Jon Mark's Posts (23)

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National Gross Day

I don't remember when I last took a shower. Might be going in four days now. All I did was change clothes and walked out the door.

The day is humid and makes everything gross, including me. I've thought about whether I should try anymore but also realize that noone else does what I do, for a reason. It's the hardest thing to do.

I keep yawning. Yawned three times now in 10 minutes which is a indicator that i didn't get enough sleep. Just yawned again.

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Punish Oath Keeper Thomas Caldwell

Oath Keeper leader Thomas Caldwell is among nine others indicted for seditious conspiracy against the United States government. According to evidence presented in the court filings, Caldwell was in possession of a “death list” which was already revealed by prosecutors in early July. It’s recently been learned that election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, mother and daughter, are on that list. 

Oath Keeper Leader Thomas Caldwell Defiant 

Embed from Getty Images

Ever since the insurrection against the U.S. Capitol in January of 2021, 329 rioters have pled guilty to their involvement in the attack. Despite that, most have remained defiant against the charges against them, such as Thomas Caldwell. 

In an interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this year, Caldwell said that the charges against him had upended his life. He was clearly defiant in that interview, admitting that he was in Washington D.C. during the attack on the U.S. Capitol, but did not enter it. Regardless, the facts around his involvement put him as standing by in order to transport arms to those Oath Keepers who entered the building. 

"MONTANA MAN ADMITS TRUMP INSPIRED HIS ATTACK ON A TEEN WHO REFUSED TO REMOVE HIS HAT"

"KYLE RITTENHOUSE VERDICT LAUNCHES OPEN SEASON ON LIBERALS AND PROGRESSIVES"

The Oath Keeper leader’s attorney has more recently pushed back against the “death list” saying that it is more of a “harmless doodle pad”, which was first tweeted by a POLITICO reporter.

Even more so, the fact that Caldwell’s lawyer motioned to exclude the “harmless doodle pad” as evidence against his client, is another deliberate attempt to resist, which shows that his client is not redeemable at all.

This guy is anything but harmless. Here's a video that gives more details about who this asshole is. 

Check out this book about the violent Trump insurgency to be better informed!* 
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Real Lives Upended

Embed from Getty Images

As mentioned, Thomas Caldwell said in his Carlson interview that his life had been upended:

"You know, this whole thing has just crushed my wife and I – emotionally and financially."  

Awww, poor baby! Of course, the lives of the two people mentioned on his "harmless doodle pad" haven't been affected at all! They've only been receiving death threats, MAGAts festering at their door, have a strange encounter with Kanye West's publicist who interrogated them, publicly targeted by Trump, and more recently, becoming more of a target in the hearings before the Jan 6. committee on public television. 

Here is a segment detailing how their lives were really upended and not Caldwell's.

This further confirms there was a militant effort to cause harm to others, even death by those who have been indicted. Oath Keeper leader Caldwell and all others will hopefully, spend enough time in prison and lead by example, to others to think twice before trying something like this again. He is currently under supervision out of jail awaiting a trial in September. 

[Featured image screenshot: Thomas Caldwell in "Alleged Oath Keeper commander claims he had top secret clearance, worked for FBI" WUSA9 | via YouTube]

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There’s a serious threat in our nation during this election cycle. Among them is Doug Mastriano a right-wing candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania. 

Were it not for the momentum that Trump created to overturn the 2020 election, there could be very little hope for his MAGAts to build support for their campaigns for down-ballot positions that would guarantee them direct access to the electoral process.

Pennsylvania is one of three states where the governors select their secretary of state. That position holds power over the electoral process, which Trump targeted in states he lost to Biden. 

"TRUMP'S YEAR OF VOTER FRAUD"

Mastriano has blatantly said that he would de-certify every voting machine in the state with the stroke of a pen. He’s even said that he’s already got a team ready for the SoS he has already picked and that members of that team include “several people that are very knowledgeable of Pennsylvania, who are going to get the elections cleaned up in my first year.”

As of this writing, Mastriano for Governor isn’t as threatening with incumbent Josh Shapiro ahead of him by 10 percent. Would be better to see that gap widen some more but, it would also be better for him to lose his seat in the state Senate which won’t be up until 2024. 

