Dr. Oz on Saturday,

"Tomorrow morning, when you awaken, do it in Church, do it before the Steelers' game, I want you contact ten people. Here's the question I want you to ask them..."

Um. The Steelers weren't playing Sunday.

Steve Thomas

Ron DeSantis has a new campaign ad out.

Says he was anointed by God.

As the Church Lady said, "He's so Special."

Steve Thomas

Don't miss the Beaver Blood Moon lunar eclipse on Nov. 8

by Robert Lea

https://www.space.com/lunar-eclipse-beaver-blood-moon-nov-08-2022

On Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, the moon will pass through the shadow of Earth resulting in a total lunar eclipse that will be from Oceania, the Americas, Asia, and Northern Europe.

The eclipse will begin at 4:10 a.m. EST (0810 GMT) and will end at approximately 7:49 a.m. EDT (1149 GMT) when the moon once again emerges. The total eclipse period is shorter than this, however, and will last from 5:17 a.m. EST (0917 GMT) to 6:42 a.m. EST (1042 GMT). 

According to EarthSky.org, this will be the first total lunar eclipse on Election Day in U.S. history (since 1776).

Steve Thomas

Steve Thomas

The mob is an equal opportunity employer.

Steve Thomas

George Conway said that Republican politicians are afraid to speak out against the Pelosi attack because they are afraid for their own personal safety.

We have come to that part of the French Revolution where the politicians no longer control the mob they have created.

Steve Thomas

Charlie Kirk calls for his audience to post bail for Pelosi attacker: "If some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out...Bail him out and then go ask him some questions"

How long will it be before David DePape becomes the right wing's new Joan of Arc?

Steve Thomas

Paul Pelosi's attacker said he was on a suicide mission.

He also said he had a list of other politicians he wanted to kill.

Ummmmm.. Hey, David. Let me explain how this whole suicide thing works.

Meet Achmed, The Dead Terrorist.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GBvfiCdk-jc

Steve Thomas

Giuliani attempt to dismiss defamation suit by Georgia election workers is denied

The judge ruled that two election workers had presented enough evidence to justify a case against the former mayor.

By Kyle Cheney 11/01/2022

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/01/giuliani-defamation-georgia-election-workers-00064418

“A federal judge has rejected Rudy Giuliani’s effort to dismiss a lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers who he falsely accused of election fraud — stoking a furor that led to threats and harassment against both women.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell ruled in a 27-page opinion that the case brought by both the mother-daughter duo — Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss — was enough to justify advancing their lawsuit against Giuliani and presented “ample circumstantial evidence of a civil conspiracy between Giuliani and members of the Trump Campaign.””

“Howell noted that Giuliani oversaw the creation and implementation of the “strategic plan” to sow doubt about the election results and encourage states to override the results to certify Trump as the winner. Included in that plan was a specific reference to Freeman that falsely suggested she had been arrested in connection with the fraud allegations.

“[T]hese allegations at least plausibly suggest that Giuliani fabricated Freeman’s arrest and criminal record out of whole cloth,” Howell wrote.”

From the Judge’s Opinion:

https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2021cv3354-31

A reasonable jury could accordingly infer that
(1) Giuliani, Trump, and the “[k]ey [t]eam [m]embers” listed in the Strategic Plan (2) created a plan to sow doubt in the outcome of the 2020 election by

(3) launching a misinformation campaign, which included accusing Freeman, Moss, and others of participating in schemes of electoral fraud, and

(4) injuring plaintiffs in the process.7

Plaintiffs have pled a plausible civil conspiracy.

Steve Thomas

On Friday evening, hours after Paul Pelosi was brutalized in a politically motivated attack, Donald Trump sent out a fundraising email with the subject line, "The Left is coming after me like never before":

The RAID on my Mar-a-Lago home was nothing more than unhinged POLITICAL PERSECUTION against ME, YOUR President.
For six straight years, I've been harassed, investigated, defamed, slandered, and persecuted like no one in American history — yet all I have ever wanted, and all we have ever fought for, is to simply MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. ...
The people behind these savage witch hunts have no shame, no morals, no conscience, and absolutely no respect for the citizens of this country.
Everyone associated with this travesty will go down in history as scoundrels and arsonists who tried to demolish our justice system, shatter our most sacred traditions, and wipe out the very foundations of our democracy — for their own selfish partisan gain.
But no matter what our sick and deranged political establishment throws at me, no matter what they do to me, I will endure their torment and oppression, and I will do it willingly. They will NEVER get me to stop fighting for you, the American People.

