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[BullDog]

Yes the Democrats in the Senate are going to try to stall the Supreme Court nomination:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/0...rmation-421849]]

My hope is they can stall this long enough so that Barrett cannot vote on the ACA on November 10. The Republicans are bound and determined though and they have the power in the Senate.

Pelosi and Schumer know full well what is and is not available to them. They know the rules of Congress better than any of us for sure. I wish the activists picketing Schumer's house would go do something useful that might make a difference like registering people to vote.

[PlatinumPearl]

8 Texas cities were alerted to a brain-eating amoeba found in water supply.

[Video - Cannot display follow website url to go directly to the article to view.]

(CNN) --- Residents of eight cities have been alerted that a brain-eating amoeba was found in a southeast Texas water supply, leading one of the towns to issue a disaster declaration.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued a water advisory to residents served by the Brazosport Water Authority warning customers not to use any water due to the presence of Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba, found in the water supply on Friday evening.

"The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at the direction of the Governor's Office is working with Brazosport Water Authority to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," the advisory reads.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the brain-eating amoeba is commonly found in soil, warm lakes, rivers, and hot springs. It can also be found in poorly maintained or unchlorinated pools and in warm water discharge from industrial plants.

The Do Not Use Water Advisory was issued for residents of Lake Jackson, Freeport, Angleton, Brazoria, Richwood, Oyster Creek, Clute and Rosenberg, Texas, as well as for the Dow Chemical plant in Freeport and the Clemens and Wayne Scott Texas Department of Criminal Justice corrections facilities.

The TCEQ has since cleared all but one location, according to a statement on Twitter.

Disaster declaration issued in Lake Jackson

Lake Jackson has issued a disaster declaration and residents are still being urged to heed the Do Not Use Water Advisory until the Brazosport Water Authority has completed an adequate flush out of its water system, according to TCEQ.

The incident started on September 8, when the city was made aware of a 6-year-old boy who was hospitalized with the amoeba. The boy's problem was traced back to two possible sources: a water fountain "splash pad" in front of Lake Jackson Civic Center or through water emitted from a hose at the boy's home, according to a statement from the city.

City authorities said the the splash pad was immediately closed and they hired a private lab to run a test on a five-gallon water sample from the fountain. The results came back negative on September 14 for Naegleria fowleri, and the CDC was contacted for further water testing from the splash pad.

Representatives from the Texas Department of Health Services collected water and tested samples from the splash pad for the CDC, and on On September 25, three of the 11 water samples tested positive for Naegleria fowleri.

The CDC sent the test results to the TCEQ, and the Texas agency then required that the Brazosport Water Authority issue a Do Not Use water advisory for their customer base, the statement reads.

TCEQ is currently testing the chlorine levels in the City of Lake Jackson's water source and has determined it will take approximately three days to clear the system. Local residents can receive a free case of water from the city in the interim.

The CDC says that while Naegleria fowleri infections are rare most are fatal. From 2009 to 2018, only 34 infections were reported in the United States. Of those reported cases, 30 people were infected by recreational water.

According to the CDC, 145 people were infected from 1962 to 2018 and only four survived.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated how many Texas cities were alerted to a brain-eating amoeba. It was eight.



Source: cnn.com
Website: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/26/us/br...q_5GLjmwNomcB0
Date: September 26, 2020

[BullDog]

In Joe Biden's remarks today he focused on the Barrett nomination being a direct threat to people's healthcare and the end of the ACA.

He was asked about expanding the Supreme Court and said this:

“I know you’re gonna be upset with my answer, but what I’m not gonna do is play the Trump game, which is a good game he plays – take your eye off the issue before us,” Biden responded.

“If I were to say yes or no to that, that becomes a big issue,” he added. “That’s the headline here.”

“I’m focused on making sure the American people understand that they’re being cut out of this process that they’re entitled to be a part of,” Biden said. “And the cut out designed in order to take away the ACA and your health care in the midst of a pandemic.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaig...anding-supreme

Good for you Joe Biden on staying focused.

[BullDog]

The New York Times has obtained over two decades worth of Trump's taxes - up to 2017. In 10 out of the past 15 years he paid no federal income taxes and in 2016 and 2017 he paid only $750.

What we all knew but still interesting: he's a horrible businessman, broke, and very likely a tax cheat.

It is a very long and detailed article:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ump-taxes.html

Here is a short version of some of the findings:

https://www.businessinsider.com/trum...k-times-2020-9

President Donald Trump avoided paying federal income taxes for 10 of the last 15 years and paid just $750 in 2016 and 2017, respectively, according to an investigation by The New York Times.

Trump avoided paying the income taxes "largely because he reported losing much more money than he made," the Times reported.

The Times obtained a variety of tax-return data from Trump and the hundreds of companies that comprise his business empire after the president refused to reveal them publicly, sparking an ongoing legal battle over the documents.

The tax-return documents obtained by the Times covers more than two decades and includes "detailed information from his first two years in office," according to the report.

Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, denied the Times' reporting, telling the outlet that "most, if not all, of the facts appear to be inaccurate"

The report attributes Trump's longtime tax avoidance to factors like relying on a massive tax refund of $72.9 million and writing up his spending for the family businesses and personal expenses.

The tax refund is the subject of an audit by the Internal Revenue Service, the Times noted, and at least $100 million is on the line in the audit battle.

The data also details huge losses among Trump's business entities, including $315.6 million of reported losses from his golf courses and $55.5 million lost in his Washington, DC hotel since it opened in 2016.

One moneymaker identified by the Times is Trump's personal brand, which the outlet calculated made him a combined $427.4 million between 2004, when "The Apprentice" debuted on NBC, and 2018.

The Times promised "additional articles will be published in the coming weeks."

[BullDog]

Trump is broke and has hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due. He's a tax cheat who pays way less in taxes than most hard-working Americans.

The only "businesses" that have really been successful for him is licensing the Trump name (which is just businesses paying money to slap "Trump" on their businesses and buildings) and money earned from the Apprentice. Everything else has lost bigly - golf courses, casinos, hotels, and more! And he started with an inheritance of over $400 million from his father.

Paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees to Ivanka even though she is an employee of the Trump Organization - employee or consultant - pick a lane Ivanka you can't be both.

He is in deep legal jeopardy.

I thought this article was a good summary:

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/5...axes-bombshell

[homoe]

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats unveiled a scaled-back $2.2 trillion aid measure Monday in an attempt to boost long-stalled talks on COVID-19 relief, though there was no sign of progress in continuing negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

The latest Democratic measure would revive a $600-per-week pandemic jobless benefit and send a second round of $1,200 direct payments to most individuals. It would scale back an aid package to state and local governments to a still-huge $436 billion, send a whopping $225 billion to colleges and universities, and deliver another round of subsidies to businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program.

The proposal represents a cutback from a $3.4 billion bill that passed the House in May, but remains well above what Senate Republicans are willing to accept. Republicans have endorsed staying in the $650 billion to $1 trillion range.

Pelosi said Monday that she remains in contact with Mnuchin, with whom she negotiated several earlier relief packages. The two spoke briefly on Sunday and Monday evening and are slated to talk again Tuesday morning, according to Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill.

“We’ve come down $1 trillion, and they need to come up because we have to crush this virus,” Pelosi said Monday on MSNBC. “It takes money to crush the virus. It takes money to make the schools safe. It takes money to put money in people’s pockets.”

Sidebar: We need to call our senators and representatives, whether republican or democrat, and tell them to stop their pissing contests and for once think of Americans who so desperately need help during this time of upheaval!

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by BullDog

Trump is broke and has hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due. He's a tax cheat who pays way less in taxes than most hard-working Americans.

The only "businesses" that have really been successful for him is licensing the Trump name (which is just businesses paying money to slap "Trump" on their businesses and buildings) and money earned from the Apprentice. Everything else has lost bigly - golf courses, casinos, hotels, and more! And he started with an inheritance of over $400 million from his father.

Paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees to Ivanka even though she is an employee of the Trump Organization - employee or consultant - pick a lane Ivanka you can't be both.

He is in deep legal jeopardy.

I thought this article was a good summary:

https://thehill.com/policy/finance/5...axes-bombshell

All these things T---p is guilty of and is yet to be held accountable for?

I can't think of a better teaching tool than the stark differences between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris vs Team Lie Like Hell (aka, infamous GOP).

I hope every voting American feels motivated to take the trash out and elect the best team we've got:

The Biden/Harris Ticket.

[homoe]

Black Friday is on 27th November this year with Cyber Monday following straight after on 30th November, with Small Business Saturday falling in between! Black Friday falling on the 27th of November this year means it’s less than a month before Christmas. Things will be a little different this year thanks to the pandemic. In the USA, shops are giving staff Thanksgiving off with most stores not opening thanks to Covid-19.

Amazon Prime Day is later this year (Oct 13-14th). Expect too see a lot more online deals rather than in store only deals (like the Nintendo Switch Asda deal last year), which will be a good thing for everyone reluctant to venture.

Crowd control methods by various brick and mortar stores, as well as malls, could get creative this upcoming holiday season...

[kittygrrl]

Came home early to watch debate prep...it was hinted in a tweet that Trump is inviting a guest for Biden...like he did Hilary...my guess? it's probably that girl that says Biden touched her inappropriately which is a big lie and i don't think it will effect Biden at all unless his wife is there and Trump would enjoy embarrassing her and that would make Biden angry......his behavior is that of a demon from the abyss....

[homoe]

Originally Posted by kittygrrl

Came home early to watch debate prep...it was hinted in a tweet that Trump is inviting a guest for Biden...like he did Hilary...my guess? it's probably that girl that says Biden touched her inappropriately which is a big lie and i don't think it will effect Biden at all unless his wife is there and Trump would enjoy embarrassing her and that would make Biden angry......his behavior is that of a demon from the abyss....

I wouldn't put anything past that dirty rotten SOB!

[homoe]

A former federal prosecutor during the Watergate proceedings that brought down President Richard Nixon says new tax revelations about President Donald Trump could ultimately send him to prison.

“No question about it,” Nick Akerman said Monday on CNN. “And his daughter could go to jail, too.”

Both the president and his oldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, who also serves as a White House adviser, are named in the New York Times report detailing the schemes that allowed Donald Trump to avoid taxes for much of the past decade and a half.

“Tax evasion is a five-year felony,” said Akerman, who was an assistant special Watergate prosecutor investigated Nixon’s taxes. “It’s a pretty serious crime, and the more money that’s stolen, the longer you go to jail for.”

Trump has denied any wrongdoing. However, he has also refused to publicly disclose his tax returns, as has been customary for presidential candidates for nearly half a century.

Akerman said the Times report details “a whole series of activities that could qualify as tax fraud, not tax avoidance.”

Avoidance, he said, is merely taking advantage of the tax code in legal ways to maximize deductions. Fraud, on the other hand, involves lying about income and deductions.

He pointed specifically to consultant fees paid by Donald Trump to Ivanka Trump. Since Ivanka Trump was already an employee of the Trump Organization, Akerman said, there was “no legitimate reason” for those payments.

He speculated the two could have been shifting the money around to avoid paying taxes on it.

That, he said, could lead to an ominous development for the president should he leave office in January.

“The only thing that’s saving him at this point is the Department of Justice’s guideline that says you can’t indict a sitting president,” Akerman said. “Once he’s no longer a sitting president, he is subject to being indicted.”

He added that “any decent prosecutor” could make a “pretty viable” case:

[homoe]

Over the past few months, Seattle restaurants took on temporary closures in wake of restrictions in place as a result of the novel coronavirus. Seattle restaurants bought up protective equipment and outdoor umbrellas to block the sun for outdoor dining. Seattle restaurants ponied up pocket cash for outdoor tables and chairs, only to later be swept up in a cloud of smoke during some of Seattle's final few weeks of summer.

Rain and colder temperatures are on the way. For Sodo restaurants in general , they’re taking on not only a lack of downtown workers, not only incoming fall and winter seasons, but also few sports fans in what would typically be a bustling neighborhood come game day. Seattle doesn’t tend to receive high winds, wild storms, freezing temps or heavy snowfall, but it does get cold and rainy enough to be uncomfortable for many of those hoping to nosh on comfort food at their neighborhood restaurants.

At restaurants like Capitol Hill’s eclectic eatery, Nue, indoor seating is next to impossible these days. Famed for its usual communal seating, social distancing has pushed the restaurant to outdoor dining only.


https://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/...dium=cta-click

[Kätzchen]

Just got home from work. I glanced at head line coverage of the debate. Lol. That jacka$s in the WH has been talking over Biden and screaming at Chris Wallace.

I am guessing American voters are poised to deliver a massive cup of Shut-the-fu*k-up to the toddler having a massive temper tantrum on the stage tonight.

4 years. Your time is up, T---p.

In my mind, it's jettison time. Pronto.

[~ocean]

Trump's proving that he is a fool. let him keep talking ~ self destructive lolol

[C0LLETTE]

I was surprised that the Bidens earned over $900,000 in 2019 (even if they did pay tax on it). How much does a vice-president earn annually?

[BullDog]

I would have rather been in the dentist chair having my teeth drilled than watch that.

I think Biden did the best he could to hold his own and anyone who votes for Trump after seeing this is an idiot and an asshole.

Unreal.

[dark_crystal]

Originally Posted by BullDog

I would have rather been in the dentist chair having my teeth drilled than watch that.

I think Biden did the best he could to hold his own and anyone who votes for Trump after seeing this is an idiot and an asshole.

Unreal.

I predict there will be a huge part of his base that will be energized by his shoutout to the Proud Boys and celebrate his "bravery" in refusing to repudiate white supremacy

[homoe]

Originally Posted by dark_crystal

I predict there will be a huge part of his base that will be energized by his shoutout to the Proud Boys and celebrate his "bravery" in refusing to repudiate white supremacy

Sad to say, but I think you're absolutely right!

[homoe]

The Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, pledged allegiance to President Donald Trump on Tuesday night after he told the group to "stand back and stand by" during the first presidential debate.

Many people on social media who identify with the group echoed that language, saying they were "standing down and standing by." One known social media account for the group made "Stand back. Stand by" part of its new logo.

Megan Squire, a computer science professor at Elon University in North Carolina who tracks online extremism, said Trump's giving the Proud Boys orders was their long-sought "fantasy."

"To say Proud Boys are energized by this is an understatement," Squire said. "They were pro-Trump before this shoutout, and they are absolutely over the moon now. Their fantasy is to fight antifa in his defense, and he apparently just asked them to do just that."


https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...l-out-n1241512

[PlatinumPearl]

Salon owner who refused coronavirus lockdown orders makes Texas Senate runoff.

Salon owner Shelley Luther adjusts her hair while listening to a question after she was cited by
City of Dallas officials for reopening her Salon A la Mode in Dallas on April 24, 2020. (LM Otero/AP)

2020 strikes again.

A Dallas salon owner who disobeyed Texas’ coronavirus lockdown restrictions and refused to close even after she received citations and was arrested has made the runoff for a Texas state senate election.

In the six-person race, Shelley Luther and fellow Republican finished in a near tie. Luther received 31.7% of the vote and Drew Springer, a four-term holder of a state legislature seat, received 31.83% of the vote. The winner will take over the seat vacated by Republican Pat Fallon who resigned to run for a U.S. House seat.

The North Texas district includes parts of the Dallas suburbs as well as Fort Worth and Wichita Falls.

Luther spent two days in jail for defying Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s emergency orders. She rebounded from her arrest and her salon being shut down by receiving $500,000 in donations.

The date of the election has not been scheduled.



Source: dailynews.com
Website: https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavi...xpe-story.html
Date: September 30, 2020