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Wow! The creepy judge let him go. (I'll check later.)
Good thing. This trial is sheer persecution of a political opponent. (JMO)
From the (still) pictures I've seen, it looks like it's wearing on Trump.
I'm amazed at his stamina. Hope tonight's rallies are a huge success.
Half day at court for The Donald???
I can't bear to read the news just yet.
Morning, Larry.
May Day ! ! ! Put those terrorist supporters in the hoosegow.
Wonder if they'll be released as quickly as the illegal alien scum that has taken over NYC.
Thanks for the heads up. Good Morning, Bull.
I'll check the news later. I don't have the stomach for it now.
Space laser transmission strikes Earth from 140 million miles away: NASA
By Ben Cost Published April 29, 2024, 11:11 a.m. ET
(Pictures at the link.)
This redefined a long-distance call.
Earth just received a laser transmission from a world- (and perhaps universe) record-breaking 140 million miles away — which could have major implications for the future of space travel.
However, this correspondence wasn’t extraterrestrial in origin: It was actually sent by NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which is currently located approximately 1.5 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.
“This represents a significant milestone for the project by showing how optical communications can interface with a spacecraft’s radio frequency comms system,” Meera Srinivasan, the project’s operations lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said in a statement.
This major breakthrough was achieved by using a Psyche feature called Deep Space Optical Communications, or DSOC, one of the droid’s several task per Space.com. Its main directive is exploring 16 Psyche, the $100,000 quadrillion asteroid from which it takes its name.
NASA wanted to show the potential for laser communications to be conducted across interstellar distances, allowing for high bandwidth and a much speedier connection — from 10 to 100 times faster than what’s available today — between humans and the probes they send into space.
This achievement was particularly significant as, along with sending the laser message a record-breaking distance, NASA also managed to transmit actual data gathered from the spacecraft.
“We downlinked about 10 minutes of duplicated spacecraft data,” explained Srinivasan. “Until then, we’d been sending test and diagnostic data in our downlinks from Psyche.”
To wit, in November of last year, Psyche sent back to Earth from 10 million miles away, but it was pre-loaded test data and not any “real” info.
This marked the culmination of a series of messages sent by the probe since it launched on October 13th atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket.
During a prior dry run in December, Psyche beamed data back from 19 million miles away, sending it at the system’s maximum rate of 267 megabits per second.
This correspondence — which included footage of an orange tabby cat named Taters — took around just over a minute and a half to reach earth, which is comparable to broadband internet speeds.
By contrast, this latest DSOC transmission was only 25 megabits. This was due to the fact that Psyche was seven times further away, reducing the speed at which it could send and receive messages.
Despite the comparatively syrupy speed, this nonetheless eclipsed the project’s goal of “proving at least 1 Mbps was possible at that distance,” per the release.
This watershed moment provides a taste of how spacecraft “could use optical communications in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars,” NASA wrote.
Psyche is slated to fly by the Red Planet by 2026, whereupon it will fly toward its main destination, 16 Psyche, which it should reach by 2029.
Like the early pioneers’ search for the Northwest Passage, it will aim to map out this final frontier El Dorado, which contains enough precious metals to crash the gold market.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/29/lifestyle/space-laser-transmission-strikes-earth-from-140-million-miles-away-nasa/
CNN: Most Voters Say ‘No Chance’ They’ll Support Biden
Is this the most underreported story in politics?
By James Freeman April 29, 2024 4:20 pm ET
Large media organizations have been telling Americans for nearly a decade about “Never Trump” voters, and surely there are a lot of them. But perhaps such voters are not quite as numerous as the “Never Biden” folks, who have received comparatively little attention.
Perhaps this is starting to change. “Among all voters, Biden remains at a bit of a disadvantage relative to Trump in terms of the share of voters who have ruled out voting for him: 52% say there’s no chance they would support him, while 47% say there’s no chance they would back Trump,” Jennifer Agiesta reports for CNN.
To this point, standard courtesy among establishment media is to acknowledge Mr. Biden’s unacceptability to a broad swath of voters only in the context of a story that also notes Mr. Trump’s unpopularity and concludes that voters are just unhappy with their options. And certainly they are. But Mr. Trump is frequently permitted to appear in stories entirely devoted to his shortcomings.
Regardless of the quality of coverage, it is the accuracy of polling that is probably top of mind at the White House. If the CNN results are accurate, how can Democrats craft a strategy for winning an election in which most voters have ruled out the idea of voting for Mr. Biden?...
The rest is here:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/cnn-most-voters-say-no-chance-theyll-support-biden-21b8a3a9?mod=hp_opin_pos_4#cxrecs_s
NJ had another earthquake. This was in Gladstone... of Peapack-Gladstone.
That was part of my daily commute.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/27/us-news/earthquake-rocks-nyc-region-weeks-after-4-8-magnitude-quake/
It happened between 10:00 & 11:00 this morning. I was on the phone with my sister who is in Bridgewater.
She felt it and asked if I did. Nope. Missed this one.
Crazy. Is nj being punished for the sin of voting demorrhoid???
Yep. The Post Awful strikes again.
