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1. I know its comforting to think of Trump as an aberration but 25 years ago House Speaker Newt Gingrich publicly doubted that former Clinton aide Vince Foster committed suicide, fueling conspiracy theories that he was murdered by the Clintons

popular.info/p/ripping-real…
2. There have always been people pushing disinformation. What's changed are the tools available.

The right-wing operatives pushing the Vince Foster murder conspiracy had to produce a movie and DISTRIBUTE IT ON VHS TAPE

It took a year and lots of money

popular.info/p/ripping-real…
3. Today, Republicans can communicate a conspiracy theory about Nancy Pelosi to millions of people, instantaneously, for free.

Then House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy can amplify it to a sympathetic audience on Fox News.

popular.info/p/ripping-real…
4. The traditional media, which used to contextualize information in the next day's paper or the evening news broadcast is now racing to break news

So they repeat lies without context

Maybe later they'll come back with a fact check but it's too late

popular.info/p/ripping-real…
5. So we can get rid of Trump but the factors weaponizing disinformation will remain

Trump is a product of this environment, not the cause

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Judd Legum
@JuddLegum
1. The coronavirus is killing thousands & threatening to tank the global economy

But in India today, Trump is downplaying the threat

Two years ago, Trump fired the government’s entire pandemic response team & didn't replace them

Let's review THE FACTS

popular.info/p/unprepared?u…
2. In 2018, Trump ousted Tim Ziemer, the Senior Director of Global Health Security. Ziemer was on the NSC, where he was responsible for coordinating "responses to global health emergencies and potential pandemics."

popular.info/p/unprepared?u…
3. Ziemer was lauded as "one of the most quietly effective leaders in public health." He was not replaced.

"Admiral Ziemer’s departure is deeply alarming. Expertise like his is critical in avoiding large outbreaks" -- @RepBera, 2018

popular.info/p/unprepared?u…
Read 8 tweets
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Judd Legum
@JuddLegum
1. With the coronavirus killing thousands and threatening to tank the global economy, I feel like more people should be talking about the fact that Trump fired the entire pandemic response team two years ago and then didn't replace them
2. Trump also cut funding for the CDC, forcing the CDC to cancel its efforts to help countries prevent infectious-disease threats from becoming epidemics in 39 of 49 countries in 2018.

Among the countries abandoned? China.
3. This isn't just about accountability. It's about drawing attention to the structural problems in the US response effort before things get worse.

Why isn't the House holding hearings right now?

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Judd Legum
@JuddLegum
I do not know what the outcome of the 2020 election will be or which candidate is most "electable."

But I do find it interesting that the people who claim to know the outcome are not basing it on current polling but on predictions of how that polling will change.
I also don't know what the outcome in Michigan. Sanders could lose Michigan badly! But the idea that Sanders is less "electable" in these kind of swing states is not reflected in polls right now.

My point here is not to highlight polls that show Sanders doing well. It's to suggest that chasing electability is futile. Instead, think about what kind of president you want and vote for that person.
Read 3 tweets

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it-from-bit
@GrebniefEvets
"... Among the apparently suspended employees is Msgr. MAURO CARLINO, who oversees documentation at the Secretariat of State, along with layman TOMASSO DI RUZZA, director of the Vatican’s Financial Intelligence Authority. ...

catholicherald.co.uk/news/2019/10/0…
... Documents and devices were taken ... following complaints made last summer by the Institute for Religious Works (Vatican Bank) & the Office of the Auditor General, concerning a series of financial transactions “carried out over time,” an October 1 Vatican statement said. ...
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Read 10 tweets
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ted stickles
@McDutchoven
So I put this comment up days ago... Believe you/me I've been digging and Lindsey Graham is a real problem child.

The problem: There is so much info out there that would usually disqualify him from running in politics successfuly, but most of it is public for years.

1/?
a few fun Lindsey facts:

His family didn't desegregate their bar (where he claims to have grown up) until the 70s

He is a member of IRI. The first organization Kilminik and Manafort infiltrated.

He took 1.2 million from a Russian Oligarch

2/?
In 2010 a man claimed to have a photo of a man whom lindsey had spent the night with

Lindsey is a member of Christians for Israel and in the early 2010s the Libertarians tried to use it against him with his base.

One thing caught my eye however.
3/?
Read 29 tweets
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diane #ForAll straub
@didikins4life
If we want to inform our opinion as to whom is the best choice to serve as House Speaker, it is important to understand the complexities & responsibilities of the position.Thanks to Kirk Bailey at dummies.com we can take a look at the job of Speaker of the House./1
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serves as the presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives./2 #SpeakerOftheHouse
The Speaker fulfills several roles, including representing constituents as a Member of Congress, acting as administrative head of the House, and serving as leader of the majority political party in the House. /3 #SpeakerOftheHouse
Read 27 tweets

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