Yesterday was a nice day, for many Americans, including those who are, or are about to, feel the effects of natural disasters. Maybe we will learn why Pence is veep too.
If you are in the path of Flo, get the water wings out. She is wet and will be all the way up the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Imagine the possibilities …
Next Thursday, FEMA will do its first test of a system that allows the president to send a message to most U.S. cellphones
First responders kneeling in prayer after trying to save mother and child killed by tree falling on their house in North Carolina.
OK, so yesterday I got a fundraising solicitation from a group called West Virginians for Life. This is a group that has billboards on I 79 showing fetuses and talking about abortion. I don’t like this group. A friend of mine‘s wife has been a big mover and shaker in it and she’s a nut.
Anyway the solicitation has a bunch of assertions in it and I am going to send the solicitation back with my handwritten notes on it. Here are a few of the things in it:
“.… The courts in America have usurped the legislative role and are legislating from the bench. In 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton gave women the right to abortion for virtually any reason for all nine months of pregnancy.” My response of course was “Bullshit.”
They go on to say “Judge Brett Kavanagh is respected for being fair and honest.” My response – “He lied to get a seat on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.”
They say “Brett Kavanaugh is a constitutional originalist.” My response – “Bullshit there’s no such thing as a constitutional originalist. That’s a right wing screed for right wing asshole. “
They say “The appointment of Judge Kavanagh by pro life president Donald Trump was the fruit of hard labor by the pro-life movement.” My response – “Good to know who to blame.”
They assert “Joe Manchin his claimed pro life credentials. However, since going to the Senate, he has been two faced on the issue, even voting to continue federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.” My response – “Joe Manchin is Catholic – of course is pro life, but I don’t demonize him for that. Also, misleading statistic about Planned Parenthood. It’s the only nation wide family planning organization.. “
They go on to say “You can do two things to help us: (1) contact Joe Manchin and tell him to vote to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court (202–224–3954).” My response – “Thank you very much for the number. I will be happy to call Senator Manchin and urge him to vote against Brett Kavanaugh.” And the second thing that they said we could do is “Help us financially so we can get out the message. ” My response – “Not a penny, not a dime. “
Finally they say “Please help us to inform the people of West Virginia they need to contact Joe Manchin now. To do this requires money and your contribution will be well spent.” My response “SCREW YOU. “
I even put my own stamp on the envelope since the organization is too fucking cheap to use a return envelope that doesn’t require postage.
I know that my response won’t mean a thing to them, but I hope it pisses off some young staff member, and it was a lot of fun.
OK, at 9 am I’ll be sure to watch College Gameday. And as soon as FEMA tests that system, I’ll be sure to block the number. There’s literally nothing the know nothing IMPOTUS in the White House could possibly tell me that could make my life any better than it was a second before the fucking message comes in. The last thing in the world that I want to show up on my phone is an unnwelcome, uninvited message from IMPOTUS. I hope that the House flips in November and in January the impeachment proceedings against the director of homeland security, the lovely Kirstjen Nillsen, and the FEMA director commences.
Pogo …….in re the solicitation letter: I stand in awe of your measured restraint……..
Sturg, Mrs. P doesn’t agree. She said “You’re not gonna send that to them are you? “And I told her, “Hell yes I am.” She said “You’re crazy.” And I responded, “Yeah, I know, that’s why you love me right?” She just rolled her eyes. Hey, I didn’t even use the word fuck in it.
Sturg, you and the other men and women of the USCG have earned our unbounded admiration through your selfless bravery in risking your lives so others might live.
Flatus
pogo, i’m with the mrs. you lose them at the first “bullshit” insuring no further reading but cast (held arms length away with thumb and index as though toxic) quickly into their waste basket.
better to subtlety suck them in with esoterica that they think they can quote.
speaking of constructive use of colorful language
more from maher. best line was in re trump “he really puts the moron in oxy-moron”
In his editorial New Rule, Bill argues that socialism isn’t as scary as it sounds and calls on Democrats to ramp up their rhetoric against Trump.
Well, since the weather started edging-up to Columbia we’ve had 0.36-in of spitting rain on the NE side of town. It’s 73-deg now, down from 79 at midnight. The lowest temperature of the month was on Labor Day, 71-deg. Winds on our rear deck are running up to 17-mph in a relatively sheltered location. Pressure is down to 29.50.
