bigtoughralf wrote:You'll probably get that wish. Just a shame you'll never get to know for sure if he was actually guilty or not.
On inciting the January 6th riots, there is so much publicly-accessible evidence that there is no doubt. He may or may not be convicted, but he's guilty. That much is certain.
But as much as he deserves to be punished for that, it's not why I want to see him die in prison. Trump's two biggest crimes are not even on anyone's radar any more.
The first was Trump University. His various real estate scams are no big deal to me -- he was stealing from other rich people who ought to have known better, and who had the resources and the knowledge to do their due diligence. But with Trump University, he for the first time turned his attention to bilking the poor. I think of all the desperate, poor people who coughed up their life savings, thinking they were going to get an education that would change their life, only to find out too late that it was all a scam, that each "class" was just an infomercial for the next, more expensive "class", after which they were exhausted like the rind of a fully-squeezed lemon, never to get a second chance.
When you're rich, twenty grand is pocket change. Even when you're middle-to-lower-middle class, losing twenty grand might be a kick in the stones, but it won't change the trajectory of your life. But when you're poor, twenty grand might really be all of your disposable income for the rest of your life. The rich were obviously too smart to get suckered into Trump University, and most of the middle class too. It was definitely targeted at the poor, the desperate poor, those looking for a way out of Nowhereville. When I think of those people being conned out of every cent they have, I can't think of any appropriate punishment other than life in prison without parole.
So that's the first.
The second is that he's really the leading figure in our transition to a post-truth society. Not the only figure, but he is head and shoulders above the rest. Yes, everyone lies sometimes. And also yes, politicians of every stripe lie more often than most. But until Trump, politicians who got caught lying had the decency to be ashamed, or at least do a decent job of pretending to be ashamed. Usually there would be a
mea culpa speech, followed by a resignation of some kind. Usually the main politician wouldn't resign. Some staffer or ally would fall on their sword for him. Once in a while it would be the main man. Spiro Agnew had to resign as Vice President when he got caught lying about his finances, and a few years later his boss had to exit in a case which was about many things, but ultimately about dishonesty.
Trump was the first major figure to be completely unconcerned by how many of his lies were exposed. No shame, no apology, no resignations, not even an acknowledgement. Just stonewall. And it worked for him, go him elected. I predicted at the time that he would be the first of many. I was just thinking of the U.S., but in fact his strategy was exported to other countries almost immediately. Bolsonaro and Nutty Yahoo run Trump's playbook. But it's not just right-wingers. Left wing politicians have adopted it too. Here in Canada, several of Trudeau's cabinet ministers have gotten caught in scandals which ten years ago would have meant mandatory resignation from Cabinet. They have not resigned, and Trudeau just bluffs it out.
I think this, more than anything else, will be Trump's legacy. He has helped to transform politics, not just in the U.S. but around the world, from an ethic where lying is considered a serious matter that needs to be punished, to an ethic where lying is inconsequential. And that, to me anyway, is absolutely horrific. It's the last piece of the puzzle in the Orwellian nightmare come to life. (We already had the Eastasia/Eurasia/Oceania
drôle de guerre, the Two-Minute Hate, and the two-way surveillance.) No punishment could ever be horrific enough for having made this come to pass, but life in prison is the best we can do.
mookiemcgee wrote:Totally unclear who's talking about KSM and who's talking about Trump in this thread
What's a KSM?
...... 
ConfederateSS.out!(The Blue and Silver Rebellion)... 
