I reas also that he was a right wing attorney who hated women.
Den Hollander is a notoriously anti-feminist men's rights attorney, whose vitriolic website and book condemn women in rage-filled terms. In one of his books, he specifically blasted Salas by name as "lazy and incompetent" and said her only accomplishment was being a high school cheerleader. Den Hollander appeared in her court at one time as counsel in a lawsuit over the all-male military draft.
(Den Hollander previously sued multiple NBC News anchors, as well as anchors from other networks, and alleged they engaged in an illegal conspiracy to prevent Donald Trump's election to the presidency.)
Another article said he had cancer
The men’s rights maniac who reportedly opened fire on New Jersey federal judge’s husband and son had terminal cancer and a long history of failed anti-feminist lawsuits.
@michele-bthank you very much for this link.. I am saved.. this is exactly what I need today, and I think I will share it with the world..
Oh Deborah if you only knew how my heart soars when someone says something like that!
Big, big socially distanced hug!
???
"Do not get lost in a sea of despair.
Be hopeful, be optimistic.
Our struggle is not the struggle of a day,
a week, a month, or a year.
It is the struggle of a lifetime.
Never, ever be afraid to make some noise
and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."
Rep. John Robert Lewis (2/21/40 – 7/17/2020)
Beautiful beautiful beautiful. Thank you for sharing this. I want to cry everytime I even think of this great beacon of light going through his life experiences just because of the color of his skin.
They made have broken his body but they never broke his amazing spirit.
The moms wore yellow and carried sunflowers. Somewhere it was predicted on this forum that sunflowers would be the symbol of a peaceful movement.
I have some good news. My BFF - the wealthy conservative one who I've mentioned on here before - both she and her husband are pledging to vote for Biden.
Yes, they believe he's "demented and unfit", and I can't seem to convince them otherwise, but they are finally recognizing the evil that occupies the WH currently. They also said that they'd prefer Kamala Harris as VP choice, which I jumped on to say "Well, you know Biden is elderly, he might not survive even one term or he may step down if he gets too sick, so I'm also hoping he picks a good VP because I believe they will be President eventually." That did the trick.
I'm not sure; I didn't see the interview, I just read about the comment. Pelosi has a quick wit and I LOL'd too.
Apparently, though, Mika was going off today about why didn't Hillary warn us about T., ect. Give me a break. She warned and warned and warned and not enough people listened. I was really pissed when I read that.
Well, Trump is trying to recharge his election campaign today. First, he announced that he is sending more of his "secret police" to cities like Chicago to re-establish "law and order." Second, he has announced that the covid-19 daily briefs will start back up.
A few thoughts on his announcement and the current state of the election:
1. I get what Trump is planning with his "law and order" ploy. He is trying to antagonize the so-called "liberal" cities and show his supporters that he can stop the Democrats from rioting if he succeeds in cheating on the election. By sending his secret police, he thinks he will accomplish the following:
(1) change the focus of the nation away from covid-19.
(2) punish the protesters, whom he partly blames for his low approval numbers.
(3) start fights with "liberal" cities to feed into his narrative that Democrats and liberals want to "defund the police" and plunge the nation into a state of lawless chaos.
(4) if possible, keep the secret police at the cities and use them to slow and/or stop turnout for the November election.
Trump is so easy to read. But his tactic here won't work. And here is why.
(1) Despite Trump's efforts, Covid-19 is spreading out of control in red states, particularly Texas, Florida, and Arizona. He can't stop the coverage of the overfilled hospitals and the overflowing morgues. And if you are a Republican in a red state where the virus is spiraling out of control to the point where thousands are dying and the state has to reclose again, are you really going to care about protesters in Chicago? People are selfish, and in times of crisis many will make themselves and their families their number one priority (there is nothing wrong with that, as it is instinct for people to want to survive). In this case, the selfishness will doom Trump's new ploy. If anything, Republicans in red states are going to ask why Trump won't deploy troops into their states to help with the virus.
