Max Boot, formerly of the Republican Party, comes down hard on the conservative movement. Here's the gist of what he had to say...
"The whole ideology has become a 'racket,' he argues in a new op-ed for the Washington Post, a development he dates to 1996 when Fox News was launched. The latest revelations about the NRA, from the vice president Wayne LaPierre’s profligate spending to the various self-dealing projects spearheaded by the organization’s top executives, only hammer the point home."
I like the part where he brings in the NRA and its head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. It would have been even more interesting if Boot had expounded on the cowards in Congress who suck up to the NRA for regular handouts. The ex-conservative continues...
"Of course, the most obvious sign of the hollowness of conservatism is its figurehead, President Donald Trump. His supposed business success has been exposed as a sham, a sham on which he built a presidential campaign that had no other justification. His supposed religiosity is an obvious hoax. And his policies, supposedly designed to help the 'forgotten man,' have only helped the rich get richer. He has no problem letting countless supporters “fall victim to his trade wars,” as Boot puts it, for the sake of nationalist crusade."
There is no doubt in my mind that Mitch McConnell runs a close second as the lowlife of conservatives. And Boot feels...
"Trump couldn’t survive as the con artist that he is without the unshaken devotion of Fox News, which feeds his supporters a steady diet of propaganda necessary to keep presidential approval above a 36 percent floor."
He adds that Fox is, of course, the "quintessential con." You have to love this kind of insight into the Oval Office lunatic, especially coming from an ex-conservative. Boot counts multiple irregularities at Fox with sexual harassment, right from the top, Sean Hannity's elitism compared to his $36 million annual salary, and Tucker Carlson's self-described "man of the people," in itself a con. All in all, the conservative movement and its cronies is a "total scam."
Finally, Boot concludes...
"How did this all happen? It’s a complicated story, but the simple version is this: American conservative leaders knew their policy preferences would never be popular on the merits, so they figured out that they needed to trick voters into supporting them. And they’ve been wildly successful."
Isn't it pathetic that the Grand Old Party, the GOP, has to rely on trickery in order to further its agenda?
The gutsy NY Daily news, a conservative newspaper, has taken up the charge against the NRA and its irresponsible blocking of any kind of gun legislation. If we had more newspapers like this throughout the U.S. we might have prevented some of the 309 mass shootings so far in just 2015. One of the reactions from the NYDN earlier front page, “God Isn’t Fixing This,” was from the Fox News anchor idiot Elizabeth Hasselbeck who said, "if you think prayer is less effective than gun control laws 'you’re lining up with the terrorists.'” It is this kind of garbage spewed from the Faux News Network that helps urge these fanatical terrorists on.
Here's another example of the New York News support of gun control with their past front page spreads:
Donald Trump recently banned Journalists from CNN, The New
York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the BBC, BuzzFeed, and Politico from a news
conference. It was an informal question-and-answer session between a press
secretary, Sean Spicer, and journalists, adding Breitbart, The Washington Times
and One America News Network. The Daily Beast reportsWhite
House spokeswoman Sarah H. Sanders said: “We invited the pool so everyone was
represented. We decided to add a couple of additional people beyond the pool
for an expanded pool. Nothing more than that.”
She failed to add that in the addition there was also a
subtraction, three of the largest media outlets in the country. Time and the
Associated Press boycotted what was called a “gaggle,” with the AP commenting…
“AP believes the public should have as much access to the
president as possible.”
CNN, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, the BBC,
BuzzFeed, and Politico deemed the move “a troubling development” and “an
affront to freedom of the press.” CNN commented further that it was their
assumption if you report true facts, it is something the White House cannot
handle. Considering Donald John’s first month in the Oval Office where there
were 33 lies and misinformation spewing from his mouth on a daily basis, it’s surprising they
continue to hold news conferences. It would be my guess the new president of distortion will set a record for untruths.
Here are a couple of comments...
"The New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet said 'nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties,' adding: 'Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest.'”
"Ari Fleischer, a Trump backer who served as White House press secretary for President George W. Bush, reacted on CNN by conceding that the decision to block certain reporters from the gaggle was 'unwise and counterproductive,' but added: 'There is nothing unusual about presidents meeting with self-selected reporters… and White House staffs do it all the time.' Fleischer echoed some conservatives who said the press largely overreacted to the way Friday’s briefing was handled, and defended Trump’s overall accessibility to the media."
Come on Fleischer, this wasn't just a meeting with "self-selected reporters." It was a meeting with self-selected reporters that barred reporters from three of the country's leading media outlets. But what do we expect from another Republican, even though he was put out to pasture. Fleischer added...
“He [Donald John] is making journalism interesting and great again. It’s a fascinating time to be a journalist because he’s such a fascinating story. And he’s giving the press so much access.”
