;)
Wednesday
Jan252023
January 26, 2023
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
** Charlie Savage, et al., of the New York Times: "Egged on by [Donald] Trump, Attorney General William P. Barr set out in 2019 to dig into their shared theory that the Russia investigation likely stemmed from a conspiracy by intelligence or law enforcement agencies. To lead the inquiry, Mr. Barr turned to a hard-nosed prosecutor named John H. Durham, and later granted him special counsel status to carry on after Mr. Trump left office. But after almost four years -- far longer than the Russia investigation itself -- Mr. Durham-s work is coming to an end without uncovering anything like the deep state plot alleged by Mr. Trump and suspected by Mr. Barr.... Interviews by The Times with more than a dozen current and former officials have revealed an array of previously unreported episodes that show how the Durham inquiry became roiled by internal dissent and ethical disputes as it went unsuccessfully down one path after another even as Mr. Trump and Mr. Barr promoted a misleading narrative of its progress."
~~~ Marie: The main reason to appoint a special counsel is to keep the attorney general -- a political appointee -- at arms'-length from a politically-sensitive inquiry. But Barr ignored that. He constantly kept tabs on Durham's investigation, even traveling with Durham to Europe to try to dig up dirt on supposedly anti-Trump investigators. Barr also made false public statements claiming Durham's was finding all kinds of dirt on federal officials. At the same time, he withheld the fact that by the summer of 2020 -- i.e., during election season -- Durham had turned up nothing. Still, Barr pressed Durham to write a pre-election interim report implicating Hillary Clinton's campaign. But wait! There's more! During their European excursion, "Italian officials -- while denying any role in setting off the Russia investigation --; unexpectedly offered a potentially explosive tip linking Mr. Trump to certain suspected financial crimes (emphasis added). Mr. Barr and Mr. Durham decided that the tip was too serious and credible to ignore." So Barr told Durham to open a criminal investigation. "The extraordinary fact that Mr. Durham opened a criminal investigation that included scrutinizing Mr. Trump has remained secret." ~~~
~~~ P.S. Merrick, Dear, you need to appoint a special counsel to investigate the investigation of the investigators. At the very least, the DOJ inspector general must open a case. Barr is gone, out in the world slamming his old boss, and Durham is on the way out, but this corruption of the DOJ will happen again if you don't at least shame Hans & Fritz.
Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "The FBI and law enforcement in Europe have shut down a major ransomware operation accused of extorting more than $100 million from organizations across the world by encrypting victims' computer systems and demanding payments to provide a key to unlock them, top U.S. officials said Thursday. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the ransomware group -- called Hive -- attacked hospitals, school districts, financial firms and other entities, stealing and sometimes publishing their data."
Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Representative Adam B. Schiff, the California Democrat who emerged as one of ... Donald J. Trump's chief congressional tormentors from his perch atop the House Intelligence Committee, announced on Thursday that he would seek the Senate seat long held by Dianne Feinstein.... Mr. Schiff, 62, is the second member of California's Democratic congressional delegation to join the 2024 race, after Representative Katie Porter."
Tennessee. David Li of NBC News: "At least one former Memphis, Tennessee, police officer has been indicted in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols, his attorney said Thursday. Emmitt Martin III surrendered to authorities, the attorney, William Massey, told NBC News. Five officers in total -- Martin, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith -- were fired Friday after police Chief C.J. Davis said they violated department policies during the Jan. 7 traffic stop that led to Nichols' death." ~~~
~~~ Update: Rick Rojas of the New York Times: "Five fired Memphis police officers have been charged with murder following the death of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man who died following an encounter with officers that the city police chief described as 'heinous, reckless and inhumane.'" This is part of a liveblog.
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Officials across the country reported several Russian strikes, including in the capital and the regions of Vinnytsia and Odessa, with at least 11 deaths and 11 injuries as a result, according to the spokesman of the State Emergency Service, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi.... Russia launched '55 air and sea-based missiles' at Ukraine, said Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's armed forces commander, calling it a 'massive missile attack.' Ukraine's air force also said 24 Iranian-made drones were shot down."~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Democrats are seizing on a Republican proposal to impose a national sales tax and abolish the Internal Revenue Service as a cudgel against the GOP, even though the bill has few fans even among Republican lawmakers. The Fair Tax Act, sponsored by Rep. Earl L. 'Buddy' Carter (R-Ga.) and introduced this month, would do away with income, payroll, estate and gift taxes, and instead impose a 23 percent national sales tax. It would also eliminate funding for the IRS after fiscal 2027.... On Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) appeared to respond to a question about whether he supported the Fair Tax Act by telling reporters, simply, 'No.'... In a joint news conference Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) blasted the Fair Tax Act, saying it would result in dramatic tax hikes for almost every American, create a particular burden for seniors and 'detonate' Social Security."
