August 29, 2023

Matt Schlapp's Junk Pummeling Its Way Back Into News Cycle

We were wondering when more gross creeper news was going to dribble out about CPAC’s Matt Schlapp, the one who sports the absurdly coiffed white hair that just screams out “I’m a man of God and I’m here to take you to my private rectory.”

There were all those allegations at the beginning of the year, and a lawsuit from a former Herschel Walker staffer named Carlton Huffman, who accused Schlapp of unwanted “grabbed my junk and pummeled it at length.” The story, then as now, is the hypocrisy, because oh look, a family values Republican white man, a representative of a movement that exists to hurt LGBTQ+ people, has been accused of going behind his Christian wife’s back to get some cock on the sly, in a predatory way.

What a giant fucking surprise again, happens all the time.

Anyway, he denied it, and then he and his Christian wife Mercedes “Mercy” Schlapp, who worked for the bigoted fascist Trump White House, did a special Valentine’s Day appearance on Newsmax to explain how they keep their marriage SCHLPICY after all these years — mmhmm you betcha — and then the news kinda seemed to fade into the background.

Until now.

https://www.wonkette.com/p/matt-schlapps-junk-pummeling-its

August 29, 2023

Inside Matt Schlapp's Offer to Settle the Sexual Battery Lawsuit Against Him

American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp has maintained that the sexual battery allegations against him are untrue. But he’s also offered to settle, sources say.

Embattled conservative activist Matt Schlapp made an offer in March to settle the multimillion-dollar sexual battery and defamation lawsuit against him, but the proposal was rejected, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The offer from Schlapp was in the low six figures, according to the sources. But Schlapp’s accuser—Republican strategist Carlton Huffman, who filed the lawsuit against Schlapp and his wife, Mercedes Schlapp, in January—turned it down and countered with a substantially higher sum. Schlapp did not accept the counterproposal, the sources said.

The settlement negotiations were brought to the attention of officials at Schlapp’s organization, the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual CPAC conferences. But the ACU board was not formally consulted and did not vote on the offer ahead of time, according to multiple people with knowledge of the events. These sources spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of retaliation.

In a statement to The Daily Beast on behalf of the Schlapps, their publicist Mark Corallo denied that a settlement was offered.

“We take seriously our professional conduct and would never discuss the details of confidential conversations between lawyers. But since it appears Mr. Huffman or his attorney have done so, let me set the record straight: There was no settlement offer,” Corallo said. “From the outset Mr. and Mrs. Schlapp have been and remain prepared to go to trial and are confident of prevailing in court.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-matt-schlapps-offer-to-settle-the-sexual-battery-lawsuit-against-him

August 29, 2023

Parker's 50 Favorite Things about Northwest Rivers

https://vimeo.com/197923279

August 28, 2023

Eastman's defense is shattered in state bar proceeding

John Eastman, the lawyer allegedly at the center of the unprecedented and outrageous scheme to overthrow the 2020 election, faces criminal prosecution in Georgia and has been identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in special counsel Jack Smith’s federal case. And Eastman must defend a bar complaint in California that threatens to revoke his law license.

At a critical hearing last week in the California bar proceedings, designated legal expert Matthew A. Seligman submitted a 91-page report, which I have obtained from the state bar, that strips away any colorable defense that Eastman was acting in good faith in rendering advice to the now four-times indicted former president Donald Trump.

This report has serious ramifications for Eastman’s professional licensure and his defense in Georgia. Moreover, his co-defendant and co-counsel in the alleged legal scheme, Kenneth Chesebro, who has employed many of the same excuses as Eastman, might be in serious jeopardy in his Oct. 23 trial. (Another lawyer, Sidney Powell, also requested a speedy trial.)

In his report, Seligman addressed whether “the legal positions advanced by Dr. John Eastman in relation to the counting of electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election” were reasonable. Specifically, he assessed whether, as Eastman, Chesebro and others posited, former vice president Mike Pence had “unilateral authority to resolve disputes about electoral votes or to take other unilateral actions with respect to the electoral count” or could “delay the electoral count for a state legislature to take action with respect to a state’s electoral votes and whether a state legislature may lawfully appoint electors after the electoral count commences.” Seligman emphatically found that “no reasonable lawyer exercising diligence appropriate to the circumstances would adopt Dr. Eastman’s legal positions on either issue.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/28/eastman-state-bar-defense/

August 28, 2023

Americans Are Bailing on Their Home Insurance

Some homeowners who are skipping coverage say they can no longer afford rising premiums

Homeowners are increasingly forgoing home insurance, gambling that the likelihood of a disaster isn’t high enough to justify the cost of a policy.

Some skipping insurance say they are doing so because they can no longer afford the rising premiums. The national average for home insurance based on $250,000 in dwelling coverage increased this year to $1,428 annually, up 20% from 2022, according to Bankrate.

Others, particularly among the wealthy, say they have enough money saved to rebuild or move elsewhere should their home be destroyed.

The risks of forgoing a policy are significant. When you don’t have insurance and your home is destroyed by fire, you don’t just lose your house and its contents. You might also have to pay for removing your home’s remains as well as the costs to rebuild it.

https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/americans-are-bailing-on-their-home-insurance-e3395515?st=vtii899tcac0e9q&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

August 28, 2023

'Widespread fuel contamination' reported at some Florida gas stations as Idalia looms

The gas, which was contaminated with diesel fuel, could harm engines or make them inoperable just as Floridians seek gas for evacuations or generators.

Florida officials are warning of a “potentially widespread fuel contamination” that may have resulted in people getting fuel from some Florida gas stations that could harm or disable their engines just as Tropical Storm Idalia may put residents on the road or in search of gas to power their generators.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued an alert Sunday afternoon stating that gas that was supplied out of Port Tampa Bay by Citgo had become contaminated because of “human error.”

People who received fuel from more than two dozen gas stations across Florida’s Gulf Coast, including several in the immediate Tampa area, could have contaminated fuel if it was purchased after 10 a.m. Saturday, according to the agency.

Citgo-supplied gas stations as far south as Fort Myers and as north as Brooksville were believed to have received the contaminated fuel, according to the agency.

https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2023/08/27/florida-gas-contamination-idalia/

August 27, 2023

Students and parents rally against new bare midriff ban at Ramona High School

Ramona High School students and parents gathered Friday morning before school to protest a ban on bare midriffs that has been added to the 2023-24 school year’s dress code.

Students and parents, some wearing clothes that would now be in violation of the dress code, held signs stating, “does my stomach distract you from reading this poster?” “stop sexualizing our daughters for wearing today’s fashion,” and “sorry, are my shoulders distracting.”

Student Emma Kneeshaw said a Ramona High staff member stationed outside the bathroom has been asking the girls to raise their arms before they go inside to see if their shirts come up.

When a student is in violation of the dress code, they are told to put on different clothes, Kneeshaw said. If no alternative clothing or jacket is available, the girls are given a shirt that says “Escape the Vape.”

The school ran out of “Escape the Vape” shirts on Thursday, said student Makayla Smith, and students who had nothing else to wear were sent home to change their clothes.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ramona-sentinel/news/story/2023-08-25/protestors-gather-outside-ramona-high-over-student-dress-code

Maybe I'm just getting too old, but IMO bare midriffs are inappropriate in high school classes. Seems like an overzealous way to determine if a female's top is too short, though; it doesn't take a degree in Rocket Science to spot a bare midriff.

August 27, 2023

Ron DeSantis, the abysmal front-runner among GOP candidates not named Trump

The most depressing thing we learned about the 2024 Republican presidential candidates last week when they met for their first onstage encounter in Milwaukee is that most of them would vote for former President Trump, even if he is a convicted criminal by election day.

Most would probably follow him to hell, too.

This was supposed to be Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ breakout night. After all, he is the front-runner among candidates not named Trump. But he didn’t make much of an impression on most commentators. To use one of his favorite insults, he was more a listless vessel than a breakout star.

It turns out that DeSantis is not very good at debate, at least not the kind that prefaces a presidential election. He managed to repeat and contradict himself, promising twice to “send Joe Biden back to his basement” and once to not let Biden “hang out in his basement this time. We’re going to run him ragged around this country.” Make up your mind, Governor!

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-08-27/ron-desantis-republican-debate-2024-election

August 26, 2023

Much of Florida under state of emergency as possible tropical storm forms in Gulf of Mexico

Source: AP News

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday for most of the state’s Gulf coast as forecasters say a weather system off the coast of Mexico could soon become a tropical storm and start moving toward the area.

DeSantis’ declaration covers the Gulf coast from the southwestern city of Fort Myers north through Panama City in the Panhandle. Thirty-three of the state’s 67 counties are covered in the declaration.

The National Hurricane Center says there’s a 70% chance the system will become a tropical storm by Monday and a 90% chance overall. Currently, it would be named “Idalia” if no other tropical storm form before it. Forecast models do not show the storm’s center approaching the areas of southwest Florida where deadly Hurricane Ian struck last year.

It not immediately clear if the storm would reach hurricane strength or exactly where it will go. Still, any storm of this nature can cause massive flooding, power outages, coastal storm surge and tornadoes.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/florida-tropical-storm-desantis-emergency-7e94c35ac7c599f7463dcc2c9d40ae3f

August 26, 2023

For DeSantis and America, myths have consequences

These falsehoods about the past distort the present and serve to undermine national unity and stifle progressive change toward racial equality. History is under attack.

Politicians consistently spin history to support ideological agendas. What are often seen as “harmless” exaggerations can unfortunately create a false national “common sense” narrative with devastating consequences. Successful public policies have been sabotaged by these falsifications. It can take decades to overcome misleading historical depictions. Myths have consequences. Examine the following: (1) the distortion of The New Deal and the Great Society and (2) the whitewashing of America’s “Founding Fathers.”

The New Deal and the Great Society:

Republicans for decades have argued against government-run programs designed to achieve full employment and an enhanced “safety net” for all citizens. To achieve this objective, these politicians consistently trash Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” and Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” with cherry-picked statistics and misleading analysis.

For example, in arguing against a Democratic proposal for a “Green New Deal,” Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa told his fellow senators that “The New Deal of the 1930s didn’t work. It didn’t get us out of the Depression. The Depression didn’t end until we entered World War II.” He further argued any modern New Deal-type program would only, “like the original … dampen economic growth and will hurt jobs.” According to historian Eric Rauchway, a group of leading historians evaluated Grassley’s statements on the New Deal as “more or less false” and close to “all bunk.” An examination of the business cycles during the FDR administration reveals that “not only did the U.S. economy begin to grow during the New Deal; it grew rapidly.” Economist Christina D. Romer, former chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers, notes that the rates of growth in the American economy during Roosevelts first few years in office were “spectacular, even for an economy pulling out of a severe depression.” The New Deal policies contributed to our recovery by stabilizing the banks and providing public-works jobs which allowed people to buy more goods which increased demand and stimulated production.

To discredit LBJ’s “Great Society,” Ronald Reagan produced effective and entertaining one-line quips that were often false. Reagan, for example, claimed: “Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty, and poverty won.” Yet, as historian Joshua Zeitz documents, this statement is untrue and misleading. According to Zeitz, “The national poverty rate declined from 20% to 12% under LBJ’s watch. By contrast, it stood at 13% when Reagan was elected president, and it remained at 13% when he left office.”

These inaccurate myths about the New Deal and the Great Society have consequences in real world politics today. These distortions serve to discredit current public policy proposals, including the Child Tax Credit, which for three years helped to significantly reduce child poverty throughout America. This false history is promoted as “evidence” against an enlarged governmental role in the provision of public goods, such as basic medical care, child care, food and housing.

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/08/26/desantis-america-myths-have-consequences-column/