Tracker

The Trump campaign’s Nazi symbol scandal just got a whole lot worse Yet another controversy involving President Donald Trump and his allies came about this week when Facebook removed some campaign ads that used an infamous symbol from the 1930s: a red inverted triangle, which Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime used to identify political prisoners ranging from communists and liberals to members of opposition parties. Trump’s campaign has, in essence, responded that it didn’t use that symbol to promote Nazi ideology, but to smear Antifa. Nonetheless, Trump’s critics have asserted that using that symbol in the first place was clueless and ignorant. And according to Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent, a leaked internal document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security makes Trump and his allies look even worse in this controversy. “After Facebook removed the ads amid an outcry,” Sargent explains, “the Trump campaign continued to defend use of the image — which was used by Nazis to identify political prisoners — by claiming it’s a ‘common Antifa symbol.’ The suggestion, of course, is that the image is justified by the idea that it’s associated with Antifa, so it’s merely a warning of a continuing menace to the country. ‘STOP ANTIFA,’ the ads say, warning of ‘dangerous MOBS of far-left groups’ that are ‘DESTROYING our cities.’” https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/the-trump-campaigns-nazi-symbol-scandal-just-got-a-whole-lot-worse/

Trump faces avalanche of criticism after his rude behavior is caught on video President Donald Trump was excoriated on social media after turning his attention to Twitter during a roundtable Thursday afternoon on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic as one attendee detailed the hardships faced by her small business due to the outbreak. “Get off your phone and pay attention!” tweeted author Jason Cranford Teague. The president began scrolling through his phone as a business owner described how the pandemic has affected her company’s operations, including the need for added runners and phone operators to handle social distancing requirements. Trump’s focus instead was apparently on composing a tweeted threat to China referring to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer’s comments Wednesday to the House that it was unlikely the Chinese and U.S. economies could “decouple.” https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/trump-faces-avalanche-of-criticism-after-his-rude-behavior-is-caught-on-video/

“Fox is terrible!”: Trump rages at network after poll shows him losing to Joe Biden by double digits Trump's campaign threatened legal action against CNN over a similarly unfavorable poll. Will it do the same to Fox? President Donald Trump lashed out at Fox News after the network's latest national poll showed him trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden by 12 points. Biden leads Trump 50-38 in the latest survey after the network found him leading by only eight points last month. "For over a year, the portion backing Trump against Biden has stayed between 37-42 percent," Fox News reported. "Biden's support has ranged from 42-52 percent." Days after his campaign threatened legal action against CNN over a poll which found Biden leading by a similar 14 points, the president alleged that the far more Trump-friendly Fox News had produced a "phony" poll which was "done by the same group of haters that got it even more wrong in 2016." https://www.salon.com/2020/06/19/fox-is-terrible-trump-rages-at-network-after-poll-shows-him-losing-to-joe-biden-by-double-digits/

But what would happen if the world and societies didn't go to Hell (literally and figuratively) if it became obvious that we could get by without religion? The Rex Humbugs and Jerry Feelwells would have to go out and get real jobs.

Was watching the late-night show last night and a couple of things really stood out for me and are still bothering me today. One black female comedienne spoke of her fears in living in New York with her boyfriend and that every time he went out being afraid that he might not come back as he had been accosted often by police. Another black female writer/director who had often been the object of harassment and discrimination by white in LA said,"White people should consider themselves lucky that all we want is equality and not revenge." It seems to me that there is a now very short window of time in the US where peaceful change is possible, but the way that the right-wingers are reacting with threats, violence and calls for militant action, I am not at all confident this is not going to end without a massive loss of life and bloodshed.

LA County Deputies Shoot Dead Teen Security Guard Who Ran From Them REUTERS An 18-year-old who was employed as a security guard in Gardena, LA County, was shot dead by Los Angeles County Sheriff Department deputies Thursday night. The teen, who was identified to local reporters as Andres Guardado by devastated family members, was carrying a handgun as part of his security duties at an auto body shop. His employer, Andrew Heney, told CBS Los Angeles: “Police came up, and they pulled their guns on him and he ran because he was scared, and they shot and killed him. He’s got a clean background and everything. There’s no reason.”

Agreed. Had enough people in his inner circle spoken out a couple of years ago, there would be a lot fewer dead Americans. But self-interest outweighs ethics often.

I think he was referring to Faux News and his family.

But will he cultivate a taste for human flesh to copy Tyson?

Fox News lawyer tells judge that Tucker Carlson's audience doesn't expect him to report the facts. "It's not the front page of the New York Times," a network attorney says in court. "It's 'Tucker Carlson Tonight'" An attorney for Fox News told a New York federal judge at a preliminary hearing that Tucker Carlson's audience does not expect him to report the facts — even when Carlson tells his audience that he is doing so. And the attorney further argued that Carlson has no duty to look into whether his statements are truthful. https://www.salon.com/2020/06/18/fox-news-lawyer-tells-judge-that-tucker-carlsons-audience-doesnt-expect-him-to-report-the-facts/

If you listen to O'toole's statement yesterday- that he fully beileves that Trump will rebound to win the November election and that he (O'Toole) will be there to congratulate Trump, it will give you a better insight into O'Toole's mindset. Fellow travelers.

I remain confident that there will be a 2020 season and that the league will surivive. Its too much a part of the Canadian indentity to be allowed to fold.

I am inclined to believe that this was another coded reference to all the non-white Canadians who are "mongrelizing" Canada in the eyes of the right wing.