As a resident from a "red state," I am afraid that many of my colleagues and neighbors believe (wrongly) that residents in big "liberal" cities are evil and prone to violence on a normal basis. Sadly, some of them have expressed the opinion that the liberals should just "shoot each other." As wrong and evil as their views are, this viewpoint actually serves Democrats in this instance in that some Republicans believe that Trump is wasting his time when he could be using troops to help them.
Basically, Trump will only succeed in making the Democrats in cities hate him more, and the Republicans in red states will feel neglected.
(2) Trump has already tried the "law and order" tactic before. If you recall, he tried to push the idea of evil immigrant caravans coming from Mexico to overtake the borders, a ploy he pulled in 2018 to try to save the Republicans in the House. Not only did this ploy not work, but the House Republicans lost forty seats, more than enough to give Democrats a comfortable majority. As I said before, the majority of the country are not worried about what protestors are doing in Portland and Chicago. They are worried about unemployment benefits, health care, and covid 19. So if any of you are worried that Trump will somehow manage to "flip the script" and paint himself as a "law and order" president, remember that if tactic didn't work in 2018 (when we had a thriving economy and no covid 19), then why would it work this time?
(3) Trump may think that his secret police will turn down voters in November via their presence, but it won't work. For one thing, most people who will vote against Trump are not participating at the protests, so the secret police can't find them. Further, Trump's tactics will only harden the resolve of those who plan to vote against Trump and the Republicans.
And now, some random thoughts:
1. Whoever thought that restarting the White House daily briefings should be fired. Seriously, are they really going to put Trump up their AGAIN?!!! He talked about drinking bleach last time, so why the heck would they let him back on? All he is going to do is pick fights with the journalists, spout nonsense and conspiracy theories, fight with his own experts, and basically plunging his polling numbers even lower. And even if they keep Trump off and just put Pence, that won't be much better, because Pence is about as riveting and watching paint dry and is just as useful (which is to say, not much).
2. I said it before, but Trump is an idiot about Covid 19. Right now, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and other states are paying a steep price for re-opening early at Memorial Day, as these states are already experiencing death tolls that are threatening to overwhelm the hospitals. Over the next few weeks, we will likely see pictures of body bags and states shutting down again. And to top it off, many states will start schools in August despite not being ready, so in approximately two months (October), we will be bombarded with pictures of children on ventilators. Already, Trump and the Republican Party are making enemies of teachers and suburban women, but I guarantee that if a large number of children start dying from covid 19, then Republicans will rue the day they ever heard of Trump, much less made him their leader.
3. We all know that, on average, Republican voters tend to be older (over 40) and Caucasian, and that Democrats tend to be younger and are more diverse. This is not absolute, because there are plenty of people under 40 who are conservatives, while there are elderly people who vote Democrat. But regardless, we know that the Republican voters tend to be older and thus (based on current data) more likely to suffer hospitalization and death from Covid 19. Having said that, Trump and the Republicans are so incredibly stupid by allowing the virus to rage out of control and to deny mail-in voting. If events continue to unfold without interference soon, then Republicans will lose control of everything. First, older, more vunerable voters will either die, be hospitalized, or be too afraid of the risks to attempt to vote in November, and they won't be able to mail in their votes because Trump and Republicans are against mail ballots. However, younger voters (who tend to vote Democrat) will crawl over broker glass to vote in November because they hate Trump and because they are less likely to develop complications from Covid 19. Also, in blue states, they will be able to take advantage of mail ballots.
A blue wave is coming, and the Republicans will be swept away in the flood. So long as we all VOTE BLUE NO MATTER WHO! Because I really, really, really would love it if McConnell lost his seat. If his opponent was smart, she needs to use only two words; "term limits." McConnell has been in too long, and Kentucky is still a poor state with a lot of problems. So why give McConnell another term? He had had...seven? It's time for a new person.
@laura-f Great news! Here's hoping for more conservatives turning.
@allyn. Thank you again for your thorough analyses. I do hope that the decision about schools gets turned around by a court or something.
Indeed, we in Europe would crawl to get him out of there (decisions the US makes impact us as well: environment, military, global trade, UN, Iran, Syria etc), so I can imagine that Americans who can vote would move heaven and earth to do so.
