Transcripts For CNNW Smerconish 20240704

He faces legal peril from prosecutors, the stronger his standing among republicans, which is no doubt why his gop rivals largely avoid confronting him for the 91 Felony Counts he faces. Its why in Ron Desantiss prep for next weeks debate, his super pac has advised him to take a hammer to Vivek Ramaswamy but defend trump if trump is attacked by chris christie. Here was some reaction after Fulton County d. A. Fani willis indicted trump and 18 codefendants for state rico violations. South carolina senator tim scott said this. We see the legal system being weaponized against political opponents. That is unamerican and unacceptable. Vivek ramaswamy said that should he become president , he would pardon trump. And he said this. The reality is this, these are politicized persecutions through prosecution. Trumps former Vice President mike pence, who has criticized trump for putting himself above the constitution, says he prefers that trumps fate be decided, quote, by voters, not criminal courts. Florida Governor Ron Desantis said, i think its an example of the criminalization of politics. I dont think that this is something that is good for the country. Even chris christie, who has been consistently critical of trumps underlying conduct told cnn he thought that jack smiths 2020 election case sufficiently covers trumps alleged georgia charges. I didnt think it was a necessary thing to do once you saw that jack smith was charging him federally for the very same conduct. We would have these discussions amongst federal and State Prosecutors when i was u. S. Attorney and we would work it out so we didnt do these things. Im a little bit concerned this had to do with ego more than anything else. Asa hutchinson also questioned the overreach by the georgia d. A. Only will hurd described the findings as, quote, further evidence that trump knew he lost the 2020 election and was ready to do anything it took to cling to power. Christie, hutchinson and hurd have been the only to criticize trump directly. The rest, fingers to the wind, wont step out against trump until the base tells them the coast is clear. Yet, a new a. P. Poll says 69 of americans overall say they dont want trump to run again. By the way, take a look at that other number, because thats exceeded by the 75 who say they dont want biden to run again. Among republicans, according to the same poll, nearly twothirds or 63 now say they want the former president to run again. Thats actually up from the 55 who said the same thing in april. And 70 of republicans now say theyve got a favorable opinion of a man whos four times indicted up from 60 just two months ago. Think about that for a moment. Donald trump has seen a 10 increase in favorability of republicans after being criminally charged for allegedly taking Nuclear Secrets to his private residence, using false claims of voter fraud to pressure officials to overturn results, and falsifying Business Records to hide a Hush Money Payment to a porn star with whom he had an extramarital affair. I think many republicans who are part of Donald Trumps rise in favorability were prepared to discard the former president on their terms, but not when told they must. When an interloper arrives to a political family squabble, they unify, and instead they turn their aggression on the outsider, much like what often happens when police have to respond to a Domestic Dispute, which is one of the most perilous calls that Law Enforcement must respond. Heres the data. 503 officers nationwide were killed between 2011 and 2020, 43 of them while responding to domestic disturbance or violence calls. Last fall, 27yearold cop who was an air force veteran, killed in colorado while trying to break up a large family disturbance. A cnn piece on this phenomena quoted Professor John shane of the college of Criminal Justice, and he said peoples emotions are already elevated due to whatever dispute theyre involved in, and now you bring in the coercive power of the state. People are angry to see you knowing theres potential to be arrested and incarcerated. This week i tracked down dr. Shane. He has a ph. D. In Criminal Justice from rutgers university. Hes researched specifically in this area. Hes written a number of books. I sent him an email with my offthecuff theory and i asked him if he saw parallels to how a couple in a domestic disturbance unites against a Police Officer in comparison to how trump seems to benefit, at least among republicans, from each indictment. I said, in my theory, the fighting couple are like republicans, perhaps ready to leave one another or leave trump, until such time as an outsider, in this case prosecutors, police, tell them they must separate. Then they rebel against their interloper and they stick together, much like republicans stand with trump. Had the cop not arrived, they might have left one another, they might have had a divorce. Had trump not been indicted, they might have moved to another candidate. I asked Professor Shane for his thoughts. He wrote me back with scientific underpinning of my observation. He said, i can see the parallels. What you describe fits the ingroup outgroup theory of human relations. Although the ingroup members may disagree with one another, they will unite against a common enemy, the outgroup. Research shows outgroup threat has been identified as an important driver of ingroup cohesion among humans. Humans tend to display a certain intolerance toward outgroup behavior, such as policies. So in our example, politics, the ingroup will more easily justify or rationalize their wrong, meaning trumps indictments, as long as it advances their agenda, i. E. , power and prestige because theyre biassed in favor of trump, who holds sway over their constituent base. Although the Domestic Violence