My Kevin Says He's Found a Red Line. Andrew Solender of Axios: "House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday said Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) will be removed from Congress if the House Ethics Committee finds he broke the law.... It's the closest McCarthy has come to outlining potential consequences for the Long Island freshman amid a battery of investigations into revelations he fabricated huge swaths of his resume." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: In case you're relieved that Kevin has found the vestiges of his spine, think again. The Ethics Committee, unlike other House committees is equally divided. (I don't think this Congress's committee members have been named.) That means Republicans (or Democrats) on the committee can veto any measure the committee considers. So, let's say one or more of the entities finds that George Anthony has broken the law, an eventuality that seems likely. The Ethics Committee, at Republicans' behest, may still decide not to decide. And My Kevin will just have to support keeping George Anthony on his back bench. ~~~
~~~ In any event, it appears Kevin's day of reckoning with George Anthony may come sooner rather than later: ~~~
~~~ Soo Rin Kim of ABC News: "On Wednesday, several fundraising committees associated with [Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.] filed amendments to their statements of organizations, notifying the Federal Election Commission of a new treasurer. But the newly listed treasurer, Thomas Datwyler, a veteran campaign finance treasurer who has served on multiple other political organizations, says he does not work for the Santos campaign and that the filings were signed under his name without his consent.... Nancy Marks of Campaigns Unlimited, the previous treasurer listed for Santos' campaign committee as well as various other affiliated committees, did not respond to ABC News' requests for comment.... 'I'm not at all surprised that they're changing treasurers given that the campaign has legal exposure and Nancy Marks has legal exposure, and they're presumably all lawyering up," [former FEC counsel Adav] Noti said." Hardly surprisingly, Noti says that signing someone's name on a federal filing without his consent is "completely illegal."
Jonathan O'Connell, et al., of the Washington Post: detail how George Santos, alias George Devolder, tried to recruit investors in various Harbor City Capital schemes. Al "Conard, a 60-year-old real estate agent from Minnesota, said he lost $50,000 in Harbor City." Part of the con apparently was to make up stories about how he rubbed elbows with the rich and famous. One of George's marks described himself as being "pretty street-smart" and told the Post, "I think George is an honest and upright guy." He was gobsmacked when the Post reporter told him his long-time acquaintance George Devolder was George Santos. MB: So I'm guessing George Whoever can be quite a pleasant con man. You might like him if you met him.
Michael Corkery of the New York Times: "A judge in San Francisco ruled on Wednesday that footage of a home intruder's attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, could be released publicly over the objections of prosecutors. The decision was made in Superior Court by Judge Stephen M. Murphy, said Thomas R. Burke, a lawyer representing a group of news organizations, including The New York Times, that pushed for the evidence to be released.... The attack, which occurred on the cusp of the 2022 midterm elections, fueled wild rumors and misinformation on social media about the circumstances. In arguing to keep the footage secret, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office said publicizing the videos would only fuel more distortions of the facts and harm [the alleged assailant's] right to a fair trial. But Judge Murphy pointed out that the footage had already been aired at a preliminary court hearing last month...."
Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "Former transportation secretary Elaine Chao issued a rare public comment about former president Donald Trump -- whose Cabinet she served in -- and criticized his string of racist attacks aimed at her and other Asian Americans.... 'Does Coco Chow have anything to do with Joe Biden's Classified Documents being sent and stored in Chinatown?' Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday. 'Her husband, the Old Broken Crow, is VERY close to Biden, the Democrats, and, of course, China.' In a statement, Chao said, 'When I was young, some people deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name. Asian Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation. He doesn't seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans.'" ~~~
~~~ Meredith McGraw of Politico: Trump's "personal attacks on Chao have stood out above [his other attacks on her husband Mitch McConnell and her], both for their overt racism and the relatively little pushback they've received." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I didn't know what Trump meant when he complained that Biden's papers were "stored in Chinatown." But a search of Google turned up this Daily Mail scoop: "The documents were moved in the summer of 2017 after spending about six months at a government transition office near the White House once Biden left the vice presidency. The space, in DC's Chinatown neighborhood, was overseen by the Penn Biden Center while its prized location near the Capitol was being readied." I have no way to assess whether or not all or part of this is true.
