Wednesday Overnight Open Thread - November 13 2024 [TRex]
—Open Blogger
While wandering around AoS HQ this evening, I found a set of keys. The attached keychain has a tag with three letters - ONT. You know what that means, kids? Yep. Fire up the hot rod and take it for a spin. Hooray!
Welcome to the Wednesday ONT. This the Hammer of Justice edition.
Top photo: oak trees with Spanish Moss at Wormsloe State Historic Site near Savannah, Georgia.
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'Sup Cafe
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Yesterday I posted this clip of a man cucking a bull. @TRMirCat tells me this is course landaise, a non-violent form of bullfighting in which the bull "fighters" dodge and jump over the bull. Who are actually cows with horns. I don't know if the cows understand this is supposed to be non-violent.
Pranking a lion by giving him... lettuce.
Democrats in Nepal: There is no rhino problem, you bigots are imagining things!
Foxes are cute. But they are loud and whiny.
A dolphin that looks like a teeny orca. I don't think he's fooling anybody.
Strange bird. It's called a willow ptarmigan.
Steve Inman:
Chas faked the throw with the wrong dog!
This is why camels have bad reputations.
Never step behind a horse. That goes double for bulls.
Buffalo shows agility and speed no one could have anticipated.
Classic: Man vs. Kangaroo that's wrestling his dog.
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"Power Lesbian" Chops Father Up With an Ax In Election Night Meltdown
—Disinformation Expert Ace
A nation of violent, hyperemotional, mentally fragile lunatics who've been so gaslit by the media they can no longer tell reality from hallucination.
A Blue Origin employee married to a prominent trans author has been accused of killing her elderly father with an ice axe on Election Night.Corey Burke, 33, allegedly struck, stabbed and strangled her father, 67-year-old Timothy Burke, in a fatal attack at her $800,000 Seattle home on November 5.
Burke, a training manager at Jeff Bezos' rockets and spacecraft company, confessed to killing her father after he refused to turn off the lights, according to charging documents seen by DailyMail.com.
After emerging from the house with blood 'dripping' down her face, she confessed to police that she 'freaked out,' claiming there was 'something important about Election Day.'
Burke reportedly told detectives that 'she knew that she could not convince her father to keep the lights off', so went upstairs and retrieved the murder weapon.
She then tripped her father and strangled him before attacking him with the ice axe.
Burke then bit him and hit him several times in the head and side with the blunt and sharp ends of the ice axe, cops say. His body was found in the basement.
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Biden Meets With Literal Hitler; Exchanges Smiles and Pleasantries With Literal New Fuhrer
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Even stupid, idiot, uneducated leftists are putting it togehter: Wait, you told us he was Hitler. Literally Hitler. So either you are a bunch of craven quislings who are eager to fete Hitler, or... you lied, gaslit, and drove us crazy for eight years just to cling on to filthy political power.
Biden called Trump "President-elect" and welcomed him back to the White House. All with a smile on his face:BIDEN: "Well, Mr. President-Elect and former President Donald, congratulations."
TRUMP: "Thank you very much."
BIDEN: "And looking forward to having a, like we said, smooth transition. We'll do everything we can to make sure you're accommodated, what you need. We're going to get a chance to talk about some of that today."
TRUMP: "Good."
BIDEN: "Welcome."
TRUMP: "Thank you very much."
They met for two hours -- longer than scheduled.
I approve of Trump going there. Not to pay respects to Biden, but to get the concession he never got from Hillary Clinton. He needs the left and the establishment (but I repeat myself) to understand and acknowledge that he has beaten them fair and square, and if they #Resist the democratically-elected, majority-vote president, then they are #Insurrectionists and will be treated with all the mercy that Biden treated the J6 "insurrectionists."
Speaking of: Good point from Legal Insurrection.
There's going to be a lot of talk about Trump needing to "extend the olive branch." NO.If he had lost, he would have been jailed. And for his support of Trump, Elon likely would have been bankrupted and jailed.
Those who launched the lawfare must be held accountable.
He doesn't need to persecute random Democrats. He does need to ensure that his DOJ investigates Fani Willis, Nathan Wade, Alvin Bragg, Letitia James, Jack Smith, and Merrick Garland.
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Trump Announces Director of National Intelligence Pick: Tulsi Gabbard
—Disinformation Expert Ace
I'm not sure I love this pick on qualification or policy grounds, but is in keeping with Trump's Party of Unity campaign closing message. I will be open to it.
He also picked Maro Rubo for Secretary of State.
Tulsi is too much of a peacenik absolutist to me, and Rubo seems like a true believing neocon who's only slightly moderated his views.
