Creepy Balloon Animals

[bodysong]

One Koch brother left, to further agenda-

"The Koch organization is heavily invested in fossil fuels."

Why are Koch-funded activists trying to derail a US city's public transit?

(Koch brother groups have tried to derail public transit plans in other cities-
Little Rock, Arkansas and central Utah, to Nashville, Tennessee and
south-east Michigan)

27 August 2019

Scott Mussi, the executive director of the Arizona Free Enterprise Club,
a not-for-profit that has been funded by multiple Koch brother-connected
organizations, such as Americans For Prosperity and American Encore,
began attending the meetings, Martin said.

As the Phoenix New Times detailed earlier this month after reviewing
emails between Mussi and the group’s organizers, Mussi became
involved in shaping the ballot measure, including the language on
preventing any further expansion of the light rail, and organizing the
petition-gathering effort required to get the question on the ballot.

Mussi told Martin that no Koch brother money would be put into the
effort, Martin said, so he was surprised to see in the latest campaign
finance reports that Mussi personally contributed $40,000 to the
committee, accounting for a little less than 10% of the total
contributions made to the organization.

The campaign to keep the light rail expansion has been supported
by a broad coalition of business groups, while the effort to stop
light rail in Phoenix has been financially backed by only a small
number of individuals, according the the most recent campaign
finance filings.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/26/koch-activists-phoenix-ban-light-rail

 

[bodysong]

Tuesday when voters rejected a proposition that would have
banned any expansion of the city's light rail system.

Proposition 105, which was partially drafted by the head of a
Koch-funded non-profit, would end expansion of the public
transit system that was built in 2008 and prohibit any future
building-out of the system, which serves 50,000 residents
each day in one of the United States's fastest-growing and
least sustainable cities.

The proposition was rejected by 62 percent of voters.

The defeat will allow the city to expand the light rail to
lower-income neighborhoods populated by many black
and Latinx Phoenix residents. Proponents say the growth
of public transportation will help cut down on the city's
high levels of air pollution and carbon emissions while
making the city center more accessible to marginalized
communities.

Fantastic news, tinged with a bit of sadness that David Koch
didn’t live to see Phoenix voters reject his poisonous vision

— Hayley Richardson (@bagatelleno12) August 28, 2019

Local and national observers applauded the effort to defeat
the measure after the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, a non-
profit which is backed by Americans for Prosperity and
other Koch-funded organizations, became involved in
supporting Proposition 105, aiming to divert money to
road projects.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...g-koch-backed-effort-ban-light-rail-expansion

 

[bodysong]

How Trumpyderp operates-

"Break the law, for me."
"Take the fall, for me."

Trump Now Telling Cronies to Aggressively Seize Private Land
and Break Environmental Laws to Build His Wall, and
He’ll Pardon Them

President Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles
of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that
he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth
of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land
and disregard environmental rules, according to current
and former officials involved with the project.

He also has told worried subordinates that he will
pardon them of any potential wrongdoing should
they have to break laws to get the barriers built
quickly, those officials said

8/28/19 11:09:26 am by Charles Johnson

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/art..._Land_and_Break_Environmental_Laws_to_Build_H

The companies building the fencing and access roads
have been taking heavy earth-moving equipment into
environmentally sensitive border areas adjacent to
U.S. national parks and wildlife preserves, but the
administration has waived procedural safeguards
and impact studies, citing national security concerns.

“They don’t care how much money is spent-
whether landowners’ rights are violated,
whether the environment is damaged,
the law, the regs or even prudent business
practices,” the senior official said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immi...b80018-c821-11e9-a4f3-c081a126de70_story.html


August 27, 2019

‘Take the land’: President Trump wants a border wall.
He wants it black. And he wants it by Election Day.

Trump is pressuring a government agency to give a contract
for his wall to a company whose chief executive is a donor
to one of his top GOP allies in Congress.

