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DEMOCRATS PROVE THAT DONALD TRUMP IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE QUALIFIED TO SAVE THE NATION

Trump-card

There should be absolutely no doubt in any rational citizen’s mind that the progressive communist democrats are willing to destroy our nation in order to gain or retain political power. Just as there should be no doubt in any rational citizen’s mind that Donald Trump is the ONLY viable candidate for the Presidency in 2024.

(1)  In spite of overwhelming, unprecedented malicious investigation, prosecution, and persecution by Democrats, Trump has remained standing and unwilling to abandon his fight with elected officials, deep state bureaucrats, the mainstream media propagandists, and the tech oligarchs who censor or cancel his messaging.

(2)  From the day of his descent on the elevator in Trump Tower when he announced his candidacy and promised to “Make America Great Again,” Donald J. Trump has represented an existential threat to the Democrat Party because he cannot be controlled by those elites who purport to run our nation behind the scenes.

(3)  Regardless of what you may think of his flamboyance, boorish behavior, or violating traditional long-established norms set by self-interested individuals, it is precisely this behavior that is necessary to push back against those, both Democrats and establishment Republicans, who are attempting to destroy this nation from within to pursue a personal, political, or profitmaking agenda.

(4)  Since the Obama Administration, no political party has engaged in class warfare and tried harder to divide Americans into groups by identity characteristics such as race and gender – trying to demonize whites as oppressors and minorities as the oppressed-- than the Democrats. Or tried to destroy the nuclear family with an attack on parental rights and trying to convince young children they are of the opposite gender and should seek “gender-affirming” drugs or surgery.

(5)  America is bereft of leadership. President Joe Biden is cognitively impaired to the point where the Constitution’s 25th Amendment on incapacitation applies. Unfortunately, the Vice President is not a viable replacement. And, it appears that the top-level decisions are being made by a cadre of Obama’s acolytes, many of whom hate the United States.

(6)  The Democrats are openly lying to America with their Inflation Reduction Act, which economists have warned will actually increase inflation and control over the American economy.

Bottom line…

In 2022, the razor-thin Democrat majority in the House of Representatives represents a clear and present danger to America as do the Democrats in the Senate. And while there are no Republicans within the Democrat Party, there are Democrats within the Republican Party.

To say we are screwed is an understatement.

We must recapture the House and Senate in the November 2022 mid-term election in a shenanigan-proof overwhelming majority essential to maintain our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

-- Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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MAR-A-LAGO: WTF?

Why?

There is proof that Donald Trump cooperated with the authorities before the FBI’s dawn raid on former President Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago.

Two months before the raid, Trump voluntarily responded to a grand jury subpoena for classified documents belonging to the National Archives by allowing the DOJ National Security Division prosecutor and three FBI agents to search the records storage area. Personally greeting the team as they accessed Trump’s private storage locker. The Secret Service even responded to a request to change the lock to a more robust version.

So why was a raid required?

Why?

Why didn’t the GOP Members of Congress stand up en masse to protest this egregious raid?

Why?

Why do Americans question whether or not the FBI planted evidence?

Could it be that there is verifiable proof that the FBI has engaged in creating false evidence, tampered with documents, and refused to produce subpoenaed documents?

Why?

Why are people suggesting that there might be another FBI spy in the Trump organization?

It wouldn’t be the first time the FBI inserted spies into the Trump organization.

Why?

Why is the FBI chasing allegedly classified documents when the FBI is stonewalling the release of all documents associated with the Hillary Clinton e-mail server affair and the Rusia collusion hoax that he declassified so the American people could see for themselves the corruption in the DOJ, FBI, and elsewhere? 

Bottom line…

The FBI has now interfered in 4 elections: 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022.

There is but one response. Vote and burst their bubble!

D-bubble

We are so screwed.

-- Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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An apology for slavery is just another grift...

Sorry, I will never apologize and vote for a government apology. I do not own slaves. I did not own slaves. My ancestors did not own or trade enslaved people. I have absolutely nothing to apologize for, and I see no reason why my hard-earned money should subsidize the lifestyle of another individual without my specific consent.

No matter what they say, it’s a grift…

Header-s

Why Is It So Hard to Say ‘I’m Sorry’ for Slavery?

An apology by public officials would be the first step toward acknowledgment of government’s role in the sins of our past and the effects that linger today. And it would be the start of racial healing.

