Thankfully, I am glad President Joe Biden is in charge. The former president Donald J. Trump lost the 2020 U.S. Election because of the No. 1 issue that plagued the year.
The coronavirus.
The World Health Organization had reports that China was dealing with an unknown disease that had an impact on the way of life. China warned world leaders about the possibility of this spreading. Trump who openly bragged about the trade war, complained about his impeachment, constantly trashing people and the junk food media on social allowed the coronavirus spread into the United States.
It was determined that the first known case happened in Dec. 2019 but it is was the first reported case in Jan. 2020 with the first death in Feb. 2020.
It became apparent that Trump ignored the pandemic because of some phobia or he did not want to spook the economy.
Regardless, the pandemic affected the economy and caused a global pandemic that killed over 1 billion people.
WHO has made an official request to China for detailed information on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children.
At a press conference on November 13, 2023, Chinese authorities from the National Health Commission reported an increase in incidence of respiratory diseases in China. Chinese authorities attributed this increase to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae (a common bacterial infection which typically affects younger children), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Authorities stressed the need for enhanced disease surveillance in healthcare facilities and community settings, as well as strengthening the capacity of the health system to manage patients.
On November 21, media and ProMED reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China. It is unclear if these are associated with the overall increase in respiratory infections previously reported by Chinese authorities, or separate events.
On November 22, WHO requested additional epidemiologic and clinical information, as well as laboratory results from these reported clusters among children, through the International Health Regulations mechanism. We have also requested further information about recent trends in the circulation of known pathogens including influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and mycoplasma pneumoniae, and the current burden on health care systems. WHO is also in contact with clinicians and scientists through our existing technical partnerships and networks in China.
Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in influenza-like illness compared to the same period in the previous three years. China has systems in place to capture information on trends in influenza, influenza-like illnesses, RSV and SARS-CoV-2, and reports to platforms such as the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System.
While WHO seeks this additional information, we recommend that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness, which include recommended vaccination; keeping distance from people who are ill; staying home when ill; getting tested and medical care as needed; wearing masks as appropriate; ensuring good ventilation; and regular hand-washing.
WHO will continue to provide updates.
Biden may suck when it comes to Israel and the economy, but his preparation for a deadly pandemic will be far superior than Trump.
The internet is forever. Raymond Scott claims that his only daughter [a well known rapper/model] is using him for clout. Really?
I mean, she is nominated for a Grammy, more popular than him and said publicly she is open to work with his arch enemies.
Being blacklisted was a product of his own doing. This guy pretty much ruined his career by his refusal to accept he is a terrible rapper and a terrible human being.
Formerly known as Benzino, Scott is reigniting his feud with Eminem and Coi Leray, his daughter who is a successful rapper and model. He continues to rehash his old feuds from the early 2000s with Em, Busta Rhymes and media personalities like Angie Martinez. During the time, Scott instigated a feud with Em to generate noise for his album. He used his friend David Mays, the founder of hip-hop magazine The Source to tarnish Em and give his album trash ratings. Em responded to Scott in two devastating disses. The songs ruined Scott's reputation and ended The Source magazine's reign as the leading hip-hop publication.
Scott was ranting and raving about his daughter not giving him money to pay his rent.
He is literally mad that she isn't loaning money and doing interviews with Power 105.1 FM personalities he feuded with in the past.
Coi appeared on Angie Martinez’s “IRL” podcast, where she opened up about how her dad dealt with her success, which she says “was rocky” in the beginning. She felt that the “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” star couldn’t handle the attention she had garnered with songs like “Twinnem” and “No More Parties (Remix).”
“I felt like it did come from an envious place, which is okay, ‘cause he’s human, and it’s fine. He’s one of those people that feels like, ‘Yo, I still have a story to tell,” the 26-year-old shared.
He got angry over the fact that Coi talked about his anger issues and his lack of being a father.
Coi rose to fame in 2019 and has became a nationally known entertainer. Coi has distanced herself from him because of his behavior.
She said that her mom and brothers struggled when Scott left her. So Coi harbored resentment towards him due to his selfish behavior. Trust me, he shows it every day when he speaks.
Coi said that her family struggled and she had to sell to survive.
Special shout out to The Evolve. Would have never known about how bad things are for the washed up entertainer.
Coi Leray's mentor is Busta Rhymes. It drives her dad nuts!
I've been trying not to waste my time covering this washed up entertainer. However, he just can't stay out of the negative spotlight. Eminem buried his career. He should have figured it out when he lost The Source, got blackballed on radio and television and faced failures throughout his 58 years on this earth.
He literally is trying to sabotage his daughter. Coi LeRay has been trying to find her way out of her father's shadow for years. He is so jealous of her gaining more followers, people listening to her music and she getting deals. He is trying to collect a paycheck from whatever he's doing down in Atlanta.
He also is denying he's on the down low.
Real World Police showed that Scott was evicted from his apartment, owes a lot of child support, got his vehicle impounded and is forbidden from driving and is required to take anger management classes. He owes a man in punitive damages for kicking his truck.
Fun facts about Raymond "Benzino" Scott. This is a copy and paste I've put together. So for anyone who never heard of this dude, here's some fun facts about him.
He is the former co-owner of The Source Magazine and Hip-Hop Weekly.
He is born Raymond Leon Scott on July 18, 1965 but it is actually 1963.
He is best known for being on Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta for two seasons.
He is a former reality television star.
He is a former rapper.
He is a Boston-native entertainer.
He is the reason why The Source Magazine nearly went bankrupt.
He is the father of rapper/socialite Coi LeRay.
He is standing at 5'3" tall.
