For the Naughty Ladies Out There

Ed Sheeran - Under the Tree

Santa Stressing Out

Christmas is Coming!

Disney's Acquiescence to Trump Signals a Shift in the Culture Wars?

Over the weekend came the news that ABC News had decided (surprisingly) to settle Trump’s defamation litigation against the network. Disney additionally released a statement expressing “regret” for anchor George Stephanopoulos’ on-air claim that Trump was found liable in court for “rape.” 

Experts on media law told The New York Times that traditionally media outlets fight suits harder than ABC had chosen to do.  ABC's decision is in line with recent media outlets capitulating to the Orange Jesus.  Last month, the L.A. Times, along with The Washington Post (owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos), both spiked endorsements of Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the election.  

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, and X’s Elon Musk have also publicly praised Trump’s win (Musk having  spent millions to help engineer it), raising serious concerns about the impartiality of the platforms the men own.   For his part, Trump has now threatened future defamation lawsuits against the media. Among his targets are The Des Moines Register, “60 Minutes,” reporter Bob Woodward, and the Pulitzer Prizes in retaliation for reporting by The Washington Post and New York on Russia’s role in attempting to influence the 2016 election.

ABC's settlement with Trump could only have been with Disney chief Bob Iger’s consent, and that we might be entering a new era at Disney-- one where the company’s social activism gets tampered down for a more populist approach to creative content. This is evidenced by new reporting that Disney's Pixar removed a transgender character’s storyline from their upcoming “Win or Lose” animated film.

A spokesperson for Disney confirmed that the “Win or Lose” story arc was removed, saying "When it comes to animated content for a younger audience, we recognize that many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline." This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, as earlier this year Iger said that he wanted to “quiet things down” at Disney “after years of culture wars.” This seemed to be in reference to the company having been accused of promoting a “woke agenda” in their movies. 

 

The War on Santa

A British priest has been forced to apologize after telling a group of schoolchildren aged 10 and 11 that Father Christmas was not real. Pupils reportedly began to sob as Reverend Paul Chamberlain made comments during a Religious Education lesson at Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School in Hampshire.

One parent described his talk as "absolutely disgusting", while another said her daughter reckoned the priest was mistaken and had "lost the plot", The Times reported.  The Anglican Diocese of Portsmouth said Rev Chamberlain accepted it was an "error of judgement".

A 10-year-old pupil, quoted in The Times, said some children "gasped" during the lesson, in which they were also told that parents ate the cookies left out for Santa.  One parent told the newspaper: "I don't know how it can be undone, but I think it's absolutely disgusting. "I don't want him anywhere near my daughter. I hope he never comes into the school again."

In a statement, a diocese spokesperson said: "We understand that the vicar of St Faith's, Lee-on-the-Solent, the Rev Paul Chamberlain, was leading an RE lesson for 10 and 11-year-olds at Lee-on-Solent Junior School.  After talking about the Nativity story from the Bible, he made some comments about the existence of Father Christmas.  Paul has accepted that this was an error of judgement, and he should not have done so.  He apologized unreservedly to the school, to the parents and to the children, and the headteacher immediately wrote to all parents to explain this."

 

Amy Grant - When I Think of Christmas

Indeed

The Nutty GOP and Weather-Weapon Laws

In April, Tennessee Republicans passed a state law to ban chemtrails, the mythical substance long touted by conspiracy theorists as chemicals released into the atmosphere to either control the weather or exert mind control over the population.  More recently, Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia recently introduced similar legislation that would ban “weather modification activities” in the airspace over that state.  What the heck is going on?

Since the 1990s, conservative cranks have concocted conspiracies that the condensation trails left by airplanes are actually chemical sprays used for nefarious purposes. The scientific explanation is that water vapor near the exhaust of jet planes condenses and freezes, creating a temporary cloud.  Bottom line: the notion that there are weapons now existing to change the weather and mold minds is the stuff of scientific fiction.

But particularly when the right has been out of power, these conspiracies tend to take hold as an explanation both for why Republicans may have lost public support (due to "mind control") or just as a way to accuse Democrats of the dastardliest actions possible.  In October, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused an abstract “they” of using a weather manipulation device when hurricanes hit the southern U.S.  “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done,” she wrote.  President Joe Biden called Greene out in remarks from the White House, stating, “It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s so stupid. It’s got to stop.”

Weather-weapon conspiracies tend to disappear when Republicans are in the White House, and conservatives never question why figures like Trump or former President George W. Bush have never used these amazing powers against their political enemies or the country’s global adversaries.  But in 2013, conspiracy theorist and Greene ally Alex Jones insisted that then-President Barack Obama had deployed a weather weapon when a tornado hit Oklahoma.  On his radio show, Jones argued that the government “can create and steer groups of tornadoes.”  Of course, it cannot-- but it is a convenient way to make figures like Obama and Biden appear to be sinister. After all, controlling the weather is the kind of evil that comic book supervillains do, not presidents.

Conservatism is oriented around spreading distrust of government and scientific reality. Making up falsehoods about mind/weather control dust being seeded in clouds or sprayed on the public via planes fits right in with their paranoid style.   But these anti-chemtrails bills and laws aren’t just harmless exercises. They stymie the development of real technologies with far more modest goals, like increasing rainfall. The people who get hurt? Regular people like farmers who need help maintaining their fields and increasing crop production—and they’re being hurt by increasing temperatures from climate change.

