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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:04:19 GMT -8
So now cocaine is legal in Oregon, but straws aren't. That must be frustrating.
There's An Election Today That Matters
Voters in Michigan will head to the polls Tuesday for a pair of state House special elections that will determine partisan control of the chamber.
In the race for the open seat in the 13th state House District — which encompasses a large part of the city of Warren, within purple Macomb County — Democrat Mai Xiong, a member of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, is running against Republican Ronald Singer, who ran for the seat unsuccessfully in 2022. The seat, which leans Democratic, became vacant last fall when the incumbent Democrat, Lori Stone, resigned after she won an election to be the mayor of Warren.
In the race for the open seat in the 25th state House District — which includes, within Wayne County, some of the western suburbs of Detroit, like Westland and Sheldon — Democrat Peter Herzberg, a Westland City council member, is running against Republican Josh Powell, a U.S. Army veteran. The seat, which also leans Democratic, became vacant last fall when the incumbent Democrat, Kevin Coleman, resigned after winning an election to be the mayor of Westland.
The winner of each race will only serve the remainder of their predecessors’ two-year terms through the end of 2024.
Prior to the two lawmakers' resignations, Democrats had held a two-seat advantage in the state House. Their departures created a 54-54 tie in the chamber. Democrats also hold the governorship and the state Senate in Michigan, meaning that a pair of victories would again provide the party with a trifecta in state government.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:08:33 GMT -8
Ten Months in Jail Means He is Being Paid $200,000 Per Month
Former President Donald Trump has had another hush money arrangement to try to avoid getting held civilly or criminally responsible for anything related to the Trump Organization, reported The Daily Beast — this time, with his family's longtime former CFO Allen Weisselberg.
Weisselberg, according to the report from Michael Daly, "signed a $2 million separation agreement with the Trump Organization as he began a five-month jail term for tax evasion in January 2023. The agreement called for eight payments between March 31, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2024. Five have been made, so Trump is still on the hook for three more. In return, Weisselberg agreed not to 'induce, encourage, instigate, aid, abet or otherwise cause any other person entity to bring or file a complaint, charge, lawsuit or other proceeding' against Trump or anyone associated with his company."
This arrangement, which according to the report is completely legal, effectively means Trump is buying one of his former employees' silence in his financial proceedings — which includes a case about him unlawfully trying to conceal payments to buy an adult film star's silence.
Would You Spend a Month In Rikker's Island for $200,000?
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:10:47 GMT -8
It's Probably Better for His Lawyers If He Sleeps Through the Whole Trial Instead of Butting In.
Donald Trump’s apparent sleeping in court on day one of his criminal trial for alleged business fraud related to a cover-up of “hush money” election interference has critics concerned.
While initial reactions to the news largely mocked him as “Sleepy Don,” or “Drowsy Don,” political and legal experts are wondering if the 77-year old ex-president would be able to stay awake during times of crisis, when an alert president would be critical to the nation’s security.
Critics raised concerns that question Trump’s ability to perform the duties of President.
“If Trump is too old and weak to stay awake at his own criminal trial, what do you think will happen in the Situation Room?” asked former senior advisor to President Barack Obama Dan Pfeiffer.
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch invoked Hillary Clinton’s famous “3 AM phone call” ad from the 2008 campaign, and wrote:
2024: Which candidate can handle the 3 p.m. phone call?”
Can He Handle a Phone Call At Any Time?
Don Snorelone Needs to Give Pillow Guy a Call
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:14:19 GMT -8
Unbelievable! Wow!
Comedian and "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart tore into former President Donald Trump on Monday evening, following the first day of his historic criminal trial in Manhattan.
In particular, Stewart lambasted Trump for his campaign-rally tribute in Pennsylvania to the Battle of Gettysburg, one of the most famous campaigns of the Civil War — which he apparently didn't know the first thing about.
"If you thought Lincoln consecrated Gettysburg with his soaring rhetoric, well, buckle up," he said before playing the clip.
"Gettysburg, what an unbelievable battle that was," said Trump on Saturday. "The Battle of Gettysburg, what an unbelievable, I mean, it was so much and so interesting and so vicious and horrible and so beautiful in so many different ways, and it represented such a big portion of the success of this country. Gettysburg, wow."
Stewart paused for several seconds to let his studio audience laugh.
"That is plagiarized almost directly from my 7th grade book report, 'Gettsyburg. Wow,'" he said, putting up an image of a book report with a D-. "I did not do well."
"It was vicious and horrible and beautiful," Stewart continued. "Is he talking about a Civil War battle or a horse giving birth? It was bloody, but it's life..."
Joshua Chamberlain Must Be Rolling Over in His Grave
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:15:53 GMT -8
Isn't There a Law Against Littering in Space?
US space agency Nasa confirmed that an object that crashed into a home in Florida earlier this month was part of the International Space Station (ISS).
The metal object was jettisoned from the orbiting outpost in March 2021, Nasa said on Monday after analysing the sample at the Kennedy Space Center.
The 1.6lb (0.7kg) metal object tore through two layers of ceiling after re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
Homeowner Alejandro Otero said his son was nearly injured by the impact.