Can you believe that? Thought you had to have better than a double-digit IQ to be a press secretary. And it would appear Sean Spicer is following in Fleischer's footsteps. Bret Baier of Fox News surprisingly excluded himself from the gaggle, standing with those boycotted. The Wall Street Journal, although attending, said it would not participate in future press events if the administration did this again. The Daily Beast reported other instances...
"During the campaign, multiple news organizations including The Daily Beast, Politico and The Washington Post were blacklisted by the Trump team—barred from attending any campaign rallies, press conferences or other events."
Donald Trump's oligarchy is turning America into the likeness of countries like China, North Korea and Venezuela, with the outlook that he may try and push his power into that of an autocracy. And while the new White House despot attempts to turn our country into a dictatorship, his press secretary, Sean Spicer, is up for the worst of his kind to come along in the history of western civilization. When you consider that Spicer is the middle-man between the most powerful person in the world and the free voice of America; now, that's scary.
Spicer has been a favorite of "Saturday Night Live" recently and is beginning to look a lot like Kellyanne Conway in terms of the amount of misinformation he has thrown at the press. Conway has been chastised and virtually cut off by the media for her consistency of lies on the air, but reporters have nowhere else to go without Spicer. Unless they just stand around and wait on the leaks from the press secretary's office that apparently are frequent. So much so that Spicer had to call a special meeting recently to check staff electronics, including their phones, for evidence of leaks.
According to Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post, Sean Spicer is ""...disliked and disrespected by superiors, peers and subordinates alike." Further, "He is so lacking in credibility as to diminish, if not eliminate, his utility in conveying the views of the White House or basic facts about what is going on." This all coming from a reporter from a major U.S. paper located in the nation's capital. Think about this for just a minute. There is a new President that continually hurls lies and misinformation, with his spokesman guilty of the same deeds. Where does that leave the American public?
Especially when they have been told by the Oval Office ogre that the media is the enemy of the people, and some, meaning Donald John supporters, either don't have the intelligence to or simply refuse to realize that this man is a lunatic and shouldn't be believed. In making this unpatriotic saying to the Conservative Political Action Committee for the umteenth time, the President castigated reporters for using anonymous sources and said we are going to do "something" about it. He did not indicate what "something" was, all as if the man is completely oblivious of the 1st Amendment.
If the dictator is planning to do something about dealing with anonymous sources, he'll have to clean his own House first. It was only two hours before Trump criticized anonymous sources at CPAC, exclaiming all sources should be named when, "...an administration official provided a briefing on condition he not be identified," according to USA Today. And here's another quote...
"William McRaven, the retired admiral who planned the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, said this week that Trump's attacks on the media may also be undermining democracy itself."
Now let's be honest, there are times the media overdoes a story; as a matter of fact, this was true in the coverage of Donald John in the 2016 primaries and election. As I recall, there was one evaluation of Trump coverage vs. Bernie Sanders and it was something like 200+ impressions for Trump, about 7 for Sanders. Hillary Clinton suffered as well but not as much as the Bern. Apparently, the old phrase applies, "Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. In any event, we are experiencing a first with an American President who hates the media and is making himself invisible to it.
Here's a comment from Matthew Miller, a spokesman for President Barack Obama's Justice Department...
The sustained attacks show "how worried he is about the repeated reports of chaos, incompetence, and potential wrongdoing inside his administration. His problem, though, is with the facts, not the media, and he’s only making his problem worse the more he runs away from it."
How does one say it? The country is going to hell in a handbasket, an expression I have heard since I was a kid, but have no idea what it means. But in the case of Donald Trump it could very well mean Armageddon.
REPUBLICANS, AND SOME DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS, "WANT TO GIVE PRESIDENT TRUMP THE AUTHORITY TO CLOSE DOWN CERTAIN NEWS OUTLETS": 43 percent of self-identified Republicans said that they believed “the president should have the authority to close news outlets engaged in bad behavior.” Of course, that "bad behavior" would include any criticism of T-rump. Dems and Independents joined in but with significantly less numbers, 12 and 26%. respectively. Most agree this is a result of Trump's tweeting of an "enemy press corps."
On the other hand, the Ipsos poll found that 57 percent of all respondents said that they believed news and reporters were “necessary to keep the Trump administration honest” including a plurality of Republicans. There is no doubt that some of the news media skew their reporting either left or right, decidedly Fox News and Sinclair Broadcast. The liberals have their supporters too but there hasn't been anything like conservative radio before in my lifetime, spawned by Rush Limbaugh and sustained by people like Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, all hacks but effective.
Specifically the magazine said, "Is Ron DeSantis Flaming Out Already?" It is more to the point that this guy is arrogant, is on a hate trip with blacks and the LGBTQ community, and did a rotten job with the handling of the Covid pandemic in Florida, in spite of the fact that he claims he did a great job controlling the virus. FACT: The state was number 3 in coronavirus cases and deaths. All because DeSantis and his lunatic surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo claimed vaccines didn't work.
The Atlantic piece by David Frum starts with...
"The Florida governor has a plan to win the Fox News primary—and lose everything else."
