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Ponietz
Ponietz's Journal
Ponietz's Journal
November 11, 2020
Tomorrow's NY Times banner headline: Election Officials Nationwide Find No Fraud
[link:https://twitter.com/cliffordlevy/status/1326375877349941249
November 11, 2020
The new Undersecretary of Defense of the United States -- Anthony J. Tata
[link:https://twitter.com/donmoyn/status/1326298310324400136
Replying to John Brennan: Might be a good time to pick your poison: firing squad, public hanging, life sentence as prison b*tch, or just suck on your pistol. Your call. #Treason #Sedition #crossfirehurricane #Obamagate
November 10, 2020
If you were gripped by a particularly naive hopefulness, you might have thought that President Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election would produce a brief moment of honesty and responsibility from the Republican Party. “We lost, and it hurts,” they might have said. “But let’s handle it like adults and show that we’re committed to democracy.”
But no. As the Trump presidency comes to a close, members of the party that has shown itself so incapable and unworthy of governing have one last card to play: They will do everything in their power to poison the American political system for years to come.
They’re doing so by spreading false claims about voter fraud, to convince their own base that the election is right now being stolen from Trump, its rightful winner. This is critical to understand: Republicans know that the majority of Americans are not persuaded by the lies and conspiracy theories they’re tossing around, nor are the courts that one after another are rejecting their preposterous lawsuits.
The target is Republican voters, and the goal is to light a fire of rage that they hope will burn for as long as Joe Biden is president.
And with just a few exceptions, the entire Republican Party and conservative media world are enthusiastically participating in the scam:
—Prominent Republicans in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), and Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) have insinuated or stated outright that “illegal votes” are being counted across the country. “If Republicans don’t challenge and change the U.S. election system, there will never be another Republican president elected again,” said Graham.
—In a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy, Attorney General William P. Barr told prosecutors that they could pursue allegations of “vote tabulation irregularities” while the counting is being completed, a move so blatantly partisan that the official in charge of the Justice Department’s Election Crimes Branch resigned in protest.
—Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has instructed state party leaders and activists to echo Trump’s false claims of voter fraud.
—It has now become standard practice for any Republican who lost their election, no matter how badly, to claim it was because of fraud.
—Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both headed for runoff elections in January, released a joint statement saying the Republican secretary of state has “failed to deliver honest and transparent elections” and demanding he resign. They provided precisely zero specifics or evidence for their claim; the fact that they didn’t win outright was apparently proof enough of fraud.
—Republican attorneys general from 10 states asked the Supreme Court to intervene in Pennsylvania to restrict the number of ballots being counted there.
—Pro-Trump conservative media has relentlessly promoted bogus stories of fraud. Rush Limbaugh flatly stated the new operating principle: “There’s simply no way Joe Biden was legitimately elected president.”
—For hours every night, Fox News viewers are fed the line that the election is being stolen, a claim repeated on lesser outlets such as Breitbart and One America News. As Lou Dobbs declared: “Many are trying to steal this election from President Trump. There is no doubt about it.”
Facebook is awash in right-wing misinformation and lies about voter fraud, which the platform’s algorithm is pushing in front of untold numbers of people.
—A new poll shows 70 percent of Republicans now believe that the election was not free and fair.
There is a benign — but utterly mistaken — way to think about what Republicans are doing right now on Trump’s behalf.
“What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time? No one seriously thinks the results will change,” one Republican official told The Post. Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) told CNN that GOP senators are privately saying: “They call me to say, ‘Congratulations, please convey my well wishes to the president-elect, but I can’t say that publicly yet.’”
But this is not merely a temporary bit of playacting to soothe the tender feelings of the toddler in the Oval Office. It will be at the heart of Republican strategy for the next four years.
Just as Republicans used the racist “birther” lie to tell themselves that Barack Obama was not a legitimate president, they will use the lie of a stolen election to say the same about Biden. Conspiracy theories, the belief that liberals cannot legitimately win or govern, and an utter lack of commitment to any democratic principle are not merely features of contemporary conservatism, they are becoming its very essence.
