Democracy Now

https://www.democracynow.org/

Thanks for the link. I particularly enjoyed reading this exchange:

Bree, let’s begin with you. You were tweeting up a storm as the storm was unfolding in Washington, D.C., yesterday. You said, “Y’all the DC mayor requested the national guard. The pentagon was discussing the threat long before today. It’s not possible security forces were caught off guard, unprepared or simply failed. Please cease this ridiculous narrative.” So, take it from there, Bree.

BREE NEWSOME BASS: Yes. Thank you for inviting me to join you.

I mean, I was on social media all yesterday and, like everyone else, was just kind of gripped by watching the events that were happening. And one of the things that we saw throughout the day yesterday were people like myself, who have been present for various protests, you know, and mostly people of color, Black people, noting the obvious difference in terms of how police have a coordinated, overtly militarized response to any kind of protest that is challenging racism in policing or racism in the government versus what we witnessed yesterday. And I think that what we saw yesterday is just another one of these kind of flashpoint moments in history that just represents a culmination of everything that came before it, and really shines a spotlight on everything that is fundamentally wrong. And one of those things is clearly policing.

The idea that we had no idea that this was coming, which I think, is, frankly, one of the, like, ongoing, most disturbing talking points that we have gotten throughout the Trump administration — people say, “How could we have gotten here? This isn’t who we are,” which just completely flies not just in the face of American history — right? — but in the face of the events of just the past five years. I mean, everything that we have seen in the past five years pointed to what happened yesterday happening. And so, the idea that security officials, people who are tasked with protecting the Capitol, could not have foreseen the conflict that played out yesterday is clearly beyond belief. I mean, there’s no way to believe that that is the case.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Bree, quite apart from the fact that, you know, it was just an astounding spectacle of all these, I mean, effectively domestic terrorists invading the Capitol, what’s also strange, if not outright stunning, is the fact that there was such little comment from either the Department of Justice or security agencies responding to this extraordinary event, apart, of course, from the FBI asking for explicit help in identifying those who instigated the violence — an extremely bizarre request given that it was quite apparent who the instigators were.

BREE NEWSOME BASS: Absolutely. I mean, again, the central issue here is white supremacy. And white supremacy was foundational to the establishment of this nation. That is the central conflict. I mean, that is the main thing that I continue to say as an activist, is that, clearly, this is the central conflict. It is baked into our institutions. It was baked into our Constitution at the founding. And that continues to be the case. And that explains why — I wouldn’t even describe it as a difficulty in figuring out what is going on. It’s just the fact that it is the defining internal conflict of the nation. So, yes, of course, you have people within the military. You have people within policing. You have people within the government. It was elected officials who initiated the events that led to this riot.

One of the things that was most striking to me yesterday — I was among the people who kind of stayed up into the wee hours of the morning watching how things played out at the Capitol — was, you know, you would see congressperson after congressperson condemning the insurrectionist mob — so you’re talking about, you know, the civilians who showed up — but there was still very little acknowledgment of the fact that the people who led the insurrection, the people who have incited these people to mob the Capitol, were sitting there in the chamber, were still voicing their objection to the election.

So, you know, this idea that we are somehow just going to reach across the aisle and shake hands and carry on as though we did not witness things play out as it did, as though the primary inciter of violence yesterday was not the president of the United States, is just completely unrealistic. And there’s no way that that can happen.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Bree, you also — among your tweets yesterday, you wrote that what was happening yesterday was not the culmination of the last four years, but in fact the culmination of the last five centuries. Could you talk about that?

BREE NEWSOME BASS: Yeah, that was actually me retweeting someone else who made that excellent point. And again, it goes to the heart of this false notion that we could not foresee what was happening or that this is not America. This is absolutely America. We have an ongoing, prolonged history not just of colonization and slavery and genocide in this country, but also this constant back-and-forth where we try to make strides towards having a democracy that truly recognizes the rights and citizenship of all people, and violent, white supremacist backlash against that cause.

I mean, you know, people were bringing up the Wilmington riots — right? — of 1898, which that took place here in North Carolina, another example in the aftermath of the Civil War where you had Black people being elected to Congress, working in collaboration with white elected officials, and they were overthrown. There was a white mob that just came to town, burned down buildings and violently overthrew the democratically elected government. And we are still, in our state, in the year 2021, dealing with the aftermath of that conflict.

