I don’t often write about political issues, but this is big news.
Have you heard?
On May 30th 2024, a jury of citizens in the state of New York convicted a former President of thirty-four felony counts.
There has been a full scale political assault on Lady Justice these past few years, but she’s still standing, proud and resolute.
In my opinion, the true crime is whatever the orange turd did to steal the election from Hilllary Clinton in 2016. He should have never been elected President.
I was a bit worried that the jury wouldn’t understand their task, but they did.
From the New York Times:
Donald J. Trump was convicted on Thursday of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign, capping an extraordinary trial that tested the resilience of the American justice system and will reverberate into November’s election.
From BBC News, here’s exactly how it happened when the jury returned to the courtroom with a verdict:
The judge walked into the courtroom shortly after 4:00 pm, and said he planned to dismiss the jury for the day in a half hour. Then he left to talk to them.
Passing the time, Mr Trump and his lead attorney, Todd Blanche, huddled together at the defence table laughing. They looked like old friends sharing a good joke – and Mr Trump’s shoulders even shook in a rare display of mirth.
But then, as time passed, the judge still had not returned.
A few minutes later, Justice Merchan arrived in a swoop of black robes, his face inscrutable.
The jury, he said, had a note. And a verdict. They had taken extra time to fill out required paperwork, but they were ready.
The atmosphere shifted. The only noise was the sound of reporters frantically typing.
“All rise,” a court officer said suddenly. “Jury entering”.
One by one, the twelve walked past Trump who rose along with the rest of the courtroom for their entrance.
Justice Merchan, in the same even tone he used throughout the trial, asked the jury to confirm they had a verdict.
They had, the foreperson said.
The first guilty verdict landed – the next 33 added a crushing weight.
Silent and still at the defence table, Trump kept his lips pursed as his lawyers, Todd Blanche and Emil Bove on either side of him, glanced sternly toward the judge.
As each juror verbally confirmed the decision to convict him, Trump turned his head in their direction and followed their faces one by one as they answered.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Trump with 34 counts of falsification of business records. He was guilty on all counts.
Prosecutors said that with Trump’s approval, his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay silent just before his 2016 presidential run about an alleged sexual encounter. Trump then was accused of approving a fraudulent scheme to disguise the reimbursement to Cohen as legal expenses.
He pleaded not guilty and has denied having sex with Ms. Daniels.
On Thursday, Trump’s pursed expression remained unchanged after the verdict was read and his attorneys pleaded with the judge for acquittal, claiming Mr Trump’s former fixer had committed perjury with his damning testimony on the stand.
Denied, Justice Merchan said.
Can he still run for president?
Yes. The US Constitution sets out relatively few eligibility requirements for presidential candidates: they must be at least 35, be a “natural born” US citizen and have lived in the US for at least fourteen years. There are no rules blocking candidates with criminal records.
What could Trump’s sentence be?
Trump has been free on bail throughout the trial and this did not change after the verdict was read on Thursday.
The judge will have several factors to consider in sentencing, including Trump’s age. The sentence could involve a fine, probation or supervision, or possibly prison time.
The more pressing matter to discuss is how messed up this country is, how his cult of hatred attracted so many disturbed followers — and how we can make sure this never happens again.
It’s really scary to consider that millions of Americans were being brainwashed by a reality-TV host.
Do they need to be deprogrammed? Can they be deprogrammed?
From Vanity Fair, Steven Hassan, a former Moonie turned cult expert and author of The Cult of Trump, says the process will require not only empathy and individual family involvement but a wholesale change in how social media and information systems separate fact from dangerous fictions. “I would put undue influence or mind control as the number-two most important thing that we address for the planet,” he says. “Because otherwise authoritarianism, using social media, is a threat.”
At the end of the day, Lady Justice might be slightly tattered, but this time she was able to rally and stand for truth. We need more of this.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 
The fat orange prick belongs in prison for a very long time. How the people swallowed up his bullshit just boggles the mind.
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I feel the same. Have you ever had a conversation with one of them? I have, and it’s SCARY. The fact that there are so many people like that is a systemic problem we need to fix FAST.
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Yes I have. One was an elderly lady when I said the the orange guy made the pandemic worse. Well she went fucking ballistic. There’s no reasoning with these people.
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So right! You can’t EVEN question their leader. It’s frightening.
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They’ll believe anything Fox News says, and think its gospel.
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You ask a whole lot of really good and probably unanswerable questions. I can’t for the life of me figure out what anyone sees in Trump. He’s not a great speaker. He’s crude, bigoted, full of hate.
Whatever is wrong with Trump, what in the world is wrong with the people who keep supporting him?
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I think that’s the scariest thing of all. His supporters don’t seem to have any working brain cells.
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What’s with that….wtf are they thinking he’s great for?
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I can’t figure out what his appeal is, must be some sort of mass stupdity.
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The orange turd hahaha 😆 I had to laugh at your description. Yes for once justice prevails. I just wish there was a law preventing a convicted felon from running for the presidency. They should make a law about that…he is now a criminal
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Can you believe that? If enough stupid people vote for him, he’ll be prez and democracy will be lost, too. A tragedy..
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The orange turd hahaha 😆 I had to laugh at your description. Yes for once justice prevails. I just wish there was a law preventing a convicted felon from running for the presidency. They should make a law about that right away…he is now a criminal
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Fantastic verdict! Hopefully it will sway enough voters to matter, but the fact that the malignant narcissist will likely still be on the ballot in November is mystifying.
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I really can’t predict what those people will do. It all seems to be some sort of collective insanity, in my opinion. And he’s SUCH a malignant dark triad narc, you are so right.
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Yes I agree….dark triad that’s it. I wish I could understand his appeal to some people though, for all that he represents he is the worst traits of the human species, but I’m curious still to understand what people get from supporting him, do they want to be like him? If so that’s scary 😨
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I asked a therapist friend and she thinks some of his followers have daddy issues, a bad relationship with their own dad, and somehow in a really weird way, that orange turd represents the “good father” they didn’t have. That can’t explain ALL of them, but it did seem like one answer. I honestly have no idea. He doesn’t seem to have one good redeeming feature as a human, much less a politician for the greater good. His niece Mary Trump, is a psychologist, and despises him, also wrote a great book about him.
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I have been meaning to read that book by Mary it sounds like it would be good for understanding him. That makes sense about the toxic dad thing too…very interesting
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I think it would explain HIM, but how about all of the people in this country who follow him and even caused the insurrection on his behalf? There’s a big problem in this country. Even people on my street had tRump banners during the election. The sickness is pervasive.
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Yeah it is! People in Australia where I am including a cousin of mine had a red hat and have become religious in response to the ‘coming religious war’, needless to say I realised I have zero in common with my cousin now which is sad, as when we were children we were close. That’s an example of how it can pull families apart. I don’t have the answer either but it’s good to talk about it. The orange turd has managed to infect the brains of some people in Australia too. I don’t want to sound snobby but I put it down to a lack of skills in critically analysing information, a lack of education which means people believe conspiracy theories and all of that. I hope somehow it improves
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I’m so sorry his toxins made its way to your country! Here, as soon as someone says they support him, I know we have ZERO in common. I would say lack of education is the answer for a lot of his cult, but I know some well educated people who are just as deluded by him and whatever he represents. Shaking my head. It’s not only sad but a threat to democracy, women’s rights, and so much more.
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