swordfish

That was news on Saturday (They didn't have the cash) - Here is yesterday's update..... https://www.reuters.com/world/us/alex-jones-affiliated-company-challenges-onions-infowars-purchase-2024-11-18/ NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A losing bidder connected to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones challenged on Monday the Onion's purchase of Jones' Infowars website, saying the parody news site won a rigged bankruptcy auction and offered half as much cash as its bid. First American United Companies, which is affiliated with Jones' dietary supplements businesses, asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston to disqualify the bid by the Onion and name its own $3.5-million bid as the winner. Jones was forced to auction his assets, including Infowars, in bankruptcy, after courts ordered him to pay $1.5 billion for defaming the families of 20 students and six staff members killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, by making false claims that the shooting was staged. First American United Companies said in a court filing that a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee mishandled the auction by giving the Onion credit for backing by the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, whose lawsuits drove Jones into bankruptcy in 2022. "Its effect is to depress and lower the amount the Onion would need to bid in cash to ensure that it was the winning bid," First American United Companies said in its objection. "This was not simply collaboration, this was outright collusive bid rigging." The Onion's winning bid for Infowars included $1.75 million in cash, according to the objection. Christopher Murray, the bankruptcy trustee charged with selling Jones' assets, said in a court response on Monday that First United American Companies' objection was "a disappointed bidder's improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process." Murray said his team would not be bullied into accepting an "inferior bid." The Onion's bid was valued at $7 million, in large part because a majority of the Sandy Hook families agreed to accept a percentage of future revenues from the new Infowars instead of taking an up-front payment from the sale, according to Murray. The Onion did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A representative for some of the Sandy Hook families declined to comment. The Onion announced on Thursday it won a bankruptcy auction for Infowars' assets, and pledged to replace the website's "relentless barrage of disinformation" with the Onion's "noticeably less hateful disinformation." Lopez, who is overseeing the bankruptcy, said at a court hearing on Thursday that he had concerns about the auction's transparency. The judge said he will schedule a further hearing to gather more information and consider whether to approve the sale. Infowars was briefly shut down after the sale was announced, but was back online within a day. Murray had said at Thursday's hearing that he shut down the business to ensure that its assets were not damaged or taken before the property could be transferred to the Onion. If the sale is approved, the Onion would acquire Infowars' intellectual property, including its website, customer lists and inventory, certain social media accounts and production equipment. The Connecticut-based families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims said they agreed to forgo some payment from the defamation judgments to boost the Onion's bid and prevent other right-wing content creators from continuing to promote conspiracy theories on Infowars. Other families who have sued Jones in Texas - some of whom have not yet gone to trial - did not agree to forgo payment from the Onion's bid. Jones claimed for years that the massacre was a hoax staged with actors as part of a government plot to seize Americans' guns. He has since acknowledged the shooting occurred, but the families, who said Jones cashed in for years off his lies, sued him for defamation. Courts in Connecticut and Texas have ruled that Jones intentionally defamed the families. Lopez previously ruled that those judgments could not be legally discharged in bankruptcy, meaning that Jones remains on the hook for most of the judgments even after Infowars is sold.

Is the idiot controlling the White House really trying to start WW3 by allowing Ukraine to launch long range missiles into Russia with outside help before Trump takes over? Will Putin bite on this?

SF feels thankful for listening to my father and others who warned about the inevitability that SS was going to be gone by the time I aged into it (2028). If there is anything left for me to receive, so be it, but I still plan on retiring and living comfortably at 65 in 2030 unless I think I need something to keep me out of the house and Mrs. SF happy.....

It appears to be under judicial review for some reason. SF has never been a fan or steady reader of either website, but still pretty confused how a guy running a website can be liable for defamation and over a billion dollars for broadcasting an opinion - right or wrong. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/15/alex-jones-infowars-auction-the-onion-00190003 The Onion’s winning bid for Alex Jones’ Infowars platform is under review by a federal bankruptcy judge after Jones and his lawyers complained about how an auction was conducted. The satirical news outlet was announced as the winning bidder on Thursday in an auction that is part of Jones’ personal bankruptcy. Hours later, Infowars headquarters in Austin, Texas and its websites were shut down and Jones was broadcasting from a new studio he had set up before the bankruptcy auction. By Friday morning, Infowars and its websites were back up and running for reasons that were not entirely clear. At a hastily called court hearing in Houston on Thursday, Judge Christopher Lopez ordered another hearing to be held next week. He wants to know what happened with the auction and how the bankruptcy trustee chose The Onion over the only other bidder — a company affiliated with a Jones product-selling website. A court hearing is typically held after a bankruptcy auction to finalize the winning bids and sales, and to hear any objections, so the process in Jones’ case hasn’t strayed far from the usual — yet.

