The Daily Drift

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Big Win For South Carolina Teachers As Stephen Colbert Funds $800K Worth Of Grant Requests

Political comedian Stephen Colbert announced  that he plans to fulfill every existing grant request made by South Carolina public school teachers on DonorsChoose.org. The surprise announcement was made by Colbert, a South Carolina native, during a live video feed to Alexander Elementary School in Greenville. Colbert was joined by Damon Qualls, a teacher at the school, when he made the announcement over video from New York City.

Colbert is partnering with Share Fair Nation and ScanSource to funnel 800,000 dollars to almost 1,000 projects in over 375 South Carolina schools. In Alexander Elementary School, where 100 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, nearly 4,000 dollars in grant money will be allocated for items like educational books, bulletin boards, pencils and new carpeting, as well as for a trampoline and a treadmill for sensory therapy. Other schools in the state will receive a range of materials including iPads, DVD publishers, laptop computers, digital cameras, and physical education equipment.

A Center on Budget and Policy Priorities study found that South Carolina was one of seven states that had cut per-pupil spending by more than 15 percent between 2008 and 2014. Not coincidentally, all seven of those education budget slashing states were under Republican control during most of that time period. Joining South Carolina in savagely cutting education spending between 2008 and 2014, were fellow Republican run states Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.

Fortunately, for South Carolina educators, comedian Stephen Colbert has stepped in to pick up the slack where the GOP-controlled state government has failed. Shamefully, GOP politicians across the country have placed tax cuts for the wealthy above educating children, on their list of priorities. Ironically, it takes the generosity of a high-income liberal comedian to rescue South Carolina’s public schools from the state’s education slashing Republican-controlled legislature.

Stephen Colbert should be commended for stepping up on behalf of South Carolina teachers, to fund important grants that enhance the quality of education for the state’s public school children. Funding educational grants is one way to invest in creating a better future for the state of South Carolina and the nation.

Republican politicians continue to focus on tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of everyone else, including children. Fortunately, individuals like Stephen Colbert are doing their part to help America’s underfunded public schools. Now if only our political leaders had as much common sense and compassion as a liberal comedian, we might be able to reorient our budget priorities and actually build a better future for the nation.

Former Aides To President Obama Help Bernie Sanders Raise $3 Million in Four Days

With no super PACs or corporate dollars, Sen. Bernie Sanders has raised $3 million in four days with the help of some former aides to President Obama.
Huffington Post reported:
With the help of a crew of former aides to President Barack Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) campaign has raised $3 million in four days for his presidential campaign — a dramatic indication that he won’t be confined simply to a long-shot role in the Democratic primary.

Sanders, who is running for president as a Democrat, announced on Wednesday that he has retained the services of the firm Revolution Messaging to run digital ads and online fundraising. The staffers with the firm who will be working on Sanders’ campaign include Revolution Messaging’s founder, Scott Goodstein, who ran the 2008 Obama campaign’s social media and mobile programs; Arun Chaudhary, who was the first official White House videographer; Shauna Daly, who served as deputy research director on Obama’s 2008 campaign; and Walker Hamilton, who was a lead programmer for that campaign.

“Like a lot of Obama supporters, we were looking for a candidate with a track record of doing the right thing — even if it meant taking on Wall Street billionaires and other powerful interests. A candidate who could inspire a movement,” said Goodstein. “Bernie Sanders is that candidate.”

The fact that Sen. Sanders has attracted the support of people who worked for then-candidate Obama in 2008 is not surprising. There have been many books and stories written about the fact that some former Clinton and Obama staffers can’t let the 2008 race for the Democratic nomination go.

In a broader context, the hiring of experienced and previously successful staff adds to the legitimacy of the Sanders campaign. Bernie Sanders is raising more money and drawing more early support than the mainstream press ever thought he could. Sanders will still be outgunned by Hillary Clinton, but he is quickly amassing the kind of resources that will allow him to stay in the campaign and deliver his message beyond Iowa and New Hampshire.

While the media keeps eyeballing Republican candidates that will never be, there is a legitimate popular movement building behind Bernie Sanders.

Obama Economy Rebounds As Unemployment Falls To Lowest Level In Seven Years

The economy rebounded from the rough winter weather in March to create 223,000 new jobs as the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in seven years.

According to The White House:

The economy added 223,000 jobs in April as the unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent—the lowest since May 2008—and the participation rate ticked up. This report largely reflects the ongoing recovery, but jobs in April were likely also boosted by a temporary bounce-back from winter weather. Notwithstanding the substantial progress our economy has made, it is critical to continue the overall momentum and further strengthen wage growth.

….

The private sector has added 12.3 million jobs over 62 straight months of job growth, extending the longest streak on record.Today we learned that private-sector employment rose by 213,000 in April. Our businesses and the economy as a whole created more than 200,000 jobs in thirteen of the past fourteen months—the first time that has happened since 1995. After taking into account the downward revision for the March jobs number, our economy has added 3.0 million new jobs over the past twelve months, nearly the fastest pace in more than a decade.

President Obama is starting to see economic numbers that the country has not put up since 1995. Wage growth is a definite concern which is why the Democratic candidates for president have zeroed in on wage growth and income inequality as key issues for 2016.

Republicans don’t have a plan to address wage growth because ideologically, they are committed to transferring wealth to the top of the economic pyramid. It is impossible for Republicans to address falling wages when their economic philosophy is centered around depressing wages in order to keep wealth at the top.

The economy is putting Democrats in a good position, and it leaving Republicans with fewer issues to talk about that matter to the country at large. There are still weaknesses to address, but it is undeniable that the economy has turned around and recovered for the disaster that happened under Republican leadership.

The 'Real' Invaders

American has been, is and will continue to be a Leftward Nation

Sorry to burst the wingnut bubble 

(Oh, who are we kidding - no we're not)

Only 29 percent of Americans had a favorable view of the Republican Party, while 43 percent had a positive view of the Democrats.

It's A Left America 

Independent Study Finds That Every Republican Prediction About Obamacare Was Wrong

An independent health policy research program study showed all of his predictions about Obamacare were wrong. Way wrong. Wrong on every single fearmongering prediction and claim they…

It’s like Republicans are cursed by facts these days.

Just days after House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) went on Meet the Press to fearmonger about Obamacare, yet another study came along to sock it to his desperate Obamacare claims. An independent health policy research program study released Wednesday showed all of his predictions about Obamacare were wrong. Way wrong. Wrong on every single fearmongering prediction and claim they made.

Under Obamacare, nearly 17 million have gotten insurance coverage since the fall of 2013. Seventeen MILLION.

The Rand analysis of their study revealed the facts:

Insurance coverage has increased across all types of insurance since the major provisions of the federal Affordable Care Act took effect, with a total of 16.9 million people becoming newly enrolled through February 2015, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Researchers estimate that from September 2013 to February 2015, 22.8 million Americans became newly insured and 5.9 million lost coverage, for a net of 16.9 million newly insured Americans.

Republicans are running on taking that insurance away?

Republicans like to claim that it’s all Medicaid expansion. Survey says, wrong again.

Among those newly gaining coverage, 9.6 million people enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans, followed by Medicaid (6.5 million), the individual marketplaces (4.1 million), nonmarketplace individual plans (1.2 million) and other insurance sources (1.5 million).

And remember how Republicans sounded the hysteria alarms that Obama was ruining their insurance and nobody would get to keep their insurance?

The study also estimates that 125.2 million Americans — about 80 percent of the nonelderly population that had insurance in September 2013 — experienced no change in the source of insurance during the period, according to findings published online by the journal Health Affairs.

Republicans said Obamacare would cause private employers to stop offering insurance. Survey says, wrong again:

RAND researchers say the findings that the biggest gain in coverage was from employer-sponsored insurance runs counter to predictions that many employers may quit offering insurance in response to the Affordable Care Act and suggests that regardless of whether that occurs, employer-sponsored coverage will remain the nation’s major source of health insurance coverage.

On Sunday, this happened:

Chuck Todd confronted Boehner about his wrong Obamacare predictions that fewer people would have health care under the ACA and that Obamacare would kill jobs.

Boehner replied, “Obamacare made it harder for employers to hire people. The economy expands and as a result you’re going to have more employees because businesses have to. But you can ask any employer in America and ask them if Obamacare has made it harder to hire employees because it’s a fact. Um, yeah. Do you know why there’re more people insured? Because a lot more people are on Medicaid, and you know giving people Medicaid insurance is almost like giving them nothing. Because there aren’t, you can’t find a doctor that will see Medicaid patients, and so where do they end up? In the same place, they used to end up, in the emergency room.”

We already debunked the Speaker’s first point about Obamacare killing jobs. This is not happening. The only people killing jobs are Republicans, due to the sequester and their refusal to pass any jobs legislation.

A poll by the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) that surveyed four sectors of the economy found that seventy-five percent of business owners said that the ACA has not impacted their hiring practices. An additional 85% said that they didn’t expect the ACA to impact their hiring practices in the future.

In fact, President Obama has set a record for the longest stretch of private sector job growth of any modern president. So much nope. The public sector is suffering job losses due to the Republican sequester but also due to state Republicans slashing funds.

None of the predictions and claims Republicans — and indeed our media — ran with for years have come true. A “glitch” did not stop 17 million people from getting coverage.

The air leaking out of the GOP’s ACA lies balloon, and the Republican Party is in for a rough landing if they continue to insist on repealing Obamacare.

House Democrats Render Senate Passed Iran Bill Meaningless By Having Obama’s Back

Republicans in Congress will get to voice their displeasure of any deal on Iran’s nuclear program, but House Democrats have enough votes to sustain a veto from President Obama if Republicans disapprove of the deal.

The Hill reported on a letter that House Democrats sent to the White House:
One hundred and fifty lawmakers, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), are urging the administration to “stay the course” and “exhaust every avenue” in its bid to craft a diplomatic deal to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

“If the United States were to abandon negotiations or cause their collapse, not only would we fail to peacefully prevent a nuclear-armed Iran, we would make that outcome more likely,” the Democrats wrote to Obama Thursday in a letter spearheaded by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), Lloyd Doggett (Texas) and David Price (N.C.).

While the letter is addressed to the White House, the message sends a warning shot to GOP leaders that Democrats could likely sustain a presidential veto if the Republicans vote to disapprove a deal negotiated by the U.S., Iran, and five other nations.

What this means is that Republicans will get to have their say on the deal, but if they disapprove, President Obama will veto their resolution of disapproval, and House Democrats will have enough votes to sustain the president’s veto.

The American people are watching a political show that will satisfy a lot of egos, but have no impact on the eventual outcome. House Democrats are taking a stand for diplomacy and peace. Pelosi and company were also sending a not too subtle signal that they have President Obama’s back.

Harry Reid Blasts McConnell For Trying To Force The Senate To Extend Illegal NSA Spying

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) blasted McConnnell (R-KY) for trying get the Senate to approve an NSA spying program that a federal appeals courted ruled illegal.

McConnell responded to a federal appeals court ruling that most of the NSA’s phone record collection is illegal by pushing for a flat extension of the program.

In a tweet, the Democratic Senate Minority Leader blasted McConnell:

The legislation that Reid was referring to is a bill called The USA Freedom Act, which isn’t a cure-all, but it would be the first time that the Congress has acted to roll back some of the massive post-9/11 domestic surveillance state. The USA Freedom Act has attracted broad support because it is very modest reform bill that would keep the vast majority of the NSA’s activities intact.

The real change will come if Congress does not act by June 1 when the entirety of section 215 of the Patriot Act is set to expire.

Make no mistake about it. What  McConnell is trying to do is strong arm the Senate into extending an illegal spying program. This course of action would be nothing new for Congress. As the federal appeals court ruling points out, the program has always been illegal and should never have been created. In fact, Congress has been extending and expanding illegal surveillance for years.

Illegal spying supporting Republicans like Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Tom Cotton (R-AR) have already invoked 9/11 in an attempt to frighten the American people into voluntarily giving up their liberties.

The NSA program is illegal, and Republicans are showing their true lawless colors with an attempt to trample the freedoms of the American people.

The Truth Hurts

Twitter Smacks Down Promoted Tweets By Notorious White Supremacist Troll

Infamous iPad hacker and white power troll Andrew ‘weev’ Auernheimer is having a hard time spreading his bigoted, offensive views on Twitter –...

Twitter Smacks Down Wingnut Troll

*** 

As you can see it is not only this blog tat is coming down hard on wingnut trolls.

America’s richest congressman says poor in the US are ‘envy of the world’

America’s richest congressman says poor in the US are ‘envy of the world’

Louie Gohmert: It’s Obama’s Fault We’re all Idiots

I paraphrase, but not by much. Gohmert uses nuns, the Posse Comitatus Act, and Waco 1993 to prove Obama is to blame…

Oh sweet little six-and-a-half-pound rifle-totin’ government hatin’ baby Jesus. Florida Governor Rick Scott has taken the “Thanks, Obama!” meme to a whole ‘nother level by blaming President Obama and hospitals for his massive suckage factor.

As an editorial in the Tampa Bay Times tells us, “Rick Scott is all about avoiding responsibility and blaming others.”

