Pennsylvania 'Games of Skill': Legal Issues Continue to ...

For decades, spinning the reels of slot machines - whether at land-based or online casinos - has been reduced to pure luck and, apparently, no skill whatsoever. Players have been at RNG's mercy to either win or lose, which for most was both exciting and somewhat rewarding.
However, new generations have started changing the face of gambling, slots in particular. Moving away from luck as a deciding factor of their wins, these generations have started asking for games that put their skills, reasoning, and capacities to test while still being fun – and that's how skill-based slots arouse.

What Are Skill-Based Slots?

Skill based slot machines are the newer breed of slots designed for everyone who would rather trust their skill over their luck, while still having fun - at least that’s how they are advertised.
The outcome of skill-based slots should be based on the player's ability to play the game rather than how lucky they are. Skill slot machines also allow operators, game developers, and suppliers to design variable payback based on a comprehensive variety of identifiers.

The outcome of skill-based slots should be based on the player's ability to play the game rather than how lucky they are.

While regular slots' winnings involve a lot of player's luck and hardly any skill, skill slots are supposed to be predominantly skill, factor-wise. With skill-based slots, players start the game knowing that they will have a material effect on the outcome, i.e. how much money they can win, with better players getting rewarded with higher payback.
Essentially, in answering what are skill machines, it is safe to say that they are games which resemble video poker or blackjack, as they give the player a chance to boost their profits solely with skill.

How Does a Skill-Based Slot Machine Work?

In comparison with how regular slot machines work, it is kind of difficult to give a definite observation on the matter as, basically, they operate the same way.
Unlike regular slot machines, casino skill games feature bonus rounds that require skill to win. Also, some of these games don't necessarily require playing the skill-based round; instead, they offer the option of choosing between free spins and an interactive bonus.

How Slot Machine Skill Games Work?

Say you are playing a slot with a racing theme; this is how you would go about it:

When the bonus room is triggered, you choose the skill-based bonus
You race against other cars
The size of your payout gets determined by your finish

Skill based slot machines particularly stand out due to their unique bonuses.

What is the Difference Between Regular and Skill Based Slots?

Skill based video games, i.e. skill-based slots, are different from regular slot machines because they feature bonus rounds which include a high degree of skill. While the base mechanisms are the same for both, skill-based slots require some skill if the player is looking to score.

While the base mechanisms are the same for both, skill-based slots require some skill if the player is looking to score.

Regular slot machines work in a way that the player places a bet and spins the reels; then, the RNG (random number generator) delivers a combination, showing the results on the reels. Essentially, it is the RNG that determines the spin's fate. With traditional slots, players have almost no say in the outcome – they only decide the amount they'll bet and when they'll start/stop playing.

How Much is Actually Skill and How Much Pure Luck?

When we speak of skill-based gaming, it's safe to say that both are included, with the difference that, unlike traditional slots, skill-based slots do include competence.

What is the Difference Between Arcade Slot Machines and Skill Based Slots?

The younger generations don't remember it – but arcade games were the thing in gaming. New-age developers have decided to use the old trend, revamp it, and make it the basis of the majority of skill-based slot machines. The reason for this is, predominantly, millennial preferences. Millennials are not interested in luck deciding the course of their actions but are known to believe their own competence and rely on it.
As skill-based slots haven't exactly grown in popularity in the past years, bonuses based on arcade games could be the best way to test if skill based gaming will become the new "it" of slots gambling.

Can You Make Money Playing Skill Based Slot Games?

Skill-based slots don't come with guaranteed profits despite the fact that your skills can result in earning more money. Why? When it comes to this type of games, the truth is - you won't raise RTP enough to guarantee winnings even if you're an expert at the bonus round. While players are given the option to include their skill in the whole concept of playing, these games are still programmed to give the house advantage over a player.

The Case of PA Skill Machines (Pennsylvania Skill Machines)

Pennsylvania Skill machines are the games you see at convenience stores, at bowling alleys, local pubs, and virtually all other fun-games-and-entertainment places. These games are allowed for 18-year-olds, while casino slot machines are strictly for those who are 21 years old, or older.
Pennsylvania skill games are produced by Pace-O-Matic (POM or Pace O Matic), distributed by Williamsport, PA, -based-Miele Manufacturing.
There are several games on offer:

A hypothetically unlockable bonus session
A tic-tac-toe-style puzzle
A "follow me" coloured dot-matching second phase of gameplay

If a player plays the Pace-O-Matic game successfully, they win a total of 105% of the original amount spent to play.
Throughout the years, there have been talks whether the machines developed under the name "Pennsylvania Skill" should be considered regular slot machines or games of skill specifically. In the most recent ruling, it was announced that "video game machines manufactured and distributed by the POM under the name "Pennsylvania Skill" are considered slot machines under Pennsylvania law. However, Judge Patricia McCullough did not state that POM was in violation of the Gaming Act."

Currently, Pennsylvanian skill machines are considered legal.

But where does that leave things? Are Pennsylvania skill machines legal? Currently, they are considered legal. However, some people argue that the skill aspect is an illusion designed with the idea of floating Pennsylvania gambling laws. The same people, additionally, claim that a player can get lucky on both a regular slot machine and a skill-based one, and win – but that it would be luck in both cases, though.

Are Skill Slots the Future of the Slot Machine Industry?

Discussing whether skill slots are the future of the slot machine industry has to come with a degree of uncertainty as there are still plenty of unregulated and undefined things in this domain. While skill-based gaming sounds like a great idea on paper, the reality is different. Yes, skill-based slots give players the ability to decide their own gambling luck (in a way), but - skill alone doesn't always translate into success.

Skill-based slots give players the ability to decide their own gambling luck (in a way), but - skill alone doesn't always translate into success.

The optimum is that, based on how things are now, the future of slots looks close to placing an emphasis on social gaming (e.g. Angry Birds, Candy Crush, and Plants vs. Zombies, etc.) and console/computer games. Still, all further changes and upgrades remain to be seen.

Conclusion

Skill-based slots are a mixed bag of elements different to standard slots, but also a somewhat deceiving game as it sounds like it's giving players more power of the outcome than it actually does. Players are potentially able to influence 5% of the RTP through their abilities, but that is pretty much it. Skill slots differ from casino terminals in a way that they include some skill, the accent on "some". Skill slot machines don't actually give players a true chance to overcome the house edge, but that doesn't mean you can't have all the fun in the world just playing!

I went on a bit of a rant after skimming some senate bills. Feel free to use this to email your reps.

The Carry-On Kids: Part Two - The Twins

The Carry-On Kids: Part One - The Tape
As I sit in my front seat, looking at the rising, morning sun from the horizon in my driver’s side mirror, I wonder how I got here. Not in the parking lot of a Motel 6. But, here. In the middle of this mess. Halfway obsessed and two steps from insanity. Part of me wishes I had never found the tape. That I had just gone on living as Drew Williamson, blissfully unaware of the iceberg of lies below me. This month could have been filled with football, hot chocolate, and a warm fireplace. Instead, I’ve driven over 4,000 miles, exhausted almost all of my savings, and am about to walk into the building that started this whole shitshow. Awesome. So how’d I get here? I’ll fill you in.
After I found the tape, I figured it best not to make any rash decisions. Mistakes happen when people are emotional and impulsive. And I cannot make a mistake. A few days after I had gone out with Tyler and received my birthday gift, a 2015 Jeep Compass, I sat down at my laptop and tried to come up with a game-plan. I knew eventually I’d end up in Ashland. But that was 2600 miles away and I had no idea what to do when/if I got there. So I took to the internet. I looked up missing persons in Oregon, for the last 5 years, specifically searching for any record on Parker Hudson or Bryan and Paige Hudson. There were 2 Bryan Hudson’s in Oregon, 3 Paige Hudson’s, and no record of a Parker Hudson. I couldn't figure out if any of the Hudson’s I found are related or married as my research methods (Google) are limited. I also tried to look them up on Facebook. I could only find one Paige Hudson on Facebook who lived in Oregon and looked the appropriate age to be my mother. Her profile was locked so I sent her a friend request and hoped she accepted strangers.
A few days passed. It was difficult to wake up every morning and see them- kiss Janice goodbye, and tell them I love them. Because…well…I do love them. At least I think I do. They’re all I know, but I also know they're lying to me. I almost cracked at dinner one night. We were reminiscing about our last trip to Hershey Park, when the memory came flickering in like a movie. I saw Janice and Tyler holding my hands as we walked into the park. I saw us eating funnel cake and riding the spinning tea cups. I saw us laughing and Tyler throwing me up on his shoulders. It was like a highlight reel. No scenes of waiting in line behind a really fat guy, or spilling soda on my jeans. No begging my parents to let me on a ride too scary. Nothing that wasn't necessary. That’s when I knew it wasn't real-that it must have been put there. Memories aren't perfectly edited video packages ready to play at the utterance of a keyword. They’re messy and patched together. You remember little things. Like what color lipstick Katie Resskin had on when you square-danced in 4th grade. Or when you almost peed your pants on the bus ride home from the Smithsonian Institute field trip. Those are the things that make memories… memorable.
After that dinner, I knew it was time to leave. I left school the next day almost as soon as I got there. I didn't bother with a note. I knew it’d probably be awhile before I’d be back- if ever. My car skidded to a stop on my barely shoveled driveway. Tyler and Janice work all day and won’t even realize I’m gone until they get home around 6. I started unloading the boxes from “my parents” closet as quickly as I could and stacking them in my car. Six in the trunk, four in the backseat. I did one last sweep of the only home I can remember and snagged the tape I had placed back in the cubby hole. I had bought ten similar boxes a couple days ago to re-stack in the closet. It probably won't do much. They’ll come searching for me as soon as they realize I’m gone, but hopefully it’ll buy me some time until they figure out where I’m going. I tried to drop hints during the previous days about having trouble with kids in school. I didn’t. I also asked when we would be visiting Aunt Kim in Florida again. I hoped they’d think I had run away, but I didn't think they’d buy that. Tyler and Janice didn't seem that dumb. As I got out of my neighborhood, my city, and Pennsylvania, I slowly realized I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. A few more hours on the road and the shy winter sun was just about gone. I GPS’d a motel in West Virginia and decided I needed to get my shit together before I could carry on.
The curtains in my room had stains of brown over their dull yellow shade. The disgustingly cheap motel was, indeed, disgusting. I had strewn the boxes around me like numbers on a clock. My arms ticked around slowly. 1:12 p.m- a heap of papers that looked like a college research paper. Charts, financial statements, print outs of websites. There had to be 100 pages of research on each of, at least, eight different companies. It looked like two of the companies were adoption agencies, there were a few foster homes, orphanages, and a few that didn't really say what they were, but they looked like they did some kind of social work. None of the companies were based in Oregon. 2:24 p.m- CDs. 38 of them. They were labeled with dates from my first birthday all the way up to my 13th. I tried to play them in my laptop but an error message came up every time. I tried 17 of them before I gave up. I even tried to play a couple in my car but nothing happened. 3:36 p.m- a bunch of electronics that I didn't recognize. Wires were wrapped around all of them. One looked like my old Gameboy color but I couldn't figure out what it did. One looked like a 7th grade science fair project. Couldn't get it to turn on. I put them aside. 4:48 p.m- Old VCRs of my favorite kids movies. Mulan, Home Alone, Air Bud, etc. 6:00 p.m- Books that I’ve read. Dr. Seuss, Goosebumps, Nancy Drew. I used to think it was so cool that we had the same name. Not so cool anymore. 7:12 p.m- More papers. These didn't look like research though. They had a label in the corner of some kind of bird and the name printed on the top page of the stack: Relictio Inc. The first line on the paper was a confusingly long mission statement. 8:24 p.m- The 2x4 that held up the empty box. I forgot about that one. 9:36 p.m- Photos. There must have been thousands. Too many to look at all of them now. I grabbed a small stack from the top and flipped though them. It was mostly landscapes, pictures of my parents, and one of a boy I don't know. At least I think I don't know him. He was standing on the play-set in our backyard like I used to do. He looked happy. 10:48 p.m- Contracts. A large stack of them with the same label as the other papers in 7:12. 12:00 a.m- Yearbooks. Eight of them from kindergarten to 7th grade. I couldn't find myself though. I flipped through the first couple and I recognized everyone. Jimmy Laul, my best friend in 1st grade. Kristen Nestrel. She kissed me behind the 4-square court in 3rd grade. And Mrs. Keller. Mrs. Keller and the kindergarten olympics, but I was nowhere to be found. It took a minute to grasp, as to why I wasn't in any of these yearbooks. To understand that I had been right about my past…That it wasn't mine at all.
I sat with my back against the far wall of the motel room, looking at the circular mess of papers, books, and CDs in the middle of the floor. What did this all mean? There were so many things running through my head it was hard to keep everything straight. I had so many questions that I knew I couldn't answer on my own. Overwhelmed, I laid my head back against the wall and closed my eyes- waiting for it to be tomorrow.
“I don’t think my parents are my parents.” That was the name of the thread. That’s how I met the twins. I had spent the next morning combing the web for anything that could help. I researched Relictio Inc. but it only had a homepage and some generic pictures of people smiling. The webpage headline read: “Relictio. Bringing people together one case at a time.” That was basically it. There was one contact number but it required a valid credit card number to talk to the receptionist. Never seen that before. After striking out there, I tried seeing if this had happened to anyone else. It wasn't easy to find, but I stumbled upon a forum. A forum for unsolved mysteries, and the thread, “I don't think my parents are my parents.” The thread didn't have any responses, but the original poster had included a bit of info in the body:
hi, we’re Casey and Clark. we’re siblings. we ran away two months ago because our parents kidnapped us from our real parents. we can’t remember anything about our old parents but we know we weren't legally adopted. for proof, or if this happened to you, message us.
I immediately messaged them and tried to explain my situation as briefly as possible. I didn't want to give any personal info in case it was some sort of trap. I actually changed a bunch details but kept the basics the same. Tape. Not real parents. Files. Can’t remember anything. Send.
I received a response a few hours later. They wanted to meet in person. At their place. In Colorado.
I guess it was fine. Colorado was kind of on my way anyway. It took me three days to get there, stopping often for rest and food. There’s not much to say about those days. It was a lot of anticipation and anxiety, masked by my “road trippin” playlist. Eventually, I made it to their home, residing in the dusty, little town of Silverton. Population: 638. It was located in the back of town, far from the main street, in a wooded area. The house was almost a trailer- one story, one window on either side of the front door. As I parked and got out of my car, the feeling of being watched donned on me immediately. It was a creepy place in the middle of nowhere. No neighbors. No one nearby to hear me scream. I had been blinded by the thought that I might not be alone in this, and now I was probably going to be murdered by a psychopath on laptop. I thought about getting back in the car and driving- driving anywhere else. But my curiosity got the better of me- something I might need to keep in check from now on. I walked up to the quiet screen door and raised my fist to knock when- “Hey!” a voice yelled. I was grabbed by the neck and taken to the ground in one motion. My back hit the hard dirt and a stick snapped under my head. “Owww.” I moaned. When I opened my eyes, a young blonde girl was leaning over me, her hand still around my neck. “Who are you?” She said. Her hair hung in her face and flickered in front of the sun behind her. “Dre-Park-uhh…” Who was I? I didn't even know what name to say. “Spit it out!” “Parker! My name’s Parker! I messaged you guys about your thread!” I squeaked out. “Let him go, Clark.” A voice rang out as the screen door mockingly squeaked open. The hand released from my neck and a breath of Rocky Mountain air rushed into my lungs. The voice was attached to a guy, similar to the age of the girl standing over me. He walked over, extended a hand, and helped me up. I brushed myself off and adjusted my eyes to the pair in front of me. The girl was rough. Raggedy blonde hair, wearing dirty overalls, and had just taken me down with one hand. Cute face though. The guy wore tight, black jeans, a grey flannel, and stood just a hair taller than me. His shoulder-length, blonde hair was tied back in a man bun. He looked a lot like his sister. “Hi Parker. I’m Casey,” he reached out and shook my hand. “Looks like you've already met my twin sister Clark.” I nodded and smiled shyly. “You wanna go inside and talk?” I nodded again. “Cool. Come on in… Oh and don't worry about getting taken down by a girl. She’s a lesbian.” Clark glared at her brother. “I am not a lesbian…dick.”
We sat down at their small kitchen table, just big enough for 3 people to sit comfortably at. They only had two seats though so they pulled up a bucket for me and flipped it upside down. We got to talking and it wasn't long before we started piecing things together. We went over my entire story. Front to back. The tape, the boxes, the company. Everything. Then they told me their story. They ran away from a really nice neighborhood in Connecticut when they overheard their parents talking about their real parents. They said if the real parents found them, “the company would kill everyone.” They figured they were adopted from an early age since they looked nothing like their parents, but when they asked their parents about it, they got super defensive and told the kids to shut up with that nonsense. They called the hospital where their parents said they were born, but there was no record of them ever being born there. Apparently, for them, that was the last straw. They packed up a few days after their 18th birthday and drove west. They figured out their parents bank account info from their fathers briefcase and wire transferred $100,000 into a new account they set up. They figured since they were 18 and legally adults now, their parents couldn't get the police to do much. They don’t think they’re even looking for them anymore.
“So we’ve been on our own for a year now.” Casey took a sip of his coffee and placed it back in the condensation ring on the table. “And we’ve been digging ever since.” We all sat back and tried to process all the information running through our heads, looking for their proper spot in the puzzle. “Alright. Well what now?” Clark chimed in for the first time in the conversation. “Well, what do we know…?” Casey started to put pieces together as he talked. He pointed at me and continued, “Your tape mentioned Wiping and Implementation stages, meaning they probably have some sort of technology to wipe our previous memories and implement fake ones, which is most likely what the boxes of old yearbooks, children books, and movies are about. The CD’s are probably encrypted but I’m guessing its home movies or something. We don’t know for sure but given your tone on the tape, our parents probably kidnapped us…Unless our real parents gave us away…” He trailed off in thought, but regained it quickly. “We have to go through all these papers and find out where this Relictio Inc. is headquartered. If we can get all of this evidence organized we can go to the police and expose…whatever this is.” We all stared at the table, arms crossed, thinking for a while. “But…why us?” I said, mostly to myself, still staring at the table. Casey looked up at me and sighed. “I don’t know.”
Papers were everywhere. Scattered about the entire living room and flowing into the kitchen. So much for being organized. Two days and we still had nothing about Relictio Inc. It’s like they didn't exist. The contracts were so vague, it was impossible to decipher what exactly was being agreed upon, let alone prove that they fucked with our brains. It’s not like there was a “We removed every memory from their childhood and tricked them into living with their kidnappers” clause. We debated going to the police with what we had but it was a long-shot. There was nothing incriminating in sight. A bunch of old junk, some vague contracts, and three runaways accusing a unknown company of erasing their memory. Long-shot was the understatement of the century.
“If we could just find out where they’re headquartered…” Casey didn't finish his thought. Then I remembered the contact number on the website. I pulled out my wallet and credit card that Tyler got me for my 15th birthday. It was a risk. They could track it. They could triangulate my phone location and find Casey and Clark’s house. It could tip off my “parents” as to what I was doing and where I was going. It was also the only option at this point.
Ring-ring. “Hello, thank you for calling Relictio. This is Veronica speaking. Can I have your name please?” I was so thrown off. I should have come up with a plan before I rushed into it. “Hi, uh-my name is…uh… Jason Bour…neo.” Casey rolled his eyes and Clark face-palmed. I don’t know why my mind went straight to Jason Bourne. It was my favorite movie series, and I guess what we were doing was Bourne-esque. I tried to refocus. “Hello Jason. How can I help you today?” Veronica’s voice was soft and pleasant. I lowered my voice and tried to sound like a perspective client. “Yes. I was referred to your company by a close friend, and I’m interested in possibly enlisting your services.” I said with my chest puffed out. Clark and Casey’s faces turned into impressed upside-down frowns. “Okay great. We do have a lengthy acceptance process, as we are very selective with our clients. We also do not do any of the application procedure online so you will need to come in in person to continue the process. However, If you are still interested, we can set up a meeting with an advisor as early as next week.” I paused and looked at Casey and Clark who were now huddled by the phone, trying to hear. They nodded hastily. “Yes, that would be great, Veronica. Thank you.” “Wonderful. I have a slot open for 11 a.m. next Tuesday.” “Let’s book it…Oh and Veronica…” “Yes?” “Where are you guys located?” We looked at each other and held our breath waiting for an answer. “Your friend didn't tell you?” “Uhh no, I think he forgot.” My voice wavered from the obvious lie. “I’m sorry. We work on a strictly referral system, and cannot give out information over the phone. I suggest you talk to your friend more and give us a call back.” “Wait, Veronica. Veronica, please. I really need this. I can't risk losing this opportunity because my friend is absentminded. Please Veronica…” I closed my eyes and tensed up. I heard her sigh on the other line. The silence felt like an eternity. “…Do you have a pen?”
“Colorado?! Son of a bitch!” Casey yelled as I hung up the phone. “They were right under our noses the whole time!” “She didn't even give me an address- just directions.” I said as I held up the piece of paper I had just scribbled on. “This is so sketchy.” Clark chimed in while cracking open a beer from the fridge. We all looked at each other gravely. We didn't even have a plan for what we would do when we got there. It was clear we weren't old enough to be parents. Do we just storm in like Jon Taffer and yell, “Shut it down!?” Even if we were old enough, what would we do? Wear a wire? That seemed risky. These guys have obviously done some pretty horrible things. Who says they wouldn't just kill us if they found it.
We drank a lot that night- whiskey and beer. And spitballed ideas, many of which seemed much better than they did the next morning. I have to admit though, it was nice to let loose for a while. My stress level was at an all-time high. Record book status. We talked about sports, music, movies- everything really. We blasted some Third-Eye Blind, The Chainsmokers new EP, and danced. Clark was a surprisingly good dancer. She looks a lot different when she’s showered and not in overalls. Almost…sexy? She caught me sneaking side-glances at her a couple times that night. I think Casey could feel the tension as well. I distinctly remember him smiling and winking at me as Clark and I jammed out to a remix of the Beastie Boys. Felt like a “you have my blessing” wink. I could be way off though.
I also had a dream that night. I dreamt about my real parents. About what they looked like- what they sounded like. I dreamt about Casey and Clark running into the arms of their tearful parents. I also dreamt about a room. A dark, cold room. Wires were attached to my head. Not stuck on, but burrowed into my skull- attached to my brain. I looked around and saw I was surrounded by people- kids. Hundreds of them. And they were getting closer. I was paralyzed. Couldn't move, couldn't talk. But I could hear. I could hear all of them crying. It started as a whimper but grew to full on screaming. They circled around me, getting so close they could touch me. But their faces were still dark. The screaming was so loud that my brain started pulsing. The machine behind me attached to the wires was going off like a fire alarm. I felt a hand land on my shoulder and a breath on my neck, and despite all the crying, I heard a whisper in my ear. “Save them.”
So here I am. Here. Parking lot. Motel 6. Tuesday morning. Casey and Clark weren't particularly thrilled with my plan. In fact, they vehemently opposed it. But after my dream, I realized that the only way to end this was to face it head-on. To face the man on the tape. The voice behind the camera. Alone.
Casey and Clark came out of our motel room and walked over to the car window. “This is a horrible idea.” Clark said bluntly. “Your confidence is overwhelming, Clark. Tone it down a bit.” I said sarcastically. She leaned down and stuck her head in the window. Her eyes softened and she pursed her lips. “Just be careful, idiot,” she said and kissed me on the lips. I smiled and nodded as she hustled back into the motel room. “Good luck, kid.” Casey said popping his head into the open window. He was only two years older than me but it was clear he was much more mature. “I ain’t gonna kiss you but-… ah fuck it.” He grabbed my face and planted a big, long kiss on my cheek. We both burst out laughing. “Thanks man,” I said as our chuckles fizzled out. We exchanged nods and I put the car in drive. “Give ‘em hell!” I heard Casey yell as I pulled out.
Had I told them what I was actually going to do, they wouldn't have let me go. The directions to Relictio Inc. were taped to the dash in front of me. My heart rate began to rise with sun. The drive was around 2 hours from the twins house, and about 30 minutes from the motel, which was the closet thing for 50 miles in any direction. I had to pull over halfway there and throw up. I doubt it was from the cereal I ate that morning.
When my car finally pulled up in front of the metal gate a familiar voice came out of the intercom.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Bourneo. We’re so happy you could make it.”
Part Three

