TO COMMENT CLICK HERE
welcome to reality trivia
reality is the state of things as they actually exist
december 9, 2018
Trump's future
real news today
december 10, 2018
*Office of Personnel Management admits it wanted to make anti-trans discrimination easier
(Rights)
*A Rhode Island School District Is Sending Debt Collectors After Families Over Unpaid Lunches
(EDUCATION)
*VOYAGER 2 HAS ENTERED INTERSTELLAR SPACE, NASA CONFIRMS
(Space News)
*Through The Looking Glass With Trump
(Trump)
*Charter school teachers reach deal for more pay, better resources after first strike of its kind
(Education)
*Texas cops made more than $50 million in 2017 from seizing people’s property — not everyone was guilty
(Gestapo USA)
*Trump's China tariffs are a regressive tax on Americans and risk a recession
(Talkers)
*Trump 'at center of massive fraud against Americans', top Democrat says
(Demo Politics)
*British politics has worst record for antisemitism in Europe, poll says
(World)
*HOW HANUKKAH CAME TO AMERICA
*HERE’S WHY EVEN THE BIBLE ITSELF DISCREDITS THE CHRISTMAS STORY OF THE ‘VIRGIN BIRTH’ OF JESUS
(CHRISTIANITY)
*ANCIENT MYTHIC ORIGINS OF THE CHRISTMAS STORY
(CHRISTIANITY)
(for previous day's articles see "what's inside" below)
comment/tweet of the day
when a criminal is prosecuted for fraud, he/she is forced to pay restitution for his crimes. donald committed fraud to win the presidency and should be forced to repay the american people the billions he has stolen, plus all scotus picks and federal judges he recommended are illegal and should be rescinded.
---
Increasingly, the only thing religion has left to justify itself is that it provides cover for people who want to have bigoted, selfish beliefs but want to believe they are good people anyway. As these social trends continue, we can expect the alignment between public piety and grotesquely selfish political beliefs to get worse, not better.(CHRISTIANITY)
---
David Jolly✔
@DavidJollyFL
Let's be honest, if Jeffrey Epstein was Trump's next nominee for the Supreme Court, every Republican Senator would vote to confirm him.
7:03 PM - Dec 6, 2018
---
Rex Tillerson repeatedly had to stop Trump from breaking the law in the White House
“I will be honest with you, it troubles me that the American people seem to want to know so little about issues, that they are satisfied with a 128 characters,”
---
Ted Lieu: "We have a sitting President who committed two felonies while running for President."
---
Greg Olear✔
@gregolear
Trump should appoint Sergei Kislyak Chief of Staff and eliminate the middle man.
---
U.S. REFUSES TO 'WELCOME' LANDMARK CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT, ALONGSIDE RUSSIA AND SAUDI ARABIA
BY TOM PORTER - newsweek
ON 12/10/18 AT 7:23 AM
This chart shows how global carbon dioxide emission levels have risen since 1990. COP24 is attempting to build on the Paris climate deal and develop more climate-conscious policies to limit damaging emissions.
STATISTA
The U.S. joined Saudi Arabia, Russia and Kuwait in blocking the incorporation of a key scientific study into global climate talks in Poland. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in a landmark report released in October, warned of the dire effects of a global average temperature rise of 1.5 Celsius, and outlined ways to avoid it.
On Saturday, the four major oil and gas producing nations acted together to block endorsement of the study, which was commissioned at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
"I think it was a key moment," Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Associated Press. "The fact that a group of four countries were trying to diminish the value and importance of a scientific report they themselves, with all other countries, requested three years ago in Paris is pretty remarkable."
The report was widely hailed by world leaders as a key step in efforts to tackle climate change. But negotiations at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland, hit an obstacle on Friday when the U.S., Russia, Saudia Arabia and Kuwait objected to the conference “welcoming” the study.
Instead, they had wanted the conference to “note” the study, as they didn't endorse its findings.
"The United States was willing to note the report and express appreciation to the scientists who developed it, but not to welcome it, as that would denote endorsement of the report," the U.S. State Department said in a statement. "As we have made clear in the IPCC and other bodies, the United States has not endorsed the findings of the report."
Delegates criticized the countries for blocking the report’s endorsement.
"It's not about one word or another. It is us being in a position to welcome a report we commissioned in the first place," said Ruenna Haynes, a diplomat from St. Kitts and Nevis.
"If there is anything ludicrous about the discussion it's that we can't welcome the report," she said to applause, reported the BBC.
In a tweet on Sunday, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California emphasized the need for the U.S. to take action to tackle climate change.
"America can—and must—meet the challenge of climate change head-on. It’s up to us to do what is necessary to secure a safe, healthy future for generations to come," she tweeted.
The move casts doubt on whether delegates will be able to reach a consensus on measures to tackle climate change by Friday, when the conference concludes.
"It's really an embarrassment for the world's leading scientific superpower to be in this position of having to disbelieve a report that was written by the world's scientific community, including a large number of pre-eminent U.S. scientists," Meyer said.
On Saturday, the four major oil and gas producing nations acted together to block endorsement of the study, which was commissioned at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.
"I think it was a key moment," Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Associated Press. "The fact that a group of four countries were trying to diminish the value and importance of a scientific report they themselves, with all other countries, requested three years ago in Paris is pretty remarkable."
The report was widely hailed by world leaders as a key step in efforts to tackle climate change. But negotiations at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland, hit an obstacle on Friday when the U.S., Russia, Saudia Arabia and Kuwait objected to the conference “welcoming” the study.
Instead, they had wanted the conference to “note” the study, as they didn't endorse its findings.
"The United States was willing to note the report and express appreciation to the scientists who developed it, but not to welcome it, as that would denote endorsement of the report," the U.S. State Department said in a statement. "As we have made clear in the IPCC and other bodies, the United States has not endorsed the findings of the report."
Delegates criticized the countries for blocking the report’s endorsement.
"It's not about one word or another. It is us being in a position to welcome a report we commissioned in the first place," said Ruenna Haynes, a diplomat from St. Kitts and Nevis.
"If there is anything ludicrous about the discussion it's that we can't welcome the report," she said to applause, reported the BBC.
In a tweet on Sunday, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris of California emphasized the need for the U.S. to take action to tackle climate change.
"America can—and must—meet the challenge of climate change head-on. It’s up to us to do what is necessary to secure a safe, healthy future for generations to come," she tweeted.
The move casts doubt on whether delegates will be able to reach a consensus on measures to tackle climate change by Friday, when the conference concludes.
"It's really an embarrassment for the world's leading scientific superpower to be in this position of having to disbelieve a report that was written by the world's scientific community, including a large number of pre-eminent U.S. scientists," Meyer said.
