It's Kamala

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
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Who is Tim Walz? Things to know about Kamala Harris’ choice for vice president
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Steve Karnowski And John Hanna
Published Aug 06, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has decided on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate in her bid for the White House.


The 60-year-old Democrat and military veteran rose to the forefront with a series of plain-spoken television appearances in the days after President Joe Biden decided not to seek a second term. He has made his state a bastion of liberal policy and, this year, one of the few states to protect fans buying tickets online for Taylor Swift concerts and other live events.

Some things to know about Walz:

WALZ COMES FROM RURAL AMERICA
It would be hard to find a more vivid representative of the American heartland than Walz. Born in West Point, Nebraska, a community of about 3,500 people northwest of Omaha, Walz joined the Army National Guard and became a teacher in Nebraska.

He and his wife moved to Mankato in southern Minnesota in the 1990s. That’s where he taught social studies and coached football at Mankato West High School, including for the 1999 team that won the first of the school’s four state championships. He still points to his union membership there.


Walz served 24 years in the Army National Guard, rising to command sergeant major, one of the highest enlisted ranks in the military, although he didn’t complete all the training before he retired so his rank for benefits purposes was set at master sergeant.

HE HAS A PROVEN ABILITY TO CONNECT WITH CONSERVATIVE VOTERS
In his first race for Congress, Walz upset a Republican incumbent. That was in 2006, when he won in a largely rural, southern Minnesota congressional district against six-term Rep. Gil Gutknecht. Walz capitalized on voter anger with then-President George W. Bush and the Iraq war.

During six terms in the U.S. House, Walz championed veterans’ issues.

He’s also shown a down-to-earth side, partly through social media video posts with his daughter, Hope. One last fall showed them trying a Minnesota State Fair ride, “The Slingshot,” after they bantered about fair food and her being a vegetarian.


HE COULD HELP THE TICKET IN KEY MIDWESTERN STATES
While Walz isn’t from one of the crucial “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where both sides believe they need to win, he’s right next door. He also could ensure that Minnesota stays in the hands of Democrats.

That’s important because former President Donald Trump has portrayed Minnesota as being in play this year, even though the state hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006. A GOP presidential candidate hasn’t carried the state since President Richard Nixon’s landslide in 1972, but Trump has already campaigned there.

When Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton decided not to seek a third term in 2018, Walz campaigned and won the office on a “One Minnesota” theme.


Walz also speaks comfortably about issues that matter to voters in the Rust Belt. He’s been a champion of Democratic causes, including union organizing, workers’ rights and a $15-an-hour minimum wage.

HE HAS EXPERIENCE WITH DIVIDED GOVERNMENT
In his first term as governor, Walz faced a Legislature split between a Democratic-led House and a Republican-controlled Senate that resisted his proposals to use higher taxes to boost money for schools, health care and roads. But he and lawmakers brokered compromises that made the state’s divided government still seem productive.

Bipartisan cooperation became tougher during his second year as he used the governor’s emergency power during the COVID-19 pandemic to shutter businesses and close schools. Republicans pushed back and forced out some agency heads. Republicans also remain critical of Walz over what they see as his slow response to sometimes violent unrest that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.


Things got easier for Walz in his second term, after he defeated Republican Scott Jensen, a physician known nationally as a vaccine skeptic. Democrats gained control of both legislative chambers, clearing the way for a more liberal course in state government, aided by a huge budget surplus.

Walz and lawmakers eliminated nearly all of the state abortion restrictions enacted in the past by Republicans, protected gender-affirming care for transgender youth and legalized the recreational use of marijuana.

Rejecting Republican pleas that the state budget surplus be used to cut taxes, Democrats funded free school meals for children, free tuition at public colleges for students in families earning under $80,000 a year, a paid family and medical leave program and health insurance coverage regardless of a person’s immigration status.


HE HAS AN EAR FOR SOUND-BITE POLITICS
Walz called Republican nominee Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance “just weird” in an MSNBC interview last month and the Democratic Governors Association — which Walz chairs — amplified the point in a post on X. Walz later reiterated the characterization on CNN, citing Trump’s repeated mentions of the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter from the film “Silence of the Lambs” in stump speeches.

The word quickly morphed into a theme for Harris and other Democrats and has a chance to be a watchword of the undoubtedly weird 2024 election.

— Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.
 

spaminator

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Walz’s military record under scrutiny as Vance, GOP question his service
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Meg Kinnard
Published Aug 08, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 4 minute read

CINCINNATI — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military record has come under scrutiny since he was named as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, with Republicans questioning both Walz’s characterization of his time in uniform and his departure from service.


Here’s a look at Walz’s record and how it’s become a campaign issue:

Army National Guard service
Walz served a total of 24 years in various units and jobs in the Army National Guard before retiring in 2005. It’s that retirement that Republicans have criticized in the presidential campaign.

According to the Nebraska Army National Guard, Walz enlisted in April 1981 — just two days after his 17th birthday — and entered service as an infantryman, completing a 12-week Army infantry basic training course before graduating from high school.

While attending the University of Houston in 1985, he was reclassified as a field artillery cannoneer as a member of the Texas Army National Guard, later serving as an instructor with the Arkansas Army National Guard.


In 1987, Walz returned to Nebraska’s Guard detachment, continuing field artillery assignments while he completed a college degree. By 1996, he transferred to the Minnesota Army National Guard. In 2003, he deployed to Italy in a support position of active military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan but not to a combat zone himself.

As he ramped up for a congressional bid in 2005, Walz’s campaign in March issued a statement saying he still planned to run despite a possible mobilization of Minnesota National Guard soldiers to Iraq. According to the Guard, Walz retired from service in May of that year.

In August 2005, the Department of the Army issued a mobilization order for Walz’s unit. The unit mobilized in October of that year before it deployed to Iraq in March 2006.


Despite his having retired several months before the deployment order was issued, it’s the fact that Walz left the service ahead of his unit’s departure that Republicans have pointed to in attempts to argue that he was aiming to avoid being sent to a combat zone.

By the time Walz left the military entirely, he had achieved the rank of command sergeant major, one of the top ranks for an enlisted soldier. But personnel files show that he was reduced in rank months after retiring, leaving him as a master sergeant for benefits purposes. Minnesota National Guard officials have said that Walz retired before completing coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy, along with other requirements associated with his promotion.


Republican criticism
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate and himself a Marine Corps veteran, is among those who have called Walz’s service into question.

Earlier this week Harris’ campaign circulated on X a 2018 clip of Walz speaking out against gun violence, and saying, “We can make sure those weapons of war, that I carried in war, are only carried in war.”

As he campaigned in Michigan on Wednesday, Vance said he felt Walz’s implication that he had served in combat was “stolen valour garbage,” decrying his opponent’s characterization of his military service.

“Do not pretend to be something that you’re not,” Vance said during an event at the Shelby Township Police Department. “I’d be ashamed if I was saying that I lied about my military service like you did.”


Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduating high school, serving four years as a combat correspondent, a type of military journalist, and deploying to Iraq in that capacity in 2005.

Neither Trump nor Harris has served in the U.S. military. Trump received a series of deferments during Vietnam, including one attained with a physician’s letter stating that he suffered from bone spurs in his feet.

Democratic response
In a statement provided to The Associated Press, the Harris campaign pushed back on the GOP characterization of Walz’s service, also pointing out his advocacy for veterans while in the U.S. House.

“After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families,” the campaign said.


As for Vance’s characterization of Walz’s weapons comment, Harris’ campaign said Walz “would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country” and “thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way.”

In a post on X, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — who as a Naval intelligence officer deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 — said Thursday that Republicans’ criticism of Walz was “strategic,” arguing that the Trump campaign “needs us tied up in debates over pre-retirement conditional rank promotions because they are desperate NOT to discuss their (unpopular) policies, like tax cuts for the rich and banning access to abortion.”

— Associated Press reporters Trenton Daniel and Richard Lardner contributed to this report.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
113,255
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Low Earth Orbit
And she claims to be a lawyer?


Title 8 of the U.S. Code identifies federal criminal offenses pertaining to immigration and nationality, including the following two entry-related offenses:

“Illegal Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1325 makes it a crime to unlawfully enter the United States. It applies to people who do not enter with proper inspection at a port of entry, such as those who enter between ports of entry, avoid examination or inspection, or who make false statements while entering or attempting to enter. A first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, up to six months in prison, or both.

“Illegal Re-Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1326 makes it a crime to unlawfully reenter, attempt to unlawfully reenter, or to be found in the United States after having been deported, ordered removed, or denied admission. This crime is punishable as a felony with a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Higher penalties apply if the person was previously removed after having been convicted of certain crimes: up to 10 years for a single felony conviction (other than an aggravated felony conviction) or three misdemeanor convictions involving drugs or crimes against a person, and up to 20 years for an aggravated felony conviction.

Combined, violations of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1325 and 1326 became the most prosecuted federal offenses in recent years. Indeed, as of December 2018, they constituted 65 percent of all criminal prosecutions in federal court. Prosecutions for entry-related offenses subsequently declined when the government began expelling migrants back into Mexico rather than prosecuting them.

If a person is charged with “illegal reentry” (a felony), the prosecutor often will add a charge of “illegal entry” (a misdemeanor) to the indictment. The prosecutor can then pressure the migrant to plead guilty to the lesser offense (“illegal entry”) in exchange for a shorter sentence—perhaps even time served. This practice, known as a “flip flop” plea, poses serious due-process concerns. Prosecutors who propose this type of plea deal often offer it only if the migrant agrees to waive certain rights, even beyond the right to a trial, including the right to later challenge the conviction. In addition, the process moves so quickly that, in many cases, charged migrants accept a plea agreement, plead guilty, and are sentenced in a matter of hours.
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
57,984
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And she claims to be a lawyer?


Title 8 of the U.S. Code identifies federal criminal offenses pertaining to immigration and nationality, including the following two entry-related offenses:

“Illegal Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1325 makes it a crime to unlawfully enter the United States. It applies to people who do not enter with proper inspection at a port of entry, such as those who enter between ports of entry, avoid examination or inspection, or who make false statements while entering or attempting to enter. A first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, up to six months in prison, or both.

“Illegal Re-Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1326 makes it a crime to unlawfully reenter, attempt to unlawfully reenter, or to be found in the United States after having been deported, ordered removed, or denied admission. This crime is punishable as a felony with a maximum sentence of two years in prison. Higher penalties apply if the person was previously removed after having been convicted of certain crimes: up to 10 years for a single felony conviction (other than an aggravated felony conviction) or three misdemeanor convictions involving drugs or crimes against a person, and up to 20 years for an aggravated felony conviction.

Combined, violations of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1325 and 1326 became the most prosecuted federal offenses in recent years. Indeed, as of December 2018, they constituted 65 percent of all criminal prosecutions in federal court. Prosecutions for entry-related offenses subsequently declined when the government began expelling migrants back into Mexico rather than prosecuting them.

If a person is charged with “illegal reentry” (a felony), the prosecutor often will add a charge of “illegal entry” (a misdemeanor) to the indictment. The prosecutor can then pressure the migrant to plead guilty to the lesser offense (“illegal entry”) in exchange for a shorter sentence—perhaps even time served. This practice, known as a “flip flop” plea, poses serious due-process concerns. Prosecutors who propose this type of plea deal often offer it only if the migrant agrees to waive certain rights, even beyond the right to a trial, including the right to later challenge the conviction. In addition, the process moves so quickly that, in many cases, charged migrants accept a plea agreement, plead guilty, and are sentenced in a matter of hours.
Former prosecuting attorney in one of the U.S.'s largest jurisdictions.

How 'bout you?
 

Taxslave2

House Member
Aug 13, 2022
3,666
2,195
113
Former prosecuting attorney in one of the U.S.'s largest jurisdictions.

How 'bout you?
Providing necessities of life for the world. Being a farmer is far more important than being a persecuting attorney. Requires far more education and smarts than collecting a government cheque.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,568
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Secret Service apologizes to salon owner after breaking in, using toilet
Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Published Aug 12, 2024 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 2 minute read

The U.S. Secret Service was forced to apologize after using a Massachusetts salon’s bathroom without permission ahead of a Harris fundraiser

When you gotta go, you gotta go?


The U.S. Secret Service was forced to apologize after its agents used a Massachusetts salon’s bathroom without permission ahead of a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, reported Fox News Digital News.

Salon owner Alicia Powers told Business Insider that Secret Service agents put duct tape over her outside security cameras and broke into her building by picking the lock. They allowed various people to use the salon’s bathroom over a two-hour period.

Powers added she was aware she had to close her salon for the event but wasn’t told about the bathroom usage.

“They had a bunch of people in and out of here doing a couple of bomb sweeps again – totally understand what they have to do, due to the nature of the situation,” Powers told the outlet.


“And at that point, my team felt like it was a little bit chaotic, and we just made the decision to close for Saturday.”


