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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 8:58:04 GMT -8
Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggert have written an new book. It's called Ministers Do More Than Lay People. DeathSentence Seems to Have Mastered the KickbackWhile Gov. Ron DeSantis travels the country, painstakingly checking off each of Iowa’s 99 counties to try to expand his appeal, he’s received outsize support from a place much closer to home: the mid-size Florida city where he both governs with an iron grip and has built a political machine. Roughly half a million dollars in campaign cash flowed to DeSantis’ political operation from Tallahassee through June, buoyed by contributions from lobbyists, staffers in his office and businesses that receive millions in taxpayer-funded government contracts. Six leaders of state agencies, all directly appointed or recommended by the governor, also gave. This total includes money given to both DeSantis’ campaign and a supportive super PAC. While the full-throated financial support from the center of DeSantis’ power is not unexpected, it underscores how much he has leaned on Florida, sometimes prompting questions about the scalability of his campaign. The money also comes after several instances of DeSantis or his staff blurring the lines between his official and political operations. DeSantis pitches outsider campaign, relies on Florida insider cash
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:02:25 GMT -8
Ramaswamy Goes Full Drama SwamiRepublican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy dropped a new Sept. 11 conspiracy theory Monday in an effort to deflect from the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Ohio businessman-turned-GOP candidate claims the indictments against Donald Trump are "obviously politically motivated" because he's seeking a second term after losing in 2020, and he suggested that the former president's supporters were set up during the U.S. Capitol riot by agents provocateurs. “I don’t know, but we can handle [the truth],” Ramaswamy told the magazine. “Whatever it is, we can handle it. Government agents. How many government agents were in the field? Right?” Suddenly, the reporter noted, Ramaswamy changed the topic to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “I think it is legitimate to say how many police, how many federal agents, were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers," Ramaswamy said. "Maybe the answer is zero. It probably is zero for all I know, right? I have no reason to think it was anything other than zero. "But if we’re doing a comprehensive assessment of what happened on 9/11, we have a 9/11 commission, absolutely that should be an answer the public knows the answer to. Well, if we’re doing a Jan. 6 commission, absolutely, those should be questions that we should get to the bottom of." "'Here are the people who were armed, here are the people who are unarmed,’" he added. "What percentage of the people who were armed were federal law-enforcement officers? I think it was probably high, actually. Right?” VIVEK RAMASWAMY’S TRUTH
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:03:59 GMT -8
Murder, Saudi Style
Between March 2022 and June 2023, Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants attempting to cross the border from Yemen into the oil-rich kingdom, according to a new Human Rights Watch report released on Monday. The report comes as Saudi Arabia implements an anti-migrant policy at home and a campaign to boost its image abroad.
The rocky, mountainous region around Sadaa – a hardscrabble city in northern Yemen right by the Saudi border – has turned into lethal terrain, according to human rights groups. Bodies of dead or seriously wounded migrants, mostly from Ethiopia, have been spotted in satellite imagery and social media posts from the border, providing harrowing testimony of abuses, notes the latest report by the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW).
“They Fired on Us Like Rain”, an HRW report released on Monday, August 21, records widespread abuses committed on the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023.
“Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic. If committed as part of a Saudi government policy to murder migrants, these killings would be a crime against humanity,” notes the report.
Over the past few months, reports have been mounting of grievous violations on the migration track known as the “Eastern Route” or the “Yemeni Route”, which runs from the Horn of Africa, across the Gulf of Aden, through Yemen and into Saudi Arabia.
A July 5 report by the Mixed Migration Centre, an independent data institution within the Danish Refugee Council, said Ethiopians were being “systematically” killed by “security officials operating under Saudi Arabian state authority”.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:26:48 GMT -8
Tach it up, tach it up, Buddy gonna shut you down
Members of the House Freedom Caucus are making it harder for leadership to avoid a government shutdown, announcing on Monday that they'll oppose a stopgap funding bill unless it caves to their terms.
Driving the news: The HFC is demanding more funding for border enforcement, cuts to the Department of Justice and FBI, and an end to "woke" policies at the Department of Defense.
"We refuse to support any such measure that continues Democrats' bloated COVID-era spending and simultaneously fails to force the Biden Administration to follow the law and fulfill its most basic responsibilities," they said in a statement.
"Any support for a 'clean' Continuing Resolution would be an affirmation of the current FY 2023 spending level grossly increased by the lame-duck December 2022 omnibus spending bill that we all vehemently opposed just seven months ago."