victim in this analogy, republicans, would like nothing more than to part ways with trump, that family member, trump, still comes first. Sure, weve had our differences, but blood is thicker than water. Im always here for you no matter what. Makes sense, right, at least to me as an explanation as to why, having been indicted four times, donald trump has seen his position strengthened among republicans. There is, however, a flip side. The reaction among democrats, the exact opposite, maybe like the neighbors who want the homes on their block to be in order, democrats are looking on in horror, ready to take action of their own if the cops cant quell the violence. That same poll found that while most republicans, 74 , said they would support trump in november of 2024, overall 53 of americans said they would definitely not support him if hes the nominee, and another 11 said they probably would not do so. After all, bias tends to bind. Now, many have cited the importance of fani willis indictments as being from a state, not federal prosecutor, because they would not be subject to a pardon should trump or another republican president try to give one. This begs an interesting question. Is it the prosecutors role to worry about the issue of pardons when deciding to bring charges . Cnn Senior Analyst ellie honig raises this point in a piece on his website, the problem with pardon proofing, and hes here to discuss. Should a prosecutor, someone in your old role, ever worry this individual, this defendant may get pardoned and then act accordingly . Michael fani willis d. A. Prompted me to think indepth about that question. My answer is, no, i dont think its proper or appropriate for prosecutors to worry about trying to counteract or prevent pardons. I base that on two principles. The first one is the constitution. The u. S. Federal constitution and most State Constitutions vest the pardon power in the Chief Executive, the president of the United States, and in most states in the governor. If youre a prosecutor, as i once was, you are working as part of the executive branch. Whose job is it then to hand out pardons . Isnt it sort of an arrogant position by prosecutors to say, im going to try to frustrate the will of the Chief Executive who heads the very branch in which i work . I start off with that institutional argument. This is reminiscent for me where im sitting here listening to you and reflecting on a commentary i delivered on cnn a week ago where i was similarly analyzing whether its proper for prosecutors to game out the timing of a trial according to the election calendar. I took the view that thats improper. Do you see parallels between the two . I do, because in the prosecutorial ideal, youre not thinking about politics at all. We strive to be separate from politics. Look at the justice manual, any state a. G. They will say, we have nothing to do with politics, we dont consider politics. Part of the problem with the scheduling of this trial, its obvious doj and all the prosecutors are thinking about the election and theyre trying to get it in before the election. Theyre not saying it, but its clear theyre very much focused on the election. This brings me to my second point about why its problematic for prosecutors to think about counteracting pardons. How are we deciding which pardons were going to try to essentially undo . If youre a federal prosecutor, you fear a president might pardon your case, which case do you send over to the state . Which of the hundreds of pardons that a president will issue, do you call across the state and say, i want you to pick this up . How are we making these decisions, and is it possible to separate those from politics . I dont think it is. I totally get your point. It seems like its a selective prosecution. By the way, this is not some esoteric conversation. If i think of bannon and manafort, how do they fit into what youre describing . Those are two recent examples. Both were charged or convicted federally. Donald trump pardoned both of them on his way out of office. What happened in both instances was State Prosecutors picked up the charge. Paul manafort went really poorly because State Prosecutors in new york charged him after he had been pardoned and the state courts said you cant do that. Thats not fair play. Steve bannon was charged federally, then pardoned by trump, and then recharged by the state. That prosecution remains ongoing. This makes my point. Why should Paul Manafort and Steve Bannon Be Reprosecuted but not any of the hundreds of other people pardoned by donald trump . Pick your president. Are they being picked out simply because theyre seen as politically odious by certain prosecutors . I think thats the only answer and i think thats unacceptable. I guess what youre saying, the same rules ought to apply to trump, no better or worse than any other defendant. People can send all their negative reaction to you on this one and not to me. Please do. Bring it on. Im going to read something from social media. What do we have that loosely applies to what we are discussing . You asserted trump leads in the polls because of his indictments. Nonsense. You are confusing coincidence with causality. Elie, im going to say so long to you. Thank you for being here, as always. Can you put that back on the screen . I dont know if you have the ability to do this. So this person says that i asserted trump leads in the polls because of his indictments. That is absolutely what im saying. Do you have the ability now to put up the full screen that shows the rise in trumps favorability in the last two months . Regardless of whether you can find that okay. You dont have it. I can tell you its gone from 60 to 70 . When i asked david and anyone else watching this question, how else do you explain that trumps Approval Rate