Monday, August 12, 2024

Another MAGA pastor arrested in Texas

The MAGA are sadly with it.  Remember Robert Morris, Convicted Felon Donald Trump's spiritual advisor who had to leave the church he was a pastor at because that longterm affair God helped him overcome was not, in fact, an affair, it was the rape of 12-year-old girl.  North Texas, what is going on?  You have had the inappropriate Josiah Anthony.  And now you have the pastor at North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship (Plano, Texas) Dr. Terren L. Dames.  Dr. Dames is also a transphobe and hates gay people.  Who is he to judge?


The local CBS station reports:

A North Texas pastor has been arrested for charges related to prostitution, according to an arrest affidavit.

In May, Terren Dames, while senior pastor at North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship, was arrested and charged with solicitation of prostitution. 

Plano police said Dames contacted an undercover police officer who he believed was a sex worker on May 2, agreeing to pay "$150 for full service," or sex.





Convicted Felon Donald Trump does not admit his mistakes ever.  But you know even he has to admit privately that selecting JD Skidmarks Vance to be his running mate was a huge mistake.  He has fallen so low in the polls, it has to be killing him.  He is probably not too pleased about Celine Dion right now either.



That is the song Ms. Dion made famous when she performed it on the TITANIC soundtrack.   It won the Academy Award for Best Song and also the Golden Globe for best song.  At the Grammys, it won Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television.  It hit the number one spot around the world and, in the US, was number one of BILLBOARD's Hot 100, BILLBOARD's Adult Contemporary, BILLBOARD's Hot Latin Songs, and BILLBOARD's Pop Airplay charts.   And, for the year, she took the song to the number one song of the year spot in 11 countries.


If I were a singer, I would be very proud of that.  Jenny Proudfoot (MARIE CLAIRE) reports:


Celine Dion is one of the most talked-about women on the planet, dazzling the world this summer with her grand return to music at the 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony. The 56-year-old singer closed the historic evening with a live performance of Edith Piaf's Hymne A L'Amour from the Eiffel Tower - a concert that will go down in Olympic history.

It was a particularly moving moment, being the first time Dion had performed publicly since confirming her rare neurological disorder, Stiff Person Syndrome, in 2022. And since her triumphant comeback, Dion's music has seen a major resurgence.

Her 2024 fanbase, it turns out, includes Donald Trump, with the Republican presidential candidate reportedly using her iconic 1997 hit My Heart Will Go On at a recent campaign rally for him and his running mate, JD Vance, in Montana.

Following the rally, Dion was quick to make her stance known, releasing a public statement on behalf of her management team and recording label, stating that she "does not endorse" Trump's usage of her music.

"Today, Celine Dion's management team and her record label, Sony Music Entertainment Canada Inc, became aware of the unauthorised usage of the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Celine Dion singing My Heart Will Go On at a Donald Trump / JD Vance campaign rally in Montana," read her statement.



Still on the topic of music and Mr. Trump,  Daniel Welsh (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:


The estate of the soul singer Isaac Hayes has threatened former US president Donald Trump with legal action for continuing to include the late musician’s songs at his rallies against their wishes.
Over the course of Trump’s political career, he’s been repeatedly criticised for including featuring the music of a variety of different artists in his campaigns without permission – including just this weekend, when Céline Dion laid into him after her song My Heart Will Go On was heard playing at one of his rallies.

Following this, the family of Isaac Hayes – who died in 2008 – have also taken issue with the presidential hopeful for playing Hold On, I’m Comin’, a Sam & Dave song written by the singer and actor, at his rallies.





The first person who I noticed spreading the idea that images of Vice President Kamala Harris’s rally in Michigan had been manipulated was conservative moviemaker Dinesh D’Souza.

On Saturday evening, D’Souza posted a photo on social media of Harris exiting her airplane with a crowd of supporters looking on. Two reflections from the airplane were circled in red, illustrating that, despite the crowd, no one was visible in the reflection.

“Does this look like a real picture to you?” D’Souza asked. Within hours, similar questions were everywhere on social media — and by Sunday had popped up in former president Donald Trump’s feed at Truth Social.

“Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport? There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!” Trump wrote. “She was turned in by a maintenance worker at the airport when he noticed the fake crowd picture, but there was nobody there, later confirmed by the reflection of the mirror like finish on the Vice Presidential Plane.”
“She’s a CHEATER,” he reiterated.

That D’Souza was at the leading edge of this argument is not surprising. It was D’Souza, you may recall, who produced a feature-length movie arguing without evidence that the 2020 election had been stolen by “mules” who collected and submitted ballots on behalf of Joe Biden. Then, as now, D’Souza’s claims were rooted in a trivial misrepresentation of digital information.

