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Top 10 Conservative Idiots #5-20: Diary Of A Wimpy Trump: Old School Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #5-20: Diary Of A Wimpy Trump: Old School Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Sign up today for the new Top 10 Rewards Signature Visa Card! We have rates as low as 5.9% APR with bonus frequent flyer miles for 24 months! What’s up Denver? Ah, it’s good to be back. I do love this city – lots of great beer and food. And Denver is a beer town too. Man you guys are drunk too! And hey we’re in the mile high city so drinking one beer feels like you’re drinking 5 beers. Not to mention you guys have some great drunk food. I can guarantee that if I lived here I’d probably weigh over 500 pounds. Just saying. So do we have time for the thing? So something very sad happened as we were putting together this week’s Top 10 – the man, the myth, the legend that is the great Stan Lee has passed away. Fuck!!! Man, that just sucks because we wouldn’t have the awesome Marvel Cinematic Universe without him, nor would we have one of my favorites – Deadpool. But really you got to give it up for Stan – at 95 he was still appearing in Ant Man & The Wasp – which is a great addition to the MCU if you haven’t seen it yet. But really you could go through any number of the great movies and characters that he’s created – like Iron Man, Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, the X-Men – really all of the Avengers. And it really sucks what happened to him at the end of his life, all of the embezzlement and fraud in his name. However we’re not really going to talk about that, I’d rather celebrate the man’s life. And we’ll do so by showing a clip from one of my favorite flicks of the last couple of years, Thor: Ragnarok:
And you know what? Throughout this whole edition today we’ll use this time to pay tribute to Stan Lee, the Top 10 way! OK enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first John Oliver is back and he shows that Trump hasn’t exactly lived up to his promise of “draining the swamp”:
Taking the first slot this week of course is our now former Attorney General Jeff Sessions (1) and another Trump firing means it’s time for another installment of the Trumper Games! Wooo! And if you think that’s bad, wait until you meet his replacement - Matt Whittaker (2)! Think Sessions was bad? You ain’t seen nothing yet! At the third slot this week, is of course our current president Donald J. Trump (3) and we have to talk about his visit to France, and once again, like a kid getting sent to the principal’s office, he of course has to meet with his boss, Vladimir Putin. In the slot #4 is the NRA (4). Sigh, another week, another mass shooting. This one hits way too close to home though at Thousand Oaks, California. But did you know that the NRA is escalating its’ war on the Center For Disease Control? Yeah that is happening and the NRA vs Doctors is absolutely insane. Taking the 5th slot is our weekly investigative piece Top 10 Investigates, and this week, we’re going to look at a controversial proposal that passed in California last week – what exactly is Prop 8 and how will it affect you? Well, we will find out. For the sixth slot this week is of course our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit”, and this week, our resident pastor usually doesn’t kick people when they’re down, but we have to gloat at the fact that embattled Kentucky clerk Kim Davis lost! Ha ha! For the seventh slot this week, Beating A Dead Horse (7) is back for the 3rd week in a row! This week we’re going to talk about something that is absolutely infuriating Christian conservatives – drag queen story hour. Is it really a bad thing? We shall find out!For the 8th slot this week, we’ve got a brand new installment of “People Who Somehow Got Elected” and this week it’s Florida’s new governor Ron DeSantis (8) – how did this guy get elected? Well… Florida is a bit racist if you can’t tell. At number 9 (NEIN!!!) this week is an all new People Are Dumb, because of course People Are Dumb! Finally this week we’ve got a brand new edition of our ongoing series that explains how government works to conspiracy theorists, Deep State Diaries, and this week we’re going to explore planes – and specifically the group that monitors them, the FAA! Plus we’ve got a great musical guest for you – Colorado’s own Nataniel Raetliff & The Night Sweats are going to be stopping by! Really buy their new album “Tearing At The Seams” or you’re no friend of the show. Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
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[font size="8"]Jeff Sessions
[br] [/font] [br]
Happy Trumper Games! Hey everyone! I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ooh, it has been way too long, my pretties! Of course every day in this administration seems like it’s an eternity doesn’t it? Oh, strap in because if you thought the first two years were completely insane, wait until you see the next two! For the president has declared himself to be judge, jury and executioner. The last time we were here, Tribute Hayley from the 5th district has resigned. This week, the President simply removed Tribute Sessions from the 2nd district. You know, don’t ask me how the districts work because even I don’t know. Well, anyway here is the latest!
Attorney General Jeff Sessions was pushed out Wednesday as the country’s chief law enforcement officer after enduring more than a year of blistering and personal attacks from President Donald Trump over his recusal from the Russia investigation.
Sessions told the president in a one-page letter that he was submitting his resignation “at your request.”
Trump announced in a tweet that he was naming Sessions’ chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a former United States attorney from Iowa, as acting attorney general. Whitaker has criticized special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential coordination between the president’s Republican campaign and Russia.
The resignation was the culmination of a toxic relationship that frayed just weeks into the attorney general’s tumultuous tenure, when he stepped aside from the Mueller investigation.
http://time.com/5448197/jeff-sessions-resigns/
Sessions told the president in a one-page letter that he was submitting his resignation “at your request.”
Trump announced in a tweet that he was naming Sessions’ chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a former United States attorney from Iowa, as acting attorney general. Whitaker has criticized special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential coordination between the president’s Republican campaign and Russia.
The resignation was the culmination of a toxic relationship that frayed just weeks into the attorney general’s tumultuous tenure, when he stepped aside from the Mueller investigation.
http://time.com/5448197/jeff-sessions-resigns/
Oh that’s fierce, honey! Work it! And damn it, Charlie! Why must you bring me the cheap champagne? I want the good stuff! What? Management says that we can’t afford the good stuff? Very well then! But this is a huge upset for the Trumper Games. Tribute Sessions was very heavily favored above the rest, but that doesn’t stop the president from pulling a dick move and forcing Tribute Sessions to resign, because in the Trumper Games, anything can happen at any minute!
President Trump could wait no longer.
On Wednesday — a day after the midterm elections, with several races still too close to call — the president forced the resignation of his attorney general, Jeff Sessions. The New York Times quickly published a 1,300-word story, the first version of which had been written in July … of 2017.
That was after President Trump lashed out at Mr. Sessions in an interview. And for the past 16 months, Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, has been updating the story, and waiting.
“Every time something happened in the news that made us wonder if Sessions was about to resign or be fired, we would update it and make sure it was ready to go,” Mr. Baker said.
It was a type of article known in the newsroom as an H.F.O. — “Hold for Orders” — written and edited in anticipation of news that hasn’t happened yet. H.F.O.s are planned for scheduled events, like elections and inaugurations, but also the less predictable, the seemingly possible, and the inevitable. Their execution is essential procedure in daily journalism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/reader-center/hfo-breaking-news-hold-for-orders.html
On Wednesday — a day after the midterm elections, with several races still too close to call — the president forced the resignation of his attorney general, Jeff Sessions. The New York Times quickly published a 1,300-word story, the first version of which had been written in July … of 2017.
That was after President Trump lashed out at Mr. Sessions in an interview. And for the past 16 months, Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, has been updating the story, and waiting.
“Every time something happened in the news that made us wonder if Sessions was about to resign or be fired, we would update it and make sure it was ready to go,” Mr. Baker said.
It was a type of article known in the newsroom as an H.F.O. — “Hold for Orders” — written and edited in anticipation of news that hasn’t happened yet. H.F.O.s are planned for scheduled events, like elections and inaugurations, but also the less predictable, the seemingly possible, and the inevitable. Their execution is essential procedure in daily journalism.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/reader-center/hfo-breaking-news-hold-for-orders.html
Don’t forget the crazy straw, Charlie! Yes, the president may be an abusive jackass and the textbook definition of a “horrible boss” but that doesn’t stop him from simply thinking that he is above the law and can do whatever he pleases!
The fallout after the midterm elections has begun. After a tumultuous relationship with President Donald Trump, Attorney General Jeff Session has resigned at the president’s request.
“We are pleased to announce that Matthew Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well,” the president tweeted.
“We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.”
https://www.kplctv.com/2018/11/07/jeff-sessions-resigns-attorney-general/
“We are pleased to announce that Matthew Whitaker, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the Department of Justice, will become our new Acting Attorney General of the United States. He will serve our Country well,” the president tweeted.
“We thank Attorney General Jeff Sessions for his service, and wish him well! A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.”
https://www.kplctv.com/2018/11/07/jeff-sessions-resigns-attorney-general/
Yes that is true! And in case you were wondering if the firing of Tribute Sessions had any effects on any kind of market, well this one, I can assure you, is for real! Yes, Tribute Sessions had a real problem with legalized pot, and was planning to escalate the war against it. But consider this a bonus as Tribute Sessions is… eliminated!
Jeff Sessions resigned as Attorney General Wednesday, which is a nice way of saying President Trump fired him. On the day after the 2018 midterms, in which the Democrats took control of the House, and on the tail end of a White House press conference that devolved into an alarming display of executive power, Sessions got the boot, giving us one more thing to react to. And probably because Sessions was a tyrant when it came to marijuana, spewing racist assumptions about how "good people" don't smoke it and supporting punitive policies that targeted people of color, cannabis stocks reacted very positively to the news.
CNBC reports that cannabis companies Canopy Growth, Aurora Cannabis, and Cronos Group all jumped up between 8 and 9 percent to close the day high. Canadian company Tilray shot up 30 percent. Data reporter Christopher Ingraham showed how the marijuana market as a whole surged (Trump announced Sessions' resignation at 2:44 p.m.):
Cannabis stocks weren't hurt by the midterm elections either, when Michigan voted to legalize recreational weed, and Utah and Missouri passed medical marijuana measures. Michigan itself adds millions of more potential weed buyers to the states, and for the first time makes a weed haven in the Midwest.
https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/money/a24846802/marijuana-stocks-jump-jeff-sessions-michigan/
CNBC reports that cannabis companies Canopy Growth, Aurora Cannabis, and Cronos Group all jumped up between 8 and 9 percent to close the day high. Canadian company Tilray shot up 30 percent. Data reporter Christopher Ingraham showed how the marijuana market as a whole surged (Trump announced Sessions' resignation at 2:44 p.m.):
Cannabis stocks weren't hurt by the midterm elections either, when Michigan voted to legalize recreational weed, and Utah and Missouri passed medical marijuana measures. Michigan itself adds millions of more potential weed buyers to the states, and for the first time makes a weed haven in the Midwest.
https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/money/a24846802/marijuana-stocks-jump-jeff-sessions-michigan/
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[font size="8"]Matt Whittaker
[br] [/font] [br]
So Jeff Sessions is out as Attorney General. And if you thought he was bad, just wait until you meet his replacement, Matt Whittaker! Whew, yeah that is all I have to say, whew. This man is absolutely fucking scary. And here’s the really fucked up thing about this appointment – Trump claims he doesn’t remember the guy! Or does he? Well I don’t think even he’s sure who he knows or who he doesn’t know – and I’m not surprised in the least either.