Nasa said the object was part of some 5,800lbs of hardware that was dumped by the station after it had new lithium-ion batteries installed.
"The hardware was expected to fully burn up during entry through Earth's atmosphere on March 8, 2024. However, a piece of hardware survived and impacted a home in Naples, Florida," the agency said.
If a Man's Home is His Castle, How Do You Build a Moat Against Space Litter.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:17:08 GMT -8
The Perils of Previous Guy - Day 1
Of the four criminal proceedings he is facing, this is the case Trump dislikes the most, as it mixes personal dirty laundry; the recording of the $130,000 payment as “legal expenses” to hide its dubious nature and, even worse, an alleged violation of campaign finance rules, as the alleged bribe to buy Daniels’ silence had the sole objective of preventing the affair from coming to light in the final stretch of the campaign that ultimately brought him to the White House in 2016.
Presided over by Judge Juan Merchan, the trial has begun with jury selection. The questionnaire for the potential candidates—a hundred on Monday, out of a total of 500—has been made public, and it is expected that in the process those who do not respond adequately will be automatically excluded, according to the scale of prosecutors and defense. The fact that all the candidates are residents of Manhattan, an eminently Democratic district, may be a factor that leads to numerous disqualifications by Trump’s lawyers.
Before jury selection began, Judge Merchan spent over an hour on preliminary, or procedural, matters in discussions with the prosecution team and defense counsel. One of the main issues concerned permission to show the transcript of the Access Hollywood tape — an embarrassing audio recorded in 2005 in which Trump denigrated women — at trial. Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, had wanted the tape itself to be one of the main exhibits, but on Monday Judge Merchan ruled that only the transcript, not the recording, could be used. He has also refused to incorporate subsequent revealing — and damning — evidence of Trump’s customary treatment of women. In theory, Merchan’s decision is a victory for the defense.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:18:59 GMT -8
The QOP Has a Plan
The plan, hatched by Arizona Republicans, is to undercut the expected abortion ballot measure this November.
The potential plan would attempt to manipulate voters in several ways, such as trying to get better placement on the ballot and offering a 14-week ban that's "disguised as a 15-week law."
Its distribution follows last week's explosive ruling by the state Supreme Court that upheld a strict abortion ban from Arizona's territorial days. But the 24-slide presentation intended for Republican legislators doesn't address a possible repeal of the ban that may come up for a vote during floor sessions planned for April 17.
It suggests referring three other measures to the ballot.
It's "more likely that the AAA Initiative will fail if vote is split (dilutes vote)," says the presentation, which is titled "Legislative Strategies for Regulating Abortion (Amidst a Radical Ballot Initiative and Court Chaos.)"
Linley Wilson, the state House's general counsel, emailed the presentation to lawmakers and others Monday, then recalled it. House spokesman Andrew Wilder said the email was sent accidentally.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:20:32 GMT -8
MAGA Mike Has a Plan
Mr. Johnson’s announcement, coming after he has agonized for weeks over whether and how to advance an infusion of critical aid to Ukraine amid stiff Republican resistance, was the first concrete indication that he had settled on a path forward. It came days after Iran launched a large aerial attack on Israel, amplifying calls for Congress to move quickly to approve the pending aid bill.
Emerging from a meeting in which he briefed G.O.P. lawmakers on his plan, Mr. Johnson said he would cobble together a legislative package that roughly mirrors the $95 billion aid bill the Senate passed two months ago but that is broken down into three pieces. Lawmakers would vote separately on a bill providing money for Israel, one allocating funding for Ukraine and a third with aid for Taiwan and other allies. They would cast a fourth vote on a separate measure containing other policies popular among Republicans.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:22:05 GMT -8
Putin's a Lot More Dangerous Than Iran
If the United States and its allies can rush to Israel's defense in the skies, shooting down dozens of drones and missiles fired by Iran, why can't they do the same for Ukraine — which has suffered under Russia's missile attacks for more than two years?
That's the question Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his country's staunchest backers in the West were asking on Monday, hours after the U.S., the United Kingdom, France and Jordan helped Israel shoot down some 300 drones and missiles fired by Iran in retaliation after Israel killed its senior military commanders in Syria.
“European skies could have received the same level of protection long ago if Ukraine had received similar full support from its partners in intercepting drones and missiles," Zelenskyy wrote Monday evening in a post on X.
The show of airborne prowess by Western allies and their partners in the Middle East — which included rushing fighter jets to knock down cruise missiles and Shahed drones headed for Israel — proved the effectiveness of Israel's missile defense system when combined with some of the world's most advanced aircraft.
But it also pointed to a yawning difference in the way Western powers treat Israel compared to Ukraine.
And Iran Would Be a Lot Less Dangerous If Previous Guy Hadn't Pulled Out of the Nuclear Agreement with Iran.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:23:29 GMT -8
Japan Steps Up
At a conference in Japan in February, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the aid provided and pledged would total $12 billion (€11.2 billion). According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Japan was in sixth place for international aid to Ukraine in January, providing more than €7 billion.
While Tokyo cannot supply Kyiv with lethal weapons for historical reasons and national legal restrictions, it can send food, medicine, generators, cars, bulletproof vests and demining equipment.