How to Rig a Golf Tournament. Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post: Donald "Trump announced on his social media platform on Tuesday that he won the Senior Club Championship at Trump International Golf Club in unincorporated West Palm Beach last weekend, despite not playing the first round of the tournament. Members arrived the second day surprised to see Trump with a five-point lead, according to the Daily Mail. But Trump never played the first round as he was attending a funeral in North Carolina.... Trump told tournament organizers he played a strong round on the course Thursday, two days before the tournament started, and decided that would count as his Saturday score for the club championship. That score was five points better than any competitor posted during Saturday's first round." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I guess I'd find this less amusing if I were the real winner and had paid to play in a tournament in which the course's owner snatched the trophy out of my hands. Anyway, if you want to be sure to win a golf tournament, first buy yourself a golf course, then give yourself a winning score in a round you didn't play.
Sheera Frenkel & Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "Just over two years after Donald J. Trump's accounts were suspended from Facebook and Instagram, [link fixed] Meta, the owner of the platforms, said on Wednesday that it would reinstate the former president's access to the social media services. Mr. Trump, who had the most followed account on Facebook when he was barred, will 'in the coming weeks' regain access to his accounts that collectively had hundreds of millions of followers, Meta said. In November, Mr. Trump's account was also reinstated on Twitter, which had barred him since January 2021, collectively giving the former president more of a megaphone as he campaigns for the White House in 2024. Meta suspended Mr. Trump from its platforms on Jan. 7, 2021, the day after hundreds of people stormed the Capitol in his name, saying his posts ran the risk of inciting more violence." An NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Well, First Amendment. Fine. As if Mark Zuckerberg & Elon Musk were experts. I don't know how much it would help (I'm guessing not much), but it seems to me Congress should pass a law requiring that Facebook, Twitter, et al., carry warnings similar to those the FDA requires cigarette companies to slap on their packages & ads. Each pack or ad must contain one of 11 warnings like, "WARNING: Tobacco smoke can harm your children;" "WARNING: Tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers;" and "WARNING: Smoking causes head and neck cancer." Each warning must be accompanied by a "photo-realistic image depicting the negative health consequences of smoking..." Appropriate warnings should go at the top of every single social media entry. ~~~
~~~ Jordan Pearson of Vice: "Twitter has censored links to a BBC documentary critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the request of the Indian government, despite CEO Elon Musk's previously stated commitments to free speech on the platform.... Musk once called himself a 'free speech absolutist' and said that 'some governments' were demanding that satellite internet company Starlink block Russian news sources, but that it would not unless 'at gunpoint.'... Twitter's closeness with authoritarians has been called into question since the Musk takeover; Saudi Arabia remains the firm's second-largest shareholder, for example.
Margo Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: "A record 16.3 million Americans have signed up for health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces during this year's open enrollment period, beating last year's sign-ups by 13 percent, the Biden administration said on Wednesday. The growing enrollment follows the passage of legislation during the coronavirus pandemic to increase federal subsidies for people buying the plans -- substantially lowering prices for nearly every American who buys their own insurance. Around 3.6 million people selected plans in the Obamacare marketplaces who did not receive coverage through them last year."
Fodder for Miss Margie. Benjamin Mueller & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The National Institutes of Health made significant errors in its oversight of grants to a nonprofit group [EcoHealth] that has come under fire from congressional Republicans for its research collaborations in China, an internal federal watchdog agency said on Wednesday. The findings, outlined in a 64-page report describing missed deadlines, confusing protocols and misspent funds, reinforced concerns about the federal government's system for monitoring research with potentially risky pathogens." Dr. Anthony Fauci directed the NIH institute NIAID, which the report criticizes.
Beyond the Beltway
Mary Astor of the New York Times: "Over the past three years, Republican state lawmakers have put forward a barrage of bills to regulate the lives of transgender youths, restricting the sports teams they can play on, bathrooms they can use and medical care they can receive. But even by those standards, the start of the 2023 legislative season stands out for the aggressiveness with which lawmakers are pushing into new territory.... The flood of legislation is part of a long-term campaign by national groups that see transgender rights as an issue on which they can harness voter anger ... though the midterm elections provided little evidence of it.... The potential consequences for transgender people, for whom harassment and threats have become common and suicide rates are high, are profound." MB: These legislators are engaging in child abuse, and their motivation is personal gain.
