Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
December 6, 2024
Trump ushers in a Christian "deep state": MAGA moves to gut the Constitution
Trump gave control of the budget to a Project 2025 henchman who calls this a "post-constitutional moment"
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published December 6, 2024 5:45AM (EST)
(Salon) Far-right pastor Lance Wallnau is incredibly upset over the burgeoning controversies regarding Donald Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. No, he's not angry about reports that Hegseth paid off a woman who accused him of rape, or about the repeated adulteries and other marital cruelties detailed in a 2018 letter his mother wrote to him. Nor is Wallnau concerned with the growing pile of stories suggesting Hegseth has a severe drinking problem. Wallnau's just mad that an email detailing some of these issues exists.
....(snip)....
https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1863966391595892900
Wallnau, a close Trump ally whose robust social media presence helped drive the mob on January 6, isn't just mindlessly defending Trump's nominees. He's especially gung-ho about Hegseth because the two men are deeply entwined with the Christian nationalist movement, which believes the purpose of the U.S. government should be to enforce far-right Christianity on not just Americans, but the whole world. It's not just Hegseth's tattoos that indicate his allegiance to this theocratic ideology. He recently joined a church run by Doug Wilson, a proud Christian nationalist who argues "secularism is a hollow construct" and should be replaced by a government-run according to the dictates of "evangelical Protestantism." Using Trump to grant control of federal powers — especially those that can be enforced with guns — is central to this plan.
On Thursday, Marianna Sotomayor wrote in the Washington Post that Trump's policy agenda will face the obstacle of "narrow and ideologically fractured majority" Republicans have in the House. The GOP only has two more seats than Democrats. Getting all 220 to take votes on Trump's radical plans will be hard, if not impossible, as many represent purple districts and could easily lose in 2026 if they march in lockstep behind Trump.
But that doesn't bother the Christian nationalist leaders who back Trump, because the plan was always to reduce Congress to a ceremonial body and concentrate all the power in the hands of the president. During the campaign, much attention was paid to the disparate policy ideas in Project 2025. Less discussed was the overarching theme of the plan, which was to turn the presidency into something very much like a dictatorship. Russell Vought, the architect of Project 2025, is a Christian nationalist who believes the federal government's job is to impose a "biblical worldview" by fiat, which means sidestepping the House, whose members face biennial accountability with voters. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/06/ushers-in-a-christian-deep-state-maga-moves-to-gut-the-constitution/
Trump ushers in a Christian "deep state": MAGA moves to gut the Constitution
Trump ushers in a Christian "deep state": MAGA moves to gut the Constitution
Trump gave control of the budget to a Project 2025 henchman who calls this a "post-constitutional moment"
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published December 6, 2024 5:45AM (EST)
(Salon) Far-right pastor Lance Wallnau is incredibly upset over the burgeoning controversies regarding Donald Trump's nominee for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. No, he's not angry about reports that Hegseth paid off a woman who accused him of rape, or about the repeated adulteries and other marital cruelties detailed in a 2018 letter his mother wrote to him. Nor is Wallnau concerned with the growing pile of stories suggesting Hegseth has a severe drinking problem. Wallnau's just mad that an email detailing some of these issues exists.
....(snip)....
https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1863966391595892900
Wallnau, a close Trump ally whose robust social media presence helped drive the mob on January 6, isn't just mindlessly defending Trump's nominees. He's especially gung-ho about Hegseth because the two men are deeply entwined with the Christian nationalist movement, which believes the purpose of the U.S. government should be to enforce far-right Christianity on not just Americans, but the whole world. It's not just Hegseth's tattoos that indicate his allegiance to this theocratic ideology. He recently joined a church run by Doug Wilson, a proud Christian nationalist who argues "secularism is a hollow construct" and should be replaced by a government-run according to the dictates of "evangelical Protestantism." Using Trump to grant control of federal powers — especially those that can be enforced with guns — is central to this plan.
On Thursday, Marianna Sotomayor wrote in the Washington Post that Trump's policy agenda will face the obstacle of "narrow and ideologically fractured majority" Republicans have in the House. The GOP only has two more seats than Democrats. Getting all 220 to take votes on Trump's radical plans will be hard, if not impossible, as many represent purple districts and could easily lose in 2026 if they march in lockstep behind Trump.
But that doesn't bother the Christian nationalist leaders who back Trump, because the plan was always to reduce Congress to a ceremonial body and concentrate all the power in the hands of the president. During the campaign, much attention was paid to the disparate policy ideas in Project 2025. Less discussed was the overarching theme of the plan, which was to turn the presidency into something very much like a dictatorship. Russell Vought, the architect of Project 2025, is a Christian nationalist who believes the federal government's job is to impose a "biblical worldview" by fiat, which means sidestepping the House, whose members face biennial accountability with voters. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/06/ushers-in-a-christian-deep-state-maga-moves-to-gut-the-constitution/
December 5, 2024
Gaetz gone, Hegseth going? It turns out repeated accusations of abuse and harassment don't look great on a résumé
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published December 5, 2024 6:00AM (EST)
(Salon) While this was never explicitly stated, one of Donald Trump's most obvious campaign promises to his mostly-male fan base was that he could bring American women to heel. From threats to "protect" women "whether the women like it or not" to his tour of "manosphere" podcasts to bemoaning the supposed victimization of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, the message of Trump '24 was simple: In his presidency, women will shut up and make you a sandwich. Like most Trump promises, whether spoken out loud or just implied, it was a lie. But as soon as he won the election, Trump tried to create the appearance of a new era of misogynist triumph by nominating Cabinet members credibly accused of rape and other forms of sexual misconduct.
....(snip)....
The case that's currently dominating the news cycle, however, is that of Pete Hegseth. Trump, in maximum-troll mode, selected this Fox News pretty boy to run the Defense Department, the nation's largest employer, with nearly 3.5 million enlisted and civilian personnel. It was swiftly revealed that Hegseth had settled out of court with a woman who accused him of rape in 2017. In recent days, we've learned about repeated adulteries, sexual harassment at his veterans' organization, and a 2018 letter from his mother accusing him of being an "abuser of women." As I reported on Monday, Hegseth, who is now on his third marriage, belongs to a Christian nationalist church that preaches an extreme form of female submission.
As Leigh Gilmore, the author of “The #MeToo Effect: What Happens When We Believe Women," told the New York Times, this kind of backstory is "appealing" to Trump, because "it normalizes his own behavior." Trump has been accused of sexual abuse or harassment by more than two dozen women, and was found liable for sexual assault in a civil trial last year. He almost certainly thinks that nominating someone like Hegseth is a winner with much of his base, especially the loud online contingent of men who constantly gripe about feminism. But this pro-creep agenda has already begun to backfire on Trump, weakening him politically weeks before he's even sworn into office.
....(snip)....
That's likely smart politics from Hegseth, because Trump clearly believes that pushing Kavanaugh onto the court, despite the fact that most Americans believed the allegation, was one of his greatest political triumphs. But Hegseth also talked out of both sides of his mouth, claiming, on one hand, that the poorly defined allegations against him are "made up" while also admitting to "kernels of truth." That gets at the heart of why the Kavanaugh hearings have become heroic mythology in the MAGA world. The Trumpist anger isn't over "false" accusations — it's anger that women have any right to make accusations, regardless of the truth. To complain about being "Kavanaughed" is to express outrage that women are allowed to speak up at all. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/05/wanted-to-build-an-anti-metoo-cabinet--but-its-backfiring-badly/
Trump wanted to build an anti-#MeToo Cabinet -- but it's backfiring badly
Trump wanted to build an anti-#MeToo Cabinet — but it's backfiring badlyGaetz gone, Hegseth going? It turns out repeated accusations of abuse and harassment don't look great on a résumé
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published December 5, 2024 6:00AM (EST)
(Salon) While this was never explicitly stated, one of Donald Trump's most obvious campaign promises to his mostly-male fan base was that he could bring American women to heel. From threats to "protect" women "whether the women like it or not" to his tour of "manosphere" podcasts to bemoaning the supposed victimization of convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, the message of Trump '24 was simple: In his presidency, women will shut up and make you a sandwich. Like most Trump promises, whether spoken out loud or just implied, it was a lie. But as soon as he won the election, Trump tried to create the appearance of a new era of misogynist triumph by nominating Cabinet members credibly accused of rape and other forms of sexual misconduct.
....(snip)....
The case that's currently dominating the news cycle, however, is that of Pete Hegseth. Trump, in maximum-troll mode, selected this Fox News pretty boy to run the Defense Department, the nation's largest employer, with nearly 3.5 million enlisted and civilian personnel. It was swiftly revealed that Hegseth had settled out of court with a woman who accused him of rape in 2017. In recent days, we've learned about repeated adulteries, sexual harassment at his veterans' organization, and a 2018 letter from his mother accusing him of being an "abuser of women." As I reported on Monday, Hegseth, who is now on his third marriage, belongs to a Christian nationalist church that preaches an extreme form of female submission.
As Leigh Gilmore, the author of “The #MeToo Effect: What Happens When We Believe Women," told the New York Times, this kind of backstory is "appealing" to Trump, because "it normalizes his own behavior." Trump has been accused of sexual abuse or harassment by more than two dozen women, and was found liable for sexual assault in a civil trial last year. He almost certainly thinks that nominating someone like Hegseth is a winner with much of his base, especially the loud online contingent of men who constantly gripe about feminism. But this pro-creep agenda has already begun to backfire on Trump, weakening him politically weeks before he's even sworn into office.
....(snip)....
