Miscellaneous Political stuff - Part 19

The lack of self awareness and the level of projection is kind of astonishing. Republicans literally have no platform for the 2nd presidential election cycle and Trump refused to debate any of his Republican challengers. Not to mention all of the voter suppression bills passed by Republicans in the last 4 years, the Republican attempts to purge voter rolls, Republican objections to motor voter registration, Republican opposition to mail in voting, Republican proposals to raise the voting age to 25 etc.

Democrats are running on infrastructure, abortion rights and health care. Republicans don't want to talk about policy because they know their policies are unpopular.




projection


Ingraham: Democrats have given up on trying to persuade voters through debate and policy success. Now, it's just a constant campaign of control, propaganda, and suppression.

It didn't take long for MAGA to blame President Biden, Pete Buttigieg, other Democrats, open borders and DEI for the bridge disaster (without any evidence). They came up with all kinds of crazy conspiracy theories quickly, too.  


On the bridge thread, revirdsuba99 posted something from Maria Bartiromo from Fox blaming open borders. She was criticized for posting political bs on a thread about a tragic accident something to the effect of it would be nice to have a thread about a tragedy without all of the political bs.  In my opinion, it would be far nicer if MAGAs never falsely blamed Democrats without any evidence and never came up with crazy conspiracy theories in the first place.

The first tweet is a short clip from tik Tok.  Definitely worth listening to regarding the ridiculousness and stupidity of blaming the bridge disaster on DEI.





stupidity

MAGAs


Why did the bridge collapse?
Maga & Republicans:
- Biden Witch hunt caused it
- Buttigieg being gay caused it
- helping Ukraine caused it
- LGBTQ caused it
Democrats:
- a ship crashed into it

Rightwingers say the bridge collapsed because Buttigieg is gay







right-wing conspiracy theories


Irresponsible and dangerous.

Far too often the far-right spew unfounded conspiracy theories and disinformation to amplify their distorted views during disasters and emergencies.



www.nbcnews.com/tech/francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-conspiracy-theories-online-rcna145105

Unfounded conspiracy theories spread online after Baltimore bridge collapse
Major news events — like the pandemic, natural disasters and mass shootings — now consistently serve as fodder for fringe figures.

Outlandish conspiracy theories circulated on X after a containership collided with a major bridge in Maryland, causing it to collapse, early Tuesday morning.

As rescuers search for survivors, some online conspiracy theorists have attempted to uncover a nonexistent plot to explain the collision.

Major news events — like the pandemic, natural disasters and mass shootings — now consistently serve as fodder for fringe figures, many of them on the far right, to amplify their world views that often feature shadowy cabals or major unseen threats.

Once relegated to certain corners of the internet, these figures have flourished on X since Elon Musk acquired the platform and removed many of the rules that once tried to limit the spread of false claims. Musk has garnered backlash in the past for amplifying conspiracy theories and restoring accounts for known conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones. A spokesperson for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some on Tuesday claimed that the shipping vessel came under “cyberattacks,” or that Covid-era lockdowns were to blame. There have been no reports suggesting that any of these conspiracies are remotely true. In response to some of the posts, X had a “readers added context” note/disclaimer, in which people fact-checked the posters.

But it’s not just so-called keyboard warriors who are posting the theories. Several conspiracies were elevated by public officials on TV and by those with massive followings on social media.

On Fox Business, anchor Maria Bartiromo falsely suggested the “wide-open border” could have something to do with the collision, a clip of which circulated on X. No link to immigration has been made by officials.

A spokesperson for Fox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate shared a conspiracy that falsely suggested the ship had been “cyber-attacked,” citing that in the video of the collision, the ship’s lights appear to turn off just before impact.

In video leading up to and of the incident, around 1:24 a.m. EDT, the ship’s lights turn off for a minute but then flicker back on. About 10 seconds later, smoke is seen coming from the ship’s chimney. At 1:26 a.m., the ship appears to turn and moments later loses its lights again. They come back on a half a minute later.

A spokesperson for Tate did not immediately respond to a request for comment.




heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-26-2024

Despite the impossibility of solid information in the hours immediately after the collision—or perhaps because of it—verified accounts on X (formerly Twitter) began spreading conspiracy theories. They posted that the accident was linked to terrorism, Jewish people, or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. “Did anti-white business practices cause this disaster?” one posted. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wrote that the collision was “deliberate” and that “WW3 has already started.”

Technology reporter Taylor Lorenz, who studies social media patterns, explained in the Washington Post that many of these accounts are “engagement farming.” This is the practice of posting extremist comments to generate attention, which can then be monetized by, for example, getting a cut of advertising that appears near those comments. Comments with heavy engagement can receive thousands of dollars.



www.axios.com/2024/03/26/francis-scott-key-bridge-collapse-reasons-conspiracy

The overnight collapse of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge drove a surge in online conspiracy theories Tuesday, many of them promoted by "verified" accounts with huge followings on X.

