Pototan
Pototan's JournalWhere's Don Jr. and Eric?
I can understand Melania not wanting to be in the courtroom with Asshole Donald Sr. and listen to details of his infidelity. And Jerod and Ivanka want to be as little involved in Don Sr.'s campaign and other exploits. They're just not up for Trump 2.0. After all, the Kirshner's made more money grifting 1.0 than they can spend in a lifetime. No need to sign up for the re-run.
But Don Jr. and Eric? Where the fuck are they? Something doesn't smell right (no pun intended).
Has anyone here at DU heard anything? It just doesn't make any sense to me.
Biden vs. Trump: The Union Difference
I am a retired Business Agent who worked in one of the largest local unions in the United States. Part of my job was lobbying for Union legislation, principally at the state and local level. However, I sat in more than a few union strategy meetings that dealt with federal legislation.
I remember back in the Bush years that there was a U.S. Seante Republican proposal to bail out weak union pensions with funds from the stronger unions. I worked for one of the strongest unions. This legislation would have resulted in weakening every union. Every union opposed this legislation. If my memory serves me, the final bill failed by a single vote, and I remember that Republican Ohio Senator Rob Portman was that vote.
Of course, this still did not fix the problem. It wasn't until President Biden and the Democrats passed the bi=partisan American Rescue Plan that $20 Billion was earmarked to save the struggling union pensions and hold the stronger union pensions harmless.
Fast forward to the Trump infrastructure plans and the Biden infrastructure Bill. The key to both bills was the Davis-Bacon Act. Republican leadership always opposes this act being included, which was passed during FDR's years. The act requires all federal projects which includes this provision to pay prevailing wages at every location. In other words, if a union electrician made $37 an hour in Alabama, then all bidders needed to pay their electricians $37 in that area, whether or not the company employed union labor. If the bidders were in Boston and the prevailing wage was $53 an hour, the same thing happens.
Not only did Trump not insist on Davis-Bacon, but he couldn't get a bill through at all. Biden not only passed an historic infrastructure bill, but the bill included a strong Davis-Bacon provision.
These little-known achievements by Joe Biden for union members are in addition to his more visible support for unions, including walking a UAW picket line.
No US President has done more for working men and women since FDR, than Joe Biden.
This is when I became a huge fan of George Conway
For those who have read some of my posts here know that I am retired in the Philippines with my Filipina wife. Also, I was born and brought up in Eastern Massachusetts, North of Boston.
By Michelle Williams | [email protected]
"George Conway, a critic of President Donald Trump and husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, penned an opinion piece published by the Washington Post critical of the president’s recent attack on four congresswomen.
The Massachusetts native opened the piece with a personal story of the first time he heard a racist remark directed at his mother, an immigrant from the Philippines.
“To this day, I can remember almost the precise spot where it happened: a supermarket parking lot in eastern Massachusetts," Conway wrote. “It was the mid-1970s; I was not yet a teenager, or barely one. I don’t remember exactly what precipitated the woman’s ire. But I will never forget what she said to my mother, who had come to this country from the Philippines decades before. In these words, or something close, the woman said, ‘Go back to your country.’"
I read this story in the Massachusetts press a few years ago. I have grown to admire and identify with George Conway. Now, he has donated nearly a million dollars to the Biden campaign fund and will headline a fundraiser.
I grow to admire the former Republican more and more each day.
Link to story from a few years ago:
https://www.masslive.com/politics/2019/07/george-conway-calls-president-trump-a-racist-president-in-piece-published-by-washington-post.html
New Marist Poll Favorable to Biden
The latest Marist Poll continues to show movement toward Biden among registered voters. The two parts of this poll which I find the most interesting is the expansion of Biden's lead with registered voters when third parties are added. The other is the movement among voters with unfavorable views of both candidates (double haters). In the previous poll from Marist, Trump held a whopping 15-point lead among this group. It is now a 2-point Biden lead. That's a 17-point swing.
Link:
https://maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/election-2024-april/
North Carolina may be key to Biden victory
There is no question in my mind that North Carolina is in play. Biden lost the state by less than 2% four years ago. The Republican candidate for Governor will be a drag on the ticket and the demographic change has favored Democrats.
If Biden can win Arizona and North Carolina that gives us a very favorable map and allows for some margin of error in other states. We must still carry Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to win this thing.
I have a legal question in Trump case
Let's say I'm a juror that's fair minded and unbiased. I understand the prosecution's case and the defense's.
As I understand the case, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that the prosecution needs to prove Trump participated in fraud by using company funds to reimburse Michael Cohen for paying hush money to Stormy Daniels to silence her about an affair. By listing the payments as "legal services", Trump committed fraud. However, this action is just a misdemeanor in New York State. This part of the case is cut and dried for me. He's guilty of this element of the crime.
Now, the hard part for me. The prosecution needs to prove that the payments, both Cohen's initial payment of $130,000 and Trump's reimbursement of Cohen in instalments from the company's funds was done to hide the affair and cover-up because these actions would have a negative effect in the upcoming election, which was just days away. Now, we're down to Trump's intent. The prosecution insists, through evidence, that was certainly done to affect the election. The Trump defense team will argue that the whole scheme was to hide the reporting of the affair (Trump still denies the affair, as well as the one with McDougall) from his wife.
Here's my question. What if, as a juror, I conclude that both can be true at the same time. Keeping the affair from the public in order to win the election and, as a residual matter, keeping the story from Melania.
As another aside. Can I, as a juror, vote guilty on the misdemeanor and not guilty on the felony?
Now, please don't misunderstand me. I would vote guilty in any instance, and I could never be on the jury. I have hated the guy well before he even ran for President. But I'm trying to get a handle on this. If a juror can vote "guilty" if he or she thinks both of these scenarios are true, Trump's cooked. If not, it's 50% he'll be found guilty and a 50% chance of a hung jury. Acquittal is out of the question. IMHO
OK, legal beagles, let me know how, as an objective juror, I should vote on the matter if I see it as I have explained here.
Can we stop calling Trump Cultists "Conservatives"?
I keep hearing that the anti-aid to Ukraine Republicans are "Conservatives". They're not Conservatives.
Conservatives believe in smaller government, lower taxes, a strong military and the rule of law. 2 out of 4 doesn't make you a Conservative.
Ronald Reagan was a Conservative. George H.W. Bush, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney are or were Conservatives.
These Trump MAGA Cultists are closer to the description of traitors than to Conservatives.
I disagree with the Conservatives I've listed here on many issues. But I respected their opinions. They sometimes lied (weapons of mass destruction) that made me work and stand against them. But I never questioned their love for America and its Democracy.
The Trump MAGA Cultists are a danger to American and the world. But they are not Conservatives.
Trump favors abortion ban with exceptions for rape and incest
No matter the issue, Trump always makes it about himself.
Truth Social Stock Continues Slide
Down another 12% from today's open. Now below $24 a share.
https://edition.cnn.com/markets/stocks/DJT
Sometimes you hear something that hits the mark
I recently heard on a podcast or TV, I can't quite remember where, but I found it to be profound.
"Donald Trump is the white man's OJ Simpson."
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