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  • Originally posted by Northwestcoug View Post
    Ted, I’ve got to hand it to you. You are unstoppable. You rarely address the real point people bring up. But you never leave a post unanswered. You are a force of nature.
    That website that Frank found is a goldmine!

    Did you know that someone was trying to kill Dale Earnhardt? Yes, the freak'n Dale Earnhardt...

    FBI investigated a NASCAR fan who wanted to kill Dale Earnhardt Sr. to save sport’s integrity

    “You assholes had better get your sh-t together, or you’re going to be short one driver.”
    Dale Earnhardt Sr. is remembered as one of NASCAR’s most successful drivers and tragic figures, given the shocking Daytona 500 crash that killed him in 2001. But followers of the sport had elevated him to mythic status long before the fatal accident. An FBI file obtained by MuckRock user Jason Smathers documents how Earnhardt faced danger on and off the track.
    [...]
    https://www.muckrock.com/news/archiv...t-srs-driving/

    I am starting to think that Dale's crash into the wall at the Daytona 500 wasn't an accident. :foilhat:

    I bet that basturd Bill France Jr had something to do with it.
    "If there is one thing I am, it's always right." -Ted Nugent.
    "I honestly believe saying someone is a smart lawyer is damning with faint praise. The smartest people become engineers and scientists." -SU.
    "Yet I still see wisdom in that which Uncle Ted posts." -creek.
    GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

    Comment


    • https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...and-truly-done

      "Collusion may or may not be a crime, as Rudy Giuliani (speaking on behalf of one Donald Trump) has often pointed out. But then again, Giuliani may or may not be a competent lawyer, given his astonishingly shabby record in fact-free musings that he later has to retract.

      It seems churlish to point out to Trump, Giuliani et al that Mueller has already indicted several Russian persons in a conspiracy to interfere with the 2016 presidential election by hacking into the Democratic National Committee’s emails, as well as those of the chairman of the Clinton campaign.

      Churlish because Mueller’s follow-up on Friday presented evidence of how the Trump campaign, through Roger Stone, was involved in the secret coordination of the release of those emails.

      Stone – himself the longest-serving of Trump’s political advisers – reported to Trump campaign officials on the impending and frequent email dumps from WikiLeaks, otherwise known in the indictment as “Organization 1”.

      As the Mueller team explained: “Shortly after Organization 1’s release, an associate of the high-ranking Trump Campaign official sent a text message to STONE that read ‘well done.’”

      Like Trump’s favorite steaks, Stone himself is now well and truly done. He appears to have lied to Congress about those contacts with the Trump campaign. And he botched his efforts to cover up the conspiracy by apparently asking his co-conspirators to lie for him.

      When one of them refused, Stone started acting out his wildest mob movie fantasies, urging him to lie to Congress by doing a “Frank Pentangeli” from The Godfather: Part II. At least Stone dreamed he was starring in the best of the Godfather series.

      When not attempting to direct scenes in mob movies, Stone was writing a miserably low-grade pastiche of the movie script. “You are a rat. A stoolie,” he wrote in so many garbled phrases to his naturally incredulous friend, a part-time comedian, part-time candidate called Randy Credico. “You backstab your friends – run your mouth my lawyers are dying Rip you to shreds.” He threatened to hurt Credico’s pet dog and told him to “Prepare to die [expletive].”

      Instead of preparing to die, Stone’s former friend told him “you’ve opened yourself up to perjury charges like an idiot.”

      Comment


      • Turns out Trump met with Putin at the G20 in November without any staff present.

        Stuff like this is why he needs to lose in 2020, even if the Democrat is too liberal.

        Comment


        • Originally posted by frank ryan View Post
          Turns out Trump met with Putin at the G20 in November without any staff present.

          Stuff like this is why he needs to lose in 2020, even if the Democrat is too liberal.
          Which G20 meeting are you referring to? He met with Putin at the G20 in Argentina in November 2018, twice in Germany in July 2017. And again in Helsinki, although that wasn't a G20 meeting. Most Presidents would like a record kept of these meetings, so that exactly what was said (on both sides) can be analyzed and reviewed later by aides whose job it is. Not this President. He has a good memory. The best memory. People say he remembers what was said in conversations he wasn't even part of. He can clearly recollect yuge deals in which he won, even if the other side flatly denies it ever occurred.

