Trump Mouthpiece (and College Graduate) Rants About "Lazy" College Grads (Hint: It Doesn't Go Well)

This week, Kimberly Guilfoyle (the fiance of Donald Trump Jr.) whined about President Joe Biden's new student loan forgiveness plan by describing the grads who benefit as lazy.

Guilfoyle complained on Newsmax about the “communist approach” she claimed was turning the nation into a welfare state. That included Biden’s new plan, which allows up to $20,000 per person in student loan cancellations for borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year.

“I mean paying off loans for people that don’t wanna, they wanna have some bizarre basket-weaving, you know, degree?” she said. “And they want all of us, people watching across this country, hardworking men and women, to subsidize their laziness and their inability to even try to contribute to society.”

The former TV personality was secretly paid $180,000 a year by the Trump campaign via the campaign manager’s private company. She was also paid $60,000 for a short speech introducing Trump Jr. at the Jan. 6, 2021 rally that led to the Capitol insurrection. 

Guilfoyle’s critics were quick to call her out on Twitter for her attack on college grads: 

 

 

 

Galapagos Shock: Endangered Tortoises Being Hunted For Food

Ecuador has launched an investigation into the killing of four Galapagos giant tortoises, which prosecutors fear were hunted and eaten.  Remains of the reptiles were found in a national park on Isabela, the largest island of the Galapagos archipelago.  Killing the endangered animals has been banned since 1933 but more than a dozen have been hunted in the last two years.

Tortoise meat was once considered a delicacy, but those who hunt them now face up to three years in jail.  In September 2021, park rangers found the remains of 15 Sierra Negra giant tortoises on Isabela.  Photos of their empty shells were widely shared on social media and caused outrage in Ecuador - of which the Galapagos Islands are part of - and beyond.  Evidence gathered at the time suggested the 15 had been hunted for their meat.

The recent discovery of remains of four more animals has reignited fears that the practice continues despite the total hunting ban.  Experts will carry out postmortems on the remains and a unit specializing in environmental crimes is collecting testimonies from national park agents.

Galapagos giant tortoises have a lifespan of more than 100 years and were made famous by Charles Darwin, who pioneered the theory of evolution studying them.  The ship Darwin sailed on, The Beagle, took 30 live tortoises on its long voyage from the Galapagos to Polynesia. Most of them were eaten by the crew.  There are currently about 15,000 of the giant tortoises in the world, compared to 200,000 in the 19th Century.

 

Can Trump Be Trusted to Safeguard Top Secret Info?

In what may be the most shocking story to emerge from the entire Mar-a-Lago document scandal, The New York Times is reporting that officials at intelligence agencies fear that among the classified information Donald Trump stole was details on U.S. assets embedded in foreign countries. The names, locations, and even the existence of such assets is among the most guarded secrets of the nation. But something mysterious has been happening over the last few years, with an unusual number of foreign sources being killed or arrested.

 

In the past, officials have worried that documents leaked by outlets like WikiLeaks might, either purposely or intentionally, reveal the identity of U.S. sources, putting their lives at risk. But now, intelligence agencies have a greater concern: A man who has a horde of stolen documents, connections to numerous hostile governments, and a frequently expressed disdain for both sources and the intelligence community. Put it all together, and you get one of the most amazing front pages in recent years.

 

 

A Tale of How a Marketing Fiasco Can Turn Deadly

At 6 p.m. on May 25, 1992, nearly 70% of Filipinos watched the evening news, waiting for the announcement of a three-digit number. Pepsi was about to announce the winning number in a promotion that had gripped the Philippines’ 65 million people. For weeks, Filipinos had been buying up bottles of Pepsi cola, hoping that one of their three-digit numbers printed on the underside of the caps would match one of the winning numbers locked inside a vault. 

Numbers could be redeemed for prizes, which ranged from 100 pesos (about $4) to 1 million pesos for a grand prize (roughly US$40,000 in 1992), which was the equivalent of 611 times the average monthly salary in the Philippines at the time. Pepsi Number Fever was initially wildly successful, and increased Pepsi's monthly sales from $10 million to $14 million and its market share from 19.4% to 24.9%. Winning numbers were announced on television nightly. By early May, 51,000 prizes had been redeemed, including 17 grand prizes. The promotion was proving to be so popular, Pepsi decided to extend the contest an additional five weeks.

When Pepsi announced the winning number of 349 on May 25, Marily So's husband, Isagani, rifled through their crowns (as bottles caps are called in the Philippines) and found a winner: 349-- a million pesos.  Their prayers had been answered. The couple danced and laughed until the TV started to rattle and a passing freight train drowned out their shrieks of joy.  Five miles across town, Ernesto de Guzmán de Lina, a tricycle-taxi driver, was dashing downstairs to tell his nephew Simon Marcelo that his 349 crown had just won him 50,000 pesos. Marcelo was already celebrating—he had a 349 worth 100,000 pesos, enough to quit his job as a cocktail waiter in the city’s red-light district.  Similar scenes were playing out across the country. A bus driver had three 1 million-peso 349s. A mother of 12 whose children went through 10 bottles of Pepsi a day had won 35 million pesos. 

But there was a problem-- a big one for Pepsi. 

Just Sayin'

Maisie Peters - Blonde

Librarian Resigns in the Face of Intimidation and Extremism

A librarian in Idaho has resigned from her position citing the threat from rising rightwing extremists after a group of enraged parents pressured a local school board members to ban books on LGBTQ themes.  The Boundary county library director, Kimber Glidden, decried the environment of growing extremism and threats in her recent resignation announcement on Facebook and admitted that the hostility she faced had affected her so much she had contemplated moving away from the area altogether.

“Nothing in my background could have prepared me for the political atmosphere of extremism, militant Christian fundamentalism, intimidation tactics and threatening behavior currently being employed in the community,” Glidden wrote in her announcement, the Spokesman-Review reported.  Librarians across the U.S. have faced the ire of a right-wing political groundswell that has targeted books on racial justice and LGBTQ issues.

This incident is part of an escalating movement, guided by the group Moms for Liberty, a group linked to deeply pocketed right-wing groups and conservatives, by Republicans to prevent the teaching of race and gender identity in schools.  A group of parents, known as the Boundary County Library Board Recall, whose goal is to “protect children from explicit materials and grooming”, launched a petition in July to recall four school board members after they updated a library policy that had not been updated for years.

Gidden, who was hired late last year, told the Idaho Statesman that she chose to wait to leave her post until the library’s budget was finalized because her early departure “could jeopardize whether the library district gets funded”.

She noted that unlike other places where book bans have targeted books centered around race and gender equality and identity, she saw that her library “does not have the titles that people are wanting to ban”, the Spokesman-Review reported.  What finally pushed her to resign was the group’s inability to listen to her answers and their opposition to rejoining the American Library Association earlier this year.  “It wasn’t a final straw so much as a constant barrage of the same rhetoric and people not listening to my answers,” Glidden told the Spokesman-Review. “They don’t want to hear the truth.”

Back-to-School Means GOP-led Book Bans

Conservatives are out to get books by and about queer writers (as well as writers of color, and especially queer writers of color) but most seem to know they can’t simply say they don’t want books by and about LGBTQ+ people in public schools and libraries. So they describe these books as “obscene” or “pornographic” or “inappropriate,” all of which are perfectly in tune with the “grooming” hysteria the party is pushing to further demonize queer people. It’s hateful, discriminatory, and scary.

Wendy Suares, an Oklahoma news anchor took to Twitter with a story about a teacher for Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma.  It seems that an English teacher has been fired after speaking to students about an initiative from Brooklyn Public Library to make books accessible to students everywhere in the country. The library initially announced the program back in April and for obvious reason, it’s gained national traction amid Republican efforts to ban (or even burn) books. 

The public school teacher, now identified by local outlet Fox 24 as English teacher Summer Boismier, has been fired for simply talking about the program and sharing the QR code from the library with her students.

The teacher told Suares she had been “removed” from her position and put on leave, saying, “Let me be absolutely clear: I place the primary responsibility for this chilling of free speech and free association at the feet of Ryan Walters, Governor Stitt, and their ilk at 23rd & Lincoln.  In response to unfounded calls from state leadership for widespread censorship, I did share a library-linked QR code with my students.” Bosimier told local outlet Fox 25 that she was “immediately” placed on leave after doing so-- adding, "Teachers across the district have been told by administration to either remove or restrict student access to classroom library texts for fear of a potential accreditation downgrade associated with any perceived violations of HB 1775.” 

Another example of book ban hysteria comes to us from a school district in the suburbs of Houston, Texas, where a book was temporarily removed from a public high school library by police after a parent complained, as covered by the Houston Chronicle.  Katy Independent School District confirmed to the outlet that a copy of Flamer by Mike Curato was removed from the library after a parent of a high school student filed a police report saying the material was harmful to minors. Flamer is a graphic novel for teens about queer identity, self-discovery, and self-love and acceptance in the 1990s.

Mom and professional counselor Anne Russey accurately pointed out queer people and other minority communities are being targeted in books bans and that it’s ultimately harmful. “They are not pornographic books,” Russey said at the meeting, per local outlet KHOU 11. Instead, she points out they’re written to “tell a story,” not with the intent of “arousing anybody."

Florida Making School Safe for Privileged Straight White Kids

Teachers across Florida are preparing for increased censorship as the 2022-23 school year begins. Conservative legislation like the “Don’t Say Gay” and “Stop WOKE Act” officially took effect over the summer, placing added pressure and parental surveillance on teachers while censoring conversations surrounding gender, sexuality, and race. The two bills, in addition to a suite of three other educational censorship laws, regulate whether and how educators may discuss certain subjects and ideas. In both pieces of legislation, parents have been given the power to litigate against the teacher and school for discussing anything they determine falls under the prohibited categories. 

Since the language used in the legislation is vague and open to interpretation, teachers are already reporting harmless educational books being banned from the classroom. As confusion continues and administrators jump to extreme measures to protect themselves from litigation, entire LGBTQ+ identities and the country’s honest racial history are being erased from Florida’s public school education system—and the children who need that representation and visibility the most are the ones who will feel the greatest loss.

“What’s going on is having a disastrous effect on schools as they prepare for the new school year,” said Jonathan Friedman, PEN America’s director of free expression and education programs. “It impacts, in particular, LGBTQ+ individuals or students of color, who may not have access to books that can mirror their lives, but also everybody in the access to diverse literature, stories from different perspectives, stories that offer critical lenses on society today. It is a backlash to emerging identities and how they are moving in from the margin that is driving a lot of the erasure.”

The Collier County School District recently placed a warning label on more than 100 books in the district’s library system related to race or LGBTQ+ identity. The labels are in the district’s online catalog, and physical labels are also attached to hard copies of the same books.

