Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Could be, just unfair to him to consider it seriously without knowing for sure.
A jerk if there ever was one.
LOL, just now saw a tv news mention of it, i thought hang on, he played, so searched and read one article ..
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-17/scottie-scheffler-handcuffed-outside-pga-championship/103864228 ..
just now, then opened your post to see .. heh.
Hard to understand how Scheffler could have misunderstood the officer's direction.
Have him on my Diehard team this week, so freaked a tiny on first seeing the news.
Thought it may have been after the 2nd round and that he'd have to withdraw. LOL
Yes, should always remember that corporations first obligation is to their shareholders. And corporations tell us it's good to use credit because it is good for their shareholders. It is good for the economy too, eh. Small businesses wouldn't exist if consumers didn't spend.
And of course we know most all those who build wealth do it on borrowed money. So some get into trouble by overextending their means. And most of us are conditioned to want either more money or more material stuff, that's what makes our economies work. And that's where advertising comes in too.
And yes, governments and corporations generally drive trends in how transactions in general will be handled.
i mean i didn't get a mobile phone until the age of 80, and until i was basically forced into it by them putting the landline onto the internet. Then if my internet was down my phone was too. And without a mobile how then was i to call my internet provider to help me get back online. I couldn't. So had to get a mobile. Then, lol, my phone was 3G and now can only use voice on it with WhatsApp (or others there must be), so now am back where i started as far as getting back online if my net goes down. Fingers crossed it doesn't before somehow i graduate lol to a newer phone. LOL
Thing is he doesn't have any answers that would have any chance of success. Do you think he is an active participating member of any of any number of citizen groups in his neighborhood who are working to have an influence on any of the problems that exist. I reckon no. He's like a child complaining about the lack of adequacy of his birthday presents.
You mean he couldn't record the payments in accordance with the law,
or he would have been advertising the fact he had committed a crime.
You mean the only way Trump could have satisfied the law. He isn't being prosecuted for failing to satisfy Bragg. Seems to me your
"Well, the criminal charge is recording the payments to cover up a crime— obviously the only way Trump could have satisfied Bragg would have been to record them as “payments to cover up a crime” — any thing else would be a coverup"
is just agreeing with me, so we come back to why were you suggesting the way it was recorded was of any real interest. I can only see it was a mistake of yours to see it as important.
hap0206, As a matter of fact, didja know, I did about eight months with Price Waterhouse then, when considering
whether or not fixing books for a living could be for me. Decided nope, would rather be reading other types.
Back to the Bragg case: Who cares how the payments to Cohen were recorded. Whether ""severance pay", advice from a trusted friend, general legal services, 'scratch my back i'll do yours, or miscellaneous, i don't see why you place any real importance on how they were falsely recorded. Unless it all was recorded for what it actually was it would have been falsifying business records to exert illegal influence on an election outcome. Seems to me.
"So Mr. chief accountant how do you record such payments -- I would have called them "severence pay" for services rendered -- but when the TrumpCompany got the first invoice from Cohen (now apparently a practicing attorney) it was for a "retainer" for legal services -- retainers are for legal services to be rendered -- so the accountant recorded them as a legal expense -- obviously wrong -- they were for employee services already rendered"
At this stage at least, i don't see what you say there affects in any way the crux of the prosecution's case.
B402, For one, we have settled on the fact you lied about being an independent.
For two, Your anti-dem thing is another sickness, as nothing you say there is true.
There is noting more to say on you, or to you, at this stage.
Hung jury would not surprise at all. Everyone has said that from the start. All your rest is garbage. You offer zip new.
hap0206, Are you saying that the money paid back to Cohen to compensate him for the money he paid to Stormy is not that at all but in fact it is part of a severance package between Cohen and Trump? Is that what you say here:
"That is all BS except for the 12 invoices COHEN rendered to Trump beginning in Feb 2017– I went over these — He was terminated in Jan 2017 and they worked out a severance package of $420k paid in 12 payments of$35k monthly — COHEN called them “retainer for legal services” — they were recorded as for legal services"
That all those who know it was the Stormy money are wrong. That all those payments were just part of a severance package. Is that what you are saying?
Since you know more than all the prosecutors who have been
involved over years, you really should have gone into law.
Your meat is the cheapest of all bologna.
"And you've made no bones about it publicly, dems just want to get trump....."
And that of yours is just another crook conservative talking point. It totally
misrepresents the law of your country going after a serial lawbreaker.
B402, Dems have done it in wrong ways, and should have done it right ... wash, rinse, repeat, wash, rinse, repeat.
How many times have you repeated that new mantra of yours. And every time just empty words, no meat.
Exactly how have Dems done it wrong. And exactly how should they have done it right. Tell us simply in your own words.
Your link gives us nothing at all to add any substance to your empty words.
Fact-Checking Trump’s Remarks in the Hush Money Trial
"Att: hap0206/B402, flashback Day 1, Kirschner knows -
Trump’s attorneys fail MISERABLY in court on first official trial date"
Each day before and after court proceedings, the former president stepped out in front of the cameras and offered his version of the case.
Former President Donald J. Trump speaking outside the courtroom in New York on Friday. Dave Sanders for The New York Times
By Linda Qiu
Reporting from Washington
April 27, 2024
All links
Donald J. Trump spent the bulk of the past week in a Manhattan courtroom, standing trial as the first American president to face criminal prosecution.
He is accused of falsifying business records to cover up an affair with a porn actress ahead of the 2016 election.
Even though he did not take the stand as opening statements got underway, he took to the cameras to argue his case each day the court was in session.
Here’s a fact check.
What Was Said
“He puts in an invoice, or whatever, a bill. And they pay it and they call it a legal expense. I got indicted
for that. What else would you call it? Actually nobody’s been able to say what you’re supposed to call it.”
— in remarks after the trial on Monday
False. Mr. Trump is referring to 11 monthly invoices that are at the heart of the case. Whether or not Mr. Trump or the jury agrees with the assessment of prosecutors, they have been able to characterize those invoices.
According to prosecutors .. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/04/04/nyregion/trump-indictment-annotated.html , Mr. Trump’s former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, paid $130,000 to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who was shopping around a story of an affair with Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen says the payment, made just before the 2016 election, was issued at Mr. Trump’s direction. Mr. Cohen then sent 11 monthly invoices to the Trump Organization for legal services beginning in 2017.
Prosecutors have characterized Mr. Cohen’s payment as an illegal campaign contribution, and the invoices as reimbursement intended to falsify business records.
What was Said
“Also the things that he got in trouble for were things that had nothing to do with me. He got in
trouble. He went to jail. This had nothing to do with me. This had to do with the taxi cab company.”
— in remarks after the trial on Monday
False. Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to five counts of personal tax evasion, one count of bank fraud and two counts of campaign finance violations. The tax evasion counts pertained to Mr. Cohen’s concealment of income derived from taxi medallions he owned and leased out. The campaign finance violations were related to his hush money payments to women at Mr. Trump’s behest. Mr. Cohen faced a maximum of 65 years in prison, with the two counts related to Mr. Trump each carrying a maximum of five years. He was ultimately sentenced to three years in prison.
What was Said
“Federal Elections took a total pass on it. They said essentially nothing was done wrong
or they would have done something about it.”
— in remarks after the trial on Monday
False. The Federal Election Commission — which is made up of three Republican-aligned commissioners and three Democratic-aligned commissioners — did drop its case .. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/us/politics/trump-michael-cohen-fec.html .. looking into Mr. Trump’s hush money payments after a deadlock vote. But it did not absolve him of wrongdoing.
In fact, the commission issued an internal report from the Office of General Counsel in December 2020. The report said that Mr. Trump, Mr. Cohen, the Trump campaign and the Trump Organization “knowingly and willfully” .. https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/7313/7313_19.pdf#page=68 .. violated federal election law.
But in February 2021, two Republican commissioners voted to dismiss the case .. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/us/politics/trump-michael-cohen-fec.html .. while two Democratic commissioners voted to proceed. (There was one recusal and one absence.) The Republican commissioners wrote pursuing the case “was not the best use of agency resources” given that Mr. Cohen had been punished and that there was a backlog of hundreds of other cases.
What was Said
“I’m not allowed to defend myself, and yet other people
are allowed to say whatever they want about me.”
— in remarks after the trial on Tuesday
This is exaggerated. Justice Juan M. Merchan, the judge presiding over the case, did impose a gag order on Mr. Trump, but Mr. Trump is overstating what that bars him from saying.
Under the order, Mr. Trump cannot make statements about witnesses concerning their participation in the investigation and court proceedings; about prosecutors, court staff members or their families if the comments are intended to interfere with the case; or any statements about jurors.
In his ruling approving the gag order, Judge Merchan wrote that Mr. Trump’s statements “went far beyond defending himself” against attacks and rather were “threatening, inflammatory, denigrating,” and targeted toward private individuals as well as public figures.
What was Said
“Alvin Bragg is backed by Soros.”
— in an interview with Newsmax on Thursday
This needs context. A financial link does exist between Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney bringing the case against him, and George Soros, the billionaire and Democratic megadonor. But Mr. Soros’s support was not explicitly earmarked for Mr. Bragg.
