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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
February 20, 2021
(Salon) Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops are expected to stay in Washington for at least another three weeks amid concerns over potential violence from QAnon adherents, some of whom believe former President Donald Trump will be inaugurated on March 4.
House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., cited QAnon chatter surrounding March 4 during a hearing this week with defense officials flagged by CNN.
"Some of these people have figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the president used to be inaugurated on March 4," Smith said. "Now why that's relevant, God knows. At any rate, now they are thinking maybe we should gather again and storm the Capitol on March 4 ... that is circulating online."
Pentagon official Robert Salesses said at the hearing that 4,900 National Guard troops will remain in D.C. through March 12 at the request of Capitol Police in response to "different missions" that the troops will support. He said there isn't a specific threat that the National Guard is tracking but the Pentagon will work with law enforcement agencies to evaluate any potential threats. .....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/20/qanon-followers-still-think-trump-will-be-inaugurated--on-march-4-national-guard-will-be-ready/
QAnon followers still think Trump will be inaugurated -- on March 4. National Guard will be ready
(Salon) Nearly 5,000 National Guard troops are expected to stay in Washington for at least another three weeks amid concerns over potential violence from QAnon adherents, some of whom believe former President Donald Trump will be inaugurated on March 4.
House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., cited QAnon chatter surrounding March 4 during a hearing this week with defense officials flagged by CNN.
"Some of these people have figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the president used to be inaugurated on March 4," Smith said. "Now why that's relevant, God knows. At any rate, now they are thinking maybe we should gather again and storm the Capitol on March 4 ... that is circulating online."
Pentagon official Robert Salesses said at the hearing that 4,900 National Guard troops will remain in D.C. through March 12 at the request of Capitol Police in response to "different missions" that the troops will support. He said there isn't a specific threat that the National Guard is tracking but the Pentagon will work with law enforcement agencies to evaluate any potential threats. .....................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/20/qanon-followers-still-think-trump-will-be-inaugurated--on-march-4-national-guard-will-be-ready/
February 20, 2021
A man who was arrested for masturbating in the parking lot of a Florida Walmart told police he took matters into his own hands because he missed his girlfriend.
The indecent incident happened Wednesday in Vero Beach, according to a police report obtained by The Smoking Gun.
Cops were called after a shopper noticed the suspect’s self-love session inside a Kia parked outside the store.
According to the tipster, the Walmart wanker had the driver’s side window down, and was performing the highly visible lewd act in broad daylight. ...............(more)
https://nypost.com/2021/02/19/florida-man-caught-masturbating-in-walmart-parking-lot/
Florida man caught masturbating in Walmart parking lot told cops he was 'lonely'
A man who was arrested for masturbating in the parking lot of a Florida Walmart told police he took matters into his own hands because he missed his girlfriend.
The indecent incident happened Wednesday in Vero Beach, according to a police report obtained by The Smoking Gun.
Cops were called after a shopper noticed the suspect’s self-love session inside a Kia parked outside the store.
According to the tipster, the Walmart wanker had the driver’s side window down, and was performing the highly visible lewd act in broad daylight. ...............(more)
https://nypost.com/2021/02/19/florida-man-caught-masturbating-in-walmart-parking-lot/
February 19, 2021
He's with Rush now.
TAMPA, Fla. — A man who bragged of tricking local Florida officials into letting him fly a massive Confederate flag at the corners of two busy interstates has died, authorities said.
Police said officers found 73-year-old Marion Lambert dead on his small farm in Tampa on Wednesday. WFLA first reported the news. Officials said foul play is not suspected.
Family and friends started an online fundraiser for funeral expenses and for the future of the farm, which was a popular stop for fresh honey, eggs and milk in the city.
In 2017, Lambert told The Associated Press during an interview that he tricked the county several years ago, when he bought a sliver of land near Interstates 4 and 75. .........(more)
https://nbc-2.com/news/2021/02/19/florida-man-who-flew-massive-confederate-flag-in-tampa-found-dead/
Florida man who flew massive Confederate flag in Tampa found dead
He's with Rush now.
TAMPA, Fla. — A man who bragged of tricking local Florida officials into letting him fly a massive Confederate flag at the corners of two busy interstates has died, authorities said.
