Marc Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 8 hours ago, Peter said: Well done but stay away, you Canadians! "I say very clearly: Now is not the time to travel," said Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, according to Reuters. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, "I understand that sucks" and encouraged people to "be careful during this holiday season. Get your kids their shots." Israel is on their fourth shot already and us Canadians are only on our third?!?!? Why do the Israelis get four and Canadians only get three?!?! Thats not fair. Good news though is that apparently PM Trudeau has ordered 400 million doses and our population is only 40 million, phew, so hopefully we can get shot four and five done asap and move ahead of those Israelis before too long. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william.scherk Posted December 16, 2021 Share Posted December 16, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, Marc said: Israel is on their fourth shot already From the Times of Israel: Health Ministry advisory board decides against fourth COVID shot, for now From Scott Gottlieb, in Deseret News: Expert reveals why some people have already had a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot Quote [...] Gottlieb said that Israel has been looking at making a fourth shot available “to a subset of the population who have immune related disorders.” Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in October that doctors may prescribe a fourth vaccine to those who were “moderately to severely immunocompromised” and received three doses of an mRNA vaccine already, as I wrote for the Deseret News. The comments came after Pfizer Chairman Albert Bourla said on CNBC that a fourth shot will likely be necessary to slow the spread, especially with the omicron variant. “I think we will need the fourth dose,” he said on CNBC. “I was projecting that that will be in 12 months after the third dose. With omicron,” he said, “we may need it faster.” Gottlieb said on “Face the Nation” that an annual shot might be needed. “I do think that this is going to be for a period of time, something that we have to get revaccinated for on an annual basis, in part because immunity wanes and in part because it’s going to drift over time,” he said. Edited December 16, 2021 by william.scherk Added remarks from Scott Gottlieb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william.scherk Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 (edited) On 12/9/2021 at 10:10 PM, william.scherk said: Axios says Trump said "Fuck him" on the subject of Netanyahu. Plausible? Here's a podcast called Unholy: Two Jews on the news, with Yonit Levi and Jonathan Freedland. This episode contains audio from Barak Ravid's book cited above. I used Spotify's link since it embeds. Apparently, we get to hear new things about Trump and "The Jews." And loyalty. Loyalty! It's nice to hear the former president speaking frankly. It's noted that the author managed to get major Israel broadcasters to air "Fuck him" in English rather than in Hebrew. Quick excerpt here: Barak Ravid joins the hosts at six minutes in. Previous December 10 episode related to Trump/Netanyahu's break is here. The usual suspects in the larger world have clasped their pearls in both mitts and uttered a few screams; as with faking orgasms, faking surprise is not always detectable: Spoiler Nick Niedzwiadek / Politico: Trump invokes antisemitic tropes while discussing his support for Israel — Former President Donald Trump veered into several antisemitic tropes in a recent interview, claiming that Israel used to have “absolute power over Congress” and saying that American Jews — the majority of whom vote Democratic … Discussion: John Wagner / Washington Post: Trump says Jewish Americans 'don't like Israel or don't care about Israel' Joe Jervis / Joe.My.God.: Trump: Evangelicals “Love Israel More Than The Jews” RELATED: Morgan Phillips / Daily Mail:Trump accused of ‘vile anti-Semitism’ for saying American Jews ‘no longer love or care about Israel’ because of Biden, Obama and the ‘Jewish people’ who run the New York Times Discussion: Josh Axelrod / The American Independent: Trump promotes antisemitic claim that Israel used to have ‘absolute power over Congress’ Christopher Hutton / Washington Examiner: Trump: 'The Jewish people in the United States either don't like Israel or don't care' Bess Levin / Vanity Fair: Trump Goes Full Anti-Semite, Unloads on American Jews in Wildly Bigoted Rant The Times of Israel: Trump says American Jews 'either don't like Israel or don't care about Israel' David Badash / Raw Story: Jake Tapper stunned as Trump goes on ‘jaw dropping’ anti-Semitic rant Sebastian Hughes / The Daily Caller: Trump Says Evangelical Christians Love Israel More Than American Jews Alex Henderson / Alternet.org: ‘Jaw dropping’: Interview goes off the rails when Trump rattles off a series of antisemitic claims William Vaillancourt / Rolling Stone: Trump Complains About American Jews No Longer Loving Israel in Anti-Semitic