That's likely smart politics from Hegseth, because Trump clearly believes that pushing Kavanaugh onto the court, despite the fact that most Americans believed the allegation, was one of his greatest political triumphs. But Hegseth also talked out of both sides of his mouth, claiming, on one hand, that the poorly defined allegations against him are "made up" while also admitting to "kernels of truth." That gets at the heart of why the Kavanaugh hearings have become heroic mythology in the MAGA world. The Trumpist anger isn't over "false" accusations — it's anger that women have any right to make accusations, regardless of the truth. To complain about being "Kavanaughed" is to express outrage that women are allowed to speak up at all. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/05/wanted-to-build-an-anti-metoo-cabinet--but-its-backfiring-badly/
December 5, 2024
Without a voting public to face again, Trump is gearing up to cut Social Security and Medicare
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published December 4, 2024 9:09AM (EST)
(Salon) There are a thousand election hot takes and post-mortems floating around these days and I'm sure we'll soon come to some consensus about what drove the Trump victory (now down to a whopping 1.48% margin and shrinking.) But if there's one thing we do know it's that he won both of his elections at least in part by shedding some Republican Party orthodoxy that had been bringing the GOP down for ages. He knows a third rail when he sees one.
....(snip)....
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/596338364187602944
He lied. His proposed budgets cut the programs every year he was in office. As Vox reported back in 2019:
....(snip)....
That last budget was put together by the man Trump is bringing back as his Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and one of the principal authors of Project 2025, Russell Vought. It's highly questionable whether Vought will be as circumspect about the plans to cut the programs this time or whether Trump will care because all of that was predicated on Trump's need to run for office again. Without that hanging over their heads they have no need to hold back. Republicans have wanted to do away with those programs since they were first passed. This may be their chance to finally get it done.
....(snip)....
It's the same old story. In fact, the last time they tried this after President George W. Bush declared he had a mandate from his re-election victory, it ushered in a massive Democratic congressional takeover in the midterms and a two-term Democratic presidency. The financial crisis hit and everyone in America saw the wisdom of having at least a portion of their old age or disability safety net guaranteed by the government instead of Wall Street. I suppose it's possible that it's ancient history to a lot of people but I kind of doubt it is for anyone over 50. ....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/04/donald-is-ready-to-make-touch-the-third-rail/
Donald Trump is ready to make Republicans touch the third rail
Donald Trump is ready to make Republicans touch the third railWithout a voting public to face again, Trump is gearing up to cut Social Security and Medicare
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published December 4, 2024 9:09AM (EST)
(Salon) There are a thousand election hot takes and post-mortems floating around these days and I'm sure we'll soon come to some consensus about what drove the Trump victory (now down to a whopping 1.48% margin and shrinking.) But if there's one thing we do know it's that he won both of his elections at least in part by shedding some Republican Party orthodoxy that had been bringing the GOP down for ages. He knows a third rail when he sees one.
....(snip)....
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/596338364187602944
He lied. His proposed budgets cut the programs every year he was in office. As Vox reported back in 2019:
Over the next 10 years, Trump’s 2020 budget proposal aims to spend $1.5 trillion less on Medicaid — instead allocating $1.2 trillion in a block-grant program to states — $25 billion less on Social Security, and $845 billion less on Medicare (some of that is reclassified to a different department). Their intentions are to cut benefits under Medicaid and Social Security.
....(snip)....
That last budget was put together by the man Trump is bringing back as his Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and one of the principal authors of Project 2025, Russell Vought. It's highly questionable whether Vought will be as circumspect about the plans to cut the programs this time or whether Trump will care because all of that was predicated on Trump's need to run for office again. Without that hanging over their heads they have no need to hold back. Republicans have wanted to do away with those programs since they were first passed. This may be their chance to finally get it done.
....(snip)....
It's the same old story. In fact, the last time they tried this after President George W. Bush declared he had a mandate from his re-election victory, it ushered in a massive Democratic congressional takeover in the midterms and a two-term Democratic presidency. The financial crisis hit and everyone in America saw the wisdom of having at least a portion of their old age or disability safety net guaranteed by the government instead of Wall Street. I suppose it's possible that it's ancient history to a lot of people but I kind of doubt it is for anyone over 50. ....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/04/donald-is-ready-to-make-touch-the-third-rail/
December 4, 2024
Musk is leading MAGA into a "cowardly troll" era
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published December 4, 2024 6:00AM (EST)
(Salon) Shortly after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, he announced, with great fanfare, that billionaire Elon Musk and professional troll Vivek Ramaswamy were being put in charge of a "government efficiency" program. Despite all the hype, however, there were immediate signs that this effort may not be as serious as Musk and Ramaswamy implied with their relentless chest-beating about "cuts" and "deleting" entire agencies. The name — Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — sounds very official, but it's just a reference to a dumb meme that Musk is obsessed with, despite being about four decades too old for it.
