[Tubby Isaacs]

Gingrich's old district is interesting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia%2 ... l_district

Sane-sounding Romney got over 60%. In 2020, Trump got 43.5%,

The Democrats held the House seat fairly comfortably in 2020, with a candidate (Lucy McBath) who doesn't like people getting murdered but isn't exactly AOC overall.

[Bones McCoy]

Thanks to the judge.

I've seen selected clips, so am perhaps biased.
The Judge seems to swing between Sleepy Joe Squared and forgetting he isn't running defense.

[Samanfur]

Murder defendant (and right wing hero) Kyle Rittenhouse gets to draw chits to select his own jury.

The judge is throwing his toys out of the pram about the fact that people think that his decisions're questionable, according to AP.

He reckons he'll think twice about letting cameras into his court in future.

[Bones McCoy]

Q Anon "shaman" (Jabob Chansley) just sentenced to 41 months in the can.

[Boiler]

Kyle Rittenhouse cleared.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-59352228

[Samanfur]

The only thing that surprises me is that it took four days to reach a verdict. That implies to me that even after everything we'd seen, at least one juror was holding out.

When at least one juror inevitably breaks cover, I'll be curious to hear anything they say about what went on.

I suspect that Rittenhouse himself will become another George Zimmerman: swaggering around with impunity, selling the AR-15 with its USP featured prominently, and a poster boy for the ammosexuals.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Wasn't surprised by this- self-defence in America is going to be drawn pretty widely.

Surprised there's no conviction for fire arms offences.

[The Weeping Angel]

Wasn't surprised by this- self-defence in America is going to be drawn pretty widely.

Surprised there's no conviction for fire arms offences.

My worry is this has set a dangerous precedent this will give licence to white supremacists to murder any peaceful protestors they come across.

[Bones McCoy]

On a similar note, with a dash of lynchmobs and pickup trucks.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/05/us/a ... index.html

[Spoonman]

The Rittenhouse verdict just reinforces my reasons why I've absolutely no reason to visit 'murica any time in the future.

[Bones McCoy]

The Rittenhouse verdict just reinforces my reasons why I've absolutely no reason to visit 'murica any time in the future.

Same here.
I've relatives who politely offer to host me with every Christmas card.
In a normal country, it would be a superb opportunity to take the family and enjoy another culture.

I'm seriously concerned that some heavily armed curtain twitcher might take exception to mixed race people in "his" neighbourhood, feel endangered, and come out shooting.
I hope such people are rare.
But then there's the drive from airport to he home, and all the potential cop encounters that implies.
And then the anti-mask whack jobs, over-zealous security guards who'll remove you form the ball game for not saluting old glory, surging covid cases.
Pile on the wait to clear customs (in case you're on of "them") and the fucking weird byelaws that apply to specific counties.

I'll stick to the Mediterranean thanks.

[Spoonman]

BTW, I'm aware of the irony with my avatar - there are some aspects and products of American culture that have been exported that are enjoyable to experience, and The Simpsons (at least during their peak years in the 90's and early 00's) has been one of them at least to myself. It's just that general American society since at least since the mid 2010's has, rightly or wrongly, become something to watch in horror.

[Boiler]

A SUV has been driven through a crowd attending a parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Injuries and fatalities have been reported.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-59369492

[Spoonman]

From the Guardian...

US added to list of ‘backsliding’ democracies for first time
‘Visible deterioration’ in US civil liberties began in at least 2019, says international thinktank

The US has been added to an annual list of “backsliding” democracies for the first time, the International IDEA thinktank has said, pointing to a “visible deterioration” it said began in 2019.

Globally, more than one in four people live in a backsliding democracy, a proportion that rises to more than two in three with the addition of authoritarian or “hybrid” regimes, according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

“This year we coded the United States as backsliding for the first time, but our data suggest that the backsliding episode began at least in 2019,” it said in its report.
Nine justices will be asked to decide whether Muslim US citizens can seek redressal for the surveillance through the courts.

Alexander Hudson, a co-author of the report, said: “The United States is a high-performing democracy, and even improved its performance in indicators of impartial administration (corruption and predictable enforcement) in 2020. However, the declines in civil liberties and checks on government indicate that there are serious problems with the fundamentals of democracy.”

The report says: “A historic turning point came in 2020-21 when former president Donald Trump questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election results in the United States.”

In addition, Hudson pointed to a “decline in the quality of freedom of association and assembly during the summer of protests in 2020” after the police killing of George Floyd.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... ernational

[Malcolm Armsteen]

On the other hand:

[The Weeping Angel]

I had a feeling they might after reading that one of them attempted a plea bargain.

[MisterMuncher]

They were convicted largely on the basis of their own video, which they publicly released to show how justified they were.

They're only getting sent down because their own idiocy made it impossible to drop the charges, and we'd all do well to remember that

[Bones McCoy]

They were convicted largely on the basis of their own video, which they publicly released to show how justified they were.

They're only getting sent down because their own idiocy made it impossible to drop the charges, and we'd all do well to remember that

At least some of these neckbeards are as stupid as they look.

[MisterMuncher]

They were acting under legal advice from their attorney, a personal injury specialist. Literally any criminal lawyer would have told them to shut the fuck up.

[Bones McCoy]

Two recent American cases hinging on self defence when the deceased "Tried to grab my gun".

I'm thankful I'm not an American in these times.
We have our share of politicised cunts in the UK, but most of them don't wave firearms about as a regular part of their business.

To me: Self defence / Stand your ground has a couple of major flaws.

It's open to abuse where the crime has only two parties witnessing, and one of them is dead - so cannot bear witness.

The whole "Tried to grab my gun" thing tends to occur when one person is pointing the gun at the other at extremely close range.
The assumption that the gun pointer is the non aggressor in this situation seems an apex of 2nd amendment shithousery.

The Arbery family have their justice, but they don't have their son.
And hundreds of other parents will continue to worry that their children may not come home because of some white supremacist blood sportsmen.