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Charity founder in homeless vets hoax charged with fraud, stolen valor
https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2024/05/02/charity-founder-in-homeless-vets-hoax-charged-with-fraud-stolen-valor/
By Leo Shane III
Thursday, May 2
A veteran who spread a false story blaming White House immigration policies for harming homeless veterans was charged with stolen valor and fraud this week after months of investigation into her charity work by the FBI.
Sharon Toney-Finch, 43, founder of the Yerik Israel Toney Foundation in New York and an Army veteran, was charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday with multiple counts of fraud. She could face more than 30 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said that Toney-Finch “falsely claimed to have received a military award bestowed on those wounded or killed in the line of duty, and she used this lie to drive donations to her charitable organization, which in fact was a ruse the defendant allegedly used to line her own pockets.
“The defendant’s alleged crimes are dishonorable to the highest degree.”
A New York state lawmaker at the center of the controversy called the incident a heartbreaking betrayal and a disservice to the veterans community.
By Leo Shane III
Toney-Finch came under national scrutiny in May 2023 after her organization claimed that 20 homeless veterans under its care had been kicked out of a Newburgh, New York, hotel to make room for incoming migrants being housed through county funding.
New York state lawmakers introduced legislation to stop the evictions. But as the story gained national attention, hotel officials said they had no record of the veterans in question, and Veterans Affairs officials said they had no record of any direct work with the charity.
Within a few days, New York State Assemblyman Brian Maher said that Toney-Finch had admitted to making up the story. He called for a full investigation into the charity, eventually prompting the fraud charges.
Officials from the U.S. attorney’s office said that Toney-Finch spent funds raised by her charity on personal expenses and falsely claimed to have survived a terrorist attack in Iraq in 2010, earning her a Purple Heart. They also said she falsified her military discharge paperwork to support her fake biography.
Since 2016, Toney-Finch had been collecting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in disability benefits” based on those false claims.
“Acts of stolen valor are especially egregious as they distract from sacrifices of those who were truly injured defending our nation,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith said in a statement.
Toney-Finch declined comment on the fake homeless veterans story last year and could not be reached for comment on the new criminal charges.
Fox’s migrants-displaced-vets source was charged with fraud. The network hasn’t mentioned it.
WRITTEN BY MATT GERTZ
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/foxs-migrants-displaced-vets-source-was-charged-fraud-network-hasnt-mentioned-it
PUBLISHED 05/06/24 2:25 PM EDT
Toney-Fitch drew notoriety as the source for a May 12, 2023, New York Post report in which she alleged that nearly two dozen homeless veterans her organization had been helping were kicked out hotels in upstate New York to make room for migrants.
Very odd indeed!!
Is dementia catching?
On Fox Kayleigh McEnany said people "look back to 3 years ago and remember the good days of President Trump." Of course, Biden was president then. Kayleigh studied math with Lara Trump, animal husbandry with Kristi Noem and journalism with a tree stump pic.twitter.com/AOAQqOUGnL
— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) April 30, 2024
Where are his devoted kids/Melania......the mail order wife who said, "It Was Just Locker Room Talk"? Why is no one supporting him during his fraud trial?
Judge Merchan threatened Chump with jail time
“Judge Merchan threatened Chump with jail time” pic.twitter.com/X4zqAkROQB
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 6, 2024
Well! it's about time.
NBC News Confirmed That The Probe Into Notorious Deleted Secret Service Text Message Scandal Is An Official Criminal Investigation
excerpt:
According to reporting from NBC News’ Pete Williams and Julia Ainsley, the inspector general’s probe into the Department of Homeland Security regarding missing Secret Service text messages hailing from January 5th and 6th, 2021, has now officially turned into a criminal investigation, after reports revealed the text messages being sought by the J6 House Select Committee were conveniently deleted after their request for the evidence was already made.
https://polinews.org/nbc-news-confirmed-that-the-probe-into-notorious-deleted-secret-service-text-message-scandal-is-an-official-criminal-investigation/
A new odd couple! Should be interesting.
My new podcast The Campaign Managers with @davidplouffe launches May 22! Tune in to hear us delve deep into the complexities of the 2024 election where we'll go beyond the headlines to dissect the latest campaign strategies, analyze the pressing issues shaping the political… pic.twitter.com/upZxLSUjdU
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) May 6, 2024
He looks so small, weak, cowardly, seething, with two very unhappy attorneys by his side. pic.twitter.com/BIK0yhWfD2
— Richard Signorelli 🌱🇺🇦 🌊 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 (@richsignorelli) May 2, 2024
Geoff Duncan: Why I’m voting for Biden and other Republicans should, too
Geoff Duncan: Why I’m voting for Biden and other Republicans should, too https://t.co/z3rKUrHwCT
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) May 6, 2024
Just-released exhibits:
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 6, 2024
These handwritten notations by jailed ex-Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg could be described as a visualization of the prosecution's theory of the case.
