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If true, there can be no peace with Hamas and their allies in Gaza. Hamas has announced that seven more hostages have been killed in the retaking of Jewish land.
Israel must give Hamas 24 hours to release all hostages. Civilians and Soldiers. After 24 hours call in the families of those prisoners and tell them that Gaza will be destroyed. Leave no building standing.
Then issue a warning to the West Bank and Hezbollah that they are next.
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Just in case you missed it. Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Trump’s $355 million fine.
SusanShelley
Let me tell you about the time Ruth Bader Ginsburg saved Donald Trump $355 million plus interest. It was Feb. 20, 2019, and Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the court in the case of Timbs v. Indiana.
In that case, police in Indiana had seized Tyson Timbs’ Land Rover SUV, which he bought for $42,000 with money he received from a life insurance policy when his dad died. The state sought civil forfeiture of the vehicle because Timbs had pleaded guilty to drug dealing and conspiracy to commit theft. However, the fine for the crime was only $10,000 and the vehicle was worth four times that. Taking the vehicle was an excessive fine, the judge ruled, and excessive fines are prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Court of Appeals agreed.
But then the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the ruling on the grounds that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines applies only to the federal government, and it does not bind the states.
Yes it does, the U.S. Supreme Court said unanimously. Justices Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas wrote separate concurring opinions stating that they would have arrived at the decision through different reasoning. But the conclusion was the same.
“There can be no serious doubt that the Fourteenth Amendment requires the States to respect the freedom from excessive fines enshrined in the Eighth Amendment,” wrote Gorsuch.
“The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines applies in full to the States,” wrote Thomas.
“The Excessive Fines Clause traces its venerable lineage back to at least 1215,” wrote Ginsburg, “Magna Carta required that economic sanctions ‘be proportioned to the wrong’ and ‘not be so large as to deprive [an offender] of his livelihood.’”
Timbs v. Indiana was a landmark decision. It was the first time the Supreme Court had held that the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines clause applied to the states. Just nine years earlier, in McDonald v. Chicago, the Supreme Court had acknowledged in a footnote, “We never have decided whether … the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of excessive fines applies to the States,” pointing to the 1989 case of Browning-Ferris Industries of Vt., Inc. v. Kelco Disposal, Inc., in which the court declined to decide the issue.
McDonald v. Chicago was itself a landmark decision. In that case, the Supreme Court said for the first time that the Second Amendment applies to the states as well as to the federal government.
“When ratified in 1791, the Bill of Rights applied only to the Federal Government,” Justice Ginsburg wrote.
How that eventually changed is a little-known part of U.S. history that is about to protect former President Trump from the state of New York.
The Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution after the Civil War, in 1868. It read, in part, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
However, this did not immediately make the Bill of Rights applicable to the states. That change began more than 50 years later, in 1925. In the case of Gitlow v. New York, the Supreme Court floated the idea that freedom of speech and of the press are assumed to be “among the fundamental personal rights and ‘liberties’ protected by the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment from impairment by the states.”
Gradually over the next century, the court would pick and choose provisions of the Bill of Rights, declare them to be “fundamental” or “deeply rooted” in our history, tradition and “scheme of ordered liberty,” and make them binding on the states. (The history of this process can be read in Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion for the court in McDonald v. Chicago.)
The Eighth Amendment reads, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
The “cruel and unusual punishments” clause was declared applicable to the states in 1962, in Robinson v. California. The “excessive bail” provision has applied to the states since the 1971 case of Schilb v. Kuebel. And the “excessive fines” prohibition has been binding on the states since the 2019 Timbs case.
New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron fined the former president and 2024 frontrunner an astronomical $355 million plus $100 million (and counting) in interest. Engoron also prohibited the Trump Organization from taking loans from financial institutions that do business in New York for three years, and he banned Trump personally from working as a director or officer of any corporation or entity in New York for the same period. Engoron even refused Trump’s request for a 30-day extension of the due date to pay the fine, which New York requires before he can appeal the judgment.
