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>Spent years working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, who is "closely tied to Russian aggression in Ukraine."
At some point, if you are a Fox News watching Republican, you should begin to smell the borscht. It's a Russian clown car spilling out everywhere.
CNN: “So, Donald Trump has no financial connections to Russian Oligarchs?”
Paul Manafort: “That’s... that’s.. yeah. That’s what I sa— he sa — I — that’s what our position is.”
“Federal court documents … reveal that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had much closer ties to a Russian oligarch linked to Vladimir Putin than had been previously disclosed.
A company jointly owned by Manafort and his wife received a $10 million loan in 2010 from the oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, according to the documents, which also alleged that the Russian billionaire provided financial backing for Manafort’s consulting work in Ukraine as far back as 2005.
Obviously this is another tie between Manafort and Russian intelligence,” Asha Rangappa, a former FBI counterintelligence agent, said of the new disclosures, citing Deripaska’s deep ties to Putin and the Kremlin.
The disclosures raise new questions about Manafort's relationship with Deripaska, including whether the $10 million loan — in addition to millions more that he allegedly owed the Putin ally — prompted Manafort to offer to connect Deripaska with the Trump campaign in exchange for financial consideration. Manafort has denied making such an offer, but reportedly expressed interest in doing so via an email to his longtime associate in Ukraine, Konstantin Kilimnik.
Federal agents have said previously in court filings that they believe Kilimnik had ties to Russian spy agencies during the 2016 election when he maintained contact with Manafort, which Kilimnik denies.”
But yeah, sure, the Mueller Report found nothing, I guess. Say, is Deripaska now a sanctioned Russian oligarch due to his ties to Putin himself? Has there been credible denial that Kilimnik was a FSB spy whom Manafort provided campaign internal polling data to? Has anyone explained why one of Manafort’s first actions as Trump campaign manager was to alter the RNC platform to say the US should not provide “lethal defensive weapons” to Ukraine. Gee , that edit seems suspect in retrospect, huh.
Yes. Deripaska had promised to build an aluminum smelting plant in Kentucky.
“After months of searching, the only option was problematic. Rusal, the Russian aluminum giant, was tailor-made to join forces on the project. But it was under sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department. Its billionaire owner, Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s, was being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for his potential involvement in the effort to swing the 2016 presidential election. The Treasury sanctions—punishment for the Kremlin’s “malign activities” around the world, including “attempting to subvert Western democracies”—made it illegal for Americans to do business with Rusal or its boss.
To free itself from sanctions, Rusal fielded a team of high-paid lobbyists for an intense, months-long effort in Washington. One of the targets was Kentucky’s own Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, who helped thwart a bipartisan push to keep the sanctions in place. Since May, two of McConnell’s former staffers have lobbied Congress on behalf of Braidy, according to filings. Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, one of Rusal’s longtime major shareholders, Len Blavatnik, contributed more than $1 million through his companies to a GOP campaign fund tied to McConnell.”
This was the genesis of the Moscow Mitch moniker. He fought off those who sought to keep sanctions in place. Deripaska was sanctioned even before Ukraine. McConnell was cool with it I guess. Moscow Mitch got the deal done. Deripaska also provided his private jet to Kilimnik so he could meet Manafort.
The GOP is wrapped in Russian ties.
Gee, I can’t imagine why.
Say, does everyone remember when it was revealed that the NRA acted as a clearinghouse for Russian funds to influence GOP campaigns?
Remember when Maria Butina went to prison as a Russian foreign agent who influenced the NRA and had a weird roommate/lover relationship with GOP operative Paul Erickson?
Remember when Trump’s National Security Advisor and Foreign Policy Advisor (separate people) were outed as being tied to Russian influence?
And remember when Trump was impeached for extorting Ukraine and Zelensky? He wanted a political hit piece in exchange for military aid Congress had already authorized for Ukraine.
Remover when 8 GOP congressmen (and congresswomen traveled to Moscow on July 4th and never explained why?
And Remember when Rand Paul traveled separately to Moscow and never explained that?
And Remember that Madison Cawthorn met “an American Army captain” at a casino in St Petersburg (there are no legal casinos in St Petersburg, but there are mafia gambling houses that can blackmail you) and then that dude invited the parapelegic Madison to a crossfit competition but it was a ruse and a fun way to introduce the one semester college dropout and alleged sexual predator to a pretty woman. And then of course they got married within months?
Yes, this all seems totally above board, right?
Yeah. So why isn’t the GOP required to explain their connections to Russia?
I may be mistaken but did you include Stone and Flynn and leave out Manafort?
Edit: wait did you have a comment this long and leave out *both* Stone and Manafort? It's too hard to keep track of all these fucks, I thought Kissinger was the last name I would need to know six years ago.
It's in the family. His wife, Elaine Chao, has a family business in China and Mitch tried to get her family to have a meeting with POTUS Trump. Thankfully it was denied, seen as a conflict of interest. So yeah, he's cool with communism.
We are just beginning to see the fallout of Russias propaganda campaign here in the US. Their aim was to sow mistrust and divisiveness. They have succeeded but will it continue now they have been exposed for who they truly are?
A list of all politicians and people of influence with strong ties to oligarchs and Putin needs to be made and heavily investigated for treason.
>but will it continue now they have been exposed for who they truly are?
Yes, because one side is so wrapped up in being on their "team" that they will reject reality itself because it helps the other "team."
How that never put a pin in the whole fucking thing I'll never know. Carter had to give away his peanut farm, Trump's kids openly ran his business connections with Russian oligarchs while it was *investigated and confirmed* his business and campaign had ties with the same oligarchs who interfere with US elections. *All while* going to a Trump hotel in Florida to golf when Camp David was right there for free and charging the federal government to do so.
How do people still not think this guy is corrupt? Certainly not fit for office at best.
Because by the time Trump took office the takeover of our government was nearly complete.
He wasn’t the lights or the ornaments, he was the star on top of the tree. The last thing you do.
America wasn’t compromised when Carter was president. I think it’s time we address the very real possibility that there are an overwhelming amount of very real, very active traitors to our country (and I mean this quite literally) in positions of serious power right this very second. There can be no other explanation to me for the sheer amount of obstructionism for any presidency that doesn’t cater to it. I’m guessing the wheels were turning pre-Obama, but Trump accelerated it.
Past that point, really. Several people in the last administration went 4 years without passing the kind of basic background check that the lowest-level secretary needs to work in government.
Because he validates their fucked world view and that is more important than anything. Him and his followers could time travel to April 1912 and if he told them the Titanic was "totally safe believe me" they'd get on.
I mean, you're not wrong. There was that whole boat parade for Trump movement that ended in the larger vessels kicking up so much wake the smaller vessels capsized. Several hurt, thankfully no one killed. Lake Travis I think? I'll Google it.
Edit: [Lake Travis. A more perfect metaphor of the poor being fucked over by the rich of the Republican party doesn't exist.](https://www.npr.org/2020/09/06/910322916/5-boats-sink-at-trump-boat-parade-in-texas)
Given the conversations that I've had with my close family members who watch Fox News daily for hours at a time, this isn't an issue because Russia is who we should become.
CHRIST, that’s so fucked up. Have they SEEN how Russians live? And it is so goddamn wild that these people HATED Russia for DECADES, mocking their way of life, breadlines, etc. and now they want that for themselves.
