https://twitter.com/fordm/status/1281731989859598339 Tucker Carlson’s top writer spent years posting virulently bigoted comments on a racist forum, using posts there for show material, and slipping “Easter eggs” for his friends into scripts.
The top writer for Fox News host Tucker Carlson has for years been using a pseudonym to post bigoted remarks on an online forum that is a hotbed for racist, sexist, and other offensive content, CNN Business learned this week.
Blake Neff worked at Fox News for nearly four years and was Carlson's top writer. Previously, he was a reporter at The Daily Caller, a conservative news outlet that Carlson co-founded. In a recent article in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, Neff said, "Anything [Carlson is] reading off the teleprompter, the first draft was written by me." He also acknowledged the show's influence, telling the magazine, "We're very aware that we do have that power to sway the conversation, so we try to use it responsibly."
While working at Fox News, and while a reporter at The Daily Caller, Neff was a frequent poster on AutoAdmit. Also known as XOXOhth, it is a relatively unmoderated message board like 4chan aimed at lawyers and law school students in which racism and sexism run rampant. The board's vulgar content was previously the subject of much criticism, and two Yale students sued anonymous posters on the site in 2007 alleging they had defamed them and made threatening remarks. The Hartford Courant reported in 2009 that the lawsuit was quietly settled after some of the posters were identified.
Neff, who posts on the board under the username CharlesXII, is widely revered on the forum, with many posters knowing the person behind the account works on Carlson's show. He has spent years posting about history, offering his political opinions, and detailing aspects of his personal life.
https://twitter.com/i/events/1281649049376964608 Valentina Sampaio is the first transgender Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model
Sampaio became the first openly transgender model to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue on Friday. The Brazilian-born model has long been vocal in her support of Brazil’s trans community, and hopes to shine a light on the issues LGBTQIA people are facing in her nation.
https://twitter.com/voguemagazine/status/1281577741830238208 Brazilian-born model Valentina Sampaio is the first trans woman to grace @SInow’s swimsuit issue.
Official contends Gov. DeSantis should ‘stay the hell out of The Villages’
July 10
CDD 2 Supervisor Bart Zoellner made the comments Friday morning during the board meeting at Savanna Center.
DeSantis was in The Villages for a press conference on Monday, the same day Villagers waited for up to an hour under the sweltering sun for COVID-19 testing at the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s mobile testing RV at Laurel Manor. By the end of the week, it was announced the mobile testing facility was leaving The Villages a day early and heading south.
“We need to put together a program to get every Villager tested. The governor needs to stay the hell out of The Villages with his ‘happy’ news conferences,” Zoellner said.
He said The Villages has a population at greater risk because of the age of residents and medical conditions such as diabetes. He said he has a neighbor who hasn’t left the house in three months and is having groceries.
“People are afraid to go out,” Zoellner said.
The supervisor pointed to the governor’s press conference in March at a testing site at The Villages Polo Fields.
“He used The Villages as a big promotion. It was a fraud,” said Zoellner who said that testing was “absolutely worthless.”
https://twitter.com/DanRather/status/1281741676193579008 News of Donald Trump commuting Roger Stone's sentence proves what was obvious since the beginning. The pledge to "drain the swamp" was about as real as Trump University. Many will conclude Stone had a lot to say to implicate Trump, didn't say it, and was rewarded accordingly.
Timeline: The Roger Stone indictment fills in new details about WikiLeaks and the Trump campaign
Jan. 25, 2019 at 9:10 a.m. EST
Trump commutes sentence of confidant Roger Stone. He was set to go to prison July 14 for lying to Congress and witness tampering.
While the statement recited a litany of Trump supporters’ complaints about Stone’s “unfair prosecution, arrest, and trial,” the commutation leaves Stone’s conviction standing. Unlike a pardon, which would have absolved the GOP operative of any wrongdoing, the White House action only lifted Stone’s punishment, a 40-month prison sentence set to begin Tuesday.
