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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
February 17, 2020
Forget socialism: The threat in 2020 is Trump's Stalinism
Joan McCarter
Daily Kos Staff
Monday February 17, 2020 · 11:15 AM EST
Impeached president Donald Trump has learned a lot from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and for someone who has a personality more akin to that of Josef Stalin—the narcissism, paranoia, messiah complex fostering a cult of personality—that's terrifying. One of the most dangerous things he's taken from Putin is the art of disinformation, at work now as Trump moves to rewrite the history of Russian interference in his election. That's one key part of what's behind his current authoritarian drive, abetted by Attorney General William Barr, to interfere in the sentencing of his co-conspirators who were brought down by the special counsel’s investigation into Russian meddling. He doesn't want anyone questioning the legitimacy of his election, and he wants vengeance against everyone—James Comey and Robert Mueller and the "13 angry Democrats"—who he sees as undermining him.
To be clear, there's absolutely no question that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, and that it was on behalf of Trump, and that Trump's close associates—if not Trump himself—were in it up to their eyeballs. Trump wants to erase the mounds of intelligence proving that, in no small part to allow for it to happen again. This piece by Philip Rucker in The Washington Post lays it out in semi-terrifying clarity, with this quote from Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University and a scholar of authoritarianism, resonating: "It's all about manipulating information and recasting the narrative to be what you need it to be. […] Even more than censoring, which is old-school, rulers like Trump—and Putin is the master at this—manipulate opinion by manipulating information."
Rucker talks to numerous people associated with Trump and finds that he "remains haunted by all things Russia […] and continues to nurse a profound and unabated sense of persecution." That's the Stalin part of him—that and his "declaration of his right to meddle in criminal cases whenever he chooses" and his regular complaints "that Comey and McCabe have avoided jail time for what he is convinced is wrongdoing" and his paranoia. "Most of these items have arisen because the president doesn’t think things are fair," one adviser told Rucker. "His reaction to Joe Biden's son is mostly not a reaction of trying to harm a political opponent, but it's a reaction of not believing that the treatment of the Bidens is in any way similar to how he's been treated. His reaction to McCabe, Comey, various other enemies of the president is a reaction to what he believes is an unfair result happening to his allies."
The dangers are urgent and extreme, starting with the 2020 election. Former U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg makes it clear: "As Bob Mueller said—and the entire intelligence community confirmed—Russia is still coming at us." Trump is not only "offering a false narrative to the American people about that threat, but there is no leadership from him on this incredibly important issue. We are still being attacked. It is as if the Russians invaded Alaska and the president either said they are not actually there or that they are there but it does not really matter because we have 49 other marvelous states."
The 2020 election is the least of our worries, though, since Barr is happily turning the Justice Department into Trump's legal team. We're not at the prosecutions of political enemies yet, but we're teetering closer and closer with some of the investigations Barr has initiated. It's made even worse by a Republican Senate that isn't just refusing to do its job of holding Trump in check, but also all but inviting Putin in by refusing to do anything to protect our elections.
Forget socialism: The threat in 2020 is Trump's Stalinism
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/2/17/1919836/-Forget-socialism-the-threat-to-2020-is-Trump-s-StalinismForget socialism: The threat in 2020 is Trump's Stalinism
Joan McCarter
Daily Kos Staff
Monday February 17, 2020 · 11:15 AM EST
Impeached president Donald Trump has learned a lot from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and for someone who has a personality more akin to that of Josef Stalin—the narcissism, paranoia, messiah complex fostering a cult of personality—that's terrifying. One of the most dangerous things he's taken from Putin is the art of disinformation, at work now as Trump moves to rewrite the history of Russian interference in his election. That's one key part of what's behind his current authoritarian drive, abetted by Attorney General William Barr, to interfere in the sentencing of his co-conspirators who were brought down by the special counsel’s investigation into Russian meddling. He doesn't want anyone questioning the legitimacy of his election, and he wants vengeance against everyone—James Comey and Robert Mueller and the "13 angry Democrats"—who he sees as undermining him.
To be clear, there's absolutely no question that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, and that it was on behalf of Trump, and that Trump's close associates—if not Trump himself—were in it up to their eyeballs. Trump wants to erase the mounds of intelligence proving that, in no small part to allow for it to happen again. This piece by Philip Rucker in The Washington Post lays it out in semi-terrifying clarity, with this quote from Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a history professor at New York University and a scholar of authoritarianism, resonating: "It's all about manipulating information and recasting the narrative to be what you need it to be. […] Even more than censoring, which is old-school, rulers like Trump—and Putin is the master at this—manipulate opinion by manipulating information."
Rucker talks to numerous people associated with Trump and finds that he "remains haunted by all things Russia […] and continues to nurse a profound and unabated sense of persecution." That's the Stalin part of him—that and his "declaration of his right to meddle in criminal cases whenever he chooses" and his regular complaints "that Comey and McCabe have avoided jail time for what he is convinced is wrongdoing" and his paranoia. "Most of these items have arisen because the president doesn’t think things are fair," one adviser told Rucker. "His reaction to Joe Biden's son is mostly not a reaction of trying to harm a political opponent, but it's a reaction of not believing that the treatment of the Bidens is in any way similar to how he's been treated. His reaction to McCabe, Comey, various other enemies of the president is a reaction to what he believes is an unfair result happening to his allies."
The dangers are urgent and extreme, starting with the 2020 election. Former U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg makes it clear: "As Bob Mueller said—and the entire intelligence community confirmed—Russia is still coming at us." Trump is not only "offering a false narrative to the American people about that threat, but there is no leadership from him on this incredibly important issue. We are still being attacked. It is as if the Russians invaded Alaska and the president either said they are not actually there or that they are there but it does not really matter because we have 49 other marvelous states."
The 2020 election is the least of our worries, though, since Barr is happily turning the Justice Department into Trump's legal team. We're not at the prosecutions of political enemies yet, but we're teetering closer and closer with some of the investigations Barr has initiated. It's made even worse by a Republican Senate that isn't just refusing to do its job of holding Trump in check, but also all but inviting Putin in by refusing to do anything to protect our elections.
February 17, 2020
Posted on Mon, Feb 17th, 2020 by Jason Easley
With One Tweet, Obama Takes Credit For The Economy Back From Trump
Former President Barack Obama reminded everyone who is really responsible for the current economy with a single tweet marking the anniversary of the Recovery Act.
Obama tweeted:
Trump’s biggest contribution to economic policy was a massive tax cut for the wealthy and corporations that he promised would generate 6% growth, jobs, and pay for itself. None of these things have happened. Growth has slowed, the tax cut has blown a trillion-dollar hole in the deficit, and the wave of good-paying jobs never came. The Trump tax cut had no positive impact on jobs.
Trump’s first three years of job growth are worse than Obama’s, as the economy is slowing under the current president.
The credit for the growth that has been achieved belongs to Barack Obama. Trump hasn’t created the greatest economy in history. He has ridden Obama’s coattails and sabotaged growth with a massive tax cut for the wealthy and corporations that are so toxic that even Republicans won’t campaign on it.
The economy was primed for takeoff when Obama left office, but under Trump, the middle class and poor are being left behind as prosperity is a gated community for the rich only.
With One Tweet, Obama Takes Credit For The Economy Back From Trump
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/02/17/obama-trump-economy-credit.htmlPosted on Mon, Feb 17th, 2020 by Jason Easley
With One Tweet, Obama Takes Credit For The Economy Back From Trump
Former President Barack Obama reminded everyone who is really responsible for the current economy with a single tweet marking the anniversary of the Recovery Act.
Obama tweeted:
Barack Obama
✔
@BarackObama
Eleven years ago today, near the bottom of the worst recession in generations, I signed the Recovery Act, paving the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history.
