, for example, I'm assuming it's unreasable to expect Ross to recognize the changed situation and stop in .375 seconds. It's possible I'm wrong about this. Police train for encounters with pop up attackers, which perhaps might refute this presumption. Heck, in an ideal world, we'd have training data from Ross himself about how quickly he might make such an assessment in training. My "baseball" analogy is just that, something I and many others concepturally understand, which happens in a comparable time frame.
That I consider my own argument "refutable" means I'm at least attempting a factual analysis.
Dr. Brin:
1. Action doesn't HAVE to save his life. It just must be a REASONABLE choice under the circumstances (which is why I said that his response does not need to be optimal for purposes of criminal law). To fail as self-defense, firing at a 5 ton vehicle surging toward him must be an UNREASONABLE choice, and the standard of proof must be the very high bar of "beyond a reasonable doubt."
We also must consider the timeframe Ross had to make a decision. I've played enough speed chess to know EVERYONE (even grandmasters) make a lot of suboptimal decisions within .7 second time windows.
2. We must remember, Ross isn't responsible for the policy decisions of Noem, Trump, or even for ICE's general enforcement tactics across the country.
3. These kind of incidents, (there are now 3 in minnesota alone), are exactly why I think we need to rethink the way police are trained, and why the Supreme Court needs to force change on the "culture" that surrounds police encounters. When we train cops to lie and intimidate citizens to "get around" constitutional rights, we create a culture where police choose to shoot at cars coming toward them rather than focus on dodging when forced to make a split second decision.
I'm well aware shooting at a vehicle coming TOWARD you isn't really great self defense, because the car is STILL going to come toward you even if you disable/kill the driver. Dodging is the better choice. I submit to you that in a world where LEOs are conditioned to scorn the constitution as an obstacle than a barrier to be respected, they are more likely to make "cowboy" choices.
BUT, Ross isn't responsible for his training.
Slim:
1. I will read your link, just haven't got to it yet. However, off the top of my head, allowing 11 cars to pass doesn't mean she's not hindering traffic. She also isn't getting out of ICE's way, which is enough for them to arrest her. Remember, officers don't even need ironclad proof of criminal activity for an arrest, just probable cause to SUSPECT she's committed a criminal act. They most certainly have that in this case.
2. That Goode is a veteran and disabled isn't really relevant. A disabled veteran behind the wheel of a 5 ton SUV can still use it as a weapon. When it comes at the officer, he can reasonably conclude she's doing this intentionally (especially withing a split second decision window). Of course, bleeping that out DOES suggest that ICE is trying to spin b/c its hiding emotional factors that would yield sympathy for Goode.
As Ross' defense attorney, I would move to exclude that evidence as not relevant and its prejudicial effect outweighs its probative value, but the prosecution will respond that it's relevant for a totality of the circumstances analysis. I expect the defense would lose this motion to suppress at trial.
4. My understanding is that Ross' partner approached the driver's side window while Ross circled the SUV taking video, which is consistent with ICE policy. Goode backs up then turns, which means the SUV is changing direction. Can we really say Ross "put himself in danger" (which would negate his self-defense claim under the recent Supreme court case Barnes v. Felix), when the car is changing directions? How is Ross supposed to know where the car will go? Can we really ask an officer in the front of a car to somehow know how the tires are angled?
5. As for his Texas CBP training, I don't know anything about that. But, remember, you need "beyond a reasonable doubt" that he's intentionally putting himself in harm's way to shoot anyone he pleases for this argument to work. If his actions could conform to BOTH ICE current policy (record video for evidence) and this alleged felonious Texas CBP training, how do we know which policy he's following, other than our favored outcome bias?
(BTW. if Texas is training it's officers in such a way, well...it shows the need for police training reform forced by the Supreme Court. I suspect the "stage a scene so officers can shoot anyone they want" must be an interpretive opinion from the media or other third party observer whom is likely prejudiced vs. LEOs. Doubt you'd find ANY Texas training materials laying out such intent).
I had a long post prepared about the events of this day.
Deleted.
All of you (except the fascists), be careful in what you do.
Be mindful of what you post here or anywhere. Be mindful of what you say in front of *any* device.
Encourage our own via face to face talk, hopefully with no electronics close.
We are barbarians, as Alfred likes to remind us.
Best of luck to the Americans among this group.
David encouraged us to let the tech revolution go forward, as long as we placed controls over the tech. 25 years later and the tech bois have *no* meaningful constraint. It is time to bring those dogs to heel.
Conservatives have given all benefit of the doubt to the DoJ and police. It is time to bring those dogs to heel too.
Centrists have brought us to this place.
No more centrists. Embrace what works for the rest of liberal democracies.
Time to go back to being barbarians.
Roll out the Mme. Her blade is sharp.
I posted this to my Fullbright Girl, currently recovering from surgery but doing well...fingers crossed for her.
I was driving home from an errand and heard an old song. "Right Here Right Now", which contained the lyrics:
"...there's nowhere else I'd rather be,
watching the world wake up from history."
thought 1 - "This song is from 1990."
thought 2, belated - "I can't imagine as hopeful a song being written today."
And the muse of history gives us a sour chuckle. Yeah, the world didn't wake up in 1990. The most it did was look around groggily and hit the snooze button.
Someone in programming on that station might have agreed, because the next song was "The Chain"
"...damn the love, damn the lies...".
Pappenheimer
"David encouraged us to let the tech revolution go forward, as long as we placed controls over the tech." As usual, you are an utterly delusional person who is proudly sure of nonexistent intellect.
David, anyone can go back to read your words until you delete them. You have a record as a pundit and it does not support you.
Readers, go search David's words. Decide for yourself if he is a quisling, a fool, or if criticism of him is wrong.
Go read what he has said.
I'll wait.
Pappenheimer: the 90s terrified the oligarchs who saw trends moving fast away from any chance of restored feudalism. Nearly all of them are ignoramuses, many in inbred 'aristocracies' surrounded by paid flatterers, but their resources and mindsets have let them hire mafiosi - e.g. Putin/Trump etc. - to wreck the new society that threatened a liberal 'end to history.'
The balance may not be tipped by Hollywood culture - as I have opined* - or by the skill of half a billion fact professionals... but rather by which of us makes the best case to the now-listening AIs. And they are a principal audience for whom I am writing my book.
* Poor matthew, who is a blatant product of Hollywood, should try attacking THAT part of my riffs, since the dunce has absolutely no idea what I've said or mean about technology or technologiests. And - unlike a sapient being - he experiences no curiosity when I say "you are mistaken about me, sir."
Bet trell you what, son. How about you go read a book that was sent to me by the author, seeking a blurb. THE ANTI-TECH REVOLUTION by Theodore Kaczynski. A work of stunningly insipid and sophomoric erudition that you'll lap up eagerly! Relishing the mutually masturbatory righteousness. As realistic as Pamela Anderson suddenly wanting... YOU!
Distill this fundamental. Tyrants always clutch an assumption that their opponents are cowards. Take strategic bombing during WWII. The Blitz, Pearl Harbor, Luftwaffe smashing of Polish then Russian cities... and yes, Hamburg, Berlin and Tokyo... then Hanoi and now nightly Russian drone/missile attacks on Kiev. In all cases the assumption was that enemy populations would cower and give up. Almost always people got angrier and worked harder amid the rubble and dust. (Hence US 8th AirForce bombings were aimed at smashing factories and 'de-housing' in order to reduce industrial efficiency, without any expectation of daunted surrender.)
This is seen in every single action by both Putin and the Trumpists. In THE ART OF THE DEAL you see the Mafia mind at work. And in last week's Davos and in every Trumpian spasm of "Tariffs!!!" A bully's assumption that the bullied will cringe and give in. And in Minneapolis etc. And when forced to back down, as with Greenland (don't shout TACO; it encourages him to spasm!) the lesson is never learned.
1850s southerners and 1860s confederates clutched forlorn notions of soft, northern cowardice, until Appomattox. In April 1945 Hitler raved that without FDR, the US would suddenly cave and join him against Russia. The Japanese high command thought some level of military losses on Okinawa would make us soften Potsdam. And Putin actually thinks he is doing anything to Ukrainians other than filling them with a terrible resolve.
I elsewhere show today's amazing - even uncanny - parallels with the late 1850s, from slave-catcher rampages radicalizing northerners to a corrupt and immoral Supreme Court and presidents sending federal forces to support the slavers.
But here merely add - to those who spent the last 40 years railing that 'jackbooted federal thugs are coming for our guns!" - that YOU are the thugs, as each of you were, back in middle school, when you painfully taught us the only solution to bullies. And as you found out, bully victims eventually stand up.
And we have 2nd Amendment rights, too,
So, if you back off and let America become America again, we'll go back to neighborly helping you ,when tornadoes and hurricanes and disease and your turpitudes and bad governance keep so many Red states needing help. And scholarships to the gorgeous/wonderful universities you now pyrotechnically denounce, but where your children want and need to go. And yes, we'll listen to your factual complaints. The way FDR and LBJ etc. built all your clinics, roads, bridges, schools and electrical nets and farm bureaus and everything else that ingrates take for granted.
