kingdragonfly: From an Ohio rally recently:

"Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a blood bath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a blood bath for the country.”

In the same speech, Mr. Trump called some migrants “animals” and “not people, in my opinion”

He described people convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as “hostages”

He suggested that American democracy would end if he lost. “I don’t think you’re going to have another election, or certainly not an election that’s meaningful.”

The man doth protest too much, methinks.

But she also may have helped the defense lawyers, giving them grist to argue that Trump was a family man, and that his motive for suppressing damaging stories may not have been to win the election.

AlterNet - Opinion - How Donald Trump is making America stupid 

06 May 2024

Recent polls suggest half the country may vote against their own self-interests in November.

 

The self sabotage is head-turning: Christians who defend Donald Trump’s debauchery, poor people who give their money to a billionaire with rotating Ponzi schemes, pensioners who don’t understand that tax cuts for the 1 percent threaten their own entitlements.

 

As the new Time Magazine interview made clear, Trump has done nothing for the common man and everything for his wealthy donors. [ see chart below ] Yet somehow, in the MAGAverse, that fact doesn’t seem to compute. ...

 

When Trump celebrated his 2016 election win, his declaration, “I love the poorly educated” made headlines. Nearly eight years on, it’s not that half the country supports violent coup attempts, it’s that half the country sincerely believes the 2020 election was stolen, despite all evidence to the contrary. ...

 

Even though Trump’s closest advisers widely regard him as an idiot, he has a preternatural skill: manipulating ignorance.

 

Call it a conman’s intuition.

 

US effective tax rates, 1960 to 2018

The Washington Post - Trump Trial takeaways: Gag, or no gag?   (free link)

06 May 2024

Donald Trump violated his gag order for the 10th time, Justice Juan Merchan says.

 

Merchan fined Trump $1,000 for every violation, the maximum penalty he is allowed to impose. That means $10,000 so far.

 

The judge noted in his latest ruling that Trump is a wealthy man, and $1,000 might not be enough to dissuade him from violating the gag order.

 

He said he wished he could fine Trump $2,500 or $150,000 to be more commensurate with his wealth. But since he does not have the authority to levy such a high penalty, Merchan warned that “jail may be a necessary punishment.”

 

“The last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” Merchan said. “You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well.”

 

The judge noted that jailing Trump would require a monumental effort involving several law enforcement agencies including the Secret Service and New York’s corrections department.

 

“To take that step would be disruptive to these proceedings,” he added.

 

Why can't they just stick Trump in a cell on his own with the secret service posted outside? I don't see a huge logistical problem here unless they are worried about him pulling a Jeffrey Epstein.

• the removal of his cellmate without a replacement
• possession of banned objects
• two sleeping guards who were meant to check on him.
• the malfunction of two cameras in front of his cell

 

Rikkitic:   Why can't they just stick Trump in a cell on his own with the secret service posted outside? ...

 

The Week - What would it be like in jail for Trump if he's convicted?  (free link)

06 May 2024

The Secret Service has begun grappling with how to protect a former president behind bars ...

 

The House Homeland Security Committee's Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has introduced the Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act. 

 

This would strip all Secret Service protections from anyone convicted of a state or federal felony. 

 

EDIT:  link to DISGRACED Former Protectees Act fact sheet

I wonder if he demands his adult nappies be gold plated as well?

"The House Homeland Security Committee's Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has introduced the Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act. "

I wonder how much money the House spends every year paying people to come up with these acronyms.