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.

Above, Donna Summer performs, On The Radio. We are going to go off the beaten path to conclude the week. I am asked often enough about the podcasts I make time to listen to, and the political podcasts I enjoy the most are:

The Professional Left Podcast

The Momocrats Podcast

The Bradcast Podcast

Hal Sparks Radio Podcast Megaworldwide

Bonus Track: Legal AF

Subscribe to them wherever you get your pods. Everyone of them is a winner. If you have some others, let us know about them in the comments below.

That you for letting me be a part of your week, and I hope to return soon, Dawg willing and the creek don't rise!

Round-up by Tengrain who blogs at Mock, Paper, Scissors. You can follow Tengrain on the Fediverse. Send tips, requests, and suggestions to mbru@crooksandliars.com (with For MBRU in the subject line).

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took Trump's VP pick, J.D. Vance (R-Project 2025), to task on Bill Maher's show. I don't like Bill Maher, but Buttigieg is good at being interviewed by unlikable people, like on Fox News, for example. Each time, he's reaching out to a different category of voters instead of living comfortably in a bubble. Buttigieg explained how Vance had gotten ahead in politics, and he nailed it.

"Look, we're from the same generation," Buttigieg said. "We're both from the Midwest, different parts of the Midwest."

"I know a lot of guys like J.D. Vance," he continued. "I've run into a lot of guys like him. Not so much when I was growing up in Indiana."

Explaining why Peter Thiel is Vance's backer, he said, 'It's super simple. These are very rich men who have decided to back the Republican Party that tends to do good things for very rich men.'

"So, I knew a lot of people like him when I got to Harvard," he continued. 'I found a lot of people like him who would say whatever they needed to to get ahead. And five years ago, that seemed like being the anti-Trump Republican. So that's what he was."

"Talked about how he was unfit, how he was cynical," he said. "Called him an opioid, which is kind of a weird thing to say about a person. But I mean, for somebody whose identity is that they're connected to Appalachia, which has an opioid crisis, that really is the darkest thing you could possibly say about Donald Trump, at least in public."

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As our John Amato pointed out, it’s pretty darned odd that we have gotten no medical report or press briefing on the condition of the 78 year-old Republican candidate for president, injured after an assassination attempt. It’s especially disturbing given the hyper focus on President Joe Biden’s physical condition.

Meanwhile, Trump is milking what he describes as a near-death experience. During his RNC speech, he said “most” thought he had been killed during the shooting at his Pennsylvania rally last weekend. If that was really the case, the mourning must have been short lived because he got up and walked off the stage in no time, though not before pumping his fist in a photo op he’s already cashing in on.

“They knew it was a shot to the head,” Trump said at the RNC. And you just know that if he could have gotten away with it, he would have said he had been shot in the head and miraculously survived with no permanent damage.

I do not mean to make light of what was actually a very serious situation and a very real assassination attempt. But the lack of a medical report suggests that, ostentatious ear bandage aside, Trump hurt his ear from something other than a bullet.

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I'm too full of rage at what is happening right now to be relaxed and welcoming. Here is your Sunday morning open thread. Excuse me while I go swallow some fire and then breathe it back out.

- Karoli

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On July 20, 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on the moon.

I watched this as a kid at my grandparents house. I fell asleep on the carpet in front of the TV, but got up to see it. I didn't really understand the ramifications it would have but I knew it was pretty incredible.

Outside of JFK, has there ever been another incident that has so many conspiracy theories attached to it? MAGA brains need not comment.

If you watched this please share your thoughts in the comments.

Open thread below...

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During Felon Trump's long, long, long acceptance speech on Thursday, he gave a shout out to that horrible city that was hosting their shitshow, Milwaukee. However, he even screwed that up when he couldn't remember the name of the state:

And a very special thank you to the extraordinary people of Milwaukee and the great state of ...