Ethics watchdog sues FBI over leak to Giuliani
BY OWEN DAUGHERTY - the hill
12/10/18 01:35 PM EST
A government and ethics watchdog group on Monday sued the FBI for allegedly failing to fill a records request pertaining to a leak to President Trump’s personal lawyer and longtime backer Rudy Giuliani.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said in its announcement of the lawsuit that information was leaked to Giuliani in October 2016, during the final weeks of the presidential campaign, giving the former New York mayor a tip that then-FBI Director James Comes was going to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she served as secretary of State.
Giuliani admitted to receiving a leak of the investigation, saying on Fox News, “Did I hear about it? You’re darn right I heard about it. And I can’t even repeat the language that I heard.”
Giuliani also teased “a surprise or two” in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election, prompting the FBI to question himon the claims.
CREW has requested records relating to the FBI’s investigation into how Giuliani got advanced notice of Comey's investigations, but the FBI has yet to fulfill CREW’s request.
“The FBI legally has to give us these records or explain why they cannot,” CREW executive director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “It is important for the public to have all of the information that the law requires be made available.”
Giuliani was a top campaign surrogate for Trump during the 2016 campaign and now serves as his personal attorney, representing the president in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Clinton has blamed the announcement of the FBI's reopened probe into her "home brew" server for her loss to Trump.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said in its announcement of the lawsuit that information was leaked to Giuliani in October 2016, during the final weeks of the presidential campaign, giving the former New York mayor a tip that then-FBI Director James Comes was going to reopen the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she served as secretary of State.
Giuliani admitted to receiving a leak of the investigation, saying on Fox News, “Did I hear about it? You’re darn right I heard about it. And I can’t even repeat the language that I heard.”
Giuliani also teased “a surprise or two” in the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election, prompting the FBI to question himon the claims.
CREW has requested records relating to the FBI’s investigation into how Giuliani got advanced notice of Comey's investigations, but the FBI has yet to fulfill CREW’s request.
“The FBI legally has to give us these records or explain why they cannot,” CREW executive director Noah Bookbinder said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “It is important for the public to have all of the information that the law requires be made available.”
Giuliani was a top campaign surrogate for Trump during the 2016 campaign and now serves as his personal attorney, representing the president in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Clinton has blamed the announcement of the FBI's reopened probe into her "home brew" server for her loss to Trump.
pissident trump and his criminal conspirators!!!
Harvard law professor issues scathing takedown of DOJ policy that bars prosecutors from indicting a sitting president
This Harvard law professor believes Trump can be indicted and should be.
By David Badash / The New Civil Rights Movement - alternet
December 10, 2018, 6:40 AM GMT
Laurence Tribe is a constitutional law professor at Harvard Law School. He's argued cases before the Supreme Court 36 times, and he's taught students who went on to become U.S. Senators, Supreme Court justices, and even a U.S. President. Among them, Barack Obama, John Roberts, Elena Kagan, and Ted Cruz.
And he's become an outspoke critic of Pissident Donald Trump.
Tribe is going after the Justice Department's policy – which is not law and not in the Constitution – that bars prosecutors from moving to have a sitting U.S. President indicted by a grand jury.
He made the case back in May.
"Nothing" in the "text, structure, or history" of the U.S. Constitution says a sitting President cannot be indicted, Tribe said: "Some people claim that, even if Rosenstein gives Mueller permission to indict Trump as DOJ rules allow, the Constitution forbids such indictment. No! Nothing in its text, structure, or history supports that 'POTUS-is- above-the-law' view, nor does any SCOTUS precedent support it."
And he's become an outspoke critic of Pissident Donald Trump.
Tribe is going after the Justice Department's policy – which is not law and not in the Constitution – that bars prosecutors from moving to have a sitting U.S. President indicted by a grand jury.
He made the case back in May.
"Nothing" in the "text, structure, or history" of the U.S. Constitution says a sitting President cannot be indicted, Tribe said: "Some people claim that, even if Rosenstein gives Mueller permission to indict Trump as DOJ rules allow, the Constitution forbids such indictment. No! Nothing in its text, structure, or history supports that 'POTUS-is- above-the-law' view, nor does any SCOTUS precedent support it."
Justices reject county’s appeal over woman’s time in jail
ap
12/10/18
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected a Mississippi county’s appeal in the case of a woman who was jailed for more than three months without seeing a judge.
The court’s order on Monday leaves in place a federal judge’s ruling that Choctaw County and its sheriff are liable for violating the woman’s constitutional rights. A jury trial to determine damages is scheduled for March.
The woman was held for 96 days before she was given the opportunity to post bail. She had been arrested on traffic charges and was then served with a drug indictment.
A survey of Mississippi jails released this year found 2,500 defendants jailed before trial have been in custody 90 or more consecutive days. More than 600 defendants have been in jail longer than a year.
The court’s order on Monday leaves in place a federal judge’s ruling that Choctaw County and its sheriff are liable for violating the woman’s constitutional rights. A jury trial to determine damages is scheduled for March.
The woman was held for 96 days before she was given the opportunity to post bail. She had been arrested on traffic charges and was then served with a drug indictment.
A survey of Mississippi jails released this year found 2,500 defendants jailed before trial have been in custody 90 or more consecutive days. More than 600 defendants have been in jail longer than a year.
|
|
Trump plan to reclassify nuke waste alarms environmentalists
Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press
Updated 2:47 pm CST, Monday, December 10, 2018
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The Trump administration wants to reclassify some radioactive waste left from the production of nuclear weapons to lower its threat level and make disposal cheaper and easier.
The proposal by the U.S. Department of Energy would lower the status of some high-level radioactive waste in several places around the nation, including the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state — the most contaminated nuclear site in the country.
Reclassifying the material to low-level could save the agency billions of threat level and make disposal cheaper and easier.
The proposal by the U.S. Department of Energy would lower the status of some high-level radioactive waste in several places around the nation, including the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state — the most contaminated nuclear site in the country.
Reclassifying the material to low-level could save the agency billions of dollars and decades of work by essentially leaving the material in the ground, critics say.
The proposal joins a long list of Trump administration efforts to loosen environmental protections. Just last week, the Environmental Protection Agency acted to ease rules on the sagging U.S. coal industry.
Tom Carpenter of Hanford Challenge, a nuclear watchdog group, said it wants a thorough cleanup of the Washington state nuclear site, which is half the size of Rhode Island. That includes building a national repository somewhere else to bury the waste once it has been stabilized.
"The cleanup of the site is really at stake," Carpenter said about the proposed change.
He noted that Hanford is located in an environmentally sensitive site adjacent to the Columbia River and susceptible to earthquakes, volcanoes and flooding.
Hanford was established by the Manhattan Project in World War II to make plutonium, a key ingredient in the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The plant went on to produce most of the plutonium for the nation's nuclear arsenal.
As a result, the site also contains the nation's largest collection of nuclear waste. The most dangerous is stored in 177 aging underground tanks, some of which have leaked. The tanks hold some 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes waiting to be treated for permanent disposal.
Cleanup efforts at Hanford have been underway since the late 1980s and cost about $2 billion a year.
Current law defines high-level radioactive waste as resulting from processing irradiated nuclear fuel that is highly radioactive. The Energy Department wants to reclassify some of the waste that meets highly technical conditions.
The agency says the change could save the federal government $40 billion in cleanup costs across the nation's entire nuclear weapons complex, which includes the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina and Idaho National Laboratory.
Environmental groups and the state of Washington, which has a legal commitment with the Energy Department to oversee the Hanford cleanup, said the proposal is a concern.
"They see it as a way to get cleanup done faster and less expensively,'" said Alex Smith of the Washington state Department of Ecology.
Carpenter said there "is not much point in doing much else if they don't clean up the high-level waste."
At the request of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, the agency extended the public comment period on the proposal to Jan. 9. The agency can make the change without the approval of Congress.
"No one disputes the difficulty of retrieving and treating high-level waste from Hanford's aging storage tanks," Wyden wrote to the DOE. "However, lowering the bar for level of protection of future generations and the environment by changing the definition of what has always been considered high-level waste requiring permanent disposal is a significant change."
The proposal by the U.S. Department of Energy would lower the status of some high-level radioactive waste in several places around the nation, including the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state — the most contaminated nuclear site in the country.
Reclassifying the material to low-level could save the agency billions of threat level and make disposal cheaper and easier.
The proposal by the U.S. Department of Energy would lower the status of some high-level radioactive waste in several places around the nation, including the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state — the most contaminated nuclear site in the country.
Reclassifying the material to low-level could save the agency billions of dollars and decades of work by essentially leaving the material in the ground, critics say.
The proposal joins a long list of Trump administration efforts to loosen environmental protections. Just last week, the Environmental Protection Agency acted to ease rules on the sagging U.S. coal industry.
Tom Carpenter of Hanford Challenge, a nuclear watchdog group, said it wants a thorough cleanup of the Washington state nuclear site, which is half the size of Rhode Island. That includes building a national repository somewhere else to bury the waste once it has been stabilized.
"The cleanup of the site is really at stake," Carpenter said about the proposed change.
He noted that Hanford is located in an environmentally sensitive site adjacent to the Columbia River and susceptible to earthquakes, volcanoes and flooding.
Hanford was established by the Manhattan Project in World War II to make plutonium, a key ingredient in the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The plant went on to produce most of the plutonium for the nation's nuclear arsenal.
As a result, the site also contains the nation's largest collection of nuclear waste. The most dangerous is stored in 177 aging underground tanks, some of which have leaked. The tanks hold some 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical wastes waiting to be treated for permanent disposal.
Cleanup efforts at Hanford have been underway since the late 1980s and cost about $2 billion a year.
Current law defines high-level radioactive waste as resulting from processing irradiated nuclear fuel that is highly radioactive. The Energy Department wants to reclassify some of the waste that meets highly technical conditions.
The agency says the change could save the federal government $40 billion in cleanup costs across the nation's entire nuclear weapons complex, which includes the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina and Idaho National Laboratory.
Environmental groups and the state of Washington, which has a legal commitment with the Energy Department to oversee the Hanford cleanup, said the proposal is a concern.
"They see it as a way to get cleanup done faster and less expensively,'" said Alex Smith of the Washington state Department of Ecology.
Carpenter said there "is not much point in doing much else if they don't clean up the high-level waste."
At the request of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, the agency extended the public comment period on the proposal to Jan. 9. The agency can make the change without the approval of Congress.
"No one disputes the difficulty of retrieving and treating high-level waste from Hanford's aging storage tanks," Wyden wrote to the DOE. "However, lowering the bar for level of protection of future generations and the environment by changing the definition of what has always been considered high-level waste requiring permanent disposal is a significant change."
texas justice!!!
No jail time for Baylor fraternity president accused of rape
chron
Updated 2:31 pm CST, Monday, December 10, 2018
WACO, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge on Monday accepted a plea bargain allowing a former Baylor University fraternity president accused of rape to avoid serving jail time, prompting outrage from the former Baylor student who filed the complaint and her parents.
Judge Ralph Strother accepted the plea deal for Jacob Walter Anderson, who was indicted on sexual assault charges and pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of unlawful restraint. A no contest plea means a defendant does not admit guilt, but will offer no defense.
The deal from prosecutors allowed Anderson to receive deferred probation. The ex-Phi Delta Theta president agrees to seek counseling and pay a $400 fine. Anderson will not be forced to register as a sex offender.
The woman who accused Anderson said she was devastated by the judge's decision and described the county's justice system as "severely broken." An online petition had been created to oppose the plea agreement, which the woman said more than 85,000 people have signed.
Baylor was engulfed in a sexual assault scandal tied to its football program in 2016, ultimately leading to the departure of several school leaders.
Judge Ralph Strother accepted the plea deal for Jacob Walter Anderson, who was indicted on sexual assault charges and pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of unlawful restraint. A no contest plea means a defendant does not admit guilt, but will offer no defense.
The deal from prosecutors allowed Anderson to receive deferred probation. The ex-Phi Delta Theta president agrees to seek counseling and pay a $400 fine. Anderson will not be forced to register as a sex offender.
The woman who accused Anderson said she was devastated by the judge's decision and described the county's justice system as "severely broken." An online petition had been created to oppose the plea agreement, which the woman said more than 85,000 people have signed.
Baylor was engulfed in a sexual assault scandal tied to its football program in 2016, ultimately leading to the departure of several school leaders.
Trump slurs Judiciary Committee Democrat as ‘Da Nang Dick’ in unhinged rant about Vietnam
Bob Brigham - raw story
08 DEC 2018 AT 14:17 ET
Pissident Donald Trump lashed out on Twitter at a senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Trump attacked Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who previously served as the United States Attorney for Connecticut and was elected five times as Attorney General in the state.
“Watched Da Nang Dick Blumenthal on television spewing facts almost as accurate as his bravery in Vietnam (which he never saw),” Trump tweeted. “As the bullets whizzed by Da Nang Dicks head, as he was saving soldiers….left and right, he then woke up from his dream screaming that HE LIED.”
“Next time I go to Vietnam, I will ask ‘the Dick’ to travel with me!” Trump promised.
Blumenthal spent six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves during the Vietnam era. Trump never served.
On Friday, Blumenthal appeared on MSNBC to discuss Trump being listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Blumenthal predicted that “as the walls close in on Donald Trump, he is going to be more desperate, more destructive, and potentially more damaging.”
Trump attacked Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who previously served as the United States Attorney for Connecticut and was elected five times as Attorney General in the state.
“Watched Da Nang Dick Blumenthal on television spewing facts almost as accurate as his bravery in Vietnam (which he never saw),” Trump tweeted. “As the bullets whizzed by Da Nang Dicks head, as he was saving soldiers….left and right, he then woke up from his dream screaming that HE LIED.”