More importantly, it's not a real department. It's a "presidential advisory committee," which sounds very official, but isn't compensated and doesn't come with any real power. These committees have a long history of being used to create the appearance of "doing something" while doing nothing — President Joe Biden killed the judicial reform debate with this tactic. Of course, Trump, being an authoritarian who loathes democracy, loves using unofficial advisors and outside powers. It's reasonable to worry that DOGE will have more power than such committees usually have. However, Musk's behavior on Twitter is a strong sign that he, at least, is starting to worry that DOGE is a toothless initiative.
Musk has been harassing individual federal employees, by name, on Twitter. They mostly seem to be women, chosen at random because he appears to find their job titles annoying. As CNN reports, "Several current federal employees told CNN they’re afraid their lives will be forever changed – including physically threatened – as Musk makes behind-the-scenes bureaucrats into personal targets." Musk understands that his fan base of Twitter followers is composed mostly of men like himself, whose arrested development manifests in a toxic combination of cowardice and sadism. Which is to say, the kind of people who think it's fun to randomly harass people online to distract themselves from their own inadequacies. At least one employee was driven to delete her social media accounts.
....(snip)....
But, of course, Musk's hostility to federal workers was never actually about money. Like most things Elon, it's about the narcissistic drama of a man who may be richer than everyone else on earth but seems unable to shake the sense that he's a loser. That much is evident in his accusation that the jobs of his victims are "fake." In reality, these federal employees are doing socially necessary work. One target, for instance, works in climate diversification, which is about making sure transitions to clean energy can be done without people losing jobs or disruptions to the food supply chain. People in jobs like that are often highly educated and talented people who take lower salaries as government employees because they prioritize meaningful work that helps people over money. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/04/elon-musks-twitter-harassment-of-employees-shows-doge-is-weaker-than-he-pretends/
Elon Musk's Twitter harassment of federal employees shows "DOGE" is weaker than he pretends
Elon Musk's Twitter harassment of federal employees shows "DOGE" is weaker than he pretendsMusk is leading MAGA into a "cowardly troll" era
By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published December 4, 2024 6:00AM (EST)
(Salon) Shortly after Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, he announced, with great fanfare, that billionaire Elon Musk and professional troll Vivek Ramaswamy were being put in charge of a "government efficiency" program. Despite all the hype, however, there were immediate signs that this effort may not be as serious as Musk and Ramaswamy implied with their relentless chest-beating about "cuts" and "deleting" entire agencies. The name — Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — sounds very official, but it's just a reference to a dumb meme that Musk is obsessed with, despite being about four decades too old for it.
More importantly, it's not a real department. It's a "presidential advisory committee," which sounds very official, but isn't compensated and doesn't come with any real power. These committees have a long history of being used to create the appearance of "doing something" while doing nothing — President Joe Biden killed the judicial reform debate with this tactic. Of course, Trump, being an authoritarian who loathes democracy, loves using unofficial advisors and outside powers. It's reasonable to worry that DOGE will have more power than such committees usually have. However, Musk's behavior on Twitter is a strong sign that he, at least, is starting to worry that DOGE is a toothless initiative.
Musk has been harassing individual federal employees, by name, on Twitter. They mostly seem to be women, chosen at random because he appears to find their job titles annoying. As CNN reports, "Several current federal employees told CNN they’re afraid their lives will be forever changed – including physically threatened – as Musk makes behind-the-scenes bureaucrats into personal targets." Musk understands that his fan base of Twitter followers is composed mostly of men like himself, whose arrested development manifests in a toxic combination of cowardice and sadism. Which is to say, the kind of people who think it's fun to randomly harass people online to distract themselves from their own inadequacies. At least one employee was driven to delete her social media accounts.
....(snip)....
But, of course, Musk's hostility to federal workers was never actually about money. Like most things Elon, it's about the narcissistic drama of a man who may be richer than everyone else on earth but seems unable to shake the sense that he's a loser. That much is evident in his accusation that the jobs of his victims are "fake." In reality, these federal employees are doing socially necessary work. One target, for instance, works in climate diversification, which is about making sure transitions to clean energy can be done without people losing jobs or disruptions to the food supply chain. People in jobs like that are often highly educated and talented people who take lower salaries as government employees because they prioritize meaningful work that helps people over money. ...............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/04/elon-musks-twitter-harassment-of-employees-shows-doge-is-weaker-than-he-pretends/
December 4, 2024
Ridership on LA Metro buses and trains rose above 1 million in October for the second month in a row, spurred in part by weekend leisure riders and stepped up patrols and other amplified security measures, the transit agency reported on Thursday, Nov. 21.
The average weekday ridership reached 1,025,262, the highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic. This also marks the second month in a row when the agency surpassed the one million rider mark.
The ridership in October increased for the 23rd consecutive month of year-over-year ridership, the agency reported.