[OCS: Truth be told, government is a concept, it is the leadership that is responsible for the actions taken by the government in the name of those governed. Racial healing is impossible until those who profit from class warfare have been defeated.]

It is not just the evil of slavery for which public officials need to apologize; it’s the lingering effects of it that manifest in societal problems today. Poverty, homelessness, health disparities, addiction and anti-social behavior draw many minority youths into a vicious cycle that starts the moment they are born and often leads to prison or the graveyard. Even some successful Blacks experience physical and psychological trauma in their lives associated with racism and what W.E.B. Du Bois called, in his seminal book The Souls of Black Folk, “double-consciousness.” This, he wrote in 1903, is the dialectic that causes many African Americans and other people of color to look at themselves “through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.”

[OCS: The vicious cycle is a myth perpetuated by those who exploit race for personal, political, or profit motives. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an academic, communist, Pan African who thrived on promoting Marxist class warfare that demanded struggle and a revolution. This man lived to encourage the vicious cycle as he exploited his people to further his communist beliefs.] 

The apology will not be for the sins of the slaveholders, who are all long dead. It will be public acknowledgment that the government knows that many of the advancements in our cities, states and country — for businesses, higher education institutions and government — occurred at the expense of and on the backs of the ancestors of today’s African Americans who were forced to provide free labor. And of all the things we know in a capitalistic economy, we know that nothing is free.

[OCS:  Yes, Black labor significantly influenced the early agricultural economy, and the increasing industrialization of agriculture resulted in the decline of slavery. We can point to the past exploitation of individuals, but that should not inform or serve our modern thinking.]

Apologizing is only the first step. This needs to be followed up with meaningful action, recompense and commitments not to revert to the old ways. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens often says he learned from his pastor that “love is a verb and it ought to look like something.” Beginning with a heartfelt public apology, public officials need to lead the way in showing us what that “something” is. <Source>

[OCS:  And the truth be told! You can continue apologizing until the end of time, and there will be those seeking recompense (i.e., reparations) and to continue the grift.]

The debt has been long paid in both blood and treasure…

Have Americans forgotten their history?

(1)  Slavery was widely practiced worldwide and, in some areas, still exists. The slave trade was not exclusively a white institution, and most African slave traders were black, as were most slavemasters.

(2)  Americans fought the Southern Democrats to abolish slavery. As a consequence, America was nearly consumed by the Civil War, the bloodiest war fought on American soil, lasting for four years (April 12, 1861, to April 9, 1865) and costing between 620,000 and 750,000 American lives and up 1.5 million total casualties when you count the wounded and those dying of sickness.

(3)  Since the declaration of war on poverty in 1964, American taxpayers have spent over $22 trillion on anti-poverty programs.

(4)  Let us not forget the words of Booker T. Washington, an African-American educator, author, orator, and advisor to presidents of the United States.…

“There is another class of coloured people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs, and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs — partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs.” – Booker T. Washington

“There is a certain class of race problem-solvers who don't want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public.” – Booker T. Washington

(5)  After all this time, why do American Blacks seem to languish in the arms of government subsidies while legal Black immigrants fleeing desperate circumstances appear to thrive and benefit from upward mobility? Moreover, why do the inner cities exist in decay-- cesspools of illiteracy, poverty, crime, disease, and general malaise – especially after the expenditure of billions of dollars?

The solution is simple…

(1)  Blacks must learn to think for themselves and seek honest leadership, not self-serving leaders profiting from misery and teaching “victimhood” instead of self-reliance and entrepreneurship.

(2)  Blacks must reject socialism and communism based on class struggles to achieve a promised transformation into a mythical egalitarian society under communism. Communism has resulted in the deaths of a hundred million people and the shared suffering and misery of countless others.

(3)  Blacks must abandon the Democrat Party, the party of slavery, secession, segregation, and socialism. The party that created and maintained Blacks as a permanent underclass to fuel their political agenda. Jim Crow, the KKK, and the inner cities – all Democrat institutions.

Bottom line…

It is time we teach American history in context and stop inventing euphemisms to provide political cover to the Democrat Party, which has transformed itself from a center-left political party into a radical left (i.e., communist) political party.