View image on Twitter
300K
10:46 AM - Feb 17, 2020
✔
@BarackObama
Eleven years ago today, near the bottom of the worst recession in generations, I signed the Recovery Act, paving the way for more than a decade of economic growth and the longest streak of job creation in American history.
View image on Twitter
300K
10:46 AM - Feb 17, 2020
Trump’s biggest contribution to economic policy was a massive tax cut for the wealthy and corporations that he promised would generate 6% growth, jobs, and pay for itself. None of these things have happened. Growth has slowed, the tax cut has blown a trillion-dollar hole in the deficit, and the wave of good-paying jobs never came. The Trump tax cut had no positive impact on jobs.
Trump’s first three years of job growth are worse than Obama’s, as the economy is slowing under the current president.
The credit for the growth that has been achieved belongs to Barack Obama. Trump hasn’t created the greatest economy in history. He has ridden Obama’s coattails and sabotaged growth with a massive tax cut for the wealthy and corporations that are so toxic that even Republicans won’t campaign on it.
The economy was primed for takeoff when Obama left office, but under Trump, the middle class and poor are being left behind as prosperity is a gated community for the rich only.
February 16, 2020
While Decent White People Were Sleeping, We Lost America
February 16, 2020 / John Pavlovitz
Wake up, white Liberals and Progressives and Moderates.
It’s morning in America.
A lot happened while we were sleeping.
snip//
Then, to inculcate the terror fully, they propped up a sideshow carnival barker as their chosen one; a barren, empty husk of a man with no discernible moral convictions beyond wealth accumulation—who they could use as a flesh and blood avatar to embody and perpetuate themselves.
They fashioned a vile, blustery orange idol to rally the fearful and the angry and the callous hearts around; one who would daily dig into the stinking muck to find a deeper bottom—and in the sleep-induced state we were in we thought it was a joke. We laughed ourselves back into a dreamworld where everything would be fine and where decency would prevail and where the system would work; so much so that one hundred million of us slept all the way through an election cycle.
And here we are.
snip//
I wonder if there’s still time to undo the present nightmare.
The only way we’ll have a chance to know is if we wake up and stay awake.
It’s morning in America.
There’s mourning in America.
Rise and shine.
While Decent White People Were Sleeping, We Lost America
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2020/02/16/while-decent-white-people-were-sleeping-the-bigots-stole-america/?fbclid=IwAR1PM1O1ceoh4J3H8_o9eCVCMh_mbGKCYdhwAlhkJGWoTtpaCYemw5l0GKYWhile Decent White People Were Sleeping, We Lost America
February 16, 2020 / John Pavlovitz
Wake up, white Liberals and Progressives and Moderates.
It’s morning in America.
A lot happened while we were sleeping.
snip//
Then, to inculcate the terror fully, they propped up a sideshow carnival barker as their chosen one; a barren, empty husk of a man with no discernible moral convictions beyond wealth accumulation—who they could use as a flesh and blood avatar to embody and perpetuate themselves.
They fashioned a vile, blustery orange idol to rally the fearful and the angry and the callous hearts around; one who would daily dig into the stinking muck to find a deeper bottom—and in the sleep-induced state we were in we thought it was a joke. We laughed ourselves back into a dreamworld where everything would be fine and where decency would prevail and where the system would work; so much so that one hundred million of us slept all the way through an election cycle.
And here we are.
snip//
I wonder if there’s still time to undo the present nightmare.
The only way we’ll have a chance to know is if we wake up and stay awake.
It’s morning in America.
There’s mourning in America.
Rise and shine.
February 16, 2020
45 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Buttigieg: I'm not going to be "lectured on family values" from Rush Limbaugh
Jacob Knutson
Video @ link~
Pete Buttigieg responded on "Fox News Sunday" to comments by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who received bipartisan criticism last week for saying voters aren't going to elect the former mayor because he's a "37-year-old gay guy kissing his husband" on stage after debates.