"Me, YOUR President."

Steve Thomas

Only a Third of Republicans Think Voting Is a Fundamental Right: Poll

Only 32 percent of Republican and Republican leaning voters said that they viewed voting as a fundamental right for every citizen that should not be restricted. Meanwhile, 67 percent of GOP supporters said voting is a privilege with responsibilities that can be limited."

That's an interesting question. Do you think voting is a right or a privilege?

Steve Thomas

The guy who attacked Paul Pelosi had zip ties and was shouting, "Where's Nancy?"

The attackers on January 6th had zip ties and were shouting, "Where's Nancy?"

Nuff said.

Steve Thomas

NY Times headline from 2025 "America's emerging dictatorship has liberals on edge. But for some, the stability and absence of hard choices is a welcome change."

By Maggie Haberman, et al. June 19, 2025

https://boingboing.net/2022/10/30/ny-times-headline-from-2025-americas-emerging-dictatorship-has-liberals-on-edge-but-for-some-the-stability-and-absence-of-hard-choices-is-a-welcome-change.html

"It happened imperceptibly, and then all at once.

After a hotly contested 2024 election in which incumbent President Joe Biden carried the national popular vote by 9 million votes and appeared to carry the vote in states representing more than the 270 electoral votes necessary, it appeared that Mr. Biden was on his way to serving a second term. Instead, an unpredictable series of events has led to a dramatic change in the American form of government.

First, Republican Secretaries of State and legislatures in states carried by Joe Biden refused to certify Mr. Biden's apparent wins in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, throwing the electoral count into doubt. In the ensuing landmark case before the Supreme Court, "Biden v. Wisconsin," Justice Thomas, writing for the 5-4 majority, held that under the newly adopted Independent Legislature Theory, neither federal nor state courts had the authority to challenge actions decided by state legislatures, who were then free to submit slates of electors chosen by legislatures themselves, rather than by voters.

In the ensuing chaos in the Electoral College, no candidate received a certified majority of the vote, resulting, according to the Constitution, in an election decided by the Congressional Delegations of each state. This vote was won by Donald Trump, with Wyoming being the 26th vote.

All of the preceding is unusual, but occurred within the framework of America's Constitution, jurisprudence, and electoral system. But now, a new challenge has emerged in the form of those same legislatures refusing to allocate funds or support for federal elections in 2028.

The Democratic National Committee, citing irreparable harm, sued those same states to compel them told federal elections. But in a dramatic decision that could alter the course of history, Justice Barrett, writing, again, for a 5-4 majority, wrote that upholding precedent, regardless of its consequences, was the most hallowed responsibility of the Supreme Court and American jurisprudence more broadly, and thus that the legislatures were well within their constitutional rights not to hold federal elections.

Writing for the majority, Justice Barrett recognized, however, that the Constitution did require that Mr. Trump's term of office end on January 20, 2029, and without a constitutionally elected President-Elect in place, Barrett found that nowhere in the Constitution could it be found that a person who was not elected president could not exercise the authority granted to a President, and therefore, that the ideal solution would be, in practicality, for Mr. Trump's authority to be extended indefinitely.

Barrett also found that should Mr. Trump die or become incapacitated, he could be "replaced on the ballot" by the party that nominated him for the presidency, and that that individual would assume Mr. Trump's powers as the "Republican nominee" until the crisis was resolved.

In practice, this has led to a situation that was once unthinkable: an acting President of the United States serving an indefinite term of office whose successor is chosen exclusively by activists and delegates from the ruling political party.

This series of rulings, as well as public calls for prosecution of leading Democrats for treason by Acting Attorney General Marjorie Taylor Greene, has many liberals on edge, alleging that American democracy is "on the verge of collapse," according to a recent NYT/Siena poll.

While Democrats feel that America has suffered what amounts to a coup, Republicans take the opposite view: the developments leading to indefinite one-party rule were simply an outgrowth of constitutional processes with a solution available for Democrats who are discomfited.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, for instance, while admitting that indefinite one-party rule was unusual, noted that "if Democrats are so concerned about the actions of state legislatures, they should try winning a few. Nothing prevents them from holding elections if they win."

For Democrats, however, that easy solution may not be so simple. According to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the party committee responsible for electing Democrats to state legislatures, the way districts are drawn makes that a prohibitive challenge.

Heather Williams, Executive Director of the DLCC, commented via an encrypted messaging service while avoiding U.S. Marshalls seeking her on an indictment for treason, espionage, and other federal charges that "the way districts are drawn simply makes it impossible.

Even in states carried by Biden and where Democrats win a majority of the vote, gerrymandering (the process of drawing unrepresentative and strangely-shaped districts for political purposes) ensure that Republicans sometimes control supermajorities in those legislatures."

While the political battle rages between elected leaders and committees of both parties, the response from the average voter is more muted. At a truck stop diner outside of Columbus, Ohio, Jeremy Williams, 55, said that these changes could make things easier.

"I liked Trump before and I like Trump now, so I trust him to run the country and make the best decisions," said Williams. And when asked about America's cherished tradition of quadrennial democratic elections. Mr. Williams demurred.

"Voting for president is hard because you don't really know the people you're choosing. But I know Trump and I like him, so that's one less thing to think about," said Williams. Democrats are less convinced."

-more-

Steve Thomas

2 hours ago, Douglas Caddy said:

 

Nancy Pelosi's husband 'violently assaulted’ in their home, House speaker's office says (aol.com)

https://twitter.com/AnaCabrera/status/1586026106561306625

OMG

Steve Thomas

Michigan GOP gubernatorial nominee invoked conspiracy claiming Democrats sought to ‘topple’ US in retaliation for losing Civil War

By Em Steck and Olivia Alafriz, October 27, 2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/27/politics/kfile-tudor-dixon-conspiracy-democrats-topple-america/index.html

“The Republican gubernatorial nominee in Michigan invoked a conspiracy that the Covid-19 pandemic and protests in the summer of 2020 after the killing of George Floyd were part of a decades-long plan by the Democratic Party to “topple” the United States as retaliation for losing the US Civil War, adding that the party wanted to enslave people “again.”

Tudor Dixon, a former TV news anchor, made the remarks on the far-right streaming news network Real America’s Voice, which hosts former Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s show, in late June 2020.

“The country today is divided, and this was the plan. It’s been in the works for years. The idea that you can topple the greatest country in the world. But to topple a country like the United States of America, you must be planning this for decades,” said Dixon. “Why wouldn’t that come from the party that lost the Civil War? The party that wanted to own people because they viewed them as less than human? Do you think that the Democrats are over losing to the north?””

This ranks right up there with the Jewish Space Lasers causing the California wildfires lady.

Steve Thomas

Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, said Tuesday that discussions about abortion access should be left to women, doctors and “local political leaders.”

Sure sounds like Communist Party block captains to me.

Steve Thomas

Jean Paul,

I remember reading that Roy Truly objected to this, but I don't remember the details or how it was resolved.

I think  he would only agree to let the Sixth Floor guys get printed.

Steve Thomas

Oklahoma GOP candidate vows to make teachers undergo 'patriotic education' based on 'Judeo-Christian values'

By Brad Reed October 25, 2022

https://www.rawstory.com/ryan-walters-oklahoma/

“Ryan Walters, the Republican candidate for state superintendent in Oklahoma, is vowing to force all teachers in the state to undergo what is being described as "patriotic education" at a right-wing college in Michigan.

As Tulsa World reports, Walters believes that this intervention is needed because teachers in the state right now are purportedly "indoctrinating" students.

“What I will do is I will put together courses — I’ve been talking to Hillsdale College on this, they’re great, they’re great — and have every U.S. history teacher and every history teacher in the state go through that training so they know the basics and that every kid will have a teacher who is learned on U.S. history, on the constitution, on those fundamental principles," he said recently.

"What we have to have is true history taught in schools," he said recently. "Our kids need to know about the founding. They need to know this country was founded on Judeo-Christian values. They need to know about the constitution. They need to be inspired by heroes like George Washington."”

So, a State Superintendent in Oklahoma is going to force Oklahoma teachers go through an “education camp”in Michigan.

Sounds like something Mao Tse Tung would do.

Steve Thomas

How come the people who win elections never complain about voter fraud?

Steve Thomas

Thank you David and Larry.

Steve Thomas

The Oath Keepers are using the 'we were just kidding' white privilege defense

by Amanda Marcotte, Salon October 24, 2022.

https://www.rawstory.com/oath-keepers-trial-2658495238/

“When faced with text messages showing the plan was to force Congress to invalidate President Joe Biden's electoral win, defense attorneys argue it was just "macho" talk, reports Brandi Buchman of Daily Kos, who has been watching the trial daily.”

“They said the thing and did the thing, so it seems like the prosecution would have an open-and-shut case, right? But there's a good reason the defense thinks an "it was just talk" argument will work. Conservative white people generally get a generous benefit of the doubt when it comes to determining whether they really mean the terrible things they say. Like Donald Trump dismissing it as "locker room talk" when he was caught bragging about sexual assault, the presumption of innocence for conservative white people is so robust it's often extended even in the face of overwhelming evidence.”

“ To get an idea of how deeply ingrained this white conservative presumption of innocence is, check out a recent, lengthy article for Esquire about the plot to kidnap and murder Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In it, journalist Chris Heath recasts the accused conspirators as a bunch of goobers who didn't mean any real harm. While repeatedly admitting that the FBI had a large number of text messages and testimony to establish that these men were plotting a serious crime, Heath keeps circling around to the idea that, in the end, they were just fooling.”

This is interesting. I saw an interview with some of the spectators at the trial of the Michigan Governor kidnap plotters. The spectators framed the issue as a First Amendment issue.

To paraphrase, the spectators said that, “This is America, and in America, you can say whatever you want. They didn’t actually do anything. They just talked about it. The fact that they were thwarted is irrelevant.”

To plot a crime is not a crime.

Interesting.

Steve Thomas

On 10/22/2022 at 5:19 PM, Tom Gram said:

 

Deleted

Steve Thomas

'He's not man enough': Nancy Pelosi taunts Trump over subpoena appearance

by Tom Boggioni October 23, 2022

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-house-subpoena/

“Asked about the chances that Donald Trump will appear before the committee after it issued a subpoena on Friday, she laughed at the prospect.

"I don't think he is man enough to show up," she replied. "I don't think that his lawyers will want him to show up, because he has to testify under oath. But I don't think he is man enough. We will see if he is man enough to show up and the public can make their judgment."”

Ooooooohhh, and coming from a woman no less.

If his orange hair catches on fire, will we ever know?

Steve Thomas

One of the more bizarre things I've read recently:

Mutiny in Putin's ranks? Conscripts drafted into Ukraine war 'threaten to topple Russian regime over spluttering invasion'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11343917/Conscripts-drafted-Ukraine-war-threaten-topple-Russian-regime-failing-invasion.html

"He ridiculed an army-issued foreign guitar when they are not supplied with adequate weapons.

'They give us an [imported] guitar,' he said to cheers from fellow conscripts. 'Are we going to shoot a guitar on the battlefield?'"

"He mocked a policy in his region - the Tuva republic in Siberia - to gift a ram to each family of those mobilised.

'You give our families, children, a manky ram [sheep], and some groceries,' he said, adding disparagingly: 'What is this?'"

A sheep and a guitar? 

Steve Thomas

Sandy Hook families seek steep punitive damages after $1 billion Alex Jones verdict

2022/10/22

https://nordot.app/956363038872272896?c=592622757532812385

“The Connecticut jury found Jones and Infowars parent company Free Speech Systems LLC should also pay punitive damages, which are set to be determined by a judge after several days of hearings next month.

In their filing Friday, the families offered various methods of calculating punitive damages in similar cases. They said that by one metric, they could be entitled to $2.75 trillion based on the number of article impressions Infowars' false stories garnered.”

Mama Mia. That's a big a meatball.

Steve Thomas