thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--Melania Trump Slammed For Unveiling New Tennis Pavilion Amid COVID-19 Surge

Melania Trump faced backlash Monday after she announced the completion of the new White House tennis pavilion amid a deadly pandemic that is killing more than 2,000 people a day across the country .
“ Thank you to all of the talented craftsmen who made this project possible and to the generous supporters of the White House , ” the first lady said in a White House press release .
“ It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future First Families.
” Critics called the first lady insensitive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s progress in March , as COVID-19 was just beginning to take hold in the U.S. “ I encourage everyone who chooses to be negative & question my work at the @ WhiteHouse to take time and contribute something good & productive in their own communities , ” she tweeted at the time .
The project was funded by unspecified private donations , and the White House did not state its cost .
Planning for the pavilion began in 2018 , and the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to the news release .
The East and West Wings of the White House inspired its design .
As the U.S. coronavirus pandemic death toll nears 284,000 and more Americans are getting infected , being hospitalized and dying from the virus , news of the White House ’ s new tennis facilities did not receive a warm reception on Twitter .
Oh Good , those people in their ICU beds will feel so much better knowing that melania has finished her tennis pavilion .
https : //t.co/8xuIf4WW8i — Molly Jong-Fast🏡 ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Hell , Marie Antoinette breathes a sigh of relief .
She 's off the hook now .
( Note : During France 's Reign of Terror 40,000 people died .
At our current death rate from COVID , more Americans than that die every two weeks .
But ... tennis anyone ? )
https : //t.co/AgSmKhFO2H — David Rothkopf ( @ djrothkopf ) December 7 , 2020 Something else Queen Melania could have devoted her attention to today other than her tennis pavilion .
( Note : I have played tennis my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have ever actually been in a tennis pavilion . )
https : //t.co/VfOBgdahJT — David Rothkopf ( @ djrothkopf ) December 7 , 2020 We are a week away from passing 300,000 Americans killed by COVID and Melania Antoinette over here updated the tennis court as her act of civic service this year .
https : //t.co/M5j7ozktAl — Tom Matzzie 🎄 ( @ tommatzzie ) December 7 , 2020 Good news—WH just announced today that they just completed the WH Tennis 🎾 Pavilion .
WH is so excited that they put out a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests , masks , contact tracers , and ICU beds could that have bought instead ?
# COVID19 https : //t.co/zGVpn7mkAG pic.twitter.com/uRLGpvvxcU — Eric Feigl-Ding ( @ DrEricDing ) December 7 , 2020 The first lady is spending her final weeks in the White House before President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrive in January .

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Melania Trump faced backlash Monday after she announced the completion of the new White House tennis pavilion amid a deadly pandemic that is killing more than 2,000 people a day across the country.
“Thank you to all of the talented craftsmen who made this project possible and to the generous supporters of the White House,” the first lady said in a White House press release. “It is my hope that this private space will function as both a place of leisure and gathering for future First Families.”
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Critics called the first lady insensitive when she shared images of the project’s progress in March, as COVID-19 was just beginning to take hold in the U.S.
“I encourage everyone who chooses to be negative & question my work at the @WhiteHouse to take time and contribute something good & productive in their own communities,” she tweeted at the time.
Today, @FLOTUS announced the completion of the Tennis Pavilion on the White House grounds! https://t.co/CQeyDLPTHN — The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 7, 2020
The project was funded by unspecified private donations, and the White House did not state its cost.
Planning for the pavilion began in 2018, and the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission approved the project last year, according to the news release. The East and West Wings of the White House inspired its design.
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As the U.S. coronavirus pandemic death toll nears 284,000 and more Americans are getting infected, being hospitalized and dying from the virus, news of the White House’s new tennis facilities did not receive a warm reception on Twitter.
With 280,000 Americans dead from COVID-19, I really don't care about Melania's tennis courts, do you? — BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) December 7, 2020
Oh Good, those people in their ICU beds will feel so much better knowing that melania has finished her tennis pavilion. https://t.co/8xuIf4WW8i — Molly Jong-Fast🏡 (@MollyJongFast) December 7, 2020
And in Hell, Marie Antoinette breathes a sigh of relief. She's off the hook now. (Note: During France's Reign of Terror 40,000 people died. At our current death rate from COVID, more Americans than that die every two weeks. But...tennis anyone?) https://t.co/AgSmKhFO2H — David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) December 7, 2020
Something else Queen Melania could have devoted her attention to today other than her tennis pavilion. (Note: I have played tennis my entire life and don't think I have ever actually been in a tennis pavilion.) https://t.co/VfOBgdahJT — David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) December 7, 2020
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Yeah, but how many ICU beds will it hold? #LetThemEatCake https://t.co/3HyAbXsvVV — Laurie Brookins (@StyleWriterNYC) December 7, 2020
We are a week away from passing 300,000 Americans killed by COVID and Melania Antoinette over here updated the tennis court as her act of civic service this year. https://t.co/M5j7ozktAl — Tom Matzzie 🎄 (@tommatzzie) December 7, 2020
Good news—WH just announced today that they just completed the WH Tennis 🎾 Pavilion. WH is so excited that they put out a press release.
How many PPEs, tests, masks, contact tracers, and ICU beds could that have bought instead? #COVID19 https://t.co/zGVpn7mkAG pic.twitter.com/uRLGpvvxcU — Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 7, 2020
MELANIA’S TENNIS COURTS ARE COMPLETE 2020 IS SAVED!!!!!! — Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) December 7, 2020
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It was all worth it. https://t.co/Y01d4Kso71 — Jon Cryer (@MrJonCryer) December 7, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--Kelly Loeffler's Repetitive 'Radical Liberal' Debate Attack Inspires Drinking Game

So clearly @ KLoeffler went in with a single strategy : just keep repeating “ radical liberal Raphael Warnock ” @ @ @ @ @ like a robot .
She didn ’ t , however , answer why she traded @ @ @ @ @ knowledge about the pandemic .
# GADebate

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Twitter users following Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s (R) debate against her Democratic opponent were so awed at her relentless repetition of the attack phrase “radical liberal” that they were inspired to talk up a drinking game, requiring a shot every time she uttered the words.
One person quipped that anyone who actually stuck to the game rules would be “dead now.”
Loeffler repeated the phrase a lot. People on Twitter counted anywhere from 13 to 24, to “like 50” or “a million” repetitions.
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The phrase seemed a bit harsh for Democrat Raphael Warnock. As someone sarcastically quipped: “Nothing says ‘radical liberal’ like a reverend from Georgia.”
So clearly @KLoeffler went in with a single strategy: just keep repeating “radical liberal Raphael Warnock” over and over and over like a robot. She didn’t, however, answer why she traded stocks on her inside Senatorial knowledge about the pandemic. #GADebate — Joy WE VOTED!! WEAR A MASK!! Reid 😷) (@JoyAnnReid) December 7, 2020
“Radical Liberal” or “radic-lib” was a favorite ad hominem epithet of Spiro Agnew.
Just saying. https://t.co/SZrvseQZZl — Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) December 7, 2020
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Anyone who decided to make that a drinking game is dead now. — That's HEDLEY! (@HedleyLamarr23) December 7, 2020
Exactly. I would have passed out in the first five minutes. — Democracy 4 All 😷💛 (@goodbye56789) December 7, 2020
I did every time she said it.. Lol 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷do I have the number right? Lol — #Biden/Harris2020🇺🇸 (@FMH49962127) December 7, 2020
24 times... drunk off your ass by the 46 min mark lol — BillieD (@billied7) December 7, 2020
new drinking game: take a shot every time Kelly Loeffler says the word “radical” — Emily (@emilybernay) December 7, 2020
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shit now i’m getting my stomach pumped — Emily (@emilybernay) December 7, 2020
Alcohol poisoning. Anyone have the poison hotline number? — GMoney_Vets_Resist (@G_Money11) December 7, 2020
And then I died of alcohol poisoning. — G SCOTT 60 (@GUYSCOT99730677) December 7, 2020
“Radical Liberal Raphael Warnock,”
Senator Loeffler intoned 13 times.
Said once or twice, it’s about your opponent;
after an hour, it’s about your canned lines. — Will Saletan (@saletan) December 7, 2020
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Jesus Christ was a radical liberal. — Bradley Whitford (@BradleyWhitford) December 7, 2020
Kelly Loeffler was on repeat calling @ReverendWarnock a radical liberal. She didn’t know what else to say. But what’s more radical? Believing you deserve healthcare during a pandemic or buying a private jet on Georgians dime? pic.twitter.com/SROoHMnaq0 — ReallyAmerican.com 🇺🇸 (@ReallyAmerican1) December 7, 2020
QUESTION.......Senator Kelly Loeffler, how old are you?
ANSWER........Radical Liberal Raphael Warnock pic.twitter.com/wWsfZh9LcD — Jake Lobin (@JakeLobin) December 7, 2020
My Wife, who is NOT watching the debate, just asked me if I'm rewinding the TV, because she keeps hearing Kelly Loeffler say the EXACT SAME THING over and over, starting with "Radical Liberal..."
I am NOT rewinding.
Ready to move forward with Reverend Warnock. — BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) December 7, 2020


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To School's Transgender Bathroom Policy

Dec 7 ( Reuters ) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday preserved an Oregon public school district ’ s policy of accommodating transgender students , rejecting an appeal challenging a policy that let students use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity .
The justices left in place a lower court ruling that threw out a lawsuit against Dallas School District No .
2 in rural western Oregon spearheaded by parents of a small group of students .
The plaintiffs had argued that the policy violated students ’ rights to privacy and religious freedom under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law that prohibits sex discrimination in education .
The use of gender-specific facilities such as bathrooms by transgender people in schools and beyond continues to be litigated around the United States .
The Supreme Court scrapped plans to hear a major case from Virginia involving bathroom access in public schools in 2017 .
The justices in a landmark decision in June ruled that federal law prohibits workplace discrimination against gay and transgender employees .
But that ruling , written by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch , made clear it was not addressing “ bathrooms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the kind.
” The Oregon lawsuit was brought in 2017 following a school district policy put in place at Dallas High School to accommodate transgender students .
The school adopted the policy after a transgender student who was assigned as female at birth but now identifies as male asked to use the boys ’ bathroom and locker room facilities in 2015 .
The student used these facilities for three years until graduation .
The plaintiffs argued that allowing students to use facilities that correspond to their gender identity - a policy also adopted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country - risked violating students ’ privacy and caused other students embarrassment or fear of sharing intimate spaces with a student of the opposite sex .
The boys ’ facilities at the school had private toilet and shower stalls , and the school also gave students the option to use other single-occupancy facilities if they had concerns , according to court papers .
The school district said that , despite the concerns , the transgender student and other boys “ never actually did see each other undressing.
” The San Francisco-based 9th U.S @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the lawsuit in February .
The plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court , saying its guidance was needed to “ strike the proper balance between the rights of ( transgender ) students and the rest of the school community.
” President Donald Trump ’ s administration has taken steps to limit the rights of transgender Americans including rescinding guidance previously issued by the administration of President Barack Obama regarding bathroom access for transgender students .

