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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
September 18, 2023
The Rude Pundit
MAGAism Was Always Terrorism
September 17, 2023
snip//
And "Later, during the Senate trial, Romney heard the same calculation while talking with a small group of Republican colleagues. When one senator, a member of leadership, said he was leaning toward voting to convict, the others urged him to reconsider. You can’t do that, Romney recalled someone saying. Think of your personal safety, said another. Think of your children. The senator eventually decided they were right." They're not talking about crazed leftists going all Bolshevik on their asses. It's the fucking MAGA cretins who are murdery. They're the ones, primarily, who call in the death threats and bomb threats and show up at the houses of Democrats, armed to the tits with guns and ammo because open carry.
snip//
Put this in context: According to Romney (and others), the reason that Donald Trump was not removed from office is because Republicans were scared of the very white people they declare are the heart and soul of the country, the "real Americans," if you will. They were afraid that these "patriots," as more than one obsequious jellyfish has called them, will hang them or gun their children down in vengeance. The terrorists were protecting their terrorist leader. Think of how many decisions have been made because of this fear.
What's most idiotic here is the way that people are acting shocked about this "revelation." Hell, I've been writing about it since at least 2017. This isn't a revelation. It's a confirmation. What we should be saying is how this is pure cowardice, an excuse to make an easy choice to do nothing. The patriotic act would have been for Republicans to say, "Fuck you, you fucking creeps. He's guilty and an asshole. Fuck him and fuck you again." The representatives who did this likely would have lost re-election (like Adam Kinzinger) because of the MAGA animals, but at the very least you could have said you did the right fucking thing and you didn't cower while crazy motherfuckers wrecked the joint. Except, of course, for the terrorists in Congress who want to see the whole joint crumble. (And let's be clear: if you were happy to go along with things like the bullshit wall and the bullshit Muslim ban and other Trumpian bullshit, you empowered him and his cretins.)
Trump is counting on his terrorists to fuck up any chance of a genuine trial occurring. In his motion requesting that the judge in DC get Trump to shut the fuck up sometimes, Special Counsel Jack Smith (which, despite what Trump says, is his real name) is very clear about the terrorism that Trump has already caused. When it came to Trump lying about election interference, "the defendant engendered widespread mistrust in the administration of the election, and the individuals whom he targeted were subject to threats and harassment...The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets." Smith says that witnesses and prosecutors in the case are all now subject to threats because of how Trump is deliberately degrading them. He is also concerned that the threat of being a target of harassment and possible violence by the MAGA terrorists will taint the jury pool. So, for fuck's sake, make this orange shit lump close his asshole mouth.
This is how we live now, and most of us pretend we don't. We live in a time where a large terrorist movement, with just a few active but with millions of supporters, can control how the country is run. And if we don't stop it by imprisoning its leader and his lieutenants, then the terrorists are not going to stop.
The Rude Pundit: MAGAism Was Always Terrorism
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2023/09/magaism-was-always-terrorism.htmlThe Rude Pundit
MAGAism Was Always Terrorism
September 17, 2023
snip//
And "Later, during the Senate trial, Romney heard the same calculation while talking with a small group of Republican colleagues. When one senator, a member of leadership, said he was leaning toward voting to convict, the others urged him to reconsider. You can’t do that, Romney recalled someone saying. Think of your personal safety, said another. Think of your children. The senator eventually decided they were right." They're not talking about crazed leftists going all Bolshevik on their asses. It's the fucking MAGA cretins who are murdery. They're the ones, primarily, who call in the death threats and bomb threats and show up at the houses of Democrats, armed to the tits with guns and ammo because open carry.
snip//
Put this in context: According to Romney (and others), the reason that Donald Trump was not removed from office is because Republicans were scared of the very white people they declare are the heart and soul of the country, the "real Americans," if you will. They were afraid that these "patriots," as more than one obsequious jellyfish has called them, will hang them or gun their children down in vengeance. The terrorists were protecting their terrorist leader. Think of how many decisions have been made because of this fear.
What's most idiotic here is the way that people are acting shocked about this "revelation." Hell, I've been writing about it since at least 2017. This isn't a revelation. It's a confirmation. What we should be saying is how this is pure cowardice, an excuse to make an easy choice to do nothing. The patriotic act would have been for Republicans to say, "Fuck you, you fucking creeps. He's guilty and an asshole. Fuck him and fuck you again." The representatives who did this likely would have lost re-election (like Adam Kinzinger) because of the MAGA animals, but at the very least you could have said you did the right fucking thing and you didn't cower while crazy motherfuckers wrecked the joint. Except, of course, for the terrorists in Congress who want to see the whole joint crumble. (And let's be clear: if you were happy to go along with things like the bullshit wall and the bullshit Muslim ban and other Trumpian bullshit, you empowered him and his cretins.)
