January 29, 2021

Just how nuts is the Republican Party?

Opinion by Jennifer Rubin

The latest poll from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) finds that “60% of Americans say that harsh and violent language in politics contributes ‘a lot’ to violent actions in society. An additional 30% say it contributes a little, and only 9% say harsh and violent political language does not contribute at all to violent action.”

Republicans, however, realize such a statement would suggest that the incendiary language from President Donald Trump and his enablers led to the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. They certainly do not want that association to take hold, so only 37 percent of Republican respondents concede the glaringly obvious point that fighting words matter, compared with 79 percent of Democrats.

When it comes to the former president specifically, PRRI reports, “More than six in ten Americans (64%) now say that Trump has encouraged white supremacist groups, compared to 57% in September 2020.” Twenty-five percent of Republicans say the same, up from 18 percent in September. How many times have we heard Trump’s call to march on the Capitol? His lies about a stolen election? Apparently most of his followers prefer to forget.

Even more bizarrely, only 35 percent of Republicans are willing to hold white supremacists — the ones who paraded through the Capitol with Confederate flags, wearing “Camp Auschwitz” shirts and threatening to murder then-Vice President Mike Pence — responsible for the attack. Do they really imagine these were disguised antifa forces? In the real world, 62 percent said white supremacists shoulder a lot of the blame for the attack (22 percent say they are a little bit to blame).

The vast majority of Republicans prefer to live in a world of denial, even at the price of refusing to hold the instigator of a domestic terrorist attack responsible. The party’s base, at this point, is as delusional as Republican “leaders” who refuse to convict Trump for instigating the assault and who treat conspiracy-monger Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) as a member in good standing.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/29/just-how-nuts-is-republican-party/

January 29, 2021

Marjorie Taylor Greene Claims Video of Her Is Actually George Soros in Disguise

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Amid a firestorm of controversy, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene explained that an offensive video of her that has been widely circulated in recent days is actually George Soros in disguise.

“Whenever I donate clothes to a consignment shop, Soros gets a ping on his phone and buys it all up,” she alleged. “Then he spends weeks practicing walking in my heels.”

Additionally, she claimed, “George Soros has a Marjorie Taylor Greene latex mask, like they have in ‘Mission Impossible.’ If you put me and Soros side by side, you would not be able to tell us apart.”

Asked where Soros had obtained the technology to accomplish his astounding impersonation, she replied, “Hello? His best friend, Bill Gates?”

Greene also said that she was not surprised that the Hungarian-born billionaire had perfected an imitation of her voice. “He’s been coached by the best of the best: Oscar winner Meryl Streep,” she said.

Reacting to Greene’s comments, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters, “I knew there had to be a reasonable explanation. Let’s move on.”

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/marjorie-taylor-greene-claims-video-of-her-is-actually-george-soros-in-disguise

January 29, 2021

The G.O.P. Is in a Doom Loop of Bizarro

But will it doom the rest of us, too?

Here’s what we know about American politics: The Republican Party is stuck, probably irreversibly, in a doom loop of bizarro. If the Trump-incited Capitol insurrection didn’t snap the party back to sanity — and it didn’t — nothing will.

What isn’t clear yet is who, exactly, will end up facing doom. Will it be the G.O.P. as a significant political force? Or will it be America as we know it? Unfortunately, we don’t know the answer. It depends a lot on how successful Republicans will be in suppressing votes.

About the bizarro: Even I had some lingering hope that the Republican establishment might try to end Trumpism. But such hopes died this week.

On Tuesday Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, who has said that Donald Trump’s role in fomenting the insurrection was impeachable, voted for a measure that would have declared a Trump trial unconstitutional because he’s no longer in office. (Most constitutional scholars disagree.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/opinion/republican-lies.html

January 29, 2021

Hostility between congressional Republicans and Democrats reaches new lows

Open hostility broke out among Republicans and Democrats in Congress on Thursday amid growing fears of physical violence and looming domestic terrorism threats from supporters of former president Donald Trump, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leveling an extraordinary allegation that dangers lurk among the membership itself.

“The enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about, in addition to what is happening outside,” Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at a Thursday morning news conference.

