Melania Trump disclosed that Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, helped the President-elect with key campaign decisions, which likely proved decisive in swinging the election in the 78-year-old's favour. Barron advised Trump to meet with social media celebrities to reach out to a younger and larger audience, beyond the limitations of the mainstream media. In an interview on Fox News' 'Fox & Friends', the First Lady to-be said, "He brought in so many young people. He knows his generation because, nowadays, the young generation doesn’t sit in front of the TV anymore. They are all on tablets, on their phones, and engaging with podcasts and streamers." How Did Barron Trump Help His Father Win? Barron assisted his father by reaching out to young celebrities and engaging in various social media activities. For the Republicans, gaining support from Gen Z was crucial, and such interactions helped Trump secure votes from young people across the country, including in swing states. "He brought in success because he knew exactly who his father needed to contact and talk to," Melania Trump said, adding how vocal and active Barron was in helping his father connect with internet personalities. Following his son’s advice, Trump made key appearances on several prominent podcasts, including the hugely popular The Joe Rogan Experience, Flagrant with Andrew Schulz, and the PBD Podcast. These interviews garnered millions of views. Barron Trump is currently enrolled at New York University's Stern School of Business in Manhattan. "I don't think it's possible for him to be a normal student. His experience at college is very different from any other kid, and I am very proud of how he's handling it," Melania said. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News, World and around the world.
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But the question remains: Are these products truly imported from Russia or are they made in China and labeled as Russian imports to appeal to consumers seeking authenticity and uniqueness?
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As news of his stellar performances spread, it was not long before European giants Barcelona began to take notice. The Spanish powerhouse, impressed by the player's resurgence and undeniable talent, decided to include a buy-back option in his contract, allowing them the opportunity to bring him back to Camp Nou in the future.Not Govt Scheme Nor Has Budget Provision: BJP On AAP’s Mahila Samman YojnaSAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- A man convicted of a mass shooting in Sunnyvale decades ago could be re-sentenced to life in prison. Elizabeth Allen lost her husband, Buddy, in a mass shooting on Feb. 16, 1988. "Buddy was the absolute love of my life," Allen said. Allen and her husband both worked at the tech firm, ESL Incorporated in Sunnyvale. They had lunch together every day. "I did not realize that his kiss after lunch was the last kiss I would ever have from him," Allen said. RELATED: Santa Clara Co. district attorney moves to resentence death row inmates to life without parole The shooter and former employee, Richard Farley, killed seven people that day and wounded six others. "Buddy was the only one who died immediately, because as he was sitting working at his desk. He was shot in the face with a shotgun at the age of 23," Allen said. Farley was convicted and then sentenced to death in 1992. Now 32 years after that decision, Farley will have a re-sentencing hearing on Friday. In April, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced a plan to seek new sentences of "life without the possibility of parole" for inmates previously sentenced to death in the county. MORE: Man convicted in 1993 Polly Klaas kidnapping, murder asks for death sentence to be overturned "In terms of judges and juries, they're going to decide where a person dies and that's going to be in prison for the rest of their lives. In terms of when that person is going to die, that's going to be God's decision," Rosen said. Rosen planned to change sentences for more than a dozen prison inmates. When Allen received the letter from Rosen, she went through a variety of feelings. "How is this happening? Why is this happening? Why is this district attorney, on this beautiful letterhead, acting as though he does not know what his job is," Allen said. In Rosen's petition for Farley, it states: "This community does not deserve an archaic, errors strewn, and racist system of capital punishment." "Saying to the public that this was about social injustice and it not being at all about social injustice, was offensive and insulting all by itself," Allen said. Former Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr says no one is standing up for the victim's families. MORE: San Quentin seeks to clear out death row inmates by July "Now clearly there's a moratorium on the death penalty in California, and Governor Newsom has moved these inmates into the regular prison population, so there is no longer a death row at San Quentin. So, in a way, since nobody's been executed since 2008 and there's a moratorium, what is the point resentencing them? Except that they're subject to being commuted by the governor," Carr said. Carr says she's expecting a large group to show their opposition on Friday. "In these cases they've come in with essentially a stipulation, they're both agreeing and obviously the defendant is not going to object to getting resentenced. This is pushed by the DA, so there's no one standing up for the victims putting up the legal obstacles about what he's doing," Carr said. A judge will have to approve the resentencing. "Why would we tell the United States that it's OK to lessen the death sentence of a mass shooter," Allen said.
