Odds and Ends — 17 December 2024

in #oddsandends9 days ago

Politics:

Judge Denies Trump’s Bid to Throw Out Conviction

A judge on Monday rejected Donald Trump’s argument that a recent Supreme Court ruling had nullified his criminal case in New York, upholding the former and future president’s felony conviction for falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal.
The judge’s ruling preserves, at least for now, the stain of Mr. Trump’s criminal conviction. And if it withstands Mr. Trump’s appeal, it will make him the first felon to serve as president.

Um, no: Trump Allies Float Third Term for Trump

A Low, Low Point for ABC News

ABC News, a founding member of the mainstream media, will also serve as a founding member of the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library, or some such. That’s how big a chest-beating, lectern-pounding, crowd-pleasing victory the president-elect scored on an otherwise sleepy December weekend.
ABC News will never live down this capitulation. Never.

Donald Trump Says He Will Sue Ann Selzer And Iowa Newspaper

The retribution against Trump's enemies is beginning

ABC News Showed Trump Exactly How to Silence Journalists

This is how press freedom erodes—not through dramatic crackdowns, but through corporate calculation. When news organizations are owned by massive conglomerates, journalism becomes just another business interest to be traded away when convenient.

Eric Adams Denied Public Matching Funds

Election officials on Monday denied a request from New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ 2025 campaign for millions in public matching dollars.
The decision — based on bookkeeping irregularities and a federal criminal case against the mayor involving straw donors — deals a body blow to the beleaguered mayor’s reelection effort, which he must now redouble to make up for the withheld cash.


Germany set for snap elections after chancellor loses confidence vote

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of no confidence Monday, paving the way for early elections in February and ending a turbulent year at the polls for several of Europe's leaders and governing parties.

Muslim Judicial Nominee Decries ‘Smear Campaign’

The first Muslim American to be nominated for a federal appellate court judgeship formally withdrew his name and lashed out at senators and the judicial confirmation process…

Republicans Might Call Constitutional Convention

As Republicans prepare to take control of Congress and the White House, among the many scenarios keeping Democrats up at night is an event that many Americans consider a historical relic: a constitutional convention.
The 1787 gathering in Philadelphia to write the Constitution was the one and only time state representatives have convened to work on the document.
But a simple line in the Constitution allows Congress to convene a rewrite session if two-thirds of state legislatures have called for one. The option has never been used, but most states have long-forgotten requests on the books that could be enough to trigger a new constitutional convention, some scholars and politicians believe.

Ukraine Kills Top Russian General in Moscow

A top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops was assassinated in Moscow by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service on Tuesday morning in the most high-profile killing of its kind.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building along with his assistant when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter went off.

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Haha the cover photo is all too true! 😂

You should see what the orange reelection is doing up here. Making provincial premiers hold emergency meeting over delusional late night tweets! Manifest destiny has gotten real again and people are worried.

Good news: we’re only one Big Mac away from a massive coronary.

Bad news: That might give Vance a massive “sympathy boost” to screw us even worse.

You've got a lot to chew on here, but I stopped to nibble especially on the Constitutional Convention. Kind of scary, if you think about the potential consequences in a country that is suffering from political hysteria. However, I went on to refresh my memory on how changing (amending) the Constitution works. There would have to be a 2/3 majority in each house of Congress before the proposed amendment went to the states for approval. I can't see 2/3 of the Senate or the House agreeing on anything. If the amendment passes that threshold, then we have a problem, because 3/4 of the states would have to approve the amendment. Given how lopsided the electoral outcome was in the last election, 3/4 is highly possible.

Sorry for the long response, but you brought it up :))

Not sure that I understand the mechanics of a potential Constitutional Convention (Article V of the Constitution is thin on specifics) but any proposal that might come out of it would still need to be approved by three-fourths of the states, a difficult threshold.