QAnon update 07/12/20

Bizarre new conspiracy theory about Wayfair

Pizzagate/QAnon people have Wayfair trending today. They falsely claim price glitches on storage boxes prove that the company is trafficking children.

This took off because of a post on Reddit's r/conspiracy subreddit yesterday, which is a clearinghouse for anonymous paranoia.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) July 10, 2020

Wayfair debunks Pizzagate-esque conspiracy theory that it trafficked children in furniture https://t.co/iTd25Jb3Xa
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 11, 2020

I can’t believe I have to do this, but here’s a thorough debunk of the QAnon Wayfair conspiracy theory, since it’s pervasive on civilian parts of the internet.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) July 11, 2020

QAnon is the conspiracy theory that a government official who goes by “Q” is leaving clues about Trump’s plan to dismantle Washington elites engaged in everything from pedophilia to child sex trafficking. And it's believers unequivocally support Trump. https://t.co/2Rir6MXiU7
— POLITICO (@politico) July 12, 2020

Most of these nutjobs are gonna get beat, but hey, ya never know, some might win — and then we'll be dealing with the batshit reality of a QAnon Caucus. https://t.co/fosaawiLpN
— John Heilemann (@jheil) July 12, 2020

QAnon galaxy brain logic right here: QAnon is a false flag to Make QAnon look bad. But there is something there so QAnon needs to look into it.

If we find nothing = false flag
If we find something = were right

QAnon is not about truth, it's about faith in the movements beliefs pic.twitter.com/DKEzEb6rX3
— Marc-André Argentino (@4ngl3rf1sh) July 11, 2020

“At least 11 Republican congressional nominees have publicly supported or defended the QAnon conspiracy theory movement or some of its tenets — and more aligned with the movement may still find a way onto ballots this year.“ https://t.co/UXSNRDYlWV
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 12, 2020

I have admittedly struggled in my writing to succinctly describe QAnon. It'd be hard to do better than "a convoluted pro-Trump conspiracy theory about a 'deep state' of child-molesting Satanist traitors plotting against the president." https://t.co/ATZDPz6F26
— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) July 14, 2020

Trump lies about Obama and golf

Trump has gone golfing much more than Obama did. Liar!

Not even close to true that Obama played more golf than Trump.

As of late May, Trump had spent all or part of 248 days at a golf course, per @markknoller data; Obama had played 98 rounds at the same point of his presidency. https://t.co/UqtdTb03JT pic.twitter.com/QZAUvaQ5oT
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 12, 2020

For what it’s worth, Trump has played far, far more golf than Obama had at the same point in his first term.

The main reason anyone cares is that Trump repeatedly attacked Obama for playing so much golf.
— Philip Bump (@pbump) July 12, 2020

Trump is golfing today. He attacked Obama for golfing when there were just two Ebola cases in the US —among the many other times. A round up: pic.twitter.com/yGpbN7qLWs https://t.co/ehoxafD88j
— andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) June 27, 2020

Trump tried to deflect criticism by doing more Obama-bashing: “Barack was always playing golf.”

Trump — who’d promised he‘d work too hard as president to golf — has spent way more time at golf clubs than Obama had at the same point. Some numbers:https://t.co/JWy1FAqFva
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 25, 2020

Remember when Trump used to criticize President Obama for golfing?

So far his golf trips have cost taxpayers more than $134,000,000 — 335 years of presidential salary.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) May 24, 2020

It's not just that Trump went golfing today, it's that at the height of a pandemic, he's at his other job: making promotional appearances at his struggling business empire. https://t.co/ANxplTv2qH
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 23, 2020

A pathological narcissist acts only in what he believes to be his own interests, so he’s incapable of perceiving any conflict at all. https://t.co/g45x7Q0xZs
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) May 10, 2020

According to @TrumpGolfCount, as of this weekend, Trump has played golf 258 times.

It has cost the American taxpayer $136,000,000.00
— Jill Wine-Banks (@JillWineBanks) July 12, 2020

Update on schools 7/12/20

Trump will ignore warnings about reopening schools. He has politicized the discussion on schools.

Always polarizing on schools, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos brushes off coronavirus risks | Analysis https://t.co/ntrfWJBEra pic.twitter.com/xrheYSUaK0
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 12, 2020

What’s really unfortunate is it seems any hope for a reasonable debate on school reopening suffered a major setback this past week, after state/district leaders spent months drafting plans and engaging and building trust in their communities to make these super tough decisions.
— Erica L. Green (@EricaLG) July 12, 2020

“Right now there are places around the country where the virus is spreading explosively and it would be difficult if not impossible to operate schools safely until the virus is under better control.” https://t.co/BOxTSBmZy8
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) July 12, 2020

One answer that struck me was DeVos conceding: “I can't, as a nonphysician or a nonmedical expert, tell you precisely what to do in the case of one child in a classroom or five children in a classroom….” [transmitting virus].

