A Tale of Two U.S. Presidents

The United States woke up on February 20 to discover that President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine just four days before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion. The secret 22-hour trip departing at shortly after 4:00 am on February 20 culminated in a 10-hour train trip into Kyiv from Poland. Russian officials were notified of the Biden’s journey shortly before his departure “for deconfliction purposes” to avoid direct conflict between the U.S. and Russia.  

Biden spent five hours in the Ukrainian capital, talking with President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting U.S. embassy staff. Russian officials were notified of the Biden’s journey shortly before his departure “for deconfliction purposes” to avoid direct conflict between the U.S. and Russia. While in Ukraine, Biden promised another $460 million for howitzer shells, anti-tank missiles, air surveillance radars, and other aid and talked with Zelensky about “long-range weapons and the weapons that may still be supplied to Ukraine even though it wasn’t supplied before.” (Above: Biden and Zelenskyy saying goodbye at the Memorial Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in Russian-Ukrainian War with photos of killed soldiers, in Kyiv.)

During Biden’s unusual travel to a conflict zone where the U.S. or its allies lack control over the airspace, U.S. surveillance planes did kept watch over Kyiv from Polish airspace. The visit was unprecedented because, unlike other presidential visits to war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. has no presence on the ground in Ukraine.

Biden was accompanied by only three White House staff members and two journalists, one print reporter and one photographer, instead of the usual 13-person press pool. A two-person TV crew joined Biden’s motorcade in Kyiv, and nine other journalists were able to attend Biden’s meeting with Zelensky at the presidential palace. Details of Biden’s travels were not divulged until he was safely out of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans a state-of-the-union speech to Russian lawmakers the day after Biden’s visit when Biden is speaking in Poland. Polls show flagging support in the country for continuing the war in Ukraine. China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, will also visit Moscow for talks regarding the war in Ukraine.

Far-right lawmakers were incensed about Biden’s secret trip to Ukraine and his support for the country. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) wanted Biden to go visit the train derailment in East Palestine (OH), and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) accused Biden of “ditching America for Ukraine.” Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) blamed Biden for both the “war zone … at the southern border and “another war zone he created in Ukraine.” Furiously tweeting about Biden leaving the U.S. on Presidents Day, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) added, “I can not express how much Americans hate Joe Biden.”

Greene used Biden’s trip to again call for his impeachment:

“He went to Ukraine, a NON-NATO nation, whose leader is an actor and is apparently now commanding our United States military to world war. We must impeach this America Last fool before it’s too late.”

Amanda Marcotte called the anti-Zelensky legislators the “fascist faction” opposed to democracy. She described Tucker Carlson’s rants on his Fox show:

“Right after Zelenskyy’s speech to Congress, Tucker Carlson of Fox News described him as a ‘Ukrainian strip club manager’ and falsely said that Ukraine had been the aggressor, portraying Putin as the victim of a Ukrainian plot to ‘topple the Russian government.’ He also echoed the antisemitic talking points the Russian government has deployed against Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, by accusing him of waging ‘ongoing war against Christianity.’”

Fox’s Jesse Watters, another Russian asset, said that Zelenskyy was “charming, but he’s a killer” motivated by “vengeance.” Turning Points USA founder Charlie Kirk called Zelenskyy an “uppity foreigner” and an “international welfare queen.”

Almost two-thirds of people in the U.S. support Ukraine’s regaining its territory even if a prolonged conflict. Even 53 percent of Republicans agree. Although sanctions have increased oil prices in the world, 75 percent support these sanctions.

Another sector of Republicans supported Biden’s trip. In the conservative National Review, Mark Antonio Wright praised the president, writing that the visit “is an example of America in its finest tradition.” He explained:

“The moment reminds me not so much of Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump flying unannounced to Iraq or Afghanistan, but of President Roosevelt’s wartime travels across the Atlantic. Make no mistake, there was risk involved in this trip. Traveling to the capital of a nation fighting a shooting war with a great power, the U.S. had no way to choreograph with exactitude the circumstances of his travel or arrival. Neither the U.S. nor Ukraine has total control of the airspace. Neither the U.S. nor Ukraine could guarantee Biden’s security on the ground. The president of the United States was inside the Russian WEZ—the weapons engagement zone—the entire trip. For that Joe Biden should receive credit.

“At home, it may often feel like our republic is irretrievably fractured. Abroad, mistakes and wrong turns have tarnished our reputation for competence and steadfastness. But America is still, for all its faults, seen in dark and terrible places as the last best hope. Beyond our shores, people still react to our presidents with hope. We should remember that.”

The Daily Beast journalist David Rothkopf declared that Biden’s visit shows leadership in foreign policy, putting him on a par with Presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy:

“Kennedy and then Reagan in Berlin. Now, Biden in Kyiv. Periodically, during the past 60 years, American presidents have stood up at the eastern edge of Europe and looked to Russia to say, ‘We stand with our allies. Our resolve is unshakeable.’ Kennedy said, ‘Ich bin ein Berliner.’ Reagan said, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall.’ Biden, on his surprise President’s Day visit to Kyiv, said, ‘One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands.'”

Rothkopf added that Biden’s standing next to Zelensky and walking with him throughout Ukraine’s capital sends the message of solidarity “to those fighting for Ukraine.” Biden stated:

“I thought it was critical that there not be any doubt, none whatsoever, about U.S. support for Ukraine in the war. The Ukrainian people have stepped up in a way that few people ever have in the past…. It’s not just about freedom in Ukraine.… It’s about freedom of democracy at large.”

Jimmy Carter, the oldest living president in the United States, is also making news by entering hospice care in his home to spend his “remaining time” there. For the past several years, he has suffered from falls and skin cancer melanoma which spread to his liver and brain. (Right: Carter with Delaware’s then-Sen. Joe Biden.) A few tributes to Carter:

“This man moves humanity forward every single day.” – Maria Shriver, niece of former president John F. Kennedy

“Former President Carter’s love and compassion for all people set him apart as a leader, servant, and simply a great man striving to achieve a Beloved Community.” – Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King   

“From the time he began his service in the United States military and through his presidency, he showed a consciousness of caring.” – Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)

“Jimmy Carter is one of the kindest most thoughtful people I’ve ever had the honor of meeting. He is the best of us.” – Jon Stewart, comedian and writer     

The Israel-Egypt Camp David accords are one of Carter’s lasting achievements. (Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize for this presidential achievement in 2002.) – Craig Shirley, a biographer of Ronald Reagan who defeated Carter in 1980

“He leaves this planet so much better than he found it.” – Nick Kristof, New York Times columnist  

“Rest easy, Mr. President. We will be forever by your side.” – Anthony Gugliemi, spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service which protected Carter for almost half a century

In his first campaign when he rose from a relatively unknown southern governor to the Oval Office in a tight race with incumbent Gerald Ford, Carter said:

“If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. [If I lie, I] would not deserve to be your president.”

Over 70 years ago, Carter a U.S. Navy lieutenant training to work on the nation’s first nuclear submarine, led 22 U.S. citizens in dismantling a nuclear reactor 110 miles from Ottawa, the Canadian capital, after an accident leading “to overheating fuel rods and significant damage.” In his 2015 autobiography, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety, Carter described the incident and his preparations for repairing the reactor. On a nearby tennis court, they built an exact replica of the reactor and practiced their actions. Teams of three workers were lowered into the highly radioactive site for the 90-second maximum exposure time, longer than current standards. While there, each of them completed specialized tasks such as turning just one screw. Carter had radioactive urine for months, and this experience might have led to his cancer. Carter’s demand for near-absolute perfection, however, resulted in success.

More Classified Documents, Balloons, Lying

A bad week for former VP and presidential wannabe Mike Pence. On February 9, he was subpoenaed by Jack Smith, the special counsel investigating Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) for the January 6, 2021, insurrection and attempts to overturn the election to discover Pence’s version of conversations with DDT. Earlier, Pence said DDT was only relying on bad legal advice, yet he called DDT’s rhetoric “reckless,” and DDT “endangered” the Pence family and those trapped inside the building that day. Smith also subpoenaed DDT’s former national security adviser Robert O’Brien who had claimed executive privilege.

The next day, the FBI found another classified document and six pages without classified markings in Pence’s house. These materials were turned over to federal authorities along with two other boxes with copies of administration records. Three weeks ago, Pence’s lawyers discovered a dozen classified documents. After classified documents were found in possession of Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) and President Joe Biden, Pence said he didn’t take any classified material when he left office. After discovery of the documents in his home, he said, “Mistakes were made.”

DDT’s lawyers just revealed they found more classified documents in December and turned over the materials along with a thumb drive with the copied page and laptop belonging to a staffer for DDT’s Save America PAC. The items were not at Mar-a-Lago. The discovery proves that classified documents were disseminated to third parties who used an insecure laptop. The aide said they didn’t know that the documents marked classified were classified.  

Biden ordered the military to shoot down an unmanned “high-altitude object” over Alaska at 40,000 feet that posed “a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight. Debris can be recovered from the object that landed on ice in frozen territorial waters near Canada and northeastern Alaska.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally got a win: the unanimous approval of the resolution condemning China for its surveillance balloon. Some Republicans wanted a resolution condemning Biden for not shooting down the balloon more quickly, but McCarthy figured out he didn’t have the votes. Perhaps his need for 15 ballots to get a majority vote for Speaker was a lesson.

