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DannyB (5839)
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Creator of horrible puns I try to inflict on people daily. I haven't been voluntarily or involuntarily committed to a mental institution yet -- as far as I can tell. Despite programming in Java.
First . . .
I guess if you tell or allow to be told on your network, outrageous lies about voting machines with no basis in fact whatsoever, there will be billions of dollars of consequences. Especially when you cause actual damage, and with actual malice. Anyone who has seen Fox News can understand "actual malice".
Judge Rejects Fox News’ Motion To Dismiss Smartmatic Defamation Lawsuit
A New York judge rejected Fox News’ efforts to dismiss a $2.7 billion lawsuit filed by Smartmatic, which sued over the network’s amplification of unfounded claims that it rigged the 2020 presidential election.
Judge David Cohen also declined to dismiss Smartmatic’s claims against host Maria Bartiromo and former host Lou Dobbs. [...]
“Even assuming that Fox News did not intentionally allow this false narrative to be broadcasted, there is a substantial basis for plaintiffs’ claim that, at a minimum, Fox News turned a blind eye to a litany of outrageous claims about plaintiffs, unprecedented in the history of American elections, so inherently improbable that it evinced a reckless disregard for the truth,” Cohen wrote in his 61-page opinion. (Read it here).
[....] The network also is facing another defamation lawsuit from another company, Dominion Voting Systems, over post-2020 election claims. A Delaware judge in December declined to toss out that lawsuit.
To point it out, you can read the judge's opinion right here.
And boy does that have good stuff in it that crazy ACs should read. Judges have an education.
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Then this . . .
Four men who were conspiring to kidnap the Michigan governor. The FBI learned about it on social media. No, the FBI didn't "create" the situation. They learned about it. Please try reading facts instead of Fox News.
Trial starts for 4 men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Four men accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 are heading to trial with opening statements beginning Wednesday.
Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta face federal charges of conspiring to kidnap the Democratic governor. Fox, Croft and Harris face additional charges of conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction including explosive devices, according to court documents. Croft and Harris are also charged with possessing destructive devices -- counts added in a second indictment last April.
All have pleaded not guilty.
The case underscores the political tensions in Michigan that reached new heights as Whitmer faced backlash for restrictions she had imposed in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Observers have pointed to then-President Donald Trump's rhetoric toward the governor and her state, including a tweet in which he called on residents to "liberate" the state from the restrictions.
Wow. Kidnap a state governor because (you are stupid, and...) you don't like masks during a time of pandemic -- and your Lord God and Savior Donald Trump told you to do so.
The world is full of crazy. And ACs do their part to prove that to be true.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Wednesday March 09 2022, @06:33PM (3 children)
But but but on the Intertubezes persistent rantisation beats any sort of book larning. So there.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:45PM (2 children)
Not all judges are the same.
I seem to remember Judge Alsop learned some Java in order to understand the finer points of a case that was before him.
I would say he was of better than average intelligence.
I would say that most (not all judges) are also of better than average intelligence and education.
Did you read what any of these judges actually wrote? I doubt it.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:16PM (1 child)
Sense of humour failure.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @10:46PM
Faux news is going to have a hard time raising a defense in court, because they're deomonstrably guilty of defamation, and they did it with the end goal of sabotaging democratic elections everywhere in the USA.
Caserta et al stand credibly accused of trying to kidnap a sitting governor, thus negating by force the result of a democratic election in the USA.
This bullshit is as serious as a heart attack. The rest of us will forgive DannyB for not having a sense of humour about this.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 09 2022, @06:59PM (36 children)
Maybe that narrative is true, but as I wrote earlier:
As I asked later - was it a militia plot or an FBI plot to kidnap the governor?
(Score: 3, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:37PM (10 children)
I look forward to a not guilty verdict proving their innocence.
Or a guilty verdict somehow proving their innocence even harder!
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Wednesday March 09 2022, @07:51PM
Something along these lines?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alford_plea [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damien_Echols [wikipedia.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:46PM (3 children)
If it goes to trial, they'll most likely get one, but with a bullshit plea deal, all bets are off, and you can claim victory
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday March 10 2022, @04:47PM (2 children)
Everyone can go to trial. I don't believe anyone is FORCED in to a plea deal. You do not have to take a plea deal.
Or you could just plead guilty when you know you are guilty and planned and performed the crime because your dear leader told you to.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @05:28PM
Nobody is FORCED to sign a false confession that leads to their imprisonment or execution. They are just coerced into doing so.
https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/coercive-plea-bargaining-has-poisoned-the-criminal-justice-system-its-time-to-suck-the-venom-out/ [aclu.org]
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 12 2022, @12:11AM
Your strawman falls down all by itself, not worth rehashing the same old bullshit again. Your game grows tiresome.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:24PM (4 children)
And I'm looking forward to their plea deal and khallow telling us all why they are not in fact guilty of what they are pleading guilty to.
(Score: 2, Touché) by khallow on Thursday March 10 2022, @02:03AM (3 children)
Because plea bargaining has such a sterling reputation in the US, amirite?
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Thursday March 10 2022, @05:25AM (1 child)
I moderated you Touche, but you are in a no-lose situation here. You can either claim vindication or conspiracy from the verdict, just like Trump did. What a role-model.
Unfortunately, we can play that game too. Mutually-assured stupidity?
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by khallow on Thursday March 10 2022, @05:42AM
This is a variation of a legal principle called "fruit of the poisonous tree" [wikipedia.org] where evidence is discarded no matter what when it is obtained illegally. Here, we have decades of bad convictions based on plea bargaining. Consider this single sentence from a story [umich.edu] about eventual exonerations of innocent people.
When there's this long history of plea bargaining abuse, it puts every such conviction in doubt.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @08:08PM
What I have learned from khallow, so far:
If declared not guilty by a jury, the defendant(s) is (are) not guilty.
If the accused takes a plea deal, they are not guilty because you can't ever trust the DA/judge to do the right thing.
If the defendant is found guilty by a jury, well, they are still innocent because you just can't trust the legal system here in America.
Hmmmmmm....
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:19PM (4 children)
It's pure politics. If the republicans had won, all roles would be reversed, Election 2000 on steroids, with more burnt cities, and yes, entrapment is a thing.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday March 10 2022, @04:49PM (3 children)
Are you entrapped if the FBI discovers your planning of a serious crime on social media? When you go looking to purchase something to commit your crime, is it entrapment if the FBI conveniently sells you the things you were buying for the express purpose of committing your crime?
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 12 2022, @12:24AM (2 children)
The FBI says they 'discovered' your plot, when the plot could have been theirs all the time. You're just taking their word at face value, which is weird, the FBI has a long history of lying. Seems to be a partisan thing on your part
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 12 2022, @03:19AM (1 child)
So what you're trying to say is they dindu nuffin.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 14 2022, @01:43AM
Nope, what I am actually saying is that you can't prove "nuffin"
(Score: -1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:20PM (5 children)
To me the critical question is: Would the group have even existed without the FBI? Because every case I hear of, all of the leadership, recruitment, planning, and funding comes from the FBI itself. Radicalizing people for the purpose of padding your arrest and conviction numbers seems wrong to me.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:42PM (4 children)
The FBI learned of the group from social media.
So the group existed before the FBI knew of them.
The FBI's interest is based on what they were planning on doing.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:03AM (1 child)
FIB takes the seed of an idea, pours Miracle Grow on it, then brags about capturing the bad guys. It's much easier than stopping a real plot.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @02:40AM
You sound worried. Could it be, that you are involved in a plot, that might be initiated, planned, and lead by undercover FBI anti-domestic terror agents? Here's a hint. If you even think this is a possibility, you are hanging out in the wrong places, you are already a traitor and criminal. Turn yourself in, and beg for mercy. Don't make your children testify against you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:23AM
That's unusual. Alright, I'll give them this one. Looks like the FBI actually did something right for a change.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 12 2022, @12:32AM
Sez the FBI. Your Trump did an amazing thing. He (and Obama) turned the formerly villainous (under Bush) FBI, NSA, CIA into great big heroes just because of the targets they pick. Why does that kind of shit still work so well? Human beings are supposed to be more advanced than other animals.
(Score: 4, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:03PM (11 children)
It warms my heart /s how conservatives bend over backwards to make excuses for white conservative criminals, but innocent non-republicans murdered by police have their histories dug up to "prove" they deserved punishment and shoulda complied. When that excuse isn't available they dig their heads in the sand and whatabout until people stop calling them out. Now every rightwing domestic terrorist will cry that the big bad FBI. made them do it, well, after they accuse ANT-EEEEEE-FUH and that doesn't stick.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 10 2022, @01:31AM (10 children)
First, I'm not conservative. Second, here's a journal I wrote [soylentnews.org] on the George Floyd murder. In it, I post testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin (who was the police officer who had pinned Floyd face down for nine minutes) demonstrating that the pinning position that had lead to Floyd's death was actually addressed in training for at least 30 years as a hazardous position that officers should change once the arrestee has been handcuffed. In comments (as in several previous posts), I noted that Chauvin had worked with Floyd. That's me digging up the history of the police officer rather than of the non-republican.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @09:30AM (7 children)
True, dat. khallow supports him some right-wing facist-leaning whit-supers who definitely did not try to overthrow America's Constitution by trying to stop Congress from carrying out its Constitutional duty. Not at all. Even though some (like this one) were armed, and talking about taking over the government. So, being found guilty just means that he is not guilty, because, well, because khallow is dizzy, confused, and not all that bright. Boy can sure comment a mean streak, though!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday March 11 2022, @06:04AM (6 children)
Sorry, but my position has been consistent. You would first need to pull your head out of your ass to understand it. Those alleged "right-wing facist-leaning whit-supers" are only the latest to encounter the many dubious aspects of the US justice system. I'm defending them for the same reasons I defended George Floyd back then.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @04:27PM (5 children)
Then stop denying the insurrection occurred, or that the majority of the crowd knew they were attacking the capitol to put trump in power.
