Guilty of 34 Felonies - Donald Trump

Let's set the national frame with this from The NYTimes:

Donald J. Trump was convicted on Thursday of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 presidential campaign, capping an extraordinary trial that tested the resilience of the American justice system and transformed the former commander in chief into a felon.

The guilty verdict in Manhattan — across the board, on all 34 counts — will reverberate throughout the nation and the world as it ushers in a new era of presidential politics. Mr. Trump will carry the stain of the verdict during his third run for the White House as voters now choose between an unpopular incumbent and a convicted criminal.

While it was once unthinkable that Americans would elect a felon as their leader, Mr. Trump’s insurgent behavior delights his supporters as he bulldozes the country’s norms. Now, the man who refused to accept his 2020 election loss is already seeking to delegitimize his conviction, attempting to assert the primacy of his raw political power over the nation’s rule of law.

In case you missed it. 

Sentencing is set for July 11.

Now, let's take a look at at local take.  This is from WPXI:

Former President Donald Trump was found guilty Thursday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

The reaction has, unsurprisingly, been mostly along party lines.

“I think history will judge this as a personal scandal of no bearing on public policy that was twisted into a criminal prosecution by an elected Democratic district attorney,” Sam DeMarco said. He chairs Allegheny County’s Republican Party.

Ok, let's stop right there. PXI left out a very important detail about DeMarco.

This:

KDKA-TV has confirmed that FBI agents interviewed the chairman of the Allegheny County Republican party, Sam DeMarco, on Thursday morning as part of an ongoing investigation into the 2020 presidential election. 

The news was first reported by our news partner at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

DeMarco was questioned as part of a nationwide probe into the Trump campaign's attempt to send alternate electors from key swing states to Washington, D.C. 

DeMarco was one of 20 Republicans to sign on to a slate of alternate electors.

WTAE has wee a bit more:

"The American public will be the final jury in this case, and they’ll make their decision in November," DeMarco said. "But I fully expect the New York appellate courts to take [the case] and correct this mistake."

When asked if he respects the jury's decision, DeMarco said, "No."

"I question whether the jury received the proper instructions," DeMarco said. "Judge Merchan’s instructions said that the jurors didn’t have to agree on what the underlying crime was."

Sam DeMarco was one of Trump's fake electors. He doesn't get to lecture the rest of us about the rule of law as he was one of the people who sought to overturn it in 2020.

GUILTY

 

 Donald Trump is guilty on all counts.

The Jury Is Still Deliberating

Lock him up!

Lock him up!

LOCK HIM UP!

Today, The Jury Gets The Case

From The NYTimes:

Jurors in Donald J. Trump’s criminal trial will begin deliberations on Wednesday after hearing hours of closing arguments that portrayed the case in stark and irreconcilable terms.

And:

A prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, meticulously described a scheme on the eve of the 2016 election to muzzle a porn star’s account of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump. The woman, Stormy Daniels, kept quiet after Mr. Trump’s onetime fixer, Michael D. Cohen, bought her silence with a $130,000 hush-money deal.

The machinations crossed a legal line, prosecutors say, when Mr. Trump reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the hush money and falsified records to cover the whole thing up.

“All roads lead to the man who benefited the most, Donald Trump,” Mr. Steinglass said, adding that it was done to “hoodwink the American voter.”

Lock him up! 

Meanwhile:

A defense lawyer, Todd Blanche, said in his summation that Mr. Trump’s actions were not crimes, but merely business as it is commonly practiced. The felony charges of falsifying business records, he said, were a lie-riddled sham without “a shred of evidence.”

Nope.

Lock him up! 

LOCK HIM UP!

 

Closing Arguments

From The NYTimes:

Former President Donald J. Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial will enter its final stage Tuesday as defense lawyers and prosecutors deliver their closing arguments in a last attempt to sway the 12 New Yorkers who will decide his fate.

Lock him up!

Lock him up!

LOCK HIM UP!

He Got Booed. TRUMP GOT BOOED.

From The NY Times:

Early in his speech at the Libertarian Party’s national convention on Saturday, Donald J. Trump told the party’s delegates bluntly that they should nominate him as its candidate for president. He was vigorously booed.

