Because They Stand on a Wall

David and Sarah discuss the stunning critique of the president from James Mattis, the events ...

Jun 4, 2020

David and Sarah discuss the stunning critique of the president from James Mattis, the events of the last 24 hours from Mark Esper breaking with the president to Tom Cotton’s op-ed, they then breakdown the charges against the police officer who had his knee on the neck of George Floyd, and end with their thoughts on ‘The Last Dance.’

Show Notes:

–James Mattis Denounces President Trump

–Derek Chauvin’s Actions Were Cruel. But a Conviction Won’t Come Easily.

–Explaining the New Second Degree Murder Charge Against Derek Chauvin

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Comments (11)

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TheKingPrawn 4 years ago

From an enlisted perspective, the Milley statement read like a reminder that the oath sworn is to the constitution primarily and obedience to POTUS only secondarily.

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Cecilia 4 years ago

I'd love to hear more about Sarah's experiences working on the Fiorina campaign.

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BWG 4 years ago

I so wish Jim Mattis would run for president, if only to make the conversations and debates more rational. He's a hometown hero for us here in the Tri-Cities WA, but I think I can set that aside and objectively say that at the very least he'd bring some refreshing thoughtfulness to a race. But maybe voters don't want rational, just sound bites. If so, I guess we get the leaders we deserve.

And I know, I know, he's repeatedly denied any interest. Kinda hoping current events would change his mind.

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Doug Palzer 4 years ago

I’ve been a bit confused. I’ve seen that Chauvin’s charge was upgraded, but I’ve also heard he is now facing both second and third-degree murder which I believe is the case. How does that work in practice? If he’s guilty of second-degree, is he automatically guilty of third too? Does he then receive two sentences?

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Emory 4 years ago

You have remarked several times about how pro Trump people focus on the media response to a Trump action or statement rather than actually defend the action or statement.. I believe I can explain this.

Imagine - it will not be easy - that the media from day one had bent over backwards to be fair to Trump even though they hated him. Imagine that they had not lied, spun, distorted, taken out of context over and over. That they had not pretended to think that his lame jokes were not jokes at all, but statements of policy. I believe that if this had happened a substantial part of Trumps base would not be pro Trump at all. I know people who started out neutral or even hostile to Trump who reacted with horror to the way the media treated him. It offended their basic sense of fairness. Over time, for some this outrage at the media's failure to conduct itself responsibly provoked an impulse to defend Trump. Over time some of these people came to actually support him even though his character and behavior would normally have repelled them.

Some voices, Sam Harris and Bob Wright for example, have been warning for years about the downside of irresponsible criticism of Trump. They said it would backfire and they were right.

Almost every day Trump does or says something that can be criticized and denounced without need for spin or distortion. If the media had limited itself to these things I think that the floor of his approval rating you talk about would be lower, maybe substantially lower.

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Brandon McLarty 4 years ago

I had food poisoning 3x last year within a month and never had it before then. David you are in for a rude awakening when you get it.

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Kaitlin Johnson 4 years ago

During the conversation about felony murder, Sarah said that if ‘you’ are robbing a bank and ‘your buddy’ shoots and kills someone, ‘you’ could be charged with felony murder (if I interpreted that right). So are ‘you’ charged with murder if the friend actually killed the person? Is guilt for the murder based on participation in the original felony?

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David French 4 years ago Staff

Yes, you can be charged with murder even if you didn't pull the trigger.

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Chris Jenkins 4 years ago

I think I recall a case in AZ where two men broke into a home, the homeowner shot and killed one of the intruders, and the other intruder was charged with felony murder.