Category Archives: gurvey

TicTok Turmoil

As of February 2023, the social video app TikTok said it had approximately 150 active monthly million users in the United States. This number is projected to increase by over five percent year-over-year, reaching 170 million users in 2024. Extremely popular with younger digital audiences, TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media apps in the United States. The United States has the largest TikTok audience of any country. And that scares the hell out of many, including the members of Congress.

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The Supremes Vote, Again

There is no doubt anymore. The conservative majority on the United States Supreme Court is dedicated to electing Donald Trump to a second term.

The Trump justices made that clear last week as they considered his extraordinary claim that a president has an absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. The idea seems absurd on its face. A fundamental principal of the United States is that it is a nation of law. The framers of the Constitution, having overthrown one monarch, had no desire to create a new one. There is no evidence in the historical record that they believed a president should be immune from criminal prosecution. Two lower courts carefully considered Trump’s claim and rejected it completely.

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133 Souls, 184 Days

(Interactive Map © 2024 Institute for the Study of War and AEI’s Critical Threats Project)

There are 133 souls still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, more than 184 days since Hamas declared war by invading Israel. I thought it necessary to point out this simple fact because most of the rhetoric discussing the six-month anniversary of that barbaric attack takes little note, if any, of the people involved.

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Quake

Give us a break. My California friends have been teasing me over the northeast’s breathless reaction: “Breaking News: Earthquake Shakes New Jersey and Surrounding Areas.” The lede read:

New Jersey, April 5, 2024 — A 4.8 magnitude earthquake sent boredom tremors through the New York City area and parts of New Jersey this morning. The temblor struck at approximately 10:20 a.m. and was centered about 5 miles east of Lebanon, New Jersey.

MSN/USA Today

I felt it, but I wasn’t sure what it was until I saw the bulletins. I did feel a 4.0 aftershock about 6:00 p.m. The only other earthquake I’ve ever felt occurred when I was in Palm Springs.

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Prayer Trumps Policy

(Speaker Mike Johnson leads GOP Members of Congress in prayer on the House floor – CSPAN)

Critical assistance for Ukraine, which was approved by the Senate, is languishing in the House. The same is true for assistance for Israel. The impending budget crisis which threatened to shut down the government was punted down the field again with an agreement that keeps operations going until the end of the fiscal year in September but threatens to come back in full force two months before the election.

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The Mouth

On Monday New York Judge Juan Merchan scheduled a trial beginning April 15 of Donald Trump on charges he falsified business records to cover up making a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The payment was allegedly made during the 2016 presidential campaign to prevent Daniels from speaking publicly about her claims of having an affair with him. It will be the first-ever criminal trial of a fomer U.S. president.

Tuesday morning Trump took to his Truth Social online account to attack not only Judge Merchan but also Merchan’s daughter. Tuesday afternoon Merchan issued a gag order restricting Trump’s future posts about the trial.

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