Tuesday, August 20, 2024

The Convicted Felon and Miss Sassy

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Miss Sassy Puts Junior On Blast" went up earlier tonight.   


misssassy


I don't know about you but I hope we see many more comics between now and November featuring Miss Sassy.  It is so nice to see J.D. Skidmarks Vance let his hair down and just be who he really is.  You go, Miss Sassy!

Aila Slisco (NEWSWEEK) reports:



Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has shot down a GOP effort to reopen an investigation into repeatedly discredited claims that victory was "stolen" from former President Donald Trump in 2020.

The Georgia State Election Board, now controlled by Trump loyalists who support election fraud conspiracy theories, earlier this month attempted to order Carr to resume a previously closed investigation into Trump's 2020 loss in Fulton County.

In an official decision issued on Monday, Carr wrote that his office "is not required to conduct an investigation on its own or with outside personnel at the direction of a client" while ruling that the board "is not empowered to direct the Attorney General to conduct an investigation."



MAGA is as crazy as Convicted Felon Donald Trump.  But they do not have his excuse of senility.  Ed Mazza (HUFFINGTON POST) notes that Mr. Trump got some shout outs Monday at the DNC Convention:


Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) called Trump a “plague on the American conscience.”

Warnock, who is also a pastor, noted the $60 “God Bless The USA Bible” that Trump has been hawking.

“He should try reading it,” Warnock said, then quoted a few lines of scripture that Trump isn’t exactly known for following: 

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, drew a sharp contrast between Harris and the former president, who was convicted earlier this year on 34 felony charges. 

“Kamala locked up murderers and drug traffickers. She will never rest in defense of our freedom and safety,” Clinton said. “Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial ― and when he woke up, he made his own kind of history: the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.” 


While Democrats call Mr. Trump out, Republicans nash their teeth. Alex Henderson reports:


Republicans will need a net gain of only two seats to retake the U.S. Senate in November. Democratic strategists know they are likely to lose the U.S. Senate seat presently held by West Virginia centrist Sen. Joe Manchin, who isn't seeking reelection. In that race, Republican Jim Justice is way ahead of Democrat Glenn Elliott — which makes it all the more important for Democrats to maintain the seats they are defending in Montana, Ohio and other states.


But according to The Hill's Alexander Bolton, some Republican strategists fear that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump "could be blowing their chances" of flipping the Senate.

Many prominent Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-Georgia), former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), have been urging Trump to stick to a policy-driven campaign against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and avoid personal attacks — advice that so far, Trump has ignored. And Bolton emphasizes that GOP strategists fear Trump is not only endangering his own campaign, but the campaigns of Republican U.S. Senate candidates as well.



Mr. Trump gets more bizarre every day.  Ja'han Jones (MSNBC) notes:


Here’s a quick follow-up of sorts to a post from last week, when I wrote about Donald Trump’s campaign relying on racist and xenophobic claims that resemble campaign materials from the early 20th century.
Trump gave us another example Sunday, when he reshared a social media post with footage of dark-skinned people walking in line. The accompanying text said: “If you’re a woman you can either vote for Trump or wait until one of these monsters goes after you or your daughter.”

Trump’s campaign is maniacally focused on anti-immigrant fearmongering, so, much like with that post, the message here seems clear enough, no? In essence: “Women, fear the dark-skinned people” — and not the old white men who want to wield control over your body (and your daughter’s) and keep you in abusive marriages.

This was straight-up “Birth of a Nation”-style racism being promoted by the standard-bearer of the Republican Party.

And though I don’t plan to report on every racist thing Trump does or says — in part because neither you nor I have the time — I do want to make three observations:

  • First: The rank racism promoted in the Republican Party is remarkable. Trump and his associates regularly spew the sort of racism that got Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican, castigated and ousted from Congress years ago.
  • Second: The Trump-Vance campaign, quite clearly, is still lacking a coherent message to appeal to women. Asked recently by Fox News’ Laura Ingraham about his message to Black women, Trump gave an answer that was very telling in that it basically was “Beware the immigrants.” One could argue that’s his entire political platform in a nutshell, but to me, this despicable shared post, paired with Trump’s Ingraham interview and JD Vance’s apparent ability to offend women with each passing utterance, proves that Team Trump is bereft of any tactics but fear in their efforts to woo women voters.
  • And lastly: I’ve become a bit torn in my belief about whether Truth Social is a boon for Trump or a boondoggle. On one hand, it seems like a huge waste of money and an embarrassing vanity project. On the other hand, Trump posts a lot of extreme content over there that goes largely unseen. So I’m going to do my best to be selective with you all, and share things he posts only when I feel I can use them to make broader points.


That is actually reposting in full and I am sorry but (a) it is a very important topic, (b) I have not noted it because I have not seen anyone covering it, (c) that is solid analysis, (d) I am not sure where to cut, and (e) this election is so very important.  Thank you to Mr. Jones for writing his very important article. 

