So I've just finished Pt2 for a fourth time, and am glad to say I started my fifth run immediately after. I just can't get enough of it. But part of that comes the same issue I had seven years ago when finishing Pt1: day-dreaming about what comes next. And although I've read a lot of speculation, I've arrived at my personal idea of what I think would make a good finale, as it does seem like both Pt1 and Pt2 were acts one and two in a three act play. FYI: this isn't a fully formed idea, and, like I said, is a product of an obsessive's day-dreams. So, in my heart of hearts, in Pt 3, I see Ellie seeking out Dina, and returning to Jackson together, alongside J.J. I know that it holds a lot of bad memories for Ellie, but after she left Dina to hunt down Abby, I can see Dina being persistent that they stay in Jackson, as added protection for J.J. as well as herself - this could show Ellie's new goal for the foreseeable future: proving to Dina that she has moved on from Joel's death, and her priority is J.J. and Dina. Ten-or-so years pass, and life in Jackson for the family-of-three is tranquil, and simple. This all takes place within the prologue, as we get to see more of Jackson: further modernisation and expansion, as well as a growing and thriving population. All is well until the Fireflies arrive in Jackson. Led by Abby (with Lev as her second-in-command, perhaps heading her military wing, incorporating the stealth elements of the Seraphites), the group emphasises the 'fire' in 'Fireflies', as flames devour Jackson, and they capture or slaughter all inhabitants. They publicly execute Tommy and Maria, still leaders of their community, as incentive to give up Ellie. They are hunting Ellie; as the militia group grew over the past decade, they found several doctors, with enough skill and know-how between them to attempt the same procedure that Abby's dad would've performed on Ellie, given the chance. However, now knowing what hangs in the balance and the resistance they had been met with in their first attempt to produce a vaccine, the Fireflies hold the opinion that failure is no option, and they will get Ellie by any means, adopting force as their prominent tool, whilst Abby channels the offensive tactics she'd learned under Isaac in Seattle. Ellie would naturally opt for giving herself up for the safety of Jackson, but before she gets a chance to give herself up, Dina is shot. Her dying wish: save J.J. and get him to safety, to El Paso. She believed some friends she saved from the Ravens in events prior to Pt2 would help, as she'd rescued and returned their daughter whilst in New Mexico. Dina dies in Ellie's arms, as J.J., around the same age as Ellie when she met Joel, stands over them. The loss of her life and the assumption of sole guardianship of J.J. propels Ellie to start to understand the position Joel was in at Salt Lake City, being a choice between saving humankind or protecting someone she loves and feels a parental duty towards. Ellie and J.J. escape, towards Denver, through the Wind River Reservation. When they arrive, they are met by a small group of Native Americans; their tribe, the Arapaho, were not met by the cordyceps due to their isolation, and although their numbers now dwindle, survived as a tribe. Although at first sceptical and defensive towards Ellie and J.J., they see them, battered and burned, and agree them safe passage. One of the tribe members, becoming worried that his people have run their course, leaves his tribe, and guides Ellie and J.J. as far as Denver on horseback. Upon reaching Denver, Ellie and J.J. and their guide arrive at the city gate, looking seemingly abandoned, before their guide is shot. Denver is still a QZ, and FEDRA takes no refugees, or prisoners. In the chaos, the two manage to sneak through the sewer. They are met with little resistance in the underground, aside from infected, who are used as defence tools by FEDRA. The local resistance groups have all abandoned the city, as FEDRA starts using the populace as slave labour. Ellie and J.J. hide out in a warehouse, which turns out to be a marijuana growing facility. Whilst holed up, Ellie reminisces to J.J. about her and Dina's bond over the herb. J.J. asks if they can take it, to which Ellie starts to argue he is too young. This causes a conflict of interest internally for her, as she feels again how Joel must've felt. She thinks on it, before realising the reason Joel had thought her too young before: the issue of Ellie being armed. Whilst they talk about it, they are ambushed by FEDRA, who roll up in an pickup, Ellie barely managing to take them all out. This pushes her to arm J.J. with a pistol, in a similar way that Joel had done to her. They take the truck and flee the city under gunfire, J.J. sneakily taking some of the weed in an air-tight jar whilst Ellie is distracted. They make it to Las Vegas, NM, and hole up there as the truck gets a flat tire. J.J. asks where all the hotels and casinos are, making Ellie laugh genuinely for the first time since Jackson. J.J. reveals the smuggled weed, and Ellie, against her better judgement, agrees to smoke it with him. They find a guitar, and she restrings it as she talks about Dina, Joel, and Jesse as the two of them smoke. She finishes restringing it, but the high caused her to forget she’d lost her fingers, and they laugh. J.J. takes it from her, and plays a few notes, before revealing that he and Dina had been learning to play as a present for Ellie's upcoming birthday. This makes Ellie cry, and they embrace, and go to sleep. The story picks up with them in a repaired truck, arriving at Truth or Consequences. J.J. points out the weird name of the town, and the "deepness" behind the name. This triggers Ellie to begin thinking of Joel and the consequences of his truth about what happened in Salt Lake City. Distracted by these daydreams, they are caught off-guard with an ambush, similar to the one Ellie and Joel experience in Pittsburgh, this time being delivered by the Ravens, who Dina speaks of in Pt2. They manage to shake them off for a while, before J.J. is captured. Ellie attempts to rescue him, but is captured herself. When she regains consciousness, they are on the road to El Paso, just outside the city. Ellie manages to escape, but is forced to leave J.J. in captivity. She manages to find a transmitter, and calls out to the Fireflies, letting them know her location. She knows this will be her only chance to get J.J. away from the Ravens, as they will be distracted by the impending Firefly force invading the city. Ellie hides out in an apartment in an abandoned complex in the north of the city - in which she discovers Dina's friends she was supposed to find had resided in, before taking their lives instead of being taken prisoner by the Ravens - which is overlooking the prison which J.J is kept in, as well as the road leading north from the city. After a fortnight of scouting the prison and making an escape plan, she is awoken one night to a warm glow of fire on the northern horizon: the Firefly army, numbering a few hundred, an amount neither the Ravens nor Ellie could possibly hope to hold off against. As they launch their attack, Ellie descends to the prison, learning that all the prisoners have been moved to the southern border of the city, on the cusp of Mexico. The man she learns it from says something along the lines of, "Don't hurt me, I'm a Firefly! I've been waiting for them to rise up again!" to which Ellie replies, "Either way, you're no friend of mine." Before killing him. She journeys through the city, getting caught between the Fireflies and the Ravens, as well as the infected being drawn towards the huge explosions and gunfire of the newborn war. She finally reaches the prisoners, most of whom pledge Firefly allegiance, and are roaring with cheer, believing Ellie to be a Firefly. She walks along the cages containing them, and shoots them, one-by-one, before arriving at one looking down, silent. She orders him to look up, before J.J. reveals himself, his eyes full of tears at the atrocity she had just committed. She throws her gun down, and starts to cry, before she hears a whistle similar to the Seraphites. She looks over, and lifts her hand up as an arrow impales it, the head stopping short of her face. She cries in pain, and looks to the person who shot it: Lev. And behind him, Abby. They fight, with Ellie seemingly killing Lev, and is left in a CQC fight with Abby. The is beaten with Abby holding her in a chokehold. As her vision begins to blur, she sees Lev, still alive, taking J.J. out of the cage, throwing him on the floor, and aiming an arrow at him. Ellie becomes overcome with protective rage, managed to use 'mother's strength' to overpower Abby - who believes Ellie is pretty much subdued - and uses Abby's gun to first shoot Lev, then hold Abby and gunpoint. They have a verbal confrontation, before Ellie looks to J.J. - who seems to now understand the nature of people outside of Jackson - and gives an approving nod. Ellie looks at Abby, and says, "I made the mistake of letting you live once, not again." To which Abby replies, "Please, just let me go, I'm finished." Ellie responds, "You'd just come after me." before planting a bullet in Abby's skull. They hear the ongoing war nearby, and look south, to Mexico. They manage to get through the wall, and take a horse from the Ravens stables. The closing scene is the two of them riding away from El Paso and the certainty of death and violence, and towards uncertain safety and peace, which is the better option of the two. Again, this is just the daydreams of an obsessive, but it comes from a place of love for the series, and I am looking forward to any creative direction the studio decides to take. I'd really love to hear you guys' opinions of these ideas, and if you'd have any changes. Like I said, I love the series, and any discussion about it. Thanks for reading!