President Trump went out of his way on Friday to distance himself from Matthew G. Whitaker, his choice to replace Jeff Sessions as attorney general, saying repeatedly that he did not know Mr. Whitaker and had not spoken to him and emphasizing that the new attorney general was merely “there in an acting position.”
“I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left Washington for a weekend trip to Paris. But the president stressed that he did know Mr. Whitaker’s reputation well, calling him “a very respected man.”
The faint presidential praise came just two days after Mr. Trump unceremoniously dumped Mr. Sessions, putting Mr. Whitaker in charge of the Justice Department and the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Since then, criticism has mounted about Mr. Whitaker’s lack of credentials to be the nation’s top law enforcement official, along with allegations that he has conflicts of interest that should keep him from overseeing the Russia inquiry.
“I am not aware of any precedent for appointment of an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate to serve as acting attorney general,” Mr. Schumer wrote.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/us/politics/matthew-whitaker-donald-trump.html
“I don’t know Matt Whitaker,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he left Washington for a weekend trip to Paris. But the president stressed that he did know Mr. Whitaker’s reputation well, calling him “a very respected man.”
The faint presidential praise came just two days after Mr. Trump unceremoniously dumped Mr. Sessions, putting Mr. Whitaker in charge of the Justice Department and the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Since then, criticism has mounted about Mr. Whitaker’s lack of credentials to be the nation’s top law enforcement official, along with allegations that he has conflicts of interest that should keep him from overseeing the Russia inquiry.
“I am not aware of any precedent for appointment of an official who has not been confirmed by the Senate to serve as acting attorney general,” Mr. Schumer wrote.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/us/politics/matthew-whitaker-donald-trump.html
Yeah that’s probably about the exact reaction we’d expect from Trump at this point. So what makes Whitaker so qualified to be the new acting Attorney General? Well, he kisses Trump’s ass, and that’s about all you need to know. Oh, and he has also had some incredibly shady business dealings in the past.
Donald Trump’s new acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker ran for statewide office twice in Iowa, and lost badly both times. After the second defeat — he finished fourth in a 2014 GOP Senate primary — a group of conservative lawyers in Washington, D.C., approached with him with an idea. According to a GOP operative familiar with the discussion, the group recruited Whitaker into an effort to start a conservative counterpoint to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. For years, CREW had bedeviled the right with its crusades for good governance and its annual list of the most corrupt members of Congress. The Republican legal world saw the outfit as little more than a partisan operation masquerading as a government-accountability project, and they wanted their own version.
Whitaker, a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, took the job, dividing his time between Des Moines, where he was a partner in one of the leading Republican law firms in the state, and this new group, named Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, in Washington. Its fundraising was mysterious — almost all of its money came from Donors Trust, an organization set up to shield conservative donors’ identities when they gave to a network of right-wing political organizations. Whitaker, according to tax documents, was paid more than $400,000 for his work for the group in 2016.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/matthew-whitaker-ran-a-chop-shop-of-fake-ethics-complaints.html
Whitaker, a former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, took the job, dividing his time between Des Moines, where he was a partner in one of the leading Republican law firms in the state, and this new group, named Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, in Washington. Its fundraising was mysterious — almost all of its money came from Donors Trust, an organization set up to shield conservative donors’ identities when they gave to a network of right-wing political organizations. Whitaker, according to tax documents, was paid more than $400,000 for his work for the group in 2016.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/matthew-whitaker-ran-a-chop-shop-of-fake-ethics-complaints.html
Yeah probably. For those of you keeping score at home – Whitaker ran a shady corporation that got busted by the SEC for fraud. Check. Mysterious and untraceable fundraising. Check. Oh and he’s also a loyalist. Check mate! And in case you’re wondering – Whitaker is the perfect guy to obstruct the Mueller investigation, which is what he was hired to do.
Democratic leaders pressed the Department of Justice's top ethics official on Sunday to provide answers on whether the department has advised acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
In a letter to Lee Lofthus, the assistant attorney general for administration, Democrats highlighted Whitaker's past comments criticizing the Mueller probe and what they called a "troubling" conflict of interest as evidence that he should have no role overseeing the investigation.
"There are serious ethical considerations that require Mr. Whitaker’s immediate recusal from any involvement with the Special Counsel investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election," the Democrats wrote.
Before Whitaker joined the Justice Department as former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' chief of staff in late 2017, he was a conservative legal commentator and wrote an opinion piece for CNN titled "Mueller's investigation into Trump is going too far."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/top-democrats-say-matt-whitaker-must-offer-immediate-recusal-mueller-n934921
In a letter to Lee Lofthus, the assistant attorney general for administration, Democrats highlighted Whitaker's past comments criticizing the Mueller probe and what they called a "troubling" conflict of interest as evidence that he should have no role overseeing the investigation.
"There are serious ethical considerations that require Mr. Whitaker’s immediate recusal from any involvement with the Special Counsel investigation of the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election," the Democrats wrote.
Before Whitaker joined the Justice Department as former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' chief of staff in late 2017, he was a conservative legal commentator and wrote an opinion piece for CNN titled "Mueller's investigation into Trump is going too far."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/top-democrats-say-matt-whitaker-must-offer-immediate-recusal-mueller-n934921
Exactly, sir. But really, ethics? Who needs them? I mean really – have you been living in the last two years? I ask – because I really want to know! This is the Donald J. Trump administration we’re talking about here. Laws. Facts. Ethics. Reason. Conscious. Thinking. I mean who needs to do all that hard thinking if you can have Fox News do it for you? But the firing of Jeff Sessions puts this administration in some very uncharted territory .
Warning of an impending constitutional crisis if action is not taken to protect Robert Mueller, congressional Democrats demanded on Sunday that acting attorney general Matthew Whitaker recuse himself from overseeing the special counsel’s investigation and warned of a showdown in Congress if Whitaker does not.
Top Democrats have written to the chief ethics officer of the justice department, asking for an official opinion on whether Whitaker, who has denied Russian interference in the 2016 election and described a strategy for derailing Mueller, should recuse himself from the Russia inquiry.
Whitaker will be the first witness summoned by the House judiciary committee when Democrats take charge in January, the incoming chairman, Jerry Nadler, said, calling Whitaker “a complete political lackey” and “a real threat to the integrity of that investigation”.
Donald Trump fired the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, on Wednesday and appointed Whitaker, a former US attorney from Iowa and Sessions’s chief of staff, to be acting attorney general – a move Democrats called illegal.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/11/trump-matthew-whitaker-robert-mueller-democrats-constitutional-crisis
Top Democrats have written to the chief ethics officer of the justice department, asking for an official opinion on whether Whitaker, who has denied Russian interference in the 2016 election and described a strategy for derailing Mueller, should recuse himself from the Russia inquiry.
Whitaker will be the first witness summoned by the House judiciary committee when Democrats take charge in January, the incoming chairman, Jerry Nadler, said, calling Whitaker “a complete political lackey” and “a real threat to the integrity of that investigation”.
Donald Trump fired the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, on Wednesday and appointed Whitaker, a former US attorney from Iowa and Sessions’s chief of staff, to be acting attorney general – a move Democrats called illegal.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/11/trump-matthew-whitaker-robert-mueller-democrats-constitutional-crisis
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[font size="8"]Donald Trump
[br] [/font] [br]
Why did the guy who we currently call president – Donald J. Trump, or as John Oliver called him “Donald T. Rump” go to France this week? Was it to honor our World War I veterans on the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI? No. was it to strengthen diplomatic ties between the US and France? No. Why he got sent to the principal’s office again. Think of this as the 4th installment of Diary Of A Wimpy Trump. Let’s call this one “Diary Of A Wimpy Trump: Old School”. So the Trip to France was essentially one disaster after another.
Still fighting political flaps that arose during his weekend in France, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the Secret Service nixed a visit to a cemetery in the rain because the motorcade would have shut down Paris.
"When the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving," Trump tweeted. "Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown."
Trump took heat back home after the White House announced it had canceled a trip to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial near Paris "due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather," including rain and fog.
By the way, when the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetary in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
The statement said nothing about a possible motorcade. Trump, who traveled to Paris for a series of events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, spent Saturday afternoon out of the public eye.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/13/donald-trump-secret-service-cemetery-trip-france/1986252002/
"When the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving," Trump tweeted. "Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown."
Trump took heat back home after the White House announced it had canceled a trip to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial near Paris "due to scheduling and logistical difficulties caused by the weather," including rain and fog.
By the way, when the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving. Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetary in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
The statement said nothing about a possible motorcade. Trump, who traveled to Paris for a series of events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, spent Saturday afternoon out of the public eye.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/13/donald-trump-secret-service-cemetery-trip-france/1986252002/
Of course it was fake news. Everything is fake news isn’t it? Of course Trump likes to rub salt in the wound, because, why not? That’s what a good psychopath does, don’t you know .
Donald Trump ramped up his spat with Emmanuel Macron, the French president, with a denigrating tweet in which he said Parisians had started to learn German during the second world war before the US saved them from occupation.
The US president’s Tuesday morning tweet exacerbates his standoff with Macron following his visit to Paris over the weekend that was marred by his controversial behavior. In the tweet Trump repeated his accusation that Macron had called for a European army as protection against the US – an apparent misreading of Macron’s earlier comments.
The biting words represent an escalation of the attack Trump made on Friday in which he said Macron had been “very insulting” by suggesting Europe needed its own army to protect itself against the US, China and Russia. Trump appeared to be conflating, however, Macron’s desire to strengthen Europe’s military forces – an ambition Trump himself has demanded as he seeks to reduce US contributions to Nato – and comments made by the French president in a radio interview about the threat of cyber-hacking from other countries including the US.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/13/trump-macron-eu-army-german-second-world-war
The US president’s Tuesday morning tweet exacerbates his standoff with Macron following his visit to Paris over the weekend that was marred by his controversial behavior. In the tweet Trump repeated his accusation that Macron had called for a European army as protection against the US – an apparent misreading of Macron’s earlier comments.
Link to tweet
The biting words represent an escalation of the attack Trump made on Friday in which he said Macron had been “very insulting” by suggesting Europe needed its own army to protect itself against the US, China and Russia. Trump appeared to be conflating, however, Macron’s desire to strengthen Europe’s military forces – an ambition Trump himself has demanded as he seeks to reduce US contributions to Nato – and comments made by the French president in a radio interview about the threat of cyber-hacking from other countries including the US.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/13/trump-macron-eu-army-german-second-world-war
He can sever 200 years of diplomatic relations in a single tweet! He’s super troll! Oh by the way in case you’re wondering – this is the point in the movie where the kid gets sent to the principal’s office, and well, that went well.
The weekend away in Paris should not have been hard. For most politicians, events like the armistice commemoration represent an opportunity to project themselves as greater than the sum of their soundbites, above the political fray, sombre yet at their ease among world leaders as they look out across the century gone by. There are lofty prepared remarks and no questions.
For Donald Trump, that was a bridge too far. The trip to France got off to a bad start and kept getting worse. He landed with a tweet, directed against his host, Emmanuel Macron, and based on a mangling in the US press of something the French president had said, to make it sound like he wanted a European army to fend off the US, as well as China and Russia.
It was not what Macron said, but Trump fulminated anyway. “Very insulting,” he declared.
In a way, the US president had come to France by mistake. He had announced the trip in August after he declared that Washington’s municipal leaders wanted to over-charge for the military parade he had demanded.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/11/thumbs-up-from-putin-as-trump-rains-on-armistice-parade
For Donald Trump, that was a bridge too far. The trip to France got off to a bad start and kept getting worse. He landed with a tweet, directed against his host, Emmanuel Macron, and based on a mangling in the US press of something the French president had said, to make it sound like he wanted a European army to fend off the US, as well as China and Russia.
It was not what Macron said, but Trump fulminated anyway. “Very insulting,” he declared.
In a way, the US president had come to France by mistake. He had announced the trip in August after he declared that Washington’s municipal leaders wanted to over-charge for the military parade he had demanded.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/11/thumbs-up-from-putin-as-trump-rains-on-armistice-parade
I guess in this case you could say that Trump *LITERALLY* rained on France’s Armistice Day parade – which is meant to be a solemn vigil, and leave it to Trump to turn it into a shit show. But even one of Trump’s favorite punching bags, Chuck Schumer took issue with the visit turning into a shit show:
Actually, sir, you know what he's really afraid of? Having to do any actual work. The man can barely close an umbrella, what makes you think he's going to do anything presidential? Because let’s face it, he doesn’t care about anything else at this point, other than ratings and crowd sizes. Fuck it. Fuck it all, I say!
President Donald Trump discussed several key issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a lunch at Élysée Palace, according to White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.
"Today at lunch, the President sat with President Macron, Chancellor Merkel, and President Putin, and many other world leaders," Sanders told reporters traveling with the President. "The leaders discussed a variety of issues, including the INF (nuclear treaty), Syria, trade, the situation in Saudi Arabia, sanctions, Afghanistan, China and North Korea."
Sanders said, "They had very good and productive discussions during the two-hour lunch," which was held at the official residence of the French President.
Russian state news agencies reported a brief exchange between Trump and Putin at Sunday's armistice centenary ceremonies in Paris.
RIA Novosti reported Putin as replying in the affirmative when asked if he was able to talk with Trump in a meeting at the Élysée Palace with other foreign leaders.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/11/politics/white-house-trump-putin-macron-merkel/index.html
"Today at lunch, the President sat with President Macron, Chancellor Merkel, and President Putin, and many other world leaders," Sanders told reporters traveling with the President. "The leaders discussed a variety of issues, including the INF (nuclear treaty), Syria, trade, the situation in Saudi Arabia, sanctions, Afghanistan, China and North Korea."
Sanders said, "They had very good and productive discussions during the two-hour lunch," which was held at the official residence of the French President.
Russian state news agencies reported a brief exchange between Trump and Putin at Sunday's armistice centenary ceremonies in Paris.
RIA Novosti reported Putin as replying in the affirmative when asked if he was able to talk with Trump in a meeting at the Élysée Palace with other foreign leaders.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/11/politics/white-house-trump-putin-macron-merkel/index.html
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[font size="8"]The NRA
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So we had another mass shooting last week. And this one hit way too close to home as it happened at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, that was hosting a “College Country Night”, and it’s seriously horrible what happened. Now if you’re the NRA, how do you spin this story? Well, a group of doctors conducting into research for gun control got their arguments shut down by the NRA, because in their eyes, guns are more important than people.
A social media war has erupted between doctors and the National Rifle Association, just as 12 people were shot and killed at a California nightclub and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new figures showing gun deaths on the rise across the country.
Doctors started a hashtag group #ThisisOurLane to argue for action to reduce gun violence. It quickly filled up with comments from medical professionals and supporters pointing out the effects gun violence has on them and their patients. Emergency professionals also often posted pictures of their bloody scrubs, or puddles of blood on emergency room floors -- the result of treating gunshot victims.
Doctors and medical officials have increasingly taken on gun violence as a public health issue. Last month, the American College of Physicians issued new guidelines for doctors to follow in helping protect patients from firearms dangers, and published several reports on gun violence in its flagship publication, the Annals of Internal Medicine.
“We need to ask our patients about firearms, counsel them on safe firearm behaviors, and take further action when an imminent hazard is present,” Dr. Garen Wintemute, of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California Davis Medical Center, wrote in one editorial in the magazine.
On Wednesday, the NRA took issue with the ACP, which represents more than 150,000 internal medicine specialists. “Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane,” the group tweeted.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/nra-opens-social-media-war-doctors-over-firearms-n934056
Doctors started a hashtag group #ThisisOurLane to argue for action to reduce gun violence. It quickly filled up with comments from medical professionals and supporters pointing out the effects gun violence has on them and their patients. Emergency professionals also often posted pictures of their bloody scrubs, or puddles of blood on emergency room floors -- the result of treating gunshot victims.
Doctors and medical officials have increasingly taken on gun violence as a public health issue. Last month, the American College of Physicians issued new guidelines for doctors to follow in helping protect patients from firearms dangers, and published several reports on gun violence in its flagship publication, the Annals of Internal Medicine.
“We need to ask our patients about firearms, counsel them on safe firearm behaviors, and take further action when an imminent hazard is present,” Dr. Garen Wintemute, of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California Davis Medical Center, wrote in one editorial in the magazine.
On Wednesday, the NRA took issue with the ACP, which represents more than 150,000 internal medicine specialists. “Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane,” the group tweeted.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/nra-opens-social-media-war-doctors-over-firearms-n934056
Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! So the underlying message that I’m getting is that the NRA is basically telling doctors to go fuck themselves and the people who treat gunshot victims don’t know anything about guns. So that happened. Oh and they’re further rubbing salt in the wound.
I called into the morgue last Friday to find out what my day’s workload was going to be.
“One gunshot suicide and two other autopsies, probably natural.”
Not a busy day, by any means. It was part of a perfectly ordinary week working as a forensic pathologist in Oakland, California. A couple of days earlier, I had pulled out two 9mm bullets from the body of a middle-aged man. The previous week, it was a 30-something, shot in the back.
Right after I got off the phone, I saw a tweet from the National Rifle Association telling doctors to “stay in their lane” — their response to the American College of Physicians’ updated gun safety guidelines. That was just hours before a man with a handgun and a high-capacity magazine shot dead 12 people in a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, and less than two weeks after a man with an assault rifle shot dead 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue. Angered, I fired back a response, shut off my phone, and began my day.
https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/11/12/18087262/doctors-guns-thousand-oaks-nra
“One gunshot suicide and two other autopsies, probably natural.”
Not a busy day, by any means. It was part of a perfectly ordinary week working as a forensic pathologist in Oakland, California. A couple of days earlier, I had pulled out two 9mm bullets from the body of a middle-aged man. The previous week, it was a 30-something, shot in the back.
Right after I got off the phone, I saw a tweet from the National Rifle Association telling doctors to “stay in their lane” — their response to the American College of Physicians’ updated gun safety guidelines. That was just hours before a man with a handgun and a high-capacity magazine shot dead 12 people in a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, and less than two weeks after a man with an assault rifle shot dead 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue. Angered, I fired back a response, shut off my phone, and began my day.
https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/11/12/18087262/doctors-guns-thousand-oaks-nra
Damn right! I mean is it any wonder that the evil fucking organization known as the NRA got their ass handed to them in the last election? That was sweet! In case you don’t know what I am talking about this is what happened.
"We endorsed well over 300 people in the country and won most of those races," said Peter Ambler, executive director of Giffords, a political action committee formed by Gabby Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman wounded in a shooting.
"We were across the map," he said. "It wasn't a niche local issue. We were on the offensive in blue, red and purple states."
Spending to support candidates backing tougher gun control surged this year, even as campaign spending by the NRA declined. The Giffords PAC spent nearly $5 million. Everytown for Gun Safety, a group founded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pledged $30 million for this year's elections and continued to put new money into competitive races in the final days.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/09/gun-control-is-winning-issue-in-midterms-as-advocates-gain-in-house-defy-nra.html
"We were across the map," he said. "It wasn't a niche local issue. We were on the offensive in blue, red and purple states."
Spending to support candidates backing tougher gun control surged this year, even as campaign spending by the NRA declined. The Giffords PAC spent nearly $5 million. Everytown for Gun Safety, a group founded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, pledged $30 million for this year's elections and continued to put new money into competitive races in the final days.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/09/gun-control-is-winning-issue-in-midterms-as-advocates-gain-in-house-defy-nra.html
And by the way, if you’re wondering about that NRA “A” rating from your local congressman, it’s about to become as toxic as being endorsed by big tobacco used to be.
When the Columbine High School massacre happened near here in 1999, many felt it would galvanize gun control efforts. Others thought the same in 2012, when a gunman killed 12 moviegoers at a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Aurora’s experience with mass gun violence stretches back to 1993, when a former employee entered a Chuck E. Cheese’s and killed four people. The district has more registered Democrats than Republicans, and by presidential election results, it is slightly bluer than the nation as a whole.
Yet four successive Democrats have failed to unseat Representative Mike Coffman, a Republican with consistent A ratings from the National Rifle Association and more campaign contributions from the group than any other member of Colorado’s congressional delegation.