Let's break it down. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/abTjEv9JZV
"Awaiting Israeli response...."
BREAKING: Hamas says in a statement it has accepted the Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal
BREAKING: Hamas says in a statement it has accepted the Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 6, 2024
For the first time since last October, Joe Biden leads Donald Trump in the Decision Desk HQ/
@thehill polling average. Biden leads Trump by 0.1% based on 685 polls.
🚨 For the first time since last October, Joe Biden leads Donald Trump in the Decision Desk HQ/@thehill polling average. Biden leads Trump by 0.1% based on 685 polls.
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) May 6, 2024
See it here: https://t.co/A4AuTS5mfO pic.twitter.com/oiZYplbYP8
No weekend at Bernie's yet;
Sen. Bernie Sanders confirms he will seek reelection this fall.
— The Recount (@therecount) May 6, 2024
Sanders would be 89 by the time that new term ends. https://t.co/ZbDbTM3v7r
Former Employee Says Trump Used Personal Account to Repay Hush Money
A longtime Trump Organization employee testified in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial that Mr. Trump had used his personal bank account to reimburse his longtime fixer for the money that bought a porn star’s silence.
Updated
May 6, 2024, 12:52 p.m. ET16 minutes ago
16 minutes ago
Ben Protess, Jonah E. Bromwich and Matthew Haag
Here’s the latest on the trial.
A former Trump Organization employee who handled a key payment at the center of Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan told the jury on Monday that much of the money had come from the personal bank account of Mr. Trump, who was by then the president of the United States.
The employee, Jeffrey S. McConney, the business’s former corporate controller, was cross-examined by the defense after roughly three hours of questioning by prosecutors. In that time, he described the reimbursement of Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s longtime fixer, who paid $130,000 out of his own pocket during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign to buy the silence of a porn star who claimed to have had a tryst with Mr. Trump.
Here’s what to know:
Key testimony: Mr. McConney testified about 11 invoices that prosecutors said were falsified as part of an effort by Mr. Trump to conceal the account of the porn star, Stormy Daniels, which could have derailed his campaign. Mr. Cohen ultimately received $420,000 from Mr. Trump — covering the hush money, a bonus and additional funds — with nine of the 11 payments coming from the personal account of Mr. Trump, who had to have the checks sent to the White House for him to sign, Mr. McConney said. A lawyer for Mr. Trump began his cross-examination by aggressively questioning Mr. McConney and trying to distance the former president from his company’s financial record-keeping.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/05/06/nyregion/trump-trial-hush-money/trump-hush-money-trial-stormy-daniels?smid=url-share
All the Most Brutal Burns From Netflix’s Epic Tom Brady Roast
‘WHAT AN IDIOT!’
“Tom, the only thing dumber than you saying yes to this roast was when you said, hey babe, you should try jiu-jitsu,” Nikki Glaser joked in one of many shots at Brady’s divorce.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-most-brutal-burns-from-netflixs-epic-tom-brady-roast?utm_source=web_push
After a surprise appearance from Peyton Manning, the guest of honor took center stage and was as cocky in his suit as he used to be guiding fourth-quarter comebacks in his Pats uniform.
To the NFL, Brady bragged that the league spent $20 million investigating whether he had a role in deflating footballs in 2015. “You coulda just given me the 20 million and I woulda just told you I fucking did it!” Brady said, prompting a standing O from his former teammates. He also thanked Kardashian for agreeing to participate, although he drew a shady stare from her when he threw her under the bus with a line about Kanye West: “I know Kim was terrified to be here tonight. Not because of this but because her kids are home with their dad.”
He also teased Manning for forever living “in my shadow,” told Manning’s younger brother, Eli, and the New York Giants to eff off, and torched Belichick with this bit: “Everybody asks me which ring is my favorite. I used to say the next one. But now that I’m retired, my favorite ring is the camera that caught Coach Belichick slinking out of that poor girl’s house at 6 a.m. a few months ago… Hey! You still got it! Respect, baby.”
But perhaps the biggest collective head-shaker resounded throughout the arena when Brady delivered the most memorable 9/11 joke since the late Gilbert Gottfried tried one during Comedy Central’s Friar’s Club Roast of Hugh Hefner in 2001. To wit, Brady said of himself and his football legacy: “The word hero comes to mind. But I struggle with that word, because like the rest of America I’ll always remember where I was that fateful day in September of 2001 when tragically, those two Jets slammed into Drew Bledsoe.”
