wolfriverjoe

Actually, Vance is Manhattan DA. NY State AG is Letitia James. Remember when Trump threated to withhold aid from New York back in spring? Telling the governor that the aid for the pandemic hinged upon a civil suit 'going away'? And James replying that she is an elected official, not a lackey of the governor? If the reports on his tax returns are correct, his 'lifestyle' is going to get seriously 'crimped' fairly soon. He's a lot closer to broke than he'll admit. Many people have wondered 'what does Putin have on him?' Right now, I'd guess solid evidence of laundering money for the Russian mob, among other things.

I agree that he'll try that route. However, it's become pretty clear that NY State has some significant standing as far as prosecuting his crimes (and that of his entire criminal enterprise). Presidential pardons can't, won't & don't cover that. So even if federal prosecution is 'off the table', he's still facing a lot of trouble. And the pardon rules say that 'impeachable offenses' can't be pardoned. So I think (hope) he's going to have a hard time convincing a court that he can pardon himself.

Interesting take on it and one I hadn't thought of. My point was purely from an operating cost standpoint. That is, driver salaries are the number two expense behind fuel. Liability for injuries & deaths from crashes goes to the insurance companies. No idea where 'insurance costs' falls on the balance sheet. However, while 'car vs truck' accidents are always harder on the car (physics rules), the fault lies with the driver of the car in the majority of the cases. Depending on where (and when) you look, it's between 70% and 85% the fault of the car driver. As a result, dash cams are becoming very common in big trucks. Some of them even include a 'blind spot' cam facing the rear on the passenger side. It takes a lot of the ambiguity out of a crash investigation.

In what way? Obama's (and previous president's too) "czars" were nothing more than 'made up' positions that were appointed to advise the president and coordinate efforts on various issues. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2014/jun/25/chain-email/obama-appointed-45-czars-replace-elected-officials/ The officials Ryoder is complaining about are heads of departments. There are specific qualifications that are part of the rules. So is confirmation by the Senate. Those are required. And Trump can't complain that the Senate won't confirm his appointees for 'political reasons' because the Senate is controlled by the Rs. Nor can he complain that they aren't confirming anyone because they've set records for confirming judges. Trump simply can't or won't go to the effort of finding qualified people and getting them through the legally required process.

Meh. You want deplorable? How about a standing ovation for his mom at a GOP event. https://www.newsweek.com/kyle-rittenhouses-mother-receives-standing-ovation-wisconsin-gop-event-1534364

Well, how about those 'Commandment' thingies? Something about not committing adultery. Something about not bearing false witness (lying). Something about not stealing. Something about honoring thy father & mother (I don't think stealing from them is 'honoring' them) Something about not coveting. The only one of the 'non-God' commandments that's left is the one about not murdering. And Trump has claimed he could get away with it.

Sorry. It's not funny. At least, not when you have to live it.

Well, she did run a better campaign. Part of what made it better was the support she got from the DNC that others didn't. And who would have been more viable? Sanders? And I think you lose the "Wendy Challenge" for today (and with that comment, so do I).

Trump has a history of overstating the value of his properties when using them as collateral for loans, then understating the value for appraisals for property taxes. Banks will loan money to people (and businesses) who can show the ability to repay the loans. It doesn't matter if the 'repayment' is through actually paying off the loan or having adequate collateral (at least looking like it). Also, US banks have refused to loan him any money for over a decade. That's why he started laundering money for the Russian mob. And defrauding Deutchebank.

Hi Jerry, You have a good point. Jakee is pretty smart and well informed. Not sure if he's representative of 'our foreign friends' or not. He does have the advantage of being mostly a 'disinterested outsider'. He doesn't have the biases or prejudices that most of 'us 'Mericans' have (I include myself in that statement). He can see it more clearly than we can.

Oh my. 5 years old and it's still great. And I still say the same stuff.

That could be fun. I'd kind of like to see a 'game show' style score counter above each candidate. Each time they tell a verifiable lie, it goes "DING" and the number goes up. If the town halls from a couple weeks ago are any indication, Trump will have much more difficulty than Biden handling questions where the answer makes him look anything but 'perfect'. Also, while it won't actually happen, I'd like to see Biden call out Trump every time he speaks out of turn or goes over. Something along the lines of "Did you forget the rules already, or do you think you don't have to follow them any more than you think you have to follow any other rules?"

Well, don't forget that much of the arson at BLM protests was linked back to white supremacists.

Or a 50 year old one. Straight tail 182s are 50's vintage. That makes them over 60 years old.

Oh please. I bought a Chev Blazer brand new in 97. I replaced it with the Cayenne in 2015. I paid less to acquire the three in the pic (total) than I did for the Blazer. Doesn't change the fact that there's about $190k in new purchase price in that pic. But I didn't pay it.

You know that arguing with facts doesn't work with certain folks, right?

Well, here are my 3. The black one is an 05 Cayenne.

FIFY

Oh my. That model/vintage is the sort where a pile of rust with a VIN plate & a valid title is worth serious money. Original condition ones go for well into 7 figures. Well out of my 'happiness potential'. I've got an 83 944 and an 85 928. Neither is worth a whole lot. But that means I can drive them and enjoy them and not worry about risking my retirement when I park at a grocery store.

Hi Jerry, Afraid not. I gotta buy jump tickets, good coffee, Porsche parts and make donations to a cat rescue - https://www.safehavenpet.org/

The lower they set the bar, the less those in power have to give up.

Money can't buy happiness. But it CAN buy jump tickets.

Bingo. Driver pay is the 2nd highest expense for trucking companies. (fuel is first) Stuff like line haul, the doubles & triples up and down the turnpike, are probably going to be the first on public roads. I'm not super sure how well the public will take to the idea of unoccupied semi trucks, but right now, the technology could probably do it under good weather. Some of the big pit mines out west are using autonomous right now (private land). The big (really big) dump trucks just have to go from where they get loaded to where they dump. The dump location is fixed, and they can set up markers for the sensors to read for loading. My understanding is that traffic cones with specific reflectors are used. Also, keep in mind that the Uber fatality was not the car's fault. The person killed was jaywalking. And the car detected the person, but the 'emergency braking' capability had been disabled for passenger comfort (as is often the case, this is what I understand and I welcome correction if wrong).

Many of them have constant legal problems because they broke the law to gain their wealth. Or to keep it. Or they simply think they are rich enough that they don't have to obey the law. Leona Helmsley & Martha Stewart come to mind. OTOH, Bill Gates seems to be reasonably 'legal entanglement' free.

All running in the same direction without knowing where they are going. Check. All white. Check. No masks. Check. MAGA hats. Oops.