Republicans kept attacking Biden for not immediately shooting down the balloon, but the kerfuffle settled down after the news that Chinese balloons had traveled across the U.S. during DDT’s administration without much attention. Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, said NORAD didn’t detect prior threats during DDT’s administration because of a domain awareness gap (lack of communication among agencies). 

The Chinese balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast on February 4 has left debris in a field of 15 football fields by 15 football fields. It has propellers, a rudder, and antennas for communication. Most of the fabric floating on the water’s surface was recovered. Part of the 30-foot-long payload portion carrying the sensor/photography equipment was largely intact and located on the ocean floor with small underwater drones, but rough seas prevented the Navy from bringing it up. The balloon was equipped with self-destruct explosives, but none has been found. Allowing the balloon to fly over the U.S. provided valuable information in their operation, according to an official.

Rep. Ted Lieu (R-CA) ridiculed Newt Gingrich’s idea to “scoop that balloon out of the air.” Gingrinch said, “We used to do it all the time.” Lieu, an Air Force veteran, said, “I know for a fact the U.S. does not have a balloons scooper aircraft. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) criticized not shooting down the balloon until it left land but called it a “spy plane.”

The Chinese balloon is linked to a huge surveillance program operated by the People’s Liberation Army that collects information on military assets, according to U.S. intelligence. They have traveled over 40 countries on five continents. Biden directed all sensitive sites protected from espionage, “which was straightforward because we could track the path of the balloon and ensure no sensitive activities or unencrypted communications would be conducted in its vicinity,” said National Security Council strategic communications coordinator John Kirby. Monitoring the most recent balloon allowed the U.S. to fill in some gaps about the four other balloons seen in U.S. air space within the last few years, adding to information about technology gained from a Chinese balloon crashing off the Hawaiian islands last June.

From the beginning of his administration, Biden intended a focus on cybertechnology as central to national security. In May 2021, four months after he took office, he issued an executive order on “improving the nation’s cybersecurity.”

According to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the U.S. “enhanced our surveillance of our territorial airspace/ We enhanced our capacity to be able to detect things that the Trump administration was unable to detect.” Sullivan said that the surveillance improvements allowed the U.S. to “go back and look at the historical patterns” and uncover “multiple instances” during DDT’s administration for similar occurrences.

House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) tweeted a complaint that Biden hadn’t mentioned China in the first hour of his speech, suggesting he didn’t take the issue seriously enough. When CNN’s Manu Raju asked McCarthy if he was okay with Rep. George Santos (R-NY)—the serial liar who is currently under threat of an ethics investigation over where his campaign money came from—attending that classified briefing, McCarthy said, “Yes.”

Five weeks after a Virginia six-year-old student shot his first-grade teacher in the chest during class, Missouri GOP is permitting children of all ages to openly carry firearms in public places.  Missouri is 47^th in gun safety and fourth for gun deaths. State law does not have an age limit for open carry although federal law restricts handgun purchases to 21 and over, and rifles to 18 and over.  

Yet Missouri lawmakers want a law to make drag performances on public property or seen by minors class A misdemeanors. They also passed a dress code for women in the State House of Representatives, requiring females to wear a jacket such as a blazer or cardigan. Freedom is in the eye of the beholder.

Less than two weeks after the Virginia shooting, a four-year-old child wandered the hallways of an Indiana apartment building, pointing a gun at the doors. The father told police he didn’t have a gun, but resident showed them the video from a door cam of the child with a gun. When police returned to the father, they found a handgun on his desk.

Another GOP liar in the House? Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who proudly wore a pin representing a semi-automatic rifle, claimed to have Jewish heritage and be “raised as a Messianic Jew by her father.” Members of her extended family said her father was Catholic and her grandfather was a Nazi who served in the armed forces of Nazi Germany when he was a teenager. The Simon Wiesenthal Center confirmed the uniform in a photograph was of a Wehrmacht member, the armed forces of Nazi Germany.

While she served in the Air Force, Luna said the landlord broke into her apartment during the night while she served in the Air Force, but police records show it was a break-in during the day when she wasn’t at home. Luna and her roommate reported they kept “finding the rear door to the residence standing open,” and the landlord changed the locks and had deadbolts and latches installed. The doors kept being left open, and the two women stayed someplace else for a few days.  

Another false claim was living in a broken home with only her mother when she was a child with no “strong extended network of people” to help care for them. Luna’s cousin said, “The whole family kind of raised her… We all kind of coddled her.” She shared photos of her growing up with Luna. “She was always a part of everything, all these family gatherings and activities,” according to the cousin. “She had everything. What she needed and more.”

Luna said her father “spent time in and out of incarceration,” and her communication was “through letters to jail and collect calls.” A search revealed no public records of felony charges or prison sentences for George Mayerhofer in California where Luna lived at the time. The California Department of Corrections said it had no records that he served time in state facilities. Luna’s uncle raised questions about inconsistencies in Luna’s biography on social media during her first bid for Congress, and she filed a stalking injunction against him.

Since she came to Congress in 1921 for her first term in the House, Luna advocated carrying firearms to committee meetings, accused a reporter of sexually harassing her after he asked her questions, objected to sending tanks to Ukraine, and suggested criminalizing taxation.

Fox negated the report from Washington Post, stating that Luna’s father had been arrested on drug charges, but the case was dismissed. The reporter for the Fox article accused WaPo of false journalism because Luna is conservative.

And the GOP hearings this past week were a disaster for them. More tomorrow!

Search Warrant Affidavit – Revelations, DDT Excuses for Having Documents

The judge who issued the order to release the search warrant release for documents taken by Deposed Donald Trump (DDT) at Mar-a-Lago said that it would probably be “meaningless” to the public because of the redactions, and the quantity of blacked out content produced jokes. Even with those redactions, however, the affidavit provided a great amount of information, enough that Republicans are backing down after their temper tantrums about the search warrant. DDT-supporter Glenn Youngkin, Virginia governor, said people can’t “draw too many conclusions” after earlier saying the search were “politically motivated actions.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) switched the topic to “border invasions,” and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) moved to the anniversary of the suicide bombing of U.S. service members at the Kabul (Afghanistan) airport, Afghanistan. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) addressed an interview with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Nothing about the affidavit.

Not all Republican legislators protected DDT before the affidavit was released. Rep. Chris Stewart (R-UT), an Intelligence Committee member, wanted more information and said:

“If he had actual Special Access Programs—do you know how extraordinarily sensitive that is? That’s very, very sensitive. If that were actually at his residence, that would be a problem. But we just don’t know that. So let’s find out.”

Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said:

“When you get to compartmentalized classified spaces, it gets more serious.”

The affidavit and search warrant cited three criminal laws from Title 18 of the U.S. Code:

• Section 793, better known as the Espionage Act, which covers the unlawful retention of defense-related information that could harm the United States or aid a foreign adversary.
• Section 1519 covers destroying or concealing documents to obstruct government investigations or administrative proceedings.  
• Section 2071 covers the unlawful removal of government records.

Some revelations from the unredacted portions of the August 5 affidavit, about half the 38 pages: 

The DOJ involvement came after the National Archives sent the agency a criminal referral on February 9, 2022, after the archives had worked to obtain the documents for over a year. The FBI and DOJ coordinated a criminal investigation that led to a subpoena in June for classified material. When that was unsatisfactory, the DOJ submitted an affidavit to a DDT-appointed magistrate judge in Florida for the search warrant.

The government is “conducting a criminal investigation concerning the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces, as well as the unlawful concealment or removal of government records.” The probe deals with possibly violating several statutes relating to his illegal retention and storage of official documents containing sensitive secrets.

The storage for the documents had no lock until the government demanded it have one after almost 18 months of requesting the documents be returned. Mar-a-Lago had no “secure location authorized for the storage of classified information,” according to a June 8 letter that DOJ sent to a DDT lawyer. The documents have “not been handled in an appropriate manner.” Surveillance “footage showed that, after one instance in which Justice Department officials were in contact with Mr. Trump’s team, boxes were moved in and out of the room.”

Of 15 boxes of documents redeemed after a year of requesting them, 14 contained highly secret information: “184 unique documents bearing classification markings, including 67 documents marked as CONFIDENTIAL, 92 documents marked as SECRET, and 25 documents marked as TOP SECRET.” Additional markings included “HCS, FISA, ORCON, NOFORN, and SI,” some of these referring to technology and foreign communication. “HCS,” or human intelligence sources, means information gained from spies. The 184 documents marked as classified contained National Defense information and extremely sensitive top-secret information important to national security, considered among its most valuable and protected secrets.” 

Many of the classified documents, including top secret ones, were mixed in with miscellaneous newspapers, magazines and personal correspondence.

The affidavit indicated “probably cause” of more boxes, with more highly classified documents, still at Mar-a-Lago, many not secured, “that evidence, contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed in violation 18 U.S.C. §§ 793(e), 2071, or 1519 will be found at the PREMISES.” (The search on August 8 added many more documents, for a total of over 300 classified documents.)

According to law, “classified information of any designation may be shared only with persons determined by an appropriate United States Government official to be eligible for access, and who possess a ‘need to know.”

In citing 18 USC 793(e), the government asserts that DDT had no legal right to refuse the return or any document “relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation,” according to 18 USC 793(e).

Tabs and markings are removed from declassified documents; the materials found at Mar-a-Lago still had these on the documents. Declassification of some documents must also be approved by the originating agency, something not done for these documents. The affidavit listed statutes criminalizing the mere possession of these documents, whether they are or aren’t classified.