“Next time I go to Vietnam, I will ask ‘the Dick’ to travel with me!” Trump promised.
Blumenthal spent six years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves during the Vietnam era. Trump never served.
On Friday, Blumenthal appeared on MSNBC to discuss Trump being listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.
Blumenthal predicted that “as the walls close in on Donald Trump, he is going to be more desperate, more destructive, and potentially more damaging.”
Cohen sought ‘final approval’ from Trump for illegal Stormy Daniels hush-money deal: TMZ
Brad Reed - raw story
10 DEC 2018 AT 11:37 ET
TMZ is reporting new details on the Stormy Daniels hush-money agreement that make the story look even worse for Pissident Donald Trump.
According to the publication, the adult film star in 2016 was reluctant to sign onto the deal offered by former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen and instead wanted to sell her story.
However, she was convinced to sign on the bottom line after Cohen promised her that he would get a “final approval” for the deal from then-candidate Donald Trump.
“We’re told Cohen assured Daniels’ rep that his signature was forthcoming,” TMZ reports. “We’re told Cohen said the hangup was that his client was traveling, he was unable to get in touch with him and he needed final approval which he assured would happen when his client returned to New York.”
TMZ also reports that “at least one” of Daniels’ representatives told the FBI earlier this year that Cohen had promised Trump would directly sign off on the deal.
In a set of legal filings released last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York implicated Pissident Donald Trump in a criminal conspiracy to violate federal elections laws when it said the president personally directed Cohen to pay money in exchange for Daniels’ silence about their alleged affair.
According to the publication, the adult film star in 2016 was reluctant to sign onto the deal offered by former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen and instead wanted to sell her story.
However, she was convinced to sign on the bottom line after Cohen promised her that he would get a “final approval” for the deal from then-candidate Donald Trump.
“We’re told Cohen assured Daniels’ rep that his signature was forthcoming,” TMZ reports. “We’re told Cohen said the hangup was that his client was traveling, he was unable to get in touch with him and he needed final approval which he assured would happen when his client returned to New York.”
TMZ also reports that “at least one” of Daniels’ representatives told the FBI earlier this year that Cohen had promised Trump would directly sign off on the deal.
In a set of legal filings released last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York implicated Pissident Donald Trump in a criminal conspiracy to violate federal elections laws when it said the president personally directed Cohen to pay money in exchange for Daniels’ silence about their alleged affair.
*bites from real news - 12/10/2018*
*USOC failed to protect athletes from sex abuse: report
The United States Olympics Committee failed to protect athletes from the threat of sexual abuse, according to a report released on Monday that showed some top executives took no action as the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal was unfolding.
*US undermining 'last chance' climate talks, experts charge
Don't believe these climate change lies. Katowice, Poland (CNN)The American delegation came to promote coal. And the kids laughed in their faces. That was the bizarre and symbolic scene that unfo ... (CNN)
*Goodbye, Chevy Volt: In the age of Tesla, GM retires its hybrid electric car
The Chevy Volt was GM’s entry ticket to the future and post-bankruptcy financial stability, but outside of a fervent fan base, the hybrid electric car never quite caught on with consumers. Now, General Motors is sending the line to that great scrap h ... (Fast Company)
*Ready for President Pelosi? Trump and Pence could both go down in unprecedented impeachment
by thom hartmann
So, now that we know that Donald Trump and Mike Pence reached the White House through at least two specific and separate criminal conspiracies, what do we do about it?
*Fox & Friends falls all over itself defending Trump payments to mistresses: ‘Obama did the exact same thing’
*House GOP leader says there’s no need for Dems to launch Trump probes: ‘We’ve investigated this for a long time’
*Accused Russian spy Maria Butina appears to reach plea deal
Accused Russian spy Maria Butina appears to reach plea deal Washington (CNN)Accused Russian spy Maria Butina appears to have reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Butina is accused of trying to infiltrate Republican political circles and par ... (CNN)
*Trump Tower is one of the city's biggest consumers of energy
As pissident, Donald Trump has pulled the U.S. out of an international emissions treaty that would fight global warming, pledged his support for carbon-belching fuel sources such as coal and rejected the scientific consensus that the climate is warmi ... (Crain's New York Business)
*White House Sends Coal Lobbyists to Climate Change Meet
The pro-fossil fuel U.S. event will take place as world leaders work to cap emissions and prevent "catastrophic" global warming.
*Supreme Court won't consider state efforts to defund Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider efforts by Republican-led states to defund Planned Parenthood. Despite its new, more conservative tilt, the court let stand federal appeals court rulings that allowed the reproductive health organization ... (USA Today)
*‘Out of his mind or stupid?’ MSNBC’s Mika destroys Trump’s increasingly frantic ‘no collusion’ denials
*New York Times’ Ross Douthat longs to restore the white elite — well, here it is Columnist sneers at diversity, claims the WASPs were better rulers. Maybe his problem with Trump is bad manners -chauncey devega(salon)
*How the More Than Me Charity Gamed the Internet and Hollywood to Win a Million Dollars Katie Meyler’s gambit involved a Silicon Valley darling, payments to a social media marketer in Pakistan and a broken promise to a philanthropist with some very famous friends.(pro publica)
*THE REMARKABLE TALE OF THE CORPORATE LOBBYIST SWORN IN AS A TEMPORARY U.S. SENATOR
Few have paid much attention to Kyl, who is wrapping up one of the strangest and — to his critics — one of the most corrupt tenures in the modern history of the Senate. Kyl was a registered lobbyist at a powerhouse D.C. law firm, who lived and worked in Washington for five and a half years before taking a four-month gig as a senator.
*'Angarsk maniac': Russian serial killer convicted of 56 more murders
*what's the difference, they are both traitors: Nick Ayers: New setback for Trump as Pence aide Nick Ayers turns down chief of staff role
Pence staffer tweets intent to leave Washington this year, scotching reported plan to install him as successor to John Kelly
*Tackle climate or face financial crash, say world's biggest investors
Global investors managing $32tn issued a stark warning to governments at the UN climate summit on Monday, demanding urgent cuts in carbon emissions and the phasing out of all coal burning. Without these, the world faces a financial crash several time ... (Guardian)
*Comey calls on Americans to 'use every breath we have' to oust Trump in 2020
New York (CNN) Former FBI Director James Comey asked American voters Sunday night to end Donald Trump's presidency with a "landslide" victory for his opponent in 2020. "All of us should use every breath we have to make sure the lies s ... (CNN)
|
|
‘They’re hurting my son!’ NYC cops yank baby from mother’s arms during incident at food stamp office
Travis Gettys - raw story
10 DEC 2018 AT 06:43 ET
A disturbing video shows New York City police officers trying to yank a 1-year-old child from his mother’s arms during an incident at a social services office.