Florida. Laura Rozsa of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing mounting backlash regarding his administration's decision to prohibit an Advanced Placement high school course on African American studies, with Black leaders rallying in the capital, a prominent civil rights lawyer threatening to sue and state lawmakers urging him to reverse the decision. Attorney Ben Crump accused DeSantis of violating the federal and state constitutions Wednesday by refusing to permit the course. His legal team noted that a federal judge found a 2010 law in Arizona that banned a Mexican American studies program from Tucson schools unconstitutional and officials 'motivated by racial animus.'"
Hawaii. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: Based on newly-discovered DNA evidence, a judge in Hawaii released Ian Schweitzer, who has served 23 years in jail for the rape and murder of a woman in 1991.
Illinois. Livia Albeck-Ripka of the New York Times: "A man accused of firebombing a Planned Parenthood clinic in Peoria, Ill., earlier this month told investigators that he had done so after recalling an abortion a former girlfriend once had against his wishes, adding that he hoped the fire would delay others in having abortions, according to federal authorities. The man, Tyler W. Massengill, 32, was arrested and charged this week with malicious use of fire and an explosive to damage, and attempt to damage, the Planned Parenthood building, the Justice Department said in a news release on Wednesday." A CBS News story, which covers Massengill's arrest, is here.
Louisiana. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "The Justice Department has found that Louisiana's longstanding practice of detaining more than a quarter of its inmates beyond their court-ordered release dates violates the Constitution. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections 'is deliberately indifferent to the systemic overdetention of people in its custody,' according to a copy of a report obtained by The New York Times on Wednesday.... Louisiana officials, who cooperated with federal investigators, are discussing a possible agreement with the Justice Department to overhaul the system. But the department ... concluded that the state has known about the problem for at least a decade and has done little to address it." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
South Carolina Gothic, Ctd. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs & Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: "A prosecutor painted a damning portrait on Wednesday of the evidence against Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina legal scion who has been charged with murdering his wife and son, saying in court that Mr. Murdaugh had texted and called his dead wife after committing the brutal killings and driven to his mother's house, all in an effort to build an alibi.But to Mr. Murdaugh's lawyer, Dick Harpootlian, the viciousness of the killings was just one of many reasons Mr. Murdaugh, 54, whom he described as a loving father and husband, could not be responsible.... Each side pulled back the curtain on a mountain of evidence that jurors will have to pick through as they weigh whether a man whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather all served as prosecutors should be sent to prison."
Virginia. Paul Bibeau & Sarah Mervosh of the New York Times: "In the hours before a 6-year-old boy shot his first-grade teacher in Virginia this month, school leaders were warned three times that the boy might have a gun, a lawyer for the teacher said on Wednesday, including an account from another child at the school who tearfully reported that the boy had shown him the gun at recess. The lawyer, Diane Toscano, announced the teacher's intent to file a lawsuit against the school district in Newport News, Va., laying out a series of escalating warnings that unfolded on the day of the shooting, when the police say a 6-year-old boy took his mother's gun from home, brought it to Richneck Elementary School and fired at his teacher, Abigail Zwerner." MB: If this is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, the school administration's negligence is inexcusable. (Also linked yesterday.)
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here.
Karen DeYoung, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will send 31 of its premier battle tanks to Ukraine, following agreement with Germany to deliver scores of its Leopard 2 tanks from across Europe. The decisions end months of debate among Western allies and pave the way for a major shift in the balance of power on the Ukrainian battlefield. President Biden said after morning calls with European leaders that the decisions belied Russian President Vladimir Putin's belief that the West would eventually tire of its commitment to Ukraine and 'break up' their coalition." Related story linked below. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
News Ledes
CNBC: "The U.S. economy finished 2022 in solid shape even as questions persist over whether growth will turn negative in the year ahead. Fourth-quarter gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and services produced for the October-to-December period, rose at a 2.9% annualized pace, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a reading of 2.8%." ~~~
~~~ New York Times: "The economy remained resilient last year in the face of inflation, war and a Federal Reserve intent on curbing the pace of growth.... U.S. gross domestic product, when adjusted for inflation, increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. That was down from 3.2 percent in the third quarter, but nonetheless a solid end to a topsy-turvy year in which the economy contracted in the first six months, prompting talk of a recession, only to rebound in the second half.... The recovery from the pandemic recession has slowed from the frenetic pace of 2021, but it has retained momentum thanks to a red-hot job market and trillions of dollars in pent-up savings that allowed Americans to weather rapidly rising prices."
