August 7, 2019

iconic Haight-Ashbury music store closing: tourists treated it like a musuem, not buying anything

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Iconic-Haight-Ashbury-music-store-is-closing-14284993.php


"The demographic of San Francisco has changed a lot," Badakhshan explained. "A lot of our customers have moved out because the tech people have moved in and they can't afford it here anymore. Tech people don't seem to support local businesses — they like buying everything online."

Plus, the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood attracts a lot of tourists — most of whom aren't buying anything at the store.

"It's like a museum for a lot of people, but I don't charge an entrance fee," he said.

August 7, 2019

Orange County, Calif, longtime GOP stronghold, now has more registered Democrats than Republicans

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/88eaf6c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/782x587+0+0/resize/840x631!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fca-times.brightspotcdn.com%2Fb5%2Fd9%2Fa0d3379044e58106b8e20be8ca2b%2Fla-graphics-461715-la-na-pol-2020-orange-county-democratic-republican-ronald-reagan.jpg

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-08-07/orange-county-turns-blue-with-more-registered-democrats-than-republicans

Orange County, long a Republican stronghold, has officially turned blue.

The county that nurtured Ronald Reagan’s conservatism and is the resting place of Richard Nixon is now home to 547,458 registered Democrats, compared with 547,369 Republicans, according to statistics released early Wednesday morning by the county Registrar of Voters. And the number of voters not aligned with a political party has surged in recent years, and now tops 440,770, or 27.4% of the county’s voters.

Democratic leaders attributed the shift to changing demographics, aggressive recruitment efforts and President Trump.

“Trump’s toxic rhetoric and exclusionary policies alienate women, millennials, suburban voters, immigrants and people of color — critical components of the electorate in Orange County,” said Katerina Ioannides, chairwoman of the Orange County Young Democrats, which conducted voter registration drives aimed at young voters, one of several groups that worked to increase party registration. “The Republican Party’s platform no longer resonates in a rapidly diversifying, increasingly college-educated Orange County.”

Shawn Steel, Republican national committeeman for California, blamed the GOP decline on the large increase in the number of voters who register with no party preference, and on Republicans leaving the state because of high housing costs, poor schools and lackluster job opportunities.

“We have a tremendous outflow of people leaving California. We’ve been an out-migration state for 20 years, and that’s particularly acute in the suburbs,” said the Seal Beach resident, who predicted that the tide would turn because of overreach by the Democratic politicians who control every arm of state government. “There is an opportunity as Democrats get more aggressive in Sacramento and alienate more people.”

Voter registration in Orange County between Feb. 10, 2013, and Feb. 10, 2019.(Chris Keller / Los Angeles Times)
But Democrats gaining an edge here over Republicans is a watershed moment for a place that has long been a citadel of GOP strength — and one that could have national implications for the future of the Republican Party if similar shifts occur in other parts of the country.

August 7, 2019

Trump's quiet time didn't last long: Tweeting at midnight, insults, referring to himself in 3rd pers

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
·
45m
Beto (phony name to indicate Hispanic heritage) O’Rourke, who is embarrassed by my last visit to the Great State of Texas, where I trounced him, and is now even more embarrassed by polling at 1% in the Democrat Primary, should respect the victims & law enforcement - & be quiet!

----



Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
·
1h
....Amendment.” John Yoo.
@IngrahamAngle
Former Governor Jerry Brown vetoed the same bill in that it was ridiculous and totally unconstitutional. Just more of the record setting Presidential Harassment. Don’t feel badly, New York State is far worse!




Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
·
1h
“California is trying to meddle with a ballot in order to oppose President Trump, and it’s clearly something California is not allowed to do. It violates the right of the Republican Party, or any party, to choose its leaders under the Free Speech clause, and under the 14th.....

August 7, 2019

Ivanka Trump dips her botoxed toe into "whataboutism" / deflectism / media trashing

https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/1158773175657881601


Ivanka Trump
@IvankaTrump
·
12h
As we grieve over the evil mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, let us not overlook that Chicago experienced its deadliest weekend of the year.