@polarberry, I'm glad that I didn't hear Mika going off today about Hillary. I don't need a spike in my BP so early in the morning.
Also, even if that were true about Hillary, what's that saying? People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones? Back when T was running, I clearly remember Mika and Joe enabling that monster. T would frequently call into their show, and they would trip over themselves to accommodate him. They kissed his butt. T was given free reign and plenty of time to spew his crap. While they may not have fully recognized the depths of T's ignorance and depravity, they knew enough about him to recognize that he wasn't fit to be president. Their defense has been, well he was never like that years ago. He's changed. BS! It's all in the ratings, you know? $$$
They should follow the example of Tony Schwartz who co-wrote "The Art of the Deal." While T was still running for president, Schwartz stated that he felt a deep sense of remorse for presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is. At that time he warned us of the dangers if T won. Schwartz is still remorseful, saying that there is no righting this, and he will carry this with him until the end of his life. Schwartz has donated all of the book's proceeds to human rights' causes.
@laura-f, well my jaw just dropped when I read about your friends. Hallelujah!
@ghandigirl thanks for noticing this. baba predicted it. :-) it’s now listed in the hits thread.
@deetoo As much as I enjoy Mika and Joe, you are absolutely right: they enabled Trump early on and even drooled over him and their access to him. Joe, especially, also ignored Hillary, never reported on her plans which were on her website, etc. In fact, they covered Trump 85% to Hillary 15%. Joe lamely apologized for this, then continued to criticize her as a weak candidate, and never noted that that weak candidate won the popular vote with MSNBC giving most of its coverage to T. , with Putin putting 1 million dollars per month into social media against her, with an entire network (Fox) devoted to lying about her and slandering her, etc. and with the help of the FBI's Jim Comey and his public investigations ill-timed and always fruitless. Frankly, in my view, she was as strong as they came in light of all that.
Ok, guys. We have not had much great news lately. Trump is on the rampage with his "secret police" trying to ensue riots in Democratic cities. (I daresay if he tries it in New York, some rioters may decide to torch Trump Towers, but that might be part of Trump's plan to keep from paying China for the interest that have invested in the building). Our country is still dealing with Covid 19, and more people are dying. Further, Republicans are sitting on their hands and not making progress on extended much-needed benefits for so many struggling benefits because they are too concerned with trying to shield their corporate buyers from being sued if they neglect to protect their workers and customers.
As if that isn't bad enough, Trump is trying to cast doubt on the election results and suggest that he won't step down.
And yet, I couldn't help but notice that Pelosi seems very sure of herself lately. She said that the virus was the "Trump virus" (a play at Trump's attempts to label the Covid 19 virus as the "China Flu"). And earlier, she said that Trump would be kicked out of the White House whether he knew it or not.
She seemed so sure of herself. Does she know something we don't?
Of course, I have long supported the theory that the Democrats are planning an "October surprise" in order to ensure that Trump cannot win in November. Whatever the information is, we can only speculate at this point.
But I did my own investigation, and I think I might know the answer to Pelosi's current assertiveness.
Let's say that November 2020 comes around. The election results are not clear cut for any number of reasons. (examples-Russia attacks the power grid and shuts down cities to keep them from voting, the large number of mail in ballots makes it difficult to determine a winner, etc.). Let's say that neither Trump nor Biden is willing to concede defeat.
In that case, there would have to be another election. This would take time.
No doubt this is Trump's plan. If he calls the election in doubt and Biden refuses to concede, then the country would have to have another election.
Except.....Trump forgot to read the Constitution. Because our forefathers apparently thought that a contested election would someday happen.
Trump thinks that if the election is contested and a new one is needed, he stays in power.
But according to the Constitution, if an election is in doubt, then the Speaker of the House will be the acting President until a new election can be held.
Yep, you read that right. If Trump tries to rig the election to the point that a victor can't be called, then Pelosi, the current Speaker of the House, will be sworn in and will be acting President until a new election is conducted.
No wonder she is so smug right now. She knows that she can "trump" Trump.
