Fun Facts About Our Presidents: Part 1

History 4 Minutes

I found an interesting article on Reader’s Digest about our presidents. 

Abraham Lincoln turned down the chance to host elephants

In 1861, the King of Siam offered to gift President Lincoln “several pairs of young male and female elephants,” which were indigenous to his country (Thailand today). The elephants could be bred to multiply, the king suggested, and the herds could be used as “beasts of burden” that could work alongside the military during the Civil War. The president politely declined the offer, opting to use steam power instead of animal labor.

Gerald Ford modeled on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine

Before he became the 38th U.S. president, Gerald Ford had a side gig as a model. In 1942, shortly after joining the Navy, he landed an uncredited spot on the cover of Cosmopolitan in his uniform. Another fun president fact? It was during this time that he met fellow model Elizabeth Bloomer, who he went on to marry. She became known to Americans as first lady Betty Ford.

John Quincy Adams approved a real-life journey to the center of the Earth

Back in the 1800s, little was known about our planet. In the absence of scientific evidence, people believed in some pretty kooky theories—like the idea that planet Earth is actually hollow. Our sixth president, John Quincy Adams, was on board with this one. The commander-in-chief even signed off on a proposed expedition by a fellow Hollow Earther and would-be explorer to the Earth’s “empty” core. But when Andrew Jackson was voted into office four years later, he put the kibosh on the journey that never was.

William Howard Taft took a custom bathtub on a trip to Panama

As legend has it, our 27th president once got stuck in a bathtub and had to be pulled out by six men. Although President William Taft did weigh 340 pounds at his heaviest, this story is wholly false. But it probably stemmed from Taft’s (very true) affinity for baths. In fact, he ordered a 7-foot-long tub that weighed a literal ton to be built and placed aboard the USS North Carolina, so he could luxuriate in it on his way to Panama.

Herbert Hoover’s White House staff hid from him

In a very diva (or perhaps just racist) move, 31st president Herbert Hoover insisted that his staff never see him around the White House—and he didn’t want to see them either. This caused quite the charade, of course, as the staff felt pressured to hide from the president whenever he was present. According to White House journalist Kenneth Walsh, staffers would “pile into closets” and “hide behind bushes so the president couldn’t see them.”

Lyndon B. Johnson proposed to Lady Bird with a $2.50 ring from Sears

In 1934, Lyndon B. Johnson, then 26, proposed to Claudia Alta “Ladybird” Taylor, 22, on their first date. Though she declined his offer, Johnson continued to woo her from afar, sending his sweetheart 90 letters in the span of about 90 days. Impatient, Johnson traveled from Washington, D.C. to Texas to arrive at her door with an ultimatum: Marry me now or forever hold your peace. As a fun first lady fact, she accepted his proposal—and the $2.50 engagement ring that came with it.

John Quincy Adams loved to skinny-dip

While in office, sixth president John Quincy Adams often swam in the Potomac River, and he preferred to do so in the buff. Adams was an early riser, and in his diaries, he wrote of waking at about 4 a.m. and taking a morning dip—nude. Though it sounds risqué now, skinny-dipping was apparently common in the 1800s.

George Washington grew cannabis

Before you start thinking the nation’s first president was a stoner, you should know that George Washington grew hemp, not marijuana (they both belong to the cannabis family). He cultivated the hemp at his estate in Mount Vernon for industrial uses, like making rope and canvas.

George W. Bush is cousins with Hugh Hefner

It turns out our 43rd president and the founder of Playboy are distant cousins. More specifically, they’re ninth cousins twice removed, sharing the same pair of great-grandparents. Another cousin shared by the two is former presidential candidate John Kerry.

Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its name

Though the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is painted white, it was known as The Executive Mansion and The President’s Palace until October 1901, when then-president Theodore Roosevelt referred to it as The White House. The 26th president made the moniker official when he had it engraved on his stationery.

Warren Harding lost the White House china in a poker game

Here’s another interesting fact about one of the U.S. presidents: Warren Harding, our 29th president, loved a game of poker—and apparently, he was a high roller. During one of his bi-weekly poker games, Harding gambled away a set of china that had been in the White House since President Benjamin Harrison’s tenure six terms prior. He bet it all on one ill-advised hand.

Thomas Jefferson kept pet grizzly bears

During his tenure as the third U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson became the happy recipient of a wild gift: a pair of grizzly bear cubs. He kept them in a cage on the front lawn of the White House for a few months before deciding they were too dangerous to keep and bequeathing them to a museum.

Ulysses S. Grant was arrested for speeding—on a horse

A noted equestrian, our 18th U.S. president was quite confident on a horse—perhaps too confident. While driving his horse and buggy at a furious pace during his presidential tenure, Grant was pulled over twice within the span of 24 hours. The second time, one bold police officer decided to arrest the commander-in-chief, who was ultimately given a fine. Legend has it that the officer and the U.S. president became friends.

