Morganna said:

mjc said:

A shot across the bow maybe? she says hopefully.

Finally heard tape of one of Defendant's comments this morning, imo couldn't be clearer tampering with witness(es).  Seems likely any random street thug would be locked up if it could be proved he said anything like that.

eta: otoh, does this mean the judge totally dismissed the other dozen or so instances??

eta again: NYT says $9,000, so apparently judge recognized most instances?  Still peanuts, but at least a warning

Apparently $1,000 per violation is the maximum allowed in New York State. Of course, jail could be the next option. We can only dream.

$9,000 ain't a lot, but on top of that, he'll have to attend his son's graduation which he had no intention of doing, so there's some justice.

Got the QB yesterday with a little hint from the Buddy. Had no idea "churchy" is a word. 

I have a feral kitty who is doing roof and gutter inspections for me.

Paul Auster, grew up in SOMA and graduated from Columbia High School. Famous as a Brooklyn author, but his sweeping novel "4 3 2 1" has a protagonist who grows up (in multiple ways) in Maplewood and vicinity.

Paul Auster, the Patron Saint of Literary Brooklyn, Dies at 77 - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

[Edited to add] Found the video of the talk he gave on Zoom, hosted by the South Orange Library, on 4/3/21 about that novel and talking about his memories of growing up. 

Morganna says (in her valuable description of civil disobedience):  "I'm mistrustful of people covering their faces."

mtierney gives a reason why masking may be prudent: "...students may well be spotted by identity technology available to employers to screen prospective job applicants."

Not to mention current employers, school administrators, police, and any opponent or random internet surfer who'd like to dox them.  Seems sensible to me, though maybe not at the level of integrity and civic-mindedness Morganna described.

@mtierney, You have posted a cartoon about protestors saying "first pay off my student debt." but whatever your feelings about loan forgiveness, and as I think this is becoming a talking point for Biden detractors, I am sharing an explanation of those who are eligible. This was copied for CBS news in January. 

Biden forgives $5 billion more in student loan debt. Here's who qualifies and how to apply.

By Kate Gibson

Edited By Alain Sherter

January 19, 2024 / 12:18 PM EST / CBS News

• The Biden administration a week ago said that, starting in February, people with less than $12,000 in student loans and who have been making payments for at least 10 years would get their remaining loan balance erased. Borrowers also have to be enrolled in the White House's new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan.
  

Nearly 44,000 of the borrowers approved for debt relief are teachers, nurses, firefighters, social workers and public servants with at least 10 years of service. The remaining close to 30,000 borrowers have been making payments on their loans at least 20 years, but who did not get relief through income-driven repayment plans.

I'm not sure if you're still looking, but just in case anyone else pulls this thread up ij future, a friend of ours has a handyman service, who helped work on our panto productions. His name is Gordon Brown (not the former UK Prime Minister), and here's his info: https://www.gmbhandymanservices.com/

marksierra said:

Pardalotes are being used for powerline inspections in South Australia.

Of course, the above statement is nowhere near being true.  It was suggested by the photographer who took the lucky shot.

mtierney said:

no cigar — not even close!

Forgive me. It’s possible those three diluvian shards adumbrated my thoughts.

mtierney said:

Morgana, thanks for sharing facts, rather than the campaign rhetoric 24/7 which, sadly, grabs all the attention. Since a great deal of information on what’s happening world events come in easy to digest sound bites 

Frankly, right now, I would hope none of students involved in the disruption in education of their fellow students, and the physical destruction on college campuses across America would ever receive student loan relief!  

I do believe outside  agitators — noticed a comment today how Russia, China and Iran are reportedly enjoying  the college meltdowns —  may even have played a role — but are our students that uneducated about the dangers democracies face?  Parents need to think long and hard about spending, or borrowing $90,000 a year tuition,  for  indoctrination in place of education.

I know you don't particularly care for reality, but I thought I'd reply with some:

People who have actually reported from the protests (see here or here) have by and large found them to be well-behaved. Are there problematic things being said at some of them? Yes there are. Have there been antisemitic incidents around some of them? Yes there have. But nearly everything resembling “chaos” has come in the crackdowns. Scenes of violent confrontation you’ve witnessed on TV or social media have occurred when the police moved in, often in riot gear to remove and arrest students and sometimes faculty (and in at least one case, when counter-protesters stormed a protest). At the universities where the administrators had the sense to just let the students have their say, there has been almost no violence. But this is how Republicans portray what’s happening:

https://paulwaldman.substack.com/p/the-chaos-strategy