This was a civil fraud trial, without a jury, in which the judge found Trump guilty of giving his assets a too-high valuation to get good loan terms, even though the bank adjusted those values downward before approving a loan that was paid back fully and on time, with interest.
“For good reason, the protection against excessive fines has been a constant shield throughout Anglo-American history: Exorbitant tolls undermine other constitutional liberties,” wrote Ginsburg. “Excessive fines can be used, for example, to retaliate against or chill the speech of political enemies.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James campaigned on a promise to sue Donald Trump, calling him an “illegitimate president.” She said she’ll ask the court to seize Trump’s buildings if he can’t come up with hundreds of millions of dollars in cash in time to pay the fine.
We’ll see. It may be easier to go up against Trump than to argue with Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, with lawyers Christopher Kise and Alina Habba, attends the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (Shannon Stapleton/Pool Photo via AP)
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First Trump now a meatpacker. Who’s next on the AG’S List? Not happy with phony charges against a former President, James is now going after our food supply.
“The lawsuit filed in a New York state court in Manhattan seeks a $5,000 civil fine per violation of state business laws, and to recoup ill-gotten gains from false sustainability claims.” – Reuters reported.
“Families [are] willing to spend more of their hard-earned money on products from brands that are better for the environment,” James said in a statement. “JBS USA’s greenwashing exploits the pocketbooks of everyday Americans and the promise of a healthy planet for future generations.”
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Trumps going to Texas, Joe asks if he can go to. Last week Donald Trump announced that he was going to Texas. Not to be left out, Joey asked his handlers if he could go to. They said yes, but not anywhere near the hot zones. Not Eagle Pass, but Joe’s going to Brownsville.
Monday almost 5,000 undocumented crossed the border in Texas. Brownsville recorded 12. The Texas governor should send about a hundred busloads to Brownsville so they can maybe pick up their ballots for the 2024 election.
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NY State Legislature rejects new state maps. They wish to return to Gerrymandering. The Democrat controlled good old boys network are up to their same dirty tricks. They lost four seats last election. So, they want them back and more. Let’s review.
The people voted for a bipartisan Independent Election Comission to draw up the state maps. Well the Democrats rejected it and drew up maps if used would only leave two Republican House seats. The Court thre that out and had an Independent Court Master draw up the maps. The maps reflected the state and Republicans won four Seats.
Now the Legislature rejected those maps and the new maps drawn up. The New maps took away two Republican districts and made them more Democrat. Republicans said OK and acccepted them.
Democrats said no we want to draw up our own maps so more Republican districts would turn blue. Stay tuned.
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Throw out the NY Bail. Eighth Amendment Protects President Trump. The Supreme Court in 2019 ruled 9-0 that the eight amendment protects Americans from exsessive fines. Ginsburg wrote the decesion in overturning the Indiana Supreme court.
The court held unanimously that the excessive fines clause of the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment applies to the states. The ruling is potentially a major win for property owners and individual citizens facing excessive fines, fees, and forfeitures—to say nothing of Tyson Timbs, the man who fought the seizure of his SUV all the way to the Supreme Court.
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Who is Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews? A Black Progressive Supremacist? Fires and Demotes White Journalists. Even Liberal ones. Below is a New York Post article giving you her complete picture.
The new president of CBS News has been accused of using her clout to promote minorities while unfairly sidelining white journalists — a “woke” and “divisive” practice that sparked multiple employee complaints and a major internal probe in 2021, The Post has learned.
Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews — a 30-year veteran of the third-place network who took the helm in August after her boss Neeraj Khemlani left in a storm of controversy — also had been top deputy to ex-president David Rhodes, who exited CBS News in January 2019 following a slew of high-profile scandals.
Those included sex-harassment allegations against Charlie Rose and allegations that “60 Minutes” boss Jeff Fager presided over a discriminatory culture. Rhodes’ boss, CBS CEO Les Moonves, was ousted over accusations of sexual misconduct which he denied.