The Golden State Valkyries will be selecting Kate Martin and Kayla Thornton in the 2025 WNBA expansion draft , a source briefed on the decision told The Athletic . The full results of the draft will be announced Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Per the rules outlined by the league and the collective bargaining agreement for the expansion draft, the 12 current WNBA franchises are allowed to protect six players. The Valkyries are then able to choose one unprotected player from each team; that can be a player on the active roster, a player who the organization has draft rights to, or is on their international rights list. Advertisement Martin will arguably be the most popular player taken by Golden State Friday. The 2024 rookie out of Iowa, where she helped Caitlin Clark lead the Hawkeyes to two consecutive trips to the national title game, had a strong start to her first WNBA season. As the Las Vegas Aces dealt with the absence of Chelsea Gray , Martin averaged 19.3 minutes over her first ten games and made 37 percent of her 3-pointers. However, Martin saw less court time as the Aces returned to full health, cracking double-digit minutes only twice in the second half of the season. Her postseason minutes consisted of one appearance in a blowout. Las Vegas was always going to protect its core four of A’ja Wilson , Kelsey Plum , Jackie Young , and Gray in the draft, but Martin could have been one of the final two players. Instead, Martin will start the second chapter of her WNBA career with the Valkyries, and the expansion team will benefit from the three remaining cost-controlled seasons on her rookie deal. The New York Liberty had to make some of the toughest decisions league-wide thanks to the depth of their roster. The reigning champions had to prioritize their full starting lineup and Nyara Sabally , who was the X-factor in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. That left their entire international list — including Marine Johannès and Han Xu — exposed, as well as critical bench players. Golden State is electing to take one of those veteran reserves in Kayla Thornton, a player who general manager Ohemaa Nyanin is intimately familiar with, as Nyanin was the assistant GM in New York prior to joining the Valkyries. Thornton appeared in every playoff game for the Liberty during their title run, averaging the second-most minutes (12.5) among bench players. Her best peformance of the postseason came in Game 2 of the semifinals against Las Vegas, when she was a game-best plus-13 and helped New York take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. Golden State will be the fourth stop in Thornton’s WNBA career, and the 32-year-old veteran has one year remaining on a contract extension she signed with the Liberty in 2023. Required reading (Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)It was later revealed that the DEI symbol had significant personal significance to the designer, who had experienced discrimination and bias in their own life. The symbol served as a reminder of their commitment to advocating for social justice and creating a more inclusive world through their work. Far from being a fashion statement or a trend, the pin held deep emotional and symbolic value for the designer.The controversy surrounding the recruitment of these search and rescue dogs has also drawn attention to the issue of animal welfare and the ethical implications of using dogs in high-risk operations. Critics have raised concerns about the physical and psychological well-being of the dogs during training and deployment, calling for greater transparency and oversight in the selection and training process.UConn announced a two-year contract extension for head football coach Jim Mora on Saturday, just before the team took the field for the Fenway Bowl against North Carolina. Mora’s contract extension will run through 2028 and will pay him $10 million through the remaining four years, with the opportunity to earn more in incentives. The 63-year-old coach is set to make $1.7 million next season, $1.9 million in 2026 and $2.3 and $2.4 million in 2027 and 2028, respectively. UConn then went out and thrashed North Carolina, 27-14, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. “I am forever grateful. I’m grateful to (athletic director) David (Benedict) and (school president) Radenka (Maric) and the Board of Trustees, but this is about what the (UConn players) did today,” Mora said when asked about the extension in the postgame press conference. In a statement released by UConn ahead of the game, Mora said: “I’d like to thank David Benedict, Radenka Maric and the University of Connecticut leadership for their trust in me and their commitment to our football program. When I first got here, I talked about where we wanted this program to go and we have shown great progress but we still have plenty of work to do. The commitment and dedication from the university and the athletic department has me excited about the future for our football team.” “Three years ago, I tasked Jim Mora with the challenge of leading our football team back to success and through his experience, energy and leadership he has done just that,” UConn athletic director David Benedict said in a statement. “He has taken our program to post season bowl games twice and just guided our team to one of the best seasons in UConn football history, building