H2O Man
H2O Man's JournalQ & A
Question: Is the defendant nodding off in court, as many have reported, or is he in deep contemplation, as he claims?
Answer: Sociopaths need frequent stimulation. Without it, they become bored. They have short attention spans when bored. Prolonged boredom in the courtroom causes the defendant to nap. Keep in mind that there is no documentation of the defendant, while in the Oval Office, participating long long, highlt detailed meetings. Indeed, he has bragged about his ability to reach spontaneous decisions on important matters.
Twister
"Let him twist slowly, slowly in the wind." -- John D. Ehrlichman
In early 1973, there was a growing interest in the investigations for the series of crimes known collectively as "Watergate." Ehrlichman thought that the confirmation hearings of Nixon nominee of L. Patrick Gray for the director of the FBI was distracting attention to the crimes that would soon result in his incarceration. Thus, his infamous quote, with more than a hint of delight in Gray's ongoing evisceration by Congress.
Will history repeat itself in 2024? (I know, I know: it rhymes, rather than repeats.) Might the university demonstrations hint at trouble at the Democratic National Convention, similar to 1968? Could divisions result in a sludgy crook winning in November? Need we be overly concerned with the eventual republican VP pick? And what if Kristi Noam becomes the national dog warden?
The good news is that President Biden will be re-elected in November, while the defendant will continue to twist slowly, slowly in the wind. Due to a variety of factors, it will be a relatively close victory. What is also essential for our focus is the Senate. And of course we'd like to regain control of the House.
Now, we've had shady presidents in the past, with Nixon being the most obvious example. So if we are to create a historic rhyme, now is the time to hang the defendant and his associates around the necks of every republican running for office.
Nixon was smarter than the defendant. It took time, but he eventually twisted slowly, slowly in the news. There was an opportunity in 1976 to make gains in the House and Senate, but divisions in our party prevented this. Even Jimmy Carter's win was close, and I consider him one of the most gifted politicians of my lifetime. We have similar potentials this year for meaningful gains.
We have been given gifts such as Moscow Marjorie and Kristi Noem. They have caused a shift that shouldn't go unnoticed. There are republican office-holders and right-wing medias that have now speak against both. They dare say publicly the things they have been saying in private for years. The maga cracks widen.
Since the close of court on Friday afternoon, the defendant has been splattering nonsense into his universe. The most interesting example can be found in "highplainsdem's" OP:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=18942090
It must be understood in the context of the defendant's compulsive projecting. Add an image of a criminal about to be hung in a 50 year old high plains Clint Eastwood western.
Tomorrow, it is expected that Michael Cohen will be called to the witness stand. The media horseshit about him being a convicted liar and thug will be correctly placed in the context of his employment with the defendant. He was being paid to play the role of Roy Marcus Cohn. Though Cohen can appear emotional at times when describing the defendant, he actually does good while testifying in recent years.
Cohen will be but a few feet away from the defendant for the first time in eight years. Michael can -- and will -- do more damage to the defense case than any other witness. The defendant will struggle to not react to Cohen's testimony. He will twist slowly, slowly and break wind. The only question will be how long he can control himself in or outside of the courtroom.
Enjoy the show!
A Strong Wind
On this day, I find myself thinking about this quote from my old friend:
'We are flowers from the sunseeds planted in organic life on earth, with the capacity and the ability to grow stronger, wiser, more intelligent, and more beautiful than anyone can imagine. We must try to become what we can be, and not just settle for what we are at the moment. That is the path for humanity if humanity is to evolve. If we fail to evolve and continue down the destructive path we are now headed, then we will simply disappear from this earth.' -- Rubin "Hurricane" Carter
Oren
I've posted the below quote a few times here in the past 20 years. In the past few days, I've had a number of conversations with people about some of the teachings of Iroquois' Wisdom Keepers. One of these was with a good friend here on DU, and this made me think of this quote, which I hope you like:
"We must seek out the spiritual people, because only that is going to help us survive. We have a great force -- a great brotherhood. This brotherhood involves all living things. And that, of course, includes us all. We are talking about the natural world, the natural force, all the trees, everything that grows, the water. That is part of our force.
