Sacrificed on an Altar to the Ego of an Idol in Denial

[bodysong]

Sacrificed on an Altar to the Ego an Idol in Denial

New York Magazine ✓
Twitter › NYMag

“For once, something has come along that is more toxic
and threatening than this president, and somehow,
he’s got f*cking stage envy”

44 minutes ago

Intelligencer ✓
Twitter › intelligencer

A GOP that once fought to keep Terri Schiavo alive now includes those
who would accept mass death of the elderly to give the economy a nice lift
prior to the 2020 elections. @ed_kilgore

31 minutes ago

 

[bodysong]

The first thing that was sacrificed was the truth.

That is proving to be deadly for ordinary Americans.

There is a very special, particular set of Evangelical Christians,
that inform the rest of the Christian clans, that unless they convert
to their brand of Evangelical, they will be rejected by their God/god.

Dominion Mandate, or Genesis 1:28:

And God blessed them [Adam and Eve], and God said unto them,
be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the Earth, and subdue it:
and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl
of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the Earth.

Human beings are living things, are they not ? The very special,
particular Evangelists have declared themselves to be The Most
Favoured by their God/god

30 Mar 2020

5,000 students return from Spring break

Liberty University student tests positive for Covid-19
after Falwell reopens Liberty campus

Nearly a dozen students showed symptoms of coronavirus after Jerry Falwell Jr
defied calls for closures and invited them to return

Lead physician Thomas W Eppes Jr confirmed in the report that
nearly a dozen Liberty students showed symptoms of Covid-19
since returning to campus.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...coronavirus-student-positive-jerry-falwell-jr

March 29, 2020

Jerry Falwell, Jr. reopened Liberty University this week despite
the obvious risk that posed to students and faculty members.

He lied about who defended his decision. And now we’re finding out
the consequences of his negligence and recklessness.

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com...liberty-u-students-have-symptoms-of-covid-19/

https://www.politico.com/news/magaz...iversity-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-152467

Was the whole point of incorporating Jesus into the Christian mythology,
is to stop human sacrices on the altar ?

 

[bodysong]

Georgia state Rep. Terry England (R) spoke in favor of a bill in 2012
that would make it illegal for women to have an abortion after 20 weeks,
even if the fetus would be stillborn.

He recalled his days as a farm hand in his testimony:

Life gives us many experiences…I’ve had the experience of delivering calves,
dead and alive. Delivering pigs, dead or alive. It breaks our hearts to see
those animals not make it.

“Women as Livestock Bill,” criminalizes abortion after 20 weeks,
with no provisions for rape or incest.

 

[bodysong]

Not so fast, Evangelicals...

Judge Blocks State From Banning Abortion During Pandemic
Texas providers can continue delivering essential care – for now.

- Mary Tuma

March 30, 2020

Despite the best efforts of Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney
General Ken Paxton, Texas abortion providers can continue their
work – for now.

After Paxton, guided by an order from Abbott, banned all abortion procedures
in the name of conserving health care resources to combat COVID-19, providers –
stressing that abortion is essential health care – fought back with a lawsuit, filed
last week, as the Chronicle reported. Today, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel
granted providers, including Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas
(which encompasses Austin), Whole Woman’s Health, and Austin Women’s
Health Center, a temporary restraining order against Paxton’s directive,
reinstating abortion care in Texas.

“The court finds that a temporary restraining order will not disserve the public interest.”


Yeakel’s order lasts until April 13, at which point a phone hearing will determine
the fate of the preliminary injunction. Stay tuned.

https://www.austinchronicle.com/dai...-state-from-banning-abortion-during-pandemic/

 

[bodysong]

Another Trump Screw-Up: Food May ‘Rot in the Fields’

March 30, 2020

Early signs show that the systems that get fresh fruit and vegetables
to American homes is strained and may experience major failures.
The Trump administration is only making matters worse, allowing
his racism against Mexicans to inflict damage on American farms
that depend on legal labor from south of the border.

In Florida, winter crops are rotting in the fields because the prime products
like blemish-free squash, spinach and lettuce—sold to restaurants—lack buyers,
according to the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association. It offers members
extensive advice on how to stay in business during the pandemic.

Yet Mother Jones magazine reports that the American consulate in Monterrey,
Mexico’s third-largest city, and other consulates have closed. That means most
Mexican farmworkers have no way to get annual work visas. Unless the visas
are issued much of this year’s American fruit and vegetable crops will not be
harvested, barring some other unexpected development.

Each year as president, Donald Trump has gotten such visas for Mar-a-Lago
while assiduously avoiding the many qualified workers in Palm Beach County,
many of whom are African American. Federal law allows such visas for
chambermaids, cooks and waitstaff only when no Americans are available.

https://www.dcreport.org/2020/03/30/another-trump-screw-up-food-may-rot-in-the-fields/

 

[JackLuis]

You're just tired of Winning, aren't you?

Lumpy said you'd get tired of all the WInning!

