US Politics

[HardCoreBlue]

1 hour ago, Mark F said:

this is astounding.

the nazis that almost succeeded in kidnapping wittmer , are being convicted, and sentenced. 

Wonder how far this will go?

really frightening.

didnt read how the nazi got near pelosi, but...

 

This incident supports my thinking in spite of everything that has happened, since Trump,

the people in power, in the States, Biden, Nancy, Schumer, et al,

just have not grasped the seriousness of the situation. They just dont seem to get it, viscerally.

They seem to think that proceeding with polite, orderly hearings, will take care of the problem. making smart ass comments to the press now and then.

it might be beyond their comprehension.

I think I would add again that it’s also them wanting to preserve their own legacies (ie I hold myself to the standards needed to best serve the people of the United States and I will have nothing to do with the unbecoming behaviour of these miscreants, I will Twitter shame them to death) and ironically is a completely selfish thing to do because they are just thinking about themselves and how they look no matter the destruction around them and what needs to be done. They think twitter shaming people to persuade them to follow the honor system will work and keep them in good standing for the history books (while making gobs of money as well).

[Tracker]

6 hours ago, Wideleft said:

 

 

Suspect in Pelosi attack had a dark internet presence

David DePape, the 42-year-old man identified by San Francisco police on Friday as being the main suspect in the attack on Paul Pelosi, has a history of posting right-leaning sentiments to social media.

Described by an acquaintance in an interview with CNN as being "out of touch with reality," DePape was known to share conspiracy theories to his Facebook page and blogs relating to COVID-19, the 2020 election and the events of Jan.6.

Following the attack on Pelosi Friday, during which he violently assaulted the 82-year-old man with a hammer in front of police officers, Facebook has de-activated DePape's page, but reports have indicated that last year he shared several videos by My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell disputing the results of the 2020 election, as well as anti-vaccine propaganda and anti-LGBTQ memes.

[Mark F]

2 hours ago, HardCoreBlue said:

completely selfish thing to do because they are just thinking about themselves

I agree.... . this is a slip of some sort for,  her, and will not happen again.

Cause she, all of them, can afford to protect themselves fully. probably covered by government.

just like climate change... it will not affect them.

But people like you, and me? ordinary folk, when the mob is at the door?

forget calling the police.... you are on your own.  

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by Mark F

[bustamente]

I think he is a indictment away from stoking out

 

[HardCoreBlue]

1 hour ago, bustamente said:

I think he is a indictment away from stoking out

 

As long as he makes libtards wokesters, lefties, socialists, commies like you upset and creates an environment where my stupidity, dumbness, and grossness is just seen as another side to the conversation, I say Go Trump, MAGA!

 

[Mark H.]

On 2022-10-28 at 10:19 AM, Sard said:

I believe that the far-left is extreme socialism... everybody help everyone else and bring everybody up... sounds dangerous.

The far left is communism.

[Sard]

2 hours ago, Mark H. said:

The far left is communism.

Which isn't a bad thing until someone takes power and corrupts it into a dictatorship.  The "communism" that the western world has been fighting for years isn't true communism.

[Mark H.]

54 minutes ago, Sard said:

Which isn't a bad thing until someone takes power and corrupts it into a dictatorship.  The "communism" that the western world has been fighting for years isn't true communism.

Until...

[FrostyWinnipeg]

I think I've discovered the secret Republican plan. Threaten Dems until they are forced to buy guns to protect themselves thus ending gun control.

We are this close to page 1000! Might have to shut it down and restart. Lots of bytes in this one.

Edited October 30, 2022 by FrostyWinnipeg

[Tracker]

4 hours ago, FrostyWinnipeg said:

I think I've discovered the secret Republican plan. Treaten Dems until they are forced to buy guns to protect themselves thus ending gun control.

We are this close to page 1000! Might have to shut it down and restart. Lots of bytes in this one.

Texas pastor openly calls on 'Christian nationalists' to 'impose their values on society'
   
Texas megachurch pastor Robert Jeffress said over the weekend that Christian nationalists had a right to "impose their values" on everyone else.

During an interview with Real America's Voice host Tim Clinton, Jeffress addressed recent concerns about the rising nationalist movement among Christians.
"We always put our love for God above everything, even allegiance to our country," he explained. "But that's not what they're really talking about. Listen carefully. They say they are opposed to people who say America was founded as a Christian nation, Americans who believe not only in the spiritual heritage of our nation, but believe that we ought to use elections to help return our country to its Christian foundation."

