Many of us have heard the supposed advice to a new lawyer by an older courtroom veteran: "If the

facts are on your side, argue the facts. If the law is on your side, argue the law. If you have neither the facts or tha law on your side, pound the table, holler and throw as much dust into the air as possible!"

We are now on a jury of the American people watching the RWNJs pounding the table and screaming clouds of silliness into the air.

They have no facts to support the "big lie" or any of the other transparent nonsense they are spewing.

The law has refused to agree with their evidence-free screeds over 60 times now.

We need to Ignore them and remind ourselves and each other of the facts from which these table pounders seek to distract us:

Donald Trump has never been favored by a majority of Americans. He intentionally encouraged racism, misogyny, and religious bigotry and greenlighted violence as a way to intimidate his opponents. He made a mockery of countless laws, Constitutional provisions and customs and, when challenged, claimed the violations were his "right". He began his campaign with phony paid supporters, branded truth's "fake news" for four seemingly endless years and ended his term by inciting seditious insurrection in a flailing attempt to cling to power after Joe kicked his ass last November.

The Trump party has no intention of dealing in good faith. They are unlike any political group we've ever had to deal with and they will shamelessly lie, commit crimes and incite further coup attempts if they are not stomped on. They equate "bipartisanship" with "do it our way" and compromise with weakness. They are NOT good people.

Donald Trump LOST!

Any who persist in screaming otherwise and dutifully chanting his praise are---plain and simple---enemies of the United States of America and its democracy. The LEAST they deserve is our public scorn and ridicule.

The "Barbarians Are At The Gate", folks. They will not be turned back with half-measures.

Our legal system, at least as it applies to those in the federal government, is analogous to

a slice of Swiss cheese: there are more places than are apparent at first glance where there just "isn't any there there". The actual cheese may be quite satisfactory but, those holes? Well, they are also part of the slice on our sandwich and it just would not be the same without them.

The former guy and his acolytes have shown us that "norms" and "customs" and "traditions" can be considered holes in our legal system through which shameless and immoral monsters like him can drive virtual dump trucks of outrageous and self-serving behavior and "policies". And, it is not merely the fact that these customs are not actual laws that permits and even encourages the transparent indecency, dishonesty and even criminality.

We do that.

A million or more of us did not shut down DC when Mitch dissed President Obama with his unprecedented refusal to even consider Mr. Garland for the empty POTUS seat that was rightfully his to fill.

We permitted---and continue to permit---those Republicans who refused to impeach and convict Trump to show their faces in public without loudly naming them the selfish cowardly thugs that they are.

We continue to allow without objection those promoting the the former guy's desperate and silly "Big Lie" to be treated with respect by talking heads oblivious to their complicity in the deceit.

Too many of us cannot recall the last time we contacted our Senators or Representatives---either to thank and support them or to peel long bloody strips of red meat off their asses if they deserve it.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. We are all in the game. If you're sitting on the bench, it's THEIR bench your butt is warming.

When the former guy and his cultists violate our laws, prosecutors should punish them. When they violate and dishonor our customs, our traditions and our norms, WE need to punish them, whether they are Congressmen in an airport or a neighbor at the supermarket. It is not enough to merely be pissed off. That righteous indignation must motivate us to OPENLY condemn and oppose the malignancy termed "Trumpism".

Do I have this right?

The Republicans raised the debt ceiling EIGHTEEN TIMES for Reagan, THREE TIMES for Trump and pushed through a 7.8 TRILLION DOLLAR tax cut for mega-corporations and billionaires, but now will not raise the debt ceiling for President Biden because to do so would be "financially irresponsible"?

The GOP wouldn't be THAT shameless------unless they thought they would be allowed to get away with it.

Though I have been a frequent poster here, I have only posted once in the past week and a half

and that was a bit of humor that I posted hesitantly. This post is offered, not as a justification, but just as an explanation.

I find it increasingly difficult to post anything acceptable. Most of the OPs I have tapped out lately that really said what I thought needed saying have been scrapped by me---erased before posted.

I was not concerned that the post would violate the TOS. Been there/done that and I have survived.

I was not concerned that some would disagree. That's to be expected on any discussion board worth the name.

I am just tired---in general, to be sure--- but also tired of the nasty "edge" that seems to have grown more acceptable. This trend is by no means limited to DU, but this has been my home for a couple decades and here is where 98% of my political discussion occurs. Thus, to have my integrity or good faith questioned by those with whom I HOPE I agree about most issues has sort of "bled" me these past several months.

