alternet--2020-12-19--Busted? Why the numbers behind Mitch McConnell's re-election don't add up

On a Thursday in August in Louisville , months before the 2020 election , a parade of cars filled with Kentucky Teamster representatives and labor groups , showed their fury at Mitch McConnell 's constant blocking of critical COVID aid .
They drove by McConnell 's office raucously honking and bearing signs saying `` Mitch better have my money . ''
In 2017 , a Public Policy Polling Survey asked Kentuckians , `` Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Mitch McConnell 's job performance ? ''
Only 18 % approved .
He clawed his rating back up to 39 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
McConnell , leader of Senate Republicans , rarely holds town hall meetings with Kentucky voters—not since a heated exchange with an angry constituent went viral .
So , what exactly drove these angry Kentuckians to reelect Mitch McConnell with a 19-point advantage over opponent Amy McGrath—57.8 % to 38.2 % ?
Even as Republicans across the country still insist that the election was rife with fraudulent Democratic votes , no one 's asking how McConnell managed one of the most lopsided landslides of the Nov. 3 election .
They should .
An @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raises significant questions about the vote tallies in McConnell 's state .
• McConnell racked up huge vote leads in traditionally Democratic strongholds , including counties that he had never before carried .
• There were wide , unexplained discrepancies between the vote counts for presidential candidates and down-ballot candidates .
• Significant anomalies exist in the state 's voter records .
Forty percent of the state 's counties carry more voters on their rolls than voting-age citizens .
• Kentucky and many other states using vote tabulation machines made by Election Systems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at significant odds with pre-election polls .
DCReport focused on the results in three counties in eastern Kentucky 's Appalachian Mountains , two of which Democrats usually always win , but similar patterns emerge in other counties across the state .
Even in counties that voted overwhelmingly for Democrats as recently as the 2019 gubernatorial election , there were a staggering number of Democrats voting Republican in 2020 .
In rural Breathitt County , for instance , there are 9,508 registered Democrats and just 1,599 registered Republicans .
The county has a history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got only 1,652 votes versus 3,738 for McConnell , a 67 % to 29 % trouncing .
McGrath 's votes , if accurate , equaled only 17 % of registered Democrats in Breathitt County .
Conventional political wisdom in McConnell-land holds that these days `` ancestral Kentucky Democrats '' vote Republican , and analysts should n't correlate party registration with voting patterns .
But simply dismissing any anomalies based on anecdotal hearsay ignores the data and other possible explanations .
McConnell won Breathitt County in 2020 with 1,308 more votes than he received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race , which he won by fewer than 400 votes .
The 2019 governor 's race was also a squeaker in Breathitt County , but Democrat Andy Beshear eked out a 69-vote victory .
Beshear won the race statewide .
McConnell 's results were even more out of whack in two other nearby Appalachian counties .
In his six previous Senate elections , Elliott and Wolfe counties had never voted for McConnell .
Even up to last year , Elliott County remained reliably Democratic in non-presidential races , voting for the party 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 2019 statewide elections .
Yet in 2020 , McConnell won 64 % of the votes in Wolfe County and 66 % of the votes in Elliott County .
McGrath only got 21 % of registered Democrats in Wolfe and 20 % in Elliott .
Next , take the premise that there would be some basic logic in the voting patterns of those who did vote Democratic .
One might expect a registered Democrat , who 's going to vote Democratic , would walk into the booth and cast their vote for both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the data tell another story .
In 119 of 120 counties , Amy McGrath got more votes than Joe Biden .
In some counties , the votes were close .
But in counties like Breathitt and Elliott , 1 out of 5 voters appear to have filled out their ballots with votes for both the female Democratic Amy McGrath and the Republican pussy-grabber Donald Trump .
Then there is the question of why a county like Breathitt has more registered voters than it has people of voting age ?
2019 population data shows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ approximately 23 % below the voting age of 18 .
This means approximately 9,700 people are of voting age , yet there are 11,497 registered voters .
Having 100 % of the voting-age population registered would be astounding enough , but Breathitt County appears to have almost 120 % more registered voters than age-eligible citizens .
And looking further , it appears this is not limited to Breathitt .
In November 2017 , Judicial Watch , a right-wing non-partisan foundation promoting transparency , sued Kentucky over its `` Dirty Voter Rolls '' and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lists .
The suit argued that 48 of the 120 Kentucky counties had more registered voters than citizens over the age of 18 and alleged that Kentucky was one of only three states with a statewide active registration rate greater than 100 % of the age-eligible citizen population .
Kentucky 's inflated voter rolls , and lack of transparency , provide a perfect cover for malfeasant behavior regarding the election results .
Turning an 18 % approval into a 58 % win may seem like a `` turning water into wine '' -style @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mirrors '' parlor trick seems more likely .
To better understand how the data could have been manipulated , look no further than Trump 's own legal filings .
In an incompetent post-election lawsuit , the Trump team may have intended to accuse Democrats of election fraud , but in describing a possible plot , they attributed the cheating to Trump himself .
In a Dec. 4 filing in Georgia , Trump 's legal team referred to a `` machine-controlled algorithm deliberately run '' by a voting machine vendor , Dominion Voting Systems @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took more than 2.5 % of the votes from Mr. Biden and flipped them to Mr .
Trump . ''
So Trump 's own legal team , instead of providing evidence of fraud by Biden 's side , may have inadvertently revealed fraud benefiting Trump .
In describing a deliberate , vendor installed , machine-controlled algorithm automatically taking a percentage of Biden 's votes and giving them to Trump , they certainly are outlining how fraud could have been executed .
Trump 's team claims Dominion was the machine vendor embedding algorithms to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pointing to one machine vendor to distract from another ?
In Kentucky , when looking at counties where the numbers leap out on behalf of Mitch McConnell , none used Dominion machines .
Most used machines from Election Systems & Software ( ES & S ) , a Dominion competitor .
If you swap ES & S for Dominion in the alleged vote-flipping scheme , you may arrive at an alternate explanation for why Amy McGrath 's numbers were n't lining up and correlating with Biden 's .
To steal an election it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for each race on the ballot so results did not appear to be uniform .
Knowing the McGrath-McConnell race faced more nationwide scrutiny , schemers might have had to miscount votes by different margins in the presidential and Senate races .
Flipping more votes from Biden to Trump than McGrath votes to McConnell would explain her getting approximately 20 % more votes than the Democratic presidential candidate .
Significantly , Trump and his post-election legal team have pointed at Dominion voting machines and implored courts to look into this automated vote-flipping premise—but only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , let 's test it in ES & S states like Kentucky where Trump won .
McConnell had his biggest percentage of registered Democrats voting Republican in counties using ES & S machines .
But he was n't the only senator to perform so well .
Other Republican incumbents , whom polls indicated would have close races , had similar luck to their majority leader on election day .
Lindsey Graham 's race in South Carolina was so tight that he infamously begged for money , yet he won with a comfortable 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout the state .
In Susan Collins 's Maine , where she never had a lead in a poll after July 2 , almost every ballot was fed through ES & S machines .
Kentucky , South Carolina , Maine , Texas , Iowa and Florida are all states that use ES & S machines .
Maybe the polls did n't actually get it wrong .
When Trump says `` look over here '' at Dominion voting machines , maybe we should look at ES & S machines instead .
When Republicans spout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , maybe we should be looking at Republican vote totals instead .
And when Trump calls this the most fraudulent election in our history , maybe he knows of what he speaks .
You can follow Alison Greene on Twitter @ GrassrootsSpeak .

On a Thursday in August in Louisville, months before the 2020 election, a parade of cars filled with Kentucky Teamster representatives and labor groups, showed their fury at Mitch McConnell's constant blocking of critical COVID aid. They drove by McConnell's office raucously honking and bearing signs saying "Mitch better have my money."
In 2017, a Public Policy Polling Survey asked Kentuckians, "Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Mitch McConnell's job performance?" Only 18% approved. He clawed his rating back up to 39% on the eve of the election.
McConnell, leader of Senate Republicans, rarely holds town hall meetings with Kentucky voters—not since a heated exchange with an angry constituent went viral.
1 out of 5 voters appear to have filled out their ballots with votes for both the female Democratic Amy McGrath and the Republican pussy-grabber Donald Trump.
So, what exactly drove these angry Kentuckians to reelect Mitch McConnell with a 19-point advantage over opponent Amy McGrath—57.8% to 38.2%?
Even as Republicans across the country still insist that the election was rife with fraudulent Democratic votes, no one's asking how McConnell managed one of the most lopsided landslides of the Nov. 3 election. They should. An investigation of Kentucky voting results by DCReport raises significant questions about the vote tallies in McConnell's state.
McConnell racked up huge vote leads in traditionally Democratic strongholds, including counties that he had never before carried.
There were wide, unexplained discrepancies between the vote counts for presidential candidates and down-ballot candidates.
Significant anomalies exist in the state's voter records. Forty percent of the state's counties carry more voters on their rolls than voting-age citizens.
Kentucky and many other states using vote tabulation machines made by Election Systems & Software all reported down-ballot race results at significant odds with pre-election polls.
[caption id="attachment_21747" align="aligncenter" width="625"] The 2020 Kentucky U.S. Senate election results map[/caption]
DCReport focused on the results in three counties in eastern Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains, two of which Democrats usually always win, but similar patterns emerge in other counties across the state. Even in counties that voted overwhelmingly for Democrats as recently as the 2019 gubernatorial election, there were a staggering number of Democrats voting Republican in 2020.
In rural Breathitt County, for instance, there are 9,508 registered Democrats and just 1,599 registered Republicans. The county has a history of close contests, but Amy McGrath got only 1,652 votes versus 3,738 for McConnell, a 67% to 29% trouncing. McGrath's votes, if accurate, equaled only 17% of registered Democrats in Breathitt County.
Conventional political wisdom in McConnell-land holds that these days "ancestral Kentucky Democrats" vote Republican, and analysts shouldn't correlate party registration with voting patterns. But simply dismissing any anomalies based on anecdotal hearsay ignores the data and other possible explanations. McConnell won Breathitt County in 2020 with 1,308 more votes than he received in the county's much closer 2014 race, which he won by fewer than 400 votes. The 2019 governor's race was also a squeaker in Breathitt County, but Democrat Andy Beshear eked out a 69-vote victory. Beshear won the race statewide.
McConnell's results were even more out of whack in two other nearby Appalachian counties. In his six previous Senate elections, Elliott and Wolfe counties had never voted for McConnell. Even up to last year, Elliott County remained reliably Democratic in non-presidential races, voting for the party's entire Democratic slate in both the 2015 and 2019 statewide elections. Yet in 2020, McConnell won 64% of the votes in Wolfe County and 66% of the votes in Elliott County. McGrath only got 21% of registered Democrats in Wolfe and 20% in Elliott.
Next, take the premise that there would be some basic logic in the voting patterns of those who did vote Democratic. One might expect a registered Democrat, who's going to vote Democratic, would walk into the booth and cast their vote for both Joe Biden and Amy McGrath. But the data tell another story. In 119 of 120 counties, Amy McGrath got more votes than Joe Biden. In some counties, the votes were close. But in counties like Breathitt and Elliott, 1 out of 5 voters appear to have filled out their ballots with votes for both the female Democratic Amy McGrath and the Republican pussy-grabber Donald Trump.
Then there is the question of why a county like Breathitt has more registered voters than it has people of voting age? 2019 population data shows that Breathitt County had 12,630 people with approximately 23% below the voting age of 18. This means approximately 9,700 people are of voting age, yet there are 11,497 registered voters. Having 100% of the voting-age population registered would be astounding enough, but Breathitt County appears to have almost 120% more registered voters than age-eligible citizens. And looking further, it appears this is not limited to Breathitt.
In November 2017, Judicial Watch, a right-wing non-partisan foundation promoting transparency, sued Kentucky over its "Dirty Voter Rolls" and its failure to maintain accurate voter registration lists. The suit argued that 48 of the 120 Kentucky counties had more registered voters than citizens over the age of 18 and alleged that Kentucky was one of only three states with a statewide active registration rate greater than 100% of the age-eligible citizen population. Kentucky's inflated voter rolls, and lack of transparency, provide a perfect cover for malfeasant behavior regarding the election results.
Turning an 18% approval into a 58% win may seem like a "turning water into wine"-style miracle, but a "smoke & mirrors" parlor trick seems more likely. To better understand how the data could have been manipulated, look no further than Trump's own legal filings. In an incompetent post-election lawsuit, the Trump team may have intended to accuse Democrats of election fraud, but in describing a possible plot, they attributed the cheating to Trump himself.
In a Dec. 4 filing in Georgia, Trump's legal team referred to a "machine-controlled algorithm deliberately run" by a voting machine vendor, Dominion Voting Systems. They allege this algorithm "generally took more than 2.5% of the votes from Mr. Biden and flipped them to Mr. Trump." So Trump's own legal team, instead of providing evidence of fraud by Biden's side, may have inadvertently revealed fraud benefiting Trump. In describing a deliberate, vendor installed, machine-controlled algorithm automatically taking a percentage of Biden's votes and giving them to Trump, they certainly are outlining how fraud could have been executed.
Trump's team claims Dominion was the machine vendor embedding algorithms to "flip" votes but is Trump pointing to one machine vendor to distract from another?
In Kentucky, when looking at counties where the numbers leap out on behalf of Mitch McConnell, none used Dominion machines. Most used machines from Election Systems & Software (ES&S), a Dominion competitor. If you swap ES&S for Dominion in the alleged vote-flipping scheme, you may arrive at an alternate explanation for why Amy McGrath's numbers weren't lining up and correlating with Biden's.
To steal an election it may make sense to use different algorithms for each race on the ballot so results did not appear to be uniform. Knowing the McGrath-McConnell race faced more nationwide scrutiny, schemers might have had to miscount votes by different margins in the presidential and Senate races. Flipping more votes from Biden to Trump than McGrath votes to McConnell would explain her getting approximately 20% more votes than the Democratic presidential candidate.
Significantly, Trump and his post-election legal team have pointed at Dominion voting machines and implored courts to look into this automated vote-flipping premise—but only in states that he lost. So, let's test it in ES&S states like Kentucky where Trump won.
McConnell had his biggest percentage of registered Democrats voting Republican in counties using ES&S machines. But he wasn't the only senator to perform so well. Other Republican incumbents, whom polls indicated would have close races, had similar luck to their majority leader on election day.
Lindsey Graham's race in South Carolina was so tight that he infamously begged for money, yet he won with a comfortable 10% lead—tabulated on ES&S machines throughout the state. In Susan Collins's Maine, where she never had a lead in a poll after July 2, almost every ballot was fed through ES&S machines. Kentucky, South Carolina, Maine, Texas, Iowa and Florida are all states that use ES&S machines. Maybe the polls didn't actually get it wrong.
When Trump says "look over here" at Dominion voting machines, maybe we should look at ES&S machines instead. When Republicans spout unfounded claims that Democrats stole the election, maybe we should be looking at Republican vote totals instead. And when Trump calls this the most fraudulent election in our history, maybe he knows of what he speaks.
You can follow Alison Greene on Twitter @GrassrootsSpeak.


alternet--2020-12-20--Fox News viewers lose it over 'sell out' Maria Bartiromo after show airs segment debunking election

Fox News viewers lose it over 'sell out' Maria Bartiromo after show airs segment debunking election fraud claims

Fox News viewers lashed out at the network over the weekend after several shows aired a segment undermining President Donald Trump 's claims of election fraud .
According to reports , at least one Fox Business host and as many as three Fox News hosts aired a pre-taped segment with voting systems expert Edward Perez on Smartmatic , a voting systems software company .
The interview was aired again on Sunday by Maria Bartiromo , one of President Donald Trump 's top defenders on the network .
The segment was met with contempt from viewers , who refused to believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debunked .
`` So I guess @ MariaBartiromo just sold out-shameful , '' one viewer wrote on Twitter .
`` @ FoxNews needs to be ashamed for making her air this tripe , '' another viewer tweeted .
`` Who got to @ MariaBartiromo ? ''
another commenter complained .
`` Why has she put this fraud Eddie Perez , clearly an apologist for Smartmatic , on her show TWICE to read scripted denials to scripted questions -- right down to reading back the questions , a deposition trick taught by good trial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sent to Fox News last week , Smartmatic accused the network of a `` disinformation campaign '' '' Over the course of the campaign , Fox News published and republished dozens of false and misleading statements regarding Smartmatic , '' the statement said .
Watch the video and read some of the responses below .

Fox News viewers lashed out at the network over the weekend after several shows aired a segment undermining President Donald Trump's claims of election fraud.
According to reports, at least one Fox Business host and as many as three Fox News hosts aired a pre-taped segment with voting systems expert Edward Perez on Smartmatic, a voting systems software company.
The interview was aired again on Sunday by Maria Bartiromo, one of President Donald Trump's top defenders on the network.
The segment was met with contempt from viewers, who refused to believe that the election fraud claims had been debunked.
"So I guess @MariaBartiromo just sold out-shameful," one viewer wrote on Twitter.
"@FoxNews needs to be ashamed for making her air this tripe," another viewer tweeted.
"Who got to @MariaBartiromo?" another commenter complained. "Why has she put this fraud Eddie Perez, clearly an apologist for Smartmatic, on her show TWICE to read scripted denials to scripted questions-- right down to reading back the questions, a deposition trick taught by good trial attorneys?"
In a legal notice sent to Fox News last week, Smartmatic accused the network of a "disinformation campaign"
"Over the course of the campaign, Fox News published and republished dozens of false and misleading statements regarding Smartmatic," the statement said.
Watch the video and read some of the responses below.
Maria Bartiromo airs segment debunking election fraud claims youtu.be


alternet--2020-12-20--Meet the Republican senator blocking stimulus checks for 382 million Americans

Right now an estimated 12.6 million Americans are out of work and many more are struggling as the worsening COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered numerous businesses and industries .
The last time Congress provided $ 1,200 economic stimulus checks to individual Americans was in March .
Nine months have passed since then .
But as President Donald Trump , Democratic Congress members and 11 Republican Senators have all signaled their readiness to provide a new round of $ 1,200 checks to 382 million Americans , one Republican senator has voted down the measure twice : Senator Ron Johnson of Minnesota .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ block a measure that would 've issue the checks to every U.S. resident .
`` I 'm not heartless , '' Johnson said , defending his votes .
`` I want to help people .
I voted to help people .
I voted for the $ 2.2 trillion CARES Act , but I also am concerned about our children 's future . ''
Johnson said he 's concerned that the costs of issuing checks would inflate the national debt , nevermind that alleviating economic worries would help heal the increases in drug use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increased during the nearly year-long economic downturn .
On December 10 , Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and Independent Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont pushed colleagues to vote for a second round of stimulus checks .
In separate speeches , both senators said the checks should mirror those issued early in the pandemic which gave $ 1,200 to adults and $ 500 for each child .
The first checks were passed with bipartisan and presidential approval at a point when the pandemic was less severe than it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , Politico reported that the latest $ 908 billion economic stimulus package being negotiated in Congress only allotted for $ 600 stimulus checks .

Right now an estimated 12.6 million Americans are out of work and many more are struggling as the worsening COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered numerous businesses and industries. The last time Congress provided $1,200 economic stimulus checks to individual Americans was in March. Nine months have passed since then.
But as President Donald Trump, Democratic Congress members and 11 Republican Senators have all signaled their readiness to provide a new round of $1,200 checks to 382 million Americans, one Republican senator has voted down the measure twice: Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
On Friday, Johnson voted twice to block a measure that would've issue the checks to every U.S. resident.
"I'm not heartless," Johnson said, defending his votes. "I want to help people. I voted to help people. I voted for the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, but I also am concerned about our children's future."
Johnson said he's concerned that the costs of issuing checks would inflate the national debt, nevermind that alleviating economic worries would help heal the increases in drug use, depression and domestic abuse that have increased during the nearly year-long economic downturn.
On December 10, Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and Independent Senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders of Vermont pushed colleagues to vote for a second round of stimulus checks. In separate speeches, both senators said the checks should mirror those issued early in the pandemic which gave $1,200 to adults and $500 for each child. The first checks were passed with bipartisan and presidential approval at a point when the pandemic was less severe than it is now.
As of Thursday, however, Politico reported that the latest $908 billion economic stimulus package being negotiated in Congress only allotted for $600 stimulus checks.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Sen. Ron Johnson is from Minnesota. It has been updated.


alternet--2020-12-20--How Dan Brown turned my parents into QAnoners

If you have n't heard of the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon by now , perhaps it 's irresponsible of me to tell you about it .
Essentially , a member of a sketchy Internet forum alleged that he is a high level government official with secret information about a satanic cult run by Democrat pedophiles and their sex-trafficking associates .
It 's the same old antisemitic dogwhistle all over again , but with a fun new twist : President Donald Trump has surreptitiously dedicated his career , not to shady business practices , but to taking them down .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can find and figure out the unspecified clues , such as the `` strategic '' spelling errors in the President 's tweets ( covfefe ! )
.
Despite being widely regarded by experts and intelligence officials as at best baseless and at worst a source of domestic terror , the QAnon movement continues to accrue members at an alarming rate .
A recent article stated that roughly one-third of Republicans who had heard of QAnon believe it has merit .
How can so many disregard the clear and obvious facts printed in mainstream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ improbably vast conspiracy ?
For the same reasons that they fell in love with `` The Da Vinci Code '' 17 years ago .
A palace intrigue of epic proportions .
Codes and puzzles hidden in plain sight , with a a mysterious man acting as the augur .
A shadowy organization involved in dark rituals with global stakes .
And you , reader , are breathlessly tasked with solving the riddle in real time , using the clues , your natural intuition , and perhaps your internet search engine of choice .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ was published in 2003 , it f**king blew my 13-year-old mind .
I was dazzled by Dan Brown 's ability to create elaborate , heart-racing puzzles that were self-contained and yet felt like they reframed the world around me .
Dan Brown also pioneered short chapters and constant cliffhangers , analogous to the techniques later used by social media companies to hopelessly addict us all ( endless scrolling , intentionally delayed notifications , etc. )
.
Beyond that , Dan Brown asked plausible questions about familiar aspects of Western culture .
Take , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ iconic cover : I dare you to name a more renowned painting than the Mona Lisa .
With a few pieces of obscure trivia or alleged historical interpretations , he could make compelling arguments that `` things are n't always what they seem , '' especially when it comes to Catholicism .
This struck me hard : a teenage boy trying to reconcile my own lack of faith within a pervasively theistic culture , as well as a burgeoning alienation from a power structure that seemed so self-serving .
As my fiancée put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I think Dan Brown taught me critical thinking . ''
And Dan Brown was successful by any given metric .
`` The Da Vinci Code '' received a glowing review in the New York Times , sold 80 million copies worldwide ( outsold that year only by `` Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix '' ) , and launched an immensely lucrative film franchise .
Dan Brown himself earned spots in the Times 100 Most Influential People and Forbes Celebrity 100 .
The book exceeded traditional notions of literary success @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You can probably find a copy of an `` unauthorized guide '' to `` The Da Vinci Code '' on all of your parents ' bookshelves , with a title along the lines of `` Decoding Da Vinci '' or `` Secrets of the Code '' ( I found two ! )
.
In fact , it 's hard to think of a book that necessitates a compulsory explainer companion book outside of Ulysses , widely lauded as the best book of the century .
`` The Da Vinci Code '' was an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was shocked to find upon revisiting the book as an adult that it is absolute , unadulterated trash .
Just really poor , from top to bottom .
Let 's start with the basics : the actual quality of the writing .
Not plot ( we 'll get there ) , the words themselves .
Teabing reminded .
.
.
Teabing reminded who ?
REMINDED WHO ?
Who is he reminding in this space that is so reverberant , it has echoes ?
I am not the first to point out what a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is .
I am just maybe the last and most surprised to realize it .
Unsophisticated 13-year-old me did not notice .
I did n't have a frame of reference .
I had not read the Pulitzer Prize winner that year ( Jeffrey Eugenides ' `` Middlesex '' ) , or maybe from any year .
I had not even read other less literary , but nonetheless well-regarded books published that year , like `` The Kite Runner , '' `` The Time Traveler 's Wife , '' and `` The Curious Incident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Maybe the book that I missed that year that would 've been the most useful to reassessing my opinion of `` The Da Vinci Code '' was Lynn Truss 's humorous take on grammar , `` Eats , Shoots , and Leaves . ''
Reading the book as an adult , I could n't wrap my mind around the success of the book .
Presumably , many of the adults who kept `` Da Vinci Code '' a bestseller for 20 weeks in 2003 and well into 2004 had read some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not for sale at the supermarket , and decided to look past the truly awful quality of the writing because of .
.
.
the plotting ?
Let me remind ( `` He reminded… '' ) anyone who has n't picked the book up in several decades , the plot is .
.
.
also bad .
Spoilers ahead .
An art curator is murdered in the Louvre .
With his dying breath , he leaves a long , long trail of clues to lead his granddaughter to her long-lost grandmother in order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a descendent of Jesus Christ and that her grandfather and his freaky sex cult have been hiding her !
Robert Langdon , our everyman hero , but also an expert in .
.
.
symbols .
.
.
is enlisted to solve the `` historical '' and `` challenging '' riddles along the way .
For instance , Langdon determines that the code to open the first safe is .
.
.
the granddaughter 's first name !
Revealing that inside that safe is a slightly smaller safe .
Riveting .
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or at least this is n't his greatest fault .
He built a clumsy labyrinth based on half-heard conspiracy theories , well known hoaxes , and misunderstood speculation that came up in his most cursory of research to form the basis for a very modest pulpy thriller .
He initially described the book as just `` an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate . ''
Many authors have made more money doing less .
What confused me is how `` The Da Vinci Code '' became a cultural phenomenon in its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ himself .
Take `` Harry Potter , '' for instance .
I think you 'd be hard pressed to find a primer on traditional English magic practices with any of your friends ' copies of `` Harry Potter . ''
Of course `` Harry Potter '' spun up a cottage industry of its own , but these were all dedicated to the world J.K. Rowling built , not the one she referenced .
If `` Harry Potter and the Cursed Child '' did n't feature the guy 's name in the title ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ J.K. ) , there would have been as much interest in it as in any `` Harry Potter '' fan fiction , which is to say , marginal and within a very specific community of `` Harry Potter '' fans .
Yet the lowercase `` Da Vinci code '' became a standalone icon – the very idea that the art and institutions around us are filled with clues that have secret meanings ( look at the eye on the dollar bill ! )
.
Dan Brown was just a cipher .
He revealed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ da Vinci to Isaac Newton to Jesus Christ ( to the Illuminati , *gasp* , in the prequel ) , in a huge global conspiracy that is actively being covered up by the Catholic Church .
This idea was so pervasive that it overshadowed any attempts at objectivity .
It did n't matter that `` The Da Vinci Code '' was actually Dan Brown 's fourth book ( not including the Boomer humor marriage books he wrote with his ex-wife ) , with themes generally including conspiracies , shadowy organizations , assassins , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter that Dan Brown had none of the qualifications of his surrogate , Harvard University professor of `` symbology , '' and had in fact been making children 's music prior to his big success .
It did n't matter that expert after expert chimed in , disputing every element of Christianity , art , history , and even some very easily verifiable geography .
We still bought into the idea that Dan Brown 's book revealed some sort of truth .
It appears that there were two drivers at work here : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brown wrote `` The Da Vinci Code '' on the basis of some interesting idea he 'd maybe heard or read in a conspiracy book that fit neatly within whatever thriller plot was already boiling in his brain .
It 's nothing more than what Michael Crichton has done dozens of times ( although `` Jurassic Park '' was more likely to lead a younger reader into a STEM career than to spark a manhunt for the secret lab where scientists are cloning dinosaurs ) .
At some point during the burgeoning success @ @ @ @ @ @ @ marketing team at the publisher decided it would be more lucrative to lean into the demonstrably false idea that maybe , just maybe the tiniest amount of actual research had gone into validating any of the `` historical '' elements underlying the plot .
I think this probably resonated with Dan Brown himself , who now started telling reporters that `` the background [ of the book ] is all true , '' including all the secret societies and rituals , and that `` The Da Vinci Code '' could nearly stand alone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ second element that catapulted `` The Da Vinci Code '' was the advent of Google .
By 2003 , the internet had made its way into the majority of American homes , and I would imagine that a Venn diagram of `` The Da Vinci Code '' readers crossed with internet users had very little space outside of the union .
Additionally , by 2003 Google was quickly becoming `` the internet , '' with 200 million searches conducted every day by the time of its highly anticipated IPO in 2004 .
Google @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What was once the domain of research experts was now public domain .
Anyone could investigate any topic to their heart 's content .
Simultaneously , what had once needed to pass through layers of gatekeeping ( editors , publishers , etc . )
could now be posted for millions to read with the click of a button .
Due to the workings of mysterious algorithms , that self-published diatribe may be presented on the front page of Google search results , alongside other works of known and unknown repute .
Not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difference , but older generations coming to the internet did n't have the learned skepticism of my generation , who were constantly reminded that Wikipedia was not a reliable source .
And so Joe Public gained the resources of the experts without the critical eye and training .
The reader no longer needed to rely on the experts to determine whether the book was a gimmick ( and maybe could n't trust the experts either , if the conspiracies are correct ! )
.
The reader could go to Google and find articles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order to form their own opinion .
The ultimate genius of `` The Da Vinci Code '' was n't in its bad writing or its poor plotting ; it was in the book 's ability to allow the reader to LARP being an investigator and religious scholar to uncover arcane knowledge that `` they '' do n't want you to know .
This intent was further evidenced by the Internet forum ready codes and puzzles hidden within the book dust jacket itself , and was further validated by the Google-led cross-promotional `` WebQuest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The QAnon phenomen has frequently been referenced as a bad Dan Brown plot .
In fact , it is more than that ; it is exactly a Dan Brown plot , where dumb and obvious codes are meant to mimic intellectualism .
Like `` The Da Vinci Code '' readers , QAnoners do n't want to feel like they 're being told what to believe , especially not by a media that would have to be complicit for the conspiracy to be true in the first place .
Instead , they use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which is that veracity can be defined by the existence and confirmation of sources , rather than the credibility of sources .
This time , our parents are n't going to Google to sleuth for political sex cults , at least not initially .
They 're finding their information on Twitter and Facebook , the modern bastions for fantasy `` confirmation bias '' bait that corroborates what they already know , which is that conspiracies can be found if you 're `` woke '' to them and `` savvy '' enough to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their heart-racing hunt leads to Google , it does n't matter that they 're only finding references within references to since deleted forum posts or Alex Jones videos about lizard people , they 've already gotten the dopamine rush of being in the know , of solving the challenging , obscure puzzle .
Unfortunately , the stakes are now quite larger than a book series outperforming the skill of its writer .
A person who is just mildly receptive to the QAnon ideology may find themselves disillusioned with their inability to reconcile fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to dishonest charges of `` fake news '' and unable to trust any subject matter expert who has dedicated their career to approaching as closely as possible to an objective truth .
Whereas a QAnon enthusiast may become further entrenched in a destructive fantasy far removed from any shared reality , a vicious cycle that alienates them from anyone with an opposing viewpoint .
I am by no means suggesting that Dan Brown is exclusively responsible for problems inherent to the Age of Misinformation .
However , the parallels between `` The Da @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to overlook .
It 's high past time , looking at my collector 's edition Mickey Mouse wristwatch that had been a gift from my parents on my tenth birthday ( as mentioned every 10 pages of `` The Da Vinci Code '' ) , for Dan Brown to make a statement .

If you haven't heard of the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon by now, perhaps it's irresponsible of me to tell you about it. Essentially, a member of a sketchy Internet forum alleged that he is a high level government official with secret information about a satanic cult run by Democrat pedophiles and their sex-trafficking associates. It's the same old antisemitic dogwhistle all over again, but with a fun new twist: President Donald Trump has surreptitiously dedicated his career, not to shady business practices, but to taking them down. And you can help him, if you can find and figure out the unspecified clues, such as the "strategic" spelling errors in the President's tweets (covfefe!). Despite being widely regarded by experts and intelligence officials as at best baseless and at worst a source of domestic terror, the QAnon movement continues to accrue members at an alarming rate. A recent article stated that roughly one-third of Republicans who had heard of QAnon believe it has merit.
How can so many disregard the clear and obvious facts printed in mainstream media in order to believe in an improbably vast conspiracy? For the same reasons that they fell in love with "The Da Vinci Code" 17 years ago. A palace intrigue of epic proportions. Codes and puzzles hidden in plain sight, with a a mysterious man acting as the augur. A shadowy organization involved in dark rituals with global stakes. And you, reader, are breathlessly tasked with solving the riddle in real time, using the clues, your natural intuition, and perhaps your internet search engine of choice.
When "The Da Vinci Code" was published in 2003, it f**king blew my 13-year-old mind. I was dazzled by Dan Brown's ability to create elaborate, heart-racing puzzles that were self-contained and yet felt like they reframed the world around me. Dan Brown also pioneered short chapters and constant cliffhangers, analogous to the techniques later used by social media companies to hopelessly addict us all (endless scrolling, intentionally delayed notifications, etc.).
Beyond that, Dan Brown asked plausible questions about familiar aspects of Western culture. Take, for instance, the lady on the iconic cover: I dare you to name a more renowned painting than the Mona Lisa. With a few pieces of obscure trivia or alleged historical interpretations, he could make compelling arguments that "things aren't always what they seem," especially when it comes to Catholicism. This struck me hard: a teenage boy trying to reconcile my own lack of faith within a pervasively theistic culture, as well as a burgeoning alienation from a power structure that seemed so self-serving. As my fiancée put it, "I think . . . I think Dan Brown taught me critical thinking."
And Dan Brown was successful by any given metric. "The Da Vinci Code" received a glowing review in the New York Times, sold 80 million copies worldwide (outsold that year only by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"), and launched an immensely lucrative film franchise. Dan Brown himself earned spots in the Times 100 Most Influential People and Forbes Celebrity 100. The book exceeded traditional notions of literary success in a way that few do. You can probably find a copy of an "unauthorized guide" to "The Da Vinci Code" on all of your parents' bookshelves, with a title along the lines of "Decoding Da Vinci" or "Secrets of the Code" (I found two!). In fact, it's hard to think of a book that necessitates a compulsory explainer companion book outside of Ulysses, widely lauded as the best book of the century. "The Da Vinci Code" was an Important Book.
This is why I was shocked to find upon revisiting the book as an adult that it is absolute, unadulterated trash. Just really poor, from top to bottom. Let's start with the basics: the actual quality of the writing. Not plot (we'll get there), the words themselves.
"The Knights Templar were warriors," Teabing reminded, the sound of his aluminum crutches echoing in this reverberant space.
Teabing reminded . . . Teabing reminded who? REMINDED WHO? Who is he reminding in this space that is so reverberant, it has echoes?
I am not the first to point out what a clumsy, awful writer that Dan Brown is. I am just maybe the last and most surprised to realize it. Unsophisticated 13-year-old me did not notice. I didn't have a frame of reference. I had not read the Pulitzer Prize winner that year (Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex"), or maybe from any year. I had not even read other less literary, but nonetheless well-regarded books published that year, like "The Kite Runner,""The Time Traveler's Wife," and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." Maybe the book that I missed that year that would've been the most useful to reassessing my opinion of "The Da Vinci Code" was Lynn Truss's humorous take on grammar, "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves."
Reading the book as an adult, I couldn't wrap my mind around the success of the book. Presumably, many of the adults who kept "Da Vinci Code" a bestseller for 20 weeks in 2003 and well into 2004 had read some of these books, or really any book not for sale at the supermarket, and decided to look past the truly awful quality of the writing because of . . . the plotting?
Let me remind ("He reminded…") anyone who hasn't picked the book up in several decades, the plot is . . . also bad. Spoilers ahead. An art curator is murdered in the Louvre. With his dying breath, he leaves a long, long trail of clues to lead his granddaughter to her long-lost grandmother in order to find out *gasp* that she's a descendent of Jesus Christ and that her grandfather and his freaky sex cult have been hiding her! Robert Langdon, our everyman hero, but also an expert in . . . symbols . . . is enlisted to solve the "historical" and "challenging" riddles along the way. For instance, Langdon determines that the code to open the first safe is . . . the granddaughter's first name! Revealing that inside that safe is a slightly smaller safe. Riveting.
This isn't a knock on Dan Brown, or at least this isn't his greatest fault. He built a clumsy labyrinth based on half-heard conspiracy theories, well known hoaxes, and misunderstood speculation that came up in his most cursory of research to form the basis for a very modest pulpy thriller. He initially described the book as just "an entertaining story that promotes spiritual discussion and debate." Many authors have made more money doing less.
What confused me is how "The Da Vinci Code" became a cultural phenomenon in its own right, even transcending Dan Brown himself. Take "Harry Potter," for instance. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a primer on traditional English magic practices with any of your friends' copies of "Harry Potter." Of course "Harry Potter" spun up a cottage industry of its own, but these were all dedicated to the world J.K. Rowling built, not the one she referenced. If "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" didn't feature the guy's name in the title (and a very liberal writing credit to J.K.), there would have been as much interest in it as in any "Harry Potter" fan fiction, which is to say, marginal and within a very specific community of "Harry Potter" fans. Yet the lowercase "Da Vinci code" became a standalone icon – the very idea that the art and institutions around us are filled with clues that have secret meanings (look at the eye on the dollar bill!). Dan Brown was just a cipher. He revealed that everything was connected, from Leonardo da Vinci to Isaac Newton to Jesus Christ (to the Illuminati, *gasp*, in the prequel), in a huge global conspiracy that is actively being covered up by the Catholic Church.
This idea was so pervasive that it overshadowed any attempts at objectivity. It didn't matter that "The Da Vinci Code" was actually Dan Brown's fourth book (not including the Boomer humor marriage books he wrote with his ex-wife), with themes generally including conspiracies, shadowy organizations, assassins, and sometimes aliens. It didn't matter that Dan Brown had none of the qualifications of his surrogate, Harvard University professor of "symbology," and had in fact been making children's music prior to his big success. It didn't matter that expert after expert chimed in, disputing every element of Christianity, art, history, and even some very easily verifiable geography. We still bought into the idea that Dan Brown's book revealed some sort of truth.
It appears that there were two drivers at work here: the first was great marketing. Dan Brown wrote "The Da Vinci Code" on the basis of some interesting idea he'd maybe heard or read in a conspiracy book that fit neatly within whatever thriller plot was already boiling in his brain. It's nothing more than what Michael Crichton has done dozens of times (although "Jurassic Park" was more likely to lead a younger reader into a STEM career than to spark a manhunt for the secret lab where scientists are cloning dinosaurs). At some point during the burgeoning success of the book, however, the marketing team at the publisher decided it would be more lucrative to lean into the demonstrably false idea that maybe, just maybe the tiniest amount of actual research had gone into validating any of the "historical" elements underlying the plot. I think this probably resonated with Dan Brown himself, who now started telling reporters that "the background [of the book] is all true," including all the secret societies and rituals, and that "The Da Vinci Code" could nearly stand alone as a piece of nonfiction.
The second element that catapulted "The Da Vinci Code" was the advent of Google. By 2003, the internet had made its way into the majority of American homes, and I would imagine that a Venn diagram of "The Da Vinci Code" readers crossed with internet users had very little space outside of the union. Additionally, by 2003 Google was quickly becoming "the internet," with 200 million searches conducted every day by the time of its highly anticipated IPO in 2004. Google transformed our relationship with the published word. What was once the domain of research experts was now public domain. Anyone could investigate any topic to their heart's content. Simultaneously, what had once needed to pass through layers of gatekeeping (editors, publishers, etc.) could now be posted for millions to read with the click of a button. Due to the workings of mysterious algorithms, that self-published diatribe may be presented on the front page of Google search results, alongside other works of known and unknown repute. Not only was it hard to tell the difference, but older generations coming to the internet didn't have the learned skepticism of my generation, who were constantly reminded that Wikipedia was not a reliable source. And so Joe Public gained the resources of the experts without the critical eye and training.
The reader no longer needed to rely on the experts to determine whether the book was a gimmick (and maybe couldn't trust the experts either, if the conspiracies are correct!). The reader could go to Google and find articles of undetermined quality and unverified accuracy in order to form their own opinion. The ultimate genius of "The Da Vinci Code" wasn't in its bad writing or its poor plotting; it was in the book's ability to allow the reader to LARP being an investigator and religious scholar to uncover arcane knowledge that "they" don't want you to know. This intent was further evidenced by the Internet forum ready codes and puzzles hidden within the book dust jacket itself, and was further validated by the Google-led cross-promotional "WebQuest" advertising campaign designed for the movie.
The QAnon phenomen has frequently been referenced as a bad Dan Brown plot. In fact, it is more than that; it is exactly a Dan Brown plot, where dumb and obvious codes are meant to mimic intellectualism. Like "The Da Vinci Code" readers, QAnoners don't want to feel like they're being told what to believe, especially not by a media that would have to be complicit for the conspiracy to be true in the first place. Instead, they use the critical thinking espoused by Dan Brown, which is that veracity can be defined by the existence and confirmation of sources, rather than the credibility of sources. This time, our parents aren't going to Google to sleuth for political sex cults, at least not initially. They're finding their information on Twitter and Facebook, the modern bastions for fantasy "confirmation bias" bait that corroborates what they already know, which is that conspiracies can be found if you're "woke" to them and "savvy" enough to disregard obvious truths. By the time their heart-racing hunt leads to Google, it doesn't matter that they're only finding references within references to since deleted forum posts or Alex Jones videos about lizard people, they've already gotten the dopamine rush of being in the know, of solving the challenging, obscure puzzle.
Unfortunately, the stakes are now quite larger than a book series outperforming the skill of its writer. A person who is just mildly receptive to the QAnon ideology may find themselves disillusioned with their inability to reconcile fact and fiction, leaving them further exposed to dishonest charges of "fake news" and unable to trust any subject matter expert who has dedicated their career to approaching as closely as possible to an objective truth. Whereas a QAnon enthusiast may become further entrenched in a destructive fantasy far removed from any shared reality, a vicious cycle that alienates them from anyone with an opposing viewpoint.
I am by no means suggesting that Dan Brown is exclusively responsible for problems inherent to the Age of Misinformation. However, the parallels between "The Da Vinci Code" and QAnon are hard to overlook. It's high past time, looking at my collector's edition Mickey Mouse wristwatch that had been a gift from my parents on my tenth birthday (as mentioned every 10 pages of "The Da Vinci Code"), for Dan Brown to make a statement.


alternet--2020-12-20--How fascism came to America

How fascism came to America

It has been said that when fascism comes to America , it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross .
This well-known line has been attributed to a number of people — most often to novelist Sinclair Lewis , but also to socialist leader Eugene V. Debs and even to populist Louisiana senator Huey Long — but none of them wrote or said it in precisely the way it has come down to us .
It appears to be an aphoristic stone nicely polished by being handled by a lot of people .
To have it reflect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roughen it up .
When Donald J. Trump was running for president in 2016 , Lewis 's novel `` It Ca n't Happen Here , '' written quickly in 1935 as authoritarian leaders were rising in Europe , started to sell out .
In it , populist demagogue `` Buzz '' Windrip , a Democrat ( i.e.
, a pre-Civil Rights Act Democrat , who would be a Republican today ) , wins the presidency .
As Beverly Gage describes it in a 2017 essay for the New York Times , Windrip — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the anti-Semitic radio priest Father Coughlin — is not exactly Trump , but he 's right `` there '' in a number of respects : Like Trump , Windrip sells himself as the champion of `` Forgotten Men , '' determined to bring dignity and prosperity back to America 's white working class .
Windrip loves big , passionate rallies and rails against the `` lies '' of the mainstream press .
His supporters embrace this message , lashing out against the `` highbrow intellectuality '' of editors and professors and policy elites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also take out their frustrations on Blacks and Jews .
So , just a super guy — someone you could really rally around .
And shriek .
And chant about putting people behind bars .
Apparently , the first iteration of the saying just had the bit about the time-honored false patriotism of wrapping oneself up in the flag .
Then the faux-religiosity gambit of cross carrying was added .
I think we must now edit and append it further : When fascism comes to America , it will be wrapping itself around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down .
And riding in a golf cart .
Except this fascism is not so much `` wrapping itself with '' the flag but more like sexually assaulting it .
Trump , a man who received five deferments from military service , seems to think the Stars and Stripes is a great-looking lady he can molest .
( `` I do n't even wait ! ''
) I suspect he is less handsy with the gal he clearly respects more , the good old Stars and Bars .
Oh , I forgot the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we append further : When fascism comes to America , it will be sexually assaulting the flag , carrying a Bible upside down , riding in a golf cart , and enjoying the fact that tear gas and rubber bullets are in use against peaceful protesters .
OK , that 's getting too long .
But now , naturally , I 'm remembering the time fascism was hiding in his bunker ( no , not in 1945 Berlin — the more recent time , in Washington ) .
No harm in trying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes to America , it will be sexually assaulting the flag , carrying a Bible upside down , riding in a golf cart , and enjoying the fact that tear gas and rubber bullets are in use against peaceful protesters — and then scurrying away to hide in a bunker .
But it just becomes less elegant , more ungainly — and so less memorable .
There is so much one could add , beyond hiding in that bunker — incessantly watching `` Fox & Friends , '' tweeting instead of working , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ refuses to latch on to anything .
There is no substance , just chaos .
Speaking of chaos , Trump and his gang of enablers have always reminded me of the year I spent in a fraternity .
Somewhat to my surprise , I was elected pledge class president , and after a tumultuous year I tried my best to get a dozen young men through the seriously stupid , often dangerous and generally unhinged hazing of Hell Week , so they could , at last , become active members .
I do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a fraternity or not , but people like Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan and their boisterous , under-thinking ilk — really , nearly all of the Republicans in Congress — are precisely like a bunch of entitled and semi-educated frat boys who are simply used to getting their way .
They insist on it , as toddlers will do .
Donald Trump is the president of this house , which has to be Delta Iota Kappa , yes , the proud DIK House .
To parrot a favorite Trumpian phrase , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long ago been kicked off campus and had their charter revoked .
OK , now I have to get the frat-boy concept in .
It naturally rides with the golf cart , and it expresses so much—about white privilege , about entitlement , about binge drinking and barfing and `` boofing '' and generally being obstreperous and having one 's way with `` the babes '' — one way or another .
( Ask Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh if you need explanation of any of that . )
When fascism comes to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the flag , carrying a Bible upside down , riding in a golf cart with various frat-boy buddies , and enjoying the fact that tear gas and rubber bullets are in use against peaceful protesters — and then scurrying away to hide in a bunker .
Oh , and crying about being a victim and about people not liking him .
Well , the phrase is already unwieldy enough and even I 've grown weary of it .
I know some of you would quibble with my calling this fascism .
You might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I 'm too exhausted at this point to look those up .
Call it über-fascism or Kentucky Fried fascism or Adderall fascism , or whatever else you 'd like .
Of course none of this is funny .
Well , maybe it 's mordantly humorous , the way you might laugh involuntarily as unmarked militarized police started shooting rubber bullets your way during a peaceful protest in the United States of America .
Though thwarted to date , the Republican assault on the votes of more than 81 million citizens continues .
Eighteen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican members of Congress , and a bunch of dead-silent Republican senators have proven themselves more than happy to go along with it .
So much for their fervent belief in states ' rights , and that thing called the Constitution .
And , yes , for the past number of years all journalists writing op-eds about the dangers of putting the grandson of a man named Drumpf in charge of anything are a bunch of Sinclair Lewis ' Doremus Jessups , trying desperately to fight a tyrant with a mere pen .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's an extended Hell Week in America , at least until this guy is out of office .
So you better bone up on that Greek alphabet and be ready to `` drop trou '' ( ask Brett about that one , too ) .
Listen up , plebes , they want you to come out on the other end as active members of something bigly , something terrific — something that 's definitely not a democracy .

Editor's Note: This opinion piece contains several references to Trump holding his Bible upside-down at Lafayette Square -- a claim that has since been debunked. AlterNet regrets the error.
It has been said that when fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.
This well-known line has been attributed to a number of people — most often to novelist Sinclair Lewis, but also to socialist leader Eugene V. Debs and even to populist Louisiana senator Huey Long — but none of them wrote or said it in precisely the way it has come down to us. It appears to be an aphoristic stone nicely polished by being handled by a lot of people.
To have it reflect our current situation, we need to roughen it up.
When Donald J. Trump was running for president in 2016, Lewis's novel "It Can't Happen Here," written quickly in 1935 as authoritarian leaders were rising in Europe,started to sell out. In it, populist demagogue "Buzz" Windrip, a Democrat (i.e., a pre-Civil Rights Act Democrat, who would be a Republican today), wins the presidency. As Beverly Gage describes it in a 2017 essay for the New York Times, Windrip — who was based on both Long and the anti-Semitic radio priest Father Coughlin — is not exactly Trump, but he's right "there" in a number of respects:
Like Trump, Windrip sells himself as the champion of "Forgotten Men," determined to bring dignity and prosperity back to America's white working class. Windrip loves big, passionate rallies and rails against the "lies" of the mainstream press. His supporters embrace this message, lashing out against the "highbrow intellectuality" of editors and professors and policy elites. With Windrip's encouragement, they also take out their frustrations on Blacks and Jews.
So, just a super guy — someone you could really rally around. And shriek. And chant about putting people behind bars.
Apparently, the first iteration of the saying just had the bit about the time-honored false patriotism of wrapping oneself up in the flag. Then the faux-religiosity gambit of cross carrying was added.
I think we must now edit and append it further:
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapping itself around the flag and holding a Bible upside down. And riding in a golf cart.
Except this fascism is not so much "wrapping itself with" the flag but more like sexually assaultingit.
Trump, a man who received five deferments from military service, seems to think the Stars and Stripes is a great-looking lady he can molest. ("I don't even wait!") I suspect he is less handsy with the gal he clearly respects more, the good old Stars and Bars.
Oh, I forgot the tear gas and rubber bullets. So, we append further:
When fascism comes to America, it will be sexually assaulting the flag, carrying a Bible upside down, riding in a golf cart, and enjoying the fact that tear gas and rubber bullets are in use against peaceful protesters.
OK, that's getting too long. But now, naturally, I'm remembering the time fascism was hiding in his bunker (no, not in 1945 Berlin — the more recent time, in Washington). No harm in trying it out, right?
When fascism comes to America, it will be sexually assaulting the flag, carrying a Bible upside down, riding in a golf cart, and enjoying the fact that tear gas and rubber bullets are in use against peaceful protesters — and then scurrying away to hide in a bunker.
But it just becomes less elegant, more ungainly — and so less memorable. There is so much one could add, beyond hiding in that bunker — incessantly watching "Fox & Friends," tweeting instead of working, lying like breathing — that the mind refuses to latch on to anything. There is no substance, just chaos.
Speaking of chaos, Trump and his gang of enablers have always reminded me of the year I spent in a fraternity. Somewhat to my surprise, I was elected pledge class president, and after a tumultuous year I tried my best to get a dozen young men through the seriously stupid, often dangerous and generally unhinged hazing of Hell Week, so they could, at last, become active members.
I don't care whether they were ever actually in a fraternity or not, but people like Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan and their boisterous, under-thinking ilk — really, nearly all of the Republicans in Congress — are precisely like a bunch of entitled and semi-educated frat boys who are simply used to getting their way. They insist on it, as toddlers will do. Donald Trump is the president of this house, which has to be Delta Iota Kappa, yes, the proud DIK House. To parrot a favorite Trumpian phrase, as everyone knows, those DIKs should have long ago been kicked off campus and had their charter revoked.
OK, now I have to get the frat-boy concept in. It naturally rides with the golf cart, and it expresses so much—about white privilege, about entitlement, about binge drinking and barfing and "boofing" and generally being obstreperous and having one's way with "the babes" — one way or another. (Ask Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh if you need explanation of any of that.)
When fascism comes to America, it will be sexually assaulting the flag, carrying a Bible upside down, riding in a golf cart with various frat-boy buddies, and enjoying the fact that tear gas and rubber bullets are in use against peaceful protesters — and then scurrying away to hide in a bunker.
Oh, and crying about being a victimand about people not liking him. Well, the phrase is already unwieldy enough and even I've grown weary of it.
I know some of you would quibble with my calling this fascism. You might call this neo-fascism or proto-fascism. But I'm too exhausted at this point to look those up. Call it über-fascism or Kentucky Fried fascism or Adderall fascism, or whatever else you'd like.
Of course none of this is funny. Well, maybe it's mordantly humorous, the way you might laugh involuntarily as unmarked militarized police started shooting rubber bullets your way during a peaceful protest in the United States of America.
Though thwarted to date, the Republican assault on the votes of more than 81 million citizens continues. Eighteen 18 Republican state attorneys general, 126 Republican members of Congress, and a bunch of dead-silent Republican senators have proven themselves more than happy to go along with it. So much for their fervent belief in states' rights, and that thing called the Constitution.
And, yes, for the past number of years all journalists writing op-eds about the dangers of putting the grandson of a man named Drumpf in charge of anything are a bunch of Sinclair Lewis' Doremus Jessups, trying desperately to fight a tyrant with a mere pen. One does what one must.
It's an extended Hell Week in America, at least until this guy is out of office. So you better bone up on that Greek alphabet and be ready to "drop trou" (ask Brett about that one, too). Listen up, plebes, they want you to come out on the other end as active members of something bigly, something terrific — something that's definitely not a democracy.


alternet--2020-12-20--Trump's increased absences have associates worried about his declining mental state: report

According to a series of interviews conducted by Politico 's Michael Kruse , associates and critics of Donald Trump have taken note that he is rarely seen in public since his re-election bid failed and he became a one-term president , with some worried his mental state may be in decline at the prospect of leaving the Oval Office .
Under a headline reading `` Is Trump cracking under the weight of losing , '' Kruse wrote that the combination of silence from the president between rants on Twitter could be a sign that the president is having trouble coping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demeanor and recent actions are setting off alarms .
`` It 's not just his odd behavior—the testy , tiny desk session with the press , the stilted Medal of Freedom ceremony that ended with his awkward exit , the cut-short trip to the Army-Navy football game .
It 's even more pointedly his conspicuous and ongoing absences , '' the report states .
`` The narcissistic Trump has spent the last half a century—but especially the last half a decade—making himself and keeping himself the most paid-attention-to person on the planet .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ since Election Day , Trump has been seen and heard relatively sparingly and sporadically .
No-showing unexpectedly at a Christmas party , sticking to consistently sparse public schedules and speaking mainly through his increasingly manic Twitter feed , he 's been fixated more than anything else on his baseless insistence that he won the election when he did not . ''
Speaking with Mary Trump -- the president 's niece who is also a psychologist -- she said her uncle is in decline , telling Kruse , `` He 's never been in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a way he ca n't escape from .
Psychological disorders are like anything else .
If they 're unacknowledged and untreated over time , they get worse . ''
The president 's former attorney and `` fixer , '' Michael Cohen claims Trump 's `` fragile ego has never been tested to this extent . ''
`` While he 's creating a false pretense of strength and fortitude , internally he is angry , depressed and manic , '' he told Kruse .
`` As each day ends , Trump knows he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial troubles .
Accordingly , we will all see his behavior deteriorate until it progresses into a full mental breakdown . ''
Mark Smaller , the past president of the American Psychoanalytic Association explained that Trump 's background under a domineering father is likely coming into play .
`` His problem is that he has grown up with vulnerability in terms of his self-worth , self-esteem and a clear sense of himself , '' Smaller explained .
`` Somebody with these kinds of vulnerabilities , affirmation , being the center of things , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't solve these old wounds , these old , narcissistic wounds—you can not solve them with affirmation , with being at the center of things .
You ca n't because they persist , so that you need more attention , you need more affirmation , you need to be more at the center of things , all the time , more often .
And when realities start to interfere with getting that kind of affirmation , you just want more . ''
According to Kruse , associates of the president who have known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about where he is headed , not only as he finishes out his presidential term but after he leaves office .
Trump biographer Gwenda Blair suggested he will never acknowledge or accept he lost the election to former Vice President Joe Biden .
`` There 's no reckoning with reality .
He 's going to continue to frame it that he won , he was cheated , he 's the victim , and he 's going to continue to bend reality as best he can , '' she explained .
Yale psychiatrist Bandy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mentally unstable president is fraught with danger .
`` The probability of something very bad happening is very high , unacceptably high , and the fact that we do n't have guardrails in place , the fact that we are allowing a mentally incapacitated president to continue in the job , in such an important job , for a single day longer , is a truly unacceptable reality , '' she warned .
`` We 're talking about his access to the most powerful military on the planet and his access to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civilization many times over . ''
You can read more here .

According to a series of interviews conducted by Politico's Michael Kruse, associates and critics of Donald Trump have taken note that he is rarely seen in public since his re-election bid failed and he became a one-term president, with some worried his mental state may be in decline at the prospect of leaving the Oval Office.
Under a headline reading "Is Trump cracking under the weight of losing," Kruse wrote that the combination of silence from the president between rants on Twitter could be a sign that the president is having trouble coping.
According to Kruse, Trump's demeanor and recent actions are setting off alarms.
"It's not just his odd behavior—the testy, tiny desk session with the press, the stilted Medal of Freedom ceremony that ended with his awkward exit, the cut-short trip to the Army-Navy football game. It's even more pointedly his conspicuous and ongoing absences," the report states. "The narcissistic Trump has spent the last half a century—but especially the last half a decade—making himself and keeping himself the most paid-attention-to person on the planet. But in the month and a half since Election Day, Trump has been seen and heard relatively sparingly and sporadically. No-showing unexpectedly at a Christmas party, sticking to consistently sparse public schedules and speaking mainly through his increasingly manic Twitter feed, he's been fixated more than anything else on his baseless insistence that he won the election when he did not."
Speaking with Mary Trump -- the president's niece who is also a psychologist -- she said her uncle is in decline, telling Kruse, "He's never been in a situation in which he has lost in a way he can't escape from. Psychological disorders are like anything else. If they're unacknowledged and untreated over time, they get worse."
The president's former attorney and "fixer," Michael Cohen claims Trump's "fragile ego has never been tested to this extent."
"While he's creating a false pretense of strength and fortitude, internally he is angry, depressed and manic," he told Kruse. "As each day ends, Trump knows he's one day closer to legal and financial troubles. Accordingly, we will all see his behavior deteriorate until it progresses into a full mental breakdown."
Mark Smaller, the past president of the American Psychoanalytic Association explained that Trump's background under a domineering father is likely coming into play.
"His problem is that he has grown up with vulnerability in terms of his self-worth, self-esteem and a clear sense of himself," Smaller explained. "Somebody with these kinds of vulnerabilities, affirmation, being the center of things, is never enough. Because you can't solve these old wounds, these old, narcissistic wounds—you cannot solve them with affirmation, with being at the center of things. You can't because they persist, so that you need more attention, you need more affirmation, you need to be more at the center of things, all the time, more often. And when realities start to interfere with getting that kind of affirmation, you just want more."
According to Kruse, associates of the president who have known him for years say they are worried about where he is headed, not only as he finishes out his presidential term but after he leaves office.
Trump biographer Gwenda Blair suggested he will never acknowledge or accept he lost the election to former Vice President Joe Biden.
"There's no reckoning with reality. He's going to continue to frame it that he won, he was cheated, he's the victim, and he's going to continue to bend reality as best he can," she explained.
Yale psychiatrist Bandy Lee added that the near future with a mentally unstable president is fraught with danger.
"The probability of something very bad happening is very high, unacceptably high, and the fact that we don't have guardrails in place, the fact that we are allowing a mentally incapacitated president to continue in the job, in such an important job, for a single day longer, is a truly unacceptable reality," she warned. "We're talking about his access to the most powerful military on the planet and his access to technology that's capable of destroying human civilization many times over."
You can read more here.


alternet--2020-12-20--Trump floated Michael Flynn's 'martial law' suggestion during Oval Office meeting: report

During a meeting at the White House on Friday , President Donald Trump reportedly asked his advisers about retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn 's recent suggestion that the administration impose martial law and use the military to conduct a `` rerun '' of the November presidential election .
According to the New York Times , which first reported the discussion Saturday , Trump 's advisers pushed back against Flynn 's proposal and other ideas the president floated during the meeting , including his suggestion that notorious right-wing attorney Sidney Powell be named special counsel for an investigation into baseless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Flynn , who Trump pardoned last month , was reportedly present at the White House meeting .
In a tweet early Sunday morning , Trump—who is set to leave office in a month—denied that he raised Flynn 's call for martial law , dismissing the Times story as `` fake news '' and `` knowingly bad reporting . ''
The Associated Press reported that during the Friday meeting , the president 's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani `` pushed Trump to seize voting machines in his hunt for evidence of fraud . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ resembling what Flynn and Giuliani suggested , observers warned that the lame-duck president 's willingness to entertain such proposals highlights the threat he still poses to democracy on his way out the door .
`` A week ago 126 of my Republican colleagues violated the Constitution by supporting Trump 's attempt to steal the election , '' tweeted Rep. Bill Pascrell , Jr. ( D-N.J. ) , referring to GOP support for a Texas-led lawsuit that the Supreme Court rejected earlier this month .
`` How many support Trump 's discussion of military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ senior Trump administration officials , whom the outlet did not name , are growing `` increasingly alarmed that President Trump might unleash—and abuse—the power of government in an effort to overturn the clear result of the election . ''
`` Their fears include Trump 's interest in former national security adviser Michael Flynn 's wild talk of martial law ; an idea floated of an executive order to commandeer voting machines ; and the specter of Sidney Powell , the conspiracy-spewing election lawyer , obtaining governmental power and a top-level security clearance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Axios story , Rep. Ilhan Omar ( D-Minn. ) dismissed the Trump advisers ' supposed alarm as `` all for show , '' given that they 've repeatedly enabled the president 's past abuses .
`` They have empowered him as he destroys democratic institutions and embarrasses the U.S. globally , '' Omar tweeted .
`` They are shameless . ''

During a meeting at the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump reportedly asked his advisers about retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn's recent suggestion that the administration impose martial law and use the military to conduct a "rerun" of the November presidential election.
According to the New York Times, which first reported the discussion Saturday, Trump's advisers pushed back against Flynn's proposal and other ideas the president floated during the meeting, including his suggestion that notorious right-wing attorney Sidney Powell be named special counsel for an investigation into baseless allegations of widespread "voter fraud." Flynn, who Trump pardoned last month, was reportedly present at the White House meeting.
In a tweet early Sunday morning, Trump—who is set to leave office in a month—denied that he raised Flynn's call for martial law, dismissing the Times story as "fake news" and "knowingly bad reporting."
The Associated Press reported that during the Friday meeting, the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani "pushed Trump to seize voting machines in his hunt for evidence of fraud."
While Trump is unlikely to do anything resembling what Flynn and Giuliani suggested, observers warned that the lame-duck president's willingness to entertain such proposals highlights the threat he still poses to democracy on his way out the door.
"A week ago 126 of my Republican colleagues violated the Constitution by supporting Trump's attempt to steal the election," tweeted Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-N.J.), referring to GOP support for a Texas-led lawsuit that the Supreme Court rejected earlier this month. "How many support Trump's discussion of military dictatorship?"
Axiosreported Saturday that senior Trump administration officials, whom the outlet did not name, are growing "increasingly alarmed that President Trump might unleash—and abuse—the power of government in an effort to overturn the clear result of the election."
"Their fears include Trump's interest in former national security adviser Michael Flynn's wild talk of martial law; an idea floated of an executive order to commandeer voting machines; and the specter of Sidney Powell, the conspiracy-spewing election lawyer, obtaining governmental power and a top-level security clearance," according to Axios.
In response to the Axios story, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) dismissed the Trump advisers' supposed alarm as "all for show," given that they've repeatedly enabled the president's past abuses.
"They have empowered him as he destroys democratic institutions and embarrasses the U.S. globally," Omar tweeted. "They are shameless."


alternet--2020-12-20--Career military officials 'stunned's as Trump's Pentagon chief bans Biden transition team: report

Career U.S. Military officials and Dept .
of Defense civil servants are in shock after Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a ban on all Biden transition team members and meetings with representatives of the President-elect .
`` Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden , shocking officials across the Defense Department , '' Axios reports , citing senior administration officials .
The move `` stunned officials throughout the Pentagon , '' and `` was the biggest eruption yet of animus and mistrust toward the Biden team from the top level of the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ item on President Donald Trump 's official schedule today is a meeting with acting Secretary Miller , who has only been on the job since early November .
One senior Pentagon official claimed Defense Dept .
staff have been `` overwhelmed by the number of meetings…and were being consumed by transition activities . ''
Claiming they are `` still committed to a productive transition '' the Pentagon says `` we are taking a knee for two weeks , '' because of `` the holidays . ''
The move comes barely more than three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ General Services Administration to release transition funds , officially designating Biden as president-elect and allowing for Biden team members to interface with the Trump administration to ensure continuity of government and a successful hand-off .

Career U.S. Military officials and Dept. of Defense civil servants are in shock after Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a ban on all Biden transition team members and meetings with representatives of the President-elect.
"Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden, shocking officials across the Defense Department," Axios reports, citing senior administration officials.
The move "stunned officials throughout the Pentagon," and "was the biggest eruption yet of animus and mistrust toward the Biden team from the top level of the Trump administration."
Coincidentally, the only item on President Donald Trump's official schedule today is a meeting with acting Secretary Miller, who has only been on the job since early November.
One senior Pentagon official claimed Defense Dept. staff have been "overwhelmed by the number of meetings…and were being consumed by transition activities."
Claiming they are "still committed to a productive transition" the Pentagon says "we are taking a knee for two weeks," because of "the holidays."
The move comes barely more than three weeks after Trump says he allowed the General Services Administration to release transition funds, officially designating Biden as president-elect and allowing for Biden team members to interface with the Trump administration to ensure continuity of government and a successful hand-off.


alternet--2020-12-20--Trump considering Sidney Powell as very special counsel to investigate 'election fraud'

Back on November 23 , Donald Trump disowned lawyer Sidney Powell after she went into a prolonged rant about how machines built by Dominion Voting Systems were designed to help ensure that long dead Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez never lost an election .
Powell accused Georgia Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp and Sec .
of State Brad Raffensperger of being involved in a kickback scheme that sold out the vote for cash , and claimed that voting machines were sending information to a server in Germany .
Powell has followed up this session with claims that `` dead people voted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ special protection for what she claimed was information from a secret military official code-named `` Spyder '' ( who turned out to be a 40-something IT guy from Dallas who was definitely did not have the intelligence clearing Powell claimed ) .
All of this has resulting in rulings like the one from Michigan , where the state noted that Powell was engaging in `` fantastical conspiracy theories '' from the `` fact-free outer reaches of the Internet . ''
A federal judge ruled that Powell 's lawsuit was an `` amalgamation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Naturally , Trump likes what he sees .
And wants to make Powell a special counsel to make nonsense claims about the election from now until infinity .
To be clear , Donald Trump does not have the authority to appoint special counsels .
That responsibility lies with the attorney general .
William Barr has already created one such position when he made John Durham a special counsel for looking into the Russia investigation at the end of November .
With Barr departing , it may fall to acting attorney general Jeffrey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for sowing land mines all over Capitol Hill .
Trump wants special counsels not just to look into the election he lost by over 7 million votes , but also to continue following conspiracy theories centered on Hunter Biden .
Should Rosen prove unexpectedly reluctant to give Trump everything he wants , Trump is said to be looking at whether he can just appoint a special counsel himself .
No , that 's not in the law , but since Republicans have made it explicitly clear that Trump can do anything he wants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just signed onto an attempt to overthrow the government … sure .
Why not ?
Now The New York Times is reporting that Trump met with Powell in the White House on Friday , to discuss whether she 's the right person to continue generating lies , damn lies , and really huge f__king lies about the election ad infinitum .
Sure , Powell 's lawsuits have been laughed out , kicked out , or tossed out of every court at every level .
But having either facts or the law on her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Counsel Sidney Powell .
She could just take her `` kraken , '' change a few words in the header , and hand it over as a `` report of findings . ''
That way Republicans in Congress , and commentators on Fox News , could report election fraud lies as `` proven '' for the rest of ever .
The meeting to discuss naming Powell to this position supposedly became `` raucous '' as other members of the White House staff `` opposed the idea . ''
Which may be the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still at this White House should know by now that the only thing on Trump 's mind is how to make things worse .
Sidney Powell is perfect for that job .

Back on November 23, Donald Trump disowned lawyer Sidney Powell after she went into a prolonged rant about how machines built by Dominion Voting Systems were designed to help ensure that long dead Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez never lost an election. Powell accused Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger of being involved in a kickback scheme that sold out the vote for cash, and claimed that voting machines were sending information to a server in Germany.
Powell has followed up this session with claims that "dead people voted in massive numbers," and sought special protection for what she claimed was information from a secret military official code-named "Spyder" (who turned out to be a 40-something IT guy from Dallas who was definitely did not have the intelligence clearing Powell claimed). All of this has resulting in rulings like the one from Michigan, where the state noted that Powell was engaging in "fantastical conspiracy theories" from the "fact-free outer reaches of the Internet." A federal judge ruled that Powell's lawsuit was an "amalgamation of theories, conjecture, and speculation."
Naturally, Trump likes what he sees. And wants to make Powell a special counsel to make nonsense claims about the election from now until infinity.
To be clear, Donald Trump does not have the authority to appoint special counsels. That responsibility lies with the attorney general. William Barr has already created one such position when he made John Durham a special counsel for looking into the Russia investigation at the end of November. With Barr departing, it may fall to acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen to rubber stamp Trump's requests for sowing land mines all over Capitol Hill. Trump wants special counsels not just to look into the election he lost by over 7 million votes, but also to continue following conspiracy theories centered on Hunter Biden.
Should Rosen prove unexpectedly reluctant to give Trump everything he wants, Trump is said to be looking at whether he can just appoint a special counsel himself. No, that's not in the law, but since Republicans have made it explicitly clear that Trump can do anything he wants, and the majority of House Republicans just signed onto an attempt to overthrow the government … sure. Why not?
Now The New York Times is reporting that Trump met with Powell in the White House on Friday, to discuss whether she's the right person to continue generating lies, damn lies, and really huge f__king lies about the election ad infinitum. Sure, Powell's lawsuits have been laughed out, kicked out, or tossed out of every court at every level. But having either facts or the law on her side wouldn't really matter for Special Counsel Sidney Powell. She could just take her "kraken," change a few words in the header, and hand it over as a "report of findings." That way Republicans in Congress, and commentators on Fox News, could report election fraud lies as "proven" for the rest of ever.
The meeting to discuss naming Powell to this position supposedly became "raucous" as other members of the White House staff "opposed the idea." Which may be the most unbelievable part of the story. Anyone still at this White House should know by now that the only thing on Trump's mind is how to make things worse. Sidney Powell is perfect for that job.


alternet--2020-12-20--Fox News airs point-by-point fact check of wild election fraud claims during 3 of network's most pro

Fox News airs point-by-point fact check of wild election fraud claims during 3 of network's most pro-Trump shows

Fox News this weekend is airing a stunning point-by-point fact check to claims made on programs hosted by the network 's most pro-Trump voices after voting technology company Smartmatic send a 20-page legal letter demanding `` a full and complete retraction of all false and defamatory statements and reports . ''
The segment , which features an interview with Palo Open Source Election Technology Institute voting technology expert Eddie Perez , aired on Lou Dobb 's Friday show and Jeanine Pirro 's Saturday show .
Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo will also show the segment .
In its Dec. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Smartmatic charged the company and its hosts with waging `` a concerted disinformation campaign against Smartmatic .
Fox News told its millions of viewers and readers that Smartmatic was founded by [ the late Venezuelan President ] Hugo Chávez , that its software was designed to fix elections , and that Smartmatic conspired with others to defraud the American people and fix the 2020 U.S. election by changing , inflating , and deleting votes . ''
The company also demanded the company `` match the attention and audience targeted with the original defamatory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's fact-checking segment , the questioner asked Perez : 'Have you seen any evidence of Smartmatic sending U.S. votes to be tabulated in foreign countries ? '
This appeared to be a reference to Giuliani 's Nov. 12 claim on the show that with Smartmatic software , 'the votes actually go to Barcelona , Spain . '
Perez responded , 'No , I 'm not aware of any evidence that Smartmatic is sending U.S. votes to be tabulated in foreign countries . '
'' Speaking with CNN , Perez said that while he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interview when he spoke to Fox News about Smartmatic , it 's important to clear up any confusion the network 's viewers have about voting integrity in the United States .
`` I felt it was important to talk to Fox News , '' Perez said .
`` Of anything potentially more important to be speaking the facts to their audience because there are a lot of consumers of Fox News that have doubts about the election . ''

Fox News this weekend is airing a stunning point-by-point fact check to claims made on programs hosted by the network's most pro-Trump voices after voting technology company Smartmatic send a 20-page legal letter demanding "a full and complete retraction of all false and defamatory statements and reports."
The segment, which features an interview with Palo Open Source Election Technology Institute voting technology expert Eddie Perez, aired on Lou Dobb's Friday show and Jeanine Pirro's Saturday show. Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo will also show the segment.
In its Dec. 10 letter to Fox News Media, Smartmatic charged the company and its hosts with waging "a concerted disinformation campaign against Smartmatic. Fox News told its millions of viewers and readers that Smartmatic was founded by [the late Venezuelan President] Hugo Chávez, that its software was designed to fix elections, and that Smartmatic conspired with others to defraud the American people and fix the 2020 U.S. election by changing, inflating, and deleting votes." The company also demanded the company "match the attention and audience targeted with the original defamatory publications."
As the Washington Post reports:
"During Friday night's fact-checking segment, the questioner asked Perez: 'Have you seen any evidence of Smartmatic sending U.S. votes to be tabulated in foreign countries?'
This appeared to be a reference to Giuliani's Nov. 12 claim on the show that with Smartmatic software, 'the votes actually go to Barcelona, Spain.' Perez responded, 'No, I'm not aware of any evidence that Smartmatic is sending U.S. votes to be tabulated in foreign countries.'"
Speaking with CNN, Perez said that while he was unaware of the nature of the interview when he spoke to Fox News about Smartmatic, it's important to clear up any confusion the network's viewers have about voting integrity in the United States.
"I felt it was important to talk to Fox News," Perez said. "Of anything potentially more important to be speaking the facts to their audience because there are a lot of consumers of Fox News that have doubts about the election."
Watch the video below: