In court you can be punished for lying

The fun and games related to the Michigan election a month ago are not over, even though the election has been certified. Laina Stebbins of Michigan Advance reported that on Tuesday the Senate Oversight Committee held 7 hours of testimony from people who wanted to show up in person and declare any false, misleading, or conspiracy theory they wanted. Those wishing to speak waited in an enclosed room too close together, and many not wearing masks. I’m sure the only reason why these people were given this platform was because the state senate has a GOP majority. Stebbins wrote:

None of the claims were backed up with evidence showing fraudulent behavior or misconduct. After being pushed on why some speakers didn’t go to law enforcement with their claims, many stated their distrust in the government. In response, Attorney General Dana Nessel made it clear on Twitter that “any and all credible claims of election/voter fraud” are investigated by her department. Nessel questioned why none of the speakers alleging fraud went to the many law enforcement outlets available throughout the state.

Democrats on the committee showed their annoyance. Sen. Sylvia Santana of Detriot said:

The election is over. The voters have decided, and investigations have repeatedly revealed that we had a safe and secure voting process. … Just imagine how many lives could have been saved by now had this same amount of effort been put into a pandemic response. It is past time we move on and work to make sure our families get the care and support they need so that, together, we can tackle the alarming spike of COVID cases and casualties.

Walter Einenkel of Daily Kos also discussed the hearings. He added several tweets from TepidButterASMR that include a hefty amount of sarcasm. One of the speakers was Matt. I’ll explain later why I mentioned him specifically. Here’s the text of the tweet showing him.

Here's Matt, he loves FREEDOM. He was at the stop the steal rally. He wasn't a poll watcher. He is saying Obama’s reign of destruction was caused by dominion voting machines. His testimony is about signs he saw at a rally.

The circus, this time with a ringleader, reformed on Wednesday before a Michigan House panel. The ringleader was Rudy Giuliani, the nasty guy’s personal lawyer. Stebbins reported this circus included such things as: * Democrats on the panel insisted speakers must testify under oath (as Michigan law permits, especially when there are allegations of wrongdoing) and Republicans refused to do so and ruled Democrats out of order. * Democrats ruled out of order when they tried to question witnesses or cross examine. * Giuliani essentially became chair of the panel as he questioned witnesses with leading questions – such as: were you expecting “that much crookedness and dishonesty?” * Giuliani saying he was not there to tell lawmakers to choose their own slate of electors, followed by him pointing to a particular section and paragraph in the Constitution that gives legislators that specific power. While the Constitution says the legislature chooses the electors, Michigan law says they don’t have that power. Instead, state law says the Secretary of State and the Governor do. The hearing was scheduled for three hours and lasted nearly five. There’s a big reason why Giuliani was before a House panel and not a court. In court you can be punished for lying. Before a state legislature not only can one lie, one can be encouraged to do so. They may still be stirring up trouble for this year’s election. They are most definitely stirring up distrust for the 2022 and 2024 elections. I asked you to remember what Matt said above. In particular, he said: “Obama’s reign of destruction was caused by dominion voting machines.” Dominion voting machines? What’s with that? Jennifer Cohn, election security advocate, put it this way: ES&S voting machines are easier to hack and make black votes disappear. Thus, Dominion voting machines, by the understanding of the GOP, are bad. Kerry Eleveld of Kos expanded on that a bit.

Trump and Co. have been railing against Dominion Voting Systems machines for weeks, falsely claiming they allotted extra votes to Democrat Joe Biden. There continues to be zero evidence for this lie, and Trump's campaign has now logged an unprecedented string of 40 post-election legal losses to 1 win in the courts, where they've proven to be uniquely incompetent.

They’re railing against Dominion machines because they don’t make black votes disappear, so those votes are declared “extra” votes for Biden. The rest of Eleveld’s post is about the current state of Georgia Senate races. The GOP candidates appear to be insufficiently loyal to the nasty guy, which might boost the chances of Democrats getting elected. The nasty guy is handing out pardons to protect various of his minions from prosecution. As several pointed out, pardons aren’t needed unless they’re guilty. Eleveld discussed one group that is likely to get pardons – the nasty guy’s kids. They know where Daddy has buried the bodies (I’d like to say that expression is figurative, but we’ve passed a quarter million dead from COVID). And in pursuit of Daddy’s goals they’ve likely committed several crimes themselves. If prosecuted they could spill Daddy’s secrets to protect themselves. The White House is, of course, spinning pardons as a way to protect against “retribution” by Biden and the Democrats. “The kids have been through enough,” an advisor told ABC News. Yeah, investigation into their crimes is seen as victimization. One person who has gotten a pardon already is Michael Flynn. A feature of his pardon has raised a lot of legal eyebrows – it includes a blanket pardon for crimes not yet committed. And Flynn, now free from any legal consequences, is taking advantage of it. Mark Sumner of Kos reported that Flynn is testing whether his pardon includes sedition. Flynn is publicly calling for a limited form of martial law, the suspension of the constitution, and civilian control of elections with the military in charge of a do-over. He declared rules for who is allowed to vote. To finish off he threatened violence if the nasty guy doesn’t come through with a coup. Flynn is no longer calling for somehow jiggering the election results so the nasty guy wins. Sumner wrote:

Flynn isn’t court shopping for someone who will ignore his nonsense long enough to issue a stay or at least provide another platform for pounding the podium. Flynn is calling for Trump and the military to overthrow the legitimate civilian government of the United States.

That’s sedition. And that’s what a blanket pardon allows you to say. Meteor Blades, in his Earth Matters column for Kos, wrote that 28 companies have joined to form the Zero Emission Transportation Association to get vehicle sales to 100% electric by 2030. This is all vehicles, not just cars. It is also much more ambitious than what Gavin Newsom, Governor of California is calling for. Good for them.