Tag: politicians

Newsom Hires $200k/Year Celebrity Photographer For Glamor Shots

As 20% of California suffers in poverty amid soaring power bills, soaring homelessness, businesses fleeing the state, and sky-high taxes, one might expect the state’s leadership to focus on solutions. Instead, Governor Gavin Newsom has taken a rather unconventional approach: hiring a celebrity photographer, Charles Ommanney, with a $200,000 annual salary to enhance his public image.

Yes, you read that right. In a state where many struggle to make ends meet, Newsom has brought on board a photographer known for capturing the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Ommanney’s task? To ensure that the governor is photographed in his most flattering light, whether it’s wearing aviator sunglasses while picking up trash from a homeless encampment or surveying wildfire damage in designer workwear.

This new role, which was quietly created and filled without the usual fanfare, is particularly egregious amid the backdrop of California’s economic struggles. With Ommanney now a full-time member of the governor’s team, his photos aren’t just about documenting events—they’re about crafting a carefully curated image of Newsom as a hands-on leader, Politico reports.

And while residents suffer, their governor is ramping up his meticulously polished persona, perhaps with an eye on the national stage. Earlier this year, instead of delivering the traditional State of the State address, Newsom’s office produced a glossy video, complete with dramatic visuals—some of which were shot by Ommanney—highlighting national issues over local crises.

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A Standing Ovation for Genocide

There’s no mention of their duty to the people in the oath of office that members of Congress take. It says they will support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Maybe, in some regard defending the Constitution would mean doing their job: representing the people that elected them. But today, the architect of the genocide against the Palestinian people walked in and out of the “people’s house” to a standing ovation. He was given more time with our lawmakers than any of us will ever get in our lifetime and he used it to insist he was a good man that was commanding a moral army – insisting they have not killed anyone who did not deserve to have their life ended in the blink of an eye.

There are one thousand indications that our government has no obligation to us. This moment was just one – but it was one I will never let slip my mind. These people are no different than the settlers that gather in lawn chairs, eat popcorn, and cheer when the Israeli military drops bombs on apartment complexes in Gaza. For as long as they’ve been in office, they’ve had a front row seat to the carnage and all they do is gawk and cheer from the sidelines. Every once in a while, someone they are supposed to work for pesters them about their complacency and we are swatted away like flies.

The majority opinion in the United States is against continued support for Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza. Stories come out every week that push the needle further. Last week, the story of Muhammad Bhar surfaced and was circulated around the world. Muhammad was my age, 24, and had Down Syndrome. The Israeli military raided his home and let their dog attack him, tearing his arm to shreds. They separated him from his family, and left him in a room all by himself. They ordered his family to leave the house and left Muhammad to die – alone, bleeding, and scared. His family found Muhammad starting to decompose in the room the soldiers left him in. He still had a tourniquet on his arm from when they tried to stop the bleeding. And they just left him there, like he was nothing.

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Left-wing Chicago mayor spent $30,000 on makeup in one year: report

Progressive Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has spent $30,000 on personal grooming, primarily for makeup and hair appointments in just one year. The money used to finance these expenditures were contributions made by supporters to the Friends of Brandon Johnson campaign fund. 

The bulk of the money was paid to Denise Milloy, a makeup artist and “skincare enthusiast” based on the south side of Chicago, with an additional $4,000 spent on hair appointments. Johnson made over 30 payments to Milloy between 2023 and 2024, per the Daily Mail.  

During his campaign, these payments were categorized as “candidate makeup for TV” and “candidate makeup,” while post-election expenses were labeled more generally as “campaign expenses.” 

Bill Neidhardt, a campaign advisor for Johnson, issued a written statement to the Chicago Sun Times, emphasizing that taxpayer dollars were not used for the mayor’s grooming expenses 

“The mayor does not spend taxpayer dollars in preparation for the many public appearances and events he attends every day,” Neidhardt stated. 

In the past, Johnson’s campaign applauded the supporters that had donated to the Friends of Brandon Johnson campaign fund, publicly stating that the fund primarily came from “working-class people.” 

Neidhardt did not comment on whether the payments covered anyone other than the mayor but highlighted that Johnson’s spending supports black and women-owned businesses. 

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Parade of Pharisees: It’s Time to Separate Piety And Politics

Piety with a side of eggs

One of the most brazen if not most shameless “free exercise thereof” examples is the annual National Prayer Breakfast. Politicians gather to silently pray that the Lord will smite all their enemies — or at least get them indicted on multiple charges. And the common theme of comments at the event is that the political class is doing God’s work.

The prayer breakfast long ago turned into the type of “market” that Jesus castigated thousands of years ago. The prayer breakfast became notorious as “an international influence-peddling bazaar, where foreign dignitaries, religious leaders, diplomats and lobbyists jockey for access to the highest reaches of American power,” the New York Times reported. Maria Butina, who the media labeled as a Russian spy because she failed to register as a Russian agent, used the breakfast as a way “to establish a back channel of communication” with America’s top political leaders, according to a 2018 federal indictment. Franklin Graham described the prevailing motive at prayer breakfasts in 2018: “I can tell you right now, everybody in that room has the same agenda. They’re wanting to be able to rub elbows with somebody that they normally couldn’t rub elbows with.”

Controversy over the foreign spying spurred a newly formed organization to take over the prayer breakfast gig. It issued a revised mission statement: “The vision of the National Prayer Breakfast Foundation is to promote and share the idea of gathering together in the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth,” with participants “united in believing that by looking to the life of Jesus, people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs can join together, encourage and promote forgiveness and reconciliation.”

Politicians joyfully join together to con the rubes — to keep average Americans paying and obeying Uncle Sam. The national Prayer Breakfast is a keystone of civic religion in the nation’s capital. That religion is devoted to worshiping the government and pretending that federal agencies can perform miracles, regardless of their past records.

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Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious ‘little black book’ containing the names of 349 of dead pedophile’s associates is put up for auction

Jeffrey Epstein‘s notorious ‘little black book’ that included hundreds of the dead pedophile’s contacts has been put up for auction. 

The billionaire’s address book is set to go under the hammer for as much as $200,000, after previously being bought by an investigator on eBay for just $425. 

The investigator has now decided to sell it on after feeling uneasy about owning such an ‘evil book.’ It is being auctioned by Alexander Historical Auctions, after two other houses passed on the offer. 

Epstein’s book reportedly includes 221 names, addresses and phone numbers not found in an earlier published version first revealed in 2015 by Gawker, according to the New York Post. 

The mini notebook was examined by a forensic examiner that dated it to 1997, after it was found earlier in the 90s by musician Denise Ondayko, who claimed to have picked it up off the street while strolling down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. 

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Gay Spanish Politician With Left-Wing Governing Party Resigns After Photos Circulate Showing Him Eating His Own Feces

A gay Spanish municipal councillor has resigned from his position after photos were publicized of him eating his own excrement as part of a scat fetish.

Daniel Gómez del Barrio served on the council for Illescas, a small town of around 30,000 people just south of the country’s capital. He represented PSOE, the main left-wing party in Spain, whose leader is currently the Prime Minister.

In mid February, photos and videos of Gómez were shared that he had posted on social media accounts and pornographic websites. In one video, the councillor, who is in his late twenties, is seemingly naked on the floor and eating his own feces.

A report from French news source FDS claimed that the politician was offering himself up for sexual use, and described himself as wanting to be “exposed, humiliated, degraded.” He also described his desire to “eat c*cks, be a whore, and be used as a urinal,” with El Diairo also claiming he referred to himself as a “sexual slave.”

According to ABC Spain, Gómez reported the leaking of the photographs and videos to the police, who began investigating the matter. He attended the February council meeting “with total normality,” where the leaks were only a “residual issue,” a source told ABC Spain. However, on March 22, more photographs of the councillor began to spread around the town during the traditional Palm Sunday celebrations, and “nothing else was talked about” by the residents of the small community.

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Senators Condemn Russia Over American Citizen’s ‘Ludicrous’ Incarceration For Medical Marijuana

A coalition of more than 20 U.S. senators has filed a resolution condemning the arrests of American citizens in Russia, including a Pennsylvania medical cannabis patient, Marc Fogel, who is serving a a 14-year sentence over simple possession of marijuana.

Sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), the measure was filed to mark the one-year anniversary of the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich over unfounded allegations of espionage.

“By introducing this resolution, we’re yet again bringing to light the cruelty of the Russian government,” Durbin, who also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a press release on Tuesday. “As fellow Americans, we demand the release of all American citizens who face arbitrary arrests by the Russian government.”

The senator said in a floor speech on Thursday that Fogel’s arrest over possession of medical cannabis he was prescribed in a legal state resulted in a “ludicrous 14-year sentence in Russian labor camps.”

