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The Ledes

Tuesday, April 30, 2024

New York Times: “Eight law officers were shot on Monday, four fatally, as a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force tried to serve a warrant in Charlotte, N.C., the police said, in one of the deadliest days for law enforcement in recent years. Around 1:30 p.m., members of the task force went to serve a warrant on a person for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Johnny Jennings, the chief of police of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, said at a news conference Monday evening. When they approached the residence, the suspect, later identified as Terry Clark Hughes Jr., fired at them, the police said. The officers returned fire and struck Mr. Hughes, 39. He was later pronounced dead in the front yard of the residence. As the police approached the shooter, Chief Jennings told reporters, the officers were met with more gunfire from inside the home.”

The Wires
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The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

"Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of mental and physical ailments." So this Washington Post page allows you to check your own area to see how good your access to nature is.

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

Washington Post: “The last known location of 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by world-renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was in Vienna in the mid-1920s. The vivid painting featuring a young woman was listed as property of a 'Mrs Lieser' — believed to be Henriette Lieser, who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The only remaining record of the work was a black and white photograph from 1925, around the time it was last exhibited, which was kept in the archives of the Austrian National Library. Now, almost 100 years later, this painting by one of the world’s most famous modernist artists is on display and up for sale — having been rediscovered in what the auction house has hailed as a sensational find.... It is unclear which member of the Lieser family is depicted in the piece[.]”

~~~ Marie: I don't know if this podcast will update automatically, or if I have to do it manually. In any event, both you and I can find the latest update of the published episodes here. The episodes begin with ads, but you can fast-forward through them.

Contact Marie

Click on this link to e-mail Marie.

Page Links
Thursday
Apr182024

The Conversation -- April 18, 2024

Trump Takes a Cut from Down-ballot Candidates. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "In a letter received by Republican digital vendors this week, the Trump campaign is asking for down-ballot candidates who use his name, image and likeness in fundraising appeals to give at least 5 percent of the proceeds to the campaign." Extra credit for giving more than 5%! Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary below.

Brett Murphy of ProPublica: "A special State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations that they committed serious human rights abuses. But Blinken has failed to act on the proposal in the face of growing international criticism of the Israeli military's conduct in Gaza, according to current and former State Department officials. The incidents under review mostly took place in the West Bank and occurred before Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "Donors to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign are not only helping to pay his massive legal bills as he faces an onslaught of criminal charges but they are also helping prop up his businesses at a time when he is facing financial difficulties. According to new campaign filings, reported ... by USA Today's Zac Anderson and Erin Mansfield, four checks written between February and March went to Trump's Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral Miami for nearly a half million dollars from his joint campaign committee.... This is not something new, as the report notes that 'the Trump campaign and affiliated political committees paid businesses owned by Trump at least $4.9 million since the start of 2023.... Most of that money -- $4.1 million -- went to TAG Air, Inc. for air travel. The report also added that 'Trump's various campaign committees and a super PAC controlled by his supporters also spent at least $809,000 at his properties since the beginning of last year.'"

Oh, gosh. RAS found a (middle school?) history teacher who didn't think Trump's reflections on the Battle of Gettysburg were pure poetry:

It's springtime for Hitler. And another beautiful day in the neighborhood of Fuckface von Clownstick. Unfortunately, on account of a tiny percentage of his many criminal antics, Fuckface is downtown, figuratively chained to a leatherette chair in a drab, windowless courtroom, forced to follow orders from a guy who was born in one of those shithole countries. New York Times reporters are here to keep you up-to-the-minute (or close):

Well, actually the weather is not so lovely:

Jesse McKinley: "Unlike previous days, when spring had sprung in Lower Manhattan, it is gloomy, misty and cold."

[MB: And those who hoped to see the Trumpster Dumpster in all his fleshiness, had to settle for an NYPD stand-in:]

Nate Schweber: "Two onlookers in ponchos stood in the park across the street hoping for a glimpse. They, and news crews, all had their view blocked by a large NYPD dump truck that parked in the intersection minutes before Trump's arrival."

[MB: Judge Merchan has excused a juror who was selected Tuesday because] ~~~

~~~ Jonah Bromwich: "The juror is worried about what has been reported about her publicly. She said she had friends, colleagues and family conveying to her that she had been identified as a potential juror."

Bromwich: "The judge says the question about employers is necessary. But he directs that the answers be redacted from the transcript and that reporters not report them."

[MB: Bear in mind that all this secrecy about jurors and others associated with the trial is necessary because Criminal Defendant No. 1 encourages his followers to harass and even harm them.]

Kate Christobek: "Christopher Conroy, one of the prosecutors, is now arguing that Trump has continued to violate the gag order that was placed on him. 'It's ridiculous and has to stop,' he says." ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman: "Conroy notes that Trump posted on social media quoting Jesse Watters on Fox News appearing to attack the jurors, saying they were activists trying to get on the jury to harm Trump. He underscores that they are asking Justice Merchan to hold Trump 'in contempt.'" ~~~

~~~ Bromwich: "Merchan makes no immediate ruling on possible violation of the gag order, saying he will wait for a hearing scheduled for April 23, early next week."

Bromwich: "A prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, said that juror 4 or someone with their name seems to have been arrested in the 1990s in Westchester for tearing down political advertisements. After some additional research, he says, they also found that the juror's wife was previously involved in a corruption inquiry and cooperated with the D.A.'s office. This means that the juror, if they've identified the right person, lied in response to one of the questions on the questionnaire, Steinglass says."

Bromwich: "We are in a remarkable situation: Covering an unprecedented case of immense public interest and blocked in many ways from reporting on the constitution of the jury. The trial is not televised and we are the public's eyes and ears, but at the moment, we are limited in what we can relay."

[MB: The next group of 96 prospective jurors enters the courtroom.] ~~~

~~~ Bromwich: "Overall, 48 prospective jurors left because they said they could not be fair and impartial, and nine more were excused for other reasons without explanation. Thirty-nine are left in this group."

Bromwich: "Merchan ... is excusing juror #4. We are down to five seated jurors."

McKinley: "Defense currently challenging, for cause, a potential juror who has some anti-Trump posts online, including one from 2020 that says 'Trump is an anathema to everything I was taught about love.' Merchan is questioning her about this.... In the post, she called Trump racist, sexist and a narcissist. [As she reads this aloud,] she stops and says 'Oops. That sounds bad.'... Merchan dismisses this prospective juror, and calls it 'a close call.'"

Bromwich: "We now have 12 jurors.... Jury selection will continue, so that alternates can be chosen. The judge had said he wanted as many as six alternates."

McKinley: "'We have our jury,' says Justice Merchan."

Haberman: "The jurors who were seated today and are present were just sworn in for service on the panel. They look serious as they take the oath to render a fair and impartial verdict in the case. They stare at Justice Merchan as he addresses them."

~~~~~~~~~~

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday told Republicans that the House would vote Saturday evening on his foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine, pushing through resistance in his own party to advance a long-stalled national security spending package for U.S. allies. His announcement came amid a crush of opposition from Republicans who are vehemently against sending more aid to Ukraine, and have vented for days as congressional aides race to write the legislation Mr. Johnson proposed on Monday.... The legislative package Mr. Johnson is trying to advance roughly mirrors the $95 billion aid bill the Senate passed two months ago with aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and other American allies, but broken into three pieces that would be voted on individually. There would be a fourth vote on a separate measure containing other policies popular among Republicans, including conditioning Ukraine aid as a loan and a measure that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban.... After Mr. Johnson released the text of the aid plan on Wednesday afternoon, President Biden endorsed it in a statement and urged its swift passage." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's almost official: Johnson appears to have resigned from the Putin party.

** Senate Democrats Quash Fake Impeachment. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday dismissed the impeachment case against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, voting along party lines before his trial got underway to sweep aside two charges accusing him of failing to enforce immigration laws and breaching the public trust. By a vote of 51 to 48, with one senator voting 'present,' the Senate ruled that the first charge was unconstitutional because it failed to meet the constitutional bar of a high crime or misdemeanor. Republicans united in opposition except for Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the lone 'present' vote, while Democrats were unanimous in favor. Ms. Murkowski joined her party in voting against dismissal of the second count on the same grounds; it fell along party lines on a 51-to-49 vote. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, moved to dismiss each charge, arguing that a cabinet member cannot be impeached and removed merely for carrying out the policies of the administration he serves." (Also linked yesterday.) The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ CNN live-blogged the proceedings here. (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~ Marie: Earlier in the day, however, it was impossible not to acknowledge that in our nation's capitol, the circus was in town. ~~~

