Thursday, May 2, 2024

Trump trial live updates: 'What have we done?' Stormy Daniels' lawyer texted on election night

  ABC News (go.com)

. . . "Stormy Daniels' former attorney Keith Davidson read to the jury her denial statement from Jan. 30, 2018.

"I am denying this affair because it never happened," the statement read.

"I think it's effectively true," Davidson testified, arguing that a "relationship is an ongoing interaction."

"At one point, Davidson drafted a statement affirming that Michael Cohen was the source of the Daniels' hush money payment. Cohen had texted Cohen Chis Cuomo's email address." . . .

Who is Lisa Fithian, and Why Does It Matter That She Was at the Columbia Uprising?

  Kingsjester's Blog (kingsjestersblog.com)


The New York Police Department has identified Professional Protestor Lisa Fithian as one of those who have been involved in the pro-Hamas uprising at Columbia University, which included taking  maintenance workers hostage in the building in which the Dean’s office was and barricading themselves inside until Tuesday night when they were, shall we say, escorted out of the building by New York’s Finest.

"I am sure that Lisa Fithian was not the only professional protester and outside agitator stirring the anti-Semitic pot at Columbia University.

"I decided to learn more about her. I went to my favorite source concerning such matters, discoverthenetworks.org.

"Here is a quick overview of her “accomplishments”:

“* Longtime community organizer and direct-action agitator
* A key organizer of the violent demonstrations that caused the shutdown of the 1999 WTO meetings in Seattle
* Served as a human shield in actions conducted by the International Solidarity Movement in the Palestinian cities of Jenin and Nablus
* Has accused Israel of “slaughter[ing] Palestinians every single day in Gaza and the Occupied territories”
* Seeks to “create crisis, because crisis is that edge where change is possible”
* The top street-level organizer of the Occupy Wall Street movement”

"But, wait…there’s more…

If the nation copies California, do you want your state to be Gavinized?

"As if California didn’t run enough businesses out of business and employees out of jobs during the pandemic, the state is now “helping” them by embracing economic illiteracy." JF


"California’s fast-food minimum wage hike has been in effect for just one month, and the consequences are proving to be fewer hours and potentially fewer jobs for workers." . . .

. . ."In total, fast food prices have gone up in California by 10% since September, a larger increase than in any other state. Restaurants have already passed those prices on to consumers, as was expected, and are cutting hours and adding kiosks. Fewer hours for employees means less money, fewer sales to consumers means less business, which means fewer hours for employees, and automated kiosks mean a reduced need for employees, which means fewer hours (or jobs) for employees.

Gav the Gov

"Are you starting to see how the “minimum wage” ends up backfiring on the very employees it supposedly benefits?

"This is always how the minimum wage song and dance goes. When congressional Democrats wanted to impose a one-size-fits-all $15-an-hour federal minimum wage on the country, the Congressional Budget Office determined that it would lift 900,000 people out of poverty. Less mentioned was the (low-end estimate) 1.4 million people it would throw into poverty via unemployment. Even California Democrats knew this, which is why politically connected businesses managed to be granted exemptions, on which the state is now muddying the waters." . . .

American colleges and culture seem adept at raising useful idiots

 WATCH: Pro-Palestinian Protesters Block Jewish Students, Others from Entering Campus (jewishjournal.com)

Wristbands are being used to identify anti-Israel students at @UCLA so that they are allowed to enter Royce Quad, Royce Hall, and Powell Library.

AfterMath - Home (terrellaftermath.com)



A functioning Democracy requires people with the abilities of critical thinking and civil discourse that allows them to study, evaluate and rationally discuss idea with which they do not agree. A lack of such skills — or simply of fundamental willingness to leave their echo chambers (on the right or the left) is what leads to situations like the petulant protests occurring on so many U.S. college campuses today.
Soon we'd have a Palestinian faction in Congress working with the Squad.