This year, however, Jason Crow — an Army veteran who wants to ban assault weapons, restrict high-capacity magazines and expand background checks — appears poised to defeat Mr. Coffman. A New York Times/Siena College poll last month showed Mr. Crow leading by nine points. [Read more about that poll here.] Mr. Crow has also raised some $1.6 million more than Mr. Coffman.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/us/politics/gun-control-candidates-election.html
Aurora’s experience with mass gun violence stretches back to 1993, when a former employee entered a Chuck E. Cheese’s and killed four people. The district has more registered Democrats than Republicans, and by presidential election results, it is slightly bluer than the nation as a whole.
Yet four successive Democrats have failed to unseat Representative Mike Coffman, a Republican with consistent A ratings from the National Rifle Association and more campaign contributions from the group than any other member of Colorado’s congressional delegation.
This year, however, Jason Crow — an Army veteran who wants to ban assault weapons, restrict high-capacity magazines and expand background checks — appears poised to defeat Mr. Coffman. A New York Times/Siena College poll last month showed Mr. Crow leading by nine points. [Read more about that poll here.] Mr. Crow has also raised some $1.6 million more than Mr. Coffman.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/us/politics/gun-control-candidates-election.html
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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates
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Hey Denver it’s time to investigate beyond the headlines! This is Top 10 Investigates.
California’s proposition system always gains national attention during any given election year, and they are always a mixed bag. But this election season one proposition has stood out above all the rest, and that is Proposition 8. Prop 8 was supposed to regulate the dialysis industry. So proposition 8 would have put a cap on profits from the Dialysis industry – an industry that very badly needs to be regulated, but voters have rejected that proposition.
Proposition 8 fell flat at the polls Tuesday, with voters rejecting the measure that would have capped revenue made by the state’s dialysis clinics.
The union-backed measure broke campaign spending records and sparked fierce debate, with both sides vehemently arguing their position was the one that would protect the 80,000 kidney disease patients in California who rely on life-saving dialysis treatment every month. But Prop. 8 was trailing by a double-digit margin Tuesday night, as opponents cheered its defeat.
“Prop. 8 would have harmed vulnerable dialysis patients by restricting access to life-saving dialysis treatments. Thankfully voters made the smart, compassionate decision to reject it,” Dr. Theodore Mazer, former president of the California Medical Association, wrote in a news release.
Prop. 8 would have forced dialysis clinics to refund revenue exceeding more than 115 percent of the cost of caring for patients. Refunds of up to $100,000 would have gone to insurance providers and patients who pay out of pocket.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/06/early-election-results-voters-reject-prop-8-cap-on-dialysis-profits/
The union-backed measure broke campaign spending records and sparked fierce debate, with both sides vehemently arguing their position was the one that would protect the 80,000 kidney disease patients in California who rely on life-saving dialysis treatment every month. But Prop. 8 was trailing by a double-digit margin Tuesday night, as opponents cheered its defeat.
“Prop. 8 would have harmed vulnerable dialysis patients by restricting access to life-saving dialysis treatments. Thankfully voters made the smart, compassionate decision to reject it,” Dr. Theodore Mazer, former president of the California Medical Association, wrote in a news release.
Prop. 8 would have forced dialysis clinics to refund revenue exceeding more than 115 percent of the cost of caring for patients. Refunds of up to $100,000 would have gone to insurance providers and patients who pay out of pocket.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/06/early-election-results-voters-reject-prop-8-cap-on-dialysis-profits/
Kidney health is nothing to joke about, and apparently voters in California sided with the ads put on by dialysis companies like Davita and voted to basically give them unlimited amounts of money and they don’t need to be as regulated as they were before. So they’re saying regulation is bad. Here’s what it could have done.
Roughly 140,000 Californians spend the equivalent of a part-time job — 12 to 20 hours a week — in a dialysis clinic, where a machine functioning as a kidney filters waste out of their blood.
It’s a tricky procedure — and right now it’s at the center of a heated political battle between labor unions and dialysis companies.
Californians will vote in November on Proposition 8, which would regulate dialysis clinic spending. It’s a move that could either improve patient conditions or degrade them, depending on who you ask.
So far, it’s the most expensive proposition on the ballot, with supporters putting in $20 million and opponents fighting back with $99 million as of October 11.
https://www.ijpr.org/post/why-proposition-8-one-most-contentious-and-confusing-california-ballot-measures#stream/0
It’s a tricky procedure — and right now it’s at the center of a heated political battle between labor unions and dialysis companies.
Californians will vote in November on Proposition 8, which would regulate dialysis clinic spending. It’s a move that could either improve patient conditions or degrade them, depending on who you ask.
So far, it’s the most expensive proposition on the ballot, with supporters putting in $20 million and opponents fighting back with $99 million as of October 11.
https://www.ijpr.org/post/why-proposition-8-one-most-contentious-and-confusing-california-ballot-measures#stream/0
More please. So just how much money did the dialysis companies raise to defeat this measure? Well the numbers are absolutely astonishing, and the ads ran practically non stop. But really how did proposition 8 get started? It was pretty much a dispute between one of the largest labor unions for dialysis clinics and Davita – an evil corporation.
More money has gone toward advertisements for Proposition 8 than any other proposition on this November’s ballot.
Prop. 8 has to do with dialysis and how dialysis clinics conduct their business.
One in seven American adults has chronic kidney disease. In California, 66,000 people have conditions so severe that they require dialysis at least three times a week. It’s a life-saving treatment.
“This is a dialysis machine and this is the dialyzer,” explained Violette McClain, a local dialysis nurse who is against on Prop. 8. “So this is basically like an artificial kidney and this is what our patients depend on to filter their blood, remove the toxins, remove the fluid.”
Proposition 8 would essentially cap dialysis clinic revenue at 15 percent. It would require clinics to refund their patients or their insurers if their revenue exceeds the 15-percent cap.
https://ksby.com/news/decision-2018/2018/10/23/prop-8-differing-opinions-on-how-dialysis-patients-would-be-affected
Prop. 8 has to do with dialysis and how dialysis clinics conduct their business.
One in seven American adults has chronic kidney disease. In California, 66,000 people have conditions so severe that they require dialysis at least three times a week. It’s a life-saving treatment.
“This is a dialysis machine and this is the dialyzer,” explained Violette McClain, a local dialysis nurse who is against on Prop. 8. “So this is basically like an artificial kidney and this is what our patients depend on to filter their blood, remove the toxins, remove the fluid.”
Proposition 8 would essentially cap dialysis clinic revenue at 15 percent. It would require clinics to refund their patients or their insurers if their revenue exceeds the 15-percent cap.
https://ksby.com/news/decision-2018/2018/10/23/prop-8-differing-opinions-on-how-dialysis-patients-would-be-affected
So voters overwhelmingly rejected the calls for dialysis clinics to be regulated and instead rewarded evil corporations like Davita for their bad behavior. And in case you were wondering – both Davita and their owner Warren Buffet – profited handsomely from their reckless spending and horribly worded advertising.
Watch these stock sectors after ballot measures results
Watch these stock sectors after ballot measures results
1:10 PM ET Wed, 7 Nov 2018 | 01:43
DaVita shares soared Wednesday after California voters rejected a ballot measure that would have capped the amount of money dialysis providers in the state can earn on certain patients.
Sixty-one percent of voters said "no" to Proposition 8 in Tuesday's midterms.
Pushed by the Service Employees International Union, the measure would have limited the revenue dialysis providers could earn through rates from privately insured patients to 115 percent of the costs to provide the care. Anything above would be put to dialysis providers, which would be forced to give insurers or patients rebates to make up the difference.
"We are grateful that Californians voted down Proposition 8," DaVita said in a statement Wednesday, "It's disappointing that the SEIU-UHW used the ballot initiative process as leverage in pursuing their own objectives, despite the potential harmful consequences to nearly 70,000 California dialysis patients."
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/07/buffett-owned-davita-jumps-after-voters-reject-cap-on-dialysis-revenue.html
There you have it, we officially live in the Matrix. That’s it for Top 10 Investigates. Good day.
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[font size="8"]Holy Shit
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Gather around, my fair brothers and sisters of Denver, it’s time to take a seat in the pew and pass the collection plate! For the Holy Church of the Top 10 has convened and it’s our weekly duty to remind you why the holiest among us are also the most full of:
My fair congregation, we usually don’t get news this good around here, but in the wake of last week’s election we must celebrate this one with revels. I’m of course talking about the end of the reign of a favored soul of the hardcore Christian right – supporters of the Dark One, and Kim Davis. Yes, the Kentucky clerk who refused to do her job and became a hero of Christian bigots everywhere, now, is no mas! And I have to say as a man of GAWD, that one was sweet!
Rowan County, Kentucky, clerk Kim Davis, who made headlines in 2015 for her protests against same-sex marriage, will lose her job after the midterm elections.
Davis, a Republican, lost to Democratic challenger Elwood Caudill. Caudill got 4,210 votes, or 54.1 percent, and Davis got 3,566, or 45.9 percent.
Davis received a lot of national attention in 2015 when, after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing her religious objections. After she was jailed for defying courts and refusing to do her job, some evangelicals, including Republican Mike Huckabee, rallied behind her. But ultimately, Davis agreed to let her deputies issue marriage licenses and was released from jail.
As Will Wright explained for the Lexington Herald Leader, Caudill previously lost by just 23 votes in the Republican primary for the seat in 2014. But he changed parties in 2015. Caudill then went on to beat David Ermold, one of the gay men Davis denied a marriage license, in the Democratic primary this year.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/11/7/18072228/midterm-election-results-kentucky-clerk-kim-davis
Davis, a Republican, lost to Democratic challenger Elwood Caudill. Caudill got 4,210 votes, or 54.1 percent, and Davis got 3,566, or 45.9 percent.
Davis received a lot of national attention in 2015 when, after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing her religious objections. After she was jailed for defying courts and refusing to do her job, some evangelicals, including Republican Mike Huckabee, rallied behind her. But ultimately, Davis agreed to let her deputies issue marriage licenses and was released from jail.
As Will Wright explained for the Lexington Herald Leader, Caudill previously lost by just 23 votes in the Republican primary for the seat in 2014. But he changed parties in 2015. Caudill then went on to beat David Ermold, one of the gay men Davis denied a marriage license, in the Democratic primary this year.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/11/7/18072228/midterm-election-results-kentucky-clerk-kim-davis
Ooh that felt good! Now usually we don’t kick people when they are down here in my church, but considering that Sister Kim made an entire career out of doing exactly that, exceptions must be made, and we will adhere to that! So what is Sister Kim planning on doing after being fired? Well, this was totally not unexpected.
