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Updated: 15 weeks 4 days ago

Watch Out America, For That Standing Army Of Muslims

Tue, 12/05/2023 - 07:35

So for a moment there I thought Steve Deace was talking about the CARAVAN THREAT coming across the southern border just like it does every election season, in the right-wing fever dream.

But then he did a switcheroo and got into yet another THREAT, that standing army of Muslims that is coming for your jobs, your guns, and your mall parking space. Or something.

And of course it's worse than forty-twelve NINE ELEVENS, sheeple!

STEVE DEACE (HOST): Well, let's go back to 9/11 and reset a research point that I pointed out on this show a few months ago. Since 9/11, we -- if you took the total amount of people that we have imported from Islamist-dominated countries, that we have -- for not even illegally, we just agreed to accept either legally or as refugees or asylum seekers, because I'm sure -- I'm sure we vetted them all, right? Right? Sure.

If you took the total population of those people from Islamist-dominated countries that we have imported, it would be the 36th most populous state in the union, the 36th most populous state. Now, let's -- let's say 99 percent of them were completely and totally vetted -- they weren't -- and we have a pretty good read on their character and caliber and qualifications -- we don't -- but let's say we do, and it's one percent - you'd be looking at a standing army in the tens of thousands. Let's say it's point one - you'd be looking at a standing army way beyond the size and scope of the 20 -- what was it, 20, 21 people pulled off 9/11, something like that?

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The Great Voucher School Scam

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 23:00

Across the country, the right is really pushing hard to expand private voucher schools. If their insistence and unconvincing sales spiel only serves to make you more suspicious, you right to do so. Trae Crowder gets into the ways that they are bad and that their only real purpose is to siphon money away from public sector schools, especially those in poor or minority communites and channel it to the wealthy people who are already sending their kids to school. Meanwhile, it does nothing to help the poor or the minority students. It's not coincidence that the dark money groups that are behind the astroturf groups pushing for these schools are also know for their racist agendas.

Open thread below...

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Thus It Begins: Russian Police Raid Gay Bars

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 17:48

Part of the Fascist-Authoritarian playbook is to always look for a target to punch:

Police raid Moscow gay bars after a Supreme Court ruling labeled LGBTQ+ movement ‘extremist’

Russian security forces raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow Friday night, less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization.

Police searched venues across the Russian capital, including a nightclub, a male sauna, and a bar that hosted LGBTQ+ parties, under the pretext of a drug raid, local media reported.

Eyewitnesses told journalists that clubgoers’ documents were checked and photographed by the security services. They also said that managers had been able to warn patrons before police arrived.

“Show us your papers.”

Activists have noted the lawsuit was lodged against a movement that is not an official entity, and that under its broad and vague definition authorities could crack down on any individuals or groups deemed to be part of it.

The world-wide march to authoritarianism continues. Today it is LGBTQ people in Russia, who will it be here in the USA, if Hair Füror gets in the White House again? He always mimics the bigger bully looking for approval, so you can bet he’ll do the same.

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'Nice Girls' Kill 24 Russians With Poisoned Treats

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 17:48

According to the Russian report on Telegram, the attack occurred in occupied Crimea, where the "criminals" used poisoned alcohol and food. “Two nice girls came to the checkpoint of the military unit and introduced themselves as local residents. They brought seven bottles of vodka and some snacks - fish, sausage, bread, cheese. They told the guards that they wanted to thank our boys for everything, for protecting them. The guys took vodka and food, drank with their colleagues, and ate. And many were poisoned,” says one of our interlocutors. All laced with “huge doses of arsenic,” and strychnine.

Slava Ukraini.

Source: Kyiv Post

Twenty-four Russian troops were killed after being given poison-laced food by “two nice girls” at a military checkpoint in Simferopol, Crimea, according to reports.

Unverified reports on Russian media channels said two partisans approached the soldiers with vodka, fish, sausage, bread, and cheese.

“They told the guards that they wanted to thank our boys for everything, for protecting them,” a source told the Telegram channel Kremlin Snuffbox, which posted the information on Dec. 1.

“The guys took vodka and food, drank with their colleagues, and ate. And many were poisoned.”

The Ukrainian partisan group Crimean Combat Seagulls later confirmed the news, saying that in addition to the 24 Russian soldiers killed, 11 more were hospitalized.

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James Comer's Latest 'Biden Scandal' Fizzles Out

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 16:12

If you're James Comer and Jonathan Turley there is nothing too petty, too stupid, and too dishonest to slap on President Biden. The latest "scandal" is a series of monthly payments from Hunter Biden's company, Owasco PC, to Joe Biden in 2018, when Joe Biden neither held nor sought public office and certainly had no influence over foreign affairs. I shouldn't even have to say that, but I do because these yahoos are trying so hard to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or something.

James Comer released a video Sunday evening in an effort to build up the scandal for today's Fox News story o' the day.

He begins with this:

President Joe Biden claimed there was an absolute wall between his official government duties and his family's influence peddling schemes.

This was a lie.

President Joe Biden claimed his family didn't receive money from China.

This was a lie.

President Joe Biden claimed he never spoke to his son, Hunter Biden, about the Bidens family's shady business dealings.

This was a lie.

Now, Hunter Biden's legal team and the White House's media allies claim Hunter's corporate entities never made payments directly to Joe Biden.

We can officially add this latest talking point to the list of lies.

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Mehdi Hasan Rips The Press For Failure To Convey Threat From Second Trump Term

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 13:08

MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan took the American media to task for their failure to inform the public about the very real danger to democracy Trump represents if he makes his way back into the White House.

I don't know what prompted the decision by MSNBC's management to cancel Hasan's show at MSNBC and Peacock, but I personally feel they screwed the pooch on this one. Whether you agree with all of Hasan's views or not, I think it's a mistake removing his voice from the airways, and he's one of the best interviewers out there if you want to watch someone in action who's prepared, has done their homework, and will dismantle any liar that's foolish enough to come on the air with him.

He's still around for a few more weeks hosting his weekend show, and like his MSNBC counterpart Jen Psaki, Hasan took a lot of shots at Trump, the crazy crap that's come out of his mouth over the last few weeks, and the direct threat to their network, but unlike Psaki, Hasan also went after his cohorts in the press for falling down on the job.

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Snopes Slagged For Denying Trump Said What He Said

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 12:56

"We've been waging all-out war on American democracy," said Trump on the weekend, but Snopes thinks he said something else and meant to say something else again (something that made sense), so the Fact-Checking website thinks that's enough to deny Trump said what he said, and we're supposed to interpret what he meant to say instead.

Lost yet? Yeah, me too.

Source: Snopes

To our ears, Trump unambiguously said, "we've been waging all-out war in American democracy" (and CSPAN's transcript reflects the same). We did not hear, nor does the context support the claim that he said, "We've been waging an all-out war on American democracy." It's clear that Trump was out to accuse his political opponents of waging war, not himself. Given the context, Trump likely meant to say, "They've been waging an all-out war on American democracy," but those weren't the words that came out of his mouth.

Twitter was having none of their bullshit.

This is very embarrassing for Snopes — and they should delete it. https://t.co/XoEY66QXLe

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) December 4, 2023

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Tulsi And Ingraham Suggest 'The Left' Is A Violent Threat To Trump

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 12:53

Tulsi Gabbard and Fox News's Laura Ingraham had a bit of an overreaction to Robert Kagan's piece for The Washington Post in which he warns against a second Trump presidency, and how it could ultimately end up as a dictatorship. He quotes Liz Cheney, saying, "One of the things that we see happening today is a sort of a sleepwalking into dictatorship in the United States." Yeah, we've noticed that the other side of the aisle has been asleep for a few years.

Freedom-sucking Americans Tulsi and Laura took to the airwaves to protest by using their projection skills at an IMAX level. Tulsi and Gabbard think that if you call out Trump for being a petty petulant wanna potentate, then you are promoting violence against Lumpy.

"Tulsi, you're saying they're inviting someone to take a shot at Trump," Ingraham said. "I think you're right."

I know. I'm scratching my head, too.

"Yes, this is what is dangerous," Gabbard said. 'They're sending a message to a rogue actor, a lone wolf saying, "Hey, we need someone to save our country from this modern-day Hitler-like person."'

Last month, it was revealed that Trump is planning on rounding up immigrants if he's elected again, and then his administration will toss them in concentration camps, but don't you dare compare him to Hitler, you lefty weirdos!

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Russian Pawn Rudy Whines About Being Called A 'Russian Pawn'

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 12:49

Rudy Giuliani expressed fear on Sunday that he could go to prison for the rest of his life after Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) suggested that data from Hunter Biden's laptop had been "manipulated" by the former New York mayor.

On his Sunday radio program, Giuliani said he deserved praise for exposing the contents of a laptop belonging to President Joe Biden's son, Hunter.

"Do you think I'm entitled to some credit for being the one who brought out Biden for the first time?" Giuliani asked longtime girlfriend and co-host Maria Ryan.

"You deserve a lot of credit," Ryan agreed.

"They don't," Giuliani complained. "They think I deserve to go to prison for the rest of my life for doing it."

"That's why they went after you, Rudy, because you had information, and you were highly credible," Ryan insisted. "They had to discredit you, so they made up stories about you."

Giuliani argued that he had been "vindicated" even though a lawsuit from Hunter Biden accused him of hacking and manipulating the laptop's contents.

"I was accused by Biden during the last debate, presidential debate, by name, of being a Russian pawn," he complained. "It is proven that I'm not."

"And then this liar, the newest big liar in the Democratic Party, Dan Goldman from New York, a little rich boy, comes out and calls me a Russian pawn again," he added.

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Florida Dems React To Moms For Liberty 'Threesome' Case

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 11:17

New details made public over the weekend via police documents of a rape investigation have added fresh fuel to the political firestorm surrounding the chair of the Republican Party of Florida, Christian Ziegler, and his wife Bridget Ziegler, co-founder of the far-right Moms for Liberty, which engages in book-banning efforts, attacks on public education, religious moralizing, and the promotion of fascist ideology in chapters nationwide.

After an unnamed longtime associate accused Christian Ziegler of rape last week, the emergence of a police search warrant and associated affidavit showed that the alleged victim said she had engaged in consensual three-way sexual relations with the Zieglers in the past but on the day of the assault, on Oct 3., tried to call off the encounter because Bridget would not be there to participate.
"Sorry I was mostly in for her," the victim said, according to text messages quoted in the affadavit.

The high-profile political work of the Zieglers—who rail against the sexual identities and lifestyle choices of others and who have been openly hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, often suggesting queer people are somehow deviant or morally problematic—has resulted in my cries of hypocrisy and calls for Christian's resignation.

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Trump Promises Everyone A New Home If They Vote For Him - And A Car Too!

Mon, 12/04/2023 - 10:05

The gall of Republicans daring to question President Joe Biden's mental acuity is insulting when the leader of their party is practically running around with his eyes spinning like dice in his head. We've brought this up before.

Biden has the olds, but did he alter an official National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration map of a hurricane's trajectory? Did he ever want to nuke a hurricane? Did he ever mistake the dickhead leader of Hungary for the dickhead leader of Turkey? I could do this all day. Trump is no different than the drunk guy on the corner who is waving his dick around -- except that Trump would lie about the size of his manly bits, and he doesn't have any balls. Nancy still has them in her purse, after all.


Meanwhile, in Iowa

At Lumpy's 'Save America' rally in Iowa, Trump rambled on, and somehow, Republicans didn't bat an eye when he made the jaw-dropping claim of ensuring that everyone will be able to afford a "beautiful home" if he's elected. That's right, even the drunk guy on the corner gets a house. Oh, and a new car!

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Are Wisconsin Republicans Afraid Of Tammy Baldwin?

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 18:06

Wealthy businessman Scott Mayer tells the National Journal's Sydney Kashiwagi that he's still interested in challenging Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin—and that he's willing to run against the National Republican Senatorial Committee's top recruit if it comes down to it.

D.C. Republicans have been wooing another rich businessman, Eric Hovde, but he has yet to make up his mind and face a contested primary if he decides to run after all. "Eric's a good guy, I like him, I don't have anything against him," Mayer told Kashiwagi. But when asked if he'd defer to Hovde, he responded, "I can't commit to that at this point."

Mayer, who is the father of NASCAR driver Sam Mayer, went on, "It's not as simple as if he runs, I won't, or if I won't run, he won't. It's probably a little bit more significant and deeper than that, but we don't want a bloody primary." Mayer says he'll decide in the first quarter of next year; the primary is set for Aug. 13.

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GOP Senator Weasels And Squirms When Confronted With Choice About Trump

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 15:34

Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford waffled and used lots of weasel words to try to avoid directly answering whether he supports Trump as their nominee given all the vile things that have come out of Trump's mouth and the 91 felony counts he's facing. In the end, of course, he's just like the rest of them. He's going to support the fascist criminal because heaven forbid nothing could be worse than supporting a Democrat.

It was nice to see George Stephanopoulos keep at it until he finally got an answer out of him.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Lankford, thank you for joining us this morning. I want to get to the war and the negotiations over border security and foreign aid. But first, your party's leading candidate for president was on the stump yesterday repeating lies about the 2020 election. He's called those convicted in the January 6th insurrection hostages. He faces 91 separate felony counts himself. He's raised the prospect of executing the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and terminating parts of the Constitution. In the face of all that and more, are you prepared to support Donald Trump if he's your party's nominee?

It's nice to see someone on the main broadcast networks calling Trump a liar, and detailing the legal jeopardy he's in, while also highlighting his insane statements like the one about General Milley. It would be great if a few Republican voters actually questioned whether it's a good idea to support Trump.

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Lindsey Graham Thinks Obamacare Repeal Is Winning Issue For Republicans

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 15:09

Sen. Lindsey Graham agreed with CNN's Dana Bash when she asked if Trump's call for repealing Obamacare was a winning issue for Republicans. I hate to break it to him, but taking health insurance away from millions of Americans isn't any more popular now than it was back when Mitt Romney was lying about whether their plans would hurt the poor, or when Trump was pushing the same policies while he was still in office.

BASH: Let's talk about the 2024 campaign trail.

GRAHAM: Yes.

BASH: Donald Trump called Obamacare a disaster last night in Iowa after reiterating his calls to repeal it. You, of course, voted to repeal Obamacare when Trump was president.

Do you think that this is a winning issue right now? Would you like to see another vote again if Trump is elected?

GRAHAM: Yes. Yes, I -- here's what -- good question. This is what we tried to do when Trump was president.

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Things Got A Little Weird When Trump Was Asked About Barron

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 15:09

Donald J. Trump was groomed for the spotlight since he was a teenager. Fred was happy to prop him up as the face of his company. But Barron Trump has been kept shielded in secrecy, and rightfully so. We've seen what Donald's parenting did to his older sons, and Barron is probably a pretty cool kid, considering the hand he's been dealt in life.

On Moms for America, not to be confused with Moms For Threeways, Trump was asked about his relationship with his 17-year-old son. It got a bit awkward. Trump doesn't know his son very well. If he wants to know Don Jr., all he has to do is look in the mirror. But this is a different story.

"He's a tall guy, very tall. 6'8," Trump said. "He's a great young man. Very good student. I think he's doing a good job - Barron. I think he's doing a very good job."

Trump is talking about his son. I don't have children, but I know my cat more than Lumpy knows Barron. And this comes from the family values party. A few years ago, Trump referred to Barron as "Melania's son," and his supporters didn't bat an eye.

X users weighed in:

"Loves our military, the second amendment and wants a strong border. He's doing a great job"

— tired_intexas (@ms_intexas) December 2, 2023

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'Totally Comfortable': Reince Priebus Blows Off Trump's '91 Felonies'

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 14:36

Former RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said he is ready to throw his support behind Donald Trump for president even if he is convicted of any of the 91 felony charges he is facing.

During a Sunday panel discussion, ABC host George Stephanopoulos seemed surprised at Priebus' willingness to support Trump despite his criminal problems.

"And you're totally comfortable going into the election with a candidate who's been accused of 91 felonies?" Stephanopoulos said.

"Um," an off-guard Priebus replied, "I'm comfortable if that's what the Republican party wants to move forward with, sure, 110%."

"I would take Donald Trump over Joe Biden every single day of the week, no problem," he continued. "Because where this country has gone and how far we've gone downhill in the last three years is a place that most Republicans aren't willing to go."

Democratic strategist Donna Brazile tried to push back.

"You know, I recognize that Joe Biden may not be might not be your cup of tea or even your bowl of soup," she told Priebus. "But you know what he is? He's somebody who's steady, somebody who understands the issues, and somebody who's fighting for America."

Stephanopoulos cut Brazile off before she could finish.

"I'm afraid that's all we have time for today," he said.

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Gaetz Whines That Ousting Santos Could Cost GOP House Majority

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 14:33

Maybe Matt Gaetz should have thought about this before he orchestrated Kevin McCarthy's ouster as Speaker. Matt Gaetz made an appearance on Charlie Kirk's show this Friday and whined that booting George Santos out of the House could possibly cost them their majority:

GAETZ: Our willingness to self-mutilate on these things really impairs our ability to get the job done. So, let's do the math here Charlie. We have a four vote majority, right? Now we've kicked out George Santos. We have a three vote majority.

Congressman Bill Johnson of Ohio has taken a college university presidency. That could knock us down to two, and I don't really think Kevin McCarthy is sticking around long. Every image of his office shows that he's packing things up in boxes, so we could be down to a one seat majority.

And we've got a bunch of these octogenarians in our conference, if God forbid any of them were to cross the rainbow bridge, we would be in a situation where we could literally lose the majority because we were so eager to throw George Santos out before even being convicted.

It is not in accordance with precedent. It is not in accordance with due process, and it is just tactically freaking stupid.

Yeah, that would be a real shame Matt. No one ever said self-awareness was his strong point.

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Trump Calls Obamacare A 'Disaster' While Claiming He 'Saved Obamacare'

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 14:31

Literally in the same breath. And this is the guy that wants to make Biden's age an issue. Here's Trump during a campaign rally in Iowa this Saturday, doing some really weird revisionist history on John McCain's famous thumbs down vote on repealing the ACA.

TRUMP: We're also going to fight to give much better health care than what you have right now. You know, this is a newer subject, but Obamacare is a disaster. And I said we’re going to we’re going to do something about it. I saved Obamacare when we got John McCain’s negative vote. You know, he voted against it after campaigning for many, many years. He said, "Uh thumbs down."

Maybe he'll let us know what his plans are to "save" it in two weeks.

Trump "saved Obamacare" by gutting funding for risk mitigation which would have kept premiums and deductibles low. Oh, he also "saved Obamacare" by authorizing short term junk insurance plans for the whole year, which meant more healthy people opting out of actual insurance.

As many rightfully noted on the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Trump was not the one who "saved Obamacare."

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Maria Bartiromo Worries George Santos' Ouster Will Ruin Impeachment

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 14:24

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) worried on Sunday that one or two moderate Republicans could derail his entire effort to impeach President Joe Biden.

During an interview on Fox News, host Maria Bartiromo asked Comer if Republicans could pass an authorization for an impeachment inquiry after losing former Rep. George Santos (R-NY).

"Do you feel that you have the votes within the House right now to get a formal impeachment inquiry?" she wondered.

"I do," he replied. "A great thing happened during Thanksgiving. The members went home, many of them for the first time, and circulated for the first time in over ten weeks. And they met people in Walmart and people on Main Street."

Comer suggested Republicans were more ready than ever to impeach Biden.

"So I'm confident we're going to have the votes to move forward with this impeachment inquiry," he said.

"And you've got to have a near majority," Bartiromo noted. "The majority is so slim, even less now with George Santos being expelled this week, right?"

"Yeah, it's tough," Comer agreed. "I think we could lose one or two members. I mean, Ken Buck, he votes no on everything. He's certainly doing everything he can to try out to be the next anchor for MSNBC."

"At the end of the day, I think our members realize that this is of the utmost importance," he insisted.

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Ron DeSantis Suggests He's OK With Calling Opponents 'Vermin'

Sun, 12/03/2023 - 11:20

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Sunday refused to condemn Donald Trump for using the term "vermin" to describe his political opponents.

"Mr. Trump is campaigning on the idea of retribution," NBC host Kristen Welker told DeSantis in an interview. "He's promising to jail his political enemies if he's reelected."

"He's also referred to some of his political opponents as vermin, language that people, frankly, across the political spectrum, say harkens back to Nazi Germany," she continued. "Do you think that kind of language is presidential?"

"Well, I think even beyond that, the issue is, is why are you running?" DeSantis dodged. "Are you running for your personal issues? Are you running for the American people's issues?"

Welker pressed: "But let me ask you about my original question, the use of the word vermin. Are you comfortable with that term? But are you comfortable with that term, Governor?"

"Let me just say on the DOJ, well, first of all, I'm responsible for what I say, and I say things differently," DeSantis replied.

"Are you comfortable with that term?" the host asked again. "Let's just on my question though, Governor."

"Excuse me!" DeSantis exclaimed. "What I'm not comfortable with is FBI agents going after parents going to school board meetings. I'm not comfortable with DOJ, FBI working with tech companies to censor dissent."

Welker asked the candidate to condemn the use of the word "vermin." But he refused.

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