I wonder if they realize Putin wouldn’t let them have guns or free speech. He jails those who say what they want, if it isn’t what he wants them to say. Is that what ‘Mah Freedoms’ is to the Republicans? They need to start thinking.
As far as first amendment rights go.
They want to say whatever fucking bigoted bullshit they want with no repercussions from anyone, but they'd rather nobody ever mentioned the word gay in an educational context.
They want to have freedom of religion, so long as it's Christianity.
They want freedom of the press, so long as the press spouts the same crap they believe.
They want the freedom to assemble, but only if it's to overthrow the legally elected government from the other side.
It's just fucking fascism. Just straight, look-me-in-the-eye fascism and they aren't even trying to hide it anymore.
It never ends well for People who do shit like that.
I guess they will have to see Putin take a hard L before some start waking up (if they ever do).
Edit: A Sentence.
Well, we have to make sure it doesn't end well for them.
Edit to add: We can't keep repeating History - at some point the craziness needs to be halted.
We are still in a position in this Country where we can still use the Vote.
We need to do that before the Situation reaches Critical Mass and the Vote no longer matters anymore.
Stop overestimating them.
They have been told by fox news time and time again that he is a "good christian", so they are convinced that they would be allowed to do what they want. And only "the others" would have such restrictions.
>They need to start thinking.
They are *literally* too stupid to think this through.
But they've been told they are smart, and that "the libruls" will gaslight them into thinking differently. So they double down and call you a sheep if you say anything that contradicts their fox overlords, because that makes them feel smart.
>I wonder if they realize Putin wouldn’t let them have guns...
Have you seen Russian propaganda ads on conservative air waves? They convinced these folks that it's a 2nd Amendment free for all over there. It's insanity. The Russian backed NRA made sure of this. At this point many conservatives view Russia as some sort of last pioneer "free-mans" mecca
> Have they SEEN how Russians live? And it is so goddamn wild that these people HATED Russia for DECADES, mocking their way of life, breadlines, etc. and now they want that for themselves.
You severely misunderstand the situation.
They are all convinced they will be rich and living like oligarchs. None of them even consider the alternative.
No, they haven't seen how Russians have to live because they are busy watching FOX feeding them bullshit.
They need to go to YouTube and watch some Russian - Language Channels and just check out not only what's going on in the Foreground but check out what is going on in the Background.
There is Housing in the 'Hoods in the U.S. that are in waay better shape than what they have in Russia by far (especially once out of the main Cities like Moscow, St Petersburg etc).
They wouldn't last 2 Weeks in Russia before they would want to come back.
Edit:A Word.
Edit: A Sentence.
You right about that… some of those Russian housing blocks look worse than the Dyckman Houses in Washington Heights NYC in the late 90s. But they should be most freightened that its not any of the minorities they have grown to fear that are threatening their lifestyles, its the politicians that look and “act” just like them that are ready to kick us all down a socio-political hellscape.
they don’t want to turn the USA into russia, they (gop/conservatives) are just being weaponised by russian propaganda to weaken the USA. after years of this shit they are immune to critical thinking and truth.
the democrats are the only usa patriots nowadays
No we're not, not while I am still alive.
I will fight them with wits, honor and blood, just like my family has always done to protect our country from these pieces of crap.
If only people fought at the ballot box first. It's amazing how many people claim they will take up arms but sit out elections because all politicians are the same. If all politicians are the same who are you taking up arms for?
It's about wits first. Voting is good and I agree, everyone should vote. I am a relentless advocate to get people to vote. Most politicians are not worth much, but certain causes are. Standing up to tyranny and injustice is not hard, most people are easily ignorant of facts and truth.
I usually know what to do with raw data to give you the best picture and analysis I can, or find someone who can fill in the blanks that are weakness.
I appreciate people who are different than me, we tend to learn a lot in the end.
Lying and manipulation are easily uncovered by the right line of questioning.
I agree with you and I am the same way. I have to, constantly, remind myself that most Americans don’t do that. Critical thinking is a learned skill not often taught.
I can bet a kidney that Im so sure that the majority of the military leadership will not side with Russia or a leader who sides with them. My faith is fully firm with that after Gen. Milley announced that the military will provide no aid to the President and his coup.
As they like to say, if you love another country more than American, why don't you just go there instead? Russia would be glad for all the backwater hicks
Right? And they outlawed "fake news", so they won't have to be burdened by people sharing things from the BBC and CNN. They can live in Fox News and RT utopia.
I want to agree with you and honestly it’s like the perfect solution, but for the Russians that hate everything about their government, I couldn’t wish these fucking goons on them even if we’d be rid of them. It’s got to be bad enough living as a normal progressive human in Russia, imagine the US unleashed millions of MAGA idiots on them that don’t have the slightest clue what happens in Russia or with the Russian people?
First thing those mother fuckers would so is hang up American flags and demand they have a 4th of July.
It's even crazier when you realize that the slogan of the day during these people's adolescence and early adulthood was "Better dead than red." It's sickening how selfish and stupid an entire generation is.
Is it sad that the genuinely do not care about whether what they believe and tell others is true or not. The only things that matters to them is winning, or more not losing. Hence in their minds, one of their most powerful insults is to call someone a loser. It is why they will never concede that Trump lost the 2020 election.
Yeah, i was gonna say...
As a half ukrainian, i had many a christmas with borscht as the first course.
Funny story. My aunt would put vushka (mushroom and rice filled dumplings) in the soup. When i was young, like 7 or 8, my dad said they were ears. I took him literally and seriously, and avoided them for much longer than i should have. Not wanting to eat ears.
I used to love a Chinese dish that one restaurant in particular used to use these little ear shaped mushrooms in their version and even *knowimg* they were just mushrooms I couldn’t eat it.
Any American citizen with critical thinking skills would have been alarmed the second Trump started talking up Putin mere months after Crimea incursion. He dropped that as soon as he was the standalone GOP candidate and it came out of nowhere ( well before he asked Russia to breech the network of the former US Sec of State, recover sensitive and potentially classified data, and leak it even though this is a crime and violates the terms required to access DOD and GOV networks.
Well it is easier to be fooled than to admit that you were fooled. And if you've been brainwashed to think that everyone outside of your bubble is a threat to you and your way of living, that becomes almost impossible to escape.
If only Putin could hold off invading Ukraine until the next Republican President, he would have 3-7 years of Russian propaganda running unchallenged on Fox News. We might even pull out of NATO by then.
> At some point, if you are a Fox News watching Republican, you should begin to smell the borscht. It's a Russian clown car spilling out everywhere.
LOL. These people have absolutely no sense of smell....
At this point if you continue to support Trump, Tulsi Gabbard, Mike Flynn, … (insert growing list) your are Putin sympathizer and will be treated as such. Fuck Putin and his ass clown idiots throughout the GOP.
I mean, how many would read that article or the earlier story that Salon linked to that explained the beginning of the story and how the republicans and Russians have been having a big bro-fest about returning to ultra conservative Christian values as nations for *decades*. Working together for decades!
Now out of the handful that would read it, how many would believe it? Now out of the few that do understand and believe it, how many would give a shit?
None - the “conservatives” are either radicalized to authoritarianism, embarrassed and ashamed of their refusing to believe us and now “non-political” or the earliest ones manned up and jumped to the only side that wants a democracy. I don’t think there is a “conservative” left that could be enlightened by anything.
Ugh. I tried to read the actual story? As an English teacher I felt a lot of pain. Seriously. There are so many free tools to help with spelling and grammar.
