Open Thread

What’s on your mind?

Comments

[not guilty]

A jury in the District of Columbia has acquitted Sean Dunn on the heinous federal misdemeanor charge of assault with a deli weapon. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/us/politics/trump-sandwich-guy-verdict.html

Thus illustrating the maxim: de minimis non curat lex.

[Frank Drackman]

Emmett Till's murderers were acquitted also.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Excellent. Boost the economy. Pelt ICE thugs with sandwiches by the thousands. Help them further fatten up, to slow them down.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Or: de skull be cracked next

Don't encourage police officers to make the arrest the punishment.

[Martinned]

I still think that's a fundamentally weird outcome, from a formal legal point of view. The only reason why you get there is because the jury doesn't trust the judge (and the legal rules that govern the judge's choices) to impose a sensible sentence.

Unless I'm mistaken, the technically correct answer is to convict on the most minor of the charges, and then to impose a sentence of no punishment at all. But the jury and the judge have no way to agree to that, so the jury has to pretend that the man isn't guilty at all.

[Brett Bellmore]

I think you summed it up, and there's nothing weird about it; This sort of thing is exactly why we HAVE a jury system.

Nobody actually thinks juries are the best way to arrive at the legal truth. They're a breaker inserted in the legal circuit, intended to trip when a prosecution offends the local conscience.

Zengler, Penn, both guilty as hell.

[Martinned]

It's a weird system that involves a guilty man admitting his guilt after pleading "not guilty", and the factfinder concluding that he is not guilty while agreeing that he definitely threw that sandwich.

[Commenter_XY]

This outcome has a whiff of jury nullification, NG. Is it?

[Mr. Bumble]

The outcome has a whiff alright. The same whiff as the jury pool
in DC.

[Frank Drackman]

Well it was Black & White.
Well, mostly Blacks.

[not guilty]

I suspect that the jury figured no harm, no foul. I am surprised that the deliberation lasted for seven hours.

[Mr. Bumble]

Best guess is a female juror saw that he threw and ran like a little girl and convinced the others he would be mistreated in the gulag.

[Frank Drackman]

Dammit, great minds think alike, I was going to say he should have been charged with "Throwing like a Girl"

[Martinned]

Classy

[ducksalad]

I suspect the jury figured (a) overreach by DoJ, as evidenced by the original attempt at a felony indictment, (b) insincere courtroom prosecutors, as evidenced by their melodramatic language, and (c) perjury by the officer, as evidenced by the lie that the sandwich "exploded".

We've got stuff like the exclusionary rule and charges dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct, even when the defendant is obviously guilty. Along the same lines, I don't see a big problem with the jury letting someone off because they think the cop and prosecutor are behaving dishonestly.

Plus what Martinned said about the jurors believing an unreasonably harsh sentence would be imposed.

If it had been handled by the local police, charged at the appropriate level, described in court without exaggeration, and the cop hadn't lied to the jury, they could have got a conviction.

[Mr. Bumble]

"... they could have got a conviction."
Possible, but still very unlikely in DC.

[Stephen Lathrop]

When I see thugs in the streets, wearing vests emblazoned with, "Federal Government POLICE," who am I looking at? I'm wondering if that is how you show up if you are a Border Patrol agent working in areas outside your geographic jurisdiction. Or is it a more generally-useful enforcement ambiguity?

[Frank Drackman]

At least the guy got fired, had some Bullshit "International Affairs Specialist" position with DOJ. Maybe he can get a job at Subway.

[Dr. Ed 2]

NYC has more Jews than any city other than Tel Aviv -- and a Jew-hating mayor. What happens next?

Is it like Boston where the suburbs can outvote the city proper?
Will Staten Island join New Jersey? Or become its own city?
Do NYFD/NYPD have residency requirements?

[Martinned]

You're hallucinating.

[Frank Drackman]

and Your King is a no-good-Atheist-Commie-Pinko-Fag, and probably has his Dick up your Ass as I'm typing this.

[BrotherMovesOn]

It is his natural state at his advanced age.

