1057 Comments

Let’s make America Politically Correct again!

The 2024 Presidential Election will be a vote for either Human Decency or hateful rhetoric, Ukraine’s sovereignty or Putin’s Russia, facts backed by data or alternative facts backed by disinformation, country over party or party over country, policies that help everyday Americans or hypocrites who refuse to govern, an 80 yr old who works for all Americans, or a 77 yr old petulant child who couldn’t care less about anyone else!

Intelligence vs Ignorance! Being Kind and Respectful vs being Rude and Disrespectful

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You nailed it in the last line, Keith. Over my 74 years I have witnessed a steady erosion of civility in American culture, characterized by increasing violence and insensitivity to the effect of one's actions on others: fertile ground for the emergence of the MAGA devotees as the predominant ruling factor in our society. Pray things do not end up in that direction.

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Prayers won’t cut the mustard! Action by all the people will be needed! Call, write, organize and scream louder than the MAGA crowd!

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Yes. It's not too late to do what Americans have always done so well. Organise at the grass roots level. Make Americans know they have everything to lose. Please.

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THE ENEMY INSURRECTIONIST ARE AT THE GATE, DEFEAT TREASONOUS , TERRORIST, AND CON REPUBLICONS EVERYWHERE AND JAIL CORRUPT AND TRAITOR RTRUMP AND CRONIES.THE ENEMY INSURRECTIONIST ARE AT THE GATE, DEFEAT TREASONOUS , TERRORIST, AND CON REPUBLICONS EVERYWHERE AND JAIL CORRUPT AND TRAITOR RTRUMP AND CRONIES. VOTE PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS , AND RESTORE DEMOCRACY. YES, CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL, DANGEROUS, AND EXPENSIVE.

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James, stop “shouting.” It’s annoying and many will simply not read anything in all caps.

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perhaps his caps lock is broken...or he's so tired and frustrated that he wants to share it some kind of way...yes. it's not the most pleasant way to read..but he is making points I agree with. let's have mercy on each other please.

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No one should be sitting on the sidelines.We all need to work at saving our democracy. Those who complain and do nothing are part of the problem. Make calls, writ letters/post cards, donate money to support the democrats. These are some of the things we all should be doing up to the election!

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If we know there is a good chance this will happen, why can't Democratic leaders come up with a solid countermaneuver?? Why do we always get outmaneuvered? I fear letter postcards and grass roots advocacy aren't going to cut it this time. What sneaky moves can our leaders have up their sleeves ready to drop in response to any of their BS shenanigans? We got nothing?

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What you suggest is logical, but the confederates do not make decisions through logic. They respond to the normalization of baser drives, the worst of human desires, endorsement of whatever they want without "parental controls." Thus the adoration of a giant orange toddler. If we somehow pander to those drives, all is lost.

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I know it’s frustrating but now is not the time to get cynical. If we all do something to help, it can make a difference. Hopefully, the democrats have something up their sleeves to counter act the crooked republicans.

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Vote!!

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Pray? We have relied on that dogma for eons .so you think he will ride in on his/her White horse and save the day? Oh brother ,oh brother.

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Yeh Steve. Civility in the face of uncivility is a sure way to preserve one's life and liberty.

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deletedFeb 1
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Thank you. Nothing I enjoyed having to write, but it had to be said.

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Absolutely, Keith! This has gone on long enough. Vote all of them out that decided our Democracy was no longer viable.

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Peggy Freeman ; YES! and if it is still possible for the Senate to use the 14th amendment, section 3, to *investigate* the over 147 "Congress members" who violated their oaths of office by refusing to certify President Biden's win. that would solve the problem of having traitors in our government and illegitimately holding power while doing what Donald J. Trump wants them to do ; Not the voters! *Actually ; there is no investigation needed. Their votes are a matter of public record! It is self enforcing! Let's get to it; Justice department! "Order in the Courtroom! Here comes the Judge!"

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I'm gaining hope by the comments. But why does the Senate refuse to use the 14th Amendment? Is that the battle cry? Liz Cheney and Republicans of honour would support that. Surely a campaign, urging the Senate to use its Constitutional right via the 14th Amendment, would be in the interest of democracy, for Republicans and Democrats?

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Jeannette Kavanagh ; Yes ; this story is conspicuous by its absence. We are seeing some efforts to remove tRump from the ballot, but very little mentioned about the Elephants in the room.: about 147 (?) members of Congress doing tRump's bidding to not fund Ukraine's weapons assistance, which President Biden had pledged. If tRump keeps the Congress working for Russian interests, we could be at war when Putin inevitably attacks a NATO member country. We would be compelled to get involved, and at war. Another challenge is the corruption of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. If the Senate could move to investigate Congress, that could be a start in that direction ; to clean house of the traitors!

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Peggy ; Thousand hearts!

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Dearborn Michigan--The minds in this city are hurting and with good cause. The Middle East is on fire and innocent lives are being lost each and every day. Who is to blame? Let's stick to the present as far as grievances go. Hamas on 10/7 slit the throats of decent people everywhere. The carnage they delivered on that day separated them from the rest of the human race, the barbarism and inhumane cruelty the world witnessed on that day made Hamas an enemy of all mankind. The people of Palestine are caught in the middle of a religious war where nothing is off limits. Netanyahu has blood in his eyes, and nothing will deter him from his mission. President Biden isn't pleased with what the world sees happening in the Middle East. He has sent envoy after envoy to Israel trying to get Netanyahu to ease up on the destruction he is causing in Gaza. The people of Dearborn aren't seeing the bigger picture. President Biden couldn't stop the efforts of Netanyahu, then or now. Dearborn expects too much from our President, and they are about to punish him unnecessarily. The well being of this country may come down to how that city gives its support. I understand their frustration for what they are seeing taking place over there but we are over here. Our attention must be addressed to what is on our stove not theirs. Your concern for something we have no control over could spell the destruction of our way of life. No matter how distasteful it may seem, our President needs our support, not your condemnation. If you don't help President Biden stay in office, President Trump will help many of our people find alternative places to live, especially if you're not white. Please reconsider your position, President Biden can't stop what is happening in Gaza, believe me he would if he could. To the people of Dearborn, you are a vital part of this state, vote like you are still a vital part of this country. We need your help to keep this country as it is, free.

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Well stated Don Hodgins. Dearborn residents in sympathy with their relatives in the Middle East must now remember to first preserve and respect the American system that respects their protest. President Biden is an effective voice because he is deliberative, engaged, fair and experienced, but his enormous powers have limits. People who protest are more effective when emotions are controlled. In my 80 year life I have witnessed Gazans and Palestinians protest with nothing to show for their efforts. More thinking is needed, less whining. Haste makes waste and Biden seems to understand patience. Whether you like or dislike Biden, he demonstrates stability. If we lose his approach to problem solving, the alternative will be more costly.

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Robert--Here- here..

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I have wondered since my first officers mess if it should be spelled hear hear or here here.

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

And who handed the hamas Isreal defence flaws?? Trump!

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Bonnie--I would think that subject is still to be determined.

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Dana Bash--

Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>

11:16 PM (0 minutes ago)

to 360

I find fault with your assertion that America was conceived as a racist country. This country was born from the efforts of a handful of free thinkers who saw a better way. They operated within the social standards of the day. Looking back and judging what happened back then by the standards we live by today would only add to the confusion. You're using modern terms to describe historic social conditions that were acceptable practices at the time. Back then there was no racism there weren't any racists because the very concepts of the terms hadn't been thought of yet. It wasn't until 1903 that the dictionary gave a name to what is still with us today. We view what happened back then as terrible and looking back it was. But to them, back then, what they were doing wasn't wrong. Different times and different value systems. This country isn't a racist country, However, there are elements within it that definitely are. A lot of good people see past the color of a person's skin. If you say this is a racist country, then everyone in it is a racist. I know that sounds stupid, but I said it to make a point. A generalization that broad can be destructive in itself. Racism is an active part of this country now but it wasn't back then.

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The problem is, Donald, that despite U.S. Citizenship, some people are not really in their hearts and minds, citizens of the US, they remain tribalists., their identity and thus their actions are based on their self perceived ethnicity, this applies to white Anglo Saxon Christians as well.

IMO dual citizenry is an abomination. One can not pledge loyalty to two countries at the same time, especially when those two countries are at loggerheads.

There is a myth that we are a melting pot. Perhaps those with the ability (skin color) to melt into the population at large, once they lost their native accent, but it stops at that. Some ethnicities will never, and can never truly be a citizen because they will always have loyalties and identity elsewheres and Dearborn Michigan is a good example.

I take the opportunity to note, that in 1942, German Americans lined up to fight Germans, and Japanese Americans, even though in concentration camps, also volunteered to fight.

In many ways the fabric of our society is riven, and the weakness of the myth is exposed.

With dire consequences, because those who choose identity over citizenship, are threatening to, in one way or another, make the enemy of democracy and our liberties president, along with his cabal of camp followers.

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Lee--I look at where we are with respect to the upcoming election, and I wonder how our society will ever get through this time.

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Read it and weeep: https://joycevance.substack.com/p/texas-ignores-the-constitution-and

Especially with those idiots in Deerborn and the young black males, who think they are going to give Biden and the Dems the bird.

All that they are doing is electing Trump, and Trump has already said what he is going to do to them.. Fools.

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What's happening in Dearborn? Please educate me.