Mr. Soros donated to a liberal group that endorses progressive prosecutors and supports efforts to overhaul the criminal justice system — in line with causes that he has publicly supported for years. That group used a significant portion of the money to support Mr. Bragg in his 2021 campaign. A spokesman for Mr. Soros previously told The New York Times .. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/23/us/politics/alvin-bragg-george-soros-trump.html .. that the two men had never met, nor had Mr. Soros directly given money to Mr. Bragg’s campaign.
What was Said
“Look at all the crime we have. And yet they have a big portion
of their office sitting there over absolutely nothing.”
— in the Newsmax interview
This is exaggerated. The Manhattan district attorney’s office employs about 550 assistant prosecutors and another 1,000 staff members, according to its website. In the Newsmax interview, Mr. Trump estimated .. https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/donald-trump-newsmax-supreme-court/2024/04/25/id/1162491/ .. that Mr. Bragg had anywhere from “12, 14, 18, 20 people from his office” on the hush money case. (Mr. Bragg has assembled six lawyers for the prosecution team .. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/nyregion/trump-prosecution-hush-money-trial.html .)
What was Said
“This is all a Biden indictment. It’s in order to try and win an election.”
— in remarks after the trial on Friday
This lacks evidence. Mr. Trump again accused President Biden of orchestrating the legal woes he faces, offering no evidence to support that claim.
Mr. Bragg’s predecessor began investigating the hush money payments in 2018, years before Mr. Biden took office in 2021. As president, Mr. Biden has publicly emphasized the independence of the Justice Department. Moreover, news outlets including The Times have reported that Mr. Biden’s campaign strategy is to say nothing about Mr. Trump’s legal woes .. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/us/politics/biden-trump-indictment-documents.html . Federal prosecutors in New York who work for the Justice Department have also declined to file charges against Mr. Trump.
Linda Qiu is a reporter who specializes in fact-checking statements made by politicians and public figures. She has been reporting and fact-checking public figures for nearly a decade. More about Linda Qiu
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/27/us/politics/trump-trial-fact-check.html
Common knowledge, both get corporate $$$s. On the other hand -- Trump, allies are laying the groundwork to contest potential election loss
By Nathan Layne and Alexandra Ulmer
May 16, 20248:52 PM GMT+10Updated 12 hours ago
May 16 (Reuters) - Donald Trump and his allies are laying the groundwork to contest a potential loss in November, stoking doubts about the election's legitimacy even as opinion polls show the Republican presidential candidate leading in battleground states.
In recent interviews, Trump has refused to commit to accepting the election results. At his rallies, he has portrayed Democrats as cheaters, called mail-in ballots corrupt and urged supporters to vote in such large numbers to render the election "too big to rig."
He also backed a new Republican-sponsored bill aimed at keeping foreigners from voting, seeking to link his false election fraud claims with the issue of illegal immigration, even though voting by non-citizens is already unlawful and studies show it is exceedingly rare.
Trump's tactics are an intensified version of the strategy he used during the 2020 election, when his baseless voter fraud claims inspired his supporters to assault the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn his election defeat.
Rather than being cowed by looming criminal trials over his conduct in the wake of the 2020 election, Trump is repeating the falsehoods that polls show resonate with his supporters while readying the legal firepower needed to launch a similar challenge to the validity of the vote this year.
His critics worry he is setting the stage for another turbulent post-election period by conditioning his supporters to once again believe the system is rigged against him. Trump has refused to rule out the potential for violence after November's election, telling Time magazine in April in response to a question about that prospect: "If we don't win, you know, it depends."
Trump has instructed the Republican National Committee, now led by his daughter-in-law and a close ally, to prioritize building out a team of poll watchers and lawyers to monitor the vote and litigate potential post-election challenges, according to a person familiar with the matter. As part of that effort, the RNC announced in April that it will recruit 100,000 volunteers and attorneys - double the figure promised during the 2020 cycle. It called the effort "the most extensive and monumental election integrity program in the nation's history."
------
INSERT: joyceschoice, Yep, Flynn should be there, with Trump, Leo, Rufos et al. He had slipped from attention:
...Trump security adviser Flynn resigns after leaks suggest he tried to cover up Russia talks
[...]And Flynn is a friend of the worst political conspiracies.
The Digital General
How Trump Ally Michael Flynn Nurtured — and Profited From — the QAnon Conspiracy Theory
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=173481752
[...]
In February, Flynn stood in a burger joint in Orlando, Florida, to announce The America Project’s most public initiative, “Operation Eagles Wings,” the goal of which is to mobilize and train poll watchers and precinct captains, and to drive get-out-the-vote efforts.
P - [Umm, seems probably to be somehow connected with -- lol, remember also, Cleta --
NEVER FORGET -- Remember also Trump's ongoing anti-democratic plan was always to replace non-Trump people with 'election was stolen'
Trump loyalists in electoral offices nationwide. The name of the woman he put in charge...
[...]Another name i'd forgotten - The Man Who Made January 6 Possible [Johnny McEntee]
[...]AHAHAHA! Got the bitch.
Lawyer Who Plotted to Overturn Trump Loss Recruits Election Deniers to Watch Over the Vote
Cleta, i'll never forget again, chuckle .. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=173322259 .. Mitchell.]
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=173667316
------
RNC lawyers already have filed dozens of lawsuits since last year aimed at limiting the window for counting mail-in ballots and other voting rules seen as giving Democrats an advantage.
"We are working around the clock to ensure it is easy to vote and hard to cheat," an RNC spokesperson said.
[Insert: Should read, ...to ensure it is made as difficult as possible for those likely to vote Democrat to vote.]
Democrats have criticized the recruitment plan as unrealistic and an attempt to intimidate voters, while also building up a legal team.
President Joe Biden, Trump's Democratic rival in the Nov. 5 election, called the prospect of Trump not honoring the election results "dangerous."
"This is absolutely the same play book that he ran before the 2020 election," said Olivia Troye, a former aide to Vice President Mike Pence who became a vocal critic of Trump. "The potential for anger, division, political violence -- all of that groundwork is being laid out again."
A spokesperson for Trump rejected such concerns without directly addressing Reuters' questions about the prospect of Trump contesting election results or the specter of political violence.
"President Trump has always advocated for free and fair elections where every legal vote is counted and any instance of fraud is rooted out," said Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung. "Democrats are the real existential threat to democracy."
STIRRING ELECTION FEARS
Some of Trump's most prominent allies are helping plant seeds of doubt about the election in the minds of his supporters.
Congress's top Republican, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, last week unveiled the bill aimed at prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The legislation, likely to be dead on arrival in the Democratic-led Senate, was a clear attempt to aid the Trump campaign, which has falsely claimed Democrats are allowing migrants into the country to boost their electoral support.
Earlier this month, two of Trump's potential running mates – Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum – declined in TV interviews to commit to accepting the results in November.
Another, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that he would honor the outcome if the election was "free and fair" but said Republicans should be ready to pursue any problems.
One Republican donor told Reuters he was worried the RNC was putting too much emphasis on so-called election integrity initiatives over get-out-the-vote efforts where the party has fallen behind Democrats.
In the midst of a staff overhaul at the RNC earlier this year, the new leadership asked some employees whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen, in what the employees viewed as a kind of litmus test, a person familiar with the questions said.
[Want to keep your job? Lie.]
RNC officials have denied using litmus tests and said questions were asked to test critical thinking about alleged problems with voting in battleground states in 2020.
The loudest voice on the issue is Trump's. Far from being deterred by the two criminal cases he faces for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Trump has urged his supporters to "go into" Democratic-run cities to "guard the vote" and portrayed 2024 as the "final battle" for his base.
Opinion polls point to a very close race against Biden, with some surveys giving Trump an edge in the seven swing states expected to determine the election's outcome.
At a rally on Saturday in Wildwood, New Jersey, Trump said the only thing Biden was good at was cheating on elections and called Democrats fascists while promising he was "not going to allow them to rig the presidential election in 2024."
For many of his supporters, Trump's messages go beyond mere rhetoric and are taken literally, said Tim Heaphy, the lead investigator on the House committee that conducted a deep probe into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
A majority of Republican voters believe Trump was robbed of a second White House term due to systemic voter fraud, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows.
"So when he talks about cheaters and he talks about a rigged election, that is influential," said Heaphy, a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher. "As we saw on Jan. 6, there are people out there that will act upon his words."
Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, who served in Trump's White House but is now one of his fiercest critics, thinks it will be harder for Trump to mount a challenge to the 2024 results.
Unlike in 2020, he will not be the sitting president with the government at his disposal. And after dozens of Trump's allies were indicted for trying to overturn his loss, Bolton says he believes others will be less inclined to do the same this time around.
Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans who served on the committee to investigate the Capitol attack, said he was still worried about the possibility that Trump's allies would try to help him overturn a loss, stoking chaos or violence.
"We are in a dangerous moment," said Kinzinger, who retired from Congress last year.
Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Nathan Layne, additional reporting by David Morgan, writing by Nathan Layne Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Claudia Parsons
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-allies-are-laying-groundwork-contest-potential-election-loss-2024-05-16/
Ccmmon knowledge, both are. On the other hand -- Trump, allies are laying the groundwork to contest potential election loss
By Nathan Layne and Alexandra Ulmer
May 16, 20248:52 PM GMT+10Updated 12 hours ago
May 16 (Reuters) - Donald Trump and his allies are laying the groundwork to contest a potential loss in November, stoking doubts about the election's legitimacy even as opinion polls show the Republican presidential candidate leading in battleground states.
In recent interviews, Trump has refused to commit to accepting the election results. At his rallies, he has portrayed Democrats as cheaters, called mail-in ballots corrupt and urged supporters to vote in such large numbers to render the election "too big to rig."
He also backed a new Republican-sponsored bill aimed at keeping foreigners from voting, seeking to link his false election fraud claims with the issue of illegal immigration, even though voting by non-citizens is already unlawful and studies show it is exceedingly rare.
Trump's tactics are an intensified version of the strategy he used during the 2020 election, when his baseless voter fraud claims inspired his supporters to assault the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn his election defeat.
Rather than being cowed by looming criminal trials over his conduct in the wake of the 2020 election, Trump is repeating the falsehoods that polls show resonate with his supporters while readying the legal firepower needed to launch a similar challenge to the validity of the vote this year.
His critics worry he is setting the stage for another turbulent post-election period by conditioning his supporters to once again believe the system is rigged against him. Trump has refused to rule out the potential for violence after November's election, telling Time magazine in April in response to a question about that prospect: "If we don't win, you know, it depends."
Trump has instructed the Republican National Committee, now led by his daughter-in-law and a close ally, to prioritize building out a team of poll watchers and lawyers to monitor the vote and litigate potential post-election challenges, according to a person familiar with the matter. As part of that effort, the RNC announced in April that it will recruit 100,000 volunteers and attorneys - double the figure promised during the 2020 cycle. It called the effort "the most extensive and monumental election integrity program in the nation's history."
------
INSERT: joyceschoice, Yep, Flynn should be there, with Trump, Leo, Rufos et al. He had slipped from attention:
...Trump security adviser Flynn resigns after leaks suggest he tried to cover up Russia talks
[...]And Flynn is a friend of the worst political conspiracies.
The Digital General
How Trump Ally Michael Flynn Nurtured — and Profited From — the QAnon Conspiracy Theory
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=173481752
[...]
In February, Flynn stood in a burger joint in Orlando, Florida, to announce The America Project’s most public initiative, “Operation Eagles Wings,” the goal of which is to mobilize and train poll watchers and precinct captains, and to drive get-out-the-vote efforts.
P - [Umm, seems probably to be somehow connected with -- lol, remember also, Cleta --
NEVER FORGET -- Remember also Trump's ongoing anti-democratic plan was always to replace non-Trump people with 'election was stolen'
Trump loyalists in electoral offices nationwide. The name of the woman he put in charge...
[...]Another name i'd forgotten - The Man Who Made January 6 Possible [Johnny McEntee]
[...]AHAHAHA! Got the bitch.
Lawyer Who Plotted to Overturn Trump Loss Recruits Election Deniers to Watch Over the Vote
Cleta, i'll never forget again, chuckle .. https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=173322259 .. Mitchell.]
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=173667316
------
RNC lawyers already have filed dozens of lawsuits since last year aimed at limiting the window for counting mail-in ballots and other voting rules seen as giving Democrats an advantage.
"We are working around the clock to ensure it is easy to vote and hard to cheat," an RNC spokesperson said.
[Insert: Should read, ...to ensure it is made as difficult as possible for those likely to vote Democrat to vote.]
Democrats have criticized the recruitment plan as unrealistic and an attempt to intimidate voters, while also building up a legal team.
President Joe Biden, Trump's Democratic rival in the Nov. 5 election, called the prospect of Trump not honoring the election results "dangerous."
"This is absolutely the same play book that he ran before the 2020 election," said Olivia Troye, a former aide to Vice President Mike Pence who became a vocal critic of Trump. "The potential for anger, division, political violence -- all of that groundwork is being laid out again."
A spokesperson for Trump rejected such concerns without directly addressing Reuters' questions about the prospect of Trump contesting election results or the specter of political violence.
"President Trump has always advocated for free and fair elections where every legal vote is counted and any instance of fraud is rooted out," said Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung. "Democrats are the real existential threat to democracy."
STIRRING ELECTION FEARS
Some of Trump's most prominent allies are helping plant seeds of doubt about the election in the minds of his supporters.
Congress's top Republican, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, last week unveiled the bill aimed at prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections. The legislation, likely to be dead on arrival in the Democratic-led Senate, was a clear attempt to aid the Trump campaign, which has falsely claimed Democrats are allowing migrants into the country to boost their electoral support.
Earlier this month, two of Trump's potential running mates – Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum – declined in TV interviews to commit to accepting the results in November.
Another, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that he would honor the outcome if the election was "free and fair" but said Republicans should be ready to pursue any problems.
One Republican donor told Reuters he was worried the RNC was putting too much emphasis on so-called election integrity initiatives over get-out-the-vote efforts where the party has fallen behind Democrats.
In the midst of a staff overhaul at the RNC earlier this year, the new leadership asked some employees whether they believed the 2020 election was stolen, in what the employees viewed as a kind of litmus test, a person familiar with the questions said.
[Want to keep your job? Lie.]
RNC officials have denied using litmus tests and said questions were asked to test critical thinking about alleged problems with voting in battleground states in 2020.
The loudest voice on the issue is Trump's. Far from being deterred by the two criminal cases he faces for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Trump has urged his supporters to "go into" Democratic-run cities to "guard the vote" and portrayed 2024 as the "final battle" for his base.
Opinion polls point to a very close race against Biden, with some surveys giving Trump an edge in the seven swing states expected to determine the election's outcome.
At a rally on Saturday in Wildwood, New Jersey, Trump said the only thing Biden was good at was cheating on elections and called Democrats fascists while promising he was "not going to allow them to rig the presidential election in 2024."
For many of his supporters, Trump's messages go beyond mere rhetoric and are taken literally, said Tim Heaphy, the lead investigator on the House committee that conducted a deep probe into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
A majority of Republican voters believe Trump was robbed of a second White House term due to systemic voter fraud, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows.
"So when he talks about cheaters and he talks about a rigged election, that is influential," said Heaphy, a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher. "As we saw on Jan. 6, there are people out there that will act upon his words."
Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, who served in Trump's White House but is now one of his fiercest critics, thinks it will be harder for Trump to mount a challenge to the 2024 results.
Unlike in 2020, he will not be the sitting president with the government at his disposal. And after dozens of Trump's allies were indicted for trying to overturn his loss, Bolton says he believes others will be less inclined to do the same this time around.
Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans who served on the committee to investigate the Capitol attack, said he was still worried about the possibility that Trump's allies would try to help him overturn a loss, stoking chaos or violence.
"We are in a dangerous moment," said Kinzinger, who retired from Congress last year.
Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Nathan Layne, additional reporting by David Morgan, writing by Nathan Layne Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Claudia Parsons
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-allies-are-laying-groundwork-contest-potential-election-loss-2024-05-16/
Whew --- Cumberland Council’s book ban has been overturned, but what is really happening in Australian libraries?
"OOps, Au. sad act - Sydney council bans same-sex parenting books from libraries for ‘safety of our children’"
Published: May 16, 2024 3.30pm AEST
Authors Lisa M. Given
Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University
Sarah Polkinghorne
Research Fellow, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University
Disclosure statement
Lisa M. Given receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a former President of the Association for Information Science and Technology.
Sarah Polkinghorne has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She has worked as a Collection Strategies Librarian at the University of Alberta, and is a former President of the Canadian Association for Information Science.
Partners RMIT University
RMIT University provides funding as a strategic partner of The Conversation AU.
View all partners
At Cumberland City Council in the western suburbs of Sydney, one man – Councillor Steve Christou – persuaded the council to ban books about same-sex parenting from the council’s libraries.
The change was short-lived. People fought back. More than 40,000 signed a petition to lift the ban.
Only two weeks later, the Council reversed its decision, voting decisively (13-2 .. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/15/hate-is-not-a-family-value-protesters-clash-as-sydney-council-considers-rescinding-same-sex-parenting-book-ban ), following impassioned pleas by residents, and with many people protesting on the streets.
https://twitter.com/Leo_Puglisi6/status/1790869609236808049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1790869609236808049%7Ctwgr%5Eb8ae9bdaf0dc138ef6bef16e2220ec26bf4358e5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconversation.com%2Fcumberland-councils-book-ban-has-been-overturned-but-what-is-really-happening-in-australian-libraries-230111
Librarians under attack
Librarians are leaders in the fight against book bans. They have faced significant backlash for their efforts. Australian Library and Information Association CEO Cathie Warburton .. https://www.theage.com.au/culture/books/copycat-book-bans-how-us-activists-are-impacting-australian-libraries-20240509-p5jb5c.html .. has reported that
people are going into libraries, grabbing books off the shelves, reading them out loud and saying
“These shouldn’t be here”, calling librarians horrible names and threatening doxxing
and physical violence. It’s incredibly distressing.