We are the first occupants of our house. It was finished in ’97. It was built in accordance with the post-Hurricane Andrew Southern Building Code which includes such things as the roof being fastened to the wall joists with metal straps and everything bolted to the foundation. Before we bought it I got out with my flashlight and physically checked. We are not in a flood hazard zone, but I still have flood insurance. I double checked the generator yesterday–I’ll triple check it today. We run it on propane.
Forgot one thing–All our utilities are undergrounded.
Got to explore 3 places in the coast guard…..Memphis, Cape May, and E. City……places in which I might otherwise not have spent much time…..my fondest memory ( of one sort) was October, 1968, during my fifth or sixth week in Cape May for boot camp they loaded our company, maybe 125 pogues, as they called us, onto a bus and took us downtown to see a play at the local community playhouse……we parked about 2 blocks from the playhouse, got into formation beside the bus, and marched down the middle of the street to the theater.
Well, on the way there was a U-shaped 3 story motel we had to pass, with the open end towards the street. For some reason, which I may never know, the motel was jam-packed with Hippies…..like it was the International Hippie Convention or something, and the whole way past they were all screaming at us as we marched down the street. Screaming. “Baby killers!!” “Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today!?!” and other nastiness of that stripe.The whole way past. lol….I remember thinking that it was conceivably as likely that I could have found myself in that motel as it was that I was part of a company of coasties marching past it to the theater to see “The Owl and the Pussycat.”
I also remember thinking, “Hey you assholes, we’re the fucking COAST GUARD!”
puts me in mind of Lenny’s line in one of his bits, “GESTAPO?? You asshole…..I’m the fucking MAILMAN!”
POGUEMAHONE!!
Language, Flatus.
Hey, is meteorology really that inaccurate, or does TV news love playing us for suckers? Florence topped out at 140mph winds, and even as the intensity lessened, TV news meteorologists swore it was going to increase back to a Cat 5- it hit land as a Cat 1, barely. It worked- even I turned on the TV a couple of times, this week. I saw so many ads.
P. S. I Love You is a great movie and Fairy Tale of NY one of the highlights.
Good job on Dems if they end up getting the Kavanaugh nomination scuttled. I didn’t think they had it in them!
Bink, there is no correlation between wind speed and catastrophic flooding.
Frank
Good song
Haha, good one, Frank.
CC, there is a correlation between projected wind speed and the number of people losing their goddamned minds, though.
Patd, you’re right. Mrs. P is right. Too bad I guess, already mailed it.
Bink & CC, regardless of what wind speeds Florence packed, anything at tropical storm level should make people lose their mind. Five people died and there are plenty of trees and power lines down and roofs damaged – the biggest issue now is flooding and there is hell’s aplenty of that. People losing their minds imho are not the ones who evacuated but are the ones calling for rescues from roofs and floating cars.
That rug really ties the room together.
People are unable to leave for a variety of reasons. Most cannot afford it. They cannot even buy gas to get out of town and no community buses were sent in.
All of the people i saw being rescued were senior citizens and people with medical issues.
People also stay so their house won’t get looted, which is a dumb reason to stay, but try telling them that.
Messieur Le Flate…….the feeling is entirely mutual……
Seniors who need assistance seem to be the last to get it
we hate the new gmail
I don’t need help answering my mail
Bink, we were watching different channels.
Why, what did you see?
It was basically from the TV that I got the information necessary to make a roll of the dice and decide not to heed the “mandatory evacuation” thereby saving in the neighborhood of…..well, last time, Matthew, it cost me close to a thousand smacks to go to Knoxville and stare at a parking lot…….
But it was all right there on the tv…..the people standing in the wind and rain, those goobers in studios avoiding “dead air” at any cost, and the pictures of the hurricane with its myriad paths…..the 411 came thru all dat.
But, hey……free continental breakfast…….
Had it been dire, I might have jumped the other way……
some brave soul is out in the creek in a motorboat
My old mama prayed one of those hurricanes up to Wilmington oncet, and I asked her if she thought those people up there just didn’t know how to pray right and she says, “Must not.”
Sorry, can’t resist.
Haha, sturge re: mama
Craig, I think a correlation is situation dependent. Take Boca Ciega Bay as an example. Gale force winds, especially on a high tide made unusually high because of astronomical factors, can cause flooding of S. Pasadena, Pinellas Park, Gulfport and even St Pete. That’s one of the main reasons many of us were so adamant about protecting the mangrove fringe around the peninsula.
hmmm…….continental breakfast……sounds like it could be a great bit for a Jewish comedian in the Catskills……
Sturg, you know damned well that my door is always open to you. I don’t wanna hear any of that $1000 to Knoxville crap.
