Tracker

Trump just blew up his ally’s own defense of firing a key watchdog Written by Cody Fenwick May 18, 2020 203 Republicans have been struggling to defend President Donald Trump’s crusade against administration inspectors general, a tactic to shut down independent scrutiny that the GOP undoubtedly would have decried under a Democratic White House. And on Monday, Trump admitted that he knew nothing of the reasoning behind his latest firing, completely blowing up the defense given just the day before by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

White House doctor releases bizarre note on Trump and hydroxychloroquine that leaves out a key detail Written by David Badash / The New Civil Rights Movement May 19, 2020 34 Once again, the Trump White House is releasing very creatively-crafted information surrounding the president’s health. On Monday, after President Donald Trump claimed he is taking the anti-malaria drug he touted for weeks as a cure for coronavirus, hydroxychloroquine, the White House has released a letter that appears to try to suggest the president wasn’t lying and that he is taking the dangerous drug. But the letter, from Physician to the President Sean P. Conley, does not actually say Trump is taking the drug.

Trump has lied about pretty much everything, so why would anyone believe this baloney about him taking the drug? It would also be difficult to make Trump more paranoid than he is already.

‘It’s just cuckoo’: Brian Kemp apologizes after state Health Department chart wrongly shows downward trend in COVID-19 infections. Written by Alex Henderson May 1eorgia Gov. Brian Kemp has been widely criticized by health experts for prematurely reopening non-essential businesses in his state, and even President Donald Trump — who has been calling for states to ease coronavirus-related restrictions sooner rather than later — asserted that Kemp was moving too quickly. Now, more criticism is coming Kemp’s way over reports that the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website showed a decrease in new coronavirus infections in parts of the state where no such decreases were occurring. https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/its-just-cuckoo-brian-kemp-apologizes-after-state-health-department-chart-wrongly-shows-downward-trend-in-covid-19-infections/

Fired State Department IG was also investigating Trump’s Saudi arms sales: report Department of StateWritten by Alex Henderson May 18, 2020 President Donald Trump has been widely criticized — even by some of his Republican supporters — for being so adamantly supportive of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite his role in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018. And a report by NBC News’ Josh Lederman could reopen that old wound: Lederman is reporting that Former State Department Inspector General Steve Linick, who Trump abruptly fired last week, had launched an investigation of arms sales to the Saudi government. Monday morning on Twitter, Lederman posted, “JUST IN – 2 sources confirm to me that State Dept IG Linick was also investigating use of emergency declaration last year to sell arms to Saudis over objections of Congress.” https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/fired-state-department-ig-was-also-investigating-trumps-saudi-arms-sales-report/

Veterans Affairs says it intends to ‘preserve’ swastikas in US cemeteries Written by Roger Sollenberger / Salon May 18, 2020 The Department of Veterans Affairs is taking heat from Congress after rejecting a civil rights group’s request to remove headstones engraved with Nazi iconography from the national cemetery at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas — as originally reported by Salon — opting instead to “continue to preserve” the markers. https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/veterans-affairs-says-it-intends-to-preserve-swastikas-in-us-cemeteries/

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pentagon-contractors-report-on-wuhan-lab-origins-of-coronavirus-is-bogus A shocking report suggesting that the coronavirus was “release[d from] the Wuhan Institute of Virology” in China is now circulating in U.S. military and intelligence circles and on Capitol Hill. But there’s a critical flaw in the report, a Daily Beast analysis reveals: Some of its most seemingly persuasive evidence is false—provably false.

Well, if you consider that they are coming from the same source that said that the kidney has a special place in the heart, it all falls together.

Eric has inherited his (alleged) father's stupidity. The phrase is "all of a sudden" not "all of the sudden".

A prime candidate for the stupidest thing ever said: recently I saw an older video clip with Trump saying that the kidney was an important part of the heart. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2019/jul/11/the-kidney-has-a-very-special-place-in-the-heart-says-donald-trump-video

And you might notice that she's not around any more.....

That would never fly- Klingons get frisky only every few years and Trip would probably not hang around waiting for that. And when she experienced pon farr, it would likely kill him anyways.