Powers confirmed she got an apology from the Secret Service’s Boston office.

“The U.S. Secret Service works closely with our partners in the business community to carry out our protective and investigative missions. The Secret Service has since communicated with the affected business owner,” agency spokesperson Melissa McKenzie told Fox News Digital.

“We hold these relationships in the highest regard and our personnel would not enter, or instruct our partners to enter, a business without the owner’s permission.”

Powers said an EMS worker later told her the Secret Service agent in charge that day “was telling people to come in and use the bathroom.

“There were several people in and out for about an hour-and-a-half – just using my bathroom, the alarms going off, using my counter, with no permission,” Powers said.

“And then when they were done using the bathroom for two hours, they left, and left my building completely unlocked, and did not take the tape off the camera,” she added.

The Secret Service insisted its agents would not have used the building without permission, but admitted an agent had taped over the camera.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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Sheriff slams Kamala Harris' use of his image in campaign ad
Author of the article:Denette Wilford
Published Aug 13, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

A sheriff in California was incensed to learn that he was featured in a political ad for Democrat Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.


The campaign feature touts Harris — California’s former attorney general — as once being a tough border state prosecutor. Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux claims that’s false advertising.

“In light of a recent political ad put out by Kamala Harris featuring Sheriff Boudreaux, as well as other local law enforcement, the sheriff wants to make it abundantly clear that his image is being used without his permission, and he does NOT endorse Harris for president or any other political office,” Boudreaux said in a statement to Fox News.

Boudreaux — currently president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association — described a visit Harris made to the Central Valley in 2013 while holding the office of attorney general.


“In the ad, Harris claims to have spent decades fighting violent crime as a ‘border state prosecutor.’”

“The facts are that ‘then California attorney general Kamala’ came to the Valley in 2014 touting a years-long investigation into a multi-national drug operation, with ties to Mexican drug cartels and prison gangs,” Boudreaux explained.

“The truth is, Harris never cared about the cartels and did nothing to stop people from illegally crossing the border,” Boudreaux said, adding that he was “disgusted” because she took “credit for all this work that the locals did.”


Boudreaux’s political action committee, Golden State Justice, also issued a statement to the outlet about the campaign ad, calling Harris out for repeatedly defunding and shuttering task forces that were designed to “stop criminals from flooding our state with guns and drugs across the border.”


The statement continued: “Kamala’s sad attempt to paint herself as tough on the border by implying my support — and the support of neighbouring law enforcement leaders — is pathetic.”

Harris’ ad claims she will “hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.”



Boudreaux scoffed: “When you see that advertisement, if you do a little research, you’ll find that what (Harris is) touting goes completely against what was happening at the time, so when she put that picture out there with me in it, I got really upset, that ad is all smoke and mirrors.”

He added: “I do not support her.”

The ad comes as Time magazine published a cover story, featuring Harris — that didn’t even include an interview with the Democrat’s presidential candidate.



The article, written by Charlotte Alter, looks at how the presidential hopeful has “pulled off the swiftest vibe shift in modern political history,” and that she was previously “underestimated” but now has the opportunity to “showcase her talents.”

However, many slammed the publication for only featuring quotes from allies like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and gun control activist David Hogg.

“Elections come down to vibes, and Kamala has got the vibes right now,” Hogg said.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald likened the article as “propaganda,” countering on X, “The way the US corporate media transformed Kamala Harris from a national embarrassment to a transformative pioneer overnight — without even pretending to care about anything that she thinks or believes — is a powerful testament to how potent the science of propaganda is.”
 

Retired_Can_Soldier

The End of the Dog is Coming!
Mar 19, 2006
12,148
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Alberta
Morons like Trump wouldn't be plausible without Democratic Dumbfucks running losing candidates.
But this was just a case of too little too late.
They should have had a new leader figured out instead of validating Trump's accusations that Biden's cheese was sliding off his cracker.
Get ready for four more years of tantrum politics.
 

Retired_Can_Soldier

The End of the Dog is Coming!
Mar 19, 2006
12,148
1,181
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59
Alberta
Like they did in 2020.
I think it comes down to this.
In 2020, there were somewhere around 352 000 deaths and lots of infections.
So people got scared.

In 2024, people are suffering from massive inflation, and there are illegal alien issues and crime.
People care less about who the boss is when they can't feed or house their families.

The Democrats have done one term, and rather than govern from the middle, they went full woke, and as a result, they will suffer.