@Teri_Kanefield says we don't need legal pundits, and at first I thought, of course we need someone who understands how the legal system works and can tell us what's what. But then she wrote
"...lawyers confuse people. Confused people then turn to lawyers for explanations."
And I realized that if pundits quit saying the legal system was corrupt, we wouldn't keep asking, "is this corrupt behavior?" We would just ... follow what happens and see how it turns out.
Conservative states ban vaccines and wearing masks when you're sick are gonna be a breeding ground for pandemics. And when it happens, they'll say God is mad about gay people or abortion or something. Because that's who they are.
I think everyone should read this @tkanefield piece on what's going on in the Trump trial, simply because if he's not convicted then instead of freaking out and raging you'll say, "oh yeah, that was a distinct possibility. Kinda sucks, but I get why."
She's not saying he won't be convicted (she says the odds are that he probably will) but she explains why it's not the slam dunk some people think it is.
Also, law is kinda interesting if it's explained well.
@tokensane@tkanefield I don't think breaking a contract is usually a crime. You sue people for breaking contracts, you don't generally have them arrested. And it's a verbal contract, which I suspect is very hard to prove in court. But I'm not a lawyer, I'm just guessing.
@cherold@tkanefield It's not fraud to break a contract, but it is fraud to make a contract without ever intending to fulfil your side. And this is already part of the defence story, so rowing back on it is going to be hard.
Wild how many stories about judges have some version of, "While these years of bribes from people who received favorable treatment from the judge aren't technically violations, they look bad."
Maybe we should have more actual rules for judges?
The SNL open started with a terrible Biden (after all these years they still haven't figured out a good approach!) but Johansson as Britt is hilarious. And the folks at Crooks and Liars kindly gave us the clip without the Biden part.
Someone gave away about a 100 records ("must take all") - 1970s pop & rock, opera, some film soundtracks, and a few oddities like this. I put it on assuming it would be terrible, but you know,, it's actually pretty fun. What my girlfriend calls "class strip music" as you might guess from the picture of a totally clothed lady on the cover.
My dad was a huge audiophile who was very into Quadraphonic LPs. He was a classical music buff who didn't ordinarily buy much of anything else, but he did deign to purchase this all-star orchestral version of Tommy. It's a beautifully packaged little thing. #NowPlaying@vinylrecords#TheWho
I love this LP, which is easily New Riders' best album (apparently a minority opinion), but I had it over 30 years before someone told me Panama Red is a type of marijuana and this whole album is full of drug references. I had no idea! (Drugs are not my thing.)
@cherold@bourgwick@vinylrecords WBRU was my go-to radio station as a kid.
In the 80s and 90s it was a modern rock/alternative station out of Providence, R.I.
What it was in 1969 or 1972 I don’t know. But in the 90s, it was AWESOME.
@icastico@vinylrecords Yeah, I couldn't get into If... either, although I know both are considered cinema classics. I don't think I ever saw the third one. I haven't generally liked too many Lindsey Anderson movies - the only one I can think of is Whales of August.
@pluralistic blowing my mind with an entirely different way of looking at taxes and budgets.
'When a government runs a "balanced budget," that means that it has taxed as much out of the economy as it put into the economy at the start of the year. When a government runs a "surplus," that means it's left less money in the economy at the end of the year than there was at the beginning of the year."
When people tell you who they are while hitting you with a baseball bat and screaming "THIS IS WHO I AM!!!" and you still don't believe them you're probably an editor at the New York Times.