Flate…. It was me and she and the dog and the cat and the she part of that quartet recoiled at the idea of barging that crew in on anyone, emergency though it be….
were it me and the cat you might have seen us on your porch, but it was a fine comfort to know we could have, and would have been thoroughly enriched thereby.
Okay, empathy triumphs
Bink, on CNN & the NBC channels I was watching 40 & 50 somethings being rescued. There were I’m sure elderly people being rescued as well but they weren’t dominating the rescue efforts I was seeing, and before the storm came ashore the holdouts who were being interviewed weren’t senior citizens by & large. There were some folks who said they weren’t leaving because they couldn’t afford the gas, but again, that was only a couple of folks. That by the way is a societal failure.
Ya know if I had decided to stay, I’ll be damned if I would be crying for help even if I had to camp on my roof as we floated around. I’m stubborn that way.
bink, you asked about the woodward book. am about a quarter the way in. very easy read. no where near Shakespeare, neither will and ann Durant nor George will… more on the order of elmore leonard. hard to say that it’s as enjoyable though.
fill you in whether it was worth the buy when I finish.
with sea rise and frequent flooding of lowlands, blame should start shifting to why these areas are inhabited in first place.
Hollywoodreporter:
Donald Trump Warns That Defamation Lawsuit Could Turn Into 21 Mini-Trials
On Friday night, Donald Trump submitted a court brief in New York in a bid to avoid intrusive discovery demands in the ongoing lawsuit brought by Apprentice season five contestant Summer Zervos, who accuses Trump of defaming her when denying he attacked her a decade ago in a hotel room. The President of the United States is resisting turning over documents related to alleged illicit sexual conduct with many other women.
Now, Trump’s attorney Marc Kaswowitz is strongly suggesting that if the judge forces the handover of these documents, Trump will be issuing subpoenas to nearly two dozen women accusing him of sexual assault. And that, adds Kasowitz, will become a spectacle.
“Rather than sharpening the issues for trial, the Request would result in significant delay and prolixity and likely lead to ‘unfettered litigation,’ including in excess of 21 mini-trials concerning each of the women identified,” states a memorandum in opposition to document requests. “The parties would have to subpoena each of these women to disprove each of their accusations. The invasive discovery would lead to a media circus that would risk tainting the jury pool and lead to additional ‘mini-trials,’ as plaintiff acknowledges, concerning the admissibility of the accusations and whether the conduct was sufficiently similar, as well as the witnesses’ credibility.”
Trump previously attempted to avoid this lawsuit while serving in office by holding up the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“No one is above the law,” responded the judge in allowing the lawsuit to move forward last March.
Trump is “reserving all rights to his immunity” under the Supremacy Clause, but hasn’t attempted to petition the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of whether lawsuits may proceed in state court against the leader of the federal executive branch. Doing so now could inject some political consideration into the pending nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the high court.
Nevertheless, Trump wants the judge to give “special consideration to the burdens” of being the nation’s leader and invokes an almost-forgotten 2002 decision concerning a request to depose Bill Clinton in a lawsuit over Primary Colors, a thinly veiled novel about Clinton’s presidential campaign.
“This Court gave deference to the burden on former President Clinton in denying a request to depose him, noting that he ‘still has important responsibilities to fulfill, and should not have his valuable time taken away to appear unnecessarily at a deposition,'” writes Kasowitz. “A sitting President should be accorded even greater respect.”
According to Trump’s brief, the demand for “irrelevant” information about illicit sexual conduct towards other women amounts to “propensity evidence,” an inadmissible testing of his character.
Zervos asserts that the document requests are necessary for several reasons including showing Trump exhibited a pattern of behavior.
“Surely it would be relevant, and a legitimate focus of cross-examination under this case law, if there were evidence supporting the conclusion that [Trump] knew that he routinely or frequently engaged in sexual groping or if he believes that because he is a ‘star,’ he is entitled to grope women sexually, knowing full well that they did not consent,” states Zervos’ court papers.
Trump responds that the common scheme exception to propensity evidence only applies when the identity of the defendant is at issue. His attorney argues that there is no such dispute here and adds, “[T]he pattern of conduct that plaintiff alleges is, of course, far from unique.”