~~~ Ring 1. Akhilleus wrote in yesterday's Comments, "Hey, nice parade in the Capitol building. A whole bunch of lazy, do nothing traitors got off their asses and did a circus parade to present the Senate with their lazy nothing burger impeachment thingies against a cabinet secretary for ... um ... foooorrr.... ahh ... I dunno, drinking coffee too late at night? Using a split infinitive in a report? Putting an empty milk carton back in the fridge? Not putting the toilet seat back down? Who knows?" Then RAS found video of the clowns' parade, video which includes the audio missing in earlier taped versions. Most enjoyable to watch:

(The same day, a similar incident occurred in Butte, Montana, where a trained elephant temporarily escaped a different traveling circus:)

~~~ MEANWHILE, in Ring 2. Nicholas Fandos and Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "Columbia University's president is facing tense questioning from a Republican-led House committee on Wednesday about what they called a pervasive pattern of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism from students and faculty on its campus since the Israel-Hamas war began. Republicans accused the university of tolerating antisemitic chants from student protesters and remarks glorifying Hamas from professors. It was the latest in a campaign to try to prove that college campuses have done little to combat bias against Jews. In her testimony, Nemat Shafik, Columbia's president, tried to reassure the House Committee on Education and the Workforce that she was changing policies and punishing offenders, while also protecting free speech. It was a stark contrast to the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, who in a Dec. 5 hearing struggled to answer whether students would be punished if they called for the genocide of Jews. That failure helped lead to their resignations." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You might think it strange that a political party slavishly devoted to a Hitler-admiring wannabe-dictator with antisemitic proclivities would be so vexed by antisemitic and suspected antisemitic expressions on university campuses. Well, it is. Republicans fail Scott Fitzgerald's test of a first-rate intelligence; instead, they hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time because they have lost the ability to function in the real world. In fairness to the lunatics, I'll admit there is some measure of consistency in their attacks on the universities: (1) as Thom Hartmann pointed out in an essay linked yesterday, wingers hate universities and the "liberal educations" they are presumed to provide; (2) Republicans are truly antisemitic; their support of Israel is based solely on the ludicrous religious belief that on Judgment Day, Jesus will land in Israel and beam up to the Promised Land all Christians who ever lived in this world, including the Israelites who convert to Christianity (for those who remain Jews, sorry, it's an eternity of hellfire and brimstone). BTW, read Hartmann.

Over in Ring 3, Scott Lemieux in LG&$ notices that House Republicans are threatening Speaker Mike "Johnson with loss of [his] speakership for being insufficiently pro-Putin." (This possible fate relates back to Johnson's promise to push through funding for Ukraine, and therefore for democracy at the edge of Europe.) (Also linked yesterday.)

I know more about courts than any human being on Earth. -- Donald Trump, November 2015 ~~~

