rawstory--2020-08-20--‘He wasn’t born here’: Trump announces Joe Biden birther theory at rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania

President Donald Trump claimed on Thursday that his rival Joe Biden was not born where the facts say he was @ @ @ @ @ remarks while holding a rally in Biden ’ s birthplace , Scranton , Pennsylvania .
@ @ @ @ @ left like 70 years ago , ” Trump told supporters in Scranton .
“ He @ @ @ @ @ I view it differently .
He ’ d say he was born here .
But @ @ @ @ @ like 8 , 9 or 10 .
So he left 68 years ago , he @ @ @ @ @ .
So I view it differently .
He wasn ’ t born here .
He @ @ @ @ @ the video below from Fox News .

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Still, Ron DeSantis refuses to expand Medicaid, even though 93 percent of the cost is covered with money from Washington, DC. It’s the principle of the thing, apparently: he’s one of 11 red state governors who believes that working poor people simply shouldn’t get health coverage. After all, they didn’t have the good sense to be born into a wealthy family!
Michael, 30, lives in Orlando and has asthma, but running his little business buying and selling used furniture hasn’t earned him enough to cover his medical bills and to pay rent. He recently got an eviction notice, telling the Florida Health Justice Project:
“I was given a list of homeless shelters to choose from but I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Ron DeSantis is just fine with this. Cruelty is his trademark.
Violence, hate, bigotry, and cruelty are the four cardinal points of fascism. Compassion and concern for the greater good, for the poor and weak, for the victims of fate and accident have no place in the fascist world.
Historians and political observers have been predicting that America would get our very own Mussolini ever since the days of Barry Goldwater. And there’s been no shortage of candidates: bribe-taking Nixon; Central American fascist-loving Reagan; Gitmo torturing and war-lying Bush; and, of course, Trump.
But with Ron DeSantis, we may finally be facing an all-American politician who has Mussolini’s guile, ruthlessness, and willingness to see people die to advance his political career, all while being smart and educated enough to avoid the easily satirized buffoonishness of Trump.
Mussolini was a famously short man who strutted with his muscular chest pushed out and his chin jutted forward, just like DeSantis, who Trump says is musclebound, likes to do.
Both men were socially awkward, craved power, lacked empathy, displayed casual cruelty, sucked up to the wealthiest men in the nation, and demonized opposition politicians — literally calling or implying their fellow citizens are “the enemy” (a favorite trick of Hitler and Orbán, as well) — to encourage their followers to support them or entertain the rhetoric of violence and threats of violence to achieve political ends.
Miriam, a single parent of two young children, discovered a lump in her breast but postponed visiting the doctor for months because she had no health insurance with her job as a housekeeper.
Finally, she realized the potential gravity of her situation.
“I needed to live to be there for my children,” she said.
She got treatment through the charity ward of a hospital, but even that treatment came with a cost of $2,183. She slipped behind in the $200 monthly payments when her job vanished with the pandemic and now she’s struggling to pay the $1783 she still owes in co-payments from her treatments. She’s been sent to collection and is living in fear of what’s next when the court finally comes after her.
Ron DeSantis is just fine with this. Cruelty is his trademark.
George Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned us of the possible rise of politicians like DeSantis who would suggest other Americans are enemies of the nation’s values, who would exaggerate policy differences in war-like terms, and who would ascribe the most evil of motives and intentions to simple political opponents.
“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.”
But it wasn’t just that calling other politicians enemies or attributing evil motivations to them produced dissension and could tear a society apart, although those concerns were at the top of Washington’s mind.
He also knew that such rhetoric was the platform from which a literal strongman could arise in America, destroying the democracy he’d fought the Revolutionary War to create:
“But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism,” he told the nation. “The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.”
Such a warlike approach to politics, Washington said, could only lead in one direction:
“It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.”
Such rhetoric, Washington argued, produces:
“A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.”
It’s been 225 years since George Washington uttered those words. And now we’re here.
Hipolito, the father of four, is worried about his life’s partner, the mother of their children.
“My wife has been in pain for weeks now but we can’t afford to find out why,” Hipolito told the Florida Health Justice Project. “I swear, I’m very afraid. She is pale and suffering every day.”
He notes that his wife hasn’t visited the doctor because their family can’t afford the expense when they must also house, feed, and clothe their kids on his job as a cook.
Ron DeSantis is just fine with this. Cruelty is his trademark.
Arresting black men for voting, terrifying them and ruining their lives while making sure they all get paraded in chains before the cameras.
Threatening public school teachers with prison for simply teaching history.
Lying about medical science regarding vaccines to suck up to the Trump base, resulting in fewer Floridians being protected from a disease that is killing literally hundreds of Americans every day.
Using rhetoric that feeds bigotry and hate against gay, lesbian, and trans people.
Intimidating the college board so they strip the Black Lives Matter movement out of their advanced placement African-American Studies curriculum.
Lying to asylum-seekers to get them on a plane to Martha’s Vineyard as a stunt to elevate his own political fortunes.
Ron DeSantis is just fine with all of this. Cruelty is his trademark.
Ignoring the health and safety of his state’s citizens, DeSantis led Florida into a veritable Covid Armageddon, letting (as of January 16th) 84,176 of his citizens die from the disease. As former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CBS’ Face The Nation:
“They let the virus spread largely unchecked in terms of personal mitigation. People weren't wearing masks. They weren't encouraged to wear masks. Vaccination was encouraged for the elderly population, but not widely… So they made policy choices, and the consequence was an infection that largely engulfed most parts of the state.”
After this orgy of death and disease, at the end of 2021 about 12 percent of Florida’s population — almost 2.6 million — still lacked any form of medical insurance because of DeSantis’ refusal to expand Medicaid for low-income people.
And now as many as 2 million more Floridians will join the ranks of the uninsured in the coming months.
Ron DeSantis is just fine with this. Cruelty is his trademark.


rawstory--2020-08-21--Steve Bannon sees Trump supporters as ‘suckers, dupes and marks’: CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin

Former Trump White House political strategist Steve Bannon was arrested on Thursday and charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors who contributed to the “ We Build the Wall ” crowdfunding campaign .
Analyzing the Bannon indictment , CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said that it seems like prosecutors have put together a tight case that will be difficult for Bannon and his alleged co-conspirators to beat .
“ The charges say , and there are apparently e-mails and texts to back this up , that the four conspirators secretly agreed that they would put a substantial amount of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars , in their own pockets , ” Toobin explained .
“ And apparently , there are financial records to back that up.
” He then said it was remarkable to see how much Bannon apparently viewed President Donald Trump ’ s own supporters with contempt .
“ It shows these four , sort of , Republican leaders treating the actual Trump supporters , the people who are , you know , who are — the president ’ s base , as a bunch of suckers and dupes and marks , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which they apparently treated the actual people who support President Trump is kind of — is one of the more shocking elements of this crime .
”

Former Trump White House political strategist Steve Bannon was arrested on Thursday and charged with defrauding hundreds of thousands of donors who contributed to the "We Build the Wall" crowdfunding campaign.
Analyzing the Bannon indictment, CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said that it seems like prosecutors have put together a tight case that will be difficult for Bannon and his alleged co-conspirators to beat.
"The charges say, and there are apparently e-mails and texts to back this up, that the four conspirators secretly agreed that they would put a substantial amount of that money, hundreds of thousands of dollars, in their own pockets," Toobin explained. "And apparently, there are financial records to back that up."
He then said it was remarkable to see how much Bannon apparently viewed President Donald Trump's own supporters with contempt.
"It shows these four, sort of, Republican leaders treating the actual Trump supporters, the people who are, you know, who are -- the president's base, as a bunch of suckers and dupes and marks," he said. "And the contempt with which they apparently treated the actual people who support President Trump is kind of -- is one of the more shocking elements of this crime."
Watch the video below.


rawstory--2020-08-22--The three amigos of scam artistry: Steve Bannon, Roy Moore and the My Pillow guy

