Y’all think there’s a chance Romney is contemplating jumping into the primaries? He lets the field organically clear themselves then jumps in late.
It’s just an idea, but since the Republican Party has gone full Real Housewives, I figured that the most outrageous idea is probably just another Tuesday in the GOP.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Backlash brews against Texas law that eliminates mandatory water breaks
Texas had three straight weeks of high humidity and triple-digit temperatures in June. Critics of the law say it will create dangerous conditions for construction workers in heat waves
As Texas sweltered last month under a weekslong, record-breaking heat wave, the state passed a law that will eliminate mandatory water breaks for construction workers in cities where such ordinances had been in place to protect people from extreme heat.
Now, backlash is brewing.
House Bill 2127 passed the state Legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott promptly signed it into law on June 14. The bill, which goes into effect in September, strips construction workers in Austin and Dallas of the right to water breaks every four hours and time to rest in the shade while on the job.
The new law comes as Texas endured three straight weeks of high humidity and triple-digit temperatures in June. Such intense and long-lasting heat waves are expected to become more common in a warming world, climate scientists have said.
Backlash to the legislation is mounting. Earlier this week, the city of Houston filed a lawsuit that seeks to block the state law and have it declared “unconstitutional.”
The measure has been nicknamed the “Death Star” bill because it broadly pre-empts legislation at the local government level if it clashes with state law. The bill covers eight areas of government — including labor, business and agriculture — overturning local ordinances that are already in place and preventing local governments from passing new ones if they conflict or deviate from state regulations.
The legislation aims to address “a patchwork of regulations that apply inconsistently across this state.”
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a statement that the law undercuts the “ability to govern at the level closest to the people.”
“Houston will fight so its residents retain their constitutional rights and have immediate local recourse to government,” Turner said in the statement.
Ana Gonzalez, deputy director of politics and policy at the Texas AFL-CIO, a labor federation of 240,000 union members in the state, said the bill “attacks local democracy,” adding that it will have “a huge impact and many unintended consequences to the way we govern at the local level.”
Beyond the political implications, eliminating guaranteed water breaks could create dangerous working conditions for construction workers during heat waves. Extreme heat events have been associated with upticks in cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases, and heat causes more deaths across the U.S. each year than any other weather event, according to the National Weather Service.
Last month’s heat wave caused at least 13 deaths in Texas, according to health officials. A 46-year-old construction worker in the Houston area also died on June 16 after collapsing while working in the extreme heat, as reported by the Houston Chronicle.
“This is an emergency,” Gonzalez said. “Texas is the deadliest state when it comes to construction, where one worker dies every three days in our state.”
A local ordinance was passed in Austin in 2010 that guarantees outdoor workers a break of at least 10 minutes every four hours to rest and hydrate. Dallas followed suit in 2015 with a similar ordinance.
Gonzalez said scrapping mandatory water breaks under House Bill 2127 “creates a floor for employers” and sets a worrying new standard.
“This law is not only inhumane, but it’s also very dangerous,” she said.
Man sentenced to 5 years in ‘We Build the Wall’ fraud case
Prosecutors said he and others stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a fundraising effort to raise money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The last of three men convicted in a “We Build the Wall” fundraising fraud scheme was sentenced to more than five years in prison Tuesday, federal prosecutors said.
Timothy Shea "stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to line his own pockets," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York said in a statement.
Shea, 52, was sentenced to 63 months, or five years and three months, in prison, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
"We Build the Wall" was a crowdfunded effort to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. President Donald Trump made a wall a key part of his 2016 campaign and presidency.
It pulled in more than $25 million, federal prosecutors said. The government alleged that Shea and others defrauded donors and took money for their own use.
Steve Bannon, the chief White House strategist in the Trump administration, was also charged in the scheme.
Bannon, who had pleaded not guilty, was pardoned by Trump in the final hours of his presidency in 2021 and never stood trial.
Shea, of Castle Rock, Colorado, also pleaded not guilty but was convicted by a jury in October of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstruction of justice.
The other two people charged — Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato — pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison in April.
Kolfage was sentenced to a little over four years, and Badolato was sentenced to three years. They each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Kolfage also pleaded guilty to tax and wire fraud counts out of Florida, officials said.
The fundraising scheme started on GoFundMe, but it was impossible to directly transfer money to the federal government, and GoFundMe threatened to return the cash to donors unless a nonprofit entity was identified, according to court documents.
That’s when Bannon and Badolato got involved, according to prosecutors, and all four men started a nonprofit entity called “We Build the Wall, Inc.,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.
Promises were made that "100%" of the funds would be used in the effort to build a wall, and Kolfage promised to take no compensation, prosecutors wrote.
“Those representations were lies,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Kolfage took more than $350,000 for his personal use, and Shea kept more than $180,000, prosecutors said.
"Shea’s communications make clear that he was motivated by greed," prosecutors wrote in a sentencing submission. "From the beginning, Shea viewed this fundraising project as a cash cow."
An attorney for Shea did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Shea’s attorneys argued that Shea was not aware of a “secret agreement” about payment that prosecutors alleged and that he learned about it only after his arrest.
"He is a good man who got swept up in a dizzying vision of becoming enriched by something that both got out of control and was not what he planned," his attorneys wrote in their own sentencing submission.
Shea wrote in a letter to the judge that he regrets becoming involved and that he failed to recognize the importance of Kolfage’s claim of no compensation, seeing it instead as “a relatively meaningless salesman’s boast.”
He also wrote that he wished he had taken a plea deal. “I do acknowledge that some of the things I did were wrong and probably illegal,” he wrote.
In addition to the prison term, Shea was ordered to pay $1,801,707 in restitution, the U.S. attorney's office said.
“I’m a Christian and I believe the Bible,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). “I think that to me, honestly – I’ve looked into it. And I think we have to question if it’s more of the spiritual realm. Angels, or fallen angels. And that’s my honest opinion.”
I'm just wondering where in the Bible it mentions angels piloting UFO's.
You know I've given this UFO thing some thought. After Bezos and Musk got into space travel, I've began to believe that if we figure out the UFO question we'll find that it will end up just being billionaire A-holes from other planets.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
IIRC, there were at least a couple DT members who bragged that they were going to send some of their hard-earned to fund a wall. Don't know if this was the bunch that were to get the cheddar, nor do I remember who made the pledge, but I do recall saying something like
I remember that as well. Like yourself I don't remember who they were. I'm just wondering if they were of Mexican descent? I mean after all they also told us Mexicans were going to pay for it.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
“I’m a Christian and I believe the Bible,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). “I think that to me, honestly – I’ve looked into it. And I think we have to question if it’s more of the spiritual realm. Angels, or fallen angels. And that’s my honest opinion.”
I'm just wondering where in the Bible it mentions angels piloting UFO's.
I think it's important to point out, Christians don't hold up Lewd pictures of people in a public setting. So, I basically don't believe she's Christian at all. I'm not sure she's ever read the Bible either.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Schumer, McConnell defend Senate pages against Republican lawmaker’s curses
“Chuck Schumer should think twice before throwing stones from glass houses,” a spokesperson for Rep. Derrick Van Orden told POLITICO.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday he was “shocked” by reports of a Republican lawmaker cursing out teenage Senate pages.
“I was shocked when I heard about it, and I am further shocked at his refusal to apologize to these young people,” Schumer said while speaking on the floor Thursday night ahead of the National Defense Authorization Act passage.
When Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) saw a group of Senate pages lying on the floor of the Capitol Rotunda and taking pictures Wednesday night, he called them “pieces of s---” and told them to “get the f--- up” off the floor, according to a transcript of the remarks obtained by The Hill.
Van Orden, a freshman congressman, told the pages “Wake the f‑‑‑ up you little s‑‑‑‑. … What the f‑‑‑ are you all doing? Get the f‑‑‑ out of here. You are defiling the space you [pieces of s‑‑‑],” according to the transcript written by a page. Punchbowl News first reported the incident.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell backed Schumer’s defense of the pages, saying he would like to “associate myself with the remarks of the majority leader” and “everybody on this side of the aisle feels exactly the same way.”
Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters on Friday that he had spoken with Schumer about the Van Orden incident, but hadn’t yet spoken with the Wisconsin Republican.
“I haven’t been able to speak to [him]. I’ll call him today. I don’t know this situation. I saw what was reported. That’s not their normal Derrick Van Orden,” McCarthy said, adding, “I guess the interns have some ritual laying down or something like that. I think it’s a misunderstanding.”
Van Orden defended his remarks in a statement to various news outlets, stating “our nation’s Capitol is a symbol of the sacrifice our servicemen and women have made for this country and should never be treated like a frat house common room.”
In a statement to POLITICO, Van Orden’s office took aim at the majority leader: “Chuck Schumer should think twice before throwing stones from glass houses,” spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.
In a brief interview with POLITICO Thursday night, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) gave his own praise to the pages.
“Only talking about that person, we only diminish the greatness of these young people. They’re phenomenal people and come here and make a big sacrifice,” Booker said. “They’re smart, they’re dedicated, they believe in this country in its highest ideals, and we should be elevating them.”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) posted to Twitter, “My message to the Senate Pages: This is one of the most amazing experiences you’ll ever have. Take it in. Learn a lot. And of course, have fun.”
“My message to out-of-line Members of Congress who yell at Senate Pages: Learn to respect others, especially kids,” she added.
