Weekend Report: What's happening ?
JD Vance's transgender friend--and his betrayal. Trump refuses to debate Harris, scared out of his wits. And Harris surging, now with Obama support.
Note to readers: I'm on vacation, a week at the beach to relax and recharge before I attend what will be an exciting Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which I’ll cover for my SiriusXM program.
So it’s light posting. Weekend Report is just few quick lines on the news, and you can all take it from there, having a discussion—and this post is free for all subscribers.
I’m back next Friday, August 2. Thanks!
Quite a revelation by the New York Times that will send the right into a frenzy and expose JD Vance further as an opportunist: Vance had a transgender friend in college, whose transition he supported, bringing them baked goods during recovery from surgery. Sofia Nelson has now shared their emails. And all of this after his “childless cat ladies” comment (which is already throwing the Trump campaign).
Some highlights:
The emails, in which Mr. Vance criticizes former President Donald J. Trump both for “racism” and as a “morally reprehensible human being,” add to an already-existing body of evidence showing Mr. Vance’s ideological pivot from Never Trumper to Mr. Trump’s running mate.
And they reflect a young man quite different from the hard-right culture warrior of today, who back then brought homemade baked goods to his friend after Nelson underwent transition-related surgery. The visit cemented their bond...
“The content of the conversation was,” Nelson said in an interview with The New York Times, “‘I don’t understand what you’re doing, but I support you.’ And that meant a lot to me at the time, because I think that was the foundation of our friendship.”…
In October 2014, in the wake of the killing of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old Black man, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Nelson raised the idea of requiring that police officers wear body cameras.
“I hate the police,” Mr. Vance said in his response. “Given the number of negative experiences I’ve had in the past few years, I can’t imagine what a Black guy goes through.”….
Living in the Bay Area at the time, on June 28 that year, he wished Nelson “Happy Pride,” adding, “I’m thinking of braving the crowds in S.F. just to people watch.”
After attending the Pride Day parade, he wrote, “It felt more like a frat party than I expected. But still nice to see a lot of happy people.”
Not only had Mr. Vance been critical of Mr. Trump for racism, but he also said, “I’ve been very critical of other Repubs for the L.G.B.T.Q. issue, especially Rick Perry,” referring to the former Texas governor.
In another email a month later, he called Mr. Trump a “disaster,” using a vulgarity, and added, “He’s just a bad man.”
By 2017, flipping to Trump, Vance came out against gender affirming care for trans teens:
“Do you support the AR legislation criminalizing providing medical care to trans kids?” Nelson texted him in April 2021.
“I do. I recognize this is awkward but I’ll always be honest with you,” Mr. Vance responded. “I think the trans thing with kids is so unstudied that it amounts to a form of experimentation.”
Nelson wrote back that his position “deeply saddens me.”
“I know I can’t change your mind but the political voice you have become seems so far from the man I got to know in law school,” wrote Nelson, later explaining their position “as a trans person who accessed needed health care so I could live a full life.”
Donald Trump has now backpedaled on debating Harris. And she’s taunting him about, saying, What happened to “any time, anywhere?”
And Trump’s excuse for backpedaling on a debate—that Harris not the nominee because Barack Obama hadn’t even endorsed her—just evaporated, as Barack and Michelle Obama endorsed Harris yesterday.
Kamala Harris has created enormous energy in the base of the Democratic Party and completely wiped out Trump’s lead.
Trump’s freaking out, and he’s stuck with the terrible JD Vance.
What a nice vacation I’m having knowing all of this is happening!
Okay, now I leave it to all of you to discuss. I’ll jump in over the weekend Thanks!
This week, Michelangelo played a clip of Tommy Tuberville stating that California, my state, had been 'bailed out many times'. I went to the Tub's website and left this message on it:
Recently Tuberville has stated that California has been 'bailed out many times'. Could you maybe provide an example of when California was bailed out?
I ask because according to the Tax Foundation, the Pew Trust and the Rockefeller Institute, Alabama has no history whatsoever of paying more Federal Taxes than you receive in Federal Spending. In fact, your 40 year average is $1.69 in federal spending for every dollar paid. Not quite Mississippi or West Virginia, but right near the top of the most heavily subsidized states in the U.S. Why is that? And in recent years, things seem to have gotten even worse. 2015, $1.94; 2016, $2.00; 2017, $2.00; 2018, $2.15; 2019, $2.14; 2020, $2.30; 2021, $2.18 & 2022, the most recent data, $1.96. Things seem to have gotten worse in Alabama. What happened?
Meanwhile, my state, California, in 2015, got $0.96 back. 2016, it was $0.98; 2017, $0.98; 2018, $0.94; 2019, $0.97; 2020, $1.11; 2021, $0.93 & 2022, $0.83. None of these numbers look like California has been bailed out any time in the recent past. In 2019, we paid $472 billion in Federal Taxes. In 2021, we paid $587.6 billion. In 2022, California paid $696 billion. An increase of 68%, during a pandemic.
In 2019, we got back $457.8 billion in Federal Spending. What happened to the $14.2 billion we didn't get back?
In 2021, we got back $546.5 billion in Federal Spending. What happened to our $41.1 billion we didn't get back?
In 2022, we got back $578.3 billion in Federal Spending. What happened to the $118.5 billion we didn't get back?
So, when has California been bailed out? Look at the numbers for Alabama. And you think we don't have Socialism in the United States? May be why my mother left Alabama and never went back.
I'm going to JD's site in a bit and leave a similar message, as his state has a rather pathetic record as a Socialist Welfare State.
Feel free to copy this and tailor it to whatever state you want to target. Expand on it. Plenty to expand on. I'll help if you want. All the Red States, as I believe I've documented here, are Chronic Failed Socialist Welfare States. Lets start letting them have it on their webpages. It's a place to start. And refrain from calling them Senator or Representative. Just call them whatever you wish to call them. I think you all know who they are. It's a place to start. The data can't be argued with, it's right there in black and white.
It was kind of funny hearing Kimberley Guilfoyle, Gavin Newsom's ex wife, say the soldiers who landed on D-Day were 'fighting Communism'! I guess all the make up and plastic surgery has fried here brain. From the numbers for all the Red States, you could say we have a form of Communism right here in the U.S. I prefer to call it Socialism. We need another D-Day right here to save us from the Failed Ass Red States.
Continue to enjoy your vacation, Mike. Joe Sudbay has been on fire this week!