NEW: @FoxNews has obtained a Google Doc w/ a list of needs that protesters at the UCLA camp are requesting, including: - Vegan & gluten free food - “Super bright” flashlights w/ strobe - Rope & zip ties - Helmets, shields, & wood - Lotion, “NO sunscreen” - Knee & elbow pads

Obama’s Domestic Terror Buddy Bill Ayers Shows Up to Support Campus Occupiers at U. Chicago (legalinsurrection.com)  . . ."People who remember the 2008 election will recall that Ayers became a political lightning rod because he was an old friend of Barack Obama, who famously dismissed their relationship, calling Ayers just a ‘guy from the neighborhood.’
. . ."Ayers’ appearance underscores what many feel is the real aim of the protesters—to create mayhem, endorse violence, and subvert authority. Do they really care all that much about the Palestinians? It would seem not, given the multiple reports of wild-eyed protesters who seem to have no idea what they’re actually demonstrating for or against."

Jewish UCLA student said protesters blocked him from walking to class (foxla.com)    

"A Jewish first-year student at UCLA says  blocked him from walking to class Monday. He posted video of the interaction on social media Monday afternoon, where it has already gained tens of thousands of views.

"This is a shame this is happening in the year 2024," said Eli Tsivis, the UCLA first-year student from the video. "This is exactly what would happen in 1930s Germany when Jewish students were blocked out of universities [by] fellow German students."

"Tsivis was carrying pepper spray with him Tuesday while walking on campus. He said some of his classmates don’t feel safe at school with the current camp-in demonstration taking place.

"Pictures shared with FOX 11 from inside the encampment show graffiti on buildings and walkways. In addition, someone wrote "Step Here" with sidewalk chalk next to the Star of David."

Arabs never stopped trying to destroy Israel and her people. Useful idiots on American campuses will not rest until they have succeeded and much of liberal society will condemn Israel if they dare fight for their existence. TD

Nobody knows what Zionism means anymore. Two historians help explain why.

 Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)

“After thousands of years of being colonized or sent into [the] Diaspora or disempowered or persecuted or killed, Zionism allowed Jews self-determination in a land that had historically been theirs and to which they returned,” Sarna said." ...

"I was born in 1995, which means a lot of things. The Twin Towers toppled when I was only in kindergarten. I’m a digital native. In my lifetime, Israel has always existed. And most people have no idea what the word “Zionism” means.

"At lunch recently with a friend who is Jewish and deeply knowledgeable about politics, she illustrated just how serious the misunderstanding is. After two hours of talking about progressive activism, her eyes widened in horror when I noted that I am a Zionist.

“ 'Doesn’t that just mean you’re against Palestinian rights?” she asked.

“ 'Of course not,” I replied, and asked her if she knew what the term Zionist actually means.

"She didn’t.

"I explained to her that Zionists are simply people who believe in the right of Jewish people to have self-determination in their ancestral homeland.

"Rather than supporting a specific administration or everything Israel does, “Zionism is Jewish self-determination,” Sara Yael Hirschhorn, visiting assistant professor in Israel studies at Northwestern University’s Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies, told me recently. “It’s co-signing that Israel should exist, that Jews have a right to self-determination no more or no less than any other nationality, that Jews are not only a religion but they’re also a people and a nation, that they have the right to have control over their own affairs, that their existence is not only predicated on being a minority in some other country.” . . .

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

We will dance again: Nova to hold concert to honor victims of festival massacre

Israel News - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)


"The Nova tribe community announced that it will hold a concert to honor the memory of victims killed at the Nova music festival on October 7, named We Will Dance Again, which will be held at Yarkon Park on June 27.

"Many of Israel’s top artists will appear on stage to demonstrate their support for survivors, call

 for the return of the hostages, and commemorate the victims of the festival. 

364 people were killed at the Nova party on October 7 when Hamas terrorists infiltrated
 southern Israel from Gaza. 

The proceeds from the tickets will go towards raising funds for rehabilitation for the festival survivors and the families of those killed. Some proceeds will also finance the mental and physical recovery and rehabilitation of the survivors.

"The setlist includes Benaia Barabi, Berry Sakharof, Noga Erez, Mosh Ben-Ari, and Ninet

 Tayeb.
"Alongside electronic music that is well known by the Nova community, some artists will play trance pieces that were meant to be featured on the Nova set repertoire on October 7 to commemorate those who died. Nova stated that the message of the event will be “unity, strength, and hope.”