Kim Davis is going to pursue a career in evangelical ministry after she lost her job as a county clerk in the election.
Davis rose to fame in 2015 when she refused to give a marriage license to a gay couple – citing her religious beliefs – after the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality in every state. She then said that she would give no one a marriage license, so that she would treat everyone equally.
A judge told that she had to issue marriage licenses, and she spent several nights in jail for contempt of court when she refused to follow the judge’s order.
Last week, Davis lost her reelection campaign for County Clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/11/now-kim-davis-fired-voters-shes-going-become-preacher/
Davis rose to fame in 2015 when she refused to give a marriage license to a gay couple – citing her religious beliefs – after the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality in every state. She then said that she would give no one a marriage license, so that she would treat everyone equally.
A judge told that she had to issue marriage licenses, and she spent several nights in jail for contempt of court when she refused to follow the judge’s order.
Last week, Davis lost her reelection campaign for County Clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky.
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2018/11/now-kim-davis-fired-voters-shes-going-become-preacher/
I think even somewhere the good LAWRD JAYSUS is saying “do not want”. I mean really how can someone who’s been divorced 4 times somehow be a champion of marriage? It seems to me that would be a bit hypocritical wouldn’t it? And JAYSUS hated the hypocrites! Can I get an amen?? By the way if you’re wondering why Davis lost, well, here’s a bit of insider info for you:
But Kappes thinks this was the biggest reason Davis didn’t get re-elected: Regardless of their feelings about gay marriage, many people resented her refusal to obey the law and do her job. “I heard that from a lot of folks,” he said. “They said she didn’t do her sworn duty.”
House, who grew up in Laurel and Leslie counties and now teaches at Berea College, has focused much of his fiction on portraying Appalachia as a complicated place that defies stereotypes. He is executive producer of “Hillbilly”, an award-winning new documentary film by directors Ashley York and Sally Rubin, that seeks to show the new diversity of voices emerging from the region.
It is ironic that Davis, the symbol, would have come out of Morehead, House said. But, he said, much of the region remains hostile to gay people. He points to the region’s strong support for President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity agenda.
“It’s a constant heartache that I can’t live in Eastern Kentucky as a gay man,” he said. “The voters keep telling me they don’t want us.”
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/tom-eblen/article221304285.html
House, who grew up in Laurel and Leslie counties and now teaches at Berea College, has focused much of his fiction on portraying Appalachia as a complicated place that defies stereotypes. He is executive producer of “Hillbilly”, an award-winning new documentary film by directors Ashley York and Sally Rubin, that seeks to show the new diversity of voices emerging from the region.
It is ironic that Davis, the symbol, would have come out of Morehead, House said. But, he said, much of the region remains hostile to gay people. He points to the region’s strong support for President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity agenda.
“It’s a constant heartache that I can’t live in Eastern Kentucky as a gay man,” he said. “The voters keep telling me they don’t want us.”
https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/tom-eblen/article221304285.html
You know here’s the thing – at my church you can come and worship freely as you please! There are no judgements here, other than from the almighty himself! And he’s cool with whatever you are cool with, it says so in the Good Book! But what I don’t want is Christian bigots forcing their own interpretation of the law on me! Thank you! But apparently Sister Kim still wants a piece of that sweet sweet spotlight!
In the wake of the 2018 midterm elections, political pundits noted that the so-called “blue wave” turned out to be more of a rainbow. With over 150 LGBTQ candidates winning races across the country, Tuesday was a night of many firsts: a gay governor in Colorado, lesbian congresswomen in Kansas and Minnesota, two trans women in the New Hampshire state legislature, and the list goes on.
However, it was one Republican incumbent’s loss in a closely-watched race in Kentucky that set the Internet ablaze. I’m talking, of course, about Kim Davis, who came up about 700 votes shy of her Democratic opponent, Elwood Caudill, Jr., in her re-election bid to the Rowan County Clerk’s Office.
Following her loss, national media outlets from the New York Times to the Advocate ran clickbait-worthy headlines, and incendiary status updates spread across social media like wildfire. In the midst of all the righteous schadenfreude over Ms. Davis’ fate — well deserved as it was — one person was conspicuously missing from the national conversation: David Ermold.
<snip>
Then, just as quickly as the spotlight emerged on the otherwise quiet town of Morehead, Ky., a town of just over 7,000 people, the cameras all but disappeared after the primary, and David Ermold became another name lost in the media frenzy. Hardly anyone outside the state noticed, for example, that Ermold refused to support Caudill, who won the Democratic nomination by over 1,000 votes. If they did notice, no one bothered to dive deeper and ask why. (Ermold did not respond to an email request for an interview for this story, and, as far as I can tell, has avoided most other media outlets since the primary.)
https://www.intomore.com/impact/kim-davis-continues-to-steal-a-spotlight-she-doesnt-deserve
However, it was one Republican incumbent’s loss in a closely-watched race in Kentucky that set the Internet ablaze. I’m talking, of course, about Kim Davis, who came up about 700 votes shy of her Democratic opponent, Elwood Caudill, Jr., in her re-election bid to the Rowan County Clerk’s Office.
Following her loss, national media outlets from the New York Times to the Advocate ran clickbait-worthy headlines, and incendiary status updates spread across social media like wildfire. In the midst of all the righteous schadenfreude over Ms. Davis’ fate — well deserved as it was — one person was conspicuously missing from the national conversation: David Ermold.
<snip>
Then, just as quickly as the spotlight emerged on the otherwise quiet town of Morehead, Ky., a town of just over 7,000 people, the cameras all but disappeared after the primary, and David Ermold became another name lost in the media frenzy. Hardly anyone outside the state noticed, for example, that Ermold refused to support Caudill, who won the Democratic nomination by over 1,000 votes. If they did notice, no one bothered to dive deeper and ask why. (Ermold did not respond to an email request for an interview for this story, and, as far as I can tell, has avoided most other media outlets since the primary.)
https://www.intomore.com/impact/kim-davis-continues-to-steal-a-spotlight-she-doesnt-deserve
So there you have it, Sister Kim lost her seat to a man who she denied a marriage license to! That is some sweet, sweet karma there! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]Beating A Dead Horse: Drag Queen Story Hour
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It’s time for another edition of:
Let’s be honest here – everybody loves a good story no matter who’s telling it, or who they are telling it to. So why is reading stories to children such a bad thing? Well if you’re in the south and your child has stories read to them by drag queens, well, it might be the worst fucking thing in the world, you are disrespecting Jesus, oh my god, are you fucking crazy??? Yeah probably. You know these days the subject of gender fluidity is a very tricky one and children need to be taught to be more accepting, but considering the “role models” they have at their disposal, is it any wonder why we’re fucked? Take a look at this story out of Houston, Texas. They say everything is bigger in Texas, especially the assholes!
Storytime for preschoolers at the Loussac Library may not sound like a controversial topic, but people have been complaining about an event where the readers are drag queens.
Drag queen storytimes are endorsed by the American Library Association, and like many libraries across the country the Loussac has hosted several.
Last week Jim Minnery, head of Christian group Alaska Family Action, sent an email to supporters in which he called the storytimes "alarming." The email condemned "using taxpayer funded public libraries to talk with impressionable young children about 'gender fluidity.'" He urged people to contact the library and ask that future events be canceled.
When KTVA asked Minnery for further comment, he responded that he was "too busy" for an interview or statement.
Torgeson said so far she's received 29 negative comments. Most, she said, express concern about normalizing what the senders see as deviant behavior.
https://www.ktva.com/story/39422111/loussac-librarys-drag-queen-storytime-draws-detractors
Drag queen storytimes are endorsed by the American Library Association, and like many libraries across the country the Loussac has hosted several.
Last week Jim Minnery, head of Christian group Alaska Family Action, sent an email to supporters in which he called the storytimes "alarming." The email condemned "using taxpayer funded public libraries to talk with impressionable young children about 'gender fluidity.'" He urged people to contact the library and ask that future events be canceled.
When KTVA asked Minnery for further comment, he responded that he was "too busy" for an interview or statement.
Torgeson said so far she's received 29 negative comments. Most, she said, express concern about normalizing what the senders see as deviant behavior.
https://www.ktva.com/story/39422111/loussac-librarys-drag-queen-storytime-draws-detractors
And really, why the fuck is a “family group” in Alaska concerned about a children’s story time in Houston, Texas? God forbid that children should be taught about gender identities at a young age, I mean what would Jesus think? Well the thing is Christian conservative assholes are everywhere, and it seems the more devoted they are, the bigger the insufferable asshole they are. And Houston was no the only community where this bullshit happened. Take a look at what happened in Lafayette, Louisiana where this happened.
Government building to voice their opinions in relation to the upcoming Drag Queen Story Time hosted by members of Delta Lambda Phi fraternity, scheduled for Oct. 6 at the Lafayette Public Library.
The room was packed beyond capacity, leaving people to wait in the hallways for their chance to take a seat inside. It was abuzz with chattering long before the meeting started.
“I’m here to testify to the council that the library is no place to introduce either sexually-oriented material or politics to three-to-six-year-olds,” said Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum.
Mills is one of many that came in opposition of the event.
Mills, and those of similar opinion, says this is a question of legality, not intolerance.
“We filed a federal lawsuit to stop the library from hosting the Drag Queen Story Hour based upon the unconstitutionality of it,” said Rich Penkoski, founder and pastor with Warriors for Christ, a controversial Christian group that began as an online ministry through Facebook. The group, which the Christian Broadcasting Network cites as having more than 225,000 followers, has seen trouble in the past with violating Facebook’s community standards by “promoting hate speech.”
https://www.thevermilion.com/news/constitutionality-of-drag-queen-story-time-questioned-lawsuits-filed/article_886ae5b2-d0eb-11e8-8c0e-23bf511299e6.html
The room was packed beyond capacity, leaving people to wait in the hallways for their chance to take a seat inside. It was abuzz with chattering long before the meeting started.
“I’m here to testify to the council that the library is no place to introduce either sexually-oriented material or politics to three-to-six-year-olds,” said Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum.
Mills is one of many that came in opposition of the event.
Mills, and those of similar opinion, says this is a question of legality, not intolerance.