Ivanka Trump
@IvankaTrump
With 7 dead and 52 wounded near a playground in the Windy City- and little national outrage or media coverage- we mustn’t become numb to the violence faced by inner city communities every day.
9:13 AM · Aug 6, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

-------------------



wendy w
@wynsar48
·
1h
Replying to
@IvankaTrump
@arwam
She isn’t just a passive accomplice to his presidency; she is an active participant. Ivanka may condemn white supremacy in her tweets, but her actions tell another story. She has turned herself into a global representative of Trumpism.....

wendy w
@wynsar48
·
1h
Replying to
@IvankaTrump
@arwam
" and she must bear responsibility for what that entails. Unless she explicitly denounces her father’s racism, one must assume that she agrees with it

Ivanka Trump condemns white supremacy – but her actions tell another story | Arwa Mahdawi
The president’s daughter said on Sunday that white supremacy is evil, but she has helped sanitise her father’s racist rhetoric, writes Arwa Mahdawi
theguardian.com

wendy w
@wynsar48
·
2h
Replying to
@IvankaTrump
@rise_alien

I thought the way to heal a nation in pain was to cage brown kids, take away healthcare, cheat on your wives, take money from the NRA, grab women by their vaginas, & slap a palm on our foreheads to exercise the abortion demon

*GOP policies

Jules Morgan
@glamelegance
·
12h
Replying to
@IvankaTrump
Why doesn’t #IvankaTrump use her position in the White House to enact change?? Instead she’s on Twitter trashing the media just like her daddy. #ivankaresign 😳

August 7, 2019

man who tipped fridge into ravine forced to drag it back up

Let the punishment fit the crime? That's what police in Spain did when they forced a man to drag a refrigerator up a deep ravine. Police say the 24-year-old is the person seen in viral footage tipping a fridge down the ravine in Almería. "We're going to recycle it!" a voice says in Spanish as the fridge tumbles, per the BBC. "How many twists and turns has it done?" Police say the same man is seen in another video dumping a washing machine in the same way, per CNN. Not only did he lose his job at a waste management company, but he was fined $50,000 and ordered to retrieve the fridge and dispose of it legally, per the Guardian.

Footage released by the civil guard shows two men, armed with ropes and straps, struggling to pull the fridge back up the ravine. "I really regret what I've done because it's meant I've lost my job and has aggravated the problems I have with anxiety," the unidentified man told local media, per the Guardian. "All I want now is for this to go away," he added. "I don't want people to have this image of me, as though I were a murderer." https://www.newser.com/story/278794/after-man-dumps-fridge-in-ravine-cops-get-last-laugh.html



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Sergio López, a civil guard officer, said the 24-year-old man was “actively cooperating” with police and remorseful over his action.

“I really regret what I’ve done because it’s meant I’ve lost my job and has aggravated the problems I have with anxiety,” he told the online news site El Español.

“All I want now is for this to go away and the effect it’s having on my family, my girlfriend and me. I don’t want people to have this image of me, as though I were a murderer.”

Fridges contain gases that can cause serious environmental damage and are among the most toxic white goods if not disposed of correctly, along with freezers and air conditioning units.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/06/man-caught-fly-tipping-fridge-in-ravine-fined-and-made-to-drag-back

August 7, 2019

Told to Return girlfriends Keys, Killer Used Them to Enter House and kill her and her employer

Told to Return Keys, Killer Used Them to Enter House: Police
Au pair's ex-boyfriend is charged in two slayings

Instead of returning house keys to the girlfriend who wanted to break up with him, a New Jersey man allegedly used the keys to enter a suburban house and stab the au pair's employer to death. He then chased the woman down a street and killed her too, court documents say. Joseph Porter, 27, is charged with murder in the deaths of Karen Bermudez-Rodriguez, 26, and David Kimowitz, 40, NJ.com reports. Kimowitz managed comedians and owned a comedy club in Manhattan; his wife and two young children were out of town at the time. Bermudez-Rodriguez, who was from Colombia, per the New York Times, lived with the family. "She enjoyed being an au pair and was grateful to have such a lovely host family,” reads a statement posted on a Facebook fundraiser page, which added that "Karen had pursued the au pair program to advance her English skills and to travel, which she loved."

Bermudez-Rodriguez and Porter had texted about 1:30am Saturday, saying she wanted him to return the house keys. Hours later, the documents say he told police, Porter used the keys to enter the Maplewood house, then found Kimowitz on the second floor, where he stabbed him. He tied Bermudez-Rodriguez's hands, but she broke away and got several hundred feet away, down the street. Porter caught her, stabbed her, and fled, officials say. A neighbor saw the attack and called 911. Police arrested Porter at the Newark airport trying to take a flight to Cancun, Mexico. Friends and business associates posted tributes to Kimowitz on social media, and friends held a vigil in honor of Bermudez-Rodriguez on Sunday night. Her mother called the group from Colombia. "Her mom told us, 'Thank you for being there for my daughter. I love you all,'" one friend said. "We all cried."

https://www.newser.com/story/278768/told-to-return-keys-killer-used-them-to-enter-house-police.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_top

August 7, 2019

Long Island nanny who swiped cat may still get to keep it

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Long Island nanny who swiped cat may still get to keep it


The Long Island nanny who swiped her boss’s elderly cat to save him from euthanization may still get to keep the pet — with a judge on Monday ordering her to come back armed with medical records as she fights for custody.

