Below is my column in The Hill on the one thing that the forthcoming report of Special Counsel Jack Smith will not address: how he destroyed his own case against Donald Trump. Smith will be something of a tragic figure for future special counsels. The only thing missing is a shirt reading, “I spent over two years and $50 million dollars and all I got was this lousy t-shirt (and a redacted report).”
Here is the column:
The expected release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report will occur as early as this weekend, albeit without those sections dealing with the Florida documents case. (Other defendants are still facing prosecution in that case.) However, the most glaring omission will be arguably an explanation of how Smith lost this war without firing a single shot in a trial.
After more than two years, two separate cases and countless appeals (not to mention more than $50 million spent), Smith left without presenting a single witness, let alone charge, at trial. It is an example of how a general can have the largest army and unlimited resources and yet defeat himself with a series of miscalculations.
History probably won’t be kind to Smith, whose record bespeaks a “parade general” — a prosecutor who offered more pretense than progress in the prosecution of an American president.
Indeed, this report will be one of Smith’s last chances to display a case that notably never got close to an actual trial. One-sided and unfiltered, it will have all of the thrill of a Sousa march of a regiment in full dress. We know because we have seen much of this before. At every juncture, Smith has taken his case out on parade in the court of public opinion.
The Smith report will reportedly concern only the Washington case alleging crimes related to Jan. 6 and the 2020 election — a case that was always a bridge too far for Smith.
When first appointed, Smith had a straightforward and relatively easy case to make against Trump over his removal and retention of presidential materials. The case was not without controversy. Some of us questioned the selective nature of the prosecution given past violations by other presidents, particularly as shown by the violations of President Biden going back decades found by another special counsel.
However, the case originally focused on the conspiracy and false statements during the federal investigation into the documents at Mar-a-Lago. Those are well-established crimes that Smith could have brought to trial quickly with a solid shot for conviction.
But Smith’s undoing has always been his appetite. That was evident when he was unanimously reversed by the Supreme Court in his case against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R).
In Florida, Smith was in signature form. He took a simple case and loaded it up with press-grabbing charges regarding the retention of classified material. In so doing, he slowed the case to a crawl. As a defense lawyer who has handled classified documents cases, I said at the outset that I did not believe he could get this case to a jury before the 2024 election, and that after that election, Smith might not have a case to present. Smith had outmaneuvered himself.
Then came the Washington filing, the subject of this forthcoming report. It was another vintage Smith moment. Smith played to the public in a case that pushed both the Constitution and statutory provisions beyond the breaking point. He simply could not resist, and he was only encouraged after the assignment of Judge Tanya Chutkan, a judge viewed by many as predisposed against Trump.
In a sentencing hearing of a Jan. 6 rioter in 2022, Chutkan had said that the rioters “were there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man — not to the Constitution.” She added then, “[i]t’s a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.” That “one person” was then brought to her for trial by Smith.
The D.C. case was doomed from the outset by both a prosecutor and judge who, in their zeal to bag Trump, yielded to every temptation. As time ticked away, Smith became almost apoplectic in demanding an expedited path to trial, including cutting short appeals. After refusing to recuse herself, Chutkan seemed to indulge Smith at every turn. But the Supreme Court failed to agree that speed should trump substance in such reviews.
With both cases slipping out of his grasp, Smith then threw a final Hail Mary. He asked Chutkan to let him file what was basically a 165-page summary of this report against Trump before the election. There was no apparent reason for the public release of the filing, except to influence the election — a motivation long barred by Justice Department rules.
Chutkan, of course, allowed it anyway, despite admitting that the request was “procedurally irregular.”
It did not work. Although the press and pundits eagerly repeated the allegations in the filing, the public had long ago reached its own conclusion and rendered its own verdict in November.
In my view, Smith’s D.C. case would never have been upheld, even if he had made it to a favorable jury in front of a motivated judge. As established by the court in Trump v. United States, Smith could not rely on much of his complaint due to violating constitutionally protected areas.
Smith responded to the immunity decision again in typical Smith fashion, largely keeping the same claims with minimal changes. His new indictment was to indictments what shrinkflation is to consumer products — the same package with less content. As in the McDonnell case, Smith was going for conviction at all costs, despite a high likelihood of the case eventually being overturned.
Then the public effectively put an end to both cases by electing Trump.
The Smith investigation should be a case study for future prosecutors in what not to do. An abundance of appetite and arrogance can prove as deadly as a paucity of evidence and authority.
Ironically, Smith will not be the only special counsel offering such a cautionary tale. The report of Special Counsel David Weiss into the Hunter Biden controversy will also be released soon. Weiss was widely denounced for allowing major crimes to lapse against Hunter Biden and offering an embarrassing sweetheart plea deal that collapsed in open court. Notably, Weiss succeeded by minimizing his charges (for the wrong reason). In that way, Weiss has one claim that Smith does not: He made it to court and secured a conviction. Indeed, he was about to prosecute a second case when President Biden pardoned his son.
Weiss’s report will likely only increase questions over his failure to pursue Hunter more aggressively. For Smith, the question is whether he was too aggressive, to the detriment of his own prosecution.
Prosecutions are not the sole measure of success for a special prosecutor. At times, the report itself can be of equal, if not greater, importance to the public.
This is not one of those cases.
The public will be given Smith’s detailed account of a case that was never brought and would likely never have held up. At more than $50 million, it is arguably the biggest flop since “The Adventures of Pluto Nash.“ The difference is that it did not take more than two years to watch Eddie Murphy’s film disaster, and the actor did not then write up a report on how good the movie really was.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Smith’s report is now out. He explains in pp 61-67 why he didn’t charge insurrection under the insurrection act:
1. The definition of insurrection under the law and the precedents was such that he could not prove that Jan 6 was an insurrection;
2. Even if it were an insurrection, he could not prove that Trump had engaged directly in it, and there was no precedent under the law for bringing a charge of incitement; and
3. Even if the law covered incitement, he could not prove that Trump met the subjective intent standard for incitement required by Brandenberg.
It will be interesting to see how this is presented in the media.
Fact is, it all now history, except pundits nobody cares and they’ll analyze it to kingdom come. let’s move on people. Nothing to see here. Trump won. Now let’s support President Trump. Support real Americans.
I am not a pundit and I still care about this. It needs to be thoroughly investigated and heads should roll. If we shrug and go our merry way, these tactics will be trotted out again, and probably soon. Trump is not sui generis in that respect. According to the Democrats, every Republican is Hitler and if they think they can get away with this kind of crap they will surely do it again.
Daniel,
Thank you for pointing that out and for your analysis.
There was no insurrection. As most of us knew.
That’s not what the report stated. It only concluded that they could not charge Trump due to insufficient evidence. It did not exonerate him from the accusations.
Trump opted to engage in illegal and unlawful methods to maintain power, and he ultimately failed. This does not mean he is no longer accused of lying and attempting to commit fraud to retain the presidency.
Remember, Trump is a convicted felon, a criminial who tried to overturn the election in 2021 because he couldn’t bear the thought that the lost to Biden. He encouraged his followers for months to rally at the Capitol to expect something “wild.” He was grooming his supporters to engage in violence against the certification of Biden’s election after losing 59 court cases trying to prove voter fraud.
Geo., on what planet do you live?
He lives inside his own head. With Donald Trump.
Why are you anoymous chickens**t?
Planet TDS.
In a delusion far, far, away.
The planet where George’s alma mater is located: The Lavarentiy Beria School Of Law.
George graduated at the head of his class in obtaining his JD. With two degrees. While on a full pull scholarship!
George is a chronic pustule on the surface of Professor Turley’s blog.
Unlike you, George lives on earth!
mars….which is why musk in now thinking twice
Grooming … violence … Thats one heck of a whopper George. Try getting your facts in the correct chronological order – a convicted felon in 2021?
Wrong.