In Brevard Public Schools, Jane Cline, assistant superintendent for elementary leading and learning, said teachers are “taking a pause” entirely on classroom libraries until they are able to retrain media specialists to vet all books available to students.

In Palm Beach County, teachers were told to remove certain books from their classroom libraries and that all instructional materials available to their K-12 students, including classroom libraries, must be reviewed for compliance. Teachers have also been told to fill out an extensive checklist to see if the school’s library media specialist needs to review their class library. 

In Brevard Public Schools, Jane Cline, assistant superintendent for elementary leading and learning, said teachers are “taking a pause” entirely on classroom libraries until they are able to retrain media specialists to vet all books available to students.

In Palm Beach County, teachers were told to remove certain books from their classroom libraries and that all instructional materials available to their K-12 students, including classroom libraries, must be reviewed for compliance. Teachers have also been told to fill out an extensive checklist to see if the school’s library media specialist needs to review their class library. 

In Miami-Dade County, the school board voted to ban a sexual health textbook for middle and high schoolers from the system’s classrooms out of fear that it would not be in compliance with the law. The same school board only reversed their decision after they realized they would be out of compliance with state law that requires a sexual health textbook. The book in question addresses emergency contraception; natural methods like withdrawal; gender identity; and sexual orientation.

A middle school social studies teacher in Miami-Dade, who requested to remain anonymous, said he is concerned about how the new laws will impact his curriculum, which includes civil rights and landmark LGBTQ+ rights cases.  “How do I teach those now?” he said. “It’s definitely more challenging, and it seems more daunting. Now it’s kind of like teachers versus parents.”

 

Riding the Rocket in Space

TV host and podcaster Conan O'Brien recently discussed the topic of masturbating in space on his Needs a Friend podcast, as he spoke to Smythe Mullikin – who works for a NASA contractor in Texas – alongside his co-hosts, comedian Matt Gourley and author Sona Movsesian.

“Smythe… were someone to be watching space porn up on the space station, how does that work?” Conan asked.  Gourley then interjected, saying: “Three female astronauts can be impregnated by the same man on the same session.”

“Because the semen flies around?” O’Brien asked, to which Gourley responded: “Uh-huh. And finds its way.”  Unfortunately, Gourley's comments got the group off track, and Mullikin didn't get to answer Conan's question.

Astronauts have indeed been warned against masturbating in space over fears female astronauts could get impregnated by stray fluids. There are strict guidelines over “alone-time” onboard in zero gravity. Scientists have warned even the slightest rogue droplet could cause chaos on board.   Sex and masturbation in space is a logistical nightmare, with problems ranging from floating fluids to shrinking manhoods, according to US astronomer Dr John Millis. He compared sex in space to having intercourse while “skydiving”, but added that it was “not impossible”.

Unsurprisingly, there has been very little research into the topic.  However, a proposal to study it further has been made by scientists.  Simon Dubé, one of the lead authors, said: "Research on human intimacy and sexuality in space – including their socio-cultural and psychological components – is quasi-nonexistent.   "No research has explored intimate relationships nor the human experience of sexual functions and well-being in space or space analogues, or how any of this can affect crew performance."

 

The Truth Can Be Unbearable

Sounds Like Pounding the Flounder

A tiny insect has proved that size really doesn't matter - by using its penis to become the loudest creature on Earth.  Most would think the 2mm long water boatman would not have much to shout about, seeing as its private parts are thinner than a human hair.  But its looks have proved deceiving as it can reach an ear-splitting 99.2 decibels by rubbing its penis against its abdomen - which, relative to its body size, makes it the world's most boisterous bug.  

The water boatman, or Micronecta scholtzi, has been dubbed 'the singing penis' for the way it serenades potential mates.  Found all over Europe, the male tries to seduce prospective partners by rubbing its member against its abdomen, while underwater, in a process known as stridulation. 

It is so loud that humans walking along a river bank can hear the noise coming from the bottom of the water.  But as 99 per cent of the sound is lost when transferring from water to air, it means there is no risk of deafening passers-by.  Their average song reaches 78.9 decibels, the same as a passing freight train.

French and Scottish scientists made the startling discovery that at just 2mm long, the water boatman is the noisiest animal on Earth - once body size is taken into account.  Researcher Jerome Sueur, from Paris' National Museum of Natural History, was analyzing the biodiversity of French streams when he heard the distinctive underwater call.  At first he believed a much larger insect was responsible for the racket, but when he caught them they did not make the same sound.  Further investigation revealed it was a particular type of water boatman that was 'singing' its heart out.

James Windmill, of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, said: "We were very surprised. We first thought the sound was coming from larger aquatic species.  When we identified without any doubt the sound source, we spent a lot of time making absolutely sure that our recordings of the sounds were calibrated correctly.  If you scale the sound level they produce against their body size, then they are the loudest animals on Earth."

 

Carly Rae Jepsen - Beach House

Anti-Trans Panic in Utah

The nationwide anti-trans panic overtaking schools is harming more than just transgender kids.  Parents at one school in Utah filed a complaint and asked the school to investigate whether a girl who had beaten their daughters “by a wide margin” in competition was transgender, a representative from the state’s high school athletics association told state legislators Wednesday, according to the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune.

Utah banned transgender girls from participating in girls sports in March, over the veto of the state’s Republican governor. This complaint apparently happened last year, before the law’s passage, when Utah high school sports required transgender athletes to be on at least a year of hormone blockers prior to participating. 

As part of its investigation, the Utah high school athletics association ordered the school to call the girl’s middle school and elementary school for enrollment records to confirm she was cisgender, the representative, David Spatafore, told legislators. “The school went back to kindergarten and she’d always been a female,” Spatafore said. 

Neither the identity of the school nor the sport she participated in were disclosed, in order to protect the girl’s identity, the Deseret News reported. In fact, the girl and her parents were never even informed about the investigation, Spatafore said, according to the Tribune.  He also told lawmakers that the association has looked into multiple complaints, and that none of the accusations that student athletes were secretly transgender were proven to be true.

The ACLU of Utah sued the state earlier this year on behalf of two transgender student athletes; similar legislation in other states, including Indiana and West Virginia, has been blocked by the federal courts.  This year 42 states have passed either anti-trans or anti-abortion laws, and more than half of states have considered anti-trans legislation.  When GOP Gov. Spencer Cox vetoed the bill, he wrote “Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few.”

 

Ukraine Attacks Raise Doubts About Russian Control Over Crimea

There have come reports of at least two large explosions in occupied Crimea, well beyond the range of Ukrainian artillery or of any ammunition known to be in Ukrainian hands. This time the primary target appears to have been a stockpile of ammunition and equipment near a railway-- and Russia appears to have a ton of materiel (from ammunition to vehicles) sitting right beside the tracks at a site near of the city of Dzhankoi.

A second explosion appears to have taken out an electrical substation in the same area. The railway leading south into Crimea is electrified, so taking out this electrical station may have been targeted at preventing trains from moving in and out of Crimea.

The distance of these explosions from the nearest area of Ukrainian control, like a previous strike in Crimea, generated immediate speculation on just how Ukraine accomplished this attack. Russian-related sources initially attributed the explosion to a drone attack. Others immediately jumped to the conclusion that Ukraine is in possession of longer-range HIMARS rockets. At roughly 200 kilometers from the nearest areas of Ukrainian control, this new explosion is twice as far inside Russian territory as a previous explosion which devastated a Russian air base at Novofedorivka last week. This would still be in the range of the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System), which can be fired from HIMARS, but despite widespread speculation, there is still no evidence that Ukraine has been sent any of these missiles.  

If this was a drone strike this far into Russian territory, the major signal it sends is simple: Russian air defenses are fucked. Good luck to Putin in selling more Russian weapons systems if this is the level of protection they provide.  However, The New York Times is quoting a Ukrainian official in giving a cause that should be of more concern to the Russian military.  According to the unnamed official, the explosions were generated by “an elite Ukrainian military unit operating behind enemy lines.” Russia’s state news agency seems to agree, as they’ve now labeled the explosion “an act of sabotage.”

If Ukrainian military units are operating deep in Crimea, striking Russian infrastructure, supply depots, and even bases … then exactly what does that say about the area supposedly under Russian control? These attacks make it seem as if Russia not only can’t halt partisan attacks in recently occupied areas of Ukraine, they can’t even secure the territory they’ve claimed for the last eight years as part of Russia.

There is no way of looking at this which isn’t bad for Russia.  It seems that wherever Russia tries to stack more than a few boxes of shells, or park a few vehicles, Ukraine is capable of finding them. And destroying them. No matter how far they are in Russian occupied territory.

Talk About Spilling the Tea

Amidst a Severe Drought, French Activists Protest Exceptions Made for Golf Courses

Climate activists in south-eastern France have filled golf course holes with cement to protest against the exemption of golf greens from water bans amid the country's severe drought.  The group targeted sites near the city of Toulouse, calling golf the "leisure industry of the most privileged".

The exemption of golf greens has sparked controversy as 100 French villages are short of drinking water.Golf officials say gre  ens would die in three days without water.  "A golf course without a green is like an ice-rink without ice," Gérard Rougier of the French Golf Federation told the France Info news website. He added that 15,000 people worked in golf courses across the country.

The recent action targeted courses in the towns of Vieille-Toulouse and Blagnac. It was claimed by the local branch of the Extinction Rebellion movement.  In a petition, the activists said the exemption showed that "economic madness takes precedence over ecological reason".

While residents cannot water their gardens or wash their cars in the worst-hit municipalities, golf courses have escaped the nationwide restrictions.  The water bans are decreed nationally, but enforcement is at the discretion of regional officials. So far only one area, Ille-et-Villaine in western France, has diverged, banning the watering of golf courses.

The Green mayor of the south-eastern city of Grenoble city, Éric Piolle, criticised the exemption saying: "We continue to protect the rich and powerful."

Some constraints on the golf course remain. Watering must be carried out at night with no more than 30% of the usual volume of water.  Some parts of the Loire river have virtually dried up. Across two-thirds of France, a state of crisis has been declared, with rainfall down by some 85%.

Government Corruption Endemic in South Korean Politics

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong - convicted of bribery and embezzlement in 2017 - has been granted a special presidential pardon.  One of South Korea's most powerful white collar criminals, Lee was twice imprisoned for bribing a former president. South Korea's government  tried to justify the move, saying the de-facto leader of the country's biggest company was needed back at the helm to spearhead economic recovery post-pandemic.