It’s not unusual for Senate pages to rest in the Rotunda, a midway point between the House and Senate. High school students, pages frequently work late into the night as they assist with day-to-day operations.
Schumer praised the pages’ work during his farewell address to the page class, saying they “can help make this place run smoothly, they’re here when we need them and they have served this institution with grace.”
So NOW he's suddenly worried about the Capitol Rotunda being defiled by some kids laying on the floor taking selfies? Where the hell was his outrage on January 6th? What a moron!
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Wells Fargo's firearm policies under Texas AG scrutiny
July 28 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co's (WFC.N) policies around the firearm industry are being probed by the Texas Attorney General's office, the company said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
The letter sent by Leslie Brock, chief of the AG's public finance division, to lawyers who work on bond deals in Texas said that officials are seeking to determine whether Wells Fargo has a practice or policy that "discriminates against a firearm entity or firearm trade association," Bloomberg News reported.
Reuters could not immediately verify the contents of the letter.
"We have been cooperating with the Texas AG's Office and continue to affirm our standing letter that was provided to that office," the company said.
The public finance division, which oversees most municipal bond offerings in Texas, will decide by Aug. 25 whether the bank is a "discriminating company," according to Bloomberg News.
Brock's letter said the AG will not block deals that Wells Fargo manages that are already in the works from closing before it makes the decision, as long as the bank confirms via email that it is compliant with the legislation, Bloomberg reported.
"If we determine that Wells Fargo is a discriminating company under Senate Bill 19, we will not approve any public security issued on or after that date in which Wells Fargo purchases or underwrites," the report quoted Brock as writing in the letter.
The Texas Attorney General's office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report.
In January, it said that Citigroup Inc (C.N) had discriminated against the firearms sector, making a decision that "has the effect" of Texas halting Citi's ability to underwrite most municipal bond offerings in the state.
So let's recap. Republicans stand for a business's right to refuse to do business with people based on their sexual preference. In the latest such case the SCOTUS stood behind such a ruling based on free speech rights. But suddenly they want to punish banks for the same thing? Which "protected calls" do banks fall under again? How much more obvious can they make their BS?
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Trump's $475 million 'big lie' defamation lawsuit against CNN dismissed
July 29 (Reuters) - A federal judge has thrown out Donald Trump's $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN, in which the former president claimed the network's description of his election fraud as the "big lie" associated him with Adolf Hitler.
In a ruling late on Friday night, U.S. Judge Raag Singhal, who was nominated by Trump in 2019, said CNN's words were opinion, not fact, and therefore could not be the subject of a defamation claim.
"CNN's statements while repugnant, were not, as a matter of law, defamatory," wrote Singhal, who sits in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, near Trump's home at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
In a statement, a Trump spokesperson said: "We agree with the highly respected judge's findings that CNN's statements about President Trump are repugnant. CNN will be held responsible for their wrongful mistreatment of President Trump and his supporters."
The statement did not say whether Trump would appeal the decision.
The lawsuit, which was filed in October 2022, highlighted five instances in which CNN either published stories or aired comments referring to Trump's assertions about the 2020 election as his "big lie." The phrase is also associated with the Nazi regime's use of propaganda.
The wording, the lawsuit said, constituted "a deliberate effort by CNN to propagate to its audience an association between the plaintiff and one of the most repugnant figures in modern history."
But the mere use of the phrase "big lie" is not enough to give rise to a true connotation, Singhal wrote.
"No reasonable viewer could (or should) plausibly make that reference," he said.
Since launching his first presidential campaign in 2015, Trump has often attacked media outlets whose coverage he dislikes, with CNN a favorite target.
Trump is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, despite facing both state and federal indictments.
Aren't his supporters some of the very same people who claimed to hate frivolous lawsuits? You would think that after well over 60 fake election lawsuits that were either dismissed or found false combined with all of the other crazy lawsuits trump has filed, at some point they would call him out over it? But nah, McDonald's being sued by a black woman over getting burnt by a cup of coffee was the mountain they thought was worth standing on, not something far more important like these crazy lawsuits that keep being filed.
And just for the record, I agreed with them that the amount of frivolous lawsuits needed to end. The only real difference seems to be that I feel that way across the board while they seem to pick and choose when they speak out against it.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.
A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged.
The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
“The question we had to ask was — do Arkansans still legally have access to reading materials? Luckily, the judicial system has once again defended our highly valued liberties,” Holly Dickson, the executive director of the ACLU in Arkansas, said in a statement.
The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in an email Saturday that his office would be “reviewing the judge’s opinion and will continue to vigorously defend the law.”
The executive director of Central Arkansas Library System, Nate Coulter, said the judge’s 49-page decision recognized the law as censorship, a violation of the Constitution and wrongly maligning librarians.