The experts who can have been sidelined/undermined. https://t.co/LI4j6UHEJo
— Erica L. Green (@EricaLG) July 12, 2020

DeVos praised this charter network during a televised press conference during which she trashed Fairfax Co. schools for offering families the option of all remote/ in-person instruction two days a week. https://t.co/2cN8AXv1Ij
— Erica L. Green (@EricaLG) July 12, 2020

.@BetsyDeVosED you have no plan. Teachers, kids and parents are fearing for their lives. You point to a private sector that has put profits over people and claimed the lives of thousands of essential workers. I wouldn’t trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child. https://t.co/Qs0Z7gCnMo
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) July 12, 2020

NYT: No nation has tried to send children back to school with the virus raging at levels like America’s, and the scientific research about transmission in classrooms is limited.https://t.co/OxuXKSXS15
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) July 12, 2020

BASH: "Yes or no: Can you assure students, teachers and parents that they will not get coronavirus because they’re going back to school?"

DEVOS: "Well, the key is that kids have to get back to school."#CNNSOTU
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) July 12, 2020

Perspective: To DeVos, the virus is an excuse to strip public money from public schools https://t.co/QrHatjqyGO
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 11, 2020

1. Teachers are organizing into a national movement to demand schools stay closed until strict safety measures are in place or the virus is under control.

They say they do not feel safe or listened to. And Trump’s intervention has deepened their anger. https://t.co/yXz7T16psD
— Dana Goldstein (@DanaGoldstein) July 11, 2020

The White House attacks Fauci

He has the nerve to disagree with Trump. I trust Fauci and the other scientists. I don’t trust Trump.

WH officials seeking to undermine the credibility of the government’s top infectious disease expert during a pandemic https://t.co/K3z8E9gC7H
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 12, 2020

Confirming Washington Post reporting– WH openly discrediting Fauci, a top health official/member of the coronavirus task force. Statement from a White House official: "Several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things."
— Kristen Holmes (@KristenhCNN) July 12, 2020

Don’t let this feel normal.

It’s nuclear grade bananas to have White House staff sending reporters opposition research on their own top infectious disease doctor in the middle of a worsening pandemic that has already killed 130,000.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) July 12, 2020

Amazing the WH comms shop is doing an oppo dump on its own, decades-long health expert in the middle of a pandemic. Everything to the WH is an up/down on Trump. https://t.co/o0bMU6Bdrc
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 12, 2020

NEW: Covid cases are surging, but Fauci no longer briefs Trump. Our deep dive into the deteriorating relationship b/w the two and why, despite tension over his public comments, Fauci has no plans to do anything differently. w/ @jdawsey1 @lauriemcginley2 https://t.co/kCLvVQMmX0
— Yasmeen Abutaleb (@yabutaleb7) July 11, 2020

Trump administration refusing to let Dr Fauci appear on CBS show, host says https://t.co/g7SC9winAH
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) July 7, 2020

Trump has been upset that Fauci’s approval and trustworthiness ratings are so high while his own tumblehttps://t.co/hPTdUyYzBV
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) July 12, 2020

The White House is actively trying to discredit Dr. Fauci. https://t.co/pTbLJC1K6X
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 12, 2020

Republican power grab in Wisconsin

You can’t compromise with these people – you just have to beat them.

Elections matter to Republicans…unless Democrats win.

Yesterday, Republican activists on the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the GOP legislature’s lame-duck power grab. Today, they executed a power grab of their own, stripping away veto powers that Governor Evers was elected to wield. It's a deliberate diminishment of democracy.
— Ben Wikler (@benwikler) July 10, 2020

Wisconsin GOP wins power in 2010, gerrymander the legislature such that they can win a supermajority of seats without a majority of votes, pack the state courts, and raise new barriers and obstacles to voting. When Democrats win nonetheless, they strip power from the offices. https://t.co/yaIC43V7zi
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) July 9, 2020

Covid-19 symptoms

A graphic to help you understand the many symptoms of COVID-19 by @taraparkerpope: https://t.co/9eOIZjCFMy
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) August 5, 2020

Here are 10 signs you may have Covid-19:

▪︎ Shortness of breath
▪︎ Fever
▪︎ Dry cough
▪︎ Chills & body aches
▪︎ Sudden confusion
▪︎ Digestive issues
▪︎ Pink eye
▪︎ Loss of smell & taste
▪︎ Fatigue
▪︎ Headache, sore throat, congestion https://t.co/9owDY6IWKr
— CNN (@CNN) July 12, 2020

CDC list of symptoms

WebMD

More on opening schools

So…on the same day the president was railing against C.D.C. guidelines on reopening schools, it turns out a special task force had compiled & circulated said guidance, along with best practices from across the country, that directly contradicted him. https://t.co/kp4TTOyqPU
— Erica L. Green (@EricaLG) July 11, 2020

One in four teachers is at a greater risk of serious illness if they contract coronavirus https://t.co/AL6U74OrlS pic.twitter.com/AODxrXdbra
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 11, 2020

President Trump has been on a rampage against public schools all week, threatening to use the power of the federal government to strong-arm officials into reopening classrooms.

