Trump's Phony "Free Speech" Defense

After a federal grand jury on Tuesday afternoon indicted Donald Trump with 4 charges related to subverting the results of 2020 election to remain in power illegally, Trump, one of his lawyers, and his surrogates in politics and conservative media have all predictably resorted to a Free Speech defense. As a matter of the First Amendment, they tell us, Donald Trump has the absolute and protected right to state a political opinion. This is no less than a Communist attack on the country's beloved Constitution! ...Or is it?

I said this Free Speech defense is predictable.... How predictable is it? It's so predictable that Special Counsel Jack Smith addressed it in literally the third paragraph under "Introduction" of his 45 page document. For example, see CNN's full text of indictment with annotation (1 Aug 2023).

3.  The Defendant had a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinant fraud during the election and that he had won. He was also entitled to formally challenge the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means, such as seeking recounts or audits of the popular votes in states or filing lawsuits challenging ballots and procedures. Indeed, in many cases the Defendant did pursue these methods of contesting the election results. His efforts to change the outcome in any state through recounts, audits, or legal challenges were uniformly unsuccessful.

As you read this you can sense there's a "But" coming. That "But" is spelled out in the next 43½ pages.

What's the "But"? The but is the difference between speech and conduct. The Constitution protects free speech. It does not guarantee free conduct. Rep. Jamie Raskin gave a vivid example of the difference in a media interview Wednesday:

You can say, well, I think the currency is phony and everybody should be allowed to make up their own money. You can say that. But the minute you start printing your own money now, you’ve run afoul of the counterfeit laws. And it’s the exact same thing with the Electoral College.

They can say, well, we don’t think that Joe Biden really won in these states, even though every federal and state court rejected all of their claims of electoral fraud and corruption. But the minute they start manufacturing counterfeit electors and trying to have them substitute for the real electors that came through the federal and state legal process, at that point, they’ve crossed over from speech to conduct.

Trump's Free Speech defense is a non-starter in any court of law. Unfortunately in the court of public opinion plus-or-minus half the country will think it's true.

Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter Sentenced to Death

On Wednesday a jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sentenced Robert Bowers to death. Bowers was the gunman who, on October 27, 2018, entered the Tree of Life Jewish synagogue and opened fire on congregants attending sabbath worship services there. Armed with an AR-15 style assault rifle and other firearms he killed 11 people and wounded 7 others, including 4 police officers who responded to the scene. Example news coverage: CNN article, 2 Aug 2023; NBC News article, 2 Aug 2023.

Bowers had a long history of activity in far-right hate group online forums. He posted about antisemitic beliefs and hatred of immigrants, including the "Great Replacement" theory that they are "invaders" who are stealing the US from its rightful White-Christian owner-occupants. In the trial the defense argued that such beliefs show Bowers is mentally ill and thus should be given a lighter sentence. The prosecution discredited that, and the jury didn't buy it.

Indeed, whereas once such odious beliefs were part of the far fringe, over the past several years they have become part of the Republican party mainstream. Donald Trump used the language of the The Great Replacement theory during his presidency and subsequently. Other elected Republicans, and popular personalities on conservative TV and radio programs, have also used the movement's arguments and terminology. Should the 30% or so of the US who unfortunately believe such evil be excused for acting out murderously because their beliefs are so hideous we might call them "insane"?

While I absolutely believe Bowers should be punished, harshly, I do not think a death sentence is appropriate. The death penalty is basically a broken system. And an expensive one, with all the mandatory appeals that routinely stretch decades. I'd have been happy to see a sentence of 18 life terms. To be served consecutively.

Regardless of what punishment the shooter gets, whether it's life in prison or death, nothing can undo the damage caused. And here I don't just mean the loss of life and the pain and suffering of the survivors. This synagogue shooting rang a bell than cannot be un-rung. It showed that Americans are not safe in their houses of worship. ...Well, not-White and/or not-Christian houses of worship. Part of my family is Jewish. At each of the temples they belong to the congregation has discussed whether and how to have armed guards at worship services. There was even an armed guard accompanying us in the cemetery at a burial service I attended a few years ago. This is insane... though not the type of insanity that can be addressed by medicine.

Beer Tasting: Four Sixes Amber Lager

One thing about beer tasting, as with just-about-anything tasting, is that sometimes you try something just because it's there and you haven't see it before and you're curious. Oh, it's still got to pass minimum standards. It can't look or smell like shit. The label's got to offer some promise. Even better yet is if the person next to you or the bartender can vouch for it, or Internet randos on some drinking site have given it at least 3.5 stars. 🤣

So it was with Four Sixes Grit & Glory Amber Lager. I saw it in an end-cap display at the local Lucky supermarket ("Lucky, owned by Save-Mart"), it was on sale, and a skim of beer rating sites showed it was at least half decent.



Four Sixes has suddenly appeared in my area with a few different varieties of beer. I picked the Grit & Glory amber lager because it's the one of their styles I tend to like most. In this beer tasting project I've sampled a lot of amber ale. Amber lager has some similar qualities, particularly a rich and mildly sweet flavor, but because it's a lager rather than an ale it has a softer taste profile.

I cracked open the first can of Grit & Glory in the early evening a few days ago and took it out to the balcony. I wasn't sure if this red lager would be a good "warm day in the back yard" sipper. It turned out it was. Also, the weather wasn't really that warm. The heat of the day had broken. The cooling air made the rich taste of the beer more enjoyable.

As I got halfway through the glass it struck me what this beer reminds me off: Killian's Irish Red. Except I haven't had a Killian's— I don't think I've even seen a Killian's— in at least 25 years. For whatever reason it's not distributed in San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles, the areas I've lived for the past 25+ years. Which is (a) weird that it's excluded from these major metros and (b) sad because I really liked Killian's back when I was in college. It was the first beer I tried that I genuinely enjoyed. It was my favorite brand for a few years until I moved out to California, then... whoops, it disappeared. A quick search shows multiples stores out by Sacramento carry it, 120 miles away— including, ironically, the store I shopped in Friday night in Folsom. So until next time I'm buying beer in Sac I guess I'll have to hope Save-Mart's off brand Lucky keeps carrying Four Sixes.