BoHogg

Given the opportunity, Paxton would create a statewide high school sports booster club president position for LaPierre LaPierre of “looting” the NRA, detailing extravagant expenses: a $17 million personal retirement fund for LaPierre that he did not report to his board, private jets for his wife and niece, and trips to the Bahamas, paid for with NRA funds, to hang out on a private yacht named Illusions—which is what courts should have called LaPierre’s constitutional theories. All told, James said the actions of LaPierre and others in leadership contributed to the loss of $64 million of NRA net assets in just three years.

President Donald Trump on Saturday afternoon openly vowed to permanently "terminate" the funding mechanism for both Social Security and Medicare if reelected in November—an admission that was seized upon by defenders of the popular safety net programs who have been warning for months that the administration's threat to suspend the payroll tax in the name of economic relief during the Covid-19 pandemic was really a backdoor sabotage effort. Announcing and then signing a series of legally dubious executive orders, including an effort to slash the emergency federal unemployment boost by $200 from the $600 previously implemented by Democrats, Trump touted his order for a payroll tax "holiday"—which experts noted would later have to be paid back—but said if he won in November that such a cut would become permanent. The Trump campaign was apparently so satisfied with the public acknowledgement of the president's promise to make the payroll tax permanent—a move that would inherently bankrupt the Social Security system—that it clipped the portion of the press conference and shared on social media immediately after it concluded. The president's critics did as well, though they carried a different message.

You certainly are special Lion.... APRIL 27, 2019 / 10:09 AM INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Retired U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North will step down as president of the National Rifle Association, North said on Saturday, adding he was being forced out due to his allegations that NRA leaders engaged in financial improprieties.

The Attorney General of New York took action today to dissolve the National Rifle Association, following an 18-month investigation that found evidence the powerful gun rights group is "fraught with fraud and abuse." Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars, and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three year period. The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty. Seeking to dissolve the NRA is the most aggressive sanction James could have sought against the not-for-profit organization, which James has jurisdiction over because it is registered in New York. James has a wide range of authorities relating to nonprofits in the state, including the authority to force organizations to cease operations or dissolve. The NRA is all but certain to contest it. NPR has reached out to the NRA for comment, but has not received a response. Sign Up For The NPR Daily Newsletter Catch up on the latest headlines and unique NPR stories, sent every weekday. E-mail address SUBSCRIBE By subscribing, you agree to NPR's terms of use and privacy policy. NPR may share your name and email address with your NPR station. See Details. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. "The NRA's influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets," James said in a statement. "The NRA is fraught with fraud and abuse, which is why, today, we seek to dissolve the NRA, because no organization is above the law." INVESTIGATIONS Secret Recording Reveals NRA's Legal Troubles Have Cost The Organization $100 Million POLITICS NRA Was 'Foreign Asset' To Russia Ahead of 2016, New Senate Report Reveals James' complaint names the National Rifle Association as a whole, but also names four current and former NRA executives: Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, general counsel John Frazer, former CFO Woody Phillips, and former chief of staff Joshua Powell. It lists dozens of examples of alleged financial malfeasance, including the use of NRA funds for vacations, private jets, and expensive meals. In a statement, her office said that the charitable organization's executives "instituted a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement and negligent oversight" that contributed to "the waste and loss of millions in assets." The lawsuit seeks to dissolve the NRA in its entirety and asks the court to order LaPierre and other current and former executives to pay back unlawful profits. It also seeks to remove LaPierre and Frazer from the organization's leadership and prevent the four named individuals from ever serving again on the board of a charity in New York. Allegations against CEO Wayne LaPierre LaPierre, who also serves as CEO, has held the top position at the organization for nearly 30 years. In the Attorney General's lawsuit he is accused of using charitable funds for personal gain, including a post-employment contract valued at more than $17 million that was not approved by the NRA's board of directors. The lawsuit also claims that LaPierre received more than $1.2 million in expense reimbursements over four years, including gifts for friends, travel expenses and memberships at golf clubs and hotels. And it alleges that he spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on private plane trips, including for extended family when he was not present; traveled to Africa with his wife on a safari gifted by an NRA vendor, and spent more than $3.6 million on luxury black car services and travel consultants in the last two years. Those that attempted to blow the whistle on this behavior, the suit claims, were retaliated against by LaPierre. Allegations against former CFO Woody Phillips, former chief of staff Joshua Powell and general counsel John Frazer James' lawsuit alleges that Phillips, whose job it was to manage the financial operations of the charitable organization, lied on financial disclosure forms and set up numerous deals to enrich himself and his girlfriend. The New York Attorney General claims that Phillips set up a contract for himself just before he retired, and that the package was worth $1.8 million — purportedly for consulting services to the incoming treasurer. But the incoming treasurer told the New York attorney general that he was not aware of this contract. Phillips also directed a deal worth more than $1 million to his girlfriend, the suit alleges. Meanwhile, James alleges that former NRA chief of staff Joshua Powell's salary more than tripled a little more than two years into his tenure, which began in 2016. While he began at $250,000, Powell's salary rose to $800,000. Powell is also accused of directing charitable funds to be used for the benefit of his family members. The New York Attorney General said that Powell approved of a $5 million consulting contract with the firm McKenna & Associates. That firm, in turn, hired Powell's wife and passed her $30,000 monthly consulting fee through the NRA. Powell also arranged for an NRA vendor to hire his father as a paid photographer, leading to $90,000 in fees for his father — funds that were ultimately billed to the NRA. The New York Attorney General did not allege that NRA general counsel John Frazer committed financial misconduct, but said that he failed to comply with board governance procedures, failed to ensure the NRA was in compliance with whistleblower laws and repeatedly certified false or misleading annual statements by the NRA. The NRA's already precarious financial situation James' lawsuit is sure to be contested in court by the National Rifle Association. But even before this move, the NRA was in dire financial straits. A secret recording of an NRA board meeting obtained by NPR in April showed LaPierre telling the audience that the NRA's legal troubles have cost the organization $100 million. "The cost that we bore was probably about a hundred-million-dollar hit in lost revenue and real cost to this association in 2018 and 2019," LaPierre said, according to a tape recorded by a source in the room. "I mean, that's huge." Much of this has to do with its legal troubles. Facing Congressional inquiries and investigations by multiple state attorneys general, as well as internal whistleblower complaints, the NRA's finances have sagged under the burden of legal costs. In the ongoing litigation between the NRA and Ackerman McQueen, its former public relations firm, a brief filed by the firm on April 15 indicates its belief that the NRA has paid its outside legal counsel "over $54 million" in the last two years. The turmoil at the NRA also could have political ramifications ahead of the 2020 elections. The NRA spent tens of millions of dollars in 2016 to support then-candidate Donald Trump — a role it appears it will be unlikely to be able to repeat given its current financial condition.