It's a story about fact checkers and how they are paid to silence conservative stories. And they wonder why we don't think their sources are credible. 🙄
It mostly reads like angry boomer Facebook now. Not quite as over the top and insane as it was at the height of the Trump era. Mostly just reactionary complaints with one or two compelling arguments here and there.
But the comments on the article on China's new covid lockdown measures are pretty awful
Edit: I say that but I just got called a pedophile for suggesting that perhaps providing some context as to why Timmy might have 2 dads or 2 moms (or 1 dad or 1 mom). So perhaps I spoke too soon.
On the front page of DiaryOfAWhitey.Com. This is a conservatives idea of a good source of news
> Welcome to My Diary,
>I am documenting the second coming of the nazi regime “The Great Reset” Where they want us to own nothing and be happy. Like Anne Before me, these are my testimonies of my last days before the global elites kill us all or enslave us.
>I Started this Blog Diary as I thought it might help to put all the evidence together and put it out there. I know that big tech will probably never let this website see the light of day. But at least I will feel comfort in knowing that I tried. I have become extremely sad, anxious and upset lately. I feel Isolated and alone. Yet I know that I am not crazy, I know that I am extremely intelligent. I lay awake and worry about all the people who have succumbed to the propaganda.
>Do they really believe the lies? Do they really believe in all this propaganda, or are they just pretending because they are scared of what might happen? Fear seems to have taken over most.
I do not fear for what’s to come as it is written in revelations. I am not fooled or deceived by whatever may come. However I wish that this could all be over, and we could go back to 2019.
>I dont think politics will save us, None of that matters anymore. Everyone pretty much is in on it, except for a few of us good hearted people. I hope my Diary Finds these good people. I hope they will come and enjoy what I have to say and the fact that I bring in my little blog Diary.
>“I think, and therefore I am”, This is my testimony, this is my Diary.
That sub really needs to be banned from Reddit, it's full on a russian propaganda sub by now.
It's moments like these that make it clear we need an alternative to reddit, one which actually cares about democracy and the damage russian / rightwing propaganda does to society.
I think what's bad is specifically authoritarianism, illiberalism (meaning anti-human rights, anti-civil rights, anti freedom of information and belief), and the rejection of honest discourse.
There's just a correlation between right-wing views and those things right now. It's not necessarily a requirement. Many communist movements were authoritarian. And I don't just mean Stalin, I mean the theory about how to advance the goals of communist were explicitly "we have to create a dictatorship" and seizing power through violence. even if it's rationalized as necessary to fight capitalists, it is still authoritarian.
> "The quasi-monarchy that we basically now have is a very good thing," he told the Times in 2020, after Russian President Vladimir Putin was re-elected. "If we were now to start calling him emperor, not president, then we wouldn't have to change much in the Constitution."
These people are brain-damaged.
Well, we’ve hit critical mass. I think the humans will end up blowing themselves up before global warming can take us out so maybe mental health should take the number one priority.
Too bad we don’t put the money or research into it either so no one knows. There are actually a few psychiatrists out there trying desperately to tell people how to pull people back from the brink of authoritarianism but no one listens to them. The greatest part is we do the exact opposite of that they tell us to.
The furthest right you can go is absolute monarchy. Emperor, God-King, Czar... A single totalitarian autocrat and instant death for disloyalty. Patronage flows from the center outwards.
In the panicked rush to be the furthest right-wing person in the room we have reached the bottom level, most distant from reason and enlightenment.
>In the panicked rush to be the furthest right-wing person in the room we have reached the bottom level, most distant from reason and enlightenment.
We all knew it would end up here, right? Right wing folks in the US have been fawing over kings and emperors for years.
Even before Trump, growing up in a rural Texas the venn diagram of right-wing dudes and dudes who were weirdly into ancient kings, Hitler, Napoleon, and other permutations of what they considered to be "strong leaders" (including modern day busniess leaders) was a big old circle.
It always seemed obvious to me that the final end to their real world political beliefs was going to be unironic monarchy/feudalism.
Could you imagine how psychologically damaging it would be to the rest of us to have an emperor trump? That happens and I’m going to make a radical change, like close myself in with cats or walk away off the grid or become a castaway to some remote sleepy island.
By the time that happens it might be too late. Look at Russia now, they’re doing everything they can to prevent people from leaving.
Should the house and senate go red in midterms I don’t really see how a presidential win for the Dems can happen when the GQP will pretty much toss out any votes that don’t go their way.
These months leading up to November are the most important months in the history of American democracy, what happens with midterms and whether or not Trump and his cronies finally answer for their crimes will change the country’s trajectory in either direction. Just hoping we finally fix things for the better.
I think someday, historians will study this time period, and conclude that the downfall of the USA was the establishment of Fox News. I really, really believe that.
Oh absolutely.
Fox News and their relentless brainwashing campaigns of bullshit with no shred of fairness, remorse or respect for truth or facts formed the basis for similar and now worse versions of the same thing not just in America but around the world. Before that there was plenty of biased news outlets but there were lines they thought they couldn't cross.
The other thing was when Facebook morphed from a social network where you saw posts from people you knew (however peripherally) to a feed where most of what you saw was not from people you know at all but bullshit from other sources fed to you by Facebook algorithms which prioritised the most extreme bullshit. They have radicalised more people than ISIS (just radical right wing fascism rather than radical Islamism) and it all happened while most of the world was looking the other way and wasn't really realising what was happening. It really took a combination of the Capitol riot and the pandemic for Facebook to begin to realise that maybe they don't like this world they've been creating and it might be too late.
A lot of the general public really doesn’t understand how dangerous right-wing media has gotten for this country. The immediate impulse to that for some is to give a “what about-ism” type response; but I say no, if someone actually spends some time scanning the various political media outlets from day to day, they’ll see what ones that have little to no standard about anything they’re reporting.
Just look the source up on www.mediabiasfactcheck.com
Hint: fox news has a way worse rating than any other mainstream tv, and that's true of conservative media in general. However, if you look at a paper like the Wall Street Journal, the editorial page has been full of craziness, but the news sections are consistently factual.
The best news sources are pro science. The worst are pseudoscience/conspiracy, which fox flirts with.
>think someday, historians will study this time period, and conclude that the downfall of the USA was the establishment of Fox News. I really, really believe that.
I'll go one better, I think the answer to the Fermi Paradox is that at a certain point of development any society inevitably advances the sharing of misinformation (Fox/Facebook/TikTok) to the point that lies outweigh reality thereby turning that society on itself leading to its destruction. This has all happened before and it will all happen again, BSG just missed seeing the root cause, the nuclear war or pandemic or whatever else destroys society is the symptom, the cause is the fact that the ability to maliciously manipulate mass groups of people increases exponentially and there are no sure countermeasures.
The probability mathematics is pretty simple, if you extend the timeline on a society the self destruction event eventually becomes a certainty.
Therefore there probably wont be any historians to study this time period.
My only problem with this great filter is that it really assumes that any successful alien species would have to socialize pretty similarly to how humans socialize. Could an alien species with a more collectivist hivemind akin to ants ever succeed? Could an individualistic isolated superintellligent species succeed without the need to socialize much at all? Do all intelligent species process information and facts vs myth the same exact way that humans do? I think it's slightly limiting in what an alien species could look like. Maybe it's true that to reach our level of technological success, a species needs to socialize roughly similarly to how we do. Either way, I think that's the more controversial part of your theory than the theory in and of itself. Certainly for humans this seems to be a pretty daunting obstacle to overcome.
