Gas Bandit's Political Thread V: The Vampire Likes Bats

drifter

drifter

I remember when he got drafted by the Rockets. Had some mental health issues that kept him from playing. At the time he was trying to position himself as a mental health advocate, but as time went on he really just seemed to be a Royce White advocate. Not that surprised with what he's doing now.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
1/ The Supreme Court refused to require doctors in Texas to perform certain emergency abortions, rejecting a Biden administration appeal that federal law requires access to emergency abortion care even in states that restrict the procedure. The court’s decision leaves in place a lower court’s ruling that hospitals can’t be required to perform emergency abortions in violation of the state’s abortion ban. Texas Senate Bill 8, passed in September 2021, effectively banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy with few exceptions. The strict abortion law has led to nearly 10,000 more births than expected over a nine-month period and infant deaths in the state have increased by nearly 13%. (Washington Post / Associated Press / NBC News / Axios / Bloomberg)
  • JD Vance said that a second Trump administration would attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. “On the question of defunding Planned Parenthood, look, I mean our view is we don’t think that taxpayers should fund late-term abortions,” Vance said. “That has been a consistent view of the Trump campaign the first time around. It will remain a consistent view.” (RealClearPolitics / The Hill)
2/ The Georgia Supreme Court reinstated the state’s six-week abortion ban.The ruling came a week after a judge found that Georgia unconstitutionally prohibits abortions beyond six weeks of pregnancy – before many women realize they’re pregnant – because “liberty in Georgia includes in its […] bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices.” The State Supreme Court, however, left in place the lower court’s ruling that blocked a separate provision of the law that allowed state prosecutors to obtain the medical records of women who’ve had abortions. (New York Times / Associated Press / NBC News / Politico / CNN / Washington Post)

3/ Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to take calls from Biden or Harris as Hurricane Milton “explosively” intensified into a Category 5 storm headed for the Tampa Bay region. Despite evacuation orders and warning residents to brace for a “ferocious” storm, DeSantis said Harris’ call “seemed political” so “we didn’t answer.” And, after Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s Big Bend region on Sept. 27, DeSantis told the federal government “we have it handled” in reference to storm cleanup. “It’s up to him if he wants to respond to us or not,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, noting that Biden and Harris were “reaching out to offer up assistance provided to your constituents, the people who live in your state, to make sure we are doing everything that we need to do from a federal response, and we’re reaching out, offering our support, that’s for the governor.” (NBC News / ABC News / CNN / Associated Press / New York Times / Politico / Axios)
  • Six days of Trump lies about the Hurricane Helene response. (CNN)
4/ Trump accused undocumented immigrants of having “bad genes,” suggesting that immigrants are predisposed to murder. In a radio interview, Trump distorted facts on immigration and crime to attack Kamala Harris and falsely claim she was “allowing people to come through an open border, 13,000 of which were murderers, many of them murdered far more than one person, and they’re now happily living in the United States. You know now a murder, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now.” The White House condemned Trump’s statement for “echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascists and violent white supremacists.” Last year, Trump repeatedly used language once used by Adolf Hitler to baselessly claim that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country.” Meanwhile, the number of migrants crossing into the U.S. illegally at the southern border fell 75% in September from a year ago – reaching the lowest point of Biden’s administration. U.S. Border Patrol agents recorded nearly 54,000 apprehensions of migrants who crossed into the country between legal entry points along the border with Mexico in September – the lowest level since fiscal 2020 when the Trump administration reported roughly 400,000 encounters and apprehensions when the Covid-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions led to a sharp decrease in migration to the U.S. southern border. (Politico / CNN / Associated Press / USA Today / CBS News)
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
1/ FEMA warned that false claims and conspiracy theories pushed by Trump and his supporters related to hurricanes are hurting recovery and relief efforts, and putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk as Milton — an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane – barrels toward Florida. “It is absolutely the worst I have ever seen,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said. “It’s creating distrust in the federal government, but also the state government, and we have so many first responders that have been working to go out and help these communities.” Trump and other Republicans have spread misinformation that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to people in Republican areas and instead diverting it to immigrants. “It’s profound and it is the height of irresponsibility and, frankly, callousness,” Harris said of Trump’s claims about FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene. “Lives are literally at stake right now.” The National Weather Service, meanwhile, warned that “If Milton stays on its course, this will be the most powerful hurricane to hit Tampa Bay in over 100 years.” (Axios / Washington Post / ABC News / Associated Press / Politico / CNN)

2/ The Supreme Court seemed likely to uphold the Biden administration’s restrictions on ghost guns – self-assembly firearm kits that produce untraceable weapons and skirt existing regulations. In 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued new rules treating ghost gun kits and partially assembled bodies of guns as traditional firearms, requiring dealers to serialize the weapons, perform background checks on buyers, and enforce minimum age limits. The industry sued to block it. During oral arguments, the justices mused about grocery orders, asked whether eggs, chopped ham, peppers and onions could be considered a western omelet, and whether the gun kits are “analogous” to the challenges of assembling IKEA furniture. By the end, it appeared that the rule would likely get enough votes from the justices to survive a challenge from makers of the products. (Politico / Associated Press / Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / New York Times / CNN)

3/ Biden’s EPA finalized a rule requiring water utilities to replace all lead pipes within a decade. The rule is the strongest overhaul of lead-in-water standards in roughly three decades. The EPA estimates the new standard will prevent up to 900,000 infants from having low birthweight, avoid up to 1,500 premature deaths a year from heart disease, and will prevent up to 200,000 I.Q. points lost among children. (Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times)

4/ Trump’s White House limited the 2018 FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh, which threatened his Supreme Court confirmation. Following Christine Blasey Ford’s widely reported testimony that Kavanaugh had groped her and tried to take off her clothes at a high school party more than three decades earlier, Trump approved a limited, one-week-long FBI investigation into the allegations. Trump vowed that the FBI would have “free rein” to investigate the claims, and later claimed that the FBI was “talking to everybody.” The White House, however, instructed the FBI to only interview 10 witnesses, according to a new report by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. “The FBI’s supplemental background investigation into the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh was unreliable, not because of FBI ineptitude, but because the Trump White House tightly controlled the scope of the investigation,” the report reads. (Washington Post / Axios / CNN)

5/ Trump secretly sent Covid-19 testing equipment to Putin for his personal use during the height of the pandemic, according to Bob Woodward’s new book, “War.” Putin, according to the book, told Trump: “I don’t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me.” While U.S. and Russian officials in 2020 did publicly announce that “some testing equipment as well as ventilators” had been sent to Russia, officials never disclosed that it was for Putin’s personal use or that had urged Trump to keep their conversation secret. Woodward also reports that Trump has spoken to Putin “maybe as many as seven” times since leaving office in 2021. Harris, meanwhile, called the reporting “just the most recent stark example of who Trump is. People in America were struggling to get tests, and this guy is sending them to Russia, to a murderous dictator for his personal use?” (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Axios / Associated Press / NBC News / Politico / Bloomberg)
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
1/ With landfall by Milton, a major Category 3 hurricane, hours away and nearly 7.3 million Floridians facing mandatory evacuation orders, Marjorie Taylor Greene continued to promote her false conspiracy theory that the government can control the weather. The Georgia Republican claimed last week that “they” can control the weather after Hurricane Helene killed more than 230 people, including two dozen people in her state. She added: “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.” Greene doubled down since her initial claim, posting screenshots of “weather modification project reports” from the NOAA website and citing a post by a conspiracy theorist website as proof that “yes they can control the weather.” She continued: “If your home or business or property is damaged or a loved one is killed by their weather modifications shouldn’t you be eligible for compensation? After all, did they ask you if you agreed to our weather being modified?” Biden called Greene’s conspiracy theory “reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies […] harmful to those who need help the most.” He added that the “claims are getting even more bizarre […] it’s beyond ridiculous. It’s got to stop.” Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez, meanwhile, said Greene and others who think that humans can control the weather need “to have their head examined.” Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast overnight as a major hurricane, and could become one of the most destructive storms on record. Harris urged residents to heed evacuation warnings, saying the storm is expected to be “catastrophic and deadly” and “unlike anything we’ve seen before.” (NBC News / Bloomberg / Politico / CNN / Washington Post / New York Times / The Hill)