However... my license finally arrived today.
April 16th to April 27th to go from Trenton to the Northwest corner of the state.
Sheesh. They must be routing the mail through Timbuktu.
Back yard lawn is mowed.
I am bushed. < g >
Exclusive: Rep. Keith Self Warns U.S. Constitutional Republic Can’t Survive ‘Fourth Obama Term’
JOSHUA KLEIN 27 Apr 2024 3:31
(Truer words have rarely been spoken.)
U.S. global influence is declining under President Joe Biden, whose presidency is a continuation of former President Barack Obama’s policies, according to Republican Congressman Keith Self, who warned that America could not survive a “fourth Obama term.”
He also blasted Biden’s weakening alliance with the Jewish State and the rise of anti-Israel protests on college campuses, which he attributed to socialist ideology fueled by “woke” academia, while advising that children be prepped with conservative values before entering higher education institutions.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Hungary 2024 on Friday, Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) lamented the “decline in the influence of the United States around the world” under Biden.
“It started with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Soon after that, people started testing us and Putin started moving troops into Ukraine within two months of the withdrawal,” he said. “And, frankly, that’s lightning speed when you talk about a nation making a decision to start moving troops toward combat.”
He then asserted that Biden’s term mirrors Obama’s while warning of the risks such policies pose to the country.
President Joe Biden (L) and former U.S. President Barack Obama (R) embrace on stage during a rally for Pennsylvania Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro at the Liacouras Center on November 5, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Mark Makela/Getty).
“This is the third Obama administration; let’s just admit it,” he said. “Every one of the Obama policies is being exacerbated, encouraged, and executed by the Biden administration.”
“So I don’t believe that our constitutional republic can survive a fourth Obama term,” he added:
There is a global movement of 'splinters under the fingernails' of the Axis of #Wokism," Kieth @SelfForCongress tells #CPACHungary.
— The Center (@alapjogokert) April 26, 2024
(Well, we ARE that movement, if we may say so!)
Because #WesternCivilization stands at the crossroads of our real #values and the spiritual… pic.twitter.com/YzSAlRFb6n
5 Big Changes Coming to the Post Office in 2024
Before you head out to the post office, here’s what you’ll find that is new
By Donna Fuscaldo, AARP
Published January 12, 2024 / Updated April 15, 2024
(USPS service s.u.c.k.ses. I renewed my driver's license online April 5th. The temporary license said if the new one didn't arrive in 20 calendar days to contact them. On the 25th, my license had not arrived. I contacted them using the email address provided. An answer arrived in a couple of hours. The license was mailed on April 16th. Their email said to wait 1 to 3 weeks because the USPS was having delivery problems. And now they're raising prices again. I sincerely doubt the service will improve.)
Post office prices are rising this year, but USPS says it is focusing on improving on-time deliveries in 2024.
Through snow, rain, heat and gloom of night, the U.S. Postal Service has delivered mail to Americans for nearly 250 years. Although that core task remains the same, that doesn’t mean everything else stays the same in 2024.
From the price of stamps to procedures for forwarding mail, here are five things that will be different at USPS this year.
1. Stamp prices are going up
Like other businesses, the post office is passing along its increased costs to its customers. Effective Jan. 21, a first-class Forever stamp increased 2 cents to 68 cents. Across the board, prices increased about 2 percent. It plans to raise prices again on July 14, with first-class Forever stamps increasing 5 cents to 73 cents. A first-class stamp covers the cost to mail a 1-ounce letter; the cost of an additional ounce will rise from 24 cents to 28 cents.
2. ID is required for forwarding mail
Aiming to clamp down on identity theft and protect customers’ information, USPS is beefing up its procedures to verify your identity when you request a change of address. Now you must either show ID in person at your local post office or verify your identity online. A change of address request, or COA, has to be submitted 90 days before the date of your move or up to 30 days after your move.
If you are doing it in person …
Bring one of the following to your local post office:
• State issued driver’s license or nondriver’s license identification card (name and address must match the old or new address on your request)
• Uniformed Services Identification Card (requires a secondary form of identification)
• U.S. passport (requires a secondary form of identification)
Secondary forms of identification include:
• Lease, mortgage or deed of trust
• Voter or vehicle registration card
• Home or vehicle insurance policy or card
• The name and address on any secondary ID must match the old or new address on your change of address request.
If you are doing it online ...
• An email address is required for online COA submission.
• A onetime passcode or verification link will be texted to your cellphone.
• A $1.10 credit card identity verification fee will be charged to your credit card.
• The billing address on the credit card must match either the old or the new address used in the COA request. Prepaid cards and gift cards are not accepted.
• If the online verification fails, you’ll have to visit the post office.
3. Four new stamps are being released, with more to come
In a nod to iconic games, legendary coaches, influential artists and American pastimes, USPS has a series of new stamps planned for 2024 that includes:
• Dungeons & Dragons: The stamp release marks the 50th anniversary of one of America’s most famous role-playing board games. The pane of 20 stamps features 10 different designs highlighting characters, creatures and other elements of the game.
• John Wooden: Considered in many circles to be one of America’s greatest coaches, John Wooden (1910–2010) led the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins to a record-setting 10 Division I men’s basketball national championships. The stamp features a portrait of Wooden.
• Carnival nights: From roller coasters to hot dogs, carnivals are a staple of summertime fun for many Americans. Ten new stamps in a pane of 20 feature photographs capturing the energy and lights of a summer carnival at night.
• Ansel Adams: Showcasing the American landscape through photographs, Ansel Adams is among the most influential artists of the 20th century. To honor his art and contributions, USPS is releasing 16 stamps featuring some of Adams’ most famous images.
4. Mail volume will decline and losses will grow
USPS expected to lose $4.5 billion in fiscal 2023 but actually reported a net loss of $6.5 billion, thanks in part to declining mail volume, residual effects from previous pricing strategies and inflation. For 2024, USPS projects another net loss of $6.3 billion. Meanwhile, total mail and package volume is projected to be 107.2 billion pieces, down 7.7 percent year over year.
While first-class mail will be down, USPS foresees an increase in package delivery as it aggressively tries to grow its market share in that area. In the summer it launched USPS Ground Advantage, which is a cheaper way to ship packages in two to five business days across the United States.
5. Better service and speedier delivery are expected
As part of its Delivering for America plan, USPS is consolidating its 19,000 delivery centers into new, larger and more centrally located sorting and delivery centers. So far, six facilities are operational. USPS is evaluating over 100 new locations across the country this year and says the actions will enable it to expand same-day/next-day shipping and improve on-time performance. No post offices will be closed or services impacted by the shake-up.
Donna Fuscaldo is a contributing writer and editor focusing on personal finance and health. She has spent over two decades writing and covering news for several national publications including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Investopedia and HerMoney.
https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/government-elections/info-2024/usps-mail-updates.html
The week in whoppers: The Squad’s Cori Bush flips reality on protests, NY Times begs for Trump’s conviction and more
By Post Editorial Board Published April 25, 2024, 6:15 p.m. ET
Diary of disturbing disinformation and dangerous delusions
This tweet:
As a Ferguson activist, I know what it’s like to have agitators infiltrate our movement, manipulate the press, & fuel the suppression of dissent by public officials & law enforcement.
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) April 23, 2024
We must reject these tactics to silence anti-war activists demanding divestment from genocide.
Trump is coming for your health care and Social Security.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 21, 2024
We won’t let it happen. pic.twitter.com/gbCSyILNWd
Good one, cap. I miss those days, too.
Hope life is going well for you.
Yesterday's Breitbart headline for the story was definite click bait.
It made it seem like Trump was going to buddy up with Barr.
Guess not. lol
Adam Schiff’s Luggage, Clothes Stolen in San Francisco
JOEL B. POLLAK 26 Apr 2024 2:1
(Good. Pencil Neck is lucky that's all that happened to him.)
U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) had his luggage stolen in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, leaving him without a suit as he addressed an audience that evening.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported:
Hello to the city, goodbye to your luggage. That was Senatorial candidate Adam Schiff’s rude introduction to San Francisco’s vexing reputation for car burglaries Thursday when thieves swiped the bags from his car while it sat in a downtown parking garage.
The heist meant the Democratic congressman got stuck at a fancy dinner party in his shirt sleeves and a hiking vest while everyone else sat in suits. Not quite the look the man from Burbank was aiming for as he rose to thank powerhouse attorney Joe Cotchett for his support in his bid to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate.
“I guess it’s ‘Welcome to San Francisco,’ ” Cotchett’s press agent Lee Houskeeper, who was at the dinner, remarked dryly.
Democrats are struggling to face the consequences of their own policies, as “criminal justice reform” has turned San Francisco and other California cities into havens for petty crime and smash-and-grab thefts.
At the state level, Democrats are trying to pass laws to toughen penalties for property crime — but without touching Proposition 47 of 2014, which reduced penalties for theft and other crimes.
Opponents of Proposition 47 announced last week that they have enough signatures to qualify reforms to the measure for the November 2024 ballot.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/04/26/adam-schiffs-luggage-clothes-stolen-in-san-francisco/
My Hero! ! ! 110-year-old NJ man who lives on his own and drives daily offers tips on longevity
By Allie Griffin Published April 25, 2024, 1:29 a.m. ET
A former New Jersey volunteer fire chief and great-grandfather of seven turned 110 last month — joining the rare few supercentenarian men across the globe.
Vincent Dransfield, of Little Falls, celebrated his milestone birthday on March 28 at his former engine house, Singac Volunteer Fire Company #3 — as he became the eighth-oldest reported man alive.
With women making up 90% of supercentenarians worldwide, according to the New England Centenarian Study, Dransfield is one of the few men in the group of 110-plus-year-olds and has lived a healthy life all those years with just some knee pain to complain about, according to “Today.”
He lives alone with no home aide or extra help, cooks simple food for himself, walks up and down his three-level house and drives “pretty good” daily with no issues.
Vincent Dransfield celebrates his 110 birthday on March 28 at the Singac Volunteer Fire Company #3 — as he became the eighth-oldest reported man alive.
