Tag Archives: 2020 election

media news

‘Sightseers’ rioted? Sure thing

Tucker Carlson, one of the Fox Propaganda Network’s chief duplicitous faces, has revealed what many of us have known all along about the organization that pays his handsome salary.

It is not only unfair and unbalanced, it denies the truth even when the truth is broadcast live in real time to its faithful audience.

Carlson went on the air last night to proclaim that the 1/6 assault on the nation’s Capitol was a peaceful event, that the traitors who launched the attacked were mere “sightseers.”

Oh … my.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy granted Carlson access to the video of the assault. Carlson looked at what we all saw and has concluded that the attack on our democratic process was, um, no biggie. What a crock of sh**!

I no longer will refer to his employer as a “news” organization. It is nothing of the sort. Its talking heads recognized privately The Big Lie for what it was, yet they pitched the notion that the former POTUS had been robbed of an election.

Imagine for a moment that Walter Cronkite knew that President Kennedy had been shot to death, but then told viewers that he was alive. Imagine, also, any of the news anchors reporting on the tragedy of 9/11 telling viewers that the planes didn’t really fly into the Twin Towers or the Pentagon.

The Fox Propaganda Network has committed the most egregious sin possible in reporting on events of the 1/6 insurrection. It has broadcast blatant, bald-faced and outright falsehoods and portrayed them as fact.

The Fox propagandists have allowed conspiracy theorists to vilify a vote-counting company, Dominion, accusing the company of manipulating the returns to grant Joe Biden a victory they say belonged to the guy he defeated. Dominion has sued Fox for defamation. I am one American patriot who wants them to prevail over the liars at Fox.

So, here we are. Truth has become the enemy of a media outlet that purports to report the “news,” but which in reality has engaged in egregious propaganda.

Sickening beyond measure.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Who’s going to get indicted?

OK, allow me to admit it: I am officially on pins and needles awaiting the details of the sketchy outlines of what a Georgia grand jury foreperson said about “several indictments” coming out of the Donald Trump election-manipulation scandal.

The grand juror said out loud, in a most unusual fit of candor, said several people will be indicted. She didn’t mention any names, but the “big name” everyone ought to be on the lookout for is none other than Donald Trump.

My ol’ trick knee, which I have kept under wraps for some time, suggests that Trumpie is going to face the Fulton County criminal justice system. You see, I have thought all along that the Georgia probe was the easiest for prosecutors to prove, given the existence of that phone recording with the Georgia secretary of state and Trump demanding that Brad Raffensberger “find 11,780 votes” to give Trump the state’s electoral tally that he lost to Joe Biden in 2020.

Well, whatever …

I’m just going to wait now for DA Fani Willis to finish the job — and indict Donald Trump!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

media news

‘News’ becomes propaganda

When does news become propaganda? It happens when an organization that purports to be “fair and balanced” in its reporting of the news allegedly hides the truth and foments The Big Lie.

A company that manufactures voting machines has alleged that Fox News — the aforementioned “fair and balanced” organization — knew that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election but rather than tell the truth it promoted the Big Lie offered by the moron who lost the election, Donald J. Trump.

The Fox propagandists continued to suggest that the voting machines had rigged the election by wiping out Trump votes and adding mythical votes to Biden’s total.

Dominion Voting sued Fox for a couple of billion bucks and is coming out on top in the preliminary court rulings.

To be clear, I do not watch Fox largely because the network is allegedly doing what I have suspected all along. The networks’ premier hosts — Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo — all have been heard furthering The Big Lie about the 2020 election.

What’s more, they all have said quite the opposite in private, according to court records. They have referred to the fraud allegations as so much bullsh**, that they were “seriously offended” by suggestions that fraud existed. With all those personal feelings being expressed in private, they still went on the air to promote the specious notion of “widespread election fraud” where none existed.

Indeed, investigators have determined that there was no election fraud in 2020, as the Fox propagandists have suggested. The lawsuit seeks to put an end to The Big Lie.

All of this gives credence to my belief that the right-wing mainstream media comprise liars and frauds masquerading as journalists.

Shameful.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

crime news

Mike Pence: making history

Mike Pence is one of 49 individuals who have held the office of vice president of the United States of America.

