US continues to go backward...
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Lol. How have Musk, Trump, etc. convinced some of you that they are the constant victims?
"We're just like you common folk, not like those OTHER billionaire elites!" (tweeted while taking a dump in a literal golden toilet)
Good grief.
"We're just like you common folk, not like those OTHER billionaire elites!" (tweeted while taking a dump in a literal golden toilet)
Good grief.
Former GOP Congressional candidate, retired WWE pro wrestler surrenders to Las Vegas police after murder warrant issued
A former congressional candidate and retired WWE wrestler turned himself in to Las Vegas police on Wednesday evening after an arrest warrant for open murder was issued for him earlier in the day.
Dan Rodimer, 45, was identified Wednesday as the suspect in an altercation that turned deadly inside a Las Vegas resort room in October, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The department said medical personnel responded to a call for help inside a resort room in the 3000 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard on Oct. 29.
The man inside the room, later identified as 47-year-old Christopher Tapp, was taken to the hospital with "injuries as a result of a purported accident," police said at the time.
Tapp died at Sunrise Hospital on Nov. 5, FOX 5 Las Vegas reported, and on Nov. 22, police began investigating his death as suspicious after learning he had been involved in an altercation.
His death was ruled as a homicide by the Clark County Coroner's Office, resulting from blunt force trauma to the head.
David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, Rodimer's lawyers, gave the following statement to FOX 5 on Wednesday evening:
"Mr. Rodimer is voluntarily surrendering to authorities and will post a court ordered bail," it read. "He intends on vigorously contesting the allegations and asks that the presumption of innocence guaranteed all Americans be respected."
He posted his $200,000 bail Wednesday night and has a hearing set for Thursday morning, local outlets reported.
Rodimer, a Republican, unsuccessfully ran against Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in 2020 for her seat in Nevada's District 3.
He then moved to Texas, where he ran in a 2021 special election to fill the seat left vacant by Republican Rep. Ron Wright, who died in office after contracting COVID-19. As one of 23 candidates for the seat, Rodimer garnered less than 3% of the vote.
Rodimer competed as a professional wrestler in the WWE from 2004 to 2007.
A colonel promoted diversity. So a GOP senator is blocking his promotion.
Once upon a time in another America, many considered diversity, equity and inclusion fundamental national values, at least nominally.Now those notions are so reviled in much of America that one senator is threatening the promotion of a highly qualified and praised Air Force officer.
Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt (Mo). is blocking Col. Benjamin Jonsson’s promotion to brigadier (one star) general because of the officer’s perceptive but provocative Air Force Times article, headlined “Dear white colonel … we must address our blind spots around race.”
Jonsson’s July 2020 commentary, in the form of a letter to colleagues, was posted five weeks after George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer. The commentary reflects how Floyd’s homicide and the following period of racial reckoning affected Jonsson.
“As white colonels,” he wrote, “you and I are the biggest barriers to change if we do not personally address racial injustice in our Air Force. Defensiveness is a predictable response by white people to any discussion of racial injustice. White colonels are no exception. We are largely blind to institutional racism, and we take offense to any suggestion that our system advantaged us at the expense of others.
“That I addressed this letter to white colonels made many of you uneasy, and we have seen similar white defensiveness play out in many of our conversations since the murder of George Floyd.”
Jonsson included specific examples of White defensiveness among his colleagues, but White colonels aren’t the only folks Jonsson made uneasy.
He was highlighted in an article in the Daily Signal, published by the right-wing Heritage Foundation. Jonsson’s piece was three years old when the Signal’s story ran last August during a widely criticized, almost nine-month hold by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) on 455 senior military promotions, including Jonsson’s.
The Signal, which researched those awaiting promotion, quoted William Thibeau, the Claremont Institute’s American Military Project director, saying, “Col. Jonsson exhibited a toxic embrace of DEI policies that have no place in the U.S. military. His public characterization of ‘white colonels’ blindness is inherently divisive and sends shock waves through his command.”
In December, Tuberville lifted his hold, but Schmitt immediately used an individual senator’s right to block nominations to continue holding up Jonsson’s promotion. He was originally nominated by President Biden in January 2023.
“It is long past time to root out divisive DEI policies and their advocates from our apolitical military,” Schmitt said in a statement. “Leaders must emphasize unity of mission and purpose, not our immutable differences if we are to maintain our military as the greatest meritocracy in the world.”
