Republican political scandals, not involving Trump

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Awrrr
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#2289278 3-Aug-2019 18:27

freitasm:

"Only the best people" - Donald.

Trump's Oklahome campaign chair Ralph Shortey to plead guilt to child sex trafficking, after after police found him in a hotel room with a 17-year-old male.

There sure is a lot of hypocrisy in these family values circles. The louder they proclaim their piousness, the more dishonest they are. My BS meter is set to register whenever I hear someone rabbiting on about morals and christian principles.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

kingdragonfly

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#2289314 3-Aug-2019 20:16

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/06/07/pastor-credibly-accused-of-using-oral-sex-to-exorcise-mens-evil-spirits/

Pastor Credibly Accused of Using Oral Sex to Exorcise Men’s “Evil Spirits”

The Rev. Dr. William Weaver, a Presbyterian minister who served as pastor at Linden Presbyterian Church for nearly 40 years, allegedly said he was following the Bible when he used Native American rituals (and oral sex) to remove demons from troubled church members.

Unfortunately, instead of being punished through the justice system (where he has not been charged with any crimes), he only received the threat of punishment through an internal church court… and even that didn’t get anywhere.

Weaver, 69, was scheduled to face his three accusers during an internal church trial… He was accused by the church of “multiple acts of idolatry and sexual misconduct.”

The church charges have no bearing on the secular government’s civil and criminal courts. No public charges have been filed against Weaver. The men said they did report the sexual encounters to authorities, but the Union County Prosecutor’s Office said they could not confirm nor deny information regarding this matter.

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#2290191 5-Aug-2019 14:24

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mulvaney-defends-trump-in-wake-of-el-paso-dayton-shootings/2019/08/04/f62af682-b6b9-11e9-bad6-609f75bfd97f_story.html

Republicans struggle to respond in wake of El Paso, Dayton shootings

Washington Post

By Felicia Sonmez and Paul Kane

The Republican Party, which controls power in Washington and both states where America’s most recent mass shootings occurred, struggled on Sunday to provide a response or offer a solution to what has become a public safety epidemic.

There were thoughts and prayers, an appeal to donate blood, accolades for law enforcement and a presidential proclamation to lower flags to half-staff to honor the victims — 29 killed in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, and dozens more wounded over 13 hours.

Some Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, cited the influence of social media and video games or mentioned mental health problems. But on the question of how to stem the rising tide of gun violence, the overwhelming response from the party was silence or generalities.

“We have to get it stopped. This has been going on for years,” President Trump told reporters Sunday afternoon shortly before returning to Washington — his first public comments since the shootings.

The reaction mirrored how the GOP has responded after other mass shootings whose city names have become painfully familiar to most Americans — Parkland, Fla.; Sutherland Springs, Tex.; Las Vegas; Virginia Beach; Pittsburgh and Annapolis, Md.

A handful of Republican lawmakers on Sunday endorsed stricter gun controls, but most in the GOP ignored Democratic demands that the Senate abandon its summer recess and return to Washington to address the issue. The House passed two bills in February that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has refused to consider.

Congress has been unable to agree on sweeping gun legislation since the 1990s. Lawmakers tried, and failed, after the 2012 shootings in Newtown, Conn., killed 20 children, but the National Rifle Association’s support for the party, the demands of rural voters and Republican warnings about undermining Second Amendment rights have made it nearly impossible for lawmakers to take any steps forward.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said a broader discussion on mental health needs to take place, not just a conversation on gun laws.

“Do we need more laws? Yeah, we probably do. . . . And I think there’s a consensus now that we need background checks,” Portman said at a Sunday news conference. But, he added: “It’s not just about laws. It’s about something deeper.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said in a tweet that lawmakers “need to keep trying” but that “sadly, there are some issues, like homelessness and these shootings, where we simply don’t have all the answers.”

And Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), whose hometown of Charleston suffered a racist mass murder in a historical black church in 2015, defended the power of prayer in the aftermath of these events, saying that the family members of the nine parishioners killed in his city prayed and forgave the murderer.

