Playpen 1.22.25

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Pardon me?

Sure.

A brief retrospective:

“I would like to begin by addressing the heinous attack on the United States Capitol. Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem….America is and must always be a nation of law and order… To those who engaged in the acts of violence and destruction, you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay.” 1/7/21

“Let me be clear: The violence we saw yesterday at our nation’s Capitol was appalling, reprehensible and antithetical to the American way. We condemn it — the president and this administration — in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable, and those that broke the law should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Press Secretary McEnany 1.7.21

“I unequivocally condemned the violence that we saw last week, violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country and no place in our movement.”  1/13/21 

“If you beat up a cop, of course you deserve to go to prison. If you violated the law, you should suffer the consequences.”  JD Vance May, 2024

“If you committ violence on that day, obviously you shouldn’t be pardoned.” JD Vance, January 2025.

One GOP Senator sees an inherent problem.

Questions:

  1. which reaction was the correct one?  Was it a heinous attack on democracy worthy of the full weight of the law or were they due their records cleansed and total freedom? 
  2. If a politician stood on the White House lawn in front of a crowd of thousands and said:  “The Senate/House has let us down.  They had a chance to do the right thing.  But they didn’t so we’re going to peacefully and patriotically march to the Capitol and let them know that we want the minimum wage doubled because if we don’t, we won’t have a country, you won’t have a roof over your heads or food in your stomachs, and your children will continue to go hungry, so fight like hell!” and as a consequence the sorts of things that we saw on January 6th, 2021 occurred and later each and every person involved was held completely blameless by the person who initially encouraged the protest, how would you feel about that? Would that series of events be a net plus for America?

Discuss. 

97 thoughts on “Playpen 1.22.25”

  1. This is my first (and likely only) reply on political topics here. Typing messages on a board is the least valuable conversational medium humans could have.

    That being said, I do not discount your position. My only question is: where is your additional “Pardon me?” summary for Biden pardoning his entire family in the last 30 minutes of his Presidency?

    I know you will respond with your usual well-written defensive perspective with the ability to state your position very cleverly that those 2 things can and never will be the same — and thus — my question cannot be responded to.

    But for me, it is selective outrage.

    Respectfully submitted,

    King Mackeral

    • I oppose most of the Biden pardons. Especially the family and political figure pardons. Bad idea for many reasons imho. A lesser reason is the “whataboutism” fetish of small minded folks. Haven’t studied the balance of the typical ones we see to have an opinion on them.

      If Biden pardoned anyone caught beating a cop on tape I’m against that too.

    • Not a single Biden family member given a preemptive pardon in the last 30 minutes of the presidency had been charged with a crime, let alone convicted.
      The January 6th criminals had either pled guilty or been convicted.
      I can see treating a person who, on January 6th got swept up in the emotion and did nothing more than illegally enter the Capitol different from those who were violent.

      • My argument is: make them go through with their threats and show us who they are. If nothing else, the family and political pardons free up time for other malicious mischief.

      • The pardon handed down to his family members were: Just in case pardons if someone decided to come after them. Pretty much an admission of guilt.

        • Unlike a guilty verdict or a crime committed on videotape which is like totally different and stuff.

          But again, it is because people will make these ridiculous “equivalency” arguments that you don’t hand them over.

          Every proposed political target should be willing to serve as a martyr for their country. Issuing or accepting pardons, a power which has been and is soon to be abused again, only further erodes what you’re trying to protect in the first instance.

    • King – In my world, “looks bad” is miles from does bad. I suspect Biden lost a lot of sleep worrying about the Trump2.0 administration going after every member of his family because of Trump’s need for retribution.
      One of Hunter’s accusers is doing 6 years now for lying to Congress about the whole affair. A Kansas? judge has ruled that the gun charge Hunter is charged with is unconstitutional because it violated everyone’s god given right to own firearms.
      Anyone who has dealt with the IRS knows that first and foremost they want their money. You pay what you owe, you pay rather steep fines, they watch you for the next 5-7 years and then they release you back into the wild so that you can be a tax payer, not a tax taker. Hunter paid his fine and penalties immediately, so why did the persecution continue?
      If you don’t know, the government can break almost anyone but the richest few by relentless prosecution. Why should Biden’s family bear exposure to Trump’s ire for being related to the man that beat Trump in 2020 fair and square? What if it was your family? Would you let the jaundiced eye of whataboutism keep you from protecting your family if you could? I trust that you will answer truthfully.

  4. I am glad my father was not alive to see this. He served our country for 35 years. It makes me afraid for the future of our country and for my Grandchildren. I also fear for the family members who testified against those pardoned. To pardon sedition is to condone it.

  5. It’s all politics. Both sides are trying to appease their bases and don’t care what is right or wrong. I don’t understand why anyone expects any different.
    When will you learn they don’t GAF about you or what you think? So by all means stay divided so they can separate the people to gain more power and money for themselves.

    • Who in the base was clamoring for Joe to pardon his brother? Who in the base wanted Liz Cheney pardoned?

      I am unaware of anyone either being pleased with or running from those decisions. I am aware of those choices being used to defend the indefensible.

      As for doing things for money and power, who else has brought in the world’s richest man and promised the nation’s commitment to his private wet dream boondoggle?

      I haven’t seen Soros at a rally or an inauguration or getting feted by an office holder. Not one gd time.

      I have seen a Soros trainee get nominated by Trump to be Treasury Secretary tho.

      Who issued a meme coin of themself and spouse on the eve of an inauguration? Other than using it to solicit unregulated graft, what is the point of that?

      I’m sure Stalin’s political opponents fell somewhat short of the Savior’s standards but as we know none of his successors acted as ruthlessly, the world likely would have been better off with the other, indistinguishable, side of the coin as you would have it.

    • Derek, no one in the base was clamoring for preemptive pardons. I think that was the point for Biden. He’s still pissed he was forced out. The pardons are his middle finger pointed at the party. Sure, those pardons provide some cover, but they also make everyone pardoned look guilty without ever being charged or tried. I think it’s his way of saying ‘screw you.’

      • That also rebuts the bothsiderism whether factually accurate or not. Obviously I don’t know but it certainly did not earn party fealty or good feelings to issue those pardons.

        There is no “both sides” here.

        Not one person on the left protested Hunter Biden’s prosecution. Never happened.

        And Biden didn’t demean the process or the decision makers.

        Whether he should have protected him from Trump is debatable. The rest of the family? The politicians?

        Bad idea imho.

      • I believe it was Biden’s way of protecting his family from needless unwarranted persecution from an untethered DOJ. Witch hunts, I believe they’re called. And why not? He and his family are riding off into the sunset free from the burden of public service forever.

        • Reminds me of the hypothetical where a parent has two kids and the three of them are held hostage. (The hypothetical requires that the offer to resolve the matter IS unquestioned.)

          Offer: I can kill one of your kids and let you and the remaining child go OR all three of you. Up to you. You choose which one.

          For me there is only one answer: “Fuck you.”

          I get the fear and I get the consternation, but you have to have the moral clarity to look evil bastards in the eye and say I’d rather be fucking dead then to ever bend the knee.

          When you just pardon everyone close to you based upon mere cowardice, you invite the same blanket pardons premised on far worse instincts and motives.

          That’s not to say that I would not have pardoned my wife’s son just so I didn’t have to spend my final days listening to that… Any married man can have some sympathy there.

          • I hear you and agree with you in principle. The problem is only one side is capable of feeling shame and that is a real disadvantage in today’s political climate. We need to get a couple of hundred Dick Tucks out in the field to even things up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Tuck

  6. Trump has been in office a few days and has solved global warming (10 inches of snow in New Orleans) and brought peace to the Middle East (again). Not a bad start.

        • You’ve got to collect all of the payments in from the companies and industries who want exemptions written in first.

          Organized crime is a complicated undertaking.

      • Give him a few more days. After all, this isn’t the ACTUAL second coming (but it’s pretty close).

          • Over half the country said the exact same thing in November about you liberal Biden cultist.

          • So you’re as bad at math/facts as citizenship, eh?

            Do you think 49.8 is over half or were you simply unaware of the facts?

  8. Biden Weaponized the Justice Department, the FBI, The CIA, Homeland Security and worked with Fulton County and New York City Prosecutors to go after Trump and his family…they made up crimes and “laws” out of whole cloth, tried to put him in jail, and got liberal retards like you to try and find him guilty. They tried to bankrupt him and kill him (several times). So pardon me if I don’t give fat rats ass what you think about the J6ers being pardoned…. I don’t give a shit about your opinion of what happened on J6 as it is gleaned from your Corrupt band of political thugs, and the legacy mocking bird media trying to distract from a stolen election we have just wrestled our country back from. (oh yea its coming out…do the math 81m votes for Biden 72m votes for Trump 160m Registered voters).
    You have been programed for 60 years by CNN and whatever other Marxist bullshit you soak in….we watched for the last 4 years while you purple haired assholes had your way and pushed men into women’s locker rooms and gaslighted the sheep into thinking grooming young children with transvestite strip dances at libraries and schools should be allowed so your politicians didnt send the FBI to their schoolboard meetings to get their license plates.
    We sat back as you opened up the boarder to let 3rd world countries empty their prisons into the US and kill and rape sweet girls like Laken Riley…That nightmare is over, and you can kiss my ass (again)….other people will want to play nice and think you people will accept Trump’s administration but those who pay attention to you know liberalism is a mental illness.
    This country has suffered enough at the hand of assholes like you and anybody (lookin at you budlite) that agrees with you…

    You want to talk about pardons talk about Biden’s.
    https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-joseph-biden-2021-present

    • Thank you for your sincere attempt to bring us together and unite us all as one America. I bet you hate it when the left sows divisions among Americans. I am sure you were also about to say that.

      Btw: its border and not boarder and your screed made me boreder.

      • Very poor come back Derek. I thought you would have had more to ciddawg’s comments. Have to agree with him.

        • He was clearly and respectfully seeking substantive interaction for sure. How can I argue with your conclusion?

          This was the giveaway:

          “This country has suffered enough at the hand of assholes like you and anybody (lookin at you budlite) that agrees with you…”

          A couple of weeks ago he wanted trump to send me to guantonamo. A debatable point to be sure.

          I should spend more time with him. I think we could make lots of progress on some of these points.

          How big of an asshole am I? How much do I hate America? By what method should I be executed? So many things worthy of meaningful debate.

    • Somebody learned all of the bullshit talking points. All boxes checked. All of the dumb shit destgned to make you terminally angry while your MAGA crew robs the country blind. Good job.

      • You know you don’t have to get all your information from the cable news media right Tony? With these computer things you can go right to the video and hear exactly what someone is saying when they said it, instead of getting it from some asshole gaslighting you on MSNBC like Derek does….

        Help me, help you, Tony, what did you mean when you regurgitated “while your MAGA crew robs the country blind”. Did Tump have any of his kids on the Burisma Board like Biden, Pelosi and Mitt Romey? Did Trump send any of his kids to China to get $10 Billion to invest in companies with technology the US Military was interested in. Did Trump and his family invest in companies that they were overseeing in congress?

        Trump is the most investigated man in the history of the world and he’s still President …
        you don’t have to like it but you don’t have to have your head up Don Lemons ass either…

    • Boy did he! God forbid the corrupt and weaponized federal government ask for their classified documents back only to have Trump partially comply with the request and lie about it thus requiring the feds to get a search warrant in order to retrieve them. That dastardly Joe Biden! Imagine that! The FBI actually holding FORMER president Trump accountable for breaking the law by illegally retaining and possessing classified documents? Or, shall we talk about the 100 plus former Trump staffers that TESTIFIED under oath that he knew that he’d lost the 2020 election and conspired with others to illegally subvert a free and fair election? A lie that eventually led to a riot that he knowingly instigated that led to police officers(you know the people MAGA folks claim to back) being assaulted and millions of dollars in damages on national TV for the world to see. For your own mental and emotional health, back away from the Qanon message boards, OAN, Fox News and Newsmax for a little while. I promise you, the rage you feel will eventually dissipate.

  9. Go back to where I said, “I dont give a shit about your opinion….”
    read and repeat as necessary…

  10. Whatabout Biden! Whatabout Biden! Whatabout Biden! Whatabout Biden! Whatabout Biden! Whatabout Biden! Whatabout Biden! Whatabout Biden! Whatabout Biden!

    • Whatabout Biden?
      By doing what he and his political ilk did to Trump and his family, weaponizing the US Government, he set precedents for prosecuting your political enemies
      (and who among you liberal assholes can cast the first stone?)
      He opened the door for the EVERYONE in any Ex-Presidents family to have their taxes audited and get free anal exams from the IRS …including Both Clintons, Obama’s, Biden’s, Bush’s, Cheney’s (and Liz) also any other political adversary such as Pelosi, Schiff’s, Swalwell just to name a few to see where all that money comes from on a politician’s salary.

      Federally elected officials making political statements can now be Prosecuted at the County and Municipal level under vague “Rico” statutes.
      Homes and offices can be raided, underwear drawers can be emptied and classified papers confiscated and leaked to news outlets so they can have live coverage of the pre-dawn raid.
      Your Lawyers can be prosecuted and disbarred for trying to defend you…
      Your political consultants and employees homes and offices can be raided and go to prison for claiming executive privilige.
      Unreasonable fines can be set and long and prison sentences demanded, no worries people can and will plead guilty to avoid the legal fees and bankruptcy…

      We may not see Trump stoop that low but I promise we will see trials for
      Treason.
      This was the real political insurrection (fake Russian dossiers paid for by Hillary’s campaign, FISA warrants for spying on a President, False testimonies and manufactured “evidence” at Impeachment #1 and Impeachment #2)
      Hopefully, they spare the US a long-drawn-out retribution and we can just have televised trials and hangings from Gitmo…
      45-FA
      47-FO
      When all is said and done the democrat party will be just like the Nazi party after WWII…
      you won’t be able to walk down the street…
      suck it Derek…

      • Dems acting like Nazi’s? The Nazi fringe in this country is stoked right now. They couldn’t be happier. Especially after President Musk’s sieg heil Monday. You’re living in the upside down complaining about your perceived notion that Biden weaponized the DOJ and also complaining that Biden pardoned everyone to prevent Trump from weaponizing the DOJ to go after his family. Make it make sense.

      • CID – You know, from the unhappiness and venom you use in your speech it’s a wonder you haven’t exercised your right of stand your ground and shot someone you suspected of not thinking the same way you do. Orwell informed us that “thought speech” was the same as an action. I guess we’re all lucky our wives can’t read thoughts.
        I’m going to go out a limb here and predict that you think all of us “liberals” hope Trump will fail so we can give the Repubs a big “Nanny nanny boo boo.” We don’t. I have grandchildren and my hope is that Trump will be the most successful president since FDR. I hope he will use his “mandate” to build the infrastructure we will need going into the next century, like FDR and TVA. I hope he will build better schools with better qualified, better compensated teachers and return the US to its top ranking. I hope Trump will be cognizant that not everyone was born rich with overly indulgent parents and the “basic needs” of the people he hopes to serve may go beyond the ability to work for minimum wage.
        So, I’ll speak for all liberals, we want Trump to be a resounding success for all 330 million of us. If turning all of the federal lands over to the oil companies so they can “drill baby drill” is what it’s going to take to bring this about, well, I’ll just say goodbye to trout fishing, or learn to throw out the two-headed ones.

    • Translation-Only your guy’s sins matter. You don’t get to talk about our guy.

      • I will. I think most of Biden’s pardons suck. As was his decision to seek reelection.

        As was his performance at the debate. As was his appointment of Merrick Garland.

        I could go on, but you don’t get the point anyway.

          • See what I mean?

            Its like teaching physics to mealworms. The good part is that if it pisses them off, you’ll never know.

          • Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure your momma is proud of your Women’s Studies degree.

          • That’s about the closest you gotten to a woman I imagine. Well that and the time you walked around with a pussy hat on. 😆

  11. Opinion? What opinion?

    I gave you sarcasm, a spellcheck, some speculation and an observation.

    I carefully culled any opinion… to please you.

  12. I had never heard of “preemptive pardons” before. I’d like to have one for my next speeding ticket (or for any that I may get in my lifetime).

  13. I can’t wait until whoever the next Republican to be president comes along and all these Trump hating nut bags that have spent every minute since ‘16 pulling their hair out about Trump do the same about that person. My issue with people like Derek and some of you others when it comes to Trump is this bullshit narrative “But this is different!” Nope. Trump is just the Republican of the moment. When the people on your screens told you to turn it up to eleven and act like Mitt Romney was Hitler you did just that. Mitt fucking Romney. We have been hearing that Trump is “literally Hitler” for so long that nobody cares anymore. The constant shrieking and outrage has made everybody numb to it and nobody but the most obsessed lefties gives a shit anymore. Y’all jumped the shark after ‘20. Bu you’ll do the same thing with the next Republican and say “This is different!” Bullshit. You people are just used to throwing a tantrum and it getting you what you want. But nobody cares anymore. Russia gat turned out to be bullshit. “Good people on both sides” has been shown to be out of context bullshit. It’s all a lie. But y’all will keep doing it because some jackoff on cable news tells you to do it. And the rest of the country will mostly ignore you.

    • Personally, I was calloused by all of the other coup attempts, the routine failures to concede or participate in a peaceful transition of power.

      All the same! Washington couped. Jefferson couped. Lincoln couped. FDR couped. Reagan couped. All of them.

      Everyone else couped and no one ever called the other guy, conceded and told their supporters “we lost, so just go home and be a gd American. Thank you.”

      Where is this aberrance that these libs get so outraged about?

  14. Oh I know. I have PTSD from a bunch of people taking pictures after they were let into a building. That black day when all these viscous revolutionaries were so bent on a “coup” that they showed up unarmed.😆. It was horrible how they were so bent on Revolution that the only person that hurt anybody was a DC cop who shot an unarmed woman. And then Biden didn’t get to be president. You know what a coup is you fucking idiot.😆

    • The coup started by not conceding. The coup continued by sowing distrust in the count. The coup continued by contacting governors and secretaries of state asking for new numbers. The coup continued by formulating a plan to get new “fake” electors to replace the duly appointed electors. The coup continued by getting senators and representatives to agree to challenge the electoral count based upon questions over election integrity they themselves had invented. The coup continued by intimated and cajoling the VP. The coup continued by drawing a crowd on the day the electoral votes were to be counted and sending them to the Capitol timed with the beginning of the count.

    • Mike and ciddawg, I pity the souls that the good Lord gave to these bodies that have to put up with these brains.

        • A presidential candidate can rig a national election against the sitting president.

          The sitting president cannot rig his own tho four years later.

          Genius!! You’re a bunch of damn geniuses!!

      • Derek is full of shit. He’s a fucking liar and not even a good one. He fakes all this outrage and acts like he’s having a vagspasm over Jan. 6th and acts like we’re all supposed to give a shit and think it was a “coup”. But raiding Trump’s house for something Biden admits he did and two attempts to kill Trump are no big deal. He’s pretending to hyperventilate over some people walking and taking pictures. Hes full of shit. He’s just mad none of that shit worked and Trump still won. Four more years, bitch.

        • You certainly raise the maturity level, breadth and intellectual depth of each and every discussion. You must have memorized the Meditations. Of course, to your credit, Marcus gets to the scatological a bit quicker than you.

          • Oh I know Derek. Raising anything when you’re driving the continent hard to do. The Derek playbook; Make some generic leftie talking seem like his own thoughts. Throw in a few feeble attempts to make it seem more esoteric and philosophical than it is. Make reference to a work of literature or a scholarly work that everyone has heard of and likely read but act like it’s something only a select few have access to or knowledge of and then act like you’ve just won a Kang make court case by doing all of the above. Derek dumb smart guy. He can fake the funk around people that don’t know any better but he is real average in the smarts department. The fact that he wanted to continue the play pen speaks to his neediness.

          • Who is the someone who told you that they knew better? I’d enjoy discussing these things with them.

            In the meantime, I will leave you in your deep philosophical waters where circle jerks of independent minded alpha males scream in tandem: “let’s go Brandon!”

            Finally, since you are unable, ask your friend about a hypothetical presidential directed siege at the capitol after congress votes down a minimum wage hike and then pardons all of the attackers so they’ll be ready, willing and able for the next time he decides that political thuggery is required to achieve a personal political end. I’d be really interested in what the person who says I’m dumb has to say about it. I’d have to assume that they, unlike you, would have the capacity to address the subject matter rather than the person who had the temerity to ask questions about an action whose critics include the very left wing newt gingrich.

          • Deal. Right after you explain how Jan 6th is the end all be all but two attempts on the president’s life is small potatoes. I’ll wait.

          • Newt is restating Marx’s greatest hits again:

            Ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Pres. trump’s pardons for Jan. 6ers who attacked police at the Capitol: “You have to wonder whether you really want to put people back on the street who haven’t paid their dues for having done those things.”

            What a commie, eh?

          • When Kash Patel reveals the conspiracy with evidence, ck back with me. At this point, its a nothing but conspiracy theory.

  17. Derek and friends “Fuck Dick Cheney! He’s a war criminal!” Also Derek and friends, “Wait what? We like W and Cheney now? Ok, never mind.” Reeeeeeeetarded.

  18. Derek your dumb ass will think whatever you’re told to think. You love the military industrial complex et al. So long as somebody from your team is their front man.

    • Meanwhile, the right picked, in your own opinions, the worst human beings in a row to be president:

      Bush, McCain, and Romney

      But y’all are really good at this and so very independent of thought.

        • We aren’t saying we hate her ya know. That is the difference.

          You hate who you picked. Four straight times.

          That’s some really stupid shit.

          To keep doing over and over and over.

          • I know who the political right in this country picked and I am willing to bet that in the near future the number goes from 4 to 7 and the same wingers will tell us they’re right and we’re wrong when they prop the next one up. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a single one enduring right wing ideological idea that has served this nation well.

            Meanwhile, these are just a few enduring liberal victories:

            Social Security
            Medicare
            Medicaid
            Affordable Care Act
            Civil Rights
            Worker Safety standards
            Minimum wage
            40 hour work week

  19. As has been recommended in years past, why don’t ya’ll get a room at the nearest establishment that’ll leave the light on for ya, cause I’m counting down for playpen hour to go the way of the Dodo bird, can’t believe all those that fell into the Jan 6 shithole, led by the local antagonistic ringleader…#MENTALFLOSSDAILY!!

      • 😆The fact that you would even post that tells me I had you pegged perfectly. Mediocre and insecure. Desperate for people to think otherwise.❄️😆

        • I can’t tell you how much telling everyone I graduated without honors boosts my ego.

          Embrace my academic mediocrity!! It was well earned.

          Now as a hell raiser, I graduated summa cum laude.

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