"If that's Christian nationalism, count me in," the pastor laughed.

https://www.alternet.org/2022/10/christian-nationalists-impose-their-values/

[Tracker]

'You're shooting a gun!' GOP congressman shredded by CBS' Margaret Brennan over 'FirePelosi' hashtag
'You're shooting a gun!' GOP congressman shredded by CBS' Margaret Brennan
   
United States Representative Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) appeared on Sunday's edition of Face the Nation and was grilled by CBS anchor Margaret Brennan over a video that he posted to Twitter of him at a shooting range with a hashtag that read, "fire" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California).

[Tracker]

Donald Trump Jr. Mocks Paul Pelosi With 'Despicable' Halloween Post

The ex-president's son continued to pile on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband after he was seriously hurt in a hammer attack in their home.  Donald Trump Jr. on Sunday reduced the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi to a Halloween gag. (See it below.)

Pelosi, 82, was hit with a hammer in the early hours Friday by a home invader who reportedly asked, “Where is Nancy?” Pelosi continues recovering after surgery for a skull fracture.
Trump apparently thought he could play the disturbing crime for laughs, posting a meme with a photo of underwear and a hammer with the caption: “Got my Paul Pelosi Halloween costume ready.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jr-paul-pelosi-halloween-costume_n_635fa241e4b04dfacf8218cc

[Tracker]

Trump indictment expected 'weeks' after midterms — and Bannon makes a threat
   
Republican aides on Capitol Hill and GOP strategists are expecting the U.S. Dept. of Justice to indict Donald Trump within weeks or months of the November election, which is just eight days away. Some are warning if that is the plan it should be sooner rather than later. Former top Trump advisor Steve Bannon claims if the former President is indicted DOJ will be defunded "immediately" and Garland could face impeachment.

The Hill reports those "Republican aides and strategists privately expect Attorney General Merrick Garland to pursue an indictment of former President Trump within 60 to 90 days after Election Day, predicting the window for prosecuting Trump will close once the 2024 presidential campaign gains momentum."

“A couple of weeks after the election, I assume that Garland will indict Trump,” an unnamed "veteran Republican aide" told The Hill, a right-leaning website, which adds they were "expressing a sentiment shared by several other GOP aides and strategists. "

One strategist identified as Vin Weber told The Hill, “I think an indictment is a bad idea, but I think that Garland is under such political pressure by the Democratic left that it may well happen.”

Stressing this opposition to an indictment of Trump, he added: "If it’s going to happen, though, it should happen as soon after the [midterm] election as possible because it complicates everybody’s plans: Biden’s plans, Trump’s plans, every other Republican’s plans."

“If this is going to happen, it’s not in anyone’s interest to prolong this process until the presidential process for ’24 is underway and drop this like a bomb into the middle of an already established presidential field,” he added.

On the far right wing social media site Gettr, convicted criminal Steve Bannon threatened if the Dept. of Justice does indict his former boss, it will be defunded "immediately."

"Two Action Items," the bombastic far-right extremist and purveyor of conspiracy theories told supporters, "the DoJ will be Defunded immediately and Articles of Impeachment on Garland and his inner circle will be accelerated…. An Indictment of President Trump will NOT stand."

https://www.alternet.org/2022/10/bannon-threatens-doj-and-garland-on-report-gop-expects-trump-indictment-weeks-after-midterms/

[Tracker]

The Supreme Court’s Conservatives Are Going To End Affirmative Action In Higher Education

The Supreme Court’s six conservative justices appeared ready to end affirmative action on Monday, during arguments in two cases challenging the limited use of race in college and university admissions.

In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, white and Asian students claim that the use of race in admissions that helps the enrollment of Black, Hispanic and Native American students unconstitutionally discriminates against whites and Asians by violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in both cases and the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause granting equal treatment to all persons under the law in the North Carolina case.
The lawyers for Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit group run by conservative lawyer Ed Blum, who is white and has brought numerous cases before the Supreme Court challenging race-conscious policy-making, argued that any use of race was unconstitutional. They asked the court to overrule its prior precedents authorizing the limited use of race to achieve diversity in the 1978 case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke and the approval of the limited affirmative action program used by the University of Michigan in Grutter v. Bollinger.

“Grutter is grievously wrong,” Patrick Strawbridge, counsel for Students for Fair Admissions, said in arguing that any consideration of race in admissions is unconstitutional and “divisive.”

The court’s six-justice conservative supermajority has the votes to overturn Grutter. Justices John Roberts, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have all previously ruled in favor of ending race-conscious affirmative action programs. While Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett have a limited record on the issue, they all aligned with the arguments made by the plaintiffs on Monday.

Indeed, in their questioning of the lawyers in support of the University of North Carolina, the conservative justices set up a lose-lose situation.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/supreme-court-affirmative-action_n_63600d1fe4b08fd5e954d2c4

[Tracker]

Extremist Gun Group Talks Of 'Firepower We Have To Unload' On Democratic Candidates

Days after federal agencies warned of a heightened threat of violent attacks on political candidates, an extremist gun rights group on Monday urged supporters to give it money so it can figure out “how much firepower we have to unload on gun-grabbing candidates” in Senate races in key battleground states.

“At midnight tomorrow, we’ll know exactly how much firepower we have to unload on gun-grabbing candidates in AZ, NV, GA, PA and OH as we head into next week’s election day,” reads a fundraising email from the American Firearms Association.

 

[Tracker]

Trump lawyers throw Allen Weisselberg under the bus as he prepares to spill the beans at trial

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump's companies on Monday threw former longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisslberg under the bus during opening statements at a criminal trial over whether the company committed tax fraud.

Weisselberg and two of Trump's companies were indicted in Manhattan last year after prosecutors said the company's compensation to Weisselberg included perks like apartments, luxury cars and private school tuition for his grandchildren that were never reported on his taxes. Weisselberg in August pleaded guilty to 15 charges, including grand larceny, tax fraud and falsifying business records. He agreed to serve five months in prison, pay $1.9 million in back taxes and penalties and agreed to testify at the Trump Organization's trial.

Prosecutors on Monday detailed his offenses and vowed that Weisselberg would give jurors the "inside story of how he conducted this tax scheme."

"This case is about greed and cheating, cheating on taxes," prosecutor Susan Hoffinger said in court, according to Politico. "The scheme was conducted, directed and authorized at the highest level of the accounting department."

Lawyers representing two of Trump's businesses at the trial, meanwhile, threw Weisselberg under the bus and suggested that Trump may be the real victim of the scheme.

"Weisselberg did it for Weissleberg," Michael van der Veen, a lawyer for Trump's payroll company, said in court.

https://www.salon.com/2022/11/01/lawyers-throw-allen-weisselberg-under-the-bus-as-he-prepares-to-spill-the-beans-at-trial/

[bustamente]

Blanche I do declare SCOTUS is not providing cover for you, might be in a bit of trouble 

[HardCoreBlue]

Wow the highest court in the land is truly corrupt, they put an emergency hold on DT's taxes being legally bound to turnover. They're not even hiding their unquestionable misuse of power but then have the gall to say questioning their authority and rulings are dangerous. What a complete abuse of power while they hide behind this 'independence' shite. 

[JCon]

15 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

Wow the highest court in the land is truly corrupt, they put an emergency hold on DT's taxes being legally bound to turnover. They're not even hiding their unquestionable misuse of power but then have the gall to say questioning their authority and rulings are dangerous. What a complete abuse of power while they hide behind this 'independence' shite. 

The Clerics have spoken. 

[Mark F]

6 hours ago, Tracker said:

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump's companies on Monday threw former longtime Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisslberg under the bus

That is a very big bus, people are saying it is the biggest bus ever, and there is a lot of room, the most room, for more people under that bus.

M.Cohen, says Trump would throw his own kid under the bus to save himself.

 

and what is the convoluted explanation for this guy getting charged criminally, and Trump not being charged?

😂

My explanation for everything Trump, is that Trump has the goods on a lot of powerful people. first thing he would do, post election. simplest, most probable answer.

 

no end in sight for the craziness down there.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Mark F

[bustamente]

Biden and the Democratic controlled congress had the chance to pack the court they choose not to and down the road Democrats and indeed all Americans who do not conform will pay the price

[HardCoreBlue]

As a parent, as a human being trying to co-exist with other human beings as best I can this angers me deeply to the core:

Canadian Press reporting on Parkland's victim's impact statements:

'They were barred from addressing Cruz directly or saying anything about him — a violation would have risked a mistrial. And the jurors were told they couldn’t consider the family statements as aggravating factors as they weighed whether Cruz should die'.

In a lot of cases, the Justice System's logic does not work in reality.