Some of the documents had DDT’s “handwritten notes”; the government is investigating when those notes were made. Other documents were torn. Statute 18 U.S.C. § 1519 criminalizes knowingly altering any government record or document, whether or not classified or relating to the national defense, if a person’s intent is to obstruct not only an investigation but also the “proper administration” of any federal department or agency.

The moving trucks at Mar-a-Lago on January 18, 2021, at least two of them, were also noted in the affidavit because a president typically moves out of his residence by military plane or at least military truck instead of unguarded moving vans—unless trying to avoid attention. The following material to this information is redacted.

Because of threats by DDT supporters against people involved in the affidavit, the names were redacted, but some information was not blacked out. The FBI agent submitting the affidavit was trained in “counterintelligence and espionage investigations” at the FBI Academy in Quantico (VA), and information had come from a “a significant number of civilian witnesses.”

DDT has provided a number of fake defenses: the classified documents belonging to the government are “mine”; he always planned to turn over the right thing to the government; he could just declassify documents by issuing a tweet; DDT took work home with him from time to time; he withheld the documents because he didn’t trust “partisan Democrat appointees” who were “releasing thousands of his White House documents to the January 6 Committee in spite of his lawyers’ claims of executive privilege”; possession of government classified documents is protected by attorney-client and executive privileges; and of course, it’s all about political and “what about ‘Clinton’s emails.’” 

On Fox, Jesse Watters falsely claimed that a “liberal librarian” wanted boxes of materials and that the boxes just had things “like golf balls and Oval Office raincoats.” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) said there was no need for a search warrant because DDT would return any documents; Crenshaw insisted DDT would cooperate—before the affidavit’s pointing out all DDT’s refusals.

DDT’s lawyer Christina Bobb claimed that Mar-a-Lago was secure for classified materials. Yet the facility has no Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), and DDT has no national security clearance. Bobb said the basement door was secure but didn’t say how many people had access to the key. As part of the federal investigation, Avril D. Haines, the director of national intelligence, plans an intelligence community assessment of the “potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure” of documents DDT took to Mar-a-Lago.

Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said no one vetted the guests that come and go from Mar-a-Lago. A current example of that failure is the confidence that DDT and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) appear to display in Inna Yashchyshyn before they discovered she was posing as a member of the famous Rothschild banking family. Federal authorities were alerted after a legal dispute exposing her frequent trips to DDT’s Florida club. She previously worked for an adoption agency specializing in helping pregnant Russian women come to the U.S. for their infants’ citizenship.

In a security analysis of Mar-a-Lago, ProPublica quoted a cybersecurity expert who reported hackers could use Mar-a-Lago’s network to remotely turn on the microphones and cameras of devices connected to the network in “typical hotel security.” An attacker could listen to sensitive national security conversations. A Chinese citizen, a part of her name matching a club member, entered Mar-a-Lago bringing four cell phones, an external hard drive, a laptop, and a thumb drive infected with malware while DDT was visiting from the White House. Hearing about the problems, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), running for reelection said that possible felonies aren’t important. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) wants the Espionage Act repealed because, to him, leaking classified information isn’t a problem.

DDT reportedly oversaw which documents he wanted to take to Mar-a-Lago. Even his lawyers didn’t know what he packed. And there would be no mess if he had just voluntarily returned the documents. Questions are why DDT insisted on keeping the documents and what he intended to do with these highly secret documents.

At least no one has cried “defund the FBI” since the affidavit was released.

Biden Assumes Mantle, Hacking a Problem

Biden is the president-elect. The formal announcement was made when Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulated him. Listening to Putin, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told GOP senators of Biden’s election and told them to accept the news. He said objecting to a state’s electoral votes and forcing the Senate to debate would make Republican senators look bad. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) threatened to fight the election results at the January 6 congressional session but needs the support of a senator to carry it farther. A few conservatives such as Josh Hawley (MO), Ron Johnson (WI), and Rand Paul (KY) still haven’t said they won’t object although Johnson did admit the election is legitimate. The GOP senators would have to vote down the overturning of the election, thus voting against Dictator Donald Trump (DDT), who still appears to be the leader of their party. That vote would also hurt congressional GOP incumbents in the next election.

Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) turned on McConnell for his admission that Biden won, saying it’s “too soon to give up.” DDT has repeatedly claimed he won the election because he has 75,000,000 VOTES. Biden has 81,284,000 votes (51.3 percent of the total), and DDT has only 74,221,000 votes (46.9 percent).

Until this week, most Republican congressional members have refused to call Biden the “president-elect,” pretending the term doesn’t exist. These conservatives, who say they worship the U.S. Constitution, have said that the term “president-elect” doesn’t really exist. The 20^th Amendment, passed in 1933 uses the term twice.  After the electoral votes, however, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-NC) made this classic statement:

“Well, it seems to me that being elected by the Electoral College is a threshold where a title like that is probably most appropriate and it’s, I suppose you can say official, if there is such a thing as official president-elect, or anything else-elect. And there’s an inauguration that will swear somebody in and that person will be the president of the United States, but whether you call it that or not, you know, there are legal challenges that are ongoing — not very many — probably not a remedy that would change the outcome but, so, I don’t — again I don’t know how politician refers to another politician, but it does look to me like the big race is really between the inaugural committee and the Justice Department at this point, so we’ll see how the emails turn out.”

Known for his even temperament, Biden openly criticized the GOP attack on the democratic election after residents of six states tried to circumvent Monday’s legal voting by certified Electoral College voters, including promising violence and counterfeiting documents. Biden described these attacks “simply unconscionable” and an “abuse of power.” He said:

“In America, politicians don’t take power—the people grant it to them. The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know that nothing, not even a pandemic—or an abuse of power—can extinguish that flame.”

He concluded by calling for unity and healing.

By clearly declaring that official, state and local, from both parties managed, overseen, and confirmed the election, Biden pointed out Republicans would need to have taken part in any widespread conspiracy. He added:

“I hope we never again see anyone subjected to the kind of threats and abuse we saw in this election. We owe these public servants a debt of gratitude . . . our democracy survived because of them.”

About Texas AG Ken Paxton’s lawsuit to the Supreme Court supported by attorneys general from 18 states and 126 GOP House members, Biden said:

“It’s a position so extreme, we’ve never seen it before. A position that refused to respect the will of the people, refused to respect the rule of law, and refused to honor our Constitution.”

Through the speech, Biden took his place as the legally indisputable winner of the 2020 election. As such he has the opportunity to repair the loopholes allowing DDT to create permanent chaos.

In the meantime, Biden continues to make appointments:

Secretary of Energy Department: Jennifer Granholm, former Michigan governor, who has worked with the auto industry. The agency can lead the U.S. away from dependence on fossil fuels, opposite from DDT’s first Energy secretary who received donations for pushing natural gas exports and coal as a power source. The budget operates 17 national labs for technology development in renewables, nuclear energy, and fossil fuel production.

Secretary of Transportation: Pete Buttigieg, former South Bend (IN) mayor and presidential candidate, who would be the first openly-gay Cabinet member. Although this department is not as visible as some others, it is vital for infrastructure, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, technology, and labor. Building highways was a key to Dwight Eisenhower’s legacy, and his legacy is now crumbling because it’s had no care. The department budget funds highways, transit systems, and the air traffic control system as well as overseeing the safety of civilian aircraft and regulating a trucking industry. The virus has damaged the transportation networks with greatly reduced revenue and employee layoffs.

Potential appointments:

Domestic “climate czar” coordinating policies across federal agencies: Gina McCarthy, director of the EPA.

Environmental Protection Agency: Michael Regan, top North Carolina environmental regulator, considered after civil rights groups objected to Mary Nichols, leader of the California Air Resources Board.

Without a Senate, Biden will have tremendous trouble passing legislature to help the economy, but Mother Jones has ideas on how he can help the economy without congressional support.

The Federal Reserve: The $2.2 trillion CARES Act authorized the Federal Reserve to help stabilize the finances of state and local governments hit by the pandemic by buying up their debt and gave the Treasury Department $454 billion to back the lending.  Current Secretary Steve Mnuchin has tried to block Biden from using the money, but Biden and the Fed could restart the lending program.

Student Debt: Forgiving $10,000 of federally backed student loans for all borrowers and canceling all undergraduate debt for anyone who attended public colleges or historically Black colleges and universities could juice the economy.

Protection of Workers from COVID-19: Failing to protect workers hurts the economy; OSHA can issue mandatory standards, something DDT refuses to do.

Eviction Moratorium: Extending the time would allow renters to find more stable footing while the labor market recovers.

Consumer Protection: Biden could reverse the changes in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that allowed corporations to destroy anyone who borrowed money, especially during the economic crisis.  

Updates keep coming. Yesterday I wrote about National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien on a junket around Europe, the Mediterranean, etc. on a holiday with his wife just five weeks before he will likely be deposed. Embarrassment may have forced him back home within two days, especially because the hacking federal agencies appears to be much worse than the public knew. And perhaps his use of taxpayer money may not have looked good for a man who wants to run for president in 2024.

More information has emerged about hacking into federal agencies, targeting a huge number of U.S. government emails. By persuading over 18,000 private and government users to download malicious code into their Orion software, made by SolarWinds, hackers monitored internal emails at several top federal agencies. Solarwinds monitors for hundreds of thousands of computer business and government networks for outages; its password is solarwinds123. Seriously.

