All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[PaulBullion]

Such a stable genius:

[Dalak]

Such a stable genius:

That his defenders always seem to ignore or stay quiet about such things is telling.

[PaulBullion]

https://twitter.com/rsg/status/1028798224382009345

Bobby Goodlatte, the son of Rep. Goodlatte, announced he had donated the maximum to his father's opponent.

But wait! There's more:

[BeastieRunner]

Well the FBI just fired him.

[BeastieRunner]

Also, the 4th judge to date has upheld the legality of Mueller's inquiry. The latest was a Trump appointed one.

... How many judges upheld the legality of Benghazi now? Oh yeah, that was 0.

[PaulBullion]

Meanwhile, in Texas:

[Tami]

Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I’m His Uncle.

Let me tell you a story about Stephen Miller and chain migration.

It begins at the turn of the 20th century in a dirt-floor shack in the village of Antopol, a shtetl of subsistence farmers in what is now Belarus. Beset by violent anti-Jewish pogroms and forced childhood conscription in the Czar’s army, the patriarch of the shack, Wolf-Leib Glosser, fled a village where his forebears had lived for centuries and took his chances in America.

He set foot on Ellis Island on January 7, 1903, with $8 to his name. Though fluent in Polish, Russian, and Yiddish he understood no English. An elder son, Nathan, soon followed. By street corner peddling and sweat-shop toil Wolf-Leib and Nathan sent enough money home to pay off debts and buy the immediate family’s passage to America in 1906. That group included young Sam Glosser, who with his family settled in the western Pennsylvania city of Johnstown, a booming coal and steel town that was a magnet for other hard-working immigrants. The Glosser family quickly progressed from selling goods from a horse and wagon to owning a haberdashery in Johnstown run by Nathan and Wolf-Leib to a chain of supermarkets and discount department stores run by my grandfather, Sam, and the next generation of Glossers, including my dad, Izzy. It was big enough to be listed on the AMEX stock exchange and employed thousands of people over time. In the span of some 80 years and five decades, this family emerged from poverty in a hostile country to become a prosperous, educated clan of merchants, scholars, professionals, and, most important, American citizens.

What does this classically American tale have to do with Stephen Miller? Well, Izzy Glosser is his maternal grandfather, and Stephen’s mother, Miriam, is my sister.

I have watched with dismay and increasing horror as my nephew, who is an educated man and well aware of his heritage, has become the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family’s life in this country.

I shudder at the thought of what would have become of the Glossers had the same policies Stephen so coolly espouses— the travel ban, the radical decrease in refugees, the separation of children from their parents, and even talk of limiting citizenship for legal immigrants— been in effect when Wolf-Leib made his desperate bid for freedom. The Glossers came to the U.S. just a few years before the fear and prejudice of the “America First” nativists of the day closed U.S. borders to Jewish refugees. Had Wolf-Leib waited, his family would likely have been murdered by the Nazis along with all but seven of the 2,000 Jews who remained in Antopol. I would encourage Stephen to ask himself if the chanting, torch-bearing Nazis of Charlottesville, whose support his boss seems to court so cavalierly, do not envision a similar fate for him.

[worstblogever]

This stuff with Goodlatte's son and Miller's nephew has me chuckling.

The Far-Right invents "the Walkaway movement", trying to pretend Democrats are bailing on their own party as a Blue Wave approaches, and then get caught with Russian bots spreading the fake story.

Meanwhile, we're seeing very real Republicans abandoning their party. Jennifer Rubin, Steve Schmidt, Joe Scarborough, George Will, Ken Rizer, scores of college-educated Republican women looking around and going, "well, this is bulls***", countless Latino Republicans...

And now, it's getting to the point to where we're seeing the family members of Trump-supporting members of the GOP throwing their own families under the bus in public. This isn't "awkward Thanksgiving" stuff. This is publicly disowning and/or sabotaging them.

Trump is killing the GOP from within. And the dips***s in Congress we're smart enough to have already thrown Trump to the wolves to save the future of their party. Likely because based off this NRA/Russia thing that Trump's caught up in, a bunch of them have skeletons in their closet, and Trump and his inner circle know where enough to take them down too, or also likely, they're just hell bent on stealing the Supreme Court away to try and appease the hardcore Evangelicals who will never get their way on abortion or gay rights otherwise.

But really, this is the closest I've ever seen the Republican Party to destroying itself, and nobody to the center or left should let up on Election days until they end up going the way of the Whigs.

[BeastieRunner]

Manafort Trial Update AM:

The trial began with several motions.

The notable one was a sealed filing from Manafort’s defense.

There was no indication in open court about the content of the motions.

The VP from FSB came back.

“We’re not in the business to own real estate. We’re in the business… to get repaid.”

The VP stated they do not typically take real estate as capitol.

The VP restated that he has immunity.

He stated that Manafort didn’t declare on his financial applications that he had mortgages on 2 properties in New York.

That would've meant he didn't get the loan.

“It closed because Mr. Calk wanted it to close.”

Team Mueller showed an email that demonstrated the financial details Manafort provided to the bank were “red flags” and inconsistent.

Manafort had declared more than $4M in income for his business DMP International, but other documents showed he had no income and expenses of more than $630k.

Manafort also had an outstanding American Express credit card bill of more than $300k, causing bank employees to question whether Manafort could pay back loans if he were approved.

“Although Mr. Manafort’s credit is for the most part good, the large size of the delinquency is troubling,” the email said.

Manafort later told bank officials he let his “friend” borrow the credit card to purchase season tickets with the New York Yankees and had not yet been paid back.

Manafort later indicated that friend was his business partner Gates, but on Friday a Yankees executive said Gates has never purchased season tickets with the team.

The defense suggested that Manafort didn’t fill out the loan applications, and since the terms of loan weren’t great, he didn't do it.

The VP confirmed that, in fact, the loans to Manafort still had not been repaid.

Defense referred to the fact that Manafort did not have income in 2016, asking the VP to confirm that he knew Manafort had taken a “voluntary position.” That referred to Manafort’s unpaid role in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. He affirmed that knowledge.

The VP said that he was aware that Manafort’s American Express bill had a $300k outstanding debt, the bulk of which was for Yankees season tickets, had been paid off by the time both loans were approved, and his credit score had improved.

The VP then said at that point Manafort had “acceptable” credit.

The defense raised the possibility that Manafort, who was doing real estate business with his son-in-law, did not fill out the loan applications himself, although they were signed with his name.

Defense also suggested Manafort was unaware that he had to report outstanding debts that were not his alone.

The VP pointed pointed out that the bank’s loan application form makes clear the debts include “loan guarantees” and “financial obligations,” not just loans to the borrower alone.

The defense suggested it was the fault of FSB.

The FSB VP stated they wouldn’t have approved any of the Manafort loans if the bank CEO hadn’t pushed for it.

The defense pointed out that it wasn’t a secret that Manafort wouldn’t have any reported income in 2016.

The defense stated tt was understood and “out in the open” that Manafort was working for free for then-candidate Donald Trump.

The defense also pointed to a bank document that calculated Manafort’s estimated net worth to be nearly $21.3M when the loans were issued.

[BeastieRunner]

PM Manafort trial updates:

We waited to find out if the Treasury agent could retake the stand.

The defense said that in closing arguments, they do plan to say Manafort had no obligation to report foreign bank accounts in the years he only owned 50 percent of his firm, Davis Manafort International.

“It’s very clear that if you do not own more than 50 percent of the entity, you do not have a responsibility."

Manafort’s wife owns the other half of the company and they file joint tax returns.

Team Mueller noted that when Manafort filed as a foreign agent in 2017, he also described himself as owning 100 percent of the business.

The judge admonished Team Mueller: "You could have indicted the company, but you didn’t.”

Team Mueller said that was true, but it was the defense that was now making the argument that this was a corporate responsibility.

The judge took a short recess to decide the issue, predicting neither side would like his ruling.

Judge ruled Team Mueller gets 5 questions.

The Treasury agent said the department had no record of any such “FBAR” reports aka foreign bank accounts records.

“Your honor, the government rests.”

Defense called for a procedural hearing.

Defense asked that the charges against Manafort be dismissed, saying the evidence lacks “materiality” and “a failure to show the necessary willfulness.”

The judge sealed the courtroom without ruling on the defendant’s motion for acquittal or asking whether Manafort will present any evidence.

“What we do will not be permanently sealed. When the case is over, the seal will be lifted.”

The defense asked to have until tomorrow morning to put together their motion for acquittal. The judge affirmed.

Court adjourned till tomorrow?

--------

Looks like the end is nigh!

[zinderel]

Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I’m His Uncle.

As I posted before, just because Stephen Miller is Jewish, that doesn't mean he can't be a fascist neo-Nazi. There were many Jewish men and women who betrayed their faith and their people, and were a part of, or who supported, the Third Reich, and one who was even Aryanized personally by Hitler himself.

It's sad and disgusting, and makes Miller an even slimier, more disgusting piece of racist filth that he is willfully, gleefully spitting in the faces of his ancestors with his racist policies.

[zinderel]

And so, we’ve been graced with the most incompetent presidency in modern history, and in 2017, we profiled Trump again seven months in. Trump was already under federal investigation, and impeachment is a word that’s been bandied about by members of both parties. After spending months whining about how much time President Obama spent golfing (which wasn’t actually that much), he’s hitting the links virtually every weekend, spending one quarter of his days in office hitting the links. Even after he attacked opponents in the GOP Primary and general election for “not having enough stamina”, he’s demanding a golf cart pick him up while he’s on diplomatic trips, and he’s sleeping in on summits with world leaders and sending his daughter and her resume of being a knock-off designer shoe manufacturer to serve as head of state in his stead. His approval ratings are the lowest for any president since regular approval rating polls began being taken for presidents in the Truman administration, and getting lower all the time. He’s making George W. Bush (43) look like an effective leader, which is f***ing unimaginable only a few years ago. His own first lady is publicly swatting him away because even she is disgusted with him for getting caught boning porn stars (and trying to buy their silence using campaign funds, which is a crime). His only achievement in office so far that hasn’t been overturned by the courts is helping the GOP hustle Neil Gorsuch onto the Supreme Court, and being more embarrassing than any chief executive this country has ever known.

When you peer at the full timeline… everything, everything at once, you want to curl in the fetal position and lay low to just hope and pray someone invokes the 25th Amendment or the GOP wise up and get the cojones to realize they shouldn’t be propping up this bigoted, conspiracy peddling twit anymore for the good of the whole nation (they’re nowhere near brave enough to do it). The only part of the country succeeding right now are Wall Street bankers and liquor store owners profiting from how sane people have been driven to drink heavily until this blows over. We are at best, living in the Twilight Zone, and at worst, totally f***ed, and if he’s not removed from office, potentially f***ed beyond all repair.

Anyway, you get the idea, and rather than just keep dropping incidental evidence… here’s a full timeline of everything we had ever written about Donald Trump, including the past 9 months since the election about the marmalade-tinged plague upon the earth, broken down for your reading pleasure. May God have mercy on our souls, and if you’re an atheist, may modern science and reason lead us from his ignorance. And never stop fighting against this. We will get through this. We will survive this. Always… Resist.

Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part One: The Beginnings to his Presidential Run 
We should have known this guy was awful long before he came down the escalator at Trump Tower.


Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Two: The Path to the 2016 Nomination
Events taking place from Donald Trump announcing his candidacy for president, to accepting the GOP nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention…

Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Three: The Final Run to Election Day 2016
In our third chapter, we covered the absolutely bonkers final four months leading to Election Day 2016, including all the collusion:

Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Four: The Trump Transition
We discuss a great deal of stupid and sometimes illegal things done as Trump prepared to go to Washington, D.C., as well as his assemblage of his “Cabinet of Horrors”.


Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Five: The First 100 Days
From an anemic inauguration, to the initial panic of having a moron running the country, the first hundred days.

Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Six: Days 101-200
We continue as Trump blunders and fires FBI Director James Comey, the Mueller investigation begins, and Trump threatens “Fire and Fury” upon North Korea.

Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Seven: Days 201-300
We continue as Trump blames “both sides” after Charlottesville, tells a Gold Star Widow “her husband knew what he signed up for”, freaks out as Paul Manafort gets indicted, and trusts the word of Vladimir Putin over the entire United States intelligence community about Russian election hacking.

Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Eight: Days 301-400
Trump signs the GOP Tax Plan/Scam, talks about “s***hole countries”, flips out after Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” book is released, continues to see record turnover from his White House Staff, is revealed to have paid off a porn star who he had an affair with to stay silent about it, and keeps attacking the FBI and the Mueller investigation.

Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Nine: Days 401-500
Trump’s Cabinet continues to be mired in corruption and constant turnover, his attacks on the media and the Mueller Investigation escalate, as do his rabid anti-immigration policies, as he calls undocumented immigrants “animals” and pushes for his administration to further the separation of migrant children from their parents at the border.

Donald Trump- Full Timeline Part Ten: Days 501-568
Trump’s family separation policies turn public opinion on immigration far, far away from conservatives, he becomes the first President to meet with a North Korean despot and gets nothing in negotiations, and then meets with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki to grovel before him in a joint press conference. This truly is the darkest timeline, and Robert Mueller cannot work fast enough, but makes progress as the Manafort trial begins and Michael Cohen flips on Trump.

Thank you for this, WBE. I am eagerly awaiting certain people's response to the facts you present here. Is this finally enough to make clear how far down the rabbit hole we are? Or will blind allegiance to party still win out...?

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

In a recent Gallup poll, socialism outperforms capitalism saving Democrats and Democratic leaners.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/240725/...apitalism.aspx

This worries me.

This really shouldn't be shocking. Honestly it's more shocking this isn't a popular view. The government programs most socialistic in nature are easily among the most popular. The major culprits of economic inequality and injustices like the 2008/9 Housing crisis were basically a byproduct of capitalism that wasn't regulated enough. People realize that it's not a perfect system and for the most people to have the highest benefit you have to put your foot on the scale a bit

[Tendrin]

OH WBE-EEEeeeee….

A Missouri Republican who has made anti-Semitic and other bigoted statements handily won a primary for the state’s House of Representatives.

Steve West, who promotes anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on a radio show he hosts, defeated three other candidates Tuesday in the bid for a seat representing Clay County. He won with 49.5 percent of the vote; the second-place finisher had 24.4 percent.

“Looking back in history, unfortunately, Hitler was right about what was taking place in Germany. And who was behind it,” West said on KCXL radio in January 2017, The Kansas City Star reported Thursday.

He has spoken of “Jewish cabals” that are “harvesting baby parts” from Planned Parenthood, abuse children and control the Republican Party. West also has a YouTube channel on which he has made homophobic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and racist statements, according to The Star.

https://www.jpost.com/American-Polit...medium=twitter


Seem to recall this guy already being submitted to the queue but now he's actually won the primary.

But both parties are totally the same, guys!

[InformationGeek]

Ahhhhhhh... you know how Trump bothered that reporter for years after making a remark about his fingers? Well... this just happened?

“Jonathan - You are the racist, not I. Get rid of your 'hate.' Best wishes, Donald Trump.”

Yeah, you read that right.

He sent that to a reporter... man, too bad this didn't happen sooner for your update WBE.