BREAKING: TRUMP to delay UK trip -- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Aug. recess in jeopardy -- ISENSTADT: MITT shows signs of political revival -- SPOTTED at Mike Shields/Katie Walsh engagement party -- B’DAY: Greta van Susteren
by [email protected] (Daniel Lippman) via POLITICO - TOP Stories
URL: http://ift.tt/2rP8bod
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- WE HEAR … There is a chance Congress will stay in session for part of August. There has been political pressure from some members of the House and Senate to stay in town and try to get some things done instead of take a five-week recess. The pressure will only increase if the Obamacare repeal and replace isn’t done in the next few weeks. Congress has just 27 days in session until the summer break. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise: many lawmakers have had to face angry constituents on trips home.
STATEMENTS FROM PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey -- at 8:22 a.m.: “The #FakeNews MSM doesn’t report the great economic news since Election Day. #DOW up 16%. #NASDAQ up 19.5%. Drilling & energy sector......way up. Regulations way down. 600,000+ new jobs added. Unemployment down to 4.3%. Business and economic enthusiasm way up- record levels!” … at 8:29 a.m.: “I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very ‘cowardly!’” … at 8:49 a.m.: “The Democrats have no message, not on economics, not on taxes, not on jobs, not on failing #Obamacare. They are only OBSTRUCTIONISTS!”
-- TWO QUICK THINGS: Many Democrats will privately agree with Trump that they oftentimes lack a coherent message. But Trump’s presidency has unified Democrats for the first time in a long time … Trump has majorities in the House and Senate, and he’s blaming Democrats for obstructing him.
**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook:http://politi.co/2lQswbh
BREAKING OVERSEAS -- TRUMP PUTS OFF U.K. VISIT -- THE GUARDIAN: “Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain put on hold: U.S. president told Theresa May he did not want trip to go ahead if there were large-scale public protests”: “Donald Trump has told Theresa May in a phone call he does not want to go ahead with a state visit to Britain until the British public supports him coming. The U.S. president said he did not want to come if there were large-scale protests and his remarks in effect put the visit on hold for some time. The call was made in recent weeks, according to a Downing Street adviser who was in the room. The statement surprised May, according to those present.” http://bit.ly/2reskVQ
Good Sunday morning. Jake will be on Steve Hilton’s new Fox News show “The Next Revolution” live from Los Angeles tonight at 9 p.m. East Coast time.
TRUMP stopped by a wedding at his country club in New Jersey last night. http://bit.ly/2t98Uhy
YOU’LL HEAR THIS QUOTE A LOT -- Donald Trump Jr. on Fox News, via the Washington Post: “‘When he tells you to do something, guess what? There’s no ambiguity in it, there’s no, ‘Hey, I’m hoping,'’ Trump said. ‘You and I are friends: ‘Hey, I hope this happens, but you’ve got to do your job.’ That’s what he told Comey. And for this guy as a politician to then go back and write a memo: ‘Oh, I felt threatened.’ He felt so threatened -- but he didn’t do anything.’ Trump also said that Comey’s testimony ‘vindicated’ the president and that everything in it was ‘basically ridiculous.’” http://wapo.st/2t9eJf5
ALEX ISENSTADT in DEER VALLEY, UTAH -- “Romney stokes speculation he’s weighing another political run: The 2012 GOP nominee is plotting how to help Republicans in the midterms, and he’s being coy about his own political future”: “Mitt Romney is once again testing his political power — critiquing President Donald Trump, raising money and campaigning for fellow Republicans, and not ruling out another run for office for himself. The 2012 GOP nominee is returning to the spotlight, six months after Trump -- the man Romney once savaged as unfit for the presidency -- nearly picked him to be secretary of state. …
“Spencer Zwick, a longtime Romney adviser and political gatekeeper, said he’d been inundated with appeals from Republican candidates asking the former GOP nominee to help them. Last week, Romney held his first fundraiser for a 2018 hopeful, an event benefiting Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican who has been fiercely critical of the president. Over the coming days, Romney is also expected to release a robo-call boosting Georgia Republican Karen Handel, who has been losing ground in a high-stakes June 20 special House election she had once been favored to win.
“‘All I can tell you is that the number of requests that Mitt has gotten in the last month to come to a district or to come to a state for a sitting senator — it’s like he’s a presidential candidate again, which I was surprised by,’ said Zwick, who doubles as a top political aide to House Speaker Paul Ryan. ‘There are only so many people in the party that can headline these things.’” http://politi.co/2rZkZ9X
-- THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE between Republicans wanting to take advantage of Romney’s fundraising prowess, and his running for office and garnering the support he needs to win.
SUNDAY BEST -- JOHN DICKERSON speaks with SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OKLA.) on CBS’S “FACE THE NATION” -- DICKERSON: “On the question of influencing the investigation, again, thinking about the scale, on the one hand the president might have done something that was a little bit crossing a line but he’s a new guy to the job all the way to this question of obstruction of justice. Where do you put, knowing what you know about the president’s behavior, where do you put what he did on that scale?” LANKFORD: “I would say it’s very inappropriate. As Jim Comey said, it’s awkward to be able to have the president of the United States sitting down with someone in the F.B.I., the leadership of the F.B.I., to be able to have direct questions. And for the issue to come up about the Michael Flynn investigations, inappropriate. But the way that it was handled, with no follow-up, with no other press, with no other return to that topic, it looks like what I called a pretty light touch. If this is trying to interfere in a process of any investigation, it doesn’t seem like it was number one, very effective, and number two, came up more than once in a conversation. So this looks more like an inappropriate conversation than obstruction.”
-- SEN. JACK REED (D-R.I.) tells CHRIS WALLACE on “FOX NEWS SUNDAY” that Trump needs to be deposed on all Russia-related questions -- “[T]he deposition is not just about his conversations with Mr. Comey. There are issues with respect to his conversation with director of national intelligence Dan Coats, Admiral Rogers, the NSA director, his relationships with Manafort. By the time the special prosecutor Mr. Mueller is ready to depose or ask the president to speak under oath, there are a myriad of questions. So what I don’t want to see is simply, we’ll I just said I talk about Comey, I’m not talking about anything else. To resolve this situation he has to be prepared to speak on all these matters.”
-- PREET BHARARA speaks to GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS on ABC’S “THIS WEEK” -- STEPHANOPOULOS: “The president’s defenders, like Alan Dershowitz, say there’s no grounds for obstruction. You talked about that. And he, in fact, says that presidents have the constitutional right to fire FBI directors and investigations as much as they want. One of the president’s attorneys, Jay Sekulow, is coming up next. He says there’s no there there, no basis for obstruction. You’re a former prosecutor. Are -- is there evidence there ... to begin a case for obstruction?” BHARARA: “I think there’s absolutely evidence to begin a case. I think it’s very important for all sorts of armchair speculators in the law to be clear that no one knows right now whether there is a provable case of obstruction. It’s also true I think from based on what I see as a third party and out of government that there’s no basis to say there’s no obstruction.”
-- SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine) talks to BRIANNA KEILAR on CNN’s “STATE OF THE UNION” -- KEILAR: “I want to ask you about something the president has been cagey about, and that is these tapes, of course. So, I wonder if you would support issuing a subpoena to the White House. Right now, it’s just a request coming from Congress. Would you support issuing a subpoena for the recordings or any documents that might come from that?” COLLINS: “This is an issue that the president should have cleared up in his press conference. He should give a straight yes or no to the answer -- to the question of whether or not the tapes exist. And he should voluntarily turn them over not only to the Senate Intelligence Committee, but to the special counsel. So, I don’t think a subpoena should be necessary. And I don’t understand why the president just doesn’t clear this matter up once and for all.”
THE NEXT MAIN EVENT -- “Sessions will testify before Senate in Russia investigation,” by Kyle Cheney and John Bresnahan: “In a letter to his former colleagues in the House and Senate, Sessions canceled a planned appearance before Congress’ appropriations committees. Sessions said he instead plans to appear on Tuesday before the Intelligence panel to respond to questions stemming from FBI director James Comey’s bombshell testimony last Thursday. …
“If this is an open session ... Sessions will likely face a barrage of questions over his role in Comey’s dismissal, his independence from President Donald Trump, and allegations of additional unreported meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Sessions has already recused himself from the Russia probe after failing to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation of two meetings with Kislyak, and there have been reports of additional sessions.” http://politi.co/2rOVc5P
-- SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CALIF.) told Brianna Keilar on “State of the Union” that she didn’t know if the hearing will be open.
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW -- “What’s next for Comey? Maybe law, corporate work, politics,” by AP’s Eric Tucker: “So what’s next for James Comey? The former FBI director boldly challenged the president who fired him, accused the Trump administration of lying and supplied material that could be used to build a case against President Donald Trump. But after stepping away from the Capitol Hill spotlight, where he’s always seemed comfortable, the 56-year-old veteran lawman now confronts the same question long faced by Washington officials after their government service.
“His dry quip at a riveting Senate hearing that he was ‘between opportunities’ vastly understates the career prospects now available to him — not to mention potential benefits from the public’s fascination with a man who has commanded respect while drawing outrage from both political parties.” http://apne.ws/2sQlkMb
EYE-POPPING NUMBERS FROM WAPO’S KAREN TUMULTY in SANDY SPRINGS, GEORGIA -- “Trump looms over Georgia special election, a proxy battle for 2018”: “It is an arms race of money and organization. The latest fundraising report, filed Thursday, showed Ossoff raising an additional $15 million in the past two months, nearly quadruple what Handel brought in. With outside groups weighing in, the race has thus far cost more than $40 million -- far outpacing the previous record for a congressional race of nearly $30 million for a Florida contest in 2012.
“Polls indicate there are few voters still undecided. ‘The next 10 days are about turning out the base. There are more of us than them in the district. The more people who vote, the better,’ said Corry Bliss, who heads the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC affiliated with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). That organization alone plans to spend about $7 million in the race.” http://wapo.st/2rjhPM4
FASCINATING READ -- “Palantir goes from Pentagon outsider to Mattis’ inner circle,” by Jacqueline Klimas and Bryan Bender: “The Trump era has brought a change of fortune for a Silicon Valley software company founded by presidential adviser Peter Thiel — turning it from a Pentagon outcast to a player with three allies in Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' inner circle. At least three Pentagon officials close to Mattis, including his deputy chief of staff and a longtime confidante, either worked, lobbied or consulted for Palantir Technologies, according to ethics disclosures obtained by POLITICO. That’s an unusually high number of people from one company to have such daily contact with the Pentagon leader, some analysts say.
“It also represents a sharp rise in prominence for the company, which just months ago could barely get a meeting in the Pentagon. Last year, Palantir even had to go to court to force its way into a competition for a lucrative Army contract. Thiel was one of the only Silicon Valley titans to openly support Trump during the campaign, a role that gave him a prime speaking slot at last summer’s Republican convention. He has since acted as a key adviser arranging meetings among the president and other tech executives. While there's no evidence he had a direct hand in these specific Pentagon hires, analysts say they absolutely show his growing influence in the administration, where he holds no formal role.” http://politi.co/2sqMdbS
DEMOCRATS’ NEW PLAYBOOK -- “Democrats bet on Trump in Virginia governor’s race,” by Kevin Robillard: “Virginia’s Democratic primary on Tuesday is shaping up to be the first real test of liberalism in the Trump era, with both candidates lurching for increasingly leftward policies to position themselves in contrast with President Donald Trump. …
“Virginia’s gubernatorial elections often develop into contrasts with a new president, but there’s a stark difference between now and how Republican candidate Bob McDonnell handled then-President Barack Obama in 2009. While critical of the Obama's economic record, the future governor also regularly praised Obama for supporting school choice, straddling the partisan divide. The Democrats have felt no need to do the same with the less popular Trump, whose approval rating was at 36 percent in a recent Washington Post-George Mason University poll of Virginia.” http://politi.co/2rjHzYJ
THE LATEST ON HEALTH CARE -- “Fate of Planned Parenthood funding tied to Senate moderates,” by Jen Haberkorn: “Two female Senate Republicans could stop the anti-abortion movement from achieving its most significant win against Planned Parenthood in decades. Most Republicans want to eliminate the group’s $555 million in federal funding as part of their bill to repeal Obamacare. But as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tries to solve the legislative Rubik’s Cube of finding 50 votes for repeal, he may have to drop the Planned Parenthood cut to win the support of the two Republican moderates, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.” http://politi.co/2sbbpTf
WHAT SILICON VALLEY IS READING -- “Uber Board to Discuss CEO Travis Kalanick’s Possible Leave of Absence: Board also set to vote on recommendations from a report of an investigation into workplace issues,” by WSJ’s Greg Bensinger: “Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Travis Kalanick will discuss taking a possible leave of absence when the board of directors of the embattled ride-hailing company meets Sunday morning, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“Also on the agenda when the seven-person board convenes is a vote on a series of recommendations from a report prepared by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder regarding its workplace. It was uncertain whether Mr. Kalanick would ultimately take the leave or whether the board would approve of such a measure, which would require finding a temporary replacement in short order.” http://on.wsj.com/2r7Ram8
THE JUICE …
-- SPOTTED at Mitt Romney’s E2 Summit in Deer Valley, Utah: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Spencer Zwick, Matt Waldrip, Corry Bliss, Speaker Paul Ryan, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Kristen Soltis Anderson, Ron Kaufman, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Anthony Scaramucci, Bianna Golodryga, Will Ritter, Mary Bono Mack, Lanhee Chen, Leah Malone and Andrew Liveris.
RIP -- @SecondLady: “Rest in peace Oreo. You touched a lot of hearts in your little life. Our family will miss you very much.” http://bit.ly/2sgQOxR
‘WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT WEEK’ AT THE WHITE HOUSE -- “Donald and Ivanka Trump head to Wisconsin for jobs push,” by ABC News’ Jordyn Phelps: “President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka Trump are set to travel to Wisconsin Tuesday to join Gov. Scott Walker to tour a technical college, as the administration puts a renewed focus on its goal of job creation. The trip is just one event in a week full of activities built around promoting technical skills training and apprenticeships. [They are d]ubbing it ‘workforce development week’ ...
“The president is expected to make what the administration is billing as a ‘major policy speech’ at the Department of Labor on Wednesday, in which he’ll lay out steps the administration will take to encourage workforce development and also call for Congressional action. Ivanka Trump will also lead a roundtable with some 15 CEOs. On Thursday, the president will also host a roundtable discussion, where he will welcome eight governors from states with successful workforce development programs to the White House.” http://abcn.ws/2r7tOwT
THE NEW U.K. POLITICAL REALITY -- “For Britain, Political Stability Is a Quaint Relic,” by NYT’s Steven Erlanger in London: “In a little more than two years, Britain has had two general elections and a nationwide referendum. Each time, the politicians, pollsters, betting markets, political scientists and commentators have got it wrong.
“Once considered one of the most politically stable countries in the world, regularly turning out majority governments, Britain is increasingly confusing and unpredictable, both to its allies and itself. Far from settling the fierce divisions exposed by last year’s referendum on Britain’s exit from the European Union, or Brexit, the election on Thursday only made them worse.” http://nyti.ms/2shhy1i
