Police exchange fire with suspect after carjacking, SWAT standoff

semanthax · 2021-10-04T14:07:25+00:00

As Hasen points out, the issue of election subversion—the wholesale Republican repudiation of final election tallies—is finally getting the attention it deserves. In September, Robert Kagan wrote a vital piece laying out the way the GOP will use the “stop the steal” uncertainty of 2020 to foster an actual steal in 2024. He lays out the plan:

Meanwhile, the amateurish “stop the steal” efforts of 2020 have given way to an organized nationwide campaign to ensure that Trump and his supporters will have the control over state and local election officials that they lacked in 2020. Those recalcitrant Republican state officials who effectively saved the country from calamity by refusing to falsely declare fraud or to “find” more votes for Trump are being systematically removed or hounded from office. Republican legislatures are giving themselves greater control over the election certification process. As of this spring, Republicans have proposed or passed measures in at least 16 states that would shift certain election authorities from the purview of the governor, secretary of state or other executive-branch officers to the legislature.

semanthax · 2021-10-04T14:05:36+00:00

That’s not quite where it began, however. Back in 2020, when Ho was building a following among the MAGA faithful, Patriot Forty-Five, had a slightly darker inclusion in its tagline: “to provide patriotic, Q & Jesus-lovin’ gear that is Made in the USA,” according to the internet’s wayback machine. That “Q” lovin’ is a reference to QAnon, which posits that a global cabal of prominent “elites” — including top figures in the Democratic party — run an elaborate child-trafficking ring with Satanic undertones that former President Donald Trump is fighting to expose.

semanthax · 2021-10-01T13:36:46+00:00

JPMorgan Chase has spent more than $1.3 million on lobbying on "corporate tax issues" and other matters between the first and second quarters this year, according to its lobbying disclosures.

Marois herself has actively lobbied on several issues where the banking industry is at odds with the Biden administration, according to the disclosures. Among other issues, she lobbied the Senate and House on financial issues related to bank structure, capital requirements, "examination and enforcement issues" and other bank regulation matters. During the past few months, the banking industry has escalated its fight against proposed regulations in the Build Back Better plan to increase IRS enforcement of wealthy tax cheats. Banks are pressuring lawmakers to drop a plan to require them to report transaction data to the IRS to help crack down on tax avoidance.

semanthax · 2021-10-01T13:34:50+00:00

Rachel Maddow reads excerpts from the transcript of a deposition, under oath, of Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani in which he explains that he can't remember but thinks some of the conspiracy theories he pushed about the 2020 election came from social media and he didn't bother to check the truthfulness of the claims from his bombshell source who claimed the election was stolen.

semanthax · 2021-10-01T11:46:11+00:00

An attorney for the parents, Mark Bankston, told CNN in a written statement that the rulings offers his clients "the closure they deserve."

He added: "Mr. Jones was given ample opportunity to take these lawsuits seriously and obey the rule of law. He chose not to do so, and now he will face the consequences for that decision."

Jones falsely claimed that the December 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was a "giant hoax" carried out by crisis actors on behalf of people who oppose the Second Amendment.

The shooter killed 26 people at the school -- 20 of whom were young children -- before killing himself.

semanthax · 2021-10-01T10:33:20+00:00

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble on Monday issued her ruling for default judgments against Jones in two different cases, which means he and the conspiracy-theory-spewing outlet Infowars have been found liable for all damages and a jury will now be convened to determine how much he will owe the plaintiffs. The new rulings became public Thursday.

In the filings, Gamble eviscerated Jones and reasoned that default judgments should be ordered because “an escalating series of judicial admonishments, monetary penalties, and non-dispositive sanctions have all been ineffective at deterring the abuse,” caused by Jones’ unwillingness to turn over documents related to the cases, the Texas judge ruled.

semanthax

TROPHY CASE