Trump is counting on his terrorists to fuck up any chance of a genuine trial occurring. In his motion requesting that the judge in DC get Trump to shut the fuck up sometimes, Special Counsel Jack Smith (which, despite what Trump says, is his real name) is very clear about the terrorism that Trump has already caused. When it came to Trump lying about election interference, "the defendant engendered widespread mistrust in the administration of the election, and the individuals whom he targeted were subject to threats and harassment...The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets." Smith says that witnesses and prosecutors in the case are all now subject to threats because of how Trump is deliberately degrading them. He is also concerned that the threat of being a target of harassment and possible violence by the MAGA terrorists will taint the jury pool. So, for fuck's sake, make this orange shit lump close his asshole mouth.
This is how we live now, and most of us pretend we don't. We live in a time where a large terrorist movement, with just a few active but with millions of supporters, can control how the country is run. And if we don't stop it by imprisoning its leader and his lieutenants, then the terrorists are not going to stop.
September 15, 2023
Lawsuit: Kansas board fired librarians for rainbow display
Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 7:30:18p EDT
Walter Einenkel
Two librarians and two patrons are suing the Kansas town of Sterling and its public library board after the librarians claim they were fired for a display that included symbols celebrating diversity and promoting autism awareness. You read that right. The lawsuit says the Sterling Free Public Library’s eight-member board violated the First Amendment rights of former Carnegie Library Director Kari Wheeler and her assistant, Brandy Lancaster.
The defendants are the library’s board of directors, the city of Sterling, its mayor, and two library board members. The two patrons suing alongside the librarians are Samantha Corwin and Audra Asher, both of whom are neurodivergent.
When the board fired the two librarians in July, it vaguely said they had lost confidence in their ability to do their jobs. At the time, Wheeler told local news station KWCH that she didn’t think that excuse had anything to do with anything, explaining that a small “diversity” display she had put up in June was seen by Library Board Vice President Michelle Miller—and the rainbow colors in it set Miller off.
And there’s more.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/14/2193273/-Kansas-librarians-say-they-were-fired-for-rainbow-display
Lawsuit: Kansas board fired librarians for rainbow display
Lawsuit: Kansas board fired librarians for rainbow display
Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 7:30:18p EDT
Walter Einenkel
Two librarians and two patrons are suing the Kansas town of Sterling and its public library board after the librarians claim they were fired for a display that included symbols celebrating diversity and promoting autism awareness. You read that right. The lawsuit says the Sterling Free Public Library’s eight-member board violated the First Amendment rights of former Carnegie Library Director Kari Wheeler and her assistant, Brandy Lancaster.
The defendants are the library’s board of directors, the city of Sterling, its mayor, and two library board members. The two patrons suing alongside the librarians are Samantha Corwin and Audra Asher, both of whom are neurodivergent.
When the board fired the two librarians in July, it vaguely said they had lost confidence in their ability to do their jobs. At the time, Wheeler told local news station KWCH that she didn’t think that excuse had anything to do with anything, explaining that a small “diversity” display she had put up in June was seen by Library Board Vice President Michelle Miller—and the rainbow colors in it set Miller off.
“But I was told to take it down because it has a rainbow infinity flag,” Wheeler said. “June is National Gay Pride Month and I was told that this was not appropriate t[o] post. And I said, ‘it’s not about any of that.’ I said, ‘it’s about autism,’ and so I didn’t see the problem with posting it.”
And there’s more.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/14/2193273/-Kansas-librarians-say-they-were-fired-for-rainbow-display
September 13, 2023
Trump's Name To Be Stripped From New York City Golf Course After Sale To Bally’s
"I am delighted that Trump's name will no longer deface city parkland," a New York official said of the news.
Nick Visser
Sep 12, 2023, 11:10 PM EDT
The Trump Organization has sold the rights to its public golf course in New York City to the Bally’s Corporation, which will see the former president’s name removed from yet another of his flagship properties.
The Trump Organization said Tuesday it will cede control of the 18-hole course — known as Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point — to Bally’s effective immediately. The deal comes as Bally’s hopes to build a coveted casino in New York City, where it seeks to bolster its chances by taking over the property and changing its name to Bally’s Links.
more...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-links-golf-course-new-york-city_n_650123fce4b027df0e9206a3
Trump's Name To Be Stripped From New York City Golf Course After Sale To Bally's
Trump's Name To Be Stripped From New York City Golf Course After Sale To Bally’s
"I am delighted that Trump's name will no longer deface city parkland," a New York official said of the news.
