DL Open Thread: Saturday, July 9, 2022
Yes, Vince McMahon Is A Total Slimeball. He’s like Trump, he skates on everything. Not sure about this, though:
Vince McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) longtime leader, allegedly paid out millions in hush money to a former female wrestler with whom he had a coercive sexual relationship and who was allegedly not brought back to WWE after spurning further sexual advances from the executive, according to a report published Friday in the Wall Street Journal.
McMahon allegedly paid out $7.5 million to the former wrestler, who claimed that McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex, demoted her and then decided not to renew her contract in 2005 after she resisted further sexual encounters with him, per the Journal report. The wrestler and her lawyer reportedly negotiated a non-disclosure agreement with McMahon in 2018.
The Journal report details a total of $12 million allegedly paid out to four women over the last 16 years to quiet allegations of the 76-year-old McMahon’s sexual misconduct.
Musk Walks Away From Twitter Deal. Leaving carnage in his wake:
Ives warned that Musk’s bid to walk away may make the company appear to be “damaged goods” in the eyes of other investors or potential acquirers. Twitter shares were down nearly 6% in after hours trading on Friday. Wedbush Securities projects the stock could sink to between $25 and $30 when the market reopens Monday, down more than 30 percent from where it closed Friday afternoon before Musk’s filing.
If it falls any more, perhaps Trump can buy it…
Headline Of The Day: An Indignant Brett Kavanaugh Is Forced By Protesters To Skip Dessert At Morton’s.
Which reminds me:
Evangelicals Lobbied Justices On Roe v Wade. Turns out the justices are just like legislators who grab a dinner on Bobby Byrd’s dime. I did not know that:
The former leader of a religious right organization said he recruited and coached wealthy volunteers including a prominent Dayton, Ohio, evangelical couple to wine, dine and entertain conservative Supreme Court justices while pushing conservative positionson abortion, homosexuality, gun restrictions and other issues.
Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister who headed the Faith and Action group headquartered near the Supreme Court from 1995 to 2018, said he arranged over the years for about 20 couples to fly to Washington to visit with and entertain Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and the late Antonin Scalia.
The previously undisclosed initiative by Faith and Action illustrates the extent to which some Supreme Court justices interacted with advocates for the religious right during a period when the court grappled with social issues such as abortion and gay rights. The calculated nature of Faith and Action’s efforts shows how outside actors can use social activities and expensive dinners to penetrate the court’s highly sealed environment.
Thomas and Alito did not respond to requests for comment through the Supreme Court. Efforts to reach the family of Scalia, who died in 2016, were unsuccessful.
Thomas and Alito unavailable for comment? Perhaps they know where Speaker Pete is.
What do you want to talk about?