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cathleen--Dearborn Michigan is home to the largest Muslim population outside of the Middle East in this country. They voted for Biden in the last election but because of what is happening in Gaza they are withdrawing their support, because he won't stop the slaughter, as if he could.

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deletedFeb 1
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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Min, You object to this being framed as a Muslim issue, but two sentences in your resort to it being a religious issue.

You can't have it both ways. It is a religious issue of Muslim vs Jew.

It as old as Muhammad when he beheaded, 6 at a time, the Jewish tribe Banu Quarayza in Medina, it as old as the hadith of al Bukhari, it is as new as the 1988 HAMAS covenant, (esp: preamble and para 7, of Art 7), which was not repudiated when HAMAS updated the covenant in 2018.

Let the Arab American community show their asses, and flip the bird to Biden and see what that gains them with Trump as president.

Michigan is a vital swing state, and it just might be what Trump needs to win.

So how do you think Trump who is butt buddies with Netanyahu will treat the "Arab American" Community, whom he has said that he wants to deport, not to mention the Palestiniians.?

Show your ass and be a dunderhead.

BTW HAMAS started it all, by slitting throats, raping women, and burning babies alive, then crawling back with hostages to use as human shields, as well as their own people.

Every Palestinian blood shed in Gaza is lies on the heads of HAMAS.

If you want to get pissed and blame someone, then blame HAMAS.

If you want to blame the Jews, forget it, the whole nasty affair started in 1948, when the Arab countries tried, but failed, to genocide the Jews, not having learned their lesson, they kept coming back again and again, 1956, 1967, 1973, 2006, Oct 7.

To do the same thing over and over again,expecting different results is a mark of insanity.

Defending yourself from genocide is not mass murder.

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

We should all keep in mind that Biden did basically everything he could do to force us to take the toxic experimental COVID vaccine that has caused so many disabling injuries and excess mortalities from 2021 to January 31st 2024.

Because of the wrongs of Trump and Biden I began researching the potential of a third party candidate, and I believe Robert F Kennedy is the right person for a time such as this.

In polls where all three candidates are included Kennedy recently polls within 10 points or so of Trump and Biden

God save America

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The world has been using mRNA vaccines for decades, with great success. The Covid vaccine was not experimental, it was created the same way other mRNA vaccines were created before it. Millions of lives were saved by having the vaccine available. Please take your disinformation elsewhere.

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I so agree! Please watch the 60 Minute interview w RFK Jr. it is scary.

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There must be a reason why so many members of RFK, Jr.'s family are imploring voters to NOT cast their ballots for him.

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The child isn't happy--

Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>

9:37 AM (0 minutes ago)

The other day the UAW gave their support to the only candidate who truly cares about this country, President Biden. The working men and women of this country want a leader who can see the future, not a loser lost in the past. The endorsement by the UAW burned Trump. It showed how the common worker held Trump and his collection of morons in a contemptuous light. Then, not to be out done, Donnie Boy went crawling to the Teamsters in hopes of getting their support which in Trump's mind would offset the support he lost when the UAW befriended Biden. I don't think the meeting went quite as well as the orange guy had anticipated. Upon leaving the Teamsters headquarters Trump rambled on in an impromptu press conference. He seemed to be disconnected more than usual but he did manage to spread another lie. He said no matter how the union directs its members to vote, half of the membership will vote his way regardless of the direction given by the union. Wrong, the fellowship will follow the direction given by the President of the union, almost to a man. Trump lost again. Donnie Boy was simply "Jealous" of the fact that Biden has the voice of the American worker. These people aren't lost, in fact they're found, and what they see in Trump is what they read about in their history books surrounding Nazi Germany in the 1930s. No thank you.

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The Teamsters have a notorious documented history of association with organized crime. Is this the "family" that crime boss tRump was trying to connect with? tRump was surely planning to emerge from behind those closed doors with the Teamsters to announce that he had a bigger, more powerful union - the biggest ever, so big and powerful that you wouldn't believe it - backing him, phony preening that Biden and the UAW were nothing in comparison..... And the ribbon at the bottom of the screen would show where to send your money, what merchandise he was hawking, his fake show sponsored by looney pillow-huckster.

Let us hope beyond hope that the Teamsters, like the UAW, stands with America and treats that traitor and criminal like a cloud of poisonous gas.

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IBEW for Biden also.

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Donald Hodgins, have Union members issued any objections or made statements re any of Biden's foreign policy actions?

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Double Amen!

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Donald - My dear you might want to come back to this post and edit out your email address that is showing (if you care). I just don’t want you to get spammed or something.

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I read somewhere last year that rest of the family keeps their distance due to his wingnut disinformation platform

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Actually, mRNA vaccines are relatively new. However, the various elements leading to the vaccine were in development for more than a decade, and the vaccine was tested as all medications are tested before widespread use. The mRNA vaccines worked as well or better than those Covid vaccines made by more traditional methods. It was a spectacular success and we should appreciate the hard work and creativity of all those scientists who made it possible.

Every vaccine, every medicine obviously has a first time use.

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Yes. In clinical trials.

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While mRNA technology has been around for 30+ years, the COVID-19 vaccines are the first human vaccines to use mRNA.

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2021/the-long-history-of-mrna-vaccines

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But, we must also realize that all drugs have side effects -- including the vaccine. This is a known fact that the vaccine did result in heart problems which millions died from. Did it save some lives, sure? but did it kill lives as well, absolutely.

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Millions died from COVID, dumbass, NOT the vaccine!

Yes, some people died from complications after taking the vaccine. Every drug has the possibility of side effects if the person taking them has particular body chemistry or compromised health history that creates a complication. Vaccines have NEVER been advertised as a cure-all or miracle, only the most up to date CHANCE we have of either being able to resist a disease or LESSEN ITS EFFECTS. PERIOD.

However, this alarmist exaggerated "millions" bullshit anti-vaxxers keep bleating as we enter into the vaccines' 4th year has got to stop.

So KNOCK IT OFF.

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I am 75 years old and MIGHT have a long covid but I am not dead and now using a Lysol product to deep clean areas where Covid could be coming up into the house through mud/ sewage. I live in a house almost 100 years old / historic property. There are so many variables involved in studying Covid disease and spread and it’s very easy to jump to mistaken conclusions about just about everything!! Trust the science people and give it up with the conspiracy theories already!

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There are worse things than COVID so if mud and sewage is getting into your house please have someone look at it and evaluate your safety.

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Heather, I am 85 and pre diabetic, I am in remission from stage 4 brain and lung cancer. diagnosed and treat Oct 2017 through 2019.

I am completely vaxxed for about everything under the sun (I was even given the Bubonic plaque vaccine when I went to Vietnam in 1967,

This morning I went to my burn pile with a chainsaw and limb cutters to stack the cuttings from my plum tree that had black rot, and the pine limbs that fell from the weight of wet snow.

I am of the George Carlin school, and so is one of my granddaughters, a PhD a geneticist on a fellow ship.

The George Carlin school is keep your immune system, healthy and exercised, my grand daughter and I eat food dropped on the floor, and we don't use Clorox of Lysol. or hand santizer, but I do mask up and I do vaxx.

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Susanne Scherer, Thank you for stopping this ridiculous disinformation.

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Suzanne, look at it this way. The Anti vaxxers are not someone you really want to share this country with, especially the Trump humping kind.

The less of them the better.

As Napoleon said: "Don't interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake".

Those that have their head screwed on right will vaxx, those that don't won't and will suffer the consequences.

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I had several co-workers who were anti-vaxxers when COVID had become slightly less dangerous. Every one of them got sick, two or three got it twice.🙄

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Where is the evidence that the Covid vaccine caused millions of deaths from heart problems please?

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Pretty sure there isn't any

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Clotting in folks with genetic predisposition which is only now being understood, but not well advertised. Vaccine issues in my 50 years in healthcare, including public health have always been obscured, due to initially, a 'doctor knows best type of mentality' then regulatory capture as companies send their scientists into government regulatory agencies for a while to 'change the rules' and back to industry to enact the profit gaining opportunities! Fauci and some of his buddies made gobs of money from their 'investing' just like our entire Congress does with their insider information. Did you not read about the horrifying sudden deaths of young folk vaccinated between the ages of @20- 35, often athletes? This is why, the now greatest tennis player of all time, Novak Djokovic, would not risk the vaccine & missed some tournaments during Covid times. Unfortunately, sometimes the Repugs are correct about some information, though the way they use it invalidates the message. Children had some widely varying reactions. If only greed, power, money, pomp were not the ugly heart of the US now, we might have more understanding. Healthcare, which I worked in since the 1970s ,used to be for real, now just moneycare.

Furthermore, as Fauci is no longer protected in his job, sworn testimony has been given before a Congressional committee, not well advertised, that Covid was a lab leak from China, the US paid for the research, knew the lab was inadequately secured for such virulent research, that the virus got out in September prior. YOU think you are advised of the US mistakes! HA! Read Bitten by Ca. Science writer, Kris Newby who won a NON fiction prize for this work. Read how the US DOD still will not own the bioweapons that escaped from 'secure US labs', injected into ticks! Multiple diseases! I just had to take a malaria type drug for several months after tick bites in Maine! Thank you America! I am now just a fetal basket in half the rotten states, throw away the basket. I can count on bioweapons exposure in my own country walking in the woods I adore, where I can no longer walk freely. If YOU don't know facts about a topic, perhaps be a little less virulent in your comment.

