"Compelling evidence points to a big cost associated with ideological bubbles: They make us more confident that we know everything, more set and extreme in our views, more prone to groupthink, more vulnerable to fallacies, and less circumspect."https://t.co/qQ1LvYd1c0
Charles Koch's regrets: In a rare interview, the libertarian billionaire concedes that his GOP partisanship and activism badly deepened America’s divisions. As he puts it in his new book, “Boy, did we screw up! What a mess!” https://t.co/yX69bpndOU via @WSJ
Working in Port Chester's COVID-19 orange zone, Manual Martinez has two fears.
"First of all to become sick with this pandemic, and another thing, if there's no profit from the business we can't survive like this," said Martinez, a 29-year resident who owns the deli-restaurant One Station Plaza with his family.
Martinez is one of dozens of business owners in the village left wondering, yet again, if their businesses can survive. The orange warning zone designation forces businesses deemed "high-risk," like barber shops, hair salons, nail salons and fitness centers, to shut down. It also requires restaurants to stop indoor dining and allows only four people to a table for outdoor dining [....]
President Trump’s electoral defeat has shaken American followers of QAnon. International believers are mostly keeping faith — and taking the conspiracy in new directions.
In a Telegram channel for believers in Australia and New Zealand this week, a fabricated story about Democrats deliberately infecting tens of thousands of senior citizens with the coronavirus to use their identities to vote sat side-by-side with reports on domestic politics.
Canadian channels are circulating the false claim that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans “immediate military intervention on American soil” if Trump does not concede while also organizing protests against coronavirus measures in Canadian cities.
In Germany, where the pro-Trump conspiracy has found a home with far-right groups, some QAnon influencers are disillusioned by Trump’s defeat, but many are still hopeful. “As the American’s say, in God we trust,” one poster on a German Telegram group wrote. “Now is the time to trust.”
The resilience of QAnon narratives after the election shows just how far and deep this made-in-America conspiracy has spread — and hints at its staying power around the globe [....]
Elissa Slotkin — one of few House Dems to survive in a district Trump won *twice* — sounds off on progressives, Pelosi, and her party’s condescending attitude toward half of America.
Data obtained by The Daily Poster show that Lincoln Project ads were often ineffective — and some may have even convinced some voters to support Trump.
[....] When the resignations and appointments were announced, some worried that a sinister plot was afoot — that Trump loyalists were “burrowing” into the Defense Department so they couldn’t be removed when Biden takes office, or that there was some sort of coverup going on, or even that Trump was setting the stage for a coup.
But experts I spoke to doubt those explanations, and suspect what’s really going on is that Trump finally had an opening to clean house at the Pentagon with the election now over, and that he’s putting in people more amenable to his wishes in order to finally accomplish some of the policies the Esper-led Pentagon had pushed back on — such as withdrawing all remaining US troops from Afghanistan before Christmas.
That set off a months-long back and forth that ended with the White House angry at the Pentagon. A White House official told me O’Brien, the national security adviser, had a bad relationship with Esper and wanted him out, recommending to Trump that Miller take his place.
Trump seems to have listened, and now the pathway is open for the troop withdrawal the president wants.
On Wednesday, Axios reported that Douglas Macgregor, a Fox News contributor and veteran who has long advocated for pulling US troops out of the Middle East, just joined the Pentagon as an adviser to Miller. That bolsters the claim that the moves are really about an expedited troop withdrawal more than anything else [....]
Cranks may be superior negotiators, more discerning decision-makers and cut their risk of having a heart attack. Cynics can expect more stable marriages, higher earnings and longer lives – though, of course, they’ll anticipate the opposite. Good moods on the other hand come with substantial risks – sapping your drive, dimming attention to detail and making you simultaneously gullible and selfish. Positivity is also known to encourage binge drinking, overeating and unsafe sex.
Both Axios and The Washington Post have reported in recent days that Trump is telling those close to him that he plans to run again in 2024. And his decision on Wednesday to publicly endorse Ronna McDaniel for another term as chairwoman of the Republican National Committee sends a clear message that the soon-to-be-ex-President has no plans to relinquish his death grip on the GOP solely because he lost the 2020 contest.
And here's the most frightening thing for rival Republicans with an eye on 2024: It's very hard to imagine anyone can keep Trump from the 2024 nomination if he wants it...
