Cheeto's credo: If you don't like reality, just lie about it

And, surprisingly enough, this isn't about the reality of him losing the 2020 election.

Not this time.

From The Independent (UK) via Yahoo! -

Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene try to rewrite story of South Carolina 

football game

Former President Donald Trump and his loyal friend, Congresswoman 

Marjorie Taylor Greene, seem to be promoting a different version of events after 

Mr Trump was booed at the South Carolina football game.

While videos captured Mr Trump being met with a cacophony of boos as he 

walked onto the field during halftime, he quickly tried to revise the incident.

On Truth Social, he reposted articles that said the crowds showed support. He 

posted one article alongside a quote, which read: “Trump cheered at football 

stadium, picks up slew of new endorsements in South Carolina.”

Republicans claim to oppose election fraud. Pre-election fraud? They seem to be OK with that.

From TimesUnion (NY) -

BOE boots Zeldin off Independence Party line for invalid signatures

U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for governor, is unlikely to run on the Independence Party line after the state Board of Elections invalidated nearly 13,000 signatures that were included in his petitions. 

Zeldin's campaign operation had submitted about 52,000 signatures, well above the 45,000 needed to get his name on the third party line, but the disqualified signatures left him well short following the board's ruling. The filing period ended May 31.

 From The Detroit Free Press (MI), dated May 26, 2022 -

5 Michigan GOP candidates for governor disqualified from ballot after board deadlocks

A state elections panel on Thursday deadlocked 2-2 on whether five Republican candidates for governor should be barred from the August primary ballot because they each submitted too many fraudulent signatures, and an official said the effect of the vote is to disqualify the candidates.

The two Republican members — Chairman Norman Shinkle and Tony Daunt — wanted to put the candidates on the ballot. The two Democrats — Vice Chair Mary Ellen Gurewitz and Jeannette Bradshaw — did not.

The effect of the deadlock is that none of the five candidates will be on the ballot, said State Elections Director Jonathan Brater.

Well, at least they're consistent - signatures are their bugaboo.

The circular firing squad continues: AZGOP censures Bowers

From The Hill -

Arizona GOP censures Rusty Bowers after Jan. 6 testimony

The Arizona GOP executive committee censured state House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers on Tuesday and called on Republican voters to “replace him in the ballot box” in the August state Senate GOP primary following his testimony in front of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Bowers testified in June before the House select committee, refuting former President Trump’s claims of election fraud and saying he was pressured by Trump and his former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani to overturn President Biden’s Arizona victory.

Apparently, voting for Cheeto isn't enough for the AZGOP.

One must lie about him and spread the Big Lie.

Telling the truth about him constitutes apostasy.

Mark Finchem, playing fast and loose with the truth more often than any alleged public servant should

This post gets kind of convoluted and involved, so allow a lot of time to read it.

Rep. Mark Finchem has a bit of a “truth” problem.

Not the first time I've posited that, but even I didn't realize how bad it was.

Arizona's Financial Disclosure Forms for its elected and appointed officials are an exercise in vagueness and non-disclosure (name of the form notwithstanding).  In short, they are almost completely useless.

"Almost."

As it turns out, a little patience helps. :)

From Finchem's 2022 Financial Disclosure Form (covering the prior year of 2021) -

Of the four corporate ties that he discloses, three don't exist in AZ according to the ACC.

And that one, Pathway Research, has been administratively dissolved since November, well before he submitted the form.

One, Frontier Applied, form-given AZ address notwithstanding.*is* active.  In Nevada.

Another, United Precious Metals, is incorporated...in Utah.

The last one, Clean Power, is incorporated in Idaho.

To the best of my knowledge, him being part of corporations in other states is *not* a problem in and of itself.

However, he may run into issues with attesting under oath about him being part of a corporation that's been dissolved and further attesting to an AZ address for one that is not active in AZ.

He may also run into issues by not disclosing his ties to other active organizations.

The interesting one is the Prayer Caucus one; he's never disclosed that one even though it was incorporated in 2018 (so it should have been on his form submitted in 2019).