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"Did you not read about the horrifying sudden deaths of young folk vaccinated between the ages of @20- 35, often athletes?"

Respectfully, this is disinformation. Please see this journal article,

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065908

Records reviewed: NCAA, the Parent Heart Watch Database, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research and insurance claims.

The kids had to be enrolled in Division 1, 2 or 3 schools in the U.S. and play at least one varsity sport.

This report shows not only that sudden death among athletes is pretty rare.

There were 1,102 deaths in these athletes *over a 20 year period,* with with only 143 "sudden cardiac death" cases.

Of these, 118 were verified as SCD via autopsy or other records. Many athletes had normal hearts but most had hypertrophy (a thickened heart muscle) and two died of commotio cordis (a blow to the chest, which then caused an arrhythmia).

Ten students had congenital anomalies of the coronary arteries. Eight had heart inflammation (myocarditis), but all of these, except one, happened before the pandemic. That one was a type of myocarditis that unrelated to either COVID-19 vaccination (or infection).

So these "horrifying sudden deaths" of young people dropping dead due to myocarditis is simply not true.

In fact, sudden cardiac death in athletes has decreased over the past 20 years. So, the vaccine absolutely did not cause an increase.

I agree with many of your other points, except the bit about Lyme disease starting as a bioweapon. The bacterium has been documented in the wild for over 100 years. There are a bunch of stories debunking this old conspiracy theory; here's one of my faves:

https://theconversation.com/no-lyme-disease-is-not-an-escaped-military-bioweapon-despite-what-conspiracy-theorists-say-120879

We must fight disinformation wherever it rears its ugly head.

Peace.

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So you’re a nurse, not a reputable epidemiologist who studies infectious diseases, or a scientist who researches mRNA vaccines, correct? Good to know!

You say Fauci made millions of profits, while lying to the American people, correct? Please provide evidence of these claims.

“Did you not read about the horrifying sudden deaths of young folk vaccinated between the ages of @20- 35, often athletes?” —-Vicki MSN

Actually Vicki this is all nonsense. The claim was made by two non- medical researchers on a blog, not a scientific study, and it was debunked.

Some athletes did die after receiving the vaccine, but it was because they had undetected Comorbidities. And the rate of athlete deaths after the vaccine was dispensed, was not higher than the average number of athlete deaths per year, prior to COVID.

Perspective matters, which is why we have actual trained scientists and epidemiologists who study just infectious disease for a living; training takes over eight years before they are even certified as epidemiologists and infectious disease experts. Not a graduate degree in nursing.

“The researchers cited a number from a blog that lists news stories about recent deaths and medical emergencies among people of all ages, from all over the world — some of which were attributed to other causes, such as cancer. The previous figure, meanwhile, is from a 2006 study that specifically reviewed literature for reports of sudden cardiac deaths among athletes under age 35. Comparing the two sources, with different methodologies, is not scientifically sound, experts told The Associated Press.” ——AP

https://apnews.com/article/989195878254

What’s great about people like you is that you have a degree in nursing so people take you seriously. Yet, you think you’re a scientist, and instead of citing actual peered reviewed studies, you make your claims based on conjecture, anecdotal observations and blogs by people with an agenda.

This makes you more dangerous than the many “tin-foil” hat conspiracists that rant and rave about vaccines.

Hey Vicki, I bet you believe the earth is flat and the moon landing was a deep fake!

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Vicki .... Thanks for taking the time to share all of this valuable information regarding the COVID gene therapy, that is known as the COVID vaccine.

I honor your efforts to get the truth out, and I hope and pray that God will bless everyone who reads your comment to know the truth for themselves.

We as a nation, have to make a decision whether or not we want our government to continue to censor the messages we share among each other.

Basically, the only reason the vast majority of America does not know that the COVID gene therapy causes many crippling side effects is because our government compelled Facebook, Twitter, and many other social media to call the truth about the COVID vaccine disinformation or misinformation and then delete it

God help America for our government has begun working against us, and many many good citizens are not yet aware of this crime.

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Yawn.

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Now that we are in election season, the QAnon crazies have jumped over into substack, they polluted Twitter, turned Facebook into a garbage dump and now substack.

It is a full on assault on reason.

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When I hear comments like this, I want to remind people……. have you ever tried to keep a secret between even two people? It’s impossible! So there would be a cast of thousands that would have to keep all these deaths a secret. It’s not a thing. There is no coverup. This is what the Russians wanted. Sow distrust in institutions, media, experts in all fields, etc. let’s all put our thinking caps on and evaluate things before we just swallow lies hook line and sinker.

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What were the ten points on Fridays that our very own Robert Reich described in this Substack? YOU don't even understand what regulatory capture is! You don't seem to know what has been done over many years in the US! WE have gotten accustomed to the continuous loss of integrity. The ecologists have even given the phenomenon a name. It refers to the fact that in the 1950s/60s when I grew up, we had more diversity in nature, more fish in the sea, etc... Now, the youngsters experience normal as a very different baseline. WE did not need the Russians to do this, the US has done this all on its own in its rush to corporatize all assets and leave the dregs to the public.

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Laurie the policewoman!! Troll on sweetheart!!

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Vicki. MSN ; Please go troll elsewhere!

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Feb 4·edited Feb 4

Yes ; They want to sow doubt in our institutions. In the 1950's, In my preschool years, polio was scary. My parents were afraid to take us to the beach, because there were more cases of polio reported in the summer months in our area. Then it was ice cream. When a local school was turned into a health clinic dispensing Dr. Salk's vaccine to protect against polio, everyone went there to get it. It was a miracle! No more iron lung 'treatment'! We never heard about any problems described as a result of this vaccine.

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Laurie,

AS I have explained, since being involved in healthcare since the 1970s, vaccine decisions, information in the US has been obscure. I had a friend whose father was in an iron lung. I had a friend whose daughter was immunized with live polio vaccine and her husband got polio from changing the diaper and died in the 1970s. WE now give inactivated polio vaccine to children. But, this took a very long time to resolve, as there has always been much obscurity and fogging from the US regarding vaccines. This needs to be in the sunlight. No more regulatory capture (look the concept up-it is an offspring of the US corruption in government. )WE did not need Russia. WE have unbridled capitalism. WE have regulatory capture.

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Millions? No.

“People receiving COVID-19 vaccines are less likely to die from COVID-19 and its complications and are at no greater risk of death from non-COVID causes, than unvaccinated people.” -- CDC

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

Multiple sources report the same.

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Actually, those who didn’t take the vaccine and got COVID were more likely to die from heart disease if they had pre-existing conditions prior to the epidemic.

No one is a saying that there weren’t people who took the vaccine who didn’t suffer from some side effects. However, the bad outcomes were far worse for those with pre-existing conditions who refused to get vaccinated. This is a fact.

And the one vaccine which had the worst outcomes was the J&J vaccine. Pfizer and Moderna both had the least side effects and best outcomes.

https://www.vcuhealth.org/news/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine-and-heart-patients-is-it-safe#:~:text=In%20particular%2C%20people%20with%20cardiovascular,they%20are%20from%20the%20vaccine.”

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But not all J&J vaccine died. I am 70 now, I have several health issues but I got J&J because I lived 50 miles from Las Vegas and got it because it was 1 shot. Travel issue, I had stroke and then seizures so as an RN I didn't want to drive and kill an innocent person while having a seizure. But see I lived through J&J

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C V ; thank you for sharing this!

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Of course not. It was effective. It just had more side effects than the other two and caused more complications in people with existing conditions.

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C V - I am glad that you were able to tolerate the J&J vaccine well. My spouse got the J&J vaccine the first time because it was a one and done as well but had terrible side effects so the second time (and since then) it was Pfizer and no issues.

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Thank you, Robert. That made sense about the heart disease.

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I'd like to support the argument in favor of the vaccines, I was one of the early recipients, a dedicated tennis player, but finally some quickly successfully treated heart issues occurred to this 90 year old. But on the advice of my cardiology team I successfully avoided Covid because, I think, I followed doctors orders and took every dose made available.

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You have watched FOX because the "known fact that the vaccine did result in heart problems which millions died from." IS NOT TRUTH. You are spewing lies!

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There is a 38 page peer reviewed paper recently published regarding the Covid mRNA vaccines . Link is above in one of the allies.

Never watched Fox by the way, do you?

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NO PROOF!!!!!!!

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He is probably using some kind of data where you look at all the people who died from some sort of heart disease since 2021 and you look at the percentage of them that had the vaccine. Then you jump a giant leap and say ahhh the vaccine must have caused these deaths without any consideration of true causation analysis. This is the fallacy of correlation vs causation. Most of the vaccine “misinformation” tends to have this kind of reasoning using legitimate data sets and statistics but make assumptions for causation based on two similar correlations.

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He is probably making this up out if whole cloth. As spammers do. Don’t try “reason” with comments like this

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Hatred propelled by ignorance is the glue that Trump used to ensnare his lost hoard of followers. These supporters, if you can call them that, will stop at nothing in their efforts to reinstate their king. The rules that have acted as guidelines in our Democracy have been infected and are currently under attack. If we allow the unthinkable to happen, we will be witnessing the breakdown of our Democracy. Trump is the carrier of this infectious agent, and it is corrupting people's minds indiscriminately across this country. If care isn't given and the Republicans gain enough power, the election of 2024 might be decided by means other than the voice of the people. In the movie "The Field of Dreams," a young girl almost choked to death on a piece of a hotdog that got lodged in her throat. We know what Trump is, now all we need is that "Swift" blow to the back. It's time the silent majority made some noise.