But that’s not the craziest news recently, believe it or not. And whatever Scott’s got, it’s not limited to Florida. In fact, to judge by recent outbursts from people like Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz and Louie Gohmert, it may have come to Florida by way of Texas.

We saw Tuesday how Texas Republican Louie Gohmert jumped on the Jade Helm 15 conspiracy bandwagon. But it turns out it’s not Gohmert’s fault he’s an idiot. It’s Obama’s.

He said it’s all because Obama picked on nuns.

Gohmert’s “logic” began with the Little Sisters of the Poor not wanting to sign a Obamacare birth control waiver because dog doesn’t allow Obamacare waiver signing, apparently (I missed that passage in the Bible). At least, that is what he told wingnut hate group leader Tony Perkins on Washington Watch Wednesday:

From this administration’s standpoint, if you’re a saintly nun that has dedicated your life to helping the helpless, well, we’ve got to sue you and force you into our program, forget your religious beliefs, we’re coming after you. This is the kind of thing this administration does, they help make people concerned about their government.

Apparently, a bunch of deranged nuns saying “God tells them not to” sign a waiver makes people distrust the federal government.

I think it’s more likely that a bunch of racist white folks with AR-15s distrust the government because a black man is living in a white house:

If you’re still not connecting the dots here, Gohmert then takes you to the Posse Comitatus Act, which led him to the 1993 Waco incident.

The Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C. § 1385, original at 20 Stat. 152) of 1878, you might remember, placed limits on the use of federal troops to keep law and order, unless directed by the President or by Congress. This ultimately made it easier for white folks to terrorize blacks without interference.

Whoever, except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress, willfully uses any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

-Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1385

The Waco incident centered on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms raid on the Branch Davidian compound on February 28, 1993, which resulted in four dead ATF agents, six dead Branch Davidians, and a 51-day siege followed by an all-out assault that killed 76 people.

So to review this exercise in Gohmertian Logic:

Little Sisters of the Poor –> Posse Comitatus Act –> Waco –> Jade Helm 15.

Got that yet?

Now there is a common thread here: the Little Sisters of the Poor is a Catholic organization and Spanish people tend to be Catholics and a lot of Spanish people emigrated to Central America and a lot of Central Americans have emigrated to Texas, a place where white folks benefitted immensely from Yankee troops going home so they could beat up, lynch, and otherwise terrorize helpless black folks, and where lunatic David Koresh stockpiled an arsenal that allowed him to face down the ATF and the federal government, all of which seems to somehow inspire other lunatics like Louie Gohmert to think the federal government maybe wants some payback from Texas?

Hey, don’t blame me. I’m just trying to make sense of it all, because frankly, this is some kooky sh*t. If you’ve got a better explanation, roll it out in the comments below.

We shamelessly tease these people because they are idiots:

But they are so serious about it:

And,

As just two examples.

Which only makes it all that much funnier – and embarrassing. In fact, Texas is such an embarrassment at this point that I doubt we could give it away. After all, what advanced nation would want a big chunk of 13th century dragging them down?

What Texas needs, as I’m sure President Obama understands, is not federal intervention, but psychiatric intervention on a large scale, something that would make the Berlin Airlift look like child’s play by comparison.

Unfortunately, though the government has apparently figured out how to turn people gay, it hasn’t figured out how to turn people smart.

Scott Walker’s Corporate Tax Breaks Come Back To Haunt Him

"This is a manufactured deficit crisis," said University of Wisconsin student organizer Amanda McGovern, blasting Governor Walker for trying to cut $300 million from the public schools.

The Truth Be Told

Judge Gives Republican Mega-Donor Sheldon Adelson Epic ‘Judge Judy’ Treatment

by Marc Belisle

Sheldon Adelson’s day in court on Friday perfectly symbolizes everything wrong with our political system today.

The billionaire casino magnate of Las Vegas Sands is one of the richest men in the world. In 2012, he became the biggest single political donor in American history after propping up Newt Gingrich in the primaries and then supporting Mitt Romney with over $100 million.
On Friday, he argued with a judge in Las Vegas, and the judge put him in his place. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal,

“’Sir, you need to answer the question,’ District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez told Adelson, the billionaire chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Adelson argued that the question was abusive, but Gonzalez disagreed. He continued to protest, prompting the judge to tell him, ‘Sir, you don’t get to argue with me. You understand that?’
The question centered on a February 2009 email and whether Adelson’s secretary had sent it on his behalf.
His final answer: ‘I don’t know.’

Adelson is in court defending himself against a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former executive, Steven Jacobs, at one of Adelson’s casinos in Macau. This may seem mundane, but the alleged reasons why Adelson fired Jacobs, if true, indicate frightening depths of corruption that motivate Adelson’s donations to major Republican politicians.
While he was visiting China in 2001 to investigate the possibilities of building hotels in Macau, Adelson was allegedly told by the mayor of Beijing that he was worried about a bill pending in Congress. The bill would have announced Congress’ opposition to Beijing as a host for the 2008 Olympic Games due to China’s human rights record. Adelson allegedly called Tom Delay — who was later convicted of money laundering for moving corporate money to political candidates — and Delay allegedly called back a few hours later and told Adelson,

“you tell your mayor that he can be assured that this bill will never see the light of day.”

The bill stalled in Congress, China was appointed to host the 2008 Olympics, and shortly thereafter, Adelson was awarded a massive contract worth $12 billion for four casinos in Macao, becoming

“likely the largest foreign investor in China—ever.”

The Justice Department, the Securities Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated whether Adelson violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The 1977 Act stipulates that American businesses operating overseas must adhere to American anti-corruption regulations, and it particularly bars them from bribing foreign officials.
According to Media Matters,

“In 2012, Adelson’s corporation came under three different investigations from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), an anti-bribery statute. Additionally, the Times reported at the time that several of the company’s subsidiaries also ‘came under investigation by Chinese regulators.’
Adelson allegedly attempted to bribe the Chief Executive of Macau, where a substantial portion of his casino business was located, and reportedly instructed Sands Corp. to bribe a Macau legislator with about $700,000 in ‘legal fees.’ (ProPublica reported that ‘several Las Vegas Sands executives resigned or were fired after expressing concerns’ about the fee.) A former Sands Corp. executive also alleged that Adelson fired him after he refused to engage in illegal activity and protested the presence of Chinese organized crime syndicates in Sands’ Macau casinos.
Adelson initially insisted that he was being unfairly targeted, but Sands Corp.’s own audit committee ultimately admitted there were ‘likely violations’ of the anti-bribery law. And in August 2013, Sands Corp. agreed to pay the federal government more than $47 million in a settlement to resolve a separate money-laundering investigation, in which the casinos were accused of ‘accepting millions from high-rolling gamblers accused of drug trafficking and embezzlement.'”

The DOJ, SEC and FBI investigations centered around the testimony of former Sands Macao executive Steve Jacobs, who says that he was wrongfully terminated because, he:

“has alleged that Adelson ordered him to keep quiet about sensitive issues at the Sands casinos on the Chinese island of Macau, including the casinos’ alleged ‘involvement with Chinese organized crime groups, known as Triads, connected to the junket business.’”

According to Matt Isaacs’s extensive report on Reuters, Jacobs has testified

“that he was repeatedly threatened with termination if he ‘objected to and/or refused to carry out Adelson’s illegal demands.’”

Isaacs reports that:

“U.S. diplomats and the Chinese government share the concerns raised by Jacobs about Macau’s booming junkets industry, which they describe as rife with organized crime.”

The Chinese government is becoming increasingly worried about the alleged Triads’ connections to junket operators in Macao and their high-roller mainland clients who:

“are betting with embezzled state money or proceeds from official corruption, and substantial portions of these funds are flowing on to organized crimes groups in mainland China, if not Macau itself.”

Isaacs reports that Jacobs also alleged that Adelson ordered him to look into possibilities for blackmailing local officials,

“Adelson, Jacobs charged, instructed him to secretly investigate senior Macau government officials. ‘Any negative information could be used to exert ‘leverage’ in order to thwart government regulations/initiatives,’ the lawsuit claims.”

Isaacs also reports that the casino employed a highly placed local manager who was an alleged crime boss and an alleged murder conspiracy ringleader:

“Last year, Reuters published a report on a man named Cheung Chi-tai, described in court testimony as the mastermind behind a plot to murder a dealer suspected of cheating.
At trial a witness identified Cheung as a leader of the Wo Hop To — one of the largest triads in Hong Kong.
Cheung was also, according to witness testimony, ‘the person in charge’ of a VIP room at the Sands Macao, and Hong Kong stock exchange filings showed him to be a ‘substantial shareholder’ in a junket company with ties to the cloistered room.
The allegations emerged in a routine trial, barely noted beyond the crime pages of Hong Kong newspapers. Yet the revelations were historic: this was one of the first documented examples of an alleged criminal figure financially linked to a U.S.-based, publicly traded casino.”