He has made history. Yes, this history-making vice president stands alone as the only person ever subpoenaed by a grand jury. He has been summoned to appear before the panel to testify about alleged criminal activity committed by the individual he served for four years.

Yes, that would be Donald John Trump.

Trump is being investigated for (a) inciting a mob to attack the government, (b) for spiriting classified documents out of the White House and (c) for conspiring to overturn the election results in Georgia by demanding that the state’s top election official “find” enough votes to steal a win for Trump.

The grand jury wants Pence to tell it what he knows about the first thing, the insurrection. He says he will fight the subpoena. He will cite some goofy “client” privilege, in that he spoke to Trump while both men were still in office.

Bulls***! That’s all I have for that notion.

As for Pence’s making history, he should stand alone as the only VPOTUS to serve a certifiable crook in the White House.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Pence plays VP dodge ball

What would happen if you or I received a subpoena from the attorney general of the United States? Would any of us be able to hide behind some nebulous “executive privilege” clause that protects us from answering questions under oath from duly constituted investigators?

Oh … I kinda doubt it.

However, former Vice President Mike Pence has been summoned by the Justice Department to tell the legal eagles what happened during the 1/6 insurrection. Pence said he won’t comply. He will bob and weave his way out of testifying, contending that what he and Donald Trump — the insurrectionist in chief — said to each other is privileged conversation.

It appears to be a monumental legal stretch for Pence to make that argument stick.

Pence reportedly wants to run for president. The fellow he served as VP, Trump, already is running for the office in 2024. Pence and Trump already are estranged … reportedly! I mean, Trump said the traitorous mob should have lynched him; he said Pence lacked the guts to overturn the 2020 election results; he accused Pence of being a wimp.

All the VP did on 1/6 was, shall we say, follow the law and the U.S. Constitution while presiding over a joint congressional session gathered to count the Electoral College votes and certify Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.

For my money, Pence is playing a fool’s hand if he expects to get out of testifying. I don’t want to think of Pence as being a fool.

But then again, he agreed to serve with Donald Trump.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

legal news

Will the ex-VP do the right thing?

Former Vice President Mike Pence often is held up as a paragon of moral rectitude, of unflinching loyalty to doing the right thing.

Well, we are going to learn — probably quite soon — whether the real man is true to his reputation.

A special counsel appointed to examine Donald Trump’s involvement in the 1/6 insurrection has subpoenaed Pence to testify before a grand jury. Pence was “in the room” when Trump exploded at him for his refusal to do Trump’s bidding on 1/6, which was to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Pence said he couldn’t do it, that the law wouldn’t allow it; nor would the U.S. Constitution. He was only able to preside over a joint congressional session that had gathered that day to certify the Electoral College result that elected Joe Biden president of the United States. That wasn’t good enough for Trump and he berated the vice president to break the law and violate his constitutional oath.

Special counsel Jack Smith wants Pence to tell him under oath what we all know happened that fateful and hideous day.

Will the ex-VP declare some bogus form of executive privilege — which he is not entitled to do — or will he answer the summons to talk to the investigators and tell them the whole truth?

From my seat in the North Texas peanut gallery, it looks for all the world as if Jack Smith is getting ready to do something really significant in this probe. He just needs one of the key players in this drama to come clean on what he knew and when he knew it.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

political news

Pollsters deserve a break

Political polling organizations have been taking their lumps over the past several years from those who mistakenly — I believe — contend they are wrong far more than they are right.

Pollsters need some respect and I am about to give them some.

The major incident polling critics cite is the result of the 2016 presidential election. I truly beg to differ.

Let’s remember that polling outfits tracked the contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton hourly right to the end. Most of them placed Hillary Clinton marginally ahead of Trump in the final results released just before Election Day.

Clinton won the popular vote in 2016. Her margin of “victory”? 2.09% That matches just about what all the pollsters said would occur. They were right!

Except that the popular vote doesn’t elect presidents. That is done through the Electoral College and Trump managed to peel off at least three states that everyone thought would fall into Clinton’s vote ledger: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Did those states’ results negate what the national polling said would occur? No. It meant only that Clinton’s team misjudged the level of support she and Trump had; they overplayed their own hand and low-balled Trump’s support.