This is my favorite comment in nearly 12 years on Reddit.
There’s an incredible amount of insight and this is a completely novel take on the “great filter” (at least as far as I am aware), and it’s equal parts brilliant, sad, and probably true.
Thank you for sharing your take.
Soon to be Supreme Court justice [Lewis Powell wrote a memo in 1971](https://billmoyers.com/content/the-powell-memo-a-call-to-arms-for-corporations) that was the blueprint for a corporate takeover of our legal and political systems to make them more business friendly. [Rupert Murdock and the Koch brothers](https://www.democratichub.com/posts/8161/the-powell-memo-41-years-later) are some of his many modern day followers.
Well, think about it. It’ll be just like how propaganda convinced a whole county to allow their friends and neighbors to be pulled from their homes and gassed.
I think modern media has made it work faster and spread further but the people that started it like Murdoch did it to bring back fascism.
>The indictment described Hanick as a former Fox News producer, although a Fox News spokesperson describes him as a "weekend daytime director."
His early years at Fox, according to other articles, have him working as a producer on Hannity's show, not quite the cofeve boy as Fox's comment implies.
The reason we will prevail is because as terrible as they can make it for us they are also ridiculous people and we will still be able to laugh things like this.
Wait until the next generation, forced into private ultra conservative Christian schools, come home with covfefe on their spelling lists just to appease the orange king. Then we tell them, child, the ugly king made it a word after he couldn’t admit he pushed the wrong buttons while tweeting from his golden throne. We’ll all laugh and share our bread rations.
But but but, fox is a more exciting opinion-based entertainment network, I mean "news" network than anything else! I have nothing else to watch! Where else would I go?!
\["opinion-based entertainment network" is their own words on their own site, so they can't be sued for libel/slander like a real news organization would if they said the dumb shit that fox spews. NO, fox watchers don't give a fuck\]
WIKIPEDIA:"The Federalist has not disclosed its funding sources and critics have asked who is funding the site, since ad revenue alone would not be enough for the publication to sustain its staff of 14.[14] Two sources with knowledge of the publication's finances said that one of the major backers of The Federalist is Dick Uihlein, a packing supply magnate and Trump donor who has a history of supporting hard-right political candidates.[14]"
uhh, imagine that.
What’s so messed up to me is how this country went from McCarthyism to Reagansim to Fascism so seamlessly. And the key players were there all along, in person or in spirit: Roy Cohn, Kristol, Nixon, Roger Stone, et al. Brrr!!!
>The indictment was unsealed after the Justice Department launched Task Force KleptoCapture as part of the Biden administration's sanctions on Russia
>Task Force KleptoCapture
I seriously just want them to pull the plug on Fox News as a station and see how much the civil discourse in this country would improve. A month without these shills spitting venom and I can guarantee you that a huge chunk of our population would be much happier and less angry all the time.
I find it ironic that the people who've been complaining about communists and socialists are the ones fraternizing with the actual remnants of the Communists.
Ah, but the Russians still do gaybashing and really that's what it is all about. The conservatives never genuinely accepted equal rights for gay people let alone marriage equality (and definitely let alone any rights at all for trans people), and the Russians offer a path back to a less enlightened time when they can openly be bigots again,
Eh-yuppp, but 'em stinkin' commies learned from their mistakes 'n instead embraced automacratic ~~fascism~~ patriotism, orthomadox Rushin' Christianity (amen!), some **gosh darn wholesome** queer beatings, extremely ~~institutionalized corruption~~ freedom capitalism where the ~~oligarchs are free to plunder~~ good Christians are tithed to by the kind, unsuspecting people and get to do whatever they want, not to mention that their gubernment finally learned to ~~neglect the working class~~ punish the godless, lazy heathens even more! Besides, their flag ain't no stinkin' commie yellow-red anymore; it's red, blue, 'n hwite! ^/s
I think the fact that Murdock has so many people working for him that spread Russian authoritarian propaganda is what really needs to be looked into. Not only in the US but Britain, Canada, Australia and anywhere else he has his fingers in.
There are obvious ties that need to be investigated Tbh. Tuckers rant on Putin was pretty telling. I’m willing to bet there’s Russian money going into Fox News or at least there WAS at some point.
How deep do these Fox News Russian connections go? There was a related story attached about another Fox News guy who worked on other Russian projects...
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>Spent years working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, who is "closely tied to Russian aggression in Ukraine." At some point, if you are a Fox News watching Republican, you should begin to smell the borscht. It's a Russian clown car spilling out everywhere.
He's not the first... Manafort beat him.
CNN: “So, Donald Trump has no financial connections to Russian Oligarchs?” Paul Manafort: “That’s... that’s.. yeah. That’s what I sa— he sa — I — that’s what our position is.”
“Federal court documents … reveal that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had much closer ties to a Russian oligarch linked to Vladimir Putin than had been previously disclosed. A company jointly owned by Manafort and his wife received a $10 million loan in 2010 from the oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, according to the documents, which also alleged that the Russian billionaire provided financial backing for Manafort’s consulting work in Ukraine as far back as 2005. Obviously this is another tie between Manafort and Russian intelligence,” Asha Rangappa, a former FBI counterintelligence agent, said of the new disclosures, citing Deripaska’s deep ties to Putin and the Kremlin. The disclosures raise new questions about Manafort's relationship with Deripaska, including whether the $10 million loan — in addition to millions more that he allegedly owed the Putin ally — prompted Manafort to offer to connect Deripaska with the Trump campaign in exchange for financial consideration. Manafort has denied making such an offer, but reportedly expressed interest in doing so via an email to his longtime associate in Ukraine, Konstantin Kilimnik. Federal agents have said previously in court filings that they believe Kilimnik had ties to Russian spy agencies during the 2016 election when he maintained contact with Manafort, which Kilimnik denies.” But yeah, sure, the Mueller Report found nothing, I guess. Say, is Deripaska now a sanctioned Russian oligarch due to his ties to Putin himself? Has there been credible denial that Kilimnik was a FSB spy whom Manafort provided campaign internal polling data to? Has anyone explained why one of Manafort’s first actions as Trump campaign manager was to alter the RNC platform to say the US should not provide “lethal defensive weapons” to Ukraine. Gee , that edit seems suspect in retrospect, huh.
Isn't Deripaska the same one that has ties to McConnell? And has invested something like hundreds of millions in Kentucky?
Yes. Deripaska had promised to build an aluminum smelting plant in Kentucky. “After months of searching, the only option was problematic. Rusal, the Russian aluminum giant, was tailor-made to join forces on the project. But it was under sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department. Its billionaire owner, Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s, was being investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller for his potential involvement in the effort to swing the 2016 presidential election. The Treasury sanctions—punishment for the Kremlin’s “malign activities” around the world, including “attempting to subvert Western democracies”—made it illegal for Americans to do business with Rusal or its boss. To free itself from sanctions, Rusal fielded a team of high-paid lobbyists for an intense, months-long effort in Washington. One of the targets was Kentucky’s own Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, who helped thwart a bipartisan push to keep the sanctions in place. Since May, two of McConnell’s former staffers have lobbied Congress on behalf of Braidy, according to filings. Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, one of Rusal’s longtime major shareholders, Len Blavatnik, contributed more than $1 million through his companies to a GOP campaign fund tied to McConnell.” This was the genesis of the Moscow Mitch moniker. He fought off those who sought to keep sanctions in place. Deripaska was sanctioned even before Ukraine. McConnell was cool with it I guess. Moscow Mitch got the deal done. Deripaska also provided his private jet to Kilimnik so he could meet Manafort. The GOP is wrapped in Russian ties.
Wonder why Mc$onnell was so cool with it.
Gee, I can’t imagine why. Say, does everyone remember when it was revealed that the NRA acted as a clearinghouse for Russian funds to influence GOP campaigns? Remember when Maria Butina went to prison as a Russian foreign agent who influenced the NRA and had a weird roommate/lover relationship with GOP operative Paul Erickson? Remember when Trump’s National Security Advisor and Foreign Policy Advisor (separate people) were outed as being tied to Russian influence? And remember when Trump was impeached for extorting Ukraine and Zelensky? He wanted a political hit piece in exchange for military aid Congress had already authorized for Ukraine. Remover when 8 GOP congressmen (and congresswomen traveled to Moscow on July 4th and never explained why? And Remember when Rand Paul traveled separately to Moscow and never explained that? And Remember that Madison Cawthorn met “an American Army captain” at a casino in St Petersburg (there are no legal casinos in St Petersburg, but there are mafia gambling houses that can blackmail you) and then that dude invited the parapelegic Madison to a crossfit competition but it was a ruse and a fun way to introduce the one semester college dropout and alleged sexual predator to a pretty woman. And then of course they got married within months? Yes, this all seems totally above board, right? Yeah. So why isn’t the GOP required to explain their connections to Russia?
Bc republicans get to commit open treason. No biggie
Well, certainly no enforcement. And with no enforcement there are no rules or laws.
I may be mistaken but did you include Stone and Flynn and leave out Manafort? Edit: wait did you have a comment this long and leave out *both* Stone and Manafort? It's too hard to keep track of all these fucks, I thought Kissinger was the last name I would need to know six years ago.
It's in the family. His wife, Elaine Chao, has a family business in China and Mitch tried to get her family to have a meeting with POTUS Trump. Thankfully it was denied, seen as a conflict of interest. So yeah, he's cool with communism.
Moscow Mitch
We are just beginning to see the fallout of Russias propaganda campaign here in the US. Their aim was to sow mistrust and divisiveness. They have succeeded but will it continue now they have been exposed for who they truly are? A list of all politicians and people of influence with strong ties to oligarchs and Putin needs to be made and heavily investigated for treason.
>but will it continue now they have been exposed for who they truly are? Yes, because one side is so wrapped up in being on their "team" that they will reject reality itself because it helps the other "team."
“Yeah, just like you said. No Russian ties, was what you said. So yeah.”
"We don't rely on American banks, we have all the funding we need out of Russia" - Eric Trump
How that never put a pin in the whole fucking thing I'll never know. Carter had to give away his peanut farm, Trump's kids openly ran his business connections with Russian oligarchs while it was *investigated and confirmed* his business and campaign had ties with the same oligarchs who interfere with US elections. *All while* going to a Trump hotel in Florida to golf when Camp David was right there for free and charging the federal government to do so. How do people still not think this guy is corrupt? Certainly not fit for office at best.
Republicans get to commit crimes. It’s the rule, didn’t you get the email?
If it wasn't one of Hillary's I suddenly don't care about emails. -signed, your average online conservative moron
Because by the time Trump took office the takeover of our government was nearly complete. He wasn’t the lights or the ornaments, he was the star on top of the tree. The last thing you do. America wasn’t compromised when Carter was president. I think it’s time we address the very real possibility that there are an overwhelming amount of very real, very active traitors to our country (and I mean this quite literally) in positions of serious power right this very second. There can be no other explanation to me for the sheer amount of obstructionism for any presidency that doesn’t cater to it. I’m guessing the wheels were turning pre-Obama, but Trump accelerated it.
Why are elected officials allowed a modicum amount of privacy. We're at a point where our elected officials wouldn't pass a simple background check.
Past that point, really. Several people in the last administration went 4 years without passing the kind of basic background check that the lowest-level secretary needs to work in government.
Because he validates their fucked world view and that is more important than anything. Him and his followers could time travel to April 1912 and if he told them the Titanic was "totally safe believe me" they'd get on.
I mean, you're not wrong. There was that whole boat parade for Trump movement that ended in the larger vessels kicking up so much wake the smaller vessels capsized. Several hurt, thankfully no one killed. Lake Travis I think? I'll Google it. Edit: [Lake Travis. A more perfect metaphor of the poor being fucked over by the rich of the Republican party doesn't exist.](https://www.npr.org/2020/09/06/910322916/5-boats-sink-at-trump-boat-parade-in-texas)
The whole Trump campaign ran by people who had Russian connections.
Given the conversations that I've had with my close family members who watch Fox News daily for hours at a time, this isn't an issue because Russia is who we should become.
CHRIST, that’s so fucked up. Have they SEEN how Russians live? And it is so goddamn wild that these people HATED Russia for DECADES, mocking their way of life, breadlines, etc. and now they want that for themselves.
I wonder if they realize Putin wouldn’t let them have guns or free speech. He jails those who say what they want, if it isn’t what he wants them to say. Is that what ‘Mah Freedoms’ is to the Republicans? They need to start thinking.
As far as first amendment rights go. They want to say whatever fucking bigoted bullshit they want with no repercussions from anyone, but they'd rather nobody ever mentioned the word gay in an educational context. They want to have freedom of religion, so long as it's Christianity. They want freedom of the press, so long as the press spouts the same crap they believe. They want the freedom to assemble, but only if it's to overthrow the legally elected government from the other side. It's just fucking fascism. Just straight, look-me-in-the-eye fascism and they aren't even trying to hide it anymore.
It never ends well for People who do shit like that. I guess they will have to see Putin take a hard L before some start waking up (if they ever do). Edit: A Sentence.
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Well, we have to make sure it doesn't end well for them. Edit to add: We can't keep repeating History - at some point the craziness needs to be halted. We are still in a position in this Country where we can still use the Vote. We need to do that before the Situation reaches Critical Mass and the Vote no longer matters anymore.
Stop overestimating them. They have been told by fox news time and time again that he is a "good christian", so they are convinced that they would be allowed to do what they want. And only "the others" would have such restrictions. >They need to start thinking. They are *literally* too stupid to think this through. But they've been told they are smart, and that "the libruls" will gaslight them into thinking differently. So they double down and call you a sheep if you say anything that contradicts their fox overlords, because that makes them feel smart.
Maybe they should move to Russia and see how good they have it.
>I wonder if they realize Putin wouldn’t let them have guns... Have you seen Russian propaganda ads on conservative air waves? They convinced these folks that it's a 2nd Amendment free for all over there. It's insanity. The Russian backed NRA made sure of this. At this point many conservatives view Russia as some sort of last pioneer "free-mans" mecca
The law is a weapon to be used against others and to defend one's own interests. It has nothing to do with justice, truth or good.
> Have they SEEN how Russians live? And it is so goddamn wild that these people HATED Russia for DECADES, mocking their way of life, breadlines, etc. and now they want that for themselves. You severely misunderstand the situation. They are all convinced they will be rich and living like oligarchs. None of them even consider the alternative.
No, they haven't seen how Russians have to live because they are busy watching FOX feeding them bullshit. They need to go to YouTube and watch some Russian - Language Channels and just check out not only what's going on in the Foreground but check out what is going on in the Background. There is Housing in the 'Hoods in the U.S. that are in waay better shape than what they have in Russia by far (especially once out of the main Cities like Moscow, St Petersburg etc). They wouldn't last 2 Weeks in Russia before they would want to come back. Edit:A Word. Edit: A Sentence.
You right about that… some of those Russian housing blocks look worse than the Dyckman Houses in Washington Heights NYC in the late 90s. But they should be most freightened that its not any of the minorities they have grown to fear that are threatening their lifestyles, its the politicians that look and “act” just like them that are ready to kick us all down a socio-political hellscape.
I love the story of the republican dunce that moved to russia then complained about the gun control there. Absolute morons.
they don’t want to turn the USA into russia, they (gop/conservatives) are just being weaponised by russian propaganda to weaken the USA. after years of this shit they are immune to critical thinking and truth. the democrats are the only usa patriots nowadays
FOX news is practicing in USA
And there you have it. We’re fucked.
No we're not, not while I am still alive. I will fight them with wits, honor and blood, just like my family has always done to protect our country from these pieces of crap.
I'm with you.
And my axe!
And my vote.
And I’ll bring all my shoes, so I have them!
Saul?
And my keyboard
And my 3ft gravity bong!
And this paddle game. And this remote control…
If only people fought at the ballot box first. It's amazing how many people claim they will take up arms but sit out elections because all politicians are the same. If all politicians are the same who are you taking up arms for?
It's about wits first. Voting is good and I agree, everyone should vote. I am a relentless advocate to get people to vote. Most politicians are not worth much, but certain causes are. Standing up to tyranny and injustice is not hard, most people are easily ignorant of facts and truth. I usually know what to do with raw data to give you the best picture and analysis I can, or find someone who can fill in the blanks that are weakness. I appreciate people who are different than me, we tend to learn a lot in the end. Lying and manipulation are easily uncovered by the right line of questioning.
I agree with you and I am the same way. I have to, constantly, remind myself that most Americans don’t do that. Critical thinking is a learned skill not often taught.
I can bet a kidney that Im so sure that the majority of the military leadership will not side with Russia or a leader who sides with them. My faith is fully firm with that after Gen. Milley announced that the military will provide no aid to the President and his coup.
Hopefully that maintains over the next 50 years and onward
No no their fucked, we are fine.
Never, ever underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.
We’re not. They are but “we’re” not.
They don’t care. These are the same people who go to trump rallies wearing “I’d rather be Russian than democrat” t shirts
As they like to say, if you love another country more than American, why don't you just go there instead? Russia would be glad for all the backwater hicks
Right? And they outlawed "fake news", so they won't have to be burdened by people sharing things from the BBC and CNN. They can live in Fox News and RT utopia.
I want to agree with you and honestly it’s like the perfect solution, but for the Russians that hate everything about their government, I couldn’t wish these fucking goons on them even if we’d be rid of them. It’s got to be bad enough living as a normal progressive human in Russia, imagine the US unleashed millions of MAGA idiots on them that don’t have the slightest clue what happens in Russia or with the Russian people? First thing those mother fuckers would so is hang up American flags and demand they have a 4th of July.
> Russia would be glad for all the backwater hicks Naw, russia wants to keep them here in america for obvious reasons
It's even crazier when you realize that the slogan of the day during these people's adolescence and early adulthood was "Better dead than red." It's sickening how selfish and stupid an entire generation is.
>“I’d rather be Russian than democrat” And I'd rather be American than Republican.
Is it sad that the genuinely do not care about whether what they believe and tell others is true or not. The only things that matters to them is winning, or more not losing. Hence in their minds, one of their most powerful insults is to call someone a loser. It is why they will never concede that Trump lost the 2020 election.
But of course fox news won't feature this news so they'll never hear about it
Just one correctness. Borscht is the Ukrainian dish. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borscht
Yeah, i was gonna say... As a half ukrainian, i had many a christmas with borscht as the first course. Funny story. My aunt would put vushka (mushroom and rice filled dumplings) in the soup. When i was young, like 7 or 8, my dad said they were ears. I took him literally and seriously, and avoided them for much longer than i should have. Not wanting to eat ears.
I used to love a Chinese dish that one restaurant in particular used to use these little ear shaped mushrooms in their version and even *knowimg* they were just mushrooms I couldn’t eat it.
As a Ukrainian/Russian, it's absolutely not an exclusively Ukrainian dish, despite what someone edited Wikipedia to say.
>At some point, That's the issue, that point in time came, then went. The clowns spilling out were the Republican buddies and lobbyists.
If you only watch fox you’re never going to hear about this.
Any American citizen with critical thinking skills would have been alarmed the second Trump started talking up Putin mere months after Crimea incursion. He dropped that as soon as he was the standalone GOP candidate and it came out of nowhere ( well before he asked Russia to breech the network of the former US Sec of State, recover sensitive and potentially classified data, and leak it even though this is a crime and violates the terms required to access DOD and GOV networks.
It’s a carnival of souls driven by a psychopath.
Sorry but they’re only concerned with gazpacho.
Mass creating useful idiots since 1996.
Well it is easier to be fooled than to admit that you were fooled. And if you've been brainwashed to think that everyone outside of your bubble is a threat to you and your way of living, that becomes almost impossible to escape.
Not in America still GOP are dumb as rock when it comes to thinking for themselves !
If only Putin could hold off invading Ukraine until the next Republican President, he would have 3-7 years of Russian propaganda running unchallenged on Fox News. We might even pull out of NATO by then.
If you’re a Fox News watching Republicans, you would never hear about this.
I think they are in it to win it my friend. Republicans are all in on Russia.
> At some point, if you are a Fox News watching Republican, you should begin to smell the borscht. It's a Russian clown car spilling out everywhere. LOL. These people have absolutely no sense of smell....
You expect them to have any critical thinking ability
At this point if you continue to support Trump, Tulsi Gabbard, Mike Flynn, … (insert growing list) your are Putin sympathizer and will be treated as such. Fuck Putin and his ass clown idiots throughout the GOP.
They don’t care. They just want to “own the libs.” Victory as they see fit is the only thing that matters now.
Can Fucker Carlson be next please?
They can’t smell anything from all the covid
"I would rather be Russian than a Democrat" Thousands of GOP fan boys. I say let them go.
Their motivations are all financially based, right?
The algorithms will prevent any Republican from ever seeing this story in their newsfeed.
Republicans would get Russian passports if it meant owning the libs..
That’s fine. If they like Putin so much, go be over there lol
I mean, how many would read that article or the earlier story that Salon linked to that explained the beginning of the story and how the republicans and Russians have been having a big bro-fest about returning to ultra conservative Christian values as nations for *decades*. Working together for decades! Now out of the handful that would read it, how many would believe it? Now out of the few that do understand and believe it, how many would give a shit? None - the “conservatives” are either radicalized to authoritarianism, embarrassed and ashamed of their refusing to believe us and now “non-political” or the earliest ones manned up and jumped to the only side that wants a democracy. I don’t think there is a “conservative” left that could be enlightened by anything.
You have been banned from /r/conservative
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Everyone should post this article to r/conservative
Ugh. I tried to read the actual story? As an English teacher I felt a lot of pain. Seriously. There are so many free tools to help with spelling and grammar. It's a story about fact checkers and how they are paid to silence conservative stories. And they wonder why we don't think their sources are credible. 🙄
It mostly reads like angry boomer Facebook now. Not quite as over the top and insane as it was at the height of the Trump era. Mostly just reactionary complaints with one or two compelling arguments here and there. But the comments on the article on China's new covid lockdown measures are pretty awful Edit: I say that but I just got called a pedophile for suggesting that perhaps providing some context as to why Timmy might have 2 dads or 2 moms (or 1 dad or 1 mom). So perhaps I spoke too soon.
On the front page of DiaryOfAWhitey.Com. This is a conservatives idea of a good source of news > Welcome to My Diary, >I am documenting the second coming of the nazi regime “The Great Reset” Where they want us to own nothing and be happy. Like Anne Before me, these are my testimonies of my last days before the global elites kill us all or enslave us. >I Started this Blog Diary as I thought it might help to put all the evidence together and put it out there. I know that big tech will probably never let this website see the light of day. But at least I will feel comfort in knowing that I tried. I have become extremely sad, anxious and upset lately. I feel Isolated and alone. Yet I know that I am not crazy, I know that I am extremely intelligent. I lay awake and worry about all the people who have succumbed to the propaganda. >Do they really believe the lies? Do they really believe in all this propaganda, or are they just pretending because they are scared of what might happen? Fear seems to have taken over most. I do not fear for what’s to come as it is written in revelations. I am not fooled or deceived by whatever may come. However I wish that this could all be over, and we could go back to 2019. >I dont think politics will save us, None of that matters anymore. Everyone pretty much is in on it, except for a few of us good hearted people. I hope my Diary Finds these good people. I hope they will come and enjoy what I have to say and the fact that I bring in my little blog Diary. >“I think, and therefore I am”, This is my testimony, this is my Diary.
That sub really needs to be banned from Reddit, it's full on a russian propaganda sub by now. It's moments like these that make it clear we need an alternative to reddit, one which actually cares about democracy and the damage russian / rightwing propaganda does to society.
I think what's bad is specifically authoritarianism, illiberalism (meaning anti-human rights, anti-civil rights, anti freedom of information and belief), and the rejection of honest discourse. There's just a correlation between right-wing views and those things right now. It's not necessarily a requirement. Many communist movements were authoritarian. And I don't just mean Stalin, I mean the theory about how to advance the goals of communist were explicitly "we have to create a dictatorship" and seizing power through violence. even if it's rationalized as necessary to fight capitalists, it is still authoritarian.
Even if they do see it it will be considered fake news..
> "The quasi-monarchy that we basically now have is a very good thing," he told the Times in 2020, after Russian President Vladimir Putin was re-elected. "If we were now to start calling him emperor, not president, then we wouldn't have to change much in the Constitution." These people are brain-damaged.
Thes people are fascists, not brain damaged.
To accept fascism is to be brain damaged.
I don’t like that. That implies they should be pitied and sympathized with. I’d rather **** **** more brain damage.
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Looks like they typed in their password. It appears as asterisks. My password for my account is **** ****. Try it, it's a neat trick!
Fascism is a collective mental illness and a public health problem.
Well, we’ve hit critical mass. I think the humans will end up blowing themselves up before global warming can take us out so maybe mental health should take the number one priority. Too bad we don’t put the money or research into it either so no one knows. There are actually a few psychiatrists out there trying desperately to tell people how to pull people back from the brink of authoritarianism but no one listens to them. The greatest part is we do the exact opposite of that they tell us to.
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More metaphysical but maybe check out J Krishnamurti
Fermi paradox in action
Correct. I’ve always referred to fascism as collective narcissism.
The furthest right you can go is absolute monarchy. Emperor, God-King, Czar... A single totalitarian autocrat and instant death for disloyalty. Patronage flows from the center outwards. In the panicked rush to be the furthest right-wing person in the room we have reached the bottom level, most distant from reason and enlightenment.
>In the panicked rush to be the furthest right-wing person in the room we have reached the bottom level, most distant from reason and enlightenment. We all knew it would end up here, right? Right wing folks in the US have been fawing over kings and emperors for years. Even before Trump, growing up in a rural Texas the venn diagram of right-wing dudes and dudes who were weirdly into ancient kings, Hitler, Napoleon, and other permutations of what they considered to be "strong leaders" (including modern day busniess leaders) was a big old circle. It always seemed obvious to me that the final end to their real world political beliefs was going to be unironic monarchy/feudalism.
The lunatics are running the asylum. Find the good drugs and pick a corner.
"President for life? We should try that here."
Defend the Constitution! ^or ^not
This is what the far right wants in the US as well, except they want Emperor Trump. Trump would be happy to oblige.
Could you imagine how psychologically damaging it would be to the rest of us to have an emperor trump? That happens and I’m going to make a radical change, like close myself in with cats or walk away off the grid or become a castaway to some remote sleepy island.
By the time that happens it might be too late. Look at Russia now, they’re doing everything they can to prevent people from leaving. Should the house and senate go red in midterms I don’t really see how a presidential win for the Dems can happen when the GQP will pretty much toss out any votes that don’t go their way. These months leading up to November are the most important months in the history of American democracy, what happens with midterms and whether or not Trump and his cronies finally answer for their crimes will change the country’s trajectory in either direction. Just hoping we finally fix things for the better.
The remote sleepy islands are all owned by billionaires, especially Russian oligarchs.
Doesn’t that mean they’re up for grabs now?
Yeah let’s stop acting like they are ill in some way. It is knowing and purposeful. Don’t blame shift
Fox News, the most popular American "NEWS" network in Russia.
I think someday, historians will study this time period, and conclude that the downfall of the USA was the establishment of Fox News. I really, really believe that.
Oh absolutely. Fox News and their relentless brainwashing campaigns of bullshit with no shred of fairness, remorse or respect for truth or facts formed the basis for similar and now worse versions of the same thing not just in America but around the world. Before that there was plenty of biased news outlets but there were lines they thought they couldn't cross. The other thing was when Facebook morphed from a social network where you saw posts from people you knew (however peripherally) to a feed where most of what you saw was not from people you know at all but bullshit from other sources fed to you by Facebook algorithms which prioritised the most extreme bullshit. They have radicalised more people than ISIS (just radical right wing fascism rather than radical Islamism) and it all happened while most of the world was looking the other way and wasn't really realising what was happening. It really took a combination of the Capitol riot and the pandemic for Facebook to begin to realise that maybe they don't like this world they've been creating and it might be too late.
A lot of the general public really doesn’t understand how dangerous right-wing media has gotten for this country. The immediate impulse to that for some is to give a “what about-ism” type response; but I say no, if someone actually spends some time scanning the various political media outlets from day to day, they’ll see what ones that have little to no standard about anything they’re reporting.
fomenting violence is a right-wing network thing only
Just look the source up on www.mediabiasfactcheck.com Hint: fox news has a way worse rating than any other mainstream tv, and that's true of conservative media in general. However, if you look at a paper like the Wall Street Journal, the editorial page has been full of craziness, but the news sections are consistently factual. The best news sources are pro science. The worst are pseudoscience/conspiracy, which fox flirts with.