 

[bodysong]

More, on the Kraft flight to China

https://skydancingblog.com/

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...sk-as-us-uses-gps-to-fight-coronavirus-spread

Good bye to more privacy rights

Experts warn of privacy risk as US uses GPS to fight coronavirus spread

Mobile advertising companies can collect detailed data about Americans’ movements

https://www.theguardian.com/technol...sk-as-us-uses-gps-to-fight-coronavirus-spread

This Is a Massive Scandal': Trump FDA Grants Drug Company Exclusive
Claim on Promising Coronavirus Drug

As The Intercept reported Monday, the Food and Drug Administration
granted Gilead Sciences "orphan" drug status for remdesivir, one of
several drugs being tested as potential treatments for the coronavirus,
officially known as COVID-19. The designation is generally reserved
for drugs that treat rare illnesses affecting fewer than 200,000 Americans—
but companies can be eligible if the designation, as in this case of a rapidly
spreading virus, is made before a disease spreads beyond that limit.


As The Intercept reported, the designation was given to a company
where Joe Grogan, a member of President Donald Trump's
"coronavirus task force," worked as a lobbyist from 2011 to 2017,
often working on issues regarding drug pricing.

"This is a massive scandal," tweeted Ryan Grim, Washington, D.C.
bureau chief for The Intercept.

This is a massive scandal

Trump's FDA just granted a drug that is being used to treat
coronavirus patients, developed previously by Gilead Sciences,
"orphan" status, giving the company seven years of exclusivity.

@fastlerner, @lhfang

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) March 24, 2020

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...company-exclusive-claim-promising-coronavirus

Grifting, fuckery, and scams, oh fuck!

 

[bodysong]

So many are begging for their lives...

"Extraordinary memo"

The captain of a nuclear aircraft carrier docked in Guam asked the U.S.
Navy for more resources after nearly 100 members of his crew became
infected with the coronavirus, saying, "[t]he spread of the disease is
ongoing and accelerating,"

per a letter obtained and confirmed by the San Francisco Chronicle

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Exclusive-Captain-of-aircraft-carrier-with-15167883.php

The big picture:

In the letter sent to senior Navy officials, Capt. Brett Crozier noted
that with "inherent limitations of space" on the aircraft carrier U.S.S.
Theodore Roosevelt, it was nearly impossible to social distance with
a crew of more 4,000 and follow quarantine guidelines to stay docked
for 14 days.

https://www.axios.com/capatin-nucle...ved-d1e43c25-6dfd-4865-b74d-e760ad5c5615.html

Trump Defense Secretary Mark Esper Has His Donald Rumsfeld Moment

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-defense-secretary-mark-esper-has-his-donald-rumsfeld-moment

Navy Secretary Thomas Modly talks out of both sides of his mouth.

April 2, 2020 5:35 PM

In yet another display of apparent cowardice and cronyism, Trump's acting (temp)
Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly has relieved the captain of the nuclear aircraft
carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt from duty after a four-page letter by the captain to
Navy officials was leaked to the press.

The official rationale for Crozier’s removal, according to NBC News sources,
is “a loss of trust and confidence”—presumably meaning highest-level superiors
were humiliated by the leak of a letter in which the captain begged them at length
to protect his ship and crew. It also cast still more doubt on the competence of
the Commander in Chief and his topmost officials, who presumably could have
taken action before Crozier was reduced to sending his letter—but did not.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/20...ter-plea-for-COVID-assistance-leaked-to-press

 

[bodysong]

Virus-stricken aircraft carrier erupts in applause and cheers as ousted Navy captain departs

April 3, 2020

(bodysong comment-
I heard them cheer, on BBC broadcast through PBS It was possitive, appreciative,
enthusiastic cheering.)

Videos that emerged on social media showed crew members of the USS
Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier cheering their captain in a walloping
send-off, after the Navy removed him Thursday for speaking up in a leaked
letter to his superiors about what he saw as insufficient measures to contain
a coronavirus outbreak aboard the vessel.

The footage — posted on Facebook and Twitter — appears to show hundreds
of service members crowding into a hangar around Capt. Brett Crozier as he
makes his way off the vessel over a gangway to Guam, a backpack slung over
his shoulder. The sailors chant “Captain Crozier!” over and over, clapping and
cheering. In one of the videos, a voice in the background says:
“And that’s how you send out one of the greatest captains you ever had!”

In one of the videos, Crozier stands a few feet from his crew, awash in
applause as a vehicle waits to take him away. He waves and salutes,
then turns to walk away alone.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...27e202-75af-11ea-ae50-7148009252e3_story.html

In a new development, the Navy is canceling a review hearing for three
other SEALs implicated in the Gallagher war crimes case. The move allows
Lt. Jacob Portier, Lt. Cmdr. Robert Breisch and Lt. Thomas MacNeil to keep
their coveted Trident pins, which symbolize their membership in the elite
SEALs unit. Thomas Modly who became acting secretary of the Navy this
week said in a statement that neither the Navy nor the SEALs... "deserve the
continued distraction and negative attention that recent events have evoked."