Police said officers found 73-year-old Marion Lambert dead on his small farm in Tampa on Wednesday. WFLA first reported the news. Officials said foul play is not suspected.
Family and friends started an online fundraiser for funeral expenses and for the future of the farm, which was a popular stop for fresh honey, eggs and milk in the city.
In 2017, Lambert told The Associated Press during an interview that he tricked the county several years ago, when he bought a sliver of land near Interstates 4 and 75. .........(more)
https://nbc-2.com/news/2021/02/19/florida-man-who-flew-massive-confederate-flag-in-tampa-found-dead/
February 19, 2021
So the Memphis airport is closed because of low water pressure.....
.... and non-functioning bathrooms.
America's infrastructure is a mess.
February 19, 2021
(Bloomberg) The Federal Reserve warned of significant risks of business bankruptcies and steep drops in commercial real estate prices in a report published on Friday.
“Business leverage now stands near historical highs,” the central bank said in its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress. “Insolvency risks at small and medium-sized firms, as well as at some large firms, remain considerable.”
In part encouraged by government and Fed programs, businesses have taken on more debt over the past year as they’ve struggled to deal with the economic and financial fall-out from Covid-19, including in some cases forced shutdowns. ..............(more)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-19/fed-sounds-alarm-on-commercial-real-estate-business-bankruptcy?srnd=fixed-income
Fed Sounds Alarm on Commercial Real Estate, Business Bankruptcy
(Bloomberg) The Federal Reserve warned of significant risks of business bankruptcies and steep drops in commercial real estate prices in a report published on Friday.
“Business leverage now stands near historical highs,” the central bank said in its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress. “Insolvency risks at small and medium-sized firms, as well as at some large firms, remain considerable.”
In part encouraged by government and Fed programs, businesses have taken on more debt over the past year as they’ve struggled to deal with the economic and financial fall-out from Covid-19, including in some cases forced shutdowns. ..............(more)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-19/fed-sounds-alarm-on-commercial-real-estate-business-bankruptcy?srnd=fixed-income
February 19, 2021
Anchorage, Alaska — An Alaska woman had the scare of a lifetime when using an outhouse in the backcountry and she was attacked by a bear, from below.
“I got out there and sat down on the toilet and immediately something bit my butt right as I sat down,” Shannon Stevens told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I jumped up and I screamed when it happened.”
Stevens, her brother Erik and his girlfriend had taken snowmobiles into the wilderness Feb. 13 to stay at his yurt, located about 20 miles northwest of Haines, in southeast Alaska.
Her brother heard the screaming and went out to the outhouse, about 150 feet away from the yurt. There, he found Shannon tending to her wound. They at first thought she had been bitten by a squirrel or a mink, or something small. ..........(more)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/19/alaska-outhouse-bear-attack/4505940001/
Alaska woman using outhouse attacked by bear, from below
Anchorage, Alaska — An Alaska woman had the scare of a lifetime when using an outhouse in the backcountry and she was attacked by a bear, from below.
“I got out there and sat down on the toilet and immediately something bit my butt right as I sat down,” Shannon Stevens told The Associated Press on Thursday. “I jumped up and I screamed when it happened.”
Stevens, her brother Erik and his girlfriend had taken snowmobiles into the wilderness Feb. 13 to stay at his yurt, located about 20 miles northwest of Haines, in southeast Alaska.
Her brother heard the screaming and went out to the outhouse, about 150 feet away from the yurt. There, he found Shannon tending to her wound. They at first thought she had been bitten by a squirrel or a mink, or something small. ..........(more)
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2021/02/19/alaska-outhouse-bear-attack/4505940001/
February 19, 2021
Rush Limbaugh captivated dads like mine and created America's modern fascist aesthetic
Limbaugh co-opted rock-and-roll to sell authoritarianism
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
FEBRUARY 18, 2021 6:09PM
(Salon) To explain the rise of Rush Limbaugh, who died on Wednesday at age 70, in the early 90s, it helps to understand that, in large parts of America at least, he read as a not your grandfather's buttoned-up Republicanism. He wasn't cool, exactly, but he appealed to middle-aged Boomers who were still coasting on their image as the generation of Woodstock and "Animal House." His bumper music was a song by the Pretenders, a bona fide punk band. He often did comedy skits and spoke in the mellifluous tones of an FM radio DJ. He used rock music and humor to package vicious racism, homophobia and misogyny as a rollicking good time.
