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| Porn Users Forum » A Republican admits treason. |
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| 04-11-22 05:30am - 893 days | Original Post - #1 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
A Republican admits treason. Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the staunchest defenders of Donald J. Trump, in spite of Trump's attacks on her father, the coward Dick Cheney, the man who gave up the Vice Presidency to run away from Washington DC, has admitted that there is enough evidence to charge Trump with crimes. Will Trump demand that Liz Cheney resign from the Republican party, the party of Lincoln, Nebraska, and the truest, bluest part of the Untitled States of Trumperland? Will God Himself come down from the heavens and serve as Trump's lawyer, to defend God's anointed ambassador on Earth? However, the Justice Department, the home of the famed FBI, the same FBI that whitewashed Brett Kavanaugh so Brett could become an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, is standing firmly with Donald Trump. ------ ------ Jan. 6 panel has enough evidence to refer Trump for criminal charges, Cheney says NBC Universal Christina Zhao April 10, 2022, 10:24 AM The House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has enough evidence to refer President Donald Trump for criminal charges, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said Sunday. “It’s absolutely clear that what President Trump was doing — what a number of people around him were doing — that they knew it was unlawful. They did it anyway,” Cheney, the vice chair and one of two Republicans on the committee, said on CNN's "State of the Union" when host Jake Tapper asked her whether the panel had enough evidence to make a criminal referral for Trump. Cheney said the panel has not made a decision about moving forward with the referral. The New York Times reported that the committee has concluded that it has enough evidence to make a criminal referral but that its leaders were divided over whether to do so. "I think what we have seen is a massive and well-organized and well-planned effort that used multiple tools to try to overturn an election," Cheney said. The committee has "got a tremendous amount of testimony and documents that I think very, very clearly demonstrate the extent of the planning and the organization and the objective." She added: "The objective was absolutely to try to stop the kind of electoral votes, to try to interfere with that official proceeding. And it’s absolutely clear that they knew what they were doing was wrong." She referred to a ruling in a civil suit involving the committee last month, in which a federal judge found that based on evidence, Trump most likely "attempted to obstruct the joint session of Congress" on the day of the attack, which would be a crime. “The illegality of the plan was obvious,” U.S. District Judge David Carter wrote of Trump and lawyer John Eastman’s plan to have then-Vice President Mike Pence determine the results of the 2020 election. “Every American — and certainly the president of the United States — knows that in a democracy, leaders are elected, not installed. With a plan this ‘BOLD,’ President Trump knowingly tried to subvert this fundamental principle." The Jan. 6 panel made similar allegations in a court filing in the case last month, saying it had a "good-faith basis for concluding that the President and members of his Campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States." Trump, who has not been charged with a crime, has denied any wrongdoing. In recent months, the panel has ramped up its investigation ahead of public hearings expected next month. The House voted Wednesday to refer former Trump aides Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino to the Justice Department for criminal contempt of Congress after they refused to comply with subpoenas from the panel to testify and turn over documents. The House previously voted to refer former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. He was indicted by a grand jury in November and could face a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 if he is convicted. The House in December also voted to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Justice Department for a criminal contempt charge. The Justice Department has not acted on Meadows' referral. | |
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| 04-11-22 09:00am - 892 days | #2 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Republicans are poised to attack Joe Biden through his son, Hunter Biden. Republicans, the party of truth, honor and freedom, are digging up dirt on Hunter Biden. The President of the United States has a corrupt son, blares the Republican party. Joe Biden is not fit to lead our great nation. Bring back Donald Trump, a man who knows how to take bribes in secret, to defend his honor with lies, to fight to the bitter end any attempt to make him pay for him lies and crimes. Donald Trump, the man who became the first president of the United States to promise to never golf while president, the man who spent more time on the golf course while president than any president before him. God save Donald Trump, the face of the Republican party. ---- ---- 'Family, family, family:' Valerie Biden Owens defends brother 'Joey' and nephew Hunter USA TODAY April 10, 2022, 10:36 AM NEWARK, Del. – With the Bidens, it's all in the family. For better or worse. There's the "safe haven" President Biden's sister Valerie provides in their regular late-night phone conversations, chitchat about nothing after a day that might have been dominated for him by Russian aggression and record inflation. But there's also the escalating furor around his son Hunter, the subject of a federal investigation and the likely target of Capitol Hill hearings if Republicans win control of Congress in November. Not since John F. Kennedy has a president been surrounded by such a large and close-knit clan, one that has been a source of both emotional support and political trouble for the commander in chief. "We have been best friends our entire life," Valerie Biden Owens told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview about her memoir, "Growing Up Biden," being published Tuesday by Celadon Books. "I can't read his mind, but 99.9% of the time, we'll come out with the same answer, his by Jesuit logic and mine by just a feel." She was her brother's first campaign manager and decades later remains a voice he trusts. Dubbed "the Biden whisperer," she shares her brother's instincts and articulates his perspective, sometimes with fewer political constraints than he has. Valerie Biden Owens, right, is a source of unwavering support for her brother Joe and their family. Valerie Biden Owens, right, is a source of unwavering support for her brother Joe and their family. She heatedly defended his son Hunter, who has struggled with addiction, as the blameless victim of a partisan attack over alleged financial misconduct. Does he bear some of the responsibility for the controversies swirling around him? “No,” she replied flatly. “Hunter walked through hell. He didn't wake up and say, ‘Aunt Val, I think I'm going to be an addict. And so whatever happens, it's my responsibility.’” She praised him for having the “courage” and “strength” to combat the dependence on alcohol and crack that she said was behind his actions. More: Hunter Biden says he was 'smoking crack every 15 minutes,' more jaw-dropping moments from memoir 'Beautiful Things' Federal prosecutors who convened a grand jury in Delaware may be less understanding in their investigation of whether Hunter Biden violated money laundering laws, evaded taxes and failed to abide by foreign lobbying regulations. For years, Donald Trump has hammered Joe Biden with accusations of corruption involving multimillion-dollar contracts that son Hunter and brother James won in China and Ukraine when Biden was vice president. On the Senate floor last week, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, both Republicans, made their third lengthy presentation about what they labeled "The Biden Family Investigation," this time detailing James Biden's business ties to the Chinese