[Commenter_XY]

What happens next?

Jews will leave NYC.

[Brett Bellmore]

Won't just be Jews. But Mamdani is counting on that, isn't he? He's going to use the Curley effect to consolidate power.

[Martinned]

And while he's at it, he's going to bring millions of illigal immigrant Arabs in to replace the Jews and Christians! /s

[Mr. Bumble]

Arabs are a religion? I think you meant to say Muslims.

[Martinned]

I did not. If I had meant to say Muslims I would have. I think racists like you would equally object to Arab Christians, Druze, etc., so my version of the Great Replacement Theory intentionally referred to Arabs.

[Mr. Bumble]

Fail!

[Sarcastr0]

Brett finds another sinister leftist plan no one mentioned at all!

Let’s see how the numbers look in a year before we write NYC’s epitaph, eh?

[BrotherMovesOn]

"Is it like Boston where the suburbs can outvote the city proper?"
One wonders what this even means. O Dr. Ed!

[Martinned]

One of the downsides of daily Open Threads is that I can't very easily respond to things said in response to my comments from the day before.

Let's start with this question, which doesn't seem to have received a reply in my absence:

Tell me who, in the US, of similar prominence to Andrew Windsor, suffered any consequences whatsoever due to being associated with Epstein.

For context: The three people who most obviously suffered consequences from their association with Epstein are all Brits: Ghislaine Maxwell, Andrew Windsor, and Peter Mandelson. The latter two, of course, should have been investigated a lot more still, but I struggle to think of anyone in the US who even suffered the repercussions they did.

Am I forgetting someone?

[Frank Drackman]

Your Pediophile King.

[Kazinski]

Well who has else has been credibly accused by someone on the record of a crime?

Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Andrew, who else has she named?

Who else has made public allegations?

There are rumors about Reid Hoffman, but nothing concrete, who else?

[Martinned]

Former Senator George Mitchell, for one. And former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jeffrey-epstein-ordered-teen-girl-have-sex-powerful-men-accuser-n1040996

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-09/epstein-sent-girl-to-governor-and-senator-for-sex-she-testified

[Mr. Bumble]

Richardson has been dead for two years and Mitchell is still hanging on at age 92.
Got anyone else?

[Michael P]

Those two are/were Democrats, so the Swamp wouldn't hold them responsible for anything.

[Commenter_XY]

Release all of it and let the chips fall where they may.

If that means victims are emotionally re-traumatized, that is a very unfortunate outcome. I wish it were not so. One woman is already dead, I am sure there are others. There are resources for psychological help and I'd mandate gov't funds for that as well (meaning, if the victims want psychological help, they get it from the best people and programs available). The societal need to name and shun those who violated these girls (and boys) is now greater than protecting the anonymity of the victims. These are very sick people who live freely without restriction among us, the ones who sexually abused minors. Do you think these very same predators have stopped sexually abusing minors simply b/c Epstein is dead? Do you think that the aphorism, birds of a feather flock together, might apply here?

I don't care who these predators are, I just want them exposed.

[Mr. Bumble]

...but that might include the horn dog in the blue dress.

[Commenter_XY]

All of these predators must be exposed, no matter who they are.

It isn't political. It isn't ideological. Society must protect itself from predators like that, and it starts by knowing who they are.

[Martinned]

Also while I was asleep, Trump still believes in state ownership of the means of production:

https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m4yau7i2zj2u

[Martinned]

Trump also still believes in government-regulated prices:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novo-lilly-shares-rise-trump-obesity-drug-deal-nears-2025-11-06/

[Martinned]

And Trump's brain still no work good:

https://newrepublic.com/post/202825/donald-trump-novo-nordisk-executive-collapses-drugs

[Dr. Ed 2]

The impeachments start: https://www.fox4news.com/news/texas-brandon-gill-james-boasberg-impeachment-arctic-frost

[Martinned]

I was going to say "don't hold your breath", but it would probably be better if you did.