But I don't think that's a bad thing. Trump may be trying to put together a Lincolnian "team of rivals," with people of very diverse views, to get a balance of opinion and advice.
It's interesting, at least, if that's what he's doing.
Update: but does maro rubo have the heart -- or the heartlessness -- to purge the State Department? Can he take the fire? Or does he want to be adored?
I suspect the latter.
Supposedly -- supposedly -- he's going to pick... Matt Gaetz for AG. Matt Gaetz. Are you kidding me?
That's #based.
He also will supposedly appoint Kash Patel -- who blew up the Russiagate hoax by revealing all of its lie -- to head the FBI, according to Steve Bannon.
Wow, those last two are going to drive the left crazy. If those are real.
Someone I trust believes that Kash Patel himself is putting out these "leaks" that Trump is picking him to head the CIA or FBI. Trying to get some "heat" going for him.
But someone Trump definitely did name:
Pete Hegseth as his Secretary of Defense pick:
I am honored to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my Cabinet as The Secretary of Defense. Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America's enemies are on notice - Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down. Pete is a graduate of Princeton University, and has a Graduate Degree from Harvard University. He is an Army Combat Veteran who did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan. For his actions on the battlefield, he was decorated with two Bronze Stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman's Badge. Pete has been a host at FOX News for eight years, where he used that platform to fight for our Military and Veterans. Pete's recent book, "The War on Warriors," spent nine weeks on the New York Times best-sellers list, including two weeks at NUMBER ONE. The book reveals the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence. Pete has also led two Veterans Advocacy organizations, leading the fight for our Warriors, and our great Veterans. Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our "Peace through Strength" policy.
Hegseth has declared that the military must be reformed, and "woke sh*t has got to go."
The left is attacking this choice claiming he's just a "morning show host." Um, no, he's a combat veteran who reached the high rank of Major and won two bronze stars.
People are questioning if he has the management skills to run the DOD but... doesn't a major have thousands of soldiers under him? Update: EFG says no, a major doesn't necessarily have command experience over more than a platoon.
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Kamala Harris Paid Al Sharpton's Grifter Organization $500,000 Before Appearing With Him for an "Interview"
—Disinformation Expert Ace
The Harris-Walz campaign contributed $500,000 to Al Sharpton's National Action Network before Harris's October interview with the civil rights leader on MSNBC. The funds were part of a larger campaign push to rally minority voters as Harris faced declining support.Key Details:
Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign made two $250,000 donations to Sharpton's National Action Network on September 5 and October 1, per FEC records.
The donation was part of a $5.4 million campaign allocation to Black and Latino activist groups.Sharpton conducted a favorable interview with Harris on his "PoliticsNation" show on October 20, lauding her as a trailblazing leader and glossing over criticisms of her policies.
Diving Deeper:
The Harris-Walz campaign donated $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network (NAN) shortly before an October interview on MSNBC, where Sharpton offered high praise and avoided critical questions about Harris's record. FEC filings reveal that the campaign issued two separate $250,000 donations to Sharpton's nonprofit on September 5 and October 1, following substantial campaign spending directed at minority groups as Harris worked to curb slipping support.
...
The Harris-Walz campaign, which raised approximately $1 billion and spent $880 million as of October, has come under intense examination for its spending patterns, especially in light of Harris's heavy losses in all seven battleground states. The Washington Examiner recently reported additional campaign spending on high-profile media engagements, such as a $1 million payout to Oprah Winfrey's production company, Harpo Productions, and six figures toward setting up an appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast. Campaign finance records reveal that Harris ended her campaign with a $20 million deficit despite amassing substantial resources, raising questions about financial strategy and effectiveness.Sharpton's National Action Network, which hosted Harris's October interview, is among the largest recipients of Harris's minority outreach funding. These contributions spotlight a pattern of strategic, high-dollar campaign donations aimed at bolstering support from influential activist organizations, even as the vice president's political base shows signs of weakening.
Lindy Li is a now-former DNC Finance Committee official. She raised millions, promising billionaires that they were guaranteed to win, because that's what the Harris campaign guaranteed her.
Now she says the billionaires are calling her up asking why she lied to them. She comes close to alleging fraud against the Harris campaign. She says that Harris campaign and the Democrats have to account for their campaign spending and their promises if they want people to donate to them in the future.
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Establishment Protegee of Mitch McConnell and Confirmed NeverTrumper John Thune Wins Senate Leadership Vote
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Thune only has a majority because of Trump's agenda and Trump's voters.
But he will now execute McConnell's agenda of thwarting Trump's agenda and Trump's voters at every turn.
Usually he will do so as McConnell did -- sneakily. He will claim to support Trump's agenda publicly and then arrange tactical "losses."
He has a coward's heart.