“We filed a federal lawsuit to stop the library from hosting the Drag Queen Story Hour based upon the unconstitutionality of it,” said Rich Penkoski, founder and pastor with Warriors for Christ, a controversial Christian group that began as an online ministry through Facebook. The group, which the Christian Broadcasting Network cites as having more than 225,000 followers, has seen trouble in the past with violating Facebook’s community standards by “promoting hate speech.”
https://www.thevermilion.com/news/constitutionality-of-drag-queen-story-time-questioned-lawsuits-filed/article_886ae5b2-d0eb-11e8-8c0e-23bf511299e6.html
Good point! And where in the Constitution does it even remotely say that drag queen story hour is unconstitutional? I don’t remember that amendment! And I’m not at all surprised that a group called “Warriors For Christ” got caught violating Facebook’s hate speech policy. Not at all! But as crazy as these people are, they managed to get one shut down in Illinois.
Elizabeth Johnston, a right-wing activist better known as the “Activist Mommy,” spoke at the Values Voter Summit today, where she asserted that sex ed programs in public schools are promoting illegal “obscenity” and must be shut down because they are part of a grand “war on our children.”
“They are obscenity, legal obscenity,” Johnston declared. “That should not be allowed. This is pandering obscenity to minors.”
After praising a recent successful effort to shut down a Drag Queen Story Hour in Illinois, Johnston called on right-wing activists to “get aggressive” and to ready themselves to wage war.
“It is past time for us, guys, to get aggressive about protecting our children’s innocence,” she said. “Conservatives have been playing much too nice with these degenerates. This is war. This is war on our children.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/elizabeth-johnston-conservatives-have-been-playing-much-too-nice-with-these-degenerates/
“They are obscenity, legal obscenity,” Johnston declared. “That should not be allowed. This is pandering obscenity to minors.”
After praising a recent successful effort to shut down a Drag Queen Story Hour in Illinois, Johnston called on right-wing activists to “get aggressive” and to ready themselves to wage war.
“It is past time for us, guys, to get aggressive about protecting our children’s innocence,” she said. “Conservatives have been playing much too nice with these degenerates. This is war. This is war on our children.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/elizabeth-johnston-conservatives-have-been-playing-much-too-nice-with-these-degenerates/
Hey, you support a guy who literally locked children in cages, you don’t get to decide what’s good for children or not anymore. Fuck off! And by the way, in case you were wondering, a judge smacked down the Christian’s claims:
Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal put it simply in her four sentence order, issued just days after the lawsuit — blasting gay marriage and transgender public events— was filed against Mayor Sylvester Turner and Rhea Lawson, the head of the city’s library system. The judge explained the four litigants applied for injunction to halt the story hour on the grounds that it violated the freedom or religion clause in the Constitution and said, “There is no basis to support the requested relief. The application is denied.”
Tex Christopher, a 45-year-old Houston businessman who is one of the people who filed the lawsuit, said he is taking the judge’s denial in stride and looking forward to making his arguments in court that drag queens and transgender storytellers indoctrinate children to believe in another religion, which he identifies as Secular Humanism.
“I’m taking a stand for righteousness,” Christopher said. “I’m calling out Mayor Turner.”
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Judge-rejects-conservative-Christian-group-s-13334135.php
Tex Christopher, a 45-year-old Houston businessman who is one of the people who filed the lawsuit, said he is taking the judge’s denial in stride and looking forward to making his arguments in court that drag queens and transgender storytellers indoctrinate children to believe in another religion, which he identifies as Secular Humanism.
“I’m taking a stand for righteousness,” Christopher said. “I’m calling out Mayor Turner.”
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Judge-rejects-conservative-Christian-group-s-13334135.php
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[font size="8"]Ron DeSantis
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Politicians at the state, national and local levels who are so toxic that you ever wonder how they were able to get into office, much less stay there. This is:
This week – Florida’s new governor Ron DeSantis. While many thought that the racial barrier was torn down when Obama was elected president, Ron DeSantis put it back up, put barbed wire and ran an electrical current through the whole thing. So here’s the thing with elections – American citizens not living in America have the right to vote too, and Gov. DeSantis hasn’t exactly realized that.
He had barely gotten off the stage after giving his victory speech at an Orlando hotel on Election Night when Ron DeSantis was asked about his schedule for the days ahead.
"When I stepped down from Congress, part of it was I knew I wasn't going to be making the votes while I was campaigning," he told reporters Tuesday. "But even more significant was thinking after the election, you have to put together a government … we've been doing this quietly behind the scenes — not to be presumptuous, but just because you don't have enough time (after the election)."
Things have changed a bit since then.
DeSantis' margin of victory shrank in the days after Election Day to fall within the 0.5 percentage point gap that triggers a recount by tabulation machines (making the governor's race the third statewide race to fall into a recount, along with U.S. Senate and commissioner of agriculture).
http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/11/12/as-recounts-rage-on-ron-desantis-begins-transition-to-power/
"When I stepped down from Congress, part of it was I knew I wasn't going to be making the votes while I was campaigning," he told reporters Tuesday. "But even more significant was thinking after the election, you have to put together a government … we've been doing this quietly behind the scenes — not to be presumptuous, but just because you don't have enough time (after the election)."
Things have changed a bit since then.
DeSantis' margin of victory shrank in the days after Election Day to fall within the 0.5 percentage point gap that triggers a recount by tabulation machines (making the governor's race the third statewide race to fall into a recount, along with U.S. Senate and commissioner of agriculture).
http://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/11/12/as-recounts-rage-on-ron-desantis-begins-transition-to-power/
Yes that was probably the election that the Florida GOP had on election night. After all, if you want a window into Ron DeSantis’ racism, you should check out some of his greatest hits.
Audience members attending the final gubernatorial debate between Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and former Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis erupted in cheers after Gillum challenged DeSantis for giving speeches at far-right events and accepting donations from a person who called former President Barack Obama a racial slur.
"How the hell am I supposed to know every single statement somebody makes?" DeSantis said, visibly agitated. "I am not going to bow down to the altar of political correctness."
Gillum took note of DeSantis' answer and recounted an allegory: "My grandmother used to say a hit dog will holler," Gillum said. "And it hollered through this room."
"Mr. DeSantis has spoken, first of all, he's got neo-Nazis helping him out in this state," Gillum said. "He has spoken at racist conferences, he's accepted a contribution, and would not return it, from someone who referred to the former president of the United States as a Muslim 'n----r.'"
https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-gillum-debate-ron-desantis-racists-believe-he-is-racist-2018-10
"How the hell am I supposed to know every single statement somebody makes?" DeSantis said, visibly agitated. "I am not going to bow down to the altar of political correctness."
Gillum took note of DeSantis' answer and recounted an allegory: "My grandmother used to say a hit dog will holler," Gillum said. "And it hollered through this room."
"Mr. DeSantis has spoken, first of all, he's got neo-Nazis helping him out in this state," Gillum said. "He has spoken at racist conferences, he's accepted a contribution, and would not return it, from someone who referred to the former president of the United States as a Muslim 'n----r.'"
https://www.businessinsider.com/andrew-gillum-debate-ron-desantis-racists-believe-he-is-racist-2018-10
In case you’re wondering just how racist Ron DeSantis is, he’s pretty damn racist. So racist that he was a moderator on a racist Facebook group that had a whopping 52 moderators operating at all times because people were apparently posting some pretty horrible things.
On social media on Thursday, liberal groups and activists said that Congressman Ron DeSantis, the Republican nominee for Florida governor, was moderating a massive Facebook group with racist posts and conspiracy theories.
DeSantis' membership in the group was first noted by American Ledger, which is run by the liberal group American Bridge.
"It appears @RonDeSantisFL was moderating hate group on FB that regularly attacked on race and attacked Parkland survivors," tweeted Fred Guttenburg, whose daughter, Jaime, was killed in the Parkland shooting, and has since become a prominent gun control advocate. "If true this is bad."
DeSantis denied through a spokesman on Thursday that he ever led the group or even knew he had been added to it. He "immediately" left it when notified of the controversy, the spokesman said.
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/08/31/did-ron-desantis-moderate-a-far-right-facebook-group/
DeSantis' membership in the group was first noted by American Ledger, which is run by the liberal group American Bridge.
"It appears @RonDeSantisFL was moderating hate group on FB that regularly attacked on race and attacked Parkland survivors," tweeted Fred Guttenburg, whose daughter, Jaime, was killed in the Parkland shooting, and has since become a prominent gun control advocate. "If true this is bad."
DeSantis denied through a spokesman on Thursday that he ever led the group or even knew he had been added to it. He "immediately" left it when notified of the controversy, the spokesman said.
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/08/31/did-ron-desantis-moderate-a-far-right-facebook-group/
And by the way what’s wrong with Florida? A whole lot if you ask us. While most of the election drowned out Trump with a blue wave, Florida’s voters had literally the opposite effect.
Republican Ron DeSantis won Florida governor’s election in part by turning the race into a referendum on Donald Trump.
After a primary ad in which he built a wall and read “The Art of the Deal” with his kids, DeSantis was helped by the president’s involvement in the race, even as his Democratic opponent Andrew Gillum took hard lines against Trump’s actions at the national level.
With 99% of the votes accounted for, DeSantis was ahead of Gillum by more than 75,000, NBC reported late Tuesday night.
For his part, Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, presented a platform that was in stark contrast to the President’s on national policies that governors have little control over. He advocated for “Medicare for All” before admitting that Florida likely couldn’t accomplish a single-payer system on its own, called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency, in its current form, and was vocal about the importance of DACA, a federal immigration policy.
http://time.com/5445200/ron-desantis-florida-governors-election-results/
After a primary ad in which he built a wall and read “The Art of the Deal” with his kids, DeSantis was helped by the president’s involvement in the race, even as his Democratic opponent Andrew Gillum took hard lines against Trump’s actions at the national level.
With 99% of the votes accounted for, DeSantis was ahead of Gillum by more than 75,000, NBC reported late Tuesday night.
For his part, Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, presented a platform that was in stark contrast to the President’s on national policies that governors have little control over. He advocated for “Medicare for All” before admitting that Florida likely couldn’t accomplish a single-payer system on its own, called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency, in its current form, and was vocal about the importance of DACA, a federal immigration policy.
http://time.com/5445200/ron-desantis-florida-governors-election-results/
Yes, yes it was. Florida apparently rejected liberal ideas of tolerance and inclusion and instead voted for all the things that Trump stands for. And in case you’re wondering if the possible recount will have any effect this, well, this is 2018 where hate reigns supreme.