Bombshell transcripts: Trump urged use of troops to protect Capitol on Jan. 6 , but was rebuffed
“Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, confirmed to the Pentagon inspector general three years ago that during a Jan. 3, 2021, Oval Office meeting Trump pre-approved the use of National Guard or active duty troops to keep peace in the nation’s capital on the day Congress was to certify the results of the 2020 election.”
https://justthenews.com/accountability/watchdogs/bombshell-transcripts-trump-urged-use-troops-protect-capitol-jan-6-was?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=offthepress&utm_campaign=home
As most of us knew, there was no insurrection.
Upstate Farmer is absolutely right. Here is more:
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/08/gen-kellogg-trump-did-request-natl-guard-troops-on-jan-6th-asks-congress-to-release-his-testimony/
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg said last week that former President Donald Trump did in fact request National Guard troops be deployed in Washington D.C. before the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Kellogg said he was present at the time of Trump’s request, and Congress should release his testimony to the public.
LOL!
George,
Every so often you are readable and then… a load of crap.
What illegal means did he employ to retain power?
“It only concluded that they could not charge Trump due to insufficient evidence.”
insufficient evidence is synonymous with lack of proof.
“It did not exonerate him from the accusations.”
Prosecutors virtually never exonerate people. That is not there job.
“Trump opted to engage in illegal and unlawful methods to maintain power, and he ultimately failed. ”
YOUR OWN claim is that Smith did not fund sufficient evidence of that – all individuals acts are presumptively lawful until you prove they are not.
Smith did not – therefore Trumps acts were not unlawful.
“This does not mean he is no longer accused of lying and attempting to commit fraud to retain the presidency.”
True, he is also accused of being hitler, and a tyrant and ….
Accusations are not crimes, they are not proof.
“Remember, Trump is a convicted felon”
Only in the eyes of wing nuts.
Regardless, the “I voted for the felon” tshirts are doing fine.
Think – the democrat band is so tarnished that you lost to “a convicted felon”.
You have two choices – accept that Trump is a criminal and the voters decided that YOU are worse.
Or accept that people are not stupid and did not recognize the accusations against Trump as crimes.
“a criminial who tried to overturn the election in 2021 because he couldn’t bear the thought that the lost to Biden.”
Trying to overturn an election is not a crime. Election fraud is a crime.
The requirement for legitimate government – see the declartation of independence whose PURPOSE was to explain why the colonies were violently insurecting against the existing government, is to secure the trust of the people. We typically do that through elections. If the election is not trusted, then the election did NOT prove the trust of the people and therefore the government is illegitimate.
Regardless, democrats try to overturn elections all the time – it is perfectly legal.
“He encouraged his followers for months to rally at the Capitol to expect something “wild.””
false and irrelvant even if it was true.
“He was grooming his supporters to engage in violence against the certification of Biden’s election after losing 59 court cases trying to prove voter fraud.”
Yet Smith concluded there was no incitement.
John Eastmen spent 10 weeks presenting SOME of the evidence of election fraud at the CA disbarrment hearing.
This is all evidence that non of those courts you rant about ever bothered to hear.
Not have sufficient evidence means Trump was innocent, not guilty but can’t prove.
George:
Documents proved that President Trump requested security on January 6. His directives were ignored. Thus, it is not true that Trump planned or wanted any insurrection. A protest is not an effort to overthrow the entire United States government, so there wasn’t even an attempted insurrection. There was no plan in place for rebels to control the entire country on Jan 6.
It is not unlawful to express the opinion that an election was rigged. If so, then millions of Democrats would have been arrested in 2016.
It was not unlawful to hold a protest about the election. It was not unlawful for Trump to urge the rally attendees to PEACEFULLY let their voices be heard.
It was not unlawful to ask his VP what he could do to delay the verification of the election, to give time for the challenges in court, as the VP simply said no, he was not allowed to do so. We have seen evidence of severe interference in the 2024 election, which was luckily unsuccessful. Examples were multiple states striking him from the ballot, but getting overturned by SCOTUS, the weaponization of the criminal justice system to persecute Trump for having classified documents that he’d declassified, while ignoring Joe Biden stealing classified documents as senator and VP, storing them in an unsecured garage, giving some to Hunter Biden to quote in his scheme to get millions of dollars from foreigners, and gave some to the Chinese-funded Penn-Biden Center. More examples were convicting Trump on 37 felonies for reporting an NDA over an alleged sexual encounter from 2006, as a legal expense rather than a campaign contribution to oneself (a rule that doesn’t exist, and if it did it would have been a misdemeanor), fining Trump half a billion dollars for the valuation of his real estate properties on bank loans years ago, though the banks agreed with his assessment, or fining Trump $65 million because E Jean Carroll told her friends that a decades-old encounter with Trump in which she said she laughed the entire time was abuse. Then there was the collusion of the intelligence community and Democrats to deny the veracity of Hunter Biden’s laptop, all the while knowing it was bona fide. Then there are the Democrat states refusing to allow voter ID. We know the system is rigged. We were just lucky to have overcome it in 2024.
Trump neither planned nor wanted an insurrection, as evidenced by the fact that he met with Pentagon officials to urge them to keep the Jan 6 rally and protest peaceful. That directive was ignored. If you want to overthrow the government, you don’t ask the government to ensure that a protest remains non destructive. There was a protest, from which a group of people broke off and disrupted the election verification proceedings at the Capitol. It was not an attempt to seize power, but rather a protest. You can’t overthrow the US government with face paint or shouting. The Revolutionary War actually overthrew the government of what would become the United States. The Civil War dragged on for years, and that was just over secession. It is patently absurd for anyone to suggest that a protest at the Capitol was an attempt to overthrow the government. With what??
Proof President Trump asked the Pentagon to ensure Jan 6 protest remained peaceful:
https://cha.house.gov/2024/9/transcripts-show-president-trump-s-directives-to-pentagon-leadership-to-keep-january-6-safe-were-deliberately-ignored
It should be noted that the group of people who protested at the Capitol did so before the rally even ended, miles away. Trump was not with them, or in communication with them.
Now, it’s not true that Nancy Pelosi was solely responsible for security at the Capitol, but it’s also not true that Trump was solely responsible either.
The WSJ has a brief summary, “Who Was in Charge of Security Jan. 6”, by Nancy Youssef. It’s behind a paywall, so I’ll quote the relevant section:
“Trump was widely criticized for not acting more assertively to call off the mob of his supporters that stormed the Capitol.
“I wasn’t responsible for security. Nancy Pelosi was responsible. She didn’t do her job,” Trump said.
It’s a little more complicated than that because the nation’s capital falls under both federal and local jurisdictions. Technically, the deployment of D.C. National Guard forces falls to the president who usually designates that job to someone else. In 2021, that person was Secretary of the Army. But Pelosi was among those in charge of security at the Capitol and Bowser was tasked with deploying D.C. police officers and other local law enforcement. There are also other federal law enforcement agencies in Washington. And all of those officials had a say about the security situation leading up to Jan. 6 and after violence erupted around the Capitol.”
What Trump did for security for Jan 6 – He requested the Pentagon ensure the protest remained peaceful. He DID request the National Guard.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/08/gen-kellogg-trump-did-request-natl-guard-troops-on-jan-6th-asks-congress-to-release-his-testimony/
“Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg said last week that former President Donald Trump did in fact request National Guard troops be deployed in Washington D.C. before the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Kellogg said he was present at the time of Trump’s request, and Congress should release his testimony to the public.”
Trump did his duty for security. Nancy Pelosi and the Secretary of the Army did not.
I’m at my link limit for WordPress, so I’ll submit another comment regarding why the National Guard was not sent.
Convicted with no crime?
Illegal and unlawful according to whom? Is George the arbiter of Trump guilt? And Trump actually was only involved in one court action, the one in Georgia that prompted Fani Willis’s witch hunt. All of the other suits that were brought were brought by others and ALL of them were thrown out on procedural grounds before they ever got to present any of their evidence of electoral malfeasance. You really should get your facts straight before you shoot your mouth off.
good comment
saloth sar
This case, and many others, are just a case of attorney welfare. Too many attorneys and not enough work.
