occupydemocrats--2020-08-23--“No principles”: Leaked audio from Trump’s sister generates social media outrage and GOP excuses

Early yesterday evening The Washington Post broke the story of the secretly recorded conversations between Donald Trump ’ s niece Mary and her aunt , the president ’ s sister , retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry .
Much of the conversation was used as part of the basis for Mary L. Trump ’ s recent devastatingly critical tell-all book about her uncle , Too Much and Never Enough : How My Family Created the World ’ s Most Dangerous Man , but the tapes reveal serval new direct quotes from the president ’ s older sister that indicate a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Here are a few of the choicest quotes from Maryanne Trump Barry that were included on the surreptitiously recorded audio : “ All he wants to do is appeal to his base .
He has no principles .
None .
None .
And his base , I mean my God , if you were a religious person , you want to help people .
Not do this.
” “ His goddamned tweet and lying , oh my God , I ’ m talking too freely , but you know .
The change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The lying .
Holy shit.
” “ It ’ s the phoniness of it all .
It ’ s the phoniness and this cruelty .
Donald is cruel.
” “ I did his homework for him ” “ I drove him around New York City to try to get him into college.
” “ He went to Fordham for one year [ actually two years ] and then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams.
” With such explosive revelations , it ’ s not surprising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around predictably partisan lines .
Perhaps the most telling reaction to the leaked audio comes from Donald Trump himself who somehow managed to ignore it completely with nary a tweet devoted to the subject in this morning ’ s social media posts .
While the president did seem to refer to the leak obliquely in a statement to The Hill , saying “ Every day it ’ s something else , who cares , ” he mostly relied on various surrogates to take to the airwaves on Sunday morning political talk shows to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ familial animosity .
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows called the leaks “ politics as usual ” and “ just another day and another attack ” when he appeared on ABC ‘ s This Week this morning .
Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller went on NBC ‘ s Meet The Press and characterised the remarks by his sister as simply “ sibling rivalry.
” Commenters on Twitter had a decidedly different perspective .
Suffice it say that there are plenty more comments along similar lines in respinse to The Washington Post story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be related to Donald Trump to see that everything that his sister says about him rings of the truth .
If you needed any further excuse to work as hard as you can to defeat this man at the polls in November , Maryanne Trump Barry kindly provided more kindling for the righteous flame that will cleanse the White House of Donald Trump ’ s vile infection of our political body .
Original reporting by Michael Kranish at The Washington Post and by Justine Coleman and John Bowden at The Hill .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ say .
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Early yesterday evening The Washington Post broke the story of the secretly recorded conversations between Donald Trump’s niece Mary and her aunt, the president’s sister, retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry.
Much of the conversation was used as part of the basis for Mary L. Trump’s recent devastatingly critical tell-all book about her uncle, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, but the tapes reveal serval new direct quotes from the president’s older sister that indicate a dysfunctional family dynamic of the first degree.
Here are a few of the choicest quotes from Maryanne Trump Barry that were included on the surreptitiously recorded audio:
“All he wants to do is appeal to his base. He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this.” “His goddamned tweet and lying, oh my God, I’m talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy shit.” “He doesn’t read.” “It’s the phoniness of it all. It’s the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel.” “He was a brat.” “I did his homework for him” “I drove him around New York City to try to get him into college.” “He went to Fordham for one year [actually two years] and then he got into University of Pennsylvania because he had somebody take the exams.”
With such explosive revelations, it’s not surprising that the responses to the news tracked around predictably partisan lines.
Perhaps the most telling reaction to the leaked audio comes from Donald Trump himself who somehow managed to ignore it completely with nary a tweet devoted to the subject in this morning’s social media posts.
While the president did seem to refer to the leak obliquely in a statement to The Hill, saying “Every day it’s something else, who cares,” he mostly relied on various surrogates to take to the airwaves on Sunday morning political talk shows to dismiss the importance of the newly revealed familial animosity.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows called the leaks “politics as usual” and “just another day and another attack” when he appeared on ABC‘s This Week this morning.
NEW: White House chief of staff Mark Meadows responds to Maryanne Trump’s criticism of President Trump, telling @GStephanopoulos, “Obviously, he’s been public with his response. Just another day and another attack that we continue to see.” https://t.co/LcCZLVkoXR pic.twitter.com/6ad56MxzQ5 — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 23, 2020
Trump campaign advisor Jason Miller went on NBC‘s Meet The Press and characterised the remarks by his sister as simply “sibling rivalry.”
“Sibling rivalries are nothing new in the world. It’s been going on since the beginning of time, in fact, we heard some pretty pointed commentary from Malik Obama about former President Barack Obama,” Miller said. “And so, this is something unfortunately when you get to the White House you have family members who sometimes decide to voice their sibling rivalries or frustrations.”
Trump adviser: "Sibling rivalries are nothing new" Trump Campaign Senior Adviser Jason Miller talks to Chuck Todd about secretly recorded audio from President Trump’s sister.https://t.co/P3qDnMzX4q pic.twitter.com/22oZ2F2BzM — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) August 23, 2020
Commenters on Twitter had a decidedly different perspective.
https://twitter.com/EvAndee4ever/status/1297350012737916928?s=20
Maryanne did his homework, she says he doesn’t read, how does he tie his shoes in the morning. — Ronald Piersee (@RPiersee) August 23, 2020
I never actually met her, apparently she's my sister, I'm in a few pictures with her, but no, I don't recall meeting her. — A Man Named Sioux (@KretzSioux) August 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/coppertime/status/1297347687130464256?s=20
https://twitter.com/PBPMutha/status/1297331194338480130?s=20
That was probably the nicest thing she could think of to say. — (((Howard Forman))) (@thehowie) August 23, 2020
Suffice it say that there are plenty more comments along similar lines in respinse to The Washington Post story.
One doesn’t need to be related to Donald Trump to see that everything that his sister says about him rings of the truth.
If you needed any further excuse to work as hard as you can to defeat this man at the polls in November, Maryanne Trump Barry kindly provided more kindling for the righteous flame that will cleanse the White House of Donald Trump’s vile infection of our political body.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
Original reporting by Michael Kranish at The Washington Post and by Justine Coleman and John Bowden at The Hill.
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Vinnie Longobardo Managing Editor Vinnie Longobardo is the Managing Editor of Occupy Democrats. He's a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art. Latest Posts


occupydemocrats--2020-08-23--Trump takes the Lord’s name in vain attempt to smear Democrats in Sunday tweets