But even as she and others sounded the alarm, Republicans continued to deepen their ties to the former president, who has been impeached on a charge of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Hours after Pelosi’s remarks, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met with Trump in Florida. In a statement, the pair vowed to work together to take back the House. On Thursday afternoon, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a Trump acolyte, traveled to the district of Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), a member of the House GOP leadership, to hold a rally criticizing her vote to impeach Trump earlier this month.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hostility-between-congressional-republicans-and-democrats-reaches-new-lows-amid-growing-fears-of-violence/2021/01/28/28c8cde8-61a5-11eb-afbe-9a11a127d146_story.html

January 29, 2021

Kevin McCarthy Stuck with Check for Lunch at Mar-a-Lago

PALM BEACH (The Borowitz Report)—Representative Kevin McCarthy was stuck with an “extremely large” check after having lunch at Mar-a-Lago, aides have confirmed.

The House Minority Leader had enjoyed a sumptuous five-course lunch with one other person, but when the check arrived his dining companion had vanished.

The check, which amounted to more than seven hundred dollars, raised eyebrows among the congressman’s staff.

“Even if you count all the Diet Cokes, that was a lot,” one staffer said.

Upon closer examination, the lunch bill included a mysterious “administrative charge” amounting to six hundred dollars, which McCarthy had no choice but to pay.

For his part, the Republican leader said that his visit to Mar-a-Lago was “great,” and downplayed reports that he was unable to get his parking validated, costing him an additional ninety dollars.

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/kevin-mccarthy-stuck-with-check-for-lunch-at-mar-a-lago

January 28, 2021

DeSantis calls for $1 billion to brace for climate change

If the Legislature approves the new program, “Resilient Florida” will use revenues from the state documentary stamp tax to pay for the debt service on $1 billion in bonds for projects that address the impacts of climate change.

Faced with mounting evidence that sea level rise and intensifying storms will cost Florida governments billions into the future, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced a $1 billion investment over four years to allow local governments to build new infrastructure to address the impacts.

If the Legislature approves the new program, “Resilient Florida” will use revenues from the state documentary stamp tax to pay for the debt service on $1 billion in bonds for projects that address the impacts of climate change.

“The purpose of this is to tackle the challenges posed by flooding, intensifying storm events and sea level rise,” DeSantis said at a news conference to announce his proposal for a record $96.6 billion state budget.

“We believe that this makes a lot of economic sense,’' he said. He added that the goal is “trying to get ahead” of rising property insurance costs by allowing local governments to finance projects.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/01/28/desantis-calls-for-1-billion-to-brace-for-climate-change/

January 27, 2021

How Tesla's Charging Stations Left Other Manufacturers in the Dust

Mainstream car manufacturers are spending billions on developing EVs. Before spending any more money they should take a leaf out of Tesla’s books and create a recharging network to support their cars. Only then will they be able to treat their EVS as a product. For now at least, EVs are also a platform.

Over the past five years, the major auto companies have invested massively in electric vehicles (EVs). The Volkswagen Group in 2017 announced that they would offer 80 new electric vehicles across their brands by 2025 and electric versions of every one of its models by 2030. In the same year GM went public with plans to put at least 20 new electric models on the road by 2023. They are not alone; Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that 500 different EV models will be available globally by 2022.

Yet, despite investments that add up to many billions of dollars, none of the major incumbent automakers seems to pose much of a threat to market leader Tesla, which has become nearly synonymous with EVs. This is surprising since one might reasonably have expected that once firms with annual revenues in excess of $100B, deep manufacturing expertise, and large market shares turned their attention to the electric vehicle market, the game would be up.

The reason why consumers still choose Teslas over products like Audi’s eTron or attractive EVs from GM’s Buick, Cadillac, GMC, and Chevy brands is perhaps surprisingly simple. They can drive their Teslas for long distances in full confidence that they will find convenient locations at which to recharge their vehicle. While the incumbent automakers are still focused narrowly on perfecting their electric cars, Tesla has been thinking about the entire vehicle system, with the aim of solving consumers’ core driving needs.

A car creates value to its owner when it is driven, which requires refueling. Automakers of gasoline cars or trucks do not have to worry about this, as refueling stations are abundant — over 160,000 stations are in the United States alone — and easily accessible. They have therefore built their strategies around standard marketing variables: product, price, placement, promotion. Build a great car (or truck), advertise it heavily, offer it in the right markets at a good price, and the product will sell.

An electric car, however, requires a different value analysis. “Refueling stations” — i.e., rapid charging facilities — for electric vehicles are in their infancy, with only about 4,000 available in the United States. Moreover, the network of available charging stations is highly fractured across ownership and technology. The next largest network, compared to Tesla, is only 10% as large. Unless you buy a Tesla, you have few options for reliable route planning, guaranteed access, and rapid public charging.

https://hbr.org/2021/01/how-teslas-charging-stations-left-other-manufacturers-in-the-dust

January 27, 2021

The GOP's Sick Game of 'Russian Roulette' in a COVID Hotspot

There’s a reason the lack of COVID measures here are “ridiculous run amok” even as fatalities surge. The newly re-elected Arizona Republican Party chairwoman is part of it.

As Arizona was reaching the highest COVID-19 death rate in the nation over the weekend, the state GOP held a largely maskless gathering inside the same Phoenix megachurch where now former President Trump held a superspreader rally in June.

“THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP,” read a big sign still in a front window at Dream City Church as the generally barefaced GOP faithful filed inside on Saturday.

The speakers included U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs and U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar. Both had been videotaped refusing to wear a mask in a secure location where they and other representatives were escorted during the storming of the Capitol building. Three of the fellow members of Congress sheltering with them subsequently tested positive.

But the big event at Saturday’s annual gathering was the re-election of Dr. Kelli Ward as Arizona Republican Party chairwoman. She had been endorsed by Trump in the wake of his defeat.

“The world is my oyster,” she said on hearing the news.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-gops-sick-game-of-russian-roulette-in-a-covid-hotspot

January 27, 2021

Militiaman Who Plotted to Kidnap Gretchen Whitmer Pleads Guilty, Turns on His Pals

Source: Daily Beast

One of the Michigan militiamen accused of conspiring to overthrow the state government, kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and put her on trial for “treason” before Election Day has pleaded guilty in the foiled plot.

Ty Garbin, 25, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the kidnapping conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the bizarre case that made national headlines in October. Fourteen men were accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer and discussing plans to attack the state Capitol building and a police facility, and possibly take out Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, too. Prosecutors allege the group, which included several militia group members, were frustrated over strict COVID-19 lockdown orders in Democrat-run states.

According to the plea agreement, Garbin has agreed to “fully cooperate” with the federal authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement agencies.

During a Wednesday hearing, U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker stressed to Garbin that, as part of the agreement, he may be “called to the courtroom and obligated to tell the truth… even if it ends up hurting people you know. Do you think you could do that?”

“I could, your honor,” Garbin replied.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/ty-garbin-michigan-militiaman-who-planned-to-kidnap-gretchen-whitmer-pleads-guilty-and-turns-on-his-pals

January 27, 2021

These Preachers Say God Promised a 2nd Trump Term. What Now?

They told their followers that God had told them that Trump would win. Trump lost. What else is left to say?

Kris Vallotton prophesied to all who would listen that God had told him Donald Trump would win re-election. As a senior associate minister at California’s 11,000-member Bethel Church, a swarm of eager believers received the pastor’s prophecy as God’s unshakeable will.

“This is not about politics. I’m so sorry if it feels that way. I know how it could. Everybody in the front row knows me. It’s not about politics. If the Lord gave me this word about President Obama I would stand here and give it and I have done so before. This decree, the Lord is gonna step in sovereignly. He’s gonna bring it to a close. And it’s gonna be ugly but it’s gonna be the Lord,” Vallotton said in November of 2019, as Trump faced his impeachment trial. “And I believe the Lord’s gonna give him another term. I believe it because… the Lord wants it. ‘Cause the Lord wants it,” he went on, explaining that “I am commissioned by God to do this today. I had three dreams in one night.”

Vallotton was far from the only Christian leader claiming before the election that the Almighty had rigged the outcome. J. Gordon Melton, religion professor at Baylor University and compiler of the respected Encyclopedia of American Religions, counted at least 40 influential Christian prophets who foretold a Trump triumph. These prominent figures were joined by a cottage industry of lesser-known voices whose online declarations about Trump’s impending triumph were viewed and shared millions of times.

In the Christian tradition, prophets are something like God’s carrier pigeons. They receive messages directly from the Divine and are then tasked with relaying those messages to the world without alteration. The Bible is stacked with stories of revered prophets—such as Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah—who risked life and limb to deliver holy writ to God’s people. And there’s a label for those who wrongly predict the future in God’s name: false prophets.

In the Bible, there’s a simple one-strike-and-you’re-out test for sorting out the counterfeits: “You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/these-preachers-say-god-promised-a-2nd-trump-term-what-now