But his effort is now creating a backlash https://t.co/Qm9Ww7rtND
— POLITICO (@politico) July 11, 2020

Trump was wrong to commute Stone’s sentence

It won’t affect his poll numbers.

If you hate him like I do, you expected this.

If you support him, you think Stone should not have been charged.

Except for Romney, Republicans have not objected to it. Cowards.

On Roger Stone, worth recalling this from unredacted Mueller report.

Trump's public statements "support inference that president intended to communicate message that witnesses could be rewarded for refusing to provide testimony adverse to the President"https://t.co/cdwyRzpXwK pic.twitter.com/VKvvb1S6QV
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) July 11, 2020

"This is what corruption looks like," says Elie Honig, a former DOJ prosecutor about President Trump commuting the 40-month prison sentence of his friend Roger Stone. "It's hard to think of a more perfect example of self-dealing than that." https://t.co/S5zvEy5hEP pic.twitter.com/5XEsC3gcdL
— CNN (@CNN) July 11, 2020

This statement again attacks the jury foreperson. The judge found zero evidence she acted improperly. In fact, a juror chosen by Stone’s team to testify said the foreperson urged them to take more time to consider a charge on which most had already decided Stone was guilty. https://t.co/xJ4bLOBGoZ
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) July 11, 2020

I'm annotating the White House's extremely Trumpian statement about the Stone commutation. https://t.co/VMi9nFpuMG
— Philip Bump (@pbump) July 11, 2020

Debunking 12 lies and falsehoods from the White House's statement on Roger Stone's commutation https://t.co/RTmilcllc1 pic.twitter.com/vBghvTXHMh
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) July 11, 2020

The Special Counsel regulations are intended to insulate an independent prosecutor from the President and his political appointees. But if Trump and Barr can simply undo the work of the Special Counsel, the regs don’t work.

Congress must pass a new independent counsel statute.
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) July 11, 2020

Do not forget the jurors who served honorably in this case and were attacked by the President. They sacrificed months of their lives and dealt with death threats. And now the President has undone their work, making a mockery of our lgl system. https://t.co/gE1Prn3IJ1
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) July 11, 2020

Think about the message that Trump is sending to Russia, other foreign countries and anyone in Trump's circle who might help them interfere in / attack our election.
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) July 11, 2020

Stone is Trump's 36th pardon/commutation, a record low number, by far, for the modern presidency. An unusually high number of these (31/36 by my count), like Stone's, were based on a personal or political connection. Both are forms of abuse of an undoubted presidential power.
— Jack Goldsmith (@jacklgoldsmith) July 11, 2020

In @QuinnipiacPoll last Sept, 56% of Americans said they believe Trump considers himself above the law. 59% of indies & 57% of college+ whites agreed. Would a candidate who thought he had any chance of reaching any swing voters do what Trump just did for #STONE? https://t.co/apgliHZeZr
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) July 11, 2020

Any coverage of the Stone commutation must make clear-this didn’t happen just because Stone is a “friend” of Trump’s. It happened because Stone clearly could have implicated Trump & didn’t & has made very clear that he wasn’t doing so in order to get this benefit. https://t.co/eIIc4ouQzR
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) July 11, 2020

Trump commuting Stone in exchange for Stone not rolling on Trump is of course a quid pro quo. Is it politically incorrect in these circumstances to remind people, maybe in a whisper, that the Constitution defines “Bribery” as a “high Crime,” automatically an impeachable offense?
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) July 11, 2020

.@JeffreyToobin on Trump freeing Stone: “This is the most corrupt and cronyistic act in perhaps all of recent history. Nixon at the height of Watergate never pardoned or commuted the sentences of any of the people involved in Watergate. He thought he could never get away with it”
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 11, 2020

I covered the Roger Stone trial gavel to gavel. It wasn’t a complicated case. It always felt larger than Roger Stone. It was about the rule of law and the importance of truth and why that matters. https://t.co/tnunPrvOtG
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) July 11, 2020

Facts:

— The Trump campaign tried to coordinate with Wikileaks through Roger Stone;

— A jury convicted Stone of lying to Congress to protect the President;

— The President now commutes Stone's sentence, sparing him from prison.

