TBoneTX

Jeez... 15 years old.

The OP appears to want this thread closed, so it's now closed.

Donald Trump, ABC News, and the toxic legacy of the E. Jean Carroll case The story stunned much of Washington late Saturday afternoon. ABC News had agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by President-elect Donald Trump last March, accusing ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos of defaming Trump during a discussion of the E. Jean Carroll case. ABC and Stephanopoulos agreed to pay $15 million toward a future Trump Presidential Library, plus $1 million toward Trump's attorneys' fees. Trump has filed or threatened to file a lot of lawsuits over alleged defamatory coverage. But he hasn't won one, hasn't even come close to winning one. Now he has. The development particularly shocked Trump's most determined adversaries. He’s not supposed to win a case like this! The media have a right to say virtually anything they want about the former president and current president-elect and not have to worry about Trump having some legal recourse to fight back. That, at least, was their implicit assumption. [...] https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/daily-memo/3261490/donald-trump-abc-news-toxic-legacy-e-jean-carroll-case/

VDH nails the country's mood as only he can. ~~~~~~~~~~~~` Are the Years of Madness Ending? Never in U.S. history has a president-elect been welcomed as the real president before his January 20 inauguration. And never has the incumbent president so willingly surrendered his last two months in office and all but abdicated—to the relief of his nation and the rest of the world. One reason so many are welcoming Trump's return is the universally desperate hope that his election spelled an end to a collective madness at home and its ripples abroad during the last four years. And why not? Nations overseas had never quite witnessed anything like the [...] https://amgreatness.com/2024/12/16/are-the-years-of-madness-ending/

JONATHAN TURLEY: What ABC's apology to Trump reveals about the media landscape [...] So what happened? Well, two things and both are related to the timing of the settlement. [...] https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-what-abcs-apology-trump-reveals-about-media-landscape

Veterinarian's Clever Trick for Transporting Cats Who Hate Carriers Works Like a Charm Cats are so sweet sometimes. If you catch them on a good day, they're just about the cuddliest little babies in history. They adore you, they love to cuddle, and they love life in general. When the carrier comes out, however, so do the claws, and cat parents have spent decades trying to find a way to stay safe when it's time for transport. Recently, one veterinarian was taking her own cat in so she could perform a semi-annual checkup when she shared her tip with us. Her cat hates the carrier, so she found another solution that works just as well: [...] https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/veterinarians-clever-trick-transporting-cats-170000892.html

Scintillating Monday repartee, yawn man. ------- Thrilling Monday report, see man: Skooled Mini-B., then blew back to casa to prep self for Uncle T-B.'s doc caucus, prepped we man. Uncle T-B.'s knee completely arthritic with no cartilage, no surprise man. Replacement inadvisable, forget that man. Pain-management recommended, only option man. Uncle T-B. got shot of meat-tenderizer, relief for 2 or Many days anyway man. After off-dropping Uncle T-B., we embarked on Mama T-B.'s errands, dutiful we man. Mama T-B. then kept us for 2 hours as she tried on Many (2+2) slippers multiple times each, man. She finally decided on 2 pairs but did not sound thrilled, buzzkill man. She then began lecturing us about long-standing topics, not the time or place man. We had eaten nothing and were about to fall over, lightheaded we man. After extricating ourself, we went to Walmart Optical to get lenses ordered, si to See man. The good news is that they can do everything on the Rx, Nikon focus included man. The bad news is that it costs $Many00 -- si man, $Many00 -- man. The good news is that we didn't have to surrender our current frames, everything traced right there man. We were afraid that we'd have to wear an obsolete pair until the new lenses arrived, OK then man. By now, it was well after 2 p.m., nothing eaten by we man man. At the casa, we serviced demanding miu and decided to siesta, always a priority man. Awoke in time to de-skool Mini-B., retrieve we man wee man man. Din-din was bagged salad + hot dogs, ingest Two Guys man. Mini-B. desserted on donated chocolate cake from Mama T-B., dessert wee man. After din-din, some backyard football was participated in, still enough sunlight therefor man. Movie night was the 2 recent Georgie & Mandy episodes, watch Two Guys man. Many (2+1) bowls of Costco popcorn were consumed, ingest Two Guys man. This is a good start toward weekly popcorn quota, agree Two Guys man. Got Mini-B. embedded, resistant wee man to zzz man man. We have 2 doc caucuses on Tuesday, orthopedic and ENT man. We then plan a siesta, great way to celebrate any day man. And that was/is our thrilling Monday, report we man.