“As folks in southwest Arkansas say, this order is stout as horseradish!” he said in an email.
“I’m relieved that for now the dark cloud that was hanging over CALS’ librarians has lifted,” he added.
Cheryl Davis, general counsel for the Authors Guild, said the organization is “thrilled” about the decision. She said enforcing this law “is likely to limit the free speech rights of older minors, who are capable of reading and processing more complex reading materials than young children can.”
The Arkansas lawsuit names the state’s 28 local prosecutors as defendants, along with Crawford County in west Arkansas. A separate lawsuit is challenging the Crawford County library’s decision to move children’s books that included LGBTQ+ themes to a separate portion of the library.
The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas’ restrictions also include the Fayetteville and Eureka Springs Carnegie public libraries, the American Booksellers Association and the Association of American Publishers.
Texas appoints school superintendent to Houston schools in June. New superintendent close library's, fires the library and media workers and makes the library's discipline centers.
Houston school district to turn libraries into disciplinary centers Critics condemn superintendent Mike Miles’s ‘new education system’ that removes students’ access to books
Erum Salam Sat 29 Jul 2023 07.00 EDT The largest school district in Texas announced its libraries will be eliminated and replaced with discipline centers in the new school year.
Houston independent school district announced earlier this summer that librarian and media-specialist positions in 28 schools will be eliminated as part of superintendent Mike Miles’s “new education system” initiative.
Teachers at these schools will soon have the option to send misbehaving students to these discipline centers, or “team centers’” – designated areas where they will continue to learn remotely.
Valentina Alexander in her Birmingham bookshop MyBookbasket. My big Birmingham bookshop crawl: why booksellers are suddenly thriving Read more News of the library removals comes after the state announced it would be taking over the district, effective in the 2023-24 school year, due to poor academic performance. Miles was appointed by the the Texas Education Agency in June.
In a press release announcing the schools participating in the “new education system” program, Miles said: “I am overwhelmingly proud that this many HISD school leaders are ready to take bold action to improve outcomes for all students and eradicate the persistent achievement and opportunity gaps in our district.”
Lisa Robinson, a librarian retired from the school district, told local news outlet KPRC2 that her “heart is just broken for these children that are in the [NES] schools that are losing their librarians”.
Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, condemned the district’s move and said the solution to the problem of behavioral conduct was not to revoke access to books, especially in these underserved communities.
He said: “Are there students who need additional support? Yes, and I am 100% supportive of that. But it’s not an eithe/or. You don’t close the libraries, remove the librarians, and simply have the books on the shelf. What about all the other students? What are you saying to them?”
He added: “With all due respect to the superintendent, I grew up in this city. I still live in the same neighborhood that exists. I am the mayor of this city, and I am the mayor of every person who lives in the city of Houston.”
He urged schools to open up libraries to avoid creating a two-tier system within the district, as well as providing additional support to students who need it.
The Houston independent school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Watching trump spend Goper campaign funds to support his silly lawsuits is so rewarding. Lol
Trump legal fees eclipse second quarter fundraising, reports say
Former President Donald Trump's legal fees continue to mount up as he's potentially facing a historic third indictment, putting further strain on his 2024 campaign, according to multiple reports.
Driving the news: Trump's PAC, Save America, has reportedly paid over $40 million in legal fees so far in 2023; more than the campaign raised during the second quarter of the year.
According to reports from several outlets, an FEC filing that's due tomorrow will list around $40.2 million in legal fees for Trump and some others involved in ongoing cases, including valet Waltine “Walt” Nauta, and his property manager Carlos De Oliveira.
The expenses are the largest incurred so far in Trump's 2024 presidential bid, sources told The Washington Post, the first to report the news.
By the numbers: Earlier this month, the Trump campaign reported $35 million in donations received during the second quarter.
That number was almost double what the former president had raked in during 2023's first quarter -- $18.8 million.
At the time, the fundraising boost was thought to be a result of his indictment for his role in the ongoing classified documents case in mid-June.
In 2022, the campaign spent $16.4 million in legal fees, according to FEC filings, bringing the amount of spending on Trump's court cases to approximately $56.6 million to date.
The Trump campaign did not disclose how much of the $35 million raised went to Save America, but a fundraising appeal cited 90% of donations would go to the campaign and 10% to the PAC, Axios' Erin Doherty reports.
What they're saying: “In order to combat these heinous actions by Joe Biden’s cronies and to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed, the leadership PAC contributed to their legal fees to ensure they have representation against unlawful harassment," Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told CNN in a statement.
Trump has not publicly commented on campaign fundraising but posted several messages on his Truth Social account Sunday regarding the ongoing probe by special counsel Jack Smith.
Last week, Smith met with Trump's lawyers after the former president was informed he is a target of a grand jury investigation about 2020 election interference.