Rant Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:Trump Claims Israel Controlled Congress, Jews Run New York Times Discussion: Sarah D. / Twitchy: Ilhan Omar — who said that ‘Israel has hypnotized the world’ — totes shares Jake Tapper's outrage over Donald Trump's remarks about American Jews Oma Seddiq / Insider:Trump says American Jews ‘no longer love Israel’ and Jewish people ‘run The New York Times’ Discussion: Jordan Weissmann / Slate: Donald Trump Shared Some Thoughts About “the Jews” Dan Mangan / CNBC:Trump says American Jews 'either don't like Israel or don't care about Israel' in new interview Discussion: Gabby Orr / CNN: Trump uses anti-Semitic tropes to again criticize Jewish Americans Becket Adams / Washington Examiner: Trump despairs that Israel no longer has ‘absolute power over Congress’ Andrew Feinberg / The Independent: Trump accused of ‘classic’ antisemitism after claiming Israel ‘had absolute power over Congress’ Daily News: Trump criticizes Jewish Americans in new interview Joe Walsh / Forbes: Trump Says Jewish Americans ‘No Longer Love Israel’ In Bizarre Interview Jason Miciak / POLITICUSUSA: Trump Suggests Jewish Americans Don's Support Israel As Much As He Does Colby Hall / Mediaite: LISTEN: Trump Claims the NY Times ‘Hates Israel’ Despite ‘Jewish People that Run the NY Times’ Matthew Chapman / Raw Story: LISTEN: Trump rails against American Jews for not loving Israel in new rant filled with ‘anti-Semitic tropes’ Taegan Goddard / Political Wire: Trump Says U.S. Jews 'Don't Care' About Israel Edited December 17, 2021 by william.scherk Links and names. Links and names. Excerpt with "My Parents listen to this podcast." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted December 17, 2021 Share Posted December 17, 2021 1 hour ago, william.scherk said: Here's a podcast called Unholy: Two Jews on the news... Here's another perspective on all that. Trump Criticizes American Jews over Lack of Support for Israel Trump Criticizes American Jews over Lack of Support for Israel WWW.BREITBART.COM Trump criticized American Jews for failing to support Israel, according to comments from a recent interview with a liberal journalist. Quote Former President Donald Trump criticized American Jews for failing to support Israel, according to comments released Friday from an interview for a podcast by Barak Ravid, an Israeli journalist for the left-leaning online publication Axios. . . . Trump’s comments about the American Jewish community for Ravid’s podcast, Unholy, are provoking controversy once again. Among other comments, Trump claimed that Evangelical Christians “love Israel more than the Jews.” . . . In addition, Trump said that the New York Times “hates Israel,” and marveled at the fact that the paper is hostile to Israel, adding: “They’re Jewish people that run the New York Times.” He was referring to the Sulzberger family, which has Jewish roots... . . . Noting the anti-Israel shift of the Democratic Party, Trump also said that Israel used to have “absolute power over Congress,” but no longer does. . . . Critics claim that Trump is invoking the idea of Jewish control of American politics — an idea that is often regarded as antisemitic. Several Democrats and journalists professed shock and horror at Trump’s comments on Friday afternoon. So the real story is that anti-Trump journalists "professed shock and horror at Trump’s comments" and they want to paint him as anti-Semitic and, although not mentioned but hinted at--muh Charlottesville--and by extension, a racist. That's news? Where have these people been the last 6 years? yawn... As to the news itself, look at the difference a headline makes. That's often the fake in fake news, although the outright lies help. Michael EDIT: The author of the Breitbart article is Joel Pollak, who is Jewish. (Fun fact, I knew him briefly when I and Kat worked on an election campaign of his.) Strange, given all the hype in the press, that Joel didn't mention Netanyahu once in his article. Not once. Didn't even hint about Netanyahu. And the article was about the same Trump-Ravid interview. Methinks the real anti-Semites are the ones in the broadcast who keep saying Jew all the time, and openly say that Trump supports Israel and Jews, but what he really thinks is blah blah blah (anti-Semitism)... How's that for gossip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatGuy Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 On 12/14/2021 at 5:21 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said: William, Not gonna play. Another person who's on to the "GOTCHA!" game: John Cleese. John Cleese Calls Bollocks on BBC Interviewer - Louder With Crowder WWW.LOUDERWITHCROWDER.COM He walked out when ambushed with gotcha questions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 2 hours ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said: Here's another perspective on all that. Trump Criticizes American Jews over Lack of Support for Israel Trump Criticizes American Jews over Lack of Support for Israel WWW.BREITBART.COM Trump criticized American Jews for failing to support Israel, according