The boy’s mother, Jazmine Headley, had sat on the floor of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program office in Brooklyn because there were no available chairs, and another person called police after the 23-year-old mother argued with a security guard, reported the New York Post.
Another woman, Nyashia Ferguson, began recording video of the incident, and it begins with Headley lying on the floor and cradling her son as four officers — three of them women — surround her and her baby.
“They’re hurting my son! They’re hurting my son!” Headley shouts.
One of the female officers then yanks the child from his mother’s arms, and then she waves as stun gun at onlookers — including several children.
Department guidelines limit stun gun use to only people who are physically resisting being taken into custody, people who verbally state they will not be taken into custody, or people who are posing a danger to themselves or others.
The police department called the Friday incident “troubling,” and said officers had responded to a 911 call for harassment after security guards said Headley refused to leave.
Police said Headley had refused to leave and was endangering her child, who was later placed in the care of a relative.
Headley was charged with resisting arrest, acting in a manner injurious to a child, obstructing governmental administration and trespassing, and she remained in jail Sunday at Rikers Island, where she is being held without bond.
Police are investigating the incident, and all the officers involved remain on full-duty status.
Ferguson, who recorded the incident and posted video on social media, said police made the situation worse and said the officer who waved the stun gun had forced Headley to the ground.
“They’re always rude,” Ferguson told the New York Times. “They think that people that are poor don’t have nothing, so you can treat them any kind of way.”
Ferguson said the young mother had been sitting on the floor for two hours as she waited for assistance in the crowded office, and she said security guards taunted Headley after she complained about the wait.
“Being poor is not a crime,” said Letitia James, the city’s city’s public advocate and state’s attorney general-elect. “No mother should have to experience the trauma and humiliation we all witnessed in this video.”
The boy’s mother, Jazmine Headley, had sat on the floor of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program office in Brooklyn because there were no available chairs, and another person called police after the 23-year-old mother argued with a security guard, reported the New York Post.
Another woman, Nyashia Ferguson, began recording video of the incident, and it begins with Headley lying on the floor and cradling her son as four officers — three of them women — surround her and her baby.
“They’re hurting my son! They’re hurting my son!” Headley shouts.
One of the female officers then yanks the child from his mother’s arms, and then she waves as stun gun at onlookers — including several children.
Department guidelines limit stun gun use to only people who are physically resisting being taken into custody, people who verbally state they will not be taken into custody, or people who are posing a danger to themselves or others.
The police department called the Friday incident “troubling,” and said officers had responded to a 911 call for harassment after security guards said Headley refused to leave.
Police said Headley had refused to leave and was endangering her child, who was later placed in the care of a relative.
Headley was charged with resisting arrest, acting in a manner injurious to a child, obstructing governmental administration and trespassing, and she remained in jail Sunday at Rikers Island, where she is being held without bond.
Police are investigating the incident, and all the officers involved remain on full-duty status.
Ferguson, who recorded the incident and posted video on social media, said police made the situation worse and said the officer who waved the stun gun had forced Headley to the ground.
“They’re always rude,” Ferguson told the New York Times. “They think that people that are poor don’t have nothing, so you can treat them any kind of way.”
Ferguson said the young mother had been sitting on the floor for two hours as she waited for assistance in the crowded office, and she said security guards taunted Headley after she complained about the wait.
“Being poor is not a crime,” said Letitia James, the city’s city’s public advocate and state’s attorney general-elect. “No mother should have to experience the trauma and humiliation we all witnessed in this video.”
in the land of stupid!!!
‘Nursing while black’: Tennessee deputy ‘interrogates’ home health provider caring for white patient
Travis Gettys - raw story
10 DEC 2018 AT 05:45 ET
A Tennessee nurse says a sheriff’s deputy racially profiled her as suspicious after she went into a white woman’s home to care for her.
Stephanie Dash works as a home health nurse, and a Williamson County sheriff’s deputy questioned her after she went to a patient’s home last week in Franklin, reported the Tennessean.
The deputy peeked through a window after she arrived, and the patient asked Dash, who is black, to answer the door to speak with her.
“The patient told her I was her home health nurse,” Dash said. “But the deputy told my patient that they got a call about a suspicious person in the area. I then showed her my nursing bag.”
The deputy, whom she identified as Rhonda Casillas, still wasn’t convinced, so Dash walked with the deputy out to her car to show an identification badge from Amedisys Home Health Nashville.
“My patient again confirmed that I was suppose to be there,” Dash told WSMV-TV. “I had nursing equipment my work bag with my company logo on it. I had on scrubs and everything stethoscope hanging from my neck, she still was not convinced.”
Dash then called her supervisor to verify that she was an employee — but Casillas again questioned the patient and stayed at the home until the nurse left.
“She continued to interrogate my patient, and asking if she was sure that she knew me,” Dash said. “At that point, I just went back to the car. The officer backed out of the driveway and put it in park, and waited until after I left.”
Dash posted about the incident on Facebook and identified the deputy from a business card she’d left behind with the patient, and the nurse filed a complaint with the sheriff’s department after leaving multiple voicemails about the incident.
“The company she works for has filed a report,” said Sharon Puckett, a spokeswoman for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department. “We are investigating and working to determine if there is audio or video from the call. The deputy was answering a suspicious person call after someone in the neighborhood reported seeing someone going from house to house.”
Casillas remains on patrol while the incident is investigated, the spokeswoman said.
A spokeswoman for Amedisys said the agency stands behind Dash, who considers the incident a case of “nursing while black.”
“I was shocked, and she’s been our patient for a while,” Dash said. “She usually sees a white nurse. If one nurse gets booked, we help each other out. As many times as the other nurse has been, she’s never had police called on her.”
Stephanie Dash works as a home health nurse, and a Williamson County sheriff’s deputy questioned her after she went to a patient’s home last week in Franklin, reported the Tennessean.
The deputy peeked through a window after she arrived, and the patient asked Dash, who is black, to answer the door to speak with her.
“The patient told her I was her home health nurse,” Dash said. “But the deputy told my patient that they got a call about a suspicious person in the area. I then showed her my nursing bag.”
The deputy, whom she identified as Rhonda Casillas, still wasn’t convinced, so Dash walked with the deputy out to her car to show an identification badge from Amedisys Home Health Nashville.
“My patient again confirmed that I was suppose to be there,” Dash told WSMV-TV. “I had nursing equipment my work bag with my company logo on it. I had on scrubs and everything stethoscope hanging from my neck, she still was not convinced.”
Dash then called her supervisor to verify that she was an employee — but Casillas again questioned the patient and stayed at the home until the nurse left.
“She continued to interrogate my patient, and asking if she was sure that she knew me,” Dash said. “At that point, I just went back to the car. The officer backed out of the driveway and put it in park, and waited until after I left.”
Dash posted about the incident on Facebook and identified the deputy from a business card she’d left behind with the patient, and the nurse filed a complaint with the sheriff’s department after leaving multiple voicemails about the incident.