Stone, 67, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after being convicted of seven felony counts including lying about his attempts to get details from Hillary Clinton’s private emails from the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, then threatening a witness who could contradict his story.
UF students, professors work to outmaneuver new ICE regulation
July 8
U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement announced Monday that international students will only be allowed to remain in the United States if they enroll in an in-person class for the Fall—an option some universities have already ruled out to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
If not enrolled in an in-person course, international students must leave the country or take alternative steps to maintain their nonimmigrant status, like transfering to a school with in-person instruction, according to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program guidelines. (SEVP)
UF has more than 6,700 international students, coming from more than 134 countries, said Martine Angrand, UF F-1 international student compliance services director.
Elissa Slotkin Is Sounding the Alarm. Will Democrats Listen?
She helped win Congress for the Democrats in 2018. Now she has a warning for her party.
“He’s forcing my hand,” Slotkin tells me a day after the tweetstorm, resignation dripping from her voice. “He’s doing things and saying things that call upon me to think about my fundamental oath of office.”
Twelve signs Trump would try to run a fascist dictatorship in a second term
He lies about voter fraud, admires authoritarians, tries to suppress free speech and uses the law against those who would hold him accountable. https://twitter.com/JournalistJG
... seven of the 14 characteristics identified by the Italian novelist Umberto Eco in his defining essay “Ur-Fascism.”
https://www.pegc.us/archive/Articles/eco_ur-fascism.pdf
https://www.pegc.us/archive/Articles/eco_ur-fascism.pdf
In 2016, the Georgetown professor John McNeill assessed Trump’s fascist tendencies on a scale of zero to four “Benitos,” after the father of fascism, Benito Mussolini. As an amateur, Trump fell short.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/10/21/how-fascist-is-donald-trump-theres-actually-a-formula-for-that/?itid=lk_inline_manual_1
“The fascist speech Donald Trump just delivered verged on a declaration of war against American citizens,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) tweeted. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) — noting in an opinion column three days later that the president’s “attempt to use chaos to shred democratic safeguards and consolidate authoritarian power is deadly serious” — put it this way: “This is our own Reichstag fire and, yes, Trump is playing the role of would-be Fuehrer, proclaiming a ‘God-given signal’ to seize more power.”
I first reported on Trump in 1982, when he conned me into putting him on the Forbes 400 rich list. T
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-lied-to-me-about-his-wealth-to-get-onto-the-forbes-400-here-are-the-tapes/2018/04/20/ac762b08-4287-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.html
https://twitter.com/nadabakos/status/1257692102143533062 “Models show that if 80 percent of people wear masks that are 60 percent effective, easily achievable with cloth, we can get to an effective R0 of less than one. That’s enough to halt the spread of the disease.”
This is from April 22 but remains relevant and is still circulating on Twitter
The COVID-19 ‘cure’ sold by a Florida father and his three sons is toxic bleach, federal prosecutors in Miami say
July 8
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl-ne-fake-covid-cure-arrests-20200708-zgqiegpblncpxemvdd4f4tghoq-story.htmlA 62-year-old Bradenton man and his three sons are facing federal charges in Miami for allegedly peddling a toxic bleach as a cure for COVID-19.
Mark Grenon and sons Jonathan Grenon, 34, Jordan Grenon, 26, and Joseph Grenon, 32, are accused of manufacturing, promoting, and selling their Miracle Mineral Solution as a coronavirus treatment even though the ingredients are typically used for industrial water treatment or bleaching textiles, pulp, and paper, according to court documents.
They are charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to violate the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and criminal contempt.
The Grenons allegedly attempted to avoid government regulation by setting up a company called the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing.
The FBI raided the Genesis II Church in Bradenton Wednesday and seized ingredients including 50 gallons of muriatic acid, 8,300 pounds of sodium chloride, and 22 gallons of the finished Miracle Mineral Solution product.
