December 19, 2022

Jan. 6 Panel Refers McCarthy, Three Other Republicans for Ethics Violations

Source: Politico

The Jan. 6 select committee says four House Republicans — including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — violated congressional ethics rules by defying subpoenas for testimony and documents.

The panel referred the lawmakers for a review by the bipartisan ethics committee, which is seen as unlikely to take action against the members. In addition to McCarthy, three other lawmakers were referred for defying subpoenas: Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/19/jan-6-ethics-violations-00074599

December 19, 2022

Donald Trump: Malignant Narcissist, Criminal Grifter, Seditionist

4. COMMITTEE WILL REFER DONALD TRUMP FOR INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION

1. Committee referring Trump for ‘knowingly and willfully’ making false statements

2. Committee will issue criminal referrals for Trump, Eastman, others for defrauding U.S.

3. Committee will refer Trump and Eastman for obstructing an official proceeding

REMINDER: This below is who Donald Trump is. He’s a textbook case. It explains every action on a personal level and in his capacity as President. It explains why he is a lifelong grifter. It explains why he is enamored of authoritarians, and uses the mob tactics of his mentor, Roy Cohn. It explains why he engages in criminal behavior:

“The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5, 2013) indicates that a person with NPD possesses at least five of the following nine criteria, typically without possessing the commensurate personal qualities or accomplishments for which they demand respect and status:
* Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from other people
* Continually demeaning, bullying and belittling others
* Exploiting others to achieve personal gain
* Lack of empathy for the negative impact they have on the feelings, wishes, and needs of other people
* Fixation on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc.
* Self-perception of being unique, superior, and associated with high-status people and institutions
* Need for continual admiration from others
* Sense of entitlement to special treatment and to obedience from others
* Intense envy of others, and the belief that others are equally envious of them[7][10]

They spend much time thinking about achieving power and success, or on their appearance.[3] Typically, they also take advantage of the people around them.

“People with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) are characterized by the personality traits of persistent grandiosity, an excessive need for admiration, and a personal disdain and lack of empathy for other people. As such, the person with NPD usually displays arrogance and a distorted sense of personal superiority, and seeks to establish abusive power and control over others.

Self-confidence (a strong sense of self) is a personality trait different from the traits of narcissistic personality disorder; thus, people with NPD typically value themselves over others, to the extent of openly disregarding the wishes and feelings of anyone else, and expect to be treated as superior, regardless of their actual status or achievements.

Socially, the person with narcissistic personality disorder usually exhibits a fragile ego (self-concept), intolerance of criticism, and a tendency to belittle other people, in order to validate his or her own superiority.”

“Among the variants of narcissism, however, malignant narcissists are by far the most damaging. Beyond merely wanting to focus primarily on themselves and be held in overly high regard by virtually everyone in their lives, they tend to have a darker side to their self-absorption. This subset contains the general traits of NPD including the regular egocentricity, but also some antisocial traits and even a sadistic streak in addition to a poor sense of self and lack of empathy. In fact, some experts see little difference between malignant narcissists and psychopaths in that both have a sadistic, antisocial streak, and very little empathy. There is often some paranoia involved with malignant narcissism as well."

May 19, 2017

BREAKING: Swedish Prosecutors Drop Julian Assange Rape Investigation

Source: Guardian UK

Swedish prosecutors drop Julian Assange rape investigation

Swedens director of public prosecution, Marianne Ny, says she has decided to discontinue the investigation into WikiLeaks founder


Press Association and Reuters
Friday 19 May 2017 05.14 EDT

Swedish prosecutors said on Friday they would drop a preliminary investigation into an allegation of rape against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday, bringing to an end a seven-year legal standoff.

Chief Prosecutor Marianne Ny has today decided to discontinue the preliminary investigation regarding suspected rape concerning Julian Assange, the prosecutors office said in a statement.

Assange, 45, has lived in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, after taking refuge there to avoid extradition to Sweden over the allegation of rape, which he denies.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/19/swedish-prosecutors-drop-julian-assange-investigation?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

November 23, 2016

Anything we can do about this? Wyoming DUers?

http://trib.com/news/local/casper/vietnam-vet-with-no-known-family-to-be-buried-in/article_97da23eb-9813-5ace-a186-056bc16b22be.html

Vietnam vet no known family to be buried in Casper; coroner hopes people will attend his funeral

- snip -

But that’s about all Natrona County Coroner Connie Jacobson knows for certain about Stephen Carl Reiman, a 63-year-old homeless Navy veteran who died Thursday at Wyoming Medical Center. Her office has looked for a friend or a family member to claim Reiman. They haven’t found anyone.

The other thing Jacobson knows is that Reiman needs to be buried with respect. And that he shouldn’t be alone.

