America - The Official Thread

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Fezzik
Is the size of the SWAT escort proportional to the net worth of the victim?

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I think its more for the off chance some crazy person tries to kill the accused. In a high-profile cases, there are enough people who want to kill the accused in order to make a name for themselves or enact revenge.
 
I think either the threat of a violent act is legitimate or Adams is present. That Adams is present tells me that there isn't such a legitimate threat and instead it's for publicity.
 


Huh.


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Joey D
I think its more for the off chance some crazy person tries to kill the accused. In a high-profile cases, there are enough people who want to kill the accused in order to make a name for themselves or enact revenge.
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Sure, they’re so worried they do a perp walk in full view, accompanied by the mayor of New York.

And with an official police photographer on hand

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:lol:
 
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Founding Fathers: "We see it particularly displayed in all the subordinate distributions of power, where the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that each may be a check on the other that the private interest of every individual may be a sentinel over the public rights. These inventions of prudence cannot be less requisite in the distribution of the supreme powers of the State. But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates."

Republicans:



Chrunch Houston
STOP ERASING OUR HISTORY!
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TexRex
Founding Fathers: "We see it particularly displayed in all the subordinate distributions of power, where the constant aim is to divide and arrange the several offices in such a manner as that each may be a check on the other that the private interest of every individual may be a sentinel over the public rights. These inventions of prudence cannot be less requisite in the distribution of the supreme powers of the State. But it is not possible to give to each department an equal power of self-defense. In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates."

Republicans:
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So they're kingmakers is what he's saying. Baby needs a suckle.
 
Ah.
www.cbsnews.com

Matt Gaetz ethics report says his drug use and sex with a minor violated state laws

A report by the House Ethics Committee found former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid multiple women, including a 17-year-old girl, for sex.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who briefly stood to become President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be attorney general, was found by congressional ethics investigators to have paid numerous women — including a 17-year-old girl — for sex, and to have purchased and used illegal drugs, including from his Capitol Hill office, according to a final draft of a comprehensive investigative report obtained by CBS News.

Those were among the findings of the long-running investigation by the House Ethics Committee into Gaetz, which concluded the former Florida congressman violated multiple state laws related to sexual misconduct while in office.

"The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress," the 37-page report concludes.

Gaetz resigned from Congress in November after Trump announced plans to nominate him for attorney general. But facing opposition from some fellow Republicans, Gaetz withdrew from consideration a week later. The release of the ethics report, expected Monday, brings to a close — at least for now — Gaetz's incendiary tenure on Capitol Hill, where he became one of the most vocal and provocative members of the pro-Trump faction in Congress.

Gaetz has denied any improper conduct and asserted the claims were a "smear" invented by his political enemies. The committee said the congressman refused to sit for sworn testimony, though he did submit written answers to some of the committee's questions.

The report gives fresh voice to allegations of misconduct that have circulated around Gaetz for years, in spite of his firm denials. It draws on testimony from witnesses who told the committee they were paid to have sex with Gaetz, text messages discussing the transactions, and Venmo and PayPal receipts.

Among the report's most lurid findings were the allegations of sex- and drug-fueled parties and travel, including a 2018 trip to the Bahamas where witnesses say he took ecstasy and had sex with four women.

"From 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use," noted the report, which lists payments totaling more than $90,000 to 12 different women.

The committee said it also received testimony that at a 2017 party, Gaetz twice had sex with "Victim A," who was 17 years old at the time and had just completed her junior year in high school.

"Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex," the committee wrote. "Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age."

In his written responses to the committee, Gaetz denied having sex with a minor. The Department of Justice previously investigated Gaetz for violating sex trafficking laws but did not bring charges. The committee said it did not find sufficient evidence Gaetz violated the federal sex trafficking statute because although he transported women across state lines for the purpose of sex, those women were all 18 or older at the time.

The report noted that while all the women who testified said the sexual encounters with Gaetz were consensual, one woman told the committee the use of drugs at the parties and events they attended may have "impair[ed their] ability to really know what was going on or fully consent."

Another woman told the committee, "When I look back on certain moments, I feel violated."

The report found "substantial evidence" Gaetz engaged in rampant illicit drug use. The committee said it obtained text messages he sent where he referred to drugs as "party favors," "rolls" or "vitamins." It also said he created a fake email from his Capitol Hill office "for the purpose of purchasing marijuana." The report noted that Gaetz had denied using illicit drugs in his written answers to the committee.

In addition to sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, the report also accused Gaetz of accepting gifts of luxury travel in excess of permissible limits with the 2018 trip to the Bahamas. And, it said he arranged for his chief of staff to assist a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the State Department that she was one of his constituents.

Gaetz told conservative personality Charlie Kirk last month that he plans to spend the coming years "fighting for President Trump."

"I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress," Gaetz said, though last week, he floated in a post on X the idea of returning to participate in the election for House speaker.

The House Ethics Committee had initially voted to keep the report under wraps, but reversed course in a secret vote earlier this month. Two Republican members of the committee were among those who voted for its release, according to two sources familiar with the vote. The committee has 10 members, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats.
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In-groups protected but not bound and out-groups bound but not protected.
 
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Sounds like there's a bunch of actual crimes in there, not just "crimes" like getting high and being promiscuous.

Chances of him facing any prosecution for things like "arranged for his chief of staff to assist a woman with whom he had engaged in sexual activity in obtaining a passport, falsely indicating to the State Department that she was one of his constituents" seem slim to none.

The illegal immigrants are coming from inside the house, it turns out.
 
Imari
Sounds like there's a bunch of actual crimes in there, not just "crimes" like getting high and being promiscuous.
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I appreciate this sentiment, especially regarding drug use. I'm torn. I mean I personally don't care about others' consumption. Including that of politicians. (It's not great if you're missing votes because you're coked out of your gourd but also I can't complain about Gaetz missing any and the bitch doesn't represent me in Congress anyway.) But it does seem to run counter to Republicans' positions on drug criminalization.
 
Matt Gaetz committed statutory rape. Full stop.

I've talked about this a whole bunch but I'm going to again. Statutory rape is committed in most states when a party of or over the age of majority (18) engages in non-coercive (coercion makes it just plain rape, without the "statutory" qualifier) sexual activity with a party below the age defined in criminal statute.

From the standpoint of preserving rights, especially without violating rights, these laws are...not great. They're among countless examples of legal expediency over legal perfection. Law itself isn't the greatest means of preserving rights, it's just the best one that we have. Basically these laws assert that age (as authority) has the effect of coercion even absent coercive force, be it physical force or some other means. It may have that effect. It isn't guaranteed to have that effect. So, yeah...not great. Possibly better than nothing?

Now, some of these laws do a better job of not violating rights than others. Some statutes provide for a range of ages as an exception, where, for example, a party aged 18 years engages in non-coercive sexual activity with a party aged 17 years, where the former age is at which the state recognizes sexual consent. This differential (and it varies by statute) either recognizes that parties may be sexually active before one reaches the age of majority, or simply recognizes that while age may have the effect of coercion, it's less likely to when the age difference is negligible, according to statute. This exception is frequently termed a "Romeo and Juliet" defense due to parties' existing romantic engagement.

Some states do worse. Though prosecution may be rare, it may be the case that one party is prosecuted despite being a minor. This is likely to be when the parties are of the same sex, as a means to punish individuals for their homosexuality.

The age at which the state of Florida, where Gaetz violated the law, recognizes sexual consent is 18 years. Florida statute provides for a "Romeo and Juliet" defense and the age differential is on the high end at four years, where a party aged 23 21 years may engage in sexual activity with a minor aged 17 years and the minor party may not be aged less than 14 years. Gaetz committed the crime with a 17-year-old in 2017, at the approximate age of 35 years.

Republican defenses of Gaetz include that the minor party lied about her age. All statutes probably should provide for an affirmative defense where a minor gives a false or otherwise misleading statement regarding age, but most, including Florida's, do not. Another defense is that Gaetz didn't actually do anything wrong because 17 isn't really that young and it was actually consensual. Conservatives, and particularly Republican conservatives--the self-proclaimed "law and order party"--frequently assert that the law is the law and that if you think the law is wrong you should change it instead of ignoring it. Do these defenses of Gaetz constitute a double standard? Yes! In-groups protected by the law but not bound by it, and out-groups bound by the law but not protected by it.
 
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opelgt1969
In case you're behind right now what's your democratic current president doing about it probably giving out another pardon?
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A) It's not the President's job to initiate the proceedings.
B) What's your Republican Party doing about it besides initially wanting it covered up, insinuating other Republicans have sex skeletons in their closets, & now that's it out, still deciding to not do anything about it?
 
Biden doing something he's allowed to do as president vs. a now former AG candidate AND member of the House accused of committing statutory rape. Sorry I forgot Biden is the one guilty here.
 
The worst person you know is making a legitimate point (Elon isn't for free speech).
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The backstory: Elon is calling for the "expedited importation" of highly skilled immigrants to take tech jobs in the US & I believe even alluded in a tweet that Americans in the US are not capable of doing those jobs. Liberals are seeing this as Elon advocating for what he did with Twitter where foreign workers in the tech field can be paid a lower wage or else be threatened with being sent home. MAGA however, is seeing this as Elon & Vivek turning their backs on Americans b/c "America First" no longer means putting Americans first over immigrants, but putting the country first & that requires bringing in the "best" people across the world b/c Americans can't make America "#1" themselves.

Musk
“The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” Musk continued in another post. “Think of this like a pro sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win.”

This ruffled the feathers of many MAGA fans on the right who are anti-immigration.
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Vivek
Ramaswamy further argued on Thursday that tech firms need foreign workers because Americans don’t have a good enough work ethic — blaming the culture.

“The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture,” wrote Ramaswamy.
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www.rollingstone.com

Musk, Ramaswamy Face MAGA Uproar After Saying Tech Firms Need Foreign Workers

Trump allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy say Big Tech needs foreign workers because there aren’t enough “motivated” Americans to fill the jobs.
www.rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com

Joe Biden Smile GIF
 
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Steve Bannon has joined the MAGA war between hard-line immigration opponents and tech executives like Elon Musk, taking the side of xenophobia on his War Room show Friday.
“H-1B visas? That’s not what it’s about. It’s about taking American jobs and bringing over essentially what have become indentured servants at lower wages,” the former Trump adviser turned pundit said, referring to the visa program that allows immigrants in specialized fields to work in the United States temporarily.
“This thing’s a scam by the oligarchs in Silicon Valley to basically take jobs from American citizens, give them to what become indentured servants from foreign countries, and then pay ‘em less. Simple. To let them in through the golden door,” Bannon added.
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newrepublic.com

Steve Bannon Joins War Against Elon Musk as MAGA Implodes

Donald Trump’s biggest fans are at each other’s throats over immigration, and H-1B visas in particular.
newrepublic.com newrepublic.com

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