Interesting. Comments? (Note: Idi Amin was my favorite dictator.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What Assad can expect from a life in political exile After more than two decades in power and countless lives lost, Bashar al-Assad has fled to Moscow with his family. But when regimes collapse and bloodthirsty dictators end up abroad, what happens next? Just as tyrants themselves differ, so does their time in exile. The former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle was shot to death shortly after fleeing, while Juan Perón managed to retake power in Argentina after spending 18 years in exile. Most rulers end up in-between, living a life of comparative safety and relative irrelevance. [...] https://www.yahoo.com/news/assad-expect-life-political-exile-170000797.html

He'll find a way to clean out the offenders at least, and optimally to apply due retribution.

Crooks will always find a way to scam.

But Camden is where they stick the enema-tube!

At least you have it on record that you tried. If your fiancé is given flak, he should stand up for himself consequent to your efforts. Be sure that he has copies of what you e-mailed.

You'd better e-mail the consulate pronto. Put your fiance's A# in the Subject line and explain what you've told us here. Let us know the outcome.

I like #3 and #8. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Are You Old? Know The Signs As one generation gives way to the next, you may find yourself looking in the mirror and wondering, "Hey, am I old now?" Here are 15 signs that you are, in fact, old: [...] https://babylonbee.com/news/are-you-old-know-the-signs

Wise Men Get Off Course After Accidentally Following Unidentified Drone Over New Jersey TRENTON, NJ — Multiple witnesses reported today that three wise men who identified themselves as Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar had ended up wildly off-course after mistakenly following an unidentified drone in the night sky that led them to New Jersey. According to Caspar, the men had intended to peacefully make their way toward Judea, simply following what they believed to be a moving star, and were entirely shocked to find themselves somewhere on the other side of the Atlantic after several weeks of travel. "We saw a star shining in the East," Balthazar explained. "We [...] https://babylonbee.com/news/wise-men-get-off-course-after-accidentally-following-unidentified-drone-over-new-jersey

Drones Revealed To Be Iranian After Closer Inspection NEWARK, NJ — A pressing mystery that had puzzled government officials and the general public alike was solved today, as the mysterious drones seen buzzing through New Jersey skies were revealed to be Iranian after closer inspection. Despite conspiracy theorists claiming that the unidentified objects hovering along the coast could be extraterrestrial craft, officials obtained high-resolution images of the drones that showed them to be outfitted with turbans, thick beards, machetes, bombs, and "Death to Israel" signs, proving them to be of Iranian origin. [...] https://babylonbee.com/news/drones-revealed-to-be-iranian-after-closer-inspection

Caitlin Clark Explains That White Privilege Feels Weirdly Like Getting Beat Up By Giant Black Lesbians [...] "The fact is, I clearly have experienced white privilege. No one else gets beat up routinely on national television by enormous black lesbians," explained Clark. "That's obviously a privilege that I have, being white. I recognize that this league was built by these gargantuan lesbians, and we must honor all the work they do punching me because of my skin color." [...] https://babylonbee.com/news/caitlin-clark-explains-that-white-privilege-feels-weirdly-like-getting-beat-up-by-giant-black-lesbians

Trump Tells Trudeau He Won't Annex Canada If They Admit Their Bacon Is Just Ham [...] "I'll cut you a deal, Little Fidel," Trump was reportedly overheard saying. "It would be very easy for us to just absorb Canada. The maple syrup is wonderful. Everyone loves it. And all of the trees. So many trees. We could do very well with Canada, better than anyone has ever done, believe me. But I'm willing to hold off on annexing you if you're willing to drop this talk about Canadian 'bacon.' It's not bacon, Fidel. Never has been. It's ridiculous. Nothing like bacon at all. It's fake news." [...] https://babylonbee.com/news/trump-tells-trudeau-he-wont-annex-canada-if-they-admit-their-bacon-is-just-ham