Nick Visser
Sep 12, 2023, 11:10 PM EDT
The Trump Organization has sold the rights to its public golf course in New York City to the Bally’s Corporation, which will see the former president’s name removed from yet another of his flagship properties.
The Trump Organization said Tuesday it will cede control of the 18-hole course — known as Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point — to Bally’s effective immediately. The deal comes as Bally’s hopes to build a coveted casino in New York City, where it seeks to bolster its chances by taking over the property and changing its name to Bally’s Links.
“After the City wasted hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money in its prior failed attempts to complete this project, at the request of Mayor Bloomberg and the NYC Parks Department, The Trump Organization delivered to the people of the City of New York what has been widely recognized as one of the most magnificent public golf experiences anywhere in the world,” Eric Trump, the executive vice president of the company, said in a statement Tuesday.
“We wish them tremendous luck and are confident that Bally’s will continue to operate this exceptional facility in the same world-class manner,” he added.
“We wish them tremendous luck and are confident that Bally’s will continue to operate this exceptional facility in the same world-class manner,” he added.
more...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-links-golf-course-new-york-city_n_650123fce4b027df0e9206a3
September 13, 2023
Biden’s Trump Card on Impeachment
September 12, 2023 at 5:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
Biden's Trump Card on Impeachment
https://politicalwire.com/2023/09/12/bidens-trump-card-on-impeachment/Biden’s Trump Card on Impeachment
September 12, 2023 at 5:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard
Politico: “In January 2020, the Donald Trump-led Justice Department formally declared that impeachment inquiries by the House are invalid unless the chamber takes formal votes to authorize them.”
“That opinion — issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel — came in response to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into Trump without initially holding a vote for it.”
“Not only is it still on the books, it is binding on the current administration as it responds to Tuesday’s announcement by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to authorize an impeachment inquiry into Biden, again without a vote.”
“That opinion — issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel — came in response to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into Trump without initially holding a vote for it.”
“Not only is it still on the books, it is binding on the current administration as it responds to Tuesday’s announcement by Speaker Kevin McCarthy to authorize an impeachment inquiry into Biden, again without a vote.”
September 12, 2023
Aren't cars and trucks supposed to depreciate?
(Did not know where to put this, so here tis).
I imagine I'm not the lone ranger-if you have a decent insurance carrier, I'd sure like to hear about them.
I have a 2009 Toyota Camry I bought used a few years ago. I just got my latest statement and am being told my premiums have doubled from last year. No recent accidents, no tickets, no late payments, no reason. I've heard it's due to all the lawsuits that are being litigated successfully, but I'm annoyed as that has nothing to do with me.
I have the minimal coverage possible (liability) as it's an older car but I'm pretty sure I'm covered for drivers w/o insurance in case I get creamed. I don't really know what to do; need to find a fairer, cheaper insurance company.
I switched from Progressive last year b/c their rates skyrocketed after first year; now I have something called Dairyland Insurance.
Thanks for any suggestions. 
September 12, 2023
This is what it’s all about
Published by digby on September 11, 2023
The looming impeachment has a grander purpose
Noah Berlatsky writes:
It’s absolutely the case that they are doing this for Trump because he has demanded it. That goes without saying. But since they are all bent on destroying democracy and the constitutional order, de-legitimizing the impeachment process is a no brainer. If they have the power (meaning a 2/3 Senate majority) they will remove any Democratic president for whatever trumped up charges they come up with. If they don’t have the power they will use it as yet another of their patented performance art projects. Impeachment will be devalued so that even if Democrats have the evidence and the power to remove, it will be seen as illegitimate. Win win for the bad guys.
This is what it's all about
https://digbysblog.net/2023/09/11/this-is-what-its-all-about/This is what it’s all about
Published by digby on September 11, 2023
The looming impeachment has a grander purpose
Noah Berlatsky writes:
Republicans have openly admitted that their efforts to impeach President Joe Biden — which will begin in earnest this week as House members return to DC from summer break — are in bad faith. They don’t just want to tarnish Biden. They want to tarnish the impeachment process itself.
As the GOP has become increasingly authoritarian and anti-democracy, Republicans have become increasingly committed to undermining and mocking forms of democratic accountability. A nakedly partisan and clownish impeachment is useful because it signals to voters that all impeachments are clown shows, and all impeachments are partisan. That exculpates former President Donald Trump and delegitimizes resistance to him should he win the presidency again.
As the GOP has become increasingly authoritarian and anti-democracy, Republicans have become increasingly committed to undermining and mocking forms of democratic accountability. A nakedly partisan and clownish impeachment is useful because it signals to voters that all impeachments are clown shows, and all impeachments are partisan. That exculpates former President Donald Trump and delegitimizes resistance to him should he win the presidency again.
It’s absolutely the case that they are doing this for Trump because he has demanded it. That goes without saying. But since they are all bent on destroying democracy and the constitutional order, de-legitimizing the impeachment process is a no brainer. If they have the power (meaning a 2/3 Senate majority) they will remove any Democratic president for whatever trumped up charges they come up with. If they don’t have the power they will use it as yet another of their patented performance art projects. Impeachment will be devalued so that even if Democrats have the evidence and the power to remove, it will be seen as illegitimate. Win win for the bad guys.
September 12, 2023
‘If they catch us they’ll deport us’: DeSantis law hinders Idalia recovery
People who worked on recovery efforts afraid to travel to Florida in case they are targeted by immigration authorities
Michael Sainato in Gainesville, Florida
@msainat1
Tue 12 Sep 2023 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Tue 12 Sep 2023 07.45 EDT
snip//
In the wake of a new anti-immigration law that went into effect in Florida on 1 July, Maria has decided not to join Idalia recovery and rebuilding efforts in case she is targeted by immigration authorities.
The new law was brought in under the hardline rule of the state’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, whose rhetoric on a range of issues has ratcheted up as he runs for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on a far-right platform.
The law imposes restrictions and penalties aimed at deterring employers from hiring undocumented workers, requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to inquire patients about their immigration status, and requires persons in custody on an immigration detainer to submit a DNA sample.
The bill also requires businesses with over 25 employees to use E-Verify to verify employees’ immigration statuses.
more...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/12/ron-desantis-immigration-law-idalia-recovery-effort
'If they catch us they'll deport us': DeSantis law hinders Idalia recovery
‘If they catch us they’ll deport us’: DeSantis law hinders Idalia recovery
People who worked on recovery efforts afraid to travel to Florida in case they are targeted by immigration authorities
Michael Sainato in Gainesville, Florida
@msainat1
Tue 12 Sep 2023 06.00 EDT
Last modified on Tue 12 Sep 2023 07.45 EDT
snip//
In the wake of a new anti-immigration law that went into effect in Florida on 1 July, Maria has decided not to join Idalia recovery and rebuilding efforts in case she is targeted by immigration authorities.
“We’re afraid to go. When I left, I was crying very much, it was hard for me because there was work there and I enjoyed it,” added Maria, who does not want her surname used out of fear of the authorities. “Now with this new law, if they catch us, they will deport us, so we’re too afraid to go back.”
The new law was brought in under the hardline rule of the state’s rightwing governor, Ron DeSantis, whose rhetoric on a range of issues has ratcheted up as he runs for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination on a far-right platform.
The law imposes restrictions and penalties aimed at deterring employers from hiring undocumented workers, requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to inquire patients about their immigration status, and requires persons in custody on an immigration detainer to submit a DNA sample.
The bill also requires businesses with over 25 employees to use E-Verify to verify employees’ immigration statuses.
more...
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/12/ron-desantis-immigration-law-idalia-recovery-effort
September 11, 2023
Remembering 9/11 heroes
Published by digby on September 11, 2023
They weren’t all human
https://twitter.com/i/status/1701278192903004502
Remembering 9/11 heroes-They weren't all human
https://digbysblog.net/2023/09/11/remembering-9-11-heroes/Remembering 9/11 heroes
Published by digby on September 11, 2023
They weren’t all human
https://twitter.com/i/status/1701278192903004502
September 9, 2023
What is the difference between a grand jury and a special grand jury?
For those not in the know, like myself. Popped up on google.
What is the difference between a grand jury and a special grand jury?
Instead of issuing indictments like a regular grand jury, the special purpose grand jury submits its findings to the district attorney, who then decides whether to present evidence to a grand jury for criminal charges.
Instead of issuing indictments like a regular grand jury, the special purpose grand jury submits its findings to the district attorney, who then decides whether to present evidence to a grand jury for criminal charges.
September 8, 2023
New York
“You’re as Sick as Your Secrets”: Will Eric Adams Be the Mayor Who Releases 9/11 Docs?
As the 22nd anniversary of the attacks nears, Adams is facing increasing pressure to reveal what Rudy Giuliani’s administration knew about the toxic situation at Ground Zero.
By Chris Smith
September 7, 2023
Twenty-two years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, significant questions remain unanswered: Did Saudi Arabia help fund them? What was the ultimate target of United flight 93? Yet it’s one of the seemingly smaller mysteries that may be the strangest of all: Why is current New York City mayor Eric Adams withholding documents concerning what City Hall knew about the toxicity of Ground Zero’s air, effectively shielding former mayor Rudy Giuliani?
As the annual day of remembrance approaches, four relatives of people killed by Ground Zero–related illnesses, organized by the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch and with the encouragement of New York congressmen Jerry Nadler and Daniel Goldman, are pursuing a newly aggressive strategy to gain access to the hidden documents. On Friday, they will file a Freedom of Information Law request. If asking the nice way doesn’t work yet again, they are prepared to sue the city. “I’m reminded of an old phrase: ‘You’re as sick as your secrets,’” says Andrew Carboy, who is handling the legal paperwork pro bono, along with fellow attorney Matt McCauley. “Here, it’s the city’s secrets that made these people sick.”
The life-and-death fight over the chemicals swirling through downtown New York began raging shortly after the towers fell. In the days after the attack Giuliani and Christine Whitman, then the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, made reassuring statements that the air was safe to breathe. That wasn’t true, and though the city of New York and the EPA urged workers to wear masks, the recommendations weren’t enforced, and more people are estimated to have died from Ground Zero–related illnesses than were killed on 9/11. “We knew within a week that the air was toxic and that people shouldn’t return to Lower Manhattan,” Nadler tells me. “But the mayor just wanted to reopen Wall Street, and so he lied.”
snip//
Twenty-two years ago Mayor Adams, as he frequently mentions, was a cop who served at the World Trade Center site after the attacks. Fortunately, Adams has shown no public sign of any related illness. Nadler nevertheless hopes the mayor’s sense of empathy wins out over any fiscal or legal concerns when it comes to releasing the air-quality documents. “Many thousands of people have died. Many are sick. Many more will die,” Nadler says. “And we have a right to know all about it.”
"You're as Sick as Your Secrets": Will Eric Adams Be the Mayor Who Releases 9/11 Docs?
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/09/will-eric-adams-release-911-docsNew York
“You’re as Sick as Your Secrets”: Will Eric Adams Be the Mayor Who Releases 9/11 Docs?
As the 22nd anniversary of the attacks nears, Adams is facing increasing pressure to reveal what Rudy Giuliani’s administration knew about the toxic situation at Ground Zero.
By Chris Smith
September 7, 2023
Twenty-two years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, significant questions remain unanswered: Did Saudi Arabia help fund them? What was the ultimate target of United flight 93? Yet it’s one of the seemingly smaller mysteries that may be the strangest of all: Why is current New York City mayor Eric Adams withholding documents concerning what City Hall knew about the toxicity of Ground Zero’s air, effectively shielding former mayor Rudy Giuliani?
As the annual day of remembrance approaches, four relatives of people killed by Ground Zero–related illnesses, organized by the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch and with the encouragement of New York congressmen Jerry Nadler and Daniel Goldman, are pursuing a newly aggressive strategy to gain access to the hidden documents. On Friday, they will file a Freedom of Information Law request. If asking the nice way doesn’t work yet again, they are prepared to sue the city. “I’m reminded of an old phrase: ‘You’re as sick as your secrets,’” says Andrew Carboy, who is handling the legal paperwork pro bono, along with fellow attorney Matt McCauley. “Here, it’s the city’s secrets that made these people sick.”
The life-and-death fight over the chemicals swirling through downtown New York began raging shortly after the towers fell. In the days after the attack Giuliani and Christine Whitman, then the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, made reassuring statements that the air was safe to breathe. That wasn’t true, and though the city of New York and the EPA urged workers to wear masks, the recommendations weren’t enforced, and more people are estimated to have died from Ground Zero–related illnesses than were killed on 9/11. “We knew within a week that the air was toxic and that people shouldn’t return to Lower Manhattan,” Nadler tells me. “But the mayor just wanted to reopen Wall Street, and so he lied.”
snip//
Twenty-two years ago Mayor Adams, as he frequently mentions, was a cop who served at the World Trade Center site after the attacks. Fortunately, Adams has shown no public sign of any related illness. Nadler nevertheless hopes the mayor’s sense of empathy wins out over any fiscal or legal concerns when it comes to releasing the air-quality documents. “Many thousands of people have died. Many are sick. Many more will die,” Nadler says. “And we have a right to know all about it.”
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