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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:26:41 GMT -8
Remember, half the people you know are below average.
The Really Bad News About the SCOTUS Decision to Delay is the Issue They Will Review
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide on its own whether Donald Trump is, as he claims, immune from prosecution for his actions leading up to and during his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt — thereby delaying a trial on that question until late summer at the earliest.
The former president had asked the high court to stop the clock on his trial proceedings while he could pursue an appeals process that could have extended well into next year. Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, had asked the court to let an appeals court ruling denying Trump’s immunity claim be the last word.
Justices on the high court did not honor that request, but did grant prosecutors’ request to treat Trump’s pursuit of a stay as a request for review of the case itself.
“The Special Counsel’s request to treat the stay application as a petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, and that petition is granted limited to the following question: Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office,” an unsigned order stated.
Who is To Blame For This? Molasses Merrick for Taking Two Years to Get Around to Investigating, and Moscow Mitch for Not Ending Trump in the Impeachment Trial After Jan 6th.
Another part of McConnell’s legacy: Donald Trump. McConnell forcefully denounced Trump for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying there was “no question” Trump was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.” But when it came time for the Senate to vote on Trump’s impeachment for inciting an insurrection, in February 2021, McConnell voted to acquit, claiming Trump was “constitutionally not eligible for conviction” because he’d already left office.
Fifty-seven senators voted to convict Trump ― 10 short of the supermajority needed. McConnell’s vote by itself didn’t drive the outcome, but if he had made a different decision, it would likely have influenced other Republicans to do the same.
Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on Wednesday slammed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution for acts committed when president, which will delay his trial over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection until at least the summer.
The “important question here,” said Maddow, is not if the Supreme Court will rule in favor of Trump because it “would be fully insane” to do so.
Instead, Maddow argued, “the conclusion that we can arrive at now based on what they have done, without having to wait for the ruling, is that they are ensuring that Trump will not face trial and when they inevitably rule that presidents aren’t immune from prosecution after they leave office, what that will tell Donald Trump if by then he is president, is that he can never leave the office of the presidency.”
She continued, “And if he is voted out in 2028, he cannot leave office, and he is welcome to commit any crimes he wants to as long as he is still president in order to ignore the result of that election and stay in power for life because otherwise, he’s going to go to prison when he gets out. That is the way this is going to go unless the country votes Trump out, votes for Biden and against Trump in November.”
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:27:38 GMT -8
Speaking of Mosow Mitch ...
Evil as he was, his successor is likley to be worse.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:29:38 GMT -8
Previous Guy's "Attorneys" Claim the Telling the Jury What Previous Guy Said would Prejudice the Jury.
A filing from prosecutors stating that they plan to quote extensively from books written by — or ghost-written for — Donald Trump in his upcoming hush money trial has his lawyers on the defensive.
According to a report from ABC News, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has found a wealth of material in the multitude of quotes from the ex-president in the books, including, "For many years I've said that if someone screws you, screw them back."
They intend to present them before the jury tasked with considering the 34 felonies contained in the indictment related to the 2016 cover-up of his alleged affair with adult film star Stormy Daniels.
The report notes that investigators have compiled quotes not only from Trump's bestseller "Art of the Deal," but also "Think Like a Billionaire," "How to Get Rich," "Think Big and Kick A--" and "Great Again."
According to ABC, the new filing includes, "Four dozen quotes from books published between 1987 and 2015," and that Trump's lawyers protesting the former president's words could "prejudice" the jury.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:30:58 GMT -8
88% of Blacks Do Not Prefer Criminals
A boast by Donald Trump last week that he is making inroads with Black voters due to his legal problems is getting side-eye from pollsters who claim there is little to no evidence at all of his claim.
During his speech before a South Carolina gathering of Black conservatives the multi-indicted Trump told the crowd, "...a lot of people said that’s why the Black people like me, because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against, and they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against," he claimed, before adding, "I think that’s why the Black people are so much on my side now," he added later in the speech. "Because they see what’s happening to me happens to them.”
Following the speech, MSNBC analyst Garrett Haake commented, "When these clips are played around the country to that broader African-American audience whom he is desperately trying to make some inroads with, I think that's when you have the real problem here."