The big picture: Congress is unlikely to complete its work on appropriations bills by the deadline on Sept. 30, with leadership calling for a continuing resolution to provide themselves with more time.
"If you think we're going to come in and in three weeks, three partial weeks in September and get the appropriations bills done — that seems unlikely, given the extent to which there was a total failure in settings, spending levels where they needed to be set in order to get to 218," Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Axios.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:28:43 GMT -8
If Only Biden Had Built a Sea Wall
Fox News is blaming Tropical Storm Hilary hitting California on President Joe Biden.
In the first minute of the right-wing cable channel’s “The Big Weekend Show” Sunday evening, host Kennedy opened with a dramatic introduction.
“The big story tonight: The wrath of Tropical Storm Hilary. 42 million desperate souls in the path of the storm which made landfall in Mexico several hours ago. But they let it right into the country because it’s Biden’s America.”
“Its impact far from over,” Kennedy continued. “This is the first tropical storm to hit California since 1939, when Joe Biden started his Senate career,” the longtime Fox host added, appearing to mock the President who was born in 1942.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:32:13 GMT -8
These Results Seem Pretty Good to MeStudies looking into the program say it has had mixed results in its effort to encourage investment in low-income areas nationally. How effective the zones are and the amount of private investment that has taken place because of the program are questions that remain up for debate, as economic development is traditionally a long process and reporting requirements are usually between a developer, an accountant and the IRS. After the idea became law, South Carolina chose 135 areas, or census tracts, to be opportunity zones. The zones were recommended by each county based on income information, said Kelly Coakley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Commerce. To be one of the country’s 8,700 opportunity zones, a census tract has to be a low-income area or adjacent to a low-income community. Those that are adjacent to low-income areas could have a household median income up to 125% of the adjacent to the census tract. For investors to receive a federal opportunity zone income tax incentive, a tax filer would have to use money from capital gains and invest in a designated opportunity zone. Incentives of the program include deferring income taxes owed on capital gains until 2026. Investors who keep their money in an opportunity zone investment for at least 10 years can take whatever money they earn from the sale of the investment tax free. An analysis by The State of the 59 opportunity zones in South Carolina’s 10 largest counties showed positive movement in four economic indicators, according to American Community Survey data compiled between 2016 and 2021 by the U.S. Census Bureau. Median household income increased in 48 of the zones, while decreasing in 11 of the zones. Median household income went up by at least $10,000 in 25 of the opportunity zones. The poverty rate dropped in 47 of the 59 opportunity zones and went up in 12 zones. Labor force participation increased in 29 of the 59 opportunity zones, but decreased in 30 zones. The unemployment rate dropped in 50 of 59 opportunity zones, and increased in seven zones. Opportunity zones are one of Tim Scott’s signature initiatives, but how successful are they?
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:33:24 GMT -8
How Do You Like Them Apples? Joe Doesn't.
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough was baffled by Donald Trump's claim that he was the "apple" of Vladimir Putin's eye.
The former president told conservative radio hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton that the Russian president would not have invaded Ukraine if he were still in charge, although he had praised the launch of the war in February 2022 as "genius," and the "Morning Joe" host said he didn't have the best track record on foreign policy.
"He sent love letters to Kim Jong Un and then with President Xi [Jinping], talked about how brilliant and wonderful he was and thanked him for his transparency on COVID," Scarborough said. "This is a guy who may not be the best judge of character on the foreign stage."
Scarborough was especially taken aback by Trumpboasting he was the "the apple of his eye."
"Who says that?" Scarborough said. "Who does that? Who does that? A weird dude does that -- crazy."
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:35:08 GMT -8
Blow Ye Winds of the Morming! Blow Ye Winds, Hi Ho!
A cargo ship fitted with giant, rigid British-designed sails has set out on its maiden voyage.
Shipping firm Cargill, which has chartered the vessel, hopes the technology will help the industry chart a course towards a greener future.
The WindWings sails are designed to cut fuel consumption and therefore shipping's carbon footprint.
It is estimated the industry is responsible for about 2.1% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The Pyxis Ocean's maiden journey, from China to Brazil, will provide the first real-world test of the WindWings - and an opportunity to assess whether a return to the traditional way of propelling ships could be the way forward for moving cargo at sea.
Folded down when the ship is in port, the wings are opened out when it is in open water. They stand 123ft (37.5m) tall and are built of the same material as wind turbines, to make them durable.