Erica Lista/Instagram
He’s never had cancer, dementia or other major diseases and has no headaches or backaches.
But Dransfield, who was born in 1914, isn’t a health fanatic.
He smoked cigarettes for 20 years and worked his whole life from age 15 to his late 70s. He eats whatever he likes — including hamburgers, milk chocolate and Italian food, has an occasional beer, drinks coffee every day and is amused by people who run.
“He laughs at people who jog. He’s like, ‘Where are they running to?,’” his granddaughter Erica Lista told “Today.”
Dransfield — a dad of one, grandfather of three and great-grandfather of seven — credits luck, milk, and doing what he loves for his long and healthy life.
“I’ve been very, very, very lucky in my lifetime,” he said.
The New Jersey resident had to drop out of school before high school to help support his family. At 15, he began working at a dairy farm and delivered milk for the next five years while having his own unlimited supply.
“I was drinking milk and eating well because I worked on a farm. And I often go back and think they gave me a good start in life and for my bones in my body,” Dransfield said.
These days, he’s supplemented his cow milk with Ovaltine — a powder that adds flavor and vitamins.
One of the major factors that have kept him happy, sharp and healthy was spending time doing what he loved — his long career as a volunteer firefighter.
When asked by “Today” what kept him going, he answered without hesitation — “the fire department … I met so many friends.”
Dransfield — who built a career as an auto parts manager — spent 80 years with his local firehouse, including a stint as the fire chief.
His fellow firefighters became his family, especially after his wife of 54 years died in 1992.
“After my grandmother passed away, that’s really what kept him going. Every day, he would go to the fire house from 3 to 5, and all the old guys would sit there and hang out. That was like his family,” Lista told the publication.
The 110-year-old said volunteering with the engine company also helped him to get his exercise in responding to calls.
Finally, the great-grandpa said keeping a positive mindset and sharing love has helped him live past a century.
“Knowing people and loving people makes me live longer,” Dransfield said.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/25/us-news/110-year-old-nj-man-vincent-dransfield-offers-tips-on-longevity/
lol Keep flying that paranoid flag at full mast...
Having said that, my flag of the same colors is flying up there, too.
Crazy times we're living in.
Smile handsome. Watch your back.
Time for me to start my day.
YW... It took me a while to get there.
Let's hope they're up and running soon.
P.S. OANN's server is down...
Just ran a search on OAN "Your Connection Isn't Private" error:
Here are the results. Maybe they will help.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=OAN+%22Your+Connection+Isn%27t+Private%22+error&
Anti-Israel Protesters Gather Outside Sen. Schumer’s Home, Demand U.S. ‘Stop Arming Israel’
ELIZABETH WEIBEL 23 Apr 2024 1:56
(JMO... If these protesters are indeed Jewish, they're idiots.)
Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters gathered outside of Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) home in Brooklyn, calling for the United States to “stop arming Israel.”
Video footage posted to X showed what appeared to be hundreds of protesters gathered in the street outside of Schumer’s home for a “Seder in the Streets” on the second day of the Passover Jewish holiday.
A seder is a Passover holiday meal, which includes songs, stories, reading, and eating special foods, along with other traditions. For those who live in Israel, it is held on the first night of Passover, but for those outside of Israel, it is held on the first two nights of Passover.
#NOW Hundreds gathered for "Seder in the Streets" outside of Senator Schumer's home, shutting down Brooklyn street and risking arrests for Gaza and demanding to "Stop Arming Israel". pic.twitter.com/xmFaBB1ck5
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) April 23, 2024
BREAKING: Thousands of US Jews with @jvplive, @ifnotnoworg, and @jfrejnyc are holding an emergency Passover seder, shutting down the streets of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s home to demand he stop sending weapons to the Israeli government as it carries out a genocide.🧵 pic.twitter.com/IV932gshSg
— Jewish Voice for Peace NYC (@jvpliveNY) April 23, 2024
#BREAKING MASS ARRESTS as hundreds blocked Brooklyn street outside Schumer home, during 'Seder in the Streets' as they chant "Stop Funding Genocide" their shirts reads "Jewish voices for peace" as they demand to stop arming Israel.
— Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) April 24, 2024
Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2 Desk@freedomnews.tv… pic.twitter.com/IiTBnAWR5i
Nolte: Jerry Seinfeld Says the ‘Movie Business Is Over’
JOHN NOLTE 23 Apr 2024 4:41
If you don't vote for that...
You ain't black.
TG I come from the white white segment of the human race.
I’m a hospice nurse — here are 6 wild deathbed behaviors I’ve seen
By Alexandra Klausner Published April 23, 2024, 4:32 p.m. ET
https://nypost.com/2024/04/23/lifestyle/6-wildest-deathbed-behaviors-according-to-a-nurse/
Enjoy.
That's because that was what the article that started this conversation was about... Trump's tacit agreement with the aid bill.
Good grief.
Have the last word. I've got better things to do.
Ask Trump. According to the article, he's the one who first brought up the idea.
If you look for the negative you will find it.
You seemed to have mastered that.
Have a good one.
Thought it was interesting since Trump silently endorsed it.
He got NATO to pay up.
If he gets in, he may get Ukraine to pay up.
Not holding my breath though.
Just skimmed through it. The far right tab will take you to related bills (H.R. 815 -- Israel & Taiwan).
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8035/text/ih
Ridiculous amount of money.
Why isn't this going to protect our border?
and
Why do they keep threatening SS and Medicare?
The only reason the latter are running out of money is
because Congress stole it.
Have a good one.
Why Donald Trump Didn’t Sink Mike Johnson’s Ukraine-Aid Bill
Story by Vivian Salama • 12h • (Wall Street Journal via msn.com)
Patriots owner Robert Kraft pulls support from Columbia after anti-Israel protests: ‘No longer an institution I recognize’
By Ronny Reyes Published April 22, 2024, 1:16 p.m. ET
(Good for him. I hope other big bucks donors will pull their support from Columbia and all other big name schools that turn a blind eye to this vile wave of antisemitism.
While they're at it, I'd give them bonus points for going after woke DEI.)
New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft announced Monday that he was pulling his support from Columbia University over the ongoing anti-Israel protest at the Manhattan campus.
“It was through the full academic scholarship Columbia gave me that I was able to attend college and get my start in life and for that I have been tremendously grateful,” Kraft said in a statement. “However, the school I love so much – the one that welcomed me and provided me with so much opportunity – is no longer an institution I recognize.”
“I am deeply saddened at the virulent hate that continues to grow on campus and throughout our country,” Kraft added. “I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken.
“It is my hope that Columbia and its leadership will stand up to this hate by ending these protests immediately and will work to earn back the respect and trust of many of us who have lost faith in the institution,” he continued.
“It is my hope that in this difficult time, the Kraft Center at Columbia will serve as a source of security and safety for all Jewish students and faculty on campus who want to gather peacefully to practice their religions, to be together and to be welcomed.”
Kraft, who is worth $11.1 billion, has been a prolific donor to the university and funded the Kraft Center for Jewish Student Life across from Columbia’s campus.
The center was kickstarted with a $11.5 million donation in 2000, with the billionaire donating another $1.5 million in 2005.
Two years later, The Kraft Group pledged another $5 million in support of Columbia’s athletics program, which led to the naming of the Robert K. Kraft Field at the Baker Field Athletics Complex.
The 82-year-old Massachusetts native has ramped up efforts to fight antisemtism following the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, with his Foundation to Combat AntiSemitism running a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl as part of his “Stand Up to Jewish Hate” campaign.
Kraft has also committed $25 million to raise awareness about rising antisemitism, according to The Wall Street Journal.
He has previously donated millions of dollars to causes in Israel, including the funding of sports complexes and other philanthropic endeavors.
Kraft made his announcement following the high profile protest taking place at Columbia University where hundreds have gathered to demand an end to the war in Gaza.
The demonstrations, however, have included ugly episodes where protesters could be heard shouting antisemitic, anti-Israel and pro-Hamas chants.
What to know about the antisemitism controversy at Columbia University:
• Columbia University president Minouche Shafik was accused of “gross negligence” while testifying before the House Education and Workforce Committee about antisemitic incidents at the school and pro-Palestinian indoctrination. Shafik defended the school’s response after Oct. 7, but refused to tell lawmakers at the hearing if the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is antisemitic.
• A report from the Ivy League school’s Task Force on Antisemitism found “repeated violations by student groups” at Columbia after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel.
• Ahead of the hearing, Jewish students told The Post that they have been targeted and witnessed antisemitism at the Morningside Heights campus. The Columbia University Jewish Alumni Association told The Post that the college’s administrators must “do their job” in reining in unauthorized student protests.
• Shortly after the Oct. 7 attacks, more than 100 Columbia professors signed a letter defending students who support the “military action” by Hamas.
• In February, an antisemitic poster depicting Israel as a skunk appeared on campus — which experts liken to a propaganda poster used by the Nazis in World War II.
• An unsanctioned “Resistance 101” event was held on campus in March by a Palestinian activist with alleged ties to a group labeled a terror organization by the US. Four students who participated were later suspended by Columbia.
• While the congressional hearing was in progress, Columbia students erected 60 tents on campus to demand that the university divest from Israel. One of the leaders of the protests, Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi, was suspended from Barnard College — a women’s college affiliated with Columbia.
• Shocking video footage captured a protester near the university declare, “We’re all Hamas” and “Long live Hamas” Wednesday. Another protester was arrested Wednesday night for repeatedly hitting and scratching an NYPD cop, according to law enforcement officials.
• On Thursday, more than 100 other protesters were arrested after Shafik announced the campus’s closure.
• Columbia canceled in-person classes on April 22 as the protests continued. Israeli-born professor Shai Davidai was barred from campus after he attempted to lead a pro-Jewish rally.