Trump wants to find and prosecute person who leaked that he hid in a bunker during protests: report Trump is lashing out so much that "many advisers wonder if he is truly interested in serving a second term". President Donald Trump is "consumed" by leaks coming from the White House as aides worry his "incendiary behavior" could sink his re-election hopes, according to The New York Times. Trump has obsessed over media reports that he was rushed to the White House bunker with his family during a protest against police brutality following the death of George Floyd in police custody. He has gone as far as "demanding that officials find and prosecute those responsible" for leaking the incident to the press, according to the report. https://www.salon.com/2020/06/18/trump-wants-to-find-and-prosecute-person-who-leaked-that-he-hid-in-a-bunker-during-protests-report/

One of these is a man who returned from Europe and then infected a female in his residence (presumably his wife), so that would count as a community transmission.

Bolton is only a little less pathlogical than Trump and significantly smarter (who isn't?) and stands to make a lot of money fromt he sales of his book. Truly, there are no angels in this exchange and it certainly gives another peek into the machinations within the Trump death cult.

Former White House Ethics Chief Reveals 'Disturbing' Ivanka Trump Emails. Old messages by the president's daughter come back to haunt her in the wake of John Bolton's book. Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump’s daughter and adviser, was conducting government business from a private email account before she was employed by the government, according to records getting new attention this week. Walter Shaub, former head of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, highlighted two messages uncovered by the nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight. He served in the ethics office for six months under then-President Barack Obama and resigned six months into the Trump presidency. One of the messages Shaub shared on Twitter appeared to show Ivanka Trump conducting business with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos almost a month before she had an official role: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/walter-shaub-ivanka-trump_n_5eeaceddc5b67b92ff2d260c?ri18n=true

Rudy Giuliani attempts to clarify his false claim about cops who kill Black Americans via text. Salon also confirms Giuliani was linked to Lev Parnas by a lawyer who shared his client in a money-laundering probe ) Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox News host Ed Henry — inaccurately — on Wednesday that more Black people kill police officers in America than police officers kill Black people. Giuliani made the false claim in response to Henry's questions about the progressive "defund the police" movement. https://www.salon.com/2020/06/17/rudy-giuliani-attempts-to-clarify-his-false-claim-about-cops-who-kill-black-americans-via-text/

Millions of Americans Believe Trump Is Fighting Literal Demons. Believers in spiritual warfare are primed to adopt even more dangerous conspiracy theories. . U.S. President Donald Trump is seen with his personal pastor, Paula White, at an event honoring evangelical leadership in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on Aug. 27, 2018. MANDEL NGAN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Donald Trump may not know how to hold a Bible, but that hasn’t stopped white evangelicals from being his most persistent supporters. The U.S. president’s evangelical followers have portrayed him as America’s deliverance, a flawed man recently converted to the cause around the time of his presidential campaign. In the decade prior, he’d bragged about sexual assault, cheated on his wife, and claimed he had no sins that needed forgiven. But these could all be overlooked because in 2016 he became a new Christian trying his best. Except the timeline is false. Trump has had a personal minister since 2002, a fringe televangelist controversial even within evangelical circles. Paula White is one of the most famous members of the neo-charismatic movement, and her beliefs are terrifying. In January, she came to public attention after a sermon where she invoked the name of Jesus and commanded “all satanic pregnancies to miscarry right now.” She later explained that the phrase was metaphorical, and I see no reason to doubt her. But several years earlier, when she claimed that infamous demon lords and hidden sorcerers were arrayed against Trump, she was speaking quite literally. White’s vision of “spiritual warfare” isn’t rhetorical. Like thousands of other preachers both in America and worldwide, she subscribes to an apocalyptic supernatural vision that drives politics, money, and sometimes violence. https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/10/trump-evangelicals-charismatics-paula-white-demons/

I think we are better than the US regarding racism, but "better" is not necessarily "good".

California Police Investigating Nooses Found In Public Park As A Hate Crime Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf dismissed the idea that the ropes were meant to be used as exercise equipment. Multiple nooses were found hanging from tree branches at a public park in Oakland, California, the city’s mayor confirmed Wednesday, as Americans continue to wrestle with issues of racial inequality brought into sharper focus by recent civil rights protests. Oakland police are currently investigating the incident as a hate crime. https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/oakland-california-lake-merritt-nooses_n_5eea69a6c5b6d4397ade4ea2?ri18n=true

If there is still justice in this world, Trump and his gang will be convicted of everything right up to treason and will never see daylight again.

Trump encouraged China to build concentration camps, John Bolton says US Embassy Canberra / Public domain Despite the cowardice John Bolton displayed in refusing to testify during the impeachment proceedings, his forthcoming book appears to be a genuinely important contribution to the public understanding of President Donald Trump’s White House. As I noted in a list of details from a New York Times summary of his book’s biggest highlights, Bolton has alleged that Trump ran foreign policy along multiple avenues for his own personal benefit, rather than in the nation’s interest. But a new excerpt printed in the Wall Street Journal may reveal the most disturbing and ghastly piece of news from the book: Trump encouraged China’s construction of concentration camps for its Uighur minority. https://www.alternet.org/2020/06/trump-encouraged-china-to-build-concentration-camps-john-bolton-says/ Holy Crap!!!! This is from a statement released by the US embassy in Australia!

A sop probably initiated by the league and will probably lead to nothing. He's been out of football for what-4 years?