You forgot about Roy Moore , didn ’ t you ?
With the rest of the Trumpian shitstorm that slams you in the face every day , Roy Moore probably just slipped out of the old brainpan : Roy chasing teenage girls around Alabama malls , putting up stone monuments engraved with the Ten Commandments , getting fired as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for defying the U.S. Constitution , and running for the Senate and losing to Democrat Doug Jones in the reddest state in the union back in 2017 with the support of his good friend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeared in Salon .
Yep , along with Donald Trump , Moore ’ s other big supporter back then was the same Steve Bannon who was just arraigned in federal district court in Manhattan on charges of mail fraud and money laundering that carry prison terms of 20 years each .
The same Steve Bannon who ran Trump ’ s campaign back in 2016 , and got up in front of the CPAC convention the following year and told everyone how he was going to “ dismantle the administrative state ” in Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House job in a power struggle with Jared Kushner and slinking away to his lavish townhouse on Capitol Hill known as the “ Breitbart Embassy ” to change out of his pin-striped suit and wingtip lace-ups and don the three-shirt look of the Gulfstream populist he would transform himself into , as he jetted around with his “ security detail ” giving speeches to right-wing political parties all over Europe .
Who the hell are these people ?
How did we come to a place where we wake up in the morning and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this human tapeworm called Steve Bannon has been arrested on a 150-foot private yacht owned by a Chinese billionaire off the coast of Westport , Connecticut , for running a scam that raised money to build Donald Trump ’ s wall on the border with Mexico — but really what Bannon and three of his partners in the scam were doing was paying themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars so they could buy boats and Land Rover SUVs and first-class airfares and lavish dinners and high-end hotel rooms and fancy golf carts and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ condos ?
I read the indictment , all 24 pages of it , and the scam it describes is incredibly complicated .
They set up a GoFundMe page and raised about $ 25 million to fund a private-venturer section of Trump ’ s border wall , and they pledged again and again in their fundraising pitches that they wouldn ’ t take a cent for themselves .
Of course Bannon and the rest of them decided a better use of the funds they raised would be to pay for their lavish lifestyles , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a shell company and multiple bank accounts all over the country so they could clandestinely move the donated money around and pay themselves secret salaries amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars for at least one of them , and at least a million for Bannon .
I read the indictment twice , trying to understand how the scam worked .
The scheme was so byzantine , it was clear to me that Bannon or any of the other three scam artists could have made use of their talents to get themselves a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and earn a real salary doing real work for a real cause , rather than the fake We Build the Wall scam that has built only 300 feet of wall somewhere near El Paso , Texas , according to the New York Times .
Bannon ’ s pal Roy Moore pulled a similar scam down in Alabama when he set up a phony nonprofit called the Foundation for Moral Law .
After pledging that he wouldn ’ t take a penny for himself in salary , Moore proceeded to do just that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a year over a period of years , totaling more than $ 1 million .
The foundation also paid for Moore ’ s travel expenses , health benefits and security guards , and paid a salary of $ 65,000 a year to Moore ’ s wife and separate salaries to two of his children .
When the foundation hit a rough spot in its fundraising and couldn ’ t pay Moore ’ s total salary , he was issued an IOU promising to pay him the difference in assets from the foundation at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birds of a feather ” come to mind , don ’ t they ?
I mean , these guys can ’ t seem to resist the urge to fleece believers of their hard-earned cash , promising dreams like building the wall Trump said the Mexicans would pay for , and in Moore ’ s case , promising to beat back the heathens and return prayer to the public schools and the Ten Commandments to the public square .
All of which is apparently best accomplished from the back seats of Land Rovers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recliners on private jets and sundecks of 150-foot private yachts .
As if Bannon and his scam-buddies weren ’ t enough , this was also the week that we learned that COVID-19 will soon cease to be a threat to the health and well-being of Americans because Mike Lindell , the “ My Pillow guy , ” is bringing a miracle cure to market .
Called Oleandrin , it has not been approved by the FDA , it hasn ’ t undergone any double-blind testing and there is no proof whatsoever that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week , meeting with Lindell and pushing the stuff like it was the new hydroxychloroquine .
The My Pillow guy , naturally , has taken a seat on the board and has a financial stake in the company pushing the drug .
Oleandrin , by the way , is the chemical that makes the plant Nerium oleander deadly .
What is it about these guys ?
Roy Moore is a religious nut , but even religious nuts are entitled to their beliefs , and if he wants to put a big rock with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , good on him .
But he just couldn ’ t resist scamming his beliefs into a million dollars in salary .
Steve Bannon and his buddies are entitled to be all-in for Trump ’ s wall on the Mexican border .
But they couldn ’ t resist raising money for the wall and using them for leisure boats and luxury SUVs and dinners at expensive restaurants and rooms in luxury hotels .
As for the My Pillow guy , he ’ s a millionaire many times over from selling his ridiculous pillows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News .
He didn ’ t need to pad his bank with anything more than the stuffing from his pillows , but noooooo !
He ’ s got to come up with some scam “ cure ” for COVID from a poisonous plant and add it to Trump ’ s bleach cure and hydroxychloroquine cure and sun cure , and yes , of course , make some bucks in the process .
Donald Trump has turned the White House into his own private piggy bank .
There was so much self-dealing by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it down and fined Trump $ 2 million for misusing the foundation for his own private business and political purposes .
He could have established a real Trump University and taught the secrets of his real estate genius , but instead , he fleeced people out of their hard-earned dollars and was forced in 2016 to pay $ 25 million to settle claims by students he cheated .
Donald Trump didn ’ t invent scams like the ones run by Steve Bannon and Roy Moore and the My Pillow guy , but he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the notion that there ’ s a sucker born every minute .
He ’ s probably warming up the pardon pen for Bannon and his pals right now .
The thing we ’ ve got to remember is that there will be no pardon for us if we don ’ t get rid of him in November .

You forgot about Roy Moore, didn't you? With the rest of the Trumpian shitstorm that slams you in the face every day, Roy Moore probably just slipped out of the old brainpan: Roy chasing teenage girls around Alabama malls, putting up stone monuments engraved with the Ten Commandments, getting fired as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court for defying the U.S. Constitution, and running for the Senate and losing to Democrat Doug Jones in the reddest state in the union back in 2017 with the support of his good friend, Steve Bannon.
This article first appeared in Salon.
Yep, along with Donald Trump, Moore's other big supporter back then was the same Steve Bannon who was just arraigned in federal district court in Manhattan on charges of mail fraud and money laundering that carry prison terms of 20 years each. The same Steve Bannon who ran Trump's campaign back in 2016, and got up in front of the CPAC convention the following year and told everyone how he was going to "dismantle the administrative state" in Washington, before being fired from his White House job in a power struggle with Jared Kushner and slinking away to his lavish townhouse on Capitol Hill known as the "Breitbart Embassy" to change out of his pin-striped suit and wingtip lace-ups and don the three-shirt look of the Gulfstream populist he would transform himself into, as he jetted around with his "security detail" giving speeches to right-wing political parties all over Europe.
Who the hell are these people? How did we come to a place where we wake up in the morning and the first thing we hear is that this human tapeworm called Steve Bannon has been arrested on a 150-foot private yacht owned by a Chinese billionaire off the coast of Westport, Connecticut, for running a scam that raised money to build Donald Trump's wall on the border with Mexico — but really what Bannon and three of his partners in the scam were doing was paying themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars so they could buy boats and Land Rover SUVs and first-class airfares and lavish dinners and high-end hotel rooms and fancy golf carts and cosmetic surgery and home improvements on Florida condos?
I read the indictment, all 24 pages of it, and the scam it describes is incredibly complicated. They set up a GoFundMe page and raised about $25 million to fund a private-venturer section of Trump's border wall, and they pledged again and again in their fundraising pitches that they wouldn't take a cent for themselves. Of course Bannon and the rest of them decided a better use of the funds they raised would be to pay for their lavish lifestyles, so they established a nonprofit corporation and a shell company and multiple bank accounts all over the country so they could clandestinely move the donated money around and pay themselves secret salaries amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars for at least one of them, and at least a million for Bannon. I read the indictment twice, trying to understand how the scam worked. The scheme was so byzantine, it was clear to me that Bannon or any of the other three scam artists could have made use of their talents to get themselves a real job, with a real nonprofit, and earn a real salary doing real work for a real cause, rather than the fake We Build the Wall scam that has built only 300 feet of wall somewhere near El Paso, Texas, according to the New York Times.
Bannon's pal Roy Moore pulled a similar scam down in Alabama when he set up a phony nonprofit called the Foundation for Moral Law. After pledging that he wouldn't take a penny for himself in salary, Moore proceeded to do just that, paying himself at least $180,000 a year over a period of years, totaling more than $1 million. The foundation also paid for Moore's travel expenses, health benefits and security guards, and paid a salary of $65,000 a year to Moore's wife and separate salaries to two of his children. When the foundation hit a rough spot in its fundraising and couldn't pay Moore's total salary, he was issued an IOU promising to pay him the difference in assets from the foundation at some future date.
The words "birds of a feather" come to mind, don't they? I mean, these guys can't seem to resist the urge to fleece believers of their hard-earned cash, promising dreams like building the wall Trump said the Mexicans would pay for, and in Moore's case, promising to beat back the heathens and return prayer to the public schools and the Ten Commandments to the public square. All of which is apparently best accomplished from the back seats of Land Rovers and lie-flat seats in first class and leather recliners on private jets and sundecks of 150-foot private yachts.
As if Bannon and his scam-buddies weren't enough, this was also the week that we learned that COVID-19 will soon cease to be a threat to the health and well-being of Americans because Mike Lindell, the "My Pillow guy," is bringing a miracle cure to market. Called Oleandrin, it has not been approved by the FDA, it hasn't undergone any double-blind testing and there is no proof whatsoever that it works. But there Trump was this week, meeting with Lindell and pushing the stuff like it was the new hydroxychloroquine. The My Pillow guy, naturally, has taken a seat on the board and has a financial stake in the company pushing the drug. Oleandrin, by the way, is the chemical that makes the plant Nerium oleander deadly.
What is it about these guys? Roy Moore is a religious nut, but even religious nuts are entitled to their beliefs, and if he wants to put a big rock with the Ten Commandments in his front yard, good on him. But he just couldn't resist scamming his beliefs into a million dollars in salary. Steve Bannon and his buddies are entitled to be all-in for Trump's wall on the Mexican border. But they couldn't resist raising money for the wall and using them for leisure boats and luxury SUVs and dinners at expensive restaurants and rooms in luxury hotels. As for the My Pillow guy, he's a millionaire many times over from selling his ridiculous pillows to the rubes with ads on Fox News. He didn't need to pad his bank with anything more than the stuffing from his pillows, but noooooo! He's got to come up with some scam "cure" for COVID from a poisonous plant and add it to Trump's bleach cure and hydroxychloroquine cure and sun cure, and yes, of course, make some bucks in the process.
Donald Trump has turned the White House into his own private piggy bank. There was so much self-dealing by the Trump Foundation that New York State shut it down and fined Trump $2 million for misusing the foundation for his own private business and political purposes. He could have established a real Trump University and taught the secrets of his real estate genius, but instead, he fleeced people out of their hard-earned dollars and was forced in 2016 to pay $25 million to settle claims by students he cheated.
Donald Trump didn't invent scams like the ones run by Steve Bannon and Roy Moore and the My Pillow guy, but he's based his entire life on the notion that there's a sucker born every minute. He's probably warming up the pardon pen for Bannon and his pals right now. The thing we've got to remember is that there will be no pardon for us if we don't get rid of him in November.