Here’s a segment with Governor Shapiro explaining who Mastriano is right after he won the GOP primary.

[Featured image screenshot "Mastriano Lists Agenda As Governor During Pennsylvania GOP Nominee Victory Speech" NBC News | via YouTube]

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Ukraine War: Smalls Gains, Great Hope

What a relief it is to learn that Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russia is making small gains.

If you haven't been keeping up, Russian troops have reportedly been unable to establish a corridor into Ukraine that would guarantee control. 

After the Russian invasion on February 24th, I was certain that the world would soon see Ukraine fall. Russia's power posturing made this a good possibility but months later, we see that Ukraine has really handed Putin's ass back to him, sending a great many Russian soldiers to Hell and pushing the rest of them back across the border.

Embed from Getty Images

The "small gains" that are reportedly being made are actually much greater given the bigger picture of Eastern Ukraine.  

Many of us remember when the Euromaidan protest made news in 2013. It was very upsetting to see protesters who were demanding independence being shot and killed in the streets. While the uprising forced Putin's puppet to flee, he was able to annex Crimea in early 2014 and hold territory in the East. 

Despite that, the rest of the world saw this as illegitimate and Ukraine troops were able to get some target practice on Russian separatists in the East. 

Show your support for Ukraine and a "Fuck You" to Putin with this shirt!*

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The world would be rattled again when Putin tried to invade in February making the war in Ukraine the central issue that could start World War III. 

Now with NATO prioritizing this war in order to teach Putin a lesson, the rest of the world seems to have caught up with our support of Ukraine perhaps, guaranteeing success against Russia's invasion.

[Featured image: "Hope Blooms Eternal" by Don Komarechka via Flickr / Public Domain]

 

 

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"Dakota Access Pipeline Terrorism Charges"

In no way am I a pacifist to those of us dividing our nation.

Sure, there are times when I have to choose my battles but not initially.

The Dakota Access Pipeline protest has been an ongoing battle since the Obama administration. 

Since then, it's been a tug-of-war between protesters and big oil with changing administrations adjusting the leverage for one side or the other. 

The Trump administration obviously leveraged the fossil fuel industry.

But he also led an insurrection against the US Capitol in order to try to steal the election. 

Embed from Getty Images

There's a great effort being made to hold him and his lot accountable. 

A number of Capitol police are even suing him for terrorism.

To mirror that, at this time, an anti-pipeline protester is already facing terrorism charges for setting fire to pipeline machinery.

The actions of that protester, Jessica Reznicek, are not that much different from the damage caused by Trump's followers. 

The only difference is that in her case, there were no deaths involved. 

But the pushback against charges of terrorism is not immune to the comparison. 

Dakota Access Pipeline Protester's Terrorism Charges 

Both Reznicek and Ruby Montoya would have gotten away with it too if they hadn't come out publicly to take credit for the sabotage. 

Their actions against the pipeline, though not as severe as those behind the Jan 6 attack, are still enough for a company that wants to make an example of someone, to do so severely.

Trump's terrorists have blanket protection by right-wing lawmakers being that they're attached to the former President.  

The Dakota Access Pipeline protesters don't have that. 

It shouldn't be surprising that a private company would take advantage of labeling the actions taken by the activists as terrorism. 

This also has the backing of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since a private company can claim an attack on energy infrastructure can be considered a federal concern.

How do the activists expect to fight that? 

Well, given the fact they admitted to it and sacrificed themselves to the cause, they didn't expect to get away with it. 

Learn more about the controversy surrounding DAPL!*

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Perhaps the only thing that could help reduce the charges is that it didn't permanently stop the pipeline.

Then we come back to the fact that it damaged company property which gives them carte blanche to prosecute as they want.

Here's an interview with the Dakota Access pipeline protesters from 2017.

Thus far, only Jessica has been sentenced while Montoya's has yet to be determined. 

You can comment on this post as a Zoe Dune member.

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It doesn't take much to see how often Trump loyalists in Congress like to promote their death wish politics.

They're not shy about this at all since they already do it in public.

Think about how often the Republican party calls itself pro-life on abortion issues.

Their hypocrisy on this is also obvious when they glaze over the many people they've killed with their policies.
 
They'll even volunteer the deaths of their own constituents.
 
Especially as reports of Covid infections ramp up.
 

Here's what Trump Loyalist Rep. Majorie Taylor Green (R-GA) said in an interview with Real American's Voice:

"But, I've talked to local hospitals here in my district and here in my state. Yes, that the waiting rooms get full but guess what; the waiting rooms are full of all kinds of things, not just Covid. Some things are car accidents, trauma, other illnesses, cancer, and so forth. So, they're seeing about 30 percent of those being Covid cases. So, while the news tries to tell us the hospitals are slam-packed with Covid, that's just not the case. Everyone needs to get back down to common sense and remember that, you know, we're human. We can't live forever and we're going to catch all kinds of diseases, and illnesses and other viruses, and we get hurt sometimes."
One of her jobs as a Trump loyalist is to repeat the same rhetoric he promotes.
 
Such as to attack and dismiss the media, and their reporting as fake news.
 
Convincing their followers they are being lied to about Covid infections.
 
In this context, she's narrowing the point to accept the harsh reality that we're all going to die of something.
 
Only an imbecile would think otherwise.
 
More importantly, to accept it.

Marjorie Taylor Greene's Trump Loyalist Platform of Death

What we've experienced over the past year has been traumatic.
 
We learned how infectious the Coronavirus is.
 
It's overwhelmed hospitals, the federal government's stockpile of medical supplies, and morgues.
 
And those are facts that she's left out.
 
Especially in her claim that hospitalized Covid cases are only at 30 percent.
 
By doing so, Marjorie Taylor Green dismisses that that percentage could increase.
 
She's putting more people at risk by encouraging them to not get vaccinated.
 
Thus, she's increasing the risk of the further spread of a potentially lethal virus.
 
Of course, if Trump were encouraging vaccination, her message would be different.
 
But since Biden is President and a Democrat promoting it, it's the only reason she needs to put more lives at risk.
 
This is in true form for her party.
 
You can support this service by purchasing Amazon products here. 
 

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Trump Loyalist Further Calls for Killing of Volunteers Promoting Vaccination and Law Enforcement

If that doesn't convince you, here's video footage of her in Alabama working up a bunch of Republican voters to welcome one of Joe Biden's "police state friends" with a loaded gun.

"Well, Joe Biden wants to come talk to you guys. He's going to be sending one of his police state friends to your front door to knock on the door, take down your name, your address, your family members’ names, your phone numbers, your cellphone numbers, probably ask for your Social Security number, and whether you’ve taken the vaccine or not. What they don’t know is in the South, we all love our Second Amendment rights, and we’re not real big on strangers showing up on our front door, are we? They might not like the welcome they get.”

So, now we don't just have her publicly suggesting that they shoot a stranger who comes to their door, but also shoot a law enforcement official. 

I mean, never mind that a stranger might be a neighbor, Amazon delivering, postal service but to shoot political volunteers or an officer of the law?

TRUMP QUARANTINE LOCKDOWN HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH CORONAVIRUS

I would say at that point, anyone taking that kind of action will be greeted welcoming a death wish of their own and it's not anything a vaccine is going to cure. 

With that, we have more of Marjorie's death wish for regular everyday Americans, police officers, and really, for just about anyone who doesn't fall in line with the Trump agenda, which is again, what this is all about.

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We've already learned about the group she moderated on Facebook which made death threats against liberals and opponents.

We also remember when the Trump loyalists in Congress, especially House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy refused to do anything about it when her calls for political violence became a problem earlier this year.

Outside of the vile Representative from Georgia, just as the quarantine began, we had another Republican who volunteered the lives of his own supporters to the coronavirus. 

Here's the gist of the quote:  

"No one reached out to me and said, 'As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that America loves for its children and grandchildren?' And if that is the exchange, I'm all in"

In the original interview, the Lt. Governor admitted that according to CDC guidelines, which he also said we should listen to, he was at risk of dying from the virus due to his age.

Most of his reasoning was due to some fucked up idea of nationalism to protect the American economy.

TRUMP INTENTIONALLY THREATENS PPE DISTRIBUTION FOR US

Generally, that kind of patriotism comes in handy during wartime, but this is a viral outbreak that was killing many people.

In fact, the only reason that he was expressing that kind of patriotism is that Trump was president and that kind of rhetoric fits in well with Trump's America.

At the time, with streets empty and footage of bodies piling up, Trump gaslighting the American people, lying about the coronavirus, the United States spent the better part of the year in darkness.

And that further established the death wish that the Trump loyalists in Congress at both the federal and state level are committed to rain down on all of us. 

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In an interview with CBS News last Sunday, FEMA deputy federal coordinating officer Justo "Tito" Hernandez deflected questions about wasted water bottles for Puerto Ricans in need after Hurricane Maria last year.

Tito's response is much like Trump officials who would rather focus on positives rather than the problem. Watch him during this interview where he refers to their efforts on the island as historic, the kind of bluster that everyone expects from Trump himself.

Buy this satirical shirt on Amazon!!!

In the end, he only refers to a question he didn't answer as one that he already answered. When pushed, he only provides a vague response.

Maybe the worst thing about this is the fact that he himself is a Puerto Rican and therefore a complete backstabber to his own people. Comes to show just how far Trump's gangsters will go to not be held accountable. 

 

[Featured image by CBS News / YouTube]

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Enemies of the People: Charlie Kirk

 So, Charlie Kirk recently encouraged his Twitter followers to leave negative reviews against Red Hen. Here is that tweet.

The tweet thread is a good spot to build a list of other enemies of the people, some who may have even made the effort to go pay the restaurant an unwelcomed visit. Charlie Kirk claimed that this backlash was the market at work. But not without his influence.

Clearly, Charlie Kirk is wrong about Red Hen accepting the consequences. His and the double-standard set by Conservatives who applauded cake shop owners and photographers who refused to serve same-sex couples also helped created the fraudulent excuse that those owners were protecting their religious beliefs.

Theirs are "religious beliefs" that are fraudulently designed to deny equal services to people because of their sexual preference, an unnecessary effort to veil their personal animus against same-sex couples behind fictional restraints.

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[UPDATED: 08.10.2018, 9:17 PM CST]

Obviously, President Trump will know within moments of talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un whether he is serious about holding talks. As the person on other side of the table involved in the presumed talks, why wouldn't he? Trump said the following to the press as he was leaving the G-7 summit in Canada.

"I think I'll know pretty quickly whether or not, in my opinion, something positive will happen. And if I think it won't happen, I'm not going to waste my time. I don't want to waste his time."

President Trump's Opinion, Positivity and Wasting Everyone's Time

In his opinion, huh? So, him knowing whether Kim Jong Un is serious at the last minute won't be based in fact? And let's also acknowledge the "fact" that facts isn't something Trump handles well if he even deals with facts at all. We already know that he only deals with his own facts.

And when he refers to "something positive," he's obviously referring to the accomplishment of holding talks as well as convincing North Korea to denuclearize. Both of these things are positive and yet questionable. At the time that he made his statement, it was days before the summit was supposed to happen and there were still no signs or a sense that they would. It was reported on Sunday that Kim Jong Un arrived in Singapore

But in his statement when President Trump also refers to "something positive," he's made it clear time and time again that even a negative outcome would be "positive" for the administration. We've heard him say this about practically every deal that he's killed, saying that, "he'd like to make a better deal but if not, then that would be fine too." He's done this with the Paris Climate Accord and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal.

He did this when he referred to trade talks around the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Saturday saying

"If a deal isn't made, that would be a very bad thing for Canada and it would be a very bad thing for Mexico. For the United States, frankly, it would be a good thing. But, I'm not looking to do that. I'm not looking to play that game."

He's taking the same position here with the summit talks with North Korea. Trump has already implied that taking military action or conducting a nuclear strike on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would be preferred if he doesn't get his way. With someone as corrupt and incendiary as Trump, there's no reason to believe that he wouldn't genuinely see the destruction in the region as "something positive."

And yes "Mr. President," let's talk about wasting time, more specifically, our time?

I expect that in a few days my assessment on these talks will be destroyed. One of them already has as I was pretty certain that: 

  1. These talks aren't going to happen and, 
  2. Even if they did, there isn't going to be an agreement to denuclearize. 

With Kim Jong Un's arrival, it looks like the talks are certain. 

At best, President Trump will be able to sit across from Kim Jong Un for a Photo Op. That alone would be historic and not a waste of time for President Trump. 

Featured image via YouTube

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IMG_9971

As avid watchers of network news, many of us remember when MSNBC news anchors Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough appeared to buddy up with then, candidate Donald Trump during 2015-16 Presidential Campaign. But you wouldn't know it to watch the network now where you'll find the best and more engaging anti-Trump commentary on any news network anywhere

In fact, you could say that they're almost single-handedly laying waste to the Trump administration, bigly!

When MSNBC news anchors came out swinging

Before we time travel to June of last year, let's update this by pointing to the storm of haymakers MSNBC news anchors, sometimes turned reporters, are delivering to the administration using Michael Avenatti, Stormy Daniels' lawyer. While Avenatti has been circulating through other news networks and programs, his appearances are mostly split between MSNBC and CNN, another network that Republicans and Trump love to go after. 

Here's a brief clip with Joe Scarborough giving kudos to Avenatti.

And of course, it really doesn't matter which network Avenatti goes to, President Trump's own lawyer, Rudy Guiliani -- along with the rest of the administration, will always find some reason to go after him or the networks, all of which they've accused of creating fake news. But it makes a difference when Avenatti shows up on Morning Joe as President Trump publicly attacked both MSNBC news anchors on Twitter last June.

 

 

On the same Friday that Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough lashed back on President Trump via their program, they released an OpEd via The Washington Post about the President not being well. But it was also revealed during that time that the administration had even gone as far as to threaten the television couple with a hit piece by right-wing tabloid National Enquirer, for negative commentary. 

Michael Avenatti and friends

Of course, there's no such show... yet. But there probably should be, and perhaps with Ari Melber who has a hard-on for the law. MSNBC's The Beat with Ari Melber has been treating the case of President Trump's former personal 'lawyer' Michael Cohen like chum as of late, getting into the legalese of it all. The Rachel Maddow Show has always been more than capable and thorough on the reporting of Trump's scandals. 

But the way that MSNBC news anchors will be able to have all the glory of the ultimate takedown of the big orange baby in the White House is by securing exclusivity with Avenatti's biggest reveals because, since Avenatti and his client Stormy Daniels are publicly going after Trump. As a consequence, the Mueller investigation seems to have intersected with their case and giving the appearance that they're working together, most certainly in going after Michael Cohen.

At one point with Morning Joe, -- which is seen in the clip above -- brought up the fact that Avenatti tweeted an image of a disc.

In an interview with the lawyer, Mike brought it up again and he promised to do an entire show on it when it was ready to be revealed. Thus far, the reports on the corporations and the money that was flowing in Cohen's direction has been revealed by Avenatti himself, while news media outlets scramble around to try and verify it. But, if that's not secure enough, more recently, Avenatti did speak with MSNBC news anchors about a possible connection between Michael Cohen and Qataris, who were taking an elevator in Trump Tower. 

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Near Death on Dallas Transport Platform

Dying man on DART platform

On the Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail line this evening, right next to my window I saw this guy just lying there.

This isn't anything new as there are plenty of times when I've seen people sleeping on the DART rail platforms, even above ground.

But this was clearly different. 

The passengers leaving the train weren't too concerned and as pointed out, there are perfectly good reasons for that. 

But the train operator was concerned and after a bit, got off of the train to try to get a response from the man. 

From where I was sitting, there didn't appear to be any signs of life and the train operator couldn't get the man to response.

DART rail operator contacts officers

The train operator pulled out the left earbud from the man's ear and tried to get him to respond to his voice but there was nothing, not even a flinch. One of the passengers got off of the train and put his hand out before the man's mouth to see if he was breathing.

The operator was on his handheld radio trying to get DART officers until one finally appeared. 

I got off of the train to tell both the operator the officer that he appeared to be alive earlier as his eyes appeared more closed than before. He confirmed that the guy was still breathing.  

After the rail operator felt that everything would be handled, he got back on the train and we left.

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