Tag: Trump

BREAKING! – South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Revises Her Description of the Deaths of Her Puppy & Goat

Michael Matheron1 Comment

05-09-2024, 1:54 p.m., A News Network, Pierre, SD. Governor’s Office, for immediate release.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem released this statement:

My Dear South Dakota friends and supporters, I have recently ended my book tour which is among the most tragic events that this farm girl has ever suffered. It was caused by liars and vicious reporters in the extreme left wing commie-fascist media. Their claims about the deaths of my dog and goat that they say were included in my new book are untrue. Even the excerpts they’ve manufactured are fictitious. So powerful and sinister is the extreme left wing that they’ve managed to brainwash millions. It is, therefore, time for me to go on the offensive and attack our foes with the truth, the truth as I and God understand it.

No gross executions of my dog and goat took place. The truth is quite the opposite: In fact, it was I who was fired on first. I neither sought nor welcomed armed conflict and only did so as a self defense measure. My disgruntled 14-month-old dog Cricket and his vicious co-conspirator, an obnoxious old goat who strutted on the wrong side of the barnyard, chose to arm themselves with military grade weapons and, by trickery, ambush me for obviously Biden-inspired political reasons.

They began by secreting themselves on a chicken farm belonging to my dear neighbors. There, from their hiding places in a gravel pit, they opened fire on a dozen or more defenseless chickens, loading, shooting, and reloading 16-shot clips until they had devastated the chicken herd. When I was informed and arrived at the scene, I called out to them and asked that they cease their killing fire, instead, they turned their attention to me, their primary target, in a blood lust. They fired a dozen rounds as I hit the dirt and drew from my holsters one each of the several pistols and hand grenades I carry with me whenever I visit neighbors. I did not seek this confrontation. Yet, being a South Dakota farm girl I knew that firefights with livestock were a normal life activity, not to be shied away from, particularly by a strong governor who deserves higher office.

It was not long before Cricket began a flanking maneuver while the old craven goat laid down covering fire. I tossed a grenade, I fired my Glock, I nearly took a bullet as I ducked into the gravel pit only to be confronted by that devil goat looking for a gunfight, old western movie style. He hopped toward me, I dove to the left and drew my weapon, firing instinctively as I had done so many times before in shootouts with other farm animals. Being the kind of person South Dakotans want for Vice President in the coming election, I dropped that goat stone dead. Someone had to do it.

Meantime, Cricket had circled around me and growled that fake puppy sound that is meant to disguise their true intentions, but tells a South Dakota farmer that there was death in the offing, either for me or for Cricket. I turned on him and fired, he fired, then, we fought hand to paw, rolling in the sharp gravel that broke each of my fingernails clean off. Cricket tried the old cowards tactic of licking my face, a fake peace entreaty and far too late. A gunshot rang out. For a moment neither of us knew who’d been shot, if shot at all. After a moment I could see. And Cricket was no more. Someone had to do it.

This summary rebuttal of the vile left wing tampering with the text of my book will allow me to resume my nationwide book tour as of this evening when I will appear in Pierre’s Shotgun Shell Bar & Rifle Range, from 8:00 – 9:00 pm. Free beer for all the ladies! I am proud to be your governor until something better materializes. God bless & pass the ammo!

Trump Hush Money Trial Coverage, No. 01

Michael Matheron2 Comments

Introduction: Media Causes Confusion

A rather sensible trial strategy may be pursued by Trump’s beleaguered lawyers in his hush money trial, just begun in New York City this morning with jury selection. No, not the obvious one: somehow convincing Trump to not take the stand in his own defense. The perhaps sensible idea has to do with the judge’s charge to the jury for their deliberations and an upcoming court discussion of what may actually be offered into evidence against Trump himself, for example, whether uncharged behavior in the present case can be used against Trump, like his comments about E. Jeanne Carroll, or about Judge Engoron that led to gag orders.

