Day 933 – Don’t Yell “Fire!”

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

If you yell, “Fire!” in a crowded theater when there is no fire you can be arrested because it causes a dangerous situation. One where people can be trampled to death or otherwise hurt. I guess you could argue it impinges on your right to free speech, but I don’t think that would get you very far. 

“Guilty. Next.”

This is the argument that Trump and his lawyers are making. “What do you mean I can’t threaten, browbeat, and tell my rabid supporters where witnesses, judges, and prosecutors live so they can go exercise their second amendment rights by shooting up those homes?”

To be fair, he has a habit of doing this. Anyone who watched what happened on January 6th and listened to what he said can have little doubt. Well, okay the people who still believe that a pizza parlor build on a slab of concrete had a basement – well, there’s no hope for them, but that’s the point isn’t it? Someone will believe the lies and take action.

Just ask Amy Fisher. She shot Joey Buttafuoco’s wife, Mary Jo, in the face, because she was having an affair with old Joey. She got 5 to 15 served ten. Joey got four months for statutory rape. Amy was seventeen at the time. Everyone wrote a book and there’s a sex tape. Ah, America. And New Jersey. Go Eagles.

There’s lots of speculation and excitement that Fani Willis is going to be issuing indictments soon. She subpoenaed two people yesterday. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much. I was disappointed by Robert Mueller, and then by the DOJ. Why didn’t the Department just take Vol 2 and charge Trump?

But now, there’s analysis that by Trump declaring early for the presidency that this triggered DOJ to appoint a special consul which has resulted in all these charges ahead of the primaries and election. If Trump had waited there would not have been enough time to charge him before the election. Bummer Donnie.

I’ve been watching a lot of the women’s soccer. I am as befuddled by what constitutes a foul and what doesn’t as I am in basketball. You can’t step on someone’s butt when they are lying on the ground – got it. But you can pinwheel your arms around and grab at someone’s shoulder or you can place your arms around someone’s waist (or very close) as long as you don’t wrestle, but if you flick their cheek as you are doing this it’s a penalty. I played the game and I never remember this sort of stuff being allowed. But the passing, the team formations, and the overall level of play is fascinating.

In Ohio over three million voters turned out to reject a Republican plan to up the percentage on making changes in the Ohio constitution. This in a state of just under twelve million people. So over 25% of the state showed up to tell the Republicans in charge to stick it. Now, the ballot initiative in the fall about enshrining abortion rights into the state’s constitution is  cleared, despite the Republican efforts to do whatever they could to rig it for defeat. This included not only holding a special election in the dog days of summer, but also closing some polling places to thus confuse voters as to where they should go to vote.

This morning a memo has surfaced by a Trump lawyer that was dated back in December of the previous year describing a way to delay the vote on January 6th, which Trump and his cronies did. This shows that there was a conspiracy. The events of Jan 6 did, in fact delay the proceedings. For those arguing otherwise, well I suggest you get your nose out of the Kool-aid. Kind of a mixed metaphor with “wake up and smell the coffee.” Some things can’t be helped.