The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to drink sodium chloride products such as Miracle Mineral Solution because it can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure among other symptoms.
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/danger-dont-drink-miracle-mineral-solution-or-similar-products
The FDA has received reports of people requiring hospitalization, developing life-threatening conditions, and dying after drinking MMS.
The FDA obtained an injunction against the Genesis II Church in April to block the distribution of MMS, but the Grenons sent letters to the judge presiding over the civil case saying that they would not comply with the court order. The Grenons also threatened violence in the letters, prosecutors said.
https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/genesis-2-church-606459-04082020
Before marketing MMS as a cure for COVID-19, the Grenons promoted it as a miracle cure-all for dozens of other serious diseases and disorders including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, multiple sclerosis, and HIV/AIDS, even though the FDA had not approved MMS for any use.
According to court documents, the Genesis website describes the organization as a “non-religious church,” and Genesis co-founder Mark Grenon has repeatedly acknowledged that Genesis “has nothing to do with religion,” and that he founded Genesis to “legalize the use of MMS” and avoid “going ... to jail.”
“We continue to protect the public from criminal conduct that takes advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan, in a statement. “Not only is this MMS product toxic, but its distribution and use may prevent those who are sick from receiving the legitimate healthcare they need.”
Father and Sons Charged in Miami Federal Court with Selling Toxic Bleach as Fake “Miracle” Cure for Covid-19 and Violating Court Orders
July 8
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 20-MJ-03050.
Leader of fake church peddling bleach as covid-19 cure sought Trump’s support. Instead, he got federal charges.
July 9
In April, when President Trump mused whether injecting patients with disinfectant could kill the novel coronavirus, perhaps no one was more thrilled about the suggestion than Mark Grenon.
Grenon runs a fake church with his sons in Florida that sells people a life-threatening toxic bleach product he calls the Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), federal officials say, which he fraudulently claims cures everything from covid-19 to cancer.
“Trump has got the MMS and all the info!!! Things are happening folks!” Grenon, 62, wrote on Facebook on April 24, linking to Trump’s comments. “Lord help others to see the Truth!”
Grenon had made $500,000 in 2019 alone selling his solutions to thousands of vulnerable, sick people across the country, according to the Justice Department, even though the Food and Drug Administration had warned for years that people could die if they drank MMS products, which are essentially bleach.
Around the same time, according to the complaint, Grenon and his sons wrote a threatening letter to U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who issued the temporary restraining order. He said that his church would resist her order as an act of “civil disobedience” but that “the 2nd Amendment is there in case it can’t be done peaceably.” In a later podcast, Grenon warned Williams that she could be “taken out.”
U.S. Attorney’s Office releases more info on Bradenton church arrests
Video has the report as it appeared on local TV. Interspersed comments from an ally and advocate for targeted chronically ill people put situation into large perspective.
Florida ‘church leader,’ took credit for Trump’s bleach idea, charged in Miami for selling COVID ‘cure’
Man had reportedly sent letter to Trump days before the president suggested ingesting bleach
CDC feels pressure from Trump as rift grows over coronavirus response
“The president said today we just don’t want the guidance to be too tough,” Pence told reporters. “And that’s the reason next week the CDC is going to be issuing a new set of tools.”
The agency has been largely invisible. After more than three months of silence, it resumed briefings for the public last month. There have been two.
By comparison, when the H1N1 swine flu pandemic hit the United States in the spring of 2009, the CDC held briefings almost every day for six consecutive weeks.
Each Friday, the CDC also posts CovidView, a weekly report of selected data and trends on testing, hospitalizations and reported deaths.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/index.html
The lack of briefings has fostered misunderstandings at times. In early April, for instance, when the agency reversed its position and recommended the use of cloth face coverings, CDC scientists gave no public briefings explaining why they made the change.
