And another day of Project 2025’s training videos, 162 lies in 64 minutes, the MAGA misinformation-industrial complex, cities too hot for the Olympics, ‘mayhem and craziness,’ Gen Alpha’s language, and one of the worst weeks of mainstream media coverage ever comes to a close:
Mesa, AZ Republican Mayor John Giles: I do not recognize my party. I have something to say to those of us who are in the middle: You don’t owe a damn thing to that party. You don’t owe anything to a party that is out of touch and hell-bent on taking us backward. And by all means, you owe no loyalty to a candidate who is morally and ethically bankrupt. In the spirit of the great Senator John McCain, please join me in putting country over party and stopping Donald Trump.
https://x.com/Acyn/status/1822058848330641692
“What we know: If Donald Trump loses in November - no matter by how much - Trump will NEVER accept the results, most of his supporters won’t accept the results, and elected & appointed Republicans around the country won’t certify the results. We must be prepared for this.” — Joe Walsh
Inside Project 2025’s Secret Training Videos. The Project 2025 videos coach future appointees on everything from the nuts and bolts of governing to how to outwit bureaucrats. There are strategies for avoiding embarrassing Freedom of Information Act disclosures and ensuring that conservative policies aren’t struck down by “left-wing judges.” Some of the content is routine advice that any incoming political appointee might be told. Other segments of the training offer guidance on radically changing how the federal government works and what it does...A review of the training videos shows that 29 of the 36 speakers have worked for Trump in some capacity — on his 2016-17 transition team, in the administration or on his 2024 reelection campaign...Several speakers in the videos acknowledge that the Trump administration was slowed by staffing challenges and the inexperience of its political appointees, and they offer lessons learned from their stumbles. Some of the advice appears at odds with conservative dogma, including a suggestion that the next administration may need to expand key government agencies to achieve the larger goal of slashing federal regulations...“Eradicate Climate Change References”...She then tells viewers that she sees climate change as merely a cover to engage in population control...Operating under the assumption that some career employees might seek to thwart a future conservative president’s agenda, some of the advice pertains to how political appointees can avoid being derailed or bogged down by the government bureaucrats who work with them...Other tips from the videos include scrubbing personal social media accounts of any content that’s “damaging, vulgar or contradict the policies you are there to implement” well before the new administration begins, as Kozma put it...“The American people who vote for a conservative presidential administration, they’re not reading The New York Times, they’re not reading The Washington Post,” Woltornist says. “To the contrary, if those outlets publish something, they’re going to assume it’s false. So the only way to reach them with any voice of credibility is through working with conservative media outlets.”...And in a video about oversight and investigations, a group of conservative investigators advise future appointees on how to avoid creating a paper trail of sensitive communications that could be obtained by congressional committees or outside groups under the Freedom of Information Act. -- ProPublica posted the videos on YouTube, so watch all 14 hours yourself. These people claim to be “conservative” and want to implement “traditional values.” But if “traditional values” means hating other humans, or destroying the planet until it’s unlivable, then “traditional values” will destroy society and eventually our ability to live on this wonderful blue orb floating through space. Reject “traditional values.” “It’s the only way to be sure.”
162 lies and distortions in a news conference. NPR fact-checks former President Trump. A team of NPR reporters and editors reviewed the transcript of his news conference and found at least 162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies in 64 minutes. That’s more than two a minute. It’s a stunning number for anyone – and even more problematic for a person running to lead the free world. Politicians spin. They fib. They misspeak. They make honest mistakes like the rest of us. And, yes, they even sometimes exaggerate their biographies. The expectation, though, is that they will treat the truth as something important and correct any errors. But what former President Trump did this past Thursday went well beyond the bounds of what most politicians would do. Here’s what we found, going chronologically from the beginning of Trump’s remarks to the end: -- Read them all. He has no business being in the White House.
Can my spouse find out who I voted for in the presidential election? With the election for President coming up, we have been getting questions about voting - in particular, “can my husband find out who I am voting for in the presidential election?” While voter laws vary state by state, we wanted to remind you of a few things:
One of the Worst Weeks of Mainstream Media Coverage Ever. They’re not even trying to hide their support for Donald anymore. Over the last week, the mainstream media didn’t just get it wrong, they failed all of us at a level that should be considered malpractice. Here are 5 key stories which expose them for their MAGA bias and their corporate bosses' obvious support of Trump. 1) Walz’s Military Service; 2) Trump’s $10 Million Egyptian Scandal; 3) Donald’s Private Flight With Project 2025 Leader; 4) Trump’s Meltdown; and 5) Press Lied for Trump About Debates.
The MAGA misinformation-industrial complex has gathered steam since 2020. Here’s how. The conspiracy theories didn’t go away. They’ve proliferated thanks to a sophisticated, relentless campaign. A surge of alternative social media sites, so-called “free speech” platforms like Trump’s Truth Social and the video streaming platform Rumble have cropped up. There’s also been an explosion of online MAGA influencers and video streamers, some with millions of followers. All of them are pushing the same conspiracy theory: The 2020 election was stolen, and the only way Trump can lose in 2024 is if it is stolen again. This is false, of course...It’s very possible that if you are reading this you’ve never heard of any of these so-called “free speech” social media platforms. We are living in a far more fractured media environment today than we were at the time of the last presidential election. Millions of Americans are now getting their news, information, and misinformation on these platforms – and they are being primed for another “stolen” election if things don’t go Trump’s way. Many of us want to tune it all out, pretend it’s not happening. We want to ignore the conspiracy theories, the absurdity of QAnon Shamans and “political prisoner”pillow promotions. But just because it’s all a bit absurd doesn’t make it any less dangerous. -- MAGA must be voted into oblivion and left as a mere asterisk on the history of the United States.
MAGA Election Deniers Are Going All Out to Rig Georgia for Trump. Legal experts say the rule is illegal and will likely be challenged in court, since county election officials have a ministerial role when it comes to certifying elections and Georgia law clearly states that local officials “shall certify” the results. But if the measure—which does not define what a “reasonable inquiry” is —stands, Democrats and voting rights groups are warning that Republican election deniers will use it as a pretext not to certify an election if a Democrat wins—the very thing Trump unsuccessfully tried to get election officials to do in 2020.
Trump spreads false conspiracy theory about Harris’ Detroit crowd size. Donald Trump falsely claimed in a series of social media posts Sunday that “nobody” attended Vice President Kamala Harris’ Michigan rally last week — and said his Democratic rival should be “disqualified” over a “fake crowd picture.”...He then said Harris should be “disqualified” from the 2024 election “because the creation of a fake image is ELECTION INTERFERENCE. Anyone who does that will cheat at ANYTHING!”...Trump has twice been indicted over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election...In reaction to Trump’s false claims, rally attendees and Harris staffers were sharing their own photos from the event on social media Sunday afternoon. -- God, I wish he would just go the fuck away forever.
“Even with insane Trump tweet about AI, the press won't drill down on his mental health. That's the "tell"; the rules are different for him. It's a tragedy for journalism and democracy.” -- Jen Rubin
Harris shutting down 'lock him up' chants shields Trump's federal Jan. 6 case from even more delays. Vice President Kamala Harris’ efforts to shut down “lock him up” chants targeting Donald Trump at Harris-Walz rallies this week may be an effort to avoid engaging in the type of rhetoric seen at Trump rallies in 2016. But there’s also a very practical reason for Harris to avoid showing any support for that type of language: Any comments or signs of approval she makes could further delay or complicate the pending federal criminal charges Trump is facing. That includes the Jan. 6 and 2020 election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Harris says she supports eliminating federal taxes on tips. If elected president, Harris would work with Congress to craft a proposal that mandates an income limit and applies strict requirements to prevent hedge fund managers and lawyers from structuring their compensation to take advantage of the policy. Harris would push the proposal with an increase in the minimum wage as well, the official said.
After Dobbs decision, more women are managing their own abortions. The increase comes as the average number of abortions per month in the U.S. is also rising, according to new research.
Trump’s tale of a harrowing helicopter ride and emergency landing? Didn’t happen, Willie Brown says. But Brown has never shared a helicopter with Trump, the former mayor said. Instead, it was former California Gov. Jerry Brown who rode with Trump in a helicopter in 2018 to survey wildfire damage, and no emergency landing was reported. -- And they said Biden was too old.
These cities will be too hot for the Olympics by 2050. Most of the world’s cities will be unable to host the Games during summer in the coming decades as they blow past the threshold of safe humid heat...Heat stress can be measured with something called wet-bulb globe temperature — a combination of heat, humidity, windspeed, sun angle and cloud cover. CarbonPlan found that by 2050, heat stress in almost all cities in the eastern part of the US would shoot well past the 82.1-degree limit, beyond which experts recommend canceling sporting events. In other words, holding the Summer Games in these cities would be a huge health risk for the athletes.
Climate change deniers make up nearly a quarter of US Congress. US politics is an outlier bastion of climate denial with nearly one in four members of Congress dismissing the reality of climate change, even as alarm has grown among the American public over dangerous global heating, an analysis has found. A total of 123 elected federal representatives – 100 in the House of Representatives and 23 US senators – deny the existence of human-caused climate change, all of them Republicans, according to a recent study of statements made by current members. -- Get rid of all of them. They are a danger to humanity’s continued existence.
'It’s mayhem and craziness': Californians react to Gavin Newsom’s order to remove homeless encampments. Local officials and advocates are divided over how to respond to the directive, which has left homeless people without a clear idea where they will wind up.
“In America, if you're too poor to even have a home, the governor will send police after you and personally steal what little you have left.” -- Bryce Greene
Thousands of senior citizens are dying homeless in Los Angeles, records reveal. A common misconception about California’s homelessness crisis is that the majority of people on the streets are young adults who came from out-of-state, drawn to warm weather and homeless services. But death reports obtained by the Guardian reveal more than 3,000 of the 11,500 people who died while unhoused in Los Angeles county between 2014 and 2023 were 60 and older, highlighting the vulnerability of older residents in one of the US’s most expensive regions.
Why fewer Americans are having kids. Both the financial burden of raising children and difficulties finding a partner have influenced whether or not people have children for years, Gemmill and Hayford said. But they said a newer issue — societal pessimism — is turning people off from having kids. Fear over the future of climate change, global conflicts and even the possibility of another pandemic is leading some Americans to choose not to have children, Gemmill said...“People are worried about the future in a way that maybe they weren’t before,” Gemmill said.
This Guardian Enriched Herself Using the Finances of Vulnerable People In Her Care. Judges Let It Happen. The examiner in Chorost’s case wasn’t the only one to raise alarms. Over the years, various officials — including a lawyer, a fellow guardian and even a judge — flagged Murphy’s use of Beacon in other cases, with some of them warning that she could be abusing her court-appointed position to enrich herself at the expense of her wards. But in each case, the judge overseeing the guardianship downplayed or overrode the concern. Those decisions facilitated a lucrative — and potentially illegal — commercial pipeline for one of the court’s most popular guardians, who, over the course of a decade, controlled the money and health care of more than 100 incapacitated people, a ProPublica investigation has found.
Is this the biggest Covid summer wave ever? It's not only in the U.S. There's been a worldwide surge in infections in recent weeks.
‘His rhetoric has made Tesla toxic’: is Elon Musk driving away his target market? There are signs the billionaire is becoming unpopular with the very demographic group most likely to buy EVs.
Parents and Gen Alpha kids are having unintelligible convos because of ‘brainrot’ language. Gen Z’s “slay” and “tea” are officially vintage, giving way to “sigma,” “gyatt” and “fanum tax.”...Children born after 2010, Gen Alpha are the internet’s newest darlings. Though their separation from Gen Z is a matter of being born in 2010 versus 2009, many of their parents feel like there’s a chasm when it comes to understanding the way they speak...While family members of kids who speak this way might be left scratching their heads, Aleksic says it’s not so different from the way other slang has developed. The point of any slang is for elders not to know the meaning, he said...The kids know they’re confusing their parents. They mean to...“Every single person throughout history has always complained about how the younger generations are ruining language with their made-up slang,” Aleksic said. “That’s why they’re doing it: because they’re building identity. They’re differentiating themselves.”
The Perseids are here. Here’s how to see the ‘fireballs’ of summer’s brightest meteor shower. The annual meteor shower, active since July, peaks before dawn Monday. It’s one of the brightest and most easily viewed showers of the year, producing “bright blue meteors — and lots of them,” said University of Warwick astronomer Don Pollacco. More than 50 meteors per hour are expected, according to the American Meteor Society. The shower lasts through Sept. 1. Here’s what to know about the Perseids and other meteor showers.
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