According to a report from USA Today's Sudiksha Kochi, pollsters have seen no bump due to his legal problems, with his support remaining at the same flat 12 percent he had in 2020 before he was buffeted by a wave of criminal charges and civil lawsuits.
The report notes, "Several pollsters and Black political scientists that spoke with USA TODAY said that the former president’s comparison between his legal troubles and the injustices that Black Americans have faced in the legal system are invalid," before adding, "in 2016, Trump received the support of 8% of Black voters, according to exit polls. That support increased to 12% in 2020. The USA TODAY/Suffolk poll from January found that Trump’s support among Black voters has stayed the same at 12%. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s support has slipped from 87% in 2020, according to the Roper Center, to 63%."
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:33:51 GMT -8
Looking for a Special Gift for Someone Who is Hard to Shop For?
A bullet fired from the revolver used in the murder of John Lennon in New York in 1980 is to go under the hammer in the English city of Newcastle upon Tyne on Thursday and is expected to fetch up to £2,000 ($2,500).
Auctioneers Anderson and Garland are selling the souvenir on behalf of the family of Brian Taylor, a British policeman who served with the police force of Northumbria, the region in which Newcastle is located.
Taylor was permitted to fire the weapon during a 1984 visit to the New York Police Department.
Imagine You Had This Bullet
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:36:17 GMT -8
I Think They Should be Sentenced to Jump Into Their Own Foam Pit 1,000 TimesTwo men who ran a trampoline park where 270 people were injured - including 11 breaking their backs - have been handed a community order and a fine. An inquiry was launched after medics at the local A&E raised concerns over the number of people needing treatment after visiting Flip Out in Chester. Matthew Melling, of Manchester, and David Shuttleworth, of Stoke, were directors of the Chester franchise. The pair, aged 34, admitted an offence under the Health and Safety Act. Pair fined after 11 customers broke backs at Flip Out trampoline park
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:40:00 GMT -8
Teens are Making Rash Decisions
Tweens are getting rashes from some skin care products popularized on social media, dermatologists sayA few days after she began her new skin care regimen — toner, moisturizer, serum and facial mist — the skin around 13-year-old Leora’s lips became red and dry. A couple days later, the rash turned yellow and crusty. “I was touching it because it was really itchy, and then I think it got infected,” said Leora, whose family requested her last name not be published for privacy reasons, given that she is a minor. A dermatologist prescribed Leora a medication to alleviate irritation and advised her to stop her skin care routine and apply petroleum jelly until the rash cleared. Then came a discussion that dermatologists say is increasingly common: “We got into a whole conversation about this new fad of preteens interested in using a lot of anti-aging products and things that they are learning about on social media,” said Dr. Alexis Young, Leora’s dermatologist at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. “In general for the preteen population, they’re layering product upon product and not really being told how to use them,” Young said. Young and six other dermatologists told NBC News that in recent months, tweens and young teenagers have been showing up at their offices in droves with red, dry, bumpy and itchy rashes after using skin care products they don’t need. Some dermatologists said it happens monthly or weekly; others said they see such patients multiple times per day. Kids ages 7 to 13 are clearing the shelves at makeup stores, spending hundreds on anti-aging creams, moisturizers and acne serums from trendy and colorful brands like Drunk Elephant — which sells one Protini Polypeptide Cream every 40 seconds, according the brand’s website — and Glow Recipe, which surpassed $100 million in revenue in 2021, just seven years after its founding, CNBC reported. The trend has been driven, in part, by social media, where young creators’ videos about their multistep skin care routines sometimes garner millions of views. (Some adults, meanwhile, have taken to social media to vent about makeup stores becoming overrun with children.)
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:47:48 GMT -8
The QOP Says They LOVE IVF, But ...
Democratic legislation seeking to protect access to in vitro fertilization across the country was blocked in the Senate on Wednesday by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.).
Hyde-Smith dismissed the bill as “a vast overreach” and objected to a unanimous consent request from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). The Republican senator claimed the bill would legalize human cloning and commercial surrogacy.
