#County Chairwoman

[subsidystadium]

The Buffalo Bills forgot to involve minorities and locals when building their stadium. Whoops.

When the Governor of New York announced the $1.54 billion dollar agreement to build a new Buffalo Bills stadium, she emphasized that this agreement included a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) and a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). These documents would ensure that the Bills are, in fact, hiring minorities and women for the stadium construction. This was important to the local area. The State of…

[wachinyeya]

https://ktla.com/news/california/goats-unleashed-by-san-manuel-tribe-as-part-of-fire-prevention-strategy/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaaJJAE-Kl55wk4vm1cYc0zjGRUEv8w6ps0HX0z-rxwwa7YXnTDCsgIU2vs_aem_0djT-2NoD-E87Ic6UeeqGw

Firefighting goats have been deployed by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to protect tribal land and neighboring property from potentially devastating brush fires.

The goats are unleashed by the San Manuel Fire Department to eat up dry brush and grass that would normally be ideal fuel for fires — a recent fire was actually partially stopped once it reached an area cleared by the caprine crew earlier this year.

The herd, officials said, is about 400-strong and is made up of generations of goat families.

On Tuesday, the goats were treated to a feast of fruit before being sent on their brush-eating mission.

The goats will spend the next several months trimming and thinning out vegetation on the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Reservation and nearby properties in San Bernardino.

Tribal officials said the brush that covers the hillsides in and around San Manuel property is thriving and diverse, boosted by the recent history-making rainy season. The plant life is an ideal food source because goats prefer food that’s at their eye level.

The Tribe has used goats as a natural, environmentally friendly fire preventative tool since 2019; the plants get trimmed in a sustainable fashion, which allows them to survive and recover naturally overtime unlike most chemical sprays.

Tribal officials called the practice an extension of the Tribe’s “culture of lands stewardship.”

“Caring for the land is a sacred duty of the Tribe,” said Lynn Valbuena, chairwoman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. “Stewardship is a responsibility given to our people by the Creator. No matter who owns the land.”

San Bernardino County residents shouldn’t be surprised to see the goats in the mountains fulfilling this divine task from now through the end of fire season.

[darkeagleruins]

Georgia Democrats want to make it too expensive to remove ineligible voters from the rolls. Cobb County is now charging residents and groups like @TrueTheVote $10 (est) per challenge. The groups planned to challenge 364,000 voters - which would have cost them $3.6 million.

Cobb County Republican Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs explained, “It’s ridiculous to charge for voter challenges. They are charging the public when they are responsible for doing it and we already pay taxes for keeping the rolls clean!”

[mariacallous]

oh hey you're a bitch who cares about Michigan,

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/29/michigan-republican-party-faces-financial-turmoil-bank-records-show/71003017007/

the Michigan GOP is broke as hell and is robbing their federal election account to pay the light bill and shit.

Lansing — The Michigan Republican Party had about $35,000 in its bank accounts in August, according to internal records that flash new warning signs about the dire state of the GOP's finances and raise questions about whether the organization is complying with campaign finance laws.

The documents, obtained by The Detroit News, cover from February when party Chairwoman Kristina Karamo took office through Aug. 10, about six weeks before the party's Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference and about five months into Karamo's term.

The party has regularly transferred money from an account that's usually focused on federal elections to other accounts to afford expenses, according to the records. And earlier this year, Karamo's 2022 secretary of state campaign loaned the party's federal account $15,000 after that account's balance turned negative. The transaction wasn't reported in disclosures from the campaign or the party's federal committee.

A listing of Michigan Republican Party account balances from West Michigan Community Bank showed $35,051 across seven accounts, with expenses for many of the scheduled speakers at the Sept. 22-24 conference on Mackinac Island not yet paid, including author Dinesh D'Souza and unsuccessful former Arizona candidate for governor Kari Lake.

At this point, 13 months before a presidential election, the Michigan Republican Party should have about $10 million in its accounts, said Tom Leonard, a former Michigan House speaker and former finance chairman for the state GOP.

The party had less than 1% of the $10 million target.

"These numbers demonstrate that the party isn't just broke, but broken," Leonard said. "Given (Democratic President) Joe Biden's unpopularity, Republicans can still have a successful cycle, but it's clear they won't be able to rely on the Michigan Republican Party."

Karamo and a Michigan Republican Party spokesman didn't respond to requests for comment for this story.

But the severe financial problems and Karamo's handling of them helped prompt Warren Carpenter, a businessman and former chairman of the 9th Congressional District's Republican committee, to issue a statement, emphasizing that he had no "formal involvement" in the Mackinac conference.

With only two weeks before the conference, Karamo's team had asked Carpenter, a former Karamo supporter and donor from Oakland County, to help with the event, which traditionally costs about $700,000 to put on.