2/ The Kremlin confirmed that Trump secretly sent Putin Covid-19 testing equipment during the height of the pandemic when the machines were in short supply. Trump denied that he sent Covid test equipment to Putin, saying “none of these made up stories by Bob Woodward are true” – referring to “War,” Woodward’s new book. “We also sent equipment at the beginning of the pandemic,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a written response. Peskov, however, denied reporting that Trump and Putin have spoken on the telephone “as many as seven” times since Trump left office. The Logan Act prohibits private U.S. citizens from engaging in diplomacy with foreign governments without authorization that are in dispute with the U.S. (Bloomberg / Axios / NBC News / Politico / ABC News / Axios / NPR / The Hill)
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
2/ The Kremlin confirmed that Trump secretly sent Putin Covid-19 testing equipment during the height of the pandemic when the machines were in short supply.
Click to expand...
The thing that gets me about this is that this wasn't, like, a shipment of 20 pallets of COVID-19 test kit boxes, this was reusable testing machinery of some sort. You know, the sort of thing you might use to equip your personal lair.

--Patrick
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
1/ Hurricane Milton left at least 12 people dead, and more than 3 million people remain without power. “The storm did bring much destruction and damage,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. “The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst case scenario.” Biden said he pre-deployed thousands of federal personnel to areas affected by the storm, including more than 1,000 Coast Guard members, and that over 80,000 Floridians had safely sheltered from the storm. (Associated Press / Politico / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / NBC News / Axios)


2/ Biden told Trump to “get a life” for his continued false claims about the federal government’s response to hurricanes Helene and Milton, while delivering a briefing at the White House about the response to Milton so far. After Biden said that people who lie about hurricane recovery efforts are “undermining confidence in the rescue and recovery work that’s opening and ongoing,” a reporter asked if he had spoken to Trump. “Are you kidding me?” said Biden, adding: “Mr. President Trump, former President Trump, get a life, man. Help these people.” FEMA, meanwhile, has spent nearly half of the disaster relief funding that Congress allocated for the next 12 months in the last eight days. Biden called on Congress to return from its recess to pass emergency relief. (CNN / NBC News / Politico / Bloomberg)


3/ Florida’s Department of Health threatened to criminally charge local TV stations that air a political ad calling for the repeal of the state’s six-week abortion ban signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. At least two stations received cease-and-desist letters that running the 30-second spot was a violation of Florida’s “sanitary nuisance” law. The Democratic chair of the Federal Communications Commission, meanwhile, said the stations should not be intimidated for airing political ads, saying: “The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the First Amendment. Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.” In November, Florida residents will vote on Amendment 4, which would protect abortion rights in the state’s constitution and undo the new abortion ban. (Florida Politics / Washington Post / CNN)


4/ Inflation dropped last month to its lowest point in more than three years. Consumer prices rose 2.4% in September from a year earlier – down from 2.5% in August. It was the smallest annual rise since February 2021. The so-called core consumer price index — which excludes food and energy costs — increased 3.3% from a year earlier and 0.3% from August. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, stands at 4.1%, the S&P 500 stock index is up more than 20% this year, and GDP has been growing at a 3% pace. (Associated Press / Politico / Axios / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)


5/ Trump urged the federal judge overseeing his election subversion case to not to release any additional evidence from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 165-page legal brief, which details Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election.Trump claimed that Smith was attempting to interfere with the presidential election by making public potentially damaging information while voters are casting their ballots. “There should be no further disclosures at this time of the so-called ‘evidence’ that the Special Counsel’s Office has unlawfully cherry-picked and mischaracterized – during early voting in the 2024 Presidential election – in connection with an improper Presidential immunity filing that has no basis in criminal procedure or judicial precedent,” Trump said in a court filing. (CNN / CBS News)
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

"End-to-end encryption is too dangerous" say many governments. "Won't someone think of the children who are being undetectably victimized thanks to all this non-snoopable encryption available to the public? That's why encryption needs built-in back doors!"
Meanwhile: US Wiretap Systems Targeted In Hack (paywalled)
A cyberattack [...] penetrated the networks of a swath of U.S. broadband providers, potentially accessing information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized network wiretapping requests. For months or longer, the hackers might have held access to network infrastructure used to cooperate with lawful U.S. requests for communications...
Click to expand...
Oops, someone found where the US GVT keeps their spare key and has been using it to surf through the hole deliberately created for the CIA et al to be able to snoop through communications. Maybe now that their "We need a back door that only good guys can use" has been compromised, it will finally show them that including such a back door fundamentally renders encryption useless ha ha who am I kidding they will see no such thing.