He is bipolar.
He is a one-hit wonder. His biggest single "Rock The Party" was hot in 2002.
He is the guy who took on Eminem and it left his rap career ruined.
He is the one who told staffers to give Eminem's albums poor ratings.
He is the one who threatened to kill Eminem's daughter, social media influencer Hallie Mathers in a rap verse.
He has threaten men who dated the mothers of his children. He was arrested for damaging a man's truck after he caught Althea Easton walking with him and their son, Zino.
He is a known hot head.
He is extremely sexist, homophobic and racist.
He is not known much outside of mainstream. Even the people who engage with him don't know he is a celebrity. In fact, he is a D-list celebrity at best.
He used cocaine, ecstasy, and steroids. It has contributed to his reckless behavior.
He is the father of five [or six] children.
He was born on July 18 either in 1963 or 1965.
He has appeared on Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta and Marriage Boot Camp.
He was a member of The Almighty RSO which is known as Made Men.
He was caught at the end of his Bootee Remix music video taking a nasty fall.
He says "You know what I'm sayin'" a lot.
He has got into feuds with YouTube personalities NoLifeShaq and TheEvolve.
He has feuded with Eminem, 50 Cent, Wack 100, Aayan X, Funkmaster Flex, DJ Khaled, Angie Martinez, Angela Yee, Joyner Lucas, Lil Nas X, Royce Da 5'9", Merkules, Obie Trice and D12.
He was shot in Massachusetts after getting into a confrontation at his mom's funeral. His nephew was criminally charged.
He owes child support to former reality television star Althea Hart.
He steals carts from Publix and Kroger. His landlord at his previous apartment told law enforcement about his failures to pay rent and his tendencies to steal property from grocery stores.
He berated an Uber/Lyft driver because he was upset over masks.
He was caught in a one bedroom motel room with another man. He and Cavario Don Diva were in a Red Roof in Brookhaven. They were trespassed after Scott got upset at the manager. That hotel was known for cruising and prostitution.
He continues to drive a vehicle without a valid license. It's a reason to his multiple arrests. He had his vehicle impounded and despite his multiple pullovers, he still drives. He owes child support, court costs and traffic citations. Those contributing factors to why he is banned from driving.
He was on camera using racial slurs against an Asian-American Brookhaven, Georgia cop.
He is a subject of Real World Police videos. His antics expose the turmoils of fame. Those videos with him have more views than his own music videos.
He has done things to make people believe he could be a pedophile.
He is an internet troll. He often responds to Eminem fans or critics with sexist, racist, homophobic and parental digs. He had his official Instagram account banned for that.
He is sabotaging Coi LeRay's rap career on purpose because of jealousy. Nicki Minaj nearly cancelled her verse on Coi LeRay's album thanks to him running his mouth.
He was threatening Coi LeRay for sharing her experiences being his daughter. Coi said that her dad is broke and after The Source fallout, he literally struggled and she claimed he needed her to appear on reality TV to at least generate a buck.
He was allegedly grooming his half-sister.
He was allegedly sleeping with his niece.
He is screaming Black Lives Matter whenever he has a Karen moment.
He is temporarily banned on Clubhouse for making racial, homophobic and threats toward a gay podcast host.
He has openly brags about having an OnlyFans account and sharing nudity for a buck.
He has a sex tape on XVideo of him eating a woman's ass.
He is caught on social media talking to a transgender model/activist. He begged for forgiveness towards Shauna Brooks because he had a relationship with her.
He admitted he used a dildo on himself. The allegations go back about 10 years ago.
He has already sabotaged his son Yung Chavo's career by dragging on the Eminem feud.
He was relentless trolled on social for his D'Angelo-themed "The Bigger Picture" video.
He has many videos on YouTube and none of them cracked over 500,000 views.
He has a struggling restaurant called Benzino's Crab Trap. He closed two previous locations in Atlanta. He has one struggling location in suburban Chicago. The owner successfully sued him and Stevie J for breach of contract.
He used to own a nightclub, a sports bar, a clothing line and a music label. All of those projects have failed or he's lost them to health violations.
He does a celebrity boxing match to make a little change cause his rap career is pretty much over.
He has no boxing skills or certification.
He has been a failure most of his adult life.
He has been accused performing a sex acts for OnlyFans.
He has been arrested numerous times for not appearing at court.
He was sued by former business partner Dave Mays.
He has no Twitter account.
He is considered the worst rapper in modern history.
He has no neck.
He has no fame.
Scott said that no one in the hood plays Eminem's music. He said Em's music is trailer trash and his fans voted for Donald J. Trump. He said thinks Em rhymes "masturbater in the elevator" whenever he's on the mic.
Tell me:
Has anyone in the hood ever heard of a Benzino song?
Or perhaps has anyone ever played any of Benzino's music?
President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden attend Roselynn Carter funeral.
President Joe Biden, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter paid tribute to the late first lady [Elanor] Roselynn Carter.
Carter, 96 passed away a week into hospice after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In a rare appearance, 99 year old Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States was there to pay tribute to his love for the last time. Carter entered hospice in early February.
In a rare outing, former first lady Melania Trump appeared with First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, former first ladies, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, also former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.
Carter was remembered Tuesday as a former U.S. first lady who leveraged her fierce intellect and political power to put her deep Christian faith into action by always helping others, especially those who needed it most.
A gathering of first ladies and presidents — including her 99-year-old husband Jimmy Carter — joined other political figures in tribute. But a parade of speakers said her global stature wasn’t what defined her.