“The GOP will never rebuild until we move on from the Trump era, leaving conservative (but not angry) Republicans like me no choice but to pull the lever for Biden,” writes former Georgia Lt. Gov. @GeoffDuncanGA, a Republican, on supporting Biden. #gapol https://t.co/w0k3haJ8VX
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) May 6, 2024
Mfer claims that judge has gagged him to speak in public WHILE SPEAKING IN PUBLIC.
Trump: judge has taken away his 'constitutional rights' with gag order ahead of trial day 12 https://t.co/kpWy5hV8eN
— New York Post (@nypost) May 6, 2024
Good question. Multitier justice system. The higher up the political ladder and the bigger criminal you are, the better one can get away with stuff.
How often do criminal defendants get held in contempt 10 times without being sent to jail?
— Mary L. Trump (@MaryLTrump) May 6, 2024
Angry and stupid written all over Noem's face.
Well, that's comprehensive. I thought she was a f'ing jerk before I started reading and the author has provided the receipts to confirm that Noem is in fact a jerk. I saw her interview on Face the Nation; all icy stares, bristling at the questions and trying, and failing, to gaslight the💩 out of Margaret Brennan.
Dustin Kittle
@dustinkittle
THE REAL KRISTI NOEM STORY AND WHY THIS RANCHER CALLS BULLSHIT:
I was born on a cattle and poultry farm — I have spent the majority of my life living on the farm — and I currently have a ranch in Tennessee with cattle, horses, and sheep — and what I am here to tell you is that Kristi Noem was wrong.
From the time I could crawl, I’ve been around hunting dogs — my dad raised treeing walkers and we currently have a treeing walker and a German shorthair pointer bird dog on the farm with us now.
I am neither a Republican nor a Democrat and have limited knowledge of Noem’s political dealings — I base my opinion on her own words in describing what was done; words that many people supporting her decision have not read.
As a rancher and an agricultural attorney, I 100% support the right of farmers and ranchers to protect their stock, including the use of deadly force on any animal, dog or otherwise, who is attempting to kill the stock — or poultry, as it was in this case.
But contrary to the false narratives being posited on this site, that is not what occurred in this case.
In the quotes published to date, Noem spends a fraction of the time in addressing the poultry incident, while attempting to justify her actions by opining on the dog’s hunting abilities.
The dog in question was a 14-month old German wire-haired pointer, a bird dog in training to hunt pheasant. Noem had taken the dog on a hunt with some older dogs to help train her but said the dog ruined the hunt with her overexuberance and puppy-like behavior.
On the way home from the hunt, Noem stopped by a friend’s house; however, Noem or someone else from her party apparently did not latch the kennel, and the young dog got out, got in with the neighbor’s chickens and began taking one bite at a time to kill each chicken, then moved on to the next one.
I have seen that exact behavior previously from young hunting dogs with chickens, to include our own GSP. That is not a blood-thirsty killer, but is in fact a condition of curiosity in most any dog’s behavior who finds themselves face-to-face the first time in a pen of chickens.
If Noem’s friend had walked inside her home, grabbed her deer rifle, and shot Cricket right between the eyes before she killed another of her chickens, that is an act I would fully support and is an act that is allowed under the law.
And while that is the scenario some are screaming in support of regarding Noem, it is not at all what occurred in this case.
To dispel another myth being posited by those who have not examined the facts, the first quote attributed to Noem in relation to the dog having ever bit a person came yesterday — and I would surmise it was included in the release to add a legal defense.
Let me explain.
The only reference to the young dog and biting a person came in the quote in which Noem said the dog “whipped around to bite me.” Unlike the positions made defending Noem, there is no evidence the dog had bit anyone, lest Noem would have said, the dog whipped around and bit me.
It may be semantics in some people’s mind, but the plain reading suggests otherwise. And even still, the dog’s actions do not approach the standard for euthanasia under the State’s “vicious” dog statute.
I would add this — if the rationale for Noem’s shortsighted decision was about protecting livestock, it would matter not, for her to offer, that she was “worthless as a hunting dog”. It’s simply a tell on Noem’s part to draw a distinction, implying the dog might not have suffered the same fate if it was a promising hunter.
In her statement made yesterday, Noem, like those supporting her acts being the way of life on the farm, referenced South Dakota’s statutory exemption for killing dogs “found chasing, worrying, injuring or killing poultry or domestic animals.”
The word “found” is integral to the statute’s interpretation, as its inclusion creates a plain reading that negates the interpretation that you may kill dogs who have chased, worried, injured, or killed poultry or domestic animals. And the distinction is an important one, which implies the exemption is one of present circumstances to stop a wayward dog in the act of chasing or killing — in order to protect poultry or livestock.
A review and analysis of a national survey of cases on similar statutes backs up the law’s plain reading, as a North Carolina court in the 2019 case of State v. Barnett delineates in whether the dog was killed in hot blood, so to speak, or at a later time, in cold blood; while finding the latter to indeed be an illegal act.
In that instance, a neighbor’s dogs had attacked the individual’s stock, and a few hours after the incident had taken place, the owner of the stock drove down the road and ran over and killed the dogs while they were on another property.
Now that act clearly may have moral justification to it if all of the facts are considered, but the court said the only fact that mattered was whether the defendant had intentionally ran over the dogs in cold blood or whether it was simply an accident.
The defendant pled it was unintentional and was acquitted on appeal for violating the law, as the court lacked evidence to prove, conclusively, that it was intentional.
Noem presents a different case.
Keep in mind that her dog, by all accounts, had never bothered stock or poultry previously, and did so in this case because it was taken to a farm with chickens, after a hunt, and its owner negligently left open the kennel to allow a young dog and the group of chickens to get together.
But make no mistake, Noem shot the dog, with a shotgun I might add, sometime later — both intentionally and in cold blood.
Noem drove the dog back to her home; certainly angered by what had just transpired, and perhaps realizing the part she played in allowing the hunting dog to get in with chickens.
She then leashed the dog up,walked it to a gravel pit — and with the dog having acted on instinct alone and having no cognizant awareness at that moment as to what was even going on — she executed it.
It’s not inconsequential that she did so with a shotgun rather than a rifle; perhaps using bird shot, with it following the hunt — and the little thought given as to whether the dog would suffer due to that callous selection or her profound ignorance.
Now read the last 12 words of the statutory exemption allowing a person to kill a dog in South Dakota in the protection of poultry or stock.
As to the livestock exemption, such a law allows property owners to take matters into their own hands; a point I wholeheartedly agree with, as a farmer or rancher has a duty to protect the animals entrusted to their care.
And in those last 12 words of the South Dakota statute, much clarity is given to the statutory intent, implying that the dog may not be shot on the owner’s own property.
That is because the protection of the livestock exemption is one from a defensive posture, again to take care of an individual’s own stock, lest the individual is the dog’s owner.
What the State of South Dakota appears to take in its statute is the common sense position that a dog’s owner may not be entitled to use deadly force against a dog who is chasing stock on their own property; seemingly implying that, if that dog is chasing stock, then we know who is to blame — and that owner has a duty to control their dog by training them, penning them, or giving them to someone else who can — but a dog is protected from execution by its own owner’s failure(s).
The language further covers the facts at hand, although clearly, it was not contemplated that someone who retrieved their dog to stop a present situation at another’s property — a property that didn’t 14-month old German wire-haired point did not drive itself to that day — would bring it back home and shoot it, and cite this statute to defend themselves.
Now while Noem has suggested the incident took place as far back as 20 years ago, it is possible she may get a legal reprieve due to the passage of time since the act; but to avail a procedural defense has nothing at all to do with the substantive facts.
And that is where the goat comes in.
Goats are one of the few species of livestock that I have not successfully raised.
When I was about 4 years old, my grandparents had goats and thought it would be a good idea to grab one out of the pasture and let me lead it at the junior goat show at the County Fair. As it would turn out, the goat, named Hammer Jack, was not ready for his primetime debut quite yet, and neither was I, as we took turns dragging each other around the ring.
My next goat venture came about 30 years later when I purchased the goats below — Registered Kiko mates we named Heart and Soul.
Six months after, I called the seller and offered for him to keep the money I had paid for them and I would throw in a sack of feed on top of it if I could bring them back to him.
If you are considering getting goats, check first to see if your fences will hold water — if they will, they might be able to hold a goat.
Based upon the quotes from Kristi Noem, it appears we were about on the same level of knowledge when it came to raising goats.
A relevant note is made up front in that Noem’s goat was an intact Billy or Buck — and it does not appear that it was some prized breeding piece, which leads me to this advice: If you have a male sheep or goat, who is not a breeding piece, and particularly if you have children, you should castrate it for a number of reasons ranging from sanitation to risk of injury.
We have 14 mature Bulls in our Herd Sire lineup, but it is our 2 Rams in our sheep flock who I keep the closest eye on, as mature male sheep or goats can become quite ornery and they can hurt you, without question.