Why it matters: Limbaugh’s comments came only days after President Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s top civilian honor, during the State of the Union address. Buttigieg is the first openly gay candidate to launch a major presidential campaign.
What he's saying:
Buttigieg: I'm not going to be "lectured on family values" from Rush Limbaugh
https://www.axios.com/buttigieg-limbaugh-family-values-1b1ff2b1-c822-49c2-ae08-fb34b739b0b0.html45 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Buttigieg: I'm not going to be "lectured on family values" from Rush Limbaugh
Jacob Knutson
Video @ link~
Pete Buttigieg responded on "Fox News Sunday" to comments by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who received bipartisan criticism last week for saying voters aren't going to elect the former mayor because he's a "37-year-old gay guy kissing his husband" on stage after debates.
Why it matters: Limbaugh’s comments came only days after President Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s top civilian honor, during the State of the Union address. Buttigieg is the first openly gay candidate to launch a major presidential campaign.
What he's saying:
"I am in a faithful, loving, committed marriage. I'm proud of my marriage. And I'm proud of my husband. And I'm not going to be lectured on family values from the likes of Rush Limbaugh or anybody who supports Donald J. Trump as the moral, as well as political leader of the United States. America has moved on, and we should have a politics of belonging that welcomes everybody."
February 16, 2020
64 White Supremacists Prosecuted by DOJ Receive Total 820 Years in Federal Prison
By Asher Stockler On 2/15/20 at 4:05 PM EST
Sixty-four white supremacists have been sentenced to a combined total of 820 years' imprisonment in what is believed to be the largest collective prosecution of white supremacists in the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas.
On Thursday, Garry Cody Jones, 51, was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for his role in a drug dealing scheme, marking the 64th and final hearing in the second round of sentencing for a series of kidnapping and drug-related conspiracies involving hate groups.
Jones' lawyer did not return a request for comment.
Other defendants were charged with offenses ranging from threats to violent assaults. In one instance, a suspected neo-Nazi had "attempted to run over officers during his arrest."
more...
https://www.newsweek.com/white-supremacists-prosecutions-total-820-years-1487518?utm_source=MSN&utm_medium=Feed&utm_campaign=Partnerships
64 White Supremacists Prosecuted by DOJ Receive Total 820 Years in Federal Prison
64 White Supremacists Prosecuted by DOJ Receive Total 820 Years in Federal Prison
By Asher Stockler On 2/15/20 at 4:05 PM EST
Sixty-four white supremacists have been sentenced to a combined total of 820 years' imprisonment in what is believed to be the largest collective prosecution of white supremacists in the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas.
On Thursday, Garry Cody Jones, 51, was sentenced to over 11 years in prison for his role in a drug dealing scheme, marking the 64th and final hearing in the second round of sentencing for a series of kidnapping and drug-related conspiracies involving hate groups.
Jones' lawyer did not return a request for comment.
"Not only do white supremacist gangs endorse repugnant ideologies, they also facilitate a violent drug and gun trade, putting our citizens in grave danger," U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said in a press release. "We were alarmed – but not necessarily surprised – at the quantities of drugs and firearms recovered during this investigation. The U.S. Attorney's Office is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to dismantle these organizations, disrupt their criminal activities, and put their members behind bars."
Other defendants were charged with offenses ranging from threats to violent assaults. In one instance, a suspected neo-Nazi had "attempted to run over officers during his arrest."
more...
https://www.newsweek.com/white-supremacists-prosecutions-total-820-years-1487518?utm_source=MSN&utm_medium=Feed&utm_campaign=Partnerships
February 15, 2020
You Need A Real-ID Or Passport For Domestic Flights Starting Oct.
February 14, 2020
Jeremy Hobson
A sign provides information about the requirements of Real ID. (Ted S. Warren/AP)
On Oct. 1, 2020, regular driver's licenses will no longer be accepted to get through airport security for domestic flights or to get access to federal buildings.