Sorry to disillusion you, but the shortest time a vaccine has been able to be brought out through research and all three levels of testing has been three years. Moreover, a vaccine may not even be possible- AIDS for example, was never able to have a vaccine developed, but a treatment regimen using a combination of drugs was developed. It may even become a resident virus, appearing from time to time.

There are some broad similarities that can be used to assess at first report whether or not the allegation is likely to be credible: these predators are clever and experienced enough to choose the time, place and victim- they will choose a time without witnesses in the immediate vicinity, in a secluded spot without surveillance, and most will pick a victim who is not likely to report; and as soon as one victim comes forward, there is almost inevitably a cascade of other victims- as happened with Nygard, Trump, Buchanon and others.

PBS finds no support for Tara Reade’s accusations It’s interesting to see how thorough the PBS NewsHour reporters were in trying to assess Tara Reade’s allegations against Joe Biden. They identified and “tried to contact nearly 200 former staffers.” They ultimately interviewed 74 people, including 62 women, who worked for Biden over the years. Some were mere interns, others system administrators, and some were senior aides. Their experience spanned from his first run for Senate in 1972 all the way to his time as vice-president. Twenty of them worked for Biden in the early 1990s, at the same time as Reade. No one corroborated her primary accusation or offered anything that could reasonably be described as supporting information.

Lock Her Up!: It’s not just a chant at Trump’s rallies or lame wordplay in his tweets — it’s his call to fascist rule Another fascist dictator who made use of extrajudicial imprisonment of political enemies was Adolf Hitler. He didn’t bother with leading “Lock her up” chants at his rallies. He just locked up his political opponents and racial and ethnic and religious enemies in concentration camps where they were executed or perished from disease and starvation. His followers rewarded him at political rallies by chanting “Heil Hitler.” It was the all-purpose approbation of Hitler’s leadership of Nazi Germany, a mass public endorsement of everything he did, including locking up his political opponents. That’s what “Lock her up” has become for Trump. https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/its-not-just-a-chant-at-trumps-rallies-or-lame-wordplay-in-his-tweets-its-his-call-to-fascist-rule/

As a alternate, on 1290 radio yesterday, it was reported that every week that the NFL misses a game, it costs 48 million dollars, so you can bet they will be up and running as soon as humanly possible.

I'm betting (figuratively) on a Labour Day start for the season.

And the worst is yet to come. Trump and his crew have been shown by the craven GOP that they can do as they please without any consequences, so there is no reason to even pretend to follow the law or ethical standards.

Trump baffles everyone by announcing a ‘super-duper missile’ — and no one knows what he meant Written by Eoin Higgins / Common Dreams May 15, 2020 749 President Donald Trump on Friday afternoon said the U.S. military is developing a “super-duper missile” that can go 17 times faster than any existing rocket, earning him ridicule from critics. “We have, I call it, the super-duper missile,” said Trump. “And I heard the other night—17 times faster than what they have right now, when you take the fastest missile we have right now.” (Trump invents another squirrel to point at for his followers.) https://www.alternet.org/2020/05/trump-baffles-everyone-by-announcing-a-super-duper-missile-and-no-one-knows-what-he-meant/

Two factors cast doubt on Ms. Reade's allegations: firstly, she claimed that Biden attacked her in an alcove down a certain hallway, and reporters walked that hallway and found nothing that resembled her description- only a well-lit busy hall that is often patrolled by police. Secondly, despite all the furor, no other women have come forward, and all the women who worked where Biden did were interviewed. None reported any inappropriate contacts. Worse, Ms. Reade's case has been used to disqualify or trivialize much more credible reports by women.

Tara Reade’s rape allegation against Joe Biden must be taken seriously. New details suggest it just isn’t credible Written by Joshua Holland May 15, 2020 645 Tara Reade’s claim that former Vice President Joe Biden raped her in 1993 is difficult for the left in large part because her original claim–that he rubbed her shoulders, made her uncomfortable and that his staff then retaliated against her for complaining about it–is credible. I believe that Biden behaved inappropriately toward Reade but I don’t think her rape charge is at all credible. There are two interrelated reasons why.