To prevail in her defamation case, Zervos will also have to establish actual malice, meaning Trump had knowledge of falsity when he called accusations against him as “fabricated” or had reckless disregard for the truth.
Trump is arguing that malice “cannot be established by showing that [his] other statements, or parts of statements, which do not specifically relate to [Zervos], were false.”
The brief goes on to characterize the discovery demand as a “fishing expedition,” an improper attempt to use inadmissible evidence to impeach Trump’s credibility.
[click on link and scroll down to read DEFENDANT’S
MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN OPPOSITION
TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL]
Around 1600 I saw the mail truck heading up the street. After a while I heard it in front of our house. Sure enough, our mail was in the box. So, I looked down where the morning newspapers are stuffed. Not only was the Columbia paper there, but the Journal was as well!
These efforts reflect dedication and magnificent achievement; I’m proud of everybody who made this happen.
11 dead now. the inland flooding that follows will take more lives.
Flatus and Sturgeone – if i could rewind time about fifty years or so I would have fought my way in to the Coast Guard.
Lots of stuff happening in the Carolina’s – and it is not nice. Second part is the slug of Flo heading northeast is wet and going to cause flooding in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Maryland dodged a bullet.
Watching Laugh In and a skit of the white women wearing black face and the black woman wearing white make up happened. With Tony Curtis singing. Oh my – how far we have come in fifty years.
Hey everyone! Was following a CK debate on Facebook tonight. A woman from work posted a meme that talked about how people were in favor of free speech, unless they didn’t agree with what was being said. Another woman from work said they the NFL players shouldn’t be allowed to protest at work, because we aren’t allowed to protest at work. We are now allowed to play music at work on the weekends. Today, my old department played “Take This Job and Shove It” three times. The woman who posted the meme said, “That sure sounds like a protest to me!” Some people on that line have also been wearing t-shirts that say: Breaking News: I Don’t Care! I mentioned those shirts. The anti-protest at work woman said, “Only a few people wore those shirts. Not the entire team.” Kinda like how only a few people on various NFL teams have taken a knee or some other kind of silent protest, not the entire league? She lost this debate.
.
Yesterday was a nice day, for many Americans, including those who are, or are about to, feel the effects of natural disasters. Maybe we will learn why Pence is veep too.
If you are in the path of Flo, get the water wings out. She is wet and will be all the way up the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Imagine the possibilities …
Next Thursday, FEMA will do its first test of a system that allows the president to send a message to most U.S. cellphones
First responders kneeling in prayer after trying to save mother and child killed by tree falling on their house in North Carolina.
OK, so yesterday I got a fundraising solicitation from a group called West Virginians for Life. This is a group that has billboards on I 79 showing fetuses and talking about abortion. I don’t like this group. A friend of mine‘s wife has been a big mover and shaker in it and she’s a nut.
Anyway the solicitation has a bunch of assertions in it and I am going to send the solicitation back with my handwritten notes on it. Here are a few of the things in it:
“.… The courts in America have usurped the legislative role and are legislating from the bench. In 1973 Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton gave women the right to abortion for virtually any reason for all nine months of pregnancy.” My response of course was “Bullshit.”
They go on to say “Judge Brett Kavanagh is respected for being fair and honest.” My response – “He lied to get a seat on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.”
They say “Brett Kavanaugh is a constitutional originalist.” My response – “Bullshit there’s no such thing as a constitutional originalist. That’s a right wing screed for right wing asshole. “
They say “The appointment of Judge Kavanagh by pro life president Donald Trump was the fruit of hard labor by the pro-life movement.” My response – “Good to know who to blame.”
They assert “Joe Manchin his claimed pro life credentials. However, since going to the Senate, he has been two faced on the issue, even voting to continue federal funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.” My response – “Joe Manchin is Catholic – of course is pro life, but I don’t demonize him for that. Also, misleading statistic about Planned Parenthood. It’s the only nation wide family planning organization.. “
They go on to say “You can do two things to help us: (1) contact Joe Manchin and tell him to vote to confirm Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court (202–224–3954).” My response – “Thank you very much for the number. I will be happy to call Senator Manchin and urge him to vote against Brett Kavanaugh.” And the second thing that they said we could do is “Help us financially so we can get out the message. ” My response – “Not a penny, not a dime. “
Finally they say “Please help us to inform the people of West Virginia they need to contact Joe Manchin now. To do this requires money and your contribution will be well spent.” My response “SCREW YOU. “
I even put my own stamp on the envelope since the organization is too fucking cheap to use a return envelope that doesn’t require postage.