government. Johnson described the Biden family as "grifters" and "influence peddlers." If the GOP wins control of the House or Senate in the November midterm elections – and with that the power to convene hearings and issue subpoenas – floor speeches about the Biden family are likely to become full-scale congressional inquiries. A fast talker with a big laugh Valerie Biden Owens, 76, is wiry and wired, a fast talker with a big laugh. Perched on a chair pulled before a crackling fireplace in Joe Biden's office at the Biden Institute at the University of Delaware, she said she can't remember a time when she and the big brother she calls Joey weren't best friends. "Really and truly, from the time I opened my eyes," she said. White House wedding: Joe and Jill Biden to host granddaughter's wedding reception at White House, the first since 2008 She said she sees Hunter as more of a son than a nephew, the little boy she helped rear when his mother and sister were killed in a car accident that injured him and his brother, Beau. Addiction is a thread that runs through her memoir and through generations of her family. Her "Uncle Boo-Boo" was an alcoholic, she wrote. Her brother Frankie abused drugs and alcohol. President-elect Joe Biden, right, embraces his son Hunter in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 7, 2020. President-elect Joe Biden, right, embraces his son Hunter in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 7, 2020. "What is it? The Irish and the drink," she said, citing a genetic susceptibility in the family to addiction. That's why she didn't drink through high school and college; Joe Biden has never used alcohol. The hardest part of the book to write, she said, was "exposing the vulnerabilities of a family and addiction." She dismissed out of hand the idea that the worst is yet to come for the family in the investigations into her nephew and brother. "I don't know what could be worse than Beau's dying of glioblastoma when he was 46 years old," she said sharply. "I don't know what could be worse than watching Hunter walk through hell. You never say the worst is over, but whatever comes, we can handle it as a family." Their unity gives them resilience, she said, a lesson from her parents. "Mom said there's family, and there's family, and then there's family." Even some allies worry that Joe Biden's devotion to family has made it harder for him to fully acknowledge and effectively deal with the political perils his son and brother present. Vice President Joe Biden, his wife, Jill, and his sister Valerie Biden Owens attend the funeral Mass for the Bidens' mother, Jean, on Jan. 12, 2010, at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Wilmington, Del. Vice President Joe Biden, his wife, Jill, and his sister Valerie Biden Owens attend the funeral Mass for the Bidens' mother, Jean, on Jan. 12, 2010, at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Wilmington, Del. Meet the Bidens: A who's who of the new first family Knowing she was nervous about the USA TODAY interview, brother Jimmy and his wife, Sarah, unexpectedly arrived at the Biden Institute before the conversation began to offer moral support. They sat against a wall for the hour, two friendly faces that were out of the camera angle but within her line of sight. 'The price was going to be too high' Valerie was one who initially urged her brother not to make his third bid for the presidency in the 2020 contest. "I just thought the price was going to be too high," she wrote, worried that a campaign against Trump would be brutal. "I didn't want the family to go through it. I was worried the family couldn't go through it." Though she came around to support Biden's run, she said her predictions about the campaign turned out to be true. "It met and exceeded my expectations of being ugly and degrading, disrespectful, a disservice to the country," she said. "Trump and his right-wing followers have continued to do whatever they can to discredit the family and therefore to bring Joe down." President Biden faces commentary from his fiercest critics that at age 79, he lacks the physical vigor and mental acuity needed in a president. "Just watch him," she said in response. "It's not even worth a flick." Do those comments bother him? "No," she said. Later in the interview, she launched into a defense of his sometimes stumbling speaking style, which she described as an aftermath of his childhood stutter. "My brother's a stutterer, and he still stutters and tries to get things out," she said. "And what did really make me mad and drive me crazy was when he would go to speak, and there would be a hesitancy, and the critique from the bad guys, the right wing, was that he's not smart; he didn't know what he was saying." She bristles at criticism of her brother, and she worries that the White House staff doesn't do a good enough job in spotlighting his administration's accomplishments. "This Washington jargon," she said with frustration. "Talk about infrastructure? What the hell? I don't care about infrastructure. I care about the water that's coming out of my faucet that is toxic to my children." Several nights a week, at 10 p.m. or so, she'll call the president or he'll call her to touch base. "When he calls, I don't talk about what happened with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin today," she said. "We talk about family. It's a respite. ... We talk about nothing, and in talking about nothing, we talk about everything. "I don't have to say a whole lot, because we understand each other." Fact check: No, Joe Biden's brother-in-law does not own Dominion Voting Systems This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: President Joe Biden's sister Valerie on 'Joey,' nephew Hunter | |
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| 04-11-22 09:14am - 892 days | #3 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Russia threatens legal action if forced into debt default. Russia has hired an expert in bankruptcy, Donald Trump. At least 6 Trump companies used bankruptxy to solve their financial problems. That's why Putin is relying on Trump to solve Russian debt problems. Trump, the most genius president we've ever had. Also, the Republican party is open to helping Russia pay its debts. Since Republicans know how to make payoffs. And they are actively investigating Joe Biden's son for making payoffs without the blessings of the Republican party. Or maybe taking payoffs, without the blessings of the Republican party. After all, if money is involved, Republicans want their fair share. ----- ----- Russia threatens legal action if forced into sovereign debt default Reuters April 11, 2022, 2:39 AM (Reuters) - Russia will take legal action if the West tries to force it to default on its sovereign debt, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper on Monday, sharpening Moscow's tone in its financial wrestle with the West. "Of course we will sue, because we have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that investors receive their payments," Siluanov told the newspaper in an interview. "We will present in court our bills confirming our efforts to pay both in foreign currency and in roubles. It will not be an easy process. We will have to very actively prove our case, despite all the difficulties." Siluanov did not elaborate on Russia's legal options. Russia faces its first sovereign external default in more than a century after it made arrangements to make an international bond repayment in roubles earlier this week, even though the payment was due in U.S. dollars. Last week, Siluanov said Russia will do everything possible to make sure its creditors are paid. "Russia tried in good faith to pay off external creditors," Siluanov said on Monday. "Nevertheless, the deliberate policy of Western countries is to artificially create a man-made default by all means." Siluanov said Russia's external liabilities amount to about 20% of the total public debt, which stood at about 21 trillion roubles ($261.7 billion). Of that, about 4.5-4.7 trillion roubles were external liabilities. Russia has not defaulted on its external debt since the aftermath of its 1917 revolution, but its bonds have now emerged as a flashpoint in its economic tussle with Western countries. A default was unimaginable until recently, with Russia rated as investment grade in the run up to its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation" and which on Sunday intensified in eastern Ukraine. "If an economic and financial war is waged against our country, we are forced to react, while still fulfilling all our obligations," Siluanov said. "If we are not allowed to do it in foreign currency, we do it in roubles." | |