“A lot of folks say that prayers don’t matter. Well, I will disagree with them vehemently,” Scott said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

After the shootings at Parkland High School in February 2018, when a gunman killed 17 students and staff, Trump briefly embraced a plan to raise the minimum age for gun purchases. He then made an abrupt about-face, instead rolling out a proposal that did not include substantial changes to gun laws.

Last year, the president signed a memorandum directing the Justice Department to ban bump stocks, which let rifles fire more rapidly.

Senate Democrats on Sunday demanded more aggressive steps, calling on McConnell to schedule votes on at least the two bills passed by the House, focusing on background checks for gun purchases and transfers.

“Why run for Congress if you aren’t prepared to pass laws that make people safer?” asked Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “These shooters, contemplating mass slaughter, take note of their government’s inaction, and they infer this silence as endorsement.”

The two bills represent the first significant legislation restricting gun rights to be approved by either the House or Senate since just after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre outside Denver. The first bill, receiving 240 votes — with just eight Republicans voting “yes” — would extend existing laws to require background checks for all gun sales and most gun transfers.

The second bill, which passed with support from three Republicans, aims to close the “Charleston loophole,” a reference to the 2015 shooting in South Carolina. The gunman was able to purchase the weapons after a three-day federal background check failed to turn up a prior conviction, and this proposal would extend that window for completing a background check to at least 10 business days.

Trump has threatened to veto both measures, and any cancellation of the Senate’s recess appears unlikely: McConnell, who fractured his shoulder Sunday morning in a fall outside his Louisville home, declined to address Democratic calls for a special session.

Some House Democrats called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to call their chamber back into session to press for more aggressive gun-control legislation than the modest proposals on background checks.

Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), whose district includes Parkland High School, has introduced legislation that would limit the size of gun magazines, an issue Democrats pointed to in light of the massive number of victims this weekend’s shooters hit in just a matter of minutes.

“They’re what these mass killers rely upon to fire as many rounds as they can,” Deutch said in a telephone interview. “We need to get back into session.”

Republicans on the Sunday morning news shows made little mention of gun control legislation. Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said the Trump administration was willing to have a “broad-based discussion” about the causes of mass shootings — but he emphasized factors like social media in addition to weaknesses in the background-check system.

“We’ve had guns in this country for hundreds of years. We haven’t had this until recently, and we need to figure out why,” Mulvaney said.

On Fox News Channel, Patrick called the El Paso shooting “evil,” raised the issue of social media — including the Internet message board 8chan — and referenced a part of the manifesto in which the writer mentioned the Call of Duty video game franchise. Authorities are investigating whether the alleged gunman wrote the manifesto.

“We’ve always had guns. We’ve always had evil. But what’s changed where we see this rash of shooting? And I see a video game industry that teaches young people to kill,” Patrick said.

McCarthy did not directly link the El Paso and Dayton shootings to violent video games, but suggested that those games can cause young Americans to “dehumanize” others, potentially leading to actual violence.

“When you look at these photos of how it took place, you can see the actions within video games and others,” McCarthy said during an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), whose district includes Dayton, said his daughter and a family friend had just entered the Tumbleweed Connection bar when the shooting began across the street. They fled and later recounted the “bravery they witnessed as officers ran toward the gun shots,” he said in a tweet.

Some Senate Republicans facing tough reelection battles reiterated their support for stronger background checks, something that Congress tried to partially address with legislation in 2018 designed to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check system.

“I have long supported closing loopholes in background checks to prevent the sale of firearms to criminals and individuals with serious mental illness,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in a statement, referring to a bipartisan measure by Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.).

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who introduced a federal red-flag bill last year, on Saturday renewed his call for Congress to pass the legislation. Such laws allow family members and law enforcement to obtain court orders to keep guns away from people believed to be dangerous.

And Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, nephew of former president George W. Bush, issued a statement Saturday denouncing the El Paso attack and declaring that “all terrorism must be stopped.”