Enabling a vessel to be blown along by the wind, rather than rely solely on its engine, could hopefully eventually reduce a cargo ship's lifetime emissions by 30%.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:37:45 GMT -8
Mystery PlaneOn August 14, the day after the plane arrived in Zambia, the country’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) entered the aircraft. According to a DEC statement, it had “received information that a chartered aircraft carrying dangerous goods had landed at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on 13th August 2023 at 19:00 hours”. The next day, DEC reportedly seized more than $5.5m stored in bags and boxes, five pistols, seven magazines and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. In a further twist, more than 600 pieces of what was initially believed to be gold were found. However, on further inspection, the pieces were found to be mainly copper and zinc alloy. Why did Zambia seize a mystery plane filled with cash, guns and metals?
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:41:18 GMT -8
L. Ron Previous Guy
Cults work hard to turn their adherents against family, friends, and anything from the outside that might snap them back to reality. In Scientology, this is called “disconnection,” which the Wikipedia entry describes as “a form of shunning. Among Scientologists, disconnection is viewed as an important method of removing obstacles to one's spiritual growth. In some circumstances, disconnection has ended marriages and separated children from their parents.”
Now, a new poll shows that Donald Trump has effectively become the nation’s most successful cult leader, convincing people his words are worth more than those from their own friends and family members.
There isn’t much that should surprise us about the MAGA movement anymore, but this CBS poll manages to do so.
I'll Tell You What THey Want, What They Really, Really Want
“I voted for him, and he’s the one who’s doing this,” Crystal Minton said of Mr. Trump. “I thought he was going to do good things. He’s not hurting the people he needs to be hurting.”
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:45:04 GMT -8
The Hypocrisy Is Bigger in TexasA Texas female state employee was denied time off to seek medical care due to complications from her pregnancy. Texas Forced This Woman to Give Birth to a Stillborn Son. She’s SuingShe eventually had a stillborn child and has sued the state for the wrongful death of her child. Texas is of course contesting the suit. What it amazing are the grounds they are choosing to argue against the woman. They have actually said that a fetus has no constitutional rights. Now read that again. You can’t have an abortion because it violates the rights of the fetus but if that fetus dies from neglect caused by the state, then that same fetus has no rights under Texas law.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:48:07 GMT -8
One of These Things is Not Like the Others
Meanwhile, In the Winners' World
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:49:15 GMT -8
Sometimes Things Are Just What They Seem.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:55:22 GMT -8
The Unbelievably Bonkers Conspiracy Theorist Running For Governor Of North CarolinaNorth Carolina GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson has said it himself: He’s a conspiracy theorist. He didn’t specify in that March interview what that means in terms of what he believes. It turns out it means he has spread virtually every conspiracy theory you can think of. Robinson, who is the state’s lieutenant governor, has said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the 1969 moon landing was fake and the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an “inside job.” He’s “SERIOUSLY skeptical” of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. He falsely accused David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, of being a paid actor. He’s claimed that climate change is based on “junk science.” And those are just the dangerous theories he’s echoed that have been previously reported. In lesser-noticed social media posts, Robinson has said that news coverage of police shootings is part of a media conspiracy “designed to push US towards their new world order.” He and his wife both liked a since-deleted Facebook comment that stated, “WWG1WGA are my ‘Identity’ letters,” a reference to the QAnon rallying cry “Where we go one, we go all.” In October 2018, on a day when authorities intercepted pipe bombs intended for President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and CNN, Robinson suggested on Facebook that they had done it to themselves. “If you can’t beat ’em, bomb yourself,” he wrote. .................... Robinson is also a regular proponent of conspiracies claiming the music industry is being run by Satan and the Illuminati. He has called Beyoncé’s music “satanic” and described Jay-Z as “demonic” and sent by Satan to turn people away from Jesus. He suggested that the 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in Nigeria was orchestrated by billionaire Democratic philanthropist George Soros, a frequent target of antisemitic attacks by Republicans.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 21, 2023 9:57:41 GMT -8
This is About As Senseless As Murders Get
A California clothing store owner and designer was killed allegedly by a gunman who confronted her about a rainbow Pride flag outside her business and shot her after making disparaging remarks about the display, according to police.
Laura Ann Carleton, a married mother of nine children, was killed Friday outside her clothing store in Cedar Glen, an unincorporated San Bernardino County community on the shores of Lake Arrowhead, according to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office.
The suspected killer, who has not been publicly identified, fled the crime scene on foot, but was found by sheriff's deputies near Carleton's store, where he was fatally shot in a confrontation, authorities said. The sheriff's office said the assailant was armed with a handgun and refused orders to drop the weapon.
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