Thursday, May 16, 2024
The Blue Team Insists That The Absurd Bragg Case Against Trump Is A Slam Dunk
The resistance commentariat insists that Trump is going down. Republican Never Trump lawyer George Conway writes in The Atlantic that Bragg’s case is “kind of perfect.” MSNBC host and former Republican operative Nicole Wallace assures viewers that Trump’s lawyers “bombed” their cross-examination of Cohen. Former Justice Department official Andrew Weissman praises Bragg’s “crackerjack team of experienced attorneys” for building an airtight case.
But missing from this wall-to-wall coverage is any mention of the underlying crime that Trump falsified business records to advance his campaign. And that is a fatal flaw in the case, because New York law stipulates that falsifying business records can only be charged as felonies (as Bragg has done) if it’s done to further another crime. Trump has not been charged with another crime, though Bragg has floated the theory that the business records were falsified to deprive 2016 voters of information about his tryst with Daniels.
There are other flaws as well. Robert Costello, one of the lawyers who worked closely with Cohen at the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the Southern District of New York, testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that his old office declined to prosecute the hush money case against Trump because Cohen was “totally unworthy of belief.”
Trump already has proven that he will not recognize the results of elections that he doesn’t win. Bragg’s prosecution gives Trump and his supporters a ready-made excuse not to accept the results of the 2024 election should President Joe Biden prevail.
Things I Was Wrong About
[1] Putin is not going to invade Ukraine.[2] Trump is not going to try to stay in power if he loses.*[3] SCOTUS is not going to overturn Roe v. Wade.
[4] Hubert is not ready to Carolina's head coach.
[5] Trump is not going to win.
[6] Trump is going to be a terrible President.
[7] The Democrats are not going to capitulate to the radical pomo prog left.
[8] Rachel Dolezal is going to be the end of transgender madness.
[9] Same-sex marriage is not going to be legal in my lifetime.
[10] If political correctness ever returns, so will New-Agey woo.
[A] The Democrat's position on illegal immigration is moving toward open borders. (ca. 2011?)[B] Russiagate is obviously nonsense.[C] Biden will be a terrible President.
Monday, May 13, 2024
Lysenkoism Watch: "From Caregivers to Social Reformers," or: the Leftist Corruption of American Medicine
Saturday, May 11, 2024
Fulton County Violated GA Election Laws, e.g. Scanned 3k Ballots Twice; Did Not Change Outcome
Friday, May 10, 2024
Matthew Yglesias: "Am I an Out-of-Touch Elitist?"
Thursday, May 09, 2024
Princeton Douchebags on Hunger Strike: "Demand" Amesty for Students Who Occupied Building, Discussions of Divestment from Israel
Turley: The Prosecution Is The Punishment
That Time Of Year, or: No, I Will Not Raise Your Grade Just Because You Asked Me To
A few rules and tips for end-of-the-semester grade-grubbing:
1. Do not engage in end-of-semester grade-grubbing.
2. If you ARE going to ask me to raise your grade, do so in person, not via email.
3. Don't ask me to raise your grade.
4. No, there is nothing you can do, now that the final exam is over, to raise your grade. In fact, this is the only time in the past four months such that there is absolutely nothing you can do to raise your grade. (And the only thing you can ever do to raise your grade is: do better on the assignments. And the means to that end is: work harder on the assignments.)
5. No, there is no extra credit in this class. The syllabus makes it clear how grades are determined, and does not list "extra credit." In fact, it explicitly says there is no extra credit in this class. If there were extra credit, that would not be an option for any student after completion of the final exam. And certainly not after final grades are posted. And doubly certainly not after they are submitted to the Registrar and reported to you. (And: as a colleague once put it: asking for extra credit is asking to receive a 'B' for doing additional 'C'-quality work.)
6. No, telling me that you attended class a lot doesn't change anything. Attendance is at your discretion. Your reward for attending class is understanding of the material...and the higher grades that understanding brings.
7. No, I will not "round up" your grade. But, good news: I also won't round it down.* You've got to draw the line somewhere. So you might as well draw it where it belongs. You can't just give points to select students--especially not just because they asked. And raising everyone's grade by some amount--no matter what amount--will almost always raise another student's grade to be near the cut-off. So down this road lies everyone getting an 'A'
8. Grade-grubbing is really bad form. It makes me think less of those who do it. Though, of course, those who do it probably don't care.
9. blah blah blah
* I actually had a student once send me a terse email at the end of the semester asserting that I had miscalculated her grade. Alarmed, I checked, but it was, unsurprisingly, correct. I informed her of this, and she responded that the error she had in mind was: not rounding up (by over half a percentage point, incidentally). My response was neither happy nor friendly.
LA TImes: "Of Course The Death Penalty Is Racist; It Would Be Wrong Even If It Weren't
Wednesday, May 08, 2024
The Left In Yet Another Nutshell: Yo, Islam, Hope You Like Gays Edition
Trans TikToker contemplates converting to Islam and is 'super excited' to learn 'Allah is beyond gender' 🤡 pic.twitter.com/VvkNzy9Crc
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) May 5, 2024