Day: 7/17/2021

CNN’s ‘Untouchable’ Jim Acosta: ‘What Are You Prepared To Do’ to Hold Trump Accountable?

Posted by on July 17, 2021 at 5:18 pm. 7 Comments :

The descent into authoritarian madness by Donald Trump remains a palpable threat to American democracy. With each new day he escalates his baseless allegations of a “stolen” election. And he does this with the full knowledge that his lies incited violent riots in Washington, D.C., by his insurrectionist cult followers. He does this with the full knowledge that his continuing lies will likely fuel more violence. Which is just what this maniac wants.

Donald Trump, Fox News, QAnon

Much has been said about how to respond to Trump’s persistent assault on democracy. People talk about indictments, legislation, and organizing to elect honorable representatives in Congress who will take their oath of office seriously. But this is an “all of the above” situation. It all comes down to one question. A question that probes the level of commitment that we have to preserve our republic. That question was asked on Saturday by CNN anchor Jim Acosta, after playing a particularly cringeworthy clip of Trump conceding his vile, aberrant character, or lack thereof:

Trump: I didn’t become different. I got impeached twice. I didn’t change. I became worse.
Acosta: I, for one, believe him. He has become worse, if that’s possible. The current President says American democracy is still being threatened. Yes, it is being threatened, by the former guy.

“As Jim Malone would ask, What are you prepared to do?’ What is law enforcement prepared to about Trump’s actions surrounding January 6th? What are Democrats prepared to do to protect our elections? What are you, the voter, prepared to do to hold accountable those politicians who choose Trump over American democracy? What are you prepared to do?

Acosta was channeling Jim Malone, the character played by Sean Connery in “The Untouchables.” FBI agent Eliot Ness sought out Malone’s advice on how to get Al Capone. Malone responded…

“You said you wanted to know how to get Capone. Do you really want to get him? … What are you prepared to do?”

Ness, of course, replied that he would do everything within the law. And that must be what American patriots pledge to do with regard to Trump. That must be what politicians – Democrats and Republicans – commit to. It must be the course that law enforcement and Justice Department prosecutors take without fear or prejudice.

Without accountability, the criminal acts of Trump will be swept aside, and future aspiring dictators will pursue the same paths of tyranny. However, Trump’s more savvy successors will have the benefit of learning from his failures and foolishness. They are already on that path as Republicans in many states are passing voter suppression bills and legislation giving partisan autocrats the right to overturn the will of the people.

For this reason we need to take Acosta’s adaptation of Malone’s question to heart. That scene led to the infamous exchange where in Malone advised Ness that if…

“You want to get Capone? Here’s how you get him. He pulls a knife? You pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital? You send one of his to the morgue! That’s the Chicago way, and that’s how you get Capone! Now, do you want to do that? Are you ready to do that?”

Of course that’s metaphorical in this context. But Acosta is providing just the sort of inspiration that is needed at this perilous junction in American history. We need to have that kind of devotion to political victory on behalf of democratic values. It will take great effort sustained for many months and years. Are you ready to do that? For America’s sake, I hope so.

NOTE: Twitter suspended the News Corpse account after 11 years without giving a reason. So if anyone wants to tweet articles from my website, please feel free to do so often and repeatedly. Also, Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse on Instagram. Thanks for your support.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

HYSTERICAL: Trump Slams Fox News in Massive Meltdown Over His Absurd Election Lies

Posted by on July 17, 2021 at 10:49 am. 9 Comments :

The downward spiral of Donald Trump continues to spin uncontrollably into the depths of madness. The evidence is impossible to ignore. He recently filed a laughably ludicrous lawsuit against Twitter, Facebook, and Google. He posted plagiarized plugs for books by Fox News flunkies. And on Saturday morning crybaby Trump whined pitifully that the British Open snubbed his money-losing Turnberry golf course.

Donald Trump Circling the Drain

However, that wasn’t the worst of Trump’s emotional malfunctions this week. His months long mental breakdown over having decisively lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden has consumed his every waking moment. Never mind that it was that lunacy that led to the deadly insurrection in Washington, D.C., on January 6th, and is likely to incite further violence on the part of his Crackpot Crusaders. Trump persists in peddling the “Big Lie” despite having no proof whatsoever.

On Friday Trump had his spokes-shill, Liz Harrington, post his latest temper tantrum on Twitter, since he’s been banned for repeated, and potentially harmful, lies. The message began with a wild swing at his own Ministry of Disinformation (aka Fox News):

“Fox News and other media outlets incorrectly side with the outdated and terrible Maricopa County Election Board to report no fraud found in the Presidential Election. They spew the gross misinformation purposefully put out by the county and the Associated Press.”

Trump is referring to an article published by the Associated Press and tweeted by Fox News anchor Brett Baier. The article revealed the results of a comprehensive study of alleged election fraud in Arizona and concluded that there wasn’t any to speak of (fewer than 200 “possible” cases out of 3.4 million votes). Trump went on to make what he presented as “factual” assertions of fraud, but for which there is zero basis in the real world:

“[They] IGNORE the very important Arizona Senate’s hearing yesterday, which showed 168,000 fraudulent ballots printed on illegal paper (unofficial ballots), 74,000 mail-in ballots received that were never mailed (magically appearing ballots), 11,000 voters were added to the voter rolls AFTER the election and still voted all the access logs to the machines were wiped, and the election server was hacked during the election.”

All told, Trump’s utterly unfounded claims assert that there were more than a quarter of million fraudulent votes tallied in a race that he lost by about 11,000. All of the allegations were drawn from Republican conspiracy theorists in the Arizona Senate and their hired hoaxsters, the Cyber Ninjas.

As an example of how flagrant their fallacies are, the AP fact check debunked the claim of 168,000 allegedly fake ballots on the wrong paper, noting that they were ordinary provisional ballots that were printed and cast on election day. It’s something anyone with election experience would know. Also easily debunked was the 74,000 mail-in ballot claim, saying that the Ninjas were simply using the wrong data files and that “the claim isn’t true and represents a misunderstanding of how early voting works in Arizona.” In other words, the Ninjas, who have no experience in election audits, are idiots who don’t have the slightest idea what they’re doing.

The same failure to grasp the assignment they’ve been given taints all of the other claims in Trump’s harangue. But that didn’t stop him from accelerating the crazy. He quoted a few blatantly partisan GOP state senators to support his babbling rant. None of them offered any proof of fraud either. Just like Trump’s crack legal team that lost more than 60 cases because they couldn’t produce a scrap of evidence. This is all he has to cling to. And it only confirms just how detached from reality he and his glassy-eyed cult followers are.

It should also not go without notice that Harrington’s posting of these statements by Trump are violations of Twitter’s terms of service that prohibit attempts to circumvent a suspension. (more on that here). She has posted Trump’s pseudo-tweets 48 times in just the past two weeks. Harrington’s account should be reported and suspended for her repeated breach of Twitter rules.

NOTE: Twitter suspended the News Corpse account after 11 years without giving a reason. So if anyone wants to tweet articles from my website, please feel free to do so often and repeatedly. Also, Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse on Instagram. Thanks for your support.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.