Travelers will have to get a Real ID-compliant driver's license or use a passport. Host Jeremy Hobson talks to Jim Gregory, from the Transportation Security Administration, about how — and why — to get a Real ID.
Julia Corcoran produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Kathleen McKenna.
This segment aired on February 14, 2020.
You Need A Real-ID Or Passport For Domestic Flights Starting Oct. 1, 2020
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/02/14/real-id-domestic-flights?fbclid=IwAR3Jb88ngvpbVt40EmXK3WO7zj9GC6GpTw2W8MTHe2XnbQQiCXJIegijY3UYou Need A Real-ID Or Passport For Domestic Flights Starting Oct.
February 14, 2020
Jeremy Hobson
A sign provides information about the requirements of Real ID. (Ted S. Warren/AP)
On Oct. 1, 2020, regular driver's licenses will no longer be accepted to get through airport security for domestic flights or to get access to federal buildings.
Travelers will have to get a Real ID-compliant driver's license or use a passport. Host Jeremy Hobson talks to Jim Gregory, from the Transportation Security Administration, about how — and why — to get a Real ID.
Is everyone over 18 required to get a Real ID?
No. But if you don’t have a passport and you want to fly domestically, you should get a Real ID. Or if you need to access federal buildings, like federal courthouses or nuclear power plants, you’ll also need a Real ID or passport.
No. But if you don’t have a passport and you want to fly domestically, you should get a Real ID. Or if you need to access federal buildings, like federal courthouses or nuclear power plants, you’ll also need a Real ID or passport.
Where do you get a Real ID?
Real IDs are issued by state departments of motor vehicles. In some states, AAA issues Real ID to AAA members. You should check your state’s DMV website for more information.
Real IDs are issued by state departments of motor vehicles. In some states, AAA issues Real ID to AAA members. You should check your state’s DMV website for more information.
What documents do I need to bring to get a Real ID?
Check your state’s DMV website for a complete list of required documents, but minimum requirements include proof of citizenship or lawful status, two proofs of address, documentation showing your full name, date of birth and social security number.
Check your state’s DMV website for a complete list of required documents, but minimum requirements include proof of citizenship or lawful status, two proofs of address, documentation showing your full name, date of birth and social security number.
When do I need to get a Real ID?
On Oct. 1, 2020, the TSA will no longer accept regular driver’s licenses for domestic flights, so if you don’t have or want to use a passport, you should get a Real ID before Oct. 1.
On Oct. 1, 2020, the TSA will no longer accept regular driver’s licenses for domestic flights, so if you don’t have or want to use a passport, you should get a Real ID before Oct. 1.
Do all states issue Real IDs?
Not yet. Oregon and Oklahoma don’t currently issue Real IDs, but are expected to by the summer. Check your state DMV website for more information.
Not yet. Oregon and Oklahoma don’t currently issue Real IDs, but are expected to by the summer. Check your state DMV website for more information.
What other documents will work to get through airport security for domestic flights, or to access federal buildings or nuclear power plants if I don’t get a Real ID?
A passport or passport card will work. Other options include aDepartment of Homeland Security issued card like Global Entry, a U.S. Department of Defense ID or a U.S. Merchant Mariner ID. You can find a full list of Real ID-compliant identification here.
A passport or passport card will work. Other options include aDepartment of Homeland Security issued card like Global Entry, a U.S. Department of Defense ID or a U.S. Merchant Mariner ID. You can find a full list of Real ID-compliant identification here.
Julia Corcoran produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Kathleen McKenna.
This segment aired on February 14, 2020.
February 15, 2020
Can a Freshman Congressman Prosecute Trump for High Crimes -- and Still Keep His Faith in Humanity?
Moral flexibility is kind; I'd call it something worse. 
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jason-crow-impeachment-donald-trump-trial-colorado-951631/
February 14, 2020 6:00AM ET
Can a Freshman Congressman Prosecute Trump for High Crimes — and Still Keep His Faith in Humanity?