To me this translates into the fact that DeSantis is above all an ego maniac who craves attention and demands loyalty. We've been down this road before with Donald Trump and see where that led us. Straight into fascism, building an autocricy that was tumbled but remains in the background of the Republican Party, ready to leap forward again and demolish democracy. DeSantis has his own methods but he has picked up in the residuals of the Trump failed campaign.
DeSantis, like Trump, is not prepared on the issues that confront this country. Like the Russian invasion...
"When a reporter for The Times of London pressed the governor [on the Ukrainian war with Russia], DeSantis scolded him: 'Perhaps you should cover some other ground? I think I’ve said enough.'”
The fact is he had not said anything of substance about the issue. In trying to turn
this around, "DeSantis delivered a more definitive answer on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show..."
"DeSantis’s statement on Ukraine was everything that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his admirers could have wished for from a presumptive candidate for president. Vladimir Putin and his admirers could have wished for from a presumptive candidate for president. The governor began by listing America’s 'vital interests' in a way that explicitly excluded NATO and the defense of Europe. He accepted the present Russian line that Putin’s occupation of Ukraine is a mere 'territorial dispute.' He endorsed 'peace' as the objective without regard to the terms of that peace, another pro-Russian talking point. He conceded the Russian argument that American aid to Ukraine amounts to direct involvement in the conflict. He endorsed and propagated the fantasy—routinely advanced by pro-Putin guests on Fox talk shows—that the Biden administration is somehow plotting 'regime change' in Moscow."
Someone in his gang of minions has convinced DeSantis that this tough guy approach is what the American public wants, but several polls so far reveal that only Republicans are buying in. You don't win elections without contingencies from your opposition and the Independent vote. Frum says Republicans have built themselves a one-stage rocket...
|"one that achieves liftoff but never reaches escape velocity?"
Here are some good reason why DeSantis may be on the way to flaming out...
Florida Republicans will soon pass—and DeSantis pledged he would sign—a law banning abortion after six weeks. That bill is opposed by 57 percent of those surveyed even inside Florida. Another poll found that 75 percent of Floridians oppose the ban. It also showed that 77 percent oppose permitless concealed carry, which DeSantis supports, and that 61 percent disapprove of his call to ban the teaching of critical race theory as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion policies on college campuses. As the political strategist Simon Rosenberg noted: “Imagine how these play outside FL.”
With all these numbers against him, the Florida dictator looks like his candidacy will take the low road that does not lead to the White House. You can read the full story at MSN.com.
There is no doubt when you mention fake news, the first thing that comes to mind is the Fox Network. Blabbermouths like Tucker Carlson who even admitted recently that he lied and spewed misinformation. But Fox isn't the only culprit and Politico proclaims One Group of Americans Who Are Most Likely to Spread Fake News is low-conscientiousness conservatives. The research of two Duke U. professors says we oversimplify blame, generally placing it all on republicans.
In this case Politico is zeroing in on this profile saying...
"it’s not conservatives in general who tend to promote false information, but rather a smaller subset of them who also share two psychological traits: low levels of conscientiousness and an appetite for chaos. Importantly, we found that several other factors we tested for — including support for former President Donald Trump — did not reliably predict an inclination to share misinformation."
If not primarily Donald Trump supporters, who? The piece says "researchers, social media platforms, politicians and members of the media to focus their efforts on low-conscientiousness conservatives (LCCs for short) in particular." On the other hand, you can't beat these conservatives over the head with the fact they are using fake news. And here's why...
"To be clear, existing research has found that conservatives have a greater tendency toward misinformation than liberals do. For example, during the 2016 election, individuals who leaned conservative were more likely to engage with and share disinformation on Twitter and Facebook. Likewise, in the early months of the pandemic, conservatives were more likely to believe Covid-19 was a hoax, and to downplay the virus’" severity.
Nearly Half Of Republicans Admit To Lying About Fake News... In other words, Republican conservatives are more gullible than liberals, which would indicate to me a higher level if intelligence in the latter. Here's the authors' definition of low-conscientiousness conservatives...
What this means to me is that this gang of anti-Americans are able to ignore their principles, that is, if they have any, and discipline themselves to complete a cause, no matter how bizarre or illegal it might be. Highly conscientious conservatives and their liberal counterparts are much less likely to succumb. So what does drive LCCs to spread misinformation? The researchers...
"asked participants to report their leanings on a range of potential influences: level of support for Trump, time spent on social media, distrust of the mainstream media, and endorsement of conservative social and economic values. To our surprise, none of these factors was a reliable predictor of LCCs’ elevated tendency to share false news stories."
Through a statistical analysis it was found that this bunch simply wanted chaos.
That sound familiar from Moscow Mitch McConnell and the fellow GOP not producing any agenda on the right, rather creating discord throughout the country to thwart anything the Democrats do? This is the tragedy of why the United States is in such great trouble with the Covid-19 pandemic, voting rights, racism, inequality and more.