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| 04-11-22 09:22am - 892 days | #4 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Donald Trump to bid on multi-million dollar yacht seized by authorities. Donald Trump knows a bargain when he sees one. If he can buy the yacht for pennies on the dollar, he can turn around and sell it for millions, after he paints the Trump name on the yacht. And then use the money to pay his lawyers, who can defend him in court against civil and criminal charges he might be facing. ---- ---- Italy seizes properties belonging to Russian racer Mazepin - police sources Reuters April 11, 2022, 6:34 AM Nikita Mazepin ROME (Reuters) - Italy has seized properties worth some 105 million euros ($114.45 million) owned by Russian former Formula One driver Nikita Dmitrievich Mazepin and his oligarch father, two police sources told Reuters on Monday. The operation targeted a villa - known as Rocky Ram - located in the north of the island of Sardinia. It is part of broader efforts aimed at penalising wealthy Russians linked to President Vladimir Putin after the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine by Moscow. There was no immediate comment from Mazepin's PR manager. Mazepin - who was fired in March by U.S.-owned F1 team Haas - has been included in an EU sanctions list along with his father, Dmitry, who the European Union's official journal described as a member of president Vladimir Putin's closest circle. Over the last weeks, Italian police have sequestered villas and yachts worth over 900 million euros from wealthy Russians who were placed on a European Union sanctions lists following the Ukraine conflict. The most valuable asset seized so far is a superyacht owned by billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, worth around 530 million euros, which was impounded in the northern port of Trieste. ($1 = 0.9174 euros) (Reporting by Emilio Parodi; writing by Angelo Amante; Editing by Bernadette Baum) | |
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| 04-11-22 12:00pm - 892 days | #5 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Stop the presses. Tish Cyrus files for divorce from Billy Ray Cyrus. Will this end their marriage of 28 years? Will this stop them from creating another child with the talent of the golden one, Miley Cyrus? ---- ---- Tish Cyrus Files for Divorce from Billy Ray Cyrus After 28 Years of Marriage People Rachel DeSantis April 11, 2022, 7:55 AM It's over for Billy Ray Cyrus and wife Tish — again. The country singer, 60, and Tish, 54, are divorcing after more than 28 years of marriage, marking the third time they have gone their separate ways. Tish filed for divorce in Williamson County, Tennessee on Wednesday, citing "irreconcilable differences," according to documents obtained by PEOPLE. She also said that the couple have not lived together in more than two years. Reps for the pair did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. TMZ was first to report the news. The "Achy Breaky Heart" singer and Tish married in 1993, and share five children: daughters Miley, 29, Noah, 22, and Brandi, 34, and sons Trace, 33, and Braison, 27. Video: Miley Cyrus's flight to Paraguay forced to make emergency landing Cyrus first filed for divorce in 2010, but announced five months later that he'd withdrawn his petition. "I've dropped the divorce. I want to put my family back together," the Hannah Montana star told The View at the time."Things are the best they've ever been." By 2013, however, things had soured once more, and Tish filed for divorce that June, telling PEOPLE at the time: "This is a personal matter and we are working to find a resolution that is in the best interest of our family. We ask that you respect our privacy at this time." The pair later said that they were able to salvage their marriage through hard work and couples therapy. RELATED: How 'Achy Breaky Heart' Blew Up and Thrilled This Man (Billy Ray Cyrus) — and the World "We both woke up and realized we love each other and decided we want to stay together," they said in a statement in July 2013. "We both went into couples therapy something we haven't done in 22 years of being together, and it's brought us closer together and really opened up our communication in amazing ways." In 2016, Billy Ray Cyrus told PEOPLE that while he and Tish had experienced their ups and downs over the years, they focused on taking things "one step at a time." "It's like everything in life," he said. "You take it one step at a time. One day at a time. I think one of the most important things in life and in a relationship is, you make adjustments." | |
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| 04-12-22 05:26am - 892 days | #6 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Putin warns the West: We will bury you. Russia will lead the world to a new Superpower. Russia and Trump will join to make the greatest nation on Earth. And once Trump is back in the White House, Russia and Trump will sign a peace treaty, that will put Joe Biden back in prison, where he belongs. Putin and Trump, allies forever. Blood is thicker than water, and money makes for strange bedfellows. That's why Trump has been seeking new bedmates. ----- ----- Putin warns the West: Russia cannot be isolated, or held back Reuters April 12, 2022, 4:56 AM (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Tuesday that attempts to isolate Moscow would fail, citing the success of the Soviet space programme as evidence that Russia could achieve spectacular leaps forward in tough conditions. Russia says it will never again depend on the West after the United States and its allies imposed crippling sanctions on it to punish Putin for his Feb. 24 order for what he called a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Sixty one years to the day since the Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin blasted off into the history books by becoming the first man in space, Putin travelled to the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, 3,450 miles (5550 km) east of Moscow. "The sanctions were total, the isolation was complete but the Soviet Union was still first in space," Putin said, according to Russian state television. "We don't intend to be isolated," Putin said. "It is impossible to severely isolate anyone in the modern world - especially such a vast country as Russia." Russia's Cold War space successes such as Gagarin's flight and the 1957 launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite from earth, have a particular pertinence for Russia: both events shocked the United States. The launch of Sputnik 1 prompted the United States to create NASA in a bid to catch up with Moscow. Putin says the "special military operation" in Ukraine is necessary because the United States was using Ukraine to threaten Russia - including via the NATO military alliance - and that Moscow had to defend Russian-speaking people in Ukraine from persecution. He said on Tuesday that the had no doubts Russia would achieve all of its objectives in Ukraine - a conflict he cast as both inevitable and essential to defend Russia in the long term. "Its goals are absolutely clear and noble," Putin said. "It's clear that we didn't have a choice. It was the right decision." Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance and the West has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in an effort to force it to withdraw its forces. Russia's economy is on track to contract by more than 10% in 2022, the biggest fall in gross domestic product since the years following the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday. Putin toured the space port in Russia's far east with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. "Why an earth are we getting so worried about these sanctions?" Lukashenko said, according to Russian state television. Lukashenko, who has a track record of sometimes saying things that appear to jar with his closest ally's stated positions on a range of issues, has insisted that Belarus must be involved in negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and has said that Belarus had been unfairly labelled "an accomplice of the aggressor". (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge) | |
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| 04-12-22 05:37am - 892 days | #7 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Judges are above politics. They must interpret the law fairly, with honor. That is why Republicans rejoice that a judge ruled to knock out a Democrat candidate from an election. But the judge took no joy in the decision. He was forced by honor and logic to eliminate the Democrat. The judge's heart bleeds for the Democrat, but he is forced to dis-allow her to run. Let us honor Republicans everywhere, who will make America great again. And put Democrats in prison, if the Democrats have committed crimes. ------ ------ Leading Iowa Democrat knocked off US Senate primary ballot Associated Press DAVID PITT April 11, 2022, 3:59 PM DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state court judge has concluded that Democrat Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on the June 7 primary ballot for U.S. Senate, knocking off the candidate considered by many to be the party's best chance to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley. Judge Scott Beattie, a 2018 appointee of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, filed a ruling late Sunday that overturned a decision by a three-member panel of state elected officials. The panel concluded last week that Finkenauer's campaign staffers had substantially complied with Iowa law that requires candidates to obtain 3,500 names, including at least 100 signatures from at least 19 counties. Two Republicans challenged Finkenauer's petition papers, saying signatures from at least two counties did not have the required date accompanying them. In the past, the panel, which includes the secretary of state, attorney general and state auditor, has found petitions to be in substantial compliance with the law even though signatures were missing or difficult to interpret. Attorney General Tom Miller and Auditor Rob Sand, both Democrats, voted to allow Finkenauer's petitions citing past precedent for giving deference to campaigns that used the proper forms and made efforts to comply with the law. Secretary of State Paul Pate, a Republican, voted against Finkenauer's petition. Kim Schmett and Leanne Pellett, former Republican county elections officials, challenged the signatures and then filed a court appeal of the Iowa Objection Panel's decision last week. Beattie concluded that the panel's legal interpretation was wrong and that the law clearly says each signature should be accompanied by a date. His decision knocked signatures from Allamakee and Cedar counties off of Finkenauer's nomination petitions, which meant her campaign failed to submit at least 100 signatures from at least 19 counties as required. Beattie said he took no joy in the decision. “This court should not be in the position to make a difference in an election, and Ms. Finkenauer and her supporters should have a chance to advance her candidacy. However, this court’s job is to sit as a referee and apply the law without passion or prejudice. It is required to rule without consideration of the politics of the day. Here the court has attempted to fulfill that role,” he said, Finkenauer accused Beattie of doing the bidding of Grassley and his allies in Washington. “This misguided, midnight ruling is an outrageous and partisan gift to the Washington Republicans who orchestrated this meritless legal action," she said. “We are exploring all of our options to fight back hard against this meritless partisan attack, and to ensure that the voices of Iowans will be heard at the ballot box." Finkenauer said her petitions had more than 5,000 signatures and she’s confident she has met the requirements to be on the ballot. Beattie promised last week he would file a decision by midnight Sunday to give either side time to appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. He filed the decision at 10:49 p.m. Sunday. Pate has said he must know whether Finkenauer qualifies for the ballot by Friday to give him time to have ballots printed and sent to overseas voters who must get their ballots by April 23 to comply with the law. Finkenauer, who served one term in the U.S. House from 2019-2021, seeks to be on the ballot with Democrats Mike Franken, a retired Navy admiral, and Glenn Hurst, a doctor and Minden City Council member. The primary winner will face Grassley, who is seeking an eighth term in the Senate. Federal fundraising data and statewide polling indicate that Grassley, who turns 89 in September, is well positioned to retain the seat he has held since 1981 for another six years. Grassley has raised more than $4.7 million, Finkenauer about $1.9 million and Franken $1.8 million. Hurst raised just over $66,000. Republican state Sen. Jim Carlin, who will be on the Republican primary ballot opposite Grassley, raised $282,151. The Des Moines Register/Medicom Poll published in November gave Grassley a lead of 18 percentage points over Finkenauer. Alan R. Ostergren, the attorney for Schmett and Pellett, said the judge's decision is a victory for the rule of law. “Iowans expect candidates to follow state law and to follow the same rules as the hundreds of other candidates who successfully qualified to be on the ballot," he said in a statement. "Anyone who has ever been involved in a political campaign knows that you can easily avoid problems by turning in more than the bare minimum number of signatures. Abby Finkenauer didn’t do this for some reason and got caught short.” | |
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| 04-12-22 05:50am - 892 days | #8 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Kenedi Anderson was forced to drop out of the American Idol race. Was there a plot to eliminate this cutie, because of her association with the Kennedy family, those known Democrats? Enquiring minds want to know: Will Kennedi make a return, and run for President of the United States of Trumperland? Is Kenedi a rival of Ivanka Trump, the fairest flower of them all in Donald Trump's heart? Stay tuned for further updates. ----- ----- 'American Idol' platinum ticket contestant Kenedi Anderson mysteriously drops out 'for personal reasons' Yahoo Music Lyndsey Parker April 11, 2022, 7:53 PM For this landmark 20th season of American Idol, the show introduced a new twist, the platinum ticket — a “special upgrade” that fast-tracked three “best of the best” contestants past the first round of Hollywood Week. Among those three lucky recipients was 18-year-old songbird Kenedi Anderson, whose stunning piano-cabaret rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Applause” had Lionel Richie declaring her “the next big thing in the music business.” Katy Perry actually said she felt “threatened” by this rare talent, and Luke Bryan told Kenedi, “You might be the biggest star we’ve ever seen. … I truly believe your musical journey for the rest of your life just started right here.” But it seems Kenedi’s musical journey will not continue on American Idol. Kenedi Anderson was one of three platinum ticket recipients on Season 20 of 'American Idol.' (Photo: Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images) Kenedi Anderson was one of three platinum ticket recipients on Season 20 of 'American Idol.' (Photo: Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images) On Monday’s part two top 24 show, which took place at Disney’s Aulani Resort, Kenedi’s (excellent) performance of Christina Perri’s “Human” aired in full, along with her mentoring session with guest Bebe Rexha and even her encouraging surprise FaceTime conversation with Christina Perri herself. But after Kenedi was finished singing, none of the judges’ (presumably fawning) commentary was shown. Instead, the screen cut abruptly from sunny Hawaii to an indoor soundstage, breaking-news report-bulletin-style, and