This marks another swing in a struggle over how the country is run that has raged since mass protests took over Seoul six years ago and ousted a president from office.Lee's c  rimes were directly tied up in the corruption scandal that led to the imprisonment of former president Park Geun-Hye, in office from 2013-2017.   The "Crown Prince of Samsung" - as he was dubbed by protesters - paid $8 million (£6.6m) in bribes to President Park and her associate to secure support for a merger opposed by shareholders that would shore up his control of his family's empire.  When the scandal was revealed, millions of South Koreans turned out at candlelit protests every weekend in the 2016/2017 winter, demanding an end to Park's government and the corrupt connection between politics and business.

Korea's parliament impeached Park and she was imprisoned in 2017 for 25 years.  Lee Jae-yong was jailed a year later for offenses including embezzling company funds to buy a $800,000 horse for the president's friend's daughter. A new president, Moon Jae-in swept into office with a mandate to clean up the mess. But he failed to make much headway. In his last days as president, he shocked the nation by giving Park a full pardon.   Now eight months later, under another new president, Samsung's chief has also received the same clemency.   For those who have been fighting against corruption, it's a dispiriting blow.

Lee's case confirms the widespread criticism that Korean business leaders are untouchable and above the law. In Korea, giant conglomerates dominate the economy, with the top 10 accounting for about 80% of GDP. Known as "chaebols", they are family-controlled empires which provide a span of services. LG, Hyundai, Lotte, and SK are among them, with Samsung the biggest and most powerful of them all.

As the world's largest smartphone maker, Samsung is a global electronics brand. But at home it does much more - hospitals, hotels, insurance plans, billboards, shipyards and even theme parks. Samsung and other chaebols are so omnipresent they're known as "octopus" firms.  And those tentacles have long wormed their way into the highest levels of Korean politics. Professor Lee was at the 2016 protests and says most of the anger was directed at President Park's personal actions. But she said labor activists and others strove to highlight the chaebols' outsize influence on government.

Chaebols were heavily supported by the government after the Korean War. They were given cheaper electricity and tax incentives, and even helped in their efforts to suppress union movements.  But the resulting monopolies also crushed competition, stifled labor movements and their practices spawned decades of bribery and corruption cases. In many cases, executives were given light or suspended sentences. In some cases judges said the economy might suffer if a chaebol leader was taken out of action.  Lee Jae-yong's own father, Lee Kun-hee was convicted of bribery and fraud in the 1990s when he was Samsung chairman. But he didn't serve a single day of jail time.

So in 2017, when his son was hauled away to a cell on a five-year sentence, activists hoped the case would mark a turning point.  Celebration however was short lived. Lee's court battle dragged on for years with twists and turns worthy of a Korean soap opera.   An appeals court released him, a higher court then ordered a retrial at which he was again found guilty and jailed.  But just a few months into his second jail term, the Moon government released him on parole, saying it was in the national interest.  Since then, he has returned as the public face of Samsung - in May greeting President Joe Biden on a trade visit to South Korea.

Lee still faces criminal allegations - of rigging company valuations, accounting fraud and making Samsung business decisions in breach of his sentence conditions. Clemency means he will be able to fully resume his executive responsibilities.  It follows a pattern of convicted chaebol leaders having their slates wiped clean.

The government's pardon of Lee rests on the argument that chaebol leaders are needed for the economy. But numerous economists have pointed out this isn't backed up by hard proof.  Analysts say Samsung has fared perfectly well while Lee has been in and out of prison. Reform advocates say South Korea, where growth has been slowing for years, also needs to end its dependence on chaebols.  "Several studies have shown that it's getting harder to get the 'trickle-down effect' - it's time to move away from the old notion that any illegal acts done by chaebols are 'forgivable' if they do their jobs," says Roh Jong-Hwa, a lawyer from an advocacy group Solidarity for Economic Reform.

Still the dismay among critics over Lee's pardoning is not shared among the broader South Korean public. A recent public poll recorded 70% support for the pardon.

 

Renewed Threats of Violence From GOP Extremists

America’s right-wing extremists have been hankering for a civil war for a long time now, and in particular have been eager to start using their guns in defense of Donald Trump ever since he came onto the political scene. They tried to start a civil war on Trump’s behalf after he lost on Jan. 6, 2021.

So to no one’s great surprise, they’re currently flooding social media and right-wing media bandwidth with vows to begin a civil war on Trump’s behalf after the FBI executed a search warrant at the ex-president’s Florida waterfront estate, Mar-a-Lago, and seized evidence in an investigation of his theft of classified documents. The rhetoric is mostly a mixture of over-the-top hysteria and dark threats, and it’s being wielded by everyone from congressional Republicans to anonymous militiamen

Back when Trump was facing his first impeachment, he tweeted out a hint that the proceedings might unleash a civil war—which did unleash a deluge of militiamen and Trump supporters vowing to do exactly that. The sentiments they voiced then were remarkably similar to the threats of violence directly preceding the Jan. 6 insurrection.  Right after news of the Mar-a-Lago search broke, mentions of “civil war” on Twitter suddenly spiked, as Donie O’Sullivan reported.

The most prominent elected Republican to weigh in on the matter was Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose tweets became increasingly militant as the day progressed. They started out in typically unhinged fashion:  "The FBI is raiding President Trump’s home in Maralago!  This is the rogue behavior of communist countries, NOT the United States of America!!!  These are the type of things that happen in countries during civil war.  The political persecution MUST STOP!!!"  Later in the day, Greene’s tone became threatening: “What is happening will NOT be tolerated!!!” she wrote. “We are coming.”