a momentum to keep this program moving forward. I look forward to his leadership of our football team in the years ahead.” Mora is coming off one of the most successful seasons in UConn football history, having led the team to an 8-4 record and an appearance in the Fenway Bowl. It’s the Huskies’ second bowl appearance in three years. UConn’s eight wins is the most for the program since 2010, and the Huskies had their first winning season since that year, too. A win Saturday would give UConn nine wins for just the third time in program history, with the last two such seasons coming in 2003 and 2007. UConn quarterbacks coach Brad Robbins is heading to Tulsa as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, according to a report from CBS Sports. Robbins was part of a coaching staff that helped the offense produce its most prolific attack since the 2009 season and fifth-most in program history (32.3 points per game). Robbins worked at FCS Tennessee Tech and Division II North Greenville before joining Jim Mora’s staff in spring 2023. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Roy brushes off Hegseth allegations, saying everyone has 'indiscretions'None
Being locked up as a 13-year-old for skipping school negatively altered the trajectory of her life, Debbie Kilroy believes. or signup to continue reading "After I was put in that children's prison and the harm it inflicted on me, it was a downward spiral," she tells AAP. "I was pipelined onto the street of homelessness and then I was committing offences because it was the only way to survive." Ms Kilroy was last sent away in 1989 for six years after selling cannabis to undercover police. A lack of support and education as a child led her down the wrong path, she says, because she "knew nothing else". Now the chief executive of support organisation Sisters Inside, she says incarcerating Queensland's most vulnerable children under new adult crime, adult time laws instead of investing in reform, will only pave the way for a life of crime. "It started because school wasn't engaging me and I was running away from it," she adds. "It doesn't make any sense to me that 50 years later we are talking about doing the same harm." The incoming Liberal National government urgently introduced its controversial Making Queensland Safer legislation to sentence youth criminals to adult punishment if they commit serious offences, dubbed "adult time, adult crime". Children face life for five offences including murder, manslaughter and grievous bodily harm under the centrepiece election commitment. Juveniles as young as 10 will be considered for the same maximum sentence as adults for 13 offences, including car theft doubling to 10 years. The legislation also removes detention as a last resort entirely, meaning magistrates will have more freedom to imprison children if they deem it necessary. For victim survivor Ben Cannon, the laws should have come sooner. "We've got a system that is not broken from a year-long problem," he says. "This is a decade-plus social issue that let down four-year-olds who are now violent 14-year-olds." Mr Cannon came to help his neighbour, rugby union great Toutai Kefu, during a violent home invasion by four teenagers in 2021 where the family was seriously injured. He managed to stop one of the intruders and held the child down until police arrived. "One of the hardest things for me as a victim was to see a young person the same age as my son being so horrifically violent and horrible to another human," he says. "I still question how is it the best choice that person has in life to be in my neighbour's house at 2am trying to stab half a dozen people? "That still haunts me." Mr Cannon says the new government was left with little choice but to introduce harsh laws preventing teenagers engaging in extreme violence or repeatedly stealing cars. "This draws the line in the sand and says, 'enough is enough'," Mr Cannon said. However, he emphasised that it must be balanced to prevent the four-year-olds of today from becoming violent teenagers. "Without balance and understanding that unless we get better at fixing young kids and the social systems that they unfortunately fall into, we're going to continue on this cycle," he says. "Then it doesn't matter how tough our laws are, we're just not going to have a better society." Mr Cannon says he wants the laws to be accompanied by significant investment in social services and education. The proposed laws have been criticised after a statement of compatibility by Attorney-General Deb Frecklington indicated the legislation doesn't stack up against human rights. "I acknowledge that the amendments in the bill ... are incompatible with human rights," she said. "However, I consider that the current situation with respect to youth crime in Queensland is exceptional." The government has conceded that the laws would increase the number of children in detention centres and watchhouses as well as disproportionately impact Aboriginal children. "This impact results in limitations to the protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment," the statement said. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child slammed what it said was a violation of international convention. "We do not agree that the so-called 'exceptional circumstances' warrant what will be a flagrant disregard for children's rights," Chair Ann Skelton said. "We also don't agree that it will make Queensland safer." Ms Skelton urged the government to stand by the principle that children should be treated differently from adults. Ms Kilroy says the concession that human rights will be breached under the laws is a "disturbing departure" from the foundations of justice and equity. "It is a dangerous bill that represents a dangerous escalation in criminalising children and contravening human rights." During parliamentary scrutiny this week, stakeholders have also criticised the legislation as making children "sacrificial lambs" while knowingly violating freedoms. "In any other context that is called child abuse," Queensland Human Rights Commission Chair Scott McDougall told a public hearing. Not only were the laws criticised but the short consultation period, consisting of two public hearings and several days of private committee hearings, also came under fire. Ms Kilroy notes that the government holds a majority in the state's unicameral legislature and can pass laws as it wishes. "There are no checks and balances, no accountability," she says. But Mr Cannon insists they needed to be rushed. "When you've sat with someone that in the darkness of night had their loved one murdered by one of these repeat offenders then urgencies needed," he says. "Whether we get it right, time will tell. "But you can't continue to allow these behaviours to go on." Premier David Crisafulli argues that his government was following the democratic process by allowing submissions and committee scrutiny but must uphold its election promise to pass the laws by Christmas. "Any good committee process can allow people to have a suggestion but just to be clear, we campaigned on adult crime, adult time," he said. "We will fulfil that." The steadfast campaign to pass the laws comes as the Department of Youth Justice reports there were 46,130 court-recorded convictions by young Queenslanders in 2023-24. Violent offending - murder, manslaughter, serious assault - has increased 8.3 per cent since 2019. Mr Cannon says the laws mark a moment for victims, who finally feel heard. "It has felt for a long time the justice system has had an imbalance where the rights of the criminal have been overseen or seen first before that of the victim," he says. But Ms Kilroy sees the laws as a "full frontal attack" on the most vulnerable children, especially Aboriginal kids. She says the children themselves are victims but the government has not included them in the rhetoric of "victim numbers" instead deciding to throw kids into prison without support. "Locking up children for longer is never going to work as it does not give any healing to the victims and children are the victims," she says. "This is just fuelling our love affair with caging children." She is instead calling for funding for services like Sisters Inside to re-engage kids with education, get them into jobs, reconnect with their families and communities or just give them food and water. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement Advertisement
Supreme Court to review lawsuit from terrorism victims against Palestinian Authority
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NoneLucknow, Dec 28 (PTI) Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said the BJP is a threat to democracy and the Constitution. “The BJP murders democracy by misusing power. People got the right to vote from the Constitution, but the BJP is snatching it. Votes were looted in the by-election. People were stopped from voting...,” he said in a statement here. “The whole country saw that brave women faced bullets and guns in the by-election. They were successful in casting their votes by risking their lives,” he added. Addressing a large number of workers of the Khangar community at the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Auditorium in the Samajwadi Party’s state headquarters in Lucknow, Yadav said good people were needed to implement the Constitution. “The Constitution given by Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar gives strength to the poor, farmers, the deprived and PDA,” he said and added that the BJP is weakening the Constitution. “The BJP is the originator of fake news. It propagates lies, files false cases against opponents and always conspires to defame the Samajwadi Party leadership. The BJP government has weakened the constitutional institutions, it is on the path of dictatorship,” he claimed. The SP chief also said that the BJP has never worked for the poor people and farmers. “It took decisions for its capitalist friends and made them profits. The country’s economy was destroyed by the decisions of the BJP government,” he added. “Inflation and unemployment have reached the peak. The poor did not benefit from the decision of demonetisation. Where did the black money go? Jobs and employment ended. Today, the youth do not have jobs and employment,” he said. Under the BJP government, crops are bought from farmers at low prices and sold at high rates, Yadav alleged, adding, “The work of Mandis was stopped. Mandis were built for the convenience of farmers under the Samajwadi government. The BJP government is responsible for the inflation of food items, oil, pulses.” “If the Samajwadi Party forms the government in the state in 2027, the PDA society will get social justice. Only then will they get rights and respect. The Samajwadi Party wants a caste census in the country. With the caste census, the deprived sections will be able to get their rights. There will be social justice for everyone,” he said in the statement. PTI NAV IJT This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );
Don't miss out on this opportunity to save big and upgrade your shopping game. Take advantage of the incredible discounts available at the South Mountain Coupons Nationwide Shopping event and treat yourself to some well-deserved rewards. From high-tech gadgets to fashion essentials, there's no limit to what you can discover and enjoy during this exciting sale. So mark your calendars, grab your coupons, and get ready to shop till you drop!None
AC Milan, one of the most storied and successful football clubs in the world, continues to make waves in the world of football with their recent decision to field Franck Kessie in place of Ismael Bennacer in the upcoming Champions League match. The choice to make this tactical substitution speaks volumes about Milan's commitment to maintaining their prestigious reputation and their unwavering focus on achieving success in the Champions League.Title: "Yunnan Firefighters: 39 Rescue Dogs Fail 'Job Interview'? Response: Only 1/3 Pass Rate, Over 800 People Apply for Adoption"by Vijaya Chandrasoma I would like to explain why I continue writing so shamelessly about a subject about which recent events have proved I know next to nothing. In my defense, the news I have reported over the years has been always been based on facts and the traditional “reliable sources”. Unfortunately, my opinions and predictions have been personal and out of touch with the current political and social climate prevailing in the United States, which has changed substantially since the turn of the century. I had little interest in politics in the USA during the two decades I lived there. We spent the 90s struggling for survival, doing menial jobs, which is the lot of most immigrants without American educational qualifications and work experience. But by the time I decided to retire in Sri Lanka 20 years later, we had achieved the one ambition that mattered to us. Our children had grasped the wonderful educational opportunities available during the Clinton years to kids who were prepared to work hard, as mine were. They have been amply rewarded for their efforts. My imagination was captured by the noble aspirations of Senator Barack Obama, an African-American who, in 2008, was shooting for the skies, against all odds. I was a valued volunteer in the Obama presidential campaign office in Phoenix, Arizona, performing such vital tasks as licking stamps and answering telephones in my thick Sri Lankan accent. When Obama was elected the first black president in US history, I, like many an American, was elated that my adopted country had finally turned the racist corner. Man, were we wrong! I retired in Sri Lanka after the war at home ended in 2009. I had little interest in Sri Lankan politics, though I was struck with grief and disgust at the way our politicians were stealing our beautiful island blind, robbing from the poorest of the poor. But like many self-serving dilettantes of the privileged class, able to comfortably weather these deteriorating economic conditions, my social conscience was conspicuous in its cynical absence. In any event, I dared not protest against the corrupt politicians in “power”, who held no brook with those who attempted to publicly exercise their constitutional rights of free speech including publication, armed as they were with their own extra-military goon-squads and the infamous “white vans”. Journalism in Sri Lanka was not, in those days, the healthiest of occupations. I have every confidence that, prayerfully not too late, we have finally replaced a series of crooked governments since Independence with a patriotic leader and a party of politicians intent only on the country’s prosperity and not on their own. A government elected with enormous goodwill, with the hope that a nation with great resources, human and natural, will be administered competently to finally reach its full potential. With the kind of integrity, discipline and national pride that has transformed Singapore, a shanty town in the 1960s, to one of the most advanced, prosperous city-states in the world, Sri Lanka in the 1950s was one of the richest of British colonies. We could have surpassed Singapore if we had our own Lee Kwan Yew, who once famously said. “I had to choose between democracy and discipline. I chose discipline”. There is every hope that our present leader will be that Sri Lankan Lee Kwan Yew, even 70 years too late, who will also choose ruthless discipline against international-scale corruption, political extravagance and departmental wastage, the disgusting hallmark of every past Sri Lankan government, which had reached a crescendo of corruption in the new century. Democracy is a luxury we can enjoy after we have set our house in order. Just like Singapore, a vibrant, prosperous, disciplined democracy today. So long as President Obama was rescuing the USA from the near economic recession he inherited from the younger Bush, and doing so with competence, grace, compassion, without a trace of political or personal scandal; and so long as my adopted home was progressing inexorably towards its final destination of that Shining City on a Hill, I found no need to express my thoughts