Well I said I wasn’t going to around for a few days while I studied the new WordPress updates, but the WordPress gods listened and rolled back the updates. Either that or TomCat rolled back the plug-in. In either case, HALLELUJAH!!! So here I am. Have a safe and good day!
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:41 (average 5:53). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Short Takes
AlterNet — Former GOP congressman David Jolly of Florida explained Monday why Trump is struggling to come up with a coherent defense from his emerging legal challenges: He’s never faced anything like this before. …
“Donald Trump has this long career of having to navigate civil matters, where you pay people off, you pay settlements, you reach private agreements. But it’s always monetary. The reason he’s flailing is no amount of money can turn off the SDNY case. No amount of money can turn off Bob Mueller.”
Here is MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace and guests discussing the matter.
Around the 6:30 mark, James Comey comments on some of Trump’s tweets — “This is not about Republicans or Democrats. This is what it means to be an American. … about a set of values that represent the glue of this country … they are under attack …” — This is so in keeping with Comey’s values as seen in his book “A Higher Loyalty” which I certainly recommend reading. David Jolly is a former Republican congressman who left the Republican party in January 2018 — I guess he had enough of the Trump bubble machine and bull shit.
Further on, Giuliani says”… yeah, he changed his [Cohen] story 4 or 5 times,”
George Stephanopoulos: “So did the president.”
Giuliani: “but he’s not under oath.”
Daily Kos — The Trump Foundation has been sketchy from the day it launched in 1988. The board of directors consist of the Trump family members Don Sr., Eric, Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Trump Organization CEO Allen Weisselberg, who recently received immunity and is currently cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office. The so-called charity has no office, no staff and the board hasn’t met since 1999. Donald Trump himself hasn’t even made a single donation to his own charity since 2008. Not a penny. While some outside the Trump family were donating to it, the Trump family was using the fund to pay for events held at . . . you guessed it—Trump properties. …
In June 2018, AG Underwood filed suit seeking to close down the foundation due to “persistently illegal conduct.” Today the Trump family has announced they will be shutting it down and distributing any remaining funds.
I for one hope that the NYAG is 1) coördinating the shutdown and distribution of the remaining funds; and 2) going after the full restitution of all contributions made by non family donors plus interest and penalties. As commentor Pat B likes to say, “drip, Drip, DRIP!!!” I wonder if the 17 current investigations into Trump includes this one, or is this number eighteen?
Think Progress — The Trump administration is getting ready to use the tragedy of school shootings to justify the rollback of Obama-era guidance that address disproportionate discipline of students of color and students with disabilities.
During the school safety panel’s wrap-up meeting on Tuesday, it said schools should coordinate more with law enforcement and have programs to arm school personnel, …
School shootings put public pressure on the administration to act. After the shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on Valentine’s Day, there were numerous calls for change to gun policies across the United States. Students, parents, and community members marched, made calls to members of Congress and state lawmakers, and registered voters. During some of these marches calling for new gun policies, students risked discipline from their schools. …
There isn’t a lot of evidence to support the idea that zero tolerance policies are effective in reducing school disruptions or keeping kids in school, according to experts on school discipline who spoke with ThinkProgress in March.
Russell Skiba, a professor of school psychology at Indiana University who works with schools to address changes to student discipline practices, toldThinkProgress at the time, “In fact, the data shows that places that implement more suspensions and expulsion have higher rates of dropout, lower achievement, and are more likely to result in referral to juvenile justice.” …
Arrington [18 year old public school student and co-founder of the One Pennsylvania Youth Power Collective] added, “We believe schools have to divest from school policing and instead increase funding for more guidance counselors, mental health supports, restorative justice, and higher pay for our teachers who are already in such a stressful position. We have to stop building the school-to-prison pipeline and by adding armed police to schools, we are not going to create a supportive more inclusive schooling environment in this country.”
Trump said “we have the best people” when talking about advisers and cabinet appointees. Surely he was not talking about Betsy DeVos! Is this one of Trump’s infrastructure projects . . . the school-to-prison pipeline? This is all about rolling back anything created by Obama. Oh and creating more revenues for the for-profit prison system. Have Democrats got their hands full countering this racist, bigoted régime of screw-ups!