At that time, Carpenter said he was told the party had $30,000 in its accounts but still had to pay Lake $20,000 for speaking, pay D'Souza $28,000 and repay a loan of $110,000 for actor Jim Caviezel's speaking fee. Carpenter said he advised party leaders to cut D'Souza from the lineup to save money.

Carpenter said his principles eventually inspired him to not want to be involved in the conference.

"After consulting extensively with my attorney, I have been strongly advised to cease all communications and interactions with the team leading the Mackinac Leadership Conference," Carpenter wrote in a statement to GOP leaders. "This decision stems from the unsettling possibility of how the Mackinac Leadership Conference is being administered could result in both personal and legal repercussions."

Carpenter resigned as chairman of the 9th District committee on Tuesday.

'Significant challenges'

D'Souza ultimately didn't appear at the conference after the party sent out an email promoting him as a speaker as recently as Sept. 17, five days before the gathering on Mackinac Island began.

Also, D'Souza was still listed as one of the speakers on the party's website on Friday, five days after the conference ended and he didn't participate. Regular attendees had to pay $125 to $275 to register for the event, a price that didn't include the cost of a hotel on Mackinac Island.

During the conference, Dan Hartman, the Michigan Republican Party's general counsel, said he couldn't say why D'Souza didn't show up at the event.

As for the party's finances, the Michigan GOP had previously been primarily funded by 17 people or organizations, Hartman said. The party is in a state of transition, and the past leaders had thrown up "significant challenges" for the new grassroots-driven team, he added.

"Now, what's happened is it's rank-and-file and volunteers," Hartman said of the party's new leadership.

Michigan GOP delegates elected Karamo, a favorite among the grassroots wing of the party, chairwoman in February. While past chairs have been former elected officials and business leaders, Karamo is a former educator from Oak Park who lost a race for secretary of state by 14 percentage points to Democratic incumbent Jocelyn Benson in November. Plus, Karamo has been openly critical of some of the state's largest GOP donors.

Asked about the party's finances on Sept. 23, Hartman referred a Detroit News reporter to the state GOP's budget committee, but he said the party had the money it needed to get by. Dan Bonamie, chairman of the budget committee, refused to answer questions that same day when approached by the reporter inside the Grand Hotel.

During a closed-door state committee meeting on Sunday, the final day of the Mackinac conference, Karamo spoke about the health of the Michigan Republican Party's finances, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The News.

"The party is not going bankrupt," Karamo told state committee members.

Murky finances

In July, Bonamie informed other Republicans at a meeting in Clare the party had about $93,000 in its bank accounts and was working on paying outstanding debt, according to a recording previously obtained by The News.

It's not clear in the bank records, which cover accounts launched by Karamo's team, how much debt remains. But the records do show about $90,000 in the accounts in early July when Bonamie gave his report.

In March, just after she became chairman in February, Karamo told a group the party had $460,000 in debt from the past leadership team.

Having debt is not unusual for the state GOP after a competitive election. But what is unusual, according to longtime Michigan Republicans, is the struggle the party in a key battleground state is having collecting money.

The bank documents show that multiple Michigan Republican Party accounts have fallen into the red at points this year, and Karamo's leadership team has frequently transferred money from one account to another to meet obligations.

In the past, the party has used its "administrative" account, which can raise money from corporate donors in secret, to fund the Mackinac conference, according to campaign finance disclosures. But this year, the party used its federal campaign account, which is usually focused on races for federal offices, such as Congress and president, and has to disclose its donors, according to campaign finance disclosures.

The biggest deposit in the "administrative" account this year was $10,007 on July 8, according to the bank records, which don't show where the money came from. The account's balance hasn't reached above $16,000, according to the records.

Ahead of the 2021 Mackinac conference, there were significant six-figure corporate sponsorships, former Michigan Republican Party Executive Director Jason Roe previously told The News.

Across April and May, the party's federal account paid the Grand Hotel $109,496 for the conference. The party disclosed the payments in federal campaign finance reports.

By Aug. 9, the party's federal account had a balance of $44,329, according to the bank records. But on Aug. 10, the party's federal account paid the Grand Hotel another $65,854, temporarily putting the account's balance at -$21,524, according to the records.

The party received $31,980 that same day from an unlisted source, pushing the account balance back up to about $11,000 on Aug. 10, according to bank records.

Moving money

The party's state bank account, which is usually focused on state-level races, had about $5,256 remaining as of Aug. 10, according to the bank records.

The account would be the one the party uses next year to get involved in campaigns for control of the state House. Currently, Democrats hold a narrow 56-54 seat majority in the chamber. Every seat will be on the ballot in 2024.