Televangelists take a slice as churches accept billions in US coronavirus aid
Revelations raise concerns about separation of church and state
Jimmy Swaggart and other controversial pastors accept loans
July 9
Life.Church, which is headquartered in Edmond, Oklahoma, but has 34 locations and produces podcasts and online religion programs, received between $5m and $10m and said the money would help retain 451 workers.
But highly controversial figures have also received aid. They include the televangelists Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker and Peter Popoff.
Pete Evans, who investigates religious fraud for the Trinity Foundation, said he had expected controversial churches would receive the aid.
“You’re getting free money, and that’s what these guys are good at,” Evans said.
Among the top loan recipients is Joyce Meyer Ministries, a Missouri-based Christian ministry with TV shows and radio programs. It received between $5m and $10m, even though it reported having $12m cash on hand at the end of 2019, according to an annual financial report.
Paula White’s City of Destiny received between $150,000 and $350,000. She is the chair of Trump’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative.
Several religious groups whose leaders are reportedly Trump evangelical advisers took between $2m and $5m each.
Report Slams Facebook For 'Vexing And Heartbreaking Decisions' On Free Speech
July 8, 202012:11 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
Facebook's decisions to put free speech ahead of other values represent "significant setbacks for civil rights," according to an independent audit of the social network's progress in curbing discrimination.
The Unburdened Believer
Hogan Gidley
July 9
“Hogie,” his nickname for an oft-nicknamed deputy White House press secretary literally named Hogan Gidley. (He’s also referred to as “Miss America,” “Tidley,” and “Tids,” but more on that below.)
Don’t pull out of WHO — America should stop its lies from within: Devine
July 8
https://nypost.com/2020/07/08/dont-pull-out-of-who-us-should-stop-its-lies-from-within-devine/
According to a review last month in the Lancet of 172 studies across 16 countries, wearing a face mask reduces your chance of COVID-19 infection from 17 percent to 3 percent, with best results from N95 respirator-type masks.
https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(20)31142-9.pdf
The rest of the article is loaded.
A More Specific Letter on Justice and Open Debate
July 10?
https://theobjective.substack.com/p/a-more-specific-letter-on-justice
Anecdata anecdata seems to be a word!
This is a detailed treatment of the Harpers letter.
Will “Cancel Culture” Stop Democratic Momentum?
However, the challenge for Trump in being able to exploit these concerns is that these voters “are mostly done with him” and think that “he makes everything worse.” As a messenger, this person said, Trump has “zero credibility” with these suburbanites.
And, this worry of an ‘overcorrection’ of Trump-ism, isn’t happening only in suburban living rooms and kitchens. Earlier this week, more than 150 prominent artists and public thinkers signed onto a letter titled “A Letter On Justice and Open Debate,” that ran in Harper’s. This letter mirrored what the GOP strategist told me were “simmering” concerns from suburbanites: worries about public shaming and retribution for expressing opposing or non-PC views.
AP: After lobbying, Catholic Church won $1.4B in virus aid
https://apnews.com/dab8261c68c93f24c0bfc1876518b3f6
Virus loans helped entities tied to Trump evangelical allies
https://apnews.com/88a957426a09eb3b7db2dbceeffa25c0
Those receiving loans include City of Destiny, the Florida church that Trump’s personal pastor and White House faith adviser Paula White-Cain calls home, and First Baptist Dallas, led by Trump ally and senior pastor Robert Jeffress. City of Destiny got between $150,000 and $350,000 from the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, and First Baptist Dallas got between $2 million and $5 million, according to data released by the Treasury Department on Monday.
People from these two orgs showed up at the Tulsa rally.
https://www.veteransforpeace.org/
https://aboutfaceveterans.org/
I lost track of the Nation article URL that mentioned them but saved the article in a PDF
Goya Foods CEO was in the news today, with #GoyaBoycott
TMG dug this up from the time he visited the Obama WH
Looking back a week or so, Pinellas county ambulance service got overwhelmed. Code 3M.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paycheck-protection-ppp-loans-hate-groups/
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