I’m visiting with family. Here’s what you can be reading —
Dahlia Lithwick, How Alex Acosta Got Away With It for So Long
In point of fact, the system did work perfectly. To protect a child predator, that is. What you are witnessing here is Acosta seeking refuge in a country that allows jurisdictions to both point fingers at one another and reverse-engineer their own fact-finding to highlight only the smallest quantum of evidence. As was the case with the federal “investigations” into claims about White House chief of staff Rob Porter’s brutal and persistent battery of his partners, and Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual misconduct toward women, investigations are only as effective as the investigator’s willingness to look. Alex Acosta did not look very hard. Instead, Alex Acosta chose to sign a non-prosecution agreement around what he opted to see, which is what he wanted to see, which was close to nothing.
Michelle Celarier, Real Hedge-Fund Managers Have Some Thoughts on What Epstein Was Actually Doing
When a reporter came to interview Kass about Bernie Madoff shortly before that firm blew up in the biggest Ponzi scheme ever, Kass told her, “There’s another guy who reminds me of Madoff that no one trades with.” That man was Jeffrey Epstein.
“How did he get the money?” Kass kept asking.
For decades, Epstein has been credulously described as a big-time hedge-fund manager and a billionaire, even though there’s not a lot of evidence that he is either.
Paul Waldman, The Trump administration has been a personnel disaster
We all know why Acosta resigned: He had become an embarrassment to the president. I doubt Trump had any idea whether the labor secretary was doing a good job or not, though of late, Acosta had been under siege from acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who apparently felt Acosta was insufficiently vigorous in crushing the rights of working people and advancing corporate interests.
I just saw film of a visit VP Pence made in Texas. America is officially a scumbag country. If I could, I would move to Canada.
Bonnie…I saw that video also. What you didn't see was the smell. I hear it was overwhelming. By the look on the faces of Graham, Lee, and Pence you could tell they were working overtime trying to process what they were smelling. I can't blame them. It's not easy trying to comprehend the smell of well over 100 stressed males confined to a small space who haven't showered for days.
The video reminded me of a WWII photograph of Heinrich Himmler viewing the prisoners of a concentration camp.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7pTr6vRZc9M/V-c2aupgP9I/AAAAAAAALNg/HgERJNtPC64Rcofkkg4ooXwber5j8tkSwCLcB/s1600/himmler_soviet_prisoner_1941.jpg
Oh, and not to mention that I've seen in several photographs where the toilet facilities are a bank of porta- pottys. The thing with porta-pottys is that they are vented by a pvc pipe to just outside the porta-potty itself ( they are designed for outdoor use). But the pictures I've seen show that they are vented into an enclosed building. Meaning that they only afford a degree of privacy, but add to the overall stench of Trump's holding pens.
Being from Florida and in the construction industry we call porta-pottys solar shit cookers. They can get so nasty that I've often said.. I'd shit in my pants before I'd shit in one of them.
The conditions in the picture of the concentration camp are better than the ones at the facility Pence visited. Someone at another website pointed out that a kennel would be shut down for conditions like that.
I love how in the video Miss Lindsey makes a bee-line to the VP's side so he can be in the camera shot. Good or Bad it's all about camera time with these slugs. VP's, senators, why they are no different than your run of the mill D-list celebrity. D-list celebutards with Private Prison camps!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG0fS4DoGUc
We all know why Acosta resigned: He had become an embarrassment to the president.
I suspect his reason for resigning goes a lot deeper. Why would anybody grant non prosecution immunity to an unknown "potential" criminal/ conspirator? That just doesn't make sense. It's one thing to cover for the creep that you know of, but to cover for someone that you don't even know if they exist? That kinda leads me to believe there's more to it than what meets the eye. Unless you do know of others that haven't been named.
Who knows, especially with this President running things. Is it a coincidence that the federal prosecutor, the guy who lets the President's billionaire pedophile buddy off the hook gets a job in government running the department in charge of policing child trafficking? Lordy I hope there are tapes!
