There is nothing in the US Constitution that says that the trial that follows Impeachment must be completed by the end of the term.

[QUOTE=rogue;568776][URL="https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/8/22220366/apple-google-parler-pressure-deplatform-violence-capitol"]Apple and Google face pressure to deplatform Parler over calls to violence[/URL][/QUOTE]Update:
[URL="https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/8/22221648/google-suspends-bans-parler-play-store"]https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/8/22221648/google-suspends-bans-parler-play-store [/URL]
and from Rogue's link an update
[QUOTE]Apple reportedly gave Parler 24 hours to add moderation or be expelled from its App Store[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;568777]There is nothing in the US Constitution that says that the trial that follows Impeachment must be completed by the end of the term.[/QUOTE]

Interesting. I never knew what the timeline was.

[QUOTE=ldesnogu]...The orange clown fans have to be reeducated in some other way.
[/QUOTE]

Good luck with this. I know a few in my locale. They are as stubborn as Everest is heavy. I do not understand how so many could be brainwashed by this buffoon. Are they so weak-minded?

[quote=rogue;568776]Trump has already been banned from FaceBook and Twitter. Reddit has suspended the largest Trump group.

Unfortunately the right will call this "cancel culture" and accuse these companies of censorship.[/quote]Simon & Schuster just cancelled publication of Senator Josh Hawley's book, citing the January 6 riot and his role in furthering the Big Lie of the "stolen election." He's yapping about an "assault on the First Amendment" (sheer demagoguery, since this obviously has nothing to do with the First Amendment) and whining about the "cancel culture."

He's also threatening to sue. The obvious grounds would be breach of contract, but I imagine the publisher consulted its legal department before making its announcement. Hawley can look for another publisher.

Speaking of suing, Dominion is suing Sidney Powell in US District Court in DC for defamation. The filing is 124 pages long, with 190 allegations of defamation and six allegations of deceptive trade practices. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, as well as compensatory damages of not less than $651,735,000 and punitive damages of not less than $651,735,000.

[quote]If Trump were removed from office before Jan 20 (impeached or the 25th Amendment), would they try to make Pence president for the few remaining days of Trump's term? I'm curious because if Pence became president I would expect him to pardon everyone in the Trump family.[/quote]If the president leaves office before his term ends, the VP automatically becomes president if able. Otherwise you go down the line of succession until you either find someone or run out of names. In the latter case, Houston, we have a problem.

Pence had informed the president by Tuesday that he did not have the legal authority, and wasn't going to, decertify electoral votes, whereupon the president "blew a gasket" and became extremely abusive. Senator Inhofe later reported that in an ensuing conversation with Pence, Pence was as angry as he had ever seen him.

On January 6, the president kept telling his supporters that Pence could change the outcome, even though he already knew Pence wasn't going to. When the rioters learned that Pence wasn't going to nullify the election, they determined to murder him. While the Capitol was occupied by rioters, the president never checked on Pence's safety.

So Pence might not be so charitably inclined toward the president...

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;568795]Pence had informed the president by Tuesday that he did not have the legal authority, and wasn't going to, decertify electoral votes, whereupon the president "blew a gasket" and became extremely abusive. Senator Inhofe later reported that in an ensuing conversation with Pence, Pence was as angry as he had ever seen him.

On January 6, the president kept telling his supporters that Pence could change the outcome, even though he already knew Pence wasn't going to. When the rioters learned that Pence wasn't going to nullify the election, they determined to murder him. While the Capitol was occupied by rioters, the president never checked on Pence's safety.

So Pence might not be so charitably inclined toward the president...[/QUOTE]
Time for some classic TV
[YOUTUBE]HxBPqCHFCcc[/YOUTUBE]

[QUOTE=storm5510;568780][QUOTE=ldesnogu]...The orange clown fans have to be reeducated in some other way.[/QUOTE]
Good luck with this. I know a few in my locale. They are as stubborn as Everest is heavy. I do not understand how so many could be brainwashed by this buffoon. Are they so weak-minded?[/QUOTE]The brainwashing has been going on for decades. Roger Ailes and Faux News led the way as the Republican Ministry of Propaganda.

I remember that in 2000, there was a lot of hysteria about Bill Clinton declaring martial law and canceling the election. Some Googling dredged up [url=http://transmitters_revenge.telcen.com/doomsday_list.html]The Doomsday List[/url] which includes the following from 2000: Byron Weeks predicted that[indent][b]The National ID Card system will be implemented on October 1st. President Clinton will declare martial law sometime in September or October, and the World Government will start rounding up the separatists and patriots. America will then be plunged into a nuclear war and desolated.

Looks like we won't have to worry about whom to vote for in November.[/b][/indent]Fast forward to 2020. Retired military officers, among others, called for the current president to declare martial law, unilaterally declare the election results "invalid," have a military-supervised "re-vote," and a roundup of Democrats and other "traitors" (like Jim Mattis) to be tried by military tribunals and executed.

IMO, retired officers who advocated this should be recalled into service so they can be court-martialed for attempted sedition.

BTW, it occurred to me that the [size=1][color=orange]president[/size][/color] might have vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2021 because the top brass had let it be known that a military coup was not going to happen.

[QUOTE=Uncwilly;568777]There is nothing in the US Constitution that says that the trial that follows Impeachment must be completed by the end of the term.[/QUOTE]One reason being put forth for such a trial, is that[quote]Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.[/quote]Thus, the convicted person [i]can[/i] be disqualified from holding federal office. (Removal from office is automatic on conviction, which requires a two-thirds majority vote. Disqualification is discretionary, but if what I have read is correct, only requires a simple majority, following conviction.) Disqualification from office by judgement in cases of impeachment, unlike by conviction for insurrection or rebellion, can [i]not[/i] be removed by pardon.

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;555106]On August 27, 2019, 19-year-old Harry Dunn was killed when his motorcyle was hit by a car.

Anne Sacoolas has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, by driving on the wrong side of the road.

She left the country after being interviewed by investigators, having had diplomatic immunity at the time of the offense charged.

This has been discussed on the Forum, in this and at least one other thread.

To commemorate the anniversary, I post some links to recent news stories.

BBC, July 22: [url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-53500449]Harry Dunn death: US immunity rule used by Anne Sacoolas closed[/url]

BBC, Tuesday [url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-53907098]Harry Dunn death: Attorney general 'considers virtual trial'[/url]

Washington Post, today: [url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/harry-dunn-anne-sacoolas/2020/08/26/ff5408d8-e23d-11ea-82d8-5e55d47e90ca_story.html]Britain considers trying American accused of killing Harry Dunn in absentia[/url][/QUOTE]Perhaps I am an old cycnic, but I have been wondering whether an extradition-swap has been discussed recently between the political powers nominally in charge of a couple of intelligence organizations.

Ann Sacoolas for Julian Assange.

[QUOTE=xilman;568830]Perhaps I am an old cycnic, but I have been wondering whether an extradition-swap has been discussed recently between the political powers nominally in charge of a couple of intelligence organizations.

Ann Sacoolas for Julian Assange.[/QUOTE]Doubtful. Over in the "Torturers, 100+..." thread I recently posted about the UK judge's decision that Assange could not be extradited to the US on current charges, even though the judge ruled that the legal objections of political motivation, etc were without merit and the extradition request was valid, due to the risk he might commit suicide in a US prison. He will instead remain incarcerated in the UK as a flight risk, pending appeal of the judge's decision.

It will be interesting to see how the new Administration handles the case, assuming the appeal has not yet been adjudicated. One option would be to drop all charges. Another would be to drop the espionage charges, but keep the original charges which IIRC carry only a 5-year sentence, and play "Let's Make a Deal."

You be the judge...
 

The violent mob assault on the US Capitol during the counting of electoral votes has prompted comparisons of the US to a "banana republic."

But consider instead the usage of the term "traitor" by the personality cultists.
[quote=Woody Allen's movie Bananas]

Q: Name?

A: Sharon Craig.

Q: And you are?

A: Miss America.[indent][i]O mio babbino caro
Mi piace? bello, bello
Vo'andare in Porta Rossa
A comperarl'anello
Si, si, ci voglio andare
E se l'amassi indarno[/i][/indent]
Q: Tell the court why you think he is a traitor to this country.

A: I think Mr. Mellish is a traitor to this country because his views are different from the views of the president and others of his kind. Differences of opinion should be tolerated but not when they are too different. Then he becomes a subversive mother.[/quote]

To the Orange Furor's adulators, accommodators, adherents, apologists, apple-polishers, ass-kissers, brown-nosers, cult followers, defenders, dupes, enablers, fawners, flatterers, flunkies, groupies, hangers-on, helots, helpers, kowtowers, lackeys, lickspittles, minions, obligers, parasites, puppets, suck-ups, slaves, stooges, sycophants, thralls, tools, toadies, vassals, yes-men, and yes-women, I offer [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4-pexSVWzM]this 1978 song[/url] as a tribute. (Backing vocals by Linda Ronstadt, Jennifer Warnes and Waddy Wachtel.)

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;568858]To the Orange Furor's adulators, accommodators, adherents, apologists, apple-polishers, ass-kissers, brown-nosers, cult followers, defenders, dupes, enablers, fawners, flatterers, flunkies, groupies, hangers-on, helots, helpers, kowtowers, lackeys, lickspittles, minions, obligers, parasites, puppets, suck-ups, slaves, stooges, sycophants, thralls, tools, toadies, vassals, yes-men, and yes-women, I offer [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4-pexSVWzM"]this 1978 song[/URL] as a tribute. (Backing vocals by Linda Ronstadt, Jennifer Warnes and Waddy Wachtel.)[/QUOTE]
Great song on a great album. Too bad Zevon checked out so early.

EDIT: However, I now remember that I had a reason for coming here.
[URL="https://blog.ucsusa.org/genna-reed/dangers-of-autocratic-disinformation-playbook?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb"]https://blog.ucsusa.org/genna-reed/dangers-of-autocratic-disinformation-playbook[/URL]
[CENTER]Union of Concerned Scientists
[QUOTE][CENTER]We Just Witnessed the Dangers of the Autocratic Disinformation Playbook
Genna Reed, Lead science and policy analyst | January 8, 2021, 2:04 pm EST

[/CENTER]
[LEFT]But sadly these events were a predictable outcome of an autocrat’s deadly disinformation spiral.

Disinformation is persistent, it is pervasive, and it runs deep in our country. It has been incited by our own President, members of his administration, and elected officials for the past four years. After years spent chipping away at our democracy, attempting to discredit reputable news sources, and filling social media newsfeeds with conspiracy-filled rhetoric, a [I]mostly[/I] white mob sowed chaos on the streets of my city and in the halls of a building I revere. Their cause? Stopping the purported [I]steal [/I]of a free and fair election won handily and fairly by President-Elect Joe Biden.

At UCS, we have studied disinformation sown by corporate actors to manufacture doubt and spin the science of unsafe products. We have seen those same tactics employed by President Trump and those in his administration to [URL="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/covid-19-disinformation"]bury evidence about [/URL]the dangers of COVID-19 and fuel distrust in election integrity. The goal of disinformation, regardless of its source, is the same: to confuse the public and control the narrative for financial, political, or ideological gain.[/LEFT]
[/QUOTE][/CENTER]