ICYMI - Patti Davis on what everyone is missing about Hunter Biden's case

[babylonsister]

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/12/2246237/-ICYMI-Patti-Davis-on-what-everyone-is-missing-about-Hunter-Biden-s-case

ICYMI - Patti Davis on what everyone is missing about Hunter Biden's case
Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 8:17:13a EDT

Patricia Ann Davis (née Reagan; born October 21, 1952) is an American actress and author. She is the daughter of U.S. president Ronald Reagan and his second wife, Nancy Reagan.

snip//

...Hunter Biden’s legal case is, at its root, a story about the toxic, careless choices made by a drug addict. It’s about the fact that addicts weave tragedy into their own lives and into the lives of those around them. Addicts don’t think about other people; they think about themselves. And they lie — that’s how they supply their addiction.

I was addicted to amphetamines from the time I was a teenager into my early 20s. Preferring prescription amphetamines to tablets of methamphetamine punched out in someone’s garage (although I took those, too), I went into doctors’ offices and spun out lie after lie. When my fondness for speed led me to cocaine, I got behind the wheel of my car and drove home some nights up a winding, treacherous canyon road thinking nothing of the fact that I might kill someone on that road, including myself.

Some observers argue that if Hunter Biden were not the president’s son, he wouldn’t be on trial for buying a gun while being addicted to drugs, since he had the gun for only 11 days and it wasn’t used in any crime. I’m not a legal expert. I’m not qualified to weigh in on that. But as the daughter of first a governor and then a president, I do know what it’s like to live under a glaring, unforgiving spotlight that never dims. The choices you make in your life, the mistakes, the stumbles, are preserved forever and sometimes tossed out in front of you like a minefield you have to keep crossing. Hunter Biden has had to sit in court listening to his ex-wife and his ex-lovers testify about the messiness and insanity of his drug addiction. I’m going to hazard a guess here and say that they probably described things that he doesn’t even remember. He had to watch his daughter take the stand and testify, something that’s intimidating, even frightening, under any circumstances. And whatever the surrounding political circumstances, ultimately he has to know that he is responsible for all of it.

And…

...It might sound naïve in these scathingly partisan times, but it would be nice if the rest of us — or even most of us — could look at how sad this story is. How a man with a loving, supportive family and every advantage and opportunity still fell into the roiling abyss of drug addiction and couldn’t stop swimming around in its dark waters. How even though he has worked hard on getting and staying clean, his past mistakes and sins follow him, collide with him and demand to be addressed. They are still today racking up collateral damage, causing tremendous pain to those he loves and who love him, even potentially endangering his father’s legacy.

If there is anything lacking in American politics these days, it’s anything resembling grace. How the Bidens are responding to these travails is an example of grace under pressure. Thanks to Davis for providing some needed perspective.

[Marcus IM]

1. Being an adherent to a cult is an addiction also.

It explains quite a lot about the lobotomized red hatters.

[NJCher]

2. yes

and it messes up your life long-term, too.

Some people, the ones who went all in with trump, are imprisoned. If that doesn't mess up your life, I don't know what does.

[Marcus IM]

3. Also threw their minds into a psychological prison too. Trapped in a world of conspiracies.

[mopinko]

4. i have exactly 1 maggot in my life. well, not any more but

he torched a brilliant legal career growing weed and doing coke. swears he’s happier as a paralegal and a prole, but boy is that a lie.
had a 4 yr affair w him starting in 15. he was a disillusioned hippie/ bernie bro. he was a genuinely good person who taught me a thing or 2 about compassion.
he’s an absolute monster now. and the most miserable motherfucker i know. i bumped into him in the xitter a while back and tried to pound some truth into his head, but…. took him a long time to block me, but i said what had to b said.
i wd still give him grace, and a hand up out of the rabbit hole, but…

[flying_wahini]

5. Some people aren't worth the trouble.

I have a couple in my family, both married to siblings. They ARE toxic people full of rage and blind to everything but the cult.

[mopinko]

7. yup. wrote him off after some of the shit he posted.

i reported several posts. they even took a couple down. poor bastard gets almost zero engagement. i think it was more the reports than anything i said.

yeah, he chose a woman who he describes as ‘holding my leash’ instead of me. she went down the rabbit hole w him, so… he deserves his misery.