Trump is probably counting on his followers to come with their guns and demand that Trump stay as President if this occurs. However, the armed forces will probably stand by Pelosi, as the commanders (regardless of their political loyalties) swore to uphold the Constitution. While Trump has filled government positions with his cronies, he has largely neglected the armed forces, so there is no one at the top who will likely save him if he tries to throw Pelosi out. And with Democrats and establishment Republicans having so many connections with the generals, who do you think the generals will support? (Spoiler alert-it won't be Trump. With the Constitution as their excuse, they will carry Trump out at gunpoint and escort him to the nearest helicopter if he refuses to leave office. And if Trump supporters try to take up arms against Pelosi, you know the armed forces will stand by her and hold them back.)
So for all of those who are concerned with Trump's meddling (and rightly so), remember that many Democrats (and the Republicans who hate Trump) are working around the clock to anticipate Trump's moves in advance and are planning accordingly. If I can find that provision in the Constitution, you can guarantee they know it too.
So if Trump tries to rig the election, then Biden must be sure not to concede and demand a new election. Knowing Trump, he had never read the Constitution (probably doesn't even know we have one), so he thinks that if a winner can't be called, then he holds onto power until he can rig the election to the point that he will never lose. But I bet he still doesn't know that Pelosi will just swoop in and kick his butt to the curb in January.
Oh, and the chances of the Republicans flipping the House is almost impossible at this point. The Democrats simply control too many seats and thus will ensure that the votes in their districts will be properly counted. Republicans won't be able to take the House back to overcome the 40 plus seats they need to replace Pelosi, and thus none of the major Republican donors are even trying at this point. So Trump is blocked from trying to replace Pelosi at the top.
I just thought I would share this piece of information with you guys. I know we know that Trump is planning all the dirty tricks he can to hold onto power. And we are all traumatized by what happened in 2016 (which is why we absolutely need to abolish the Electoral College! Voters Choice Matters!) But I wanted to point out that we are not the only ones who are using the light to banish the darkness that is Trump and his allies. There are others too, and they have a plan A, plan B, plan C, plan D, and pretty much every contingency plan there is to think of in the event that Trump tries anything.
Oh, and if Trump pulls something to make Pelosi resign or (God forbid) send an assassin after her, then the Democrats will just elect a new speaker. And then Trump might get AOC as the new Speaker. and she would have no qualms about going into the Oval Office and physically throwing Trump out of the nearest window.
So Trump can try what he can. But he is dealing with people who have played this game for a long time. They will not underestimate Trump, and they (and we) will not be complacent as we were in 2016. So bring it on, Trump!
Pelosi 2020!
(P.S. If Trump loses, he will spend the rest of his life dealing with lawsuits and the possibility of a jail sentence. He may try to pardon himself [it has never been attempted before], so the Supreme Court would have to weigh in. But regardless, a pardon power CANNOT be applied to state crimes, only federal crimes. And because he is facing state charges in New York, he is in trouble no matter what. There is nothing he can do to save himself, so his best bet would be to resign and try to work out a deal while he still can.)
"In that case, there would have to be another election."
I'm not up on all constitutional law by any means, but I thought that if the election is contested, there's a mechanism where it goes to Congress for a vote prior to the new Congress being sworn in (which is why the Electors have to meet by Dec 14, I believe?).
I have no awareness of where in the constitution it lays out a process for another whole election. Please inform me.
As for Pelosi being POTUS pro tempore - several on here have seen that in visions going back to 2017 at least. You're definitely onto something there.
from Snopes: The 20th amendment to the U.S. constitution states that the current president’s four-year term ends at noon on Jan. 20. So the election couldn’t be put off by much more than two months without incurring the risk of leaving the U.S. without a president or vice president come Jan. 20, and leaving Congress the chaotic task of having the Speaker of the House temporarily govern while figuring out how to rectify the absence of a duly-elected chief executive. (Altering that Jan. 20 deadline would require amending the U.S. Constitution in a matter of months, a virtually impossible feat.)
I've been away for a while, desperately needing a break from the outside world so this is going to be a pretty packed post. Lol
I think Putin has promised Trump will stay in office and given him a few new tasks as payment. I am not saying that I see it happening this way, but am fairly certain this is part of the plan......