SOURCE: READERSDIGEST

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Published by pat frederick

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105 thoughts on “Fun Facts About Our Presidents: Part 1”

  1. Morning All!
    I peruse the headlines as my computer boots up and I’m actually awake enough to make some sense. I CANNOT BELIEVE JOE PARDONED HUNTER FOR ANY AND ALL CRIMES HE MAY HAVE COMMITTED FROM 2014-2024!!!!!!!! This is abuse of a Presidential pardon power imo. You should not be able to pardon your own family members…but that’s why joe had to run and win, isn’t it?
    hope NO ONE pardons JOE when it’s his turn.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Morning, Pat!

      “Hunter’s Pardon is About Ukraine!”

      Clandestine, Dec 01, 2024

      ⚠️HOLY SHIT⚠️

      Joe Pardoned Hunter for all crimes he might be involved in starting on Jan 1, 2014.

      Why did he pick that date?

      Because 2014 is when the CIA/State Dept took over Ukraine. 2014 is when Hunter’s biolab company, Metabiota, began looking for coronaviruses in Ukraine.

      Joe is not just covering the drug and gun possession charges. Joe is running cover for all of Hunter’s criminality in Ukraine, which is really Joe’s criminality in Ukraine.

      This is not just a pardon for Hunter. This is a pardon for JOE!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. TheseTruths(@thesetruths)

    Offline

    Wolf

    December 2, 2024 00:58

    Devin Nunes:

    @Kash Congratulations! 🇺🇸

    An immensely talented lawyer and investigator with an unimpeachable devotion to our Constitution, Kash is a brilliant pick to serve as Director of the FBI. Kash and I worked closely together to expose the saboteurs within the Intelligence Community who perpetuated the Russia collusion hoax. Based on that experience, along with his service in key positions in the first Trump Administration, I know Kash has the intelligence and fearlessness to expose the corruption in the FBI, reverse its damaging politicization, and restore Americans’ confidence in the Bureau’s basic honesty. Those who denounce the darkness at the FBI can now rest assured that light will soon shine through.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. interesting perspective. the reason joe issued the pardon as early as 2014 was because that’s when the money laundering began. so the co conspirator he pardoned was himself.

    Charlotte99
    December 2, 2024 2:25 am

    Joe Biden didn’t just pardon Hunter-he pardoned himself

    Liked by 1 person

  9. interesting article written in 2018 about a President abusing his pardoning power by obstruction of justice. written about President Trump, relevant to joe biden

    FTA

    U.S. President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2018. (Getty/Win McNamee)
    U.S. President Donald Trump in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2018. (Getty/Win McNamee)

    As the investigation into the Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia, led by special counsel Robert Mueller, continues to close in on President Donald Trump, he has started discussing his ability to pardon, even arguing that he could pardon himself despite the long-standing determination to the contrary by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Trump’s legal team has made an equally baseless assertion with respect to his actions to impede the Russia investigation, claiming that “the President’s actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute obstruction … and that he could, if he wished … even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired.”

    This view is wrong: It is clear that the president can obstruct justice. And—as reflected in past precedent, a Supreme Court decision, and constitutional history—abuse of the pardon power can constitute such obstruction and be grounds for impeachment.

    Since obstruction of justice is discussed in this column in the context of the constitutional remedy of impeachment, rather than in the context of violating a specific federal obstruction of justice statute, the question of whether a sitting president can be criminally indicted is not addressed.The president can obstruct justice

    Trump’s legal team argues that the president has broad law enforcement and pardon powers and that he cannot obstruct justice through the exercise of that lawfully granted authority. But it is well-established that an otherwise legal action taken with corrupt intent to interfere in an investigation can be obstruction, just as an otherwise legal action can be bribery if done in exchange for money. For example, the DOJ investigated President Bill Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich, a fugitive commodities trader, to determine if there was bribery, obstruction, or other illegal activity connected to it—though the inquiry eventually resulted in no charges being brought.

    There is no question that the president can obstruct justice and that such obstruction can form the basis for an impeachment. As Daniel Hemel, a University of Chicago law professor, notes, obstruction of justice was one of the charges leveled against King George III in the Declaration of Independence, making clear that “the founding generation did not believe that heads of state were immune from obstruction charges.”

    More recent precedent confirms this view. The articles of impeachment for President Richard Nixon included an obstruction of justice charge, stating that he violated his oath of office and constitutional duty because he “prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice.” Nixon himself acknowledged that “obstruction of justice is a serious crime and would be an impeachable offense.” Drawing from the Nixon precedent, President Clinton was impeached for obstruction of justice stemming from a sexual harassment lawsuit. In that case, Trump’s own attorney general, Jeff Sessions—who was then a senator—argued that obstruction of justice was a basis for impeachment.Obstructive pardons are grounds for impeachment

    The president has broad authority to grant pardons, but doing so to undermine an investigation of himself and his associates would constitute obstruction of justice. As former U.S. Solicitor General Walter Dellinger has noted, “The fact that a person can be fired for any reason or pardoned for any reason does not mean that in certain circumstances the reason might not constitute obstruction of justice.”