          Comment


          • Originally posted by LVAllen View Post
            Which G20 meeting are you referring to? He met with Putin at the G20 in Argentina in November 2018, twice in Germany in July 2017. And again in Helsinki, although that wasn't a G20 meeting. Most Presidents would like a record kept of these meetings, so that exactly what was said (on both sides) can be analyzed and reviewed later by aides whose job it is. Not this President. He has a good memory. The best memory. People say he remembers what was said in conversations he wasn't even part of. He can clearly recollect yuge deals in which he won, even if the other side flatly denies it ever occurred.
            In November, and without even a US translator present. We need to have a record of what's being said he an adversarial power. Putin is his bff though.
            https://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...e-taker-report

            Comment


            • Originally posted by LVAllen View Post
              Which G20 meeting are you referring to? He met with Putin at the G20 in Argentina in November 2018, twice in Germany in July 2017. And again in Helsinki, although that wasn't a G20 meeting. Most Presidents would like a record kept of these meetings, so that exactly what was said (on both sides) can be analyzed and reviewed later by aides whose job it is. Not this President. He has a good memory. The best memory. People say he remembers what was said in conversations he wasn't even part of. He can clearly recollect yuge deals in which he won, even if the other side flatly denies it ever occurred.
              By not having a record of these meetings Trump is probably breaking the law.

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Records_Act

              Regardless of that, meeting with Putin without any other American knowing what was discussed certainly gives the appearance that he's under Putin's control or has something pretty significant to hide.
              Last edited by BlueK; 01-30-2019, 06:54 AM.

              Comment


              • Interesting choice of words from Roger Stone:

                "Roger Stone is known for hyperbole, but his latest graphic warning should worry Donald Trump.

                The political trickster said Tuesday, a day he pleaded not guilty to seven charges laid by special counsel Robert Mueller, that Trump's presidency is in mortal peril because the Russia investigation amounts to a "speeding bullet heading for his head."

                https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/polit...ion/index.html

                And then this analysis from a former federal prosecutor makes some interesting observations:

                On January 25, Roger Stone was arrested by special counsel Robert Mueller’s team for making false statements to Congress, obstructing justice and witness tampering. At their core, Stone’s alleged crimes involve covering up his involvement with the WikiLeaks release of stolen Democratic National Committee emails in the summer of 2016. But Stone’s indictment arguably buries the lead, because contained within his 24-page indictment are the evidentiary building blocks of a conspiracy that includes participation by “senior Trump Campaign officials,” even as the Mueller probe appears to approach its final act.

                Roger Stone was a friend, adviser and confidant of President Donald Trump for decades and a member of the Trump presidential campaign until August of 2015. According to the indictment, however, Stone continued to work behind the scenes to assist Trump in his quest for the presidency after his official role ended. The indictment further details how Stone served as a go-between for the campaign in securing access to and information from WikiLeaks.

                We have all heard the president’s incessant claims of “no collusion” between his campaign and the Russians. It’s worth noting that collusion as a technical legal term mostly refers to violations of federal anti-trust law. Currently, both media and politicians have come to use the word as a sort of layman’s term for the more applicable crime of “conspiracy.” A conspiracy consists of two elements: First, there must be an agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime and second, one of those individuals must take a step (called an “overt act”) toward committing that crime. Importantly, the agreement need not be written, formal or even expressly stated, and all members of the conspiracy need not know one another. It is enough that they are all working toward a common unlawful objective, like using stolen emails to gain an unfair advantage in an election.

                As a longtime federal prosecutor, I have drafted more indictments than I can count. When indicting a single individual for crimes he or she committed (as opposed to multiple individuals involved in a conspiracy) prosecutors rarely include references to the conduct of others. For example, a single-defendant witness tampering indictment typically will state something along the lines of, “On or about January 1, 2019, within the District of Columbia, defendant John Q. Public, threatened a witness with the intent to impede the witness’s truthful testimony in an official proceeding.” However, when indicting multiple individuals for participating in a conspiracy, those individuals are named, and their conspiratorial actions detailed.