It is time we reform the institutions that keep Blacks in mental servitude to the Democrat Party. Primarily through an honest and rigorous education where competition is a keystone. Provide training in the trades for those unsuited for academic excellence. No excuses for failure. Secondarily, by maintaining a safe environment where criminals, primarily drug dealers, go to jail.  And, there is much, much more.

I am not opposed to providing remedial assistance – but not affirmative action or unearned subsidies.

And for the naysayers – look how poor whites continue to be treated by Democrats in poverty pockets worse than the inner cities.

Let’s pray that America and all Americans can rise to the occasion.

We are so screwed.

-- Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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WHY DOES THE GADSDEN FLAG TRIGGER THE ELITES AND THE LEADERSHIP OF FEDERAL AGENCIES?

Gadsden_flag

It should be self-evident to every patriotic American that this particular flag is symbolic of those who recognize government tyranny and are willing to push back against the elites who are unconstitutionally and illegally abusing their powers as representatives of “We the People.”

There is no doubt in my mind that the progressive communist democrats, under the leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and a cadre of conspiring Obama acolytes, have exceeded their authority and violated established Congressional norms, traditions, and rules to pursue a political vendetta against one man, former President Donald Trump. The investigatory collateral damage extends to those associated with Donald Trump or more broadly, the conservative political movement.

The Congressional abuse of power is stunning. Using a razor-thin voting margin to investigate, prosecute, and persecute one American citizen. An unprecedented concentration of political effort that has failed to prove anything other than Trump may be among the most honest politicians in history.

It is a fact that local, state, and federal agencies have copies of Donald Trump’s tax returns and are lawfully charged with examining those returns for errors, omissions, and fraud. There is no valid legislative purpose for members of Congress to have unfettered access to the returns and non-public advice memoranda or work papers other than to leak selected information around a false narrative to discredit and disparage a potential presidential candidate.

The tax returns and supporting documents of many members of Congress, their relatives, and their staff should be examined for evidence of insider trading or profits from foreign nations and operatives. Witness the financial corruption of President Joe Biden and his family. The government has verifiable evidence of criminal by Joseph Biden, Hillary Clinton, and numerous other high-ranking officials, yet they continue to attack a man who is out of office.

As for charges of mishandling classified information or the destruction of documents, can anyone doubt that Hillary Clinton, from her days as First Lady to this day, is the queen of document destruction?

And everything produced by the January 6 Committee appears tainted with corruption.

Can America trust the FBI?

  • Two FBI Directors, James Comey and Christopher Wray appear corrupt and compromised.
  • The FBI has interfered in 4 elections: 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022.
  • The FBI has manufactured evidence, mishandled classified information, and lied to the Courts and Congress.
  • The FBI wrongly usurped DOJ authority and exonerated a demonstrably guilty individual before an election in an unprecedented manner.
  • The FBI has consistently violated laws, rules, and regulations hundreds of times without penalties or other consequences.
  • The FBI has engaged in entrapment and manufacturing catastrophic outcomes in cases like Waco and Ruby Ridge.
  • The FBI maintains a massive public relations operation to whitewash its image in the media and culture.
  • It appears that FBI actions almost always inure to the benefit of the progressive communist democrats.

Bottom line…

For those of you who expected that today would be much the same as yesterday and tomorrow would be much the same as today, you are sorely mistaken. Under the progressive communist democrats, our nation is sliding toward the abyss of communism – the failed system that has never worked anywhere it has been attempted and killed a hundred million people and brought suffering to hundreds of millions of others. The idea that this time the progressive communist democrats will get it right is a pipe dream. You cannot overcome human nature unless it is at the point of a gun.

We can no longer trust progressive communist democrats in our government, in the news media, or in many of our nation's institutions.

We are so screwed.

-- Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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ABOUT THAT UNANNOUNCED RAID AND SEARCH OF DONALD TRUMP'S RESIDENCE

Mar-A-Lago

Two-tiered, politically-motivated system of justice?

It is not "Whataboutism" to note that there was substantial evidence that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her cadre of acolytes mishandled classified government documents, and the FBI did not raid her residence or any of the locations where such information was stored or transmitted. Likewise, there is substantial evidence that Hunter Biden's criminal activities on behalf of hostile foreign powers did not result in a raid on his residence.

So why is the corrupt, discredited FBI under the direction of Christopher Wray and the corrupt Attorney General Merrick Garland raiding former President Trump's residence to look for classified documents he may have in his possession?