Jonsson was mistakenly included in the Senate’s mass approval of senior military leaders in December, but then his nomination was quickly withdrawn because of Schmitt’s hold.
Leadership is one of Jonsson’s strongest characteristics, according to colleagues, including a top Trump administration Defense Department appointee.
Heather Wilson, who was secretary of the Air Force during Donald Trump’s presidency, is a former Republican member of Congress and an Air Force veteran. She supports Jonsson, who was one of her Pentagon military assistants.
“Ben has been a commander or vice commander four times, and has done exceptionally well as a leader,” said Wilson, now president of the University of Texas at El Paso. “The military has very few officers this well prepared in an area of the world of vital national interest to the United States.”
Jonsson’s bio points to that preparedness, which includes now working in a position meant for a one-star as chief of staff for the Air Mobility Command, with 110,000 employees headquartered at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Born in Upstate New York and raised in Plymouth, Minn., the Air Force Academy graduate is fluent in Arabic, has seven Air Medals, and flew 900 combat hours over Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. His friends describe him as a devout Christian devoted to his biracial family.
“He is absolutely qualified for promotion,” said Kris Bauman, a retired Air Force colonel who hired Jonsson in 2017 to work on Jordanian affairs at the White House’s National Security Council under Trump. “He has had incredibly successful commands at all levels and has served in an exemplary manner at the highest levels of our government. He is exactly the kind of critical, strategic thinker that we desperately need to be leading our forces.”
Bauman blamed “politics to serve the ‘anti-woke’ agenda” for the hold.
“The irony is that the hold is preventing the promotion of a conservative Christ-follower who actually takes the teachings of Jesus seriously, who puts his faith into action in a manner that leads to flourishing for everyone he leads, regardless of their faith or race,” Bauman added.
Jonsson was not alone in his fight against institutional racism. Just days after Floyd’s death, retired Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein penned a commentary on the Air Force website that said that “we are not immune to the spectrum of racial prejudice, systemic discrimination, and unconscious bias. … Discussing our different life experiences and viewpoints can be tough, uncomfortable, and therefore often avoided. But we have been presented a crisis. We can no longer walk by this problem.”
Furthermore, Jonsson’s article is in keeping with official Air Force Standards, which say, “Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are key to Air Force standards and missions. Diversity of thought, experience, and perspectives is critical to innovation and maintaining the Air Force’s competitive advantage. …. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are about strengthening our force and ensuring our long-term viability to support Air Force missions with dignity and respect.” The top of the document says, “COMPLIANCE … IS MANDATORY” in caps.
The White House, the Pentagon, the NAACP, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, support Jonsson’s promotion.
His message to Air Force decision-makers in 2020 was direct, hopeful and applies well beyond the military.
“Dear white colonel,” he wrote, “you and I set the culture, drive the calendar, and create the policies at most of our installations around the Air Force. If we do not take the time to learn, to show humility, to address our blind spots around race, and to agree that we are not as objective as we think and our system is not as fair as we think, then our Air Force will not rise above George Floyd’s murder. But we can rise above it, we can break these invisible barriers, if we choose to engage and stop excusing ourselves.”
Jonsson’s nomination expires May 1 if he is not confirmed by then.
He won the GOP primary for Gov of North Carolina
North Carolina GOP Candidate Wants to ‘Go Back to the America Where Women Couldn't Vote'
Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for North Carolina's gubernatorial election, said he wanted to go back to a time "where women couldn't vote" in a video that resurfaced in the wake of his Super Tuesday victory.The video, recorded at a Republican Women of Pitt County event in March 2020, shows Robinson when he was a candidate for North Carolina's lieutenant governor, which he later won.
In the clip, he says that he heard a man ask about the phrase "Make America Great Again," which he posited implied the America where "women couldn't vote" and "Black people were swinging from cheap trees."
"I would say to him, if I was standing in front of him, ‘I absolutely want to go back to the America where women couldn't vote,'" Robinson said.
He continued, explaining his reasoning: "Do you know why? Because in those days, we had people who fought for real social change, and they were called Republican."
Robinson's comparison is an outlandish take on an oft-repeated argument by the self-proclaimed "party of Lincoln" about standing up for values, despite the fact that today's GOP differs greatly from the Republican party of 150 years ago.
"That's the America we want to bring back," Robinson said at the end of the clip. "We want to bring back the America where Republicans and principles and true ideas of freedom rule."
Robinson is no stranger to making offensive remarks: before his foray into politics in 2019, he had a habit of posting on his personal Facebook screeds against Muslim invaders, calling Michelle Obama a man and quoting Hitler. Even after his election to state office in 2020, he continued to make hateful remarks about LGBTQ+ people.
Unfortunately for Robinson, we do not live in a time when women cannot vote in U.S. elections, and he will have to reckon with what North Carolina women make of his remarks.
Why not take away their tax exempt status? Lies, political activity, and telling people who they must vote for in order to be a good “Christian “ should be enough to stop giving tax breaks to them. Won’t happen, but in my opinion would be most effective.
Missouri governor offers 'deepest sympathy' after reducing former Kansas City Chiefs assistant's DWI sentence
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has offered his “deepest sympathy” to the family of a 5-year-old girl who was seriously injured in a drunken driving crash, after facing criticism for releasing from prison the driver who caused the crash, former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid.
But in a statement Tuesday to The Kansas City Star, Parson stopped short of apologizing for commuting the remainder of Reid’s three-year prison sentence to house arrest, subject to conditions.
Parson's office said no one asked the governor — who is a Chiefs fan — to commute the sentence, including Reid himself, his father Chiefs coach Andy Reid, or anyone else associated with the team that recently won the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year.
Parson spokesman Johnathan Shiflett later provided a copy of the statement to The Associated Press.
“It seems the laws don’t apply equally to the haves and have nots. The haves get favors. The have nots serve their sentence,” the injured girl's mother, Felicia Miller said in a separate statement provided through the family’s attorney.
Prosecutors said Reid was intoxicated and driving at about 84 mph (135 kph) in a 65 mph (105 kph) zone when his Dodge truck hit two cars on an entrance ramp to Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium on Feb. 4, 2021.
Six people were injured in the collision, including Reid and 5-year-old Ariel Young, who suffered a traumatic brain injury. One of the vehicles he hit had stalled because of a dead battery, and the second was owned by Felicia Miller, who had arrived to help.
Reid pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to three years. Parson reduced that term and ordered his release on March 1. Reid had been expecting to be released about eight weeks later.
In his statement, Parson expressed his “deepest sympathy for any additional heartache this commutation has caused the Young Family,” saying that was not his intention.
The Republican governor, a longtime Chiefs season ticket holder who celebrated with the team at its recent Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City, has faced criticism even from within his own party.
“This is not justice,” said State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican who chairs the Missouri Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, in a post on X.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement that the original sentence was “just,” noting that the crash wasn't Britt Reid's first legal issue. He graduated from a drug treatment program in Pennsylvania in 2009 after a series of run-ins with law enforcement. His father was coach of the Philadelphia Eagles at the time.
“He," Baker said of the governor, “used his political power to free a man with status, privilege and connections.”
She also criticized the governor's office for not contacting Ariel's family before freeing Reid, but Shiflett said that is not part of the clemency process.
Reid had anticipated being released April 30 due to time served and completing an intensive treatment program while in custody, Katie McClaflin, Reid’s attorney, told The Star.
“Now that he is out of prison, he’ll continue focusing on maintaining sobriety and being an engaged and present father to his three children,” said McClaflin, who did not return a phone call from the AP seeking comment.
Shiflett has also mentioned the completion of the treatment program as one of the factors the governor considered when deciding to commute Reid's sentence.
Reid’s house arrest will continue until Oct. 31, 2025, with requirements that include weekly meetings with a parole officer, counseling and community service.
The Chiefs, who have declined to comment on the commutation, reached a confidential agreement with Ariel’s family to pay for her ongoing medical treatment and other expenses.
Now we're inventing new ways to kill people.
www.cbsnews.com
5 people killed in Gaza as aid package parachute fails to deploy, officials and witness say
The U.S., Jordan, Egypt, France, the Netherlands and Belgium dropped aid over Gaza in an attempt to get supplies, including desperately needed food, to residents.
www.cbsnews.com
Stillwater Townie
Ranger
The full context of what Robinson said:
“I absolutely want to go back to the America where woman couldn’t vote. Do you want to know why? Because in those days, we had people who fought for real social change, and they were called Republicans. And they are the reason why women can vote today.”