That was the first paragraph.

It was followed by this:

When the jeers died down, Mr. Trump, visibly frustrated with the rowdy reception he had received ever since taking the stage, dug in and went a step further, seeming to insult the very group that had invited him.

“Only do that if you want to win,” he said of nominating him. “If you want to lose, don’t do that. Keep getting your three percent every four years.”

The boos began anew, only louder.

He got booed. 

And this is the first paragraph of the coverage from The Washington Post:

Former president Donald Trump encountered an unusually tough crowd at the Libertarian National Convention on Saturday night as the audience loudly booed him and used noisemakers to drown out his speech.

He got booed.

Reuters:

Presidential candidate Donald Trump was booed and heckled by many in a raucous audience at the Libertarian National Convention on Saturday night, a marked change from the adulation he receives at rallies from his fervently loyal supporters.

Again that's the first paragraph.

He got booed. 

AP:

Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing the Libertarian Party National Convention on Saturday night, with many in the crowd shouting insults and decrying him for things like his COVID-19 policies, running up towering federal deficits and lying about his political record.

 And, just like all the others, this was the first paragraph.

He got booed.

And now the first paragraph from the reporting from Fox:

Donald Trump addressed the Libertarians’ National Convention on Saturday night in an effort to win over activists who are skeptical of the GOP frontrunner, and turn them away from independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Is it surprising that Fox makes no mention of any booing? 

The closest they got was paragraph three:

The former president addressed a rowdy crowd, seemingly split 50-50 between his supporters and Libertarian skeptics. 

No mention of booing.

Donald Trump got booed.

Something, Evidently, You CAN NOT SAY on the Floor of The People's House

Evidently, facts can be offensive to the "rule of law" party that they must never ever be uttered.

For example this:

We have a presumptive nominee for president facing 88 felony counts, and we’re being prevented from even acknowledging it. These are not alternative facts. These are real facts. A candidate for president of the United States is on trial for sending a hush money payment to a porn star to avoid a sex scandal during his 2016 campaign and then fraudulently disguising those payments in violation of the law. He is also charged with conspiring to overturn the election. He is also charged with stealing classified information. A jury has already found him liable for rape in a civil court and yet in this Republican controlled  it is OK to talk about the trial but you have to call it a sham. It is OK to say the jury is rigged but not that Trump should be held accountable. It is OK to say the court is corrupt but not that Trump is corrupting the rule of law.

Was stricken from the House record recently.

In a MAGA world, criticizing the orange vulgarity is verboten.

Lawrence O'Donnell has the story:

Remember, in a Unified Reich - Das ist verboten!

Doug Mastriano and the Appeal to Heaven Flag

So much happening.

Let's start here:

Last summer, two years after an upside-down American flag was flown outside the Virginia home of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., another provocative symbol was displayed at his vacation house in New Jersey, according to interviews and photographs.

This time, it was the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which, like the inverted U.S. flag, was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Also known as the Pine Tree flag, it dates back to the Revolutionary War, but largely fell into obscurity until recent years and is now a symbol of support for former President Donald J. Trump, for a religious strand of the “Stop the Steal” campaign and for a push to remake American government in Christian terms.

Alito should recuse. 

But that's not why we're here.

This is:

You can watch the video here. See what's over Doug's left shoulder?  An "Appeal to Heaven" flag.

BTW, at about 2:50 in, Doug calls the events of January 6 "a form of terrorism" and "un-American."

He also says (3:28 in) that the violence was "a threat to the men and women in blue." He also said that instigating violence to push a political agenda is never acceptable.

Good to have heard him say it at some point, I suppose.

There's also this:

The “Appeal to Heaven” rhetoric and flag are an integral part of Christian Nationalism, as seen in that important report. Mastriano frequently appears in videos with the Appeal to Heaven flag behind him, including in the video in which he threatens the New Yorker journalist. pic.twitter.com/hL0F9aK2Yl

— Andrew L. Seidel (@AndrewLSeidel) May 18, 2022

Whah??  But isn't "threaten(ing) the New Yorker journalist" um instigating violence to push a political agenda?