“The bill before us today is a vast overreach that is full of poison pills that go way too far, far beyond ensuring legal access to IVF,” Hyde-Smith said on the Senate floor.
Duckworth refuted Hyde-Smith’s claim, noting that the Access to Family Building Act would establish a statutory right to IVF and other fertility treatments, reserve the right of physicians to provide such treatment without the fear of being prosecuted and allow insurance companies to cover the cost of those treatments.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:49:06 GMT -8
Israel Must Have Thousands of Reports "Under Review"
Israeli troops opened fire on crowds of Palestinians gathered around aid trucks in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military and Gaza health officials said, causing mass casualties and threatening to upend delicate negotiations to reach a cease-fire soon.
Several eyewitnesses said Israeli soldiers and tanks fired at people gathered to wait for aid deliveries near the Nabulsi roundabout in northern Gaza, with some saying the shooting started before trucks arrived.
The Israeli military said crowds surrounded trucks carrying aid, resulting in Palestinians trampling each other and being run over by the trucks. An Israeli military official said soldiers had responded with live fire to what it called a threat from the crowd, and that the incident was under review.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:50:56 GMT -8
Want to Buy Some California Ocean-View Property?
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:53:20 GMT -8
You Are What You EatA review of research involving almost 10 million people has found a direct association between eating too many ultra-processed foods — those breads, cereals, snacks and frozen meals that have been industrially manufactured with flavors and additives to make them more palatable — and more than 30 health conditions, including heart disease, anxiety and early death. Ultra-processed foods — such as frozen dinners, sugary cereals, potato chips and fast food — account for up to 58 percent of total daily energy intake in the United States, the researchers said. Ultra-processed foods linked to 32 health problems in review:
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:54:46 GMT -8
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
A federal immunization committee is recommending seniors 65 years of age and older receive another dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 11-1 in favor of making the recommendation on Wednesday as the expert advisory panel met to discuss several agenda items.
"Today's recommendation allows older adults to receive an additional dose of this season's COVID-19 vaccine to provide added protection," Mandy Cohen, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday in a statement.
"Most COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations last year were among people 65 years and older. An additional vaccine dose can provide added protection that may have decreased over time for those at highest risk."
The recommendation states that those aged 65 and older should recieve an additional shot of the updated COVID-19 vaccine at least four months after receiving their previous dose, as it may restore protection that has since waned.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:56:28 GMT -8
It Wasn't All Good News for Previous Guy Yesterday
Appeals court judge Anil Singh did the justice system a solid today — ruling that, no, Trump, you can’t pull a “lemme just pay $100M because I’m so rich.” The bond amount is $454 Million and Trump has to post it. In FULL.
From CNN:
Former President Donald Trump must come up with the full bond amount to cover the $454 million verdict in the civil fraud trial, an appeals court judge ruled Wednesday.
Associate Justice Anil Singh, however, lifted a ban on Trump’s ability to obtain loans from a New York bank, which could allow him to access the equity in his assets to back the full bond amount.
Singh denied Trump’s request to delay his obligation to post $454 million until a full appellate panel hears his motion to stay enforcement of that judgment until his appeals of the civil fraud ruling are over.
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Post by mhbruin on Feb 29, 2024 9:58:01 GMT -8
Want a Divorce In Missouri? Don't Be Expecting.
Missouri Democratic state Rep. Ashley Aune has put forward a bill that would close an “archaic loophole” in a law that prevents a judge from finalizing a divorce if the woman is pregnant. Aune was unable to get any traction through the Republican supermajority, though she has been able to collect two Republican co-sponsors for it and House Republicans seem open to the idea of closing it. However, even if it makes its way through the House, getting through the Missouri Senate may be too tall an order.
According to the Kansas City Star, Freedom Caucus member and state Sen. Denny Hoskins was interviewed about the law and said that while he would be open to creating a carve-out exception for cases involving domestic violence, there is no need to fully close the loophole because the cases where it is a problem are “very rare and infrequent.” According to Hoskins, “Just because the husband and wife are not getting along, or irreconcilable differences, I would not consider that that would be a good reason to get divorced during a pregnancy.”
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