It's time the country gets serious about the Southern border. Unfortunately, not much is going to change until term limits can begin to break the stalemate attitude in both houses of Congress. These"policies" brought in by each differing administrations do little unless laws are actually enforced. However, given the past 3 2/3 years of the open border policy that started on day 1 of the Biden administration, and has resulted in almost 20 million undocumented migrants entering the US, the country is ready for a change in border policy that restricts unfettered entry into the country and reinstates a "remain in Mexico" system of vetting the true asylum seekers. Congress wouldn't approve a $6 Billion request from Trump to build the wall, but is willing to send funds all over the world to help other countries defend their borders.

True - but perhaps prepare for the exposure of some of the crazy spending that the Federal Government is doing without "We the People" knowing.....Maybe "We the People" will be able to rise up make our Congressional elected more accountable. (Term Limits, please) "All actions of the Department of Government Efficiency will be posted online for maximum transparency," Musk said on X, inviting the public to provide tips. "We will also have a leaderboard for most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining," Musk said. Musk said at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in October that the federal budget could be reduced by "at least" $2 trillion. Discretionary spending, including defense spending, is estimated to total $1.9 trillion out of $6.75 trillion in total federal outlays for fiscal 2024, according to the Congressional Budget Office. "Your money is being wasted and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that. We're going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook," Musk said at the rally.

The President Elect introduces 2 of the world's best and most successful entrepreneurs to head a new Department of Government Efficiency tasked with this exact thing with a deadline to get it done. Will they be able to succeed?

So the left is now making it sound like President Elect Trump is "reinstating" or "changing" the Senate rules to get his cabinet appointments done. Below is the number of recess appointments made by Clinton, Bush and Obama in case anyone is wondering. DJT is just ensuring that IF or potentially when the Democrats decide to make it difficult to approve one or more of his picks, he can get his cabinet completed. https://www.vox.com/politics/384356/trump-recess-appointments-explained-senate-confirmation-thune-scott-cornyn-cabinet President-elect Donald Trump is pushing for the next Senate majority leader to allow recess appointments, which would allow him to install some officials without Senate confirmation. Typically, the Senate must approve presidential nominations for high-level posts, including cabinet positions, ambassadorships, and inspector general jobs, in a process outlined in the US Constitution. This procedure is meant to be a check on presidential power — a way of ensuring officials directly elected by citizens can guard against the appointment of unqualified or corrupt personnel. The Constitution, however, also allows for “recess appointments,” a provision that aims to prevent prolonged government vacancies by allowing the president to install officials without Senate approval while Congress is not in session. Using such recess appointments, Trump would be able to appoint whoever he’d like without giving the Senate the opportunity to question or object to the pick. Critics of the practice note that it increases the risk of unqualified, corrupt, or ideological appointees filling government posts. It also significantly expands presidential power. Though recess appointments have been used in the past by presidents of both parties, in recent years, the Senate has avoided going to extended recesses, blocking presidents from making any appointments in senators’ absence. Reinstating recess appointments “would essentially negate one of the Senate’s main roles in governance, which is to vet presidential nominations for high-level positions,” Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri, told Vox. “It would, if the Repblicans in the Senate were willing to go along with it, represent sort of an abdication; they would be simply giving up the power that’s afforded them.” Trump injected his demand into the fierce race to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as the leader of the Senate, which will be under GOP control next session thanks to the results of last week’s election. Trump largely stayed out of that contest while on the campaign trail, but he waded into it on Sunday, writing on X, “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!)” The three candidates for the position — Sens. John Thune (South Dakota), John Cornyn (Texas), and Rick Scott (Florida) — quickly expressed support for Trump’s demand. Scott, the underdog in the race who is also the closest Trump ally of the three, was the most explicit in his endorsement of the plan, writing “100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible,” on X. https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R42329.html Under the Constitution, the President and the Senate share the power to make appointments to high-level politically appointed positions in the federal government. The Constitution also empowers the President unilaterally to make a temporary appointment to such a position if it is vacant and the Senate is in recess. Such an appointment, termed a recess appointment, expires at the end of the following session of the Senate. This report identifies recess appointments by President Barack Obama. The report discusses these appointments in the context of recess appointment authorities and practices generally, and it provides related statistics. Congressional actions to prevent recess appointments are also discussed. President Obama made 32 recess appointments, all to full-time positions. During his presidency, President William J. Clinton made 139 recess appointments, 95 to full-time positions and 44 to part-time positions. President George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments, 99 to full-time positions and 72 to part-time positions. Six of President Obama’s recess appointments were made during recesses between Congresses or between sessions of Congress (intersession recess appointments). The remaining 26 were made during recesses within sessions of Congress (intrasession recess appointments). In each of the 32 instances in which President Obama made a recess appointment, the individual also was nominated to the position to which he or she was appointed. In all of these cases, a related nomination to the position preceded the recess appointment. In 20 of the 32 cases, the Senate later confirmed the nominee to the position to which he or she had been recess appointed. The nominations of the 12 remaining recess appointees were either returned to, or withdrawn by, the President. Beginning in the 110th Congress, the Senate periodically used pro forma sessions to prevent the occurrence of a recess of more than three days. There appears to have been an expectation that this scheduling would block the President from making recess appointments, based on an argument that an absence of the Senate of three days or less would not constitute a “recess” long enough to permit the use of this authority. In January 2012, President Obama made four recess appointments during a three-day recess between pro forma sessions of the Senate on January 3 and January 6, 2012, a period that was generally considered too short to permit recess appointments. The recess during which the President made the appointments was part of a period of Senate absence that, absent the pro forma sessions, would have constituted an intrasession adjournment of 10 days or longer. In an opinion regarding the lawfulness of these appointments, the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice argued that “the President may determine that pro forma sessions at which no business is to be conducted do not interrupt a Senate recess for the purposes of the Recess Appointments Clause.” The U.S. Supreme Court later concluded otherwise in a case regarding three of the four appointments. It held that, for purposes of the Clause, “the Senate is in session when it says it is, provided that, under its own rules, it retains the capacity to transact Senate business.” The three recess appointments at issue were found to be constitutionally invalid.

Another FEMA debacle. SF saw firsthand this same partisanship during the response to Katrina. There are mostly great workers at FEMA, but all the workers at FEMA are human and as such can behave as simple humans without the proper professional supervision and accountability. Which is why strong leaders of these government entities are very important. See my October 1, 2024 post in Random Topics where I heard the whistles blowing early on...... https://nypost.com/2024/11/12/us-news/gop-vows-to-investigate-fema-over-skipping-trump-supporters/ Republicans vow to investigate FEMA over claims ‘unhinged’ bosses told staff to skip Trump supporters in disaster areas

He tried it their way last time......He's a different President this time..... https://apnews.com/article/trump-hegseth-defense-secretary-pentagon-2d8030921ecef933778cf92afd40ec72 WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary, tapping someone largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military. The news was met with bewilderment and worry among many in Washington as Trump passed on a number of established national security heavy-hitters and chose an Army National Guard captain well known in conservative circles as a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend.” While some Republican lawmakers had a muted response to the announcement, others called his combat experience an asset or said he was “tremendously capable.” Hegseth’s choice could bring sweeping changes to the military. He has made it clear on his show and in interviews that, like Trump, he is opposed to “woke” programs that promote equity and inclusion. He also has questioned the role of women in combat and advocated pardoning service members charged with war crimes. https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/us-news/special-coounsel-jack-smith-plans-to-retire-before-trump-takes-office/ Probably a good idea - Retire before your incoming boss fires you "within 2 seconds"........

A sad Nancy Pelosi at Kamala's concession speech.......Let's all have a moment of silence for the old girl..... Not the same attitude as back in the day, huh......

