Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Benggaul]

249,519 new cases, about 12k more than last Saturday but Missouri and Nebraska haven't reported yet. That will bring the total up by about 4k.

Top 10:

California: 47,398 new cases; 460 deaths
Texas: 19,953 new cases; 337 deaths
Fuck Florida.
New York: 14,505 new cases; 149 deaths
Georgia: 11,926 new cases; 143 deaths (new record)
North Carolina: 11,581 new cases (new record); 97 deaths
Arizona: 11,094 new cases; 98 deaths
Pennsylvania: 9,398 new cases; 247 deaths
Ohio: 8,374 new cases; 55 deaths
Massachusetts: 7,414 new cases; 89 deaths

Virginia also set new records for new cases and deaths.

As always the numbers are taking a downward turn for the weekend, but it's still the highest it's ever been on a Saturday. At this point I have to say we're pretty set up to hit 300k again next week. Perhaps a couple times. Depending on how bad the holiday bump is 350k is probably within sight in the next couple of weeks, especially thanks to the new strain that came over from the UK and has been detected in several states that is more contagious than the original (thankfully the vaccine seems to work for both).

3,235 deaths is about 650 more than 3 weeks ago (the next-highest Saturday total that wasn't affected by the holidays) and brings the total to 381,480. We will absolutely hit 400k in the next week. The 7-day average is still tainted a bit by the holiday lull but is already over 3.2k.

Related news:

The CDC director said the storming of the Capitol is likely a COVID-19 'surge event' that will 'have public health consequences--Pretty sure we already knew this considering most of them were happy to be posing mask-less in front of their felonies. As per usual, I have zero sympathy for them, but hate that their ignorance is going to cost the health/lives of people they come in contact with afterwards.

More cases of COVID strain first identified in U.K. found in New York--Buckle up, @Breccia. Good luck.

Pope Francis to have COVID-19 vaccine, says it is the ethical choice for all--What's the Venn diagram of anti-vaxxers and "Good Christians"? I'm betting there's about to be a lot of equivocating and faulty justifications coming along soon.

Stay safe, folks.

[Mormolyce]

Sedition is a felony with a max 20 year sentence.

Treason is punishable by death.

There's a distinction? Well, treason then.

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https://apnews.com/article/donald-tr...2a4dd5593ad3d4

He's going to his "THE WALL" on Tuesday, because I guess that's all he has left. His monument to his and America's racism.

What could be more Trumpian than bragging about his failure to maintain an erection?

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I can't imagine Trump has many yes-man lawyers available, tbh.

Depends how far you're willing to stretch the definition of "lawyer".

[Xeones]

Trump wants Giuliani on his Impeachment defense team.

This man is retarded.

What defense team? I don't even see how there is a need for any sort of presentation. This is literally an impeachment charge they can just put up for a vote without need of a trial tbh. Everyone saw what Trump did with him sending his people to congress to sack it.

[Breccia]

249,51Buckle up, @Breccia. Good luck.

Thanks.

I haven't told my family, with whom I've been visiting since pre-Thanksgiving, that my county is, erm, "having a bad day". Unrelated: I got a Switch and Breath of the Wild today. Even in normal times, I might not leave the house for 2 weeks.

From CNN, because at this point why not: Now it's sinking in: Wednesday's Capitol Hill riot was even more violent than it first appeared

On Wednesday "the images broadcast were largely not the most horrifying ones of the day," MSNBC's Chris Hayes said Friday night. "Much of what we saw — silly costumes, people taking selfies, grabbing the speaker's lectern — looked like of kind a group that might even attend a Trump boat parade. But there was something way, way darker, more violent, more sinister, and more organized happening in that Capitol on Wednesday. And it's time we see it clearly."

On the internet, Hayes' segment was titled "Must-see new video shows Capitol riot was way worse than we thought."

He pointed out that "it is entirely possible that there were people in that crowd, looking to apprehend, possibly harm, and possibly murder the leaders of the political class that the President, and people like Mo Brooks, and even to a certain extent Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, have told them have betrayed them."

It understandably took some time for journalists to digest what they'd witnessed and ingest their video from the Capitol. The Washington Post, for instance, produced a video titled "What it was like to report from a Capitol under siege."

The fuller videos that came out on Thursday and Friday provided much more detail. The Daily podcast from The New York Times played audio clips of rioters chanting "Where's Mike Pence? Where's Mike Pence? Where is Mike Pence? Find Mike Pence."

Progressive writer Mike Konczal, a director at the Roosevelt Institute, tweeted on Friday, "That the occupation of the Capitol was far more violent, and had the capacity for far more violence, than I understood while it was happening is the most jarring thing I've learned about the putsch over the subsequent days. It's terrifying."

Something else that was even worse than we knew at the time: The attacks against members of the media. Erin Schaff of The New York Times later described what happened when the mob saw her Times ID. "They threw me to the floor, trying to take my cameras. I started screaming for help as loudly as I could," she said. "No one came. People just watched. At this point, I thought I could be killed and no one would stop them. They ripped one of my cameras away from me, broke a lens on the other and ran away." She fled and found a place to hide.

Should this come to trial, all of these accounts will be evidence. Anything caught on camera? Even worse/better.

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Oh course it will... needs a simple majority in the House to make it to the Senate.

Yes, but I thought McConnell said "we won't return till the 21st".

[Benggaul]

Unrelated: I got a Switch and Breath of the Wild today. Even in normal times, I might not leave the house for 2 weeks.

Enjoy! Really wish I had that option, but thanks to dealing with my injury since June the most I can afford to do is add games to my wishlist and hope they go on sale to, well, like $5 or so. Somehow I doubt I'll be playing Cyberpunk anytime this year.

But in all seriousness, take care of yourself. It's still going to get worse before it gets better.

[PhaelixWW]

Enjoy! Really wish I had that option, but thanks to dealing with my injury since June the most I can afford to do is add games to my wishlist and hope they go on sale to, well, like $5 or so. Somehow I doubt I'll be playing Cyberpunk anytime this year.

Yeah, during the holidays, I only spent $56 on myself, gaming-wise. But that was $20 for the Gold version of AC: Origins, $20 for the Deluxe version of AC: Odyssey, $8 for Horizon: Zero Dawn, and $8 for God of War.

Those, plus getting Just Cause 4 for free as one of the PS+ games in December means that I'll have plenty to keep my free time busy for a while.

I bought my girlfriend the MarioKart Switch bundle, too, though, so I'll get around to BotW eventually, I'm sure.


Back on-topic, Lin Wood is certifiable.

[Breccia]

Lin Wood is certifiable.

At what point will "just you wait!" stop working on Trump cultists?

Incidentally, if Trump really tried to black out the USA for 10-12 days...again, I think the SS would just shoot him.

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He's going to his "THE WALL" on Tuesday, because I guess that's all he has left. His monument to his and America's racism.

Which of the three miles?

[Edge-]

Which of the three miles?

I hope it's the one where he signed his name.

[Breccia]

To make sure everyone knows, Amazon kicks Parler off their web hosting services.

Parler will surely try to find another host. One who's willing to take their increasingly insurrectionist terrorist money.

[Fugus]

Parler Booted Off Amazon's AWS Hosting Service, Suspended by Apple

https://m.slashdot.org/story/380492

On my phone and can’t link to well.

[Breccia]

I’m not following... blackout? Is he saying Trump will cut the power in all the US or something?

He and others have said something about getting 10-12 days of food. So, yes.

[Kaleredar]

I’ve never heard of a President having some kind of ’stop the power’ switch, which turns off all power in the US. I don’t think such a thing is even possible lol

I really doubt it is. They're just saying shit to rile people up.

These are the people that think Trump is playing 5-dimmensional chess and this is all just a grand plan of his and that suddenly he'll declare "king me" and he'll be announced as president.

[Paranoid Android]

I love conservatives calling for nationalizing Twitter, FB, etc. Again this was an attack in the 2020 election about the Dems.

Another good note I would listen and possibly join is conservatives all sudden talking about tech monopolies.

Last but not least. Jeez people. Look where we have come in the past 4 years on this thread. Effin crazy. Still 10 days plus.

[Masark]

I can't imagine Trump has many yes-man lawyers available, tbh.

On that subject:

January 7, 2021

The Undersigned respectfully requests leave of this Court to withdraw as counsel for Plaintiff in this action pursuant to Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct 1.16(b)(3) and (4) inasmuch as the client has used the lawyer's services to perpetuate a crime and the client insists upon taking action that the lawyer considers repugnant and with which the lawyer has a fundamental disagreement.

Jerome M. Marcus

https://www.scribd.com/document/4900...hdrawal-Motion

[Corvus]

Pope Francis to have COVID-19 vaccine, says it is the ethical choice for all--What's the Venn diagram of anti-vaxxers and "Good Christians"? I'm betting there's about to be a lot of equivocating and faulty justifications coming along soon.

Catholics ain't Christians to a lot of the more evangelical protestants of the kind that support Trump.

[Breccia]

I’ve never heard of a President having some kind of stop the power switch, which turns off all power in the US. I don’t think such a thing is even possible lol

I dunno. Maybe? But let's get past the "can he?" and get to "what happens next?"

1) A group of random-ass separated cult members are going to take over the government...nationwide. With no ability to communicate with each other and no ability to refuel their vehicles. Also no plan.

2) America's enemies, many of them Hispanic, black or Muslim, will sit patiently by and wait while the US experiences a 10-12 day blackout which somehow doesn't get fixed.

3) The seizure is completely legal, the country accepts the takeover without repurcussions, and America's allies accept Trump as the leader of the USA without reservation. Even those countries that normally take a dim view on violent coups. The UN does not send help from dozens, maybe a hundred, countries to stop what might be interpreted as "madman tries to seize nuclear arsenal".

4) Somenow, the COVID vaccines survive for nearly two weeks without refridgeration.

5) The nation's military, sworn to protect against all enemies foreign or domestic, either ignore their vows while a bunch of violent terrorists seize every state, or are somehow outgunned by a bunch of Call of Duty cosplayers. Their fully automatic weapons, heavily armored vehicles, body armor, training, tactics, and vast reserves of supplies are somehow unable to stand up to Bubba Bo Bob Bubba and his civilian shotgun and Wal-Mart camo hoodie.

6) Trump, despite ordering a violent seditious insurrection, is not executed by the law enforcement officers standing next to him at all times.

7) Stores, despite having no power and in the middle of a violent revolution, are open as normal and sell the necessary ammo and beef jerky when asked without issue.

8) Businesses are able to resume after a 10-12 day blackout without any loss of stock, staff, or lives. Even those that deal with raw meat or hosptials.

9) The turnout is actually in the millions upon millions Wood says, despite many Trump supporters being frail old men and many more being farmers with families to feed and protect.

10) And after all of that...the 81 million who voted for Biden choose to sit by and do nothing.

[Endus]

I love conservatives calling for nationalizing Twitter, FB, etc. Again this was an attack in the 2020 election about the Dems.

Another good note I would listen and possibly join is conservatives all sudden talking about tech monopolies.

Last but not least. Jeez people. Look where we have come in the past 4 years on this thread. Effin crazy. Still 10 days plus.

The silliest damned thing about their stance regarding tech companies is that their beef with those companies boils down to "freedom and capitalism".

The moment you suggest socialising the economy, they'll freak out and call you a ratfink commie traitor, though.

They don't have any clue what they actually want.

[Drutt]

I love conservatives calling for nationalizing Twitter, FB, etc.

OMG, but that's socialist!

....wait, if they're socialists, doesn't that also make them Antifa thugs?

Kevin Sorbo was right!

/s

[Masark]

They don't have any clue what they actually want.

They know exactly what they want.

Freedom for some, oppression and execution for Others.

[Breccia]

I love conservatives calling for nationalizing Twitter, FB, etc.

I mean, a social media platform run by the government would be an interesting experiment. Probably wouldn't host as many murderous insurrectionists, too.

Tell you what, Republicans, you want to start up one I'll even make an account. Seizing private assets and controlling them? That sounds like socialsm.

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Sources with knowledge of the situation tell NBC News

While the vice president and his family were in a bunker in the Capitol, the president did not reach out to check on his safety nor did he condemn those who said the VP should be executed

Oh look. Trump showing there is only loyalty to Trump.

I would normally add Pence's name to the list of "I never thought Trump would turn on me" but I'm four years too late. Remembrer how Flynn lied to Pence about being a foreign agent? But Trump knew? Pence knew within a month where he stood.