You can blame it on Joe Biden all you want to but this research proves exactly where the buck has stopped.
Donald Trump started a physical exam six months ago but has chosen not to complete it. His aides have no answer why.
Were there questions Trump' partial medical exam didn't answer?
This moron who resides in the White House persists in his refusal to follow the guidelines established over the years that will guarantee the American public that they have a president competent and capable of carrying out his or her duties. The Oval Office lunatic is neither competent nor capable of achieving either of these, but no matter how blindingly, stupidly stubborn Trump is, Americans have the right to know if he is in good enough shape to lead this country.
In spite of not knowing his physical condition, assuming he doesn't, the idiot is taking hydroxychloroquene, a drug that has been deemed dangerous, and of no use in treating COVID-19 from several reputable studies. Hydroxychloroquene is known to be fatal in some cases. T-rump also has stock in the company that makes the drug, as do several of his cronies, and he has regularly been promoting it from the White House. The corruption is endless.
"A president’s annual physical typically occurs at the beginning of a new year. Trump’s 2019 exam was conducted in February, and his 2018 physical was conducted in January. It is uncommon for a president to complete a routine physical exam months apart and in multiple stages."
Chris Cillizza's commentary on Trump's abbreviated Nov. 2019 medical exam...
As I indicated earlier in this article, the American public has the right to know the condition of the leader of their country, especially with an election coming up in less than six months where he is running for office. Agreement and confirmation with this...
“As a part of granting a president as much power as we do, he has the obligation to demonstrate that he is well or, if he is not, to let us know exactly what is amiss,” said presidential historian Michael Beschloss.
With Donald dufus usurping the power of more people and government agencies on a daily basis, it makes the need to know even more critical. The timeline from NBC...
'In November 2019 — six months ago this week — Trump began what the White House described as 'portions' of his third physical during a two-hour examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
"That visit to Walter Reed was unannounced and remained shrouded in secrecy for two days as the president remained out of public view and as the White House declined to answer questions about it.
"The president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, later wrote in a memo released by the White House that Trump’s 'interim checkup' had been “routine.” Conley at the time said a 'more comprehensive' examination would occur this year and that the president’s labs and exam results would be released in a corresponding report."
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Dick Cheney's cardiologist questions quick physical...
Based on experience with Donald Trump's physicians, do we even believe Dr. Conley? Back in November of 2019, Stephie Grisham, Trump's former press secretary, was interviewed by Fox News bonehead host, Jeanine Pirro, as follows...
Speaking with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro on her Saturday program, Grisham said Trump is as "healthy as can be" and that he's "got more energy than anybody in the White House."
"You know, Stephanie, he's almost superhuman," Pirro responded. "I don't know how anyone can deal with what he's dealing with. I get frustrated with what's going on in Washington. I want to throw things at the television. But I don't."
Don't that just wanna make you vomit? Grisham did tell NBC that Trump "is fine — perfectly healthy." Well, that may very well be true, but then why hasn't he completed his exam so we can hear it from a medical professional, not some White House airhead.
Donald Trump has been acquitted in the impeachment trial even with seven Republican Senators crossing the aisle and voting for conviction. Moscow Mitch releases a glaring put down of Trump, yet votes to acquit him. Lindsey Graham got his nose out of Trump's butt long enough to vote to acquit. Greg Sargent's prediction in the Washington Post was fulfilled...
"Mark it now: The vast majority of them will agree that the storming of the Capitol was an abomination and that the perpetrators must be held to account. But little by little, many will migrate to a place where Trump himself is absolutely and comprehensively exonerated from any culpability for inciting it in any way."
It is frightening for sane thinking people--yes, there are still some left--who have come to realize that Republicans have absolutely no honor left. This radical right would let a lunatic go in the face of overwhelming evidence that he committed terrible atrocities while in office. Donald Trump will go down as the most vile and corrupt president to ever serve this country, but also the world's most effective con man. But these morons in the Senate acquitted him.
And if this isn't enough, there is a new proliferation of self-proclaimed "prophets"
who, according to Alex Henderson of AlterNet, "are known for making political predictions." Ruth Graham of the New York Times reports that "some of them have turned out to be way off in their predictions." Graham adds...
"Such 'prophets,' according to Graham, are likely to promote political conspiracy theories."
These heretics operate mostly online and are, according to Graham...
"are part of the rising appeal of conspiracies in Christian settings, echoed by the popularity of QAnon among many evangelicals and a resistance to mainstream sources of information."
But let me tell you, there is no bigger threat to this country--that is other than Donald Trump--than Fox News anchor, Tucker Carlson. I wish someone had done the same tally on him as they did on Donald Trump lies. However, there are a couple of PolitiFact sites here, and here. that will give you an idea just how deceitful and dishonest this lowlife is. Max Boot of the Washington Post says...