I know that my response won’t mean a thing to them, but I hope it pisses off some young staff member, and it was a lot of fun.
OK, at 9 am I’ll be sure to watch College Gameday. And as soon as FEMA tests that system, I’ll be sure to block the number. There’s literally nothing the know nothing IMPOTUS in the White House could possibly tell me that could make my life any better than it was a second before the fucking message comes in. The last thing in the world that I want to show up on my phone is an unnwelcome, uninvited message from IMPOTUS. I hope that the House flips in November and in January the impeachment proceedings against the director of homeland security, the lovely Kirstjen Nillsen, and the FEMA director commences.
Pogo …….in re the solicitation letter: I stand in awe of your measured restraint……..
Sturg, Mrs. P doesn’t agree. She said “You’re not gonna send that to them are you? “And I told her, “Hell yes I am.” She said “You’re crazy.” And I responded, “Yeah, I know, that’s why you love me right?” She just rolled her eyes. Hey, I didn’t even use the word fuck in it.
Sturg, you and the other men and women of the USCG have earned our unbounded admiration through your selfless bravery in risking your lives so others might live.
Flatus
pogo, i’m with the mrs. you lose them at the first “bullshit” insuring no further reading but cast (held arms length away with thumb and index as though toxic) quickly into their waste basket.
better to subtlety suck them in with esoterica that they think they can quote.
speaking of constructive use of colorful language
more from maher. best line was in re trump “he really puts the moron in oxy-moron”
In his editorial New Rule, Bill argues that socialism isn’t as scary as it sounds and calls on Democrats to ramp up their rhetoric against Trump.
Well, since the weather started edging-up to Columbia we’ve had 0.36-in of spitting rain on the NE side of town. It’s 73-deg now, down from 79 at midnight. The lowest temperature of the month was on Labor Day, 71-deg. Winds on our rear deck are running up to 17-mph in a relatively sheltered location. Pressure is down to 29.50.
We are the first occupants of our house. It was finished in ’97. It was built in accordance with the post-Hurricane Andrew Southern Building Code which includes such things as the roof being fastened to the wall joists with metal straps and everything bolted to the foundation. Before we bought it I got out with my flashlight and physically checked. We are not in a flood hazard zone, but I still have flood insurance. I double checked the generator yesterday–I’ll triple check it today. We run it on propane.
Forgot one thing–All our utilities are undergrounded.
Got to explore 3 places in the coast guard…..Memphis, Cape May, and E. City……places in which I might otherwise not have spent much time…..my fondest memory ( of one sort) was October, 1968, during my fifth or sixth week in Cape May for boot camp they loaded our company, maybe 125 pogues, as they called us, onto a bus and took us downtown to see a play at the local community playhouse……we parked about 2 blocks from the playhouse, got into formation beside the bus, and marched down the middle of the street to the theater.
Well, on the way there was a U-shaped 3 story motel we had to pass, with the open end towards the street. For some reason, which I may never know, the motel was jam-packed with Hippies…..like it was the International Hippie Convention or something, and the whole way past they were all screaming at us as we marched down the street. Screaming. “Baby killers!!” “Hey, hey LBJ, how many kids did you kill today!?!” and other nastiness of that stripe.The whole way past. lol….I remember thinking that it was conceivably as likely that I could have found myself in that motel as it was that I was part of a company of coasties marching past it to the theater to see “The Owl and the Pussycat.”
I also remember thinking, “Hey you assholes, we’re the fucking COAST GUARD!”
puts me in mind of Lenny’s line in one of his bits, “GESTAPO?? You asshole…..I’m the fucking MAILMAN!”
POGUEMAHONE!!
Language, Flatus.
Hey, is meteorology really that inaccurate, or does TV news love playing us for suckers? Florence topped out at 140mph winds, and even as the intensity lessened, TV news meteorologists swore it was going to increase back to a Cat 5- it hit land as a Cat 1, barely. It worked- even I turned on the TV a couple of times, this week. I saw so many ads.
P. S. I Love You is a great movie and Fairy Tale of NY one of the highlights.
Good job on Dems if they end up getting the Kavanaugh nomination scuttled. I didn’t think they had it in them!