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"its time the silent majority made some noise"

Yes, absolutely!

We need massive loud protests. Then we'll get the media attention and finally get our message out.

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Bret--And pay large sums of money to Fox News in an attempt to persuade them to tell the truth for once.

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What nonsense! I don't know anyone who had any side effects!

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I had side effects—my arm was sore for almost half an hour. /s

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lol, mine is like that after I throw the frisbee for the dogs.

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Just like a flu shot!

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typical cat

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I question your numbers. What proof do you have?

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Millions?

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I urge everyone to report COVID and vaccine misinformation immediately. Thank you.

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And you can back that up with data?

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There is so much verified and reliable research and reporting on this dangerous lie I have to ask why you still believe it? What is going on here?

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Not " millions" . And it cannot prove that post vaccination heart failylure wasn't caused by pre- exiating heart defect.

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He is a joke. You are lost in a world of mis facts and conspiracy theories. I feel sorry for people who can’t see reality and have to follow some con job about these things.

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As much as I am grateful for the six mRNA vaccines i’ve taken for Covid, I have to point out the mRNA vaccines are relatively new. Most of the science behind the vaccines in only 30-40 years old. The first experimental human trial of an mRNA rabies vaccine was in 2013. The Covid vaccines released by Pfizer and Moderna were the first mRNA type vaccines ever approved. The fact that they are so new does not bother me in the least. I understand the basic science and the testing done on all new vaccines, and am quite confidence in how well it works.

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Wasn’t the facts: that death happened mostly from complications of having Covid? Not actually getting the vaccine.

As an RNi started out 30 yrs ago in thr RICU. Having a patient on a ventilator , managing their airway, giving total care.. this is complicated high end care. Thr virus was a global pandemic. Then it shifted to more endemic, then as it spread all over some had natural immunity. Some has vaccine immunity. Covid was and is not Influenza it’s a flu virus thr coronavirus is what caused Covid.

Did things change yes? Did we have to change what we knew, what we learned and what worked and what did not?

Please don’t forget hospitals had limited space. Morgues had no space. Supplies had to have a creative solution.

In many countries IV’s were hanging from tree branches... outside.

I had an aunt die, and few great friends. A few were made widows.

Politics were a thing. Tea life snd cobid eas a thing. Let’s not forget that.

Vaccines were what we got quick , made because the whole world was effected.

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Didn't you get the required MMR vaccine in school? Measles, mumps, rubella.

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Tami J ....

You're mistaken. The COVID gene therapy, which is also called the covid vaccine, was the very first mRNA human pharmaceutical.

If you would read some of Dr Robert Malone PhD MD's articles that he has written (substack and other places) you will find out that Dr Malone was the scientist who first discovered the possibility of mRNA pharmaceuticals. He is a brilliant scientist and he is done much research about the pros and cons of such pharmaceuticals.

God bless you

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God has nothing to do with your trolling

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There is NO third party candidacy in the current configuration of our two-party system that has a scintilla’s chance of winning. The ONLY outcome of a third candidate vote is to throw the outcome to Trump.

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

RFK Jr should keep campaigning on vaccines and he will take just as many or not more votes on Trump. Its his anti-industrial -military stances that are dangerous for Biden. Anyway, we all listen to what Robert os saying, it will not matter who wins because House Republicans will steal the election by refusal to certify. This is an emergency folks. The only answer is for Biden to win by a landslide.

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You mean Robert F. Kennedy Jr, not JFK Jr., I assume.

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Unless Nicky stays in the race.

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THAT is a distinct possibility.

Hailey is a true spoiler candidate and has Koch money behind her. Like Liz Chaney and Adam Kitzinger, she could possibly save her county from civil war

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Nikki can get voters that would not vote for trump. In a Biden/trump race, they would have sat it out or voted Biden. With Nikki…it will be interesting. She may not be the captain of chaos like trump, but she still holds to all the GOP oligarchical ideals. Biden’s support for Israel may also hurt him. The propagandists know this and are really pushing that issue.

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Hopefully they will not succeed with that issue. Biden does NOT support genocide ; He supported Israel's right to defend itself from Hamas. He has warned Netanyahu to stop killing civilians.

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Exactly.

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Johnson supported insurrection. He should not be a government official. 14th Amendment

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I just saw PBS NewsHour interview with author Brad Onishi. I learned that there is a flag that Mike Johnson keeps outside of his office that was also in the J6 crowd. This flag is used by Christian Nationalists.

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👏👏👏

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Excuse me…but…The Covid vaccine didn’t exist in 2001 and neither trump nor Biden were president then. Would you have preferred to inject bleach as trump suggested doing? I have lost people in my life that I loved because they listened to tfg when he was denying that Covid was deadly so please just stop.

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As a RN, I have taken every Covid vaccine that my doctor has recommended. I had Covid in January & I fully believe the vaccines kept me from needing to go to the hospital.

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Angie - We are also a family in the medical and first responder fields and my immune system is severely compromised so we too have since had all recommended vaccines and if I am around people who don’t want to take them I simply mask up if I can’t avoid them. We have also had Covid in the early days of the pandemic and then once the world understood it more we still lost some people we loved, and my Mom almost didn’t make it, so I just get a little frustrated with the mis/disinformation. I am glad to hear that you didn’t have to go into the hospital when you got sick. I hope that you have been able to fully recover from it.

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I did recover from my last battle with Covid. I have Long Covid since last Spring, but my doctor has given me a prescription for an off label use of a pill for Narcolepsy. It is helping so much. Before I was sleeping 16+hours a day!

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Angie - I am glad that you recovered but I am sorry that you have long Covid. After my Mom was finally able to come back home from the hospital she too has had long Covid symptoms but they can’t find a way to make her feel better. I am also very happy to hear that you have a doctor who is actually listening to you and trying to help you with your symptoms since there are still a lot of questions surrounding long Covid and not all doctors are able to help. I hope that you continue to get healthier.

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A lot of money to be made if You Can create a Company that will protect individual Congress members and Senates members . Civil unrest will be the result of an IMPERIAL Congress...

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Citizen J - Unfortunately, no matter how it goes, I think we will have civil unrest in one form or another the way things are looking right now.

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OMG! You have drunk the kool-aid! 🤬🤬🤬🤬

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I agree. I think I am up to number 6 now with an expectation that it will be an annual vaccine.I go to the chemist,hi Aussie,are you ready for your injection?

Yes

The good news is you can also have the new shingles vaccine,you would have caught measles or chicken pox when you were young but best to have it .The virus may return. Me thinking,I remember being drenched in Calamine lotion at around 5 or 6 years old to stop me scratching,was it chicken pox or measles.

A podcast I listen to while cycling highlights the conspiracy theories.Cookers they are called here,brains are cooked by being out in the hot sun too long.New Zealand is even more isolated than Australia.Surprisingly around 1 million people in New Zealand have died after having the vaccine This is about 20% of the population,I'm sure somebody would have noticed if 1 in 5 of the population suddenly weren't there.

Well they were at work yesterday,I don't know why he/ she didn't turn up for work today.Hang on,obviously they've been vaccinated so they will never be at work again,how could there be any other reason

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Chicken pox is caused by the Herpes Zoster virus. The virus remains dormant in nerve endings. If it’s reactivated - I believe it takes exposure to the vaccine - the resulting reaction is called shingles.

My husband got shingles years ago in his 30s after our niece got chicken pox as a 2 year old. He had an area about 12” x 12” on one side of his back that hurt like hell - the virus becoming active at nerve endings.

(Her parents never had chicken pox; both got them. I had a super duper bad case as a kid: I was fine.)

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Robert F. Kennedy is absolutely the polar opposite of his uncle, who was one of our greatest presidents. His own family won’t endorse him!

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He’s definitely not Bobbie either.

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True! RFK Jr. is a cross between Joe Rogan and the Tooth fairy. Both live in fantasyland…:)

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Oh, you mean like the fantasy world you live in?

Or maybe you only want to hear what supports your own mythology, even that his 'family' won't endorse him. Maybe a couple don't agree with him but that is not the whole family. I don't have to like all of RFK's positions but he has more backbone than the liberals that have no clue about the propaganda they support. Kennedy's legal work has been quite precise and he has shown more courage than you can even imagine taking on corporations for their lies and poisoning of the environment and our children. Perhaps you support the WEF and Gates/Fauci who believe in commoditizing the public for profit while they kill off as many them as they can.!

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Tanya, you are a victim of confirmation bias; it afflicts all of us, and we must be conscious of it to escape its dangerous consequences. Also, Scapegoating Fauci for your frustrations is dishonest.

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Eddie, I bet you did your own research, right? The mRNA vaccine has saved millions of lives worldwide. Most experiencing long-COVID were people who never got vaccinated, and they are suffering greatly.

The NIH has said that because of Trump’s incompetence, and the ignorance of people refusing to take the vaccine after it was readily available, more than 500k Americans died needlessly.

So keep clinging to your MAGA talking points. I’m sure it will come in handy the next time a debilitating and deadly virus affects us all.