Why it matters: Rampant misinformation during mass casualty events is not a new phenomenon. But under Elon Musk's ownership of X, the platform has changed from an essential real-time news source to a breeding ground for conspiracy theories.
Driving the news: Federal and state authorities said Tuesday there's no evidence that terrorism played a role in the collapse of the 1.6 mile-long bridge, which was struck by a container ship at around 1:30am ET Tuesday.

The crew of the Singapore-flagged Dali issued a mayday call before striking the bridge and notified authorities that it was experiencing a power issue, according to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland's transportation secretary, said eight members of a construction crew were making repairs to the bridge at the time of the collision.
What they're saying: "Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident. At this time, we have no other indication, no other reason to believe there's any intentional act here," President Biden said in remarks Tuesday afternoon.

Zoom in: Within hours, X accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers were promoting baseless claims that the Dali had been the victim of a cyber-attack or had intentionally rammed into the bridge.

Much of the misinformation was being pushed by "verified" users who pay for a premium subscription that boosts their posts.
Some verified right-wing accounts speculated that corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives were to blame for the disaster — a claim also embraced during a spate of recent aircraft safety issues.
Several antisemitic accounts with blue check marks claimed that the "attack" was perpetrated by Israel.
The other side: Community notes, a system on X that allows users to add context to misleading or false posts, flagged some of the conspiracy theories as baseless.

The big picture: Bad actors often take advantage of breaking news events to sow discord and confusion while details are still scant, with cause and intent typically the biggest targets for misinformation.

Everyday social media users who aren't seeking to intentionally spread falsehoods then amplify the rumors when they see them going viral on social media.

How ironic that Trump who falsely claims hoaxes all of the time posted an apparent hoax about the judge's daughter.

www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/nyregion/trump-social-media-attack.html

Trump Spreads Apparent Hoax in Attacking Judge’s Daughter
Donald Trump said a photo of him behind bars on Loren Merchan’s X account meant he could not get a fair trial, but a court official said someone had appropriated the account.

It was an explosive claim from Donald J. Trump, just weeks before his Manhattan criminal trial is set to begin: He assailed the judge’s daughter on Wednesday, saying she had used an image of the former president behind bars as a social media profile picture.

The photo made it “completely impossible for me to get a fair trial,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. He demanded that the judge, Juan M. Merchan, recuse himself.

But there was a problem with his claim: The New York State Court system says the account on X is bogus.

Although the handle once belonged to the judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, she deleted it about a year ago, a court spokesman said. Someone else — it is unclear who — has since taken it over. Its profile picture is now a childhood portrait of Vice President Kamala Harris.

“The X, formerly Twitter, account being attributed to Judge Merchan’s daughter no longer belongs to her,” said Al Baker, the spokesman for the state’s Office of Court Administration. “It is not linked to her email address, nor has she posted under that screen name since she deleted the account. Rather, it represents the reconstitution, last April, and manipulation of an account she long ago abandoned.”

It is hardly the only online hoax that Mr. Trump has promoted over the years, but unleashing apparently false claims concerning the judge’s daughter just weeks before the trial begins represents an escalation on his part.

It came a day after Justice Merchan imposed a gag order on Mr. Trump, barring him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors, jurors and court staff. Notably, the judge and his family are not included in the gag order.

And Mr. Trump wasted no time attacking the judge, who is a Democrat, and his family: “If the Biased and Conflicted Judge is allowed to stay on this Sham ‘Case,’ it will be another sad example of our Country becoming a Banana Republic,” Mr. Trump wrote in the social media post on Wednesday.

Neither a spokesman for the Trump campaign nor Ms. Merchan immediately returned request for comments on Wednesday evening.

Ms. Merchan has worked as an executive at Authentic, a digital marketing agency that works with Democratic candidates. Mr. Trump’s lawyers last year argued that Justice Merchan should recuse himself, claiming that his daughter stood to benefit financially from his decisions. The judge declined, citing a state advisory committee on judicial ethics, which determined that his impartiality could not “reasonably be questioned.”

The trial, which will begin on April 15, will focus on what prosecutors say was Mr. Trump’s effort to cover up a sex scandal during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. The Manhattan district attorney’s office charged Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

On Monday, Justice Merchan seemingly swept away the last obstacles to an April trial, dismissing an attempt by the defense to delay or even dismiss the case. Mr. Trump would be the first former American president to face trial on criminal charges.

Ms. Merchan is just the latest woman to feel the sting of Mr. Trump’s invective. In his civil fraud trial last year, Mr. Trump took aim at the judge’s principal law clerk, claiming falsely that she was Senator Chuck Schumer’s “girlfriend.”

