219 hours left

it looks like trump did to his presidency the same that he did to his businesses - bankruptcy
and he did it to the party also.
and to so so many around him.
look at the number of close associates now charged with or convicted of crimes. It is staggering.
he is like goldfinger with the kiss of death.

counting today he has 9 days plus the morning of Inauguration Day for pardoning.
that’s a drama unfolding.

In a mental asylum which is a closed environment there are 2 points of view.
the patients think they are inmates and the medical staff has a more informed point of view.

"The American mainstream and progressive Democrats agree that it should be easier for convicted felons to be rehabilitated into society."

Is this so??
I think I'm a fairly mainstream American (admittedly not self identifying as a "progressive" based on the present view of such) and I absolutely DON'T agree that it should be easier for "convicted felons" to be rehabilitated into society........ at least in general. I think it MUST depend on the felony. Type, amount of violence (if ANY!), length of sentence (and amount of it served!), etc.

I would tend to support the concept of rehabilitation for NON-Violent felonies, such as simple drug possession, etc.
Other criminal acts would entirely depend on the CRIME and (possibly) the circumstances.

I don't think it's possible to "rehabilitate" individuals who have pursued a type of anti-social behavior their entire lives. A life of illicit behavior is NOT going to be "rehabilitated" period. Full Stop!

For example, guys like Roger Stone are ALWAYS gonna be Roger Stone, they ARE gonna do what they've ALWAYS done.
Rotten to the core is rotten to the core. There is nothing edible there.
Same with Trump!

L-Bob for the WIN!

I know that the penalty for treason is still the death penalty.

I’m hoping that as more information is developed that charges for most of those arrested are greatly increased.
it is a tragedy that thousands were not arrested.

god forbid that trump pardons any of them but who could put it past him.

UFO UPDATE

believe it or not ensconced within the stimulus bill was a command to the military divisions to divulge everything they have on ufos to congress within 180 days.
Ticking.

William Joseph Burns is going to be next director of the CIA. This is another consequential selection.
He has a resume putting him up there with the greatest of modern American diplomats and has such a wide array of talents and expertise ranging from the Middle East to Russia to India that he was almost picked for Secretary of State.
This will be a monumental confidence restorer to the CIA and put a multi faceted and multi talented foreign affairs genius in the CIA.
The Biden cabinet is a team of strength and experience and intellectual heft.

it is going to be exciting not just to see competence but brilliance and creativity and intellectual valor from our government.

I’ll be posting what I can about progress domestic and foreign policy as possible and I can’t wait. But
I won’t ever let up on trump or his progeny and associates.

Update on Impeachment Noose

vote on house resolution for pence and cabinet to enact 25th amendment on Teusday.
after not done vote and passage of impeachment will be on Wednesday.
Will be shelved and not given to the senate until later probably in 45 to 100 days.

Update in the Trump Riot

there is now a second officer deceased. A capitol police officer took his life at home as a result of emotional trauma of the event. He was the son of a former senate sgt of arms. The death toll is 6.

I hope that the people charged get 10 year sentences for insurrection at the least.

There is going to have to be a fresh look at insurrection vs sedition vs treason.
perhaps insurrection and sedition should be seen as subcategories of treason. There might need to be a recasting of differentiation and increased penalties.

it seems to me that 10 year sentences for this kind of riot is absurdly lenient.

Posted by laramiebob on 1/11/2021 11:28:00 AM (view original):
"The American mainstream and progressive Democrats agree that it should be easier for convicted felons to be rehabilitated into society."

Is this so??
I think I'm a fairly mainstream American (admittedly not self identifying as a "progressive" based on the present view of such) and I absolutely DON'T agree that it should be easier for "convicted felons" to be rehabilitated into society........ at least in general. I think it MUST depend on the felony. Type, amount of violence (if ANY!), length of sentence (and amount of it served!), etc.

I would tend to support the concept of rehabilitation for NON-Violent felonies, such as simple drug possession, etc.
Other criminal acts would entirely depend on the CRIME and (possibly) the circumstances.