And keep in mind Mr. Jones report as I note this from REUTERS about where Mr. Trump was scheduled to speak today:


But the event in Howell has attracted particular attention because of the town's association with the Ku Klux Klan. The town has historical links to the KKK: In the 1970s, Grand Dragon Robert Miles had a Howell mailing address and held meetings on a nearby farm.

About a dozen white supremacists chanted "Heil Hitler" and carried signs reading "White Lives Matter" during a march through downtown Howell last month. According to local media, another group of demonstrators shouted, "We love Hitler, we love Trump" from a highway overpass just outside Howell.


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


Tuesday, August 20, 2024.  This snapshot we focus on the first day of the DNC convention -- Kamala's surprise appearance, Joe's speech, the four who spoke on reproductive rights and much more -- including winding down with an update on MAGA queen Naomi Wolf's sad and troubled reign as she continues her grift.



That's Barbra Streisand explaining that despite all of the lies Donald Trump tells, America actually is great and doesn't need a petty dictator to destroy it and destroy democracy.

Kamala Harris is the candidate who can lift all boats and lift us all.  And the Democratic Party's holding their convention in Chicago this week.   The slogan when "We Fight We Win."  And Monday's biggest moment?  US President Joe Biden passing the baton to Kamala Harris.



Joe was probably the best speaker last night.  However, United Auto Workers' Shawn Fain was another strong one.





UAW has endorsed Kamala and Shawn had done so proudly.  It's a stark contrast between the leader of the Teamsters Sean O'Brien.  O'Brien is now on the sidelines and a wounded leader for a union.  He went to the RNC convention and sucked up to power while betraying the rank-in-file.  He had the added misfortune of embarrassing himself shortly before Convicted Felon Donald Trump got busy with Elon Musk and in a struggling Twitter broadcast in which both, forgetting a (small) audience was watching or just wanting to dry hump one another in public, celebrated strike breaking and firing workers.  That's who O'Brien elected to stand by.  

By contrast, Shawn Fain was in Chicago, calling out the Convicted Felon, talking about the need to be pro-worker and as opposed to being an anti-worker-pro-corporation shill.    He said it to loud applause, "Trump is a scab!" -- a phrase those present immediately began chanting,  and he also wore the statement on his t-shirt.

 
It was a powerful speech so you-know-who didn't show it.


It doesn't fit with the con job FOX "NEWS" tries to put over on their viewers, so they didn't air it. 

CNN offers these highlights from day one.



Also speaking last night was 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton:

The Constitution says the President's job is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Those are the words our founders used: "Take care."   Just look at the candidates. Kamala cares about kids, families, and America. Donald only cares about himself.  On her first day in court, Kamala said five words that guide her still: "Kamala Harris, for the people."  That's something Donald Trump will never understand.


Another powerful moment was delivered by Amanda and Josh Zurawski who traveled from Texas to speak of the very real harm Donald Trump did to reproductive rights. 






Three women — Amanda Zurawski, Kaitlyn Joshua and Hadley Duvall — spoke about their experiences with abortion, miscarriage and pregnancy on the opening night of Democratic National Convention. 

All three speakers have emerged as key surrogates for the Democratic Party, campaigning in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. Zurawski’s husband Josh, who has also campaigned for Harris, spoke alongside her.

Zurawski, who rose to prominence after suing the state of Texas over its abortion ban, was a guest at President Joe Biden’s February 2023 State of the Union address; she also shared her experience in an April ad on behalf of what was then the campaign to re-elect Biden. Joshua, of Louisiana, has been a regular presence at Harris campaign events and appeared in a June ad for the Democratic presidential campaign. Duvall, a Kentucky resident, appeared in a campaign spot for Gov. Andy Beshear last year, and in a July ad backing Biden.

“A second Trump term would rip away even more of our rights: passing a national abortion ban, letting states monitor pregnancies and prosecute doctors, restricting birth control and fertility treatments,” Zurawski said on Monday night. “We cannot let that happen. We need to vote as if lives depend on it — because they do.”

Abortion is a core component of Harris’ election pitch. Other expected speakers this week — including former Planned Parenthood leader Cecile Richards, current leader Alexis McGill Johnson, and Mini Timmaraju of the advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All — are also likely to use their time to draw a contrast between Democrats, who largely support abortion rights, and Republicans, who generally back bans and restrictions on the procedure. 

Abortion has not historically received this much attention at the party’s national gathering. But it reflects the fact that this year the party views abortion — an issue on which they generally poll better with voters than do Republicans — as one that could help them retain the White House, and potentially even win control of Congress. 

 
Here's a video of all four speakers who addressed reproductive rights last night.






  On Monday, amid speeches from celebrities and some of the biggest names in Democratic politics, four everyday Americans took the stage to speak about how the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade — and the slew of state-level abortion restrictions implemented in its aftermath — have impacted their lives. 

Perhaps the most gut-wrenching testimony of the night came from Hadley Duvall, a young woman from Kentucky who at age 12 became pregnant and miscarried after being sexually assaulted by her stepfather. Duvall, now 21, shared her story for the first time on Facebook in 2022 following the demise of Roe. 

“At age 12 I took my first pregnancy test, and it was positive,” Duvall told the DNC audience. “That was the first time I was ever told ‘you have options.’ I can’t imagine not having a choice but today, that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Trump’s abortion bans.” 

“He calls it a beautiful thing,” Duvall said of Trump’s bragging of his role in overturning Roe. “What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”    


Exactly.  And that is MAGA -- they don't want progress and they don't want freedoms.  They want a time that we thankfully moved on from -- a time when only a few wealthy men (usually White and straight or closeted) had rights worth being respected by the courts.  Screw the rest of us, we don't matter -- that is the message MAGA wants people to embrace.

Pregnant by your step-father?  It's a gift!  It's a gift of life!  "You dirty whore," is implied but usually left unsaid.  Because it doesn't matter to them that you were raped.  You were the female -- even if you were only 12 -- so it's your fault.  That's MAGA thinking and it's why we've seen so many -- including that Ohio state senator -- backing Donald get arrested in the last years for raping children.

That is what's at stake in this election.  Do we have our rights or don't we?

Ron DeSantis didn't try to outlaw studying about the effects of slavery because he wanted students to devote more time to calculus.  He tried to outlaw it because he doesn't want it known.  He doesn't just avoid accountability, he avoids reality.  He wants to strip the majority of us of our rights.  That's what MAGA's about and that's what Project 2025 is about.  It's an assault on Civil Rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers rights, children's rights (including the right not to be slave labor) and much more.

It's about destroying democracy and re-creating what we once had in this country -- two classes of people.  One group had full rights.  The other group had whatever rights those in power would let them have.  Lincoln (and Harriet Tubman and John Brown and many others) fought to free the slaves.  When the crooked Supreme Court embraced and favored Colorado liar Lorie Smith, the spat on that legacy and they created a two-tiered class of citizenship.  

I don't know, was the country distracted by Lorie's massive arm fat and the hideous tattoo that she slapped on it?  That ruling says straight people have rights and gay people have the rights that others are comfortable giving them.  It says Lorie can't refuse to design a website for straight people but when it comes to a same-sex couple, their rights are not as important as Lorie's supposed religious beliefs.  There's nothing in the Bible about websites or, for that matter, whom vendors can take on as clients.

But that's the world MAGA wants to bring about.  And they already control the Supreme Court.

This is a US issue.  And it's going to determine the fate of the country.

Maybe it doesn't seem that way from Brazil where Glenneth Greenwald lives?  

But this is bad.

How bad?

Need something to cheer up your morning?  Professional crazy Naomi Wolf.  "Dr" Naomi -- a doctorate bestowed for writing that she then turned into a book that the publisher had to pull off the market when it turned out that she got everything in her dissertation wrong.  Oxford refuses to pull the doctorate because her failures are also a reflection on the dissertation committee that issued her that doctorate for shoddy scholarship. 

We could take this back to THE BEAUTY MYTH which also started as a work for Oxford and which was also garbage scholarship since she repeatedly stole from Judith N. Shklar (specifically the lecture series Shkalr gave at Oxford).

But let's not get too bogged into the weeds.  Go over to THIRD if you're new to creepy Naomi -- Ava and I have called her out since 2006 and documented her racism, her college days of standing with rapists and ignoring the women her friends raped, and so much more.  


Naomi has become the poster elderly girl for MAGA.  And it's a ride she's enjoyed as a fresh group of people who don't know her have embraced her.  But Naomi's spent weeks recoiling.  She reached out over the weekend to a friend of mine -- I've already stated the left should never let her back in -- and lamented that she might have gone too far.  She's trying to lead the MAGA to a better place, a place where they won't use sexism to rip apart Kamala.  She's even tried to explain to them that sexism against Kamala won't play well with non-MAGA voters.  But they don't listen to her.  Wah-wah.  

They loved her so much and embraced all her crazy ideas about vaccines and how airplanes were seeding the clouds and controlling us and how Santa Clause was probably a Zionist control device (I'm joking on that last one, but give her time, give her time) but when she tries to speak about sexism, and she sobbed over the phone at this, they call her SOB "a bitch."

Oh, poor thing.  Guess what, Namoi?  You are a bitch.  And you're a useless bitch whose sold out the people to grift.  You knew what was at stake and you betrayed everything you supposedly stood for.  You're on your own bitch and if MAGA tears you apart limb by limb?  You begged for it and I won't shed a tear.




The following sites updated:


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