You've already been granted that most of the crowd were idiots whipped into a frenzy with little desire to commit violence beyond trespassing, and they should get light sentences. There was a sizable group intent on real violence and with clear plans on how to attack congress.
Until you admit the insurrection haooened, and that Donnie is a crimubal, well we'll keep going around in circles as you show everyone how totally-not-republican you are.
(Score: 0, Troll) by khallow on Friday March 11 2022, @05:02PM (4 children)
Sorry, you need evidence for insurrection.
It's amazing how you demand I stop denying something you have no evidence for. What happened to this "real violence"? Remember that the only person to die by violence in the protest was a single protester.
I'm find with the current state of affairs. I think most people understand our relative sides of the story. I will prevail.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @05:22PM (3 children)
Stupidity is no defense, plenty of videos you can watch of the insurrection itself, back to the very beginning when the cows sat in front of the fatman before he sent them off for slaughter. Cracks me up how betrayed y'all feel by the lack of pardons. We done been telling y'all not to trust that fat orange man!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday March 12 2022, @08:33PM (2 children)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 16 2022, @07:26PM (1 child)
Uh oh, shallow reached bedrock, no more digging for turd nuggets traitor boi!
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday March 19 2022, @07:54PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @04:30PM (1 child)
That journal hardly defends Floyd or addresses the rightwung neo nazi fascism at olay. More deflection from khallow pretending he isn't a white supremacist. I'd like to believe you buddy, but your excuses stink.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday March 11 2022, @05:03PM
Sounds like you need a better class of ideology.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 10 2022, @02:01AM (1 child)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @05:19PM
Why so busy defending domestic terrorists hollow boi?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @08:38PM (3 children)
I just want to point out some of us ACs are not crazy. And in contradistinction, there are some regular named posters here who are batshit loony.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @12:01AM (1 child)
Of course you're not crazy. The doctor said so. Around here, we prefer non-threatening terms like "moderately imbalanced", "morally deprived", "Ethically deficient", and "scholastically challenged". Now, here's your evening pills, and a nice glass of prune juice to wash them down with.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @03:59AM
A warrior's drink!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 01 2022, @02:50PM
I just want to point out some of us ACs are not crazy enough to use PII.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 09 2022, @09:06PM
Nice to see some consequences for the fascists, but unless we hold the ex prez accountable for his crimes including the sedition this country will continue to crumble. At least we're finally getting more and more Americans realizing how badly the wealthy have destroyed the country, maybe there is a chance we can avoid the worst parts of a country's growing pains.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 10 2022, @01:02AM
They and their fellow travelers are responsible for at least 50% of this AC's crazy. As much bitching as I do about Michigan's right-wing sex-negative feminists, it was alt-white neo-confederate Johnny Reb who finally convinced me to get out of there.
Besides, Michigan's feminists are probably fucked up in the first place because of Johnny Reb.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Thursday March 10 2022, @05:07PM (1 child)
Republican county clerk indicted in voting-machine breach, arrest warrant issued [arstechnica.com]
The voice of the majority is supposed to carry the election. That is how it was intended to work. For people who are so eager to talk about what the founders intended when it comes to the 2A, these people sure don't care what the founders intended when it comes to democracy or voting.
If you are out numbered by the majority, then maybe you should rethink things. Or try to convince people of your position. Not try to interfere with elections.
The anti vax hysteria didn't stop, it just died down.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 11 2022, @05:24PM
Amazing right? Only defense they have now is claiming liberals are really so much smarter that they commit fraud and never get caught. Not sure that will play well with their master race theory.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 17 2022, @07:51PM
Well not really. Basically the only thing for which the court has made a decision here is that there is that at least some of the plaintiff's allegations have a basis in law.
When considering a motion to dismiss by the defendant, the court does not make any decision on the merits of the plaintiff's claims: the claims are all assumed to be true without any proof.
The court is asked to decide whether the plaintiff would be actually entitled by law to any relief whatsoever if we were to believe everything they say.
If the answer to that question is "no", then there is no point of a trial and so the motion is granted and the case is dismissed. If the answer to that question is "yes" then the trial can proceed and the motion is denied. (The court may also dismiss portions of the lawsuit while the rest can proceed).