So this is not something that is foreign to the United States. This is something that is very much baked into our DNA. What happened yesterday cannot be separated, of course, from the fact that we just had an election that not only ousted a blatant white nationalist president, but we just elected a Catholic president, a vice president who is Black and Indian American, and then we had the Senate just flip, day before yesterday, with the election of a Black man and a Jewish man from Georgia. So, yes, you know, of course we’re going to see white supremacists in the Capitol waving Confederate flags. Of course we have known for years now that the greatest imminent threat to the United States is both white supremacist, far-right terrorists and the current president of the United States.

So, again, for anyone in a position of security or authority who is tasked with securing national security and securing the Capitol and the safety of the people who work and reside there to claim that this was somehow unpredictable, again, flies in the face of any logic. And if we are going to be serious about addressing the threats that we face right now from fascism and from the far right, we have to confront the presence of that element in our police forces, point blank, period. This has been the main point that we have been making in the Black Lives Matter movement, in the call for defunding the police and shifting resources, because it is very clear that the primary function of police forces in the United States is to enforce racism above enforcing public safety.

Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany 1/7/21
 

WOW some press conference where no press is allowed to ask questions!

No doubt Trump sent her out after the debacle of yesterday.

On a personal note, I wouldn't believe her even if her tongue came notarized ...

LOL too funny

~
 

lololololololololol that's all I have to say ! excellent post !

They will be back on January 19. They are cheerfully warning anyone who will listen.

Ron Russell, a Trump supporter from Ohio, told The Dispatch, "I see justice being done. This is our house, our house. We're taking it back. May not be today, but we will take this house back, guaranteed."

Robert Unterzuber, a friend of Russell, predicted that future attacks on the Capitol Building will be even more violent — telling The Dispatch, "We're coming to the Capitol, and we're going to tear her down if necessary and drag them people out of there."

Similarly, Christopher Alberts, a Trump supporter from Maryland, told The Dispatch, "The people that were here today are going to come back even more, and we're not coming back peacefully — and we're not coming back unarmed. America's long overdue for revolution."

Anthony Maffei, another Trumpista, told The Dispatch, "If we have to get violent, then it's time to get violent."

Retired Army Colonel Celestino T Perez wrote:
"Today, January 6, 2021, We patriots by the millions, have arrived in Washington, D.C., carrying banners of support for the greatest President the world has ever known. But if we must... Many of Us will return on January 19, 2021, carrying Our weapons, in support of Our nation's resolve, to which the world will never forget!!!" a colonel who goes by the name Celestino T Perez wrote in a post on Parler, which has become the latest favorite social media platform for the far-right. He continued, "We will come in numbers that no standing army or police agency can match. However, the police are NOT Our enemy, unless they choose to be! All who will not stand with the American Patriots... or who cannot stand with Us... then, that would be a good time for YOU to take a few vacation days." He signed off as "The American Patriot."

After a screenshot of the post went viral on Twitter, people started tagging the FBI and requesting the police to be better prepared than they were to handle the mob that attacked the Capitol. "And remember the Capitol police let everybody who sacked our Capitol go yesterday with a tsk tsk so they’re still at large," one of them said.

I hope law enforcement meets these people on January 19 or 20 with a quarter of the force they use against BLM protests. They certainly can't claim they didn't know about or expect an attack like they did regarding January 6. Although they most certainly did know way ahead of time about the attack January 6, they may not have understood that these people were not peaceful and planned to use deadly violence. Police and military cannot use that excuse this time. They are well aware these people have killed and plan to kill again. I hope for the sake of metro police officers that these agencies will better protect their own this time.

Just as a point of reference here is an excerpt from an article in the Guardian from 2017 regarding how protestors are handled who are just in the vicinity of the Capitol.

"On the morning of President Trump’s inauguration, police in riot gear using sting-ball grenades and pepper spray, trapped and arrested more than 230 people. Some were anti-Trump demonstrators; some were not. The next day, federal prosecutors charged them all with “felony rioting”, a nonexistent crime in Washington DC. The prosecution then launched a sweeping investigation into the defendants’ lives, demanding vast amounts of online information through secret warrants.

Prosecutors eventually dropped a few defendants, like journalists and legal observers, but simultaneously increased the charges against everyone else. The most recent indictment collectively charged more than 200 people with felony rioting, felony incitement to riot, conspiracy to riot, and five property-damage crimes – all from broken windows.

Each defendant is facing over 60 years in prison.

The prosecution next obtained warrants focused on anti-Trump organizers. One sought a list of all visitors to a website that organizers used to promote Inauguration Day protests. A second sought information on all Facebook friends and related communications of two organizers, the host of a coalition Facebook page, and those who simply “liked” that page."

All this from 5 broken windows. On January 6 we had 5 deaths. There is a real problem with law enforcement enforcing laws depending on if they agree with the politics of the law breakers or if they see themselves reflected in a law breaker or not and a justice system who is not blind and far from equitable.

Many of these terrorists are retired army and police from all over the country. They are well armed and understand combat. I hope law enforcement does a better job than they did on January 6. Or they could be pro active and round them all up right now before they do more damage. They are brazenly admitting who they are and what they plan to do. Where is the FBI? Why all this silence and inaction?

Pelosi News Flash; Fast Track Impeachment +++
 

I just like her for her stalwart leadership.

Nancy Pelosi is many steps ahead of a potentially threatening nightmare by talking with Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon to head off last minute seditious behavioral choices, made by TP, that could have lasting damage for not only the US, but for our global partners and allies.


https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wire...posts_card_hed

Twitter bans Donald Trump's account
 

Twitter has permanently suspended T***p's account. Twitter said that there was a risk the account could be used for violent incitement. He previously had 88 million followers.

I'm glad to hear that Twitter took action and held him accountable. That is good. I was reading about it over on CNN and I also saw that another app that TP supporters and other right-wing white supremacists use is Parlar and that app was deleted so hate groups cannot access it anymore.

I wonder if some IT expert has developed an algorithm to help catch these people, is what I've been wondering about.


Thanks for posting that Twitter finally banned T---P.

~~~
Bill Belichick turns down Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump, cites Capitol attack.....:hangloose:

Good, now T***p's friends are seeing and acknowledging him for the lying scum he is.

Forbes magazine’s chief content officer delivered a stark warning to companies that might consider hiring Kayleigh McEnany, Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other former spokespeople in the Trump White House: Do so and risk losing all credibility given their history of perpetuating “lies-upon-lies, repeated frequently and fervently” on behalf of the president. And what better way to punish those spreaders of untruth than by warning the businesses who hire them in the future?

“Let it be known to the business world: Hire any of Trump’s fellow fabulists above, and Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie,” Forbes Chief Content Officer Randall Lane wrote in a piece published Thursday. “We’re going to scrutinize, double-check, investigate with the same skepticism we’d approach a Trump tweet. Want to ensure the world’s biggest business media brand approaches you as a potential funnel of disinformation? Then hire away.”

Lane singled out former White House press secretaries and spokespeople such as Kayleigh McEnany, Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sean Spicer — noting that they have shirked their duty to tell the truth regardless of how uncomfortable that may be.

“As someone in the business of facts, it’s been especially painful to watch President Trump’s press secretaries debase themselves,” Lane wrote. “Yes, as with their political bosses, spins and omissions and exaggerations are part of the game. But ultimately in PR, core credibility is the coin of the realm.”

While Lane said he wasn’t surprised by Trump’s propensity for “shamelessly exaggerating and prevaricating” information, he has been shocked by “the number of people willing to lend credence to that obvious mendacity on his behalf.”

Lane spoke out about the need to come clean following the deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. “In this time of transition — and pain — reinvigorating democracy requires a reckoning. A truth reckoning. Starting with the people paid by the People to inform the People.”

The distrust of information coming out of the White House began on day one of the Trump administration, when Spicer exaggerated the inauguration crowd size, demanding people believe what he was saying and not what their eyes were seeing, Lane pointed out. And that was just the beginning.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...120424630.html

Two US Capitol Police officers were suspended and at least 10 more are under investigation for their behavior during last week's assault on the Capitol, and federal agents will look at whether current and former law enforcement officers played a role in the riot.

At least seven officers in five other departments across the country have come under internal investigations as their presence in Washington during the assault comes to light through social media or other means.

One officer in New York, one in Philadelphia, two in Seattle, two in Virginia and one in Texas are under investigation by their departments for potential rules violations. Additionally, some departments have been contacted by the FBI as part of their criminal investigation into the overrunning of the Capitol.

The number may grow as investigators and the public sift through social media and lodge allegations that officers may have been involved in the siege.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/11/polit...yan/index.html

Sarah Sanders: Former Trump spokesperson gets lectured on First Amendment by her old high school teacher...
 

Former White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, got schooled on the First Amendment by none other than her high school teacher for complaining about losing followers on Twitter.

Ms Sanders wrote: “I’ve lost 50k+ followers this week. The radical Left and their big tech allies cannot marginalise, censor, or silence the American people. This is not China, this is the United States of America, and we are a free country.”

In response, Dana D Deree, who says he taught at Ms Sanders' old high school responded “You were a student at Little Rock Central High when I taught AP Government there, but you didn't take the advanced class. If you had, maybe you would better understand the First Amendment and the difference between limits on government and freedoms for private individuals."


Mr Deree added: “I've taught Sunday School too. You didn't learn those lessons either.”

And she has political aspirations?

Dana D. Deree sounds like she is an excellent teacher too bad some people are unteachable.

I also enjoyed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's response on twitter to Sanders as well.
"Free advice - if you are losing tens of thousands of followers the moment Twitter starts taking down Neo-Nazis and violent insurrectionists, maybe don’t advertise that!"

Speaking of AOC, as well as expending monumental effort to have Trump impeached, she also is working hard to have elected officials such as Senators Cruz, Hawley and Johnson, who were complicit in the insurrection, forced to resign or be removed from office.

She tweeted
"Lies are not differences of opinion

The elected officials who amplified & repeated known lies about our elections served as drum corps to insurrectionists.

The drum major in the House was
@GOPLeader
Kevin McCarthy.

Rep. McCarthy bears unique, elevated responsibility in all this chaos. He must resign."

Unfortunately this will never happen. The Repugs are back on track. Spreading lies and misinformation, making excuses for the attack on the Capitol and now we stand pretty much in the same place as we were before the attempted coup. The Dems are continuing with their endeavors to bring about some kind of justice for what happened while the Repugs continue with bullshit business as usual. The shock of what happened on Jan 6 did dull their sparkle for a bit, but the GOP is back , blinking, winking and twinkling up a storm.