1. The gestapo being unleashed in Dem cities are the new version of the Reichtag fire. They have yet to say who, specifically, these troops are and I think they are at least partially militia/paramilitary, quite possibly via Eric Prince. They are creating the enemy that doesnt exist for the Trump cult to protect themselves from. Putin wants distrust and unrest in the US and a challenged election(a certainty at this point) will be the call to arms for Trump supporters and the start of a civil war as they "protect our troops" in Dem cities. It also serves as a show of force to intimidate people from trying to unify and speak out against him next term.
2. Quite possibly an attack of our grid system during the election to further complicate things.
3. Trump is unleashing covid on his own voters, which is too stupid even for him. The plan is to kill off and weaken Americans. It takes me as quite interesting that as much as Trump and Putin have been exposed, nothing has hit anyone of any relevance to either of them. Russia hacking the vaccine making labs also leads me to believe they are behind the vast spread of it, even if indirectly. Also, for as much of a germaphobe as he is, this makes no sense unless he knows of a vaccine/treatment out there that he has been given, or promised, access to. My gut says that it originated in Russia and was studied before it was unleashed onto the world. It wasn't lab created, but was released as a bio weapon once found and studied.
4. The new covid briefings are his way to have his rallies and scream his hatred to his followers, while giving other GOPs the cover they need to not be forced to turn on him. He is fully aware that it is way too late to get his followers to change their mind about masks so its just lip service. He was also seen last night in a gathering with no mask, of course.
5. I'm now almost certain that Putin has dirt on Trump involving Ghislaine Maxwell/Jeffrey Epstein. The "I wish her well" he said today instantly hit me as a veiled threat on her life if she talks.
6. Pardoning Stone was a trial run at pardoning anyone who helps him to keep them quiet. The re-arrest of Cohen was similar as a message to those thinking about talking, clearly stating they would be shut down immediately.
7. Pelosi was borderline cocky the last few days so she definitely knows something we don't. Thats not her style unless she already has her checkmate. Whatever the specific plan Trump/Putin have, she is fully aware of it, probably from intelligence given to her due to distrust of the GOP, and is quietly taking steps needed to derail it.
8. The transfer of all covid data to HHS from the CDC is to skew the data and minimize the problem, as well as to keep leaks from happening, as Trump has greatly silenced the CDC brass but not the career scientists.
You are correct. There is a mechanism in place. But I believe Trump and his allies will do everything they can to derail that mechanism. In that instance, the Constitution mandates that if a President is not decided by December 14, then the House Speaker would become acting President.
Again, Trump's goal is to stay in office as long as possible, and he thinks that by refusing to accept the results (or causing havoc with the election results), he would stay in by default. That simply isn't the case. If there is no clear winner and no one conceeds by December 14, then Pelosi becomes temporary President, and Trump must leave the White House.
Interesting packed post!
On #3, it's still my 'gut-feeling' that CV-19 was actually engineered, being an unprecedented and strangely multi-leveled creation, or should I say, abomination that ethically should never have been allowed to exist ...
There has been so much focus-diversion and so many obvious cover-ups in the mainstream media, and by global governments trying to deny the truth of the source for so many reasons; power, globallly networked finances, judicial backlash etc. It boggles the mind...
"Follow the money trail" is always a good path to shine a bright light on global conspiracy.... Russia? China? The Bilderberger Group? (Trump is just Chump change to them).
It's amazing how resilient people are in the face of the demon, and how courageous... but aware of the source of it's creation and manipulation? I feel we won't know the real truth for a very long time, or maybe never....
What truly matters now is how the world is dealing with the crisis, and how we are adapting to our world in transformation to make it better.
Namaste
Sorry for what will be a long post -- and I hope I don't make anyone too angry here. This isn't a response to any single poster, just an outflow of what I've been feeling lately.
Anyway, I am having trouble maintaining faith in the "opposition party." I used to have faith in Pelosi. I used to be part of the "T's playing checkers, but Pelosi's playing chess" brigade but unfortunately after almost four years of these shenanigans, actions speak louder than words. Unfortunately, I don't think she and some (not all, of course) other Democrats really care about whether T. leaves office or not.