NOTE: This is FAKE HOCKEY. To talk about actual hockey, go to the latest Daily Discussion thread Trade Deadline Tonight will continue TONIGHT! The /hockey Trade Deadline Game is back for day 2! Starting today at 8:00 AM MT trading is officially open again. Trading will run until Thursday, January 30th at 6:00 PM MT. You are not late! You can still sign up at http://www.tdgdb.com When you are traded, change your flair on hockey-related subreddits and spend the week from January 31st through February 7th cheering for your new team. Here are this year's reporters, the people who will make things up break news of trade negotiations:
Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater. (the previous edition can be found here if you are super behind). House-keeping:
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MAIN COURSE
Trump’s war on the intelligence community: 10 days under an authoritarian administration
I wrote a stand-alone piece covering the biggest news from last week: Over the past 10 days, we've seen Trump fully indulge his authoritarian impulses in an attempt to stamp out any inkling of facts that he dislikes - whether that be for personal, egocentric reasons or to shore up political strength. This began with a briefing given to the House Intelligence Committee that Russia is seeking to re-elect Trump. In response, Trump purged the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of officials he perceived to be disloyal, installing loyalists in their place. Also covered: how Trump gets away with a cabinet full of acting officials, Richard Grenell’s numerous dis-qualifications, a pardon offered to Julian Assange, and the hunt for “Never Trumpers” in the administration.
Sunday night update
On Sunday, Trump made a veiled threat toward House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff while claiming without evidence that the Democrat had leaked information from the Russia briefing on Feb. 13: “Somebody please tell incompetent (thanks for my high poll numbers) & corrupt politician Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff to stop leaking Classified information or, even worse, made up information, to the Fake News Media. Someday he will be caught, & that will be a very unpleasant experience!” tweet Later, while speaking to reporters, Trump called for an investigation into the leak - more concerned about the public learning of the briefing than he is about Russia’s repeated interference in U.S. elections. “They leaked it, Adam Schiff and his group. They leaked it to the papers and - as usual - they ought to investigate Adam Schiff for leaking that information,” Trump said. Schiff responded: “Nice deflection, Mr. President. But your false claims fool no one. You welcomed Russian help in 2016, tried to coerce Ukraine’s help in 2019, and won’t protect our elections in 2020.”
Pardon-palooza
Authoritarians also dispense largesse, but they do it by their own whims, rather than pursuant to any system or legal rule. The point of authoritarianism is to concentrate power in the ruler, so the world knows that all actions, good and bad, harsh and generous, come from a single source. (The New Yorker)
Last week, Trump granted pardons and commutations to 11 people with one thing in common: connections. Trump bypassed the process of formal procedures typically used to determine who is given a pardon, instead relying on connections to his wealthy friends and political allies.
Former governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted of soliciting bribes from candidates to replace Barack Obama in the Senate after Obama was elected president, knew Trump personally from his appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice. Trump falsely claimed that former FBI Director James Comey was involved in Blagojevich's prosecution; Comey did not take over at the FBI until years after the Blagojevich case.
Illinois' entire GOP congressional delegation—Darin LaHood, John Shimkus, Adam Kinzinger, Rodney Davis, and Mike Bost: "Blagojevich is the face of public corruption in Illinois, and not once has he shown any remorse for his clear and documented record of egregious crimes that undermined the trust placed in him by voters...Blagojevich is the face of public corruption in Illinois, and not once has he shown any remorse for his clear and documented record of egregious crimes that undermined the trust placed in him by voters." (source)
Former San Francisco 49ers team owner Eddie DeBartolo, who was convicted of “failing to report a felony” in 1998 after he paid a $400,000 bribe for a casino license, was pardoned as a result of the lobbying of New England Patriots owner and frequent Mar-a-Lago guest Robert Kraft.
Michael Milken, the so-called junk bond king who was convicted in 1990 of securities and tax fraud, knew Trump personally and frequently spent time with him at Mar-a-Lago. In his first memoir, Trump called Milken “a brilliant guy.” Many of Trump’s inner circle also lobbied for a pardon for Milken, including Rudy Giuliani, Jared Kushner, Steven Mnuchin, and developer friends Howard Lorber and Richard LeFrak. In fact, last year Mnuchin “flew on Mr. Milken’s private jet from Washington to Los Angeles and helped secure a real estate tax break that could benefit Mr. Milken.” A key backer of Milken’s pardon, hedge fund manager (and executive of Wendy’s) Nelson Peltz, held a record-breaking fundraiser for Trump’s re-election campaign at his home just 3 days before Milken was pardoned.
John K. Carroll: “As one of the lead prosecutors on the Milken case, I am outraged — not at the specific result here but at what the pardon process says about the way justice is served in our country...What outrages me, and what I think should outrage others, is the process that brought about the pardon. In as guileless an admission as I have ever seen of rich man’s justice, the White House bolstered its decision by listing a murderer’s row of Republican donors and billionaires who provided “widespread and long-standing” support for Milken’s pardon. Sheldon Adelson, Tom Barrack, my old boss Giuliani and others are listed as supporters of the pardon. If I had to prove that the scales of justice tilt toward the rich, I would offer that list and then sit down and wait for the jury to convict.”
Former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, who was convicted in 2009 of lying to federal investigators and committing tax fraud, knew Trump personally and had Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera sign a letter on his behalf requesting a pardon from the president. In 2004, Trump called Kerik “a friend of mine” and “a great guy.” Rudy Giuliani also supported the request, as Kerik once served as a senior vice president at Giuliani Partners.
"The pardon cancels out $103,300 in restitution that Kerik still owed the Internal Revenue Service as part of his sentence, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan." (source)
Paul Pogue, a construction company owner who pleaded guilty to underpaying his taxes by $473,000, did not know Trump and did not have any Fox News personalities lobby on his behalf. Instead, Pogue’s family appears to have purchased a presidential pardon. Pogue’s son and daughter-in-law made over $200,000 in contributions to the Trump Victory Committee last year. The couple also made several large donations to the Republican National Committee and each donated $5,600 to Donald Trump for President Inc.,” according to FEC filings.
Roger Stone going to prison
Perhaps not coincidentally, Trump’s pardoning of corrupt public officials like Blagojevich occurred just two days before Roger Stone’s sentencing for lying to investigators, obstructing a congressional investigation, and witness tampering. Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Stone to 40 months - or 3.3 years - in prison, much lighter than the original 7-9 year sentencing recommendation made by career prosecutors who withdrew from the case in protest of AG Barr’s intervention. Lawfare has a great line-by-line breakdown of the sentencing hearing, if you’d like the nitty-gritty details. But if you only have time to read one excerpt from the hearing, I suggest the following:
Judge Jackson: “The truth still exists. The truth still matters. Roger Stone's insistence that it doesn't, his belligerence, his pride in his own lies are a threat to our most fundamental institutions, to the very foundation of our democracy...The dismay and the disgust at the attempts by others to defend his actions as just business as usual in our polarized climate should transcend party. The dismay and the disgust with any attempts to interfere with the efforts of prosecutors and members of the judiciary to fulfill their duty should transcend party. "Sure, the defense is free to say: So what? Who cares? But, I'll say this: Congress cared. The United States Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia that prosecuted the case and is still prosecuting the case cared. The jurors who served with integrity under difficult circumstances cared. The American people cared. And I care."
Judge Jackson pushes back During the hearing, Judge Jackson said that the jurors in the case "served with integrity." Stone’s lawyers took this statement and moved to disqualify the judge from the case, claiming that her remarks “rendered her unable to fairly rule on his bid for a new trial.”
"Stone’s Motion for New Trial is directly related to the integrity of a juror. It is alleged that a juror misled the Court regarding her ability to be unbiased and fair and the juror attempted to cover up evidence that would directly contradict her false claims of impartiality," his lawyers argued. "The premature statement blessing the “integrity of the jury” undermines the appearance of impartiality and presents a strong bias for recusal," they added.