[ducksalad]

You can have your harassment impeachment but it takes 2/3 of the Senate to convict. They can't even cobble together 60 votes to end a shutdown that, by their own admission, caused them serious damage in last Tuesday's elections. They can't cobble together 51 votes to end the 60 vote rule.

Things the Framers provided for that are now dead letters:
- Impeachments
- Veto overrides
- Actual constitutional amendments
- Actual treaties

[Martinned]

- Declarations of War
- A system of conferred powers for the Federal government

And, while we're at it:
- No insurrectionists in office
- A President who is bound by the law just like everyone else

[ducksalad]

Also all true, but those are really all secondary effects of our inability to do impeachments, veto overrides, and constitutional amendments.

Gorsuch showed yesterday that he understands this.

[Martinned]

In non-US news, you can get foreign countries to pay for part of your budget. That looks roughly like this:

EU demands UK pay into budget as part of relationship ‘reset’

For context, other countries that have a similar relationship with the EU that the UK does, like Norway and Switzerland, already pay into the EU budget.

Here's a report from the EU Court of Auditors on the topic: https://www.eca.europa.eu/lists/ecadocuments/rw21_03/rw_third_countries_contributions_en.pdf

(Wouldn't it be great if the US had an institution like that? A whole independent body just to make sure there are no shenanigans with the money.)

[Brett Bellmore]

So, the push to render Brexit futile continues...

[Martinned]

Of course. The EU never wanted Brexit. It hurts both sides. Why wouldn't the EU side undo it as much as possible?

[Brett Bellmore]

Yeah, that much is obvious, but I'm talking about the British government's push, really. That the EU would try to drag them back in, unwilling or not, was obvious.

[Mr. Bumble]

The EU Comintern can always use a few extra Euros.

[Commenter_XY]

Raises an interesting question, though, Brett.

Suppose UK says, "Nope" to the EU extortion demand to pay into EU budget. Then what?

[Martinned]

The are negotiating constantly. I know that concept confuses you.

[Mr. Bumble]

Dear Penelope,
It is now day seven with no EBT benefits and the hunger is becoming unbearable. How can a government treat its neediest citizens (and non citizens) so poorly.
We can only hope that we will be saved by a federal judge.
Your former obedient servant,
Mammy

[Commenter_XY]

This is what I don't get. U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr seems to think the Fed Gov't is some kind of ATM that dispenses cash like Pez candy. Memo to Judge McConnell....the Fed Gov't has been shut down for a while because of political and policy differences. The Executive branch says there is not enough money. Can a Fed judge simply compel the US Treasury to print more money (for SNAP benefits)?

I did not know the constitution gave Fed judges that authority (heh).

What else might a Fed dist court judge compel the US Treasury to print money for? Just asking.

[ducksalad]

If the point you were trying (but failed to clearly) make was that judges shouldn't be allocating spending, fine, I agree.

The print money thing is BS and you know perfectly well that shutdowns are pure theater. No printing necessary to run the sandwich trial. Or more seriously, no printing necessary to burn millions per day in salaries, fuel, and ammo to run the naval operation off of Venezuela.

[Mr. Bumble]

...and in Supreme Court news:
The Supreme Court stayed the preliminary injunction barring "...Trump’s executive order to the effect that a person’s sex as shown on his or her passport will be the sex at birth."
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a319_i4dj.pdf
Of course the Witches of 1 First Street opposed this because;
" The State Department’s passport policies have grown more permissive since the agency issued its first directive on the subject in 1971. At the time, passports did not include a sex marker. In the late 1970s, the department began to include them on passports, a move that the government then attributed to the rise of unisex fashion and hair styles.
The State Department began allowing transgender people to obtain passports with updated sex markers in the 1990s, so long as they provided evidence of having undergone gender transition surgery. That requirement was rescinded in 2010, under then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the department began asking only that transgender passport applicants provide a doctor’s letter affirming that they had received “appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition.” In 2021, the State Department issued the first passport with a gender-neutral marker — an “x.” The following year, the Biden administration announced a policy allowing passport applicants to select any gender marker."
"There is no legislation here: all of these changes have been dictated by the President or his agent, the Secretary of State. The position of the Democratic Party is that Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden can establish a policy on passports, but Donald Trump can’t change it. Because he is Donald Trump, and doesn’t have the same powers a Democratic president would have."
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/11/trump-wins-on-passports.php

[ThePublius]

Cold snap here in Massachusetts. It only got down to 41º F last night, but now it's 31º. My Eversource gas bill will be huge! Can you imagine if I didn't have this old house insulted last year?

