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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:30:44 GMT -8
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station..
This is Udderly Ridiculous
Donald Trump once floated a plan for ranchers to use ladders to get their cattle over the border wall, according to a new book by Miles Taylor, the former Trump administration official who famously criticized Trump in an op-ed under the pen name Anonymous.
Trump, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, made immigration a focus of his 2016 campaign for president. He followed through with hard-line anti-immigration policies, including building a physical wall at the southern border, a travel ban mostly affecting Muslim-majority countries and a "zero tolerance" policy that separated children from their parents.
Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, has warned that a second Trump administration, or a MAGA successor, will be even worse.
As president, Trump would steer briefings to his "favorite subject" and run through his "list of cruelly imaginative immigration policies," Taylor writes in his upcoming book, Blowback: A Warning to
In his book, Taylor recalls that in a March 7, 2019, meeting, Trump "out of nowhere" complained that ranchers in Texas were being allowed to open doors in the border wall to allow their cattle to reach the Rio Grande.
"No doors. I don't want doors," Trump said, according to Taylor. "How crazy is this? There are doors in the border wall? It's stupid. They can just walk up, open the door, and thousands of [illegals] rush in."
Kirstjen Nielsen, then the homeland security secretary, told Trump that this wasn't true, Taylor writes. But Trump "didn't care" and ordered them to acquire any land where ranchers had access to the Rio Grande.
"Just buy the land. I know more about land than any other human on Earth. Let's do it, okay?" Taylor quotes Trump as saying.
"Give the ranchers ladders. They can use ladders to get to the other side, but not doors. You could use small fire trucks. Call the local fire stations, and use the ladders on their trucks to help them get over."
The plan was "so incandescently stupid I couldn't laugh," Taylor remembers thinking at the time.
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:34:41 GMT -8
Is Hambriston the Most QOP City in Texas?
Governor Greg Abbott of Texas drew online ridicule after sharing a fake article about country singer Garth Brooks being booed off the stage in a purported display of patriotism.
On Sunday, the Republican politico responded to an article about Brooks being driven off the stage by booing “patriots” condemning his prior messages of tolerance and inclusiveness at the 123rd annual Texas Country Jamboree in the city of Hambriston.
But Hambriston is not a real city. The jamboree is also not a real event. In fact, the entire article was fake, written by the Dunning-Kruger Times satirical website.
Abbott nonetheless responded to the article in earnest from his personal Twitter account.
“Go Woke. Go Broke,” Abbott wrote about the false story.
“Garth called his conservative fans assholes. Good job, Texas,” Abbott added, referring to the booing.
Abbott deleted the tweet shortly after posting. But several Twitter users took screenshots of Abbott’s comments, mocking him.
“The event and the town mentioned don’t even exist! Does he even know his own state?” wrote one Twitter user.
Another user encouraged Abbott to hold a rally in Hambriston “if he can find it on a map”.
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:36:12 GMT -8
Twitter Poops On Africa
Former employees of Twitter Africa who were laid off as part of a global cost-cutting measure after Elon Musk’s acquisition have not received any severance pay more than seven months since leaving the company, several sources told CNN.
In late May, the former employees, who were based in the Ghanaian capital Accra, accepted Twitter’s (TWTR) offer to pay them three months worth of severance, the cost of repatriating foreign staff and legal expenses incurred during negotiations with the company, but they have not received the money or any further communication, the sources said.
“They literally ghosted us,” one former Twitter Africa employee told CNN.
“Although Twitter has eventually settled former staff in other locations, Africa staff have still been left in the lurch despite us eventually agreeing to specific negotiated terms.”
The former employees say they reluctantly agreed to the severance package without benefits, even though it was less than what colleagues elsewhere received.
“Twitter was non-responsive until we agreed to the three months because we were all so stressed and exhausted and tired of the uncertainty, reluctant to take on the extra burdens of a court case so we felt we had no choice but to settle,” another former employee told CNN.
The former employees spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity because they said they were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements as part of their exit terms.
According to Carla Olympio, an attorney who is representing the former employees, the last communication from Twitter or its lawyers was in May, shortly after settlement was agreed.
CNN reached out to Twitter for comment on the status of the severance package for the former employees in the Ghana office but received an automated response – a poop emoji. It’s unclear whether Twitter still has a media relations department.
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:38:03 GMT -8
Previous Guy Plans to Go Full Putin
The New York Times is reporting that allies of former President Donald Trump plan to go into his second term with guns blazing against anything that could restrain his power as president.