It is not enough for the GOP’s base to be disappointed in the results of the election and determined to do better next time. They must be enraged. For the conservative media, creating and feeding anger is a business model that goes back decades. For Republicans in Congress, one of the key functions the stolen election lie will serve is to rationalize their own misdeeds.
Because if Biden is an illegitimate usurper, then any methods are justified to oppose and hinder him, no matter how morally abhorrent or damaging to the country.
It is almost impossible to overstate how toxic this all is. Republicans are trying to destroy any commitment their voters have to the American system of government. They’re working to convince voters that any election that does not produce a Republican win, not just in 2020 but in the future, is inherently fraudulent and need not be acknowledged or respected.
This is not coming from the fringe, or a few intemperate voices, or just a corrupt president on his way out. It is the project of the entire Republican Party and conservative movement. And it is nothing short of an attack on democracy itself.
Republicans have declared war on democracy itself
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/10/republicans-have-declared-war-democracy-itself/If you were gripped by a particularly naive hopefulness, you might have thought that President Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election would produce a brief moment of honesty and responsibility from the Republican Party. “We lost, and it hurts,” they might have said. “But let’s handle it like adults and show that we’re committed to democracy.”
But no. As the Trump presidency comes to a close, members of the party that has shown itself so incapable and unworthy of governing have one last card to play: They will do everything in their power to poison the American political system for years to come.
They’re doing so by spreading false claims about voter fraud, to convince their own base that the election is right now being stolen from Trump, its rightful winner. This is critical to understand: Republicans know that the majority of Americans are not persuaded by the lies and conspiracy theories they’re tossing around, nor are the courts that one after another are rejecting their preposterous lawsuits.
The target is Republican voters, and the goal is to light a fire of rage that they hope will burn for as long as Joe Biden is president.
And with just a few exceptions, the entire Republican Party and conservative media world are enthusiastically participating in the scam:
—Prominent Republicans in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), and Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) have insinuated or stated outright that “illegal votes” are being counted across the country. “If Republicans don’t challenge and change the U.S. election system, there will never be another Republican president elected again,” said Graham.
—In a reversal of long-standing Justice Department policy, Attorney General William P. Barr told prosecutors that they could pursue allegations of “vote tabulation irregularities” while the counting is being completed, a move so blatantly partisan that the official in charge of the Justice Department’s Election Crimes Branch resigned in protest.
—Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel has instructed state party leaders and activists to echo Trump’s false claims of voter fraud.
—It has now become standard practice for any Republican who lost their election, no matter how badly, to claim it was because of fraud.
—Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both headed for runoff elections in January, released a joint statement saying the Republican secretary of state has “failed to deliver honest and transparent elections” and demanding he resign. They provided precisely zero specifics or evidence for their claim; the fact that they didn’t win outright was apparently proof enough of fraud.
—Republican attorneys general from 10 states asked the Supreme Court to intervene in Pennsylvania to restrict the number of ballots being counted there.
—Pro-Trump conservative media has relentlessly promoted bogus stories of fraud. Rush Limbaugh flatly stated the new operating principle: “There’s simply no way Joe Biden was legitimately elected president.”
—For hours every night, Fox News viewers are fed the line that the election is being stolen, a claim repeated on lesser outlets such as Breitbart and One America News. As Lou Dobbs declared: “Many are trying to steal this election from President Trump. There is no doubt about it.”
Facebook is awash in right-wing misinformation and lies about voter fraud, which the platform’s algorithm is pushing in front of untold numbers of people.
—A new poll shows 70 percent of Republicans now believe that the election was not free and fair.
There is a benign — but utterly mistaken — way to think about what Republicans are doing right now on Trump’s behalf.
“What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time? No one seriously thinks the results will change,” one Republican official told The Post. Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) told CNN that GOP senators are privately saying: “They call me to say, ‘Congratulations, please convey my well wishes to the president-elect, but I can’t say that publicly yet.’”
But this is not merely a temporary bit of playacting to soothe the tender feelings of the toddler in the Oval Office. It will be at the heart of Republican strategy for the next four years.
