Thursday, October 17, 2024

Liam Payne

Last night, Betty noted "Liam Payne" had passed.  I didn't write about it because I didn't know.  The One Direction band member's death was a shock.  He had his greatest success with the band.  In the US, the boy band had six top ten hits. The biggest was "Best Song Ever" which made it to number two.


My favorite was "Kiss You."



I bought that album on CD for that song.  I can't believe it only made it to number 46 in the US -- and that it is a gold single in the US and sold over 959,000 copies in the US but didn't manage to get higher than number 46. 




Along with 6 top ten pop hits, the band had six more singles that made the top forty in the US. They did better on the US album charts.  They had five studio albums.  One made it to number two on BILLBOARD's Top 200.  The other four?  They all made it to number one.  One album 'only' went platinum (a million seller) while the others all went multi-platinum. 



Harry Styles has gone on to have the biggest solo career of anyone in the group.  Liam only released one album, 2019's LP1.  It did best in the UK, making it to number 17 on their album chart.  In the US, it only got to 111 on BILLBOARD's album chart. He released 14 singles.   "Strip That Down" made it to number ten in the US -- his only top ten in the US.  Others made the top 100 in the US but none made the top forty.  My favorite of his solo singles was "Bedroom Floor."




From 2010 to late 2012, Payne dated then-X Factor dancer Danielle Peazer.[130] From 2013 to 2015, he was in a relationship with childhood friend, Sophia Smith.[131] In 2016, he started dating Cheryl Cole;[132] they had one son who was born on 22 March 2017.[133][134] Their relationship ended in 2018.[135] In early 2019, he dated British model and actress Naomi Campbell.[136][137]

Payne began dating model Maya Henry in 2019; they became engaged in August 2020.[138] By June 2021, Payne and Henry had separated.[139] The couple reunited that year and became engaged again.[140][141] In May 2022, the couple ended their engagement for the second time.[142] Since October 2022, he had been in a relationship with influencer Kate Cassidy.[143][144][145][146]

Payne's net worth was estimated at £47 million in 2020.[147] Payne previously owned homes in Malibu, California, and Surrey, but listed them both for sale in early 2020 and 2021, respectively.[148][149] From 2022 until his death, he resided in Buckinghamshire.[150]

Payne was a supporter of the football team West Bromwich Albion.[151]

Health

Payne had spoken about struggling with alcoholism since the peak of One Direction's success.[152] Payne also discussed his struggles with suicidal ideation. In 2023, he stated that he had been sober for over three months.[153] Payne received an ADHD diagnosis as an adult.[154] In August 2023, he was hospitalised with a kidney infection.[97]

On 1 June 2022, he was interviewed by Logan Paul for his podcast series where Payne, while intoxicated, said that One Direction originated with Simon Cowell's promise to him. He also discussed former fellow member Zayn Malik's family life and stated, "There's many reasons why I dislike Zayn and there's many reasons why I'll always, always be on his side".[155] He was met with criticism, with the veracity of several of his claims contested.[by whom?][156] He subsequently clarified his remarks on Malik and apologised.[157] Later, in 2023, he announced his sobriety and said that he went to a rehab facility after the interview.[158][159]



Betty noted the sex tape that surfaced a few years back -- Liam and another man.  I always heard he was gay.  And believed it which is why I rooted for him, honestly.  Outside of Robbie Williams, all of England's best male singers are gay -- Elton John, George Michael and Boy George.  Those are the holy trinity -- at least to me -- of British singers. 




We watched as they auditioned on "X Factor," became a boy band, released chart-topping songs and overtook stadiums worldwide. For Gen Z and millennials who grew up alongside the British boyband One Direction, the death of singer Liam Payne is especially devastating.

Even for those who were not "Directioners," Payne's death comes as an overwhelming shock, and for Gen Z, it feels like the first major collective loss for our generation.

Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Thursday, October 17, 2024.  Donald Trump continues to threaten American citizens just as he continues lying, Kamala Harris faces off with FOX "NEWS" and Jill Stein gets an endorsement that she's earned.


In the US, we have until November 5th to vote and Donald Trump intends to use the 18 remaining days going as nuts and deranged as anyone can.   Oliver O'Connell and Joe Sommerlad (INDEPENDENT) report:


Donald Trump has stoked outrage by claiming to be “the father of IVF” at a women’s town hall event hosted by Fox News, inviting cries of protest given his track-record on rolling back women’s rights, notably his instrumental role in overturning Roe vs Wade in 2022 and flirtation with a nationwide abortion ban.


“We really are the party for IVF,” the Republican presidential nominee insisted.

“We want fertilization, and it’s all the way, and the Democrats tried to attack us on it.”



The father of IVF?  I can remember when Ivana would joke -- at least I think she was joking -- that Donald wasn't even the father of Eric. 


Like most informed Americans, Kamala Harris found his claim bizarre. 




As audience members confronted him over these impacts—which became clear in Alabama earlier this year—Trump reiterated his usual spiel of reproductive rights-related falsehoods, which included claiming that “every legal scholar” wanted Roe overruled (easily debunked) and that Republicans are “the party of IVF”—despite the fact that Republicans have twice blocked a vote on a bill that would protect IVF access nationwide, as I have covered. (The GOP said that it supports IVF and that the bill was unnecessary.)

But Trump also debuted a new lie at the town hall: He claimed he’s the “father of IVF.”

“I want to talk about IVF,” Trump said in the lead-up to a question about how abortion bans could impact fertility treatments. “I’m the father of IVF, so I want to hear this question.” (He then proceeded to call Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.)—who he said taught him what IVF is—”fantastically attractive.") 

If you are wondering what on Earth he could have possibly meant, you are not alone. Trump is certainly not the creator of the reproductive technology (that was a British doctor, named Robert Edwards, in 1978). And Trump has never suggested any of his five children were born through IVF. In a statement provided to Mother Jones, Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, dismissed the comment as “a joke President Trump made in jest when he was enthusiastically answering a question about IVF as he strongly supports widespread access to fertility treatments for women and families.” She did not respond to questions about whether Trump supported the Democratic-led bill on IVF that Republicans twice blocked, or how his proposal to force the government or private insurance companies to fund IVF would actually work (estimates say it could cost around $8 billion).

Harris promptly clapped back, telling reporters Trump’s comments were “quite bizarre,” adding, “if what he meant is taking responsibility, then yeah, he should take responsibility for the fact that one in three women in America lives in a Trump abortion ban state.” 


It was an outrageous lie from a man who steals credit for everything.  The only humor in the alleged 'jest' came from those responding to the lie like Jimmy Kimmel. 




On that townhall 'for women,' Daniel Dale (CNN) counts nineteen outright lies Donald told during that hour long event.  He wasn't the only one lying.  FOX "NEWS" Harris Faulkner hosted the event and got off this lie, "And instead of him banning abortion, which is not he wants to do. He's wanting it to be for the states and let the states decide."




The liar is anti-choice so let's not that first so we can factor in her whorish nature.  Second, letting one state ban it -- even just one -- is being for banning abortion.  Quit lying.  One bad weave and the liar thinks she's tricked us all.

 
On reproductive rights, Amanda Becker (TEEN VOGUE) explains:

The Supreme Court’s rejection this week of the Biden administration’s appeal to weigh in on a dispute over emergency abortion care in Texas foreshadows how the next president could protect or restrict abortion access without signing — or vetoing — federal legislation. 

The court’s decision came Monday as early voting was already underway in some states in the first presidential election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending federal abortion protections and sending the issue back to the states.

Texas is one of 13 states that currently have total abortion bans in place and another four states cap the procedure after six weeks, before many people know they are pregnant.




Restoring Roe’s protections nationwide are central to the case that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris is making against Republican nominee Donald Trump. Headed into the final weeks of the race, polls show abortion gaining on the economy as the top-of-mind issue for voters, particularly in battleground states and for women under 45 years old.

Trump, who as president cemented the conservative bloc on the court that overturned Roe in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, has provided few details about how his administration would approach abortion, saying only that he feels it is an issue best left up to the states and that “everyone knows” he would not sign a federal abortion ban. 

