This is a bit inspiring in a time when we have little of it. First Manafort juror to come forward. A self-described Trump stalwart. Didn't want Manafort to be guilty. Decided he was. Would have voted guilty on all counts. pic.twitter.com/IbsNswCZI5

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 23, 2018

2. Duncan says that it was only one juror that prevented the jury from convicting Manafort on the other 8 counts. Duncan says another woman juror was the holdout and the jury kept trying to convince her Manafort was guilty on those counts. Duncan says woman had reasonable doubt.

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 23, 2018

4. Duncan says the deliberations were heated and at times there were tears.

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 23, 2018

5. Duncan said that the jurors went in there without considering their own political positions and "did what they were supposed to do."

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 23, 2018

7. Duncan says that Manafort's attorneys objected to very little and that they barely did any cross-examining. "I think I expected a little more," Duncan added.

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 23, 2018

9. Duncan says she had no hesitation to serve on the jury "It's my civic duty...I'm proud to serve my country."

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) August 23, 2018

10 hours ago, Juliajms said:

I wonder how long it will take this fact to permeate the news cycle, if it ever does.

 

The people who will use this probably don't care whether the killer was here legally or not. IT will just plan into their plans to severely curb legal immigration.

Yes, I heard about that lone holdout on the jury at the Manafort trial.  Wonder what her reasons for not finding Manafort guilty on all eighteen counts?

 

This almost (almost) makes me believe that, given all the facts (not alternative but real facts), the American people could actually make fair, judicious, even wise choices.

The media didn't do their job in 2015-2016 though--instead of facts, they choice to present narrative. 

Instead of true comparison and contrast of the candidates, they choice to present a horse race, rife with sports analogies and false equivalencies.

And instead of a deep examination of issues like the history of voter suppression (why were initiatives like early voting dismantled in 2016?), they chose to prattle on about supposed voter apathy and predictions that many voters would stay home (which became a self-fulfilling prophecy, although there were no genuine discussions of what barriers might have led to low turnout).

 

Also, why is there no discussion on the fickle nature of SuperDelegates and how they could be ruining the Electoral system?

 

Now, we're stuck with an elephantine jackass in the White House.

 

Speaking of that elephantine jackass in the White House, his immigration and trade policies are forming a deadly mix with climate change (which his environmental policies will cause more of) and is causing a crisis for farmers in New York state.  I mean literally deadly as some dairy farmers have resorted to suicide-- perhaps those who have not been able to sell their farms.

 

Interesting fact:  the majority of farms in New York state are family owned farms.  Farmers are now selling their farms at 4x the rate they did in previous years.

People forget that farms are not just located in "flyover country".

 

Blame Trump’s Tariffs and the Weather. New York’s Farmers Do.

Edited August 23, 20187 yr by DramatistDreamer

^ I grew up north of Albany.  I'd say a lot of people consider upstate NY figurative fly over country.  It was very Republican when I was growing up.  Really the Adirondacks are very nice, although I could never live there again.  We had to drive about 20 miles just to get to a real grocery store. The guy who drove my school bus was a diary farmer and the western part of the state is full of farms.

1 minute ago, Juliajms said:

^ I grew up north of Albany.  I'd say a lot of people consider upstate NY figurative fly over country.  It was very Republican when I was growing up.  Really the Adirondacks are very nice, although I could never live there again.  We had to drive about 20 miles just to get to a real grocery store. The guy who drove my school bus was a diary farmer and the western part of the state is full of farms.

 

Some don't even make that distinction.

When you mention NY or CA, the first thing that many people think of is Coast.  Then some, 'Coastal Elites'.  It's weird to me because growing up on the East Coast, our dairy was always from farms in NY, NJ or CT. 

 

Consequently, federal prosecutors have granted immunity to Pecker (sorry but what a name!).

Is now a good time to open those floodgates?

 

Wall Street Journal: David Pecker, the chairman of American Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer, has provided prosecutors with details about hush money payments Michael Cohen made to women on Trump's behalf, and Trump knew of the deals. https://t.co/kLKJeR2Vky pic.twitter.com/nW1sUXujuQ

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) August 23, 2018

 

It's actually not just David Pecker, the chief content officer at A.M.I., Dylan Howard has also been granted immunity by federal prosecutors.

 

“HOLY [!@#$%^&*], I THOUGHT PECKER WOULD BE THE LAST ONE TO TURN”: TRUMP’S NATIONAL ENQUIRER ALLIES ARE THE LATEST TO DEFECT 

5 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Some don't even make that distinction.

When you mention NY or CA, the first thing that many people think of is Coast.  Then some, 'Coastal Elites'.  It's weird to me because growing up on the East Coast, our dairy was always from farms in NY, NJ or CT. 

 

Consequently, federal prosecutors have granted immunity to Pecker (sorry but what a name!).

Is now a good time to open those floodgates?

 

People always assume I mean NYC when I say I'm from NY (Well, I did live in Bensonhurst those first three years, but it was the sticks after that). I've run into people out west who don't even realize there is anything to NY, but NYC.  That shouldn't be surprising, but it always is because the rest of the state is so big. 

 

I lived in San Francisco for many years and it's true enough that I never thought much about the inland part of the state.  I did drive through once and the people are very rural. Just like NY, it's a completely different world. I had no idea until I saw for myself.

Farrow is alluding to one of the tech-related expenditures that Cohen made.

 

 

Remember this? https://t.co/r344XUIBkL

— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) August 23, 2018

Breaking down the "echo chamber" conspiracy memo that circulated in the Trump white House with the indefatigable @wolfblitzer, who is so efficient at using commercial breaks that he actually read the story in full even though it broke while he was on air: https://t.co/W3RvuyipTn pic.twitter.com/n9gtdNpGuB

— Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) August 24, 2018

That is pretty scary.  I suppose these types of machinations have been going on behind the scenes forever, but when the veil is lifted and you see the extent of it, it's just terrifying. 

People's rights to perform their civic duties are still having to be defended in 2018. 

 

An elections board in southwestern Georgia has defeated a plan to close most polling places in a majority black county amid allegations of discrimination.https://t.co/eTHufUushi

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 24, 2018

This is the kind of story, by the way, that I would have loved to see on daytime BITD.

9 minutes ago, Khan said:

This is the kind of story, by the way, that I would have loved to see on daytime BITD.

 

Capitol might have had a stronger case for staying on the air had they embraced more true to life stories, in addition to the convoluted stories about wealthy playboy Arab-ish sheiks falling in love with reporter/heroines.

 

Fridays are always newsday dumps in trumpland (well these days, it's everyday, isn't it?)

 

BREAKING: Allen Weisselberg, Trump Organization CFO, granted immunity by prosecutors in Michael Cohen investigation - Dow Jones https://t.co/3fTQrMimuF

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) August 24, 2018

YOU get a plea deal! An YOU get a plea deal! EVERYBODY GETS A PLEA DEAL!

 

Seriously though. Manafort's trial was the canary in the coal mine for these folks. None of them are going to go down for Grandpa Ranty.

In other more somber news...

 

 

The war these people are waging on the poor is endless.  It really makes me sick.