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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 9:28:23 GMT -8
My tolerance for idiots is extremely low these days. I used to have some immunity built up, but obviously, there's a new strain out there.
Can I Get a Witless?
Donald Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. is set to testify on Wednesday afternoon in a New York civil fraud trial accusing the former U.S. president and his family businesses of inflating asset values to dupe lenders and insurers.
Donald Jr., an executive vice president at the Trump Organization and a co-defendant in the case, will be the first of Trump’s adult children to take the stand, followed by Eric and Ivanka Trump. Their father is set to testify on Monday.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 9:29:59 GMT -8
Remember When All You Had to Worry About on Halloween Was Razor Blades in the Candy?
A New York man was arrested after allegedly pointing a gun at a 6-year-old boy whose family mistakenly dropped a Halloween goody bag at the wrong house.
The family — a mother, her daughter, two sons and a nephew — were in a neighborhood in Manhasset, on Long Island, on Saturday evening so that the 10-year-old daughter could drop a goody bag off at her friend’s house, according to the Nassau County Police Department.
The 10-year-old and 6-year-old got out of the car, rang the doorbell and left the bag of candy on the doorstep. They got in the car and left, but as they drove away, the girl realized that they had the address wrong. They drove back, and the 6-year-old jumped out of the car to get the bag from the porch, police said in a news release.
The history of the drug-laced candy myth — and the real Halloween killer
When the boy got to the porch, Michael Yifan Wen, 43, allegedly opened the front door and pointed a handgun at the boy’s head.
He was charged with menacing and endangering a child’s welfare. Court records indicated he did not have an attorney.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 9:52:28 GMT -8
My Comment: You Have NO First Amendment Rights on Social Media. Neither Does Anyone Else
Those on the right talk a lot about how social media censorship is taking away their First Amendment rights to free speech. Here is the text of the First Amendment:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." [emphasis added]
The First Amendment limits what Congress is allowed to do, not what a private company is allowed to do.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 9:59:55 GMT -8
MAGA Mike Has Nothing, and I Am Not Referring to the Space Between His Ears.
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has already drawn scrutiny for his past espousal of Biblical literalist beliefs and his role in trying to obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
But another question is swirling around him, reported The Daily Beast: the state of his personal finances.
"Over the course of seven years, Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn’t appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing — covering 2022 — showing no assets whatsoever," reported Roger Sollenberger, noting that he probably does have a bank account, but just doesn't have enough money in it to trigger reporting requirements.
"House Ethics Committee filing guidelines state that members must disclose bank accounts they have at every financial institution, as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts — including those belonging to their spouse and dependent children — exceeds $5,000," the report continued.
This appears to back up previous exclusive reporting by Raw Story, which found that Johnson disclosed no assets, and only reported debts including a mortgage, personal loan, and home equity line of credit — all despite his $174,000 congressional salary and around $30,000 in income from teaching at the far-right evangelical school Liberty University.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:03:32 GMT -8
MAGA Mike Doesn't Know That Gay Soldiers Played a Role in the RISE of the Roman Empire
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson closely collaborated with a group in the mid-to-late 2000s that promoted “conversion therapy,” a discredited practice that asserted it could change the sexual orientation of gay and lesbian individuals.
Prior to launching his political career, Johnson, a lawyer, gave legal advice to an organization called Exodus International and partnered with the group to put on an annual anti-gay event aimed at teens, according to a CNN KFile review of more than a dozen of Johnson’s media appearances from that timespan.
Founded in 1976, Exodus International was a leader in the so-called “ex-gay” movement, which aimed to make gay individuals straight through conversion therapy programs using religious and counseling methods. Exodus International connected ministries across the world using these controversial approaches.
The group shut down in 2013, with its founder posting a public apology for the “pain and hurt” his organization caused. Conversion therapy has been widely condemned by most major medical institutions and has been shown to be harmful to struggling LGBTQ people.
At the time, Johnson worked as an attorney for the socially conservative legal advocacy group, Alliance Defense Fund (ADF). He and his group collaborated with Exodus from 2006 to 2010.
For years, Johnson and Exodus worked on an event started by ADF in 2005 known as the “Day of Truth” – a counterprotest to the “Day of Silence,” a day in schools in which students stayed silent to bring awareness to bullying faced by LGBTQ youth.
The Day of Truth sought to counter that silence by distributing information about what Johnson described as the “dangerous” gay lifestyle.
“I mean, our race, the size of our feet, the color of our eyes, these are things we’re born with and we cannot change,” Johnson told one radio host in 2008 promoting the event. “What these adult advocacy groups like the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network are promoting is a type of behavior. Homosexual behavior is something you do, it’s not something that you are.”
In print, radio and on television, Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, frequently disparaged homosexuality, according to KFile’s review. He advocated for the criminalization of gay sex and went so far as to partially blame it for the fall of the Roman Empire.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:06:12 GMT -8
The Problem WIth Offshore Wind Isn't That it Kills Whales.
Wind energy developer Orsted is writing off $4 billion, due largely to the cancellation of two large offshore wind projects in New Jersey whose financial challenges mirror those facing the nascent industry.
It added fresh uncertainty to an industry seen by supporters as a way to help end the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels, but derided by opponents as inherently unworkable without massive financial subsidies.
The Danish company said Tuesday night it is scrapping its Ocean Wind I and II projects off the coast of southern New Jersey due to problems with supply chains, higher interest rates, and a failure to obtain the amount of tax credits the company wanted.
“These are obviously some very tough decisions,” Mads Nipper, Orsted’s CEO, said on an earnings conference call Wednesday.
He said the company, the world’s largest offshore wind developer, decided “to de-risk the most painful part of our portfolio, and that is the U.S.”
That statement went straight to the heart about concerns over the financial viability of the offshore wind industry in the northeastern U.S., which is in its infancy but has extensive plans from New England to the Carolinas.
Some projects already have been canceled, and many offshore wind developers are seeking better terms from governments with whom they have already contracted. New York rejected such a request two weeks ago.
New Jersey approved a tax break for Orsted in July, letting it keep federal tax credits that otherwise would have gone to ratepayers.
“While periodic local opposition in the U.S. made some headlines, these projects ultimately come down to economics, so higher costs and lower power prices are working against offshore wind,” said Louis Knight, an analyst at Third Bridge, a research firm advising private equity and other businesses. “Higher interest rates are adding to financing costs for these projects. There are other, cheaper ways to develop power in the U.S., most notably with solar and natural gas.”
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:08:05 GMT -8
Virginia is for Voters
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:10:12 GMT -8
This Mistake by the Lake and Orginal SINema Are Running and Losing
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) is in third place – and trailing badly – in the three-way Senate race in Arizona, according to an internal GOP poll shared with Republican senators today by NRSC Chair Steve Daines.
Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) had 41%, while Republican Kari Lake had 37%. Sinema came in at 17%.
Daines told the GOP senators that Sinema is more popular with Republicans than Democrats, although that is likely to change once Lake and GOP-aligned outside groups start running ads.
In a head-to-head matchup, Gallego is leading Lake 49%-44%, Daines said.
According to a source in the room, Daines and NRSC Executive Director Jason Thielman believe Sinema has no shot at getting reelected.
Senate Republicans are very sure that Lake – a huge Donald Trump supporter and 2020 election denier who narrowly lost Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial race – will be the nominee. Lake is crushing Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb 58%-27% in the GOP primary, according to the poll.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:13:35 GMT -8
What's So Special About Special Elections?
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:16:56 GMT -8
Epic Takedown of the Running Man, Josh Hawley
The QOP Loves To Claim They Are Defenders of Free Speech. The Problem? They Only Defend THEIR Free Speech.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:18:42 GMT -8
Helping Billionaire Tax Cheats Seems to Be MAGA Mike's Top Priority. One BIG Problem...
A Republican proposal to offset the cost of U.S. aid to Israel by cutting IRS funding would backfire and actually lose billions of dollars for the government, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) this week introduced a bill that would pay for $14 billion worth of Israel aid by slashing the same amount from the IRS, thereby hampering tax collection efforts.
As a result, the government would miss out on $26 billion in revenue over a decade, meaning the bill would increase budget deficits by $12 billion on net. Wednesday’s CBO report is in line with its previous estimates of how IRS funding affects revenue.
Johnson’s decision to include IRS cuts in the bill seems more aimed at winning hard-line conservative votes in the House, where he has a single-digit margin majority. Johnson became speaker after Republicans ousted his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), for collaborating with Democrats.
Most Democrats have flatly rejected the idea of combining aid for Israel with IRS cuts, and the proposal has some Republican skeptics as well.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:23:14 GMT -8
A Kid Who Could Have Started His Professional Life with an Ivy League Degree, Will Start with Prison Time, Instead.
Cornell University junior Patrick Dai was arrested on a federal complaint Tuesday for allegedly calling for the deaths of Jewish people online and threatening to shoot up an on-campus dining hall.
The 21-year-old engineering student hails from Pittsford, New York, about 80 miles northwest of the Ithaca campus.
His mother told the New York Post that Dai suffers from "severe depression" and was on the brink of suicide before his arrest.
In a string of disturbing posts on a Greek life message board that was not affiliated with the school, Dai allegedly threatened to "shoot up 104 west," a campus dining hall that serves kosher food, according to a federal complaint. The cafeteria is next door to the Cornell Jewish Center, which provides housing for Jewish students.
In another post, Dai allegedly threatened to "stab" and "slit the throat" of any Jewish males he sees on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish females, and to behead any Jewish babies in front of their parents, court papers say.
In that same Oct. 29 post, Dai threatened to "bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews."
The complaint says that the FBI tracked down Dai through his IP address and the student admitted to making the disturbing comments under the names "glorious hamas," "kill jews" and "sieg heil."
At the university, Dai worked as a safety officer for seven months beginning in 2020 at the Science Olympiad, helping "support logistics for events as well as monitor safety protocol," according to his LinkedIn profile. He later became the director of logistics for the organization.
He also helped tutor other engineering students with MATLAB, a computer programming language.
Dai graduated from Pittsford-Mendon High School, where he was a National Merit Scholar and an AP scholar, his professional profile says. He also earned a perfect score on the math section of the SAT.
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Post by mhbruin on Nov 1, 2023 10:25:02 GMT -8
Don't Take This Study with a Grain of Salt
Researchers said in a new study involving 400,000 people that salt may be a big culprit in developing Type 2 diabetes.
Details of the study completed by authors from Tulane University were published Wednesday in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
The authors examined the results of 400,000 people registered in the British Biobank who were surveyed about their salt intake and then followed for nearly 12 years. Among that group, 13,000 developed Type 2 diabetes.
When probing deeper into the participants who did develop Type 2 diabetes, authors found those who said they "usually" or "always" used salt were at 20% and 39% higher risk, respectively, of developing diabetes than those who never used salt. Those who had that they "sometimes" used salt were at 13% higher risk.
"We already know that limiting salt can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, but this study shows for the first time that taking the saltshaker off the table can help prevent Type 2diabetes as well," said lead author Lu Qi, a professor at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Qi said researchers believe salt encourages people to eat larger portions, increasing the chances of developing risk factors such as obesity and inflammation. The study also discovered a link between routine consumption of salt and higher BMI and waist-to-hip ratio.
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