Worry is Growing Over Wacky Gabby

Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick to be the next director of national intelligence, was a faithful consumer of Kremlin-controlled media, three of her former congressional aides told ABC News.

According to ABC’s report, the aides said that the failed presidential candidate regularly read and shared stories from RT—a state-run media outlet formerly known as Russia Today—even after being told that it wasn’t a credible news source. They firmly believe she’s become a staunch advocate for one of the United States’ chief adversaries thanks to her routine consumption of pro-Russia propaganda.

Her former aides said that Gabbard read news from a plethora of outlets, ranging from stories peddled by far left factions to articles from extreme-right sources. But Gabbard’s views on Russian aggression in Europe, specifically, have become increasingly eyebrow-raising since her days as a Democratic House member representing Hawaii.

The aides provided ABC News with an internal memo that Gabbard sent to staff in 2017, for instance, which showed her extending unwarranted sympathy to the Kremlin. Among many other damning things, Gabbard complained about the United States’ “hostility toward Putin” and bemoaned the fact that “there isn’t any guarantee to Putin that we won’t try to overthrow Russia’s government.”    “In fact, I’m pretty sure there are American politicians who would love to do that,” she added.

These fresh allegations against Gabbard have heightened fears about her securing a spot in Trump’s Cabinet. Ivo Daalder, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO during the Obama administration, told ABC News that the thoughts outlined in Gabbard’s 2017 memo were “basically the Russian playbook.” He also expressed anxiety that she could soon be charged with overseeing America’s most sensitive intelligence assets. 

Her sympathy toward the Kremlin only grew after 2017. During her unsuccessful presidential run in 2020, Gabbard criticized America’s involvement in Syria’s civil war as a “regime change war” on President Bashar Assad, a key Russian ally. And in 2022, Gabbard defended Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine and went so far as to blame the United States and NATO for provoking the war by ignoring Russia’s security concerns. 

And she didn’t stop there. In October, Gabbard peddled an outright lie that Vice President Kamala Harris was the main instigator of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. 

Gabbard’s pro-Russia takes have not gone unnoticed by the senators who will determine whether she earns a spot in the Trump administration. Even before ABC News’ bombshell report, some Republicans indicated that they were nervous about Gabbard’s worrisome positions on foreign policy issues, as well as her promotion of Russian propaganda.   “Behind closed doors, people think she might be compromised. Like it’s not hyperbole,” one Republican Senate aide told The Hill. “There are members of our conference who think she’s a [Russian] asset.”

These latest revelations certainly aren’t good news for Trump, who has already had two of his nominees drop out (see: Matt Gaetz and Chad Chronister, his picks to head up the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration).   The good news for Gabbard, at least for now, is that another one of Trump’s potential appointees, defense secretary nominee and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, is now in the hot seat for a series of scandalous revelations and accusations about his own past. That means Gabbard’s troublesome views and actions have flown mostly under the radar.

 

Not Ruling Anything Out

Ben Folds & Lindsey Kraft - We Could Have This

Supreme Court Seems Complicit in Denying Trans Youth Their Right to Make Health Care Decisions

The Supreme Court heard arguments regarding a current Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth—and witnessed history.  Chase Strangio, a staff attorney for the ACLU, defended the transgender community and became the first openly trans lawyer to make an argument before the highest court in the land.

Conservative lawmakers defended the legislation by arguing that transgender youth could ultimately regret using puberty blockers or seeking other gender-affirming care.  However, as the Associated Press reported in 2023, the number of transgender people who detransition—or regret switching genders and revert back to their gender assigned at birth—is minuscule. 

Conservative justices tried to frame the case as one of "states rights", but that type of rubbish has been around for over a century-- famously used to justify slavery during the Civil War.  As was the case back then, conservatives today wave the banner of "states rights" to give GOP-controlled states the power to violate basic human rights.  Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar pointed out that allowing Tennessee to impose a ban on gender-affirming medication could potentially lead to a “nationwide ban.”

The case, United States v. Skrmetti, will ultimately determine just how much states can meddle in the medical affairs of transgender youth and, potentially, all Americans.  Transgender rights have been at the forefront of public discourse lately, with Donald Trump and many Republicans lambasting the issue during their 2024 campaigns. 

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, argues that the push for gender-affirming care is more important than ever as a growing number of states impose laws on decisions typically made between a minor, their family, and their health care provider. In 2023 alone, 19 states passed laws to stop gender-affirming care for people under 18, according to CNN.  “Rather than protecting kids, these laws are preventing parents and young people from making informed medical decisions, and doctors and health care providers from providing best-practice care to their patients,” the organization argued. 

Indeed, the Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Population Affairs found that this type of medical care for transgender minors—which has rarely included gender-affirming surgeries—is “crucial” to the “overall health and well-being” of these children. The department also notes that transgender youths “face significant health disparities” compared to cisgender people, or people who identify with their gender assigned at birth. 

Part of this disparity in health care access contributes to the striking number of LGBTQ+ youth who “seriously considered attempting suicide” in 2021, a national survey reports. Advocates for transgender care fear that upholding the medical ban in Tennessee will exacerbate the mental health crisis for trans youth.