~~~ Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "Donald Trump complained Wednesday that his lawyers were not given 'unlimited' chances to reject prospective jurors at his New York criminal hush money trial.... 'I thought STRIKES were supposed to be "unlimited" when we were picking our jury?' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. 'I was then told we only had 10, not nearly enough when we were purposely given the 2nd Worst Venue in the Country.'... Trump has received the correct number of strikes given the type of criminal charges he faces: 10 peremptory strikes for jurors, plus another two for every alternate juror.... Samantha Chorny, a criminal defense lawyer in New York City, told CNBC that if there were unlimited peremptory strikes, as Trump wants, 'I mean, no one would ever pick a jury.' Trump's complaint on Truth Social demonstrates 'his willful ignorance of the law,' said Jeremy Saland, another New York criminal defense attorney."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Donald Trump could have cleared up confusion and hastened the arrival of National Guard troops to quell the Capitol riot if he'd called Pentagon leaders on Jan. 6, 2021, according to recent closed-door congressional testimony by two former leaders of the D.C. guard. Michael Brooks, the senior enlisted leader of the D.C. guard at the time of the riot, and Brigadier Gen. Aaron Dean, the adjutant general of the D.C. guard at the time, told House Administration Committee staffers that if Trump had reached out that day -- which, by all accounts, he did not -- he might have helped cut through the chaos amid a tangle of conflicting advice and miscommunication." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "Speaking at the headquarters of the United Steelworkers union, President Biden on Wednesday announced an array of efforts to protect the steel industry in this battleground state, seeking to paint himself as a champion of the middle class and draw a contrast to Donald Trump.... He said Trump ... had supported corporations and the wealthy over everyday Americans. 'He opposed the increase in the overall federal minimum wage,' Biden said. 'He put union-busters on the National Labor Relations Board.'"

