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More old news becoming current. Just a never ending story. We probably have a greater chance of being hit by a large asteroid than the chance one or more adversaries didn't get any of our nation's secrets from Traitor tRump.
Too many of Traitor tRumps partners in crime are going strong is really unfortunate. I hope something stops their destruction, and soon.
Like Biden said after a maga heckler shouted out that the election was stolen, "ignorance knows no bounds". Biden's crowd roared and responded with cheers.
Here's another old article but now more current. Coming back to bite.
Self-funding QAnon candidate gave own campaign $450,000 after getting PPP loan
Watchdog group, along with Marjorie Taylor Greene's former GOP opponent, call on her to give the money back
https://www.salon.com/2020/10/09/self-funding-qanon-candidate-gave-own-campaign-450000-after-getting-ppp-loan/
By IGOR DERYSH
Deputy Politics Editor
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 9, 2020 6:00AM (EDT)
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon conspiracy theorist and Republican candidate who is expected to win her House race in Georgia next month, donated $450,000 to her own campaign after receiving a six-figure Paycheck Protection Program loan from the government for her construction company.
Greene, who has promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory and posted videos attacking Black people, Muslims and Jews, won the Republican primary in Georgia's 14th congressional district in August despite opposition from Republican leaders. She is almost certain to take over the seat now held by retiring Republican Rep. Tom Graves, especially after her Democratic opponent dropped out of the race last month in a district President Trump carried by 50 points. Trump has since praised Greene as a "future Republican star."
Greene's bid was partially funded by a super PAC allied with the House Freedom Caucus, which has opposed additional funding to provide coronavirus relief to Americans. Greene has opposed additional spending as well, declaring in a Facebook video that "the best stimulus for Americans is allowing Americans to go back to work!"
Despite her opposition to the stimulus funding and the PPP, her family's company, Taylor Commercial, received a six-figure PPP loan worth between $150,000 and $350,000 earlier this year. New York Magazine reported that her name had stopped appearing on the company's registration forms in 2012 but was added back in 2019.
Greene, who had loaned her campaign $900,000, donated $450,000 to her campaign about two months after the PPP loan, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Her main opponent in the Republican primary, neurosurgeon John Cowan, raised questions about the donation during the campaign.
"Earlier this week, you said that you didn't want Congress to pass more COVID-related emergency funds for businesses. But your business took as much as $350,000 in PPP loans from the federal government at the same time you were putting $900,000 into your campaign," Cowan told Greene during a debate in July. "So if you don't need the money and you have the discretionary funds, will you commit to returning that money to the citizens?"
Greene accused Cowan of being "disconnected" from business owners and "people who have struggled during this government shutdown."
"I am appalled at the fact that you cannot comprehend that I have a construction company and we can't do construction remotely at home," she said, not denying that she opposed the very funds that her company drew from.
"Construction companies were considered essential and they didn't shut down," Cowan shot back. "So you were making plenty of money — plus you used $900,000 of your own money during the campaign. Don't you think you had a little extra to pay your employees? I find it disingenuous that you took money from taxpayers to pay for your employees while you were paying yourself."
Spencer Hogg, Cowan's campaign manager, later said in a statement that Greene's company "wasn't one of those facing hardships."
"She says she's a fiscal conservative, she said last week that she opposed additional emergency funding for businesses forced to close because of COVID, but as we've seen on multiple issues, Marjorie doesn't let principle interfere with self-interest," he said in a statement. "If she has enough money to spend nearly $1 million to advance her own political ambitions, then she has enough to pay her employees, particularly in an industry that didn't have to stop working during the lockdown."
Greene's campaign did not respond to questions from Salon.
Greene is not the only Republican candidate who has self-funded a campaign while taking PPP loans.
Former Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., received a PPP loan for one of his companies worth between $150,000 and $350,000 in May, weeks before he loaned his campaign $150,000. Issa, who has a net worth of $280 million to $400 million and was the richest member of Congress between 2000 and 2018, is trying to stage a political comeback by running for the Southern California seat recently vacated by convicted former Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican.
Issa's Democratic opponent ,Ammar Campa-Najjar, called for "millionaires like Darrell Issa" to be banned from collecting PPP loans during a debate last week.
Issa said at the debate that he opposed funding the PPP entirely, arguing it would be "foolhardy" and that "paying people not to work has run its course."
Another California Republican candidate, Michelle Steele, also received a PPP loan worth between $150,000 and $350,000 in April for her family law firm. She donated $500,000 to her campaign in California's 48th congressional district against Rep. Harley Rouda, a Democratic freshman narrowly elected in the 2018 "blue wave."
Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican, received PPP loans worth up to $7 million for his auto dealerships before donating $250,000 to his campaign.
Accountable.US, a progressive watchdog group that tracks recipients of PPP loans, called on all four candidates to return the money to taxpayers.
"The PPP program was meant to save jobs, not bail out business owners looking for a gig in D.C.," spokesman Derek Martin said in a statement to Salon. "These candidates should return this money and tell the president to get back to work on a relief bill that will help all Americans during this pandemic."
By IGOR DERYSH
Traitor tRump probably was bragging and showing off those docs he stole to his foreign friends like he bragged to the Russians in the Oval Office. It sure would be nice if the interpreter that was with him in those private meetings with Putin be one of the witnesses. It's no wonder our Nations Intelligence was extremely worried about what they gave or showed him.