“I proudly served in Afghanistan as a Naval officer where our mission was to fight and kill terrorists,” he tweeted. “I believe fighting terrorism remains a national priority. And that should include standing firm against white terrorism here in the U.S.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) delivered one of the more forceful condemnations among GOP lawmakers of the El Paso shooter’s act. He pointed to his own heritage as the son of a Cuban immigrant and described himself as “deeply horrified by the hateful anti-Hispanic bigotry” contained in a manifesto that investigators believe was posted online by the suspected gunman.

“We must speak clearly to combat evil in any form it takes,” Cruz said in a tweet. “What we saw yesterday was a heinous act of terrorism and white supremacy. There is no place for this in El Paso, in Texas, or anywhere across our nation.”

Cruz provided no suggestions, however, for steps Congress might take to prevent such shootings in the future.

Americans’ anger over congressional inaction briefly spilled over into public view on Sunday before the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks squared off in Phoenix. The deep-voiced public address announcer asked everyone inside Chase Field to stand for a moment of silence in honor of the Dayton and El Paso victims.

It was quiet for a second, then two, before a fan yelled: “How about doing something about it?” A few others joined in with claps and encouragement.

Then the silence broke, the announcer thanked the crowd, and the national anthem was sung.

Fred99

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#2290555 5-Aug-2019 20:48

kingdragonfly:

Americans’ anger over congressional inaction briefly spilled over into public view...

"Moscow Mitch" McConnell has taken a tumble at home, and broken his "shoulder", apparently.

If you want to see an example of American anger over congressional inaction then the WP article about his tumble has about 5,000 comments, almost unanimously unsympathetic. Similar on other sites.

Without endorsing the comments that this is "karma" - in terms of wishing "Moscow Mitch" ill-will for his health in his twilight years, it's certainly "karma" seeing the GOP getting a dose of their own medicine. Taking the "high road" didn't work, so it's not surprising. Only hope it doesn't lead to civil war.

Varkk

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#2290733 6-Aug-2019 09:23

He will be fine, afterall he has access to the best taxpayer funded healthcare available.

kingdragonfly

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#2290912 6-Aug-2019 13:31

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/cue-the-thoughts-and-prayers/2019/08/05/2de2b8d6-b7b8-11e9-bad6-609f75bfd97f_story.html

Republicans’ thoughts and prayers have become a cruel joke

Washington Post

By Dana Milbank

Back-to-back massacres in El Paso and Dayton kill 31. Cue the thoughts and prayers!

“Melania and I send our heartfelt thoughts and prayers,” tweeted President Trump, who vows to veto gun control.

“Elaine’s and my prayers go out to the victims,” tweeted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who blocks votes on gun control.

Do they not realize that “thoughts and prayers” has become a meme, a cynical punchline conveying inaction on guns? It’s what people say when they plan to do nothing.

Thoughts and prayers are always welcome, but Republicans’ reflexive response to the endless massacres has become a cruel joke, as effective as a Hallmark sympathy card. They seem to realize how weak it sounds: CNN reported that it invited 50 Republican lawmakers to talk about the shootings; only one accepted.

In fairness, Republicans offer more than “thoughts and prayers.” They also praise first responders, make various references to heartbreak and promise to “stand” with victims.

“Our thoughts are with the people of Dayton and El Paso. We are praying for them,” tweeted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). “Let’s stand united in condemning this evil.”

Thoughts and prayers stand united! And bonus points if you speak for your wife.

“Mylene and I send our prayers,” tweeted Rep. Greg Walden (Ore.).

“Wrenzie and I are praying.” — Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.)

“Jean and I are praying.” — Sen. Mike Rounds (S.D.).

“Tara and I are praying.” — Rep. Dan Crenshaw (Tex.).

Enough prayers. How about some thoughts?

“Mikey and I mourn.” — Sen. John Hoeven (N.D.).

“Kay and I are continuing to grieve.” — Sen. Jim Inhofe (Okla.)

“Renee and I are saddened.” — Rep. Richard Hudson (N.C.).

“Lucy and I are shocked.” — Rep. George Holding (N.C.).

“Maureen and I are deeply troubled.” — Sen. Mike Braun (Ind.).

And I pray that Mylene, Wrenzie, Jean, Tara, Mikey, Kay, Renee, Lucy and Maureen tell their husbands to stop blocking common-sense gun laws.

Some Republicans offer thoughts and prayers as if using GPS. Sen. Johnny Isakson (Ga.) reported that his “prayers are with the families and victims.” Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.) furnished three locations: “My prayers are with the victims, their families, and the first responders.” Sen. Richard Shelby (Ala.) provided a location update: “My prayers remain with those affected.”

A few thought and prayed in fragments: “Praying for comfort for all the families affected” (Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, W.Va.) or “Heartbroken for the people of El Paso, TX & Dayton, OH” (Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Tenn.).

Still others were observers, calling the play-by-play: “Our nation mourns . . . and is praying” (Rep. Tim Walberg, Mich.), “Our hearts are with the victims” (Rep. Drew Ferguson, Ga.), “Our prayers go out” (Rep. David McKinley, W.Va.).

It’s a bit like Madlibs: My heart breaks for____. I pray for____. Rep. Jason Smith (Mo.): “My heart breaks for the communities” and “I pray for healing.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska): “Our hearts break for the senseless violence” and “my prayers are with the victims.”

Democrats mentioned thoughts and prayers too — as insufficient. Sen. Ed Markey (Mass.) complained: “My Republican colleagues cut and paste the words ‘thoughts and prayers’ into a tweet and then do nothing on gun violence.”

But Republicans don’t just cut and paste. They take positions! “I stand with the grieving communities,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (Fla.). A more flexible Rep. Mark Green (Tenn.) reported that “our entire nation stands — and kneels.”

They also join. “I join our entire country in mourning,” tweeted Rep. John Ratcliffe (Tex.). “I join Americans across the country,” reported Rep. Brad Wenstrup (Ohio).

Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) offered a provisional prayer pending further developments: “While we are still learning more about the details . . . we are praying.”

And Rep. Barry Loudermilk (Ga.) preemptively chided those who “criticize our calls for earnest prayer.”

Actually, we criticize prayer in lieu of action.

Trump proposed action, tweeting Monday in support of “strong background checks.” But, as after Parkland, Fla., he quickly dropped the idea, omitting it from his on-camera remarks.

Instead: More thoughts and prayers!

“The first lady and I join all Americans in praying,” disclosed Trump, so deep in thought and prayer than he said “Toledo” instead of “Dayton.”

Trump, who previously said white nationalism is not a growing threat, announced that “our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.”

Trump, who said nonwhite lawmakers should “go back” to other countries, asserted that “hatred warps the mind.”

Trump, who last week shared the sentiment that “DEMOCRATS ARE THE TRUE ENEMIES OF AMERICA,” said “now is the time to set destructive partisanship aside.”

Eventually, disgusted Americans will force Republicans to act. Until then, here’s a thought: We don’t have a prayer.

kingdragonfly

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#2290925 6-Aug-2019 13:42

kingdragonfly

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#2290935 6-Aug-2019 13:50

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/rise-of-far-right-violence-leads-some-to-call-for-realignment-of-post-911-national-security-priorities/2019/08/05/5a9b43da-b7ad-11e9-a091-6a96e67d9cce_story.html

Rise of far-right violence leads some to call for realignment of post-9/11 national security priorities

Washington Post

By Greg Miller

The United States continues to employ a staggering arsenal of armed forces, unmanned drones, intelligence agencies and sweeping domestic authorities to contain a threat — Islamist terrorism — that has claimed about 100 lives on American soil since the nation mobilized after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

No remotely comparable array of national power has been directed against the threat now emerging from the far right, a loose but lethal collection of ideologies whose adherents have killed roughly the same number of people in the United States, post-9/11, as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State combined.
...
The grim statistics associated with these two strains of extremism have begun to converge.

The numbers of people killed in attacks linked to Islamist radicals or the far right in the United States since 2002 are virtually equivalent — 104 versus 109, respectively, according to data compiled by the think tank New America .

Protecting the public from the most pressing terrorist threat “has been our governing principle for many years now,” said Lisa Monaco, who served as the top counterterrorism adviser to President Barack Obama. Given the surge in attacks linked to the far right, she said, “we need to prioritize our resources and focus on this threat.”
...
The main obstacle to mobilizing against the white supremacist threat, officials said, may be political. Trump on Monday denounced the alleged white nationalist sentiments of the suspected killer in El Paso. But his presidency has come to be defined by policies that are aligned with aspects of the white nationalist agenda and his penchant for fanning racial animus.

“This both makes the mobilization more necessary and interferes with that mobilization,” said Dan Byman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University and a former staff member of the 9/11 Commission. Trump’s words and actions, he said, amplify the danger by emboldening those with radical, racist views, while his signals of tolerance toward such groups — including his comments after violence in Charlottesville — undermine his subordinates’ ability to agree upon and organize around the threat.

Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Russian interference in U.S. politics has also contributed to the far right’s rise, experts said. Since at least 2015, Moscow’s destabilization efforts have included sweeping online operations aimed at sowing racial division in the United States by promoting the positions of white nationalists.

A social media study by researcher J.M. Berger concluded that far-right networks online are dominated by intersecting themes: “support for U.S. President Donald Trump, support for white nationalism, opposition to immigration (often framed in anti-Muslim terms).”

The latter is an area in which the response to 9/11 — with its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and multibillion-dollar investments in border security aimed at blocking entry to radicalized Muslims — may have fostered xenophobic attitudes that contributed to the rise of the far right.
...
Even as the FBI has turned greater attention to domestic threats, federal investigators lack some of the legal tools they have to combat Islamist terrorism.

In cases involving al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, federal prosecutors can turn to a statute that makes it illegal to provide any “material support,” such as money or training, to a designated foreign terrorist group.

There is no comparable statute for domestic groups such as far-right extremists.

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#2292384 8-Aug-2019 15:33

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/08/republican-politician-blames-us-mass-shootings-on-drag-queen-advocates-barack-obama.html

Republican politician blames US mass shootings on 'drag queen advocates', Barack Obama
...
Keller blamed:

The breakdown of the traditional American family
Transgender people
Homosexual marriage
Drag queen advocates
Fatherlessness
The ignoring of violent video games
Open borders
Relaxing of laws against criminals
Acceptance of recreational marijuana
Failed school policies
Disrespect to law enforcement
Barack Obama
Hatred of veterans
Athletes who won't stand during the national anthem
Democratic congress
Anti-semitic congressional representatives
Culture of ignoring the importance of God and church
Snowflakes "who can't accept a duly-elected President".

kingdragonfly

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#2292392 8-Aug-2019 15:42

Because nowhere in the world are there violent video games, except for the US.

Japan has never even heard of videos games, that's why in Japan, a country of 120 million, had only one gun death in 2018. >:(

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/republicans-dan-patrick-kevin-mccarthy-shootings-video-games.html

Top House Republican, Texas Lt. Governor Link Shootings to Video Games

By Daniel Politi

Many Republicans avoided going on the Sunday talk shows after a weekend filled with gun violence, but two who did make it on Fox News quickly pointed the finger at a possible culprit for the shootings: video games.

The trend began with Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who went as far as to call for federal action against the video game industry. “How long are we going to ignore—at the federal level particularly—where they can do something about the video game industry? In this manifesto that we believe is from the shooter, this manifesto he talks about living out his super soldier fantasy on Call of Duty,” he said. “We know that the video game industry is bigger than the movie industry and the music industry combined.”

Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick's appearance on Fox & Friends, he uses the El Paso shooting to call for federal government intervention in the video game industry, more prayer in schools, and more saluting the flag, among other things.
...

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#2292395 8-Aug-2019 15:52

How many lives must "Dance Dance Revolution" take before it is banned! ;)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3462980/Video-shows-mass-killer-Adam-Lanza-playing-arcade-game-Dance-Dance-Revolution-practiced-30-hours-weekend.html

How Sandy Hook school shooter Adam Lanza whiled away his life: Video emerges of him playing arcade game Dance Dance Revolution that he practiced for up to 30 hours every weekend

Adam Lanza was filmed playing game Dance Dance Revolution at a movie theater six months before he killed 26 people, authorities confirmed today

Video shows Lanza playing the game alone in a Connecticut movie theater

He was known to be obsessed with the game, playing at the theater each weekend for up to 30 hours, as well as owning a copy at home
...

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#2292426 8-Aug-2019 16:44

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article233625532.html

"Students for Trump" founder pleads guilty to wire fraud scam out of North Carolina

The Charlotte Observer

Eric Pope claimed to be a graduate of a top-tier law school who had 15 years of experience and practiced with the firm Pope & Dunn in New York City.

But there was no Eric Pope.

John Lambert, the founder of Students for Trump who attended Campbell University in North Carolina for a while, created the fake persona to run a legal consulting scheme that gleaned roughly $50,000 from victims, federal prosecutors said.

Lambert, 23, pleaded guilty Tuesday in New York federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.

“John Lambert represented himself to clients as a prominent New York attorney with a law degree from an elite law school,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said in a statement. “But Lambert’s de facto career was one of a grifter: he had never been to law school and certainly wasn’t an attorney.”

He now faces up to 20 years in prison and will be sentenced in November, the release states.

Lambert, who is originally from Tennessee, made headlines in 2015 as one of the founders of Students for Trump, a college-based group that supported President Donald Trump’s election. He started the group while still a student at Campbell, where he was last enrolled in 2016 but never graduated, Politico reported.

He’s been anything but idle since leaving the Buies Creek campus.

According to a criminal complaint, Lambert operated the scheme from August 2016 until April 2018, beginning with the creation of a legal consulting company called Headline Consulting.

The alias Eric Pope allegedly followed.

“Lambert’s profile for ‘Eric Pope’ … stated that he was an attorney located in New York City, when in fact he was not and had never been an attorney, and was living in North Carolina,” the complaint states.

Prosecutors said he used the profile to solicit freelance jobs, including web design and legal advice on “a wide range of subjects.”

Lambert even went so far as to create a website for Headline Consulting that featured numerous fake profiles — including a secretary’s —with photos of strangers he found on the internet, the complaint states.

He allegedly obtained a phone number with a New York area code that could be accessed from his cellphone, which prosecutors said was actually assigned the 919 area code typically used in eastern and central North Carolina.

One of Lambert’s victims took money out of his 401(k) account to pay for services regarding issues with a credit report, according to the complaint. Lambert allegedly received $10,000 from the victim before he stopped responding.

Prosecutors said Lambert also received $1,500 to write a will, $1,400 to provide legal advice on intellectual property law and $2,250 to handle a dispute with a fired printing company employee.

Lambert furthered the scheme with false assurances, according to the complaint, telling the founder of a skincare company that “he had worked with hundreds of clients, including tech moguls and entrepreneurs in the United States and Europe.”
...

Rikkitic

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#2292776 9-Aug-2019 09:15

Oh the irony. McConnell election campaign banned from Twitter for violence.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Fred99

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#2292862 9-Aug-2019 12:17

Rikkitic:

Oh the irony. McConnell election campaign banned from Twitter for violence.

Note that it was for posting violent threats made against "Moscow Mitch" McConnell, not for threats made by him or his supporters against others.

So either a very stupid move by Twitter or perhaps even as as a response to a deliberate kind of "false flag" by "Moscow Mitch" McConnell's team that they set up to provoke the temporary ban. The GOP is not happy with Twitter (and other social media) permanently blocking the Russian trolls, white supremacists groups etc who had been active supporters of the GOP/Trump etc.

That CNN headline isn't too bad, but on other sites the headline reads as if "Moscow Mitch" McConnell's team was posting / retweeting and thereby endorsing violent threats made by them. This is just adding fuel to the fire of claims made by the GOP about "fake news" and media bias.

Violent threats aren't okay. Twitter has a problem with being consistent. The POTUS has retweeted violent threats, but they won't ban him because so many people join/view twitter just to look at Trump's posts, whether they love or hate them.

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#2293095 9-Aug-2019 16:43

I am aware that the violence was being expressed by a McConnell demonstrator. But it was the McConnell account being blocked for communicating it. I found that ironic.

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