Winter Patriot Community Blog

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ProgressVirginia reported Tuesday afternoon that the Virginia Senate’s Privileges and Elections Committee killed Sen. Charles “Bill” Carrico Sr.’s electoral college-rigging bill, despite an offer by Carrico to amend the bill to award electors in proportion to the state’s popular vote. The vote was 11-4 against the bill, although it will not be official until the close of the committee meeting.

If Donald Trump thought Canada was going to crumble in the face of tariffs, he just received a rude awakening from it prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Unfortunately, it’s an awakening that we 99% will pay for.

“Should these tariffs not cease,” Trudeau warned in a televised address, “we are in active and ongoing discussions with provinces and territories to pursue several non-tariff measures. Measures which will demonstrate that there are no winners in a trade war.” In other words, if Trump doesn't ditch the tariffs, expect retaliation.

Trudeau went on to stress that this is not something he wants. Addressing the American people, he said, “We want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don't want to see you hurt either.” But he also made it clear it’s Trump who will have to back off if a trade war is to be avoided. “Your government has chosen to do this to you,” he added. He noted that markets are down, “inflation is set to rise dramatically” and “your government has chosen to put American jobs at risk at the thousands of workplaces that succeed because of materials from Canada or because of consumers in Canada.”

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett called out the Talking Yam as “really psychotic” for saying the United States would gain control over Greenland “one way or the other.” It's all so exhausting, isn't it? Via HuffPost:

“I don’t even know why we’re fighting with Greenland,” she told Adam Mockler of the progressive MeidasTouch Network following Trump’s Tuesday speech before a joint session of Congress. “Why are we fighting with Greenland? We’re fighting with Canada, we’re fighting with Mexico, yet we’re in love with Putin? What is happening? Like, this is not America. This is a terrible nightmare. Somebody slap me and wake me the fuck up because I’m ready to get on with it.”

Trump said during his speech that he supports Greenland’s right to determine its own future and that it would be welcomed into the United States if it chose to do so. But then his comments took a turn. “We need [Greenland] really for international world security, and I think we’re going to get it,” he said. “One way or the other, we’re going to get it.” Trump reportedly floated obtaining Greenland ― which is an autonomous territory of Denmark ― during his first term in office but said little about it publicly. That changed after he won last year’s election, when he called taking control over Greenland an “absolute necessity” and suggested taking it by force if needed.

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Trump's legal counsel, Alina Habba, told reporters that recently fired veterans from the government by Trump/Musk may not have been fit to have their job at all.

Wow, just wow.

There are many veterans and Republicans who are now unhappy they voted for Trump after he unceremoniously cut and fired federal government employees with a heavy hand that included many veterans.

Habba was asked in a presser if Trump had any second thoughts about firing our military veterans that served this country and were happy to work in the federal government -- if the administration can do something to help them.

How she replied was shocking.

REPORTER: Is the president starting to think about maybe some of those veterans who worked for the federal government and maybe what the administration can do to at least help salvage their lives?

HABBA: Well, as you know, we care about veterans tremendously. I mean, that's something the president has always cared about. Anybody in blue, anybody that serves this country.

But at the same time, we have taxpayer dollars, we have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work.

That doesn't mean that we forget our veterans by any means. We are going to care for them in the right way. But perhaps they're not fit to have a job at this moment or not willing to come to work.

And we can't, you know, I wouldn't take money from you and pay somebody and say, sorry, you know, they're not going to come to work.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote about a Milwaukee area woman named Makayla Starks. Starks had taken her car to a dealership for an oil change but when she got her car back, she found that the mechanic had written the n-word on the oil change sticker and that some safety device controls on her steering console had been damaged. To make matters worse, the dealership did not handle the situation as well as they could have by trying to cover it up.

But then life once again proved that not all heroes wear capes.

The story reached all the way to Family Nissan in Inwood, New York. There, things escalated quickly, but in a good way:

“The team here got kind of fired up to add more support and add more voice to her voice and to her narrative and to push her message forward that this should’ve never happened,” he said.

At a Saturday morning meeting, a manager brought up the story and an idea to gift Starks a car formed, which Rizk said "erupted the whole meeting."

It wasn’t about processes or sales numbers; he said it was about doing what was right.

“We did it together as a family, you know, Family Nissan,” Rizk said.

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Republican House members have been facing a fierce backlash in their districts to Trump's heavy-handed firings and suspensions of federal programs, but Mike Johnson passed the buck onto the usual right-wing boogeyman.

NRCC Chair Richard Hudson gave them instructions.

House Republicans are being encouraged to avoid in-person town halls in favor of phone and livestreamed versions, advice that comes after constituents and activists rocked recent GOP events by expressing outrage about the Trump administration’s dramatic moves to reshape the federal government.

Instead of facing up to the reality of the situation, Jebus Johnson blamed the left for Republicans' problems. A reporter asked Johnson if canceling Republican town halls is a solution to quell the dissatisfaction with their voters.

REPORTER: Protestors at Republican town halls, and now they're pushing back on, I guess, reporting that there's been discretion that Republicans should hold less town halls.

I mean, do you think that that's what your members should be doing? Do you think that they should be...

JOHNSON: Well, look, we've been encouraging our members to communicate directly with their constituents, and they're anxious to do that.

There's lots of different ways and forums to do it.

You could do it in telephone town halls.

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Jasmine Crockett and Eric Swalwell had choice words for the president after Trump's March 4 speech. Crockett said she'd tell the president to "stop being Putin's hoe" when asked what she'd like to say to Trump.

Joe Gallina: If you could tell Donald Trump anything tonight, what would you tell him?

Rep. Jasmine Crockett: Grow a spine and stop being Putin’s hoe. pic.twitter.com/VZu47C4ZAk

— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) March 5, 2025

Rep. Crockett is a fierce fighter who doesn't mince words. A few days ago, Crockett called Trump an "enemy of the United States" and apologized to American allies.

Credit: MSNBC

Eric Swalwell Fights Back

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Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin delivered a blistering rebuttal to Donald Trump's speech on March 4. Reuters reported The midwestern moderate Democrat hit back at Trump on Ukraine, foreign policy, and Elon Musk's illegal actions.

Slotkin is a former CIA analyst whose rebuttal was short and smart. The Michigan senator even invoked Ronald Reagan, showing Americans just how extreme the GOP has become under Trump.

Brett Meiselas, cofounder @MeidasTouch praised Slotkin in a tweet:

"These response speeches are usually disasters but Sen. Slotkin is knocking it out of the park. A+++++."

More Reactions to Slotkin's Rebuttal

Slotkin's speech generated positive reviews:

The D’s response comes in eighty minutes shorter, moderate and leans into Reagan, national security, the economy and democracy. Impressive. pic.twitter.com/7QrT5A3LSG

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) March 5, 2025

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Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary went on Larry Kudlow's program Wednesday and immediately started backtracking on the tariffs Trump has levied against Canada Mexico and China.

With the stock market crashing you can bet Trump's big donors were on the phone screaming at at him.
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Enter Howard Lutnick, who claimed that Trump is imposing these tariffs to make our closest neighbors close the borders and stop letting fentanyl into the country.

Did you know these tariffs were not targeted for the US economy which Trump ran on, but to fight a drug war?

Like all Trump hires, Lutnick is a smooth talking con man trying to lie liars way out of Trump's intentions all along.

LUTNICK: But the fentanyl deaths are just not declining in the way we expected.

KUDLOW: So what do you think the president's gonna do?

LUTNICK: He's gonna come out today angry that Americans are still being killed.

Now, both the Mexicans and the Canadians were on the phone with me all day today trying to show that they'll do better, and the president's listening, because you know he's very, very fair and very reasonable, so I think he's gonna work something out with them.

It's not gonna be a pause, none of that pause stuff, but I think he's gonna figure out, you do more, and I'll meet you in the middle some way, and we're gonna probably be announcing that tomorrow.

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If you subjected yourself to watching President Whiny Titty Baby's State of the Union address to Congress last night, you likely through objects at your television, too. Republicans applauded Donald even though stocks have plummeted and food prices are up as they chanted "USA! USA! USA!" while Democrats who insisted on attending held up little signs that read, "Musk steals," and "False." How brave.

Meanwhile, private companies added only 77,000 new workers for the month, well the fuck off from the upwardly revised 186,000 in January and below the 148,000 estimate. America is in the shitter. But sure, applaud him for the Trump recession or hold up tiny signs.

Jimmy Kimmel nailed it, though, after Donald whined, “I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud,” adding, “Nothing I can do.”

“You could quit,” he said on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

“You can go back to Mar-a-Lago and shove your head down that gold toilet for a few months, we’d like that,” he added. “Maybe you’ll find those secret documents you flushed.”

I didn't watch much of Krasnov's address last night because fuckit. Rep. Al Green was escorted out of the chamber during 47's joint address to Congress for causing good trouble. Stephen Colbert mentioned that.

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The narcissism of Donald Trump knows no bounds. In a first for any presidential speech to Congress, Trump cried like a baby because Democrats refused to stand and clap for him.

I kid you not.

Trump is the most despicable and vile president in history of this country but expects to be treated with courtesy by the opposing party.

This is not normal and Democrats need to step up the opposition more and more.

TRUMP: And once again, I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud.

Nothing I can do.

I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded.

And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements.

They won't do it, no matter what.

Five, five times I've been up here.

It's very sad, and it just shouldn't be this way.

Trump already proclaimed he'd found a cure for COVID when he promoted bleach, UV lights, and of course hydroxychloroquine, which has been linked to 17,000 unnecessary deaths because of his antics.

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Oh look! Guests are paying millions of dollars to dine and meet with the Talking Yam at special events held at his Mar-a-Lago compound in Palm Beach. Isn't that nice of him, to want to meet with voters? Via WIRED:

Business leaders can secure a one-on-one meeting with the president at Mar-a-Lago for $5 million, according to sources with direct knowledge of the meetings. At a so-called candlelight dinner held as recently as this past Saturday, prospective Mar-a-Lago guests were asked to spend $1 million to reserve a seat, according to an invitation obtained by WIRED.

“You are invited to a candlelight dinner featuring special guest President Donald J. Trump,” the invitation reads, under a “MAGA INC.” header. MAGA Inc., or Make America Great Again Inc., is a super PAC that supported Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. “Additional details provided upon RSVP. RSVPs will be accommodated on a first come, first serve basis. Space is very limited. $1,000,000 per person.”

[...] The invitation specifically states that “Donald J. Trump is appearing at this event only as a featured speaker, and is not asking for funds or donations.” The event occurred at 7 pm on March 1 and was listed on the president’s official schedule as the “MAGA INC. Candlelight Finance Dinner.” This is the only event by that name on Trump’s official schedule since he took office.

Is this legal? Who cares? IT'S LIKE GETTING A PAPAL AUDIENCE!

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No one really likes him, but GOPers pretend because they're afraid. Fortunately, we don't have to. But a 77-year-old man, Rep. Al Green of Texas was the only Democrat with the balls to stand up to Trump during his speech:

US Rep Al Green removed by Trump's Nazi while others sat and watched or jeer at him. He stood up to Trump and told him he had no mandate to disrupt Medicaid for millions of people. Make a list of which politicians you are going to keep. So far it's a short list. #3E #SOTU

— Anonymous (@youranoncentral.bsky.social) 2025-03-05T02:42:08.136Z

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FBN host Maria Bartiromo was none too happy after one of their reporters did a segment on how Trump's tariffs are pretty well going to destroy the automotive industry.

As we discussed here, the Trump administration may already be backtracking after receiving pressure from the business community, but here was how Bartiromo reacted after one of her Fox cohorts did a story on a local Pennsylvania Dodge dealer and the impact the Trump tariffs were going to have on his business.

As the dealer discussed, the Trump tariffs are going to potentially raise the price of some of his new trucks by as much as $20,000, and, as the FBN reporter noted, the American Automakers Policy Council told Fox that "American automakers invested billions in the US to meet the requirements of the current free trade agreement," and shouldn't have that "undermined by tariffs that will raise the cost of building vehicles in the US and stymie investment in the American workforce while competitors from the outside of North America benefit."

Sadly for Bartiromo, the input from one of her show's panel members who responded to her outrage wasn't much better when it comes to making it very clear just how damaging Trump's tariffs were going to be to the industry.

BARTIROMO: But you know what, let me, let me ask you this, okay? How many Dodge Rams do you see driving around Europe? Okay? How many Dodge Rams do you see driving around India?

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On this day (well, yesterday) in 1837, Chicago was incorporated as a city. Happy Birthday old man! And so today we have the late Chicago legend Roger Ebert's remembrance of the late Chicago legend, Mike Royko.

Wonkette: Hero USAID Employee Canned For Telling World DOGE Is Starving People To Death.

Show Me Progress: Fascist pig says what?

Digby's Hullabaloo: About The Economy.

Attention space nerds! A Supernova From Deep Space May Have Altered Evolution on Earth Forever, Scientists Say.

Round Up by driftglass of the Professional Left Podcast and Science Fiction University

Send tips to mbru (AT) crooksandliars (DOT) com

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As The Daily Beast noted, while Donald Trump repeatedly and falsely claims that his tariffs will be paid by foreign countries, in reality, “they’re a tax paid by American companies, with the costs passed on to consumers.”

Target CEO Brian Cornell underscored that point on CNBC Tuesday morning. Cornell sounded generally upbeat about Target in his interview. But if you’re a shopper, the picture is a lot less rosy.

Toward the end of the interview, host Becky Quick asked about Trump’s tariffs’ effects on prices. Cornell tried to sugarcoat: “We’ve done a lot of scenario planning” in order “to understand what are the different options that we might have to face,” he said.

Bottom line: prices are going to rise sharply. Cornell said Target depends on Mexico, a Trump-tariff target, “for a significant amount” of fruits and vegetables. “We’re going to try to make sure we can do everything we can try to protect pricing but if there's a 25% tariff, those prices will go up,” he added. He predicted that will happen “over the next couple of days.”

Host Becky Quick asked, “For things like what? Strawberries, avocados? Bananas?”

“You’ve got that list right,” Cornell replied. “Those are some of the key items.”

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Open thread below...

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As Donald Trump was making his way through the crowd to deliver his speech to Congress when Rep. Stansbury held a sign behind his head that captures the truth.

About 20 seconds later someone (GOP Rep. Lance Gooden R-TX) rips the sign out of her hands, but the job was done.

Trump didn't give a speech, he held a MAGA campaign rally full of his grievances, lies and outrageous distortions while glorifying himself.

It was another truly embarrassing moment for the United States of America.

Editor's note: Capper said the signs needed to be bigger and say things like "34X FELON, RAPIST, FRAUDSTER". Heather thought they should say this:

Here are the signs they should have brought.

— Heather (@heathrstl.bsky.social) 2025-03-05T02:43:48.090Z

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Disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is already priming the Fox Business Network viewers for the soon-to-be Trump recession and trying to pin it on Biden and Republicans in Congress not getting their massive tax cut passed quickly enough.

Here's Gingrich and FBN host Maria Bartiromo, lying that Biden supposedly left Trump a weak economy (he didn't), and pushing for the GOP to ram through their cruel budget cuts to our social safety nets so the 1 percent can have their tax cuts made permanent.

BARTIROMO: Mike Johnson had a big victory getting that budget resolution passed last week, but the Senate makes the point [...] that their plan on two tracks makes the tax cuts permanent. How do you see it?

GINGRICH: Well, I don't understand the Senate's point. I mean, if they've got a plan that makes the tax cut permanent, roll it into one bill and do it. There doesn't have to be two bills. I don't get it.

The fact is that Speaker Johnson understands that he's part of a governing coalition, that with a Republican president, Donald Trump, the job of House and Senate Republicans is to find a way to get to yes.

You know, when you're the opposition party, you find a way to get to no. And unfortunately some of the House Republicans in particular got into that habit of saying no all the time.

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As the outbreak of measles cases continues to rise in Texas, where a child recently died, Dr. Ron Cook, chief health officer for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, is warning about the danger of "measles parties."

The Dallas Morning News reports:

“We can’t predict who is going to do poorly with measles, being hospitalized, potentially get pneumonia or encephalitis, or potentially pass away from this,” he said, according to multiple news reports. “It’s a foolish thing to go have measles parties.”

It is not known if measles parties are actually popping up in West Texas. Asked for more information, Cook said, “It’s mostly been ... social media talk.”

Measles parties echo chicken pox parties from decades ago, when people would deliberately expose themselves or others to someone with a confirmed case in an attempt to spread the virus in a controlled environment.

The chicken pox vaccine was introduced to the public in 1995, largely ending the practice.

See, MAGA, vaccines work. Of the 146 reported cases in Texas, 141 were in people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown. As of February 2025, 164 measles cases have been reported in nine states.

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