In memory of the Hamas massacre, this song was played as a memorial last year:

"This is a clip from the Nova Festival on October 7: A festival of joy, a festival of peace, a #festival of love...and a festival where #Hamas ruthlessly massacred over 260 innocent civilians and kidnapped countless more. There are no words to describe this incomprehensible tragedy. May the memories of the victims forever be a blessing, and may those who have been kidnapped return home safely soon."

Here are the top American cities Joe Biden is sending hundreds of thousands of paroled migrants - so is YOUR home town on the list?

  Daily Mail Online 


"Under fire Secretary Mayorkas says the program led to a reduction in people from those nations illegally crossing the border. 

" 'It is a key element of our efforts to address the unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere, and other countries around the world see it as a model to tackle the challenge of increased irregular migration that they too are experiencing,' Mayorkas said.

"New York City, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco were also in the top 10 of destinations. 

"Another 1.6million migrants are waiting to get into the country via this same program, DHS claims.

"Multiple states, including Florida, have attempted to sue to stop the program but have thus far been unsuccessful.

" 'Biden's parole program is unlawful, and constitutes an abuse of constitutional authority. Florida is currently suing Biden to shut it down, and we believe that we will prevail,' said Governor Ron DeSantis' press secretary, Jeremy Redfern. 

"Since Biden took office, the U.S. has seen record-high numbers of illegal border crossings.

"Customs and Border Protection has apprehended more than 7.6 million migrants illegally crossing the southern border – the majority of which are traveling from Central and South American countries in efforts to claim asylum in the U.S." . . .

Barely A Month Old, California’s $20-Hr. Fast-Food Minimum Wage Is Already An Economic Disaster –

  Issues & Insights (issuesinsights.com) 

Actually, it was blackmail. The California Restaurant Association sold out the national fast-food chains, which are the targets of this law. The SEIU, which had used “strikes” at 450 fast-food locations to show they mean business, basically extorted the fast-food chains 

"California Democrats who pushed through the state’s punitive new minimum wage must be feeling mighty proud about now. Not only are fast-food joints closing or replacing low-end employees with overseas workers and robots, now the law is costing the very people it was supposed to help while decimating consumers’ wallets. Well done!

"The $20-an-hour wage floor foisted on California’s fast-food restaurants, dubbed with the innocent-sounding moniker Assembly Bill 257, was signed into law last fall. It didn’t take long to become a disaster.

"Hoover Institution senior fellow and economist Lee Ohanian showed just how quickly bad policies can wreck an economy. And the damage was done even before the law officially went into effect a month ago today.

" 'Between last fall and January,” Ohanian wrote, “California fast-food restaurants cut about 9,500 jobs, representing a 1.3% change from September 2023.” By comparison, overall employment in California during that period fell just 0.2%.

"Those who are losing their jobs in this new higher-wage environment are those most easily replaced, with the lowest productivity — which usually means minority youths with minimal education and little or no work skills. In short, the most vulnerable among us.

" 'This includes losses at Pizza Hut and Round Table Pizza which are in the process of firing nearly 1,300 delivery drivers. El Pollo Loco and Jack in the Box announced that they will speed up the use of robotics, including robots that make salsa and cook fried foods,” Ohanian added.

"Because of escalating costs, many restaurants are also adding “ordering kiosks,” basically firing workers and replacing them with user-friendly computer terminals.

"And, to repeat, this was even before the law went into effect. In the coming weeks and months, expect more job devastation, business closures and sharply higher prices paid by consumers." 

"Indeed, that latter point — higher prices — is already slamming Cali consumers." . . .

Northwestern Cuts Deal with Encampment Organizers, Establishes Full-Ride Scholarship for Palestinian Students

 National Review

"As Hamas terrorists slaughtered civilians in communities across southern Israel, a young man called his parents. He was very excited. “Dad, I’m talking from a Jewish woman’s phone. I killed her and her husband,” the man shouted into the phone. “Ten with my bare hands, dad. Allah is great. Praise Allah.” said a potential candidate for a  Northwestern U. foreign scholarship.
Israelis next door to Gaza.

"After five days of anti-Israel demonstrators occupying Deering Meadow on Northwestern University’s campus, Northwestern president Michael Schill and the rest of the university’s leadership decided to accede to several of the protesters’ demands.

