jerrymahoney

Oh. Thanks. I don't know why posting the comment to Walker88 and linking to a contemporaneous article on the grand jury testimony implied that I thought that was unusual.

I only said to Walker88 that he could've mentioned all were under subpoena. I didn't need to have it explained to me how the grand jury system works.

Just your usual condescending tone as you've done about a hundred other times in replying to anything I post.

If you want a primer on the US Federal criminal procedure, get from Chomper. He knows.

Thank you. I don't need your (expletive deleted) lecture. I just thought Walker88 could have mentioned that all these Republicans who provided grand jury evidence against Trump did so under subpoena.

Simple. The testimony was not voluntary.

To note, however, almost all those as above testified after having been issued subpoenas by the grand jury: Justice Department has issued dozens of subpoenas in the last week related to Trump and the Capitol riot A lawyer for former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said he is among those who received subpoenas. Updated Sept. 13, 2022 The Justice Department has issued about 40 subpoenas in the last week related to the actions of former President Donald Trump, his allies and efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to sources familiar with the matter. It also seized two telephones, the sources said. The subpoenas and phone seizures, first reported by The New York Times, are the latest developments in the sprawling investigation into the former president. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/justice-department-issued-dozens-subpoenas-last-week-related-trump-cap-rcna47401

Opening sentences of the above linked document: GOVERNMENT'S MOTION FOR IMMUNITY DETERMINATIONS The defendant asserts that he is immune from prosecution for his criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election because, he claims, it entailed official conduct. Not so. Although the defendant was the incumbent President during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one. Working with a team of private co-conspirators, the defendant acted as a candidate when he pursued multiple criminal means to disrupt, through fraud and deceit, the government function by which votes are collected and counted a function in which the defendant, as President, had no official role.

From debate transcript: JDV: Yeah, well, look, Tim, first of all, it's really rich for Democratic leaders to say that Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power on January the 20th, as we have done for 250 years in this country

Trump Rally in Las Vegas 16 SEP 2024 You won’t have a country anymore. You’re pretty close to not having one. You better hope I get elected. You better go out. You’ll have a country back soon. ... You’re going to end up in World War III. I am worried about nuclear because to be honest with you, we have incompetent people dealing on it. And I will keep you out of World War III. I’m the only one that’s going to be able to do it. https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/trump-rally-in-las-vegas FDR inaugural speech March 4, 1933 This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5057

Pre-Covid maybe 2019 I was in a BigC when I had a brief chat with an older Brit. He asked me what I thought of then President Trump. I said I didn't vote for him in 2016 and won't vote for him in 2020. But he IS the President for now and, wishing him any failure for political gain, is for fools. So I hope Trump is not again elected, but, if he is, I will just as above hope for the best for the country.

OK. I was set to visit then was canceled NC when 22 SEP1989 Hurricane Hugo hit coastal NC. I noticed then too people were short on supplies. I went back to my home in Alameda (town) East Bay San Francisco and stocked up on water and supplies and 3 weeks later 17 OCT 1989 the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. I was on the collapsed Cypress Freeway structure twice that morning. And I still keep a supply of 6 liter water jugs here in Isaan. So one can never tell can one?

2020 North Carolina Presidential election -- western NC 'Hurricane Helene' to the left with the 2 blue spots Asheville and Boone:

While people can always be better prepared, referring to mountainous western North Carolina as a 'hurricane zone' and then talking of Galveston sitting lowland on the Gulf of Mexico is a bit of a stretch.

To quote Dana Carvey as 'The church lady' on SNL: "Well, isn't that special?"

The 'value' to an endorsement by Billie Eilish or Taylor Swift is the extent to which they can get persons of voting age, who follow and pay attention to them, to vote when they otherwise may not have voted.

They might -- as of one week following NOV 3, 2020 election

When swing state elections can be decided by 1% of the vote those numbers -- including Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in the 7-8% range -- can be decisive.

Per https://www.statista.com/statistics/1383878/lgbt-population-distribution-state-us/ as of 2021 but it doesn't break out by voting age:

Cartels increasingly use young US citizens for fentanyl smuggling Published September 17, 2024 at 6:00 AM PDT Contrary to election-year rhetoric from politicians like former President Donald Trump, Mexican drug cartels don’t rely on migrants crossing the border illegally to bring fentanyl into the country. The truth is, in many ways, more disturbing. Rather than use undocumented migrants who are already vulnerable to capture and even death, the cartels use people who regularly cross the border legally. And an increasing number of these people are high school and college students. “Organized crime is smart enough to select people who don’t have a criminal record,” Stephan said. “It’s very concerning to see these young high school kids, they are carrying fentanyl, have it strapped on their body and risking their own health.” https://www.kpbs.org/news/border-immigration/2024/09/17/cartels-increasingly-use-young-us-citizens-for-fentanyl-smuggling

I didn't want to go overboard with the voice-of-doom.

It is possible that, depending how owns finances are structured stateside, to be net ahead with $ dropping against the baht and the S&P at records highs.

Sure the baht per $ is down in part because of drop in US interest rate. But because of the drop in US interest rate I can live with this:

I know the area around Boone, NC well where my late parents spent their summers. I would not compare the localized disasters in Maui and OH to the widespread destruction from this hurricane.