U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

'Blood on hands': Kyrsten Sinema slammed for planning to slash pilot training while taking cash from airlines

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth took a swipe at Kyrsten Sinema over a proposal to reduce the the number of required in-flight training hours for pilots, saying the Independent Arizona lawmaker will have "blood on her hands" if the proposal is implemented, The Intercept reported.

The amendment in question, supported by the Arizona independent Sen. Sinema and South Dakota GOP Sen. John Thune, seeks to allow pilots to use time in a flight simulator to meet training requirements rather than actual flight time.

“Now is not the time to put corporate profits ahead of the lives of our constituents who may want to board a commercial flight in the future,” Duckworth said. “A vote to reduce a 1,500-hour rule for pilot training will mean blood on your hands when an inevitable accident occurs as a result of an inadequately trained flight crew.”

According to The Intercept, Sinema is backing the change - opposed by pilot and flight attendant unions – while she "received an influx of cash over the last year from the airline industry."

“Any change to the rule must have sign off from the pilots or we don’t trust it,” Association of Flight Attendants-CWA president Sara Nelson said. “It’s that simple.”

Campaign finance data gathered by OpenSecrets show Sinema raised over $150,000 from the airline industry over the past two election cycles. Donors include the largest air carrier trade group Airlines for America and regional carriers like Alaska Airlines.

Read More Here: https://theintercept.com/2023/06/23/kyrsten-sinema-pilot-training-airline-industry/



'Boo all you want': Chris Christie defiantly slams Trump in front of MAGA audience

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday remained defiant after he received boos at the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference for criticizing former President Donald Trump.

During his address, Christie told the Trump-friendly crowd that he was running for president because Trump "let us down."

"He's let us down because he's been unwilling to take responsibility for any of the mistakes that were made, any of the faults that he has, and any of the things that he's done," Christie said. "And that is not leadership, everybody. That is a failure of leadership."

At this point, many in the crowd grew restless and started to boo Christie.

"You can boo all you want!" a defiant Christie shot back. "But here's the thing: Our faith teaches us that people have to take responsibility for what they do, people have to stand up and take accountability for what they do!"

Christie went on to claim that Trump at one point wanted him to be his White House chief of staff but "now what he does is call me names and belittle me."

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1672274680193875968

[Rick Plant]

President Biden @POTUS

Welcome to the White House, Mr. Prime Minister.


https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1671869402575192065


The U.S.-India partnership is stronger and more expansive than ever.

At the root of that partnership is a deep connection between our people — ties of family, friendship, and shared values.

Together, the United States and India – the world's oldest and largest democracies – are a combined force for global good.
 
It's my pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Modi to the White House to strengthen our partnership for decades to come.



This morning, joined by thousands of Indian-American attendees from across the United States, we welcomed Prime Minister Modi to the People’s House.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1672063863519363077


Together, the United States and India will shape the future as we work towards a world that is open, prosperous, secure, and resilient.



During our meeting, Prime Minister Modi and I discussed our shared efforts to mitigate the humanitarian tragedy unleashed by Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine –

And to defend the core principles of the UN Charter: sovereignty and territorial integrity.

With this visit, we are demonstrating once more how India and the United States are collaborating on nearly every human endeavor and delivering progress across the board.

Our bottom line is simple: We want people everywhere to have the opportunity to live in dignity.



Tune in as I hold a joint press conference with Prime Minister Modi of India.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1OdKrzWWoQvKX



President Biden and Prime Minister Modi of India Deliver Remarks and Take Questions from the Press

[Rick Plant]

Lauren Boebert sued for defamation in federal court by activist

Colorado lawsuit, filed by David Wheeler of American Muckrakers, cites state’s anti-SLAPP statute



A North Carolina political activist filed a defamation lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt in federal court Thursday.

Plaintiffs David Wheeler, who last year publicized information about Boebert in an effort to derail her reelection bid, and the super PAC American Muckrakers claim that Boebert defamed Wheeler by falsely accusing him of defaming her.

Boebert and “John Does,” to be named later, are identified as defendants.

The complaint, filed against the Republican in U.S. District Court of Colorado, alleges that Boebert made “maliciously false statements” about Wheeler and American Muckrakers, of which he is president, on multiple occasions last summer, particularly during broadcasts of TV and radio host Sean Hannity’s shows.

Wheeler in March told Newsline he was considering whether to identify Boebert-aligned media entities, such as Fox News and Hannity, as defendants. Hannity is discussed extensively in Wheeler’s complaint and is alleged to have provided a platform for and amplified false assertions made by Boebert.

Fox personality Tomi Lahren is also singled out in the complaint as having provided a platform for Boebert to allegedly defame Wheeler.

Newsline requested a comment from Boebert’s office but had not received a reply at the time of publication.

Wheeler previously brought a similar lawsuit against Boebert in a North Carolina state court last year, but the judge dismissed the case, saying that the proper venue for it was in Colorado.