    Again, the Nixon precedent is telling. When the House of Representatives drew up Nixon’s articles of impeachment, it explicitly included that he obstructed justice through his efforts to use his clemency powers to undermine the investigation. The articles stated that Nixon had been “endeavouring to cause prospective defendants, and individuals duly tried and convicted, to expect favoured treatment and consideration in return for their silence or false testimony, or rewarding individuals for their silence or false testimony.” Specifically, Nixon had discussed offering clemency to one of the Watergate burglars in exchange for favorable testimony.

    Case law and constitutional history further support that abuse of the pardon power is an impeachable offense. In Ex Parte Grossman, the U.S. Supreme Court discussed the broad power given to the president to pardon, saying, “The Executive can reprieve or pardon all offenses after their commission, either before trial, during trial or after trial, by individuals, or by classes, conditionally or absolutely, and this without modification or regulation by Congress.” But in the same decision, the court noted that an abuse of the pardon power to undermine the rule of law could lead to impeachment, stating that:

    If it be said that the President, by successive pardons of constantly recurring contempts in particular litigation, might deprive a court of power to enforce its orders in a recalcitrant neighborhood, it is enough to observe that such a course is so improbable as to furnish but little basis for argument. Exceptional cases like this, if to be imagined at all, would suggest a resort to impeachment, rather than to a narrow and strained construction of the general powers of the President.

    The Founding Fathers addressed the issue at hand more directly, as the possibility of the president abusing the pardon power weighed heavily on the minds of some. In an effort to assuage their concerns, James Madison noted that “if the President be connected, in any suspicious manner, with any person, and there be grounds to believe he will shelter him, the House of Representatives can impeach him; they can remove him if found guilty.”

    There is no relevant authority suggesting that the president is immune from impeachment for abusing the pardon power. To argue such immunity would be to put the president above the law—the very monarchical system that was explicitly rejected when the United States of America was founded. As with any legal authority granted to a political official, the pardon power can be abused and, if so, the person who abuses that power can be held accountable.

    https://www.americanprogress.org/article/obstructing-justice-pardons-impeachable-offense/

    Liked by 1 person

  10. IRS Whistleblowers Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Special Agent Joe Ziegler made the following statement after President Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden.

    “No amount of lies or spin can hide the simple truth that the Justice Department nearly let the President’s son off the hook for multiple felonies. We did our duty, told the truth, and followed the law. Anyone reading the President’s excuses now should remember that Hunter Biden admitted to his tax crimes in federal court, that Hunter Biden’s attorneys have targeted us for our lawful whistleblower disclosures, and that we are suing one of those attorneys for smearing us with false accusations.

    “President Biden has the power to put his thumb on the scales of justice for his son, but at least he had to do it with a pardon explicitly for all the world to see rather than his political appointees doing it secretly behind the scenes. Either way it is a sad day for law abiding taxpayers to witness this special privilege for the powerful.”

    https://twitter.com/EMPOWR_us/status/1863392448954671336

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Vance: “John Bolton has been wrong about everything so I guess Kash must be pretty awesome.”

    Margaret Brennan: “Former National Security Advisor John Bolton compares Kash Patel, President-elect Trump’s pick to head the FBI, to one of Stalin’s feared secret police chiefs: “Trump has nominated Kash Patel to be his Lavrenty Beria.  Fortunately, the FBI is not the NKVD.  The Senate should reject this nomination 100-0.”

    Liked by 1 person

  12. EXCERPTS: “Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump announced the appointment of Hillsborough, Florida, County Sheriff Chad Chronister as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. No one is quite sure how Sheriff Chronister popped on the radar. A lot of Florida alumni are showing up in Trump 2.0, and, of course, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi started her political career as the prosecutor in Hillsborough County…. 

    ….In the cold light of the “morning after,” many things are surfacing that indicate Sheriff Chronister, no matter his competence as a law enforcement officer, may not be in sync with President Trump’s vision for the federal government.

    Pride Month Booster: “The nominee for DEA Administrator celebrating Pride Month.”

    https://x.com/KickboxerEsq/status/1863327109994762600

    ““The right’s gone way too far right for me,” he says. “So where does that leave a lot of Republicans — a lot of people?” – Chad Chronister This is the next DEA head. A never trumper Covidian wokester.”

    https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/1863353809323663378

    He believes Republicans are too far right.

    When I ask him about all this , Chronister says he is “the most Democratic of Republicans,” a “hybrid of both parties,” fiscally conservative, socially Democrat. Actually, he was a Democrat until people convinced him you should have the same party affiliation as the sheriff for whom you work. He doesn’t think of the office as partisan anyway.