The GOP won't change. Pence and Trump had a meeting Monday and all seems well between them. I guess Pence forgot about the gallows built at the Capitol where Trump supporters vowed to hang him for being a traitor. Or maybe he is remembering it well. I think there is a lot intimidation that happens with these radical right/white supremacist militia type movements. It's all so black and white with them, no grey areas, which is why Christian right groups are heavily involved with these people financially and as members. I don't think the Christian right can see the color grey at all. For all these people, the end justifies the means.

We sure do live in interesting times. I wonder what the inauguration will bring.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/america...tion-1.5261804
Excerpts below:

Democrats' House resolution was blocked by Republicans. However, the full House is to hold a roll call vote on it Tuesday, and it is expected to pass. After that, Pelosi said, Pence will have 24 hours to respond. Next would be the impeachment proceedings.

Pence has given no indication he is ready to proceed on a course involving the 25th Amendment.

He and Trump met late Monday for the first time since the Capitol attack, a senior administration official said.

Trump and Pence had a "good conversation" in the Oval Office discussing the week ahead, and they pledged to continue working for the remainder of their terms, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

No member of the Cabinet has publicly called for Trump to be removed from office though the 25th Amendment.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., offered the 25th Amendment resolution during Monday's brief session. It was blocked by Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., as other GOP lawmakers stood by him.

Pelosi said the Republicans were enabling Trump's "unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue. Their complicity endangers America, erodes our Democracy, and it must end."

However, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally, said in a letter to colleagues that "impeachment at this time would have the opposite effect of bringing our country together."

Funny how the Democrats always roll up our sleeves and go to work repairing the damage to our country caused by the Notorious Shit Shovelers (aka, the GOP).

H e l l o.

Even corporate America is cutting off the cash cow ventures by TP (et al).

And, the voting machine company in Canada is suing key figures of the Shit Shoveler Party for defamation damages.

Just remember, all of you who follow TP blindly, no matter the cost to our nation.

We're all watching you commit these crimes against the US.

Your time will come for you to account for your harmful actions. Soon. Very soon.

Remember: no one is above the law. Not even TP.

News Flash (local version)
 

Our work campus has refused to fly the national flag since Jan 6th.

No half mast.

It is Zero Mast.

In response to both serious national issues: Covid-19 and the Capitol Riots, et al.

TP's pardon of his co-conspirators .....
 

Turns out to be the people who orchestrated seditious coup de tat (Capitol Riots).


https://abcnews.go.com/US/longtime-t..._live_hero_hed

PS/ Be sure to catch the big blockbuster article on these events, over @ New York Times this coming Sunday.

Kyrie Irving
 

The NBA has fined the Nets' Kyrie Irving $50,000 for violating the league's health and safety protocols and assigned him a five-day quarantine

He will forfeit more than $400,000 in salary per game for those missed during quarantine at a rate of 1/81.6 of his season salary.

Kyrie Irving will forfeit $816,898 for the 2 games missed this past week.





Source: Twitter
Username: Marc Stein @TheSteinLine
Date: January 15, 2021

Man Arrested at D.C. Checkpoint With Loaded Gun and Fake Inauguration Credentials....
 

U.S. Capitol Police have arrested a Virginia man who attempted to get past a security checkpoint with fake inauguration credentials, a loaded firearm, and 500 rounds of ammo.

According to CNN, Wesley Allen Beeler was taken into custody Friday night after he pulled up to a checkpoint near the Capitol building in Washington D.C. He allegedly provided officers with an "unauthorized inauguration credential" before he admitted to having a Glock semi-automatic pistol in his vehicle. Officers later discovered the Glock was loaded with 17 rounds of ammunition and a round chamber ready to fire. A Metropolitan Police Department report also states Beeler had 509 rounds of ammunition and 21 12-gauge shotgun shells.

The man was taken to the U.S. Capitol Police headquarters and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possessing an unregistered firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and possession of a large capacity ammunition feeding device.

Oregon Man Steals Car Returns 4 Year Old
 

* A carjacker in Beaverton, Oregon returned a child to their mother after realizing they were in the backseat of the car he was stealing.
The thief scolded the mother for leaving the kid in the car and threatened to call the police on her before driving off in the car, police said.

* "He actually lectured the mother for leaving the child in the car and threatened to call the police on her," Beaverton police spokesman Officer Matt Henderson told the Oregonian.


Oregon police are looking for a man who they say stole a car with a child in the backseat only to return the 4-year-old and reprimand the mom about her parenting.

The carjacking took place outside of a grocery store in Beaverton, Oregon on Saturday when the mom left the car running with the child in the backseat, local authorities said.

The mother left the car unlocked and went inside to buy a gallon of milk and some meat, acorrding to the Oregonian.

The thief happened to walk by and hopped in the car, the New York Post reported.

He soon realized the 4-year-old was in the backseat and U-turned in the parking lot, returning the child to the mother - but not without scolding her, according to Beaverton police.

"He actually lectured the mother for leaving the child in the car and threatened to call the police on her," Beaverton police spokesman Officer Matt Henderson told the Oregonian.