Michelle Goldberg's article's headline in the NYT read Acosta Resigned. The Caligula administration lives on. Ah, the impact of that stunning association with decadence and debauchery that preceded the demise of the great empire that was Rome. Then you had slaves to peel your grapes for you, and now the ruling decadent have layers of wage slaves to even bend reality and cover high crimes and misdemeanors for you. Could it be a sign that the empire is in decay?
I am sure it is a sign that we have a privileged class with faction run completely amok. Will it lead to the downfall of the empire, the dream, the era? I tend to agree with the NYT commenter identified gw San Francisco who wrote:
The ball is really in our court. Backhands, Overhands, Smashes, or Finesse Shot we need to win this match and end this horrid debacle. This show is all just reruns of dumb and dumber and sleazy and sleazier. It is time to get it canceled. Cut off it's money pump and it wage slave enablers and will quickly die.
Then you had slaves to peel your grapes for you
Is that a metaphor,or are you speaking literally?
Literally, metaphorically, or both if you like now that you mention it.
Since Nixon, the "American Dream" has been morphing into a nightmare.
"The Empire" isn't just decayed.
It is rotten to its fetid festering fucking core!
Conservatives have divided us to the point where America is in a "Cold Civil War." And the "South" is winning.
The D House passes good laws, and Mitch never lets the Senate have a vote.
Our Founding Fathers created a government based on checks and balances – and on good faith.
The Republicans exclaim their "Christian" "faith," while acting as agents of Satan. There is no good faith left in politics
Stick a fork in us, America isn't just done.
It's fried to a fucking crisp.
Maybe we can change that in 2020.
But I no longer have any faith in our system.
'The monsters aren't just on Maple Street. They control much of Washington, DC.'
'We have met the enemy and it is almost half of us.'
HAIL tRUMP and tRUMPism!!!!!
We are fucked.
Mel Brooks foresaw:
"Rustlers, cut-throats, murderes, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con-men, Indian agents, muggers, buggerers, bushwackers, horn swoglers, bank robberes, horse thieves, bulldykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass kickers, shit kickers and Methodists!*"
The Donald J. "Hedley Lamarr" tRUMP (mal)administration!
*The only thing missing, is "Mexican bandits."
Mexican bandits
That link on what hedge fund managers have figured out about Epstein is the best explanation of the mess that I have read anywhere. The tweet thread embedded in that story absolutely nails it. I am reposting it anywhere that I can.
This is such a great website. You are staying on my personal blogroll forever.
What puzzles me most about this whole sordid Epstein business is that Barr recused himself and then the next day reversed his recusal. Not much has been reported about this that I can find, to me that's a big fucking deal?
Barr awkwardly reversed his very public recusal for a reason, it wasn't just part of the usual bullshit Trump churn. Me thinks he's going to burn some evidence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7cZeGhltck
After deciding not to recuse himself, the DOJ issued this: "The attorney general, though, will remain recused from any "retrospective review" of the 2008 case". So any evidence that has been obtained since 2008, say maybe some pictures and video tapes found in Epstein's safe last week, well yes Bill Barr has authority on how that evidence is presented or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18cW_yHo3PY
Acosta might have gotten away clean if it wasn't for his one big mistake…His mistake was that he rubbed up against Trump…Seems anybody who rubs up against Trump has their life turned into shit. Not that the "Hispanic" Acosta was some sort of a reputable guy before he crossed paths with Trump, but he didn't have near the level of revulsion directed at him that he currently does thanks to Trump.
I loved the way Trump publicly discarded Acosta. Trump showed some real style in making Acosta eat a shit sandwich on national TV. He lathered him up with praise before inviting him to fall on his sword. Trump acted like he didn't see it coming, and it was selfless devotion to country on Acosta's part.
So yesterday Trump tells (in a tweet of course) four American congress-critters (United States Citizens) to go back to the countries from where they came! At first glance this seems like Trump the presidential internet troll, concern trolling to exploit a minor riff in the democratic party? Me thinks he is scared shitless about this Epstein thing, he knows Jeffery has the goods, he wants the story off the headlines. Of course our corporate media will oblige.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hRvuSTxFCU