[Tubby Isaacs]

Not worth it at all. You’d need to change the constitution.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Not worth it at all. You’d need to change the constitution.

Not necessarily. A different Supreme Court might well define 'a well organised militia' rather differently, after all the present shitshow is not what the founding fathers had in mind.

But that would also require constitutional change to limit the tenure of Supreme Court judges - an idea which seems to be gaining some traction.
Don't tell the Americans but bits of the constitution were very badly drafted...

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'm not sure. Certainly, pre-Heller (2008) there was a legal framework much more tolerant of gun control locally. But there were still, by our standards, and incredible amount of guns about in lots of places. You certainly didn't have to be a member of a "militia" to own one. With the second amendment in place, you won't get British gun control.

[Andy McDandy]

Two words: Volstead act. Two more: Eighteenth amendment.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

That's the sort of thing, although reading some US sources there is rnough leeway in the 2nd Amendment to considerably alter its presence in law. E.G. you can have an assault rifle so long as you are actually part of a well organised (official) militia.

[Abernathy]

The problem seems to be the quite untrammeled political power of the National Rifle Association, which seems to be on perpetual alert to mobilise against literally any move to impose even the most modest of restrictions on gun ownership.

All it would take would be the political will to take on and defeat this immensely powerful vested interest group. The second amendment is obviously utter bollocks in the context of the 21st century. But it’s very difficult to see where that political will is coming from, if it’s ever coming at all.

[Oboogie]

Breaking: Judge fines Donald Trump more than $350 million, bars him from running businesses in N.Y. for three years

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald ... rcna135283

[Tubby Isaacs]

Alabama here, totally rational.

[Abernathy]

You know this . . .

[mattomac]

They look dead…

Others would say that’s a bad thing, some would think it would solve a few problems. I of course could not possibly comment.

[Bones McCoy]

Meanwhile, American derangement syndrome escalates.

Stand with Trump; Fund the $355M Unjust Judgment

https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-t ... settlement

My name is Elena Cardone and I am a wife of Grant Cardone, mother and an ardent supporter of American values and an advocate for justice, I stand unwaveringly with President Donald Trump in the face of what I see as unprecedented and unfair treatment by certain judicial elements in New York.
The recent legal battles he faces are not just an attack on him, but an attack on the very ideals of fairness and due process that every American deserves. It's a moment that calls into question the balance of justice and the application of law, disproportionately aimed at silencing a voice that has been at the forefront of advocating for American strength, prosperity, and security.

[Samanfur]

Considering that GoFundMe takes a dim view of crowdfunding defence or fines for felons, that should be gone fairly quickly.

[Bones McCoy]

I'll never cease to be amazed by ordinary Americans tying themselves in knots to justify corporate abuses.

The American Dream is one thing, but surely few believe "One day I'll be the CEO of Enron / Trump / Madoff".

What kind of rube is rub-ey enough to donate $50 to a billionaire?

[Youngian]

Generals on TV are fake

[The Weeping Angel]

I doubt this will get six articles in the NYT.

https://www.aol.com/donald-trump-calls- ... kJqnCDXkDm

Former president Donald Trump called Melania ‘Mercedes’ as he praised his wife during a speech in Washington DC.

The crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gave the former First Lady a standing ovation as Mr Trump described how “people love her”.

“Oh look at that Mercedes, that’s pretty good” he said as the audience stood and applauded.

The GOP presidential hopeful was making the keynote speech on 24 February on the same day as voters head to the polls in the South Carolina primary.

[Crabcakes]

Starting to think the Biden age thing is backfiring on Trump. In pushing it, he’s increased the scrutiny on his own incoherent ramblings and come up with equally incoherent reasons to explain them. Whereas Biden’s team have (sensibly) started to just drop him into normal situations where he comes across as a normal guy. An old guy, sure, but clearly in charge of his faculties.

His appearance on Seth Meyer was sharp, funny and punchy. And even if it was scripted or autocued, that shows he can follow a script or read an autocue. Both things Trump struggles with, and god forbid he gets to ad lib.

And there’s also a widely under-reported factor that Trump is winning his GOP primaries but underperforming in terms of vote share as to what’s expected - in some cases by up to 20%. Whereas Biden/democrats are overperforming.

Obviously I won’t feel entirely happy until the race is called for Biden, but I just get a sense the momentum has shifted and that the (US) media - or parts of it at least - are cranking out a narrative of a tight, exciting fight when that’s not looking like what may happen…

[Andy McDandy]

https://www.thepoke.com/2024/02/27/maga ... said-them/

No idea if, given the source (Jimmy Kimmell is a late night comedy show host) the people here are actual members of the public, or actors. But if the former, the level of disconnect and double standards is disconcerting.

Short version - people were vox-popped and asked their opinions on quotes from Trump, but falsely attributed to Biden. They were overwhelmingly negative. Then, when told the source of the quote was actually Trump, they very quickly started excusing or praising the sentiments expressed.

[Yug]

An American version of:

Nationalise the railways.
Good idea

Jeremy Corbyn wants to nationalise the railways.
What a stupid idea.

[Crabcakes]

And at least that had some context - I didn’t want Corbyn to nationalise the railways because I knew he’d do it in a ham-fisted way. But these are just bad things that they immediately excuse. It’s frightening how much they don’t know, and then when they do know don’t care.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Even for Missouri Republicans this is going too far. They're trying to keep him off the ballot.