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Hunter accepted his dad's pardon for tax evasion and gun registration violations, both of which are felonies. So he is a convicted felon. His acceptance is a default admission of guilt.The blanket pardon of all potential criminal prosecutions from January 2014 on is another thing altogether. General pardons do not signify innocence, and do imply that a crime/offense was committed. An unconditional pardon does not specify a specific crime, so it carries no implication and is only a legal amnesty for the period specified. Giving someone a blanket pardon, amnesty, clemency, reprieve or commutation does not stop authorities from investigating the activities of that person. In fact, investigators can still bring charges and pursue convictions of other participants, but they cannot, in the end, punish that pardoned person for those (in Hunter's case unspecified) crimes. Because of that fact most prosecutors do not move forward because of the great expense that would not result in any preventative measures. A pardon is the exact opposite of an exoneration, but in reality, it effectively bestows clemency and ends most investigations and related prosecutions. Joe Biden said he was contradicting his own promise not to give Hunter a pardon because he was convinced Hunter was only being persecuted because of his association with his dad, who himself was a victim of political harassment and therefor Hunter deserved mercy. But that begs the question, why extend the pardon back so far in history? Why 2014? If Hunter was simply a victim of over zealous authorities seeking to punish him for otherwise innocuous administrative paperwork errors, what made the President decide to stretch out the period of clemency to 10 years? If you think there is much more involved than paperwork mistakes, that the President is covering his own ass by silencing critics of Hunters international financial machinations, than you are not alone. Joe's pardon is a blatant attempt to derail scrutiny of the relationship he and his son, and others, had with the Ukrainian government, and the enormous amounts of money and military armaments being transferred out of America and disappearing into oblivion. The nature of the pardon has massive implications because it effectively blocks further inquiries into the entire Biden Family Ukrainian Shakedown Operation. If, as many observers think, Hunter was essentially a bagman, extorting millions from various parties in and around Ukraine, making him legally "disappear" is tantamount to whacking him. So what now? Federal pardons do not extend to violations of State laws. Nor does it preclude civil actions. "...a pardon will not interfere with any rights a third party has to recover damages for another’s criminal behavior even if that behavior has been forgiven by a pardon." If a California art broker claimed his business was damaged by Hunter Biden selling forged artworks, he could sue for damages in a California court. Not likely, but there may be dozens of folks who suffered damages via the Biden Crime Family, all across America. I'll leave it to more qualified legal eagles to uncover plaintiffs, but I am guessing once Joey Bananas retires to his beach-side mansion, there will be no country for that old man, or Hunter. Why do I say that? Pardoned individuals cannot use their legal status to claim 5th amendment (self incrimination) rights to avoid testimony in court proceedings involving others regarding the circumstances of their activities surrounding the crimes included in the pardon. Should prosecutors ever bring charges against Hunter's business associates involving money laundering, forgery, fraud, or tax evasion in or around his energy business interests in Ukraine, he would be forced to testify in Federal court, or face charges for obstructing justice, a crime that would occur post pardon. "Although truthful testimony might shame a witness or open Biden or others up to suits for civil damages, these considerations cannot support Fifth Amendment claims. Also, with criminal prosecutions off the table, Congress or the Justice Department, perhaps acting through special counsel, might be more, rather than less, willing to explore the possible crimes and bad acts of Biden and his associates. To a degree determined by the scope of Biden’s pardons, recipients could be required to flesh out details about crimes for which they had been pardoned, perhaps implicating others whose involvement had gone undetected. If they then lied to avoid shaming themselves or to protect others, they could be tried for that crime." -- (My apologies to Brooking Institution) When I saw Lori Loughlin appear on a recent episode of Blue Bloods, I recalled a column I wrote back in June 2023. Seems more relevant now as we confront the immense amount of cheating and lying that has occurred since 2020...