- snip -

Reiman came to Wyoming from a Southern California community for homeless veterans. He served in the Navy from 1971 to 1975, his last post aboard the U.S.S. Long Beach. Reiman had previously told a VA doctor that he had struggled with PTSD, depression and alcoholism, Jacobson said. Those symptoms worsened when Reiman’s only son died in combat in Iraq, Jacobson said, and Reiman became incapable of working. He depended on the VA for housing, income and health care.

It’s not clear why Reiman traveled the 1,250 miles to Sheridan with just one backpack — full of Bruce Springsteen CDs, a laptop, an iPod, two identification cards, a copy of his birth certificate and his Navy discharge papers. He also had Springsteen’s memoir, “Born to Run,” in his pack, his most recent page marked with the book’s dust cover.

- snip -

A funeral with military honors will be held for Reiman at 10 a.m. Nov. 29 at the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery in Evansville. Every year, the cemetery hosts a handful of funerals for veterans whom nobody claimed as family, the cemetery’s interim director said.

MORE

November 21, 2016

@AP: BREAKING: Magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes off Fukushima in Japan, tsunami warning issued

Source: Associated Press

@AP: BREAKING: Magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes off Fukushima in Japan, tsunami warning issued.

@Reuters: RT @ReutersWorld: MORE: Tsunami to strike Fukushima coast within minutes - Japan broadcaster NHK

m.twitter.com/Reuters

Will update.

Read more: Link to source

October 31, 2016

Donald Trump’s Companies Destroyed Emails in Defiance of Court Orders

Source: Newsweek


Donald Trump’s Companies Destroyed Emails in Defiance of Court Orders

By Kurt Eichenwald On 10/31/16 at 7:00 AM

11/11/16
COVER STORY


Donald Trump has a long, troubling history of destroying and hiding important documents in lawsuits, but he thinks Hillary Clinton’s the one who should be going to jail

Over the course of decades, Donald Trump’s companies have systematically destroyed or hidden thousands of emails, digital records and paper documents demanded in official proceedings, often in defiance of court orders. These tactics—exposed by a Newsweek review of thousands of pages of court filings, judicial orders and affidavits from an array of court cases—have enraged judges, prosecutors, opposing lawyers and the many ordinary citizens entangled in litigation with Trump. In each instance, Trump and entities he controlled also erected numerous hurdles that made lawsuits drag on for years, forcing courtroom opponents to spend huge sums of money in legal fees as they struggled—sometimes in vain—to obtain records.

This behavior is of particular import given Trump’s frequent condemnations of Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent, for having deleted more than 30,000 emails from a server she used during her time as secretary of state. While Clinton and her lawyers have said all of those emails were personal, Trump has suggested repeatedly on the campaign trail that they were government documents Clinton was trying to hide and that destroying them constituted a crime. The allegation—which the FBI concluded was not supported by any evidence—is a crowd-pleaser at Trump rallies, often greeted by supporters chanting, “Lock her up!”



Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/2016/11/11/donald-trump-companies-destroyed-emails-documents-515120.html

October 8, 2016

@aedwardslevy: I'm calling for a total and complete shutdown of Donald Trump...

@aedwardslevy: I'm calling for a total and complete shutdown of Donald Trump interacting with women until we can figure out what is going on

September 9, 2016

Police-Involved Injuries of Civilians Rise Nearly 50%, Harvard Researchers Say

Source: The Guardian

US policing

Police-involved injuries of civilians rise nearly 50%, Harvard researchers say

Study looked at emergency visits over 14-year period and also found black men were more likely to be injured by police and security guards than white men

Ciara McCarthy in New York
@mccarthy_ciara
Friday 9 September 2016 10.02 EDT Last modified on Friday 9 September 2016 10.45 EDT

The rate of serious injuries caused by police and private security increased nearly 50% from 2001 to 2014, according to a new study from Harvard public health researchers that looked at emergency room visits.

An article published this week reviewed hospital emergency room data to analyze non-fatal injuries following “legal intervention” – defined in this study as a wound inflicted by police officers or private security guards. In the 14-year period examined, the rate of these injuries per 100,000 people increased by 47.4%. The analysis is one of few that can provide a longitudinal study of police use of force over time, according to lead author Justin Feldman.

The article also concluded that black civilians, and particularly black men, are significantly more likely to be injured by police than their white counterparts, a trend carried over in numerous analyses of police killings and fatal shootings. Black people were injured and sought treatment at a rate 4.9 times higher than whites, according to the research.

MORE

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/09/police-involved-injuries-civilian-harvard-study

September 9, 2016

Firefighters in Iowa Revive Cat Rescued from Basement of Burning House

ABC News (@ABC)
9/9/16, 9:53 AM
Firefighters in Iowa revive cat that had been rescued from the basement of a burning house. pic.twitter.com/1M2ilFvbJi

https://twitter.com/abc/status/774244316516540416