alternet--2020-12-16--Watch: Michigan senator calls out his own committee for giving ‘a platform to conspiracy theories an

Watch: Michigan senator calls out his own committee for giving ‘a platform to conspiracy theories and lies’

Although the results of the 2020 presidential election were certified by the Electoral College on Monday , December 14 and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged Joe Biden as `` president-elect '' and Sen. Kamala Harris as `` vice president-elect '' the following day , the GOP-led Senate Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on election `` irregularities '' on Wednesday morning , December 16 .
And one of the Democrats on the Committee , Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan , forcefully called out Senate Republicans for giving a `` platform to conspiracy theories and lies . ''
President Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to acknowledge Biden as president-elect , continuing to claim , without evidence , that Trump really won the election and was deprived of a victory because of widespread voter fraud .
But Biden 's victory was decisive : the former vice-president won 306 electoral votes and defeated Trump by more than 7 million in the popular vote .
At the Homeland Security hearing , Peters — who was reelected in November and will begin his next term in January — told fellow senators , `` The president and many of his supporters are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ undermine the will of the people , disenfranchise voters and sow the seeds of mistrust and discontent to further their partisan desire for power .
Whether intended or not , this hearing gives a platform to conspiracy theories and lies .
And it 's a destructive exercise that has no place in the United States Senate . ''
The Michigan Democrat , wearing a protective face mask , continued , `` Joe Biden won the election more than five weeks ago with 306 electoral votes and received the most popular votes for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 50 states and the District of Columbia have certified those results .
The Electoral College met Monday , and all affirmed that Joe Biden will be the president on January 20 , 2021 .
It 's a result that the majority of the American people recognize , along with the leaders of more than 150 countries around the world .
Yet even after all of that , significant numbers of Republican elected officials have been slow to publicly acknowledge that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Homeland Security hearing included right-wing attorney Ken Starr , who was part of Trump 's impeachment defense team , and Republican Chris Krebs .
Before Trump fired him , Krebs headed a cybersecurity agency at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — and Trump has been furious with Krebs for saying that there was no sign of the widespread voter fraud and that the 2020 election was the most secure in U.S. history .

Although the results of the 2020 presidential election were certified by the Electoral College on Monday, December 14 and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged Joe Biden as "president-elect" and Sen. Kamala Harris as "vice president-elect" the following day, the GOP-led Senate Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on election "irregularities" on Wednesday morning, December 16. And one of the Democrats on the Committee, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, forcefully called out Senate Republicans for giving a "platform to conspiracy theories and lies."
President Donald Trump and his legal team have yet to acknowledge Biden as president-elect, continuing to claim, without evidence, that Trump really won the election and was deprived of a victory because of widespread voter fraud. But Biden's victory was decisive: the former vice-president won 306 electoral votes and defeated Trump by more than 7 million in the popular vote.
At the Homeland Security hearing, Peters — who was reelected in November and will begin his next term in January — told fellow senators, "The president and many of his supporters are, unfortunately, continuing their efforts to undermine the will of the people, disenfranchise voters and sow the seeds of mistrust and discontent to further their partisan desire for power. Whether intended or not, this hearing gives a platform to conspiracy theories and lies. And it's a destructive exercise that has no place in the United States Senate."
The Michigan Democrat, wearing a protective face mask, continued, "Joe Biden won the election more than five weeks ago with 306 electoral votes and received the most popular votes for a presidential candidate in American history. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have certified those results. The Electoral College met Monday, and all affirmed that Joe Biden will be the president on January 20, 2021. It's a result that the majority of the American people recognize, along with the leaders of more than 150 countries around the world. Yet even after all of that, significant numbers of Republican elected officials have been slow to publicly acknowledge that Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States."
The witnesses who were asked to appear at the Homeland Security hearing included right-wing attorney Ken Starr, who was part of Trump's impeachment defense team, and Republican Chris Krebs. Before Trump fired him, Krebs headed a cybersecurity agency at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security — and Trump has been furious with Krebs for saying that there was no sign of the widespread voter fraud and that the 2020 election was the most secure in U.S. history.


alternet--2020-12-16--DeSantis faces renewed scrutiny following report of mysterious gap in Florida's COVID death tally

Amysterious gap in Florida 's coronavirus death data suggests the state `` manipulated '' numbers to create more favorable death counts ahead of November 's election , according to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel .
Coronavirus deaths are often recorded days or weeks later but the state abruptly stopped including older deaths that occurred more than one month earlier in its daily count on October 24 .
The state began to include the older deaths in its daily counts again on November 17 , two weeks after the election .
The older deaths had consistently been included in the earlier data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ron DeSantis ' administration announced that it would review every suspected coronavirus death before it is reported .
Jason Salemi , an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida , said he was `` surprised '' by the gap but `` drew no conclusions , '' according to the report , noting that Florida 's death data `` continues to be a bit of a black box . ''
Health experts have long warned that coronavirus deaths are likely being underreported but DeSantis and state Republicans have alleged that the Florida deaths @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not respond to questions from the outlet , leaving the cause of the mysterious gap unclear .
But as a result , Florida voters saw significantly lower death totals in the days leading up to the election .
The death data between September 23 and October 20 included 1,128 deaths that had occurred at least a month earlier , or 44 % of all reported deaths during that span .
When the state resumed reporting the older deaths after the election , a large number of deaths had occurred more than two months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Salemi .
`` It 's hard to know if there was a limitation around election time or random other things were happening , '' Scott David Herr , a data scientist who tracks the daily reports , told the Sun-Sentinel .
`` The Department of Health has n't explained why lags have been inconsistent .
When they keep changing whatever is going on behind the scenes , when the lags keep changing , that is where it gets confusing . ''
The DeSantis administration has repeatedly changed the guidelines on the reporting of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials .
Medical examiners sounded the alarm in the spring after the state stopped publishing real-time death data reported by local health officials , which showed a higher death total than the state 's reports .
In August , as medical examiners dealt with a massive backlog of deaths stemming from the state 's outbreak , the administration allowed attending doctors to determine and report coronavirus deaths .
The state had also released summaries of death certificate data from county medical examiners through the summer but stopped releasing the data after the change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Republican , slammed the state 's death reporting in October as `` often lacking in rigor '' and undermining `` the completeness and reliability of the death records . ''
Prior to the gap in the death data , Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees announced that the state would conduct an additional review of the reported deaths before releasing them publicly `` to ensure the accuracy of COVID-19 related deaths . ''
Salemi told the Sun-Sentinel that he initially believed the gap may have been caused by the change that took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state 's vow to review the deaths but grew suspicious when the state started to record older deaths again in mid-November .
`` I 'm starting to wonder what 's going on , '' he said .
DeSantis , who has tried to downplay the threat posed by the pandemic for months as it killed more than 20,000 Floridians , has repeatedly been accused of manipulating and concealing data to justify a coronavirus response that the White House coronavirus task force labeled `` inadequate . ''
A task force report obtained by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump administration urged the state to take tougher measures to curb the `` unrelenting community spread '' earlier this month .
Instead , the state stopped releasing the task force 's reports and DeSantis barred cities from enforcing mask requirements and limited their ability to contain the spread .
On Tuesday , he broke with public health recommendations and announced that all of the state 's bars and restaurants will operate at full capacity for the rest of the pandemic .
Earlier this year , the state also ousted Rebekah Jones , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida Department of Health 's coronavirus data dashboard .
Jones claimed that the firing was retribution for her refusal to `` manipulate '' the coronavirus data to justify the state 's early reopening in the spring , which DeSantis has denied .
Earlier this month , armed state police raided Jones ' home with their guns drawn to seize her computer and electronic devices that she claimed contained evidence of `` corruption . ''
State officials claimed that DeSantis was unaware of the raid before it happened and that Jones was suspected of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ communication system to urge first responders and others to `` speak up before another 17,000 people are dead . ''
Jones denied the allegation and alleged that DeSantis was behind the raid , noting that the judge who approved the warrant was appointed by DeSantis just weeks earlier .
`` They took evidence of corruption at the state level .
They claimed it was about a security breach .
This was DeSantis .
He sent the gestapo , '' she wrote on Twitter .
`` This is what happens to scientists who do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happens to people who speak truth to power . ''
Despite repeated denials from the administration , the incident led to the resignation of a Republican DeSantis appointee on a judicial selection panel , who called the police raid `` unconscionable '' and DeSantis ' denials `` fantastical '' and `` not credible . ''
He resigned , he said , to draw attention `` to the plight of the people of Florida who I feel are not being told the truth about COVID . ''

Amysterious gap in Florida's coronavirus death data suggests the state "manipulated" numbers to create more favorable death counts ahead of November's election, according to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Coronavirus deaths are often recorded days or weeks later but the state abruptly stopped including older deaths that occurred more than one month earlier in its daily count on October 24. The state began to include the older deaths in its daily counts again on November 17, two weeks after the election. The older deaths had consistently been included in the earlier data.
The change came after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration announced that it would review every suspected coronavirus death before it is reported.
Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida, said he was "surprised" by the gap but "drew no conclusions," according to the report, noting that Florida's death data "continues to be a bit of a black box."
Health experts have long warned that coronavirus deaths are likely being underreported but DeSantis and state Republicans have alleged that the Florida deaths are overstated. Florida health officials did not respond to questions from the outlet, leaving the cause of the mysterious gap unclear. But as a result, Florida voters saw significantly lower death totals in the days leading up to the election.
The death data between September 23 and October 20 included 1,128 deaths that had occurred at least a month earlier, or 44% of all reported deaths during that span. When the state resumed reporting the older deaths after the election, a large number of deaths had occurred more than two months earlier, according to an analysis by Salemi.
"It's hard to know if there was a limitation around election time or random other things were happening," Scott David Herr, a data scientist who tracks the daily reports, told the Sun-Sentinel. "The Department of Health hasn't explained why lags have been inconsistent. When they keep changing whatever is going on behind the scenes, when the lags keep changing, that is where it gets confusing."
The DeSantis administration has repeatedly changed the guidelines on the reporting of pandemic deaths, drawing outcry from public officials. Medical examiners sounded the alarm in the spring after the state stopped publishing real-time death data reported by local health officials, which showed a higher death total than the state's reports.
In August, as medical examiners dealt with a massive backlog of deaths stemming from the state's outbreak, the administration allowed attending doctors to determine and report coronavirus deaths. The state had also released summaries of death certificate data from county medical examiners through the summer but stopped releasing the data after the change.
State House Speaker José Oliva, a Republican, slammed the state's death reporting in October as "often lacking in rigor" and undermining "the completeness and reliability of the death records."
Prior to the gap in the death data, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees announced that the state would conduct an additional review of the reported deaths before releasing them publicly "to ensure the accuracy of COVID-19 related deaths."
Salemi told the Sun-Sentinel that he initially believed the gap may have been caused by the change that took reporting responsibility away from medical examiners or the state's vow to review the deaths but grew suspicious when the state started to record older deaths again in mid-November.
"I'm starting to wonder what's going on," he said.
DeSantis, who has tried to downplay the threat posed by the pandemic for months as it killed more than 20,000 Floridians, has repeatedly been accused of manipulating and concealing data to justify a coronavirus response that the White House coronavirus task force labeled "inadequate."
A task force report obtained by the Center for Public Integrity showed that the Trump administration urged the state to take tougher measures to curb the "unrelenting community spread" earlier this month. Instead, the state stopped releasing the task force's reports and DeSantis barred cities from enforcing mask requirements and limited their ability to contain the spread. On Tuesday, he broke with public health recommendations and announced that all of the state's bars and restaurants will operate at full capacity for the rest of the pandemic.
Earlier this year, the state also ousted Rebekah Jones, a data scientist who helped build the Florida Department of Health's coronavirus data dashboard. Jones claimed that the firing was retribution for her refusal to "manipulate" the coronavirus data to justify the state's early reopening in the spring, which DeSantis has denied. Earlier this month, armed state police raided Jones' home with their guns drawn to seize her computer and electronic devices that she claimed contained evidence of "corruption."
State officials claimed that DeSantis was unaware of the raid before it happened and that Jones was suspected of improperly accessing the state's internal emergency communication system to urge first responders and others to "speak up before another 17,000 people are dead." Jones denied the allegation and alleged that DeSantis was behind the raid, noting that the judge who approved the warrant was appointed by DeSantis just weeks earlier.
"They took evidence of corruption at the state level. They claimed it was about a security breach. This was DeSantis. He sent the gestapo," she wrote on Twitter. "This is what happens to scientists who do their job honestly. This is what happens to people who speak truth to power."
Despite repeated denials from the administration, the incident led to the resignation of a Republican DeSantis appointee on a judicial selection panel, who called the police raid "unconscionable" and DeSantis' denials "fantastical" and "not credible."
He resigned, he said, to draw attention "to the plight of the people of Florida who I feel are not being told the truth about COVID."


alternet--2020-12-16--Ex-Houston police captain accused of violent attempt to prove election fraud was hired by GOP activi

Ex-Houston police captain accused of violent attempt to prove election fraud was hired by GOP activist group

Sign up for The Brief , our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news .
HOUSTON — A former Houston police captain was arrested after allegedly running a man off the road and threatening him at gunpoint — what prosecutors say was part of an elaborate attempt to find evidence for a false conspiracy theory of widespread voter fraud in Harris County .
Mark Aguirre was working on behalf of a powerful Republican megadonor 's group to investigate unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud when , in October , he allegedly pulled a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harris County district attorney 's office as an “ innocent and ordinary '' air conditioner repairman .
Aguirre was arrested Tuesday , according to the Harris County district attorney 's office .
Prosecutors say Aguirre 's election fraud claims were baseless and that he was paid $ 266,400 by the group Liberty Center for God and Country , whose CEO is prominent Texas right-wing activist Steven Hotze .
Hotze was among a group of Republicans who unsuccessfully sued to have nearly 127,000 Harris County ballots tossed out this year .
He was also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — to stop Gov .
Greg Abbott from extending early voting during the coronavirus pandemic , a suit for which Aguirre had provided an affidavit , stating that he was involved in an investigation into a “ wide-ranging and fraudulent ballot harvesting scheme '' in Harris County .
Jared Woodfill , a spokesperson and attorney for Hotze , confirmed that the Liberty Center hired a company led by Aguirre to investigate voter fraud ahead of the 2020 election .
The company contracted approximately 20 private investigators to work on claims of fraudulent ballots @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Texas .
Woodfill said he was aware of Aguirre 's arrest but had not yet heard Aguirre 's side of the story .
“ [ Hotze ] did not direct or lead any of the investigations , '' Woodfill said , noting that Hotze instead sent tips and information to the team of investigators to decide how to follow up .
“ The [ Liberty Center ] employed the investigation team that looked into the allegations . ''
Hotze is an active GOP donor and is one of the most prolific culture warriors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fierce opponent of same-sex marriage and was a key figure in the unsuccessful push for the 2017 “ bathroom bill '' in the Texas Legislature .
This summer , he infamously left a voicemail for Abbott 's chief of staff telling him to shoot and kill people protesting the in-custody death of George Floyd .
President Donald Trump , along with the Texas GOP and some key Texas officials , has been pushing thus-far unproven claims of widespread voter fraud both before and after President-elect Joe Biden won the presidential election .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ken Paxton 's failed lawsuit to challenge 2020 election results in four key battleground states .
The Electoral College affirmed that Biden won , but 34 of Texas ' 38 electors defiantly urged the legislatures of four swing states to overrule the will of their voters and appoint their own electors .
And a large number of GOP members of the Texas congressional delegation still have not acknowledged Biden 's victory .
While working on behalf of Hotze 's group , which has been attempting to find evidence for the GOP 's allegations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air conditioner technician for four days with the help of at least two other unidentified people before the Oct. 19 incident .
He later told authorities that he believed the technician was behind a huge voter fraud scheme in the Houston area , according to an affidavit by the Houston police officer who responded to the incident .
Aguirre told police that he believed the technician to be transporting fake ballots in his vehicle and to have as many as 750,000 in his possession .
“ There were no ballots in the truck @ @ @ @ @ @ @ district attorney 's office press release .
“ It was filled with air conditioning parts and tools . ''
According to the Houston Chronicle , Aguirre was fired from his job as Houston police captain in 2003 after a controversial raid at a Houston Kmart parking lot .
After the October altercation with the technician , Aguirre also told authorities that he and other unidentified suspects had set up a “ command post '' at a Marriott hotel in Pearland for days ahead of the incident .
He refused to identify the other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Houston police report .
Aguirre ran his black SUV into the back of the technician 's truck to get the man to stop and get out , according to a court document describing probable cause for the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon .
He pointed a handgun at the technician and forced him to the ground , according to the affidavit .
One of the other people Aguirre was with allegedly stole the technician 's vehicle after searching it ; police later found the abandoned truck a few blocks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allegedly assaulted the man , he called Lt. Wayne Rubio with the Texas attorney general 's office , requesting help with the investigation .
Rubio declined and reported the call .
Days later , he got another call from Aguirre , who was upset that police would not intervene based on his uncorroborated accusations , according to the affidavit , which referred to a phone call and email from Rubio reporting the call to authorities .
Aguirre allegedly told Rubio he had been in a car wreck with “ a voter fraud suspect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one was killed , '' Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement .
“ His alleged investigation was backward from the start — first alleging a crime had occurred and then trying to prove it happened . ''
Aguirre was arrested by Houston police Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon , a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison .

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
HOUSTON — A former Houston police captain was arrested after allegedly running a man off the road and threatening him at gunpoint — what prosecutors say was part of an elaborate attempt to find evidence for a false conspiracy theory of widespread voter fraud in Harris County.
Mark Aguirre was working on behalf of a powerful Republican megadonor's group to investigate unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud when, in October, he allegedly pulled a gun on a man described by the Harris County district attorney's office as an “innocent and ordinary" air conditioner repairman.
Aguirre was arrested Tuesday, according to the Harris County district attorney's office.
Prosecutors say Aguirre's election fraud claims were baseless and that he was paid $266,400 by the groupLiberty Center for God and Country, whose CEO is prominent Texas right-wing activist Steven Hotze.
Hotze was among a group of Republicans who unsuccessfully sued to have nearly 127,000 Harris County ballots tossed out this year. He was also among Republicans who tried — and failed — to stop Gov. Greg Abbott from extending early voting during the coronavirus pandemic, a suit for which Aguirre had provided an affidavit, stating that he was involved in an investigation into a “wide-ranging and fraudulent ballot harvesting scheme" in Harris County.
Jared Woodfill, a spokesperson and attorney for Hotze, confirmed that the Liberty Center hired a company led by Aguirre to investigate voter fraud ahead of the 2020 election. The company contracted approximately 20 private investigators to work on claims of fraudulent ballots in Harris County and other places in Texas. Woodfill said he was aware of Aguirre's arrest but had not yet heard Aguirre's side of the story.
“[Hotze] did not direct or lead any of the investigations," Woodfill said, noting that Hotze instead sent tips and information to the team of investigators to decide how to follow up. “The [Liberty Center] employed the investigation team that looked into the allegations."
Hotze is an active GOP donor and is one of the most prolific culture warriors on the right. He's a fierce opponent of same-sex marriage and was a key figure in the unsuccessful push for the 2017 “bathroom bill" in the Texas Legislature. This summer, he infamously left a voicemail for Abbott's chief of staff telling him to shoot and kill people protesting the in-custody death of George Floyd.
President Donald Trump, along with the Texas GOP and some key Texas officials, has been pushing thus-far unproven claims of widespread voter fraud both before and after President-elect Joe Biden won the presidential election. Trump recently latched on to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's failed lawsuit to challenge 2020 election results in four key battleground states. The Electoral College affirmed that Biden won, but 34 of Texas' 38 electors defiantly urged the legislatures of four swing states to overrule the will of their voters and appoint their own electors. And a large number of GOP members of the Texas congressional delegation still have not acknowledged Biden's victory.
While working on behalf of Hotze's group, which has been attempting to find evidence for the GOP's allegations of election fraud, Aguirre surveilled the air conditioner technician for four days with the help of at least two other unidentified people before the Oct. 19 incident. He later told authorities that he believed the technician was behind a huge voter fraud scheme in the Houston area, according to an affidavit by the Houston police officer who responded to the incident. Aguirre told police that he believed the technician to be transporting fake ballots in his vehicle and to have as many as 750,000 in his possession.
“There were no ballots in the truck," according to a Harris County district attorney's office press release. “It was filled with air conditioning parts and tools."
According to the Houston Chronicle, Aguirre was fired from his job as Houston police captain in 2003 after a controversial raid at a Houston Kmart parking lot.
After the October altercation with the technician, Aguirre also told authorities that he and other unidentified suspects had set up a “command post" at a Marriott hotel in Pearland for days ahead of the incident. He refused to identify the other people he worked with, according to the Houston police report.
Aguirre ran his blackSUV into the back of the technician's truck to get the man to stop and get out, according to a court document describing probable cause for the charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He pointed a handgun at the technician and forced him to the ground, according to the affidavit. One of the other people Aguirre was with allegedly stole the technician's vehicle after searching it; police later found the abandoned truck a few blocks away.
A few days before Aguirre allegedly assaulted the man, he called Lt. Wayne Rubio with the Texas attorney general's office, requesting help with the investigation. Rubio declined and reported the call. Days later, he got another call from Aguirre,who wasupset that police would not intervene based on his uncorroborated accusations, according to the affidavit, which referred to a phone call and email from Rubio reporting the call to authorities. Aguirre allegedly told Rubio he had been in a car wreck with “a voter fraud suspect."
“We are lucky no one was killed," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. “His alleged investigation was backward from the start — first alleging a crime had occurred and then trying to prove it happened."
Aguirre was arrested by Houston police Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.


alternet--2020-12-16--'Irresponsible and dangerous': Far-right GOP congressman-elect slammed for calling COVID 'a phony pa

'Irresponsible and dangerous': Far-right GOP congressman-elect slammed for calling COVID 'a phony pandemic'

Although the coronavirus pandemic has killed over 300,000 people in the United States , the far right is full of COVID-19 deniers who continue to downplay the pandemic 's severity .
One of them is congressman-elect Bob Good , who described COVID-19 as a `` phony pandemic '' during a December 12 speech at Freedom Plaza in Washington , D.C. Good praised a crowd of supporters , many of whom were n't wearing masks , for realizing `` that this is a phony pandemic . ''
The far-right Republican told the crowd , `` It 's a serious virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's not a pandemic .
It 's great to see your faces .
You get it .
You stand up against tyranny . ''
But COVID-19 is not only a pandemic — it is the world 's most severe health crisis since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918/1919 .
According to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , COVID-19 has killed over 1.6 million people worldwide .
And many medical experts are warning that the pandemic is entering its deadliest period yet .
Earlier this year in a GOP congressional primary in Virginia 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Denver Riggleman — whom he attacked for not being socially conservative enough and for officiating a gay wedding .
And after defeating Riggleman in that primary , Good went on to defeat Democrat Cameron Webb in the general election .
Riggleman , who will leave the U.S. House of Representatives when Good is sworn in on January 3 , 2021 , has slammed Good for his irresponsible comments about COVID-19 .
The outgoing congressman , in an interview with the Washington Post , noted that his 83-year-old grandmother was hospitalized with COVID-19-related pneumonia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ daughter 's boyfriend have also been infected with COVID-19 .
Riggleman told the Washington Post , `` when you put out disinformation like this , it goes from pandering to possibly endangering others .
There 's a pandemic .
I think sometimes , there 's an overreaction by governors .
Sometimes , there 's an under-reaction by governors .
But it does n't change the fact that there 's a pandemic . ''
Webb , a doctor who treats coronavirus patients at the University of Virginia Medical Center , called out Good as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen firsthand the devastation COVID-19 causes . ''
And Webb denounced Good 's comments as `` irresponsible and dangerous . ''
Post reporters Meagan Flynn and Laura Vozzella note that although hospitalizations from COVID-19 `` are up 18 % in Virginia since last week , '' Good has `` continued to encourage masklessness and reject the need for any restrictions . ''

Although the coronavirus pandemic has killed over 300,000 people in the United States, the far right is full of COVID-19 deniers who continue to downplay the pandemic's severity. One of them is congressman-elect Bob Good, who described COVID-19 as a "phony pandemic" during a December 12 speech at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.
Good praised a crowd of supporters, many of whom weren't wearing masks, for realizing "that this is a phony pandemic." The far-right Republican told the crowd, "It's a serious virus, but it's a virus. It's not a pandemic. It's great to see your faces. You get it. You stand up against tyranny."
But COVID-19 is not only a pandemic — it is the world's most severe health crisis since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918/1919. According to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, COVID-19 has killed over 1.6 million people worldwide. And many medical experts are warning that the pandemic is entering its deadliest period yet.
Earlier this year in a GOP congressional primary in Virginia's 5th Congressional District, Good defeated Rep. Denver Riggleman — whom he attacked for not being socially conservative enough and for officiating a gay wedding. And after defeating Riggleman in that primary, Good went on to defeat Democrat Cameron Webb in the general election.
Riggleman, who will leave the U.S. House of Representatives when Good is sworn in on January 3, 2021, has slammed Good for his irresponsible comments about COVID-19. The outgoing congressman, in an interview with the Washington Post, noted that his 83-year-old grandmother was hospitalized with COVID-19-related pneumonia and that his father, stepmother and daughter's boyfriend have also been infected with COVID-19.
Riggleman told the Washington Post, "when you put out disinformation like this, it goes from pandering to possibly endangering others. There's a pandemic. I think sometimes, there's an overreaction by governors. Sometimes, there's an under-reaction by governors. But it doesn't change the fact that there's a pandemic."
Webb, a doctor who treats coronavirus patients at the University of Virginia Medical Center, called out Good as well, tweeting, "I've seen firsthand the devastation COVID-19 causes." And Webb denounced Good's comments as "irresponsible and dangerous."
Post reporters Meagan Flynn and Laura Vozzella note that although hospitalizations from COVID-19 "are up 18% in Virginia since last week," Good has "continued to encourage masklessness and reject the need for any restrictions."


alternet--2020-12-16--GOP state senator says Trump should ‘invoke the Insurrection Act’ to stay in power

Still refusing to accept the outcome of the presidential election , state Sen. Bob Steinburg ( R-NC ) is calling on President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency and invoke the Insurrection Act to suspend civil liberties and remain in power .
During an appearance on WRAL Tuesday night , Steinburg referenced a number of conspiracy theories as he defended his position .
According to Steinburg , there must be something going on that is `` bigger than meets the eye '' since the election did not turn out in Trump 's favor .
`` There 's something going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ willing to talk about , '' the 72-year-old senator said .
`` I do n't like conspiracy theories at all .
But something is going on here that 's bigger than meets the eye . ''
The Washington Post reports Steinburg suggested that `` the president suspend habeas corpus , which allows people to challenge unlawful imprisonment , 'as Lincoln and FDR have both done in times of war . '
'' The Republican senator also noted that he would support the president 's efforts if he were to invoke the Insurrection Act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election .
`` If that 's what needs to be done if there are people who have been identified as folks who are suspected of high crimes and misdemeanors , who are threatening the very security and foundation of our nation , '' Steinburg told WRAL , `` for whatever period of time it takes to round them up , then yes . ''
Steinberg 's interview came shortly after the Facebook message he posted urging Trump to take action against the Electoral College vote .
In the now-deleted Facebook post , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a national emergency .
Trump should also invoke the Insurrection Act . ''
Despite the Electoral College solidifying President-elect Joe Biden 's win , only 37 out of 249 Republicans have indicated they accept the outcome of the election .

Still refusing to accept the outcome of the presidential election, state Sen. Bob Steinburg (R-NC) is calling on President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency and invoke the Insurrection Act to suspend civil liberties and remain in power.
During an appearance on WRAL Tuesday night, Steinburg referenced a number of conspiracy theories as he defended his position.
According to Steinburg, there must be something going on that is "bigger than meets the eye" since the election did not turn out in Trump's favor.
"There's something going on here bigger than what anybody is willing to talk about," the 72-year-old senator said. "I don't like conspiracy theories at all. But something is going on here that's bigger than meets the eye."
The Washington Post reports Steinburg suggested that "the president suspend habeas corpus, which allows people to challenge unlawful imprisonment, 'as Lincoln and FDR have both done in times of war.'"
The Republican senator also noted that he would support the president's efforts if he were to invoke the Insurrection Act to push back against the outcome of the election.
"If that's what needs to be done if there are people who have been identified as folks who are suspected of high crimes and misdemeanors, who are threatening the very security and foundation of our nation," Steinburg told WRAL, "for whatever period of time it takes to round them up, then yes."
Steinberg's interview came shortly after the Facebook message he posted urging Trump to take action against the Electoral College vote. In the now-deleted Facebook post, Steinburg wrote "President Trump must declare a national emergency. Trump should also invoke the Insurrection Act."
Despite the Electoral College solidifying President-elect Joe Biden's win, only 37 out of 249 Republicans have indicated they accept the outcome of the election.


alternet--2020-12-16--Congressional leaders planning to include direct payments in COVID relief package: report

This is a developing news story ...
Check back for possible updates ... Congressional leaders are reportedly planning to include another round of direct payments to struggling Americans as part of a $ 900 billion coronavirus relief agreement that could be announced as soon as Wednesday morning , a development that comes after progressives ramped up their demand for additional stimulus checks as a necessary component of any deal .
Citing multiple unnamed sources involved in the rapidly moving talks , Politico reported Wednesday that `` congressional negotiators are on the brink of a coronavirus rescue package that would include @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but would likely leave out state and local funding and a liability shield . ''
The size of the direct payments under consideration is not yet clear , but the Washington Post reported Wednesday that the checks `` could be less than the $ 1,200 approved in the CARES Act in March . ''
Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) has demanded one-time payments of $ 1,200 per working-class adult and $ 500 per child , while members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus ( CPC ) have called for payments of at least @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote for a Covid package that does n't include survival payments and unemployment relief for the American people , '' Rep , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , a CPC member , tweeted late Tuesday .
`` It 's a red line .
It 's also common sense . ''
Rep. Pramila Jayapal ( D-Wash. ) , the newly elected chair of the CPC , said Tuesday that `` the Progressive Caucus is united in our position : any Covid relief package must include survival checks and enhanced unemployment assistance—the two most effective ways to put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' The apparent breakthrough in long-stagnant coronavirus relief negotiations followed a pair of meetings Tuesday between Democratic and Republican congressional leaders , talks that came days before the government is set to shut down without passage of a sprawling year-end funding bill .
Lawmakers are seeking to attach a Covid-relief package to the must-pass legislation .

This is a developing news story... Check back for possible updates...
Congressional leaders are reportedly planning to include another round of direct payments to struggling Americans as part of a $900 billion coronavirus relief agreement that could be announced as soon as Wednesday morning, a development that comes after progressives ramped up their demand for additional stimulus checks as a necessary component of any deal.
Citing multiple unnamed sources involved in the rapidly moving talks, Politicoreported Wednesday that "congressional negotiators are on the brink of a coronavirus rescue package that would include a second round of direct payments, but would likely leave out state and local funding and a liability shield."
The size of the direct payments under consideration is not yet clear, but the Washington Postreported Wednesday that the checks "could be less than the $1,200 approved in the CARES Act in March."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has demanded one-time payments of $1,200 per working-class adult and $500 per child, while members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) have called for payments of at least $2,000.
"I will not vote for a Covid package that doesn't include survival payments and unemployment relief for the American people," Rep, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a CPC member, tweeted late Tuesday. "It's a red line. It's also common sense."
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the newly elected chair of the CPC, said Tuesday that "the Progressive Caucus is united in our position: any Covid relief package must include survival checks and enhanced unemployment assistance—the two most effective ways to put money directly in people's pockets."
The apparent breakthrough in long-stagnant coronavirus relief negotiations followed a pair of meetings Tuesday between Democratic and Republican congressional leaders, talks that came days before the government is set to shut down without passage of a sprawling year-end funding bill. Lawmakers are seeking to attach a Covid-relief package to the must-pass legislation.


alternet--2020-12-16--Texas taxpayers are footing the bill for attorney general's $540-per-hour lead lawyer in whistleblow

Texas taxpayers are footing the bill for attorney general's $540-per-hour lead lawyer in whistleblower lawsuit

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The Texas attorney general 's office will pay outside counsel $ 540 an hour to defend the state agency against accusations that it was retaliating against top aides when it fired them just weeks after they reported their boss , Ken Paxton , to authorities for possibly breaking the law .
William Helfand , a Houston attorney with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP , will make $ 540 per hour for his work on the case while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make $ 350 and $ 215 per hour , respectively , according to a contract with the agency .
They filed the agency 's first official response Monday to a lawsuit filed by four of eight whistleblowers who left the agency after leveling the accusations .
Paxton 's attorneys roundly rejected pages and pages of allegations of wrongdoing and retaliation in just a few brief sentences .
The agency “ generally denies each and every claim and allegation '' made by the whistleblowers , attorneys for the state wrote in the brief filing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be an adverse employment action was the result of each Plaintiff 's own misconduct , lack of competence , and/or disloyalty to the Office , '' the outside attorneys for the agency wrote .
Paxton is reportedly being investigated by the FBI over the allegations raised by the aides .
Separately , he has been under indictment since 2015 on felony securities fraud charges but has yet to stand trial amid side issues over venue and prosecutor pay .
Notably , his defense team and political allies have loudly objected to the special @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per hour — far lower than the pay scale for the outside attorneys in the whistleblower case .
That point was not lost on Brian Wice , one of the special prosecutors , who said it was `` ludicrous for Paxton to believe that a seven-year attorney , not to mention a paralegal , should be paid more for defending him than two lawyers with over 80 years of combined experience should be paid for prosecuting him . ''
`` And it is outrageous that the taxpayers of Texas will be obligated to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's alleged misconduct that has reportedly triggered an FBI investigation , '' Wice added .
Four former top staffers at the agency — Blake Brickman , Ryan Vassar , Mark Penley and David Maxwell — sued their former employer Nov. 12 , claiming they suffered retaliation , including wrongful termination , after reporting Paxton to authorities .
At the time , just three of the men had been fired ; Vassar , who had been placed on paid leave , was fired days after filing the lawsuit .
His attorney , Joseph Knight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , nonsense reasons '' for the termination , which he believes was motivated by the lawsuit .
The agency did not respond to questions about why Vassar was fired , but a spokesperson for Paxton has said that other terminations were not acts of retaliation .
Spokespeople for the agency did not immediately return requests for comment on the lawsuit Monday morning .
TJ Turner and Tom Nesbitt , who represent Brickman in the whistleblower suit , called the response from the attorney general 's office `` laughable and completely unsupported , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adverse personnel actions taken within three months of a whistleblower report are `` presumed '' to be retaliation .
`` Calling the whistleblowers disloyal reveals Ken Paxton 's perverted sense of what it means to be a public servant , '' the attorneys said in a joint statement .
`` The whistleblowers acted with loyalty to the rule of law , not to Ken Paxton personally , and he punished them for it . ''
Ultimately , five of the whistleblowers were fired and three resigned .
The top aides allege that Paxton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do favors for a political donor , real estate investor Nate Paul .
According to the aides , as well as numerous court records , official documents and media reports , Paxton intervened on Paul 's behalf in a number of open records requests , rushed out a legal opinion that helped Paul avoid foreclosure sales on multiple properties , and took the unusual step of intervening in a lawsuit between Paul and an Austin charity .
Most strikingly , Paxton hired an outside attorney to probe claims by Paul that federal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a raid on his home and office in 2019 .
Paxton hired the outside lawyer , top aides say , even though agency staff had already vetted Paul 's allegations and found them meritless .
Paxton has dismissed his aides ' allegations as “ false '' and called them “ rogue employees . ''
In a statement last month , Paxton said he knows “ a little something about being falsely accused '' and dismissed the allegations made by the whistleblowers , which he said were “ overblown , based upon assumptions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ facts . ''
The relationship between Paul and Paxton remains unclear , though they are friendly and Paul gave Paxton 's campaign $ 25,000 in 2018 , as Paxton sought a second term as attorney general .
Paul also revealed in a deposition this fall that he had employed a woman at Paxton 's recommendation , though he said it was not a favor to Paxton .
The woman , according to two people who said they learned directly from Paxton in 2018 , had been involved in an extramarital affair with the @ @ @

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
The Texas attorney general's office will pay outside counsel $540 an hour to defend the state agency against accusations that it was retaliating against top aides when it fired them just weeks after they reported their boss, Ken Paxton, to authorities for possibly breaking the law.
William Helfand, a Houston attorney with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, will make $540 per hour for his work on the case while an associate attorney and a paralegal will make $350 and $215 per hour, respectively, according to a contract with the agency.
They filed the agency's first official response Monday to a lawsuit filed by four of eight whistleblowers who left the agency after leveling the accusations. Paxton's attorneys roundly rejected pages and pages of allegations of wrongdoing and retaliation in just a few brief sentences.
The agency “generally denies each and every claim and allegation" made by the whistleblowers, attorneys for the state wrote in the brief filing.
“Any action Plaintiffs allege to be an adverse employment action was the result of each Plaintiff's own misconduct, lack of competence, and/or disloyalty to the Office," the outside attorneys for the agency wrote.
Paxton is reportedly being investigated by the FBI over the allegations raised by the aides.
Separately, he has been under indictment since 2015 on felony securities fraud charges but has yet to stand trial amid side issues over venue and prosecutor pay. Notably, his defense team and political allies have loudly objected to the special prosecutors in the case making $300 per hour — far lower than the pay scale for the outside attorneys in the whistleblower case.
That point was not lost on Brian Wice, one of the special prosecutors, who said it was "ludicrous for Paxton to believe that a seven-year attorney, not to mention a paralegal, should be paid more for defending him than two lawyers with over 80 years of combined experience should be paid for prosecuting him."
"And it is outrageous that the taxpayers of Texas will be obligated to pay the legal fees for defending Paxton's alleged misconduct that has reportedly triggered an FBI investigation," Wice added.
Four former top staffers at the agency — Blake Brickman, Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and David Maxwell — sued their former employer Nov. 12, claiming they suffered retaliation, including wrongful termination, after reporting Paxton to authorities. At the time, just three of the men had been fired; Vassar, who had been placed on paid leave, was fired days after filing the lawsuit. His attorney, Joseph Knight, said he was given “made-up, nonsense reasons" for the termination, which he believes was motivated by the lawsuit.
The agency did not respond to questions about why Vassar was fired, but a spokesperson for Paxton has said that other terminations were not acts of retaliation. Spokespeople for the agency did not immediately return requests for comment on the lawsuit Monday morning.
TJ Turner and Tom Nesbitt, who represent Brickman in the whistleblower suit, called the response from the attorney general's office "laughable and completely unsupported," pointing out that under Texas law, adverse personnel actions taken within three months of a whistleblower report are "presumed" to be retaliation.
"Calling the whistleblowers disloyal reveals Ken Paxton's perverted sense of what it means to be a public servant," the attorneys said in a joint statement. "The whistleblowers acted with loyalty to the rule of law, not to Ken Paxton personally, and he punished them for it."
Ultimately, five of the whistleblowers were fired and three resigned.
The top aides allege that Paxton broke the law by using the agency to do favors for a political donor, real estate investor Nate Paul. According to the aides, as well as numerous court records, official documents and media reports, Paxton intervened on Paul's behalf in a number of open records requests, rushed out a legal opinion that helped Paul avoid foreclosure sales on multiple properties, and took the unusual step of intervening in a lawsuit between Paul and an Austin charity.
Most strikingly, Paxton hired an outside attorney to probe claims by Paul that federal and state authorities had mistreated Paul in a raid on his home and office in 2019. Paxton hired the outside lawyer, top aides say, even though agency staff had already vetted Paul's allegations and found them meritless.
Paxton has dismissed his aides' allegations as “false" and called them “rogue employees." In a statement last month, Paxton said he knows “a little something about being falsely accused" and dismissed the allegations made by the whistleblowers, which he said were “overblown, based upon assumptions, and to a large degree misrepresent the facts."
The relationship between Paul and Paxton remains unclear, though they are friendly and Paul gave Paxton's campaign $25,000 in 2018, as Paxton sought a second term as attorney general. Paul also revealed in a deposition this fall that he had employed a woman at Paxton's recommendation, though he said it was not a favor to Paxton. The woman, according to two people who said they learned directly from Paxton in 2018, had been involved in an extramarital affair with the attorney general.


alternet--2020-12-16--Dodge City’s ex-Republican mayor resigns following death threats over mask mandate

In Dodge City , Kansas , Mayor Joyce Warshaw — a conservative ex-Republican — was among the city officials who , in November , supported a rule making it mandatory to wear protective face masks indoors in public places .
And Warshaw , after weeks of being inundated with death threats from far-right extremists , announced her resignation on Tuesday , December 15 .
City commissioners in Dodge City , on November 16 , voted 4-1 in favor of a mask mandate — and it did n't take long before coronavirus deniers began threatening Warshaw 's life in e-mails and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Francis has said that police are investigating the threats .
Announcing her decision to resign , the two-term mayor explained , `` ( It was a ) very , very tough , difficult decision to make because I have no regrets about any of my actions or decisions I made as mayor , but I think it 's best to move on .
Particularly , my husband said , 'You 're done , you 're done . '
Maybe the city can just move on . ''
Warshaw went on to say , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in our world that have perhaps caused many people to act inappropriately , but I do not feel safe in this position anymore and am hopeful ( that ) in removing myself , this anger , accusations and abuse will not fall on anyone else and will calm down . ''
The death threats that caused Warshaw to resign as Dodge City mayor come during a time of extreme tension in the United States .
Coronavirus deniers view COVID-19 restrictions , including mask mandates , as an assault on their civil liberties — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to death threats if they support common-sense measures .
According to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore , the number of COVID-19-related deaths has passed 303,800 in the U.S. and 1.6 million worldwide .
But coronavirus deniers view COVID-19 restrictions as part of a plot to undermine Donald Trump 's presidency .
Historic Dodge City is known for its years as a Wild West frontier town during the 19th Century , and that part of the city 's history was famously depicted on popular television western `` Gunsmoke . ''
The Washington Post quotes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received , `` They were loud , and they were aggressive — and they frightened me and my family .
There 's a strong part of me that wants to say they are only words .
But people are angry right now . ''
Warshaw was a registered Republican in the past , but according to Post reporter Ted Armus , she left the GOP because of `` radical changes '' in the party and presently has no party affiliation .
`` `` There 's a multitude of things coming down the pipe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life , '' Armus quotes Warshaw as saying .
`` People just want to blame somebody , and I feel like it was easy to blame me . ''

In Dodge City, Kansas, Mayor Joyce Warshaw — a conservative ex-Republican — was among the city officials who, in November, supported a rule making it mandatory to wear protective face masks indoors in public places. And Warshaw, after weeks of being inundated with death threats from far-right extremists, announced her resignation on Tuesday, December 15.
City commissioners in Dodge City, on November 16, voted 4-1 in favor of a mask mandate — and it didn't take long before coronavirus deniers began threatening Warshaw's life in e-mails and voicemails. Dodge City Police Chief Drew Francis has said that police are investigating the threats.
Announcing her decision to resign, the two-term mayor explained, "(It was a) very, very tough, difficult decision to make because I have no regrets about any of my actions or decisions I made as mayor, but I think it's best to move on. Particularly, my husband said, 'You're done, you're done.' Maybe the city can just move on."
Warshaw went on to say, "Life has dealt out many challenges in our world that have perhaps caused many people to act inappropriately, but I do not feel safe in this position anymore and am hopeful (that) in removing myself, this anger, accusations and abuse will not fall on anyone else and will calm down."
The death threats that caused Warshaw to resign as Dodge City mayor come during a time of extreme tension in the United States. Coronavirus deniers view COVID-19 restrictions, including mask mandates, as an assault on their civil liberties — and even conservatives like Warshaw are vulnerable to death threats if they support common-sense measures.
According to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the number of COVID-19-related deaths has passed 303,800 in the U.S. and 1.6 million worldwide. But coronavirus deniers view COVID-19 restrictions as part of a plot to undermine Donald Trump's presidency.
Historic Dodge City is known for its years as a Wild West frontier town during the 19th Century, and that part of the city's history was famously depicted on popular television western "Gunsmoke."
The Washington Post quotes Warshaw as saying of the threats she received, "They were loud, and they were aggressive — and they frightened me and my family. There's a strong part of me that wants to say they are only words. But people are angry right now."
Warshaw was a registered Republican in the past, but according to Post reporter Ted Armus, she left the GOP because of "radical changes" in the party and presently has no party affiliation.
""There's a multitude of things coming down the pipe, causing people to be disgruntled with life," Armus quotes Warshaw as saying. "People just want to blame somebody, and I feel like it was easy to blame me."


alternet--2020-12-16--Mitch McConnell is holding your community hostage until corporations are able to kill you without co

Mitch McConnell is holding your community hostage until corporations are able to kill you without consequence

Probably the most under-reported story of the year has been how Mitch McConnell is holding Americans hostage in exchange for letting big corporations kill Americans without any consequence .
Mitch took you and me hostage back in May , when the House of Representatives passed the HEROES act that would have funded state and local governments and provided unemployed workers with an ongoing weekly payment .
Mitch refused to even allow the Senate to discuss the HEROES Act until or unless the legislation also legalized corporations killing their workers and customers .
To this day , he refuses to let @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We 've seen companies fire people for refusing to take their lives in their hands , executives organize betting pools on which employees are going to die first , and companies lying openly to their workers and customers about the dangers of Covid-19 .
Mitch McConnell wants to protect them all .
Even worse , his immunity can extend well beyond the pandemic and sets up a process that could put corporations above the law permanently , across every community in America , in ways that state and local governments can never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raising the minimum wage or letting workers unionize for over 100 years , what McConnell is doing now is giving corporations the ultimate right : the right to kill their employees and customers with impunity .
And McConnell 's holding your local police and fire departments , public schools , and state healthcare programs hostage in exchange for his corporate immunity .
This is beyond immoral .
This is ghastly , and should have been at the top of every news story in America for the past six months .
But many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ complete supremacy over their workers include the giant corporations that own our media .
America has suffered for over 40 years under Reaganism 's neoliberal mantra , picked up from Milton Friedman , that when corporations focus exclusively on profit an `` invisible hand '' will guide them to do what 's best for people and communities .
It 's a lie .
This is an assault on workers ' rights , but , even greater , it 's a corporate assault on human rights .
McConnell is saying that a corporation 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is more important than the lives of human beings .
As unemployment benefits are running out , evictions loom , small businesses are dying left and right , millions of families have been thrown into crisis and more than 10 million Americans have lost their health insurance , McConnell continues to hold us all hostage .
It 's time to fight back .
If corporate media continues to refuse to discuss McConnell 's blackmail , we must individually speak up among friends and communities , and also let our lawmakers know what we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some hell .

Probably the most under-reported story of the year has been how Mitch McConnell is holding Americans hostage in exchange for letting big corporations kill Americans without any consequence.
Mitch took you and me hostage back in May, when the House of Representatives passed the HEROES act that would have funded state and local governments and provided unemployed workers with an ongoing weekly payment.
Mitch refused to even allow the Senate to discuss the HEROES Act until or unless the legislation also legalized corporations killing their workers and customers. To this day, he refuses to let it even be discussed in the Senate.
We've seen companies fire people for refusing to take their lives in their hands, executives organize betting pools on which employees are going to die first, and companies lying openly to their workers and customers about the dangers of Covid-19.
Mitch McConnell wants to protect them all. Even worse, his immunity can extend well beyond the pandemic and sets up a process that could put corporations above the law permanently, across every community in America, in ways that state and local governments can never defy.
While Republicans have fought against raising the minimum wage or letting workers unionize for over 100 years, what McConnell is doing now is giving corporations the ultimate right: the right to kill their employees and customers with impunity.
And McConnell's holding your local police and fire departments, public schools, and state healthcare programs hostage in exchange for his corporate immunity.
This is beyond immoral. This is ghastly, and should have been at the top of every news story in America for the past six months. But many of the corporations that are looking forward to complete supremacy over their workers include the giant corporations that own our media.
America has suffered for over 40 years under Reaganism's neoliberal mantra, picked up from Milton Friedman, that when corporations focus exclusively on profit an "invisible hand" will guide them to do what's best for people and communities. It's a lie.
This is an assault on workers' rights, but, even greater, it's a corporate assault on human rights. McConnell is saying that a corporation's right to kill its workers and customers is more important than the lives of human beings.
As unemployment benefits are running out, evictions loom, small businesses are dying left and right, millions of families have been thrown into crisis and more than 10 million Americans have lost their health insurance, McConnell continues to hold us all hostage.
It's time to fight back. If corporate media continues to refuse to discuss McConnell's blackmail, we must individually speak up among friends and communities, and also let our lawmakers know what we think. It's time to raise some hell.


alternet--2020-12-16--McConnell congratulated President-elect Biden. A predictable Trump meltdown ensued

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden 's win for more than five weeks after major media organizations called the election—not through multiple recounts and more than 50 lawsuits affirming Biden 's win .
Not until the Electoral College voted .
But once he did , Donald Trump lashed out almost immediately .
`` Many of us hoped that the presidential election would yield a different result , but our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on Jan. 20 , '' McConnell said on the Senate floor Monday .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today , I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden . ''
More consequentially , McConnell , joined by Sens .
Roy Blunt and John Thune , went on to beg other Senate Republicans not to join some House Republicans in objecting to counting electoral votes from key states when Congress—and Mike Pence—tally the votes on January 6 .
McConnell reportedly called that a `` terrible vote '' for Republicans , because they 'd look disloyal to Trump in voting down the effort .
In response , late Tuesday night , Trump did a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ headlined `` Trump 's allies slam Mitch McConnell for congratulating Biden '' along with the commentary , `` Mitch , 75,000,000 VOTES , a record for a sitting President ( by a lot ) .
Too soon to give up .
Republican Party must finally learn to fight .
People are angry ! ''
Biden , of course , got more than 81 million votes .
And the idea that Mitch McConnell does n't know how to fight—or , more specifically , how to abuse power to the greatest extent possible—is truly outlandish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the guy who 's been leveled in a bar fight and is lying barely conscious on the sticky floor , still mumbling through a broken mouth that the winner of the fight is too much of a coward to take him on .
The problem is that Trump continues to have the loyalty of his base , and as long as they remain dangerous , he does .

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden's win for more than five weeks after major media organizations called the election—not through multiple recounts and more than 50 lawsuits affirming Biden's win. Not until the Electoral College voted. But once he did, Donald Trump lashed out almost immediately.
"Many of us hoped that the presidential election would yield a different result, but our system of government has processes to determine who will be sworn in on Jan. 20," McConnell said on the Senate floor Monday. "The Electoral College has spoken. So today, I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden." More consequentially, McConnell, joined by Sens. Roy Blunt and John Thune, went on to beg other Senate Republicans not to join some House Republicans in objecting to counting electoral votes from key states when Congress—and Mike Pence—tally the votes on January 6.
McConnell reportedly called that a "terrible vote" for Republicans, because they'd look disloyal to Trump in voting down the effort.
In response, late Tuesday night, Trump did a Trump, tweeting a Daily Mail article headlined "Trump's allies slam Mitch McConnell for congratulating Biden" along with the commentary, "Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!"
Biden, of course, got more than 81 million votes. And the idea that Mitch McConnell doesn't know how to fight—or, more specifically, how to abuse power to the greatest extent possible—is truly outlandish. Electorally and legally speaking, Trump is the guy who's been leveled in a bar fight and is lying barely conscious on the sticky floor, still mumbling through a broken mouth that the winner of the fight is too much of a coward to take him on. The problem is that Trump continues to have the loyalty of his base, and as long as they remain dangerous, he does.


alternet--2020-12-16--Bill Barr was Trump's biggest enabler — but his real legacy is even darker

After all that he did for President Trump , Barr was forced out of his job as Attorney General anyway for failing to hurl himself over a cliff as a human sacrifice .
Trump wanted him to use the Department of Justice to help overturn the election which even Barr was n't able to finesse .
And Trump just could n't forgive him for failing to `` pull a Comey '' and use a DOJ investigation of Hunter Biden to sabotage Joe Biden 's campaign .
Not that it stopped Barr from debasing himself even more ostentatiously than usual by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he obviously cribbed from one of those flowery love notes North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un used to write to Trump during their passionate bromance .
I 'm guessing that was the price of getting out without being fired with an insulting tweet which seems to be something Republican men fear even more than thermonuclear war or feminism .
It just goes to show that no matter how much people are willing to prostitute themselves for Donald Trump , they are only as good as their last bad deed .
As Amanda Marcotte @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old mentor Roy Cohn in the back when he no longer had use for him .
And Trump certainly used Barr .
Marcotte writes : To that list I would add his blatant political interference in the Michael Flynn and Roger Stone cases as well as his personal interest in the Durham probe all of which created massive turmoil in his department causing several career prosecutors to leave in disgust .
Barr never even tried to hide the fact that he considered it his duty to protect the president and his cronies from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ philosophy about the imperial presidency honed by decades of fulminating about the allegedly poor treatment of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan by congressional upstarts and special prosecutors .
His infamous , unsolicited memo asserting that Robert Mueller could not charge the president with a crime , echoing those famous words of Richard Nixon -- - '' if the president does it it 's not illegal '' -- - was what got him the job in the first place .
The inane pretense that he is adamantly opposed to `` politicizing '' the department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it more than any Attorney General in history was a true triumph of gaslighting .
He is also a right-wing culture warrior who believes in authoritarian policies to ensure that the nation subscribes to his definition of `` order '' and has argued forcefully for a dismantling of secular society ( His eagerness to reinstate the federal death penalty and immediately begin executing prisoners as fast as he can speaks to that most clearly . )
And yes , he is a hard-core partisan zealot whose so-called principles are applied solely for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I also think in his private moments he is probably a lot closer to the 1970s Archie Bunker style of old-fashioned bigot that he is willing to let on .
He 's barely able to hide his revulsion for anyone who does n't conform to his idea of respectability and it 's more than obvious that he is hostile to Black people .
And we saw that play out in his reaction to the George Floyd protests and the grotesque militarized responses in Lafayette Square and Portland , Oregon .
It 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so keen to join up with Donald Trump .
However , Barr seems to have realized that Trump 's loss means that he 's done all he can to create the precedents for future Republican imperial presidents to consolidate their power .
He successfully protected his president by exerting his own power while ensuring that the norms he broke are still available for Republicans to use against Democratic administrations .
His work is done .
As I mentioned on Monday , there has been some chatter that after Barr took the unusual step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Counsel , which somewhat insulates him from a Biden Department of Justice , Trump wanted Barr to appoint other Special Counsels to investigate the baseless election fraud claims and , of course , Hunter Biden .
Presumably , Barr declined to lay these landmines on Trump 's behalf because the AP reported on Tuesday that Trump is still obsessing on this idea and has been discussing it with numerous other people including White House counsel Pat Cipollone , Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani .
His aides are all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they believe `` that a special counsel probe could wound a Biden administration before it even begins . ''
And Trump is still debating whether he should pressure Barr 's replacement , Jeffrey Rosen and if he ca n't persuade him , whether to replace him with someone who will do it .
This could end up making the Saturday Night Massacre look like a schoolyard squabble .
Trump has even suggested that he might be able to appoint the Special Counsels himself .
( Bill Barr 's many lessons on the unlimited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I have an Article II !
!
`` — seem to have penetrated . )
It 's good to see that Trump has his priorities straight , as usual .
Sure , we may still be in the throes of a deadly pandemic and facing logistical complications in getting the vaccines to everyone who needs them .
And yes , the congress is flailing about under Mitch `` Grim Reaper '' McConnell 's malevolent desire to make people suffer instead of offering necessary relief .
Oh , and we seem to have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Russia which Trump has not bothered to discuss even once .
But that 's because he 's still busy blustering about voter fraud and plotting to sabotage Joe Biden .
And Bill Barr , his obsequious `` resignation '' letter notwithstanding , is obviously making a break for it before the whole thing explodes .
Perhaps he thinks that by getting out now , before Trump could fire him and replace him with someone who would do even more dirty work to subvert the incoming administration , he will have saved his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ late for that .
Barr will forever be remembered as Donald Trump 's Roy Cohn and nothing more .

Poor Bill Barr.
After all that he did for President Trump, Barr was forced out of his job as Attorney General anyway for failing to hurl himself over a cliff as a human sacrifice. Trump wanted him to use the Department of Justice to help overturn the election which even Barr wasn't able to finesse. And Trump just couldn't forgive him for failing to "pull a Comey" and use a DOJ investigation of Hunter Biden to sabotage Joe Biden's campaign.
Not that it stopped Barr from debasing himself even more ostentatiously than usual by offering a "resignation letter" that he obviously cribbed from one of those flowery love notes North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un used to write to Trump during their passionate bromance. I'm guessing that was the price of getting out without being fired with an insulting tweet which seems to be something Republican men fear even more than thermonuclear war or feminism.
It just goes to show that no matter how much people are willing to prostitute themselves for Donald Trump, they are only as good as their last bad deed. As Amanda Marcotte pointed out, Trump even stabbed his old mentor Roy Cohn in the back when he no longer had use for him.
And Trump certainly used Barr. Marcotte writes:
To that list I would add his blatant political interference in the Michael Flynn and Roger Stone cases as well as his personal interest in the Durham probe all of which created massive turmoil in his department causing several career prosecutors to leave in disgust. Barr never even tried to hide the fact that he considered it his duty to protect the president and his cronies from prosecution.
William Barr has a political philosophy about the imperial presidency honed by decades of fulminating about the allegedly poor treatment of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan by congressional upstarts and special prosecutors. His infamous, unsolicited memo asserting that Robert Mueller could not charge the president with a crime, echoing those famous words of Richard Nixon ---"if the president does it it's not illegal" --- was what got him the job in the first place. The inane pretense that he is adamantly opposed to "politicizing" the department of justice, even as he politicized it more than any Attorney General in history was a true triumph of gaslighting.
He is also a right-wing culture warrior who believes in authoritarian policies to ensure that the nation subscribes to his definition of "order" and has argued forcefully for a dismantling of secular society (His eagerness to reinstate the federal death penalty and immediately begin executing prisoners as fast as he can speaks to that most clearly.) And yes, he is a hard-core partisan zealot whose so-called principles are applied solely for the benefit of the Republican party.
Frankly, I also think in his private moments he is probably a lot closer to the 1970s Archie Bunker style of old-fashioned bigot that he is willing to let on. He's barely able to hide his revulsion for anyone who doesn't conform to his idea of respectability and it's more than obvious that he is hostile to Black people. And we saw that play out in his reaction to the George Floyd protests and the grotesque militarized responses in Lafayette Square and Portland, Oregon. It's not hard to see why he was so keen to join up with Donald Trump.
However, Barr seems to have realized that Trump's loss means that he's done all he can to create the precedents for future Republican imperial presidents to consolidate their power. He successfully protected his president by exerting his own power while ensuring that the norms he broke are still available for Republicans to use against Democratic administrations. His work is done.
As I mentioned on Monday, there has been some chatter that after Barr took the unusual step of making John Durham into a Special Counsel, which somewhat insulates him from a Biden Department of Justice, Trump wanted Barr to appoint other Special Counsels to investigate the baseless election fraud claims and, of course, Hunter Biden. Presumably, Barr declined to lay these landmines on Trump's behalf because the AP reported on Tuesday that Trump is still obsessing on this idea and has been discussing it with numerous other people including White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
His aides are all pushing him hard to do it because they believe "that a special counsel probe could wound a Biden administration before it even begins." And Trump is still debating whether he should pressure Barr's replacement, Jeffrey Rosen and if he can't persuade him, whether to replace him with someone who will do it. This could end up making the Saturday Night Massacre look like a schoolyard squabble. Trump has even suggested that he might be able to appoint the Special Counsels himself. (Bill Barr's many lessons on the unlimited power of the Imperial President — "I have an Article II!!"— seem to have penetrated.)
It's good to see that Trump has his priorities straight, as usual. Sure, we may still be in the throes of a deadly pandemic and facing logistical complications in getting the vaccines to everyone who needs them. And yes, the congress is flailing about under Mitch "Grim Reaper" McConnell's malevolent desire to make people suffer instead of offering necessary relief. Oh, and we seem to have been the victim of a massive cyber attack by Russia which Trump has not bothered to discuss even once. But that's because he's still busy blustering about voter fraud and plotting to sabotage Joe Biden.
And Bill Barr, his obsequious "resignation" letter notwithstanding, is obviously making a break for it before the whole thing explodes. Perhaps he thinks that by getting out now, before Trump could fire him and replace him with someone who would do even more dirty work to subvert the incoming administration, he will have saved his reputation. But it's way too late for that. Barr will forever be remembered as Donald Trump's Roy Cohn and nothing more.


alternet--2020-12-17--Take a wild guess who won PolitiFact fact-checkers' 'Lie of the Year' award

The fact-checkers at Politifact this year have handed their annual `` Lie of the Year '' award to President Donald Trump and his supporters ' coronavirus denialism , including any `` claims that deny , downplay or disinform about COVID-19 . ''
`` President Donald J. Trump fueled confusion and conspiracies from the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic , '' Politifact managing editor Katie Sanders writes .
`` He embraced theories that COVID-19 accounted for only a small fraction of the thousands upon thousands of deaths .
He undermined public health guidance for wearing masks and cast Dr. Anthony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The fact-checkers at Politifact this year have handed their annual `` Lie of the Year '' award to President Donald Trump and his supporters ' coronavirus denialism , including any `` claims that deny , downplay or disinform about COVID-19 . ''
`` President Donald J. Trump fueled confusion and conspiracies from the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic , '' Politifact managing editor Katie Sanders writes .
`` He embraced theories that COVID-19 accounted for only a small fraction of the thousands upon thousands of deaths .
He undermined public health guidance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fauci as an unreliable flip-flopper . ''
Here 's Trump on February 26 , telling Americans the 15 U.S. cases `` are going to go down to zero . ''
`` Three weeks later , March 19 , he acknowledged to Woodward : 'To be honest with you , I wanted to always play it down .
I still like playing it down .
Because I do n't want to create a panic . '
'' This is not President Trump 's first `` win . ''
In 2019 Politifact awarded Trump the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his false claim that the whistleblower got his Ukraine call `` almost completely wrong . ''
In 2017 Trump also won the award for his lie that Russian election interference is a `` made-up story . ''
Trump was n't the direct `` winner '' of the 2016 `` Lie of the Year '' award , `` fake news '' was .
`` Fake news found a willing enabler in then- candidate Trump , '' Politifact writes , `` who at times repeated and legitimized made-up reports . ''
And in 2015 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the `` campaign misstatements of Donald Trump '' were awarded `` Lie of the Year . ''

The fact-checkers at Politifact this year have handed their annual "Lie of the Year" award to President Donald Trump and his supporters' coronavirus denialism, including any "claims that deny, downplay or disinform about COVID-19."
"President Donald J. Trump fueled confusion and conspiracies from the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic," Politifact managing editor Katie Sanders writes. "He embraced theories that COVID-19 accounted for only a small fraction of the thousands upon thousands of deaths. He undermined public health guidance for wearing masks and cast Dr. Anthony Fauci as an unreliable flip-flopper."
The fact-checkers at Politifact this year have handed their annual "Lie of the Year" award to President Donald Trump and his supporters' coronavirus denialism, including any "claims that deny, downplay or disinform about COVID-19."
"President Donald J. Trump fueled confusion and conspiracies from the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic," Politifact managing editor Katie Sanders writes. "He embraced theories that COVID-19 accounted for only a small fraction of the thousands upon thousands of deaths. He undermined public health guidance for wearing masks and cast Dr. Anthony Fauci as an unreliable flip-flopper."
Here's Trump on February 26, telling Americans the 15 U.S. cases "are going to go down to zero."
"Three weeks later, March 19, he acknowledged to Woodward: 'To be honest with you, I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down. Because I don't want to create a panic.'"
This is not President Trump's first "win." In 2019 Politifact awarded Trump the "Lie of the Year" for his false claim that the whistleblower got his Ukraine call "almost completely wrong."
In 2017 Trump also won the award for his lie that Russian election interference is a "made-up story."
Trump wasn't the direct "winner" of the 2016 "Lie of the Year" award, "fake news" was.
"Fake news found a willing enabler in then- candidate Trump," Politifact writes, "who at times repeated and legitimized made-up reports."
And in 2015, when Trump hit the political stage, the "campaign misstatements of Donald Trump" were awarded "Lie of the Year."


alternet--2020-12-17--Veterans Affairs IG hits Dan Crenshaw with ethics complaint following report he worked to smear fell

Veterans Affairs IG hits Dan Crenshaw with ethics complaint following report he worked to smear fellow vet

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