I don’t know why Kristi Noem had an intact goat on her farm and I’m not sure why she allowed her children in with what appears to be a mature billy; but those decisions, without relation, explain the goat’s stench.
A male goat will have urine on its beard, its front legs, and its chest, in a mating instinct that goes back as long as goats have been around.
That likely explains to Noem why her goat stunk.
She then implies the goat was knocking her children down, not causing any physical harm it seems, but getting their clothes dirty.
Again, this entire situation underscores how little Noem, and those who support her actions, know about raising livestock.
A young child should never be in a pen with a male goat or sheep who has not been castrasted, as they will display breeding and territorial instincts that could cause harm, or even death, to a child by being rammed, with a child right at their level to get injured. If you intend to keep back a male goat or sheep, castrate it to eliminate those instincts for the safety of your kids, or keep those male sheep or goats in a secure pen; if they are not in to breed your females at the time.
Kristi Noem killed her bird dog after the incident with the chickens, that was caused by her own negligence. Noem then went straight out to the pasture, got the goat in question, who by all accounts was minding its business doing what goats do, and she brought it back to the gravel pit and she shot it too.
The goat, apparently outsmarting Noem, jumped just as she shot; leaving it maimed by the shotgun blast and suffering until she could retrieve another shotgun shell to finish the goat off, who had the misfortune of drawing Noem’s ire on the day she was executing animals.
And note the quote from Noem’s daughter; who if the math adds up was around 7 years old at the time. She got off her school bus and asked where Cricket, the GSP, was — to show this dog was no aggressive menace her children feared, but that it was instead the victim of Noem’s own stupidity and temper.
Now I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Noem’s initial response, which is likely all that most of her supporters cared to read, noted she killed her pheasant-hunting dog in training and the stinking goat, because that’s just how farmers handle business.
Bullshit.
And that’s where I come into this, as I consider myself a farmer and a rancher, and the last thing I want is for the American public to believe that its farmers and ranchers are a bunch of ignorant savages, although I’ll admit that I’m covering for the ones amongst us who are.
But, in a scenario I’ll admit is short on facts, Noem makes clear that she has extended her death warrants to three elderly horses in recent weeks.
The likelihood of three horses being in need of euthanasia at the exact same snapshot in time is next to impossible, and I hope you’ll forgive me for not giving Noem the benefit of the doubt given her prior acts.
I have heard of two elderly horses being euthanized together if the time for one of them was done and the other may mourn their loss without any other companion. There is a level of compassion in that decision that is certainly understandable, relatable, and if handled in the proper manner, moral.
The story on Noem’s horses, and their respective condition at the time of euthanasia, should be examined in more depth. But I will say that she somehow found a way to dig her hole down even further than she was.
It also jumps off the page to me to see Noem attempt to capitalize on the buzz created by her actions by encouraging folks who to buy her book to hear more “real, honest, and politically incorrect stories.”
With respect to that I’ll say this, no one thinks you’re tough for killing a defenseless animal. There are times on a farm that, due to suffering or circumstance, animals must be put down, often for their own benefit.
The fact that Kristi Noem seeks the protection of the types of decisions which must be made on a farm as a justification for her actions should be offensive to every farmer or rancher who takes seriously their responsibility and commitment to the animals entrusted to their care.
And finally, Noem took one last shot yesterday to, first, promote her book and, second, to reshape the facts.
She even gets in a reference to her leadership during Covid, which I’m sure was stellar, but is of no consequence to the firestorm that she has single-handedly created.
She then states she makes the best decisions for the people in her life, apparently including killing those animals who may create, for her, an inconvenience or embarrassment.
Noem further suggests that she followed the law — otherwise known as a gaslighting attempt to keep her supporters cheering her on, without taking the time to consider that her actions fall outside of the statutory exemptions for protection of stock.
Which is why, likely through her legal team, she included yesterday, for the first time I have seen it in print, a new allegation — that Cricket bit people.
I would surmise that would have been a leading fact to reveal in her decision to kill the dog, following the return to her property after the hunt — and would be much more relevant than the dog’s hunting prowess, or lack thereof, per Noem’s evaluation.
Noem closes by saying the easy way isn’t always the right way; and on that astute point, we do agree.
If you review my mentions, you will find plenty of vitriol over this issue, with references to bleeding hearts and a lack of my understanding on what it really means to be a farmer and a rancher in this world. And that’s ok, because I am secure in who I am; and I won’t shy away from something when I believe it is right.