In this first of a series of posts, here’s a quick review of the basics first: Trump is charged with New York state law prohibiting falsifying business records, in this case, related to the so-called Stormy Daniels affair. In August 2018, Michael Cohen, Trump’s erstwhile “fixer,” pled guilty to federal crimes related to Trump’s case, although the federal charges differed, and importantly so, as they included two federal campaign finance violations. Today, Trump sat in court – and apparently nodded off – during day two of jury selection, which may take quite some time, consensus opinion is two weeks. Once the jury is impanelled, it’s off to the races with opening statements.

Due to confused and confusing media coverage, many misunderstand the resulting consensus media observation that this trial is primarily about simply falsifying business records related to a payoff to Stormy Daniels. This is why, I believe, so many believe the case is based on minor charges. Some ask, “So what, that he falsified records about a porn star payoff? “Where’s the huge crime that justifies indicting a former president so slight a matter?” The media reporting causes those questions to be not altogether ill-informed.

Confusion at Its Source

So, first, let’s attack confusion, and begin by looking at the New York statutes that underlie all 34 criminal charges. [All emphases added] (The two provisions below are from the New York Penal Laws and are set out in slightly different color blocks for reasons that will be clear later in this posting.)

§ 175.10 Falsifying business records in the first degree.
A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second degree, and when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.

Falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E felony.

§ 175.05 Falsifying business records in the second degree.
A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the second degree when, with intent to defraud, he:
1. Makes or causes a false entry in the business records of an enterprise; or
2. Alters, erases, obliterates, deletes, removes or destroys a true entry in the business records of an enterprise; or
3. Omits to make a true entry in the business records of an enterprise in violation of a duty to do so which he knows to be imposed upon him by law or by the nature of his position; or
4. Prevents the making of a true entry or causes the omission thereof in the business records of an enterprise.

Falsifying business records in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

Note that the grand jury indictment [See full text] that led to this trial alleged that Trump violated the first of the statutes listed above, NY Penal L § 175.10 (2022), the felony. Nowhere in the indictment was the second above listed misdemeanor statute mentioned, NY Penal L § 175.05 (2022). However, the possible interaction between these two provisions – felony vs. misdemeanor – has caused most of the confusion noted in the introductory section. And as you’ll see, it can be confusing, but not so much as the media has unfortunately made it, at times, appear.

Hopefully Not Making This More Confusing . . .

Section 175.10, in clause one provides: “A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second degree . . .” Note that § 175.10, which sets out a felony, references the text of § 175.05, the misdemeanor provision whose full text is set out above in the second colored block. So, consequently, to convict a defendant of the felony (§ 175.10), the prosecution must prove, by necessity, for any of the 34 charges against Trump, at least one of the four misdemeanor elements of § 175.05. And that’s just for starters. (The Statement of Facts [See full text] which was issued by the prosecution at the time of the indictment one-year sets out facts that rely mostly upon documentary evidence that should prove adequate to the first task under § 175.05, the misdemeanor which he is not directly charged with violating, which as we’ll see in a future posting as I watch court action as the issues develop over the week ahead.

Stay tuned for Trump Hush Money Trial Coverage, No. 02.

GOP Congressloon Chip Roy, Maybe You Should Have Waited Until Sunday . . .

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After his GOP majority “shut down” a workable, bipartisan, and tough-on-immigrant border deal simply because Maximus Trump ordered them to do so, Texas congressloon Chip Roy prematurely warned the world of disaster a day before the budget deal was struck, and signed, immediately, by President Biden. Roy has been in the House since 2019, and ought to have known that rarely do these threatened shutdowns occur, although they have done three times, once each, under Clinton (16 days), Obama (21 days), and under Chip Roy’s unprecedented President Trump (the longest shutdown at 33 days).