Russell and Julie Berman had asked Nassau County Judge Rhonda Fischer to force their kids’ former carer, Rebecca Katz, to hand back 15-year-old tabby Tigger — but the judge shot down the request, saying she needs to review the cat’s health status before making a decision.


“Either this is worked out and we decide who is going to get custody of this cat … or medical records show this cat is in pain and suffering,” Fischer said, instructing the parties to return on Aug. 14.

Fischer didn’t elaborate on whether a clean bill of health would mean she would grant Katz custody, or if other factors were at stake.

Court documents previously showed Julie Berman admitted she intended to put Tigger down due to “medical issues” before Katz absconded with the feline last month.

But the nanny’s attorney insisted Monday the pet isn’t in pain.

“To turn this cat over to have this cat euthanized … would be more cruel,” lawyer Carolyn Sanchez told the judge.

Outside of the court, she added: “From all indications, the Bermans are relentlessly determined to obtain the cat for the sole purpose of having it euthanized.”

The Bermans declined to comment.

Katz, who cared for the couple’s two young children for years, said she took Tigger after she arrived for work on July 2 and learned they wanted to end his life

She left behind a note that read, “I can’t let this happen.”

https://nypost.com/2019/08/05/long-island-nanny-who-swiped-cat-may-still-get-to-keep-it/

August 6, 2019

Trump's lies are peppered w/ unnamed validators - "tough guys" who break down crying in his presence

Trump made 56 false claims last week

That was down from 78 false claims the week prior and 61 false claims the week before that.

Where he made the biggest numbers: Trump made 26 false claims at his campaign rally in Cincinnati, 13 more in various exchanges with the media, seven on Twitter, five in an interview with C-SPAN.

Top categories: Eighteen false claims were about the economy or trade; 10 were about Trump's popularity, his crowds or others' crowds; 10 were about immigration; eight were about former President Barack Obama's record.

The most egregious false claim: Support from African Americans

Trump's stories are peppered with unnamed validators -- "many people" who say he's right about something, "tough guys" backstage who break down crying in his presence, a "friend" who just called him to say something dramatic.

Last week, as he faced accusations of racism for his attack on Baltimore as "disgusting, rat and rodent infested" and unfit for human habitation, he turned the black community into a validator.

"What I've done for African Americans, no president, I would say, has done," he told reporters, citing his criminal justice legislation, the low black unemployment rate and the criticism of Baltimore itself. "Now, I'll say this: They are so happy, because I get the calls."

Though Trump does have African American supporters, all the available evidence suggests African American voters are overwhelmingly unhappy with him. In one poll the week before last, he had a 6% approval rating with black voters; 80% of them said he is racist.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/06/politics/weekly-fact-check-trump-early-august/index.html

August 6, 2019

Olympian Carl Lewis backs equal pay for women, calls President Donald Trump a 'racist & misogynist'

Carl Lewis backs equal pay for women, calls President Donald Trump a 'racist'

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis said Monday that female athletes deserve fair and equal pay and criticized President Donald Trump as a “racist and misogynist.”

Lewis spoke in the Peruvian capital of Lima, where he will present the 100-meter and long jump medals at the Pan American Games. He also said that he became an athlete thanks to his mother, who competed in the first Pan Am Games in Buenos Aires in 1951.

“If I didn’t have a strong woman in my life, I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” he said at a press conference with Leroy Burrell, a former world record-holder in the 100 meters. “My mother was a pioneer.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2019/08/05/carl-lewis-president-donald-trump-racist-and-misogynist/1929736001/


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August 6, 2019

Montana man slams 13 year old boy to the ground, fracturing his skull, for disrespecting the flag

Taylor Hennick, a witness cited by the paper, said the national anthem had begun at the fairgrounds when she saw a boy, “lying on the ground.”

“He was bleeding out of his ears, seizing on the ground, just not coherent,” Hennick said.

Other witnesses told Missoula’s KPAX-TV they saw Brockway slam the boy to the ground. Brockway allegedly told encroaching bystanders the assault was justified because the boy had been “disrespecting the national anthem,” Hennick said.

The boy, whom authorities identified only as 13-year-old, was flown to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Wash., with temporal skull fractures, KPAX-TV reported. His parents told the station he was bleeding from his ears for nearly six hours after the alleged assault. He has since been released from the hospital and returned home for recovery.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/montana-man-allegedly-assaulted-boy-13-for-not-removing-his-hat-during-national-anthem-reports


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