Demovictory9
Demovictory9's JournalBrits Can't Believe U.S. Health Care Costs In Viral Video: 'Shut The Fridge!'
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/health-care-costs-british-reaction_n_5de7961ee4b00149f738aa9eBrits Can’t Believe U.S. Health Care Costs In Viral Video: ‘Shut The Fridge!’
“Man, so if you’re poor, you’re dead,” one woman said after finding out how much an inhaler would cost.
https://twitter.com/PoliticsJOE_UK/status/1201826927520161792
Republicans Confirm Lifetime Federal Judge Opposed To Fertility Treatments
Republicans Confirm Lifetime Federal Judge Opposed To Fertility Treatments
Sarah Pitlyk has claimed that IVF and surrogacy have “grave effects on society” and lead to “diminished respect for motherhood.”
WASHINGTON ― Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to confirm Sarah Pitlyk to a lifetime seat on a federal court, despite her extreme views on fertility treatments having “grave effects on society” and her unanimous “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association.
Every Republican present but one, Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), voted to put Pitlyk, 42, onto the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Every Democrat present opposed her. The final tally was 49-44.
Pitlyk, who is special counsel to the Thomas More Society, a conservative, anti-abortion law firm based in Chicago, argued in a 2017 amicus brief that in vitro fertilization, or IVF, and surrogacy lead to “diminished respect for motherhood and the unique mother-child bond; exploitation of women; commodification of gestation and of children themselves; and weakening of appropriate social mores against eugenic abortion.”
In a related 2017 interview with the National Catholic Register, she said that “surrogacy is harmful to mothers and children, so it’s a practice society should not be enforcing.”
Nearly one in six U.S. couples face infertility, according to a 2014 National Institutes of Health study. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) is among them. She had been urging her colleagues to oppose Pitlyk over her “deeply insulting” views on fertility treatment.
“As a mother who struggled with infertility for years and required IVF to start my family, I would be one of the many Americans who could never enter Ms. Pitlyk’s courtroom with any reasonable expectation that my case would be adjudicated in a fair and impartial manner,” Duckworth wrote in a letter to her 99 Senate colleagues.
Pitlyk fits the mold of many of President Donald Trump’s court picks: young, white and a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers’ group that has served as a pipeline for judges for this White House. Most Federalist Society-backed nominees also tend to have records of opposing abortion, LGBTQ rights and voting rights.
In private practice and in her work at the Thomas More Society, Pitlyk built a clear record of attacking reproductive rights. She defended anti-abortion activist David Daleiden, who broke federal and state laws by secretly recording and deceptively editing videos that falsely claimed to expose Planned Parenthood’s illegal sale of fetal tissue. She defended Iowa’s six-week abortion ban that was later struck down as unconstitutional. In another case, Pitlyk argued that it is “scientific fact” that “human life begins at the moment when a human sperm fertilizes a human egg.” (It is not scientific fact.)
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sarah-pitlyk-trump-judge-fertility-treatment_n_5de7fd1ee4b0913e6f89d850
U.S. allies, tired of flattering Trump, now mock him - 1st US prez ever mocked at NATO summit
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-12-04/u-s-allies-tired-of-flattering-trump-now-mock-himWATFORD, England — President Trump, who views norms like a teenager does curfews, shattered another tradition Wednesday when he became the first U.S. president to be laughed at by some of America’s closest allies at a NATO summit, a sign of his increasing isolation on the world stage.
Trump, who long has claimed his leadership has brought unprecedented respect to the United States, was not amused. He called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “two-faced,” scrubbed a scheduled news conference and headed for the airport.
The contretemps seemed a fitting finale to a contentious two-day summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the 29-nation military alliance that is struggling with internal rifts, Europe’s shifting political currents and Trump’s open clashes with America’s political and military allies over a host of issues.
During joint appearances over the last three years, world leaders have largely stood silently and patiently while Trump lavished praise on his self-described achievements and bitterly attacked his perceived enemies. On Tuesday, Trump vented to reporters about impeachment, Democrats and other vexations for more than two hours during his supposed private meetings with other leaders.
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Trump has long galvanized his supporters with the dubious claim that other countries laughed at previous presidents, but that they now respect him and the United States as never before.
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Leaders have gone from flattering Trump, to trying to accommodate him, to tolerating him, to trying to ignore him. They still need him, given America’s power and authority, but more often, they try to keep interactions at an arm’s length.
