How Trump could use "The Wire" defense to get off all charges against him

 By Hal Brown

I consider "The Wire" to have been one of the best  crime themed television series of all time:

Click above for link

Law and Crime is the website run by Dan Abrams. The site was referenced here in an article in Raw Story.  I'd seen Law and Crime referenced previously so I thought I look at the website. This is the story that caught my eye:

Click above to read article

"The Wire" ran from 2002 to 2008. The man arrested for murder is accused of committing the crime in 2011. There is evidence he was a such a big fan of "The Wire" that he identified with one of the major criminals depicted on the show and that he used a method of silencing a gun shot from the show.

According to a report from Boston ABC affiliate WCVB-TV, prosecutors said that investigators at the residence found a phone which was “attached to” the name Marlo Stanfield. Marlo Stanfield is the name of a fictional character in “The Wire,” who headed up the most ruthless and feared drug ring in Baltimore.

In another nod to “The Wire,” authorities also reportedly said that they recovered a sweet potato from the scene of the fatal shooting. In season four of the HBO show, one of the fictional police investigators solves a murder in which the shooter used a potato as a makeshift silencer when fatally shooting his victim.

Here's a third similarity:

According to a 2011 report from Cape Wide News, Lampley was inside of his home at night when he was shot by someone standing outside of his bedroom window, a possible third link to “The Wire.” In season one of the show, a fictitious woman who is cooperating with police is killed when the shooter stands outside of her window at night, taps the glass to get her attention, waits for her to approach the window, and then fires a fatal shot into the home.

Hampton and Lampley also had a previous connection, with Hampton testifying in court that Lampley was involved in the July 2007 murder of Jacques Sellers in the same neighborhood, CWN reported. Sellers was also reportedly shot inside his home by someone shooting through a window from outside.

This seems to have nothing to do with politics, or so it would seem. 

The defense this accused murderer could use is that he was brainwashed into being a killer by identifying with the criminals on "The Wire". Notably, the show tried to depict criminals in a way that showed them in a somewhat sympathetic manner.

His lawyers would introduced the case of an actress who played a ruthless hit woman on The Wire who was convicted of second degree murder:

Felicia Pearson (born May 18, 1980) is an American television actress, rapper, published author and convicted murderer. She played Felicia "Snoop" Pearson on The Wire and wrote a 2007 memoir, Grace After Midnight, detailing her troubled childhood and time in prison for second-degree murder. Wikipedia profile

Above from Atlanta Black Star

I don't know whether Felicia Pearson used her playing a murderer in a TV show as part of her defense, but she could have. 

Donald Trump could use the defense that he also was brainwashed from identifying with characters depicted heroically on television as breaking the law for the greater good or to render justice on shows like "24" where Jack Bauer used torture literally to save the entire world, and on "Dexter" where Dexter Morgan was a serial killer who killed serial killers, a surefire way to stop their killing sprees.

Another blog from today:

Click above to read

Morning Joe, please don't call Marjorie Taylor Green a freak or weirdo

 By Hal Brown

These guys were freaks:

The Mothers of Invention touring Europe in 1968. Back row: Roy Estrada, Frank Zappa, Don Preston. Front row: Jimmy Carl Black, Bunk Gardner. 
Ron Kroon for Anefo - Nationaal Archief CC0

This woman may be freakish, but she's not a freak like members of The Mothers, Alice Cooper,  and Iggy Pop.

Neither is her former BFF:

 Of course her new BFF is Kevin McCarthy.

This morning Joe Scarborough repeated at least two times that the GOP is being run by freaks, weirdos, and insurrectionists.

Read article here 

GOP will 'suffer' because it's led by 'freaks' like Marjorie Taylor Greene'.

I take exception to his describing people like Marjorie Taylor Greene as a freak. He is not only being too kind but is using a term which could be, if not complementary, at least not derogatory. 

In my younger days when I was a student at Michigan State (see photos) in the 1960 through the early 70's the word described people who were unabashedly and proudly nonconformists.

The freak scene was originally a component of the bohemian subculture which began in California in the mid-1960s, associated with (or part of) the hippie movement. The term is also used to refer to the post-hippie and pre-punk period of the early to mid-1970s. It can be viewed as encompassing a range of disparate groups including hippies, pacifists, politicized radicals, as well as psychedelic and progressive rock fans. Those connected with the subculture often attended rock festivals, free festivals, happenings, and alternative society gatherings of various kinds. (Wikipedia)

As for calling these people weirdos, the weirdos of the world ought to be offended. Children sometimes call other kids who march to the beat of their own drummers weirdos. They may bully them just because they are different or eccentric. There's even an anti-bullying web series called Weirdos.