on paper. Until the nation hit a roadblock, when the despicable Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, probably the most qualified candidate in history, for the presidency in 2016. An election that proved conclusively that America remained a deeply racially and ideologically polarized nation. In a perverse sort of way, we should thank Trump and the Republican Party for exposing how Americans really feel, which is far removed from the sanctimonious bull shit they have been feeding the world over the years. I felt compelled to write, for my own pleasure, an essay about the disaster that my adopted home had wrought upon itself. I sent this essay to my aunt, Ms. Vijita Fernando, distinguished Gratiaen Prize winning journalist/author, who had spoilt me relentlessly since I was in my early teens. She encouraged me to submit this essay to my old friend, the editor of the Sunday Island, who, to my surprise, published it. So at age 75, I became a “journalist”, and enjoyed the heady emotion of seeing my name in print. Writing also provided me with the occupational therapy that helped me occupy my time with a pastime I had always enjoyed. Donald Trump had inherited a booming economy from President Obama, with 75 weeks of consecutive economic growth and the lowest unemployment rate in decades. I will not repeat details of Trump’s disastrous first term, with enormous tax cuts to benefit the wealthiest, moronic claims that climate change was a hoax and deregulation of environmental pollution laws imposed by President Obama; criminal mismanagement of the Covid pandemic which cost over 650,000 American lives; these were just the “highlights”. I continued writing on a regular basis about Trump’s criminal misadventures, and when the US electorate came to its senses and dumped him in 2020 in a landslide, and elected President Biden, my relief was palpable. I published a book (for friends and family, not for sale, you may call it an ego trip), which ended with the speech of Oliver Cromwell, on the forcible expulsion of the corrupt and duplicitous Rump Parliament in England in 1653. The last words of that speech were: “Go, get you out! Make haste! Ye venal slaves be gone! So! Take that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. “IN THE NAME OF GOD GO!” Most appropriate words for Trump and his neo-Nazi Republican cronies of 2020. Only, those venal bastards didn’t go. Instead, the MAGA (Make America Great Again), white supremacist section of the Republican Party, incited by defeated but incumbent President Trump, tried to violently impede the peaceful transition of power, when a white supremacist mob stormed the Capitol. A felony of sedition. Trump left the White House without observing any of the traditional ceremonies for the changing of the presidential guard. In leaving, he stole boxes of top-secret documents which belonged to the National Archives. A felony of espionage. The leaders of the Republican Party, who initially denounced Trump, and held him accountable for the crime of inciting the insurrection on January 6, endangering their own miserable lives and the lives of their Congressional colleagues, changed their tune, kissed the ring and made him their Supreme Leader. So I decided to resume writing, with the ambition of compiling a second book when the criminal Trump, saddled with four indictments, 91 felonies, impending sociopathic dementia and dictatorial hallucinations, would surely be decisively defeated in the presidential election of 2024. I was, yet again, proved spectacularly wrong. I had, yet again, shown my complete ignorance of the national psyche of the modern United States. A totally different American electorate, one which voted against the incumbent Democratic administration purely because of high prices and inflation; which voted instead for a proven loser who led a Party which openly espoused a campaign of fear and racial hatred. An electorate too myopic to see that these current high prices and inflation were the result of the near recession that the Biden administration inherited, which had, after four long years, been brought under control by rational and bipartisan legislation. They paid no heed to the opinion of leading economists that the US economy was the strongest and the “envy of the world”. And would only get better. Instead, they opted for an administration whose proposed economic policies of high tariffs and tax cuts for billionaires and corporations will only bring more grief to the working classes; and whose authoritarian, white supremacist policies will spell the end of democracy in the cradle of democracy. Even women, who had been deprived of their reproductive freedoms by the most corrupt right wing Supreme Court in history; black males and Latinos, who had been the brunt of Trump’s obscene insults; they incredibly supported this obviously white supremacist authoritarian movement. A movement financed by billionaires, led by the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, who had financed the Trump election campaign and has been his constant companion at Mar a Lago since the election, the honored family guest at Thanksgiving. I will conclude this essay with a few undeniable facts. Trump’s felonious conduct is beyond doubt. He has been elected president for a second term, with a jail sentence and trials for felony charges for sedition, obstruction of justice and espionage