I don't think it's possible to "rehabilitate" individuals who have pursued a type of anti-social behavior their entire lives. A life of illicit behavior is NOT going to be "rehabilitated" period. Full Stop!

For example, guys like Roger Stone are ALWAYS gonna be Roger Stone, they ARE gonna do what they've ALWAYS done.
Rotten to the core is rotten to the core. There is nothing edible there.
Same with Trump!

Sorry Bob, but I couldn't disagree with you more. It's because of basically the same problem that I've had with dino recently - I'm not comfortable accepting you as the ultimate arbiter of who can and can't be rehabilitated. As counterintuitive as it may feel, I think you wind up with the fairest and most equitable system if you make all the legal codes as black and white as possible. The more shades of grey - circumstances, anything about the nature of the crime other than explicitly what the conviction was for - opens the door to all kinds of bias. This is exactly the problem we already have with unequal treatment of blacks and whites under the law. There is significant discretion in sentencing based on the gut feel of the judge for things like how dangerous the convicted is. But we have significant studies demonstrating that Americans - including black Americans - implicitly associate blacks with being more dangerous and violent than whites. So how surprising is it that we sentence them more harshly?

If your rules are explicitly dependent on the nature of the conviction, I suppose that works, but given that the large majority of criminal charges are plead down even that is potentially problematic. I certainly don't want judges, or even juries, getting to make decisions about whether or not people are capable of change. As I said at the beginning, it's counterintuitive to most people, but I suspect the best justice is served when there is less bench discrimination in sentencing, parole, etc. We have this sense that things will be fairer if humans can listen to all the extenuating circumstances and details and then use their judgement to come up with 'fairer' decisions than if they just followed a checklist. But if you've read any of the various popular books on human decision making published in recent years, you likely already know that if you want to receive a lighter sentence the best thing you can do is... get on the court docket shortly after a meal. Judges are MUCH harsher as they get hungrier. They feel worse, and the brain generally assumes that the negative feeling is the same as negative feelings generated by, say, the description of the crime. Minimal judicial discretion is generally going to be much more equitable. Make sentencing dependent on a checklist and go with it.

Actually, as I think about it, I think the hunger study actually was for parole review. But the principle I think remains the same.

Strip clubs serve lousy steaks

Dahs. That's all very sound logic. And I must admit I am NO authority on rehabilitation. I just believe that you can't effectively rehabilitate folks who've lived their entire lives flouting the rules established by society. No respect for Law or authority over a lifetime is going to be MOSTLY unaffected by any rehabilitation attempt(s). Only a TRUE change of the Heart can accomplish that. Guys like Roger Stone and Trump don't have "changes of heart" IMO.

They've lived outside the Laws for ever. They're USED to getting away with their self obsessed behavior. They believe they always will be able to fool everyone else. They don't change. Unless and until they hit rock bottom and realize they (as humans) are evil and weak and then find a way to change their entire belief structure and way of living. Rarely happens, and when it does it is ALMOST always associated with a change in spiritual outlook. In short they find a "God" (not necessarily yours or mine!!) and a structure of belief that renders the individual to be SUBJECT to a higher being.

Without that they'll always behave AS IF they are the Godhead and can behave with impunity.
And thus, no rehabilitation is possible.

But I admit to major confliction (personally) on this issue.
Prisons are an obvious example of our Country's inherent racism. (institutional and everywhere!!)
And I've already determined for myself (after a LONG journey) that the Death sentence (as practiced in the US) has been used in a racist manner over the years. In fact I believe that execution done on a State (or Federal) level is State sponsored terrorism, YET if some miscreant were to harm one of my daughters in serious fashion I would want to execute him (or her!!) myself!! Revenge is a powerful emotion. For the Apache it was the primary basis for War. Life is/was sacred and an Apache would not spill it recklessly. Even their "enemies" lives were sacred. Whiteeyes have ALWAYS had much more disregard for Life. We are a profane and spiritually ignorant race of fools!
IMO.