Roy, by the way, is a prototypical MAGA/Tea Party budget ax man who has never met a budget item he didn’t want to cut, especially social welfare programs and taxes. Hypocritically, he would have applauded a shutdown. Like most of his GOP/MAGA congressloon colleagues (and, sadly, this includes some fifth column Democrats), causing the federal government to shut down is their overriding primary rationale, intimately intertwined with their tax cutting fever. This is why they continually underfund important federal programs: this causes inefficiencies and poor management of these programs, thus proving, to those who don’t make the connection, that the federal government does not work, in general and in particular. They are for decades the quintessential anti-government force in American history.

Preach, brother, preach:

Trump Contacts Me for Help Saving His Buildings from New York Seizure

Michael Matheron1 Comment

I just received the text messages below directly from Donald Trump hoping to enlist me in his latest cause:

From Trump: TRUMP TOWER IS MINE!
Democrats want to SEIZE my properties.
Read my emergency memo: 24act.us/2wZM7W
stop=end

From Trump: KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF TRUMP TOWER!
Democrats want to SEIZE my properties.
See my emergency memo: rtwing.us/0MsJJn
stop=end

I’ll have to turn him down, but I understand his feelings. After all, he never got to keep the bouncy ball in kindergarten…

Donald Trump, The Ultimate Undocumented Immigrant.

Michael Matheron1 Comment

I wrote this in 2017 and given Trump’s galactically reprehensible behavior recently it’s about time to reconsider his origins:

Many have speculated that President Trump’s election success and his life in general is only understandable if we posit he’s an undocumented space alien. Huffington Post in March 2017 ran a story by Alan Singer, “Twitter Is Buzzing With Donald Trump ‘Space Alien’ Rumors,” and he may be right. Perhaps, Trump is merely the host organism for an obscene extraterrestrial being.

Putting this theory to the test, our TWSA Biological Astrophysics specialists joined our High School Graphics Interns to produce the image below by combining the starscape as it existed on Trump’s birthday, June 14, 1946 supplemented by our interns’ conception of the Trumpian embryo entering earth orbit on that day.

Image copyright, Michael V. Matheron 2017

Also, this year, The Nevada County Scooper opined, “Trump’s mystery hairdo is not a badly constructed wig nor is it a desperately coiffed comb over. It’s an alien spider that has woven a dense, messy web as camouflage as it sucks intelligence out of The Donald’s brain.” Yet, what intelligence might be gleaned from that particular brain? The question of Trump’s origins bedevils most Americans. His antics are not just “un-presidential,” they’re “”reverse-presidential.” How did the Twilight Zone miss that prediction?

Trump Finally Speaks of Something About Which He Has Vast Knowledge

Michael Matheron1 Comment

Today, Donald Trump took shots at Fulton Co. District Attorney Fani Willis in one of his Truth Social posts as a judge began to weigh whether she should be disqualified from prosecuting the Georgia RICO election interference case. Usually, Trump weighs in on things he has no comprehension of, which is, basically everything. He’s the dopiest president in our, and the world’s, history.

Give his latest outburst a read:

WHERE DID FANI GET ALL THAT CASH? NO WAY SHE PAID HER LOVER, “PROSECUTOR” NATHAN WADE, BACK. SHE MADE UP THE CASH STORY WHEN SHE REALIZED THAT HER “SEXCAPADES” WERE PAID FOR BY THE PEOPLE OF GEORGIA. AGAIN, WHERE’S THE CASH, AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM? THE FACT IS, THERE WAS NO CASH PAID, THAT WAS JUST AN EXCUSE SHE MADE UP AFTER SHE GOT CAUGHT. THE CASE CAN’T BE CLOSED UNTIL THIS IS DETERMINED. In any event, they were lovers and friends long before this Witch Hunt was started. THEY WANTED MONEY AND FAME! Worked with Biden’s DOJ (spent days with them in D.C.) in going after Crooked Joe’s Opponent, ME. Terrible stuff! THIS CASE MUST BE DROPPED — A GREAT EMBARRASSMENT TO GEORGIA!

