Happy Friday, everyone! I’m not sure where to start with this one. Headline? Or more comical first. I didn’t intend for this to be video day but it sure seems like it now. So yesterday, the Special Counsel’s office released it’s findings of the handling of classified documents. One of findings was that his memory was terrible – he had trouble recalling specific things while he was Vice-President, where his son died, and a debate on troop levels in Afghanistan. Prosecutors recommended no charges but seriously blamed his memory. I wanted to get the full quote below.
“At trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the prosecutors wrote in their report released Thursday. “Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone for whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”
Then I’m not sure who thought it was a good idea to then have him out taking questions. But – that happened. He went on to call the President of Egypt, the President of Mexico. Video below.
My take on all of this. Well, firstly, lets start with the memory. Yes, his memory is probably shot. Memory declines after the age of forty. Now apply that to an eighty year old. Trump – Biden. Both have failing memories. Just weeks ago, Trump said Nikki Haley was at the Capitol building on January 6th when he meant Nancy Palosi.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Iran multiple times when he was referencing Israel. He’s half of the age of Biden/Trump. Mistakes happen – but there is obvious cognitive decline in both candidates.
As far as his lack of memory to the Special Counsel’s office. You’re told by legal not to answer if you’re not sure as then it’ll be public record. It could be used against you. So what happens? You get a lot of ‘I don’t remember’s’. Just watch the video below (No audio – nothing wrong with your computer), and you’ll see what I mean.
Lord, help us now that these are our best candidates. What is going on? On the one hand, a man who doesn’t understand that his mental faculties are failing and it’s time to do the dignified thing and pass the torch vs. an extreme narcissist who has said we should pause the constitution.
The Supreme Court heard arguments about whether Section 3 can deny Trump office. Whether it makes him ineligible. The Justices seem to think that Section 3 would only apply to him from holding office, not running for office. Also, Section 3 applies to the election, not each state election.
Justice Samuel Alito’s questioning flagged a third option for ‘who decides’: the House of Representatives. Section 3 specifically states that disqualified candidates cannot “hold any office.” Holding office, suggested Alito, is different from running for office—so perhaps Section 3 can only stop you from being sworn in and holding an office, not from campaigning and getting elected. Under that logic, no state could invoke Section 3 in the run-up to any election (never mind that states have kept folks out of state races numerous times before—including, most recently, a January 6th insurrectionist in New Mexico)
But even more bizarre, what Alito’s argument implies is that the only way Section 3 could operate in the 2024 cycle is if Trump is on the ballot (because states cannot keep him off under Section 3), wins in November, and the House of Representatives, under the nominal leadership of the vice president, then refuses to gavel in the Electoral College votes for him on January 6, 2025. At that point, the theory goes, the question would technically be about holding office rather than running for it, so Section 3 would come alive.
Moving on….
Aaron Rodgers was on Joe Rogan and discussing his road back.
And lastly. The Foreplay Podcast from Barstool Sports (one of the first golf podcasts with just Bros playing golf and discussing golf) had Paige Spiranac on. She had an interesting take on them being the OG’s of ‘Internet Golf Fame’. I literally had to look up what OG meant. I guess I’m not hip enough.
OG stands for “original gangster” and is a slang term that originated in hip-hop culture. It is used to refer to someone who is influential or highly respected within a particular area or domain. Over time, it has evolved to be used more broadly to denote someone as being an original or longstanding member of a particular group or community.
Paige had a good response.