As local, state, and federal entities have been attacked throughout the U.S. by ransomware, DDT has not considered cybersecurity an important issue and blocked the government if Russia was a possible danger. The private company Microsoft said it “delivered more than 13,000 notifications to customers attacked by nation-states over the past two years and observed a rapid increase in [their] sophistication and operational security capabilities.” The company will block and isolate the Orion app.

Chris Krebs, fired from his leadership of DHS’ cybersecurity agency because he stated the U.S. election had no widespread fraud, testifies on Wednesday before a Senate committee as Ron Johnson (R-WI) continues his fruitless search for that fraud. In a piece for CNN, Krebs reiterated his position that Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 election “to disparage Hillary Clinton to the advantage of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.” He wrote his agency “prioritized election security” because “our democratic institutions are facing targeted, calculated threats from without, and from within.” He concluded:

“As foreign and domestic interests attack our democracy for political and financial gain, attempting to infiltrate American public opinion and confidence in our most sacred institutions, our elected representatives must now show true leadership in defending the people by defending the truth.”

The use of SolarWinds highlights the lack of mandatory minimum security rules for commercial software used on federal computer networks.

December 15 daily U.S. COVID-19 statistics: new cases, 200,035; deaths, 2,986.

Biden v. DDT = Progress v. Desperation

While Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) stays in furious deep denial, President-elect Joe Biden forges ahead with his choices. His most recent appointment, California’s AG Xavier Becerra for HHS Secretary, came as a surprise: New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Luján Grisham had hoped to be HHS Secretary and supposedly rejected the offer of Interior Secretary. Becerra had filed 100 lawsuits against DDT by last September, but he also joined Republicans for better health.

In other decisions, Biden picked others on his health team:

CDC director: Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, who will replace Robert Redfield.

U.S. surgeon general: Dr. Vivek Murthy, surgeon general for President Barack Obama. Murthy gained disfavor with Republicans because he declared gun violence is a public health problem.

COVID-19 coordinator (aka “czar”): Jeffrey D. Zients, who fixed President Obama’s problematic rollout of the ACA insurance marketplace. The job involves an increase in testing, mobilization of economic aid, and the vaccine distribution.

Focusing on Health Disparities: Marcella Nunez-Smith, an expert on healthcare inequalities.

Earlier, U.S. officials promised to distribute 300 million doses of vaccine in December, treatment for 150 million people, but the number was dropped by 90 percent because of manufacturing issues and bottlenecks in obtaining raw materials. One company had batch failures. DDT’s leader of “Operation Warp Speed,” Moncef Slaoui, had said last May he was sure “several hundred million” doses of vaccine would be ready by the end of this month. The November 9 news release about Pfizer vaccine buried the information about far fewer available doses.

The quantity of the vaccine may have been public information, but Biden reported a lack of “detail” in distributing the vaccine to the public. He said DDT’s administration shared information, but “there is no detailed plan that we’ve seen, anyway, as to how you get the vaccine out of a container, into an injection syringe, into somebody’s arm.” Biden added that the process would be extremely expensive but won’t say whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) would talk to him. Sunday morning, HHS Secretary Alex Azar claimed Biden’s criticism is just “nonsense,” that they have “comprehensive plans.” Legally, he’s required to share them with Biden—if he has them.

Slaoui still has conflicts of interest from his investments in the vaccine. DDT hired Slaoui as a “contractor” so he doesn’t need to follow ethics rules. Slaoui claims he has “a personal compass in ethics.” Although he sold his Moderna stock, he still has shares in Lonza Group, a company contracting with Moderna. Other Operation Warp Speed advisers—William Erhardt, Rachel Harrigan and Carlo de Notaristefani—have potential conflicts of interests despite HHS’ claims to the contrary. All three have holdings in companies involved on coronavirus vaccines, treatments, and tests including Pfizer, Thermo Fisher Scientific, PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals, Incyte Pharmaceuticals, and Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Public pressure may have pushed the Pentagon into complying with the law. A senior defense official said members of Biden’s team will receive briefings from the Pentagon intelligence agencies on Monday after continued refusal. The Defense Department is still blaming the transition team for the delay, but Kash Patel, DDT’s Pentagon chief of staff for under four weeks, is rewriting policy descriptions to make DDT look good before he shares them with Biden’s transition team. Patel also “told everybody we’re not going to cooperate with the transition team,” according to an official and will be “controlling the information flow.”  

The Pentagon has stalled for two weeks, and the GSA had stalled for the previous two weeks. Patel is blaming the recently appointed transition leader, Tom Muir, but he’s still responsible for restricting information about time-sensitive policies for Iran, Afghanistan, and North Korea. In the past, career officials were in charge of communications with presidents-elect.

The Pentagon may be providing transition information to Biden as president-elect, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch  McConnell (R-KY) is one of the 222 congressional members—88 percent—who won’t admit Biden was elected as president. Two, GOP Reps. Paul A. Gosar (AZ) and Mo Brooks (AL), actually believe DDT won. DDT expressed surprise so many Republicans thought DDT lost and demanded their names. McConnell’s pithy statement:

“The future will take care of itself.”

Asked how he will combat Biden’s executive orders, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said:

“Let’s wait until [we see] who’s sworn in, and we can discuss that.”

DeAnna Lorraine, a former GOP congressional candidate in California, tweeted a question:

“Does anyone else find it odd that no prominent Democrats have had the virus but the list of Republicans goes on and on?”

DDT’s chief lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has been added to the “list of Republicans” with the virus after spending the last month going across the country to participate in lawsuits on behalf of DDT’s fruitless attempt to stay in the Oval Office. Just last week, he was at a hearing in the Michigan House of Representatives arguing his case and in a Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. He almost never wore a mask during his journeys. His son Andrew tested positive on November 20. Rudy Giuliani, 76, is now hospitalized.

The answer to Ms. Lorraine—no, it isn’t “odd” so many Republicans test positive for COVID-19. They don’t take precautions. For example, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has invited 900 people to a party with no mask mandate.

Opening the DACA program to about 1 million undocumented immigrant teens brought to the U.S. by their parents, a federal judge ordered it completely reinstated and told DHS to publish a notice that it is accepting new applicants—immediately. DDT stopped accepting new applicants in 2017 and dropped the two-year work permits to one year last summer. The judge also mandated the return to two years because Chad Wolf’s appointment to acting director violated the qualifications for the position. Last fall, the Supreme Court ruled DHS couldn’t end DACA because the department couldn’t explain why it ended the program. DDT disobeyed the court and reduced the program. A new court may support DDT’s position because Amy Coney Barrett, assigned to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat, may vote against DACA.

The chain of command: 

1. DHS Secretary:
2. Deputy secretary.
3. Under Secretary for Management.
4. Administrator of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
5. Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
6. Undersecretary for science and technology.
7. Undersecretary for intelligence and analysis.
8. Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection.
9. Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Because people in the first four positions had no Senate confirmations, Chris Krebs, former CISA director, should have been the acting Secretary instead of Wolf. When DDT fired Krebs last month, David Pekoske, TSA administrator is the most senior member with the top eight lacking Senate-confirmed appointments. The would make him the highest person for acting DHS Secretary.

This fiasco demonstrates a major problem for Biden after January 20: filling vacancies. Acting appointees must come from people in a Senate-confirmed position or a senior civil “officer or employee” in the same agency and can serve for only 210 days, according to the 1998 law DDT frequently ignored. If Republicans take the Senate and McConnell drags his heels, Biden could have great difficulty finding even acting personnel. In addition, most of Senate-confirmed positions are DDT’s appointments.   

Last week, a judge overruled two DDT rules curtailing the annual number of issued visas to skilled foreign workers. DDT had restricted the H-1B visa program by imposing salary requirements on employing companies and creating limits on specialty occupations. The opinion criticized the lack of transparency procedures and the false use of the pandemic for an idea he had proposed earlier. California universities sued because of inadequate notice. Up to 85,000+ H1-B annual visas for technology, engineering, and medicine applicable for three years and renewable were seriously cut back. 

Amid all the lies DDT told at his Georgia rally Saturday night, he may have tacitly admitted he lost the election. He initially said, “I won” but moved on with this comment:

“They say that if you win Florida and if you win Ohio, in history you’ve never lost an election. This has got to be a first time.”

DDT is going out the same way he came in—with a racist conspiracy theory. In 2011, he began with his “birther” position—that President Obama was born in Kenya instead of Hawaii—and continued the claim throughout his campaign until September before the 2016 election. Saturday night he referred to the South African myth about Blacks taking white farms in the country. He lied that Black Democrats were going to steal the white Georgia land and “privately owned firearms. He also said he read activist Stacey Abrams “accumulated 850,000 ballots,” again opposing mail-in voting with his toxic falsehoods.

The desperate hate-filled lies continue.

DDT, GOP Threaten U.S. People

The news keeps coming, fast and furious. Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) says he’s suing Nevada for its legislation to send mail-in ballots to all registered voters in the state just like five other states do. DDT finished an angry tweet, “See you in Court!” At DDT’s direction, the RNC protested the new law. The RNC chair said Republicans came out in full force to oppose the state’s new voting system. Eighteen people showed up. Remember when Republicans claimed a belief in states’ rights? [Visual – Protests states rights]

Social distancing takes on new meaning for senatorial candidates as Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) threw Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) under the bus with the new stimulus bill and McConnell told GOP candidates they can “distance” themselves from DDT. DDT’s mismanagement in the economy, the loss of relief money, the ending of evictions’ moratoria, “unjust civil” courts, and his insistence that schools reopen despite the vast majority of people opposing it are a few of the problems candidates will face when they go home for over a month in August.