rawstory--2020-08-22--RNC ‘split-screen convention for the ages’ with 2 hurricanes making landfall: ‘Basically God endorsi

RNC ‘split-screen convention for the ages’ with 2 hurricanes making landfall: ‘Basically God endorsing Joe Biden’

Two tropical storms could hit the U.S. gulf course as hurricanes during next week ’ s Republican National Committee Convention @ @ @ @ @ currently predicted to hit Louisiana on Monday evening , during the first day of the @ @ @ @ @ Laura is also headed towards Louisiana , with an expected landfall on Wednesday afternoon , @ @ @ @ @ the convention .
The two storms are expected to cross paths in the Baton Rogue @ @ @ @ @ be an “ only in 2020 ” angle to story .
It could be bad @ @ @ @

In new allegations revealed Wednesday, Texas House investigators accused suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton of engaging in a complex cover-up to hide his relationship with real estate investor Nate Paul as senior aides grew increasingly concerned about Paxton’s willingness to use his office to benefit Paul.
The subterfuge allegedly included Paxton and Paul creating an Uber account under an alias so they could meet each other and so the attorney general could visit the woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair.
And once Paxton learned several high-ranking officials in his office reported his behavior to the FBI, the House impeachment managers alleged, he took immediate steps to cover up his relationship with Paul, including wiring a $122,000 payment to a Paul-affiliated company in an effort to hide home renovations that Paul had provided for free.
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The allegations, outlined in a series of filings with the Texas Senate’s court of impeachment, shed new light on the relationship between Paul and Paxton that is at the core of his impeachment proceedings.
Among the new claims: Top deputies in the attorney general’s office persistently warned Paxton that Paul was a “crook” and that there was no merit to his claims that he had been unfairly treated by law enforcement, and that the two met at least 20 times in spring and summer 2020, sometimes discussing the FBI investigation into Paul’s faltering real estate empire.
Paxton “blindly accepted Paul’s conspiracy,” impeachment managers alleged. “Senior Staff urged Paxton to stay away. But when it came to Paul, Paxton was immune to reason.”
Paul was arrested in June on federal felony charges of lying to financial institutions to secure business loans.
Responding to Paxton’s pretrial motions that seek to dismiss all 20 articles of impeachment, including four that will not be included in the Sept. 5 impeachment trial, House managers also detailed multiple actions in which Paxton allegedly sought to use his office to benefit Paul.
They alleged that Paxton conducted a “sham criminal investigation” into Paul’s “adversaries,” routinely overriding concerns from agency staff who told him that Paul was a “criminal” and that Paxton needed to “get away.”
Instead, House managers alleged, Paxton became increasingly “entangled in Paul’s web of deceit” and “went to great lengths” to hide his relationship with Paul — using a burner phone and secret email accounts, ditching his security detail and using the fake Uber name to be “ferried to his lover’s or Paul’s properties more than a dozen times.”
In response to Paul’s favors — including allegedly employing the woman and paying to remodel Paxton’s home — Paxton “continually abused the power of his office to advance Paul’s aims,” House managers alleged.
In one instance, Paxton allegedly told agency staff that he did not want the office to assist law enforcement “in any way” with an investigation into Paul, who Paxton claimed was being “railroaded” and needed “unprecedented” access to sensitive information about his case.
After meeting with “alarmed” senior staff, Paxton allegedly demanded files about Paul’s criminal case that included an unredacted FBI letter that identified individuals involved in a 2019 raid on Paul’s home and businesses.
“Paxton held onto the file for more than a week,” House managers wrote. “Ultimately, OAG did not disclose the information to Paul. But Paxton did.”
In another instance, Paxton was accused of issuing a legal opinion that staved off a pending foreclosure sale of Paul’s businesses at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. House investigators cited two agency employees who said they were forced to work through the night to produce the opinion while Paxton frequently called them.
Paxton “sounded like someone was holding him hostage,” one of the staffers told investigators.
The opinion, which Paxton allegedly edited himself, was published at 1 a.m. Aug. 2, 2020, and said foreclosure proceedings posed a public health threat — despite the state’s “open for business” mantra throughout the pandemic, managers said.
The next day, managers alleged, Paul cited the opinion to successfully delay the foreclosures.
“It is hard to imagine a more blatant abuse of Paxton’s office,” House managers wrote.
Paxton’s legal team had filed more than a dozen motions to dismiss all articles of impeachment, often arguing that the underlying allegations were baseless or fell under the legitimate duties of the attorney general’s office.
His attorneys also accused the Texas House of trying to “overturn the will of voters” who reelected Paxton to a third term last year despite various public scandals dating to 2015. One argument stressed that Paxton cannot be impeached for alleged misconduct that predated his most recent election under the so-called “prior-term doctrine.” And they downplayed some of the allegations he faces, saying that, even if true, they are not severe enough to warrant his removal from office.
Paxton’s lawyers also attacked two bribery-related impeachment articles, saying there was no evidence of a “quid pro quo” and that Paxton’s ties to Paul were nothing more than “a personal relationship with a constituent and that the constituent found something the Attorney General did to be agreeable in some way.”
Under rules adopted by the Senate, any pretrial motion to dismiss or quash an article of impeachment must be voted on by senators. A majority — 16 senators — can approve dismissal of an article, placing an early test on the determination of the chamber’s 19 Republicans to allow a trial on the allegations. Those votes are set to be taken shortly after the trial begins in September.
In a written response, filed with the Senate on Tuesday and made public Wednesday, the impeachment team challenged other pretrial assertions from Paxton’s lawyers, who claimed the articles of impeachment were deficient because they failed to list specific laws that Paxton allegedly broke.
“Impeachable offenses need not be indictable crimes,” the House team argued. “Impeachment in Texas seeks to protect against conduct that undermines the integrity of the office, disregards constitutional duties and oaths of office, abuses government process and power, and adversely impacts the system of government.”
What’s more, the team argued, many of the articles listed particular crimes, and several detailed “how Paxton abused his office for his own personal benefit or that of Nate Paul and business entities controlled by Paul.”
More broadly, the managers emphasized that the impeachment trial is not a criminal or civil proceeding, as Paxton’s side has implied. In one new filing, the managers wrote that an impeachment trial is “a unique, if not mostly Political, with a capital ‘P’, proceeding — i.e., an action by the representatives of the people challenging official actions that are contrary to the public interest.”
That view aligns with the view that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate and is acting as judge in the impeachment trial, offered in a TV interview Tuesday.
“It’s not a criminal trial. It’s not a civil trial. It’s a political trial,” Patrick told the Fox affiliate in Houston.
The House managers also asked the Senate to dismiss Paxton’s motion to quash the articles or return them to the House to add more detail to the allegations. The managers said the demand shows a “fundamental misunderstanding” of how impeachment works, arguing that the Texas Constitution does not require the level of detail common in a civil or criminal proceeding.
“A person can be impeached without an indictment, therefore Paxton does not have any right to demand more details,” the managers said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.