The FBI appears to be looking for a chargeable offense, such as the mishandling of classified documents, now that years of persecution and prosecution have failed to curtail his political activities.

The FBI is most likely seeking access to confidential campaign information on Trump's potential run in 2024 and strategy documents from his supporters. Some even suggest they are looking for a separate set of campaign finance reports and to identify donors for further government harassment.

The predicate for the raid…

FBI agents from the corrupt Washington Field Office are apparently searching for additional classified documents after classified documents were allegedly found in 15 boxes of White House records stored at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. The National Archives and Records Administration referred the matter to the Justice Department. Some high-ranking officials note that the documents may have already been declassified, but the markings did not catch up with the documents. 

There are also complaints that members of the Trump Administration did not always use official communications gear and copy or forward their official messaging as required by the Presidential Records Act. The President was known to tear up documents as a habit rather than preserve them. Something that has occurred in almost every administration.

Bottom line…

The raid is not the precursor of end times but highlights the egregious behavior of the progressive communist democrats and an unprecedented level of hypocrisy when dealing with government officials from the opposition.

We are at war with the progressive communist democrats who have weaponized our nation's premier intelligence and law enforcement agencies against the regime's opposition. We have moved closer to a third-world banana republic. Even the current mentally-challenged President of the United States, Joe Biden, appears to be a captive of the regime and used by a cadre of Obama's communist acolytes to attack America from within. Many of the courts have been compromised by hyper-partisan regime judges.

Even the mainstream media and the tech tyrants who run the major social media messaging platforms are openly corrupt and serve as the regime's propaganda arm.

To say we are well and securely screwed is now an understatement.

-- Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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ALEX JONES AND THE RIGHT TO BE LOUD, STUPID, OBNOXIOUS AND WRONG

ALEX-JONES

We appear to be living in a land of the perpetually aggrieved. Where somebody, somewhere is ready to seize on something someone has done or said in order to turn it into self-promotion and profits.

I do not understand what just happened to talk show host Alex Jones, the gravel-voiced self-promoting obnoxious conspiracy theorist.

Jury finds Alex Jones caused $4 million in damages to two Sandy Hook parents

Right-wing talk show host Alex Jones will have to pay the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim a little more than $4 million in compensatory damages, a jury decided Thursday, capping a stunning and dramatic case that showcased for the public the real-world harm inflicted by viral conspiracy theories.

The award from the jury was far less than what the plaintiffs, Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, had asked for. At the start of the trial, attorneys for Lewis and Heslin asked the jury to award their clients $150 million in compensatory damages.

A separate, shorter trial during which punitive damages will be discussed is now expected. Punitive damages are awarded when the court finds the defendant's behavior to be especially offensive.

Jones baselessly said in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting, in which 26 people were killed, that the incident was staged. <Source>

A jury finds Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim

A Texas jury has decided to penalize Alex Jones with $45.2 million in punitive damages in a lawsuit filed by the parents of Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis.

Plaintiffs Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis were awarded a total of just under $50 million in both compensatory and punitive damages. Of the total $49.3 million, the $45.2 million in punitive damages may be reduced due to Texas statute.

"Care and concern is so important and we saw what happens when there is a dearth of that, and so I hope that we all just go home tonight and everybody that's reading these articles and hearing this message and you chose love with your kids, because you can," Lewis said Friday after learning of the jury's decision. "That means being present in the moment with them, looking into their eyes, giving them a hug and just moving from there. Just every moment, realize that you have a choice and your choice is love."

Jones "monetized his shtick," he added, even suggesting that Jones could teach a college course about his techniques.

Jones' fear-mongering rants on Infowars have, for many years, been paired with ads for supplements, documentaries, and other products Infowars sells. Pettingill, Jr. said the money poured in, identifying nine different companies that are owned by Jones.

"He is a very successful man, he promulgated some hate speech and some misinformation, but he made a lot of money and he monetized that," Pettingill, Jr. said on the stand. "My thinking about him is he didn't ride a wave, he created the wave." <Source>

How is this possible?

What law did Alex Jones violate? Where is his freedom of speech – his right to be loud, obnoxious, stupid, and wrong? Even if he monetized his bullshit, it is no different that what Hollywood or the media does on a routine basis.

Under common law and according to the definition of this defamation, deceased individuals cannot be defamed. Defamation is defined as an act or statement that damages one’s reputation. The dead do not have reputations to damage. The memory of a deceased person can be damaged, but this is not addressed under the tort of defamation.