 

North Carolina GOP Can't Win Statewide Office, So They Resort to Cheating to Maintain Power

Republicans in the North Carolina state Senate overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a bill that is a blatant attempt to steal power from Democrats and give it to the GOP-controlled legislature.

Republicans crafted the bill in secret, held no hearings on it, and passed it in November, less than 24 hours after it had been made public. The vote came after Democrats won the governor's mansion and attorney general position in the state for the third cycle in a row, as well as the race for state superintendent of public instruction. Republicans tried to claim the bill was about Hurricane Helene recovery funding, but it contains very little of that. Instead, it takes away power from those three incoming Democratic statewide officials.

It shouldn't be a surprise that North Carolina is not the only state where GOP legislators have tried to take power away from their states’ Democratic governor. 

Earlier this year, Wisconsin Republicans tried to strip Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of his power to spend federal dollars by putting a measure on the August primary ballot that would have amended the state Constitution to require Legislative approval for federal funds. Voters rejected the effort in a 57.5%-42.5% vote.

In 2018, after Republicans lost the gubernatorial mansion in Wisconsin, Republicans stripped power from Evers and incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul before they took office. The legislation took away Evers’ ability to remove work requirements for food stamps and health care, and tried to block Kaul’s ability to withdraw the state from a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act.  “It’s a power grab,” Democratic state Senator Jon Erpenbach told the New York Times at the time. “They lost and they’re throwing a fit.”

Republicans straight-up admitted the legislation was an effort to hamstring Evers’ ability to pass his agenda.  “We are going to have a very liberal governor who is going to enact policies that are in direct contrast to what many of us believe in,” state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said at the time of what would happen if the power grab legislation didn’t pass. Of course, by limiting the governor from enacting policies, it would be ignoring voters’ will in choosing their top state executive.  That power grab was eventually overturned by the courts.

That same year, Michigan Republicans tried to strip power from then-incoming Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, but failed when the outgoing GOP governor vetoed the effort.

 

DOD Nominee is Starting to Circle the Drain

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for Defense secretary, is already under fire for several notable controversies, including ties to right-wing extremism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and his defense of mercenaries that killed civilians. But new reporting has revealed more allegations of abuse toward women and public drunkenness that are likely to come up at future Senate confirmation hearings—if the former Fox News pundit makes it that far.

The New York Times reported on Friday that in a 2018 email Hegseth’s mother, Penelope Hegseth, described her son as an abuser of women.  “On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say … get some help and take an honest look at yourself,” she wrote. “I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.”

The behavior described in the letter echoes other reporting on Hegseth’s past behavior.   A recent report by the New Yorker that detailed behavior from Hegseth that led to him stepping down from leading conservative veterans groups, Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America.  A whistleblower report says that Hegseth was so drunk while doing public events for Concerned Veterans of America that he had to be carried out. The report also alleges that Hegseth sexually pursued staffers at the group and he and other men in the organization divided the women staffers into groups labeled “party girls” and “not party girls.”   The report also notes that an allegation of sexual assault by Hegseth was made, involving an employee while the two were at a strip club in Louisiana.

Hegseth is also accused in the document of chanting “Kill All Muslims! Kill All Muslims!” while drunk at a bar in 2015, while on an official tour. An email sent by whistleblowers also accused Hegseth of treating the organization’s funds “like they were a personal expense account” and said he used money donated to advocate for veterans “for partying, drinking.”

The new revelations about Hegseth come on the heels of the release of a police report in which a woman accused Hegseth of raping her at a Republican women’s event in 2017. Hegseth was not charged following a police investigation.

Disclosures about Matt Gaetz, Trump’s former pick to be U.S. attorney general, led to Trump giving up on the nomination when it became clear even Republicans would oppose him. Those allegations included sex with a minor and accusations of sex trafficking. The disclosures about Hegseth seem even more severe, but so far there has been no indication that Trump will back away from the pick.

 

Toughing it Out at Work on CyberMonday

Texas Women Continue to Die Without Proper Medical Care

Over the course of six hours on June 11, 2023, Porsha Ngumezi had bled so much in the emergency department at Houston Methodist Sugar Land that she’d needed two transfusions. She was anxious to get home to her young sons, but, according to a nurse’s notes, she was still “passing large clots the size of grapefruit.”

Hope dialed his mother, a former physician, who was unequivocal. “You need a D&C,” she told them, referring to dilation and curettage, a common procedure for first-trimester miscarriages and abortions. If a doctor could remove the remaining tissue from her uterus, the bleeding would end.

But when Dr. Andrew Ryan Davis, the obstetrician on duty, finally arrived, he said it was the hospital’s “routine” to give a drug called misoprostol to help the body pass the tissue, Hope recalled. Hope trusted the doctor. Porsha took the pills, according to records, and the bleeding continued.

Three hours later, her heart stopped.

Trump to Congress: Pound Sand

Donald Trump is entering his second term with vows to cut a vast array of government services and a radical plan to do so. Rather than relying on his party’s control of Congress to trim the budget, Trump and his advisers intend to test an obscure legal theory holding that presidents have sweeping power to withhold funding from programs they dislike.