There was a crowd in Michigan to meet Harris, as shown below in a photograph taken by a Washington Post photographer. You can also see why the reflection from the plane didn’t show the crowd; it was angled away from the speaking platform.

No AI. No whistleblowing maintenance worker, ginned up from the ether to make the claim of dishonesty seem more credible. And no “cheating” by Harris.

Why would Trump and his allies spread a false claim about attendance at a rally that was covered on C-SPAN? In part because many elements of Trump’s base have embraced rejections of basic reality (like the existence of “mules”) for years. In part, it’s confirmation bias, with partisans being more likely to accept false information as true when it supports their preexisting beliefs. But in part, it’s because Trump and his allies are already eagerly raising questions about the reliability of measures of Harris’s support — and by extension, the reliability of the results in November.



Mr. Bump is probably right but he overlooks another reason for Mr. D'Souza's actions.  Like Mr. Trump, Mr. D'Souza is a convicted felon.  Mr. Trump pardoned him.  If elected president again, I am sure Mr. Trump plans to pardon himself and I am equally sure that the corrupt Supreme Court will insist he has all the authority to do that. 



I hope you read Ava and C.I.'s "Media: We usually get our twists and turns from TV" already but let me pull this from it on Mr. Trump:


Illegal?  Donald Trump.  The convicted felon.  He wants to invade the Oval Office and destroy the country.  The crooked Supreme Court has acted as his own PAC fiance committee with their rulings to help him stay out of the big house and steer him into the White House.


With Kamala Harris now the Democratic Party nominee, Donald's freaking out.  One poll after another shows that the race is now competitive. Jared Gans (The Hill) noted last Tuesday:


A presidential race that at one point seemed like it was becoming former President Trump’s to lose increasingly looks like a toss-up as Vice President Harris gains momentum and a new running mate.
The extent to which Harris’s pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) helps her is up in the air, but there’s no question the vice president has been riding an upward swing in the polls since President Biden ended his reelection bid late last month and endorsed her.

Harris and Trump are nearly tied in the national polling average tracked by The Hill/Decision Desk HQ, with Trump winning 47.1 percent support, and Harris at 47 percent. Trump initially was up by more than 6 points when Harris declared her candidacy following Biden’s decision to leave the race.

 

 Some polls are even giving her a clear advantage.  For example, Joe Sommerlad (Independent) noted Wednesday:


Kamala Harris appears to be pulling ahead of Donald Trump in presidential election polling for the first time, with the Democrat taking a three-point lead over the Republican former president in a new survey.

A poll for NPR, PBS and Marist published on Wednesday places the Vice President on 51 per cent of the vote overall, compared to Trump’s 48 per cent, and comes after her choice of Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate was met with an overwhelmingly positive response.

 

Donald is freaking out.  And that led to him inviting the press on Thursday to participate in a farce.  He could get network airtime and they and their questions could be ignored.


On MSNBC, Lawrence O'Donnell rightly called out the infomercial that was passed off as news.



Donald is clearly bothered by the enthusiasm for a President Kamala Harris.  He also appears to be suffering from senility.  At 78, he is now the oldest person to run for president on one of the two major political parties. And it really shows.


The infomercial including him repeatedly attacking Kamala.  At one point, he revealed that former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown shared with him, on a near helicopter crash, that Kamala was a real piece of work.  Brown immediately denied it -- that he'd trashed Kamala to Donald, that he'd been on a helicopter with Donald, that he'd ever waste his time sharing confidences with Donald.


And Willie (who we both know) was telling the truth.  As Ruth noted Saturday, turns out there was a rough helicopter ride but it wasn't with Willie Brown and Kamala Harris was never mentioned.  Nate Holden -- a California politician who is, like Willie Brown,  African-American -- came forward to say he was the person that the feeble minded Donald had mistaken for Willie Brown.


That was just one of his many misstatements.  Domenico Montanaro (NPR) explains, "A team of NPR reporters and editors reviewed the transcript of his news conference and found at least 162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies in 64 minutes. That’s more than two a minute. It’s a stunning number for anyone -- and even more problematic for a person running to lead the free world." 


He truly is losing it.  Hugh Dougherty (THE DAILY BEAST) notes:


Donald Trump ordered one of his closest aides to bombard a billionaire Republican backer with abusive texts accusing her of employing his Republican rivals, a new report has revealed.
The angry former president targeted Miriam Adelson, one of the Republican Party’s wealthiest backers, over claims that her $100m “Preserve America” PAC was being run by “RINOs”—Republicans In Name Only, The New York Times

The messages said that her late husband Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino boss who was a major Republican and Trump donor, would not have allowed such aides to be involved in his operations. Trump was close to both Adelsons for many years and gave Miriam the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.