"While not committing to divesting its endowment from companies that do business in Israel and ending partnerships with Israeli institutions, the university released a list of concessions in a celebratory statement Monday afternoon in exchange for the removal of the encampment on the lawn.

"Most notable among those concessions is a promise to offer full-ride scholarships to Palestinian students and guaranteed faculty jobs for Palestinian academics.

“The University will support visiting Palestinian faculty and students at risk (funding two faculty per year for two years; and providing full cost of attendance for five Palestinian undergraduates to attend Northwestern for the duration of their undergraduate careers),” the document reads. “The University commits to fundraise to sustain this program beyond this current commitment.”

"As National Review reported in March, over 70 percent of Palestinians support Hamas’s October 7 attack [see photo above] against Israel and 75 percent support Hamas as the governing body of the Gaza Strip.

"Northwestern will also provide a “house for MENA/Muslim students” and will “advise employers not to rescind job offers for students engaging in speech protected by the First Amendment.' ” . . .

Northwestern University Caves to Radical Campus Protestors: Offers Full-Ride Scholarships to Palestinian Students and Guaranteed Faculty Jobs for Palestinian Academics We regret the language in this next video, but this Jewish poster had all he could take. 

Gait keepers: Why Biden isn’t walking alone across the White House lawn anymore; UPDATED

 

UPDATE: WATCH: Handlers Quickly Swarm As 'Operation Hide Joe Biden' Kicks It Up a Notch – RedState

. . ."This tactic, of course, is not just about trying to prevent voters from seeing Biden's age and frailty issues. It's also part and parcel of Team Biden's notorious press avoidance strategy, which has been in place since the start of the pandemic when, as a candidate for president, Biden would be tucked safely away in his basement where his staffers could tightly control and manage the goings on, and cut "interviews" short when Biden went off script.

"As some of my colleagues here have correctly observed, though, the "swarm" strategy has really only magnified the problems for Biden, especially considering the fact that the people walking alongside him are younger and in better physical shape in comparison to the POTUS." . . . 

Gait keepers: Why Biden isn’t walking alone across the White House lawn anymore: Washington Examiner   "President Joe Biden has introduced an entourage to walk with him across the White House lawn that has helped distract from his awkward gait, according to a report.

"The president's team has grown concerned that videos of Biden awkwardly shuffling across the White House South Lawn to Marine One may highlight his age and health, according to several Biden aides speaking with Axios. By walking with a team, the other people both distract and cover up some angles of the cameras.

"The change in routine was reportedly Biden's idea. The president told aides he wanted to have the opportunity to be less formal with them and invited them to walk with him on his way to Marine One." 

"Since April 16, he has been accompanied by aides or lawmakers 9 out of 10 times that he has made the walk.

"While the aides have tended to accompany Biden more often than not in recent weeks, it's not clear whether the president is intentionally using them as a shield. Biden will often walk out ahead of the aides, giving cameras and journalists an unobstructed view of his cadence." . . .


Aides know they better cover Biden or else: Biden angrily yells, curses at aides in private (axios.com)  "In public, President Biden likes to whisper to make a point. In private, he's prone to yelling.

  • Behind closed doors, Biden has such a quick-trigger temper that some aides try to avoid meeting alone with him. Some take a colleague, almost as a shield against a solo blast.
  • The president's admonitions include: "G***mit, how the f**k don't you know this?!," "Don't f**king bullsh*t me!" and "Get the f**k out of here!" — according to current and former Biden aides who have witnessed and been on the receiving end of such outbursts.

"Why it matters: The private eruptions paint a more complicated picture of Biden as a manager and president than his carefully cultivated image as a kindly uncle who loves Aviator sunglasses and ice cream.

  • Some Biden aides think the president would be better off occasionally displaying his temper in public as a way to assuage voter concerns that the 80-year-old president is disengaged and too old for the office." . . .
Does he give them this look?
"The president and his allies can’t just tell voters that he can handle the job. They have to show it."

Iran is watching Israel bow to a weak America. Stand fast, Israel!