A sacred part of the stimulus bill to McConnell is preventing employees from suing for problems from COVID-19, but DDT said he’s willing to drop the “liability shield” as part of the next bill. Calling this part of the bill a “red line,” McConnell said that he won’t bring up a bill that doesn’t include this “protection” for employers, hospitals, and schools. Democrats maintain that the provision would allow employers the ability to endanger workers with no repercussion. McConnell is also fighting against DDT’s wish for an extension of unemployment benefits which expired last week.

DDT created more troubles today when he whined at the press conference (aka campaign rally) that Democrats want funding for “Democratic-led cities and states.” “We don’t think that’s fair,” he said. Democrats have not limited funding for just Democrats. GOP senators rejected last week’s stimulus bill so Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and DDT’s chief of staff Mark Meadows are leading the talks. Congress is scheduled to leave Washington DC this Friday until September. Stephen Moore told DDT to stop collecting payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare, another prime DDT desire, by declaring a “national economic emergency.” Moore didn’t explain how less revenue for the U.S. would solve an economic crisis.

Forty-five percent of GOP senators—including McConnell—are running for reelection this year, and DDT’s rosy response about the rapidly growing number of infections and deaths, especially in red states throughout the South and Midwest, have put them in a box. Unfortunately for these candidates, DDT stays popular with his GOP base. These GOP senators are in danger of losing: Susan Collins (ME), Steve Daines (MT), Joni Ernst (IA), Cory Gardner (CO), Martha McSally (AZ), Dan Sullivan (AK), and Thom Tillis (NC). Many people also hope that McConnell might not get reelected. Democrats need only four more senators for a majority, and only Doug Jones (D-GA) is at risk of not being reelected.

At DDT’s White House campaign rally today, he said that the USPS can’t handle mail-in ballots. This is after he guaranteed his new appointments would slow down mail delivery. All he has accomplished thus far is make Republicans afraid to mail in their ballots. In a swing state, only 15 percent of Republicans requested absentee ballots. At least 77 percent of U.S. voters can use the mail to vote, but DDT is convincing his base that this system is “rigged” and “fraudulent.”

A few weeks ago, Republicans in Michigan burned absentee ballot applications to protest voting by mail. “Operation Incinerator” took place in the streets of Grand Rapids (MI). They also complained about the cost of mailing applications ($4.5 million from the federal government) without mentioning the $100+ million the federal government paid for a worthless letter from DDT, giving himself credit for the $1,200 checks provide by taxpayers.  

The smell from DDT’s appointment, Anthony Tata, for undersecretary of defense for policy was so bad that even GOP senators couldn’t hold their noses long enough to confirm him. So DDT gave him an acting appointment. He’s DDT’s kind of guy with his Islamophobic comments, references to President Obama as a “terrorist leader” and Muslim, descriptions of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) as “violent extremists,” and the addition of “#liberalplanation” hashtag to his tween about CNN’s Don Lemon. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, known to groups such as veterans as “Yesper,” originally appointed Tata to another job that allowed him to be moved into the current one.

Days after DDT announced a ban on TikTok social media sharing app, he said that it could do business if it were purchased by a U.S. company such as Microsoft by September 15. The “favor” for the purchaser is their putting a “substantial” amount of money into the U.S. Treasury, blackmail—or maybe bribery—for them to obtain the rights. DDT referred the payment as “key money,” illegal in many states and situations.

Brazil news reported U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Todd Chapman wants a favor—Brazilian officials helping DDT’s reelection by lowering ethanol tariffs. News reported out Chapman’s letter explained, “Iowa is the largest ethanol producer in the United States…and could be a key player in Trump’s election. Hence the importance … for the Bolsonaro government to do the U.S. a favor.” According to he publication Estadão, government officials refused. If true, Chapman’s actions would violate the Hatch Act preventing federal employees from partisan political activities. Chapman’s term “favor” mirrors DDT’s request to Ukraine. The State Department tried to hide the illegality by claiming that the requests for a general policy of getting Brazil to lower tariffs, not related to a political campaign. Remember when GOP senators voted against impeaching DDT because he had “learned his lesson”?

Fox host Chris Wallace asked DDT’s campaign adviser Jason Miller if foreign governments gave DDT information about Joe Biden. Miller avoided answering by saying it was a “silly question” and moving onto false accusations about the Hillary Clinton campaign receiving foreign assistance. Miller also refused three times to respond whether DDT’s campaign would reject election assistance from a foreign government. DDT has already said in another interview that he wants foreign government help in defeating Biden.

Last week, Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY) asked Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) at a House Intelligence Committee meeting if he had received anti-Biden information from a Kremlin-linked Ukrainian source. Nunes wouldn’t answer. ABC reporter asked Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) if he relied on pro-Russia Ukrainian information. Johnson cited “information from a variety of sources.” GOP senators consistently oppose legislation requiring campaigns to report foreign elections to the FBI.

For almost four years, DDT promised a healthcare plan program. On July 19, he told Fox anchor, “We’re signing a health-care plan within two weeks, a full and complete health-care plan.” That deadline expired yesterday with no replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Only DDT sycophant Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) seems to know anything about a plan, and he was vague. In June, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said a new healthcare plan would be developed only if the Supreme Court overturned the ACA this coming year. 

DDT’s Census Bureau is cutting door-knocking for 2020 a month early on September 30 after his plan to not count undocumented immigrants went sour. The result will be a serious undercount: only 60 percent of households have responded to the census and no one knows how long people can report online. The census is vital to establish shares of congressional seats; Electoral College votes; and funding for Medicare, Medicaid and other public services. Cutting down on the time will satisfy DDT’s desire for overrepresentation of white, non-Latinx population.

The GOP convention has moved back to Charlotte (NC) although DDT had said he would never be nominated there. An oddity, however, is  the press possibly denied attendance. Even Republican delegates wonder what the RNC is hiding. With fewer than three weeks to go, the RNC has not released details about convention programming.

The Friday night news dump, designed to minimize embarrassing information, put out the extensive conflicts of interest for DDT’s advisers Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. Last year, their companies holding residential and commercial properties earned $36.2 million to $157 million, at least up $7 million from the minimum of $29 million in 2018.

People in the United States may perceive the media as biased, but 84 percent in a recent Gallup poll agreed news media is “critical” or “very important” to democracy. Yet 92 percent ensure people provide accurate and fair news reports, 91 percent ensure people are informed about public affairs, and 85 percent hold leaders accountable for their actions.

The godly Jerry Falwell, DDT supporter and head of Liberty University, published this photo of himself and and a woman while on vacation. DDT’s former fixer Michael Cohen supposedly helped the Falwells deal with a leak of sexually revealing photos, and photographs of Falwell at a nightclub have been published. These are activities banned for his ultra-Christian university students and staff. 

 

August 3: In the world, 18,447,759 people have been infected by coronavirus, and 697,245 have died of the disease. The number of deaths will surpass 700,000 by tomorrow. The U.S. has 4,862,210 cases, due to hit over 5 million in less than three days, and 158,930 deaths, on the way to surpass 160,000 in a day.

Barr: ‘Not That I Remember’

In today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing, AG Bill Barr confirmed to the free world that the United States is well on its way toward becoming an authoritarian nation. The U.S. attorney general supposedly supports the people of the United States, but his testimony further guaranteed he sees his sole purpose is protecting Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) and the Department of Justice is no longer an independent agency.

The British publication Independent summarized Barr’s misconduct:

“Barr misrepresented the Mueller report; refused to pursue the Inspector General for the Intelligence Community’s Trump-Ukraine criminal referral; interfered in the criminal cases of President Trump’s allies; fired the US Attorney at the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman; ordered the brutal clearing of peaceful protestors at Lafayette Square for Trump’s bible-holding photo op; and made some controversial remarks about racism in America…

“He falsely called the “Russiagate” scandal ‘bogus,’ falsely claimed President Trump has never interfered in his work (Trump has done so publicly), defended unleashing brutality on protestors, and denied systemic racism in policing. As Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) would later say in this hearing, the statement ‘read like it was written by Alex Jones or Roger Stone.’”

Barr’s testimony was marked by obfuscation, delaying, lying, and the repeated statement, “Not that I Remember.” [Horrible memory for a person who runs one of the most important agencies in the United States!] Samples of the hearing:

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) asked about the right-wing protesters occupying the Michigan Capitol where they “carried guns, Confederate flags, and swastikas, and call for the governor of Michigan to be beheaded and shot and lynched.” Barr said he didn’t know anything about it. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) pointed out Barr’s selective objections to protesting: the AG doesn’t mind when the protesters are armed right-wingers belligerently objecting to stay-at-home orders.

Barr claimed violent clearing of peaceful protesters in DC’s Lafayette Park was to move the perimeter, not for DDT’s photo-op. He also denied tear gas was used despite proof to the contrary.

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) asked if Barr had ever recommended a reduced sentence for anyone other than DDT’s friends. Barr couldn’t remember anyone. Swalwell followed by asking why the DOJ told DDT’s former fixer Michael Cohen he would go back to solitary in prison if he didn’t sign an agreement to not write a book or speak to the media. Barr said he didn’t know anything about it.