Amid the violations of law by Broward and Palm Beach County elections officials, the data provides apparent good news for Republicans. First, despite the national media's typical laziness and derelictions, the local press has largely been assiduous and conscientious -- certain framing aside. Second, core concerns raised by leading Republicans (some of which were rhetorically overblown) have been validated by multiple judges. The ineptitude and misconduct has not gone unnoticed. Third, in spite of Democratic lawyers' best efforts, Republican leads in key races are likely insurmountable. National Review's Charles C.W. Cooke has been following this closely, and relayed his analysis over the weekend, with recounts underway:
Based on Cooke's calculations -- which bake in several highly favorable assumptions for Democrats (in some cases, implausibly so) -- both major stateside Republicans are in good shape:
He even runs through a scenario under which Bill Nelson's Broward County "undervote" is deemed attributable to some sort of nefarious problem, under which Democratic attorneys could make (unrealistic) headway. In that unlikely case, DeSantis would nevertheless be fine, but Rick Scott's lead would dwindle down to vulnerable territory -- although he'd still be ahead:
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2018/11/12/analysis-its-almost-certain-that-rick-scott-and-ron-desantis-have-won-in-florida-n2535731
There you have it, Florida is about to go down a very dangerous road, and they often decide our elections. So that makes Ron DeSantis another one of the:
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[font size="8"]People Are Dumb
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Hit it!
So of course you know by now that people are people and people are dumb. I want to start with this story out of where else? Florida. Because you know that America’s most penis shaped state always has the craziest news out of it. And I feel like it’s almost obligatory that news outlets begin their stories with the words “Florida Man…” or “Florida Woman…”. So if you’re arrested by the police for anything, maybe don’t give them a name that was pulled from a prank phone call.
On Tuesday, a sheriff’s deputy asked a man to leave a park in Palm Harbor, a St. Petersburg suburb. In an arrest affidavit, the cop noted that John Chestnut Park closed at 6 PM and, as such, he was preparing to issue a trespass warning to the parkgoer.
Asked to identify himself, “the defendant responded by stating his name was ‘Ben Dover,’” Deputy K. Baldwin noted.
The man then gave the cop the middle finger and got in the deputy’s face “as if he was going to hit him.” The man then fled on foot, but was apprehended after a short chase.
“Dover,” as it turned out, was actually Andrew Leighton, a 22-year-old Palm Harbor resident. Seen above, Leighton was charged with two misdemeanors: obstruction by a disguised person and resisting an officer. He was released from the county jail early yesterday morning upon posting $300 bond.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/florida/ben-dover-arrest-490172
Asked to identify himself, “the defendant responded by stating his name was ‘Ben Dover,’” Deputy K. Baldwin noted.
The man then gave the cop the middle finger and got in the deputy’s face “as if he was going to hit him.” The man then fled on foot, but was apprehended after a short chase.
“Dover,” as it turned out, was actually Andrew Leighton, a 22-year-old Palm Harbor resident. Seen above, Leighton was charged with two misdemeanors: obstruction by a disguised person and resisting an officer. He was released from the county jail early yesterday morning upon posting $300 bond.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/florida/ben-dover-arrest-490172
I’m sure you do, Moe! Next up, we’re going to the Volunteer State, Tennessee. And this sounds like the perfect scene for a crime-based comedy, and I could totally see Melissa McCarthy in the role. And you know the old saying… how does it go? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me… you wont get fooled again. That’s right, a former president said that once!
Police estimated $500 worth of damage to a city restaurant occurred when a naked Kingsport, Tennessee woman fell through the roof twice Tuesday evening.
Harley C. Morton, 26, is charged with criminal trespassing, vandalism and disorderly conduct and was nude from the waist down when investigators took her into custody at Cook Out on East Stone Drive, according to Kingsport Police Department records obtained Wednesday by WCYB.
The report said Morton gained access into the ceiling just after 11 p.m. by entering an unauthorized area with stairs that led to the roof then pried open a screen to an air conditioning vent.
A Cook Out employee told an officer that Morton partially fell through a ceiling tile in the kitchen then pulled herself back into the roof area and began running around. Investigators found broken support rails and busted ceiling tile on the floor and then found Morton's wallet and other ID on the roof, the report said.
https://wcyb.com/news/local/naked-kingsport-woman-charged-after-falling-through-ceiling-at-restaurant
Harley C. Morton, 26, is charged with criminal trespassing, vandalism and disorderly conduct and was nude from the waist down when investigators took her into custody at Cook Out on East Stone Drive, according to Kingsport Police Department records obtained Wednesday by WCYB.
The report said Morton gained access into the ceiling just after 11 p.m. by entering an unauthorized area with stairs that led to the roof then pried open a screen to an air conditioning vent.
A Cook Out employee told an officer that Morton partially fell through a ceiling tile in the kitchen then pulled herself back into the roof area and began running around. Investigators found broken support rails and busted ceiling tile on the floor and then found Morton's wallet and other ID on the roof, the report said.
https://wcyb.com/news/local/naked-kingsport-woman-charged-after-falling-through-ceiling-at-restaurant
Well said! Next up we go to Tennessee’s neighboring state, Indiana for this one. Here’s the thing, if you have a problem with your crack dealers, maybe don’t get the police involved. Because it will end badly for both them and you!
According to an Evansville Police Department report, Kenneth Dewayne Woods, 62, came to the police records department and disclosed that he “bought some crack cocaine over a period of time on credit” from a female dealer and her boyfriend.
Woods told police that he has not paid the duo the $400 he owes for the crack cocaine.
In light of his unpaid narcotics bill, Woods said, his dealers are now threatening to run him out of town, vandalize his car, and shoot him. Additionally, owing to interest, the dealers now contend that they are owed $500, said Woods.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/crack/crack-dealer-complaint-395021
Woods told police that he has not paid the duo the $400 he owes for the crack cocaine.
In light of his unpaid narcotics bill, Woods said, his dealers are now threatening to run him out of town, vandalize his car, and shoot him. Additionally, owing to interest, the dealers now contend that they are owed $500, said Woods.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/crack/crack-dealer-complaint-395021
Next up – we got to go to the Lone Star state for this one, and you really cant make this stuff up. Really, if you’re going to rob a store, maybe don’t do it wearing a very easily identifiable Halloween costume:
A Texas woman reportedly robbed a convenience store in Houston on November 1st while wearing bits and pieces of what sounds like a Halloween outfit left over from the night before: a giant fluffy dog costume head and a pair of wings. After allegedly making off with some loot—about $10 cash and some smokes—she led police on a car chase before being apprehended. Apparently, the wings did not help her flee.
According to The Smoking Gun, Colleen Dickens, a 30-year-old mother of two, was charged with two felony charges of robbery and evading arrest with a motor vehicle. She's currently being held at the Harris County Jail on a $12,500 bond. It's not clear if she wore the dog head while driving the getaway car, but the original report claims she was wearing it when she emerged from the car after the short chase was over.
Her Pulitzer Prize-worthy mugshot shows a blurry Dickens with a towel held over her mouth by a rubber-glove-wearing corrections officer; according to the report, she was attempting to spit on her jailers. No word on if a rolled-up newspaper—or, more humanely, a clicker—was employed by the arresting officers at any point.
http://www.thedrive.com/news/24785/texas-woman-wearing-giant-dog-head-leads-houston-cops-on-car-chase-after-alleged-robbery
According to The Smoking Gun, Colleen Dickens, a 30-year-old mother of two, was charged with two felony charges of robbery and evading arrest with a motor vehicle. She's currently being held at the Harris County Jail on a $12,500 bond. It's not clear if she wore the dog head while driving the getaway car, but the original report claims she was wearing it when she emerged from the car after the short chase was over.
Her Pulitzer Prize-worthy mugshot shows a blurry Dickens with a towel held over her mouth by a rubber-glove-wearing corrections officer; according to the report, she was attempting to spit on her jailers. No word on if a rolled-up newspaper—or, more humanely, a clicker—was employed by the arresting officers at any point.
http://www.thedrive.com/news/24785/texas-woman-wearing-giant-dog-head-leads-houston-cops-on-car-chase-after-alleged-robbery
I can imagine the corrections officers had a field day with that story! Finally this week – Tide laundry detergent. I mean really, did we learn *NOTHING* from the Tide Pod fiasco? Well, wait until you see the latest design that Tide has come up with and I wish I was making this up but I am not:
Link to tweet
It’s been just about a year since the earliest whispers of the Tide Pod–eating trend made their way out of the deepest caverns of Tumblr and onto the mainstream web. (In case you’ve forgotten, you can refresh your memory here. The short of it was that people weren’t actually eating Tide Pods so much as joking about eating them in such a committed way it seemed as though they were.) Tide enlisted Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots to explain to people that they really shouldn’t eat Tide Pods. (A baby in Florida died in 2013 after ingesting a Tide Pod.) But as with most internet trends, Tide Pod mania went away as quickly as it arose. And Tide went back to just being soap. Until now.
On Friday, Procter & Gamble announced a new package for Tide detergent, designed specifically to make the product easier to ship. It now comes in a box, complete with a sealed bag of soap inside of it and a measuring cup for doing your wash. “The version uses 60 percent less plastic than shipping an equivalent 150 ounce bottle of Tide since it doesn’t require additional layers of cardboard boxing or bubble wrap,” CNN reports. “It’s lighter and takes up less space in a delivery truck — saving P&G money on shipping costs.” The new packaging also uses significantly less water. All this is good for the environment. It’s good for P&G, which can now sell more detergent at a lower cost. It’s good for Amazon, which now also gets to sell more detergent. And also … it’s good for anybody who was missing the Tide Pod meme, because if you looked at this thing and saw anything other than a soapy box of wine please seek medical attention pronto.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/tides-new-packaging-looks-like-boxed-wine.html
On Friday, Procter & Gamble announced a new package for Tide detergent, designed specifically to make the product easier to ship. It now comes in a box, complete with a sealed bag of soap inside of it and a measuring cup for doing your wash. “The version uses 60 percent less plastic than shipping an equivalent 150 ounce bottle of Tide since it doesn’t require additional layers of cardboard boxing or bubble wrap,” CNN reports. “It’s lighter and takes up less space in a delivery truck — saving P&G money on shipping costs.” The new packaging also uses significantly less water. All this is good for the environment. It’s good for P&G, which can now sell more detergent at a lower cost. It’s good for Amazon, which now also gets to sell more detergent. And also … it’s good for anybody who was missing the Tide Pod meme, because if you looked at this thing and saw anything other than a soapy box of wine please seek medical attention pronto.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/tides-new-packaging-looks-like-boxed-wine.html
So tell me bartender, what should I pair this fine boxed laundry detergent with? A bowl of Tide Pods? I really can’t wait until we start seeing the Tide wine challenge – coming soon to an emergency room near you! That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]Deep State Diaries Episode 20: The FAA
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It’s time for episode 20 of Deep State Diaries. Yes we’re touring the 24 branches and services that make up the United States government. Everything from the FBI to the IRS to the Pentagon to the CIA to the DPW to the DVA to parks and recreation and all branches and services in between. Of course if you’re here you probably already know more about our government and how it works than your average Fox News loving Trump supporter does. So that’s what this segment is going to address. We are going to do a deep dive into all that makes the United States the United States. Because we here at the Top 10 love to educate as well as entertain. Because we care.