Shameless Generation They say everyone cheats on their income taxes… That may be true. It is illegal, so if you do it, you are cheating. Period. But the tax system itself is so convoluted and difficult to understand, I think it almost encourages cheating. Many use its complexity as an excuse to misrepresent their true income. Maybe our terrible progressive tax system explains why so many Americans accept cheating as a way of life. But if you and I do it, so will our kids, and their kids, and so on. Where do we draw the line? Or are there no lines anymore? Television actress Lori Loughlin, and a few dozen other high profile Hollywood Limousine Liberals recently got caught shamelessly gaming the system. They were altering scholastic or performance records to get their kids into prominent colleges. Some of these elites have been highly public criticizing anyone who would vote for the "Immoral and unqualified" Donald Trump. Suggesting Trump supporters are reckless with their support of a racist, a misogynist and a tax fraud. My question is "Why do some Americans, especially ones who have been so spectacularly successful In their high profile professions feel like they have to game the system? Outright cheating, in my view, is a symptom of a social disorder called existential nihilism. Godless narcissists with no moral foundations cynically ignore authority and give themselves permission to cheat by rationalizing "I'm not really hurting anybody". But they are! In their situation, they were stealing admissions from better qualified and probably poorer students, just to give their kids something that they couldn't otherwise go out and buy. They are very rich parents, practicing very poor parenting skills. They should be ashamed of themselves. And then they have the audacity to slander Trump voters for their "immorality". But they are not alone... Its happened in professional sports with top ranked players using performance enhancing drugs. Icons like cyclist Lance Armstrong and baseball player Mark McGuire, selfishly ruining the integrity and the record books of their sport. Now, when you look up home run records, you see asterisks next to stars like McGuire and Sammy Sosa. We are seeing it right now in the politics of personal destruction. Politicians shamelessly slandering their opponents, knowing full well once a salacious claim is made public, voters can never "unring the bell". Ask Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh about that issue. Former presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has claimed to be a descendent of the Cherokee Nation. She is either mentally ill or a liar. But her misuse of true Indian heritage cheapens its value and distinction. It is nothing less disgusting than stealing the valor of war veterans. Have you ever given a second thought to the heritage of your great-great-great-great grandmother? Why would you? Unless you wanted to game the system. Another case involves Beyonce's husband renown rapper Jay-Z gaming his album sales by buying thousands of copies himself to assure his first week's record sales would set a record. A fake record. The list is endless. Cheating, gaming the system, or whatever you want to call it, has become ubiquitous In our modern "Progressive" culture. Meantime, liberal celebrities and media darlings have no problem screaming about how unqualified, immoral and ignorant Donald Trump is, while they themselves are committing fraud! Imagine, if it was just now uncovered that President Trump had cheated to get his daughter Ivanka into the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania? Those same cheaters would be calling for Trump's head. Will all of this negative publicity cause these morally bankrupt hypocrites to reflect on their own behavior? To call out their associates when they besmirch their trade or slander an opposition leader? Probably not because they were born into a Shameless Generation. https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/blue-bloods-actress-lori-loughlin-takes-page-from-martha-stewarts-post-prison-playbook-expert There are many symptoms of schizophrenia. The most common are"...
'Delusions' are false beliefs about things that may seem strange or illogical to others. Even when you present them with facts that prove their ideas aren't based on reality, they’re unlikely to change their mind. When speaking, victims may start and then suddenly stop because they can’t remember what they were saying. Or, they may suddenly jump from one thought line to another without any connecting segue. They might blurt out “word salad” — using generalities and words thrown together in nonsensical order. Many people suffering from schizophrenia have an exaggerated opinion of themselves, sometimes called 'Delusions of Grandeur'. They may think they’re superior to others or have extraordinary abilities without any objective evidence. Since they are constantly confronted with contrarians, they slowly stop caring about all aspects of daily life. They lack the desire to do things, even when friends or family encourage them to join activities. They make up reasons for their absence, usually by claiming they are "too busy" or they need "private time" when in fact, they are avoiding conflict. As with most mental illnesses, victims often appear emotionless, unresponsive and distracted. You have to work hard to engage in meaningful conversations. Sometimes, they can have unexplained and seemingly inappropriate reactions to things, like overwhelming anger or inappropriate laughter. Schizophrenics have difficulty understanding anecdotes or metaphorical references because they can only interpret things literally, so they tend to get frustrated by the allusions involved. In private, schizophrenics suffer from paranoia, thinking the world is against them. They plot to assure they get the outcomes they want, while also building elaborate schemes to cover for their failures. Schemes designed to lay the blame on someone else. Observers note the increase in these symptoms as a sign of mental fatigue, or in Joe Biden's case, of age related regression. But it will not go away without serious intervention and treatment. Even then, it is typically a degenerative disease. The last few years has put a spotlight on Joe, possibly exposing many aspects of his character previously kept in the shadows of other powerful politicians and movers and shakers in Washington DC. He is now 81, and playing a pressure packed role on the world stage. All of which increases the opportunities for media exposure to accelerate the progress of his disease. In the end, mental illness eventually takes a toll, both on the patient and those around him. When that person happens to be the most powerful man in the world, that cost may not be realized for decades. Here is my theory: The New World Order (whatever manifestation that may come from) has been planning to reorder the plantation we call Earth. The leaders, who are the most collectivist folks alive, are super wealthy and plan to maintain their Seats of Power, by using super advanced technology to it's fullest. Did you see the list of "Renown World Leaders" attending the Davos World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps last January? Yeah, them… Those few Elitist Powerbrokers determined a long time ago that there are too many people on this planet. That the worlds resources are limited, that the pressures that