Now, some insiders are chafing over the promotion of Ciprian-Matthews, a Dominican-born exec, who is now the top-ranked woman of color at CBS News.
Current and former employees reveal that two and a half years ago, she was the target of a six-month human-resources investigation by CBS parent Paramount Global into accusations of discriminatory hiring and management practices.
Among the explosive claims were that Ciprian-Matthews supported the promotion of an African-American correspondent after she personally witnessed him verbally abusing a female colleague.
Elsewhere, she was accused of cooking up phony excuses to replace a white reporter with an African-American for a plum assignment covering the aftermath of the Capitol riots.
In yet another instance, a white job candidate claimed Ciprian-Matthews told her it would be easier to hire her if she were a “different color” as she passed her over.
Ciprian-Matthews declined to comment on the allegations through a spokeswoman.
The HR probe conducted by Jennifer Gordon, an executive vice president of employee relations at Paramount Global, was allegedly cut short, according to sources.
The investigator failed to interview key witnesses before she concluded merely that Ciprian-Matthews was a “bad manager” with limited resources, a source close to the situation told The Post.
Ciprian-Matthews’ elevation to president has left some employees scratching their heads and speculating that it’s a case of corporate overlords — among them Paramount Global boss Bob Bakish and CBS CEO George Cheeks — who are reluctant to clamp down on a female executive of color. The result, according to critics, has been a “toxic” newsroom whose management has turned a blind eye to misconduct.
“At the very highest level of Paramount Global, there’s pressure to bring in diverse talent,” a source close to CBS said. “I think Ingrid wants to be able to say she’s diversified the network, but at the end of the day, you’re enabling people who abuse others while simultaneously advancing those abusive people.”
Another source with knowledge of the 2021 HR probe griped that “nobody wants to contend with this issue” and put it more bluntly: “It’s bad business to drive out young talent who are making next to nothing. That’s why CBS is a third-rate network.”
Bakish and Cheeks declined to comment through a spokesperson.
“Ingrid’s record and decades of experience as a highly respected and admired news executive are well known and speak for themselves,” Ciprian-Matthews’ boss Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News, Stations and CBS Media Ventures, said in a statement to The Post.
“Any claims of discriminatory behavior are simply false,” McMahon added. “Like so many others at CBS News, I not only enjoy working with Ingrid but I am inspired by her care for her colleagues and the culture of CBS News.”
The Post spoke to nearly a dozen current and former CBS journalists — many of whom say they left CBS News in the last five years for bigger jobs at major news outlets after they felt Ciprian-Matthews’ alleged discrimination denied them opportunities.
Pamela Browne— an award-winning investigative producer with stints at Fox News, ABC News and NBC News— said she was interviewed by Ciprian-Matthews for a job in July 2019 in the exec’s swanky West 57th Street office, which was adorned with a Zen-inspired sandbox and rake.
After going over Browne’s qualifications, Ciprian-Matthews told her: “It would be so much easier to get you hired if you were a different color,” Browne recalled.
“I was aghast,” Browne told The Post, adding that after being turned down for the position she later gave her testimony to Gordon at Paramount Global.
Several others said they did not immediately complain to HR out of fear of retaliation. Even after leaving the network, they declined to speak out publicly because they inked settlements with nondisclosure agreements — a trend that gained momentum following the “60 Minutes” shakeup, multiple sources said.
“Why do people have NDAs? It’s because the company doesn’t want them to talk,” said one outraged insider. “So what do you do? You promote them to the No. 2 of the division, then you promote her to the presidency.”
In spring 2021, Gordon launched her probe into Ciprian-Matthews, including allegations that she roadblocked the advancement of young, promising reporters – mostly white women – in favor of elevating minority staffers.
Sources said the probe began after CBS correspondent Jeff Pegues dressed down a white female reporter in front of Ciprian-Matthews and other higher-ups. One source said Pegues, who is African-American, went on a 20-minute rant in which he claimed his colleague was a “nobody” and that she “didn’t know anything” despite her seasoned background.
Ciprian-Matthews did not initially report the incident and attempted to “blame” the female correspondent when it was finally reported to HR, multiple sources said. That’s despite prior allegations that Pegues had been “lashing out” and “bullying” younger female reporters who “outworked” him, according to a former CBS manager.
“Ingrid has a number of HR issues regarding favoritism and protecting certain correspondents, allowing talent to verbally abuse other talent,” the source claimed.
An investigation into Pegues’ behavior concluded that his conduct was unprofessional, but to the shock of some of his colleagues, Ciprian-Matthews then supported his promotion to Chief National Affairs and Justice Correspondent later that year, sources said.
In August, sources said Pegues got into an altercation at a CBS Sports party during the National Association of Black Journalists in Birmingham, Ala. The correspondent followed a woman into the party and appeared to be “bothering her,” sources said.
An ESPN journalist who was at the party tried to defuse the situation and security was called, sources said. Afterwards, Pegues emailed Chairman of CBS Sports Sean McManus to explain his bad behavior, a source said.
It is unclear if HR ever looked into the incident. Pegues has remained on air.
Pegues didn’t respond to requests for comment. McManus and CBS declined to comment specifically on Pegues.
According to an insider, the HR probe of Pegues “opened a Pandora’s box” that revealed allegations of cronyism that led to the probe of Ciprian-Matthews.
In another case, Emmy Award-winning CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave was allegedly pushed out of a plum congressional beat by Ciprian-Matthews.
During the weeks after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, sources said Ciprian-Matthews, who was Washington bureau chief at the time, pressed for correspondent Nikole Killion to appear on CBS shows and special reports to provide analysis.
That’s despite the fact that Killion wasn’t at the Capitol during the attack — and that Van Cleave “was part of ‘CBS Mornings” Emmy win for Best Live Newscast” last year for his breaking Jan. 6 coverage, according to his CBS bio.
At the time, sources claim Ciprian-Matthews falsely told producers that Van Cleave, who is white, was on vacation or was out sick. That, in turn, sparked chatter that Killion — a veteran DC journalist who covered every presidential election since 2008 for CBS News and Hearst Television — was getting the assignments because she was African-American rather than because of her qualifications.
Insiders say Van Cleave caught wind of the alleged deception and complained to colleagues — and that soon after, he was told he would be moved to Denver as a general assignment reporter.
“He was being exiled to Denver without a real beat or any producers,” said an insider with knowledge, adding that he was being moved mid-contract.
The insider said Van Cleave approached Gordon to give his testimony, but backed out over fear of retaliation. Instead, a job opened up in Dallas as a national correspondent and Van Cleave took it.
“Ingrid is tipping the scales,” said the source. “There was no reason to put Van Cleave in that situation. All he wanted to do is the reporting.”
Van Cleave didn’t respond to requests for comment. CBS declined to comment specifically on Van Cleave.
Ciprian-Matthews’ own career hit a bump under Susan Zirinsky, the legendary newshound who inspired Holly Hunter’s character in “Broadcast News.” After Zirinsky was named CBS News president in 2019 following the chaotic exit of Rhodes, she moved Ciprian-Matthews from executive vice president of news to head of strategic and professional development.
At the network’s New York City offices, Zirinsky kept Ciprian-Matthews — who wasn’t happy about her new role — “at arm’s length,” according to one source, moving her office far from hers to a spot near the elevator bank. In 2020, Zirinsky named Ciprian-Matthews as CBS News’ interim bureau chief in Washington DC — a role that Ciprian-Matthews also did not want, according to a source.
“She was forced to take the job,” the source said, noting that Ciprian-Matthews “never moved to DC” even after serving a brief stint as permanent Washington bureau chief, but instead stayed in a corporate apartment as she traveled back and forth from New York.
A source close to Zirinsky insisted Ciprian-Matthews was a “top advisor” who was consulted on “every decision” she made and that she helped “right the ship” at a troubled time for the network.