Rex Chapman????
@RexChapman
Today we found out a young foreign spy befriended Trump and Lindsey Graham recently, and through that connection she subsequently made in-roads with Republican officials — and it’s not even trending.
3:05 PM · Aug 26, 2022·Twitter for iPhone
Today we found out a young foreign spy befriended Trump and Lindsey Graham recently, and through that connection she subsequently made in-roads with Republican officials — and it’s not even trending. pic.twitter.com/QqqkVMTJBc
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) August 26, 2022
Was a fan of Elton John, but never really listened to Britney or her type of music, wasn't my generation or genre really. But this new song from the pair that they have put together isn't a bad tune. Lot of young and old can enjoy I think. Britney's first release since her freedom. It's already top of charts around the world.
Maybe they can't get Traitor tRump off the floor and get him to stop kicking, screaming, and holding his breath long enough to respond. Tick tock. lol
Trump News Live Updates: Deadline Nearing in Trump's Special Master Request
BY DARRAGH ROCHE , MEGHAN ROOS AND ALEX BACKUS ON 8/26/22 AT 6:37 AM EDT
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-news-live-warrant-affidavit-today-news-release-doj-1737245
Judge gives Trump until Friday to better explain why he wants a special master for Mar-a-Lago documents
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/23/politics/trump-special-master-deadline/index.html
Totally. Just to even make public the warrant and any of the affidavit is making history. The Justice Dept. just doesn't do that. Until now anyway.
I found this interesting. Under the explanation for the redactions, there is a "significant number" of witnesses, not a single or few persons, but many. That must be really bothering Traitor tRump and should expect some ranting and raving soon sweating some lies out making no sense, but just for his cult and the New GOP to repeat and continue to be accessories to his crimes.
"For the reasons explained below, the materials the government marked for redaction in the attached document must remain sealed to protect the safety and privacy of a significant number of civilian witnesses"
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64872441/98/united-states-v-sealed-search-warrant/
Just a reminder, besides the redacted affidavit by noon et, Traitor tRump has to respond by today and explain his request filing.
Judge gives Trump until Friday to better explain why he wants a special master for Mar-a-Lago documents
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/23/politics/trump-special-master-deadline/index.html
Looks like maybe the first Gen X in congress coming up. As the old go out, the young come in I guess. I just asked @GovRonDeSantis to take action on gun violence so we can save lives. That we lose 100 people a day.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/politics/Gen Z candidate will win Democratic nomination in Florida's 10th District, CNN projects
https://twitter.com/MaxwellFrostFL
He's is one that DeSantis told that nobody wanted to hear from him.
DeSantis Repels Protestor Saying “Nobody Wants To Hear From You”
June 7, 2022
https://nextnewsnetwork.com/2022/06/07/desantis-repels-protestor-saying-nobody-wants-to-hear-from-you/
His response? “Nobody wants to hear from you!” We are dying and our Governor is too busy helping @RubinReport make money. pic.twitter.com/LUOWQq3kQU
Replying to
@rgoodlaw
Here's a wiki article on FBI search of MAL.
There's lots on Twitter that would improve that article. Folks can add to it as info develops.
Anyone can add to it, but be sure to cite reliable sources and try to be neutral, or addition will be deleted.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI_search_of_Mar-a-Lago
A real lucky lesson hopefully learned. Kid playing with loaded gun.
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/UntidyUnselfishJabiru-mobile.mp4
George Conway??
@gtconway3d
Note to everyone discussing the Trump Documents Scandal:
It isn't the "Trump Documents Scandal," or the "Trump Classified Documents Scandal" or even the "Trump Top Secret Documents Scandal."
It's the "Trump STOLEN Top Secret Documents Scandal."
Traitor tRump and his den of thieves with stolen docs. Biggest threat to the US in history.
Traitor tRump par for the course.
emptywheel
@emptywheel
At a time when Trump still had classified documents in his stash of Presidential papers, one of his designees to access his papers was a former OAN host and another was a propagandist with ties to a mobbed up Russian-Ukrainian criminal suspect.
5:05 AM · Aug 23, 2022·TweetDeck
At a time when Trump still had classified documents in his stash of Presidential papers, one of his designees to access his papers was a former OAN host and another was a propagandist with ties to a mobbed up Russian-Ukrainian criminal suspect.
— emptywheel (check, mate) (@emptywheel) August 23, 2022
This is great. lol
At first I wasn’t into this because I thought it was just a meme. Then I saw it was an earnest attempt to educate Americans on how successful Biden’s presidency has been relative to the historic headwinds against it—e.g., a GOP insurrection—and I loved it. pic.twitter.com/PDzaDbUUoI
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) August 19, 2022
All the GQP whistles and standard tRump bells.
https://www.luismiguelforflorida.com
A twitter suspension and deletion, but still doing the damage. Even though it was deleted pretty quickly, the pic is continuing to make it's rounds in the masses
And then there is wonder why some, including me, worries about having to defend against the traitors and terrorist the New GOP has become.
US political violence is surging, but talk of a civil war is exaggerated – isn’t it?
The FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago unleashed the latest barrage of threats of violence, on top of a wave of threats against election workers and rising weapons sales
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/20/us-political-violence-civil-war
by Chris McGreal
Sat 20 Aug 2022 02.05 EDT
Dr Garen Wintemute used to laugh off warnings of a civil war coming to America as “crazy talk”. Then the emergency room doctor in California saw the figures for gun sales.
Wintemute, who founded a centre to research firearms violence after years of treating gunshot wounds, had long observed that the rush to buy weapons came in waves, often around a presidential election. Always it fell back again.
“Then in January of 2020 gun sales took off. Just an unprecedented surge in purchasing and that surge continued,” he said. “We were aware that, contrary to prior surges, this one wasn’t ending. People are still buying guns like crazy.”
Many were buying a weapon for the first time.
Wintemute wanted answers and they stunned him. A survey for his California Firearm Violence Research Center released last month showed that half of Americans expect a civil war in the United States in the next few years. One in five thought political violence was justified in some circumstances. In addition, while almost everyone said it was important for the US to remain a democracy, about 40% said that having a strong leader was more important.
“Coupled with prior research, these findings suggest a continuing alienation from and mistrust of American democratic society and its institutions. Substantial minorities of the population endorse violence, including lethal violence, to obtain political objectives,” the report concluded.
Suddenly Wintemute didn’t think talk of a violent civil conflict was so crazy any more.
The doctor is quick to note that large numbers of those people expecting a civil war say it is only “somewhat likely”. But half of the population even considering such a possibility reflects the failing confidence of large numbers of Americans in a system of government under assault by Donald Trump and a good part of the Republican party.
The FBI’s search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence earlier this month for classified documents removed from the White House unleashed the latest barrage of threats of violence, this time directed at an institution widely regarded as a bastion of establishment conservatism.
The Florida senator Rick Scott likened the FBI to the Gestapo. In Ohio, the police killed an armed US navy veteran who attacked an FBI office. In Pennsylvania, a man with a history of vaccine denial was charged with threatening to “slaughter” federal agents he described as “police state scum”, and compared to the Nazi SS and the Soviet secret police.
In the days after the search of Mar-a-Lago, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security warned of a surge in threats of violence against federal agents, their families and the judge who issued the search warrant. The FBI said these included calls for “civil war” and “armed rebellion”.
That comes on top of a wave of threats against election workers since Trump alleged he was robbed of victory by fraud in 2020, and a sharp increase in intimidation of others in public service from school board members to librarians as well as elected politicians.
Wintemute said that the surge in violent threats is made more potent by rising weapons sales. “What happens when you take a society that is increasingly fearful for its future, increasingly polarised, increasingly angry at itself, and throw a bunch of guns into the mix?” he said.
‘Willing to harm other Americans for their political beliefs’
Many Americans flinch at talk of civil war because it recalls the bloodiest conflict in their history. The threat of violent conflict in the US also looks very different from the wars once fought by guerrillas in Latin America and Africa, or during the breakup of Yugoslavia.
But Rachel Kleinfeld, a specialist in civil conflict at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that does not mean it cannot happen. “Countries with democracies and governments as strong as America’s do not fall into civil war. But if our institutions weaken, the story could be different,” she said.
“What most worries me right now is polling that suggests somewhere between 20% and 40% of Americans would like a strongman leader who doesn’t have to follow the democratic rules. That would allow institutions to weaken and an insurgency like the Troubles in Northern Ireland could break out.”
The parallel with Northern Ireland may jar but recent polling suggests it is not unwarranted. In 1973, in the midst of some of the worst years of the Troubles, one in five people in Northern Ireland agreed that “violence is a legitimate way to achieve one’s goals”. Half a century later, a similar proportion of Republican voters in the US say that it is “justified to use political violence to accomplish political goals”.
A more complex picture emerges when the numbers are broken down, including over whether such violence is targeted against people or property. But even then Kleinfeld said the results are disturbing. “You’re looking at 3 to 5 million Americans willing to harm other Americans for their political beliefs,” she said.
‘Politicians’ attacks on the system’
The US has a long history of political violence and killings, including bombing campaigns by radical leftwing organisations in the 1970s and more recent attacks from the right by anti-abortion groups and white nationalists. The country’s deadliest domestic terrorist attack, the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people, was perpetrated by members of an anti-government militia.
But now the greatest threat to political stability comes from within the power structure including Republican politicians subverting the electoral system and further eroding trust in democracy.
Trump’s allegation that the 2020 presidential election was stolen unleashed actual and threatened violence from the storming of the Capitol to the barrage of threats to kill election workers. The justice department set up a special taskforce to protect election officials after more than 1,000 were directly threatened over their unwillingness to declare Trump the winner in 2020. Many have quit or intend to do so before the 2024 presidential election because of “politicians’ attacks on the system and stress”.
Wintemute said that with the attack on election workers has come a parallel effort by Republican leaders to weight the electoral system in their favour through gerrymandering and obstacles to voting in swing states that further undermines confidence in democracy.
“One of the great ironies is that there is the false narrative that the election was rigged which is being used in order to set up a rigged election in the future,” he said.
“Democrats see democracy is under threat because of authoritarianism from the right and the prospect of stolen midterms and the infrastructure that’s been setting up for a stolen presidential election in 2024. For the right, it already happened. Many people in our survey say 2020 was stolen. So their point of view is that the threat has been realised. It’s hard to see a good way out.”
