All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Johnathan]

In UK today the Daily Telegraph ran a story suggesting that Kamala Harris’s performance to date, and doubt whether or not Joe B will seek a second term is to some extent draining public support.

(It was part of an article covering rumours that some hope Kamala could be placed on Supreme Court and replaced as Vice President, should a court place become available.)

Still, it is hard to speculate this far ahead of an election. The question is whether things will get better in 2022. Certainly, it seems like the Republican party will do well in the next mid-term election, but that doesn't always spell doom for the President's chances. Trump probably would have won if the nation hadn't been in such dire straits his last year in office. If more people feel like things are improving as we approach the election then his chances are good no matter how people feel now.

However, a president's power is fairly limited. In the national sense where Congress and the Supreme Court can get in the way but also there are plenty of powerful institutions in the executive branch itself like the FBI and CIA as well as partially governmental and mostly independent institutions like the Federal Reserve that the president cannot control. Of course, each state and local government also is usually outside Federal control as well, so the President's power is mostly perception rather than reality.

Honestly, I don't really expect much from a President when it comes to actual solutions.

[Malvolio]

While the President does not control the Federal Reserve, he can, and often does, advise them on financial policy. I'm sure the phone in the Oval Office has Janet Yellen on speed-dial.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Got an alert that the first two cases of the Omicron variant were reported in Canada. The individuals had traveled to Nigeria and are said to be in self-isolation. It’s only a matter of time before cases pop up in the lower 48.

[babyblob]

Got an alert that the first two cases of the Omicron variant were reported in Canada. The individuals had traveled to Nigeria and are said to be in self-isolation. It’s only a matter of time before cases pop up in the lower 48.

I am pretty sure it is already here. Just not reported. There is no way it is not here.

[Amadeus Arkham]

Matthew McConaughey has announced today he will not run for Texas governor in 2022.

[Tami]

Got an alert that the first two cases of the Omicron variant were reported in Canada. The individuals had traveled to Nigeria and are said to be in self-isolation. It’s only a matter of time before cases pop up in the lower 48.

There was a report of a final flight in to the US from Africa....Final flights from South Africa arrive in Newark ahead of omicron travel ban

Shoot, looks like NJ might be ground zero for Omicron in the US if anyone on board that flight had it.

Passengers on that flight say it was full, and they described the scene at the airport in Johannesburg as “strict” when it came to virus protocols.

"Coming back, even before we heard about the variant, we knew we would have to take a COVID test within 72 hours before the flight," said Haleigh Guerrera. "It's important to remain calm and be positive about it. Not make any kneejerk reactions."

[WestPhillyPunisher]

There was a report of a final flight in to the US from Africa....Final flights from South Africa arrive in Newark ahead of omicron travel ban

Shoot, looks like NJ might be ground zero for Omicron in the US if anyone on board that flight had it.

I hope that isn't the case. And I hope the passengers on that flight will have the good sense to get tested again and/or self-isolate.

[JB]

Ghislaine Maxwell trial – Opening arguments to be heard as socialite could face decades in jail
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b1965779.html

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Ghislaine Maxwell trial – Opening arguments to be heard as socialite could face decades in jail
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-b1965779.html

Forgot about Jeffrey Epstein’s gal pal. Will she spill Epstein’s secrets, or take them to prison with her?

[kidfresh512]

Lone Mississippi clinic on front line of U.S. Supreme Court abortion battle

JACKSON, Miss., Nov 29 (Reuters) - As a car drove into the parking lot of Jackson Women's Health Organization clinic, the only abortion provider in the state of Mississippi, anti-abortion activist Beverly Anderson leaned in to speak to the woman in the passenger's seat.

Two escorts wearing rainbow-colored vests blared rock music to drown out Anderson and other protesters as patients entered the fenced lot.

"Ma'am, you are already a mother. Don't let them kill your baby," Anderson, 61, told the woman.

It is a common scene at a clinic at the center of a major legal fight now before the U.S. Supreme Court that could shape the future of American abortion rights. The nine justices on Wednesday are due to hear arguments in Mississippi's bid to revive a Republican-backed 2018 law, blocked by lower courts, banning abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. Mississippi has asked the justices to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe. v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

[babyblob]

Forgot about Jeffrey Epstein’s gal pal. Will she spill Epstein’s secrets, or take them to prison with her?

I mean she really has no motivation to give up Epstein. If giving up what she knew about others was going to give her a better deal she would have done so by now. But I dont thin the DA cares about Epstein as far as getting the goods on him since he is dead. At least not to the point of giving her a deal. And If she opens up about him too much she hurts her own case. Maybe she could have gone with the he forced me to do it but that is not how the lawyers are going. So what ever she knows she aint telling.

[Kirby101]

[babyblob]

I mean if she had dirt on Trump she would have spilled it to get a sweetheart deal. I hate defending Trump but that doesnt mean much to have him in a pic with her. Lots of celebs have been known to talk with Epstein and her. Including Clinton and Bill Gates and others. So it is not really a smoking gun and does not prove in any way that any of them had a hand in what was going on.

[Kirby101]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021...-epic-bromance

Beginning in the late ’80s, the infamous sex trafficker and the future president (and their mutual friend Ghislaine Maxwell) palled around for almost two decades. In an excerpt from his new book, American *********, the author exposes their shared tastes for private planes, shady money, and foreign-born models—many of them “on the younger side.”

[babyblob]

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021...-epic-bromance

Im just wondering if they were underage. I mean if Maxwell had knowledge of Trump doing illegal things like that why is she holding onto it now? What would she have to gain at this point. She is going to spend the rest of her life in prison. Wouldnt you think if she had the goods on an ex president she would give them up to save herself? Younger side could mean anything. he is an older man. Younger side could mean 18, 19, etc.. Im just not throwing him under the bus because of a book to sell money and a photo. I remember how mad everyone got at Fox News when they went this route with Clinton because he knew the guy and was on his island. Show me proof and I will be on board.