“She had met kings and queens, presidents, others in authority, powerful corporate leaders and celebrities,” her son James Earl “Chip” Carter III said. “She said the people that she felt the most comfortable with and the people she enjoyed being with the most were those that lived in absolute abject poverty, the ones without adequate housing, without a proper diet and without access to health care.”
The service was held during three days of events celebrating the humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters’ native Sumter County and continued at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta. Her funeral and burial are planned for Wednesday in her small hometown.
Jimmy Carter, who is 10 months into home hospice care, watched from his wheelchair, reclining and covered by a blanket featuring his wife’s face. Chip and his sister, Amy, held their father’s hands and were flanked by their brothers, Jeff and Jack.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff paid their respects, as did Georgia’s U.S. senators Democrats Jon Osoff and Raphael Warnock and Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife, Marty.
More than 1,000 people, including a sizeable contingent of Secret Service agents, filled the sanctuary. Former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush were invited but did not attend.
“My mother was the glue that held our family together through the ups and downs and thicks and thins of our family’s politics,” Chip Carter said.
The pews filled with political power players, but front and center were her children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren — all surrounding Jimmy Carter, her partner of 77 years.
“Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life,” said Amy Carter, who read a love note her father wrote to her mother 75 years ago.
Journalist Judy Woodruff recalled Rosalynn Carter lobbying lawmakers, campaigning separately from her husband, attending Cabinet meetings and playing key roles — including being the first presidential adviser to suggest Camp David as a negotiating place for Epypt’s Anwar Sadat and Israel’s Menachem Begin. Those negotiations led to historic peace accords between the two countries.
“He never wants to be very far from her,” Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander said. The trip to Atlanta was “hard” for the former president but “this is her last trip up and it’s probably his, too,” she added. “He’s determined.”
The Carters married in 1946 and became the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history. Jimmy Carter is the longest-lived president; Rosalynn Carter was the second-longest lived first lady, trailing only Bess Truman, who died at 97.
Family members described how Rosalynn Carter went from growing up in a small town where she had never spoken to a group larger than her Sunday school class to being a global figure who visited more than 120 countries.
Kathryn Cade, who stayed on as a close adviser as Rosalynn Carter helped build The Carter Center and its global reach, called Rosalynn Carter’s time as first lady “really just one chapter in a life that was about caring for others.”
Praised for her half-century of advocating for better mental health care in America and reducing stigmas attached to mental illness, she brought attention to the tens of millions of people who work as unpaid caregivers in U.S. households and was acclaimed for how integral she was to her husband’s political rise and his terms as Georgia’s governor and the 39th president.
Chip Carter recalled how his mom got him into rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.
“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever met,” he said. “And pretty to look at, too.”
Jason Carter, her grandson, got laughs as he acknowledged the “remarkable sisterhood” of the first ladies in attendance, and then greeted the “lovely husbands” of Hillary Clinton and Jill Biden.
“She was so down to earth, y’all, it was amazing,” Jason Carter said as he shared family stories, including the time when his grandmother made pimento cheese sandwiches and handed them out on a Delta flight.
“She loved people,” he said. “She was a cool grandma.”
Country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, family friends of the Carters and their successors as Habitat for Humanity ambassadors, performed a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” toward the end of the service.
Though the president didn’t speak at the service, he and his wife “shared a private moment” with Jimmy Carter beforehand, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Joe and Jill Biden “were able to express their condolences directly to the Carter family,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that the Bidens hold “the entire Carter family close to their hearts.”
Rosalynn Carter’s funeral will take place Wednesday in Plains, with an invitation-only service at Maranatha Baptist Church, where the Carters have been members since returning to Georgia after his presidency. She will be buried after a private graveside service in a plot the couple will share, visible from the front porch of the home they built before Jimmy Carter’s first political campaign in 1962.
Hunter Biden is done with the bull. He will testify before the GOP circus of idiocy.
Robert Hunter Biden is the youngest surviving son of Joe Biden, the current 46th President of the United States.
He is a private citizen who is the focus of a Republican committee and impeachment inquiry into whether Biden, then as vice president took bribes from foreign governments.
Hunter has offered to testify before a GOP-controlled congressional probe — provided they meet a major pre-condition.
Amid reports of a more aggressive strategy for the embattled younger Biden, attorney Abbe Lowell has sent a letter to the GOP-led House Oversight Committee, whose chairman is Rep. James Comer (R-KY).
In the letter, Lowell wrote that Hunter “will get right to it by agreeing to answer any pertinent and relevant question you or your colleagues might have, but — rather than subscribing to your cloaked, one-sided process — he will appear at a public Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing.”
Hunter wants a public hearing and wants it to be seen by the junk food media. He said that he is going to defend himself and his family from the smears.
The committee had sought a closed-door deposition Dec. 13, but Lowell wrote that it did not trust Comer and Republicans to provide a truthful account of such an event.
“We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door,” Lowell wrote in a letter to Comer on Tuesday. “If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings.”
Lowell noted that Comer has previously said that Hunter Biden is “more than welcome” before the committee.
“Accordingly, our client will get right to it by agreeing to answer any pertinent and relevant question you or your colleagues might have, but— rather than subscribing to your cloaked, one-sided process—he will appear at a public Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing,” Lowell said.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) keeps this farce going. Even with Hunter Biden testifying, the GOP will continue to harp on Biden scandals.
The committee on Tuesday said it expects Hunter Biden to appear for a closed-door deposition in addition to any public setting.
“Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That won’t stand with House Republicans,” Comer said in a statement. “Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date.”
In addition to Hunter Biden, Oversight subpoenaed a swath of other Biden family members earlier in November, including the president’s brother, James Biden; Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen; and Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden.