From his 2021 form -

From his 2020 form -

From his 2019 form -

It's been dissolved now, but maybe Finchem should re-establish the Prayer Caucus - and have them pray to God that he isn't indicted for his part in the January 6th insurrection.

Note: I came across this stuff while looking into another elected and that person's spouse.  While both state on their forms that one of their offspring works at an LLC with the same mail drop address as the elected official, but hasn't been incorporated in AZ according to the website of the Arizona Corporation Commission.

However, according to both the AZSOS and the FEC, no campaign funds have been directed to this LLC as yet.

Then I found the Finchem stuff.  With the lack of hard evidence regarding the first matter and me being unwilling to accuse someone of something without more than I have, I chose to set aside the first matter until I have more time to look into it.

Ummm...so who wants to tell him?

Mark Finchem seems to have a bit of a problem with the truth.  At least, with the telling of it.

First, he lied about his whereabouts at the January 6 insurrection.

From Jerod MacDonald-Evoy at the AZ Mirror -

Mark Finchem was much closer to the Jan. 6 insurrection than he claimed

Newly discovered footage taken during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot shows Arizona GOP legislator Mark Finchem was much closer to the day’s violence than he has previously claimed. 

Finchem has insisted that he never got within 500 yards of the Capitol building, but Getty footage of the failed attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election that was recently discovered by activists on Twitter shows Finchem walking directly in front of the east steps at the Capitol after pro-Trump rioters had already broken through a series of barricades and police lines, and then smashed their way into the Capitol building.

Then, there's this (from Twitter) -

Yes, he seems to believe that the future? Arizona Secretary of State and the current Arizona Secretary of State (and future? Governor of Arizona are more responsible for skyrocketing gasoline prices than the people running Big Oil.

Or maybe he just wants others to believe it.

Ron DeSantis: "If at first you don't succeed, lie. When that doesn't work, blame others."

From Business Insider -

DeSantis accuses press of trying to 'milk' January 6 attack on the Capitol: 'This is their Christmas'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday accused journalists of having an "obsession" with the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. 

"This is their Christmas: January 6," the Republican governor said, specifically mentioning media organizations based in Washington and New York. "They are going to take this and milk this for anything they can to be able to smear anyone who ever supported Donald Trump." 

From The Daily Beast -

DeSantis Blames Feds, Slams ‘Hysteria’ as Florida Shatters COVID Records

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) blamed the Biden administration for COVID-19 woes in his state while accusing other state leaders of allowing “hysteria” to reign as they encourage mitigation measures against the virus that he claimed had little basis in sound science.

“In terms of Florida, you look what’s going on in other states, they’re letting hysteria drive them to doing really damaging things. We thought that people had learned,” DeSantis said during his first news conference in weeks on Monday after record-setting COVID-19 numbers spread across the state last month. “They’re closing schools, they’re doing things that should not be done. That is not the way you deal with this.”

That's the "blame others" part; as for the lies?

From CNN from 4/2020 -

Florida governor falsely claims the coronavirus hasn't killed anyone under 25

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis falsely claimed Thursday that the novel coronavirus hasn't killed anyone under 25 nationwide while discussing a timeline for reopening schools in the state.

"This particular pandemic is one where, I don't think nationwide there's been a single fatality under 25. For whatever reason it just doesn't seem to threaten, you know, kids," DeSantis said at an educators' meeting to discuss distance learning.

From Politico -

DeSantis, hydroxychloroquine pitchman

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday used his coronavirus briefing to give a choreographed, live-streamed shout-out to hydroxychloroquine, a drug President Donald Trump has touted as a potential miracle cure for Covid-19.

During the briefing, DeSantis took credit for loosening shipments of the drug from India and sought testimonials on the drug from doctors and a patient.

From the American Medical Association -

FDA warns against chloroquine for COVID-19 outside hospitals

What’s the news: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cautioned against the use of  some medicines FDA-approved to treat or prevent malaria and being used for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. The FDA has warned that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine should only be used in hospitals or clinical trials because they have been linked to a risk of heart rhythm problems, especially when paired with the antibiotic azithromycin.

