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  • that's not even the worst:

    https://thehill.com/policy/finance/5...-for-meals-and

    Senate Republicans' proposed coronavirus package unveiled Monday would increase the deduction for business meals, a priority for President Trump.

    Under a section of the package offered by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), taxpayers would be able to deduct 100 percent of the costs of business meals through the end of the year, up from 50 percent under current law, if the food and beverages are from restaurants.

    Ahead of the measure's release, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said in an interview with Fox Business Network the package would include "increased business deductions for meals and entertainment." However, Scott's, provision focuses specifically on meals and does not apply to entertainment expenses.
    There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

    Comment


    • (CNN)President Donald Trump said Tuesday his relationship with Dr. Anthony Fauci is "very good" but wondered why the doctor's approval rating is so high when his is so low.

      Speaking a day after he retweeted a message claiming Fauci had misled the public, Trump chalked up his own sinking numbers to his personality.

      But he said Fauci's broad respect should transfer to the Trump administration -- for whom Fauci works.

      "I get along with him very well and I agree with a lot of what he's said," Trump insisted.

      "It's interesting: he's got a very good approval rating. And I like that, it's good," he went on. "Because remember: he's working for this administration. He's working with us. We could have gotten other people. We could have gotten somebody else. It didn't have to be Dr. Fauci. He's working with our administration. And for the most part we've done what he and others -- and Dr. Birx and others -- have recommended."

      Trump continued: "And he's got this high approval rating. So why don't I have a high approval rating with respect -- and the administration -- with respect to the virus? We should have it very high."
      "So it sort of is curious," Trump said, "a man works for us, with us, very closely, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx also, very highly thought of -- and yet, they're highly thought of, but nobody likes me?"

      "It can only be my personality, that's all," he said.
      The mind at work...

      Comment


      • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
        And why do you suppose he did that?

        Oh look, what a fucking surprise:

        Trump only pivoted on coronavirus after reportedly being warned of spikes among 'our people' in red states

        People close to President Trump told The Washington Post they think that, throughout most of the coronavirus pandemic, he struggled to wholly address the crisis because of an unwillingness to admit error, a positive feedback loop from advisers and Fox News, and a "penchant for magical thinking" that led him to believe the virus would soon disappear.

        But Trump has seemingly come around a bit and is now acknowledging the pandemic isn't going to improve overnight. Per the Post, the pivot apparently came only after Trump realized his voting base was in danger. Over the last few weeks, his advisers have reportedly shown him maps and data that highlight spikes in coronavirus cases among "our people" in Republican states, a senior administration official told the Post.

        The advisers have also reportedly shared projections predicting surges in Midwestern battleground states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, all of which are key to Trump winning re-election.
        _____________

        Show of hands, who couldn't figure that out from the moment he pivoted?
        That pivot didn't last long did it? Now who among us thought it would get past a one or two days? Hyroxychloroquine back front and center.

        Comment


        • How Quack Doctors And Powerful GOP Operatives Spread Misinformation To Millions

          A seemingly obscure Capitol Hill press conference by a fringe group of self-proclaimed medical experts quickly became on Monday the most widely seen propaganda video about the coronavirus after Breitbart News livestreamed it on Facebook. The post racked up tens of millions of views across social media in a matter of hours, far surpassing the traffic of the infamous “Plandemic” disinformation video. It grabbed the attention of President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr., who had his Twitter account partially suspended for sharing a link to the video.

          The video featured a string of right-wing talking points that criticized lockdown measures, demonized public health officials, called for schools to reopen and urged Americans not to wear face masks. The speakers, who were all portrayed as doctors, often declared hydroxychloroquine a “cure” for COVID-19. (No legitimate medical organizations have recognized any “cure” for COVID-19, and multiple clinical trials have shown hydroxychloroquine is not beneficial in treating the virus.)

          One of the main characters in the clip was a religious minister and pediatrician who has previously warned against having sex with demons — so at first glance, it would be easy to characterize the video as just another random conspiracy crank finding a massive audience thanks to Facebook.

          But in fact, a conservative dark-money group was behind the press event that created this viral propaganda moment. The group featured in the video, “America’s Frontline Doctors,” sprang from nowhere only days ago and appears connected to groups involved in the Save Our Country Coalition, which was a driving force behind the “reopen” protests in April that lobbied for America’s rapid reopening, even as death tolls spike in hot spots across the country.

          As Donald Trump’s reelection prospects dwindle amid his administration’s disastrous response to the pandemic, right-wing politicians and media figures have aggressively downplayed the threat of the virus and echoed Trump’s disproven claims about the efficacy of hydroxychloriquine, an anti-malarial drug. This week’s episode, bolstered by Republican operatives, recklessly amplified by social media giants and promoted by the president himself, is a flashing warning about their ability to disseminate dangerous propaganda quickly and widely.