Book banning efforts are often highly coordinated .. https://adventuresincensorship.com/blog/2022/6/4/hypocrisy-and-book-banners . People distribute lists of books that may (or may not) be in the collections of their local libraries. These culture-war attacks on libraries and librarians are often motivated by grievances against progress, such as LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance, and other forms of diversity.
But they are also part of a wider reactionary movement. The issues extend beyond the specific content of individual books. Calls for book bans are evidence of a broader moral panic that presents a real danger to individuals and society at large.
Libraries and librarians are common targets because they are easy for the public to access, and because they represent (and foster) learning, ideas, imagination, equality, choice and barrier-free access to information for all.
Would-be book banners have very rarely read the books they challenge. When books are read, they are far less likely to be banned.
Histories of censorship
The Cumberland episode is only the latest in the global struggle for freedom of information access. Such censorship dates back at least as far as Shakespeare .. https://pen.org/censorship-history-book-bans/ . The first American book ban occurred in 1637, when Thomas Morton’s New English Canaan .. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-americas-first-banned-book-survived-and-became-an-anti-authoritarian-icon-180982971/ .. was suppressed for its criticisms of Puritanism.
[Insert: Yet today ratbag conservatives are turning history on
it's head by claiming cancel culture is a liberal thing. They are liars.]
The issue remains highly contentious in the United States. PEN America’s latest report shows a 33% rise in the number of book challenges in US public schools, with almost 6,000 instances of books banned since 2021.
The Alabama House of Representatives recently passed Bill HB385. If it passes the Senate, the bill will override libraries’ book challenge policies. Librarians would have seven days to remove contentious material or face criminal penalties.
Australia also has a long history of censorship. Many titles we now consider “classics” faced bans, including Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, James Baldwin’s Another Country and D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover. As literary historian Nicole Moore documented, it was once “routine to have your suitcase searched [for obscene materials] on the way into Australia from another country”.
More recently, in March 2023, Maia Kobabe’s award-winning memoir Gender Queer was removed from a Queensland library .. https://theconversation.com/gender-queer-was-the-last-book-an-australian-council-tried-to-ban-its-still-being-appealed-in-federal-court-229026 , and faced many other challenges, globally. Bernard Gaynor, the conservative Catholic activist who led the call to ban the book, is taking the Minister for Communication and the Australian Classification Review Board to the Federal Court of Australia. The decision will come later this year.
Censorship remains a local – and global – concern.
In Australia, many titles we consider ‘classics’ were once banned. Lotus Studio/Shutterstock
Information access for all
Professional librarians have battled these kinds of challenges for decades. The American Library Association, founded in 1876, issued its first anti-censorship notice in 1939, in response to Nazi book burning .. https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/10/how-librarians-became-american-free-speech-heroes/ .. and other international attempts to suppress information.
In 1953, the American Library Association issued their Freedom to Read .. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/freedomreadstatement .. statement, with ongoing support for libraries challenging book bans across the United States.
In a joint statement, the Australian Library and Information Association and the Australian Public Library Alliance explain that libraries “defend equity of access to information” and “cater for all members of the library community”.
This position reflects global standards for information access upheld by libraries worldwide. It includes the key principle that the “perception that material may offend or cause controversy to a person or a group of people is not, of itself, a reason to limit purchase or provision of an item containing that material”.
The International Federation of Library Associations states that censorship .. https://repository.ifla.org/bitstream/123456789/2633/1/ifla_statement_on_censorship_2019.pdf .. “runs counter to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. Libraries are expected to:
* provide collections and services that are free of intentional censorship
* base decisions on professional considerations (e.g., quality, currency, format, cost, etc.), rather than limiting based on political or religious considerations or cultural prejudice
* educate people on issues of censorship and encourage them to practise freedom of expression and freedom of access to information
* advocate for removal of censorship restrictions affecting libraries and society at large.
Policies and procedures
Librarians do more than handle attempts to ban books. They develop policies and procedures designed to ensure free access to information, for everyone. They are expert professionals, whose jobs often require difficult selection decisions and challenging conversations with angry or offended community members.
Libraries already have established processes to handle removal requests. They apply guidance from professional associations, including resources like the Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit for Public, School, & Academic Libraries.
Requests to remove materials often start with informal conversations to address concerns and educate complainants about the library’s mandate for equitable access based on the whole community’s needs and interests. A formal process often requires a written submission. Library staff will then reconsider the book in light of the library’s collection policy.
Removing books from a collection does happen, as librarians must ensure the collection remains useful and relevant. Libraries routinely consult with community members and seek feedback to ensure collections match community needs. They also review materials to ensure outdated works (for example, older editions) are replaced with texts that include current information.
These are some of the routine, behind-the-scenes tasks, which collections librarian Scarlet Galvan .. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00987913.2019.1646080 .. explains are critical to ensure “collections are for use, not reinforcing assumptions”.
https://twitter.com/mckinnon_a/status/1790654818069217659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1790654818069217659%7Ctwgr%5Eb8ae9bdaf0dc138ef6bef16e2220ec26bf4358e5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheconversation.com%2Fcumberland-councils-book-ban-has-been-overturned-but-what-is-really-happening-in-australian-libraries-230111
The need for community involvement
Librarians rely on individuals and communities to stand up and oppose censorship, as residents did in Cumberland. Vocal community and government support for libraries is critical to battling book bans. Many other professions, such as journalism and teaching, also play critical roles in documenting censorship and countering book challenges.
So how can you help? By signing petitions, speaking up at council meetings, volunteering to serve on a library board, voting for candidates who support libraries, and borrowing books about diverse families to ensure they have a circulation record of being used and valued.
As the outcry over the short-lived Cumberland City Council ban shows, everyday Australians value libraries and the information they provide to their communities. Public support is needed to defend against future attacks and to send a message to governments that banning books is not acceptable.
https://theconversation.com/cumberland-councils-book-ban-has-been-overturned-but-what-is-really-happening-in-australian-libraries-230111
Or Louis Gohmert .. Louie Gohmert leaves Congress having passed one law and spread countless falsehoods
All links
Gohmert was a precursor to former President Donald Trump’s brand of populist, establishment-bucking conservatism that delights in offending progressives and makes no apologies for spreading misinformation.
By Eric Neugeboren
Aug. 18, 2022
5 AM Central
WASHINGTON — In 2010, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert warned the nation from the floor of the House of Representatives about a looming threat: terrorist babies. He described — without providing evidence — a diabolical and far-fetched scheme in which foreign enemies were sending pregnant women to the U.S. to birth babies that would emerge decades later as terrorists.
He found out about it, he said, from a conversation with a retired FBI agent on a flight, even as the FBI said it had no information about any such plot.
He would go on to fight with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper in an interview that went viral as he for nearly 10 minutes refused to answer questions or provide evidence of the claim, while yelling at Cooper for “attacking the messenger.”
It was a breakout moment for the Republican congressman from East Texas, who had been in office for about five years at the time and whose profile was growing as a member of the newly founded Tea Party. He was something of an outlier in Congress for the ease with which he was willing to make unfounded and offensive pronouncements. But it would prove to be a harbinger of what was yet to come.
This January, Gohmert, who turned 69 on Thursday, leaves office having defined his 17-year congressional career with conspiracy, conflict and fomenting anger.
Some of his most memorable controversies include the time he compared homosexuality to bestiality. Or when he said Hillary Clinton was “mentally impaired.” Or when he speculated that wearing a mask is what caused him to catch COVID-19. Or when he compared former President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler. Or when he said the canceling of a television show for homophobic remarks by its hosts was on par with Nazism. Or when he said he was grieving over the arrests of rioters involved in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Gohmert was a precursor to former President Donald Trump’s brand of populist, establishment-bucking conservatism that delights in offending progressives and makes no apologies for spreading misinformation.
Get our biggest scoops and breaking stories, delivered to your inbox
“He fostered angry, finger-pointing, conspiracy-theory-laden politics that now defines American politics," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. "He was the original congressional antagonist.”
Now he’s leaving Congress because he opted to run for Texas attorney general instead of reelection for his seat — which he presumably would have won easily.
U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, during a House Judiciary Committee meeting in Washington, D.C., in 2019. Credit: Jack Gruber/USA Today via REUTERS
He entered the Republican primary for attorney general last November — months after the other candidates, including incumbent Ken Paxton — and raised by far the least amount of money. He came in last place.
He exits office as Texas’ ninth most senior member of Congress, having made a mark — but not legislatively. In nine congressional terms, he’s passed just one bill into law, a measure in 2017 that simplified the process for calling 911.
Gohmert will perhaps be better remembered for his penchant for going against the majority. He was the only member in the House to vote against a bill last month to suspend tariffs on baby formula imports during a national shortage. (He said the bill was rushed.) He single-handedly delayed for a day the passage of an emergency coronavirus relief package that funded free COVID-19 tests, two weeks of paid sick leave and a billion dollars in food aid. (He later withdrew his objection to allow the bill to pass with unanimous consent.) And he was one of four members to vote against making lynching a federal hate crime. (He said the bill’s maximum sentence was not harsh enough.)