Modly's announcement follows Trump's declaration on Twitter that the Navy
would not be taking away Gallagher's Trident pin.

https://www.npr.org/2019/11/27/783515686/navy-lets-accused-seals-stay-in-elite-unit

 

[bodysong]

Would it have surprised anyone, if it was discovered that King Donald the Presiderp
leaked the memo from Captain Brett Crozier to the press, his very own self ?
Or, perhaps, pressured acting (temp) Navy Secretary Thomas Modly into
leaking it ?

Sec. Modly went crying to "conservative"Hugh Hewitt, a recent convert to Trump loyalism

(NBC anchor Chuck Todd, one of Hewitt’s biggest friends at MSNBC,
seemed confused when Hewitt said in September that Hunter Biden
should have been under FBI surveillance since at least 2014.*)
*
https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-the-hell-happened-to-hugh-hewitt

 

[bodysong]

How many ships can be sent to the Venezuela, for Trump's anti- drug offensive ?

Venezuela patrol boat sinks after collision with cruise ship, no passengers, just crew


The collision resulted in serious damage to the Guaicamacuto‐class
(Avante 1400) patrol vessel, which was on a maritime patrol exercise
at the time of the accident.

According to Venezuelan Navy officials, the Portuguese-flagged passenger
ship Resolute did not stop following the collision. However, all 44 crew
members on board were rescued by the Venezuelan Navy.

https://www.janes.com/article/95271/venezuelan-coast-guard-patrol-ship-sinks-following-collision

Why send Navy personnel away from American bases, where they can be treated ?
Is Trump attempting to hide the extent of coronavirus spread ?
Trump's administration is treating coronavirus as if it was a public relations
problem that may effect Trump's re-election.

Capt. Brett Crozier inconveniently calls attention to coronavirus onboard
Navy ships.

155 crew members of USS Theodore Roosevelt test positive days after captain is ousted over letter

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/04/04/coronavirus-latest-news/

Trump: US to Deploy Anti-Drug Navy Ships Near Venezuela

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/04/01/us/ap-us-venezuela-anti-narcotics-mission.html

U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt in Guam

"As an unincorporated territory we have little power to resist the military.
They own one-third of the land on Guam," Guam artist Joshua Barrigada
tells NPR. "Our demands are only that they keep the sailors on base."

https://www.npr.org/sections/corona...s-sailors-from-coronavirus-hit-aircraft-carri

Besides Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico,
the US Virgin Islands and a handful of minor outlying islands, the US maintains
roughly 800 overseas military bases around the world.

15 Feb 2019

31 Mar 2020

The US has charged the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and
14 members of his inner circle with drug trafficking, “narco-terrorism”,
corruption and money laundering, and offered a $15m reward for
information leading to Maduro’s capture and prosecution.

Briefing the press on the indictment, attorney general William Barr
left little doubt about their political nature, portraying the coincidence
with the pandemic as serendipity, claiming it will spur on regime change.

“It’s good timing, actually,” he said. “The people in Venezuela are suffering,
and they need an effective government that responds to the people.”

https://www.latimes.com/politics/st...as-maduro-on-federal-drug-trafficking-charges

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...indictment-venezuela-drug-trafficking-leaders

(Acting (temp) Navy secretary Thomas Modly told one colleague Wednesday,
the day before he announced the move:
“Breaking news: Trump wants him fired.”

By Wednesday, Modly told a colleague he was thinking of relieving Capt. Brett Crozier,
and that Trump “wants him fired.”

Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations, apparently preferred
to leave such communications to the normal chain of command.

He (Modly) was advised by several current and former colleagues, reportedly
including Gilday, that such a dismissal would be unwise, and that the
matter was best left to the military.

The situation became more political Wednesday afternoon-
The memo about the dire situation aboard the Roosevelt had already surfaced,
and Gilday was asked about it in Trump’s presence.

Gilday answered that the Navy had made “great progress” and had moved more
than 1,000 crew members off the ship in Guam — a number that he said would
increase to 2,700 by Friday. As Gilday was explaining these protective measures,
Trump interjected:

“And not too many people are going to be getting off at various ports anymore. Right?”

The briefing moved on.

Civilian control of the military is part of the American bedrock.

Acting Navy secretary Thomas Modly used that prerogative unwisely,
Thursday when he short-circuited a preliminary military investigation
and fired an aircraft carrier captain who had pleaded for help against
the coronavirus pandemic sweeping his crew.