Trump has yet to comment on the myriad of other ways a president’s administration can impact abortion access via the federal agency rulemaking process or by prosecuting state bans when they conflict with federal laws, such as in the Texas dispute.




In the Texas case, the Biden administration is arguing that a 1986 law known as EMTALA, which requires most hospitals to provide emergency care, applies to abortion even in states with bans — Texas disagrees. The state’s abortion ban has limited exceptions for patients who have a life-threatening condition or who are at risk of “substantial impairment of a major bodily function” but what constitutes substantial impairment is left undefined.

The Supreme Court’s decision to not hear an appeal at this juncture means that as the case continues, a lower court order will remain in place that says hospitals cannot be required to provide emergency abortions in cases when they might violate Texas’ ban. Legal experts told The 19th that the order could also affect cases in Louisiana and Mississippi, which are also under the jurisdiction of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Let me be clear: Donald Trump is the architect of this health care crisis,” Vice President Harris wrote on the social media site X shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision not to take the case. “I will never stop fighting for a woman’s right to emergency medical care — and to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade so that women in every state have access to the care they need.”


Which is how it should be.  Healthcare is not a 'state's rights!' issue.  That's a lunatic fantasy.  A woman has every right to expect the same type of healthcare in any state in the union.  Don't be tricked by the Harris Faulkners of the world. 

This is beyond stupid.  We've said it here many times but I think Tim Walz has been much more passionate about it: Mind your own damn business!

You don't want an abortion?  Don't have one.  Otherwise, mind your own damn business.

My healthcare is not your business.  My choices are not your business.  Informed consent means that my doctor and I make the best decisions about my healthcare.  It is no one else business.

ROE V WADE was popular with the majority of Americans and with the majority of American women.  It was established law -- something the Republicans on the Crooked Supreme Court forgot they stated in their Senate confirmation hearings.  By conspiring, a group of liars were able to coach the justices on how to pass a confirmation hearing -- and Donald ordered the FBI to stand down on investigating sexual predator Brett Kavanaugh -- and, first chance it had, the Crooked Court then ignored established law, ignored the principle of stare decisis, ignored the whole point of precedent and overturned ROE V WADE as step one in destroying the right to privacy for US citizens.  Crooked Clarence, high on the vast amount of bribes he's taken in over the years or just as flat out stupid today as he was in 1992, showed the Court's hand with his opinion where he noted the plan to next turn over all other right to privacy cases -- including birth control and marriage equality -- save for LOVING V VIRGINIA.  Many pointed out the reasoning there -- though Samuel L. Jackson was one of the first -- Clarence left his first wife and became a chubby chaser which led him to the grotesque Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas.  LOVING V VIRGINIA, a right to privacy case, mandated that all states in the union recognize interracial marriage.  So, in case you missed it, Crooked Clarence took a dump on the right to privacy judgments except for the one that impacted his own life.

Still on that townhall, Matthew Chapman (RAW STORY) notes:


Fox News allowed former President Donald Trump's all-women town hall to be filled with MAGA supporters — and failed to disclose as such, according to a report. 

"The Georgia town hall, where Trump took questions on reproductive laws, transgender rights and other issues, aired Wednesday morning," according to the CNN report. "But Fox News did not disclose that the female audience it selected for the event was packed with local Republican supporters."

Moreover, Fox News edited out moments where participants in the town hall said things that made this too obvious, " reported Hadas Gold and Liam Reilly.

For example, one woman named Alicia said, “I want to thank you for coming to a room full of women the current administration would consider domestic terrorists,” and added, “I proudly cast my vote for you today. I hope they count it.”

Fox News edited out the last part where she said she was already a Trump voter, but a CNN reporter in the audience captured the full exchange. 


Deranged Donald continues to make threats against the American people.  David Badash reports:


The Trump campaign lashed out at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Monday after the Democratic vice presidential nominee quoted the Republican presidential candidate who repeatedly over the weekend has been saying he would like to use the U.S. military against American citizens.

As NCRM reported, the Republican presidential nominee said he thinks the U.S. Armed Forces should be used against Americans who oppose him, called his critics “the enemy from within,” and declared they are more dangerous than America’s greatest foreign adversaries, including Russia, China, and North Korea.


“I always say we have the outside enemy, so you can say China, you can say Russia, you can say, Kim Jung-Un,” Trump told supporters at an Aurora, Colorado rally on Friday. But, he added: “It’s the enemy from within, all the scum that we have to deal with that hate our country. That’s a bigger enemy than China and Russia,” he said as the audience cheered.
Then, on Sunday, Trump told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo of his desire to use armed forces against Americans on Election Day.

[. . . ]

“Donald Trump over the weekend was talking about using the U.S. Army against people who disagree with him,” Walz had said. “Just so you’re clear about that, that’s you. That’s what he’s talking about. This is not some mythical thing out there. He called it the ‘enemy within.'”

The Trump War Room social media account wrote: “Tim Walz peddles a disgusting lie that President Trump will use the U.S. Army against his political opponents: ‘That’s you, that’s what he’s talking about.’ This is reckless, dangerous rhetoric,” the campaign stated. “Tim should be ASHAMED of himself.”

These are threats against the American people.  Philip Bump (WASHINGTON POST) reports:

No fascist. You’re the fascist.

Host Harris Faulkner played the snippet of Trump’s Bartiromo interview in which he explained that the “enemy from within” included “lunatics” such as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), one of the loudest voices during Trump’s first impeachment. Faulkner noted that Harris had suggested Trump is “unhinged.” (The crowd, heavily constituted of Republicans and Trump supporters, tittered at the very idea.)

Trump, predictably, denied that he is, calling Democrats “the party of sound bites.”

“Somebody asked me, ‘Can they be brought together?’” he said, apparently meaning that he was asked whether Democrats could work with Republicans. He suggested that he said he doesn’t think they could “because they are — they’re very different. And it is the enemy from within and they’re very dangerous. They are Marxists and communists and fascists.”

He returned to his criticism of Schiff, suggesting that Schiff is among those who “made up the Russia hoax” — that is, the investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 campaign had knowingly worked with the Russian effort to swing the results to his advantage. (A lengthy probe into the matter identified several members of Trump’s campaign who had been in contact with Russian agents and determined that the campaign had at least welcomed the Russian effort.)

And again Trump shrugged at the threat posed by foreign countries (including Russia) as easy to handle — more so than the threat from his political opponents.

“The more difficult are, you know, the Pelosis,” he said, referring to former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and, apparently, her husband, Paul.

Shortly before the 2022 election, a deranged man broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco house in an apparent effort to force Nancy Pelosi to admit that the Russia probe was contrived. Paul Pelosi, who doesn’t work in politics, was struck with a hammer in the attack.

“These people, they’re so sick, and they’re so evil,” Trump continued. “If they would spend their time trying to make America great again, we would have — it would be so easy to make this country great.”

All of this, all of Trump’s response to the criticism of his initial comments Sunday, serves to bolster that criticism. Saying that Democrats are evil and sick and incapable of working with Republicans is commentary aimed at suggesting that no political agreement can be practically or morally achieved. Comparing the opposition of Democrats to that of foreign adversaries — casting it as worse than that of those adversaries, in fact — elevates the idea that internal enemies should be dealt with in the way we might deal with an invasion force from a foreign power.


It's very alarming and people should be concerned.  Kathleen Culliton (RAW STORY) notes:


Former President Donald Trump's decision to double down Wednesday on his threats of the "enemy within" — and his campaign's hasty efforts to spread the word — stunned onlookers who said they fear a looming authoritarian regime.

Trump's War Room was quick to post video on X of Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner's interview with Trump and his response to concerns that he would use his executive power to sic the military on political rivals.

"FAULKNER: 'Kamala Harris has said you sounded unhinged and unchecked power is in our future,'" the Trump campaign tweeted. "TRUMP: 'They are a party of soundbites... And it is the enemy from within. They are very dangerous.'"

Trump went on to list the people and political groups he argued should be considered enemies of the people, among them Marxists, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), fascists, communists, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

"It is the enemy from within," Trump said. "They're very dangerous...and they're sick."


He is a threat to democracy, he is a threat to us all.  David Kurtz (TPM)  notes:


Harris wants to use Trump’s own words as “evidence” against in the closing days of the campaign, according to the WSJ report.

In the plodding, “check the box” campaign strategy that Democrats often default to, candidates are given the false choice of either addressing voters’ most pressing concerns or warning that Trump is a menace and threat to democratic values. Harris’ “all of the above” approach in recent days weaves together both attack lines into a seamless whole.

Most notably, Harris has connected Trump’s essential weakness of character with his authoritarian impulses, his fondness for dictators, and his disregard for the Constitution. You get these threats with Trump precisely because he is a such a hollowed-out shell of a human. It’s a powerful reminder that fascism is a refuge for the weak and insecure, an argument that defuses the fear that Trump seeks to instill.


Kamala went on FOX "NEWS" because she's not a chicken like Donald who cancelled on 60 MINUTES and CNBC.  













Let's turn to Donald's financials.  Philip Bump has a must read, "The myth of Businessman Trump has collapsed" (WASHINGTON POST), about some people slowly awakening to the reality. Or some of it.  Donald Trump is not as wealthy as people like to think.  And he has nothing to show for all his years if you really get into the weeds.  He is sitting on a mountain of debt.  If and when just one bank decides to call in a loan, his entire faux empire could come crashing down.  That's why he's selling $3 BIBLEs made in China for -- selling them for $60 bucks.  He's a con artist.  And he needs cash because he's got nothing.  That's why he is trying to farm our his campaign air travel onto the US taxpayer.  Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) notes:


Donald Trump's campaign has set up a fundraising page for hurricane relief, but it's not clear where the money is actually going.

The Republican nominee's campaign created the fundraising campaign billed “as an official response for MAGA supporters to offer their financial assistance to their fellow Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene,” reported The New Republic. The page lists charities it says would receive the MAGA funds.

Three of the four charities listed are Christian or Evangelical nongovernmental organizations — Samaritan’s Purse, Water Mission, and Mtn2Sea Ministries — while the fourth is listed as the “Clinch Foundation,” which appears to be the Clinch Memorial Hospital’s Foundation in Valdosta, Georgia.



Where is the money going?  Kevin T. Dugan (INTELLIGENCER) reports:


It has hardly been a month since presidential candidate Donald Trump started hawking digital tokens in something called World Liberty Financial, a loosely defined lending business that mimicked some of the more spectacular failures of the last crypto bubble. Basic questions about the business — What exactly is it? How does it work? What is newly matriculated NYU freshman Barron Trump doing as one of the company’s “Web3 Ambassadors”? — have gone unanswered. And if the point of World Liberty Financial is simply to raise a ton of money through unregistered securities offerings, historically a pretty lucrative business in cryptoland, even that has gone awry. In the opening hours of trading, a period of maximum hype, the company has raised a paltry $12 million or so, falling far short of its $300 million goal.

This shortfall has no clear explanation. Trump has been unabashedly courting crypto investors for most of this election season. At a bitcoin conference this summer, Trump laid out his crypto-centric vision of a second term: He would create a digital stockpile of the digital currency and make the U.S. the “bitcoin superpower of the world.” He vowed to rein in the Feds and ax Gary Gensler, who, as the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has been a bogeyman for the industry. There has also been a surge in the value of one of his other nebulously defined companies, Trump Media & Technology Group, which has more than doubled its share price since late September and added more than $2 billion to Trump’s personal (but paper) fortune.

The World Liberty Financial token sale, meanwhile, has been plagued with problems. For a while, the site went down, making it nearly impossible to buy the tokens. But even if it worked fine, it wasn’t clear how many people would have actually been able to purchase them. The company’s Telegram group has made it clear that the tokens would be sold only to accredited U.S. investors — that is, people who are professionals or are just extremely rich — as well as investors overseas. In other words, not just any Trump fan could buy in. (Whether the company is actually holding to that is another matter. On October 11, I received an email pushing me to buy them, despite having no accreditation whatsoever. “We are pleased to inform you that, as a confirmed Whitelist entrant, you are now eligible to register for the upcoming $WLFI public sale,” the email said.) As of Wednesday morning, fewer than 3,000 people actually bought the tokens.


He builds nothing.  He's a business disaster.  Atlantic City?  He wouldn't even fix leaky roofs.  He'd have them put out big white buckets to catch the leaks when it rained. And those buildings, true of all of his buildings, only came about due to crooked deals.  Kamala has a strong housing plan but I'm always amazed that when housing gets covered in this race -- rarely, but some times -- that we're not talking about how Trump 'befriended' (bribed) politicians and city officials to get the land he wanted.  Eminent domain is not popular with voters.  They rightly see it as a threat to their own home ownership or own small business ownership. 

Eminent domain would allow Donald to grab real estate at bargain prices, he'd talk it up and try to get any fools to join him, he'd fall behind and then try to get refinancing, then he'd work to unload the properties. Despite perfecting this crooked model, he was lazy and slow and sometimes had to declare bankruptcy when he was too slow in getting out.

He's not in NYC because they hate him.  I've written about this at length for the community newsletters but no NYC family of standing respects him.  They consider him gauche and tasteless.  He tried to buy his way into society and it never took.  His life is as a social outcaste looked down upon by others, a comic Edith Wharton novel centering around a vial outsider who is known as a grifter who preys upon the less informed.


Again, he's sitting on a mountain of debt and the whole thing collapses at any moment if even one bank starts calling in the loans.  He has no real income other than his con jobs and his pension as a US president.  That's why he's always doing one money grubbing con after another.  And it's why 'old money' doesn't get in bed with him, they know he's a con artist.  

These are not hidden details or obscure secrets.  

THE APPRENTICE money is long gone and that's really the closest Donald ever came to actually working in his life -- hosting a game show.  Donald lives outside of his means and always has.  His multiple bankruptcies didn't bestow respectability on him nor do his current efforts at grift.  I get it.  He's trying to claw his way back into the White House because he thinks it could save him.  It can't.  And if he manages to die before all the debts get called in, that just means Junior and Eric get stuck with the bills.  (Ivanka was always smart to listen to her mother and she should be left holding less debt as a result.)


But the lack of income goes to why he keeps avoiding paying E Jean Carroll.  He doesn't have the money.  He's also not paying his attorney fees and hasn't been for some time.  I mean, what do you want, his full financials?  

As I've noted many times before, bankers who okayed the questionable loans that keep Donald afloat currently are risking their jobs and their reputations. They never should have okayed the loans.  

 

I mention the above because people think his 'wealth' means he's good or god-like.  No, he just knows how to run a con.  He's never worked at anything in his life except being a game show host.  Brad Reed (RAW STORY) notes:



United Auto Workers member Dawnya Ferdinansen on Wednesday called out former President Donald Trump after he made belittling comments about her profession.
In a video posted by the United Auto Workers' Twitter account, Ferdinansen took issue with Trump claiming that American autoworkers who work for foreign car manufacturers don't really build cars but rather "take them out of a box and assemble them."
"We could have our child do it," Trump said of the work.

Ferdinansen, an Ohio-based autoworker, wasted no time tearing the former president to pieces.

"I'm making this video in response to Trump's statement that autoworkers just 'assemble parts,' out of a box," she said. "I challenge you, Trump, to one full 12-hour day in any auto assembly plant. I want to see you assemble parts out of a box for 12 hours! Until you accept and complete this challenge, until you actually work a manual labor job, you keep the name of the UAW out of your mouth!"


Dawnya is correct.  Donald knows nothing about doing actual work and, at his age, never will.  

Like Jill Stein, Donald just shows up when the cameras are around because he's too damn lazy to do any of the work required.  

Yes, Jill Stein.  The Green Party's presidential nominee for the third time.  She's finally getting the recognition she's so long deserved -- an endorsement from the KKK.



The Green Party could have looked to the future and nominated someone who wasn't over 70 years old and had not already run twice (and failed twice) for president before.  Instead, they went with racist Jill Stein.  The KKK knows one of their own when they see her.  There's a reason for that. 


The following sites updated:

 



 

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