The MAGA movement is not only a danger to our republic; it’s a danger to our health!

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And a danger to their own voters, which boggles my mind. What kind of lunatics deliberately kill their supporters?

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Stop your stupidity already. People are dying from the toxic mRNA drugs that were created to kill of the population while making profit. Perhaps it is you that needs to do some research which means reading and listening the 1000's of doctors and scientists who have been calling out the blatant lies and fraudulent studies used to scare true believers like you. And this is not MAGA language but science, something Fauci wouldn't recognize if is spit it into his face.

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Tanya, clearly you forgot to take your meds today. Unvaccinated people were 10 times more likely to go to the emergency room and more than 95% of people admitted to ICU’s were unvaccinated people; after a vaccine become readily available.

“Perhaps it is you that needs to do some research which means reading and listening the 1000's of doctors and scientists who have been calling out the blatant lies and fraudulent studies used to scare true believers like you.” —Tanya Marquette

Please provide the studies and evidence for your asinine claims. You cite thousands of doctors? Please name ten reputable epidemiologists and infectious disease experts who agree with you? Not doctors with an agenda who are not experts in infectious diseases.

https://www.covidvaccinefacts.org/questions/have-vaccine-side-effects-resulted-any-deaths

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Robert, no point in arguing with homeopath Tanya. Oogabooga, not science.

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Agreed. Unfortunately, Tanya is long on delusional opinion, and short on facts. I even asked for evidence and proof from reputable doctors; instead, I got more unhinged nonsense…:)

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SCIENCe, the great GOD, has done so much for humans! New species go extinct every day! Climate Chaos, overpopulation grow every more, but we in the 1960s who understood this were crazy scientists. Well, good luck to YOUR kids.... now migration chaos is added to the plagues.

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Robert - Definitely not the doctor who claimed that she was mag(a)netized right! ;)

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I’m sure she’s wearing her tin-foil hat while writing her comments…:)

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Sorry Robert but you are ass backwards have been buried in the propaganda. If you did any real reading or listening to research people and medical people you would see how the data has been manipulation and lied about to suck in dupes like yourself. Reality is quite opposite of the MSM propaganda coming from Fauci and Pharma industry. If you even paid attention to the MSM you would have realized that the data was constantly changed has the lies kept being revealed. It is vaccinated people who are very ill and dying, not the unvaccinated. Those in hospitals are vaccinated and people with poor immune systems generally. Even the definition of a vaccine changed to support the propaganda and promotion of totalitarian control of the public. I wouldn't waste my time providing lists as you challenge because you wouldn't read it and like many who think they are intellectuals you will subscribe to the propaganda to dismiss them. You do the research instead and perhaps you should read Kennedy's book on Anthony Fauci which is massively researched. Many medical sources cited.

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First off, Kennedy isn’t a doctor. He’s even failed the Bar exam, and isn’t really a lawyer either; although he pretends to be.

And if you know Kennedy’s source for his vaccine skepticism, it’s Dr. Wakefield, a British doctor who lost his license, after faking two research studies.

I asked you for evidence from reputable epidemiologists or studies to prove your point.

Since you’re an expert, you’d think you could provide something other than an unhinged mixed word salad.

So sorry, we’re done. Please get the help you need, because a mind is a terrible thing to waste!

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Tanya, If you don't cite specific, scientific, unbiased sources no one here will take you seriously. Don't just send us to RFK Jr's book. His legal work was good; but his claims about vaccines have been thoroughly debunked.

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Projection much, Tanya? You claim you have the data, so prove it. Show us the research (peer reviewed studies), and empirical data that support your claims.

All studies Ive read contradict everything you say. So put up or shut up and stop with the ad hominem attacks!

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Tanya, you poor thing. Get help soon.

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Eddie, where did you find this information about the COVID vaccine? I have had every one of my COVID shots and have suffered no ill effects and have not gotten COVID. I tried to research your information but could find nothing about disabling injuries or excessive mortalities. Robert F. Kennedy is a conspiracy theorist and frankly, I don't want anyone in the White House that would jump down any rabbit hole and spiral out of control! Also, even his own family has issues with him and say he would not be a good candidate for president.

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I am so old that I had meadles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox and I got a small pox vaccination. And I remember standing in line at fire station to get my first polio vaccine. Nobody's mom no matter how Chritian or Republican wanted their kid crippled. It was real. The medical students learn it if at all as history. But history is full of new diseases. Covid is only the latest. There will be more. RFK Jr ring around a rosy.

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Peggy Freeman ; It is a wonder how much we can get distracted by one lone troll. The topic was about how tfg can 'win' the presidency even if he loses the electoral College AND the popular vote. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that as it is, without the distraction of this troll who is working for tRump!

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Not just the troll. Found it was amazing how the discussion got off topic so quickly. Could it be attention deficit disorder? Those who respond to the troll just feed his/her obsession to spark a reaction they crave so much. Just like tRump! Don't let them or him beat you. Stay on topic people & keep your eye on the prize! Only way we're going to keep our freedoms!

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Yes, RFK Jr. is the perfect person to represent the anti-vaccine movement. After all, people who had to wear masks had it worse than Anne Frank, right?

Do you even know RFK Jr. history? He has a voice for one simple reason; his father and uncle were great men. He was just lucky to be born a Kennedy; otherwise, he’d be nothing but a loser and life long addict.

The man spent all his formative life as a drunk and drug addict. Even in college and law school he was a drug addict.

The only job he ever held was an Asst. DA of Boston. He didn’t earn the position, he was appointed because of his contacts and name.

He was fired six months later after being arrested for heroin possession. So hitched your wagon to RFK Jr.; he’s the Trump of the Democratic Party and nothing more than a snake oil salesman and perennial grifter.

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Stop your lies and stop promoting propaganda for the corporations.

And cut the crap about Kennedy whom you clearly have never heard on the issue. He actually supports vaccines but calls for safety studies which have NEVER been done on any of them--not one vaccine has ever undergone a true double blind study. And certainly never studied in multiple as they give to babies and toddler with their undeveloped immune systems. Your prejudice is matched only by your ignorance and inhumanity

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Right, he supports vaccines, which is why he continues to regurgitate debunked nonsense based on the research of Dr. Wakefield, who faked his two studies on the MMR vaccines and lost his medical license.

Don’t t accuse any one of inhumanity. It is you who are ignorant and brainwashed. There have been several double blind peer reviewed studies on MMRV.

The Netherlands did an entire decades long double blind peer reviewed study with 660,000 infants and toddlers.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27149048/

https://www.bmj.com/content/358/bmj.j3862

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Oh yes, the 2 Million dollar grant to a man who absconded with $1 million, wrote a fake report, no study, and split. The US always knew where he was but can only interpret this as his payoff for producing the lie that Fauci kept quoting as proof of measles vaccine safety. Of course, you ignore/don't know about the Merck fine of $3 or $4 billion for the fraudulent claims of Mumps vaccine efficacy/safety neither of which exists. Then we can look at the fact that at least 50% of all studies are fraudulent in one or more ways. Marcia Angels, MD, editor of the NEng Jn Med for 20 years blew her whistle on retirement about 3? yrs ago stating this fact and writing a book on her experience with the so-called medical research studies. That Merck fine was not the first one of these. There have been $$$$billions of fines for fraud but there corporations just plan it in their annual budget and pass the costs onto dumbos like you that are true believers in their toxic garbage. Of course you ignored my point that there are no double blind studies on vaccines as they do not use neutral substances as require. They always use another vaccine or toxic drug to minimize the difference in adverse effects. But you wouldn't be interested in such truth.

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Robert Jaffee ; Sad!

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It’s always deflection with them. You ask for evidence and then the ad hominem attacks are leveled at Fauci instead. Why not just provide evidence?

We all know the answer to that question…:)

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Only if you want to help 45

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EddieM: NO!!!! Remember Jill Stein, who admitted running as a third party to qualify for federal funds?? Dems, knowing NO ONE would vote for the clown Trump, and just wanting to lodge a protest against Hillary, either didn't vote or voted third party, providing the rest of us these past 8 years of LIVING HELL!! NO!! Even the Kennedy Family does not support RFK, JR!! Remember also, that Trump did NOT win the Popular Vote -- those who threw their votes away allowed the Electoral College to provide more power to fewer voters --against our principle of ONE VOTE PER PERSON!!

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RFK would have certainly been. No way in this existence will RFK jr ever be. One only need scratch the surface of his personal life and history to realize he as a life destroyer and a worthless sot. Don't waste your vote .

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You have got to be kidding! As a health care professional and someone whose life was saved by the Covid vaccine, I have to ask again, are you kidding????

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Eddie, God forbid!

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Research away. Unfortunately it’s really too late for this election cycle. You seem to put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak. Covid was a global pandemic-not just a national outbreak. But more to my point-this cycle is not about Covid and one cannot run on only one issue. In fact Kennedy’s focus on it is the main reason I could not commit to support him, and he does not have the caliber (politically) of his father and uncles. Independents and 3rd parties are too late to the party and really have no local and state strength. They need to start there now for 2028 and become forces to reckon with in state and local politics. Build a working base. For this election cycle the state races are just as important-maybe more, as the Presidential and VP race.

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I’ll assume 2001 is a typo for 2021.