Sen. John Thune will replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as Republican Senate Majority Leader after a close contest Wednesday that took two ballots to resolve.Thune, McConnell's top deputy and an establishment favorite, must guide a conference hungry for changes after McConnell's iron grip. He's also tasked for guiding President Donald Trump's agenda through the Senate, advancing his nominees swiftly and moving Trump's aggressive legislative agenda.
Thune received 23 votes on the first ballot -- four short of locking up a victory. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) received 15, and Sen. Rick Scott 13.
On the second ballot, Thune secured a victory over Cornyn 29 to 24.
Republicans convened Tuesday night for a leadership forum organized by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) as they grappled with who best to lead them through the Trump administration and beyond.
Those discussions centered on how to return more autonomy to individual senators as well as effectively advance a conservative agenda after McConnell often partnered with Democrats to advance legislation, most notably spending bills, disfavored by conservatives.
Newt Gingrich talked about whether Trump would publicly champion Scott on 2Way (Mark Halperin's podcast).
Would Trump intervene? he asked. Only if Trump believed his intervention would result in a win for Scott. He wouldn't intervene in a losing cause. Senators are bitchy and vengeful and if you thwart them, they will sabotage you. (Of course, Thune and Cornyn and the rest of the gang of liberals already plan on sabotaging Trump.) So intervening only makes sense if it will result in a win.
Remember John McCain and his traitorous vote on ObamaCare?, Gingrinch asked.
I guess the Liberal Establishment Caucus is just too big. We need to do something about that huh?
Gingrich said that when you plan to take on members of your party, you have to consider the costs of winning, how much you're "bruising" the people you run over.
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Semafor: The Marxist Propaganda Media Is Grapping With Its Own Impotence and Irrelevance
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Semafor reports that the media is struggling with the final proof of their impotence. They can no longer rig an election -- they're too small, too niche, and too despised -- and it's killing them.
Trump's victory isn't a result of a failure by news outlets to sufficiently hold him accountable. The real answer is one that is a lot more uncomfortable to grapple with: The national news media is more limited in its reach and influence than ever in the modern era.For the third presidential contest in a row, the legacy news media -- represented by newspapers, television networks, magazines, and cable news networks -- spent months publishing and airing neutral to overwhelmingly negative news coverage of the former president. And for the second of those three instances, a majority of American voters largely ignored the implicit and explicit warnings of that coverage -- if they saw it at all -- and voted Trump into office.
Critical political media coverage simply did not resonate with a large swath of the electorate. Many voters showing up at the polls either did not agree with much of the legacy media's suggested or overt assessment of Trump's conduct or the various norm-shattering elements of his campaign, didn't see it, or didn't care. Local newspapers have continued to die off, leaving much of the country without a trusted local news source. Cord-cutting has decimated cable news viewership and taken a bite out of broadcast television viewership. Most of the people still watching are moderately to extremely old. With the exception of the Times, most other major national news organizations have seen shrinking audiences and have fewer resources than ever.
None of this is a surprise to many of the leaders of the country's most prestigious and rigorous news organizations. In a telephone call with me earlier this week, New Yorker Editor-in-Chief David Remnick said he didn't think "editors of a whole range of publications had the illusion that they were speaking to a majority of the electorate or the population."
...
It isn't just a problem of reach or distribution. To some media executives, it's a sign that the quality of news offered to Americans is not satisfying them, a view that Axios founder Jim VandeHei described as "gut-check time for traditional media."
"The verdict is not debatable: Half the country thinks traditional media is biased and often useless," he said. "They feel reporters treat Republicans like a crime beat and Democrats like friends in need. I don't think this is usually the case, but it happens enough to give critics pause."
Are you kidding me? It only happens on occasion?
Jessica Lessin, founder of The Information, similarly urged journalists to remain vigilant about their tone, arguing that while Trump is a unique challenge to cover, it isn't the media's job to serve as the political resistance to him."Trust in journalism is plummeting; it's lower than it was even four years ago," she wrote this week.
"That calls for caution. That's not weakness or shying away from asking tough questions -- but we must remember it's not our job to tell our readers what to think," she said. "Our job is to reveal new and important facts -- especially facts that powerful people want hidden."
Semafor can't help but piling on the cope -- it's all the fault of YouTubers who don't "fact-check" themselves like the famously truthful propaganda media do.
Oh, and the media is only ailing because it alone is brave enough to do "confrontational" interviews.
Oh? They confronted Biden about his cognitive decline, did they? They confronted Kamala about her sudden fake-out policy shifts, huh?
Nontraditional media has a few advantages over more traditional outlets. Popular podcasts and YouTube shows rely on the news media for information that informs their segments, but they do not employ journalists and are not held to the same standards of accuracy and accountability. News media outlets are often boxed in by rigorous fact-checking; comedy YouTubers can say whatever they want with little consequence.