rawstory--2020-08-23--‘It’s a hate group’: Chris Wallace sends Trump aide Mark Meadows into hysterics with QAnon question

Fox News host Chris Wallace confronted White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Sunday over President Donald Trump ’ s praise of “ hate group ” QAnon .
During an interview on FOX News Sunday , Wallace noted that Trump was recently asked about the group at a White House press conference .
“ The president was asked this week about QAnon , a conspiracy theory group that the FBI has called a domestic terror threat , ” Wallace recalled .
“ The president said that he was thankful of the support of the people in QAnon.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the Fox News host told Meadows .
“ Does the president disavow , does he condemn QAnon ?
” “ Well , listen , we don ’ t even know what it is , ” Meadows said without immediately condemning the group .
“ I find it appalling that the media , when we have all of the important things that are going on , a list of top twenties , that the first question at a press briefing would be about QAnon that I had to actually Google to figure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to interrupt but Meadows raised his voice .
“ You ’ re bringing it up and it ’ s ridiculous !
” the chief of staff exclaimed .
“ If you want to talk about conspiracies , let ’ s get back to talking about how the FBI and others within the FBI spied on the Trump campaign.
” “ Wait , ” Wallace pleaded .
“ The point is , it ’ s a hate group .
It ’ s a group that ’ s called by the FBI , a domestic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not for hate !
” Meadows shot back .
“ So I can tell you , if it ’ s a hate group that is there , let ’ s look at domestic terrorism and look at Antifa and a number of other areas and quit spending time on something that 81 % of Republicans don ’ t even know what you ’ re talking about.
” Watch the video below from Fox News .

Fox News host Chris Wallace confronted White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Sunday over President Donald Trump's praise of "hate group" QAnon.
During an interview on FOX News Sunday, Wallace noted that Trump was recently asked about the group at a White House press conference.
"The president was asked this week about QAnon, a conspiracy theory group that the FBI has called a domestic terror threat," Wallace recalled. "The president said that he was thankful of the support of the people in QAnon."
"You can end this controversy right now," the Fox News host told Meadows. "Does the president disavow, does he condemn QAnon?"
"Well, listen, we don't even know what it is," Meadows said without immediately condemning the group. "I find it appalling that the media, when we have all of the important things that are going on, a list of top twenties, that the first question at a press briefing would be about QAnon that I had to actually Google to figure out what it is."
Wallace tried to interrupt but Meadows raised his voice.
"You're bringing it up and it's ridiculous!" the chief of staff exclaimed. "If you want to talk about conspiracies, let's get back to talking about how the FBI and others within the FBI spied on the Trump campaign."
"Wait," Wallace pleaded. "The point is, it's a hate group. It's a group that's called by the FBI, a domestic terror threat."
"This president is not for hate!" Meadows shot back. "So I can tell you, if it's a hate group that is there, let's look at domestic terrorism and look at Antifa and a number of other areas and quit spending time on something that 81% of Republicans don't even know what you're talking about."
Watch the video below from Fox News.


rawstory--2020-08-23--WATCH: DHS head Wolf repeatedly refuses to say if he talks to Trump about Russian election meddling

In an interview with CNN ’ s Jake Tapper , acting Department of Homeland Security head Chad Wolf repeatedly refused to say if he has discussed Russian election meddling with Donald Trump .
With the “ State of the Union ” host sharing a clip of former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor stating Russia was off-limits when speaking with the president , Tapper asked Wolf if he was afraid to bring the country up in his meetings with Trump .
“ So President Trump does recognize that Russia is trying to interfere in the election and you don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to him when you talk about it and the president is engaged and wants to make sure that it doesn ’ t happen ?
” Tapper asked .
“ I don ’ t have any issue with bringing up any subject with President Trump on a wide variety of DHS issues and we discuss a lot of those issues every week , ” Wolf replied .
“ So , no , there ’ s never been any issue from my perspective or bringing up any issue to include Russia , to include the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the department ’ s doing every day to keep our elections safe and secure.
” “ And the president accepts that Russia is trying to interfere in the election again ?
” the CNN host pressed .
“ Well , again , to my knowledge , absolutely , ” the Trump appointee demurred .
“ I ’ m going to let the president and the White House speak for themselves on that .
But I ’ ve seen the intelligence and the intelligence assessment back in 2017 .
Recent statements as late as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ month from the ODI that continues to talk about China , Russia and Iran continuing to try to meddle in the 2020 elections.
” “ Have you brought up Russia with the president ?
” Tapper asked .
“ I have been in numerous conversations with the president about election security in a number of nation-states have gotten discussed , ” Wolf replied .
“ A number of nation-states have gotten discussed , yes , ” Wolf repeated .
“ Okay , you ’ re not really answering the question about Russia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tapper replied .

In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, acting Department of Homeland Security head Chad Wolf repeatedly refused to say if he has discussed Russian election meddling with Donald Trump.
With the "State of the Union" host sharing a clip of former DHS Chief of Staff Miles Taylor stating Russia was off-limits when speaking with the president, Tapper asked Wolf if he was afraid to bring the country up in his meetings with Trump.
"So President Trump does recognize that Russia is trying to interfere in the election and you don't have any trouble introducing that subject to him when you talk about it and the president is engaged and wants to make sure that it doesn't happen?" Tapper asked.
"I don't have any issue with bringing up any subject with President Trump on a wide variety of DHS issues and we discuss a lot of those issues every week," Wolf replied. "So, no, there's never been any issue from my perspective or bringing up any issue to include Russia, to include the election security and the election security efforts the department's doing every day to keep our elections safe and secure."
"And the president accepts that Russia is trying to interfere in the election again?" the CNN host pressed.
"Well, again, to my knowledge, absolutely," the Trump appointee demurred. "I'm going to let the president and the White House speak for themselves on that. But I've seen the intelligence and the intelligence assessment back in 2017. Recent statements as late as August of this year, earlier this month from the ODI that continues to talk about China, Russia and Iran continuing to try to meddle in the 2020 elections."
"Have you brought up Russia with the president?" Tapper asked.
"I have been in numerous conversations with the president about election security in a number of nation-states have gotten discussed," Wolf replied.
"Including Russia?" Tapper persisted.
"A number of nation-states have gotten discussed, yes," Wolf repeated.
"Okay, you're not really answering the question about Russia, but let me move on," Tapper replied.
Watch below:


rawstory--2020-08-24--Jerry Falwell Jr. says his wife had a ‘fatal attraction’ affair with the pool boy: report

Jerry Falwell , Jr. says his wife Becki Tilley had an affair with a young man known to the public as the couple ’ s “ pool boy ” and says he was threatening to expose the relationship .
Falwell spoke with and released a statement to the Washington Examiner ’ s “ Secrets ” column , which notes the former Liberty University president did not name the man , but “ he has been identified as Giancarlo Granda in dozens of news stories.
” Once the affair was over , Falwell says , “ we tried to distance ourselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ he unfortunately became increasingly angry and aggressive .
Eventually , he began threatening to publicly reveal this secret relationship with Becki and to deliberately embarrass my wife , family , and Liberty University unless we agreed to pay him substantial monies.
” The Examiner says “ Granda , who was 21 at the time , dismissed the charges of threats in an email to Secrets .
He emailed , ‘ any allegation of extortion is falsely , defamatory and belied by clear documentary evidence .
The Falwell ’ s attempt to sandbag @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a last minute story without providing the Examiner clear evidence that this was not simply an ‘ affair ’ with concocted allegations of extortion reeks desperation .
The WHOLE truth will come out . '
” In his statement Falwell explains that during “ a vacation over eight years ago , Becki and I met an ambitious young man who was working at our hotel and was saving up his money to go to school .
We encouraged him to pursue an education and a career and we were impressed by his initiative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
My family members eventually made an investment in a local property , included him in the deal because he could play an active role in managing it , and became close with him and his family.
” “ Shortly thereafter , ” he adds , “ Becki had an inappropriate personal relationship with this person , something in which I was not involved – it was nonetheless very upsetting to learn about.
” Falwell , a devout Christian who until recently headed one of the world ’ s largest Christian universities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a photo to Instagram of himself with his arm around his his wife ’ s assistant ’ s waist , his pants unzipped exposing his underwear and stomach .