The thief ordered the mom to take the child before driving off in the stolen car.

"Obviously, we're thankful he brought the little one back and had the decency to do that," Henderson said.



Source: msn.com
Website: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other...ng/ar-BB1cPBkp
Date: January 17, 2021

Chick-Fil-A Donated Millions of Dollars to Groups with Anti-Gay Agendas
 

Old article currently circulating social media. Definitely worth the read for those that support this fast food chain.



Chick-fil-A and Same-Sex Marriage

The fast food chain has been criticized for donating money to organizations that oppose same-sex marriage.



Snopes Staff
Published 9 March 2012
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ch...-gay-marriage/

Job Seekers With Trump White House on Their Resumes Face a Cold Reality.


Perhaps, if they don't mind the cold of Minnesota, the "pillow guy" could take on some of them!


https://www.yahoo.com/news/job-seeke...195444670.html

Annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) Released

"Countries that perform well on the index invest more in health care, are better able to provide universal health coverage and are less likely to violate democratic norms and institutions or the rule of law."

The 2020 CPI was released yesterday by Transparency International, "the global coalition against corruption". Much of last year's corruption around the world was enabled by the Covid-19 situation, and took place in healthcare systems.

"Continuing on its downward trend" since 2012, the United States scored 67 points out of 100, with 100 being the ideal best score and 0 being the worst conceivable score.

Denmark and New Zealand achieved the best scores, at 88 points. The worst scores went to Somalia and South Sudan, with 12 points.

To read a release from Transparency International with highlights from the report, click here. To read the full report which contains a ranking of all countries, click here.

Whining little bastards......
 

After storming the Capitol, alleged rioters now want Trump pardons

“I would like a pardon from the president of the United States,” said Jenna Ryan, a Texas real estate agent charged in the storming of the Capitol, in an interview with CBS News late last week. “I think that we all deserve a pardon. I’m facing a prison sentence. I think that I do not deserve that.”

Adam Newbold, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL, told ABC News that he was seeking “clemency” after posting a Facebook video boasting about “breaching the Capitol,” which brought FBI agents to his door for an interview. “I would like to express to you just a cry for clemency, as you understand that my life now has been absolutely turned upside-down,” Mr. Newbold said.

An attorney for Jacob Chansley — the man who entered the Capitol wearing horns and carrying a spear — said on CNN that his client also deserved a pardon, as he was only in the Capitol because he had “hitched his wagon” to Mr. Trump and felt he was answering a “call” from the president to go there. “The words and invitation of a president are supposed to mean something,” said the attorney, Albert Watkins.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/cr...s/202101170157

Garland confirmation hearing today.........
 

Merrick Garland tells senators Capitol riot investigation will be his first priority as attorney general


Attorney general nominee Merrick Garland said Monday that his first priority and briefing if confirmed as attorney general would center on the sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6 riot the U.S. Capitol.

Testifying at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Garland drew parallels to the domestic terrorism threat the Justice Department faced in confronting the Ku Klux Klan and the prosecution he led of Timothy McVeigh in the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995. When Garland was last in the Justice Department, he supervised that case.

But, Garland said, “we are facing a more dangerous period than we faced in Oklahoma City at that time.” He said he imagined that investigators would explore not just those who entered the Capitol, but those who might be involved in other ways.

“We begin with the people on the ground and we work our way up to those who are involved and further involved,” Garland said. “And we will pursue these leads wherever they take us.”

Mitt Romney Delivers Ominous 2024 Prediction For The Republican Party


Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) says the former President is far from being crippled politically.

“I don’t know if he’ll run in 2024 or not, but if he does, I’m pretty sure he will win the nomination,” Romney told The New York Times on Tuesday, adding that polls show “if you put President Trump in there among Republicans, he wins in a landslide.”

Despite the prediction, Romney ― a frequent critic and the only Republican to vote in favor of conviction during both impeachment trials ― said he would not help make it happen.

“I would not be voting for Trump. I haven’t voted for him in the past,” Romney said. “I would probably be getting behind somebody who I thought more represented the tiny wing of the Republican Party that I represent.”

whining little bastard......
 

'Not fair!': Man who put feet on Pelosi's desk has outburst at court hearing for Capitol riot

Richard Barnett, reportedly screamed at Judge Christopher R. Cooper during a virtual hearing where it was determined he would remain detained until at least his next hearing in May. He yelled at Cooper that it was “not fair” that he remained in jail as others were released, according to NBC Washington’s Scott MacFarlane.

“Everybody else who did things much worse are already home,” Barnett said. He later added, “I’ve been here for a month, they’re going to set it for another month, and everybody else is getting out.”

Barnett was taken into custody in his home state of Arkansas in January on federal charges of entering and remaining on restricted grounds, violent entry and theft of public property. He has also been charged with disrupting official proceedings, disruptive and disorderly conduct and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building, according to court records.