Rep. Jason Crow opens up about what it was like for a rookie politician to argue an impeachment trial, face death threats, and not lose hope
By Andy Kroll
WASHINGTON — A few hours after the U.S. Senate voted to acquit President Trump, bringing a swift end to the third impeachment trial in American history, a pair of armed police officers escorted Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado for the last time back to his Capitol Hill apartment. As one of the seven House impeachment managers, Crow had spent the last three weeks making the case to senators, and to the American people, that Trump should be removed from office. He had stood in the white-hot center of our politics. The scrutiny, he’d expected. The death threats, not so much. Hence the security detail.
snip//
“If somebody acknowledges that something isn’t right privately and then is a different person publicly, that’s troubling,” he told me. “What it shows to me is a kind of a moral flexibility that means you’re willing to do what’s necessary to keep your own job and to protect yourself instead of doing what you’ve sworn an oath to do.”
Straightening up in his chair, he went on: “It makes me angry, actually. And the reason it makes me angry is because I’ve seen people who have taken the harder road. That have sworn the oath and given everything — everything — to keep it.”
I asked him if he thought differently about his colleagues on the other side of the aisle after watching all those Republican senators cast votes to block new evidence and witness testimony and then acquit a lawless president.
“There are certainly some of them that I’ve struggled with,” he said. But he wasn’t ready to write them off. The impeachment trial had tested his optimism and shaken his hope, but it hadn’t extinguished them. He still believed in the power of individual connection, even if it hadn’t worked during the impeachment trial. He still believed the individual connection was the only way out of the darkness and the dysfunction of this chapter in American history.
Since he got elected, Crow gets messages from people he served alongside in Iraq. They still call him “sir” despite being out of the military for 15 years. Many of them are supporters of the same president Crow had said should be removed from office. Crow thought back to one such guy who’d contacted him. “He was like, ‘Listen, sir, I don’t agree with your politics, and I’m a supporter of the president, but I still trust you,’ ” Crow recalls. ” ‘You always took care of us, and I’ll never forget that. I trust you and I wish you luck.’ “
No matter how visceral or tribal politics gets, that connection still matters. That’s what Crow took away from the story. “If you can make an individual connection with folks, and if they trust you — not the Democratic Party, not the Republican Party, not whatever — that is still more powerful than anything,” he told me. “I disagree, you disagree, but maybe there’s still something bigger that connects you. That sense feels like it is seeping out of our society — that maybe bothers me the most.”
He went on, “Donald Trump is not going to be president of the United States forever. When this is done, we have to figure out how we rebuild, how we move forward. And the only way we do that is if we have relationships and connections that survive this. And I’m just not going to walk away from that.”
February 15, 2020
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
2/14/2020
Rush Limbaugh Is Dying For His Own Sins
snip//
I'm gonna save my total contempt for Limbaugh when he finally dies for his sins and the sins of the savage conservatism that he helped usher us into like the porcine gatekeeper at Hell's deepest shit pit. My initial reaction to his diagnosis was "What did cancer ever do to deserve Rush Limbaugh?" You can call me an asshole or talk about how we should love our enemies or how terrible lung cancer is or what you will. But Limbaugh is not suffering nearly enough. I hope he shits blood every day for the rest of his shortened life.
I'm not a Buttigieg voter in the primary. I find his positions too moderate to conservative for my taste. This ain't about him. It's about how Rush Limbaugh was given a pass for a couple of days because of his illness and his appearance as a weak old fuck at the State of the Union, "shocked" that he was being given the medal then. And he doesn't deserve anything but abject hatred for being one of the most destructive forces in the media not named "Ailes" or "Murdoch." And his attacks on Buttigieg are of a piece with his entire pathetic career of tearing the nation apart.
Limbaugh has been queasy and angry about the lesbian and gay community for decades (he's been actively hostile to the transgender community, but that is a whole post to itself). Back in the 1980s, he was so antagonistic about the AIDS crisis that he ran an AIDS Update for a month, mocking victims of the disease to theme songs like "Back in the Saddle Again" (before he actually had to back down and apologize). He was enraged at the federal funding going to sex education, especially as it related to HIV/AIDS. Limbaugh was whipping people into such an anti-gay frenzy that it likely caused actual harm to people who were dying. As recently as 2004, he was claiming that HIV doesn't spread to straight people unless they were promiscuous, like, he claimed, people in Africa are. He's also equated same-sex marriage to acceptance of pedophilia and bestiality.
In 2016, he was attacking, no, really, lesbian farmers because the Obama administration wanted to have a summit to talk about LGBT Americans who were living in rural states. "So here comes the Obama Regime with a bunch of federal money and they’re waving it around, and all you gotta do to get it is be a lesbian and want to be a farmer and they’ll set you up. I’m like you; I never before in my life knew that lesbians wanted to be farmers. I never knew that lesbians wanted to get behind the horse and the plow and start burrowing." And if you don't think that was intentionally a crude sex joke, you don't know Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Rush Limbaugh.
As you might imagine, there is so much more.
In 1994, on his radio show, he said, "When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult; it’s an invitation." Well, now Rush Limbaugh is getting ass-fucked by cancer. It's been shoved down his throat and burrowed into him. He will not have some deathbed change of heart. He will not be humbled. He is what he has always been: an infected carbuncle on the right ass cheek of democracy.
The Rude Pundit: Rush Limbaugh Is Dying For His Own Sins
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2020/02/rush-limbaugh-is-dying-for-his-own-sins.htmlThe Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
2/14/2020
Rush Limbaugh Is Dying For His Own Sins
snip//
I'm gonna save my total contempt for Limbaugh when he finally dies for his sins and the sins of the savage conservatism that he helped usher us into like the porcine gatekeeper at Hell's deepest shit pit. My initial reaction to his diagnosis was "What did cancer ever do to deserve Rush Limbaugh?" You can call me an asshole or talk about how we should love our enemies or how terrible lung cancer is or what you will. But Limbaugh is not suffering nearly enough. I hope he shits blood every day for the rest of his shortened life.
I'm not a Buttigieg voter in the primary. I find his positions too moderate to conservative for my taste. This ain't about him. It's about how Rush Limbaugh was given a pass for a couple of days because of his illness and his appearance as a weak old fuck at the State of the Union, "shocked" that he was being given the medal then. And he doesn't deserve anything but abject hatred for being one of the most destructive forces in the media not named "Ailes" or "Murdoch." And his attacks on Buttigieg are of a piece with his entire pathetic career of tearing the nation apart.
Limbaugh has been queasy and angry about the lesbian and gay community for decades (he's been actively hostile to the transgender community, but that is a whole post to itself). Back in the 1980s, he was so antagonistic about the AIDS crisis that he ran an AIDS Update for a month, mocking victims of the disease to theme songs like "Back in the Saddle Again" (before he actually had to back down and apologize). He was enraged at the federal funding going to sex education, especially as it related to HIV/AIDS. Limbaugh was whipping people into such an anti-gay frenzy that it likely caused actual harm to people who were dying. As recently as 2004, he was claiming that HIV doesn't spread to straight people unless they were promiscuous, like, he claimed, people in Africa are. He's also equated same-sex marriage to acceptance of pedophilia and bestiality.
In 2016, he was attacking, no, really, lesbian farmers because the Obama administration wanted to have a summit to talk about LGBT Americans who were living in rural states. "So here comes the Obama Regime with a bunch of federal money and they’re waving it around, and all you gotta do to get it is be a lesbian and want to be a farmer and they’ll set you up. I’m like you; I never before in my life knew that lesbians wanted to be farmers. I never knew that lesbians wanted to get behind the horse and the plow and start burrowing." And if you don't think that was intentionally a crude sex joke, you don't know Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Rush Limbaugh.
As you might imagine, there is so much more.
In 1994, on his radio show, he said, "When a gay person turns his back on you, it is anything but an insult; it’s an invitation." Well, now Rush Limbaugh is getting ass-fucked by cancer. It's been shoved down his throat and burrowed into him. He will not have some deathbed change of heart. He will not be humbled. He is what he has always been: an infected carbuncle on the right ass cheek of democracy.
February 15, 2020
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/02/14/lindsey-graham-obama-doj.html?fbclid=IwAR1sl-thCj064W9vWXaSu5FaF3sVbiBJcJSxVfP2MsKhU8LxwzU3KmRwHDo
Posted on Fri, Feb 14th, 2020 by Jason Easley
Lindsey Graham Launches Investigation Of Obama For DOJ Corruption
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is ignoring what Trump and Barr are doing at the Department of Justice and is instead investigating the 2016 Russia investigation.
According to a press release from Graham’s Senate Judiciary Committee:
Here is the letter that Graham sent to Barr:
-----at link-----
On the same day that Barr announced that he was bringing an outside prosecutor to investigate the Mike Flynn case, Lindsey Graham is in the Senate investigating Obama and the 2016 Russia investigation.
There is a common thread running through each of these stories, and that is the desire of Donald Trump to invalidate the Russia investigation before the 2020 election. Trump and his allies Graham and Barr are attempting to clear the way for more Russian election interference.
Trump wants to blame Obama for the Russia investigation, and Lindsey Graham is trying to make that happen before voters go the polls in November. What we are witnessing is a massive Republican effort to wipe out the Russia scandal.
Lindsey Graham Launches Investigation Of Obama For DOJ Corruption
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/02/14/lindsey-graham-obama-doj.html?fbclid=IwAR1sl-thCj064W9vWXaSu5FaF3sVbiBJcJSxVfP2MsKhU8LxwzU3KmRwHDo
Posted on Fri, Feb 14th, 2020 by Jason Easley
Lindsey Graham Launches Investigation Of Obama For DOJ Corruption
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is ignoring what Trump and Barr are doing at the Department of Justice and is instead investigating the 2016 Russia investigation.
According to a press release from Graham’s Senate Judiciary Committee:
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today requested transcribed interviews from a number of individuals involved in the Justice Department and FBI’s handling of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, including the applications and renewals of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on Carter Page.
Graham requested the following Justice Department employees be made available for transcribed interviews as soon as possible: Supervisory Special Agent 1, Case Agent 1, Case Agent 2, Case Agent 3, Staff Operations Specialist, Supervisory Intelligence Analyst, Supervisory Special Agent 2, Supervisory Special Agent 3, OGC Unit Chief, Intel Section Chief, Stephen Laycock, Kieran Ramsey, Jennifer Boone, Bruce Ohr, Dana Boente, Deputy Section Chief, NSD and Gabriel Sanz-Rexach.
Graham requested the following Justice Department employees be made available for transcribed interviews as soon as possible: Supervisory Special Agent 1, Case Agent 1, Case Agent 2, Case Agent 3, Staff Operations Specialist, Supervisory Intelligence Analyst, Supervisory Special Agent 2, Supervisory Special Agent 3, OGC Unit Chief, Intel Section Chief, Stephen Laycock, Kieran Ramsey, Jennifer Boone, Bruce Ohr, Dana Boente, Deputy Section Chief, NSD and Gabriel Sanz-Rexach.
Here is the letter that Graham sent to Barr:
-----at link-----
On the same day that Barr announced that he was bringing an outside prosecutor to investigate the Mike Flynn case, Lindsey Graham is in the Senate investigating Obama and the 2016 Russia investigation.
There is a common thread running through each of these stories, and that is the desire of Donald Trump to invalidate the Russia investigation before the 2020 election. Trump and his allies Graham and Barr are attempting to clear the way for more Russian election interference.
Trump wants to blame Obama for the Russia investigation, and Lindsey Graham is trying to make that happen before voters go the polls in November. What we are witnessing is a massive Republican effort to wipe out the Russia scandal.
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