What a unique interpretation of lawfare.
In Trump-deranged DC, I could probably convict Trump of being a 90lb Asian woman – especially given two years and $50 million to do it.
Assuming you’re lawyer and appointed by the senate. Neither of which you are or can.
Everything that’s wrong with society encapsulated in 20 seconds of the LA assistant fire chief talking:
https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1878996193977762173
OMG! Is that a man or a woman?
DEI hire. Sex, unknown. Do you really want to know?
And the Los Angeles, Public Worker, Firefighters unions were out with their “LAFD” PR campaign within minutes of the Los Angeles County conflagration.
“LAFD” is all over Monday Night Football.
24 people were killed, and 12,000 homes and 60 square miles were destroyed.
What exactly did the “LAFD” do?
Ask the residents of Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Topanga, Altadena, Sierra Madre, Slymar, Granada Hills, etc.
You enjoy being as despicable as possible, huh.
They did everything they could possibly do with the budget allocated. The failure was by government leadership and the lack of preparation. The insurance companies saw it coming so why didn’t the government? Newsom and Bass need to be fired immediately!
Traveler,
Well said and spot on. Gross incompetence by the government. Read an article yesterday that home owners insurance is going to get more expensive as insurance companies will either have to raise rates or simply leave the failed state of CA as it is not sustainable to stay in the market.
Traveler,
You make a good point. The insurance actuaries do nothing more than look the numbers. And if a person studies a the numbers long enough, they will tell the story.
Too bad so many leaders struggle with numbers.
Did you notice the governor on the scene with perfectly combed hair? I wonder if he has ever done a days work.
He is Nasty Pelosi’s nephew, what do you think? Hopefully soon to be Ex Governor with his Ex Mayor and both held criminally liable for their negligence.
What exactly did the “LAFD” do?
As that well known joke told by police about the mattressbacks goes: “They heroically saved every single foundation”.
That is pretty bad, and clueless. I am waiting to see how the diversity hires performed during the crisis. I am guessing that the women firefighters performed well for a few short hours and then pooped out. But maybe the DEI hires had mostly desk jobs. Who knows. Curious to find out.
Absolutely. If my house is on fire – the only thing I need a responder to “understand” is how to put out the fire.
I do not give a schiff if they look like me, or this doughy assistant fire cheif – if they can put out the fire.
And yes, sometimes we need help from first responders because we made mistakes.
We still expect them to come – and if that is what is needed carry us out of the fire.
If they can not do that – why were they hired ?
They were hired because of DEI, which translates to “death” in practice. The city cut the FD’s budget $17M, the FD spent what it had on diversity, the state put terrible green-energy policies and terrible water policies into practice, and it all set California back centuries … which is what mentally challenged people call “progress.” The progressives voted for stupid government, now they’re experiencing the effects of it. Of course brain-dead Biden (actually the left wing extremist puppeteers behind him) are making everyone else pay for the stupidity of California progressive voters.
Why are you Trump supporters so f*cking judgmental?
Why are you Trump haters so f*cking stupid?
Because the world does not work if people can not do their job.
The failures from top to bottom in California are costing people their lives, their homes, and california and ultimately the country hundreds of billions of dollars.
Competence matters.
If you can not do the job – whether that is Governor, Mayor, or firefighter, then you are HARMFUL to others.
The country would have been better off if harsh judgement was excercised early and the people who have failed were removed and replaced BEFORE their incompetence severely cost the rest of us.
What failure? The narrative about incompentence came from Trump’s own lying mouth. The fact that he mentioned a non-existent document and blaming Newsome for something that is out of his control speaks volumes about Trumps need to lie and lay blame to make himself look better.
The majority of the claims about the California fires are social media BS rumors.
I will assume you also lay blame on the governors of states hit by Hurricane Helene and the resulting floods for their incompetence in preventing the catastrophies in their states too. Right?
Trump took this disaster to politize it and use it to bash a blue state, a state that supports red states because they can’t support themselves without federal government money. How ironic. Republicans from states that take in more federal dollars than they give bad-mouthing a blue state that pays more into the federal government. Using Trump’s own transactionaly philosophy California should be getting billions more because they paid into the sytem reds states fail to fully pay into. Blaming California’s leadership for the fires is like blaming Florida’s leasership for Hurricanes. It’s utterly stupid to play this blame game.
Desperate attempts to cover-up the incompetence, corruption, and maleficence, of the California one party Marxist Socialist coalition governmental leaders will in the end only matter to those who’s lives have been lost, destroyed, and completely upended. Try telling them to their face there was nothing their government could have done to make any difference and or be any better prepared for it.
I’d like to see their reaction, if you were to survive it.
“. . . blaming Newsome for something that is out of his control . . .”
My water pipes broke. Don’t blame me. Temperature is out of my control.
That temperature is out of my control is true. But as with every act of deception, and every act of shirking responsibility, that statement evades an obvious issue — one every responsible homeowner knows: Mitigation. As in pipe insulation (there are shelves of that stuff), heat tape, letting faucets drip, . . . All of which mitigation is under one’s control.
But when environmentalist policies make fire mitigation *illegal*, you get the LA catastrophe.
That, and it’s a cascade of governmental failures both large and small, Federal, State, and Local. While hero firefighters do all they can, the equipment they desperately need is, out of commission and in want of repair…
“Staggering image of 100 essential fire trucks idling in a parking lot waiting for repair while Los Angeles apocalyptic fires ravage city killing 24”
–By PERKIN AMALARAJ, Published: 09:30 EST, 14 January 2025 | Updated: 10:25 EST, 14 January 2025
“The pictures, captured by a local activist, shows scores of essential firefighting vehicles sitting in the LA Fire Department’s Bureau Of Supply and Maintenance lot on North Avenue 19 in the city’s northeast. LA fire chief Kristin Crowley said in an interview with CNN: ‘We have over 100 fire apparatus out of service. Having these apparatus, and the proper amount of mechanics would have helped.”
“The LAFD has a total of 183 trucks, meaning that more than half of the city’s fire trucks are out of commission as the fires continue to burn through dense urban spaces, killing at least 24, displacing more than 200,000 and destroying over 12,000 buildings.”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14282009/fire-trucks-Los-Angeles-fires.html
“Everything that’s wrong . . .”
Your husband “got himself in the wrong place, if I have to carry him out of a fire.” (?!)
Your child “got himself in the wrong place,” if I have to repair his broken bone.
You “got [yourself] in the wrong place,” if I have to rescue you from that highway pileup.
Do your damn job!
Jack Smith, Al Bragg, Leticia James, Fanny Willis, Tanya Chutkan, Matthew Colangelo, Juan Merchan, Loren Merchan, Merrick Garland, Barack Obama, the Obama administration holdovers et al. conspired to wrongfully disparage and convict an innocent person, President Donald J. Trump.
The criminal co-conspirators in this case must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for egregious electoral fraud, election interference, corruption, abuse of power, usurpation of power, breach of public trust, conspiracy et al.
The resultant penalties must be severe for the extremity of the specific crimes and for the sake of general principles.
“Newsmax host Chris Plante asked Tuberville, “Why should other states be bailing out California for choosing the wrong people to run their state?
The Alabama lawmaker replied, “We shouldn’t be. They’ve got 40 million people in that state, and they’ve voted these imbeciles in office, and they continue to do it. If you go to California, you run into a lot of lot of Republicans — a lot of good people, and I hate it it for them. But they are just overwhelmed by these inner city, woke policies, with the people that vote for them.””
Looks like we have another piece of human flesh vying for the biggest sack of sh!t in the world.
Bummer that we can actually fact some stuff. If only facts meant something to a lying sack of sh!t
Former US attorney Joyce Vance replied, “In 2020, Alabama got $2.17 for every $1 paid in fedl taxes,” and included a link to the report for proof.