“We can simply choke off the money,” Trump said in a 2023 campaign video. “For 200 years under our system of government, it was undisputed that the president had the constitutional power to stop unnecessary spending.”

His plan, known as “impoundment,” threatens to provoke a major clash over the limits of the president’s control over the budget. The Constitution gives Congress the sole authority to appropriate the federal budget, while the role of the executive branch is to dole out the money effectively. But Trump and his advisers are asserting that a president can unilaterally ignore Congress’ spending decisions and “impound” funds if he opposes them or deems them wasteful.

Trump’s designs on the budget are part of his administration’s larger plan to consolidate as much power in the executive branch as possible. This month, he pressured the Senate to go into recess so he could appoint his cabinet without any oversight. (So far, Republicans who control the chamber have not agreed to do so.) His key advisers have spelled out plans to bring independent agencies, such as the Department of Justice, under political control.

If Trump were to assert a power to kill congressionally approved programs, it would almost certainly tee up a fight in the federal courts and Congress and, experts say, could fundamentally alter Congress’ bedrock power.

Kelly Clarkson - You For Christmas

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Drinksgiving!

Thanksgiving Meal Prep Be Like . . .

Kendrick Lamar & Deyra Barrera - Reincarnated

Countdown to Turkey Day

 

Social Media Trolls Marjorie Taylor Green's New Committee Assignment

House ignoramus Marjorie Taylor Green will chair a new House subcommittee that will work alongside billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s unofficial federal agency, the "Department of Government Efficiency", which will seek to slash red tape and public spending.  Social media reaction to the news is hilarious.

Shaboozey - Good News

Four Dead in Mass Poisoning of Tourists in Laos

Australian teenager and an unnamed American man have become the third and fourth tourist to have died in a suspected mass poisoning in Laos. 19-year-old Bianca Jones' family confirmed her death to the media only hours after the U.S. State Department announced that an American man died in the tourist town of Vang Vieng. Two Danish women, aged 19 and 20, also died last week in Laos, Danish authorities confirmed, declining to share more due to confidentiality concerns.

The deaths remain under police investigation, but news reports and testimonies online from other tourists suggest they may have consumed drinks laced with methanol, a deadly substance often found in bootleg alcohol. Vang Vieng is a small, riverside town in central Laos and a hub for young Westerners backpacking across Southeast Asia. It's home to the Banana Pancake Trail - a popular backpacking route spanning Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Jones's friend Holly Bowles is in hospital on life support, while a British woman is also reportedly in hospital. New Zealand's foreign ministry told local media that one of its citizens was also unwell from suspected methanol poisoning. And the Netherlands' foreign affairs ministry said that a Dutch tourist was sent to the hospital but is in stable condition. It is unclear how many others have fallen ill.

The State Department said it was "closely monitoring" the situation with regards to the American victim, adding that it was up to local authorities to determine the cause of death.  Australian, New Zealand, and U.K. authorities have each warned their citizens to be careful of methanol poisoning when consuming alcohol in Laos.

Nana Backpacker Hostel, where the two Australian women stayed in Vang Vieng is closed for police investigation.  The hostel’s manager told the Associated Press that the two women were among more than 100 guests who received free shots of Lao vodka from the hostel. The pair then headed out for the night, he said, adding that no other guests reported health issues. The manager said he hoped the investigation would clear the hostel’s name, but said they have stopped giving free shots for now.

Unlike ethanol, the key component of alcoholic beverages, methanol is toxic to humans. Bootleg liquor producers sometimes add it to their drinks, however, as a cheap way to increase alcohol content.  Earlier this year, at least 57 people in India died after consuming methanol-laced liquor. Similar cases of mass poisoning have also been reported across the world, from the Philippines to Peru. It has hospitalised and even killed dozens in Indonesia over the years, but it has rarely affected tourists.

 

$12K to Change Your Eye Color . . . and Possibly Screw Up Your Vision?

There is a growing number of people who are permanently changing their eye color through cosmetic surgery.  Many doctors say the surgery hasn’t been proven safe and warn it could cause lasting damage.

The procedure, known as keratopigmentation or corneal tattooing, is typically completed in about a half-hour-- and the effect is immediate.  Some people getting the procedure say they want to look better and feel more confident. Others did it to look more like family members. One young man changed one of his brown eyes blue to copy the mismatched eyes of his beloved Siberian husky.

Dr. Alexander Movshovich, who emigrated from Russia, is among a few U.S. doctors who offer the procedure. Movshovich, who operates his clinic in New York City, is the first doctor in the U.S. to offer keratopigmentation for nonmedical reasons. “People said I was crazy. But in Russia, they say if you’re not brave, you don’t drink Champagne,” he told the Wall Street Journal.   Movshovich treated about 15 keratopigmentation patients in the first year. This year, he is on track to treat some 400 people, he said. He charges $12,000 per surgery. It isn’t covered by insurance.

Keratopigmentation is irreversible. Movshovich invented a technique that can remove some pigment soon after surgery, but patients can’t return to their original eye color.  Lasers the Food and Drug Administration approved for vision-correction procedures are being used off-label to perform  keratopigmentation procedures. The pigments used by Movshovich haven’t been approved in the U.S. for use in the eyes. 