But Ukraine needs weapons, and Japan might be able to help despite its constitutionally enshrined pacifism. The Japanese press has reported there could be a delivery to the US of missiles manufactured in Japan for American Patriot anti-aircraft systems so that Washington could pass them on to Ukraine.
In response, Russian Foreign Ministry representatives said the appearance of Japanese missiles in Ukraine would have "consequences" for Moscow's relations with Tokyo.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:25:29 GMT -8
Is Previous Guy Involved in Defrauding the Court That Found Him Guilty of Fraud?
Trump had until midnight on Monday to submit details on that so called “bond” he secured from Knight Specialty Insurance Company. This is the supposed $175 million bond that Knight says Trump will pay, and Knight isn’t certified as a bond insurer in NY state, and Knight doesn’t have the cash to cover the bond...etc, etc, etc. Turns out that Knight has “access” to another Trump Schwab account that has exactly the amount of money needed for the bond. However, the usual procedure is that the person receiving the bond has to pay a fee to the bonding company, so why didn’t Trump just pay NY state the the $175 million outright? And Knight still insists that it has collateral of at least $1 billion, but it still only has cash reserves of $138 million, which Letitia James says is insufficient funding to cover the bond under NY state law.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:31:06 GMT -8
Doesn't Every Criminal Defendent Get To Take the Day Off For a Graduation?
Conservatives got into a tizzy on Monday after Donald Trump raged that it “looks like” Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the former president’s criminal hush money trial, will “not let me go” to the high school graduation ceremony of son Barron Trump.
But that’s not what Merchan said.
Merchan actually said it may be possible for Trump to attend the May 17 celebration, but he’d have to see how the trial develops.
Trump nevertheless spun it into an attack on what he called the “scam” proceedings against him as he first fumed outside the courthouse:
Donald Trump again compared himself to infamous mobster Al Capone and let rip at the judge in his upcoming hush money trial at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.
Braving a chilly wind and some light rain, the crowd in the small town of Schnecksville gathered to hear the former president speak for the final time before his historic trial kicks off on Monday.
"I've been indicted more than Al Capone, the great gangster," Trump said in a speech that featured all his greatest hits, including attacks on immigrants and falsehoods about electoral fraud in 2020.
Didn't They Let Al Capone Skip His Trial For a Few Days?
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:34:17 GMT -8
Down Another 12% Today
A senior editor at Forbes predicts that the stock of Donald Trump’s social media company “could go to zero,” and retail investors who bought it to support the former president could lose big.
“If you look at the fundamentals of the company, it’s poised to go down a lot more,” Dan Alexander told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday. “If you look at the number of users this company has, the amount of revenue that it generates, you know, its valuation should be measured in the hundreds of millions of dollars, at the most. Right now, the public markets are valuing it at 3.5 billion.”
“So that means this stock should fall by at least another 90% before the metrics start to make any amount of sense,” he continued.
“And for people who are just blindly putting their faith in Trump and in the company, that means that they could stand to lose a lot of money.”
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group, Truth Social’s parent company, plummeted by 18% on Monday after the company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it plans to offer more than 20 million additional shares. Monday’s drop adds to a string of losses since Truth Social’s market debut on March 26.
How Many Types of Business Can He Run Into the Ground?
Trump Media shares fell by more than 10% on Tuesday morning after the company announced its Truth Social platform is moving to launch a live TV streaming platform.
The plummet of DJT shares came a day after they closed more than 18% lower.
Trump Media's majority shareholder is former President Donald Trump, who holds nearly 60% of its stock. Trump is in court in New York for jury selection in his criminal hush money case.
The company's market capitalization has decreased by more than $5 billion since its stock began public trading on March 26 after a merger with shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp.
Trump Media shares that day opened at more than $70 and soared to nearly $80.
Shares were selling for $25.11 as of 10:11 a.m. ET Tuesday.
He Can Use Campaign Money to Buy Ads On His Media Company to Prop Up It's Stock While He Pays Himself.
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:35:05 GMT -8
Abort! Abort!
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Post by mhbruin on Apr 16, 2024 8:42:44 GMT -8
Gov DeathSentence Lives Up to the Name
Failed presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill late last week barring Florida localities from requiring employers to provide outdoor workers with access to water, rest and shade, outraging workplace safety advocates who say the new law will kill people.
Backed by the agricultural and construction industries, the controversial legislation is what’s known as a “preemption” law: It forbids cities and counties from pursuing their own ordinances on a particular subject, in this case protections from extreme heat.
The law effectively nullifies a proposal in Miami-Dade County that would require some employers to maintain a heat safety program and provide employees with water and shade on hot days. The county commission recently withdrew the proposal after the state legislation put its legality in doubt.
The preemption bill recently passed the Republican-controlled state House and Senate, along with a similar measure that prevents jurisdictions from requiring employers to pay livable wages on government-funded projects.
Unions and other progressive groups said blocking heat regulations would endanger farm and construction workers and anyone else who labors in one of the hottest states in the country.
“Someone is going to die as a result of this legislation,” Kim Smith, a telecommunications technician, told HuffPost last month.
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