The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, instituted a limited gag order on Mr. Trump, preventing him from commenting on court staff.

Mr. Trump twice violated the order, resulting in $15,000 in fines.

US Coast Guard asks for help!!

I bet she shows them when Trump unveils his plan for the ACA. In 2 weeks....

Biden is a famously devout Christian and actually seems to live his life following Christian principles. Kindness, compassion, servitude, community, grace. Trump mocks people, serves only himself, cares only about himself, etc etc. The fact that the Bibles don't spontaneously combust when too close to him is shocking.
Besides all that, for people so fond of decrying their constitutional rights are being violated for one reason or another the MAGA nutcases sure do like to ignore the one about separation of church and state.

Sorry.. I must share..

revirdsuba99 well he DOES know all the best words, especially the ones he makes up himself!

Him selling Bibles is like Jeffery Dahmer selling cookbooks.

Judge Reggie Walton speaks out .

Just another person in Georgia committing voter fraud..... Repeat offender at that.
Surprise, not an independent or Democrat!!


Georgia Republican Party's first vice chairman, Brian K. Pritchard, committed voter fraud by casting a ballot while serving probation for felony check forgery.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Administrative Law Judge Lisa Boggs of the State Board of Elections ordered Pritchard to pay a $5,000 fine and receive a public reprimand.

Pritchard is a conservative talk show host who has claimed there was voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, the report said. He argued that he was unaware that he had not completed his probation before voting.

"The court does not find the respondent's explanations credible or convincing," Boggs' ruling said. "At the very least, even if the court accepts he did not know about his felony sentences, the record before this court demonstrates that he should have known."

Pritchard was said to have voted in nine elections while still on probation. He first registered to vote in Georgia in 2008.

"I felt it ended," Pritchard said following the hearing. "Do you think the first time I voted I said, 'Oh, I got away with it. Let's do it eight more times?'"

The felony check forgery charges stem from a 1996 guilty plea in Pennsylvania involving $38,000 worth of checks.

"His probation initially lasted three years, but Pennsylvania judges repeatedly extended it until 2011 for allegedly failing to pay restitution, court records showed. Pritchard maintained that he didn't owe money and he thought that case was resolved," the Journal-Constitution said.

www.rawstory.com/brian-pritchard-voter-fraud/

Oops....

The real D.C. crime wave
By ELI STOKOLS, LAUREN EGAN and BEN JOHANSEN 03/28/2024 05:06 PM EDT
Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.

In a sense, it’s a daring crime given that the aircraft and the individual traveling in its executive cabin are among the most heavily secured entities in the world. And yet, it has become shockingly common — a rite of passage where the thieves proudly discuss and display their stolen goods.

Everyone, it appears, is pilfering from Air Force One.

And it’s gotten so bad that last month, NBC correspondent KELLY O’DONNELL, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, included a terse reminder to colleagues that taking items off the plane was not allowed and reflected poorly on the press corps as a whole, several individuals who saw the off-the-record email confirmed.

The rampant thievery makes sense when you remember that Washington is a town populated by a lot of ambitious, status-seeking dorks. Many people who fly with the president on Air Force One really want you to know they’ve flown on Air Force One.

And sure, a picture that you tweet out may suffice. A tarmac photo of yourself beneath the hulking plane or a certificate from your first flight, which the Air Force will gladly produce and send you by mail, is fine, too.

But what better way to convey your arrival in that stratosphere than with an actual keepsake?

For years, scores of journalists — and others — have quietly stuffed everything from engraved whiskey tumblers to wine glasses to pretty much anything with the Air Force One insignia on it into their bag before stepping off the plane.

“On my first flight, the person next to me was like, ‘You should take that glass,’” one current White House reporter told West Wing Playbook. “They were like: ‘Everyone does it.’”

And they do.

www.politico.com/newsletters/west-wing-playbook/2024/03/28/the-real-d-c-crime-wave-00149591

***

POLITICO added: “When we raised the subject with current and former White House correspondents, stories spilled forth. There’s one about the senator in the front of the plane who — as a chatty aide told reporters — was taking everything not bolted down. Several colleagues of one former White House correspondent for a major newspaper described them hosting a dinner party where all the food was served on gold-rimmed Air Force One plates, evidently taken bit by bit over the course of some time. Reporters recalled coming down the back stairs after returning to Joint Base Andrews in the evening with the sounds of clinking glassware or porcelain plates in their backpacks.”

www.nj.com/politics/2024/03/media-warned-stop-stealing-from-bidens-air-force-one-heres-what-theyre-taking.html

I actually have at least one item that did in fact come off Air Force One!! And I did not steal them!!