Why it’s important: There have been reports of serious, potentially life-threatening, heart rhythm problems in patients with COVID-19 who are treated with hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine and used in combination with azithromycin and other QT prolonging medicines.

“We are also aware of increased use of these medicines through outpatient prescriptions. Therefore, we would like to remind health care professionals and patients of the known risks associated with both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine,” says the FDA drug safety communication.

There is no evidence to show that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine—prescribed for years to treat lupus and arthritis—are safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19. These medicines are currently being studied in clinical trials for COVID-19 treatment and prophylaxis. However, in late March the FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) to supply chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine from the Strategic National Stockpile to treat certain patients who are hospitalized with COVID-19 and for whom clinical trials are not available, or participation is not feasible. Learn more about lessons learned from COVID-19, including how treatment is unclear at this time.

From the Mayo Clinic -

Holocaust Denial becomes official in Texas (sort of)

From NPR -

In one Texas district, teachers were told to give 'opposing' views of the Holocaust

A Texas school district has once again become the center of controversy after an administrator reportedly instructed teachers to provide students with "opposing" views of the Holocaust.

Gina Peddy, the executive director of curriculum and instruction for the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, is alleged to have made the comments during a meeting last Friday, according to NBC News, which obtained audio of the meeting from an unnamed employee. Peddy was reportedly meeting with teachers to instruct them on how to stock their classroom libraries when the subject of recent statewide legislation, as well as the Holocaust, came up.

The flak over that was so intense that the superintendent of that district was forced to apologize over it.

From Slate -

Texas Superintendent Apologizes After Official Calls for “Opposing” Views to Holocaust

A superintendent in Texas apologized to his district earlier this week after there was a massive uproar when it was revealed that a top official told teachers to “make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.” The comment, first reported by NBC News, led to lots of outrage that any school official would even suggest there was any kind of “opposing” side to the Holocaust. In a statement, Lane Ledbetter, the superintendent of the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, issued a statement saying that the comments were “in no way to convey that the Holocaust was anything less than a terrible event in history.” Ledbetter added: “We recognize there are not two sides of the Holocaust.”

It’s unclear whether the official, Gina Peddy, will face any kind of disciplinary action. Peddy, who is the executive director of curriculum and instruction for the school district, made the comment while talking to teachers about how to comply with a new Texas law, House Bill 3979, which requires multiple perspectives when teachers discuss “widely debated and currently controversial issues.” Lawmakers have said the measure was passed as a way to prevent schools from teaching “critical race theory.” The training session that Peddy was leading with the teachers came mere days after the school district’s board voted to reprimand a teacher who had an anti-racism book in her classroom.

Maybe, if Ms. Peddy faces *any* disciplinary action (it is TEXAS, after all - Abbott et. al. may consider 6 million dead victims to be a good start), she should be compelled to read about, and write a report about, the Nuremburg War Trials.

I thought that Trumpkins believed that elections are fraudulent

Oh wait.  They do.

But if they don't let truth affect them a little rhetorical inconsistency isn't going to faze them.

Not in the least.

From the Detroit Free Press - 

Michigan Trump supporters to launch ballot drive for 'forensic audit' of November election

Backers of former President Donald Trump will launch a ballot drive to require a "full forensic audit" of the 2020 presidential election, a rally in Lansing was told Tuesday. 

Jon Rocha, of Portage, a Republican who is running against U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, said he expects paperwork for the legislative initiative to be filed with the Board of State Canvassers next week.

In Florida, facts don't matter. Political expediency does.

 And, in a bit of a surprise, for once I'm not talking about Ron DeSantis, though I could be.

And2, unsurprisingly, he's involved.

From Business Insider -

Florida official wants Gov. Ron DeSantis to make the controversial and unproven COVID-19 treatment ivermectin more widely available

A Florida county commissioner wrote a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis pleading that the livestock deworming drug ivermectin become more widely available for people who are struggling with COVID-19. 

In the letter, Commissioner Neil Combee called ivermectin a "wonder drug," according to NBC affiliate WFLA.