My Universe
Ain’t that the truth!
Just try ignoring those fur balls!
Posted to Care2 HERE
6 Responses to “Squatch’s Open Thread 18 December 2018”
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Thanks Squatch. Great job!
AN: Unbelievable. Lies, and more lies. dt acting like a mob boss, by paying off his cronies or witnesses who turned against him. Or tweeting more lies. The long arm of law is coming for him, and I can’t wait to see it all unfold.
DK: I don’t know Ms. Underwood, but dam! She’s doing a fantastic job by getting to trump and closing his organization down. dt said that he’d donate the money to a worthy charity, (somewhere in the tune of 1/2 million $$)…but I think someone should ‘supervise’ dt’s actions on this…. which I’m sure it is, right? I’m sure that she has more up her sleeve too with regards to the trump empire. lol
TP: Betsy DVos needs to work in several states in different school districts before making an educated guess on how schools should be run, for a minimum of 3 years. Trump wants to obliterate anything with Mr. Obama’s name on it. I agree and side with Ms. Bartoletti, and Ms. Arrington’s comments in the article too!
Well said ! x’s 5!
MU: Simply adorable!!! and so cute!
Hope that you’re doing good. Hope that you have a great day too! Thanks, Lynn.
Oh, I thought you knew TomCat did it.
5:57 So beautiful.
AlterNet – Jolly is anything but his name. I’m surprised he has enough self-awareness (because he is one of them) to even realize what he is saying – which is spot on. I hope Rudy keeps talking. He’s really digging Orange Judas’s grave.
DKos – ISN’T this good news! And, yes, they will be under court supervision. Not only must all the funds go to charity, but the charities it goes to must pass muster.
TP – Anyone who hasn’t read the most recent Everyday Erinyes (#148) and is interested in this issue should probably do so.
Universe – Oh, dear, kitty, not all groceries are food! There’s dishwashing detergent, and paper towels, and sometimes even bug spray. Not to mention the stuff that is food but you don’t care for (broccoli?)
As Joanne noted, the Judge will supervise the dispersal of all funds.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-foundation-agrees-dissolve-judge-oversee-dispersal-other-charities-n949386
Restitution will depend on the outcome of the ongoing lawsuit by the NY AG office:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/nyregion/ny-ag-underwood-trump-foundation.html
And the lawsuit IS continuing:
https://twitter.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1075057547072233473
3:37 (average 5:53) That protective colouring worked well, didn’t it?
Alternet: It was refreshing to see that media no longer heed the ‘balanced approach’ which forces them to have at least one right-wing member on the panel, but get sensible people in front of the cameras instead, like ex-Republican David Jolly. And Comey, of course. They’ve must have given him a hard time during his 2nd questioning, but he came out ready to fight for unity against Drumpf; unity not accept his lying; not as a person but certainly not as a president. I’m sure we’ll hear more of Comey soon.
DK: I remember the Drumpf foundation was under investigation round about the time Drumpf became president. Sad that it always takes so long before these investigations are legally resolved, but at least it gives us a nice Christmas present. FRom what I’ve read and heard so far, NY AG Underwood is going for the jugular of the whole Drumpf family and she’s doing it extremely thorough and by the book. She may not be able to indict any of the Drumpfs, but she sure can make them haemorrhage and hurt them in what they only care about: their money.
TP: Now this is something I didn’t need under the Christmas tree. I thought that by now Drumpf had pulled down everything Obama had achieved. But this has survived scrutiny for too long and Drumpf & DeVos are back with a vengeance. Arm more armed people in schools, have more racially profiling police in schools and make sure that no kid feels safe at school, especially not kids from minorities or with disabilities. Pretending to do “good”, they get the next generation disenfranchised from education, straight into prison. It’s sickening.
MU: That kittie is just too adorable in that cart, please give it a snack.
Great post.
AN: All the flipping lies these attorneys can create to support the idiot, tRump. Especially the crazier one Giuliani. He confuses and mixes up the information just as bad as tRump. Well, I hate to tell them, including tRump, he’s in deep sh*t now and money isn’t going to get him out of it.
DK: Wonderful news. I guess the court or someone with high standing will decide and distribute properly,
MU: Adorable.