"But when you gather spiritual force in one place, you also gather the negative force. We begin to see the enemy now, the power and presence of the negative force.
"There is a great battle coming."
-- Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper, Iroquois Confederacy.
I first encountered Oren in the early 1970s, on opposite sides of a boxing ring. He was the trainer/ cornerman of welterweight & middleweight champion Carmen Basilio's last fighter. I was in the corner of my brother-in-law. Over the decades that followed, I would get to know him in other ways, though my son and I have always enjoyed seeing him and his fighter at boxing cards.
My cousin contacted me yesterday. He was going through his mother's belongings, including her large library of books. He found a copy of "Parker on the Iroquois" (Syracuse Universary Press, 1986), and said she would want me to have it. Parker, a Seneca, was the first NYS Archaeologist. This was a collection of three of his books, published between 1911 and 1916. I already had each of the three. He said he had been looking through the one on the code of Handsome Lake, based upon his vision of the future when he was in a coma in 1798. He is considered by many Iroquois to be the 4th prophet.
I suggested that he watch Bill Moyers' interview with Oren. In the interview, Oren talks about the vision of Handsome Lake, with a focus on the parts regarding the environment. I think that those who want to take a break from news about the defendant might enjoy watching it, too:
Peace,
H2O Man
Life
Q: Do you have any closing message for out readers?
Chief Paul Waterman: Live. Don't be afraid to live. We can live through this time.
I did reburials at the Penn Site. Germ warfare killed them. At the Bloody Hill Site, it was small pox. Some of the burials were of parents and their children. They were holding hands. This seems to happen when germ warfare kills families.
But we are here today. It's our turn to live now. And if you are reading this, it's your turn as well. Make the most of it. Enjoy your family.
Quite a few people find life in 2024 stressful. It could be from factors in their daily life, to the state of our society. I thought I'd attempt to start a discussion on this, starting with a story about a "potentially" stressful situation tat Chief Waterman and another member of the Council of Chiefs found themselves in years ago. The other Chief shared this story with me.
A group of Iroquois men who self-identified as the Warrior Society were holding Paul and Oren hostage in the Oneida bingo hall. The NYS Police and Sheriff's Departmet had surrounded the place. Oren said that being held at the wrong end of shotguns was stressful. But Paul was relaxed, and telling the younger men about temselves. The fellow holding the gun on Paul wanted to shut him up by placing the barrel in Paul's mouth. He told Paul to open his mouth, or he'd blow Paul's head off.
"Fuck you," Paul replied, laughing. "The first sound of a gun shot, and the police will kill every Indian in here." In a relatively short time, the stand-off ended. Oren told me that he had never witnessed anyone as calm and brave as Paul that day. (If you are thinking, "No big deal," you can stop reading now.)
Now, when do you do your best thinking? When you are well rested and relaxed? Or when you haven't gotten proper rest, and have had existential stress since, say, the defendant became president? Most people function better mentally when well rested and relaxed.
Jon Steward recently reported on how often the media reports on the defendant, including on unimportant issues such as his ride to court. I will speculate that someone somewhere was talking about the defendant on television or the internet every hour of every day since he announced he was running for president back in 2015. Stop and think of the sum total of hours that you have been exposed to either the defendant or someone talking about him.
Watching the defendant increases the levels of the hormone cortisol in your blood, and that blood goes throughout your body, including your brain. Those high levels take a toll on you. Thus, high levels are "the tip of the iceberg" of problems people experience, according to Bruce McEwen, a neuroscientist and cortisol expert at The Rockefeller University.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ldquo-stress-hormone-rdquo-cortisol-linked-to-early-toll-on-thinking-ability/
Among things effected are memory, organization, visual perception, and attention. It also can reduce adequate sleep. It can cause changes in your brain that show up on brain scans. Thus, it seems evident that frequent and prolonged exposure to the defendant isn't healthy. I think it is worse than if one was exposed to the individual I think shared the most personality traits with the defendant, Charles Manson. Might we agree that if one was exposed to Charlie's madness for the same amount of hours you have been exposed to the defendant, it would not improve the quality of your life?
It is no coincidence that the prophet Bob Marley sang, "Live if you want to live." This is the opening line of his powerful song "Positive Vibration." Other lyrics include, "If you get down and you quarrel everyday you're saying prayers to the devils, I say" and "Say you just can't live that negative way, if you know what I mean. Make way for the positive day."
The amount of acrimony on this forum, along with some of the thinking expressed, indicates that we can all benefit from turning off the defendant, relax, and listen to Bob Marley. It's a little bit easier.
A Chief
Shortly after 9/11, I conducted the last in a series of four interviews with Chief Paul Waterman of the Onondaga Nation, the Fire Keepers of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy). Below are two questions and answers:
Q: What do you think about the backlash against Arab Americans and against Islam?
CPW: Look at what they did to my family, the Susquehannas? Sullivan went down the river to find Onondagas and Mohawks. He couldn't find any, so he killed people who looked and talked like the people he was after.
What do I think? I don't think that anyone who kills innocent people because of their language or religion is a hero. .......
Q: President Bush has referred to the "evil doers." What do you think about this?
CPW: Well, he's the same way. Those people in Afghanistan are poor and miserable. They suffer when bombs kill their parents, and hurt when bullets kill their children. So, even if Bush believes what he is doing is right, he has to commit evil acts to achieve his goals.
But he can't stop. The other guy won't. And when they do kill bin Laden, someone else will take his place. .......
Q: Speaking of land, what do you think of a homeland for the Palestinians?
CPW: They own land. They always have. There is nough land for them and the Jews. This conflict isn't just about land. It's about who controls the land that produces money. It's not about religion. The Creator isn't taking sides in a conflict over money.
Strawberry Statements vs Zombies
I watch the news, I read the internet, I needed a break. So I look at two choices -- either James Simon Kunen's 1969 "The Strawberry Statement" or some of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s later essays -- before walking out on my lawn. I sit in my late father's outdoor rocking chair, and read King describe his reaction to the violence abroad and in the streets of America.
My attempt to avoid the news is as feeble as an addict trying to not get a fix, I realize as I come back inside. I have a television and computer. "It was the first day of the defendant's criminal trial," I say to the dog. "Just a quick peak can't hurt." Sure. Just a hit of Stephen Colbert. But that leads to more coverage of war and the protests on campuses.
As much as I do not like war, I am in favor of helping the Ukraine defeat the Russian invasion into their territory. I consider Putin to be a cruel man, promoting death and the destruction of human lives. Likewise, I understood the need for Israel to respond to the October 7 terrorist attack. I remember hearing several Israeli officials saying it was their 9/11.
After 9/11, I understood why the US would bomb Tora Bora in an attempt to kill those responsible for planning the attack on the US. But I did not favor occupying Afghanistan. Or Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11. Or kissing the asses of those in Saudi Arabia that financed it, or pretending that Pakistan didn't play a role. Still, bombing Tora Bora seemed logical.
I am pro-Israel. But I am anti-Netanyahu. I consider him a cruel man, promoting death and the destruction of human lives. Being opposed to him is, in my opinion, like being against the last guy who was president of the US before Joe Biden. Indeed, I think he is damaging Israel as a member of the global community, and that he is attempting to help the defendant's campaign by hurting President Biden.
Many good people I know are aghast while watching the news coverage of what is going on in Gaza. This coverage is not coming from Russia, Iran, or Hamas. It's from the major American news sources. When I see apologists explaining that it is fine if thousands of Palestinian children are killed, and thousands more being starved, they've not only lost people like me, they have lost a big part of their humanity.
I am troubled by the tone of campus protests that include jackasses spouting anti-Semitism. I'm angry when I see that Jewish students are being threatened. Should there be a protest at one of the colleges/ universities near me, I will go to try to protect Jewish students and faculty in the non-violent manner taught and practiced by Gandhi and King. I know the potential consequences, but am not afraid to confront hatred.
I turn off the television, and again look to a book shelf. I see Nicholas Schaffner's 1978 book, "The Beatles Forever." It includes documentation of right-wing nonsense about Soviet think tanks behind the group, writing songs for Lennon and McCartney in science labs that found the secret to "mind control" -- it wasn't the LSD that our military had thought had potential, it was the Beatles. Especially Ringo, gosh darn him.
I remember that LBJ and Nixon were convinced that it was the Soviet Union behind the protests for Civil Rights and the anti-war movement. They ordered the FBI to investigate and find proof. After all, Arlo Guthrie even spoke of the "last guy" wanting to invite Chairman Mao and Uncle Ho to dinner. In Congressional hearings post-Watergate, we learned that more than the FBI were following people like Malcolm X and Dr. King. I'd wager more than a few of us from my generation could tell stories.
Today, I see where otherwise intelligent people are saying that Russia, Iran, and Hamas are behind the college protests. As proof, they note that not all participants are students. I will speculate that they haven't read "The Strawberry Statement," James Michener's 1971 book, "Kent State: What Happened and Why," or my 2008 interview for DU with Mark Rudd. There are almost always "outside agitators" at protests on campuses. There are enough people in the United States who engage in these activities that there is no need to turn to paranoid conspiracy theories for answers.
Russia did play a role in the 2016 election. Note that the FBI and other intelligence agencies, as well as the DOJ, documented this. I'm sure it happened in 2020, and will in 2024. But that is distinct from an anti-war protest. There is a dangerous rise in the tide of anti-Semitism in this country.
The Meaning of Words
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean ——neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master ——that's all."
-- Lewis Carroll; Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There/Chapter VI
A young person asked me why the defendant's legal team does not attempt an "insanity defense" in his criminal trials? I said because any qualified person evaluating him would conclude that he is not mentally ill -- rather, he is a sociopath who knows right from wrong, and delights in breaking social norms and laws.
As I handed her the money to pay for my new Rx, she asked me how they determine if a person is insane? I explained there was a ruling in England in the mid-1800s about a hit before her great grandmother was born, though she was born a long, long time ago. A man named M'Naghten believed that catholic priests and tories were a threat to his safety. To protect himself, he decided to kill the Prime Minister, but mistakenly killed another man. His attorney convinced the jury M'Naghten did not know right from wrong, so he was found "not guilty." But he was held in a mental institution for the rest of his days.
A federal court decision in the mid-1950s known as the Durham Rule held that there were inadequate tests -- including M'Naghten -- that could determine if a defendant was "criminally insane." Because Durham was ill-defined, and left the door open to using addiction as a form of insanity, it was put to sleep after about twenty years. In modern times, the Model Penal Code test has been largely used, which reduces the number of successful insanity defenses.
The only option the defendant's legal team might have gone with is the Irresistible Impulse Test, which holds that though a mental illness does not keep the accused from knowing right from wrong, they just can't help themselves. But since the defendant in this case is using his legal woes as his presidential campaign and fund-raiser, I asked, would such an attempted defense not reduce his support in both areas?
"No," she said with knitted brow. "They are like 'sovereign citizens.' You can't reason with them. They will support him no matter what." She shook her head as she handed me the Rx and my change. Then she smiled and said, "I hope you feel better." Being old, I lifted the bag of medicine, and said, "With this, it's sure to get better. Can't get much worse than now."
On the drive home, I was thinking about a case where a judge was concerned about a sovereign citizen's ability to help his lawyer in his defense. During a pre-trial hearing, the judge quoted from chapter six of "Through the Looking Glass." Maybe, I thought, we are entering a time where new definitions are to be made. Then, suddenly, I understood that I needed to keep my eyes on the road and my hands upon the wheel.
Here Comes the Sun
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." -- Anne Bradstreer
I read some people's thoughts on how many maga people might be outside of the courtroom on Monday. They will be tiny orange buttons on a large paisley shirt that will pop off as the criminal trial of the former president gets underway once the jury is seated.There will be, of course, media coverage of the crowds that gather.
More important will be who is inside the courtroom. Obviously, the defendant, the lawyers on both sides, and Stormy Daniels. But there is more. Several people who the defendant despises will be seated in the audience, smiling at the defendant. A psychological profile of the defendant, focusing largely on his behaviors in court, suggest this will increase the chances of his acting out.
At first, this may be limited to when he leaves court, as well as his late night posts on the internet. But eventually he will have difficulty staying quiet when two of the witnesses take the stand to testify against him. We know his legal team will attack Cohen on cross-examination, but that will be more difficult with Ms. Hicks.
With both witnesses, the defendant will think they have betraued him, which increases the chances of his acting out. Add to that his fear of their testimony that supports the D.A.'s other evidence.
As always, the defendant has said he will testify. While the chances of this are remote, one can hope that he actually does. But the chances of his taking the witness stand are near zero. Thus, he will try to make a statement without ever taking the stand. The judge will deny this, until he has the right to speak at sentencing.
Now, I know some people are wondering if the documents case will be heard before the preliminary fights end and the main event (WW3) officially begins. Since the Las Vegas oddsmakers haven't addressed that question yet, I'll limit my comments to the document case.
I know that many good people question if Mr. Smith should try to have Judge Cannon removed. Her most recent response to Mr. Smith's filing concerning the "PRA defense" is viewed as evidence of her favoring the defendant -- who is not charged with violating the PRA. An associate told me that it is important to recognize that Cannon is "not the sharpest knife in her drawers." She suggested people think about the glaring error she made in her infamous jury questionaire.
Mr. Smith and his team, she said, always have charted every possible motion by the defendant's legal team, and every ruling that Cannon may make. More, they prepare an outline of their response options for every possibility. In order to be assured of a positive ruling from the 11th Circuit, they need more than her potentially giving the defendant a "PRA defense" once the trial is underway.
Hence, Mr. Smith will submit a motion in limine, requesting that Cannon not allow the defense to introduce evidence about the PRA. Cannon will deny the motion by late May. Then Mr. Smith goes to the 11th Circuit, which will overrule her, and may replace her on the case.
Jumping DJ
If you start at about 2 minutes in on this, it details the defendant attempting to nicjname himseld "Honest Don." This was approximately three weeks ago. I saw three clips on the news where he described himself as such. Each time, his facial expression had the satisfaction common among sociopaths when they think they have gotten over.
I had hoped that Seth Meyers would have researched this a bit more, until I recognized that he wasn't old enough to be familiar with the reference. I'm not only old enough to recognize it, but have invested the three minutes it took me to get these links. Add to that my understanding of the sociopathic mind, and I have a brief OP that I think is factual.
As a boy, the defendant's favorite cartoon was "Beany and Cecil." This featured a character called "Dishonest John," an imitation of Dudley Do-Right's enemy Snidely Whiplash on "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show." The defendant reportedly loved Dishonest John, because the character reminded him of his father.
When the Mattel games "Jumping DJ" came out in 1962, the defendant would play it for hours. Since he had few friends and always cheated, he ended up playing it by himself.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/348043877450563091/
There is a rumor that the defendant wanted one of the Bobbleheads he is peddling to reflect his love of, and identification with, Dishonest John.
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