Apr 1, 2020

Defense secretary won't yet evacuate virus-hit aircraft carrier

https://www.axios.com/pentagon-wont-...23883261f.html

 

[bodysong]

China has been known to bully neighbors over occupation of islands

"an aircraft carrier, an air wing, a cruiser, and six destroyers"

17 February 2020

Theodore Roosevelt and America Strike Groups Conduct Operations

https://www.oceannews.com/news/defe...-and-america-strike-groups-conduct-operations

March 5, 2018

The arrival of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, at Vietnam's port
city of Danang is a reminder of that growing friendship. It's the first visit by a U.S.
aircraft carrier since the end of the war in 1975, and it comes amid rising tensions
in the region over China's aggressive territorial expansion in the South China Sea.

https://www.npr.org/sections/parall...g-in-vietnam-for-the-first-time-since-the-war

guided-​missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill arrived in Da Nang

https://timesofsandiego.com/militar...ruiser-visit-vietnam-to-mark-diplomatic-ties/

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)
"previous port of call in early March 2020 to Da Nang, Vietnam"
"decision made to visit Vietnam in February 2020"

Trump said he fully supported Crozier's removal, though he said,
"I didn't make the decision."

April 4, 2020

The president also criticized Crozier for making a port call in Da Nang, Vietnam, in the midst of a global outbreak.

"Perhaps you don't do that in the middle of a pandemic," Trump said. "History would say you don't necessarily stop and let your sailors get off."

Defense officials have defended the Roosevelt's port call as reasonable decision to have made back in early February.

"At that time there were only 16 positive cases in Vietnam, and those were well to the north all isolated in Hanoi," Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of naval operations, said in a March 24 press briefing, calling it "a very risk-informed decision" made by Admiral Philip Davidson, the head of Indo-Pacific Command.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/04/trump-brett-crozier-letter-165020

 

[bodysong]

‘He was trying to help us!’:

Listen to sailors yell profanities at Trump’s acting Navy secretary
while he trashes fired captain

In a recording of Modly’s speech posted by Task & Purpose, an angry sailor
can be heard shouting, “What the f*ck?!” after Modly described former
USS Theodore Roosevelt Capt. Brett Crozier as “stupid” and “naive.”

Another sailor can be heard yelling, “He was trying to help us!” after Modly
complained that Crozier’s actions had created a big controversy in Washington, D.C.

Other sailors can be heard yelling unintelligibly after Modly accused Crozier
of committing a “betrayal” of the sailors on board his ship.

Video footage released last week showed sailors aboard the USS Theodore
Roosevelt giving Crozier hearty cheers after he was removed from his post.

https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/he...avy-secretary-while-he-trashes-fired-captain/


US Navy captain fired for raising coronavirus concerns tests positive

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/magazine/navy-captain-crozier-positive-coronavirus.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...brett-crozier-fired-coronavirus-ests-positive


Daily Kos ✓
Twitter › dailykos

Audio leaked of Navy Secretary calling fired captain "stupid", sailors shout back in disgust

April 06, 2020

Navy commander Captain Brett Crozier's memo-

"sailors do not need to die,” provided the Navy stepped in and gave them access
to isolate and test everyone, as well as properly clean the vessel.

The San Francisco Chronicle picked up the letter, and every other media outlet
soon followed. Within days, Crozier was fired.

(Who leaked the memo to the public ?)

Monday morning, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly essentially
smeared Crozier in an address to his former crew, as reported by CNN.
The criticism feels especially inappropriate given that the captain was
met with cheers and support from his crew when he had to leave the vessel.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/20...-captain-stupid-sailors-shout-back-in-disgust

(Who sent the audio to The Daily Caller ?)

“If he didn’t think that this information wasn’t going to get out into the public,
in this day and information age that we live in, then he was either A, too naive
or too stupid to be a commanding officer of a ship like this. The alternative is
that he did this on purpose,” Modly said.

Modly continued to tear into Crozier, “So think about that when you cheer the man
off the ship who exposed you to that… I understand you love the guy. It’s good that
you love him. But you’re not required to love him.”

“And I’m gonna tell you something, all of you, there is never a situation
where you should consider the media a part of your chain of command,”
Modly said.

At high noon on Monday, Task & Purpose obtained audio of the speech delivered to the crew of sailors.

Acting Navy Secretary Rips Fired Captain As ‘Too Naive Or Too Stupid’
in Leaked Speech to Ship’s Crew

https://crooksandliars.com/2020/04/acting-navy-secretary-calls-capt-crozier


Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) slammed Modly on Monday over the Navy leader's
criticism of the captain.

"Based on the transcript I've read, Secretary Modly’s comments were
completely inappropriate and beneath the office of the Secretary of the
Navy," Kaine said in a statement.