Overall weekday ridership is at 86% of pre-Covid pandemic levels from October 2019. Ridership on Saturdays and Sundays continued very high, at 98% of pre-pandemic boardings. Sunday ridership surpassed the October 2019 levels. .................(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/news/55245901/ca-la-metro-ridership-increases-for-the-23rd-consecutive-month-in-october
Los Angeles: Metro ridership increases for the 23rd consecutive month in October
Ridership on LA Metro buses and trains rose above 1 million in October for the second month in a row, spurred in part by weekend leisure riders and stepped up patrols and other amplified security measures, the transit agency reported on Thursday, Nov. 21.
The average weekday ridership reached 1,025,262, the highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic. This also marks the second month in a row when the agency surpassed the one million rider mark.
The ridership in October increased for the 23rd consecutive month of year-over-year ridership, the agency reported.
Overall weekday ridership is at 86% of pre-Covid pandemic levels from October 2019. Ridership on Saturdays and Sundays continued very high, at 98% of pre-pandemic boardings. Sunday ridership surpassed the October 2019 levels. .................(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/management/news/55245901/ca-la-metro-ridership-increases-for-the-23rd-consecutive-month-in-october
December 4, 2024
Joe Biden’s Hunter lesson: The political high road is a mirage
Trump has gone to war against the America we have known. Democrats must be prepared to use any weapon to fight back
By Lucian K. Truscott IV
Columnist
Published December 3, 2024 8:57AM (EST)
(Salon) How quickly we forget. On the morn of President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, there is nary a column inch about who Trump pardoned before he left office. All the pearl clutchers — elected Democrats and liberal political commentators alike – have been lamenting that Biden “lied” or “broke his promise” not to pardon his son. Meanwhile, Trump’s pardons of multiple figures who could incriminate him criminally or merely for political corruption are going unmentioned. So, let’s take a little trip down the Trump pardon memory hole:
We will start with the odious Paul Manafort. He had all kinds of connections to possible Trump crimes. Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska hired him to run his influence operation in Ukraine, which included lobbying for an accused murderer seeking investment opportunities for his corrupt company, as well as running the political campaign of Viktor Yanukovych, the corrupt Ukrainian politician who would be elected president and then ousted in a peaceful revolution. Manafort met repeatedly with a Russian GRU agent working for Deripaska, Konstantin Kilimnik, while serving as Trump’s 2016 campaign manager and even transferred Trump polling information to him. Manafort was convicted on multiple counts of bank fraud and money laundering associated with his corrupt work in Ukraine. He lied to investigators looking into Trump’s Russia ties. He had connections to Trump’s so-called foreign policy adviser, Michael Flynn, whom Trump appointed as his first national security adviser, and who was ousted from that position after serving just two weeks for lying to the FBI about his connections to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Trump pardoned Flynn, too.
....(snip)....
Are we seeing a pattern here? You bet. Each of Trump’s pardons listed above was to benefit himself. During his time in the White House, Trump repeatedly waved the promise of pardons to keep his co-conspirators from cooperating with investigations he faced. Shutting up Manafort alone helped him in his first impeachment for attempting to blackmail Ukrainian President Zelenskyy into opening a fake investigation in Ukraine of Joe Biden and his son Hunter. This created a savage backlash against Hunter Biden that was carried out for years by James Comer and his House Oversight Committee, which held countless hearings into what Comer called the “Biden crime family.”
....(snip)....
It is a cliché to say that the gloves are off, but that is the situation Donald Trump has purposefully created. He has threatened to investigate and prosecute anyone who was ever involved in investigating and prosecuting him. That would include Robert Mueller and his entire team of investigators and federal prosecutors. Of course, special counsel Jack Smith and his entire office, which includes FBI investigators and federal prosecutors, some of whom came out of retirement to work on the Trump investigation, are on Trump’s list for retribution. Kash Patel, Trump’s prospective FBI Director, has given several interviews about his plans to investigate anyone who has ever so much as picked up a pencil to bother his master. ....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/03/joe-bidens-hunter-lesson-the-political-high-road-is-a-mirage/
The political high road is a mirage
Joe Biden’s Hunter lesson: The political high road is a mirage
Trump has gone to war against the America we have known. Democrats must be prepared to use any weapon to fight back
By Lucian K. Truscott IV
Columnist
Published December 3, 2024 8:57AM (EST)
(Salon) How quickly we forget. On the morn of President Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, there is nary a column inch about who Trump pardoned before he left office. All the pearl clutchers — elected Democrats and liberal political commentators alike – have been lamenting that Biden “lied” or “broke his promise” not to pardon his son. Meanwhile, Trump’s pardons of multiple figures who could incriminate him criminally or merely for political corruption are going unmentioned. So, let’s take a little trip down the Trump pardon memory hole:
We will start with the odious Paul Manafort. He had all kinds of connections to possible Trump crimes. Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska hired him to run his influence operation in Ukraine, which included lobbying for an accused murderer seeking investment opportunities for his corrupt company, as well as running the political campaign of Viktor Yanukovych, the corrupt Ukrainian politician who would be elected president and then ousted in a peaceful revolution. Manafort met repeatedly with a Russian GRU agent working for Deripaska, Konstantin Kilimnik, while serving as Trump’s 2016 campaign manager and even transferred Trump polling information to him. Manafort was convicted on multiple counts of bank fraud and money laundering associated with his corrupt work in Ukraine. He lied to investigators looking into Trump’s Russia ties. He had connections to Trump’s so-called foreign policy adviser, Michael Flynn, whom Trump appointed as his first national security adviser, and who was ousted from that position after serving just two weeks for lying to the FBI about his connections to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
Trump pardoned Flynn, too.
....(snip)....
Are we seeing a pattern here? You bet. Each of Trump’s pardons listed above was to benefit himself. During his time in the White House, Trump repeatedly waved the promise of pardons to keep his co-conspirators from cooperating with investigations he faced. Shutting up Manafort alone helped him in his first impeachment for attempting to blackmail Ukrainian President Zelenskyy into opening a fake investigation in Ukraine of Joe Biden and his son Hunter. This created a savage backlash against Hunter Biden that was carried out for years by James Comer and his House Oversight Committee, which held countless hearings into what Comer called the “Biden crime family.”
....(snip)....
It is a cliché to say that the gloves are off, but that is the situation Donald Trump has purposefully created. He has threatened to investigate and prosecute anyone who was ever involved in investigating and prosecuting him. That would include Robert Mueller and his entire team of investigators and federal prosecutors. Of course, special counsel Jack Smith and his entire office, which includes FBI investigators and federal prosecutors, some of whom came out of retirement to work on the Trump investigation, are on Trump’s list for retribution. Kash Patel, Trump’s prospective FBI Director, has given several interviews about his plans to investigate anyone who has ever so much as picked up a pencil to bother his master. ....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/03/joe-bidens-hunter-lesson-the-political-high-road-is-a-mirage/
December 3, 2024
Polk County, FL - A Central Florida man was arrested after he accidentally forgot the fake identity he used to evade law enforcement, leading to his arrest.
The incident occurred when the suspect, who had previously provided a false name to police during an encounter, was pulled over by Polk County deputies for another traffic violation.
During this stop, he mistakenly used the same false identity but was unable to recall key details about it, prompting officers to realize the deception.
Deputies say 54-year old Richard Hallmark of Winter Haven told a PCSO sergeant during a traffic stop that his name was actually Robert Hallmark. .................(more)
https://wflanews.iheart.com/featured/florida-news/content/2024-12-01-florida-man-arrested-after-forgetting-fake-identity-he-used-to-avoid-arrest/
Florida Man Arrested After Forgetting Fake Identity He Used To Avoid Arrest
Polk County, FL - A Central Florida man was arrested after he accidentally forgot the fake identity he used to evade law enforcement, leading to his arrest.
The incident occurred when the suspect, who had previously provided a false name to police during an encounter, was pulled over by Polk County deputies for another traffic violation.
During this stop, he mistakenly used the same false identity but was unable to recall key details about it, prompting officers to realize the deception.
Deputies say 54-year old Richard Hallmark of Winter Haven told a PCSO sergeant during a traffic stop that his name was actually Robert Hallmark. .................(more)
https://wflanews.iheart.com/featured/florida-news/content/2024-12-01-florida-man-arrested-after-forgetting-fake-identity-he-used-to-avoid-arrest/
December 3, 2024
US v. Skrmetti could slow the wave of anti-trans laws—or tell policymakers it’s “open season.”
Madison Pauly
Reporter
(Mother Jones) In 2016, when Tennessee OBGYN Susan Lacy learned she would be providing gender-affirming care to transgender patients in her new job at a reproductive health clinic in Memphis, she felt out of her depth. But it didn’t take long to realize that hormone treatments for trans folks weren’t so different from those she’d been providing for years to cisgender patients. She already knew how to use pills, patches, gels, and injections, with their different formulations and side effects, to reduce menopausal night sweats, hot flashes, and brain fog. Patients who took hormones for gender dysphoria told her they felt a similar sense of relief. “It didn’t matter about socioeconomics, age, race, feminizing or masculinizing hormone therapy,” Lacy says. Often the first reaction was, “I finally feel like I can think straight.”
Now a gynecologist in solo practice, Lacy has more than 300 adult trans patients. At one time, her patient list also included trans teenagers with the consent of their parents. But last year, Tennessee prohibited the prescription of certain medications to minors to treat the distress many trans people feel when their bodies do not align with their gender identity. Under the law, cisgender kids could keep receiving the meds: puberty blockers for those who start puberty too early, for instance, or testosterone or estrogen for teens who enter puberty late. But if the purpose was to treat gender dysphoria, those same medications were forbidden.
