Cliff Varnell
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Posts posted by Cliff Varnell
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1 hour ago, Ty Carpenter said:
That's funny when we have pics of Biden being chummy with an actual leader of the Klan.
Right wingers never get tired of defending their racism by bringing up Dem Senator Robert Byrd.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Byrd
Byrd initially compiled a mixed record on the subjects of race relations and desegregation.[73]While he initially voted against civil rights legislation, in 1959 he hired one of the Capitol's first black congressional aides, and he also took steps to integrate the United States Capitol Police for the first time since Reconstruction.[74] Beginning in the 1970s, Byrd explicitly renounced his earlier views in favor of racial segregation.[24][75] Byrd said that he regretted filibustering and voting against the Civil Rights Act of 1964[76] and would change it if he had the opportunity. Byrd also said that his views changed dramatically after his teenage grandson was killed in a 1982 traffic accident, which put him in a deep emotional valley. "The death of my grandson caused me to stop and think," said Byrd, adding he came to realize that African Americans love their children as much as he does his.[77] During debate in 1983 over the passage of the law creating the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, Byrd grasped the symbolism of the day and its significance to his legacy, telling members of his staff "I'm the only one in the Senate who must vote for this bill".[74]
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On 9/28/2020 at 8:52 PM, Ron Bulman said:
They should all defer to Dr. Perry on 11/22/63. He was an experienced ER doctor in an ER that saw gunshot wounds on a often times daily basis. Entrance wound.
JFK was shot in the throat from the front.
This issue should have been settled back in the 60’s, but the JFKA Critical Master Class evidence fetishists must keep the false mystery going — otherwise much of their work is moot.
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57 minutes ago, Kirk Gallaway said:
Hey Cliff, unfortunately that could still be 6-5. How about the 13th?
Kirk, I think it’s a basic question of fairness. The GOP stole two seats, two extra seats should be restored. Four extra seats seems like an over-reach.
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The theme song of the US Supreme Court spring ‘21:
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47 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said:
I hate to tell you, but the popular vote--as we have seen at least twice in the last twenty years--does not matter.
It matters in terms of claims to a mandate. In order to claim a mandate after the 2016 election Trump insisted there were millions of illegal ballots for Clinton. He formed a phony committee headed by notorious voter-suppression specialist Kris Kobach to investigate. The committee found nothing and quietly disbanded.
As the result of this lack of a mandate, Trump only got two pieces of legislation thru a GOP-controlled Congress in his first two years
QuoteWhat matters is the Electoral College. California is the safest state in the union for Democrats in a presidential election. HRC won by nearly three million votes. Biden will do the same. And that means he will get the electoral votes. That will happen. Period.
This allows me to vote for whoever I really want to vote for in order to make a difference. Therefore, as I did with HRC, I will vote Green. That is not a vote for Trump, because Trump could not win California if he spent 15 days here.
We’re in the battle of our lives to save what we have left of a democratic republic and DiEugenio won’t make a hard stand against fascism.
QuoteCalifornia would be better off if it split off from the USA, along with Oregon and Washington.
Right out of the Putin playbook.
QuoteDid either of you read the article? On the short list for Biden's Sec/Def is a woman who does not want to cut defense, and was in communications with--and it hurts to write this--PNAC!
That’s not what the article says re a short list: an unsubstantiated rumor is treated like a fact.
The foreign policy team Biden assembles will be key, including his choice for secretary of defense. But Biden’s rumored favorite, Michele Flournoy, is not the gal for this historic moment. </q>
QuoteAnd she wants to get into an arms race with Russia and China. So the war on terror is not enough, Flournoy wants to reignite the Cold War. And she used to work for arms contractors, making well into the six figures.
Trump has made a mess of things domestically, no question about it. And for that, he should be gone. But anyone who thinks a Biden administration is going to be better in foreign policy is urinating in the wind.
Biden wouldn’t push for war with Iran.
Biden’s war policies are to the left of the average corporate Dem.
QuoteBiden was not just the point man on Ukraine, he also endorsed HRC's disaster in Libya.
He voted against the first Iraq war, tried to develop an alternative to the second Iraq war before voting for it, and claims to have opposed the Libya operation before closing ranks with Obama.
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/joe-biden-libya-wrong-224595
<quote on>
Intervening in Libya was the wrong decision, Vice President Joe Biden said in a recent interview with Charlie Rose, suggesting that his worst fears and suspicions about what would happen once dictator Muammar Qadhafi was ousted have come to pass.
"There are those who argue, 'Look, we've had a problem — overthrowing these dictators, like Mubarak and like Qadhafi and — and like Saddam. And it's come back and we might ask the question: 'Would we have been better off if they'd stayed?' Saddam, Qadhafi, Mubarak?" Rose asked in an interview aired in full on PBS Monday evening and in part on CBS Tuesday morning.
Biden replied that he had "argued strongly" within the White House "against going ... to Libya," a stance that put him at odds with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, whom the vice president endorsed earlier this month after she crossed the threshold of necessary delegates.
"My — my question was, 'OK, tell me what happens?,'" Biden recalled. "'He's gone. What happens? Doesn't the country disintegrate? What happens then? Doesn't it become a place where it becomes a — Petri dish for the growth of extremism? Tell me. Tell me what we're gonna do."
Rose responded, "And it has."
"And it has," Biden said, going on to say that the United States should not use force unless the interests of the country or its allies are directly threatened, whether it can be done "efficaciously" and whether it can be sustained.
</q emphasis added>
DiEugenio needs to get his facts straight, otherwise he’s just another Trump apologist.
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44 minutes ago, James DiEugenio said:
This is one reason why I do not look forward to Biden as president and I will not vote for him. it also shows a fatal flaw in the Democratic doctrine of identity politics as some kind of elixir. It was not with HRC and it will not be with Michelle Flournoy either. Just as it was not with Rice or Power.
I live in California so I can vote my conscience. It will not be for good ole boy Joe.
DiEugenio's "conscience" won't allow him to stand against a theocratic fascist power grab.
So noted.
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3 hours ago, Robert Wheeler said:
So many reasons, but to make it quick before lunch, he makes his detractors lose their minds.
Yes! And that’s why Trump will pick a far-right “Handmaiden” to sit on the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/25/politics/donald-trump-amy-coney-barrett-supreme-court/index.html
Barrett believes women should be submissive to men, an inspiration for the dystopian TV show “The Handmaid’s Tale”.
Should women live in submission to men?
Let the national debate begin!
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Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents tasked by fired former Director James Comey to take down Donald Trump during and after the 2016 election were so concerned about the agency’s potentially illegal behavior that they purchased liability insurance to protect themselves less than two weeks before Trump was inaugurated president, previously hidden FBI text messages show. The explosive new communications and internal FBI notes were disclosed in federal court filings today from Sidney Powell, the attorney who heads Michael Flynn’s legal defense team.
Emphasis added.
James Comey tried to destroy Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign by re-opening the Clinton e-mail matter 11 days before the election, turning 3 cable news channels into a non-stop Hillary Bash?
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Or yesterday's revelation about the same old guy, whose son was sending cash to Eastern European prostitutes with ties to child trafficking rings.
Evangelical hypocrisy is so much more fascinating though.
Trumpian mendacity is highly amusing, tho not exactly fascinating.
Wheeler’s “revelation” from the Johnson-Putin Report was highly qualified.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12755872/joe-biden-son-hunter-sex-trafficking-republican/
<quote on>
The 87-page report was released on Wednesday by the Republican-led Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Finance Committee - it looks into the younger Biden's alleged dealings in Ukraine.
Biden's campaign have panned the long-expected final report as a politically charged hatchet job.
They said its based on a "long-disproven, hardcore rightwing conspiracy theory" and previously branded it "disgraceful".
The controversial report has been released just six weeks before what is looking set to be a tightly fought presidential election November 3.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney also criticized the report before its release, sayings its not the role of government for "taxpayer expense to be used in an effort to damage political opponents".
The Republican report also cites "extensive public reporting concerning Hunter Biden’s alleged involvement with prostitution services".
The exact nature of the allegations is unclear.
It adds: "Records on file with the Committees do not directly confirm or refute these individual reports.
"However, they do confirm that Hunter Biden sent thousands of dollars to individuals who have either: 1) been involved in transactions consistent with possible human trafficking; 2) an association with the adult entertainment industry; or 3) potential association with prostitution." </q>
Unconfirmed reports of “possible” human trafficking and “potential” prostitution.Typical misrepresentation by Wheeler.
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Wherein Robert Wheeler and Amy Coney Barrett party hearty.
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18 minutes ago, Dennis Berube said:
? If you want to, click back to the start of the talk, its not edited at all Cliff, I just put a start time on the part relevant to our discussion.
Ah. I stand corrected. Yes, from the beginning of the TED it’s clear that Gates is talking about the dangers of climate change from CO2 emissions. As the Snopes article indicates, you’ve taken Gates’ remarks out of context.
QuoteYour cherry picked quote from that article is fine, but that wasn't relevant to our counting discussion. Did you read that entire article already? Well done, it took me awhile to go through even a portion of the 72 references. But it is a clear view of our covid deaths are not counted the same way as we have counted since 2003.
I’m waiting for your point-by-point rebuttal of the Scientific American article.
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28 minutes ago, Dennis Berube said:
Sure is Cliff. First, you made it sound like I said something I didn't.
I quoted you directly. I didn’t “make” you sound like anything.
QuoteSecondly, here is exactly what Gates said. Also, please don't post Snopes anything, "fact-checkers" are modern form of censorship and again falls into the mainstream bucket.
