Vesper 30,231 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 MAGA Goggles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,231 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulham Broadway 17,333 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Just now, Vesper said: Utter cuntery Vesper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,231 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Explainer: the Russian influence operations targeting the 2024 US elections The September 2024 deplatforming of Operation Doppelganger demonstrates how US voters are being targeted by Russian influence operations https://dfrlab.org/2024/09/06/how-doppelganger-and-other-russia-linked-operations-target-us-elections/ On September 4, 2024, the US Treasury Department announced that it had sanctioned ten Russian citizens and two entities for participating in malign influence efforts targeting the November 2024 US presidential election. The sanctions featured high-ranking staff members of RT, including editor Margarita Simonyan, as well as a Russian organization called ANO Dialogue, which the department accused of participating in the Russian influencer operation known as Doppelganger. Simultaneously, the US Department of Justice seized more than thirty online domains operated by Social Design Agency, which has previously been linked to Doppelganger. Operation Doppelganger Creating forged versions of news articles, websites, and reports, among other things, is nothing new in the world of Russian influence operations. Individually, a single fake article or website may cause confusion among internet readers, but generally doesn’t infiltrate much deeper into public discourse. In contrast, persistent efforts to impersonate authoritative news websites and promote their content at scale in a coordinated manner can have tangible impact, casting propaganda narratives far and wide on a systematic basis. Doppelganger is such an operation; among the most documented Russian influence operations, it has continued to evolve since at least 2022. Also sometimes referred to by the Microsoft designation of Storm-1099, Doppelganger creates online clones of well-established media outlets and government websites, propagating them with anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian, and pro-Russian messaging intended to deceive Internet users into thinking they are legitimate online sources. When it comes to distribution, the techniques vary. The primary method used by Doppelganger to infiltrate the US information space is through the reply sections of Twitter posts. The operation employs bot-like networks for engaging with audiences. These are referred to as originators and amplifiers, depending on their function. Originator networks concentrate on producing large quantities of similar but not identical posts that serve as fodder for dissemination, while amplifier networks exclusively repost the originator content to high-profile accounts in the form of replies. The targeted high-profile accounts could include politicians, celebrities, influencers, meme accounts, and the like; usually, their audiences range from hundreds of thousands to millions of subscribers. This approach indicates an attempt to engage with influential segments of society by consistently disseminating pro-Kremlin content. The operation also utilizes single-use accounts (or “burner” accounts) that typically publish a single post, making no effort to establish an account’s online presence or authenticity. These posts are then promoted by amplifier networks, whose accounts are often more active and appear more authentic. Burner accounts are used on Facebook as well, as previously documented by Viginum, the French government agency tasked with fighting disinformation. Similarly, the DFRLab uncovered a network of thousands of burner accounts on TikTok in conjunction with the BBC in late 2023. Doppelganger posts often include geo-fenced URLs leading US users to bogus news websites with familiar but incorrect domain names, such as fox-news.in, while showing a blank page to non-US users. Before landing a user on the bogus website, the operation employs different staging domains for redirection purposes. Inauthentic accounts also promoted URLs directing readers to Doppelganger’s flagship website, known as Recent Reliable News (RRN). Before it was deplatformed in September 2024 by the US government seizure, RRN camouflaged itself as a legitimate media outlet and was available in ten languages. On Facebook, Doppelganger bought advertising to promote posts, using burner accounts for launching a single ad before abandoning these accounts. Doppelganger might also be involved in hybrid activities combining physical and online operations. Following the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, graffiti featuring the Star of David appeared on walls across Paris, likely aiming to inflame fear among France’s Jewish community. Photos of the graffiti quickly spread on social media. Viginum exposed the involvement of Doppelganger in both the initial distribution and broader dissemination of graffiti images across social media. RRN was by no means the only Doppelganger domain operating in the information space. The latest announcements from the US government cite more than thirty seized domain names. These domains featured content sowing political division regarding US immigration policy, the ongoing Middle East conflict, LGBTQ+ rights, the economy, and other hot-button election issues. Information laundering via social media Information laundering is the process of placing narratives on the fringes of public discourse and slowly normalizing them by quoting them via more credible sources, in an attempt to gradually legitimize them. Such practices date back to the Soviet era, including Operation Denver (or Operation Infektion), whose methods were recycled decades later in 2019 by pro-Kremlin actors in a similar effort uncovered by the DFRLab, which became known as Secondary Infektion. Information laundering techniques continue to evolve, particularly since the COVID pandemic and Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Immediately after the invasion, Russia lost its primary tools for information spreading, like RT America, when it was dropped from DirecTV and subsequently went off the air. This forced Russia to develop other means to reach audiences. According to Pew data, 12 percent of the US adult population consumes news from Twitter, while 14 percent do so from TikTok; 59 percent and 36 percent of these users go to these respective platforms specifically for political news. In recent years, Twitter introduced monetization for so-called blue tick accounts, following TikTok’s model for rewarding creators based on engagement levels. Blue tick accounts were previously limited to verified users, but this changed when Twitter abandoned the service and repackaged it as a subscriber service that any platform user could purchase without ID verification. This exacerbated an ecosystem in which sensationalism in news and politics became profitable for individual influencers, making the platform attractive for malign actors. Laundering campaigns often start from some obscure corner of the internet, during the ‘placement’ stage. It might be a fringe YouTube channel, an anonymous TikTok account, a video on an Instagram account, a publication on a Russian Telegram channel, or a Russian TV channel. It is intentionally not prominent, providing a launching point for disinformation and propaganda to spread to more mainstream online locales. This allows such content to be a low-hanging fruit for influencers, news aggregators, link farms, pro-Kremlin websites like DC Weekly, and others involved in Doppelganger to pick up the story and amplify it further, adding a veneer of credibility known as ‘layering.’ These messages, due to their sheer volume, popularity, and emotion-provoking nature, create a sense of credibility so that regular users, platforms, and influencers pick up the story and push it deeper into the public information space, making it indistinguishable from credible and truthful information. The stage is known as ‘integration.’ Russia uses this approach to inject stories into Western discourse, including in the US. Microsoft linked these efforts to a campaign they designated as Storm-1516, while the Washington Post published leaked Russian dashboards that provided evidence of Kremlin-tied actors monitoring the success of similar campaigns. Even once discovered, these efforts can be recycled again and again to influence audiences in the US and elsewhere, effectively creating a pandora’s box for generating malign influence. While Doppelganger and information laundering might seem distinct, they are intrinsically linked because their activities overlap and reinforce each other. The Russian influence operations deplatformed by the US government in September 2024 are the latest example of Kremlin activities targeting the US election; they likely will not be the last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,231 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Unlearning Zionism Israel is not automatically good. It takes honesty and humility to de-program from Israel’s propaganda. Co-founder of IfNotNow Simone Zimmerman explains her journey, the pressure on Kamala Harris, and the sickening bedfellows between high-powered Zionists and white nationalists. And comedian Eliza Skinner joins Francesca to talk about Olympic boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yun-Ting both winning gold, and Trump’s dentured lisp in his awkward interview with Elon. Finally, taking stock of some conservative lunacy in this week in WEIRD. Unlearning Zionism with Simone Zimmerman & Eliza Skinner (Ep 244) https://www.podbean.com/media/share/dir-nchjn-204ccc48 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Mikel OBE 4,920 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 2 hours ago, IMissEden said: Worth adding that the Haitian mentioned, called BirdmanZoe, can find him on Instagram, isn’t even from down there, and isn’t part of Zoe Pound it ended up. Yet he threatened, to utilise them. Showing that even the spread out diaspora retains its very unique culture, even millionaires still lean into it. If I moved to Sweden, Australia, China, and in came lots with me because we feel the UK is in a bad state, would we set up BritainTown, and constantly emphasise our different values. Or integrate. By and large, the influx of Haitians choose not to integrate. They started The most violent gang in America, and from south to north, lean into it. Facts. Integrate into what exactly? Black Americans have the same language, religion, and history as white Americans and most white people move out if even one moves into a neighborhood with them. I live literally less than an hour away from the largest airport in the country(and world) and when I was in high school less than 20 years ago we still had segregated proms. Who do you think is going to allow Haitians to immigrate in with them? This is still a fundamentally segregated nation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsblubot 3,595 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 26 minutes ago, Sir Mikel OBE said: Integrate into what exactly? Black Americans have the same language, religion, and history as white Americans and most white people move out if even one moves into a neighborhood with them. I live literally less than an hour away from the largest airport in the country(and world) and when I was in high school less than 20 years ago we still had segregated proms. Who do you think is going to allow Haitians to immigrate in with them? This is still a fundamentally segregated nation. "the Haitian" may mean that one crazy roaming downtown (plenty of Americans doing that and some are vets too), a family, a small group of people, a peoples. That's the language Trump uses too, and it's intentionally ambiguous. Now, on the merit, some don't adapt, others do. Some never learn English, while some do. It goes into a number of different factors which are often outside of their control. Some are too ignorant to know what's important, that often takes a generation to change. Most just want a better life. Sir Mikel OBE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Mikel OBE 4,920 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 2 minutes ago, robsblubot said: "the Haitian" may mean that one crazy roaming downtown (plenty of Americans doing that and some are vets too), a family, a small group of people, a peoples. That's the language Trump uses too, and it's intentionally ambiguous. Now, on the merit, some don't adapt, others do. Some never learn English, while some do. It goes into a number of different factors which are often outside of their control. Some are too ignorant to know what's important, that often takes a generation to change. Most just want a better life. Even adaption takes on a different view depending on where you are. In Southern Florida? I mean , if a person is going to live around Haitians, work with Haitians, and live in Little Haiti. Long as they pay taxes I dont care if they ever learn to speak English. Lord knows theres no shortage of Spanish-only speakers in this country who do fine for themselves. robsblubot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsblubot 3,595 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 2 minutes ago, Sir Mikel OBE said: Even adaption takes on a different view depending on where you are. In Southern Florida? I mean , if a person is going to live around Haitians, work with Haitians, and live in Little Haiti. Long as they pay taxes I dont care if they ever learn to speak English. Lord knows theres no shortage of Spanish-only speakers in this country who do fine for themselves. Certainly. It does limit opportunity tho. Some of their kids would have the opportunity to break away, which is the case for most immigrant families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAPHOD2319 4,819 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Springfield Ohio is what is making the news. An economically depressed town that went from 80k population to 60k because factories closed and there were not enough jobs. So bring in 16k Haitian refugees over 5 years. When listening to the residents, it has been a positive experience. The Mayor is making waves because the town doesn’t have the resources to meet the demands of a population that does not speak English in large numbers. Some do come knowing English. The MAGAs are blowing this wayyyyy out of reality. This is a PBS report that speaks with residents. Some long standing, some Haitian immigrants https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/ohio-city-with-haitian-migrant-influx-thrust-into-political-spotlight Fulham Broadway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulham Broadway 17,333 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 8 minutes ago, ZAPHOD2319 said: Springfield Ohio is what is making the news. An economically depressed town that went from 80k population to 60k because factories closed and there were not enough jobs. So bring in 16k Haitian refugees over 5 years. When listening to the residents, it has been a positive experience. The Mayor is making waves because the town doesn’t have the resources to meet the demands of a population that does not speak English in large numbers. Some do come knowing English. The MAGAs are blowing this wayyyyy out of reality. This is a PBS report that speaks with residents. Some long standing, some Haitian immigrants https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/ohio-city-with-haitian-migrant-influx-thrust-into-political-spotlight Thats the same here people say areas are 'swamped' and it just deosnt work -it doesnt work because of lack of resources, infrastructure not thought about premeditatively, and thats when it breaks down. The other thing is in the UK and US, come on, we're all fucking immigrants at some point -unless you can trace your genes back to that fish that flopped out of the ocean 20 million years ago. robsblubot 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsblubot 3,595 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 6 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said: Thats the same here people say areas are 'swamped' and it just deosnt work -it doesnt work because of lack of resources, infrastructure not thought about premeditatively, and thats when it breaks down. The other thing is in the UK and US, come on, we're all fucking immigrants at some point -unless you can trace your genes back to that fish that flopped out of the ocean 20 million years ago. 😅 Now the part that hurts dems is the "illegal" part, and I have a hard time defending that. There are a lot of people in South America who could improve their lives by moving to the US. Should the USA take 100m people in just because? Of course the who's responsible for this mess part gets a bit more nuanced, but the situation does benefit the Republican Party more (politically). Fulham Broadway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulham Broadway 17,333 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 5 minutes ago, robsblubot said: Now the part that hurts dems is the "illegal" part, and I have a hard time defending that. 😅👍 6 minutes ago, robsblubot said: There are a lot of people in South America who could improve their lives by moving to the US. Much of the reason for that is those countries have been plundered by US corporations, divided by installing puppet regimes - be it Brazil 1964 Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, Guatamala etc. Not blaming the US it was the Cold War and CCCP were doing the same in Cuba, South east Asia, Korea, etc The US in terms of geo political terms is the Rome of the Americas, the hub of an Empire -just as the UK ruled two thirds of the World in 1870. Heres the thing, though -all empires collapse. Its collapsing from within now thanks to a massive polarisation partly through billionaires, partly through Russian influence. The most potent weapon for this is Social media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsblubot 3,595 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Fulham Broadway said: 😅👍 Much of the reason for that is those countries have been plundered by US corporations, divided by installing puppet regimes - be it Brazil 1964 Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, Guatamala etc. Not blaming the US it was the Cold War and CCCP were doing the same in Cuba, South east Asia, Korea, etc The US in terms of geo political terms is the Rome of the Americas, the hub of an Empire -just as the UK ruled two thirds of the World in 1870. Heres the thing, though -all empires collapse. Its collapsing from within now thanks to a massive polarisation partly through billionaires, partly through Russian influence. The most potent weapon for this is Social media. While that's part of it, speaking of Brazil which is what I'm familiar with, it goes back farther than that. The differences between Brazil and US, for example, go back to independence (Brazil did not get a clean slate) and even the kind of immigration before that. Brazil is also held back by having had a military dictatorship not so long ago; there are traces of that everywhere still. The economy is growing steadily though, but it's just so very slow to change status quo. BTW, I know nothing of Mexico and it's very typical for people there to know little about Mexican culture and history given it's really a North American country. Edited September 10, 2024 by robsblubot Fulham Broadway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,231 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 1 hour ago, robsblubot said: 😅 Now the part that hurts dems is the "illegal" part, and I have a hard time defending that. There are a lot of people in South America who could improve their lives by moving to the US. Should the USA take 100m people in just because? Of course the who's responsible for this mess part gets a bit more nuanced, but the situation does benefit the Republican Party more (politically). GOP senators seethe as Trump blows up delicate immigration compromise https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/25/politics/gop-senators-angry-trump-immigration-deal/index.html Senior Senate Republicans are furious that Donald Trump may have killed an emerging bipartisan deal over the southern border, depriving them of a key legislative achievement on a pressing national priority and offering a preview of what’s to come with Trump as their likely presidential nominee. In recent weeks, Trump has been lobbying Republicans both in private conversations and in public statements on social media to oppose the border compromise being delicately hashed out in the Senate, according to GOP sources familiar with the conversations – in part because he wants to campaign on the issue this November and doesn’t want President Joe Biden to score a victory in an area where he is politically vulnerable. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged in a private meeting on Wednesday that Trump’s animosity toward the yet-to-be-released border deal puts Republicans in a serious bind as they try to move forward on the already complex issue. For weeks, Republicans have been warning that Trump’s opposition could blow up the bipartisan proposal, but the admission from McConnell was particularly striking, given he has been a chief advocate for a border-Ukraine package. Now, Republicans on Capitol Hill are grappling with the reality that most in the GOP are loathe to do anything that is seen as potentially undermining the former president. And the prospects of a deal being scuttled before it has even been finalized has sparked tensions and confusion in the Senate GOP as they try to figure out if, and how, to proceed – even as McConnell made clear during party lunches Thursday that he remains firmly behind the effort to strike a deal, according to attendees. “I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is … really appalling,” said GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump. He added, “But the reality is that, that we have a crisis at the border, the American people are suffering as a result of what’s happening at the border. And someone running for president not to try and get the problem solved. as opposed to saying, ‘hey, save that problem. Don’t solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later.’” GOP Sen. Todd Young of Indiana called any efforts to disrupt the ongoing negotiations “tragic” and said: “I hope no one is trying to take this away for campaign purposes.” “I would encourage (chief Senate GOP negotiator) James Lankford and other conservatives to produce a work product with which they will shortly allow conservatives like myself to review it and take heart that there are a number of us who won’t be looking to third parties and assessing the propriety of passing this bipartisan proposal,” Young said. It’s an all-too-familiar dynamic for the Republicans who served while Trump was in office, where he could easily derail legislative action on Capitol Hill with the blast of a single tweet or stir up a new controversy that Republicans were forced to respond to. And with Trump now marching toward the presidential nomination, Republicans are once again bracing for life with him as the nominee. Underscoring just how damaging Trump’s comments and campaign to kill the border deal have been in the Senate, one GOP senator on condition of background told CNN that without Trump, this deal would have had overwhelming support within the conference. “This proposal would have had almost unanimous Republican support if it weren’t for Donald Trump,” the Republican senator said. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina – who has also been involved in the talks – said he didn’t know if anyone could convince Trump to not kill the deal. But he acknowledged that it would take some “courage” for members to be able to press ahead at this point in defiance of Trump – though Tillis argued it would ultimately be beneficial for Trump for them to pass a border security deal and help address the flow of migrants trying to enter the country. “I think this is when members of the Senate have to show some courage and do something that at the end of the day will be very helpful for President Trump,” Tillis said. Asked whether it was a mistake for Trump to be assailing this deal, Tillis said: “I’ll leave it to him to figure out how he needs to get into office. I hope you’ll leave it to some of us who would support that effort to give him the tools he needs to really manage the border and the abuse and the dangerous situation we have today.” For his part, McConnell – who has had zero relationship with Trump since the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack – downplayed Trump’s opposition saying, “It’s not anything new,” and insisting they were not abandoning the talks. “We’re still working,” McConnell said. “Trying to get an outcome.” Sen. John Thune, the no. 2 Senate Republican, said the discussions have reached a critical moment but acknowledged they may need to turn to a “plan B.” “If we can’t get there, then we’ll go to plan B,” Thune said. “But I think for now at least, there are still attempts being made to try and reach a conclusion that would satisfy a lot of Republicans.” Status of border talks remains unclear In the latest sign that the emerging border deal faces an uphill climb, a senior leadership aide to House GOP Leader Steve Scalise told a group of Senate Republican chiefs of staff on Thursday that it was dead on arrival in the House, according to a source familiar. Senate Republicans on the fence about the proposal may be less inclined to back it, knowing it’s going nowhere in the House and knowing Trump wants a border deal killed. Frustration reigned inside the Senate GOP on Thursday amid lingering confusion over the status of a deal. While McConnell has said the talks are still proceeding, Young warned Republican leadership against pulling the plug before they’ve taken a thorough temperature check inside the conference, where a contingent of Republicans are still fighting for a deal. “I think leadership needs to count noses before they make any impulsive decisions,” he said. Pressed on whether it was realistic to pass a border deal with Trump opposing it, Young said: “It may be possible. Listen, I’m very much attuned to the political realities, but I think before you make these consequential decisions on behalf of this conference, you’ve got to consult with the conference.” Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who has been openly critical of McConnell, said he was “puzzled” by the leader’s comments during the closed-door meeting on Wednesday, which was supposed to be focused on Ukraine. “I mean, we were talking about funding for Ukraine and all of the sudden he brings up the border and then, again, lays out what I consider a pretty lame excuse, trying to shift blame to President Trump for, I would say, his failed negotiation, not James Lankford,” Johnson said. “James Lankford has worked his tail off. It’s McConnell that took away the leverage by not tying Ukraine funding to actually securing the border.” Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has made no secret of her frustration with Trump over the years, said members need to remember how big this moment is for the border and for Ukraine and put their own politics aside. “I’m not giving up. This is not about Trump and this is not about me. This is about our country. This is about democracy around the world. This is about security for our own country and so let’s keep pushing to get this border deal,” she said. “Let’s stand by the commitments that we have made for our friends and our allies so that our word actually means something.” This is the second time in six years Trump killed or was actively trying to kill a bipartisan immigration deal as it emerged. Back in 2018, Murkowski was part of bipartisan talks over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The bill got 54 votes in the Senate, but not enough to get it over the finish line. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, one of the Democrats involved in the border talks, expressed frustration about Trump seeking to inject chaos into the situation. “I think over the next 24 to 48 hours, they are going to make a decision as to whether they want to do this, or whether the forces surrounding Donald Trump – who want to keep chaos at the border – win,” Murphy said. “So they have a decision to make. I hope they make that decision very quickly. We have an agreement that is 95% written and is ready to get to the floor if Republicans decide that they actually want to solve the problem.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulham Broadway 17,333 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Looking forward to the 'debate' tonight. I think the danger for Dems leading up to the Election is that Harris is a relatively unknown blank canvas in terms of stuff chucked at her. Think about Trump and hes still there, felon, rapist, thoughtless on any substance unless its Donald J Trump, misogynist, the list goes on yet hes Teflon Don. If Harris upsets the Capitol Hill billionaire lobbyists, or the Israeli lobby, or corporate media there will be all kinds of shit chucked at her. That said Trump with his mental state is perfectly capable of fucking up his own electoral objective - especially if he goes into tonights debate angry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsblubot 3,595 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Vesper said: GOP senators seethe as Trump blows up delicate immigration compromise https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/25/politics/gop-senators-angry-trump-immigration-deal/index.html Senior Senate Republicans are furious that Donald Trump may have killed an emerging bipartisan deal over the southern border, depriving them of a key legislative achievement on a pressing national priority and offering a preview of what’s to come with Trump as their likely presidential nominee. In recent weeks, Trump has been lobbying Republicans both in private conversations and in public statements on social media to oppose the border compromise being delicately hashed out in the Senate, according to GOP sources familiar with the conversations – in part because he wants to campaign on the issue this November and doesn’t want President Joe Biden to score a victory in an area where he is politically vulnerable. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged in a private meeting on Wednesday that Trump’s animosity toward the yet-to-be-released border deal puts Republicans in a serious bind as they try to move forward on the already complex issue. For weeks, Republicans have been warning that Trump’s opposition could blow up the bipartisan proposal, but the admission from McConnell was particularly striking, given he has been a chief advocate for a border-Ukraine package. Now, Republicans on Capitol Hill are grappling with the reality that most in the GOP are loathe to do anything that is seen as potentially undermining the former president. And the prospects of a deal being scuttled before it has even been finalized has sparked tensions and confusion in the Senate GOP as they try to figure out if, and how, to proceed – even as McConnell made clear during party lunches Thursday that he remains firmly behind the effort to strike a deal, according to attendees. “I think the border is a very important issue for Donald Trump. And the fact that he would communicate to Republican senators and congresspeople that he doesn’t want us to solve the border problem because he wants to blame Biden for it is … really appalling,” said GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump. He added, “But the reality is that, that we have a crisis at the border, the American people are suffering as a result of what’s happening at the border. And someone running for president not to try and get the problem solved. as opposed to saying, ‘hey, save that problem. Don’t solve it. Let me take credit for solving it later.’” GOP Sen. Todd Young of Indiana called any efforts to disrupt the ongoing negotiations “tragic” and said: “I hope no one is trying to take this away for campaign purposes.” “I would encourage (chief Senate GOP negotiator) James Lankford and other conservatives to produce a work product with which they will shortly allow conservatives like myself to review it and take heart that there are a number of us who won’t be looking to third parties and assessing the propriety of passing this bipartisan proposal,” Young said. It’s an all-too-familiar dynamic for the Republicans who served while Trump was in office, where he could easily derail legislative action on Capitol Hill with the blast of a single tweet or stir up a new controversy that Republicans were forced to respond to. And with Trump now marching toward the presidential nomination, Republicans are once again bracing for life with him as the nominee. Underscoring just how damaging Trump’s comments and campaign to kill the border deal have been in the Senate, one GOP senator on condition of background told CNN that without Trump, this deal would have had overwhelming support within the conference. “This proposal would have had almost unanimous Republican support if it weren’t for Donald Trump,” the Republican senator said. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina – who has also been involved in the talks – said he didn’t know if anyone could convince Trump to not kill the deal. But he acknowledged that it would take some “courage” for members to be able to press ahead at this point in defiance of Trump – though Tillis argued it would ultimately be beneficial for Trump for them to pass a border security deal and help address the flow of migrants trying to enter the country. “I think this is when members of the Senate have to show some courage and do something that at the end of the day will be very helpful for President Trump,” Tillis said. Asked whether it was a mistake for Trump to be assailing this deal, Tillis said: “I’ll leave it to him to figure out how he needs to get into office. I hope you’ll leave it to some of us who would support that effort to give him the tools he needs to really manage the border and the abuse and the dangerous situation we have today.” For his part, McConnell – who has had zero relationship with Trump since the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack – downplayed Trump’s opposition saying, “It’s not anything new,” and insisting they were not abandoning the talks. “We’re still working,” McConnell said. “Trying to get an outcome.” Sen. John Thune, the no. 2 Senate Republican, said the discussions have reached a critical moment but acknowledged they may need to turn to a “plan B.” “If we can’t get there, then we’ll go to plan B,” Thune said. “But I think for now at least, there are still attempts being made to try and reach a conclusion that would satisfy a lot of Republicans.” Status of border talks remains unclear In the latest sign that the emerging border deal faces an uphill climb, a senior leadership aide to House GOP Leader Steve Scalise told a group of Senate Republican chiefs of staff on Thursday that it was dead on arrival in the House, according to a source familiar. Senate Republicans on the fence about the proposal may be less inclined to back it, knowing it’s going nowhere in the House and knowing Trump wants a border deal killed. Frustration reigned inside the Senate GOP on Thursday amid lingering confusion over the status of a deal. While McConnell has said the talks are still proceeding, Young warned Republican leadership against pulling the plug before they’ve taken a thorough temperature check inside the conference, where a contingent of Republicans are still fighting for a deal. “I think leadership needs to count noses before they make any impulsive decisions,” he said. Pressed on whether it was realistic to pass a border deal with Trump opposing it, Young said: “It may be possible. Listen, I’m very much attuned to the political realities, but I think before you make these consequential decisions on behalf of this conference, you’ve got to consult with the conference.” Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who has been openly critical of McConnell, said he was “puzzled” by the leader’s comments during the closed-door meeting on Wednesday, which was supposed to be focused on Ukraine. “I mean, we were talking about funding for Ukraine and all of the sudden he brings up the border and then, again, lays out what I consider a pretty lame excuse, trying to shift blame to President Trump for, I would say, his failed negotiation, not James Lankford,” Johnson said. “James Lankford has worked his tail off. It’s McConnell that took away the leverage by not tying Ukraine funding to actually securing the border.” Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has made no secret of her frustration with Trump over the years, said members need to remember how big this moment is for the border and for Ukraine and put their own politics aside. “I’m not giving up. This is not about Trump and this is not about me. This is about our country. This is about democracy around the world. This is about security for our own country and so let’s keep pushing to get this border deal,” she said. “Let’s stand by the commitments that we have made for our friends and our allies so that our word actually means something.” This is the second time in six years Trump killed or was actively trying to kill a bipartisan immigration deal as it emerged. Back in 2018, Murkowski was part of bipartisan talks over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The bill got 54 votes in the Senate, but not enough to get it over the finish line. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, one of the Democrats involved in the border talks, expressed frustration about Trump seeking to inject chaos into the situation. “I think over the next 24 to 48 hours, they are going to make a decision as to whether they want to do this, or whether the forces surrounding Donald Trump – who want to keep chaos at the border – win,” Murphy said. “So they have a decision to make. I hope they make that decision very quickly. We have an agreement that is 95% written and is ready to get to the floor if Republicans decide that they actually want to solve the problem.” Yeah I am familiar with the bill and you’ve shared it before — not suggesting it shouldn’t be shared again. It’s really easy to simply ask the same questions the police used to understand situations, “who benefits from this?” on the other hand, this bill so close to the election was doomed from the get-go; the timing also looks a bit suspicious from the dems—like get something out to help elections. Edited September 10, 2024 by robsblubot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,231 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Donald Trump’s Unreality Show The former president is focused on made-up problems—and terrifying solutions. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/donald-trump-unreality-show Donald Trump is very good at highlighting problems that don’t exist, like public schools providing gender-affirming surgery without consent. Look, any time Trump starts talking about “the transgender thing,” you can expect it’ll be bad. But a riff at a recent Moms for Liberty event was particularly ugly—as well as divorced from reality. “Think of it; your kid goes to school, and he comes home a few days later with an operation,” Trump said. “The school decides what’s going to happen with your child.” The supposition here is that kids are routinely getting gender-affirming surgeries at schools, in which—I guess?—doctors are lurking around to perform them. Or maybe it’s that school buses are being rerouted to hospitals? Either scenario is unhinged, and as CNN noted, “Trump’s own presidential campaign could not provide a single example of this ever happening.” Nevertheless, Trump repeated the lie this past weekend, saying, “Can you imagine you’re a parent and your son leaves the house and you say, Jimmy, I love you so much. Go have a good day in school and your son comes back with a brutal operation.” There is no world in which kids are going under the knife at school, except, apparently, in Trump’s post-truth world. It’s a dark and scary place filled with problems that don’t exist, albeit with potentially terrifying solutions. And what’s really scary is that if Trump can convince enough Americans that they actually inhabit this place we’ll call Earth Two, he could return to the White House. Since entering the political scene in 2015, Trump has uttered a dizzying stream of lies. In the four years of his presidency alone, he made more than 30,000 false and misleading claims, according to The Washington Post, and hasn’t stopped lying about his 2020 loss as we approach the 2024 election. “Trump’s lying is most exceptional in its relentlessness, a never-ending avalanche of wrongness that can bury even the most devoted fact-checkers,” one of them, CNN’s Daniel Dale, wrote last week. Somehow the guy who mused about purchasing Greenland sounds even more disconnected from reality as he runs for president again, frequently bringing up fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter and seeming to mix up asylum-seekers and people who have been in mental institutions, or asylums. Of course, Trump has been demonizing migrants since launching his 2016 campaign, when he suggested that Mexico is “sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” His dangerous rhetoric has continued, with Trump telling Time in April that there will be “as many as 20 million” undocumented immigrants in the United States by the time Joe Biden is out of office, with “many of them from jails, many of them from prisons, many of them from mental institutions.” (Pew estimated, as of 2022, that there are around 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US. Though estimates vary, there are not believed to be 20 million—never mind 25 or 30 million, as Trump ally Marco Rubio has suggested, according to PolitFact.) Beyond Trump inflating the numbers, the scale of such a deportation plan even affecting 11 million people, as the Washington Post’s Philip Bump noted, is “incomprehensible.” Meanwhile, Trump torpedoed a bipartisan bill earlier this year to actually address immigration reform. On Earth One, where we all live, border crossings are way down. Citing US Customs and Border Protection statistics, USA Today reported last month that the number of migrant apprehensions along the southern border “plunged in July from a year ago, to the lowest level of the Biden era.” Similarly, as the US produces and exports “the most crude oil out of any country, at any time,” Trump portrays the Biden administration as opposed to drilling—to the point that he will be required to be a “dictator” on day one to get the job done. As Trump said in December, “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.” Trump, however, dismisses the very real problem of climate change. Facts are, of course, irrelevant on Earth Two, where Trump is taking fear-mongering over immigration to a new level. He recently claimed at a Fox News town hall that “Venezuelans are taking over the whole town” of Aurora, Colorado. But the AP reports that police in the Denver suburb “say a Venezuela street gang with a small presence in the city has not taken over a rundown apartment complex—yet the allegation continues to gain steam among conservatives.” (Snopes has more on how a viral video has fueled rumors on the right.) As Trump took over the GOP, Republicans moved with him to Earth Two, focusing on non-existent problems that they could then “solve.” Earlier this year, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson touted legislation aimed at stopping something that is already illegal in America: noncitizens voting in federal elections. Despite voter fraud being extremely rare, Republicans have become laser-focused on it under the guise of “election integrity,” presumably to pass legislation to make it harder to vote. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since Republicans demonstrated on January 6, 2021 that they wouldn’t hesitate to disenfranchise voters based on election lies. The trick of Trump’s unreality is that if enough people believe it, it ceases to matter if it’s true or not. According to a 2023 CBS survey, Trump voters trust him more than their own friends and family, conservative media, or even religious leaders. So Trump seems to believe (probably rightly) that he can create his own truth—that if enough of Trump’s people occupy Earth Two it doesn’t much matter what actually is happening on Earth One. The problem for the rest of us on Earth One is that Trump appears willing to shred the Constitution to address non-existent issues like widespread voter fraud. On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social, “WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again … Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.” As Axios’s Alex Thompson explained, “Trump is now proposing two of the largest-ever federal arrests of people living in America, including U.S. citizens, if he’s re-elected.” So there’s the proposed mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, which Trump warned this past week “will be a bloody story” if he’s elected, along with jailing people over baseless election fraud claims. This is the stuff of autocrats, and it’s up to the American people to decide if they want to give Trump the power to actually become one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmicway 1,333 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 (edited) Why is Trump talking such rubbish English ? Most politicians talk in a stylized manner and some even like to use old language expressions, like Winston Churchill did. Trump should be no exception or at least he could hire some tutors to improve his skills. But he likes to talk like a truck driver who is caught by the police and held overnight for being pissed. He does that because most of his followers are illiterate and when we say illiterate we mean illiterate. Those maga folks could be alienated listening to someone who speaks proper English. Edited September 10, 2024 by cosmicway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesper 30,231 Posted September 10, 2024 Share Posted September 10, 2024 Just now, robsblubot said: Yeah I am familiar with the bill and you’ve shared it before — not suggesting it shouldn’t be shared again. It’s really easy to simply ask the same questions police does to understand situations: the main one being, “who benefits from this?” on the other hand, this bill so close to the election was doomed from the get-go; the timing also looks a bit suspicious from the dems—like get something out to help elections. It was the most right wing immigration bill in decades, and was partly crafted by some of the most conservative Republicans. Many of the progressive Dems hated it, but enough Dems overall supported it in large enough numbers to get it passed. BUT Trump, of course, was never serious about doing something concrete, he only wanted the talking point, thus scuppered it with help from the MAGAt crew in Congress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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