    Democrat Donor

    Eight Reasons To Think Twice About Voting For Chad Chronister For Sheriff

    1).  Chronister is a flip-flopping opportunist. The former Democrat is running again as a Republican, but his background of support shows he still is a Democrat at heart. Chronister has given tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats including $15,000 to Barack Obama for President, and thousands to such assorted partisan Democrats including: Congressman Charlie Crist, Mayor Jane Castor, and Congresswoman Kathy Castor. Chronister has also contributed at least $5,000 to the Democrat National Committee. In short, for someone with an “R” after his name, he looks curiously like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

    Support of DEI

    Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office recruitment effort focuses on diversity

    Supports Red Flag Gun Confiscation

    How Florida has confiscated thousands of guns using the ‘red flag’ law

    The law has strong backing from three local sheriffs, notably all Republican.

    Chronister believes it has already kept something terrible from happening.

    “You can never measure what you prevented,” he said. “Is it working? It absolutely is.”

    Punished Employees for No COVID Vaccine

    “I put out a policy a while ago that if you are unvaccinated and you have to quarantine or you get ill you have to use your own accrued time. If you are vaccinated and you get sick the sheriff’s office will cover your time off,” said Chad Chronister.”

    https://x.com/Cernovich/status/1863288258555527662

    Arrested Pastor for Holding Service During Lockdown

    Refused to Stop BLM Rioters

    This refusal extended to the attack on the Hillsborough County Jail.

    At the height of the Black Lives Matter riots, anarchists assembled at the Hillsborough County Jail on Orient Road and began to rip down the gate at the jail’s Sally Port where prisoners are brought into the facility. Jail deputies were ordered to stand-down as they watched rioters destroy public property. None of the anarchists were arrested. One detention deputy at the jail told me, “It was ridiculous that we were not allowed to do anything, and no one was arrested, and it has deeply affected morale.”

    Soft on Immigration

    A strong immigration law, Senate Bill 1718, went into effect on July 1, 2023. Chronister doesn’t seem to have been all that interested in it.

    “We do not target individuals based on their immigration status – that’s the authority of federal agencies. Our goal is to build trust and foster strong partnerships with all residents regardless of background,” Chronister said.

    It’s a message that brought some relief to people concerned with the new immigration law.

    “Having the Sheriff coming out and explaining that he’s not going to enforce this law is something positive for the community,” said Ana Lamb, a Hispanic Community activist.

    Bottom Line

    If this is the kind of guy President Trump wants running the DEA, it is his right to nominate him. We are under no obligation to turn a blind eye to a guy with a record that looks very much like the people we want to get out of the federal government. I hope President Trump reconsiders this ill-considered nomination, but if he doesn’t, I hope there are at least four GOP senators who will do what he won’t.”

    https://redstate.com/streiff/2024/12/01/maybe-president-trump-should-reconsider-his-selection-for-drug-enforcement-administration-chief-n2182680

    Liked by 1 person

  13. David M Friedman
    @DavidM_Friedman
    I’m not sure that Joe Biden has fully considered the ramifications of his pardon of Hunter. The pardon is extremely broad and covers activities while Joe was vice president. This means that Hunter cannot plead the Fifth if asked about his business dealings with Ukraine and China, including his Dad’s involvement, because, with his pardon, he has no risk of criminal jeopardy.

    I’m not sure that Joe Biden has fully considered the ramifications of his pardon of Hunter. The pardon is extremely broad and covers activities while Joe was vice president. This means that Hunter cannot plead the Fifth if asked about his business dealings with Ukraine and China,…

    — David M Friedman (@DavidM_Friedman) December 2, 2024

    Liked by 1 person

  15. EXCERPT: “For the first time, a Wisconsin court has approved a subpoena to the massive Democrat fund-raising platform ActBlue, saying it owes an explanation to a Republican whose email identity was used to make liberal donations he did not authorize. 

    “Something is not right,” Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad D. Schimel declared as he approved a limited demand for documents and opened a new front into a widening fund-raising probe begun earlier this year by Congress and 19 attorneys general.

    Schimel rejected ActBlue’s arguments that it was onerous to require it to comply a subpoena for third-party donations it processed on its platform. The judge permitted GOP consultant Mark Block and his lawyers from America First Policy Institute to conduct discovery to determine if fraud was involved in the use of his identity to make dozens of Democrat donations on his old email address….”

    https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/judge-approves-subpoena-actblue-opening-new-front-democrat-fund

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Just The News: “The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to take on several big cases next week, including ones that involve Holocaust survivors, vaping and healthcare for transgender individuals. 

    The court will be in session Dec. 2 after being out for two weeks.

    In the case involving Holocaust survivors, the high court will be hearing for the second time about their dispute with the Republic of Hungary over issues related to justice and compensation.

    The question is whether an American court is the proper forum for the survivors to challenge Hungary and its railway for taking more than 400,000 Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz in Poland during a two-month period in 1944, according to the Washington Examiner.

    The court is also expected to hear oral arguments for the Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments case. 

    In that case they will be asked to review the FDA’s decision not to allow marketing applications for flavored e-cigarettes, in order to reduce the amount of smoking by minors. 

    In the past, lower courts have supported the FDA’s choice on this issue.

    Another case that will be looked at is United States v. Skrmetti, which is in regard to Tennessee’s law that bans minors who identify as transgender from getting “gender-affirming care.”

    The Biden administration has criticized this law, arguing it discriminates against transgender people.

    “It is not unconstitutional discrimination to say that drugs can be prescribed for one reason but not another,” attorneys for Tennessee Republican Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office wrote in a brief. “Weighing risks and benefits, States (and the federal government) draw age- and use-based distinctions for drugs all the time.”

    The fourth case on their docket next week is related to bankruptcy law.” 

    Liked by 1 person

    1. minors can’t drive. minors can’t drink. minors can’t enlist in the service. minors can’t vote. minors can’t have sex (but they do). minors can’t get piercings or tattoos either.

      lots of stuff minors can’t do. chill out

      Liked by 1 person

  17. EXCERPT: “Joe Biden, who spent his vice presidency as the “big guy” behind his son Hunter’s foreign influence-peddling exploits and skated into the presidency because media and tech gatekeepers covered up news of the family pay-for-play business, issued a blanket pardon to Hunter for “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.” The pardon doesn’t just apply to the (comparatively) minor crimes the Special Counsel David Weiss reluctantly prosecuted, but the host of potential crimes, from money laundering to bribery to FARA violations, for which Hunter hasn’t been prosecuted.

    The pardon is an unprecedented, corrupt trick that we all knew was coming no matter how brazen and how many times Biden and his media mouthpieces lied about it. Biden isn’t just trying to protect Hunter, he’s desperately trying to cover up the scam he’s been running on the American people for the past decade.

    Hunter might have been the dumbest member of the Biden crime syndicate and the easiest to prosecute, but he’s not the only one implicated in crimes against the United States. It’s time for the incoming Department of Justice to prosecute everyone else who participated in the apparent scheme to trade government favors to foreign actors for money, diamonds, and fancy cars, starting with the “big guy” himself…..”

    Joe Biden….

    James Biden….

    Who Else?

    Hunter, Joe, and James weren’t the only Biden family members profiting from the scheme. In May 2023, House investigators reported that the Bidens received a total of $10 million — later revealed to be at least $20 million — in a series of payments that originated with foreign benefactors and trickled down as far as the Biden grandchildren.

    These payments reached “at least nine Biden family members including the president’s son Hunter Biden, his brother James Biden, James’s wife, Hunter’s ex-girlfriend who is also his brother Beau Biden’s widow, Hunter’s ex-wife, Hunter’s current wife, and at least one grandchild and a couple of nieces and/or nephews,” as The Federalist’s Jordan Boyd reported at the time.

    It’s time to investigate and prosecute Joe Biden, James Biden, and anyone else who played an active role in the family business of trading influence for goodies. The Trump DOJ should subpoena Hunter Biden, who can no longer incriminate himself and therefore may not be eligible to plead the Fifth Amendment. If the Bidens want to escape legal accountability for their pay-for-play operation, Joe better be ready to pardon the whole family.”

    https://thefederalist.com/2024/12/02/after-hunters-pardon-its-time-to-prosecute-the-rest-of-the-biden-crime-family/

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Insurrection Barbie
    @DefiyantlyFree
    If you had what Hunter Biden had on his laptop you would be in jail.

    If you stole classified documents like Joe Biden did you would be in jail.

    If you destroyed evidence in an ongoing investigation like Hilary Clinton did you would be in jail.

    Clearly, once again today we see that the most insidious privilege in this country is Democrat privilege.

    Democrats are above the law.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. Finally, some sunshine! It’s been snowing lightly off and on all morning. Temp is up to 19 now. I see that Hallmark (or whoever owns the show now) has made Little House available for free for a period of time over the holidays. Since I’ve got the DVR set to record whenever/wherever possible, it is being recorded. Yeah! Now they can join all the episodes of Dr. Quinn that I have saved to watch and re-watch. Been watching a lot of that the last couple of days. There are other pay stations that are offering free programs so I go thru the guide and set movies to record. Then I can watch them whenever I like.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. It’s a PITA for me to watch a DVD or VHS tape – I have the dual player but I have to switch settings in the TV – it’s like a 3-4 step process.

        Liked by 1 person

          1. I bought this initially to transfer the tapes to DVD but it’s a complicated & time-consuming process. I bought a big stack of DVDs and my GS was going to do it for me. Needless to say, that went by the wayside….! LOL – I have probably 100 different movies recorded, some 2 movies per tape.

            Liked by 1 person

  20. I’m remaining skeptical about Hunter ever testifying against his Dad. I can easily see him fleeing the country to hide out in a safe haven somewhere even if he is subpoenaed by Congress or the Courts.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. “Pardon All J6ers: Joe Biden’s sweeping pardon of his son opened the door for blanket amnesty for every January 6 defendant as Biden’s DOJ continues to investigate, charge, incarcerate, and put on trial J6 protesters.”

    Julie Kelly, Dec 02, 2024

    EXCERPT: “Reaction on both sides is mixed in response to Joe Biden’s sprawling pardon last night of his son, Hunter.