Images of Barnett reclining in Pelosi’s chair with his feet up on her desk were widely shared and quickly became synonymous with the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building. Barnett later spoke to a New York Times reporter, who tweeted about the exchange following the incident in Pelosi’s office.

He told the Times that he took an envelope from Pelosi’s desk and left her a quarter in exchange, even though “she ain’t f------ worth it.”


“Mr. Barnett’s frustration stems from the fact that he is incarcerated pre-trial, despite lacking any criminal history, being gainfully employed, respected in his community, and in a stable relationship for over 20 years,” McBride said in a statement to NBC News. “Normally, facts like these are more than enough for an individual to fight their case from the outside.”

Uber and Lyft
 

Uber and Lyft will work together to share information on US drivers and delivery people accused of physical and sexual assault to ensure those individuals are banned on both platforms, the two companies announced on Thursday in separate blog posts. HireRight, a company that specializes in conducting background checks, will oversee the Industry Sharing Safety Program database. Other transportation and delivery companies in the US will have the chance to contribute and access the database as long as they adhere to the same data accuracy and privacy policies that Uber and Lyft must follow.

"We want to share this information with each other and hopefully in the near future with other companies, so that our peers in this space can be informed and make decisions for their own platforms to keep those platforms safe," Jennifer Brandenburger, Lyft's head of policy development, told NBC News.

The database won't include information on victims. Additionally, the incident that landed a driver in the database will fall in broad categories.

Creating a joint database of physical and sexual abusers is a major step for the two companies. Both Uber and Lyft have been frequently and consistently criticized for doing too little to protect their passengers, particularly if they're women, from predatory drivers. When Uber published its first safety report in 2019, the company revealed it had received nearly 6,000 reports of sexual abuse reports between 2017 and 2018. In 2019, 14 unnamed women sued Lyft, alleging the company had failed to run adequate background checks on its drivers. Finding a way to share the identities of contractors whom it had removed from its platform was one of the actions Uber said it would take in its safety report.



Source: Engadget.com
Website: https://www.engadget.com/uber-lyft-i...hvLX81GpswGKDs
Date: March 11, 2021

Meghan Markle for President?
 

https://cms.thepostmillennial.com/co...224221.042.jpg



Sources in Britain's Labor party claimed that Meghan Markle will be using the publicity surrounding her interview with Oprah to launch a political career with aspirations for the White House.

According to the Daily Mail a senior Labor figure, who is a veteran of the Blair administration and has ties to DC, claimed that Markle was working with members of the Democrat party to start a campaign and fundraising to become a future US president.

During the 2020 presidential election cycle, Markle and her husband Prince Harry urged voters to 'reject hate speech' and issued a 'a call for decency' against then President Donald Trump.

Another source told The Mail that 'The Blairite, internationalist and Democratic party networks are buzzing with talk about Meghan's political ambitions and potential backers.'

Last year, a friend of Markle told Vanity Fair that one of the reasons the Duchess of Sussex had not given up her US citizenship when she married into the Royal Family was so that she could have the option of entering American politics.

The unidentified friend told the outlet, "One of the reasons she was so keen not to give up her American citizenship was so she had the option to go into politics. I think if Meghan and Harry ever gave up their titles she would seriously consider running for president." The source added that the Markle was looking at a possible 2024 run. President Joe Biden would be 82 at the time of his next campaign.

Markle’s biographer, Omid Scobie, author of Finding Freedom: Harry, Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, said in a documentary that the former actress "has her eyes set on the US presidency."

When asked about the possibility, US constitutional experts said that Markle would have to renounce her title in Britain if she wanted to hold public office in American. The Founding Fathers also banned the government from granting titles of nobility under Article I of the Constitution.

Former "Good Morning Britain" host Piers Morgan said of Markle’s Oprah interview Monday "I don’t believe a word that she says." The comments came one day before Morgan walked off the set of his show during a discussing about the Royals and quit hours later.



Source: thepostmillennial.com
Website: https://thepostmillennial.com/meghan...r-us-president
Date: March 14, 2021

The First of Several....
 

President Biden is reportedly planning the first major hike in federal taxes in almost 30 years to fund the economic program set to follow the recently approved $1.9 trillion pandemic stimulus package.

Unidentified sources told Bloomberg that the increases will reflect the promises Biden made during his 2020 campaign.

The planned increases reportedly include: raising the corporate tax from 21 percent to 28 percent; increasing the income tax rate on people making more than $400,000; expanding the estate tax; paring back tax preferences on pass-through businesses such as limited-liability companies; and setting up a higher capital gains tax rate for individuals making at least $1 million.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

As Bloomberg notes, an independent analysis of the Biden campaign's tax plan conducted by the Tax Policy Center found that it would raise around $2.1 trillion over 10 years.

Tax hikes included as part of infrastructure and job packages will likely include repealing part of former President Trump's 2017 tax law that largely benefitted corporations and wealthy individuals, the news outlet notes, citing sources close to the matter.

