Kamala Harris, Willie Brown, and Livin’ Large on the Taxpayer Dime
[guest post by JVW]
I’ve been working up a new joke. It goes like this:
Q: What’s the difference between Melania Trump and Kamala Harris?
A: Melania already had a highly-paid and prestigious job when she started sleeping with a powerful and well-connected man.
Last week Dana posed the incisive question of whether Senator Kamala Harris’s eager willingness to believe Jussie Smollett’s self-staged hate attack story undermines her credibility as one to whom the rule of law is allegedly sacrosanct. Along with her obvious self-serving hypocrisy, one aspect of Ms. Harris’s past that deserves scrutiny is certainly her ties to a corrupt Democrat Party machine in San Francisco, which helped to launch her along the path that has brought her within spitting distance of her party’s Presidential nomination.
Let’s lay out the facts as they are known. Kamala Harris graduated from the Hastings College of Law (a University of California affiliated school located in San Francisco) in 1990 and later that year was admitted to the State Bar of California. She then took a job as Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County, which encompasses Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, Fremont, and other East Bay cities and towns. Today the annual salary for a Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County ranges from a high of $211,515 to a low of $98,172 depending upon factors such as years of service and the profile of cases to which the employee is assigned. This is an inexact estimation to be sure, but if we adjust those salary figures to the cost of living in 1991 (and it seems as though Alameda County salaries are pegged to cost-of-living considerations) by running them through the Bureau of Labor’s CPI calculator, the maximum salary back then would be $113,115 and the minimum salary would be $52,496. Again, I acknowledge that the reality of salaries 28 years ago might have been substantially different for whatever reason, but without researching the exact pay scales of 1991 I think this as reasonable a way to estimate as any.
So let’s assume that in January 1991, first-year Deputy District Attorney of Alameda County Kamala Harris was making somewhere in the $52.5k to $55k range. As we all know, though we are being admonished that mentioning it is gravely sexist, in 1994 the 29-year-old Ms. Harris began a romantic relationship with then Speaker of the California State Assembly Willie Brown, a married (though separated) man more than twice her age. The Speaker of the California Assembly is, as you can imagine, quite a powerful and well-connected position, and in short order Ms. Harris found herself with a temporary six-month appointment to the state’s Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. Assuming that she received half of the annual stipend back then of $97,088, the young Assistant DA would have made $48,500 for her — ahem, ahem — half-year of “service,” a nice chunk of change considering her regular salary at the time was probably no more than $70,000. After her temporary appointment ended, Boyfriend Brown hooked her up with a seat on the California Medical Assistance Commission which paid $72,000 per year, and likely doubled her annual income. Let me acknowledge that I do not know anything about either organization (the Medical Assistance Commission has since shut down), let alone how their respective boards operated, but my suspicion is that staff did most of the grunt work while board members gathered a few times a year for meetings where they rubber-stamped their subordinates’ efforts.
Beyond the moral distaste, I don’t care all that much if some creepy old codger finds himself a young and nubile side-piece and uses his wealth and connections to entice her into a bit of the ol’ hey-hey, consensually of course; nor do I care all that much if some nubile young honey tempts some foolish old Romeo into showering her with gifts in return for various and sundry carnal delights. Furthermore, I’ve no real objection to Willie Brown helping to launch her on her political path by connecting her with the corrupt and awful San Francisco Democrat machine. Nevertheless, I do expect the two of them not to present me with the bill. Jeff Bezos apparently self-funds his dalliances. Donald Trump either pays out of his own pockets for his libidinous indiscretions or he somehow passes the costs along to business associates or shareholders (and if he is committing fraud then I am fine with prosecuting him). John Edwards was lucky enough to have his patron Bunny Mellon fund his Clintonian excursions. But Willie Brown passed along the costs of his humpy-humpy to the taxpayers of our state, and Ms. Harris seems to have had no problem accepting the windfall, earned though it may be in ignominy.
We certainly don’t need any intimate details of the Harris-Brown relationship, but I don’t think it would be at all out of line to ask Candidate Harris if she really felt that she was deserving of those paid appointments, or if they were in fact for services rendered. Naturally I doubt that any of the mainstream news organizations will have the gumption to ask, leaving us to draw our own conclusions.
– JVW
As I mentioned above, take note of how even alluding to Sen. Harris’s relationship with Mr. Brown is going to be judged verboten by the progressive gate-keepers. I denounce myself.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 9:48 amone to whom the rule of law is allegedly sacrosanct
Pull the other one. This is the woman who certified “micro-stamping” as available to gun makers, even though it is not only unavailable it isn’t currently possible. Maybe “misrule of law.”