    Claiming his son had been “singled out” and “treated differently” by the Department of Justice and federal judges, Biden not only absolved Hunter of the two criminal convictions for which he was set to be sentenced this month but any crime over a nearly 11-year period:

    Be It Known, That This Day, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted Unto

    ROBERT HUNTER BIDEN

    A Full and Unconditional Pardon

    For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted.

    The declaration is now filed with Biden’s DOJ for posterity.Thanks, Joe

    I will leave it to others, including the great Miranda Devine, to detail how the decade-long international Biden family crime spree will end without legal accountability for those—including Joe himself—involved. Or explain how the pardon represents another lie told by “my word as a Biden” Joe or speculate that more pardons, perhaps for his brother Jim and every other relative who benefitted from the family’s global grift, are in the making.

    Instead, I tip my hat to Joe Biden for laying the groundwork for President-elect Donald Trump to offer similarly-generous clemency to all January 6 defendants on Day One of his presidency. That’s not to say Trump is not already considering such a plan—but Biden’s claims that his own DOJ “selectively” and “unfairly” targeted his son will be delicious words for J6 pardon-detractors to eat when the time comes. So too will Biden’s accusations that “raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”

    This from the man whose DOJ not only initiated two investigations into his predecessor, which led to an armed raid of Mar-a-Lago and historic federal criminal indictments against Trump and co-defendants, but whose DOJ also continues to investigate, arrest, prosecute, and imprison Americans involved in protesting the rigged 2020 presidential election.

    Biden’s unprecedented persecution of J6ers has become a rallying cry among the MAGA base; while most Republican political leaders ignored their plight, Trump did not. On the campaign trail, Trump often promised to pardon the more than 1,500-and-counting Americans ensnared in the most abusive and politically motivated federal prosecution in the DOJ’s history.

    A Trump spokeswoman recently said pardons would be reviewed on a “case-by-case” basis but others suggest a broad-based pardon could be in the works for so-called “nonviolent” offenders convicted or charged with misdemeanors; how to handle those convicted of violent charges such as assault on law enforcement present a more complicated political calculation for the new administration, one that may have required a piecemeal approach to ease expected outrage by the media and among lily-livered Republicans in Washington.

    Until yesterday. Trump himself wasted little time before raising the issue of January 6 defendants in a post on Truth Social:

    Influencers also flooded X with calls for unequivocal clemency for all J6ers:…”

    https://www.declassified.live/p/pardon-all-j6ers

    Liked by 1 person

  24. ReMIX: “According to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, more than 100,000 soldiers have deserted since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Polish news outlet Do Rceczy reports.

    Desertions in 2024 have reached twice the level of 2022 and 2023 combined, although this number may be much higher. One official familiar with military affairs estimated it could be as high as 200,000.

    The front has suffered in particular due to deserters, who are most often recently recruited men. In September, the Ukrainian military reported a deficit of 4,000 soldiers on the front, mostly due to deaths, injuries, and desertions. 

    “The worst thing is that they leave combat positions during warfare, and their comrades die because of it. We had several situations when units fled, small or large. They exposed their flanks, and the enemy came to these flanks and killed their comrades-in-arms because those who were standing in positions did not know that there was no one else nearby,” said one of the Ukrainian commanders.

    That was how, in a matter of weeks in October, Vuhledar (Ugledar), a small city that Ukraine had defended for two years, was lost. “This problem is critical. This is the third year of the war and this problem will only get worse,” said Oleksandr Kowalenko, a Kyiv-based military analyst.

    One Polish official has also said that Ukrainians are also fleeing Polish training centers, 12 every month.

    Those deserting are also exposing deep-rooted problems plaguing their military and the way Ukraine is fighting the war that have led to so many men leaving, including flawed mobilizations to overstretching front-line units. Meanwhile, the U.S. is calling on Ukraine to draft more soldiers and allow conscription as young as 18.”

    Liked by 1 person

  26. “Note on the FBI: Kash Patel will be the focus of scrutiny now, but the Bureau needs to look in the mirror. How J. Edgar Hoover’s legacy was revived in the Trump years”

    Matt Taibbi, Dec 02, 2024

    EXCERPT: “When I heard Kash Patel had been tabbed by Donald Trump to run the FBI, I could already imagine the pushback and moved immediately to start the just-published article “The Bell Finally Tolls for the FBI” piece. The thought was that the role Patel played in preparing the “Nunes memo” was both the clearest example of media corruption from Trump’s first term and also the most easily demonstrated episode of FBI malfeasance.

    Since I had to spend an unnatural amount of time on the topic over the years (it even intersected with the Twitter Files and Hamilton 68) I quickly found myself in the weeds of the “memo” tale, when there’s a larger argument about why the FBI needs a major reorganization that someone needs to make amid what’s already an ugly fight about Patel’s nomination:

    The transformation of the FBI back into a J. Edgar Hoover-style domestic spy service with sweeping political ambition has been a long-developing story, obscured by a political anomaly. In the first phase of this nightmare, between 2001 and 2016, the post-9/11 Bureau used the pretext of an enhanced counterintelligence mandate to throw off some mild restraints that had been placed on it the last time it had to be slapped down, i.e. after the Church Committee hearings in the 1970s.