It was total bullshit, but it was effective bullshit.
My dad liked Rush Limbaugh. My dad also liked Led Zeppelin, knew how to play the guitar, and read Tom Robbins novels. Like many Gen Xers in the early 90s, I had my own tastes and views, but still thought of the Boomers as the rock-and-roll generation. Even conservative Boomers, I thought, were more "libertarian" and nothing like those Bible-waving record-burners from the 1950s we had heard so much about.
So I'll never forget the day that I heard Limbaugh call Kurt Cobain "a worthless shred of human debris" after the lead singer and guitarist for Nirvana died by suicide. I was 16 years old and, like a large chunk of people my age, Nirvana was one of my favorite bands. I had already cried my eyes out, in that way only a teenager can, over Cobain's death, but hearing Limbaugh say these vile words while my dad listened brought the grief and rage crashing back over me. And It caused an ugly fight between me and my father.
I couldn't understand how the man who brought me up to love music so much — who raised me on Santana, Fleetwood Mac and Elton John, and who bought me my first record player when I was 7 years old — could listen to this man tear down a musical idol as important to my generation as Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin was to his. His reply? I got lectured about how I shouldn't look up to rock stars, or take any of this music stuff so seriously. ..........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/18/rush-limbaugh-captivated-dads-like-mine-and-created-the-modern-american-fascist-aesthetic/
Amanda Marcotte: Rush Limbaugh captivated dads like mine and created America's modern fascist aesthe
Rush Limbaugh captivated dads like mine and created America's modern fascist aesthetic
Limbaugh co-opted rock-and-roll to sell authoritarianism
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
FEBRUARY 18, 2021 6:09PM
(Salon) To explain the rise of Rush Limbaugh, who died on Wednesday at age 70, in the early 90s, it helps to understand that, in large parts of America at least, he read as a not your grandfather's buttoned-up Republicanism. He wasn't cool, exactly, but he appealed to middle-aged Boomers who were still coasting on their image as the generation of Woodstock and "Animal House." His bumper music was a song by the Pretenders, a bona fide punk band. He often did comedy skits and spoke in the mellifluous tones of an FM radio DJ. He used rock music and humor to package vicious racism, homophobia and misogyny as a rollicking good time.
It was total bullshit, but it was effective bullshit.
My dad liked Rush Limbaugh. My dad also liked Led Zeppelin, knew how to play the guitar, and read Tom Robbins novels. Like many Gen Xers in the early 90s, I had my own tastes and views, but still thought of the Boomers as the rock-and-roll generation. Even conservative Boomers, I thought, were more "libertarian" and nothing like those Bible-waving record-burners from the 1950s we had heard so much about.
So I'll never forget the day that I heard Limbaugh call Kurt Cobain "a worthless shred of human debris" after the lead singer and guitarist for Nirvana died by suicide. I was 16 years old and, like a large chunk of people my age, Nirvana was one of my favorite bands. I had already cried my eyes out, in that way only a teenager can, over Cobain's death, but hearing Limbaugh say these vile words while my dad listened brought the grief and rage crashing back over me. And It caused an ugly fight between me and my father.
I couldn't understand how the man who brought me up to love music so much — who raised me on Santana, Fleetwood Mac and Elton John, and who bought me my first record player when I was 7 years old — could listen to this man tear down a musical idol as important to my generation as Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin was to his. His reply? I got lectured about how I shouldn't look up to rock stars, or take any of this music stuff so seriously. ..........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/18/rush-limbaugh-captivated-dads-like-mine-and-created-the-modern-american-fascist-aesthetic/
February 19, 2021
(Salon) Republican control over redistricting in key Southern states, along with Supreme Court decisions that gutted protections for voters of color, could result in historically unfair congressional maps after the next round of gerrymandering, according to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School.
The redistricting that followed the 2010 census resulted in "some of the most gerrymandered and racially discriminatory maps" in history but the next cycle of redistricting could be even more fraught with abuse in Southern states, according to the report. Florida, Texas and North Carolina, all of which are expected to gain House seats following the 2020 census, as well as Georgia, pose the highest risk of producing maps that are racially discriminatory and favor Republicans.
The report cited a confluence of factors for the growing risk. The next round of redistricting will be the first since the Supreme Court in 2013 gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required states with a history of racial discrimination to receive advance clearance from the Justice Department before making any electoral changes. The court's conservative majority later ruled in 2019 that federal courts had no jurisdiction to review partisan gerrymanders, which have been "heavily accomplished by discriminating against communities of color," said Michael Li, the author of the report and senior counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program.
Single-party Republican control over the map-drawing process and rapidly changing demographics, coupled with the weakened protections, are likely to result in even more "unfair" maps in those states than the last round. "Invariably, communities of color would bear much of the brunt, facing outright discrimination in some places and being used as a convenient tool for achieving unfair partisan advantage in others," the report said. .......(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/19/new-round-of-gop-gerrymandering-in-southern-states-could-be-the-most-racist-yet
Gerrymandering: Now even more racist
On Edit: Fixed broken link(Salon) Republican control over redistricting in key Southern states, along with Supreme Court decisions that gutted protections for voters of color, could result in historically unfair congressional maps after the next round of gerrymandering, according to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School.
The redistricting that followed the 2010 census resulted in "some of the most gerrymandered and racially discriminatory maps" in history but the next cycle of redistricting could be even more fraught with abuse in Southern states, according to the report. Florida, Texas and North Carolina, all of which are expected to gain House seats following the 2020 census, as well as Georgia, pose the highest risk of producing maps that are racially discriminatory and favor Republicans.
The report cited a confluence of factors for the growing risk. The next round of redistricting will be the first since the Supreme Court in 2013 gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required states with a history of racial discrimination to receive advance clearance from the Justice Department before making any electoral changes. The court's conservative majority later ruled in 2019 that federal courts had no jurisdiction to review partisan gerrymanders, which have been "heavily accomplished by discriminating against communities of color," said Michael Li, the author of the report and senior counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program.
Single-party Republican control over the map-drawing process and rapidly changing demographics, coupled with the weakened protections, are likely to result in even more "unfair" maps in those states than the last round. "Invariably, communities of color would bear much of the brunt, facing outright discrimination in some places and being used as a convenient tool for achieving unfair partisan advantage in others," the report said. .......(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/19/new-round-of-gop-gerrymandering-in-southern-states-could-be-the-most-racist-yet
February 19, 2021
Let's tell the truth about the Republican Party: It's the real enemy of the people
Coverage of the second impeachment was still driven by media myths about "normal" Republicans. They don't exist
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
FEBRUARY 19, 2021 11:00AM
(Salon) Donald Trump has an amazing instinctive gift for survival. Despite his many failures in business, politics, government and his personal life, Trump has rarely if even been held accountable. In that sense he remains a "winner," as well as the figurehead of a political movement that will not disappear from American life anytime soon.
Last Saturday, Donald Trump was officially acquitted at the conclusion of his second impeachment trial, this time for committing insurrection and encouraging his followers to participate in a lethal attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Why? Simply put, congressional Republicans largely agree with Trump, and are beholden to him. They also fear his followers. With this most recent vote to acquit Trump for his obvious crimes, the Republican Party has become a de facto terrorist organization that embraces the use of political violence by members of the white right against Democrats, liberals, progressives and any other group or individual deemed to be the enemy.
....(snip)....
In these and other ways, the Republican Party and the broader right-wing movement have shown the American people and the world that they are anti-democratic, anti-majoritarian, fascist and authoritarian. They are enemies of multiracial democracy and pluralism, and committed to winning power and holding it by any means necessary and at any cost. Yet too many among the American news media, the Democratic Party and the public at large remain in denial.
....(snip)....
Another narrative holds that "history is watching" and that impeaching Trump a second time set an important precedent. But Republicans and Trump supporters do not care about the "truth" or the abstract judgment of history. Their commandments are victory and power by any means. Today's American right wing understands that history is a malleable thing, which in many ways is written by the victors.
As with other fascists and authoritarians, today's Republican Party lives in a type of eternal present. They may speak of "tradition" and a return to some idyllic, fictive past of "greatness" and "glory," but those are just linguistic devices deployed to achieve victory by destroying existing societal institutions and norms. As for precedent? That assumes a future America where there is a substantive commitment to real democracy and the rule of law. Given the enduring power of Trumpism and other right-wing fake populist movements, such an assumption is very much in doubt. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/19/lets-tell-the-truth-about-the-republican-party-its-the-real-enemy-of-the-people/
Let's tell the truth about the Republican Party: It's the real enemy of the people
Let's tell the truth about the Republican Party: It's the real enemy of the people
Coverage of the second impeachment was still driven by media myths about "normal" Republicans. They don't exist
By CHAUNCEY DEVEGA
FEBRUARY 19, 2021 11:00AM
(Salon) Donald Trump has an amazing instinctive gift for survival. Despite his many failures in business, politics, government and his personal life, Trump has rarely if even been held accountable. In that sense he remains a "winner," as well as the figurehead of a political movement that will not disappear from American life anytime soon.
Last Saturday, Donald Trump was officially acquitted at the conclusion of his second impeachment trial, this time for committing insurrection and encouraging his followers to participate in a lethal attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Why? Simply put, congressional Republicans largely agree with Trump, and are beholden to him. They also fear his followers. With this most recent vote to acquit Trump for his obvious crimes, the Republican Party has become a de facto terrorist organization that embraces the use of political violence by members of the white right against Democrats, liberals, progressives and any other group or individual deemed to be the enemy.
....(snip)....
In these and other ways, the Republican Party and the broader right-wing movement have shown the American people and the world that they are anti-democratic, anti-majoritarian, fascist and authoritarian. They are enemies of multiracial democracy and pluralism, and committed to winning power and holding it by any means necessary and at any cost. Yet too many among the American news media, the Democratic Party and the public at large remain in denial.
....(snip)....
Another narrative holds that "history is watching" and that impeaching Trump a second time set an important precedent. But Republicans and Trump supporters do not care about the "truth" or the abstract judgment of history. Their commandments are victory and power by any means. Today's American right wing understands that history is a malleable thing, which in many ways is written by the victors.
As with other fascists and authoritarians, today's Republican Party lives in a type of eternal present. They may speak of "tradition" and a return to some idyllic, fictive past of "greatness" and "glory," but those are just linguistic devices deployed to achieve victory by destroying existing societal institutions and norms. As for precedent? That assumes a future America where there is a substantive commitment to real democracy and the rule of law. Given the enduring power of Trumpism and other right-wing fake populist movements, such an assumption is very much in doubt. ..............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/02/19/lets-tell-the-truth-about-the-republican-party-its-the-real-enemy-of-the-people/
February 18, 2021
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared on Steve Bannon's Thursday show to memorialize right-wing radio personality Rush Limbaugh with stories of their own personal experiences.
At the end of the interview, Giuliani asked if there was time for one more story, which Bannon granted.
Giuliani said that when golfing, Limbaugh always wanted him to drive and Limbaugh would be smoking his cigar. He said one day they were driving and "the paparazzi was driving us crazy! They're taking pictures! They're taking pictures! They're taking pictures!" .......(more)
https://www.rawstory.com/rudy-giuliani-rush-limbaugh-panties/
Rush Limbaugh, Rudy Giuliani, golf, panties and Steve Bannon
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared on Steve Bannon's Thursday show to memorialize right-wing radio personality Rush Limbaugh with stories of their own personal experiences.
At the end of the interview, Giuliani asked if there was time for one more story, which Bannon granted.
Giuliani said that when golfing, Limbaugh always wanted him to drive and Limbaugh would be smoking his cigar. He said one day they were driving and "the paparazzi was driving us crazy! They're taking pictures! They're taking pictures! They're taking pictures!" .......(more)
https://www.rawstory.com/rudy-giuliani-rush-limbaugh-panties/
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Number of posts: 77,077