As you see he’s framed his screed in his strongest intellectual bailiwick, actually, his only intellectual bailiwick, i.e., as he put it, “SEXCAPADES.” In the way he phrased and used the term, it implies that he is a neutral and shocked arbiter of Fani Willis’s and Nathan Wade’s private lives. And he’s shocked by “SEXCAPADES” in general – Heaven forfend! – and specifically by two prosecutors who have him in their sights. Irony hasn’t died, after all. . .

What Does Putin Have on Trump? Probably Nothing, Trump’s Just Being Trump

Michael Matheron1 Comment

On tonight’s Jenn Psaki’s show, I just heard Nancy Pelosi speak about Trump’s recent Putin-related comments:

  • Seemingly inviting Russia to invade NATO countries, i.e., those who “don’t pay their dues,” and saying he’d let Russia do “anything they wanted to them,” and
  • His lack of quick response to Russian activist Alexei Navalny’s death due to “unspecified reasons” which Pelosi reckons was an assassination. Then his belated comments, three days after his collapse in a Russian prison, was his usual self-serving attempt to equate Navalny’s death with his own legal problems:

    “The sudden death of Alexei Navalny has made me more and more aware of what is happening in our country,” Trump posted on his Truth Social network. The former US president and presumptive Republican White House nominee added: “It is a slow, steady progression, with CROOKED, Radical Left Politicians, Prosecutors, and Judges leading us down a path to destruction.”

Pelosi, as is true of most everyone, stipulates that “Putin has something on Trump.” After reciting that mantra since 2016, I think there’s another explanation: Trump is simply being Trump. It’s no secret about his “bromances” with nearly all world authoritarian leaders. For example, why don’t we wonder “what does Hungary’s Viktor Orbán have on Trump?” Or, “what does Kim Jong Un have on Trump?” All this is not completely irrelevant, but, I believe, only partially true, if at all.

Trump doesn’t need any authoritarian to have something on him. He’s simply an unapologetic authoritarian personality, dyed in the wool at his monstrous father’s directions and via Roy Cohn, a verifiable monster. It’s baked in; Trump is dictator simpatico. He has, as well, survived and thrived despite serious legal, media, and political attacks for decades, emboldening him beyond all concern about his omnipotence. He’s likely always admired those who exercised unquestioned dominance over individuals, industries, and countries. So, of course, he admires Putin. He has no control over himself, in everything that makes a person human, he’s so close to his authoritarian dream and life force, presently leading the GOP, not like a dictator but as a dictator. Next in his sights is our country in full, so mammoth is his evil.

Being humans, we try en masse, I think, to bring some gestalt to the chaos Trump has caused and will continue to accelerate as the election cycle grinds on. We still, after nearly eight years of Trump’s historically rapacious performance as the first truly psychopathic American president, are shocked. At times I startle at the thought that, yes, Donald Trump, was president, and, shockingly, appears at least in light of his apparent omnipotence, to have a path to another four years of destruction. But this is no standard nightmare from which I, or we, can hope to awaken, relieved that it was just a dream. Wondering and wasting time wailing at the wailing wall will not cause Trump and his crowd to magically disappear. We must snap out of it, and very soon begin to fight without apology, if not without fear.

Nikki Haley – Stay in the Race

Michael Matheron1 Comment
I hate that guy. I endorse him fully.

With the Iowa Caucuses in the rear view mirror, tomorrow’s New Hampshire primary looms large in Nikki Haley’s political landscape. As I wrote about her results in the Iowa footrace, her showing was a bit more promising than expected, i.e., better than a drubbing. The most important result was the quick departure of Ron DeSantis back to Tallahassee and warmer climes. Of course, he endorsed Trump, and we’ll see where his votes go tomorrow, but most expect them to migrate Trumpward. I’m not so sure, as New Hampshire has its share of moderate Republicans, as vanishing a sight as icebergs in the Arctic. Haley has some support there, perhaps enough to spur her on to next month’s primaries. I’ll make a case that she ought to continue, and the results of a poll released today give me some ammunition, The Boston Globe and NBC-10 New Hampshire poll.