“The company she works for has filed a report,” said Sharon Puckett, a spokeswoman for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department. “We are investigating and working to determine if there is audio or video from the call. The deputy was answering a suspicious person call after someone in the neighborhood reported seeing someone going from house to house.”
Casillas remains on patrol while the incident is investigated, the spokeswoman said.
A spokeswoman for Amedisys said the agency stands behind Dash, who considers the incident a case of “nursing while black.”
“I was shocked, and she’s been our patient for a while,” Dash said. “She usually sees a white nurse. If one nurse gets booked, we help each other out. As many times as the other nurse has been, she’s never had police called on her.”
|
|
daily beast cheat sheet
12/10/18
Theresa May Cancels Vote on Her Brexit Deal to Avoid Crushing Defeat, Say Reports
daily beast
Theresa May has reportedly canceled a vote in the British Parliament on her Brexit deal in order to avoid a crushing defeat. The vote was due to take place Tuesday and would have almost certainly seen the deal that May thrashed out with EU leaders be overwhelmingly rejected. The vote will now be rescheduled as May continues to attempt to persuade lawmakers to back her deal, possibly by going back to the EU to ask for further concessions. The main criticism of the deal is that it would keep the U.K. aligned with EU customs rules until a future trade deal is agreed to prevent a physical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Some lawmakers fear that would indefinitely tie the U.K. to the EU with no say over its rules. May has previously said the only three options available to the U.K. are going ahead with her deal, leaving the EU with no agreement, or canceling Brexit altogether. Earlier Monday, the top European court ruled the U.K. could cancel Brexit without having to get permission from the 27 other members of the bloc.
Washington Post Introduces ‘Bottomless Pinocchio’ Factcheck Level for Trump
daily beast
The Washington Post Fact Checker has introduced a new dishonesty rating custom-made for the Trump era: the “Bottomless Pinocchio.” The newspaper says the new tier will be issued to politicians who “repeat a false claim so many times that they are, in effect, engaging in campaigns of disinformation.” In order to be awarded the Bottomless Pinocchio, the claims must have received three or four Pinocchios from the Fact Checker, and must have been repeated 20 times. Fourteen statements made by Trump already qualify for the list—no other politician has yet been given the dubious honor. In an article announcing the introduction of the new level, the Post condemns Trump and says: “He is not merely making gaffes or misstating things, he is purposely injecting false information into the national conversation.” The most repeated falsehood so far, according to the Fact Checker, is Trump’s assertion that his tax cut was the biggest in history, followed by his exaggerations of the size of U.S. trade deficits.
Protesters Disrupt the U.S.’ Pro-Fossil-Fuel Panel at U.N. Climate Talks
daily beast
A group of nearly 100 protesters descended on a U.S. pro-fossil-fuel panel at the United Nations’ climate talks in Poland on Monday, taking over the event for a few minutes by screaming “Keep it in the ground!” and “Shame on you!” The panel, dubbed U.S. Innovative Technologies Spur Economic Dynamism,” was intended to discuss the possibility of making fossil fuels “clean” through technological innovation, a premise that has been repeatedly debunked by scientists. Soon after it began, almost the entire crowd stood up to chant “Keep it in the ground!” before yielding the floor to speakers who discussed the effect of climate change in their communities. As the group exited, they chanted “Shame on you!” While one attendee tweeted that the speakers were “clearly” affected, the Trump administration seems unlikely to take heed: Once the protests died down, a White House adviser speaking at the panel said the U.S. will keep using fossil fuels. Over the weekend, the United States joined the ranks of Russia and Saudi Arabia by refusing to endorse a report on the benefits of keeping global warming below 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit.
Carlos Ghosn and Nissan Charged With Financial Misconduct
daily beast
Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn has been charged with financial misconduct, with Japanese prosecutors accusing him of under-reporting his pay by as much as $44 million over five years. Nissan and another company executive, Greg Kelly, have also been charged. Ghosn was ousted as the automaker’s chairman and Kelly lost his representative director role following their arrests in November—they both remain on Nissan’s board pending a shareholders’ meeting. If Ghosn is convicted, the charges could mean up to 10 years in prison and a fine of as much as $89,000. “Nissan takes this situation extremely seriously,” the company said in a statement. “Making false disclosures in annual securities reports greatly harms the integrity of Nissan’s public disclosures in the securities markets, and the company expresses its deepest regret.” Kelly, 62, is suspected of having collaborated with Ghosn—he said he is innocent of the charges. Ghosn has not yet commented but previously denied the accusations.
New top candidate to be Trump’s Chief of Staff is anti-LGBT extremist who pushed for transgender military ban
David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement - raw story
10 DEC 2018 AT 16:16 ET
The man credited as a major force behind President Donald Trump‘s out-of-the blue, July 26, 2017 tweetstorm announcing he was banning all transgender people from the U.S. Armed Forces is now the leading candidate to replace outgoing White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
That man is House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, a Tea Party Republican from North Carolina. The Freedom Caucus is the most far-right group among House Republicans.
“The President has a long list of qualified candidates and I know he’ll make the best selection for his administration and for the country,”
U.S. Rep. Meadows told Politico on Monday, adding that being Trump’s Chief of Staff “would be an incredible honor.”
(There are, in fact, few viable candidates interested in becoming Chief of Staff.)
GLAAD describes Meadows as an “Anti-LGBTQ congressman who ran for office on his support for North Carolina’s marriage amendment, and who is credited as a key force in pressuring the Trump administration to enact its transgender military ban.”
Meadows is also among the 38 House Republicans who signed a letter last month urging President Trump to remove protections for LGBTQ workers from his new USMCA trade pact.
A trade pact “is no place for the adoption of social policy” on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI),” the letter says.
As head of the Freedom Caucus, Meadows urged President Trump, even before he was sworn into office, to roll back or rescind a variety of President Barack Obama’s LGBT protections, including guidelines to help protect the rights of transgender students. The administration, via Secretary Betsy DeVos and then-Attorney General Jeff Session, complied.
The Freedom Caucus, under Meadows, also called for President Trump “to repeal the Department of Health and Human Services regulation that implemented the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act,” as The Advocate reported at the time.
Meadows opposes same-sex marriage and supports protecting those who also oppose marriage equality, seeing it as a free-speech issue.
In 2013 Rep. Meadows claimed if the Supreme Court were to rule same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry it would create “a constitutional crisis.”
That man is House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, a Tea Party Republican from North Carolina. The Freedom Caucus is the most far-right group among House Republicans.
“The President has a long list of qualified candidates and I know he’ll make the best selection for his administration and for the country,”
U.S. Rep. Meadows told Politico on Monday, adding that being Trump’s Chief of Staff “would be an incredible honor.”
(There are, in fact, few viable candidates interested in becoming Chief of Staff.)