          The Save Our Country Coalition
          Monday’s livestreamed event featuring the America’s Frontline Doctors group was organized by Tea Party Patriots, a wealthy Republican donor-backed nonprofit that, in partnership with FreedomWorks and other right-wing dark money groups, launched the Save Our Country Coalition in April to push for America’s rapid reopening. Jenny Beth Martin, TPP’s co-founder, spoke at the conference alongside the self-proclaimed frontline doctors, urging people to call their elected officials to demand access to hydroxychloroquine.

          Simone Gold, the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, has been a go-to source for Fox News on the so-called dangers of strict coronavirus measures and has spoken at several reopen rallies.

          It’s not clear to what extent the Save Our Country Coalition was behind Monday’s press event; the America’s Frontline Doctors website discloses no affiliation to any other group, nor does it proclaim itself a 501(c) nonprofit.

          But Tea Party Patriots is clearly involved in both efforts, and the Monday press conference was directly in line with SOC’s push to downplay the pandemic. FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

          One of the people spearheading SOC’s efforts is GOP operative and Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore, who last year withdrew from consideration for a job with the Federal Reserve and joined a group of entrepreneurs seeking to create a cryptocurrency central bank.

          Moore had encouraged lockdown protests earlier this year, stating on a conservative YouTube program in mid-April that he heard from a “big donor in Wisconsin” who would pay the legal fees for anyone who gets arrested for rallying against stay-at-home orders at the State Capitol.

          SOC’s honorary chairman is conservative economist Arthur Laffer, whom Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to last year. Laffer has also mentored Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, reported Reuters.

          The coalition’s groups have largely been funded by prominent billionaires, including oil and gas mogul Charles Koch ― who has donated to SOC group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) ― and Richard Uihlein, a major donor to Tea Party Patriots. Uihlein also backed Roy Moore during his Senate run in Alabama even after he was accused of sexually assaulting underage girls.

          Former ALEC staffer Jerry Taylor, a co-founder of the nonpartisan Niskanen Center, condemned SOC’s efforts to undermine leading public health officials last month.

          “The political actors involved with these groups are united both in their hostility to mainstream science — which they consider a conspiratorial leftist plot to destroy free market capitalism — and their superficial understanding of economics,” Taylor told The Guardian. “Fully reopening the economy will not produce an economic recovery until the coronavirus is contained and can stay contained.”

          A Strange Group Of Doctors
          Many of the members of America’s Frontline Doctors have promoted fringe views that go against overwhelming medical evidence. The group includes a pro-Trump physician who has appeared on Fox News advocating against lockdowns and an evangelical Christian minister who has promoted bizarre claims about DNA from space aliens being used in medical treatment. Dr. Stella Immmanuel, a minister who operates a tiny walk-in medical clinic out of a strip mall in Texas, falsely claimed there was a “cure” for COVID-19 and suggested that people did not need to wear masks.

          Immanuel is the author of several books which contain homophobic and extreme views, as well as writing that the “Harry Potter” series makes society “accept demonic activity and witchcraft as normal” and that “demonic music has penetrated the souls of our children and programmed them with an anti-Christ message.”

          It is unclear how the group came together, but several have become popular in conservative circles for promoting views that align with Trump’s rhetoric on the pandemic.

          Gold includes some vague details about her background in a bio on her website, which states that she “worked in Washington D.C. for the Surgeon General, as well as for the Chairman of the Labor & Human Resources Committee.”

          But a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the Office of the Surgeon General, could not confirm that Gold worked in the office.

          According to her LinkedIn page, Gold briefly served as a congressional fellow in 1997, in which she participated in “research and analysis of health policy issues” and wrote speeches for Sen. Jim Jeffords, the Republican chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at the time.

          Gold did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

          The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine
          Far-right website Breitbart News posted the video to Facebook on Monday, triggering its viral spread across other social media sites.

          A cycle of right-wing actors spreading misinformation, then playing the role of free speech martyr, was in full effect on Tuesday morning, as multiple pro-Trump media outlets and activists promoted the video’s claims and condemned its removal. Far-right One America News Network pundits, right-wing website PragerU, prominent conservative radio host Mark Levin, Trump endorsers Diamond and Silk, Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell and other conservative influencers all tweeted about the video. At least 10 Republican congressional candidates and local GOP Facebook pages also shared it, according to an analysis by First Draft, an organization that monitors misinformation.

          By early Tuesday, the president and his eldest son also shared now-deleted clips on Twitter, where the video trended.

          The video’s rapid growth reflected the speed at which misinformation can travel when powerful far-right media outlets and politicians amplify it, as well as the glaring inadequacies of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to stop the spread before it reaches mass audiences.