The texts were sent by Natalie Harp, the Trump aide known as “the human printer” for providing him with reams of print-outs during his criminal trial in state court in New York, which ended with his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.



That poor, crazy, old man.  He is biting the hands that feed him because he has become so senile.  And that does not improve.  If you are lucky you can stop it some from advancing but even that is a stop-gap measure.  

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for today:


Monday, August 12, 2024.  JD's got bigger problems than eyeliner, US President Joe Biden talks Gaza, Israel carries out its most deadly attack on a school yet, and much more.


Starting with the US presidential election.   As Ava and I noted in "Media: We usually get our twists and turns from TV," there have already been more surprises than in ORPHAN BLACK: ECHOES and the election is still 84 days away.  The latest twist?  The MAGA campaign of Donald Trump and JD "Skidmarks" Vance that hates the LGBTQ+ community, that wants to destroy their rights and even goes after those who cross dress, made need to do some self-exploration among their own ranks.




What photo?  This photo.

It's Miss Vivian Vance -- that does explain the weight.  Miss Vance.  That's who that Mother Tucker Carlson encouraged Donald to pick for his running mate.  

So I guess the question now is: Is Miss Vance  just a transvestite or is Miss Vance a transgendered woman?  It's okay with the left regardless.  We're not homphobic or transphboic and, unlike the Proud (and Tiny) Boys, we've never carried guns to a library to try to stop a Drag Queen Story Hour.  




Before Miss Vance tries to dismiss as youthful shenanigans, grasp that this was 2012 and he was a 28-year-old man -- or woman, if he were transgender.   

What else is there to say?  If Donald is their king, MAGA has now found their queen?



Is there anything this man won't do?  I doubt it.  Look at the face of the man in the black cap with "MACHO" on it as he presses into Vance -- he looks like someone who's been informed the night is going all the way and back again.


Paul Rudnick offers.


Republican Tinder?  Maybe, Paul, or maybe it's just the CBS reboot of MOM starring JD and Rudy Giuliani as Christy and Bonnie.



JD's drag photo may help move the conversation away from his constant use of eyeliner -- then again, it may also explain why a 40-year-old man can't appear in public without his make up just so. 

At any rate, it's a shame that made up or not, Skidmarks is so ugly.  Otherwise, we could at least say, "He's dumb but he's pretty."  Ugly and dumb is all JD is.   Ankush Khardori (POLITICO) explains:


One key policy pushed repeatedly by Vance and outlined in Project 2025 is Trump’s controversial “Schedule F” proposal, which would strip civil service protections from potentially tens of thousands of federal employees so that they can be replaced by Republican political appointees.

Most provocatively, Vance has suggested in a series of interviews this year that Trump should defy the Supreme Court if the justices invalidated the eThe episode is worth scrutinizing not just because the proposal is a key piece of Trump’s likely governing agenda if he wins in November. It also suggests Vance, whom Trump touts as a Yale-educated lawyer, is oblivious to the underlying legal and practical mechanics of this sweeping overhaul as well as the realities of today’s Supreme Court. 

The fact is this proposal is almost certainly unlawful and unworkable — but that doesn’t mean the court would block it. The conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court has proved more than willing to contort itself to achieve Republican goals, so there’s no reason to assume any legal challenge to such a policy would result in a clash between Trump and the court.

If Vance isn’t ignorant of the law, then he is instead merely eager to play the role of demagogue and further inflame an already bitter political debate. Ultimately, neither scenario is ideal for a potential vice president.

On the merits, Schedule F is a controversial idea — one that would undermine the civil service system as it has existed for more than a century and severely impair the integrity and effectiveness of the federal government, with grave consequences.

Currently, the vast majority of federal employees who keep the government running are career civil servants with employment protections and who serve from one administration to the next regardless of party. This is a key part of the “deep state” that Trump and Vance want to eradicate; Schedule F would convert these workers into political appointees who could then be summarily fired by the president and replaced with partisans loyal only to Trump.




