When I was a JW this is the exact sort of thing that would have really bothered me. I remember going to a Rainbow Vacuum "sell our products" pitch and feeling incredibly awkward at how similar it was to a the weekly Book Study.
Coded Logic
JoinedPosts by Coded Logic
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Coded Logic
If your neighbors start shooting at your house regularly it might be wise to invest in Kevlar and bullet resistant glass. If the nearby residents then acquire high caliber riffles and machine guns it would probably be a good idea to upgrade to ceramic plating and transparent aluminium. If your neighbors begin lobbing RPGs your way it might be wise to replace your fence with an earthen berm. And if they start launching mortars and rockets at you . . . well there comes a point where enough is just enough.
I think we can all agree that after forty years - the "two state solution" has failed both inceptively and accumulatively. It is long past time for Hamas and any other genocidal leaning Palestine to be served their eviction notice. Either make nice with the Jews or find somewhere else to practice your murdering psychopathy.
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Coded Logic
There are only 3 Muslim's in the US congress. I don't see how this is a "disproportionate membership". While making up over 1% of the US population Muslims only have only a 0.6% representation in congress. Conversely, Jews have 34 elected members (6.4% representation) but only make up 2% of the population.
Also, if we're going to talk about anti-semitisim in US politics - we need to talk about Donald Trump who called the NeoNazis in Charlottesville "very fine people".
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Coded Logic
It's no secret Islam doesn't play well with religious freedom or multiculturalism. And much of it's ideology is outright intolerant if not fully bigoted. It's not uncommon for hatred of poly-theists, Jews, gays, and non-believers to be worn on the sleeves of Muslims.
Some Muslims can (in-spite of their religion) become egalitarian leaders. Some can not. I hope Congresswoman Omar can find her way towards a more humane and respectful attitude toward those who do not ascribe to her religion.
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Michael Cohen... sleazebag or patriot?
by Queequeg inso, what do you think?
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fwiw, i say sleazebag....
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Coded Logic
Thank you again MeanMrMustard for taking the time to reply. I noticed there seems to be a couple of things your confusing.
1.) The FEC only deals with Civil Cases. It does not address Criminal Cases. And even if the FEC's bar for violations was that expenditures must "arise directly from the campaign" (which actually isn't the case at all) that's NOT the metric used for criminal liabilities. Tthe criminal code very much takes a persons intent into consideration - thus the specific inclusion of the language "for the purpose of influencing the election" in the definitions of "contribution" and "expenditure".
2.) Trump's Financial Disclosure Form he signed when taking office is in regards to HIS personal finances. Not the campaigns. His deliberate exclusion of the $130,000 he owed to Michael Cohen shows he was attempting to hide the payments made through Cohen and David Pecker's corporation American media. Which, in turn, opens up a third avenue for prosecutors to pursue - conspiracy.
You can be charged with robbing a bank. But if you do it with the help of other people - (regardless of success) you can also be charged with conspiracy to rob a bank. The same is true here.
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PS: Your inclusion of "converted to salt taffy" was brilliant. It made laugh out loud.
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Michael Cohen... sleazebag or patriot?
by Queequeg inso, what do you think?
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fwiw, i say sleazebag....
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Coded Logic
Thank you for posting the video. I found it very informative. And I would agree with that Trump would be in the clear if it weren't for two major factors:
1.) We know there are recordings that show these donations were made with the specific intent to influence the election. This is from Michael Cohen's charging document, "Cohen deceived the voting public by hiding alleged facts that he believed would have had a substantial effect on the election, after making the payment to [Daniels], and after [Trump] was elected President, Cohen privately bragged to friends and reporters, including in recorded conversations, that he had made the payment to spare [Trump] from damaging press and embarrassment.”
2.) When Trump falsified his Financial Disclosure Form it was both a.) illegal in its own right and b.) demonstrated a consciousness of guilt. The reason Trump was hiding the payments is because he knew the unreported payments made via Cohen and American Media were illegal.
Keeping with the tooth analogy provided by the former FEC chairman, if someone paid $100k for you to get dental work done while you're running for office - that, by itself, may not be a campaign finance violation. However, if the person explicitly says "I'm doing this to help you win the election" and you don't report it as a campaign expenditure and you go out of your way to falsify your Financial Disclosure Form - then prosecutors are going to have a slam dunk case against you. This is the position Trump is presently in. And is also why they were able to slap a campaign felony charge on Michael Cohen.
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Michael Cohen... sleazebag or patriot?
by Queequeg inso, what do you think?
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fwiw, i say sleazebag....
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Coded Logic
1.) It doesn't have to come from a campaign account for it to be illegal. It just has to be "any gift, subscription, loan, advance, or deposit of money or anything of value made by any person for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office" that is over $2,000 and/or is not reported. Trump's reimbursement to Cohen breaks this in both regards.
2.) Trump falsified his Financial Disclosure Form when he took office and failed to report that he owed Michael Cohen $130,000.
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Michael Cohen... sleazebag or patriot?
by Queequeg inso, what do you think?
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fwiw, i say sleazebag....
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Coded Logic
Really? You think Obama's campaign filing a report 48 hours after a deadline is the same thing as Trump personally trying to circumvent election laws?
Obama's campaign missed a deadline (a civil infraction) - and paid a fine of $375,000 dollars for it. What do you think the punishment for Trump falsifying a Public Financial Disclosure Form (a felony) should be?
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Ending Bible Study
by Maria Nieves ini have been studying with jehovah's witnesses for approximately two years.
initially, i liked the studies and felt that i was growing closer to god.
however, as the studies progressed, they seemed to become increasingly negative and i did not like what i was being taught.
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Coded Logic
Initially, I liked the studies and felt that I was growing closer to God. However, as the studies progressed, they seemed to become increasingly negative and I did not like what I was being taught.
This is an incredibly thoughtful and well spoken response to what's going on. I can't think of a better thing for you to say to those studying with you. Just be honest with them - they probably have no idea how you feel.
There's no need for subterfuge or passive responses. You're clearly more than capable of expressing yourself. :)
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Michael Cohen... sleazebag or patriot?
by Queequeg inso, what do you think?
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fwiw, i say sleazebag....
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Coded Logic
Simon, I'm not really sure why you're trying to make this a partisan issue. If Obama committed campeign finance violations than he should go to jail. Pure and simple.
But no matter what Obama did or didn't do - it doesn't change the fact that if Trump broke these laws he should be kicked out of office for cheating in the election. Period.