“People receiving COVID-19 vaccines are less likely to die from COVID-19 and its complications and are at no greater risk of death from non-COVID causes, than unvaccinated people.”

CDC link https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/adverse-events.html

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No! Kennedy has gone nuts. Something happened to him in the past 10 years. He’s just not the same person I met 20 or more years ago.

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Agreed; same whack job, with a larger bully pulpit…:)

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Maybe he developed COVID Brain from not getting the vaccine.

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Rocco Rizzo ; Maybe it is the same hypnosis; mind programming technique used to get an 18 year old to go into a school and kill children!

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Unfortunately, I don’t think logic alone is helpful to encouraging those of us who are in the movable middle to vote for compassionate democracy. It depends on the messenger, the words used, and so many other variables. Even my statement of “compassionate democracy” could annoy someone depending on how they feel about me and/or how they’ve come to this particular point in their lives.

I think the best bet is to do our best to be calm in our discussions with open-minded people and avoid snide and clever commentary. Of course, I understand that might seem snide and clever. It’s dizzying.

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Sam, it is hard to believe but logic doesn't work on illogical people. If you are in the movable middle, what would be the best message for you to determine our Democracy needs to be saved. Yes, there are still issues that need to be addressed to make life better for all of us; however, if we are under authoritarian rule, those issues would never be addressed and there would be so many more added to them. What words can be used to convince the movable middle to move towards Democracy?

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Yes, Peggy. The people who are cult followers are exactly like the people who go to professional wrestling matches and think they are real. They scream and cheer for the "good guy" the promoters have identified and their life turns on the fate of their fake hero. I was in a professional wrestling match in Tangier, Morocco. Sometime I will share the pre-match meeting of all the wrestlers and the referee in a small walk-in closet. Cheers!

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I think it depends on the recipient of the words and my relationship with that open-minded person. It's frustrating (and time consuming) to have to walk on eggshells with that conversation but I think a calm and compassionate discussion is the best chance of having a positive effect. I might be able to out logic and out clever someone but I'd bet on that pushing people the wrong way more often than not.

Obviously, there's a lot more here to think about and do and time's tight. If we succeed in keeping Trump out of office, hopefully we'll have an immediate sense of urgency about fixing congress and removing those who've enabled such a childishness in our efforts to make our country better for everyone.

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I agree. It is very difficult to have these conversations. A lot of times, I am dealing with someone who is already combative. I try to focus on listening to what they have to say and in the simplest way possible state what is necessary. Sometimes, I feel that they are listening, other times they are not. Time is of the essence; however, what is just as important is ensuring that little orange man does not make it back into the White House!!

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Peggy ; I just don't waste time on an obvious troll. Look at how many posts are wasted on an old MAGA talking point! Trump would be proud!

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You're right, Laurie. Sometimes I just do it for the sheer pleasure of putting my talking points out there. I know he was a troll and I won't give him anymore of my time. They're obsessed with only one thing and that is trump!

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Damned if you do, damned if you don’t…:)

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We can't resign to that. Talking with open-minded people, listening to their thoughts and questions, and responding calmly with truth and confidence is the best chance of having a positive effect. Anything else is a distraction, I think.

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Robert ; Less chance of being damned if we don't allow them to live rent free in our heads!

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There aren’t in my head, but I know what these people are capable of when it comes to trying to derail and steal an election. They’ll stop at nothing; but point well taken…:)

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

I meant that all of us in the forum can be distracted by the post of a troll. You are right to say they will stop at nothing. They want to own 🇺🇸 us! Your posts are usually right on!

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Politically correct got us into this mess. It’s time we speak truth so it cannot be twisted as the Trump Republicans do so well.

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Your last line nailed it, Keith. The way of life for decent people is at stake. Over my 74 years I have witnessed a steady decline in the general civility of America: more rudeness, road rage incidents and shootings that never happened during my formative years, less consideration of others: fertile ground for the MAGATS to arise from the muck. Is this to become the norm for our society? Got my passport up to date (if Mein Furor doesn't cancel them).

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Sounds like a great commercial, calling the Lincoln Project…

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Bravo, Keith!!!

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You are right but it's the MTGs that scare me.

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Follow The Constitution ???

Rule of Law What Quaint Ideas !!!

Michael Johnson is in Direct Contact With God ( not The Orangey Jesus ) I’m sure he will do the right Thing...

The South Will rise Again !!! ( how many will die as a result This Time ... )

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Kind and respectful has sure won the day hasn't it? We now live in MAGA land, thanks to being kind and respectful, and RR's scenario has all of the hallmarks of coming to pass, thanks again to being kind and respectful.

The allies were not kind and respectful of the axis.

The North and South were not kind and respectful of each other.

You may not have noticed but the 21st Century version of the S.C. article of secession has already been filed, and now Greg Abbott has fired his proverbial Ft Sumter shot, and 25 other Red states have joined in. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGwJvnVCCPBBVRCQKzfTfBfdQCN

By all means continue to be kind and respectful.

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My fear is the potential for violence. There are many people with too many guns in this country and they are not democrats for the most part.

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Keith Olson ; Well said ; again!

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Spot on!

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Those to whom Cruelty has been done . . Do Cruelty, even Think it's Fun . . like a SlumLord's Killer Not! a Loser son . . .#the space takes . . .

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Why is clause 3 of the 14th amendment enforced on every member of Congress who took part and/or aided and abetted the insurrection. People like Stefanik and Johnson, as well as others need to be held responsible for their actions against the People, and against the Constitution which they took an oath to defend and protect.

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Don’t you mean why ISN’T THE CLAUSE ENFORCED…right?

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Yes. Absolutely. What the extreme 30% like about Trump is that he has balls. The demos need leaders who will follow the law but who will stridently demand that people are held to account for their actions that undermine the Constitution. The failure to demand the use of Amendment 14-3 is an example.

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Greg. Swimelar, I agree Dems need to be more vocal and take strong action more often. But I disagree that the 30% like that the former guy "has balls". It may seem so, but what they really like is violence. Him committing verbal, physical, emotional violence against others. They take pleasure in it because it makes them feel stronger.

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Actually, I totally agree with you M Tree. But from the POV of his cult followers they perceive (in addition to a lot of other things) that he is courageous. I hold NBC also responsible for allowing him to present himself as a fake leader. I apologize for the use of balls to express bravery -- I never use that word -- but at this point, and at my age, it's one way I can emphasize my point and also that I was blessed to be brought up by two wonderful working class parents. In the street I learned to talk like Trump followers. But luckily I got to experience multi-cultural living and people both inside the US and in North Africa. Cheers to you. Keep pushing.

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Exactly!

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M Tree. No problem at all. I knew that the spell checker probably created that. And I smiled then laughed. I used to be an elementary school principal and I loved it when the kids got my name wrong and called me Mr. Smiler. :-) Stay strong.

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Greg. Swimelar, hahaha

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Oh, by the way. I'm not a swindler :) But I've been called a lot of things. I think that was a typo. 👍👍😆

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Greg Swimelar, oh, I am so sorry. Sleepy eyes, I blame

I will fix it.

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Yes, TFG has "balls"but so does half the human population. And that's the point, both biologically and politically. Running through the politisphere and society at large is straightforward misogyny. The right (who should really be called the wrong) is driven mad by Nancy Pelosi, Kamala Harris, FFani Willis, Leticia James and now even Taylor Swift because they are WOMEN and also powerful.

Consider also the push for curtailing reproductive rights. It's the same thing. The patriarchy only wants women as breeders for making more men or toys for their own pleasure.

Queue up Helen Reddy on your music feed singing "I Am Woman".

There's a good reason the X chromosome is larger than its Y counterpart.

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I agree with everything you said, Doug. You have described the situation accurately. I am only attempting to describe what the cult followers are seeing and are attracted too. As a white man as well -- I will say that MUCH of the following of the cult leader is due to virulent white racism. We have never dealt with that head on. It is always considered politically impossible. I would like us to tackle that with courage and bravery -- call it what you want. Thanks for your response. We are together on this.

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Feb 5·edited Feb 5

A little anatomy lesson : Women have Vestibular bulbs inside their abdomens . They are the female equivalent of balls, Or testicles. They can register stress when feeling under threat, similar to when a man has that 'shrivelling ' sensation when threatened. Just because they are not visible, does not mean that they are not there.

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How can you get them to hold themselves accountable? That’s the problem. The House is out of control. Trump owns it now so you can only imagine what will happen if he gets back I go the White House. I deliberately did not say elected. I don’t believe he will be elected. But it won’t keep him out of the White House.

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I too have wondered why they are not held accountable and if they were we might not be in such a mess.

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Merrick Garland is not listed as a member of the repugnant Federalist society, but he has acted like one, dragging his feet, no back bone ! Chris Wray, current director of the FBI, IS a member of the Federalist Society. Biden is so ensconced in the corrupt money.

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Vicki MSN ; actually ; Chris Wray was appointed to his position as director of the FBI By tRump!

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Oh, there is a 38 page peer reviewed paper on the Covid vaccine risks, if you can read it. It is attached in another section.

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So, why is he still in Biden’s government? Why is DeJoy continuing to destroy our post office? You get them OUT, if you don’t want what they are doing, policewoman!!

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I disagree. One thing the Alt Right leaders are exceptionally skilled at is using our laws against the justice system. They are manipulating things so the optics should Merrick Garland speak out would look like he was purely acting politically. He may not make a lot of speeches but he is doing everything he can to protect the constitution and the law. Instead of criticizing you should be thankful he stays low and Trump and his alt right can’t use him as they’d like.