American Muckrakers last year exposed unflattering information about former Republican U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and is credited with helping to turn voters against the representative, who lost his primary bid.

The group then targeted Boebert. Wheeler and Muckrakers, citing sources close to Boebert, published information about Boebert that appeared to run counter to her political stance against abortion, among other allegations. The most notable release of information came in a June 14 press release that attracted national media attention.

The group’s claims about Boebert in some cases lacked corroborating evidence or were shown to be false. But Wheeler stands by his main allegations against Boebert, and the lawsuit notably asserts that “Boebert was aware that she had” worked as a paid escort, had two abortions, and used illegal drugs, even as she accused Wheeler and Muckrakers of publishing “false statements knowing they were completely fabricated,” characterized the statements as “defamation,” and said she was “moving forward with a lawsuit.”

Boebert never followed through with her threat to sue Wheeler and Muckrakers.

A key difference between the Colorado and North Carolina lawsuits is that the case filed Thursday invokes Colorado’s anti-SLAPP law. Enacted in 2019, the statute, concerning strategic lawsuits against public participation, protects Coloradans who exercise free speech rights from meritless lawsuits. Wheeler claims Boebert’s threats of litigation are subject to sanction under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP law, and he wants the suit to help develop case law around the statute.

“This case is filed in part to extend existing precedent establishing the meaning of Colorado’s law so that it provides the protection intended by our legislators in enacting the statute for the protection of citizens’ rights as plaintiffs as well as defendants,” the suit says.

Wheeler and his attorney, Dan Ernst, who is based in Denver and specializes in defamation, have communicated through letters and email with legal counsel and other representatives for Fox News and Hannity, according to copies of the communication obtained by Newsline from a source familiar with the matter.

According to the communication, Wheeler and Ernst indicated that their dispute with Fox News could be resolved if the company retracted allegedly defamatory statements about Wheeler and allowed him to appear on Hannity’s show “to correct the record,” as Ernst put it in a letter to Steven P. Mandell, outside counsel to Fox and Hannity. Mandell in a March 19 letter to Wheeler flatly rejected the proposal and wrote that “there is no merit to any of your claims.”

Wheeler in a March 20 email addressed to Fox’s top brass, including founder Rupert Murdoch and Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch, as well as Hannity, Wheeler repeated the proposal in colorful terms: “What do you say about a good ol’ western shoot-out between Boebert and me on Sean’s show as a friendly way to resolve this and avoid lawyers, and courts?”

Mandell again rebuffed Wheeler’s request to appear on Hannity’s show in an April 5 letter to Ernst.

Wheeler’s lawsuit comes less than two months after Fox agreed to pay Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million in a defamation case. He is asking the court to award him an unspecified amount in damages.

https://coloradonewsline.com/2023/06/08/lauren-boebert-sued-for-defamation-in-federal-court-by-activist/



Juan Williams to Karl Rove: 'You're whining because Joe Biden did a good job in Ukraine'



Fox News contributors Juan William and Karl Rove clashed over whether President Joe Biden could take any credit after Russian President Vladimir Putin faced a military insurrection over the weekend.

"Well, I tell you, Joe Biden looked pretty good this weekend, didn't he?" Williams said during a panel discussion on Fox News Sunday. "I mean, boy, he's led the allies. He warned early about Putin invading Ukraine."

"Who looks like a weak leader right now?" he added. "America's enemy, Vladimir Putin."

"He's been — he went to Camp David, which was probably a wise move because it kept him out of the scene," Rove shot back. "He's been largely out of it."

"You sound like you're whining because Joe Biden did a good job in Ukraine," Williams replied.

"Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't claim any credit for the resolution of what's happened in the last few days," Rove said.

"Oh, let me get this straight," Williams joked. "You know, former president Trump: 'Putin's my friend, I would have handled it.'"

"Joe Biden needs to be acknowledged when he has success," Williams concluded.

Watch:

[Richard Smith]

Nearly half of Dems are concerned that Old Joe is mentally unfit!  HA HA HA.  This is the guy who just two years ago got more votes than any candidate in US history. But half of his own party believe he has dementia?  Nothing suspicious there.  It does make you wonder who all those voters were.


"In a testy confrontation on Sunday’s Meet the Press, Todd asked the senator about recent NBC polling showing that 43 percent of Democrats are concerned President Joe Biden “does not have the necessary physical and mental health” to serve."

[Rick Plant]

Brand new polling shows President Biden leading in the 2024 election.

RMG:

Biden 46 (+8)
DeSantis 38

NBC News:

Biden 49 (+4)
Trump 45

A recent poll by NBC News reveals that President Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump by 4 points 49-45.

Here are the key findings:

President Biden holds a lead among women (55-38), 18-34 year olds (65-30), Latinos (66-26), and Independents (47-33).