Then there's this:

In video found by @7im, PA Gov. nom Doug Mastriano (R) prays with Christian Nationalists in Dec. ‘20: “I pray… we’ll seize the power… given to us by the Constitution, as well by you, providentially… that leaders in the federal government… on the 6th of January will rise up.” pic.twitter.com/s3KCZTOUMH

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) September 9, 2022

In the prayer, he mentions an "Esther moment" and in his testimony to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 attach, Andrew Seidel explains Doug's use of the phrase:

Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano is a front- runner for governor in the 2022 race, having answered "God's calling" asking him to run. Mastriano and Saccone posed for a photo together outside the Capitol on January 6th. First elected in 2019, Mastriano humbly compared his political motivations to the biblical figure Queen Esther, who stopped the ancient Persians from massacring the Israelites. Mastriano reportedly stated that "if we get the call, we're not going to stand away from our Esther moment." The story of Esther ends with sons impaled on poles, 300 executions, and 75,000 enemies slaughtered, shading Mastriano's "Esther moment" with bloody violence. A day before the insurrection, Mastriano noted that Republicans "were in a death match" with Democrats. Nothing suggests that he personally entered the Capitol, but he was just outside the building and declared that he was "really praying that God will pour His Spirit upon Washington, D.C., like we've never seen before." He joined several public prayer calls after the election, including one to "pray that we'll take responsibility, we'll seize the power that we had given to us by the Constitution and as well by you providentially. I pray for the leaders also in the federal government, God, on the sixth of January that they will rise up with boldness."

But wait, Doug. I thought that using violence for a political end was never acceptable?

If you believe that, then what the hell are you going on about our "Esther moment?"

It's All There. Right In Front Of Us.

As a frame, let's start here: 

Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, plans next month to fast-track a Senate vote on a bill to protect access to contraception nationwide, the start of an election-year push to highlight Republicans’ record of opposing reproductive rights that voters view as at risk of being stripped away.

The Right to Contraception Act is expected to be blocked in the closely divided Senate, where most Republicans are against it. But a vote on the bill is a crucial plank of Democrats’ strategy as they seek to protect their majority in the Senate, in part by forcing G.O.P. lawmakers to go on the record with their opposition to policies with broad bipartisan support.

Access to contraception is a constitutional right regarded by many voters as possibly the next to go after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Recent moves by conservative state houses and governors have added to a sense of urgency about addressing it at the federal level.

One of those moves was made right here in Pittsburgh:

Donald Trump signaled in an interview with a local Pittsburgh TV station that he is open to restricting access to birth control.

KDKA aired an interview with the former president shortly after his defense team rested its case in his criminal hush-money trial in New York.

“Do you support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception?” host Jon Delano asked.

“We’re looking at that, and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting,” Trump replied. “You will find it very smart. I think it’s a smart decision.”

Of course, the stable orange genius backpedaled: 

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he did not support restricting birth control after saying earlier in the day he was “looking at” contraceptives when asked if he supported any restrictions to the right to contraception.

“I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I DO NOT SUPPORT A BAN ON BIRTH CONTROL, AND NEITHER WILL THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!”

Trump’s post comes after the Biden campaign seized on comments the former president made in an interview with Pittsburgh TV station KDKA-TV when asked if he supported restricting access to contraception.

“We’re looking at that, and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly and I think it’s something that you’ll find interesting,” Trump said. 

But here's the thing - no matter how back the backpedaling can go, restrictions on birth control are already part of the GOP discussion in the run-up to the 2024 election:

Allies of former President Donald J. Trump and officials who served in his administration are planning ways to restrict abortion rights if he returns to power that would go far beyond proposals for a national ban or the laws enacted in conservative states across the country.

Behind the scenes, specific anti-abortion plans being proposed by Mr. Trump’s allies are sweeping and legally sophisticated. Some of their proposals would rely on enforcing the Comstock Act, a long-dormant law from 1873, to criminalize the shipping of any materials used in an abortion — including abortion pills, which account for the majority of abortions in America.