-- THE POLITICO EUROPE TICK TOCK: “How Theresa May lost it: A reluctance to delegate, hubris and campaigning ineptitude ruined British prime minister’s grand plan to secure a mandate,” by Tom McTague, Charlie Cooper and Annabelle Dickson in London: “Halfway through Britain’s seven-week snap election campaign, some in Theresa May’s team came to the conclusion that they had a problem — the candidate. At a gathering of senior staff in Conservative campaign headquarters in central London, one of May’s top operatives told the sitting prime minister that she risked crashing and burning like Sarah Palin did in 2008. ... To the operative, May was overly controlling and her inexperience would tell during a short, intense campaign. May listened with good grace ... [but] changed nothing.” http://politi.co/2t8VuSG
ACTUAL FAKE NEWS – NYT A22, “A Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theorist, a False Tweet and a Runaway Story,” by Jeremy Peters: “A pro-Trump activist notorious for his amateur sleuthing into red herrings like the ‘Pizzagate’ hoax and a conspiracy theory involving the murder of a Democratic aide, Mr. Posobiec wrote on May 17 that Mr. Comey, the recently ousted F.B.I. director, had ‘said under oath that Trump did not ask him to halt any investigation.’ …
“But as the journey of that one tweet shows, misinformed, distorted and false stories are gaining traction far beyond the fringes of the internet. Just 14 words from Mr. Posobiec’s Twitter account would spread far enough to provide grist for a prime-time Fox News commentary and a Rush Limbaugh monologue that reached millions of listeners, forging an alternative first draft of history in corners of the conservative media where President Trump’s troubles are often explained away as fabrications by his journalist enemies.
“In this fragmented media environment, the spread of false information is accelerated and amplified by a web of allied activist-journalists with large online followings, a White House that grants them access and, occasionally, a president who validates their work. The right-wing media machine that President Bill Clinton’s aides once referred to as ‘conspiracy commerce’ is now far more mature, extensive and, in the internet age, tough to counter.” http://nyti.ms/2sbduPm
DEEP DIVES -- NYT A1, “Opioid Dealers Embrace the Dark Web to Send Deadly Drugs by Mail: Anonymous online sales are surging, and people are dying. Despite dozens of arrests, new merchants — many based in Asia — quickly pop up,” by Nathaniel Popper (print headline: “Drug Trade Rises in Dark Corners of the Internet”): “As the nation’s opioid crisis worsens, the authorities are confronting a resurgent, unruly player in the illicit trade of the deadly drugs, one that threatens to be even more formidable than the cartels. The internet. In a growing number of arrests and overdoses, law enforcement officials say, the drugs are being bought online. Internet sales have allowed powerful synthetic opioids such as fentanyl — the fastest-growing cause of overdoses nationwide — to reach living rooms in nearly every region of the country, as they arrive in small packages in the mail.” http://nyti.ms/2t91CdL
--“China’s New Bridges: Rising High, but Buried in Debt: China has built hundreds of dazzling new bridges, including the longest and highest, but many have fostered debt and corruption,” by NYT’s Chris Buckley: “The eye-popping structures have slashed travel times in some areas, made business easier and generated a sizable slice of the country’s economy, laying a foundation, in theory at least, for decades of future growth. But as the bridges and the expressways they span keep rising, critics say construction has become an end unto itself. Fueled by government-backed loans and urged on by the big construction companies and officials who profit from them, many of the projects are piling up debt and breeding corruption while producing questionable transportation benefits.” http://nyti.ms/2t9er7I
BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:
--“Bob Dylan’s Nobel Lecture”: “Some of these same things have happened to you. You too have had drugs dropped into your wine. You too have shared a bed with the wrong woman. You too have been spellbound by sweet voices with strange melodies. You too have come so far and have been so far blown back.” http://bit.ly/2rULMnO
--“How the D-Day Invasion Was Planned” – in the August 1944 issue of Popular Mechanics: “Every one of the thousands of men landed in France required about 10 ship tons of overall equipment, and an additional ship ton every 30 days. The number of separate items needed was about a million. Some of these million items had to be accumulated in millions, resulting in astronomical totals.” http://bit.ly/2smaY97
--“Eternal Champions,” by Sam Borden in ESPN: “Seven months ago, Brazilian underdogs Chapecoense boarded a plane to play in the game of their lives. Instead, their biggest moment turned into a tragedy no one can forget.” http://es.pn/2r9Y3aB (h/t Longform.org)
--“Inside Trump’s secretive immigration court: far from scrutiny and legal aid,” by The Guardian’s Oliver Laughland in Jena, Louisiana: “[T]he remote LaSalle detention facility is part of Trump’s attempt to fast-track deportations. A visit reveals a hastily arranged setup beset by flaws.” http://bit.ly/2scNvHQ
--“Rolling Stone at 50: How Hunter S. Thompson Became a Legend,” by Patrick Doyle in Rolling Stone – per The Browser’s description: “Sports Illustrated asked Hunter S. Thompson for 250 words about a Las Vegas motorbike race. He gave them 2,500 words — and when they spiked the piece he took it to Rolling Stone, which wanted more. The result was Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, published in 1971. Thompson’s coverage of the 1972 presidential campaign ‘reshaped what it meant to write about politics’. But ‘getting work out of him was becoming difficult”. Editing him ‘was a bit like being a cornerman for Ali.’” http://rol.st/2smiHEk
--“Weddings of the 0.01 Percent,” by Julia Rubin in Racked: “Cristal! Caviar! Chris Martin! How the rich (and sometimes famous) get married.” http://bit.ly/2smtvCz
--“The truth about tarot,” by James McConnachie in Aeon Magazine: “Whether divining ancient wisdoms or elevating the art of cold reading, tarot is a form of therapy, much like psychoanalysis.” http://bit.ly/2sL1XDY (h/t ALDaily.com)
--“The Worst Ever First Day on the Job -- Punching In: My Life as a Long Haul Trucker,” by Finn Murphy in Literary Hub: “Moving companies perform four categories of moving work: local, commercial, long-distance, and international. Callahan’s work was mostly local moving, loading up someone’s house in the morning and then unloading in the afternoon at the new house. It takes the greatest toll on the body because you are handling stuff every working day. It’s the local stuff that eventually kills you or drives you to drink; more commonly, both.” http://bit.ly/2s4Nuoy
--“There Were Once Jews Here,” by Lucette Lagnado, author of “The Man in the White Sharkskin Suit: A Jewish Family’s Exodus from Old Cairo to the New World,” in Tablet Magazine: “During the Six-Day War, some of the Arab countries at war with Israel -- Egypt, Tunisia, Libya -- treated their Jewish populations terribly, causing them to leave en masse.” http://bit.ly/2t92OOk ... $10.01 on Amazonhttp://amzn.to/2sbmAeT
--“Dear Brazilian Government, Thanks for the Contracts,” by Michael Smith, Sabrina Valle, and Blake Schmidt on the cover of Bloomberg Businessweek: “There’s graft, and then there’s the graft machine perfected by Odebrecht, one of the world's biggest construction companies.” https://bloom.bg/2rOEHqr … The coverhttp://bit.ly/2rjKL6H
--“‘Kill them, kill them, kill them’: the volunteer army plotting to wipe out Britain’s grey squirrels,” by Patrick Barkham in The Guardian: “The red squirrel is under threat of extinction across Britain. Their supporters believe the only way to save them is to exterminate their enemy: the greys. But are they just prejudiced against non-native species?” http://bit.ly/2re8OE6
--“This County Switched From Backing Obama to Trump. Here’s What Happened,” by Josh Siegel in The Daily Signal: “In 1980, manufacturing jobs comprised 38 percent of all jobs in Coos [New Hampshire]. In 2014, only 7 percent of jobs in the county were in manufacturing. Payroll wages from manufacturing have dropped from 49 percent to 9 percent since the mid-1980s.” http://bit.ly/2sL2A0v
SPOTTED: Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly enjoying “DHS Night” Friday night at the Nats game along with members of DHS’ workforce – pic http://bit.ly/2rjyfUM... Anson Kaye, partner at GMMB, in New Orleans last night, accepting a Gold ADDY award (and also a Mosaic Award) for the ad “Mirrors” (http://bit.ly/2sbAIEM) he created for Hillary for America
SPOTTED at State Department senior White House adviser Matt Mowers’ birthday party at Wet Dog Tavern last night (which coincidentally also hosted RNC alum Anna Epstein’s birthday party at the same time): Cassie Spodak, Ryan Williams, Zeke Miller, Ben Sparks, Jill Barclay, Phil Elliott, Ethan Zorfas, Ben DeMarzo, Maren Kasper, Michael Kratsios, Kailani Koenig, Tom Dickens, Elise Dietsch Dickens, Eric Jones, Alan He, Andy Polesovsky, Corey Ershow, Kelly Klass, Britt Carter.
SHIELDS/WALSH ENGAGEMENT PARTY -- THE BRITISH EMBASSY hosted an engagement party last night for Mike Shields, former RNC chief of staff and founder and partner at Convergence Media and Katie Walsh, former WH deputy chief of staff and former RNC chief of staff who is now senior advisor at America First Policies. Amb. Kim Darroch toasted the pair and called them the “ultimate political couple” and told the crowd how the couple got engaged in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street, where the prime minister has met with his or her cabinet every week for 250 years. He also needled Mike, who has a British mother and is a big soccer fan, for supporting Ipswich, who he cast as much inferior to Chelsea in the Premier League. The food at the party included: herb-crusted fillet of lamb, goat’s cheese and beetroot, terrine of pork, and chili shrimp while desserts included mini Bakewell tart, strawberry tartlet and passion fruit mousse. Pics of the couplehttp://bit.ly/2sbk3Bp … http://bit.ly/2saWbhk … Reince Priebus taking a pic of the couple as they thanked friends for coming http://bit.ly/2rOGmfz … The crowdhttp://bit.ly/2rOzjDs
SPOTTED: Reince and Sally Priebus, Sean and Rebecca Spicer, Steven Mnuchin and his chief of staff Eli Miller chatting on a walk around the gardens of the embassy, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Rob and Cindy Simms, Cara Mason, Jessica Ditto, Sarah and Dave Armstrong, Tim Pataki, Richard Walters, Rob Jesmer chatting with Sean Cairncross (Sean and Rob have been friends since they were 5 years old growing up in Minnesota), Brian O. Walsh, Josh Pitcock, Mike’s 15-year-old son Aidan Shields-Eads, Molly Donlin, Steven Law, Sam Feist, Mike Allen, Andrew Bremberg, Lew Eisenberg, Madeleine Westerhout, Johnny DeStefano, Renee Hudson, Michael Hoare, Lindsay Walters, Vanessa Morrone and Mike Ambrosini, Zach and Mallory Hunter.
ENGAGED --Andrew Feldman, principal of the progressive communications firm Feldman Strategies, proposed to his longtime girlfriend Megan Salzman Saturday night during Country Music Fest in Nashville. Megan is a communications manager at the early education advocacy group The First Five Years Fund. “Andrew and Megan met on OKCupid nearly four and a half years ago. Andrew points out that the ring has extra significant because the center stone was Megan’s mother’s engagement stone and she is no longer with us.” Pics http://bit.ly/2r7KrIZ ... http://bit.ly/2rOFJTb … The ringhttp://bit.ly/2rjzLGh
-- Jessica Huff, social media director for McClatchy in Dallas and a Politico alum, and Spenser Walters, an area sales rep for Duvel USA, got engaged on Friday night in Austin, Texas. She emails us: “We met in college at UT-Austin after he came back from Afghanistan. He was serving in the Marines. We had the same group of friends but I hadn’t met him yet since he was overseas. Once he was back, one of our first dates was at a restaurant in the hill country in Texas overlooking the lake, and so while visiting Austin he took me back there and proposed during sunset. It’s a very special place to us so it was perfect!” Picshttp://bit.ly/2shqCmX … The ringhttp://bit.ly/2t9rnKO
WEEKEND WEDDINGS -- Travis Considine, communications manager at Uber Texas and a John McCain and Rick Perry alum, married Morgan Smith, a reporter with The Texas Tribune, on Saturday evening at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Guests enjoyed a bluegrass band and flawless weather at the outdoor ceremony and reception. Pichttp://bit.ly/2t9jc1c … Travis’ speechhttp://bit.ly/2sQLqi2
SPOTTED: Tucker and Alexia Bounds, Brittany Bramell, Trevor Theunissen, Chris Miller, Allie Brandenburger and Ryan Mahoney, Kevin Benacci, Emily Ramshaw, Matt and Jen Hirsch, Evan Smith, Perrylanders Rob Johnson, Mark Miner, and Andy Hemming.
OBAMA ALUMNI – Meredith Carden, head of partnerships at Sidewire, got married this weekend to Micah Fergenson, law clerk at U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in a small ceremony at Four Follies Farm in Tiverton, Rhode Island. The couple first met in 2009 when they were working for President Obama. Micah worked in the WH Counsel’s Office, and Meredith worked for FLOTUS in the East Wing. They lost touch, but were reintroduced by a mutual friend in 2015. Pichttp://bit.ly/2sb3PIq
--“Lily Rothman, Elihu Dietz” – N.Y. Times: “Ms. Rothman, 31, is the history and archives editor at Time magazine, overseeing its history coverage, Life.com and the magazine’s digital archive. She also wrote ‘Everything You Need to Ace American History in One Big Fat Notebook.’ She graduated magna cum laude from Yale and received a master’s degree in journalism from the City University of New York. ... Mr. Dietz, 32, is a candidate for a master’s degree in environmental management at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke, where he studies the integration of renewable energy into the grid. He graduated from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, N.M. ... The groom is a great-great-grandson and a namesake of Elihu Root, who was President Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary of state and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912. He is also a direct descendant of President Ulysses S. Grant. The couple met on a blind date arranged by friends in Brooklyn in 2011.” With pic http://nyti.ms/2rZpO2N
--“Alison Kenworthy, Michael Koenigs”: “The bride and groom work at ABC News in New York, where they met. She is a news producer for ‘Good Morning America.’ He is a senior coordinating producer, creating content that is used on-air and on the website. He was also the host of ‘Election Cycle,’ a series in 2016 that featured him bicycling through swing states and interviewing voters along the way. The bride, 33, graduated from Rutgers. ... Mr. Koenigs, 30, graduated cum laude from Harvard.” With pichttp://nyti.ms/2t8GB2L
--“Julia Pudlin, David Wishnick”: “Ms. Pudlin, 32, worked until earlier this year at the United States Treasury Department as a deputy executive secretary in the chief of staff’s office and a senior adviser to the general counsel. On July 10 she is to begin working as the assistant deputy general counsel for government investigations at Comcast in Philadelphia. She graduated summa cum laude from Yale, and received a law degree magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. ... Mr. Wishnick, also 32, was until recently an associate in the Washington office of Jenner & Block, a Chicago law firm. On July 12 he is to begin a fellowship, conducting research in contract law, at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He graduated magna cum laude from Brown, and received a law degree from Yale. ... The couple met in April 2013 through the dating app Hinge.” With pichttp://nyti.ms/2rOZSIV
--“Victoria St. Martin, Richard G. Jones”: “The bride, 36, is a general assignment reporter on the local desk of The Washington Post. She graduated from Rutgers and received a master’s degree in journalism from American University. ... The groom, 46, is to become the director of the journalism program at Notre Dame. Until recently, he was an associate editor in news administration for The New York Times, as well as the director of the newspaper’s Student Journalism Institute. He graduated from the University of Delaware and has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia. ... The couple were introduced in 2006 by a mutual friend in Yardley, Pa.” With pichttp://nyti.ms/2rOtYMA
BIRTHDAYS: Greta Van Susteren, the pride of Appleton, Wisconsin (hat tip: Tammy Haddad) ... Tad Devine, the pride of Providence who lives on Block Island, is 62 ... Kim Oates of the House Radio/TV gallery … Carrie Budoff Brown’s older sister, Jennifer Budoff, budget director for the D.C. City Council ... former Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) is 87 … Lindsey Williams Drath ... Jennifer Rubin ... Michael Timmeny, SVP for government and community relations at Cisco ... Jeremy Ben-Ami, president at J Street (h/ts Jon Haber) ... POLITICO’s Reid Pillifant, Emily Dobler and Juliette Medina ... South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard is 64 ... Treasury alum David Cohen ... TJ Adams-Falconer, associate director of external affairs at Axios ... Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Tex.) is 69 ... Cesar Gonzalez, COS for Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart ... former Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) is 59 ... DNC comms staffer and former HRC campaign media booker Lucas Acosta (h/t Crystal Carson) ...
... Will Rahn, managing editor for politics at CBS News digital, is 3-0 ... Jessica Franks, gov’t affairs representative for Halliburton ... Politico Europe’s Tanit Parada Tur ... Chris Campbell, Republican staff director at Senate Finance ... Kristina Edmunson ... Rachel Ruskin ... Obama alum Jonathan McBride, now a managing director at BlackRock … Mike Schoenfeld, the Blue Devils’ master of public affairs/Duke’s other Mike … Betsy Gotbaum, former NYC public advocate, is 79 ... Matt Chaban, policy director at Center for an Urban Future ... Mary Kate Cunningham ... Salesforce’s Tom Gavin, an Obama WH OMB alum … Michael Froehlich ... Caroline Barker ... Matthew Campbell ... Vanessa Chan, corporate comms. at Facebook ... Kelly Danielka Peirson ... Google’s Ramya Raghavan ... Tom Alexander, COO at 1871 Chicago and a Rahm alum ... Jacque Vilmain, the pride of Eagle Grove, Iowa(h/t Teresa) ... animal rights activist Ingrid Newkirk is 68 ... Power Playbooker Dr. Oz is 57 ... actor Hugh Laurie is 58 ... Shia LaBeouf is 31 (h/ts AP)

Trump’s Most Lasting Legacy?

Trump’s Most Lasting Legacy?
by Alex Wagner via Master Feed : The Atlantic
URL: http://ift.tt/2tsbKz6
With the investigation into Russia and the Trump campaign, the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the already controversial healthcare bill and the never-ending saga of Press Secretary Sean Spicer, it would seem that the Trump administration is in a tailspin, grappling daily with an onslaught of unforced errors and unforeseen consequences, too busy putting out the latest fire (or dousing it with gasoline) to pay too much heed to actually moving the ball forward.
But amid all the he said-he said allegations and endless rounds of Recusal Jeopardy, there is one corner of the universe where Team Trump has been successfully executing on its campaign promises, ticking off agenda items with the humming efficiency of a well-oiled machine: reshaping the nation’s courts.
The hearings that have gotten the most airtime of late (which is to say: all the airtime of late) were ones featuring former FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the Senate’s equivalent of a public fireworks display—all pyrotechnics and fizz. Less seen, and certainly much less transparently exciting, were two other hearings that occurred in less packed Senate chambers only a few paces away: hearings for John Bush, a nominee to the 6th Circuit federal appeals court and Damien Schiff, a nominee for the federal Court of Claims.
Schiff and Bush are two of President Trump’s thus far 21 picks for the nearly 130 vacancies on the federal bench, an excess of open slots that exist mostly because of unprecedented Republican resistanc e to the confirmation of President Obama’s judicial nominees. Neither Bush nor Schiff will ever singlehandedly wield the power of, say, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, but their nominations indicate the direction in which America’s courts may be headed under Trump. Given the extraordinary power of the courts today—especially as a check on the legislative and executive branches—a judicial branch populated with men like Bush and Schiff could mightily shift the political landscape of the United States, well after Trump has left office.
Both Schiff and Bush arrived at their hearings carrying excess baggage in the form of controversial writing. Bush, a corporate lawyer, had previously blogged under the pseudonym, “G. Morris” on his wife’s site, “Elephants in the Bluegrass.” The site features numerous posts by Bush, the most controversial of which were a comparison of Roe v. Wade to the _Dred Scott_decision concluding that black people could not be citizens of the United States, and one which contained questionable allegations about then-President Obama’s Kenyan roots. The post cited, by way of a source, _World Net Daily_— a website that the Southern Poverty Law Center characterizes as “devoted to manipulative fear-mongering and outright fabrications designed to further … paranoid, gay-hating, conspiratorial and apocalyptic visions.”
At his hearing, Bush was asked about his sourcing by Senator Al Franken. He responded, “As a blogger, I was finding things that were in the news of note. I wasn’t intending, through the posts, to say that President Obama was not born in this country.”
Franken pressed on, asking Bush how he deemed which sources were credible—and whether he believed that _World Net Daily_was a credible source:
_Bush:_As I said, when I was doing the blog, I made some posts that I today would not do. I don’t particularly recall that one, what went into the decision to use that particular story…
Franken: Let me ask you again, how did you decide which sources were credible? And how did you decide that [World Net Daily] was a credible source?
Bush: I don’t know whether I decided that or not. I just really cannot remember.
Franken: So you felt free to put posts out that cited sources that you knew were not credible?
Bush: No Senator, I am not saying that.
Franken: What are you saying?
Bush: I’m saying that as a blogger, I was making political statements—
Franken: —using sources that engaged in fake news, hate speech and again, what I was saying was, when we are confirming judges, we have to look at judgment. And in my mind, using my judgment, to confirm someone to the circuit court who felt free to blog posts and can’t answer how he decides whether to cite a source or not—whether it’s credible or not—that’s disturbing to me.
Bush ran into more problems when he was questioned by Senator Dick Durbin, who followed up on comments Bush had made earlier to Senator Dianne Feinstein, about _Roe vs Wade_being a tragedy, “in the sense that it divided our country.” Durbin questioned the logic behind this assessment—after all, weren’t some of the court’s most landmark cases divisive ones?
By way of an example Durbin asked, “Wouldn’t you characterize _Brown v. Board of Education_as a case that divided our country?”
“I wasn’t alive at the time of Brown,” Bush said. “But I don’t think it did.”
(Brown v. Board of Education, a ruling that found racially segregated public schools unconstitutional, was one of the most divisive court rulings of the 20th century.)
Following Bush’s hearing, nominee Damian Schiff took the stand. An attorney with the conservative Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), Schiff has made clear his views on all manner of social issues. In a posting for PLF entitled “Teaching ‘Gayness’ in Public Schools,” he criticized the assumption that “homosexual families are the moral equivalent of heterosexual families.”
In a law review article six years ago, Schiff compared the Supreme Court’s ruling in an affirmative action case, Grutter v. Bollinger, one that allowed universities to use race as a factor in admissions, to the _Dred Scott_decision.
And, like Bush, Schiff posted for a time on a personal blog, Omnia Omnibus. The site is a cornucopia of musings and conclusions, ranging from Schiff’s thoughts on Iron Man(not a fan) to sleeping in the nude (not a fan), to Lawrence v. Texas, Supreme Court’s landmark ruling striking down anti-sodomy laws (definitely not a fan):
“I strongly disagree with the _Lawrence_because I can find no historical or precedential basis, pre-1868, for its limitation on the legislative proscription of sodomy.”
But Schiff’s most notable post was the one in which he labeled Justice Anthony Kennedy “a judicial prostitute”:
“It would seem that Justice Kennedy is (and please excuse the language) a judicial prostitute, ‘selling’ his vote as it were to four other Justices in exchange for the high that comes from aggrandizement of power and influence, and the blandishments of the fawning media and legal academy.”
At the hearing last week, Schiff—unlike Bush—was less conciliatory when asked about his thoughts on Kennedy’s swing vote:
“The point of that blog post was not to impugn or malign any person,” he insisted, “but rather to attack a certain style of judging that is frequently applauded in the media.”
That style of judging, said Schiff, is “based upon factors other than the law or the facts.”
After Bush and Schiff testified, I spoke with Nan Aron, the director of the Alliance for Justice, a progressive advocacy group focused on the judiciary. “I’m sure these two would never get hired in a professional environment,” she said. “I’m even more sure that they don’t meet the very high standards of judicial temperament. It’s hard to see how either of these men—given their crude, coarse statements—would get hired at any corporation.”
It will be up to Senate Republicans to decide whether Bush and Schiff are “hired” for their posts, now that judicial nominees can be confirmed by a simple majority vote. Aron’s group has made public its opposition to both nominees, and her feelings about the fundamental unfitness of the two men were echoed by other senators on the Judiciary Committee, including Senator Sheldon Whitehouse —who forewent any questions to Schiff and instead used his allotted time to express his disbelief at the caliber of the nominees:
“I’ve never seen a panel that has made statements like this before, not in my ten years on this committee have I seen a panel that has a record—two panels, I guess we call it—that has a record of this kind of use of extremist, extraordinary blog posting. It’s just astounding to me to be sitting here, and having this be treated as if it it’s normal. It just isn’t normal.”
If it is not normal, it may still be by design: all of Trump’s announced nominees thus far were hand-picked by the Federalist Society, a staunchly conservative network that has effectively served as the administration’s judicial job placement service. Caroline Fredrickson, president of the left-leaning American Constitution Society, explained: “No one should have any doubt from where these picks are coming from. Leonard Leo from the Federalist Society was put in charge of the selection process and they produced a list of their pre-approved people.”
And yet, even if their provenance has been no surprise, Fredrickson was still shocked at the caliber of the nominees that Trump had put forth, echoing what Senator Whitehouse expressed at the hearing last week. “I look at them and think, this is who Trump is nominating? The idea that Obama would have nominated someone that had written something so outrageous…. The standards are so extremely different.”
John Bush is 53 years old, and Damian Schiff is 38. Most of Trump’s announced nominees are in their mid 40s—which means that, if confirmed, they will sit on their respective benches for a very long time. In addition to the fact that Trump may fill over 130 vacancies on the lower courts, the relatively young age of his stable could cement in place a conservative judiciary for decades to come.
And yet, as it concerns the public, few Americans are even aware that this is happening—let alone discussing it. The maelstrom over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—the palace intrigue and endless speculation—has been very useful to the right, insofar as it has allowed the judicial confirmation process to move along unimpeded. This may prove to be the most lasting legacy of the Trump administration.
I asked Fredrickson whether Democrats were beginning to understand the dramatic landscape that stood before them. “It’s still a project to get the left to understand why the judiciary is important,” she told me. Then she added, “The president is not doing such a great job in terms of moving legislation, but if he gets the opportunity to fill those federal appointments, we are going to be living with Donald Trump for the rest of our lives.”

Teleport

Hi, everyone! This is my first time ever posting to reddit. I wanted to get some feedback on a short story I wrote, so I wanted to find a place where people would be able to read it, so I thought of reddit. I'm not even sure if we're allowed to post stories... or if there is a specific forum on here to do so.
It's the only "real" (if you can call it that) short story I've ever written. It was an idea bouncing around in my head for a while and I decided to just go ahead and do it.
Please, all the criticism you want! You won't offend me if it's bad because I'm not a writer, so I haven't put too much effort into learning how to write.
But, I enjoyed doing it, and want to see where I can go from here:
Please enjoy if possible...
TELEPORT
2025
"Looks like they were blindsided by those winds, Kevin. Makes you wonder about their local weather forecast. Back to you."
"I hear that, Shelly. We'll keep an eye on events as they unfold over in Stillwater, Kentucky. For those of you just joining, this storm nearly making national headlines, sweeping across the eastern portion of Kentucky, suspected to be adopted from the East Coast."
"We'll have more to report after this."
The newsanchor detached his earpiece from his head and walked off the set.
"Hey, Kevin!"
"Yea?" The newsanchor replied.
"Got a story for you, this one is crazy. Capital c, man."
"Oh yea?" The newsman grabbed the fold of papers from the coorespondent. He briefly glances over it, flipping the pages.
"Heh, is this a joke? It's April 3rd, you're a little late."
"I wish it was, Kevin. This... this is legit."
The newsanchor glanced back down at the newstory, headlined "GE Develops Teleportation Device? Can Teleport Objects Twice As Big As The Size Of An Average Person"
"This is ama..." The newsanchor stops short of his sentence. "B-but.. how? How does it work? I mean, what are the real limitations of this thing?"
The bearer of the newstory looked up at the newsman, appearing just as baffled as the other. "I don't know, Kevin. Strange, though. I've never felt my nerves act up like this before with a story."
Stillwater, Kentucky April 4th, 2025
"Ronald!" A voice exclaims, feeling quite a distance away from the barnhouse.
Ronald Loyer looks up from his activity, slicing up a lamb for the next months stew.
"Ronald!!!!!"
"Blasted, what do you WANT woman." He said not even beneath his breath, yet his wife Clarel, still not near the barn, didn't hear.
A few moments later his wife shows up at the barndoor.
"Did you not hear me? The boys are back from town, they got two whole sacks of potatas and three ears of corn."
"Woman, you came to tell me that? I been suspectin' them of bringin more and you come on like its good news. you just leave me to my slaughter."
"Whatever. Listen, you wanna be nice then I'll unlock the back door, hear? Or else you can just sleep out here tonight." Clarel slams the barndoor with an unlikely strength for even a southern woman. "This ain't the damn 1800s, you the one who broke the truck!" Clarel yelled through the door as she walked off huffing and sweating from working that day far too long outdoors.
**
After an argument later that evening, Ronald, Clarel and their children, two boys and a girl (Jeffrey, Susan, Tucker), sit down for a meal a bit later than usual.
"It's nearly dark, you know we can eat earlier if your father don't act like such a baby." Ronald slams his fist on the table. "Heh.. DAMNIT. Look, do we need to go back outside to finish this?" Clarel mumbles looking down at her food stirring her cauliflower soup with her fork. Jeffrey, 19 years old (and the second oldest) smirks. Susan is the youngest at 18, only a year apart from Jeffrey and Tucker the first born is 24 years old.
"Can't we at least watch the T.V. while we eat?" Jeffrey pauses for a moment everyone looking up at him for breaking the momentary silence. "Well? We usually do!" he concludes. Jeffrey forgets about it and goes back to eating. Ronald stands up and walks over to the T.V. and turns it on.
"What it be? that late night show? Weather?"
"I can't stand watchin the weather no more, it just makes me sad. How many dead is it so far?" Tucker pipes up.
"A dozen or more, not too far from here either." Susan continues, " 'say it's Kentucky's biggest disaster in ten years."
"Just terrible. I hope the parker family is ok, them winds hit hardest over in that area." Static blares from the T.V. as Ronald stares blankly at the floor with his hand on the T.V. knob. "... heck I agree.. let's watch somethin else." Ronald's face brightens up as he turns to one of the local entertainment channels.
**
The next day Ronald can be seen sitting in his truck attempting to start it up. "Damn technology, ruinin my damn truck, shoulda never hooked in that new battery." Ronald silently vows, as he did much of the time, to do without as much technology as he can manage to get by on. Always a disdain for technology, Ronald raises his kids as far away as he can from what the considers to be the modern treacheries of man. His buddies in town would always make fun of him, accusing him of being a southern Kentucky mennonite or just outright laughing at what they believed to be ignorance.
"Alright, fellas. Check this one out." Barry bellows out, startling all of the guys except Ronald. Ronald looks up from his beer to lock eyes with Barry, "The wife came home two nights ago, alright? This why I been a bit quiet. She downright smell of whiskey and straight up look'a damn shame, I tell by the look at her face she been seein that doctor. Willy? Billy? Willy Billy?" Barry bursts out laughing, "Billy with a little Willy!" Barry continues laughing and chortling profusely then stops suddenly, growing much quieter, "Ah.. damnit guys... just damnit.. I'm losin' her ain't I?" Barry's eyes begin to tear up a bit as the rest of the guys all stare modestly and silently down at the bar table.
After a few moments Paul speaks up, "Ya' know my dad is sellin his prize chickens at the auction this month. Didn't you say you wanted a shot at 'em, Barry?" Paul attemps to change the subject to comfort Barry. "Ah, I.. uh.. yea that sounds good. Just come get me whenever they do the shoutin'"
*
While Ronald was typically present during "the guy's" daily morning binge, today he sat in his truck, in his garage and a little more torn up than usual. Almost synchronistically with Barry's, Ronald's eyes tear up, but not over any wife. Ronald remembers back when he was a kid, in the 1980s, he daydreams of his mom and his dad as though they were still around. Ronald's parents were killed in an automatically piloted vehicle in 2021. The case was heard in many of Kentucky's most significant courtrooms and Ronald, though an incredbily futile effort, attempted to get AVRSs (Automatic Vehicle Redirection System) banned everywhere and removed from any and all pertaining vehicles permanently. After Ronald's failed plight, he took the settlement money and moved with his family into southern Kentucky just ouside Stillwater, where he would await unknowingly his fateful future.
Strangely, after a final twist of the key, the truck started. "I .. uh.. wait, what?" Ronald stuttered. He thought back on Jimmy Allems, his old High School buddy, working out the kinks in his truck the other day, while Ronald wasn't present during most of the operation, he was sure Jimmy hadn't fixed a "darn" thing. Little did Ronald know, however, that fate had started the truck that day. Not wires, not repairs, not a battery, not coincidence.. but hard, cold fate and the turn of events it offered.
Ronald decided to omit informing his family and to go ahead and attempt to drive the truck into town, the truck had nearly a full tank of gas. "They see my truck gone, they can figure what happened, I figure." Ronald murmured to himself as he drove away from the farm, up the hill and connected with the gravel road into town.
Ronald had a bit of a smile on his face as he bumped up and down on the bumpy road towards downtown. Not a great big smile, but enough of one. Ronald neared the bridge to town that crossed Obion Creek. A smaller vehicle, a blue sedan with chunks of paint taken off all the way to its' rust, roared past Ronald and his truck probably going 30 miles over the speed limit, or rather what Ronald deemed to be the speed limit had there been something official.
"What in the devil!" Ronald screamed as he slammed on his brakes. The blue sedan had nearly run him into a ditch. Ronald pulls to a screeching completely stop as he eyes the driver now up ahead of him. Ronald squints, because he can't believe his eyes. Ronald watches as the blue sedan drives over the bridge and straight into the rough old creek.
"Oh my dear sweet Lord in Heaven." Ronald shouts to himself. Stunned for a moment, Ronald tries hard to begin to figure out what to do he can do. The blue sedan at this point is being whisked away down the rapid creek.
Ronald pulls up and stops on the seemingly ancient wooden bridge. Ronald cups his hands over his eyes, shielding the sun. The blue sedan has been carried off too far, there's nothing he can do.
Just then.. Ronald jumps as he hears the roar of yet another engine. A black, much longer sedan this time, with tinted windows pulls up next to Ronald's car on the bridge.
Three men step out of the car, "There, how about that one?" points one of the men in nice black suits and sunglasses. "Looks good, prep the razor." Ronald stares at the men, mystified and completely curious as to the events unfolding right in front of him. Ronald watches as one of the mysterious men in black suits grabs some device out of the trunk of the car. The man then proceeds, or so it seems, to aim the device down the wiley river, in the direction of the blue sedan!?!? Ronald shakes his head subconsciously testing his state of alertness.
"Alright, do it." One of the men stated, right before the man with the device began to.. glow? The man with the device was now glowing a bright greenish-blue and it seemed as though at least 100 mph of winds were blowing through his clothes. Yet, Ronald nor any of the other men standing near the man with the device were covered in this glow OR any sort of fierce wind. It seemed to be strangely isolated to that man with the device alone.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large blue beam shot straight out of the device and seemed to instantly stretch for what seemed to be miles and miles into the horizon over the river. Only mere seconds later, a horrible screech seemed to pierce over the entire landscape of Kentucky as a large blue cloud-like bubble appeared over the bridge. Then SLAM! The blue sedan which drifted down the river appeared out of nowhere over the bridge and slammed down on the gravel road next to it.
"What... in the... f..." Before Ronald could finish, the three men rushed to the driver side door of the blue sedan, nearly ripping the door off its handles as they pull the driver violently out of the car.
"Cuff him, wipe him." Said one of the suited men to another. One of the men put the driver, who was a man apparently in his mid-40s who Ronald had never seen before, in handcuffs and lowered him into the back seat of the sleek black car.
As the last man gets in the drivers side of the black sedan, he glances at Ronald, seeming to notice him for the first time.
"Looks like you have quite a story for the locals here, eh?" Ronald acknowledges the strike up in conversation, but the man quickly gets in the car, abruptly ending any possible continuation of it.
**
April 8th, 2025 New York, New York
"Welcome back, folks!" Lenny Williams, host of America's favorite late night talk show, welcomes his audience back from a commercial break. "So, how about these diseased whales off the coast of Acapulco? I wonder if MacDonalds has any plans to invest in any of this for part of their livestock." The audience bursts into heavy laughter. "Now here's a story..." the talk show host picks up a card off the table and holds it up to the audience, "Local Kentucky man reports seeing a government top-secret experiment regarding teleportation. He is currently being held in custody for questioning and may be handed over to mental officials" the talk show host pauses for a few seconds, then continues, "Just hope they don't use that teleporter to handover whales to the McDonald officials." The audience bursts into laughter again.
the morning of April 9th, 2025 Cincinnati, Ohio
"... the search for eastern Texan Jenny Brooks is on tonight as an avalanche near Wellsprings, Colorado sent her and three of her friends off the side of a mountain highway early Tuesday morning." the newswoman pauses to take a breath, gulping unnoticeably. Inwardly arguing with herself how much more of her boss and his advances she can take before quitting and taking out another school loan.
"The two missing boys and one girl have been found, but the search does still continue for 23 year old Jenny Brooks. Her family, devastated, was interviewed late last night, her father's presence, however, could not be obtained for the press."
"... An update with the Kentucky man who reportedly witnessed what he claimed to be the top secret Federal Government performing an experiment near his hometown. Apparently, 45 year old Ronald Loyer has now told doctors that it was not a top secret division of the government, or the FBI, as he previously had stated, but in fact.. aliens. Lead team specialist of the mental health facility informed an as of now anonymous journalist that, in fact, Mr. Loyer would be remaining under their care at the hospital for days to come."
The nightly 30 minute news segment ends, the newswoman walks off into the dim lights of the set.
** afternoon of April 9th, 2025 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"Alright, I'll make you another bet." a preteen boy says to another preteen boy at Devil's Pool. "I can skip this rock across the lake five times. If I do, you gotta go kiss that girl over there and then stick your hand up her shirt and run off."
"You're kidding, right? You can't skip that rock five times, it's a deal."
"Heh, you're dead. My uncle showed me how to skip stones really good."
"Quit talkin'! Do it!" The boy with the rock launches the rock sideways from the palm of his hand across the lapis surface. One, two, three, four, five.....
late afternoon April 9th, 2025
"Roger! Get the HELL back on!" The newsteam manager yells at the newsanchor, demanding him to get back to his spot before the commercials is done airing.
"Look, I don't like the way she is setting up my make up schedule this early in the mo...."
"Roger, I don't give a shit! Get back up there, or you may as well walk yourself out the back door."
Roger, the newsman tightens his tie and puts the current situation quickly behind him as he strides up the corridoor onto the newset.
He spins his chair to face the camera just as the news goes back on the air.
He begins reading the telepromter.
"Does anybody remember SpinTech?" Roger reads as he asks the invisible state-wide audience. "SpinTech, original developer of Trudy, the personal car assistant, is apparently back on the scene. You won't believe this part." the whimsical newsanchor continues "apparently, discussions have begun with General Electric to buy the patent for their latest invetion the supposed "teleporting machine"." Roger stops for a moment, a very brief moment unrealized by staff or audience, due to a very unfamiliar, uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. "The machine, supposedly capable of actually teleporting mass up to as large as twice the size of an average sized human, has been the topic of heavy discussion all across the nation this week, turning heads at ad posts, causing wonder.. and even deep concern for many Americans. One Floridan blogger had this to write on his number one blogsite, "...teleportation devices? Guys, are you serious? You've got to be (censored) kidding me. Listen, people, nation, USE your brains. Wake up! You can't just mass produce a consumer level teleportation machine. What????? I can't even begin to imagine the insanity this will contribute in our day to day lives. If nothing else, hopefully at least the people of Florida will heed my warning." The newsanchor continues, "SpinTech plans to announce later this week any updates regarding the agreement with General Electric....."
Roger, the newsanchor continues, "In local news today........."
evening of April 9th, 2025 Two miles outside of Conway, Arkansas
"Hear about that little kid shot by that man? Little shit apparently ran up to his sister and grabbed her chest." The young woman grazes the palms of her hands over the tall grass stocks as she skips almost weightlessly up the hill.
"I did! Apparently the kids' parents are suing the school since the kids had disappeared over lunch. Get this, though.. the weird part.. supposedly the dad of one of the other kid he was hanging out with is the vice president of SpinTech."
"SpinTech? Never heard of it." The woman lays down on the soft pillow of grass atop the lush hill, arms outstretched, gazing toward the stars.
A young man, early twenties, sits on his knees next to her and continues, "Yea.. SpinTech developed the first vehicular AI assistant. Remember?"
"Ah, yep. They were quickly bought out though, if I remember."
"Nope. They strangely handed the contract to Apple, free of charge. Then seemed to disappear off the face of the Earth. Until... get this... until now.."
The young man lays himself back slowly next to the young woman.
The two journalism students slowly fall asleep under the clear night sky.
September 29th, 2025 Macau, China
Two men sit for drinks in a nearby tea house.
One man says to the other "Meiguó dà mógui sadàn. Jùxíng guàiwù zài dibù haishàng. Hai guài quánbù kòngzhì meiguó jingshén. Hai guài ji rén hao zhuyì famíng de duì rén duì meiguó. Meiguó nánzi suíhòu dou sile. Sile yóu ta benrén."
The other man laughs heartily, responding, "Mógui sadàn you ta de rìzi. Zhongguó yuo yitian chéngzhang. Zhongguó fazhan wài xing rén feidié. Zhengfú zhongguó zhenggè yuzhòu. Meiguó shì wèizhi dangjin zhongguó dàodá yuan de yuzhòu."
Both men laugh hysterically.
October 13th, 2025 Juarez, New Mexico
At a carnival, three kids play, unawares to the troubles of the world. One of the boys motions for the other two to follow him to a carnival game. The game, is a dart throwing game, with atypically small rings and a concernably small bullseye. The prizes are a tiny kid's dream. Large stuffed giraffes, bags of candy, holographic cards, several iPhone Infinity 2s, and one small robot tucked away in the back so as not to be seen plainly, being the most expensive item.
The young boy runs up to the counter, with his two friends trailing not far behind. "I want the bear! The blue bear!" The boy points at the giant blue bear hanging from the carnival game stand's railing.
"What are you, Five??" One of the girls says to the boy.
"Lemme 'lone! That bear is COOL."
"Well, son, you can try for it. Just one token!" The boy cheers and hands the man two tokens. "Err.. son, it just takes one token." The boy stares intently up at the man.
"Well, sir. I'd like to win the bear AND the robot." The man's face seems to flush, a bright red. He gulps, stepping to the side to cover the robot as best as possible.
"Right, oh. Yes, right. Um.. that old robot? Over there? Ok, you bet, kid!" sweat acrues on the man's forehead as the boy aims for the dart board.
The small boy misses with both of his darts and walks off in a fit, his friends tagging still closely behind.
A man in a black suit, watching all along, heads toward the group of children.
"Ahem.. hey there! hey... kids!" the man jogs pacefully up to the children, "Hey! kids! hey.. hey.." he stops near them. "Did you want one of those prizes?" The boy looks up at him, confused, wondering if he had broken something or done something wrong.
"I um.. yes, I want that big blue bear!" The man looks pitifully down at the child. He glances at the booth where the kid had played the game previously then looks back at the bunch of kids. A strange but subtle sound seems to emit from the man.
"Well, I bet I could spin that one for ya." The man pulls his arms out from behind his back and with it a giant blue bear. His sunglasshes shimmer briefly as he smiles brightly at the children.
October 28th, 2025 Detroit, MI
"Nah, dude. I'm just sayin'. People bein able to teleport n' shit? That's straight off the wall, yo."
The black gangster riding in the passenger sea raises his gun in the air, in a waving motion, "Check it. I'd teleport all the diamonds out the bank right theh, yo." As they pass by a bank.
From the same gang, in the back seat joins in, "Dawg. Check it. Dawg."
"Nigga, say it."
"Hah. Check it. See that bitch right there? I'd ren' a room'n teleport that bitch up in there!"
The whole car floods with rough laughter and hollering. Another Detroit gangster in the back seat jumps in,
"Then I'da teleport that bitch into the kitchen a'make me some grub."
The carload continues in a loud obnoxious overreaction.
Except, except for the driver. Who sits silently staring straight ahead. Then he turns up the radio.
"Violence erupts in the middle of downtown Philadelphia this morning as, what authorities are now calling rioters, protest the offical public release of the first home teleportation dev..."
Suddenly the car comes to a screeching halt, "Hey, dawg. We here." The four gangsters pull out their guns and rush quickly out of the car.
November 7th, 2025 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"In light of the now over one week ago's protest turned tragedy, local officials have decided to begin discussing potential regulations on the soon to be released state of the art technology from SpinTech. We go to Mitchell Burnhem at the site of the protest over a week ago which also happens to be the front of SpinTech Co's Main Headquarters."
"Thanks, Rena. We are indeed making headway out here in front SpinTech, I have two teenagers, it's ah.. it's about all I could come up with due to the.. " The reporter adjusts his neck piece. " law enforcement blockading the area. I wanted to get closer, to see if I could catch any actual SpinTech employees, but was unable to do so, we should have more on that later." The reporter points the microphone towards one of the teenagers chin. "Do you.. ah.. do you have anything to share with us regarding the recent protest? You told me your cousin here was directly involved, correct?"
The kid smirks bashfully and looks down at the ground shuffling his feet, answering, "Y-yes, I was directly involved in the protest. My mom was arrested and jailed, she was a front line sign holder. Her friend's friend was put into a coma from a smoke grenade hit to the temple." The college aged kid points to the east side of the SpinTech building, as the news camera pans to where he is pointing. "And.. and you see that?" The news camera pans to an unusual spot near the building, it's a totally unused and blank patch of very healthy looking bright green grass, which is fenced in like a partial moat to the side of the SpinTech building. "That's where they teleported a man the other day. My mom saw it. They did a demonstration. They teleported a man! They teleported him into ground! He was, he was..." The teenager began panicking, then crying. The reporter, for the first time in several years (to his colleague's recognition), looked completely bewildered.
National News... November 22nd, 2025
"Spokesperson Fletcher Metsen of the judicial branch of the Government of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced this week that it would not go forward in allowing the new legislation instead the local government ordered an appeal and a new mandate revoking the right of SpinTech Co to release any such Teleportation device or anything related for mass consumer use.
Many wary American's will sleep easier tonight I would think, Tom. Back to you."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania November 25th, 2025
RELEASE DAY
"In an exciting turn of events, Jake, it seems as though SpinTech has been able to circumvent the recent legislation to control their efforts. SpinTech has announced today... also, I should add, amazingly, they did so simultaneously to the actual unveiling and release of the product in hardware stores all over the United States. SpinTech announced that instead of releasing their products freely to retailers across the country and continuing with the global expansion of the company previously planned later this year, that they would instead bypass the local government's orders by releasing the product in cognito under the guise of a hardware utility to be sold at even a local hardware store. It's reported they managed this method legally by requiring a brief back ground check and registration to own the product. Due to regulations and fair rights practices, it is reported to be several weeks until US congress can intervene.
Apparently, over the last 72 hours, SpinTech has been striving hard to recover from the fatal financial blow it was struck by local congress. No settlement in another unrelated lawsuit resulted in SpinTech being held vulnerable and caused them to take this present course of action. The vice president has been reported to be acting unusual, by colleagues.
You can expect SpinTech products to be available on local hardware store shelves such as Lawes and House Department and even national "buy everything at once" chains such as WellMart and Sim's.
Very concering news, Jake. You take it."
*
Wendy Hillers sat atop her roof, the construction on the house seeming too much for her and her husband alone. She wandered to the edge, peering down at the ground. For some reason, today she felt completely at ease standing on the edge of the house. Only moments of thought later her husband arrived at home in his red Ford pickup. He pulled in more quickly than usual, and even a slight screech could be heard veering into the driveway. Once parked, Wendy's husband hopped out of the truck excitedly and waved his arms up at his wife and yelled,
"Honey! Honey!! I got it!! I got the second one!!"
A few minutes later they were both standing out on their back deck, looking up at the heavy weather damage to the shingles above the patio door. A large tree limb stuck like a knife directly through the ruffled siding.
"Well, do.. do you know how to use it?" Wendy looked curiously at her husband.
"I ah.. I watched a how-to video on MeTube, well.. some of it at least." Wendy's curiousity turned to a concern as she watched as her husband fiddled with the device. It was hand held, but quite a bit bigger than your usual hand held device of 2025. Wendy likened it silently to a device or gun they would use on some science fiction stuff from something her husband watches.
Wendy, now frustrated, grabbed the device out of her husbands hands, after several minutes of nothing happening, "Look, see here?" Wendy points to the side of the gadjet, "that's the on-button, then you set the paramters here.. predicted width/height.. it doesn't even have to be exact, and it will calculate the difference."
Her husband looked at her, a look of shock and puzzlement. "Where the hell did you learn all that?"
Wendy snickered, "There have been documentaries on it they've been replaying on TW Center all-week long" Her husband nodded, then looked at her and then looked at the branch. "Well, can you get that branch out of there?"
"I can sure try. I think I'm confident enough to use it, it's supposed to be very user friendly." Wendy proceeds to point the gun-like device at the tree branch. She presses the red-button trigger on the front center of the device and a fairly loud whirring protrudes from the object into and the ears of the newly wed couple.
But, then, nothing happens.
The couple look at eachother confused.
"Haha, maybe it's broken or you did something wro....." Just then, in the middle of his sentence, a large tree limb duplicate of the one in the house, and even small chunks of the house, suddenly appears attached on Wendy's husbands head.
Wendy screams the loudest she has ever screamed. The left half of her husbands head and now is now fused with a tree branch stretching and contorting his facial features to conform unnaturally to the side of the tree branch attached to his head. A small piece of a shingle sticks out of his head near his right ear.
Wendy crying madly, watches in terror as her husband falls backwards due to the weight of the branch. The branch breaks his fall, propping him up backwards against the ground, his head still fused into the tree branch.
A distant whirring sound can be heard, at least a distance of one to two houses away. A scream is heard by Wendy, one of Sara Miller, one of Wendy's neighbors.
Sara's hand is caught in the side of her teal colored Lexus, but not caught in any usual way. Her hand was literally mended within the steel and the frame of the side of the car itself.
"What the hell did you do!?!?" Sara yells at her husband.
"I- what the hell!!!!" Her husband screams crazily, "I aimed it at the lawn mower!!!!" Blood was pouring down the side of the car from her arm, staining the rusty blue greenish car a violent crimson. She could even see her hand on the other side through the glass. It was about three times puffier than a hand should look, and it was veiny and purple and she could not feel a thing from it. "I'm calling the police right now!!!! Don't worry, baby!! Don't worry!!"
Several city blocks away a man waits in line in his car at a fast food restaurant.
His turn eventually arrived, "Welcome to MacDonalds, can I take your order?"
"Hi, yes, I'd like two screamy cheese puffs, five dollar menu cheese burgers with the new beefy sauce, and a medium Diet Stroke"
But, before his order could be finished, the sound of an explosion, as one from a car crash, can be heard coming from the main street near the MacDonalds.
A man, standing near the crosswalk, is pointing a teleportation device in various directions, activating one shot after the other.
Rectangular shapes, chunks of matter, reality seem to be appearing and disappearing from random, scattered places. They seem to start wherever he points the device.
A fire hydrant is now merged with the top of an old brown toyota which is veering in and out of control and finally crashes into a wall. A middle aged woman lies dead near the man with the device, with her right leg fused through the front and back of her chest through her heart. Half of her head split open, and most of her brains spilling on to the man's foot, unnoticed by him as he continues havok in the middle of the city.
A man running as fast as he can in the opposite direction down the sidewalk adjacent to the man with the device screams, terrified as he notices the man with the device pointing it at him. Trying as fast as he can to get away, the main fails as he is transported instantly from the sidewalk to several stories directly above the position from where the last time his foot ever graced the earth. Screaming, much more wildly now, the man waves his arms madly in front of his face, to shield it, as he rockets towards the ground the impact quickly cracking most of his bones and shoving the front of his face into the back of his head.
A large hispanic woman attempts to tackle the man by approach him quietly from behind. Just as she nears him, he turns around and catches her before nearly pouncing on him.
He points the device urgently at her, though he did not quite aim it where he wanted. As he meant to pick her up and crush her like he just did that man, instead a large, perfectly rectangular chunk is taken out of the left half of her body. One of her lungs slipped out of the cavity where her arm and the side of her body once were and onto the ground. Following directly after, each with a sickening splat on the ground, her other lung fell, her heart, some intestines spewed out, her kidneys, one after the other most of her organs and the remaining half of her body splatter onto the pavement.
"Shit." The man said, as he vomitted.
evening time November 25th, 2025 Las Vegas, Nevada
Car alarms, violent screams, the sounds of broken slot machines, explosions could be heard on the streets of Vegas. Large crowds of people could be seen running occasionally from nothing but one person. In one part of the city at this particular moment, there were cars suddenly dropping from the sky onto people. Two children and their mother scamper to get away from the chaos as a major portion of an old Chevy Blazer crashes down smashing her between the truck and the pavement. The kids scream and cry as they realize their mother has been instantly murdered. Nearby, a car falls near a man onto another car, "Oh gosh, that was close." he gasped in relief, but only miliseconds later the two cars explode, sending fragments of molten steel althroughout the front of his body, the man drops face first onto the ground dead. A sinister and mentally ill looking man stands on the corner onlooking the massacre, chuckling.
San Fransisco, California
A group of teenagers are running from a another madman hundreds of miles west.
A mixture of teen boys and teen girls in brighty poppy clothes leap down a steady hill as quickly as they can.
The man, screaming, shouting strange sentences, aims the teleportation device he is carrying at the group of teenagers, he initiates the teleportation procedure.
Suddenly, the top halves of most of the teenagers disappear into thin air, the bottoms of intestines and blood and pairs of legs falling to the ground. The top halves of the teenagers are now all falling at the same time from above about 50 feet, the screams fade as their brains die not moments before splattering down onto the city street below.
The same man, uses the device again, this time transporting an entire person into another person.
The two people were running, he took the farthest one away from himself, then pointed it at the other tilted more sideways and made an X shape out of the two of them, they lose balance and plummet, fused together and dying quickly, to the ground.
Various places in the United States
All over the country, in major and minor cities alike, the most atrocious, bizarre catastrophies can be seen as a result of the release of the recent super-hyped up teleportation mechanism.
However, not only are there strange, violent acts unlike that have ever been seen by human kind before, in abundance, but also strange anomolies and occurrences with what seem to be time and space itself.
The country... the world... just don't look the same as they used to, many things are blended together and confusing to determine what is what by simply observing. Objects and parts of objects and squares and cubes and rectangles of objects and buildings and city structures and aspects of nature are now scattered throughout cities like massive three-dimensional checker boards.
Bright, violet, electrically charged cubes of 'anti-matter' now appear in random places all over the United States, where an unknown part of reality has now been ripped apart and revealed to humanity. Profusing from them is a purple, electrical, plasma like substance, which looks somehow like a blend between an active electrical current and the smoke from dry ice.
Strange creatures begin walking into the world, from who knows where, and attacking people and eating people everywhere. And... doing things which... can't even be described. Acts and vicious twists of reality and physics which cannot be understood or explained yet by human perception. Violence, torment and hell for all the organisms of Earth begins, occurring in ways known and unknown.
April 5th somewhere outside of Stillwater, Kentucky
"Dad ever comin home?" Tucker asked his mother.
"Stop askin' that. 'Course he's comin home. Just ain't real soon is all."
Tucker pulled the truck over and put the car on a jack, checking underneath. He spotted an oil leak.
Dinner was delicious that night.
Tucker woke up and put his clothes on. He looked out his second-story bedroom window. It was a lovely day.
He went down stairs, turned the T.V. on, it was old movies day and Godzilla was on. Tucker opened up a can of pears, ate a few then went for a walk.

 TELEPORT

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! I'd like to point out a couple of things, for example... Ronald sitting in his truck at the same time he is with the guys is done on purpose. I tried to throw in a bunch of 'easter eggs' so if you like that sort of thing. Plus, everything connects together in the story, some references and connections are a bit more difficult to see than others, some are very obvious (Ronald... and... MacDonalds, instead of McDonalds) for example.
I've only showed the story to my family members and I don't think they liked it too much, so I'm trying to see what a stranger thinks.
I'm pretty sure there are a lot of punctuation errors in it, I'm not gonna waste time editing it if it sucks.
Thanks, guys! Been a reader of reddit for a long time.
Billy S.

/r/StarCitizenSpam: /r/StarCitizenSpam: /r/StarCitizenSpam: /r/StarCitizenSpam: /r/StarCitizenSpam: /r/StarCitizenSpam: /r/leftwinger: The Cataclysm: Notes on Election Day and the Politics of Hubris - by Jeffrey St. Clair

/StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /leftwinger: The Cataclysm: Notes on Election Day and the Politics of Hubris - by Jeffrey St. Clair
/StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /leftwinger: The Cataclysm: Notes on Election Day and the Politics of Hubris - by Jeffrey St. Clair/StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /leftwinger: The Cataclysm: Notes on Election Day and the Politics of Hubris - by Jeffrey St. Clair/StarCitizenSpam: /StarCitizenSpam: /leftwinger: The Cataclysm: Notes on Election Day and the Politics of Hubris - by Jeffrey St. Clair/StarCitizenSpam: /leftwinger: The Cataclysm: Notes on Election Day and the Politics of Hubris - by Jeffrey St. Clair/leftwinger: The Cataclysm: Notes on Election Day and the Politics of Hubris - by Jeffrey St. ClairThe Cataclysm: Notes on Election Day and the Politics of Hubris - by Jeffrey St. Clair+It’s 6 am. The sun has risen on this strange election day, illuminating a nation that has finally made up its mind.Strike that.This is Oregon. The Willamette Valley is enshrouded this morning in a fog so thick people will have a hard time find their polling places.Fortunately, there are no polling places. No poll watchers or election police, no one to check your ID, bully, berate or vote shame you. Oregon takes a laissez-faire attitude. Take your time, think about it, vote at home, mail it in. Out here on the western edge of the continent, we know these national elections are decided long before election day. Or are they?Most of us in Oregon chose to vote or not vote a week ago or more, filling out our interminable ballots at the kitchen table–assuming you’re fortunate enough to have a kitchen table–with a glass of wine and a vaporizer to dull the senses, checking through dozens of ballot measures from a new tax on corporations to halting the sale of body parts from endangered species, from funding off-the-leash dog parks and new hiking trails to sewer upgrades and fire stations.This is about as close to direct democracy as it gets. Still the experience this year is a sour one. Probably half the candidates on the ballot, from state judges to soil and water district commissioners, school board slots to planning commissioners, are running unopposed. Even at this local, basic level of politics people seem to be giving up, acknowledging the futility of changing anything under the current dynamic.The electoral experience is getting farther and farther removed from the issues that matter to most of us, from health care to the climate, jobs to homelessness, consumer debt to child care. The skin of the system is getting thin, the circuitry beneath is beginning to show through, like some over-worked android on WestWorld.The polls all suggest that it will be a big night for Hillary. She either has a 94% chance of winning, an 84% chance of winning, or a 71% chance, according to the alleged savant of analytics Nate Silver, who has been hedging his bets over the last two weeks. That’s a 23% margin of error for the leading pollsters. No wonder they make the big money. Could they be wrong? You bet.The most revealing poll of all is, naturally, the stock market, which rebounded on Monday after James Comey sent his opaque letter to Congress intimating that the latest investigation into Hillary’s emails proved to be yet another dud. There’s no better indicator of who Wall Street wants to win this election.I’ve always thought the election was Hillary’s to lose. Of course, being Hillary, she has always been capable of blowing a sure thing. But the Establishment is desperate for her to win. Their fate is linked to hers. The system isn’t so much rigged as owned. All political destinies these days seem manufactured. This is part of what drives the rage simmering across the forgotten precincts of the country.bernie-the-sandernistas-cover-344x550-e1477943826411Of course, the System adapts and absorbs. That’s the malign genius of late-capitalism. The elites prefer Hillary, but will warp the unruly Trump to their purposes. Trump is a narcissist, not an ideologue. The system fosters and feeds on narcissism.I’ve never thought Trump really wanted to win. In fact, every time the odds seemed to be tilting his direction, Trump would self-destruct. Trump might want his name on the White House, but in the dank recesses of his psyche he knows that he doesn’t really want to live there in an old three story house built by slaves.There’s little joy to be found in voting for the independent candidates, either. Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, Gloria LaRiva. I like all three of them. But they’re given no oxygen in our political system, even as the old foundations begin to warp and crack. The moment Johnson began to show some life, threaten to crash the debate party, he was snuffed out, ridiculed for trivial verbal missteps and flubbed questions, none on the order of the vast and dangerous ignorance displayed daily by Trump and Clinton.So for most of the fall these alternative candidates led vaporous campaigns, fleeting shadows on the wall of the system. To vote for any one of them is to validate the very system that denies their existence. Yet many of us do it anyway, slaves to the system that binds us.Both the left and the right spoke of revolutionary aspirations during the campaign, but it was mostly hollow rhetoric. Trump’s ultras threaten armed rebellion if Hillary wins, but will most likely vent their range with a few pot shots at her image at the local shooting range and then settling down into their recliners to watch Trump TV. Sanders, the self-branded revolutionary, joined the campaign of his enemy and cut his followers adrift, all in exchange for the offer of a possible chairmanship of the Senate banking committee. The Democrats have no plan of resistance for a Trump win. It’s inconceivable to them.I’m reminded of Max Horkheimer’s quote about the fate of real revolutionaries: “A revolutionary career does not lead to banquets and honorary titles, interesting research and professorial wages. It leads to misery, disgrace, ingratitude, prison and a voyage into the unknown, illuminated by only an almost superhuman belief.”This year’s electoral revolutionaries all seem headed toward a big payday, if not their own reality TV shows. Bernie Sanders on “Dancing With the Stars?”A Wikileaked transcript of a speech Bill Clinton gave to Democratic Party powerbrokers at a fundraiser in Potomac is a sharp reminder of just how noxious he truly is. Clinton unloaded on Bernie Sanders and the European Left, wildly attacking Jeremy Corbyn and Alex Tsipiras, as radical zealots, calling Corbyn “a person off the streets” and the “maddest person in the room.”Hillary says that you have to have a campaign that appeals to the struggling, the striving and the successful. We have to do this together. And Bernie says just go get the money from the millionaires. And it sounds good because there’s – to a lot of people, if you look all over the world – the British Labor Party disposed of its most (inaudible) leader, David Miliband, because they were mad at him for being part of Tony Blair’s government in the Iraq War. And they moved to the left and put his brother in as leader because the British labor movement wanted it. When David Cameron thumped him in the election, they reached the interesting conclusion that they lost because they hadn’t moved far left enough, and so they went out and practically got a guy off the street to be the leader of the British Labour Party, who I saw in the press today said that he was really a British citizen and had real British (inaudible). (Laughter.)But what that is reflective of – the same thing happened in the Greek election – when people feel they’ve been shafted and they don’t expect anything to happen anyway, they just want the maddest person in the room to represent them.If Corbyn somehow manages to become Prime Minister, expect the Clinton crowd to help the Tories plot a coup.Bill is sour because the British Left has finally evicted most of the Blairites from the Labour Party and Bill sees Tony Blair, and his acolytes, as his European protegés, the last believers in the battered brand of Clintonism.Poor people have disappeared from the campaign faster than discussion of climate change. Their condition is too depressing to contemplate, I guess, just another intractable problem which doesn’t poll well in focus groups in targeted demographics. Leave them to their Malthusian fate.Long lines at many of the polling places this morning, including in Manhattan, where two women allied with Femen briefly disrupted voting with a topless protest against Trump. But would Trump himself have seen this as a rebuke or a tribute?Surely there are longer lines of people refusing to be shamed into voting by the likes of Michael Moore, Rudy Giuliani or Lady Gaga. Where are the pictures of these brave souls?Mid-day exit polling shows that 36% of voters are yearning for a “strong leader.” Whether they yearn for a Dominatrix or American Mussolini is yet to be determined. Either way, they’re likely to get screwed.Want more evidence that Trump really doesn’t want to be elected? Two days before the polls opened, he leaked his choices for his top cabinet positions: Reince Pribus for chief of staff, the crazy general Michael Flynn for defense secretary, Goldman Sachs veteran Michael Mnuchin for Treasury, Newt Gingrich for Secretary of State and Rudy Giuliani as Attorney General. It’s the equivalent of pre-wrapping his administration in crime-scene tape.Bernie Sanders spent the week out on the campaign trail, shilling for Clinton. Much of what Sanders now says on the stump is a shameless repudiation of his own campaign, none more so than his mendacious assertion that the Queen of Fracking will save the planet by fiercely combating climate change. It’s one thing to campaign for Hillary against the prospect of Trump and something else to lie so brazenly about her dark record.But Sanders isn’t alone. In a browbeating piece published by The Nation, Rebecca Solnit has made the outlandish claim that the US would never have gone to war against Iraq had Al Gore won Florida in 2000. Perhaps Ms. Solnit has forgotten that Iraq was bombed every three days during the Clinton/Gore administration, that at least 500,000 children perished under its remorseless sanctions regime, that twice Clinton and Gore pushed through Congress measures calling for regime change in Iraq, and the Gore, and his foreign policy advisor Leon Fuerth, were both eager to overthrow Saddam in a hot war. I’ve long thought that Gore would have invaded Iraq even lacking the pre-text of 9/11.The Clinton campaign spent more than twice what the Trump campaign expended. According to Madeliene Albright, the price was worth it. But Trump’s midnight Tweets had more political impact than the slick ads Hollywood generated for Hillary. Trump understood the new media, learned from both Obama and Sanders, while the Clinton campaigned remained locked in the machine model of the 1990s.The press, like the rest of the establishment, was all behind Clinton. HRC got 57 editorial endorsements from major papers, Gary Johnson got 4 and Trump only 2. So much for the influence of the press.Of the cable networks, Fox News proved to be the most entertaining and informative to watch through the campaign. If they weren’t exactly “fair and balanced,” their anchors were at least more fair and balanced than CNN and MSDNC. They openly debated the merits of Trump, sometimes fiercely. MSDNC and CNN have been all in for Clinton from the beginning. MSDNC even helped to snuff out the Sanders campaign.Trump couldn’t even win the backing of his own party elites. For example, 73 percent of Democratic state legislators endorsed Clinton, while 5 percent of Republican state legislators endorsed Trump. It didn’t matter. To be endorsed by an elite was to have a target on your back.The temperature in Oregon City today approached 70 degrees, smashing the record high for this date. Not one question in the debates on climate change.The political imagination of the country is more depleted today than I’ve ever known it. Vladimir Putin has become the super-scapegoat for the Democrats’ war against their own base. If Hillary’s loses, Putin will have hacked the voting machines, conspiring with Ralph Nader and Julian Assange.Hillary Clinton has completely rejected even the pretense of class-oriented politics, in favor of targeting discrete demographics of voters, sending coded messages through the color and cut of her pantsuits to suburban women in Philly suburbs and insurance brokers in Tallahassee. This is the politics of identity, where your working conditions are less important than where you shop and what you buy. There is no unifying message to her campaign. Instead there are thousands of messages, each individually tailored and targeted like those stalker ads on Google and Amazons. It’s politics by algorithm.Meanwhile, Trump’s blue-collar voters are condemned by the liberal elites as neo-Nazis and Klan-like automatons. Over the last few weeks, MSDNC has devoted much attention to the imbecilic David Duke’s attempt to ride Trump’s coat-tails. Duke is polling at less than 5 percent among Republicans in his vainglorious run for the Senate in Louisiana. What about the Trump voters who reject Duke’s racist bilge? How do the Democrats explain them? They don’t even try. The American underclass, both black and white, those marginalized by globalization and a government that works only to further enrich the rich, are viewed by the Democrats’ leader as a collection of “deplorables” and “super-predators.”The Democrats have totally surrendered to the logic of neoliberalism and the impoverished and pulverized victims of their policies must be blamed for their own pitiful condition. The poor will be fined for being poor. Where’s the long-term dividend in that cynical brand of politics?The marijuana stock index is bullish on the prospect of legalization passing in California and elsewhere today. That there is a marijuana stock index is itself a rather depressing sign of how quickly capitalism can ruin a good thing.Running against one of the worst Congresses in history, with an approval rating of less than 12 percent, the Democrats seem poised to pick up only a handful of seats in the House, perhaps as few as five. Of course, that may have been exactly the kind of Congress that HRC wanted. Much easier to go after entitlements by striking a deal with Paul Ryan than Pelosi.Here’s an example. Trump is winning Vigo County, Indiana, stomping grounds of the old Socialist Eugene V. Debs, by 13%. Obama won that county by 1% in 2008, a clear sign of Trump’s appeal to union and working class voters on NAFTA and industrial trade policy.Evan Bayh, the neoliberal Democrat and corporate lobbyist, got whacked in his return to Indiana, where he pushed aside Baron Hill to claim the Democratic slot. Bayh hadn’t lived in the state for years and couldn’t even remember the address of his condo in Indianapolis. Good riddance.In 2012, Obama won the union vote in Ohio by 23 points. Trump and Clinton are running even.At 9 EST, even Minnesota reported in as “too close to call.” That’s an ominous sign. Trump is cleaning house in the red states, while Clinton is struggling in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.The Clinton campaign thought this afternoon they were going to win Florida by 5%. Win Florida, win the election. Now they may lose by 2%. Why? One reason: Clinton won just 51 percent of women in Florida.She had the ground game, she had the money, she had the press, she had the advertising, she had the polls. All that meant nothing.One of the key numbers of the night? 69 percent of the electorate is angry at the federal government. They feel the government has let them down. They’re right.If Trump wins, liberals will have no way to process the results. It’s beyond their conception. Their brains will simply melt.Dick Cheney once said that Reagan taught us that deficits don’t matter. Trump may teach us that sexual predation doesn’t matter. Of course, it never really has mattered politically in the US, in part because of the hypocrisy of the Democrats over JFK, Teddy Kennedy and Bill Clinton.Kaboom! Trump wins Ohio, followed by staggering wins in North Carolina, Iowa, and finally, Florida.Rachel Maddow is desperately trying to scapegoat the Greens and Libertarians for Hillary’s loss in Florida. It’s an absurd charge. Libertarians don’t vote for neoliberal, war-mongering Democrats under any circumstances. Paul Krugman is fingering Jill Stein, who got less than one-percent of the vote: “Jill Stein has managed to play Ralph Nader. Without her Florida might have been saved.” Nonsense. Hillary has only herself to blame. Despite a big Latino turnout, Hillary only won 51% of the women’s vote in Florida. No hanging chads to be found.If Trump ultimately wins Michigan, will Michael Moore implode or explode?In the 60s and 70s, Civil Rights legislation drove southern whites into the Republican camp. Now 40 years of neoliberal economic policies have caused working class voters to abandon the Democratic Party in droves. Just look at the exit polling on how union households voted: 47% Clinton; 45% Trump.It will come as a shock to both the Democratic and Republican leaderships that there is a class war going on in America. It’s too bad for working class people that Donald Trump is the one leading it.The glass ceiling is looking more and more like a glass coffin…Putin / Nader 2020?A huge and bitter loss in Wisconsin with the defeat of Russ Feingold, probably the most honorable Democrat running for the senate. This crushing defeat, like so many others tonight, can be blamed on the incompetence and arrogance of the Democratic Party leadership, which sacrificed the senate and the House for the fools gold of the Clinton campaign.The DNC rigged their primaries to insure the nomination of the only candidate who could lose to Trump. Is it any wonder that same brain trust, high on the fumes of their own hubris, lost all those senate seats, too?The DNC spent more time conspiring to defeat Bernie Sanders, than they did the Republicans. They absorbed nothing from the Sanders campaign, from the issues that resonated with his followers: a corrupt system fueled by corporate cash and militarism, working class people demeaned and ridiculed, the American youth burdened by debt with no opportunity for advancement, blacks and Hispanics treated as political chattel, captives to a party that demands their loyalty yet does nothing for them. The Clinton team vanquished Sanders, paid him off and then marched on arrogantly toward their doom.Clinton herself showed a singular lack of courage to the very end of her campaign. She couldn’t even speak out against the brutalization of tribal people in North Dakota defending their water and burial grounds against the mercenaries of Big Oil. How could anyone look at her silence in the face of those ongoing atrocities and believe that she’d ever stand up for them?My old history professor at American University, Allan Lichtman, has developed a formula for forecasting presidential elections that has correctly predicted the results of every campaign since 1984. In September, Lichtman ran the numbers on Clinton and Trump and predicted that Trump would win. Even after the release of the Access Hollywood tapes, Lichtman stuck to his formula. He was widely derided. But Allan was right and all those smug pollsters and pundits were wrong, terribly, madly wrong.Could Bernie have defeated Trump? On a fair playing field, sure. But there was no way Sanders was going to be permitted to emerge from the Democratic primaries. Wall Street needed a candidate it could trust and Hillary was it. The Establishment feared a threat from the Left more than from the wild-ass right. And for once, they didn’t see what was coming right at them.Is this the final repudiation of neoliberalism?It should be. But don’t bet on it.It’s up to us to make it so.https://archive.is/F5LD7\\\\\\_\\\\\\_\\\\\\_\\\\\\_\\\\\\_\\\\\\_\\\\\\_ Submitted November 09, 2016 at 04:29AM by ShaunaDorothy https://www.reddit.com/leftwingecomments/5c0swd/the\\\\\\\_cataclysm\\\\\\\_notes\\\\\\\_on\\\\\\\_election\\\\\\\_day\\\\\\\_and\\\\\\\_the/?ref=search\\\\\\\_posts&utm\\\\\\\_source=iftttvia /leftwinger_______ Submitted November 09, 2016 at 04:54AM by LAG0MORPH https://www.reddit.com/StarCitizenSpam/comments/5c0x0o/rleftwinger\\\\\\_the\\\\\\_cataclysm\\\\\\_notes\\\\\\_on\\\\\\_election\\\\\\_day/?ref=search\\\\\\_posts&utm\\\\\\_source=iftttvia /StarCitizenSpam_______ Submitted November 09, 2016 at 05:34AM by LAG0MORPH https://www.reddit.com/StarCitizenSpam/comments/5c13og/rstarcitizenspam\\\\\_rleftwinger\\\\\_the\\\\\_cataclysm\\\\\_notes/?ref=search\\\\\_posts&utm\\\\\_source=iftttvia /StarCitizenSpam_______ Submitted November 09, 2016 at 05:59AM by LAG0MORPH https://www.reddit.com/StarCitizenSpam/comments/5c1811/rstarcitizenspam\\\\_rstarcitizenspam\\\\_rleftwinger\\\\_the/?ref=search\\\\_posts&utm\\\\_source=iftttvia /StarCitizenSpam_______ Submitted November 09, 2016 at 06:44AM by LAG0MORPH https://www.reddit.com/StarCitizenSpam/comments/5c1ge2/rstarcitizenspam\\\_rstarcitizenspam/?ref=search\\\_posts&utm\\\_source=iftttvia /StarCitizenSpam_______ Submitted November 09, 2016 at 07:07AM by LAG0MORPH https://www.reddit.com/StarCitizenSpam/comments/5c1kuu/rstarcitizenspam\\_rstarcitizenspam/?ref=search\\_posts&utm\\_source=iftttvia /StarCitizenSpam
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slot machines legal in pennsylvania video

Are slot machines legal in Pennsylvania? Slots are entirely legal at licensed casinos in PA. The state is home to 12 casinos and racetracks, with a 13th on the way. The biggest casino is Parx Casino, which offers 3,330 slots. The smallest is the Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin, which hosts 600 machines. Each approved location is only allowed to install five machines. Therefore, the maximum number of legal VGTs that could be installed in PA would be approximately 600. With so few opportunities to implement VGTs, it is difficult to compete with these increasingly popular skill-game machines. Police call games illegal, skill or not Online poker is available in Pennsylvania, but it is not included it traditional casino apps. Poker is only through PokerStars PA, which shares a wallet with the casino app of the same name.. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board also recently approved live dealer games for Blackjack and Roulette– right now they are only available with DraftKings Casino and SugarHouse. he Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, one of the two intermediate appellate courts in the state, clarified in a ruling Tuesday that video game machines manufactured and distributed by the company POM under the name 'Pennsylvania Skill' are considered slot machines under Pennsylvania law. "With this decision, we urge the Pennsylvania State Police, the Office of Attorney General, police ... A major law expanded gambling in Pennsylvania in 2017, which expanded the definition of slot machines to include games of skill, and some officials said these games are only legal if they are ... Antique slot machines, defined by statute as those manufactured at least 25 years prior to current year, also are legal. Other types of gambling, such as poker and roulette, are strictly prohibited. Illegal gambling is charged as a first-degree misdemeanor in Pennsylvania, punishable by up to five years in prison and as much as $10,000 in fines. We can ONLY ship to states that can legally have slot machines for home use. STATE AGE OF MACHINE Alabama Any Machine PROHIBITED Alaska Any Machine Legal Arizona Any Machine Legal Arkansas Any Machine Legal California 25 Years or Older Colorado Pre-1984 Connecticut Any Machine PROHIBITED Delaware 25 years or older Florida 20 years or […] Will Pennsylvania Ban These Slot Machines? PAIG has made some headway in bringing light to the hypocrisy surrounding skill-based gaming. The group is drawing more attention to their mission of getting these games shut down. Police in certain Pennsylvania jurisdictions have seized these terminals during crackdowns on illegal gambling. In 2004, the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act passed. This Act legalized slot machines at fourteen locations. Of these locations, gaming licenses have yet to be issued for a standalone casino and a pari-mutuel racetrack with slot machines. Since July 2010, table games are in Pennsylvania casinos. Get My Free Report Revealing… We can ONLY ship to states that can legally have slot machines for home use. STATE AGE OF MACHINE Alabama Any Machine PROHIBITED Alaska Any Machine Legal Arizona Any Machine Legal Arkansas Any Machine Legal California 25 Years or Older Colorado Pre-1984 Connecticut Any Machine PROHIBITED Delaware 25 years or older Florida 20 years or […]