Trump-loving right-wing pundits were similarly running around with their hair on fire, urging their audiences to prepare for war—and not just the metaphorical kind.  Jesse Kelly—the right-wing radio talk-show host who believes fascism is an inevitability for the American right, and is good with that—gave a shout-out to the so-called “constitutional sheriffs” who have threatened to get involved in the nation’s election apparatus in defense of Trump. “Do you have a county sheriff who will stand between you and a federal agent trying to violate your rights? If you don’t, you better get one. Or better yet, BECOME one,” Kelly tweeted.

Far-right pundit Candace Owens had a regular meltdown on Twitter: "The FBI must be legally and formally dissolved.  What happened to President Trump is positively stunning and a mark of unchecked government power.   I no longer recognize the country I live in. Left or right, we must all come together to fight this evil."

White nationalist pundit Jack Posobiec, who now hosts a daily show for the right-wing campus organization Turning Point USA, posted a series of tweets that essentially urged his audience to gird their loins for a real shooting war:  "The federal security state has declared war on Donald J Trump and his supporters.  The country you grew up in no longer exists. We are living through the times our forefathers warned of.  Preemptive coup.  Welcome to the end game."

These same sentiments could be found throughout right-wing social media, being voiced by ordinary trolls at large and often at high volume.

• “Is this the first shot of a civil war? Is this the tyranny mentioned in the 2^nd Amendment? The Founding Fathers would have started shooting a long time ago!”
• “It’s time for a civil war. The deep state has proven they are real, they are corrupt, they are dictators.”
• “Civil war! Pick up arms people!”
• “The fbi just declared war on the republic. Treat them accordingly.”
• “August 8, 2022 will be remembered forever. The start of Civil War II.”
• “Our government is pushing for a civil war. Americans are only going to take so much.”
• “I already bought my ammo”
• “Civil War 2.0 just kicked off.”
• “Let’s do the war.”
• “FBI is headed by Jews. I warned you about these demons.”
• “It’s going to be wonderful to see FBI agents get killed in the future!”

“Prior to the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, we saw unprecedented plans online to conduct real-world violence,” observed Advance Democracy president Daniel J. Jones, a former Senate Intelligence Committee staff member, in a statement to NBC News. "The online outrage was based on false allegations of voter fraud and bizarre theories of coordinated government corruption. The raid by the FBI has provoked similar violent rhetoric online—including from at least one individual charged in relation to the insurrection on January 6th.”

Jones added: “The promotion of broad government conspiracy theories by political leaders, elected officials, and political entertainers continues to undermine our democracy—and will likely lead to additional political violence.”  

Jones' warning couldn't have been more prescient-- several days after the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, an armed man named Ricky Shiffer  attempted to break into the FBI building in Cincinnati, OH.  Shiffer, who was shot and killed after a standoff with police, was at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Associated Press reports.  The 42-year-old man from Columbus had ties to extremist groups, including the Proud Boys, the Wall Street Journal reported.  Shiffer posted messages on Truth Social, Trump's media platform for conservatives, about attempts to gain access to the FBI building.  In another post, he also called for people to prepare themselves for "combat" in the days after the FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence for national security materials.  "We must not tolerate this one," said one post. Another urged people to kill the FBI "on sight, and be ready to take down other active enemies of the people and those who try to prevent you from doing it."

 

Mary Trump on Merrick Garland Releasing Donald Trump's Search Warrant

“He’s probably having a very difficult time processing this because, you know, Donald is a coward and a bully.  He only attacks if he believes there will be no counterattack.  Garland is playing chess. Donald can only play checkers. So, he’s being outmaneuvered.”

Benny Blanco, BTS & Snoop Dogg - Bad Decisions

Inhumane "Virginity Tests" Still Being Used in Iran

In Iran, virginity before marriage is important for many girls and their families. Sometimes men demand a virginity certificate - a practice that the World Health Organization (WHO) deems to be against human rights. But in the past year, more and more people have been campaigning against it.

"You tricked me into marrying you because you're not a virgin. Nobody would marry you if they knew the truth."   This is what Maryam's husband said to her after they had sex for the first time.  She tried to reassure him that, even though she didn't bleed, she had never had intercourse before. But he didn't believe her, and asked her to get a virginity certificate.

This is not uncommon in Iran. After getting engaged, many women go to a doctor and get a test that proves they've never had sex. However, according to the WHO, virginity testing has no scientific merit.

Maryam's certificate stated that her hymen type was "elastic". This means she might not bleed after penetrative sex.   "It hurt my pride. I didn't do anything wrong, but my husband kept insulting me," she said. "I couldn't take it anymore, so I took some pills and tried to kill myself."  Just in time, she was taken to a hospital and survived.  "I will never forget those dark days. I lost 20kg during that time."

Maryam's story is the reality of many women in Iran. Being a virgin before marriage is still crucial for many girls and their families. It's a value that is deeply rooted in cultural conservatism.  But recently, things have started to change. Women and men around the country have been campaigning to put an end to virginity testing.   Last November, an online petition received almost 25,000 signatures within a single month. This was the first time virginity testing was being openly challenged by so many people in Iran. 