hanging over him, which would have seen him languishing in federal prison for the rest of his life had he lost the election. Trump’s selected cabinet is composed almost entirely of yes-men and women, singularly lacking in the morals, intelligence and qualifications, even the confidence of traditional allies, to manage the departments of the most powerful country on the world. Their only essential qualification – blind loyalty to Trump. Trump’s nomination for Attorney General, depraved Congressman Matt Gaetz, was forced to withdraw his nomination when swirling allegations of sex trafficking and raping underage girls made his confirmation impossible by even Trump’s lapdog majority Senate. His choice for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is a doozy. A marine who served two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, his only “administrative” experience is as a weekend television host on Fox TV. He has numerous police charges for drunken and disorderly conduct, and sexual assault. Hegseth also believes that torture like waterboarding and war crimes are justified under certain circumstances, and women have no role in military combat. He flaunts a white supremacist tattoo on his body. A lifelong alcoholic, who his Fox colleagues say was often drunk on the job, he has sworn to lay off the booze if confirmed. He even got his mommy to plead on Fox TV that her son is “a changed man”, capable of running the largest bureaucracy in the nation, with three million employees worldwide and an annual budget of $850 billion. After all, he did promise to stay sober on the job. Hegseth will probably not survive the confirmation process in even the most servile Senate in history. Nor will several other of Trump’s highly dubious cabinet choices : Kash Patel (FBI Director), Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence), Robert F. Kennedy Jr (Health Secretary), to name just three. But not to worry, there are plenty more of those creepy nutcases around that Trump will ultimately get confirmed. All they’ll have to do to keep their jobs would be to nod. President Biden had earlier indicated that he would not be using his presidential powers to pardon his son, Hunter, who had been on trial for two minor charges, committed when he was a drug addict. One, for tax evasion – the back taxes have since been fully paid, with late fees. Two, for the purchase of a gun while he was a drug addict, which was never used in the commission of a crime. A Class E felony, which would been dismissed with a slap on the wrist for a first offender, had his name been anything but Biden. Hunter is completely sober today. But President Biden, mindful of the retribution threatened by the Trump’s nominees for Attorney General, Pam Bondi and FBI Director, Kash Patel, against Trump’s imagined “enemies”, knew that Hunter would be tormented, and have the book thrown at him, to a maximum of 17 years’ jail time. So President Biden lied, he undeniably abused his power and went back on his word to grant Hunter a full pardon. Which any father would have done for his son in a heartbeat. As the saying goes, Democrats are expected to be flawless, while Republicans can be as lawless as they please. Biden’s pardon had the hypocritical Republicans screaming foul, claiming that he was guilty of gross abuse of power. Forgetting the traitors and fraudsters Trump had pardoned during his first term, and has promised to pardon in his second. They are insisting that, as a quid pro quo, Biden should pardon Trump for his conviction of 34 felonies, and other indictments of sedition, obstruction of justice and espionage, for which he is awaiting trial. The moral equivalent of pardoning a traitor as a quid pro quo for pardoning a jaywalker! President Biden would be well advised to give advance pardons to himself, Special Counsel Jack Smith, Liz Cheney, Dr. Fauci and those named “enemies from within” like Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff that Trump has threatened to prosecute and imprison after his inauguration. Trump has told us exactly what he’s going to do when he is in power, and Wannabe Hitler is not playing games. With white supremacists and neo-Nazi “strategists” like Jason Miller, Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon in Trump’s backroom, and a supporting cast of thousands of Christian nationalists and avaricious billionaires, America had better fasten its collective seatbelts. The tragedy for the ages is that the majority of the citizens of the most educated, powerful and richest nation in the world has elected to be led, with the powers of a monarch, by a self-confessed white supremacist on the cusp of dementia, an illiterate, cruel wannabe dictator and a political party of violent Nazi Brownshirts. Shades of the Third Reich in Germany in 1932, with the caricature American Hitler elected as the Fuhrer. I hope I am wrong, as usual.
Trump isn't back in office but he's already pushing his agenda and negotiating with world leadersIn a surprising turn of events, the National Security football club has appointed Quique Setien as their new head coach. Setien, who previously managed Barcelona, had a tumultuous time at the Spanish giants, with one particular incident involving a confrontation with defender Gerard Pique making headlines.Nets vs. Grizzlies Best bets: Odds, expert picks and predictions, recent stats, and trends for December 13