https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1484133615361351682?s=20



https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1484565768645734400?s=20

smh

It’s not just Tucker Carlson. The right’s soft spot for Putin is also well documented.

The Fox News host is using his show to spread pro-Russia talking points. It’s worth remembering why so many American conservatives back the Kremlin.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson caused quite a stir online this week when he used his show to spread pro-Russia talking points. But his actions shouldn't really come as a surprise.

On Tuesday, Carlson railed against what he claimed were U.S. efforts to help Ukraine join NATO. Though President Joe Biden has said he's unwilling to close the door on a potential NATO membership for Ukraine, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded, Biden said Wednesday that it's "unlikely" Ukraine will join the alliance anytime soon. The issue has been a sticking point during ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and Russia.

In one of the show's most bizarre moments, Carlson dubiously compared Ukraine joining NATO to a hypothetical scenario in which China gained control over Mexico.




Carlson continued his pro-Russian attacks on NATO just days later.

It's understandable why this might not seem newsworthy. “Fox host backs authoritarian regime” isn't a headline that captivates like it once could. But to the extent it’s worth mentioning at all, it’s because Carlson’s Russia-friendly stance is emblematic of a trend among America’s white nationalists, their sympathizers and even the conservative movement broadly.

National security experts have warned about those dangerous connections for years now. In essence, many white nationalists and American conservatives feel a kinship with Russia that largely stems from a shared opposition to multiracial democracy. We can take their words and actions as proof.

Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke once called Russia, a majority white, Slavic country that frequently opposes the increasingly diverse European Union, the “key to white survival.” White supremacist leader Richard Spencer hailed Russia as the “sole white power in the world” in 2016. Republican approval of Putin grew stronger after Russia was seen by many as having helped Donald Trump win the 2020 presidential election (in part by targeting Black voters with propaganda, I should add). And several American white nationalists have reportedly attended multiple events sanctioned by Russian extremist groups.

For example, in 2015, prominent white nationalist Jared Taylor and KKK lawyer Sam Dickson attended an event organized by far-right Russian extremists. The event was also attended by the Russian Imperial Movement, a white supremacist group focused on building a global network of like-minded groups.

All of these instances show that where white nationalist and American conservative support for the Kremlin exists, it isn’t just born out of political convenience. It exists because these entities have similar beliefs about what kinds of people should be able to wield power.

And all of this, of course, is important background information for you to determine whether a Fox News host’s pro-Russia pandering is a sincere policy disagreement with the U.S. government or something far more sinister.


https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/tucker-carlson-russia-far-right-rcna12932

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1484723825606479872?s=20



https://twitter.com/SpiroAgnewGhost/status/1484704907001098243?s=20



https://twitter.com/TeaPainUSA/status/1484636822563139584?s=20

Somebody can tell Throw, who can't see twitter posts, about Tucker and Putin being pals. Just like Donnie and Putin were pals.

Dude is a tool.

This is rough. To all people who support the Trumpian wing of politics, this is the kind of stuff that you are giving way to on the extreme right. Stuff like this doesn’t happen, if you get called out by your own. Instead, they are emboldened. We’ve shown that it’s okay to be more and more childish, pedantic, immature, and quite frankly unfit to hold office and conduct oneself in a professional manner.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/rep-madison-cawthorn-polished-gun-111027200.html

Rep. Madison Cawthorn polished his gun during a Veterans' Affairs hearing, and attendees were reportedly furious

Madison Cawthorn polished a gun during a House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing, per the Daily Beast.

The hearing, which took place on Zoom, was attended by lawmakers and veterans.

Several attendees were infuriated by Cawthorn's gun-cleaning, the Daily Beast reports.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn polished his pistol for several minutes during a House Veterans' Affairs Committee virtual hearing on Wednesday, according to the Daily Beast.

While veterans and lawmakers discussed how toxic chemicals are killing US soldiers, the Daily Beast reported that the 26-year-old Republican was busy cleaning his gun on the Zoom call.


His polishing became visible to attendees during the testimony of an Afghanistan veteran, two people familiar with the hearing told the Daily Beast.

According to former 9/11 first responder John Feal, several attendees were furious with Cawthorn.

"It was immature. He's a child. He lacks common sense," said Feal, who was on the Zoom, per the Daily Beast. "I think the congressman was overcompensating for something that he lacks and feeling inadequate among the heroes on that call."

Another attendee, cofounder of Burn Pits 360 Rosie Lopez Torres, told the Daily Beast that while she did not notice that Cawthorn was cleaning his gun, it was evident that he seemed distracted.

When Lopez Torres saw a photo of what he had been doing, she told the media outlet that it showed a "total disregard and disrespect" to America's veterans.

Cawthorn appeared to be in his congressional office during the hearing, but his location was not confirmed.

Firearm possession is generally illegal in the District of Columbia, the Daily Beast said, but members of Congress are allowed to keep firearms in their offices.

Insider contacted Cawthorn's communications director Luke Ball for comment and to confirm where Cawthorn was during the hearing but did not immediately receive a response.

In a statement to the Daily Beast, Ball said: "What could possibly be more patriotic than guns and veterans?"

It isn't the first time Cawthorn and one of his guns have made the news.

Insider's Alia Shoaib reported that Cawthorn tried to board a plane while carrying an unloaded Glock 9mm handgun and a loaded magazine in his carry-on in February 2021. Cawthorn was not charged with a crime or fined.

Read the original article on Business Insider

you know whats crazy?

there's not many gun nuts in the military. the vast majority of people obsessed with guns seem to be civilians.

I don't think that's crazy at all. My best friend is a Marine (grunt) and hearing him talk about the range and stuff it sounds like guns are pretty much no fun (more of a chore).

I know a couple of vets that are gun nuts. But most vets won't be arguing for the right to tote an assault weapon to the grocery store because they understand that we are all American and the danger guns bring to any situation. Nobody wants to be a victim, but every idiot in the country toting a gun to the grocery store will not make you safer. Most vets get that.

Gretchen Carlson says Fox News has devolved into 'non-fact-based conspiracy theories'

Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson appeared Thursday on CNN’s Democracy in Peril, where she spoke about the current condition of her former network. Carlson first spoke about the power FNC opinion host Tucker Carlson seems to have over Republicans in Congress, some of whom have followed his lead and sided with authoritarian Russia in the growing conflict with Ukraine.

“This is the result of fake news,” Carlson said. “You know, we're seeing not only the fallout from fake news during the Trump era, but what happened with the insurrection on Jan. 6. Now it's moving into other areas. Not just news, now it’s hitting science with vaccines, and now it’s into Cold War politics.”

Carlson also addressed the fact that her former colleagues Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham sent texts to the White House during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol pleading for former President Trump to stop the violence, but went on air and spun a different narrative about the events of that day.

“I think the bigger story coming out of that is how disingenuous it was to be sending those texts of warning while then going on the air to the American people and doing a complete injustice and disservice by saying something completely opposite,” Carlson said, “and ginning up this whole reaction that it was just fine and patriotic for people to be there on Jan. 6.”

Carlson went on to lament the current state of her former network.

“Slowly but surely, this has morphed into eradicating any other point of view since the Trump era that is not just opinion,” Carlson said. “It's gone from an opinion, which was fine, to completely devolving into non-fact-based conspiracy theories and outright dangerous rhetoric, in my mind, and I think it’s a complete disservice to our country.”

Being sure to state her belief that this happens on both sides, as she had done a few times throughout the interview, Carlson spoke about the dangers of only watching one news source. In this context, Carlson was speaking about how she wishes more Republicans in power would speak out against some of the narratives pushed by Fox News rather than submit to them.

“For the safety of the Republican Party and for our democracy, I wish more would, because this is not going to end well, in my mind,” Carlson said. “It's really hard to change people's opinions because they're only watching what they want to hear, you know? And that's the other problem that we have in society with the media right now, is that we're so siloed into only watching what we agree with. And so every day that thought process just gets reinforced time after time.”

Carlson also said that conservative news is not what she once believed it to be.

“Conservative television news is certainly not the conservative news that was out there even just five years ago,” Carlson said, later adding, “There’s a big difference between having a conservative opinion and having one that supports conspiracy theories.”

https://www.yahoo.com/now/gretchen-...based-conspiracy-theories-081406027.html

FFHINO

Former Fox Host in Name Only.

Fox is as sacred as the Bible to the Trump faithful.

I saw a clip of the recent trump rally.

Effing unreal it is like Jan. 5th all over again. "We have to take back the country."

"We need to have the largest protest in Washington this country has ever see."

He is drumming up the crowd. When the prosecutors come after him. He wants it to be another witch hunt political thing.

He makes me puke. What a bag of pus he is.

Trump Calls On Massive Protests If Prosecutors Go After Him And Offers Pardons To Jan. 6ers

Former President Donald Trump Saturday night called on his followers to stage massive protests in multiple cities should prosecutors act against him. He also said he would offer pardons to those charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol that he incited in a last-gasp attempt to remain in power.

“If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere, because our country and our elections are corrupt,” he said to a rally audience in Conroe, Texas, reading from teleprompters set up on either side of his lectern.

A few minutes later, he claimed his followers who stormed the Capitol building, assaulting police as they entered, were not being treated “fairly” and that should he run for the White House again and win: “If it requires pardons, we will give them pardons.”



The 80-minute performance, while riddled with Trump’s familiar lies about having had his re-election “stolen” from in November 2020, was notable for the numerous references to the various investigations into him.

“They’re trying to put me in jail,” he said. “These prosecutors are vicious, horrible people. They’re racists and they’re very sick. They’re mentally sick. They’re going after me without any protection of my rights by the Supreme Court or most other courts.”

New York State Attorney General Letitia James has been conducting a civil probe of his family business, while the district attorney in Manhattan has been running a criminal investigation.

Meanwhile, the district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, has impaneled a special grand jury just to focus on Trump’s attempt to coerce state officials to “find” enough votes to overturn his loss of that state to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

And the House January 6 select committee has been subpoenaing more and more former and current Trump aides to determine his precise role in that day’s events, while the Department of Justice this past week confirmed that it is investigating at least one element of Trump’s scheme to remain in power: the submission of fake Trump “electors” in states that Biden won.

Trump White House and campaign advisers at the time openly pushed for the fraudulent slates so as to give Vice President Mike Pence the ability to cite the competing slates as reason to declare Trump the winner and award him a second term.

Pence, though, refused to go along with the plan, and instead actively sabotaged the false elector scheme by crafting new language to make sure the fake slates were excluded.

A year ago, Trump became the first U.S. president to refuse to turn over power peacefully to his successor. He spent weeks attacking the legitimacy of the November 2020 contest that he lost. Hours after polls closed and it appeared that Biden would be the winner, Trump stated that he had really won in a “landslide” and that his victory was being “stolen” from him. Those falsehoods continued with a string of failed lawsuits challenging the results in a handful of states.

After the Electoral College voted on Dec. 14, making Biden’s win official, Trump instead turned to a last-ditch scheme to pressure his own vice president into handing Trump the election during the pro forma congressional certification of the election results on Jan. 6.

Trump asked his followers to come to Washington that day and told the thousands who showed up that they should march to the Capitol to intimidate Pence into doing what Trump wanted. “When you catch somebody in a fraud, you’re allowed to go by very different rules,” Trump said.

The mob of supporters stormed the building and chanted “Hang Mike Pence” when the vice president did not do Trump’s bidding. The riot left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer, and four other officers took their own lives in the following weeks and months.

Though the House impeached Trump for inciting the attack, all but seven Senate Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, chose not to convict him ― thereby letting Trump continue his political career even as he is the subject of several investigations.

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-calls-massive-protests-prosecutors-041157597.html

I hope the prosecutors pin his orange ass to the wall.

I would pay to see him in a hearing in Georgia. Where he is on tape asking for them to find the votes to win the State.

It makes me sick that people actually support this traitor.

Fox News Lies Debunked: Viewers Know Less Than If They Watched No News At All




Hope these liars get themselves some nice orange jumpsuits with the rest of the insurrectionist for playing their part in putting out the big lie.

You know what's funnier than a news channel saying the competitor makes their viewers dumber?

Some dolt believing it lmao.

Besides, he spends half his time blubbering and the other half blaming Biden, Obama and Bill Maher for giving Fox legitimacy by not crying and screaming... like the army of Karens employed by MSNBC.

That was hilarious, post more!

Oh, I will. And I hope you watch them for the laughs. Maybe a fact will seep into that brain of yours.

But I get your point and I don't care for it either. The reason I posted it was the several studies that concur and it just being blatantly 100% true and observable. Now, how Ari Melber delivered it, well that's him and his style. I don't think he likes doing these pieces, but somebody has to point out the idiocy of Fox and put it on the public/journalistic record for the future. But did you see what I wanted you to see? You'll never see it at Fox. They were called facts. They can be funny too, we laugh at FACTS about the right all the time. Watch every MSNBC video I post, and perhaps one day you'll be able to point facts out to other posters too.

"Facts"

"Several studies"

Fox lights libtard butt hairs on fire. It's hilarious.

well to be fair - only one of these media outlets has been to court and use a defense that viewers should not take what's said on their network as factual.

I thought they got Maddow on basically the same thing?

"The lawyers for Rachel Maddow argued that she does not provide factual news and her audience does not expect her to provide them with facts. The judge agreed."

ALL of these "news shows" are 100% biased, facts are loose and the cake is iced with a thick layer of hyperbole. ^That dude? I nearly fell asleep three minutes in, at least Tucker is entertaining!

If you find telling fables entertaining. If you find defending Russia entertaining. If you find defending the Jan. 6th rioters entertaining. You are correct that none of these news networks actually give you the news on their "talk shows" you are correct. But let's not pretend they're quite the same.

The orange brat in his deranged state of mind said "Pence had the right to overturn the electors."

So, democracy and the constitution be damned.

trumped wanted the election turned over so he could remain in office. So, anyone pretending this bag of pus is a patriot.

They better bone up on the constitution, the history of this country, and understand what the transfer really means.

If I can see a quote of what the defense actually said in a court of law - I'm more than happy to accept that. I see a quote from Fate, but that's a summary by someone else, not what the defense said in court. I've read the quotes from the Fox lawyers and it is unequivocal ... I have not seen the Madow issue/quote. That said - MSNBC and Fox are opposite sides of the same coin. They spin for one side or the other ... I happen the think Fox is worse (just look at the texts about Jan 6th and then what they have trotted out on air). . . but it doesn't make what Madow does any better.

Like when CNN said mostly peaceful protests with a building burning in the back ground. Come on they all do it. We do not get news anymore we get spin from the right or from the left. We choose which side we agree with and go from there. Actual news reporting is dead. It died a long time ago.

There were thousand of protestors in the daytime during the peaceful protests. There were a fraction of that amount at night during the riots. Maybe you're confused on what the word "most" means. Over 90% of all the protests during the summer were totally peaceful.

Over 90 percent of protests this summer were peaceful, report shows

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-...s-this-summer-were-peaceful-report-shows

What exactly is it that you think the word most means?

jc

I refuse to explain the lefts' news outlets biases or how there is real news in their reporting, until Fate and other right-wing posters explain how ANYTHING coming from Fox is real news. You can sort thousands of hours of Tucker, Hannity, Ingraham, or their racist twist on local crimes, BUT you will never find unbiased reporting. You will also find a very high percentage of verifiable lies being told, daily. Not even close to the same thing we have on the left. Not even close.

It is indicated that between 15 and 20 MILLION people participated in the overwhelmingly peaceful BLM protests following George Floyd's death.... Let's not undersell this. "Most" is anything more than 51% ... of the 15+ million, a tiny % were exploiting the situation to loot and steal and cause damage.

Unless you watched fox "news" .

Then you would be running next to chicken little looking for cover.

Seems fair.

So you don't want anyone blaming peaceful protesters for the looting and rioting, correct?

Not sure what the question is - but myself and everyone I can remember said at the time, and I still do, arrest and prosecute the looters and anyone who is breaking the law. No-one is should be getting a free pass.

Although it would be absolutely hilarious to see Trump Supporters reactions if Biden came out and said he would pardon anyone caught up in those rights

https://greenwald.substack.com/p/a-court-ruled-rachel-maddows-viewers

I dunno about this site, but skip down to the quoted part from the judge that dismissed the lawsuit.

You might include people that incited the riots. I mean that's a crime too.

Not following you, who incited the riots?

You asked me a question and I answered it. You would have to look at each riot and inceident on an individual basis to make that determination. I'm simply saying if someone or people did incite people to riot, they also committed a crime. You'll have to dig the rabbit hole yourself.

A right-winger called umbrella man by the media kicked off one by bashing windows out of a store. He was later tracked and identified. Of course, he was a white supremacist dressed in all black, pretending to be Antifa.

this is exactly how i feel trying to debate right wingers. people cant even describe or define something, yet swear they hate it.

It was entertaining. And the caller was pretty representative of ignorant folks that get behind something they don't really understand ... the issue i have is you can make anyone look stupid by letting some random person who thinks they support a cause and asking tough questions. You could probably find someone that was at a BLM protest or an 'environmentalist' and tie them in knots. It would look like a 'gotcha' moment but that doesn't mean they put forward the best argument forward for the cause they were trying to support.

GOP congressman tries quoting Voltaire in attack on Fauci –but quotes neo-Nazi paedophile instead

https://news.yahoo.com/gop-congressman-tries-quoting-voltaire-212805192.html

Book Ban Efforts Spread Across the U.S.

Challenges to books about sexual and racial identity are nothing new in American schools, but the tactics and politicization are.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/30/books/book-ban-us-schools.html

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-jan-6-pardons-lindsey-graham-rino-154443398.html

Trump calling Graham a RINO now. Lindsey finally has the chance to stand up to him again and show a backbone. So, I'm pretty sure that means he'll bend the knee.

You can be pretty sure he will bend at the knees since Trump has attacked him more than once in the past. Starting back in 2015 when he publicly gave out Graham's cell phone number.

July 2015

Donald Trump gives out Lindsey Graham's cellphone number

Graham's reaction: "When it comes to the Donald, nothing surprises me anymore."

https://www.politico.com/story/2015...lindsey-grahams-cell-phone-number-120414

July 2020

Trump attacks Lindsey Graham after SCOTUS rulings

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/09/trump-attacks-lindsey-graham-supreme-court-355013

September 2021

Donald Trump turned on Lindsey Graham. Of course.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/23/politics/donald-trump-lindsey-graham/index.html

It's Trump's M.O. Any time you don't walk the trump chalk line you're an enemy. Murica!

That was painful.

How many times have you heard the phrase, "some people even say" come out of Trumps mouth... Yet, you follow him around like a puppy dog.... Yikes...

You forgot... "many people are saying"... "people have told me".. "I've been hearing"... and the list goes on.

I follow him around like a puppy dog???

Did you just read your own post.

YOU follow him around like a puppy dog... for FIVE YEARS now.

You know what else. You an your ilk are ridiculous and I'm gonna start asking for receipts.


Show me ONE POST where I've said anything positive about Trump in the last three years. You can have your buddies work on it with you since they constantly say the same. Set yourself up a nice PM session and get at it.

I'LL WAIT.

Can you show us anywhere, after all the things Trump has done and said that you openly criticized his vile speech or actions?

"We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."

Elie Wiesel

We'll wait.

You go first, champ.

I can tell you that I criticized those very things numerous times. If you really want to me to look, just say "go". We should probably make a sig bet first though, I don't work for free... Then we can get rid you your silly sig, would have been funny for a few days or so, now it just reeks of, well, never mind.

He's not required to criticize Trump. He's not a libtard.

Where you at Damon?

C'mon bro... I follow him around like a puppy dog -- there's got to be something!

Anything?

Still waiting.

Claiming you have to be a "libtard" to be honest and use common sense speaks volumes about you.

Your desperate need to control people speaks volumes about you.