Just as Republicans used the racist “birther” lie to tell themselves that Barack Obama was not a legitimate president, they will use the lie of a stolen election to say the same about Biden. Conspiracy theories, the belief that liberals cannot legitimately win or govern, and an utter lack of commitment to any democratic principle are not merely features of contemporary conservatism, they are becoming its very essence.
It is not enough for the GOP’s base to be disappointed in the results of the election and determined to do better next time. They must be enraged. For the conservative media, creating and feeding anger is a business model that goes back decades. For Republicans in Congress, one of the key functions the stolen election lie will serve is to rationalize their own misdeeds.
Because if Biden is an illegitimate usurper, then any methods are justified to oppose and hinder him, no matter how morally abhorrent or damaging to the country.
It is almost impossible to overstate how toxic this all is. Republicans are trying to destroy any commitment their voters have to the American system of government. They’re working to convince voters that any election that does not produce a Republican win, not just in 2020 but in the future, is inherently fraudulent and need not be acknowledged or respected.
This is not coming from the fringe, or a few intemperate voices, or just a corrupt president on his way out. It is the project of the entire Republican Party and conservative movement. And it is nothing short of an attack on democracy itself.
November 4, 2020
Is there one honorable US attorney left?
USPS data shows thousands of mailed ballots missed Election Day deadlines
Source: Washington Post
Nearly 7 percent of ballots in U.S. Postal Service sorting facilities on Tuesday were not processed on time for submission to election officials, according to data the agency filed Wednesday in federal court, potentially leaving hundreds of thousands of ballots caught in the mail system during an especially tight presidential race.
The Postal Service reported the timely processing — which includes most mail-handling steps outside of pickup and delivery — of 93.3 percent of ballots on Election Day, its best processing score in several days, but still well below the 97-percent target that postal and voting experts say the agency should hit.
The Postal Service processed 115,630 ballots on Tuesday, a volume much lower than in recent days after weeks of warnings about chronic mail delays. Of that number, close to 8,000 ballots were not processed on time, a small proportion but one that could factor heavily in states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, which do not accept ballots after Election Day and could be decided by a few thousand votes.
Earlier Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the District of Columbia had ordered the Postal Service to sweep 12 postal processing facilities that cover 15 states for ballots. But the agency rebuffed that order and said it would stick to its own inspection schedule, which voting rights advocates worried was too late in the day for found ballots to make it to vote counters.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/11/03/election-ballot-delays-usps/
Is there one honorable US attorney left?
October 30, 2020
When I had nothing I wanted
Quando não tinha nada eu quis
When everything was absence I waited
Quando tudo era ausência esperei
When I was cold I shivered
Quando tive frio tremi
When I had courage I called
Quando tive coragem liguei
When letter arrived I opened
Quando chegou carta abri
When I heard Prince I danced
Quando ouvi Prince dancei
When the eye shone, I understood
Quando o olho brilhou, entendi
When I created wings, I flew
Quando criei asas, voei
When you called me I came
Quando me chamou eu vim
When I realized I was here
Quando dei por mim tava aqui
When I found you, I got lost
Quando lhe achei, me perdi
When I saw you, I fell in love
Quando vi você, me apaixonei
When I had nothing I wanted
Quando não tinha nada eu quis
When everything was absence I waited
Quando tudo era ausência esperei
When I was cold I shivered
Quando tive frio tremi
When I had courage I called
Quando tive coragem liguei
When letter arrived I opened
Quando chegou carta abri
When I heard Salif Keita I danced
Quando ouvi Salif Keita dancei
When the eye shone, I understood
Quando o olho brilhou, entendi
When I created wings, I flew
Quando criei asas, voei
When you called me I came
Quando me chamou eu vim
When I realized I was here
Quando dei por mim tava aqui
When I found you, I got lost
Quando lhe achei, me perdi
When I saw you, I fell in love
Quando vi você, me apaixonei
Daniela Mercury/A Primera Vista
When I had nothing I wanted
Quando não tinha nada eu quis
When everything was absence I waited
Quando tudo era ausência esperei
When I was cold I shivered
Quando tive frio tremi
When I had courage I called