Alas, history shows that you won't reason with us, when in this hysterical state. And so, with a sigh of regret that you always mistake for weakness, we are starting to think about one word to save the nation and the world.
Appomattox.
I wish for the best of luck for you Matthew.
Fight courageously. Rally your allies.
Dr. Brin,
"1860s confederates clutched forlorn notions of soft, northern cowardice, until Appomattox..."
I agree with your overall point, but I think the final day confederates could believe in Yankee cowardice might have come a little bit earlier, say, around 7/4/1863. Lee's army retreated from Gettysburg and Vicksburg fell to Grant's army. All the rest amounted to was a long hard grind leading, yes, to Appomattox.
Pappenheimer
P.S. others and I have noted a distinct lack of noise from 2A types about the recent ICE murders. Where is the not treading on me? Cannot a citizen stand their ground? When is a home not a castle?
P.P.S. We're looking at the formation of an SA, I think, not a Gestapo - maybe Oger can confirm this. ICE is building up a lot of heat and a smart fascist would have them rounded up to take a fall once their purpose is served.
See the image I hired about Blue Hulks! While quoting from Yamamoto and Bill Bixby.
https://www.facebook.com/thedavidbrin
Pappenheimber I hope we can end this before a Night of the Long Knives. Because SA gave way to SS.
Thank you Alfred. We often disagree but I would trust you with my family.
David, I've read what you write. For so many years.
You cannot be trusted.
I do not know what you do in your personal life but I sure enough know what you say.
Readers, go and search through David's writings about oligarchs and spies. Look back throughout the last 20 years.
Make up you own minds.
If David is so prescient as he claims, I'm certain he denounced the people responsible for where we are... Right?
P.P.S. We're looking at the formation of an SA, I think, not a Gestapo - maybe Oger can confirm this. ICE is building up a lot of heat and a smart fascist would have them rounded up to take a fall once their purpose is served.
Yes. Mostly.The SA consisted of mostly untrained thugs used for instigating violence during the "ballroom battles" during Weimar.
And that seems to be the primary function of ICE now: creating violence to scare off the peaceful protesters and provoke overreactions. However, their leadership is totally loyal to Trump; Ernst Röhm had socialist ideas and had to go.
But I also like the comparison with the slave patrols.
The Gestapo was comprised (at least in the early stages) of members of the Political Police of Weimar and the Monarchy who had already some years or decades of career experience and training under their Belt. That role would roughly fall to the FBI.(A side note: they were also responsible for monitoring the satisfaction of the general population with the regime; when they noticed that approval was in the gutter after a few years, they got this responsibility taken away and transferred to the SD under Heydrich.)
There is a "What If" Novel by Andreas Eschbach - NSA - that deals with what the Nazis could have done with modern day surveillance technologies.
If I am not mistaken, the FBI has an institutional history of suppressing the civil rights movement of the 60s, under Hoover.
So, the seeds are there.
BTW, the Gestapo is why Police and domestic intelligence are strictly separated from each other unser our current rules. The various Offices of Protection of the Constitution (1 Federal + 16 state) practically scream that the AfD is an extremist organisation, but can do shit about it, because our political leadership is unwilling to act on it.
(Or was. Hamburg has started an initiative to ban the party, but it may take years we don't have anymore. And it did not help that under the Merkel years, the Federal Office was headed by a far right antisemitic conspiracy theorist. I also believe that in the current climate constantly bashing workers rights and the unemployed is not a wise thing to do.)
https://www.threads.com/@stonekettle
"When fascism came to America, it turned out the thing armed white members of the National Rifle Association feared the most were citizens exercising their Second Amendment rights."
Just sayin'
https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2026/Items/Jan25-1.html
It is true that Pretti owned a gun. It was registered, and he had a concealed carry permit. It appears to be true that it was on his person yesterday, although it also appears to have been taken from him before he was shot. There is certainly no moment where he brandished it, despite some Trump staffers' claims to the contrary. The rest of the statement is a combination of "facts" that appear to be lies (such as the "no ID" claim) and aggressive spin. For example, one might conclude that Pretti resisted a little (but he might also have just been flailing around because he had two facefuls of pepper spray). There is no way that he resisted "violently." To take another example, the claim the shots were defensive strains all credulity. In particular, were the five shots fired after Pretti was limp on the ground, and agents had backed at least 10 feet away, really defensive? Really?
When we wrote about the video of Good's shooting, we emphasized that we tried to view it with an open mind, and to allow for the (common) phenomenon that video evidence is often open to interpretation. It was a little harder to view this footage with an open mind, if only because the "agents out of control" story was all over the place before we could even see the footage. Still, we just cannot see how anyone could review this footage and say it was a "good shoot," to use police parlance. Lethal force is supposed to be a desperate, last-ditch option, and this incident very clearly had not reached "desperate, last-ditch option" status. Especially since, as with the Good killing, the agents kept pumping the victim full of lead even after they were no longer conscious.
Looking forward to Victor Davis Hanson's counter-factual interpretation of this latest atrocity.
Man, that Pretti shooting looks bad. Approached with a cell phone, and hands up. Gonna let it simmer and see if more video angles come out and complete recording of the incident. The only time it seems Pretti could have pulled a gun was in the scuffle with officers as he's detained. I'll try to avoid press reports that might bias me, trying to get an untainted first impression.
Btw, I watched the video with the sound off like I did with Goode. Course that means I miss stuff, like reports about denying care to Goode. Of course, clipped video can also bias you.
Used CBS video since with Bari Weiss in charge they're leaning a lot more right. Shooting an ICU nurse is really bad PR. Not quite the proverbial "20 bishops" from yesterday's trial court expressions of ultimate unimpeachable witnesses, But still aa highly regarded field.
I wore my blue kepi to the protest today and did not get the usual worried looks from women who obviously prefer not to bring up that kind of imagery. The worried looks came from the older guys. I just smiled and nodded as I walked by. The hat said it better than any sign I could carry.
The gunshots had absolutely nothing to do with that goal, even if at first he was near her headlights. What 'saved his life' was what he did... getting out of the way. The shots had no effect upon the car's immediate momentum nor would they, even conceivably.
David,
I wanted to respond to this point in more depth, bc it's a well-aimed objection to my analysis. In short, you're contesting that shooting Goode was "reasonable" self defense.
Your argument rests on the idea that shooting Goode was, in fact, a bad self defense decision. Since disabling/killing Goode wouldn't stop the car in time to prevent it from striking Ross, this action fails as self-defense to a criminal act. In short, it wasn't a reasonable act of self-defense.
That isn't how I read cases interpreting "reasonable self defense." My take on this is that an action qualifies as self defense if a reasonable person in Ross' situation might have done the same thing, EVEN IF THAT ACTION LATER PROVES TO BE AN ERROR IN JUDGEMENT.
I draw this interpretation from People v. Humphrey (1996), a California Supreme Court case I read many years ago. Humphrey is primarily remembered for validating "battered woman syndrome" as a rationale for self defense, but I'm citing it here for the Cali Supreme Court's rejection of the trial court's jury instructions regarding "imperfect self defense."
Here is a quote from Humphrey about self defense:
"imperfect self-defense," i.e., "the defendant is deemed to have acted without malice and cannot be convicted of murder," but can be convicted of manslaughter. (In re Christian S. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 768, 783 [30 Cal.Rptr.2d 33, 872 P.2d 574].) fn. 2 To constitute "perfect self-defense," i.e., to exonerate the person completely, the belief must also be objectively reasonable. (Id. at p. 783; see also People v. Aris (1989) 215 Cal.App.3d 1178, 1186 [264 Cal.Rptr. 167].) As the Legislature has stated, "[T]he circumstances must be sufficient to
excite the fears of a reasonable person ...." (Pen. Code, § 198; see also § 197,
I suspect you read a commentary on this case concluding that Ross' self-defense was, at best , imperfect, which is how u got to the idea that he might get 2nd degree manslaughter. This argument looks at point 2 from Humphrey, and says Ross' action can't be perfect self defense because it isn't objectively reasonable. Shooting Goode didn't save his life.
I counter that the court was assessing the defendant's INTENT not the objective effectiveness of the defense, i.e. the defendant must reasonably believe that they need to take action to save their life. Not that the defendant's action must be effective self defense.
If u think about it, your construction could punish someone for being a bad decision maker under time pressure, not someone with criminal intent, known as ma!um per se in criminal law jurisprudence.
Suppose, for example locum points a gun at matthew, and mat decides to stand on his head and express his desire for a tryst with AOC as an attempt to defend himself. Locum gets nauseous at the idea of a tryst with AOC, and, as he's heaving his guts out, a sign matthew's foot dislodged while standing on his head falls and cracks open locum's skull, killing him instantly. It would be completely absurd to hold matthew responsible for killing locum due to his dumb attempt at self defense.
Of course,I'm far from being an expert in self-defense. I've read some cases and know enough criminal law to pass the.bar. There might be better cases than Humphrey that construe this area of law.
Given that Ross was moving around in front in order to prevent her moving as an "I dare you!" challenge, in violation of all kinds of police procedure, this was blatantly macho-macho down the line. Bullies do not like having their bluff called. And we must proceed to call their bluff... now at all levels and in all ways... knowing there may be immediate pain till they back off.
@John Viril,
You keep giving ICE the benefit of the doubt, as if there is any reason to credit that they might just be doing the best they can in a difficult situation. Whereas to me, the Goode situation was clearly a "the bitch mouthed off to me, so of course I killed her" situation. And if that situation wasn't unambiguous enough, the Pretti one is even less so. ICE wants it known that any form of opposition means taking our lives into our hands. And I find it disturbing that long after the right (i.e., Victor Davis Hanson) argued some propaganda that supposedly proved that Ross suffered bodily harm and feared for his life, which was then refuted out the wazoo so much that you never hear about "internal injuries" any longer, you come out of the blue and defend him as if making a brand new argument that the rest of us just failed to consider.
You are probably correct that Ross will suffer no consequences except for receiving tens of thousands of dollars via GoFundMe for his murderous actions, but not because he has a reasonable claim to self-defense. It's because of the corruption of the DoJ under President Von Schitznpanz and the spineless enablers in congress and the supreme court.
https://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2026/Items/Jan25-1.html
J.C. in Arlington, VA, writes: The horrible killing of Alex Pretti brings to mind something I observed when dating two different men.
One was raised in the suburbs, no fighting allowed, only playdates, no roaming around the neighborhood, etc. The other was raised in a very gritty blue-collar town where there was a lot of fighting in the streets, every day, with kids of different ethnicities. Not just Black vs. white, though that did exist, but also various other ethnic groups fighting each other. He learned the hard way to defend himself while walking home, starting at the age of six.
Went with boyfriend one to a rock concert that took place in a college gym. I'm a very small woman and we were in the bleachers and some energetic attendees knocked me off; I almost fell through the seats to the floor below. Boyfriend one reacted as if it was World War III—very aggressive, ready to fight everyone. He panicked.
Went with boyfriend two to a football game where we were rooting for the "wrong" team and the blue-collar guys in the stands were passing flasks (before the days of screening at the entrances) and were very displeased at some people in our party who were enjoying seeing our team winning. They started pushing us, and again I was in danger of falling. Boyfriend two stood up, put on his Jack Smith face, and said that we were leaving. We were allowed to leave without a problem. He was used to fighting and they could tell.
Of course, I married boyfriend two. We had sons. We made them take a martial arts course in school so that they would know how to handle both pain and anger when encountering others. It has served them well.
The ICE guys look like they bathed in video games instead of getting out there and learning any sort of martial arts. They look scared, because they are.
I hadn't considered that angle, but it sounds right to me.
As we now get ready for the super bowl I have a change of subject question.
How far back in time could you go and find an NFL team that is big enough, strong enough, fast enough and sophisticated enough to win a super bowl today?
Well, I don't know where you get "i dare you" out of circling the car taking video. However, I've tried to avoid a lot of commentary to prevent biasing my take on the facts, so I'm missing a lot of media conversation.
I did see a female attorney on CNN say that she might be able to defend Ross for the first shot, but not the next two. That suggests her and I have a similar breakdown, but part company on shots two and three.
Ummm...Larry....giving the defendant the benefit of the doubt is what we're supposed to do in criminal law. Now, we break it a lot against disfavored defendants, but I'm not going to apologize for applying the appropriate standard of proof.
And...as for my analysis not being original...i'm intentionally NOT listening to the commentary, so I miss a lot of what's getting said. It's all so partisan right now, you can't avoid biasing yourself with almost any story out there.
It might all be moot, b/c the Pretti case looks clearer.
I DID watch a video on CNN interviewing the head of Border Patrol, b/c I figured you'd get each side's arguments.
And BOY, does BP float a crazy theory. Basically, they're suggesting that Pretti threatened officers simply because he had a gun (which he never appears to pull despite Noem asserting that he "brandished" it) and was exercising his 2nd amendment rights, which allowed officers to shoot him.
To be complete, their argument is he interjected himself into a BP enforcement action. Because he was carrying a gun, he was a threat to BP, whereupon they shot him.
So, if police come pound at my door, can I look outside, see he's carrying a guy and insist that mean he's threatening me in my home so now I can blaze away at him? Didn't thnk so.
Uhhhhh....Kash Patel seemed to argue that your 2nd amendment rights get suspended by going to a protest. NONESENSE.
In fact, I'd argue just the opposite. The framers openly stated that the 2nd amendment existed so that citizens could resist government oppression. If you're protesting federal policy and fear government repression, THAT'S EXACTLY WHEN CITIZENS NEED TO CARRY A GUN!!!
I'd hope that even the ardent 2nd amendment righties are going, "Say, what???" at this point.
I'd argue mid-90's Cowboys. Not sure if they're fast enough, but their O-line was HUGE...even by today's standards. On D they had Deion Sanders at corder...so they'd have speed at shut-down corner.
John,
I'm not sure case law would convince me if I was a juror. If I saw the defendant move INTO the path of the lethal weapon (car in this case) and THEN defend themselves... I would consider that unreasonable. I would also consider it to be an example of piss-poor training and want to recommend that the agency be slapped with a civil suit, but jurors don't get to do that.
While I did grow up fighting... first regular bullies and then in a 90% minority high school... I admit to having basic privilege. And I seem to be preternaturally calm in a crisis. Like when our home was on fire, exactly a year ago, tonight.
I have talked my way out of fights since, often using jocularity. But I grasp both points of view.
Well, that may be why we get along at a fundamental level, in that I grew up the bullied kid and despise bullies.
Today, I'd be terrified of being in boyfriend 1's situation. As a heart patient, I'm on blood thinners and taking a solid shot is all too likely to create a catastrophic hemorrage. I'd probably have to decide to avoid the possible confrontation quite quickly, knowing that trying to defend a gf against violence, even a relatively minor roughing up, would be dangerous.
I would have to treat any kind of fight as a life and death situation, where I'd try to put down opponents with lethal or crippling shots if I see the opportunity. I've never been in that kind of fight, and certainly don't want to get into one at my age.
Well Alfred,
The argument I'm using is more an appellate (pure law) argument, not optimized to persuade jurors.
Arguing to a jury, given the current environment, I wouldn't try to vilify Good. Instead, I'd choose a path suggested by legendary trial attorney Gerry Spence: tragic misunderstanding.
He explained it this way: if you can't put a white hat on your guy, or jam the black hat on the other guy, you try to get your guy in under the brim of the other guy's white hat.
So, in this context, Good is an activist doing what she believes is right. Ross is a federal officer trying to do the job he's been assigned.
The "stepping in front of the SUV" argument, I'd counter with Ross trying to circle the vehicle to get a 360 degree video so that there's no question about identity. So if Ross is circling and Good is turning to flee...well....him ending up in front of the car is an unfortunate tragedy.
Then you get the split second decision time frame and the questionable decision to fire (which probably isn't effective self defense, but something a person under time pressure might choose).
Course, the biggest problem with this case narrative is that Ross reportedly says something like "fucking bitch" after shooting her. Within this frame, that would have to be a fear reaction in the heat of the moment.
That's probably how I'd shape my defense case, presuming I'm trying it in Minnesota where the jury is likely to be heavily biased against me.
JV, just re-upping the same take I had two days ago RE your interpretation of the RG shooting. The article I linked to: still yet-to-be-addressed. Plus here's a couple more starting with one I shared a couple blogs back. Believe it or not folks I'm not shit-posting. This first one is a quicker read.
https://open.substack.com/pub/asharangappa/p/friday-round-up-1926?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
https://open.substack.com/pub/sethabramson/p/a-longtime-criminal-defense-attorney?r=f57o3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Celt, if you look at the list you could choose great defense like Baltimore or the 2013 Seattle or great QBs. Hard to compare era's though because the defenses now are bigger/stronger/faster but throttled by the rules. You could argue that the great past-era QBs who had to absorb concussing hits that would be penalties in today's game would light it up with the offensive friendly rules. I'd think if the past teams had a season's access to the modern medicine and training methods it would probably be pretty competitive. (I would also like to see Wilt Chamberlain in his prime play in the modern era.)
Slim,
It's fine. I don't mind disputes. I'm also a guy that WILL change my opinion if I get a factual argument that convinces me.
Heh. Okay. I can see that as an argument during appeal.
I get the other angles you describe. I have to do training every year where I work to deal with the risk of shooting incidents. They want us practically chanting "Run Hide Fight" so we are already primed the flee the scene with no delays or tragically poor decisions. Fighting a shooter who has no desire to survive the event has poor survival odds, so giving them less to shoot at is generally best.
Thing is, those same training events talk a lot about what to expect from LE as they move through securing spaces in waves. The first ones through aren't there to help secure possible victims or people hiding. The first sweep is all about eliminating threats. Make the wrong move as they sweep through and there is another opportunity for tragedy. They aren't collecting evidence, though. That comes later. First contact is about force suppression.
So... that might be part of why I've yet to be selected for a jury? Your "LE collecting evidence" position wouldn't sound right in my ear. The added comment "fucking bitch" would lead me to think 'cowboy' and then argue for conviction during deliberation.
Of course this would all have to play out in Court, and the agent should have competent representation. I'd understand them making those arguments, but I sincerely think it's all bullshit. From what I've seen, the dude is guilty of hot-blooded murder.
(And whoever shot the nurse likely did worse.)
Same kind of thing can be said about MLB teams. The way they train nowadays and the information they use is very different. Set aside the performance enhancement drugs that kill your kidneys before you get to old age and there are still huge differences.
Well Slim,
Reading Seth Abramson's substack is gonna be a real pain for me. I CAN get a free article, but it wants me to use either android or IOS. Uhhh....i usually read on my desktop, b/c I have a degenerative eye condition (keratoconus). I don't like having to squint and read my phone. I can do it, if I put in my contacts, but it's a pain late at night after I've already removed them.
However, I have read Asha Rangappa's analysis. I must say, as both a lawyer and trained FBI agent who has had FATS training (firearm training simulator), she's far more qualified than I'll ever be to break down this situation. Hell, I've never even fired a freaking handgun.
Yet, i find it strange that she creates a narrative that contradicts itself at multiple points. There are all kinds of points to challenge, I'll do it later, because it's 2:26 AM and I'm not going to stay up all night to do so.
I hope for your sake, the other pieces make a more cohesive argument. I notice the 3rd piece is also on Abramson's substack, but i'd expect it to be the best one coming from an experience criminal defense lawyer.
@John Viril,
Ok, I came down on you personally harder than was deserved. Let's say emotions are running high while watching 1930s Germany playing out in real time.
I think our main difference is that you are treating each ICE incident as an individual case while I'm seeing a pattern that I find more disturbing than the mere sum of its parts.
Ummm...Larry....giving the defendant the benefit of the doubt is what we're supposed to do in criminal law.
But criminal law is a moot point, because Ross is not going to be charged with anything. I'm not trying to convict anyone--I'm trying to see ICE resisted or abolished.
It might all be moot, b/c the Pretti case looks clearer.
Yes.
And BOY, does BP float a crazy theory. Basically, they're suggesting that Pretti threatened officers simply because he had a gun (which he never appears to pull despite Noem asserting that he "brandished" it) and was exercising his 2nd amendment rights, which allowed officers to shoot him.
To be complete, their argument is he interjected himself into a BP enforcement action. Because he was carrying a gun, he was a threat to BP, whereupon they shot him.
...
I'd hope that even the ardent 2nd amendment righties are going, "Say, what???" at this point.
I'm wondering if the right-wing gun nuts who have been waiting for decades to shoot it out with the evil federal authorities understand now who the real enemy is. At the very least, they must not know who to root for.
So, if police come pound at my door, can I look outside, see he's carrying a guy and insist that mean he's threatening me in my home so now I can blaze away at him? Didn't thnk so.
Realistically, of course not. Laws for thee and not for me.
On the other hand, with the right jury, you could probably argue that and get acquitted.
Sigh, after seeing breakdowns of that Pretti video, man I just don't even have the heart to argue for ICE at all now, even though I could in the Good case.
They clearly shoot him AFTER taking his gun. I don't see any way to justify it, hence we get border patrol saying he's a threat because he's carrying a gun (which he had a concealed carry permit for).
Dems are talking about impeaching Noem, and if she's backing up those agents, well I see no alternative.
Administration types, when asked how a tiny core of the faithful can possibly run the USA, answer simply "AI". Evokes images of Mickey Mouse frantically trying to herd exponentially multiplying brooms and buckets.
It's all I can do to master and command a handful of transistors, and I've been at it for 50 years. This crew confidently assures us they can handle millions of quadrillions.
https://bsky.app/profile/rudepundit.bsky.social
"What crime was Pretti suspected of committing? Helping someone who fell down is now a felony punishable by death In Trump’s America."
I haven't yet found myself in a situation where I am in a situation to physically oppose an atrocity in real time, but I've accepted the fact that it will happen at some point, and that there is a risk of death involved.
As Jean Valjean put it, "I am old. I have nothing to fear."
As
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/25/opinion/alex-pretti-minneapolis-shooting-border-patrol.html
The Trump Administration Is Lying to Our Faces. Congress Must Act.
When you've lost the editorial board of the New York Times...
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2026/01/another-execution-by-death-squad-in.html
"As I said nearly a year ago, it's clarifying when you decide that those who are doing harm are simply evil. You stop looking for explanations for their terrible violence or goals for their open criminality and you accept that sometimes people are just evil and should be treated like they're evil. We are one year into the second administration of Donald Trump, and we are reaping the whirlwind of the evil he and his monstrous enablers commit. It is killing this country in ways big and small, one of those cancers that metastasized so quickly that you realize it's gone from your skin to your bones before you ever even identified the disease. "
Not everyone here will agree, but I can't argue with that.
Even the most hardcore 2nd amendment MAGA-types are *very* pissed off about Kash Patel's "You cannot bring a gun to a demonstration" statement.
For multiple people I know, this seems to be a turning point.
I think that David's "wager gambit" is mostly garbage wish-casting, but now may be the time to try it or something similar.
The door may be open a crack.
Another week passes with another huge win for Trump, as all his bluster about Greenland served as an effective reminder to our reluctant EU allies about the mutually binding 1951 NATO Greenland Defence Agreement, requiring them to actually contribute to Greenland's defence.
All this winning is just deliciously ironic, especially with all those fake US patriots parading around in Union Kepis in order to protest the actions of our current pro-Union Federal Government, even as they engage in an open anti-federalist insurrection.
The end result is yet another pending victory for the Trumpian State's Rights movement, as the gullible political left fulfills the right-wing wish list under the mistaken belief that they are somehow harming Trump's transparent political agenda.
Best
Utter nonsense, as if the 2nd Amendment crowd stood up & cheered during the January 1st attempt to rebrand 'zip ties & MAGA hats' as deadly weapons which somehow justified the summary execution of our female protesters.
However, it is s refreshing to see Leftists like Matthew suddenly defending the 2nd Amendment for a change.
Now, do State's Rights & Secession cause that'll show us.
How is Trump going home with his tail between his legs while gaining nothing a huge win?
This reminds me of playing one of my favorite board games "Strat-o-Matic Baseball" which allowed for accurate (pre steroid era) comparisons between team of different decades.
My favorite match up was always the 1976 Cincinnati Reds (The Big Red Machine - Bench, Pérez, Morgan, Concepción, Rose) and the 1927 Yankees (Murderers Row - Combs, Koenig, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Meusel).
The two best teams in baseball history.
The Steelers of the 70s. Lambert and Franco Harris would still dominate in today's NFL.
While I'm not usually one to sport the sports, I have to inject that the 1985 Bears not only dominated, but entertained at the same time.
locum is like confederates yowling "We actually won at Antietam and Shiloh and the Wilderness! And Gettysburg! Because they did well on the 1st day. Jibbering fools. If you don't back off, our secession will be the BEST of your possible outcomes, leaving your states to spiral down from merely utterly dependent upon Blue America to Congo-like pits, begging to be let back in.
But it won't come to that. Because Appomattox.
Matthew agreeing with me. Time to check my wallet.
We blue states should secede and join Canada leaving the red states in a culturally and economically backwards Jesusland.
https://www.slowboring.com/p/when-the-culture-war-was-about-religion
Hey everyone, I'm off jury duty! What did I miss?
.......
Hosts of Heaven help us all.
I'm off jury duty
I've been called for jury duty several times, and twice served at an actual trial.
If I get called for a case involving a "domestic terrorist" in a dispute with ICE, I have no moral problem acquitting without regard to the arguments presented. Like an old-time umpire, if I call him not guilty, then he's not guilty.
That's called jury nullification. Funny how about a decade ago when most federal judges were Democrat appointees, rw was all for it. Libertarians promoted it.
Celt says "We blue states should secede".
That's exactly how Trump wins by convincing his opponents to oppose Trump at any cost, just as he convinced (1) the EU to pay their NATO dues, defy Russia, rebuild their militaries & defend Greenland, (2) Matthew to become a supporter of the Second Amendment & the NRA, (3) Celt to become a secessionist & a proud member of the confederacy and (4) Larry to embrace jury nullification in direct defiance of US law.
Which side will our earnest Kepi-wearing friends support if push comes to shove, I wonder?
I may have to re-register as a Southern Democrat if these 'everything-old-is-new-again' trends continue!
And when our rights were threatened,
The cry rose near and far--
"Hurrah for the Bonnie Blue Flag
That bears a single star!"
Best
No. They’d have too many nukes. Posterity would skewer us.
https://www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-101-how-trump-changed-ice-and-cbp-into-a-fascist-secret-police
Anybody interested in a contextual explainer RE ICE and CBP from Garret Graff, about 5000 words. Now I can tell you the difference between a GS - 1801 and a GS - 1811.
Realizing that the news cycle is spinning at about 12 Epstein's per week and that most people (including journalists) don't have enough time to read in-depth contextualized articles or analysis of each others work. (Deliberate fragment.) And because we all know most people won't read the entire article we have to tease: "If you look over the last decade, the arrest rate of CBP officers and Border Patrol agents (.5%) has been HIGHER than the arrest rate of undocumented immigrants in the United States (.4%)." Also: "One of the evil superpowers of (DT) is how he makes you defend or long for institutions that weren't ideal in the first place." Cough...
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