Reach for the stars, sun, moon or Mars. Trump thread 94

[lionheart]

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-07/trump-s-tariffs-have-wiped-out-most-families-tax-cut-gains

Florida:

'The Florida Age of Consent is 18 years old. In the United States, the age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 17 or younger in Florida are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape.

Florida statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under Age 18. Close in age exemptions exist, allowing minors aged 16 or 17 to engage in sexual intercourse with a partner no older than age 23.'

www.ageofconsent.net/states/florida

New York:

'The New York Age of Consent is 17 years old. In the United States, the age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 16 or younger in New York are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape.

New York statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under age under age 17, who they are not married to. Punishment varies depending on the age of the offender. There is no defense based around lack of knowledge of the victim's age.'

www.ageofconsent.net/states/new-york

Ah, thank you, lionheart.

(I'm having computer issues re cookies and ad blocks, and can't always see news sites.)

Cake very welcome here.

Th swampiness is bad enough but when you combine it with the sexual violence that has always been so much a part of this hideous self-serving drama, it's a lot ...

More goddam dots:

www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/07/how-trump-kept-tabs-on-jeffrey-epstein

'Trump isn’t known to have gone on any trips with Epstein, which would have been out of character. “I don’t think Trump would go to someone else’s property or someone else’s island or villa,” Nunberg said. “He doesn’t even play golf at anyone else’s clubs.” But Trump did host Epstein as a guest at Mar-a-Lago, where he appears in photos in 1997 and 2000. Epstein’s personal little black book, which was leaked by an employee in 2009, contained 14 phone numbers for Trump, his wife, Melania, and several people who worked for him.'

The age of consent does vary from state to state and generally doesn't really have much to do with the legal age to marry. Most of the states with those really young marriage ages require parental/judicial consent and were originally set it place to allow for 'shotgun' weddings. And most of them do need to be changed.

One of the other focuses of the Epstein case are violations of the Mann Act. This is the federal law that prohibits transporting women (of any age) across state lines for 'immoral purposes'. It was passed in 1910 originally as an anti-white slavery law. It now is basically an anti-sex trafficking/prostitution law. It is believed that Epstein ordered girls to be 'delivered' to him and/or others across state lines.

If there are Mann Act violations, the age of consent doesn't come into play. It applies no matter the age of the victim, and even if the 'transaction' was consensual (which these were NOT).

So there should be some other arrests? Unless there have been some already and deals have been made.

Migrant children held in Yuma, Arizona, report sex assault and retaliation for protests in addition to unsanitary conditions and overcrowding

www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/migrant-kids-overcrowded-arizona-border-station-allege-sex-assault-retaliation-n1027886?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

A lot of witnesses.

www.businessinsider.com/trump-epstein-party-at-mar-a-lago-women-2019-7?r=US&IR=T

Trump confirms previous UK Ambassador assessment.

@WashingtonPost
Trump calls British ambassador a "very stupid guy" and a "pompous fool" t.co/2j9fJrldsW

As with the debate about gun control, Sleip, it makes you wonder whether there is a 'tipping point' at all.

www.nytimes.com/2019/07/09/us/politics/mueller-testimony-justice-department.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

And the UK Ambassador for USA resigns. Shame that's happened when he is telling the truth about 45. Trump says he's wacky and a fool... there was a thread on Twitter where it was pointed out how well liked he was in the USA, I know this was anonymous but I read it from more than one source.

Someone who worked for him posted how hard he worked and how much respect he has.

The Trump effect strikes again. The good people go and the sleazy swamp creatures carry on regardless

Anyone who works hard and commands respect puts Trump in a very bad light
No wonder he wants to get rid of him!

Well, too bad about Sir Kim. And a damned shame he had to go out this way. I hope they find the leaker.

I'm sure Scrotus will tell the UK who the next ambassador will be. Or he'll try to.

Yes, I'm damn sure of that last bit, Across.

One thing about Sir Kim going now is that (I imagine) it makes replacing him Theresa May's job – and she has nothing to gain by sucking up to Trump.

If he'd waited, the replacement would be chosen by May's successor and could become a test of how much our new PM wished to grovel to Trump.

So many people sucked into the Trumpie-go-round make the mistake of trying to appease the giant toddler – not understanding that this never, ever works.

Yes, Macron learned the hard way. As did May. Trump has no loyalty to anyone who doesn't continually suck up to him. He likes Piers Morgan. And BoJo. For that very reason.

twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1148909451052818433

On this link is Darroch's resignation letter and the response to Sir Kim from the Head of the FCO. 'You have behaved with dignity, professionalism and class'

Trump and indeed BoJo have a lot to answer for. This man served his country for 40 years.

'The professionalism and integrity of the British Civil Service is the envy of the world'

From that Paul Waugh thread:

Corbyn could make the obvs point that [Boris] Johnson refused to quit over inaccurate statements about Nazanin Zaghari- Ratcliffe, but Darroch has been forced to resign for telling the truth.

Some people on that thread missing the point. Darroch did not address insults or even criticism to Trump. He gave what he saw as an accurate assessment of the situation privately to his employers, Her Majesty's Government.

He has never worked for Trump or for the United States in any capacity, never mind as bootlicker-in-chief. He worked for the UK, and it's in the UK's interest that our ambassadors send accurate and perceptive reports. It's what we pay them for.

Trumpie's childish reaction to, effectively, listening at keyholes and hearing no good of himself doesn't change this. The next ambassador will have the same duty to send HMG accurate reports.

'Duty' ........well. Let's see.

Scrotus thinks ambassadors should be like the ones shown on the Tudors and other medieval shows. Bowing and scraping and kissing rings whilst they present their credentials to the reigning monarch then sticking around the Court trying to curry favour for their government. He has absolutely no conception of the role of an ambassador in the modern age.

I'm just glad that Sir Kim has enough years to retire with (I assume) a very good pension if that's what he chooses to do.

I'd like to see HM give him a life peerage for 'excellent service to the Crown' as a two fingers up to Scrotus. Then I'd like him to write a tell all book. But I know neither will happen.

But even Tudor ambassadors would have bowed and scraped – and then gone back to their apartments and written coded letters to their own government saying, "He's fat, losing it, led by his dick, and shopping for a sixth wife."

It's not a failure by Scrotus to understand the role of ambassadors; it's a failure by Scrotus to cope with anyone, anywhere, ever, not thinking he's wonderful.

Obviously they must be crushed. As their own just punishment and pour encourager les autres.

I suppose the Ambassador's fault was not to have agreed a code with his PM. As in playing opposites, for example. "He's wonderful and likely to become even better."

Colbert has it spot on with his Jill Newslady and Jim Anchorton from "Real News Tonight". That is the attitude DJT wants.

Sorry, I am enraged by this - none of this was the Ambassador's fault, he was doing his job as a civil servant, reporting back to his employers. It was the deliberate leak of his diplomatic missives back to the British Government and the orange baby's hysterical, unpresidential, reaction, which caused Sir Kim's resignation. The leak was clearly (well, to me, anyway) orchestrated by Farage (or possibly BoJo?) and his far-right cronies to discredit the British Ambassador and is absolutely disgraceful.
I am spitting angry about this. Like a camel with the hump.