"It’s deeply disappointing that he would deliver a speech on board a U.S.
aircraft carrier suggesting that Captain Crozier might be ‘stupid’ and bashing
the media for trying to report the truth," added Kaine, a Virginia Democrat
who represents a large swath of Navy installations and the shipbuilding industry.
"These dedicated sailors deserve better from their leadership."

https://www.mediaite.com/news/actin...or-too-stupid-in-leaked-speech-to-ships-crew/

IDEA: Maybe Trump Should Fire His A-Hole (Acting) Navy Secretary

- Evan Hurst

Y'all remember those videos of the sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt
cheering and chanting the name of their captain, Brett Crozier, as he departed
the aircraft carrier after being relieved of command, because he sent a letter
pleading for the Trump administration not to kill his 4,000 sailors with their
brutal incompetence and neglect?

https://www.wonkette.com/idea-maybe-trump-should-fire-his-a-hole-acting-navy-secretary
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/...nappropriate-comments-on-fired-captain-168482

 

[bodysong]

First rule of Trump's Alternative Universe-

Do not fuck with Trump's manufactured image- Do not "make Trump look bad" in front of his drooling goons
( Trump must appear to "win" in every instance, if only, at "triggering the libs")

Second rule- Do not run messages counter to Trump's propaganda.

Third rule- Do not make headlines that compete with Trump's publicity efforts

Fourth rule- Do not expose the truth to the public, if it refects negatively on Trump

It is not the Navy that looks bad, it is Sec. Modly the temp that looks bad,
and Trump looks bad for trying to cover up how bad the coronavirus is
hitting the Navy- what is Trump trying to hide from the public ?

No, the American public will not hear the clean and clear, un-altered recording
of Modly's statements to the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt

“His remarks were intended to be private, between the Secretary and each member of the crew,” the official said in a statement.

/end bodysong comment

In his remarks to sailors, Modly also took umbrage with media coverage of Crozier’s
ouster, which included video clips posted to social media of crew members chanting
the captain’s name in support as he walked the gangway to exit the Theodore Roosevelt.

“There is no, no situation where you go to the media,” Modly said.

“Because the media has an agenda and the agenda that they have depends on
which side of the political aisle they sit, and I’m sorry that’s where the country
is right now, but it’s the truth and so they use it to divide us and use it to embarrass
the Navy.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...69c230-7820-11ea-8cec-530b4044a458_story.html

 

[bodysong]

Is Trump still upset that it is not "His Navy" ?
/end bodysong comment

April 5, 2020

It is normal for military commanders to be relieved of duty for losing the
“trust and confidence” of their superiors. Civilian leaders have relieved
commanders over public disputes before — as was the case in 2010 for
the commanding general of the war in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal.

- By Lindsay Cohn
- Alice Friend
- Jim Golby

Here’s what’s unusual in this case:
As military ethicist Pauline Shanks Kaurin has argued-
members of the military are subject to multiple, sometimes competing loyalties.
Unlike most cases of poor judgment or policy disagreement, this case involves
an officer who believed he had to choose between loyalty to his people and loyalty
to the rules of his organization. The military leadership appears to be saying Crozier
showed poor judgment in privileging his loyalty to his people over loyalty to the
institution. (Commander Brett Crozier sent the memo to officials inside the institution.)

It is Trump that is driving a division-

Trump intervened in the Navy’s handling of a personnel action involving
Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher, ultimately resulting in the November 2019
removal of then-Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer and the installation
of Modly as acting secretary. While no one disputed the president’s legal authority,
many questioned the appropriateness of civilian political intervention into internal
professional processes. Similarly, no one questions Modly’s legal authority to
remove a commander in whom he has lost confidence. But the fact it was a
political appointee associated with another highly politicized case who relieved
Crozier, rather than a uniformed officer in the chain of command, may contribute
to a perception that this is more about political embarrassment than a breach of
security.

Command of a ship is an unforgiving job, but so is political leadership of the Navy.
Crozier may be gone, but two major leadership scuffles within the past year suggest
the Navy’s problems are not over.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...-navy-making-captain-brett-crozier-step-down/

 

[bodysong]

Is Sec. Modly attempting to get Captain Crozier into legal trouble ?
Modly insists on using language that points in that direction.
(Modly is telling lies.)

Now Modly has issued a statement apologising to Crozier, saying:
“Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naive or stupid ...
I apologize for any confusion this choice of words may have caused.
I also want to apologize directly to Captain Crozier ... for any pain
my remarks may have caused.”

Quite a climb down.

Dan Lamothe (@DanLamothe)

Acting @SECNAV just issued an apology to the Navy for his comments today.

April 7, 2020

Entire apology ?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...mp-america-us-praying-recovery-latest-updates

bodysong comment- Trump goon walks it back...

"We pick our carrier commanding officers with great care.
Captain Crozier is smart and passionate. I believe, precisely
because he is not naive and stupid, that he sent his alarming email
with the intention of getting it into the public domain in an effort
to draw public attention to the situation on his ship.

I apologize for any confusion this choice of words may have caused ... [and for] any pain my remarks may have caused."

https://www.axios.com/acting-navy-h...pid-ef9de579-e35e-4b9d-b990-adad8b43c920.html


"Let me be clear, I do not think Captain Brett Crozier is naïve nor stupid. I
think, and always believed him to be the opposite," Modly said in his statement.

"We pick our carrier commanding officers with great care. Captain Crozier is smart and passionate. I believe, precisely because he is not naive and stupid, that he sent his alarming email with the intention of getting it into the public domain in an effort to draw public attention to the situation on his ship. I apologize for any confusion this choice of words may have caused."

Modly also apologized directly to Crozier for "any pain my remarks may have caused."
"(Crozier and his family), and the entire Navy, have my full commitment that I will continue to help get the TR back to full health and back to sea where we can move forward beyond this unfortunate situation," Modly said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/06/politics/uss-tr-crozier-modly/index.html

Quite a reverse from this statement-

"I stand by every word I said, even, regrettably any profanity
that may have been used for emphasis," Modly's statement
earlier Monday said.

 

[bodysong]

"That escalated quickly."

That is how bad publicity for Trump is strangled.
Get rid of everyone.

Sec. Thomas Modly is back in the Trump recycle bin.

Acting Navy Secretary Modly resigns abruptly after describing warship captain
as ‘stupid’ in leaked audio

April 7, 2020

https://www.mediaite.com/politics/b...cretary-thomas-modly-submits-his-resignation/

Trumpification of the military- Successfully gets rid of un-cooperative figure in military.

Taking Modly’s place will be Army undersecretary James McPherson, who was
confirmed last month as the Army’s No. 2 political appointee. McPherson previously
served in the Trump administration as the Army’s general counsel, and also in the Navy
as a lawyer before retiring in 2006 as Judge Advocate General of the Navy.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...3ba574-78f7-11ea-b6ff-597f170df8f8_story.html

McPherson will serve in the Navy’s top post in an acting capacity until Presiderp
Trump’s nominee for the position, the U.S. ambassador to Norway, Kenneth
John Braithwaite II, is confirmed by the Senate.

Wait! Wasn't Braithwaite deemed innappropriate for the position ?

 

[bodysong]

First 12 to Die of Coronavirus in St. Louis Were Black

Apr 9, 2020

Fredrick Echols, writing in an op-ed for the St. Louis American, revealed
the troubling information on Wednesday, saying the virus has further exposed
long-running inequalities in health care.

"Many of the pre-existing conditions that make the coronavirus more dangerous
for some people — like heart conditions and diabetes — disproportionately
affect the black community," Echols writes. "This is why everyone in the
City of St. Louis — especially African Americans — must take precautions
against spreading this disease."

As of Wednesday evening, the city had reported 514 confirmed cases of the
novel coronavirus, including the twelve deaths. Zip code data released a
week ago showed a concentration of cases in north city neighborhoods.
About 46 percent of St. Louis' population is black, roughly equal to the
percentage of white residents.

https://www.riverfronttimes.com/new...-to-die-of-coronavirus-in-st-louis-were-black

 

[bodysong]

CJOnline Topeka

Twitter › CJOnline

Breaking: The governor is challenging the authority of a Republican-led panel
that overturned her executive order limiting church gatherings, and asking the
Kansas Supreme Court to expedite the matter #ksleg via @sherman_news

3 hours ago

Mayor De La Isla took to Facebook this morning to call on Topekans to worship
from home this weekend. “Us coming together to celebrate Easter would potentially
give us a really bad situation,” she said. “I don’t think that is what God wants from us."

7 hours ago

A Republican-controlled panel of legislative leaders overturns the
governor's executive order that limited church attendance, calling
it an "extreme" violation of fundamental rights #ksleg via @iayarbor
and @sherman_news

1 day ago

Sherman Smith
Twitter › sherman_news

11 hours ago

Republican #ks03 candidate Adrienne Vallejo Foster on crowd limits for religious
gatherings: "I am calling on Governor Kelly to rescind her executive order, the
county sheriffs to ignore this overreaching executive order, and the churches
to hold service this Sunday" #ksleg

1 day ago

 

[bodysong]

Kansas Gov. Sues GOP Lawmakers for Overturning Order
Limiting Church Gatherings

April 9, 2020

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com...overturning-order-limiting-church-gatherings/

COVID-Defying Pastor Tony Spell Expects 2,000 People
at Church on Easter Sunday

April 10, 2020

https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com...pects-2000-people-at-church-on-easter-sunday/

Return of the Religious Weasel, Ralph Reed

Right Wing Watch ✓
Twitter › RightWingWatch

Religious-right political operative Ralph Reed has sized up
a lot of political horseflesh," and knew from the beginning
that "Trump was a thoroughbred.”

6 hours ago

Ralph Reed Makes 'The Christian Case for Trump

https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/ralph-reed-makes-the-christian-case-for-trump/

 

[bodysong]

The GOP has become a death cult

April 17, 2020

https://www.alternet.org/2020/04/the-gop-has-become-a-death-cult/

The major media networks fail to point out that the protests against the
coronavirus quarantine are connected to Trump's election campaign

Some of the protests have been small events, promoted via Facebook groups that
have popped up in recent days and whose organizers are sometimes difficult to
identify. Others are backed by groups funded by prominent Republican donors,
some with ties to Trump. The largest so far, a rally of thousands that jammed the
streets of Lansing, Michigan, on Wednesday, looked much like one of the president’s
rallies — complete with MAGA hats or Trump flags — or one of the tea party rallies
from a decade ago.

But the protests expose resilient partisan divisions, particularly in battleground
Michigan. The protest there was organized by the Michigan Conservative Coalition,
a group founded by a pro-Trump state representative and his wife, Meshawn Maddock,
who is on the advisory board for an official Trump campaign group called
“Women for Trump” and is also the co-founder of Michigan Trump Republicans.

Another group that promoted the event, the Michigan Freedom Fund, is run by
Greg McNeilly, a longtime political adviser to the DeVos family, who are prolific
Republican donors and have funded conservative causes across the state for decades.
McNeilly was campaign manager for Dick DeVos, the husband of current U.S.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, during his failed bid for governor in 2006.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/pro-trump-protesters-push-back-on-stay-at-home-orders

 

[bodysong]

Ten years have passed-
since the Tea Party spread the false impression that Republican communities
spontaneously spawned a few aging white men, and a few young white men,
that desired to travel to American cities and towns to serve as sham figureheads,
promoting political propaganda that coincidentally meshed with the ambitions
of international mega-corporations and billionaires. The Koch brothers sent $$$$$
to Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks- and the "Tea Party" got paid.

In these hard times of coronavirus, some Michigan families have dollars to spare
to fill their truck's gas tank for rides to the protests, and poster paper, Sharpies,
and paint for their signs during demonstrations against leaders that hope people
will not die of a virus more deadly than SARS-
/end bodysong comment

Here's Why COVID-19 Is Worse Than SARS

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2020/04/heres-why-covid-19-is-worse-than-sars/

/end bodysong comment

The undead Zombified Not-Real Tea Party Rides, Again

Jenny Beth Martin, who founded the Tea Party Patriots group, promoted
this week’s Michigan protest. The Tea Party Patriots also supported the
Michigan protest, in messages (to Twitter)

Protesters against coronavirus quarantine in the USA, are Trump supporters

"...while organisers claim the protests are grassroots- and people-driven, a closer look
reveals a movement driven by traditional rightwing groups, including one funded by
the family of Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos.

The Michigan Freedom Fund, which said it was a co-host of the rally, has received
more than $500,000 from the DeVos family, regular donors to rightwing groups.

Michigan Freedom Fund purchased Facebook advertising to promote the rally.

"... two groups behind the “operation gridlock” rally in Michigan on Wednesday
have ties to the Republican party and the Trump administration."

The other host, the Michigan Conservative Coalition, MCC also operates
under the name Michigan Trump Republicans, and in January held an event
featuring several members of the Trump campaign.

Many that are protesting the coronavirus quarantine were waving Trump campaign signs.
Trump, who has clashed with Democratic governors over how soon to reopen the
US economy, tweeted his support on Friday, in an unprecedented endorsement
of civil disobedience by a sitting president.

While ReOpen Maryland might not have funding from rightwing advocacy groups,
it appears to be linked to at least four other “reopen” organizations.

“Government mandating sick people to stay home is called quarantine,”
ReOpen Maryland said. “However, the government mandating healthy citizens
to stay home, forcing businesses and churches to close is called tyranny.”

That text is identical to text on Facebook pages calling for rallies in Wisconsin
Pennsylvania and Virginia. ReOpen Virginia aims to hold its own “gridlock” rally
on Wednesday – again inspired by the conservative-funded Michigan event.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/18/coronavirus-americans-protest-stay-at-home

 

[bodysong]

What is common, in "Trump Country" locations around the US
are meat proccessing plants.

Slaughter houses for beef, pork, chicken, lamb, and meat cutting factories
are located where the animal factory farms are located. This has been a month
of closings at meat processing factories, all over the USA, due to the spread of
coronavirus.

JBS closes Worthington pork plant indefinitely after COVID-19 outbreak

- Ricardo Lopez

April 20, 2020

JBS USA is indefinitely closing its Worthington pork processing plant after
at least 26 workers tested positive for COVID-19, the company said Monday.

“We don’t make this decision lightly,” said Bob Krebs, president of JBS USA Pork,
in a statement. “We recognize JBS Worthington is critical to local hog producers,
the U.S. food supply and the many businesses that support the facility each and
every day.”

Minnesota officials have mobilized quickly since Friday after learning about
the jump in COVID-19 infections tied to the JBS plant in southwestern
Minnesota.

Nobles County, which previously had just two confirmed cases, now has 76,
according to the most recent Minnesota Department of Health data.

The Worthington plant employs more than 2,000 people and processes 20,000
hogs per day, producing about 4% of the country’s pork supply.

https://minnesotareformer.com/2020/...k-plant-indefinitely-after-covid-19-outbreak/

President Donald Trump tweeted something nice about Gov. Tim Walz,
after which Minnesotans breathed a sigh of relief because we didn’t
want him taking our ventilators, and also we don’t like feuding with
people, at least not openly.

Received a very nice call from @GovTimWalz of Minnesota.
We are working closely on getting him all he needs, and fast.
Good things happening!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2020

The love tweet comes as the Star Tribune reports that after Trump provocatively
tweeted “LIBERATE MINNESOTA” Friday — seemingly to encourage Minnesotans
to march on the governor’s residence to get Walz to reopen the local economy Friday-
“Walz said he called the president and vice president to ask what he should be doing
differently to safely reopen the economy, but at the time he said he hadn’t heard back.”

The Star Tribune notes in another story that Walz has taken a different tack than
other Democratic governors— by avoiding criticism of Trump and his administration.

“I can only make a judgment as governor that I believe is in the best interest, the health
and safety of Minnesotans and stick with that,” Walz said during a recent coronavirus
press briefing. “I certainly … have not had open clashes with the administration.
We’ve worked together, we have been grateful for the work we are doing together.”

Reformer reporter Ricardo Lopez reports that Walz continued that pattern during
a daily COVID-19 Walz press call Monday:

“I have not criticized or decided who to blame,” said of his reluctance to criticize
the Trump administration’s response on procuring PPE and tests.

— Ricardo Lopez (@rljourno) April 20, 2020

"OK, governor. Leave it to me, then. Trump is unfit."
- J. Patrick Coolican

When do we get herd immunity from Jason Lewis?
- - J. Patrick Coolican

Jason Lewis is on a “Re-Open Minnesota for Business” RV tour Friday, hoping to draw
media attention to his brilliant plan to get enough Minnesotans sick that we achieve
“herd immunity” from COVID-19 and then thank him by electing him to the U.S. Senate.

Minnesota is being held hostage. We must #ReopenMN and we need to do it now!

https://minnesotareformer.com/2020/04/17/when-do-we-get-herd-immunity-from-jason-lewis/

— Jason Lewis (@LewisForMN) April 17, 2020

 

[bodysong]

Ten years ago, Astro Turf Tea Party from Mega-Corporate Hell posed as real people-

2020 Astro Turf Protesters against coronavirus lockdown pretend that they are doing it on their own dime

What happened when healthcare workers confronted anti-lockdown protesters

20 Apr 2020

As protesters gathered outside the capitol steps and others assembled in their automobiles
to ask the city to reopen for business, healthcare workers stood in the middle of the road
in their scrubs. After having spent the last weeks treating Covid-19 patients, they staged
their own demonstration: they wanted to remind the protestors of why the shutdown
measures are important.

Healthcare workers that try to save lives, confront paid protesters, and their undoubting goons

The anti-lockdown protesters drove to the protest in trucks, vans, motorcycles and buses-
one man even protested on horseback, wearing a cowboy hat and carrying an American flag
Photographs show protestors in Maga hats and while some are wearing masks, social
distancing protocol seems to have been largely ignored. (It is worth noting that the
wave of anti-lockdown protests has also been fueled by fringe far-right groups
organizing to cynically exploit this time of crisis.)

As protests erupted in Michigan on Friday, which has one of the highest COVID-19
death rates in the country, Trump tweeted “LIBERATE MICHIGAN.”

https://www.theguardian.com/artandd...rs-confronted-anti-lockdown-protesters-denver

 

[bodysong]

Nothing to see here. Nope. Move along, folks

The thousands of dead bodies resulting fron coronavirus syndrome
that are piling up, should be buried on Trump's private property-
"We're Going to Have to Let Some People Die"
- Trump

NYPD Seizes Drone Of Photojournalist Documenting Mass Burials On Hart Island

https://gothamist.com/news/coronavir...-19-cuomo-boat

A photo of burials on Hart Island taken by George Steinmetz, shortly before
his drone was confiscated by the NYPD

The New York Police Department detained photographer George Steinmetz last week
and seized the $1,500 drone he had been using to document Hart Island, where the city
has been burying unclaimed bodies of New Yorkers who died of COVID-19.

NatGeo Photographer Has Drone Confiscated While Documenting Mass Burials
on New York’s Hart Island

Apr 16, 2020

Speaking with DPReview, Steinmetz explained that he was cited for violating NYC
Administrative Code § 10–126, which prohibits taking off or landing a drone within
New York City limits. However, Steinmetz is pretty sure that law had nothing to do
with the run-in, telling DPR that this was “a clear example of a law being used for
petty press intimidation” because “it doesn’t look good to see the city’s poor treated
like toxic waste.”

"Preparing for burials of what appear to be more COVID-19 victims this morning
on Hart Island, New York City. For over 150 years this island with no public access
has been used to bury over a million souls who’s bodies were not claimed for private
burial. With the morgues of NYC strained, the pace of burials on Hart Island has
increased dramatically. I was cited by NYPD while taking this photo, and my drone
was confiscated as evidence, for a court date tentatively scheduled for mid-August.

#keepthememorycard

Instagram

https://petapixel.com/2020/04/16/nat...s-hart-island/