Of course, among 500 respondents, Trump is the first choice in the field of 24 candidates, by a wide margin. Also, importantly, with DeSantis removed from the poll’s list of contestants, this is a two person race. The poll does indicate some openings for Haley in this DeSantis-less primary, as I’ll try to sort out below.

Firstly . . .

Yet, many respondents would choose Haley as their second choice. Amazingly, though, “someone else” or “undecided” is chosen by nearly 74% of respondents as their second choice. That indicates a lot of uncertainty about who these respondents would support were Haley and Trump to drop out of the race, and most of them would be former hardcore Trump supporters. So, should Trump criminal trials begin, and a conviction follow that somehow – against his will – forces him from the race, this result would signal a wide-open GOP nomination process going forward, with “someone else” in the lead. Which GOP “someone else” would the MAGA throng coalesce around? Who is the mysterious “someone else”? DeSantis? Christie? Cruz? Where would the “undecided” respondents look?

Secondly . . .

Also, a majority of Haley supporters are not simply choosing her as an anti-Trump vote, nearly 50% chose “her for her.” Forty four percent choose her as an anti-Trump vote, and that is unlikely to change. Haley’s supporters are strong Haley supporters who are in a category who may not vote for Trump in the general election, a pre-Iowa caucuses poll which I discussed here 43% of Haley supporters would vote for Biden were Trump criminally convicted. Unsurprisingly, though, Trump respondents, are single-minded and hidebound, 93% support Trump not unlike disciples in a religious cult.

And Thirdly . . .

New Hampshire Republicans are somewhat diverse in this MAGA world, 38% identify along the Very liberal to Moderate scale, with 33.6% choosing “Moderate.” Those on the Conservative to Very conservative scale account for 58%. This explains some of Haley’s strength in this pre-primary poll. However, in Iowa a more homogenously MAGA state, 18% said they’d be less likely to support Trump in a general election if he’s convicted. I’ll not argue Trump’s support is chimeric, but the Iowa results, and I believe the upcoming New Hampshire primary results show some generally unnoticed Trump weakness, particularly were he to be convicted in one of his trials. Nikki Haley ought to continue in the primaries even if she has to limp along. 

Among Iowa Caucusgoers a Trump Criminal Conviction Is No Big Deal, but . . .

Michael Matheron2 Comments

Given Iowa’s caucuses results last night Trump’s supercharged self confidence seems fully intact and running on all cylinders. He garnered 51% of the vote and stung the other three candidates, causing one, Vivek Ramaswamy, to bid adieu to the primaries, and, of course, to immediately endorse Trump. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley finished well behind, but stay in the race with little but extravagant hope to guide them. Mostly, though, the media and polling analysts have written them off.

Not Dead Yet?

Nonetheless, looked at more closely, a case can be made that the three losing candidates’ performance conceals a possibility of nearly realistic hope. Consider, for example, that the trio of DeSantis-Haley-Ramaswamy captured 49% of the vote (while the other candidates threw in another 1%.)

Additionally, note the delegate count: Trump 20, D-H-R 20, a numerical tie. As weak a case as this is for calling the results promising for remaining Trump contenders, this does demonstrate that even Iowa Republicans are not buying into Trump as totally as many pundits want us to believe. And Iowa is indeed a Trump bastion. Of course, Ramaswamy accounted for 7% of the vote and won three delegates, and then promptly endorsed Trump. It’s inescapable that the majority of his voters will benefit Trump going forward. Yet, to me, Trump’s Iowa margin of victory seems weaker than is being heralded by much of the media.