Rep. Jackson Lee (D-TX) asked about systemic racism. Barr denied it existed.

Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) asked about excessive use of force primarily against Black people. Barr said that more Blacks were killed by other Blacks than by police officers.

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) asked if president’s accepting or soliciting foreign assistance in an election is appropriate. Barr first said it “depends” on the assistance. Cicilline said “any kind”; Barr struggled and finally said no.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) questioned Barr about DDT’s response to the COVID-19 CRISIS. Barr said he needed “to see the context” when Jeffries quoted Barr describing DDT’s guidance as “superb.” About DDT’s suggestion that people treat the virus by swallowing disinfectants, Barr said, “That’s not what I heard.” He also repeated the debunked claims that President Obama had not replaced the PPE although DDT had three years and sent much of the supplies to other countries at the beginning of the pandemic.

Jeffries also asked Barr what he would do if DDT loses the election but refuses to leave office. Barr said, “If the results are clear, I will leave office.” He added he was “not familiar” with DDT’s comments on the issue.

Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) questioned Barr about his lying in April when he said that “the White House fully cooperated with the special counsel’s investigation.” Barr answered, “Mm-hmm” before he said he meant only “the supplying of documents.” Neguse said that Barr knew when he made the statement DDT had not agreed to be interviewed by the special counsel, and Barr became visibly uncomfortable.  

Neguse continued with questioning Barr’s claim that former U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman had “stepped down” from his position. Barr laughed and answered, “He may not have known it, but he was stepping down. He was being removed!” Neguse told Barr he lied because the statement didn’t say Berman was being removed or fired.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) asked about the legality of advanced surveillance techniques—cell-site simulators, facial recognition, and sweeping surveillance of internet activity—on protesters. Barr answered, “I really can’t speak to those instances if they’ve in fact occurred.” The question was raised about whether Barr thinks DDT can have mass surveillance of protesters without congressional authorization. On July 21, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) wrote Barr and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe asking them to confirm that federal agencies stopped surveillance operations authorized under the now-expired FISA provisions.

Some of Barr’s statements attempting to defend his actions:

Referring to shortening Roger Stone’s sentence for lying under oath: “Do you think it’s fair for a 67-year-old man to be sentenced to prison for seven to nine years?”

About the acceleration of protesting in Portland (OR) by sending in untrained, violent federal agents: “What unfolds nightly around the courthouse cannot reasonably be called a protest; it is, by any objective measure, an assault on the government of the United States.”

Defending police killing of unarmed Black people: Barr said studies show “police are less likely to shoot at a black suspect, a little more likely to shoot at a white suspect.”

A fact-check on Barr’s statements from the conservative Oregonian:

Barr: There have been two months of violent protests and rioting in Portland. Both attendance and the level of violence have waxed and waned since May 28, and no one has consistently described the nightly groups as riots. The vast majority of the gathering is peaceful, and the federal courthouse became a target only when federal agents (aka DDT’s militia) were sent to Portland in early July. The protests escalated after a federal agent shot peaceful protester Donovan La Bella in the head.

Barr: Antifa is active in the Portland demonstrations. A variety of left-wing groups have participated in the protests, but they don’t collaborate. Recently large groups of mothers, dads, teachers, healthcare workers, lawyers, and veterans have identified themselves by their garb. Violence has come from far-right extremists, dressing in traditional antifa-appearing clothing.

Barr: Protests are being hijacked by violent demonstrators whose primary aim is to injure federal officers. Although federal agents disperse crowds without discrimination or warning, they seem to focus on volunteer medics. Protesters, including La Bella, have received high-profile injuries without provocation.

Barr: There are less than 100 federal officers deployed in Portland. The count is at least 114 federal agents, and several FBI agents are investigating protesters’ alleged criminal activity.

Six mayors from Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Washington DC, Albuquerque, and Kansas City (MO) sent a letter to Congress requesting legislation to block DDT’s “unacceptable, un-American, and unconstitutional” use of force. They wrote, “This provocation is resulting in direct physical harm to our communities and must end.” [Below: federal and local law enforcement collaborate.] 

Other cities are discovering the violence from right-wing extremists as DDT sends his militia across the country. Richmond (VA) police arrested six right-wing saboteurs carrying pro-BLM signs and breaking windows at downtown businesses. Boogaloo members wearing Hawaiian shirts to signify their push for a racial war have appeared in Minneapolis, Salisbury (NC), Bentonville (AR), Seattle, and Los Angeles. One of the members, arrested at a Denver protest, had a large arsenal in his car’s trunk. A fake flyer in Olympia falsely offered $200 per individual to act as “paid protesters,” supposedly paid by George Soros and the Open Society Foundation. The white nationalist Evropa organization spread a hoax on Twitter advocating violence, tweets which Donald Trump Jr used to support his father’s blame on antifascists for violence.

Meanwhile, protesters are losing their constitutional rights. Federal agents are arresting protesters for such minor offenses as “failing to obey” an order to get off a sidewalk on federal property. At least 12 of those arrested were released from jail only if they agreed to not attend protests, some of them anywhere in Oregon—a violation of their First Amendment rights. The order was signed by a federal magistrate in Portland.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said the federal government’s authoritarian behavior poses an “enormous” threat to democracy, and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) described the tactics as “an all-out assault in military-style fashion.” Military control of the U.S. was last imposed in the U.S. after the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941.

A sliver of hope comes from talks between Oregon’s Gov. Kate Brown and the federal government to reduce federal agents if the state increases its own enforcement. There is no agreement, but DDT may realize that his militia’s violence isn’t getting him votes.

DDT Sends His ‘SS’ to Instigate Violence in Portland, Oregon

The closer the 2020 election comes, the crazier (literally!) Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) becomes. Refused the military for breaking up protesters, he sent “federal agents” to Portland (OR) where a peaceful protester stood on the street. Donovan LaBella, 26, (right) kicked a can of tear gas away from him and raised a speaker above his head; DDT’s thugs fired “less lethal” munitions at the man’s face, leaving him hospitalized with a fractured skull as shown in this video.  

In a June tweet, DDT thanked the “SS” for tear gassing peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C. The reference to Nazi SS is appropriate for stormtroopers DDT used to turn Portland into a Third-World culture. During nightly protests, similar to those in other cities, these federal agents, supposedly protecting “federal property,” drive city streets in unmarked minivans, far from federal property, and abduct people not involved in criminal activity. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf refers to protesters as “a violent mob” putting Portland “under siege” as “local political leaders refuse to restore order to protect their city.” He listed “lawless destruction and violence” from these “violent anarchists”—primarily graffiti. DDT praised the agents’ Third World authoritarian actions while ignoring the violence of his white supremacist followers who kill and wound people, including viciously driving cars into groups of protesters.

When Mark Pettibone and Conner O’Shea were walking home, people wearing camouflage and body armor jumped out of an unmarked vehicle. Shea said he ran and hid from a second unmarked van. Pettibone said he “was basically tossed into the van. And I had my beanie pulled over my face so I couldn’t see and they held my hands over my head.” He added he was driven around downtown and then unloaded inside a building which he discovered after his release was the federal courthouse. Searching his belongings, one of the men said, “This is a whole lot of nothing.” In a cell, Pettibone was read his Miranda rights and asked if he would waive rights and answer questions. He asked for a lawyer and was released about 90 minutes later with no paperwork, citation, or arrest record.

None of the people in the van identified themselves, and both Pettibone and O’Shea said they only attend protests—no vandalism. Pettibone said:

“I have a pretty strong philosophical conviction that I will not engage in any violent activity. I keep it mellow and try to document police brutality and try to show up for solidarity.”

Any federal arrests away from federal property may not hold up because local officials did not give permission for the agents’ presence. DDT is using 40 U.S. Code 1315 to take over the city. The U.S. is a federal system with states’ rights, and protesting is a First Amendment right:

“Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech … or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Oregon officials lack authority to tell federal agents to leave the city. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler told Wolf: either keep his agents inside the buildings they claim to protect or take them from the city. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said DDT had sent in the agents for political purposes in an appeal to his base. Wheeler told DDT on his social media his agents make the situation worse. The federal agents can use tear gas; a state law blocks the police from its use except to quash riots, an excuse they are using more often.

The U.S. Marshals Service refused to comment about unmarked vehicles, at least one of them locally rented, but asserted, “Our agency did not arrest or detain Mark James Pettibone.” OPB submitted questions regarding the episode to DHS; the response was only that Wolf was in Portland during the day. Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan called the protesters criminals.

Portland police cleared two Portland parks yesterday and put fences around them. Of the nine people the police arrested, three cooked free food at the barbecue stand Riot Ribs. Chef Lorenzo named the tent stand Riot Ribs because police accused him of starting a riot by giving away food. Law enforcement tear gassed the tent six times when he started on July 4, but he stayed after medics treated his eyes. City officials told him to get a permit, but the city code declares tents in parks are not “structures.” Beans, a volunteer, said the group has one bulletproof vest and donated gas masks. A volunteer stays on the grill when police rush the park.

U.S. District Judge Michael Simon ruled the Oregon ACLU can add the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service as defendants in a lawsuit alleging police are targeting journalists and legal observers covering ongoing protests in Portland. His decision allows the ACLU to file a temporary restraining order through the end of October against federal law enforcement, with restrictions already placed on Portland police such as barring the police from arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against journalists or legal observers unless they “reasonably know” that person has committed a crime.