"Yo, Semites!" T-shirts and caps went on sale @ noon...

Just as I'll expect you to refrain from the use of "tard" in all forms. You have a nice evening Fester.

lol I knew it wouldn't be long before you played the threat card.

Let me spell it out for ya Fester. The rule was intended to expand access to housing for minorities. WHITES ain't minorities. You got it now moron?

That all you got Uncle Fester, your point? I ain't spelling it out for you moron. You were the guy in those 2016 posts that Pilgrim put up that you have now censored where you dissed Trump including his racists tendencies and now you sucking his bait.

Sure you are Uncle Fester....

Something like this.....“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream…” — Martin Luther King Jr.Jan 29, 2016

Coincidence that Trump is tweeting about delaying the election right as we get the worst GDP numbers in recorded U.S. history?

Trump bleach and an ultraviolet light up the dookey chute, and now this chick with demon semen;CERTIFIABLE

“I can tell you this, she was on air along with many other doctors,” he said. “They were big fans of hydroxychloroquine and I thought she was very impressive in the sense that from where she came, I don't know which country she comes from, but she said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients, and I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her.” Meet Trump's new medical advisor... AUSTIN, Texas — The Houston doctor who was part of a controversial viral video touting hydroxychloroquine as a "cure" for COVID-19 has said certain gynecological issues are caused by sexual encounters with demons in dreams, along with other dubious medical claims. The Daily Beast has published an extensive collection of some of the views of Dr. Stella Immanuel, who was part of a video showing a group of doctors making misleading and false claims about the coronavirus pandemic that was removed from Facebook and Twitter--but only after it garnered tens of millions of views and was retweeted by President Donald Trump. The video recorded in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, according to The Washington Post, claimed that face masks and lockdowns are not needed to stop COVID-19. During the video, Immanuel claims that she and her staff have used hydroxychloroquine to effectively treat COVID-19 patients and that her staff had avoided the virus wearing simple medical masks as opposed to N95 masks, The Daily Beast reports. “Hello, you don’t need a mask. There is a cure,” Immanuel said in the video. The Daily Beast writes: Immanuel is a licensed pediatrician in the State of Texas, according to the Texas Medical Board. Her practice address is listed as 6278 Highway 6 South in Houston, which Google Maps data shows is also the location of Fire Power Ministries Christian Resource Center, a ministry which is headed by Immanuel. It's this ministry where Immanuel's more arguably outrageous claims come from, according to The Daily Beast, who looked at sermons and articles posted on her website: The Daily Beast also found that Immanuel claimed in 2015 that an Illuminati plan had been concocted by “a witch” to destroy the world using abortion, gay marriage, and children’s toys. She also claimed that DNA from space aliens is currently being used in medicine. In the same sermon, Immanuel also claimed the Magic 8-Ball toy was a tool to get people into witchcraft. Following the video's removal from Facebook, Immanuel took to Twitter to threaten the platform with shutdown "in Jesus name" unless her page and videos are restored. She also tweeted that she was "in town and available" to meet with President Trump.

Where’s that happened in Texas?