[Mr. Bumble]

Try bundling.

[ThePublius]

I am currently doing that. I have an electrically heated vest. It's amazing how warm that keeps me on apparently so little energy. (It's powered by a USB-charged battery pack.)

[Aladdin's Carpet]

Was told by my team at work to “hold tight and just research until the end of the year” as the project lead of the task I was on is now unavailable because of other commitments, and I requested that why don’t I take ownership of it and was denied.

Fun times. Kinda here until the January layoffs where I’m fairly certain I’ll be laid off. And if I don’t I’ve given up and resolved to quit. I did get a job offer and struggled with whether I should take it and … I declined, it was a small startup I’ll be third engineer and taking a modest but not significant paycheck. And I do like working in FAANG but it’s really just the team and position I find myself in. I’ll keep applying I suppose.

[Commenter_XY]

On occasion, moving laterally or moving into a position that pays less, is a better option than staying put (and waiting for a package that might be vanishingly small, after taxes). Keep an open mind. If a new position offers learning opportunities of stuff you don't know (but you know that you need to know for the future), that is something to strongly consider, career-wise.

If you are not growing, you are dying.

[ducksalad]

Oh man why did you have to say that last part. Been reliably growing 1-2 pounds per year my whole adult life, then this year it went down a couple pounds. No dieting or extra exercise, in fact somewhat the opposite.

All downhill from here.

[Mr. Bumble]

Think of it like a sleigh ride and enjoy it before the crash into the trees.

[Mr. Bumble]

Well maybe EBT will be funded by January.

[Malika la Maize]

Layoffs accelerated in October, pushing 2025 job cuts to levels typically seen in recessions, according to newly released data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a private firm that tracks workplace reductions.

U.S. employers have announced 1.1 million layoffs so far this year — the largest reading since the pandemic recession and on par with 2008 and 2009 job cuts during the Great Recession, the firm’s figures show. The data includes a recent spate of layoffs at major companies such as UPS, Amazon and Target, and adds to growing concern about a labor market slowdown.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/11/06/job-cuts-accelerate-october-layoffs-trump/

[Frank Drackman]

Breaking Character here, (just because I am a Character doesn't mean I don't have Character)
can we have a moment of silence for Dallas Cowboys DE Marshawn Kneeland, who killed himself early Thursday morning, barely 48 hours after scoring a Touchdown against Arizona.
In his second year with the Cowboys, 2d round Draft Choice, hot little Girlfriend, everything to live for.
OK, he did have to play for the Cowboys.
Gallows humor, Gallows humor, pretty sure he didn't start his week planning to kill himself.

Frank

[Malika la Maize]

President Donald Trump has pardoned the former Tennessee House speaker and his former top aide in the state legislature just weeks after they were sentenced to prison on public corruption charges.

Glen Casada, who was ousted from his position as the Republican speaker of the Tennessee House just months into the job in 2019, received a phone call from Trump on Thursday informing him of the decision, said his attorney, Ed Yarbrough.

Casada, 66, was sentenced in September to three years in federal prison on charges related to a kickback and bribery arrangement involving the legislature’s state-funded constituent mailer program. Cade Cothren, 38, previously Casada’s chief of staff, was also convicted of fraud and related federal charges and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. They were due to report to prison later this month.

Cothren, who resigned amid allegations of making sexual advances to a state legislative intern, drug use in the state Capitol complex and sending racist text messages, also received a call from Trump informing him of the pardon, Yarbrough said. Both men had pleaded not guilty to federal charges

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/11/06/glen-casada-cade-cothren-trump-pardon/