Federal agents fired on at least two independent journalists wearing clothing with “press” in large block letters who were trying to document a protest on July 11. One was hit in the back with a tear gas canister and repeatedly shot with pepper bullets and other munitions while trying to film the tear gassing. The other was shot with enough force to tear his shirt. Portland police also attacked journalists while knowing they were with the press.

“I think Portland is a test case,” Zakir Khan, a spokesman for the Oregon chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said. “They want to see what they can get away with before launching into other parts of the country.”

Tess Riski in the Willamette Weekly:

“The sight of armed federal officers—who look dressed for overseas combat or the U.S. border they are trained to protect—is an alarming one for many citizens. The image summons memories of other moments of civil unrest in U.S. history: National Guardsmen shooting college students at Kent State in 1970, or federal troops responding to the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles in 1992….

“On July 13, Trump boasted that his agencies curbed an uprising in Portland that local cops couldn’t control. ‘We’ve done a great job in Portland,’ Trump said. ‘Portland was totally out of control. We very much quelled it, and if it starts again, we’ll quell it again very easily. It’s not hard to do, if you know what you’re doing.’”

The protests increased after his statement.

Riski’s statistics:

• 17: Days federal officers actively patrolled Portland.
• 4*: Number of agencies patrolling Portland—Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Protective Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC). *The FBI assists with investigative follow-up on select arrests.
• 19: Minimum number of protesters federal officers have arrested since July 3.
• 10: Years in prison from maximum sentence.
• 4: Number of people charged after shining a green laser in officers’ eyes.
• 120: Feet from which a man shined a green laser at officers.
• $50,000: Monetary damage at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse which agencies were sent to protect.
• 2.5: Width in feet of a “flimsy” plastic shield a protester carried before her arrest.

Tom Dickinson provides an excellent overview of Portland’s past and present struggles with police brutality.

Dana Milbank was right: “Whenever you are asked to name the lowest moment of the Trump presidency, one answer is almost always correct: Tomorrow.”

Desperate to look competent after the COVID-19 debacle, DDT has failed. A recent Quinnipiac poll shows voters backing Joe Biden over DDT 52 percent to 37 percent, up from 49 percent to 41 percent from a month ago.   Independents support Biden over DDT 51 percent to 34 percent, compared to 43 percent to 40 percent for Biden’s favor last month. DDT’s approval rating dropped six points to 36 percent in the past month, and approval of his handling of the economy almost reversed, now 44 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval from June’s 52 percent approval to 45 percent disapproval.

Governors used to have more approval in handling COVID-19 than DDT. On an average, Democratic governors keep that approval, but the 26 GOP governors are losing it. The biggest drops are in Arizona and Florida, but GOP governors in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Ohio have high approvals. Specifics are available here.

In other polling:

• 66 percent: DDT should release his present and past tax returns.
• 68 percent: Voters have the right to see presidential candidates’ financial records before the election.
• 50 percent: DDT doesn’t release records because it will make his re-election more difficult.
• 26 percent: DDT’s taxes contain “incriminating evidence against him.
• 7 percent: DDT won’t release tax returns because he’s being audited.
• 65 percent: DDT shouldn’t cut federal funding for schools not normally opening.
• 53 percent: Voters are somewhat or strongly opposed to fully opening day cares of K-12 schools.
• 38 percent: DDT is handling the virus (down from 46 percent in May and 51 percent in March).
• 60 percent: Voters disapprove of the virus outbreak (up from 53 percent in May and 45 percent in March).
• 63 percent: Controlling the virus spread is more important even if the economy is hurt (up from 57 percent in May).

White House official Kellyanne Conway explained DDT’s polls dropped because he wasn’t giving daily COVID-19 “updates.”

COVID-19 in the U.S.: 3,770,012 cases; 74,987 new cases in last 24 hours; 142,064 deaths.

The U.S., a Failing State

A definition for 2020 is clear sight or “accurate discernment, judgment, or assessment hindsight.” The year 2020 clearly shows the United States as a failing state, defined by Rebecca Gordon as “a political entity whose government has ceased to perform most or all of its basic functions. Such a condition can result from civil war, untrammeled corruption, natural disaster, or some combination of those and more.” The Fund for Peace has four criteria:

1. “Loss of control of its territory, or of the monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force therein
2. Erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions
3. Inability to provide public services
4. Inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community”

1. Loss of control: The administration of Dictator Donald Trump (DDT) is replacing the rule of law with the wishes of one man who threatens his citizens with military force, ordering law enforcement to attack legal peaceful protesters to show his power. DDT encouraged his rally audience to “knock the crap out of hecklers” and congratulated a GOP congressman for physically attacking a reporter. DDT sees white supremacists who commit violence as “very fine people” and encourages to physically menace legislators debating Michigan’s stay-at-home policies. 

2. Erosion of legitimate authority: The growing suppression of voting increasingly removes collective decisions and replaces them with control by the wealthy. The Supreme Court elimination of the 1965 Voting Rights Act accelerated unequal access to the polls in 25 states during the past decade with voter ID mandates and restrictions on early voting, number and placement of polling places, and vote-by-mail. DDT failed to find voting fraud with a now defunct presidential commission and now spreads lies about vote by mail. DDT’s goal is to undermine confidence in elections to cover himself if he loses in November. For months, people have asked what can be done if DDT loses but stays in the White House. Today, DDT’s Supreme Court majority temporarily froze a decision from a lower court: people in Alabama are stopped from safely voting in its July 14th primary through requesting mail-in ballots. 

3. Failure to Provide Public Services: Just this year, DDT failed to stop COVID-19, causing a tripling of the unemployment rate and pushed a disastrous recession that could destroy the nation’s economy. Six months after an awareness of the disease in China, the government lacks enough equipment and supplies to care for millions of infected people. DDT insisted on reopening businesses and created a massive surge in the virus. He favors his friends and donors by giving them contracts. For example, Fillakit, a new contractor, took $7.3 million for plastic tubes for making soda bottles instead of the ordered test tubes. The contaminated product doesn’t fit the racks for lab analysis. Without masks and in the open air, employees used snow shovels to put the unsterilized tubes into plastic bins. In the early onslaught of COVID-19 in the U.S., the White House knew the CDC distributed contaminated tests to states.  As the number of infections and deaths hit a new peak, DDT has gone to court to remove healthcare for 23 million people in the U.S. Without the preexisting condition requirement, the millions of people contracting COVID-19 cannot be covered for any issues attributed to the virus.

4. Inability to interact with other states: Since his inauguration, DDT consistently cozied up to world dictators and alienated countries of the free world. He pulled the U.S. out of successful and hopeful treaties such as denuclearization of Iran and a world-wide climate agreement. He threatened to drop NATO and placed sanctions on cooperative countries of the International Criminal Court. He even pulled out of the World Health Organization in the midst of a pandemic. This past week, DDT turned his back on global cooperation in buying the entire three-month stock of remdesivir—a medication that might lessen stays in the hospital for people with COVID-19—so no one else could have any at a cost of $1.56 billion.

Today, the U.S., with 4.25 percent of the world’s population, has 26 percent of the over 11 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 25 percent of the world’s deaths, and cases are rising in 36 states. Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress this past week the new COVID-19 cases, over 55,000 for each of the past four days, may rise to 100,000 a day. The count for today, July 3: 2,890,588 infections; 132,101 deaths. Statistics would show more infections and deaths if the reporting was honest.

The increasing numbers of deaths within jails and prisons brings to light the unnecessary and cruel incarceration in the U.S. along with the massive disconnect in healthcare services between the well-off and the marginalized communities. Homelessness suffers from the same health disaster in the greatest income inequality since the Gilded Age from tax cuts for the rich and the destruction of public services including education and infrastructure. In the U.S., 63 million people lack clean drinking water. As the virus expanded during the first three months of 2020, over $6.5 trillion in household wealth in the global economy equivalent to the combined economies of France and the UK; since March 18, U.S. billionaires have gained 20 percent in wealth–$584 billion.

Federal officials failed to protect healthcare workers by closing many of the over 4,100 coronavirus-related workplace safety complaints without taking action. At least 35 healthcare workers died after OSHA received safety complaints about their workplaces. Other than 275 fatality ongoing probes and 1,300 open healthcare complaints, the remainder of the complaints are listed “closed” in OSHA’s database. Its only citation was a $3,900 fine for a Georgia nursing home.

The man in the Oval Office declared himself a wartime president against COVID-19 and then surrendered. This week he said people will just have to “live with it” about millions of people contracting the disease, hundreds of thousands of people dying from it, and the economy crashing. DDT also claimed “not one governor needed anything” when VP Mike Pence’s questions. Yet across the nation, governors have asked Pence for help with viral spikes in their states.

Instead of trying to solve the COVID-19 disaster, DDT’s HHS Secretary Alex Azar is campaigning in election battleground states and pushing for reopening businesses. Last Sunday, Alex Azar called the virus a catastrophe but laid responsibility for handling it anyplace except the federal government.

A serious loss for democracy is this week’s decision from the Supreme Court, putting the Christian church in charge of the nation. Forcing taxpayers in Montana to pay for religious education, the high court violated the separation of church and state in the First Amendment. This ruling adds to DDT’s order that evangelicals can discriminate against women, LGBTQ people, Catholics, Muslims, atheists, differently abled, etc. in other areas such as fostering children. Private schools became popular in the mid-20^th century to oppose racial integration.

The Supreme Court also conceals information about DDT by taking an appeal from a lower court decision making grand jury materials from the Mueller report available to members of Congress. Even if the Supreme Court were to affirm the lower ruling—which is unlikely—the decision won’t come down until after the election. DDT will be protected from public knowledge about Russian interference in his 2016 win until after his next election.

Acting as DDT’s fixer, AG Bill Barr is picking off U.S. attorneys general, and Richard Donoghue, representing the Eastern District of New York, is the most recent one. The Brooklyn post investigated, among other people close to DDT, Tom Barrack who chaired his inaugural committee. Donoghue was also in charge of all DOJ investigations about Ukraine. Now he’s headed for Washington, and a good friend of Barr will likely replace him. On Memorial Day weekend, Barr also removed Joseph Brown, U.S. Attorney for eastern Texas, who had been blocked in his attempts to criminally charge Walmart for its part in an opioid case, and replaced Brown with Stephen Cox, one of the Washington officials who blocked the charges. 

Some state governors collaborate with DDT in making the U.S. a failed state. Although Texas Gov. Greg Abbott now requires wearing masks in public, less than two months ago his state attorney, Ken Paxton, threatened cities such as Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio with lawsuits if they require masks and sheltering in place. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who wants to preserve the economy by letting older people die, still insists, without evidence, the state reopen because infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” and “has been wrong every time in every issue.” Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts threatened cities with not giving them federal virus relief funding if they require people to wear masks in government buildings.  Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey blocked cities and counties from restrictions to stop the spread of COVID-19 until June 17. All three of these states have serious spikes in the disease.

The United States is becoming a failed state, and Republicans work hard for it to happen.  

Week 178 – Glimmers of Hope for the Future

The media has been consumed today with how Dictator Donald Trump (DDT), who wanted to be the comeback kid, failed in Tulsa yesterday. Fire marshals estimated his crowd at 6,200 after DDT bragged that he has requests for over 1 million tickets. Reporters wrote about how teenage TikTok users and Korean pop music fans (aka K-pop stans) quietly spread the news to Snapchat and Instagram users to order tickets from false accounts and telephone numbers as a prank.  

DDT was furious with the small turnout and the publicizing of six campaign workers infected with COVID-19. The result was a low-energy event, especially when he returned home shown by this video of his return to Washington. People question if he will be explaining by the end of the week he was only inspecting the inside of BOK Center.

Missing from his 123-minute speech: references to tragic deaths of Black people, anything about Juneteenth and the end of slavery, the number of people who have died from COVID-19, the unemployed tens of millions, and any sense of compassion or empathy for suffering people. Important stuff that DDT shared in his speech with lots of lies: 15-minute detail of how well he can walk, a demonstration of how he can drink with one hand instead of two hands (causing the crowd to go wild with cheering), horrible, radical “rioters” in the streets, and his order to “my people”:

“When you do more testing to that extent, you are going to find more people, you will find more cases. I said to my people, ‘Slow the testing down, please.’”  

This week, DDT heads to Arizona, speaking at a megachurch with a capacity of 3,000. When Students for Trump rented the Dream City Church auditorium in northern Phoenix, the church didn’t know the purpose was DDT’s campaign rally. It stated online, “facility rental does not constitute endorsement of the opinions of its renters.” Phoenix now has a mask ordinance. DDT also plans to look at his border wall at Yuma, among the hardest hit locations in the state which has become a hot spot for COVID-19. 

After refusing to reveal any information about which businesses received the $600 billion from the CARES $2.3 trillion act, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin caved into the protests and announced he will announce general information. Loans of under $150,000, about 25 percent of the total, will be lumped together into categories of industry, business type, and demographics with no names. The remainder will be groped by amount: $150,000-$350,000, $350,000-$1 million, $1 million to $2 million, $2 million to $5 million, and $5 million to $10 million. Demographics are vital because the agency gave no guidance to lenders about prioritizing rural, minority, and women business borrowers who may not have received loans guaranteed by legislation.

 In California, a district judge stopped enforcement of the Education Department’s rules preventing undocumented students at the state community colleges from getting a portion of the state’s $580 million from CARES funds for pandemic relief. The law does not restrict types of students eligible for aid.

A U.S. district judge in New York blocked ICE from making civil arrests at courthouses. A federal judge in Massachusetts make the same ruling last year; the appeal is pending.

The U.S. Soccer Federation repealed the league’s three-year-old ban on kneeling during the national anthem, and the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association apologized to its “players—especially our Black players—staff, fans, and all who support eradicating racism.”

After DC Circuit Court judge Lawrence Silberman called renaming U.S. bases honoring Confederate officers “mad,” a Black law clerk responded in this brilliant way, when he wrote about his slave ancestors.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) cannot order the 11 Confederate statues removed from the capitol, but she can take down four portraits of previous House Speakers who served in the Confederacy. One of them, Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter (left) who was expelled from the U.S. Senate for supporting the Confederacy, became the Confederate Secretary of State. The last House Speaker portrait to be removed was that of former Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-IL). In 2015, then Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) took it off the wall after Hastert pled guilty to breaking banking laws when he obtained hush money concealing molestation of young boys while he was a wrestling coach.

An investigation from a panel created by the National Academy of Public Administration panel found that NOAA violated its scientific integrity policy in “Sharpiegate,” NOAA’s backing of DDT’s falsifying Hurricane Dorian’s path last September. After DDT mistakenly identified the Hurricane going into Alabama, NOAA contradicted its own meteorologists, and DDT changed Dorian’s path on a map with his Sharpie pen. According to the report, NOAA’s acting administrator Neil Jacobs and former NOAA deputy chief of staff and communications director Julie Kay Roberts twice violated agency codes through their involvement in the Sept. 6 statement. Jacobs is still claiming that DDT was correct in his ignorance that Alabama “will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated.” Jacob’s problems continue: The Commerce Department’s inspector general, responsible for NOAA, and the House Science Committee both plan to release reports. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross threatened to fire NOAA’s top employees if they didn’t endorse DDT’s fake claims. 

A three-judge panel of the DC Circuit Court upheld the dismissal of a defamation lawsuit against former British spy Christopher Steele, center of the publicity surrounding the Mueller report. Russian investment giants, owners of the country’s Alfa Group, claimed Steele’s reports had defamed them.

The FDA withdrew the emergency use authorization for DDT’s COVID-19 drugs of choice, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, because of health problems they may cause.

The King County Labor Council, the largest labor group in the Seattle area, expelled the city’s police union because it fails to address racism. The vote was two days after the city council unanimously voted to ban police use of tear gas, pepper spray, etc. after law enforcement used them on primarily peaceful demonstrators. Among other police attacks on protesters, an officer deliberately pepper-sprayed a seven-year-old and then arrested Evan Hreha, who videoed the episode, with no evidence of any wrongdoing by Hreha.   

White supremacists, DDT’s base, have infiltrated protests to cause a race war. Steven Ray Baca, 31, opened fire against protesters trying to pull down a statue of Spanish conquistador and tyrant Juan de Oñate outside a museum in Albuquerque (NM), leaving a person in critical condition. Heavily armed people in military-style garb calling themselves a “civil guard” circled Baca for protection. Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, an avid far-right extremist “boogaloo boy,” killed a sheriff’s deputy in Santa Cruz County and an Oakland courthouse guard. A peaceful protest of 200 in small Bethel (OH) was overtaken by over 700 heavily-armed menacing people circling them like snipers. And more. DDT ignores the violence from the far-right while ranting against the far-left.

Facebook finally started deactivating DDT’s lying, hate-filled campaign ads, beginning with one using a Nazi symbol for political prisoners on protesters he falsely calls the Antifa and “far-left groups.” Along with the red inverted triangle, ads labeled peaceful protesters “Dangerous MOBS.” The campaign presented 88 ads, a significant number representing “Heil Hitler” in white supremacist code.

Earlier, FB took down ads with misleading references to U.S. Census and more recently one from DDT with copyrighted materials. The company proclaims, however, that it has a “light touch,” defending Holocaust deniers, claiming he did not believe “they were intentionally getting it wrong.”

Twitter marked a DDT campaign ad “manipulated media” to deceive viewers before the ad was removed because of copyright infringement. DDT’s campaign used an video from last year that went viral showing a white toddler chasing his best friend, a black toddler, to hug him and ran a fake CNN chryon, “TERRIFIED TODLER (sic) RUNS FROM RACIST BABY.” The ad used its fake chryon to accuse CNN of faking poll numbers. Facebook also removed the ad for copyright infringement. 

CNN’s Jim Acosta asked press secretary Kayleigh McEnany about DDT’s fake ad:

“So you’re saying it’s okay to exploit two toddlers hugging one another on a sidewalk to make some sort of political point? You — I mean, as you know, the President has described members of the press as ‘fake news’ during the course of this administration. When you share fake videos like that, doesn’t that make you fake news?”

McEnany tried to call DDT’s ad a satire “that was quite funny,” but Costa called her out, “What’s funny about these two toddlers … hugging one another?” The argument continued, and McEnany came out second in the exchange.

On its advertising platform, Google banned ZeroHedge, a far-right website trafficking in conspiracy theories after policy violations from comments about Black Lives Matter protests. The server also took the same action against The Federalist after a three-day warning. Google said that both websites violated its policy against monetizing content that “promotes hatred, intolerance, violence or discrimination based on race.” Having created a culture of monopolies, conservatives are complaining about how they behave.