Jacobs’ testimony paints a picture of Adelson aggressively doing absolutely whatever it took, regardless of any law or ethical norm in any country, to make his casinos more profitable.
Adelson responded to Jacobs’ allegations, telling a reporter,

“We will go after him in a way that he won’t forget…”

So, that is why Adelson is in court in Las Vegas this week. His former executive alleges that he was marched out the door, not even being allowed to collect his things, because he refused to fulfill Adelson’s highly illegal demands.
This man — who allegedly relied on bribery, corruption, organized crime, embezzlement, threats, intimidation, blackmail and even the help of murder conspirators to turn a profit — is the Republican party’s most generous donor. His alleged corruption is so extreme that it raised red flags even for the Chinese government. Yet, every Republican who wants to be president also wants to woo Sheldon Adelson for his unlimited money, which flows from the Chinese Triads. He is quickly becoming one of the most influential men in Washington, a sort of puppet master, frequently just behind the scenes on many issues, and influencing decisions on the right.
This is how out of control our campaign finance system is. This man should not have anywhere near the influence that he wields in our political system. If we had a truly functioning democracy, he would not be the godfather of the American right; he would be wearing an orange jumpsuit. He clearly believes that he is above the law, so it was a much needed reminder on Friday when the judge reminded him that she is the boss in her courtroom.

Bewildered Florida Woman Sues State For Marking ‘Sexual Predator’ On Her Driver’s License

Tammy Masters couldn’t figure out why she kept getting all these weird looks every time she showed her new Florida driver’s license.

Read full story

Arkansas pastor’s wife turns him in after finding ‘tens of thousands’ of child porn files

An Arkansas youth pastor is facing child pornography charges after his wife reportedly found images of underage girls on his computer and turned them over to police.

Arkansas preacher and child porn: The story writes itself

Faith healer sues atheist video blogger for using science to expose him on YouTube as a ‘swindler’

 

'Faith healer' exposed as the fraud and swindler he is and he doesn't like it

Surprisingly, Lawsuit Against ‘All Homosexuals’ Summarily Dismissed

by Joe Patrice 

Sylvia Ann Driskell’s dream of returning America to an era of glorious bigotry is over. The bright flame that was the “Ambassador to dog, and his, son, jesus christ” [sic] burned brightly before a federal judge unceremoniously snuffed it out. Cue Sir Elton for another remake of Candle In The Wind. Or… on second thought Driskell may not be a fan.
No sooner did we learn about “boastful” gays turning America into New Sodom, than Judge John Gerrard (who replaced the inimitable Judge Kopf as an active status judge… we were so close!) consigned us all to our fate.
“And you will know my name is the JUDGE when I lay my 12(h)(3) upon thee.” I think that’s Ezekiel 25:17.

Here, the plaintiff does not set forth any factual or legal basis for a federal claim under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States. Even construing the complaint liberally, it does not contain allegations reasonably suggesting federal question jurisdiction exists in this matter. Nor can the plaintiff plausibly allege that her citizenship is different from the citizenship of each defendant. And she has not asked for any money damages, much less enough to satisfy the amount-in-controversy requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Therefore, the Court finds subject-matter jurisdiction is not proper in this action pursuant to either 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 or 1332.

Judge Gerrard could have sent Driskell packing with that alone, but he couldn’t help but take a few detours into issues he didn’t even reach. Like her flagrant whiff on the basics of Rule 8, her woeful lack of standing, her inability to come close to effecting service, and the general impropriety of seeking religious answers from a federal court, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Ballard: “‘[t]he law knows no heresy, and is committed to the support of no dogma, the establishment of no sect.'”
And lest you’re getting your hopes up for Driskell v. Homosexuals II: Electric Boogaloo, Judge Gerrard is having none of that noise.

The Court will not give the plaintiff an opportunity to amend her complaint in this matter because it is obvious that amendment would be futile. Even liberally construed, the plaintiff does not set forth any discernible claim for relief over which this Court has jurisdiction. This Court is not the place to seek opinions regarding theological matters; this particular forum is closed and the case will be dismissed.

Emphasis in original. So that’s not coming back any time soon.
As we turn the page from this latest episode of “pro sanity,” it’s important to remember that poor Ambassador Driskell may have lost, but through her efforts, the rest of us all won. Let’s throw a rave to celebrate.