I'd call it a "flawed democracy." The ideals behind it were sound, but the execution left much to be improved upon. And we've made many improvements (though we still have a ways to go).
Still, even a flawed democracy is preferable to Dictator Trump.
I want to say "Well, the military won't comply with those commands" and maybe they wouldn't, but if we even get into that position we're in deep trouble.
Hey, we can't let kids know what words mean!
Bans the dictionary
The lying bit is where he claims that he'll only be a dictator for one day. How many dictators have given themselves ultimate power and then gave it up willingly after a single day?
If Trump regains office, he'll assert dictatorial powers. Maybe we can survive this via a mass uprising, but it's unlikely. It would be like needing to survive open heart surgery, chemotherapy, and five organ transplants all at once. Could a patient survive this? Maybe, but the prognosis wouldn't be good and even if they did, they'd be in horrible shape for quite a long time.
The best way of surviving Trump is to make sure he never gets close to the White House (or any other position of power) ever again. And, while we're at it, vote against any Republican who kisses up to Trump. (So, basically, all of them.)
"I'd totally murder people, but that evil federal government would lock me up for murder? Can you believe the audacity?!!! I really want to murder these people, but they won't let me. Total government overreach! Whatever happened to states' rights?"
Big strong men come up to him, with tears in their eyes, saying "how do you do it, sir? How do you lose so many lawsuits?!!!"
Jail time in such a contempt is usually issued as "suspended" meaning that it's ordered, but if the person doesn't fuck up for a period, and obeys the final order, then they don't actually have to go to jail.
So all Trump would need to do would be good and not act up?
He's going to prison!
My guess (also not a lawyer) is to render the verdict as appeal proof as possible. If he wasn't allowed to speak, he would have claimed that his rights were violated and if he had been allowed to give the closing remarks himself, he would have been found totally Innocent.
Engoron let him talk relatively briefly, cut him off when it was clear he wasn't staying on topic, and closed off this appeal argument.
In many of the cases that Republicans refuse abortions for, there is no baby at the end. If a woman is at risk of dying and the fetus has such severe abnormalities that it will breathe twice and die, then what's the argument against an abortion? It could save the woman's life and wouldn't "kill a baby" (even if I accepted that abortion killed a baby - which I don't).
But the Republican line seems to be that a woman needs to be actively dying before they'll even start to consider allowing her to have a life saving medical procedure.
Also, it is easy to say "I'm not voting for Biden, I want someone else" right now. There aren't any consequences.
But come November and suddenly the consequences become more immediate. Many more people say they will vote third party than actually do it once in the voting booth.
I knew I recognized that expression.
"Are you pooping?"
"Nnnnnnoooo?"
"You're pooping aren't you?"
"Not anymore!"
I think my Four Seasons LEGO build is done. Only one problem: I likely won't be able to build this beyond this BrickLink Studio render. I uploaded it to BrickLink to price out the build. It would cost $96 to buy all the parts (and that's before shipping). This definitely isn't in my budget. ☹️
Maybe I could one of the sections and just swap out the season pieces. That would be more like $25 plus shipping. Still pricey, but closer to my budget.
I got a Wizard minifigure from my LEGO store for free on my birthday and decided to do what I've been doing with all my minifigures - build him a biome.
This is what I have so far in BrickLink Studio. What do you think?
We took Dewey the Parakeet for his annual vet appointment. He was nervous during the car ride, but handled it well all things considered. (I tried to keep the ride as smooth as possible, but turns, stops, bumps, etc were inevitable.)
While waiting for the vet, he let his daddy (my son) scratch his face. There were a few loud dogs but Dewey took it in stride.
Dewey only really got nervous when we went in the room. I think he remembered last time in that room. Sure enough "towel lady" (the vet's assistant) grabbed him with a towel and held him still. This doesn't hurt him, but he was not amused.
The doctor checked him out and was very happy with his plumage and how healthy he looked. His nails didn't even need to be trimmed because apparently Dewey has learned how to keep them trim all on his own. Then, Dewey was weighed (which he really didn't like). He's no longer a 35 gram bird. Now he's a big boy at 43 grams! (All muscle, though. Not fat.)
After a quick trip home, Dewey relaxed and calmed down. Such a brave little guy!
One big lesson from Trump's presidency was that many of the rules we thought constrained politicians were only "Gentlemen's Agreements." They held up because everyone agreed to abide by them. When Trump walked in, refused to abide by them, and wasn't immediately struck by the political equivalent to lightning from heaven, all the politicians on the right decided that they could toss those pesky rules aside also.