As expected, Jackson denied the motion to have her disqualified... A pardon for Stone? But the goal may be to reach the ears of the president instead. According to Politico, a former senior administration official who remains in contact with Trump and his senior advisers says about a pardon for Roger Stone: “It’s not a question of if; it’s when.” Following the sentencing, Trump argued that Stone’s jury was “tainted” and said that “Roger has a very good chance of exoneration.” On Sunday, Trump was asked about the possibility of a pardon for Stone and instead took the opportunity to attack the jury forewoman, again:
"That juror is so biased and so tainted, that shouldn't happen in our criminal justice system… You have a juror that is obviously tainted. She was an activist against Trump. She said bad things about Trump and bad things about Stone," the President claimed without evidence. "She somehow weaseled her way onto the jury and if that's not a tainted jury then there is no such thing as a tainted jury."
More info on Stone’s lenient sentence
In the week since four prosecutors withdrew from Stone’s case in protest of AG Barr’s interference, we have gotten a slow drip-drip of new information. A piece by The New York Times Sunday summed it up nicely: Timothy Shea, appointed to replace Jessie Liu as head D.C. attorney, was sent to the office specifically to steer cases to the president’s benefit after previous efforts failed.
A new boss, Timothy Shea, had just arrived and had told them on his first day that he wanted a more lenient recommendation for Mr. Stone, and he pushed back hard when they objected, according to two people briefed on the dispute. They grew suspicious that Mr. Shea was helping his longtime friend and boss, Attorney General William P. Barr, soften the sentencing request to please the president. ...The tensions between the office, the Justice Department and the White House date back further than the tumult in the Stone case. They have been simmering since at least last summer, when the office’s investigation of Andrew G. McCabe, a former top F.B.I. official whom the president had long targeted, began to fall apart. Mr. Shea’s predecessor, Jessie K. Liu, a lawyer whom Mr. Trump had appointed to lead the office in 2017, pressed the McCabe case even after one team of prosecutors concluded that they could not win a conviction. After a second team was brought in and also failed to deliver a grand jury indictment, Ms. Liu’s relationship with Mr. Barr grew strained, people close to them said. She left the position this year, though she and Mr. Barr have both stressed to associates that her departure was amicable.
Undoing Mueller’s work
Trump’s efforts to derail the sentencing of Stone can be seen as part of a larger campaign to rewrite history, and specifically, erase the findings of the Mueller investigation. Roger Stone’s indictment shows that Stone was acting on Trump's personal order to find Hillary Clinton’s campaign emails stolen by Russia. In order to cover-up his role in the Russia-Wikileaks-Trump network, Stone lied to investigators and threatened a witness. By claiming that Stone did not commit a crime, Trump is attempting to reverse the findings of the Mueller report and make himself the victim. Last week, Trump embarked on a rambling Twitter thread calling for all cases stemming from Mueller’s probe to be “thrown out.” He continued, saying: “If I wasn’t President, I’d be suing everyone all over the place.......BUT MAYBE I STILL WILL. WITCH HUNT!” Hours later, while discussing the spate of pardons he had issued that day, Trump made the astounding assertion that he is “the chief law enforcement officer of the country” and thus has the “legal right” to interfere in criminal cases. “I’m allowed to be totally involved,” the president added. While technically he is incorrect - the Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer - in practice Trump has been proven right. A lawless chief executive is in fact in charge of enforcing the law when the Attorney General acts as his personal fixer.
This is in the style of autocrats across the globe, who weaponize the law to help themselves and their friends and hurt their enemies. The nation’s legal system is now run by a man who has spent his life mocking it. (NYT Editorial Board)
Meanwhile, the president’s allies have reportedly been urging him to fire anyone who was involved in Mueller’s investigation:
The MAGA punditry’s outsized influence over the president means their campaign against the so-called Mueller “holdovers” is likely not falling on deaf ears, especially given Trump’s fixation with what his defenders and detractors are saying about his administration in their frequent appearances on his favorite TV programs. “It's totally unclear to me why any members of the Mueller team need to remain in the Trump DOJ,” the pro-Trump conservative blogger Will Chamberlain wrote after news broke of the Stone sentencing recommendation. ...GOP operative Arthur Schwartz, a close friend of Donald Trump Jr. who has been described as the eldest son’s “fixer,” said of the career officials in question: “I think they should all be investigated.” ...John Dowd, a former Trump lawyer who remains in touch with the White House, characterized the line attorneys in the Stone case as “insubordinate,” and “the same crowd of prosecutors wedded to the Mueller agenda” who need to be “cleaned out” from DOJ. “And Bill Barr is doing that,” Dowd said.
What can be done about the politicization of the DOJ? In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Cass Sunstein of Harvard Law School suggests that “Congress should transform the Justice Department into an independent agency, legally immunized from the president’s day-to-day control.”
Public charge rule takes effect
The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow the government to implement new “wealth test” rules making it easier to deny immigrants residency or admission to the United States if they might depend on public-assistance programs. Legal challenges will continue in lower courts in the meantime. Doug Rand, co-founder of Boundless Immigration who formerly worked on immigration policy in the Obama White House, estimates that as many as 400,000 people every year could be denied green cards or visas because of the new rules. Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a written dissent that was sharply critical of both the federal government and her conservative colleagues, warning that they are “putting a thumb on the scale in favor of” the Trump administration. Read her full seven-page dissent here.
The justice wrote that granting emergency applications often upends "the normal appellate process" while "putting a thumb on the scale in favor of the party that won." Targeting her conservative colleagues, she said "most troublingly, the Court's recent behavior" has benefited "one litigant over all others." "Claiming one emergency after another, the Government has recently sought stays in an unprecedented number of cases," Sotomayor said. "It is hard to say what is more troubling," she said, pointing to the case at hand, "that the Government would seek this extraordinary relief seemingly as a matter of course, or that the Court would grant it." CNN
THE SIDES
Justice Department’s new rules benefit Giuliani
In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, the DOJ indicated that the agency has implemented another layer of approval that would make it difficult for prosecutors to widen their probe into Rudy Giuliani:
The Justice Department revealed Tuesday that law enforcement officials running Ukraine-related investigations must seek approval before expanding their inquiries — a move that could have implications for Rudolph W. Giuliani, as President Trump’s personal attorney pushes for scrutiny of the president’s political foes while facing a federal probe into his own conduct. Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd wrote to Nadler that the department had tapped two U.S. attorneys to assist in the process — Scott Brady in Pittsburgh to receive and assess new information, and Richard Donoghue in Brooklyn to help coordinate personnel throughout the Justice Department involved in Giuliani’s case and others with a focus on Ukraine. An accompanying internal memo, circulated by Rosen in January, says that he and Donoghue must approve expansions of any inquiries.
Related: The Hill admits John Solomon’s columns were misleading
The Hill’s review of Solomon’s work can be found here. I have found the review itself to be overly generous to the publication (no surprise), so I will quote from a WaPo summary of the review:
In effect, the Hill said Solomon amplified an inaccurate and one-sided narrative about the Bidens and Ukraine that was fed to him by Giuliani, “facilitated” by businessman Lev Parnas, who was working with Giuliani at the time, and reinforced by Solomon’s own attorneys, who also represented clients embroiled in U.S.-Ukraine politics. But the Hill stopped short of retracting or apologizing for Solomon’s articles, nor did it say it shouldn’t have published them. It also didn’t characterize Solomon’s motives in presenting what appears to be a largely debunked conspiracy theory about Ukraine. “In certain columns, Solomon failed to identify important details about key Ukrainian sources, including the fact that they had been indicted or were under investigation,” said the internal investigation, which was overseen by the newspaper’s editor, Bob Cusack. “In other cases, the sources were [Solomon’s] own attorneys” — Victoria Toensing and Joseph DiGenova, who have also represented President Trump and Giuliani, who was also a key source for Solomon’s columns. Solomon didn’t disclose this connection in his columns nor did he disclose to his editors that he shared drafts of his stories with Toensing, DiGenova and Parnas, the review noted.
