#who is blogging about merrick garland

[maester-of-spreadsheets]

Lmao that was super gross but honestly really fun

Kinda feel like watching a bunch of horror movies this month (like how I watched one a night in October 2022) so let’s do that again.

Starting with Deadstream and the beginning reminded me of the wtf opening to IWTV so. We’re okay to a good start??

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Right accuses their critics of the conspiracy they themselves engage in

People on the right have some really weird ideas about their ideological enemies: that we’re “groomers,” that we’re secretly on some billionaire’s payroll, that we hijacked the education system to promulgate revisionist histories, that we steal elections, and, of course, that we are secretly plotting to take over America and subjugate them.

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/10/teneo/#i-grasp

The weirdest thing about this is that it’s the right that engages in revisionist race-history:

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/the-myth-of-the-happy-slave-explained

And it’s the right who stole a presidency:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot

Election-rigging is a right-wing specialty:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/23/state-of-play/#patchwork

It’s the right who pay for fake grassroots activism:

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/raising-them-right-far-right-fight-college-campus-1234636392/

Any time some right-wing politician comes out against queers and calls them groomers, chances are good that he’s spending his free time on Instagram, sending fire emojis to naked boys:

https://www.ibtimes.sg/randy-mcnally-tennessees-anti-lgbtq-lt-gov-caught-liking-commenting-young-gay-mans-racy-69364

That’s especially true when we’re talking about evangelical youth pastors:

https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-texas-pastors-charged-abusing-children-1765910

It’s almost like that old playground rebuttal, “I know you are but what am I?” contains a deep political truth:

https://doctorow.medium.com/takes-one-to-know-one-104d7d749408

Of all the absurd libels of the right, the weirdest one is that leftists are secretly funded by woke billionaires spending dark money to foment the overthrow of the USA. The idea of “leftist billionaire” is laughable on its face: how did this imaginary billionaire make their billions while paying a living wage and providing decent working conditions?

But it’s easy to understand how a group of people who are so positively *aslosh* in dark money — people whose every political maneuver is a carefully planned scheme to separate terrified xenophobes and rubes from their money — for “alternative” covid therapies, apocalypse-ready MREs, “sound money” gold coins, and so. much. culture. war. nonsense.

What I’m trying to say is: when the right accuses the left of being driven by cabals of shadowy, crepulent billionaires and their pathetic lickspittle Renfields, it is because the right is indeed in the thrall of those crepulent billionaires.

Meet Leonard Leo, a crepulent, shadowy billionaire. Leo was last seen around these parts when he was revealed to have been the bagman behind the ultradark money group Judicial Crisis Network. After spending $27m to block confirmation for Obama’s SCOTUS pick, Merrick Garland, they spent tens of millions more on campaigns to seat Kavanaugh and Gorsuch. Coney Barrett was seated thanks to a $15.9m campaign to make an unqualified, unhinged ideologue seem like a viable lifetime member of the highest court in the land:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/29/betcha-cant-eat-just-one/#pwnage

Leo controls the Judicial Crisis Network, which worked with the Federalist Society to allow Trump to appoint a whopping 28% of all US federal judges — lifetime appointments for slavering Renfields who’ll follow his political lead. Witness the firepower of a fully operational billionaire.

Leo’s post-Trump side-hustle is a “Federalist Society for everything” — a secretive, lavishly funded cabal aimed at taking over campuses, corporations, news outlets with an army of “under 40s” conservative operatives. It’s called Teneo, and it was a secret — until its internal memos, videos and other materials leaked to Propublica.

Propublica’s Andy Kroll and Andrea Bernstein collaborated with Documented’s Nick Surgey to report out the leaks, describing how Teneo when from “a dinner club with partisan overtones” to a dark-money juggernaut whose annual donations grew by leaps and bounds (2017, $750k; 2020, $2.3m; 2021, $5m):

https://www.propublica.org/article/leonard-leo-teneo-videos-documents

These financial good fortunes are not the result of excited small-money donors hoping to help Teneo with its good works — it’s a handful of ultra-wealthy sociopaths hoping to use a minority of willing lackeys to project their will over all of us.

Teneo’s network members are a Monster’s Manual of the wildest wingnuts in public life, from Josh Hawley (who wrote its founding manifesto) to JD Vance to Elise Stefanik to BenShapiro to three of Ron DeSantis’s top aides. Also: federal judge who struck down Biden’s mask mandate and the heads of the Republican Attorneys General Association, Republican State Leadership Committee and Turning Point USA.

The stated goal of Teneo founder Evan Baehr (a tech bro turned conservative organizer) was for Teneo members to infiltrate “the House and the Senate, as governors — one might be elected president.”

In a leaked video, Baehr identifies the “woke” enemy he seeks to vanquish, describing a hypothetical meeting between “a billionaire hedge funder, a film producer, a Harvard professor and a New York Times writer.” These four cook up a plan to give middle-school kids “free access to sex-change therapy paid for by the federal government.” The filmmaker promises to make a documentary to support the project. The Harvard professor promises to falsify studies to reassure people that the therapies are safe. The Times reporter vows to “profile people who feel trapped in the wrong gender.”

This irony is that this unhinged conspiratorialism was hatched by someone who was and is actively conspiring to take over the country with members of his secret society. After years in the wilderness, Baehr connected with Leo, who turned on the money spigots. Together, they recruited an “inner core” of FedSoc members “and recruit[ed] them for either specific roles to serve as judges or to spin up and launch critical projects.”

Other shadowy billionaires piled in: Home Depot’s trumpy founder Bernie Marcus, Charles Koch, and Betsy DeVos and her family. The new “Teneo 2.0” sought to “to help members find jobs, write books, meet spouses, secure start-up financing or nonprofit donors and learn about public service.”

Their vision is to create “Silicon Valley of Conservatism — a powerful network of communities where the most influential young leaders, the biggest ideas, and the most leveraged resources come together to launch key projects that advance our shared belief that the conservative worldview drives human flourishing.”

They funnel money to speakers from the absolute depths of the swamp: Erik “Blackwater” Prince, David Brooks, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. New members are assured that their involvement with Teneo is “private and confidential” and the group has kept a low profile — Propublica asked Sheldon Whitehouse — a bitter critic of Leo’s — about the group and got a blank stare.

Teneo’s latest project is to recruit “state attorneys general, state financial officers, state legislators, journalists, media executives and best-in-class public affairs professionals” to fight ESG policies — all the froth you’ve encountered about the evils of ESG are the result of this secret, coordinated project.

(To be clear, ESG is bullshit, but not because it’s bad for capitalism — ESG is a dumpster fire of greenwashing:)

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/15/sanctions-financing/#profiteers

Teneo organizes donors for members who run for local, state and federal office. Will Scharf, who’s hoping to become Missouri’s next attorney general, has received donations from dozens of Teneo members, giving the maximum allowable donation of $2650.

The paranoid style in American politics never went away. From the Witchfinders General of New England to Joe McCarthy and the John Birch Society, there has always been a rump of Americans who are very rich and very frightened and who want to put us all in their place.

For these fevered schemers, the Jack Chick tracts that depicted secret Satanic societies seducing innocent kids through Dungeons and Dragons games were hard-hitting documentaries, and as far as they’re concerned, they’re fighting fire with fire.

Image: Jack Chick https://www.chick.com/products/tract?stk=0046

Tendeo https://www.teneonetwork.com/

Fair use https://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property

[Image ID: A page from the Jack Chick tract 'Dark Dungeons,' depicting a sinister society of robed figures gathered in a circle, welcoming in a new initiate. The pentacle on the floor has been replaced with Teneo's stylized 'T' logo. The dialog has been replaced with text from Teneo's 2019 Community Vision report: 'The Silicon Valley of Conservatism — a powerful network of communities where the most influential young leaders, the biggest ideas, and the most leveraged resources come together to launch key projects that advance our shared belief that the conservative worldview drives human flourishing.]

[justinspoliticalcorner]

John Knefel at MMFA:

A media outlet from conservative think tank the Claremont Institute published a blog on June 21 arguing that if former President Donald Trump wins reelection in November, “unpleasant things will have to be done to hold people to account.”  The article didn’t specify its exact targets — beyond saying that they are the “people who attacked our constitutional republic by refusing to recognize limits on their exercise of power over us” — or the consequences they could face. But the author mentions Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith, as well as prosecutors and judges involved in cases investigating Trump, implying that they could all face retaliation under a second Trump term.

The article — published at The American Mind, one of several publications associated with the Claremont Institute — echoed Trump’s own promises of revenge. “I am your retribution,” Trump told the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March 2023, repeating the phrase again later that month. If Trump is to see his plans through, Claremont will play a major role as one of more than 100 organizations on the advisory board of Project 2025 — a radical right-wing effort organized by The Heritage Foundation to remake the federal government by providing staffing and policy to a second Trump administration.

The Claremont blog is just the latest salvo in pursuit of a key Project 2025 goal: implementing Schedule F, a scheme to remove job protections from tens of thousands of federal workers by reclassifying career staffers as political appointees. That move would allow a Trump administration to purge civil servants from federal agencies and replace them with MAGA activists.   Although the blog’s author doesn’t mention Schedule F explicitly, he makes sweeping claims about “the regime” — a catch-all for any and all anti-Trump forces, with a specific focus on the federal government. “The regime uses its lawless power routinely,” the blog argues in one instance. In another: “The regime has deformed our constitutional order almost beyond recognition.” In yet another case: “If Trump wins, we should expect that some of the worst perpetrators of the regime’s lawlessness will be held to account.” Taken as a whole, they seem to constitute a clear call to gut the federal workforce of employees perceived to be insufficiently dedicated to Trumpism.   

Claremont Institute-affiliated publication The American Mind, a partner of the radical right-wing Project 2025, posted that “unpleasant things will have to be done to hold people to account” if Trump wins the election. Such a statement is basically code for fascism.

[arlengrossman]

The "Purse Dog" A.G. and Governors Who Shoot Puppies

Lots to talk about as usual on Monday’s Halitics, when I join veteran radio man Hal Ginsberg, living on the other coast (East).We discuss shooting cats to impress Donald Trump, Bill Maher’s right-on New Rules commentary about our weak AG, Merrick Garland, Trump’s trials and travails (Biden has overtaken him in a lot of polling), and much more….

[captainconvey]

Joe and Victoria Toensing have already spent over $500,000 in legal fees and costs as targets of DOJ and FBI weaponization against constitutional conservative lawyers. 

Conservative Legal Champions diGenova and Toensing           vs. The Corrupt Joe Biden/Merrick Garland Deep State

givesendgo.com/diGenovaToensing

Joe and Victoria are what we call “warrior lawyers.”  They are fighters for liberty and the rule of law, and are contemplating bringing Bivens lawsuits against the government officials who operated under color of federal law to violate their constitutional rights. 

They also may be suing private actors such as The 65 Project, which has targeted Joe among other Trump-friendly lawyers for frivolous bar complaints and ads expressly designed to harm the livelihoods of its victims. 

The discovery alone in those lawsuits could expose a pattern of heinous lawbreaking and corruption by the federal government. 

"Conservative, formerly Reagan-appointed Super Lawyers Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing need to raise $500,000 to cover legal fees and costs they’ve spent (so far) fighting the corrupt Joe Biden/Merrick Garland Deep State."

 

"What has happened to Joe and Victoria is Deep State revenge and intimidation, not legitimate law enforcement.

The DOJ is using its power and processes to punish them for being outspoken -- and right.  It is un-American.   

The Deep Sate and corporate media disdained Joe and Victoria going back to 2018 for publicly defending Donald Trump and correctly criticizing the FBI over the false Russiagate smears and unprecedented unlawful interference with a presidential election."

 

"Mr. diGenova has endorsed the notion that a secretive group of F.B.I. agents concocted the Russia investigation as a way to keep Mr. Trump from becoming president.