David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement

"He's saying that he wants to fight this case in Georgia," said Polantz. "But Rudy Giuliani actually has a lot of other things on his plate right now: namely, he appears to be out of cash. He hasn't been able to share details in court. He's trying to not do that because it would embarrass him and draw attention to his misfortunes, but we were able to pick through some court filings that do outline in lawsuits that he's facing related to his work for Donald Trump after the 2020 election, just how much his bills have piled up right now."
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
"Right now, he has $181,000 in current bills," said Polantz. "That includes a judgment from a court last week saying he had to pay a phone bill for his company from 2020, that he has to pay legal fees for two Georgia election workers who are suing him. That's what the sanction would be, an $89,000 sanction. That's not even what happens if he were to lose that case."
As if that weren't enough, Polantz made clear she was just getting started in listing the former New York mayor's financial woes.
"On top of that, he has a lot of bills for just keeping ahold of the records that he had in his various cell phones and other electronic equipment," she said. "He has that all in a company. It costs money to do searches for those records every time he's getting sued, and it costs money just to hold them with that company. So he has access to his electronic records. It's a lot of legal bills, but on top of that, he has debts. One of the debts that has become public in the court proceedings is he had a $320,000 debt to this company hosting his electronic records. Donald Trump's PAC has paid that off ... but this is not even capturing the scope of the money Rudy Giuliani is just being bogged down with in order to fend off just lawsuits related to the 2020 election and other court proceedings."
"If he's actually out of cash, does he just have two options, pro bono representation or public defender?" asked Harlow.
"Those would be some options. The other options would be to get some cash based on the assets he has. One of the things he has done recently is put a three-bedroom Manhattan apartment up for sale for $6.5 million. It's only been listed for a couple days. As far as I can tell, it doesn't have a bid or a sale on it yet, but he's listing that property of his in Manhattan. We're talking about bills he has right now for lawsuits going on that are not even at the end. If he gets judgments against him for things where he is already conceding he was making false statements about the 2020 election, those bills could skyrocket. That doesn't even factor into how much it costs to defend yourself in criminal court."
Watch the video below or at the link here.


rawstory--2020-08-24--‘He is evil’: George Conway chokes up as he explains when Trump’s racism finally hit home

In an upcoming documentary , conservative attorney George Conway emotionally recalls when he first realized beyond a doubt that President Donald Trump is a racist .
“ My mother came from the Philippines .
She came to the United States in the late 1950s .
So I ’ m half Filipino , and the other half is some mixture of Irish , Scottish – you know , I ’ m classic American mutt , ” Conway explains in a clip of the documentary “ # Unfit : The Psychology of Donald Trump.
” “ I think of myself as an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t racist .
And I tend to forget that , well , some people are .
And that ’ s sort of the lesson with Trump is .
I just gave him the benefit of the doubt.
” “ But what he said about those members of Congress , ” Conway continues , referring to Trump telling four Democratic members of Congress to “ go back ” to the “ crime infested places from which they came.
” “ It brought back that memory of the one time I really remember , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that here .
I was with my mother when I was a teenager in a parking lot in Massachusetts and somebody said to her , ‘ go back to your country.
’ It came home to me then .
This man is a racist .
He is evil , ” Conway says in the clip .
The documentary also includes interviews with doctors and mental health professionals , who provide insight into the mental pathologies they believe drive Trump ’ s behavior .
“ # Unfit ” is set for a limited theatrical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on-demand platforms on September 1 .

Trained in political science and the law, he has no formal education in disaster preparedness or response. And prior to his current role, he never held a full-time job dedicated to emergency management.
Instead, his main qualification was being chief of staff to then-mayor Alan Arakawa. But in that role, he told Civil Beat Tuesday, he assisted during emergency operations. And he said he participated in online FEMA trainings and workshops throughout the years.
In 2017, Andaya beat out 40 other applicants for the job, Maui Now reported at the time.
As the mayor’s administration was coming to a close, a panel of government officials – which said it was independent of the mayor – chose Andaya for the civil service role.
Civil Beat reviewed Andaya’s experience after historic Lahaina was swallowed by an inferno last week, killing scores of residents and visitors who never saw it coming.
The Maui Emergency Management Agency had the authority to issue siren warnings that might have alerted people. After Andaya’s agency decided not to sound them, many survivors reported they only became aware of the fire when they saw and smelled smoke.
Andaya said sounding the sirens wasn’t an option officials considered because they’re “mainly used for tsunamis.” That’s why they’re mostly located on the coast, he said.
But the state’s own website says the sirens are useful for many kinds of emergencies.
“The all-hazard siren system can be used for a variety of both natural and human-caused events; including tsunamis, hurricanes, dam breaches, flooding, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, terrorist threats, hazardous material incidents, and more,” the site states.
Andaya wasn’t on the island when the fires started, and he hasn’t made any appearances at press conferences since the disaster occurred.
Asked about Andaya’s resume, David Hafner, a retired telecommunications planner for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, questioned whether his relative inexperience affected his agency’s performance in a crisis.
“It’s a good ol’ boy network,” Hafner said. “This time it cost lives.”
Hafner said it’s “absolutely essential” for emergency management leaders to have experience in the field so they make the right decisions both before and after disasters strike.
Not having it, he said, “can lead to grave mistakes in judgment.”
Andaya’s hiring came at a time when Hawaii’s counties had just taken on increased responsibility for disaster response, according to Hafner. State emergency management officials used to be the designated authority to respond to emergencies, he said, but an update to the law in 2014 put the counties in the driver’s seat.
Asked about Andaya’s LinkedIn resume, Colin Moore, a political scientist at the University of Hawaii, said he was shocked by the emergency administrator’s lack of relevant experience. He said the public is owed an explanation.
“It’s a legitimate question to ask why the person leading the county emergency services agency has no clear background in fire, police, public health, the usual emergency services backgrounds,” he said.
“Having that on-the-ground experience, you develop the instincts and the connections to be able to perform a job like this. And if you just have general government experience, there is just no opportunity to have that kind of on-the-ground knowledge that often is really useful in a crisis.”
Andaya said as a former member of the mayor’s cabinet, he was qualified for the job.
“Whenever there was an activation in the emergency operations center, we were involved,” he said. “To say that I have no experience or no background in emergency management is not correct.”
‘Political Influence’ A Concern
Andaya, 52, is from Maui and graduated from HP Baldwin High School.
He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from the University of Hawaii Manoa. He also has a law degree from the UH Richardson School of Law, although he never became a licensed attorney, according to the Hawaii State Bar Association’s online database.
He began his career clerking for Maui Judge Artemio Baxa. He then worked for the law office of Lynn Araki-Regan, an attorney who is the wife of Arakawa’s managing director, Keith Regan.
When Andaya vacated his position as chief of staff, it was filled by Araki-Regan, who was by then the county budget director. Regan said he had no involvement in Andaya’s hiring.
From the early 2000s onward, Andaya has held leadership positions in Maui’s Department of Housing and Human Concerns and worked as the assistant to the chancellor of UH’s Maui College, according to his LinkedIn resume. He is married to Rowena Dagdag-Andaya, a former elementary school teacher who served as Maui’s public works director and now works in Maui’s Office on Aging.
Andaya was Arakawa’s chief of staff from 2011 through 2017. That year, the mayor appointed him acting administrator of MEMA, and he became permanent by the end of that year.
In contrast, Honolulu’s emergency management director, Hiro Toiya, has technical training in emergency response, worked for years as a preparedness planner for the Hawaii health department and rose up the ranks of Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management. He worked there for more than seven years before becoming the director.
Asked how he stood out among a pool of 40 job candidates, Andaya said Maui doesn’t have a lot of emergency management professionals to begin with. He noted that he had to take an exam and based on his score was determined to be a finalist.
“You would have to question the civil service process if you can believe that politics was involved,” he said. “This is something that my predecessors have to go through as well.”
Before Andaya was hired, there were concerns in Maui’s political scene that the county was considering someone who wasn’t qualified.
“In the past, this position has sometimes been filled by individuals without the proper emergency response background.”
Former Maui County Council Chairman Mike White
In July 2017, the chair of the Maui County Council at the time, Mike White, took the unusual step of writing a Maui News column warning that the job of emergency management was too important to be “subject to political influence.”
“In the past, this position has sometimes been filled by individuals without the proper emergency response background,” White wrote.
“The administration must search for well-qualified candidates who can make a seamless transition in leading our Emergency Management Agency. The stakes are too high and our community has grown to a point where emergency coordination has become quite sophisticated in its implementation.”
In his column, White praised the outgoing emergency management chief, Anna Foust, who had previously worked for years leading the Maui branch of the Red Cross. White emphasized her expertise.
“During her tenure, she used her emergency response experience and training to help guide the county to keep citizens safe during hurricane warnings and watches, flooding events and tsunami warnings,” White wrote.
Civil Beat wasn’t able to reach White for comment.
Panel Of Specialists Chose Andaya
On Tuesday, Arakawa’s former managing director, Keith Regan, said that politics was not a factor in Andaya’s hiring. Asked why Andaya was the best candidate, Regan said he didn’t know because he wasn’t on the hiring committee. But he was adamant there was “zero” political influence in the process.
“This was a straightforward civil service process,” said Regan, who is now the state comptroller.
When Regan ran for Maui County Council in 2015, Andaya was his campaign manager. This year, Andaya wrote a letter of support of Regan’s nomination to state comptroller.
Regan noted that the hiring panel included numerous experts in the field. Maui Now identified them at the time as then-Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu; then-Maui Fire Chief Jeff Murray; Elton Ushio, administrator of the Kauai Emergency Management Agency; and Vern Miyagi, then-administrator of the Hawaii State Emergency Management Agency.
At the time, Ushio was quoted by Maui Now as saying Andaya’s “proven leadership abilities, executive level experience, and impressive knowledge of emergency management” made him a great fit for the job. Murray cited Andaya’s familiarity with government processes, his “institutional knowledge of the various emergency incidents” in recent years, and his then-recent work as acting leader of the department.
“These are not people that, you know, are just political people,” Regan said. “They’re people who understand emergency management and are going to make the right choice for the community.”
In a statement, former HI-EMA director Miyagi said the public’s focus should be on working together on response and recovery.
“Herman Andaya and his staff at MEMA are really good people,” he said. “They carried Maui successfully through numerous hurricanes, floods, and other disasters.”
He said the public should wait for the attorney general’s investigation before drawing conclusions.
Civil Beat left messages with the other hiring committee members on Tuesday, but they were not returned. Former mayor Arakawa also did not respond to a request for comment.
“Herman is a very skilled, experienced, knowledgeable, professional individual,” Regan said. “I trust that is making the right decisions … There is no question in my mind that he cares about that community, and he’s going to do everything he can to keep that community safe.”