was 60 two months ago and now is 70 . I ask you, what else has happened in the last two months pertaining to trump . Has there been any Policy Speech . Has there been any new information about his record . Has he put forth any plan that youve not heard of before . Has he distinguished himself in any way . Nothing has happened. You can make a case about things that have gone well or not well for biden, but in trump world the only thing thats happened in the last two months is hes gotten indicted four times and his numbers have spiked. So it totally fits with the theory ive advanced that it is akin to an outsider coming to a Domestic Dispute and the family thats fighting, they train their guns, figuratively speaking, sometimes not with cops, on the outsider. Ahead, even before any of these trials commence, might donald trump already be ineligible to run for president . Thats the argument two conservative Law Professors advance. They say his conduct already has violated the 14th Amendment Banning candidates who encourage in insurrection or rebellion. How about this one . A catholic massachusetts couple alleges that their Foster Parent application was denied due to their religious views including on lgbtq issues. They contend this violates their First Amendment rights. Might this prove to be yet another repercussion of the recent scotus decisions . I want to know what you think. Go to smerconish. Com and answer this question. Should perspective adoptive parents be required to pledge a willingness to be affirming of a child who may later identify as lbgtqia . And theres this. Toga, toga, toga, the rallying cry of that 1978 frat comedy animal house, i admit to having seen it at least 15 times in the 45 years since it was released, but i never considered the societal change it unleashed. Im going to discuss with a film critic who first saw it as a dartmouth student at an advanced screening on campus. Mr. Dorfman. Hello. 0. 2. Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son. Than detergent alone. If you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have Downy Unstopables inwash scent boosters. Cargurus. Shop. Buy. Sell. Online. My name is wendy, im 51 years old, and im a hospital administrator. 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They are proponents of originalism which aims to determine what the original meaning was intended by the constitutions framers. The 14th amendment was ratified in the wake of the civil war. Section 3 says no person shall be a senator or representative in congress or elector of president and Vice President , or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States or any other state who, having previously taken an oath to support the constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But congress may, by a vote of twothirds of each house, remove such disability. The authors argue this section disqualifies former president donald trump, and potentially many others, because of their participation in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 president ial election. Joining me is ned foley, constitutional law professor at the ohio state university, where hes director of the election law program. Hes also a columnist for the Washington Post, where he recently wrote this piece. Quote forget the trump trials, he might already be ineligible for 2024. Nice to have you back. There has been no such finding, no due process for donald trump. So according to you, what now needs to happen . Good to be with you. I think timing is crucial here. If donald trump is allowed to be on the ballot and then wins, i think he needs to be permitted to take office. Thats only fair to the voters. On the other hand, if hes already disqualified constitutionally from being president even if he wins, then he shouldnt be on the ballot, also to be fair to the voters, because voters need to be able to choose between eligible candidates. So youre absolutely right, there needs to be a trial. Doesnt have to be a criminal trial, could be a civil trial to adjudicate the relevant factual issues of does this constitutional provision apply to trumps conduct. How practical is it . Now were talking about trial number five, that this issue could be litigated and reach the Supreme Court of the United States before the Republican Convention next july in wisconsin . Its going to happen anyway. The question is how orderly it happens. Some private groups have already said theyre going to try to litigate this issue to kind of force it. I dont think thats the best way to go. I think it would be much more orderly if a Legislature Set a proper procedure. Your audience may know about the socalled shadow docket of the Supreme Court where the court hears emergency petitions. Its going to get to the Supreme Court probably before the primaries on the shadow docket. It would be a lot better on the merits docket in time for the convention, as you say, next summer. So a State Legislature would authorize a State Secretary Of state to disqualify him from a ballot, litigation would follow, that would go up the food chain. I want to ask you about this. Im going to put on the screen a poll. This is the Associated Press and norc, and voters were asked whether donald trump, after 2020s election, did more to threaten or defend democracy. Ive highlighted for viewers the fact that 43 of republicans, nearly twice of this opinion, that he did more to defend democracy. My point is, a lot of folks in the Republican Party see it the way that he sees it. Are you concerned that if there is some judicial determination that hes disqualified himself because of the 14th amendment, there could be anarchy . Well, i agree with you that this is perilous times were in. The question is how do we best handle that procedurally for the sake of the nation as a