host Ryan Seacrest announced: “You might have noticed that there was no voting information during Kenedi’s performance just now. Since we taped these shows in Hawaii earlier, Kenedi has decided to withdraw from our show for personal reasons.” Before going back to ABC’s regularly scheduled programming, Ryan added, “We send her our well-wishes, and needless to say, we have incredible talent on this historic season, with more iconic Idol performance coming up for you right now.” Kenedi didn't specify her reason for quitting when she took to Instagram midway through the episode's East Coast broadcast, but revealed that while it was "one of the hardest decisions" of her life, it was a "necessary" one. An Idol representative was equally vague, merely telling Yahoo Entertainment: “We are disappointed to see Kenedi leave, but we are excited to watch this celebratory 20th season unfold with the incredible talent vying to be the next American Idol.” However, Yahoo's Idol source did confirm that only one contestant will be eliminated from Monday’s episode (along with the planned two from Sunday’s episode) to create the top 20 — thus making Kenedi one of the top 24’s eliminees by default. Rumors of Kenedi’s resignation began circulating last week, when fans noticed that her performances had not been uploaded to Idol’s YouTube channel and that the show had posted congratulatory Instagram Stories messages to all of this season’s top 24 semifinalists except Kenedi. Assuming the gossip was true, those eagle-eyed fan wondered if Kenedi’s Hawaii performance would even be shown this week at all. But, as a much-hyped platinum ticket recipient who’d made it all the way to Hawaii, Kenedi was apparently too essential a part of Season 20’s narrative to edit her out entirely. It’s too bad that such a talented performer chose to mysteriously exit, and it’s too bad that her platinum ticket (or her plane ticket to Hawaii, for that matter) couldn’t have gone to someone else — like maybe fan favorite Kelsie Dolin. But Kenedi isn’t the first Idol contestant to suddenly drop out recently. Last year, frontrunner Benson Boone withdrew from the top 24 after his aggressively hyped audition, although he quit before Season 19’s top 24 round was taped. Benson has since signed to Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds’s Warner Bros. label imprint, and according to Idol Spoilers, Kenedi was “in contact with Benson Boone” and “it is believed that he encouraged her to do as he did, just over a year ago.” Also last season, another frontrunner, Wyatt Pike — who made it all the way to the top 12 — mysteriously exited, though he later revealed this was for mental health reasons, not because he got a better offer. Hopefully Kenedi is OK, but regardless of her real reason for quitting, she now holds the dubious distinction of being the first female contestant in Idol history to drop out of the competition. Well, Kenedi would have been tough to beat, so she definitely made it easier for Monday’s remaining 11 hopefuls by taking herself out of the running. Let’s assess those 11 performances now: Cadence Baker, “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” Cadence got off to a strong start this season but floundered during Hollywood Week, with the judges noticing that the self-described “over-thinker” often looked terrified onstage. This week she regained her confidence for the Vegas-style opener of this Etta James classic (Lionel even gasped, “Wow, wow, wow”); however, I saw a bit of that deer-in-headlights doubt creep back onto her face once the band fully kicked in and she started to work the stage. Still, her voice sounded fantastic (Katy praised her “incredible range”), and Luke said this was Cadence’s best moment since her audition. Lionel additionally congratulated Cadence for finding “that extra burst of confidence.” It seems this girl is back on track... but is it too late? Sir Blayke, “Breakeven” When Bebe asked Blayke if this heartbreak song was dedicated to anyone in particular, he turned right to the camera and intoned, “You know who you are.” This was a performance that he later said brought him closure (“That song was me saying my final goodbye”), and I could feel his sincerity. It really made all the difference. “That was totally different vibe than I’m used to. You gave us vocals that we didn’t know you had,” marveled Katy. Luke, who freely admitted that the panel had been on the fence about Blayke during the Final Judgment, said Blayke “upped his game.” Lionel advised Blayke to “bring that emotion the stage” every time. So, if Blayke advances, he better rip open that emotional wound and sing another breakup ballad. Allegra Miles, “Adore You” Allegra bragged that this was her own arrangement of the Harry Styles hit, but I really didn’t care for her jazzy, soft-rock stylings, which just didn’t work with the song. That being said, aside from a few minor enunciation issues, her voice was beyond reproach (Luke said it was “really, really perfect” and “sounded like it had a filter on it”). Also, by “freeing” herself and performing for the first time this season without an instrument, she exuded a certain vivaciousness I’d never seen from her before. Katy compared Allegra to the almighty Bonnie Raitt, and Lionel said, “There are singers, and then there are stylists. … From the first note, I knew immediately when you opened your mouth exactly who you were.” If Allegra comes up with better song arrangements, she’ll be on a roll. Lady K, “Before He Cheats” Lady agonized between two Idol winners’ songs, “Collard Greens and Cornbread” by Fantasia or “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood… then went against Bebe’s advice and chose the Carrie song, which she thought would be more of an interesting challenge. I think she should have listened to Bebe. Lady K usually oozes so much personality, but surprisingly, I don’t think she brought enough fire to this tentative performance. Luke like the song choice, but told her, “I want to hear even more of that angst out of you. We just wanted it to get even dirtier!” Katy agreed, saying, “We know you can get a little more nasty, because we heard it toward the end.” Hopefully Lady will get another chance to bring the grit. Ava Maybee, “Tell Me Something Good” Ava took a big chance doing this big Chaka Khan classic, and she admitted it was “definitely out of my comfort zone.” But since the song came to her in a dream, she decided to follow her instincts. And judging from this stankfaced tour de force, she should always trust her gut. She absolutely electrified the stage. Katy looked riveted, Lionel was movin’ and groovin’, and Luke looked like he’d just woken up. “Welcome to the stage! Chaka Khan is not exactly the kind of person you wanna wrestle with, but you had the guts to do it. … That was really risky, but you took care of business,” raved Lionel. “There are songs that are a little dangerous to perform on American Idol, and historically this is one that gives people a problem. … But you really showed a different side. Good for you!” said Luke. This was a star-making moment, from a real original and a total natural. | |