Trump is the biggest most ignorant loud mouth, narcissist, hypocrite, bigot, proud misogynist and liar in the nation, so the Base will, of course, forever be his devoted worshippers.
The head of Joe Biden transition’s team for the US Agency for Global Media, Richard Stengel, has branded himself the “chief propagandist,” urged the government to use propaganda against its “own population” and called to “rethink” the First Amendment.
Two veterans — including a Navy vet who co-founded the Veterans for Trump organization — remain locked up in a Philadelphia jail and facing gun charges after their arrest last week outside a convention center where election officials were counting ballots from the Nov. 3 presidential election, according to court documents obtained by Military Times.
Joshua Macias, a Navy veteran and co-founder of Veterans for Trump, as well as Army veteran Antonio LaMotta, are each facing two charges after their Nov. 5 arrest: concealing a weapon without a valid license to carry, which is a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison; and carrying a weapon in public in Philadelphia without a carry permit, which is a first-degree misdemeanor that carries a possible five-year sentence. Both men live in Virginia.
A press release from the Veterans for Trump group characterized Macias and LaMotta as “political prisoners” of an “activist” district attorney. A Veterans for Trump official did not respond to a request from Military Times for further comment. The Philadelphia Police Department is no longer investigating the two men beyond the weapons charges, according to a department spokesperson reached by Military Times [....]
NEW on Pence's continued difficult dance: As Corey Lewandowski tried to come up with ways to push false narrative about election fraud, he wanted Pence to travel to PA Convention Center to observe counting. Pence's top aide vetoed the request w/@anniekarnihttps://t.co/NhCgYb83x6
I served alongside @RonaldKlain. He is brilliant, strategic, organized and knows how to get things done.
He’s a great choice to run the White House in these challenging times.https://t.co/wJ3lomWGKB
The 2020 election wasn’t just historic for its turnout — it also cost an arm and a leg, writes Brennan Center Fellow @ProfCiara. https://t.co/LYaZd6IsPt
The intra-Palestinian meeting in Moscow has precedent
Russia's hosted such meetings in the past, most recently Feb 2019
Russia has long lamented the US' "monopolization" of the peace process & tried to carve out a niche for itself: mediating among the disunited Palestinians/2
Events: Heavy gunfire is occuring around the area of the U.S. Embassy and residential compounds adjacent to the Trutier area of Tabarre. All Embassy personnel have been instructed to remain indoors and shelter-in-place until further notice. All others should avoid the area.
Actions to take:
Avoid the area;
Avoid demonstrations and any large gatherings of people;
Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks; and
If you encounter a roadblock, turn around and get to a safe area.
All eyes on #Chad right now
Chad has two internet trunks coming into the country: One from the Red Sea via Sudan; the other from Cameroon. Not possible for the totality of the country's internet network to be shut unless done centrally. A lot of rumors swirling; few facts. https://t.co/N6bDJZ2ixO
BREAKING: Three loss prevention employees in Macy’s across the street from Philadelphia City Hall stabbed, one of them has died from stab wounds, @PhillyPolice sources tell me. Police converged on the store as the three workers were rushed to Jefferson Hospital. pic.twitter.com/4U1eKycL4W
You don’t get it.
It’s not about an UNRWA teacher who held an Israeli kid hostage in his house.
It’s all about how for 75 years you have destroyed the future of generations of Palestinians, including my family.
My cousins in Arab countries are still not citizens - not even the… https://t.co/nv6anubGhc
It's wild that Venezuela is now holding a vote on whether 2/3 of Guyana actually belongs to them! Analysts suggest that Modoru may want military action to pump up his sinking popularity.
The lack of a cohesive delegation has allowed attention-seeking lawmakers to act on their own.
McCarthy: “You have [Rep. Matt] Gaetz, who belongs in jail…”
Gaetz: “Tough words from a guy who sucker punches people in the back. The only assault I committed was against Kevin’s fragile ego.”https://t.co/LctPuz6Pcf
"Both the AU and the intl community place more weight on whether elections are held than whether they are free and fair. Sanctions/expulsions occur when there is a coup but not necessarily when elections are rigged or if an “institutional coup” occurs." https://t.co/m9dNimJP0D