"It's a violation of privacy, and it's humiliating," says a woman named Neda.  When she was a 17-year-old student in Tehran, she lost her virginity to her boyfriend.  "I panicked. I was terrified about what would happen if my family found out."   So, Neda decided to repair her hymen.  Technically, this procedure is not illegal - but it has dangerous social implications, so no hospital will agree to perform it.  So Neda found a private clinic that would do it in secret - at a heavy price. "I spent all my savings. I sold my laptop, my mobile phone and my gold jewellery," she says. She had to sign a document to take full responsibility in case something went wrong.  A midwife then proceeded with the procedure. It took about 40 minutes. But Neda would need many weeks to recover.  "I was in a lot of pain. I couldn't move my legs," she recalls. She hid the whole thing from her parents.   "I felt very lonely. But I think that the fear of them finding out helped me tolerate the pain." 

In the end, the ordeal Neda endured was all for nothing.  A year later, she met someone who wanted to marry her. But when they had sex, she didn't bleed. The procedure had failed.  "My boyfriend accused me of trying to trick him into marriage. He said that I was a liar and he left me."

Despite the WHO denouncing virginity testing as unethical and lacking scientific merit, the practice is still carried out in several countries, including Indonesia, Iraq and Turkey.

Four years after attempting to take her own life and living with an abusive husband, Maryam was finally able to get a divorce through the courts.  She became single just a few weeks ago.  "It's going to be very hard to trust a man again," she says. "I can't see myself getting married in the near future." Along with tens of thousands of other women, she, too, signed one of the growing number of online petitions to put an end to issuing virginity certificates. Although she expects nothing to change soon, perhaps not even within her lifetime, she does believe one day women will gain more equality within her country. 

 

Tell It Like it Is

A Presidency Gone Down the Crapper

Donald Trump has regularly rebuffed claims that he flushed presidential records down the toilet during his impeachment-marred time in office, but now pictures have emerged to undercut that claim.  The pictures were obtained by New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and shared with Axios.  Haberman is promoting her upcoming book on the former president and his tumultuous time in office.

The images depict two open toilets where small piles of ripped-up paper—replete with what looks very much like Trump’s all-caps scrawl in permanent marker—sit waterlogged at the bottom. One of the piles features the plainly visible name of New York Republican Elise Stefanik, one of Trump’s most fervent defenders in Congress. The other visible name is “Rogers,” which could be a reference to Reps. Hal Rogers of Kentucky or Mike Rogers of Alabama, both allies of the former president, but it is not clear. In the other photo, the writing is illegible. 

White House sources told Haberman that the photo with the illegible writing was taken at the White House. The other photo was reportedly snapped during a trip overseas.  It was earlier this year when The New York Times first reported that White House staff sometimes found toilets clogged with wads of paper. The culprit was widely believed to be the former president, though he has resoundingly denied this and chalked up reports to “fake news.”

The destruction of records was a “periodic” occurrence, according to White House staffers interviewed by Haberman.   She told Axios: “That Mr. Trump was discarding documents this way was not widely known within the West Wing but some aides were aware of the habit, which he engaged in repeatedly.”

The Presidential Records Act demands officials preserve all records tied to their official duties, and that includes the president.

Starbucks vs. Its Workers

 It seems that Starbucks is on a vicious union-busting campaign, which has involved the firing of at least 70 pro-union workers—more than 50 of them since April, in what’s clearly an escalating effort—the company tried to convince the National Labor Relations Board that union activists in Phoenix, Arizona, violated labor law by “threatening and coercing employees and the public.” Starbucks claimed workers surrounded a store and pounded on the windows during an action. The NLRB investigated and found that no such thing happened. (And since there were news cameras there for the protest, there’s an actual video of the peaceful picket.)

Meanwhile, Starbucks continues announcing pay raises and new benefits only to workers at stores that have not unionized—a practice that NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo told Steven Greenhouse is an unfair labor practice, “unlawful, absent compelling business justification.”  Starbucks management is unquestionably committed to fighting its workers, often in direct violation of the law. But so far, at least, its lawlessness and cruelty has not stopped the momentum of its workers coming together to form unions.

A New Low, Even For Trump: Exploit Your Dead Ex-Wife for Tax Breaks

Research has confirmed reports that Orangeman Trump is now eligible for hefty tax breaks after having his ex-wife buried on the Trump-owned golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.  73 year-old Ivana Trump died in her Manhattan home on July 14 from "blunt impact injuries" to her torso, The Washington Post reported of an autopsy report from New York City's chief medical examiner.  Ivana was initially found unconscious on a staircase in her home after police got an emergency call around 12:40 PM, the Post reported. Her death was ruled an accident, and her remains were buried at the Trump National Golf Club. 

"I was skeptical of rumors Trump buried his ex-wife in that sad little plot of dirt on his Bedminster, NJ golf course just for tax breaks,” Brooke Harrington, a sociology professor at Dartmouth College, tweeted. “So I checked the NJ tax code & folks … it's a trifecta of tax avoidance. Property, income & sales tax, all eliminated."

Harrington cited New Jersey tax code and documents the ProPublica news nonprofit published indicating tax exemptions in place since May 2016 for what’s deemed a nonprofit cemetery service. The Trump Family Trust is located in Hackettstown, New Jersey, some 20 miles northeast of Ivana’s gravesite.

Cemetery property is also “exempt from sale for collection of judgments,” and cemetery trust funds and trust income are “exempt from tax and exempt from sale or seizure for collection of judgments against the cemetery company,” New Jersey law states.

Trump's plans to use a portion of his 500-acre golf club as a burial ground were detailed in a 2012 NPR story. In that piece, journalist Nancy Solomon wrote that any member of the golf club "who pays about $150,000 to join and an additional $20,000 in annual dues" could be buried at the cemetery. 

