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Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
411–420 of 996 posts
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#412This is all so hilariously corrupt. I'm not sure I can even muster anger for this, just laughter. (I'll reserve the anger for the pandemic and this administration's callous, frankly criminal handling of it). (So Levandowski and Jared are going to launch a venture fund soon, right?)
Not to "both sides" this too much, because I do feel like there's a new, special level of corruption and self-dealing on display with this administration, but it's not uncommon for these guys to use pardons for personal gain or the benefits of their friends. For a little context and flavor, remember that Clinton pardoned some real winners on his last day too, including some guy who paid $200k to Hillary Clinton's bro…
Pardons have an interesting characteristic in that you can be both angry at unnecessarily harsh punishment (therefore, be happy with it being undone) but also be angry at the corruption that leads to the pardon (therefore, be angry at it being undone.)
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#413No Assange, no Snowden. What a fool I am, I seriously envisaged that could happen... Instead it’s just more and more corruption.
He pardoned a literal spy who was convicted of espionage of state secrets but he did not pardon Assange. Incredible.
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#414Earlier quoted context omitted.
Peter Thiel is a white nationalist? Interesting.
At least 75 million people are now white nationalists according to lefties. They're even coming up with new terms. Terms like "multiracial whiteness" to fit the new narrative. Who knows how many lists I'm on now.
Cry some more
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#415Earlier quoted context omitted.
Technically, a president could pardon all federal marijuana convictions, and announce that they will continue to do so for the remainder of their term. Basically, it could be used to address systemic problems in the federal court system. A large portion of Biden's term will probably be spent trying to return to norms, so I doubt anything like this would happen.
I'm for legalization of marijuana but think that's a terrible idea. This effectively makes one person the arbiter of law.
Most USA residents support marijuana legalization, and that has been the case for over a decade.
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#416Earlier quoted context omitted.
Constitution has some excellent checks and balances but the blanket pardon isn't one of them. The pardon doesn't do anything to address systemic problems in the justice system and has become a channel for doling out political favors.
The pardon power—for federal crimes only—also comes from a time when there just weren’t very many federal crimes. The framers did not predict the explosion of 18 USC that we’ve seen in the last century.
Which is probably an apt statement on the overgrowth of the federal government. The 10th Amendment has been so twisted and bent as to almost be unrecognizable.
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#417It's important to note the reason the President has the power to pardon anyone for any reason is it's one of the checks and balances, the Constitution is full of them. It's meant as a check to blunt overzealous prosecutions. Note that the President does not have the corresponding power to convict anyone. An interesting set of pardons was when Andrew Johnson pardoned all the rebels in the Confederacy, including Jeffer…
Sorry to break it to you, but as with many things in the US constitution, the reason the President can pardon people is because it's a modified copy of the British constitutional system of the time. The House is Parliament, the Senate is the House of Lords, and the president can pardon people because King George III could and the office of the presidency is a limited term elected kingship.
Executive orders are Royal decrees. The president signing laws is Royal Assent. Presidential pardons are Royal pardons. The power to adjourn Congress is proroguation. It goes on and on. Of course there are differences, but a lot of these things are still direct copies that never got reformed.
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#418I haven’t seen it asked so I’ll go: Why? I never imagined Trump and Levandowski being connected in any fashion. Does anyone have any insight into why Trump would pardon him?
You don't have to be high-profile or the President's buddy to receive an executive pardon (you can realize this by going through the article's list). Anyone* can petition and receive a pardon.
*: state offenses are handled by governors or a state pardon board, not the President
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#419I have to say there is quite a lot to learn from Levandowski.[0] I am not a fan of corruption but it's undeniable that he played whatever cards he had in life and played them hard. He'll probably be a shadowy billionaire quite soon. One quote stood out to me at the very end of the article: “The only thing that matters is the future,” he told me after the civil trial was settled. “I don’t even know why we study histor…
I believe that the most useful parts of the history are the parts that are not taught in history classes. Especially monetary history and past enterpreneurs, inventors and scientists. Not history written by winners of wars.
Here’s an example:
Re: Anthony Levandowski Pardoned
#420I have to say there is quite a lot to learn from Levandowski.[0] I am not a fan of corruption but it's undeniable that he played whatever cards he had in life and played them hard. He'll probably be a shadowy billionaire quite soon. One quote stood out to me at the very end of the article: “The only thing that matters is the future,” he told me after the civil trial was settled. “I don’t even know why we study histor…
I’d go further. Most current news is purely entertainment. You really don’t need to know everything that’s going on. Almost none of it is actionable. It’s fine as entertainment, but people are convinced they’re doing something important when they read the news, when as far as I can tell it’s just something they enjoy as a leisure activity.