Then, after a couple quick comments about the Green Bay Packers, he shocked the state by almost telling the truth for once:

And by the way, Wisconsin, we are spending over $250 million here creating jobs and other economic development all over the place. So, I hope you will remember this in November and give us your vote. I am trying to buy your vote. I'll be honest about that. And I promise we will make Wisconsin great again. We're going to make it.

News Flash for Felon Trump: We knew that the RNC was trying to make a big hoopla out of a big nothingburger because we are a swing state.

But just like the Felon did with his false promises about Foxconn, he lied about the impact RNC had for Wisconsin. In fact, you would be correct to say he outright lied, again.

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During the 2024 RNC convention in Milwaukee, Senator Ron Johnson (Q- Moscow) was part of an anti-education panel hosted by Moms for Taking Liberties.

Per a report from Chris Walker at Truthout, M4TL cofounder Tiffany Justice* started out by throwing red meat to the attendees to get them riled up enough to take in RoJo's wild conspiracy theory:

“Do you think the violence against our former president comes from years of labeling anyone who stands for freedom, like President Trump does, like we do, as a threat to democracy?” Justice asked. (Notably, the former president has openly stated a desire to become a dictator if he’s elected, and has said that he wants to use the executive branch to target people he perceives as his political enemies.)

All of the panelists responded affirmatively to Justice’s insinuation. Johnson then tied the assassination attempt to large public schools.

“This was a loner, in probably a large school, being bullied all the time,” Johnson said.

The Republican senator added that he was hopeful Moms for Liberty could jumpstart a push for smaller schools that are less regulated by state and federal governments.

“I’m hoping if there’s one result, from Moms for Liberty, is we start moving away from these massive, large schools,” he said.

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On Monday night, Teamsters president Sean O'Brien spoke at the RNC convention in Milwaukee. During his address, he promptly dropped to his knees to kiss Trump's oversized, orange ass.

In rather short order, O'Brien was notified by many people that this was not cool with them. The Biden/Harris campaign quickly responded with a tweet showing a video of O'Brien, shortly after his speech, admitting that President Biden had done a lot for the Teamsters and for the other unions and for all American workers. O'Brien then said that Biden was indeed one of the most pro-labor presidents in recent history.

What should be even more disturbing to O'Brien is that there was some open rebellion from his own members:

O’Brien’s turn at the RNC was not appreciated by everyone at the Teamsters. The union’s official Twitter account bashed him on Tuesday after he shared a piece about his speech by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). The piece, titled “The Promise of Pro-Labor Conservatism,” begins by suggesting that American workers are getting screwed because companies are using profits to “push diversity, equity, and inclusion and the religion of the trans flag.”

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Fox News contributor Brit Hume offered a very somber and downbeat opinion in the post-debate segment on Fox News after Trump gave his rambling and long-winded Republican National Convention speech.

The post-debate coverage on Fox News featured Bill Hemmer, Bret Baier and the usual cast of characters. They glorified Trump as much as possible which one would expect.

However, a sober and somber Brit Hume told a different story.

The Republicans come out of this convention more unified and in a better position than they've been for a number of cycles.

It has been a while since they've been in a stronger position at this moment.

However, the Democrats appear to be in worse shape than we've seen them as long as we can remember.

However, if they are able to oust Joe Biden, and it looks more and more as if that could happen, you don't know what kind of a ticket they can put up.

And remember this, as strong as this convention was and as strong as he and his running mate look tonight, there is great resistance in this country to Donald Trump.

And the Democrats are not out of this yet.

And as this ticket goes out to campaigns, they'd be wise to keep that in mind.

Hume reminded Fox News viewers that a huge swath of the country hates Trump even after Saturday. And even after the media and the very serious journalists and Democrats that have become subservient.

We don't hear those words often on Fox News.