whole. Thats why i want to emphasize as difficult as it is, its essential to do this before the election rather than afterwards. The thing i fear the most is this idea that congress after the vote could take peoples vote away. That, to me, would be the ultimate crisis, which is why i think we have to figure out the best way to handle this ahead of time. In other words, now were all familiar with what happens january 6th after an election. Youre saying in the january 6th of 2025, we dont want to have this issue now be argued by the congress and throw us into a state of chaos . Exactly. Thats the key point. Thank you. Its provacative and i appreciate your time. Thanks for having me. More Social Media Reaction. What do we have that has come in during the course of the program . Trump will be the nominee because of not in spite of the indictments, will be the nominee because of, not in spite of the indictments. So if democrats really want to damage his candidacy, they would stop indicting him. Ive not recommended that they stop indicting him. Im trying to point out that the polling makes clear that his hand has been strengthened with each subsequent indictment. And i said this in my open commentary today, this is based on anecdotal information, but i sense that many republicans were ready for a choice, were ready to see all those on the stage come wednesday night. But they take umbrage at the perception that outsiders are trying to take that choice away. Let us decide if we want to leave this guy, but dont tell me what im going to do. Thats what i sense is going on. An Iraq War Veteran and his wife allege that their application to become Foster Parents was denied because of their religious views, including their feelings about lgbtq issues. They claim a violation of their First Amendment rights. Im about to speak to their lawyer. I want to remind you that i want you to go to smerconish. Com and answer this weeks poll question, should perspective adoptive parents be required to pledge a willingness to be affirming of a child who may later identify as lbgtqia . And the raucous frat comedy animal house released 45 years ago this month. Im one of those always quoting it. But film critic ty burr argues behind the laughs, it became a turning point in americas politics and cultural wars, giving permission to a sense of national selfishness. Hell be here to explain. This year were going to grab the bull by the balls and kick those punks off campus. What do you intend to do, sir . Delta is already on probation. They are . Yes, sir. Oh. Then as of this moment, theyre on double secret probation. I just found the biggest Weight Loss Hack for yall the truth is there is no quick fix. But there is a more effective way to lose weight and it isnt what you think. Its actually noom. Its two times more effective than doing it on your own. Get started right now by taking the noom quiz. Businesses need 5g solutions today. Thats why they choose tmobile for business. Mlb partners with tmobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. 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Well, we can do anything. Cheesecake cookies . The chookie manage all your sales from one place with a partner that always puts you first. we did it start today at godaddy. Com do you want to dance . Huh . Do you want to dance . Yeah. You know you make me want to shout, kick my heels up and throw my hands up shout that was from National Lampoons animal house. Hard to believe 45 years since the release in the summer of 1978. Despite a budget of 3 million, the film took over american pop culture, pulling in nearly 142 million at the box office. Until recently i saw it as a chaotic comedy until this week when i read ty burrs Opinion Piece in the Washington Post entitled i was on campus when animal house debuted it changed everything. He argues that the movie was much more than a celebration of fraternity debauchery. He makes the case it was a political and cultural milestone. Ty burr is the author of ty burrs watch list. In july of 1978 he attended a Preview Screening of the film as a student at dartmouth, where he says he saw his classmates inspired by new principles, the right to say what you wanted, Offend Whomever you wanted, and grab the Rewards You Felt were yours. Thank you so much for being here. You attending that screening for the movie just off campus at dartmouth in hanover at a small theater. What happened that night . What happened that night was that the place went wild, because it is a hilarious movie. I want to stress that you could enjoy this movie absolutely as a movie. I have to point out that one of the screenwriters was in attendance, chris miller. He was a dartmouth alumni who had gone to one of the more notorious fraternities on campus, one that isnt recognized anymore because they were branding the flesh of new members. Nevertheless, the audience went wild. I literally remember him being carried on the shoulders of Cheering Fraternity Guys down frat row at dartmouth. It was as though all the debauchery and fun was given the okay, had been the cultural okay. There had never been a College Comedy that said, yeah, were identifying with the, quote, unquote, losers. We love these guys, we love the fun they have, we love their outlook on life. That definitely connected. I saw it with my own eyes. Im one of those, for better or worse, seven years of college down the drain, did it matter when the germans bombed pearl harbor. We could go on and on. Ive never put it in a political context the way that you did. Im going to put something on the screen and read it aloud. You wrote, by 1978, the Progressive Liberalism that had sustained the Counter Culture from before the Civil Rights Era to the fall of nixon had started to feel like oppressive doctrine. Still, if you were young and in college, you had to subscribe to it, didnt you . Animal house said you didnt and you didnt have to mean it at all. The movie fed into frustration with an overbearing political correctness, the fear that you couldnt say what you wanted to without stepping on someones toes. Youre here to argue this was the beginning of what kind of an era . I would say to me and you can put too much weight on it, but the piece is to play around with the idea, the transition between the 60s and the 80s, and the 70s should be understood as a period of disco and be put aside. When even the Frat Culture Sort of had to Pay Lip Service in public to, yeah, we believe in these things, these progressive ideas. The movie allowed them to say, no, i can just have fun. I can be into whatever i want to be. I will say that and this is ironic, it resonated with the more conservative forces on the campus at that time. You may remember that the dartmouth review, the first conservative college newspaper, started up two years later and the students who started it were in that audience and have written about being affected by that movie and wanting to be pluto. Can i make this point . Those of us who wore togas are now older parents or grandparents. As you point out, 45 years later the wheel has turned once more. The students who embraced the films shredding of taboos are aging parents and grandparents that make sexist jokes or use the wrong pronouns. Is there another lesson in the cycle that springs from animal house . I dont know if id go that far yet. But i will say that the wheel turns and that youre having Younger Voters come into this election, and they are probably, possibly going to look at this movie and other movies of their ilk, those 80s comedies with a more jaundiced, jaded, unaccepting eye. Theyll still be funny, but the wheel always turns and will also turn back. Thank you for that. Appreciate you being here. Checking in on Social Media Reaction now, what do we have . Animal house was okay, not great. Calm down. Oh, okay. Is my exuberance showing . Hey, you want to hear one more thing about animal house . I pulled the original Washington Post review to the movie, gary arnold, august 11, 1978. Animal house emerges as an enjoyable sophomoric as far as, too episodic and shallowly driesive. I think not. Up ahead, can your religious views disqualify you from becoming a Foster Parent . Should perspective adoptive parents be required to pledge a willingness to be affirming of a child who may later identify as lg lgbtq ia . Well do that next. And up to 7,500 cash. Enter today for your chance to win. Visit pods dot com. He snores like an angry rhino. Youve never heard an angry rhino. Baby i hear one every night. Every night. Okay. Ill work on that. Save 50 on the sleep Number Limited Edition smart bed. Plus, free Home Delivery when you add a base. 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This backtoschool season tide and downy are giving back with 1. 5 Million Dollars in scholarships. Enter to win. A massachusetts couple alleging their application to become Foster Parents was denied based on their religious views and stance on the lgbtq . Michael burke and his wife catherine, a special education caregiver, always wanted kids. After experiencing the heartbreak of infertility, the couple began the application process to foster children. A part of the process required getting their opinions on raising an lgbtq child. As devout catholics, the couple stands with their church in support of traditional marriage and sexuality. According to the social workers report, when they were asked about a child who could be lgbt, or struggled with their ge gender identity, she responded, lets take the t out of it and call genderaffirming care chemical castration. Michael burke was asked if his son loved a man, what would he do . Didnt you say if you had a son and you learned he was gay, you would love him regardless and you would welcome him and support him if he wanted to marry another man . No. One of the things with our catholic faith is we love one another as god has loved us. I love every person. Do i agree with it . No. Its hate the sin, not the sinner. I would love that child no matter, just like my mother loved me when i did something wrong. They claim their First Amendment rights were violated. Theyre suing the States Department of children and families. The Lawsuit Requests to dismiss their Application Denial so theyre not barred from fostering or adopting children in the future. Joining me is william hahn, the attorney for them. Thanks so much for being here. You get to answer this weeks poll question. Should perspective adoptive parents be required to pledge a willingness to be affirming of a child who may later identify as lbgtqia . I think the answer is no ones First Amendment rights are subjected to a popularity contest. The Supreme Court has made very clear that it is odious to our constitution to say because of your religious beliefs, you dont get to participate in public life. Thats exactly what happened here. Massachusetts acknowledged they were a loving couple, that they had many strengths as Foster Parents. That they would be particularly good with children who have Behavioral Health needs. Nevertheless, because of their beliefs, they were excluded. Thats unconstitutional. And its a tragedy given the crisis in massachusetts. There are children in hospitals, children in office buildings, and they wanted to open their home. But to massachusetts that was unacceptable. What if we remove i know very important to your case is the religious aspect of it, and i appreciate that. What if we remove religion . What if its an atheist or agnostic couple and the facts are otherwise the same . How would that case play out . Yeah, that has no relationship here because from the very beginning of the case, massachusetts made clear, as the licensed review team said, it was the familys beliefs. And as the person who did the study for dcf said, their faith is not supportive and neither are they. This is a case of religious discrimination and the First Amendment gives a clear answer to that question, and its been an issue thats come up, unfortunately, across the country for religious traditions of various forms, seventh day adventist, other families, muslims, protestants, massachusetts has said you dont get to participate in public life if you have these beliefs. I acknowledge, i read your complaint, you attached to your complaint the entire file, so im read in on this. There are some troubling aspects. Yes, a lot of fine qualities, not the least of which is that your client is an Iraq War Veteran. You know what the file contains. Im going to run through a couple of these. This writer asked about how they would feel if their child were identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, year or any other sexuality. Kitty shared theres nothing wrong with it, im going to love you the same. But i believe you would need to live a chaste life. Is that a dealbreaker if the mom says if the son or daughter is lesbian, whatever, theyre going to have to be chaste . I think it shows that mike and kitty wanted to work with the state and have conversations with their children. This is building a family, this is having a relationship. And instead of allowing that kind of flexibility to happen, massachusetts just decided on an ironclad rule at the beginning, we wont even try to work with you, youre totally excluded from the system. Thats both unnecessary and its unconstitutional. Here is another. The couple expressed that they are not open to genderaffirming care and believe that partnership outside of heterosexual relationships is a sin. How should massachusetts or any other state protect a child against the possibility in the future of intolerance . I think what mike and kitty said is that they would be willing to have conversations with their child or with the child about what was going on in their life before they did anything that would be lifealtering. Thats proof that they would be good parents. Its not a reason to categorically forever exclude them from helping children. Here is a Social Media Reaction. Lets respond to it together. I have no idea what it says, but it pertains to this case. Put it up on the screen. No, this person answers the question, should adoptive parents have to affirm they will support a child if they change religion, have an abortion, pick a different political party, getting cancer, putting one social issue in the process is what causes the gop to say woke is driving our policies. I mean, you and i have had this conversation on my siriusxm radio program, and certain callers said things change. Whatever the perspective might be of your clients today is not how theyll feel in the future, especially given the pace of Perceptional Change of samesex relationships. Ill give you the final word. I think in terms of things changing, the issue is the discretion that massachusetts has. It has a lot of flexibility and that flexibility is meant to maximize the number of Foster Parents and ensure a good fit with kids. But instead of going down that road, massachusetts turned that discretion into a weapon against religious beliefs it doesnt like. The First Amendment has a clear answer to that question, no. William hahn, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. Still to come, more of your best and worst social media comments, and youll get the final result of the poll question. By the way, when you go to vote today, register for the free daily newsletter. Youll love it. 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Never enough truffles. How much are they . Its a lot. Oh okay im good, that its like a priceless piece of art. Enjoy. Or when they sell you what they want . Yeah. The more we understand you, the better we can help you. Thats what u. S. Bank is for. Huge relief. Yeah. Theres the result thus far. Whoa 50 50. You know whats interesting . When i voted, there were 1,200 votes cast, and it was within half a percentage point. Now 23,854 and that held, which i find remarkable. Its a hard issue. I mean, to look at the file is to recognize these are good people, but they have issues with lgbtqia issues. So you want to be protective of a child in the future, but if you remove religion, i think it becomes a more clear case. If you leave religion in this file, then you say, oh, well, you cant discriminate against them because of their faith, and that would be right. Quick Social Media Reaction. Enough bloviating for me. Catherine tells me everybody is angry at me this week on social media. No, is the answer. Listen, if folks love their kids for real, then they can roll with whatever comes just like bio parents. This is a dumb, provocative question. Maybe we should make them a test. I didnt create it out of whole cloth. Its a real case going on in massachusetts on an issue that id never given consideration to before, but youre absolutely right, this issue emerges every day in households across the country, but in this situation, from the perspective of the state, what if you could avert a circumstance where parents are unsupportive . Im not saying these folks would be, because the file is complicated, but if you knew that it was going to be dicey, would you do Something Different . Real quick, one more. Animal house came out when i was at u. D. , university of delaware, i presume. Toga parties happened the next weekend. Up until now, i just thought it was a funny movie that some lines didnt weather over the years so well, and some did. 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