          Facebook did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment on what actions it was taking to prevent the further spread of the video or any ramifications for the accounts of those involved in its creation and dissemination, instead providing a boilerplate statement about the removal.

          “We removed the video for sharing false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19,” Andrea Vallone, a spokesperson for Facebook, told HuffPost. But as of Tuesday afternoon, large pages were still freely linking to and embedding clips on the platform.

          Facebook has become a hub for medical misinformation, anti-vaccine conspiracies and extremism during the pandemic. Anti-lockdown groups connected to powerful conservative activists gained hundreds of thousands of followers and devolved into conspiracy theories, while prosecutors say followers of the anti-government Boogaloo movement discussed plans on the site before murdering law enforcement officers. In May, a coronavirus conspiracy video called “Plandemic” gained millions of views within days of its posting before mainstream media began debunking its false claims and Facebook removed the video.

          Facebook’s response time to this week’s viral disinformation video was days faster than with “Plandemic,” but still failed to prevent it from being watched at least 17 million times from the Breitbart post alone ― millions more views than “Plandemic” amassed prior to its removal. Links to the video are also still available on the platform, including on the page of one of the most prominent members of the “frontline doctors” group.

          Crying Censorship
          The video capitalized on a “watch before it’s taken down” framing that lets viewers feel like they are getting in on a secret or are privy to exclusive information that will soon disappear, according to Diara J. Townes, an investigative researcher at First Draft. When platforms eventually take action to remove or flag content with false claims and potentially harmful medical advice, the media outlets and influencers who spread the misinformation then cry censorship and position themselves as victims.

          Donald Trump Jr.’s Twitter account was partially suspended after he shared it, leading to a Trump spokesperson condemning “Big Tech” for election interference. (Twitter told HuffPost that it did not take similar enforcement action against the president’s account because, unlike his son, he “did not Tweet the video in question, he Retweeted it.”)

          Breitbart published a post claiming the video had been censored, while bragging that “in terms of viral velocity” their livestream post had outperformed content from Hillary Clinton and Kim Kardashian. Gold, the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, also lamented on Twitter that her group’s views had been “censored and silenced.”

          In addition to accusing tech giants of silencing them, the video’s promoters have suggested that Democrats are also suppressing the use of hydroxychloroquine for political reasons to hurt Trump’s reelection chances.

          The video contained falsehoods about hydroxychloroquine, which numerous peer-reviewed studies have shown to be ineffective in treating the virus — resulting in the FDA and National Institute of Health halting trials. The drug, which was one of many treatments tested for use against the virus during the early stages of the pandemic, has become a right-wing fixation after Trump heavily promoted it as a “game changer” and claimed to take it himself. On Tuesday afternoon, One America News founder and CEO Robert Herring tweeted that he had talked with Trump about hydroxychloroquine and provided him a list of doctors that the conspiracy-mongering outlet had interviewed.

          Trump first mentioned hydroxychloroquine after two cryptocurrency investors created a widely circulated file on Google Docs touting the drug while falsely claiming to be associated with Stanford University School of Medicine and other medical institutions. Google removed the document for violating its policies, but not before its creators gained widespread media attention and appeared on Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s prime-time show to share false claims they had found a “cure” for the virus.

          One of the cryptocurrency investors ― James Todaro, who also trained as an ophthalmologist ― is now a member of the “frontline doctors” group.
          _____________

          No wonder the U.S. effort to fight COVID resembles a dumpster fire of horseshit.

          The GOP: Party of lunatics and deranged assholes. Fuck every last one of them that still supports Donald Trump.
          “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

          Comment


          • Kayleigh McEnany Struggles to Defend Trump’s Demon Sperm Doctor Retweets

            Kayleigh McEnany had a difficult job even before her boss started retweeting conspiracy theories from a fringe doctor who blames demon sperm and alien DNA for America’s health problems.

            CBS This Morning co-host Anthony Mason wasted no time getting to that particular story when he invited the White House press secretary on his show Wednesday morning.

            “Why is the president pushing hydroxychloroquine again when his own health experts say it’s not effective in treating the virus?” he asked.

            McEnany began by explaining that, despite science to the contrary, Trump has a “positive outlook” on the drug’s potential as a “prophylaxis in the early stages.” The president famously told the press he was taking hydroxychloroquine two months into the pandemic because he had “heard a lot of good stories” about it.

            “He wants to save lives, that is his goal here,” she added. “That is why he’s promoting this drug as a prophylaxis but only in consultation with your doctor.”