And of course it's Elon Musk's fault:
A willingness to do confrontational journalism has also made the mainstream media the enemy of powerful political and business interests. Part of the distrust in traditional news media stems from those same interests trying to discredit it, Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg noted in an interview. Musk's stewardship of X and forceful denunciations of the news media is a particularly illustrative example.
They "have a vested interest first in neutralizing and then demonizing the journalists and the journalistic institutions that are investigating their behavior," he said. "It's a deliberate campaign to marginalize, and even demonize, because they fear the outcome of our investigations and our scrutiny."
We fear you less and less, Porky.
How do you hurt a status-obsessed cadre of ideologues? Take away their status and rubbish their ideology.
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Wednesday Morning Rant
—Joe Mannix
When Barack Obama delivered the White House to the most radical faction of the Democrat Party and then his people took over the major institutions, many assumed that he had remade the Party, cemented it firmly and installed it permanently. The first is true, the jury is out on the third and the second is increasingly in doubt. He remade the Party, certainly, and remade it in his own image (or his shot-callers' images - the difference is perhaps irrelevant). The pre-2008 Democrat Party no longer exists, and hasn't for some time.
But that remaking - despite how deeply its product has infested the entire administrative state, the corporate world and the media complex - may be its undoing. Obama's Party takeover on the back of identity politics of all kinds is a hard thing to keep together, and its fractures have been showing for a while now. Outside of the strongholds, the Party is finding itself to be a tough sell. Obama remade the Party, but that remaking was not portable. Without Obama at the top, it doesn't have the juice. None of his successors could do it.
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Mid-Morning Art Thread
—CBD
Portrait of a Woman with a Lapdog
Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano)
The Morning Report (11/13/24) Substitute Edition
—Misanthropic Humanitarian
Good morning Morons. J.J. asked me to fill in him for him the remainder of the week as his computer remains held hostage. He didn't say that I couldn't have a Mystery Click or a video below the fold.
So you will get those along with the following.............
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Daily Tech News 13 November 2024
—Pixy Misa
Top Story- 23andMe is laying off 40% of its employees and cancelling all its research work. (BBC)
The company has been on a downward spiral since it was hacked and information for nearly seven million users stolen. This did not include genetic data, but did include family trees and other personal information.
- AMD meanwhile laid off 4% of its employees. (WCCFTech)
AMD is doing well overall but specific business units are lagging.
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Cuck the Bull Cafe
—Disinformation Expert Ace
This husky has some opinions about being brought to the vet and would like to be heard.
Flamingo couple feeding their birdling. Don't worry, that's not blood. The male (I assume) is crushing a berry.
Woman loves the blacksnake, if you know what I mean.
Woman can't get enough of the black lizard, if you catch my drift.
Dog playing fetch with himself.
Seagull doesn't like tourists playing the fool on his beach.
Little kid teaches a duckling how to play on the slide.
Steve Inman:
Street justice for car thieves.
Who wants to Ride the Lightning?
Shopkeepers say no to a thief.
Community policing, judging, and jurying.
Content warning: Don't get out of your car in the middle of the road to threaten another driver.
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Clooney Complains of Being Made a "Scapegoat" for Kamala's Loss; Will "Step Back from Politics"
CNN to Axe HUNDREDS of "Workers," Including Top "Talent"
—Disinformation Expert Ace
CNN is planning to wield the axe on some of its high-paid staff after dismal election ratings that cap off a disastrous period for the cable news network.According to an explosive new report from Puck, network executives will unleash sweeping lay-offs in a bid to save the network's flailing reputation.
It comes after the departure of stalwart Chris Wallace, and amid reports senior stars like Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper have both been denied raises.
Don't get too excited; Jake resigned a three-year contract at his absurd current $7 mil per year salary.
There is no mention of who may be on the chopping block.The highest paid stars include Anderson Cooper - who rakes in $20million a year - Erin Burnett ($6million) and rising star Kaitlan Collins ($3million).
'In the next few months, I'm told, CNN will implement another round of layoffs that will impact hundreds of employees across the organization,' reporter Dylan Byers wrote Friday, referencing CNN's recent 100-person layoff seen over the summer....
Byers wrote: 'Redundant assignments will be nixed, and various divisions will be reduced or even eliminated.
'Some of the on-air talent are also likely to be affected,' he went on to reveal.
George Clooney is sad that people are blaming him for deposing Biden. He wants to go back to being a hero.
