What goes through my my mind when I read the news with my morning coffee. …Or for the Simon's Rockers in the group, this is my response journal.
Brazile: Leaking town hall topics to Clinton campaign ‘mistake I will forever regret’ – POLITICO
It’s weird how the positions Brazile staked out after the DNC Scandal and Primary stand in such contrast to her own actions being very much an example of some of the issues people bring up about the DNC conduct during the 2016 campaign.
Why Bernie Sanders Says Hillary Clinton Isn’t ‘Qualified’ to Be President – The Atlantic
Let’s see if I have this straight….
She questioned his positions on a few issues. That’s taken to be the same as accusing him of being unqualified, which is totally out of line.
Then he calls her unqualified because she disagrees with him on a few issues. Which is not out of line to say because, well, not sure….
No double standards or unfair treatment of Hillary by her opponent’s camp here! Am I right, bros?
Some die-hard supporters of Bernie Sanders are echoing, and in some cases amplifying, unproven claims that Clinton may be covering up serious health problems.
Hillary Clinton, Pneumonia, and Health Conspiracies – The Atlantic
Well, at least she didn’t emerge from the shower with a head wound that needed 7 stitches. Am I right, ladies?
In 2017, the president called Zervos and other women accusing him of sexual harassment or sexual assault “liars.” It prompted Zervos to then file the suit.
Trump’s lawyers have said that because he is the president he’s immune from any prosecution, but the court didn’t agree.
…They cited the Supreme Court’s ruling of Clinton v. Jones, which decided the president could be sued in office relating to unofficial acts that have nothing to do with his role as president.
mmmhmmm
The detective said a grant from the Manhattan district attorney’s office had helped the Tucson authorities clear a backlog of untested rape kits, which preserve the DNA evidence left by an attacker. After five years, Ms. Sudbeck’s kit had finally been tested, the detective said.
…The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., committed $38 million in forfeiture money to help other jurisdictions test rape kits. Since the grants began being distributed in 2015, the evidence kits have led to 165 prosecutions in cases that were all but forgotten. So far, 64 of those have resulted in convictions.
…The initiative has paid to get about 55,000 rape kits tested in 32 law enforcement agencies in 20 states, among them the police departments in Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Miami, Memphis, Austin, Tex., and Kansas City, Mo.
…Using money seized from international banks in New York that were accused of violating sanctions, Mr. Vance dedicated $38 million in grants to other law enforcement agencies to clear those backlogs.
…Still, even with such successes, the problem of untested rape kits persists. Advocates for rape victims estimate that about 250,000 kits remain untested across the country.
…Victims whose cases had been solved with the help of grants from the Manhattan district attorney recalled how the local police had dismissed their claims or questioned whether their encounter was consensual.
…“I believe fundamentally there was a gender bias at issue,” Mr. Vance said Tuesday, when asked about the backlog. “A crime mostly involving women was simply not viewed as important to solve.”
Old Rape Kits Finally Got Tested. 64 Attackers Were Convicted. – The New York Times
It’s always a good thing when the American Injustice System actually deals out justice.
President Donald Trump should pay a $5.6 million penalty on top of $2.8 million in restitution for spending money from his charitable foundation on business and political purposes, the New York attorney general told a judge in seeking a ruling without a trial.
Neither Trump nor his three eldest children, all of whom had senior roles at the Donald J. Trump Foundation, have provided evidence rebutting the state’s claims that they failed to meet as a board, oversee grant-making or implement policies to protect the charity’s funds from abuse.
Trump Should Pay $5.6 Million Penalty Over Charity, N.Y. Says – Bloomberg
hmmm
Bernie Sanders cuts head, left with seven stitches
hmmm, are there health issues he isn’t telling us about?
As a candidate in 2016, Sanders criticized Hillary Clinton over her family’s nonprofit, saying the foundation run by Clinton’s husband and daughter amounted to a back door for foreign leaders and others seeking to buy access and influence.
…[The Sanders Institute] has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars during its brief existence and has declined to disclose its donors.
….The lack of transparency and the family ties have drawn criticism from good-government advocates.
“For a politician who runs on fairness and socialist principles, this looks like the old political games,”
Critics have said the think tank blurs lines between family, fundraising and campaigns.
The Vermont senator criticized Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign for her family’s nonprofit and is reportedly concerned he will be called hypocritical over the institute.
Sanders Institute shutting down amid criticism | TheHill
Huuuuuuuge hypocrite much?
“Your honor, I will be 70 years old in a few weeks,” Manafort said, adding that he remained his wife’s primary caretaker. “Please, let me and my wife be together.”
Jackson appeared unmoved by the emotional display.
“This defendant knew better, and he knew exactly what he was doing,” the judge said, adding that she did not believe Manafort’s apology was genuine.
“Saying I’m sorry I got caught is not an inspiring plea for leniency,” Jackson said.
Then, later Wednesday, she inflicted one more indignity, signing an order turning over several of his homes and bank accounts to federal authorities. Among them, an estate in the Hamptons and his condo in Trump’s eponymous New York tower.
…New York state authorities announced a 16-count indictment charging him with mortgage fraud and conspiracy, arising from the same conduct prosecuted by federal authorities.
Wednesday’s developments offered a vivid illustration of the danger facing at least some of the high-profile subjects of Russia special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. As Mueller’s inquiry grinds toward its conclusion, federal and state prosecutors are in the midst of their own investigations –many sprawling far beyond the bounds of Russian intervention in the 2016 election. Manafort’s fate on Wednesday suggested the peril they face is real, and at least partly beyond Trump’s control.
The strategically-timed action by Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance would put Manafort beyond the reach of a potential pardon, should President Donald Trump choose to set aside the federal convictions against his former aide.