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 18, 2020: "President Trump on Friday openly encouraged right-wing protests of social distancing restrictions in states with stay-at-home orders, a day after announcing guidelines for how the nation's governors should carry out an orderly reopening of their communities on their own timetables." MB: You may see the seeds of the insurrection in Trump's call for protests against governors trying to address the needs of their citizens. As the succeeding months proved, right-wing protests are less about clever home-made signs and peaceful marches than about menacing, gun-toting militiamen disrupting legislatures and threatening state officials. ~~~

~~~ April 17, 2020. Nicholas Kristof: "... lines of cars stretch for miles to pick up groceries from a food pantry; jobless workers spend days trying to file for unemployment benefits; renters and homeowners plead with landlords and mortgage bankers for extensions; and outside hospitals, ill patients line up overnight to wait for virus testing. In an economy that has been hailed for its record-shattering successes, the most basic necessities -- food, shelter and medical care -- are all suddenly at risk. The latest crisis has played out in sobering economic data and bleak headlines -- most recently on Thursday, when the Labor Department said 5.2 million workers filed last week for unemployment benefits." (Also linked yesterday.)


Marie: I purposely have ignored the "turmoil at NPR" over an essay former NPR business editor Uri Berliner wrote in an online publication, criticizing NPR for being too liberal. Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post covers the developments. I predict that the upshot will be more navel-gazing leading to even more outrageous both-sider "journalism," perhaps engendering road rage and higher traffic accident rates. Nothing good can come from this. All things considered.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The right wing's fear of "liberal education" does not stop at the college gate, of course:

Hannah Natanson & Anumita Kaur of the Washington Post: "Legislators in 22 mostly blue states have proposed 57 ... bills [to protect librarians from harassment & libraries from book bans] so far this year, and two have become law.... But the library-friendly measures are being outpaced by bills in mostly red states that aim to restrict which books libraries can offer and threaten librarians with prison or thousands in fines for handing out 'obscene' or 'harmful' titles. At least 27 states are considering 100 such bills this year, three of which have become law.... That adds to nearly a dozen similar measures enacted over the last three years across 10 states."

Arizona. Elizabeth Dias & Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "State House Republicans in Arizona on Wednesday scuttled another effort to repeal the state's 1864 law banning abortion, defying pressure from prominent Republicans, including ... Donald J. Trump, who had urged them to toss the ban that many voters viewed as extreme and archaic. 'The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed by the Legislature several times,' House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, said as he blocked an effort to vote on the repeal. The Arizona Supreme Court's ruling last week to uphold the Civil War-era near-total abortion ban infuriated supporters of abortion rights, exhilarated abortion opponents and set off a political firestorm in Arizona." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated: "Only hours after Republicans in the State House scuttled another effort to repeal the ban, which was upheld by a State Supreme Court ruling last week, a handful of Republicans in the State Senate sided with Democrats and allowed them to introduce a bill to repeal it." The Arizona Republic's story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel 'will make our decisions ourselves' on how to respond to Iran's attack, after top diplomats from Britain and Germany along with the United States called for restraint to avoid a wider war. Iran's foreign minister said his country has sent Washington messages 'through diplomatic channels mentioning that we are not looking for the escalation of tension in the region.'... A Hezbollah attack injured 18 Israeli soldiers on Wednesday after Israeli strikes killed three members of the militant group a day earlier. Cross-border attacks and Israeli strikes deeper into Lebanon have heightened fears of a broader conflict during the Gaza war. The European Union will impose further sanctions on Iran, targeting its drone and missile production, European Council President Charles Michel said after a meeting in Brussels. Washington also said earlier it plans to impose new Iran sanctions." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here.

News Lede

Washington Post: "Indonesia's Mount Ruang has erupted at least three times this week, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. On Wednesday evening local time, the volcano's eruption shot ash nearly 70,000 feet high, possibly spewing aerosols into the stratosphere, the atmosphere's second layer." Includes spectacular imagery.

Comments Off

Reader Comments (13)

There is no DeJoy in Mudtown…or any other town…

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds"

But maybe Louis can…

In a hearing looking into the absolutely disgraceful mess Trump appointee Louis DeJoy (zero experience in the area of postal services, natch), has made of the US Postal Service, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff tore ol’ Gloom of Night Louis a new one:

“A lot of people on Xitter from Georgia are reporting long delays. Since DeJoy took a sledgehammer to the post office, the 3 days or less mail service we used to get is over. And under DeJoy, the USPS has been hemorrhaging money.”

So Sen. Ossoff sent Trumpy Louis (whose only qualification for the job was giving money to a certain fat crook currently on trial for felony crimes). Did Louis get it? Did he bother to read it?

"’I've got constituents with prescriptions that aren't being delivered,’ Ossoff said. ‘I've got constituents who can't pay their rent and their mortgages. I've got businesses who aren't able to ship products or receive supplies…I wrote you on March 14th,’ [Ossoff] continued. ‘Did you get my letter?’

‘My office probably, my office got it,’ DeJoy said.

‘I didn't write your office,’ Ossoff said. ‘I wrote you. Did you receive my letter?’

‘I have not read your letter,’ DeJoy said.’”

He might not have anything in the way of management ability, but this Trumpy asshole is not lacking in arrogance. Or incompetence.

"’So, so, letters come in, people put, they put stuff together to answer it,’ DeJoy said.”

(Put stuff together? What is he, in the 8th grade?)

“‘Let me just give you just a friendly piece of advice.,’ Ossoff said. ‘You should, you should personally read letters from members of the U.S. Senate Committee that funds and oversees your operations, particularly where you are failing abysmally to fulfill your core mission in my state.’”

Think DeJoy gives a shit? Biden can’t fire his useless ass. He’s free to fuck up another day. Or year. Or more.

All the best people. Now just think of all the other useless troublemaking turds Fatty has stuck us with in other parts of the government (hint: three of them wear black robes) and think of how many more he might salt the earth with if he steals another election.

“Put stuff together.” Jesus.

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Slow learners:

https://news.gallup.com/poll/643601/americans-say-not-helping-ukraine-enough.

Other than for MTG and a few others, Republicans are noticing that marching lockstep with Putin is not all that popular with Americans.

I'm guessing Bible Mike is aware of this poll.

Wonder if the Pretender is? Maybe someone will read it to him. (I hope not..)

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Speaking of that fat crook now on trial…

Just wondering…how come Melanie hasn’t been in court to support her crooked husband? What about the idiot Fatty spawn? Where’s Eightball Junior, Fuckwit Eric? What about Princess Ivanka? MBS butt sniffer Jared? None of these moochers would have had their cushy lifestyles if it weren’t for their criminal dad and their grandfather, KKK Fred’s, money.

No interest in showing up to support dear old dad?

And speaking of Trump kids, how terrible it must be for Barron, who Fatty has nothing to do with, to be used by his scumbag dad as a prop in his grievance screeds. “Ohhh…boo-hoo! The judge won’t late me go to Barron’s graduation.” Yeah. Like he’d be going anyway. The only time I can recall Trump even mentioning Barron was when he referred to him as “Melanie’s kid”.

Compare that approach to fatherhood (“How can I use my kids to help me?”) with Joe Biden, who clearly loves his kids. He has stood by Hunter all the way, never looking for a chance to throw him under the bus to help himself out.

Just one more piece of evidence demonstrating what a horrible human being Trump is.

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: You & Ossoff failed to account for Odious DeJoy's dominant arrogance gene. The arrogance gene totally controls the behavior of some people. So it's quite natural that THE U.S. Postmaster GENERAL would ignore a missive from one of a hundred insignificant senators.

As for delivering the mail timely, eh. Meanwhile, I see DeJoy is asking to raise the price of first-class stamps again -- to 73 cents.

April 18, 2024 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Raw Story

"Trump just made an 'attempt to intimidate jurors' on social media

Donald Trump's repost of a Fox News host's hush money trial juror attack is pure juror intimidation, says CNN legal expert Jeffrey Toobin.

The former president reposted on Truth Social a quote made by Fox News anchor Jesse Watters that reads: “They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury."

"It's clearly, I think an attempt to intimidate jurors," he said while he appeared on CNN's "Anderson 360" Wednesday night. "And it is clearly barred by by the gag order in this case.""

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

One more thought about the election interference trial now going on. Remember how so many “experts” decried this event as a big nothing, a show trial about some piddling payoff that no one would care about?

Really?

This thing has been huge. The Trump election interference trial has commanded worldwide attention. And it will continue to do so for the next two months and beyond.

It’s another big FIRST for Fatty. The first time a former President and current candidate for the White House has sat in a courtroom on a raft of felony charges. The MAGAts won’t care, hopefully plenty of persuadable voters will.

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

ProPublica

"Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings or Rapes
A special State Department panel told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. should restrict arms sales to Israeli military units that have been credibly accused of human rights abuses. He has not taken any action."

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

The latest grift.