Children today who the conforming kids may call weirdos include lots of youngsters who will grow up to be more successful than those who were the popular kids. 

History is replete with examples of  celebrities, innovators, and world leaders who were unpopular when they were children. Here's a list of celebrities who were bullied as children. "Bill Clinton As a junior high schooler was picked on relentlessly for being a 'fat band boy' with bad taste in clothes. Their taunting culminated in an incident at a junior high dance: one older student teased Clinton about his carpenter’s jeans, and even hit Clinton in the jaw." (Reference) Love him or hate him, Elon Muck was bullied as a child. 

What then would I call the current leadership of the GOP? This is a cop-out, but don't get me started. I'll just leave it with what Joe Scarborough called them and quit the nitpicking. In current parlance we might as well call them freaks, weirdos, and insurrectionists.

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Tucker Carlson might be Trump's best pick to run with him for VP

 

By Hal Brown

Anyone who says the following might be the best pick for Trump to ordain as his running mate:

From The Washington Post:

How a small-town train derailment erupted into a culture battle

The East Palestine train accident is one of hundreds each year, but it’s become a significant political flashpoint

Fox News host Tucker Carlson used his show to bring race into the discussion, decrying an alleged lack of urgency by the government for a blue-collar community with few people of color. “Is it because these are not their voters?” he asked Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who agreed with the premise.

This is small potatoes compared to Tucker Carlson's latest coup enabled by Kevin McCarthy. Whether or not other media are able to get all the J6 videos of the Capitol attack his getting first dibs will score big time points with Trump.

What puzzles me is, even though the word is in quotes, why Carlson refers to this as "insurrection day" instead rebranding it with a term that most people peacefully entered the Capitol and were there to make sure the election wasn't stolen. 

With the speculation as to whether Trump would prevail in the GOP primary leaning heavily towards it being the former president there has also been chatter in the punditry about who is angling to be his vice presidential pick. There's no similar discussion about who might be currying favor with Ron DeSantis to persuade him they would be his best running mate choice.

Look at this web search:

First, what would be in it for Tucker Carlson? 

While he's the top banana at Fox News, being second banana to a president of the United States who might die in office would make him president, and assuming Trump lived it would position him to run for president in 2028. The answer for him in one word is "power". He'd have to be patient and should Trump win he knows he'd be hand maiden to a megalomaniac but time would be on his side. In addition, what would he have to lose since if Trump was defeated he could simply go back to his former Fox News gig.

The second and more important question is what would be in it for Trump. What would Carlson bring to the ticket that nobody else would, and what are the drawbacks of having his as a running mate?

The only drawback I can think of is that Tucker is another crowd pleasing performer, an actual star. It's possible he could upstage Trump. He's Marjorie Taylor Greene without being certifiably insane.

The benefits include Carlson's star power. Trump could make sure Carlson never upstages him when they are literally appearing on the same stage by warning him about this. Carlson is smart enough never to do this. 

The only possible better lead-in act for a Trump rally than Tucker Carlson is Marjorie Taylor Greene, but does Trump really want a screaming manic introducing him? Besides, he can include her as a member of his rally show cast and she can appear before Carlson. Greene, Carlson, Trump: now that would be a MAGA crowd pleaser. 

With Trump who would make the best, i.e., the most competent vice president is irrelevant. It was a fluke that he picked Mike Pence who actually had some governing experience. He picked him because he was a national unknown who wouldn't upstage him. He believed in his grandiose self-confidence that he didn't need anyone to help him win.

With Trump running again he may have rethought this and want to run with someone who has their own huge fan base. He may have a moment of humility and want to run with someone that may actually bring him additional votes in the primary coming from those who lean towards DeSantis because they see him as Trumpian without being Trump. 

For Trump it is always about winning. Who can forget this?

The question I have is whether the star of a long-running hit show is if he'd be willing to allow an equally talented understudy to be hired.

Addendum: 

As a reward to Marjorie Taylor Greene Trump could make her his Chief of Staff. She's adept at sucking up and has demonstrated this with Kevin McCarthy. No puns intended here...

Click above to read snarky replies to this tweet.

Can you guess who just tweeted this?

Hubris is the delusion that causes people to mistake themselves for God. They imagine they have power, wisdom and foresight they don’t actually possess. It’s a species of mental illness. 

It is Carlson's latest tweet:

I am sure that the graduate of Harvard and Yale Law knows the meaning of the word "hubris". He's obviously not referring to himself, a high priest of hubris.

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Scroll down the page for Archie with links to these articles and more.

The MAGA GOP is doomed to be the Edsel of American politics.