"When Donald Trump was in office, he posed the most dangerous threat to American democracy. With the former president now golfing full-time, the most dangerous threat may well emanate from the Fox 'News' Channel — and specifically from its top-rated host, Tucker Carlson. He seems to be on a mission to make America’s worst problems even worse."
One of Carlson's specialties is promoting vaccine conspiracies, which influences people in the wrong direction and a major threat to their health. He is the epitome of an anti-vaxxer, anti-masks, anti-distancing, all rolled into one pompous moron. Tucker Carlson is the go-to for far-right extremists who, according to AlterNet "have the potential to mount a coordinated, low-intensity campaign of political violence." From the Proud Boys to QAnon, these noodle-heads are dangerous.
The article points out that during modern days, civil wars only break out in poor countries where leadership is weak or non-existent. Yet, Donald Trump, in his four years in office has driven the powerhouse United States to the point of all-out insurrection with a radical faction that only seems to get stronger. Joe Biden is busy with controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and there are other issues on his plate like immigration and minimum wage but we all must look out for the radical right.
I don't call it censoring when it comes to the crap Alex Jones spews on a regular basis. Journalism, the Fourth Estate, is what is covered by the 1st Amendment in its protection of free speech, not lies, false conspiracy theories and repeated defamation. This guy is the sleazebag of all sleazebags and anyone who follows or supports him, themselves, would reside at the bottom of the barrel. So why is Twitter head, Jack Dorsey, sticking up for the garbage monger and after professing leaning to the left, giving an extended interview to Sean Hannity?
Hannity himself is guilty of perpetrating the Seth Richards murder conspiracy, which even disgusted the Fox News staff. Anytime you see news on Fox, Sinclair Broadcast or nut jobs like Alex Jones you have to assume only a small percentage of the content is true, very small, and it's just best to stay away entirely. There are too many legitimate news outlets out there, both liberal and conservative, and a small amount of Googling will help you find what you're looking for. As for Twitter's Jack Dorsey, as long as he defends this kind of trash radio, I hope his Twitter followers continue to leave.
Coming down the stretch for the first U.S. primary in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders has a commanding double-digit lead at 30 percent, followed by Biden at 18 percent and Buttigieg at 15 percent. Biden hasn't officially declared and N.H. is right next door to Sanders home state of Vermont. But the real surprise is the fact that newbie Pete Buttigieg is surging in the Democratic race, trailing former V.P. Joe Biden by only 3 points. Could the primary end up with a Bernie Sanders/Pete Buttigieg ticket, and, if so, could they beat Donald Trump?
Karl Rove says so. He "thinks Democratic contender Bernie Sanders could beat Donald Trump in 2020 to become the next president." Rove even added...
"After watching the Vermont senator’s Monday Fox News town hall, Rove complimented Sanders on Fox and Friends Friday, saying participating in the event was a 'smart move on his part.' He was also impressed with the response Sanders got, saying, 'Bernie comes on to Fox, and gets the largest viewership of any campaign event thus far.'”
Now that's very interesting considering Fox plays to a conservative, Republican base.
The word is out some Trump supporters who are disenchanted with the Oval Office lunatic's bizarre antics are looking at Bernie Sanders for 2020. But Bernie still must contend with the fact he is a Democratic Socialist, a trait becoming more acceptable but not quite there yet. I have had two people recently question my Bernie 2016 bumper sticker, still affixed. One "patriot" actually walked up to my wife on the passenger side window and said, "Just wanted to see what a Socialist looks like." I pulled out of the parking place quickly hoping to run over his toes. Unfortunately not.
Friday, February 7, 2020
Former judge, Andrew Napolitano, speaks: "Trump guilty as charged in impeachment trial"
Judge Andrew Napolitano
You have a combination of factors here starting with the fact that Napolitano is a respected retired jurist. He is a conservative. And he works for the news network known for skewing its reporting solidly to the right, telling a lot of lies, and always, always promoting Donald Trump. The judge may work for Fox, but he tells the truth, unlike another Fox personality, Sean Hannity, who accused Democrats of supporting "abortion after birth."
Andrew Napolitano really lowered the boom on Senate Republicans for closing the impeachment trial without witnesses. He commented...
"The former New Jersey Superior Court judge said a trial should be a search for truth, but the Fox News contributor wrote in his new column that GOP senators instead turned the impeachment into “a steamroller of political power” by blocking witness testimony."
He added one of my favorite quotes from George Orwell's 1984...
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
The jurist questioned Alan Dershowitz’s argument against impeachment, explaining how Republican Senators ate it up when almost no legal expert would confirm it. Napolitano says it almost looks like states have ceded power on the impeachment issue refining its language to...
"permit a president to engage in high crimes and misdemeanors so long as he believes that they are in the national interest and so long as his party has an iron-clad grip on the Senate.”
The judge went on to say...
"that House investigators had made their case that Trump had abused his power in office, committed bribery and broken campaign finance law — all of which could be defined as high crimes."
He said the evidence was "overwhelming and beyond a reasonable doubt," with numerous government officials confirming Trump's bribe, and the meter is still running. In a parting comment...
"Napolitano warned that Trump and his GOP allies had established a dangerous precedent and irreparably damaged the Constitution."
The latter is pretty much true of everything Donald Trump and his administration has done from the inauguration. Add to that a cowardly and clueless Congress backing him all the way, and you have the chaos we live with today. READ MORE...
"Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz endorses Tucker Carlson's "great replacement" theory." Salon says many lawmakers, mostly Republican, I say, are concerned over a growing ethnicity in the U.S. population. Aside from the fact the Republican Party is a racist group of dough-heads, the other side of this is a fear these ethnic groups will be predominantly liberal. Here's an excerpt from Salon...
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Saturday embraced Fox News host Tucker Carlson's "great replacement" theory, also calling the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) "a racist organization."
Fox's Tucker Carlson has been spewing this garbage since April, " a baseless white supremacist theory." Carlson admitted recently, on the air, that he lies, just to make his point. Yet thousands of double-digits watch him regularly, taking advice from
an admitted phony. This would be Matt Gaetz's kind of person since a recent POLITIFACT found Gaetz "Mostly False" on several of his statements. Here's more on the theory...
"In 2019, the theory inspired a mass shooting in El Paso, as well as the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand that same year, Insider noted. During the 'Unite the Right Rally' in 2017, hundreds of white supremacist protesters gathered in Charlottsville, Virgnia [SP] chanting slogans like 'You will not replace us' and 'Jews will not replace us,' alluding to fears around America's changing ethnic landscape."
Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt explains to Brian Stelter why Fox's Tucker Carlson should be fired...
This adds antisemitism to the issue. And just this last Saturday Gaetz confirmed this theory, tweeting that Carlson "is CORRECT about Replacement Theory as he explains what is happening to America." There is despicably more...
"Gaetz also added that the ADL – a Jewish non-governmental organization dedicated to combating anti-Semitism and led by Jonathan Greenblatt, a former Obama administration official – is a "'a racist organization.'"
Republicans now fear that, due to the recent census, their gerrymandering strategy will fall short of their normal counterfeit drawing of districts that wins them elections. Now the GOP has picked up the Replacement Theory as a means to gain more seats in both houses. The House is in full swing...
"House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., two weeks ago launched an ad campaign warning their constituencies that Democrats are working toward 'a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION' by expanding pathways to citizenship for immigrants. Last week, Rep. Brian Babin, R-Tex. similarly claimed on Newsmax that the Democrats "want to replace the American electorate with a Third World electorate that will be on welfare."
Bernie Sanders has been everywhere recently talking about everything from how the Republicans are screwing up to how the Democrats are twiddling their thumbs. As recently as Thursday, he said Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, "...brought the Supreme Court confirmation process to a new low during this week's confirmation hearings." And it was only mid-March that headlines were screaming, "Everyone loves Bernie Sanders. Except, it seems, the Democratic party," headline from The Guardian. It is certain that The Bern is well versed on both sides.
Here's the latest figures on Sanders who is being given the national spotlight regularly these days. 61% favorable, 32% unfavorable. When you look at Donald Trump, who sits in the Oval Office today, DT is only 44% favorable, with an unfavorable rating of 53%. When you take the comparisons even further, Barack Obama had a job approval rating of 69% during his first days in office in 2009. Considering the chaos of the Trump administration, the screw ups they have pulled to date, and the fact that Donald John is incapable of getting any of his programs approved, it can only get worse.
These are Fox News polls and although I do have reservations about anything Fox says or does, I take some comfort in the fact that these numbers are being reported by The Hill, a highly reputable publication. They even mention that Trump's unfavorable ratings have been even worse, rising above 55% at times. Here's The Hill's take...
"The huge popularity of Sanders in the Fox poll tracks virtually all other polling that shows Sanders to be, by a large margin, the most popular political leader in America, and far ahead of Trump, the most unpopular new president in the history of presidential polling."
Bernie Sanders has been rallying against the GOP healthcare bill and the repeal of Obamacare since it was introduced by Paul Ryan and endorsed by Donald Trump. The Bern has his own healthcare plan that is even more universal than The Affordable Care Act, but agrees with The Hill that, "...TrumpCare's unpopularity creates a grave danger of disaster for Republicans in 2018 and 2020." And here are some results of Bernie's efforts...
"...a shocking new poll from Quinnipiac University found American voters opposing the pending Republican healthcare bill by a three to one margin. Fifty-six percent of voters disapprove of TrumpCare (or "RyanCare," or whatever name is attached to the disastrous GOP bill), while only 17 percent support it."
With Sanders popularity today, there is no doubt that he would beat Trump in an election, a point I have made several times recently in an effort to keep Progressives active, with an eye toward the day that Donald Trump implodes and brings the Republican Party down around him. The Hill agrees...
"The consistently high ratings for Sanders, and the consistently low ratings for Trump, show that the real majority in America is the genuinely progressive and genuinely populist view of Sanders, not the phony populism or warped conservatism represented by Trump."
"If Sanders were running against Trump for president today, he would win by a gigantic popular vote margin and a strong electoral vote margin."
Even across the pond, Bernie Sanders' popularity shines above all other American politicians. Here's the tragic analysis of The Guardian from Great Britain...
"If you look at the numbers, Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in America – and it’s not even close. Yet bizarrely, the Democratic party – out of power across the country and increasingly irrelevant – still refuses to embrace him and his message. It’s increasingly clear they do so at their own peril."
Here's a Party, the Dems I'm talking about, who should have learned their lesson in the DNC fiasco with Debbie Wasserman Schultz; the fact that she unethically ramrodded Cliinton to the Democratic nomination, when Bernie Sanders was clearly the choice of the public. But that wasn't even enough. Again, there was Keith Ellison who was a natural to lead charged up Progressives on the left, but the old guard of the Party felt more complacent with a hard-liner, Tom Perez. Here's another startling fact from The Guardian; with U.S. Independents, Sanders has an astonishing +41 net favorability.
Progressives are asking for more--they want the adoption of Sanders' populist policies in retaking governor's offices with good support in the defined areas--but Democrats have their own ideas. The proof in the pudding came in a recent town hall meeting hosted by MSNC's Chris Hayes, and it applied directly to Trump voters. In "Trump country" West Virginia...
...the crowd ended up giving him [Bernie Sanders] a rousing ovation after he talked about healthcare being a right of all people and that we are the only industrialized nation in the world who doesn’t provide healthcare as a right to all its people.
The Guardian chastises the Democratic Party for its past lack of attention to houses of Congress, governorships and state houses across the country [thanks to Debbie Wasserman Schultz], instead concentrating on just a White House loss by Hillary Clinton, blamed on James Comey and the Russian intervention in the election. The ostrich effect, they [the Dems] either have their head in the sand or...up their ass. I go for the latter. Politico reports eventual attention to a positive economic message by the Democrats but...
“For now, aides say, the focus is on slaying the giant and proving to the voters who sent Trump into the White House why his policies will fail.”
Same old, same old, which Clinton tried at the end of her campaign and failed miserably. Bernie's comment...
“There are some people in the Democratic Party who want to maintain the status quo. They would rather go down with the Titanic so long as they have first-class seats.”
Looks like the Dems plan to stay on the bottom of the first-class heap.
Donald Trump has abandoned the ship when the U.S. has normally served in the captain's roll, both at home and internationally.
The Oval Office lunatic has abdicated his throne, which has been scaring Americans for weeks, now is terrifying the rest of the world. We are depended upon to stand tall and come up with the answers to crises like the coronavirus pandemic, leading others to a solution to solve the problem. It isn't even certain that Donald Trump knows what the problem is, let alone have an answer to deal with it. He is pathetically missing in action.
"The United States has scaled back its role on the world stage, taken actions that are undermining efforts to battle the coronavirus pandemic and left the international community without a traditional global leader, according to experts, diplomats and analysts."
Leading CEO grouses on Trump...
In other words, the leader's chair is empty, and since the United States has always filled it. there is an international disaster brewing while the world starves for leadership. CNN adds...
"Former world leaders warn that the Trump administration risks alienating allies by politicizing the deadly pandemic with its push to punish China and have other nations choose sides."
When you have someone sitting in the White House who is completely incompetent in what he is doing, and also refuses to accept the failures of his ineptness, you have a disaster and that is what Donald Trump is. It is now being fostered on America and also globally, simply because of this implied expectancy from history that we have always been in control. Well, we aren't, and won't be as long as Donald Trump commands the ship.
Brad Reed in RawStory reports "Americans see Trump as the ‘main source’ of COVID-19 misinformation," and there is no one even close in comparison. We are used to this idiot's lies, 18,000, as of mid-April, adding more every day, and, unfortunately, he has an international reputation. But the news media is held responsible for 33% of the misinformation, and I would attribute the majority of this to Fox (misinformation) News.
And here is the misinformation specialist...
When it comes to blogs, there are those with a highly credible standing like Huff Post, Politico, Slate, etc. Their biggest asset is the size of their staff that can confirm news stories to ensure their accuracy, something that small bloggers like myself lacks. In my case, Nasty Jack Buzz is a political opinion blog, which some view as less accurate than a news blog. That is not true, at least in my case, because I am careful to clarify news sources from more than one site.
“We don’t shut down our economy because tens of thousands of people die on the highways,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “It’s a risk we accept so we can move about.” President Trump also took up the bogus argument while deploying his trademark exaggeration, insisting that car-related deaths are “far greater than any numbers we’re talking about.”
Are Republicans the death party?...
It would seem to me that Republicans have been on a death watch since the coronavirus first hit, and people began to die. In a Dallas newspaper: "Republicans: The party of death during COVID-19." This was during a rash of comments by GOP members musing over whether some Americans were just destined to die of the virus, primarily directed toward the senior population. Some were shocked, others just passed it off as inevitable.
There is talk that Steve Bannon wants to return to the White House, and in T-rump's current desperation, he just might welcome this white nationalist, racist back. Here's one of his radical comments made when he was there before...
“The real opposition is the media,” Steve Bannon, the president’s former chief strategist, once told the journalist Michael Lewis. “And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit.”…
"Donald Trump is asking us to enter even further into his house of mirrors. He is asking us to live within a lie, to live within his lie, for four more years. The duty of citizenship in America today is to refuse to live within that lie."
August 29, 2019: PROGRESSIVE STREET NEWS BYTES...Where Liberals Walk
How Donald Trump is suffering for 2020
Donald Trump's anti-black supporters
Anti-black voters were an important asset to the Donald Trump campaign in 2016, as he encouraged racism, something that has been centerpiece since winning the White House. Without these voters T-rump could be in trouble as a new wave sweeps the U.S. voting public...
"According to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, 82 percent of people who reject anti-black ideas said they were strongly interested in voting, up from 70 percent in 2016. In comparison, 75 percent of anti-black voters expressed a strong interest in voting in 2020."
Donald Trump is a confirmed racist, which is replayed weekly, sometime on a daily basis. Just recently he was criticized...
"for racist tweets he sent telling four lawmakers of color — Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) — to 'go back' to the 'corrupt' countries they’re from. Shortly after, his supporters chanted 'send her back' as Trump attacked Omar during a rally in North Carolina."
The racism thing seemed to take a backseat during the Obama administration, but reared its ugly head with a roar when the Oval Office lunatic was elected. And it has made the left think about their vote and certain values for the upcoming election. I did two recent posts documenting the appalling incidents of racism occurring around this country you can see here and here. It is the blatant display of this racism since Trump came along that is so troublesome.
How farmers feel about Donald Trump...
There is another angle on Donald Trump's loss of followers for 2020, the farmers of the U.S. who solidly supported him in 2016, but who are now "reeling from plunging prices and unsold crops during what is now more than a year-long trade war with China." And then most recently T-rump made the decision to allow more oil refiners to skirt biofuel laws and use less corn-based ethanol. At recent campaign stops Joe Biden has said the trade war was “crushing” American farmers.
There's more...
"A round of more bad news for farmers last week, including extra tariffs Beijing announced on soybeans and other key U.S. agricultural exports, gave Democrats a fresh opening to attack Trump. He gave regulators the green light to grant exemptions to more than 30 small refineries so they can use less ethanol, Democratic candidates pounced on it as evidence Trump favors the oil industry."
5 top Democrats would beat Donald Trump today...
Donald dufus appears to be searching seriously for ways to lose the 2020 election with his bizarre actions that seem to be really pissing off American voters. And based on some recent figures, it definitely isn't the time to screw around with voters. Just recently AlterNet accused Trump of lying again about his approval numbers with Republicans. But his is how it really is...
"He says that he has 94 percent approval with them, and at one point, he actually did poll that well. But recent surveys from Monmouth, Zogby Analytics, AP-NORC, and Fox News all show him polling significantly lower than that. It appears that his support has been slipping and is now somewhere in the low-to-mid eighties."
There's more...
"The above might still sound impressive, but his approval with Democrats is in the low single digits, and he’s polling in the thirties-to-low forties with independents. He actually needs to be doing better with his base to compensate for this."
Michael Tomasky of the Daily Beast comments...
"If Trump were telling the truth about having 94 percent support from the GOP base, he’d be in reasonable shape, although Romney lost pretty badly at 93 percent."
How many U.S. presidents have actually lied themselves through a reelection?
Liberals are always searching for the reasons that conservatives would do the stupid things they do these days. Five new studies attempt to explain their inadequacies. First, “Bright Minds and Dark Attitudes,” was done by Brock University claims that a low IQ as a child translates into the person being a racist and voting conservative. Two, Fairleigh Dickinson University asked people which news shows they watched, then queried them about current events and their source. Those watching Fox News had the lowest ranking, even lower than those that watched no news at all. Three, researchers at the University of Arkansas found that conservatives were likely to put little effort into their thinking. Four, Kent State University's “Abstract Reasoning as a Predictor of Attitudes Toward Gay Men,” found that, "those with low abstract reasoning ability have a tendency to be homophobic." Five, in the last study performing MRI brain scans on students at the University College in London, they were asked their political persuasion. Results: "liberal students had more gray matter, which would make them smarter."
A Progressive can only deduce that the above is why John Boehner and Mitch McConnell do the stupid things they do and why other Republican fruitcakes go around making the inane statements they do.
Max Boot, formerly of the Republican Party, comes down hard on the conservative movement. Here's the gist of what he had to say...
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