Watching Donald Trump ’ s behavior over the past three and a half years , one can discern just how sacred Sundays are to him .
It is the day that he almost always spends at least part of the day in communion with that phenomenon that begins with the letters “ G ” and “ o ” .
That ’ s right Golf !
So it was a bit surprising on this Sunday when Trump posted two tweets in a row concerning the topic of the other word beginning with a “ G ” and associated with Sundays ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ God .
The first was a slight modification of an insidious lie that Trump tried to peddle yesterday only to be rebutted with hard audio and video evidence of the audacious enormity of his obviously false pejorative claims .
Yesterday , Trump tweeted that Democrats had removed the words “ under God ” from the pledge during the broadcasts of the Democratic National Convention last week — words that were not part of the pledge until 1954 when Congress inserted them into the existing pledge at the urging of President Eisenhower during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being ridiculed with video clips that show that Democrats did not omit the words when reciting the pledge on each night of the convention , Trump pivoted this morning to a narrower , if slightly less inaccurate , claim that the words were omitted in “ Two Democratic Caucus meetings.
” While the new tweet may pass fact-checking muster — since fact-checking site Snopes finds that the words were left out of the pledge at two caucus meetings , the LGBTQ caucus meeting and the Muslim Delegates Assembly — it does not resolve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ religion simply because their big tent includes atheists and other non-believers .
After all , it takes a huge leap of the imagination to claim that Muslim delegates at the Democratic convention are opposed to God and religion .
God came up again in Trump ’ s next tweet which spoke of the spiritual realm on this sabbath day in terms as articulate as a football fan cheering his team on at a sports bar — a difficult thing to go back to hearing after a week of reminders that this nation was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the Democratic National Convention so amply jogged our memories .
By attaching a speech of himself speaking about the influence of Polish-born Pope John Paul II on the overthrow of communism in his home country , it ’ s difficult to argue that Trump isn ’ t setting himself up as the “ god ” that he wants everyone to want .
Such an idea would likely be prosecutable as blasphemy and sacrilege if Trump lived in Pakistan where he could be put to death for religious ideas that stray from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s use of religion as a political cudgel has more in common with the Islamic hard-liners than with the diversity of modern American society where religious adherents have been an increasingly smaller segment of society .
That any American still believes that the president who rarely attends church outside of weddings and funerals and displays a morality that would offend the most devout Satanist has any kind of deeply-rooted religious conviction is difficult to swallow , but evangelicals inexplicably still form a good percentage of Trump ’ s base .
Any mention by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs to be seen as the political pandering that it actually is rather than any declaration of conviction .
Speaking of convictions , make sure to vote this hypocrite out of office so that his crimes can be prosecuted and his conviction and incarceration shortly after he exits the White House can be widely celebrated .
We want to hear what YOU have to say .
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Watching Donald Trump’s behavior over the past three and a half years, one can discern just how sacred Sundays are to him.
It is the day that he almost always spends at least part of the day in communion with that phenomenon that begins with the letters “G” and “o”. That’s right Golf!
So it was a bit surprising on this Sunday when Trump posted two tweets in a row concerning the topic of the other word beginning with a “G” and associated with Sundays (at least in some creeds) — God.
The first was a slight modification of an insidious lie that Trump tried to peddle yesterday only to be rebutted with hard audio and video evidence of the audacious enormity of his obviously false pejorative claims.
Yesterday, Trump tweeted that Democrats had removed the words “under God” from the pledge during the broadcasts of the Democratic National Convention last week — words that were not part of the pledge until 1954 when Congress inserted them into the existing pledge at the urging of President Eisenhower during the height of the Cold War.
After being ridiculed with video clips that show that Democrats did not omit the words when reciting the pledge on each night of the convention, Trump pivoted this morning to a narrower, if slightly less inaccurate, claim that the words were omitted in “Two Democratic Caucus meetings.”
Here are the videos of the Pledge of Allegiance each day of the #DemConvention with “God” in every single one. Night 1: https://t.co/8VvPB9AKy5… Night 2: https://t.co/FUWRd1onVd… Night 3: https://t.co/INWTplGxsB… Night 4: https://t.co/wYknyvxgoP — Jules Morgan (@glamelegance) August 23, 2020
While the new tweet may pass fact-checking muster — since fact-checking site Snopes finds that the words were left out of the pledge at two caucus meetings, the LGBTQ caucus meeting and the Muslim Delegates Assembly — it does not resolve the basic falsehood that Democrats are rejecting religion simply because their big tent includes atheists and other non-believers.
After all, it takes a huge leap of the imagination to claim that Muslim delegates at the Democratic convention are opposed to God and religion.
God came up again in Trump’s next tweet which spoke of the spiritual realm on this sabbath day in terms as articulate as a football fan cheering his team on at a sports bar — a difficult thing to go back to hearing after a week of reminders that this nation was once headed by eloquent and intelligent people as the Democratic National Convention so amply jogged our memories.
Happy Sunday! We want GOD! https://t.co/RsBkSEmJEi — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2020
By attaching a speech of himself speaking about the influence of Polish-born Pope John Paul II on the overthrow of communism in his home country, it’s difficult to argue that Trump isn’t setting himself up as the “god” that he wants everyone to want.
Such an idea would likely be prosecutable as blasphemy and sacrilege if Trump lived in Pakistan where he could be put to death for religious ideas that stray from the Islamic orthodoxy.
Still, Trump’s use of religion as a political cudgel has more in common with the Islamic hard-liners than with the diversity of modern American society where religious adherents have been an increasingly smaller segment of society.
That any American still believes that the president who rarely attends church outside of weddings and funerals and displays a morality that would offend the most devout Satanist has any kind of deeply-rooted religious conviction is difficult to swallow, but evangelicals inexplicably still form a good percentage of Trump’s base.
Any mention by Trump of the word “God” needs to be seen as the political pandering that it actually is rather than any declaration of conviction.
Speaking of convictions, make sure to vote this hypocrite out of office so that his crimes can be prosecuted and his conviction and incarceration shortly after he exits the White House can be widely celebrated.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
We want to hear what YOU have to say. Scroll down and let us know in our NEW comment section!
Vinnie Longobardo Managing Editor Vinnie Longobardo is the Managing Editor of Occupy Democrats. He's a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art. Latest Posts


occupydemocrats--2020-08-24--Eric Trump piteously whines about unfairness after New York AG sues to compel his deposition

Will a Trump family member be indicted before the November elections ?
That bit of delayed justice may be a bit closer to reality today after New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced that she had requested a judge to compel Eric Trump to testify under oath after the president ’ s son refused to honor seven subpoenas related to the investigation the AG ’ s office was conducting of the Trump Organization ’ s finances and cancelled a scheduled interview with investigators .
James ’ office is looking into allegations intially brought to their attention by the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the company — then still headed by the Trump family ’ s patriarch , Donald — of grossly overestimating the value of their holdings to obtain access to bank loans .
This inquiry is seperate from the similar parallel investigation being conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. who is looking into possible tax and insurance fraud by the company using the same methods of overvaluing assets on loan documents while providing a vastly lower vauation in real estate tax filings to avoid a higher tax liability .
The state investigation began @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after Michael Cohen revealed the existence of the tax scheme in his congressional testimony , but has been hindered by court battles over access to financial records held by the Trump Organization ’ s lenders , Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank .
While the Trump Organization was said to have intially offered limited cooperation to Attorney General James ’ probe , more recently they have “ stalled and stonewalled , ” according to the new court filings filed by James ’ office .
Predictably , the Trump Organization is declaring the inquiry as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a disclosure of crimnal activity by a former employee who knows where the metaphorical bodies are buried .
The Trump Organization ’ s chief legal officer , Alan Garten , said that James ’ “ continued harassment of the company as we approach the election ” and the timing of motion , at the start of the Republican National Convention , “ once again confirms that this investigation is all about politics.
” As for Eric Trump , he respoded in a way that would make his dad proud , with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump ’ s sabotage of the post office !
Without any basis , except for that confession by Michael Cohen , he means .
“ Sad that Republicans are having a convention while New York and the rest of the country continue to suffer from Eric ’ s father ’ s mismanagement of the pandemic ” may have been a more accurate closing line for that tweet , especially since it ’ s California — not New York — that is currently burning .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ agrees in a timely manner to Attorney General James ’ request to force Eric Trump and two Trump Organization lawyers to sit for sworn depositions about the investgation at hand , we just may see the spectacle of a Trump family member being indicted just in time for election day .
Even better , since the potential fraud and tax evasion charges would come at the state level , no presidential pardon can save any of the people who may be charged in the case — from Eric Trump to the president himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given if they are found guilty by a jury of their peers .
Thank you , U.S. constitution !
Given the trouble that Eric Trump now finds himself involved with , perhaps Donald Trump should take a cue from his senior advisor and resign to spend more time with his obviously emotionally-deprived children .
Original reporting by William K. Rashbaum and The New York Times .
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Will a Trump family member be indicted before the November elections?
That bit of delayed justice may be a bit closer to reality today after New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced that she had requested a judge to compel Eric Trump to testify under oath after the president’s son refused to honor seven subpoenas related to the investigation the AG’s office was conducting of the Trump Organization’s finances and cancelled a scheduled interview with investigators.
James’ office is looking into allegations intially brought to their attention by the former Trump Organization attorney Micahel Cohen who accused the company — then still headed by the Trump family’s patriarch, Donald — of grossly overestimating the value of their holdings to obtain access to bank loans.
This inquiry is seperate from the similar parallel investigation being conducted by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. who is looking into possible tax and insurance fraud by the company using the same methods of overvaluing assets on loan documents while providing a vastly lower vauation in real estate tax filings to avoid a higher tax liability.
The state investigation began back in March of last year shortly after Michael Cohen revealed the existence of the tax scheme in his congressional testimony, but has been hindered by court battles over access to financial records held by the Trump Organization’s lenders, Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank.
While the Trump Organization was said to have intially offered limited cooperation to Attorney General James’ probe, more recently they have “stalled and stonewalled,” according to the new court filings filed by James’ office.
“Nothing will stop us from following the facts and the law, wherever they may lead. For months, the Trump organization has made baseless claims in an effort to shield evidence from a lawful investigation into its financial dealings,” James said.
Predictably, the Trump Organization is declaring the inquiry as politically motivated rather than the natural progression of a disclosure of crimnal activity by a former employee who knows where the metaphorical bodies are buried.
The Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, Alan Garten, said that James’ “continued harassment of the company as we approach the election” and the timing of motion, at the start of the Republican National Convention, “once again confirms that this investigation is all about politics.”
As for Eric Trump, he respoded in a way that would make his dad proud, with a tweeted accusation of a political witch hunt.
Without any basis, the NYAG has pledged to take my father down from the moment she ran for office. This is the highest level of prosecutorial misconduct – purposely dropped on the eve of the Republican Convention for political points. Sad that this is her focus as New York burns pic.twitter.com/5tgtS3vH3F — Eric Trump (@EricTrump) August 24, 2020
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Without any basis, except for that confession by Michael Cohen, he means.
“Sad that Republicans are having a convention while New York and the rest of the country continue to suffer from Eric’s father’s mismanagement of the pandemic” may have been a more accurate closing line for that tweet, especially since it’s California — not New York — that is currently burning.
If the New York State Supreme Court agrees in a timely manner to Attorney General James’ request to force Eric Trump and two Trump Organization lawyers to sit for sworn depositions about the investgation at hand, we just may see the spectacle of a Trump family member being indicted just in time for election day.
Even better, since the potential fraud and tax evasion charges would come at the state level, no presidential pardon can save any of the people who may be charged in the case — from Eric Trump to the president himself — from serving whatever sentence may be given if they are found guilty by a jury of their peers.
Thank you, U.S. constitution!
Given the trouble that Eric Trump now finds himself involved with, perhaps Donald Trump should take a cue from his senior advisor and resign to spend more time with his obviously emotionally-deprived children.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.
Original reporting by William K. Rashbaum and The New York Times.
We want to hear what YOU have to say. Scroll down and let us know in our NEW comment section!
Vinnie Longobardo Managing Editor Vinnie Longobardo is the Managing Editor of Occupy Democrats. He's a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art. Latest Posts


occupydemocrats--2020-08-24--Katie Porter embarrasses Trump’s Postmaster: “You don’t know the cost to mail a postcard?”

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy , the disgraceful Trump lackey who has been spearheading the president ’ s efforts to gut the U.S .
Postal Service ahead of the 2020 election testified before Congress today and gave the kind of shameful performance we ’ ve come to expect from members of this administration .
DeJoy has come under intense , well-deserved fire in recent weeks after moving to delay the delivery time of mail , refusing overtime for postal workers , and ordering the removal of crucial mail-sorting equipment from post offices .
While he has since promised to halt his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election , it ’ s clear he can not be trusted in his position .
The Republicans want to destroy the Postal Service so that they can hand over its functions to private companies .
More importantly , they want to inhibit mail-in voting to help Trump ’ s reelection prospects .
During his hearing today , DeJoy did little to instill confidence as Rep. Katie Porter ( D-CA ) did a masterful job of tearing into him and revealing how singularly unfit he is to run the USPS .
Her questioning started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the postmaster general proved unable to say how much it costs to mail a postcard and conceded that he knows “ very little ” about postage stamps .
Porter pounced , stumping DeJoy by asking him a slew of basic questions about mail costs that he should have been able to easily answer .
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump ’ s sabotage of the post office !
DeJoy was also unable to answer questions about mail-in voting , prompting Porter to voice her concern over his demonstrated ignorance .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ take “ very decisive action ” after assuming his position before even learning the basics of the postal service .
In response , DeJoy claimed that he didn ’ t order the overhaul plans , a dubious insistence at best .
When pressed to explain who if not him ordered the changes , DeJoy was evasive and vague , failing to take responsibility or provide a name .
Soon after , Porter went for the jugular .
“ Will you commit that if the inspector general finds that you committed misconduct with regard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company such as XPO Logistics or Amazon—will you commit if the inspector general finds that you committed misconduct—will you commit to then resigning ?
” asked Porter .
“ Uh I don ’ t believe they will find misconduct but I don ’ t see why I would commit here right now to resigning for any reason , ” said DeJoy .
“ You don ’ t think there ’ s any reason that you should ever resign ?
” asked Porter .
“ No reason that I ’ ve heard here today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to DeJoy ’ s testimony , one can ’ t help but come to the conclusion that he should resign immediately , regardless of what the inspector general finds .
The man doesn ’ t understand the postal service he ’ s been tasked with leading and will only inflict further damage on a crucial American institution if he remains in power .
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Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the disgraceful Trump lackey who has been spearheading the president’s efforts to gut the U.S. Postal Service ahead of the 2020 election testified before Congress today and gave the kind of shameful performance we’ve come to expect from members of this administration.
DeJoy has come under intense, well-deserved fire in recent weeks after moving to delay the delivery time of mail, refusing overtime for postal workers, and ordering the removal of crucial mail-sorting equipment from post offices. While he has since promised to halt his so-called “initiatives” until after the election, it’s clear he cannot be trusted in his position. The Republicans want to destroy the Postal Service so that they can hand over its functions to private companies. More importantly, they want to inhibit mail-in voting to help Trump’s reelection prospects.
During his hearing today, DeJoy did little to instill confidence as Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) did a masterful job of tearing into him and revealing how singularly unfit he is to run the USPS. Her questioning started off on a decidedly embarrassing note as the postmaster general proved unable to say how much it costs to mail a postcard and conceded that he knows “very little” about postage stamps. Porter pounced, stumping DeJoy by asking him a slew of basic questions about mail costs that he should have been able to easily answer.
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump’s sabotage of the post office!
DeJoy was also unable to answer questions about mail-in voting, prompting Porter to voice her concern over his demonstrated ignorance. She pointed out that he decided to take “very decisive action” after assuming his position before even learning the basics of the postal service. In response, DeJoy claimed that he didn’t order the overhaul plans, a dubious insistence at best. When pressed to explain who if not him ordered the changes, DeJoy was evasive and vague, failing to take responsibility or provide a name.
Soon after, Porter went for the jugular.
“Will you commit that if the inspector general finds that you committed misconduct with regard to your financial interests in any other company such as XPO Logistics or Amazon—will you commit if the inspector general finds that you committed misconduct—will you commit to then resigning?” asked Porter.
“Uh I don’t believe they will find misconduct but I don’t see why I would commit here right now to resigning for any reason,” said DeJoy.
“You don’t think there’s any reason that you should ever resign?” asked Porter.
“No reason that I’ve heard here today,” said DeJoy.
“Okay,” said Porter, clearly frustrated.
After listening to DeJoy’s testimony, one can’t help but come to the conclusion that he should resign immediately, regardless of what the inspector general finds. The man doesn’t understand the postal service he’s been tasked with leading and will only inflict further damage on a crucial American institution if he remains in power.
DEJOY: I don't see why I would commit here right now to resigning for any reason.
PORTER: You don't think there's any reason that you should ever resign?
DEJOY: No reason that I've heard here today.
PORTER: [Exasperation] OK. https://t.co/puZPHae0jD — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 24, 2020
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occupydemocrats--2020-08-24--Republican speaker at RNC accidentally praises “segregationists” in appeal to Black voters

The trainwreck calling itself the Republican National Convention started today and it ’ s already clear that we ’ re in for an absolute circus this week .
Lest anyone make the mistake of thinking that the GOP is in any way salvageable after four years of Trump , the RNC has declined to adopt an official platform this year , choosing instead to simply pledge itself to the president ’ s agenda .
Appropriate for a party that has devoted itself completely to a racist washed-up game show host in cognitive decline , the GOP is wheeling out some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vox ’ s Aaron Rupar has been compiling a running list of some of the weirdest remarks .
Most of the delegates seem to be solely interested in heaping praise on Trump but some also seem to still think that hurling lukewarm insults at former Vice President Joe Biden—casting aspersions on his mental acuity even after his brilliant DNC speech put such claims to rest for good—is a wise use of their time .
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump ’ s sabotage of the post office !
At one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best be described as a Freudian slip encapsulating the entire RNC .
While attempting to praise abolitionists , one convention attendee accidentally bragged about “ two of our greatest segregationists ” before immediately realizing his mistake and correcting himself .
Glorifying segregationists , even accidentally , is far more in keeping with the ethos of the modern GOP than promoting abolitionists .
The party under Trump offers little beyond racial grievance politics and the president himself regularly attacks people of color to incite his racist base .
Trump has no interest in subduing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this country and until he ’ s out of office there is no way America can heal .
If this is how the RNC is starting one can only imagine how far off the rails it ’ ll go in the coming days .
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The trainwreck calling itself the Republican National Convention started today and it’s already clear that we’re in for an absolute circus this week. Lest anyone make the mistake of thinking that the GOP is in any way salvageable after four years of Trump, the RNC has declined to adopt an official platform this year, choosing instead to simply pledge itself to the president’s agenda. Appropriate for a party that has devoted itself completely to a racist washed-up game show host in cognitive decline, the GOP is wheeling out some truly bizarre individuals to represent itself.
Vox’s Aaron Rupar has been compiling a running list of some of the weirdest remarks. Most of the delegates seem to be solely interested in heaping praise on Trump but some also seem to still think that hurling lukewarm insults at former Vice President Joe Biden—casting aspersions on his mental acuity even after his brilliant DNC speech put such claims to rest for good—is a wise use of their time.
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump’s sabotage of the post office!
At one point, we witnessed what can perhaps best be described as a Freudian slip encapsulating the entire RNC. While attempting to praise abolitionists, one convention attendee accidentally bragged about “two of our greatest segregationists” before immediately realizing his mistake and correcting himself.
Glorifying segregationists, even accidentally, is far more in keeping with the ethos of the modern GOP than promoting abolitionists. The party under Trump offers little beyond racial grievance politics and the president himself regularly attacks people of color to incite his racist base. Trump has no interest in subduing the bigoted forces he has unleashed on this country and until he’s out of office there is no way America can heal.
If this is how the RNC is starting one can only imagine how far off the rails it’ll go in the coming days.
the RNC is already completely off the rails pic.twitter.com/Ykzqho4nLv — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 24, 2020
The RNC is completely beyond parody pic.twitter.com/ksuRuZp0Iz — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 24, 2020
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occupydemocrats--2020-08-24--CNN cuts away from Trump’s RNC speech after tidal wave of “outright lies”

President Trump addressed the Republican National Convention this afternoon and proved immediately that reports indicating he might take a more positive note with his remarks were entirely false .
Instead of any optimism , Trump began telling outrageous lies about Democratic efforts to steal the election right off the bat , to the point where both CNN and MSNBC cut away to avoid promoting his preposterous falsehoods any further .
The lies didn ’ t stop there , but accelerated out of his mouth so fast there is no way fact-checkers could do their jobs in real-time .
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At this point , none of us should be particularly surprised by this , seeing as Trump lies constantly at every public appearance and repeats the same ones over and over and over again , but it is terrifying to think of how many Americans accept his words as fact — and how small of an effect fact-checking seems to have on fighting the spread of his falsehoods .
Of course , it doesn ’ t help when networks like MSNBC air the entire speech @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all of it was entirely made up .
His words are a stark reminder that this election will be both the most important in history and perhaps the largest challenge the American people have ever faced .
They will try to throw the pandemic at us , try to sabotage the post office , make us stand in line for hours upon hours — and we must meet every obstacle they put in our way with all the blood , sweat , and tears that we can shed in order to save this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

President Trump addressed the Republican National Convention this afternoon and proved immediately that reports indicating he might take a more positive note with his remarks were entirely false. Instead of any optimism, Trump began telling outrageous lies about Democratic efforts to steal the election right off the bat, to the point where both CNN and MSNBC cut away to avoid promoting his preposterous falsehoods any further.
After CNN aired Trump for over 20 minutes they condemn his lies and falsehoods Cooper: It is sort of all the most recent greatest hits and false statements by the president King: This is a sad thing to say, but a lot of what you just heard is wrong, misleading, or outright lies pic.twitter.com/Tc6sXT4LUZ — Lis Power (@LisPower1) August 24, 2020
The lies didn’t stop there, but accelerated out of his mouth so fast there is no way fact-checkers could do their jobs in real-time.
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Trump then touted the "alll-time record" jobs number of the last three months, which is hugely misleading: it's a record gain of 9 million after a record loss of 22 million over the previous two months. He then baselessly said this is hopefully the "final phase" of the pandemic. — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 24, 2020
Tuned in to Trump's first RNC speech to hear him in the middle of an entirely false Sir Story about how most presidents are left zero judicial vacancies by their predecessors. — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 24, 2020
Trump then falsely claimed that the $28 billion in tariff money given to farmers was paid by China. That's money paid by Americans. (American importers make the actual tariff payments, and study after study has shown Americans are bearing the overwhelming portion of the cost.) — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 24, 2020
In summary, Trump began the Republican convention by repeating a bunch of his favorite lies. — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 24, 2020
Trump said "absentee" ballots, "like in Florida," is very good, but "other than that," mail voting is "very, very bad." Florida doesn't even have an absentee category anymore. It's all called "vote-by-mail." Trump is a mail voter. — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 24, 2020
Maybe Trump's biggest lie of all: "The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election." — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 24, 2020
At this point, none of us should be particularly surprised by this, seeing as Trump lies constantly at every public appearance and repeats the same ones over and over and over again, but it is terrifying to think of how many Americans accept his words as fact — and how small of an effect fact-checking seems to have on fighting the spread of his falsehoods.
Of course, it doesn’t help when networks like MSNBC air the entire speech and then admit at the end that all of it was entirely made up.
Chuck Todd after MSNBC aired Trump’s *entire* lie filled speech A “speech filled with so many made-up problems about mail-in voting that **if we were to air just the truthful parts we could probably only air maybe a sentence** … We need to kick off with a massive fact-check” pic.twitter.com/DTnjzmpYQz — Lis Power (@LisPower1) August 24, 2020
His words are a stark reminder that this election will be both the most important in history and perhaps the largest challenge the American people have ever faced. They will try to throw the pandemic at us, try to sabotage the post office, make us stand in line for hours upon hours — and we must meet every obstacle they put in our way with all the blood, sweat, and tears that we can shed in order to save this nation from another four years of disaster.
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occupydemocrats--2020-08-24--Claudia Conway accuses Kellyanne of physical abuse in cry for help on TikTok

The family crisis that has engulfed Donald Trump ’ s longest-serving White House political advisor Kellyanne Conway and her husband , the noted anti-Trump conservative attorney and Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway has reached the point where it is no longer a mere sideshow to the larger arc of the hellacious Trump era .
With Kellyanne stepping down from her responsibilities in the administration to devote time to her family and George similarly withdrawing from his work with the Lincoln Project trying to ensure that Trump is not re-elected , the state of the Conway family is seemingly fractured and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insight provided into the family dynamics of the Washington DC power couple ’ s home life comes from the pair ’ s 15-year-old daughter Claudia , whose social media posts on Twitter and TikTok have revealed a stormy relationship with both her parents .
While the progrssive-leaning Claudia has significant political differences with both her mother and even her Trump-attacking , yet still uber-conservative , father , a new social media post from last night provides some further comprehension of the other origins of the familial troubles , with the teenager making serious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hands of her parents in a tearfully confessional live TikTok stream .
Claudia ’ s emotional turmoil is palpable and seems to go far beyond typical teenage rebellion to a rising self-awareness that her childhood was more traumatic than it needed to be while condemning her parents for a lack of attention that felt like a lack of caring to the young daughter and for troubling allegations of physical and mental abuse that should rightfully raise the attention of child protective services .
One thing that Claudia says in her soul-baring live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many people is her statement that her life has been “ fucked up ever since ” became president , something that a majority of the Amercian people could easily agree with .
Even without that point of commonality , it ’ s difficult not to have your heart torn apart by Claudia ’ s recounting of an uncaring father who doesn ’ t even know her middle name and an absent mother who demeaned and belitted her .
One can only wish Claudia luck in her emancipation efforts and hope that the Conway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reconciliation after some intensive family therapy .
With Kellyanne Conway still intending on speaking at the Republican National Convention this week — despite her resignation from the White House — it doesn ’ t look like Claudia will be getting the motherly attention that she so obviously needs as soon as she might like .
With the entire Conway family currently avoiding social media , we may not have an update on the household situation for awhile now , but perhaps that ’ s for the best .
A family crisis like this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or two to even begin to move towards reconciliation .
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The family crisis that has engulfed Donald Trump’s longest-serving White House political advisor Kellyanne Conway and her husband, the noted anti-Trump conservative attorney and Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway has reached the point where it is no longer a mere sideshow to the larger arc of the hellacious Trump era.
With Kellyanne stepping down from her responsibilities in the administration to devote time to her family and George similarly withdrawing from his work with the Lincoln Project trying to ensure that Trump is not re-elected, the state of the Conway family is seemingly fractured and possibly irrevocably broken.
Much of the insight provided into the family dynamics of the Washington DC power couple’s home life comes from the pair’s 15-year-old daughter Claudia, whose social media posts on Twitter and TikTok have revealed a stormy relationship with both her parents.
While the progrssive-leaning Claudia has significant political differences with both her mother and even her Trump-attacking, yet still uber-conservative, father, a new social media post from last night provides some further comprehension of the other origins of the familial troubles, with the teenager making serious accusations of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her parents in a tearfully confessional live TikTok stream.
Claudia’s emotional turmoil is palpable and seems to go far beyond typical teenage rebellion to a rising self-awareness that her childhood was more traumatic than it needed to be while condemning her parents for a lack of attention that felt like a lack of caring to the young daughter and for troubling allegations of physical and mental abuse that should rightfully raise the attention of child protective services.
One thing that Claudia says in her soul-baring live stream that makes her particularly sympathetic to many people is her statement that her life has been “fucked up ever since” became president, something that a majority of the Amercian people could easily agree with.
Even without that point of commonality, it’s difficult not to have your heart torn apart by Claudia’s recounting of an uncaring father who doesn’t even know her middle name and an absent mother who demeaned and belitted her.
One can only wish Claudia luck in her emancipation efforts and hope that the Conway family can eventually reach some form of reconciliation after some intensive family therapy.
With Kellyanne Conway still intending on speaking at the Republican National Convention this week — despite her resignation from the White House — it doesn’t look like Claudia will be getting the motherly attention that she so obviously needs as soon as she might like.
With the entire Conway family currently avoiding social media, we may not have an update on the household situation for awhile now, but perhaps that’s for the best. A family crisis like this one may take more than a day or two to even begin to move towards reconciliation.
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Vinnie Longobardo Managing Editor Vinnie Longobardo is the Managing Editor of Occupy Democrats. He's a 35-year veteran of the TV, mobile & internet industries, specializing in start-ups and the international media business. His passions are politics, music, and art. Latest Posts


occupydemocrats--2020-08-24--Melania’s former aide says she has tapes of the First Lady trashing Ivanka behind closed doors

The relationship between the First Lady and her husband ’ s family — not to mention her husband himself !
— has always been suspected to have been frosty .
Now one of her former advisors is alleging that she has taped recordings of Melania trashing Trump and his insufferable adult children , especially his daughter Ivanka , her constant rival for the president ’ s affection and attention .
Reporter Yashar Ali published a story today on his personal Substack claiming that Stephanie Winston Wolkoff , the First Lady ’ s aide who abruptly lost her job when reporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 26 million contract to help plan Trump ’ s 2017 inauguration , has tapes of Melania speaking ill of her husband ’ s family .
Wolkoff is writing the latest in the seemingly endless parade of shocking behind-the-scenes tell-all books about the corruption and dysfunction of the Trump administration and is basing comments in her book off of audiotapes .
“ It ’ s unclear what exactly Wolkoff is alleging that the First Lady said about the president and his adult children but two sources familiar with the contents of her book confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book including harsh comments about Ivanka Trump , the president ’ s eldest daughter and senior advisor .
It ’ s also unclear if Wolkoff reveals in the book that she was taping her conversations with the First Lady but I ’ m told by sources that the comments published in the book are based on audiotapes , ” writes Ali .
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Wolkoff ’ s memoir promises to answer all the questions that Trump-obsessed America has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scandals and his private relationships .
“ How did Melania react to the Access Hollywood tape and her husband ’ s affair with Stormy Daniels ?
Does she get along well with Ivanka ?
Why did she wear that jacket with “ I really don ’ t care , do u ?
” printed on the back ?
Is Melania happy being First Lady ?
And what really happened with the inauguration ’ s funding of $ 107 million ” teases the promotional material for Wolkoff ’ s book .
The book also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ destroyed ” Wolkoff , which we find extremely hard to believe .
It is wildly frustrating to see all these former Trump toadies rushing out their books and making them look like victims after eagerly participating in the Trump family ’ s gratuitous efforts to embezzle money and subvert any and all oversight .
Somehow , they are always shocked to find themselves cast aside when they prove to be a liability to the Trumps , even though using and discarding people at a whim has been Trump ’ s modus operandi @ @ @ @ @ @

The relationship between the First Lady and her husband’s family — not to mention her husband himself! — has always been suspected to have been frosty. Now one of her former advisors is alleging that she has taped recordings of Melania trashing Trump and his insufferable adult children, especially his daughter Ivanka, her constant rival for the president’s affection and attention.
Reporter Yashar Ali published a story today on his personal Substack claiming that Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, the First Lady’s aide who abruptly lost her job when reporters discovered she had been given a $26 million contract to help plan Trump’s 2017 inauguration, has tapes of Melania speaking ill of her husband’s family.
Wolkoff is writing the latest in the seemingly endless parade of shocking behind-the-scenes tell-all books about the corruption and dysfunction of the Trump administration and is basing comments in her book off of audiotapes.
“It’s unclear what exactly Wolkoff is alleging that the First Lady said about the president and his adult children but two sources familiar with the contents of her book confirmed that she reveals the details in her book including harsh comments about Ivanka Trump, the president’s eldest daughter and senior advisor. It’s also unclear if Wolkoff reveals in the book that she was taping her conversations with the First Lady but I’m told by sources that the comments published in the book are based on audiotapes,” writes Ali.
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump’s sabotage of the post office!
Wolkoff’s memoir promises to answer all the questions that Trump-obsessed America has about the sordid details of the Trump scandals and his private relationships.
“How did Melania react to the Access Hollywood tape and her husband’s affair with Stormy Daniels? Does she get along well with Ivanka? Why did she wear that jacket with “I really don’t care, do u?” printed on the back? Is Melania happy being First Lady? And what really happened with the inauguration’s funding of $107 million” teases the promotional material for Wolkoff’s book.
The book also claims that Melania’s betrayal nearly “destroyed” Wolkoff, which we find extremely hard to believe.
It is wildly frustrating to see all these former Trump toadies rushing out their books and making them look like victims after eagerly participating in the Trump family’s gratuitous efforts to embezzle money and subvert any and all oversight. Somehow, they are always shocked to find themselves cast aside when they prove to be a liability to the Trumps, even though using and discarding people at a whim has been Trump’s modus operandi for literally his entire life.
Please don’t buy her book.
Original reporting by Yashar Ali on Substack.
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occupydemocrats--2020-08-24--Video shows Kenosha police shooting Black man 7 times in the back while his kids watch

It is beyond frustrating and infuriating to know that after months and months of dedicated protest , we ’ ve accomplished little but gotten corporate PR offices to post empty messages about how of a sudden Black Lives Matter to them .
The brutal police murder of a Black man in Kenosha , Wisconsin should be a clarion call to the nation that the police have done nothing to change their ways and are entirely unwilling to commit to any kind of substantial reform that might actually preserve Black lives and stop the summary executions of Black Americans whenever they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : the following video is EXTREMELY graphic .
The police were responding to a domestic situation involving a fight between two women , which the victim , Jacob Blake , was allegedly trying to defuse .
When the video begins , Blake is getting into his SUV .
He may have been ignoring shouted demands from the officers , but that still doesn ’ t excuse what happens next .
One or both of the officers fired seven shots into Blake ’ s back at point-blank range while a woman screams and jumps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospital and in critical condition .
Blakes three sons were present and watched their father get shot , according to attorney Ben Crump and the ACLU .
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“ Tonight , Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times , in broad daylight .
While we do not have all of the details yet , what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of individuals in law enforcement , ” said Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers ( D ) .
The officers involved are on administrative leave .
Furious protests immediately broke out throughout Wisconsin , leading to the torching of several buildings and a car dealership .
These things don ’ t matter ; they are insured and will be rebuilt .
If Blake dies , there ’ s no bringing him back and yet another Black family will lose a father thanks to trigger-happy cops .
Can you really blame people for being upset enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and months of peaceful protest in the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd has accomplished almost nothing but empty words and condescending platitudes .
The police have reacted with petulance and fury at being asked to rein in the violence , refusing to consider any kind of reform and making it clear they are entirely unwilling to change their ways .
Our politicians on both sides of the aisle have talked a big game but refused to do anything more beyond some meaningless conciliatory gestures like “ banning chokeholds ” — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ banned by the NYPD but that didn ’ t stop cops from murdering Eric Garner with one .
California ’ s state legislature recently shelved their big George Floyd police reform bill despite controlling a supermajority and all three branches of government .
If a state run entirely by Democrats won ’ t lift a finger to bring our outrageously violent police forces to heel , then what chance is there that anything will ever change ?
How are we supposed to vote our way to racial justice when none of our political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the rabid police unions and right-wing fearmongering ?
We want to hear what YOU have to say .
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It is beyond frustrating and infuriating to know that after months and months of dedicated protest, we’ve accomplished little but gotten corporate PR offices to post empty messages about how of a sudden Black Lives Matter to them. The brutal police murder of a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin should be a clarion call to the nation that the police have done nothing to change their ways and are entirely unwilling to commit to any kind of substantial reform that might actually preserve Black lives and stop the summary executions of Black Americans whenever they show the slightest resistance.
Be warned: the following video is EXTREMELY graphic.
WARNING GRAPHIC ⚠ Police in Kenosha, Wisconsin shoot an unarmed man in the back pic.twitter.com/ZPdixPNwJY — Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) August 24, 2020
The police were responding to a domestic situation involving a fight between two women, which the victim, Jacob Blake, was allegedly trying to defuse. When the video begins, Blake is getting into his SUV. He may have been ignoring shouted demands from the officers, but that still doesn’t excuse what happens next.
One or both of the officers fired seven shots into Blake’s back at point-blank range while a woman screams and jumps in anguish. Blake is in the hospital and in critical condition. Blakes three sons were present and watched their father get shot, according to attorney Ben Crump and the ACLU.
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump’s sabotage of the post office!
“Tonight, Jacob Blake was shot in the back multiple times, in broad daylight. While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement,” said Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D).
This is 29-year-old Jacob Blake who was shot by Kenosha police. His fiancé shared this picture with us. pic.twitter.com/6Si9lkCPFu — Sarah Thamer (@SarahThamerWISN) August 24, 2020
The officers involved are on administrative leave.
Furious protests immediately broke out throughout Wisconsin, leading to the torching of several buildings and a car dealership. These things don’t matter; they are insured and will be rebuilt. If Blake dies, there’s no bringing him back and yet another Black family will lose a father thanks to trigger-happy cops.
Can you really blame people for being upset enough to want to burn things?
Months and months of peaceful protest in the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd has accomplished almost nothing but empty words and condescending platitudes. The police have reacted with petulance and fury at being asked to rein in the violence, refusing to consider any kind of reform and making it clear they are entirely unwilling to change their ways.
Our politicians on both sides of the aisle have talked a big game but refused to do anything more beyond some meaningless conciliatory gestures like “banning chokeholds” — which, for example, were already banned by the NYPD but that didn’t stop cops from murdering Eric Garner with one.
California’s state legislature recently shelved their big George Floyd police reform bill despite controlling a supermajority and all three branches of government. If a state run entirely by Democrats won’t lift a finger to bring our outrageously violent police forces to heel, then what chance is there that anything will ever change?
How are we supposed to vote our way to racial justice when none of our political leaders have the courage to stand up to the rabid police unions and right-wing fearmongering?
We want to hear what YOU have to say. Scroll down and let us know in our NEW comment section!
Colin Taylor Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America. Latest Posts


occupydemocrats--2020-08-27--Trump White House compiling an ominous “dossier” to smear reporters who exposed his corruption

Eric Trump can claim all he wants that his father has sacrificed more for this country than any other American politician in history , the truth is right out in the open for anyone who cares enough to look : Donald Trump has turned the federal government into his own personal kleptocratic apparatus .
From his crooked perch atop the Executive Branch he has managed to enrich himself , his family , and his closest cronies at the expense of the American taxpayer .
A new report from David Fahrenthold , Josh Dawsey , and Joshua Partlow for The Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has managed to fleece America for personal enrichment .
The article includes a slew of abuses including manipulating the Secret Service to pay for room rentals at Mar-a-Lago and holding GOP donor events at his properties to extract money for his businesses .
To date , Trump has visited his own properties 270 times , dumping the tax dollars of hardworking Americans directly into his own pockets over and over again .
“ Through these trips , Trump has brought the Trump Organization a stream of private revenue from federal agencies and GOP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that taxpayers have paid Trump ’ s businesses more than $ 900,000 since he took office .
At least $ 570,000 came as a result of the president ’ s travel , according to a Post analysis , ” write Fahrenthold , Dawsey , and Partlow .
The total amount of money siphoned from the government by Trump businesses is still unknown .
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Hosting Republican events at Trump properties has earned the Trump Organization at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taxpayer money , is still a flagrant example of Trump exploiting the presidency to make a cheap buck .
The man sees his time in office not as an opportunity to serve the American people but as an easy way to fatten his bank account .
“ His knee-jerk , every single time , was to do things at his own properties .
He never really understood that you couldn ’ t do it .
In his mind , he could never understand that you should do it somewhere else , ” one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Post .
When the Post reached out to the administration for comment on their reporting , White House spokesman Judd Deere went on the offensive .
He claimed that Trump has “ sacrificed billions of dollars ” for his company by becoming president and leveled a not-so-veiled threat at the Post .
“ The Washington Post is blatantly interfering with the business relationships of the Trump Organization , and it must stop .
Please be advised that we are building up a very large ‘ dossier ’ on the many false David Fahrenthold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disgrace to journalism and the American people , ” Deere said in a written statement .
What exactly might be contained in this “ dossier ” and if it even exists at all are unclear , but Deere ’ s remarks represent just the latest in a long string of unprecedented attacks and threats from the Trump administration against the free press .
This president has distinguished himself as an avowed enemy of the First Amendment and compiling some kind of paranoid “ dossier ” on reporters is perfectly in keeping with his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can bluster all they want though , the Post ’ s reporting stands up and every day we get a clearer picture of his corruption .
History will remember him as nothing more than a two-bit crook .
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Eric Trump can claim all he wants that his father has sacrificed more for this country than any other American politician in history, the truth is right out in the open for anyone who cares enough to look: Donald Trump has turned the federal government into his own personal kleptocratic apparatus. From his crooked perch atop the Executive Branch he has managed to enrich himself, his family, and his closest cronies at the expense of the American taxpayer.
A new report from David Fahrenthold, Josh Dawsey, and Joshua Partlow for The Washington Post reveals numerous ways in which Trump has managed to fleece America for personal enrichment.
The article includes a slew of abuses including manipulating the Secret Service to pay for room rentals at Mar-a-Lago and holding GOP donor events at his properties to extract money for his businesses. To date, Trump has visited his own properties 270 times, dumping the tax dollars of hardworking Americans directly into his own pockets over and over again.
“Through these trips, Trump has brought the Trump Organization a stream of private revenue from federal agencies and GOP campaign groups. Federal spending records show that taxpayers have paid Trump’s businesses more than $900,000 since he took office. At least $570,000 came as a result of the president’s travel, according to a Post analysis,” write Fahrenthold, Dawsey, and Partlow. The total amount of money siphoned from the government by Trump businesses is still unknown.
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Hosting Republican events at Trump properties has earned the Trump Organization at least $3.8 million which, while not taxpayer money, is still a flagrant example of Trump exploiting the presidency to make a cheap buck. The man sees his time in office not as an opportunity to serve the American people but as an easy way to fatten his bank account.
“His knee-jerk, every single time, was to do things at his own properties. He never really understood that you couldn’t do it. In his mind, he could never understand that you should do it somewhere else,” one former White House official told The Washington Post.
When the Post reached out to the administration for comment on their reporting, White House spokesman Judd Deere went on the offensive. He claimed that Trump has “sacrificed billions of dollars” for his company by becoming president and leveled a not-so-veiled threat at the Post.
“The Washington Post is blatantly interfering with the business relationships of the Trump Organization, and it must stop. Please be advised that we are building up a very large ‘dossier’ on the many false David Fahrenthold and others stories as they are a disgrace to journalism and the American people,” Deere said in a written statement.
What exactly might be contained in this “dossier” and if it even exists at all are unclear, but Deere’s remarks represent just the latest in a long string of unprecedented attacks and threats from the Trump administration against the free press. This president has distinguished himself as an avowed enemy of the First Amendment and compiling some kind of paranoid “dossier” on reporters is perfectly in keeping with his odious character.
Trump and his cronies can bluster all they want though, the Post’s reporting stands up and every day we get a clearer picture of his corruption. History will remember him as nothing more than a two-bit crook.
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occupydemocrats--2020-08-27--Eric Trump absurdly argues that no American politician has “sacrificed” as much as Donald Trump

There should be little doubt in the minds of serious observers that Donald J. Trump will go down as the worst president in American history .
We ’ ve had terrible leaders in the past to be sure , but none who managed to reach the levels of sheer unadulterated incompetence that our reality TV commander-in-chief has displayed over the past four years .
When Trump leaves office he will leave behind no real accomplishments and his legacy will consist of several grim pillars : the exacerbating of racial divisions , plutocratic handouts to the super-wealthy , a complete failure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate change , a tragic botching of the federal response to a deadly pandemic , and a top-to-bottom shredding of America ’ s global reputation .
Despite the inarguably disastrous nature of his tenure as president , Trump and his surrogates continue to insist that he is one of the greatest presidents to ever live , with some of his media shills going so far as to call him the greatest ever .
Mixed in with this absurd lionization is a deeply thrumming victimhood complex .
Trump says he ’ s been treated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embraced this martyrdom narrative .
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Yesterday , the president ’ s attorney Rudy Giuliani released a conversation with Eric Trump , the president ’ s buffoonish son .
Always one to happily engage in bad faith smears of his father ’ s opponent , Eric lambasted Democratic nominee Joe Biden for a minor misspeaking gaffe .
He whined that if he were to make such mistakes he would be “ ridiculed ” mercilessly for it which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tell the whole story .
Men like Eric aren ’ t mocked for simply misspeaking , they ’ re mocked because they are wholly ludicrous individuals who spend their time shamelessly praising a grotesque , ignorant president .
Eric then pivoted to reassuring Giuliani ’ s audience that his father will win reelection , that the Trump family loves America ( despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary ) , and ended with a truly laughable claim about where President Trump fits into the broader American political pantheon .
“ There ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history who ’ s made a greater sacrifice than my father in a lot of ways , ” said Eric with a straight face , ignoring the countless dollars that have flowed into his father ’ s business coffers from foreign governments since he assumed office , the immense power he has accumulated for himself and his family , and the deranged cult that has formed around him .
Once again , Eric Trump has given us good reason to mock him .
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There should be little doubt in the minds of serious observers that Donald J. Trump will go down as the worst president in American history. We’ve had terrible leaders in the past to be sure, but none who managed to reach the levels of sheer unadulterated incompetence that our reality TV commander-in-chief has displayed over the past four years.
When Trump leaves office he will leave behind no real accomplishments and his legacy will consist of several grim pillars: the exacerbating of racial divisions, plutocratic handouts to the super-wealthy, a complete failure to confront the looming existential threat of climate change, a tragic botching of the federal response to a deadly pandemic, and a top-to-bottom shredding of America’s global reputation.
Despite the inarguably disastrous nature of his tenure as president, Trump and his surrogates continue to insist that he is one of the greatest presidents to ever live, with some of his media shills going so far as to call him the greatest ever. Mixed in with this absurd lionization is a deeply thrumming victimhood complex. Trump says he’s been treated unfairly and his MAGA maniacs have eagerly embraced this martyrdom narrative.
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Yesterday, the president’s attorney Rudy Giuliani released a conversation with Eric Trump, the president’s buffoonish son. Always one to happily engage in bad faith smears of his father’s opponent, Eric lambasted Democratic nominee Joe Biden for a minor misspeaking gaffe. He whined that if he were to make such mistakes he would be “ridiculed” mercilessly for it which, while true, doesn’t tell the whole story. Men like Eric aren’t mocked for simply misspeaking, they’re mocked because they are wholly ludicrous individuals who spend their time shamelessly praising a grotesque, ignorant president.
Eric then pivoted to reassuring Giuliani’s audience that his father will win reelection, that the Trump family loves America (despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary), and ended with a truly laughable claim about where President Trump fits into the broader American political pantheon.
“There’s probably no politician in United States history who’s made a greater sacrifice than my father in a lot of ways,” said Eric with a straight face, ignoring the countless dollars that have flowed into his father’s business coffers from foreign governments since he assumed office, the immense power he has accumulated for himself and his family, and the deranged cult that has formed around him.
Once again, Eric Trump has given us good reason to mock him.
Eric Trump: "There's probably no politician in United States history who's made a great sacrifice than my father" pic.twitter.com/e2leJpwlQP — Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) August 27, 2020
Understandably, many Twitter users responded with incredulity.
https://twitter.com/lesleyabravanel/status/1298981649963655168?s=20
Abraham Lincoln and JFK may beg to differ — KiwiMark1969 (@KMark1969) August 27, 2020
Jimmy Carter sold his peanut farm before entering office. Trump put up a stack of empty file folders and lied that he would keep his business interests separate. — Joyous Panther (@JoyousPanther) August 27, 2020
https://twitter.com/Darla_jimswife/status/1298861592583389184?s=20
Eric seems nervous as he tries to present an aura of invincibility. Rudy Colludy seems nervous as well. Some people are saying there are sets of handcuffs at the ready. I don't know if that's true, but many people are saying that, Strongly! womp womp — bmichael (@brolivor) August 27, 2020
Yup. Sacrificing 175,000 American lives to COVID, our military over seas, Black people… Sacrifices. — Gee.Frank (@Frank_N_Meems) August 27, 2020
Same Eric Trump that stole from a kids cancer charity? — Pcone (@pcone_pcone067) August 27, 2020
ERIC is demonstrating why his pop calls him the “dumb one”. He actually means his pop, as POTUS, has caused more ppl to make the greatest sacrifices, in peacetime American history, than any politician ever has. The sacrifices & suffering caused by this POTUS is immeasurable. — Wayne Basham (@wayn_basham) August 27, 2020
Reminder: This man (Eric Trump) has been banned from running a charity because the money he accepted from donors for his cancer charity was grossly misused and often funneled to his dad. — DUMP TRUMP! (@IntelliTexan) August 27, 2020
13 US presidents reach the military rank of General. Donald Trump has the distinction of 4 draft deferments for college and 1 for bad feet. Trump also has a history of profiting off his presidency. Eric born on third-base, thinks he got a triple. — adrienne (@adriennerourke) August 27, 2020
He's had to give up daily golf and liaisons with adult entertainment actresses. — Yvonne Left (@LeftYvonne) August 27, 2020
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occupydemocrats--2020-08-27--Jared Kushner trashes NBA player strike and wealth-shames athletes in interviews

During the early days of the coronavirus crisis , Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle remarked that “ sports are like the reward of a functioning society.
” It only takes a cursory look around the nation and to see the continuous shooting of Black citizens by police officers , the appalling violence with which they respond to protesters , the hatred being spewed at the Republican National Convention and through the right-wing media machine every night to see that we are far from a “ functioning society.
” In the wake of the latest police atrocity , America ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not deserve sports .
Last night , the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team made the unprecedented decision to go on a wildcat strike and refused to play their scheduled Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs against the Orlando Magic in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha police .
They were soon joined by the rest of the remaining playoff teams and are now debating whether or not to play out the rest of the season at all .
The strike soon spread to other sports as well .
The WNBA canceled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Wednesday evening , several Major League Soccer matches were canceled on Thursday and four NFL teams elected to not hold Thursday practice and instead discuss the issue of racial justice in America .
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump ’ s sabotage of the post office !
This historic display of solidarity was inevitably met with derision from the Trump administration .
The president ’ s son-in-law Jared Kushner spoke with CNBC this morning and dismissed the strike as just “ taking the night off of work , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough ” that they are rich enough to do so .
This is disgusting for a whole host of reasons .
His remarks entirely — and clearly deliberately — miss the point that the players are making with their strike .
The idea that Jared Kushner , who was born into a family of incredible wealth and has done nothing but squander it in ill-conceived and disastrous real estate ventures , should be criticizing anyone about their work ethic is laughable .
Finally , it ’ s clear from his words that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day in his life , thinks that it is unacceptable for anyone else to be paid enough that they can afford to take the night off without facing any financial consequences .
Not content with that , Kushner continued his condescending complaining about the NBA in an interview with POLITICO , saying he would reach out to Lakers superstar LeBron James and asked them to start moving into “ concrete solutions that are productive.
” It is absolutely infuriating to hear Kushner talk about “ productive solutions ” when his deliberate , malicious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus to spread like wildfire across the country and kill nearly 200,000 people .
Given the fury that Lebron James has been expressing over the past few days , we ’ d be very surprised if James accepts the outreach from an openly white supremacist Trump administration — but oh , to be a fly on the wall for that phone call !

During the early days of the coronavirus crisis, Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Doolittle remarked that “sports are like the reward of a functioning society.” It only takes a cursory look around the nation and to see the continuous shooting of Black citizens by police officers, the appalling violence with which they respond to protesters, the hatred being spewed at the Republican National Convention and through the right-wing media machine every night to see that we are far from a “functioning society.”
In the wake of the latest police atrocity, America’s athletes themselves have decided that we do not deserve sports.
Last night, the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team made the unprecedented decision to go on a wildcat strike and refused to play their scheduled Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs against the Orlando Magic in protest of the shooting of Jacob Blake by Kenosha police. They were soon joined by the rest of the remaining playoff teams and are now debating whether or not to play out the rest of the season at all.
The strike soon spread to other sports as well. The WNBA canceled its games and held a candlelight vigil on Wednesday evening, several Major League Soccer matches were canceled on Thursday and four NFL teams elected to not hold Thursday practice and instead discuss the issue of racial justice in America.
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump’s sabotage of the post office!
This historic display of solidarity was inevitably met with derision from the Trump administration. The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner spoke with CNBC this morning and dismissed the strike as just “taking the night off of work,” jabbing the players for being “fortunate enough” that they are rich enough to do so.
This is disgusting for a whole host of reasons.
His remarks entirely — and clearly deliberately — miss the point that the players are making with their strike. The idea that Jared Kushner, who was born into a family of incredible wealth and has done nothing but squander it in ill-conceived and disastrous real estate ventures, should be criticizing anyone about their work ethic is laughable.
Finally, it’s clear from his words that he, who has never worked an honest day in his life, thinks that it is unacceptable for anyone else to be paid enough that they can afford to take the night off without facing any financial consequences.
"The NBA players are very fortunate that they have the financial position where they're able to take a night off from work without having to have the consequences to themselves financially," says White House senior advisor Jared Kushner on the NBA player boycotts last night. pic.twitter.com/nHlRBNIzaf — Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) August 27, 2020
Not content with that, Kushner continued his condescending complaining about the NBA in an interview with POLITICO, saying he would reach out to Lakers superstar LeBron James and asked them to start moving into “concrete solutions that are productive.”
Jared Kushner says he'll reach out to @KingJames today.
"What I'd love to see from the players in the NBA–again they have the luxury of taking a night off from work, most Americans don't…I'd like to see them start moving into concrete solutions that are productive." @politico — Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) August 27, 2020
It is absolutely infuriating to hear Kushner talk about “productive solutions” when his deliberate, malicious mismanagement of the coronavirus testing program allowed the virus to spread like wildfire across the country and kill nearly 200,000 people.
Given the fury that Lebron James has been expressing over the past few days, we’d be very surprised if James accepts the outreach from an openly white supremacist Trump administration — but oh, to be a fly on the wall for that phone call!
FUCK THIS MAN!!!! WE DEMAND CHANGE. SICK OF IT — LeBron James (@KingJames) August 26, 2020
Colin Taylor Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America. Latest Posts


occupydemocrats--2020-08-26--Trump implies Biden abuses drugs to speak well, calls for drug tests before debates

Donald Trump ’ s smear campaign against Joe Biden has backfired .
For months , the president and his surrogates in the Republican media sphere have exploited the former vice president ’ s lifelong struggle with stuttering to push a narrative claiming that “ Sleepy Joe ” is in some advanced state of cognitive decline , with some particularly unscrupulous mouthpieces going so far as to claim—without evidence or truth—that the former vice president suffers from dementia .
The problem for the GOP is that their disgraceful disinformation campaign primed voters for a doddering old man , an addled version @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exist .
So when Biden delivered his incredibly rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention last week the Republicans ’ entire strategy imploded in an instant .
The world tuned in to hear Biden speak and saw a man not only in far better command of his rhetoric than Trump , they saw a Democratic nominee brimming with empathy , offering an inspiring vision for the future of the country in stark contrast to the authoritarian nightmare we ’ ve been living in for these past four years .
Sign the petition to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sabotage of the post office !
Trump himself isn ’ t handling the disintegration of his anti-Biden attacks well .
Right-wing online publication The Washington Examiner reports that in an Oval Office interview today the president absurdly suggested that Biden is taking some kind of miracle drugs to improve his cognition .
“ Nobody thought that he was even going to win .
Because his debate performances were so bad .
Frankly , his best performance was against Bernie , ” said Trump .
“ We ’ re going to call for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because his best performance was against Bernie .
It wasn ’ t that he was Winston Churchill because he wasn ’ t , but it was a normal , boring debate .
You know , nothing amazing happened .
And we are going to call for a drug test because there ’ s no way — you can ’ t do that.
” When pressed to explain what he believed was “ going on , ” Trump plunged right into deranged conspiracy theorizing .
“ I don ’ t know how he could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ performances and then all of a sudden be OK against Bernie , ” Trump said , misrepresenting Biden ’ s debate performance .
“ My point is , if you go back and watch some of those numerous debates , he was so bad .
He wasn ’ t even coherent .
And against Bernie , he was .
And we ’ re calling for a drug test.
” Trump went on to claim that Biden was “ close to incompetent , if not incompetent ” during the primary debates , a particularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can barely string together a coherent thought together without getting sidetracked .
“ Go back and watch his performances in some of those debates .
He didn ’ t know where he was .
And all of a sudden , he was not good , he was normal , and I don ’ t understand how .
I don ’ t know if there is or not , but somebody said to me , ‘ He must be on drugs.
’ I don ’ t know if that ’ s true or not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a drug test .
Both candidates .
Me , too .
I take an aspirin a day , ” added Trump , who himself has been accused in the past of having an abusive relationship with Adderall .
The president ’ s strategy here is as transparent as it is pathetic .
Unwilling to admit that Biden is mentally fit for office ( far more so than Trump himself ) , he ’ s conjuring up an outlandish theory that allows him to keep insisting Biden has mental problems even as Biden proves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not .
This call for a drug test is nothing more than desperate flailing and Biden is sure to trounce him when the debates finally arrive .
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Scroll down and let us know in our NEW comment section !

Donald Trump’s smear campaign against Joe Biden has backfired. For months, the president and his surrogates in the Republican media sphere have exploited the former vice president’s lifelong struggle with stuttering to push a narrative claiming that “Sleepy Joe” is in some advanced state of cognitive decline, with some particularly unscrupulous mouthpieces going so far as to claim—without evidence or truth—that the former vice president suffers from dementia.
The problem for the GOP is that their disgraceful disinformation campaign primed voters for a doddering old man, an addled version of Biden that simply doesn’t exist. So when Biden delivered his incredibly rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention last week the Republicans’ entire strategy imploded in an instant.
The world tuned in to hear Biden speak and saw a man not only in far better command of his rhetoric than Trump, they saw a Democratic nominee brimming with empathy, offering an inspiring vision for the future of the country in stark contrast to the authoritarian nightmare we’ve been living in for these past four years.
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump’s sabotage of the post office!
Trump himself isn’t handling the disintegration of his anti-Biden attacks well. Right-wing online publication The Washington Examiner reports that in an Oval Office interview today the president absurdly suggested that Biden is taking some kind of miracle drugs to improve his cognition.
“Nobody thought that he was even going to win. Because his debate performances were so bad. Frankly, his best performance was against Bernie,” said Trump. “We’re going to call for a drug test, by the way, because his best performance was against Bernie. It wasn’t that he was Winston Churchill because he wasn’t, but it was a normal, boring debate. You know, nothing amazing happened. And we are going to call for a drug test because there’s no way — you can’t do that.”
When pressed to explain what he believed was “going on,” Trump plunged right into deranged conspiracy theorizing.
“I don’t know how he could have been so incompetent in his debate performances and then all of a sudden be OK against Bernie,” Trump said, misrepresenting Biden’s debate performance. “My point is, if you go back and watch some of those numerous debates, he was so bad. He wasn’t even coherent. And against Bernie, he was. And we’re calling for a drug test.”
Trump went on to claim that Biden was “close to incompetent, if not incompetent” during the primary debates, a particularly rich insult coming from a man who can barely string together a coherent thought together without getting sidetracked.
“Go back and watch his performances in some of those debates. He didn’t know where he was. And all of a sudden, he was not good, he was normal, and I don’t understand how. I don’t know if there is or not, but somebody said to me, ‘He must be on drugs.’ I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I’m asking for a drug test. Both candidates. Me, too. I take an aspirin a day,” added Trump, who himself has been accused in the past of having an abusive relationship with Adderall.
The president’s strategy here is as transparent as it is pathetic. Unwilling to admit that Biden is mentally fit for office (far more so than Trump himself), he’s conjuring up an outlandish theory that allows him to keep insisting Biden has mental problems even as Biden proves over and over again that he does not. This call for a drug test is nothing more than desperate flailing and Biden is sure to trounce him when the debates finally arrive.
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occupydemocrats--2020-08-26--Kenosha police chief reacts to the killings by victim-blaming, says shooter was “resolving a conflic

Kenosha police chief reacts to the killings by victim-blaming, says shooter was “resolving a conflict”

The perpetrator of the horrifying killings at last night ’ s Kenosha , Wisconsin protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake has been charged with murder and is in the custody , after being allowed to walk the night of the shooting .
But curiously enough , the police didn ’ t show much interest in him last night , allowing him to walk up and then past them as they were responding to the gunshots that he had fired .
Rittenhouse was well known to the Kenosha cops , having interacted with them several times earlier that night @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thanked the militiamen Rittenhouse was with for defending private property and told them that they “ appreciated them.
” The armed vigilantes they considered “ helpful ” while the protesters were treated like their enemies .
Facebook was used to organize the militiamen and even worked as a direct line of communication and coordination between the armed militiamen and the police .
As if all of this coordination wasn ’ t obvious enough already , the Kenosha Police Chief responded to the killings by blaming the protestors for being out after curfew .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ — that this man murdered two people at a protest while carrying out a police-approved mission to defend private property — Chief Miskinis claimed that the killer had “ used a firearm to resolve conflict.
” Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump ’ s sabotage of the post office !
It is so telling that the police chief can ’ t even bring himself to accurately describe what happens — that it is unfathomable to him that people would not obey a curfew set by the very people opening fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have come out and said that he didn ’ t think Rittenhouse did anything wrong for the absurd lengths he went to avoid to avoid calling the killings a crime .
For context , here is Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth saying that repeat offenders should be locked in “ warehouses ” with “ no recreational time , ” in a deranged rant from two years ago that is loaded with racist dog whistles : When a white supremacist terrorist murdered Heather Heyer at the hate rally in Charlottesville , the police stood @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racist marchers from the counter-protestors .
Time and time again , we have seen police officers take the side of right-wing militiamen and white supremacist groups and instead unload heinous violence upon peaceful protestors who represent an existential threat to the order of white supremacy that the police exist to uphold .
It should be of no surprise to anyone who hasn ’ t had their mind completely warped by decades of watching network copaganda shows that the increasingly fascistic police forces of America find common cause with white supremacists and right-wing extremists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supremacists and extremists themselves .
Fourteen years ago , the FBI warned that white supremacists were infiltrating America ’ s police forces — and it ’ s becoming terrifyingly obvious that almost nothing was done to rectify that .
Chief Miskinis ’ response to the last night ’ s murders is wildly inappropriate and should lead to his immediate suspension .

The perpetrator of the horrifying killings at last night’s Kenosha, Wisconsin protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake has been charged with murder and is in the custody, after being allowed to walk the night of the shooting. But curiously enough, the police didn’t show much interest in him last night, allowing him to walk up and then past them as they were responding to the gunshots that he had fired.
https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1298556876804612096?s=20
Rittenhouse was well known to the Kenosha cops, having interacted with them several times earlier that night. The police gave them water and thanked the militiamen Rittenhouse was with for defending private property and told them that they “appreciated them.”
The armed vigilantes they considered “helpful” while the protesters were treated like their enemies.
LOOK AT THIS CLIP! LOOK! THEY ARE WORKING ALONGSIDE THE POLICE pic.twitter.com/BPL5clfjrc — A Friendly Dad (@AFriendlyDad) August 26, 2020
Facebook was used to organize the militiamen and even worked as a direct line of communication and coordination between the armed militiamen and the police.
THREAD: Facebook has once again found itself at the center of a radicalized movement that ended in murder. From white supremacist to boogaloo to militia groups, Facebook has served as a primary organizing mechanism, and Kenosha, Wisconsin, was no different. pic.twitter.com/6UgKGsiPQU — Tech Transparency Project (@TTP_updates) August 26, 2020
As if all of this coordination wasn’t obvious enough already, the Kenosha Police Chief responded to the killings by blaming the protestors for being out after curfew.
Instead of describing what had actually happened — that this man murdered two people at a protest while carrying out a police-approved mission to defend private property — Chief Miskinis claimed that the killer had “used a firearm to resolve conflict.”
Sign the petition to tell Congress to stop Trump’s sabotage of the post office!
Kenosha Police Chief Miskinis responds to the murder of two protestors by saying it wouldn't have happened if people weren't out after curfew: "I'm not gonna make a great deal of it, BUT …" pic.twitter.com/GBRo8I5Zka — The Recount (@therecount) August 26, 2020
It is so telling that the police chief can’t even bring himself to accurately describe what happens — that it is unfathomable to him that people would not obey a curfew set by the very people opening fire on innocents. He might as well have come out and said that he didn’t think Rittenhouse did anything wrong for the absurd lengths he went to avoid to avoid calling the killings a crime.
For context, here is Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth saying that repeat offenders should be locked in “warehouses” with “no recreational time,” in a deranged rant from two years ago that is loaded with racist dog whistles:
When a white supremacist terrorist murdered Heather Heyer at the hate rally in Charlottesville, the police stood back and did nothing but protect the racist marchers from the counter-protestors. Time and time again, we have seen police officers take the side of right-wing militiamen and white supremacist groups and instead unload heinous violence upon peaceful protestors who represent an existential threat to the order of white supremacy that the police exist to uphold.
It should be of no surprise to anyone who hasn’t had their mind completely warped by decades of watching network copaganda shows that the increasingly fascistic police forces of America find common cause with white supremacists and right-wing extremists because police forces are full of white supremacists and extremists themselves. Fourteen years ago, the FBI warned that white supremacists were infiltrating America’s police forces — and it’s becoming terrifyingly obvious that almost nothing was done to rectify that.
Chief Miskinis’ response to the last night’s murders is wildly inappropriate and should lead to his immediate suspension.
Colin Taylor Opinion columnist and former editor-in-chief of Occupy Democrats. He graduated from Bennington College with a Bachelor's degree in history and political science. He now focuses on advancing the cause of social justice and equality in America. Latest Posts