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Dec 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday preserved an Oregon public school district’s policy of accommodating transgender students, rejecting an appeal challenging a policy that let students use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity.
The justices left in place a lower court ruling that threw out a lawsuit against Dallas School District No. 2 in rural western Oregon spearheaded by parents of a small group of students. The plaintiffs had argued that the policy violated students’ rights to privacy and religious freedom under the U.S. Constitution as well as a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
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The use of gender-specific facilities such as bathrooms by transgender people in schools and beyond continues to be litigated around the United States. The Supreme Court scrapped plans to hear a major case from Virginia involving bathroom access in public schools in 2017.
The justices in a landmark decision in June ruled that federal law prohibits workplace discrimination against gay and transgender employees. But that ruling, written by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, made clear it was not addressing “bathrooms, locker rooms or anything else of the kind.”
The Oregon lawsuit was brought in 2017 following a school district policy put in place at Dallas High School to accommodate transgender students. The school adopted the policy after a transgender student who was assigned as female at birth but now identifies as male asked to use the boys’ bathroom and locker room facilities in 2015. The student used these facilities for three years until graduation.
The plaintiffs argued that allowing students to use facilities that correspond to their gender identity - a policy also adopted by some other school districts around the country - risked violating students’ privacy and caused other students embarrassment or fear of sharing intimate spaces with a student of the opposite sex.
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The boys’ facilities at the school had private toilet and shower stalls, and the school also gave students the option to use other single-occupancy facilities if they had concerns, according to court papers. The school district said that, despite the concerns, the transgender student and other boys “never actually did see each other undressing.”
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out the lawsuit in February. The plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court, saying its guidance was needed to “strike the proper balance between the rights of (transgender) students and the rest of the school community.”
President Donald Trump’s administration has taken steps to limit the rights of transgender Americans including rescinding guidance previously issued by the administration of President Barack Obama regarding bathroom access for transgender students.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--The Marines And The Racist Porn Actor Who Tried To Start A ‘Modern Day SS’

The four are facing an array of criminal counts .
All of them are charged with conspiracy to manufacture firearms @ @ @ @ @ .
Collins , Kryscuk and Hermanson are also facing charges of interstate transportation of firearms @ @ @ @ @ and Kryscuk each are charged with an additional count of interstate transportation of unregistered firearms @ @ @ @ @ , Collins and Kryscuk could face a maximum of 20 years in prison , Hermanson @ @ @ @ @ 10 years behind bars , and Duncan could face a maximum of five years .
@ @ @ @ @ end up receiving the maximum sentence .