The Michigan GOP's state account had a negative balance as recently as June 14, according to the records. But the party quickly transferred $7,400 from the federal account to the state account, giving it a positive balance of $6,683.

Overall, the Michigan Republican Party transferred $31,400 from the federal account to the state account from April 12 through Aug. 10, the records show. Other than the transfers, the largest deposit in the account over the period was $250, the records show, indicating the party's fundraising is primarily happening through the federal account and then money is being moved elsewhere.

Karamo's "chair" account has received $11,400 in transfers from the federal account, according to the records.

The transfers from the federal account to other state party accounts don't appear to be detailed in the Michigan Republican Party's federal campaign finance disclosures.

As of June 30, the Michigan Republican Party reported its federal fundraising committee had $146,931 cash on hand. The bank records showed the federal bank account had about $66,278 at that point.

Using money in a federal party account for expenditures that wouldn't require reporting under federal law because they weren't related to federal politics would be an accounting "nightmare," said Mark Brewer, an elections lawyer and former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party.

"You just risk breaking the law every time you do something like that," Brewer said of having to track financial totals while moving money in and out of the account.

In July, the Federal Election Commission asked the Michigan Republican Party why its financial tallies for the federal committee appeared to be incorrect. On Sept. 11, the party said it was working to address the question.

The Michigan Republican Party told the commission it "has gone through a series of administration transitions this year."

[popolitiko]

NBC News on Friday announced that it had hired Ronna McDaniel, the former Republican National Committee chair who has repeatedly attacked the network and its journalists, assailed the news media as “fake news” and promoted false claims around the 2020 vote, as an on-air commentator ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

“It couldn’t be a more important moment to have a voice like Ronna’s on the team,” Carrie Budoff Brown, senior vice president of politics at NBC News, said in a memo to staff.

McDaniel exited the RNC earlier this month after leading the organization since 2016.

During her time as chair, McDaniel repeatedly attacked the press, which has become increasingly popular in Republican circles over the last several years as Donald Trump demonizes journalists and news institutions.

McDaniel echoed many such attacks, labeling the press as “fake news” and calling the media “corrupt.” At times, she even targeted NBC News and MSNBC with dishonest attacks.

In 2019, for instance, McDaniel accused Richard Engel, NBC News’ chief foreign correspondent, of “actively cheering for an economic downturn.”

“How can NBC let him keep his job when he’s made his bias so clear?” McDaniel asked.

McDaniel has a lengthier history attacking the progressive cable news channel MSNBC, which she will appear on in her new role. In recent years, she has repeatedly attacked the channel for “spreading lies” and blasted those she described as the network’s “primetime propagandists.”

An NBC spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment about her attacks on the news media and NBC.

In her role as RNC chief, McDaniel also fanned the flames of election denialism after the 2020 presidential contest.

McDaniel was involved in a phone call in 2020 to pressure Michigan county officials not to certify the vote from the Detroit area, where Joe Biden had a commanding lead. McDaniel told the officials, regarding the certification: “Do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”

The Michigan Department of State’s office condemned her claims of supposed voter fraud in the wake of the election, stating they had “no merit.” The state’s “elections were conducted fairly, effectively and transparently and are an accurate reflection of the will of Michigan voters,” it said in a detailed fact check posted online.

NBC’s hiring of McDaniel, however, plays into a recent trend at the network’s outlets, which has seemingly softened its stance on Trump as he inches toward the Republican nomination for president.

Earlier this month, CNBC hosted Trump for a lengthy phone interview in which the network’s anchors allowed him to peddle lies and conspiracy theories on air without scrutiny.

MSNBC has even started carrying Trump’s remarks live on television, a practice that the network boasted for years it would not do. Star host Rachel Maddow, who has said carrying Trump’s lies on the air is dangerous, even objected to the network broadcasting a recent speech from the presumptive Republican nominee, calling it “irresponsible.”

MSNBC has no plans to have former Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on the cable network, its president told employees following the news of her hiring at NBC News.

Rashida Jones, the cable network’s president, has been seeking to address internal backlash in the wake of an internal Friday announcement by NBC News regarding McDaniel’s hiring as an on-air contributor.

In that internal memo, the political chief, Carrie Budoff Brown, said McDaniel would contribute “across all NBC News platforms,” causing turmoil among several of the network’s on-air hosts and staffers, people familiar with the matter said. MSNBC is part of the NBC News division.

Rashida Jones daughter of Quincy Jones & Peggy Lipton

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/msnbc-has-no-plans-to-have-ex-rnc-chief-on-network-0d88e70c

In February, Ms. McDaniel urged Republicans to unite behind Mr. Trump after his victory in the New Hampshire primary, irking Nikki Haley, his rival who had not yet dropped out of the race. Mr. Trump has since installed his daughter-in-law and a close adviser to lead the R.N.C., tightening his hold over the party.

Other prominent Republican commentators at NBC News include Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, and Brendan Buck, a former top aide to Paul Ryan and John Boehner. NBC’s Democratic commentators include former Senator Claire McCaskill and David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s former campaign manager.

Ms. McDaniel’s NBC debut will be on this Sunday’s edition of “Meet the Press.”

[beardedmrbean]

Shipping tycoon Angela Chao was drunk when she inadvertently reversed her Tesla into a pond and drowned last month at a Texas ranch, police say.

Blanco County Sheriff's Office found her blood alcohol level was nearly three times the state's legal limit.

The 50-year-old died after dinner on 10 February with a group of friends at the estate near Johnson City.

Her brother-in-law, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, cited the tragedy in his resignation speech.

On Wednesday, Blanco County Sheriff's Office released the findings of its investigation concluding Ms Chao's death was an "unfortunate accident".

She had invited seven girlfriends from her days at Harvard Business School to spend the weekend at the 900-acre ranch.

They had attended a concert by rapper Pitbull in Austin the night beforehand, according to the police report.

After dinner at the guest lodge on the night of her death she headed back to the main house.

But during a three-point turn she accidentally reversed the Model X SUV into a pond.

A friend, Amber Keinan, told detectives Ms Chao had called her at 23:42 and said the car was in the water and she was trapped inside.

"Chao told Keinan the water was rising and she was going to die and said 'I love you,'" the report says. "Chao then said her good byes to Keinan."

The conversation lasted eight minutes.

The police report describes how friends and police tried to save her. Some of the friends were "screaming frantically" at the deputies from the pondside.

Officers eventually smashed the driver's side window of the submerged car, pulling Ms Chao from the vehicle.

She was pronounced dead at 01:40 on 11 February.

A toxicology test found she had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.233g per 100ml. The legal limit in Texas is 0.08g per 100ml.

Ms Chao was chairwoman and chief executive of her family's shipping business, the Foremost Group, which operates a global fleet of bulk carrier ships. The Chaos have a net worth of $14.2bn (£11bn), according to Forbes.

She was married to Jim Breyer, a billionaire venture capitalist.

Her older sister, Elaine Chao, is married to Mr McConnell and was transportation secretary under President Donald Trump and labour secretary under President George W Bush.

When he announced last month that he was stepping down as Senate minority leader, Mr McConnell suggested the tragedy's impact on his family was a factor in his decision.

"When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there's a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process," the Kentucky senator said on the floor of the chamber.

Ms Chao's father, Dr James Chao, said in a statement provided to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper: "Angela's passing was a terrible tragedy, and words cannot describe the family's profound grief."

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Moms for Liberty, a conservative group advocating for parental rights, has received backlash for quoting German dictator and Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler in its newsletter.

The group, described by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as "anti-government," was founded in 2021 by two mothers who previously served on Florida school boards.

"Moms for Liberty and its nationwide chapters combat what they consider the 'woke indoctrination' of children by advocating for book bans in school libraries and endorsing candidates for public office that align with the group's views. They also use their multiple social media platforms to target teachers and school officials, advocate for the abolition of the Department of Education, advance a conspiracy propaganda, and spread hateful imagery and rhetoric against the LGBTQ community," SPLC said on its website.

The organization's chapter in Hamilton County, Indiana, released a newsletter called The Parent Brigade on Wednesday, which included a quote from Hitler on the front page that read, "He alone, who OWNS youth, GAINS the future." Hitler spoke those words in 1935 in an attempt to encourage young people to join Hitler Youth, a Nazi organization.

Social media users condemned the group for using Hitler's quote. Moms for Liberty apologized on Thursday, according to The Indianapolis Star, and updated the front page of its newsletter to remove the quote.

"We condemn Adolf Hitler's actions and his dark place in human history," Paige Miller, chapter chairwoman, said in a statement on Facebook. "We should not have quoted him in our newsletter and express our deepest apology."

In the updated newsletter, the group explained the context in which Hitler's words were used, saying "the quote from a horrific leader should put parents on alert," according to the Star.

"If the government has control over our children today, they control our country's future. We The People must be vigilant and protect children from an overreaching government," read the update.

Still, social media users criticized the right-wing parent group, including Anna V. Eskamani, congresswoman in the Florida House of Representatives.

"Oh you know. Just an average day in America where a "Moms for Liberty" newsletter in Indiana quotes Hitler?? WTAF??" tweeted Eskamani.