Trump tries to block Bolton book
The Washington Post reports that Trump is attempting to block the release of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s book, instructing aides that it should not be released until after the November election.
Trump has told his lawyers that Bolton should not be allowed to publish any of his interactions with him about national security because they are privileged and classified, these people said. He has also repeatedly brought up the book with his team, asking whether Bolton is going to be able to publish it, they said. Trump told national television anchors on Feb. 4 during an off-the-record lunch that material in the book was “highly classified,” according to notes from one participant in the luncheon. He then called him a “traitor.” “We’re going to try and block the publication of the book,” Trump said, according to the notes. “After I leave office, he can do this. But not in the White House...I give the guy a break. I give him a job. And then he turns on me,” Trump added during the West Wing lunch. “He’s just making things up.”
Susan Rice tells Bolton the truth
During a panel discussion at Vanderbilt University on Wednesday, Bolton shared the stage with Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice. Bolton made excuses for his failure to testify in Trump’s impeachment trial, blaming the House for committing “impeachment malpractice.” Rice challenged Bolton repeatedly, denigrating his decision to promote his book instead of testify:
"I thought a lot about if I had been in that position how would I have approached it, and I'll be honest: It's inconceivable to me that if I had firsthand knowledge of gross abuse of presidential power that I would withhold my testimony from a constitutional accountability process.” "I can't imagine withholding my testimony, with or without a subpoena," Rice said. "I also can't imagine, frankly, in the absence of being able to provide the information directly to Congress, not having exercised my First Amendment right to speak publicly at a time when my testimony or my experience would be relevant. And, frankly, when my subordinates ... were doing their duty and responding in a fashion consistent with their legal obligations to provide information." "I would feel like I was shamefully violating the oath that I took to support and defend the Constitution."
Trump corruption update
President Donald Trump’s choice to stay at his own Las Vegas hotel each night during the western states swing that wraps up Friday likely cost taxpayers a million extra dollars as well as diverted thousands of them into his own cash registers.
Breaking with precedent, Trump flew back to Vegas to stay every night at his Trump International Hotel, despite his day activities taking place in California, Arizona, and Colorado.
Had Trump held the same events but done so in a geographically logical order ― starting in Beverly Hills and finishing in Colorado Springs, but overnighting each day in the city where he would begin the following morning ― Trump would have spent four fewer hours aboard Air Force One, thereby saving taxpayers about $1.1 million. ...Indeed, the repeated overnight trips to Las Vegas may have forced the Secret Service and other support personnel to keep a motorcade there for a full four days, rather than move it to the site of an upcoming presidential trip
This week, Trump has a whole new country to focus on: India, home to the largest portfolio of Trump real estate projects outside North America, according to the president’s son Donald Trump Jr. According to The Washington Post, since the elder Trump’s last trip to India in 2014, two of his business partners have encountered massive legal and financial trouble. During Trump’s time as president, the Trump Organization has vigorously promoted their properties in India, earning millions of dollars in royalties:
In 2018, the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr. — who runs the Trump Organization with his brother, Eric Trump — spent several days in India promoting the family’s developments, attending a champagne dinner with condo buyers who plunked down $39,000 deposits and bringing in millions of dollars in new sales. While there, he also met with Modi behind closed doors. The next year, Trump’s Indian business partners flew 100 early buyers of his luxury condos near Delhi to visit Trump Tower and Trump Ferry Point golf course in New York City as a way to generate interest in the properties in India. One attendee gushed afterward about meeting the son of a U.S. president on the trip.
Trump 2020: Cambridge Analytica and Facebook
President Donald Trump’s campaign is bringing on an alum of the controversial data firm Cambridge Analytica...Matt Oczkowski, who served as head of product at Cambridge before it went bankrupt and shut down in 2018, is helping oversee the Trump campaign’s data program...Oczkowski, who also worked on Trump’s 2016 effort, joined the reelection campaign in January, and payments to his company, HuMn Behavior, are expected to show up on Trump’s next campaign finance disclosure later this month. (Politico)
An Axios report revealed where most of Trump’s re-election campaign is spending its advertising budget: on Facebook ads. “Last fall, the campaign urged Facebook to keep the same tools for political advertisers that they make available to companies...Facebook ultimately decided not to change its policies around microtargeting.” However, unlike in 2016, the campaign is also diversifying, “testing new strategies on several dozen platforms, including YouTube, Google, ad exchanges, publisher networks and conservative podcasts.”
Side note: The IRS is suing Facebook for $9 million in back taxes, alleging the social media company undervalued intellectual properties when selling them to an Irish subsidiary in 2010. Ireland has lower corporate tax rates than the United States, so the move reduced the company’s tax bill.
Erik Prince investigations
There is apparently another investigation into Blackwater Founder - and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos - Erik Prince. The FBI is reportedly investigating Prince “for his 2015 attempt to modify two American-made crop-dusting planes into attack aircraft — a violation of arms trafficking regulations...The planes became part of private military services Prince proposed to sell or use in mercenary operations in Africa and Azerbaijan.” This new investigation adds to Prince’s legal problems, though he insists that he is untouchable “under this guy,” referring to Trump. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Justice Department is “in the late stages of deciding whether to charge” Prince for allegedly lying to Congress in its Russia probe and violating U.S. export laws in his business dealings overseas.
Trump blocking prominent climate change warning
The United States is against mentioning climate change in the communique of the world’s financial leaders, G20 diplomats said, after a new draft of the joint statement showed the G20 are considering including it as a risk factor to growth...G20 sources said the United States was reluctant to accept language on climate change as a risk to the economy. Reuters
On Sunday, it was announced that the U.S. ultimately agreed to a less-prominent placement for the risks of climate change. It will now appear in language referencing the Financial Stability Board’s work examining the implications of climate change for financial stability.
One of the G20 sources said it was the first time a reference to climate change had been included in a G20 finance communique during Trump’s presidency, even though it was removed from the top of the joint statement. U.S. officials have resisted naming climate change as an economic risk since Trump took office in 2017. One of his first acts as president was to announce Washington’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.
Rightwing threats
Last week, two men were arrested in separate incidents involving threats to President Trump’s perceived opponents. A Michigan man, Brittan J. Atkinson, was arrested on Thursday for sending death threats to Mark Zaid, an attorney for the Ukraine whistleblower. Atkinson sent the threats in November, on the day that Trump held up a photo of Zaid and read some of his tweets at a rally in Louisiana.
"All traitors must die miserable deaths," Atkinson's email read in part, the indictment says. "Those that represent traitors shall meet the same fate[.] We will hunt you down and bleed you out like the pigs you are. We have nothing but time, and you are running out of it, Keep looking over your shoulder[.] We know who you are, where you live, and who you associate with[.] We are all strangers in a crowd to you[.]"
On Wednesday, Salvatore Lippa of New York was arrested for threatening to assault and murder Rep. Adam Schiff and Sen. Chuck Schumer in voicemails last month.
Lippa started the threatening message by calling the congressman "Schiff, Shifty Schiff," invoking the nickname used by President Donald Trump for Schiff, the lead House manager during Trump's impeachment trial. ...When questioned by U.S Capitol Police, Lippa admitted to making the threatening calls to Schiff and Schumer because he said he was upset about the impeachment proceedings, prosecutors said.
State news
Washington Post: A second court has temporarily blocked North Carolina’s new voter identification law on the argument that it discriminates against African Americans. The ruling reduces the likelihood that the rule will be in effect in a key swing state during November’s elections. A three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that intent to discriminate was a “primary motivating factor” behind the voter ID law, which passed the Republican legislature in late 2018.
CBS News: Florida cannot bar felons who served their time from registering to vote simply because they have failed to pay all fines and fees stemming from their cases, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
CNN: Mississippi's law banning abortions at the detection of a fetal heartbeat -- as early as six weeks into pregnancy -- will remain blocked, a panel of circuit judges ruled on Thursday...The three-judge panel on the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's ruling that the Mississippi law unconstitutionally prohibited pre-viability abortions.
Tampa Bay Times: A curious request arrived in the inboxes of Florida tax collectors last week from an employee of the Republican National Committee. He asked for “all email addresses that have been collected and are in the possession of the Tax Collector’s Office.” He also wanted any names, property addresses and phone numbers connected to those emails in their records. If the tax collectors had complied, the Republican Party would soon have a valuable trove of personal information for millions of Floridians as it gears up for the 2020 election: A detailed database of many taxpayers’ emails plus the name, address and phone number tied to that email.
Associated Press: Most Republican lawmakers refused to attend a Tuesday night session of the Oregon House of Representatives amid a slowdown over anger at a sweeping bill on climate change. Earlier, Republican lawmakers, who are a minority in the House, insisted that bills coming to the floor be read in their entirety instead of being summarized, which slowed things down substantially. The 2020 session of the Legislature lasts only 35 days, being an even-year short session.
Q13 Fox News: Efforts to expel a controversial state representative from the Washington Legislature are likely over after no Republicans would sign a letter calling for state Rep. Matt Shea’s expulsion. The Spokesman-Review reports that all 98 members of the state House of Representatives were asked Thursday to sign a letter calling for the expulsion of Spokane Valley Republican. All 56 Democrats signed the letter, but no Republicans did.
Figured it would be better if everyone asked for presale codes, complained about the (very high) ticket prices, or asked for some help all in the same place. April 27 Houston, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion April 29 Austin, TX Germania Insurance Amphitheater (formerly Austin360) May 2 Dallas, TX Dos Equis Pavilion May 3 El Paso, TX Don Haskins Center May 5 Phoenix, AZ Gila River Arena May 7 Los Angeles, CA The Forum + May 8 Irvine, CA FivePoint Amphitheatre + May 11 Morrison, CO Red Rocks Amphitheatre May 13 Omaha, NE Baxter Arena May 14 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center May 16 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center May 18 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum May 19 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center May 21 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage May 23 Washington, DC The Anthem May 26 New York, NY Madison Square Garden May 29 Hanover, MD The Hall at Live! Casino and Hotel June 2 Pittsburgh, PA Petersen Events Center June 3 Cleveland, OH Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse June 5 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater June 6 Charlotte, NC Spectrum Center June 8 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place June 9 Miami, FL Bayfront Park Amphitheater June 11 Atlanta, GA Infinite Energy Center \* June 12 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival * + Phoebe Bridgers will be direct support on all dates except \* Beabadoobee will be support on all dates except + More tickets and presales are happening tomorrow if you struck out today!! LiveNation presale code is usually COVERT and that presale starts tomorrow at 10AM
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms OR Fluffy's Birthday Party
Saturday, December 18th I wake up and my back is fucking killing me. Megan closed the spa last night and she's quitting her (shitty) second job and her last day is Saturday so she's gone in early to get everything wrapped up and her exit interview. I decide to clean up my garage a bit and get some work done around the house. The morning starts off with some eggs and breakfast sausage with a tall glass of simply grapefruit. Life isn't great, but it could be a lot worse. We are all having a little chat about life, weekends and women as I move charcoal and my dads tools around the garage when suddenly my good buddeh u/fluffy_butternut tells everyone that regular women are not damaged enough for me to enjoy. Not only is this HIGHLY insulting to me, but it reflects poorly on Megan as well. rewind to several months before Mrs. Fluffy emailed the whole reddit gang and told us we are invited to a surprise birthday party for the big guy. She gave us instructions/time/place, etc and everything. She did a TON of work to plan this and it shows. I was under the gun at the courthouse with a trial and I wasn't able to commit to the event and all of us have stuff going on so the odds of anyone being able to make it were not good. However, I kept her email, and her cell number on a burner. cut to present https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyLdtG7KZvw Did he really go there? He really went there. It's fucking on like Donkey Kong. I pull out a burner and send a message to Mrs. Fluffy asking her if the plans are still the same. She tells me when he will be arriving at the venue and I tell her I'm gonna make a big fucking scene. She is ecstatic at this idea. I grab my packed bag from the closet and jump in the F350. I grab two organic bean to bar 88% endangered species chocolate bars for Megan and I stop by her work. She's busy, so I leave the chocolate for her at her station. I give her co-worker a note to hand to her when she gets out. "Dear Megan, out for revenge. Back tomorrow - Will." I start driving to MSY and traffic down I-10 isn't bad for a saturday. I phone Delta on the way there and book tickets for the flight. The only thing available is MD88 service connecting in Laguardia. In First. Being no stranger to the slightly elevated service and highly elevated price business model, I book the flight. I'm a little early so I make my way to the nearly brand new Delta Sky Club at MSY. It's new, the gumbo is tasty, the wifi is fast. Life isn't bad. Until I get the phone call from Megan. Me: Hi sweetie Megan: what the fuck does "out for revenge mean?" Me: It means I'm out for revenge. I gotta do some things. Megan: What things? We're supposed to have dinner with my brother tomorrow night! Me: Uh. It's a long story. How was your exit interview? Megan: It was fine. I'm leaving early today. Me: Did you go back to your station yet? Megan: No Me: You should stop there again before you leave. Megan: Why? The airport PA screeches boarding announcement for my flight. Me: They're calling my flight. I gotta run. Megan: Flight? What? Me: Gotta hop. Buy potatoes. See you tomorrow night! I hang up and hightail it for the gate. I pop in and see the pilots before we leave and ask them what are the odds we get 31 via the expressway today. He says he was just loading it into the box. I tell him the last time I did 31 via the expressway into LGA at the Delta Museum sim, it was not good. In fact it was the worst thing to hit new york since a bunch of muslims on a tuesday in September. He laughs. The ride into LGA is smooth as the HMG STG delivery schedule. New York is WINDY as fuck today and bumpy. I peer out the window of the left side of the plane and I get a beautiful close up photo of the statue of liberty and Ellis island. Wait. We're supposed to get 31 via the expressway. We should be on the localizer for LGA runway 4. That puts us right over my aunts place in Bay Ridge looking at the Verazanno. We're not getting 31, they're probably going to take us up over central park, back over da bronx and then in via 22. Sure enough, we land on 22 and I ask the pilots what happened and they said the winds shifted and they had to turn the airport around. Eh, no biggie. I've seen it once, I'll see it again. It's a great approach to fly and if you ever get to experience it, it's fucking magical. We land at LGA a few minutes late and the weather is cold, crisp and windy. I have a short connection but I head to the LGA sky club in terminal D. Life is good. I crack the laptop and do some work and as I close the laptop as they call my flight I see the very beginnings of light snow. I'm from Louisiana. I've never seen snow before. This scares me. I walk to the gate and I board in group 1 and take my first class seat. The plane is half empty. I walk up and chat with the pilots and they tell me that with the snow we are going to deice with type 1 fluid and anti ice with type 4 fluid. We will be a little delayed. As I gaze out the window from my seat, it's snowing and blowing even more. Ten minutes later, the boarding door closes and we start to push back. Conditions have worsened significantly. We can't see the next plane in front of us, things have turned into not quite whiteout but very concerning to this southern boy. The pilots tell us we are number 3 for the deicing truck and I gaze out onto the runway. It's whiter than an Ohio MAGA rally. Fuck me to tears. We deice as I check the weather in Pittsburgh. Rain/Freezing rain/Snow/wintry mix. I've never driven in snow. Fuck. Pucker factor increasing. I pull out my burner and send a message to Mrs. Fluffy and tell her I'm at the deice pad and will be there soon. We have a bumpy ride all the way across Pennsylvania and land about 30 minutes late. Hertz has me in the presidents circle but there is not a single car with local plates. I downgrade to a 2020 white Toyota Corolla since it's the only thing with PA plates on it and I hightail it to the venue. I talk to the waitstaff and tell them I'm crashing the party and ask them to get me a tray and a vest with a nametag. The staff is laughing their ass off at my idea. I message Mrs. Fluffy and she thinks the idea is HYSTERICAL. She can't wait. I tell her I'll be there at 645. T minus 60 minutes until Fluffy Arrival I've never been to this part of Pennsylvania. To be honest, I am a Philly guy. The people there are angry, drunken, profane and love cheese steaks. They're my kind of people. I've never been to a Sheetz or Primanti Brothers. However, fluffy tells me some stories about how he and his wife have a good time over at the meadows. I have NEVER been to a racino before, and ever since I was nearly arrested at Wynn Las Vegas - I've been a little