over population put on worldwide governments are likely to lead to instability, disease, shortages and warfare. So they looked at the tools available to them and decided Climate Change was the way to go. The Force Majeure, so to speak. Using the vast controls they have on media and transnational corporations, and the recently developed technology to control the weather, they put together a massive plot: Frighten the masses into subjugation with the demonstration of widespread, destruction and death, from supposedly natural disasters (more about that later). This will beat the people into submission while directing their anger at a nebulous and terrifying series of storms, which can be attributed to "Climate Change Deniers" and God. Thereby killing two political oppositions simultaneously, and giving them the political power necessary to herd the entire world population into a virtual corral. Why? Simple, they need fewer people (accomplished through attrition from damages and disease) and more control over resources (accomplished by bankrupting small land and business owners) and herding disparate populations into more controllable urban centers. Look at the evidence, it is pretty obvious. Every major weather and health event in the past twenty years is shrinking the population (birth rates are down worldwide), evacuating the countrysides (farming and manufacturing in small towns are nearly extinct), and slowing individual travel (gasoline prices are killing the car). The trends are obvious: Depopulate, disempower, and isolate. If I were a military leader planning to overpower my enemy, wouldn't those be my main objectives? As for using modern technological weapons to take down the opposition, we citizens don't have access to the same knowledge they do. What if they actually can use laser weapons to enhance and direct the power and impact of hurricanes and tornados? What if they can cause massive wildfires that burn hotter than normal forrest fires? What if they can expose huge 'selective' populations to fast moving, disabling and contagious diseases? What if they can undermine the economic viability of their political opposition through financial means? What if they can plot legal attacks on selective parties using data mining and electronic control mechanizations? Well, guess what, they can do all that and more. And they are… And We The People? Dead on arrival. Such a hokey idea, a purely white male construct from a lost era, it along with the 1st amendment, gun ownership and paper money, all have to go. The Founding Fathers never were forward thinking. A self-governing government was only effective while men were in charge, so that is over and done with. And now, with the exchange of knowledge fundamentally controlled by only a few, the information needed to make effective decisions is easily framed and managed. The "People" simply can't understand what is happening to their information supply chain. What do they know about MKUltra, DARPA, HAARP or any number of other major command and control initiatives? The answer is, little or nothing. This war we are in doesn't feel like a war as we have known it in the past. The corral that were are bing herded into feels more like a health spa, where we can make ourselves feel good, do less work, eat well, and fall sleep watching sports and movies on demand. The war is made to appear as a benign series of natural disasters, that us citizens can't stop, so we should just sit back and let our benevolent government take care of us. But, some of us are seeing some disturbing evidence of manipulation and abuse of power, and therefore we are also becoming increasingly aware of how powerless we really are…some have noticed the health spa doors are locked from the outside. Every once in a while I am wrong. Not often, but when it happens I'm OK with eating crow. Early in the 2024 baseball season, I was highly critical of AJ Preller, the GM of the San Diego Padres. I was concerned that he was too quick to disassemble the 2023 team. A team that was extremely disappointing, but trending in the right direction. Going into the 2023 season, Preller had given up on Will Meyers (a fan favorite), Jurickson Profar, Josh Bell and Brandon Drury (obtained in the Juan Soto trade). It was scary because those guys could be the core of a good team. Meyers and Bell had been all-stars, and Profar was a five skill player that was the spark on offense. It looked to me that in order to acquire Juan Soto, Preller had busted the budget and was, once again, conducting a fire sale. In the offseason, he added Xander Bogearts, Nelson Cruz, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, all decent players, but not top notch. They got a Cy Young season out of Blake Snell, but the stars didn't align. The team under-performed, and finished 2 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, who surprisingly went on to play in the World Series. As disappointing as it was, the fact that they hung in with the Dodgers and Diamondbacks showed they had the backbone of a competitive team. But Preller tore it apart. He brought back Profar, which in hindsight might have been the single most prescient move ever! Then, after losing Blake Snell to free agency, he went out and acquired Dylan Cease, from the Chicago White Socks and arguably one of the premier pitchers in the league. He promoted Jackson Merrill from the Double- A San Antonio Missions minor league team and placed him in center field to replace Trent Grisham (maybe the second most prescient move ever) Then he moved Michael King from reliever to starter (obtained from the Yankees in the SOTO trade) and Kyle Higashioka (also from the Soto trade) to starting catcher. But that wasn't enough. He then completely rebuilt the shaky bullpen. Installing Brian Hoeing, Wandy Peralta, Jason Adam and Tanner Scott, along with Jeremiah Estrada, who was claimed off waivers in November 2023. Suddenly, the Padre relief corps was a wicked weapon. What had been one of our liabilities was now a strong asset. But wait, there's more! At the trade deadline in June, Preller acquired Martin Perez, a seasoned and steady starter, and Luis Arraez, the leading hitter in baseball for the last two seasons. Just last week, when the Rockies mysteriously released their all star catcher, Elias Diaz, Preller snatched him off waivers. This has to be the most bizarre and ambitious series of roster moves in baseball history. If it isn't yet, if the Padres go on to the playoffs or beyond, it will be seen as that in retrospect. For sure, the Padres are better at several positions over last year. The outfield is now one of the best in baseball. The starting rotation is far better now that Musgrove and Darvish have rejoined Cease, King and Perez. The bull pen currently has the lowest ERA in baseball. At catcher we now have two excellent defenders and improved offensive numbers, too. Since the return of Fernando Tatis Jr. in July, the Padres have gone on a tear. They are the best hitting team in the National League, and look to be a lock for a playoff spot. It has been one of the most exciting and rewarding seasons in a decade for Padres fans. So here I go; I am swallowing a huge helping of crow as I write. Thank you AJ Preller, you should be given a lot of credit for making this one of the most memorable and exciting Padres seasons! Let's Go Padres! |
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