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I think the FBI Federalist holds it back with his cronies from Trumpty still in the FBI. What about the rooms they missed in the search at maralago? Biden is an embedded from 45-50 years corporatist. Yes, he has incrementally done better than the prior. Yes, he does not act like Hitler, but make no mistake, Biden is an Oligarch. Yes. he has done well with the economy, but this is what they worship, money... money and power. But, my grocery bill sure has

not gone down and most of us know, those corporate gains could have been taxed at a high rate to put those corporations in their place.. But, this is not done. The internet runs rogue for money, most systems destroying us run rogue for money. Did you not understand the 10 points Reich made on Fridays regarding how the US got so rotten to the core? I explain from my DIRECT 50 years experience what has happened in healthcare, the rotten core of it. The diabolical nature of bioweapons, the DOD and now what Fauci did.. Some nincompoops on here think following the money is not how to find the corruption. There is little left that is not profoundly corrupt in our government. WE did not need the Russians to do this, another distraction. Richy rich and the corporations, unbridled capitalism has done it very well for us. So, even when Reich gives examples from his world, citizens here can not see how deep and wide it has grown. Daily multi species extinction, climate and migration chaos are not going away. WE, the Americans, are at the center of creating this.

Ironically, Merrick is having back surgery now.. loss of backbone is how I would describe him. His

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That is the question.

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Michael Johnson and other House leaders must pledge to certify the election results

At a minimum, bring a House resolution to that effect. Record the vote.

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Who is responsible for applying the 14th Amendment to the congress members that participate in this ongoing insurrection? If it’s Garland, why is he sitting on his hands in this matter? What can we do to get Justice for America.

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Garland is a wuss.

Every House member has to stand for re-election. Think Colorado.

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Daniel,

Calling anyone a 'wuss' who doesn't speak up or out about the Neo-Fascist Party is skirting the real issue. Other than his zombie cult, those who cave to the orange demagogue are telling us that although they may deeply care for our temporarily democratic country, their care is dwarfed by fear for their own safety and the lives of their families.

This terrible situation is approaching the intensity of 1933 Germany where to paraphrase a previous commenter, Hitler, Goebbels and Himmler made their bootlickers feel stronger in their blind obedience.

Our convoluted legal process no longer has the teeth to forcibly remove Congressional traitors. Removal actions must extend to become executive orders for physical removal from their seats in Congress. Even if such action appears to be temporary demagoguery, it's goal of preserving our democracy is a noble one.

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We have the teeth. But DOJ hasn't taken even a bite. On Jan 7, the FBI and Federal Police should have interviewed all witnesses, and in my experience, incident reports should have been filed. Potentially all present on Jan 6 are potential witnesses in the DC case.

The Jan 6 Committee decided not to investigate their fellow House members. I blame Liz Cheney. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/23/liz-cheney-jan-6-committee/

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Liz Cheney was certainly complicit with her hesitation to name names and point fingers early in the impeachment trial but I think we must stop playing the blame game; doing so is just copping to the glacially moving gears of the legal process which in itself bows to the corrupt appeals process, indefinitely delaying any helpful timely actions. Physical removal of the traitors in Congress and their cronies would be a strong step forward towards preserving our democracy.

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We need Biden to take action while he still can! We are at war in the Middle East anyway. Our domestic situation is not improving much either. If we are to save our Democracy, Something must be done soon! Declare war on Putin (who directs tRump,) before we are already in a war to defend Nato countries that are doomed with the present trend of a Putin win! I would rather see Biden at the helm of the Ship of State than tRump! Democracy must be saved!

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It would definitely spark military violence and an outright civil war. But it would not last long until the “deep state” put it down:

Then would begin the dissolution of what little is left of the old, Cold War , Heavy Industrial post WWII America. Putin will have won against his old and hated enemy. However, the nation they will morph into, will become Vladimir Vladimirovich’s worst nightmare, and Mr’s T’. Erdogan, and Netanyahu’s deaths. Nothing quite like the American chameleon has ever existed. That is why so many have failed to see its true nature : and keep failing to do so :

Defining the US is like trying to nail butter to a tree: it just morphs into something else.

Get that part down, and then you can deal with them : but not before. People refuse to see it.

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FBI director, Chris Wray, is a member of the federalist society... states the problem, eh? Like Dejoy destroying the post office ,still in place, and others who have retained their trumpty the mobsters appointments.

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The speaker controls what is put up for a vote. So a vote to pledge to certify the election will not be voted on, and if it did it would not pass? All those who vote against such a resolution should be removed from the House for not holding to their oath to the Constitution.

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Harvey Kravetz ; They have already betrayed their oath to the Constitution in many ways. If there is not some resolution to these legal cases against tRump soon, the window will close and voting will be irrelevant. President Biden should use his executive powers to deal with this obvious Emergency and be our Commander in Chief to rout the rioters and traitors from Government! Seize control of the resources needed to assist Ukraine and defend Democracy! Why wait for the orange traitor and his minions to take control? They will not respect the rule of law in any case! tRump has control over the illegitimate Congress and 'Supreme' court as it is! Strike while the iron is hot!

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Totally agree!

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It seems to me that those who refused to certify the election were also involved in in the insurrection plot and are serving illegally now. Am I missing something?

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IMO, no, you’re not.

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Agreed. Why hasn’t anything been done about them?

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I keep wanting to believe that the DOJ is keeping its cards close to their vests, pending the outcomes of the indictments against ol' Tovarich МАГАт. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but there it is!

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DZK ; With delay after delay after delay! If the DOJ can't get this done soon. We are doomed! This is an emergency, not only for the USA, but for the world as we know it.

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Give this a look: https://youtu.be/jG_BgUn8P_Q?si=vtgBDvsTVRsohG2m

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DZK ; Thanks for this!

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👍

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Our DOJ is owned either by fear or Fealty! We need President Biden to use his executive powers to get things done! The traitors in 'Congress' should be evicted! tRump should be jailed and silenced!, until justice is served! If the DOJ cannot do its job, Our President should be our Commander in Chief, and seek the counsel of his best leaders and generals to take control while tRump and his thugs are held in undisclosed locations. If necessary, those who betrayed their oaths should also be jailed, along with their conspirators. We can't let the thugs 'win'!

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wow, Professor Reich. you are scaring me! yet more fodder for my middle-of-the-night (nightly) anxiety and panic sessions.

i'm absolutely godsmacked that the so-called "liberal media" have not investigated and reported this extensively. why not? where are these liberals-in-accusation-only when we, the public, desperately NEED them to tell us the TRUTH? besides voting and donating funds to those candidates who are in close races throughout the nation, i've no idea what to do to help people learn about and understand this terrifying possibility. shall we all resign ourselves to the likelihood of a nazi amerikkka and government by and for the obscenely wealthy?

NOTE: edited to repair all my panic-driven typos throughout.

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Follow the money.

Many of our media outlets have been bought by right-leaning or extreme right people.

I can’t list all media outlets from memory. But CNN is one.

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Univision, Sinclair Broadcasting and recently The Baltimore Sun, which will be used to disseminate false information to Sinclair’s hundreds of local TV stations nationwide.

Their new goal is to buy traditional left-leaning and centrist media outlets and reprogram the messaging…:)

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I don't watch those media outlets. I like 1440 (I think that's what it is). They simply state the news with no opinion either way. They treat Americans as having the sense to interpret the news the way they want. In other words, they don't tell you what to think or give you their opinion. I like that.

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Nor do I, and 100% agree. Yet, the local news is where many Americans get their news from.

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Boy, that's kinda scary! If these right-wing people are already soaking up the misinformation and conspiracy theories, they are truly being soaked in propaganda they are ready and willing to believe!!

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

But >"they"< do - whatever else you like. Sad but true.

For example: https://youtu.be/xFNChNwZYwE?si=_jNcGJi_0gLAhZzW

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I’ve seen a Sinclair take over of a TV station. And I’ve seen friends duped and unaware of the switch. It’s sad and scary.

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100% agree. Since a billionaire friend of Kushner took over Univision, Trump has been gaining steadily in Hispanic support. Its crazy.

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This would help explain why my Hispanic friends have been so skeptical about Biden recently. I was shocked. This is super important information to disseminate to communities via grassroots channels.

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Exactly. As a person who walks precincts and talks to people, it’s always interesting to have conversations about what matters most to them. Remarkably clear and easy to understand. Not weird and divisive as we may think.

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And very conservative. Catholic. Punishing, not progressive.

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And that will be in keeping with the fascist playbook!

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Feb 4·edited Feb 4

Robert Jaffee ; We have Sinclair Broadcasting for our cable provider ,and I hated the way they just had no DVR recordings that I programmed for key hearings of the Jan 6th Committee, on MSNBC. lately, there are weird labels for certain shows that they do not like(?). The list shows them as "No information available" or 'title unavailable', Usually 'Lawrence O'Donnell, or the new MSNBC "Weekend", with Alicia Menendez , Simone Sanders-Townsend, and Michael Steele. It's weird that they will not identify certain shows that are always in the same time slot. They are there when I click on them, but why don't they identify them? Are they hoping I don't notice them and watch something else? I never watch Sinclair's news shows that are on local stations.