I have had some say this will alienate me from the farming community — and serve as a detriment to my legal action demanding President Biden to appoint a full Farm Credit Board.
I do not care.
I act and I speak on my beliefs as to what is right and what is wrong; and I’ve always tried to be a voice for those who may not have one.
The truth is there are some amongst us in the farming community who want a license to do as they please on their own land, and I understand that to a point — but when Kristi Noem makes the case that her story is just a part of the same farm life I have grown up in and lived, I must speak up, lest, by association, others may relate the life I live to hers.
My Dad was a dedicated farmer and rancher until he passed away 10 years ago. He hated to see any person or any animal mistreated.
I’m not perfect by any means; and I fall short as to my own patience at times in handling stock — but the general population in this country covets empathy and honesty; and I do not want there to be a trust lost there as to what the farmer believes.
Kristi Noem does not speak for me — and she does not share in what I believe when it comes to what it means to be a farmer or a rancher — instead, she’s a reckless cowboy, or as it turns out here, a reckless cowgirl — and we are not the same.
Dustin Kittle
Tennessee Rancher | Agricultural and Environmental Attorney
Dustin Kittle@dustinkittle
AN OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS:
When I began researching the Noem matter, I could see early on there were significant inconsistencies in her story.
On Saturday, I ran this question through
@grok
and posted it to X after doing so.
I knew this would be a politically-charged issue and wanted to confirm up-front that my motives were pure. In hindsight, given the insinuations put out there by some on the opposite side of this right now, I am glad this was done.
Dustin Kittle@dustinkittle
Environmental and Agricultural Lawyer who operates Snow Creek Ranch | Snow Creek Clydesdales
Lawyer & Law FirmSanta Fe, Tenn., USAlinktr.ee/dustinkittleJoined December 2012
2,446 Following 4,704 Followers
https://twitter.com/dustinkittle
.
A perfect response!
Mfer sets himself up to get nailed
then gets NAILED!
In case you missed it. 🤣🤣🤣 Mark Hamill is great! pic.twitter.com/7Leo9EizVJ
— James Tate (@JamesTate121) May 5, 2024
Gallows Humor and Talk of Escape: Trump’s Possible Return Rattles Capital
At Washington dinner parties, dark jokes abound about where to go into exile if the former president reclaims the White House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/05/us/politics/trump-biden-election-dc.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pk0.2QCA.Snzi4tFUMdEy&smid=url-share
I know. I'm waiting for that. Should be coming up next. But the cold open was awful.
Not over. For sure, at least, Weekend Update will nail her puppy killing ass.
Damn! They're not doing Kristi!!
“We’ve been made aware that the publisher will be addressing conflated world leaders’ names in the book before it is released.”
What on earth are "conflated world leaders' names"?
But never mind. Will SNL do Kristi in its cold open? Only twenty minutes before we find out...
Uh-0h. There's more trouble at Dogkiller Base.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/03/kristi-noem-book-excerpt-nikki-haley-dog-00155925
First came Noem’s disclosure about shooting and killing her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket, for misbehaving. Then, just as the dog-killing news cycle was cresting, the Dakota Scout reported on an anecdote in “No Going Back” that on its face is highly improbable: Noem’s claim that she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un while serving as a back-bencher in Congress.
“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”
Noem's spokesman took time out from updating his resume to cop to the charge.
Noem’s spokesperson, Ian Fury, seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night: “We’ve been made aware that the publisher will be addressing conflated world leaders’ names in the book before it is released.”
The book also contains a fanciful tale of Noem's facing down the insidious blandishments of...Nikki Haley?
https://www.thedakotascout.com/p/gov-kristi-noems-account-of-meeting
“After what seemed to me a bit of an awkward pause, she added, ‘I … just … also want you to know one more thing … I’ve heard a lot of really good things about you. But I also want you to know that if I hear something bad … I will be sure to let you know.’
“There was a long pause. “‘Um, well, thanks for that, Ambassador.’
“‘Let me be clear,’ she added. ‘I’ve heard many good things about you. But when I do hear bad things, I will make sure that you know. I’ve enjoyed talking to you. We will visit soon. Goodbye.’ Click.”
In the book, Noem recounts feeling the cold, clammy hand of political threat reaching up to South Dakota from South Carolina. She talks to an aide.
“‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure I was just threatened by Nikki Haley. It was clear that she wanted me to know that there was only room for one Republican woman in the spotlight. It was weird.’ “Unsurprisingly, I never received any calls or ‘mentoring’ from her, but the message was clear. I’m the alpha female here, and you should know your place. I actually felt a little sad for her.”