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Reader Comments (7)
How ironic. The douche that firebombed the PP clinic is named Massengill.
Farther Along
Saw this bullshit the other day. So…golf tournament, two days. Fatty doesn’t bother to show up the first day, but the next day, somehow, even though he didn’t so much as hit a practice shot into the water, that Fat Fuck is at the top of the leaderboard.
How could this be? Oh, sez Fatty, I played a round the other day. Best round of golf in my life. So I win.
Duffers who cheat at golf (or at anything) must be in awe. This guy doesn’t just surreptitiously kick his ball out of the rough or “forget” to mark a few strokes on his scorecard. No. This fucking guy shows up, without even pulling on his putter and sez “I win!”
Let’s imagine that someone tried to pull this trick on Clownface von Fuckstick. Just show up and declare that he was five strokes ahead of everyone else and cheat his way to the win. Fuckface would call out the FBI and have the guy arrested and waterboarded.
Or let’s transfer this MO to other sports. World Series: “I hit seven home runs yesterday during batting practice, so they count in today’s game. We win.” NBA finals: “I shot 98% from the floor this morning in practice, scored 120 points by myself. Those points count tonight. We win.” Sound fair?
Of course, this cheating thing isn’t just restricted to golf, this asshole cheats at everything. He’d cheat at checkers with a blind guy. His company was just found guilty of cheating on taxes. HE cheats on taxes. He cheated on all his wives. He tried to cheat Joe Biden out of a fair and free election, thereby cheating millions of Americans out of their choice.
You know, when someone shows you who they are, repeatedly, believe them.
Which brings me to Facebook, Meta, whatever the hell it’s called now, maybe Kitarabook…they’re reinstating the Fat Fascist as a user in good standing. “Really?” some people ask. “How come? You booted him for lies, violent rhetoric, and inciting an insurrection!” “Oh, well, time has passed. I’m sure he’s fine now.”
No! He’s not! The BTK killer stopped serial killing for ten years, but he never stopped being a serial killer. He went right back to it first chance he got. Michael Dukakis lost a presidential election because Republicans made a big deal out of Willie Horton, a rapist and murderer who went right back to raping and murdering weeks after they let him out. “Oh” some might say, “But Trump is not a murderer, he’s not a rapist!”
He’s worse. He tried to overthrow the government of the United States and caused deaths and serious injuries. (As for not being a rapist, a court is getting ready to decide that right now.)
Has he suddenly “gotten better”? Has he shown remorse for, and renounced his former ways? No way in hell. If anything, he’s gotten worse, based on the unhinged ranting on Liar’s Social. But I’m sure Mark Zuckerberg called Neville Chamberlain Garland to ask him his opinion. Garland prob’ly told him to go right ahead, you know, in the interest of fairness to both sides.
There’s an old gospel song called “Farther Along”, it goes like this:
When death has come and taken our loved ones
Leaving our homes so lonely and drear
Then we do wonder why others prosper
Living as sinners, year after year
Farther along, we’ll know all about it, farther along we’ll understand why.
Sorry, I don’t have to wait. I know why.
Too bad so many others don’t.
Unwashed,
Well, he’s certainly a douche, that’s for sure.
Typical, though, in’it? Classic misogynistic patriarchal bullshit. “This bitch better do what I want, or else!” This was also the mindset of Bart O’Kavanaugh, another douche.
“She didn’t get my permission for deciding what’s best for her own life, so I’m gonna kill a few people. Gotta regain my lost manhood somehow.”
But this is exactly the sort of thing Republicans run on.
Back in the 30’s the Massengill company pushed a product called Elixir sulfanilamide. This crap killed over 100 people across the country. The company released a statement saying they could not be held responsible, even though they did no testing. When studies indicated that this stuff was poisonous, Massengill simply added raspberry flavoring to the formula and went right on selling it.
The FDA finally stepped in and banned it, leading to its increased oversight of products pushed on an unsuspecting American public. No doubt Republicans back then called this guv’mint overreach.