 

When You See the First Halloween Stuff in Stores and It's Still Summer

Death Cab for Cutie - Here To Forever

Murder of Nigerian Migrant in Italy Sparks Outrage

The death of a migrant who was attacked in broad daylight in central Italy has sparked outrage.  The victim has been named as Alika Ogorchukwu, a married father of two. His wife, named as Charity Oriachi, could not contain her tears as she told media how she was shown the body of her husband lying on the ground.  Her family had lived in Italy for a long time, she said, stressing that her husband had never sought any trouble.

The assault on the Nigerian street trader by another man in Civitanova Marche town center was captured on video.  The recording, reportedly made by onlookers without any attempt to intervene, shows the victim being held to the ground by a white man.  A 32-year-old Italian has been arrested on suspicion of murder and robbery. The video of the attack - which has been widely circulated on Italian news websites and social media - has shocked the community, with many highlighting the "indifference" of witnesses.

Hundreds of people from the local Nigerian community took to the streets of Civitanova Marche, in Marche region, to demand justice.  The attack has also been condemned by Italian politicians.  Enrico Letta, the leader of the left-wing Democratic Party, said what happened was dismaying. "Unheard of ferocity. Widespread indifference. There can be no justification," he wrote in a tweet. 

The suspect - a white man named as Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo - has been ordered to remain in jail as the investigation continues.  His defense lawyer told the media the suspect had said he was sorry and denied that there was any racial motivation.  A police investigator said Ogorchukwu was attacked after the trader's "insistent" requests to the suspect and his partner for spare change.  The partner, identified as Elena D, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that Ogorchukwu had touched her arm, but that did not bother her.

The victim's wife now wants to see the suspect "face to face", to understand why he killed her husband, the family's lawyer told reporters.

 

 

I Think I Found My New Lawyer

 

The Nation Has Lost a Great and Noble Man

NBA great Bill Russell died on Sunday at the age of 88 with his wife Jeannine by his side.  The most prolific winner in NBA history, Russell faced down years of racism to become the centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 championships in 13 years. His last two NBA titles were as the first Black coach in any major U.S. sport.  A Hall of Famer, five-time Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star, Russell also won two college titles and an Olympic gold medal.  "But for all the winning, Bill's understanding of the struggle is what illuminated his life," his family said.

"From boycotting a 1961 exhibition game to unmask too-long-tolerated discrimination, to leading Mississippi's first integrated basketball camp in the combustible wake of Medgar Evan's assassination, to decades of activism ultimately recognized by his receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010, Bill called out injustice with an unforgiving candor that he intended would disrupt the status quo, and with a powerful example that, though never his humble intention, will forever inspire teamwork selflessness and thoughtful change."

In 1964, Russell led a boycott of the NBA All-Star game in Boston which resulted in then-NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy agreeing to their demands just minutes before tip-off.

Russell's daughter Karen Russell wrote for The New York Times in 1987 about the racism her father faced while he was playing for the Boston Celtics.   "When he first went to Boston in 1956, the Celtics' only black player, fans and sportswriters subjected him to the worst kind of unbridled bigotry," she wrote in the article.

She also recalled how her family had once come home from a weekend away to find out they had been robbed.  "Our house was in a shambles, and ''N***A'' was spray-painted on the walls. The burglars had poured beer on the pool table and ripped up the felt. They had broken into my father's trophy case and smashed most of the trophies," she wrote.  "I was petrified and shocked at the mess; everyone was very upset. The police came, and after a while, they left. It was then that my parents pulled pack their bedcovers to discover that the burglars had defecated in their bed."

She went on to say that vandals would tip over her family's garbage cans every time the Celtics went on the road.  "My father went to the police station to complain. The police told him that raccoons were responsible, so he asked where he could apply for a gun permit," she wrote. "The raccoons never came back."

But she said that the "only time we were really scared" was after her father wrote about racism in professional basketball for The Saturday Evening Post.  "We received threatening letters, and my parents notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation," she wrote.  When her father got his FBI file years later, he discovered it was littered with references to him as ''an arrogant Negro who won't sign autographs for white children."

Bill Russell's family called on others to follow his example.  "We hope each of us can find a new way to act or speak up with Bill's uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principle," the family said. "That would be one last, and lasting, win for our beloved #6."

The Lying Idiot Running for Senate in Georgia

Bill Maher absolutely roasted Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker on his show.  As it turns out, the former All-Pro running back from the University of Georgia is a complete dumb-ass.  See if you can tell which of the follow Walker quotes are real, and which are fake:

A. "Everybody knows that flowers can't have sex.  So they make bees carry their load to the sexiest sunflower and bust a nut in its face."

B. "Since we don't control the air, our good air decided to float over to China's bad air, so when China gets our good air, their bad air got to move.  So it moves over to our good air space.  Then, now, we got to clean that back up."

C. "Yes, time travel is possible-- but you can only go in one way, into the future, and you can only do it one second at a time."

D. "At one time, science said man came from apes, did it not?  If that is true, why are there still apes?  Think about it."

E. "Anyone who thinks the earth is flat hasn't seen a mountain."

F. "Fossils . . . these are the remains of animals from a long time ago who died after turning into a rock."

G. "It can take u to six days after sex for the sperm and the egg to join up and start a baby, which gives the guy time to get away.  Think about it."

As it turns out, Walker is also a blatant liar.  He’s also absolutely godawful at it.