This is what the MAGA GOP is looking to enforce. A ban on:

Every obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance; and

Every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use; and

Every article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing which is advertised or described in a manner calculated to lead another to use or apply it for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral purpose; and

Every written or printed card, letter, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement, or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, where, or how, or from whom, or by what means any of such mentioned matters, articles, or things may be obtained or made, or where or by whom any act or operation of any kind for the procuring or producing of abortion will be done or performed, or how or by what means abortion may be produced, whether sealed or unsealed; and

Every paper, writing, advertisement, or representation that any article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing may, or can, be used or applied for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral purpose; and

Every description calculated to induce or incite a person to so use or apply any such article, instrument, substance, drug, medicine, or thing—

Is declared to be nonmailable matter and shall not be conveyed in the mails or delivered from any post office or by any letter carrier.

Whoever knowingly uses the mails for the mailing, carriage in the mails, or delivery of anything declared by this section or section 3001(e) of title 39 to be nonmailable, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, or knowingly takes any such thing from the mails for the purpose of circulating or disposing thereof, or of aiding in the circulation or disposition thereof, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, for the first such offense, and shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, for each such offense thereafter.

That's what they're discussing when they're discussing Comstock.

Tell me again how there's not a dime's bit of difference between the two parties?

Meanwhile, Outside

The science from the scientists at NOAA:

April 2024 was the warmest April on record for the globe in NOAA's 175-year record. The April global surface temperature was 1.32°C (2.38°F) above the 20th-century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F). This is 0.18°C (0.32°F) warmer than the previous April record set most recently in 2020, and the eleventh consecutive month of record-high global temperatures. April 2024 marked the 48th consecutive April with global temperatures, at least nominally, above the 20th-century average.

And:

The January–April global surface temperature ranked warmest in the 175-year record at 1.34°C (2.41°F) above the 1901-2000 average of 12.6°C (54.7°F). According to NCEI's statistical analysis, there is a 61% chance that 2024 will rank as the warmest year on record and a 100% chance that it will rank in the top five.

And of course from the anti-science party: 

Florida will eliminate climate change as a priority in making energy policy decisions, despite the threats it faces from powerful hurricanes, extreme heat and worsening toxic algae blooms.

On Wednesday, the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed the legislation, which is set to go into effect on July 1. The measure also removes most references to climate change in state law, bans offshore wind turbines in state waters and weakens regulations on natural gas pipelines.

Because, of course, he did. 

It's getting warmer out there, no matter what legislation Gov. DeSantis signs into law.

Wait! Big Ben Gets Mentioned AGAIN!

From CNN:

Michael Cohen says that Donald Trump told him about meeting Stormy Daniels and explained that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was also there. 

Cohen says Trump told him: "Women prefer Mr. Trump even over someone like 'Big Ben.'" 

There's no reaction from Trump at the defense table to this. He's got his eyes closed again. 

Also, so far, no reaction from Ben Roethlisberger - as far as I can tell.

As I wrote back in 2018, Donny and Benny played golf at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

Ben came in 47th out of 80.  Trump came in 62nd.

But I thought he was great at golf.  He's not even in the top half?

Anyway, Trump told Michael Cohen about Ben Roethlisberger and Stormy Daniels. 

Here's some questions for any news/sports reporter in Pittsburgh to ask:  Did Trump tell Ben Roethlisberger about Stormy Daniels? And if so, what did he say?

I've been wondering why no one in the Pittsburgh media stuck a microphone in Ben's face and asked for a comment about Stormy Daniels.

He's now part of the court record in the first criminal trial of a former President of the United States. Shouldn't someone ask him what he thinks?

Wait - Trump Might Owe $100 MORE?

Thus spake The NY Times:

Former President Donald J. Trump used a dubious accounting maneuver to claim improper tax breaks from his troubled Chicago tower, according to an Internal Revenue Service inquiry uncovered by The New York Times and ProPublica. Losing a yearslong audit battle over the claim could mean a tax bill of more than $100 million.

The 92-story, glass-sheathed skyscraper along the Chicago River is the tallest and, at least for now, the last major construction project by Mr. Trump. Through a combination of cost overruns and the bad luck of opening in the teeth of the Great Recession, it was also a vast money loser.