“He's gone from something of an outlier that people chalked up to some combination of region and personality, to
someone who is more representative of a big faction of a big share of Republican voters and even Republican elites.”
— Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin
His retirement will be less of the end of an era, and more of a changing of the guard — as the House is attracting a new, younger class of like-minded firebrands who similarly seek conflict over policymaking and who came into office during Trump’s presidency. In recent years, Gohmert’s found allies in the House Freedom Caucus including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida. Last year, they attempted to visit a Washington, D.C., jail where rioters from the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol are being imprisoned. Greene recently urged the GOP to become the party of Christian nationalism .. https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-gop-we-should-christian-nationalists-1727445 .. and has made comments supportive of QAnon, an unfounded conspiracy theory and far-right political movement that claims Trump is waging a secret war against Satanic pedophiles.
“He's gone from something of an outlier that people chalked up to some combination of region and personality, to someone who is more representative of a big faction of a big share of Republican voters and even Republican elites,” said Jim Henson, the director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin.
Gohmert repeatedly declined to be interviewed for this story and did not answer questions sent to his office via email.
Asked in a brief exchange on Capitol Hill last month about his time in Congress, he said: “I got a lot done, wish it would have been more, but I didn't care who got the credit. Got a lot of things passed on, changed, amended, fixed behind the scenes.” He did not answer a question about what he considers his signature achievement.
In his deep-red congressional district, voters have rewarded Gohmert for his combative reputation. He’s never faced a serious electoral challenge, and in his bid for attorney general, he placed first in the 17 counties near his hometown, despite placing last statewide. His supporters say he’s never wavered in his principles — unlike other Republicans they say care too much about appeasing party leadership.
“He has always been true to who he is. He has been uncompromising … in his faith and his love for East Texas, for his community, for his country,” said David Stein, chair of the Smith County GOP.
The lackluster policymaker
Gohmert entered Congress in 2005, unseating a Democrat incumbent a year earlier. He was previously a U.S. Army captain and state district judge in Smith County. In 1996, Gohmert raised eyebrows in his role as a district judge when he ordered .. https://wng.org/articles/consenting-adults-1617340762 .. an auto thief who was HIV-positive to seek written consent from any future sexual partners. Former Gov. Rick Perry appointed him to be chief justice of Texas’ 12th Court of Appeals in 2002.
[Incredible. A guy with Gohmert's views as a chief justice, let alone as a judge.]
Bills on which Gohmert has been the lead sponsor have passed the House six times. Only one was ever signed into law. Of the 118 House members still in office who started before 2010, just 10 have passed fewer bills in the House than Gohmert — three Republicans and seven Democrats — according to a Texas Tribune analysis. None of those members were Texans. Six members have passed the same number of bills.
Unlike other longtime members of Congress from Texas — like Reps. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands; Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas; and Michael McCaul, R-Austin — Gohmert has never chaired a congressional committee. However, he once chaired a subcommittee that provided natural resources oversight.
“I’m not sure what he was able to accomplish, I really have no idea,” said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, who serves with Gohmert on the judiciary committee.
His supporters in Texas are unbothered by his lack of a policy record. Matt Long, president of the Fredericksburg Tea Party, which endorsed Gohmert for attorney general, acknowledged Gohmert’s ability to pass bills has been compromised because of his reputation for standing up to his own party leadership.
“If they don’t toe the line immediately with the establishment Republicans, then they don’t have a chance,” Long said.
Texas state Rep. Kyle Biedermann, R-Fredericksburg, also backed Gohmert for attorney general and said passing bills doesn’t make someone a successful politician.
“Effectiveness has nothing to do with bills,” Biedermann said. “Effectiveness is speaking out for the people, being the voice of the people.”
That has become a growing mantra of today’s Republican Party. More Republicans are focusing on fighting for their constituents and party loyalty, while villainizing efforts to negotiate across the aisle to pass laws.
“It’s been very alarming to see the Republican Party become more about performance,” U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar .. https://www.texastribune.org/directory/veronica-escobar/ , D-El Paso, said. “It is becoming more and more like Louie Gohmert and less and less serious about legislation and public policy and solving real solutions.”
U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, stands during a break as the House Judiciary Committee holds the first formal impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., in 2019. Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY via REUTERS
The provocateur
Gohmert started making waves in 2009, when he and 11 other Republican members of Congress cosponsored the so-called “birther” bill that would have required presidential candidates to produce a copy of their birth certificate — pressing a false narrative that Obama was born in Kenya and therefore ineligible to be president. (Obama was born in Hawaii, and his father was born in Kenya.)
The birther saga was among the first of several instances in which Gohmert leaned into racist conspiracy theories and took on the role of an instigator. He co-led an effort in 2012 calling for the State Department to investigate the relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and Huma Abedin, a former top aide to Hillary Clinton.
After Obama’s 2015 State of the Union speech that addressed nationwide instances of police brutality, Gohmert condemned the president for dividing the country, adding that the president should be more like his former basketball coach, another Black man.
“But unlike my favorite coach in high school, who happened to be Black, he has been more divisive," Gohmert told reporters.
Gohmert was also just as likely to agitate his own party leadership. In 2014, Gohmert brought up his famously tense relationship with then-House Speaker John Boehner while speaking to the Upshur County Republican Executive Committee.
“If there was one more Louie Gohmert, John Boehner would have a heart attack,” Gohmert said. Boehner was a staunch Republican but faced pressure from hardline conservatives who felt he wasn’t doing enough to stand up to Democrats.
In 2015, Gohmert would launch a quixotic bid to unseat Boehner as House speaker.
Later that year, when Boehner announced his resignation, Gohmert took a victory lap.
“So often, after being elected to Congress, members have the goal drilled into their head that there is nothing nobler than being a ‘team player,’” he said. “For an appropriate use of the sports metaphor, too often ‘being a team player’ has disguised the fact that a play has been called that has us running toward the wrong goal line.”
The feeling was mutual. In “American Carnage,” a book about the modern Republican Party, Boehner told author Tim Alberta, “Louie Gohmert is insane. There’s not a functional brain in there.”
Gaetz, the Florida congressman and Gohmert ally, commended Gohmert for bucking the party.
“He warned against bad decisions Republicans made that lost them majorities and he inspired some of our best moments,” Gaetz said in an interview.
The talker
In 2015, Boehner cut Gohmert from two congressional diplomacy trips — to the Middle East and Africa — in retaliation after Gohmert had challenged him for House speaker.
But Gohmert didn’t mind.
“Because he canceled my trip this weekend, I’m going to be on Fox News, so thank you, Mr. Speaker,” Gohmert taunted.
He would in fact go on to become a fixture on right-wing media networks. He’s a regular guest on Newsmax and One America News, networks that have served as a farther-right alternative to Fox News and have become more popular in recent years as Trump’s popularity ascended. He’s recently had segments focusing on what he considers the abhorrent treatment of Jan. 6 rioters, whom he has called political prisoners.
[Three images]
Brady, the representative from The Woodlands who is also retiring this year, said Gohmert’s legacy will be defined as “an outspoken conservative who was in the media trenches every day.”
“His strengths are in the messaging and the communication and in really the social media space there. I think that’s where he feels most comfortable,” Brady said.
He added that he thinks “social media has in some ways driven politics to the extremes,” which has overshadowed some of the more “substantive work and solutions that are so important to run the country.”
When Gohmert’s not appearing on a conservative news network, he can often be found doing what he calls “Gohmert Hour,” one-hour speeches on the House floor where he speaks in front of a near-empty chamber. A speech in June claimed there were no school shootings before prayer was eliminated in schools. Since entering Congress, he has spent 286 hours speaking on the House floor, according to C-SPAN data.
Rep. August Pfluger, R-San Angelo, said “I love listening to him. I love his passion.” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, called Gohmert “one of the best we have” and “one of the true characters of the House.”
It’s unknown if Gohmert’s successor will be a policymaker or bomb thrower. Nathaniel Moran won the Republican nomination earlier this year and is all but ensured to win the general election in the deep-red district.
Moran is a longtime fixture in Republican politics and is currently the Smith County Judge. He did not respond to multiple requests for an interview but has said that he wants to be a policymaker and “loves to be part of a team,” according to an interview with The Washington Post.
“They hold similar values, no question about it,” said Stein, the Smith County GOP chair who knows Gohmert and Moran personally. “To quote Judge Moran, he may go about it tactically in a different way. And that’s just a matter of preferential style. But he is a strong conservative.”
The insurrection
Since the 2020 election, Gohmert has joined the chorus of Trump acolytes who have spread the falsehood that the election was stolen. The claim has been repeatedly debunked by courts and election audits, and many of the former president’s own top aides have testified that the election was fair.
As he prepares to leave office, Gohmert’s role spreading that misinformation and how it may have contributed to the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection is being scrutinized by congressional investigators.
During the hearings this summer held by the House committee investigating the attack, he was mentioned frequently .. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/12/jan-6-committee-texans-brian-babin-louie-gohmert/ .. for his rhetoric ahead of the riot and for taking part in a December 2020 meeting to discuss former Vice President Mike Pence’s role in overturning the election results.
A Republican staffer who worked for Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows said Gohmert was among a group of Republicans who asked Trump for a pardon .. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/23/louie-gohmert-jan-6-texas/ .. after the insurrection. Gohmert has emphatically denied doing so.
Gohmert’s appearances in the hearings weren’t a surprise. Days before the insurrection, U.S. Capitol Police flagged comments from Gohmert as potentially inciting violence. In an interview on Newsmax, Gohmert said letting President Joe Biden’s electoral victory stand would be “the end of our republic, the end of the experiment in self-government.”
“You got to go to the streets and be as violent as Antifa and [Black Lives Matter],” said Gohmert five days before the Capitol attack. He later said he was not advocating for violence.
In December 2020, Gohmert led a lawsuit that attempted to give the vice president the power to unilaterally name the next president. A federal judge dismissed the suit for lack of standing.
Gohmert, who objected to the electoral results in Arizona and Pennsylvania, would later downplay the insurrection. He sponsored a bill to award congressional gold medals to Capitol Police officers but made no mention of the Jan. 6 attack. He later voted against a bill to honor the officers that made an explicit reference to the attack.
Gohmert said the bill “does not honor anyone, but rather seeks to drive a narrative that isn’t substantiated by known facts.”
Last month on Newsmax, Gohmert said it “grieves me to see the vendettas” against the Capitol rioters who have been imprisoned. He said he’d have no problem imprisoning some of the rioters, but that “most of them committed misdemeanors.” He tried to visit the imprisoned rioters last year at a Washington, D.C., jail but was not allowed a tour without receiving prior approval.
Gohmert speaks at a Freedom Caucus press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in December 2020. Credit: Gripas Yuri/ABACA via REUTERS
Gohmert leaves office less of an outlier than he once was, during a time when his ideas are becoming more pervasive in the mainstream of the party.
A Monmouth University poll in June found 61% of Republicans considered the Jan. 6 attack a “legitimate protest,” up from 47% a year earlier. Only 13% of Republicans considered the attack an “insurrection” and 45% called it a “riot.”
As of Tuesday, Trump-endorsed candidates for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate and statewide offices had won 42 out of 54 of their primaries this year, according to Axios.
“Until the American public says they’ve had enough of it, my suspicion is that you’re gonna have more people like Louie Gohmert,” said Sean Theriault, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has researched Congress.
Disclosure: University of Texas at Austin and University of Houston have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/18/louie-gohmert-texas-congress/
Couldn't be worse. it was much easier to laugh more at them than at Archie Bunker.
Spot on. 1 INQUIRY INTO PRICE GOUGING AND UNFAIR PRICING PRACTICES
"He's a miserable old criminal scumbag. And a lying sack of sht."
Final report February 2024
2
I have welcomed the opportunity to chair this inquiry
for three reasons.
Firstly, there has been much discussion about
inflation and its causes including monetary and
fiscal policy, international factors, wages, supply
chain disruption and war. However, there is hardly
any discussion that looks at the actual prices
charged to consumers, the processes by which
they are set, the profit margins and their possible
contribution to inflation.
Secondly, there is also much discussion about
market power and its harms. But there is very little
discussion of any policies or actions that might be
taken to deal with the main harm: high prices.
Unreasonably high prices are not prohibited by
competition law. The ACCC, worthy though it is,
is restricted to looking at unlawful anti-competitive
agreements - for example, when competitors agree
on prices. If two firms, for example, coordinate
their prices without any illegal communication,
that behaviour is outside the scope of the Act. If
governments take actions which have the effect of
raising prices, that is also outside the scope of the
Australian Competition and Consumer Act.
In short, firms are free to charge as much as they
like. They can price gouge lawfully as long as there
is no unlawful collusion. This has given rise to a
policy gap – there is no set of government policies
about excessive prices. This report provides an
opportunity to examine whether this should be the
case at a time when Australians are so concerned
about the cost of living and the impact of prices on
their lives.
Thirdly, I am pleased to be engaged with the ACTU
in a prices inquiry because the concern of the Trade
Union movement is the impact of prices on the
costs of living of ordinary Australians. It has been
valuable to hear from ordinary people in this inquiry
rather than the ‘usual suspects’ that is businesses
and business organisations making economic
submissions about their prices.
Traditionally, the term price gouging has referred
to situations where sellers exploit a shortage of
essential goods and services to raise prices to
excessive levels. However, in the public mind
there is a wider meaning of the term: prices that
significantly exceed levels that would occur if there
was competition. Such prices substantially exceed
costs of supply and a reasonable level of profit.
What we have seen over recent years is a dramatic
increase in costs paid by consumers.
Some of the highest price increases occur in sectors
which are characterised by having disproportionate
market power, a level of power over their
consumers, or a level of monopsony power over
their supply chain and workforce.
3
At the same time as consumers experience
significant increases in costs. Across food and
grocery, energy, and financial services corporate
profits are up.
Normally, inflation is a distributed experience, and
the experience of those without market power
being both squeezed on the supply and demand
side is evidence of that. Some of Australia’s largest
businesses, often supplying inelastic goods, are
maintaining or even increasing margins in response
to the global inflationary episode.
This is a situation that warrants further investigation.
In particular, it warrants investigation of the state
of competition in Australia and of the associated
regulatory settings and to learn from the experience
of ordinary people as to the impact of these matters.
In short, if there is a high price, it usually pays to
investigate its causes – typically a lack of competition
or a market shortcoming – and possible remedies.
During this inquiry for example it was observed
that electric vehicle prices in New Zealand are
considerably lower than in Australia. In probing the
reasons, it was found that the difference is due
to a little known unwarranted import restriction in
Australia that does not apply in New Zealand. This
explains why prices on electric vehicles are much
higher than they should be.
The inquiry is very timely.
The world is facing an inflationary episode. The
goal of central banks and governments across the
world is to drive down the rate of inflation to a more
sustainable level. While there has been an enormous
amount of public discourse on the contribution
of wages and employment to inflation, too little
discussion has been on the role price setters have
on broader inflation outcomes.
The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia,
Michelle Bullock, has noted that the inflation
Australia is experiencing now is ‘homegrown.’ This
declaration makes the examination of price-setting
behaviour by domestic firms more important, as
we cannot simply say that prices have increased
elsewhere and are simply being passed on. The
exercise of market power and limits on competition
in specific markets have exacerbated what began as
a global problem.
This inquiry has conducted 5 public hearings,
received over 750 public submissions and more
than 20 detailed contributions from academics,
experts, think tanks, unions, businesses, and their
representatives.
These diverse perspectives are vital for a
comprehensive understanding of the issues. The
public hearings in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide,
Cairns, and Canberra have allowed us to directly
engage with the community and hear a wide
range of experiences and insights. These voluntary
contributions have deeply enriched the inquiry.
As I stated when I agreed to conduct this inquiry,
this is a serious examination of prices and
competition in Australia.
This report summarises the key policy issues and
draws on the submissions to develop a set of
recommendations on price and competition policy
which, if adopted, would substantially improve
competition and decrease the price pressure faced
by ordinary families.
Prof. Allan Fels AO
Chair
https://www.actu.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/InquiryIntoPriceGouging_Report_web9-1.pdf
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and labour councils. The ACTU is a member of the International Trade Union Confederation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Council_of_Trade_Unions
hap0206, Seriously, i make a simple comment that a higher minimum wage likely
has contributed to less credit card debt and you come up with oh gee golly whiz
"Well isn't that special -- if $15/hr minimum made most every one happy, why don't we go for
$50/hr -- gosh that would solve so many problems -- per Biden, no effect on inflation for sure "
None of which was even contemplated in mine. See $23.23 in Australia
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174383287
As it is tied to the consumer price index so automatically rises every year, in the
future it will be $50, and we will likely have similar problems as we have today.
Seriously. Why be a dickhead until you die. Never too late to change.
And our median cc debt compared to yours .. $2,525 to $5,915
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=174434697 . Less than one-half.
LOL Stewie anyway left an impression
F6, ROTFLMAO! .. poor Stewie .. Erich Neumann has written that the dirtying of the
sexual organs can be attributed to the men who created the Judeo-Christian religions ..
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=56885754
Way more patriotic. The other one could have been Archie Bunker's little sister.
So true. This whole show is basically a Trump creation. Trump and the Law, a short series could be. Or -- An American Prick.
About five searches, and still don't know how popular it was in Australia. Guess it would have been, just not as big as in America. Is interesting this featured Edith ..
Unlikely feminist hero of All in The Family
June 6, 2013 — 3.43pm
Jean Stapleton was the character actor whose portrayal of a slow-witted, big-hearted and submissive - up to a point - housewife on the groundbreaking series All In The Family made her, along with Mary Tyler Moore and Bea Arthur, not only one of the foremost women in television comedy in the 1970s but a symbol of emergent feminism in American popular culture.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/unlikely-feminist-hero-of-all-in-the-family-20130606-2nseu.html .
I watched it as any other sitcom, occasionally on bumping into it. Enjoyed it then, but by memory liked Steptoe and Son more ..
Sure, American materialism is Joe's fault ..
https://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/5-countries-with-most-credit-card-debt-in-the-world-1268645/?singlepage=1 , of course.
Without the relatively recent push for higher minimum wages your cc debt would be higher. Thank Dems for that.
"paper checks for 99% of our invoices" .. gee, surprised me. Since i've never been in business
the scene is relatively alien, just i would have guessed more payments would be by cards ..
https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2017/jun/pdf/bu-0617-7-the-ongoing-decline-of-the-cheque-system.pdf .
That said, my favorite butcher only took cash until a few months ago. Got this just
because i'm still wondering what the percentage of cards vs cheques is in Australia ..
https://hnry.com.au/freelancer-resources/the-ultimate-guide-to-invoicing-like-a-pro/ . You would have all that covered. lol
Still only getting percentage of cheque decline and not percentage of invoice payments by cheque vs card
While cheques are still in use in Australia, usage has been declining at ~20-25% yearly since 2016, while digital transactions increase.7. Looking to other nations around the world, including neighbouring New Zealand, who became cheque-free in 2021 .. https://www.asb.co.nz/page/cheque-free.html , we can expect to see the trend of embracing a cheque-free economy to continue.
https://www.commbank.com.au/articles/banking/are-australians-using-cheques.html
Hmm, so there is one cheque-free country. One more quick look .. nope .. still just
Results overview
The results show that Australians continue to change the way they make payments, with the longer run shift to electronic payment methods accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Australians are using cash less frequently; only around 13 per cent of payments were made using cash in 2022, which is half the share reported in 2019 (Table 1). Card payments made up the bulk of consumer payments, with debit cards accounting for half of all payments and credit cards another quarter. Other payment methods such as ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) services made up only a small share of consumer payments. Cheque usage declined further in the 2022 CPS
https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2023/jun/consumer-payment-behaviour-in-australia.html
My bank just recently stopped using deposit slips. Now to deposit money (it's a small bank, previously a credit union so doesn't have branches all over the place) i use a post office. Cash in using a card, they transfer it to my bank. It's actually easier than filling out a deposit slip.
Don't know at all, but gut feeling is that cheques are still used more in the States than they are used in Australia. Depends on the business i guess. Cheques can be mailed, card payment has to be face to face or online, so again without knowing much at all can feel there are advantages in using cheques.
LOL, that was a real wander, back to mine, I added the ? in an afterthought, surely i thought, but seldom know for sure.
Thanks, dukeb,
I didn't know -- Short Version (Aired at beginning of episodes)
Boy the way Glen Miller played,
Songs that made the hit parade,
Guys like us we had it made,
Those were the days,
And you know where you were then,
Girls were girls and men were men,
Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again,
Didn't need no welfare states
Everybody pulled his weight,
Gee our old Lasalle ran great,
Those were the days
Full Version
Boy, the way Glen Miller played.
Songs that made the Hit Parade.
Guys like us, we had it made.
Those were the days
Didn't need no welfare state.
Everybody pulled his weight
Gee, our old LaSalle ran great.
Those were the days
And you knew where you were then
Girls were girls and men were men.
Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.
People seemed to be content.
Fifty dollars paid the rent.
Freaks were in a circus tent.
Those were the days
Take a little Sunday spin,
Go to watch the Dodgers win.
Have yourself a dandy day
That cost you under a fin.
Hair was short and skirts were long.
Kate Smith really sold a song.
I don't know just what went wrong
Those Were the Days Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
More songs from Archie and Edith Bunker
https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/archie-and-edith-bunker/those-were-the-days-theme-to-all-in-the-family
Or that in yours about Hoover ..
".. where he bemoans America's "moral slump" as "an infection from Communist Russia" as well as "beatniks and eggheads" who were destroying national pride"
as janice said -- young people look to the future. Add - while on the other hand the Gross Old Party.... is hung up on the rear view mirror.
LOL Live to 150!
Me neither. Only very ordinary people would consider it, and guess
sending 1 penny would cost more than the 1 penny itself. Or not?
Trump’s invite to major donors prioritizes the committee paying his legal bills over the RNC
[...]
Trump has invited high-dollar donors to Palm Beach, Florida, for an April 6 fundraiser that comes as his fundraising is well behind President Joe Biden and national Democrats. The invitation’s fine print says donations to the Trump 47 Committee will first be used to give the maximum amount allowed under federal law to Trump’s campaign. Anything left over from the donation next goes toward a maximum contribution to Save America, and then anything left from there goes to the RNC and then to state political parties.
Adav Noti, the executive director of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington, said that is a break from fundraising norms. Usually, Noti said, candidates prioritize raising cash that can be spent directly on campaign activity. Save America, on the other hand, is structured as a “leadership PAC” and thus barred from spending directly on Trump’s own campaign activities. Legal spending made up 85% of Save America’s total operating expenses during the first two months of this year, roughly the same as 2023, when such expenses were about 89%. It has spent $8.5 million on legal fees so far this year.
[...]
A separate contribution form for the Trump 47 Committee allows donors to give smaller contributions or a contribution of any size but still spells out in the fine print that the donation is first to be allocated to the Trump campaign and Save America.
Advertisement
Trump’s handpicked leadership team for the RNC includes his daughter-in-law Lara Trump, who is the committee’s co-chair, and Chris LaCivita, who serves effectively as one of two campaign managers for the Trump campaign and is now also taking on a chief of staff role at the RNC.
Lara Trump in February said she thought Republican voters would like to see the RNC pay Trump’s legal fees.
But shortly before the leadership change was voted in at the RNC, LaCivita told the AP in an interview that “not a penny of the RNC’s money or, for that matter, the campaign’s money has gone or will go to pay legal fees,” he said.
Before Trump was a candidate, the RNC was paying some of his legal bills for cases in New York that began when he was president, The Washington Post reported. Former Chair Ronna McDaniel, who was ousted this month, said in 2022 that the RNC would stop paying once Trump became a candidate.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-campaign-fundraising-rnc-c0e8f1e7b59f70c5237e13a3462e5790
And Trump's campaign had to be warned a 2nd time. Imagine all the should be unnecessary work put into 243 pages.
You can betcha bottom dollar Trump some campaign people pushed the idea. Yep, very novel. Not weird at all.
Opinion: Why a booming economy isn’t helping Biden
"Non-response. Of necessity the Dems govern over the f'ing economic messes handed over to them by the GOP.
P - Clinton handed off a budget surplus and Dubya destroyed that with his revenue robbing tax cuts, then handed off the only GREAT recession in our History. Obama repaired it, despite the attempted sabotage by the GOP and their 'austerity' sequester.
P - Obama handed off strong economic trends that Trump never failed to claim were his doing, then he f'd up the pandemic response and gave us the requisite GOP recession, a deep albeit brief gut punch, followed by a treasonous insurrection incitement.
P - And now we have an economy that a GOP president would never stop crowing about."
Exquisitely put.
Fareed Zakaria
Opinion by Fareed Zakaria, CNN
Published 6:30 AM EDT, Sun March 24, 2024
VIDEO - Minority voters show decreased support for Biden in crucial 2020 swing states
01:51 - Source: CNN
Editor’s Note: Fareed Zakaria is the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS, airing at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET Sundays on CNN. Follow Fareed on X, and read news, analysis, and insights from Fareed and his team in the daily CNN newsletter Fareed’s Global Briefing. This article is adapted in part from Fareed’s new book, “Age of Revolutions: Progress and Backlash from 1600 to the Present,” which will be published March 26. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more CNN Opinion here.
CNN — The central puzzle about this election campaign, that has pollsters and pundits opining, is the disconnect between the state of the economy and President Joe Biden’s approval ratings. A simple rule of thumb is that a president’s approval rating predicts the chances of reelection. It used to be that the public’s view of the president depended mostly on its view of the economy. But that relationship has gone haywire recently.
Look at the current state of the economy. America is in unusually good health. It has recovered better from the Covid-19 pandemic than any other major economy. For two years the unemployment rate has been under 4%, a streak the US hasn’t seen in more than five decades.
Inflation, which was worrying, has dropped sharply since mid-2022 and is now 3.2%. Wage growth for lower-income workers over the past few years has outpaced that of high-income workers.
The flood of good news also includes some unprecedented data. In a reversal of a decades-long trend, Black workers’ participation rate in the labor force is now higher than that of White workers. And yet, Biden’s third-year average approval rating was about 40%, the second lowest of modern presidents. It’s currently around 38%.
Related article Opinion: Biden needs to stand up to Texas’ immigration extremism
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/22/opinions/biden-texas-border-immigration-law-downes
Part of the answer is probably the disconnect around people’s perception and feelings. While consumer sentiment is up dramatically from its all-time low in June 2022 and many people have positive views of their personal finances, they are still gloomy on the economy at large.