rawstory--2020-08-25--Was Donald Trump, Jr. ‘coked out of his mind’ during RNC speech?

Donald Trump , Jr. addressed the Republican National Committee on Monday , urging Americans to trust his father with four @ @ @ @ @ But instead of focusing on the words coming out of his mouth , many Twitter @ @ @ @ @ eyes , with many wondering if he might have been on drugs .
Here ’ @ @ @ @ @ were saying about his speech :


rawstory--2020-08-28--BUSTED: Ivanka Trump’s story about her son’s White House LEGO model probably isn’t true — here’s why

During her address to the Republican National Committee Convention from the White House , first daughter Ivanka Trump attempted to @ @ @ @ @ a story of her son building a LEGO model of the White House .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ Peabody Award winning journalist who wrote the 2020 book , American Oligarchs : The Kushners @ @ @ @ @ the Marriage of Money and Power Hardcover , had heard a similar story before , @ @ @ @ @ the story was about Ivanka herself .
President Donald Trump also told a similar story @ @ @ @ @ and toy blocks .
Ivanka also told the story about herself while being interviewed by @ @ @ @ @ 2007 .

"Joyce, these direct messages, doesn't it seem out of character for Donald Trump?" the host asked. "He is very well known, he does not use email, he does not text, he does not like to sign his name. Very well known for no paper trail. Did Donald Trump fall into the trap that the rest of us do? Which is sloppy texting?"
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
Vance responded, "It is intriguing, because trump notoriously doesn't text. He knows not believe a paper trail. Trump and his employees have articulated that he does not do that. Likely, what happened here, it did not occur to him that there might come a time where the Justice Department would be able to access his account here, and see what was going on behind the scenes on his Twitter account."
She added that "this is something prosecutors do for instance when the access email accounts. You can look at drafts, interactions between people, in this case with Trump, you can see if it was actually Trump who logged in, or someone else. You can determine that from geolocation. So a lot of really fascinating evidence, information that the former president left behind, and is likely simply because he failed to realize the government could ultimately access it."
Watch below or click the link here.


rawstory--2020-08-30--Christian fundraising site has raised over $220,000 for accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse

According to a report from the Religion News Service , a website dedicated to raising funds for Christian endeavors has allowed supporters of accused Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse to accumulate over $ 220,000 for his defense .
Rittenhouse , 17 , is facing extradition to Wisconsin and has been charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree homicide and one count of attempted homicide in addition to charges of recklessly endangering two other victims and possessing a weapon while under the age of 18 .
As RNS reports .
the fundraising site Give Send Go has been hosting the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 223,000 by early Sunday morning — exceeding its goal of $ 200,000 .
The Give Send Go campaign for Rittenhouse , titled “ Raise money for Kyle Rittenhouse Legal Defense , ” contains a statement reading , “ Kyle Rittenhouse just defended himself from a brutal attack by multiple members of the far-leftist group ANTIFA – the experience was undoubtedly a brutal one , as he was forced to take two lives to defend his own .
Now , Kyle is being unfairly charged with murder 1 , by a DA who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political angle of the situation .
The situation was clearly self-defense , and Kyle and his family will undoubtedly need money to pay for the legal fees .
Let ’ s give back to someone who bravely tried to defend his community.
” RNS notes that Give Send Go bills itself as the “ # 1 free Christian crowdfunding site , ” with a mission statement that reads , “ Outside the obvious funding for mission trips , GSG also can be used to raise funds for medical expenses , business ventures , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ministries or any ‘ God Adventure ’ you embark on.
” You can read more here .

"In Georgia, any defendant who requests a speedy trial, either in the term that they are indicted or in the next term, is entitled to have a trial within the term the request is made or in the following term," she said. "The Superior Court term for Fulton County begins every two months, beginning in the first week of January.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
"Because this indictment was returned in August, if any of Trump’s codefendants file a speedy trial request before November 1, 2023, the trial would need to start before January 1, 2024, at the latest. If any of Trump’s co-defendants sought a speedy trial —particularly more minor alleged participants — that could give them strong grounds for a severance motion."
That motion could mean their trial would be cut off from the grouping of the 19 defendants.
But, if one of the Coffee County defendants wants to be severed so they can have a speedy trial, it could be "consequential" and "riskier" for the state, said Hashimoto.
"It could be forced to try the least-culpable members of the conspiracy in the initial trial. If one (or more) of those defendants were acquitted — or granted mistrials as a result of a hung jury — in a nationally-televised trial, it might force the State to rethink at least some of the charges against other defendants," the piece explained.
"In addition, Trump and the defendants set for later trials would have the benefit of seeing perhaps all of the government’s evidence and its trial strategy. They would have the benefit of all of the cross-examination from the first trial and would have months to examine that testimony for any inconsistencies and other weaknesses."
There's also the matter of Georgia law requiring that the co-conspirators be tried in the order the defendants are listed, which makes people like Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani among the top. It means that the Coffee County Republicans are going to be the last to be considered for everything.
The racketeering charges link all of the defendants together, but for those whose role in the conspiracy was more limited, it could also give them an option for their own individual trials. For individuals that don't want their trial broadcast on television for the world to see, separation might be the best option.
There's also the matter of choosing a jury. As a group, they get 12 strikes, but as an individual, they could have 12 strikes that aren't spread out among the 19.
Hashimoto closed by explaining, "For some of the defendants, the window between now and turning themselves in before Aug. 25 may be among the best times to strike a plea deal on more favorable terms."
Aug. 25 is when District Attorney Fani Willis said the defendants must submit for arrest.
Read the full report at Just Security.


rawstory--2020-08-30--No, Trump didn’t create ‘the greatest economy in history’ — or even in the last few years

The most repeated phrase of the Republican National Convention was that President Donald Trump created the greatest economy the world has ever seen .
The evidence , however , shows that it ’ s not the greatest in world ’ s history , or American history .
It may not be even better than the Obama economy , even before the pandemic devastated our economy .
GDP Growth : I went to Macrotrends.net to gather all of the data on annual growth rates from 1961 to 2019 , before the pandemic .
In his best year , 2018 , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , good for 29th best since JFK took office .
In 2019 , the GDP growth rate was 2.33 percent ( 41st best ) and in 2017 , it was 2.22 percent ( 44th best ) out of all 59 years .
In 1950 , our first quarter GDP growth rate was 16.7 percent , according to Trading Economics .
And that ’ s before 2020 .
The Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that our economy shrank by 5 percent during the first quarter , and a historic low -32 percent in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Economics .
Unemployment : President Barack Obama inherited the Great Recession , which began at the end of the George W. Bush administration .
The unemployment rate was 9.9 percent in 2009 .
It declined every year down to 4.7 percent in 2016 , according to Forbes .
It has further declined under Trump to 3.5 percent in 2019 but then shot up to 14.7 percent in April in the midst of the pandemic .
As of this writing , it is still in the double-digits .
Annual Median Household Income : As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ During the last two years of the Obama administration , annual median household income increased $ 4,800 .
This is three times more than the $ 1,400 increase during the first two years of the Trump administration.
” And this was published before the declines of 2020 .
Stock Market : I expected that the stock market would have done better for Trump than Obama .
I was incorrect .
According to the JEC : “ Between President Trump ’ s Inauguration Day and November 2019 , the Dow Jones Average increased more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eight years of the Obama administration , the DJIA increased almost 150 percent – a substantially greater pace.
” The stock market had declined so much before Obama took office , so his numbers look better primarily for this reason .
Trade Deficit : Given his rhetoric on the trade and all of his claims to success .
I was surprised to discover that under Trump the trade deficit became worse than it did under the Obama administration .
“ Despite his aggressive trade moves , the total monthly trade deficit in goods @ @ @ @ @ @ @ value of goods and services exported by the US minus the value of imports — has gotten larger in the last couple years , ” confirms Business Insider .
There is no evidence at the writing of this column that this was the greatest economy in the history of the world , or America , over even the last several years .
Times had been generally okay since the Great Recession of 2007-09 for both presidents , until the calamity of 2020 .
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His views are his own .
He can be reached at [ email protected ] .
His Twitter account is JohnTures2 .

Dissolving carbon dioxide
Carbonation involves dissolving the colorless and odorless carbon dioxide – CO₂ – gas into a liquid. When carbon dioxide is added to a sealed bottle or can containing water, the pressure in the bottle or can increases, and the carbon dioxide dissolves into the liquid.
The CO₂ above the liquid and the CO₂ dissolved in the liquid reach chemical equilibrium. Chemical equilibrium essentially means the rate that CO₂ dissolves into the liquid is equal to the rate that CO₂ is released from the liquid. It’s based on the amounts of CO₂ both in the air and in the liquid.
Some of the dissolved CO₂ reacts with the water to form carbonic acid, which has a chemical formula of H₂CO₃. So once some of the dissolved CO₂ converts to H₂CO₃, more CO₂ from the air above can dissolve into the liquid and reestablish chemical equilibrium.
Carbonation happens when CO₂ is forced into a can or bottle, where it dissolves into the liquid.
When you open a bottle or can, the pressure above the carbonated liquid drops to match the pressure outside of the bottle or can. The pressure release results in a hissing sound, and you see bubbles rising in the liquid as the H₂CO₃ converts back to CO₂ and that gas escapes to the surface. The carbonic acid in the beverage is what makes it taste a little sour.
A colder drink is a bubblier one
The bubbles in carbonated beverages are filled with CO₂ gas moving from an area of high CO₂ concentration to an area of low CO₂ concentration. Jonathan Knowles/DigitalVision via Getty Images
Another important factor influencing carbonation is temperature. Most gases, including carbon dioxide, do not dissolve well in liquids as the temperature of the liquid rises. That’s why carbonated drinks go flat if you leave them out at room temperature.
Conversely, if you place your favorite carbonated beverage in the refrigerator and allow it to get cold, more dissolved carbon dioxide will stay in the beverage while it’s still sealed. When you open the chilled bottle or can, the liquid is more bubbly because there was more dissolved carbon dioxide in the cold beverage.
The temperature of the liquid affects how the CO₂ molecules dissolved in the beverage behave once the beverage is opened.
Surface tension and fizziness
One final important factor for carbonation is the surface tension of the liquid. A liquid’s surface tension is determined by how strongly the liquid’s molecules interact with each other. For most beverages, those molecules are water molecules, but diet soft drinks have artificial sweeteners dissolved in them. These sweeteners can weaken the interactions between the water molecules, creating a lower surface tension. A lower surface tension means the carbon dioxide bubbles form faster and last longer.
This is why it takes slightly longer to be served a Diet Coke on ice, a problem you might notice on a plane. The lower surface tension from the artificial sweetener means there’s more fizz, and for longer, compared with other soft drinks. The flight attendants then have to wait for the bubbles in the cup to break before they can fill the cup with more Diet Coke.
CO₂ bubbles form on the surface of the candy, which falls to the bottom of the bottle and pushes the fizzing liquid out the top. The lower surface tension of diet soda means more bubbles that last longer.
Surface tension is also why Diet Coke works so well in the famous Mentos experiment, during which you drop Mentos candies into 2-liter Diet Coke bottles. The candy helps to weaken the interactions between the water molecules and the CO₂ molecules, lowering the surface tension and allowing for an easier release of CO₂ molecules. A bubbling “geyser” of Diet Coke rises fast above the 2-liter bottle as the CO₂ molecules quickly form on the candy’s surfaces and force the Diet Coke out of the bottle.
Getting the bubbles into a beverage
In an effort to make water similar to that from mineral springs, the carbonation process was invented by Joseph Priestley in England in the 1760s and commercialized by Jacob Schweppe – recognize the name? – in Switzerland in the 1780s. Priestley reacted chalk with sulfuric acid, producing CO₂, and he hung a water-filled container over the reaction to infuse the water with CO₂.
Today, most commercial beers, soft drinks, seltzers and sparkling waters are created by “forced” carbonation. This is when manufacturers directly inject carbon dioxide into the beverage under high carbon dioxide pressures.
A second common way to introduce carbon dioxide into a liquid is by fermentation. Champagne manufacturers and some small home beer brewers follow this method by sealing a sugar source and live yeast into their bottles. The yeast produce alcohol and carbon dioxide, and this carbon dioxide increases the pressure in the bottle, resulting in carbonated champagne and beer. But this process is not as controlled and can result in exploding bottles.
Larger brewers often capture CO₂ produced during a fermentation process and pump that gas into the tanks that contain beer to carbonate the beer. This is normally a controlled process that allows for known amounts of carbon dioxide to be introduced into the beverages for outstanding consistency.
Carbonation is a marriage between physics and chemistry – one that transforms ordinary liquids into effervescent treats. The next time you drink a carbonated beverage, take a moment to appreciate the science behind those dancing bubbles.
Michael W. Crowder, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University


rawstory--2020-08-30--Republican Steve Scalise caught doctoring video of a disabled man with ALS to attack Joe Biden

Rep. Steve Scalise ( R-LA ) , the House Whip , was caught doctoring a video of a disabled man with Lou Gehrig ’ s disease ( or ALS ) in an attack that seems purely an attempt at political exploitation .
Rebecca Cokley from the Campaign for American Progress ( CAP ) was the one who discovered the “ deep fake ” in which Scalise appeared to apply a computerized voice over what Ady Barkan actually said .
Barkan is a progressive activist who led the “ Fed Up ” campaign and has become a courageous healthcare advocate .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” tweeted Cokley , before admonishing the GOP for such a move .
As the Washington Post ‘ s Dave Weigle pointed out , Barkan uses a voice assistance device to speak .
He commented about Vice President Joe Biden ’ s comments about “ re-directing ” public safety funding to social workers and mental health experts , something police have actually requested because it typically isn ’ t crime-related and they aren ’ t trained to handle such mental health crises .
The real line Barkan said was , “ But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some of the funding ?
” Scalise changed the question : “ Do we agree that we can redirect some of the police funding ?
Republicans have desperately tried to make up things that Biden has said or supports or mischaracterized what he has said about issues facing people of color and policing .
It seems Scalise is perpetuating that effort by creating his own “ deep fake ” videos .
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later called on Scalise to take down the doctored video : See the real conversation between Biden and @ @ @

He has already teased the idea of having his own contrasting event.
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"Donald Trump can waive his first court appearance, but he cannot waive the surrender," Bluestein said on MSNBC Wednesday. "He is going to have to show up at the Fulton County jail between now and next Friday at noon. My hunch is he's not going to go under the cover of night.
"And I know you mentioned at the top of the show there's a chance he could do it on debate day next Wednesday, and that's what the political minds here in Georgia are all talking about — the possibility that he could do counter-programming to the debate."
He went on to say that the conditions at the Fulton County jail are horrific and that they've been cited with civil rights complaints. Trump isn't likely to spend any time in a cell.
"It's not a place you'd wish upon even one of your worst enemies," Bluestein continued. "There's been a legal settlement involving someone who recently died there involving a bedbug infestation. It is not a place where we expect Donald Trump to spend much time."
He explained that it's overcrowded, so they would have to empty things out to ensure that he had his own secure area if he were to be in a cell.
For the last three arraignments, cable news media has gone so far as to follow the former president's plane as it took off and landed, then his motorcade as it winded around the streets. Supplemental panels of political and legal experts, and reporters on the ground, round out hours-long programming focusing on the arraignment's most minute details. Since in Georgia the court proceedings are likely to be televised, it will probably garner even more attention.
"We know there are deliberations that were continuing overnight into exactly when he will come down here to Georgia," said NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard. "We know that he will be going to a fundraiser in Nashville tomorrow, so potentially Thursday or Friday are still possibilities. Though we have seen in the past, obviously, a great amount of protocol and preparation made ahead of his actual movements for his arraignments.
"And I think what's an important point here is that in Georgia, he will not only have to surrender here at the Fulton County jail, but he will also have to take part in an arraignment, and those events could happen at two different times and the arraignment could potentially be waived. It could potentially happen virtually."
The Secret Service has already been in touch with the sheriff's office to organize the surrender, according to reports.
See the full details in the video below or at the link here.


rawstory--2020-08-30--Mark Meadows says Trump doesn’t own street violence: ‘Donald Trump’s America is peaceful’

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows suggested on Sunday that there are two Americas and “ Donald Trump ’ s America ” is the “ peaceful ” one .
“ The president painted a picture of what he said would be Joe Biden ’ s America , ” NBC host Chuck Todd told Meadows , “ and I look at the violence this week , this is Donald Trump ’ s America .
How much responsibility should voters be giving the president for his inability to keep the streets safe ?
” “ Well , I mean , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Meadows replied .
“ That ’ s just not accurate .
I can tell you that when we look at Kenosha and the phone calls that were made to the governor of Wisconsin , we offered help .
Help was denied .
Obviously , there was multiple gunshots and people lost their lives.
” “ It ’ s interesting to see you frame Portland that way after 94 days , ” he continued .
“ But to suggest that somehow it ’ s been peaceful in Portland , Chuck , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Meadows added : “ It is in Democrat cities .
You want to talk about Donald Trump ’ s America .
Most of Donald Trump ’ s America is peaceful .
It is a Democrat-led city in Portland.
” Todd questioned Meadows about his suggestion that the protests are not part of “ Donald Trump ’ s America.
” “ Are you saying there ’ s parts of the country the president doesn ’ t govern ?
” Todd wondered .
“ I mean , is the president only in charge of places @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of leveled a weird charge.
” “ I ’ m just trying to understand , ” the NBC host said .
“ Does the president not believe he has responsibility of governing and leading the entire country.
” “ He does govern and lead the entire country , ” Meadows opined .
“ But , Chuck , you ’ re smarter than that .
These are local law enforcement efforts that can be supported by a federal backstop.
” Watch the video below from NBC .


rawstory--2020-08-30--GOP’s Ron Johnson refuses to condemn Kenosha shooter in manic interview with CNN’s Bash

In a highly contentious interview on CNN Sunday morning , Sen. Ron Johnson ( R-WI ) repeatedly refused to condemn Kyle Rittenhouse , the Donald Trump fan accused of shooting and killing two Black Lives Matter protestors early this week .
Speaking with “ State of the Union ” host Dana Bash , Johnson repeatedly spoke over her while manically spouting out prepared comments and ignoring her questions that led the CNN host to finally cut him off .
“ The 17-year-old accused of committing those two murders was a Trump supporter , ” Bash began only to have Johnson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ Do you condemn – ” she attempted as he spoke over her again and repeated , “ It is a tragedy .
” “ t is a tragedy , it is a tragedy , ” he replied .
“ It is a tragedy –but do you condemn it ?
” Bash pressed .
“ Listen , I don ’ t want to see any loss of life .
It is a tragedy , and the way you prevent tragedies is you support – , ” he attempted before Bash cut him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a car accident – , ” the CNN host explained only to have Johnson interupt once more .
“ You allow for peaceful protesters , but you don ’ t allow — you don ’ t allow peaceful protests to turn into a siege , ” he attempted .
“ Listen , I don ’ t want to see anybody lose their life .
I don ’ t want to see the violence continue .
I don ’ t want to see businesses burn down .
I don ’ t want to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all .
”

"I just want to go back to Giuliani for a second, since you know these characters all so well," said anchor Joy Reid. "I want to read you what The New York Times — there was an opinion piece by one of his biographers, Andrew Kirtzman and David Holly what they wrote about Rudy has become. They wrote this. 'Faced with the political irrelevance and collapsing client base that would accompany Mr. Trump's defeat, in 2020, he seemingly made a Faustian bargain, working to undermine democracy in order to save his career.' I feel like it was a few years before that. What do you make of the fact that the RICO guy is now the RICO defendant?"
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"Well, it's Shakespearean in its dimensions, because Rudy was an evangelist about the rule of law in a very draconian way," said O'Brien. "And he used RICO, I think, to great effect, as we all know to go after the mob. The argument being that you could never touch the people at the head of the mob families, because they were very good at insulating their own actions from their minions who went out there, soldiers out on the street, who did the crimes. Rudy said, it was very important to attach what lower-level people did to the people orchestrating the schemes. Shades of Donald Trump much later. Everybody who has been pulled up in the January 6th investigation has complained that they came there because Trump asked them to come here. They thought they were doing what they had been told to do, and yet Trump wasn't being held accountable."
"The argument against RICO being used by Fani Willis to go after Trump is then that it's overreach," continued O'Brien. "That it should only go after organized crime. But the statute is meant to go against organized criminal conspiracies, not necessarily just conspiracies that Italian mobsters were targeted for. And in that context, one of Giuliani's biggest cases in addition to the commission case targeting the mobsters was Wall Street. He brought down Drexel Burnham. He targeted Michael Milken, he cited the person in the financial web involving insider trading and financial fraud. He himself recognized that RICO wasn't a statute that should only be used against people we traditionally call organized criminals. Fani Willis, as you noted in your opening, has also adapted it to target other people, including drug dealers. And so, I think that the idea that this thing that he created has now come around and snapped him up is both ironic but overdue because he sold himself out and he sold himself out to Trump."
"It's a reminder how easily Trump corrupts people in his orbit, but he can only corrupt them if they're corruptible," O'Brien added. "And Rudy, for all of his finger-wagging over the years at people of color for being street criminals, mobsters and many others for not following the rule of law, has now shown he's just as base and just as craven as any number of the people he once prosecuted."
Watch the video below or at the link here.