Hunter Biden’s legal counsel has torn into the Oversight Committee’s investigation, writing that Comer’s probe is “turning up only dry holes.”
“A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements,” Lowell said in the letter.
“Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end. Consequently, Mr. Biden will appear at such a public hearing on the date you noticed, December 13, or any date in December that we can arrange,” Lowell continued. “From all the individuals you have requested depositions or interviews, all you will learn is that your accusations are baseless. However, the American people should see that for themselves.”
Biden is losing support because he continues to stand with Israel and its apartheid.
The problem with President Joe Biden is Israel and the economy.
He and Donald J. Trump will likely be the last U.S. Presidents to back Israel.
In 2028, the next president after them [whomever wins] will now see this as a litmus test.
I am about close to not voting for him and Vice President Kamala Harris because of their hardline stance to Israel. They are literally defending the apartheid state in its total annihilation of the Gaza Strip. He has failed in trying to play neutral. He has failed to call for a ceasefire. He failed to call out Israel for its unlawful military actions. He refuses to condemn war crimes and illegal settlements done by Israel.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary truce in exchange for civilians caught up in their mess. Israel released Palestinians who were unlawfully arrested and Hamas released civilians who were held since Oct. 7.
Biden also praised the release of Abigail Edan, the 4-year old Israeli-American child who was held in Gaza.
Biden's headaches grow. He is losing support among young voters. They think his stance on Israel and his economic policies are out of touch. They sour on Congress as well.
With Republican control in the House of Representatives, the legislation is delayed, many members are retiring, every crisis is hurting America's reputation with the world.
Biden is also parroting propaganda from Israel.
Biden mentioned the discredited 40 beheaded babies. He said the Israeli air strike on hospitals was done by the "other team." Of course, he disputes the Gaza Health Ministry's assessment of the deaths during the Israeli air strikes.
During a press conference at the White House on October 25th, Biden voiced skepticism regarding the number of dead provided by the Gaza’s health office, adding, “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed.”
His comments sparked fury from prominent Muslim Americans who met with the president the following day, according to The Washington Post. The five representatives of the American Muslim community criticized Biden for being insensitive, while others retold stories of civilians losing dozens of family members in Gaza.
The Ministry of Health says more than 14,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel declared war. The New York Times reported over the weekend that some 10,000 of those are believed to be women and children.
Eleven months to go and Biden is seeing a reckoning.
Since the Hamas launched its attack on Israel on Oct. 7 — during which hundreds of hostages were taken including a 3-year-old American who was released Sunday after seeing her parents murdered and turning 4-years-old in captivity — Biden has vowed to support the country with military and financial aid while also working with officials on both sides to negotiate a peaceful transfer of those hostages and prisoners and see Hamas unseated as the political force in power in Gaza.
During the meeting reported by the Washington Post, which scheduled for 30 minutes lasted more than an hour, Biden reportedly apologized for his comments.
“I’m sorry. I’m disappointed in myself,” Biden said to the group before he ended up hugging one of the participants. “I will do better.”
Biden officials have been meeting with staffers, political appointees, and outside groups to gauge their reactions to the administration’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Media pundits and political consultants have claimed that the conflict may endanger Biden’s 2024 electoral prospects.
Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) is out along with numerous others.
More and more U.S. lawmakers are retiring. It is too much drama and they rather return back to the private sector. After all, one can't take too much time off from not doing much anyway.
Democrats and Republicans are heading for the door and it may or may not provide the seismic shift in balance of power.
Regardless of who's in charge of the House or the Senate, they will continue the status quo.
If Joe Biden or Donald J. Trump won, it will be the same status quo. Neither will change course on their policies.
More than three dozen members of Congress have announced they will not seek re-election next year, some to pursue other offices and many others simply to get out of Washington. Twelve have announced their plans just this month.
The wave of lawmakers across chambers and parties announcing they intend to leave Congress comes at a time of breathtaking dysfunction on Capitol Hill, primarily instigated by House Republicans. The House Republican majority spent the past few months deposing its leader, waging a weekslong internal war to select a new speaker and struggling to keep federal funding flowing. Right-wing members have rejected any spending legislation that could become law and railed against their new leader for turning to Democrats, as his predecessor did, to avert a government shutdown.
The chaos has Republicans increasingly worried that they could lose their slim House majority next year, a concern that typically prompts a rash of retirements from the party in control. But it is not only GOP lawmakers who are opting to leave; Democrats, too, are rushing for the exits, with retirements across parties this year outpacing those of the past three election cycles.
And while most of the departures announced so far do not involve competitive seats, given the slim margins of control in both chambers, the handful that provide pickup opportunities for Republicans or Democrats could help determine who controls Congress come 2025.
“I like the work, but the politics just no longer made it worth it,” Representative Earl Blumenauer, Democrat of Oregon, said in an interview. He announced his retirement last month after more than a quarter-century in the House.
“I think I can have more impact on a number of things I care about if I’m not going to be bogged down for re-election,” Blumenauer said.
As lawmakers consider their futures in Congress, they are weighing the personal sacrifice required to be away from loved ones for much of the year against the potential to legislate and advance their political and policy agendas. In this chaotic and bitter environment, many are deciding the trade-off is unappealing.
This session, said Representative Dan Kildee, Democrat of Michigan, has been the “most unsatisfying period in my time in Congress because of the absolute chaos and the lack of any serious commitment to effective governance.”
Kildee, who has served in Congress for a decade, said he decided not to seek re-election after recovering from a cancerous tumor he had removed earlier this year. It made him re-evaluate the time he was willing to spend in Washington, away from his family in Michigan.
The dysfunction in the House majority only made the calculation easier.
“That has contributed to the sense of frustration,” he said, “and this feeling that the sacrifice we’re all making in order to be in Washington, to be witness to this chaos, is pretty difficult to make.”
Representative Anna G. Eshoo, Democrat of California, also announced she would end her three-decade career in Congress at the close of her current term. One of her closest friends in Congress, Representative Zoe Lofgren, another California Democrat, told her hometown news site, San Jose Spotlight, that there was speculation that Eshoo was leaving “because the majority we have now is nuts — and they are.” But Lofgren added that “that’s not the reason; she felt it was her time to do this.”
Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) is leaving to become president of Youngstown State University.
Some House Republicans have reached the limits of their frustration with their own party.
Representative Ken Buck, Republican of Colorado, announced he would not seek re-election after his dissatisfaction and sense of disconnect with the GOP had grown too great. Buck, who voted to oust California Representative Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, has denounced his party’s election denialism and many members’ refusal to condemn the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
“We lost our way,” Buck told The New York Times this month. “We have an identity crisis in the Republican Party. If we can’t address the election denier issue and we continue down that path, we won’t have credibility with the American people that we are going to solve problems.”
Representative Debbie Lesko, Republican of Arizona, said in a statement during the speaker fight last month that she would not run again.
“Right now, Washington, DC, is broken; it is hard to get anything done,” she said.
The trend extends even to the most influential members of Congress; Representative Kay Granger, the 80-year-old Texas Republican who chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee, announced she would retire at the end of her 14th term. Even if her party manages to keep control of the House, Granger, the longest-serving GOP congresswoman, faced term limits that would have forced her from the helm of the spending panel.
Few of the retirements thus far appear likely to alter the balance of power in Congress, where the vast majority of House seats are gerrymandered to be safe for one party or the other. Prime exceptions include Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, whose retirement will almost certainly mean that Republicans can claim the state’s Senate seat and get a leg up to win control of that chamber.
The decision of Representative Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, to leave her seat in a competitive Virginia district to seek the governorship also gives Republicans a prime pickup opportunity.
And Representative George Santos, Republican of New York, announced he would not seek re-election after a House Ethics Committee report found “substantial evidence” that he had violated federal law. His exit will give Democrats a chance to reclaim the suburban Long Island seat he flipped to the GOP last year.
Many others are likely to be succeeded by members of their own party.
Representative Dean Phillips, Democrat of Minnesota, who last month announced a long-shot bid to challenge President Biden for his party’s nomination, said this week that he would step aside to focus on that race. Biden won his district by 21 percentage points in 2020, according to data compiled by Daily Kos, making it all but certain that Democrats will hold the seat.
Representative Bill Johnson, Republican of Ohio, said he would accept a job as president of Youngstown State University. His seat, too, is all but sure to be held by the GOP; former President Donald J. Trump won the district by more than 28 percentage points in 2020.
Some members not seeking re-election have determined they can affect more change from outside Congress, where they do not have to contend with the same infighting, gridlock and attention-seeking that now frequently drive the place.
“I think I will have as much or more impact as a civilian as I would as a member of Congress, especially having to be involved in a pretty toxic political environment,” Blumenauer said.
Lawmakers typically do not choose to leave office when their party looks poised to regain power in the next election cycle, and Democrats see an opening to regain the House majority next year. But Blumenauer, who would be a senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee should his party win the House, said he would rather not sacrifice time with his family.
“It’s tempting,” said Blumenauer. “I’m going to continue working on the things I care about, but with a renewed commitment to family, friends and fun.”
The claims of being anti-semitic and Islamophobic are dividing the nation.
I condemn bigotry.
Republicans and Democrats are one in the same. They are dehumanizing, gaslighting and constantly trying to stifle dissent.
I am guilty of this too.
I call Donald J. Trump, Washed Up 45.
I call Sean Hannity, "Softball Hannity."
I refer to many of the U.S. Representatives as worthless.
Yeah, I am dehumanizing them as well. But it is time to disavow this. I am not in the mood to defend or disavow the noise.
I know I could be abstaining my vote in 2024 and risk having the chaos of Trump. I know that "democracy" is at risk. The Democrats have turned me off so much.
1. The economy. Inflation is still an issue. Most items are still too expensive and buying less than 20 items can cost $100.
2. The amount of pay. I work two jobs and they both are unsatisfactory in pay which leads me to feeling that I work to survive and have no enjoyment for work.
3. American taxpayers are paying for Israel and Ukraine. While I support Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion, I strongly disapprove Israel's occupation of Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Golan Heights. I strongly disapprove U.S. funds to aid Israeli military offense and defense.
4. I strongly believe that Joe Biden and Donald J. Trump are both stuck on stupid when it comes to the status quo. Biden promised change but is still running on past policies and defending the indefensible. Trump continues focusing on his loss and constantly dehumanizing Americans. Trump is literally threatening to usurp power if he does lose again.
All of this defending Israel from President Joe Biden will have an impact on him with young voters, Muslims and Arab Americans. Biden is doing bad with Black voters. I mean he is losing the Black men. About 74% of them are supporting him. Black women are still backing Biden. About 85% of them are backing him.
War criminal continues to push for the demise of Hamas through the destruction of Gaza.
The Biden Administration has praised the release of the civilians by Hamas. He has not mention one thing about civilians released from Israeli prisons. Some of those prisoners were women and children.
He has not mentioned that Israel fired on Gazans when they returned to the north violating the temporary truce.
I will no longer refer to call these people "hostages" and "prisoners."
I will stop getting mad at influencers and celebrities who support Israel. They won't change and it is a waste of time trying to convince them.
I am done ranting about it. I know that Israel will be on the ballot in 2024 because it will spark another conflict.
Daryl Hall and John Oates are part of American music history. Without them, you would never had Hip-Hop sample their music. The Philadelphia sound that made them successful in the 1970s and 1980s are feuding with one another.
Variety reports Hall took to the stage at the Tokyo Garden Theater in Japan on Nov. 23, and performed plenty of the duo’s classic hits, including “Out of Touch,” “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)” and “Private Eyes.”
Classic rocker Todd Rundgren also appeared at the show.
Fans of Hall & Oates were shocked to learn that Hall filed an undisclosed complaint against Oates, as well as a motion for a temporary restraining order, on Nov. 16. The restraining order was granted and is set to go into effect on Nov. 30. Little information is known about the lawsuit, as the records are sealed by the court.
Hall & Oates formed in 1970 and released their debut album, “Whole Oats,” in 1972. Through their wildly successful career, they achieved six No. 1 hits, including “Maneater” and “Rich Girl.” In addition to their respective solo careers through the years, Hall & Oates toured together as recently as October 2022.
In a 2021 interview with GQ, Oates downplayed any tension in the duo’s long-term collaboration.
“Y’know, [there have been] way more ups than downs, to be honest with you,” he said. “It’s actually a miracle, I’m actually shocked that we are able to still play together and it’s great. It’s something that you have to really appreciate, because like you said, it’s not easy.”
Two men try to trademark a rally cry for Palestine.
The Zionists are really desperate in quelling the global movement. The movement to end the occupation and Israeli apartheid of Palestine will see fundamental change in American politics.
From theRiver to the Sea, Palestine will be Free! 🇵🇸 🍉
Cry more!
Okay, the first round of Israeli civilians are returning home. The Israeli government released Palestinian civilians unlawfully arrested and imprisoned. The ceasefire is in effect but it won't last long. Israel will still have settlers shoot Palestinians. They will continue to shoot Gazans who try to return to the North.
They will continue manipulating the West and Americans with the notion that they were the victims of this ongoing conflict.
Israel will be held accountable for its actions and we will see the movement to dissolve the apartheid regime.
The phrase above is a rally call for liberation.
But to the operatives, Anti-Defamation League, American Israel Public Affairs Committee and U.S. lawmakers, it's anti-semitic.
Some ops are trying to own the rally cry so they can stifle protesters and sue organizations for using it.
Two Jewish American men have submitted separate trademark applications for the expression "from the river to the sea," triggering a flurry of reactions. A prominent legal expert has cautioned that the move might have unintended consequences for both the Jewish community and Israel.
"It could backfire, and eventually all kinds of people we don't want to wear hats and shirts with this slogan will buy the goods and use them, and it will spread around the world," said Lihi Katzenelson, a partner at Arnon, Tadmor-Levy Law Firm, who specializes in trademarks and intellectual property.
Joel Ackerman and Oron Rosenkrantz filed trademark applications for the phrase that refers to the geographic area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The slogan became popular when the Palestinian nationalist movement first used it in the 1960s. It has since been used to express Palestinian aspirations of a Palestinian state that covers all of this territory and, therefore, wipes Israel off the map.
Ackerman, representing River to the Sea LLC, seeks to trademark the entire chant: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," Rosenkrantz of From The River To The Sea Shop LLC has applied only for "from the river to the sea."
To receive a trademark in America, the owner must prove use, which could also prove a challenge. Finally, if the brand would go through, it would only apply in America, meaning that in other areas, such as Europe, where the slogan has become popularized, it would still be able to be used.
Israel's campaign to stifle free speech in the U.S. will fail.
President Joe Biden and Washed Up 45 better wake up! Their support for Israel is going to be their downfall. Young voters see through the noise and see a genocide happening before their eyes. No matter what America does, the status quo of unfettered loyalty to Israel must come to an end.
One thing about Israel, they trained U.S. police how to put the knee on someone's neck.
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop who put his goddamn knee on the neck of George Floyd and suffocated him was convicted in 2022 of his murder. It was not fentanyl that killed Floyd by the way for those far right trolls who want to deny the evidence that was presented in a fair trial of his own peers.
Chauvin has a state conviction of 22 years plus an additional 1/2 years. His federal conviction also was 20 years which will be the majority of the sentence. In total, he has 25 years.
He was in FCI-Tuscon, a medium security federal time out.
He was stabbed by an inmate.
The Bureau of Federal Prisons Colette S. Peters will investigate the matter. The BOP has struggled with hiring and keeping workers, inmates and civilians safe.
Republicans will use his incident as a rally cry.
Chauvin is a high profile intern. His actions sparked global protest against police brutality, the stereotypes of Black men, systematic racism, the way police handle white criminals and of course Black Lives Matter.
It was a recruitment tool for white supremacists. They infiltrated protests. They started fires, vandalized buildings, broke windows, instigated looting and planted criminal tools in areas to encourage rioting.
FCI-Tuscon, a medium-security prison that has been plagued by security lapses and staffing shortages. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the attack and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that an incarcerated person was assaulted at FCI Tucson at around 12:30 p.m. local time Friday. In a statement, the agency said responding employees contained the incident and performed “life-saving measures” before the inmate, who it did not name, was taken to a hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
No employees were injured and the FBI was notified, the Bureau of Prisons said. Visiting at the facility, which has about 380 inmates, has been suspended.
Messages seeking comment were left with Chauvin’s lawyers and the FBI.
Chauvin’s stabbing is the second high-profile attack on a federal prisoner in the last five months. In July, disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar was stabbed by a fellow inmate at a federal penitentiary in Florida.