Now that we see how urgent Trump is about getting his wall built
in time for reelection, the fact that he’s pressuring an agency to
grant this contract shows he’s trying to hook up a politically
connected crony while also perverting the governing process
to stick to a political timetable — all to give his crowds
something to chant about at his re-election rallies.

Trump is dangling pardons to officials to get the wall built faster —
joke or not — and behind the facade of craziness, you once again
find astonishing levels of corruption and contempt for normal
governing practices.

Similarly, in April, when Trump raged about closing down the border
to asylum seekers entirely, we talked about how crazy it was.
But some digging revealed that Trump had also instructed officials
to break laws to carry out his directive — and dangled a pardon
to one in the process. This, too, was explained away as a “joke.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...ziness-theres-always-corruption-heres-latest/

 

[bodysong]

Trump trolls desire to mock the Gay Pride/LGBT parade in Boston.

Saturday a ‘Straight Pride Parade’ will take place in Boston, MA

Boston, MA will waste money and resources on the farce.
There are no Straight Parades in the places where Republicans
dominate. These activities drain a city that gives generously
to schools, public works, immigrants, and most of all, fun!

On Saturday, August 31, 2019, the Boston Police Department
anticipates large crowds to gather in response to a planned
event which is scheduled from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM in Boston.

"The Department has been and continues to be in contact
with event organizers and is working with them to ensure
a safe and peaceful day."

While details of this plan are not for public release, those in
attendance at the event can expect a large police presence of
both uniformed and undercover officers. The Department will
be deploying fixed video cameras and mobile video support
teams to assist with keeping the event safe for all who attend.


Parking in and around Copley Square, City Hall Plaza and
along the parade route will be prohibited. Signs will be posted,
“No Stopping Boston Police Special Event” on effected roadways.

No backpacks, large bags or strollers. For those who choose
to bring these items, please be advised that they may be subject
to search, and there will be no storage area designated to leave
these belongings.

In order to provide a safe and peaceful environment,
the Boston Police Department has determined certain
items to be prohibited from the Copley Square and
City Hall areas as well as along the entire parade route.

Please see the list of prohibited items below:

(list at link)

https://www.boston.com/news/events/2019/08/30/boston-police-straight-pride-parade

I hope the city goes deadly quiet, and everyone
chooses to turn their backs on the trolls.

 

[bodysong]

US vice president Mike Pence and his wife Karen have left the UK
to return to Washington.

https://www.southwalesguardian.co.u...vice-president-heads-home-told-nhs-not-table/

Pouring tax payer cash down the drain, so Mike Pence can
perform his chore of assuring Boris Johnson of his membership
in the Trump Alliance.

Mike Pence will continue his trip this week with visits to Iceland
and London, where he is due to hold a meeting with British Prime
Minister Boris Johnson.

https://www.thejournal.ie/pence-shannon-irish-visit-4794388-Sep2019/

September 04, 2019

US Vice President Mike Pence's departure from Shannon
forces flight to divert to Cork Airport

Others were placed in holding patterns because of restrictions
associated with the departure of the jet carrying the US Vice
President this morning

Meanwhile, Mr Pence’s substantial cavalcade arrived in Shannon
from Doonbeg at around 11.10am after Garda motorcycle outriders
had carried out a rolling roadblock along the M18 motorway to clear t
he way for the more than 30 vehicles.

The cavalcade was directed to a remote taxiway where Air Force Two
and a second C-32A support aircraft were waiting to depart.

-Patrick Flynn

https://www.irishexaminer.com/break...-flight-to-divert-to-cork-airport-948244.html

Iceland has to ease laws to allow Mike Pence’s security team
to escort him on visit

The Reykjavik Metropolitan Police requested backup from police
stations in neighbouring towns and villages to meet US manpower
standards.

“This is incredibly expensive,” Police Chief Asgeir Asgeirsson told
the Morgunbladid daily newspaper.

All the moving parts required for the president’s safety tied up
transportation in the capital.