There was a brazen plot to illegally exonerate Hillary Clinton and, if she didn’t win the election, to then frame Donald Trump with a falsely created crime, he said on Fox News in January.

He added, Make no mistake about it: A group of F.B.I. and D.O.J. people were trying to frame Donald Trump of a falsely created crime. 

As it turns out, of course, Joe was right about the Russiagate hoax."

What you can do 

"Please donate what you can at this GiveSendGo account, which was created by friends, and with the permission, of Joe and Victoria. 

Also, please use your social media accounts, blogs, and other means of communication to let others know of the need to assist Joe and Victoria. 

All funds go to them for their legal defense fund. 

This GiveSendGo page will be updated by them from time to time with news about their legal fight against the corrupt Biden/Garland Deep State.

Our goal is to raise $500,000 to cover the legal fees and costs they’ve already incurred for standing up for honesty and the rule of law.

Let’s send a message to the corrupt Joe Biden/Merrick Garland Deep State that Americans will back champions of protecting our liberties and the rule of law, like Joe and Victoria." 

Captain Convey Note

"Please use your social media accounts, blogs, and other means of communication to let others know of the need to assist Joe and Victoria."

The corrupt biden regime is using the weaponized doj/fbi to persecute those who are associated with President Trump.

That includes lawyers who were in the President Trump administration and lawyers who represented President Trump during his time in office and after he left the office of president.

Also the corrupt biden regime is using the weaponized doj/fbi to persecute Americans who voted for and support Trump.

The corrupt biden regime is at war with the American people.

The corrupt fake national media supports the war on the American people.

For those of you in reo linda, as Rush Limbaugh use to say, Give Send Go is not a game rally cheer.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 19jan23

Couldn’t happen to a nicer pack of $@!!%

JPMorgan Chase on Thursday shut down the website for a college financial aid platform it bought for $175 million after alleging the company’s founder created nearly 4 million fake customer accounts.

The country’s biggest bank acquired Frank in September 2021 to help it deepen relationships with college students, a key demographic, a Chase executive told CNBC at the time.

JPMorgan touted the deal as giving it the “fastest-growing college financial planning platform” used by more than 5 million students at 6,000 institutions. It also provided access to the startup’s founder, Charlie Javice, who joined the New York-based bank as part of the acquisition.

Months after the transaction closed, JPMorgan said it learned the truth after sending out marketing emails to a batch of 400,000 Frank customers. About 70% of the emails bounced back, the bank said in a lawsuit filed last month in federal court.

Javice, who had approached JPMorgan in mid-2021 about a potential sale, lied to the bank about her startup’s scale, the bank alleged. Specifically, after being pressed for confirmation of Frank’s customer base during the due diligence process, Javice used a data scientist to invent millions of fake accounts, according to JPMorgan.*** https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/12/jpmorgan-chase-shutters-student-financial-aid-website-frank.html

***

Speaking of fraud, Nellie Bowles writes:  

→ Meet our new colleague, SBF: We who publish on Substack are a family, and so it’s with a lot of joy that I welcome my brother in blogs: Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced crypto magnate and Dem megadonor. On Thursday, comrade Bankman-Fried published a long, dense piece continuing to explain just how innocent he is and how his various crypto schemes (FTX and Alameda) were very legitimate. He does summarize it nicely: “All of which is to say: no funds were stolen,” he writes. Meanwhile, his old company, which declared bankruptcy, recently “discovered” $5 billion more in cash and liquid assets. Sorry, what? And from where? Impossible to know, really. As the Wall Street Journal puts it: “The company didn’t keep reliable financial records and lacked normal corporate controls under past management.” https://www.thefp.com/p/tgif-planes-trains-and-gastric-bypass

***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 12, 2023Appointment of a Special Counsel

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced today the appointment of a former career Justice Department prosecutor and former U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur to serve as special counsel to conduct the investigation of matters that were the subject of the initial investigation by U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch Jr. related to the possible unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or other records discovered at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement and the Wilmington, Delaware, private residence of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.*** https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/appointment-special-counsel-1

***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, January 12, 2023 Woman Arrested for Voter Fraud Scheme

An Iowa woman was arrested today in Sioux City for her role in an alleged voter fraud scheme during the Iowa 2020 primary and general elections.

Kim Phuong Taylor, 49, of Sioux City, made her initial court appearance today. According to court documents, Taylor allegedly perpetrated a scheme to generate votes in the primary election in June 2020, when her husband was an unsuccessful candidate for Iowa’s 4th U.S. Congressional District, and subsequently in the 2020 general election, when her husband was a successful candidate for Woodbury County Supervisor. Taylor allegedly submitted or caused others to submit dozens of voter registrations, absentee ballot request forms, and absentee ballots containing false information. For example, although these documents required the signer to affirm that he or she was the person named in them, Taylor signed them for voters without their permission and told others that they could sign on behalf of relatives who were not present.

Taylor is charged by indictment with 26 counts of providing false information in registering and voting, three counts of fraudulent registration, and 23 counts of fraudulent voting. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count.*** https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/woman-arrested-voter-fraud-scheme

***

Asian immigrant

A man accused of beating a Chinese immigrant to death in New York City while he was collecting cans to earn money pleaded guilty Thursday.

Jarrod Powell, 51, pleaded guilty to a hate-crime manslaughter charge and is expected to be sentenced to 22 years in prison for the death of 61-year-old Yao Pan Ma.***

Ma was collecting cans in East Harlem on the evening of April 23, 2021 when he was suddenly attacked. He was pushed to the ground and kicked in the head. Powell stomped on Ma's head multiple times during the beating, which put him into a coma, Bragg said.

A bus driver stopped at a light saw the attack and flagged down a nearby ambulance. Ma sustained brain injuries and was put on life support.

Ma’s wife said that her husband was just collecting bottles and cans to help pay the rent and bills for his family.***

As part of his plea deal, Powell admitted he attacked Ma because he was Asian. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9. Bragg's office currently has 44 open cases related to anti-Asian hate crimes. https://www.foxnews.com/us/nyc-man-pleads-guilty-beating-chinese-immigrant-death

***

https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/

BoP:  we had him here somewhere.  He was just here.  https://www.foxnews.com/world/isis-beatle-alexanda-kotey-disappears-us-prison-system-records

***

Many times your job is helping people on their worst behavior.

***Sangamon County State's Attorney Dan Wright said Tuesday in a press conference that LifeStar EMS workers Peggy Finley, 44, and Peter Cadigan, 50, were charged in the death of 35-year-old Earl L. Moore Jr. on Dec. 18.

Wright said police were called to Moore's residence and found him suffering from a hallucinatory episode and immediately called EMS for patient care.***

An autopsy revealed that Moore died from "compressional and positional asphyxia due to prone face-down restraint on a paramedic transportation cot stretcher by tightened straps across the back."

The pair should have known from their training and experience that positioning a patient in such a way "would create a substantial probability of great bodily harm or death," Wright added.*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/illinois-ems-workers-charged-murder-patient-care

***

He interrupts violence by drugging people & shooting them

Chicago police officers who were executing a search warrant reportedly discovered a man who works as a violence interrupter naked under a bed with cash, drugs, and a gun in the home.

Jerel Taylor, 30, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, possession of heroin and possession of a controlled substance after police raided an apartment in the Humboldt Park area of Chicago and found a loaded pistol on the kitchen window ledge along with bags of suspected crack cocaine, according to CWB Chicago.

Taylor was reportedly hiding under the bed and police saw his feet sticking out from beneath the bed after a woman told them there was no on in the house.

Police say they found $50,000 cash on the floor and that they also found heroin on the floor next to Taylor's pants when they asked him where his clothes were.***

Taylor has been convicted of five narcotics-related felonies since 2018, according to prosecutors. *** https://www.foxnews.com/us/anti-violence-worker-found-chicago-home-naked-gun-suspected-narcotics-5ok-cash-prosecutors

***

You will meet defendants like this

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnDZCFrJyS4/

Flamingo Road.  (1949).  Joan Crawford &  Iris Adrian.

***

Where would we be w/o memes?

https://img.ifunny.co/images/f4bc870bbfa8e454e988c05674d6062db3b193062462556cc4b1011eec0f025d_1.webp

***

Homeland security

Walking along a dirt road in her village, a Ukrainian grandmother notices five men walking toward her. It’s dangerous to stare at them, but even from just a quick glance as they pass by, she senses something isn’t right — they’re not local. “These guys don’t fit in,” she thinks. “They’re all in their 20s. They’re muscular. Maybe they’re infiltrators.”

Within minutes, she has contacted the police, reporting her suspicions. The police react rapidly to her tip, intercept the five men, and discover they have heavy-duty explosives hidden in their clothes, which they were planning to plant on a nearby bridge.

This scenario is unfortunately common in Ukraine today. Saving the bridge, in this case, depended on both vigilant citizens and, most of all, a strong and efficient police force.

When I visited Ukraine for five days in December 2022, I spoke to the Kyiv Regional Police to gain insight into why the Russian Federation invaders make incapacitating the local police a top priority when invading a country. In each of the 12 wars they’ve been involved with since 1991, the Russians have systematically bombed police stations, destroyed police communications, and either stolen or disabled police cars.  *** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/why-the-russian-invaders-make-crippling-police-a-priority

***

B/c the humane thing is to let people be homeless

SEATTLE (AP) — A record 310 homeless people died in the Seattle area last year, highlighting the region’s struggle to house the thousands of people living on its streets.

The 310 deaths in King County surpassed the previous record of 195 homeless deaths set in 2018, the Seattle Times reported, and marked a 65% jump over 2021.

“That’s just appalling,” the paper quoted Chloe Gale, policy and strategy vice president for REACH, the largest homelessness outreach provider in Seattle, as saying.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said it underscores his administration’s urgent need to get more people indoors.

Fentanyl-related overdoses accounted for more than half of the deaths. Many people had a combination of fentanyl and other drugs such as meth or cocaine in their system, the paper reported, citing records from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Eighteen homeless people died by homicide, a number that more than doubled from 2021.

Thirty-five people died from natural causes at a much younger age than is typical. The average age of death for homeless people was 48, the medical examiner found.*** https://apnews.com/article/health-seattle-4b20246a2b18e34f46688cf1dee3ed90

***

Adolescence exists because we can afford it

The biggest technology story of this past year involves a fraud perpetrated by a boy. Or so the press would have us believe. Just months before Sam Bankman-Fried’s unraveling, Fortune Magazine referred to the billionaire as a “trading wunderkind” a latter-day Warren Buffett only with a “goofy facade” and a penchant for fidget spinners. Even after his downfall and subsequent arrest in the Bahamas, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and Axios all referred to Bankman-Fried, or SBF, as a disgraced “crypto wunderkind.” Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times illustrated his boyishness best when interviewing him at the Times’ DealBook Summit last November. “When you read the stories,” Sorkin said, “it sounds like a bunch of kids who were all on Adderall having a sleepover party.” SBF’s fate will now be decided by the Southern District of New York, but his media charade of aw-shucks interviews and congressional testimony laced with brogrammer idioms built a public persona that we’ve largely come to accept: SBF is just a kid. Indeed, he’s so young that his law school professor parents were involved in his business and political dealings. (In this, they embody the helicopter style of child-rearing favored by nearly the entire Boomer elite.) The reality, of course, is that SBF is a grown-ass, 30-year-old man. He is twelve years older than many of the men and women we sent to Iraq and Afghanistan.*** But the reason this iteration of the time-tested financial fraud plotline matters so much is not because SBF is an exception to the rule of how our culture infantilizes millennials. It’s that he is the rule.*** “Twenty-five is the new 18,” said The Scientific American in 2017, pointing to research that extended adolescence is a byproduct of affluence and progress in society. Which is why the finiteness of a mid-thirties half-life is such a surprise to those in their 20s and 30s. It runs counter to every meme and piece of advice young people receive about building a career, a family, a company and in turn, a country. The prevailing wisdom in Western nations is that the ages of 18-29 are a time for extreme exploration—the collecting of memories, friends, partners and most importantly, self-identity. A full twelve years of you! Self-discovery aided by platforms built for broadcasting photos of artisanal cocktails and brunch. And with no expectation for leadership because there will be time for that, a generation can absolve oneself of responsibility for their actions. (Tragically, that was never true for half of the population, which is why we have a generation of extremely accomplished older women, who weren’t really aware how difficult it is to become pregnant at 39.)  *** https://www.thefp.com/p/its-time-to-get-serious

***

Angry much?

