US Politics

How was a chaotic addict making tens of millions of dollars from Ukraine?

This. It's ridiculous that presidential pardons exist in an unfettered way.

I don't think that anyone is in favour of corruption, but what Trump has achieved in "making his own weather" is quite remarkable and it's difficult to know how the American "left" can respond. What Biden does right now is not really significant in and of itself, but how his party and their base responds to it might be quite informative. If they seem to get a pass for this then does it open up more options for them? I don't mean in terms of straightforward corruption but in terms of conforming only with the letter of the law, rather than being constrained by (previously) commonly understood codes.

There's only so much value in continuing to lose honourably in a system in which the electorate doesn't seem to value honour at all.

Isn't that musk too.

Some number-crunching on the election:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/03/donald-trump-historic-landslide-win-lie

Especially after having to hear them moan on about it all Thanksgiving

I think his whole career has been built on his connections, most via his father, to the upper echelons of the US government, but he's not alone in that by any stretch of the imagination, i.e. one of his business partners was John Kerry's stepson. He's a lobbyist, so people pay him for his ability to work those connections.

Did he really make tens of millions of dollars - he served on the board of Burisma Holdings for 5 years, on a retainer of up to $50k a month - so a total of $3 million for the term. That's a lot of money, but it's not tens of millions. Did he have another source of income in Ukraine?

Added: There have been a lot of allegations, predominantly from Trump and his allies, but to my understanding, these are without foundation.

but the laptop

1. The presidental pardon is a ridiculous concept
   
2. Biden Jnr is clearly dodgy af, has leveraged his dad his whole life, and his unbelievable privilege is a stark contrast to the rest of America
   
3. Pardoning his son is yet another eg of nepotism and is a real low point for America and the concept of public service.
   
4. Empathising on a personal level or thinking "what would you do?" is a separate point. Yes they've had so much tragedy, and I feel for them. And yeah I'd probably do the same.
   
5. This is minor compared to Trump S1 and probably nothing on what will come in S2.
   
6. The idea that this makes any difference to anything is ridiculous. The country is totally morally bankrupt with an idiot majority.
   
7. None of these points are mutually exclusive.
   

Is there any way that this can be perceived positively as Democrats giving themselves permission to join Trump in ignoring previous political norms to get positive things done?

Such hopefulness is very sweet and endearing. Bless.

There's a series 2? I haven't even seen a trailer for it.

https://youtu.be/aDyQxtg0V2w

Did you feel the same when trump did his pardons?

Or the royal nonce getting away with his pizza express?

Yes to Trumps Parsons.

No to Prince Andrew.

Equality before the law.

Is 17 years a ridiculous sentence for dodging $1.4m in tax and buying a gun when high? Yes of course. Would sending a recovering drug addict to jail do them more harm than good? Yes of course. Does he represent a danger to the public? Possibly. Idk enough.

But that is the law and sentencing as it stands. It being an unfair situation for everyone doesn't make it fair for one privileged person to circumvent it.

To me it just stands in such unbelievable contrast to the experience of say, Kalief Browder. I find the whole thing sickening.

When us liberals start whataboutism you know its a flawed argument.

Sure a lot of 'what ifs' can be discussed but what Biden did is hugely damaging to the democrats and America as a whole.

hugely damaging to the democrats and America as a whole.

I think this ship sailed a long time ago.

Not condoning what he did, but to say it's damaging to the US is pretty lols

I don't think I am hopeful really. There don't seem to be any positive outcomes. Trump seems to have broken the core political system in a country that had become increasingly divided and partisan. We saw something similar here with Johnson but we seem to have clawed our way back towards sense in government, albeit with an emboldened far-right.

I wonder if Le Donald is watching South Korea and making a note of what didn't work and how he could do it better.

I'd be surprised if he isnt.

I'd be surprised if he's ever made a note in his life

My guess is that however stupid he is, he's understood the value of building up a loyal and fully militarised presidential guard.

The Dems look to me, very much like an audience stooge helping to sell the illusion on the stage.

There's the expectation they're not in cahoots with the comically villainous lot, but somehow they're always standing around with their thumb jammed up their arse, looking the other way, when an opportunity to constrain the insanity presents itself.

For instance, blatant and extended shenanigans to heavily bias the SCOTUS are answered with... crickets. Could've stacked it with folks who'd start repairing the damage, but didn't because insert reason here.

After the biden stuff, any mention of trumps presidential pardon of his son in law's dad? Now Jared appointment as an ambassador?

White House weighing blanket pardons for Biden’s staff and allies and others on Trump pre declared hit list. It’s something we should have seen but didn’t expect. Ethical quandaries abound, and the strategic realpolitik implications could define the future of the nation.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8j9e1x9z2xo

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