The guest list to a 2017 dinner for $10,000-a-year donors with Justice Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh shows how the rich buy access to the Supreme Court.
The judge for the Rittenhouse trial said he’ll never again allow cameras in his court due to how skewed and edited the footage was when presented to the public.
Trials are incredibly long and boring so the media cuts and edits things to add drama and entertainment, but that gives a terrible impression to the public about how the trial went.
Also, Hitler gained popularity in Germany after his trial and imprisonment for leading a failed coup attempt thanks to the attention the media gave to it. This is uncomfortably similar.
Leo is well-known for shepherding conservative judicial nominees, but the public relations campaign shows how he has continued to exert influence in support of right-leaning justices after helping them secure lifetime appointments....
Overnight Donald Trump promoted a video featuring an extreme close-up photo of his face in black and white, and audio of him making an obvious threat: “If you f— around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before.” Trump “retruthed” […]
New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley are introducing bipartisan legislation that would prevent members of the executive and legislative branches — as well as their spouses and children — from trading individual company stocks.
The only thing bipartisan about this is the knowledge that such a bill will never pass. That’s why these psychos introduce it every so often. Just a publicity stunt.
The Republican party’s presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump, is openly running a campaign based on turning America into an autocracy. Joy Reid's panel of experts discuss.
It would be the second time the special counsel has notified the former president that he is likely to face indictment, this time in connection with the criminal investigation into the events leading up to the storming of the Capitol....
Rachel Maddow reports on a letter signed by 19 Republican state attorneys general objecting to a proposed HHS rule that would protect the privacy of resident...
Highly disturbing and obviously the next step in this Christian fascist bullshit - only a matter of time till they start rounding up and charging women who have EVER had an abortion with murder.
Former President Donald Trump seemed to be trying to flatter his way out of part of his ongoing legal troubles by praising Judge Aileen Cannon — the U.S. District judge from Florida overseeing Jack…
Republican lawmakers held a day of back-to-back public hearings in mid-April for bills that would add restrictions to receiving unemployment insurance payouts, ban local guaranteed income programs and prevent state agencies from automatically renewing low-income health insurance.
“This is a cynical distraction from the work that we should be doing,” Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said. “But thankfully, they’re not becoming law.”
Agreed, Ms. Agard. It's political theatre, and is not going to get past Evers' veto. The detail in the article is excellent and calls out:
A lead proponent testifying at the Capitol was a former Republican legislative aide representing a Florida-based advocacy group with no membership and tens of millions of anonymous donations. One Republican lawmaker noted it was the third time that afternoon that Adam Gibbs had spoken in favor of the bills, all which were aimed at dismantling the state’s social safety net.
“Busy day in the Legislature,” replied Gibbs, communications director for the nonprofit Foundation for Government Accountability.
...what's the problem with the FGA (aside from it's an out of state organization with no actual membership that for some reason has the full attention of Wisconsin legislators)?
A Wisconsin Watch analysis of the 2021-22 session found that of the 17 bills passed with Opportunity Solutions Project/FGA support, Evers vetoed all but one. The lobbying group also opposed a Democratic-sponsored bill that would extend Medicaid for eligible women for a full year after childbirth; Republicans refused to schedule a hearing, and the GOP-led budget committee stripped it from the governor’s budget. The group also supported 16 bills that ultimately did not pass both chambers.
....
Watchdogs that monitor dark money groups say FGA is just the latest example of an advocacy organization bankrolled by a small network of billionaire activists intent on deregulation, dismantling welfare protections and restricting voting rights.
FGA doesn’t disclose its donors. But IRS data tracked by the Center for Media and Democracy, which investigates the influence of money in politics, show some of the largest checks came from foundations tied to conservative causes.
The Ed Uihlein Family Foundation donated $17.85 million between 2014 and 2021, according to tax filings. The Bradley Foundation of Milwaukee gave $2.75 million over a similar period.
FGA’s lobbying arm isn’t required to disclose its funding sources. Critics call that a loophole in the law, giving donors the ability to secretly influence public policy.
The IRS says charitable foundations like FGA aren’t supposed to engage in substantial political lobbying. But like other similar groups, it shares office space, staffers and other resources with its lobbying arm. Such arrangements allow donors to make tax deductible donations that ultimately end up being used for lobbying.
So all you have to do to funnel dark money to Wisconsin Republicans is to open a non-profit in the same office as your lobbying firm. Gotcha.
Investigators from the House Ethics Committee have begun reaching out to witnesses as part of a recently revived investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, focused on allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use or other misconduct.
For a guy who is on the US House Armed Services Committee, he sure as hell understands surprisingly little about World War II and the Cold War. Russia has expansion interest since after World War II. In fact, that's how a lot of Soviet Russia was formed. The allies bombed the fuck out the nations, the nations were destitute, broken down countries are really easy to just sweep in and take over. The thing as we all know about that last part is that, it's easy to topple leadership in a country, it's mighty difficult to maintain your grasp on the nation cough Iraq cough.
NATO aims to combine a military strength to act as a deterrent towards expansion into member states, which is why a lot of Europe is in NATO. The only thing guiding NATO is the fourteen articles of the North Atlantic Treaty, outside of that, nations are free to govern themselves. This is in opposition to how Russia was going about adding Ukraine, Moldova, and so on to their collective group.
NATO in very loose terms is a different way of doing a USSR, if that helps Matt Gatez to understand "WHY" we can't just:
extend NATO to Russia and make it an anti-China alliance?
Russia isn't interested in upholding the means by which nations govern. It's like asking the San Francisco 49ers why they won't invite the Boston Red Soxs to come play a game. They aren't doing things that have enough similarities to not have a ton of friction on the collaborative and still call it "football" or "baseball" as we know it. We can totally invent something completely different, but per the definition of things being what they claim to be: Something completely different is in fact completely different than NATO currently be, and thus, we would just invent something different (oh say like a G and some number after it) that has less friction to facilitate interchange in that regard.
But even then when we try something different and invite Russia, they still just have to go edgelord and fuck their membership up. So we literally tried to take Chad to get ice cream at McDonald's as a way to see if they're ready to go to an actual sit down place, AND Chad just couldn't help but to take a shit in the ball pit. So since Chad still is shitting in ball pits, we cannot take Chad to the sit down place with the nice dessert. That's just how it be currently.
So hopefully that's dumbed down enough for even him to understand why we "just don't go and do that thing". If Russia cannot help itself to fuck it's membership up with the G8, they sure as shit aren't going to act proper in a setting like NATO. How is this a thing that eludes this guy?
A further two cases have been discovered in the state, amid reports two top official public-health roles regarding communicable diseases have been left vacant.
News: Mask Off: DeSantis Staffer Reportedly Shares Video of DeSantis and Giant Nazi Symbol ( newrepublic.com )
“Calling DeSantis a fascist isn’t hyperbole, it’s defining what he is.”
Buying face time: A secret invite list shows how big donors gain access to Supreme Court justices ( www.businessinsider.com )
The guest list to a 2017 dinner for $10,000-a-year donors with Justice Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh shows how the rich buy access to the Supreme Court.
Trump demands cameras in courtroom for potential election fraud case ( www.independent.co.uk )
An indictment, Mr Trump’s third in four months, could be handed down any day after he was sent a ‘target’ letter by Jack Smith
If Trump were innocent, he'd "walk over fire" for speedy trial: Swalwell ( www.newsweek.com )
The California Democrat said that Trump is acting "guilty" by asking for his classified documents trial to be postponed until after the 2024 election.
Dark Money - Clarence Thomas got a personal media campaign worth at least $1.8 million from conservative nonprofit groups led by lobbyist Leonard Leo, part of $1.6 billion in donated by Barre Seid to Leo. ( www.washingtonpost.com )
Leo is well-known for shepherding conservative judicial nominees, but the public relations campaign shows how he has continued to exert influence in support of right-leaning justices after helping them secure lifetime appointments....
Trump Promotes Threatening Video: 'We Are Going to Do Things to You That Have Never Been Done Before' ( www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com )
Overnight Donald Trump promoted a video featuring an extreme close-up photo of his face in black and white, and audio of him making an obvious threat: “If you f— around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before.” Trump “retruthed” […]
Nebraska teen Celeste Burgess gets 90 days behind bars for late-term abortion ( nypost.com )
Celeste Burgess, 19, of Norfolk, was hit with a 90-day jail sentence and two years’ probation at Madison County District Court on Thursday.
New York City to hand out fliers urging migrants to go elsewhere ( www.bbc.com )
America's biggest city will hand migrants fliers asking them to go elsewhere as it is "at capacity".
Senators introduce bipartisan ban on stock ownership for executive and legislative branch office holders and their families | CNN Politics ( edition.cnn.com )
New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley are introducing bipartisan legislation that would prevent members of the executive and legislative branches — as well as their spouses and children — from trading individual company stocks.
Democrats eye Sen. Ted Cruz's seat in Republican-dominated Texas as a possible flip ( www.npr.org )
Democrats are facing a tough U.S. Senate map in 2024 so they are eyeing some tough-to-win states for possible pickups, starting with Texas.
Trump is campaigning to establish ‘a presidential dictatorship’ historian Beschloss says ( www.msnbc.com )
The Republican party’s presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump, is openly running a campaign based on turning America into an autocracy. Joy Reid's panel of experts discuss.
Trump Says He’s a Target in Special Counsel’s Capitol Attack Investigation ( www.nytimes.com )
It would be the second time the special counsel has notified the former president that he is likely to face indictment, this time in connection with the criminal investigation into the events leading up to the storming of the Capitol....
Republican attorneys general demand access to out-of-state abortion medical records ( youtu.be )
Rachel Maddow reports on a letter signed by 19 Republican state attorneys general objecting to a proposed HHS rule that would protect the privacy of resident...
Trump Really Let His Freak Flag Fly at the Turning Point USA Conference ( www.esquire.com )
It was a pure statement of fascist ambition.
Why Isn't Clarence Thomas Facing Impeachment Hearings? ( www.theroot.com )
The disgraceful Supreme Court justice should be held accountable for his actions but probably won't.
Trump Tries To Flatter Judge Cannon On TV As She Decides Whether To Postpone His MAL Trial ( talkingpointsmemo.com )
Former President Donald Trump seemed to be trying to flatter his way out of part of his ongoing legal troubles by praising Judge Aileen Cannon — the U.S. District judge from Florida overseeing Jack…
Wisconsin billionaires quietly bankroll effort to shrink state’s social safety net ( wausaupilotandreview.com )
Republican lawmakers held a day of back-to-back public hearings in mid-April for bills that would add restrictions to receiving unemployment insurance payouts, ban local guaranteed income programs and prevent state agencies from automatically renewing low-income health insurance.
Donald Trump brands US a ‘third -world hellhole’ run by ‘perverts’ and ‘thugs’ ( www.independent.co.uk )
Former president claimed American dream ‘dead’ under Joe Biden during Turning Point Action Conference speech
'Disgraceful': GOP Advances Bill That Could Remove 220,000 Teachers From Classrooms ( www.commondreams.org )
"If left to their own devices, Republicans would gleefully take public education to the graveyard," said Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
RFK Jr.: COVID ‘Ethnically Targeted’ to Spare Jews, Chinese ( www.thedailybeast.com )
Full article text:...
House Ethics Committee reaching out to witnesses in revived Matt Gaetz probe ( www.cnn.com )
Investigators from the House Ethics Committee have begun reaching out to witnesses as part of a recently revived investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, focused on allegations that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct, illicit drug use or other misconduct.
Matt Gaetz would rather have Russia than Ukraine in NATO ( www.newsweek.com )
"Why would you pick Ukraine? Why not extend NATO to Russia and make it an anti-China alliance?" the GOP congressman said.
Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces amendment directing Biden to withdraw from Nato ( www.independent.co.uk )
President Biden expressed the US’s ‘ironclad commitment to NATO’
Ron DeSantis under pressure as Florida malaria cases spread ( www.newsweek.com )
A further two cases have been discovered in the state, amid reports two top official public-health roles regarding communicable diseases have been left vacant.