TBoneTX

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