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Russians are celebrating and popping open the champagne as their preferred choice for Trump's running mate is now officially in the race. They hope, and with good reason, that if Trump is elected all American military support for Ukraine will end and they can go back to taking Ukraine and the rest of Eastern Europe they held when the Soviet Union existed. That's the mad dream of Vladimir Putin anyway. And with Trump and J.D. Vance's help, it's certainly a possibility. So it's no wonder that Kremlin propagandist was so giddy the other day. Or why Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was in such a good mood talking about J.D. Vance.

Source: Mediate

A Russian state media propagandist called Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) “Trumpier” than former President Donald Trump after the latter tapped the 39-year-old to be his 2024 running mate earlier this week.
...
Olga Skabeyeva, who is known for her anti-West screeds on Russian airwaves, celebrated Vance during a TV segment that was flagged on social media by Julia Davis with The Daily Beast and translated by the YouTube channel Russian Media Monitor.

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A remarkable woman. She will be missed. Via abc13.com:

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a three-decade member of Congress and a voice for a predominantly Hispanic and Black Houston district, has died, the 74-year-old's family said on Friday.

"Today, with incredible grief of our loss yet deep gratitude for the life she shared with us, we announced the passing of United States Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th Congressional District of Texas," Jackson Lee's family wrote. "A fierce champion of the people, she was affectionately and simply known as 'Congresswoman' by her constituents in recognition of her near-ubiquitous presence and service to their daily lives for more than 30 years.

The lawmaker's family said funeral arrangements are pending.

Early last month, Jackson Lee revealed she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and undergoing treatment, adding that she would be occasionally absent from her Congressional duties.

My last message to my dear sister and friend, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, was to thank her for all she’d done to build up a movement for love & justice in this nation. May we honor her life by continuing her work. pic.twitter.com/mx7ExTXvZt

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The Republican convention was such a festival of freaks you may not have even noticed Matt Gaetz. Also, b/c Gaetz didn't look like Gaetz, but more like Gaetz with 2 sets of eyebrows and his entire face pulled back like he was The Bug from Men in Black.

It's another reminder that Republicans aren't just dumb, cruel, ignorant, trashy, religious nutbags and eternally resentful...but also WEIRD. Really Weird. We won't even get into the wax museum-looking, crotch-scratching-on-tv mess that was Kimberly Guilfoyle.

But Gaetz is only 42 and he's already had extensive plastic surgery!? WHY? In any case, Cliff Schecter & Tony Michaels lose their s*t laughing in this hilarious clip as they develop theories about what Gaetz did to his face, and why, among other creepy RNC moments.

Watch the video! And be sure to SUBSCRIBE to Cliff's Edge, Cliff Schecter's Youtube Channel, where he produces videos daily--and is w/in 1000 subscribers of 50,000!

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U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, an incendiary election denier who was a local T.V. anchor but gave that up to lose the Arizona gubernatorial race, was confronted by a British journalist who didn't fall for the loser's bullying tactics. Emily Maitlis had the receipts every time Lake opened her crazy-time mouth.

"Donald Trump has talked...about the need for a new tone in politics, a civility in politics, a kind of unity," Maitlis said. "What does that mean to you?"

"I actually think the tone has always been good," Lake insisted. "I believe that what we're trying to push is a strong economy, secure borders. These are policies everybody wants."

"You don't think the tone in America in politics got out of hand?" Maitlis asked.

"I think the tone is really disturbing when the media is calling a man like Donald Trump Hitler," Lake said of her hero, who said he wanted to be a dictator on day one. "They're comparing him to Hitler."

"Like J.D. Vance, does he mean?" the reporter asked.

"Like the media is doing. But J.D. Vance was probably, like many Americans, they listen to the media," Lake said. "And for eight years, the media has been tearing President Trump apart. A good man who everybody loved before he ran."

Fact check: False. Trump was one of the most divisive Presidents in U.S. history, and I loathed the man long before he got into politics, you weirdo.