To Kleinfeld that in part explains the significant numbers of Democrats also prepared to justify political violence in certain circumstances – 13% compared with 20% of Republicans. She said that, nonetheless, actual acts of violence are almost entirely from one side.
“What that suggests is that the American people are very frustrated with our democracy, and don’t think it’s working. But Republicans think they can get away with violence, and it’s being normalised by their leaders, whereas Democratic leaders are keeping a check on their side. But that’s not to say that will be forever,” she said.
Underpinning all of this are America’s changing demographics and the diminishing of white political power.
Wintemute’s survey showed that one in three people buys into the far right “great replacement” conspiracy theory that white Americans are being supplanted by minorities – cited by the murderers of dozens of people in recent massacres from Texas to New York state. The “great replacement” theory is also regularly aired on Fox News.
Lilliana Mason, the author of Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity, said the election of the US’s first black president, Barack Obama, in 2008 made race “a really salient issue” for many white voters.
“Then Trump said the quiet part out loud. He started using overtly racist and misogynistic language and creating a permission structure for his supporters to become much more aggressive and intentionally offensive in their rhetoric. That really encouraged not just uncivil behaviour but broke all of these social norms that we had previously considered to be sacred,” she said.
Trump’s embrace of white nationalist groups, such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, also brought armed militias into mainstream politics, helping them to infiltrate local police forces and the military.
In December, three retired US generals said that Trumpism has infected parts of the armed forces and noted the “disturbing number of veterans and active-duty members of the military” who took part in the attack on the Capitol. They warned of the “potential for lethal chaos inside our military” if the result of 2024 presidential election is disputed.
“The potential for a total breakdown of the chain of command along partisan lines – from the top of the chain to squad level – is significant should another insurrection occur. The idea of rogue units organizing among themselves to support the ‘rightful’ commander in chief cannot be dismissed,” they wrote
“It really does feel a pivotal moment in in American democracy,” says Mason. “We’re probably going to see more violence. I don’t think we’ll see less in the immediate future. But, ultimately, the way Americans respond to that violence will determine whether it can be calmed down or whether it spirals out of control.”
Kleinfeld said she is not optimistic.
“We’re getting to a point where if the Trumpist faction wins, I think we’ll see sustained extremely high levels of violence for the foreseeable future. And if they lose, I think it’ll be worse,” she said.
POLITICO Playbook: Ron Klain says ‘season of substance’ could save Dems
By RYAN LIZZA and EUGENE DANIELS 08/19/2022 06:06 AM EDT
Presented by
With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2022/08/19/ron-klain-says-season-of-substance-could-save-dems
White House chief of staff Ron Klain walks on the South Lawn of the White House.
The president’s aides, led by chief of staff Ron Klain, are making the case that Joe Biden is a transformational president with “historic achievements.” | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo
DRIVING THE DAY
THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: RON KLAIN — The White House suddenly has a lot to brag about. And the president’s aides, led by chief of staff RON KLAIN, are reaching deep into the 20th century to make the case that JOE BIDEN is a transformational president with “historic achievements.”
Here’s the litany from Klain:
“We now have a presidency where the president has delivered the largest economic recovery plan since ROOSEVELT, the largest infrastructure plan since EISENHOWER, the most judges confirmed since KENNEDY, the second largest health care bill since JOHNSON and the largest climate change bill in history. … The first time we've done gun control since President CLINTON was here, the first time ever an African American woman has been put on the U.S. Supreme Court. … I think it’s a record to take to the American people.”
On Thursday, we ventured over to the White House and sat down with Klain in the Roosevelt Room to review the last 18 months of the Biden presidency and talk about what’s next.
When Biden is out of town, as he was on Thursday, the vibe in the West Wing is a little different. Aides are more relaxed, but often busier. Klain sleeps in a little later, but powers through more work. (“I definitely get more done when he's not here,” he told Playbook. “No question about it.”) It’s also noisier: There’s an ongoing refencing project outside the White House that revs up whenever the president is away.
At the start of the summer, this conversation would have been vastly different. Now, gas prices have dropped, and the last CPI report hints that inflation may finally be trending down after hitting a peak. Election forecasters are writingpieces at least entertaining the idea that Democrats might not suffer the long-predicted midterm wipeout. And there’s that burst of legislative victories that were squeezed out of Congress in July and August that had Biden, a lover of alliteration, calling this period “a season of substance.”
You can listen to the full conversation with Klain on this week’s episode of the Playbook Deep Dive podcast — subscribe here on Apple Podcasts and Spotify — but here are the key highlights:
On moving the reconciliation package talks to Capitol Hill:
“When you negotiate at the White House, the negotiations are very high profile and put a lot of pressure on everyone involved, and kind of create a lot of breadcrumbs for the press to follow. … [It’s] good for the journalism business; not so good, maybe, for the progress business. … One thing we wanted to do was to take the temperature down on these negotiations and have them conducted in a more low-key way. And I think moving it to Capitol Hill was very effective that way. It kind of ended the cycle we had in November, December of just daily breathlessness about who said what to whom and when they said what to whom and how they said what to whom — which was not a not a productive vehicle in which we could get to an agreement.”
