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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:23:53 GMT -8
To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
Home, Sweet Jail Cell
Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is going back to jail — and commenters on social media are loving every second of it.
Weisselberg, who served as the Trump family's accountant since before former President Donald Trump himself took over the business from his father, previously was sentenced to five months for tax evasion as part of the criminal investigation into the Trump Organization's accounting last year. He was released after serving three months.
On Wednesday, he received another five months after pleading guilty to lying under oath in Trump's civil fraud trial, in which he falsely claimed he had not been involved in evaluating the square footage of Trump Tower.
The internet was not sorry to see him be put away for a second time, with several people on X positively gloating about it — and some noting that he keeps taking the fall for wrongdoing by Trump, whose was found liable in the civil fraud trial, but whose first criminal trial is scheduled to start next week in Manhattan.
"Yet again, Weisselberg goes to prison to spare Trump," said legal and political commentator Bradley Moss.
"Enjoy Rikers, Mr. Weisselberg," wrote civil rights attorney Andrew Laufer.
The account @dwpippy, whose user identifies as a retired service worker, commented, "I wonder if he asked for his old cell back..."
"So this happened... Ex-Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg has been sentenced to 5 months in jail for lying under oath in civil fraud case," wrote the account Indivisible Network. "We reckon paying someone off [works] if you are rich."
"Ex-Trump Org. CFO Allen Weisselberg gets 5 months in jail for lying for Trump," wrote the account @tosyneno. "Another Trump associate gets a jumpsuit. The list keeps growing."
"At some point Weisselberg has got to ask himself if all the lying to protect Trump was really worth it," remarked the account @jaybirdsatx. "The cost of being closely allied to Donald Trump almost always follows a predictable path of loss of reputation/credentials, bankruptcy and prison."
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:26:27 GMT -8
They Are Going to Be Around to Vote Against This Clown
Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde expressed doubts about the 2020 election results by arguing nursing home residents are too close to death to vote, newly released audio shows.
Hovde made the comments on the conservative Guy Benson Show, in audio obtained by the Heartland Signal, when he was asked where he stood on former President Donald Trump's ongoing conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
"I'm not going to spend my time talking about 2020," said Hovde. "Do I believe the election was stolen? No, but did things happen in that election that were very troublesome? Absolutely, and I can point them out right here in Wisconsin. We had Zuckerbucks come into Democratic cities to push out — working with cities to push out Democratic votes."
Hovde continued, "We had nursing homes, where the sheriff of Racine investigated, where you had 100 percent voting in nursing homes. Well, if you're in a nursing home, you only have a five, six-month life expectancy. Almost nobody in a nursing home is in a point to vote."
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:27:50 GMT -8
Go for the Gold ... and the Green
World Athletics announced on Wednesday it will become the first international federation to award prize money at an Olympics, beginning at this year's Games in Paris.
Gold medal winners in each of the 48 athletics events in Paris will receive $50,000 (46,000 euros).
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:35:30 GMT -8
There Were Fewer than 10,000 People in Arizona in 1864, and Many of them Could Not Vote
On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated a law from 1864 that bans nearly all abortions in the state.
The 160-year-old law - which predates Arizona becoming a US state - makes performing an abortion punishable by two to five years in prison, except when the mother's life is at risk.
The procedure has been available and legal in the state up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.
This availability, however, is now in jeopardy after Arizona's highest court upheld the 1864 law banning abortion, which could have wide-ranging ramifications on abortion access in the state if implemented.
But it remains to be seen when or how it would be enforced.
The court has put the law on hold for 14 days and sent the case back to a lower court to hear additional arguments. On top of that, there is a 45-day period before enforcement.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, also strongly came out against the law - which was introduced when Abraham Lincoln was president - calling it "draconian" and vowing that she will not prosecute any patient or doctor under it.
Arizona Was Not a State Until 1912. Who Voted This Into Law? Four Drunks in a Saloon?
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:35:54 GMT -8
A Chemical is Forever
The US has imposed its first nationwide limits on several harmful chemicals found in tap water across the country.
Research suggests millions of Americans likely drink water contaminated with PFAS chemicals, which are linked to a host of health issues including cancer.
On Wednesday, officials finalised a rule that requires local governments to remove six versions of the chemicals from water systems.
The government has allocated an extra $1bn (£794m) to help cover the costs.
In a statement, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the new rule would provide long-lasting health benefits for Americans.
"Drinking water contaminated with PFAS has plagued communities across this country for too long," said EPA administrator Michael Regan. "Today, I am proud to finalise this critical piece of our roadmap, and in doing so, save thousands of lives and help ensure our children grow up healthier."
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:36:38 GMT -8
The Sins of the Father
At least three sons and three grandchildren of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Israeli air attack on Gaza refugee camp.
Haniyeh tells Al Jazeera that Palestinian leaders will not back down if their families are targeted by the Israeli army, and that the killings will not affect Hamas’s demands in ceasefire talks.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:37:39 GMT -8
The QOP Wants to Keep Childern in Poverty
Senate Republicans are inching closer to burying a bipartisan bill to expand the child tax credit and provide breaks for businesses, issuing a series of demands that would most likely disrupt the coalition that enabled it to pass the House.