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At the 2024 Republican convention, a chilling sight unfolded as people cheered and held signs supporting mass deportations. The cheers during the RNC make it clear the GOP is all in on Trump's Project 2025 plan. A key part of Trump's Project 2025 is the alarming proposal to round up 12 million people for mass deportation, leading to the creation of concentration camps. It is not a threat; these actions are written down as part of Trump's Project 2025 plan if he becomes president.

The number of people rounded up by a second Trump presidency might even be higher than 12 million. In a TIME interview, Trump said he wanted to "deport 15-20 million people."

The Republican nominee for president told TIME he'd use the national guard and local police to help him. But Trump noted, "If I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military."

Hillary Clinton tweeted mass deportations are a key part of the Republican agenda:

A mass deportation policy would rip apart American families and devastate our economy.

It's also such a centerpiece of the Republican Party agenda that they had literal signs made. pic.twitter.com/81jC0F7CzO

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CNN's Jake Tapper, Dana Bash and Chris Wallace had a very serious discussion about how "interesting" it was going to be watching Trump pretend God somehow saved him from being shot and his plans to exploit it during his convention speech.

This was right up there with the media buying into Trump was suddenly going to become some great "unifier" following the assassination attempt, which he immediately proved, of course, to be nonsense.

TAPPER: But speaking of godly things, let's turn back to Kristen Holmes' reporting a second ago, where she was talking about how President Trump apparently, and we'll hear what he says about this in just a few minutes, believes that perhaps there was some sort of divine intervention, and I'm paraphrasing, but the idea that he turned his head at that last second, and that's only the reason why he wasn't killed, it is remarkable, and obviously near-death experiences have profound effects on individuals.

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Above, Peter Schilling performs, Major Tom (Coming Home). On this date in 1969 Americans landed on the moon. We once did amazing things, and we can do them again if we can keep America away from the dark forces of the fascist Republican party.

Finding Gravity sees the media is horny for fascism.

Ian Welsh writes, Scratch a CEO, Find A Fascist. Case in point, CNN's owner David Zaslav.

Why it was only a week ago that eVille Times said that we would take a crippled up FDR over assholes like Mussolini and Stalin and Putin and Trump every time.

Scottie's Playtime notices some hypocrisy. Shocking, I know.

Bonus Track: Shower Cap summarizes the week as only he can.

Round-up by Tengrain who blogs at Mock, Paper, Scissors. You can follow Tengrain on the Fediverse. Send tips, requests, and suggestions to mbru@crooksandliars.com (with For MBRU in the subject line).

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Spencer Goidel, Auburn University

There’s a reason Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign is working hard to evoke nostalgia: People who are nostalgic – meaning, people who long for America’s “good old days” – were more likely to vote for Republican candidates in the 2022 midterm elections, according to research I conducted along with collaborators Kirby Goidel and Paul Kellstedt.

The first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention kicked off with a nostalgic message from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin imploring voters to back Trump and “make America the land of opportunity again.”

And in general, the 2024 RNC themes largely wax nostalgic with “Make America Wealthy Once Again” on Monday, “Make America Safe Once Again” on Tuesday, “Make America Strong Once Again” on Wednesday, and “Make America Great Once Again” on Thursday.

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Meet Diane Hendricks from Janesville, Wisconsin. Per the RNC, Hendricks is just an "everyday American," like you or me:

The RNC program lists Diane Hendricks, who is speaking here, as “an everyday American.”

The businesswoman is a Republican mega-donor worth $20 billion and easily one of the richest people in Wisconsin. pic.twitter.com/JktbJmR5Kj

— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) July 18, 2024

But it is safe to say that Hendricks is nothing at all like you or me. She has a net worth of nearly $21 billion and is ranked as the 92nd wealthiest person in the world.

Hendricks spoke at the RNC convention on Thursday night and said that she is living proof that the American Dream is real. Apparently, the American Dream is marrying a man who built a home builder supply chain and then taking over the company after he died. But then she started laying it on thick:

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