In 2016, Liam Collins, then just a teenager living in New Jersey, had a very specific vision for his life. He was going to join the U.S. Marines, get the training he needed, and then form a fascist paramilitary group that would use violence and terror to create a whites-only ethnostate.
“It takes a man’s willpower and heart to make a commitment like this,” Collins wrote at the time on a since-shuttered neo-Nazi web forum called Iron March.
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Four years later, in early October of 2020, Collins was discharged from the Marines and moved to Idaho, where he settled down with a crew of fellow self-described fascists. The group was allegedly heavily armed, had conducted weapons training, and had even produced their own propaganda videos in which they displayed support for the violent neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division.
But one day in late October, federal agents arrived. HuffPost first reported that three men — including Collins, another former Marine, and a porn actor — were arrested for a conspiracy to ship illegally altered guns across state lines. Although initial court documents offered no details of the men’s white supremacist activity, a superseding indictment recently filed in federal court (which adds new charges and a new defendant to the existing case) lays out horrifying details of their alleged racism and bloodlust.
All told, the new court documents — along with leaked Iron March messages obtained by anti-fascist activists — paint a frightening portrait of American extremist terror. They show white supremacists finding spaces to organize online and in the military, where they discuss moving to regions where they think they can make inroads among predominantly white populations.
The documents also offer evidence of these white supremacists either surveilling Black Lives Matter demonstrations or discussing how to kill the protesters taking part. Prosecutors allege that on two occasions this summer in Boise, Idaho, one of the neo-Nazi defendants was spotted silently stalking the demonstrations from his car, driving slowly near anti-racist protesters gathered in the state capitol. He later allegedly texted one of the other defendants about forming a “death squad” to massacre Black Lives Matter activists.
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Collins, 21, was arrested in Idaho along with Paul Kryscuk, a 35-year-old former porn actor, and Jordan Duncan, a 25-year-old former Marine. The fourth defendant, a 21-year-old active-duty Marine named Justin Wade Hermanson, was arrested in North Carolina as part of the same plot.
A federal grand jury alleges that all four men — who referred to themselves as “Disciple,” “Deacon,” “Soldier” and “Sandman” — participated in a weapons conspiracy to manufacture, transport and sell illegally altered firearms starting in 2019.
The four are facing an array of criminal counts. All of them are charged with conspiracy to manufacture firearms and ship those arms interstate. Collins, Kryscuk and Hermanson are also facing charges of interstate transportation of firearms without a license. Collins and Kryscuk each are charged with an additional count of interstate transportation of unregistered firearms. According to the feds, Collins and Kryscuk could face a maximum of 20 years in prison, Hermanson could face as much as 10 years behind bars, and Duncan could face a maximum of five years. Most defendants don’t end up receiving the maximum sentence.
‘Come Home White Man’
Paul Kryscuk was known as “Pauly Harker” in the porn world, a stage name he used in films in which he’d sexually abuse and humiliate Black women. In 2014, according to a website that monitors racism and abuse in the porn industry, Kryscuk expressed some regret for his role in these films, calling it the “most degrading job” he’d ever done.
But by early 2017 he was back on the job, starring in more vile and racist porn videos, including some in which he specifically lashed out at the Black Lives Matter movement.
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It was around this time that he started posting to Iron March, an infamous online gathering place for the most dangerous elements of the far-right, including murderous neo-Nazi groups like the Atomwaffen Division.
“I’ve recently become much more of a virulent racist than I was even a month or two ago,” Kryscuk wrote in one post, according to Iron March chat logs obtained and published online by anti-fascist activists. “There is no possible co-existence with the other races.”
Some of his posts attracted Collins’ attention. Collins had written on Iron March about his dreams of forming a new group called “Fascist Liaison.” It would be a “modern day SS,” a reference to the genocidal paramilitary arm of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party. Members, Collins wrote, would go hiking and camping together, do gym sessions, practice with weapons and eventually buy a plot of land, all in preparation for a race war.
“We’re militants, not Intellectuals,” Collins explained to Kryscuk in one message. “Let me know if you would be interested in joining the Liaison. From then on you can be briefed.”
“I am extremely interested,” Kryscuk responded.
Iron March was shut down in late 2017, but by then, according to federal prosecutors, Collins and Kryscuk were using encrypted messaging apps to recruit other white nationalists to their group. These recruits included the two other defendants — Duncan and Hermanson — who, like Collins, had been stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
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By February 2020, Kryscuk had moved to Boise. When he arrived, according to the indictment, he met up with other group members in the area and discussed possibly converting solvent traps, which are gun cleaning devices, into silencers.
Prosecutors allege that he preached to the group that the “final frontier is real life violence.” He claimed that he had been “acquiring some serious skills” and that he had become “pretty lethal.”
Duncan, who would soon begin working as a contractor with the U.S. Navy in Boise, met up with Kryscuk in the city in July. Later that summer the pair, along with two other unidentified group members, participated in training exercises in the desert outside Boise, even filming a propaganda video featuring the four men “outfitted in AtomWaffen masks giving the ‘Heil Hitler’ sign, beneath the image of a black sun,” according to the indictment.
The video ended with a message: “Come home white man.”
The Nazis Of Camp Lejeune
In November 2019, anonymous anti-fascist activists obtained and published the contents of Iron March’s database, allowing researchers and journalists to match usernames with their corresponding email and IP addresses.
Among the first Iron March users to be exposed in the press was Collins. A Marines spokesperson told Newsweek at the time that a “full investigation” into Collins’ alleged extremism would be initiated.
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But by August of 2020, this investigation was still ongoing, Collins remained a Marine, and prosecutors say Duncan and Kryscuk were excitedly telling their fellow fascists about Collins, who they said had “tons of gear and training” and had already recruited three other Marines to their group.
According to the indictment, they also praised Collins for having “sacrificed the most for the cause.”
A Marines spokesman told HuffPost that Collins, a rifleman who reached the rank of lance corporal, was prematurely discharged from the service in September 2020 because “the character of his service” was “incongruent with Marine Corps’ expectations and standards.”
Citing an ongoing administrative process, the spokesman would not elaborate any further.
In his previous posts on Iron March, Collins had been explicit about his motives for joining the military: He wanted to get training he could then use with his fascist paramilitary group. Members of his group, he wrote in one post, would be “required to have served in a nation’s military, whether U.S., UK, or Poland.”
Scholars of white supremacists in America have long warned of precisely this dangerous military-to-paramilitary pipeline.
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Veterans and active-duty personnel have historically been among the most effective domestic terrorists, Kathleen Belew, author of “Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America,” said in an interview last year after HuffPost exposed seven white nationalist group members in the military.
Current and former military members have “played an instrumental role in moving weapons, training and tactics from military to civilian spaces” and have “dramatically escalated the impact of white power violence on civilian populations,” Belew said.
Of the four defendants named in the latest indictment, three — Collins, Duncan and Hermanson — had served in the Marines and possibly met each other at Camp Lejeune.
Hermanson, by then a corporal, was the only active-duty Marine at the time of the arrests. He was most recently stationed at Camp Lejeune, where he worked as a clerk in the 1st Battalion, 2nd Division.
It’s also where, according to the indictment, he had started going by the name “Sandman” while communicating with the fascist group. He helped recruit and vet at least one other person for the group, the indictment states, and had been viewing Atomwaffen propaganda material.
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“The serious allegations are not a reflection of the Marine Corps, do not reflect the oath every Marine takes to support and defend the constitution, and do not align with our core values of honor, courage, and commitment,” the Marines spokesman told HuffPost.
Hermanson and Collins had been assigned to the same unit at Camp Lejeune. But in October, Collins was pushed out of the Marines and joined Duncan and Kryscuk in Boise.
By then the group in Idaho had assembled an arsenal with at least three 9 mm pistols with suppressors, four lightweight semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines, and two short barrel rifles, according to the indictment. Kryscuk was also allegedly viewing materials about car bombs, remote detonators and other explosives
They appeared to be inching ever closer to the “real life violence” they craved. One of their potential targets? Those demonstrating during this year’s historic Black Lives Matter uprising.
The ‘Death Squad’
News of the arrests of the first three men came to light after Alicia Garza, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, tweeted that the FBI had visited her home in October and said her name had been found on a list in the home of an Idaho white supremacist.
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“This is why this President is so dangerous,” Garza tweeted at the time. “He is stoking fires he has no intention of controlling. I’m ok y’all, but this shit is not ok. Vote this muthafucka out. For real.”
The superseding indictment indicates that the four defendants had started taking more proactive steps to target Black Lives Matter supporters.
Kryscuk, according to court documents, was “within eyesight” of a BLM rally at Boise State University on July 21, “first sitting in his parked vehicle then driving around the rally area slowly, for a total of approximately 20 minutes.” His vehicle was spotted in the area of another BLM rally in Boise on Aug. 21, the superseding indictment alleges.
And on Oct. 1, Kryscuk and Duncan allegedly “discussed their group ... shooting protestors in Boise,” the indictment says.
Prosecutors say that the discussion, which appears to have taken place via text message, went in part like this:
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KRYSCUK - “Death squad” KRYSCUK - “Assassins creed hoodies and suppressed 22 pistols” DUNCAN - “People freaking tf out” KRYSCUK - “About what” DUNCAN - “The end of democracy” KRYSCUK - “One can hope”
Boise State professor Terry J. Wilson II, a spokesperson for the local Black Lives Matter chapter, told HuffPost that the news of the neo-Nazis stalking his fellow anti-racist demonstrators “reinforces, vindicates and validates why we are here.” He said the BLM demonstrations in Boise were frequently met with antagonism from both members of the far-right and local law enforcement, all of whom were armed.
Wilson also recalled receiving an email from the Department of Homeland Security ahead of one rally warning him and his fellow organizers of “active efforts” to harm protesters. (HuffPost has not independently confirmed this email.)
But Wilson said the Black Lives Matter organizers were unsure of whether they could trust the federal agency. “To us, it sounded like an active effort to keep us from protesting, is what it felt like because of the Trump administration,” Wilson said, “and while we knew there was a threat, we didn’t know it was that imminent.”
Still, he said he was not surprised to learn that neo-Nazis had discussed killing him and his fellow demonstrators.
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“Especially with the rhetoric that comes from the Republican Party, the GOP/KKK, we’re not shocked, not surprised, that neo-Nazism is alive in Trump country,” Wilson said.
Idaho, Destination For White Supremacists
An unidentified supporter waves a Confederate flag while members of the Aryan Nations carry Nazi flags and a banner saying "Enjoy Diversity" during a parade in downtown Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, on Oct. 28, 2000. REUTERS/Jeff T. APB/RCS
In 2017, Kryscuk posted a short manifesto of sorts to Iron March, urging his fellow fascists to prepare to fight a race war. A major priority, Kryscuk wrote, is the “seizing of territory” and “the Balkanization” of America.
He urged people to begin “buying property in remote areas that are already predominantly White and right leaning.”
Then, he instructed, “incrementally start radicalizing your neighbors and friends. Show them that there is no easy way out of this. There will be many Whites that don’t agree with our philosophy. Remember, when the SHTF [shit hits the fan] they will listen to whoever is the strongest and WE are the strongest.”
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By 2020, it seemed Kryscuk and his fellow fascists had settled on Idaho as the place to set up shop. It was a somewhat unsurprising selection, as the state and the greater Northwest have attracted white supremacists and other extremists for generations. In the 1980s, the Aryan Nations made its home in Idaho, occupying a sprawling compound in the countryside.
Amy Herzfeld-Copple, an Idaho native and deputy director of the civil rights organization Western States Center, told HuffPost in a statement that although Idaho is increasingly diverse, it also remains “overwhelmingly white” and is still wrestling with its past as a destination for hate groups seeking to create a whites-only ethnostate.
“The combination of relatively affordable land, little-to-no interference from the government and a largely conservative electorate and legislature is a clear draw,” she said. “On top of that, while many Idaho communities have a history of rejecting bigotry, some Idaho elected officials hold far-right views and publicly partner with extremist organizations.”
Herzfeld-Copple added that the extremist threat has been severe this year in Idaho.
“Armed anti-government extremists have resisted public health measures, intimidated officials and broadly undermined democratic practice in the state,” she said.
A Growing Right-Wing Threat
Although the feds allege the defendants plotted to potentially target Black Lives Matter protesters while trying to set up a whites-only ethnostate, none of them are charged with a domestic terrorism-related crime. Because the plot involved guns and not, say, a bomb, no terrorism-related federal statute could be used against the defendants. The First Amendment protects much of the activity of domestic extremist hate groups, and no federal domestic terrorism law broadly covers acts or potential acts of terrorism. Civil liberties proponents worry that such a law would be abused by prosecutors.
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There’s certainly reason to worry about federal government overreach against defendants with disfavored political beliefs: Earlier this year, a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor in Tennessee brought rare marijuana-related charges against a member of an anarcho-punk band after he posted online images from a photo shoot for his band in which he was holding a fake Molotov cocktail. But the lack of a federal domestic terrorism statute means that cases involving designated foreign terrorist groups are much easier to bring than cases against domestic extremists plotting violence. The federal government has relied upon a variety of other federal charges to use against white supremacists they consider dangerous.
Just last week, federal prosecutors in California unveiled charges of enticement of a minor and production of child pornography against a member of an anti-government militia group associated with the “boogaloo” movement. The case grew out of an FBI counterterrorism investigation into the death of Federal Protective Service officer David Patrick Underwood. Two men associated with the boogaloo movement have been charged in connection with Underwood’s death.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--'Sick And Scared': MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle Reveals She And Her Family Have COVID-19

After opening her segment with harrowing figures about the country ’ s record-high numbers of coronavirus hospitalizations and new cases , Ruhle said she was among them .
“ After testing positive for COVID-19 , I have spent the better part of the last two weeks in bed isolating and taking all the precautions needed to protect myself , my family , and my community , ” she said .
“ My husband and my kids — they have it , too .
We still don ’ t know how we got it , but we ’ re getting better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lucky.
” She said she was on the mend and would be broadcasting from home where she will isolate until she ’ s certain she ’ s no longer contagious and positive for the virus .
NEW : @ SRuhle discusses having Covid-19 : “ We don ’ t have a vaccine today .
We have a virus that is ravaging our country , and we need to do a whole lot more to stop it.
” “ As a person who is sick and scared , I am begging you , please @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over.
” pic.twitter.com/X7RUB2jIrb — MSNBC ( @ MSNBC ) December 7 , 2020 “ We don ’ t have a vaccine today , ” Ruhle said .
“ We have a virus that is ravaging our country , and we need to do a whole lot more to stop it .
And as a person who is sick and scared , I am begging you , please take this seriously .
It is not over.
” In a personal essay about her experience , Ruhle said her husband Andy Hubbard tested positive on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isolation in their New York City apartment .
Ruhle and their three children , who are 14 , 11 , and 7 , stayed at their New Jersey home , where Ruhle isolated away from the kids .
She described the struggle she and her husband went through trying to get test results and to make contact tracing calls , slamming the government ’ s failure to provide a coherent national plan .
“ The only way we can get through this is if we have a system that works for everyone , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m convinced that we do not , ” she said .
Her message comes as the numbers of COVID-19 infections , deaths and hospitalizations are exploding across much of the country .
The U.S. death toll is at more than 283,000 .

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MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle revealed to viewers Monday that she and her family are recovering from COVID-19.
After opening her segment with harrowing figures about the country’s record-high numbers of coronavirus hospitalizations and new cases, Ruhle said she was among them.
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“After testing positive for COVID-19, I have spent the better part of the last two weeks in bed isolating and taking all the precautions needed to protect myself, my family, and my community,” she said.
“My husband and my kids — they have it, too. We still don’t know how we got it, but we’re getting better, and we are very, very lucky.”
She said she was on the mend and would be broadcasting from home where she will isolate until she’s certain she’s no longer contagious and positive for the virus.
NEW: @SRuhle discusses having Covid-19: “We don’t have a vaccine today. We have a virus that is ravaging our country, and we need to do a whole lot more to stop it.”
“As a person who is sick and scared, I am begging you, please take this seriously. It is not over.” pic.twitter.com/X7RUB2jIrb — MSNBC (@MSNBC) December 7, 2020
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“We don’t have a vaccine today,” Ruhle said. “We have a virus that is ravaging our country, and we need to do a whole lot more to stop it. And as a person who is sick and scared, I am begging you, please take this seriously. It is not over.”
In a personal essay about her experience, Ruhle said her husband Andy Hubbard tested positive on Nov. 25, and immediately went into isolation in their New York City apartment. Ruhle and their three children, who are 14, 11, and 7, stayed at their New Jersey home, where Ruhle isolated away from the kids.
Ruhle said she tested positive about a week later and experienced fluctuating symptoms that felt like a “terrible flu.”
She described the struggle she and her husband went through trying to get test results and to make contact tracing calls, slamming the government’s failure to provide a coherent national plan.
“The only way we can get through this is if we have a system that works for everyone, and after having Covid-19, I’m convinced that we do not,” she said.
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Her message comes as the numbers of COVID-19 infections, deaths and hospitalizations are exploding across much of the country. The U.S. death toll is at more than 283,000.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--Dick Allen, Former Baseball All-Star, Dead At 78

ASSOCIATED PRESS Dick Allen , a fearsome hitter who was a seven-time All-Star , the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1972 AL MVP , has died .
He was 78 .
( AP Photo/Derik Hamilton , File ) Allen ’ s No .
15 was retired by the Phillies in September , an honor that was considered long overdue by many for one of the franchise ’ s greatest players who fought against racism during a tumultuous period with the team in the 1960s .
“ Dick will be remembered as not just one of the greatest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s history , but also as a courageous warrior who had to overcome far too many obstacles to reach the level he did .
Dick ’ s iconic status will resonate for generations of baseball fans to come as one of the all-time greats to play America ’ s pastime , ” the Phillies said .
Phillies managing partner John Middleton broke from the team ’ s longstanding “ unwritten ” policy of only retiring the number of players who are in the Hall of Fame to honor Allen .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though it was rough , I ’ ve made some friends along the way , ” Allen said in an emotional ceremony on a warm , sunny afternoon .
Mike Schmidt , a Hall of Fame third baseman who helped lure Allen out of retirement to return to Philadelphia for a second stint with the team in 1975 , was among the former players who attended the ceremony .
They wore masks and sat several feet apart during the coronavirus pandemic that shortened the major league season to 60 games .
The Phillies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with fans in attendance .
“ Dick was a sensitive Black man who refused to be treated as a second-class citizen , ” Schmidt said in a speech .
“ He played in front of home fans that were products of that racist era ( with ) racist teammates and different rules for whites and Blacks .
Fans threw stuff at him and thus Dick wore a batting helmet throughout the whole game .
They yelled degrading racial slurs .
They dumped trash in his front yard at his home .
In general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from all directions .
And Dick rebelled.
” “ My friends , these ( negative ) labels have kept Dick Allen out of the Hall of Fame , ” Schmidt said .
“ Imagine what Dick could ’ ve accomplished as a player in another era , on another team , left alone to hone his skills , to be confident , to come to the ballpark every day and just play baseball.
” Allen was Middleton ’ s favorite player as a kid .
He called the abuse Allen received “ horrific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even greater considering the racism he endured .
After seven seasons in Philadelphia , where he rose to prominence by hammering balls over the Coca-Cola sign and out of Connie Mack Stadium in batting practice , Allen played a season with the Cardinals and Dodgers .
Allen wasn ’ t elected into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America and he fell one vote short in Golden Era Committee voting in 2014 .
The Golden Days Committee and the Early Days Committee did not vote this year because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winter of 2021 .

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Dick Allen, a fearsome hitter who was a seven-time All-Star, the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1972 AL MVP, has died. He was 78.
The Philadelphia Phillies, the team Allen started out with, announced his death on Monday.
Allen’s No. 15 was retired by the Phillies in September, an honor that was considered long overdue by many for one of the franchise’s greatest players who fought against racism during a tumultuous period with the team in the 1960s.
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“The Phillies are heartbroken over the passing today of our dear friend and co-worker, Dick Allen,” the team said.
“Dick will be remembered as not just one of the greatest and most popular players in our franchise’s history, but also as a courageous warrior who had to overcome far too many obstacles to reach the level he did. Dick’s iconic status will resonate for generations of baseball fans to come as one of the all-time greats to play America’s pastime,” the Phillies said.
Dick Allen, a fearsome hitter who was a seven-time All-Star, the 1964 NL Rookie of the Year and the 1972 AL MVP, has died. He was 78. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton, File) ASSOCIATED PRESS
Phillies managing partner John Middleton broke from the team’s longstanding “unwritten” policy of only retiring the number of players who are in the Hall of Fame to honor Allen.
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“I thank the city of Philadelphia. Even though it was rough, I’ve made some friends along the way,” Allen said in an emotional ceremony on a warm, sunny afternoon.
Mike Schmidt, a Hall of Fame third baseman who helped lure Allen out of retirement to return to Philadelphia for a second stint with the team in 1975, was among the former players who attended the ceremony. They wore masks and sat several feet apart during the coronavirus pandemic that shortened the major league season to 60 games. The Phillies planned to honor Allen again in 2021 with fans in attendance.
Schmidt called Allen “an amazing mentor” who was wrongly labeled a “bad teammate” and “troublemaker.”
“Dick was a sensitive Black man who refused to be treated as a second-class citizen,” Schmidt said in a speech. “He played in front of home fans that were products of that racist era (with) racist teammates and different rules for whites and Blacks. Fans threw stuff at him and thus Dick wore a batting helmet throughout the whole game. They yelled degrading racial slurs. They dumped trash in his front yard at his home. In general, he was tormented and it came from all directions. And Dick rebelled.”
Schmidt pointed out Allen didn’t have a negative reputation playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. He also campaigned for Allen’s induction into the Hall of Fame.
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“My friends, these (negative) labels have kept Dick Allen out of the Hall of Fame,” Schmidt said. “Imagine what Dick could’ve accomplished as a player in another era, on another team, left alone to hone his skills, to be confident, to come to the ballpark every day and just play baseball.”
Allen was Middleton’s favorite player as a kid. He called the abuse Allen received “horrific” and pointed out his accomplishments are even greater considering the racism he endured.
Allen batted .292 with 351 homers, 1,119 RBIs and .912 OPS in 15 seasons. He played first base, third base and left field.
After seven seasons in Philadelphia, where he rose to prominence by hammering balls over the Coca-Cola sign and out of Connie Mack Stadium in batting practice, Allen played a season with the Cardinals and Dodgers.
In 1972, he joined the Chicago White Sox and was the AL MVP. He finished his 15-year career with Oakland in 1977.
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Allen had the fifth-most home runs (319) over an 11-year span (1964-74) behind four Hall of Famers: Hank Aaron (391), Harmon Killebrew (336), Willie Stargell (335) and Willie McCovey (327). His .940 OPS during that time was second to Aaron’s .941.
Allen wasn’t elected into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America and he fell one vote short in Golden Era Committee voting in 2014. The Golden Days Committee and the Early Days Committee did not vote this year because of COVID-19 and instead will meet during the winter of 2021.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--Virginia Military Institute Removes Confederate 'Stonewall' Jackson Statue

ASSOCIATED PRESS Crews lift a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas `` Stonewall '' Jackson from its pedestal on the campus of the Virginia Military Institute on Monday in Lexington , Va. Around 9:45 a.m. , a crane plucked the larger-than-life statue that freshmen were once required to salute off its base and slowly hoisted it to the ground .
A small crowd gathered quietly on the mostly empty campus in Lexington where Jackson once taught , quietly looking on amid flurries of snow .
The school ’ s board voted to remove the statue in late October after The Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ atmosphere of hostility and cultural insensitivity ” at VMI , the oldest state-supported military college in the U.S .
The piece detailed incidents such as lynching threats and a white professor reminiscing in class about her father ’ s Ku Klux Klan membership .
Since Peay ’ s departure , VMI announced Cedric Wins , a retired U.S. Army major general , would serve as its interim superintendent , becoming the first Black leader to serve in that role .
The school ’ s board has also committed to other changes , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The history of VMI over the past 181 years is well documented .
Stonewall Jackson ’ s ties to Lexington and the Institute as an instructor are part of that history , ” Wins said in a statement Monday .
But “ VMI does not define itself by this statue and that is why this move is appropriate , ” he added .
VMI said it will be relocated to a nearby Civil War museum at a battlefield where dozens of VMI cadets were killed or wounded .
It was to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to remove the pedestal and prepare the new site , school spokesman Bill Wyatt said .
The statue had previously been a subject of controversy , but the school had committed to keeping it in place in front of VMI ’ s spartan , historic barracks as recently as July .
Peay said at the time that the school would change some of its longstanding traditions , such as relocating an oath ceremony from the Civil War battlefield .
But he said it would not remove the statue of Jackson , who owned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of buildings honoring Confederate leaders .
“ Unlike many communities who are grappling with icons of the past , VMI has direct ties to many of the historical figures that are the subject of the current unrest .
Stonewall Jackson was a professor at VMI , a West Point graduate who served in combat in the Mexican War , a military genius , a staunch Christian , and yes , a Confederate General , ” Peay wrote in July .
Change was also slow to come to VMI in the 1990s , when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of dollars in a high-profile fight against federal efforts to force it to admit women .
The Supreme Court eventually ruled that if the school accepts tax money it must accept women .
Its board voted 9-8 to accept women rather than go private and stay all-male , ending VMI ’ s long quest to be the last state-supported college to exclude women .
The statue was given to VMI in 1912 by its sculptor , Sir Moses Ezekiel , VMI ’ s first Jewish cadet and a veteran of the Battle of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news release .
Its removal and relocation to the Virginia Museum of the Civil War and New Market Battlefield State Historical Park will cost $ 209,000 , funds to be paid out of VMI ’ s facility maintenance and operations account .
Carolyn Worrell , whose late husband graduated from VMI in 1962 , was among a handful of people who gathered to watch the work Monday .
The school had not publicly disclosed that the removal would be taking place , and Worrell said she hurried over when she got word .

Crews lift a statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson from its pedestal on the campus of the Virginia Military Institute on Monday in Lexington, Va. ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Military Institute removed a prominent statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson on Monday, a project initiated this fall after allegations of systemic racism roiled the public college.
Around 9:45 a.m., a crane plucked the larger-than-life statue that freshmen were once required to salute off its base and slowly hoisted it to the ground. A small crowd gathered quietly on the mostly empty campus in Lexington where Jackson once taught, quietly looking on amid flurries of snow.
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The school’s board voted to remove the statue in late October after The Washington Post published a story that described an “atmosphere of hostility and cultural insensitivity” at VMI, the oldest state-supported military college in the U.S. The piece detailed incidents such as lynching threats and a white professor reminiscing in class about her father’s Ku Klux Klan membership.
The statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson stands at the entrance to the barracks at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Post’s story also led to the ouster of VMI’s superintendent, retired Army Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, and prompted state officials to commit to hiring an outside firm to investigate the students’ allegations.
Since Peay’s departure, VMI announced Cedric Wins, a retired U.S. Army major general, would serve as its interim superintendent, becoming the first Black leader to serve in that role. The school’s board has also committed to other changes, including creating a permanent diversity office.
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“The history of VMI over the past 181 years is well documented. Stonewall Jackson’s ties to Lexington and the Institute as an instructor are part of that history,” Wins said in a statement Monday. But “VMI does not define itself by this statue and that is why this move is appropriate,” he added.
VMI said it will be relocated to a nearby Civil War museum at a battlefield where dozens of VMI cadets were killed or wounded. It was to be taken to storage Monday while work continued to remove the pedestal and prepare the new site, school spokesman Bill Wyatt said.
The school was founded in 1839 and is the oldest state-supported military college in the United States. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The statue had previously been a subject of controversy, but the school had committed to keeping it in place in front of VMI’s spartan, historic barracks as recently as July.
Amid a wave of Confederate monument removals around the country in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis, some VMI students and graduates called for the statue’s removal.
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Peay said at the time that the school would change some of its longstanding traditions, such as relocating an oath ceremony from the Civil War battlefield. But he said it would not remove the statue of Jackson, who owned enslaved people, or rethink the names of buildings honoring Confederate leaders.
“Unlike many communities who are grappling with icons of the past, VMI has direct ties to many of the historical figures that are the subject of the current unrest. Stonewall Jackson was a professor at VMI, a West Point graduate who served in combat in the Mexican War, a military genius, a staunch Christian, and yes, a Confederate General,” Peay wrote in July.
Change was also slow to come to VMI in the 1990s, when the school spent six years and millions of dollars in a high-profile fight against federal efforts to force it to admit women.
The Supreme Court eventually ruled that if the school accepts tax money it must accept women. Its board voted 9-8 to accept women rather than go private and stay all-male, ending VMI’s long quest to be the last state-supported college to exclude women.
In 2015, VMI did away with requiring freshmen to salute the statue each time they passed it, Wyatt said.
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The statue was given to VMI in 1912 by its sculptor, Sir Moses Ezekiel, VMI’s first Jewish cadet and a veteran of the Battle of New Market, VMI said in a news release. Its removal and relocation to the Virginia Museum of the Civil War and New Market Battlefield State Historical Park will cost $209,000, funds to be paid out of VMI’s facility maintenance and operations account.
Carolyn Worrell, whose late husband graduated from VMI in 1962, was among a handful of people who gathered to watch the work Monday. The school had not publicly disclosed that the removal would be taking place, and Worrell said she hurried over when she got word.
Worrell, who is white, said she didn’t think the Post’s reporting had accurately portrayed the school, which her son also attended.
“It is the Democratic Party’s power quest that has caused this entire thing. They are vilifying history. They are trying to do away with history,” she said.
In his statement, Wins said it would be an “understatement” to say that the decision to remove the statue had evoked strong opinions on both sides of the issue.
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--Pfizer Declines Invitation To White House 'Vaccine Summit'

Pfizer and Moderna , two pharmaceutical companies that have developed promising COVID-19 vaccines , will not participate in a “ vaccine summit ” Tuesday at the White House that touted the participation of private sector executives .
Pfizer said in a statement that it had informed the White House that it would not attend , but offered no other details , Bloomberg reported .
Pfizer has pointedly noted that it accepted no funding from President Donald Trump ’ s Operation Warp Speed to hurry the development of a coronavirus vaccine .
But Warp Speed did promise Pfizer $ 1.95 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doses to the federal government if the vaccine is approved for use .
Bourla defended the decision to decline federal research and development funding in order to “ liberate our scientists from any bureaucracy ” and “ keep Pfizer out of politics.
” After watching the presidential debate in September , Bourla told his staff in an internal memo obtained by Politico that he was “ disappointed that the prevention for a deadly disease was discussed in political terms rather than scientific facts.
” He vowed to “ never succumb to political pressure.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is also awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine , said in a statement that Operation Warp Speed contacted the company “ to be part of a meeting at the White House concerning COVID-19 vaccine plans ” and that Moderna “ indicated its willingness to participate , ” Stat reported .
The company learned later that “ based on the meeting ’ s agenda , its participation would not be required , ” the statement noted .
An FDA representative insisted on Monday that the drugmakers had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agency officials were concerned about the impropriety of executives mingling at the White House with FDA members who are charged with approving their vaccines , Bloomberg reported .
But it was unclear if the White House decision to exclude Pfizer and Moderna was made before or after Pfizer turned down the invitation .
Company executives ’ names were included in an invitation to the summit obtained a week ago by Stat .
The summit is scheduled two days before an FDA advisory committee is set to publicly examine data from Pfizer regarding its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s vaccine is set for Dec. 17 .
The event is regarded by some industry officials as a public relations ploy by Trump to again claim credit for the rapid development of the crucial vaccines — and to pressure the FDA to approve them , Stat noted .
“ I came up with vaccines that people didn ’ t think we ’ d have for five years , ” Trump said in a Fox News interview .
He also boasted on Twitter , using a racist term for the coronavirus , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ on my watch !
” The White House summit is expected to focus on vaccine distribution .
Trump plans to sign an order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to get the vaccines to Americans before helping other countries , Bloomberg reported .
But there will still likely be a scramble for vaccines in this country .
Trump reportedly declined an offer from Pfizer to buy more doses of its COVID-19 vaccine at the end of the summer , according to several press reports .

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Pfizer and Moderna, two pharmaceutical companies that have developed promising COVID-19 vaccines, will not participate in a “vaccine summit” Tuesday at the White House that touted the participation of private sector executives.
Pfizer said in a statement that it had informed the White House that it would not attend, but offered no other details, Bloomberg reported.
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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has previously vowed to keep Pfizer’s vaccine “out of politics.”
Pfizer has pointedly noted that it accepted no funding from President Donald Trump’s Operation Warp Speed to hurry the development of a coronavirus vaccine. But Warp Speed did promise Pfizer $1.95 billion for the eventual delivery of 100 million doses to the federal government if the vaccine is approved for use.
Bourla defended the decision to decline federal research and development funding in order to “liberate our scientists from any bureaucracy” and “keep Pfizer out of politics.”
After watching the presidential debate in September, Bourla told his staff in an internal memo obtained by Politico that he was “disappointed that the prevention for a deadly disease was discussed in political terms rather than scientific facts.” He vowed to “never succumb to political pressure.”
A spokesperson for Moderna, which is also awaiting Food and Drug Administration approval for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine, said in a statement that Operation Warp Speed contacted the company “to be part of a meeting at the White House concerning COVID-19 vaccine plans” and that Moderna “indicated its willingness to participate,” Stat reported. The company learned later that “based on the meeting’s agenda, its participation would not be required,” the statement noted.
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An FDA representative insisted on Monday that the drugmakers had actually been excluded from the meeting because agency officials were concerned about the impropriety of executives mingling at the White House with FDA members who are charged with approving their vaccines, Bloomberg reported.
But it was unclear if the White House decision to exclude Pfizer and Moderna was made before or after Pfizer turned down the invitation. Company executives’ names were included in an invitation to the summit obtained a week ago by Stat.
White House spokesperson Brian Morgenstern said last Tuesday that the president “looks forward to convening leaders from the federal government, state governments, private sector, military, and scientific community.”
The summit is scheduled two days before an FDA advisory committee is set to publicly examine data from Pfizer regarding its vaccine. A similar hearing for Moderna’s vaccine is set for Dec. 17.
The event is regarded by some industry officials as a public relations ploy by Trump to again claim credit for the rapid development of the crucial vaccines — and to pressure the FDA to approve them, Stat noted.
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Trump boasted late last month that he was the one who “came up with” the vaccines.
“I came up with vaccines that people didn’t think we’d have for five years,” Trump said in a Fox News interview. He also boasted on Twitter, using a racist term for the coronavirus, that the private drug companies developed the vaccines “on my watch!”
Another Vaccine just announced. This time by Moderna, 95% effective. For those great “historians”, please remember that these great discoveries, which will end the China Plague, all took place on my watch! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2020
The White House summit is expected to focus on vaccine distribution. Trump plans to sign an order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to get the vaccines to Americans before helping other countries, Bloomberg reported.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--U.S. Regulators Post Positive Review Of Pfizer Vaccine Data

WASHINGTON ( AP ) — Documents released by U.S. regulators Tuesday confirmed that Pfizer and BioNTech ’ s COVID-19 vaccine was strongly protective against COVID-19 ― offering the world ’ s first detailed look at the evidence behind the shots .
The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis online even as across the Atlantic , Britain on Tuesday began vaccinating its oldest citizens with the Pfizer-BioNTech shots .
But the U.S. judges experimental vaccines in a unique way : On Thursday , the FDA will convene what ’ s essentially a science court that will debate ― in public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data backing the shots really is .
A panel of independent scientists will pick apart the FDA ’ s first-pass review before recommending whether the vaccine appears safe and effective enough for millions of Americans .
The FDA , which typically follows the committee ’ s advice , is expected to issue a decision in the days following the review .
If given the green light , the first recipients would be health care workers and nursing home residents according to plans laid out by each state .
Pfizer and its German partner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % effective at preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease in a large , ongoing study .
That ’ s based on the first 170 infections detected .
Only eight of the infections were among volunteers given the real vaccine while the rest had received a dummy shot .
A nurse prepares to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy 's Hospital in London , Tuesday , Dec. 8 , 2020 .
U.K. health authorities rolled out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday , starting a global @ @ @ @ @ @ @ momentum as more serums win approval .
( AP Photo/Frank Augstein , Pool ) That was measured soon after study participants got their second dose .
Still unknown is how long that protection lasts .
“ We ’ re looking at the best possible data , ” Dr. Paul Offit of Children ’ s Hospital of Philadelphia and an FDA adviser recently cautioned .
“ People worry , reasonably , how about six months later ?
” The other critical issue : Safety .
Pfizer has reported no serious side effects .
Some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , fatigue or muscle aches ― especially after the required second dose .
It ’ s a sign the immune system is revving up , able to recognize and fight back if the real virus comes along .
―How well do the shots protect people at high risk such as those over age 65 or those of any age with additional health problems such as obesity or heart disease ?
―Were the shots adequately tested in Black , Hispanic and other communities hard-hit by the pandemic , to know how well the vaccine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could begin before Pfizer ’ s 44,000-person study is complete , and answering some of those questions will require keeping that study going .
Health authorities are wrestling with how to do so in a way that ’ s fair to placebo recipients who justifiably would want to get the real vaccine .
That access “ is top of mind for many , ” Pfizer and BioNTech recently wrote trial participants .
The companies said they ’ re exploring ways to let placebo recipients switch to the vaccine group once they meet eligibility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re health workers , for instance , or when the line opens for other essential workers or people over age 65 .
On the safety front , study volunteers will be monitored for two years but even studies of tens of thousands of people can ’ t spot a complication that only strikes 1 in a million .
So the government also is gearing up for unprecedented monitoring of recipients once emergency vaccinations get underway .

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Documents released by U.S. regulators Tuesday confirmed that Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine was strongly protective against COVID-19 ― offering the world’s first detailed look at the evidence behind the shots.
The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis online even as across the Atlantic, Britain on Tuesday began vaccinating its oldest citizens with the Pfizer-BioNTech shots.
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But the U.S. judges experimental vaccines in a unique way: On Thursday, the FDA will convene what’s essentially a science court that will debate ― in public and live-streamed ― just how strong the data backing the shots really is.
A panel of independent scientists will pick apart the FDA’s first-pass review before recommending whether the vaccine appears safe and effective enough for millions of Americans. The FDA, which typically follows the committee’s advice, is expected to issue a decision in the days following the review. If given the green light, the first recipients would be health care workers and nursing home residents according to plans laid out by each state.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech previously reported the shots appear 95% effective at preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease in a large, ongoing study. That’s based on the first 170 infections detected. Only eight of the infections were among volunteers given the real vaccine while the rest had received a dummy shot.
A nurse prepares to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital in London, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. U.K. health authorities rolled out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool) ASSOCIATED PRESS
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That was measured soon after study participants got their second dose. Still unknown is how long that protection lasts. “We’re looking at the best possible data,” Dr. Paul Offit of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an FDA adviser recently cautioned. “People worry, reasonably, how about six months later?”
The other critical issue: Safety. Pfizer has reported no serious side effects. Some recipients experience flu-like reactions ― including fever, fatigue or muscle aches ― especially after the required second dose. It’s a sign the immune system is revving up, able to recognize and fight back if the real virus comes along.
Other questions on the FDA advisers’ list:
―How well do the shots protect people at high risk such as those over age 65 or those of any age with additional health problems such as obesity or heart disease?
―Were the shots adequately tested in Black, Hispanic and other communities hard-hit by the pandemic, to know how well the vaccine works in those populations?
―Does the vaccine protect against asymptomatic infection, or could the vaccinated still unknowingly spread the virus?
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―What should pregnant women be told about vaccination, since they weren’t tested in Pfizer’s study?
Studies in children as young as 12 are just beginning.
Emergency vaccinations could begin before Pfizer’s 44,000-person study is complete, and answering some of those questions will require keeping that study going. Health authorities are wrestling with how to do so in a way that’s fair to placebo recipients who justifiably would want to get the real vaccine.
That access “is top of mind for many,” Pfizer and BioNTech recently wrote trial participants. The companies said they’re exploring ways to let placebo recipients switch to the vaccine group once they meet eligibility criteria for early access — if they’re health workers, for instance, or when the line opens for other essential workers or people over age 65.
On the safety front, study volunteers will be monitored for two years but even studies of tens of thousands of people can’t spot a complication that only strikes 1 in a million. So the government also is gearing up for unprecedented monitoring of recipients once emergency vaccinations get underway.
___


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--William Shakespeare Is Second Person To Receive Vaccine As UK Begins Shots

An historical occasion like the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine requires an historic name , right ?
Enter one William Shakespeare , an 81-year-old British man who on Tuesday became the second person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech shot outside a clinical trial , according to reports .
Shakespeare shares the name of the famous English playwright ( who lived during an extended plague ) and is from the county of the Bard ’ s birth , Warwickshire .
He can be seen getting vaccinated in the video above .
“ Ready ?
” the nurse asked .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ He didn ’ t appear to flinch as he received the jab in his arm .
Shakespeare admitted that he had been “ a bit apprehensive about what the side effects could be — but there ’ s a small chance of that.
” Shakespeare , who also goes by Bill , was inoculated at University Hospital Coventry .
His name went viral when BBC News health editor Hugh Pym posted his picture .
Second patient to get the COVID jab at University Hospital Coventry - would you believe it ... .William Shakespeare @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ BBCHughPym ) December 8 , 2020 Margaret Keenan , 90 , was the first person to receive the vaccine , as the U.K. ’ s mass vaccination got underway .

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An historical occasion like the rollout of a coronavirus vaccine requires an historic name, right?
Enter one William Shakespeare, an 81-year-old British man who on Tuesday became the second person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech shot outside a clinical trial, according to reports.
Shakespeare shares the name of the famous English playwright (who lived during an extended plague) and is from the county of the Bard’s birth, Warwickshire. He can be seen getting vaccinated in the video above.
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“Ready?” the nurse asked. “Yeah,” Shakespeare answered. He didn’t appear to flinch as he received the jab in his arm.
Shakespeare admitted that he had been “a bit apprehensive about what the side effects could be — but there’s a small chance of that.”
Shakespeare, who also goes by Bill, was inoculated at University Hospital Coventry. His name went viral when BBC News health editor Hugh Pym posted his picture.
Second patient to get the COVID jab at University Hospital Coventry - would you believe it....William Shakespeare from Warwickshire pic.twitter.com/y0LzxgbJ9w — Hugh Pym (@BBCHughPym) December 8, 2020
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-07--It’s ‘V-Day’: First British Citizens Receive COVID-19 Vaccine

The first shot came early in the morning at one of a network of hospital hubs around the country where the initial phase of the U.K. program will be rolled out on what has been dubbed “ V-Day.
” Public health officials are asking the public to be patient because only those who are most at risk from COVID-19 will be vaccinated in the early stages .
Medical staff will contact people to arrange appointments , and most will have to wait until next year before there is enough vaccine to expand the program .
“ I think there ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back on ... ( Tuesday ) as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus , ” said Simon Stevens , the CEO of England ’ s National Health Service .
“ It ’ s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year , ” she said .
The first 800,000 doses are going to people over 80 who are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scheduled , along with nursing home workers .
Others will have to wait their turn .
“ When I received the telephone call , I was very excited I got the opportunity of joining in and taking part in that , ″ he said .
“ So we are very very pleased and happy and excited as well.″ Public health officials elsewhere are watching Britain ’ s rollout as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions of people to end a pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million .
While @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delivering vaccines , it is geared to administer them to groups such as school children or pregnant women , not the whole population .
The U.K. is getting a head start on the project after British regulators on Dec. 2 gave emergency authorization to the vaccine produced by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany ’ s BioNTech .
U.S. and European Union authorities are also reviewing the vaccine , alongside rival products developed by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna , and a collaboration between Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca .
On Saturday , Russia began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ others at dozens of centers in Moscow with its Sputnik V vaccine .
That program is being viewed differently because Russia authorized use of Sputnik V last summer after it was tested in only a few dozen people .
At one of those facilities , Croydon University Hospital , south of London , staff members couldn ’ t so much as touch the vials , but they were thrilled to just have them in the building .
The vaccine can ’ t arrive soon enough for the U.K. , which has more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other country has reported in Europe .
The U.K. has more than 1.7 million cases .
The 800,000 doses are only a fraction of what is needed .
The government is targeting more than 25 million people , or about 40 % of the population , in the first phase of its vaccination program , which gives first priority to those who are highest risk from the disease .
After those over 80 and nursing home workers , the program will be expanded as the supply increases , with the vaccine offered roughly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starting with the oldest people .
In England , the vaccine will be delivered at 50 hospital hubs in the first wave of the program , with more hospitals expected to offer it as the rollout ramps up .
Northern Ireland , Scotland and Wales are making their own plans under the U.K. ’ s system of devolved administration .

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LONDON (AP) — U.K. health authorities began rolling out the first doses of a widely tested and independently reviewed COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, starting a global immunization program that is expected to gain momentum as more serums win approval.
The first shot came early in the morning at one of a network of hospital hubs around the country where the initial phase of the U.K. program will be rolled out on what has been dubbed “V-Day.”
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Public health officials are asking the public to be patient because only those who are most at risk from COVID-19 will be vaccinated in the early stages. Medical staff will contact people to arrange appointments, and most will have to wait until next year before there is enough vaccine to expand the program.
“I think there’s every chance that we will look back on ... (Tuesday) as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus,” said Simon Stevens, the CEO of England’s National Health Service.
This is what the UK's Covid-19 vaccination cards will look like. Britain's healthcare providers are preparing to start administering the first doses of the vaccine tomorrow. https://t.co/cEoDSP06Em — CNN International (@cnni) December 8, 2020
The first recipient was grandmother Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week. She received the shot at University Hospital Coventry at 6:31 a.m.
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Keenan says she feels “so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19.”
“It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year,” she said.
Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, says she feels “so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19.” ASSOCIATED PRESS
The first 800,000 doses are going to people over 80 who are either hospitalized or already have outpatient appointments scheduled, along with nursing home workers. Others will have to wait their turn.
Among those older Britons scheduled to get vaccinated is Hari Shukla, of Newcastle.
“When I received the telephone call, I was very excited I got the opportunity of joining in and taking part in that,″ he said. “So we are very very pleased and happy and excited as well.″
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on reports that Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, would be vaccinated as a public example of its safety.
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“Our goal is totally to protect every member of the population, Her Majesty, of course, as well,” Dr. June Raine, chief executive of Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, told the BBC.
Second patient to get the COVID jab at University Hospital Coventry - would you believe it....William Shakespeare from Warwickshire pic.twitter.com/y0LzxgbJ9w — Hugh Pym (@BBCHughPym) December 8, 2020
Public health officials elsewhere are watching Britain’s rollout as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions of people to end a pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million. While the U.K. has a well-developed infrastructure for delivering vaccines, it is geared to administer them to groups such as school children or pregnant women, not the whole population.
The U.K. is getting a head start on the project after British regulators on Dec. 2 gave emergency authorization to the vaccine produced by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. U.S. and European Union authorities are also reviewing the vaccine, alongside rival products developed by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna, and a collaboration between Oxford University and drugmaker AstraZeneca.
On Saturday, Russia began vaccinating thousands of doctors, teachers and others at dozens of centers in Moscow with its Sputnik V vaccine. That program is being viewed differently because Russia authorized use of Sputnik V last summer after it was tested in only a few dozen people.
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The first shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were delivered to a selected group of U.K. hospitals on Sunday.
At one of those facilities, Croydon University Hospital, south of London, staff members couldn’t so much as touch the vials, but they were thrilled to just have them in the building.
“I’m so proud,” said Louise Coughlan, joint chief pharmacist at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust.
The vaccine can’t arrive soon enough for the U.K., which has more than 61,000 COVID-19-related deaths — more than any other country has reported in Europe. The U.K. has more than 1.7 million cases.
The 800,000 doses are only a fraction of what is needed. The government is targeting more than 25 million people, or about 40% of the population, in the first phase of its vaccination program, which gives first priority to those who are highest risk from the disease.
After those over 80 and nursing home workers, the program will be expanded as the supply increases, with the vaccine offered roughly on the basis of age groups, starting with the oldest people.
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In England, the vaccine will be delivered at 50 hospital hubs in the first wave of the program, with more hospitals expected to offer it as the rollout ramps up. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are making their own plans under the U.K.’s system of devolved administration.
Logistical issues are slowing the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine because it has to be stored at minus-70 degrees Celsius (minus-94 degrees Fahrenheit).
The immunization program will be a “marathon not a sprint,” said professor Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England.
Authorities also are focusing on large-scale distribution points because each package of vaccine contains 975 doses and they don’t want any to be wasted.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--Donald Trump Jr.’s Wail About ‘Tyranny’ Gets Flipped Back On Him

Your father failed in every regard .
He failed with Covid-19 .
He failed with having integrity .
He failed @ @ @ @ @ people .
He failed with the economy .
He failed with representing us in a @ @ @ @ @ .
Consequently , he was rejected by the electorate .
Bye .

Your father failed in every regard. He failed with Covid-19. He failed with having integrity. He failed with uniting us as a people. He failed with the economy. He failed with representing us in a way that would instill pride. Consequently, he was rejected by the electorate. Bye.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--Trump Asked Top Republican In Pennsylvania House To Intervene In Election: Report

President Donald Trump personally called the speaker of Pennsylvania ’ s House of Representatives twice to ask him to help overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. election in the state , Trump ’ s latest effort to deny his loss and refuse to concede to President-elect Joe Biden .
The Washington Post first reported Monday that Trump had called Republican House Speaker Bryan Cutler twice in the past week , asking if Cutler could use the body ’ s legislative power to intervene in the race more than a month after Election Day .
Cutler ’ s office said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be done and that the legislature had no power to override the state ’ s electors .
“ The president said , ‘ I ’ m hearing about all these issues in Philadelphia , and these issues with your law , ’ ” Michael Straub , a spokesperson for Cutler , recounted to the Post .
“ ‘ What can we do to fix it ?
’ ” The request , while unprecedented , is not new for the president .
Trump previously appealed to top Republicans in Michigan and to Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , urging them to try and replace the state ’ s electors with ones loyal to him .
Kemp refused that request , and on Monday , Georgia ’ s top election officials recertified the state ’ s election results , confirming that Biden won its 16 electors .
Trump and his surrogates have continued to spread lies about the results of the 2020 election and attempted to subvert the votes in six key battleground states that all swung for Biden last month .
Every Trump campaign legal challenge has failed , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now certified their results .
Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20 .
It ’ s unclear if Trump plans to attend that event , although he said that he would “ certainly ” leave the White House if the Electoral College formally votes for Biden on Dec. 14 .

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President Donald Trump personally called the speaker of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives twice to ask him to help overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. election in the state, Trump’s latest effort to deny his loss and refuse to concede to President-elect Joe Biden.
The Washington Post first reported Monday that Trump had called Republican House Speaker Bryan Cutler twice in the past week, asking if Cutler could use the body’s legislative power to intervene in the race more than a month after Election Day.
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Cutler’s office said it told the president there was nothing to be done and that the legislature had no power to override the state’s electors.
“The president said, ‘I’m hearing about all these issues in Philadelphia, and these issues with your law,’ ” Michael Straub, a spokesperson for Cutler, recounted to the Post. “ ‘What can we do to fix it?’ ”
The request, while unprecedented, is not new for the president. Trump previously appealed to top Republicans in Michigan and to Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, urging them to try and replace the state’s electors with ones loyal to him.
Kemp refused that request, and on Monday, Georgia’s top election officials recertified the state’s election results, confirming that Biden won its 16 electors.
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Trump and his surrogates have continued to spread lies about the results of the 2020 election and attempted to subvert the votes in six key battleground states that all swung for Biden last month. Every Trump campaign legal challenge has failed, and all six of those swing states have now certified their results. Biden will be inaugurated on Jan. 20.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--1,500 Attorneys Call On Bar Associations To Condemn Trump Campaign Lawyers

In an open letter , 1,500 attorneys slammed the Donald Trump campaign for seeking to overturn the will of U.S. voters and called on bar associations to investigate lawyers who filed lawsuits on Trump ’ s behalf .
The letter ’ s signatories include law professors , judges and local officials .
They accuse Rudy Giuliani and other Trump campaign lawyers of violating their code of conduct by lying and filing baseless legal actions , calling their behavior a “ disgrace.
” “ More than 35 losses in election-related cases have made one thing painfully clear : President Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a campaign to undermine public confidence in the outcome of the 2020 election , which inevitably will subvert constitutional democracy , ” states the letter , organized by Lawyers Defending Democracy .
It notes that Trump ’ s “ primary agents and enablers in this effort are lawyers , ” who are obligated by “ oath and ethical rules to uphold the rule of law.
” Bar associations “ need to condemn this abuse and bar disciplinary authorities need to investigate it , ” the letter demands .
A “ license to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lie to the public on behalf of a client , ” and is barred by the ethics rules of the American Bar Association , which polices the behavior of attorneys , the letter notes .
The code of conduct for lawyers also bars them from filing frivolous , baseless lawsuits .
“ Our profession needs to affirm that this behavior grossly deviates from the bar ’ s deep commitment to democratic institutions and the fact-based processes that maintain our democracy ’ s vitality , ” the letter concludes .

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In an open letter, 1,500 attorneys slammed the Donald Trump campaign for seeking to overturn the will of U.S. voters and called on bar associations to investigate lawyers who filed lawsuits on Trump’s behalf.
The letter’s signatories include law professors, judges and local officials. They accuse Rudy Giuliani and other Trump campaign lawyers of violating their code of conduct by lying and filing baseless legal actions, calling their behavior a “disgrace.”
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“More than 35 losses in election-related cases have made one thing painfully clear: President Trump’s barrage of litigation is a pretext for a campaign to undermine public confidence in the outcome of the 2020 election, which inevitably will subvert constitutional democracy,” states the letter, organized by Lawyers Defending Democracy.
It notes that Trump’s “primary agents and enablers in this effort are lawyers,” who are obligated by “oath and ethical rules to uphold the rule of law.”
Bar associations “need to condemn this abuse and bar disciplinary authorities need to investigate it,” the letter demands.
A “license to practice law is not a license to lie to the public on behalf of a client,” and is barred by the ethics rules of the American Bar Association, which polices the behavior of attorneys, the letter notes. The code of conduct for lawyers also bars them from filing frivolous, baseless lawsuits.
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“Our profession needs to affirm that this behavior grossly deviates from the bar’s deep commitment to democratic institutions and the fact-based processes that maintain our democracy’s vitality,” the letter concludes.


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--Dan Rather Has A Pithy Putdown For Donald Trump's Postelection Antics

When it comes to mocking President Donald Trump ’ s postelection antics , Dan Rather has of late been on something of a roll .
On Monday , the veteran broadcast journalist dinged the outgoing president ’ s desperate attempts to cling to power with this tweet : Rather this month has used a series of pithy posts on the social media platform to call out Trump ’ s baseless claims of mass voter fraud , pardoning of allies and his supporters ’ acceptance of reality-defying falsehoods .
Many of Rather ’ s tweets have gone viral .
I think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lies about election fraud can be boiled down to some version of “ You will not replace us.
” — Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 1 , 2020 Can ’ t we get to the point in this movie where Toto pulls the green curtain ?
— Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 2 , 2020 Why is the Trump White House suddenly a very polite place to work ?
Everyone ’ s going around saying “ pardon me.
” — Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 2 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the headlines : Election Results Are Still The Same As They Were Weeks Ago When Everyone Who Doesn ’ t Wear Tinfoil on Their Head Knew Biden Won ?
— Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 2 , 2020 Enough is enough .
And it 's been enough , for long enough .
Enough said .
— Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 4 , 2020 I checked with medical experts and apparently you CAN physically wear a mask AND a tinfoil hat at the same time .
Just clearing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 5 , 2020 Now is the winter of our discontent .
— Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 5 , 2020 A reminder that elected officials regularly booked on TV news shows used that platform to tell the American public that the virus would magically disappear after the election .
— Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 5 , 2020 Wine gets better with age .
Whining gets old real quick .
— Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 6 , 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ University was fo higher education , the library will have as many books as a demolition derby .
https : //t.co/ZSiZmKyPny — Dan Rather ( @ DanRather ) December 7 , 2020 Rather ’ s most succinct riposte for Trump , however , came in November , just days after Joe Biden was projected as the election winner :

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When it comes to mocking President Donald Trump’s postelection antics, Dan Rather has of late been on something of a roll.
On Monday, the veteran broadcast journalist dinged the outgoing president’s desperate attempts to cling to power with this tweet:
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Worst farewell tour. Ever. — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 7, 2020
Rather this month has used a series of pithy posts on the social media platform to call out Trump’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud, pardoning of allies and his supporters’ acceptance of reality-defying falsehoods. Many of Rather’s tweets have gone viral.
I think Donald Trump’s mantra for his lies about election fraud can be boiled down to some version of “You will not replace us.” — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 1, 2020
Can’t we get to the point in this movie where Toto pulls the green curtain? — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 2, 2020
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Why is the Trump White House suddenly a very polite place to work? Everyone’s going around saying “pardon me.” — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 2, 2020
Is anyone else getting tired of the headlines: Election Results Are Still The Same As They Were Weeks Ago When Everyone Who Doesn’t Wear Tinfoil on Their Head Knew Biden Won? — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 2, 2020
Enough is enough. And it's been enough, for long enough. Enough said. — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 4, 2020
I checked with medical experts and apparently you CAN physically wear a mask AND a tinfoil hat at the same time. Just clearing that up in case anybody was wondering. — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 5, 2020
Now is the winter of our discontent. — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 5, 2020
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A reminder that elected officials regularly booked on TV news shows used that platform to tell the American public that the virus would magically disappear after the election. — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 5, 2020
Wine gets better with age. Whining gets old real quick. — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 6, 2020
Governance > Grievance — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 6, 2020
If it’s anything like Trump University was fo higher education, the library will have as many books as a demolition derby. https://t.co/ZSiZmKyPny — Dan Rather (@DanRather) December 7, 2020
Rather’s most succinct riposte for Trump, however, came in November, just days after Joe Biden was projected as the election winner:
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thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--Anderson Cooper Debunks Donald Trump’s ‘Wartime President’ Claim Once And For All

Anderson Cooper poured scorn on Donald Trump ’ s claim to be a “ wartime president ” in the fight @ @ @ @ @ Monday , the CNN anchor explained how Trump has pretty much abdicated all responsibility for @ @ @ @ @ election defeat to President-elect Joe Biden .
The outgoing president has instead focused on attempting @ @ @ @ @ victory , citing bogus claims of mass voter fraud .
Cooper recalled , on the @ @ @ @ @ Harbor attack , how Trump called himself a “ wartime president ” a “ long @ @ @ @ @ pandemic , when he “ wanted to be seen as commander-in-chief , leading the effort @ @ @ @ @ appeal .
“ Now , the president doesn ’ t seem concerned about being a @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ If anything he seems like a deserter .
He ’ s absent @ @ @ @ @ given him leave , voting him out at the ballot box , but he still @ @ @ @ @ He has chosen to go AWOL .
”

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Anderson Cooper poured scorn on Donald Trump’s claim to be a “wartime president” in the fight against the coronavirus.
On Monday, the CNN anchor explained how Trump has pretty much abdicated all responsibility for addressing the pandemic since his election defeat to President-elect Joe Biden.
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The outgoing president has instead focused on attempting to overturn Biden’s victory, citing bogus claims of mass voter fraud.
Cooper recalled, on the 79th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, how Trump called himself a “wartime president” a “long time ago” in the pandemic, when he “wanted to be seen as commander-in-chief, leading the effort” to burnish his reelection appeal.
“Now, the president doesn’t seem concerned about being a wartime commander,” Cooper said. “If anything he seems like a deserter. He’s absent. The American people have given him leave, voting him out at the ballot box, but he still has some weeks left. He has chosen to go AWOL.”
Check out Cooper’s full monologue here:


thehuffingtonpost--2020-12-08--Conservative Pundit Issues Dire Warning About Trump’s ‘More Deranged And Deluded’ Fans

Conservative pundit Charlie Sykes on Monday warned what to expect from some of Donald Trump ’ s most zealous supporters when they finally realize that his plot to overturn the election won ’ t allow him to continue as president .
Sykes told MSNBC ’ s Nicolle Wallace that “ a lot of people in the MAGA-verse , in Trumpland ” still “ honestly believe ” Trump will beat President-elect Joe Biden ― even though Trump decisively lost the election and dozens of lawsuits challenging the result .
“ They do not understand that the election is over , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conservative website The Bulwark .
“ And when reality strikes and they realize that Donald Trump is not going to be sworn in as president , it ’ s going to come as a shock to them.
” Sykes said “ we haven ’ t reached that point with some of the more deranged and deluded supporters out there ” and asked : “ How many of these sociopaths do you need to act out on this ?
” “ If they sincerely believe that this election has been stolen , that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and they are heavily armed , what possible things could go wrong ?
” he said , pointing out that armed demonstrators showed up at the home of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over the weekend to protest Trump ’ s loss .
“ It ’ s a very , very scary scenario and I think that we ought to be prepared for it , ” said Sykes , who condemned other politicians “ who are feeding into this , who are putting out the rhetoric and spreading the misinformation and giving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s dangerous now , but I think it ’ s going to get much more dangerous over the next few weeks , ” he added .
`` We are not at the worst point yet because there are a lot of people in Trumpland who still honestly believe that Donald Trump will win this election ...
It is a very , very scary scenario and I think we ought to be prepared for it '' @ SykesCharlie w/ @ NicolleDWallace pic.twitter.com/HNuUhYcIV9 — Deadline White House ( @ DeadlineWH ) December @ @ @

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Conservative pundit Charlie Sykes on Monday warned what to expect from some of Donald Trump’s most zealous supporters when they finally realize that his plot to overturn the election won’t allow him to continue as president.
Sykes told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that “a lot of people in the MAGA-verse, in Trumpland” still “honestly believe” Trump will beat President-elect Joe Biden ― even though Trump decisively lost the election and dozens of lawsuits challenging the result.
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“They do not understand that the election is over,” said Sykes, the founder of the conservative website The Bulwark. “And when reality strikes and they realize that Donald Trump is not going to be sworn in as president, it’s going to come as a shock to them.”
Sykes said “we haven’t reached that point with some of the more deranged and deluded supporters out there” and asked: “How many of these sociopaths do you need to act out on this?”
“If they sincerely believe that this election has been stolen, that it’s an act of fraud, and they are heavily armed, what possible things could go wrong?” he said, pointing out that armed demonstrators showed up at the home of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over the weekend to protest Trump’s loss.
“It’s a very, very scary scenario and I think that we ought to be prepared for it,” said Sykes, who condemned other politicians “who are feeding into this, who are putting out the rhetoric and spreading the misinformation and giving oxygen to the various conspiracy theories.”
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“It’s dangerous now, but I think it’s going to get much more dangerous over the next few weeks,” he added.
Check out the interview here: