Donald Trump was charged with a whopping 34 felony counts of falsifying business records—in the same New York courtroom where the Trump Organization was found guilty of tax fraud last year—and entered a plea of not guilty. Indictment focuses on 3 hush money cases, If convicted of all 34 felonies, the former president could go to prison for up to 136 years. Rolling Stone reported that Trump was “offered a chance to surrender quietly and be arraigned over Zoom,” but chose “a midday, high-profile booking at the Manhattan courthouse” in order to make it clear that he’s being crucified—and is happy to take the heat so his followers don’t have to. (BTW, none of Trump’s supporters have falsified business records to cover up a six-figure payment to an adult film star while running for president of the United States.) “It’s kind of a Jesus Christ thing,” a source familiar with Trump’s legal team told the outlet. “He is saying, ‘I’m absorbing all this pain from all around from everywhere so you don’t have to’ [and] ‘If they can do this to me they can do this to you’…that’s a powerful message.”
Trump's next scheduled court date in New York isn't until Dec. 4. That means a trial might not start until January, on the cusp of the 2024 Republican presidential nominating process. At Maralago, on the evening after the arraignment, Trump, of course said “This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election, and it should be dropped immediately,” But truthfully it wouldn't have mattered when or what was happening because Trump always paints himself as the victim. Being the victim seems to be his one and only superpower. For a guy who claims to be so smart he is always the innocent concerned official who is always the major victim. It will be the only crown of his legacy. A severely tainted crown, but a crown nonetheless.
We are now so desensitized to the frequency of mass shootings that we now actually give a sigh of relief and say "Thank God, it was only six people, it could have been so much worse." Before we have even emotionally absorbed one tragedy there will be another in a matter of days. " What is wrong with us?", a letter to the editor in a Louisiana paper writes, "When did holding on to power and "winning" become more important than the sanctity of life? When did we give up on the concept of community and working together to create a better, safer, more equitable community for everyone?"
The 98th Session of the South Dakota Legislature wrapped up Monday with Veto Day. Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported: "Winner: Criminal Justice.' The state is funding the construction of two new prisons to ease overcrowding at the women’s facility in Pierre and the men’s facility in Sioux Falls. Construction on the women’s prison in Rapid City is slated to start in the summer. Meanwhile, the Department of Corrections will start the process to design and find the next location for the men’s penitentiary in the Sioux Falls area."
Yet the prison population of South Dakota is about twice that of North Dakota. Before they spend money to build a new prison, they might try using North Dakota as a template to reduce prison population to half of what it is now.
The Leader writes "Reducing the prison population by half should solve our short and long term prison problems. A rough calculation suggests that half the prison population would need half the space, half the staff and a lot less expense. This should be very attractive to fiscal conservatives.The prisons are currently managed by the Department of Corrections. The high numbers of people who return to our prison system suggests they are not correcting much."