George Zimmerman suing family of Trayvon Martin, others for $100 million
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/George-Zimmerman-suing-family-of-Trayvon-Martin-14881816.php
George Zimmerman is suing the parents of Trayvon Martin, attorney Benjamin Crump and others for $100 million.
In the lawsuit, which was filed in Polk County, Florida, Zimmerman claims evidence presented in his 2012 homicide trial for the fatal shooting of Martin was false.
Zimmerman is represented by Larry Klayman, an American right-wing activist lawyer and former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor.
The lawsuit cites a documentary about the case that accuses Martin’s family of falsifying testimony. A press conference detailing the lawsuit, along with a showing of the documentary, are scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday.
The press conference was announced by the film’s director, Joel Gilbert.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was acquitted in the shooting of Trayvon Martin on the grounds of self-defense. The case sparked protests and a national debate about race relations. The Justice Department later decided not to prosecute Zimmerman on civil rights charges.
The lawsuit alleges that the prosecution's key witness in Zimmerman’s 2013 murder trial, Rachel Jeantel, was “an imposter and fake witness.”
William Barr says 'communities' that protest cops could lose 'the police protection they need'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/04/william-barr-police-protests-communities-race/Speaking to a roomful of police officers and prosecutors on Tuesday, Attorney General William P. Barr drew a parallel between protests against soldiers during the Vietnam War and demonstrations against law enforcement today.
But this time, he suggested, those who don’t show “respect” to authority could lose access to police services.
“Today, the Americans people have to focus on something else, which is the sacrifice and the service that is given by our law enforcement officers. And they have to start showing, more than they do, the respect and support that law enforcement deserves,” Barr said in pointed remarks delivered at a Justice Department ceremony to honor police officers.
Barr added that “if communities don’t give that support and respect, they might find themselves without the police protection they need.”
While Barr didn’t specify what “communities” he was referencing, activists decried his speech as a clear attack on minorities who have protested against police brutality and other racially skewed law enforcement abuses.
“Barr’s words are as revealing as they are disturbing ― flagrantly dismissive of the rights of Americans of color, disrespectful to countless law enforcement officers who work hard to serve their communities, and full of a continuing disregard for the rule of law,” Jeb Fain, a spokesperson for liberal super PAC American Bridge, told HuffPost, which first reported on the comments.
well.. someone is going to be embarrassed when they sober up.
https://twitter.com/D0ugLyfe/status/1201272862969126913Wow So I just left my local police station the 44th police precinct to be exact and White Officer Jocaby told me this is not assault and she wasn’t racist she only called me a nigger one time and I was following her 🤯😤🤯
— Fake Woke Black Person (@D0ugLyfe) December 2, 2019
He also added, “He also went on to say she only harassed me so when I said no she also assaulted me this man said well you look like you wasn’t trying get away then because I was telling him he’s wrong this man told me to leave the priecent for disorderly conduct and would.”
https://newsone.com/3895431/racist-white-woman-nyc-subway-video/?utm_source=moengage&utm_campaign=racist_white_woman&utm_medium=push
How do you protect your packages? Package theft rampant in urban areas.
90,000 Packages Disappear Daily in N.Y.C. Is Help on the Way?Package theft has also soared in cities like Denver and Washington. The increase has frustrated shoppers and led to creative measures for thwarting thieves.
Miriam Cruz, a retired nurse’s aide, has become the unofficial package receiver in her East Harlem building after neighbors complained of having their online deliveries stolen.Credit...Roshni Khatri for The New York Times
Online deliveries to an apartment building in northern Manhattan are left with a retired woman in 2H who watches over her neighbors’ packages to make sure nothing gets stolen.
Corporate mailrooms in New York and other cities are overwhelmed by employees shipping personal packages to work for safekeeping, leading companies to ban packages and issue warnings that boxes will be intercepted and returned to the senders.
A new start-up company is gambling that online shoppers who are worried about not getting their packages will be willing to pay extra to ship them to a home-based network of package receivers in Brooklyn.
With online shopping surging and another holiday season unfolding, customers’ mounting frustration and anger over stolen packages are driving many to take creative and even extreme measures to keep items out of the hands of thieves.