Meetings like the one between Smith's office and Trump's lawyers can indicate charges are near, though Trump said on Truth Social that "no indication of notice was given during the meeting."
The bottom line: Any charges in the election interference case would likely mean more money is diverted to legal fees as the 2024 election moves closer to primary season and GOP candidates rush to qualify for the first debate next month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Facing legal peril, Trump calls on GOP to rally around him and focus on investigating Biden
At a moment of growing legal peril, Donald Trump has ramped calls for his Republican rivals to drop out of the 2024 presidential race
NEW YORK -- At a moment of growing legal peril, Donald Trump ramped up his calls for his GOP rivals to drop out of the 2024 presidential race as he threatened to go after Republican members of Congress who fail to focus on investigating Democratic President Joe Biden.
Trump also urged a halt to Ukrainian military aid until the White House cooperates with congressional investigations into Biden and his family.
“Every dollar spent attacking me by Republicans is a dollar given straight to the Biden campaign,” Trump said at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night.
The former president and GOP front-runner said it was time for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and others he dismissed as “clowns” to clear the field, accusing them of “wasting hundreds of millions of dollars that Republicans should be using to build a massive vote-gathering operation” to take on Biden in November.
The comments came two days after federal prosecutors unveiled new criminal charges against Trump as part of the case that accuses him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club and refusing to turn them over to investigators. The superseding indictment unsealed Thursday alleges that Trump and two staffers sought to delete surveillance at the club in an effort to obstruct the Justice Department's investigation.
The case is just one of Trump's mounting legal challenges. His team is currently bracing for additional possible indictments, which could happen as soon as this coming week, related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election brought by prosecutors in both Washington and Georgia. Trump already faces criminal charges in New York over hush money payments made to women who accused him of sexual encounters during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Nevertheless, Trump remains the dominant early figure for the Republican nomination and has only seen his lead grow as the charges have mounted and as his rivals have struggled to respond. Their challenge was on display at a GOP gathering in Iowa Friday night, where they largely declined to go after Trump directly. The only one who did — accusing Trump of “running to stay out of prison” — was booed as he left the stage.
In the meantime, Trump has embraced his legal woes, turning them into the core message of his bid to return to the White House as he accuses Biden of using the Justice Department to maim his chief political rival. The White House has said repeatedly that the president has had no involvement in the cases.
At rallies, Trump has tried to frame the charges, which come with serious threats of jail time, as an attack not just on him, but those who support him.
“They’re not indicting me, they’re indicting you. I just happen to be standing in the way,” he said in Erie, adding, “Every time the radical left Democrats, Marxists, communists and fascists indict me, I consider it actually a great badge of honor.... Because I’m being indicted for you.”
"In order to combat these heinous actions by Joe Biden’s cronies and to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed, the leadership PAC contributed to their legal fees to ensure they have representation against unlawful harassment," said Trump's spokesman Steven Cheung.
At the rally, in a former Democratic stronghold that Trump flipped in 2016, but Biden won narrowly in 2020, Trump also threatened Republicans in Congress who refuse to go along with efforts to impeach Biden. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said this past week that Republican lawmakers may consider an impeachment inquiry into the president over unproven claims of financial misconduct.
Trump, who was impeached twice while in office, said Saturday that, “The biggest complaint that I get is that the Republicans find out this information and then they do nothing about it."
“Any Republican that doesn't act on Democrat fraud should be immediately primaries and get out — out!” he told the crowd to loud applause. “They have to play tough and ... if they’re not willing to do it, we got a lot of good, tough Republicans around ... and they're going to get my endorsement every singe time.”
Trump, during the 2022 midterm elections, made it his mission to punish those who had voted in favor of his second impeachment. He succeeded in unseating most who had by backing primary challengers.
At the rally, Trump also called on Republican members of Congress to halt the authorization of additional military support to Ukraine, which has been mired in a war fighting Russia’s invasion, until the Biden administration cooperates with Republican investigations into Biden and his family’s business dealings — words that echoed the call that lead to his first impeachment.
“He’s dragging into a global conflict on behalf of the very same country, Ukraine, that apparently paid his family all of these millions of dollars,” Trump alleged. “In light of this information,” Congress, he said, “should refuse to authorize a single additional payment of our depleted stockpiles ... the weapons stockpiles to Ukraine until the FBI, DOJ and IRS hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden crime family’s corrupt business dealings.”
House Republicans have been investigating the Biden family’s finances, particularly payments Hunter, the president’s son, received from Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company that became tangled in the first impeachment of Trump.
An unnamed confidential FBI informant claimed that Burisma company officials in 2015 and 2016 sought to pay the Bidens $5 million each in return for their help ousting a Ukrainian prosecutor who was purportedly investigating the company. But a Justice Department review in 2020, while Trump was president, was closed eight months later with insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
Trump’s first impeachment by the House resulted in charges that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on the Bidens while threatening to withhold military aid. Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.
I guess he must have missed that they're already doing that. To the point of desperation. Trying to make claims about some audio tape nobody has even seen or heard which in the end they had to admit they didn't know if it existed. Claiming they have a witness "they can't find". Monday they will be using a witness who was convicted of felony fraud only a few years ago. I mean it's almost like watching The Keystone Cops.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Stupid, hollow rhetoric. American voters haven't received a target letter from Jack Smith. Know why? Because American voters were smart enough to not crime their asses off. Jack Smith is going after Don J Trump; not John Q. Public.
It amazes me that there exists people gullible enough to believe this stuff when The Absolute Truth is sitting right in front of them.
Like I say it’s so rewarding to see him spend all the Goper hard earned funds on his own legal fees and defense and now wants more cash for Hunter Biden investigations. Lol. “Let’s go Brandon!” Goper’s keep cracking me up.
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. – Jackie Robinson
Trump team creating legal defense fund amid mounting legal fees
Former President Donald Trump’s team is creating a legal defense fund to help offset some of the enormous bills incurred as his legal troubles mount, two sources familiar with the planning told CNN.
The fund is expected to cover the bills of some of Trump’s current and former aides and employees who have been wrapped up in various investigations into the former president. Trump’s political action committee, Save America, spent more than $40 million on legal fees for him and many of his associates since the start of 2023.
The new fund will be called the Patriot Legal Defense Fund Inc., according to the sources, and will be led by Trump associate and adviser Michael Glassner.
A Trump spokesperson blamed “the weaponized Department of Justice” and special counsel Jack Smith for targeting “innocent Americans associated with President Trump.”
“In order to combat these heinous actions by Joe Biden’s cronies and to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed, a new legal defense fund will help pay for their legal fees to ensure they have representation against unlawful harassment,” the spokesperson told CNN.
The New York Times first reported the expected creation of the fund.
Smith filed new charges on Thursday against the former president, his aide Walt Nauta and a third defendant, Carlos De Oliveira, in the case alleging Trump mishandled classified documents after leaving the White House. The new charges included allegations that Trump and his employees attempted to delete Mar-a-Lago security footage sought by the grand jury. Both Nauta and De Oliveira are being represented by attorneys paid for by Trump’s operation.
Earlier this year, Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on more than 30 counts related to business fraud. He also faces potential charges in the special counsel’s grand jury investigation into the lead-up to January 6, 2021, as well as an investigation by the Fulton County district attorney’s office in Georgia relating to attempts by him and his allies to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election result.
Trump has expanded his legal team in light of the mounting legal battles he is facing.
Republicans look to eliminate congressional office of diversity and inclusion
Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) has introduced legislation to abolish the Office of Diversity and Inclusion of the House of Representatives.
Mooney’s bill, which has no Democratic co-sponsors, comes on the heels of the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices at the Pentagon.
“The House should abide by the same standards we set for federal agencies across the government, which is why I have introduced this resolution to eliminate the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion,” Mooney said in a statement.
The House Office of Diversity and Inclusion was created by the 116th Congress, after Democrats recaptured control of the House. It was the most diverse Congress ever elected, until the 2020 midterms.
But in a press release, Mooney called DEI efforts “the latest woke liberal method of injecting cultural Marxism into the workplace.” Mooney is a candidate for Senate, looking to take the seat held by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
“These offices start with the premise that white people are inheritably racist and oppressive,” he said. “The House of Representatives does not need bureaucrats promoting this divisive ideology.”
Republicans have been working to eradicate DEI offices around the nation, with some limiting schools from being able to promote programs on DEI efforts or in their hiring practices.
But Republicans have stumbled in their messaging on race in the last few weeks, most notably when Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) called Black military members and veterans “colored people” in his defense of eliminating DEI offices as part of the NDAA.
The Congressional Black Caucus last week blasted these gaffes.
“They’re proving every single day why diversity, equity and inclusion is needed,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), chair of the caucus, told reporters. “I would encourage them to contact the Office of Diversity here at the U.S. Capitol and benefit from the training and the resources that they have.”
In a statement to The Hill, the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion emphasized that it is a nonpartisan and nonlegislative office.
“Currently, ODI, which maintains relationships on both sides of the aisle, remains committed to its mission to advance a representative and qualified workforce by “putting the people in the people’s house,” ODI Director, Sesha Joi Moon, said.
“As for the future of ODI, our office, which currently consists of 12 employees, will of course comply with any forthcoming legislation and directives from leadership.”
The bill has several initial co-sponsors, including Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Bob Good (R-Va.), Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), Brian Babin (R-Texas), Andrew Ogles (R-Tenn.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.).
Even if Mooney’s bill passes in the House, it’s unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
All while they claim it's the democrats waging a culture war. Many of us warned this would happen and Republicans claimed it wouldn't. Now that it's happening they defend it. Sad really....
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Republicans look to eliminate congressional office of diversity and inclusion
Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.) has introduced legislation to abolish the Office of Diversity and Inclusion of the House of Representatives.
Mooney’s bill, which has no Democratic co-sponsors, comes on the heels of the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices at the Pentagon.
“The House should abide by the same standards we set for federal agencies across the government, which is why I have introduced this resolution to eliminate the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion,” Mooney said in a statement.
The House Office of Diversity and Inclusion was created by the 116th Congress, after Democrats recaptured control of the House. It was the most diverse Congress ever elected, until the 2020 midterms.
But in a press release, Mooney called DEI efforts “the latest woke liberal method of injecting cultural Marxism into the workplace.” Mooney is a candidate for Senate, looking to take the seat held by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
“These offices start with the premise that white people are inheritably racist and oppressive,” he said. “The House of Representatives does not need bureaucrats promoting this divisive ideology.”
Republicans have been working to eradicate DEI offices around the nation, with some limiting schools from being able to promote programs on DEI efforts or in their hiring practices.
But Republicans have stumbled in their messaging on race in the last few weeks, most notably when Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) called Black military members and veterans “colored people” in his defense of eliminating DEI offices as part of the NDAA.
The Congressional Black Caucus last week blasted these gaffes.
“They’re proving every single day why diversity, equity and inclusion is needed,” Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), chair of the caucus, told reporters. “I would encourage them to contact the Office of Diversity here at the U.S. Capitol and benefit from the training and the resources that they have.”
In a statement to The Hill, the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion emphasized that it is a nonpartisan and nonlegislative office.
“Currently, ODI, which maintains relationships on both sides of the aisle, remains committed to its mission to advance a representative and qualified workforce by “putting the people in the people’s house,” ODI Director, Sesha Joi Moon, said.
“As for the future of ODI, our office, which currently consists of 12 employees, will of course comply with any forthcoming legislation and directives from leadership.”
The bill has several initial co-sponsors, including Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Bob Good (R-Va.), Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.), Brian Babin (R-Texas), Andrew Ogles (R-Tenn.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Jack Bergman (R-Mich.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.).
Even if Mooney’s bill passes in the House, it’s unlikely to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
All while they claim it's the democrats waging a culture war. Many of us warned this would happen and Republicans claimed it wouldn't. Now that it's happening they defend it. Sad really....
We are all Americans. There should never be a law, a department, or any other entity that divides us. There is no need for a diversity or inclusion office. As long as the Democrats define us and label us they will keep us divided. We should be only Americans.
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Yes, that all worked out so well throughout our nation's history. I'm sure there were many stating pretty much the same thing when The Civil rights Amendments were passed.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
We are all Americans. There should never be a law, a department, or any other entity that divides us. There is no need for a diversity or inclusion office. As long as the Democrats define us and label us they will keep us divided. We should be only Americans.
Agreed, we should be only Americans, but history does not support your reasoning. We should have never had slavery, separate but equal, or Jim Crow laws... But we did.
Those who deny history are bound to repeat it.
There will be no playoffs. Can’t play with who we have out there and compounding it with garbage playcalling and worse execution. We don’t have good skill players on offense period. Browns 20 - Bears 17.
Stupid, hollow rhetoric. American voters haven't received a target letter from Jack Smith. Know why? Because American voters were smart enough to not crime their asses off. Jack Smith is going after Don J Trump; not John Q. Public.
It amazes me that there exists people gullible enough to believe this stuff when The Absolute Truth is sitting right in front of them.
They gotta justify those votes and donations bro. SMH. You can’t fix stupid.
Your feelings and opinions do not add up to facts.
Stupid, hollow rhetoric. American voters haven't received a target letter from Jack Smith. Know why? Because American voters were smart enough to not crime their asses off. Jack Smith is going after Don J Trump; not John Q. Public.
It amazes me that there exists people gullible enough to believe this stuff when The Absolute Truth is sitting right in front of them.
They gotta justify those votes and donations bro. SMH. You can’t fix stupid.
We are all Americans. There should never be a law, a department, or any other entity that divides us. There is no need for a diversity or inclusion office. As long as the Democrats define us and label us they will keep us divided. We should be only Americans.
Agreed, we should be only Americans, but history does not support your reasoning. We should have never had slavery, separate but equal, or Jim Crow laws... But we did.
Those who deny history are bound to repeat it.
The problem is you cannot go back in time and right the wrong of others. In today's world the race baiting is what separates us. Besides that all are equal. Decisions made by the human determine their outcomes and not outside influences.
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
The problem is you cannot go back in time and right the wrong of others. In today's world the race baiting is what separates us. Besides that all are equal. Decisions made by the human determine their outcomes and not outside influences.
Have you ever been pulled over for no reason? Have you ever been followed around by security at a high end clothing store for no reason? Neither have I. But I know people who have. And guess what, they weren't white people. A big part of the problem is the failure to recognize there are still problems. So people such as yourself attach negative connotations to it like "race baiting".
You certainly are right that we're all Americans. As such we should be sharing our actual history, admitting that we still have issues to fix and address those issues. Just look around you. People railing against and passing laws to discriminate against people based on their sexuality. Aren't they Americans too? When you keep repeating mistakes of the past on yet another underrepresented group you haven't learned anything from your history and just keep making the same mistakes against different groups of people.
That's exactly why you need such things as inclusion and diversity boards. To make sure the rights of those Americans aren't being stepped on as we still see today. Just pretending like it no longer exists by applying a negative label to it doesn't mean it's disappeared.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I really didn't pay any attention to the commentary that went along with what Steve Deace himself actually said. But watching Deace have that "Come to Jesus moment" for lack of a better term was priceless. It shows that there's actually still hope for some.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
DeSantis-controlled Disney World district abolishes diversity, equity initiatives
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Diversity, equity and inclusion programs were abolished Tuesday from Walt Disney World’s governing district, now controlled by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis, in an echo of the Florida governor’s agenda which has championed curtailing such programs in higher education and elsewhere.
The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said in a statement that its diversity, equity and inclusion committee would be eliminated, as would any job duties connected to it. Also axed were initiatives left over from when the district was controlled by Disney supporters, which awarded contracts based on goals of achieving racial or gender parity.
Glenton Gilzean, the district’s new administrator who is African American and a former head of the Central Florida Urban League, called such initiatives “illegal and simply un-American.” Gilzean has been a fellow or member at two conservative institutions, the James Madison Institute and the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network, as well as a DeSantis appointee to the Florida Commission on Ethics.
“Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal,” Gilzean said in a statement. “As the former head of the Central Florida Urban League, a civil rights organization, I can say definitively that our community thrives only when we work together despite our differences.”
An email was sent seeking comment from Disney World.
Last spring, DeSantis, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, signed into law a measure that blocks public colleges from using federal or state funding on diversity programs.
DeSantis also has championed Florida’s so-called “Stop WOKE” law, which bars businesses, colleges and K-12 schools from giving training on certain racial concepts, such as the theory that people of a particular race are inherently racist, privileged or oppressed. A federal judge last November blocked the law’s enforcement in colleges, universities and businesses, calling it “positively dystopian.”
The creation of the district, then known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, was instrumental in Disney’s decision to build a theme park resort near Orlando in the 1960s. Having a separate government allowed the company to provide zoning, fire protection, utilities and infrastructure services on its sprawling property. The district was controlled by Disney supporters for more than five decades.
Richard Foglesong, a Rollins College professor emeritus, said he was surprised that the matter was decided internally, rather than by a public vote of the five members appointed by DeSantis to the district’s board who have promised repeatedly to be more transparent than their predecessors.
“This is an issue of public importance,” said Foglesong, who wrote a definitive account of Disney World’s governance in his book, “Married to the Mouse: Walt Disney World and Orlando.”
The DeSantis appointees took control of the renamed district earlier this year following a yearlong feud between the company and DeSantis. The fight began last year after Disney, beset by significant pressure internally and externally, publicly opposed a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, a policy critics call “Don’t Say Gay.”
As punishment, DeSantis took over the district through legislation passed by Republican lawmakers and appointed a new board of supervisors to oversee municipal services for the sprawling theme parks and hotels. Disney sued DeSantis and his five board appointees in federal court, claiming the Florida governor violated the company’s free speech rights by taking the retaliatory action.
Before the new board came in, Disney made agreements with previous oversight board members who were Disney supporters that stripped the new supervisors of their authority over design and development. The DeSantis-appointed members of the governing district have sued Disney in state court in a second lawsuit stemming from the district’s takeover, seeking to invalidate those agreements.
And just think, this was the same political party who not so long ago said that government should stay out of interfering with business. But then the whack a moles took over.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Imagine these radical unhinged far right ‘laws’ being applied across the country. Got a feeling America would look like a hood wearing klan within a year. DeStains can never be POTUS.
Your feelings and opinions do not add up to facts.
Imagine these radical unhinged far right ‘laws’ being applied across the country. Got a feeling America would look like a hood wearing klan within a year. DeStains can never be POTUS.
Wrong again. The clan was formed by the Democrats. Republican's stand for all Americans and not dividing us for their personal gain (voting blocks).
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/Y0BqZLY.jpg)
Goper’s keep cracking me up.