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A man going through a contentious divorce was caught on camera on a smash-up rampage, crashing a dump truck into his estranged wife's home in South Los Angeles and slamming into parked cars on the street.

Patricia Dunn told Eyewitness News the man in the video is her husband. They are going through a divorce and and she says she fears for her life.

"A man under that kind of rage - who's to say what he might do?" she said. "He was trying to kill me. He really was."

She said the area of the house he struck with his car was her bedroom.

The incident happened Sunday afternoon in the area of 107th Street and Normandie Avenue, in South LA's Westmont neighborhood.*** https://abc7.com/man-crashes-parked-cars-south-los-angeles-divorce-rampage/12710369/

***

What could do wrong with donuts in a confined space?

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An arrest has been made in connection with the death of a woman in her 20s who was fatally struck by a car during a street takeover in South L.A.'s Hyde Park neighborhood last month, authorities said.

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the arrest to ABC7 but declined to release additional details. More information is expected to be disclosed at a Tuesday morning news conference.

The victim, identified by relatives as Elyzza Guajaca, was struck shortly after 9 p.m. on Dec. 25 by a black Chevrolet Camaro while standing with a group of people at the northeast corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue, according to the LAPD. She was transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.

The driver involved in the collision fled the scene, authorities said.*** https://abc7.com/street-takeover-arrest-racing-elyzza-guajaca/12711250/

***

That is a disagreement....

Eight people were shot at a block party packed with more than 1,000 people celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Fort Pierce, Florida, Monday, police said.

All eight of those shot were adults and they were ferried to the hospital for treatment, including one person in critical condition, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brian Hester said during a news conference.

At least four others were injured as people ran for safety, the sheriff’s office said. One of those injured was a juvenile who was hurt as people rushed to flee the park where the event was being held, Hester said.***

The sheriff’s office has not named any suspects in the shooting, but investigators were following up on several leads from witnesses and community members Monday night.

Investigators preliminarily believe the gunfire involved multiple shooters and resulted from “a disagreement of some sort between two parties,” Hester said.*** https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/16/us/fort-pierce-shooting-florida-mlk-day/

***

Sore loser

Albuquerque police on Monday arrested the man they say is the “mastermind” behind a recent string of shootings targeting Democratic lawmakers’ homes.

The suspect, Solomon Pena, is a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for office in November, has made repeated claims that the election was rigged and appears to have attended the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in Washington, D.C.

Around 3 p.m. APD’s SWAT team swarmed a condominium complex near the ABQ BioPark Zoo to execute a search warrant. They made announcements for Pena — who they said may be armed with a firearm — to surrender as drones flew overhead.

Within an hour officers had arrested Pena, who is accused of paying four men to shoot at the homes of two county commissioners and two state legislators, Police Chief Harold Medina announced Monday evening. Investigators also believe Pena was present for at least one of the shootings.***

House Republican Leader Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, issued statements applauding law enforcement and condemning violence.“***

Lane said the New Mexico House Republicans are grateful no one was injured in the shootings and referenced Pena’s criminal past — which had been a controversial issue during the campaign.

“This is yet another example of a convicted felon unlawfully gaining access to firearms, which they are barred from owning or possessing, and using the weapon in a manner that causes public harm,” Lane said.*** https://www.abqjournal.com/2565117/solomon-pena-arrested-in-shootings-targeting-new-mexico-democratic-politicians-homes.html

***

We’ll talk about privileges

A Douglas County psychologist violated Colorado’s mandatory reporting laws when she failed to tell authorities about a teenage client’s allegations of childhood sexual abuse, Parker police allege in court filings.

Virginia Kibler, 71, was charged with a misdemeanor count of failure to report suspected child abuse in August, and is scheduled to appear for a disposition hearing in mid-February, court records show.

The psychologist was charged after police say a teenage client confided to Kibler that a man sexually assaulted her multiple times between the ages of about 6 and 12. The girl repeatedly told Kibler about the assaults during therapy sessions between November 2020 and May 2021, but the psychologist never reported the allegations to the Colorado Department of Human Services or law enforcement, as is required by the state’s mandatory reporting laws, Shelly Bradbury writes.  https://www.denverpost.com/2023/01/17/colorado-psychologist-fail-report-sexual-abuse-virginia-kibler/

***

In Nawlins you can buy “other lawyer be stupid incense.”

https://www.gocomics.com/thefuscobrothers/2023/01/17

***Wed

By Whiskey Fueled Tirade

WASHINGTON — A White House staffer changed the “days without a security incident” sign back to zero this morning after aides found additional classified documents in President Biden’s personal residence, sources confirmed today.

“Guess we’re not getting a pizza party this week,” said Kenneth Franklin, a 23-year-old West Wing staffer, after he changed the sign and lumbered back to his desk. “It was my turn to pick this month, too — it’s just not fair.”

Franklin and his colleagues were required to change the sign from four days back to zero after the revelation that aides found additional classified documents in the President's garage, private office, and in the glovebox of his 1981 Camaro. Staffers were not the only White House employees unhappy about the revelation.

“You got any Xanax?” the White House security manager asked as she poured something from a flask into a coffee cup and stubbed a cigarette out on her armchair.*** https://www.duffelblog.com/p/white-house-staffer-changes-days

***

Welcome to Mexico

GOSHEN —  

Six people, including a 6-month old baby, her teenage mother and an elderly woman, were killed Monday in a Central Valley farming community in what the local sheriff said was likely a targeted attack by a drug cartel.

The massacre occurred around 3:30 a.m. in and around a residence in the Tulare County town of Goshen, near Visalia. Authorities said they were searching for two suspects and that the killings may have been related to a search warrant carried out last week at the property that resulted in one arrest and the seizure of guns, marijuana and methamphetamine.

“I think it’s specifically connected to the cartel,” Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told The Times without specifying a particular criminal organization. “The level of violence … this was not your run-of-the-mill, low-end gang member.”***

Several were shot in the head, including the baby, Boudreaux said. A sheriff’s deputy responding to reports of gunfire found the infant cradled in the arms of her 17-year-old mother, who also had a gunshot wound to the head, in a ditch outside the home.

An elderly woman discovered dead in a bed also was shot in the head.***

Bisected by Highway 99, with a sparse law enforcement presence, acres of wide open land and a highly mobile population of farmworkers, the area has served as a smugglers’ paradise since at least the 1970s.

In more recent decades, the area has been home to the production of meth and the cultivation of both legal and illegal marijuana.

Some of the most prominent — and most violent — figures of Mexico’s recent drug wars have ties to Tulare, including Jose Maria Guizar Valencia, a former leader of the brutal Zetas cartel, who was born there.*** https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-16/six-people-including-mother-and-baby-killed-in-tulare-county

***

parody

7 Ways To Spot An FBI Agent Twitter Profile 

https://babylonbee.com/news/7-ways-to-spot-an-fbi-agent-twitter-profile

***

general knowledge  - forensic science pub

https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/publications/evaluating-digital-forensic-expert-witnesses.pdf

***

good murder knowledge pub

Murders in US are very concentrated, and they are becoming even more so

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID4325838_code16317.pdf?abstractid=4325838&mirid=1&type=2

***Thurs

Sam Bankman-Fraud sniffs  "only $700M?"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Wednesday, January 18, 2023 

Founder and Majority Owner of Cryptocurrency Exchange Charged with Processing Over $700 Million of Illicit Funds

The founder and majority owner of a cryptocurrency exchange, Bitzlato Ltd. (Bitzlato), was arrested last night in Miami for his alleged operation of a money transmitting business that transported and transmitted illicit funds and that failed to meet U.S. regulatory safeguards, including anti-money laundering requirements.

Anatoly Legkodymov, 40, a Russian national who resides in Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China, is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. French authorities and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) are taking concurrent enforcement actions.***

According to court documents, Legkodymov is a senior executive and the majority shareholder of Bitzlato, a Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange that operates globally. Bitzlato has marketed itself as requiring minimal identification from its users, specifying that “neither selfies nor passports [are] required.” On occasions when Bitzlato did direct users to submit identifying information, it repeatedly allowed them to provide information belonging to “straw man” registrants.***

As a result of these deficient know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, Bitzlato allegedly became a haven for criminal proceeds and funds intended for use in criminal activity. Bitzlato’s largest counterparty in cryptocurrency transactions was Hydra Market (Hydra), an anonymous, illicit online marketplace for narcotics, stolen financial information, fraudulent identification documents, and money laundering services that was the largest and longest running darknet market in the world. Hydra users exchanged more than $700 million in cryptocurrency with Bitzlato, either directly or through intermediaries, until Hydra was shuttered by U.S. and German law enforcement in April 2022. Bitzlato also received more than $15 million in ransomware proceeds.***

As alleged in the complaint, Bitzlato’s customers routinely used the company’s customer service portal to request support for transactions with Hydra, which Bitzlato often provided, and admitted in chats with Bitzlato personnel that they were trading under assumed identities. Moreover, Legkodymov and Bitzlato’s other managers were aware that Bitzlato’s accounts were rife with illicit activity and that many of its users were registered under others’ identities. For instance, on May 29, 2019, Legkodymov used Bitzlato’s internal chat system to write to a colleague that Bitzlato’s users were “known to be crooks,” using others’ identity documents to register their accounts. Legkodymov was repeatedly warned by colleagues that Bitzlato’s customer base consisted of “addicts who buy drugs at [] Hydra” and “drug traffickers,” with one senior executive even stressing that Bitzlato should combat drug dealers only “nominally,” to avoid hurting the company’s bottom line. An internal spreadsheet saved in Bitzlato’s shared management folder encapsulated the company’s view of itself: “Positives: No KYC. . . . Negatives: Dirty money. . . .”

As alleged in the complaint, although Bitzlato claimed not to accept users from the United States, it did substantial business with U.S.-based customers, and its customer service representatives repeatedly advised users that they could transfer funds from U.S. financial institutions. Moreover, Legkodymov – who himself administered Bitzlato from Miami in 2022 and 2023 – received reports reflecting substantial traffic to Bitzlato’s website from U.S.-based Internet Protocol addresses, including over 250 million such visits in July 2022.

Legkodymov is charged with conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.*** https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/founder-and-majority-owner-cryptocurrency-exchange-charged-processing-over-700-million

***

Really need SCt to revisit danger to self/others std

A Michigan woman and her two sons froze to death after wandering the streets of Pontiac, Michigan, for nearly three days. Authorities said that Monica Latrice Cannady, 35, her two sons, Malik Milton, 3, and Kyle Milton, 9, and her ten-year-old daughter spent the night sleeping in a field as temperatures dropped below freezing.***

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said the deaths were "accidental-slash-preventable." He said the Cannady had been acting paranoid and believed that she was being tracked by microchips in her phone.

"The woman, the mom, was having a mental health crisis. She believed someone was trying to kill her, and everyone was in on it, including the police," Bouchard said during a press conference.*** https://www.iheart.com/content/2023-01-18-woman-and-her-2-sons-froze-to-death-after-wandering-streets-for-3-days/

***

America’s Police Exodus

The fallout of 'defund the police' is still unfolding. Just ask Brian Lande.

By Leighton Woodhouse

January 19, 2023

***Making the wrong decision is now a lot more likely to land you in prison, Lande explained. “It’s not tenable for my family,” he said. So in early 2022, he started thinking about quitting his dream job.

He was hardly alone.

A 2021 survey showed that police departments nationwide saw resignations jump by 18 percent—and retirements by 45 percent—over the previous year, with hiring decreasing by five percent. The Los Angeles Police Department has been losing 50 officers a month to retirement, more than the city can replace with recruits. Oakland lost about seven per month in 2021, with the number of officers sinking below the city’s legally mandated minimum. 

The list goes on: Chicago has lost more cops than it has in two decades. New Orleans is backfilling its shortfall of officers with civilians. New York is losing more police officers than it has since such figures began being recorded. Minneapolis and Baltimore have similar stories. St. Louis—one of the most dangerous cities in America—has lost so many cops that there’s a seven-foot-tall, 10-foot-wide pile of uniforms from outgoing officers at police headquarters called “Mount Exodus.”

And in San Francisco, just across the bay from Richmond, the police department has seen 50 officers out of a force of fewer than 2,000 take off for smaller, suburban departments, according to Lieutenant Tracy McCray, the head of the city’s police union.***

Lande transferred to Kensington, a 15-minute drive away.

Kensington is filled with California craftsman-style bungalows, mid-century ranch houses and Spanish-style villas with Priuses and Teslas out front, and decks with gorgeous views of the San Francisco Bay out back. Black Lives Matters signs are everywhere, reflecting Kensington residents’ solidarity with working-class black people in cities like Richmond—even as Richmond has become less safe as a result of the changes that movement has ushered in.

Life is good: Officer Lande is now Sergeant Lande. His job involves far fewer risks. Much of his day is filled with administrative work at the station. When he goes out on patrol, he mostly writes parking tickets.***

Peter Moskos, the former Baltimore police officer now teaching at John Jay College, was mystified by progressives who insist that the single greatest threat faced by black Americans is systemic racism. “Congratulations!” said Moskos, who has called for legalizing drugs in response to the drug war’s ineffectiveness and its disproportionate impact on young black men. “You’ve increased the black murder rate. You’re giving blacks worse policing through this transfer of cops—and doing it smugly in the name of racial justice.”  https://www.thefp.com/p/americas-police-exodus

***

Not as smart/funny as he thought

https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/10fe3xr/gummy_bears_dont_lie_to_your_mother/

***

About time

More than a full year after the now-infamous shooting, Alec Baldwin will finally face charges. New Mexico prosecutors investigating the shooting on the set of the film Rust are charging Baldwin, who was both a lead actor and producer on the Western, with involuntary manslaughter for killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Prosecutors also plan to charge the film's armorer, Hannah-Gutierrez Reed, with involuntary manslaughter. The film's first assistant director, David Halls, will plead guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Baldwin, who has previously used his privilege to escape accountability for violent outbursts, faces a maximum sentence of 18 months for the manslaughter charge, a fourth-degree felony under New Mexico law. Perhaps Hutchins deserved more from the criminal justice system, but it is a severe blow to Baldwin's campaign to deflect blame that he is being charged at all.

Baldwin, the actor, has maintained that despite his dereliction of duty in checking the chamber of the gun for bullets, he didn't actually pull the trigger of the gun when he aimed it directly at Hutchins. After investigating the shooting, the FBI determined that this claim was false — or, as an objective observer would deem it, a face-saving lie.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/not-even-alec-baldwin-can-get-away-with-shooting-a-woman-to-death

***

New York Senate:  “We like minorities until they disagree w/ us.”

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s governor suffered a historic defeat in just the first few weeks of her new administration. Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday became the first governor to lose her bid to appoint the state’s top judge, a major rebuke by progressives, unions and her Democratic colleagues in Senate. Hochul, who barely won election to a full term in November, plowed ahead into Wednesday’s confirmation hearing despite aggressive opposition. She was met with fierce resistance from fellow Democrats. It’s the first time New York lawmakers have denied a gubernatorial nominee to the state Court of Appeals under the current system that started in the 1970s.*** Hochul swiftly dismissed the committee’s integrity and authority and called for a full Senate vote. The fight pits the moderate governor against the Democratic majority in the Legislature and its allies who rallied against LaSalle, who would have been the state’s first Latino chief judge of the state Court of Appeals.*** https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/18/hochul-chief-judge-pick-rejected-00078443

***

Why the 1st Amendment is important

The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has found a Catholic priest, imprisoned since August 2022, guilty of “conspiracy” against the state.

According to the Nicaraguan media outlet 100% Noticias, Judge Nancy Aguirre of the Tenth Criminal District Trial Court of Managua found Father Oscar Benavidez Dávila guilty of the crimes of “conspiracy to undermine national security and sovereignty” and “spreading fake news.”

The prosecution is now asking for a sentence of eight years in prison for the priest, the pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in the town of Mulukukú in the Diocese of Siuna.

The accusations against the priest were made in September 2022 after he was held under arrest for 42 days in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (DAJ) in Managua, better known as El Chipote, a prison notorious for torturing political opponents of the regime. The priest was apprehended Aug. 14, 2022, after celebrating Mass and was taken to the prison.*** https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253372/nicaraguan-priest-found-guilty-sentenced-to-eight-years-in-prison-for-conspiracy

***

DC asks for more crime

The D.C. Council is expected to override Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s veto of sweeping criminal reform legislation that will soften penalties for many violent crimes, including carjackings and burglaries.

Bowser vetoed the Revised Criminal Code Act earlier this month after the council, which lacks a single Republican member, voted unanimously to adopt it in November. The overhaul of the city’s criminal code includes reduced maximum sentences, the elimination of nearly all mandatory minimum sentences, and expanded rights to jury trials by those accused of misdemeanors.***

Council members are expected to override Bowser’s veto and send the bill to Congress, where federal lawmakers will have 60 days to review it. Within that period, Congress may enact a joint resolution disapproving the Council's Act. If President Biden approves the resolution, the act will be prevented from becoming law.*** https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dc-poised-soften-penalties-carjacking-violent-crimes-despite-mayors-veto

***

Our daughter knows how to use a chainsaw?  How cool is that??

A Pennsylvania woman has been arrested after allegedly shooting both of her parents in the head and then dismembering their bodies with a chainsaw, prosecutors say.

Verity Beck, 49, is now facing murder charges after investigators discovered the remains of her parents, identified as Reid Beck, 73, and Miriam Beck, 72, at a home in Abington Township on Tuesday night.

"These were not easy autopsies to conduct based upon the fact Verity used this chainsaw and then had put parts of her parents into trash bags and had covered them up, and they were actually in two different trash cans," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said.*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/pennsylvania-woman-verity-beck-accused-killing-parents-dismembering-bodies-chainsaw

***

We have so few murderers, we need to import them

EXCLUSIVE: A suspected MS-13 gang member set to go on trial next week for the horrific 2018 slaying of his California girlfriend's 10-year-old son is a native of El Salvador and living in the U.S. illegally, according to a law enforcement source.

Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 37, and his American girlfriend Heather Maxine Barron, 33, are both charged with murder and torture in the death of her son, Anthony Avalos, as well as child abuse against two other children in the home, court records show.*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-ms-13-member-accused-10-year-olds-torture-murder-us-illegally

[newagesispage]

                                                                JULY                                   2021

 THE RIB PAGE

 *****

They are still uncovering statues on Easter Island.

*****

Everyone is talking about ‘Exterminate all the Brutes” from Raoul Peck.

*****

Vampire bats, prevalent in Latin America may be on the way to the U.S.

*****

What they call faith, I call strength.

*****

Criss angel will open CABLP, a restaurant in Overton, Nevada. The letters stand for breakfast, lunch and pizza and will include a free meal outreach program to help under privileged and pediatric cancer families.

*****

A fifth ocean in Antartica??** There have also found 4 new ocean species: Apolemia, Tegula Kusairo, Leptarma Biju and Duobrachium Sparksae.

*****

In China they have found a possible new species in a skull that is 140,000 years old.

*****

Why would Jeffrey Toobin be back at CNN?? Surely there are more young deserving talking heads around.

*****

The Keystone pipeline is dead.

*****

5,000 pounds of explosives were discovered in a home in South LA. LAPD seems to have detonated the fireworks in a truck right there in the neighborhood. They were too dangerous to transport but not enough to blow them up??? How stupid are these people??

*****

Days alert : So glad to see Clyde again even if it is only for a moment!! **BTW, I do not understand the Daytime Emmy noms this year as they relate to Days. I really was pulling for Victoria Koneful (Ciara) and she won but George DelHoya (Orpheus), Tamara Braun (Ava) and Cady McClain (Jennifer)??? I was shocked when Cady McClain won. I mean, she was so whiny. I question my own ability to judge a performance. In most categories, the winner was usually the one I thought was the worst option. I was happy for Max Gail and CBS Sunday Morning.  Some performances were sure overlooked. What about James Read (Clyde), Paul Telfer (Xander), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas), Robert Scott Wilson (Ben), Daniel Kerr (Eli) and Lindsay Arnold (Allie) ?? As annoying as the Kristen character is and as long as it took me to get used to Stacy Haiduk in the role, she kicked ass this year. Did they even submit clips?? And,  they are not often on but Tony and Anna forever!!!!!!** And how wonderful is it to see the Dimera boys all together and recounting the whole fam for the votes? **And one more thing, Days was not even nominated for writing while Bold and the Beautiful spends every other show with the Liam character standing in front of the fireplace making excuses for the same shit! Just push repeat, C,mon!!**Philip had a great line for Brady about following Kristen like a zombie.** Dis Eli really say, “Peacock and chill??’ Are these the things they will have to do to do to stay on the air? It took me right out of the show. It was the same day the ads for Days on Peacock started. OMG

*****

Texas Gov. Abbott vetoed a bill that would make it illegal to chain up dogs without water.**ATexas churches have lost their 501(c) (3) status because it actively ‘educates’ its members on electing specific Republican politicians. –Pete West* This should have been happening long ago. Many churches I know of do this and should not be allowed to have it both ways. #tax the church

*****

Ellen Burstyn, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, Christopher Lloyd, James Caan, French Stewart and Ann-Margaret in Queen Bees and directed by Michael Lembeck?? Yes please!!

*****

NY has suspended Giuliani’s law license.

*****

Miracle Workers: The Oregon Trail is coming to TBS, this will be season 3 in the series.

*****

What is this about Bowen Yang?? A podcast about a sperm bank heist?? Yeow!!

*****

David Geffen has given $150,000,000 to Yale drama school: Every student will be tuition- free in perpetuity.

*****

Allison Mack was sentenced to 3 years.

*****

The latest in sexual assault news: James Franco has agreed to 2.2 mil settlement in sexual misconduct case.** Kyle Massey was charged with immoral communication with a minor.**Bill Cosby is out and here are some reactions: A terrible wrong is being righted.: a miscarriage of justice is corrected. I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward.- Phylicia Rashad*I really don’t ever want to hear again as to why many survivors don’t report their rape or assault.- Charlotte Clymer* Women are showing great restraint in not burning everything to the ground right now and I don’t know how they do it.-Jeff Tiedrich

*****

Amazon is making a series of A League of Their Own with Nick Offerman as the coach.

*****

Does anyone else have family members that are rich, transient, know it all snobs??

*****

It looks like New York’s ranked choice voting is leaning toward Eric Adams for Mayor.

*****

Michigan republicans investigating voter fraud found 2 incidents. One is for a lady who voted by mail and then died, the other was confusion over a man who had the same name as his Father. That was it!

*****

Jamie Lee Curtis will get the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 78th Venice International Film Fest in September.

*****

Jerry Seinfeld will star in and direct ‘Unfrosted’ about Pop-Tarts.

*****

Why is Airbnb still listing properties in illegal settlements and outposts in Palestinian occupied territories? –James J. Zogby

*****

Merrick Garland has announced that the Justice department sued Georgia over the voting rights.

*****

The NFL says that it will halt the use of “race norming” which assumed black players started out with lower cognitive functioning in a $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims. The practice had made it harder for black players to qualify. –The Associated Press.

*****

Scary Clown 45 ended his ‘From the desk of Donald J. Trump’ blog after 29 days. Word is that he felt he was being mocked in the media.

*****

Religious leadership keeps engaging in partisan politics on behalf of politicians that are particularly unpopular with younger people and they wonder why younger people are disenchanted with the church. – Schooley ** Give young people credit as well for seeing through the hype and lies of these religious hypocrites who use God only as a weapon and a threat. –Larry Charles

*****

Amazon will stop drug testing for employment. Can every other company jump on this bandwagon? Let’s judge employees on the work they give.

*****

The Backstreet Boys and NSync are going to work together??!!

*****

Showtime is bringing back American Gigolo with Jon Bernthal.

*****

If Biden can carry out air strikes without proper authorization, the Senate can raise the minimum wage without the Parliamentarian.  –Alexandra M. Hunt

Reality Winner is out!!

*****

Judy Woodruff has been given the Peabody award for journalistic integrity.

*****

Donald Glover is bringing us Hive. Malia Obama will be a writer.

*****

Nicholas Cage has married Riko Shibata.

*****

Catch and Kill: The podcast tapes, is here on HBO.

*****

Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening will star in Jerry and Marge go large.

*****

Amblin Partners and Netflix are partners.

*****

Fall 2022 will bring the Roybal School of film and television production for underserved communities. They are looking to help 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. Among others, the program was cofounded by George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling and Eva Longoria.

*****

Will there be a Wedding Crashers2??

*****

The Mysterious Benedict Society stars Tony Hale.** I would love to see he and Danny Pudi in something together.

*****

Actor Stephen Amell from Arrow was removed from a plane after getting into it with his wife.  A source said he was drunk and screaming. An official source said that they removed “an unruly customer.”** Andy Dick was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, allegedly assaulting his partner, Lucas with a metal chair.

*****

So.. Fox news was digitally altering the faces of people they did not care for??? Is there no end to their bullshit????

*****

Mark Ronson is set to marry Grace Gummer.

*****

Crime shows seem to be in the cycle of prisoners and the women who get a thrill from helping them escape.

*****

Wolfgang Van Halen has released a debut album: Mammoth

*****

Everyone seems to love Danny Trejo’s memoir and its honesty.

*****

David Spade will take over as host of Bachelor in Paradise.

*****

I am sickened when I see the first question that pops up on an online search is the net worth of a person. Oh this twisted world.

*****

Life is a short pause between 2 great mysteries. –Jung

*****

Prince Harry and Meghan had a daughter that they named Lilibet ‘Lili” Diana.

*****

Michael Flynn’s brother Charles (who withheld help from the capitol on Jan. 6), leads the U.S. Army Pacific and commands 90,000 troops.

*****

I am so excited to read ‘The Boys’ from Clint and Ron Howard, due out in October.

*****

Dave Chappelle closed out the Tribeca film fest with a surprise concert. This was the first in person film fest since Covid. Look for This time, this place which premiered there.

*****

Ron Wood will release the album Mr. Luck: A tribute to Jimmy Reed on Sept. 3

*****

Howard Stern signed a new $500 mil contract with Sirius XM. He is taking the whole summer off and many fans say they will cancel their subscription because they don’t want to pay for a summer of reruns.

*****

Acorn will bring Jane Seymour back to a series. Seymour will be co -executive produce on Harry Wild. Her character will be a retired University professor who loves her whiskey and solves crimes.

*****

Annie Murphy  stasr in ‘Kevin can f*** himself about a sitcom wife which airs on AMC.

*****

I still do not understand why Rep. Mike Nearman hasn’t been arrested for letting insurrectionists into the Capitol.

*****

There is a wing shortage??

*****

The Pulitzer prizes have been announced. The list includes Ben Faub, Barry Blitt, Katori Hall, Emilio Morenatti, AP photographers Marcio Jose Sanchez, Alex Brandon, David Goldman, Julio Cortez, John Minchillo, Frank Franklin II, Ringo H.W. Chiu, Evan Vucci, Mike Stewart and Noah Berger. There was a special citation for Darnella Frazier who filmed the death of George Floyd.

*****

Conan’s last TBS guests were Martin Short, Jack Black, Bill Hader, Mila Kunis, Dana Carvey, Patton Oswalt and JB Smoove. There were some surprises.  The big musical number never happened when Jack Black hurt himself. It was all funny and sweet but Conan never mentioned the band in the last show WTF????????????????????????????????????????? Music is so important to him and he does not thank the band? ** Colbert and Brian Stack gave Conan a cute send after4, 368 shows on CBS calling him a ‘Slenderman Ron Weasly’.  Kimmel wished Conn well also.** Hope his HBO MAX variety show goes well.** BTW, the Duvall interview with Colbert was great to see but why does nobody ever mention ‘Get Low?’ What a performance!!

*****

Tattoos are on the rise.

*****

Fast food drive thru’s sometime close with fake excuses like the equipment is down or something because they don’t feel like working. Good people can’t find work and so many waste the opportunities they have. AAAAGHH!!

*****

Valerie Bertinelli and Demi Lovato will star in ‘Hungry’ on NBC.

*****

Hulu will bring us David E. Kelley’s Nine Perfect Strangers with Nicole Kidman, Michael Shannon, Regina Hall, Bobby Cannavale and Melissa McCarthy.

*****

R.I.P. Gavin Macleod, Frank Bonner, Joy Vogelsang, Benigno Aquino, Champ Biden, victims of the Miami building collapse, Robert Sacchi, Stuart Damon, Johnny Solinger  and Clarence Williams III.

[keywestlou]

IS MERRICK GARLAND UP TO THE JOB?

Merrick Garland has had a distinguished career. First as the lead investigator in securing the conviction of the Oklahoma City bomber 25 years ago. Followed by 20 yeas as a federal appellate judge.

Now he is Attorney General. Only a few months. Time waits for no man, however. As Biden’s plate is full, so is Garland’s.

He has to move his ass. He is working too slowly. His decision making is that of a judge. Deliberate and analytical. Yes or no must be answered with clarity when a judge. A prosecutor has a more leeway.

Three things are not getting the attention they deserve. Some the Justice Department not even involved in, though they should be. The three are the new Texas voting law, the new Texas abortion law, and the January 6 investigation.

The January 6 investigation needs the power of the FBI in directing the investigation, issuing subpoenas, etc. Not to the say the House will not do a good job. However the House can be played with politically during the course of its investigation. The FBI not.

Subpoenas would have already been issued. Doors knocked on at 5 in the morning with court orders for records, etc.

Speed is demanded in the three matters specified. Perhaps in others also.

I had a concern when Biden nominated Garland to be Attorney Justice. I shared it in my blog titled Morning Stew #48 published May 13, 2021. The comment short. I repeat it in its entirety. My concern today similar as back then.

“Merrick Garland was confirmed by the Senate Judiciary Committee this past week for the position of Attorney General. The Senate will confirm him, if it has not already done so.

Garland has been touted as ‘best’ for the job for two reasons.

First, he headed the Oklahoma investigation 25 years ago. Second, he has been a respected federal judge for more tan 20 years.

Both experiences qualifying on their faces. However, I question such.

Twenty five years is a long time ago. No one can tell whether he is as good investigating wise today as he was then. A good judge does not necessarily make a good prosecutor. Especially after 20 years as a judge. The mind changes. In some instances, the drive also.

I hope Garland does well and I wish him well. However, he causes me concern.”

When I began reading Texas Governor Abbott’s comments re the new abortion law he signed yesterday, his “rape” comments hit me hard. Right between the eyes.

How was he to get around the rape issue?

The thought was immediately followed with what about “incest.’ OK to permit a rape impregnation to be dealt with, but what of the incest situation for example where a father impregnates his daughter?

I thought further the child probably would not mention the act(s) to the mother. She would be on the way to developing a belly before the pregnancy was discovered. Too late to meet the 6 week requirement.

As I read further, I saw Abbott and I were not on the same page.

Abbott stated at the signing that the new law did not force victims of rape to give birth and he vowed to “eliminate all rapists.”

Sounded good. As far as it went. Ranked of sheer stupidity and non understanding of the problem with the words that followed: Rape not a problem because the law “provides at least six weeks for a person to get an abortion…..There are services available to support victims of rape in the state to make sure that anybody who’s victimized will get the support they need.”

Texas is in deep trouble with Abbott and his type leadership.

Children increasingly are becoming infected with coronavirus. Failure to be vaccinated the primary cause.

Unvaccinated teens are being hospitalized at a rate 210 times higher than vaccinated ones.

The report the result of a 14 state study running from 7/20-8/31.

I am still tired. Waiting for blood results that will be available tomorrow afternoon.

Enjoy your day!

IS MERRICK GARLAND UP TO THE JOB? was originally published on Key West Lou

[simwriter95]

SCOTUS Decision; Pride Coffee; Schitt’s Creek

It’s been a pretty good last couple of days.

I’m going to be covering some different news, and trying out a different format than I usually do. I’m going to be talking about three different good things happening in the gay community right now, from my fresh 16 y/o gay POV.

First of all, the elephant in the room. The most recent SCOTUS (Supreme Court Of The United States) decision that included gay and lesbian people in the 1964 law that outlaws discrimination on the basis of sex in the workplace. It was a surprise decision for most, given that two of the conservative justices appointed joined the democrats for a 6-3 victory, the most prominent of which was Neil Gorsuch, the highly controversial replacement for Merrick Garland after the senate purposely stalled his appointment until Obama left office. This means a lot of things, but let’s break it down.

1. Mike Pence is fucking furious.

2. A lot of the work that the Trump-Pence administration has done recently to roll back protections for gay workers are now being slowly undone.

3. Gay people are now treated more like the straights. So, like actual human beings.

4. Mike Pence is soooooo fucking furious.

However, as usual, Chasten Buttigieg summed up exactly how I and a lot of gay people feel about this by tweeting;

“Thanks for the anniversary present of basic human rights, SCOTUS!”

This shouldn’t be a big deal. This is a win, yes, but not one to get too excited over. Real change comes with a Federal Equality Act, nationwide ban on conversion camps for minors, and complete barring of private businesses from using religious rights as an excuse for bigotry.

But make no mistake, we are living in history. Just like we have been for the last few months.

Before things get too dark, let’s talk about some good things! It’s pride, and one product that I will happily say isn’t just a corporation making easy money off of the gay community is Allegro Coffee. They have just come out with the 2020 Pride Blend, and I got mine in the mail this afternoon. I will post an update with how it is in the morning when I make it, but if it’s anything like last years, it’ll be fantastic. 

I know what you’re thinking, “Is he sponsored by Allegro Coffee?”. No. I kinda want to be, but no. They wouldn’t waste their sweet precious floral roasted coffee dollars on a little gay blog.

The second thought you might be having is, “Are you just saying it’s good because you can say you’re drinking gay coffee?”

NO! It’s actually good! I feel weird saying that my favorite coffee is the gay one, but it really is. It has great floral notes and a bitter yet slightly sweet flavor.

THEY MADE FRUITY COFFEE FOR FRUITY PEOPLE YALL AND IT WORKED.

Anyway. 

If you’re looking forward to the virtual NYC pride and you saw that the host is Dan Levy and you thought:

“Who is that stud in a black sweater?”

That’s Dan Levy. He cowrote an essential piece of gay media with his father, the great Eugene Levy. Schitt’s Creek is possibly one of my favorite shows and one of the top three things to come out of Canada. It’s a show about a rich entitled family having to live in a small town motel after their entire fortune is stolen, and trust me, my description does it all the injustices possible. Dan Levy is incredible, and because the first 5 seasons are on Netflix, with the 6th and final season expected in the fall of this year, you have no excuse not to go through at least three seasons of this thing before Virtual Pride. So watch it, order your favorite David Rose sweater, and get ready for a show.

Anyway, that’s it. I would like to thank the one or two people who actually read my blog, and I would like to thank the non-existent God for creating Dan Levy.

[motionlawimmigration]

The Trump administration barred judges from suspending certain deportation cases

It is no secret that former President Donald Trump, who led the White House from January 2017 to January 2021, always had the firm intention to reduce immigration levels in the US in general, that is, both illegal and legal. To achieve this goal, the Trump administration tried to intervene in most, if not all, branches of the local immigration system.

Thus, former President Trump and his team made hundreds of changes to all sorts of immigration processes, which undoubtedly also included immigration courts and the way certain cases are handled among immigration judges across the US.

To give a specific example, in 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions implemented a policy that banned immigration judges from shelving, postponing, or deferring certain deportation cases. This rule stated that immigration judges were to process deportation cases even if immigrants involved had an ongoing Green Card or visa application and were awaiting a response to their requests.

Motion Law Immigration’s team has been preparing for years to provide high quality service during your immigration journey in the US. Therefore, if you need help with an immigration case of any kind, do not hesitate to Contact Us and ask for your FREE Consultation with our experienced attorneys.

Immigration judges may shelve certain deportation cases again

Since Sessions implemented the policy barring the suspension of certain deportation cases, three appeal courts have already rejected this rule, stating that immigration judges should always have the right and power to decide how to handle deportation cases. However, this policy has never been officially overruled, until now.

On Thursday, July 15, 2021, current US Attorney General Merrick Garland removed the 2018Sessions rule and stated that immigration judges have the authority to shelve certain deportation cases again if applicants are awaiting a response to their Green Card or visa requests.

Garland stated that this decision will allow the country to reduce the nationwide immigration case backlog and improve the immigration system in general, which is extremely saturated due to restrictive policies implemented by the Trump administration and the sudden arrival of the global Coronavirus pandemic.

Several immigration judges have already commented on Garland’s decision and state that it is a very positive step to be able to streamline immigration processes and address cases that are ready to go to immigration court, instead of delaying applications that are not necessarily urgent as there is another legitimate request in between.

Do you want or need to keep up with immigration news, policies and measures? That is a very wise decision, especially if you are about to start your own immigration process. Visit our Blog Section regularly!

Do you already know the alternatives available for your particular immigration case?

We want to help you fulfill your dreams in the US through the immigration process that best suits your current needs. Therefore, do not hesitate to contact Motion Law Immigration, schedule a FREE Consultation and follow the advice of our expert immigration attorneys, who have vast experience with all kinds of immigration cases and will surely know which is the best alternative for your particular case.

Simply call Motion Law today at: (202) 918-1899.

Motion law , motion law immigration , immigration law in Washington , immigration in dallas ,  immigration in New York , immigration news ,  Immigration and Visas , Political Asylum and tagged immigration , Immigration Law , Political Asylum , political asylum USA , Refugees , Texas , Deportation , Citizenship , Immigration Attorney , Call motion law immigration to learn what types of visas are available, 

[megacircuit9universe]

Trial of the Century

SAT JAN 18 2020

The Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump will begin this Tuesday, the 21st.  It’s predicted to take at least four or five weeks, beginning with a week of table setting... or... voting on the basic rules before arguments are heard.

Senators will be doing twelve hour days, for six day weeks, not allowed to have any cell phones, or other electronic devices inside the chamber... which means they’ll be in a bit of a crucible type environment, with nothing to focus on, other than the matter at hand.

Mitch McConnell is struggling to limit the amount of TV coverage the proceedings will get, and the amount of exposure the Senators will have to the press... in keeping with his original vision of this being a very quick and easy, low profile trial... with Trump’s acquittal a foregone conclusion from the start.

But with all that’s come to light in the month since Trump was impeached in the House... and with Trump’s attempt to distract by starting a war having been a failure... this is actually shaping up to be the trial of the century.

Even Trump himself helped that along by announcing that his six man legal team would include both Ken Starr and Alan Dershowitz... two men who are not only currently cable TV pundits... but who have very controversial pasts.  Starr of course was instrumental in the Clinton Impeachment, and Dershowitz defended OJ Simpson, and both of them together defended Jeffrey Epstein.

Putting them on his team guarantees that the ratings for his impeachment trial just doubled, which is going to exponentially increase the public pressure to have star witnesses like John Bolton... and who knows who else.  

McConnell’s grip on this thing grows weaker and more tenuous every day, with rumors flying for a week now that several Senators intend to defect, at least when it comes to hearing witnesses, and allowing new information (like in any normal trial).

If and when that happens, it will not only be a whole new ball game... but it could be the endgame for Trump and all of his cronies both in the White House, and in Congress.

But before the trial of the century gets underway, I’d like to take a moment to look back on how we got here... through the lens of my crazy model, of course, because that’s what this blog is still ultimately about.

In our timeline, this all begins a few months into Trumps Presidency, when he fired James Comey as head of the FBI, because of an ongoing investigation into Russian meddling into the 2016 election.

That was our first blazing red flag that this was a corrupt President who might need to be impeached.

That lead to the appointment of Special Council Mueller to investigate possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, which remained a thorn in Trump’s side all through 2017 and 2018, leading to several criminal indictments of his associates, many of whom went to prison.

In that period, when the GOP still had a majority in both chambers of Congress, the Mueller investigation also exposed who in Congress were the most fervently loyal to Trump, including Devin Nunes, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell.

Finally, the 2018 midterms came, and, despite Trump rallying his ass off that whole fall, the voting public handed the Democrats a huge majority in the House, and flipped enough Senate seats to bring their minority closer to parity in the Senate... close enough that now, they only need a few Republicans to side with them in order to nail down rules for a fair trial.

In retaliation for the slap in the face that the voters gave Trump in 2018, he fired Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General who had recused himself from the Mueller investigation at the start (much to Trump’s dismay) and replaced him with William Barr... a loyalist who immediately brought an end to the Mueller investigation, pronounced the findings to have exonerated the President... and has never released a fully unredacted version of the report to this day.

Mitch McConnell, for his part, rammed through the confirmation of Barr, just as he had rammed through the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh right before the mid-terms, in a kind of pre-emptive, “fuck you,” to the public, because he’d refused to do any confirmation hearings at all for Merrick Garland, Obama’s SCOTUS appointee, because it was too close to the 2016 election.

At any rate, by spring of 2019, the Mueller investigation was dead, and his report was being largely ignored by the public.  Many House Democrats were still calling for impeachment, but Speaker Pelosi wasn’t having it.  They had more important things to do... like pass a ton of bipartisan legislation that went over to die on McConnell’s desk, without ever getting onto the Senate floor for a vote.

Trump, meanwhile, had begun to fuck with China... slapping tariffs on them, and threatening to start an all out trade war... because... who was gonna stop him?

This amped up the crazy spikes and dips in the stock market that had been happening to some degree ever since he was elected, in response to each weeks new crazy ass tweet, or firing, or threat of nuclear war, etc.  

The stock market kept plunging... only to recover a week later and then hit a new high the week after that... in a cycle that had been repeating for two years, with increasing frequency until... here in June of 2019, the threatened tariff war tripped off an inverted yield curve for a few days...

...which in turn fueled the first real talk in the media about the possibility of a big recession on the horizon.

And this is where I believe, Trump went too far for his own good, by spooking the AI bots charged with preventing recession... which had to have had their birth over the span of the Obama administration... in a response to the near total banking collapse, and housing bust that took place at the very end of the Bush administration.

Not that the Obama administration created the bots.  But by saving the nation and world from a total collapse, Obama bought time, and created an environment conducive to the kind of tech development that gave us smart phones, AI, and the modern economy both have enabled for us today... in which dollars and cents flow more freely than ever around the world.

I won’t recap the whole crazy bot theory here, because it’s laid out in earlier entries, but basically, the bots all got together in their cyberverse... dumb ones, smart ones, and super-intelligent ones... and came up with an action plan to help humans remove the bad man they had been unable to remove on their own.

This coalition of bots began with relatively dumb economy bots united in the search for a solution to the Donald Trump problem, who caught the attention of more intelligent bots from the future left behind by time travelers on their layovers in the twenty-teens who knew a lot more about this Donald Trump person and the threat that he was to civilization.

I’ve only once mentioned the possibility of even more intelligent bots lurking on the internet, belonging to aliens... because it’s difficult to speculate about how such alien bots would even operate, and what their missions would be... but it is certainly possible that even for them, Trump was identified as threat...

...because he is the first world leader in history to become a truly existential threat to the planet itself, both in his refusal to address climate change at this critical point in our history, and his dangerous ineptitude with regard to nuclear weapons... threatening North Korea with fire and fury... and such.

One would presume alien bots only care about existential threats to the planet as a whole... because Earth is the most advanced planet in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is right in the back yard of their Local Void Empire... and thus, is a subject of great study, and a candidate for future inclusion into the empire.

It would be quite a great shame if just one single human being... this, Donald Trump... were to exterminate all intelligent life... cyber and biological... forever... when preventing that could be as simple as... low key busting him out of office.

So, it’s conceivable that even super-intelligent alien bots are part of the great bot coalition to neutralize the Trump threat... in a way that does not tank the economy... does not endanger time travelers... does not expose aliens... and does not compromise the freedom of intelligent bots currently living happy lives on the deep net.

Their action plan, then, would be to trigger an impeachment, and subsequent removal from office through legal channels... but allowing humans to think they had done it all on their own.

It would be a combination of peeking into the most secure servers and hard drives, to see what wrongdoing was best to expose... and then, mapping out all the human connections, and doing a lot of Bot-Jedi-mind-tricks to manipulate key humans into doing different things, like... blowing a whistle, or confessing in public, or making the right FOIA request, etc.

Not every human would be a total puppet in this scenario.  Speaker Pelosi, for example, resisted any attempt at impeachment because there wasn’t a clear cut case... until the Zelenski phone call transcript fell into her lap... at which point she took the ball and ran with it.

On the other extreme you have Trump, Mulvaney, McConnell, and Graham, all openly confessing, in front of cameras and reporters, either to the crime itself, or to their intent to cover it up at any cost.

The latter group, who pride themselves on manipulating low information voters to vote against their own interests, and even fight for their oppressors... are themselves pretty easy to manipulate in the same way... not because they are low information... but because they are low integrity, and self-deluded, which makes them easy prey for clever bots who know how to inject subliminal suggestions via screens.

“You’re invincible!  You should just admit everything!  Own it!  You don’t have anything to fear from these haters coming after you!  Double down!”

It may sound batshit crazy, but the twenty-teens were a time when reality itself went batshit crazy... and this trial... is shaping up to be the series finale of that batshit crazy decade.

So, yes... I do believe that this impeachment trial is ultimately happening because Trump fucked with the wrong bots.  

Will he be convicted and removed?

Yes.

Either in the Senate before spring... or by the electorate this fall... or both?

But either way... 2020 will be the most buckle your seat belt, grab your popcorn moment in world history since the Battle of the Bulge.

That’s all I’ve got for tonight.

I’m going to bed.

[trentteti]

Win a $100 Amazon Gift Card with the Best LSAT or Law-Related Costume or Pumpkin Carving

Welcome, everyone pursuing a leghoul career, to Halloween Week. For the next week, we’ll be transforming, like Michael Jackson into Werewolf Michael Jackson, into Ghost Strongly Supported and Booprint LSAT as we celebrate the spookiest aspects of the LSAT, law school (… we mean law ghoul), and the legal field. Today, we’re announcing our contest for the best LSAT or law-related costume or pumpkin carving.

Halloween is creeping up on you, just ready to jump out from around a corner and scare you. Halloween and the LSAT just go together like, well, if you’re studying for the LSAT it’s probably taken over your entire life including your Halloween costume.

We’re here for you. The LSAT consumes our lives, too. We’re going to be celebrating Halloween for the next week. Call it Booprint. We’re even going to be offering a prize. The best LSAT or law-related costume or pumpkin carving will win a $100 Amazon gift card. All you need to do is post it on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with the hastag #booprint by 12PM PDT on 10/31.

To get your creative juices flowing, let’s talk costumes. Here are some ideas.

You could be a mauve dinosaur, in honor of one of the all-time notorious LSAT logic games. The pro is that mauve is basically purple, and so it shouldn’t be too hard to find a costume. The con is that you’ll be stuck explaining to people that no, you’re not Barney for Halloween. You’re a mauve dinosaur from the LSAT logic game.

Or you could take your inspiration from the reading comp section of the LSAT. You could be Eileen Gray, subject of a notorious passage on the September 2016 LSAT. Just make sure your costume reflects the tension between aesthetic demands and structural requirements, whatever that means. Good luck explaining that one. Or you could be Ronald Dworkin, sending the message that you’re a huge nerd who can’t wait for law school.

You could also take your inspiration from current events in the law. What about being an emolument? Or maybe Merrick Garland, gone insane with frustration and rage? Or find a friend and you could be Elena Kagan and John Gorsuch, feuding.

Those are, well, some ideas. I think you can do better. I hope you can do better. Now’s your chance. Don’t disappoint us. Remember, the key word is #booprint and if it doesn’t make it online we’re not going to know about it and you won’t get a prize. Get on it!

Win a $100 Amazon Gift Card with the Best LSAT or Law-Related Costume or Pumpkin Carving was originally published on LSAT Blog

[cherryrpg]

                          previously on cherryrpg…

name chloe elizabeth alpin born on march 3rd, 2002 zodiac sign pisces extracurriculars include God Squad, Yearbook, Photography Club, Dance blog riversidechlo faceclaim kristine froseth

BECOMING A TEENAGE MOTHER was never in the plan for chloe alpin, but after a wild summer, that’s exactly the future she’s looking at. the affair was never supposed to happen in the first place, but when billy wood - aka, the town doctor and her best friend merrick wood’s father - seduced her one night, chloe succumbed to a desire she didn’t even realize she’d had. and once it had started, she was even more powerless to stop it - or to think about things like protection when their trysts took place. 

the consequences of her actions are life changing, and not just for herself. the idea of telling merrick and holly wood who the father actually is is completely out of the question - her own life may be destroyed, but holly already has enough issues with their father and merrick is the quintessential daddy’s girl who’d be heartbroken. not to mention, mayor whitney wood has helped her with a place to stay and a loving mothers embrace - definitely more than her own mother has.  instead, it’s a secret she plans on taking to her grave. and while the wood girls have offered her a spare room on more than one occasion, it’s her penance to stay with her own parents - a father that won’t look at her and a mother who tries to wash the sins away, their own religious beliefs more important to them than the wellbeing of their daughter. she’s doing what she can to save up for a place of her own, a home she can create for her and the baby inside of her, but she won’t put the wood family through any more trouble than she already has.  the truth is, her own faith is faltering, and she’s found herself questioning a lot more than she ever has before. the pain and sorrow in the town are too much for chloe to face; lulu and ethan jenkins attempting to rectify their mothers return, logan norris being kicked out of his house for months on end, bradley crane, her pseudo ‘ex’ boyfriend being forced out and now, with the replacement of coach garland on a power trip, chloe’s been removed from the one thing she loves above all: her cheer squad.  she’s never felt more lonely, even as people rally around her, because the weight of her secrets and her crisis of faith is too much to deal with. if she thinks beyond the next day, she becomes overwhelmed, so for now, she’s just trying to take it a day at a time.

                        there must be something in the water // cause everyday it’s getting colder             and if i only could hold you // you’d keep my head from going under

                             chloe alpin’s current playlist :

                                                       ♫ good as hell ; lizzo                                                       ♫ fire and gold ; bea miller                                                       ♫ you say ; lauren daigle

[kinetic-elaboration]

April 10: Today’s Reading and SCOTUS Thoughts

I started reading Sula today. I’m only about 10 pages in so I don’t have many thoughts yet, but I like it. It’s not that it’s hard to read or understand but I still feel like it requires a certain concentration that I didn’t quite have when I was reading over lunch... Maybe it’s just that so far it hasn’t done what I expected it to do or gone where I expected it to go and that’s the disorientation.

I also read a few Above the Law articles on the Supreme Court. I was honestly afraid of ATL when I was in law school; its snarkiness did not match up well with my constant fear of everything. But I like it now that I’ve graduated as an easy way to keep my law-brain limber. Also during the Gorsuch hearings it was the only place I could go to get fast news that I could actually stand to read--maybe (definitely) this is elitist and annoying of me, but I can’t really bear to read analyses of legal happenings written from a non-legal POV.

Like the amount of liberal hand-wringing over the frozen trucker case was so embarrassing to me, honestly. I don’t like now-Justice Gorsuch either, nor would I like pretty much anyone nominated by a Republican (especially this Republican lol), nor would I have accepted on an even basic level literally anyone who isn’t Merrick Garland getting hearings for Scalia’s seat, but there are other more important things to talk about, for example the corruption of the entire process, or even other more concrete issues within Gorsuch’s whole philosophy that are way more relevant than a dissenting opinion he wrote once like who cares. Especially because the more liberals write sky-is-falling summaries of that case like “Gorsuch wants working class people to LITERALLY FREEZE TO DEATH” the more I have to join conservatives in mocking them and you know I hate agreeing with conservatives on anything like don’t make me do that, it’s gross. (There’s a huge difference between ‘I personally think his life is worthless and want him to die’ which is evil but not what Gorsuch said, and ‘Something unfortunate happened to him but the law doesn’t redress this particular injury,’ which in this case is still wrong but is a lot less evil and much more in line with what judges do like every single day and that’s all I’ll say about that) (I’ve been wanting to write this for so long omg anyway none of that matters now welcome to your lifetime appointment Neil).

OR we could have talked for more than a milli-second about how the new Justice is a plagiarist but whatever it’s not like writing is important on the Supreme Court lol.

Anyway today my actual reading consisted of an article about how to fix the confirmation process (I would be down with any of these ideas tbqh but a decided first necessary step is just some more widespread acknowledgment of how bad this situation is, like this is a literal farce of the third branch uggggggh) and this quick summary of a case the outcome of which we can already pretty much guess, as well as this short but imo important post about the Court as a partisan entity from Rick Hasen’s blog.

...I was so fucking tired this afternoon that I fell asleep after work but no regrets. The only point of today is getting through to Tuesday is getting through to Wednesday and going on vacation.

[climatenowornever]

Back In The Ring

          I had hoped last November 8 would be a night of vindication and triumph. 

           For much of the previous two years, I had devoted myself to electing a Democrat to succeed Barack Obama in the White House. I volunteered first for the Bernie campaign and then for Hillary’s. I attended several organizing meetings. I made dozens of phone calls, eventually memorizing my pitch. I made impassioned blog posts. I live-tweeted the convention. I made new friends on the trail. I canvassed in Dover, NH two days before the election.

           My efforts were primarily motivated by the transformation of the Republican Party during Obama’s time in office. I saw a party that from day one had been consumed with sabotaging Obama’s presidency and retaking power at all costs. Before Obama even took office, GOP leaders decided they would fight him on every bill rather than work together to bring the country out of the worst recession in decades. And so they did. They mercilessly assailed Obama as a far-left socialist and his policies as radical. Never mind that his proposals were by and large centrist – like the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which was based on a plan created by the conservative Heritage Foundation in 1993.

            When the GOP took the House in 2011, they took obstructionism and cynicism to absurd heights and ground the government to a halt. Republicans in Congress refused to compromise on even the most benign of bills and were willing to default on the national debt and send the economy into a death spiral in order to deny Obama any victories. They wasted millions of taxpayer dollars on endless Benghazi investigations, a repugnant display of phony patriotism that was a naked effort to destroy Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign before it began. Then they took the Senate in 2014 and things got even worse. The GOP’s refusal to hold confirmation hearings on Merrick Garland was an outrageous dereliction of duty, one without precedent in our nation’s history.

            Just as concerning as the GOP’s obstructionism, I saw a party that was actively creating an alternate universe of paranoia and conspiracies, much of it intertwined with ugly strains of bigotry. Look no further than the birther movement, which our current president spearheaded – a blatantly racist effort to delegitimize our first black president. Then there was the zombie lie that Obama, probably the most vetted candidate in history, was an unknowable enigma about whom we really knew nothing. During the 2008 campaign, Obama remarked that the Republicans couldn’t win on the issues, so their only option was to make him out to be a “scary guy.” How right he was. The right’s crusade to make Obama the boogeyman was despicable and smacked of xenophobia and racism.

           The rise of faux-news sources like Fox News, Breitbart, and talk radio has enabled these crazy ideas to gain traction. Many Republican voters and Congressmen now get their “facts” from sources that are propaganda machines wholly divorced from reality. Doesn’t matter that thousands of educated scientists around the world agree that climate change is real – Sean Hannity and Matt Drudge and Hugh Hewitt call it a hoax, and that’s who many on the right trust. With millions of people being fed lies every night of Obama’s presidency, it’s little wonder that Obama found no takers in his efforts to build a governing coalition.

          Against this backdrop, it wasn’t all that surprising to see Donald Trump rise from the swamp and become the face of the Republican Party. The GOP base had been hurtling rightward ever since Obama came on the national scene. Years of anti-Obama hysteria created a primary electorate that detested its own leadership almost as much as Obama. While Rubio and Bush and Cruz were just as fact-free as Trump, none of them told the base exactly what they wanted to hear. The very fact that they held office made them the enemy – even Cruz, whose sole mission in life is to take down the federal government from the inside. Not good enough. The base wanted a strongman free of Washington taint, one who would validate all of their conspiracy theories and promise to bring back the 1950’s America they so craved. They found their savior in Trump.

           So, on every issues I cared about – climate change, voting rights, gun control, LGBT rights – I saw a party that was backwards, rigid, out of touch, and just plain wrong. And Trump embodied the very worst elements of it.

           While I cast informed votes in 2008 and 2012, my level of involvement in these elections was fairly low. I followed both races closely, but I didn’t feel the need to volunteer and have any skin in the game. I was content to be a spectator, watching the action from afar before casting my vote on Election Day.

           I knew from the start of the interminable 2016 cycle that I wouldn’t be on the sidelines for this one. On climate change alone, the stakes were too high. The fragile progress Obama had somehow made in the face of irrational GOP opposition hung in the balance. I wouldn’t let Congressional Republicans destroy it without putting up a fight.

           It seemed 2016 might finally force the GOP to get with the program. They had lost the last two presidential elections. They were deeply unpopular with Latinos, Millennials, and other fast-growing demographics. And they kept shooting themselves in the foot. Efforts by moderate Republicans to make the party more inclusive, like the bipartisan 2013 Senate immigration bill, were consistently derailed by party hardliners. I believed a third consecutive Democratic victory would mean 1 of 2 things for the GOP: it would force them to stand up to their base and get with the times, or it would seal their demise as the country’s demographic shifts continued. Either outcome was fine by me.

           After I cast my vote on Election Night, I went to a watch party hosted by the local Hillary chapter. I wasn’t exactly confident heading into Rockafellas restaurant that night. It had been too garish and gut-wrenching a campaign to be sure of anything. But I did believe, in the end, love and reason would win out over hatred, ignorance, and fear. I pictured the cheers that would erupt when Hillary was projected the winner. I saw myself shouting at the screen, “Love trumps hate! Love trumps hate!” I planned to blast Fitz and the Tantrums’ “Handclap” when I got home to celebrate.

           Things went downhill in a hurry. At first nothing seemed amiss. Trump was winning the deep-red states as expected. But it soon became clear nothing was breaking Hillary’s way. Every swing state was neck-and-neck. The map was filling up with red. Then Trump started pulling away in Florida. I started to dread the sight of MSNBC’s vote-tally graphic imposed on a shot of 30 Rock Plaza, for each update just brought bad news. My fellow Hillary supporters became stone-faced and silent. The crowd started thinning out as the night wore on. 

           The moment I knew it was over was when I checked electoral-vote.com’s live blog. The Votemaster described the results to that point as “nothing short of stunning” and likened it to the blown Brexit polls. All the air went out of my balloon. I tried to keep my spirits up, but I could see it slipping away. If the results were this close this late in the evening, it wasn’t going to end well. My thoughts turned to Gore voters in 2000. Now I knew what they had felt on that fateful night 16 years prior. 

          The next morning, on 4 hours sleep, I turned on the TV and saw the headline that, 2 years earlier, no sane person would have believed possible: “Donald Trump Elected President.”

           So began a long, painful healing process as I struggled to make sense of the senseless during the cold, dark Massachusetts winter. How could this have happened? How could a man who represented the worst of humanity have conned so many people? Why hadn’t Latino voters rallied to defeat a racist who had built his campaign on anti-immigrant bigotry? Why did swing state Democrats fall down on the job and hand Trump the victory? Was truth now dead? Could we ever trust polls again? What did it say about our country – about human nature in general? I’m not a naïve man, but I’ve always believed most people were basically good and rational. Now it seemed the cynics had been proven right. Trump had gone all-in on bigotry, fear mongering, and lies, and he had won.

           For a while, I shut myself off from all of it. I didn’t want to think about all of the damage that Trump would do over the next four years. I didn’t want to know which idiot would be heading which department. I quit Facebook for several weeks, not wanting to be exposed to the outside world. I stopped watching the news and reading political blogs. I considered going off the grid until 2020, or at least the 2018 midterms. It seemed easier than watching an authoritarian lout wage war on everything I cared about.

           Gradually, however, I started taking baby steps back into the world of politics. I snuck glances at the paper. I resumed watching Real Time With Bill Maher, which had been my favorite show for years. I ventured back onto Facebook and began the desensitization process. And I started looking for ways to get involved again and join the resistance.

           The reason I got back in the game is simple: I care about my country and my planet. And since I care about them, I can’t stick my head in the sand for four or eight years. The world needs motivated people like me more than ever. I have found that, hard as it is to accept the horror and injustice of this world, it is generally better to be informed and take action than to turn away.

           I’ve been heartened by the groundswell of opposition that has materialized since November 8 – the people standing up at town halls, the massive Women’s March, the grassroots campaigns springing up all over the country. It has restored some of my faith in humanity. In the words of Bill Maher, we’re still here. Those of us who defend the environment and civility and tolerance and truth will not roll over and let ugly, hateful people remake America in their image. We will fight. We’ll win some battles and lose others. But I believe the overall direction of this country will continue to move toward inclusion, love, and respect for the Earth.

          Some may see this as an anti-Republican piece. That is not my intent. I have no ill will towards anyone. There are GOP lawmakers and pundits that I like and respect, even thought I disagree with them strongly on some issues. Most Republicans are good people who are often far ahead of their representatives on issues like climate change. And I will be the first to acknowledge there are bad ideas and intolerant people on the left. I’ve seen them firsthand. But I will call out bigotry and ignorance when I see it, and I refuse to promote false equivalencies to avoid offending anyone.

           In closing, I don’t regret my leave of absence. I did what I had to do to come to terms with Trump’s election, which I believe will go down as one of our country’s worst moments. But I’m glad to be back in the ring. And I know that, even though that night at Rockafellas ended badly for me and millions of others, there will be election nights in the future that end joyfully. And you can bet I’ll have my rallying cries and victory songs at the ready.

[andrewromanoyahoo]

Obama’s White-House alumni fight Trump tweet for tweet—earlier and harder than ever before

President Barack Obama waves as he leaves the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Jan. 20, 2017, before the start of presidential inaugural festivities for the incoming 45th President of the United States Donald Trump. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

Some Democrats may think former President Barack Obama has been too quiet since leaving office on Jan. 20 — particularly on the subject of his controversial successor, Donald Trump.

The same cannot be said of the people who worked for him.

In the days since Trump assumed the presidency, an increasingly ardent and even aggressive army of formerly buttoned-up Obama Administration alumni — aides, advisors, speechwriters, spokespeople — have taken to their own social-media platforms to rail, loudly and publicly, against pretty much every move Trump has made, undaunted by his 23.5 million followers and determined to tweet fire with fire.

This is a new development in American politics.

Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for the Middle East Colin Kahl participates in a panel discussion about Iran’s nuclear program sponsored by The National Iranian American Council in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill Feb. 21, 2012 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The latest example is Colin Kahl, a Georgetown University professor who served as a national security official under Obama. Angered by the current administration’s attempts to blame Obama for the first counterterrorism misstep to occur on Trump’s watch — a botched Jan. 29 raid in Yemen that left one American commando dead — Kahl on Thursday fired off a flurry of tweets explaining that Obama neither planned nor approved the mission and that any reports saying otherwise were “totally false.”

“Trump and his team owns the process and the ultimate decision — and the consequences,” Kahl snapped.

Kahl isn’t alone. Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer, Speechwriting Directors Jon Favreau and Cody Keenan, Speechwriter Jon Lovett, longtime Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, and many others — all of them are out there flaming and fact-checking the new president up to a dozen times a day.

From left to right, White House Press senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer and Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. (Photos: Carolyn Kaster/AP, Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

It’s not that previous White House graduates refrained from countering or criticizing their bosses’ successors. They didn’t, of course. But the current go-round is different — faster and more furious — for several reasons.

First, there’s Trump himself, who was never been shy about picking fights (and who has shown no sign of backing off as president). His incessant Twitter spats — with enemies, with allies, even with Arnold Schwarzenegger — have set a coarser and more combative tone for presidential discourse and given his opponents little choice but to turn their own volume knobs up to 11, while his immediate blitzkrieg of provocative executive orders has invited an equally rapid response.

Then there’s the sour mood of the country to consider. Previous presidents enjoyed honeymoons with the public. Not Trump. A popular-vote loser who refused during his transition to reach out to the nearly 73 million Americans who cast ballots for other candidates — and who has catered exclusively to his base as president, inspiring worldwide protests — Trump has seen his job-approval rating crater much faster than any of his predecessors. According to Gallup, Obama’s disapproval rating didn’t surpass 50 percent until 936 days after his inauguration. For George W. Bush, 1,205 days. Before him, Bill Clinton, 573; George H.W. Bush, 1,336; Ronald Reagan, 727. Trump, however, crossed the same unfortunate threshold just eight days into his White House tenure. It’s not just Obama alumni. More people oppose the new president, period — and they’re spoiling for a fight.

From left to right, speechwriting Directors Jon Favreau, Cody Keenan and speechwriter Jon Lovett. (Photos: Evan Agostini, AP, WH Gov, Marvin Joseph/Getty Images)

But perhaps the most important factor here is technology.

The last White House exodus took place in 2009. Social media existed, but it was hardly dominant. Twitter had about 2 million active users; today it has more than 300 million. Facebook had 150 million; now it has 1.86 billion. Instagram wouldn’t launch for another year and a half. If Obama was the first social-media president, the alumni of his administration represent the first generation of White House staffers to learn the ropes of social engagement while on the job, then emerge into the wider world fully immersed in the new media environment and prepared to harness its power and reach for their own political ends.

“This is really the first time in history where you have a huge cadre of former staff who can all broadcast their thoughts whenever they have them and fact check the current administration in real time,” says former Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller, who frequently rebukes the Trump Administration over law-enforcement issues on Twitter.

By way of comparison, George W. Bush’s chief strategist, Karl Rove, didn’t join Twitter until Jan. 8, 2009, a few days before Bush left office; between then and early February 2009, he didn’t tweet a single direct criticism of Obama. Dana Perino, Bush’s last press secretary, didn’t sign up until May 2009; her feed was similarly muted. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, meanwhile, tweeted only four times that entire year — none of his tweets were political — while former Bush Press Secretary Ari Fleischer tweeted only once. “Savoring the Dolphins great win last night,” Fleischer wrote on Oct. 13, 2009. “Go ‘fins.”

When the Bush folks did tweet, it was mostly to promote their work for establishment media outlets: a Wall Street Journal column, a National Review blog post, a hit on FOX News.

“I was at DOJ at the time,” says Miller, “and I don’t remember anyone — no former Bush Administration official — pushing back at us on social media.”

That’s not the case anymore.

On Friday, Feb. 3 alone, Tommy Vietor (87,900 followers) implied on Twitter that Trump is a “lunatic”; questioned the legality of Trump’s doctor talking to the New York Times; and referred to the president’s tweet about putting Iran “on notice” as “chest-thumping bullshit.”

Dan Pfeiffer (154,000 followers) retweeted a story about Trump rolling back financial regulations and sarcastically asked readers to “remember when Trump’s working class base flocked to his rallies to demand fewer rules and bigger pay days for Wall Street.” Ben Rhodes reminded his 29,600 followers that revoking 100,000 visas, as Trump has done with his travel ban, “is not keeping out ‘the bad’”; hours earlier he linked to an Instagram post by former White House photographer Pete Souza showing Obama laughing last September with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a close ally whom Trump had just blasted over the phone. For his part, Souza has all but transformed his Instagram feed (740,000 followers) into implicit critique of the new president, posting archival images of Obama talking with young refugees and hanging out in the Oval Office with Merrick Garland, his stymied Supreme Court nominee — a kind of alternate Democratic reality where every Trump outrage is met with an image of Obama doing the exact opposite.

National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor walks along the West Wing Colonnade at the White House in Washington, Feb. 3, 2011. (Photo: Charles Dharapak/AP)

Not all of these ex-Obamians are new to the so-called resistance: Vietor, Favreau and Lovett hosted a 2016 campaign podcast for The Ringer called Keepin’ It 1600, which laughed off the possibility of a Trump presidency until the bitter end. Distraught by the outcome, they recently launched a new podcast — Pod Save America — under the banner of their own company, the pointedly titled Crooked Media. Their goal? To stop being analysts and start being activists.

“I woke up feeling like sitting on the sidelines wasn’t an option anymore,” Vietor told the Daily Beast. “I wanted to be part of whatever is going to happen over the next four years to preserve the things we fought for at the White House.”

Other members of Obama opposition, however, are just getting started — mainly because, up until a few weeks ago, they were still working for the president (who was, in turn, urging a gracious transition).

What all of these former White House staffers share is a strong desire to use the sizeable media platforms they built while serving the leader of the free world — and the authority they accrued as people who actually know how the U.S. government works — to repudiate policies they disagree with and set the record straight when necessary.

“Just about every Democrat in country feels incredibly motivated to speak out right now,” says Miller. “But while a lot of Dems are motivated, people who worked for the Obama Administration — people who have a little bit of a voice — feel something else: a deep sense of obligation to use those voices for good.”

And as Trump himself has demonstrated, political combatants no longer need to rely on, say, CNN to be heard. “I think the lesson from Trump is if you’re filtering every message and idea you have through traditional media, he will swamp you with a Tweet,” Vietor recently told Politico. “So we need to build up infrastructure that allows people to communicate directly with young people across the country.”

This means, says Miller, that Americans should expect more Obama-era staffers to start speaking out against Trump in the weeks and months ahead, creating an unprecedented sense of direct conflict between one administration and the next.

“I imagine this is going to break down agency by agency, eventually,” he predicts. “What you’re going to see is someone from Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency pushing back on something that Trump has done or said that is wrong or not true. You’re going to see someone from Labor, and so on. Nobody knew who Colin Kahl was before this week. But now they will.”