She added, “In 2023 the fedl govt sent over $64 billion through direct payments, contracts, grants & other forms of financial assistance to Alabama, making putting it among the most federally dependent states in the nation.”
Not this BS again. This garbage is blatantly false. The biggest pig at the government trough is by far California.
Wow Joyce vance included a link to a garbage and debunked report. She is atleast less dishonest than you.
It is true that Alabama like every other state in the country is dependent on the federal governemnt to fund FEDERAL programs.
Is it possible for you left wing nuts to actually engage in critical thinking ?
In the past decade we have gotten lots of these BS claims. While there are inumerable errors in these studies the biggest on is that they
all rank poorly states that have efficient and limited state governments.
California receives $162B in federal funds per year. NY $110B/yr. While the States total budget is $322B, and the left wing nut sources tell us that CA’s federal depenndence is low as it only receives 14% of its funding from the federal governemnt.
Only in a world where 2 + 2 = 5 is 162B 14% of 322B.
There is no reason ever to trust any statistic from left wing nuts.
You LIE – About EVERYTHING.
Next time you make some stupid claim – do NOT tell me that someone else linked a study.
claiming that a source exists – is not the same as providing a source.
And do NOT provide some ideologically warped nonsense by left wing Phd.’s that beleive math is racist.
Provide raw data from soures that can be trusted – and the rest of us can analyse it ourselves.
Anyone that trusts those of you on the left is a fool.
Your the idiots whose incompetence is burning down California.
Just as the 2020 fraudulent election results, empirical data does not lie.
John Say, outstanding!
Faux David, Do I really care if two Blue states are pissed about alleged federal funding disparities ?
The FACTS that I pointed out make clear that these idiotic claims by Left wing nuts that CA is somehow a desert with respect to federal aide is not only nonsense – but a lie.
There are bazillions of factors that go into how much “federal aide” a state gets – including such things as the age of the population – CA is in the lower third of US states by median age. While NY is in the top 3rd. That means there are proportionately more people on Social Security in NY than CA.
Just to be clear that is only ONE factor. I have no doubt that in atleast one way CA is getting screwed and in atleast one way CA is getting more than its fair share.
THAT is not the debate – though the claim that overall CA is getting screwed in some consequential way is idiocy.
The issue here is whether these fires are some highly unusual disaster – some once in 100 years natural disaster that we do not expect states to prepare for,
Or whether this is a failure of CA to deal with a periodic predictable problem, and that they should not be bailed out for their incompetence.
I addressed you left wing lunatic idiocy about federal funding – which is nearly as bad as your claim that CA feeds 40% of the country – that is not even close to true.
That is just another idiotic left wing nut lie.
Maybe – though I doubt that – CA provides the country with 40% of the oranges, or 40% of domestic wine. It does not come close to producing 40% of food.
There is very little doubt that CA’s economy is massive – alone it would be the 5th largest in the world. But that would also be true if you combined TX and FL which together have about the same population as CA.
But those of you on the left miss a major part of the anger about this.
The country now KNOWS – certainly most Trump voters KNOW, that FEMA went out of its way to politixcize aid to NC and FL.
That FEMA workers avoided homes with Trump signs, that they avoided entire regions that were likely to vote for Trump.
YOU the left politicized FEMA, And now those you targeted want to do the same to you.
That is not fair – but so what ? Fair did not matter to you when it was Trump supporters that were in need.
Why should they now have sympathy for you ?
In reality – FEMA should just be eliminated. There is no rational reason to socialize dealing with disasters accross the country.
CA should pay for CA’s roads, for CA’s schools, for CA’s natural disasters, just as NC should with respect to its.
We should not be having this argument over what state is treated unfairly by the federal government, because
federal government should not be aiding any state in anyway.
The socialization of an assortment of problems – like national disasters should be handled privately – such as by insurance.
Which because it must operate profitably works hard to avoid creating moral hazzard.
Independent of the JUSTIFIABLE screw you attitude of much of the country towards the left wing nuts in CA,
there is the separate moral hazzard issue.
You can fight about the use of words – but the FACT is that CA has obviously screwed up – this is NOT a once in a century problem that can not be prepared for.
This is a failure of one of the largests and most intrusive state governments in the country to deal with BASIC services.
Whether you like it or not – there MUST be consequences. Or the problem will just get worse.
It the people of FL built their homes of Tar paper and tooth picks, they rest of us would grow tired of bailing them out.
The reason that we PRIVATELY socialize emergencies – rather than publicly – is specifically because government creates moral hazzard – that means it encourages bad behavior in socialized contexts. While private socialization such as insurance, discourages moral hazzard.
“ It is true that Alabama like every other state in the country is dependent on the federal governemnt to fund FEDERAL programs.”
So you admit Alabame takes in a larger percentage of Federal funds than California. It’s notable that you didn’t include Alabama’s statistics and compared them to California’s.
What you failed mention is percentage-wise, California gets far less in federal funds than Alabama. Alabama relies on more than a third of it’s revenue on federal funds. California relies on just 14%.
Why don’t YOU provide raw data for a fair comparison.
“So you admit Alabame takes in a larger percentage of Federal funds than California.”
That is NOT eve close to what I wrote.
There are inumerable factors that determine total federal funding to a state.
The median age of the population – and therefore whether there are more or less people on Medicare or social security.
The number of people in the state below the poverty level
The number and size of military bases,
The number and size of large federal agencies with fascilities in those states.
and on and on and on.
There is no single factor that is determinative relative to your claim.
With few exceptions – military bases tend to be in sparsely populated states.
NASA fascilities are best located as near to the equator as possible.
People who worked their entire life elsewhere tend to retire to good climates with low cost of living.
Where they collect social security.
Is FL sponging off the rest of us because many Flridians paid SS in norther states by collect it in Florida ?
Again 2 + 2 != 5
“It’s notable that you didn’t include Alabama’s statistics and compared them to California’s.”
I googled states by total federal dollars – and CA and NY were at the top.
Alabama is near the bottom.
“What you failed mention is percentage-wise, California gets far less in federal funds than Alabama.”
Percent of WHAT ? Population ? poverty ? State budget ?
And why given we are deling with a number with hundreds of contributing factors does whatever percent you fixate on matter ?
“Alabama relies on more than a third of it’s revenue on federal funds.”
I beleive the percent of the state budget for AL is higher than even that. Why ? Because the AL state budget is tiny, it has a minimalist government,
and social security, medicare, … which it is MANDATED to provide dwarf its budget.
“California relies on just 14%.”
Only if math is racist. The CA budget is 322B, CA Federal Funds are $162B – only in the world where 2 + 2 = 5 is 162 14% of 322.
“Why don’t YOU provide raw data for a fair comparison.”
I provided raw data – I provided CA’s budget and CA’s federal receipts.
Regardless the rest is readily available.
Further I am NOT the one making the ludicrously stupid and obviously false claim.
The ONLY claim I am making is that YOUR claim is false.
I provided the data needed to prove that. That meets my burden of proof.
YOU made false claims and provided no support – YOU did not meet your burden of proof.
Tuberville is an ig’nant hillbilly. Politics had nothing to do with 80-100 mph winds fanning the fires to superhot levels.
And of course, Democrat DEI Lesbian Critical Wildfire Theory is wonderfully successful at both planning for potential fires and mitigation efforts, as well as how to best respond. Just in case one day there’s a hot day with winds of that speed.
These are the very same Marxist Useful Idiots who want to laugh at the “hillbillies” because those hillbillies don’t believe then when they say Hunter Biden can menstruate and get pregnant.
ATS politics has nothing to do with winds.
But it has everything to do with the incompetence of those entrusted to prevent and fight this.
These winds are a regular fact of life in California – just as Huricanes are a fact of life in Florida.
No one expected Newsome to stop the winds. They did expect that the firehydrants would have water to fight fires.
They did expect that state forest management policies would not go out of their way to create huge swaths of dry thick kindling
It is within the cranial capacity of ordinary people to understand that when you need state permit to remove a twig that you will end up with
lots more fuel for a forest fire.