George Clooney feels he is being used as a 'scapegoat' in the furious blame game over who could have cost Kamala Harris the election -- and will now take a step back from politics.The Hollywood star, 63, threw his support behind Harris after penning a blistering op-ed on why Joe Biden would cost the Democrats the win if he didn't abandon his campaign, but it still wasn't enough to prevent an historic victory for Donald Trump.
Clooney has since been criticized by Democrats for his influence during the election, with some claiming Harris' loss was his fault.
The Oscar-winner is 'disheartened' by the backlash, with insiders claiming he did not immediately endorse Harris because he felt the Democrats should have 'taken a step back' to weigh up their options.
'George feels that the backlash he is getting for Kamala losing is not at all warranted,' a source told DailyMail.com exclusively. 'He thinks it is completely unfair to try and make him a scapegoat for her loss.
'He has backed the Democratic Party and invested so much time and money into them, but he is going to take a step back for now. He feels very disheartened.'
They continued: 'When he wrote his op-ed, George did not say "Biden is not fit to be president choose Kamala". The Democrats jumped on Kamala and within days she was the candidate.
'George believes that they should have taken a step back and looked at their options. That is why he did not endorse her right away.'
There is a general skepticism about celebrities' ability to influence elections. Even the leftwing Guardian is asking who really cares about celebrity endorsements.
'George Clooney -- who cares?' Did celebrity endorsements actually harm Kamala Harris?Charli xcx, Taylor Swift, George Clooney and Beyoncé all voiced their approval for the Democratic candidate. But do these endorsements do more for the stars than for the politician?
Back in July, Charli xcx posted a three-word tweet that some commentators thought might help swing the US election. Arriving the day after Kamala Harris announced her bid for the presidency, Charli's tweet said simply: "Kamala IS Brat."
It was a reference to Charli's latest album, Brat, which had dominated the pop cultural landscape all summer and was loaded with synth-pop bangers, drug references and tales from a life spent getting messy on dancefloors. It wasn't perhaps the most obvious comparison to make with the then 59-year-old US vice-president, but the overall meaning was clear: Kamala was the presidential candidate with the most energy and authenticity -- and had the approval of the pop star of the moment.
The Harris campaign leaned into the endorsement, changing the backdrop of its official X page to the same garish green colour used on the record's sleeve. It helped mark Harris out as a different, more dynamic candidate than her faltering predecessor: Joe Biden may have been many things but he was most certainly not Brat. Yet as the dust settles on an extremely depressing election result, it appears clear that not only did Charli xcx's tweet have no meaningful impact on the election result, nor did the endorsement of any celebrity.
Just look at the list of backers lined up for Harris. Taylor Swift, the world's biggest popstar, came out for her after the September debate, writing that Harris "fights for the rights and causes I believe" and signing off as a "childless cat lady" -- a dig at comments made by Donald Trump's vice-presidential pick JD Vance. Harrison Ford recorded a video, looking grave as he warned voters about what a danger Trump would be to democracy. And then there was Beyoncé, who even appeared at one of Harris's rallies, alongside fellow Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland.
Speaking from the stage, Beyoncé said she was there "as a mother who cares deeply about a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we're not divided". You can add to these names endorsements from the likes of LeBron James, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah, Lizzo, J-Lo, Eminem, Arnold Schwarzenegger and countless more. Game, set and match to Harris? Hardly.So why did their voices have so little impact?
Seth Abramovitch, senior writer at the Hollywood Reporter, says that Harris's nominations were ineffective because they came largely from celebrities who were preaching to the choir: "Oprah, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Ariana Grande -- these are artists whose audiences (black, female, liberal, queer) were already inclined to vote for Kamala." The exception to this, he says, was Swift, whose popularity in the worlds of country music and pop means she appeals to both sides of a divided US. "Yet I'd argue her massive influence does not reach two key demographic groups that helped Trump win this time -- Latinos and black men."
Margaretha Bentley is a professor at Arizona State University whose classes have studied the social importance of Swift. "In the academic literature," she says, "research has shown that, while celebrity endorsements can increase civic engagement and voter registrations, it has not proven to have a direct impact on how people make their voting decisions."
But industry shill paper Variety says we need moar celebrity endorsement, not fewer.
Stop Blaming 'Celebrity Endorsements' for Kamala Harris' Loss: We Need to Hear From Artists Now More Than Ever
Did you know that Bruce Springsteen and Beyoncé lost the election for Kamala Harris? Or at least bear a large part of the responsibility for her party's failure at the polls this year? It's true, you know! -- at least if you listen to some of the punditry coming from conservatives, and even from some Democratic operatives eager to find some celebs to push into the middle of their current circular firing squad. Listening to some of these voices, you'd think that Harris could have won six or seven swing states, if only Beyoncé hadn't shown up to deliver one single four-minute rally speech, or if Taylor Swift hadn't devoted a singular 300-word Instagram post to a Harris endorsement. Imagine the more favorable electoral counts if only some of the most beloved pop-culture figures in the world had kept their dirty traps shut, right?