Corruption and abuse of power.
— Elie Honig (@eliehonig) July 11, 2020

If you're curious what Stone did, here you go. https://t.co/PfACj1RBNR
— Philip Bump (@pbump) July 11, 2020

Paul Manafort–convicted, not in jail. Roger Stone-convicted, term commuted. Mike Flynn-confessed, not in prison. Donald Trump-serial felon, traitor, not even tried.
Attorney General Barr-actively obstructing justice on the President's behalf. We have no justice system in the US.
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) July 11, 2020

Trump's statement commuting Stone literally includes a mention of how Stone "is also well known for his outspoken support for President Donald J. Trump." It also includes a mention of the debunked theory that CNN was tipped off about Stone's arrest.
— Philip Bump (@pbump) July 11, 2020

There will be talk that Trump commuting Roger Stone's sentence will "thrill his base." But if so, that can only mean that Trump's base is thrilled by him using his power to exonerate his criminal accomplices. If that's what the claim is supposed to be, let's state it clearly.
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) July 11, 2020

A “mistake”? A mistake is like when I turn left when I meant to turn right. This is utter corrupt lawlessness. These people should be ashamed as they sit silently by while their leader tries to torch the rule of law to protect himself. https://t.co/DRMcSycPuS
— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) July 11, 2020

69 Percent of Americans Want Medicare for All

As Biden obstructs, Americans die, families go broke

69% of registered voters willing to give up private Insurance for #Medicare4All

✅ 69% of ALL registered voters

✅ 46% of REPUBLICAN Voters

✅ 88% of DEMOCRAT Voters

✅ 68% of INDEPENDENT Voters

https://t.co/KAV7AH6Vmw
— Veritas (@Veritas1012) July 9, 2020

Millions of Americans have no options for affordable health care during a public health crisis.

Absolutely unacceptable in a nation with the most billionaires on Earth.

This pandemic should have made it clear to anyone still on the fence: Medicare for All must be our future. pic.twitter.com/0WcKmioBS4
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 11, 2020

You know what else they have?

Universal healthcare and less than 100,000 deaths.

Time to pass Medicare for All. https://t.co/SPcuAXL71w
— Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) July 8, 2020

More bad news for newspapers

Support your local paper! We need local news. Nobody will benefit from having all of the news coming out of Washington and New York.

Decline in newsroom jobs

Sincere rhanks to @DanBarryNYT for his craft and extreme care in writing this story. Beyond being featured, what I hope people take away from this is the need to preserve local news in some form. And, if you're read it you've gathered, hedge fund ownership ain't it. @newsguild https://t.co/IimIGqW3Rw
— Evan Brandt (@PottstownNews) July 10, 2020

An excerpt/adaptation from my book in the Washington Post magazine! Hope you’ll give it a look and some thought …. Columnist Margaret Sullivan started out in a vibrant local-newspaper industry. Now it’s vanishing, leaving our ver… https://t.co/PhgzBrZDCl
— Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) July 8, 2020

"It's the kind of thing a local reporter would write about, if there were any local reporters." https://t.co/fWQ8C7XvYh
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) May 28, 2020

Starting today, California-based journalists at @latimes are shifting to a 32-hour workweek under a work-sharing program that will run through July. Our D.C. bureau joins soon. This was a plan proposed by @latguild that will avert at least 84 newsroom layoffs.
— Matt Pearce 🦅 (@mattdpearce) May 10, 2020

the @nytimes created a search tool to help people find and support local news orgs through donations

Press Freedom Day is May 3rd, so there's no better time to find an outlet near you and donate if you are ablehttps://t.co/VeGxckS8dv pic.twitter.com/jSUweNBROz
— rat king (@MikeIsaac) May 1, 2020

It’s no secret that I left part of my heart at ⁦@baltimoresun⁩. Last night, my friends voted for pay cuts and furloughs to help save the paper. Please help them. ⁦@SaveOurSun⁩

Local journalism helps tell the full story – The New York Times https://t.co/nKQ6ct0XBK
— Erica L. Green (@EricaLG) May 1, 2020

Last night, we approved an agreement w/ @baltimoresun for 1 week furlough and permanent pay cuts for those making $67,000+, and 3-week furloughs for most making less than $67k. It also stops @tribpub from laying off at the Sun through May 30, or June 30 if company gets 2 buyouts.
— Baltimore Sun Guild ☀️ (@baltsunguild) May 1, 2020

Give local journalism a fighting chance by creating a demand for it https://t.co/GUOIlPcmpO the crucial importance of news literacy from @alanmillerNLP
— Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) July 13, 2020