"I mean ... on brand is on brand. Moms for Liberty's Hamilton County chapter quotes Hitler in newsletter," wrote Lincoln Project founder Rick Wilson.

Twitter user Alejandra Caraballo said, "a Moms for Liberty newsletter quotes Hitler. If you're still wondering why SPLC labeled them a hate group."

Technologist Jim Stewartson tweeted, "If anyone is still confused about Robert Kennedy Jr. he's speaking at the Moms for Liberty National Summit. In their first newsletter, Moms for Liberty describes their strategy by quoting Hitler: 'He alone who OWNS the youth, gains the future.' If it quacks like a Nazi ..."

Jemele Hill called Moms for Liberty a "white supremacist organization."

Newsweek has reached out via email to Moms for Liberty for comment.

[quakerjoe]

Republican Party Chair Directly Implicated In Trump's Plot To Steal 2020 Election

It was revealed last week that a taped phone call exists where both Donald Trump and RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel attempted to pressure two Michigan canvassers to NOT certify the votes of their county in order to help Trump steal the election. McDaniel even promised to hire the people good lawyers if they complied. This directly implicates the head of the RNC in Trump's plot, and Michigan's Secretary of State has not ruled out filing criminal charges against her. Farron Cousins explains what's happening.

[hclib]

Fannie M. Shanks, Minneapolis Civic and Political Leader

Recently we shared the story of Payne Calhoun’s wrongful discharge from the Minneapolis Fire Department in 1944. By Calhoun’s side through his hearing was Fannie Mae Shanks, his legal counselor, who demanded that fire chief Earl Traeger retract his discharge or be suspended without pay.

Fannie Shanks was a civic and political figure active in Republican politics in Minnesota. She served as vice chairwoman of the Republican party in Minneapolis’s 7th ward, president of the Minnesota State Association of Colored Women, president of the Minneapolis Sunday Forum, member of the Hennepin County Republican Woman’s Club, and was appointed a delegate to the National Negro Exposition in Chicago in 1938. She also happened to be the aunt of John F. Glanton (a son of Fannie’s sister Rosalind Glanton), whose 1940s photographs you can see here.

Fannie was married to Milton Shanks, a building contractor, and they had a son Lloyd. She died in January, 1949, at the young age of 56.

Photo of Payne Calhoun and Fannie Shanks from the Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.

[anybodyelsedumbasfuck]

I joined my neighborhood council committee lol and I’m meeting the chairwoman tomorrow since there’s a meeting and she’s literally my role model. She’s a retired archivist that speaks like 4 languages and has been to 68 counties. Now she just organizes cleanups and events in our neighborhood I spoke to her for like 15 min on the phone last week cuz I emailed her about getting involved and yesterday she sent me an email saying she can’t wait to meet me tomorrow 💚

[missmcspooks]

DEADLY WOMEN DAILY: KATE WEBSTER

Kate Webster committed one murder of a widow in her 50’s, Julia Martha Thomas, who she worked for as her maid. This was one of the most notorious murder cases during the Victorian period in the United Kingdom. It was alleged that Webster sold off the fat from her victim to neighbors and street children, disguised as dripping and lard. 

WHO WAS JULIA THOMAS AND KATE WEBSTER?

Julia Thomas was a former schoolteacher who had been widowed twice. Since her second husband in 1873, she lived alone in Richmond, London. Thomas had a doctor named George Henry Rudd who described her as a small and well dressed lady who was around 54 years old. She also had an “excitable temperament” and was described as eccentric by her neighbors. She also loved to travel and would often be gone for weeks and months at a time, not telling her family or friends where she’d be going. She came from an upper middle class family, so wasn’t super wealthy, but she liked to dress the part and wear nice clothes and lots of jewelry to try and make herself seem more high class than she really was. She also had a reputation of being a very harsh employer and was often too strict and mean towards her employee’s, causing her to have difficulty finding and keeping servants. Thomas hired Kate Webster to be her servant on January 29th, 1879. 

Kate Webster was born around 1849, in Killanne, County Wexford, near Enniscorthy. She was 5’5 and was described as a tall, strongly made woman, with sallow, large prominent teeth, and a very freckled complexion. There’s not much information about her childhood or early years, but she claimed that she was married to a sea captain, and together they had four children. She claimed that all of her children died, along with her husband, very close together. She was arrested and charged with larceny in Ireland  in December 1864 when she was only 15, and relocated to England in 1867. She was then sentenced to four years for penal servitude for larceny again in 1868. When she was released from prison in January 1872, she relocated to West London where she became close friends with her neighbors, the Porter family. 