                Stone’s indictment reads like a typical conspiracy indictment, only without the conspiracy charge...The Stone indictment is replete with references to the alleged misconduct of others carried out in a concerted effort to obtain and exploit the stolen DNC emails in order to help Trump and hurt the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton. Most ominously, participants in this endeavor include senior Trump campaign officials, according to the indictment. Moreover, one such senior Trump campaign official “was directed to” coordinate with Stone for the purpose of acquiring/further exploiting the stolen emails. To be clear, acquiring/exploiting stolen property for one’s own use is a crime.

                One obvious question raised by the Stone indictment is, who is the person that “directed” the senior Trump campaign official to undertake this criminal coordination with Stone? It seems logical that such a person would need to be pretty senior themselves, if they were directing another “senior official” to do something. (Then again, there is one “junior” person who might have had the requisite status to direct a senior campaign official — Donald Trump Jr.) Right now the only thing we can do is wait for further charges to materialize, or Mueller’s report to Congress.

                In my professional opinion, then, the Stone indictment is a means to an end. Mueller almost certainly will use it as leverage to pressure Stone to become a cooperating witness. Given the strength of the “hard evidence” (emails, text messages, false sworn testimony, etc.), Roger Stone has little hope of avoiding conviction at trial. Cooperating with the Mueller probe is likely his only way to avoid jail time.

                The Stone indictment also serves as a preview of indictments to come. The dots are getting easier and easier to connect. We learned in July 2018, via a separate Mueller indictment, that Russian operatives did indeed hack into the DNC’s computers and steal emails — emails that were then transferred to and weaponized by WikiLeaks. With the Stone indictment we learned that Stone, in cooperation with Corsi, Credico and others, communicated with WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange about the timing and subject matter of email releases. Senior Trump campaign officials also coordinated with Stone, with the apparent goal of using the stolen emails to hurt Hillary Clinton and thus help Trump win the election.


                https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinio...acy-ncna963686
                Last edited by BlueK; 01-30-2019, 07:03 AM.

                Comment


                • This piece I think is worth reading and pretty insightful from a writer who seems to be pretty knowledgeable with how Russia works.

                  "What we are observing is not most accurately described as the subversion of American democracy by a hostile power. Instead, it is an attempt at state capture by an international crime syndicate. What unites Yanukovych, Veselnitskaya, Manafort, Stone, Wikileaks’s Julian Assange, the Russian troll factory, the Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos and his partners in crime, the “Professor” (whose academic credentials are in doubt), and the “Female Russian National” (who appears to have fraudulently presented herself as Putin’s niece) is that they are all crooks and frauds. This is not a moral assessment, or an attempt to downplay their importance. It is an attempt to stop talking in terms of states and geopolitics and begin looking at Mafias and profits."

                  The Hungarian sociologist Bálint Magyar, who created the concept of the “post-Communist mafia state,” has just finished editing a new collection of articles called “Stubborn Structures: Reconceptualizing Post-Communist Regimes” (to be published by C.E.U. Press early this year). In one of his own pieces in the collection, using Russia as an example, Magyar describes the Mafia state as one run by a “patron” and his “court”—put another way, the boss and his clan—who appropriate public resources and the institutions of the state for their private use and profit. When I talked to Magyar on the phone on Monday, he told me that Trump is “like a Mafia boss without a Mafia. Trump cannot transform the United States into a Mafia state, of course, but he still acts like a Mafia boss.” Putin, on the other hand, “is a Mafia boss with a real Mafia, which has turned the whole state into a criminal state.” Still, he said, “the behavior at the top is the same.”

                  When we think about a normal state, Magyar told me, “the assumption is that the state acts in the public interest, and if that doesn’t happen, that’s a deviation.” That is true of how we think about democracies but also, to a large extent, of how we think about dictatorships as well: the dictator positions himself as the arbiter and sole representative of the national interest. A Mafia state, on the other hand, acts only in the personal profit-seeking interests of the clan. “That’s not a deviation,” Magyar said. “It’s a substantive, structural characteristic of the state. The state itself, at the top, works as a criminal organization.”

                  When members of the American media cover the story of Russian meddling, they implicitly portray Russia as a normal state, and the influence operation as an undertaking of the state aimed at furthering Russia’s national interests. This strikes Russians as absurd. By the measure of national interest, the Trump Presidency has been disappointing for Russia. Most of what Trump has given the Russian state has come through inaction: he has barely reacted to continued Russian aggression in Ukraine; he has failed to support NATO; and he has said that the U.S. will withdraw from Syria, although it looks like the withdrawal is unlikely to be fast or total. At the same time, diplomatic relations between Russia and the U.S. have deteriorated to the point of near-total dysfunction, and, despite considerable foot-dragging by the White House, the U.S. has continued to impose new sanctions on Russia.

                  By the metrics of a Mafia state, though, the Trump Presidency has yielded great results for Russia. A Mafia boss craves respect, loyalty, and perceived power. Trump’s deference to Putin and the widespread public perception of Putin’s influence over Trump have lifted Putin’s stature beyond what I suspect could have been his wildest dreams. As happens in a Mafia state, most of the benefit accrues to the patron personally. But some of the profit goes to the clan. Over the weekend, we learned that the Treasury Department has lifted sanctions on companies that belong to Oleg Deripaska, a member of Putin’s “court” who once lent millions of dollars to Manafort. If a ragtag team employed by or otherwise connected to the Russian Mafia state tried to aid a similar collection of crooks and frauds to elect Trump—as it increasingly looks like they did—then the Deripaska news helps explain their motivations. The story is not that Putin is masterminding a vast and brilliant attack on Western democracy. The story, it appears, is that the Russian Mafia state is cultivating profit-yielding relationships with the aspiring Mafia boss of the U.S. and his band of crooks, subverting democratic institutions in the process."

                  https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-c...he-mafia-state
                  Last edited by BlueK; 01-31-2019, 09:01 AM.

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by BlueK View Post
                    This piece I think is worth reading and pretty insightful from a writer who seems to be pretty knowledgeable with how Russia works.

                    "What we are observing is not most accurately described as the subversion of American democracy by a hostile power. Instead, it is an attempt at state capture by an international crime syndicate. What unites Yanukovych, Veselnitskaya, Manafort, Stone, Wikileaks’s Julian Assange, the Russian troll factory, the Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos and his partners in crime, the “Professor” (whose academic credentials are in doubt), and the “Female Russian National” (who appears to have fraudulently presented herself as Putin’s niece) is that they are all crooks and frauds. This is not a moral assessment, or an attempt to downplay their importance. It is an attempt to stop talking in terms of states and geopolitics and begin looking at Mafias and profits."

                    The Hungarian sociologist Bálint Magyar, who created the concept of the “post-Communist mafia state,” has just finished editing a new collection of articles called “Stubborn Structures: Reconceptualizing Post-Communist Regimes” (to be published by C.E.U. Press early this year). In one of his own pieces in the collection, using Russia as an example, Magyar describes the Mafia state as one run by a “patron” and his “court”—put another way, the boss and his clan—who appropriate public resources and the institutions of the state for their private use and profit. When I talked to Magyar on the phone on Monday, he told me that Trump is “like a Mafia boss without a Mafia. Trump cannot transform the United States into a Mafia state, of course, but he still acts like a Mafia boss.” Putin, on the other hand, “is a Mafia boss with a real Mafia, which has turned the whole state into a criminal state.” Still, he said, “the behavior at the top is the same.”

                    When we think about a normal state, Magyar told me, “the assumption is that the state acts in the public interest, and if that doesn’t happen, that’s a deviation.” That is true of how we think about democracies but also, to a large extent, of how we think about dictatorships as well: the dictator positions himself as the arbiter and sole representative of the national interest. A Mafia state, on the other hand, acts only in the personal profit-seeking interests of the clan. “That’s not a deviation,” Magyar said. “It’s a substantive, structural characteristic of the state. The state itself, at the top, works as a criminal organization.”