GLAAD describes Meadows as an “Anti-LGBTQ congressman who ran for office on his support for North Carolina’s marriage amendment, and who is credited as a key force in pressuring the Trump administration to enact its transgender military ban.”
Meadows is also among the 38 House Republicans who signed a letter last month urging President Trump to remove protections for LGBTQ workers from his new USMCA trade pact.
A trade pact “is no place for the adoption of social policy” on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI),” the letter says.
As head of the Freedom Caucus, Meadows urged President Trump, even before he was sworn into office, to roll back or rescind a variety of President Barack Obama’s LGBT protections, including guidelines to help protect the rights of transgender students. The administration, via Secretary Betsy DeVos and then-Attorney General Jeff Session, complied.
The Freedom Caucus, under Meadows, also called for President Trump “to repeal the Department of Health and Human Services regulation that implemented the nondiscrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act,” as The Advocate reported at the time.
Meadows opposes same-sex marriage and supports protecting those who also oppose marriage equality, seeing it as a free-speech issue.
In 2013 Rep. Meadows claimed if the Supreme Court were to rule same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry it would create “a constitutional crisis.”
*What's Inside*
december 7 - december 9
✔CHUCK TODD NORMALIZES REPUBLICANS STEALING DEMOCRACY FROM VOTERS
(WORTHLESS MEDIA)
*TRUMP’S ATTACK ON THE CLEAN WATER ACT WILL FUEL DESTRUCTIVE PIPELINE BOOM
(ENVIRONMENT)
*‘IF HE HAD BEEN WHITE THEY WOULDN’T HAVE SHOT HIM’
(GESTAPO USA)
*SCANDAL-PLAGUED PERU TO VOTE ON RESHAPING POLITICAL SYSTEM
(WORLD)
*'CHANGE CAN'T WAIT': PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS SEEK TO MAKE THEIR MARK
(PROGRESSIVES)
*HOW TO CONVINCE MAGA CRETINS TO FEAR CLIMATE CHANGE
BY THE RUDE PUNDIT(SUCKERS)
*HOW GEORGE H.W. BUSH RODE A FAKE NATIONAL SECURITY SCANDAL TO THE TOP OF THE CIA
(HISTORY)
*AIRLINES IGNORING EFFICIENT PLANES IN BLOW TO CARBON TARGETS – STUDY
(ENVIRONMENT)
✔IVANKA TRUMP PROMISED HER DAD WOULD DELIVER A GREAT FAMILY LEAVE PLAN. HERE’S WHAT WE GOT.
(AMERICA)
*LET’S TALK ABOUT GEORGE H.W. BUSH’S ROLE IN THE IRAN-CONTRA SCANDAL
(HISTORY)
*EPA’S NEW WATER RULE WILL GUT THE CLEAN WATER ACT
(ENVIRONMENT)
*WHITE SUPREMACY APOLOGISTS ARE HAVING A FIELD DAY
(WHITE SUPREMACY)
*SILENT SAM, GEORGE H.W. BUSH, AND ROSS DOUTHAT'S WASPS: NOSTALGIA FOR A TIME THAT NEVER WAS
BY THE RUDE PUNDIT(COMMENTARY)
*WHEN MY PATIENT DIED GIVING BIRTH, THE REALITY OF US MATERNAL MORTALITY AND RACE HIT ME
(COMMENTARY)
*US AIRPORT WORKERS STRUGGLE TO MAKE ENDS MEET AS INDUSTRY PROFITS SOAR
(SLAVERY 21ST CENTURY)
*AMAZON GRACE
(FUNNIES)
✔WORKERS ARE FIGHTING RETAIL ROBBER BARONS – AND WINNING
(SLAVERY 21ST CENTURY)
*A CABINET OF TOADIES
(TALKERS)
*IT’S A DOMINO EFFECT: STUDY CONFIRMS RACIAL BIAS IS COSTING BLACK HOMEOWNERS AN AVERAGE $48K
(RACE MATTERS)
*FOX NEWS IS VERY MAD THAT A CHURCH IS POINTING OUT THE INHUMANITY OF TRUMP FAMILY SEPARATION POLICY
(WORTHLESS MEDIA)
*NORTH CAROLINA GOP PUSHES LAW TO TAKE OVER ELECTIONS AMID FRAUD INVESTIGATION IN HOUSE RACE
(AMERICA)
*PSILOCYBIN FOR THE MASSES: OREGON CONSIDERING LEGALIZING MUSHROOMS
(AMERICA)
*WASHINGTON SHOW NFL TEAMS WOULD RATHER LOSE THAN SIGN COLIN KAEPERNICK
(REAL PEOPLE)
*FEDS: EX-BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICER ADMITTED MISCONDUCT, EXPANDING SCOPE OF GUN TRACE TASK FORCE CORRUPTION PROBE(GESTAPO USA)
✔FOX NEWS GOES INTO FULL DENIAL OVER FLYNN MEMO
(WORTHLESS MEDIA)
*RACIST SIGN FOUND IN HOUSTON WARNS THAT COPS WON’T LET BLACKS ‘WALK OR WORK IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD’
(AMERICA)
*‘BABYSITTING WHILE BLACK’: HERE ARE THE 10 MOST ABSURD REASONS WHITE PEOPLE CALLED THE COPS ON BLACK PEOPLE IN 2018(RACE MATTERS)
*BORDER PATROL AGENT CHARGED WITH CAPITAL MURDER IN TEXAS
(GESTAPO USA)
*‘CHEATING’ GORILLAS SHOW CLEVER PUZZLE-SOLVING
(WEIRD THINGS)
*CHINA IS BOTH THE BEST AND WORST HOPE FOR CLEAN ENERGY
(WORLD)
*MOST OF THE UNIVERSE IS MISSING—A ‘DARK FLUID’ WITH NEGATIVE MASS COULD EXPLAIN WHY
(CURRENTS)
*TRUMP ON COMING DEBT CRISIS: ‘I WON’T BE HERE’ WHEN IT BLOWS UP
(TRUMP)
*LINDSEY GRAHAM OPENLY ADMITS THAT HE WILL LET TRUMP OFFICIALS GET AWAY WITH BLATANT CORRUPTION BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT DEMOCRATS(GOP POLITICS)
*ONCE UPON A TIME ...RIGHT-WING CHRISTIANS DEMONIZED CHRISTMAS
(CHRISTIANITY)
*GENERAL MOTORS IS PROOF TO THE WORLD THAT SLASHING WAGES ISN'T THE TICKET TO PROFITABILITY
(CAPITALISM)
*MORE CRAP FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
(ENVIRONMENT)
*THESE COMPANIES CLAIMED THE GOP TAX BILL WOULD ‘BOOST JOBS.’ NOW THEY’RE LAYING OFF EMPLOYEES.
