Tea at Trianon: The (Mug)Shot Heard Around The World

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, August 25, 2023

The (Mug)Shot Heard Around The World

From The National Pulse:

Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump has once again been arrested and booked, this time in perhaps the most brazenly political prosecution yet – a tall order given the litany of ludicrous charges which have already befallen the ex-Commander in Chief.

Trump, 77, arrived in Georgia on Thursday evening just one day after trouncing his own party’s ratings with an exclusive interview with Tucker Carlson. At the same time, his futile challenger Ron DeSantis played baseball, instead of protesting the arrest of the man he once claimed to be a “pitbull defender” for, while begging for votes in his home state.

Now, Trump has been booked in, with the following mugshot heard around the world produced by the Fulton County jail in Georgia, at the behest of political prosecutor Fani Willis. (Read more.)

From The Federalist:

Former President Donald Trump is immensely popular. It’s a simple fact that poses an uncomfortable reality for the deep state. Water is also wet. In lieu of participating in the Aug. 23 Republican presidential primary debate, Trump sat down for a one-on-one discussion with Tucker Carlson in which the two discussed Joe Biden’s puppet presidency and the mysterious circumstances surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s death, among other things.
One of the more pertinent topics of conversation, as one might expect given the ongoing persecution and politically motivated indictments of Trump and his allies, was the near-total weaponization of the American justice system.

At one point, Carlson asked Trump point blank if the only way for the deep state to end his political influence is to permanently incapacitate him. After all, Trump has been indicted four times now — most recently in Fulton County, Georgia, with 18 of his associates on phony trumped-up charges — and it isn’t slowing down his presidential campaign.

“Indictment is not working, your poll numbers go up,” Carlson said. “What’s next? Trying to put you in prison for the rest of your life, that’s not working. Don’t they have to kill you now?” (Read more.)

From Just the News:

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan launched a probe Thursday into Fulton County’s probe that resulted in charges against former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election results. Jordan, an Ohio Republican, asked Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, to turn over all documents related to the case. The letter comes hours before Trump is expected to surrender to the Fulton County jail.

"Was Fulton County DA Fani Willis working with Jack Smith? Was she communicating with the Executive Branch? Were any federal funds used in the investigation of President Trump?" Jordan posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, when he announced his probe.

The state charges brought against Trump in Georgia are separate from the federal indictment brought against the former president in special counsel Jack Smith's two probes involving Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all federal criminal charges. (Read more.