According to Haley's camp, this encounter also was the sheerest moonshine.
“Nikki has long called and written notes supporting other women when they go through challenging times,” Denton said. “She called Governor Noem in 2020 to encourage her when she was criticized for keeping her state open during Covid. How she would twist that into a threat is just plain weird.”
And, on the other side of the rainbow bridge, Cricket—and the goat—look down and see Kristi Noem's political career slouching slowly toward the gravel pit.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a60688490/the-sixth-film-rollout/
Very nice! I had a couple good wins earlier in the day which made up for what I didn't do in the KD. for me, it's all for fun and always small bets.
I bet on the two horses I mentioned because someone who follows horses said they liked them.
I also bet on Mystik Dan because my Godson’s name is Dan.
$2.00 w/p/s on 3 horses = $18.00
Win $65.54
Good for you!!
Yes, the photo was amazing!
Mystic Dan had quite a run. Incredibly close finish!
Bob and I tuned in right before it started. We called out our picks: He chose #8, I chose #3 MYSTIC DAN! I won the freaking Kentucky Derby without spending a penny or knowing a thing about it! Best lucky thing that's happened to me in decades. I'm so excited!! 😀
Mystik Dan was not my choice! I did have exotics with Sierra Leone and forever Young so I wasn't totally shut out.
I don't really have any strong feelings. Maybe West Saratoga, but only because I like grays. Or Grand Mo, but only because he's the biggest long shot.
Any picks for the Derby? My picks are Just a Touch or Domestc Product
Underwood to immediately replace Cuellar in prominent funding role after indictment
Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) is set to become top Democrat on the House subcommittee that crafts Homeland Security Department (DHS) funding, replacing Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) shortly after he was indicted on bribery charges.
Aides confirmed the news, first reported by Bloomberg Government, to The Hill on Friday afternoon.
A House Democratic aide said Underwood, who was previously tapped to serve on the subcommittee in 2021, will immediately begin serving as ranking member on the GOP-led subcommittee.
The news comes shortly after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’s (D-N.Y.) office confirmed Cuellar would be stepping down from the role following reports that the Texas Democrat and his wife had been indicted. Cuellar has been alleged to have accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes and laundered the funds.
Read more: https://thehill.com/business/budget/4642507-underwood-to-immediately-replace-cuellar-in-prominent-funding-role-after-indictment/
The craziest part? Biden tried to pass a bill blocking price gouging at the pump and you'll never believe what happened next...
— I Smoked The Presidential Debate (@BlackKnight10k) May 4, 2024
REPUBLICANS BLOCKED IT SO THEY COULD KEEP BLAMING BIDEN FOR INFLATION https://t.co/wDssg70q5u
Former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson on Donald Trump:
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) May 4, 2024
“This guy is so full of himself that he would overturn every kind of rule of law or Constitutional process because of his own ego, which is twisted…I’ll never vote for him again — that’s for goddamn sure.” pic.twitter.com/Sc6Fe2zZUL
Everything Trump touches, dies,
John Eastman Suspended From Practicing Law by DC Appeals Court
Source: BloombergLaw
Donald Trump lawyer John Eastman has been temporarily suspended from practicing law in the District of Columbia in response to a similar prohibition by a California judge.
The suspension is temporary until the final disposition of the California proceeding, DC Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby wrote Friday.
California State Bar Court Judge Yvette Roland on May 1 rejected Eastman’s attempt to lift his suspension in that state, saying his disbarment would “safeguard the public” after he made false claims about the 2020 election. The California Supreme Court will make the final determination.
Eastman is one of several former Trump lawyers facing sanctions. Rudolph Giuliani and Kenneth Chesebro have also had their licenses suspended, and Jeffrey Clark faces possible disbarment after a DC Bar committee on April 4 preliminarily found he violated at least one ethics rule by lying about alleged election fraud.
In California, Roland in March found that Eastman should be disbarred for knowingly making false claims about Trump winning the 2020 presidential election.
Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/john-eastman-suspended-from-practicing-law-by-dc-appeals-court
That Abortion thingy
If you want to understand the rage folks feel about the abortion ban in Missouri, look no further than the signatures we gathered to put abortion on the ballot. We needed 180K we gathered 380K.
— Jess Piper (@piper4missouri) May 4, 2024
The Republicans are the dog that caught the car. Now what? See you in November, boys
'Ugly' Noem’s dog killing was bad — but to really understand her, consider her billy goat
Since Gov. Kristi Noem’s disclosure of her farmyard killing spree, everybody’s been focused on Cricket.