When it became clear that he had picked the worst running mate in American political history, Donald Trump shrugged it off. The fact that J.D. Vance was inexperienced, extreme, and generally off-putting wouldn’t matter because vice presidents don’t. “Historically, the vice president, in terms of the election, does not have any impact,” Trump said when asked about Vance during his disastrous interview at the National Association of Black Journalists conference earlier this month. “I mean, virtually no impact.… Virtually never has it mattered.”
[. . .]
There is a growing sense that Vance may be the exception, however. As the race tightens—and Harris is leading in several polls—it’s becoming clear that Donald Trump has slowed down considerably over the last four years. He is very old. He struggles to hold his thoughts together, even by his own standards. And he has considerably less energy than he did even a few years ago. He can’t campaign vigorously. Which means he will have to rely on his running mate—whom everyone seems to hate. 

Vance was chosen under the assumption that they were headed toward a landslide victory and therefore it really wouldn’t matter, even by the standards of vice presidential picks. Running against an 81-year-old incumbent who struggled to string two sentences together, Vance was probably a fine pick. Voters and the media weren’t really going to focus on him; Democrats had bigger problems to worry about. Vance would be fine.

Running against Harris and not Biden, however, means that they are engaged in a real campaign. And Vance’s weaknesses are far more glaring than they were previously. He is a liability on several fronts: an inexperienced and off-putting politician with views that are far outside the mainstream.

If Trump still had juice, that likely wouldn’t matter in a tight election because he would be sucking all of the attention away. But Trump isn’t doing that this cycle in the same way—because he is old. 



A pair of surveys by Blueprint, the centrist Democratic pollster backed by Reid Hoffman, one taken July 21 - July 22, two days after Vance was announced as Donald Trump’s running mate, and then again two weeks later on August 4, showed Vance’s net favorability falling from -7 to -11 with fewer voters unsure either way. That’s similar to other public polling, which has also shown Vance making a poor first impression since joining the Republican ticket.

The main shift in how respondents viewed Vance: He’s become more and more identified with his particular brand of conservatism and less with his famed biography as an author, veteran, and politician. Presented with a list of options to describe Vance in August, the most common answers were “conservative,” “anti-woman,” and “weird,” while more positive options like “young,” “smart,” and “businessman” declined from July. The percentage calling him “extreme” shot up 13 points.



Turning to Gaza where Saturday saw one of the worst attacks in the ongoing genocide.  A massive death toll  resulted from the Israeli government bombing another school.  100 deaths.   Neri Zilber (FINANCIAL TIMES OF LONDON) quotes Dr Taisir al-Tanna stating, "There are lots of dangerous injuries. This has been a very bloody day."  ALJAZEERA notes the death toll continues to climb.  ALJAZEERA also notes that the school was hit with three bombs while AP explains, "Video from the scene showed walls blown out on the ground level of a large building. Concrete chunks and twisted metal lay atop the blood-soaked floor, along with clothing, toppled furniture and other debris. A blackened car with the windows blown out was covered in rubble."  Josh Salisbury (LONDON EVENING STANDARD) adds, "Empty food tins lay in a puddle of blood, and burnt mattresses and a child's doll lay among the debris."


Yet another school bombed.  Ramy Inocencio (CBS NEWS) notes that "at least four schools in Gaza City" were already bombed this week.  While most outlets are going with five schools bombed in seven days, some aid agencies are saying it was seven schools bombed in the last seven days.   Barbara Plett Usher and Thomas Mackintosh (BBC NEWS) add, "According to the United Nations, 477 out of 564 school buildings in Gaza had been directly hit or damaged as of 6 July, with more than a dozen targeted since."  Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy (AP) help with the count by noting that "at least 21 -schools have been attacked] since July 4 leaving hundreds dead, including women and children. "  So we're looking at approximately 498 schools at least (adding BBC and AP's totals and remember there's an overlap of two days which is why I'm saying "approximately")  498 of 564 schools have been bombed during this never ending assault on Gaza.  That's 88.297% of the schools in Gaza.  


, Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman, , and CNN) quote Francesca Albanese (UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories stating that the Israeli government actions were "genociding the Palestinians one neighborhood at the time, one hospital at the time, one school at the time, one refugee camp at the time, one 'safe zone' at the time."   Nagham Mohanna (THE NATIONAL) reports:


Sarah Esleem said she was looking for her father and brother, who had attended the fajr prayer in the mosque. She had been searching for them along with her mother and sisters, but without success.

“My father and brother are our pillars in life. We hope they are still alive and that we don’t lose them because our lives without them won’t be easy at all,” she told The National.

“I just want to understand why innocent civilians praying are being targeted in such a brutal way. Israel keeps claiming it has military targets, but that’s a lie, as everyone being killed is a civilian, mostly children and women,” she said.





Sofia Ferreira Santos (BBC NEWS) reports:


US Vice-President Kamala Harris has condemned the loss of civilian life in an Israeli air strike against a school building in Gaza on Saturday.

[. . .]