No one blames DeSantis for the Huricaines that regularly strike Florida. But they would if DeSantis had not done what was needed pre-emptively to minimize damage and directed state funds to drag queen story hour instead of prevention an preparedness for predictable disasters.
John Say, you should have your own podcast. Spot on.
CIVILITY RULE VIOLATION HERE!
BAN FOR LIFE!
Trump accused the governor of refusing to sign a “water restoration declaration” ― a document that does not exist, according to fact-checkers.
Again, do facts mean nothing to this lying sack of sh!t?
Calling Tuberville a lying sack shit is like calling him “Trump.” In fact, calling someone a “Trump” means “lying sack of shit.”
CIVILITY RULE VIOLATION HERE!
BAN FOR LIFE!
Why not just shorten it up and use another surname instead?
Anonymous
Obama
Biden
Schiff
Clinton
Pelosi
etc.
Old Airborne Dog
What is Trump or Tuberville lying about ?
It did not take a rocket scientist to know that eventually the winds would come.
It did not take a rocket scientist to know that CA has a wet season and a dry season.
It was not Trump or Tubervilles job to prevent and limit the harm of a predictable event.
If was YOURS.
Calling others stupid liars for pointing out that you burned your own house down does not get your house back.
John Say,
Well said! Our leftist friends do not like it when facts are pointed out or that their DEI policies are abject failures as we are all witnessing.
CIVILITY RULE VIOLATION HERE!
BAN FOR LIFE!
CIVILITY RULE VIOLATION HERE!
BAN FOR LIFE!
Same fact checkers who assured you lying sacks of sh!t the “Trump-Russia Dossier” was 100% verified intelligence agency product?
Same fact checkers who assured you lying sacks of sh!t that the Biden Bribery Laptop was only Russian election campaign disinformation?
Try harder! You may manage to win the 2024 election yet!
The Santa Anna winds are a fact of life in CA.
As is that CA has wet and dry seasons.
It was predictable that absent action there would be high winds and dry forests waiting to ignite.
There is a very long list of government failures that are responsible for the scale of this disaster.
Why do you need the rest of us to tell you how to prepare for something that is inevitable ?
Why are you nit picking critics, when it is self Evident that YOU screwed up.
It does not matter if Trump got details wrong.
The FACT is that firefighters did not have water when they needed it.
The FACT is that when the winds came in the midst of the dry season,
California almost deliberately made sure there was plenty of fuel for this conflaguration.
You F#$Ked up.
The very fact that Smith now resigns, while Merrick Garland has always stressed his independence, would seemingly make him a “principal” officer, that can only be appointed by the president with consent of the Senate. Jack Smith was appointed illegally, the entire world knows that, so why should any pay any attention to anything that thus emanates from this once again ridiculous abuse of taxpayer funding, clown show? It’s meaningless, Smith’s report is of zero value, it’s not even an official document!
Not the entire world — see how the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in this similar appointment issue in 2019.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/26/robert-mueller-appointment-legal-1186701
Nothing like Politico to give you a version of the news cherished by cowardly Anonymous Democrats.
As I don’t want to give Politico a monetizing click, when was Jack Smith confirmed by the Senate as a federal officer as Mueller was?
““The fires are still raging in L.A.,” he wrote Sunday morning. “The incompetent pols have no idea how to put them out.”
He added that the fires are “one of the worst catastrophes in the history of our Country.”
“They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?” he continued.”
I suppose after he killed 1,000,000 people by his incompetence with COVID, what is 24 more.
What a despicable piece of human flesh. People are dying and flames are spreading because of wind.
What a heartless piece of trash.
Trump utterly screwed up the COVID response. We’d be better off with a nutty Jerry Lewis character than the total boob Trump is. How do you tank a casino during a recession???? How do you ignore medical professionals during a pandemic???? Cuz you’re a moron Donald.
I suppose after he killed 1,000,000 people by his incompetence with COVID, what is 24 more.
You think you have at least as much Anonymous credibility as Gigi to hope to pull that one off? Far more people died of Fauci’s Wuhan Flu under Biden.
And that’s AFTER Trump left office with those three vaccines ready for distribution.
I wonder if the Soviet Democrat Trump hating Marxist Useful Idiots who eagerly lined up for one of Trump’s vaccines go out at night, clawing and scratching at their skin.
Howling like Golem “It burns. IT BURNS. GET IT OUT!”
Let’s ALL not forget where it came from and who funded biowarfare labs in China and the Ukraine. Let’s not forget that its global appearance was the key mitigating factor that ushered in mail in ballots. Let’s not forget how that was delivered with the perfect impact to a second term to an otherwise perfect first term of President Trump. There are no coincidences.
Jonathan: It seems your job these days is to write “hit” pieces rather than engage in sober legal and factual analysis. This time it is an attack on Jack Smith by falsely claiming he “destroyed his own case” and “lost this war without firing a single shot in a trial”. Let’s unpack your claims to see if they pass the laugh test.
For starters let’s recall how Smith began his work. He was appointed Special Counsel on 11/18/2022–almost a year after DJT left office. Many legal experts right criticized AG Garland for not making the appointment earlier. So Smith got a late start in his investigation of both the Marl-a-Lago docs and the election interference cases.
MAR-A-LAGO DOCS CASE: After a lengthy investigation and grand jury proceedings, in June 2023 Smith filed his 34-criminal indictment of DLT. That was later amended to include Walt Nauta and Carlos DeOliveira. The case was assigned to Judge Eileen Cannon. As you admit the case against DJT and his do-defendants was a “relatively easy case to make against Trump…”. But something happened along the way that made it impossible for Smith to bring his case to trial. It was the fact that Cannon, a DJT acolyte, dragged her feet on making significant rulings that could result in a speedy trial. She waited and waited to benefit DJT. Then on 7/1/2024 the SC issued its “immunity” decision. In a footnote Justice Thomas urged Cannon to dismiss her case erroneously arguing Smith was not lawfully appointed. Cannon took the cue and dismissed her case this past November without any serious legal analysis. Smith immediately appealed Cannon’s ruling to the 11th Circuit. And that is where the case has been sitting awaiting a decision. None of these delays can be blamed on Jack Smith So it is untrue Jack Smith “slowed the case to a crawl”. The sole responsibility is that of Judge Cannon who dragged her feet and then erroneously dismissed the case. Under any other judge Smith’s case would probably have gone to trial before the election.
ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE: After a parallel long investigation Smith indicted DJT on 8/1/23 for a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 20230 election. On 8/10/23 Smith filed to start the trial on 1/2/24. DJT tried to delay by asking for a trial date starting in April 2026. The only thing that stopped Smith was the SC’s “immunity” decision, made from whole cloth, and DJT’s election. Now that Smith’s Volume 1 report is about to be released it will show all the evidence against DJT and how he tried to subvert our Democracy by trying to violently overturn the 2020 election. Despite the fact that DJT will apparently not face justice from his unlawful scheme, Smith’s report will stand as the final judgment about what happened on Jan. 6, 2021. That is what future generations Americans will study and learn from–not anything in your columns!
Jack Smith prosecuted a case against Arthur Andersen, one of the world’s biggest accounting firms. He put them out of business. 86,000 people lost their jobs. He was then reversed by unanimous decision by the Supreme Court. Arthur Andersen, however, never came back.
That was their intended result.
“Jack Smith prosecuted a case against Arthur Andersen . . .”
He did not.
That grotesque miscarriage of justice belongs solely to Bush, Jr., to his SEC and his DOJ — especially to his revolting attack dog, Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson.
I am so sick of the lawfare gamesmanship that is now dominating, and compromising, our judicial system. I am at wits end with the legal talking heads who address the issue as though Justice is secondary to legal process and how it can be manipulated into a political weapon. To say that Jack Smith failed misses the mark. He, and his compatriot judges, were wildly successful. They controlled the narrative, the national discussion, and provided the complicit media with all of the leaks and innuendo and tasty sound bites they might want. The Law is a joke. Justice is as dead as Caesar. It’s sad that “The Game” is still alive and well.