    The second phase of its transformation took place after the election of Donald Trump, when the Bureau remade itself on the fly as a kind of government-in-exile, empowered by an outpouring of public and media support to view itself as a counterweight to the Trump government.

    This dichotomy has probably helped prevent a full portrait of the FBI’s makeover from appearing. The more troubling aspects to phase one were mostly found in reports by a then-adversarial ACLU or in testimonials of agents and investigators who spoke out in places like Democracy Now! or the Southern Poverty Law Center, with examples being people like Colleen Rowley and Mike German.

    The post-Trump exposes of FBI excess meanwhile often appeared in places like Mollie Hemingway’s The Federalist or broadcasts by the likes of Tucker Carlson or even sites like The Conservative Treehouse, and the signature FBI whistleblowers of this period were agents like Steve Friend, Garrett O’Boyle and Marcus Allen, testifying in front of Republican elected officials like Jim Jordan.

    They were all really talking about the same subject, but their complaints were broadcast to different audiences at different stages of the Bureau’s evolution. With the exception of the audiences of people like podcaster and Provoked author Scott Horton, who kept eyes on the subject through both eras, few in the public saw the FBI story as one unbroken progression toward a fully politicized police force. I tried to do it here a little bit, making Racket home to multiple stories about the FBI’s transformation and interviewing current and former agents from both eras (Walter Kirn and I have also devoted a fair amount of time to FBI shenanigans on America This Week).

    Though I tried to present these stories in a way that had a chance of reaching those old Southern Poverty Law Center/ACLU audiences, I doubt they reached those ears, especially after the FBI denounced the Twitter Files as the work of “conspiracy theorists” whose “sole purpose” was “attempting to discredit the agency.”…..

    https://www.racket.news/p/note-on-the-fbi

    Liked by 1 person

  27. “Do you think it is a coincidence?

    LOL! And just when you thought the Hunter saga couldn’t get any worse, you find this:

    And according to his Tweet, Hunter Biden tried to make his rent payments with paintings he made out of his own poop. Joe Biden raised an absolute degenerate of a son. Remember – the apple does not fall far from the tree…What a joke of a world we live in… Welcome to THE banana republic…Next step, Biden will pardon himself…”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. i’m done arguing with some of the crowd at wolf’s… poor poor hunter. they think he was abused as a child therefore you can’t blame him for the things he did–sexual abuse you know…
      smh

      Liked by 1 person

      2. Look at my Sis – yes, she got into drugs as an OTR trucker but she never harmed others with that, nor did she break the law right and left. She experienced one of the most brutal rapes by her step-father anyone can imagine at the age of 11. She remained a woman of principal and conscience!!!

        Liked by 1 person

  28. “They have us fighting a culture war so we don’t fight a class war…

    Warren Buffett said it clearly: ‘There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning…’”

    “Does the giant ‘Resurrection’ sculpture in the Vatican come across as really damn sinister rather than holy to anyone else? Is it a case of evil things being hidden in plain sight?”

    Liked by 1 person

          1. EXCERPT: “An employee-filed class action lawsuit out of California against Walgreens has reached a $4.5 million settlement over allegations of wage theft and violation of California labor laws.

            U.S. District Court Judge William Shubb approved the deal Nov. 24, marking the end of a two-year battle over time card punches and compensated time. 

            Lead plaintiff Lucas M. alleged the Walgreens distribution center he worked for was not paying him properly and filed the class action lawsuit in November 2018. 

            The 2,648 Class Members making up the plaintiffs will share $2.8 million. A third of the $4.5 million will go to attorney fees.

            Lucas stocked shelves in a California Walgreens distribution center for about two years. The work required him to punch in and out and undergo security checks after his shift, according to the initial complaint. 

            He and the other plaintiffs in the Walgreens employee class action said their in-and-out times were being rounded down, shorting their pay. They had to spend uncompensated time in security checks when leaving for their shifts. Some employees alleged skipping breaks and not getting paid….”

            https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/employment-labor/walgreens-employee-class-action-lawsuit-reaches-4-5m-settlement/

            Liked by 1 person

  34. Red State: “As RedState previously reported, President Joe Biden giving a “full and unconditional” pardon to his embattled son, convicted felon Hunter Biden, in an 11th-hour move that screams Democrat Privilege has caused a firestorm of backlash on Capitol Hill and beyond.

    Even some Democrats have criticized the move, pointing out that the prosecution of Hunter Biden was not, in fact, politically motivated as Joe Biden proclaimed in so many words in his Sunday statement announcing his decision. Some in the mainstream media have also come down on Biden opting to pardon his son, saying “We haven’t seen a pardon as sweeping as Hunter Biden’s in generations.”