Webster gave birth to a son on April 18h, 1874, named John W. The father’s identity was never confirmed as she named 3 different men who it could be. One of these men named Strong was actually her accomplice for future crimes she committed, pinning the blame on him. She claimed she was forced into committing theft and burglary for the sole purpose of supporting herself and her child, since he wasn’t supporting them himself. She moved may times around West London, under different names, Webb, Webster, Gibbons, Gibbs, and even Lawler. She was then arrested once again in May of 1875 under a whopping 35 charges for larceny, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Once she was released she was quickly apprehended again for larceny and was sentenced to a year in prison in February of 1877. During her time in prison, her friend Sarah Crease was caring for her child. Sarah worked for a woman named Miss Loder as a chairwoman in Richmond. 

When Crease became sick in January 1879, Webster took her temporary place in the Loder household. Loder had a friend, Julia Thomas, and knew she was looking for a domestic servant, and understood that Webster was only working for her until Crease was healthy again. She recommended her to Thomas, and when the two met, they quickly got to talking. Thomas did not know anything about her past charges, or really much of anything about her at all regarding who she was as a person. Very quickly after she began working in the Thomas household, their relationship began to deteriorate. Thomas didn’t like the quality of Webster’s work and would often criticize it, and was very rude and hostile towards her as well. Webster later claimed: “At first I thought her a nice old lady… but I found her very trying, and she used to do many things to annoy me during my work. When I had finished my work in my rooms, she used to go over it again after me, and point out places where she said I did not clean, showing evidence of a nasty spirit towards me.” As their relationship became more and more hindered, Webster became resentful towards Thomas, to the point where Thomas didn’t feel comfortable in her own home alone anymore and tried to get her friends to stay with her for a while. Thomas fired her, and she wanted her to leave the home permanently on February 28th. Thomas even wrote down this decision in her diary: “Gave Katherine warning to leave.” 

THE MURDER OF JULIA THOMAS 

Webster was able to convince Thomas to keep her on for an extra three days, until Sunday, March 2nd. She had Sundays as half days and was due to be back in time to help Thomas prepare for an evening service at her church. However, Webster returned late, which in turn caused Thomas to be late for her meeting, and an argument between them erupted. Members of the church would later state that Thomas seemed very agitated once she arrived at the meeting. They claimed that Thomas informed them that she was late due to her servant not being on time, and that Webster “flew into a terrible passion” from being fired. When Thomas returned home around 9PM, she decided to confront Webster. This was stated in her confession: 

“Mrs. Thomas came in and went upstairs. I went up after her, and we had an argument, which ripened into a quarrel, and in the height of my anger and rage I threw her from the top of the stairs to the ground floor. She had a heavy fall, and I became agitated at what had occurred, lost all control of myself, and, to prevent her from screaming and getting me into trouble, I caught her by the throat, and in the struggle she was choked, and I threw her on the floor.”

Webster then began to dispose of the body by dismembering it, boiling it in the laundry copper, and burning the bones in the hearth. Later in her confession, she described what she’d done: 

“I determined to do away with the body as best as I could. I chopped the head from the body with assistance of a razor which I used to cut through the flesh afterwards. I also used the meat saw and the carving knife to cut the body up with. I prepared the copper with water to boil the body to prevent identity; and as soon as I had succeeded in cutting it up I placed it in the copper and boiled it. I opened the stomach with the carving knife, and burned up as much of the parts as I could.” 

Over the next several days, she continued to clean the home and Thomas’s clothes to make things seem normal to everyone else, and to avoid any suspicion. But aside from that, she was also packing away the remains into a black Gladstone bag, and a corded wooden bonnet box. She wasn’t able to fit the head and one of her feet into the containers, so she instead disposed of them separately. She threw the foot onto a rubbish heap in Twickenham, and the head was buried under the Hole in the Wall’s stables, not too far away from Thomas’s home. Her head wasn’t found until 131 years later in October of 2010. 

Webster then began to briefly portray herself as Thomas, when she went to visit the Porters, her old neighbors that she hadn’t seen in nearly six years. When she arrived, she was wearing Thomas’s silk dress, and was carrying the Gladstone bag, and introduced herself as “Mrs. Thomas.” She told them that since meeting them, she had married, had a child, and became a widow and is now living in a home that was left to her by her aunt. She invited Porter and his son, Robert, to go drinking with her at a pub. On the way there, she disposed of the bag, most likely dropping it in the River Thames, while the others were drinking inside the pub. The bag was never found. She then asked Robert if he could help her carry a box from her home, and she dropped it in the River Thames. She explained a fake story as to why she was disposing of the box, and Robert wasn’t suspicious at all. 