If there was no evidence against Trump I’d agree with you and call it lawfare. But if all your evidence is is Trump saying he did nothing wrong… then you must think it was lawfare against Charles Manson or OJ. Read the indictments and the evidence. Even legal scholars supporting Trump say that technically, he did break the law, but that he should be immune.
Jack Smith, Al Bragg, Leticia James, Fanny Willis, Tanya Chutkan, Matthew Colangelo, Juan Merchan, Loren Merchan, Merrick Garland, Barack Obama et al. conspired to wrongfully disparage and convict an innocent person, President Donald J. Trump.
The criminal co-conspirators in this case must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for egregious attempted electoral fraud, election interference, corruption, abuse of power, usurpation of power, breach of public trust, conspiracy et al.
The resultant penalties must be severe for the extremity of the specific crimes and for the sake of general principles.
Perhaps as punishment the NY contingent should be made to prosecute Hillary Clinton for campaign finance violations (her campaign and the DNC were actually censured and fined for this relative to hiding payments for the concoction of the Steele Dossier and labeling these “legal fees”) with the underlying felony crime of attempting to fraudulently influence a federal election.
She’s a New York resident.
The NY contingent fears “Arkancide”. Cankles controls THEM so no, no arrest warrants will ever be forthcoming for anyone named Clinton.
Trump’s innocent, LOL! So were OJ, Michael Jackson, Charles Manson, Pablo Escobar, et al. The moronic public doesn’t care about the facts.
OT, by a 20-point margin, Greenlanders favor joining the US (57% – 37%).
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5081836-one-poll-finds-majority-of-greenland-respondents-support-joining-us/amp/
If Trump said every male over 60 needs to have a gangbang with a bunch of Asian grannies… you’d be scouring the web to find “evidence” he’s right.
You are really triggered by a poll of Greenlanders! Which, you can see from the link, was reported in The Hill, a mainstream publication. Not much scouring needed to find it.
Good luck with your gangbang.
^ Idiot ^
And good luck in yours.
^^ Idiot ^^
OldManFromKS,
Notice how you bring facts to the table and our anonymorn goes low with really dumb assertions? He has nothing to counter your facts other than being perverse. Kinda like a angst filled teen. That is the difference between us and them. We use facts and reality while they have, well, nothing.
Jack Smith was chosen because he is an attack dog with a history of excess. And, that did him in. Frankly, I think his license should be pulled: Too many political cases stretching statutes beyond their application or meaning. Once might be forgiven. He ought to go back to prosecuting sex crimes and domestic violence. Instead, he will probably make a lot of money on the lecture circuit and get a cush, high-paying job at a law school or leftist think tank as a reward.
Atta boy, Jack!! You showed us what you got! And, by all accounts, you impressed Tanya Chutkan to no end. Thus, underscoring the impact of DEI in the courtroom while demonstrating the explosive combination of a stooge working with a duper. But the question remains: Who’s who?
Another Harvard boy struts his stuff…again.
OT:
From the very first reports on George Floyd’s death I argued here that I could not see a clear path to conviction of Officer Chauvin.
Of course the conviction is certain in a kangaroo court rife with perjury and juror intimidation.
I had in mind an actual American trial, not something out of Kafka.
Gradually many others here have come around to my opinion. This may help the rest:
An officer who testified that the knee/shoulder technique was not used by the Minneapolis PD has seen a photo of her using the same technique surface. My, how awkward.
If it weren’t for the new media like X and Revolver we would never hear the truth about anything.
https://revolver.news/2025/01/officer-who-lied-under-oath-in-chauvin-case-pictured-using-same-knee-restraint-in-2014
Political not criminal
Returning from outdoors in the warming sunshine and reading comments.
TWO light, inconsequential thoughts for the afternoon:
(1) Having nothing to do with Jack Smith’s looks or physical features, but has anyone ever seen him smile? Even a glimpse of teeth or happiness or contentment or ease? Every picture I see of him leaves me with an image of a menacing glare…
(2) When I was switching undergraduate schools, I had all my required courses but needed one “basket weaving” 3-hour elective.
I saw a sociology course on “behavior modification.” Best little unintended course I ever took.
One of the main things it left me with is that negative, immature behaviors will not just continue, but will actually intensify– if ignored—before they stop and the candle burns out.
It seems that since the election, anti-Trump and anti-Turley negative comments have gotten much more caustic on this site. Every time I see a comment like,” HOW JONATHAN TURLEY DESTROYED HIS OWN CREDIBILITY,” or “Turley’s little toilet piece…” or “Turley is being dishonest…” I think of that course.
Hope everyone is staying warm!
Lin,
In response to,
1) No. I have not seen a picture in the media of him smiling. Maybe he does not like to have his picture taken? Some people are like that.
2) Yes. Since the election our leftist friends are in despair, desperation, some depression, others still in denial of reality. They are still in the first two stages of The Five Stages of Grief. Honestly, I do not think they will ever get past their anger. Rather they will hold on to it as it gives them a false sense of strength while actually destroying their mental state. Anger like that is not a healthy thing to hold on too.
Meanwhile, the rest of us are feeling a sense of relief. That the country has turned a corner. The leftist Democrats that have taken over the party from the traditional Democrats are out of power.
However, as James often points out, we cannot just sit back but be vigilant and continue to fight for our country, sanity and normalcy. I know the damage Biden has done is going to be felt for some time. I have opined it may take a few years to a decade.
Yep! Staying warm! Just put another few logs on the fire. Next few days might be a bit frosty. Lows in the teens maybe even single digit. Funny, I now come to think the mid twenties as warm!
Howdy Upstate:
Re: response
(1) Yes, true. But “not smiling” doe not equal menace or glare.
(2) No,- “despair, desperation, some depression, others still in denial of reality” (the Four Ds) do not equal immature expression of those emotions, –misguidedly directed (5th D) at the professional (JT) who hosts this site.
(3) If we were neighbors, would pummel you and your wife with snowballs, then run indoors to warm up. HA, hit me with your best shot, pal. I’m wearing a bright red cape and running around in your field like a Flexxifinger® Quicker Picker Rock Picker, see me? James can be our referee. (if you managed to hit me (doubt it), I would decorate your front yard with snow angels in respect and appreciation.
Lin,
1) I would not venture to guess as for all I know, he could be a very charming person. Just does not like to have his picture taken.
2) Yes, there is that. The immature expression is a sign and symptom of a immature, under developed mind. Good call.
3) Ah, there is NO running in three to four feet of snow! Not drifts either! It took me the better part of an hour to blaze and dig out a path to the wood shed! I would make you a hot mug of Mexican chocolate milk and invite you to join us before the fire while jazz played from my music server. My one dog would do the snow angles for you. She loves the snow!
“negative immature behaviors”–you ARE speaking about Trump–right? In the face of the worst disaster in US history, in terms of cost of the damage, what has Trump done–lie–politicize–the same thing he always does. Examples: he claims FEMA is broke–not true. Congress just appropriated billions of dollars. That California is out of water due to mismanagement–another big, fat lie. That Newsom refused to sign some “water restoration” law to protect smelt–another lie. MAGA media claims that everything, other than climate change caused the wildfires, including, DEI because the LA Fire Chief is female and a lesbian; that LA Mayor Karen Bass is at fault (she is black); that Gov. Newsom is responsible (he is a Democrat), and they even try to blame Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. This is because the fossil-fuel industry donated heavily to Trump and Republicans, who promise to pay them back by rolling back the environmental protections that were put in place to stem climate change. We only have so long before the damage done to our environment can be reversed or stemmed.
Mike Johnson is threatening to withhold federal relief from California unless there are “concessions”–California is the most-populous state in America. They need help now. They pay more in federal taxes than any other state and have the same right to disaster assistance as red states–but Trump and Republicans are playing politics. That is reprehensible.
Since he went on the Fox payroll, Turley spouts the same MAGA media talking points that are broadcast on the network–including outright misinformation and disinformation–like claiming that Americans voted for Trump because they disapproved of Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump for stealing classified documents. From the Murdoch-owned New York Post–dateline 9/8/22:
“More than six in 10 Americans believe former President Donald Trump acted “illegally” or “unethically” by storing boxes of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — but a similar number of Republicans say they want the 45th president to run again in 2024 even if he is charged with a crime, according to a poll released Thursday.
The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey showed that 44% think Trump committed a criminal offense by keeping the materials after he left the White House while another 17% considered his actions unethical but not illegal.
Another 29% of Americans, including 63% of Republicans, say Trump did nothing wrong.”
So, when Turley claims that Americans voted for Trump because they disagreed with Jack Smith’s prosecution, that is simply not true. Turley never comments on things like the lies about the CA wildfires, the racism, misogyny and lesbian phobia that MAGA media spouts or the lies about the cause of climate change. And, yes, I will continue to criticize him for these failings.
And you are wrong as always.
We shall continue to point that out.
Hey, how do you make synthetic oil?
Why should the rest of the country bail CA out ?
If every stupid effort to pass the buck were true – it would not matter.
This is still a failure of government. Whether CA is cold and wet or hot and dry
It was STILL the job of the CA government to prevent this.
This is not a hurricane that you do not know is coming or where and there is little you can do about.
This is a forest fire. While Clear-cutting CA forests is a bit draconian. It still proves this CAN be dealt with.
And to anyone not a moron – no matter what you wish to blame, it PROVES the fires were preventable.
Anyone who is not a left wing nut whiny moron would be able to grasp that there are solutions less draconian than
clear-cutting the forests of CA. You did not do these, You did not try, and whatever else you want to blame – you made things WORSE not better.
When fire-hydrants do not have water – that is YOUR F#$Kup.
Why would any Republican want to do schiff for California.
You weaponized FEMA to F#$Kover Trump supporters in NC and FL.
Why should they give a crap now that your a$$ is on fire ?
This is NOT a natural disaster, it is a man made disaster a failure of policy.
You call this the worst disaster in US history – its not. But so what if it is ?
YOU – the left made this disaster.
Do you ever take responsibility for your F#$Kups ?
In Gigiland – st. Biden did not blow up the economy – the economy is perfect and even if it isn’t – it is all Trump’s fault.
This is NOT about Trump – it is about YOU. Trump was not a great president. He was slightly above average.
And still the best president in the 21st century. Bush was bad, But Obama was worse, and Biden is seeking to take the crown for worst president in history from
James Buchanan.
Regardless the FACT is that not only did Biden F#$Kup by the numbers – but nearly every modern democrat policy has been disasterous.
Trump did not win re-election because he is great. He did not win re-election because he promised to make groceries cheaper.
He did not win re-election because of anything he said or promised.
He won re-election because a slightly above average president is head and shoulders better than nearly every modern democrat.
He Won because everything the left touches turns to schiff.
The first step towards getting out of the giant mess that you and the left are in – is grasping that you have FAILED.
YOU failed – you do not get to blame this on others. And this time YOU screwed over your own people.
You rant about Trump’s claims. Honestly the details do not matter.
YOU – the left F#$Ked up. Does it matter if you killed 24 people and did massive property damage over some smelt no one has seen for 6 years ?
Or because of some other F#$Kup ? Or a long long list of F#$Kups.
CA should not get any emergency funds until it corrects the long list of problems that caused this mess in the first place.
Gigi, this is a massive Democrat F#$Kup.
So many have enumerated the myriads of democrat failures that lead to this mess.
It is NOT one failure of left wing government it is a whole raft of them.
Regardless, Newsome is Toast, so much for his political carreer.
You can as Trump did come back from a loss.
You can not come back from a failure like this.
Nor is this CA doing what it typically does and screwing republicans.
Newsome has pi$$ed off Democrats.
This is so big a failure and so clearly a government failure that it could cause very serious change in CA.
This is near certain to expidite the exodus from CA – why rebuild, take the insurance money and go elsewhere.
If your house did not burn down this time – why stay ? CA is not going to get its act together, and until it does, next time it could be you.
So again selkl and go elsewhere.
You can build 2-4 times as grand a home for the same money as in CA almost anywhere in the US.
This will not get fixed quickly. Partly because you can ot fix problems you can not admit.
Next whatever happens – the people of NC will be watching.
When wealthy home owners in LA get bailed out and those in NC get Schiff – more disaster for the left.
This amplifies the message that Democrats have been unintentionally sending the world since atleast the start of the Obama administration,
and that is WE CANT GOVERN.
You blow crap loads of money do all kinds of crazy things.
But you can not fight a fire.
Trump does not need to say anything – though he will not be able to resist.
Regardless, no one needs Trump to point out the obvious – The leftiest of Democrats FAILED.
This is not a huricane, this is not Covid, This is not an unpredictable and rare natural event.
While forest fires happen naturally – CA went out of their way to make these worse by poor forest management.
Nature – real nature, not left wing nut psuedo nature does a far better job.
Regardless, you racked up kindling. spent money for maintaining your energy system on boondoggles.
And now you have forrest fires popping up all over spreading rapidly and that bring us to the next major level of failure.
You F#$Ked up and can’t deal with the fires.
Florida was hit with multiple massive huricanes last year – and recovered quickly.
TX recovred rapidly from Rita.
New Orleans is still a mess from Katrina – despite hundreds of billions in federal spending.
How much you want to bet CA F#$Ks up recovery ?
No this is NOT climate change – first cut the BS – YOUR idiotic claim is that CO2 is cooking the planet.
That is Global Warming – not climate change.
The constant of the universe is change. Climate is ALWAYS changing, it is natural.
Regardless, you blame everything on Global Warming – its too hot, its too cold, its to dry, its too wet.
Your just a bunch of whinny cry babies looking to use anything you can weaponize to FORCE other people to live like YOU want.
California is the poster child for why – if Global WArming is actually real – we should just let it happen.
Because California is completely F#$Ked up.
“The California fires are NOT forest fires and have no causal connection with forest fires
The current fires in California all began in urban areas . . .”
Why do you continue to lie about that?
The Eaton fire began in Eaton Canyon — which is part of the Angeles National *Forest*. That *forest* fire, alone, has destroyed some 14,000 acres and killed 16 people.
BTW, that was a rhetorical question.
Your motivation for lying is obvious. You wish to deflect from California’s disastrous environmental policies. And you desire to deflect blame from your state’s incompetent politicians and bureaucrats.
Sam
I agree, these are brush fires in urban areas fueled by brush litter and Santa Ana winds. They are classified differently than forest fires. I saw the same report and the lead up to this debacle are not good for Newsom or Bass. A TOTAL failure of preparedness by leadership, the insurance companies saw it coming, Trump even saw it coming but Newsom must’ve had hair gel in his eyes and Bass was too busy discovering her Marxist roots.
I want to congradulate you on your impressive CV.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-lynch-18b6281/
This paper is particularly impressive
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3695794.3695798
Or are you lying about who you are ?
“The California fires are NOT forest fires and have no causal connection with forest fires
The current fires in California all began in urban areas”
What there is no such thing as an urban forest ?
How big of an idiot are you ?
Do you know that the forestation of new england today is greater than it was when the Pilgrims landed ?
That in much of the country we have MORE forests today than 400 years ago ?
What is it that you think a forest is ? Do you think that building homes and roads means that a heavily wooded area is no longer a forest ?
“driven by 100mph Santa Ana winds.”
Correct – that anyone with a brain KNOWS come periodically.
If the people of florida build homes out of toothpicks and tar paper – would we give them billions in aide when a huricane blows them away and kills them ?
“Whether or not the forests are managed appropriately has absolutely no bearing on the current situation. There are no forest fires that contributed to this situation. There have been some very small forest fires in the Angeles National Forest, about 40 to 50 miles inland to the east. There are two mountain ranges between those fires and the current fires, the San Gabriel mountains and the Santa Monica mountains. There is no connection between those forest fires and the current fires.”