Her partisan manipulations in the initiative process, her refusal to pursue any death penalty ever, her inability to defend the state against silly “cruelty” challenges to execution procedures and her use of the AG position for political advantage should put the lie to this forever.
It won’t though.
Kevin M (21ca15) — 2/25/2019 @ 10:41 amThe problem with bringing this up would be the risk of offending potential supporters. For Democrats that will be an issue. For Trump, not so much — the idea of a woman using sex to get ahead will resonate with much of his base, men and women alike.
Kevin M (21ca15) — 2/25/2019 @ 10:47 amThe problem with bringing this up would be the risk of offending potential supporters. For Democrats that will be an issue. For Trump, not so much — the idea of a woman using sex to get ahead will resonate with much of his base, men and women alike.
But see, Kevin M, you are settling right into the exact mindset that I am talking about. I don’t care that she boinked her way into more income or a political career; I don’t care that he helped himself to a nubile young woman; I do care that the bill for their mutually beneficial arrangement was passed along to the taxpayer. So this should not be framed as “OMG, they had an April-September romance; how gross!” it should be framed as “She was given some very nice taxpayer-paid perks that otherwise almost certainly wouldn’t have been given to a 29-year-old assistant county DA.” But as you are making clear, any attempt to make this point is just going to be framed as “Ah, those hard up sexually repressed conservatives are just trying to regulate everyone’s sex life.”
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 10:55 am— Willie, who is that lady I saw you with?
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 11:31 am— A lady lawyer I know. Her family’s from some island in the Caribbean.
— Jamaica?
— I sure did.
nk, that’s probably better than my joke. OK, it’s clearly better.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 11:48 amK-toe do.
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/25/2019 @ 11:54 amYou accused her to prostitution several times in this write up. How is that NOT sexist?
Regardless of how little I like her policies she has a respectable resume with real accomplishments. Federal prosecutor and senator are both impressive. It’s likely that she was impressive when she was 29.
Plenty of opportunity to call out corruption, nepotism, and patronage. You could even have tried to make your case by showing that Brown only championed her because of a sexual relationship, or that she has a pattern of using personal relationships to accomplish things, or that their relationship wasn’t based on any real attraction.
But nope. You did none of that. In your write up she’s just a bought and paid for side piece.
Than you whine about the fact that people are going to say calling her a prostitute is sexist.
While there are non-sexist ways to criticize this, your article isn’t one of them.
edited and re-posted to get around moderation.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 2/25/2019 @ 11:56 amdang it, there are some editing errors in my re-post. Sorry about that.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 2/25/2019 @ 11:57 am8 – Men are just as capable of prostituting themselves as women are. No sexism in JVW’s piece at all.
The only thing impressive about her is the amount of corruption, hypocrisy and double-dealing she managed to accomplish at such a young age.
harkin (903a0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:28 pmIf Trump’s dalliance is de jour for criticism, then Kamala Harris’ is more than fair game.
Those progressive gatekeepers can pound sand as they certainly don’t have ANY leg to stand on after the Clintons.
However, I think going after Kamala for this is a mistake. Character flaws such that of Trump / Clinton / etc… really doesn’t seem to have an impact with voters.
Just take her for the policies that she espouses and put up an effective contrast would do more to doom her election chances that belaboring her rise to the political scene back in the day.
whembly (b9d411) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:34 pmShe seems to have agitated joy Reid even though probably agree ideologically on other grounds.
Narciso (d397ac) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:36 pmBut nope. You did none of that. In your write up she’s just a bought and paid for side piece.
Than you whine about the fact that people are going to say calling her a prostitute is sexist.
Nice try. But prostitution is a defined transaction. You pay a certain amount of dollars and receive certain sexual favors in return. This wasn’t that sort of relationship, and your ignorance of that (or unwillingness to acknowledge it) is really not my problem. This wasn’t the practice of the world’s the oldest profession, this was something else: two people who used each other for mutual benefit, one physical in nature, the other professional in nature. How do I know that there wasn’t a true attraction between the two? I don’t really, except for the fact that it doesn’t appear Ms. Harris had any other affairs with older men after Willie Brown, and because Willie Brown quickly rid himself of Ms. Harris and “went back” to his wife (if only for appearances sake) once he became mayor. Why he did so remains only known to himself, but perhaps he anticipated the awkwardness of carrying on a relationship with her as she started seeking elected positions.
But thank you for proving my point that there will be no discussion of this without the left screeching that the topic is out of bounds and reeks of sexism.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:39 pmDidn’t intend my tone to come across as screeching.
Let me quote some of the things from your article that come across as sexist.
Q: What’s the difference between Melania Trump and Kamala Harris?
Time123 (ea2b98) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:43 pmA: Melania already had a highly-paid and prestigious job when she started sleeping with a powerful and well-connected man.