Police closed off main roads to accommodate the convoy that
drove from the airport to Reykjavik.

Helicopters hovered over the government building where
Mr Pence met with Icelandic eland’s officials as snipers
perched on neighbouring rooftops.

https://www.independent.ie/world-ne...ity-team-to-escort-him-on-visit-38468604.html

Egill Bjarnason, Associated Press

September 4 2019

https://www.independent.ie/world-ne...ity-team-to-escort-him-on-visit-38468604.html


Iceland, a nation the Global Peace Index has ranked as the most
peaceful nation in the world for 11 consecutive years.

Icelanders—Who Live in World's Most Peaceful Country—
Shocked by All the Guns Surrounding Mike Pence

Peaceful Iceland amazed at weapons in Pence security detail

September 4, 2019

The guards protecting Pence got backup from a police force
that only allows elite “Viking SWAT” members carry guns.

Icelandic authorities gave U.S. personnel special permission
\to carry firearms. Bomb-sniffing dogs were cleared to enter
the country because of a strict quarantine for imported animals.

Ahead of Pence's arrival in Iceland, AP reported, U.S. Secret Service
agents "spent weeks scouting locations" and "three CV-22B Osprey
flew over southwestern Iceland, along with two C-130 Hercules and
one Lockheed C-5 Galaxy."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...live-worlds-most-peaceful-country-shocked-all

 

[bodysong]

Three Mile Island disaster

Three Mile Island's near meltdown: 14 white-knuckle moments

March 28, 1979

The governor’s evacuation advisory at the time covered only
about 5,000 people within a 5-mile radius of the plant, just
outside Middletown, Pa. Instead, an estimated 144,000 people
left, clogging the roads and highways exiting the Harrisburg
region. And as TMI Alert’s Eric Epstein notes: “A lot of people
didn’t know if they were ever coming back. That is a psychic
emotional experience that doesn’t heal.”

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/03/three_mile_islands_near_meltdo.html

It soon will be 40 years, after Americans had to think about
a nuclear meltdown.

My SO and I thought about going away, for awhile.

 

[bodysong]

Ivanka tells donors she got her moral compass from her dad

09/13/2019

At a swanky retreat organized by Republican House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy in the Wyoming mountains-

Ivanka Trump was asked to name the personality traits she inherited
most from her parents.

Without much of a pause, Trump told the crowd of roughly 120 high-end
donors that her mother gave her an example of how to be a powerful,
successful woman.

And her father? He passed onto her his moral compass, she said,
according to two event attendees.

Ivanka Trump‘s comment about the traits she inherited from her father
echoed a similar comment she made at the Republican National Convention
in 2016, when she told the audience: “My father taught my siblings and me
the importance of positive values and a strong ethical compass.”
(Through a White House spokesperson, she declined to comment for this story.)

You have to have a draw to convince donors to write a $50,000 check
to come to a fundraiser,” said one close White House adviser.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/09/13/ivanka-trump-donors-1488704

 

[bodysong]

The nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island will be shut down
for the last time Friday, bringing an end to its active life as
a power generating station on a spit of land in the middle
of the Susquehanna River.

Documents filed with the state Department of Labor & Industry
have stated that 112 workers at the plant will be laid off effective
Oct. 1.

https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/...ing-today-will-you-miss-it-when-its-gone.html

 

[bodysong]

Betsy DeVos to Duke-UNC Mideast Program:

Be More Pro-Christian or Lose Funding

Last March, Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring
federally-funded universities to defend “academic freedom”
on campus.

Earlier this week, the Trump administration threatened National Resource
Center funding for the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies
(Duke-UNC CMES),

- a decades-old collaboration between Duke University and the
University of North Carolina promoting greater understanding
of issues facing the Middle East.

The Department of Education, headed up by Betsy DeVos, considers
the curriculum unbalanced, in essence, because it is
- insufficiently negative towards Islam and insufficiently positive towards Judaism and Christianity.

They said as much in a notice concerning the issue, released on Tuesday:

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com...rogram-be-more-pro-christian-or-lose-funding/

The document never gave evidence that the course was anti-Christian.
They’re just mad too much attention is being paid to Islam in a way
you wouldn’t normally see on FOX News.

Secretary of Education DeVos ordered an inquiry into the program
after Representative George Holding (R-NC) sent a letter alleging
“radical anti-Israeli bias” in a conference sponsored by the
Duke-UNC CMES program.

 

[bodysong]

Howdy Modi: Indian PM appears with Trump at Texas rally

23 Sep 2019

Trump, introduced by Modi as “my friend, a friend of India,
a great American president”, was given a standing ovation at
the event in Houston, a Democratic stronghold in Republican-
dominated Texas. Houston is expected to be a critical battle-
ground in Trump’s 2020 re-election bid.

Trump sat in the front row as the Indian prime minister told
cheering crowds his decision to remove all autonomy from
Indian-administered Kashmir...

Modi’s speech came just days before the UN general assembly’s
meeting in New York, where the Pakistani prime minister,
Imran Khan, is expected to accuse Modi of being complicit
in torture and mass detention in Indian-administered Kashmir.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/23/modi-defends-removing-kashmirs-autonomy-at-trump-rally

September 25, 2019

Protesters Call Indian Prime Minister Modi 'The Butcher Of Gujrat'
As He's Honored By Gates Foundation In NYC

https://gothamist.com/news/proteste...tcher-gujrat-hes-honored-gates-foundation-nyc

Trump was holed up in his private property in NYC

New York State appellate judge on Tuesday dealt an intermediate blow
to Mexican plaintiffs suing President Donald Trump over the alleged
brutality of security guards employed by the Trump Organization,
blocking a lower court's order that the president provide testimony
during the case's upcoming trial.

9/25/19

The case stems from Trump's unorthodox introduction into the
Republican Party primary in 2015, in which he invoked several
racist tropes about Mexican immigrants. In the weeks following
Trump's announcement, many protesters, including those of
Mexican descent, began to gather outside Trump Tower in
Manhattan to voice their objections to the use of this sort of
language in a prominent political campaign.

During a scuffle with security guards working for the Trump
Organization, one protester, Efrain Galicia, appears to have
been assaulted by Keith Schiller, who was the company's
director of security. The incident was widely reported at
the time and captured by television news crews.

"After being attacked by Schiller in front of so many witnesses
and television cameras, I am afraid that Trump's security guards
will continue to use violence to prevent us from demonstrating
on the public sidewalk," Efrain Galicia wrote in his initial
complaint. "I am very concerned for my safety and the safety
of my friends and fellow activists."

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-lawsuit-tower-manhattan-protest-mexican-1461322

September 22, 2019

Trump Tower Heists Lift $353K In Jewelry From 2 Apartments

September 18, 2019

A car smashed into the lobby of the Trump Plaza residential tower
in New Rochelle, New York
location- 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of the Trump Tower
on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan

 

[bodysong]

Only a few people showed up for Donald Trump Jr.'s rally in Kentucky
for Gov. Matt Bevin

Donald Trump Jr. touts Bevin to a mostly-empty arena in Kentucky coal country

(bodysong comment- I counted a hundred people and some odd.)

August 29, 2019

Donald Trump Jr. spoke to a mostly-empty arena in Pikeville,
hoping to muster support within a historically Democratic county
for the reelection of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin.

https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/...234523747.html

Why revisit a Trump-related rally, a month after it has passed ?

Morning Digest:

What if they held a Trump rally and nobody came?
The campaign manager gets turfed

September 26, 2019

Gov: Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Donald Trump Jr. were photographed
holding a rally in a mostly-empty arena.

Politico's Alex Isenstadt reported this week that Bevin was
quite pissed about this embarrassing episode, and that it was
part of the reason he shook up his campaign around Labor Day.
While campaign manager Davis Paine has retained his title,
Isenstadt writes that Bevin has transferred campaign operations
to another GOP strategist.

09/24/2019

Michael Antonopoulos, a GOP strategist who has worked
for an array of Republican candidates and has been advising
Bevin, has taken over operational control of Bevin’s campaign.
He takes over for Davis Paine, who has been serving as campaign
manager for Bevin. Paine will retain his title.

The rally was held on a Thursday afternoon in a large Eastern
Kentucky event space, leading to embarrassing images of a near
vacant arena.

Paine chose to hold the rally at the venue over the objections of
Trump Jr. advisers who recommended holding it in a smaller
ballroom instead, according to people familiar with the matter.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/...mpaign-1509915

The election campaign struggle continues.

Gov. Matt Bevin's cqampaign ad says "Andy Beshear would
allow illegal immigrants to swarm our state."

hmmm

A Trump Loyalist, that follows the Trump Party Line!

Matt Brevin tends to defend Trump's most horrible pronouncements, deflection, lies.

Trump pushes hard (for horribly wrong supporters) but will back away
if the putrid odor burns the nostrils of the public, and threatens to taint
his own brand.

Yes, this Gov. Matt Bevin-

January 30, 2019

'We're Getting Soft.' Kentucky Governor Criticizes Closing Schools
When Temperatures Could Feel As Cold As -25 Degrees

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said school closures due to freezing temperatures
caused by a deadly polar vortex were a sign that “we’re getting soft.”

Fayette County and Jefferson County public schools in Lexington, Ky.,
closed all schools on Wednesday and cancelled all activities “because
of the dangerously cold temperatures and wind chill.” Other school
districts and many colleges also closed on Wednesday, when
temperatures were expected to hover between a high of 11 degrees
and a low of 4 degrees.

https://time.com/5516338/kentucky-matt-bevin-polar-vortex-school-closures/

 

[bodysong]

If there was any doubt, about what the first priority of the (formerly)
Republican party, it has been proved that is is Party above Country.

The American tax payer provides the resources for them to devote time
meant to support and care for the USA, to one party- Trump loyalists.

Supreme Ambition

Justice Kennedy’s Influence Helped Give Kavanaugh Supreme Court Edge,
New Book Says

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/12/03/brett-kavanaugh-supreme-court-ruth-marcus

 

[bodysong]

Trump's tech bros do not give a fuck, not much more than their boss does-

The tech bros fucked up- such feeble tech bros, they not pay attention to
the culture they steal from

But, that is not really the point is it ?
The point is derail serious consideration of the impeachment.
This bit of nonsensical, horrid, absurd, bit of video trash does
add to the media stream and the video was widely reported on.
Quick and dirty, just post a tweet, and the ant's nest is roiled.

It takes up space, and pushes the conversation about why
Presiderp is facing impeachment, out of the spotlight, for
a bit.

You've made Trump a supervillain and depicted him in the scene
where his plan to kill everyone in the universe falls apart due to
his arrogance and incompetence.

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) December 10, 2019

(Andrew Madsen joked:
"No way anyone involved with this saw the last two Avengers movies.")

Trump’s official campaign twitter just tweeted a meme comparing him to THANOS.

You know... the villain who wants to MURDER HALF THE UNIVERSE.

And depicts him killing the Democrats.

— Jordan D. White (@cracksh0t) December 10, 2019

https://crooksandliars.com/2019/12/are-they-stupid-trump-war-room-portrays

Jim Starlin, creator of Thanos

"After my initial feeling of being violated, seeing that pompous fool
using my creation to stroke his infantile ego, it finally struck me
that the leader of my country and the free world actually enjoys
comparing himself to a mass murderer," said Jim Starlin,
who introduced Thanos in the 1970s.

"How sick is that? These are sad and strange times we are going
through. Fortunately, all things, even national nightmares,
eventually come to an end."