Look at what happened to Jonathan Turley. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ghosted by ChatGPT: How I was first defamed and then deleted by AI [...] Thus far, the ghosting is limited to ChatGPT sites, but the controversy highlights a novel political and legal question in the brave new world of AI. My path toward cyber-erasure began with a bizarre and entirely fabricated account by ChatGPT. As I wrote at the time, ChatGPT falsely reported that there had been a claim of sexual harassment against me (which there never was) based on something that supposedly happened on a 2018 trip with law students to Alaska (which never occurred), while I was on the faculty of Georgetown Law (where I have never taught). In support of its false and defamatory claim, ChatGPT cited a Washington Post article that had never been written and quoted from a statement that had never been issued by the newspaper. The Washington Post investigated the false story and discovered that another AI program, "Microsoft's Bing, which is powered by GPT-4, repeated the false claim about Turley." Although some of those defamed in this manner chose to sue these companies for defamatory AI reports, I did not. I assumed that the company, which has never reached out to me, would correct the problem. And it did, in a manner of speaking — apparently by digitally erasing me, at least to some extent. In some algorithmic universe, the logic is simple that there is no false story if there is no discussion of the individual. [...] https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/5039749-chatgpt-ghosted-turley/

TRUMP WINS Defamation Suit, ABC and Stephanopoulos Have to Fork Over $15 Million Ah, sweet justice. Donald Trump has just won a massive victory against the far-left propaganda factory that masquerades as the news media, and patriots all across the land can hope, for the sake of our freedom and our future, that this is just the first victory of many. Will this herald an end to the left's relentless efforts to mischaracterize, misrepresent, and misreport the words and deeds of patriots, so as to get as many people as possible to turn against them? That's unlikely in the extreme. But it sure helps. Technically it's a settlement, but it's very clear which side came out on top. [...] https://pjmedia.com/robert-spencer/2024/12/14/breaking-trump-wins-defamation-suit-abc-and-stephanopoulos-have-to-fork-over-15-million-n4935137

Thrilling Sunday-on-Monday report, see man: Did not want to leave casa, no man. Left casa for Aldi to exchange Mama T-B.'s potential slippers, easy process man. Lunch was the remaining onebag of Yakitori chicken/rice, ingest we man. Football was watched, watch we man. Two bowls of Costco popcorn* were consumed, ingest we man. *not counting toward Two Guys Week tally, no man The regular Sunday LL was conquered, victorious we man. A siesta was taken, zzz we man. Din-din was Tuna Glop, ingest we man. Ex-Mrs.-T-B. brought Mini-B., start of Two Guys week man. A rousing game of Nerf football was played, play we and wee and ex-she man. Miu highly excited to see Big Bruddah, joyous miu man. Miu occupied Mini-B.'s bed at latter's bedtime, invasive miu man. Mini-B. carefully embedded self, miu still there man. Approx. 2 hours later, miu and Mini-B. are still asleep together, foto evidence procured man. We did not dish the warsher, we man. We shall do it on Monday, oh well man. We must take Uncle T-B. to doctor on Monday, too early man. We must then errand for Mama T-B. and make consequent deliveries, watch our blood pressure man. And that was/is our thrilling Sunday, report we man.

Upon review, this thread will remain locked, and the topic is not to be restarted or its drama transported elsewhere. Severe administrative action has been applied against the OP's account for these violations of the site's Terms of Service: - Make comments in a Post either direct or implied toward another member that are purposely designed to upset, antagonize, make fun of, belittle, harass, insult, or otherwise instigate an argument that takes away from the personal enjoyment of the Service by other users. - Restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Forums. - Use alternative characters to spell profane or scatological words, or post images containing such words, to bypass VisaJourney's language filter. - Post content intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against a broad demographic or group of people identified by a unifying trait or characteristic. The Terms of Service are found here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/terms . Thanks to all participants for your patience and continued willingness to help in the face of such posting behavior. TBoneTX for VJ Moderation

Thread is locked for Moderation review.

Hemingway: Drone Saga Is Just The Sad End of Biden's Profoundly Failed Presidency Mollie Hemingway on Friday's edition of 'Special Report' commented on the lack of transparency from the Biden administration on the ongoing drone problem in New Jersey. [...] https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/12/13/hemingway_drone_saga_is_just_the_sad_end_of_bidens_profoundly_failed_presidency.html

Some updated info here. This article is a good reminder. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Why It's Probably Better To Throw Plastic in the Trash Millions of Americans dutifully fill their recycling bins each week, motivated by the knowledge that they're doing something good for the environment. But the sad fact is that much of what is tossed in the recycling bin is eventually heaped into landfills. John Stossel brought attention to the issue in a video segment shared on X Thursday morning, to which Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk replied, "Recycling is pointless." While this bombshell might be jarring – especially if you're someone who dutifully cleans their recyclables before caringly placing them in bins – Thomas Kinnaman, an environmental economist from Bucknell University, says it's actually not as bad as you think. [...] https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/12/14/why_its_probably_better_to_throw_plastic_in_the_trash_152089.html