Doctors can use keratopigmentation to treat people with diseased or injured eyes.  But in the 2010's, doctors in Europe began experimenting with the procedure for cosmetic reasons. Many eye specialists say it is irresponsible for doctors to perform keratopigmentation on people with healthy eyes. The benefits might outweigh the risks for patients with diseased corneas, but there isn’t enough evidence to say the same for healthy people, critics say.

“I’m very surprised that these surgeons are doing this in the United States. They are taking a risk,” said Dr. Guillermo Amescua, an ophthalmology professor at the University of Miami.  The American Academy of Ophthalmology issued a warning in January that cosmetic keratopigmentation carried “serious risks for vision loss” and other complications including light sensitivity and bacterial or fungal infection. The safest way to lighten the appearance of eyes is with prescription contact lenses, the academy said.

 

High-Flying Hamsters on the Rampage

A flight was grounded in the Azores after 130 hamsters escaped their cages during the flight from Portugal.  They were found roaming around the cargo area of the Airbus 320 after baggage handlers unloading luggage discovered their damaged cages.

Workers were desperately rounding up the power cable-eating rodents-- 16 critters were still missing after five days on the ground. The hamsters were part of a delivery for a pet shop on the island which also included ferrets and some birds. The mass break-out forced the flight to be grounded instead of continuing its journey back to Lisbon.

Sources told a local newspaper that the animals had been accepted on the flight after being turned away from an earlier one because the previous cages “didn’t meet accepted standards".  TAP Air Portugal, the airline operating the flight, has yet to make any official comment.

Hamsters like to munch on cables and wires which could potentially damage aircraft.  In 2016, hundreds of hamsters broke loose inside a Boeing jet that was forced out of service. The pilot of the Amsterdam-bound flight said at the time: "We came to the aircraft, and the mayhem just happened."

In 2006, a hamster secretly being carried by a passenger escaped and caused chaos on a plane to Austria. That flight, which originated in Mallorca, Spain was forced to make a stop in Innsbruck so officials could search for the hamster and make sure it didn’t cause any damage.

Keeping Tabs on the New Efficiency Czar

A handy Reddit group has come together to keep the public informed of all Elon Musk's flights. And with more than 200,000 members keeping tabs on the quixotic Trump aficionado, it's safe to say not much of what Musk gets up to is missed. 

Although the group are solely tracking his jet's movements, with 10 flights over a recent three day period, there's plenty of shifting about to speculate on.  And that is exactly what Reddit users do every time Musk is on the move, as Trump's new "efficiency czar" commutes via the skies.

Late last week, Musk traveled mostly between West Palm Beach, Florida to Austin Texas, which has led to a lot of discussion about the who, what and why. In regards to the environmental impact of the constant travel, one user said: "But I’m supposed to use paper straws, got it."  Another user noted about Musk's frequent flying: "He cannot sit still for 5 minutes. Or taking the kids back to their mother."

While another pondered: "This is really what amazes me about these billionaires like Elon ever since I followed this sub. I genuinely wonder what he’d say if you asked him to describe home. Does he even really have a home at this point or is it just hotels and villas? Does he equate home with family or location or maybe where he grew up? Does he ever just stay somewhere for more than a day or two for a reason other than work? It’s really fascinating to me."

 

Gun Industry Group Caught Violating Privacy Rights of Gun Owners

 ProPublica has published an investigation of a  “covert program” in which firearms manufacturers for years shared sensitive customer information with political operatives. The secret program was conducted while the gun industry presented itself as a privacy protector and fought against government and corporate efforts to track firearms ownership.

At least 10 gun industry businesses, including Glock, Smith & Wesson and Remington, handed over hundreds of thousands of names, addresses and other private data — without customer knowledge or consent — to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which then entered the details into what would become a massive database. The database was used to rally gun owners’ electoral support for the industry’s candidates running for the White House and Congress.

The customer information initially came from decades of warranty cards filled out and returned to gun manufacturers for rebates and repair or replacement programs. A ProPublica review of dozens of warranty cards from the 1970s through today found that some promised customers their information would be kept strictly confidential. Others said some information could be shared with third parties for marketing and sales. None of the cards informed buyers their details would be used by lobbyists and consultants to win elections.

Violating a promise of strict confidentiality on warranty cards or failing to mention that consumer information could be given to the NSSF may qualify as a deceptive practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act, privacy and legal experts said.

It's Probably Going to Be Worse

Franz Ferdinand - Audacious

You've Been Warned

Is It Just Me?

As If You Needed A Reason NOT to Go to Haiti

A Spirit Airlines plane flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, was struck by gunfire as it attempted to land in the Haitian capital, forcing it to divert and land elsewhere. A spokesperson for the airline said that a flight attendant onboard sustained “minor injuries” in the ordeal and is being evaluated.

According to the airline spokesperson, Flight 951 was diverted to Santiago in the Dominican Republic, where “an inspection revealed evidence of damage to the aircraft consistent with gunfire.” The spokesperson didn’t respond when asked if the plane was deliberately targeted. Screenshots taken from a video obtained by TMZ appear to show multiple bullet holes in the cabin.

The plane has been taken out of service, and Spirit Airlines has suspended all service to Haiti. American Airlines and JetBlue, which also fly to Haiti, have also canceled flights to the country. According to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, operations at the Toussaint Louverture airport are temporarily paused.

In recent years, violent gangs have besieged the country, which has struggled to sustain stable political leadership following the shock assassination of President Jovenel Moïse at his home in July 2021.  The U.S. Embassy warned Americans not to travel to Haiti, calling the security situation there “unpredictable and dangerous.”  Travelers should be prepared to encounter “gang-led efforts to block travel to and from Port-au-Prince which may include armed violence, and disruptions to roads, ports, and airports,” the embassy said in a security alert.

Happy Veterans Day

What is the 4B Movement and Why are Women Boycotting Men?

The 4B movement has swept the US after Trump was elected as the 47th president last week. Since the news broke, women have turned to social media, including X/Twitter and TikTok, to discuss and lift the lid on the radical feminist movement.

Going "boy sober" has some similarities to 4B in terms of celibacy against men. However, the 4B movement is much more political and has ties with South Korea during the mid-to-late 2010s.

Following the results of the US election, the 4B movement demonstrated the growing frustration and anger toward conservative values. Shortly after the results were announced, Google searches for the 4B movement spiked by 450 per cent.  To add fuel to the fire, far-right commentators such as Nick Fuentes celebrated the Trump news with horrific tweets shared on X: "Your body, my choice. Forever."   He also wrote: "I’d just like to take the opportunity to thank men for saving this country from stupid bitches who wanted to destroy the world to keep abortion."

The 4B movement is a feminist statement to abstain from interactions with men.  The term '4B' is short for "bi" which translates to "no" in Korean: 1) Bisekseu: No sex with men; 2) Bichulsan: No giving birth; 3) Biyeonae: No dating men; and 4) Bihon: No marriage with men.  The 4B movement first came to light in South Korea back in the mid-to-late 2010s. It was birthed off the back of violence against women and inequality in society.

People have turned to their socials in support of the 4B movement, with one writing: "American women, looks like it’s time to get influenced by Korea’s 4B movement."   Another wrote: "The women in South Korea are doing it. It’s time we join them. Men will NOT be rewarded, nor have access to our bodies."

In response to a viral TikTok, one person penned: "As a man just speaking frankly I think it's time for the 4b movement to come to America. Tired of these incel losers constantly voting against all basic human rights and principles." 

Michaela Thomas from Georgia, told The Washington Post that she first heard about the movement a year ago.  "Young men expect sex, but they also want us to not be able to have access to abortion," she told the publication. "They can’t have both. Young women don’t want to be intimate with men who don’t fight for women’s rights; it’s showing they don’t respect us."

Many more are sharing their personal ties to the movement, with one cutting her hair off and refusing to contribute her money to the beauty industry "to help support misogyny and the patriarchy".  "Stop dating men, stop having sex with men, stop talking to men, divorce your husbands, leave your fucking boyfriends, leave them – they don't give a shit about you," she told her 4.2 million viewers.

However, in a conversation with Newsweek, Sarah Liu, a senior lecturer in gender and politics, fears the 4B movement will "create a further divide between women and men, leading men to be even more disgruntled, and perhaps an even more misogynist culture".

"It's also important to remember that while Trump's major supporters are men, many women, particularly white women, also voted for Trump. So the 4B movement might further this impression that men are the major force behind Trump's election, ignoring the role white women play," she told the outlet.

 

What Happened to Trump's Claims of Election Fraud?

Before election results came in, Trump was preemptively making claims of “cheating” in order to lay the groundwork for his election challenges had he lost to Vice President Kamala Harris. But miraculously, Donald Trump’s accusations of voter fraud stopped when he was declared the winner.

In two posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed there was fraud in both Philadelphia and Detroit—two heavily Democratic cities in critical swing states.  “A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia. Law Enforcement coming!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social just before 5 PM ET on Election Day, before the state’s polls had closed.  He followed up with another post, writing, “Philadelphia and Detroit! Heavy Law Enforcement is there!!!”

But now that he won, Trump is silent about voter fraud-- yet more proof that his voter-fraud claims in 2020 were deliberate lies. His claims of fraud were merely a ruse he needed to use in his sore-loser quest to explain away his loss and try to overturn it.

But his lies have had negative consequences.  Aside from helping incite an insurrection that left hundreds of law enforcement officers injured, it also helped make Republican voters distrustful of any results they don’t like.  A Civiqs poll from October found that an overwhelming majority of people who watch Fox News—a right-wing propaganda network that amplifies Trump’s lies—said they were concerned about fraud in the 2024 election.  The poll found that 95% of people who watch Fox News said they were either “somewhat” or “very” concerned about fraud.

But now, just like Trump, those Fox News viewers also appear to be miraculously unconcerned about fraud after Trump was declared the winner. It goes without saying that voter fraud shouldn’t “exist” only when your candidate loses. 

 

Beyonce - Bodyguard

What to Expect From a Criminal

Donald Trump is the first convicted felon to be president, so you really shouldn't trust what he says-- but in his victory speech, Trump vowed he would "govern by a simple motto: Promises made, promises kept. We're going to keep our promises".

While campaigning, Trump promised the biggest mass deportations of undocumented migrants in US history.

He also pledged to complete the building of a wall at the border with Mexico that was started during his first presidency.

Trump has promised an end to inflation, as well as sweeping tax cuts. He also said he would make tips tax-free, abolishing tax on social security payments and cutting corporation taxes.

He has proposed new tariffs of at least 10% on most foreign goods, with imports from China bearing an additional 60% tariff.

Trump again vowed to cut regulations, particularly as a way to help the American car industry. He has constantly attacked electric vehicles, promising to overturn Biden's targets encouraging the switch to cleaner cars.

He has pledged to increase production of fossil fuels (already the highest in the world) - vowing to open areas such as the Arctic wilderness to oil drilling, 

Trump pledged to end the Ukraine conflict "within 24 hours" through a negotiated deal. He has also pledged to end the related violence in Lebanon, but gave no details on how.

Trump said that he would not sign into law a national abortion ban.  

Trump has vowed to sack "within two seconds" of taking office prosecutor Jack Smith, who is leading two criminal investigations against him. 

During the presidential debate with Harris, Trump said that Obamacare was “lousy health care. ... If we come up with something, and we are working on things, we’re going to do it and we’re going to replace it.”  “I have concepts of a plan,” he added during a follow-up exchange.

We'll have to wait and see. 

 

 

 

 

Post Election Blues

Election Night in America

Get to It Dammit!

Trash Talk

The GOP is Making Trump's Slur Against Puerto Rico Even Worse

In the days after Donald Trump’s infamous Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden where a comedian called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” Republicans demanded people “get over” their feelings, claiming that it was just a “joke.” Trump walked around claiming he knew nothing about the comedian, as if he didn't know what was going on at his rallies-- more bullshit from habitual liar.

As a reminder, here’s what MAGA comedian Tony Hinchcliffe said to warm up the crowd of Trump faithful:  “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”   Then he kept going:  “And these Latinos, they love making babies too,” Hinchcliffe said. “Just know that. They do. They do. There’s no pulling out. They don’t do that. They come inside. Just like they did to our country.”   The “roast” comedian went on to make racist jokes about Black people, Jews, and Palestinians.

A couple of days later, President Joe Biden said that what Hinchcliffe said was garbage, but MAGA pretended he said all Trump supporters were garbage. Because they are the weirdest people in the world, they decided to walk around wearing trash bags and calling each other trash. They were still doing it the last weekend.  Ironically, Trump and the GOP's lame efforts were only calling further attention to Trump's racism.

Nilsa Vega and Neidel Pacheco of Hellertown, a borough south of Bethlehem, both said they had never voted before, but Hinchcliffe’s remarks were the reason they planned to vote for Harris on Tuesday, reported HuffPost. Pacheco saw Trump’s decision to pose in a garbage truck at a campaign stop in Wisconsin the following day as an additional insult. ‘If he didn’t have nothing to do with it, what’s he doing in the garbage truck?’ Pacheco asked.

By wearing trash bags and talking about garbage and riding around in garbage trucks, these Pennsylvania Latinos think Republicans are doubling down on the insult. And even if Latino voters don’t make that connection, Republicans who continue to talk about garbage are keeping the original story alive.  The fallout is palpable. Here is a report from CNN about Las Vegas Latinos in swing state Nevada, and even Fox News is covering Latino anger in Pennsylvania. 

But who needs anecdotal evidence when we have hard data? A blockbuster Univision/YouGov poll of Pennsylvania Latinos shows just how deeply the garbage scandal damaged the Republican campaign. Among Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania—a group particularly affected by the remarks made at the rally—71% reported that, even if intended as a joke, these comments suggest that there is racism within the Trump campaign, according to Univision.

Furthermore, 62% of respondents said they considered Trump disrespectful toward Latinos, and half said they would be more likely to vote for Harris because of the comments.  “​​While respect for the Latino community remains a priority, Pennsylvania Latino voters also indicated interest in candidates’ economic agendas,” Univision reported. “However, given a hypothetical choice between a candidate who prioritizes respect for the Latino community and another who emphasizes economic growth without explicitly condemning racism, a majority still leaned toward the candidate who demonstrated respect. This finding suggests that, for many Latino voters, cultural respect is a critical value that influences their political choices alongside economic concerns.”

 

. . . Meanwhile, Trump Closes Out the Campaign With More Whining

Former President Donald Trump and his campaign are closing out the 2024 campaign not with confidence, but with a crap ton of whining about how unfair it is that he’s not being treated as the odds-on favorite.

The bellyaching began Saturday night, when Ann Selzer—an Iowa-based pollster who has been an oracle of sorts in predicting which candidate had the momentum in the final days of the last three elections—released a shock poll finding Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa.

Trump accused Selzer of voter suppression, and said any polls showing him losing should be illegal. 

“It is called suppression. They suppress,” Trump said of the Iowa poll at one of his low-energy rallies on Sunday. “And it actually should be illegal. Because in many ways, it is worse than the written word."

Trump’s campaign also sent out a memo accusing media outlets of trying to suppress the vote by releasing polls showing Trump losing.

CNN also reported that Trump is privately complaining to his close allies about why women don't like him—apparently not understanding that women don’t like it when their freedom to make decisions about their own bodies is taken away from them.

 

Yes She Can

If You Care About the Economy, You Need to Vote for Harris

Billionaire Mark Cuban has argued this week that electing Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris would be better for the economy than another term under GOP nominee Donald Trump. Cuban was responding to Trump's ridiculous claims that he created a great economy during his administration while Harris somehow managed to ruin the economy while serving as vice president.

"You have to look at the root of inflation. I'll tell you exactly when the very first kernel of inflation was set. And that was in April of 2020,” Cuban said. “The gas prices were $1.87. The oil companies went to Donald Trump and said, ‘We are getting crushed with gas prices at $1.87. Please go to Saudi Arabia and your friend MBS [Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud], please go to Russia and your friend Vladimir Putin and ask them to reduce production.’”

“So he had a choice to make: Does he help his oil company cronies or does he help keep gas prices low?” Cuban continued. “You already know what he did. He went to support his oil company cronies, went to MBS and Putin and said, please reduce production. That was the day inflation started. And you can track—minute by minute, hour by hour, month by month, year by year, quarter by quarter,” Cuban explained, saying that the gas prices and inflation rates only began going down when that deal ended in 2022.  “So you can take all you want and blame it on the Biden administration. But it started with Donald Trump."

In April 2020, Trump, did in fact, publicly called on Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut back on their oil production because it was hurting the U.S. oil industry, which represents some of his biggest donors. Later that month, Reuters reported that Trump threatened to cut military support to Saudi Arabia if it didn't reduce production and help out his oil tycoon friends.  Since June 2022, gas prices have dropped from national averages of above $5 per gallon to just over $3. Naturally, this hasn’t stopped Trump from lying and complaining about the economy under President Joe Biden. 

The reality is that the Biden-Harris administration has been able to clean up a lot of the Trump administration’s swampy mess, and while Harris continues to offer up policy ideas to further ease the financial burdens Americans face, Trump has only offered up poorly conceived tariff plans that most economists—and even Trump’s richest backer—say would be ruinous for anyone not making millions of dollars.

This week, the editors of the Economist endorsed Kamala Harris, saying that a second Trump would come with unacceptable risks.  Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics, has said that he believes the U.S. economy will perform better and working Americans will fare better if Vice President Harris wins the presidency.

The fact is that the U.S. economy has grown the fastest among major industrial nations since the pandemic began. Our economy has grown twice as fast as Canada’s, three times as fast as France’s and Japan’s, and four times as fast as Britain’s. Under Biden, the average unemployment rate has been lower than under any president since Lyndon Johnson. 

Many economists have warned that Trump's plan to impose tariffs or taxes on all imported goods will send inflation soaring and ignite a dangerous trade war that could cause a recession and throw millions out of work. Economists also warn that Trump’s plans, including his plan to slash taxes on the wealthy and corporations, not only will increase the federal debt by a colossal $7.8tn, but could bankrupt the social security system and lead to a 33% across-the-board cut in social security benefits.

 

Mary J. Blige - You Ain't the Only One

Happy Halloween!

GOP is Playing With Healthcare Fire

Republicans have finally revealed their health care plan: repeal the Affordable Care Act. A new video has surfaced of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson saying that Donald Trump, if elected, will kill the Affordable Care Act in the first 100 days, potentially throwing 22 million Americans off their insurance. 

“Health care reform’s going to be a big part of the agenda. When I say we’re going to have a very aggressive first 100 days agenda, we got a lot of things still on the table,” Johnson said during a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Monday, while a life-sized Trump cardboard cutout loomed behind him. The video was first obtained by NBC News.

“No Obamacare,” Johnson continued. “The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that.”  Johnson waxed poetic about the virtues of the “free market” and “taking bureaucrats out of the health care equation.”  However, the ACA remains overwhelmingly popular, with an April survey from KFF finding that 62% of Americans have a favorable view of the law.  How fast do you think Harris can get this into a TV ad?

China Cracking Down on Halloween in Shanghai

A heavy police response has stifled Halloween celebrations in Shanghai, in what many have viewed as an attempt by authorities to crack down on freedom of expression.  Witnesses have said they saw police dispersing crowds of costumed revellers on the streets of Shanghai, while photos of apparent arrests have spread on social media.

While there has been no official notice prohibiting Halloween celebrations, rumors of a possible crackdown began circulating online earlier this month.  Earlier this month, some business owners who run coffeeshops, bookshops and bars in Shanghai received government notices discouraging Halloween events.  It comes a year after Halloween revellers in Shanghai went viral for donning costumes poking fun at the Chinese government and its policies. Pictures from last year's Halloween event showed people dressing up as a giant surveillance camera, Covid testers, and a censored Weibo post.

This year, footage posted to social media showed people dressed in seemingly uncontroversial costumes, including those of comic book characters such as Batman and Deadpool, being escorted into the back of police vans. Some party-goers said online they were forced to remove make-up.  But it remains unclear what types of costumes police were targeting, as many other revellers were left alone.

Over the weekend, police were seen dispersing revellers from the city's Zhongshan Park.  A Shanghai resident said the number of police officers taking down the details of people dressed in costumes appeared to exceed the number of revellers themselves.  "Shanghai is not supposed to be like this," the person said. "It has always been very tolerant."