            After pointing out that Dr. Anthony Fauci has contradicted the president’s “positive outlook” on the drug by citing medical evidence, Mason zeroed in on the video that Trump retweeted of Dr. Stella Immanuel in which she not only promoted hydroxychloroquine as a miracle “cure” for COVID-19 but also declared that people “do not need to wear masks” and that shutdowns are “unnecessary.”

            “This just comes a week after the president said masks are ‘patriotic,’” the host continued. “There’s a shift in tone here and what appear to be very mixed messages. Why?”

            McEnany’s defense? “That was a three-second remark in a more than five-minute video,” she said, arguing that Trump was simply using Dr. Immanuel’s video to push the unproven drug he likes. When she started praising Trump for finally wearing a mask in public months into the crisis, Mason pushed back.

            “But there’s a message in there that says it’s not necessary and it comes from the president who has 80 million followers!” he replied. “Did he not look at the whole video?”

            “The president did look at the whole video,” McEnany said, perhaps not helping her case. “And the overarching message of the video, more than five minutes from this doctor, was talking about hydroxychloroquine.”

            Trump himself seemed to predict this controversy during an interview last week when he said, “You know what I find? It’s not the tweets, it’s the retweets that get you in trouble.” The president then admitted that when he “sees something that looks good” on Twitter, he doesn’t always “investigate” it before hitting the retweet button.
            ___________

            It must be so exhausting to be a Trump supporter or Administration official. Every day you to figure out how to defend an idiotic comment or insane action, just because you can't admit you made a mistake and voted or are working for a total moron in the most powerful office in the world.
            “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

            Comment


            • White House not doing enough to protect Trump from coronavirus, medical expert warns

              A leading medical expert has claimed that stronger coronavirus measures need to be taken at the White House to prevent president Donald Trump from contracting Covid-19.

              The president’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, just weeks after vice president Mike Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller announced she had contracted Covid-19.

              After Mr O’Brien tested positive for the virus, Mr Trump downplayed the seriousness of the situation and a White House statement added: “There is no risk of exposure to the president or the vice president.”

              Speaking about the White House’s coronavirus protocols following the latest positive test of a staffer, Dr Jonathan Reiner, the professor of medicine at The George Washington University Medical Centre, told CNN: “What they’re not using at the White House is a strategy of massive mask-wearing for everyone.”

              He added: “In photo ops and, you know, apparently in the hallways, it’s not common to see staff, senior staff members, wearing masks. I would do that immediately. You need concentric rings of protection around the president and vice president.”


              White House staff members are tested regularly even if they are not showing symptoms and the details of anyone who comes into contact with the president are taken in order to make sure they are tested for Covid-19, according to CNN.

              However, Dr Reiner said that if mandatory mask wearing is not introduced in the White House, then “a very senior member, even higher in the government than the national security adviser will contract this virus”.

              Dr Reiner also suggested that because of his age, the president should be concerned about the effects of coronavirus on his overall health, according to Raw Story.

              “I want to remind people that Herman Cain, who’s exactly the same age as the president of the United States, has been in the hospital for a month after contracting the virus,” he said.

              “This president is 74 years old. He is at great risk of a tragic outcome should he acquire this,” Dr Reiner added.

              The World Health Organisation has outlined that “Covid-19 is often more severe in people who are older than 60 years”, and advised people in that age group to limit visitors to only those who are essential.

              Mr O’Brien is the most senior member of Mr Trump’s staff to have contracted Covid-19 and has an office that is situated close to the president in the Oval Office.

              Mr Trump visited Miami, Florida, with Mr O’Brien just two weeks ago, but a high ranking official in the White House told the BBC that the president had not been in close contact with him for “several days”.

              The White House statement added that Mr O’Brien “has mild symptoms and has been self-isolating,” and the “work of the National Security Council continues uninterrupted”.

              The White House’s deputy press secretary Judd Deere told The Independent that “the president’s physician and White House Operations work closely to incorporate current CDC (Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance and best practices to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the president, first family and the entire White House complex safe and healthy at all times.

              “In addition to social distancing, readily available hand sanitiser, regular deep cleaning of all work spaces, and facial coverings, those in close proximity to the president continue to be tested for Covid-19 to ensure exposure is limited to the greatest extent possible.”
              ______________

              Would be the greatest of ironies if this orange shit stain contracted COVID-19.
              “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

              Comment


              • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post

                No wonder the U.S. effort to fight COVID resembles a dumpster fire of horseshit.

                The GOP: Party of lunatics and deranged assholes. Fuck every last one of them that still supports Donald Trump.
                A simple search on these doctors education and qualifications is easy to do. Once vetted one can see that they are barely above the level of a medicine man/witch doctor category.

                Yesterday I has a senior woman in my office who felt things are crazy. Told me about the motorcycle death reported as a Covid-19 fatality and included in those numbers. I told her that death has been removed from the tally list after a review. She looks at me. I say, you come to me because I do my research and know what I am talking about relating to health matters while never take anything on face value, do you not? She adjusted her view so maybe one less...

                Comment


                • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                  And why do you suppose he did that?

                  Oh look, what a fucking surprise:

                  Trump only pivoted on coronavirus after reportedly being warned of spikes among 'our people' in red states

                  People close to President Trump told The Washington Post they think that, throughout most of the coronavirus pandemic, he struggled to wholly address the crisis because of an unwillingness to admit error, a positive feedback loop from advisers and Fox News, and a "penchant for magical thinking" that led him to believe the virus would soon disappear.

                  But Trump has seemingly come around a bit and is now acknowledging the pandemic isn't going to improve overnight. Per the Post, the pivot apparently came only after Trump realized his voting base was in danger. Over the last few weeks, his advisers have reportedly shown him maps and data that highlight spikes in coronavirus cases among "our people" in Republican states, a senior administration official told the Post.

                  The advisers have also reportedly shared projections predicting surges in Midwestern battleground states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, all of which are key to Trump winning re-election.
                  _____________

                  Show of hands, who couldn't figure that out from the moment he pivoted?
                  Yeah but is there more to it.

                  Whether it was just cosmetic for better placing at the polls or does this shift work its way down the ranks

                  Will Gov of Georgia now relent and allow mayor of Atlanta to have her mask mandate

                  Way your system works Trump can now claim he's off the hook and the governors can continue as they see fit.

                  No change on the ground in that case.
                  Last edited by Double Edge; 30 Jul 20,, 07:37.

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                    How Quack Doctors And Powerful GOP Operatives Spread Misinformation To Millions

                    A seemingly obscure Capitol Hill press conference by a fringe group of self-proclaimed medical experts quickly became on Monday the most widely seen propaganda video about the coronavirus after Breitbart News livestreamed it on Facebook. The post racked up tens of millions of views across social media in a matter of hours, far surpassing the traffic of the infamous “Plandemic” disinformation video. It grabbed the attention of President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr., who had his Twitter account partially suspended for sharing a link to the video.

                    The video featured a string of right-wing talking points that criticized lockdown measures, demonized public health officials, called for schools to reopen and urged Americans not to wear face masks. The speakers, who were all portrayed as doctors, often declared hydroxychloroquine a “cure” for COVID-19. (No legitimate medical organizations have recognized any “cure” for COVID-19, and multiple clinical trials have shown hydroxychloroquine is not beneficial in treating the virus.)

                    One of the main characters in the clip was a religious minister and pediatrician who has previously warned against having sex with demons — so at first glance, it would be easy to characterize the video as just another random conspiracy crank finding a massive audience thanks to Facebook.

                    But in fact, a conservative dark-money group was behind the press event that created this viral propaganda moment. The group featured in the video, “America’s Frontline Doctors,” sprang from nowhere only days ago and appears connected to groups involved in the Save Our Country Coalition, which was a driving force behind the “reopen” protests in April that lobbied for America’s rapid reopening, even as death tolls spike in hot spots across the country.

                    As Donald Trump’s reelection prospects dwindle amid his administration’s disastrous response to the pandemic, right-wing politicians and media figures have aggressively downplayed the threat of the virus and echoed Trump’s disproven claims about the efficacy of hydroxychloriquine, an anti-malarial drug. This week’s episode, bolstered by Republican operatives, recklessly amplified by social media giants and promoted by the president himself, is a flashing warning about their ability to disseminate dangerous propaganda quickly and widely.

                    The Save Our Country Coalition
                    Monday’s livestreamed event featuring the America’s Frontline Doctors group was organized by Tea Party Patriots, a wealthy Republican donor-backed nonprofit that, in partnership with FreedomWorks and other right-wing dark money groups, launched the Save Our Country Coalition in April to push for America’s rapid reopening. Jenny Beth Martin, TPP’s co-founder, spoke at the conference alongside the self-proclaimed frontline doctors, urging people to call their elected officials to demand access to hydroxychloroquine.

                    Simone Gold, the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, has been a go-to source for Fox News on the so-called dangers of strict coronavirus measures and has spoken at several reopen rallies.

                    It’s not clear to what extent the Save Our Country Coalition was behind Monday’s press event; the America’s Frontline Doctors website discloses no affiliation to any other group, nor does it proclaim itself a 501(c) nonprofit.

                    But Tea Party Patriots is clearly involved in both efforts, and the Monday press conference was directly in line with SOC’s push to downplay the pandemic. FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

                    One of the people spearheading SOC’s efforts is GOP operative and Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore, who last year withdrew from consideration for a job with the Federal Reserve and joined a group of entrepreneurs seeking to create a cryptocurrency central bank.

                    Moore had encouraged lockdown protests earlier this year, stating on a conservative YouTube program in mid-April that he heard from a “big donor in Wisconsin” who would pay the legal fees for anyone who gets arrested for rallying against stay-at-home orders at the State Capitol.

                    SOC’s honorary chairman is conservative economist Arthur Laffer, whom Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to last year. Laffer has also mentored Larry Kudlow, Trump’s top economic adviser, reported Reuters.

                    The coalition’s groups have largely been funded by prominent billionaires, including oil and gas mogul Charles Koch ― who has donated to SOC group American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) ― and Richard Uihlein, a major donor to Tea Party Patriots. Uihlein also backed Roy Moore during his Senate run in Alabama even after he was accused of sexually assaulting underage girls.

                    Former ALEC staffer Jerry Taylor, a co-founder of the nonpartisan Niskanen Center, condemned SOC’s efforts to undermine leading public health officials last month.

                    “The political actors involved with these groups are united both in their hostility to mainstream science — which they consider a conspiratorial leftist plot to destroy free market capitalism — and their superficial understanding of economics,” Taylor told The Guardian. “Fully reopening the economy will not produce an economic recovery until the coronavirus is contained and can stay contained.”

                    A Strange Group Of Doctors
                    Many of the members of America’s Frontline Doctors have promoted fringe views that go against overwhelming medical evidence. The group includes a pro-Trump physician who has appeared on Fox News advocating against lockdowns and an evangelical Christian minister who has promoted bizarre claims about DNA from space aliens being used in medical treatment. Dr. Stella Immmanuel, a minister who operates a tiny walk-in medical clinic out of a strip mall in Texas, falsely claimed there was a “cure” for COVID-19 and suggested that people did not need to wear masks.

                    Immanuel is the author of several books which contain homophobic and extreme views, as well as writing that the “Harry Potter” series makes society “accept demonic activity and witchcraft as normal” and that “demonic music has penetrated the souls of our children and programmed them with an anti-Christ message.”

                    It is unclear how the group came together, but several have become popular in conservative circles for promoting views that align with Trump’s rhetoric on the pandemic.

                    Gold includes some vague details about her background in a bio on her website, which states that she “worked in Washington D.C. for the Surgeon General, as well as for the Chairman of the Labor & Human Resources Committee.”

                    But a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which houses the Office of the Surgeon General, could not confirm that Gold worked in the office.

                    According to her LinkedIn page, Gold briefly served as a congressional fellow in 1997, in which she participated in “research and analysis of health policy issues” and wrote speeches for Sen. Jim Jeffords, the Republican chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at the time.

                    Gold did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

                    The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine
                    Far-right website Breitbart News posted the video to Facebook on Monday, triggering its viral spread across other social media sites.

                    A cycle of right-wing actors spreading misinformation, then playing the role of free speech martyr, was in full effect on Tuesday morning, as multiple pro-Trump media outlets and activists promoted the video’s claims and condemned its removal. Far-right One America News Network pundits, right-wing website PragerU, prominent conservative radio host Mark Levin, Trump endorsers Diamond and Silk, Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell and other conservative influencers all tweeted about the video. At least 10 Republican congressional candidates and local GOP Facebook pages also shared it, according to an analysis by First Draft, an organization that monitors misinformation.

                    By early Tuesday, the president and his eldest son also shared now-deleted clips on Twitter, where the video trended.

                    The video’s rapid growth reflected the speed at which misinformation can travel when powerful far-right media outlets and politicians amplify it, as well as the glaring inadequacies of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to stop the spread before it reaches mass audiences.

                    Facebook did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment on what actions it was taking to prevent the further spread of the video or any ramifications for the accounts of those involved in its creation and dissemination, instead providing a boilerplate statement about the removal.

                    “We removed the video for sharing false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19,” Andrea Vallone, a spokesperson for Facebook, told HuffPost. But as of Tuesday afternoon, large pages were still freely linking to and embedding clips on the platform.

                    Facebook has become a hub for medical misinformation, anti-vaccine conspiracies and extremism during the pandemic. Anti-lockdown groups connected to powerful conservative activists gained hundreds of thousands of followers and devolved into conspiracy theories, while prosecutors say followers of the anti-government Boogaloo movement discussed plans on the site before murdering law enforcement officers. In May, a coronavirus conspiracy video called “Plandemic” gained millions of views within days of its posting before mainstream media began debunking its false claims and Facebook removed the video.

                    Facebook’s response time to this week’s viral disinformation video was days faster than with “Plandemic,” but still failed to prevent it from being watched at least 17 million times from the Breitbart post alone ― millions more views than “Plandemic” amassed prior to its removal. Links to the video are also still available on the platform, including on the page of one of the most prominent members of the “frontline doctors” group.

                    Crying Censorship
                    The video capitalized on a “watch before it’s taken down” framing that lets viewers feel like they are getting in on a secret or are privy to exclusive information that will soon disappear, according to Diara J. Townes, an investigative researcher at First Draft. When platforms eventually take action to remove or flag content with false claims and potentially harmful medical advice, the media outlets and influencers who spread the misinformation then cry censorship and position themselves as victims.

                    Donald Trump Jr.’s Twitter account was partially suspended after he shared it, leading to a Trump spokesperson condemning “Big Tech” for election interference. (Twitter told HuffPost that it did not take similar enforcement action against the president’s account because, unlike his son, he “did not Tweet the video in question, he Retweeted it.”)

                    Breitbart published a post claiming the video had been censored, while bragging that “in terms of viral velocity” their livestream post had outperformed content from Hillary Clinton and Kim Kardashian. Gold, the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, also lamented on Twitter that her group’s views had been “censored and silenced.”

                    In addition to accusing tech giants of silencing them, the video’s promoters have suggested that Democrats are also suppressing the use of hydroxychloroquine for political reasons to hurt Trump’s reelection chances.

                    The video contained falsehoods about hydroxychloroquine, which numerous peer-reviewed studies have shown to be ineffective in treating the virus — resulting in the FDA and National Institute of Health halting trials. The drug, which was one of many treatments tested for use against the virus during the early stages of the pandemic, has become a right-wing fixation after Trump heavily promoted it as a “game changer” and claimed to take it himself. On Tuesday afternoon, One America News founder and CEO Robert Herring tweeted that he had talked with Trump about hydroxychloroquine and provided him a list of doctors that the conspiracy-mongering outlet had interviewed.

                    Trump first mentioned hydroxychloroquine after two cryptocurrency investors created a widely circulated file on Google Docs touting the drug while falsely claiming to be associated with Stanford University School of Medicine and other medical institutions. Google removed the document for violating its policies, but not before its creators gained widespread media attention and appeared on Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s prime-time show to share false claims they had found a “cure” for the virus.

                    One of the cryptocurrency investors ― James Todaro, who also trained as an ophthalmologist ― is now a member of the “frontline doctors” group.
                    _____________

                    No wonder the U.S. effort to fight COVID resembles a dumpster fire of horseshit.

                    The GOP: Party of lunatics and deranged assholes. Fuck every last one of them that still supports Donald Trump.
                    Yeah, yeah so says HuffPo

                    Forgot about this gem ?

                    Company studying hydroxychloroquine employs sci-fi writer, adult content model | NY Post | Jun 03 2020

                    That company is who the LANCET in a study used to show HCQ was not effective. When Aussie doctors questioned it they were unable to provide sources for their statements. Result is LANCET had to retract the study to their huge embarrassment.

                    Why is HCQ not an issue any where ELSE in the world ? $$$$$

                    Already posted about the Ford foundation's findings and those in support who state how this was politicised by the other side.
                    Last edited by Double Edge; 30 Jul 20,, 07:35.

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                      Yeah, yeah so says HuffPo
                      No, so says America’s Frontline Doctors. And "Dr." Stella Immmanuel And Donald Trump. And Donald Trump Jr. And all of the rest of the right-wing lunatics currently poisoning this country.

                      Originally posted by Double Edge View Post
                      Forgot about this gem ?

                      Company studying hydroxychloroquine employs sci-fi writer, adult content model | NY Post | Jun 03 2020

                      That company is who the LANCET in a study used to show HCQ was not effective. When Aussie doctors questioned it they were unable to provide sources for their statements. Result is LANCET had to retract the study to their huge embarrassment.

                      Why is HCQ not an issue any where ELSE in the world ? $$$$$

                      Already posted about the Ford foundation's findings and those in support who state how this was politicised by the other side.
                      The point that went sailing over your head is that the Lancet retracted the study. They didn't double- and triple-down on their mistake, refusing to believe they were wrong or that they could be wrong.
                      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                      Comment


                      • Herman Cain, 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate And Businessman, Dies At Age 74

                        Herman Cain, a former business executive who ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has died at the age of 74. He had been hospitalized with COVID-19.

                        His website confirmed the news Thursday morning.

                        “You’re never ready for the kind of news we are grappling with this morning,” Dan Calabrese, the editor of Cain’s website, wrote. “But we have no choice but to seek and find God’s strength and comfort to deal with it.

                        “Herman Cain ― our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us ― has passed away. He’s entering the presence of the Savior he’s served as an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta for, and preparing for his reward.”

                        Cain reportedly learned that he tested positive for COVID-19 on June 29. He was hospitalized two days later after developing “serious” symptoms, according to a statement shared on his Twitter account at the time.

                        His diagnosis came less than two weeks after he attended President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cain, who co-chaired Black Voices for Trump, tweeted a photo of himself without a mask at the event, which was attended by several thousand people.

                        Former Cain spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael mourned his passing on Twitter, recalling the man as “a giant of a person in ways that people who would choose to see him merely as a caricature could never understand.”

                        “His American Dream story is one for the history books,” she wrote. “Overcame absolute destitution, genuine discrimination, stage IV cancer and so much hardship in between.”

                        Earlier this week, Cain’s team suggested he was on the mend, describing his “organs and systems” as “strong” and thanking people for their prayers.

                        “Thank you for praying, everyone,” a statement shared on his Twitter account read. “Please keep doing it. He really is getting better, which means it is working.”
                        _____________


                        Cain was admitted to an Atlanta-area hospital on July 1, 2020 for treatment of COVID-19, two days after he was told he tested positive for the virus. His staff said there was no way to be certain where or in what way he contracted the disease. He had attended a Trump rally in Tulsa 12 days earlier without wearing a mask or socially distancing. Earlier on the same day he went to the hospital, Cain praised South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem for not requiring masks at an upcoming Trump campaign event, saying "Masks will not be mandatory for the event, which will be attended by President Trump. PEOPLE ARE FED UP!" Four weeks later, he was still hospitalized and being treated with oxygen.
                        This man's disdain for something as simple as a face mask very likely killed him.

                        No one deserves to die like that.
                        “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                          Herman Cain, 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate And Businessman, Dies At Age 74

                          Herman Cain, a former business executive who ran for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has died at the age of 74. He had been hospitalized with COVID-19.

                          His website confirmed the news Thursday morning.

                          “You’re never ready for the kind of news we are grappling with this morning,” Dan Calabrese, the editor of Cain’s website, wrote. “But we have no choice but to seek and find God’s strength and comfort to deal with it.

                          “Herman Cain ― our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us ― has passed away. He’s entering the presence of the Savior he’s served as an associate minister at Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta for, and preparing for his reward.”

                          Cain reportedly learned that he tested positive for COVID-19 on June 29. He was hospitalized two days later after developing “serious” symptoms, according to a statement shared on his Twitter account at the time.

                          His diagnosis came less than two weeks after he attended President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cain, who co-chaired Black Voices for Trump, tweeted a photo of himself without a mask at the event, which was attended by several thousand people.

                          Former Cain spokeswoman Ellen Carmichael mourned his passing on Twitter, recalling the man as “a giant of a person in ways that people who would choose to see him merely as a caricature could never understand.”

                          “His American Dream story is one for the history books,” she wrote. “Overcame absolute destitution, genuine discrimination, stage IV cancer and so much hardship in between.”

                          Earlier this week, Cain’s team suggested he was on the mend, describing his “organs and systems” as “strong” and thanking people for their prayers.

                          “Thank you for praying, everyone,” a statement shared on his Twitter account read. “Please keep doing it. He really is getting better, which means it is working.”
                          _____________




                          This man's disdain for something as simple as a face mask very likely killed him.

                          No one deserves to die like that.
                          Sorry but not sorry

                          Because they are not just killing themselves but others as well.
                          “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                          Mark Twain

                          Comment


                          • OOOFFF!!!

                            https://www.npr.org/sections/coronav...t-quarter-ever
                            “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                            Mark Twain

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                              Herman Cain, 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate And Businessman, Dies At Age 74


                              _____________




                              This man's disdain for something as simple as a face mask very likely killed him.

                              No one deserves to die like that.
                              This brings up those sayings of: Live by the sword, die by the sword. What goes around comes around. If you play with fire you'll get burned. My favorite that I use is, If you want to play be prepared to pay, when I see high speed drivers on the highway. I like high speed driving but kept it to courses in the 70s because I have brains that tell me the average driver on the road has no experience at high speed driving among all the other know nothings.

                              I can't really feel sorry for Cain. The man was given brains and he failed to use them to protect his life despite knowing the consequences. Has only himself to blame here.

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                                The economic shock in April, May and June was more than three times as sharp as the previous record — 10% in 1958 — and nearly four times the worst quarter during the Great Recession.

                                And the indolent child in the White House STILL has no plan for dealing with COVID. Or the economic havoc it's causing.

                                Hey have you noticed that literally nobody is still touting Donald Trump as a "smart businessman" and "deal maker"?

                                Seriously, when was the last time you heard a Trump apologist brag on his "deal making" ability.

                                He can't even make a "deal" with the Republicans in the GOP-controlled Senate FFS!
                                “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                                Comment

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