Survivors or descendants of the dead have no legal claim on behalf of a deceased relative’s good name, nor can they collect on behalf of their own interests relative to that person’s reputation. Likewise, the estate of a deceased person cannot be liable for the defamation of the dead. Survivors, relatives or friends of the deceased may, however, have a cause of action if the defamation reflects on their own reputations and they have, in fact, been defamed by the statements. <Source>

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

9.  Plaintiff Scarlett Lewis is the parent of deceased minor J.L., a victim of the December 14, 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
10. This case arises out of the intentional infliction of emotional distress committed against Plaintiff for the past five years.
11. Since the day of the shooting, InfoWars has aggressively promoted a dreadful and despicable false narrative about Sandy Hook, mocking the families as liars and accusing them of a sinister conspiracy. Plaintiff’s family has been specifically targeted in this campaign of harassment.
12. These baseless and vile accusations, which have been pushed by InfoWars and Mr. Jones a continuous basis since the shooting, advance the idea that the Sandy Hook massacre did not happen, or that it was staged by the government and concealed using actors, and that the families of the victims are participants in a horrifying cover-up. InfoWars knew its assertions were false or made these statements with reckless and outrageous disregard for their truth.
13. Beginning in the month of the shooting, in December 2012, InfoWars published multiple videos with false information while claiming the incident was a “false flag” or otherwise staged.
14. InfoWars continued with a video on January 27, 2013 entitled “Why People Think Sandy Hook is a Hoax,” Mr. Jones introduced a variety of completely baseless claims which he would continually repeat with malicious obsession for the next five years.

<snip>

CAUSES OF ACTION

I. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.

80. All previous allegations are incorporated by reference.
81. Defendants knew or should have known that their videos on November 18, 2016, March 8, 2017, April 22, 2017, June 13, 2017, June 19, 2017, June 26, 2017, July 20, 2017, October 26, 2017, and April 20, 2018 would cause Plaintiff severe emotional distress and cause her family to be the subject of harassment, ridicule, and threats to their safety.
82. Defendants made the statements in these videos in bad faith and with malicious motives, knowing the statements were false or in reckless disregard for the truth, and knowing they would cause severe emotional distress.

Source: CASE NUMBER: D-1-GN-18-006623  (10/31/2018)

SCARLETT LEWIS,
Plaintiff
VS.
ALEX E. JONES, INFOWARS, LLC, FREE SPEECH SYSTEMS, LLC,
Defendants

What does this mean?

Jones was quoted as saying, “If questioning public events and free speech is banned because it might hurt somebody’s feelings, we are not in America anymore."

I am not aware of any Constitutional right to avoid be offended or to seek legal redress if one is offended.

I have heard some claim the case is about the harassment and death threats send to the parents allegedly by followers of Alex Jones who believed they were lying about the events surrounding Sandy Hook. If this is true, it appears that a number of traditional and non-traditional media outlets are also culpable for carrying a false message.

I just can’t make sense of the case or the egregious award that seems based on emotion rather than some rule of law.

Bottom line…

Someone needs to explain this trial to me. There must be some hidden nuance thar I cannot see or understand.

We are so screwed.

-- Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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AMAZON -- ROOMBA: HOME SECURITY OR HOME SURVEILLANCE?

Amazon knows what you are interested in. (Amazon Search)

Amazon knows what you buy. (Amazon Purchase)

Amazon knows who is at your front door and in the surrounding space. (Ring)

Amazon can hear what you are saying. (Alexa)

Now, Amazon can map the interior of your house. (iRobot)

Will Amazon capture your data along with your dirt and dust?

Amazon and iRobot Sign an Agreement for Amazon to Acquire iRobot

Amazon and iRobot announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire iRobot. iRobot has a history of making customers’ lives easier with innovative cleaning products for the home. iRobot has continued to innovate with every product generation, solving hard problems to help give customers valuable time back in their day.

“We know that saving time matters, and chores take precious time that can be better spent doing something that customers love,” said Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices. “Over many years, the iRobot team has proven its ability to reinvent how people clean with products that are incredibly practical and inventive—from cleaning when and where customers want while avoiding common obstacles in the home, to automatically emptying the collection bin. Customers love iRobot products—and I’m excited to work with the iRobot team to invent in ways that make customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable.” <Source>

Consider the capabilities of the iRobot Roomba j7 Series…

  • Internet connectivity with access to your home network behind your firewall.
  • The capability of mapping your home.
  • Image recognition.
  • It can be remotely interrogated and controlled.
  • Connectivity with other third-party devices.

The j7+ is the first model with iRobot's PrecisionVision Navigation technology, a combination of hardware and software that allows it to recognize obstacles in its cleaning path in real time and automatically avoid them. iRobot moved the camera from the top of the robot, where it's located on the s9+, to the front, giving it a wider field of view, and allowing it to see objects on the floor. The robot then uses artificial intelligence software to identify hazards and reroute itself around them. 

iRobot says it has already trained its PrecisionVision Navigation machine learning algorithms to identify phone cords, power cables, and pet waste, using hundreds of millions of images crowdsourced from its customers who have opted in to contribute to its database. In the future, the company plans to expand the object recognition library to include other pitfalls that might prevent the robot from successfully docking after a cleaning job, including shoes and socks.

From there, you need to download the iRobot Home app (available for Android and iOS) and create an account if you don't already have one. When you first sign into the app, it asks for permission to find and connect to devices on your local network; press OK. Then, press the menu icon in the top left corner of the app and select Add a Robot. When it finds your Roomba j7+, press Set Up. The app then brings up a Wi-Fi screen where you must select and sign in to your home network.

After that, the app instructs you to press the button on top of the robot to connect it to your phone. Once the connection is successful, the app will ask you to name the robot.

At this point in the setup process, I got a pop-up notification from the Amazon Alexa app informing me that the Roomba j7+ automatically connected to the virtual assistant via the iRobot Home skill, which I had previously enabled when testing an earlier model. I also had no problem connecting it with Google Assistant via the Google Home app (tap the plus sign in the upper left corner > Set up device > Works with Google > iRobot Smart Home, and follow the on-screen instructions to link your accounts).

When mapping your home, the j7+ automatically divides your floor plan into multiple rooms. After this you can edit, add, or delete the boundary lines as needed, as well as label each room on the map.

The fundamental question facing consumers is how much privacy, safety, and security are you willing to compromise for convenience, ease, comfort, and peer pressure?

Only a few decades ago and before the widespread use of the internet and cellular phones, the intelligence and law enforcement agencies of most industrialized countries, monarchies, and dictatorships were obsessed with building dossiers on its citizens and others of interest – a time-consuming, costly process.

Most intelligence officers could not even imagine that individuals would be willing to freely share the most private and sometimes intimate details of their personal and professional lives.

And until the advent of artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining, and mass storage capabilities, agencies lacked the capacity to turn widely disparate and separated data points into a cohesive dossier that documented the life and location of innocent individuals.

Now the authorities can use warrantless geolocation, facial recognition, and license-plate readers to identify criminals and witnesses to criminal activities,

Remember this July 24, 2017, Reuters article?

Roomba vacuum maker iRobot betting big on the 'smart' home

Smart home lighting, thermostats and security cameras are already on the market, but Colin Angle, chief executive of Roomba maker iRobot Corp says they are still dumb when it comes to understanding their physical environment. He thinks the mapping technology currently guiding top-end Roomba models could change that and is basing the company's strategy on it.

Angle told Reuters that iRobot, which made Roomba compatible with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant in March, could reach a deal to share its maps for free with customer consent to one or more of the Big Three in the next couple of years. Angle added the company could extract value from those agreements by connecting for free with as many companies as possible to make the device more useful in the home.

Amazon declined to comment, and Apple and Google did not respond to requests for comment.

Guy Hoffman, a robotics professor at Cornell University, said detailed spatial mapping technology would be a “major breakthrough” for the smart home.

With regularly updated maps, Hoffman said, sound systems could match home acoustics, air conditioners could schedule airflow by room and smart lighting could adjust according to the position of windows and time of day.

Companies like Amazon, Google and Apple could also use the data to recommend home goods for customers to buy, said Hoffman.

Angle said iRobot would not sharing data without its customers’ permission, but he expressed confidence most would give their consent in order to access the smart home functions.  <Source>

Roomba1

Bottom line…

In essence, your Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, 4th Amendment rights governing search and seizure, and 14th Amendment right of due process have been severely eroded and rendered null and void in some cases.