Unfortunately for Webster, the box was found by a coal porter the following day. It was washed up in shallow water next to the river bank around 5 miles downstream. When he opened it, he found that it contained body parts that were wrapped in brown paper and immediately contacted the police. The police sent the remains in to have them examined by a doctor, and they discovered that the body parts were from a woman. Inside the box consisted of a torso (minus entrails), and legs (minus one foot). Around the same time, a human foot and ankle were found in Twickenham. It was clear to investigators that the remains all belonged to the same woman, but they had no way of connecting them to Thomas, nor did they have a way of identifying the body at all. 

An inquest on March 10th-11th resulted in an open verdict on the cause of death, and the unidentified remains were buried in Barnes Cemetery on March 19th. The newspaper dubbed this case the “Barnes Mystery,” and it was initially assumed that this body was used for dissection and anatomical study. 

JOHN CHURCH

Webster continued to live in Thomas’s home, wearing her clothes and dealing with tradesmen while still pretending to be Mrs. Thomas. John Church owned a pub called “Rising Sun.” He and Webster reached an agreement to sell him some of her furniture and other belongings to help her furnish his pub. On March 9th, he agreed to pay her £68, with a payment of £18 in advance. 

By March 18th, the neighbors had not seen Mrs. Thomas in two weeks, and had started to become suspicious. Her next door neighbors and landlady, Miss Ive’s, asked the delivery man who ordered the goods to be removed, and he responded with “Mrs. Thomas,” indicating Webster. She panicked and fled immediately, catching a train to Liverpool, and from there she traveled to her family who lived in Enniscorthy. It was then that Church realized he was tricked. While he was going through the clothes in the delivery fan, he found a letter that was written out to the real Mrs. Thomas. The police were contacted and the home was searched. Inside they found blood stains, burned finger-bones inside the Hearth, fatty deposits behind the copper, along with a letter that was left by Webster with her home address back in Ireland. A “wanted” notice was immediately sent out with Webster and her son's descriptions. Detectives soon figured out that she and her son had fled back to Ireland. They were able to trace Webster back to her uncles farm, and arrested her there on March 29th. After her uncle heard of her disposable crimes, he refused to home and care for her son, and he was placed in a local workhouse until they were able to find him an industrial school to place him in. 

TRIAL AND EXECUTION

On July 2nd, 1879, Webster went on trial at the Old Bailey courthouse. On the fourth day of the trial, the Crown Prince of Sweden, future king Gustaf V showed up to watch the proceedings. Webster tried to implicate John Church and even her former neighbor, Mr. Porter, but they both had solid alibis and were cleared. She pleaded not guilty and used her son as a reason as to why she could never have committed such a crime. However, her reputation and terrible defense was all against her. One piece of evidence specifically was held strongly against her, coming from a witness named Maria Durden, who was a bonnet maker. Maria told the court that a week prior to the murder, Webster said she was going to Birmingham to sell some property, jewelry, and a house that her aunt had left for her. This was interpreted as Webster premeditating the murder. 

After an hour of deliberating, Webster was convicted of murder. Better the judge gave his sentence, he asked her if there was any reason as to why he shouldn’t sentence her to death. Webster claimed she was pregnant, and the judge ordered her to be examined. The doctors claimed that she was not “quick with child,” which didn’t mean she was not pregnant, but that she was not at the time where she would be able to feel the baby moving inside of her. This was called the “quickening,” and at that time, they did not consider the fetus to be a baby, therefore she was still sentenced to death. The President of the Obstetrical Society of London protested at the use of “the obsolete medical assumption that the unborn child is not alive until the so-called ‘quickening’.” 

Webster made two statements confessing to her crime. In the first one, she tried to implicate the father of her child, as he was responsible for leading her into a life of crime. But the night before she was due to be executed, she recanted her statement and cleared his name, along with John Church and Strong, and gave her final and proper confession. Webster was hanged at 9AM on July 29th, at Wandsworth prison.

[lboogie1906]

Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (September 10, 1949 – August 20, 2008) was a politician who served as the Representative for Ohio’s 11th congressional district (1999-2008). A member of the Democratic Party, her district encompassed most of Downtown and Eastern Cleveland and many of the eastern suburbs in Cuyahoga County, including Euclid, Cleveland Heights, and Shaker Heights. She was the first African American woman to be elected to Congress from Ohio.

On December 19, 2006, she was named Chairwoman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for the 110th Congress. She was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

She was born in Cleveland, the daughter of Mary, a factory worker and cook, and Andrew Tubbs, an airline skycap. She graduated from the city’s Collinwood High School. She earned an undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University, graduating with a BSW in Social Work from the Flora Stone Mather College. She earned a JD from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

She married Mervyn L. Jones. They were married for 27 years until his death. They had one son. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She was actively involved in the National Five Point Thrust Programs of her sorority, particularly Social Action and Political Awareness as an integral part of “Delta Days at the Nation’s Capital”. She was a Golden Life Member of the NAACP.

