US Politics

[Mark F]

quote of the day

sandyh tpm

"Republicans couldn’t be happy even if The Rapture took them straight to heaven. They’d go right to work complaining and ruining it for those already resting there in peace."

😂

[Mark F]

to be part of trump inner circle, have to be dumb and proud of it,  in public.

lara trump

“I think that we have all felt like, ‘Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a platform available that would allow us to say what we want?'” she said. 

She went on to say that her father-in-law is taking the new platform “really seriously” and “wants a space where everyone can feel welcome, where people don’t feel like, you know, the fact checkers are going to be all over them.”

“…even though these things are factual, oftentimes, that the fact checkers get on,” she added."

 

oi vey.😩

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by Mark F

[Tracker]

Trump officials bragged about blocking scientists from accurately reporting on COVID-19
   
It's not certain that Donald Trump did everything wrong when it comes to handling COVID-19, but he certainly tried. Not only did Trump promote false cures and downplay effective strategies, he deliberately avoided creating a national testing plan because he thought this would lead to a greater number of deaths in Democratically controlled states. That action alone meets the U.N. definition for genocide, and researchers have set the number of unnecessary deaths in the U.S. at 400,000.

But Trump didn't do it alone. At every step, he had the assistance of Republicans inside and outside the White House who worked with Trump downplay the threat, misdirect public concerns, and mock serious efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19. That included not just sidelining serious officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci and inserting unqualified Trump supporters like Scott Atlas, but forcing officials within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies to either suppress information or alter statements.

A year later the House select subcommittee on the pandemic and its handling is finally getting a look at some of those internal calculations and decisions. The Washington Post has acquired copies of documents before that committee showing Trump officials pressured agencies and scientists to change their reporting to the public. Then those officials celebrated the fact that the nation had been duped.

In particular, the emails between former Health and Human Services (HHS) Public Affairs Chief Michael Caputo and former Science Adviser Paul Alexander show these officials working to force the CDC to make changes in reports on how COVID-19 spread. Then they celebrated their victory with a "yippee." Alexander also managed to make changes in the "sacrosanct" Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR) to tone down the apparent damage done by COVID-19.

Even then, the changes to some reports—in particular one about how the disease was spread among young people—weren't enough to make Alexander and Caputo happy. So they worked with Atlas to create op-eds to "preempt the story" and promote the idea that schools could be opened safely. That included a fishing expedition in which they sought to throw out unfounded numbers about how closing schools was causing more death than it was preventing.

Trump officials bragged about blocking scientists from accurately reporting on COVID-19 - Alternet.org

Minnesota police shoot and kill Daunte Wright, 20, after traffic stop involving air fresheners
   
Another Black man was shot and killed by police on Sunday during what should have been a minor interaction, or one that shouldn't have happened at all. What makes it especially horrifying, beyond the needless loss of life at the hands of the state, is that 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just miles from where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for murder in the killing of George Floyd less than a year ago.

As a picture of the problem of police violence toward Black people in the United States of America, 2021, "Black man shot and killed at questionable traffic stop 10 miles from the trial of a police officer for killing another Black man during an arrest for a minor alleged offense" says a lot.

Daunte Wright was apparently pulled over for an air freshener blocking his rearview window, though his father notes that his car had tinted windows, so it's surprising police could see that much. In either case, as the ACLU of Minnesota tweeted, "We have concerns that police appear to have used dangling air fresheners as an excuse for making a pretextual stop, something police do too often to target Black people."

After Wright was pulled over, police found he had an outstanding warrant and tried to arrest him. Wright tried to get back in his car and police shot him. He then drove for several blocks before the car crashed and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Minnesota police shoot and kill Daunte Wright, 20, after traffic stop involving air fresheners - Alternet.org

[Tracker]

Now MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell claims he hired "investigators" to look into Fox News

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, one of Fox News' largest advertisers, announced on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast on Friday that he has hired a team of "private investigators" to dig into Fox News over the burning issue of why the conservative channel won't let him appear on-air to tout groundless election conspiracy theories. 

"I don't remember seeing you on Fox recently. Why are the Murdochs afraid of Dominion?" Bannon began, referring to Dominion Voting Systems, which has filed a massive defamation suit against Lindell, Fox News and various of the network's prominent hosts. "Why is Mike Lindell not on Fox, and why do they seem to say, 'Hey, when Dominion says something, we're just gonna shut up about it and talk about Biden's tax bill'?"

Lindell responded by telling Bannon he has hired private investigators to look into everything from Facebook to Fox News, although the scope of the supposed investigation seemed amorphous. "You know, I'm gonna have those answers soon cause I've hired private investigators, and I've spent a lot of money on them to investigate everything. Why are the bots and trolls, who's behind them? Why is Facebook involved, Wikipedia involved?" Lindell asked. "And then the big question: Why isn't Fox having people on? Why isn't Fox on there talking about Dominion and Smartmatic and the election fraud?"

Now MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell claims he hired "investigators" to look into Fox News | Salon.com

[Tracker]

Ex-Australian PM: Murdoch and Trump Did Putin’s Job For Him

Australia’s ex-prime minister, Malcom Turnbull, has long accused Rupert Murdoch of bringing his prime ministership down—and, at a parliamentary hearing on Monday, it was very clear that he’s out for revenge.

Turnbull, a former journalist who has known Murdoch for over four decades, delivered a furious takedown of one of his country’s most notorious sons during Monday’s evidence session. He accused Murdoch of doing more to divide America than Vladimir Putin, and blamed his media empire for causing the presidency of Donald Trump as well as the Capitol riot that marked the disgraceful climax of his time in power.

“What does Vladimir Putin want to do with his operations in America? He wants to divide America and turn Americans against each other,” said the ex-prime minister, who first met Murdoch in 1974. “That is exactly what Murdoch has done: divided Americans against each other and so undermined their faith in political institutions that a mob of thousands of people, many of them armed, stormed the Capitol.”

Strong words from Malcolm Turnbull about Murdoch's attacks on Australian Muslims.

He says Murdoch is "essentially doing the work of the terrorists" by reinforcing their message that Muslims aren't accepted in our society. 
The former Australian PM was invited to give evidence to the inquiry that was launched after a petition calling for a probe into Murdoch’s media empire was signed by half a million Australians. Turnbull is the second former prime minister to rip into Murdoch in front of the inquiry.

 

[do or die]

GOP Senate campaign arm awards Trump as he rails against McConnell
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/547661-gop-senate-campaign-arm-gives-trump-new-award-as-he-rails-against-mcconnell

The "citation" with this fake award is something else.....

[Mark F]

2 hours ago, Tracker said:

It's not certain that Donald Trump did everything wrong when it comes to handling COVID-19, but he certainly tried.

all the while using the best treatments available, and getting vaccinated.

ie he had full knowledge of what he was doing.

mass murder.

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by Mark F

[Tracker]

5 hours ago, Tracker said:

Trump officials bragged about blocking scientists from accurately reporting on COVID-19
   
It's not certain that Donald Trump did everything wrong when it comes to handling COVID-19, but he certainly tried. Not only did Trump promote false cures and downplay effective strategies, he deliberately avoided creating a national testing plan because he thought this would lead to a greater number of deaths in Democratically controlled states. That action alone meets the U.N. definition for genocide, and researchers have set the number of unnecessary deaths in the U.S. at 400,000.

But Trump didn't do it alone. At every step, he had the assistance of Republicans inside and outside the White House who worked with Trump downplay the threat, misdirect public concerns, and mock serious efforts to halt the spread of COVID-19. That included not just sidelining serious officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci and inserting unqualified Trump supporters like Scott Atlas, but forcing officials within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies to either suppress information or alter statements.

A year later the House select subcommittee on the pandemic and its handling is finally getting a look at some of those internal calculations and decisions. The Washington Post has acquired copies of documents before that committee showing Trump officials pressured agencies and scientists to change their reporting to the public. Then those officials celebrated the fact that the nation had been duped.

In particular, the emails between former Health and Human Services (HHS) Public Affairs Chief Michael Caputo and former Science Adviser Paul Alexander show these officials working to force the CDC to make changes in reports on how COVID-19 spread. Then they celebrated their victory with a "yippee." Alexander also managed to make changes in the "sacrosanct" Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWR) to tone down the apparent damage done by COVID-19.

Even then, the changes to some reports—in particular one about how the disease was spread among young people—weren't enough to make Alexander and Caputo happy. So they worked with Atlas to create op-eds to "preempt the story" and promote the idea that schools could be opened safely. That included a fishing expedition in which they sought to throw out unfounded numbers about how closing schools was causing more death than it was preventing.

Trump officials bragged about blocking scientists from accurately reporting on COVID-19 - Alternet.org

Minnesota police shoot and kill Daunte Wright, 20, after traffic stop involving air fresheners
   
Another Black man was shot and killed by police on Sunday during what should have been a minor interaction, or one that shouldn't have happened at all. What makes it especially horrifying, beyond the needless loss of life at the hands of the state, is that 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just miles from where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for murder in the killing of George Floyd less than a year ago.

As a picture of the problem of police violence toward Black people in the United States of America, 2021, "Black man shot and killed at questionable traffic stop 10 miles from the trial of a police officer for killing another Black man during an arrest for a minor alleged offense" says a lot.

Daunte Wright was apparently pulled over for an air freshener blocking his rearview window, though his father notes that his car had tinted windows, so it's surprising police could see that much. In either case, as the ACLU of Minnesota tweeted, "We have concerns that police appear to have used dangling air fresheners as an excuse for making a pretextual stop, something police do too often to target Black people."

After Wright was pulled over, police found he had an outstanding warrant and tried to arrest him. Wright tried to get back in his car and police shot him. He then drove for several blocks before the car crashed and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Minnesota police shoot and kill Daunte Wright, 20, after traffic stop involving air fresheners - Alternet.org

'Accidental discharge': Minnesota police chief offers defense of cop who killed Daunte Wright as department releases bodycam footage
   
A Minnesota police chief says the officer who shot and killed 20-year old Daunte Wright following a traffic stop allegedly for expired plates thought she was pulling out and firing her Taser, not her handgun.

"I'm believing it to be an accidental discharge," Brooklyn Center, MN Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters Monday, after Sunday's shooting. "It is my belief that the officer had the intention to employ their taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet."

[Mark F]

2 hours ago, Tracker said:

A Minnesota police chief says the officer who shot and killed 20-year old Daunte Wright following a traffic stop allegedly for expired plates thought she was pulling out and firing her Taser, not her handgun.

lol, so  not a murderer, just completely incompetent.

when are american cities going to get tired of paying out multi millions for these killings?

floyd..... 27 million.

"

"A female officer can be heard yelling, “Taser! Taser! Taser!,” before discharging her weapon as Wright drives away.

The officer can then be heard saying, “Oh, ****, I just shot him,” 

Edited April 12, 2021 by Mark F

[Tracker]

3 hours ago, Mark F said:

lol, so  not a murderer, just completely incompetent.

when are american cities going to get tired of paying out multi millions for these killings?

floyd..... 27 million.

"

"A female officer can be heard yelling, “Taser! Taser! Taser!,” before discharging her weapon as Wright drives away.

The officer can then be heard saying, “Oh, ****, I just shot him,” 

I have long thought that these horrible, inexcusable events along with the massive payouts to victims and victims' families would go way down if the payouts came out of the police pension funds.

[Tracker]

 

 

                                   

[TrueBlue4ever]

Should probably move these last few posts to the BLM thread. 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

14 hours ago, Tracker said:

Ex-Australian PM: Murdoch and Trump Did Putin’s Job For Him

Australia’s ex-prime minister, Malcom Turnbull, has long accused Rupert Murdoch of bringing his prime ministership down—and, at a parliamentary hearing on Monday, it was very clear that he’s out for revenge.

Turnbull, a former journalist who has known Murdoch for over four decades, delivered a furious takedown of one of his country’s most notorious sons during Monday’s evidence session. He accused Murdoch of doing more to divide America than Vladimir Putin, and blamed his media empire for causing the presidency of Donald Trump as well as the Capitol riot that marked the disgraceful climax of his time in power.

“What does Vladimir Putin want to do with his operations in America? He wants to divide America and turn Americans against each other,” said the ex-prime minister, who first met Murdoch in 1974. “That is exactly what Murdoch has done: divided Americans against each other and so undermined their faith in political institutions that a mob of thousands of people, many of them armed, stormed the Capitol.”

Strong words from Malcolm Turnbull about Murdoch's attacks on Australian Muslims.

He says Murdoch is "essentially doing the work of the terrorists" by reinforcing their message that Muslims aren't accepted in our society. 
The former Australian PM was invited to give evidence to the inquiry that was launched after a petition calling for a probe into Murdoch’s media empire was signed by half a million Australians. Turnbull is the second former prime minister to rip into Murdoch in front of the inquiry.

 

Ever wondered why fox seems impervious to boycotts and the threat of advertisers pulling out?

For example, a few nights ago he put out nazi "replacement theory" into the mainstream media and made his case for it. a few advertisers threatened to pull out and some did.... yet tonight, ****** carlson doubles down:

 

So why are these people over at fox immune to boycotts and advertisers pulling out? Basically their main source of income is the inflated price the make from cable companies' channel bundling. Here is a thread that explains it all:

 

[Tracker]

Indicted Matt Gaetz Pal Paid Former Teen’s Legal Fees While Under Investigation: Politico

The indicted ex-tax collector friend of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) paid for a lawyer for the underage teenager at the heart of sex trafficking charges against him, according to a bombshell WhatsApp chat obtained by Politico.

Politico reported that Joel Greenberg was in a “panic” just days before the federal indictment on 33 different charges including identity theft, financial crimes and sex trafficking.

In a chat with a friend who later discussed the messages with Politico, the former Seminole County tax collector referred to the unidentified young woman as “Vintage 99,” a name with her birth year that she reportedly used online.

“I’m having to pay for vintage 99 to retain [a] lawyer,” Greenberg wrote in the chat, saying federal agents “contacted her and are wanting her to talk,” Politico reported. “She doesn’t want to talk to them,” he added. 

Indicted Matt Gaetz Pal Paid Former Teen's Legal Fees While Under Investigation: Politico | HuffPost

[Mark F]

why do so many of these "men" like sex with children?

and why do they pass around photos of their prostitutes, and when did having to pay for sex become somthing to be proud of.

bunch of complete losers.

[bustamente]

When you watch and listen to Biden you realize what an A hole and POS that Trump was and is

[Mark F]

clear evidence of seriousness of the attempted insurrection jan 6. 

 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/feds-share-surveillance-still-they-say-shows-oath-keeper-retrieving-stashed-weapons

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

3 hours ago, bustamente said:

When you watch and listen to Biden you realize what an A hole and POS that Trump was and is

Really? Cuz when I watch and listen to trump, I realize what an ******* and piece of melting dogshit he is.

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

A little more about ****** crlson's embrace of the "great replacement theory"

 

[JCon]

Drip by drip, the alt-right are normalizing neo-nazi language and ideology in the US. Drip by drip. 

[Wanna-B-Fanboy]

A pretty eye opening article on how the GQP is moving past popular vote and the electoral college system to preserve minority rule... 

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by wanna-b-fanboy

[do or die]

1 hour ago, JCon said:

Drip by drip, the alt-right are normalizing neo-nazi language and ideology in the US. Drip by drip. 

Yup, just another veil for flat out bigotry.   Stuff like the "great replacement theory"  is simply an extension of the so-called need to protect and hold power for "victimized" white people.

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, JCon said:

Drip by drip, the alt-right are normalizing neo-nazi language and ideology in the US. Drip by drip. 

I'm afraid America is already there.

[Tracker]

Fox News hosts accused of conspiring behind the scenes with Trump attorneys as network faces lawsuit. "The Fox anchors decided to join forces with Giuliani and Powell to disseminate disinformation about Smartmatic"

Anew court filing argues that Fox News anchors cannot hide behind the First Amendment after helping former president Donald Trump and his allies spread election lies.

Voting technology company Smartmatic filed a 120-page motion asking a New York state court to reject the conservative network's attempt to dismiss a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit by claiming its coverage was protected speech, arguing those protections should not apply because anchors knew election fraud claims were untrue, reported Law & Crime.

"This is not a game. The First Amendment does not provide the Fox Defendants a Get Out Of Jail Free card," the motion argues. "The Fox Defendants do not get a do-over with their reporting now that they have been sued."

Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly accused Fox News anchors, including Maria Bartiromo, Jeannine Pirro and Lou Dobbs of inviting Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell onto their programs and asking questions intended to promote the former president's claims of election fraud.

"The Fox anchors were not innocent bystanders and the disinformation generated during their interviews was no accident," the motion claims. "Prior to the interviews, the Fox anchors decided to join forces with Giuliani and Powell to disseminate disinformation about Smartmatic. The Fox anchors knew what Giuliani and Powell would say on their shows, asked questions to elicit lies about Smartmatic, and endorsed Giuliani's and Powell's investigation. The Fox anchors added their own defamatory comments about Smartmatic for good measure. This was a scripted performance by the Fox anchors, Giuliani, and Powell to defame and disparage Smartmatic for personal gain."

Fox News hosts accused of conspiring behind the scenes with Trump attorneys as network faces lawsuit | Salon.com

[Tracker]

Capitol Police Were Ordered to Go Easy on MAGA Rioters, Says Report

-Reuters
One of the most frightening aspects of the Capitol riot was how easy it appeared to be for a right-wing mob to take over the building. Now, a new report from from the Capitol Police inspector general has helped to explain why that was the case. The report, obtained by The New York Times ahead of a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday, confirms that officers were specifically instructed by their leaders not to use their most effective tactics to hold off the pro-Trump hordes. Inspector General Michael A. Bolton writes that the agency’s Civil Disturbance Unit, which is trained to deal with big protests, was forbidden from using its most powerful tools to stem the riot. “Heavier, less-lethal weapons,” such as stun grenades, “were not used that day because of orders from leadership,” Bolton wrote. Officials who were on duty during the riot told the inspector general that, if such equipment was allowed, it could have helped cops “push back the rioters.”