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who is among the prime cosponsors, said Fogel was “detained for carrying a small amount of medical marijuana, which was prescribed by his doctor.”

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Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Former Bodyguard Claims Music Mogul Had Tapes of “Politicians” and “Princes”

The former bodyguard of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ claims the music mogul had blackmail tapes of politicians, princes and other prominent individuals who were involved in his sex parties.

Combs, who has been hit with a barrage of physical abuse, rape and sexual trafficking allegations, had his homes in Miami and Los Angeles raided by the Department of Homeland Security last month, during which federal agents seized computers and other electronic devices.

Gene Deal, who was present the night when Notorious B.I.G. was fatally shot in 1997, made the sensational comments during an interview with ‘The Art of Dialogue’ YouTube channel.

“I don’t think it’s only celebrities gonna be shook. He had politicians in there, he had princes in there. He also had a couple of preachers in there,” said Deal.

“Can you imagine, he had every room bugged,” he added.

When asked why Combs’ media department had stayed silent on the allegations against him, Deal responded, “Either they took part in some of the stuff that happened, or they’re scared that it may mess up their brand.”

Fox News host Jesse Watters speculated that the tapes, if they exist, are now in the hands of the feds and “that’s a lot of blackmail.”

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Joe Biden’s Political Origin Story Is Almost Certainly Bogus. It May Land Him In Legal Trouble.

For nearly two decades, President Joe Biden has told a story about why he devoted his life to politics. He repeated the tale, at the risk of facing criminal charges for lying to a federal agent, while speaking to Special Counsel Robert Hur in October 2023.

Fresh out of law school and working as a clerk at a high-powered Wilmington, Delaware, law firm, Biden, in his telling, was tapped to defend a construction company sued by a 23-year-old welder who “lost part of his penis and one of his testicles” to a fire that broke out when he was working inside a chimney at a Delaware City plant. Thanks to Biden’s shrewd legal defense on the construction company’s behalf, the injured man lost the case.

“I wrote this memo. And son of a b—, it prevailed,” Biden told Hur on Oct. 8. “And I looked over at that kid…and I thought, ‘son of a b—, I’m in the wrong business, I’m not made for this.’”

Biden said he was so wracked with guilt that he concocted an excuse to avoid a celebratory lunch with one of the firm’s named partners and walked into the public defender’s office to ask for a job that very day. It’s “the only time I ever lied,” Biden told Hur on Oct. 8. Thus began, according to a New York Times report on the special counsel interview, “a career that would one day take him to the White House.”

But this story is almost certainly a complete work of fiction.

Although Biden did work at a law firm tapped to defend a construction company in a negligence suit like the one he described to Hur, the case concluded in 1968, while Biden was still in law school. And the welder won, walking away with $315,000, more than $2.8 million in 2024 dollars.

Biden, whose 1988 presidential campaign collapsed amid allegations that he had plagiarized speeches and a law school paper, has a long record of embellishments and yarn spinning. Over the years, he has told several stories about himself that don’t stand up to scrutiny. Those fibs range from the small and peculiar—he claimed in November 2023 that he was offered a spot on the Naval Academy’s football team—to the mendacious, such as his insistence that he never spoke with his son, Hunter Biden, about the latter’s foreign business dealings.

This report is based on a review of court records obtained from the National Archives as well as contemporaneous news reports and interviews with Biden’s former law firm colleagues and federal court clerks.

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Supreme Court Rules Public Officials May Block Their Constituents on Social Media

Public officials may block people on social media in certain situations, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on March 15.

At the same time, the court held that public officials who post about topics pertaining to their work on their personal social media accounts are acting on behalf of the government. But such officials can be found liable for violating the First Amendment only when they have been properly authorized by the government to communicate on its behalf.

The case is important because nowadays public officials routinely reach out to voters through social media on the same pages where they discuss personal matters unrelated to government business.

“When a government official posts about job-related topics on social media, it can be difficult to tell whether the speech is official or private,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the nation’s highest court.

The case is separate from but brings to mind a lawsuit that several individuals previously filed against former President Donald Trump after he blocked them from accessing his social media account on Twitter, which was later renamed X. The Supreme Court dismissed that case, Biden v. Knight First Amendment Institute, in April 2021 as moot because President Trump had already left office.

At the time of the ruling, the then-Twitter had banned President Trump. When Elon Musk took over the company he reversed that policy.

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