Interesting turn of events..... https://www.foxnews.com/politics/justice-department-looking-wind-down-trump-criminal-cases-ahead-inauguration The Justice Department is looking to wind down two federal criminal cases against President-elect Trump as he prepares to be sworn in to a second term in the White House – a decision that upholds long-standing policy that prevents Justice Department attorneys from prosecuting a sitting president. In making this argument, Justice Department officials cited a memo from the Office of Legal Counsel filed in 2000, which upholds a Watergate-era argument that asserts it is a violation of the separation of powers doctrine for the Justice Department to investigate a sitting president. It further notes that such proceedings would "unduly interfere in a direct or formal sense with the conduct of the Presidency." "In light of the effect that an indictment would have on the operations of the executive branch, ‘an impeachment proceeding is the only appropriate way to deal with a President while in office,’" the memo said in conclusion. Former Attorney General Bill Barr also backed this contention Wednesday in an interview with Fox News Digital, noting that after Trump takes office in January, prosecutors will be unable to continue the cases during his term. Barr told Fox News Digital that a Trump-appointed attorney general could immediately halt all federal cases brought by current Special Counsel Jack Smith in Washington, D.C., and Florida. The charges in D.C. stem from Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. In Florida, they are centered on Trump's handling of classified documents after leaving the White House in 2020. And though Trump would be powerless to halt two state cases filed in Georgia and New York, Barr said local prosecutors and judges need to move on from the "spectacle" of prosecuting the president-elect. "Further maneuvering on these cases in the weeks ahead would serve no legitimate purpose and only distract the country and the incoming administration from the task at hand," Barr said. He also noted that voters were well aware of the criminal allegations against Trump when they voted to re-elect him for a second term. "The American people have rendered their verdict on President Trump, and decisively chosen him to lead the country for the next four years," Barr said. "They did that with full knowledge of the claims against him by prosecutors around the country and I think Attorney General Garland and the state prosecutors should respect the people’s decision and dismiss the cases against President Trump now."

If both houses of Congress turn Republican then they better fall in line behind this man and support his agenda. The first Trump administration was able to accomplish a lot before Congress was overtaken by the opposition, and I suspect President Elect Trump will be getting even heavier headwinds this time around. My industry was able to work with his administration well and thrived. But since record inflation, and the current President vowing to "slow the economy down" with high interest rates to combat the effects of his free money give-aways, my industry is in the toilet and FYI - the RV industry is a reliable harbinger of how the greater economy is headed in about 9 months to 1 1/2 years, so being in a free-fall for the past 12 months does not bode well for the greater economy.

On some of this - SF can agree. The Executive Branch indeed does have too much power. But more so both houses of congress is implicated. Trump's plan to remove some of the regulatory institutions that actually have power to make their own enforceable policies "laws" that are crippling business and enterprise clear down to the mom and pops is bold and if able to be implemented will help, but we all know (or at least should know) term limits in both houses of congress will be the only way to get the power back into the hands of us citizens........

As SF reflects on casting my ballot this morning, I was re-living the events of 4 years ago where we were told to believe that Joe Biden had received more (legal) votes than any other President in the history of the United States. The most votes of any previous President. Today - The most popular President in the history of our country, according to the numbers of the last election, is kicked off the ballot by his party and replaced with his Vice President. SF is left wondering how it even happened that the "Most popular President in history of our country EVER" was suddenly so unpopular that his own party kicked him out....... Looking at the record number of people waiting in line to vote this morning at my polling place (church) by the house where it normally takes about 15 minutes in and out (over 45 minutes this morning - in the rain) and knowing most of the people in my community, SF thinks the silent majority has been awakened.......Maybe this election will be too big to rig.

The winner of the Halloween costume contest this year!

Teri Garr - RIP https://nypost.com/2024/10/29/entertainment/teri-garr-dead-young-frankenstein-tootsie-actress-dies-at-79/

SF is remembering the MSM defending this comedian back in 2017......"Free Speech" and all.....

How much is A.R. getting paid to be on the field? ON THE FIELD OF PLAY? You don't get to "Tap Out" without a good reason. "Winded" or "needed a breather" is not acceptable. Admittedly, the entire team lost that game, not just A.R. There were so many catchable passes dropped that all the blame should not be on A.R. but the second he "tapped out" he should have been benched immediately and let Flacco finish the game.

So Former President Trump had a little shin-dig at MSG yesterday......Spelled out his policy positions (again - that haven't changed, but haven't yet been truly reported) with 29 different speakers like Speaker Mike Johnson, Tulsi Gabbard, RFK Jr., Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson but the only thing the MSM has been able to report on is how vulgar a comedian was......Newsflash - He's a Comedian! Get over it......Even the Latinos laughed..... With a record crowd of over 20,000 inside and another 10,000 outside, SF thinks we are witnessing the true rising of the silent majority making this election "too big to rig"......Either that or the Cackle Queen is more popular than I anticipated...... We will see next week....

With the Harris campaign's final gasps of survival calling Trump "Hitler" - This ad could almost be considered the last nail in the coffin.