God…what now? So Mr. Rich as Croesus seems to be a bit light in the disposable income department, what with so much money going to bonds, payouts for past crimes, and lawyers trying to keep his fat ass out of the big house. Hmmm…what to do? The Trump Media scam is crashing faster than a hastily assembled Boeing 737. Gotta pay that lady he raped, all that money for being a lifelong fraud…

The new grift? Charge Party of Traitor candidates who use his name or likeness in their campaign advertising. Yeah! That’s it. They say “Fatty likes me! Vote for my treason-loving ass!” then they gotta pay.

The going rate will be 5% of their entire campaign war chest. And because the RNC is now a subsidiary of Trump Criminal Enterprises, LLC, if they don’t fork it over, they get the boot.

If, however, they shovel more than the 5% vig, they will get…hmm…what kind of bullshit can I sling now? Oh yeah!

“Any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump’s campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations.”

Heh-heh.

“Seen favorably by Trump”. Which means gatz.

The grift never sleeps.

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Trolling the Right.

"House Dem [Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL)] files bill to make Marjorie Taylor Greene Putin's 'special envoy' to Congress"

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Cheap, gaudy, and crooked

To whom do I refer?

Oh! Youse guys is too smaht. You got it in one guess.

Yippers, it’s the Orange Monster, the Fat Fascist, the Tangerine Terror, the Douchebag Dictator, soon to be Prisoner 275-23.

And while cheap, gaudy, and crooked certainly describe TFG, they also are descriptive of his buildings. In a piece written before he sat in the bedroom of the White House slurping Diet Cokes, inhaling Big Macs, screaming at the TeeVee, and fucking up the country, his efforts as a builder in New York are taken to task by the Architectural Paper, a commentary titled (unsurprisingly) “How Donald Trump Put Up Crappy Buildings that Suck”. Okay, that’s not the actual title, but it’s close.

As an appraisal of Fatty’s tastes in architectural design, it’s a standout piece. Here is the Dean of American architectural writing, Ada Louise Huxtable on the Trump Tower atrium, which houses the infamous escalator: she comments on its “…pink marble maelstrom and pricey super glitz…unredeemed by [its] posh ladies’ powder-room decor.”

Ada was in a good mood that day.

More…

“Beyond the large, expensive brass ‘Trump’ lettering that adorns his buildings, Trump has made a career of taking advantage of public subsidies and then putting up the cheapest-looking project possible. His re-skinning of the Penn Central Transportation Company’s 2,000-room, Warren and Wetmore–designed Commodore Hotel is an example of one such project. Here, he took a perfectly decent—even handsome—1919 brick-and-limestone building, next door to Grand Central Terminal, and clad it with a reflective glass that has not weathered well…Trump’s glass skin seem cheap and dated. The building has one of the worst 1980s-era facades in New York.”

Yeah.

The piece also details how old man Trump also illegally pocketed a cool $4 million off taxpayers on a cheapo project he did years ago.

It’s not a long piece but worth reading if for no other reason than reinforcing the belief that this fat fuck has always been a cut rate, corner cutting, cut purse, with taste that makes a rundown Walmart seem like the Taj Mahal.

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Cheap, gaudy, and crooked

To whom do I refer?

Oh! Youse guys is too smaht. You got it in one guess.

Yippers, it’s the Orange Monster, the Fat Fascist, the Tangerine Terror, the Douchebag Dictator, soon to be Prisoner 275-23.

And while cheap, gaudy, and crooked certainly describe TFG, they also are descriptive of his buildings. In a piece written before he sat in the bedroom of the White House slurping Diet Cokes, inhaling Big Macs, screaming at the TeeVee, and fucking up the country, his efforts as a builder in New York are taken to task by the Architectural Paper, a commentary titled (unsurprisingly) “How Donald Trump Put Up Crappy Buildings that Suck”. Okay, that’s not the actual title, but it’s close.

As an appraisal of Fatty’s tastes in architectural design, it’s a standout piece. Here is the Dean of American architectural writing, Ada Louise Huxtable on the Trump Tower atrium, which houses the infamous escalator: she comments on its “…pink marble maelstrom and pricey super glitz…unredeemed by [its] posh ladies’ powder-room decor.”

Ada was in a good mood that day.

More…

“Beyond the large, expensive brass ‘Trump’ lettering that adorns his buildings, Trump has made a career of taking advantage of public subsidies and then putting up the cheapest-looking project possible. His re-skinning of the Penn Central Transportation Company’s 2,000-room, Warren and Wetmore–designed Commodore Hotel is an example of one such project. Here, he took a perfectly decent—even handsome—1919 brick-and-limestone building, next door to Grand Central Terminal, and clad it with a reflective glass that has not weathered well…Trump’s glass skin seem cheap and dated. The building has one of the worst 1980s-era facades in New York.”

Yeah.

The piece also details how old man Trump also illegally pocketed a cool $4 million off taxpayers on a cheapo project he did years ago.

It’s not a long piece but worth reading if for no other reason than reinforcing the belief that this fat fuck has always been a cut rate, corner cutting, cut purse, with taste that makes a rundown Walmart seem like the Taj Mahal.

April 18, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus
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