Here comes the Cope Train:
...There is good reason to believe the argument that people in the arts and entertainment speaking up does not move the needle a tremendous amount. But concurrent with that argument is the reasonable belief that they can move it at least a tiny amount, in registrations and motivation, if not 180-degree turns.
There is a "reasonable belief" that celebrity endorsements can move public motivation (not opinion) "a tiny amount."
Wow. That's some real power. I now agree, we have to hear from these titans more.
The idea that entertainers and artists' involvement somehow leads to actual voter dissuasion is a fantasy -- bullshit that is happily perpetrated by the "go woke, go broke" crowd, and picked up by columnists who think that picking on limousine liberals never goes out of style. (It really doesn't.)
There's absolutely nothing to this "go woke, go broke" claim. It's just a Right Wing Russian Fantasy.
The biggest fallacy is that the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz campaign was somehow lazily "reliant" on stars to get their message across. The Hill quoted an anonymous "Democratic strategist" as saying: "Somehow we think if Beyoncé is on stage, that will solve all our problems." Note to nameless strategist: literally no one thought that.
Are you sure of that? The Kamala camp lied and claimed that Beyonce would show up at the convention, to pull in Beyonce's declining fans. Then they claimed Beyonce would perform -- not merely appear -- at her Houston rally.
Sure seems like Kamala thought that Beyonce was a major key to success.
They also arranged for Taylor Swift to endorse her the day after the debate. They thought that this endorsement would help blunt the impact of a poor debate performance.
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DOJ Lawyers "Terrified" of Trump's Return; Key Trump Lawyer Says Either Get on Board, or GTFO
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Many in government are worried about Trump's return. At DOJ, they're terrified.Trump blames DOJ for much of his torment over the past four years. Lawyers there fear what's next.
A collective sense of dread has taken hold at the Department of Justice, which drew Donald Trump's rage like no other part of the federal government during his campaign.Some career attorneys at DOJ are already considering heading for the exits rather than sticking around to find out whether threats from Trump and his allies are real or campaign bluster. Those threats range from mass firings of "deep state" lawyers to expelling special counsel Jack Smith from the country.
"Everyone I've talked to, mostly lawyers, are losing their minds," said one DOJ attorney, who like most of the people interviewed for this article was granted anonymity to speak freely about colleagues and avoid retribution from the president-elect and his allies. "The fear is that career leadership and career employees everywhere are either going to leave or they're going to be driven out."
While alarm over Trump's return is widespread throughout the federal bureaucracy, it is perhaps most acute at the Justice Department, which was at the center of many of the major controversies of his first term.
...
"Many federal employees are terrified that we'll be replaced with partisan loyalists -- not just because our jobs are on the line, but because we know that our democracy and country depend on a government supported by a merit-based, apolitical civil service," said Stacey Young, a trial attorney in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division who won an award from Barr in 2020 and is president and co-founder of the DOJ Gender Equality Network.
LOL.
It all adds up to a feeling of trepidation for many of the department's rank and file.
"We've all seen this movie before and it's going to be worse," said one former DOJ official who served under Trump and several of his predecessors. "It will be worse. It's just a question of how much worse it's going to be."
...
Most of Mueller's top deputies have left government or returned to lower-profile jobs. But other lower-ranking lawyers with ties to the Mueller probe remain at the department. Staffers who offered even peripheral or routine assistance to either Mueller's team or Smith's team now harbor concerns that they will be frozen out by a president who campaigned on exacting revenge.
...
Current and former employees said a more conventional pick -- like Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) or former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe -- would signal more upheaval than eight years ago but perhaps not tectonic changes. A more radical choice -- like Ken Paxton, the ultra-conservative Texas attorney general, or Kash Patel, a former Trump National Security Council aide and frequent Trump attack dog -- would portend extreme turbulence for the department, the veterans said.
...
"It is absolutely a part of the calculus," one former senior DOJ official said. "If you have one of these type of extreme candidates ... you will see a significant amount of career staff say, 'I don't want to be a part of this. This is antithetical to who this department is. I think that will absolutely inform whether or not a good chunk of career staff -- whether people stay or go."
This is all worth reading, but I'll bold the most important parts for you slack-jawed yokels. Mark Paoletta is that "key Trump lawyer" I mentioned in the headline.
His message: Go get Daddy's belt.