--Patrick
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
1/ The Biden administration threatened to suspend military assistance if Israel doesn’t improve the “increasingly dire” humanitarian crisis in Gaza – but then sent Israel an advanced missile defense system and the American troops needed to operate it. In a letter to senior Israeli officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin blamed Israel for “directly or indirectly” impeding the transport of humanitarian aid to Gaza that has contributed to the starvation and widespread suffering. Israel closed crossings into Gaza earlier this month, and the amount of aid delivered to Gaza “has dropped by more than 50%” since the spring. The U.S. officials gave Israel 30 days to “reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory” or else it “may have implications” for future U.S. weapons transfers and funding. The deadline to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, however, falls after the presidential election. Nevertheless, Biden ordered the Pentagon to send the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system — known as THAAD — to Israel to help fend off potential Iranian missile attacks. Israel, meanwhile, is preparing a military response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack when it fired roughly 180 missiles into Israel. “We listen to the opinions of the United States, but we will make our final decisions based on our national interests,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. (Associated Press / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CNN / New York Times / NBC News / Politico / Axios / Wall Street Journal)


2/ Trump called for the National Guard or U.S. military to be deployed on American soil to handle what he called “the enemy from within” on Election Day, claiming that “radical left lunatics” are more dangerous than foreign adversaries like Russia and China. “I always say, we have two enemies,” Trump said. “We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within, and the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries.” Trump added that a “smart president” could handle foreign adversaries “pretty easily,” but “the thing that’s tougher to handle are these lunatics that we have inside, like Adam Schiff.” In a statement, the Harris campaign said Trump “is suggesting that his fellow Americans are worse ‘enemies’ than foreign adversaries, and he is saying he would use the military against them. Taken with his vow to be a dictator on ‘day one,’ calls for the ‘termination’ of the Constitution, and plans to surround himself with sycophants who will give him unchecked, unprecedented power if he returns to office, this should alarm every American who cares about their freedom and security. What Donald Trump is promising is dangerous, and returning him to office is simply a risk Americans cannot afford.” Later, at a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, Harris said “A second Trump term would be a huge risk for America, and dangerous. Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged.” (CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / Reuters / The Guardian / Axios / Associated Press / Washington Post / CNN)


3/ JD Vance refused five times to acknowledge that Biden won the 2020 election and that Trump lost. Vance was given five opportunities to acknowledge that Trump didn’t win in 2020. Instead, Vance repeated the response he used during his debate against Tim Walz, saying he was “focused on the future” and criticizing an “obsession here with focusing on 2020.” During his debate with Walz, Vance twice refused to answer a direct question about whether Trump had lost the 2020 election. Walz called Vance’s response a “damning non-answer.” (New York Times / Los Angeles Times / Washington Post)


4/ Kamala Harris agreed to an interview with Fox News. The interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier will air Wednesday during the host’s Special Report at 6 pm Eastern. Trump, meanwhile, complained that “FoxNews has totally lost its way!” and “has grown weak and soft on Democrats.” After declining to participate in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” earlier this month, Trump canceled a planned interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” (New York Times / Politico)


5/ Kamala Harris released her medical report, which says she’s in “excellent health” and “possesses the physical and mental resiliency” required to serve as president. Harris dared Trump to provide a similar update. “He refuses to release his medical records,” Harris said. “I’ve done it. Every other presidential candidate in the modern era has done it.” More than 230 doctors, nurses, and health care professionals, called on Trump to release his medical records, arguing that he should be transparent about his health “given his advancing age.” If Trump wins, he would be the oldest president ever inaugurated. Meanwhile, at 1:12 am Trump challenged Harris to take a cognitive test. (CNN / Bloomberg / New York Times / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / NBC News / Axios)


6/ Trump ended his town hall with voters early to listen to music for 39 minutes on stage. The event in Pennsylvania was supposed to be as an hour-long opportunity to hear Trump answer questions from voters in the must-win swing state, but after two medical incidents Trump ended the question-and-answer session after five questions and held an impromptu listening party instead. Trump requested “Ave Maria” be played while everyone waited for medical personnel to respond to the first incident. An instrumental version of the song was played. When a second person needed medical attention, Trump re-requested “Ave Maria,” but asked for the Luciano Pavarotti version this time. After it played one more time, Trump decided to end the event saying: “Let’s not do any more questions. Let’s just listen to music. Let’s make it into a music fest. Who the hell wants to hear questions right? Isn’t that beautiful?” Trump then stood on stage swaying and bobbing to the music, while the crowd appeared unsure if the event was over. Trump then called for the Village People’s “YMCA,” which celebrates gay cruising culture. “Nobody’s leaving,” Trump said. “What’s going on? There’s nobody leaving. Keep going,” as Rufus Wainwright’s version of “Hallelujah” played next. “All right, turn that music up! Turn that up. Great song!” As “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses played, Trump walked off the stage and spoke to attendees on his way out, as “Memory” from the musical “Cats” played in the background. The Harris campaign, meanwhile, said “Voters are just starting to tune in, and objectively they are seeing a diminished Trump, one who rambles for hours at end, makes no sense, freezes for 30 minutes and forces people to listen to his Spotify playlist. It’s bizarre and raises more and more concerns for voters.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / Axios / NPR / NBC News)
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
1/ A Georgia judge blocked a new state rule that would have required counties to hand-count ballots cast on Election Day. “Too much, too late,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in his decision, expressing concern that the “11th-and-one-half hour implementation of the hand count rule” would undermine public confidence in the election results and lead to “administrative chaos.” The rule, passed by the Republican State Election Board, would have required poll workers in Georgia to open ballots and count them by hand to ensure that the total number of ballots matched the total counted by tabulating machines. It was set to go into effect Oct. 22 – two weeks before Election Day. Early voting in the state is already underway. Separately, McBurney also ruled that Georgia county election officials can’t delay or decline to certify election results based on suspicions of fraud, error, or abuse, writing that elections officials have a “mandatory fixed obligation to certify election results.” (NBC News / Washington Post / Axios / CBS News / Bloomberg / NPR / The Hill / USA Today / New York Times / ABC News / Associated Press)

2/ Trump’s top general called him a “fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person to this country,” according to Bob Woodward’s book, “War.” Retired U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, who served as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 to 2023, told Woodward that Trump “is the most dangerous person ever. I had suspicions when I talked to you about his mental decline and so forth, but now I realize he’s a total fascist. He is now the most dangerous person to this country.” Milley repeated: “A fascist to the core.” Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a senior member of the Homeland, Armed Services and Judiciary committees, said he expects Trump’s suggestion that he could deploy National Guard or U.S. military on American soil to handle what he called “the enemy from within” on Election Day to generate new support for his legislation to restrict a president’s authority to deploy the military inside the U.S. (Axios / The Guardian / The Independent / The Hill / Politico)

3/ Trump, repeatedly dismissing concerns by economists that his policies would have a net-negative impact on the economy, called tariffs “the most beautiful word in the dictionary” and claimed “I was always very good at mathematics” while discussing his economic agenda, in an interview at the Economic Club of Chicago. Trump has floated “automatic” tariffs of 10% to 20% on every import, 60% levies on imports from China, and higher rates in other circumstances. When questioned about the specifics of his plan and how tariffs on every imported product would lead to higher prices for consumers, Trump suggested that companies should just move production into the U.S. “All you have to do is build your plant in the United States and you don’t have any tariffs.” When told “that will take many, many, many years,” Trump replied: “You’ve been wrong all your life on this stuff.” The national debt, meanwhile, is approaching $36 trillion. Trump’s economic agenda is expected to cost as much as $15 trillion over a decade with gross domestic product 9.7% lower than current forecasts. (Bloomberg / Associated Press / Rolling Stone / New York Times / Washington Post)
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
1/ Israel Defense Forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a strike in Gaza. Sinwar is believed to be the key architect of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in which Palestinian militants killed 1,200 people in Israel. Israel previously killed Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, and then killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September. Biden, meanwhile, said Sinwar’s death opens the door for “a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike […] It’s time for this war to end and bring these hostages home. We’re going to work out what, what is the ‘day after’ now. How do we secure Gaza and move on.” Kamala Harris added: “This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, and it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. It is time for the day after to begin without Hamas in power.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, addressed Sinwar’s demise, saying, “This is the beginning of the day after Hamas. Evil has suffered a heavy blow, but the task before us is not yet complete.” (Politico / CBS News / Associated Press / Axios / NPR / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg / Washington Post / CNN)


2/ Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for allowing Russia to invade Ukraine. “He should never have let that war start. The war’s a loser,” Trump said. In September, Trump met with Zelensky and said that it was an “honor” to meet with him and that they had a “very good relationship.” Trump then added that he also has a “very good relationship” with Putin. Zelensky, meanwhile, warned that 10,000 North Korean troops are being readied to join Russian forces in their fight against Ukraine as part of “the first step to a World War.” (Washington Post / Politico / New York Times / Associated Press / Axios / The Hill)


3/ JD Vance outright denied Trump lost the 2020 election, flatly answering “no.” For months Vance has repeatedly deflected questions about whether Trump lost the 2020 election, instead saying he was focused on the future. But when asked again at a rally in Pennsylvania if Trump lost, Vance replied: “No. I think there were serious problems in 2020. So, did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use, OK?” (NPR / Axios / Associated Press / Washington Post)


4/ Trump’s described the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol a “day of love.” Five people, including three police officers, died after the Jan. 6 attack, and more than 140 officers were injured. Nevertheless, Trump, appearing at a town hall hosted by Univision, was asked to respond to a self-identified Republican, who raised concerns about Trump’s inaction on Jan. 6, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and why many of his own former administration officials don’t support him any longer. “I want to give you the opportunity to try and win back my vote,” the voter offered. Trump replied: “You had hundreds of thousands of people come to Washington. They didn’t come because of me, they came because of the election—they thought the election was a rigged election, and that’s why they came. Some of those people went down to the Capitol. I said ‘peacefully and patriotically,’ nothing done wrong at all, nothing done wrong. Action was taken, strong action. Ashley Babbitt was killed. Nobody was killed. There were no guns down there, we didn’t have guns, the others had guns […] But that was a day of love.” (Washington Post / The Hill / NBC News / The Guardian)


5/ Trump asked a federal judge to delay the court-ordered release of special counsel Jack Smith’s evidence against him until after the 2024 election. Following the Supreme Court decision that presidents have immunity for “official acts,” Smith filed a motion arguing that Trump was acting in a private capacity when he tried to overturn the 2020 election. Last week, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the release of the documents. “f the Court immediately releases the Special Counsel’s cherry-picked documents, potential jurors will be left with a skewed, one-sided, and inaccurate picture of this case,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in the filing. “Those same potential jurors may not see President Trump’s later responsive filing.” Trump’s attorneys requested that Chutkan delay the release of the appendix until Nov. 14 – after the election. (Politico / Axios / ABC News)


6/ Mitch McConnell, who has endorsed Trump for president this year, called Trump a “despicable human being,” a “narcissist,” “stupid,” and “ill-tempered” after the 2020 election, according to his diaries. A forthcoming new biography of McConnell, “The Price of Power,” drew from years of interviews with McConnell, as well as his recorded diaries. McConnell did not deny his statements when asked. (Associated Press / Washington Post / Axios / NBC News / The Hill)


7/ Trump – again – tried to silence Stormy Daniels before an election. Less than two weeks before the 2016 election, Trump paid Daniels $130,000 to not speak publicly about their extramarital affair, illegally laundering the money through his business and Michael Cohen. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the payments in May, and will be sentenced in late November. In a case separate, however, Daniels still owed Trump more than half a million dollars in legal fees related to a failed 2018 defamation case she brought against Trump. While negotiating the fees and interest, Trump’s lawyer demanded $652,000 from Daniels, who was aiming for a number closer to $600,000. In July, Trump’s lawyer told Daniels that a payment of $620,000 was too low, but they’d settle the issue for $620,000 if Daniels agreed “in writing to make no public or private statements related to any alleged past interactions with President Trump or defamatory or disparaging statements about him, his business and or any affiliate affiliates or his suitability as a candidate for president.” After Daniels declined the offer, Trump’s attorney sent another email stating that the case could be settled for $635,000 without the nondisclosure agreement. Ultimately, Daniels reportedly settled for $627,500 and did not sign any NDA. (MSNBC / Rolling Stone / NBC News / New York Magazine / The New Republic)
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

GasBandit said:
1/ Israel Defense Forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a strike in Gaza. Sinwar is believed to be the key architect of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in which Palestinian militants killed 1,200 people in Israel. Israel previously killed Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, and then killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September. Biden, meanwhile, said Sinwar’s death opens the door for “a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike […] It’s time for this war to end and bring these hostages home. We’re going to work out what, what is the ‘day after’ now. How do we secure Gaza and move on.” Kamala Harris added: “This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza, and it must end such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. It is time for the day after to begin without Hamas in power.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, addressed Sinwar’s demise, saying, “This is the beginning of the day after Hamas. Evil has suffered a heavy blow, but the task before us is not yet complete.” (Politico / CBS News / Associated Press / Axios / NPR / NBC News / New York Times / Bloomberg / Washington Post / CNN)


2/ Trump blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for allowing Russia to invade Ukraine. “He should never have let that war start. The war’s a loser,” Trump said. In September, Trump met with Zelensky and said that it was an “honor” to meet with him and that they had a “very good relationship.” Trump then added that he also has a “very good relationship” with Putin. Zelensky, meanwhile, warned that 10,000 North Korean troops are being readied to join Russian forces in their fight against Ukraine as part of “the first step to a World War.” (Washington Post / Politico / New York Times / Associated Press / Axios / The Hill)


3/ JD Vance outright denied Trump lost the 2020 election, flatly answering “no.” For months Vance has repeatedly deflected questions about whether Trump lost the 2020 election, instead saying he was focused on the future. But when asked again at a rally in Pennsylvania if Trump lost, Vance replied: “No. I think there were serious problems in 2020. So, did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use, OK?” (NPR / Axios / Associated Press / Washington Post)


4/ Trump’s described the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol a “day of love.” Five people, including three police officers, died after the Jan. 6 attack, and more than 140 officers were injured. Nevertheless, Trump, appearing at a town hall hosted by Univision, was asked to respond to a self-identified Republican, who raised concerns about Trump’s inaction on Jan. 6, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and why many of his own former administration officials don’t support him any longer. “I want to give you the opportunity to try and win back my vote,” the voter offered. Trump replied: “You had hundreds of thousands of people come to Washington. They didn’t come because of me, they came because of the election—they thought the election was a rigged election, and that’s why they came. Some of those people went down to the Capitol. I said ‘peacefully and patriotically,’ nothing done wrong at all, nothing done wrong. Action was taken, strong action. Ashley Babbitt was killed. Nobody was killed. There were no guns down there, we didn’t have guns, the others had guns […] But that was a day of love.” (Washington Post / The Hill / NBC News / The Guardian)


5/ Trump asked a federal judge to delay the court-ordered release of special counsel Jack Smith’s evidence against him until after the 2024 election. Following the Supreme Court decision that presidents have immunity for “official acts,” Smith filed a motion arguing that Trump was acting in a private capacity when he tried to overturn the 2020 election. Last week, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the release of the documents. “f the Court immediately releases the Special Counsel’s cherry-picked documents, potential jurors will be left with a skewed, one-sided, and inaccurate picture of this case,” Trump’s attorneys wrote in the filing. “Those same potential jurors may not see President Trump’s later responsive filing.” Trump’s attorneys requested that Chutkan delay the release of the appendix until Nov. 14 – after the election. (Politico / Axios / ABC News)


6/ Mitch McConnell, who has endorsed Trump for president this year, called Trump a “despicable human being,” a “narcissist,” “stupid,” and “ill-tempered” after the 2020 election, according to his diaries. A forthcoming new biography of McConnell, “The Price of Power,” drew from years of interviews with McConnell, as well as his recorded diaries. McConnell did not deny his statements when asked. (Associated Press / Washington Post / Axios / NBC News / The Hill)


7/ Trump – again – tried to silence Stormy Daniels before an election. Less than two weeks before the 2016 election, Trump paid Daniels $130,000 to not speak publicly about their extramarital affair, illegally laundering the money through his business and Michael Cohen. Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to the payments in May, and will be sentenced in late November. In a case separate, however, Daniels still owed Trump more than half a million dollars in legal fees related to a failed 2018 defamation case she brought against Trump. While negotiating the fees and interest, Trump’s lawyer demanded $652,000 from Daniels, who was aiming for a number closer to $600,000. In July, Trump’s lawyer told Daniels that a payment of $620,000 was too low, but they’d settle the issue for $620,000 if Daniels agreed “in writing to make no public or private statements related to any alleged past interactions with President Trump or defamatory or disparaging statements about him, his business and or any affiliate affiliates or his suitability as a candidate for president.” After Daniels declined the offer, Trump’s attorney sent another email stating that the case could be settled for $635,000 without the nondisclosure agreement. Ultimately, Daniels reportedly settled for $627,500 and did not sign any NDA. (MSNBC / Rolling Stone / NBC News / New York Magazine / The New Republic)
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Yeah, but like... Hunter Biden! So there.


(this has been my performance of every conservative)
 
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