to... So the real story is that anti-Trump journalists "professed shock and horror at Trump’s comments" and they want to paint him as anti-Semitic and, although not mentioned but hinted at--muh Charlottesville--and by extension, a racist. That's news? Where have these people been the last 6 years? yawn... As to the news itself, look at the difference a headline makes. That's often the fake in fake news, although the outright lies help. Michael EDIT: The author of the Breitbart article is Joel Pollak, who is Jewish. (Fun fact, I knew him briefly when I and Kat worked on an election campaign of his.) Strange, given all the hype in the press, that Joel didn't mention Netanyahu once in his article. Not once. Didn't even hint about Netanyahu. And the article was about the same Trump-Ravid interview. Methinks the real anti-Semites are the ones in the broadcast who keep saying Jew all the time, and openly say that Trump supports Israel and Jews, but what he really thinks is blah blah blah (anti-Semitism)... How's that for gossip? Totally agree with The King. They dont support Israel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted December 18, 2021 Share Posted December 18, 2021 There's a documentary maker I just learned about through an interview with Mel K (see here if you are interested). I don't know how I missed him. I mean, he's only been every-friggin'-where I normally go on the Internet. And he's usually featured. (Maybe I missed him because he looks like a slob. That's a quip, but when you see him... Er... I'm going to shut up now... ) I do know I am going to find a way for this guy to be in my future in some manner. His name is Joel Gilbert. I haven't watched any of his movies yet (he's been skewing the predator class narrative ever since he did a documentary on Trayvon Martin), and that means I have my work cut out for me before I figure out how to get to know him and what I want with this. But I just watched a trailer to "The Art of the Insult." OMG... Take a look. See if you can get half-way through without pressure building up inside you and suddenly busting a gut. Be careful, though. Don't watch this with food or liquid in your mouth. Just when I thought the political climate was getting too dark and somber, I come across this. btw - Joel is now working on a documentary about Michelle Obama, who he thinks is being groomed to run in 2024. I know one person who will watch it. Me.. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 For the Trump Bedazzled: Trump laments that Israel is no longer a power over Congress “Israel had such power, and rightfully, over Congress, and now it doesn’t. It’s incredible, actually.” Rightfully? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Laments? Astonished, impressed, puzzled, astounded, bewildered, surprised, perplexed, mystified, etc. etc. etc., maybe. But laments? The "rightfully" part is weird. But I see that as hyperbole. Who cares about a throwaway word in the middle of his stream-of-consciousness style of speaking to the press? Let's see if Trump repeats and emphasizes that it is Israel's right to own the US congress. Heh. You know when that will happen? Never. That's when. The only thing the gotcha warriors have here is a gotcha. And a half-assed one at that. When one looks at Trump's consistent beliefs in action, and not just in words, he believes Israel "rightfully" fights for its own existence while surrounded by massive enemies. Frankly, I believe that, too. Trump's actions, from moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem to the Abraham Accords and everything in between show that clearly. There is something else, too. Influencing foreign governments--in practice--falls within the "right" of every government on earth, especially in the case of countries like Israel who fight for their very existence against enemies sworn to annihilate them (even in charter documents). Don't forget that Trump was president. He knows from the inside how much the USA itself interferes in foreign governments the world over. Does anyone doubt he believes the USA rightfully does this? That is his context when he speaks about such things. His context is not that Israel is superior to all other countries in the world and the USA should bow down to Israel because America is inferior. Those who believe Trump believes that should never buy used cars unless they like buying lemons and throwing their money away. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Trump interrupted himself to say “and rightfully”; it wasn’t just a throwaway thought. Stream-of-consciousness is no excuse if you assume he was conscious. Indeed let’s not forget Trump was president. Tell us what he did to extricate the U.S. from Israel. Foreign aid? Military aid? Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem (falsely claiming he did it for U.S. Evangelicals when it was for the Israelis)? Helping get justice for Israel’s victims after its attempted murder of everyone on board the USS Liberty? Etc. See the subpage index ofThis Is Our Ally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 2 hours ago, Mark said: Trump interrupted himself to say “and rightfully”; it wasn’t just a throwaway thought. Stream-of-consciousness is no excuse if you assume he was conscious. Mark, I was not trying to convince you of anything. Trump could say good morning and you would find fault with it. I was providing readers with a counterbalance to your hatred and a different perspective. I find it laughable that someone could imagine Trump considers America as inferior to Israel. But there it is in all its glory. And you're still defending it even though you use different words. So go for it. But, as you yourself must know since you hate as a value, hatred is persuasive if left festering in public. People start joining in. It's part of the human condition. Mirror neurons and so much more. But I, too, am aware of this. So when I believe hatred is not warranted and I see it expressed with regularity, I counterbalance it and let people come to their own conclusions. I bet you hate that. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 “Trump could say good morning and you would find fault with it.” Referring to the contention about me, what a dumb thing to say. “I was providing readers with a counterbalance to your hatred.” Translation: You, Mark, hate Trump for no good reason. Well, truth is I don’t worship Trump, I’m not bedazzled. I like certain aspects and dislike others. I can praise the man and I can criticize him. 2024 will be a godsend for us. Any decent Republican can – if the election is halfway honest – win against Biden, Hillary, any other such like Democratic humanoid. We have a chance of getting a really good candidate in office instead of the usual lesser-of-two-evils candidate. In 2016 I didn’t see Trump as a lesser-of-two-evils candidate; there was a good chance he was genuinely more-or-less good. Now, after having witnessed four years of his presidency, well he did some good but still, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. One indicator of the man’s character was his last official act, pardoning outright crooks. To the bedazzled that’s nothing – he’s playing four dimensional chess or something – but to the clear-sighted it tells a lot. In the above about the 2024 election, the qualification “if the election is halfway honest” was necessary in large part because of Trump’s reaction to the election fraud of 2020. He talked the talk briefly then went limp as an over-boiled noodle. Because of his folding in 2020 we will be swimming against a harder current than otherwise in 2024. Still and all, if despite our effort we don’t get someone like DeSantis as the Republican nominee and have to make do with Trump, by all means support Trump. Just don’t expect too much from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 12 minutes ago, Mark said: Translation: You, Mark, hate Trump for no good reason. Mark, You need to translate me to understand what I am saying? Right... Fortunately, from the feedback I get, most readers do not require such translation. I suggest you let me speak for myself instead of putting words in my mouth, but then again, I understand me. And so do others. You, apparently, do not. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 21 hours ago, Mark said: “Trump could say good morning and you would find fault with it.” Referring to the contention about me, what a dumb thing to say. “I was providing readers with a counterbalance to your hatred.” Translation: You, Mark, hate Trump for no good reason. Well, truth is I don’t worship Trump, I’m not bedazzled. I like certain aspects and dislike others. I can praise the man and I can criticize him. 2024 will be a godsend for us. Any decent Republican can – if the election is halfway honest – win against Biden, Hillary, any other such like Democratic humanoid. We have a chance of getting a really good candidate in office instead of the usual lesser-of-two-evils candidate. In 2016 I didn’t see Trump as a lesser-of-two-evils candidate; there was a good chance he was genuinely more-or-less good. Now, after having witnessed four years of his presidency, well he did some good but still, WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. One indicator of the man’s character was his last official act, pardoning outright crooks. To the bedazzled that’s nothing – he’s playing four dimensional chess or something – but to the clear-sighted it tells a lot. In the above about the 2024 election, the qualification “if the election is halfway honest” was necessary in large part because of Trump’s reaction to the election fraud of 2020. He talked the talk briefly then went limp as an over-boiled noodle. Because of his folding in 2020 we will be swimming against a harder current than otherwise in 2024. Still and all, if despite our effort we don’t get someone like DeSantis as the Republican nominee and have to make do with Trump, by all means support Trump. Just don’t expect too much from him. The real question is if Trump did not win 2016, regardless who ran, HRC would have destroyed him or her or they. Ask yourself what the world would be like today with a second term HRC and 13 years of Obama-Clinton. You would be begging for " a Trump" to exist. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 I received the following in junk mail which is unusual. I never call any of the Trump's or Cynthia Guilfoyle's mail junk. I think it is a fake site asking for donations. Notice the number 45 in the web address? Donald J.Trump <contact@email.saveamerica45.com> Tue 12/21/2021 4:12 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 From Business Insider: I think it's also important for the American people to understand how dangerous Donald Trump was," Cheney said in the interview. "We know as he was sitting there in the dining room next to the Oval Office, members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television to tell people to stop. We know Leader McCarthy was pleading with him to do that. We know members of his family. We know his daughter — we have firsthand testimony — that his daughter Ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence." Cheney is part of the House select committee charged with investigating the January 6 insurrection. end quote And I think three trusted members of the Fox News team (well I trust them) texted him the same sort of message. I know I thought the same as I watched it unfold. It was like I thought for a minute like that comedian, “Getter done, plant the American flag on Pelosi’s desk,” but then I said to my wife: “No, this is bad.” So, do I agree with Liz Cheney? No. It may have been a “lapse or omission, in judgement” but I still hope for Trump 2024. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 Liz Cheney? Hell, let's do another war so people can make some money. That'll fix things. Michael 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted January 3, 2022 Share Posted January 3, 2022 I can't resist. Here is how most Republicans see Liz Cheney. Wanna see proof? Watch what happens to her attempt at reelection. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 On 1/3/2022 at 11:25 AM, Michael Stuart Kelly said: I can't resist. Here is how most Republicans see Liz Cheney. Wanna see proof? Watch what happens to her attempt at reelection. Michael Did they not already make that choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I think I have mentioned her before but, Kristi Noem for VP in 2024? From Restoring Liberty: On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that close advisers were telling Trump to exclude Pence from a possible 2024 ticket. Instead, they raised the possibility of a black or female vice president, with two backing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who is popular with the Trump base. From Wikipedia: Elected as an ally of Donald Trump, Noem explicitly refused to follow the guidance of medical experts during the COVID-19 pandemic, and did not enact any of the standard public health and safety protections used in other states. Noem did not implement face mask mandates, raised doubts about the efficacy of mask-wearing, encouraged large gatherings without social distancing or mask-wearing, and questioned public health experts' advice . . . . Immigrants and refugees Noem supported President Donald Trump's 2017 Executive Order 13769 that suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and banned all travel to the U.S. by nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days.[ She said she supported a temporary ban on accepting refugees from "terrorist-held" areas, but "did not address whether she supports other aspects of the order, which led to the detention of legal U.S. residents such as green-card holders and people with dual citizenship as they reentered the country" in the aftermath of the order's issuance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william.scherk Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 On 7/3/2015 at 12:22 AM, RobinReborn said: This guy keeps making the news. Not entirely sure what to make of him, on some level he's a good businessman but there's something off about him. I can't quite put my finger on it. Apparently the folks at National Public Radio have been trying to get an interview with Donald Trump since about the time this topic thread was instantiated. Yesterday, Steve Inskeep managed to keep the former president on the line for eight minutes of a scheduled fifteen. Nothing can knock President Trump off-message, nothing. I have no doubt this will be the last NPR-Trump interview for quite a while ... Read NPR's full interview with former President Donald Trump WWW.NPR.ORG NPR's Steve Inskeep spoke with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Trump continued to repeat false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william.scherk Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Kind of a shitty decision, from the point of view of Donald Trump. Click image-link for full decision in PDF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 34 minutes ago, william.scherk said: Kind of a shitty decision, from the point of view of Donald Trump. William, No problem. Trump is clean so they will have to manufacture stuff. However, I don't see the same case when they later use this on Joe Biden. In fact, I see China calling and a whole lot of corruption coming to light... Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmj Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 The CCP isn’t going to keep shared secrets , secrets?! But that has the potential to disrupt domestic politics in the US , pretty sure they’re be honorable on that call , cmon man. Besides Joe’s brother has a full proof plan , plausible deniability, cmon man 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william.scherk Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 (edited) Further context for Trump's mention of Sidney Powell, there are two 'Rashomon' narratives of the notorious December 18 2020 meetings in the White House -- from Jonathan Swann's "How it Happened: Off the Rails" series of articles and audio podcasts at Axios --and from Patrick Byrne at his own Deep Capture site. On 12/8/2021 at 1:31 PM, william.scherk said: Hugh Hewitt: Let me ask you about Sidney Powell. The Washington Post yesterday reported that she raised more than $14 million on the election litigation. Did you know about that? Donald Trump: No, she was, she didn’t work for me. She was a lawyer that was representing General Flynn and some others, and she never officially, now she was on our side from the standpoint, I guess, you know, from the standpoint of what she was doing, but she didn’t work for me as per se. She worked for General Flynn and others. And I disagree with some of the things that she’s doing, and some of the statements that she made, as you know. Episode two from Axios, "Trump's Last Stand II: The Legal Team." In this week's Sidney Powell News ... Judge refuses to toss out Dominion defamation suits against Powell, Giuliani and Lindell -- The ruling from the Trump appointee is likely to force depositions by the three allies of the former president. Quote [...] The three defendants’ arguments found little resonance with Nichols, a Trump appointee who seemed disdainful of their conduct and of suggestions that their statements were within the bounds of freewheeling political debate. “As an initial matter, there is no blanket immunity for statements that are ‘political’ in nature,” Nichols wrote in his 44-page opinion. “It is true that courts recognize the value in some level of ‘imaginative expression’ or ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ in our public debate. … But it is simply not the law that provably false statements cannot be actionable if made in the context of an election.” Nichols said many of the statements cited in the suit qualified as comments that could be seen as making factual claims capable of being proved true or false. “The question, then, is whether a reasonable juror could conclude that Powell’s statements expressed or implied a verifiably false fact about Dominion,” the judge wrote. “This is not a close call.” The judge noted that Powell repeatedly said the founder of Dominion claimed he could change vast numbers of votes at his whim. “These statements are either true or not; either Powell has a video depicting the founder of Dominion saying he can ‘change a million votes,’ or she does not,” Nichols said. Nichols also dismissed Powell’s defense that her allegations could not have met the “actual malice” standard because she was relying on sworn statements from people claiming to have knowledge of alleged improprieties and vulnerabilities in Dominion’s software. [...] “There is no rule that a defendant cannot act in reckless disregard of the truth when relying on sworn affidavits — especially sworn affidavits that the defendant had a role in creating,” the judge wrote. “And Dominion alleges that Powell’s ‘evidence’ was either falsified by Powell herself, misrepresented and cherry-picked, or so obviously unreliable that Powell had to have known it was false or had acted with reckless disregard for the truth.” The ruling is far from the final word on the cases, which are several in a series of suits Dominion has filed against its critics and the news outlets that gave them prominent platforms. However, the decision was something of a rout for the Trump allies. [...] A lawyer for Powell, Howard Kleinhendler, expressed disappointment in the decision, but signaled that the ruling opened up the possibility of court-ordered access to information about Dominion’s machines and how they performed last fall. “We are disappointed with the Court’s decision,” Kleinhendler said in a statement. “However, we now look forward to litigating this case on its merits and proving that Ms. Powell’s statements were accurate and certainly not published with malice. We also anticipate taking full discovery of Dominion including a thorough review of its election software and machines used in the 2020 election.” Edited January 21, 2022 by william.scherk Replaced Axios podcast link; changed to episode two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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