As the paper writes, Trump and his allies want to rip apart many of the guardrails that were put in place after the presidency of Richard Nixon that prevented presidents from abusing their power to go after political opponents.
"Mr. Trump intends to bring independent agencies — like the Federal Communications Commission, which makes and enforces rules for television and internet companies, and the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces various antitrust and other consumer protection rules against businesses — under direct presidential control," reports the Times. "He wants to revive the practice of 'impounding' funds, refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated for programs a president doesn’t like — a tactic that lawmakers banned under President Richard Nixon."
In addition to this, Trump plans to strip employment protections from career civil servants and then go on a purge of government employees whom he deems to be disloyal.
READ MORE: Revealed: Trump coup lawyer's role in crafting right-wing novel about Jesus-loving SCOTUS justice
Russell T. Vought, who ran the Trump White House's Office of Management and Budget, explicitly says that the goal is to "identify the pockets of independence and seize them" within the federal government.
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:40:59 GMT -8
Did They Arrest the Billion-Year-Old God?A Florida family that ran an online “church” that peddled a poisonous industrial bleaching agent as a miracle medical cure will go to trial on federal charges in Miami this week. The Genesis II Church of Health and Healing was operated out of a home in Bradenton in Manatee County. Through websites, social media, books and podcasts, the Grenon family promoted their “Miracle Mineral Solution” as a cure for 95% of the world’s known diseases, including HIV/AIDS, autism, Alzheimer’s, leukemia and COVID-19. The substance was sent through the mail to consumers in exchange for a “donation” to the Genesis church. Prosecutors say the Grenons made over $1 million before federal authorities cracked down on them for distributing an unapproved and misbranded drug in 2020. The family — Mark Grenon and his sons Jonathan Grenon, Joseph Grenon and Jordan Grenon — were arrested and charged after they continued to distribute and promote the substance and were openly defiant of court orders. Officials have blamed the ingestion of MMS for several deaths, as well as severe illness and hospitalization. It was in that year that Mark Grenon claims to have founded the organization with a man named Jim Humble in a plan to avoid governmental regulation and arrest as they promoted MMS as a miracle cure. Humble, a man who has dabbled in Scientology and professed to be a billion-year-old god, began promoting MMS as early as 2006 in self-published works after he claimed to have discovered its medical properties while on a gold-mining expedition in South America. Florida family behind ‘church’ that sold bleach as a COVID cure goes to trial this week
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:43:31 GMT -8
The New QOP Attack Line: Biden is Trying to Solve Problems
The speech by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) at the Turning Point Action conference left some progressives scratching their heads after her attacks on President Joe Biden appeared to be more like compliments.
Ranting at the far-right crowd, Greene attacked programs like Social Security, Medicare and other programs started by the late Democratic presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson.
She began by warning Joe Biden is trying to "finish what FDR started" by trying to address problems related to "education, medical care, urban problems, rural poverty, transportation, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and welfare."
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:48:35 GMT -8
Lilly Will Make a FortuneEli Lilly's experimental drug donanemab slowed the progression of Alzheimer's by 60% for patients in the earliest stages of the brain-wasting disease, according to trial data presented at a medical meeting on Monday. For those patients, the drug slowed cognitive decline by nearly twice the rate Lilly reported in May for the trial's overall treatment group. The full analysis showed results were less robust for older, later-stage patients as well as those with higher levels of a protein called tau that has been linked to Alzheimer's disease progression. The findings underscore that "earlier detection and diagnosis can really change the trajectory of this disease," said Anne White, president of neuroscience at Lilly. The study showed that brain swelling, a known side effect of drugs like donanemab, occurred in more than 40% of patients with a genetic predisposition to develop Alzheimer's. The company had previously reported that 24% of the overall donanemab treatment group had brain swelling. Brain bleeding occurred in 31% of the donanemab group and about 14% of the placebo group. The deaths of three trial patients were linked to the treatment, researchers reported. Doctors are likely to use "very stringent MRI safety screening while we treat these patients," she said. Lily is Making a Fortune, Too.
