Tag: hypocrisy

After Trump, Will U.S. Lawmakers be Charged for $17M in Hush Money?

Are various members of Congress, who paid some $17 million in taxpayer funds to silence people who brought sexual misconduct claims against them, now going to be investigated, tried, and convicted of felonies, like President Trump? After all, they didn’t report those payments as campaign contributions.

That’s the suggestion that has been raised in a congressional hearing.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against President Donald Trump over business reporting issues, described as a “hush money” case because of testimony from ex-porn star Stormy Daniels, likely will be overturned, witnesses have told Congress.

And given the multiple constitutional errors allowed by Judge Juan Merchan, whose daughter is a Democrat activist and was fundraising off her father’s courtroom decisions during the trial, one member has defined what the entire exercise was about:

“This irony here is that this is going to be vacated and this trial was all about trying to influence an election using the process as the punishment,” charged U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

His comments came in a hearing on Bragg’s scheming against Trump held by the House Judiciary Committee.

Bragg charged Trump with 34 felonies based on a handful of alleged business reporting violations which were misdemeanors for which the statute of limitations had expired. Bragg, however, filed them as felonies claiming they were in support of some other, unidentified, crime.

They essentially involved payments to a Trump lawyer who then paid Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair, which both individuals have denied happened.

Keep reading

DeSantis Launches ‘Florida Freedom Fund’ To Oppose Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative, As Campaign Reports Millions In New Donations

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has launched a new political action committee to campaign against marijuana legalization and abortion rights initiatives that will appear on the state’s November ballot. At the same time, a newly released campaign finance report shows over $5 million in contributions supporting the cannabis measure have come in over the past two months.

As DeSantis continues his crusade against the marijuana legalization proposal, late last month he started what’s being called the Florida Freedom Fund, aimed at preventing adults from gaining the right to use cannabis. It’s being run by the governor’s chief of staff, James Uthmeier.

A spokesperson for DeSantis told Politico that the PAC “will be championing issues and candidates committed to preserving Floridians’ freedom.” How that stated mission squares with an attempt to restrict adults from accessing marijuana without risking a criminal record and potential jail time is unclear.

According to a Fox News poll released last week, two in three Florida voters support the cannabis initiative—with the issue proving more popular than the governor himself. The survey showed majority support for legalization across the political spectrum, too.

Despite his opposition to the marijuana legalization, DeSantis recently vetoed a bill to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids in his state. The action came amid reporting that the governor planned to block the hemp prohibition legislation in hopes that the industry would return the favor by financially assisting in his effort to defeat the marijuana initiative.

The governor, who predicted voters will reject the marijuana initiative in November, has argued that the state shouldn’t go beyond the existing medical cannabis program and that broader reform would negatively impact the quality of life for Floridians. The Florida Republican Party also formally came out against Amendment 3 last month.

So far, DeSantis’s PAC hasn’t reported raising any money. The Smart & Safe Florida campaign behind the marijuana initiative, however, reported more than $5.2 million in new contributions from April 1 to May 31, with the bulk of that funding coming from the multi-state cannabis company Trulieve. That’s in addition to the $15 million the campaign raised in the first quarter of the year, a haul that included contributions from other cannabis companies such as Verano Holdings, Curaleaf, Ayr Wellness, Green Thumb Industries and Cresco Labs.

The new first quarter report shows that other marijuana firms are coming to the table in support, including Insa, which donated $144,000, Sunburn parent company Green Sentry Holdings, which chipped in $50,000, and Urban-Gro, which gave $25,000.

The report also shows dozens of small-dollar donations, too.

Keep reading

Thousands of Beloved Joshua Trees to Be Chopped Down in Maniacal CA Solar Energy Push

The Joshua tree. The beloved gnarled California icon—revered by desert aficionados and nature conservationists and considered to be endangered—is nevertheless under assault in a weird twist: environmentalists battling environmentalists.

The tree is held in such high regard by people who love the natural world that supergroup U2 named perhaps their finest album after it, titling their 1987 multi-hit record simply “The Joshua Tree.”

The symbolism was not lost on their fans.

But woke is pitted against woke, as the ancient trees now face the chopping block as the crazed “green energy” crowd is poised to destroy the land and thousands of these ancestral growths:

A renewable energy company will soon begin clearing thousands of protected Joshua trees just outside this desert town, including many thought to be a century old, to make way for a sprawling solar project that will generate power for 180,000 homes in wealthier coastal neighborhoods.

The 2,300-acre project has angered residents of Boron and nearby Desert Lake, two small Kern County towns where the poverty rate is twice the California average. Residents say their concerns about construction dust, as well as the destruction of the mostly pristine land that is habitat for endangered desert tortoises, have been ignored by the county and state officials who approved it.