On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a landmark lawsuit challenging the Tennessee ban, brought by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, Lacy, and three trans minors and their families. United States v. Skrmetti is one of the biggest cases of the term and the first major trans-rights case to be heard by the court since far-right lawmakers and policy groups launched a coordinated campaign inundating statehouses with hundreds of anti-trans bills a few years ago. Legal experts say the Skrmetti case could shape the landscape for trans rights for years to come, while testing how far the Court’s conservative supermajority is willing to extend its 2022 decision allowing states to ban abortion: Will the justices give states free reign to outlaw yet another form of healthcare?
“Before treatment, I hid,” one plaintiff, 15-year-old Ryan Roe, wrote in a declaration asking a federal judge to put the ban on hold. But with hormone therapy, “I am raising my hand in class again and participating in all aspects of school. I feel stronger—physically, mentally and emotionally. I feel so happy with myself and that makes me feel like I can do and be more.”
That changed, he added, when Tennessee lawmakers began debating the gender-affirming care ban. “Hopelessness creeped in again.” ...............(more)
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/trans-rights-supreme-court-skrmetti/
This Supreme Court Case Could Change Everything for Trans Rights
This Supreme Court Case Could Change Everything for Trans RightsUS v. Skrmetti could slow the wave of anti-trans laws—or tell policymakers it’s “open season.”
Madison Pauly
Reporter
(Mother Jones) In 2016, when Tennessee OBGYN Susan Lacy learned she would be providing gender-affirming care to transgender patients in her new job at a reproductive health clinic in Memphis, she felt out of her depth. But it didn’t take long to realize that hormone treatments for trans folks weren’t so different from those she’d been providing for years to cisgender patients. She already knew how to use pills, patches, gels, and injections, with their different formulations and side effects, to reduce menopausal night sweats, hot flashes, and brain fog. Patients who took hormones for gender dysphoria told her they felt a similar sense of relief. “It didn’t matter about socioeconomics, age, race, feminizing or masculinizing hormone therapy,” Lacy says. Often the first reaction was, “I finally feel like I can think straight.”
Now a gynecologist in solo practice, Lacy has more than 300 adult trans patients. At one time, her patient list also included trans teenagers with the consent of their parents. But last year, Tennessee prohibited the prescription of certain medications to minors to treat the distress many trans people feel when their bodies do not align with their gender identity. Under the law, cisgender kids could keep receiving the meds: puberty blockers for those who start puberty too early, for instance, or testosterone or estrogen for teens who enter puberty late. But if the purpose was to treat gender dysphoria, those same medications were forbidden.
On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a landmark lawsuit challenging the Tennessee ban, brought by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, Lacy, and three trans minors and their families. United States v. Skrmetti is one of the biggest cases of the term and the first major trans-rights case to be heard by the court since far-right lawmakers and policy groups launched a coordinated campaign inundating statehouses with hundreds of anti-trans bills a few years ago. Legal experts say the Skrmetti case could shape the landscape for trans rights for years to come, while testing how far the Court’s conservative supermajority is willing to extend its 2022 decision allowing states to ban abortion: Will the justices give states free reign to outlaw yet another form of healthcare?
“Before treatment, I hid,” one plaintiff, 15-year-old Ryan Roe, wrote in a declaration asking a federal judge to put the ban on hold. But with hormone therapy, “I am raising my hand in class again and participating in all aspects of school. I feel stronger—physically, mentally and emotionally. I feel so happy with myself and that makes me feel like I can do and be more.”
That changed, he added, when Tennessee lawmakers began debating the gender-affirming care ban. “Hopelessness creeped in again.” ...............(more)
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/12/trans-rights-supreme-court-skrmetti/
December 3, 2024
A sense of persecution is what all of the Trump nominees for law enforcement, intelligence and military share
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published December 2, 2024 9:33AM (EST)
(Salon) Once upon a time, there was a Trump toadie who wrote a fatuous children's book about a good king being persecuted by an evil queen named Hillary Queenton until one day a virtuous wizard comes to his rescue and saves the day:
https://twitter.com/JohnTures2/status/1863026330008264865
One might not think too much of such a silly little project except the "writer" of those books, Kash Patel, has been nominated to run the FBI in the new Trump administration. The story is a thinly veiled narrative of Patel's original claim to fame, working for former congressman Devin Nunes's House Intelligence Committee investigation into the origins of the Russia probe following the 2016 election. The books weren't written to entertain kids. They were written to cozy up to Trump and demonstrate Patel's loyalty by literally portraying Trump as a king.
....(snip)....
All of this assumes that Trump fires the current director Christopher Wray, his own appointee, who still has three years to go on his term. That job is unique in that it was designed to be so above partisan politics that the 10-year term can extend even beyond an 8-year presidency. Presidents have the power to dismiss them but until Trump fired James Comey because he wasn't "loyal" enough to drop the investigation into Russian interference, there had only been one other instance and it involved substantial ethical violations. Trump apparently plans to fire Wray for no reason at all except that he wants to install a personal henchman in the job. The idea of an apolitical FBI Director is no longer operative. From now on, they will always be seen as members of the president's team, something that really was not true until Trump. It almost seems quaint to think about it now.