(REALITY)
*THE IGNORED LEGACY OF GEORGE H.W. BUSH: WAR CRIMES, RACISM, AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE
(TALKERS)
*late news of interest*
'We were just used to give Trump money': Veterans say the Saudi regime 'duped' them to funnel funds to the president's business empire
These transactions are exactly what the Emoluments clause sought to prevent.
By Cody Fenwick / AlterNet
December 5, 2018, 4:13 PM GMT
In a detailed new report Wednesday, journalists David Fahrenthold and Jonathan O'Connell at the Washington Post showed how the Saudi regime used a veterans group to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into President Donald Trump's business — an incident that has become emblematic of the Emoluments Clause case against the president.
The Constitution's Emoluments Clause bars the president and other officials from receving payments from foreign governments while in office. Attorneys general from Washington D.C. and Maryland are currently bringing a case against the president because his continued control of his business empire has allowed him to receive such payments.
And the Saudis, it seems, have been big customers. The Post reported that lobbyists for Saudi Arabia spent $270,000 at Trump International Hotel in D.C. shortly after Trump's election in 2016. It also found that the regime is finding other avenues to pay Trump money:
Since February 2017, Saudi customers have boosted the bottom line at two other Trump hotels. In Chicago, the Trump hotel’s internal statistics showed a sharp uptick in customers from Saudi Arabia after Trump took office. In New York this year, the general manager of Trump’s hotel at Central Park said a single stay by some Saudi customers — who were traveling with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman -- was so lucrative, it helped the hotel turn a profit for the quarter.
But the D.C. case is particularly galling because of the way it used veterans.
Fahrenthold and O'Connell report that the lobbying firm Qorvis/MSLGroup, working for the Saudis, paid for groups of veterans to have lavish stays at Trump's hotel while lobbying lawmakers against legislation the reigme opposed. But many of the veterans said they didn't realize the Saudi regime was paying for the trip or that they only found out later, leaving them feeling "duped."
Michael Gibson, who helped organize the trips, insisted that the veterans were informed of the funding source and that the aim was not to win favorable treatment from the president by paying his businesses.
However, Henry Garcia, a Navy Veteran who took the trip, told the Post that once he found out the regime was behind the event, he said to himself, "Oh, we were just used to give Trump money.”
Perhaps most damning of all about the report is that the veterans weren't even provided with sufficient training to be good lobbyists. If the operation wasn't aiming to actually influence law, it seems more likely that it was used to directly influence the president.
All of this is espcially damning because of Trump's behavior toward Saudi Arabia. He has consistently touted the regime as a central ally, even though this claim is dubious, and the administration has supported the ongoing war and human rights catastrophe in Yemen. Most recently, the administration has been helping to cover up the evidence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement in the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
After receiving criticism for his shady ties to the country, the president said on Nov. 20, "I have no business whatsoever with Saudi Arabia."
Even the mere appearance of foreign corruption, putting aside the frightful amount of evidence of corruption, should be reason enough for the president to be blocked from receiving these funds. It's intolerable to think the country's foreign policy might be driven by Trump's private greed.
The Constitution's Emoluments Clause bars the president and other officials from receving payments from foreign governments while in office. Attorneys general from Washington D.C. and Maryland are currently bringing a case against the president because his continued control of his business empire has allowed him to receive such payments.
And the Saudis, it seems, have been big customers. The Post reported that lobbyists for Saudi Arabia spent $270,000 at Trump International Hotel in D.C. shortly after Trump's election in 2016. It also found that the regime is finding other avenues to pay Trump money:
Since February 2017, Saudi customers have boosted the bottom line at two other Trump hotels. In Chicago, the Trump hotel’s internal statistics showed a sharp uptick in customers from Saudi Arabia after Trump took office. In New York this year, the general manager of Trump’s hotel at Central Park said a single stay by some Saudi customers — who were traveling with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman -- was so lucrative, it helped the hotel turn a profit for the quarter.
But the D.C. case is particularly galling because of the way it used veterans.
Fahrenthold and O'Connell report that the lobbying firm Qorvis/MSLGroup, working for the Saudis, paid for groups of veterans to have lavish stays at Trump's hotel while lobbying lawmakers against legislation the reigme opposed. But many of the veterans said they didn't realize the Saudi regime was paying for the trip or that they only found out later, leaving them feeling "duped."
Michael Gibson, who helped organize the trips, insisted that the veterans were informed of the funding source and that the aim was not to win favorable treatment from the president by paying his businesses.
However, Henry Garcia, a Navy Veteran who took the trip, told the Post that once he found out the regime was behind the event, he said to himself, "Oh, we were just used to give Trump money.”
Perhaps most damning of all about the report is that the veterans weren't even provided with sufficient training to be good lobbyists. If the operation wasn't aiming to actually influence law, it seems more likely that it was used to directly influence the president.
All of this is espcially damning because of Trump's behavior toward Saudi Arabia. He has consistently touted the regime as a central ally, even though this claim is dubious, and the administration has supported the ongoing war and human rights catastrophe in Yemen. Most recently, the administration has been helping to cover up the evidence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement in the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
After receiving criticism for his shady ties to the country, the president said on Nov. 20, "I have no business whatsoever with Saudi Arabia."
Even the mere appearance of foreign corruption, putting aside the frightful amount of evidence of corruption, should be reason enough for the president to be blocked from receiving these funds. It's intolerable to think the country's foreign policy might be driven by Trump's private greed.
denial conservative style!!
From Crooks & Liars: I've never gone wrong betting on the racism and arrogant ignorance of the Right: I've only erred occasionally on the point spread. And predicting Conservative behavior is dead-easy because traditionally they only have four basic settings:
Pleading Ignorance.
Of course Conservatives are ignorant -- deeply and malignantly ignorant. This comes from letting lying demagogues like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity take a dump in their skulls for the last 20 years. But since the GOP OnStar only emits turns in one direction, traditionally the only way Conservatives have been permitted to be "wrong" about anything was that they were "not Conservative enough!". From Crain's, October, 2015:
- Arrogant triumphalism: The aforementioned "We won! You lost! Bush is a genius! Suck it Libtards!"
- All-out denialism: The aforementioned "Everything I see on non-Fox teevee is fake! Terrible lies by the terrible Murrica-hating Libtard media conspiracy!"
- Bargaining: It doesn't matter whether or not I'm a brain-washed moron...because Both Sides!"
- Running Away: As I pointed out back during the first Great Skedaddle back in 2009, because Conservatives are by nature abject moral cowards, their last "out" is doing like German soldiers did after the fall of Berlin: stop running away from the catastrophe they created only long enough to burn their uniforms. See, "I'm an independent."
Pleading Ignorance.
Of course Conservatives are ignorant -- deeply and malignantly ignorant. This comes from letting lying demagogues like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity take a dump in their skulls for the last 20 years. But since the GOP OnStar only emits turns in one direction, traditionally the only way Conservatives have been permitted to be "wrong" about anything was that they were "not Conservative enough!". From Crain's, October, 2015:
