On Monday in Manhattan criminal court, a prosecutor and a defense attorney are set to offer their opening statements in Trump’s trial for allegedly falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment, and then the district attorney’s office will begin presenting witnesses and evidence to make its case for convicting the 45th president of the United States.
- On Tuesday, the judge will take a quick break from witnesses to hold a hearing on whether Trump — the presumptive Republican nominee for president — should be found in contempt of court for allegedly violating his gag order.
In a different New York courtroom, a court will weigh the state attorney general’s challenge to Trump’s $175 million bond on Monday. That’s important because the bond in question allows him to pursue an appeal and delay paying a nearly half a billion dollar civil judgment for misstating Trump company assets.
Thursday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about Trump’s claim that he cannot be prosecuted for allegedly trying to block the results of the 2020 presidential election. Whatever the outcome for Trump personally, the case may force the highest court in the land to draw new, clearer lines about the limits of presidential power...
In courts that aren't run by Republicans in robes, the Malignant Loser/ Rip van Stinkle/ The Godfarter is facing accountability for his criminality. In the process, he's dealing with stress that he's likely never felt before, as the situations he faces are largely out of his control. He's all damaged, narcissistic id and this is torture for him. Good.
... The planet is experiencing a horrifying streak of record-breaking heat, with March marking the 10th month in a row that the average global temperature has been the highest ever recorded.
It would be shocking if it wasn't so predictable. Despite everything we know about the effects of burning fossil fuels, humanity is still going in the wrong direction with self-destructive abandon. Last year greenhouse gas pollution climbed to a new high, a 1.1% increase over the prior year.
If 10 months of record heat isn't enough to jolt world leaders into crisis mode, it's hard to say what will.
It should be a flashing, red warning light that we are entering dangerous new territory and need to change course. We have the renewable energy technology, but it's being adopted at a pace that's too slow to protect people, animals and plants from unacceptable levels of suffering. [snip]
One of the most important things Americans can do right now is to exercise their political power at the ballot box, by demanding that leaders at all levels of government deliver serious climate action or stay out of office.
The stakes are especially high this year. A former president who has arguably the worst climate record in U.S. history, having rolled back more than 100 environmental protections, is polling neck and neck with a president who has done more to fight climate change than anyone before him, even if it's still not enough.
Still, the choice should be clear if we want to stop setting records, month after month and year after year.
On this election year Earth Day, let's dedicate ourselves once again to vote down those Christofascist MAGAt Republicans -- starting with the Malignant Loser -- who are the Earth's despoilers and an existential threat not just to America, but to the planet on which we live.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, called some of his fellow lawmakers “scumbags” on Sunday as GOP infighting has reached new heights in the House.
Gonzales, appearing on CNN’s "State of the Union," was asked whether he believes House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will survive an effort to remove him from his leadership post. The House was effectively frozen for weeks last year after a handful of Republican rebels voted alongside Democrats to remove then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has threatened to try to do the same to Johnson.
Gonzales had some sharp words to say about his colleagues: most notably, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
"It's my absolute honor to be in Congress, but I serve with some real scumbags," Gonzales said, alleging that Matt Gaetz sexually assaulted minors "at drug parties."
In 2021, the Justice Department opened an investigation into Gaetz over alleged cash payments made in exchange for sex, including to an underage girl.
The department in 2023 dropped charges against Gaetz after prosecutors said there were credibility issues with two key witnesses. He is still under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. [snip]
The Texas lawmaker also criticized Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., for supporting his Republican opponent, Brandon Herrera, a gun rights activist. Gonzales alleged that Herrera is a "known neo-Nazi" and referred to the Ku Klux Klan.
It was not immediately clear what Gonzales was referencing. Jewish insider reported earlier this month that Herrera has posted videos online featuring Nazi imagery. His campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider...
It's ugly, but he's right. They are scumbags, and there are many, many, many more scumbags in his Christofascist MAGAt Republican Party/ cult who fall into the same category, too many to mention (but starting with the cult leader himself, of course).