I suppose an interesting exercise would be to dig up the list of board members of the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the California Medical Assistance Commission back in 1994 and discover how many members were 29-year-olds who were low-level professionals in their respective careers. I’m guessing that the answer would be exactly zero of them, other than of course Ms. Harris. These types of paid positions requiring little work are notorious for going to term-limited politicians or to their spouses or other family members.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:44 pm10… I don’t care if she moonlighted as a sex-worker. I applaud her industriousness.
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:46 pmQ: What’s the difference between Melania Trump and Kamala Harris?
A: Melania already had a highly-paid and prestigious job when she started sleeping with a powerful and well-connected man.
Which I said was a joke. But even given that, do you want to argue that I am wrong in my assessment of the situation?
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:46 pmHarris may or may not find her career as a prosecutor to be a hindrance. IIRC, she was known for continuing prosecution of defendants when exculpatory evidence surfaced.
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:50 pm2020 is knocking at the door with 6 million democrat voters who didn’t vote in 2016 because they thought clinton was too moderate and wouldn’t put black for veep. Also 3 million more democrats will have turned 18 by nov. 2020. 2 million republicans will have died.
lany (56bfaf) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:53 pmHit post by mistake. would like to delete previous post
You lead into your article with a joke that implies both of them are selling sex for a thing of value. I’d say you’re joking that they are both W&)*$’s but that word triggers moderation. So I’m using “Prostitute” as a general substitution.
Didn’t intend my tone to come across as screeching. Also not a member of the left. Finally the subject can for sure be discussed in non-sexist ways. You failed to do that. You be sexist and funny. You can be sexist and have a good point. You can be sexist and have a good funny point. In all three cases you’re being sexist.
Let me quote some of the things from your article that come across as sexist.
again, a blunt innuendo that’s she’s selling sex and a suggestion to have the media ask her if she was selling sex why she’s running for president.
Yup, another unsubtle implication that’s she’s prostituting herself.
Can’t see why anyone would think describing a 29 year old District Attorney in this way is gender specific, insulting and related to sexuality. (aka ‘sexist’)
Again, there are ways to write about this that aren’t sexist. The question of character and patronage are relevant. But if you use a bunch of sexist insults don’t be surprised when people point out you’re saying sexist things.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 2/25/2019 @ 12:56 pmi really need to slow down. There are a lot of embarrassing typo’s in that comment.
Time123 (7cca75) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:00 pmOne of the other stories the LA Times linked to wass:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/06/opinion/le-friday6.S2
It could be the problem wss this board existed and functioned the way it did.
Sammy Finkelman (102c75) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:04 pmIt ain’t the typos.
harkin (903a0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:06 pmwould have made $48,500 for her — ahem, ahem — half-year of “service,”
Actually, in this case “service” is meant to emphasize the idea that I don’t think these paid board positions do very much. Here I am referring to Ms. Harris’s “service” to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and not her service to the California Assembly Speaker.
And again, the difference between prostitution and simply using your wiles for your own benefit is that I think Ms. Harris ventured into the relationship with Mr. Brown not specifically knowing in advance that she would be appointed to board seats or introduced to all of the fixers in the California Democrat sewer, but understanding that it would be very beneficial for her to get on the good side of this very rich and powerful man. And when these fairly lucrative low-work positions were offered her, she wasn’t about to say “Gee, Willie, do you really think I am the right person for this position,” even if she understood that it wasn’t his own money but the taxpayer’s that he was dangling in front of her.
I hereby retract the word “screeching” in reference to your comment an apologize for having characterized it that way. But I would point out that a cursory Internet search makes very clear that the left will treat any questions about the Brown-Harris relationship as being clearly out of bounds, and they are staunchly and deliberately ignoring any issues about the propriety of her appointment to these boards.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:11 pmThe real scandal here is that there’s something called a Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and a Medical Assistance Commission, but no Ministry of Silly Walks.
Munroe (21ef0d) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:14 pmyes, that would have been useful information and bolstered your point. If you’re planning to do real reporting on this you could also look at what she did after. It’s possible that she was remarkably impressive at that time. If her influence ended with the relationship it’s relevant.
If you presented that information without a bunch of jokes about her selling sex and discussed it as an issue of favoritism that could be non-sexist. Or if you presented it with a bunch of sexist jokes but without the complaints that people will call it sexist that would have been OK also.
Insult comics know what they are and don’t complain when people call them offensive.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:14 pmJVW, thank you for taking back screeching. That did bug me. I appreciate it.
I misread your point below. Given the context i assumed you meant the services were sexual in nature.
Time123 (ea2b98) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:16 pmIt could be the problem wss this board existed and functioned the way it did.
Nice find, Sammy! Interesting letter from an administrative law judge for the board. I am especially struck by these two paragraphs:
Note how she points out that a lot of CUIAB personnel appear to be patronage hires, and that there are apparently employees who don’t do a whole hell of a lot in their roles. And given that Ms. Harris served on the board while keeping her Assistant DA job with Alameda County, I find it hard to believe that she would have been working 40-hour (or even 20-hour) weeks on board issues in return for the nice chunk of taxpayer change. If I had to guess, I would imagine that she disposed of her board obligations with a couple of hours of effort, and then maybe attended day-long meetings three or four times per year.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:19 pmIf you’re planning to do real reporting on this you could also look at what she did after.
I already know how to code (well, somewhat) so I’m not looking for a media job. And the travel budget that Patterico provides us with which to head up to Sacramento and do first-hand research on these issues only covers regular hotel guest rooms, and I have made it very clear to him that I won’t do any blog-related travel unless I can stay in at least a junior suite and have fresh orchids delivered every morning. So unfortunately I am not going to be spending any further time investigating this whole situation.
If only there were actual reporters in this state who were ostensibly paid to do this sort of thing.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:25 pmToo much ganja for kamala gave her TDS.
mg (8cbc69) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:33 pm“If only there were actual reporters in this state who were ostensibly paid to do this sort of thing.”
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:25 pm
They’re too busy prostituting themselves.
Munroe (b04614) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:37 pmone might call them the peanut gallery,
https://freebeacon.com/issues/study-green-new-deal-would-cost-up-to-94-trillion/
narciso (d1f714) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:42 pm> Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board
of course there is.
you file a claim for unemployment. it’s denied. procedural due process requires that you have some way to appeal that denial.
aphrael (33dc58) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:45 pmisn’t it funemployment, or that no longer pertains,
narciso (d1f714) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:53 pmKamala Harris seems to be as dishonest as Bill Clinton. But not as politically skilled. And she hasn’t neutralized her family. (Of course Bill Clinton didn’t have much of a close family – he did keep more distant relsations and old friends from getting things into the news)
Her father denounced her.
https://www.jamaicaglobalonline.com/donald-harris-slams-his-daughter-senator-kamala-harris-for-fraudulently-stereotyping-jamaicans-and-accusing-her-of-playing-identity-politics/
Kamala Harris had said in reference to her support of legalizing marijuana:
A more general article by Donald Harris is here:
https://www.jamaicaglobalonline.com/kamala-harris-jamaican-heritage/
I don’t seem to able to run across the original source of the Donald Harris statement.
Sammy Finkelman (102c75) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:54 pmIf I had to guess, aphrael, and being a noted cynic about these sort of things, I would guess the the CUIAB consists of a few dozen staff members who do all of the hard work investigating claims, then some management types who come from the political world and mostly draw a salary pretending to oversee the work done, and then the highly-compensated well-connected board members who do very little for their pay. Not unlike the worst of corporate boards, I am guessing.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:54 pmisn’t it funemployment. . .
Not when a Republican is in the White House.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 1:55 pmKamala Harris married aJewish man in 2014. Somehow she seems to have married a personal Jewish history with that.
https://www.jta.org/2019/01/11/politics/5-jewish-things-to-know-about-kamala-harris
That was a year ago. There’s maybe been some follow-up since then.
She could have an explanation: “I had a friend… and one day she roped me into…” But as of ayear ago, she didn’t tell the story with that twist. Could be also or “I went to a school for a two years” or “My mother worked at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, and I visisted some small giorl who wss a patient.” But something.
Sammy Finkelman (102c75) — 2/25/2019 @ 2:05 pmWait until Ilhan Omar finds out that Sen. Harris attended an AIPAC meeting in 2017.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 2:09 pmSammy Finkelman (102c75) — 2/25/2019 @ 2:05 pm
Presumably she had Jewish friends who would have had JNF collection boxes at home. I doubt there’s anything more complicated than that.
Kishnevi (712fff) — 2/25/2019 @ 2:13 pmGreat write up, JVW. Not sexist at all. I would question any male pol who had a relationship with a female plugged-in politician and received appointments as a result.
Also, your comment at 29 is spot-on! Let’s hope management sees it and realizes how the tight budget here is hindering a deeper examination of corruption in politics. Until the suites and fresh flowers are realized, there will clearly be no one else available to take on this Leviathan.
Dana (023079) — 2/25/2019 @ 2:14 pmSo if I understand you correctly, you do not object to hanky panky, so long as it is privately funded.
To which the persons involved would retort, why should the private sector have all the fun? If it is ok for some rich capitalist who exploits the working class, why not for the progressive public servant? Aren’t they entitled to perks too?
Bored Lawyer (998177) — 2/25/2019 @ 3:02 pmJVW, at 36: you’re likely right. My point was more that it’s inevitable that a board serving the “handle appeals for denied unemployment” function would exist,in the face of someone laughing at the name.
aphrael (33dc58) — 2/25/2019 @ 3:04 pmso what is the unemployment rate in California re other states,
https://www.conservativereview.com/news/another-media-hoax-anti-trump-letters-58-bipartisan-officials-mostly-democrats/
narciso (d1f714) — 2/25/2019 @ 4:09 pmAnd they wonder why they’re characterized as the fake news media, narciso. They deserve to wither on the vine.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/25/2019 @ 4:37 pmJVW,
At what point in a woman’s career is it acceptable for her to have a relationship (of any kind) with an older and/or more powerful man?
I understand your overarching argument, but I think it would be useful to break it down analytically.
Leviticus (d48292) — 2/25/2019 @ 4:37 pmKamonekamall is an unpleasant person and makes for an unpleasant subject of discussion.
And, no, it’s not sexist to say “We don’t want a erohw in the White House”.
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 4:38 pmAh, nevermind – I didn’t see that Brown named Harris to the Board directly. I thought that was just being taken for granted, but I just clicked on one of the links and saw otherwise.
So yeah – I see your point.
Leviticus (d48292) — 2/25/2019 @ 4:42 pmDonald Trump got in trouble for claiming that a well connected, powerful male could manhandle an ambitious young woman without consequences. Kamala Harris has now proven him right.
Gary Hoffman (7ec1de) — 2/25/2019 @ 5:31 pm“To which the persons involved would retort, why should the private sector have all the fun? If it is ok for some rich capitalist who exploits the working class, why not for the progressive public servant? Aren’t they entitled to perks too?“
They can never figure out why they run out of other people’s money.
harkin (903a0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 5:34 pmDon’t know if Kamala has made it to the Western Wall?
mg (8cbc69) — 2/25/2019 @ 5:36 pmBut zig zag is the paper she would put in the wall.
OT…some lessons are meant to be learned the hard way: http://www.foxnews.com/world/univision-anchor-jorge-ramos-team-detained-in-venezuela-network-says
urbanleftbehind (d333d8) — 2/25/2019 @ 5:46 pmThey let him go already, well there are no 0rision rations to speak of.
Narciso (66a0fa) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:12 pmNow you tell us:
https://dailycaller.com/2019/02/25/gma-roberts-smollett-hate-crime/
Narciso (66a0fa) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:26 pmAnother apparent hate hoax. This one took a while to sniff out.
“In 2017, prominent Michigan LGBT activist Nikki Joly, a transgender man, was the victim of an apparent hate crime: An unknown arsonist burned down his house, which had two dogs and three cats trapped inside. Some presumed the act was retaliatory—a response to Joly’s successful campaign to persuade the government of Jackson, Michigan, to adopt an anti-discrimination law, for which a local newspaper declared him “Citizen of the Year.”
Now the police finally have a suspect in custody: Joly.
https://reason.com/blog/2019/02/25/nikki-joly-fire-jackson-hoax-hate-crime/amp?__twitter_impression=true
harkin (903a0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:32 pmMuggers will now have a new defense, besides the stale one of drug deal gone bad. “He paid us to stage it.”
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:42 pmI tell you something else, too. Chicago police say they have a lot more evidence against Smollett than what we read in the papers. I believe them. If they did not, the Nigerian Bros would be in jail and their story considered a hoax by the police and prosecutors. Like mugger who claim mugging drug deal gone bad.
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:46 pmKilling the pets involves a whole ‘nother level of sickness.
BTW, the phrase “transgender man” always confuses me. Is Joly a he pretending to be a she or a she pretending to be a he?
Kishnevi (abbfd8) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:48 pmWhat could be worse? Did he have teh Nigerian Bros use his Hardware Club Card for a discount?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:49 pmProbably, and I dont want to know.
Narciso (66a0fa) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:50 pmXe’s a Xe cut and transmogrified to be a Xe.
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:50 pmThe basic improbability of Smollett’s story remains: who goes out in a howling blizzard if they don’t need to? Certainly not two rednecks looking to give a random beatdown.
It is rather like the basic improbability of Susan Smith’s story, where her tale involved a black adult driving around South Carolina with two white kids in the car, without anyone noticing.
Kishnevi (abbfd8) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:55 pmWas it Tillman or Cthulhu that linked to teh Guardian over the weekend to support their argument?
https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2019/02/25/its-official-the-guardian-has-come-up-with-the-very-worst-of-the-worst-takes-yet-on-the-jussie-smollett-hoax/
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:56 pmWell even more so, because the car was taken and the kids ended up dead,
Narciso (66a0fa) — 2/25/2019 @ 6:59 pmYes, but the official version relayed by the MSM was that the cops knew she was lying not because of that, but because the timing of the traffic light didn’t fit her story.
Kishnevi (abbfd8) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:04 pmNarciso’s link led me to this
Kishnevi (abbfd8) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:13 pmhttps://twitchy.com/brettt-3136/2019/02/25/its-on-rep-ilhan-omar-takes-on-new-york-times-bret-stephens-over-aid-to-venezuela/
So according to Omar, Israel blockading Gaza is bad, but Maduro blockading Venezuela is good.
There was a youngblood they call Smollet
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:14 pmWho even though had cash in wallet
Wrote a check and took Molly
Cops were onto his folly
Proved himself Original Tollett
Where’s the Limerick Avenger when we need him?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:15 pmI dunno. I think it shows the lingering racism in our society when a black gay man has to pay $4,000 to get bashed.
The diminution of the purchasing power of the dollar too.
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:18 pmAnother Nigerian scam…
Kishnevi (abbfd8) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:20 pmActually, now I feel sorry for the dumbass. Now that he is in the belly of the beast.
He’s nothing like the Susan Smith monster. She killed two babies and it’s only sheer happenstance that there wan’t a black “usual suspect” around for the police to pick up and pin the crimes on.
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:24 pmWell that a crime in the mold of medea, but letting the police chase phantoms for two weeks is also a crime
Narciso (66a0fa) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:28 pmThere is a difference between them. But what I read of the case suggests the police knew she was lying from the start, but needed evidence to prove it.
Kishnevi (abbfd8) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:29 pm71, if no black candidates make the final round, Smollett could get shanked.
urbanleftbehind (d333d8) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:33 pmI do think the riot factor was overblown, ir is wasnt hometowners Chance, Kanye or Jennifer Hudson catching double digit rounds.
urbanleftbehind (d333d8) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:35 pmSo who’s the sane candidate, out of 14?
Narciso (66a0fa) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:40 pmWell that a crime in the mold of medea, but letting the police chase phantoms for two weeks is also a crime
The law under which he is charged imposes mandatory restitution only for emergency services, not detective services. But the judge could impose restitution as a condition of a non-custodial sentence, and the Court has already collected $1,000 non-refundable bond fee.
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:43 pmSo who’s the sane candidate, out of 14?
At this point, none.
I do think the Democratic Party is doing its best to make me vote for Trump.
Kishnevi (abbfd8) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:43 pmPaul Vallas.
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:45 pmI meant in Chicago, but one could be broad minded, yes it’s like he planted the mindstone in new hampshire.
Narciso (66a0fa) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:45 pmWould a sane person want to be mayor of Chicago?
Kishnevi (abbfd8) — 2/25/2019 @ 7:51 pmIndoor work; no heavy lifting.
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 8:16 pmIf you are not bothered by the sex, then basically this is a complaint against nepotism. Nepotism in politics?! OMG, is there gambling in this establishment?
Nic (896fdf) — 2/25/2019 @ 8:48 pmIf you are not bothered by the sex, then basically this is a complaint against nepotism. Nepotism in politics?! OMG, is there gambling in this establishment?
Uh, not quite. I have no problem with Willie Brown introducing Kamala Harris to his sleazy San Francisco Democrat fixer friends so that she could launch her career. But for the last time — since you apparently glossed over the point I made in the post — I resent him paying her off with taxpayer money, in the same way that I resent when a politician hires his wife or hires her daughter to run her office, the same way I resent when the brother or sister of a politician gets appointed to some paid position with government. Do what you want with your own money, but stop hooking up your family, buddies, and paramours with plum political patronage jobs.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/25/2019 @ 9:30 pmI see more that there are people here willing to defend the lady’s honor. Which is more than she ever did.
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 9:42 pmI see
nk (dbc370) — 2/25/2019 @ 9:43 pmmorethat …74 – He doesn’t have the balls to shank himself
mg (8cbc69) — 2/25/2019 @ 10:10 pm@84 It exists from the lowliest city level intern all the way up to important Washington positions. All of government riddled with nepotism that we pay for. Heck, it’s practically the reason for the existence of Ivy league schools. I suppose we can worry about Harris’s minor nepotism, but in contrast with what goes on with the Kennedys or the Bushes or the current White House occupants (or whatever the heck it is that happens in Chicago), it’s microscopic potatoes.
Nic (896fdf) — 2/25/2019 @ 10:36 pmIt’s theft. She and Willie Brown stole from the public and then said the public should thank them for the privilege.
NJRob (4d595c) — 2/25/2019 @ 10:46 pm74- but like all democrats he would shank a newborn.
mg (8cbc69) — 2/25/2019 @ 10:53 pmafter AOC commented yesterday, no more babies, and the democrats followed her lead by voting to kill babies she is the new bloody leader of the democrat party.
mg (8cbc69) — 2/26/2019 @ 3:02 amCheers.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2019/02/national-geographic-2019-adventurers-of-the-year/andrzej-bargiel-ski-mountaineer-k2/
Amazing
mg (8cbc69) — 2/26/2019 @ 4:57 amI don’t think all Democrats are bad anymore than I believe all Republicans are bad, but I do believe that if things continue in the Democratic party as they are, then they should be renamed Necromongers.
felipe (5b25e2) — 2/26/2019 @ 5:29 am— What is the difference between Kamala Harris and Stormy Daniels?
nk (dbc370) — 2/26/2019 @ 6:05 am— The IRS collects Kamala’s dollar bills whether people want to tuck them in her g-string or not.
89. That’s what all politicians do.
Gryph (08c844) — 2/26/2019 @ 6:21 am84. And again I would propose, this is what happens in politics at all levels. The Willie/Kamala connection is but one example.
Gryph (08c844) — 2/26/2019 @ 6:22 amWell, Ms Harris has great legs, so there’s that.
Bang Gunley (5a4596) — 2/26/2019 @ 6:24 amI remember an article in the SF Chronicle about Willie Brown’s re-election as mayor in 2000 and it seems that Harris was expecting Brown to divorce his wife after he won re-election and he gave her the brush off. Presumably, her election as DA for San Francisco in 2003 was a parting gift.
CygnusAnalogMan (9c66ec) — 2/26/2019 @ 7:16 amFurther east on Union Pacific/California Zephyr line, I knew Omaha NE had a “hood” (north side) since the days of the great Bob Gibson, but I didnt know it was hard core enough to produce someone who could conceivably represent Oakland.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 2/26/2019 @ 7:32 am“Early in the Hillary Clinton email case, the Department of Justice reached a decision that would have far-reaching implications in the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server.
The Justice Department (DOJ), under then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch, decided to set an unusually high threshold for prosecution of Clinton, effectively ensuring from the outset that she would not be charged.
In order for Clinton to be prosecuted, the DOJ required the FBI to establish evidence of intent—even though the gross negligence statute explicitly does not require this.
This meant that the FBI would have needed to find a smoking gun, such as an email or an admission made during FBI questioning, revealing Clinton or her aides knowingly set up the private email server to send classified information.
Hillary Clinton was famously exonerated by FBI Director James Comey in a July 5, 2016, press conference, which immediately became the subject of controversy.
Notably, Comey had been convinced to remove the term “gross negligence” to describe Clinton’s actions from his prepared statement by, among others, FBI lawyer Lisa Page, FBI agent Peter Strzok, senior legal counsel Trisha Anderson, and FBI analyst Jonathan Moffa.”
Read the whole, stinking mess:
https://www.theepochtimes.com/exclusive-doj-prevented-fbi-from-pursuing-gross-negligence-charges-against-clinton_2815097.html
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/26/2019 @ 7:35 amSpeaking of Chicago, this is some cognitive dissonance that’s gonna set off both the hyper-progressives and MAnn Coulter:
http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/donald-trump-wooing-jb-pritzker-calls-him-friend-white-house-taps-him-for-panel/
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 2/26/2019 @ 7:41 amAnyone slagging off Kamala Harris on this thread should be prepared to slag off Ivanka and Jared as well.
Leviticus (27df69) — 2/26/2019 @ 7:46 amIf it’s about taxpayer money, rather than sex, of course.
Leviticus (27df69) — 2/26/2019 @ 7:47 amAnyone slagging off Kamala Harris on this thread should be prepared to slag off Ivanka and Jared as well.
It’s different. They’re part of Trump’s innermost circle and he is entitled to have people in that circle he can trust absolutely. They are not in phony baloney political crony plum jobs for no other reason than to feed at the public trough.
We could say the same about Kamala if Willie had made her head of his office staff, too. Instead he gave her political plum jobs for … well, you know (blushes).
nk (dbc370) — 2/26/2019 @ 8:35 amThe biggest slagger of I & J has been sent off to pasture, go figure.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 2/26/2019 @ 8:44 amIf they’re where they are by virtue of a nepotistic connection rather than by competence or merit, nk, I don’t see that it’s particularly different. As a matter of public interest, it could even be worse, insofar as they have been placed in a position where they can do way more damage by their ineptitude than Kamala Harris could have done as head of a board that people here seem to think does nothing.
Leviticus (efada1) — 2/26/2019 @ 9:20 amAnyone slagging off Kamala Harris on this thread should be prepared to slag off Ivanka and Jared as well.
I don’t believe that Ivanka and Jared are being paid for their — uh — “service” to our nation, so in that regard it is far different than what Willie did for Kamala.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/26/2019 @ 9:25 amHere’s confirmation that Ivanka and Jared really are rendering a public service in the old-fashioned sense of the word.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/26/2019 @ 9:26 amI agree with nk too that Ivanka and Jared are being brought into the close circle where they serve as counsel to the President. Kamala’s position had virtually nothing to do with Willie Brown, it was just an excuse to give her a few taxpayer bucks on the side.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/26/2019 @ 9:35 amAs a matter of public interest, it could even be worse, insofar as they have been placed in a position where they can do way more damage by their ineptitude than Kamala Harris could have done as head of a board that people here seem to think does nothing.
This is true as well, although Trump is answerable to the voters and to Congress (and Robert Mueller too!) so ineptitude by Ivanka & Jared will be front and center in the news media.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/26/2019 @ 9:43 amThere is nothing wrong with having mentors. Mentors enhance performance and knowledge by sharing experience in ways that improve careers. To me, the key is transparency. Mentors are open about and with the people they mentor. Similarly, related parties (like with the Trump family) are presumed to benefit from their relationships. The problem comes from secret relationships. It hurts other people on the same career paths who don’t have secret sponsors. It also can hurt the entity and even the subservient person in the relationship, when the benefits end.
DRJ (15874d) — 2/26/2019 @ 9:49 amOf course, in today’s world, the METOO movement is giving subservient partners more power to get even, another fallout from secret relationships.
DRJ (15874d) — 2/26/2019 @ 9:51 am“Kamala’s position had virtually nothing to do with Willie Brown”
Strike that, you Honor, poorly phrased…
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:09 amYour
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:10 amJust because they’re not drawing a salary doesn’t mean they’re not getting paid, JVW. Or that serious taxpayer
dollars are not being spent on them.
You know that perfectly well.
Leviticus (27df69) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:13 amIf you have a problem with nepotism or corruption, have it both ways. “Public service,” please.
Leviticus (27df69) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:14 amPersonally, the money and benefits are the only reasons I would ever take a government job. I have enough trouble running my own life, let alone running the lives of others. I think I would have made a very good garbage man when I was younger and healthier.
nk (dbc370) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:25 amOk, I am not making this up and and I am not making a joke. I wrote “phony baloney political crony plum job” above, and the governor scene from Blazing Saddles is now on my YouTube home page, second row from the top. There is no YouTube browsing that I have done recently to justify that “suggestion” from YouTube. We are being spied on!
nk (dbc370) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:31 amThe Lives of Others… a good movie that reflects the mindset of contemporary liberalism…
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:31 amThe Crazy Days And Nights rumor mill says that there are loads of pictures out there from when Willie Brown took Kamala to swingers parties and so forth, and they’re already in many people’s hands, including Trump’s.
So if you thought our Presidential politics hadn’t gone low enough, you got another thing coming. We’ll see if they come out during the primaries or what.
Ingot9455 (74ce6e) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:39 amJust because they’re not drawing a salary doesn’t mean they’re not getting paid, JVW. Or that serious taxpayer
dollars are not being spent on them.
You’re stretching here, Leviticus, though there is some validity to your point. There was going to be taxpayer money spent on the First Daughter and her husband irrespective of whether or not they became advisors in the Administration, especially given the deranged hatred directed towards the President. And yeah, I can understand resentment if they are flying around on government planes and all that, though I think that our “public servants” in general live far too lavishly on the taxpayer dime to begin with. It would be interesting to see the money spent on cabinet members, advisors, and czars by this administration in comparison to that spent by past administrations. Maybe Trump is way out of line with what his predecessors have done, but it seems that if he were that news media would be making a pretty bid deal of it.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:43 amWe are being spied on!
[Patterico, Dana — they’re on to us!]
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:44 amOne would have to think that they’d be smarter than that, but maybe that scene is considered tame for SF?
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:44 amThe Crazy Days And Nights rumor mill says that there are loads of pictures out there from when Willie Brown took Kamala to swingers parties and so forth, and they’re already in many people’s hands, including Trump’s.
Now see, whereas it is entirely our business if Willie is hooking her up with paid government positions, it is entirely not our business whether or not they participated in the San Francisco hedonism scene.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:46 amBut of course the people who gleefully spread the “Trump urinates on Moscow prostitutes” story have no standing to complain about innuendo regarding Sen. Harris’s bachelorette life.
JVW (54fd0b) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:47 amIt could’ve been along the lines of that SoCal TV personality… Burrous?… swinger scene would pale in comparison.
Colonel Haiku (ac91f9) — 2/26/2019 @ 10:53 am