It is also the second major incident at the Tucson federal prison in a little over a year. In November 2022, an inmate at the facility’s low-security prison camp pulled out a gun and attempted to shoot a visitor in the head. The weapon, which the inmate shouldn’t have had, misfired and no one was hurt.
George Floyd mural in Gaza.
Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison in August 2022 to simultaneously serve a 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights and a 22½-year state sentence for second-degree murder.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, had advocated for keeping him out of general population and away from other inmates, anticipating he’d be a target. In Minnesota, Chauvin was mainly kept in solitary confinement “largely for his own protection,” Nelson wrote in court papers last year.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s appeal of his murder conviction. Separately, Chauvin is making a longshot bid to overturn his federal guilty plea, claiming new evidence shows he didn’t cause Floyd’s death. The Floyd family threatened a lawsuit against Ye (Kanye West) and Candace Owens for misrepresenting the cause of Floyd's death.
Floyd, who was Black, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pressed a knee on his neck for 9½ minutes on the street outside a convenience store where Floyd was suspected of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill.
Bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” His death touched off protests worldwide, some of which turned violent, and forced a national reckoning with police brutality and racism.
Three other former officers who were at the scene received lesser state and federal sentences for their roles in Floyd’s death.
Chauvin’s stabbing comes as the federal Bureau of Prisons has faced increased scrutiny in recent years following wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein’s jail suicide in 2019. It’s another example of the agency’s inability to keep even its highest profile prisoners safe after Nassar’s stabbing and “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski’s suicide at a federal medical center in June.
An ongoing AP investigation has uncovered deep, previously unreported flaws within the Bureau of Prisons, the Justice Department’s largest law enforcement agency with more than 30,000 employees, 158,000 inmates and an annual budget of about $8 billion.
AP reporting has revealed rampant sexual abuse and other criminal conduct by staff,dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages that have hampered responses to emergencies, including inmate assaults and suicides.
Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters was brought in last year to reform the crisis-plagued agency. She vowed to change archaic hiring practices and bring new transparency, while emphasizing that the agency’s mission is “to make good neighbors, not good inmates.”
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September, Peters touted steps she’d taken to overhaul problematic prisons and beef up internal affairs investigations. This month, she told a House Judiciary subcommittee that hiring had improved and that new hires were outpacing retirements and other departures.
But Peters has also irritated lawmakers who said she reneged on her promise to be candid and open with them. In September, senators scolded her for forcing them to wait more than a year for answers to written questions and for claiming that she couldn’t answer basic questions about agency operations, like how many correctional officers are on staff.
The inmate who stabbed Chauvin will likely head to a maximum security. The charges will be added on the sentence of the attacker. Chauvin will fight for a release after this. He also will be placed in protective custody due to this incident. The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The Drudge Report gets paid for the Israeli propaganda.
End the apartheid.
End the occupation.
Hold Israel accountable for crimes against humanity.
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!
[The] Western Media Must End [The] Dehumanizing Of War!
The junk food media reports that the temporary ceasefire between Israel and whomever it is fighting with is in effect. It will not last. Obviously Israel is still occupying the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights and the West Bank.
Gaza is unlivable and they are still killing Palestinians who return to the north.
Almost all the hospitals in Gaza are destroyed. Millions of Palestinians are displaced in Gaza. Settlers and the Israel Occupation Force have continued to destroy villages in the West Bank. Think of the billions of dollars to rebuild the Gaza Strip.
But at least some civilians are being released.
Hamas released a handful of Israeli and foreign citizens. Israel will release Palestinian citizens unlawfully imprisoned. See in the junk food media, they call Israeli civilians hostages and Palestinian civilians, prisoners.
The BBC, Fox, CNN, NewsNation, NBC, ABC, CBS, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Times of Israel, The Daily Mail, The Drudge Report, The Guardian, Facebook and X have used this war to make it "Us against them", "good vs. evil", "you with us or against us!"
In how they cover this, it is favorable towards Israel.
Israel maintains a strict hasbara when it comes to how the world covers its actions.
So far, they convinced American lawmakers to draft laws that make criticism of Israeli affairs illegal. They have equated Israel with Judaism. They equated Zionism with Judaism. They compare Hamas, an organized resistance as terrorists.
For years, I believed the noise that Hamas was bad and they were out to kill Americans.
Boy I was wrong. Hamas was not formed out of terrorism. It was an elected government that overthrow an Israeli backed government. Thus, Israel retaliated with a blockade, a razor wire border wall, military guards trained to kill civilians who step over the border and years of dehumanizing.
The old saying, "Keep poking at a nest, and sure enough you will anger the bees!"
Since the Nakba, Israel has sought to eradicate the Palestinian territories from existence.
It was the plan all along. This conflict did not start on Oct. 7. It started in 1948 and continues to be an issue that America should eventually end it relationship with.
President Joe Biden will be the final U.S. leader from this point. Young voters will no longer accept a president who backs Israel and turns a blind eye to genocide.
Sean "Puffy" Combs, Jamie Foxx, Axl Rose, New York mayor Eric Adams and Aaron Hall all face a #MeToo moment. They are facing lawsuits in regard to allegations of sexual assault by women they messed with in the past. Now women are coming forward to expose them for their behavior.
The cases were filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which provides a one-year window for sexual assault plaintiffs to file civil claims, regardless of the statute of limitations. That window closes on Thursday and has led to a flurry of lawsuits claiming sexual assaults.