That’s understandable. Cricket was a 14-month-old dog. It’s easy to imagine her head jutting out of a pickup window, hair and tongue blowing in the wind. Like many dogs, Cricket probably had a personality and other human-like qualities that we so often attribute to canine companions
Noem shot and killed Cricket on some undisclosed date years ago for being bad at pheasant hunting and good at chicken hunting. The moral, Noem wrote, is that leaders deal with problems immediately. That makes her a “doer,” she claimed, not an “avoider.”
That’s pure bunk, as millions of people have pointed out in an avalanche of criticism since The Guardian obtained an early copy and revealed some of the contents of Noem’s ironically named memoir, “No Going Back.” The relevant pages have since been shared with South Dakota Searchlight, which requested an advance copy but was ignored; the book’s official publication date is next Tuesday.
Again, the focus on Cricket makes sense, because we can all see that Noem could’ve taken the dog to a shelter and given it another chance at life.
But if you’ll hear me out, I want to tell you why Cricket’s fate is the wrong place to focus your attention.
If you really want to understand Kristi Noem, you need to consider the goat.
‘I spotted our billy goat’
After Noem made the death march to her farm’s gravel pit, where she shot Cricket, she was apparently still in an uncontrollable rage.
“Walking back up to the yard, I spotted our billy goat,” Noem wrote.
The nameless goat’s only sin in that moment was being in Noem’s field of view.
Noem blames ‘fake news’ for backlash against her killing a dog and goat
In the book, Noem tried to justify her snap decision to kill the goat by writing that it “loved to chase” her children and would “knock them down and butt them,” leaving them “terrified.” The animal also had a “wretched smell.”
But apparently none of that had been a big enough problem to do anything about it. Not until Noem got angry enough to kill a dog and decided she needed to kill again.
Noem says she “dragged” the goat to the gravel pit, “tied him to a post,” and shot at him. But the goat jumped when she shot.
“My shot was off and I needed one more shell to finish the job,” she wrote.
She studiously avoided saying she wounded the goat with the first shot, but that’s the implication.
“Not wanting him to suffer,” she added — apparently experiencing her first twinge of feeling, after saying that killing the dog was not “pleasant” — “I hustled back across the pasture to the pickup, grabbed another shell, hurried back to the gravel pit, and put him down.”
The goat story not only reflects a disturbing lack of self-control, but also raises a question of law.
The crime of animal cruelty
Noem has defended her shooting of the dog, citing legal justification for her actions. She’s likely referencing a state law that exempts from the definition of animal cruelty “any reasonable action taken by a person for the destruction or control of an animal known to be dangerous, a threat, or injurious to life, limb, or property.”
Cricket killed a neighbor’s chickens and “whipped around to bite” Noem when she intervened; therefore, by Noem’s logic, her killing of Cricket was legally defensible. She’s probably right, legally speaking.
What Noem’s shot heard around the world says about her approach to problems
But what about the goat?
Sure, it chased children, butted them, and smelled bad. “So, a goat,” Stephen Colbert deadpanned during his Monday monologue on “The Late Show,” speaking for everybody who’s ever been around goats. If those traits meet the legal definition of “dangerous, a threat, or injurious to life, limb, or property,” killing any goat would always be legally justified.
In reality, what Noem did to the goat — dragging it to a gravel pit, tying it to a post, shooting at it once, leaving to get another shell, and shooting it again — sounds an awful lot like the legal definition of animal cruelty. That definition in South Dakota law is “to intentionally, willfully, and maliciously inflict gross physical abuse on an animal that causes prolonged pain, that causes serious physical injury, or that results in the death of the animal.”
Alas, cruelty to animals is a Class 6 felony, and lower-class felonies like that carry a seven-year statute of limitations in South Dakota. We don’t know exactly what year it was when Noem shot her dog and goat. She gave a clue in the book when she wrote that her children came home on the school bus the day of the killings and one of them asked, “Where’s Cricket?” Noem didn’t say how she responded, and all of her children are now grown.
If that was more than seven years ago, the goat killing is probably not prosecutable. But no prosecution could do more damage to Noem’s reputation and career than she’s already done to herself by writing about her animal bloodthirst.
As Noem wrapped up her bloody tale in the book, she wrote that being a leader is often “messy” and “ugly.”
In her case, it certainly is.
https://www.rawstory.com/noam-goat/
He was so good!
I hit record for a late rerun, so I'll catch it soon enough.
Reading about it the word that comes to my mind is 'belated'; belated testimonies, belated tears, belated moral stances that we've seen from all too many former Trump employees/witnesses. Many of them came of age during the tea party/birther years and yet they chose the GOP.
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