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Shocker….:)

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Y'gotta spread some blame to the left-leaning and centrist programming that sold out to 'em. Hell! I just heard one МАГАт Яepuблиkan$ claim - among other things - that the Chinese are buying up US companies and land. How the hell could Chinese buy up anything that US interests are not selling to them ‽ And here's a hot flash: the owners of such assets are - by and large - capitalist entrepreneurs.

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You are so on target. I have WiFi radio as I spent summers in NC where at night preachers took over the airways. I got more progressive stations on WiFi.

They have all about disappeared. I checked. There are only right wing stations. Fox and Murdoch are the worst liars and distorters. However most stations have the big money behind them. We are controlled by right wing stations as is most of our government by big money. That is why the good that Biden has done is minimized. A democracy controlled by $.

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We are already a good deal down the road to the situation of Russia or Hitler’s Germany as far as propaganda for news. How do we get this turned around?

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Don't worry. Trump can't win. He's weaker now than in 2020. If they really think the 2020 was stolen, why aren't they having Congressional hearings with their election experts, the pillow guy and the cyber ninjas? 🤣

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Excellent point. They have sham hearings about Hunter and D*ck pics, Joe Biden, and now an impeachment against Mayorkas, yet not one hearing about the stolen election. How quaint!…..:)

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And the consequences of broader war in Europe and Middle East? This elections result may be the match to the tinderbox of global war. What’s to hold back Russia or China?

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>EXACTLY!<

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It's okay, GrrlScientist, we will NOT be living in a 'nazi amerikkka'. Our Democracy will hold. Please remember, even if these shady republicans try to pull a stunt like that, the protests would be huge!! President Biden will still be in the White House and will take care of the matter. Our country will not be handed over to a small faction of crazies who only dream of money and power!!

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I thought our government would protect the White House, but during 1/6, did not. The right wing government worker moochers could not side with ".We the people". Then I expected our attorney general to prosecute all the traitors, but he did not and gave the house to the Republicans. I don't have much faith in Biden or Garland. If you got relatives out in the country, you may want to move out there and try to get them off the grid. Even the maga will l convert after a few months or years of a dictatorship. Once they go hungry they will switch back to being human beings.

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Bob, now is the time to have faith. I do believe in our system of government, and I do believe that we will survive. In surviving, we will come out stronger and more united. It is obvious to me that many things need to be fixed in our system but we must address them and continue to move forward.

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It will take a few years after Americans realize their error but we will eventually be a Democracy again.

You and I and posters here won’t see it but I believe it.

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This is a really important posting. Bob has clearly described a real possibility based on past actions of the extremist republicans.

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We’re already seeing the shenanigans play out in Arizona, where a state legislator (election denier) wants to change the law to allow the legislature to decide whether to certify an election or not.

Given the state legislature is republican led, we all know what the outcome of such a bill means.

Bottom line: 2020 was a dry-run for very bad things to come. We’re already suffering a shortage of veteran poll workers and election officials because they’ve been threatened with death, SWATTED, and DOXXED.

How this will affect the election is hard to say. Can the election deniers take advantage of a novice and inexperienced group of poll workers and election officials? It remains to be seen, but these fascists will be attacking this election from every vantage point.

We’ve already seen over 24 red states remove themselves from Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which makes sure voters who move from state to state, are removed from their last address, so they can’t vote twice.

2024 will be Stop the Steal on CRACK! We truly need to be vigilant because these “true” believers are ruthless, as much as they are relentless, and will stop at nothing to turn this country into a theocracy; based on a demented version of Christian Sharia Law.

Make no mistake; this is a war of attrition, and while most of us are exhausted, the religious fanatics and fascists never sleep. Its one endless scheme after another.

Let that sink in!....:)

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Robert Jaffe, great passionate post, thank you. Perhaps, and I am completely serious, we need to replace asking, How are you?, with, Have you checked to make sure you haven't been purged from the voter rolls?

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Robert Jaffee, I feel like no one is doing anything to protect against these constant attacks against us. They seem so much more organized and wile. We need to get out in front of this.

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I agree. I hope our cybersecurity division of Homeland Security is on it. Obviously, they must know where the weak links in the system are, but it’s scary.

My fear is some of the MAGA election officials will coerce the workers to make mistakes that will benefit Trump.

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This has been my worry all along. Gerrymandering has ruined the concept the founders put into place in the House of Representatives. Now we have districts (on both sides of the aisle) who are so completely "locked" in to a particular party that voting in those districts doesn't matter. Furthermore, the concept of the Electoral College is prime for minority rule. Mike Johnson and his comrades will not allow anyone other than DJT in the White House come January 2025. That plan is baked into the mess we are witnessing right now and is completely supported by Fox News and others. Sad but true.

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Christopher, I just posted a comment, compliments of fellow Substacker Jerry Weiss, that presents a strategy that conceivably could result in the 119th Congress, which would decide the presidential election were no candidate to emerge with 270 electoral votes, wherein Democrats would control the majority of House delegations.

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We who are "BLUE" must fight like hell.... I'm not sure as to when Republicans lost their common sense and now seem to think that the election was full of fraud and was stolen from Trump...they all were saying everything was great when they "WON" but they lose and it was stolen???? That statement just shows how mentally unbalanced the entire Republican party has become since the spoiled, rotten, sexual assaulter, bully came down the "GOLDEN ELEVATOR!" Come on people can't you see that across the country you're helping a MAD MAN destroy America? Look already what the RED states have made into laws....taking away rights from people that we've all grown up with...taking away child labor laws, heat protection in hot states, telling women you'll have that baby even if your slimy uncle raped you, only to have that child killed in school later because it's ok for everyone and anyone to have an AK-15... I've never been more afraid of anything in my life than I'm right now with TRUMP and all you blind sided Republicans following a genuine MAD MAN..who doesn't care about America...he just wants REVENGE and he'll get it any way he can!!!!

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deletedFeb 1
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Fight like hell means we talk about why we need to have Biden re-elected, that all people (Republicans) listen and realize that all Trump wants is revenge... Republicans need to understand they will suffer under Trump as well ..he did nothing to help America last time, made us theaughing stock of the world with his so called policies, caused how many deaths due to the way he handled the pandemic. Spread the word that inflation was due to the massive tax cut he put in for the wealthy, Biden has brought it down, unemployment is the lowest it's been in 50 years, wages have gone up...those are the things you need to talk about...that's what fight like hell means...if we don't America will be lost forever.

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We have to get out the vote and create strong showings across the board. Phone banks to voters all over the country are proliferating already. Find one and make a commitment.

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And check regularly to make sure you haven’t been dropped from the voting roles especially is you are in a red state.

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And remind everyone else to do the same.

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Yes! Yes! Yes!!!

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I have nothing but feelings of ominous portent. This country and the world are doomed and we are headed for a violent internal conflict. I have no other planet to run to.

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Scott Preston, I feel it too. But then I remember they want us to freeze wirh fear and despair, and lie down and give up. Hell, no. And I remember that it is darkest before the light. We, us, our fellow citizens wake up because of this suffering. In an odd but scary way, it is essential to our transformation to peace.

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Excellent, M Tree!! It is so very important right now not to give in and quit. It is dark, very dark right now and could get darker, but we MUST stay strong in our belief in America. We must never quit, we must never surrender to these out of control lunatics!! Our country should always come first for Democracy. Scott was right. There is no other planet to run to so it is up to us to ensure our country remains safe.

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Because our media is owned by corporate billionaire promoters of authoritarianism...

Repeal citizens united...

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These people are pig devils and all should be in prison. Actually, pigs are smarter. Watch Frontline on pbs. Where is Liz Chaney?

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Liz Cheney is going all across the country asking people to vote for Joe Biden to keep DT out. She even suggests (as has been suggested here) that voting for third parties or not voting is not enough! We ALL must vote Blue! And this, coming from a dyed in the wool Republican! When she speaks, you better listen!!

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Elena Solow, having lived on a farm and communicated with pigs, I can tell you they are glorious beings.

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That was an EXCELLENT FRONTLINE. A must watch !

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

It's not being reported because we don't have the liberal press in this country that the Republicans always claim we have. As a matter of fact, more and more newspapers (and magazines) are going out of business or cutting staffing. Adding to the idea of not getting honest and truthful news.

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Daniel Boone, did you mean to say, adding to the idea of "not" getting honest and truthful news?

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Feb 1·edited Feb 1

Yes, my mistake. Thank you.

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These are very important questions. I think it's fair to assume that they have not apologized for their J6 insurrection support because they are not sorry.

One reason exists why they refuse to accept the 2020 election results. They don't want to take on Trump. If they really think the election was stolen, they'd be having a hearing on the Big Steal rather than Hunter.

This is very dangerous. How long until their lies incite someone like Timothy McVey or Eric Rudolph? Why is the House not investigating the stolen election? Hunter Biden is more important than our Democracy?

Most importantly, why is the media normalizing the stolen election accusations that are eroding faith in our Democracy?

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I wish Karma would step in and take Trump and the rest of the TRAITORS to the middle of a black hole somewhere. I have never been so scared, frustrated and disgusted during an election as I am now. I never knew there were so many ignorant people who are still supporting the worst candidate ever. Do they really want to destroy our Constitutional Democratic Republic and replace it with the Fascist dictatorship Trump and the Christian Nationalists are planning?

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YES

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