On Biden’s temperament:
“Look at the president’s personal history: It’s a personal history of tremendous, joyous successes and devastating tragedies. And I think that helps moderate his spirit at all times. There is nothing I can ever walk into the Oval Office and tell him that’s any bigger than the bigger things he’s already experienced in life. And nothing I could ever tell him is any sadder than the saddest things he’s already experienced in life. And I think that gives him a very level temperament as president.”
Summing up Biden’s/Dems’ midterms message:
“Elections are choices, and the choice just couldn’t be any clearer right now. Democrats have stood up to the big special interests. They stood up to the big corporations and insisted that all corporations pay minimum taxes, stood up to the big oil companies and passed climate change legislation. They stood up to Big Pharma and passed prescription drug legislation. They stood up to the gun industry and passed gun control legislation. Things that this city [was] unable to deliver on for decades because the special interests had things locked down, Joe Biden and his allies in Congress have been able to deliver on.”
On how they’re branding Republicans:
“We have an extreme MAGA group in the Republican Party that has no real plan to bring down inflation. They obviously want to pass a nationwide ban on abortion. They sided with Big Pharma. They sided with the climate deniers. They sided with — most of them sided with … the gun lobby. And so I think that choice [is] between a party that’s standing up to the special interests and delivering change, and … an extreme party, a party that’s talking about, well, some of the leaders talking about abolishing Social Security and Medicare every five years. … The extreme nature of our opponents, whether it's with regard to democracy or Social Security, are all part of a movement that is just very different than we’ve seen in recent years in this country.”
The best day since he arrived?
“For me, it was Jan. 20, 2021. … The fundamental challenge we faced in the 2020 campaign was whether or not democracy would prevail. And there was a profound threat to that during the transition and on Jan. 6, and an effort to prevent that from happening. There were times on Jan. 6 where I really wondered if the electoral votes would ever get counted and if Joe Biden would ever get sworn in as president. So to be here at 12 noon on Jan. 20 to welcome the president here in the Oval Office when he got back from the inauguration ceremonies — to me, that was … the biggest victory we could ever win.”
The worst day?
“There’s no question: The worst day here was Aug. 26 of last year, when we lost 13 service members in Afghanistan. … Just a terrible tragedy and certainly the darkest day.”
On Biden’s public profile:
“I don’t think it’s true he’s out there less than his predecessors. I just think DONALD TRUMP created an expectation of a president creating a shitstorm every single day.”
Garland has a really tough job. There was and is so much criminality that tRump caused, did, doing, plans to do, that it literally was overwhelming to the Justice Dept. Plus the political landscape has to have some effect to how he goes through unprecedented amounts of crime. Garland has to go through all the processes, completely over the amount of resources that was available, a historic job he has to do. Got to give some leeway, it looks like he is taking the most pressing issues very seriously. I think national security is pretty pressing, especially when it comes to a traitor like tRump.
I think it's good that a lot of this is coming out now right before election, imo it's more positive for the Dems than the GQP. Hope I'm right. The turtle said recently about doubts that the Senate would flip due to "candidate quality" and put his bet on the house. That red wave that the GQP has been licking their chops over doesn't seem quite as ruby as it was before.
We just have to worry about the cheaters and liars that have been taking control of the vote counting.
Appeals court says DOJ improperly redacted memo to AG Barr on Trump obstruction
BY JOHN KRUZEL - 08/19/22 10:45 AM ET
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3607920-appeals-court-says-doj-improperly-redacted-memo-to-ag-barr-on-trump-obstruction/
The Department of Justice (DOJ) improperly shielded portions of a memo to Attorney General William Barr that concerned whether former President Trump obstructed a special counsel probe into his campaign’s dealings with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled on Friday.
The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed a federal judge’s May 2021 decision that the DOJ had improperly redacted parts of the Trump-era legal memo that should have been made public as part of a government watchdog’s records request lawsuit.
The memo at issue was prepared at Barr’s request by the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in March 2019, ostensibly to provide legal advice that would go on to guide Barr’s decision not to charge Trump with obstruction of justice related to his alleged interference with former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into his 2016 campaign’s contacts with Moscow.
The DOJ, responding to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking disclosure of the memo, argued that virtually the entire memorandum and related records should be shielded under a FOIA exemption that protects internal government deliberations.
But the D.C. Circuit Court panel on Friday, affirming the lower court’s decision, ruled that the DOJ had failed to prove that the so-called deliberative-process privilege justified keeping the records under wraps.
The panel said the OLC memo did not in fact contain a legal analysis of whether Barr should pursue charges against Trump, but rather what, if anything, Barr should say to Congress and the public about Mueller’s voluminous findings.
“Because the Department did not tie the memorandum to deliberations about the relevant decision, the Department failed to justify its reliance on the deliberative-process privilege,” Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan wrote for the panel.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Judge orders Starbucks to reinstate fired workers who led unionization effort
Kentucky Supreme Court declines to block abortion ban
Whether the full memorandum is released soon likely depends on if the DOJ pursues an additional appeal, either to the full bench of the D.C. Circuit Court or to the Supreme Court.
This tees up another politically fraught decision for Attorney General Merrick Garland, whose earlier move to appeal the judge’s ruling ordering his department to release a document disappointed Trump critics and prolonged the FOIA battle that was initiated by the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Updated at 11:37 a.m.
Just put a simple RSI on it there Xena. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/active-trading/042114/overbought-or-oversold-use-relative-strength-index.
But there are more indicators to show oversold. FCEL needs to get up over the $7 break to be a long term breakout. Before that FCEL needs to break the 200ma which is at about 5.37 now and it got rejected. What it's showing is just a shorter term breakout and it has already reached the height of short term trading point. I'm not sure what the catalyst would be to continue the run at this point. Like I said before, the whole sector is getting to exhaustion and is due for retrace. Maybe after retrace something could happen, but definitely caution should be used at the top of the run.
Run a trendline under the run on the daily, and confirmation of exhaustion will be when it goes under that and continues down. Of course all of that is just probabilities and not a sure thing, but that and FCEL's history is still something to take in consideration.
Seems like FBI kicking but lately, must have ignored that pizza parlor tip.
FBI locates 121 missing kids, child trafficking victims in nationwide operation
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3603141-fbi-locates-121-missing-kids-child-trafficking-victims-in-nationwide-operation/
BY OLAFIMIHAN OSHIN - 08/15/22 4:53 PM ET
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TWEET
The FBI announced on Monday that it has located up to 121 missing children and child trafficking victims in a nationwide sting operation.
In a news release, the agency said that its “Operation Cross Country” initiative helped locate more than 200 victims of human trafficking and related crimes during the first two weeks of this month.
Operation Cross Country is a coordinated effort among the FBI and other federal, state and local agencies to help find or assist victims of human trafficking.
One hundred and forty-one adult victims were also found through the agency’s initiative, bringing the active total of victims located by authorities this year as part of Cross Country to 391.
The FBI also said that its local stings in and around Chattanooga, Tenn., and Atlanta resulted in the finding of 19 missing children and the arrest of seven traffickers.
Spike in FBI threats unsettles the right
North Dakotans to vote on marijuana legalization in November
“The initiative really just takes a concentrated period of time where we’re just focused on the problem of child sex trafficking,” FBI section chief Jose Perez, who oversees the agency’s violent crime investigations, said in a statement. “What we do is we sit down with our local partners and our task forces and identify certain areas where we know sex trafficking is prevalent, and we’ll dedicate resources and efforts to identify and remove victims from those areas.”
Nearly 200 federal, state and local agencies have partnered with the agency on its Operation Cross Country initiative, adding that the goal of the operation is to gather intelligence, build criminal cases against traffickers and offer assistance to victims.
The initiative also plans to expand to investigate sex offenders who may be eligible for federal charges and others who try to connect with children online to sexually abuse them.
Maybe something to do with this;
https://kyivindependent.com/
Tuesday, August 16
12:00 am
externalBelarus activists: Russia amassing significant forces in Belarus for massive missile attack on Ukraine. Preparations are underway for an attack on the territory of Ukraine in the coming weeks, according to Belaruskiy Hayun, a local Telegram channel, which has observed a massive influx of ammunition in Belarus.
People are asking what happens now with the Trump search. I'm not a prosecutor, but I've covered many of the most important Espionage Act investigations in recent years. Several things will be happening now.
— emptywheel (check, mate) (@emptywheel) August 15, 2022
I second the dog reply. lol
— Charlene ☮️ 😷💉🐺🌻🇺🇸 🐕🐈⬛ (@pootie5150) August 12, 2022
That article in Politico was really good also. Dated yrs ago but still current today. Many people don't realize or want to believe, we have already been at war with Russia, they are our enemy. Trump knew this, and used Russia anyway and took advantage of everything Putin had to offer. Projection and lies as usual, "Russia, Russia, Russia", but in times of war, tRump was and is a traitor. Intelligence was always warry of him and had great difficulties on what intelligence info they would give him.
Intelligence is not tRump's strong points, extremely careless, only thinks about what it can do for him and what he can make from it, top secret stuff included. I would not doubt for a minute that National Security issues could be passed on from him to our adversaries if it would benefit him. He cares nothing for this country or the "rule of law" except for what he can use the courts for.
From that feed connected to this feed. Guy seems to know and explains pretty well.
In the past few hours many of us have watched the discussion regarding classified documents & their appropriate storage.
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) August 12, 2022
Since like most senior officers I had some experience in this area, I thought it would be helpful to provide some BASIC info.
So, this new 🧵is born! 1/21
Covered my last half about 7 sec before close at 4.765 yesterday. Don't usually trade in extended hrs unless there is some good action, but just looked in on my old favorite FCEL yesterday morning and caught it going above $5 with that classic bear trap and just had to play it. I trade BE and PLUG also and wish all of them would make it and succeed, but facts of life is that there will be winners and losers in the market and the more quality stocks will get most of business and investment money and rise above.
We might get a little bump more today on the bill getting through, and carbon credits will keep FCEL muddling along, but the whole sector is getting to exhaustion here so would expect a confirmation on yesterdays candle today or maybe next wk. FCEL has a hard time to stay above $5 sad to say and the long term trend is still down.
Open mind is good advice. FCEL is definitely overbought. Was really overbought before the bell this morning. All on really low volume and manipulation. Anyone can guess where I followed the money and shorted my 6000 shares before the bell. First red candle confirmation following a run, a very manipulated run at that on the 15m chart.
But very possible a red candle today or tomorrow on the daily. There is also two gaps to fill below, wouldn't normally pay too much attention to that, but FCEL fill gaps 100% of time in the last two yrs, so they do have validity here.
That's added to your stated history lessons.
I'll probably cover before days end, but is sure is tempting to hold short exception to my $5 rule.
Chart looks worse now than it did a few minutes ago when I snapped this one.
As Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death". We are no longer just a church in Richmond, Virginia; we are the world.
Plus, I don't think that others around Putin wants to have that happen. Nothing but nothingness in it for them, everything or anything is in it if they stop that.
An interesting observation.
Vladimir Putin Is A Vertically Challenged Thug
A small man with a big ego like many before him.
https://medium.com/loud-updates/vladimir-putin-is-a-vertically-challenged-thug-a0e4bcdfc7dd
Like many short, midget dictators down through the centuries, Vladimir Putin attempts to make up for being vertically challenged by wanting the world to know he is the toughest guy on the block. At 170 cms or 5.577 feet, Putin is a shorty. It has long been rumoured he wears heel lifts and that is not surprising as that has been the way of many dictators throughout history.
Another wannabe dictator, one Donald Trump, claims to be 6 feet, 3 inches in height. However, Trump shamelessly lies about everything and cheats as a matter of course so it is not surprising he lies about his height and wears heel lifts. It seems he does not like being in the same room or in the same company with anyone taller than he is. That’s why he was in love with Kim Jun Un.
Napoleon Bonaparte was a little man with a big ego. He measured 168 cms of 5 foot 5 inches in his socks. He also over-compensated for his lack of height by being a belligerent little dictator with a bad temper and a fiery manner as big as he was short. His small stature and renowned temper inspired the term the “Napoleon Complex”. It translates into a popular belief that short men often compensate for their lack of height through domineering behaviour and aggression. This seems to be the case with Vlad the Putin.
Another short guy with an inferiority complex he made up for with brutality and aggression was Benito Mussolini, the World War II Italian dictator buddy of Adolph Hitler. Mussolini was a mere 5 foot 6 inches and hated being reminded of it.
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash
Another Russian with an angry demeanour and an inferiority complex about his height was Nikita Khrushchev. Barely nudging 5 foot 3 inches. Little Nikki ferociously overcompensated for his lack of height by be being very aggressive, once pounding on the podium at the United Nations with one of his shoes.
Another rolly-polly little fat guy dictator is North Korea’s Kim Jung Un. Though having lost a great deal of weight due to a rumoured illness, he measures in at a tiny 5 foot, 4 inches though he claims to be 5 foot, 7 inches. It has long been rumoured he wears special shoes whose heels and soles are covered by the long trousers with the bell bottom style he favours.
Vladimir Putin is in good company with other dictators like Kim Jung Il (1.75 metres — 5 foot 7 inches), Adolph Hitler (1.74 metres — 5 foot 7 inches) and the infamous Pol Pot of Cambodia genocide fame at (1.7 metres — 5 foot 6 inches). All bullies. All thugs.
It’s interesting that so many dictatorial thugs are short in stature but big on thuggery. It seems all these short, little creeps are short in height, short in empathy and humanness but big on killing, murder and genocide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_problem
Sacrifices saving the rest of the free world. Saving a $1 to spend $5 more is never a very efficient business model. Neither is saving a million to continually cost a billion more down the road.
On stopping Putin: If not now, when?
Scott Benarde
OPINION
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/opinion/2022/03/23/commentary-world-cant-let-putin-destroy-ukraine-and-bully-humanity/7089535001/
I have been struggling for days with immense frustration, sadness, and disbelief at the senseless death and destruction the vicious tyrant and man-boy bully Vladimir Putin has unleashed on Ukraine to satisfy his delusions of Soviet empire grandeur. There is a lesson here: No individual should have this much power. I know we’re supposed to be careful about comparing war-mongering, imperialist strongmen to Hitler but Putin is clinging to “der Fuhrer’s” blood-soaked coattails. I am reminded of these lyrics from “The Last Resort,” an Eagles’ classic by Don Henley and Glenn Frey: “We satisfy our endless needs / And justify our bloody deeds / In the name of destiny…” It wasn’t written about Putin but the jackboot fits.
I feel like some kid on the playground watching the school bully slowly beat the hell out of some smaller child just because he can and being unable to stop it. I want to, but I can’t. It’s a shameful, guilt-filled feeling. I was brought up to speak out against injustice, to intervene and protect the defenseless. I am not a very religious person but there is a commandment of sorts in the Jewish book of ethics known as the Pirke Avot, The Ethics of Our Fathers, that serves as a moral guidepost: “In a place where there are no human beings, you must strive to be one.” The message being, if there is no one else available to respond to the needs of the community, then you must do it for the sake of humanity.
To me this isn’t only about individuals; it applies to groups, governments, and groups of governments. In the Pirke Avot, we are also reminded that the world stands on three things: “on justice, on truth and on peace...,” so it is imperative to “execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates.” In my view we are failing to do that.
With all the military and humanitarian aid the free world is providing; with all the global, cumulative sanctions undertaken against Putin and Russia, we are still allowing the bully free reign. He might tire; he might slow down but he is not stopping because we have not done all we could do to end this tomorrow. Why? Because we are afraid Putin might be nuts enough to use nuclear weapons.
If that is our fear, then Putin wins and rules the world. If he takes Ukraine, as costly as that might be to him, we still have enabled and empowered the bully to continue his ruthless, power-mad onslaught. If not tomorrow, then perhaps a year or two or three from now, after he has recharged his army and restocked his arsenal. Putin will see that all he has to do is rattle his nuclear saber and the world trembles and recoils.
NATO and the rest of the free world are sending a sign of weakness. Ukraine has been warning us; they’ve been fighting this fight for a while. They know whom and what they are dealing with. And after 22 years of ruthlessly ruling Russia, the rest of the world knows who and what Putin is: an insecure bully with too much power, who had it all, and on Feb. 24, 2022, decided that wasn’t enough.
The question is, what are we finally going to do about it?
The Pirke Avot also asks this vital question: And if not now, when?
Russia faces ‘economic oblivion’ despite claims of short-term resilience, economists say
PUBLISHED TUE, AUG 2 20225:51 AM EDT
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/02/russia-faces-economic-oblivion-despite-short-term-resilience.html
I can handle revolting and ridiculous. Her and the whole group is just plain dangerous and an existing major threat to our way of life and our children's and their children's lives, needless to say destruction of our so called democracy. But she and her ilk are scamming big bucks to be criminal and traitorous. No morals, no leadership values, no nothing except just being a conflictive detriment to the country. All that is needed is continuous lies and WWE theatrics, which they have plenty of. So no reason for pos like that to stop.
Rep. Greene: Uvalde students needed JR-15s
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-uvalde-students-jr-15s/
Greene suggested that the students attacked in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting could have defended themselves with JR-15s, a “smaller, safer, lighter version” of the AR-15 rifle.
‘I’m just still scared’: Uvalde 3rd-grader describes surviving massacre
The Georgia Republican suggested it in a tweet, with a picture of an advertisement for the JR-15, and a photo of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday.
“The kids at Uvalde needed JR-15s to defend themselves from the evil maniac that didn’t care about laws,” Greene said in the social media post, “At least they could have defended themselves since no one else did, while their parents were held back by police.”
“Give the guns to the government & they’ll protect you,” said Green, including a “face with rolling eyes” emoji.
Greene sent this Tweet on the same day that Pelosi delivered remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of H.R. 1808, the Assault Weapons Ban. She specifically mentioned the JR-15, advertised by gun-maker WEE1 Tactical.
“The manufacturer stated their goal was to develop a shooting platform that was not only sized correctly but also ‘looks, feels and operates just like mom and dad’s gun,’” said Pelosi. “‘Mom and dad’s gun,’ they use that expression.”
Read the full report on the Uvalde school shooting
The advertisement for the JR-15 includes specifications for the “.22 long rifle” and says that it was designed with a “tamper-resistant safety that puts adults in control of the firearms safety switch.”
“This gun is yet another part of the gun industry’s mission to market to children, who are more likely to die by firearms than any other cause of death,” said Shannon Watts, founder of the gun control group Moms Demand Action.
During the 2020–21 school year, there were 93 school shootings with casualties at public and private elementary and secondary schools, according to the Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2021 released in June by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
This statistic is the highest of any year since data collection began
The White House
@WhiteHouse
Tonight at 7:30 PM ET, President Biden will deliver remarks on a successful counterterrorism operation.
3:09 PM · Aug 1, 2022·The White House
Tonight at 7:30 PM ET, President Biden will deliver remarks on a successful counterterrorism operation.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 1, 2022
It's a conundrum for sure. I'm well aware of the situations that can arise with a third party and I don't see a real third party being anything viable for maybe way past 2024, if it was any solution. Politics have changed and we can't rely on previous history to be maintained. It has been lost forever. We have a problem with the politics today, a real problem. The repugs are already going to win elections they shouldn't as of now. They are going to continue "Trumpism" which is based on violence and conflict, criminality, disinformation and lies, and just plain power mongering with brute force, control of the high judges and the counting of the votes with no vision for America, but only for their own control. And they are succeeding.
We are at the beginning of only one party now, the extreme right, and a civil war is in the cards. There is nowhere good that this is going to go with what we have going on now. The traitorous criminal, terrorists gangs (proud boys, one percenters, etc) disgracing our flag by wrapping themselves in it aren't the only ones with killing weapons, nor are all the their bullets and auto rifles the only weapons of war. Anybody can make weapons of war with what they have in their garden shed and under the sink, plus the US gun culture has saturated the entire population, all sides with those guns and ammo.
The New GOP has attacked and declared war on America, and they are the enemy of the people. They are using the criminal gangs and other criminal means to attacking our rule of law, destroying any democracy that we might be able to hold on to, war on the climate change (friends of fossil fuel), war on science, and are on a crusade of destruction with some fantasy that they can control it all like North Korea, Russia, or China.
There better be some answer for a change of path that the New GOP and Trumpism has taken us on. It's going to a dead end of nothing but bad things as it is right now.
US faces new era of political violence
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/31/us-political-violence-threats-against-lawmakers
Alarm as Arizona Republicans set to nominate election deniers for top posts
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/01/arizona-republicans-kari-lake-mark-finchem
America First is laying plans to perpetuate Trumpism beyond Trump
The rightwing group is planning a future more authoritarian, more extreme and more ruthless – with or without the former president
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/30/america-first-trumpism-beyond-trump