Today, Republicans are still hawking poison.
And they don’t even bother with the raspberry flavoring anymore.
According to Wickipedia there have been 45 mass shootings so far
this year. They describe a mass shooting as killing or injuring 4 or
more persons.
At this rate, we'll finish the year with 631 mass shootings. That's
probably a world record.
USA, USA, USA. We're the best at something.
And where are our politicians during all these killings? Not proposing
or doing anything about gun control, that's for sure.
They must be hiding under their desks in case there's an attack in
their building, like we did in school when we worried about nuclear
attacks. That worked 'cause I'm still here.
Hey, and not for nothin’, but just imagine what a waste it would have been to put Merrick Garland on the Supreme Court. “Gee…I dunno, maybe Justice Alito is right. After all, we had abortions for 50 years. Maybe it’s time the other side got their way. Gotta be fair, ya know.”
What's the legal exposure for Meta and Twitter after Trump incites more real world violence using their platforms? Shouldn't be able to pretend ignorance next time. I wouldn't mind seeing them sued out of existence when he tries to organize another coup using their platforms. Though Facebook is still around after helping organize a genocide so it's probably wishful thinking that they would suffer any consequences this time.
The Barr-Durham-Trump fishing expedition illuminates an existential element in right-wing/Republican ideological idiocy in the Age of Treason and Unreason: An answer in search of a question. Or rather a solution in search of a problem. The idea here is to begin with the result you desire and look for anything that might remotely bolster your pre-formulated notion.
So Trump-Russia: witch hunt fomented by evil deep state agents in service to commie Democrat Trump haters.
Zero proof.
Or Joe Biden, secret agent of the Chinese, helping his son Hunter screw real Americans.
Complete bullshit. Zero evidence.
Or government “weaponized” against conservatives.
Weaponization, for sure. But by traitors, Trump, Fox, Newsmax, NY Post, and the entire Party of Traitors against the rest of us.
Or Tony Fauci allied with Chinese virus makers to kill Americans and steal their freeeeedoms!
See, in the real world, investigations of any kind typically require some antecedent event or evidence. Scientists don’t say “Hey! Azerbaijanis have landed on Mars and are sending mind altering signals back to Earth! Let’s make up shit to prove it!” Or “Jewish space lasers, blah, blah, blah, and forget proof. It’s TRUE!”
Or how ‘bout this?
Trump toadies, Diamond and Silk, who achieved prominence by being black women siding with a racist asshole liar, have triggered a conniption fit on the right after the death of one of that duo. In November, when Diamond was hospitalized for high blood pressure and heart problems, wingers offered thoughts and prayers.
Then she died.
Of a heart condition, as the death certificate says?
Fuck no! She was killed by Joe Biden who “made” people get the coronavirus vaccine. Okay, you might be thinking, weren’t these ladies screaming anti-vaxxers? Didn’t they say “Vaccine, Never!!”?
Yes.
So how did someone who died of heart disease and never had the vaccine die of it?
EZ! At least in right wing world.
Here’s what Silk sez: even though she never had the vaccine, the Biden-Fauci vaccine killed her. How?
Vaccine shedding. Coming in contact with vaccinated people, Diamond “contracted” the death spores through “vaccine shedding”!! OM fucking G! And who ran up to bolster this claim?
MTG. Who demands “investigations” into “vaccine shedding”.
You see? Even if facts don’t support their lies, they make shit up to fit their preconceived ideas.
And to stretch this bullshit out even further, Silk doesn’t say this was an unfortunate outcome of a non-existent thing (shedding), she sez this was MURDER.
They don’t just want their lies to be true, they want those who tell the truth to be executed for murder.
The Republican Way.
But guess what? The MSM doesn’t describe this as the complete, unadulterated dog shit it is!!! Newsweek sez that these claims of shedding and murder cause “confusion”. Confusion? Do the flat earthers cause “confusion”? Do the Holocaust deniers? But, oh, let’s not be unkind to the fucking assholes, let’s say “there’s confusion”.
Fuck me.
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/diamond-silk-death-covid-vaccine/?amp
https://apnews.com/article/health-donald-trump-covid-heart-disease-02a4169cefd96576e76e49789ea1aa2e
https://www.newsweek.com/diamond-silk-death-remarks-covid-vaccine-confusion-1775680