The 2020 election also produced a result that pollsters said would occur. Joe Biden carried the day with a 4.46% popular vote margin over Trump. He also took back the three states I mentioned earlier to seal the victory.

Polling at times can be an inexact exercise. Respondents have been known to tell pollsters untruths when they are asked, “For whom will you vote for president?”

However, in the past two presidential election cycles, pollsters have gotten a bum rap. I want to stand with them.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Two years on, it still hurts

This is no day to ” celebrate” with vacuous expressions of “happy anniversary.” It is, rather, a day to commemorate with observations about how dangerously close this event came to unraveling our cherished democratic system of government.

Two years ago today the mob of traitors stormed the Capitol Building intending to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. I won’t go into the details of who ignited it or assess blame for the chaos that ensued.

All I want to do in this moment is note that the traitors who committed the insurrection came too damn close to succeeding in their failed effort.

The House select committee assigned to study the event and recommend ways to prevent a recurrence has finished its job. It was thorough and meticulous in its effort. I commend that. It has recommended criminal referrals to the former president. I comment that, too.

Let’s just today take note of what could have happened that day. Let’s also cling tightly to the love we express about our liberties and the benefits of living in this great nation.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

national news

Trumpism likely to outlive its founder

No matter what fate holds in store for Donald J. Trump, my fear now is the survival of the political movement he sired and foisted onto the rest of us.

Trumpism is likely to outlive its founder, the megalomaniacal businessman who is now facing the real possibility of being indicted for felony crimes associated with his losing the 2020 presidential election.

The House 1/6 select committee has referred criminal allegations to the Justice Department, charging Trump with obstruction of justice, inciting an assault on the U.S. Capitol, conspiring to commit an insurrection.

That doesn’t count the investigation that special counsel Jack Smith is conducting into the taking of classified material from the White House and storing it in unsecured rooms at Mar-a-Lago. Talk about a serious violation and a threat to national security … eh?

Donald Trump’s days as a major political figure appear to be vanishing like the sun into a smoggy dusk. He will not be elected president in 2024. It now is looking unlikely that he’ll even win the Republican Party nomination. He is facing an oncoming stampede of legal difficulties, starting with the aforementioned potential indictments.

Then we have the financial doom that awaits. New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a $250 million lawsuit against the Trump Organization, which also has been pounded with guilty verdicts on assorted tax violations.

But … here’s the kicker. The election deniers who did survive the slaughter many of their ilk suffered in the midterm election remain on the scene. They continue to foment The Big Lie about vote fraud. Why, even the Texas secretary of state has determined there was no such widespread fraud in Texas. That will not shut the traps of the treasonous blowhards who continue to insist the 2020 election was “stolen” from their cult hero.

Thus, that thing called Trumpism is likely to survive for a good while longer than its creator. May the rest of us remain vigilant and alert to the lies they continue to sputter.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

local news

No ‘widespread voter fraud’ in Texas!

Guess what … after all that bellowing, blathering and bloviating about “widespread voter fraud,” the Texas secretary of state has determined that the 2020 election was secure.

We can sleep better now.

Secretary of State John Scott, who is leaving office in two weeks, conducted a thorough audit of four of Texas’s most populous counties. They are Collin (where I live with my wife and one of our sons and his family), Dallas, Tarrant and Harris counties.

Scott’s team found no evidence of widespread fraud, despite the yammering of those who believe the 2020 election was fraught with corruption. There were some reported COVID-19 “irregularities,” but they amounted to a major nothing-burger in the grand scheme.

So … may we now put this crap into the ground where it belongs?

The Texas Tribune reported: (Tarrant County elections administrator Heider) Garcia added that Collin County, which the report considered a “model” of how Texas elections should be run, could perhaps offer some tools to further improve Tarrant County’s elections. Both counties are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

That, right there, gives this Collin County resident comfort knowing that our ballots were counted properly and recorded for history’s sake as being legitimate.

Audit shows Texas elections secure despite COVID “irregularities” in 2020 | The Texas Tribune

I am delighted to know that the state’s audit of our system proved what many of us have known all along … that claims of widespread voter fraud are the work of demagogues and liars.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com