These numbers haven't budged since 2020 which is fantastic news for President Biden showing Americans in key demographics are satisfied with his presidency and enthusiastic about his 2024 reelection.   

https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/first-read/trumps-gop-lead-grows-latest-indictment-poll-finds-rcna90420



Unions go all in for Biden 2024 with early endorsements



The Biden campaign said Friday it secured 2024 endorsements from the AFL-CIO and 17 other unions, hoping to shore up President Biden as a champion of organized labor before a political speech Saturday at a union hall in Philadelphia.

Campaign officials said the AFL-CIO, which represents 60 unions and 12.5 million workers, is making its earliest endorsement of any presidential campaign cycle.

“President Biden has been an unwavering champion of the labor movement his entire career, and today, AFL-CIO and 17 unions across the country endorsed him and Vice President [Kamala] Harris in an unprecedented show of solidarity and strength for our campaign,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said.

Mr. . Biden frequently touts his blue-collar bona fides as a son of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and is a vocal supporter of unions.

“Joe Biden ran for president four years ago because he knows the way to grow the economy is to grow the middle class, and that starts with strong unions and labor representation,” Ms. Chavez said.

President Biden is expected to campaign on his pledge to protect workers who want to organize in the workplace, whether it is in coffee shops or colleges and the manufacturing sector. His campaign says the pivot to green energy is also a chance for organized labor to flex its muscle and provide reliable jobs.

During his weekend speech, Mr. Biden is likely to highlight his legislative wins such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill that provided billions of dollars to upgrade roads and bridges and build new transportation projects.

The president is “rebuilding America, brick by brick, through good jobs and opportunity for all,” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond said Friday. “That’s the future we want for our kids and that’s why the labor movement is going all-in to deliver another four years to President Biden.”

Mr. Biden also secured endorsements from AFSCME, a union for state, county and municipal workers; the UNITE HERE Culinary Union; and Electrical Workers (IBEW) International, among others.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jun/16/unions-go-all-biden-2024-early-endorsements/

[Rick Plant]

President Biden @POTUS

When I signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, we took on the NRA and won.



https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1672998091195121665


Each year, hidden junk fees cost Americans tens of billions of dollars, weighing down family budgets and making it harder for people to pay their bills.

My Administration is taking action to eliminate these fees. For families, that’s more money back in your pocket.



https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1673088689054834690



The White House @WhiteHouse

The Biden-Harris Administration is here to help hardworking Americans save money on junk fees and enjoy their summer.



https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1671910918828032002



The President’s Initiative on Junk Fees and Related Pricing Practices
The Biden-Harris Administration is taking action on junk fees that hurt Americans’ pocketbooks and the economy.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2022/10/26/the-presidents-initiative-on-junk-fees-and-related-pricing-practices/



Biden targets junk fees in wake of Ticketmaster's Taylor Swift fiasco



President Biden met with executives on Thursday from a slew of private-sector companies, including ticketing platforms SeatGeek and Ticketmaster and online rental marketplace Airbnb, announcing several companies will take actions to tackle hidden fees and offer more transparent pricing.

"This is a win for consumers, in my view," Biden said in a press conference.

Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), has committed to rolling out product features that make it easier for consumers to search for and receive all-in upfront pricing, which includes the service charge and any other fees.

The company plans to offer these features by September.

SeatGeek plans to offer similar search tools over the course of the summer, while Airbnb introduced a new total price display feature in December that allows US consumers to see all fees before taxes.

The Biden administration has pushed for more transparency around junk fees for nearly a year.

During his State of the Union address in February, Biden said: "Junk fees may not matter for the very wealthy but they matter to most other folks in homes like the one I grew up in."

"They add up to hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder for you to pay your bills," he said.

"Thursday's voluntary actions demonstrate that companies both big and small recognize the importance of providing consumers with honest, up-front all-in pricing, rather than tricking them with surprise fees at the end of checkout," the White House said in a statement. "It is also just a first step towards addressing junk fees in the economy."

Lael Brainard, who serves as director of the National Economic Council, added in a follow-up statement, "President Biden has been working to lower costs for hardworking families by bringing down inflation, capping insulin prices for seniors, and eliminating hidden junk fees. More companies are heeding the President’s call so that Americans know what they’re paying for up front and can save money as a result.”

Thursday's meeting comes in the wake of last year's Taylor Swift fiasco that served a black mark for Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation, and led to heightened regulatory scrutiny of the company and its practices.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-targets-junk-fees-in-wake-of-ticketmasters-taylor-swift-fiasco-185234243.html



President Biden Delivers Remarks on Junk Fees

President Biden delivers remarks on protecting consumers from hidden junk fees and putting more money back in the pockets of everyday Americans.

[Richard Smith]

Even the majority of Dems indicate that Old Joe is mentally and physically unable to be president.  And yet they still vote for him.  Imagine being filled with so much hate for Trump that you would vote for someone that you believe has advanced dementia.  The results speak for themselves.  Disaster after disaster has unfolded.  Almost all of which were self-inflicted by the clown show policies of Biden.