Manafort’s prison term, new charges highlight perils in Trump probes
hmmmm
Trump complained that his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner “didn’t know how to play the game” and kept attracting negative press. Kelly reportedly said it would look bad to fire them so they decided to make life difficult enough to force Kushner and Ivanka to resign.
…Ivanka and Kushner kept getting refused travel on Air Force planes—but found a workaround by inviting along a Cabinet secretary, often Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to get access to the government flights.
‘Get Rid of My Kids’: Trump Told Kelly to Fire His Children, Claims New Book ‘Kushner Inc.’
hmmm
A federal judge, citing an “unprecedented measles outbreak” in suburban Rockland County, New York, has denied a request to let 44 unvaccinated children return to school.
New York judge won’t let unvaccinated children return to school – MarketWatch
hmmmm
The lawmakers say that unless people of color are guaranteed a share of the potentially $3 billion industry, there may be no legalization this year. They want to be assured that some of that money will go toward job training programs, and that minority entrepreneurs will receive licenses to cultivate or sell the marijuana.
…They say one misstep, in particular, stands out: None of the 10 states or Washington ensured that minority communities would share in any economic windfall of legalization — missing out on an opportunity to redress years of having a disproportionate number of African-Americans arrested on marijuana charges.
…Critics say marijuana legalization has fostered an inequitable system in which wealthy, white investors often reap the profits of the fledgling industry.
In Colorado, black entrepreneurs said they were banned from winning licenses because of marijuana-related convictions. Black people make up just a handful of the thousands of cultivation or dispensary license holders there, and continue to be arrested on marijuana-related charges at almost three times the rate of white people.
In California, several cities introduced equity programs retroactively. Oakland now requires at least half of licenses to go to people with a cannabis-related conviction and who fell below an income threshold.
…Ms. Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat who represents a district that includes Buffalo. She has introduced her own bill, which directs half of all marijuana revenue to a community fund supporting job training, and prioritizes licenses for people from communities most affected by criminalization.
…That concern has made itself so clear that the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, worried that legislators might seek to shut them out of the new industry, sent a letter to Mr. Cuomo and legislative leaders on Monday promising to set up a $25 million “Cannabis Economic Opportunity Fund” to provide zero-interest loans to companies led by women and people of color.
…The City Council’s Progressive Caucus and the Black Latino and Asian Caucus recently introduced laws and resolutions calling for the city to have local control over home delivery and cultivation of marijuana, potentially allowing smaller businesses to share in the sales.
“Not arresting people is not good enough,” Donovan Richards, a city councilman from Queens, said. “Economic justice must be served.”
hmmmm
Israel passed a law annexing the area in 1981, but that annexation failed to get international recognition and was shot down by the United Nations General Assembly.
Graham to push for US to recognize Golan Heights as part of Israel | TheHill
hmmmm
Julie Bishop, who was Australia’s first female foreign minister and deputy leader of the Liberal Party, said the first lady made the mistake after President Donald Trump struck up a conversation with her partner David Panton.
…Melania, standing by, assumed David was the foreign minister and she said to me: “Julie, will you be coming to my ladies’ lunch tomorrow?”,’ Bishop said of the encounter at the UN General Assembly Leaders’ week in 2017.
Melania Trump ‘mistook former female Australia foreign minister for partner’ | Daily Mail Online
Damn the Trumps’ staff sucks. Sure, she should have known. She also should have had someone with her to help avoid gaffes like that. If she did have anyone there, they clearly weren’t of much use.
Donald Trump’s inauguration received tens of thousands of dollars from shell companies that masked the involvement of a foreign contributor or others with foreign ties.
The Guardian has identified the creators of three obscure firms that contributed money to Trump’s inaugural committee, which collected a record $107m as he entered the White House in 2017.
The three companies each gave $25,000 to Trump’s inaugural fund.
…One of the $25,000 donations to Trump’s inauguration was made through a Delaware shell company for a wealthy Indian financier based in London, who appears to not hold US citizenship or residency.
Another was made by a company formed in Georgia by a lobbyist with connections to the Taiwanese government. His wife said the firm was funded by Chinese investors. One of their daughters was later given an internship in Trump’s White House, which they said was unrelated to the donation.
…The contribution appears to have paid for two VIP tickets to Trump’s inauguration. He and his wife, Priya, attended the event in Washington and also enjoyed a “private breakfast” with Trump, according to an article in the UK’s Asian Lite newspaper, which was written by a veteran Indian reporter who knows the Vandrevalas.
…Sean’s wife, Joann, said in a brief telephone interview in late January that Sean created Jan Castle for three Chinese investors. Sean later denied his wife had said this. The company’s original filing to Georgia identified someone named Jianning He as its “organizer”, but gave only the same mailbox address as contact information.
Trump inauguration took money from shell companies tied to foreigners | World news | The Guardian
hmmmm
Yellen said, “I doubt that he would even be able to say that the Fed’s goals are maximum employment and price stability.”
Mr. Trump’s comments demonstrate a “lack of understanding” about the Fed, she added.
…Asked whether she thought the president has a good grasp of economy, she said, “No, I do not.”
Janet Yellen says Trump doesn’t understand what the Federal Reserve does – CBS News
Heh, ouch.
A couple hundred metalheads with kazoos converged on the state Capitol on Monday morning to defend one of their own by drowning out a small group of Westboro Baptist Church members.
The Kansas-based hate group said it came to Virginia in part to demonstrate against Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, who is the state’s first and only openly transgender lawmaker.
Roem also happens to be a metal singer, which prompted Richmond-based singer Randy Blythe, who fronts the well-known band Lamb of God and considers Roem a friend, to organize what he called a “counter-party.”
Metalheads with kazoos drown out Westboro Baptist Church at Capitol – Virginia Mercury
God bless America.
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