More left wing nut nonsense.
Would it help if I constantly wrote “urban or suburban forests” ?
Absolutely CA mismanages its unpopulated forests. But you are correct – that is not the issue here.
You are just trying to deflect.
While my remarks are all correct – it would not matter if I was completely wrong.
This is still an OBVIOUS failure of government.
You are busy trying to make excuses.
No the Santa Anna winds are NOT an excuse.
We live in the world that exists. Government is expected to deal with that world that exists.
Not some left wing nut utopia where there is no whether, and no climate.
I was up near Lake Erie a few weeks ago. Overnight they got 12″ of ” “lake effect” snow, the roads were clear by mid day.
We expect that municipal goverments along lake erie can competently deal with whether that would be extreme in Philadelphia but is normal in Erie.
The Huricaine that hit NC was an unusual event – less than once every 100 years. THAT is purportedly what we have FEMA and federal emergency management for.
Not the 12″ snows in Erie that are the norm.
Florida got hit by multiple huricanes, it got hit worse than NC, there was damage and problems but huricanes are not rare events in Florida.
We expect Florida to be able to deal with them – ad it did. We are still talking about the mess in NC.
While Florida is moving on almost as if the huricanes never happened.
The only thing unusual about what is occurring in CA is the incompetence of government.
You want to nit pick about the definition of a forest. And you apparently delusion-ally believe that if there are expensive homes and roads, that is not a forest.
I live in the Susquehanna Valley. We provide power to significant portions of the north east. Massive power lines run through areas even YOU would call forests.
The power companies cut a large swath of forest to run the powerlines through so that the powerlines can not start fires in the forest and so that the trees can not disrupt the powerlines.
If a million people lost power because somewhere a tree fell over a power grid artery – that would be a failure of MAN not nature.
You want to play word games to avoid what is glaringly obvious – this is a GOVERNMENT failure.
Worse it was a predictable one, and an avoidable one.
Is it possible for CA to avoid ALL fires – that is not practical.
Is it possible for CA to avoid the current mess – absolutely and with little difficulty.
While Trump and others want to fixate on DEI and smelt no one has seen for 6 years – and those are relevant, because they
tell us what matters to YOU.
That a few fish most people would not recognize and Drag Queen Story hour are more important to YOU than peoples homes and lives.
At the same time it does not matter if Trump, Tuberville etc are correct about DEI or Smelts.
This is a clear failure of government.
“The Santa Ana winds blow east to west.”
Not relevant. I am sure there is a fire in Alaska right now. No one is blaming the problems in LA on that.
I would further note that while I really could care less about your ranting about fires that are 40miles away as if they are any more relevant than those 1000 miles away.
Fires actually can and do cross mountains – atleast those that are not taller than the tree line.
Fires burn up slopes and down slopes and accross plaines. You stop them by creating firebreaks, and by thining the forest.
You do that in uninhabited forests, and you do that in urban forests.
“As for the question of why the rest of the country should “bail out” California, well for the same reason that California “bails out” the rest of the country every day.
California produces 40% of the food consumed in the US.”
Not this idiocy again.
US agricultural production by state
California, $58 billion.
Iowa, $44.7 billion.
Nebraska, $31.6 billion.
Texas, $29.7 billion.
Illinois, $27.9 billion.
Minnesota, $26 billion.
Kansas, $23.5 billion.
Indiana, $18.3 billion.
NO CA does not produce 40% of US food.
“California is by far the biggest contributor to Federal revenue”
Yes, it has nearly double the next largest state by population.
” through taxes paid, but receives the least back in Federal spending per dollar contributed.”
False and irrelevant.
The point Sam is making is that these are seasonal canyon fires in urban areas. They are predictable and are mitigated through preparedness. These are not forest fires, they are brush fires, they occur every year in California. You obviously can’t see the forest because there isn’t one, it’s scrub and canyons. The better issue is, don’t build cornerstone to cornerstone and be a good steward of the land.
John Say,
Great comment!
GooGoo
Please get professional care.
Jonathan Turley, I enjoyed your NY Post article on the Juan Merchan sentencing…you are closer to reality than anyone else.
As for Jack Smith, he is incompetent, which is not uncommon for graduates or faculty of Harvard and Yale Law Schools, or any law school.
1. Law schools rely on heuristics, not the scientific method.
2. Students memorize procedures, and memorize (wrong) opinions of judges, hoping to infer substantive due process.
3. Procedures lacking in full substance was a necessary condition for the Nazis to seize control.
The math of social science proves that the substance of procedural due process can be measured by social equity, which implies that constitutional due process can be put on software, minimizing abuses by judges and prosecutors.
Do I believe Jack Smith still violate the law if he knew what he was doing? Yes.
I say yes because I read a book by Al Franken that argued, in essence, that if GW Bush actually knew what he was doing, he would still do so because GW was cruel.
@Anonymous
That you referenced Al Franken, who is a comedian, is all we need to know. You people are really just sad. I feel bad for you, I really do. Thank Zeus the country is no longer in your hands, and hopefully, without death defying reform, never will be again. I will use every ounce of my energy to ensure the modern left never holds power again in this country, and I hope others are on board.
James, your side elected Franken to the Senate and used him as some sort of moral barometer before he was forced to resign due to pretending to grope a sleeping woman.
So was zelinsky a performer
So, it’s OK for Trump to: 1. take classified documents; 2. store them in unsecure locations; 3. refuse polite requests to return them; 4. return some and lie about returning all of them; 5. move them around to prevent detection.
WHY do we classify documents to begin with? To protect us from information getting in the wrong hands, to protect our sources and methods–that’s why. So, you’re saying Jack Smith was wrong to prosecute Trump for doing the above? WHY is Jack Smith “incompetent”? And, why should law schools rely on “the scientific method”? Law is not a science.
What law did Jack Smith violate?
Gigi; Don’t be concerned about your sanity; you will understand IF and WHEN you stop believing the “misinformed” media !!!
“OK for Trump to: 1. take classified documents; ”
Yes, Presidents may take any and all WH documents as they leave the WH.
“2. store them in unsecure locations; ”
False claim, but even if True – yes, Trump is free to take the Documents of his WH and publish them all on the internet.
Obama actually promised to do exactly that, but never got arround to it.
“3. refuse polite requests to return them;”
Again factually incorrect, but it does not matter – Yes, the documents are Trump’s property – there is decades of case law on this.
The Govenrment is free to go to court to request ACCESS – but it does NOT own them.
“4. return some and lie about returning all of them;”
Yes, they are his property he can do whatever he wants with them.
Clinton kept classified tapes in a sock drawer.
“5. move them around to prevent detection.”
Another false claim – but again – Yest, ex presidents can do that with their WH papers.
“WHY do we classify documents to begin with? ”
We do not classify documents – Presidents do. All powers regarding national security are constitutionally vested in the president.
“To protect us from information getting in the wrong hands, to protect our sources and methods–that’s why.”
Again false claim, but irrelevant. 99% of classified documents are NOT the decyrpts of reports by spies in the Kremlin.
They are things like the presidents calendar, or Trump’s plan to withdraw from Afghanistan.
These need to be highly protected for a short time, and then not at all.
“So, you’re saying Jack Smith was wrong to prosecute Trump for doing the above?”
Yes
“WHY is Jack Smith “incompetent”?”
ROFL
“And, why should law schools rely on “the scientific method”? Law is not a science.”
Law is an must be a science – but just like sociology, anthropology, psychology and economics, law s not an exact science.
Regardless, as Jefferson said – for government to create a crime by law, and ordinary person must be able to grasp what
they can not do by reading the statute while running down the road.
That is why the supreme court constantly rejects laws as unconstitutionally vague or over broad.
“What law did Jack Smith violate?”
Violation of the rights of an individual under color of law. The same law that the police officers who beat up Rodney king violated.