Mark Paoletta
@MarkPaolettaPresident Trump was elected by the American people to carry out his agenda, which includes:
Securing the southern border, mass deportations of illegal aliens (beginning with rapists and murderers), surging resources to process immigration/asylum claims to clear out backlog and end widespread abuse of the asylum system, ending automatic citizenship for children of illegal aliens, and taking federal actions to prevent sanctuary cities from obstructing federal immigration enforcement,
Restoring law and order across our country, including rescuing our cities from mob violence and left-wing soft on crime prosecutors,
Immediately stopping the lawfare and persecution of political opponents that is unprecedented in American history and destroying our democracy,
Granting pardons or commutations to January 6th defendants and other defendants who have been subjected to politically-driven lawfare prosecutions and sentences,
Abolishing DEI in government and taking action against those companies and universities that engage in racial discrimination,
Protecting Americans' right to speech, religion, and the Second Amendment,
Protecting religious liberties, including investigating and prosecuting the horrific antisemitism ripping through this country,
Protecting parents' rights from irreparable transgender surgeries and procedures on minor children, and investigating those who have pushed this on minor children;
Paving the way for an energy boom and American Energy Golden Age,
And holding accountable those who weaponized their government authority to abuse Americans.
These are all positions President Trump campaigned on and that career DOJ lawyers may be working on to accomplish President Trump's lawful agenda that was approved by a landslide vote of the American People. DOJ career employees do not set the agenda. In fact, they are required to help implement this agenda.
Hopefully, they will be as committed to helping President Trump implement his agenda as they did for President Biden. Of course, political leadership welcomes feedback to help improve a project. But once the decision is made to move forward, career employees are required to implement the President's plan.
Of course, no one will push them to implement flagrantly illegal actions like President Biden did with his student loan plan, where he thumbed his nose at the Supreme Court's ruling and then tried to implement another illegal plan which was struck down. (In fact, the media was cheering on his law-breaking). I don't recall reading any stories about career attorneys being concerned about working on this blatantly illegal action.
If these career DOJ employees won't implement President Trump's program in good faith, they should leave. Those employees who engage in so-called "resistance" against the duly-elected President's lawful agenda would be subverting American democracy.
Finally, those that take such actions would be subject to disciplinary measures, including termination.
I look forward to President Trump's team Making America Great Again, especially at the Department of Justice and the FBI.
Yes, this is a great potential pick for AG, but Ed Morrissey thinks he might have to settle for a lesser, but still powerful, position overseeing the most corrupted parts of the DOJ.
Paoletta may not have a high enough profile to get nominated for Attorney General. That will most likely go to a governor or Senator with enough closeness to Trump to be trusted with the nod. However, there are any number of secondary positions where Trump can install Paoletta to be the AG's hatchet man, with Deputy AG being the most comprehensive and powerful. The next step down would be Associate AG, which would not have formal oversight over the FBI, ATF, or US Attorneys -- where much of the "Resistance" might form -- but still would have the Civil Rights Division and other interesting orgs in portfolio. Trump could keep Paoletta in the White House too as a means to keep an eye on the political appointees at DoJ.
As you know, the House was just called for Republicans. So that means that conservatives will control -- nominally, in the case of Congress -- all three branches of government, and both houses of Congress.
This leaves Democrats without a bastion of government power for their #Resistance efforts.
Thus, a new op begins: Convincing the public that the bureaucracy is the fourth branch of government, and has its own independent source of power enshrined in the Constitution, and is authorized to provide #Resistance to Trump despite being unelected bureaucrats who are part of the Executive branch, and therefore only have the power that the Chief Executive -- Trump -- has, and must use that power to act as the Chief Executive demands.
But no, the Constitution is like 100 years old, man, and the left needs to conjure up a foothold in government. So FusionGPS's favorite leak recipient and dogged defender of the Deep State tells us that Aksually Trump's inferior officers have a right to take action independently from him and impose their own agenda on the government:
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Is This Something?
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Probably not, but let's try anyway.
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 was a damp squib at the box office, so the final part of the story, and the Tom Cruise era of the franchise, has been renamed "The Final Reckoning."
Haley Atwell and the girls are back. Maybe Vanessa Kirby is too. There's a blonde woman in the mix.
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Melania Declines "Doctor" Jill Biden's Invitation to the White House, Probably Due to Her Husband Ordering a Federal Raid of Her Home
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Trump seems a little to eager to forgive and forget. He's even offering to pay down Kamala's $18 million of campaign debt.
Melania has the better take on this.
Former First Lady Melania Trump has turned down an invitation from current First Lady Jill Biden to visit the White House, choosing not to participate in the customary tea visit typically held between the incoming and outgoing first ladies. According to a report by New York Post, Melania's decision stems from her frustration over the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in August 2022, which took place under President Biden's authorization as part of a classified documents investigation into Donald Trump."She ain't going," a source close to Melania told New York Post, citing the intrusion into her privacy as the main reason behind her refusal. "Jill Biden's husband authorized the FBI snooping through her underwear drawer. The Bidens are disgusting," the source reportedly added.
This refusal signals an extension of the frosty relations between the Bidens and Trumps, dating back to 2020 when Donald Trump broke from tradition and did not invite the Bidens to the White House after his election loss. The 2022 raid at Mar-a-Lago, where FBI agents reportedly examined Melania's wardrobe and searched various parts of the residence, has been a continuing point of contention for the Trump family. Melania, in a previous interview, described the experience as an "invasion of privacy" and expressed frustration over the "unpleasant" aftermath.
I get Trump's desire for -- and right to -- a "normal" presidency without constant attempts to subvert his agenda and frame him for crimes. But that will, alas, not happen through generosity or charm.
These rabid dogs understand only two things: force and fear.
Many people point out that Kamala and Biden appeared "frosty" towards one another, not looking at each other, not smiling, when they attended the Veterans Day wreath-laying.
In another clip, "Doctor" Jill Biden refused to even look at Kamala and the Second Gentleman. (That's not a political title, that's how he's known in the Harris bedroom.)
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Disgraced FEMA Official Marn'i Washington: I'm a "Scapegoat," Skipping Trump Homes Was General FEMA Policy and We Skipped Trump Homes in the Carolinas, Too
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Someone needs to stop this White Supremacist from spreading this Right Wing Conspiracy Theory Russian Misinformation.
Greg Price @greg_price11The FEMA official who was just fired for telling workers to avoid homes impacted by the hurricanes in Florida if they had Trump signs says that it was not "isolated" and that FEMA workers were instructed to do it in the Carolinas too.
She says there are lots of incident reports to prove this. I think she's suggesting that Trump voters somehow threatened the FEMA "workers." I would guess this means some Millennial gay, trans, or female snowflakes said they "felt unsafe" approaching a home with Trump flags so FEMA told them to look out for their own "safety."
But we'll see.
Deb Heine, Dissident @NiceDebThe narrative here is that the Trumpers were hostile with FEMA workers and that's why they were directed to "avoid" them. I'd be very interested to know what these FEMA workers considered "hostility" and how they can justify discriminating against everyone with Trump signs based on a few alleged clashes. Glad Congress is looking into this.
I don't believe there were "clashes." The media would have breathlessly reported on Trump supporters attacking poor government workers had there been such "clashes."
Amy LePore Ph.D. @ArchetypalDorkFEMA trained their staff to avoid Trump supporters.
This not a surprise. In 2023 instead of properly responding in Maui, they were running their people through white supremacy training.
@FEMA_Deanne's entire tenure has been about "equity", and it has been a colossal failure.
Preserve your records, FEMA.
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Chris Wallace Quits (or "Quits") CNN, Supposedly to Focus on His Podcast or Something
—Disinformation Expert Ace
Some people in media are game-changers, who command their own audience. People will follow them if they leave a network. They're above the network.
Other people are just slot-fillers who people will watch because they're too lazy to change the channel but no one will follow them anywhere. They need the network, they need the brand, they need the fake prestige. They need the slot where they are guaranteed at least a minimum level of audience, such as in airport waiting lounges.
I wonder which of the two Chris Wallace is.
Chris Wallace out at CNN after 3 years at the network
CNN's weekend program 'The Chris Wallace Show' averaged below 600,000 total viewers during the election year
Oh. Looks like he's a slot-filler.
Veteran broadcaster Chris Wallace is leaving CNN after less than three years at the network."Chris Wallace is one of the most respected political journalists in the news business with a unique track record across radio, print, broadcast television, cable television and streaming," CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We want to thank him for the dedication and wisdom he's brought to all his work at CNN and to wish him the very best for the future."
Wallace was offered a contract extension by CNN but chose to leave the network, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital. His departure from CNN was first reported by The Daily Beast.
The 77-year-old told The Daily Beast he wants to go independent into streaming or podcasting.
So: Did he really quit, or was he fired?
He was fired, really:
According to a report from The Ankler last month, Wallace had been offered "a new deal for significantly less than the $8.5 million pact he inked under former CNN boss Jeff Zucker."
When you offer someone a "significant" pay cut, you're really firing them.
And yet they re-hired Tater. That must sting.
A 77-year-old is going to get into the podcast game? Is he going to do some collabs with the blowjob whore of Call Her Daddy?
A little update to the MSNBC story.
They're bragging about their election night ratings.
Obviously, everyone, including me, put on MSNBC to watch the meltdowns after Trump took a lead in Pennsylvania.
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