So you claim you don't work for free and then say I should. How high on the corporate ladder are you?

High enough to tell some minion to provide a little proof when he has a grievance. How's life in the mail room?

If you would like to start reading maybe I can get you a job. BTW- I simply asked you a question. Yeah, maybe a job in the mail room is what you need. Reading is fundamental.

Let me break it down for you.....


This is question, not a grievance.

griev·ance

a real or imagined wrong or other cause for complaint or protest, especially unfair treatment.

an official statement of a complaint over something believed to be wrong or unfair.

a feeling of resentment over something believed to be wrong or unfair.

You're welcome.

Wrong question Mr. Reading is fundamental. It's not like you would have to dig for it, it was the very last post before your response...


It was your weak metaphoric response to me asking for receipts. You know, I'm the corporate stuffed-shirt asking people to work for free? (Fits my m.o. since I follow Trump like a puppy dog all day.) I just responded in kind.

I thought we were just showcasing our literary technique, turns out (strangely enough) that it was just an opportunity for you to move the goalposts... and then quote the wrong post (strangely enough) to try to win a free game token.

Game over <insert dying Pacman sound>.

Now you need to learn what moving the goal post means.

Well, there is no doubt , you would be the best person to explain it.

By all means...

I've learned not to bother trying to explain things to a brick wall.

Republican Party censures Cheney, Kinzinger, calls Jan. 6 attack 'legitimate political discourse'

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Republican Party on Friday censured U.S. Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for joining Congress' probe of then-President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, calling the Jan. 6 Capitol attack "legitimate political discourse."

Cheney and Kinzinger voted to impeach Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection after last year's deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot and are the only Republicans taking part in the House of Representatives' investigation of the attack.

The Republican National Committee on Friday passed a resolution rebuking Cheney and Kinzinger for their involvement on the Jan. 6 select committee, accusing them of "participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse."

The resolution passed on a voice vote as 168 members of the RNC gathered for their winter meeting in Salt Lake City. The yes votes were overwhelming, with a handful of nays, according to reporters at the meeting.

It said their actions have damaged Republican efforts to win back majorities in Congress.

The measure said the RNC will "immediately cease any and all support of them" as party members, but stops short of calling for their ouster from the party, as initially proposed. The committee uses some of its funds to help support Republican candidates in their campaigns.

Trump, who retains a strong grip over his party as Nov. 8 midterm congressional elections draw closer, has been on the warpath against Republicans who have taken a stand against him. Republicans are trying to take control of both the House and the Senate from President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats.

'PERSONS OF CONSCIENCE'

Both lawmakers issued statements in anticipation of Friday's vote.

"The leaders of the Republican Party have made themselves willing hostages to a man who admits he tried to overturn a presidential election and suggests he would pardon Jan. 6 defendants, some of whom have been charged with seditious conspiracy," Cheney said, referring to the hundreds of Trump supporters accused of various crimes in the violent attack.

Four people died on Jan. 6, and a Capitol Police officer died the next day. About 140 police officers were injured, and four later died by suicide.

Cheney said she does not recognize those in her party who "abandoned the Constitution to embrace Donald Trump, who has endorsed her challenger in the Wyoming Republican primary.

Kinzinger, who is not seeking re-election, said he has been a conservative Republican since before Trump entered politics. He vowed to continue "working to fight the political matrix that's led us to this point."

Not all Republicans are lining up against the two.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney praised Cheney and Kinzinger as honorable in a Twitter post on Friday. "Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol," he wrote.

At least 71 Republican members of Congress transferred money last year to the campaigns of congressional Republicans, including Cheney's, that supported booting Trump from office, a Reuters analysis found.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy came to their defense late Thursday, writing on Twitter, "The RNC is censuring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger because they are trying to find out what happened on January 6th - HUH?"

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy did not return a request for comment on the measure. House Republicans in May ejected Cheney from their leadership ranks as punishment for repudiating Trump’s false claims of a stolen election.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lo...ure-us-reps-cheney-kinzinger-2022-02-04/

"legitimate political discourse" should be hung around every republicans neck.

You don't need to go any farther than to realize that the inmates are running the asylum.

Iowa Republican wants cameras in public school classrooms so parents can monitor teachers 'similar to a body camera on a policeman'

https://www.yahoo.com/news/iowa-republican-wants-cameras-public-203413769.html

with everything going on, i sometimes forget to look at the big picture. so i zoomed out, took a look, and was reminded of something:

all of these anti abortion bills, anti-CRT, anti-woke, and such is nothing more than re-wrapped police state rhetoric from the so-called "limited government" crowd.

conservatives and republicans keep saying they want smaller government, and yet every stance they hold requires the government to expand. this is just the Patriot Act on steroids.

body cams on teachers? really? and to monitor what they teach?

that is literally the nanny state 40 always whines about. once again, you guys dont want smaller government. you wanted smaller government when it comes to businesses. damn near every modern conservative position on the other issues requires the more government power, influence, and direct action into the individual lives of americans. conservatives are completely in favor of big government when it comes to social issues.

ya know, like the authoritarian style leaders they love so much. for gods sake, texas has written into law that other citizens can sue other citizens for getting an abortion.

conservatives and freedom doesn't belong in the same sentence.

I'm not a parent but if I were one it would be pretty cool to log in and see what was going on in my kids classroom.

I have security cameras on my house to check on my home and dogs while I'm away. It would be great to be able to keep an eye on my kids.

Imagine if your kid was being bullied or has behavioral issues. Of course you want to check on them.

If libtards have something to hide then thats an even bigger reason to make this available to parents.

There is an option for controlling everything your kid learns, it's called home school. These people don't need to tell teachers how to do their jobs, nor should they dictate curriculum.

Sorry but technology will over rule you.

Parents have every right to be involved in their childs education at public and private schools.

Involved yes, dictating terms, NOPE.

Libtards have no right to dictate either.

Cameras in classrooms is an excellent idea and I'm surprised it hasnt been thought of sooner.

That's as good as Throw Long's post from the other day. You've out done yourself. Cameras in school rooms so you can check in the same way you do to monitor your home and dogs. Awesome.

Meanwhile still using an insult derived from the word Retard and think it's big, clever or funny somehow.

you know they want cameras in homes to make sure no one is engaging in homosexual activity.

What we really need is a chip planted in our bodies at birth, and everyone tracked so we can catch the criminals and know what everyone's doing. Maybe take DNA samples at birth too and those at higher risk should be excluded from health insurance... All they do is drive up the cost for everyone else. The final step would be to privatize the judicial system to make it more efficient. Let's not stop at cameras in every classroom.

The total reversal on January 6th by Republicans.

We all hear what the RNC is saying now.


They used this as the reasoning to censure both Cheney and Kinzinger. So let's look at the total 180 they have done over the past year. Let's see what they said and thought about the insurrection when it happened.

Here is what the RNC themselves said just after the insurrection.


Here are the comments made right after the January 6th insurrection by some leading Republicans right after the insurrection.



Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas)

Today, the people's House was attacked, which is an attack on the Republic itself. There is no excuse for it. A women died. And people need to go to jail. And the President should never have spun up certain Americans to believe something that simply cannot be.
Rep. Chip Roy, January 6, 2021





Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

Chaos, anarchy. The violence today was wrong and un-American.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

When it comes to accountability, the President needs to understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution, that the rally yesterday was unseemly, it got out of hand... I said on the floor of the Senate, I cast my vote accordingly, that Joe Biden is the legitimate president-elect of the United States.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, January 7, 2021



Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)

This has been a truly tragic day for America. We all join together in fully condemning the dangerous violence and destruction that occurred today in our Nation's Capitol. Americans will always have their freedom of speech and the constitutional right to protest, but violence in any form is absolutely unacceptable. It is anti-America, and must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, January 6, 2021

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas)

On Wednesday the Capitol of the most powerful nation the world has ever known was stormed by an angry mob. Americans surely never thought they’d see such a scene: members of Congress barricaded inside the House chamber, Capitol Police trampled, and four Americans dead. A woman was shot near the elevator I use every day to enter the House floor. It was a display not of patriotism but of frenzy and anarchy.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, January 11, 2021

House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

Let me be clear: Last week’s violent attack on the Capitol was undemocratic, un-American and criminal…And make no mistake: Those who are responsible for Wednesday’s chaos will be brought to justice…The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters.
House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, January 13, 2021

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)

January 6th was a disgrace... American citizens attacked their own government. They used terrorism to try to stop a specific piece of democratic business they did not like... Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the Vice President...

They did this because they had been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth — because he was angry he’d lost an election.
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, February 13, 2021

Other statements:

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.): "This violence and destruction have no place in our republic. It must end now." – January 6, 2021

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.): "These actions at the U.S. Capitol by protestors are truly despicable and unacceptable. While I am safe and sheltering in place, these protests are prohibiting us from doing our constitutional duty. I condemn them in the strongest possible terms." – January 6, 2021

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Miss.): "The events unfolding at the Capitol are shameful. There is no justification for violence and destruction. It has to stop now. This is not who we are as a nation. Thank you to the Capitol Police who are keeping us safe." – January 6, 2021

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.): "Today is a sad day for our country. The destruction and violence we saw at our Capitol today is an assault on our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law, and must not be tolerated. As Americans, we believe in the right to peaceful protest. We must rise above the violence. We must stand together. We will not let today’s violence deter Congress from certifying the election. We must restore confidence in our electoral process. We must, and we will, have a peaceful and orderly transition of power." – January 6, 2021

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.): "Mr. President. You have got to stop this. You are the only person who can call this off. Call it off. The election is over. Call it off. This is bigger than you. It is bigger than any member of Congress. It is about the United States of America." – January 6, 2021

Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.): "Call it what it is: An attack on the Capitol is an attack on democracy Today we are trying to use the democratic process to address grievances. This violence inhibits our ability to do that. Violent protests were unacceptable this summer and are unacceptable now." – January 6, 2021

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio): "I condemn the violent and criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol today. These shameful actions to disrupt a session of Congress and vandalize the Capitol building should never happen in our great republic. The U.S. Capitol belongs to every American and is a symbol of the citadel of democracy. An attack on the Capitol building is an attack on every American...

It is time for President Trump to embrace the peaceful transfer of power, which is mandated under the Constitution and a hallmark of our democracy." – January 6, 2021

Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.): "Today, we saw an assault on our democracy. I love this institution. I love the United States Congress, and I love the United States of America. And what I saw today was mob rule that spat upon the blood of my father that is in the soil of Europe and in the soil of Korea, and who gave us through that blood this sacred Constitution and the sacred ability to lead this world as a power that says we settle our differences not with mob rule; we settle our difference through elections. And when those elections are over, we have a peaceful transition of power." – January 6, 2021

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.): "What we have seen today is unlawful and unacceptable…I have decided I will vote to uphold the Electoral College results and I encourage Donald Trump to condemn and put an end to this madness." – January 6, 2021

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.): "This building has been desecrated, blood has been spilled in the hallways…This isn't what America is. What happened today isn’t what America is." – January 6, 2021

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.): "Everyone has a right to peacefully protest. No one has a right to commit violence. What happened today at the Capitol is disgraceful and un-American. It is not what our country stands for." – January 6, 2021

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.): "I hope that the types of people who stormed the Capitol today got a clear message that they will not stop our democracy from moving forward…We need to get our work done and this kind of thuggery would not keep us from doing the people’s work" – January 6, 2021

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/...eres-what-they-said-at-the-time/2929779/

And now? The RNC calls them "ordinary citizens engaged in legitimate political discourse".

Anyone trying to rewrite the history of what happened, just remember that they are lying and they know better.

Oh what a difference a year makes.

Being deplorable is in their nature.

It would actually be more important to check on my kids more than my house or dogs. You're kind of clueless. You do realize there are cameras on you whereever you go in society right? Every gas station, restaurant, and store? I know that might frighten you and your safe space bubble you live in. But it's the truth.

And then we would have even fewer teachers to teach our children. Driving away the only people that want to teach our kids certainly isn't the answer. I'm sure they do that kind of thing in china though.

China is putting surveillance cameras in plenty of schools

https://www.techinasia.com/china-putting-surveillance-cameras-plenty-schools

And you accuse the Democrats of being communists.

What do teachers have to hide? If nothing, then they should be happy with the level of transparency.

I sure didn't hear you saying that while Trump was fighting in court to hide all of his documents from his time in The White House. This used to be a nation where spying on everyone was frowned upon. Now it's advocated..... in certain circumstances. #belikechina

Don't change the subject. This is about teachers and parents. Not whatever Trump crap that you are trying to deflect to.

Teachers have been required to turn in their lesson plans for the next week (and some districts require months) for decades. Teachers have nothing to hide. Teachers are required to follow the curriculum benchmarks that were established when GWB enacted No Child Left Behind. Teachers are also required to maintain a continuing education plan, paying for college credits, to qualify for renewing their licenses to teach. The current attack on education by the radicalized right wing "parents", most of whom don't even have kids in the district, is all about making the teaching occupation untenable. Conservatives hate public education and are all about using our tax dollars to pay for "conservative values" indoctrinating charter schools.

So this only applies to some people and when I point out you don't seem to feel the same way with consistency it's me changing the subject? It sounds to me like you are refusing to address the fact you only expect such accountability for some people when you choose to do so. The question you brought up was transparency and if people did nothing wrong they have nothing to hide. I addresssed that it only matters to you sometimes. I understand how that's not convenient for you.

Oh boohoo. The extremist is you. There is no reason that parents shouldn't be able to check on their children in the classroom. More states are adopting this stance and it's one well worth doing.

It's a sad reach that you would compare parents to radicals just because they want to see how their child is doing. You and all your libtard ilk are disgusting that you put politics ahead of families. I don't know how you live with yourself.

The current topic is teachers and children and parents. If you can't handle that then kick rocks lwl.

Until you decided to change it to accountability and not having anything to hide. So much for that personal accountability.

No dude, you're trying to change the subject and twist things because you have nothing. You do this every time you lose a debate and basically everyone on the forum knows it. So crawl back under your bridge.

That's not changing the topic - it's making an accurate and valid point that you clearly can't answer. You arbitrarily decide Teachers should having nothing to hide so monitor them? And you can't even see how messed up and ignorant that is. Wow.

How do you live with yourself? You can't handle that parents want to see what their children are up to? What are you scared of? I can't believe how the libtard left is so vile in putting politics ahead of families.

The day is coming soon that your ilk will be squashed like a bug under a heel, because people and PARENTS see how you behave. And how you have no consideration for parents or children's welfare. This is a moment for all of America to take notice.

SHAME.

So the libertarian is calling for bigger government? Creating a 1984s Big Brother style surveillance state won't fix the stupid GOPers are bringing upon us. Hell, the right has already dumbed down the whole country with its education policies pushing a corporate-political agenda turning out worker drones. About half the country is illiterate and YOU think parental control is somehow going to improve that. Nope, the bible thumpers will expect religious schools. The gravy militias will want gun toting 2A courses. Right-wing racists will want to rewrite history courses to empower white people. The rest of the cult of Trump will want their pound of flesh by insisting children believe the cults lies.

I can see it now, all the young ladies in their red capes walking around the streets of New Gilead all prim and proper like. Living in a state of constant fear, GOPers want to trade up to puritanical fascist authoritarianism. They do this because they would rather be controlled by jackbooted thugs than lead by “libtards” in an actual democracy. Nope, shove a camera up teachers asses, so they can snoop, bitch and complain about every little thing their mini mes get taught. And of course Keith will be along to tell me how “dumb” I am because I used the words fascist, jackbooted thugs, etc. Well Keith, why don't you tell us what GOPers have become? I'd ask Eve, but all I would get is a sassy brain-dead quip that adds nothing but more idiocy to the conversation.

One of us lives in a bubble that is for sure - that'd be the one who thinks it's randomly cool to decide a segment of society have done nothing wrong, but should be cool with being monitored full time. And then wants to compare that action/thought process to security cameras as justification. Congrats for not going the retard catchphrase.

I stopped reading after "bigger government" because I know you and all the verbal diarreah you produce is a bunch of dramatic hyperbole and nothing of merit. Maybe someday you will learn how to have a normal conversation.


Giving parents the ability to check on their children has nothing to do with "bigger government". What a dumbass.

One of - if not the most - dumbest, idiotic and ignorant posts I have ever seen. Well done going back to the retard catchphrase. That's always a sure sign of a winning and well thought out argument.

Mandating cameras in government run schools has nothing to do with the government.



Quit now while you only look like a total asshat.

How do you live with yourself? Like seriously? Do you even believe what you post? Maybe should do some self reflection because trying to keep parents out of their childrens lives is disgusting.

It has nothing to do with govt because the govt has no role. The govt isn't spying on anyone. It's enabled for the parents to check on their children. Sorry you aren't bright enough to know the difference.

I have normal conversations all the time, just with NORMAL people. Not the dregs of society.

No you don't. You spew hate all day every day on here.

States with legislatures that have been filled with Tea Party extremists, like Ohio, have been, and are, attempting to adopt this "stance". No Child left behind was far from a "libtard" legislation and teachers have not only met it, but embraced it. The imaginary CRT public school curriculum is the current right wing extremist bogeyman attempt to make teaching an occupation that nobody wants to do. It's really not a sad reach at all to compare "parents" who literally DON'T HAVE KIDS IN THE DISTRICT in my county to radicalized extremists. They have threatened board members and other parents. They carry signs that have no basis in reality. These same "parents" are demanding to have access to every classroom that our tax dollars are supporting. Again, the worst of them DON'T HAVE KIDS IN OUR DISTRICT. Should I assume your "ilk" is all about fascistic observation of specific conservative values?

It's a sad day when the libtard left puts politics above children and parents. You are crazy if you think parents are "radicals" because they want to see what their children are up to at school. How do you live with yourself? Do you not see how crazy you sound?

I have to go now. Yall are lucky. I'll slay you later.

So .... You aren't a parent. And parents have never had cameras in schools to watch (you could say Spy) on the teachers. And you think this is a discussion about keeping parents out of their kids lives? And you don't think it's about government control. It's not an authoritarian, scared "right" wing knee jerk reaction that grossly infringes on the rights of teachers. You don't think 99% of teachers wouldn't turn round and tell you and every other moron that proposed this to go F yourself?


And you ask if I believe what I post !

I have children still in elementary school and the e-learning was definitely eye opening. I would say that we could definitely see more clearly which teachers were fully engaged and which ones were just doing enough to get by. That being said, I think there has to be a balance. One thing that I am very certain of is that I would not work for a company that thought that I needed to be under constant surveillance, so I am certain that highly qualified teachers are not going to tolerate being treated this way either. So, if you want to attract good teachers,you have to treat them right. Also, the teachers still have to be careful with what they say, because kids will talk. I also do not want my kids under surveillance. That also invites all sorts of security risks and other problems. I think there are better ways to promote transparency.

No… you won't. But go ahead and run, because rockdogg just destroyed any glimmer of argument you had. Bye Felicia.

Yep, January 6th was only the beginning. We already know and a lot of us are ready for it.

Good thing there are no Nazis in America, huh, Keith?

Great article. Thank you for posting. Quoted the whole thing so it shows up again.

you are full of crap. Bannon himself said that he was taking it down to the school board level. CRT, taking books out of school, cameras in school, etc


Who’s behind the nationwide attacks on local school boards over Critical Race Theory?
NEWSMARK WINGFIELD | OCTOBER 19, 2021

School boards across America are under attack by conservative parents whose fears of woke liberalism are being stoked by national organizations affiliated with Donald Trump and the Republican Party, as well as Fox News and other conservative media outlets.

The result is chaos at school board meetings, physical violence, shouting and other behavior that would not be allowed in a classroom. In short, angry parents are behaving in ways they would not tolerate with their own children — all under the banner of protecting those children from being taught about America’s original sin of racism.


On Aug. 25, 2021, people hold signs and chant during a meeting of the North Allegheny School District school board regarding the district’s mask policy, at at North Allegheny Senior High School in McCandless, Pa. The nation’s school boards are asking President Joe Biden for federal assistance to investigate and stop a growing number of threats made against their members, on Thursday, Sept. 30. (Alexandra Wimley/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

The catch-all label for these ills is Critical Race Theory, a law school construct for understanding systemic racism that public school administrators say is not being taught in elementary, middle or high schools. Concerned parents counter that this embodiment of liberal wokeness takes many forms and is shaping public school curricula and personnel, who may not realize they have been infected by Critical Race Theory.

One conservative group has gone so far as to suggest that public school teachers should be equipped with body cams so that parents can monitor every word their children hear and be ready to counter perceived liberal indoctrination.

This is one reason among many that some observers believe the endgame for those stoking the current parent protests is to dismantle public education — or at least cripple it further by lack of funding.

Such a tactic is nothing new for conservative Christian parents in America, who were at the forefront of starting private Christian schools in the 1960s and ’70s to counter the forced integration of public schools. The racist motivations of starting these church-based schools have been well documented.

Those documenting the current conflagration cite three sparks for its rapid deployment: Hatred for the New York Times’ 1619 Project, the racial reckoning set off by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election. Amid this storm of resentment — capped by loss of the White House but despite conservative control of many state governments — a few parents, egged on by national figures, have zeroed in on nonpartisan school boards as the latest perpetrators of liberalism.


Steve Bannon (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House adviser, told them so. On his podcast in May, Bannon explained: “The path to save the nation is very simple — it’s going to go through the school boards.”

Bannon later told Politico that Republicans are leveraging fears about Critical Race Theory because it could help them win elections. “This is the Tea Party to the 10th power,” he said. “This isn’t Q, this is mainstream suburban moms — and a lot of these people aren’t Trump voters.”

Same song, different location
NBC News has been at the forefront of reporting on and analyzing the current protests about Critical Race Theory. It has documented at least 165 organizations operating across the nation to coalesce parents and other concerned citizens into action. Some of those are authentically grassroots groups launched by one or two parents. But others are well-oiled and well-funded political machines — almost always with ties to Trumpism.

One example is Citizens for Renewing America, which has published a slick 34-page toolkit on how to identity and oppose Critical Race Theory in your public school system.

“This guide is meant for anyone of any knowledge and experience level who is concerned about what children are being taught and how they are being treated, with an emphasis on making the banning of Critical Race Theory the central theme by which you reclaim your schools,” the booklet’s introductions states.

The group’s site offers resources for a range of issues common to Trumpism, including Critical Race Theory, big tech, COVID, secure borders and election integrity. Its president and executive director both have deep ties to Trump and his Congressional supporters.

President Russ Vought served as director the Office of Management and Budget and was a member of Trump’s cabinet. Executive Director Wade Miller is a former Marine who served as political director for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and as chief of staff for his “good friend,” Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.

Quoting MLK as an ally against Critical Race Theory
The booklet on how to combat Critical Race Theory in public schools begins with a full-page pull-out quote from Martin Luther King Jr.: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Words King famously uttered in his quest to raise acceptance of Black children to the same privileges as white children are turned back to make this white-led advocacy group’s case that white children should not be considered inferior to non-white children.


A group of protesters wave signs at traffic outside The Charles C. Manson Education Service Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Monday, June 7, 2021, as the Tulsa County Republican Party rallies against Tulsa School Board’s bond proposals. (Tanner Laws/Tulsa World via AP)

A key talking point of the anti-Critical Race Theory movement is that liberals are making white children feel inferior to other children by teaching that their ancestors were enslavers and abusers of Black people. The idea of any inherent or systemic racism is anathema to these parents.

The guide for parents addressing their school boards explains Critical Race Theory, in part, as teaching that “straight white people, children included, are inherently and irredeemably racist, and benefit from — as well as systematically rig — all the social institutions, rules, laws, and norms that white people invented and keep in place for their own disproportionate success and in order to maintain their own stranglehold on power.”

That is a distortion of what Critical Race Theory actually teaches — at the graduate-school level — which is, indeed, about the systemic influence of racism but not in a way that condemns all white people.

The guide continues its alarming description: “In other words, because people of color were discriminated against in the past, white people, including children in schools, need to be discriminated against now in order to make up for it and let African Americans catch up.”

And again, referring back to the Civil Rights Movement, the guide declares: “CRT theorists reject the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement wanted to make sure there were equal rights in America for everyone. That means equal treatment of individuals regardless of race.”

‘Prepare to be attacked’
The group that is fueling attacks — including violent attacks — on school board members and administrators and teachers warns that those who stand up against Critical Race Theory should be prepared to be attacked by the liberals.

Critical Race Theory and Critical Social Justice are “take-over ideologies,” the guidebook warns. “CRT proponents do not care how they win as long as they win. They are not trying to win an academic debate, they are attempting to socially replace you. Read that line again: they are not trying to win an academic debate, they are trying to socially replace you.

“As such, almost any action stemming from CRT activists is designed to shut you up, diminish your standing in the community, undercut your authority to speak on an issue, alienate you from whichever group you are a part of so that others ignore you, pretend like there really isn’t any problem at all, or tear down your reputation so people don’t listen to you. Anything that they can do to win they will do.”


A teachers’ aide in special education holds a sign. Students, teachers, and parents rallied on Sept. 28, 2021 in Newberg, Ore., to oppose an imminent vote by the Newberg School Board that will prohibit Black Lives Matter and Pride flags or banners in their schools. The new rule, which is supported by a newly elected conservative majority of the board, is the target of a lawsuit by the Newberg Education Association. (Photo by John Rudoff/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

But there is a way around this unjust treatment of good white people, the guidebook continues: “The good news is that these tactics can be countered, and if you counter them effectively they will backfire on CRT activists. This is not like boxing — this is like social jiu-jitsu where you use their own tactics against them to expose them.”

Tips for how to investigate your child’s school
The guidebook offers tips for parents to determine if Critical Race Theory has infiltrated their schools. If it has, “there is no time to waste: it’s time to get to work.” But even if it hasn’t, “now would be a good time to get involved in your local school board and community before radical CRT activists take it over and you have a real mess on your hands.”

Then the booklet explains where to look for telltale signs of Critical Race Theory by closely examining everything your child brings home from school, examining the materials teachers use to prepare their lessons, by scouring school websites and being on the lookout for any hint of diversity, equity and inclusion materials or offices. And then, the guide continues, “learn how to make public records requests through either the Freedom of Information Act for federal documents, or through the public information request process required by your local government entities and school boards, regarding all training, curriculum, programs, materials, school system budgets, and emails promoting CRT, whether named explicitly or not (remember sometimes they hide it by using it without calling it that.)”

Parents are advised to catalogue and document everything they find and to enlist help from friends and family if the task gets too big.

“Perhaps most importantly, find and identify sympathetic teachers, perhaps provide them a completely confidential and anonymous reporting tool, or communicate by word of mouth,” the guidebook adds. “Depending on how radicalized the school system is, their careers could be in jeopardy by speaking out, so you have a duty to help protect their anonymity if they desire to remain unnamed as a source of information.”

The guidebook then goes on to explain how to run candidates for election against sitting school board members, how to demand recall elections to remove duly elected school board members and how to work the system up to the state level once you’ve gained a foothold locally.

A school watchlist
Citizens for Renewing America is one of several well-funded national organizations calling conservative parents to action against liberal ideology in the form of Critical Race Theory. Another prominent group is Turning Point USA, which prominently offers a School Board Watchlist on its website.

“The School Board Watchlist is America’s only national grassroots initiative dedicated to protecting our children by exposing radical and false ideologies endorsed by school boards and pushed in the classroom,” the site says. “SBWL finds and exposes school board leadership that supports anti-American, radical, hateful, immoral, and racist teachings in their districts, such as Critical Race Theory, the 1619 Project, sexual/gender ideology, and more. SBWL also provides information on how parents and students can get involved in their local school board and put an end to the racialization of the classroom.”


Charlie Kirk

Turning Point USA is a nonprofit organization founded by conservative commentator and Trump promoter Charlie Kirk. It bills itself as promoting “principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government” and says it believes “every young person can be enlightened to true free market values.”

In 2019, Kirk joined with Jerry Falwell Jr., who at the time was president of Liberty University, to create the Falkirk Center at Liberty, a conservative evangelical think tank. Earlier this year, after Falwell had been removed as president, the university declined to renew its contract with Kirk.

Turning Point USA lists three things it believes: “The United States of America is the greatest country in the history of the world. The U.S. Constitution is the most exceptional political document ever written. Capitalism is the most moral and proven economic system ever discovered.”

The organization’s website includes a section on Critical Race Theory that is filled with stories of oppression of white people, warnings about Marxism and other alarmist headlines. The site also includes testimonies by Black people about the dangers of Critical Race Theory.

Blacks against CRT
That is a common thread among the anti-Critical Race Theory groups — highlighting Black people who believe like good Christian white people do. Just as Citizens for Renewing America coopts Martin Luther King’s words to their cause, groups like Turning Point USA use the testimony of Black conservatives to make the case that they aren’t racist.

Donald Trump received 12% of the Black vote in the 2020 presidential election, indication that there is a small segment of the nation’s Black population that embraces Trumpism, which correlates to some Black support for the anti-Critical Race Theory movement.


Robert Woodson

An indication of this is another group called 1776 Unites, which is predominantly led by Black “independent scholars, counselors and role models,” its website explains. It was founded by Robert Woodson, a civil rights activist who favors telling positive stories of Black success rather than negative stories about Black oppression.

In February 2020, his Woodson Center launched 1776 Unites to counter what Woodson called the “lethal” narratives of the 1619 Project. “This garbage that is coming down from the scholars and writers from 1619 is most hypocritical because they don’t live in communities (that are) suffering,” he said.

Woodson later went on Fox News to call the 1619 Project “one of the most diabolical, self-destructive ideas that I’ve ever heard” and to say the Pulitzer Prize-winning report was itself a form of “white supremacy” that denies Black Americans agency and sees them as being incapable of overcoming adverse circumstances.


An engraving depicting the arrival of enslaved Africans at Jamestown, Va., in 1619. (Wikimedia Commons)

To counter this, 1776 Unites draws its name not from the year the first enslaved Black persons arrived in colonial Virginia (1619) but the year of the colonies’ Declaration of Independence from England. The Woodson project offers a high-school-level curriculum that tells “authentic, inspiring stories from American history that show what is best in our national character and what our freedom makes possible even in the most difficult circumstances.”

The group’s website says these stories “celebrate Black excellence, reject victimhood culture, and showcase African Americans who have prospered by embracing America’s founding ideals.”

Even though Black persons in early America were enslaved, their ancestors benefit today from a nation built upon “a set of virtues and values that would create a truly free society, the freest the world had ever seen. They even knew at the time it was falling short of truly delivering on that promise for all, but they knew what they were working toward.”

Thus, 1776 Unites declares that it is “essential that children learn they are agents of their own uplift, knowing their possibilities, responsibilities, and what it means to be an American.”

Another 1776 approach
Woodson’s kinder, gentler adoption of 1776 as a counter to 1619 is not shared by another organization battling the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory. The first thing to greet visitors to the website of the 1776 Project PAC is a pop-up box to “report” school districts promoting Critical Race Theory.

This group bills itself as “promoting patriotism and pride in American history” as a political action committee “dedicated to electing school board members nationwide who want to reform our public education system by promoting patriotism and pride in American history. We are committed to abolishing Critical Race Theory and The 1619 Project from the public school curriculum.”


Jennifer Feucht, right, candidate for Olentangy Local Board of Education, delivers campaign flyers and yard signs to Brad, left, and Tina Krider Oct. 7, 2021, in Westerville, Ohio. Across Ohio and the nation, parental protests over social issues like mask mandates, gender-neutral bathrooms, teachings on racial history, sexuality and mental and emotional health are being leveraged into school board takeover campaigns. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

It describes Critical Race Theory as “a radical belief that pushes the idea that America is an inherently racist country and white Americans are stained with the original sin of racism for which they can never be cleansed. Their solution is to remake the U.S., abandoning our founding documents and the capitalist system.”

It adds: “The 1776 Project PAC is pushing back against this growing crisis in our public education system by campaigning on behalf of school board candidates that vow to overturn any teaching of the 1619 Project or Critical Race Theory in their school districts. We will also support any type of education reform that promotes a patriotic vision of America and its history.”

What happens when a person reports a school they believe is promoting Critical Race Theory is not clear, as there is no list of questionable schools published on the site, just as there is no leadership or board or any other identifying information on the site. The only other way to interact with the group is to donate money.

Another agenda
Tyler Kingkade is an investigative report for NBC News who has researched the current wave of school board protests in detail. In June, he appeared on the NPR show “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, who asked him if those who are stirring the pot have other agendas.


Tyler Kingkade

“Yeah, there are absolutely larger goals at play,” Kingkade replied. “I think there are a lot of people in conservative activist circles and in Republican circles who see this as their chance at another Tea Party-like wave. There has just been a transfer of power at the national level. There’s a lot of people who feel frustrated that their side lost, and they’re looking for a place to channel that. And at the same time, this is really something that, I think, gives folks who get engaged with this a little ownership in it. This is their school board, their school district. They feel like they are the ones to make a difference.”

David Barber, professor of history at the University of Tennessee at Martin, sees another agenda at work. Writing in the Nashville Tennessean, Barber lamented his state’s new anti-Critical Race Theory law.

“In Tennessee, our new law first makes it illegal for any public K-12 school to teach that one race is inherently superior to another; that people are inherently privileged or racist, etc., because of their race or sex; or that people’s moral character is determined by race or sex,” he explained. “While we should be glad that Tennessee is finally outlawing the teaching of racial superiority in any form, our legislature should have passed this part of its legislation 60 years ago, when it would have counted for something.”


David Barber

The history professor explained: “Right up into the 1960s, public schools in Tennessee were segregated. Whites in Tennessee openly and proudly characterized themselves as superior, even as they characterized Black people as lacking in morality, as being lazy, irresponsible, criminal, over-sexed, and as being intellectually inferior.

“But now, long after slavery and segregation’s overt white supremacy has been closeted, only now does our legislature decide that it must condemn the teaching of racial superiority. Of course, this legislation’s real intent is not to prevent our public schools from ‘teaching’ the superiority of one race over another, since no one is doing that. No, the real object here is to prevent educators from discussing nearly four centuries of white domination over Black people.”

Tennessee is one of eight states (Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, New Hampshire, Arizona, South Carolina) to pass laws prohibiting the teaching of Critical Race Theory, although what that means is vaguely defined.

Barber assailed this in his Tennessean column, noting that the legislature tried to cover up their true intent by claiming the new law doesn’t prohibit the “impartial discussion of controversial aspects of history.”

He asked: “Impartial? Meaning we hear both sides? The side of the slaves and the side of their loving masters? Or the side of the 5,000 and more lynched African Americans and the side of the noble defenders of white women’s purity?”

What about the Holocaust?
Since the anti-Critical Race Theory bills passed in various state legislatures are essentially the same — they were promoted as “model” legislation by advocacy groups — Tennessee’s problem also is Texas’ problem. And it is there, in the affluent Dallas suburb of Southlake that the limits of the partisan legislation recently got tested.

On Oct. 8, an administrator with the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake advised teachers that to follow Texas’ new anti-Critical Race Theory law requires them to present opposing views on controversial subjects.


Maureen Hall, a supporter of recalling the entire Mequon-Thiensville School District board, waves at drivers outside Homestead High School Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, in Mequon, Wis. A loose network of conservative groups with ties to major Republican donors and party-aligned think tanks is quietly lending firepower to local activists engaged in the culture war fights in schools across the country. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

This conversation happened because the conservative school board had just reprimanded a fourth grade teacher who had an anti-racism book in her classroom. As a result, teachers were concerned about what books they could keep in their own classrooms.

“Just try to remember the concepts of (House Bill) 3979,” the administrator explained. “And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.”

One teacher responded: “How do you oppose the Holocaust?”

A recording of the exchange was reviewed by NBC News, which reported on the encounter, creating a wave of national headlines — and outrage.

Superintendent Lane Ledbetter had to issue an apology, explaining that the district understands “there are not two sides of the Holocaust.”

Part of the debate in Texas and Tennessee and elsewhere, then, is about what constitutes historical facts. If the Holocaust is historical fact, must the lynching of Black persons in the American South also qualify as historical fact? Is not the Tulsa Race Riot a historical fact? Is not the murder of Emmitt Till a historical fact?

“As we continue to work through implementation of HB3979, we also understand this bill does not require an opposing viewpoint on historical facts,” the superintendent wrote to parents. “As a district we will work to add clarity to our expectations for teachers and once again apologize for any hurt or confusion this has caused.”

Republican state Sen. Kelly Hancock, who represents an adjacent district, wrote on Twitter that “Southlake just got it wrong.” He added: “School administrators should know the difference between factual historical events and fiction.”

Back in Tennessee, Barber wrote that situations like these are exactly why public school teachers find themselves at risk of violating the new law.

“A teacher dedicated to getting out the truth of this country’s history wouldn’t be safe,” he said. “The law also enjoins educators from offering lessons in which an ‘individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual’s race or sex.’


Students, teachers and parents rallied on Sept. 28, 2021, in Newberg, Ore., to oppose an imminent vote by the Newberg School Board that will prohibit Black Lives Matter and Pride flags or banners in their schools. (Photo by John Rudoff/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

“Simply telling the truth of what happened — for example, the lynch mob’s merciless nature, slow roasting its victims, gouging out eyeballs with hot pokers, cutting off the victim’s penis and testicles, slicing open pregnant women’s wombs — simply telling that truth should cause a certain amount of distress, should it not?”

Likewise, the professor said, “You cannot teach Black history — the history of this country from the perspective of Black people — without calling into question everything we know about ourselves and about our nation.”

Follow the money
Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for the Arizona Republic, in another state strained by anti-Critical Race Theory fervor. Arizona, like Tennessee and Texas, this year passed legislation to outlaw a full discussion of race and racism. And school board meetings there have been overrun by angry parents defending the innocence of their children.

She wrote an editorial July 7 titled “Republicans Want to Defund Public Schools One Child at a Time Over Critical Race Theory.”


Elvia Diaz

Díaz looks beyond the current controversy to see what she believes is the long game being played by social conservatives: “They have another subplot going that could be equally or more devastating to public schools and particularly to minority students who already are largely segregated in their neighborhood districts. Conservatives call their subplot academic transparency.”

Ultimately, this movement encourages parents to take their kids out of public schools they believe teach Critical Race Theory “and take taxpayer supported education funding elsewhere,” Díaz wrote. “This matters because a good chunk of K-12 school funding is distributed to districts based on the number of children enrolled.”

She quotes Matt Beienburg, director of education policy at the conservative Goldwater Institute, who has said that state laws banning Critical Race Theory “and other racially and politically divisive material” are only a partial bandage. True transparency — remember the body cam idea — would allow parents to make more informed decisions about whether to send their kids to public schools.


Matt Beienburg

If schools are under this kind of intense spotlight, the kind advocated by Citizens for Renewing America and Turning Point USA, they would count the cost of their “political activism,” he believes and would have to decide if it’s “worth alienating potential enrollees.”

Díaz calls this a “coordinated attack to defund public schools.”

“Targeting parents and encouraging them to boycott public schools is a brilliant political strategy for conservatives who want to keep teaching kids that America is a flawless nation and that anyone who disagrees with that assessment hates this country,” she wrote. “And they might just succeed. Don’t forget that Republicans have a proven track record at systematically defunding public schools and diverting tax dollars via vouchers to private institutions.”

Meanwhile, the battle rages
In the meantime, it is school board members, superintendents, principals and teachers who bear the brunt of the crusade against teaching the history of American racism.