Before some begin typing "Don't let the door hit you in the ass!", I am not leaving. I am simply---for a while---stepping back; reducing my participation. I'm sure some will applaud that and some will say "Who cares?", but this explanation is offered to those who will do neither.

Stay safe. GOTV. "Do good work."

HOME COVID TEST (?)

1. Pour a large glass of red wine, try to smell it.

2. If you can smell the wine then drink it and see if you can taste it.

3. If you can taste and smell it that confirms you don't have covid.

Last night, I did the test 19 times and all were negative, thank God..

Tonight I am going to do the test again because this morning I woke with a headache and feel like I'm coming down with something.

I am so nervous!

Some of the January 6th defendants have offered been negotiated pleas to misdemeanors with no

jail time and multiple other charges---including some felonies--- dismissed. Some of the justifications for these dispositions include "they were first offenders" who said they "did not realize" crossing police lines and invading the Capitol were crimes and "thought their actions were legal" since "President Trump" requested them.

These are of the same quality as the first offender who claims "I have no idea how that bag of weed got into my purse, but it ain't mine!"; the wide-eyed first offender who cries "Meth lab in my bedroom? How'd that get there?"; or, "She's 14? She said she was 18---honest!"

Of course, all of those excuses would get those offenders no-jail-time deals, right?

This will be a rant. No, I really mean it---THIS WILL BE A GODDAM R.A.N.T!

To all of the knuckle-dragging white supremacist assholes who are all het up about the removal of the Bob Lee on a horsey statue from its pedestal in Richmond, Virginia, get used to feeling like you feel today! We, the people---of ALL colors---have decided that there is no place in our nation for monuments that honor racist TRAITORS!

Yes, I called your idol a "traitor" because that is exactly what he was. He took up arms against the nation he had sworn an oath to serve and defend. By rights, the sonofabitch should have been HUNG!

It is my understanding that the statue will be cut into three pieces and stored until it can be decided what should be done with it. I have two suggestions. I'll tell you the one that does not require a LOT of lubricant.

The statue is, I believe, brass. It should be sold for scrap and the proceeds divided equally between Historic Black Colleges and Black Lives Matter.

So, if any of you Kluxer wannabes is already upset with me, let me double down: when y'all get home this evening, I hope your Mamas run out from under the porch and bite your pasty white asses!

Punks!

In my world, a "level-headed feller" has "Skoal" dribbling out of BOTH sides of his mouth. nt

About the pachyderm in the parlour---

ANYONE who STILL supports Donald Trump---whether actively or tacitly---is an enemy of the United States of America. They do not like our democracy and are capable of all sorts of extreme actions---including armed violence---in their campaign to eradicate it.

Their shamelessness is openly claimed as an asset: "We don't care if everyone knows we are liars and thugs in league with foreign dictators! Winning is all that counts!"

In my view, this is a fact proven repeatedly over the past several years. We ignore it or dismiss it as hyperbole at our peril.

Mr. or Ms right wing screamer: please have a seat, take a deep breath, turn off your cell

phone and try to just listen for a change. I know you have been conditioned to not just automatically disagree with anything said by a person without a MAGA cap, but to interrupt them and shout them down. But, about 80% of Americans understand that, when people do that, it means that they are cowards who know, deep down, that their views are so ridiculous they cannot be defended. Will you concede or proceed?

All right then!

In this first session, we'll start with just the basics---the sort of things most functioning adults thoroughly understood by the time they moved beyond the milk and cookies stage of their early years education.

So,--- what is a "fact"? I won't ask for a show of hands of those who know the answer to that because I am here to educate you, not humiliate you.

A "fact" is a statement based on objective reality. And, ---hang on tight here---facts can be PROVEN! Water freezes at 32 degrees and boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have any doubts about that, you can prove it with a readily available thermometer. Those are FACTS!

Facts either are or they aren't. That is, they either exist or they do not. And, this next part may startle you: facts can be DISCOVERED, but facts cannot be created by simply ANNOUNCING them! You can call "Iraq has weapons of mass destruction" and "Trump is a genius" "facts" untiI you're blue in the face and your tongue comes off its roller, but those remain, not just lies, but transparent lies!

Finally, as a bonus with today's lesson, before the Trump years, "alternative facts" were simply referred to by the more familiar term "bullshit".

Okay, I hope that is not too much for you to process without Himself or one of his brown shirts telling you what to think about it. There will be no more of these sessions until I see some evidence that you understand what you heard in this one. If you don't understand what facts are and respect them, my time would be better spent stalking unicorns than trying to make informed responsible citizens of you.

"Thus, endeth the lesson."