It is up to you to take action, heeding the words of Benjamin Franklin, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” The same goes double for convenience and ego-driven one-upmanship of peer pressure.

And, can you trust Amazon, the holders of the keys to the kingdom, to resist administrative subpoenas and legally-issued warrants to notify you before giving up your data? Or the former intelligence and law enforcement personnel who are embedded in Amazon with loyalty to their old agencies?

Big brother is watching, and you have given him permission in the nearly invisible unilateral one-way terms of service/privacy agreements when you use an electronic device where you purchase the hardware but only license the software.

Can the Roomba be hacked? Can the Roomba leak data to third-party devices? Does the Roomba require patching and security updates? Can the police access it after a robbery? Can insurance companies use it to verify home contents? Who knows!

We are so screwed until our digital protections align with our analog laws.

--Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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IS AARP NO LONGER SERVING SENIOR CITIZENS?

AARP-DEMOCRATS

Long-time readers will remember that I have denounced AARP for the slavish obeisance to the progressive communist democrat agenda and the continuing conflict of interest in pimping out their mailing list and magazines to those selling insurance, travel, and other products.

So I am not surprised when the Wall Street Journal's Editorial Board Member Kimberley A. Strassel asks, "Whom Does AARP Serve?"

Who is monitoring AARP's billion-dollar enterprise?

Whom Does AARP Serve?

The group advances its own interests by backing the Schumer-Manchin bill.

The AARP, which claims to advocate policies that serve the interests of tens of millions of retirees, has gone all in for the giant tax-and-spend deal announced last week by Sen. Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The group's particular focus is the provision that would allow the federal government to "negotiate" Medicare drug prices and cap annual increases to inflation—though it is more than happy to also swallow the legislation's tax hikes and climate spending.

The lobby has fanned out across Washington to pressure Congress for passage and called on its members to blitz their representatives and senators. It's been running expensive ads that defend Mr. Manchin and demagogue the drug industry, which just worked miracles in the pandemic. "Congress has a historic opportunity to deliver relief" from "inflation" and "Big Pharma," one spot says. By negotiating prices it will "put money back in the pockets of seniors."

Left unsaid is that it may also put money in the pocket of AARP. Ask yourself why a group that claims to represent older Americans is plumping for a provision that will take the greatest toll on seniors. The bill would empower the secretary of health and human services to single out 10 to 20 of Medicare's priciest drugs each year and to penalize any pharmaceutical company that doesn't accept the government's proposed price. That's not a "negotiation"; it's a gun to the head. The proper term is "price controls."

Most devastated would be the people AARP claims to represent. Nearly 90% of adults 65 and older take at least one prescription medication. More than half report taking four or more. The AARP's price controls would mean horrific hits to research in cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, you name it. This isn't the Inflation Reduction Act. It's the Lowering Life Expectancy Act.

The AARP and Democrats are bragging that "negotiations" will result in $288 billion in "savings"—another brazen bit of deceptive language. The money won't be "saved" but rather siphoned from drug research and used to cover other spending in the bill. That includes climate dollars, but also $64 billion to extend ObamaCare insurance-premium subsidies.

[OCS: AARP was one of former President Obama's staunchest supporters and had no problem ripping $716 BILLION from Medicare to fund Obamacare – in reality, an unconstitutional insurance gimmick and an expansion of Medicaid.]

That's a huge boost for insurers, including UnitedHealth Group, for which AARP is now essentially a marketing arm. The seniors group for years has been selling AARP-branded Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans, for which they get royalty payouts. According to public filings, AARP took in more than $1 billion from royalty payments in 2020, and past disclosures suggest at least 65% of that comes from its United Health relationship. These royalty amounts now significantly dwarf what AARP receives from membership dues.

To the extent inflation price caps on drugs pad insurers' profits, that's a win for UnitedHealthcare. To the extent ObamaCare subsidies keep those insurance plans rolling, that's a win for UnitedHealthcare. To the extent the drug companies are taking a hit, thereby sparing for some further time funding decreases to Medicare Advantage, that's a win for UnitedHealthcare. Anything that's a win for UnitedHealthcare is good for its partner, AARP.

AARP will insist it is working purely for its members' interests, but this conflict makes it impossible to know its true motives. That conflict is front and center every single time the lobby engages in a Washington healthcare fight. Yet the media uniformly closes its eyes to the problem, and treats the AARP's endorsement of legislation as a gold seal of approval.