 By Hal Brown

The Ford Motor Company wanted to develop Edsel as a fourth brand to compete with Chrysler and GM. The attempt failed dismally for a number of reasons in addition to the fact that many people thought the grill design was ugly. A popular joke at the time, Edsels "resembled an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon".

Those of use who remember the car recall the front grill. However, the rear was ugly too:

  You can read all of the reasons on Wikipedia for the failure here.

Wikipedia's explains:

The name "Edsel" became synonymous with the real-life commercial failure of the predicted "perfect" product or product idea. 

I noted the use of the word "perfect" since this is one of Trump's favorite words to describe himself and everything he does.

Wiki notes that "similar ill-fated products have often been colloquially referred to as "Edsels".

Flash forward from the late 1950's to the early 2020's and into the world of American politics. MAGA is the brand name for the Republican Party and people who identify with the brand are called MAGA's. 

Anyone who believes in small D democracy views the MAGA product as ugly on the inside, and sometimes on the outside. I won't inflict photos of Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene screaming on you since these images are already easily imagined.

I will, however share a video of an run-of-the-mill MAGA cultist:

The woman also mispronounces ignoramus three times in a row. 

Update: Since I posted the blog an hour ago the number of views of this video increased to 1.8 million.

This is probably because it was the subject of this Raw Story article. I am sure that almost all of those who watched it were appalled by this woman's behavior since Raw Story is a progressive website.

I would have worried every time this racist woman reached into her purse for fear she had a pistol there. Perhaps she did.

She is why the GOP MAGA faction now in control of the party is doomed to become Edsels. These people are their base. The woman here doesn't seem to be mentally ill. She seems to be in total control of her faculties. Her beliefs are baked in. She represents the base that MAGA politicians appeal to. 

While there are millions of people like her, there aren't enough to swing all but select House elections in deeply red districts, and perhaps a few Senate elections and state governor and legislature elections. She and her brethren are doomed to become Edsels.

This is currently the numb er one trending article on Raw Story.

Addendum: The person who posted this video has a book which made The Washington Post list of recommended books to read in 2023: I Still Believe: The Immigrant Sergeant Who Defended Democracy by Sgt. Aquilino Gonell with Susan Shapiro 

DeSantis deserves to be called Ron DeSatan so why hasn't Trump called him that?"

 By Hal Brown

Public Domain, Wiki Commons, Hal Brown

About the image above.

If you think this story from this morning is bad...

Click above to read

... and this from early this month:

What in the hell is wrong with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis?

This top of the HUFFPOST website story describes the poisonous icing on the already toxic cake that is Ron DeSantis 

Click. above to read

Of course there's nothing particularly original about calling this sadistic bully DeSatan. For example:

Click above for link

Click above for link

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What I wonder is why Trump hasn't picked up on this obvious nickname as he tries to demonize his most likely, and most formidable, primary opponent. Satan is considered literally the chief demon.

Trump has reportedly been spitballing nicknames since Ron DeSantimonous didn't catch on. He denied considering Meatball Ron and has used Ron DeSanctus which makes no sense. He hasn't used Ron DeAnus but I wouldn't be surprised if he's thought of it.

Why then not the obvious Ron DeSatan?

While DeSantis actually just allowed someone who arguably shouldn't have been put to death to be killed by the state, and his Covid policies may have led to more deaths, perhaps Trump is savvy enough not to open himself to being called out for his own satanic policies. 

Both Trump and DeSantis are classic sadistic bullies. I wrote about such people here. 

Comment:

 Ben Kalom said...

Nice article.

Well said.

Musicality is duly noted. Too bad it is dissonant, cacophonic, constant staccato, with much too much reverb.

Also
"...more cowbell!"

SNL viewers and fans will understand.

It is not anger control issues. It is "Look-a-me!" issues. All these folks want is to move away from being not seen to being always seen.

We already give them too much attention. All of this is behaviorally "Cluster B" and Cluster A mixed in. 

Apparently, being seen, receiving attention, being fawned over is akin to the dopaminergic quality of cocaine. They think they're funny. They think they're "Somebody!"

Back to music: the Billy Joel song "Big Shot" comes to mind.

Music says it all.

I would very much prefer to hear "The Sound of Silence" from them...

Mostly, they're a collection of Sid Vicious and the Sex Pistols..

Addendum: 

This is a comment from the HUFFPOST article with another nickname:

13 minutes ago

After getting rid of the weak and the elderly during covid, DeathSantis now goes after the mentally disabled.

Nobody's safe, including your children!

After all, they don't work, live from handouts and are therefore useless according to maggat economic theory.