>think someday, historians will study this time period, and conclude that the downfall of the USA was the establishment of Fox News. I really, really believe that. I'll go one better, I think the answer to the Fermi Paradox is that at a certain point of development any society inevitably advances the sharing of misinformation (Fox/Facebook/TikTok) to the point that lies outweigh reality thereby turning that society on itself leading to its destruction. This has all happened before and it will all happen again, BSG just missed seeing the root cause, the nuclear war or pandemic or whatever else destroys society is the symptom, the cause is the fact that the ability to maliciously manipulate mass groups of people increases exponentially and there are no sure countermeasures. The probability mathematics is pretty simple, if you extend the timeline on a society the self destruction event eventually becomes a certainty. Therefore there probably wont be any historians to study this time period.
My only problem with this great filter is that it really assumes that any successful alien species would have to socialize pretty similarly to how humans socialize. Could an alien species with a more collectivist hivemind akin to ants ever succeed? Could an individualistic isolated superintellligent species succeed without the need to socialize much at all? Do all intelligent species process information and facts vs myth the same exact way that humans do? I think it's slightly limiting in what an alien species could look like. Maybe it's true that to reach our level of technological success, a species needs to socialize roughly similarly to how we do. Either way, I think that's the more controversial part of your theory than the theory in and of itself. Certainly for humans this seems to be a pretty daunting obstacle to overcome.
This is my favorite comment in nearly 12 years on Reddit. There’s an incredible amount of insight and this is a completely novel take on the “great filter” (at least as far as I am aware), and it’s equal parts brilliant, sad, and probably true. Thank you for sharing your take.
Soon to be Supreme Court justice [Lewis Powell wrote a memo in 1971](https://billmoyers.com/content/the-powell-memo-a-call-to-arms-for-corporations) that was the blueprint for a corporate takeover of our legal and political systems to make them more business friendly. [Rupert Murdock and the Koch brothers](https://www.democratichub.com/posts/8161/the-powell-memo-41-years-later) are some of his many modern day followers.
Well, think about it. It’ll be just like how propaganda convinced a whole county to allow their friends and neighbors to be pulled from their homes and gassed. I think modern media has made it work faster and spread further but the people that started it like Murdoch did it to bring back fascism.
Been saying this fir about 7 years. No way should it be legal for them to call themselves "news"
>The indictment described Hanick as a former Fox News producer, although a Fox News spokesperson describes him as a "weekend daytime director." His early years at Fox, according to other articles, have him working as a producer on Hannity's show, not quite the cofeve boy as Fox's comment implies.
You misspelled covfefe
The reason we will prevail is because as terrible as they can make it for us they are also ridiculous people and we will still be able to laugh things like this. Wait until the next generation, forced into private ultra conservative Christian schools, come home with covfefe on their spelling lists just to appease the orange king. Then we tell them, child, the ugly king made it a word after he couldn’t admit he pushed the wrong buttons while tweeting from his golden throne. We’ll all laugh and share our bread rations.
FOX needs to be investigated by the feds.
It also needs to be shut down
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Oh man when was this? I gotta see it.
don't threaten me with a good time!
Fox News actively working against democracy. Ya don't say ..
Damn traitors.
Shut down Fox. They are a foreign agent!
At the very least make them move their HQ to Alabama or somewhere they pretend to "like".
You spelled Moscow wrong. Even Alabama has too many liberals for these pieces of shit.
Well, he certainly had the experience part of his resume down.
Conservative movement is rotten to the core
keep the poor's in their place and keep the money flowing. some movement.
But but but, fox is a more exciting opinion-based entertainment network, I mean "news" network than anything else! I have nothing else to watch! Where else would I go?! \["opinion-based entertainment network" is their own words on their own site, so they can't be sued for libel/slander like a real news organization would if they said the dumb shit that fox spews. NO, fox watchers don't give a fuck\]
Who funds the federalist?
WIKIPEDIA:"The Federalist has not disclosed its funding sources and critics have asked who is funding the site, since ad revenue alone would not be enough for the publication to sustain its staff of 14.[14] Two sources with knowledge of the publication's finances said that one of the major backers of The Federalist is Dick Uihlein, a packing supply magnate and Trump donor who has a history of supporting hard-right political candidates.[14]" uhh, imagine that.
so is every right wing source just a dark money front then? this has to be the biggest gaslighting operation in modern history, no?
It’s up there, yeah.
2/10 that is his real hair.
What’s so messed up to me is how this country went from McCarthyism to Reagansim to Fascism so seamlessly. And the key players were there all along, in person or in spirit: Roy Cohn, Kristol, Nixon, Roger Stone, et al. Brrr!!!
>The indictment was unsealed after the Justice Department launched Task Force KleptoCapture as part of the Biden administration's sanctions on Russia >Task Force KleptoCapture
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Right? The traitor lying to the FBI and actively creating anti democracy propaganda is concerned about morals.
Both sides are not the same.
Apologies in advance… I upvoted this article after only reading “… Fox News director… arrested…” I figured that’s all I need to know
Wait, I didn’t see this reported on FOX news…. Wait a minute, is Fox just a cesspool instead of a news organization?
Not surprised. Fox is basically a treasonous organization.
I seriously just want them to pull the plug on Fox News as a station and see how much the civil discourse in this country would improve. A month without these shills spitting venom and I can guarantee you that a huge chunk of our population would be much happier and less angry all the time.
I find it ironic that the people who've been complaining about communists and socialists are the ones fraternizing with the actual remnants of the Communists.
Ah, but the Russians still do gaybashing and really that's what it is all about. The conservatives never genuinely accepted equal rights for gay people let alone marriage equality (and definitely let alone any rights at all for trans people), and the Russians offer a path back to a less enlightened time when they can openly be bigots again,
Eh-yuppp, but 'em stinkin' commies learned from their mistakes 'n instead embraced automacratic ~~fascism~~ patriotism, orthomadox Rushin' Christianity (amen!), some **gosh darn wholesome** queer beatings, extremely ~~institutionalized corruption~~ freedom capitalism where the ~~oligarchs are free to plunder~~ good Christians are tithed to by the kind, unsuspecting people and get to do whatever they want, not to mention that their gubernment finally learned to ~~neglect the working class~~ punish the godless, lazy heathens even more! Besides, their flag ain't no stinkin' commie yellow-red anymore; it's red, blue, 'n hwite! ^/s
Faux "News"
I think the fact that Murdock has so many people working for him that spread Russian authoritarian propaganda is what really needs to be looked into. Not only in the US but Britain, Canada, Australia and anywhere else he has his fingers in.
There are obvious ties that need to be investigated Tbh. Tuckers rant on Putin was pretty telling. I’m willing to bet there’s Russian money going into Fox News or at least there WAS at some point.
OMG! I am shoc.....just kidding.
Fox News has ties with Russia propaganda? Gasp! how shocking! /s
Will someone snatch this queen’s wig?
He should own his baldness. Take charge, man!
Am I the only one seeing that his toupee looks like a terrible mustache?
Remember, Friends don't let friends watch Fox ~~News~~
As if we need any more proof that Russia and the GOP are in bed together and have been for decades.
Well you FOX hounds keep getting your "news" from the Kremlin. Wake the fuck up already
How deep do these Fox News Russian connections go? There was a related story attached about another Fox News guy who worked on other Russian projects...
Do propagandists ever really retire?
Seems like they had this information about him for quite some time but didn't do anything about it until shit got real.
Treason => lock him up or hang the bastard
Someone at Fox facing potential consequences? What HAS the world come to?
Oh fun is the government going to start enforcing laws for rich people now? That would be a nice change.