• Every New York House GOP lawmaker demanded that Shafik resign immediately for failing to crack down on the “large unauthorized antisemitic riot” on campus. Columbia University’s Jewish Alumni Association also called for Shafik’s resignation.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/22/us-news/robert-kraft-pulls-support-from-columbia-after-anti-israel-protests-no-longer-an-institution-i-recognize/
Toobin tweeting about Pecker... good one. Thanks, Flo-zee.
Remember the source... the NY Times.
That's why they didn't build the other answers around "A S S."
Yesterday's NY Times crossword puzzle:
The clue for 7 Down (a three-letter word) was
"Many a lib"
My gut reaction was "A S S"
Wrong.
The correct answer was a synonym... "D E M"
Boo Hoo: Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi, says she’s homeless, cries poverty after suspension from $90K-per-year college over anti-Israel protests
By Nika Shakhnazarova Published April 22, 2024, 5:48 a.m. ET
(Obviously, this three-bagger has been well schooled in playing the victim.
If this is the face she has when she turns 25, I dread the face she'll earn by the time she's 50.)
Photo: William C. Lopez/New York Post
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s daughter, Isra Hirsi, has revealed that she has nowhere to live and nothing to eat after she was suspended for taking part in a disruptive anti-Israel protest at Columbia University last week.
The 21-year-old was among the more than 100 people arrested and summoned for trespassing by NYPD officers after the group of demonstrators set up a tent encampment on the Ivy League school’s campus to protest Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists.
Now, after being temporarily booted from the prestigious, $90K-per-year Barnard College, Hirsi said that she’s been evicted from campus housing and banned from using the dining hall.
“I was a little bit frantic, like, where am I going to sleep? Where am I gonna go? And also all of my s–t is thrown in a random lot. It’s pretty horrible,” she told Teen Vogue.
“I don’t know when I can go home, and I don’t know if I ever will be able to.”
Hirsi said that when she sought help from administration staff at Barnard, she heard crickets.
“I sent them an email like, ‘Hey, I rely on campus for my meals, I rely on my dining plan,’ and they were like, Oh, you can come pick up a prepackaged bag of food, a full 48 hours after I was suspended,” she said. “There was no food support, no nothing.”
Hirsi was hauled away in cuffs by the NYPD Thursday afternoon after the protesters erected a tent city on campus.
By late afternoon Thursday, the protests had dispersed, and cleaning crews were brought in to disassemble and remove dozens of tents that littered the campus.
“We had so many people who were born female in our group that they didn’t have enough space for us,” Hirsi told Teen Vogue of her arrest. “It was a very slow process in getting everybody into the cells.
“I was zip-tied for about seven hours and wasn’t released for about eight,” she added.
Hirsi also slammed Barnard’s president Laura Rosenbury.
“I think it’s really on a school-by-school basis, and Barnard has decided to take a very egregious stand against us,” Hirsi said.
She added that Rosenbury’s leadership “feel like there isn’t a big limelight on them right now and that they have the ability to do this, because [Columbia President Minouche] Shafik was on the congressional stage and is actively being harassed about what she’s doing.”
Hirsi’s mother has since spoken out about her daughter’s arrest, saying she is “enormously proud” of her taking a stand.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/22/us-news/ilhan-omars-daughter-says-shes-homeless-after-being-suspended-from-college-over-anti-israel-protests/
Weekend at Biden's: Democrats are using an infirm 81-year-old Joe Biden to defraud the electorate
By Miranda Devine Published April 21, 2024, 10:37 p.m. ET
There was a macabre familiarity to the sight last week of a dead man in Brazil being wheeled into a bank by a greedy relative to sign a loan document.
The woman is seen on social-media video talking to the corpse in the wheelchair while trying to hold up his floppy head with one hand.
In her other hand she clutches a pen lodged between the dead man’s fingers as she attempts to sign documents to secure a loan of $3,250.
“Uncle Paulo, are you listening?” the woman, named by CNN Brazil as Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes, tells the late Paulo Braga, 68. “Sign so you don’t give me any more headaches. I can’t take it anymore.”
Uncle Paolo does not respond. His eyes are closed. His mouth is agape.
“He doesn’t look well,” the bank teller says, in the understatement of the year. “He’s very pale.”
Rio De Janeiro police who arrested Nunes said Uncle Paulo, who was actually her cousin, had been dead for at least two hours. They charged her with fraud and abuse of a corpse.
Pander platform
Isn’t it a pity we can’t charge the Democratic Party with the same offenses? After all, the barbaric treatment of Uncle Paolo in Brazil is a metaphor for how Democrats are using an infirm 81-year-old Joe Biden to defraud the electorate.
Those of us not in on the scam are the bank teller saying: “He doesn’t look well. Are you sure he’s OK?”
It’s as if the whole country is strapped in with the corpse in that wheelchair as it hurtles toward a cliff edge.
Most Americans agree that the “Weekend at Bernie’s” presidency has not turned out well.
It’s not just Biden’s sepulchral presentation, but his administration’s increasingly unpopular policies covering the economy, the border, foreign affairs and a raft of fringe social engineering projects, such as Friday’s rewriting of Title IX, which effectively abolishes the distinction between women and men.
The nation was not exactly crying out for this Orwellian policy, but it’s part of the curious tapestry of bespoke pandering that constitutes Biden’s re-election platform.
