Saturday, June 1, 2024

Questions? Answers!

The news of a former president being convicted of 34 felonies has started to sink in. Now passed another historic day, we have questions.

Can a felon really run for – and hold office of – president? President of the United States of America?
Yes. Yes he can. There is nothing in the Constitution that says otherwise, nor any other laws anywhere that forbid it. The qualifications for president remain the same as they were for George Washington:
  • Be a natural-born citizen of the United States.
  • Be at least 35 years old.
  • Have been a resident of the United States for 14 years.

...and that's all, folks!

Can a felon vote?
This one will likely be able to. You may have the inkling that felons lose their right to vote. It's mostly true. And it's mostly true that Florida has one of the strictest disenfranchisement laws of all the states. Due to a quirk in Florida law, however, Florida defers to the felon disenfranchisement law of the state in which its resident was convicted. And in this case, New York State changed its law in 2021 to allow felons to vote as long as they have completed their prison term. If they are on parole, if they are on probation, or anything else other than in prison, they may vote. Damn! So close!

He'll appeal, won't he?
Yes. This felon, of course, is afforded all the rights to appeals as every other convicted criminal. It won’t be quick – the wheels of Justice and all that – so don't expect any resolution of an appeal until after November 5. The Felon will need to wait to go forward with an appeal until he is sentenced. After the July 11 sentencing, he has 30 days to file an intent to appeal, and then some more time to actually file the appeal.

And what about that sentence? Will he pretty please go to prison?
The possible penalties for these felonies range from a fine of zero to $5000 and from zero to four years in jail for each offense. The Felon could also receive home confinement, probation, or community service.

It is unlikely that he will get prison, as he has no previous convictions, he is old, and white-collar crime does not often come with prison, especially for crimes of this nature. But it's on the table. 

What might tip the judge to a harsher sentence?
Judge Merchan will, like in all cases before all judges, consider several factors, including the demeanor of The Felon before him, as well as his behavior. In general, you don't want to piss off the judge who has the power to book you a stay at the Greybar Hotel.


You really should not:
  • Show contempt
  • Insult the judge
  • Call him names
  • Villify his family
  • Violate gag orders
  • Show disdain for the process
  • Call his court a "kangaroo court," "crooked," "rigged," and all the things
You really should
  • Stay quiet 
  • Stay respectful of the judge 
  • Stay respectful of the judicial process
  • And most importantly, show contrition
The judge will consider memos from both the defense and the prosecution. Each side will present a case for the punishment that they believe The Felon deserves. The Felon will also meet with a probation officer, who will assess his contrition, his mental health, and his physical status. The officer will also report on The Felon's employment status, economic status, and prior criminal history.

Judge Merchan, by all legitimate reports, was extremely fair and even-handed during the trial. I believe that he will continue to treat this as any other case and will explore all sentencing options carefully. As much as we may want The Felon to go to prison for 136 years, the more likely scenario is probably a fine and probation. But if I were able to influence the judge, I would urge strongly for community service! Of all felons that walk around in the U.S.A., this one is prime for community service. Imagine it: the orange one in an orange jumpsuit, out there picking up trash up and down Broadway.

*LSR sighs and enjoys that image for a moment*

An ankle monitor would be supremely sublime, too.

What about The Felon's lies? Do they change American law?
Felonious Punk will lie and lie and spin and spit. The lies are shameful, but they don't change anything. They continue to misinform his base, but the MAGAts are so far gone it simply doesn't matter anymore. It makes the rest of us crazy, but remember, it's just noise. It doesn't change law, it doesn't change reality, it doesn't change the truth. 

And the truth is: 
It was a routine court case, fair and by the book. The jury was chosen by both sides – with 10 strikes for each side so that a potential juror could be eliminated by either side for any reason. The jurors were a cross-section of ordinary Manhattanites. There was even one juror who indicated he got his news from one source: Truth Social.

Each side was able to present a case with the facts as they saw them, with as many witnesses as they felt they needed. They had every opportunity to call any witnesses they chose, including the defendant (now convicted Felon). 

The gag order that is so often cited? It was in place to limit dangerous language that threatened the safety of the court, the participants in the trial, the jury, and their families. It did not DID NOT prevent the defendant from getting on the stand and saying what he wanted about the case to the jury. The jury was there to hear what he had to say. If he denied them that, then so be it.

The 12 members of the jury unanimously found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. No one else.

The system worked. 

The law is the law is the law. His deranged rants don't change anything.

What about those deranged rants?
I hesitate to give them oxygen, but on the other hand, it's important to bring his madness out into the sunlight. 

After the conviction, The Felon ranted for over half an hour at T**** Tower. It was the usual balderdash, and here are a few highlights. Thank you to our friends on Twitter for these clips. I don't think any of us have the stomach to watch the whole thing. 

"If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone." For once, he's right. 100%. Anybody who pays off a porn star in the hopes of influencing an election and falsifies business records to hide it will be convicted. But the obverse is true. If it can happen to any citizen, it can happen to you, you orange turd!



Oh, NOW he wants people to think of him as old. 


Come on, it's not that bad! Everybody has NDAs!

Vote for me! The Democrats don't want you to have cars!

More nationalistic vilifying of immigrants.

And more racist diatribes about the scariness of "languages that we haven't even heard of." 

He mentioned the "literal" crucifixion of his witness (presumably awful Costello, crucified by the Roman soldier Judge Juan Merchan, I assume?). I think I missed the news of a literal crucifixion. Did Fox cover it?

More tangents and "sentences" that literally have no meaning:

James Austin Johnson made more sense:





Will this felony conviction on 34 counts influence voters?
In short, yes. It's true, this conviction won't sway most voters. But the people who haven't been paying attention and don't care to pay attention will not be able to miss this news, and they are the ones that will be swayed. If some of those step up to vote, their vote will likely be influenced by this news and they will vote for Joe Biden. 

Will it be enough? LSR predicts, yes. The left is getting fed up with the autocrats who want to take away our freedoms. They will come out in force to vote. The Felon's fans, I really believe, are bluff and bluster and won't get off their duffs to make it to the polls. There will be enough undecideds out there where this issue will help them decide. Even a few percentage points tipping toward the preservation of democracy and away from The Felon will be enough.

Bluff and bluster does not win elections. Polls do not win elections - ignore them. Voters win elections. We will prevail in November - but we must not be complacent! Keep doing the work to get the right people elected! Donate - write postcards - make phone calls - knock on doors - get people registered to vote!



What other scary stuff is happening?

  • Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said on Fox and Friends: "I know some of the Supreme Court justices personally."
"I do believe the Supreme Court should step in, obviously, this is totally unprecedented.... I think that the Justices on the court – I know many of them personally – I think they are deeply concerned about that, as we are. So I think they'll set this straight." 
So, let me understand this, Mr. Speaker. The justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are your personal friends, and they are at your behest?
  • There are threats of doxxing jurors, and they, the judge, D.A. Alvin Bragg, and others have been threatened with violence. It's really upsetting stuff.
  • The MAGA memes. Though "meme" doesn't quite fit. They aren't funny – though some are laughable. Many are kinda scary. This is what is out there:






What. the. actual. fuck.




It took me several readings to figure out what the hell this meant!




I don't get the significance of the number. Shouldn't it be "34"?







What can make me feel better, LSR? 
The system worked. 
The system will work again.
Money doesn't vote. 
Voters will vote.
Democracy will prevail.

The headlines from coast to coast – just look at dat mug!
More here.










And more memes!










Lalo Alcaraz



Nick Anderson

























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