[FakeNoose]

34. He did you a very large favor

You must realize this by now. I'm so happy you've kept your sanity.

[Marcus IM]

6. Social media influenced so many, as well as exposing people's authoritarian bigoted tendencies to friends also.

I had no idea that I had so many so-called liberal friends who latched onto authoritarianism so quickly and easily.
Fascinating to see so many shift that direction. It's not only a Qwackanon thing either.
It's been a long run. Nothing new.

[mopinko]

10. the number they did on the bernie guys doesnt get talked about enough.

imma die mad he never called out the bros.
that and the alt-med stuff. he’s a guy who thinks apple cider vinegar and lemon water fix everything.
those ppl were a ripe target for the anti-vax, anti-mask ppl. lost a friend over that nonsense.

[chromalyn]

37. Same

Lost several friends too. 😭 😭 😭 Some in my own spiritual group. Now they’re doing all kinds of pretzel logic to convince themselves that they’re still following a wisdom path while doing the red hat 🕳️ 🐇 dance. I’m still hopeful for one of them.

[CaptainTruth]

9. A world completely detached from reality & filled with hate.

It must be awful to live like that. I choose love & happiness.

[mopinko]

11. he rly is the most miserable fuck i know.

i saw him a few times last summer, and good god is he pathetic. i was the other woman, and she ended uo finally marrying him after he stayed w me for a couple mos.

[Marcus IM]

16. I really wish it was such an easy thing.

At the moment, I'm struggling to keep my family's heads above water. They're being drowned by America's hands.

When I engage in discussions about it, about alleviating the suffering caused by collective punishment, I get pushback

I choose love & happiness, also. It doesn't always choose me.

[moonshinegnomie]

20. A good friend of mine went maga

He’s always been a Republican . But wasn’t nuts. He bitched about Obama care and refused to get health insurance claiming he couldn’t afford it ( he lives in 500k house on a couple of acres of land. His partner is a successful real estate agent and he’s escorts oversized trucks plus is a musician.

He blame the dems for his so called lack of money and not having insurance. Despite him adding onto his house , buying a new truck etc..
he is also an evangelical Christian.
He want off the deep end when tfg first ran. Thinks hannity would make a good vp.

We used to talk a few times a week. Now once or twice a year…

[slightlv]

18. Just look at Clarence Thomas' wife...

went from one cult to another to another... and when the magats have finally exhausted themselves, she'll jump to another one. Yes, it's an addiction. I never looked at it like that, but from a psychological viewpoint, I can sure see it. To me, it says there's a hole deep inside her she's trying to fill by having someone tell her what the emptiness means... as long as the explanation comports with something she halfway believes. Then, she's all in... but she'll never fill the emptiness that way. And she'll never satisfy the need with hate, although she's sure working at it. She needs a big, strong, authoritarian to tell her how to live her life. Poor woman. SHE never grew up... like most of the magats. They're all stuck in various stages of "growth" (and I use that word loosely).

[rubbersole]

8. This is excellent

A perfect example of sanity and intelligence.
Thank you for posting.

[llmart]

12. Even the "saintly" Ronnie and his "adoring" Nancy had a child with addiction to drugs.

There aren't too many people who don't know or have known someone close to them with an addiction. I guess the difference with the Reagans is that I don't remember Congress going after Patti for it. The GOP has been doggedly going after Hunter Biden for years. They do absolutely nothing for the American people who pay their salaries and benefits. They are just like their "leader" looking for retribution and revenge because that's just who they are.

[PatSeg]

13. Recently, I read Hunter Biden's Book "Beautiful Things"

I have never read a description of addiction quite so raw and honest. I don't know if I could bare my soul the way he did.

[Skittles]

27. agreed

brutally honest, well worth reading......lays it all out

[brewens]

14. It's probably not the best idea to ensure that a son like that continues to have a shit ton of money to play with.

I thought that was really why the last days of Carrol O'Connor were so miserable. He may as well have been getting the coke for his kid from his Hollywood connections. Then when his probation required he be working, he gave him a role on his TV show.