Example: A pre-caucuses poll, the NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll, taken from January 2-14 of 705 likely Iowa caucus goers bears consideration. It asked caucus attendees about the elephant in the room: the effect a criminal conviction would have upon their support for Trump in the November election. Here’s the results:

  • 61% of likely Iowa GOP voters polled said their support would remain
  • 19% said they’d be more likely to support Trump if convicted (amazing, eh?!)
  • 18% said they’d be less likely to support him in a general election if he’s convicted

That 18% is a large enough faction to swing an election. As for the 19% who would increase their support for Trump if convicted I take that to mean they already support Trump but not strongly. This could be true for the 18% as well, but that 18% would be moving away from a Trump vote in significant numbers, not toward him.

Additionally, the DeSantis-Haley factor may result in previous Trump supporters abandoning Trump in November. The same poll cited above revealed sheds some light on this:

  • Among Haley’s supporters, 56% say a possible conviction of Trump doesn’t matter to their Nov. 2024 vote choice, but 41% say it would make them less likely to back Trump.
  • By comparison, 70% of DeSantis supporters say it wouldn’t matter to them if Trump was convicted, versus 26% who say it will make them less likely to support the former president.
  • And among Trump’s supporters, 58% say a conviction wouldn’t matter — and an additional 35% say a conviction would make them more likely to support their favored candidate, i.e. 93%

That leaves very few who would abandon Trump; they are radically decided, so don’t expect defections. Both DeSantis and Haley supporters are more diverse and, well, sane, with 26% (DeSantis) and 41% (Haley) less likely to vote for a criminally convicted Trump. Those voters represent a large bloc of lost GOP Trump voters, particularly Haley voters.

If Haley and DeSantis voters remain independently minded – even if their favored candidates drop out of the race – Trump’s lost support will be enough to truly sting. In fact, the poll shows that 43% of Haley supporters would vote for Biden! Strengthening the Haley support, 63% indicated that their minds were made up, and that their certainty had risen from only 24% in October 2023. DeSantis supporters had similar percentages: 61% in January 2024 from 31% in October 2023. Trumpers, though, are rabid in the minds-made-up contest with 88% in January from 66% in October 2023. Nonetheless, some 18% indicated that they could still be convinced to switch their allegiance. Of course, it’s likely that both DeSantis and Haley, if and when they retire from the primaries, would endorse Trump, yet their supporters might very well ignore those endorsements and vote as “GOP-Independents.”

Still Alive but Barely Kicking

Summing up, Trump won handily in Iowa, handily but not decisively. Many expected decisive. His legal problems remain. Admittedly, should the federal courts and the Supreme Court find that Trump is (1) not removable from state ballots under section 3 of the 14th Amendment, and (2) not subject to criminal prosecution, all bets against GOP voters abandoning him are off. Given Biden’s unfortunate unfavourability we may need a deus ex machina event to defeat Trump. Let us pray.

BREAKING – Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Trump’s Colorado Disqualification Suit

Michael Matheron2 Comments

SCOTUS, in a brief order, agreed to take on Trump’s Colorado ballot disqualification suit seeking to invalidate Colorado’s ruling. This was all but inevitable and SCOTUS will move quickly having scheduled oral argument four weeks from now on February 8th. It’s not hyperbole to say that this case will be one of the most important cases in our history. Within the next week I will publish a primer about the many vitally important issues that will be raised in this case, matters of both state and federal importance.

                                  (ORDER LIST: 601 U.S.) FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 2024 CERTIORARI GRANTED 23-719 TRUMP, DONALD J. V. ANDERSON, NORMA, ET AL. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted.  The case is set for oral argument on Thursday, February 8, 2024.   Petitioner’s brief on the merits, and any amicus curiae briefs in support or in support of neither party, are to be filed on or before Thursday, January 18, 2024.  Respondents’ briefs on the merits, and any amicus curiae briefs in support, are to be filed on or before Wednesday, January 31, 2024.  The reply brief, if any, is to be filed on or before 5 p.m., Monday, February 5, 2024.