    Though Hunter Biden himself practically begged his dad to pardon him ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration in a 52-page public letter published at the end of November, we’re learning that the driving force behind Joe Biden ultimately deciding to go back on his pledge to respect the rule of law was none other than First Lady Jill Biden:

    “Clearly, there was pressure inside the family. We were told really in recent weeks that Dr. Jill Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, was very supportive of the president doing something like this. The president was not sure, but we clearly have seen now he has come to the decision his son, Hunter.”

    Watch: https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/1863668700496163002

    Now, this doesn’t exactly come as a surprise. As has been previously documented, Jill Biden was among the staunchest proponents in Biden’s inner circle of trusted advisors on the issue of him running for reelection, believing he should do it even knowing that he was in no condition to handle a grueling campaign schedule, much less another four years in the White House. 

    She and Hunter both were also reportedly two of the key driving voices in his initial refusal to drop out of the presidential race in early July after his disastrous presidential debate against Trump, with reports noting that according to sources, Jill Biden “expressed fear that bowing out would make the Atlanta debate a defining image of her husband’s presidency, an outcome she finds unacceptable.”

    In other words, when it comes to decisions that have had long-term (negative) consequences for the Biden family, Jill Biden, and sometimes Hunter, too, has been right in the middle of them. Read into that what you will.

    This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RedState for more updates.”

    Liked by 1 person

            1. I posted today about pardons cannot obstruct justice AND they’re SUPPOSED to address things that have happened–for example CONVICTIONS of crimes. you can’t pardon someone for something that hasn’t occurred yet…so i’m not sure this will fly.
              what if hunter is found to have murdered someone???

              Liked by 1 person

  35. From TS: “Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East – But it’s all talk, and no action! Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!”

    https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113584730902816413

    Liked by 1 person

  37. “Give Rivian credit (electric adventure vehicles). Like their styling or not, they are unique and unmistakable.”

    Russian Icebreaker

    Liked by 1 person

  39. Eric Daugherty
    @EricLDaugh
    NEW: The Senate Judiciary Committee, led by Democrats, has said that Trump “can’t be allowed” to fire FBI Director Chris Wray once he assumes office.

    What’s this supposed to mean?

    Liked by 1 person

  40. Troublemaker10

    Troublemaker10

    December 2, 2024 5:34 pm

    Senator Ron Johnson
    @SenRonJohnson

    Senator Peters is correct,
    @POTUS’s pardon of Hunter is wrong.

    Unfortunately, as my ranking member he hampered
    @ChuckGrassley
    and my investigation of the Biden family, torpedoed a subpoena for documents that are now probably lost to history, and falsely accused us of disseminating Russian disinformation. His obstruction also eroded faith in government.

    Cont…

    Senator Peters is correct, @POTUS’s pardon of Hunter is wrong.

    Unfortunately, as my ranking member he hampered @ChuckGrassley and my investigation of the Biden family, torpedoed a subpoena for documents that are now probably lost to history, and falsely accused us of… https://t.co/SMq2yiWaxx pic.twitter.com/UYycg9rxEf

    — Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) December 2, 2024

    Liked by 1 person

  41. Eric Daugherty

    @EricLDaugh

    🚨 #BREAKING: Special Counsel David Weiss rejects Biden’s claim that Hunter Biden prosecution was politically motivated. “There was none and never has been any evidence of vindictive or selective prosecution in this case,” he wrote, calling the claims ‘baseless.'” – Washington Times “[This] does not mean the grand jury’s decision to charge him, based on a finding of probable cause, should be wiped away as if it never occurred.” “It also does not mean that his charges should be wiped away because the defendant falsely claimed that the charges were the result of some improper motive.” “No court has agreed with the defendant on these baseless claims and his request to dismiss the indictment finds no support in the law or the practice in this district.”

    Liked by 1 person

  42. Troublemaker10

    Troublemaker10

    December 2, 2024 5:09 pm

    Eric Daugherty
    @EricLDaugh

    #BREAKING: The North Carolina Senate, controlled by Republicans, just overrode the Democratic governor’s veto of an election integrity law in a major power move.

    When passed, it will ban the incoming Democratic governor from having control over the State Board of Elections… and hands that control to the Republican Auditor-elect Dave Boliek.

    The law will constrict the powers of other state Democratic officials in dealing with election (and other) matters, such as:
    – Removes the (blue) Wake and Forsyth County Superior Court judges’ seats. These judges have ruled against GOP election efforts.
    – Barring the attorney general (D) from participating in lawsuits undermining actions taken by the GOP General Assembly
    – Vacant Supreme Court seats must be filled from a list of recommendations by the party of whichever justice retires

    Cont…

    #BREAKING: The North Carolina Senate, controlled by Republicans, just overrode the Democratic governor’s veto of an election integrity law in a major power move.

    When passed, it will ban the incoming Democratic governor from having control over the State Board of Elections…… pic.twitter.com/yn9j5MhrzZ

    — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 2, 2024

    Liked by 1 person

  43. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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