[OCS: Its true motives are easy to discern. AARP's beneficiaries are its Board of Directors, senior executives, and favored vendors.]

Add in that it's increasingly unclear how motivated the group is by partisan politics. AARP was caught a decade ago operating as an extension of the Obama White House, toiling to help pass ObamaCare over the opposition of most members. Now it's laboring to land the country with another inflationary spending blowout, paid for by research dollars tapped from future medicines for those same senior citizens. Is this for the benefit of older Americans? Or for the benefit of Democrats?

[OCS: Unlike the more cautious and even-handed Kim Strassel, I have no problem pointing out the relationship between AARP and the progressive communist democrats and calling bullshit!] 

AARP may be too attached to its royalty dollars to give up its financial conflict. But its refusal to do so strips it of any authority on the question of what is best for seniors. Keep that in mind next time one of those pricey AARP ads pops up on the television.  <Source>

The big lie?

“AARP officials say the organization's public policy recommendations are made independently of other considerations, including its range of business ventures, from travel, to insurance, to publishing.”

I don’t believe this for a minute. AARP’s leadership was mostly about supporting Obama and Obamacare – and to preserve its billion dollar revenue stream from selling insurance referrals and other services to seniors. AARP’s lower-level employees seem to mean as little to AARP as do their constituency of senior citizens. <Source>

Bottom line…

I am a huge fan of Kim Strassel and her work. And AARP should be subject to a critical eye.

Where AARP is concerned, the Better Business Bureau dictum applies: INVESTIGATE BEFORE YOU INVEST!

We are so screwed.

-- Steve

From One Citizen Speaking…

AARP TRIES TO SHAPE THE DEBATE ... WITH THEIR VERSION OF THE TRUTH -- IS AARP SCREWING OVER THEIR SENIOR CITIZEN MEMBERSHIP?

Disgusting: AARP plundering seniors to support democrat policy initiatives ...

AARP: OBAMA'S PROPAGANDA MACHINE?

CAN AARP BE TRUSTED TO PROTECT SENIOR CITIZEN'S INVESTMENTS?

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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The Problem with "Do as I say, not as I do" Progressive Communist Democrats

Once again, we find the aberrant San Francisco elites abandoning common sense to engage in risky behaviors…

SCOTT_WEINER_MONKEYPOX

Not likely… California is willing to close or restrict constitutionally-protected churches but refuses to close disease vectors like gay bathhouses and nightclubs with orgy rooms.

As monkeypox strikes gay men, officials debate warnings to limit partners

Sex is a major driver of the global outbreak. But health officials and longtime HIV activists say calls for abstinence don’t work.

Thousands of gay men clad in leather, latex — and often much less — partied along Folsom Street here last weekend during the annual kink and fetish festival. Even after the city had just declared the monkeypox outbreak striking its gay community a health emergency — one day after the World Health Organization urged men to sleep with fewer men to reduce transmission — San Francisco public health officials made no attempt to rein in festivities or warn attendees to have less sex.

“If people want to have sex, they are going to have sex,” said California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who is involved in the city’s monkeypox response. “I know people who normally go to sex parties who will not. People will make their own decisions about their own risk levels.”

[OCS: Of course, people were not allowed to make their own decisions based on personal risk levels during the Covid-19 crackdown in California. There was no clear-cut information on the disease or therapeutics. The government continued to pump out disinformation, censoring anything that did not support the progressive communist narrative and canceling the discourse of dissidents.] <Source>

Bottom line…

It’s not about the lifestyle or worth of the individual in society; it’s about specific behaviors which are dangerous to both individuals and large segments of the population,

As for California state Senator Scott Wiener, let us not forget that Weiner led the charge to create Senate Bill (SB) 239, which reduced penalties for knowingly exposing a sexual partner to HIV or donating blood infected with HIV. The goal was to treat HIV/AIDS like any other infectious disease.

I have little concern for the gay lifestyle except when we are considering infectious diseases that can spill over to “gay adjacent” individuals and spread in the general population; or equally as important, the progressive communist democrat poohbahs in government declaring an emergency giving themselves rights and powers to interfere in our lives.

We are so screwed.

-- Steve

“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw

“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”

“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

“A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell

“Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar

“Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS

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