Keep reading

Biden and AOC demanded a $15/hr minimum wage, but their Climate Corps pays less than $12 per hour

President Joe Biden and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have loudly advocated for a minimum-wage increase and for addressing what they say is a “climate crisis.” Based on wages offered for the positions listed under Biden’s taxpayer-funded American Climate Corp (ACC) program — many of which pay under $12 per hour — when the two goals conflict, climate change is the priority. 

Biden: “More than a paycheck. It’s about dignity.”

The ACC, according to Biden and Ocasio-Cortez, is modeled on former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Great Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps. It aims to put “more than 20,000 young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills they need to join the growing clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow.” 

Ocasio-Cortez has been advocating for the program for years. 

“This is not a pipe dream, and this is not some big progressive vision that is quote-unquote unrealistic,” Ocasio-Cortez said at a press conference in July 2021 announcing the creation of the program. 

At the same time, Biden and Ocasio-Cortez have been advocates for increases in the federal minimum wage. Shortly after taking office, Biden issued an executive order to give federal employees and employees of federal contractors a $15 per hour minimum wage. 

“A job is about more than a paycheck. It’s about dignity. When I was running for president, I said it was past time to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour,” Biden said in a statement. 

When opposition arose over the inclusion of a bill to increase the federal minimum wage in the Democrats’ covid pandemic relief package, Ocasio-Cortez upset that the bill was even being debated. 

“It is utterly embarrassing that ‘pay people enough to live’ is a stance that’s even up for debate,” she posted on X. 

Keep reading

The Greenwich Noise Ordinance Hypocrisy

Effective May 24 at 6:00pm, the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, with a few exceptions, became prohibited on residential properties until September 30. This restriction specifically targets gas-powered leaf blowers. Beginning in 2025, individuals found in violation may face fines of $100 for a first offense and $249 for subsequent offenses.

The new ordinance passed at the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), the Town’s legislative body, in January.

If you drive around Greenwich, chances are you have observed first-hand that landscapers and even some residents are continuing to use their gas-powered leaf blowers, whether in defiance of the ordinance or perhaps they are completely unaware of what the RTM has mandated.

To be clear this is not intended to “rat out” or “snitch” on neighbors in the hopes they draw fines.

However, it is important to point out a bit of the hypocrisy when it comes to the equal application of the ordinance, also known as the “rules for thee but not for me” mentality.

On this particular morning, a Greenwich resident who happened to be driving up Glenville Street toward King Street snapped a few photos of landscapers using at least two gas-powered back pack leaf blowers and a larger leaf blower toward the rear of the property. The landscaping truck had New York license plates.

Based on the photos, the address was identified and an online search of the property was performed.

Keep reading

Joe Biden Falls Apart at NAACP Dinner: “I Got Involved in Civil Rights When I Was 15!”

Joe Biden on Sunday evening pandered to black voters at the annual NAACP Freedom Fund dinner in Detroit, Michigan.

Joe “you ain’t black” Biden is losing support among black voters so he spent the last several days traveling to key swing states lying to blacks.

Meanwhile, President Trump has more than doubled his support among black voters.

As usual, Biden’s speech was full of lies and gaffes.

“Because of your vote, it’s the only reason I’m standing here as President of the United States of America,” Biden said.

Biden told the crowd of blacks one of his favorite lies: “I got involved in civil rights when I was 15!”

Keep reading

Hemp Industry Pushes Back Against Marijuana Companies Advocating For Intoxicating Cannabinoid Ban In Farm Bill

Hemp businesses, marijuana companies, state regulators, prohibitionists and congressional lawmakers are all vying to have their cannabis priorities represented in the forthcoming Farm Bill. But while there are shared interests among certain stakeholders, some competing proposals have created tension in unexpected ways.

The hemp industry, for example, is at odds with select marijuana companies that are aligned with prohibitionists—with the strange bedfellows in agreement on proposed restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC.

“Policy challenges related to hemp are complex, and several steps are required to fully address them,” U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) Executive Director Edward Conklin said in a letter to congressional leaders last month. “However, the most important and time-sensitive of those steps is within your control and well within the authority of the Farm Bill: Close the loophole created by the current definition of hemp established by the 2018 Farm Bill and create a regulatory pathway for non-intoxicating products.”

The language recommended by USCC, which represents major cannabis companies, would remove intoxicating cannabinoid products intended for consumption from the definition of federally legal hemp and reclassify them as federally illegal marijuana products.