[happybird]

17. An addict will find a way to use if they want to

If Hunter has found a new way of life and puts as much effort into staying clean as he did pursuing drugs, the amount of money he has access to is a nonissue. Withholding or managing someone’s money “for their own good” can create deep resentment. Resentments lead to relapse. I know this all too well from personal experience.

[onecaliberal]

15. His father's legacy will be just fine. She should worry about her own father's legacy.

[Upthevibe]

19. babylonsister.........

Thanks for posting this article.

I'm in recovery as well.

My heart's with Hunter and his entire family.....

[Bucky]

21. She always reminded me of Carrie Fisher

and her father always reminded me of Darth Vader

[dlk]

22. Knowing what she knows about the minefield of public scrutiny

Last edited Thu Jun 13, 2024, 08:29 AM - Edit history (1)

Was it really necessary for Davis to contribute her 2 cents worth? It seemed more than a little judgmental. Does Hunter really need more public reminding/shaming of his shortcomings? I think he's been through enough.

[hadEnuf]

23. "Youthful indiscretions" are only for Republicans. The rest get jail time.

And the filthy Republicans are now crying that it isn't enough for Hunter Biden.

This special prosecutor and trial was a sham, just like every other right-wing witch hunt for Democrats is. You've got right-wing lunatics running around armed to the teeth, forming militias and they nail Hunter Biden for not checking the right box on a gun form? Give me a break. What's next? J-walking? Pathetic.

This was ONLY to try and stick it to Joe Biden and nothing more. Assuming anything else is just delusional.

[Iggo]

26. If you're not get-able, you can't get got.

Nobody’s fault but Hunter’s.

Zero fucking tears.

[hadEnuf]

30. And he'll pay the price for it.

But it was overblown political bullshit.

[Iggo]

31. It's political, but it's not bullshit.

He lied on his federal paperwork.

Just last week we cared about that.

Now it’s a witch hunt?

We’re starting to sound like the other guys.

[hadEnuf]

32. No one is saying he isn't technically guilty.

But it hasn't been made into a political witch hunt? It's just humble, patriotic Republican prosecutors trying to hold up the letter of the law?

Give me a break.

Some just can't see the forest for the trees.

[Iggo]

33. Ah-choo! (Sorry. I'm allergic to straw.)

Don’t put words in my mouth.

What I’m saying is, he knowingly committed a federal crime to obtain a gun that it was already a crime for him to have.

And again I have to say: Last week we cared about that.

Forest for the trees? Come on, man.

[hadEnuf]

35. And all I'm saying is the GOP just staged a big investigation

with a special prosecutor to convict the presidents son of a "crime" they normally could care less about. It also just happens to be the same person that Trump was trying to use to get to Joe Biden through Zelenski and then got impeached for it. I'm sure we can all expect to now hear that Trump was wrongly impeached for going after that "obvious criminal" Hunter Biden and "further investigation" is now needed. They are desperate and will try anything.

It was political theater I won't concede these GOP fuckers an inch.

[chromalyn]

38. Never mind they never bring this charge...

…unless the gun was used to commit a crime. Then they pile it on. But it’s very rarely (almost never) a standalone charge. See: Glenn Kirschener’s explainer. That’s what tells me it was at least in part (conveniently) vindictive and not based on true ‘rule of law’ ethos.

For the direct quote about this law, the 922a, please cue to 10:32 the following:

Or you can hear a full on response and commentary on the verdict.

Thanks 🙏🏼 for this platform!

[iluvtennis]

24. So, glad she took the time to share her personal experience with addiction and being the daughter

of world famous politician.

[Lulu KC]

25. Damn, she's good!

Excellent piece. Thanks for sharing.

[Skittles]

28. it's not just the spotlight that comes with his name

repukes cannot find anything on Biden so they go after his kids

sickening beyond belief

[canetoad]

29. You said it Sis

Grace.

More kudos to Hunter. He's had a thousand times the attention thrown on his past and he dealt with it and still got clean.

[ecstatic]

36. I think what everyone is missing is the fact that

all of this has come out due to republicans' obsession with hurting President Biden and helping tRump. That's the reason why I'm disgusted. I understand personal responsibility and I believe everyone should have it. There should not be two systems of justice.

But what does it mean when anyone running for office or in office can have his or her family members hunted in this way? There's a chilling effect that has not been addressed.