The $78 billion bill, negotiated by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., passed the Republican-led House by a vote of 357-70 in January, a rare feat in a divided Congress that has struggled to function. But it has languished in the Senate, where key Republicans have said they’ll kill it unless it includes major revisions.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:39:51 GMT -8
One Dangerous Whack Job Goes After Another
MAGA Takes Aim at RFK Jr.: ‘Radical F—ing Kennedy’
They turned on him overnight once they realized he’d be a threat to Trump and not only to Biden.
TRUMP ADVISERS QUIETLY acknowledge they and the right helped build up RFK Jr., especially after the pandemic when Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism gained broader attention and support among conservatives.
“For more than two years, Kennedy was on more conservative media than any of the Republicans who ran for president, so he’s partly a monster of our own making,” said one adviser in Trump’s orbit. “But the same conservative media apparatus that built him up is starting to tear him down. It’s easy. He’s a liberal.”
That cocksure sentiment pervades Trump’s campaign, where they view Kennedy more as an opportunity than a danger.
Matt Bennett, executive vice president of Third Way, said Kennedy has benefited from his famous last name, his savvy social media use, and his lack of a political record. Bennett doesn’t think the candidate will be able to withstand the scrutiny that’s coming now that the threat he represents has become clearer.
“Kennedy is in for a rough ride. We need to make sure lower-information voters don’t somehow think, ‘Oh, it’s his dad.’ Or that he’s a safe pair of hands,” Bennett said. “He’s a lunatic. He lies. He’s a bad person.”
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:42:54 GMT -8
Time to Step Off the Ledge
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:45:20 GMT -8
Love Was in the Air
Not So Much Love in People on the Ground
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:48:58 GMT -8
Why Doesn't This Guy Take a 20-Hour Bus Ride?
A guest on Larry Kudlow’s Fox Business show was slammed on social media after he suggested that women being forced to travel out of their home states to receive an abortion is “not the worst thing in the world.”
Critics on X (formerly Twitter) ripped radio host Mark Simone’s comments during a discussion on the reinstatement by the Arizona Supreme Court of an 1864 law criminalizing almost all abortions. It overrides the state’s 15-week abortion ban.
Simone first noted: “If someone needs one and they live in Arizona, it just means they’ll have to go to a neighboring state.”
“If you had to travel to another state to get an abortion, it’s not the worst thing in the world,” he later proclaimed.
“Hopefully this is a very rare occurrence in your life, once in your life, maybe you would do it,” he added. “Buying a bus ticket to go somewhere to get it is not the worst thing in the world.”
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:50:09 GMT -8
Taking It Seriously
The New York criminal charges against Donald Trump for allegedly covering up hush-money payments to a porn star are serious in the eyes of a firm majority of U.S. voters, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found ahead of the former president's trial starting next week.
Some 64% of registered voters in the five-day poll, which closed on Monday, described the charges as at least "somewhat serious," compared to 34% who said the charges lacked seriousness. The rest were unsure or didn't answer.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:54:55 GMT -8
DWB (Criving While Beltless) For Sheila Banks, the late afternoon of March 21 began easy, with her son Dexter Reed heading out to enjoy his new SUV. “Momma, I’m going out for a ride,” she recalled Tuesday. It ended with Reed, 26, being gunned down on a residential corner by Chicago police officers who fired nearly 100 rounds in less than a minute, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), the city's police watchdog agency. Officers said they pulled Reed over for not wearing a seatbelt - a contention that COPA questions amid rising tension in recent weeks over the killing and officers' use of deadly force. Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. In releasing footage of the shooting Tuesday, the police accountability board said Reed “appears” to have fired first. But attorneys for the family said a deeper investigation needs to happen. They also say the traffic stop was unconstitutional and not the first time that Chicago cops have falsely claimed seatbelt violations as the impetus for confrontational pullovers of drivers. Last but certainly not least, they alleged Tuesday that Reed was killed while unarmed and trying to surrender. “If you watch the end of the video, you see an officer, military-style, executing Dexter while he laid by his vehicle, unarmed and helpless,” said Andrew M. Stroth, a prominent local civil rights attorney representing Reed’s family. City officials, from Mayor Brandon Johnson to State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, lamented Reed’s death, but have not said it warrants charges against the officers. The shooting is the latest in a city that has long had a history of controversy surrounding police killings of men of color. 96 shots fired in 41 seconds Seatbelt violation ends with Black man dead on Chicago street after cops fired nearly 100 bullets |
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 10, 2024 8:57:48 GMT -8
AirBnb can Get the Haleakalā Out of Hawaii
Two bills moving through the Hawaii legislature could phase out short-term rentals that are not occupied by their owner, as the state tries to tackle rising housing costs and homelessness.
State House Bill 1838 and Senate Bill 2919 have prompted a fierce debate about the future of vacation rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo homes.
Residents have long complained about the impact of tourism and luxury home and resort development on housing accessibility, as well as the lack of affordable housing and rentals for residents.
The Maui wildfires in August 2023 exacerbated the crisis, burning thousands of structures, including many affordable housing units.
Hawaii residents have some of the highest housing costs in the nation -- more than 2.5 times higher than the national average -- according to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 6,200 people in the state were homeless on a single night in January 2023.
Some local officials believe the commercial use of short-term rentals "strains Hawaiʻi's limited housing inventory" and is exacerbating the state's housing crisis.
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