                    When members of the American media cover the story of Russian meddling, they implicitly portray Russia as a normal state, and the influence operation as an undertaking of the state aimed at furthering Russia’s national interests. This strikes Russians as absurd. By the measure of national interest, the Trump Presidency has been disappointing for Russia. Most of what Trump has given the Russian state has come through inaction: he has barely reacted to continued Russian aggression in Ukraine; he has failed to support NATO; and he has said that the U.S. will withdraw from Syria, although it looks like the withdrawal is unlikely to be fast or total. At the same time, diplomatic relations between Russia and the U.S. have deteriorated to the point of near-total dysfunction, and, despite considerable foot-dragging by the White House, the U.S. has continued to impose new sanctions on Russia.

                    By the metrics of a Mafia state, though, the Trump Presidency has yielded great results for Russia. A Mafia boss craves respect, loyalty, and perceived power. Trump’s deference to Putin and the widespread public perception of Putin’s influence over Trump have lifted Putin’s stature beyond what I suspect could have been his wildest dreams. As happens in a Mafia state, most of the benefit accrues to the patron personally. But some of the profit goes to the clan. Over the weekend, we learned that the Treasury Department has lifted sanctions on companies that belong to Oleg Deripaska, a member of Putin’s “court” who once lent millions of dollars to Manafort. If a ragtag team employed by or otherwise connected to the Russian Mafia state tried to aid a similar collection of crooks and frauds to elect Trump—as it increasingly looks like they did—then the Deripaska news helps explain their motivations. The story is not that Putin is masterminding a vast and brilliant attack on Western democracy. The story, it appears, is that the Russian Mafia state is cultivating profit-yielding relationships with the aspiring Mafia boss of the U.S. and his band of crooks, subverting democratic institutions in the process."

                    https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-c...he-mafia-state
                    If true, is that worse than a Kamala Harris presidency?

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by wapiti View Post
                      If true, is that worse than a Kamala Harris presidency?
                      yes, but a moot point I think because Harris' candidacy isn't going anywhere. Several publications on the right and the left trying to instantly crown her as the dem frontrunner doesn't make it true. Both sides have their reasons for wishing it, but it's not happening as of right now. The data so far doesn't even come close to backing that up.

                      https://www.realclearpolitics.com/ep...tion-6730.html
                      Last edited by BlueK; 01-31-2019, 10:57 AM.

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by BlueK View Post
                        yes, but a moot point I think because Harris' candidacy isn't going anywhere. Several publications on the right and the left trying to instantly crown her as the dem frontrunner doesn't make it true. Both sides have their reasons for wishing it, but it's not happening as of right now. The data so far doesn't even come close to backing that up.

                        https://www.realclearpolitics.com/ep...tion-6730.html
                        But is creepy Biden even officially running yet? It seems Joe is waiting to see if Hillary will run again.
                        "If there is one thing I am, it's always right." -Ted Nugent.
                        "I honestly believe saying someone is a smart lawyer is damning with faint praise. The smartest people become engineers and scientists." -SU.
                        "Yet I still see wisdom in that which Uncle Ted posts." -creek.
                        GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by BlueK View Post
                          This piece I think is worth reading and pretty insightful from a writer who seems to be pretty knowledgeable with how Russia works.

                          "What we are observing is not most accurately described as the subversion of American democracy by a hostile power. Instead, it is an attempt at state capture by an international crime syndicate. What unites Yanukovych, Veselnitskaya, Manafort, Stone, Wikileaks’s Julian Assange, the Russian troll factory, the Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos and his partners in crime, the “Professor” (whose academic credentials are in doubt), and the “Female Russian National” (who appears to have fraudulently presented herself as Putin’s niece) is that they are all crooks and frauds. This is not a moral assessment, or an attempt to downplay their importance. It is an attempt to stop talking in terms of states and geopolitics and begin looking at Mafias and profits."