[Tracker]

2 hours ago, Mark F said:

That is a very big bus, people are saying it is the biggest bus ever, and there is a lot of room, the most room, for more people under that bus.

M.Cohen, says Trump would throw his own kid under the bus to save himself. and what is the convoluted explanation for this guy getting charged criminally, and Trump not being charged?   My explanation for everything Trump, is that Trump has the goods on a lot of powerful people. first thing he would do, post election. simplest, most probable answer.

no end in sight for the craziness down there.

Disagree with Michael Cohen's statement- Trump would throw ALL of his children and Melania under the bus to save $20.00

[Tracker]

“Connect the dots”: Pennsylvania Democrat attacked at his home days after Pelosi assault

In an opinion column published by the Washington Post on Halloween, Never Trump conservative Max Boot emphasized that while some political violence in the United States has come from the left in recent years — including the 2017 shooting that Rep. Steve Scalise survived and an alleged plot to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh — the reality is that the majority of political violence plaguing the U.S. has been coming from the far right. Boot pointed to the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, as a recent example, arguing that reporters shouldn't resort to "both sides" rhetoric in the hope of trying to appear fair-minded.

On Friday, October 28, the Pelosis' home in San Francisco was invaded by a man who demanded to know, "Where is Nancy?" before attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer. "Where is Nancy?" are the same words that were used during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building.

One violent attack on a Democrat that hasn't received as much attention as the attack on Paul Pelosi is the one on Richard Ringer, who is running for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives via the 51st District. On Monday morning, October 31, Ringer was violently attacked by a man outside his home.

Ringer, who is running for the Pennsylvania House seat presently held by the retiring Republican Rep. Matt Dowling, can't say for sure that the attack was politically motivated, but he suspects that it was.

Ringer told Pittsburgh's Action News 4, "He had my arm behind my back, and he was pounding me. The only thing I have is the bruising on my hand and face, but he hit me a couple of times and knocked me out."

According to Action News 4 reporter Jim Madalinsky, Ringer "has reported multiple incidents to state police over the past three weeks."

"He said someone spray-painted a threatening message on his garage door a few weeks ago," Madalinsky reports. "One week later, Ringer said someone threw a brick through the window to his back door."

Ringer told Action News 4, "All three incidents happened within the last three weeks, three weeks away from the election…. My neighborhood is safe. It's calm, and there's no crime whatsoever. If you just try to connect the dots, maybe. But I can't say definitively."

https://www.salon.com/2022/11/01/connect-the-dots-pennsylvania-democrat-attacked-at-his-home-days-after-pelosi_partner/

[TrueBlue4ever]

5 hours ago, HardCoreBlue said:

As a parent, as a human being trying to co-exist with other human beings as best I can this angers me deeply to the core:

Canadian Press reporting on Parkland's victim's impact statements:

'They were barred from addressing Cruz directly or saying anything about him — a violation would have risked a mistrial. And the jurors were told they couldn’t consider the family statements as aggravating factors as they weighed whether Cruz should die'.

In a lot of cases, the Justice System's logic does not work in reality.

Can’t speak to the US system, but in Canada the victim impact statement is meant to be a tool to allow the victims to have a voice and express their feelings of suffering and loss and is not intended to inflame the judge or jury.

The system is supposed to be dispassionate and not fuelled by vengeance when considering a sentence. The danger is that tugging at the heartstrings or getting an invested party to rip into an accused can improperly influence a jury and lead to an unfair sentence based on the principles at play.

Not saying as a human that this is proper, just that the system is set up to focus on the offender, not the victim. Personally, I think an example of where victim impact statements were used in a vengeful way and influenced the judge (by their own admission) was the Humboldt Broncos accident case, where passionate victim impact statements and direct calls for a harsh sentence led the judge to impose an 8 year sentence and force deportation on the truck driver for 16 deaths based on a single act, where the result was punished and not the act itself, as the law dictates  was not supposed to happen. As a result, a sanction well above the norm (usually 2 years jail at most for a like offence of running a stop sign resulting in death) was imposed - far more than the Premier himself got for the same action that killed a single elderly lady. Now some will say he got what he deserved and sentences should be that high, but put simply the principles of sentencing and victim impact statements were not followed in that case with significant consequences. 

Now I won’t get into the debate of what use SHOULD be made of victim impact statements - that’s a moral debate and open to everyone’s opinions. Just saying how the law has operated and why the judge would have set restrictions in this case, lawfully correct but debatably right or wrong depending on one’s moral viewpoint.