Pretending you’ve stopped inflation, pretending you need Congress to shut the border, pretending that your uncle was eaten by cannibals: these are not vote-winners for Biden.
Whether he’s walking “like a toothpick,” as Donald Trump describes the president’s stiff gait, falling over, garbling teleprompter scripts, or breaking into sudden angry yelling, in the normal political calculus, such a candidate should be heading for a car crash.
Even worse, the back-up plan is Kamala Harris, who doesn’t even have the benefit of the vapor trail of Honest Joe’s self-mythology that has fooled America for 50 years.
With Harris, what you see is what you get: a complete phony spouting condescending claptrap.
The polls reflect the Democrats’ problem.
You could sense their heads exploding as they watched NBC’s “Meet The Press” Sunday, where a new poll showed Trump smashing Biden by between four and 22 points on “Handling a crisis” (46% to 42%), “Strong record as president” (46% to 39%), “Dealing with inflation and cost of living” (52% to 30%) and “Necessary mental and physical health” (45% to 26%).
The ouchiest of all was Trump’s 9-point edge on Biden over who was “Competent and effective” (47% to 36%), a category where Biden had a 10-point edge over Trump in 2020.
There were more head explosions for the Dems over at CNN where voters in the battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin viewed Trump more favorably than Biden by four points, 47% to 43%. In 2020 the situation was flipped, with Biden ahead 50% to 45%.
“Donald Trump is, in fact, better liked than he was four years ago — and is better liked than Joe Biden is right now,” declared CNN polling analyst Harry Enten. Double ouch.
As if to emphasize Biden’s disconnect from the voters, his campaign rolled him out three days in a row last week in Pennsylvania, the state pollsters say he cannot lose.
The motto was “Scranton v. Mar-a-Lago: Making the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share,” as if Biden doesn’t live a billionaire’s lifestyle in a bespoke mansion he built on a lakefront estate in chateau country in one of the ritiziest parts of the country, and as if his son isn’t facing tax fraud charges in California over the family influence peddling operation.
The folksy “Working Class Joe” schtick appears to have worn thin, judging from the lackluster reception he received from regular folk when he made supposedly “unscheduled” campaign stops at eating establishments to pick up food.
The true purpose of these stilted interludes seems to be so the campaign videographer can obtain footage of the president interacting with real people. But you really don’t want to look too hard at how the sausage is made.
When he entered a Sheetz gas station mart in Pittsburgh, for instance, Biden never took off his trademark Aviators. Video footage shows him standing in front of a woman and a little girl, gawping at them wordlessly, before he moved through the store, not interacting with a soul until he reached the counter where the shop assistant was primed to ask for a selfie.
Biden posed, and then woodenly exited stage left. Reporters tried to call out questions: “Are you concerned the new steel tariffs will hurt your relationship with Xi Jinping?”
“No!” said Biden, pausing in the doorway before delivering his inexplicable and well-worn riposte: “Don’t jump!”
The comparison with Trump’s crowd-engagement charisma is inescapable.
Fan favorite
The former president was mobbed in Harlem last week when he took a post-courtroom opportunity to visit the bodega where Jose Alba fatally stabbed an ex-con in self-defense and then was unjustly charged with murder. Unlike Biden’s random campaign pit stops, there was a point to Trump’s visit.
He wanted to highlight the skewed priorities of an unjust justice system, which has been weaponized to neutralize him as Biden’s opponent.
At one point in Pittsburgh, a reporter pointed out the obvious to Biden: “When you drive around the area, you see a lot of Trump signs, not very many Biden signs. Do you feel like you’re in trouble here?”
That didn’t go down well with the president, who is only animated by anger.
“Well, you haven’t been driving in the right places, pal,” he snapped.
Snarling denials of reality probably aren’t a recipe for electoral success. But these days that isn’t the only way to win elections, and turnout will be key this year as voter enthusiasm sinks to all-time lows.
Even if Biden is a dead man walking, you can bet Democrats have plenty of dirty tricks up their sleeves.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/21/opinion/democrats-are-using-an-infirm-81-year-old-joe-biden-to-defraud-the-electorate/
Former National Enquirer Publisher David Pecker Reportedly First to Testify in Trump Trial
ELIZABETH WEIBEL21 Apr 2024 2:02
(Is Pecker his real last name?)
David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer, is reportedly set to be the first to testify in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial.
Pecker, whose tabloid reportedly engaged in “catch and kill” practices to bury damaging stories about Trump, will be the first to take the stand after opening arguments in the trial on Monday, a source close to the matter told the New York Times.
Trump is facing 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in relation to hush money payments made to adult entertainment star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential election.
The hush money trial will center around allegations that Trump falsified his business records to hide reimbursement payments made to Michael Cohen, his former attorney.
Cohen was provided with reimbursement payments after he had arranged hush money payments to people such as Daniels to bury negative stories about Trump.
Former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court with his legal team ahead of the start of jury selection in New York on April 15, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/Pool Photo via AP)
As Pecker takes the stand on Monday, he will reportedly “recount” multiple conversations he had with Trump “about the hush money,” according to the source.
