Phylum of Alexandria Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 Just back from Japan, and this was the issue that multiple people wanted to talk about based on news coverage from Japanese media: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-lawmakers-introduce-bill-rename-dulles-airport-donald-trump-rcna146027 It was tough explaining to them the whole notion of drafting legislation purely for performance rather than a serious intent to pass and implement it. I think they came away with a lot less confidence in the US as a result. Tears of Lys 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 3 minutes ago, Zorral said: and likeness split a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC. Does the JFC there stand for Jesus Fucking Christ? Larry of the Lawn, Fragile Bird and Martell Spy 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 (edited) 41 minutes ago, DMC said: Does the JFC there stand for Jesus Fucking Christ? Your guess is as good, if not better, than mine! https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/trump-presses-republicans-for-kickbacks-when-using-his-likeness-1.2060490 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-demands-cut-donations-down-ballot-republicans-1235006262/ https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/17/trump-campaign-fundraising-five-percent-00152830 Edited April 17 by Zorral Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragile Bird Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 37 minutes ago, DMC said: Does the JFC there stand for Jesus Fucking Christ? Exactly what crossed my mind! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 The reality of being a criminal defendant on trial finally dawned on Trump. He didn’t take it well. Donald Trump will spend most of this spring in a drab county courtroom, and he’s not happy about it. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/16/trump-trial-reality-criminal-defendant-00152421 Quote .... It’s a jarring new reality for Trump, who has been accustomed to setting the agenda for most of his adult life — and, in the years since his presidency, has bounced between his sunny Florida resort and political rallies brimming with adoring fans. But this spring, he’ll have to spend most weekdays in a drab 15th floor county courtroom in a city with very little MAGA. .... maarsen, Spockydog, DireWolfSpirit and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudguard Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said: A story just popped up on Google saying that in Trump’s trial jury selection two corporate lawyers have been picked out of the 7 chosen so far. That could get really interesting. Traditionally lawyers are not chosen for juries. I made it onto a jury as a lawyer. The area of law I specialize in was different than the relevant law in the case, and that looks to be the case in the Trump trial as well. I don't think it's a problem to have lawyers on juries. As a juror, I'd just be there as a fact finder and to answer the questions set forth in the jury instructions, just like any of the other jurors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Anti-Targ Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 JFC people really need to come up with acronyms that can't be easily misconstrued. Though one wonders if acronymisable names and titles aren't sometimes deliberately chosen to for the double entendre or amusement effect. Not sure that was the intent when deciding on joint fundraising committee(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThinkerX Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 3 hours ago, Zorral said: .... “Beginning tomorrow, we ask that all candidates and committees who choose to use President Trump’s name, image, and likeness split a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC. This includes, but is not limited to, sending to the house file, prospecting vendors, and advertising,” Trump co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita wrote in a letter reported on by Politico. “Any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump’s campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations," the letter added. .... Next up, Trump takes that 5% (or more) from every campaign without their consent, even if they do not use his image or whatever. Because he is Trump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karaddin Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 On the nuclear proliferation discussion - I think the US invading Iraq was a serious body blow to non-proliferation and Putin using the "you give us your nukes and we promise we won't attack you" treaty as toilet paper put a stake through it's heart. I'll be very surprised if there's no new nuclear powers over the next 20 years. To answer Ty however I'd be extremely shocked if Australia already has some, especially with the below in mind On 4/15/2024 at 2:19 AM, Fez said: I wouldn't be surprised if a few close US allies under our nuclear umbrella started looking into the feasibility of developing their own weapons after Trump made a whole lotta statements while President saying the US shouldn't defend our allies. But I doubt any of them actually have any yet, both because a nuclear weapons program takes a long time to spin up and because I think they would announce they have them as soon as they do. I think there's a pretty clear sign in the AUKUS deal, namely that the nuclear subs Australia will be buying will have the capability to carry and launch nukes, that the US and/or the UK may want Australia to share the load so to speak. I highly doubt we'd develop our own weapons program though, if it happens it will be another somewhat corrupt form of pork barreling where the deal to purchase the weapons is politically a gift to whichever leader is selling them to give a big economic injection to whichever state they need to bribe for an upcoming election. The other possibility is that they simply want to introduce ambiguity into whether Australia has them - if our subs have that capacity and you do a couple of other things to make it ambiguous then you might get some of the value without actually risking another nuclear power. The big thing I'll say is that for now at least this would be extremely unpopular politically in Aus so it's a forward planning thing. Larry of the Lawn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRider Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 In this case, JFC means joint fundraising committee. Although, it would be no surprise if the down ballot folks are swearing JFC at this new grift. The Politico article posted above tells the tale. Trump campaign asks for cut of candidates’ fundraising when they use his name and likeness - POLITICO In a letter received by Republican digital vendors this week, the Trump campaign is asking for down-ballot candidates who use his name, image and likeness in fundraising appeals to give at least 5 percent of the proceeds to the campaign...... After taking over the Republican National Committee last month, the Trump campaign established a joint fundraising committee with the RNC that allowed for the campaign to take in checks in excess of $814,000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Dude is going to be prescreening all of Baron's graduation cards to pocket the cash. Tears of Lys and Fragile Bird 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 15 hours ago, Martell Spy said: Johnson moving forward with Ukraine aid bill despite pressure from hardliners So it appears the bills are teed up for as early as a Saturday vote. I mentioned a few weeks back Johnson would have to split up the supplemental. I didn’t expect him to split it into three though - with a fourth that appears to be red meat to his conference and notably does not have the backing of the White House (and thus probably won’t get through the Senate). Certainly promises for an interesting weekend. We’ll see if Johnson actually goes through with putting them on the floor. And if he does, should be interesting to see the roll call on each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 (edited) Red states threaten librarians with prison — as blue states work to protect them No surprise these are the same states that ban contraception and plan/threaten to prosecute women for utilizing it, along with anyone else who might have assisted her, say in having an abortion because being pregnant will kill her. The graph/chart of which states have done what and plan/threaten to do more is useful. BTW -- how often has your librarian tried to give you pornography? Ya, I thought so. The actual porn problem in libraries, as it is on public transportation, including flying, is guy demanding to use porn on their own personal devices and ya, you know, do right then there what guys do with porn. Don't fool yourselves. This is about white washing the history of the United States, prosecuting LGBTQ+AI, denying women any information about their bodies and birth control, and making sure African Americans, Latinos, and anybody else can't learn anything about their history in this great nation of the WHITE USA. In states like WV, all our books could be prohibited for obscenity, since slavery itself is all about obscene acts and behaviors, despite one of them at least, is for sale in the book store at Monticello -- and the arch villain, among thousands, in this book, is Thomas Jefferson himself. gift link -- no paywall -- https://wapo.st/3JkJQxp Edited April 18 by Zorral DireWolfSpirit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorn Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 The House Ukraine bill in particular seems to be actually better than the one that Senate passed. Increases the amount of forgivable loans to 8 billion, orders Biden to sends ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, cuts out a lot of unrelated pork... The biggest change is that money is now granted to the US military to buy replacements after they send their equipment to Ukraine, which is just an accounting difference. Interesting and unexpected, but not unwelcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 17 minutes ago, Gorn said: orders Biden to sends ATACMS missiles to Ukraine The House bill does not order Biden to send ATACMS, it simply encourages it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Just now, DMC said: The House bill does not order Biden to send ATACMS, it simply encourages it. Is the bill bi partisan in construction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormond Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 16 hours ago, kissdbyfire said: I saw the cnn legal analyst (Honig?) talking about that last night. He said that usually lawyers aren’t picked but that in this case the factors were a) so many people saying right off the bat they didn’t think they could be impartial and b) “NY has a lot of lawyers”. I can see the former being true but not sure if he was serious about the latter or just being cheeky. Is the jury pool for this trial drawn from all of New York City, or just from Manhattan? If it's the latter, I am sure Manhattan would have a higher percentage of corporate lawyers as residents than almost any other jurisdiction in the United States. Fragile Bird 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorn Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 21 minutes ago, Ser Scot A Ellison said: Is the bill bi partisan in construction? Its authors were Cole, Calvert, and Diaz-Balart, all Republicans. Biden endorsed it however. Ser Scot A Ellison 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 One of the jurors selected on Tuesday has had to leave, because the media posted so many details about her that everyone knew it was her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bironic Posted April 18 Share Posted April 18 Let’s say this Ukraine bill passes, how long would it take to pass the senate and land on Bidens desk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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