She was elected a judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court and served on the Court of Common Pleas of Cuyahoga County.

She served as the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor (1991-99) to take her seat in Congress. She served as a board member of Hawken School. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #deltasigmatheta

[svalleynow]

Lawsuit Filed Against Marion County Officials

Thomas Morgan speaking at the podium. He was removed by law enforcement. Marion County citizen Thomas Morgan has filed a lawsuit against county officials, claiming they violated his civil rights by removing him from county commission meetings. The lawsuit says that at the January 22 meeting, Chairwoman Linda Mason opened the floor to the attendees for public comment but noted that the comments…

[alaturkanews]

In Nevada, Rosen Skips Convention but Hopes to Benefit From Harris’s Rise

In sprawling Washoe County, the area stretching from Lake Tahoe to the Oregon border that is widely considered the most politically competitive in Nevada, a surge of enthusiasm in recent weeks has given Democrats hope that Senator Jacky Rosen, one of the party’s most vulnerable incumbents, can pull off a re-election victory. “The energy is incredible right now,” Carissa Snedeker, the chairwoman…

[epacer]

Politics 

Supervisors Deadlock on Proposal to Take Aim at Social Media Platforms

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday deadlocked on advancing a proposal aimed at protecting young people from being victims of the “addictive algorithms” of social media, with the board voting 2-2.

On July 8, Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer announced the proposal, directing the county’s legal team to explore filing and/or joining litigation against social media platforms for “their failure to protect youth mental health,” Lawson-Remer said in a statement at the time.

In addition, the proposal called for a resolution to support the U.S. surgeon general’s effort to put warning labels on social media platforms.

On Tuesday, Lawson-Remer and colleague Monica Montgomery Steppe voted in favor, while their colleagues Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond were opposed.

Chairwoman Nora Vargas was absent from the meeting due to personal reasons, according to her office.

Last week, Lawson-Remer said children “are being harmed by social media. It is affecting their mental and emotional well-being.”

“These platforms have knowingly developed addictive algorithms akin to the opioids manufactured by pharmaceutical companies. I want our county to legally intervene and throw our support behind the U.S. surgeon general’s recommendations,” she added.

Last year, Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy warned that social media are “contributing to our nation’s youth mental health crisis.”

The American Psychological Association followed suit, linking social media use to reduced well-being and mood disorders — chiefly depression and anxiety — among people between the ages of 10 and 25.

The APA reported that U.S. teens spend an average of five hours every day using the seven most popular social media apps, with Instagram, TikTok and YouTube accounting for 87% of their social media time.

According to Lawson-Remer’s office, “Youth are now exposed daily to strategically designed social media algorithms and features that capitalize on their vulnerabilities to drive engagement.”

In a statement after the Tuesday vote, Lawson-Remer said she would bring back the proposal for a board vote in August.

She added that seeking out legal options would allow the county “to hold opportunistic social media companies accountable and push them to change the way they do business.”

During the Tuesday meeting, Lawson-Remer said social media is a tool for sharing information and entertainment, but can be harmful without guardrails.

Citing different studies, Anderson wanted Lawson-Remer’s proposal to include a report on how marijuana use affects young people’s mental health.

Anderson said that, in his district, more young people are impacted by marijuana use than by social media.

He added that, according to the state Department of Health, there were almost 65,000 cannabis-related emergency visits from those aged 15 to 30 in 2022.

Lawson-Remer said that while she appreciated the spirit of Anderson’s request, the core of her proposal involved possible legal options against social media companies. She also told Anderson that his proposal could be discussed at a future meeting.

Desmond said while he understood why Lawson-Remer introduced the proposal, he wasn’t sure a lawsuit was the best way to deal with how social media affects young people.

Instead of more regulation, Desmond proposed an educational program for children and their parents.

“Where does government end and parenting start?” Desmond asked, suggesting that parents can be given tools, such as blocking certain sites on phones or being alerted to a child’s use.

During a public comment period, supervisors heard from two young people and an LGBTQ activist in support of Lawson-Remer’s proposal.

A high school student said that, at first, social media allowed him to stay in touch with his family, but it kept him “disconnected as ever” and capitalized on vulnerabilities.

A woman calling herself “Oliver Twist” said she opposed any social media policy, as government should be limited.

While social media are a problem, she noted that a Metropolitan Transit System poster encouraged youth ridership by asking young people to post pictures on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. *Reposte3d article from The Times of SD by Elizabeth Ireland on July 16, 2024

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Oklahoma county GOP chair arrested in alleged murder-kidnap plot - Alternet.org