In his interview on “Fresh Air,” NBC reporter Kingkade said because most of these school board battles are taking place in small towns and suburbs, the social fabric is being torn among people who have known each other outside of conflict.

“This is not happening generally in the center of large cities,” he said. “It’s happening in places where everyone knows everyone. And so it gets very personal very quickly. We talked to folks in one town in Cumberland, Maine, where one of the lead activists against Critical Race Theory has put up photos of school board members on his front lawn, billboard-sized photos, and then allegedly booby trapped them so that no one would take it down and displayed Christmas lights over them. We’ve seen in Loudoun County, Va., they just announced that they’re going to be driving around a mobile billboard on one of those small trucks with a school board member’s face on it as part of their efforts to get that school board member recalled.”

School boards in Nevada and Arizona have moved to virtual meetings not because of COVID this time but because of security concerns. “They’ve added extra security guards and metal detectors in school board meetings that have never had those before. It’s really frightening some of the people.”


https://baptistnews.com/article/who...-over-critical-race-theory/#.Yf8zv-rMLrc

Youre basing your opinion on "baptist news" ??? What a joke.

Youre the radical sucking down radical bait hook line and sinker.

Come back when you can think for yourself and like a normal human being.

Libtards keep on tarding.

You think parents checking on their kids is somehow the Government spying. And teachers have no "rights". Guess what, employers have been recording employees for decades. This is not new and employees have no "rights". Try again.

You need some new meds. Come back when you get some.

We need cameras in classrooms!

This debate should have ended with S003er’s post…

Damn. You are even beginning to sound like Trump. So much hate.

Cameras in the classrooms. Bathroom monitors to make sure men don't use the women's restrooms. Rape victims MUST have the baby. Hate Muslims. Hate Mexicans ('Mexicans' used commonly among GOPers to mean any South American).

This is the crap the far right cHrIsTiAnS believe.

https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1489994687213715459?s=20&t=CnUb4RT1sTnEpTnfYYOZSg


https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1489994688178364417?s=20&t=CnUb4RT1sTnEpTnfYYOZSg


https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1489994689176559629?s=20&t=CnUb4RT1sTnEpTnfYYOZSg


https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1489994690044833794?s=20&t=CnUb4RT1sTnEpTnfYYOZSg


https://twitter.com/SteveSchmidtSES/status/1489994690988494849?s=20&t=CnUb4RT1sTnEpTnfYYOZSg


https://twitter.com/bostonsculler/status/1490117948169723905?s=20&t=CnUb4RT1sTnEpTnfYYOZSg

I noted the ease with which this sort of veiled violence was thrown out there and was going to highlight it. But honestly - if you ever met someone with so little idea of the real world, and who was so full of hate and ignorance, you'd ignore them. So ...

Until they try and commit violence towards you and try and take over the country. Which we saw on January 6th. At that point you fight for your own safety and your nation.

Here was Liz Cheney's response to the RNC....

Basically - forget about the 15 million+ people involved in the peaceful protests across the USA after the George Floyd murder. . . . if that is legitimate discourse it would mean that all the rioting, looting, vandalism and violence that was associated with peaceful protests were legitimate discourse too. What a moronic and untenable position to make. And that's the RNC.... not some fringe lunatic member like MTG. This is what Republicans have become. smh.

j/c

Pastor holds bonfire to burn to 'witchcraft' books like 'Twilight'

Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke claimed that the church had a "constitutional right and a Biblical right" to burn "occultic materials" like the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" books.

A far-right pastor hosted a book burning event, encouraging parishioners to toss books like "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" into a fire to denounce what he described as "demonic" materials.

Greg Locke, head pastor at Global Vision Bible Church, held a book burning event Wednesday night, and urged followers to burn "evil garbage" like young adult fantasy books, tarot cards, "voodoo dolls and crystals."

"Bring all your Harry Potter stuff. Laugh all you want haters. I don't care. IT'S WITCHCRAFT 100 PERCENT," Locke said in an Instagram post Monday. "All you 'Twilight' books and movies. That mess is full of spells, demonism, shape-shifting and occultism."

In a video livestreamed on Facebook, churchgoers hurl books and other items deemed associated with "witchcraft" into a massive bonfire on the church's parking lot in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. The burning begins about an hour into the livestream.

At least one counterprotester claimed to throw a Bible into the flames, Nashville Scene reported.

"We have a constitutional right and a Biblical right to do what we're going to do tonight," Locke said in the livestreamed video. "We have a burn permit, but even without one a church has a religious right to burn occultic materials that they deem are a threat to their religious rights and freedoms and belief systems."

This is not the first time Locke has made headlines. The pastor has been permanently banned from Twitter for spreading Covid vaccine misinformation. He previously described the vaccine as "sugar water" and said that he'd turn away churchgoers if they wore masks to his services. He also criticized Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee as a "coward...noodle...waffler" for signing an executive order that would allow the National Guard to assist overwhelmed hospitals during a Covid outbreak. Locke claimed that children with autism are possessed by demons, insisting that the diagnosis doesn’t exist in the Bible.

On Twitter, users raised concerns about the event. Some drew similarities between the book burning at Global Vision Bible Church and the ones held in Germany during the Nazi regime.

Locke's book burning event comes amid a growing effort to ban certain books from schools. Books about racism and sexuality are being pulled from Texas school shelves in record numbers — a majority of books targeted feature LGBTQ characters or explicit descriptions of sex. Some of the books that aren't explicit include picture books about Black historical figures and transgender children.

Last month, a Tennessee school board voted to remove "Maus," a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust, from its eighth-grade reading list over profanity and nudity.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pastor-holds-bonfire-burn-witchcraft-books-twilight-rcna14931

Wonder how it will be before he leads his cult over a cliff?

I wonder how long it will be before they start targeting Fables and Fairy Tales? I mean only Satan could make it so pigs could actually build a house, or talk for that matter when they must face a home invasion scenario. Seven dwarfs rescuing a princess in the forest? That has Satan written all over it! And come on man, only Satan could make someone sleep for 100 years. And then there's that ruby red slippers in the Wizard of Oz. Not to mention the flying monkeys. Only Satan would create evil flying monkeys. God sure didn't create monkeys that fly. The list goes on and on how Satan has invaded the minds of our children.

Yes, and the biggest source of poison to their children is taught at home.

Cameras in classroom, if they were to be implemented, should only be reviewed by officials if there is a complaint of misconduct, and never reviewable in a live stream format.

But they want to spy on the teachers to catch them teaching “liberal values”.

Don't forget Eve, most of these teachers come marching out of college after being Brainwashed by Liberal Professors.

I'm not talking any political motives, simply putting out there that IF cameras where put in, there needs to be clear procedures on what they are for, and who/when they will be reviewed.

Sadly, the state of the society has become, "Prove your innocence" in many cases, and even when you can, the public opinion has already tarnished one's reputation and image.

So as many have accused some of you of, it's not that the teachers would do anything wrong, you just don't want anything that might sound liberal coming out of their mouths. You only want things that agree with your conservative point of view taught. Teaching our entire history is frowned upon because the truth isn't what you're concerned with children learning. I mean it may cause them to think and feel differently than you want them to.

Putting cameras in classrooms to allow parents to spy and interfere with both the teaching and curriculum, is an idea doomed to have a bad outcome, period. GOPers, aren't your kids already dumb enough already? I wish y'all would just start conservative schools all over the country. Then you can control YOUR PEOPLE, when they melt down over truth and facts. And liberals can continue to teach the next generation of innovators to help fix the crap your side breaks. That would be better than trying to kill education for everybody because you think some 2000-year-old book, or your values, or the liars you elect somehow give you the right to do so.

You know, if this country did split right/left via secession, the right wouldn't starve, but they also would not prosper.

Maybe I'm missing something here. I certainly didn't see Florida advocate for cameras in the classroom. And he actually said, "if they were to be implemented, should only be reviewed by officials if there is a complaint of misconduct, and never reviewable in a live stream format."

I was just commenting on the overall idea and reasoning. Addressing the stupidity, not Florida. But I fixed it for ya.

US groups need to stop interfering in Canada: US ex-envoy

The statement comes after GoFundMe decided to return about $9m raised for protests in Canada against vaccine mandates.

A former American ambassador to Canada said groups in the US need to cease interfering in what many call an “occupation” in Ottawa as thousands protest vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions.

Protesters continued to hold loud rallies on Sunday in cities across the country in a show of solidarity with a week-long demonstration in the capital.

“Under no circumstances should any group in the USA fund disruptive activities in Canada. Period. Full stop,” Bruce Heyman, a former US ambassador under Barack Obama, tweeted late on Saturday.

After crowdfunding site GoFundMe said it would refund or redirect to charities the vast majority of millions raised by demonstrators protesting COVID-19 measures in the Canadian capital, prominent US Republicans such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis complained.

“It is a fraud for @gofundme to commandeer $9M in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing,” DeSantis tweeted.

He added he would investigate these deceptive practices and donors should be given a refund.

But GoFundMe had already changed its mind and said it would be issuing refunds to all. The company said it cut off funding for the organisers because it had determined the effort violated the site’s terms of service due to unlawful activity.

The so-called Freedom Convoy began as a movement against a vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures.

Protesters have shut down downtown Ottawa for more than a week, with some participants waving Confederate or Nazi flags and some saying they want to dissolve Canada’s government.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the protests an occupation.

US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has embraced conspiracy theories, also denounced GoFundMe for the move.

In Canada’s largest city, Toronto, police set up roadblocks throughout downtown, preventing any protesters in trucks or cars from getting near the provincial legislature, which is near five major hospitals. Police later moved in to clear a key intersection in the city.

Thousands descended on Ottawa again this weekend. Participants roasted hotdogs and doled out baked goods under tarps, while two men on horseback trotted through the city, one carrying a flag in support of former US President Donald Trump.

The former US president has spoken out in support of the truckers against “the harsh policies of far-left lunatic [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau who has destroyed Canada with insane COVID mandates”.

Residents of Ottawa are furious at the nonstop blaring of horns, traffic disruption and harassment, fearing no end is in sight.

In Toronto, a couple of hundred healthcare workers and supporters marched from the University of Toronto to the legislature against the truckers’ protests. They held placards reading, “free-dumb” and “N95 masks for all”.
Fringe minority

Trudeau, who has said the protesters represent only a “fringe minority”, earlier this week ruled out the use of troops against the truckers in the capital.

Demonstrators against COVID measures also gathered in Quebec City, Fredericton, and Winnipeg, with rallies planned for Regina, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria and the US border crossing in Coutts, Alberta province.

Police forces in those cities say they have learned lessons from Ottawa’s predicament and have developed strategies designed to protect key infrastructures, such as vital traffic corridors and hospitals, and also to prevent possible violence.

Some protesters set fireworks on the grounds of the National War Memorial late on Friday, drawing outrage from many Canadians.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022...hoL7kf7UcFULbQlhx4MAf4&sf159683231=1

And they can't even run for office in Canada. I guess it must be more about spreading misinformation and sewing discord and now they're doing it on foreign soil.

Second person to plead guilty in plot to kidnap Michigan governor

Feb 7 (Reuters) - A second person charged in a plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 has agreed to plead guilty and testify at a trial in March, according to a federal court filing on Monday.

Kaleb Franks, 27, will plead guilty to kidnapping conspiracy, in a plea deal approved by prosecutors and his lawyers. The charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

Franks is scheduled to stand trial in March in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan alongside four others charged in the case and will admit to conspiring from June 2020 to October 2020 to kidnap Whitmer, a Democrat.

In August last year, another man who pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the plot received a sentence of just over six years in prison, after he also agreed to testify against fellow extremists in the "Wolverine Watchmen" militia who were accused in the conspiracy. read more

Ty Garbin was the first to be convicted of scheming to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home. Since the FBI said it uncovered the conspiracy by members of the militia group, more than a dozen men have been charged in state or federal court.

Prosecutors said the suspected participants in the plot sought Whitmer's capture in retribution for wide-ranging public health orders imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. read more

Violent threats have become an increasing factor in American politics, ranging from the hundreds of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to overturn then-president Donald Trump's November 2020 election defeat, to phone threats made to election workers. read more

Whitmer, who served as a co-chair of Joe Biden's presidential campaign, has previously accused Republican Trump of hyping up far-right groups as he denounced COVID mitigation efforts that were carried out in states run by Democrats.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/se...lot-kidnap-michigan-governor-2022-02-07/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/po...YOIzzqAzFVjTNpr4JMS3R96ZnI9nf3P8QD6rRCBk

Iowa bill would require cameras in public school classrooms
A similar bill was proposed in Florida last month. Critics and teachers advocates say the bills are designed to censor classrooms and intimidate educators.
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Feb. 3, 2022, 8:05 PM EST
By Adam Edelman
Conservative lawmakers in Iowa introduced a bill this week that would require cameras to be installed in nearly every K-12 school classroom across the state, allowing parents to see livestreams.

Teachers advocates have criticized the effort as one designed to censor classrooms and intimidate educators who focus on subjects such as race and history.

The bill is the latest to be introduced by conservative legislators in states across the U.S., including Florida, who have launched efforts against what they say is critical race theory.

The Iowa bill, H.F. 2177, would require that cameras be placed in every public school classroom in the state, except for physical education and special education classes.

The cameras would feed to livestreams that could be viewed on the internet by parents, guardians and others.

Under the bill, teachers, administrators and other school staff members who fail to keep the cameras active and in working order or who “obstruct” the camera’s views could be fined up to 5 percent of their weekly salary per infraction. The cameras would be bought with funds already allocated to school districts.

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Norlin Mommsen, a Republican who represents a rural district in eastern Iowa, comes amid a monthslong effort by state GOP lawmakers that critics say aims to limit what is allowed to be taught in public school classrooms.

Mommsen said the primary purpose of his bill is to “increase the involvement of parents in their children’s education.”

Education groups and unions immediately condemned the legislation as censorship.

"Some politicians around the country want to limit not only what history our kids can learn about and what books they can read, censor the truth of our history in some cases, and, now in Iowa, they want to install classroom cameras for live monitoring of teachers," said Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, the largest educators union in the U.S.

“Instead of wasting public funds on monitoring equipment, we should employ additional qualified professionals, reduce class sizes, and provide more programming that helps students acquire the skills they need,” Pringle said by email.

Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek called the bill “completely outrageous and dangerous.”


Conservative groups that have been involved in efforts to ban the teaching of what they call critical race theory in public schools across the country have also recently proposed other bills that critics say are designed to regulate how and what educators may teach.

Meanwhile, public school administrators have been left to navigate tricky education politics intensified by state and national forces.

One such group, the Nevada Family Alliance, recently proposed placing body cameras on teachers to ensure they aren’t teaching critical race theory.

In the first three weeks of the year, more than 70 bills have been filed in 27 states to regulate the instruction of topics such as race, history and sexuality, according to an analysis published this week by PEN America, a free speech advocacy group. Advocates have said the sheer number of bills — as well as how severe many of them would be — is part of a robust effort by conservative lawmakers in GOP-controlled states to censor lessons surrounding those topics.

In some cases, the topics have been inaccurately described as “critical race theory” — the concept developed in the 1980s as a graduate-level academic framework to highlight and quantify the impacts of structural racism, including disparities among Black people and white people in policing and prosecution. It was rarely something likely to be taught in a school classroom.

Critics say some conservatives, including politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican and early opponent of critical race theory, have applied the term to ideas and books that they believe are too progressive or political for the classroom.

Last month, Republican lawmakers in Florida introduced a bill similar to the Iowa proposal, H.B. 1055, that would require cameras in classrooms and require teachers to wear microphones.

While the Florida legislation’s stated goal is to allow for more easily obtainable evidence of bullying or fighting in classrooms, a co-sponsor, Republican state Rep. Mike Beltran, said this month that the bill is designed to make sure teachers are “teaching the kids properly.”

Teachers groups and unions in the state have blasted the legislation as a tool for conservative lawmakers to “spy” on them.

Missouri state Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, a vocal critic of critical race theory, last year called for legislation to require teachers to wear body cameras as a way for parents to object to what they're teaching.

Republican-led legislatures in Georgia, Texas and West Virginia have all passed laws in recent years allowing cameras in classrooms, under certain conditions.

I took this article from a newspaper by where I live on Facebook tonight-
I read through some of the replies and some are from teachers. Some of the replies are pretty good.
One was like if the parents wanted to know what I was teaching, I send home a syllabus at the beginning of every semester. Maybe the parents should actually read their kids syllabus or come to a parent teacher conference.

But another couple teachers addressed more real world problems in the day in which we live. One said that she has had many kids in her classroom that areFoster children, children in the middle of custody battles, children who have been emergency removed from homes due to abusive situations. What is their legal protection?

And another one said she was concerned about who was watching her kids-She had issues with predators watching her kids all day and how do you protect the kids,

I thought these were very well said

If a parent is concerned about a child in the classroom, maybe they should have the child in another school.

It is a bridge too far for me, and too Orwellian. (Big Brother).

So much for small government.

One step closer to New Gilead.

Sickos watching kids was exactly what I thought when this all started. And no, I'm not referring to JUST the parents.

Florida Senate committee passes "Don't Say Gay" bill that would bar LGBTQ discussions in schools

The Florida Senate Education Committee passed a controversial bill on Tuesday that would bar school districts from encouraging classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity. The Parental Rights in Education bill, commonly referred to the "Don't Say Gay" bill by its critics, would apply to such topics in primary grade levels, as well as in cases where the discussions are deemed "not age-appropriate."

The bill, proposed by Republican State Senator Dennis Baxley, would extend to student support services, including counseling, and would require school district personnel to give parents all information related to a student's "mental, emotional or physical health or well-being," unless it's believed that such disclosure would result in abuse. Parents would be able to sue districts that do not follow these requirements.

The bill's purpose, according to its text, is to "reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children."

If Florida legislators pass the bill, it would go into effect on July 1, with all school district plans having to be updated by June 30, 2023.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who supports the bill, said at a roundtable in Miami on Monday that he doesn't approve of "injecting these concepts about choosing your gender" at schools.

"We've seen instances of students being told by different folks in school, 'Oh, don't worry. Don't pick your gender yet. Do all this other stuff.' They won't tell the parents about these discussions that are happening," DeSantis said. "That is entirely inappropriate. Schools need to be teaching kids to read, to write. They need to them them science, history. We need more civics."

DeSantis said he doesn't think such conversations are "going on in large numbers," but that he wants "to make sure that our schools are really focusing on the basics."

"We don't want them to be engines to be putting things like the CRT [critical race theory] that we talked about, things that are divisive and are not accurate of course when you start talking about some of the stuff that they're teaching with it, and making sure that we're really focusing on the basics," he said.

A 2019 survey from The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) found that the school climate in Florida is "not safe" for most LGBTQ students as it is.

The vast majority of LGBTQ youth who responded to the survey said they regularly heard anti-LGBTQ remarks in schools, and about a quarter had experienced physical harassment at school. But 98% of respondents could identify at least one school staff member who was supportive.

Studies have shown that nationally, schools serve as a vital support system for LGBTQ youth.

The Trevor Project's 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that of the more than 82,000 youth who responded, only one-third considered their home LGBTQ-affirming, while 50% considered their school to be so.

The organization released a statement on Tuesday condemning Florida's proposed bill, saying it would result in "erasing LGBTQ identity, history, and culture — as well as LGBTQ students themselves." The organization also said it would effectively allow schools to "out" students to their parents without their consent.

"Banning speech about sexual orientation and gender identity in Florida classrooms would not only ben an infringement on civil rights, it would erase entire chapters of history, classic literature, and critical health information from textbooks, to say nothing of erasing students themselves," Sam Ames, the Trevor Project's director of advocacy and government affairs, said in a statement.

The bill has drawn significant backlash, including from the White House.

"I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community — especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill — to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are. I have your back, and my Administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve," said a tweet from President Biden.

"Every parent hopes that our leaders will ensure their children's safety, protection, and freedom," a White House spokesperson said in a statement reported by The Associated Press. "Today, conservative politicians in Florida rejected those basic values by advancing legislation that is designed to target and attack the kids who need support the most — LGBTQI+ students, who are already vulnerable to bullying and violence just for being themselves."

Students and LGBTQ advocates have been protesting the measure for days across the state.

"It's a radical roll back of the calendar," Scott Galvin, executive director of Safe Schools South Florida, told CBS Miami last week. "It will stop teachers and schools from talking to kids about LGBTQ issues and it will stop them from talking about gay issues among themselves."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-dont-say-gay-bill-lgbtq-schools/

Republicans are homophobic as hell. Shameful legislation.

I AM????

Reading
Writing
Arithmatic

You conveniently forgot about History and Science.

You have to believe in the stuff.
ARE YOU ALL REPUBLICANS? No, you seem to be the guy saying, “I'm an outlier, don't blame me for what those other Republicans are doing”. But many of you are homophobic, or we wouldn't be seeing this ridiculous attack on education.

Sufficed before the industrial revolution… Yet more than half the country was and still is illiterate. And none of those three teach you how to reason. That bit often gets lost in these conversations, like in this little nugget of Throw Wisdom.

BTW – It's arithmetic with an E. Just saying.

Then clarify your initial statement when you make it. Your words were: "Republicans are homophobic as hell". I'm a republican. I'm not homophobic.

Well you can't tell that by looking at your party as a whole. Your problem, not mine.

Arch, you are a smart guy, so I know you are purposely using flawed linguistics to to distract from OCD's point. Clearly because you cannot refute it through real discussion.

When OCD refers to republicans, he is referring to the republican party as an institution, not about every singe member of the party.

The Washington Commanders sexually harassed their female employees. This refers to the team nto every single member

Russia is getting ready to invade the Ukraine. If they do, we will say the Russians invaded the Ukraine. Again referring to the institution not implying that every single Russian invaded the Ukraine or that every single Russian supports the idea.

The United States Army built a military base in some foreign country. It is the institution of the Army that built the base, not every single member.

Etc, etc, etc. Simple 8th grade English.
You are purposely trying to obfuscate the discussion because you know it is an argument that you can't otherwise win.

A Republican Texas House candidate and former teacher complained that she couldn't let her students laugh at transgender classmates
Wed, February 9, 2022, 2:18 PM

A Texas House candidate complained at a forum that she couldn't let "kids laugh at" transgender classmates.

Shelley Luther was recorded by the Houston Chronicle speaking about her experiences teaching transgender students.

"I am not comfortable with the transgenders," she was recorded saying.

A Texas House of Representatives candidate and former teacher was recorded at a forum complaining that she couldn't let "kids laugh at" transgender classmates.

Shelley Luther, a salon owner and former school Spanish teacher who is running to represent Texas House District 62 in northeast Texas, was recorded by the Houston Chronicle while speaking at a candidate forum on Saturday.

In the recording, Luther can be heard speaking about the transgender community and her experience teaching transgender students.

"I am not comfortable with the transgenders," she said. "The kids that they brought in my classroom when they said that this kid is transgendering into a different sex, that I couldn't have kids laugh at them … like, other kids got in trouble for having transgender kids in my class."


According to the Houston Chronicle, Luther also said that transgender children in Texas schools are a reason she supports "school choice," or a parent's decision to choose what type of school their child attends.

Luther did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The Republican candidate rose to prominence in mid-2020, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared that hair salons and barbershops would be forced to close amidst the pandemic.

Luther, the owner of a salon in Dallas, defied the order and kept her business open.

Despite being sentenced to seven days in jail, she was released after just two, CBS News reported at the time.

Shortly after the order was lifted, Sen. Ted Cruz visited Luther's shop for a haircut and said she was "wrongly imprisoned when she refused to apologize for trying to earn a living."

Luther's campaign website says that she is also against allowing "Chinese Nationals into our colleges where they can obtain classified information, steal technology, and essentially learn how to defeat the United States."

Luther previously ran for a position in the Texas State Senate in 2020, losing by 13 percentage points in a runoff election to Republican Drew Springer.

Her current competition in the race to become a representative is current state Rep. Reggie Smith, who went unchallenged in the 2020 Republican primary and went on to handily defeat his Democratic challenger in the general election.

The Texas Republican primary, which will determine if Luther makes it to the general election ballot, is on March 1, 2022.



https://news.yahoo.com/republican-texas-house-candidate-former-191843734.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

Similarly, there are many on the left that paint with way-to-broad of a brush. Those people don't seem to know the difference between conservative and Republican, much less the difference between big-R and little-r. So along those lines, I think arch's response is easier to understand.

A race to the bottom.
President Camacho will happen in my lifetime. (donny captured his stupidity but not his charm or style.)

I just don't understand why people can't accept that people are different. You don't have to like their differences, but at least show common decency and respect. At this is not a party line things either, I see it from all walks of life and people.

You are definitely correct in that too many people judge others by group rather than individual. It takes a lot less effort.

As for arch's response, I think he knew exactly what OCD meant but was using a common confusion to distract from the discussion. I could be wrong and will let arch clarify when he gets back on the board. But I've seen him use that technique numerous times before.

That's why I drink Gatorade. It's got electrolytes.

It’s what plants crave.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. There’s a couple factors at play, IMHO:

1. Distance. The curds have essentially separated from the whey over time. Urban sprawl, neighborhoods, geographic divides, etc. People have geographically located themselves with other like-minded people. People are not - especially in COVID times - exposed regularly to people who differ from them. That allows for dehumanization of people who are different.

2. Dopamine. People have a natural instinct to seek out things that make them feel good. One way is to reinforce our own beliefs with like-minded people. Creating the echo chambers, so to speak. You can look at various threads here (Thanks Y’all) to see how riled up people get in beliefs without substance or question.

3. Fight or flight. On the flip side, now that we are geographically separated and have formed our echo chamber, we now hear things occasionally that are different which causes a fear response. Our survival instinct tells us to get together with our tribes and find a way to kill what we perceive as a threat. Our empathetic response is disabled, because like I said in 1, we have dehumanized the source of that opposing view.

4. Media and modern politicians have noticed and exploited points 2 and 3 above, reinforcing both our dopamine and our fear. It’s a simple equation. They exploit our animalistic instincts - which are rooted to our survival - thus overwhelming our advanced evolved human intelligence. This allows them to maintain a state of control in their search for power, fame and wealth. They also take advantage of point 1 above through gerrymandering.

I think there’s a lot more too, but that’s just a bird’s eye view of some of my shower thoughts on the topic.

You might enjoy reading High Conflict by Amanda Ripley. She explores all of the things you mentioned and how these instincts fail to actually solve conflicts.

brought to you by Carls Jr.

This is disgusting!

Thanks! I’ll have to check that out.

I know this is a common response to a lot of your posts…but…

Huh??

Ohio Mayor Says It's a Slippery Slope From Ice Fishing to Prostitution
https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-mayor-says-its-slippery-slope-ice-fishing-prostitution-1677841

I hope there is some additional context here outside of the original video.

Reply was to Memphis' post

"Just some data points to consider." Lol!

Love the reaction of the guy sitting next to him.

Imagine thinking Hudson of all places will be ripe with prostitutes.

I'm actually surprised Hudson would elect someone this dumb. This is likely his first and only term.

Of course, he's chummy with Mandel as well.

I'm pretty sure I hate Josh Mandel...I don't say that about many politicians, although I think most of them are charlatans.

I was hoping Bernie Moreno would have stayed in the race to combat this douche canoe.

I wonder how anybody likes him, he's so wormy. Like a slug.

Mandal is definitely trash. Also, what’s insane is he is likely out next Senator. This after all his money scandals as treasurer.

He’d steal from his own mother if it benefited him in anyway.

I AM a smart person.

I hate the 'lumping' part of it. Period.

I've done it in the past, I know. But saying "republicans are homophobic" is just idiotic. It's akin to saying white people are rednecks. Or black people are gangbangers. Or democrats are free loaders.

Lumping someone into a group is just a way to try to separate and divide.

What happened to individuals/individuality???

So, I voted for Trump? Over Hillary, yes.

I'm conservative. Hate me?

He does it all the time, the lumping.

Another poster does it as well, but starts off with, in a reply, "so you're saying............." which is no where near what the cited poster was saying.

Ohio's version of Tommy Tuberville. Ugh. Maybe Portman will reconsider his retirement considering the players, both left and right?

Well, REPUBLICANS are homophobic, rather you think that is idiotic or not. They are your people, you deal with it if you don't like the label. Enough of you on the right say enough, and these homophobic bills won't be brought up. So you can bitch about me saying it, or you can do something to change it. I'm doing what I can to change it by putting the shameful truth right in front of you.

BTW - Trumpians, the MAGA crowd, are racist as hell. Left you out of that one.

See, posts like this one ^ are why I can't take you seriously on anything political.

Many dem's are homophobic, whether you believe it or not. Oh, you aren't doing anything to change it, by the way.

And Trumpians and MAGA are racist as hell? Another point against you. Oh........yeah, I care about your feelings...

I think it is the other way around, more people that are homophobic happen to be Republicans. It is a bit of nuance, but there is an important point that is being missed.

No one likes to be categorized (or stereotyped). It does not make a difference in terms of race, religion, ethnicity, age, political beliefs, sexual preference, gender, economic status, education or whatever category you can devise. To categorize someone before they have revealed themselves through words or actions is something that I have tried to avoid, but it is a human tendency and a marketing tool that pigeon holes people into categories that may not be accurate and sometimes quite offensive and/or dismissive.

There sure is. He’s trying to increase state revenue through a massive increase in fishing licenses purchased.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville dismissed proposals to ban stock trading for lawmakers as "ridiculous."

"They might as well start sending robots up here," the Alabama Republican told The Independent.

Several Republicans and Democrats have introduced bills to ban lawmakers from trading stocks.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Wednesday rejected proposals to ban members of Congress from trading stocks, calling the idea "ridiculous."

"They might as well start sending robots up here," the Alabama Republican told The Independent's Eric Michael Garcia. "You can't do anything."

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"I think it would really cut back on the amount of people that would want to come up here and serve, I really do," Tuberville added. "We don't need that."

Tommy Tuberville
Sen. Tommy TubervilleTom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Tuberville's comments come as several of his colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, have introduced a slew of proposals to ban lawmakers from trading stocks, representing a bipartisan push to uproot potential conflicts of interest and violations of stock trading rules in Congress.

Insider's "Conflicted Congress" investigation identified 55 lawmakers who failed to properly report their financial trades last year as mandated by the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, also known as the STOCK Act. The rule is designed to combat insider trading by requiring timely disclosure of stock transactions.

Video: How Game Stop went from retail giant to gaming dinosaur

Ad: 0:050:13


Tuberville was one of the worst violators of the STOCK Act in 2021, disclosing 132 stock trades weeks or months late with transactions totaling at least $894,000.

A spokesperson for Tuberville did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

Some recent proposals put forth by members of Congress also aim to apply a stock-trading ban on lawmakers' spouses, children, and their congressional staffers. Other bills don't go as far as an outright ban, and instead propose a requirement for incoming members of Congress to put their stocks in a blind trust.

Unlike Tuberville, many Republicans have expressed support for a stock-trading ban. Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ben Sasse of Nebraska have each introduced bills to ban lawmakers from stock trading.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday signaled that he'd be open to considering a ban, telling reporters, "We'll take a look at that kind of legislation and see what may be appropriate."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after previously dismissing the idea, is now working with House Democratic leaders to ban lawmakers from stock trading.

https://news.yahoo.com/sen-tommy-tuberville-violated-stock-200638514.html

I think that tells you everything you need to know about Tommy Tuberville.

Nuanced or not, OCD has had like 5 chances to clarify and he stuck with the same wording. That's why I chimed in earlier.

Well said. To think otherwise is to become what one was railing against.

If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. Can't help that you guys have an issue with calling the pot black, when it's blatantly obvious the pot is black. Arch wants to make it out like a personal attack on him. Well when I see legislation that takes the rights of others to protect BS sensitivities, screw your sensitivities. I know that's far too much for you to wrap around, so we'll just end it on that. Those poor kids dealing with being different, they have it hard enough without a bunch of bible thumping idiots making it harder on them. POC, LBGTQ, IMMIGRANTS all get regular doses of hate from one party. Their legislation shows it. It is what it is. Republicans are homophobic, among many other deplorable things…

When someone poses something to you in the form of a question, it's not a statement and it gives you every opportunity to explain what it is you meant.

Punctuation is important.

What I think it is fair to say is that it's only Republican politicians, which Republican voters elect, that are fighting to keep teachers from even discussing being gay in classrooms while gay marriage is legal and many of the children in their schools live in gay households. The same could be said about banning books in schools. The same could be said about when they fought legalizing gay marriage. The same could be said about restrictive voting laws when no mass voter fraud has ever happened. If you look at the laws they pass, the legislation they present, it's easy to see that only one party is about restricting and minimizing not only minority voting but also doing their best to stop anything that advances the rights of people with a different sexual preference.

i couldnt help but think about how many right wing americas that are currently being played by the GOP like this caller is expressing with the conservatives in england. its like, i want to feel bad and understand where you're coming from, but you kept claiming to have these values, vote the exact opposite, and then try to act surprised and shocked when the people you vote for don't represent your communities when in office.


its like you warned me about the snake oil salesman, turned around and bought the snake oil, then get mad at me for not buying the snake oil like you told me to.

Searchy Mc Search face says and I quote.
" the origins of snake oil salesman as a derogatory term date back to the latter half of the 19th century "
So, cheeri ho', tally ho', or whatever the *** they said back then.

Shame there is all that Biden rah-rah stuff at the beginning of the clip. Not needed and the bar was set so low by Trump - that comparing Biden's hold over of staff vs Trump is laughable and just highlights what a Pro-Biden mouthpiece MSNBC is. I hate that "reporting" ..... that said the last 90 seconds or whatever it was with the total debunk of the "funding crack pipes" lies That would have been worth watching for everyone. As it is - it will be lost and you will still have the Trump brainwashed and brain dead believing the Right Wing faux news.

I don't disagree with you. The vast majority of the video had nothing to do with the actual subject matter.

The biggest problem I see with right wing disinformation is that it takes a while to fact check what they're saying in order to give a fully factual rebuttal. By the time you gather all of the facts in order to disprove their propaganda they already have their followers believing the lies they have told. We saw it on this very board about the topic. People who immediately wanted to believe it did so without verifying any of the information. Here is an article that addresses strictly the topic at hand.....

Fact check: False claim that Biden administration is distributing $30M of 'crack pipes'

The claim: The Biden administration will spend $30 million on crack pipes

A federal grant program aimed at reducing the health risks associated with drug use has become the subject of misinformation online, with social media users and some Republican politicians accusing the White House of distributing free crack pipes to Americans.

The confusion stems from a Feb. 7 article published by the Washington Free Beacon. Citing an anonymous spokesman from the Department of Health and Human Services, the conservative news outlet wrote that a program backed by the Biden administration "will provide pipes for users to smoke crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine, and 'any illicit substance.'"

Republican politicians quickly seized on the claim.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote Feb. 8 on Twitter that President Joe Biden "is sending free meth & crack pipes to minority communities in the name of ‘racial equity.'" In a tweet sharing the Free Beacon article, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote that Biden's crime policy is "crack pipes for all."

By Feb. 9, the claim was a popular talking point across social media platforms.

"The Biden plan to provide $30 million in crack pipes to the black community is an apt metaphor for the relationship between the black underclass and the Democratic Party," Dinesh D'Souza, a conservative commentator, said in posts shared Feb. 9 on Instagram and Twitter.

The posts refer to a program that will distribute $30 million in funds to community-based harm-reduction programs, part of an effort from the Biden administration to address a massive surge in overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. By providing health and social services for active drug users, harm-reduction programs can reduce overdoses, HIV transmission and other negative health outcomes, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

While some of the money from the Biden administration's grant program is tabbed for supplies like sterile syringes and "safe smoking kits," officials say distributing or funding crack pipes aren't part of the program. Both the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services have said crack pipes were never part of the plan.

"The Biden-Harris administration has never authorized the use of federal funding for smoke pipes and will not in the future," Sarah Lovenheim, the agency's assistant secretary for public affairs, told USA TODAY in an email.

D'Souza told USA TODAY he based his social media posts on initial reports about the grant, though none reviewed by USA TODAY made the claim D'Souza did that a total of $30 million was going to crack pipes.

USA TODAY reached out to several social media users who shared the claim for comment.

No funding for crack pipes, feds say

As other media outlets and independent fact-checking organizations have reported, there is no evidence the federal grant program will provide free crack pipes.

In a joint statement issued Feb. 9, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Dr. Rahul Gupta said the harm-reduction grants won't be used to purchase pipes.

"No federal funding will be used directly or through subsequent reimbursement of grantees to put pipes in safe smoking kits," the statement reads.

The original 75-page grant proposal from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is housed in the Department of Health and Human Services, does not mention crack pipes. It does, however, mention "safe smoking kits/supplies."

Safe smoking kits, also called "safer" smoking kits, are designed to reduce health risks associated with drug use. Because open wounds and sores increase the risk of disease transmission, the kits often include first-aid materials, according to the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition, a grassroots advocacy organization. They also sometimes include glass pipe stems and mouthpieces to prevent health issues associated with makeshift smoking devices, according to Harm Reduction International, a nongovernmental organization in the United Kingdom.

But the Biden administration's grant program never included pipes, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Feb. 9.

"(Crack pipes) were never a part of the kit; it was inaccurate reporting," she said during a press briefing. "A safe smoking kit may contain alcohol swabs, lip balm, other materials to promote hygiene and reduce the transmission of diseases like HIV and hepatitis."

USA TODAY reached out to the White House for additional comment.

'Safe smoking kits' a small part of grant program

Though D'Souza and many others online connected crack pipes to the full $30 million price tag of the initiative, smoking is a small portion of the grant program.

The grant documentation says its purpose is to "support community-based overdose prevention programs, syringe services programs and other harm reduction services" to help "reduce the negative personal and public health impacts of substance use or misuse."

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's grant proposal, which was announced and opened for applications in December, lists eight broad initiatives that grantees must complete. Among them: referring drug users to treatment programs, distributing overdose-reversal medication and educating users on ways to reduce the negative health outcomes of drug use.

Grant recipients must also provide information about their activities so the government can evaluate whether the program is meeting its goals, according to the document. This includes data on every supply purchased and the number of individuals referred to treatment centers.

Grant recipients must also provide information about their activities so the government can evaluate whether the program is meeting its goals, according to the document. This includes data on every supply purchased and the number of individuals referred to treatment centers.

Fact check:Claim that cannabis kills cancer cells is missing context

Safe smoking kits are one of 12 different supply categories listed in the grant proposal. Others include safe sex kits, infectious disease testing kits and vaccination services.

The grant program prioritizes underserved groups that are "greatly impacted" by substance use disorders. According to an executive order Biden signed in January 2021, this includes members of racial, ethnic, sexual and gender minority groups, as well as people with disabilities, those who live in rural areas and "persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality."

Although it's inaccurate to describe the administration as distributing crack pipes, some critics are nonetheless blasting the federal program for providing any kind of supplies to drug users and addicts. They contend the government has no business providing such supplies

"There is no safe way to smoke these dangerous drugs. Sooner or later, these drugs kill people," Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, said in a Feb. 10 statement announcing he and other Republican lawmakers had proposed a bill to block federal funds from being used for crack pipes.

But public health officials have touted the benefits of programs to provide equipment promoting safer drug use, such as smoking accessories and syringes. Drug users who are part of syringe programs are five times more likely to enter treatment for a substance abuse disorder and 50% less likely to develop HIV or hepatitis C, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that the Biden administration will spend $30 million on crack pipes. Both the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House have said this is not true.

The federal overdose prevention program will distribute $30 million in grants to community-based harm-reduction initiatives. Safe smoking kits are one of 12 categories of supplies that grantees may purchase with the money. Crack pipes are not among the materials that can be distributed or purchased as part of the grant.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ded-30-million-grant-program/6736281001/

Lol, I didn't think Hudson would tolerate a halfwit like this guy for too long.

Yet another very stable genius........

Mike Lindell says he'll use parachutes to deliver pillows to the Freedom Convoy after they got stuck at the US-Canada border

Mike Lindell announced on Sunday he was sending 12,000 pillows to Canada's Freedom Convoy truckers.

He told Insider on Wednesday he was still awaiting a permit from Canadian customs to deliver them.

He told The Daily Beast he's now booked a helicopter to drop the pillows with tiny parachutes.

The MyPillow CEO and Trump acolyte Mike Lindell said he plans to drop pillows to truckers in the Canadian "Freedom Convoy" after his overland shipments were delayed.

The "Freedom Convoy" protests against vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions started in Ottawa on January 28 and have since spread across the country, disrupting services and supply chains.

Lindell, who has backed the anti-vaccination movement, announced Sunday he was sending 12,000 pillows from his Minnesota factory to the "brave truckers" blocking roads near the US-Canada border and Ottawa.

But he told Insider's Cheryl Teh on Wednesday that the ground delivery was delayed as he awaited permission from Canadian authorities.

Lindell told The Daily Beast that he had since chartered a helicopter and planned to jettison the pillows over the truckers using "little parachutes" on Thursday.

"We need to get the MyPillows to the people!" he told the outlet.

"I just confirmed with them [helicopter company], and yes, this is the plan. We have the helicopter confirmed, but we are moving the time up to 11 a.m. [Thursday]."

Lindell told The Daily Beast he could not disclose the location of the pillow drop.

It is not clear whether Lindell would need authorization to deliver the pillows by air. The Canada Border Services Agency did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The Freedom Convoy protests have stretched on for more than three weeks, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday invoked rarely-used emergency powers to try and end the standoff. The 1988 Emergencies Act allows the government to ban public gatherings and restrict travel.

Speaking on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government was also moving to freeze the bank accounts of the truckers and suspend their vehicle insurance.

Variations of the Freedom Convoy have spread from Canada to countries including Austria, New Zealand, and France.

Read the original article on Business Insider

https://sports.yahoo.com/mike-lindell-says-hell-parachutes-122938428.html

I wonder if Trudeau will shoot down the chopper?

"There will be no rest for these seditious insurrectionists, especially those spotted anywhere around that one dude with the swastika. Their sleep is a threat to democracy".

Nothing has been shot down yet. But I'm sure you are dreaming that it will happen. I think the current punishments being given the truckers who are blocking trade and border crossings are appropriate. Unless of course you are promoting lawlessness?

Is Ambassador Bridge open today?
The bridge's owner, Detroit International Bridge Co., said in a statement that “the Ambassador Bridge is now fully open allowing the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again.”4 days ago

They were asked to open the route and did so. Unlike the other lawlessness we've watched with protests in America... Not that there's any real comparison to blocking traffic and burning down entire cities.

So you think revoking their licenses, freezing bank accounts and $100,000 fines seem appropriate?

Sounds about right.

Over 10k people who were involved in the riots during the summer were arrested. Stop acting like that didn't happen. And please tell me which cities were "burned down"? There weren't any. Exaggeration is your best weapon at this point. They were warned and told that's what would happen and they chose to stay anyway. So they made their choice. Since when did you become an expert on Canadian law?

Ahhh, so revoking their licenses, freezing bank accounts and $100,000 fines ARE appropriate.

Gotcha.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Florida...

We can hope.

STUPID VIDEO. But I am amazed to see you spreading deep fakes of not one but two POTUS's. Don't let the DOJ see you, you might end up in one of Kamala's trumpian black sites with a hood on your head. Not the hood you know, either.

I don't know what Canadian law allows do you? But when you're told it will happen and you're too stupid to move your truck when you're blocking international trade? And can you show if they actually did that to anyone? I think your right wing outrage may be jumping the gun here. Was anyone sentenced to this or was this the threat being issued?

That's all he's got. The stupidity posted speaks volumes.

Why do you keep asking the same questions?


Third time:

Their dictator has already stated he will be revoking their licenses, freezing bank accounts and levying $100,000 fines. Accounts have already been frozen.
He obviously makes up Canadian law as he goes.

Second time:

Is Ambassador Bridge open today?
The bridge's owner, Detroit International Bridge Co., said in a statement that “the Ambassador Bridge is now fully open allowing the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again.”4 days ago


First time... read sloooowlly...

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says financial service providers have already frozen accounts of certain individuals associated with the trucker convoy blockades and protests.

Freeland said that while the government is choosing not to provide more detail about the number of the accounts suspended, “action is being taken [and] is going to increase” in the coming days.

Ottawa gave new powers to financial institutions, through invoking the Emergencies Act on Monday, to freeze or suspend an account of an individual or business affiliated with the blockades without a court order.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/fre...-have-been-frozen-more-to-come-1.5785343


SEEMS APPROPRIATE, RIGHT???

You do realize it wasn't open when they had to be forcibly removed, right?

Windsor police make arrests, tow vehicles at Ambassador Bridge as protests wind down

https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio...-arrests-tow-trucks-at-ambassador-bridge

Justin Trudeau was elected. Maybe you don't understand the definition of dictator. In your world it's someone who does something you disagree with.

So now you've decided to back off of the other accusations you were making because this is the only one you can back up when it comes right down to it. Got it.

I don't know Canadian law. Neither do you. So now you've decided to defend foreigners for illegal protests that shuts down international trade. Who'da thunk it?

lmao.

These are "illegal protests".

Set cities afire in US? "Mostly peaceful protests".

I'm. Not. Making. Accusations.

Those are the dictator's words and threats. Not mine.


Punishments seem appropriate, right???

A duly elected Prime minister is not a dictator. Find yourself a dictionary.

dictator

a ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force.

Setting cities afire is not what you said. This is what you said. "burning down entire cities". Nice try though.

Over 90 percent of protests this summer were peaceful, report shows

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-...s-this-summer-were-peaceful-report-shows

About 93% of racial justice protests in the US have been peaceful, a new report finds

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/us/blm-protests-peaceful-report-trnd/index.html

So now you've backed up into proclaiming "words and threats", not what he actually did. Got it. I mean if we want to get into "what he said" I think you're fighting a losing battle. Let's start with "windmills cause cancer".

Bro, if you are nothing else, you're entertaining.


Over 500 violent protests, but 93% were "peaceful".

DIY? 97% of murderers aren't serial killers??

Facts have never been your friend. Nothing has changed. Keep dancing.

One problem. Canada is already a democracy.

Yeah, but these covid truckers are a threat to democracy. They're seditious insurrectionists!

You can see these long-haul truckers sitting alone in their cab, non-stop super-spreading covid to themselves. Or at their delivery point, getting run over by forklifts spreading covid to forklift operators while neglecting permanent pedestrian lanes.

They're hardworking essential workers dirty, greedy bums, spreading covid to the masses.


What the dictator (the one that just had covid, probably passed to him from a trucker) wants is simple...

If you're unvaccinated:

Submit a detailed quarantine plan using ArriveCAN upon border arrival (Don't worry, the phone app won't track you ).

Submit to a covid test and test negative.

Drop empty trailer off and go directly home, you must provide physical, residential address as well as route plan on your ArriveCAN app.

Stay quarantined for 14 days, no work-worky.

Submit a negative test on day eight.


Return To Work:

Submit another $150 - $400, lab-tested PCR test (you know, the ones that can't tell the difference between covid and the common flu) 72 hours prior to arrival at border.


Until then, keep your dirty, super-spreader a$$ at home. If you don't get vaccinated you will die. If not from covid, from a slow starvation.


These truckers are hardworking essential workers a menace to society.

You see, vaccination prevents you from getting or spreading covid, just ask Joe Biden. All the stories of vaccinated individuals getting covid? FAKE NEWS!

This thing would have been over a long time ago if these truckers would just go get the jab.

Lolz.

#democracy

I feel bad for the police. They are in a pretty tough spot and have next to no choice to comply with this Act.

I think the Canadian Government is now all-in and hoping/praying something extreme happens from the truckers that they can latch on to to justify this whole thing.....even after all these days of seemingly peaceful protesting. As tensions rise, it definitely could happen.

I'm just hoping, in the end, it will be 93% peaceful.

Yeah, it's a real tough spot. There will probably be incidences that paint the police as using unnecessary brutality, such as the video below, kneeing someone to the ground when it appears as if he was under some kind of duress. Not a good look when there are people in the crowd shouting that he's a wounded veteran.




Maybe if they keep the reporters out, it will not make the mainstream media.






As far as 93% peaceful, too late, as long as one person resists it will be 100% violent. You've got to subscribe to the tricky math to understand.

"You see", there were over 10,000 protests during the "hot summer of mostly non-violence". With so many protests, and a slide rule, you can somehow evenly compare 100 nights of arson, vandalism and violence in Portland to a peaceful rally of 12 people in front of a CVS is Podunk, Iowa.

I hope Biden takes a lesson on how to deal with the alt-right here.



/purple

... and the 40% of truckers that are minorities. Unless you think minorities also think their “white identity” is under attack.

#fakenews

I didn't say anything about white identity, did I? Hmm. Trying to make the connection… unless you mean the “alt-right” that I used. That's all Republicans still in the party today. Alt-right. The right exited and took what was left of the sanity on your side with it.

Ah, so all Republicans are now alt-right. I'll make a mental note. Question though, since you use both terms so freely... are they also Nazis?

He thinks everyone who leans right is an alt right, because he moved so far left that he fell off a cliff and became brain damaged.

Should I shed a tear for the party of insurrection? It's not like we weren't yelling that you were heading in a bad direction for four years… Republicans earned their labels.

Except no one was moving in a bad direction. Trump was on an island with some bad actors around him. Most right moderates dont want much to do with him.

You just like to post hate about everyone who doesn't fall in line with your extremist agenda.

True conservatives are about as much "the party of insurrection", in the real world, as you are "the voice of reason" on Dawgtalkers.

I might agree if the Republican Party itself hadn't called the Jan 6th attack legitimate political discourse. Or if most of it's leadership wasn't still promoting known and proven lies about a stolen election and mass voter fraud.

Or if they didn't censor true conservatives who have simply spoken the truth.

Or if various members of the GOP hadn't reacted so passionately during the attack - only to then slowly try to spin the attack saying "you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit".

Or if the Former Republican Speaker of the House hadn't suggested that members of the Jan 6th Commission could go to jail for trying to uncover the truth.

But as it is - it sure does look like the majority of the GOP, which is still controlled by Trump, is not at all far off from being 'the Party of the Insurrection'. True conservatives? Not so much. Just the politicians.

It's hilarious to watch the same people who called for them to use the military to clear the streets of our own cities only months ago to now act like their hair is on fire when Canada is using the same strong armed tactics they promoted here. #fauxoutrage

Please name one of these mysterious, imaginary people.

Let me give you an even better example.

Why Republicans Are Passing Laws Protecting Drivers Who Hit Protesters

https://slate.com/business/2021/04/drivers-hit-protesters-laws-florida-oklahoma-republicans.html

Trump says he will deploy military if state officials can't contain protest violence

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-considering-move-invoke-insurrection-act-n1221326

Only when military leaders and governors spoke up did Trump back down from doing this.

Where were you when Oklahoma and Florida were passing these laws? Where were you when Trump was claiming he would use the military against our own people? These things were going on in your own country. Are you saying many Trump supporters didn't agree with him?

Yes freezing bank accounts is so much worse than running people over with your car.

What's even odder is the people endorsing strong arm tactics over peaceful protests NOW are the same that months ago were saying don't use force to stop the "peaceful" protests in our cities - let them block the streets, they have the right.

So you have nothing to say about legalizing running over protestors and Trump threatening to use the military against our own people. And now you to want to chime in on Canada? So now Trudeau is acting more like Trump and it's suddenly an issue with you guys. lmao

It's odd how so many claim Trudeau was some kind of uber liberal and was lambasted for it. Now he's not acting that way and gets lambasted for it. You guys really need to make up your minds.

Define "so many" and how it gets funneled into "you guys".

You have a lot of imaginary friends.

Now criticizing the seizure of bank accounts means you endorse running over bodies with cars.

You, as usual, just put words in my mouth. But, what you think I said Is NOT what I said.

Your first link contains the phrase "protection for those that UNINTENTIONALLY......." and also "if they feared for their lives....."

Your second link - shoot, you even posted it: "Trump says he will deploy military if state officials can't contain protest violence".

Notice the use of the word IF, as well as the phrase "can't contain protest VIOLENCE".

"If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them," Trump said, referring to himself as "your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters."

That's from your link.

Yes. Trump threatened to use the military if city mayors refused to stop the riots that came after the protests. How does that change anything? Since when is it okay to use the military against our own citizens? And exactly what does "in fear for your life" mean? That's a very open statement that means very different things to many different people. It's a perfect gotchya thing open to interpretation. Can you define exactly what actions it would take to be "in fear of your life"?

You always say the federal government overreaches and gets involved in dictating to states and local government. Right up until the moment they say or threaten to do it. Now you're defending Trump for threatening to do exactly that.

jc

want to know how unproblematic Canada is?

this is the biggest news story coming out of the country in years.

It's more a US right-wing hair on fire story than a Canadian one. The protestors are moving when the police come in, from what I've watched the last couple of days. Protest are still happening. Arrest are being made, but it all seems mostly peaceful. But I did hear they used 'chemical' irritants in a report this morning.

Reading is fundamental. In your own link, the words were "...use military IF the cities and states REFUSE to take action to protect the life and property....."

That has NOTHING to do with peaceful protests, whatsoever.

He's been calling out imaginary people who said imaginary things to make an imaginary point.

jc

aye, Tucker Carlson is getting real cringey with his comments on AOC. this is starting to come off like incel nonsense.

Yes but it's a chance to make a progressive look bad. carpe diem !

His parents had a schedule for dropping him on his head. America will be a better place when Tucker is no more.

And now you are trying to convince people you care about Canada. And so trump threatened to bring in military if Democratic mayors didn't do what he told them to and you approve. So much for your argument that you think the federal government shouldn't interfere with state and local government. Instead you back strong arm tactics by a president. The exact same thing you disapprove of in Canada.

Once again, putting words on someone's mouth that they never mentioned and never said.

Trump said "...IF the cities/states can't control the VIOLENT protests...."

You, sir, are the one that advocated letting peaceful protests happen. But now all of a sudden, you want the gov't. involved in peaceful protests.

Yes, Trump told them to stop the violence or he would send in troops. Was it violent protests he had gassed for his photo op in front of a church in Washington D.C.? you certainly weren't on here concerned when that happened. Unlike you, I don't get involved in the politics of foreign countries. It's their country to deal with, not mine. I can't vote there and have no involvement in how they run their country.

I was and am an advocate for peaceful protests in my country. I care about the politics is my country. I care when the president of my country threatens to unleash the military on our citizens. You didn't seem to care about that one bit. But now suddenly you're raising a stink about Canada? Yeah, right.

Again, putting false words in my mouth.

No, I'm pointing out the words that never came out of your mouth. And you are on here arguing about what's happening in Canada while saying you don't care about it. Maybe you need to start thinking about what is and isn't coming out of your mouth.

Here in Virginia things are looking up since we elected our new Governor.
Taxes are being cut, voters are being treated like adults again, our new AG has informed
our Progressive DA's they will either do their jobs or he will do it for them.

Our new government is aware they were elected to serve the people, not we the people serving them.

Let Freedom Ring!

jc

meanwhile in America:

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Speaks At White Nationalist Conference

https://www.yahoo.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-speaks-white-031631678.html

ORLANDO, Fla. — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) spoke at a white nationalist conference in Florida on Friday evening.

Greene, a QAnon conspiracist and rabidly anti-trans Republican, was the surprise speaker at the third annual America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, organized by white nationalist figurehead Nick Fuentes.

Fuentes, an antisemite and racist who attended the deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and who was recently subpoenaed for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, excitedly introduced Greene as the featured speaker from behind a lectern inside the Marriott Orlando World Center, according to a livestream of the event. (HuffPost was denied entrance to AFPAC.)

In her speech, Greene referred to the assembled AFPAC crowd — among them prominent right-wing extremists who have been photographed giving the Nazi salute and reciting the infamous “14 words,” a white supremacist slogan — as “canceled Americans.”

“You’ve been handed the responsibility to fight for our Constitution and stand for our freedoms, and stop the Democrats who are the communist party of the United States of America,” Greene said.

She also took time to attack transgender people, claiming Democrats have destroyed “gender” and “pronouns.”

Her speech was immediately followed by a series of virulently racist and homophobic diatribes from prominent extremists.

“They want to replace you,” said Vincent James Foxx, a former propagandist for the white supremacist street-fighting club Rise Above Movement. “Western white culture is the majority culture, to which even non-whites assimilate into today — and they’re better off for it.”

Then far-right podcaster Stew Peters called for the execution of Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, whom he falsely blamed for causing the coronavirus pandemic.

“Tony Fauci literally unleashed a bio weapon on the world. Why is this man running around free instead of hanging on the end of a noose somewhere?”

The crowd roared.

Greene’s presence at AFPAC underscores the thin line separating the Republican Party from the white nationalist extremist movement in America. Greene, after all, was not the only public official who spoke at AFPAC on Friday night.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who spoke at last year’s AFPAC, made an appearance via a pre-recorded video, as did Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers and Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, both Republicans.

Greene is also scheduled to speak Saturday morning from the main stage of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the pre-eminent annual gathering of the conservative movement in America, a few hours before former President Donald Trump is set to speak from the same stage.

HuffPost also spotted Greene at CPAC on Friday — only a few miles from the site of AFPAC — where she was treated like a celebrity, posing for photos and conducting interviews with right-wing media outlets.

Last year, Greene was stripped of her committee assignments for promoting violence against Democrats.

_____________

republicans are just open on their comfortability with racist now.

[quote]“You’ve been handed the responsibility to fight for our Constitution and stand for our freedoms, and stop the Democrats who are the communist party of the United States of America,” Greene said.[quote]

Sounds like Peen.

MTG is vile as hell. She'll get hers someday soon.

and this is what people dont get bro:

Florida senator says ‘militant left-wing’ Americans are a greater threat to country than all wars the US has ever fought

https://news.yahoo.com/florida-senator-says-militant-left-220633015.html

conservatives tried to excuse everything trump did as "oh he was just joking," or "he's telling it like it is". always saying we're whining about his style.

Well this dude has enabled all the crazies that exist in this country and we have republican officials saying this crap...and ACTUALLY mean it.

Scott isnt "joking" here. this isnt sarcasm. this dude really believes this crap. the majorie greene's and Gosar's really believe in this crap. conservatives elected a clown, but won't claim the circus that followed. everything that going on, and they still treat liberals as if we not even americans.

look at this:

“The woke left now controls the Democrat party, the entire federal government, the news media, academia, big tech, Hollywood, most corporate boardrooms and now even some of our top military leaders.

“They are working to redefine America, silence their opponents — and that means you — they are destroying just about everything they touch and they’ve got their hands on everything,” he said, without providing any evidence or context to back up his claims.