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About 15 percent of all deliveries in urban areas fail to reach customers on the first attempt because of package theft and other issues, like deliveries to the wrong house, according to transportation experts.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/02/nyregion/online-shopping-package-theft.html?algo=als1&fellback=false&imp_id=751166451&imp_id=282388099&action=click&module=editorContent&pgtype=Article®ion=CompanionColumn&contentCollection=Trending
tiny little forests surrounding churches in ethiopia..
click on the NYtimes link to watch the video zoom out of the forest
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1202004597906313216
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/opinion/church-forests-ethiopia.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage
What Makes a Church? A Tiny, Leafy Forest
In Ethiopia, church forests are withstanding environmental destruction — but just barely.
Florida man running for local office 'told teen Puerto Rican tennis players to "go and cut grass"'
A Florida local politician is under fire after he was accused of being racist to Puerto Rican tennis players by telling them to 'go and cut grass'.
Martin Hyde, a Sarasota City Commission candidate and business man in the area, berated the Hispanic teenagers at the Bath & Racquet Club on Tuesday.
The 15-year-old Puerto Rican junior tennis player and his friend were at the club for a youth tournament, according to the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
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The teen took video footage of the moment Hyde exploded on him at the club.
'That’s racism, man, how can you say something like that? Aren’t you human?' the teen says to Hyde at the start of the video.
'This is a private club, get out,' Hyde responds.
Hyde then says 'I'm going to have a little talk with him.'
'I'm getting out! No you're rude! You're telling me to cut grass because I'm Hispanic,' the teen says in the clip as Hyde tries to talk to a club worker.
'Yes. So what?' Hyde asks.
'Are you processing this?' the teen says outraged.
Hyde then approaches another club worker and says 'Just throw 'em out', motioning towards the Puerto Rican teen and his friend.
'We're here for an international tournament,' the teen responds.
'Listen to them. Look at this agitated... You don't know what drugs they're on,' Hyde said.
When the teen then tries to explain to Hyde and a club worker what went down, Hyde waves his hand in the teen's face and loftily says 'Shut up'.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7752621/White-Florida-man-running-local-office-told-Puerto-Rican-tennis-players-cut-grass.html
I acknowledge from the get-go is that I was wrong and that much wasn’t based on their ethnicity. It was based on my poor character,' he said in an interview with ABC.
He claimed that the teens were talking loudly and disrupting a lesson his son was taking.
McKinsey & Company consulting firm proposed cutting spending on food, med care for detainees
How McKinsey Helped The Trump Administration Detain And Deport ImmigrantsThe consulting firm proposed cuts in spending on food for migrants, as well as on medical care and supervision of detainees.
Just days after he took office in 2017, President Donald Trump set out to make good on his campaign pledge to halt illegal immigration. In a pair of executive orders, he ordered “all legally available resources” to be shifted to border detention facilities and called for hiring 10,000 new immigration officers.
The logistical challenges were daunting, but as luck would have it, Immigration and Customs Enforcement already had a partner on its payroll: McKinsey & Company, an international consulting firm brought on under the Obama administration to help engineer an “organizational transformation” in the ICE division charged with deporting migrants who are in the United States unlawfully.
ICE quickly redirected McKinsey toward helping the agency figure out how to execute the White House’s clampdown on illegal immigration.
But the money-saving recommendations the consultants came up with made some career ICE staff uncomfortable. They proposed cuts in spending on food for migrants, as well as on medical care and supervision of detainees, according to interviews with people who worked on the project for both ICE and McKinsey and 1,500 pages of documents obtained from the agency after ProPublica filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act.
McKinsey’s team also looked for ways to accelerate the deportation process, provoking worries among some ICE staff members that the recommendations risked short-circuiting due process protections for migrants fighting removal from the United States. The consultants, three people who worked on the project said, seemed focused solely on cutting costs and speeding up deportations — activities whose success could be measured in numbers — with little acknowledgment that these policies affected thousands of human beings.
In what one former official described as “heated meetings” with McKinsey consultants, agency staff members questioned whether saving pennies on food and medical care for detainees justified the potential human cost.
But the consulting firm’s sway at ICE grew to the point that McKinsey’s staff even ghostwrote a government contracting document that defined the consulting team’s own responsibilities and justified the firm’s retention, a contract extension worth $2.2 million. “Can they do that?” an ICE official wrote to a contracting officer in May 2017.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mckinsey-consulting-trump-immigration-deportation_n_5de6e0ebe4b0d50f32aa7f54
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