Quando tive coragem liguei
When letter arrived I opened
Quando chegou carta abri
When I heard Prince I danced
Quando ouvi Prince dancei
When the eye shone, I understood
Quando o olho brilhou, entendi
When I created wings, I flew
Quando criei asas, voei
When you called me I came
Quando me chamou eu vim
When I realized I was here
Quando dei por mim tava aqui
When I found you, I got lost
Quando lhe achei, me perdi
When I saw you, I fell in love
Quando vi você, me apaixonei
When I had nothing I wanted
Quando não tinha nada eu quis
When everything was absence I waited
Quando tudo era ausência esperei
When I was cold I shivered
Quando tive frio tremi
When I had courage I called
Quando tive coragem liguei
When letter arrived I opened
Quando chegou carta abri
When I heard Salif Keita I danced
Quando ouvi Salif Keita dancei
When the eye shone, I understood
Quando o olho brilhou, entendi
When I created wings, I flew
Quando criei asas, voei
When you called me I came
Quando me chamou eu vim
When I realized I was here
Quando dei por mim tava aqui
When I found you, I got lost
Quando lhe achei, me perdi
When I saw you, I fell in love
Quando vi você, me apaixonei
October 29, 2020
GA: Ossoff brings the hammer to Perdue
https://twitter.com/thepubliususa/status/1321642895888273408?s=21
October 28, 2020
The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is using her Facebook page to amplify unsubstantiated claims of corruption by Joe Biden.
...
Last week, she reposted a video that features Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the headline, “The Biden Crime Family: How They Made Millions.”
Again asking people to share the link, Thomas wrote, “The mainstream media does not want people to know the facts of what this video reveal.”
On Oct. 14, she pointed followers to an attack on philanthropist George Soros. “Who is really running the Democrat Party? The Soros family,” the shared link says, featuring photos of Soros relations with Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.
...
Justice Thomas' wife boosts unsupported claims against Biden
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-clarence-thomas-media-amy-coney-barrett-social-media-d7df89f52e02c13ec0d2784a54cdc7f3The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is using her Facebook page to amplify unsubstantiated claims of corruption by Joe Biden.
...
Last week, she reposted a video that features Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and the headline, “The Biden Crime Family: How They Made Millions.”
Again asking people to share the link, Thomas wrote, “The mainstream media does not want people to know the facts of what this video reveal.”
On Oct. 14, she pointed followers to an attack on philanthropist George Soros. “Who is really running the Democrat Party? The Soros family,” the shared link says, featuring photos of Soros relations with Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.
...
?1603471238
October 21, 2020
I live southwest of this fire. For the past 2 years, about 1x week, C-130 planes have flown low over my village. I conjectured it was military pilot training for mountainous conditions but have been unable to learn anything else about it. This looks like the early stages of denial/cover-up.
Multiple reports of a low-flying plane, a flash and then the Luna fire
https://www.taosnews.com/public-safety/luna-fire-chacon-taos-plane/article_52a83ac0-127e-11eb-bbfa-475137ee9728.htmlAndrew Sandoval, who lives in Luna Canyon, thinks he knows what started the now 9,000 acre Luna fire. The fire was first reported Saturday evening (Oct. 18) burning just a couple of miles from Chacon, New Mexico. Two days later, the fire remains zero percent contained, burning through hard to reach terrain, pushed by dry, hot and breezy conditions.
Sandoval was born and raised in the area and says he knows the deep canyons, ridges, forests and streams well. He grew up hunting and fishing them.
On Saturday evening (Oct. 18), at dusk around 7 p.m., Sandoval heard the drone of a big plane flying low up the canyon. “It wasn’t a Cessna, that’s for sure,” said Sandoval, who retired from New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
The plane had its lights on for night and was going slow. “I thought what in the world is going on,” he said. It wasn’t the first time he had seen a big plane flying up that way. About a year ago, he saw another one, flying the same route, he estimates only 300 feet off the ground.
I live southwest of this fire. For the past 2 years, about 1x week, C-130 planes have flown low over my village. I conjectured it was military pilot training for mountainous conditions but have been unable to learn anything else about it. This looks like the early stages of denial/cover-up.
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: NM
Current location: Taos
Member since: Thu Jun 28, 2018, 06:04 PM
Number of posts: 3,322