scared. However, it's just down the road and as some of you know, I just came into a shit ton of money. This is not going to end well. I drive down interstate 79 and whip into the north parking garage at The Meadows. My pre-packed bag has four days of clothes, underwear, socks and PJ's, two kruggerands and $10,000 in cash just in case i need to flee the country. I pull out the ten dimes and make my way into the racino. The Meadows is HUGE. I get past the security checkpoint and walk around and I don't see any table games. I see a large well appointed poker room and see two craps tables working at the other end of the hall. I have no idea what table limits or odds are. I saunter up to the table. Me: How's the temperature guys? Degen1: Eh it's up and down. Me: As long as it's not as cold as outside amirte? Degen2: haha yeah yinz been outside today? freezing rain and that! Me: I don't know these words but whatever. The point is on 6. I drop $10,000 on the table. Me: Change only. Gimme 1 small and 9 thousands. Pit Boss: do you have a players club card? Me: never played here before, don't worry about it for now. Pit Boss: Okay! The dice come out, it hits jimmy hicks and the dealers pay out all the bets. I look at the table, the minimums are $5 and everyone has pass line and numbers. NOBODY has true odds. Fuck it. Time to show them how it's done. I drop $10 on the pass line. Dice are out. Point is four. I look up and down the table and nobody is making odds bets. I look down at my rack and drop $100 behind my bet. Dice come out. Six hard. Me: Hey pit boss! How much can I put behind the line? Pit Boss: We'll let you go to 10x, so we can take $100 on your pass line. It looks like you got $100 there but we'd count it out and if you were over we'll give you the extra back. Me: solid, thanks! I look down at my watch. Fluffy is due to arrive at 1900hrs. I told Mrs. I would be there at 1845. It's 15 minutes to drive from the garage to the party which means I need to be on the highway at 1830 which means I need to be out of the casino and cashed out and walking to the garage by 1825. She sends me a message asking me where I'm at. I tell her I'm at the meadows and.....fuck it's 1821. Fuck it. Go big or go home. I take my pass line up to $500 and shove $5000 behind the line. Everyone at the table is looking at me funny. I give $2400 to the dealers and tell them to split me the 6/8. Pit Boss: are you SURE you don't want a players club card? Me: no time! throw them bones! The whip slides the dice over to the fella next to me. He throws. Dealer: Four hard, four the hard way, four. Everyone at the table is looking at me funny. My $500 pass line bet has paid even money. The $5000 behind the line pays true odds on a 4, at 2:1. I look down at my watch. 1829. The dealers are stacking and distributing chips with a fervor. Me: Take down my 6/8 and color me up. Dealer: You got it boss! As they color up my chips, I tell Mrs. fluffy I just won a ton of money at the meadows and I'm cashing out now. I take a $100 chip, hold it up and ask if the dealers want to play it or drop it Dealer: It's up to you man, we don't mind. I plant the chip down on the pass line and tell them put half on the pass line ferda boys, drop the other half. They all LITERALLY clap and thank me. Me: One more thing, where's the cashier? They point me to the cage with the aplomb of a new airport ramper. I leave the casino with a giant wad of cash bulging in my jeans. There's no line and they count out all my cash quickly. I look down at my watch as she's counting out the last of the small bills. 1835. Fuck. I'm going to be late. I hate being late. I jog out to the north garage and hightail it back up interstate 79. I have never driven in snow, at night, or for that matter driven in Pennsylvania before until now. It's snowing, it's dark, the speed limit is 55 and I am the SLOWEST guy in the right lane at 80 and people are passing me going WTF ARE YOU DOING GET OFF THE ROAD judging by the horns and the flashing headlights. I am HAULING ass back up to the venue and I park the Toyota in a handicapped spot as I race into the venue. I find Harriet, the party planner she hands me a vest with a nametag. My transition from Will the gun dealer to Mario the waiter will completed as soon as he arrives. I get fluffy's favorite drink and a plate of some food set up on a tray and I hide in the back waiting for his arrival. Here's a photo. https://imgur.com/yZP2FuI As if it were choreographed to the minute, Mrs. Fluffy walks him in the front door at 7PM to a room full of people as a birthday surprise. He had not seen it coming. He begins making the rounds seeing everyone and saying hello. It's a big party so it takes some time. I hang back for a few minutes and let him do his thing and I give my phone to one of his friends and tell them to get this next part on video as I put on the vest and adjust the nametag. Friendo: Sure thing "mario" Me: shut up and just do some good camera work! I take the tray of beverage and minature charcuterie plate over to fluffy as he's greeting the party guests and sneak up behind him. He's taking his grand old time working the room. In my best italian Pittsburgh native accent I can muster, I'm holding the tray and I walk in front of him and put on a great big smile. Me: Can I get yinz something to drink? Or some charcuterie and that? Fluffy: ....... (I now feign anger) Me: OR IS THIS FOOD AND BEVERAGE NOT DAMAGED ENOUGH FOR YOUR LIKING?!?!?!??!?!?! YOU FAT DIABETIC OLD FUCK! Fluffy: What.....are you.........doing here? Me: Mrs told us about it and I figured I should give you a hard time after your comments this morning. Would you like some food? You know, airplane noises make the food taste better. Or are you a little too old for that? Lets give it a try! (I grab a carrot stick and fly it into his face by making very loud airplane noises in a ballroom full of fluffy's closest friends and family making a gigantic scene with people wondering is this a joke or what horrors are about to come next. No, this is not a joke, this really happened. Ask anyone who was there.) Fluffy: I'm good thanks Me: you sure? (more airplane noises followed by a carrot slice raping his mouth) Fluffy is shocked and awed. I tell him to go work the room and to have a happy birthday party. There's an open bar and I help myself to a double ginger ale, neat. I find some millennials and we chat about Hawaiian shirts and stuff and they think my comedy is HILARIOUS. Unlike most of reddit. Fluffy saunters over and we chat some more and he's wondering WTF. I told him the wife planned it all months in advance. Fluffy: You know u/xxxwirtydhorexxx is here. Me: That's really funny. Fluffy: No, he's really here. Me: Bullshit. Then where is he? Fluffy: He's right in front of you, 12 o'clock. I don't see him. Then I look down and there's a guy in a boonie hat. I didn't recognize him without the dress. Me: Oh dear god. He's really here isn't he? Wirty gets up and walks over and he's like HI! I THOUGHT IT WAS YOU! We have a bunch of really really awkward conversation that involves him inviting me to sit next to him and me running over to Mrs. Fluffy asking her to save me from wirty. She finds a spot at her table by her kids for me. I forget his present, even though his wife said no presents and there's a table full of booze, scratchers, and gun stuff. I drive back up to the hotel to grab it and give it to him. He has no idea what it is. You all should ask him about it. I give it to him and Wirty starts complaining about normies. Fluffy: Where are you staying? Me: The Hilton just down the street Fluffy: Oh, the one on the top of the hill? Me: That's why it's the HILL-ton. Everyone groans. Me and wirty talk and he weirds me out and demands to stand next to me in the group photo. I tell more jokes and the millenial group loves me. We close the place down and head back to fluffy's hotel. BOY HOWDY LET ME TELL YOU.........if you thought MY stories were longwinded and pointless you have not met some of fluffy's friends! His local raconteur buddy was telling us at 145AM his story about being fucked by the Virginia state police for speeding. Yeah. I dump him off at his hotel and I head back up to my room. It's 3AM by the time I shower and sleep. SUNDAY JANUARY 19TH 2020 My alarm wakes me up at 9AM. My back is killing me. My head is pounding. It's 21 degrees outside. Fuck this noise. I go back to sleep. The hotel phone rings. Me: Go for Hayden Operator: I have a fluffy butternut on the phone for you. Me: Go ahead and connect us Operator: Thank you (sound of dial tone) I'm not making this up. I grab my phone and call fluffy and we have brunch at the meadows with the mrs. It's fun, we talk guns, life, liberty and the pursuit of extra sides of marinara. I hang out with them at the slot machines until it's time to head to the airport. I gas up at the sheetz next to the racetrack and I fly back home in coach since my status on delta is radioactive dirt. The incoming flight is late from Atlanta which means we leave late for Atlanta and i get back home 2.5 hours later than I expected. Laundry is running and I am unpacking as Megan walks in the door. Me: Hi! Megan: Hi. Back from revenge so soon? Me: Yeah. I'm actually late. How was dinner with your brother? Megan: Good. He took me to olive garden. So tell me what was so important you had to go out for revenge and come back the next day? (I tell her the story) Megan: Wait a minute. Your friend insulted you as a joke, so you bought a last minute first class ticket to new york and pennsylvania to fly to his surprise birthday party to yell at him in person, in january in 21 degree weather? Me: Yeah. Megan: Why would you do that? Me: Well he said that you're damaged goods. He wasn't insulting me, he was insulting you. I didn't like that. Megan: You cannot be serious. Me: I am serious. Megan: and don't call you Shirley? Me: You're weird. Megan: I'm not the one that just flew across the country to go "out for revenge", and I'm the weird one? Me: (goofy smile) Megan: (goofy laughter) Have a lovely holiday weekend everyone!
