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marmar

marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
July 27, 2024

Citizens United, GOP state parties file FEC complaint over Biden-Harris campaign funds


WASHINGTON — A conservative group and a group of Republican state parties Thursday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of improperly assuming control of Biden campaign funds after he withdrew from the race.

The complaint is asking the FEC’s six-person commission — split evenly between Democrats and Republicans — to “immediately initiate enforcement proceedings to prevent Harris from using her ill-gotten gains for her campaign in the little time remaining between now and the November general election.”

After President Joe Biden suspended his reelection campaign and endorsed Harris to take his place as the likely Democratic nominee, the Biden campaign officially changed its name to the Harris campaign, giving the vice president access to about $96 million of campaign funds as of June 30.

Harris campaign spokesperson Charles Kretchmer Lutvak said in a statement to States Newsroom that the complaint had no merit.

“Republicans may be jealous that Democrats are energized to defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA allies, but baseless legal claims – like the ones they’ve made for years to try to suppress votes and steal elections – will only distract them while we sign up volunteers, talk to voters, and win this election,” he said. ......................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/07/26/citizens-united-gop-state-parties-file-fec-complaint-over-biden-harris-campaign-funds/




July 27, 2024

Kamala Harris breaks records with massive, celebrity-filled Zoom fundraisers


(Salon) Presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris amassed a record number of Zoom attendees for a series of celebrity-filled fundraisers that have garnered millions of dollars donations, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Zoom calls began Sunday when over 44,000 Black women got on a call to hype supporters for Harris’ historic run for president. That call attracted attention from celebrities such as actresses Yvette Nicole Brown and Jennifer Lewis, resulting in more than $1.5 million being raised for the Harris campaign. The movement continued with another call featuring 50,000 Black men, followed by hype-fundraiser Zooms for white women, LGBTQ+ people, South Asian supporters and so on.

The call for white women Harris supporters Thursday night gathered around 100,000 participants, testing the limits of Zoom as the call dropped in and out. Those kicked off the Zoom chose to watch the live stream on YouTube, where over 25,000 supporters also joined the call, the Hollywood Reporter explained.

That call, which raised over $1.8 million, included celebrities such as Katie McGrath, Connie Britton and Pink. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/07/26/kamala-harris-breaks-records-with-massive-celebrity-filled-zoom-fundraisers/?in_brief=true




July 26, 2024

Officials celebrate as Gordie Howe International Bridge becomes official border crossing





(Michigan Advance) With the bridge deck on the Gordie Howe International Bridge connected, officials from the U.S. and Canada marked another milestone Wednesday, as the bridge linking Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, is now an official border crossing.

While the final two edge girders connecting the bridge deck were put in place on June 14, the connection process is now complete with workers installing the remaining steel beams and precast concrete panels.

Canada’s Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser, U.S. Federal Highway Administrator (FHWA) Shailen Bhatt, Michigan State Transportation Director Bradley Wieferich, U.S. and Canadian border officials and other individuals marked the accomplishment during a news conference on Wednesday.



“I am thrilled to celebrate the connection of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, which represents the strong ties between Detroit and Windsor, and the US and Canada. Over twenty years of collaboration and dedication have led us to this important milestone, and FHWA is proud to stand together with the many partners who made this bridge a reality,” Bhatt said in a statement released after the event. ...............(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/07/25/officials-celebrate-as-gordie-howe-international-bridge-becomes-official-border-crossing/




July 26, 2024

The man who set the stage for an imperial presidency if Trump wins


The man who set the stage for an imperial presidency if Trump wins
A look at Leonard Leo’s American theocracy

By Dennis Aftergut
Published July 26, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Weeks after the extremist Supreme Court majority drove a truck over the rule of law in Trump v. United States, and with all that has happened since, friends still ask, “How do you explain this decision? How could these Republican-appointed justices do something like this?”

The end-of-term Trump immunity decision forever ended any claim by the far right majority justices to belief in checks and balances on presidential power. New polling finds six in ten Americans disapproving the Court’s job performance. So the continuing questions are more than warranted.

For the answers, pay attention to Leonard Leo. He is the judicial kingmaker responsible for the list from which Trump selected Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Leo has shaped this Court and acted effectively to keep its Republican justices from abandoning his – and their – sectarian-right vision of America.

....(snip)....

He was once simply a leader of the hyper-conservative Federalist Society, the backroom nominator of right wing judges. He is now the deep pocketed central operative whose political vision reportedly shares religious roots with those of Steve Bannon. But Leo, instead of landing himself in jail like Bannon, landed a cool $1.6 billion gift from secretive Chicago billionaire Barre Seid. .............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/07/26/the-man-set-the-stage-for-an-imperial-presidency-if-wins/




July 25, 2024

Man accused of drunkenly driving golf cart, leading deputies on chase in The Villages

On edit: Added link



SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. — A 21-year-old man was arrested early Friday for drunkenly driving a golf cart and leading deputies on a chase in The Villages, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said.

Officials said that shortly after 1 a.m., deputies saw a red golf cart traveling eastbound on County Road 466 near the Oak Hammock Path.

Deputies said Christopher Esdale was driving the golf cart in the middle of the roadway -- which is not an approved roadway for golf carts -- when they tried to stop him several times.

Investigators said that they stopped their patrol car in front of the golf cart and Esdale drove onto the grass to drive around the patrol car. .............(more)

https://www.wftv.com/news/local/watch-man-accused-drunkenly-driving-golf-cart-leading-deputies-chase-villages/ZIFKRMG26RGWTIKJTQEKA3TOAQ/




July 25, 2024

Judge says far-right US news outlet filed bankruptcy in bad faith


(Guardian UK) A bankruptcy judge dismissed a bankruptcy case filed by the Gateway Pundit on Wednesday, saying the far-right outlet did not file the case in good faith.

The ruling from the US bankruptcy judge Mindy Mora in the southern district of Florida comes as the outlet faces significant defamation cases from two Georgia election workers and a former Dominion voting systems employee who say the site spread false claims about them after the 2020 election.

Calling the site’s assets “eye-catching”, Mora noted that they were 22 times the size of its liabilities.

“TGP remains both balance sheet and cash flow solvent. There is no present financial distress, no looming foreclosure sale, no prospect of a market crash. There is only the State Court Litigation in which TGP must defend itself. That’s not a basis for bankruptcy relief; it’s the justice system in operation,” Mora wrote. .................(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/25/gateway-pundit-bankruptcy-filing




July 25, 2024

Rubin: How a ghost brought white supremacists to Howell -- to the city's dismay


(Detroit Free Press) The white supremacist rally that interrupted the mayor's lunch in Howell on Saturday wasn't overly impressive, really — just a dozen or so nitwits, and one ghost.

The nitwits were chased off by a woman from the local library board. The ghost has had more staying power, but the city is trying to get rid of him, too.

Robert Miles, at one point the grand dragon of the Michigan Ku Klux Klan, felt at home in and around Howell for decades before he died in 1992. Even after he claimed to have resigned from the organization, he'd sometimes burn a cross on his farm, just for the practice and the glow.



He and his brethren helped make Howell synonymous with racism and militia-level lunacy, and it's not a great leap to think that's why a dozen anonymous bigots chose the largest city in Livingston County as the place to pass out their little pamphlets and get heckled on a sunny afternoon. ...............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/neal-rubin/2024/07/25/howell-kkk-robert-miles-white-supremacist-racism/74505063007/




July 25, 2024

U.S. House GOP spending cuts a preview of Project 2025, lead Dem appropriator says


The cuts to labor, health care and education proposed in a U.S. House Republican bill this week are previews of what would happen to federal agencies under a second Trump term, a key House Democrat said Tuesday.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters Tuesday that the major spending cuts in Republicans’ fiscal 2025 proposal to fund the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education would have significant impacts on workers, families and students.

The bill would cut the Labor Department budget by 22%, the HHS budget by 6%, and the Education Department by 14%.

DeLauro referenced Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint for a possible second Trump presidency, saying Republicans are already trying to implement the policies through spending bills. ................(more)

https://michiganadvance.com/2024/07/25/u-s-house-gop-spending-cuts-a-preview-of-project-2025-lead-dem-appropriator-says/




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