Bink, there is no correlation between wind speed and catastrophic flooding.
Frank
Good song
Haha, good one, Frank.
CC, there is a correlation between projected wind speed and the number of people losing their goddamned minds, though.
Patd, you’re right. Mrs. P is right. Too bad I guess, already mailed it.
Bink & CC, regardless of what wind speeds Florence packed, anything at tropical storm level should make people lose their mind. Five people died and there are plenty of trees and power lines down and roofs damaged – the biggest issue now is flooding and there is hell’s aplenty of that. People losing their minds imho are not the ones who evacuated but are the ones calling for rescues from roofs and floating cars.
That rug really ties the room together.
People are unable to leave for a variety of reasons. Most cannot afford it. They cannot even buy gas to get out of town and no community buses were sent in.
All of the people i saw being rescued were senior citizens and people with medical issues.
People also stay so their house won’t get looted, which is a dumb reason to stay, but try telling them that.
Messieur Le Flate…….the feeling is entirely mutual……
Seniors who need assistance seem to be the last to get it
we hate the new gmail
I don’t need help answering my mail
Bink, we were watching different channels.
Why, what did you see?
It was basically from the TV that I got the information necessary to make a roll of the dice and decide not to heed the “mandatory evacuation” thereby saving in the neighborhood of…..well, last time, Matthew, it cost me close to a thousand smacks to go to Knoxville and stare at a parking lot…….
But it was all right there on the tv…..the people standing in the wind and rain, those goobers in studios avoiding “dead air” at any cost, and the pictures of the hurricane with its myriad paths…..the 411 came thru all dat.
But, hey……free continental breakfast…….
Had it been dire, I might have jumped the other way……
some brave soul is out in the creek in a motorboat
My old mama prayed one of those hurricanes up to Wilmington oncet, and I asked her if she thought those people up there just didn’t know how to pray right and she says, “Must not.”
Sorry, can’t resist.
Haha, sturge re: mama
Craig, I think a correlation is situation dependent. Take Boca Ciega Bay as an example. Gale force winds, especially on a high tide made unusually high because of astronomical factors, can cause flooding of S. Pasadena, Pinellas Park, Gulfport and even St Pete. That’s one of the main reasons many of us were so adamant about protecting the mangrove fringe around the peninsula.
hmmm…….continental breakfast……sounds like it could be a great bit for a Jewish comedian in the Catskills……
Sturg, you know damned well that my door is always open to you. I don’t wanna hear any of that $1000 to Knoxville crap.
Flate…. It was me and she and the dog and the cat and the she part of that quartet recoiled at the idea of barging that crew in on anyone, emergency though it be….
were it me and the cat you might have seen us on your porch, but it was a fine comfort to know we could have, and would have been thoroughly enriched thereby.
Okay, empathy triumphs
Bink, on CNN & the NBC channels I was watching 40 & 50 somethings being rescued. There were I’m sure elderly people being rescued as well but they weren’t dominating the rescue efforts I was seeing, and before the storm came ashore the holdouts who were being interviewed weren’t senior citizens by & large. There were some folks who said they weren’t leaving because they couldn’t afford the gas, but again, that was only a couple of folks. That by the way is a societal failure.
Ya know if I had decided to stay, I’ll be damned if I would be crying for help even if I had to camp on my roof as we floated around. I’m stubborn that way.
bink, you asked about the woodward book. am about a quarter the way in. very easy read. no where near Shakespeare, neither will and ann Durant nor George will… more on the order of elmore leonard. hard to say that it’s as enjoyable though.
fill you in whether it was worth the buy when I finish.
with sea rise and frequent flooding of lowlands, blame should start shifting to why these areas are inhabited in first place.
Hollywoodreporter:
Donald Trump Warns That Defamation Lawsuit Could Turn Into 21 Mini-Trials
On Friday night, Donald Trump submitted a court brief in New York in a bid to avoid intrusive discovery demands in the ongoing lawsuit brought by Apprentice season five contestant Summer Zervos, who accuses Trump of defaming her when denying he attacked her a decade ago in a hotel room. The President of the United States is resisting turning over documents related to alleged illicit sexual conduct with many other women.
Now, Trump’s attorney Marc Kaswowitz is strongly suggesting that if the judge forces the handover of these documents, Trump will be issuing subpoenas to nearly two dozen women accusing him of sexual assault. And that, adds Kasowitz, will become a spectacle.
“Rather than sharpening the issues for trial, the Request would result in significant delay and prolixity and likely lead to ‘unfettered litigation,’ including in excess of 21 mini-trials concerning each of the women identified,” states a memorandum in opposition to document requests. “The parties would have to subpoena each of these women to disprove each of their accusations. The invasive discovery would lead to a media circus that would risk tainting the jury pool and lead to additional ‘mini-trials,’ as plaintiff acknowledges, concerning the admissibility of the accusations and whether the conduct was sufficiently similar, as well as the witnesses’ credibility.”
Trump previously attempted to avoid this lawsuit while serving in office by holding up the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“No one is above the law,” responded the judge in allowing the lawsuit to move forward last March.
Trump is “reserving all rights to his immunity” under the Supremacy Clause, but hasn’t attempted to petition the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of whether lawsuits may proceed in state court against the leader of the federal executive branch. Doing so now could inject some political consideration into the pending nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the high court.
Nevertheless, Trump wants the judge to give “special consideration to the burdens” of being the nation’s leader and invokes an almost-forgotten 2002 decision concerning a request to depose Bill Clinton in a lawsuit over Primary Colors, a thinly veiled novel about Clinton’s presidential campaign.
“This Court gave deference to the burden on former President Clinton in denying a request to depose him, noting that he ‘still has important responsibilities to fulfill, and should not have his valuable time taken away to appear unnecessarily at a deposition,'” writes Kasowitz. “A sitting President should be accorded even greater respect.”
According to Trump’s brief, the demand for “irrelevant” information about illicit sexual conduct towards other women amounts to “propensity evidence,” an inadmissible testing of his character.
Zervos asserts that the document requests are necessary for several reasons including showing Trump exhibited a pattern of behavior.
“Surely it would be relevant, and a legitimate focus of cross-examination under this case law, if there were evidence supporting the conclusion that [Trump] knew that he routinely or frequently engaged in sexual groping or if he believes that because he is a ‘star,’ he is entitled to grope women sexually, knowing full well that they did not consent,” states Zervos’ court papers.
Trump responds that the common scheme exception to propensity evidence only applies when the identity of the defendant is at issue. His attorney argues that there is no such dispute here and adds, “[T]he pattern of conduct that plaintiff alleges is, of course, far from unique.”
To prevail in her defamation case, Zervos will also have to establish actual malice, meaning Trump had knowledge of falsity when he called accusations against him as “fabricated” or had reckless disregard for the truth.
Trump is arguing that malice “cannot be established by showing that [his] other statements, or parts of statements, which do not specifically relate to [Zervos], were false.”
The brief goes on to characterize the discovery demand as a “fishing expedition,” an improper attempt to use inadmissible evidence to impeach Trump’s credibility.
[click on link and scroll down to read DEFENDANT’S
MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN OPPOSITION
TO PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO COMPEL]
Around 1600 I saw the mail truck heading up the street. After a while I heard it in front of our house. Sure enough, our mail was in the box. So, I looked down where the morning newspapers are stuffed. Not only was the Columbia paper there, but the Journal was as well!
These efforts reflect dedication and magnificent achievement; I’m proud of everybody who made this happen.
11 dead now. the inland flooding that follows will take more lives.
Flatus and Sturgeone – if i could rewind time about fifty years or so I would have fought my way in to the Coast Guard.
Lots of stuff happening in the Carolina’s – and it is not nice. Second part is the slug of Flo heading northeast is wet and going to cause flooding in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Maryland dodged a bullet.
Watching Laugh In and a skit of the white women wearing black face and the black woman wearing white make up happened. With Tony Curtis singing. Oh my – how far we have come in fifty years.
Hey everyone! Was following a CK debate on Facebook tonight. A woman from work posted a meme that talked about how people were in favor of free speech, unless they didn’t agree with what was being said. Another woman from work said they the NFL players shouldn’t be allowed to protest at work, because we aren’t allowed to protest at work. We are now allowed to play music at work on the weekends. Today, my old department played “Take This Job and Shove It” three times. The woman who posted the meme said, “That sure sounds like a protest to me!” Some people on that line have also been wearing t-shirts that say: Breaking News: I Don’t Care! I mentioned those shirts. The anti-protest at work woman said, “Only a few people wore those shirts. Not the entire team.” Kinda like how only a few people on various NFL teams have taken a knee or some other kind of silent protest, not the entire league? She lost this debate.