Explanations for this disconnect abound. Some say it’s a time lag, others that people are being swayed by social media, still others that residual feelings about inflation tends to trump all else. But I think that the real answer is that politics is no longer fundamentally driven by economics – that our political preferences are today shaped more by issues of culture, class and tribalism than by how much money we make.
That is one of the core theses of my new book, “Age of Revolutions,” which argues that we are living through a huge backlash after decades of rapid accelerations in technology and globalization. And this backlash is largely centered on cultural anxiety in a fast-changing world.
The disconnect between economics and politics has been growing for a while. As Nate Cohn of The New York Times has noted .. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/05/podcasts/the-daily/1948-election-truman.html?showTranscript=1 , ever since Barack Obama’s presidency, the rock-solid connection between the health of the economy and a president’s approval ratings has “almost gone.”
Former President Donald Trump presided over a very strong economy until Covid-19, and yet his approval ratings were extremely low, just like Biden’s. And during the 2020 election, something extraordinary happened: Democrats’ and Republicans’ views of the economy flipped massively in the months around Biden’s inauguration.
Democrats who had previously thought the economy was in terrible shape now thought it was booming, and Republicans did the opposite. A similar flip-flop occurred when Trump was elected in 2016. In other words, peoples’ political leanings shaped their views of the economy, not vice versa.
Related article Opinion: The cracks are beginning to show in Trump’s campaign finances
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/22/opinions/cracks-showing-trumps-campaign-finances-zelizer
What then is shaping peoples’ political affiliations? I argue in the book that it is identity — which encompasses culture, class and tribalism. In the 20th century, political leanings were shaped by economics. Where you sat economically determined where you voted politically.
It made sense in a much poorer age when vast numbers of working-class voters were fundamentally motivated by moving up to secure a decent living. (America’s per capita GDP in 1950, adjusted for inflation, was around $15,000.) Most Western societies achieved that basic condition by the 1960s, and people began to express other “post-materialist” identities and values. (I am drawing on powerful survey research, done over decades, by the social scientist Ronald Inglehart.)
Many people believe that populism is fundamentally about rising inequality and a working class that has been left behind. But look at northern European countries like Sweden and Denmark. They spend lavishly on social safety nets and worker retraining programs and have relatively low inequality. And yet, populist parties — at least one with a direct lineage to fascism — have surged in these places to become major political players.
France has coddled and shielded its workers more than almost any other industrial nation and yet, were elections held today, the xenophobic National Rally would probably win.
All these countries have seen large tides of migrants over the last few decades. In 1970, most major Western European countries had under 6% of their population who were foreign-born. In 2020, most had more than 12%. In Austria, Germany, and Sweden, it was close to 20%. (For comparison, the US has seen those numbers rise from around 6% to 15% during the same period).
Related article Opinion: What Biden needs to know about Rafah
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/21/opinions/rafah-gaza-palestinian-lives-biden-mousa
Immigration today remains the rocket fuel that propels populist parties. Immigration is, in a sense, the visible face of globalization. You cannot see or feel capital flows or trade liberalization. But you can look at these new entrants into your society, who look different, speak differently, and often worship different gods, and feel unnerved.
One counterexample helps make the point. A major industrialized country that has not had much right-wing populism and where the old ruling establishment continues to hold the reins of power largely unchallenged is Japan. It is surely relevant to note that Japan also takes very few immigrants.
Beyond immigration, one sees how other issues that divide people along lines of religion, culture and class feed the new politics. In his last book, Inglehart noted a startling fact about the United States. The US had always been an outlier among developed countries as a rich nation that remained deeply religious, closer .. https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSContents.jsp?CMSID=Findings .. to Nigeria than to Denmark on this cultural scale. In recent years, the single strongest drop in religiosity (among countries he studied) occurred in the United States.
America is rapidly secularizing, and this is causing extreme anxiety in large parts of the country, especially among non-urban, non-college educated people. The religious and cultural divide in America is layered underneath a class divide: urban vs rural, college-educated vs non-college educated. And economic differences are malleable; you can split the difference between someone who wants to spend $2 billion and another who wants to spend $4 billion. But how do you split the difference on issues of identity, religion and morality like abortion and gay rights?
This rise of cultural politics explains the other great shift in polling that has been best observed by the Financial Times’s John Burn-Murdoch: “a racial realignment.” All non-White voters, especially Hispanic and Black voters, are becoming more evenly divided between left and right than they have been for decades. Why? Perhaps many of them are realizing that on many of the social issues that now dominate – abortion, gay rights, immigration – they may lean more right than left.
In recent decades, globalization and technology have moved so fast that they have left many people in advanced societies deeply anxious. And when people see their world in flux, they often move not left on economics but right on culture. They want the world to stop changing so fast and to listen to politicians who promise to take them back to “the good old days,” or make America great AGAIN.
The left’s instinct is to solve this problem by spending money. Biden’s policies have disproportionately helped people in rural areas without college degrees – likely Trump voters, in other words. But I doubt this will make them into Democrats. The left needs to play more effectively on the new crossroads of politics, where culture and class have replaced economics.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/24/opinions/biden-economy-low-approval-ratings-zakaria/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc
ATT: All trolls, hap0206, You've been told (first reply) how Biden's energy policy has saved individuals money. And that's not all:
Potential impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on energy prices in the United States in 2030 compared to 2021 prices, by emissions scenario (in U.S. dollars)
[Interactive -- ] Inflation Reduction Act's impact on energy prices in the U.S. 2030, by scenario
Published by Statista Research Department, Apr 29, 2024
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by the United States Congress seeks to increase domestic energy production, increase funding of clean energy technologies, and decrease emissions. The various policies and tax credits included in the IRA can have an impact on energy prices in the United States. For example, home energy costs could potentially fall by 30 to 134 dollars per household depending on the emissions reduction scenario.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1327253/us-inflation-reduction-act-energy-price-impact/
He could enjoy that. Talk about weird - Trump campaign allegedly took ‘excessive’ contributions by the nickel and dime
"ust call the other guys nuts
We already know your MO, no need to reinforce it several times per day. Spamming your repetitive "ideas" over and over does not make your case stronger, it weakens it. Sometimes it seems as though you are just begging to be spanked with a rolled up magazine."
Mark Alesia, Investigative Reporter
May 14, 2024 1:52PM ET
Donald Trump returning to court in New York City. Justin Lane (Pool)/Getty Images
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign received a nastygram from the Federal Election Commission again — this time, in the form of a 243-page letter .. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24662022-trump-fec-letter-13may2024 .. flagging suspected illegal contributions.
Trump’s campaign appears to have accepted dozens of donations that exceed federal contribution limits — $3,300 per person to a candidate per election — from supporters who often made miniscule but repeated donations in a bizarre, seemingly random, manner.
Take Gail D. Lopez, listed in public documents as a retiree from Lacombe, La., who made 1,450 separate contributions to Trump’s campaign in less than 17 months.
Of those, 116 were for one penny.
Lopez made 228 additional contributions for less than a nickel.
And 1,000 contributions were for less than a dollar.
ALSO READ: 8 ways Trump doesn’t become president
https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/donald-trump-president-2024/
Her total giving was $4,272, some of which the Trump campaign listed as having refunded. But even with the refunds, she nickel and dimed herself well over the legal limit without the Trump campaign adequately stopping her, according to the FEC.
Contributions that exceed federal limits are supposed to be refunded by a campaign — or redesignated by the donor from, say, a primary election to a general election.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Raw Story’s request for comment. The FEC, a independent federal regulatory agency with the power to issue fines for campaign finance-related violations, gave Trump's campaign until June 17 to respond to its inquiry.
Donor Karen Anjoorian, listed in FEC records as being retired and from Suffolk, Va., made 12 contributions for nine cents, including two such contributions on the same day.
ALSO READ: Trump-nominated FEC leader: let political donors hide their identities
https://www.rawstory.com/federal-election-commission-transparency/
She made numerous other contributions for odd amounts — 18 cents, 23 cents, 32 cents.
Her total giving of $3,523.49 went over the federal limit.The FEC lists more than 100 people whose contributions to Donald J. Trump For President 2024, Inc., violated election law.
While Trump’s campaign has experienced habitual problems keeping track of donors who give too much, many large-scale federal campaigns, particularly presidential campaigns — Republican and Democratic alike — have also struggled with such accounting from time to time.
Trump, meanwhile, frequently boasts about his wealth ..
https://www.yahoo.com/news/note-judges-trump-still-bragging-153257057.html .
But the former president, who is facing 88 felony counts across four criminal cases against him, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars in civil judgments against him, is not self-funding his 2024 presidential campaign in any meaningful way.
https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/donald-trump-campaign-contributions-fec/
Way to boost your donation numbers. Talk about weird, and ethics-free.
conix, Yeah, and validly debunked every time you repeat the false claim.
B402, You want weird, it ain't here except that we allow you and other contrary posters to post here. That's what good echo chambers do, eh, allow the repetitive shonky .. https://www.choice.com.au/shonky-awards .. claims .. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/shonky , you never-independent trolls post here.
Such generosity some see as weird. Even some of our own.
Well done, partner.