From Lake Wales News -

County Commissioner Neil Combee Promotes Ulcer Medication as Covid Cure

A Polk County Commissioner is coming under fire for promoting a common ulcer medication as a cure for Covid-19. There is no medical or clinical evidence to support his claim.

Neil Combee, who represents the northwest corner of Polk but is elected county-wide, asserts that "the government knows" that the over-the-counter medicine is effective but is covering it up for unknown reasons. He offered no explanation as to why any authority would do so but says that he "doesn't trust government."

Known as famotidine and marketed as Pepcid-AC, the drug is used to reduce the production of stomach acid in ulcer patients, and may cause significant interactions with other medications.

Combee, a Polk County Commissioner and former state legislator, has no scientific or medical training, but he *is* a trumpkin, working in Trump's administration as the Florida state director of the USDA.

Like other trumpkins, reality doesn't matter to him.  Apparently.

From KFOR (OK) -

Patients overdosing on ivermectin backing up rural Oklahoma hospitals, ambulances

A rural Oklahoma doctor said patients who are taking the horse de-wormer medication, ivermectin, to fight COVID-19 are causing emergency room and ambulance back ups.

“There’s a reason you have to have a doctor to get a prescription for this stuff, because it can be dangerous,” said Dr. Jason McElyea.

My guess is that he runs for governor of Florida when DeSantis' term is up; and if that doesn't work out, he moves to AZ and runs for something here.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated. 

3. Don't ignore facts.

Maybe Mike Lindell should quit hawking My Pillows. Salesmen should have some credibility. Lindell has none.

 From AP -

MyPillow CEO says aggressive poke led to attack claim

MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell says he was aggressively poked by someone 

seeking a selfie in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, this week, which led him to say he

was attacked.

Lindell, who hosted an election fraud symposium in the city this week, told the 

conservative talk show FlashPoint that he was approached by a man who 

wanted a photo on Wednesday night.

"Poke"?  It wasn't an "attack", no matter what Lindell says.

Can you say "You have a bit of a credibility problem, Rep. Jackson"?

 From The Hill -

Ronny Jackson, former White House doctor, predicts Biden will resign

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), the controversial former White House physician, said on Thursday that he believed President Biden would resign because of his limited cognitive abilities.

During an episode of Fox’s “Hannity,” host Sean Hannity criticized responses Biden gave during a CNN town hall the day before, calling some “completely incomprehensible.”

In an interview with Jackson, Hannity said that Biden would not perform well on a cognitive test, repeating a claim circulated among Republicans that the president's health is in decline.

Remember this?

From Vox (in 2018) - 

White House doctor: Trump “has absolutely no cognitive or mental issues”

President Donald Trump is in “excellent” physical and cognitive health, according to his physician Dr. Ronny Jackson, who shared the results of Trump’s first physical at a press conference Tuesday.

“It is called genetics ... ” Jackson said. “Some people have just great genes. I told the president that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old.”

Trump’s only health concern, according to Jackson, is his weight of 239 pounds. Jackson said the president wants to lose 10 to 15 pounds over the next year, and plans to exercise more.

His expertise on the topic of "cognitive issues" is questionable, and, while Trump may be the 6'3'' described in the Vox story, *I'm* closer to 239 pounds than Cheeto, and I should lose more than 10 to 15 pounds.

For the record, I am not questioning Cheeto's mental state.  The cabinet didn't 25th Amendment his ass; and they saw him more closely than a TV camera, and they saw him every day.

Plus, being found to be mentally unfit would keep him out of the place that he so richly belongs, prison.

Cheeto doubles down on the "Big Lie" during his visit to AZ

As long as his marks supporters keep showing up, so will he - he feeds off of their adulation and money - and their sense of entitlement; and he'll feed them a line of BS to keep them coming in,.

From Politico -

Trump clings to false election claims at Arizona rally

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday sought to lend credence to the partisan audit of presidential ballots cast in Arizona, holding his first rally there since the 2020 election.

Speaking in Phoenix at a Turning Point USA gathering, Trump hailed what he called Arizona Senate Republicans' “full forensic audit” of results in Maricopa County, while continuing to promulgate baseless conspiracy theories about the election he lost to Joe Biden.