To clarify -- I do think there are some good Democrats who are truly anti-corruption. But I also think some have dirty hands.
For example: why, during the impeachment process, did they not enforce subpoenas with jail time? Why not use the power of the purse? What's the TL;DR answer to those questions? Bill Barr? Mitch McConnell? Ok, fine -- then why are they not out there everyday calling for T. to resign? Why are they not calling for mass protests in every major city? At the very least they could MAKE SOME NOISE!
Pelosi comes out with her zingers and that's great, but where's the action? And yes, Congress does have some tricks available up its sleeve; instead, we get zingers and a call to vote in November.
Unfortunately all signs point to a rigged election. So then what are they going to do when that happens? Wring their hands and say "we'll get 'em next time!"? I don't believe the military hasn't been compromised. And let's say it hasn't been -- we still have lots of people and their "well-armed militias" (not to mention this secret police who is now showing up in Portland) who will step right up to the plate to protect their dear leader.
That said, I do hope something is happening "behind the scenes" -- but every able American needs to think about what they plan to do come November, when the sort of protests we are seeing now will need occur on an even greater scale. Some will need to physically show up and protest; those who can't will need to help in other ways. (Helping spiritually will be important, too.)
[Somewhat off topic, but I have thoughts on Maxwell too -- namely, her arrest was planned and any dirt she gives up will only help T. There's no way she's implicating him (even though she most certainly could). The people she implicates (who are no doubt scumbags who should be prosecuted) will serve to further enrage Americans and direct their ire away from T, the scumbag at the top. Distraction at its finest.
In fact -- an interesting point -- @VestraLux, when you do your next meditation (similar what you did for Kim Jong-un), can you get a read on if Epstein is on the other side? I'm not saying I think he's still alive, BUT...something in the water ain't clean, is all I'm saying.]
Ok that's all -- don't hate me, I'm not trying to bring anyone down -- just voicing the feelings I have been feeling for some time. This is why I've been mostly silent around here lately. If you don't have anything nice to say...
That being said, I am focusing on sending light and envisioning a better world. Despite my seeming pessimism here, I do think this is all part of the "great turning" and that better days are ahead :)
Ok, just trying to get this straight, because I still don't see how a second election gets organized timely.
Let's say Dec. 14 comes and goes, everything is FUBAR and no president is declared. Pelosi becomes POTUS on Dec 15? Or on Jan 21?
And SCOTUS has a role too, from what I recall, which given Twitler's propensity for lawsuits, is where some decision making may end up - it's one reason Turtleman wanted to pack that court, because they know SCOTUS will side with the incumbent.
So what I'm understanding, if we go down this road, is this:
1. Due to blackouts, hacks, civil unrest, Covid, etc., Twitler declares a state of emergency to try to limit voting access.
2. Despite this, Twitler loses the election (both popular and electoral).
3. He doesn't concede and contests the results.
4. It goes to SCOTUS who sides with him, they advise the electors to proceed according to existing law.
5. The electors meet on Dec. 14 to cast their votes, Twitler loses again.
6. He still doesn't concede, and neither does Biden. Civil unrest escalates.
7. Jan. 20 arrives. Twitler gets dragged out of the WH. Pelosi gets sworn in.
Here is where I lose the thread of what's supposed to happen. Is this the point where it goes to Congress? Or does it go back to SCOTUS? At what point does the military play a role (I have military junta on my 2021 bingo card)?
Thanks so much, professor!
Your assertion that COVID-19 is man-made - you'll need to back that up with some facts.
It's not man-made, however its spread is a result of human interaction and exploitation of nature in addition to climate change. Russia had nothing to do with it, and a lot of the "missteps" internationally are actually just opportunism in action, don't give anyone too much credit.
It is a virus that has been known to exist in bats for years. In China, people still eat exotic animals as a combined health-spiritual practice. The butchering of such animals is how it jumped into humans. Similarly, we now know that AIDS jumped into humans because of consumption on the African continent of "bush meat" - i.e., chimpanzee or gorilla meat.
Here are some links to back up what I'm saying:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3497669/
https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/origin
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3234451/