Likewise, the prohibitionist Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) sent out an alert to supporters last week saying they “strongly recommend that the loophole caused by the 2018 Farm Bill definition of hemp be closed by adding clarifying language to the 2024 Farm Bill definition of hemp to explicitly exclude intoxicating semi-synthetic cannabinoids derived from hemp.”

Keep reading

DEA Appears To Question Marijuana’s Medical Value Despite Rescheduling Recommendation

In the wake of the federal government’s marijuana rescheduling announcement last week that acknowledged the medical benefits of cannabis, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Thursday released a report that appears to question the legitimacy of state medical programs.

“Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level; it has been ‘legalized’ or ‘decriminalized’ at the state level for recreational use in 24 states and the District of Columbia, and for ‘medical’ use in 38 states and the District of Columbia,” the annual National Drug Threat Assessment says, appearing to call those state-level changes and the medical value of cannabis into question by putting scare quotes around key words.

That’s despite the fact that DEA recently agreed to a Department of Health and Human Services recommendation to move cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, acknowledging for the first time that cannabis has an accepted medical use in the U.S.

The comments make up only a small part of the 57-page annual report, which the agency said analyzes “illicit drug threats and trafficking trends endangering the United States.”

The top-level findings, according to a statement from DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, are that the country’s shift toward synthetic substances such as fentanyl and methamphetamine—which she blamed largely on international cartels—has caused unprecedented harm.

“The shift from plant-based drugs, like heroin and cocaine, to synthetic, chemical-based drugs, like fentanyl and methamphetamine, has resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced,” Milgram said. “At the heart of the synthetic drug crisis are the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels and their associates, who DEA is tracking world-wide.”

“The suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and money-launderers all play a role in the web of deliberate and calculated treachery orchestrated by these cartels,” her statement continued. “DEA will continue to use all available resources to target these networks and save American lives.”

In 2022, drug-related deaths killed 107,941 people in the United States, DEA said in its press release about the new assessment. “Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids are responsible for approximately 70% of lives lost,” it says, “while methamphetamine and other synthetic stimulants are responsible for approximately 30% of deaths.”

The agency press release doesn’t mention marijuana, though this year’s National Drug Threat Assessment itself does include some cannabis-related details.

Keep reading

Chris Cuomo Admits Taking “Regular” Doses Of Ivermectin After Previously Saying Those Who Took It Should Be “Shamed”

After once claiming on air that people taking ivermectin should be “shamed”, Chris Cuomo has done an about face on the drug, admitting on the PBD Podcast this week that he is taking a regular dose of it to deal with long Covid. 

In January, Cuomo revealed he’s dealing with “long COVID,” the lasting effects of a previous infection. On the PBD Podcast hosted by Patrick Bet-David, the NewsNation host said he’s using antiviral medication to combat inflammation and “brain fog.”

He said: “I’ll tell you something else that’s gonna get you a lot of hits. I am taking … a regular dose of Ivermectin. Ivermectin was a boogeyman during COVID. That was wrong. We were given bad information about Ivermectin. The real question is, why?”

Why, Chris? Perhaps its because you and Don Lemon were on-air daily providing a constant stream of misinformation about the drug?

He continued: “Everyone’s going to say ‘Joe Rogan was right. No, Joe Rogan was saying – yeah, he was right – that’s not what matters. What matters is, the entire medical community knew that Ivermectin couldn’t hurt you. They knew it … I know they knew it.”

“How do I know? Because now I’m doing nothing but talking to these clinicians, who at the time were overwhelmed by COVID, and they weren’t saying anything!”

But back during the pandemic, Cuomo took to the air to widely discredit ivermectin, despite it appears on the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines and having been dosed for humans millions of times. 

Cuomo said during the pandemic:  “What person – you know you talk about cancel culture and who to shame – Ivermectin? A de-wormer? Really? … they need to be shamed. They need to be called out and shamed, brother.”

Keep reading

Aileen Cannon Responds to Claims She Did Not Disclose ‘Luxury’ Trips

Aileen Cannon, the judge overseeing Donald Trump‘s classified documents case, has said she declared two “luxury” resort trips to Montana that were mentioned in a National Public Radio investigation.

“Cannon, herself a Trump appointee, attended two seminars at a luxury resort in Montana, but the privately funded seminar disclosures for both events were not posted online until NPR began making inquiries,” NPR’s online investigation states.

“Clerk of court Angela Noble told NPR in an email that the absence of the disclosures was due to technical issues and that ‘Any omissions to the website are completely inadvertent,” it adds.

Cannon is overseeing the case, in which former president Donald Trump is accused of illegally retaining classified documents, hoarding them at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and obstructing attempts by federal officials to retrieve them.

Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He has denied any wrongdoing in the case and has said the documents he retained were personal.

Keep reading