Of course, Cheeto being Cheeto, it was always about the grift.

From Slate -

Donald Trump Is Keeping the Money

The rub was always in the fine print. Even after Donald Trump, the actual president of the United States, lost the 2020 election, he cranked up the outrage machine claiming election fraud, hinting at grand conspiracies, and sending Rudy Giuliani barnstorming to provide visuals, footage, new cautious news stories, that could be used to help spin the many, many yarns he was spinning on the fly. Meanwhile, Trump and his associated PACs raked in hundreds of millions on the chaos, confusion, and destruction. Their fundraising emails shouted things like “We MUST defend the Election from the Left!” as they soaked up cash from low-dollar donors who believed the president. The small print at the bottom whispered something very different: The first 75 percent of these #StoptheSteal donations to the Trump fundraising apparatus were redirected to Trump’s Save America leadership PAC, which was for Trump to spend more or less as he wished.

Katie Hobbs talks some smack/truth to Cheeto

 And her ability, and willingness, to do so is among the reasons why I support her in her run for governor of Arizona.

From The Hill -

Arizona secretary of state to Trump before rally: 'Take your loss and accept it and move on'

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) said that her message to former President Trump before his visit on Saturday is to “take your loss and accept it and move on,” referring to the ongoing partisan audit of the 2020 election results.

Trump is heading to Phoenix on Saturday for a “Rally to Save Our Elections!” event hosted by the conservative group Turning Point Action. He is likely to touch on his baseless claims that widespread voter fraud occurred during last year’s election.

She's nicer than I am - I would have added a suggestion that Trump pull his thumb out of his mouth (or other orifice).

Per GOP-think, speaking the truth is a crime

 

From The Hill - 

GOP Rep. Cawthorn says he wants to 'prosecute' Fauci

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) says he wants to “prosecute” Anthony Fauci should the GOP regain control of the House in 2022.

Cawthorn's remark underscores how Fauci has become central to GOP attacks on the Biden administration and the government's handling of the coronavirus, even as the delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated communities and it becomes clearer and clearer that vaccinations are a key to stomping out the disease.

"Welp." There's a word. A better one would be "resign"

As in "I resign." 

From Politico -

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Monday that the state's Covid data team “screwed up” and that Utah has not yet hit the 70 percent goal for adult vaccinations, admitting the error just days after celebrating the milestone.

“Welp. We screwed up. Because of a reporting error we have not yet hit 70% on our adult vaccinations,” Cox, a Republican, posted on Twitter Monday. “I promised to admit our mistakes and hold us accountable. I hope you will forgive us — and know we have made changes to ensure it won’t happen again.”

What does he regret more?

The lie or having to 'fess up about it?

GOP gameplan: When the truth doesn't work for you, go with a lie

 And the bigger the lie, the better.

And *no*, I'm not talking about Cheeto and the lie about the 2020 election told by him and his enablers.

I could be, though.

One of them, Doug Ducey (as well as most other Arizona Rs) likes to repeat the R talking point that folks are leaving California in droves for states like Arizona.

One problem with that.

It ain't so.

From a UC San Diego survey -

Some people have a great attachment to California, while others don’t like it at all. Taking everything into account, how would you describe California as a place to live? 

One of the best places to live 42.4% 

Nice but not an outstanding place 35.5% 

About an average place to live 14.3% 

Rather poor place to live 7.8% 

[Source: September 2019 Berkeley IGS Poll and prior Field Polls]

[snip]

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: “The California Dream still works for people like me and my family”? 

Completely/Somewhat Agree 64.1% 

Completely/Somewhat Disagree 35.9%

[snip]

Thinking ahead to one year from now, how likely do you think it is that you will be moved out of California and living in another state? 

Very likely to move out of California 13.6% 

Somewhat likely 25.1% 

Not likely 33.8% 

Definitely will not move out of California 27.5%

From a UCLA study on immigration to and from California -

What?!? Is anyone really surprised that old people like to move here or that less educated Californians like it here?

Balance time - 

Read the entire studies.

Also, read UC press release regarding the studies.