Random Politics & Religion #14

I don't there is something magical about seeing grown men and women weep over an election. Like it doesn't seem real. It's sorta like being drunk. A vague sense of self.

You have no idea what rapping and music producing talent sounds like my friend, in spite of how annoying a character he might be.

So basically you believe no politician puts America first?

Russia’s deputy foreign minister said Thursday that officials from his government were in contact with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, contradicting pledges from the president-elect that he had not interacted with the Kremlin despite numerous statements praising Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Obviously, we know most of the people from his entourage,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the state-run Interfax news agency in an interview reported on by The Washington Post. “Those people have always been in the limelight in the United States and have occupied high-ranking positions. I cannot say that all of them but quite a few have been staying in touch with Russian representatives.”

Trump was regularly criticized for lavishing praise on Putin and taking pro-Russian positions that, until recently, would be unthinkable for a U.S. president. Those include Trump’s questioning America’s involvement in NATO and officially recognizing Crimea, which Putin forcibly annexed away from Ukraine in 2014, as Russian territory.

The president-elect also appeared unaware that Russia had invaded Ukraine during an interview over the summer, when he told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that Putin is “not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down and you can put it down.” That statement prompted Stephanopoulos to follow up, “well, he’s already there, isn’t he?” Trump later worked to clean up the gaffe with a post to Twitter.

Trump has also disputed the assessment of the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement community that the Russian government was behind hacking attacks against American political targets, a position most in his own party accept. And Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, resigned this summer when the New York Times reported that secret ledgers found in Ukraine showed millions of dollars earmarked for him from the pro-Russian political party of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

The Manhattan billionaire has repeatedly denied any connection to the Russian government, claims that appear to be contradicted by Ryabkov.

"We have just begun to consider ways of building dialogue with the future Donald Trump administration and channels we will be using for those purposes," he said.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond when asked for comment.

Carter did.

President-elect Donald Trump will be spending the days running up to his inauguration in an unprecedented fashion. Along with choosing his cabinet and scheduling the busiest first day in office ever, the reality television star will also be defending himself in several courts of law.

The real-estate developer turned politician is familiar with the courtroom. As reported by USA Today in June, Trump has been a party to some 4,000 lawsuits over the last 30 years—a uniquely large number of actions framed by detractors as a telling indicator of a life of crooked dealing, and by supporters as simply the cost of running an enormously successful business in America.

Whatever one’s position on the election, it’s clear that Trump’s ongoing court battles—somewhere around 75, according to the USA Today analysis—are the first of their kind for any president, and because even the highest office in the land is not above the law, will accompany Trump as he moves into the White House.

At issue in Trump’s most well-known and problematic legal battles—the subject of three separate lawsuits in fact—is Trump University, the eponymous real-estate seminar program that former students say was nothing more than a scam selling Trump-made promises of financial success that never materialized and stripped the poor, the naive, and the elderly of life’s savings instead.

The federal class action cases were filed in 2010 and 2013, before Trump made good on his decades of teasing a presidential run. They are both being heard in California, by Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who was dragged into the campaign over the summer when Trump told an interviewer that the case was stacked against him because Curiel was “a Mexican,” and explained, “we’re building a wall between here and Mexico.” (Judge Curiel was born in Indiana.)

The fraud case filed in 2010, Low v. Trump University, goes to trial in less than three weeks. The second, Cohen v. Trump, alleges Trump’s “school” was really a criminal organization and violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Lawyers are currently fighting over evidence in that case and a trial date hasn’t been set.

The New York fraud case—which was also brought back in 2013 and alleges Trump’s unlicensed university scammed New Yorkers out of a collective $40 million—is still a go, according to Amy Spitalnick of the New York State Attorney General’s Office. A judge decided in March that the case would go to trial, but Trump has appealed the ruling.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman responded at the time in a statement that read in part, “This meritless appeal is yet another example of how Donald Trump will do everything in his power to avoid standing trial for allegedly defrauding hundreds of financially struggling New Yorkers at Trump University… We look forward to holding Donald Trump accountable for this brazen scam when he finally faces trial.”

The next relevant date is Dec. 5, when the people’s opening brief is due.

But allegations of fraud are really just the beginning for President Trump.

Most of the 75 open lawsuits are likely going nowhere. More than a dozen of the 20 ongoing federal cases where Trump is a defendant are actual nonsense, filed against the future president along with co-defendants Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and even Walt Disney, on behalf of seemingly mentally-ill plaintiffs. (Anyone can file a lawsuit.) The complaints in the wildest cases include allegations of kidnapping by the president-elect and his son—members of the supposed Illuminati.

Others may turn out to be much more legitimate. Members of Trump’s golf course in Jupiter, Florida, are currently suing the flaxen-haired businessman for $2.4 million for taking fees and dues while allegedly blocking admission to the actual club. A former employee of the same club brought a lawsuit last month, alleging she was unlawfully fired after reporting sexual harassment by a coworker.

A hearing is scheduled in Chicago on Nov. 29, in another case alleging Trump’s campaign violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by sending unsolicited text messages urging the plaintiff to “Help Make America Great Again!”

And there’s more. In New York State, two open cases are making their way through the courts. Republican consultant Cheryl Jacobus filed a $4 million libel lawsuit after Trump “destroyed her career,” namely by calling her “a dummy” on Twitter. And a status conference is scheduled for next week in the case of Efrain Galicia, who in 2015 sued the then-candidate when one of Trump’s security guards assaulted him during a protest outside of Trump Tower. (There’s a video of the incident.)

This is not an exhaustive list and there may be other suits winding their way through the legal system in the coming months. But Trump’s camp doesn’t seem alarmed.

NOT ABOVE THE LAW
75 Lawsuits Against President-Elect Trump
An astounding number of court battles—from Trump University suits to libel cases—will accompany Trump even as he moves into the White House.
Daily Beast, so many will ignore this.

Did you come here with any real dialogue or are you done?

The liberals still desperately trying to stop Trump lol. Damn they some hateful folks.

Not a meme but it's hella "meta"

About these people protesting, let's not pretend it's simply some immature visceral reaction to not getting their way. It's about what came out of his mouth and the fact he is now president elect.
This is the outcry you get when you open Pandora's box of bigotry and hatred for the sake of votes.

Also to touch on Chanti's post, Eisenhower was last great Republican president this country had its shame about all the ones that followed. Especially that VP of his.