                          The Hungarian sociologist Bálint Magyar, who created the concept of the “post-Communist mafia state,” has just finished editing a new collection of articles called “Stubborn Structures: Reconceptualizing Post-Communist Regimes” (to be published by C.E.U. Press early this year). In one of his own pieces in the collection, using Russia as an example, Magyar describes the Mafia state as one run by a “patron” and his “court”—put another way, the boss and his clan—who appropriate public resources and the institutions of the state for their private use and profit. When I talked to Magyar on the phone on Monday, he told me that Trump is “like a Mafia boss without a Mafia. Trump cannot transform the United States into a Mafia state, of course, but he still acts like a Mafia boss.” Putin, on the other hand, “is a Mafia boss with a real Mafia, which has turned the whole state into a criminal state.” Still, he said, “the behavior at the top is the same.”

                          When we think about a normal state, Magyar told me, “the assumption is that the state acts in the public interest, and if that doesn’t happen, that’s a deviation.” That is true of how we think about democracies but also, to a large extent, of how we think about dictatorships as well: the dictator positions himself as the arbiter and sole representative of the national interest. A Mafia state, on the other hand, acts only in the personal profit-seeking interests of the clan. “That’s not a deviation,” Magyar said. “It’s a substantive, structural characteristic of the state. The state itself, at the top, works as a criminal organization.”

                          When members of the American media cover the story of Russian meddling, they implicitly portray Russia as a normal state, and the influence operation as an undertaking of the state aimed at furthering Russia’s national interests. This strikes Russians as absurd. By the measure of national interest, the Trump Presidency has been disappointing for Russia. Most of what Trump has given the Russian state has come through inaction: he has barely reacted to continued Russian aggression in Ukraine; he has failed to support NATO; and he has said that the U.S. will withdraw from Syria, although it looks like the withdrawal is unlikely to be fast or total. At the same time, diplomatic relations between Russia and the U.S. have deteriorated to the point of near-total dysfunction, and, despite considerable foot-dragging by the White House, the U.S. has continued to impose new sanctions on Russia.

                          By the metrics of a Mafia state, though, the Trump Presidency has yielded great results for Russia. A Mafia boss craves respect, loyalty, and perceived power. Trump’s deference to Putin and the widespread public perception of Putin’s influence over Trump have lifted Putin’s stature beyond what I suspect could have been his wildest dreams. As happens in a Mafia state, most of the benefit accrues to the patron personally. But some of the profit goes to the clan. Over the weekend, we learned that the Treasury Department has lifted sanctions on companies that belong to Oleg Deripaska, a member of Putin’s “court” who once lent millions of dollars to Manafort. If a ragtag team employed by or otherwise connected to the Russian Mafia state tried to aid a similar collection of crooks and frauds to elect Trump—as it increasingly looks like they did—then the Deripaska news helps explain their motivations. The story is not that Putin is masterminding a vast and brilliant attack on Western democracy. The story, it appears, is that the Russian Mafia state is cultivating profit-yielding relationships with the aspiring Mafia boss of the U.S. and his band of crooks, subverting democratic institutions in the process."

                          https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-c...he-mafia-state
                          Very interesting. It's not hard to believe that a run of the mill Russian citizen would be so cynical about their country's politics that they barely bat an eyelash at this kind of stuff.

                          Comment


                          • You're actually pretty funny when you aren't being a complete a-hole....so basically like 5% of the time. --Art Vandelay
                            Almost everything you post is snarky, smug, condescending, or just downright mean-spirited. --Jeffrey Lebowski

                            Anyone can make war, but only the most courageous can make peace. --President Donald J. Trump
                            You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war. --William Randolph Hearst

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by Walter Sobchak View Post
                              At least you found one of the better-looking messengers.

                              This is interesting as well:
                              https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019...ssia-then-now/
                              Last edited by BlueK; 02-13-2019, 08:20 AM.

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by BlueK View Post
                                At least you found one of the better-looking messengers.
                                I don't think Trump is all that good-looking TBH, but to each his own.
                                You're actually pretty funny when you aren't being a complete a-hole....so basically like 5% of the time. --Art Vandelay
                                Almost everything you post is snarky, smug, condescending, or just downright mean-spirited. --Jeffrey Lebowski

                                Anyone can make war, but only the most courageous can make peace. --President Donald J. Trump
                                You furnish the pictures, and I’ll furnish the war. --William Randolph Hearst

                                Comment

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