May 28, Louisville, Iroquois Amphitheater May 29, Columbus, Ohio, Express Live! Outdoor Amphitheatre May 31, Atlanta, Coca-Cola Roxy June 01, Simpsonville, South Carolina, CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park Simpsonville June 02, Baltimore, MECU Pavilion June 04, Asbury Park, New Jersey, Stone Pony Summer Stage June 06, Boston, Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion June 07, New York, Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk June 08, Camden, New Jersey, BB&T Pavilion June 10, Pittsburgh, Stage AE – Outdoors June 11, Detroit, Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill June 13, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Harrah's Council Bluffs - Stir Cove June 14, Chicago, Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island June 15, Minneapolis, The Armory June 18, Kansas City, Missouri, Starlight Theatre June 19, Denver, Fillmore Auditorium June 20, Salt Lake City, The Great Saltair June 22, Seattle, Marymoor June 23, Portland, Theater of the Clouds at Moda Center June 25, San Francisco, The Masonic June 26, San Diego, Petco Park - Park at the Park June 28, Las Vegas, The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas June 29, Los Angeles, Greek Theatre June 30, Phoenix, Nevada, Comerica Theatre July 02, Austin, Austin360 Amphitheater July 03, Irving, The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory source: http://dallas.culturemap.com/news/entertainment/02-12-19-coheed-cambria-mastodon-toyota-music-factory-irving/
Red Roof Inn offering free lodging for HCW/ first responders
https://www.redroof.com/deals/national-deals/room-in-your-heart I thought this information could help those who want to use protective distancing from their loved ones. stay safe! ❤️ Room in Your Heart: Opening Doors to First Responders Red Roof®, the leader in upscale economy lodging, is giving back to our country’s first responders—dedicated nurses, doctors, firefighters, police and emergency medical providers—who are fighting tirelessly to combat COVID-19. Many of these essential workers on the frontlines need a place to self-quarantine away from their homes and families to protect their loved ones. From April 3 – May 31, Red Roof is donating a limited number of available rooms to these brave heroes, giving them a place to sleep and stay in between shifts at participating locations across the country. Many Red Roof locations are exterior corridor hotels where separate hotel room doors open to the outside of the building instead of an interior hallway. After check-in, guests can drive to their room instead of walking through the building, reducing contact with interior touchpoints. Rooms have free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, a workstation and a communication package that includes free local and long-distance calls as well as free in-room coffee (in most rooms). One well-behaved domestic pet—cat or dog—is always welcome to stay at no charge. Call a participating hotel directly to book your stay. *Each guest must provide valid medical, firefighter, or police identification. Offer does not apply to guests staying under a current government contract and all rooms are subject to availability. Pet accommodations policy may vary at some Home Towne Studios by Red Roof locations. RED ROOF INN MONTGOMERY - MIDTOWN 2625 Zelda Road Montgomery, AL 36107 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS PHOENIX - WEST 4861 W. McDowell Road Phoenix, AZ 85035 RED ROOF PLUS+ PHOENIX WEST 5215 West Willetta Street Phoenix, AZ 85043 RED ROOF PLUS+ TEMPE - PHOENIX AIRPORT 2135 West 15TH Street Tempe, AZ 85281 RED ROOF INN TUCSON SOUTH - AIRPORT 3704 East Irvington Road Tucson, AZ 85714 RED ROOF INN TUCSON NORTH - MARANA 4940 West Ina Road Tucson, AZ 85743 RED ROOF PLUS+ SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT 777 Airport Boulevard Burlingame, CA 94010 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS DENVER - GLENDALE/ CHERRY CREEK 4850 Leetsdale Drive Glendale, CO 80246 RED ROOF PLUS+ JACKSONVILLE - SOUTHPOINT 6969 Lenoir Avenue East Jacksonville, FL 32216 RED ROOF INN JACKSONVILLE AIRPORT 1063 Airport Road Jacksonville, FL 32218 RED ROOF INN JACKSONVILLE - ORANGE PARK 6099 Youngerman Circle Jacksonville, FL 32244 RED ROOF INN PENSACOLA - WEST FLORIDA HOSPITAL 7340 Plantation Road Pensacola, FL 32504 RED ROOF PLUS+ GAINESVILLE 3500 Southwest 42nd Street Gainesville, FL 32608 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS ORLANDO - UCF AREA 12350 E Colonial Drive Orlando, FL 32826 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS FORT LAUDERDALE 3031 W Commercial Blvd Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 RED ROOF PLUS+ WEST PALM BEACH 2421 Metrocentre Blvd. E West Palm Beach, FL 33407 RED ROOF INN TAMPA FAIRGROUNDS - CASINO 5001 North US Route 301 Tampa, FL 33610 RED ROOF INN TAMPA BAY - ST PETERSBURG 4999 34th Street North Saint Petersburg, FL 33714 RED ROOF INN ST PETERSBURG - CLEARWATEAIRPORT 3580 Ulmerton Road Clearwater, FL 33762 RED ROOF PLUS+ & SUITES NAPLES DOWNTOWN-5TH AVE S 1925 Davis Boulevard Naples, FL 34104 RED ROOF INN ELLENTON 4915 17th Street East Ellenton, FL 34222 RED ROOF INN FT PIERCE 3236 South US-1 Fort Pierce, FL 34982 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS ATLANTA NE - PEACHTREE CORNERS 7049 Jimmy Carter Blvd Norcross, GA 30092 RED ROOF INN ATLANTA - KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY 1460 George Busbee Parkway Kennesaw, GA 30144 RED ROOF INN & SUITES NEWNAN 590 Bullsboro Dr Newnan, GA 30265 US RED ROOF INN AUGUSTA - WASHINGTON ROAD 3030 Washington Road Augusta, GA 30907 RED ROOF INN INDIANAPOLIS SOUTH 5221 Victory Drive Indianapolis, IN 46203 RED ROOF INN ELKHART 2902 Cassopolis Street Elkhart, IN 46514 RED ROOF INN RICHMOND, IN 2525 Chester Blvd Richmond, IN 47374 RED ROOF INN LOUISVILLE EXPO AIRPORT 4704 Preston Highway Louisville, KY 40213 RED ROOF INN LOUISVILLE FAIR AND EXPO 3322 Red Roof Inn Place Louisville, KY 40218 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS LOUISVILLE 4540 Taylorsville Road Louisville, KY 40220 US RED ROOF INN & SUITES CAVE CITY 807 Mammoth Cave St. Cave City, KY 42127 US RED ROOF INN SLIDELL m 1662 Gause Boulevard Slidell, LA 70458 US RED ROOF PLUS+ SOUTH DEERFIELD - AMHERST 9 Greenfield Road South Deerfield, MA 01373 RED ROOF PLUS+ BOSTON - FRAMINGHAM 650 Cochituate Road Framingham, MA 01701 RED ROOF INN BOSTON - SOUTHBOROUGH/ WORCESTER 367 Turnpike Road Southborough, MA 01772 RED ROOF PLUS+ BOSTON - LOGAN 920 Broadway Saugus, MA 01906 RED ROOF PLUS+ BOSTON - MANSFIELD/ FOXBORO 60 Forbes Boulevard Mansfield, MA 02048 RED ROOF INN WASHINGTON DC - LAUREL 12525 Laurel Bowie Road Laurel, MD 20708 RED ROOF PLUS+ WASHINGTON DC - OXON HILL 6170 Oxon Hill Road Oxon Hill, MD 20745 RED ROOF INN WASHINGTON DC - COLUMBIA/ FORT MEADE 8000 Washington Boulevard Jessup, MD 20794 RED ROOF PLUS+ WASHINGTON DC - ROCKVILLE 16001 Shady Grove Road Rockville, MD 20850 RED ROOF PLUS+ BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON DC/BWI AIRPORT 827 Elkridge Landing Road Linthicum Heights, MD 21090 RED ROOF INN ST LOUIS - FLORISSANT 307 Dunn Road Florissant, MO 63031 RED ROOF PLUS+ ST LOUIS - FOREST PARK/ HAMPTON AVE 5823 Wilson Avenue Saint Louis, MO 63110 RED ROOF INN ST LOUIS - ST CHARLES 2010 Zumbehl Road Saint Charles, MO 63303 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS KANSAS CITY - INDEPENDENCE, MO 14800 E. 42nd Street Independence, MO 64055 RED ROOF INN MERIDIAN 2219 S. Frontage Rd Meridian, MS 39301 US RED ROOF PLUS+ RALEIGH NCSU - CONVENTION CENTER 1813 South Saunders Street Raleigh, NC 27603 US RED ROOF INN ASHEVILLE WEST 16 Crowell Road Asheville, NC 28806 US RED ROOF INN SALEM 15 Red Roof Lane Salem, NH 03079 US RED ROOF INN PARSIPPANY 855 US Highway 46 Parsippany, NJ 07054 US RED ROOF PLUS+ SECAUCUS - MEADOWLANDS - NYC 15 Meadowlands Parkway Secaucus, NJ 07094 US RED ROOF INN TINTON FALLS - JERSEY SHORE 11 Centre Plaza Eatontown, NJ 07724 US RED ROOF INN BATAVIA 8204 Park Road Batavia, NY 14020 US RED ROOF INN BUFFALO - NIAGARA AIRPORT 146 Maple Drive Bowmansville, NY 14026 US RED ROOF INN ROCHESTER - AIRPORT 155 Buell Road Rochester, NY 14624 US RED ROOF INN COLUMBUS - GROVE CITY 4055 Jackpot Road Grove City, OH 43123 US RED ROOF PLUS+ COLUMBUS - WORTHINGTON 7480 North High Street Columbus, OH 43235 US RED ROOF INN ST CLAIRSVILLE - WHEELING WEST 68301 Red Roof Lane Saint Clairsville, OH 43950 US RED ROOF INN CLEVELAND - MENTO WILLOUGHBY 4166 State Route 306 Willoughby, OH 44094 US RED ROOF INN CLEVELAND - WESTLAKE 29595 Clemens Road Westlake, OH 44145 US RED ROOF INN CANTON 5353 Inn Circle Court Northwest Canton, OH 44720 US RED ROOF INN CINCINNATI - SHARONVILLE 2301 Sharon Road Cincinnati, OH 45241 US RED ROOF INN CINCINNATI EAST - BEECHMONT 4035 Mount Carmel Tobasco Road Cincinnati, OH 45255 US RED ROOF INN DAYTON - FAIRBORN/ NUTTER CENTER 2580 Colonel Glenn Highway Fairborn, OH 45324 US RED ROOF INN PERRYSBURG 3555 Hanley Road Perrysburg, OH 43551 US RED ROOF INN OKLAHOMA CITY AIRPORT 309 South Meridian Avenue Oklahoma City, OK 73108 US RED ROOF INN & SUITES MEDFORD - AIRPORT 2111 Biddle Rd Medford, OR 97504 US RED ROOF PLUS+ PITTSBURGH EAST - MONROEVILLE 2729 Mosside Boulevard Monroeville, PA 15146 US RED ROOF INN WASHINGTON, PA 1399 West Chestnut Street Washington, PA 15301 US RED ROOF INN GREENSBURG 111 Sheraton Drive Greensburg, PA 15601 US RED ROOF INN PITTSBURGH NORTH - CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP 20009 US Route 19 & Marguerite Road Cranberry Township, PA 16066 US RED ROOF INN NORTH CHARLESTON COLISEUM 7480 Northwoods Boulevard Charleston, SC 29406 US RED ROOF PLUS+ MT PLEASANT - PATRIOTS POINT 301 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 US RED ROOF INN FLORENCE - CIVIC CENTER 2690 David McLeod Boulevard Florence, SC 29501 US RED ROOF INN GREENVILLE 91 Vision Court Greenville, SC 29607 US RED ROOF INN HILTON HEAD ISLAND 5 Regency Parkway Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 US RED ROOF INN NASHVILLE - MUSIC CITY 2407 Brick Church Pike Nashville, TN 37207 US RED ROOF PLUS+ NASHVILLE AIRPORT 510 Claridge Drive Nashville, TN 37214 US RED ROOF INN CHATTANOOGA - LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN 30 Birmingham Hwy Chattanooga, TN 37419 US RED ROOF INN CARYVILLE 276 John McGhee Blvd Caryville, TN 37714 US RED ROOF INN KNOXVILLE NORTH - MERCHANTS DRIVE 5334 Central Ave Pike Knoxville, TN 37912 RED ROOF INN DALLAS - DFW AIRPORT NORTH 8150 Esters Boulevard Irving, TX 75063 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS DALLAS - MESQUITE 2544 US Highway 67 Mesquite, TX 75150 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS HOUSTON - WEST OAKS 2130 Highway 6 Houston, TX 77077 RED ROOF INN LAREDO 1006 West Calton Road Laredo, TX 78041 RED ROOF PLUS+ AUSTIN SOUTH 4701 South I-35 Austin, TX 78744 RED ROOF PLUS+ WASHINGTON DC - MANASSAS 10610 Automotive Drive Manassas, VA 20109 RED ROOF INN WARRENTON 6 Broadview Avenue Warrenton, VA 20186 US RED ROOF PLUS+ WASHINGTON DC - ALEXANDRIA 5975 Richmond Highway Alexandria, VA 22303 RED ROOF INN CULPEPER 889 Willis Lane Culpeper, VA 22701 HOMETOWNE STUDIOS SEATTLE - KENT/ DES MOINES 25104 Pacific Highway S Kent, WA 98032 US RED ROOF INN SEATTLE AIRPORT - SEATAC 16838 International Boulevard Seattle, WA 98188 US RED ROOF INN CHARLESTON - KANAWHA CITY, WV 100 Trueman Circle Charleston, WV 25304 RED ROOF INN CHARLESTON W - HURRICANE, WV 500 Putnam Village Drive Hurricane, WV 25526 RED ROOF INN HUNTINGTON 5190 US Route 60 East Huntington, WV 25705 US RED ROOF INN FAIRMONT 42 Spencer Drive White Hall, WV 26554 US
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![[Local] - Rivers Casino wants to build $51.5M ‘four diamond’ luxury hotel in Pittsburgh](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/Ikqrdt9I2wAui_c51YJ6Hq2bgdty3HBXldHQb7zdlek.jpg "[Local] - Rivers Casino wants to build $51.5M ‘four diamond’ luxury hotel in Pittsburgh")
![[Business] - Pittsburgh's Rivers Casino outlines $51.5 million hotel plan | The Washington Times](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/Zchp7UwatYduULskgb4O1S2Vnsn50u7o0PR6UIvlwKA.jpg "[Business] - Pittsburgh's Rivers Casino outlines $51.5 million hotel plan | The Washington Times")
![[Business] - Pittsburgh's Rivers Casino outlines $51.5 million hotel plan](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/r484OPpERtJPo_V_iUtWQYMO8cWSemv-tOvMLJyIvfY.jpg "[Business] - Pittsburgh's Rivers Casino outlines $51.5 million hotel plan")