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| 04-12-22 06:03am - 892 days | #9 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Woman accused of murder allowed to walk free. Details of why the woman was being held are kept under wraps. Under state law, investigations being conducted are immune to public disclosure. This is to protect the investigation, and the police, from public scrutiny. What the woman did, and why she did it, are not details that have to be released, until the police will allow such details to be known. But first, the police must determine what was done. To aid in public safety. ------- ------- Murder charge over self-induced abortion dismissed in Texas Associated Press JAMIE STENGLE April 11, 2022, 7:49 PM DALLAS (AP) — A Texas judge formally dismissing a murder charge Monday against a 26-year-old woman over a self-induced abortion did not quiet outrage or questions surrounding the case, including why prosecutors ever brought it to a grand jury. A woman who ends her own pregnancy cannot be charged with a crime under Texas law. Officials in rural Starr County, along the U.S.-Mexico border, have not released details about why they decided to pursue a case against Lizelle Herrera after being contacted by a hospital. “There should have been no reason for a report to have been made. There should have been no reason for a criminal investigation to take place," said Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel and legal director at If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice. News of Herrera’s arrest on Thursday raised alarms for abortion rights advocates, and sparked people to gather in protest outside the jail where she was being held on $500,00 bond. Her March 30 indictment alleges she “intentionally and knowingly” caused the death of “an individual ... by a self-induced abortion” in early January. Authorities have not described what exactly Herrera allegedly did, and it wasn’t clear if she was accused of giving herself an abortion or assisting in someone else’s self-induced abortion. An attorney for Herrera, who was released from jail Saturday after posting bond, did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press. Starr County District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez said in a Sunday statement that he would file the motion to dismiss the charge, saying, "it is clear that Ms. Herrera cannot and should not be prosecuted for the allegation against her.” But he did not explain why the case was presented to a grand jury, nor did he reply Monday to an email from AP seeking additional information. A woman who answered the phone at his office said Sunday's statement was “the only thing he's going to say on the subject” and and hung up before identifying herself. “These were choices that did not have to be made because losing a pregnancy or ending a pregnancy or self-managing an abortion is not a crime in the state of Texas," Diaz-Tello said. Texas last year passed a law known as Senate Bill 8, or SB8, that bans abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. The law leaves enforcement to private citizens who can sue doctors or anyone who helps a woman get an abortion. Another new Texas law prohibits doctors and clinics from prescribing abortion-inducing medications after seven weeks and prohibits the delivery of the pills by mail. Neither law authorizes any action against the woman who ends her pregnancy, Diaz-Tello said. “The problem is though when you have this heightened situation of suspicion and fear and the chilling effect that this all creates, that is going to make it much more likely that health care providers are going to improperly err on the side of reporting — err on the side of violating their patient’s confidentiality and bringing in law enforcement,” Diaz-Tello said. Diaz-Tello said actions taken by the hospital and law enforcement in this case could lead women to be fearful of seeking health care after an abortion. Joanna Grossman, professor at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law in Dallas, said SB8 could be “indirectly playing a lot of roles here.”online to get abortion pills, she said. Also, she said, the law sends a message "that there’s just a war on abortion.” “It certainly changed access but it’s also I think just changed the whole context in which people evaluate abortion care,” Grossman said. | |
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| 04-12-22 08:45pm - 891 days | #10 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Are Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump making nice to each other? Will Trump take McConnell to Russia to help Putin win his war with Ukraine? Will the Republicans invade Ukraine with Russian military forces, to help Putin remain in power in Russia, if Putin vows to support Trump in the 2024 election? ----- ----- A tamer Trump? McConnell confident GOP can retake Senate with 'restrained' former president USA TODAY April 12, 2022, 2:00 AM LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - If Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is worried about former President Donald Trump meddling in the 2022 midterm elections, he hid it well beneath his notorious stoicism in a recent USA TODAY interview. Many political observers argue Trump cost the GOP its Senate majority leading up to the January 2021 runoff races in Georgia when he regularly made false assertions about the state's election integrity that reportedly hurt turnout among conservative voters. Asked if the former president could once again jeopardize the GOP chances in retaking the chamber this year, the Kentucky Republican now sees a much tamer Trump. "So far this cycle, he's been rather restrained in his nominations," McConnell told USA TODAY in a one-on-one interview. "So I don't see it as a problem. Obviously, it's important to him to win and so he's been rather cautious with his primary endorsements in most of our races, and I think that's because he doesn't want to show up with somebody who doesn't actually prevail in the primary." The Senate has a 50-50 split with Democrats owning the tie-break vote from Vice President Kamala Harris, which means Republicans need to flip just one seat in the fall midterms to win control of the chamber. McConnell exudes confidence at the possibility of being Senate majority leader next year and believes the current environment and midterm election history are leaning in the GOP's favor. "Obviously, the atmosphere could not be better," he said. "I think it is (an) overwhelming likelihood the wind will be at our back, and that's obviously very important." "But," the GOP leader warned, "you have to have candidates who can win." Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., talk on the escalator as senators gather for a briefing on the war in Ukraine, in Washington, Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Most of the races political forecasters say are leaning or toss-up states, however, are in Democratic-held seats. Democrats aren't helped by President Joe Biden, whose job approval ratings have plunged to among the lowest level of his presidency around 40 percent, according to an NBC News poll released March 27. Other surveys find Americans continue to have high levels of anxiety over a 40-year high in inflation and record spikes in gas prices. Why candidates matter to McConnell McConnell's optimism does have a catch, however. In the past he has seen possible majorities slip through his hands when Republicans were favored. The GOP leader specifically remembered failed attempts to seize the Senate majority in 2010 and 2012, and cites primaries that elevated poor contenders, such as Christie O'Donnell in Delaware; Richard Mourdock in Indiana; Sharron Angle in Nevada and the late Todd Akin in Missouri. Learn more: The field for Kentucky's primary election is set. Here are 5 takeaways and races to watch Those losses, and others, kept control of the Senate out of McConnell's hands until 2014, which had major consequences during former President Barack Obama's last term and through the Trump presidency. "So we have to make sure that we nominate electable candidates," McConnell said. "And so far, I think, in our primaries it looks like that's going to be the case." That's why McConnell and his allies made aggressive efforts to woo popular Republicans governors, such as Maryland's Larry Hogan and Arizona's Doug Ducey, to run for their respective Senate races. Those potential candidates spurned McConnell's advances, however. Who has the better 2022 map? Of the 35 Senate seats up for reelection this year, Republicans hold 21, but organizations that forecast elections point out the more competitive races are in Democratic hands. Sabato's Crystal Ball, at the UVa Center for Politics, for instance, rates four Senate contests as toss-ups Of those, three – Arizona, Georgia and Nevada – currently belong to the Democrats. Over at The Cook Political Report, there are five toss-up Senate races listed for this fall, and the report rates the same three Democratic seats as competitive. Georgia 2022: Georgia redistricting forces voters into tough choice between two Democratic incumbents But Republicans have retirements putting them on defense in the important battlegrounds of Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Democrats have especially found themselves fighting negative perceptions about the economy. A poll released by Navigator Research in February, for instance, found 37 percent of Americans believed more jobs had been lost since 2021. Yet under Biden, the U.S. unemployment has been cut from 6.4 percent when he took office to 3.6 percent this month after adding another 431,000 jobs in March. State of elections: More election workers plan to leave jobs before 2024 election amid threats, conspiracies, new report finds Even McConnell acknowledges there is an opportunity for Democrats to seize the narrative and hold the Senate. "What I mean by that is the Senate, unlike the House, every one of our races that are in play this year are states that could go either way in November," McConnell said. "In other words, they're competitive in the general election." McConnell: Don't say dumb things Earlier this year, McConnell told reporters he would get involved in primaries if it looked like Republicans were "on the verge of nominating somebody who is unelectable." The Senate Leadership Fund, a McConnell-aligned super PAC, has the resources to do such. It boasted at the beginning of the year how it had raked in $94.4 million along with its allied nonprofit advocacy group One Nation during last year's fundraising. McConnell told USA TODAY what makes someone a "winnable" candidate in November depends on each state and the polling data. "It depends on not doing and saying foolish things that disqualify you," McConnell said. "And frankly, I don't think it has to do with President Trump. I don't personally care whether they are Trump supporters or Trump opponents." Much has been written, however, about the McConnell-Trump rift leading up to the 2022 contests. The two haven't been on good terms since the Kentucky Republican publicly blamed the former president for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Since then, Trump has repeatedly called for McConnell to be replaced as the Senate GOP leader and regularly derides him as the "old crow" in public statements. 2022 midterm elections:The most interesting Senate races to watch, from Georgia, to Pennsylvania and Florida McConnell has tried to avoid taking any direct jabs at Trump – although his campaign's Twitter accounted changed its profile picture to a bottle of Old Crow whiskey in jest. On the political front, however, the two either were or remain at odds in a handful of GOP contests, such as in Alaska, where Trump-backed candidate Kelly Tshibaka is challenging incumbent Lisa Murkowski. "As Alaska’s next U.S. Senator, I will not support Mitch McConnell as leader," Tshibaka said in a tweet last December, adding how the GOP leader has "repeatedly bailed out Joe Biden, giving him gifts of Senate votes." As Alaska’s next U.S. Senator, I will not support Mitch McConnell as leader. Check out my interview on Steve Bannon’s War Room where I discuss how McConnell & Liberal Lisa Murkowski have enabled Biden & the Democrats to push through their Anti-American, Radical Socialist agenda. pic.twitter.com/tkuDdnyRiV — Kelly Tshibaka – Text KELLY to 20903 (@KellyForAlaska) December 13, 2021 McConnell's super PAC has thrown its support behind Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump of Jan. 6-related impeachment charges. But Alaska is considered a safe Republican Senate seat in 2022, which most forecasters say Democrats have no chance of winning. Speculation of lingering animosity between McConnell and Trump seems to also be dying down as Trump-aligned contenders have either faced withering controversies or the two sides have seemingly reconciled. Both men, for instance, are supporting former NFL star Herschel Walker in his bid to be Georgia's next senator. "Thank you Leader McConnell for your endorsement," Walker said in a tweet last October. "As I have said from the beginning, I am laser focused on bringing people together to win this seat back for Georgia and for America." Thank you Leader McConnell for your endorsement. As I have said from the beginning, I am laser focused on bringing people together to win this seat back for GEORGIA and for America. #UnitedWeStand#DividedWeFallpic.twitter.com/0wJiuxss3W — Herschel Walker (@HerschelWalker) October 27, 2021 Alabama, another state viewed as a safe GOP seat this November, saw Trump rescind his endorsement of Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, a Senate hopeful who spoke at the Jan. 6 rally. Brooks had proudly pledged he would help "fire McConnell" as majority leader if elected, and released a statement blaming the GOP leader for Trump's decision to pull his backing. McConnell chuckled when asked about the fallout. "(Brooks) is the only one who has brought me up," McConnell said. "All the rest of them have passed on the opportunity to make me an issue in the race." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McConnell says GOP can retake Senate with tamed Trump in 2022 | |
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| 04-13-22 07:21am - 890 days | #11 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
This is not right. A GOP attorney general has been impeached for killing a pedestrian. Don't these people realize that pedestrians are fair game? That if an attorney general, who is almost certainly a lawyer, decides to decrease the state population by popping one of its citizens, the attorney general, the top cop of his district, has the legal and moral right to do what's right and proper? Especially if he's a Republican. Also, the attorney general was fined $1,000 for the incident. That's more than enough to make the attorney general sorry he killed the bastard. ----- ----- South Dakota legislators impeach GOP attorney general over fatal 2020 crash NBC Universal Zoë Richards April 12, 2022, 4:14 PM The South Dakota House voted Tuesday to impeach state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg for his involvement in a fatal 2020 crash that has prompted state lawmakers to seek the removal of their fellow Republican from office. In a 36-31 vote, Ravnsborg was charged with committing crimes or misdemeanors in office that caused the death of a pedestrian. He was also charged with committing actions that "failed to meet the standard of the Office of the Attorney General" after the collision, including during its reporting and the resulting investigation. Republicans were almost evenly split, with 28 voting in favor and 31 voting against. Eight Democrats voted for impeachment. As a result, Ravnsborg was suspended from his official duties ahead of a Senate trial, which could lead to his permanent removal from office if a two-thirds majority votes to convict him. The House held its vote even though a GOP-controlled House committee found that Ravnsborg's actions did not warrant impeachment. Republican state Rep. Will Mortenson, who filed the two articles of impeachment, said Tuesday's vote would create a precedent. 'Our top law enforcement officer has misled law enforcement' "Never before in our state's history has it been that a state official criminally ended the life of one of our citizens and refused to resign from that post," Mortenson said on the House floor Tuesday. "I believe impeachment should be reserved only for grave and exceptional circumstances, and I believe this is one." “Our top law enforcement officer has misled law enforcement during the investigation of those crimes,” Mortenson said. In a statement after the vote, Ravnsborg said, "I respect the process but I look forward to the Senate trial where I believe I will be vindicated." Ravnsborg pleaded no contest to a pair of traffic misdemeanors linked to the incident, which he first reported as a collision with an animal. He said he did not realize he had hit a person until the next day, when he returned to the scene and found the body of pedestrian Joseph Boever, 55. A judge fined Ravnsborg $500 for each misdemeanor. He was not ordered to serve any jail time. Late last month, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem dialed up the pressure on legislators to impeach Ravnsborg, repeating her calls for him to be removed from office. Noem applauded the House after Tuesday's vote. "Today, the House of Representatives did the right thing for the people of South Dakota and for Joe Boever’s family," she wrote on Twitter. | |
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| 04-16-22 12:20pm - 887 days | #12 | |
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LKLK (0)
Active User Posts: 1,583 Registered: Jun 26, '19 Location: CA |
Russia has learned the secret US war plans: The US will send infected birds into Russia, spreading disease and killing millions of innocent Russian citizens. Forced to act, Russia declares war on the evil Joe Biden, and will send weapons of mass destruction into the US. The only hope is that Donald Trump re-takes the White House with foreign aid, to stop the war spreading through-out the world. Can Biden be put down, and Republicans, the party of Abe Lincoln, re-take the White House? ---- ---- Russian war disinformation — from the Bucha massacre to the sinking of the Moskva battleship — keeps growing Yahoo News Zach Dorfman April 15, 2022, 2:10 PM From the run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and throughout the conflict, Moscow has pursued a strategy of aggressive public dissembling, prevarication and disinformation aimed at creating an alternative reality to explain how events have unfolded on the ground. In Russia itself, the rules for even talking about Ukraine have become Orwellian, with citizens now facing lengthy potential prison sentences for simply stating that their country is at war, let alone expressing opposition to it. (The Kremlin-approved term for the conflict is “special military operation,” not war.) While Ukraine has also focused on using social media to showcase its military victories in the conflict and to spread the hortatory powers of its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, the information war fought by Kyiv has been largely reflective of that which can actually be documented. In contrast, Russian state media and top Russian officials have repeatedly propagated an entirely false reality in which Moscow, not Kyiv, is faced with an existential military threat; where Ukrainians, not Russians, are committing horrific war crimes against Ukrainian civilians; where Ukraine is run by neo-Nazis; and where Russia’s war aims are proceeding entirely according to plan. Here are some of the most flagrant falsehoods advanced by Moscow about Russia’s attack on Ukraine: The massive buildup of troops on Ukraine’s border preceding the invasion was for 'training exercises' Beginning last summer, a spike in Russian military personnel and equipment amassing on Ukraine’s border set off alarm bells in Western capitals. Russia repeatedly and strenuously denied that the buildup was for anything other than routine military exercises. Moscow even continued denying its aim to invade Ukraine after troops it had sent to Belarus for joint military drills did not return to Russia after the drills' conclusion. As roughly 200,000 Russian troops swelled on Ukraine’s northern, eastern and southern borders, and an invasion appeared imminent, Russian officials called U.S. warnings about an attack “absurd” and “hysterical” just a few short weeks before Moscow’s aggression sparked the biggest land war in Europe since World War II. Russia’s invasion is operating on schedule and according to plan Moscow has repeatedly claimed that its “special military operation” in Ukraine is proceeding as planned. But this is demonstrably false. Russia’s original plan was to make a lightning strike on the capital, Kyiv, capture or kill Ukrainian leadership and force Ukrainian legislators to vote in a pro-Russia puppet government. But that plan disintegrated amid fierce Ukrainian resistance, including a critical victory at an airport near Kyiv that foiled Russian troops from establishing a beachhead near the capital. Buoyed by these early victories, Ukrainians have managed to beat back Russia’s assault on Kyiv and other major cities such as Kharkiv, preventing Moscow’s forces, so far, from taking those major population centers. Further undercutting the claim that the war is proceeding to plan, up to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed so far, according to NATO estimates, including over half a dozen generals. Ukraine has also claimed responsibility, via rocket attack, for sinking Russia’s Moskva cruiser, the flagship vessel of Russia’s Black Sea fleet and the largest military ship sunk since World War II. (Russia has said the vessel sank because of a storm after catching fire.) Russia, having pulled its troops back entirely from Kyiv and its environs, has refocused its assault on Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Moscow now claims that carving that region out of Ukraine to create an independent statelet — in reality a Russia puppet regime — was always its primary war aim. But this is a wholesale rewriting of very recent history in which Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that the central goal was the “de-Nazification” of the whole of Ukraine. The Ukrainian government is run by neo-Nazis Members of the Ukrainian Azov Battalion in Kharkiv Members of the Ukrainian Azov Battalion in Kharkiv. (Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images) Putin’s attempts to link Ukraine with Nazism have also proved a stretch. Russia has claimed that the Ukrainian government is an outlaw state run by neo-Nazi extremists. In fact, Zelensky is Jewish and won election in 2019 as a moderate. And though Ukraine has struggled with corruption, its government is squarely mainstream in nature — and, in fact, far less right-wing than some European states like Hungary. Russia’s reference to “neo-Nazis” seems to spring from the activities of the Azov Battalian, a Ukrainian militant group with neo-fascist leanings that was integrated into Ukraine’s national guard in 2014. But Azov affiliates make up a tiny percentage of Ukraine’s total military forces, and Azov’s own leadership has sought to distance the organization from its more overtly neo-fascist past. Moreover, Russia’s purported “de-Nazification” objectives ring particularly hollow since Russia has employed its own neo-fascist paramilitary operatives to fight in Ukraine, including the Wagner Group, which is closely connected to the Russian government, and the Russian Imperial Movement, which the U.S. designated a terrorist group in 2020. The massacre in Bucha was staged (and if it's not, Ukraine is to blame) French forensic investigators French forensic investigators oversee workers carrying a body bag exhumed from a mass grave in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images) After Russian troops retreated from the Kyiv region, Ukrainian forces fanned out across the city’s suburbs, which had seen some of the heaviest fighting of the war. What the Ukrainians discovered shocked them as well as much of the world: widespread evidence of war crimes and atrocities committed by Russian forces. Russian forces in Bucha appeared to have wantonly executed people it knew to be civilians, including women and children, and forced women into sex slavery. Russia immediately offered a series of contradictory explanations for the scenes in Bucha: that Russian troops had left the town before the killings began (which was false); that the killings were staged (false); and that if the killings were real, the massacre was a “false flag” by the Ukrainians (also false). In fact, the transference of blame to Ukraine for Russia’s own heinous actions has been a hallmark of the war. Russia also claimed that its attack on the Kramatorsk train station, which killed over 50 civilians trying to flee violence in Ukraine’s east, was committed by the Ukrainians themselves. And Russia has a long history of attempting to commit false flag operations to misattribute blame for the war. In the run-up to the invasion, these included plans for a staged, or even real, chemical attack perpetrated by Russia in eastern Ukraine that U.S. officials warned was going to be made to look like the work of Kyiv’s forces, in order to provide Moscow with a casus belli. Moscow has also claimed, without any evidence, that the U.S. is planning on using an army of infected birds to send bioweapons into Russia. U.S. officials have continued to worry that Russia will employ chemical weapons and blame their use on Ukraine. | |
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