But when Mr. Trump sought to reap tax benefits from his losses, the I.R.S. has argued, he went too far and in effect wrote off the same losses twice.

Uh-oh. 

This is on top of the $83 million he owes to E. Jean Carrol and the $450 million he owes for the real estate fraud.

So. Much. WINNING!

 

Big News! Big Ben IN The Big News! (But Not So New, Afterall)

From ABCNews:

Adult film actress Stormy Daniels testified in the hush money trial of former president Donald Trump Tuesday. During her testimony, Daniels mentioned former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, according to ABC News.

Really now.

And:

ABC News quotes Daniels saying Trump was sitting at a booth when she arrived at the nightclub restaurant downstairs from her hotel.

She went on to say Trump was next to Roethlisberger, whom he referred to as "Big Ben." Daniels testified she tried on his Super Bowl ring during this interaction. 

And that's all ABC had to say about that. 

NBCSports has more:

Via Tyler McBrien of LawFare.com, the witness said that Trump introduced her to Roethlisberger at a club in Nevada, where an annual celebrity golf tournament is held. Per the testimony, Trump described her as “his little friend Stormy.”

It’s not the first time Roethlisberger and Daniels were connected. In her 2018 book, she wrote that, on the evening after her alleged encounter with Trump, “he asked Roethlisberger to walk Clifford to her hotel room” and that Roethlisberger requested a “good night kiss.” Roethlisberger, per the book, stayed outside her room and knocked on the door for several minutes before leaving.

“I was terrified,” Clifford wrote. “I am rarely terrified.”

“Come on,” Roethlisberger allegedly said.

Uh-oh.  

The part I haven't yet seen in the current reporting was why Roethlisberger was there in Nevada in the first place. 

Luckily, we have this blog - the one you're reading right now - to rely on.

And this is what I wrote wa-a-a-ay back when Daniels' book came out - January 2018. I was then looking for more detail on the date of that golf tournament:

But can we find a more specific date for this tournament?

Yes, we can - it's the American Century Celebrity Championship tornament and it's held in the second full week of July every year at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Nevada.

That's when I discovered this picture:

I'm pretty sure that's Ben. So he played that tournament as well. And look at the board behind him. This Steeler Blog had the details:

Today is the final round of the American Century Championship (televised on NBC). Ben Roethlisberger will be paired with Paul O'Neill and Donald Trump, while former Steelers QB Tommy Maddox will be playing with Marshall Faulk and Vince Coleman. As of Sunday morning, Maddox is on the leaderboard and has a legitimate chance of winning the event. [Bolding in Original.]

So not only was Ben playing that tournament, he was paired with Donald Trump on its final day. 

Any other days?  Well, The Smoking Gun had the goods on that:

Trump was among an 80-player field stocked with athletes like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Mario Lemieux, as well as entertainers including Ray Romano and Cheech Marin. During one round, Trump’s threesome included NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and skier Bode Miller. 

So Ben was "paired" (can you be "paired" in a threesome?) with Trump twice. 

I realize I am speculating here but I simply can not imagine someone like Donald Trump not bragging to anyone he could about sleeping with a porn star. Can you?

Did he say anything to Ben Roethlisberger about it that weekend?  During the two rounds of golf they played together?

As far as I know, no one in the local Pittsburgh sports/news media even bothered to ask him.  Then, now or since.

Go Steelers!

THE Issue Every Republican Has To Address This Election

After reading this statement from former Georgia Lt Gov Geoff Duncan, they'll have to decide whether they will "vot(e) for a decent person [they] disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass."

That's the choice for Republicans this year - anyone, really if you think about it.

Mastriano's Prayer Meeting On May 1

Let's start here, at LancasterOnline:

Two Republican state lawmakers and several faith leaders were among those who met Wednesday with a controversial Christian activist to discuss promoting a prayer rally in Harrisburg ahead of the general election.

Sean Feucht, an evangelical musician who has become increasingly active in politics, told several dozen people at the Capitol media center in Harrisburg that his organization, Let Us Worship, will host a prayer rally on the steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol in October to “prophesize over” the fall election.

Feucht promotes Christian dominionism, which teaches that Christians are mandated by God to take control of all aspects of government and culture.

Which two lawmakers?  Glad you asked:

Present at Wednesday’s meeting were state Sen. Doug Mastriano, the failed 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee, and state Rep. Dave Zimmerman, of East Earl Township.

Ah, it was Doug. 

But while Doug's people did not respond to any questions from Lancaster Online, we can see that the interaction between Mastriano and Feucht was a tad more complicated that simply "met...with."

For example, here's Sean playing guitar from behind Doug's desk:

This image is from Feucht's own FB page and he captions the photo with:

The harp of David drives out demons of Saul (that live inside this Capitol).  My friend Senator Doug Mastriano Senator loves worship.

BTW, it's a reference to the 1 Samuel 16:23:

Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. 

While I am sure this is completely coincidental, it is so interesting to note that the very next chapter of the 1 Samuel contains this:

David ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine’s sword and drew it from the sheath. After he killed him, he cut off his head with the sword.

The "Philistine" here is, of course, Goliath.  I wonder if Doug still has the sword of David given to him at that QAnon rally a few years ago.  That was the rally where Doug assured the crowd that "my God would make it so" he'd win.  

BTW, He lost that race by 800,000 votes. Doug has never explained what happened.  Did God change his mind?

Anyway, take a look at the brochure just behind Doug's desk name plate:

Across the top it reads:

Remnant Alliance is the toolkit to expand the Kingdom of God in communities.

You're probably asking about "Remnant Alliance" - what it is, what they stand for etc. 

From Citizens Defending Freedom we find this pdf regarding Remnant Alliance.

Welcome to the Remnant Alliance program. The Remnant Alliance is a team of faith-based organizations and churches, who have chosen to be part of God’s faithful, who actively uphold His will on earth and oppose evil in our land. We have a clear plan of action and are standing in the gap. 

Since the beginning of human history, the battle for the souls of men and women has been waged. This battle is between two kingdoms. On one side are the forces of evil lead by Lucifer himself. On the other is Almighty God with His forces of truth and light. This battle is not just played out in individual lives, but also in the governance of our land which either promotes God’s soul saving kingdom or opposes it. In fact, the evil we are witnessing in our streets and government today is not some short-term political movement, but rather a manifestation of this very conflict that won’t end until we meet our Lord face-to-face. (pg 2 of the 7 pg pdf)

And then RA's "Mission" and "Vision" statements:

Mission statement: To educate, motivate and equip the body of Christ so they have the tools to influence culture and governance, and lead America back to God’s moral values as our standard for living. 

Vision statement: To see the body of Christ awaken across our republic, exercise their leadership role to influence others for God, and in turn, restore the Judeo-Christian foundations that brought America’s great blessings and welfare.

And a few pages later we read a familiar passage in the pdf:

Remnant Alliance is the toolkit to expand the Kingdom of God.

So we know we're in the right place.

And a brochure from Remnant Alliance was on Doug Mastriano's desk while Christian Nationalist Sean Feucht sat there, playing his guitar - reenacting David playing the harp for Saul to drive out the evil demons.

At the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg a few days ago.

Did best buds Sean and Doug discuss Remnant Alliance?  Is there a political reporter in Harrisburg that can ask?

One last thing.  This is video from Doug's Mastriano for Freedom FB page.

I am pretty sure that's Doug's voice at the end agreeing with Sean Feucht when he says:

We're not appealing to a government authority. We're appealing to the king of all kings.

At the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg a few days ago.

This is what Kira Resistance is warning us about. 

🧵#America 🚨 Please please 👀 at Christian Right Remnant Alliance slide closely
🚨 THIS. IS. THE. PLAN.
🚨 Pennsylvania, Mastriano had their promo materials on his desk
🤷‍♀️ Could someone, anyone please write an article on them? https://t.co/3dabUXhLva pic.twitter.com/YgwHKWDHJE

— Kira Resistance 🚨 (@KiraResistance) May 5, 2024

 

 

CT Resident Dave McCormick On Abortion

From our friends at Wegner's: 

Connecticut Dave McCormick finally speaks out about his latest position on abortion. All lies with no pushback from these hacks at DVJ. They actually push him harder on his Diet Coke intake. Of course. pic.twitter.com/R34z6PUTea

— Wegner’s Groceries (@grocerieswegner) May 3, 2024

Transcript:

Of course you don't have much to run on, so they're certainly going to run on a very negative message on abortion.

And my view on this is, listen, I think this is a states' rights issue. I believe this should be decided by the people of Pennsylvania. The people of Pennsylvania have decided. We have a legislation that's supported by Democrats and Republicans alike. Signed into law by a guy named Casey. Then-governor Casey, Bob Casey Jr's father. 

And I'm someone who doesn't support bans. I don't support federal legislation. I believe we can find common ground around widely available contraception and around support for adoption services and I believe we should have restrictions on late-term abortions and that the Democratic Party and Bob Casey's got to step on this.  Listen, Bob Casey - no senator has moved more on abortion than Bob Casey. He's pro-life Senator and then in 2018 he flipped to being pro-choice and then most recently he signed legislation that would have allowed abortions up until the due date.

So I think what I'll be able to do is to stand on the debate stage and say, "Senator, listen I stand with Pennsylvanians and the law they put in place. I stand with your father and you, sir, are the extremist.

And that's true.

Except that it's McCormick who's the extremist.

But let's start at the end and work our way up.  Nutmegger Dave says he "stand(s) with the people of Pennsylvania" on the issue.

So where do Pennsylvanians stand on choice?

Pew Research:

• 51% - Legal in all/most cases.
• 44% - Illegal in all/most cases.
  

So he stands with (let's face it) the slight majority that believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, right?

However, when we dig into what McCormick's actual limits are, we see a flip-flop:

When asked directly at a candidate forum in April 2022 — two months before the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision — whether he supported exceptions for abortion, McCormick answered, “I believe in the very rare instances there should be exceptions for the life of the mother.” On his campaign website at the time, he wrote that he is “staunchly pro-life and believes that life begins at conception.” 

Following that candidate forum, it was widely reported by national and local media outlets that McCormick supported only exceptions for the life of the mother in “very rare instances.” 

Now running for Pennsylvania’s other Senate seat, McCormick says he supports exceptions in the cases of rape, incest and health of the mother. 

And there's some journalistic back up for this as well.  From Business Insider:

As Dave McCormick mounts a second campaign for the GOP nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania, he has removed an old "Issues" page from his website that touted his "staunchly pro-life" bona fides.

"Dave is staunchly pro-life and believes that life begins at conception," read the old "Issues" pages, according to the Internet Archive. "Dave has attended the March for Life rally in Washington, DC and will continue to advocate for the rights of the unborn."

While this may seem like a distinction without a difference, once you fully grok the phrase "life begins at conception" you'll see that it's completely at odds with any "exception" - rape, incest or life of the mother included.

In an opinion piece in the Seattle Times titled "Either all life begins at conception, or it doesn’t. Simple, right?" has a good explanation as to why:

In the current Congress, a Life at Conception Act has 125 Republican sponsors in the House, including Speaker Mike Johnson and U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane. Its stated goal is “To implement equal protection for the right to life of each born and preborn human person” and defines the term “human person” to include “each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual member of the human species comes into being.”

There’s no wiggle room there, folks. No exceptions for rape, incest, health of the mother... 

There it is. Dave is looking to have it both ways; declare on the record his "acceptance" of exceptions and still have the forced-birthers (whose votes he's courting) believe he's one of them: one who believes that life begins from the moment the head of daddy’s little wiggler fused with the wall of mummy’s little bubble - end of story.

Can't have it both ways. The flip-flop is seen in his attempt.

One last point. When McCormick misleads on  Casey's support of abortion rights.

The Pennsylvania Capital Star has an explanation:

“Bob Casey has repeatedly voted to allow abortion up until the moment of birth, an extreme position that is totally out of touch with the people of Pennsylvania,” a McCormick spokeswoman wrote in an email to the Capital-Star.

The comment appears to be in reference to the Women’s Health Protection Act, which many Republicans have interpreted as allowing abortions late in pregnancy. Democrats have argued that’s not the intent of the legislation, which would provide a federal right to abortion care, and stop state bans and restrictions on abortion. 

The text of the bill states that abortion cannot be prohibited “at any point or points in time prior to fetal viability.” It also states abortion can’t be prohibited “after fetal viability when, in the good-faith medical judgment of the treating health care provider, continuation of the pregnancy would pose a risk to the pregnant patient’s life or health.”

So, a lie.

President Biden On The Campus Protests

You can read the transcript here.

He started by pointing out two fundamental principles of this republic:

The first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard.  The second is the rule of law.  Both must be upheld. 
 
We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent.  The American people are heard.  In fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. 
 
But — but neither are we a lawless country.  We are a civil society, and order must prevail. 
 
Throughout our history, we’ve often faced moments like this because we are a big, diverse, free-thinking, and freedom-loving nation. 
 
In moments like this, there are always those who rush in to score political points.  But this isn’t a moment for politics.  It’s a moment for clarity. 
 
So, let me be clear.  Peaceful protest in America — violent protest is not protected; peaceful protest is.  It’s against the law when violence occurs. 
 
Destroying property is not a peaceful protest.  It’s against the law.

Adding, a little bit later:

There should be no place on any campus, no place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students.  There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans.
 
It’s simply wrong.  There is no place for racism in America.  It’s all wrong.  It’s un-American. 

True.

Trump On Abortion - Via Time Magazine

Two sources at Time.

The full transcript of the interview.

Time's reporting on the interview.

Let me just start with one off-hand remark that the orange vulgarity tossed off in one of his many non-answers on abortion. The reporter was (vainly, as it turns out) trying to pin Trump down on committing to a veto on any national ban on a woman's right to choose when he said:

And you know what? That’s taken tremendous pressure off everybody. But we—it was ill-defined. And to be honest, the Republicans, a lot of Republicans, didn't know how to talk about the issue. That issue never affected me. 

Ok - now we know he's BS-ing.  Why? Because of this:

Donald Trump has been called out on social media for giving a speech at Friday's annual March For Life despite reportedly suggesting he asked his second wife Marla Maples to get an abortion when she became pregnant with Tiffany. 

Trump criticized US abortion laws as among the most permissive in the world in a speech to anti-abortion activists at the rally in Washington, DC, and pledged his administration would always defend the 'right to life.' 

But he was quickly skewered on social media as people reminded him of an interview he gave with Howard Stern in 2004, in which he can be heard telling the talk-show host that he suggested Maples have an abortion, according to tapes leaked to Newsweek from the Howard Stern Show.    

Uh-oh. You mean Donald Trump told a fib?  On record?  To a reporter??

But let's move on. Remember this paraphrase of Maya Angelou:

When people show you who they are, believe them.

Here's how Trump succeeds in not answering the question about a federal ban:

I understand, sir. Your allies in the Republican Study Committee, which makes up about 80% of the GOP caucus, have included the Life of Conception act in their 2025 budget proposal. The measure would grant full legal rights to embryos. Is that your position as well? 

Trump: Say it again. What? 

The Life at Conception Act would grant full legal rights to embryos, included in their 2025 budget proposal. Is that your position?

Trump: I'm leaving everything up to the states. The states are going to be different. Some will say yes. Some will say no. Texas is different than Ohio.

Would you veto that bill? 

Trump: I don't have to do anything about vetoes, because we now have it back in the states.

If taken a face-value, Trump doesn't seem to understand the purpose of an executive branch veto is.

You can read the text here. The act effectively moves the issue back into the Federal Government. Perhaps Trump doesn't understand that as well.

When asked whether states "Do you think states should monitor women's pregnancies so they can know if they've gotten an abortion after the ban" he answers:

I think they might do that. Again, you'll have to speak to the individual states. 

A win for states' rights, I suppose but a loss for individual liberty. 

What a Trump future looks like.