On Tuesday, the creator of Thanos called US (Presiderp) Donald Trump
a "pompous fool" after his (tech bro) team used the Marvel villain
in a campaign video.

A doctored Avengers film clip showed (Presiderp) Trump's head
on Thanos's body.

It then showed him declare his re-election in 2020 "inevitable",
clicking his fingers to wipe out his political opponents in the process.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-50741594

The scene comes from Avengers: Endgame, when Thanos says
"I am inevitable" and snaps his fingers in an attempt to destroy
all existing life in the Universe, only to discover his gauntlet
no longer has the power.

The scene posted by Trump's team comes from the denouement
of Endgame when the Avengers finally defeat Thanos.

Avengers fans also pointed to the fact that Thanos is a
megalomaniacal killer whose aim is to eradicate half
the world's population.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-than...le-defeated-genocidal-warlord-twitter-1476653

Stolen the film, stolen the music.
Not as if the actual creators would
give permission to Presiderp's
tech bros to use it. No scruples,
no morals. Just LAWLS about
the massacre deaths of Democrats

 

[bodysong]

Justice Neil Gorsuch in a blistering concurring opinion
criticized federal judges who issue nationwide blocks
on administration rules, potentially teeing up a wider
challenge to the practice that has often stymied major
parts of Trump’s agenda and drawn scorn from
Attorney General William Barr.

Gorsuch, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, wrote that
the "real problem" in the case is the "increasingly common
practice of trial courts ordering relief that transcends the cases
before them.” In those situations, he wrote,

"it is hard to see how the court could still be acting in the judicial
role of resolving cases and controversies."

A spokesperson for the Justice Department hailed the decision
to lift the freeze on the public charge rule and called on the
Supreme Court to more broadly address the legitimacy of
nationwide injunctions.

"The Department of Justice is grateful for the Supreme Court’s
decision today to stay another nationwide injunction that prevented
the administration from implementing an important immigration
policy well within the scope of the laws passed by Congress,"
the spokesperson said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/27/supreme-court-enforce-trump-immigration-rule-106520

 

[phrodeau]

Alex Jones mentions breaking a few Commandments.

https://www.mediamatters.org/alex-j...ligiosity-alex-jones-casually-mentions-he-has

Don’t just tell Jesus what to do or don’t -- just say, “Jesus, I need your help.” That’s when you’re going to get Jesus. And folks, I’m not up here like some preacher, man, let me tell you. I mean, I never bragged about it or all that kind of stuff, but I’ve had a few girlfriends and done a few things and beat people to death and things like that. I mean, I’m Mr. Worldly. But I’m telling you, Jesus is the only thing that’s going to fix this. Period.

 

[bodysong]

March 11, 2020

The World Health Organization on Wednesday declared coronavirus a pandemic,
signaling the outbreak has defied efforts to contain it and prompting alarm from
the WHO that countries aren’t working quickly and aggressively enough to fight
it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/11/coronavirus-live-updates/

Mar 11, 2020

"I have no intention of restoring health care coverage for part-time workers.
I think that was a good decision."

- Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) chief David Pekoske

Transportation Safety Administration chief David Pekoske defended on Wednesday
the agency’s practice of not paying employer shares of health coverage for part-time
screening officers as the coronavirus crisis continues. At a congressional hearing,
Pekoske said the agency used to provide that benefit but no longer does.

“I have no intention of restoring health care coverage for part-time workers.'
Source- CNN

https://www.mercurynews.com/tsa-adm...are-for-part-time-workers-was-a-good-decision

March 11, 2020

The House Oversight Committee- Coronavirus congressional hearing

Mar 11, 2020

TSA Administrator David Pekoske spoke at a congressional hearing
after 3 officers tested positive for COVID-19 in San Jose, California

March 14, 2020

"Yes, sir," Pekoske responded.
"And ensuring the safety of my workforce is my top priority."

https://www.npr.org/2020/03/14/8157...n-wants-more-guidance-on-avoiding-coronavirus