Yet, I wonder if Republicans were considered leftist or liberal back when they were wanting to give women the right to vote. Further back, I bet they weren't considered the conservatives of their day when they supported freeing the slaves. Too bad how Republicans in recent decades have largely abandoned their role for progressive social change in recent decades. Probably long gone are they the leftist leaning political party.
“I absolutely want to go back to the America where woman couldn’t vote. Do you want to know why? Because in those days, we had people who fought for real social change, and they were called Republicans. And they are the reason why women can vote today.”
Yet, I wonder if Republicans were considered leftist or liberal back when they were wanting to give women the right to vote. Further back, I bet they weren't considered the conservatives of their day when they supported freeing the slaves. Too bad how Republicans in recent decades have largely abandoned their role for progressive social change in recent decades. Probably long gone are they the leftist leaning political party.
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This is the point I was driving with my post. He wants to take the GOP back to the day they fought for and advoctaed on behalf of minorities.
Are they going to fight for LGBTQ+ rights today?, Marriage Equality, Adoption equality, hell even
equality on donating blood, Wage Gap issues, Gender Identity issues, immigration
He is blowing smoke because the GOP firmly and very vocally speaks out AGAINST equality in some of these instances
Don't tell me you want to take the GOP back to the days of fighting for, standing up for and advocating for minorities when the party every vocally and very publicly reject the idea of rights for some minorities today
This witch hunt being perpetrated upon the American people is a MAGAites wet dream. Pretending that Biden is just as crooked as Trump and striving to impeach him is almost comical. 138 of these sobs voted to overturn the legitimate election of President Joe Biden. Now, ordered by their crooked and convicted cult leader Trump, they hypocritically pretend that Biden is just as big of a crook and fight with false righteous indignation as if Joe is head of a crime family. What a crock full of feces. All of these who have ignored their oaths of office, and scoffed at the Constitution need to be voted out of office. I would have said thrown out of office but Trump’s packed courts and Supreme Court apparently can’t read and comprehend the clear wording of the 14fh amendment Section 3. How convenient. Trump doesn’t need black shirts, he’s got black robes, and cult members running this crappy show. Fascism and retribution is already on the rise . I pray most voters still will vote for democracy over autocracy.
Biden effigy beaten at GOP event in Kansas; ex-official calls for resignations
Attendees at a Kansas county Republican Party event punched, kicked and took a baseball bat to an effigy of President Biden on Friday, sparking backlash from former party officials.
The Johnson County Republican Party’s “Road to Red” event in suburban Overland Park, near Kansas City, featured donations in exchange for opportunities to hit a martial arts dummy with a rubber Biden mask and a “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirt, according to photos and video from the evening.
Former Kansas GOP official Mike Kuckelman denounced the event and called on the party’s leaders to resign.
“This conduct is shameful, and it is WRONG,” Kuckelman posted to Facebook. “Brown and Holiday must resign. Republicans, especially elected Republicans, must demand the resignations of Brown and Holiday. Silence is complicity in this case.”
Mike Brown is the Kansas GOP chair, who succeeded Kuckelman early last year. Maria Holiday is the chair of the Johnson County Republican Party.
“Fellow Republicans, let’s not forget our outrage when Kathy Griffin engaged in similar shameful conduct against President Trump. We rightfully demanded she be cancelled,” he continued. “Please, we must speak equally as loudly in our opposition now.”
The party’s event was headlined by country star Ted Nugent, with tickets starting at $100, according to advertisements.
The former state party chair denounced the effigy, even given their political differences.
“I don’t agree with President Biden’s policies, but he is a fellow human being. No one should condone or defend this horrific and shameful conduct,” Kuckelman said.
“Please join me in condemning last night’s baseball bat beating of the effigy of President Biden, and join me in calling for resignations of Mike Brown and Maria Holiday,” he continued. “We are Republicans, and we are better than this.”
In a statement to 27 News, Brown denied being associated with the Johnson County event.
“The event Friday had nothing to do with KSGOP,” he said.
The Hill has reached out to the Kansas Republican Party and the Johnson County Republican Party for comment.
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