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:53:51 GMT -8
Crimean Punishment Traffic on the single bridge that links Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea and serves as a key supply route for the Kremlin’s forces in the war with Ukraine came to a standstill on Monday after one of its sections was blown up, killing a couple and wounding their daughter. The RBC Ukraine news agency reported that explosions were heard on the bridge, with Russian military bloggers reporting two strikes. The bridge suffered damage, according to Russian authorities, after one of its sections was blown up, killing two people and wounding a child. Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee said the strike on the 19km (12-mile) Kerch Bridge was carried out by two Ukrainian sea drones. Grey Zone, a heavily followed Telegram channel affiliated with the Wagner mercenary group, reported that there were two strikes on the bridge at 3:04am (00:04 GMT) and 3:20am (00:20 GMT) on Monday. A video posted by Crimea 24 online news channel showed a section of the bridge tilted and hanging down, but there was no indication any portion had fallen into the water. Russian authorities said the attack did not affect the piers but damaged the decking in a section of one of the two road links. Rail traffic resumed later on Monday morning after being halted for about six hours. Russian officials blamed the attack on Ukraine, but Kyiv did not openly admit it. Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command, said the explosions could be a Russian provocation. But RBC Ukraine and another Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda said the attack was planned jointly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian navy, and involved sea drones. In what appeared to be an indirect acknowledgement of Ukraine’s involvement, SBU spokesperson Artem Degtyarenko said details of what happened would be revealed after Ukraine has won the war. The bridge is crucial for the supply of fuel, food and other products to Crimea, where the port of Sevastopol is the historic home base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. The bridge also became a major supply route for Russian forces after Moscow invaded Ukraine last year, sending forces from Crimea to seize most of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region and some of the adjoining Zaporizhia province.
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:55:26 GMT -8
Russia Is Going Against the Grain
Shortly after Ukraine’s successful attack on the bridge, Russia announced that it would not renew the deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grain under the supervision of Turkey. Cutting off the flow of grain from Ukraine could have serious implications for both grain prices and the availability of food in parts of Africa that are heavily dependent on grain from this region.
Since it was put in place last July, nearly 33 million tons of wheat and corn have been exported from Ukraine under the program. Over half the grain purchased for the U.N.’s World Food Program in 2022, and three-quarters purchased so far in 2023, came from Ukraine. U.N. officials credit the grain deal with reducing world grain prices by 20%.
The last ship to leave a Ukrainian port under the expiring deal pulled away from the port of Odesa on Sunday. Multiparty talks including officials from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the U.N. had been ongoing in Istanbul with hopes of extending the grain deal. Those talks now seem to have ended. China, which is the largest destination for Ukrainian grain, is eager to extend the deal and can exert its own pressure on Russia.
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 8:59:57 GMT -8
The Thomas Crow Affair Goes OnFor months, Harlan Crow and members of Congress have been engaged in a fight over whether the billionaire needs to divulge details about his gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, including globe-trotting trips aboard his 162-foot yacht, the Michaela Rose. Crow’s lawyer argues that Congress has no authority to probe the GOP donor’s generosity and that doing so violates a constitutional separation of powers between Congress and the Supreme Court. Members of Congress say there are federal tax laws underlying their interest and a known propensity by the ultrarich to use their yachts to skirt those laws. Tax data obtained by ProPublica provides a glimpse of what congressional investigators would find if Crow were to open his books to them. Crow’s voyages with Thomas, the data shows, contributed to a nice side benefit: They helped reduce Crow’s tax bill. The rich, as we’ve reported, often deduct millions of dollars from their taxes related to buying and operating their jets and yachts. Crow followed that formula through a company that purported to charter his superyacht. But a closer examination of how Crow used the yacht raises questions about his compliance with the tax code, experts said. Despite Crow's representations to the IRS, ProPublica reporters could find no evidence that his yacht company was actually a profit-seeking business, as the law requires. “Based on what information is available, this has the look of a textbook billionaire tax scam,” said Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “These new details only raise more questions about Mr. Crow’s tax practices, which could begin to explain why he’s been stonewalling the Finance Committee’s investigation for months.” Crow, through a spokesperson, declined to respond to ProPublica’s questions. As ProPublica reported in April, Crow lavished gifts on Thomas for over 20 years, often in the form of luxury trips on Crow’s jet and yacht. One focus of the investigations is whether Crow disclosed his generosity toward Thomas to the IRS, since large gifts are subject to the gift tax. Another is whether Crow treated his trips with Thomas as deductible business expenses. (While the data sheds light on how Crow might have accounted for Thomas’ trips, there are no clear implications for Thomas’ own taxes, experts said.) How Harlan Crow Slashed his Tax Bill by Taking Clarence Thomas on Superyacht Cruises by Paul Kiel July 17, 5 a.m. EDT In lavishing gifts on the Supreme Court justice, the billionaire GOP donor may have violated tax laws, according to tax experts.Is Buying a Supreme Court Justice a Business Expense?
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 9:01:45 GMT -8
Is Rasmusse Really RACEmMussen?
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 9:07:14 GMT -8
These People Are Going to Vote for a Black Man? South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott – whose presidential campaign announced this week that it has more than $21 million in cash reserves – is getting fresh attention from deep-pocketed donors looking for alternatives to the front-runners in the GOP primary, people familiar with the outreach say. Scott met late last month with billionaire businessman Ron Lauder for dinner in South Carolina, two sources familiar with the discussions confirmed to CNN. The two men, accompanied by one aide each, met for about an hour outside Charleston and discussed Scott’s background, his path to the nomination and how the 2024 race is shaping up, one person said. They have talked again in recent days, the source said. So far, Lauder – an heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics fortune – has not made a commitment to back Scott or anyone else in the GOP nomination fight, a source familiar told CNN. Lauder, a long-time friend of former President Donald Trump and financial supporter of Republican candidates and causes, made clear last year that he would not support Trump’s bid. And his recent interaction with Scott – now considered to have long odds of becoming the GOP’s standard-bearer in 2024 – underscores that some big GOP donors remain dissatisfied with Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running a far second behind Trump in many polls. And it is not just Lauder — friend of Trump and former supporter — who thinks Tim Scott is the shining knight to slay the dreadful dragon that is Trump. Next month, Scott is scheduled to get face time with more Republican donors at a fundraiser organized with help from Andy Sabin, a metal mogul who said he has switched his support from DeSantis to Scott. Scott is “the only candidate running for president that I’ve met that nobody has something bad to say about,” Sabin told CNN on Thursday. Nobody Has Anything At All To Say About Him
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 9:09:09 GMT -8
You're Making Things Up Again Donald
Legal experts and critics lashed Donald Trump over the weekend after he fabricated a law he claimed gives presidents the “absolute and unquestioned right” to take any documents when they leave office.
The former president made the claim during a speech at the conservative Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday.
While railing against last month’s federal Espionage Act indictment over his handling of classified documents taken from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump claimed: “Whatever documents a president decides to take with him, he has the absolute and unquestioned right to do so.”
“This was a law that was passed and signed,” he insisted. “And it couldn’t be more clear.”
Legal experts did not agree. Laurence Tribe, a legal scholar and Harvard University professor emeritus, said “no such law exists.”
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 9:13:09 GMT -8
The China Symdrome
China’s economy barely grew in the second quarter from the first quarter and youth unemployment hit a record high in June, providing evidence of a fading recovery that risks leaving the global economy underpowered this year as recession stalks the U.S. and Europe.
The sluggish pace of growth in 2023 is piling pressure on Beijing to reignite an expansion that is in danger of fizzling out as consumers refrain from spending and exports slump. A drawn-out real estate crunch and shaky local-government finances are compounding the gloom.
China’s economy grew just 0.8% in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year, and more than a fifth of Chinese aged 16 to 24 are out of work.
The struggle to keep growth motoring ahead is the most pressing challenge among a lengthy list of issues facing Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his top officials. A difficult relationship with the U.S.-led West is squeezing investment in China. Beijing is sparring with Washington over semiconductors and the materials needed to make them. Russia, an ally, is sunk in a quagmire of its own making in Ukraine.
Growth in the second quarter was less than half the 2.2% quarterly pace recorded in the January-to-March period. The result reflected weak retail sales, subdued private-sector investment and a reversal in exports, which had propelled growth throughout the pandemic but are suffering now as major central banks ratchet up interest rates.
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Post by mhbruin on Jul 17, 2023 9:14:14 GMT -8
Bidenomics At Work
Despite a year when inflation pushed prices to new heights, Americans are still better off now than before the pandemic, with nearly 10 to 15 percent more in their bank accounts than in 2019, new checking and savings account data shows.
However, households are rapidly spending down that extra cash they’d socked away during the pandemic. Median account balances are at their lowest levels in roughly three years and have dropped as much as 41 percent from their peak in April 2021, when Americans were flush with government stimulus money and tax returns, according to a JPMorgan Chase Institute analysis of the bank accounts of 9 million Chase customers.
Taken together, the data helps explain the big mystery behind how the U.S. economy has managed to avoid a recession that many economists had forecast: Consumers, supported by a strong labor market, have been able to keep spending despite inflation and a sharp rise in borrowing costs.
But it also highlights why Americans remain tentative about their economic prospects, particularly as they face higher prices on food, housing and travel. Many have been working through their savings and say their bank account balances are on a downhill trajectory, with little prospect of building them back up to where they were a year or two ago.
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