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Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

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Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#171
post #159
post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Notwithstanding its origins, it was subsequently adopted by racists as a rallying sign. Context matters.

Not going to lie but it’s apparent you will see racism wherever you want to despite the evidence.

What evidence? That it used to be (and still is in many contexts) totally non-racist? I agree with that. But it's also been coopted (humorously, but it still is a rallying sign).

To this day, the swastika is still a religious sign in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. It also carries a nefarious meaning in other contexts.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#172
post #93
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "ok" hand sign isn't a white power sign just because some people have decided it to be. It's meant ok since as long as anyone can remember. I'm not willing to accept I can't say okay now because some liberal thinkers have decided that that's now become racist. People need to lighten up a bit and not make everything an affront.

Or you can use context instead of absolute judgment. When done under water in a scuba suit, it probably means ok. When done when posing with Steve Bannon it probably means white power sign.

Having researched the issue carefully [0] I would suggest there is an alternative symbolic interpretation. One that goes something like "our opponents believe anything they read on the internet".

Even if it is used extensively as a political symbol, it doesn't represent white power. It represents a political sub-group disrespecting their opposition for being gullible.

Insofar as it even could represent white power - white power to do what? Have political opinions? It isn't seriously associated with anything heinous.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK_(gesture)#White_power_symbo...

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#173

So when we do get rid of presidential pardons? We've seen "an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president." ~Mitt Romney And we've seen pardons put up for sale.[0] Is the US a nation of laws and due process or a Banana Republic where anyone can be acquitted of anything? [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/us/politics/trump-pardons...

Pardons by the executive branch are a weapon of peace. It exists to allow the chief executive, whether the President or a Governor of a State, to settle any matter in their jurisdiction.

At the Presidential level, the power is absolute because the founders believed in the executive branch being centralized in a single individual, the President. Outside of Senate confirmation, there isn't much that limits the powers of the President and it's like that on purpose. The people get to have their say every four years.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#174
The fact that even fox news was onboard with pardoning Julian Assange and then he pardons Levandowski is... well ironic is an understatement. I am failing to find a word that encapsulates my feelings.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#175

So when we do get rid of presidential pardons? We've seen "an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president." ~Mitt Romney And we've seen pardons put up for sale.[0] Is the US a nation of laws and due process or a Banana Republic where anyone can be acquitted of anything? [0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/17/us/politics/trump-pardons...

[deleted]

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#176
post #172
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or you can use context instead of absolute judgment. When done under water in a scuba suit, it probably means ok. When done when posing with Steve Bannon it probably means white power sign.

Having researched the issue carefully [0] I would suggest there is an alternative symbolic interpretation. One that goes something like "our opponents believe anything they read on the internet". Even if it is used extensively as a political symbol, it doesn't represent white power. It represents a political sub-group disrespecting their opposition for being gullible. Insofar as it even could represent white power -…

Seems like you should do some more research

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#177
post #80
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or powerful ones: https://twitter.com/rsingel/status/1351783622362030082

The "ok" hand sign isn't a white power sign just because some people have decided it to be. It's meant ok since as long as anyone can remember. I'm not willing to accept I can't say okay now because some liberal thinkers have decided that that's now become racist. People need to lighten up a bit and not make everything an affront.

You could use the exact same argument for the swastika. The swastika became the symbol of nazism because the nazis decided it to be. It was a religious symbol for thousands of years at that point.

The key is to use context. A swastika on a temple that's older than nazism? Yeah, not a nazi symbol. A swastika on a flag at a right-wing protest in America in 2020? Probably not a religious symbol.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#178
post #38
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget to have the additionally-pardoned Michael Liberty join the efforts to attract investors. Over $50 million defrauded [0][2] from investors, and it wasn't his first rodeo with the SEC[1]. [0]: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2018/lr24092.htm [1]: https://www.pressherald.com/2016/11/30/sec-charges-ex-maine-... [2]: https://www.pressherald.com/2018/04/02/liberty-in-sec-crossh...

...is a Presidential pardon final come the next Administration? Or has that not really been tested in court?

There's a short from Legal Eagle about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9IRZ9FzWEA

There's also a difference between state and federal charges - even if they've been pardoned, they can still be charged for related crimes.

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#179
post #93
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "ok" hand sign isn't a white power sign just because some people have decided it to be. It's meant ok since as long as anyone can remember. I'm not willing to accept I can't say okay now because some liberal thinkers have decided that that's now become racist. People need to lighten up a bit and not make everything an affront.

Or you can use context instead of absolute judgment. When done under water in a scuba suit, it probably means ok. When done when posing with Steve Bannon it probably means white power sign.

"Paranoid dynamic of American politics."

Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned

#180
The actual title is "Statement from the Press Secretary Regarding Executive Grants of Clemency". Took a second to realize that the editorialized title is referring to Anthony Levandowski[1] (of Waymo / Google / Uber).

Upon first read I just saw the last name and thought it was related to his former campaign chair Corey Lewandowski[2]!

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Levandowski

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corey_Lewandowski

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