Combs, known as Diddy settled with his former girlfriend Cassie for an undisclosed amount of money after the R&B singer accused him of sexual abuse, physical abuse and human trafficking. He quickly took to social media and through his lawyers to deny all the allegations.
Combs now faces two fresh lawsuits and one handed to veteran R&B singer Aaron Hall.
I am getting the feeling that Ron Isley, Anthony Anderson, Donell Jones, Teddy Riley and Tank will see the #MeToo movement.
Eric Bishop (aka Jamie Foxx) has hit back at a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York, in which he is accused of a sexual assault that allegedly happened in 2015.
“The alleged incident never happened. In 2020, this individual filed a nearly identical lawsuit in Brooklyn. That case was dismissed shortly thereafter,” a spokesperson for Foxx said Thursday. “The claims are no more viable today than they were then. We are confident they will be dismissed again. And once they are, Mr. Foxx intends to pursue a claim for malicious prosecution against this person and her attorneys for re-filing this frivolous action.”
In the lawsuit, the 55-year-old Oscar winner (real name Eric Marlon Bishop) has been accused of placing his hands on an unidentified woman’s waist, then moving them under her top. He then allegedly began rubbing the plaintiff’s breasts, dragging he touched other areas of her body.
The lawsuit claims the incident in question began when a friend of the plaintiff asked Foxx for a photo. The lawsuit said Foxx “seemed intoxicated at the time,” and said the plaintiff looked like Gabrielle Union, complimenting her on a “supermodel body” and her scent.
When Foxx escalated his alleged physical assault, court papers claim the plaintiff tried to get away. The alleged assault finally halted when the plaintiff’s friend rushed to her aid.
The plaintiff claims to have sought medical treatment and suffered pain as well as emotional distress “as a result of the “sexual assault, abuse, assault and battery.”
The lawsuit names Foxx and Catch, as well as its employees, and seeks compensation and punitive damages.
Aaron Hall faces a R. Kelly style of sexual abuse allegations.
Foxx’s reps have not commented on the lawsuit.
Combs was hit with not one but two new lawsuits. One victim came forward. The other stayed anonymous but also named Aaron Hall as a co-conspirer.
The second alleged victim, Joi Dickerson-Neal, was a Syracuse University student at the time of the 1991 incident and had previously appeared with Combs in a few video clips of a music video.
The suit alleged she agreed to a dinner at a Harlem restaurant “reluctantly” with Combs while on school break for the holidays in January, when he “pushed” her to keep him company while he attended to “a few things in the city.”
The suit alleges during their date he “intentionally drugged” her “resulting in her being in a physical state where she could not independently stand or walk.”
While at dinner, she left to use the restroom and left her drink “unattended,” it is alleged in the suit.
In the car, the suit alleges she took a puff of a “blunt” under pressure from Combs, and “from that point on, Plaintiffs memory is incomplete.”
“Driving first to a music studio where she could not get out of the car, Combs proceeded to a place he was staying to sexually assault her,” the suit alleges.
“Because she had been drugged, Plaintiff lacked the physical ability or mental capacity to fend Combs off,” the suit alleges.
The suit alleges Combs video recorded the sexual assault, and days later a male friend revealed to Dickerson he had viewed it.
“Horrified, Ms. Dickerson asked how many others saw it, to which he responded, ‘everyone.’”
Thereafter, Dickerson alleges her life “went into a tailspin,” she was admitted to hospital for severe depression and suicide ideation, the suit claims.
According to the suit, Dickerson filed police reports at unspecified agencies in New York and New Jersey and spoke to “several prosecutors” hoping to press charges and was told her “allegations would need to be corroborated.”
The suit goes on to say Combs had experienced “great success” with the launch of late Notorious B.I.G.’s career whose hit single Juicy was charted on Billboard, and claims witnesses were “terrified that Combs would retaliate against them and that they would lose future business and music opportunities if they made a statement in support” of her.
The accuser was trying to gain a foothold in the music industry working as a location scout for an industry cameraman, and despite her allegations of “emotional pain” continued work in the music industry at a DJ management company after the incident, the suit states.
She eventually left as Combs’ “star continued to rise and his presence was inescapable,” according to the suit.
“It was the filing of the lawsuit about his abuse of Cassie Venture [sic] on November 16, 2023, that forced her to face his assault again,” the suit says.
Ventura, former girlfriend of Combs, accused the rapper and producer of years of sexual abuse, rape and trafficking in a suit Combs said was resolved “amicably” one day after the filing.
Combs’ representative at the time said it was “in no way an admission of wrongdoing” and “does not in any way undermine his flat-out denial of the claims.”
Combs has been hit with a third lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault, this time from a Jane Doe who says the hip-hop mogul and R&B star Aaron Hall took turns raping her and a friend more than 30 years ago.
In the New York Supreme Court filing, first obtained by Rolling Stone, the anonymous woman claims she and her friend first met Diddy and Hall at an MCA Records event in New York City. The accuser also names MCA and Geffen Records as additional defendants having enabled the assaults.
According to the lawsuit, “Combs and Hall were very flirtatious and handsy with Jane Doe and her friend, offering them drinks throughout the night,” before the foursome retreated to Hall’s apartment, where “Jane Doe was offered more drinks and was coerced into having sex with Combs.”
After the alleged assault, the lawsuit continues, “Jane Doe laid in bed, shocked and traumatized. As she was in the process of getting dressed, Hall barged into the room, pinned her down and forced Jane Doe to have sex with him.” Hall is a member of R&B group Guy, which was credited as pioneering the “new jack swing” sound in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
Doe claims she fled the apartment and was later informed by her friend that she, too, was also allegedly coerced into sex with both men in a separate room.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpg)