The trial will also bring up hush money payments made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and a “onetime doorman” to Trump who alleged that the former president had fathered a child out of wedlock.
Pecker was reportedly able to buy the silence of the doorman and buy the rights to McDougal’s story, only to have it killed.
After learning about Daniels’ potentially damaging story about Trump, the National Enquirer contacted Cohen, who said he arranged to pay the porn star $130,000 for her silence.
Cohen has pled guilty to arranging deals to pay both Daniels and McDougal for their silence and has claimed he acted at Trump’s direction.
Trump is currently under a gag order that prevents him from speaking about witnesses and counsel in the case, with the exception of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/04/21/former-national-enquirer-publisher-david-pecker-reportedly-first-testify-trump-trial/
Melania Trump Selling $245 Mother’s Day Necklaces: ‘Being a Mother Is One of the Most Important Roles’
ELIZABETH WEIBEL 21 Apr 2024 1:54
(Cheesy... Priced at $2.45 would be fair. JMO)
Former first lady Melania Trump revealed on Sunday that she is selling $245 necklaces ahead of Mother’s Day weekend on May 12, noting that “being a mother is one of the most important roles.”
The customizable gold necklace, which is named “Her Love & Gratitude” became available on the former first lady’s website on Sunday morning. It is described as a “flower pendant” necklace with an “adjustable chain.”
“Being a mother is one of the most important roles in life,” Trump told the Hill in a statement. “For this Mother’s Day, I have designed the ‘Her Love & Gratitude’ necklace to express immense gratitude and honor all mothers.”
The necklaces can “be engraved with names, initials, or significant dates to create a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry,” according to Trump’s website.
You can view it here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6Cdgrrv18h/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=27ad13b3-5399-4aef-8432-8c195b3cdd3a
Each necklace also comes with the former first lady’s signature on it.
Trump has largely remained out of the spotlight as former President Donald Trump campaigns for reelection in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
A political and social source close to the former first lady told People that she “dislikes a petting zoo” and will attend events “when she has to.” The former first lady has also been known to focus on raising her and the former president’s son, Barron.
“Melania dislikes a petting zoo. She goes when she has to but if it’s not essential she prefers to stay out of the public eye,” the source told the outlet. “When an event is packed full of campaigning types and crowds of people even at Mar-a-Lago, she tries to opt out.”
The former president has also been known to sell his own items, from shiny, gold high tops with the American flag for $399, to Bibles for $60.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/04/21/melania-trump-selling-245-mothers-day-necklaces/
Maher: Drag Queen Story Hour Is Like Behavior that ‘Borders on Abuse’ — DeSantis Was Right About Disney
IAN HANCHETT 20 Apr 2024
During his closing monologue on Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher said that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was correct when he accused Disney of sexualizing children, compared drag queen story hours to behavior that everyone agrees “borders on abuse” in other contexts.
After discussing the allegations of mistreatment of child stars by Nickelodeon in the “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” documentary, Maher said the documentary “also exposed hypocrisy, because it must be pointed out that, when the evil Governor of Florida was saying the exact same thing about kids and creepy stuff at Disney that liberals now find intolerable at Nickelodeon, he was dismissed as a hick and a bigot. But why would a kids’ content factory like Disney be all that different than the one at Nickelodeon? … [I]n 2021, Disney child star Alyson Stoner confessed she only ‘narrowly survived the toddler-to-trainwreck pipeline.‘ The next year, child star Cole Sprouse told The New York Times that young actresses at the Disney Channel were ‘heavily sexualized’ from an early age. Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because that’s where the money is, and the reason we find pedophiles in the Boy Scouts and the rectory and kids’ TV is that’s where the kids are. DeSantis wasn’t wrong. But we’re so tribal now, the left will overlook child f*cking if the guy from the wrong party calls it out. Sure, Nickelodeon messed up Amanda Bynes, but The Mickey Mouse Club was where Britney Spears got her start, and she’s perfectly fine. And get this: After Brian Peck, who was one of the lead creeps at Nickelodeon, served 16 months in prison for the molesting he did there, Disney hired him, naturally, to work on a children’s series.”
He continued, “And not just Hollywood, there are Instagram moms these days who are practically OnlyFans-ing their itty-bitty beauty queen daughters by having them wear skimpy bikinis and eat bananas to build social media stardom. … And people who believe in social justice have agreed this is wrong and this is bad and exposing kids to an adult world of lurid costumes and garish makeup borders on abuse. Now, hurry up and get in the car, we’re late for drag queen story hour. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a drag queen, but maybe it’s time to admit that, sometimes, drag queen story hour is more for the queen than the kids. Sure, kids love a clown, but does the clown have to have tits? … If you want kids to be more tolerant, why not have handicapped people read them stories? Kids are more likely to encounter disabled people than drag queens in life.”
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/04/20/maher-drag-queen-story-hour-is-like-behavior-that-borders-on-abuse-desantis-was-right-about-disney/
Issues for women... Title IX vs. Abortion Rights... Which will have the stronger pull?