Ms Harris said "far too many" civilians had been killed "yet again"and reiterated calls for a hostage deal and a ceasefire, echoing comments made by the White House.

[. . .]

Speaking at a campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona, Ms Harris said Israel had a right to "go after Hamas" but also has "an important responsibility" to avoid civilian casualties.

The Democratic Party's presidential candidate also reiterated calls for a ceasefire and a hostage deal.


THE JERUSALEM POST reports:


Vice President Kamala Harris has displayed greater empathy for the people of Gaza than both President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump, according to Salima Suswell, the founder and chief executive of the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund. In a recent interview with NBC, Suswell praised Harris for her calls for a ceasefire and her efforts to ensure aid reaches Gaza, noting, “She has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and has shown deep empathy toward civilian life.”

The Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization, is known for its advocacy on behalf of the Black Muslim community in the United States. Established by Suswell, the fund focuses on a range of issues including social and criminal justice, economic equity, and environmental justice. The organization has been particularly vocal about the need for a balanced US foreign policy, especially concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


Nada AlTaher (THE NATIONAL) reports, "Egypt has accused Israel of deliberately hindering Gaza ceasefire talks after an air strike on a school that killed more than 100 people and injured dozens of others on Saturday morning."  Arpan RaiAlexander Butler and Salma Ouaguira (INDEPENDENT) add, "The Iranian foreign ministry has condemned the attack and accused Israel of carrying out 'genocide and crimes against humanity'."  IRAQI NEWS AGENCY notes:


Iraq condemned the Zionist aggression on the Al-Taba’een school in Gaza on Saturday.
 
 According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the ministry expressed its strong condemnation of the "barbaric Zionist attack" that targeted the school in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City early this morning. 


And ALJAZEERA notes:


  • Action for Humanity said Israel has attacked seven schools in Gaza in the past seven days and said the UK cannot continue to export arms to Israel “while there is a clear and evident risk they could be used to violate international law”.
  • Medical Aid for Palestinians said that further statements of concern or condemnation from the UK government will “not be enough” and that civilians in Gaza need “decisive and immediate action” to end their humanitarian catastrophe.
  • Islamic Relief said it was “horrified” and “appalled” at the “massacre of dozens of civilians at one of the school shelters where we have been distributing daily hot meals to displaced families”. It said that Israel’s policy of displacing civilians, denying them aid and then attacking the schools they shelter in is “completely inhumane”.




THE NATIONAL reports:


Algeria has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to take place on Tuesday after an Israeli strike on a Gaza school killed about 100 people at the weekend, according to state media.

The request was made "based on the recent dangerous developments in the occupied Palestinian territories," including the school strike, the Algerian Press Service said.

The strike on Gaza city's Al Tabaeen school early on Saturday morning killed about 100 people and wounded hundreds more, according to local authorities, prompting renewed outrage at continuing attacks against civilians in the enclave.

Algeria's request was submitted in consultation with Palestinian authorities and has support from other Security Council members, APS added.


FRANCE 24 notes, " International condemnation followed Israel’s deadly strike on the Tabeen school complex. Turkey called it a 'new crime against humanity', France 'firmly condemned' the strike, the UK said it was 'appalled' by the attack and the US expressed 'deep concern' and underscored the 'urgency of a ceasefire and hostage deal'."    THE NATIONAL notes, "US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that a ceasefire deal was still possible and that his team is continuing to work to avoid regional escalation."  

He made the remarks on CBS' SUNDAY MORNING yesterday.






Mr. Biden said "it's still possible" that a Gaza cease-fire deal can be reached before the end of his term. Last month, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Washington, the president urged him to accept a cease-fire deal with Hamas.

In a statement issued after the July 26 meeting with Netanyahu, the White House said Mr. Biden communicated "the need to close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home, and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza."

"The plan I put together, endorsed by the G7, endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, et cetera, is still viable," Mr. Biden told Costa. "And I'm working literally every single day – and my whole team – to see to it that it doesn't escalate into a regional war. But it easily can."

John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council, told reporters on Wednesday that "we are as close as we think we have ever been" to negotiating a cease-fire.


"The gaps are narrow enough that they can be closed. What we're talking about here is recognizing the fact that we've come an awful long way," Kirby said during the Wednesday briefing. "There is a good proposal before both sides, and they need to both accept that proposal so we can get this in place."



AFP reports, "Hamas on Sunday called on US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators to implement a ceasefire plan for Gaza put forward by US President Joe Biden, instead of holding 'more negotiations'."  THE NATIONAL adds, "Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he should finalise a ceasefire deal, after more than 10 months of war in Gaza."



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