The source said Zirinsky didn’t want Ciprian-Matthews to be “bogged down” with day-to-day newsroom duties like sending reporters to “Maine or Afghanistan.”
Zirinsky stepped down in April 2021 and Khemlani was named co-president of CBS News. The probe of Ciprian-Matthews appeared to be over in the fall, sources said. In November, she was named No. 2 to Khemlani.
“She must know where the bodies are buried,” a former colleague speculated, claiming Ciprian-Matthews has been a “loyal foot soldier” for a trove of scandal-ridden executives over the years.
Now, Ciprian-Matthews’ boss Wendy McMahon, who came from top-ranked ABC News, is examining how to revive CBS News. McMahon is creating a new role of executive producer of daily news. The new hire will give McMahon a window into how the news gathering process runs, sources said.
“Wendy is looking at why CBS News is in last place,” an insider said. “The one common denominator is Ingrid. She has been a constant in a leadership role over the last two decades and has had a hand in everything.”
But insiders weren’t buying into the idea that the seasoned exec would be easily sidelined, given her status as one of the few diverse leaders in the upper echelons of the company — and one of its most strong-willed and savvy.
“Ingrid won’t take this sitting down. She thinks she’s running the news division, and she won’t bend to Wendy,” the insider added. “Her ego is too big.”
That’s despite the fact that Killion wasn’t at the Capitol during the attack — and that Van Cleave “was part of ‘CBS Mornings” Emmy win for Best Live Newscast” last year for his breaking Jan. 6 coverage, according to his CBS bio.
At the time, sources claim Ciprian-Matthews falsely told producers that Van Cleave, who is white, was on vacation or was out sick. That, in turn, sparked chatter that Killion — a veteran DC journalist who covered every presidential election since 2008 for CBS News and Hearst Television — was getting the assignments because she was African-American rather than because of her qualifications.
Insiders say Van Cleave caught wind of the alleged deception and complained to colleagues — and that soon after, he was told he would be moved to Denver as a general assignment reporter.
“He was being exiled to Denver without a real beat or any producers,” said an insider with knowledge, adding that he was being moved mid-contract.
The insider said Van Cleave approached Gordon to give his testimony, but backed out over fear of retaliation. Instead, a job opened up in Dallas as a national correspondent and Van Cleave took it.
“Ingrid is tipping the scales,” said the source. “There was no reason to put Van Cleave in that situation. All he wanted to do is the reporting.”
Van Cleave didn’t respond to requests for comment. CBS declined to comment specifically on Van Cleave.
Ciprian-Matthews’ own career hit a bump under Susan Zirinsky, the legendary newshound who inspired Holly Hunter’s character in “Broadcast News.” After Zirinsky was named CBS News president in 2019 following the chaotic exit of Rhodes, she moved Ciprian-Matthews from executive vice president of news to head of strategic and professional development.
At the network’s New York City offices, Zirinsky kept Ciprian-Matthews — who wasn’t happy about her new role — “at arm’s length,” according to one source, moving her office far from hers to a spot near the elevator bank. In 2020, Zirinsky named Ciprian-Matthews as CBS News’ interim bureau chief in Washington DC — a role that Ciprian-Matthews also did not want, according to a source.
“She was forced to take the job,” the source said, noting that Ciprian-Matthews “never moved to DC” even after serving a brief stint as permanent Washington bureau chief, but instead stayed in a corporate apartment as she traveled back and forth from New York.
A source close to Zirinsky insisted Ciprian-Matthews was a “top advisor” who was consulted on “every decision” she made and that she helped “right the ship” at a troubled time for the network.
The source said Zirinsky didn’t want Ciprian-Matthews to be “bogged down” with day-to-day newsroom duties like sending reporters to “Maine or Afghanistan.”
Zirinsky stepped down in April 2021 and Khemlani was named co-president of CBS News. The probe of Ciprian-Matthews appeared to be over in the fall, sources said. In November, she was named No. 2 to Khemlani.
“She must know where the bodies are buried,” a former colleague speculated, claiming Ciprian-Matthews has been a “loyal foot soldier” for a trove of scandal-ridden executives over the years.
Now, Ciprian-Matthews’ boss Wendy McMahon, who came from top-ranked ABC News, is examining how to revive CBS News. McMahon is creating a new role of executive producer of daily news. The new hire will give McMahon a window into how the news gathering process runs, sources said.
“Wendy is looking at why CBS News is in last place,” an insider said. “The one common denominator is Ingrid. She has been a constant in a leadership role over the last two decades and has had a hand in everything.”
But insiders weren’t buying into the idea that the seasoned exec would be easily sidelined, given her status as one of the few diverse leaders in the upper echelons of the company — and one of its most strong-willed and savvy.
“Ingrid won’t take this sitting down. She thinks she’s running the news division, and she won’t bend to Wendy,” the insider added. “Her ego is too big.”
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In 2017, a hospital operator set out to build a rural health care empire with the help of a Philadelphia-area consultant. The consultant, Jim Biden, had no experience running hospitals. But he did understand the federal government and had ties to labor unions. Perhaps more importantly, he was Joe Biden’s younger brother.
The final years of the Obama administration had cemented the former vice president’s towering stature in the world of health care, where he had made the fight against cancer a top federal priority and, then, a centerpiece of his legacy-building efforts.
For then 67-year-old Jim Biden, the third of four Biden siblings, his ties to his older brother made up much of his pitch as he pursued deals that could help Americore make money from drug rehab, lab testing, and even cancer treatment.
“This would be a perfect platform to expose my Brothers team to [your] protocol,” Jim Biden wrote to the CEO of a Tampa-area company that controlled licensing rights to an experimental cancer treatment the hospital operator wanted to offer. “Could provide a great opportunity for some real exposure.”
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What started out as a good thing, turned into a disaster. IVF. We have milions of women who suffer from infertility, So the IVF was a good way to go. But somewhere along the line it went south.
Some were depositing hundreds of eggs. Others treated it like a grocery store. Pick the blonde over the red head. Green tyes instead of brown. And now the courts rule the eggs are humans.
So for some reason the far left white progressives think that this is a bad thing. One of their fears is that the eggs won’t be labled and they would be stuck with a birth defect child.
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Leaders of the Biden Cartel? CIA Had Foreign Allies Spy On Trump Team, Triggering Russia Collusion Hoax, Sources Say.
Last year, John Durham, a special prosecutor for the Department of Justice (DOJ), concluded that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should never have opened its investigation of alleged collusion by then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and Russia in late July of 2016.
Now, multiple credible sources tell Public and Racket that the United States Intelligence Community (IC), including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), illegally mobilized foreign intelligence agencies to target Trump advisors long before the summer of 2016.
The new information fills many gaps in our understanding of the Russia collusion hoax and is supported by testimony already in the public record.
Until now, the official story has been that the FBI’s investigation began after Australian intelligence officials told US officials that a Trump aide had boasted to an Australian diplomat that Russia had damning material about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
In truth, the US IC asked the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance to surveil Trump’s associates and share the intelligence they acquired with US agencies, say sources close to a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HSPCI) investigation. The Five Eyes nations are the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
After Public and Racket had been told that President Barack Obama’s CIA Director, John Brennan, had identified 26 Trump associates for the Five Eyes to target, a source confirmed that the IC had “identified [them] as people to ‘bump,’ or make contact with or manipulate. They were targets of our own IC and law enforcement — targets for collection and misinformation.”
Unknown details about the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign and raw intelligence related to the IC’s surveillance of the Trump campaign are in a 10-inch binder that Trump ordered to be declassified at the very end of his term, sources told Public and Racket.
If the top-secret documents exist proving these charges, they are potentially proof that multiple US intelligence officials broke laws against spying and election interference.
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