[font size="6"]The FAA[/font]
?itok=ohRAnWjE
The Federal Aviation Administration is the board that monitors all of the air traffic coming into and out of the United States, as well as monitor everything about air travel such as our airports, airlines, and even airplanes. Everything from the seats that you sit in on your next flight to the food that passes for airline meals to the amount of airline seat that passes for leg room these days. So what does the FAA actually do? For you conspiracy theorists, no they don’t release chemtrails into the atmosphere that turns frogs gay and dries out the forests. Instead they do things like this:
The Senate’s top Democrat says the Federal Aviation Administration isn’t moving fast enough to roll out a plan to stop airlines from shrinking passengers’ seats.
Sen. Charles Schumer says federal officials should be doing more to comply with a law to establish minimum seat size standards for airplanes.
The law, part of a reauthorization bill passed in September, requires the FAA to set the seat-size guidelines. It gives the FAA a year to tackle shrinking seats and give an opportunity for the public to weigh in.
But the New York Democrat says the FAA must move faster. He says the agency hasn’t established a plan to “rein in” shrinking seats. The FAA said it “is working to address the provision in the reauthorization bill.”
https://www.whec.com/news/schumer-faa-too-slow-tackling-airline-seat-size-concerns/5141892/
Sen. Charles Schumer says federal officials should be doing more to comply with a law to establish minimum seat size standards for airplanes.
The law, part of a reauthorization bill passed in September, requires the FAA to set the seat-size guidelines. It gives the FAA a year to tackle shrinking seats and give an opportunity for the public to weigh in.
But the New York Democrat says the FAA must move faster. He says the agency hasn’t established a plan to “rein in” shrinking seats. The FAA said it “is working to address the provision in the reauthorization bill.”
https://www.whec.com/news/schumer-faa-too-slow-tackling-airline-seat-size-concerns/5141892/
And by the way speaking of turbulence, they do run a complaint department where you can actually submit your complaints about anything to do with flights or airports. But they might need to speed that process up a bit.
The feds must do more to stop airlines from shrinking seat sizes to jam in as many passengers as possible, Sen. Chuck Schumer said Sunday.
The Federal Aviation Administration is required to establish minimum seat size criteria under a provision pushed by Schumer this September.
Under that provision, the FAA has a year to tackle the shrinking seat issue, and give notice for the public to voice their opinions on the issue.
But the “FAA is not implementing the law” Schumer told reporters.
"FAA, do the study. Implement the law and get us back to the days when, even though the seats were tight, you could fit in to them without severe discomfort," he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-schumer-seat-size-faa-20181111-story.html
The Federal Aviation Administration is required to establish minimum seat size criteria under a provision pushed by Schumer this September.
Under that provision, the FAA has a year to tackle the shrinking seat issue, and give notice for the public to voice their opinions on the issue.
But the “FAA is not implementing the law” Schumer told reporters.
"FAA, do the study. Implement the law and get us back to the days when, even though the seats were tight, you could fit in to them without severe discomfort," he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-schumer-seat-size-faa-20181111-story.html
So what about when new planes get introduced? Like Boeing is planning to introduce the next version of its’ venerable 737, called the 737 next. So how does a plane get approved in order to start flying commercial service?
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing are evaluating the need for software or design changes to 737 MAX jets in the wake of last month's deadly Lion Air crash in Indonesia, the regulator said on Tuesday.
Boeing shares fell 2.1 percent on Tuesday on concerns related to the first crash of the newest version of the planemaker's best-selling jet, in which all 189 people on board were killed when it dived into the sea.
Indonesian investigators said on Monday a system designed to deal with the accident scenario was not described in the flight manual. They called for more training for 737 MAX pilots.
U.S. pilot unions later said they were not aware of the new anti-stall system.
Operating procedures and training for the 737 MAX could also change as the FAA and Boeing learn more from the investigation, the regulator said in a statement.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/14/faa-boeing-study-need-for-737-max-software-changes-after-crash.html
Boeing shares fell 2.1 percent on Tuesday on concerns related to the first crash of the newest version of the planemaker's best-selling jet, in which all 189 people on board were killed when it dived into the sea.
Indonesian investigators said on Monday a system designed to deal with the accident scenario was not described in the flight manual. They called for more training for 737 MAX pilots.
U.S. pilot unions later said they were not aware of the new anti-stall system.
Operating procedures and training for the 737 MAX could also change as the FAA and Boeing learn more from the investigation, the regulator said in a statement.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/14/faa-boeing-study-need-for-737-max-software-changes-after-crash.html
Yeah so maybe don’t do that. And really there’s nothing to joke about when it comes to planes and commercial travel, though every comedian has their airport chunk. Shit, that’s such a cliché anymore that literally anyone can do it. And no, for you Infowars fans out there who may happen to stumble upon this, there’s no chemtrails in the air that make you get polio and turn the frogs gay, but the environment definitely needs some cleaning up.
TRC, a leading provider of end-to-end engineering, consulting and construction management solutions fueled by innovative technology, has been awarded a nine-year, $36 million contract from the Federal Aviation Administration to oversee remediation of an FAA-owned Superfund site in Atlantic County, N.J.
The contract involves the 5,000-acre William J. Hughes Technical Center, which is eight miles northwest of Atlantic City and includes Atlantic City International Airport.
"TRC is proud to be assisting the FAA with this important project to restore and protect the environment in and around the nation's premier air transportation research facility," said Paul Arnold, TRC's vice president of engineering, construction and remediation. "Not only is this work critically important to the FAA, but also Atlantic City area residents, businesses and visitors.
Under the Superfund Architect/Engineer Environmental Services contract, TRC will lead remedial investigation, risk assessment and design work, including innovative in situ technologies and remediation of aviation fuels, pesticides, heavy metals, PCBs, mercury and emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). More than 30 areas of concern with potential or actual environmental impacts have been identified at the site.
https://www.aviationpros.com/news/12436567/trc-wins-36-million-contract-to-oversee-clean-up-of-faa-superfund-site-in-new-jersey
The contract involves the 5,000-acre William J. Hughes Technical Center, which is eight miles northwest of Atlantic City and includes Atlantic City International Airport.
"TRC is proud to be assisting the FAA with this important project to restore and protect the environment in and around the nation's premier air transportation research facility," said Paul Arnold, TRC's vice president of engineering, construction and remediation. "Not only is this work critically important to the FAA, but also Atlantic City area residents, businesses and visitors.
Under the Superfund Architect/Engineer Environmental Services contract, TRC will lead remedial investigation, risk assessment and design work, including innovative in situ technologies and remediation of aviation fuels, pesticides, heavy metals, PCBs, mercury and emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). More than 30 areas of concern with potential or actual environmental impacts have been identified at the site.
https://www.aviationpros.com/news/12436567/trc-wins-36-million-contract-to-oversee-clean-up-of-faa-superfund-site-in-new-jersey
Also if you’re going to be doing any funny business in the air, you might want to make sure that you have a permit for that, otherwise the FAA is going to come down on you faster than Trump comes down on a Big Mac.
The Federal Aviation Administration is examining how it approaches enforcement and fines for violations involving illegal charter operators that are unwilling or unable to comply with regulations, a senior agency official recently told attendees at the NATA 2018 Aviation Leadership Conference. “There’s been a reexamination of how much regulation is appropriate,” said John Duncan, FAA deputy associate administrator for aviation safety.
FAA enforcement was among several issues highlighted during the Aviation Leadership Conference, which also tackled workforce issues, looking at new models of service, and elevating the safety of Part 135 operations. More than 100 registrants attended the event, which also included the participation of National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt and many other business leaders.
When asked what FAA has been doing about illegal charter operators, Duncan said the agency’s approach is to make sure operators have the proper education and understanding regarding how they need to comply. The FAA can approach compliance issues through its non-punitive Compliance Philosophy that establishes compliance actions, rather than enforcement, to address the problems, he added.
https://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/faa-weighs-penalties-for-illegal-charter#
FAA enforcement was among several issues highlighted during the Aviation Leadership Conference, which also tackled workforce issues, looking at new models of service, and elevating the safety of Part 135 operations. More than 100 registrants attended the event, which also included the participation of National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt and many other business leaders.
When asked what FAA has been doing about illegal charter operators, Duncan said the agency’s approach is to make sure operators have the proper education and understanding regarding how they need to comply. The FAA can approach compliance issues through its non-punitive Compliance Philosophy that establishes compliance actions, rather than enforcement, to address the problems, he added.
https://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/faa-weighs-penalties-for-illegal-charter#
[font size="6"]Score Card [/font]
Overall importance: A
How Things Are Going: C
Likely hood To Survive: B+
Overall: B
[font size="6"]Next Week [/font]
We’re off next week but when we come back we’ll take a look at an organization that’s been in the news a lot lately – the United States Census Bureau!
[font size="8"]And Now This:[/font]
[font size="8”]Nathaniel Raetliff & The Night Sweats[/font]
Ladies and gentlemen my next guest is a great band from Denver, you can see them on tour
Thank you very much Colorado Podcast Festival! We’ll be back soon! We are off next week for Thanksgiving, we’ll be running a best of in the meantime, and then we’ll be back on 11/28 with a brand new edition! See you in two weeks! Happy Thanksgiving!
Credits
Host: Initech
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of Live Audience At: Denver Convention Center, Denver, CO
Special Thanks To: Colorado Podcast Festival
Holy Shit Gospel Choir: Littleton High School Choir Club, Littleton, CO
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