How is Snopes “censorship”? Who says that fact-checkers can’t be fact-checked?
QuoteJust look at their "work" on the JFK case and 9/11.
Okay. Cite what Snopes or Politifact have written about JFK or 9/11.
QuoteSimilar to the Scientific American that you posted. If you read that article, they do their best to present one side of the issue, but even still they cannot close the door on the counting issue as they mentioned the Colorado reporting.
Ah. So they only present one side of the issue except when they present both sides?
QuotePlease read this much lengthier and more detailed article regarding the CDC counting change and other related issues.
RFK Jr (emphasis added):
As we have demonstrated in our first 2 research articles, ‘Are Children Really Recovering 99.9584% of the Time From COVID-19,’ and ‘COVID-19…Have You Heard? There Is Good News!’ there is a very real concern for Americans over the age 50 and especially over 65 years of age. Risk of fatality increases substantially for Americans over age 50 with at least 1 of the following comorbidities: Hypertension, Diabetes, Elevated Cholesterol, Kidney Disease, Dementia, Heart Disease. </q>
The “very real concern” is old folks catching COVID from asymptomatic young folks.
QuoteIt would be nice to have an un-edited clip so that Gates’ initial comments in this video are given full context.
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47 minutes ago, Dennis Berube said:
. Not to mention, that coincides with what Gates said at a TED talk "If we are good about vaccination, we can REDUCE the world's population by 10-15% over the coming years". Nice guy right?
I’ve never thought of Bill Gates as a “nice guy” since he made billions off the same business model as Donald Trump — Go Ahead And Sue Me.
But it’s important to keep our facts straight even when it’s about people we don’t like.
Did Bill Gates ‘Admit’ Vaccinations Are Designed So Governments Can ‘Depopulate’ the World?
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-gates-vaccinations-depopulation/
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How COVID-19 Deaths Are Counted
Assigning a cause of death is never straightforward, but data on excess deaths suggest coronavirus death tolls are likely an underestimate
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-covid-19-deaths-are-counted1/ -
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43 minutes ago, Ron Bulman said:
Dennis, I'm confused (easily sometimes according to my wife). The changes in the CDC reporting would take covid deaths down from 200K to 20K? So they have been over reporting covid deaths attributable to other sources? Do I misunderstand?
I'm not familiar with RFK Jr's work on this. Love his book on American Values. Don't understand where he's coming from regarding what I've read on his stance regarding vaccines. Do you know of a link on anything about his "work on this" (CDC/counting covid deaths) that might help me understand better?
It’s a crock. Only 6% of covid deaths have no co-morbidities. That doesn’t mean people are dying of diabetes or asthma instead, right?
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19 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:
Cliff,
I, certainly, agree with your point about Trump's narcissism, but I would also point out that many people in 2016 viewed Trump as a party establishment outsider who might, conceivably, take on the "Deep State." So, in that sense, Trump's decision in October of 2017 to block the long-awaited release of the JFKA documents could be construed as a "betrayal" to those interested in exposing the machinations of the Deep State.
Point taken, although it should be obvious that “the Deep State” installed Trump with constant media attention on the bogus Hillary e-mail non-scandal.
19 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:(I voted for Hillary, but I did agree with Trump's 2016 criticism of our misguided Neocon military interventions in Libya and Syria.)
Trump supported the NATO operation in Libya!
I wouldn’t call Obama’s policy in Syria “neo-con” given his tepid support of the Syrian rebels, his refusal to follow a CIA-backed plan to overthrow Assad, and most famously the negotiated removal of 93% of Assad’s chemical weapons supplies.
Trump supported both the Iraq and Libya operations and lied about it throughout the 2016 campaign, only occasionally corrected by any of the cable news shows.
19 minutes ago, W. Niederhut said:See, for example, https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/02/17/trump_you_will_find_out_who_really_knocked_down_the_world_trade_center_secret_papers_may_blame_saudis.html
Incidentally, if you do a Google search nowadays on Trump and 9/11 Truth, you will find a veritable mountain of the pervasive M$M disinformation ridiculing the 9/11 Truth research community and kooky conspiracy theories. It's downright Stalin-esque.
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1 hour ago, James DiEugenio said:
its pretty simple, Biden will be better domestically, which is pretty easy, and he will likely be worse in foreign policy.
Biden will push for war with Iran?
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How is it a betrayal? In order to “betray” a cause one must be committed to it in the first place.
Donald Trump has only been committed to one cause in his entire life, and it sure as hell ain’t the JFKA.
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59 minutes ago, Paul Brancato said:
. One example is Chris Hedges, who is publicly proclaiming that a choice between Trump and Biden is no real choice at all, and recommending that we follow his lead and vote Green Party.
Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.
Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
No real choice between Obama’s Supreme Court Justices and Trump’s?
The ignorance is staggering!
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1 hour ago, Jeff Carter said:
"Looking For Obama's Hidden Hand In Candidates Coalescing Around Biden"
Obama made the call to Buttgieg. Harry Reed called Klobuchar. Both then dropped out within hours of each other.
So it took Obama and Reed to point out to Buttigieg and Klobuchar that they didn’t have any money to spend on ten Super Tuesday primaries and neither had shown any strength among non-white voters?
What a crock!
1 hour ago, Jeff Carter said:The "coalescence" around Biden was directed from the top of the Party, not any momentum swinging event or Biden surge. Sanders had all the momentum , the largest most enthusiastic crowds, and then suddenly - poof. Very strange.
Not strange at all.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/05/super-tuesday-black-voters-analysis-recapBiden’s comeback was delivered in some measure by strong support from older, black voters, primarily in the south.
Exit polls from Super Tuesdayshow he won 63% of black Democratic voters casting their ballots in Virginia, 72% in Alabama and about 60% in Texas and North Carolina. </q>
Biden won 38% of black voter in CA, Sanders 18%. In MA, Biden got 36%, Sanders 29%. In MN, Biden at 47% & Sanders 43%.
While Bernie did well among younger blacks in the North, it wasn’t enough to overcome Biden’s support among older blacks, who are more reliable voters.1 hour ago, Jeff Carter said:But not as strange as, according to Cliff, the black female activist bloc being responsible for ensuring the most right-wing Democrat ticket in a hundred years.
You’ve long demonstrated an aversion to facts, Jeff, why would this be any different?
1 hour ago, Jeff Carter said:I guess the New Deal is truly dead. I suppose next you see the teacher's unions join BLM to demand an end to social security and the privatization of all public infrastructure.
Those have been the dreams of the GOP for years.
Since you know very little of American politics your ignorance is understandable.
1 hour ago, Jeff Carter said:That should create unstoppable momentum across the base and bring in all the young people.
Sure, Jeff. Anything you say.
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8 days before the March 1 drop out date for Buttigieg and Klobuchar:
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/21/fec-bernie-2020-funding-116558
Warren, Biden and Buttigieg dangerously close to going broke
Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren each started the month scraping perilously close to the bottom of their campaign bank accounts, posing an existential threat to their candidacies as the Democratic primary goes national. </q>
Without James Clyburn’s endorsement and Biden’s black support he loses So. Carolina and drops out just like Buttigieg and Klobuchar.
Pure political gravity that should be regarded as Politics 101.
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1 hour ago, Jeff Carter said:
Pure revisionism. Biden’s South Carolina victory was meaningless vis-a-vis delegates or momentum.
So you say. So the fact no Dem nominee has won without a majority of the black vote since 1988 registers not at all with you?
QuoteSanders was poised to win huge on Super Tuesday, and this was prevented only by an extraordinary intervention by Dem Party brass to shut down Buttgieg and Klobuchar’s campaigns the day before, in interest of coalescing behind acceptable placeholder Biden.
What were Klobuchar and Buttigieg’s numbers in the first four races?
In four races (three in more heavily white States) Buttigieg gained 17% of the total vote. In Iowa 25.1%, in New Hampshire 24.3%, in Nevada 17.3, in So. Carolina 8.2%.
In Iowa Klobuchar got 12.2%, in New Hampshire 19.7%, in Nevada 7.3%, in So. Carolina 3.1%.
And it took “extraordinary intervention by the Dem party” to point out the obvious that the air was coming out of their campaigns, they had no path forward?Utter nonsense! It’s common for flailing candidates to drop out. You can cite no evidence of “extraordinary intervention” by the DNC. It’s something you just made up to negate the lead role blacks play in Dem nominations.
QuoteThe Super Tuesday exit polls also revealed an 8% swing in favor of Biden and similar number depressing Sanders totals.
Buttigieg and Klobuchar stayed on the ballots and both received single digit percentages.
I guess Bernie forgot to complain about it.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/bernie-sanders-drops-out-presidential-race-n1155156
QuoteBelieve what you want, but you are still stuck with the world as it i, not as you wish it would be.
Bernie couldn’t pull in the black vote in 2016 or 2020.
Your assertions otherwise are pure fiction.
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1 minute ago, Jeff Carter said:
Cliff - two words: Biden Harris
Two more words: black women.
Black people have been picking the Dem nominee at least since 2008, and black females are the activist backbone of the party.
Biden was shellacked in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada going into the South Carolina primary. He was broke. But So. Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn came out with impassioned support for Biden. Biden racked up a huge victory and proceeded to swamp Bernie going forward with overwhelming support from black female activists.
How many corporatist Super Delegates voted? Zero.
The inevitable end result of our last 56 years
in Political Discussions
Posted
Trump has tested positive for covid.
I’m surprised that this bums me out.