Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Ron DeSatan

Starting with THE REMIX MORNING SHOW.

Ron DeSatan -- as they call him on BLACK POWER MEDIA -- is just disgusting:

On March 21, 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed MAGA Republican Sandra Atkinson — who was chairing the Okaloosa County GOP — to the Florida Board of Massage Therapy, noting that the appointment was "subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate." Two years later, DeSantis' connection to Atkinson is drawing scrutiny — as Atkinson, according to USA Today reporter Will Carless, appears to have entered the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

Photos, Carless reports in an article published on May 23, show Atkinson marching with "Stop the Steal" demonstrators in Washington, D.C. that day. Atkinson, according to Carless, has "denied" to USA Today that she entered the Capitol with the mob that stormed the building.

But Carless reports that "according to a USA Today review of multiple videos from the day and an interview with a close Republican Party associate," Atkinson "proceeded to the Capitol and through the doors."

That's who he hangs out with and recommends? And Ron DeSatan thinks he's fit to be president? He's not fit to be governor. Or dog catcher.

The article continues:

"The same kind of activity has led to criminal charges for many who stormed the Capitol (on) January 6 — charges for unlawful entry, picketing or other nonviolent acts," Carless explains. "Two months later, Atkinson's name emerged in bold type, in an announcement from DeSantis. She was being given a new job: The governor was appointing her to a statewide regulatory board."

Now note this:

DeSantis is spending time in Washington, DC, while his campaign manager, Christina Pushaw, tweeted an emoji of a waving hand upon learning that LGBTQ+ families are leaving Florida due to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Pushaw was already blocked on Twitter Pushaw is one of the most critical people in DeSantis’ reelection and no stranger to controversies. She was suspended [from Twitter] for, as A.P. reported, making “a direct effort to activate an online mob to attack a journalist.”

Florida’s Voice conducted a poll, saying that the “majority of “queer parents” consider leaving Florida because of the law barring sexual orientation/gender identity instruction in K-3.”

Pushaw, born in California, posted a clip of DeSantis, saying, “DeSantis gets it: “Gender ideology has no place in our K-12 school system.”

In another tweet, Pushaw shared another DeSantis quote, “We do not allow teachers to lie to students by saying they may have been born in the wrong body…”

Pushaw’s reaction to the news that many LGBTQ parents are considering relocating or leaving Florida made her one of the most talked about people on social media. However, most of the comments were not pleasant.

One person replied to Pushaw, “Your bigotry is showing.” Another asked, “Why would you cheer people wanting to leave the state?” The third said, “My family, including my six-year-old granddaughter, are participating in the pride parade in Miami Beach. And no, we are not queer.

[. . .]

Someone pointed out, “Doctors and teachers are leaving en masse, too.” Another wrote, “She is the face of extreme hate. Most countries would recognize it as a crime against humanity but not in Florida.”

Ron DeSatan just knows all the good people.

Ed Mazza (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:

Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson predicted that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ expected attempt to win the Republican presidential nomination could turn out to be very short.

“Polls still show DeSantis as having the best chance to defeat Donald Trump in the GOP race,” he wrote. “But they also show his prospects rapidly heading in the wrong direction.”

DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy within weeks, is down by 37 points in one recent poll.

DeSantis is trying to run to the right of Trump, pushing “some of the most draconian” restrictions on abortion rights as well as attacks on everyone from the LGBTQ community to teachers in the name of his “anti-woke” agenda.

“Ta-da! Yet his poll numbers keep going down, not up,” Robinson wrote.

DeSantis has also been locked in a war with Disney in retaliation for the company’s criticism.

“Trying to punish a company for statements that had no practical impact — except, perhaps, on DeSantis’s brittle ego — seems wildly at odds with traditional conservative values,” he noted, adding:

“The Disney thing would just be a loopy sideshow if it didn’t highlight traits that could hold DeSantis back as a presidential candidate — and that would be dangerous for the nation and the world if, heaven forbid, he ever became president: paper-thin skin, a propensity to hold grudges and a tendency to go way too far.”

DeSantis has been telling donors that he’s a better candidate than Trump because he thinks he can win in the swing states. But Robinson said DeSantis’ far-right agenda won’t play well in those key regions.

Meanwhile REUTERS caught DeSatan in another lie:

Ukrainian-American businessman Lev Parnas and his business partner were arrested in 2019, accused by the U.S. government of funneling a Russian oligarch’s money into American political campaigns. One recipient of Parnas’ donations -- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis -- has said he was barely an acquaintance.

“The governor does not have a relationship with these individuals,” DeSantis’ spokesperson at the time, Helen Aguirre Ferré, said in a statement on Oct. 10, 2019. Six days later, DeSantis told reporters that Parnas "was just like any other donor, nothing more than that.”

But DeSantis and Parnas worked more closely together than the Republican governor has disclosed, according to a detailed account of their relationship Parnas provided to Reuters and 63 previously unreported text messages from DeSantis to Parnas between May and October 2018, as DeSantis campaigned for governor. A jury later found Parnas guilty of campaign finance crimes and other charges.

Do you get how stupid and cry baby Ron is? We don't need him the White House, it's bad enough that he's the governor of Florida.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Joe Biden again claims Beau Biden died in Iraq, Marianne Williamson's campaign continues to self-implode, an American is convicted of torture (sadly, it's not Bully Boy Bush who got convicted), and much more.

India's REPUBLIC WORLD notes:

US President Joe Biden has once again come under fire for claiming that his late son Beau "lost his life in Iraq" -- a statement that alludes to the president's long-held view that poisonous burn pits were to blame for the younger Biden's brain cancer death at the age of 46. After making similar remarks at least twice earlier in the year, the president made his most recent ones to US troops stationed in Japan during his visit to the nation.

Yes, we're back to that again.

Erik Uebelaker (THE DAILY BEAST) notes:

Joe Biden recently told Marines stationed in Japan that his son Beau died in the Iraq war—an incorrect statement that the president has puzzlingly made several times in the past. “My son was a major in the U.S. Army. We lost him in Iraq,” Biden told the troops in Iwakuni on Thursday, according to a video obtained by the New York Post. Despite his son actually dying of brain cancer at the Walter Reed military hospital in Maryland, Biden has made the same claim about Beau’s death at least twice before. Last October, Biden told an audience in Colorado that Beau “lost his life in Iraq.” Just weeks later, he said “I’m thinking about Iraq because that’s where my son died,” during a speech in Florida. In reality, Beau died in 2015 after battling stage four glioblastoma—a diagnosis that the president has previously attributed to the “burn pits” in Iraq, which the military used to destroy trash while Beau was deployed from 2008 to 2009.

THE DAILY MAIL points out, "His death may have been linked to burn pits he encountered while serving in Iraq, although Beau did not die while fighting in the Middle East." But Gustaf Kilander (INDEPENDENT) goes full on enabler in "Critics say Biden is lying about how his son Beau died – they are ignoring the full story:"

Right-wing media outlets have attempted to use Mr Biden’s comments on Beau’s death as a sign that the 80-year-old Democrat has memory issues, ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

[. . .]

In 2016, then the vice president, Mr Biden said his son’s cancer could have been caused by the toxic burn pits he was exposed to during his service in the Middle East.

The New York Times reported that Mr Biden said he was “stunned” when he read a chapter concerning the death of his son in the book The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America’s Soldiers by Joseph Hickman.

First off, it's not a sign of 'cognitive decline.' Or, if it is, it was evident before he was elected. I'm not in the mood to spoonfeed lousy reporters who can't do their job. But Joe made those remarks on the campaign trail. We called it out in real time. And a sign of just how sorry Gustaf is,

Second, Gustaf and other lazies, there's no reason in the world to refer to some stupid NEW YORK TIMES article. THE TIMES has 'reporting issues' to put it kindly. If you want to go to Joe discussing burnpits and Beau, you go to that.

Which is right here, 'journalists.'

That's January 10, 2018, THE NEWSHOUR (PBS):

Biden also said that reading “The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America’s Soldiers,” a book on the topic by Joseph Hickman, which included a chapter on his son Beau, opened his eyes to the possibility of a link to his son’s cancer.

“There’s a whole chapter on my son Beau in there, and that stunned me. I didn’t know that,” Biden said. He added, the author “went back and looked at Beau’s tenure as a civilian with the U.S. attorney’s office [in Kosovo] and then his year in Iraq. And he was co-located in both times near these burn pits.”

Joe's been making these statements forever. If you're now appalled by it, my big question would be: Where were you when it started?

Because we've called it out all along, long before he became president.

Beau did not die in Iraq. He came back to the US and died six years later.

People shouldn't try to justify it or enable him on this. He needs to be held accountable. But, again, this didn't happen this year or last year or in 2021 for the first time. It may be a sign of something, but it's not a new cognitive decline because, again, he was making the statements that Beau died in Iraq while on the campaign trail.

Since we're discussing presidential campaigns, let me note how I love the liars. Oh those Marianne Williamson freaks. They lie and then they lie again. We told you, before POLITICO ever published the story about Marianne's 'interacting difficulties,' that she was a nightmare to work with and that this went back decades. Then POLITICO does their story about how Marianne terrorized campaign staff during her failed 2020 run fo the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. And The Merry Mariannes rushed to tell you it was lies, all lies. POLITICO did another report about how her current campaign is in shambles and The Merry Mariannes are back insisting it's a lie.

It's not a lie.

The departure came about when Marianne ranted and raved over how her polling was stagnant and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had passed her in the polling from the moment he announced his candidacy. That was the fault, she insisted, of her campaign.

Because 'positive thinking' never allows Marianne to own up to her own failures.

As this very public battle took place -- with four other players present -- it was offered to Marianne that she was ignoring key issues and maybe addressing them would bring her more support. She sneered at the issues (which including that she needed to call out the war on the LGBTQ+ community) and said she was a "big thinking" candidate and these little issues were "beneath" her.

The campaign's not going off the rails, it is off the rails.

This may surprise but, despite her well known vanity, Marianne remains incapable of self-examination. Oh sure, she's always been her own favorite topic. But she can't admit any wrong doing and her own 'introspection' plays out like gushing press releases.

She's killing her own campaign.

More say they will be leaving soon.

The Merry Mariannes throw hissy fits online and have been doing that since day one. Remember Krystal Ball screeching and screaming that everybody get on board with Marianne?

They're idiots. Marianne is not happening and won't ever happen unless the candidate learns to listen.

It'll never happen because the professional 'speaker' doesn't believe listening is part of an exchange since she never got paid to listen.

The Merry Mariannes can lie and spin and even deceive themselves but, currently, the only one who appears to be a viable candidate to rival Joe is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In other news, WFMZ reports:

A Stroudsburg man has been convicted in federal court of torturing an Estonian citizen in 2015 in Iraq.

The U.S. Department of Justice says it was in connection with running an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan.

Ross Roggio, 54, was convicted of torturing an employee who raised concerns about what they were doing.

On the matter, the US Justice Dept issued the following:

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, May 22, 2023

Man Convicted of Torture and Exporting Weapons Parts and Related Services to Iraq

A federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania man on May 19 for numerous crimes, including the torture of an Estonian citizen in 2015 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in connection with the operation of an illegal weapons manufacturing plant in Kurdistan.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ross Roggio, 54, of Stroudsburg, arranged for Kurdish soldiers to abduct and detain the victim at a Kurdish military compound where Roggio suffocated the victim with a belt, threatened to cut off one of his fingers, and directed Kurdish soldiers to repeatedly beat, tase, choke, and otherwise physically and mentally abuse the victim over a 39-day period. The victim was employed at a weapons factory that Roggio was developing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq that was intended to manufacture M4 automatic rifles and Glock 9mm pistols.

In connection with the weapons factory project, which included Roggio providing training to foreign persons in the operation, assembly, and manufacturing of the M4 automatic rifle, Roggio also illegally exported firearm parts that were controlled for export by the Departments of State and Commerce.

“Roggio brutally tortured another human being to prevent interference with his illegal activities,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Thanks to the courage of the victim and other witnesses, the hard work of U.S. law enforcement, and the assistance of Estonian authorities, he will now be held accountable for his cruelty.”

“Today’s guilty verdict demonstrates that Roggio’s brutal acts of directing and participating in the torture of an employee over the course of 39 days by Kurdish soldiers could not avoid justice,” said U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. “We thank all the prosecutors and law enforcement agents who worked tirelessly to address these acts that occurred in Iraq.”

“Today’s milestone conviction is the result of the extraordinary courage of the victim, who came forward after the defendant inflicted unspeakable pain on him for more than a month,” said Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Torture is among the most heinous crimes the FBI investigates, and together with our partners at the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, we will relentlessly pursue justice.”

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is firmly dedicated to pursuing those who commit human rights violations, like Roggio, to ensure perpetrators face justice for their atrocities,” said Deputy Director and Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director Tae D. Johnson of ICE. “Our investigators will continue to work tirelessly with government partners so these horrendous acts do not go without consequence.”

“The illegal export of firearms parts and tools from the United States often goes hand in hand with other criminal activities, such as the charge of torture on which the jury voted to convict the defendant,” said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Carson of the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office. “I commend our law enforcement colleagues for their dedication to bringing justice in this case.”

Roggio was convicted of torture, conspiracy to commit torture, conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, exporting weapons parts and services to Iraq without the approval of the Department of State, exporting weapons tools to Iraq without the approval of the Department of Commerce, smuggling goods, wire fraud, and money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 23 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Roggio is the second defendant to be convicted of torture since the federal torture statute went into effect in 1994.

The FBI and HSI investigated the torture and were joined in investigating the export control violations related to the firearms manufacturing equipment by the Department of Commerce’s BIS Office of Export Enforcement.

Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd K. Hinkley for the Middle District of Pennsylvania are prosecuting the case. The Estonian Internal Security Service, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and the Pennsylvania State Police also provided valuable assistance.

Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact U.S. law enforcement through the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or the HSI tip line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE, or complete the FBI online tip form or the ICE online tip form.

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