....(snip)....
The Atlantic published the definitive profile of Patel last year, a piece by Elaina Plott Calabro that delved deeply into his early years growing up in New York and time spent working as a lawyer. He was a public defender for a while and then became a federal prosecutor. Early on he was apparently considered a bit of a showboating lawyer but generally a nice guy. But something happened along the way (beyond his burning ambition). He found himself embarrassed in the courtroom one day and developed an intense grievance against the Justice Department for allegedly failing to defend him in the press. There were other perceived slights that followed and that resentment seems to have fermented into a poisonous hostility toward the institution and the government itself. Like Trump, he believes that he's been persecuted and oppressed and is determined to wreak revenge on all those he believes have wronged him — and wronged the man to whom he has pledged his total fealty, Donald Trump. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/02/the-perceived-persecution-of-kash-patel/
The (perceived) persecution of Kash Patel
The (perceived) persecution of Kash PatelA sense of persecution is what all of the Trump nominees for law enforcement, intelligence and military share
By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published December 2, 2024 9:33AM (EST)
(Salon) Once upon a time, there was a Trump toadie who wrote a fatuous children's book about a good king being persecuted by an evil queen named Hillary Queenton until one day a virtuous wizard comes to his rescue and saves the day:
https://twitter.com/JohnTures2/status/1863026330008264865
One might not think too much of such a silly little project except the "writer" of those books, Kash Patel, has been nominated to run the FBI in the new Trump administration. The story is a thinly veiled narrative of Patel's original claim to fame, working for former congressman Devin Nunes's House Intelligence Committee investigation into the origins of the Russia probe following the 2016 election. The books weren't written to entertain kids. They were written to cozy up to Trump and demonstrate Patel's loyalty by literally portraying Trump as a king.
....(snip)....
All of this assumes that Trump fires the current director Christopher Wray, his own appointee, who still has three years to go on his term. That job is unique in that it was designed to be so above partisan politics that the 10-year term can extend even beyond an 8-year presidency. Presidents have the power to dismiss them but until Trump fired James Comey because he wasn't "loyal" enough to drop the investigation into Russian interference, there had only been one other instance and it involved substantial ethical violations. Trump apparently plans to fire Wray for no reason at all except that he wants to install a personal henchman in the job. The idea of an apolitical FBI Director is no longer operative. From now on, they will always be seen as members of the president's team, something that really was not true until Trump. It almost seems quaint to think about it now.
....(snip)....
The Atlantic published the definitive profile of Patel last year, a piece by Elaina Plott Calabro that delved deeply into his early years growing up in New York and time spent working as a lawyer. He was a public defender for a while and then became a federal prosecutor. Early on he was apparently considered a bit of a showboating lawyer but generally a nice guy. But something happened along the way (beyond his burning ambition). He found himself embarrassed in the courtroom one day and developed an intense grievance against the Justice Department for allegedly failing to defend him in the press. There were other perceived slights that followed and that resentment seems to have fermented into a poisonous hostility toward the institution and the government itself. Like Trump, he believes that he's been persecuted and oppressed and is determined to wreak revenge on all those he believes have wronged him — and wronged the man to whom he has pledged his total fealty, Donald Trump. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2024/12/02/the-perceived-persecution-of-kash-patel/
December 2, 2024
A controversial refereeing decision sparked violence and a crush at a soccer match in southeast Guinea, killing 56 people, according to a provisional toll, the government said on Monday, as a witness described scenes of chaos.
The fatalities occurred during the final of a tournament in honour of Guinea's military leader Mamady Doumbouya at a stadium in Nzerekore, one of the West African nation's largest cities.
Fans threw stones, triggering panic and a crush, the government statement said, promising an investigation.
A witness, who had attended the match, said a disputed red card in the 82nd minute of the match kicked off the violence. .................(more)
https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/42732228/guinea-stadium-crush-kills-56-people-disputed-refereeing-decision
Guinea stadium crush kills 56 people after disputed refereeing decision
A controversial refereeing decision sparked violence and a crush at a soccer match in southeast Guinea, killing 56 people, according to a provisional toll, the government said on Monday, as a witness described scenes of chaos.
The fatalities occurred during the final of a tournament in honour of Guinea's military leader Mamady Doumbouya at a stadium in Nzerekore, one of the West African nation's largest cities.
Fans threw stones, triggering panic and a crush, the government statement said, promising an investigation.
A witness, who had attended the match, said a disputed red card in the 82nd minute of the match kicked off the violence. .................(more)
https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/42732228/guinea-stadium-crush-kills-56-people-disputed-refereeing-decision
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit, MI
Member since: Thu Oct 28, 2004, 11:18 PM
Number of posts: 78,054