Biden had said during his campaign that he would repeal Trump's tax cuts on "day one" of his administration, though he has yet to do so.

Democratic lawmakers have expressed some hesitance to support a tax increase. Moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), who has quickly become a key vote in Congress, previously told The Hill that he thought repealing Trump's tax cuts would be "ridiculous."

He later walked back his remarks, saying, “Everything’s open for discussion.”

“His whole outlook has always been that Americans believe tax policy needs to be fair, and he has viewed all of his policy options through that lens,” former Biden economic aide Sarah Bianchi told Bloomberg. "That is why the focus is on addressing the unequal treatment between work and wealth.”

Any tax increases that are passed would likely take effect beginning in 2022, according to Bloomberg, which noted some lawmakers have called for the administration to hold off as pandemic-related unemployment remains high.

An anonymous Democratic House member told The Hill in February that they did not think the government should be raising taxes.

“People would accept the corporate tax raised a few points but beyond that you’re going to have problems, especially in the middle of an economic crisis,” the lawmaker said at the time.

Republicans are expected to fight any proposed tax increases, though Bloomberg notes that there are some measures that they may get behind such as shifting from a gasoline tax to a vehicle-miles-traveled fee.

GOP lawmakers may also support tax incentives that stop U.S. companies from moving jobs and profits out of the country, though they may not support penalties against such companies.



Source: thehill.com
Website: https://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...0-years-report
Date: March 15, 2021

Best of luck President Biden. It's about time.

oh bulshit

Headline from CNN: "In one hour, Atlanta-area spa shootings left 8 dead, including 6 Asian women, local reports say"

In the news, there has been some speculation that the shootings were racially motivated. The shooter has been caught, and is a white 21-year-old male from a rural suburb of Atlanta. They caught him headed south.

Okay, here's the thing to know: there are three kinds of "spas" in Georgia, because of statewide licensing rules. The first is the kind that may come to mind for you, with saunas, hot tubs, indoor swimming pools, workout rooms, massage therapy, facials, and the like. They are standalone buildings with their own parking lots, or they are located in high-rent areas of the city with parking decks attached and/or valet parking. Some are in high-end hotels. I have been to some of these. These are operated by different races of people in Atlanta. This is _not_ the kind of spa that the shooter targeted.

The second kind of spa sort of imitates the first, except that generally only aesthetic services are offered, such as massage therapy, facials, foot spa treatments, natural treatments, etc. They tend to be a lower class of establishment, often found in strip malls, and some of them are quite nice. I have also been to some of these. These are usually operated by Asian people and/or New Age practitioners/naturalists in Atlanta. These are also _not_ the kind of spa that the shooter targeted.

The third kind of spa are what are known as "jack shacks" or "massage parlors" in other parts of the country. These are the lowest of the low, usually found in standalone buildings with private/hidden entrances (usually in the back), and in sketchy parts of town. I have never been to one of these, although I have known three people who worked in them at one time or another. They offer sex for sale. They are occasionally discovered to be engaged in human trafficking, and they employ primarily Asian women, although also a few women of other races. I do not know what kind of people own these places, although I have heard of white men, gay men, and (mostly) Asian men and women operating them.

The third kind of "spa" are the kinds of places that the shooter targeted. This is speculation on my part, but it is based on my knowledge as a resident of Atlanta. I reviewed news photographs of the locations, as well as looked up their addresses. I expect that the women who were shot will turn out to have been sex workers (not, of course, that this in any way justifies them being murdered). These third types of "spa" tend to have lots of cash on hand (because what patrons of these places would want to use a credit card?), as opposed to the first two kinds of spa, which basically run on credit cards. I expect this will turn out to be the reason the shooter targeted these businesses, for the cash.

Jim Jordan’s Clumsy Attempt To Quote Reagan Spectacularly Backfires....

Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) posted a quote from former President Ronald Reagan on social media in an attempted dig at President Joe Biden. But the move didn’t go as well as he hoped.

Jordan cited a quote from Reagan that’s often used in right-wing memes on social media. President Reagan: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help.”

Jordan’s critics were quick to pounce, causing both his name and Reagan’s name to trend on Twitter. Many noted the role of government ― of which Jordan is a member ― in getting the urgently-needed coronavirus vaccine to Americans, including his own constituents. Numerous people pointed out that Reagan’s comment was said as he justified government help to farmers in 1986, saying “the government must act compassionately and responsibly” and vowing to provide “record amounts of assistance.” Some also noted Reagan’s failures during a different health crisis as AIDS cases and deaths exploded under his watch.

Other people referred to accusations that Jordan, as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University, knew of allegations the team’s doctor was molesting athletes but did nothing. Although Jordan denies those charges, multiple athletes from his time with the team have come forward to corroborate the story.