Every four years America's allies must contend with our policy changes. The days of consistency in our foreign policy are no more; one term our allies get a Trump, and the next they get a feckless Obama or a very unintelligent Biden including his judicial nominee who funded candidates who led Hamas-tied groupsOr somebody else "The View" ladies and late-night TV people like. TD

AF Branco; Townhall

  CarolineGlick.com   "Did Israel cave to U.S. pressure to pull its troops out of Gaza and allow more humanitarian aid into the Strip—aid that will likely fall into the hands of Hamas? Will the Biden administration’s policy of conflict containment lead to peace or more war? And how are Israel’s enemies perceiving events on the ground?

"I discussed these topics with my guest Richard Goldberg from the Foundation for Defense of Democracy."


"Israel is now at a crossroads in its relations with the United States, while the past few months have demonstrated the degree of our dependency on U.S. diplomatic, economic, and military support."

Maelstrom: Hooded figures break into Columbia buildings, take hostages; UCLA protestors block Jewish students from classes - UPDATED

The useful idiots belong to somebody, most likely those who are providing the financial wherewithal. That should include George Soros, leftist financiers, and perhaps friends of some Democrats in Congress. TD


Monica Showalter   "It's getting to be a maelstrom out there, with weak university responses emboldening pro-Hamas campus protestors.

"Columbia University bought itself a boatload of trouble by ignoring its own deadline yesterday to make protestors clear out, although suspension notices were reportedly issued to some.

"Now pro-Hamas protestors are taking over school buildings and taking hostages. Last night, hooded men crawled up the university building known as John Jay Hall where the administrators work and got out hammers to smash glass to break into the building, barricading it with junked furniture, and taking three maintenance workers in the building hostage. And like the Munich Olympics terrorists of 1972, they put on their black masked skinsuit ensembles and crawled up into a freshman student dorm full of 18 year olds called Hamilton Hall and took it over.". . .

. . ." It's definitely an escalation, and coming at the same time, happening at the most prestigious universities in the largest cities in the U.S. has the feel of a directive given.

If this were a peaceful protest, as these university leaders are treating it, the protestors would have made their point and gone home. But it's not. It's a coercive thug action, as if might makes right, and never mind about the debate of ideas that a university is supposed to be about. The Columbia president is going full 'Clark Kerr' and allowing protestors to crawl all over her. Claudine Gay must be breathing a sigh of relief that at least one university president at these antisemitism-plagued schools is doing worse than she is. The Columbia president, Minouche Shafik, has pleaded, pleaded, with the protestors to leave the premises because graduation is coming up and the kids graduating had already been denied their high school graduations due to COVID lockdowns.

They say they'll clear out the day before the graduation, meaning, Columbia is taking their word for it and good luck if they change their minds. They already know that there are no consequences for them for failing to heed Columbia deadlines:" . . .

A feminist wonders,  Why Are Women in America Cheering for Hamas and Iran?

These pro-Jihad protests are one way to escape the ongoing female realities in the West.   

"Have you noticed that young women all across America are demonstrating for Hamas, Iran, and Palestine? Why would such privileged and educated women, the heirs to the #MeToo movement and to Second and Third Wave Western feminisms, cheer for male rapists and male killers, arguably the most blood-thirsty and sadistic misogynists this side of Ghenghis Khan? Why side with Islamist barbarians who have jailed, tortured, and executed their own women over a slipped Islamic veil, and who would forcibly convert their Western female admirers to Islam, veil them as well, and coerce them into polygamous marriages?

"They are privileged political opportunists posturing as victim-pariahs who feel that they are “occupied” by Western patriarchy.

"Do these educated daughters of affluence understand that were they to express any views deemed dissident in Gaza, Teheran, or Kabul or, were they to announce that they were “queer” or gay, (which is how some of these activists identify themselves), that they would be instantly honor killed?

"In the months since 10/7, in addition to the odious, faux-feminist silence about the gang-rapes of both women and men, the torture of babies and whole families, the kidnapping of civilians — a terrifying tsunami of hatred towards Israel, America, and Jews has exploded into non-stop jihadi-style, belligerent mobs, whose goal is to disrupt civil society and gain both attention and followers for their reprehensible views. The news of Hamas’s pogrom on steroids, unleashed their Jew hatred, and whetted the mob’s appetite for more of same." . . .

UPDATE from the parodigal child, the Babylon Bee | Fake News You Can Trust

9 Reasonable Demands From Students Occupying Campus Buildings | Babylon Bee   The old raised fist routine.