______

i mean damn. if its that bleak, isn't America already a lost cause? if the Dems have all of this, that means you are clearly the minority in your ideology/beliefs, right? like, whatever culture you identify with clearly isn't compatible with american culture.

im just so confused. i cant figure out how the republican party gains power if they don't control anything. its not making any sense.

bro these are people running for office across the GOP the last few elections. i wanted to keep this line of thinking out of the ukraine thread....man damn you can make a case there's a lot of support for Putin in this country that we care to admit. ive been telling you guys these crazies love that authoritarian style leadership.

If we were officially at war, most of this would be treason.

Fear is a very powerful weapon. It’s been overplayed by the far right. People like MTG are the result.

When you replace rationality with fear in order to further your agenda, it gets away from you and you end up losing your rational base (Jfan, DC, FATE, oober (I presume)), and substitute it with people like MTG and her base.

That is pretty much insane. To place Putin and Christianity in the same sentence is pure insanity.

They are either dumber than a box of rocks or being paid by Vlad.

She should move to russia so she can feel protected, what an idiot

Sen. Mitt Romney Slams GOP 'Morons' At 'Evil' White Nationalist Conference

Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) on Sunday castigated fellow Republican lawmakers who recently spoke at a white nationalist conference in Florida, calling the event “evil” and likening those attending to “morons.”

“There’s no place in either political party for this white nationalist or racism. It’s simply wrong. It’s, as you’ve indicated, speaking of evil, it’s evil as well,” Romney told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

He went on to call out Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) for speaking at the third annual America First Political Action Conference, which was organized by white nationalist figurehead Nick Fuentes in Orlando, Florida.

Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers and Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, both Republicans, also spoke at the event in a pre-recorded video.



“I don’t know them,” he said of Greene and Gosar, “but I’m reminded of that old line from the ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ movie where one character says, ‘Morons, I’ve got morons on my team.’ And I have to think anybody that would sit down with white nationalists and speak at their conference was certainly missing a few IQ points.”

Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Romney was also quick and vocal with his denouncement of fellow Republicans who have sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he believes any such support is “almost treasonous.” He also said he hopes many of them are “changing their stripes” in the wake of the ongoing violence.

“How anybody in this country, which loves freedom, can side with Vladimir Putin, which is an oppressor, a dictator, he kills people. He imprisons his political opponents. He has been an adversary of America at every chance he’s had. It’s unthinkable to me,” he said. “It’s almost treasonous and it just makes me ill to see some of these people do that but, of course, they do it because they think it’s shock value and it’s going to get them more eyeballs and maybe make a little more money for them or their network. It’s disgusting and I’m hopeful that you’re seeing some of those people recognize just how wrong they were.”

Romney held back in directly condemning former President Donald Trump when questioned by Bash about whether he believes Trump’s past praise of Putin is treasonous. He did say: “Standing up for freedom is the right thing to do in America and anything less than that, in my opinion, is unworthy of American support.”

https://sports.yahoo.com/sen-mitt-romney-slams-gop-170042950.html

Well I think he nailed it.

I guess I would like the same condemnation from every Trump voting poster on the board.

There are a lot of rational posters on here that I would like to think do not support Trump. But then we need to do the math. Trump had 74 million votes, second highest in US history next to only Biden. That is 5 million more than Obama had in his best numbers. I have to think that included most conservative voters in the country. So I struggle to give a pass to anyone that sounds like they still support him, or even 'might' still support after January 6th. I do know that some are lying about their support, they have to be or Trump wouldn't still be so popular in the party.

Only time I hear about trump is on here.

Well you should do a better job of listening.

Did you hear Romney? “Morons, I've got morons on my team.”

REP. CLAY HIGGINS BAFFLES INTERNET W/ 'WOKE SKY' TWEET… The Music Jokes Fly!!!

https://www.tmz.com/2022/02/27/rep-clay-higgins-millennial-leftists-woke-sky-tweet/

Why'd you reply to me?

I’m a millennial who lived through the end of the Cold War, witnessing the two longest wars in US history, the threat of nukes (we were alive in the 80’s and we can remember them, believe it or not), soaring tuition costs at 7.5% student loan interest, the second worst recession of American history when I was looking for my first long-term professional job, skyrocketing real estate prices, witnessing 9/11 firsthand at 18, witnessing Columbine, advancing with the world into the age of information, witnessing a president who lied about going to 3rd base in an affair, witnessing an unjustifiable war, and then witnessing a narcissistic sociopath take office to further his own legacy. Somehow still managed to get married at 25 (still married), have a great job and great kids, a house in the ‘burbs, and I would trade nothing back.

But I would love for this boomer representative to still pretend like it wasn’t his generation that profited off the prior’s hard work, earned a decent pension, and milked this country for everything it’s worth to hand my generation and Gen Z the bar tab at the end of the party and then call us “woke millennials.” Fact: it wasn’t my generation in power when we went from being the world’s largest creditor to the world’s largest debtor.

But please, Mr. Higgins, by all means, go and earn your cheap political points from people who don’t think critically.

/touchednerve

Just pointing out that people outside of DT are talking about Trump in the same way we do in here. Imagine that.

These people don't live in reality. Traitorous Putin loving anti American right. Still screaming drill baby drill. This oil glut is going to pass, so unless more oil production is necessary for national security, why would we rush to add to the climate crisis?

Tough guy. He should have spoke up like that when Trump called his dad a traitor and assassin, or when he called his wife ugly. STFU Ted.

Or when the weather got bad for his constituents.

Bro the republicans are really trying to compare Ukraine to the southern border. I honestly can’t keep up with their crap anymore. It’s like Alex Jones has taken over the right.

The Putin supporting Rs need to go.

The hilarious part is how 'commie' is kind of a go-to slam for them (libs are commies), and then turn around and openly praise an actual avatar for the worst chapters of Communism.

Probably because you said the only time you heard about Trump was on here. That means you either aren't paying attention or refuse to listen to any news outlet that reports what's going on. Refuse to listen to any place that reports these anti American sentiments coming from the far right. And when you do see them on here, when you see these things coming from their own mouths, you refuse to condemn them for it. Sometimes silence speaks volumes. But you are not alone.

Just for those wondering anything about The Conservative Political Action Committee and the guy who organized it.... Nick Fuentes, one only needs to watch this. This is how he opened the convention. Yet these so called conservatives still decided to stay and address CPAC. This is where Republicans MTG, Gosar, Idaho Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin all spoke at this White Supremacist rally which supported Russia and Putin.



Yet MTG claims she had no idea what this was about. Any questions?

More on that conference - and more on why Trump still matters and is an ongoing topic of political discussion:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60559403

All of this suggests a very real divide within the Republican Party over how to handle Russia's Ukraine invasion. A straw poll of conference-goers found only 3% viewed Russia as the "greatest threat to America", versus 35% seeing China that way and 61% choosing "Joe Biden's incompetence". That same poll showed 59% of attendees wanted Mr Trump to be their party's nominee in 2024, far surpassing runner-up DeSantis's 28%.

And If Trump where the nominee, I am confident you'd see more Republicans and Independents voting Democrat that ever before.
(Gallup polling found that 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, 25% identified as Republican, and 41% as Independent.)


As far as China, I am not surprised, as most of us have seen Russia's decline over the decades and China's rise, not to mention the sheer size of China population wise. They have a male population between 25-54 that is damn near our entire population.

Three Republicans don't think lynchings should be a hate crime. THREE.

why do you think should lynching be a hate crime?

Wow. Why do you think they shouldn't be hate crimes?

never said they shouldn't be. I just asked why you thought they should be?

The history speaks volumes. But I agree it wouldn't have to be a hate crime. But then you may wish to think about where those who voted against banning lynchings were from.

Clyde is from Georgia. Massie is from Kentucky and Chip Roy is from Texas. More than a little suggestive considering their geography.

I would like to start by saying that lynching is not ok. It is a disgusting, disturbing, and inhumane practice used for execution.


digging into the part that bothers me... I think the south has a history of hanging people in general. To make lynching a hate crime seems questionable because it is inferring it is happening because of someone's race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. American History shows that is simply not the case.

By making lynching a hate crime also starts to blur the lines of a specific action becoming a hate crime. (obviously extremely) but... People could start arguing that giving someone a ticket for parking in front of a Synagogue is a hate crime.

I guess if you define it by the entire history of our nation you may have a point about lynchings in general. But try looking at the 20th century, the struggle for civil rights and try looking at it from that context. The evidence is overwhelming. It's common knowledge that lynchings were continued as murder and condemnation of blacks long after whites were no longer being lynched and primarily in the south. It would be stretch of anyone's imagination not to see the correlation here.

You must not be Italian American. Otherwise, you would likely have a different opinion.

I know that in the south, exactly where these men are from, it's very true.

Maybe they're taking Putin's word over what everyone else is telling them. I mean after all, that's what Trump did.

I'm just curious, since this has become the battle-cry...

Does this mean?

Sit down.
Shut up.
Don't ask questions.

I think it means, let come together on this. Nothing more, nothing less. But dems don't expect much more than the childish BS the right has been putting out ever since they tried to overthrow the government.

yeah, again my point was more so that people are overlooking actual history.

The largest mass lynching was a bunch of Italian immigrants on March 14, 1891. Throughout our history, many Italians were hung. Ironically, they are also trying to take Columbus day from Italian Americans. Which, they were basically given Columbus day to quell the people from the above-mentioned lynching of these Italians.

As I said, you wish to go back to a time when lynchings were common place across America. It was national. I'm speaking of our most recent history and what is most associated with lynchings when they were only for one race.

But let me ask you, if Italians were being targeted by nationality, is that not too a hate crime?

If you actually want to get down to facts, lynchings were brought up in congress to make them illegal on a federal level with the Costigan-Wagner Bill of 1934. It failed mostly by strong opposition from southern senators. Do you think the reason they blocked lynchings from becoming a crime in 1934 was to target Italians?

Columbus never stepped foot in North America so I get it.

Doesn't that still support it being a hate-crime, though?

Also, for clarity are we talking about legal execution vs non-legal? I don't think Italians were always targeted because of their race. They were definitely hung pretty frequently - Dozens of them were hung in the early 1900's.

I think those people blocked hanging because they didn't want to change and other various words that I can't use on this forum.

Hanging was a common practice until the 1930's - the last person hung in we was Billy Bailey in 1996. Most of the hanging for execution purposes was done up until the mid 30's.

Yet you refuse to answer one simple question. You've been asked by both myself and oober.

If Italians were also targeted for hanging due to their race, is not that too a hate crime?

And if the reason to keep lynchings legal was mostly opposed by southern senators in 1934, are you trying to assert that had anything to do with Italians?

Isn't murder murder? Does it need an additional definition. In no way could lynching be construed as anything except premeditated murder.

Punishments are harsher for hate crimes. How do you lynch somebody without hate in your heart/mind?

First degree murder is Death or life in prison with no possibility of parole, how much harsher do you need it?

Are you tying to assert that the reason hanging in 1934 had to do with blacks?

I mean, you are asking a slanted question ... if someone is targeting someone based upon race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability... is it a hate crime? The answer is yes. But that is not what I have been saying I don't agree with.



To make an action such as lynching a hate crime because of the act... that part I don't agree with.

My original point was that "whites" being Italians were hung into the 1930's along with blacks. For some strange reason, people omit that from their brains just as you said... " It's common knowledge that lynchings were continued as murder and condemnation of blacks long after whites were no longer being lynched ". This is simply not true and I gave you examples.

By making lynching a hate crime, it also starts to blur the lines of a specific action becoming a hate crime. (obviously extremely) but... People could start arguing that giving someone a ticket for parking in front of a Synagogue is a hate crime.

Is lynching wrong? as I said.. yes for a multitude of reasons.

was lynching something that happened to only black people? no, no it wasn't. Should it be a hate crime? No, because that is implying that it only happened to one race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

That... is an injustice to all of these Italian Americans (and others) who were hung and a main reason Italians were given Columbus day.

Are hate crimes limited to crimes against black people?

try reading what I wrote before asking passive-aggressive questions

I guess you forgot all about the 40's, 50 and 60's. And totally ignored that those who opposed making lynchings a crime were senators from the south. But you do you.

Wow. I didn't know hate crimes was such a sticking point for right-wingers. IMO, it's absolutely a hate crime, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. So, you'll have to forgive my dismay with this conversation.

I sincerely didn't mean to sound passive-aggressive, but I don't blame you for taking it as such. I'm trying to get you to explain/clarify more, because your response/argument of pointing out crimes against a different ethnicity seems odd. I don't get it.

add: I re-read the whole convo, and I see what you're saying. Your point is basically that lynching doesn't automatically mean a hate crime has occurred. You're saying that someone could do a lynching for any number of reasons.

you are moving the goalposts around like crazy. 1960 was over 60 years ago. The people who could do terrible things like that are dead or almost dead and I hope those people rot in hell for eternity.


My point was that lynching is not a hate crime specifically against black people. I gave examples of how that is not accurate and unfair to other races who were frequently hung.


My other point was that by saying that lynching is a hate crime. That can start to open up the argument that murder with a gun is also a hate crime because more black people are shot and killed than any other race. That is also why I said by making lynching a hate crime, it also starts to blur the lines of a specific action becoming a hate crime.

You’re getting caught up in the words. Lynching and hanging aren’t really interchangeable.

One is the most common form of mob violence, the other is done often by suicide or the state/authority.

And that’s why this bill exist. We have to remember that laws get passed based on intention, or I think they call it “the spirit of the law” or something like that?

So if someone/group of people are murdered by a mob and hanged based on political or social intent, that’s a lynching, which is a hate crime.

But offing yourself or being killed by an official authority is considered a hanging.

Nobody said it was "just against black people". What was said is the reason those who have blocked anything that would outlaw or label it a hate crime ever since 1934 were politicians from the south where the lynching of black people were carried out for decades after it was no longer common place anywhere else or common place among any other race. If you can't connect the dots between right wind southern politicians and lynchings, you aren't even trying.

So because I don't agree with you I am a Right Winger?

I disagree with it, because we already have laws on the books for the crime of First Degree Murder, adding hate crime does injustice to true hate crimes, which had originally been designated towards crimes committed because the victim was "different", be it race, religion, gender preference etc.

The Hate Crime label should remain with it's intent, a crime against another based on "difference", not based on a the crime itself which is just that, a crime. My opinion has nothing to do with lynching at all, I wouldn't want hate crime attached to shooting, stabbing, rape, etc either.

If you want to get technical, isn't all crime against another a hate crime? Do you commit crimes against people you like?

EDIT: "You" is used in the general sense, not the personal sense.

What you propose is a further burying of the motivation that cause these crimes to happen. That race and sexual orientation are huge factors in these crimes. It's no different than hiding the actual history of this nation in the classrooms of our schools. It's an attempt to wipe out that people are targets of such crimes. We keep statistics of women who are battered, beaten and killed from domestic violence. Special laws are in place that deal with domestic violence that go far beyond laws of assault.

But for some reason people want this to be treated differently. They do not wish for it to be recorded that both racial and sexual preference are targets of hate. That for these reasons and these reasons alone people are being killed. It's a convenient way to pretend it does not exist. No wonder it's become so hard to paint an accurate portrait of our history when people still advocate a cover up of reality continue to exist.

j/c

3 men plead guilty in white supremacist terror plot to disrupt power grid, trigger race war

The three plotted to shoot at power substations and planned to kill themselves with fentanyl "suicide necklaces" if they were thwarted by authorities, the Justice Department says.

Three men who plotted to attack electricity substations in a white supremacist bid to sow national unrest pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorism, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Federal prosecutors in Ohio said the three planned to disrupt the electricity grid in order to sow civil unrest and economic uncertainty in furtherance of their white supremacist cohort. They hoped to cause unrest and trigger a race war, but the plot never really got past the planning stage, prosecutors said.

Christopher Brenner Cook, 20, of Columbus, Ohio; Jonathan Allen Frost, 24, of West Lafayette, Indiana, and of Katy, Texas; and Jackson Matthew Sawall, 22, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, pleaded guilty after initially claiming innocence.

The three had planned to kill themselves with "suicide necklaces" containing fentanyl, the powerful synthetic opioid, if law enforcement came upon them before they were successful, prosecutors said. When police initiated a traffic stop on Sawall and Cook in Ohio before they could carry out key aspects of their plan, Sawall took his portion of fentanyl but survived.

Justice Department officials said the three represented a serious threat to the nation.

“These defendants conspired to use violence to sow hate, create chaos, and endanger the safety of the American people,” U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio said in a statement. “As this case shows, federal and state law enforcement agencies are dedicated to working together to protect this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, said targeting power plants and water supplies is a common aspiration among white supremacists.

“Within both the folklore and history of the racist far right’s plotting over decades has been the glorification of leaderless resistance style targeted plots and attacks, ranging from assassination, infrastructure and intimidation for the purpose of advancing an insurgency, in part through destabilization," he said by email.

Frost and Cook met in an online chat group in fall 2019, and Sawall joined the trio by the end of the year, prosecutors said. Frost had the idea of attacking the power grid, and the three set out to recruit possible participants, they said.

Cook maintained the group's ideology by giving his coconspirators a reading list that reenforced white supremacy and "Neo-Nazism," the Justice Department said in a statement.

The trio decided to disable electricity substations in major regions of the nation essentially by shooting at them, prosecutors said. Frost and Cook trained with an Armalite semiautomatic rifle to prepare, they said.

"They had conversations about how the possibility of the power being out for many months could cause war, even a race war, and induce the next Great Depression," according to the Justice Department statement.

The trio initially focused on Columbus, Ohio, where Sawall and Cook painted a swastika with the words "Join the Front" under a bridge in early 2020, the Justice Department said.

Cook and Frost then headed to Texas to continue to plan their power disruption. There, Cook tried to recruit teenagers to help the three, prosecutors said.

It's not clear how the plot unraveled and the case remained under seal. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in Columbus, Milwaukee, Indianapolis and Houston.

The defendants were charged Feb. 7. The allegation of providing material support to terrorism carries with it a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Sentencing was not yet scheduled. Defendants were prosecuted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

Samuel Shamansky, attorney for Frost, described the defendants as misguided young men who went down an internet rabbit hole.

"My client is extremely remorseful for his conduct and understands the potential harm he and his coconspirators could have caused," the lawyer said.

Frost is willing to "remedy" any harm he caused and was "committed to rehabilitation," he said. The defendant has disavowed his white supremacist views, Shamansky said, and now "understands the importance of thinking for himself."

Attorneys for the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...ror-plot-disrupt-power-grid-tr-rcna17441

Hold on, that's not how I viewed it at all. If the crime, lynching, is done because the person race, religion, etc, can be proven, then by all means, add hate crime to the list of charges. Maybe that's what they meant by the law.

I took it as to read that any lynching regardless of by who, to who, gets the hate crime label, which I feel is the wrong use of the designation.

Maybe I misinterpreted the intent, or maybe I wasn't clear on my view and purpose of my explanation.

this was essentially my comments as well.

ok, that makes sense. I was


J/C

I did look it up and it looks like Trump signed the bill in 2020 making lynching a federal crime

https://apnews.com/article/laws-emm...s-bills-a8ba886090278a61825bc15e2795228d

and i think thats the part thats actually confusing to me, because i swore we already handled this.

You are arguing WAY TOO HARD against this for it not to be somehow personal. I can't even believe we have to have this conversation, let alone care to read these weak ass arguments for not making it a hate crime. I don't want to pick on you because you say you think lynchings are horrible... but man, your words don't sound like that over the course of this thread. You sound like somebody bent on keeping lynchings out of the hate crime category, and I don't get that at all.

So Putin is maneuvering his nukes around the world today. I think NATO needs to act on that. No way should they let him position for an all out nuke war. No idea how they deal with it, but I don't want to wake up to; “We should have seen it coming!” IF Putin is at the end of his reign, he won't go quietly into the night. And after the threats this week, I think we should take him seriously, and smack his ass down.

I am not saying that I don't have that same worry, I do. But I think there is a group of high ranking Russian officials and Generals in discussion right now about the timing of making Putin disappear. I don't know. Maybe I've watched too many movies.

can somebody explain whats going on with the GOP in Arizona and Idaho? man they're in a crisis right now.

Thanks to both you and super for explaining your intent. That's far more my concern than even harsher punishments. I'm not sure how old either of you are and have no idea which state you went to for your high school education. I went to high school in Ohio during the 70's. So much of our history was ignored in my school system. While there were facts used in those classes, it was more about the facts that were ignored than anything else. America has long denounced the use of propaganda by our foreign enemies, yet it was used in my schooling to paint an image of a great America who has been wronged in the past but never committed great wrongs.

That's why we have people even today that will tell you, "Slavery ended after the civil war. Nothing else needs to be said." When most rational thinking people understand that Jim Crow laws, actually being able to vote, especially in the south, being served in public establishments, equal opportunity to education and a host of other issues went on even through much of the 1960's.

Another false so called fact gets spread. We keep hearing how so many liberal cities are soft on crime. How the sentencing is light on criminals. Yet we also know that the largest percentage of the black population and the percentage of black people living in such urban areas are higher than anywhere else in the country. So if they are so soft on crime, how is it that statistics prove that blacks receive a longer prison sentence for the exact same crimes as white people? Something about those numbers show their assertions are false.

So my biggest concern is that such hate crimes be a part of the record. Something so obvious and proven people can't look back and claim they have stopped or do not exist. We already see a political movement in place trying to cover up history. To prevent the parts of history they don't want their children taught being hidden from our current and future generations. And it's being done by the same people who say a part of their political beliefs are about personal responsibility. I find it both sad and disgusting at the same time.

Lol. That's pretty good.

Such a fun and true hashtag. This thread may go on FOREVER.

Here is a link to this savageness on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ThankaRepublican&src=trend_click&vertical=trends

I was surprised by how well this thread had gone thus far, all things considered. Well, it was going to be locked soon anyways, so might as well devolve.

So OCD you are saying you want to kill that child in the picture? That is what I got out of that picture and the words don't tell me your pro life. Despicable!

That is quite the twisted interpretation. That picture and quote is pointing out that a large portion (notice I didn't say all) of people who call themselves pro life are not truly pro life just pro birth. Once born, they don't care about that child anymore. They don't care if that child is hungry. They don't care if that child get's educated. They don't care if that child has a safe place to live and food on their table... All they care about is that the child got birthed. Once born they stop caring, which is sad. They clearly care more about the unborn fetus than the living child.

He's just trying to deflect from the fact that once those babies are born Republicans don't give a damn about them. Being born in abject poverty, to drug addicted parents and prostitutes as mothers is no concern to them. A broken foster care system is no concern to them. The fact they claim to care about them while doing zero to try and help fund their higher education means nothing to them. It's just hard for them to own up to the fact that what they really are is pro birth, not pro life. If they were actually pro life they would give a damn about them after they're born.

They, they, they, they, they...

I think you guys are missing the bigger point.

WE want all babies to be born so we have more people to HATE while we're still here!

Besides that, gun owners need to eat...

At least you've come out and admitted it publicly.

I can't "come out", I'm a republican. I'm trapped in a body that isn't mine.

I understand why you can't come out. I mean with your parties stance on the LGBTQ community, it would make it very difficult to remain being accepted.

It's LGBTQIA+ now; you self-centered, exclusionary fool. Discrimination much?

I'm starting to think you eat babies too...

I've never found anyone that has been able to prepare them to my liking.

You ain't seen me on the grill, bro. Make it down to a tailgate.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/04/politics/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina/index.html

Madison Cawthorne's eligibility to run was upheld....

Not because it was determined he was clear of wrongdoing for Jan6, but because a judge ruled that a Civil War era law could be applied forward in time, and allow him to still run for office despite participating in an insurrection.

This (IMO) is bigger than the Tucker Carlson "but nobody should take him seriously" ruling.

Isn’t swalwell the guy who spent 3+ years lying thru his teeth about the President. I guess he squeezed that in between frolics in the hay with a chicomm spy. The fact that you give the guy any credibility at all tells me all I need to know.

Michigan GOP Candidate Tells Daughters 'If Rape Is Inevitable, Lie Back And Enjoy It'

Sebastian Murdock
Tue, March 8, 2022, 2:07 PM



A GOP candidate running for Michigan’s House of Representatives said during a Facebook Live broadcast that he tells his daughters to “lie back and enjoy” rape if it’s “inevitable.”

Robert “RJ” Regan, who won the GOP special primary in the state’s 74th district last week, was discussing how to decertify the 2020 presidential election during a Facebook Live broadcast for the Republican group Rescue Michigan Coalition on Sunday when he made the comment.

“Having three daughters, I tell my daughters, ‘Well, if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it,’” Regan said roughly 10 minutes into the broadcast. “That’s not how we roll, that’s not how we won this election.”

“That was a shameful comment,” attendee Amber Harris said in response.

Host Adam de Angeli then joked that the show might not stream “for much longer after what Robert said.”

De Angeli also defended Regan later on the same broadcast, telling a commenter that Regan was describing what “you should not do.”

Regan did not respond to multiple requests for comment from HuffPost.

Regan, who won his primary by just 81 votes, lost that same race in 2020 after a viral tweet from his own daughter told people not to vote for her dad, Fox 17 noted.

“If you’re in michigan and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. tell everyone,” Stephanie Regan tweeted at the time.

During Sunday’s Facebook Live event, Regan also defended Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces are currently invading Ukraine.

“Putin said, ‘I have to protect my country, I have to protect my children, and I can’t count on the United States,’” Regan said.

“So what he did was took some proactive action, he went into Ukraine, knocked out the bio labs, knocked out the missile sites, so he can protect his people,” the candidate added, likely referring to a QAnon conspiracy theory about bioweapons.

That’s not what Putin did. Instead, he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where Russian forces have bombed civilians and have been attempting to capture the country’s capital city, Kyiv.

Republican Tori Sachs of the Michigan Freedom Fund condemned Regan in a statement to Fox 17.

“RJ Regan’s disgusting and dehumanizing comments on the horror of sexual assault along with his support of murderous dictator Vladimir Putin are despicable and completely disqualify him from holding public office,” Sachs said. “I teach my four young daughters to stand up for themselves, to know their worth, and to fight back and speak out against creeps like Regan. RJ Regan doesn’t belong anywhere near the state Capitol, and that is why we endorsed and supported his opponent.”

Regan will now face Carol Glanville, a Democrat, in the special election for the seat on May 3.



https://www.yahoo.com/news/michigan-gop-candidate-tells-daughters-190734197.html

There is a sex kink involving rape acts. Maybe he is one of those. Disgusting.

Glad I scrolled up before I went off asking you WTH you are talking about… lol.

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/09/1085..._source=twitter.com&utm_term=nprnews

Read to the end for the plot twist... ::facepalm::

Well, that’s reassuring.

Sounds like she's tailor-made for the position!


How can you hate on a face like this:






Isn't crazy how some people pass the criminal "eye test" with flying colors?

Is that Debbie Harry?

Looks like her... but Debbie was gonna be your #1.

This chick is straight #2.

j/c

Ex-Tennessee rep pleads guilty to fraud in consulting scheme

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee Republican lawmaker pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal wire fraud charge over allegations she helped carry out a political consulting kickback scheme with a disgraced former state House speaker and his one-time chief of staff, even concocting a phony identity for the company’s leader.

Ex-Rep. Robin Smith entered her plea in Nashville federal court under an agreement with prosecutors. The charging document says the Hixson lawmaker, former House Speaker Glen Casada and his then-chief of staff, Cade Cothren, used a political consulting firm to illegally funnel money to themselves through both campaign and taxpayer-funded work, while concealing their involvement in it.

Casada and Cothren are described but not named in the document, which was unsealed Monday and quickly spurred Smith’s resignation as a lawmaker. So far, prosecutors have not announced any charges against the other two in the case that centers on claims about a company, Phoenix Solutions, and a fake persona, “Matthew Phoenix,” used even on an IRS form.

Smith said in a written statement that she intends to cooperate with the authorities.

“Once the Department of Justice informed me of the nature of my activities, I took full responsibility for my actions, culminating in my guilty plea,” said Smith, who did not respond to reporters’ questions while leaving court Tuesday. “There are no excuses. I intend to cooperate fully as a witness with the federal government and do whatever I can to assist the government in this regard.”

It remains unclear what agreement Smith and prosecutors might have reached on a recommended sentence. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson said during the hearing that the maximum sentence for her crime was 20 years in prison. But he also noted that Smith’s plea deal includes stipulations about cooperation, without saying what those entail. Her sentencing was set for October.

Prosecutors said in charging documents that Smith “devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud and deprive the citizens of the Middle District of Tennessee and the government of Tennessee of their right to the honest services of a public official.”

Casada resigned from the top leadership post in 2019 after revelations he exchanged sexually explicit text messages about women with Cothren years ago. In January 2021, FBI agents searched the homes and offices of several state lawmakers and staffers, including Casada, Smith and Cothren. At the time, federal investigators declined to give a reason for the searches.

The charge against Smith appears to shed some light on the raid. The documents state Cothren launched a political consulting firm called Phoenix Solutions, LLC that was designed to offer mail and consulting services to lawmakers in 2019 with Smith’s and Casada’s “knowledge and support.” All three claimed the firm was run by “Matthew Phoenix” when in fact it was Cothren using a made-up alias, the documents allege.

Authorities say Phoenix Solutions was initially set up to provide mail and consulting political services for lawmakers facing primary election opponents. It performed those services and later sent taxpayer-funded mailings to constituents, from which Phoenix Solutions, a separate company owned by Smith, and another company owned by Casada received almost $52,000 combined in 2020, the documents state.

Smith, Cothren and Casada hid Cothren’s involvement in Phoenix Solutions, and hid that Cothren “kicked back” portions of the profits to Casada and Smith, because they feared the House speaker’s office would not approve the company’s use and individual lawmakers would not use the firm, either, if that information got out, prosecutors claim.

In 2020, Cothren’s then-girlfriend and Cothren exchanged emails as “Candice” and “Matthew” to make it appear as though Phoenix Solutions employees needed to secure an outstanding payment that the state hadn’t paid, authorities said. That exchange was forwarded to Smith. The girlfriend was not identified.

According to prosecutors, Smith told multiple Republican lawmakers in 2020 that “Matthew Phoenix and his associate, Candice, got tired of living in the Washington, D.C. area and decided to move back home to New Mexico, where Phoenix started Phoenix Solutions.”

At one point, the documents allege Smith emailed Cothren saying that he “may have to assume the role of Matthew again.” He replied saying, “Matthew, reporting for duty!” and included a GIF of “a salute from Harrison Ford’s character Han Solo in the movie Star Wars,” officials said.

Officials also say Smith provided false information on Matthew Phoenix to current House Speaker Cameron Sexton and other legislative staffers when pushing for payments to Phoenix.

When Smith forwarded those messages to Cothren, she wrote “Shhhhhhhhhh,” according to court records.

Smith, 58, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018. She’d previously served as chair of the Tennessee Republican Party and a policy advisor to Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green.

Casada in November announced he wouldn’t run for reelection this year, and would instead run for Williamson County clerk.

Cothren, meanwhile, has informed state campaign finance regulators that he is invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and won’t abide by a subpoena in an investigation surrounding a political action committee.

https://www.wavy.com/news/politics/ex-tennessee-rep-pleads-guilty-to-fraud-in-consulting-scheme/

She was the low hanging fruit in this mess. There will be bigger fish to fry coming soon.

Yikes what a horrific comment to make.

The party of law and order are on a roll:

GOP Congressman Madison Cawthorn charged with driving on a revoked license for 2nd time; court dates set

https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-congressman-madison-cawthorn-charged-200701610.html

FATE, check up on your girl. She shorted out and it looks like permanent damage.

He could get raped too; maybe the dumb sob should just lay back and enjoy it

https://www.businessinsider.com/for...eling-russian-money-into-election-2021-9

A former campaign staffer for US Sen. Rand Paul has been charged with channeling money from Russia into the 2016 presidential election, the US Department of Justice said Monday.

In an unsealed indictment, dated September 9, prosecutors allege Jesse Benton "conspired to illegally funnel thousands of dollars of foreign money from a Russian foreign national" into the campaign.

In October 2016, Benton received a $100,000 wire transfer from the unnamed Russian national, the indictment states, promising him that he would get to "meet a celebrity" at a fundraiser in Philadelphia on September 22, 2016.

Prosecutors do not name the candidate, but former President Donald Trump was hosting a fundraiser that night at the Ritz-Carlton in Center City, Philadelphia.

The Russian national attended the fundraiser, according to the indictment, his travel to the United States facilitated by an alleged co-conspirator, Roy Douglas Wead, a conservative author. All three "had official photographs taken with Political Candidate 1," prosecutors say.

The two are accused of falsely portraying the contribution as payment for "consulting work." Benton kept most of it himself — $75,000, according to the indictment. The rest was donated to the politician in Benton's name.

Around the same time, Benton — who managed Paul's 2010 run for office, as well as the 2014 campaign of another Kentucky Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell — was convicted of campaign finance fraud over his role in the 2012 Ron Paul presidential campaign. He was sentenced days before the Philadelphia fundraiser to two years probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Before leaving office, Trump pardoned Benton for that crime.


If convicted in this case, Benton and Wead could face significant prison time, with each of the six counts against them carrying a sentence of five to 20 years behind bars.

I want to buy the rope.

More smoke…

Edit - to add context to that, I was talking before about the numerous instances of evidence of Russian money making its way through the far right channels. This seems to add to that suspicion.

People say Biden has lost his mind, which he may have, but how could one look at that video and not say the same?

Oh, what I wouldn't do for a mean tweet and cheap gas!!! Or cheap anything about now. Instead, we have Jimmy Carters failed policies all over again, with a fool that is asleep behind the wheel.

we have a few posters here nodding in agreement with his crazy ass windmill takes.

""OMG I’m dying!!! On a UFC podcast today, Trump is asked how he sees the war in Ukraine playing out and he launches into a riff about windmills!""

It's Trump in a nutshell. Well I guess it doesn't highlight his wannabe King syndrome - but man, what a perfect 57 seconds to show his fine intellect and ability to look at the big picture when talking about the atrocities going on in Ukraine.

Very Stable Genius, indeed.

You seem very confident that Trump would be better than "a fool asleep behind the wheel". Would you really prefer someone intentionally driving the car off the highway vs the geriatric driving 30mph and can't stay in a lane? Let's be honest with ourselves... we're talking about the same guy that said, to the world, that he believed Comrade Vlady over our own intelligence community when it came to election interference. It goes back to what many were saying in the run-up to the election... we had to choose between two people that couldn't form complete sentences.

Everything considered, I don't think Biden has been doing that poorly in regards to dealing with Russia, but my expectations were below the basement floor having just come out of exiting Afghanistan.

Q: what is the difference between Republicans and Ukrainians?
A: Ukrainians defend their capitol.

j/c.

Oh Madison.

jc

thinking about all the crap that MGT and Gosar got for attending that racist ass conference, i decided to watch one of Nick Fuentes's speech. have to give him this: he's a very good speaker. the style in which he talks once again explains how he's built a legit audience. But the actual worth of his words are straight up trash. i'm sorry but i just can't see how anybody follows this dude. we always talk about red flags in someone's character, actions, or words. i don't care how good of a speaker someone is, it still has to be based in reality for the words to really inspire action. just listen to this guy, and you will swear up and down he isn't talking about the same country we live in.

Madison Cawthorn is an embarrassment to conservatism, an embarrassment to Republicans, an embarrassment to North Carolina, an embarrassment to the USA, and just a general embarrassment to humanity.

You know what? For her, I'll gladly pay more at the pump- without complaining even once.




I guess you and I were just raised differently.
I prefer my parents.

Do you mean to tell me you wouldn't give her up for a mean Tweet and cheaper gas? WTH is wrong with you!?

He’s one of those guys who makes me shudder every time I think about my past involvement with the party.

You didn't leave your party. Neither did DC. Your party left you.

I have seen this notion that you are heartless if you won't just suck it up and pay more for gas.... but it's not just at the pump, it's the cost of everything that has to be farmed, manufactured, shipped, transported, stored, etc.. everything. And I can afford the money for gas, it hurts, but I'm not really changing my plans because of it... but what about that single mother of two who can't make ends meet that democrats love to drag into every conversation? Who can't afford a cool new top of the line Tesla like Stephen Colbert can on his $15 million salary? She's paying more for everything in her life now too.... or did we stop caring about her plight?

And the fact is Jen Psaki blaming high gas prices on Russia would have to be marked "mostly false" by any reasonable fact checker... gas floated in the mid to high $2 range since 2014, actually getting below $2 a couple times but never getting above $3... When Biden took office it was at $2.39 national average... before Russia invaded it had gone to almost $3.60... that's a 50% increase that you can't blame on Russia.. since the invasion it has gone up another 20%... I could have lived with the 20% increase caused by the invasion and never said a word... but an 80% increase? In 14 months? C'mon man....

Nice point you're trying to make, but single working mom isn't Day of the Dawg... the original complainer who also likes mean tweets.

My points are all regarding our current POTUS, and what mighta, coulda, shoulda been done...

I will leave the Trump supporters to fight their own battles.

Nobody is happy about the cost of gas. I know I'm not. But as you yourself stated, it has gone up 20% since the war started and will go up even more as times passes at least in part due to the war.

It is odd that you threw in the comment about "since Biden took office" when it's you I actually learned from that presidents have little to no impact on gas process because they can't control the price of world crude. Unless of course they could get oil producing countries to cut back on production by threatening them.

Special Report: Trump told Saudi: Cut oil supply or lose U.S. military support - sources

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-military-support-sources-idUSKBN22C1V4

I brought up somewhere how much this hurts the bottom of our social economic ladder. I wish there was a way to prevent that. While you and I can afford it and many can afford it by shuffling their finances somewhat, there are millions and millions that can not.

I didn't see a single thing in your post about "what mighta, coulda, shoulda been done..."?

If you are upset with high gas prices be upset with Putin not Biden.
If you are upset with high gas prices be upset with China for not condemning Putin not Biden
If you are upset with high gas prices be upset with The congressmen/Congresswomen who offer support for Putin not Biden
If you are upset with high gas prices be upset with Trump for weakening NATO so Putin thinks he could get away with this not Biden

And the whole "I would trade a mean tweet for some lower gas prices" is a farce. You take smallest example of the things wrong with trump and act like that is the only issue. You completely ignore his racism and his misogyny. You ignore his complete lack of concern for the health and wellbeing of other. You ignore his utter contempt for obeying the rule of law. You ignore his desire to turn our Presidency into whatever it is you want to call what Putin does. Seems to me trump had 2 desires: 1, turn himself into Putin and run this country the way Putin runs Russia and 2, line his pockets with gold.

And that is just what comes off the top of my head in 20 seconds. I have no doubt there are numerous other issues, but yea, the mean tweet is his most vile and reprehensible quality in your mind.

You're putting too much thought into this. Any hypothetical involving the current situation being any different under a Trump presidency is a waste of time. Trump was Putin's buddy, and trying to infer that Trump would've done something even remotely like standing up to Putin is totally ridiculous. It's even worse than the "this exit from Afghanistan wouldn't have been so bad if Trump were prez", while ignoring the fact that it was Trump that didn't include the Afghani govt in the negotiations and set an even earlier deadline for withdrawal.

It’s just displaced rage. In certain people’s minds, they will look to affix any sort of blame and simple-minded associations to the administration, simply because of the “who” and not the “what.”

It’s a lot easy to say “I MiSs tHE MeAN TwEets” and reach a forgone conclusion than to try and put your bias aside, break the situation apart, and see what is working and what isn’t.

You're too kind!