The 45th President of the United States is ranked high among the worst presidents.
He is No. 2.
The 15th President of the United States is by far the worst.
James Buchanan, Donald J. Trump, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, William Henry Harrison, Warren G. Harding, Millard Fillmore, John Tyler, Herbert Hoover and Zachary Taylor are America's worst presidents.
Washed Up 45 as I call Mr. Trump is the first president in history to be impeached twice.
The one term of the former president was chaotic to say at best. His impact has left this nation more divided than ever. Many of his supporters still refuse to acknowledge his successor Joe Biden as the president. They are actively sabotaging his agenda so they can run either the former president or another polarizing figure to run.
The history books won't be fair to the former reality television star, business mogul and one time president. He not only allowed white nationalism to fester in the public, he practically made political discourse even worse.
In regards to his Arizona rally, many networks refuse to carry it other than CSPAN and the far-right websites that livestreamed it. Of course, with that being said, the former president spent almost two hours ranting about how the election was stolen, Joe Biden is a failure, the media is out to get him, New York Attorney General Letitia James out to get him, the weak Republicans, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton (who he calls Crooked Hillary), Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, what he done in his four years, the border wall and mandates.
Hodge podge of bullshit.
Again, take this threat seriously.... Washed Up 45 is not going to go away quietly. We need to keep the fight going. We need to not only defeat the Republicans, but the far-right and those on the far-left as well.
The leftists are not allies. They are opposition as well. The remnants of Bernie Sanders are a threat as well. We have to fight two problems from the right and the left. We need to reestablish the center before the country is torn apart.
Washed Up 45 wants no part of that and that's probably one of the reasons why he's No. 2 in the worst president's category.
Capitol rioter faces more toppings on the federal sandwich.
The 22-year old woman who participated in the U.S. Capitol riots is facing more toppings on the possible federal sandwich. She will not only face the role in the insurrection but now the state violations will almost certainly assure a lengthy time out.
Unrepentant and just constantly a threat, this woman appears to have not learned anything from the insurrection.
The woman was arrested for driving under the influence and involuntary manslaughter.
The suspect was drunk and driving the wrong way on Interstate 44 on Wednesday night when she killed a woman and seriously injured the man driving another car in Franklin County, authorities said.
The Missouri Highway Patrol said the wrong-way driver suffered serious injuries and was taken to Mercy Hospital for treatment. The suspect lives in Sullivan.
The crash happened just after 7 p.m. Wednesday on eastbound I-44 in Franklin County. The woman who died in the crash was identified as 32-year-old Victoria N. Wilson of St. Clair. She was a passenger in a car that was hit by the suspect, police said. Wilson’s husband was seriously hurt.
The suspect was issued a citation Wednesday night at the hospital for two felonies: driving while intoxicated resulting in death, and driving while intoxicated resulting in injury. Cpl. Dallas Thompson of the Missouri Highway Patrol said the suspect was cited for those offenses and a patrol trooper will be seeking charges from the Franklin County prosecutor’s office.
Thompson said no mugshot was available of the suspect because she was hospitalized after the wreck, and no court date has been set.
The fatal crash happened on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Capitol riot last Jan. 6. The suspect was pictured during the riot holding a broken sign from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) office.
This woman destroyed the office of Nancy Pelosi. She said she was sorry. Now she faces possible federal charges for a drunk driving incident.
Ethan Corlija, one of the suspect’s lawyers, said he was with her on Wednesday night at the hospital. She needed surgery to close a head wound, he said, but was expected to be released from the hospital sometime Thursday.
He said the crash was “a tragic event” and “not intentional,” adding, “My heart goes out to the other motorist who lost their life and their family.”
Corlija said the plan was to go forward with a court hearing Monday at which the suspect will plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge connected to the Capitol riot.
The misdemeanor should carry a recommended sentence of six months or less in prison.
The suspect is facing five misdemeanors in U.S. District Court in Washington, including knowingly entering a restricted building without authority, demonstrating in the Capitol, stealing, and knowingly engaging in disorderly conduct in a restricted building with intent to impede the government.
Pictures and videos from inside and outside the Capitol show a smiling suspect holding up a piece of a sign from Pelosi’s office. Charging documents say tipsters told the FBI that it was the suspect, and also said she’d posted pictures of herself in the Capitol via Snapchat.
The suspect was one of three people who traveled together to Washington for the “Stop the Steal” rally. All three entered the Capitol and were charged. William D. “Bill” Merry, the suspect’s uncle, and Paul Scott Westover, his friend, have both pleaded guilty.
In the fatal crash, the patrol said the suspect had been driving west in the eastbound lanes in a 2014 Volkswagen Passat. Wilson was a passenger in an eastbound 2019 Buick Enclave driven by Ryan E. Wilson, 36, of St. Clair. He suffered serious injuries and was being treated at Missouri Baptist Hospital in Sullivan.
The patrol said both cars swerved right before the crash. After the vehicles collided, Ryan Wilson’s car ended up hitting cable barriers in the highway median.
Victoria Wilson, the woman killed in the crash, was the mother of two boys, ages 15 and 10. Her husband, Ryan, is a stay-at-home father and the boys were being homeschooled since the COVID-19 outbreak.
A Missouri woman died because of a reckless driver on Interstate 44 being drunk.
Victoria Wilson was a home health care aide who worked primarily with disabled people, including children. She and her mother began doing that work together many years ago.
“She had a heart of gold,” said Victoria’s mother, Tonie Donaldson. “Not everyone can work with mentally challenged children, and she’s done it since she was 13.”
“She never went without a smile on her face,” her mother said.
While Ryan Wilson was hospitalized Thursday, Donaldson and her husband, Eddie, were taking care of their grandsons. Donaldson said Ryan Wilson suffered broken bones in a foot and had a dislocated ankle and several lacerations.
Ryan and Victoria Wilson were heading home on I-44 Wednesday night after eating dinner at Applebee’s to celebrate an upcoming wedding anniversary. Their anniversary isn’t until Sunday but they celebrated early because Victoria works weekends, Donaldson said. The couple had been together 15 years.
Donaldson said she was upset that the suspect wasn’t already in jail or prison for her role in the Capitol riots.
“Why is she still out?” Donaldson told the Post-Dispatch. “With what she did to the government, why is she still walking the street?”
Donaldson said of the suspect, “At 7 o’clock, you’re drunk and she got on the highway drunk?”
Donaldson said the family has set up a fundraising account to help cover funeral expenses.
The suspect could face 30 years to LIFE if convicted in a court of law. The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
I remember in 2016 at the peak of the Democratic presidential primaries, the noise was considering Joe Biden as the potential nominee to replace Hillary Clinton. According to the noise, she was weak, she was corrupt, the DNC robbed Bernie Sanders, no one thought the washed up entertainer would win, she was old, she was in failing health, she allowed Benghazi to happen, she hid stuff on her email server, her husband's alleged affairs, her ties to the Clinton Foundation, the Uranium One "scandal," her best friend Huma Abdein, her buddy Anthony Weiner, etc.
The same noise that saw Clinton get defeated now wants more.
The extreme right and left want to see Joe Biden defeated.
President Joe Biden has enough headaches. The biggest headaches in his presidency is the Republican obstructionists blocking his agenda. He also has two Democratic senators who refuse to side with the Biden agenda. He has one independent senator who is trying to push Biden further to the left. He has the junk food media constantly dogging him over his failures. He has a bunch of lawmakers in the House who refuse to acknowledge he is the current president. He has a handful of Democratic lawmakers busy being activists than lawmakers causing more chaos than solutions. Of course, there's Washed Up 45 continuing his constant trolling.
All the noise is now is about who will run a primary challenge against Biden!
A disgraced former strategist for former president Bill Clinton who has a shoddy reputation is crawling back out to troll for attention.
The guy who once said then presidential candidate Karen Romney would win in a landslide crawls out of his hole. Romney lost to Barack Obama in a landslide. On top of that, he is now a carpetbagger senator in Utah.
This guy was fired from Fox. He has no credibility nor has any contact with Bill or Hillary Clinton. He is now saying that if Democrats lose the midterms, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are toast.
This right wing troll still obsessed with Hillary Clinton.
He along with another far right troll who once worked with Clinton are hoping for a primary fight.
The Karen on Fox said he likes to see the Democrats in disarray.... it's good for ratings and the Republican Party.
Now that Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Al Gore are out of the spotlight, the extremists are begging for a primary challenge.
One thing the president asked of Americans is to be kind.
But the monster that we once knew as the 45th President of the United States is hell bent on trying to destroy the Biden agenda so he can wessel his way back to office.
Every Republican president left a colossal mess for a Democratic president. Every time a Democrat is in the White House, the noise of the right and the left distract Americans from a serious issue. We have a pandemic they refuse to take seriously. The Great Resignation is happening. American workers are tired of dirt pay for hours of work. The Black leftists want voting rights passed now. The leftists want the "human infrastructure" of the Build Back Better agenda passed. The far right want to keep the "Let's Go Brandon" nonsense going.
Kindly remind yourself that this agitator is not trusted whatsoever. This troll was fired for allowing a hooker listen to his conversations with then president Bill Clinton. He has been on a vendetta against Hillary Clinton since.
Rest easy solider. Lawrence Brooks one of the oldest known veterans passed away.
One of the few supercenterian Americans left in the United States passed away. There should be about 350 Americans living past 110 years or older.
Lawrence Brooks was an American veteran of the United States Army and the oldest living man in the United States. A supercentenarian from New Orleans, Louisiana, he was the oldest living known American World War II veteran.
His death was announced by the National WWII Museum and confirmed by his daughter.
Most African Americans serving in the segregated U.S. armed forces at the beginning of World War II were assigned to noncombat units and relegated to service duties, such as supply, maintenance and transportation, said Col. Pete Crean, vice president of education and access at the museum in New Orleans.
“The reason for that was outright racism — there’s no other way to characterize it,” Crean said.
But Brooks, born on Sept. 12, 1909, was known for his good-natured sense of humor, positivity and kindness. When asked for his secret to a long life, he often said, “serving God and being nice to people.”
“I don’t have no hard feelings toward nobody,” he said during a 2014 oral history interview with the museum. “I just want everything to be lovely, to come out right. I want people to have fun and enjoy themselves — be happy and not sad.”
On sunny days, Brooks was known for sitting on the front porch of the double shotgun house he shared with daughter Vanessa Brooks in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans. Neighbors would call out to the local celebrity, wave and bring him soda and snacks.
Brooks was passionate about the New Orleans Saints football team and never missed a game, his daughter said. His church, St. Luke’s Episcopal, was also close to his heart and he never missed a Sunday service until the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Originally from Norwood, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge, Brooks’ family moved to the Mississippi Delta when he was an infant. He was one of 15 children, and lived too far from the nearest school, so his parents taught him what they could at home.
Brooks was working at a sawmill when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1940. After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to the mostly Black 91st Engineer General Service Regiment stationed in Australia.
Later in the war, troop losses virtually forced the military to begin placing more African American troops into combat positions. In 1941, fewer than 4,000 African Americans were serving in the military. By 1945, that number increased to more than 1.2 million.
The 91st, where Brooks served, was an Army unit that built bridges, roads and airstrips for planes. Brooks was assigned as a caretaker to three white officers. His job was to cook, drive and take care of their clothes.
World War II veteran who lived to 112. Lawrence Brooks was still active until his passing.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday posted a video on Twitter of him calling Brooks to wish him a happy Veterans Day last year.
“He was truly the best of America,” Biden tweeted.
In the Veterans Day video, Biden thanked Brooks’ daughter Vanessa for taking such good care of him.
“What people don’t realize — you look at your dad and think of all of the African American men who fought — and some who died — in World War II and never got credit,” he said.
Brooks did not often speak publicly about the discrimination he and other Black soldiers faced in the war, or the discrimination his family faced in the Jim Crow Deep South, his daughter said.
Crean, who got to know Brooks and his family through his work at the museum, said Brooks did talk about noticing how much better he was treated as a Black man in Australia compared with the U.S. But Brooks told Crean thinking about it would make him angry, so he tried not to. During his oral history interview, Brooks said the officers he cared for treated him well and he considered himself fortunate not to have to fight in combat.
“I got lucky. I was saying to myself, ‘If I’m going to be shooting at somebody, somebody’s going to be shooting at me and he might get lucky and hit,’” he said.
He often told the story about a time when he was a passenger in a C-47 aircraft delivering a load of barbed wire to the front when one of the transport plane’s engines went out.
After they dumped the cargo to conserve weight, he made his way to the cockpit. He told the pilot and co-pilot that since they were the only two with parachutes, if they had to jump for it, he was going to grab on to one of them.
“We made it, though,” he said during the 2014 oral history interview, laughing. “We had a big laugh about that.”
Despite not being in combat, Brooks did experience enemy fire during the war. He said the Japanese would sometimes bomb Owen Island, where he worked. He said he learned to tell the difference between the sounds of Japanese, American and German planes approaching.
“We’d be running like crazy, trying to hide,” he said. They had to dig foxholes to protect themselves.
He was discharged from the Army in August 1945 as a private first class.
When he returned from service, he worked as a forklift driver until retiring in his 60s. He has five children, five stepchildren, and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lost his wife, Leona, shortly after Hurricane Katrina.
That 2005 disaster destroyed his home. Then in his late 90s, he was evacuated from his home’s roof via helicopter. His daughter described him as “resilient.”
“He’s been through a lot. He’s real tough, and that’s one thing I learned from him. If nothing else, he instilled in me, ‘Do your best and whatever you can’t do, it don’t make no sense to worry about it,’” she told the AP. “I think that’s why he has lived as long as he has.”
Starting with his 105th birthday, the museum began throwing him annual birthday parties. His favorite part of the celebration was watching the Victory Belles, a trio performing the music of the 1940s. During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the museum organized a parade in front of his home with brass bands and
Charles McGee poses with the former president. He passed away.
The greatest military fighters were the Tuskegee Airmen. Charles McGee, one of few remaining flying aces was a brigadier general, writer and American hero.
Brig. Gen. Moore was one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, died Sunday morning in his sleep, according to a family spokesman. He was 102.
"McGee was a living legend known for his kind-hearted, and humble nature, who saw positivity at every turn," the family said in the statement. "He spent the last half century inspiring future generations to pursue careers in aviation, but equally important, he encouraged others to be the best they could be, to follow their dreams, and to persevere through all challenges."
Over the course of his historic career, McGee successfully completed 409 air combat missions across three wars, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, serving a total of 30 years of active service. McGee has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 and the National Business Aviation Association's Meritorious Service to Aviation Award in 2012. He was enshrined into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2011.
A legendary hero of the skies.
"Today, we lost an American hero. Charles McGee, Brigadier General and one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airman, passed at the age of 102. While I am saddened by his loss, I'm also incredibly grateful for his sacrifice, his legacy, and his character. Rest in peace, General," Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a tweet remembering McGee.
McGee is survived by three children, 10 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
"As the nation mourns, the family asks that we remember the importance and significance of the legacy he left, all of his fellow Tuskegee Airmen, and everyone who played a role in the support and protection of American democracy," the family's statement read.
The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military aviators in the US service corps.
Karen retires because he can't stand Washed Up 45 and Joe Biden.
The New York lawmaker who voted to impeach Washed Up 45 and deliberately sabotaging President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda is retiring. Rep. Karen Katko (R-NY) becomes the latest Republican to retire thanks to the Republican Party sucking the cock of the former president. He still sucks the cock of white nationalism. He just doesn't suck the cock of a washed up entertainer who became a twice impeached one term moronic president.
I tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. I am fully vaccinated and boosted, and am thankfully experiencing only mild symptoms. I will be voting by proxy in Washington this week and working from home as I recover. My constituent service team remains available and ready to serve.
GOP Rep. John Katko announced on Friday he will not seek a fifth term in office.
Katko is the 14th congressional Republican — and the third of 10 to have voted for former President Trump's second impeachment — to announce their retirement. https://t.co/FmsCxgzJHc
"Great news, another one bites the dust," Washed Up 45 said in a brief statement following the announcement. "Katko, from Upstate New York, is gone!"
Katko was one of 10 House Republicans that voted to impeach the former president for inciting an insurrection on January 6, and he was the first of that group to do so.
"To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy," he said at the time. "It cannot be ignored that President Trump encouraged this insurrection – both on social media ahead of January 6th, and in his speech that day."
He was also one of 13 Republicans that voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill recently signed into law, prompting the former president to solicit a primary challenger to him and several of the others. Katko defended his vote for the bill, invoking former Republican President Ronald Reagan.
"Ronald Reagan cut deals all the time with Democrats in the House to get things done for the good of the country," said Katko at the time. "That's what we're supposed to do. This isn't a zero-sum game."
Katko was also the lead Republican who negotiated with Democrats over a bipartisan January 6 commission before QAnon Leader McCarthy and Senate Republicans tanked the effort.
Katko is the 3rd pro-impeachment House Republican to announce his retirement, following Reps. Karen Kinzinger of Illinois and Karen Gonzales of Ohio. In a statement, Katko said he was retiring so that he "can enjoy [his] family and life in a fuller and more present way."
"My conscience, principles, and commitment to do what's right have guided every decision I've made as a Member of Congress, and they guide my decision today," he added.
Every community in the United States will eventually have a legacy. A legacy of tragedy. Gun violence and COVID-19 will affect your town, your family and your life. So I don't want to hear that bullshit about how gun reform is taking away your rights to own firearms.
I don't want to hear that protesting against police killing people of color is hate on cops in general. I don't want to hear talk about the coronavirus being a myth. When you hear folks say "gun rights," what they really mean is that its white privilege.
I don't want to hear folks say masks and vaccine mandates impede their freedoms. It prevents a deadly outbreak from spreading. If you want to die from the coronavirus, that's on you.
I don't want to hear the shit about guns saving lives. Cause a bullet does not have eyes and it's always likely gonna hit a target. These folks seem to not get it. These incidents are a tragic part of American history.
The website Officer Down is a memorial to those who were killed in the line of duty. Those who don't get their names mentioned in the junk food media. Also the website the National Gun Violence Memorial also keeps record of the many individuals killed by gun violence.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or text the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741). Both services are free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The deaf and hard of hearing can contact the Lifeline via TTY at 1-800-799-4889. All calls are confidential. Contact social media outlets directly if you are concerned about a friend’s social media updates or dial 911 in an emergency. Learn more on the Lifeline’s website or the Crisis Text Line’s website.
GUN VIOLENCE IS THE NUMBER ONE PROBLEM IN THE UNITED STATES!
American rabbi tried to calm the hostage taker.
The death of a British man who held four people hostage in a Texas synagogue. Instead of worrying about far-right extremism in the United States, the far-right will devote their time to radical Islam and blame President Joe Biden for the actions of this man.
It's already expected that Americans who harbor bigoted views towards Blacks, Muslims and immigrants to justify the views on white nationalism. Surprised Washed Up 45 hasn't talked about it yet.
The suspect is from Blackburn, Lancashire. He was shot and killed by SWAT teams after he held four people hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel Temple in Colleyville, Texas.
The hostages were not injured.
During the incident, the man could be heard ranting on a livestream in what was reported a British accent.
This was an act of terror.
The Foreign Office of the United Kingdom confirm the suspect was a British national, while the London Metropolitan Police said its counterterrorism officers were in contact with U.S. law enforcement and the FBI.
President Joe Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Karen Abbott, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the U.S. Justice Department were informed of the matter.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss said on social media: "My thoughts are with the Jewish community and all those affected by the appalling act in Texas. We condemn this act of terrorism and anti-semitism. We stand with U.S. in defending the rights and freedoms of our citizens against those who spread hate."
FBI special agent Matt DeSarno said the bureau believed the suspect was "singularly focused on one issue" and that it was "not specifically related to the Jewish community," adding that it would countinue to "work to find [a] motive/"
The suspect was demanding the U.S. release the former neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui.
The woman is serving a LIFE in federal time out because the U.S. accused her of attempt murder, supporting foreign terrorism and plotting to use hazardous material in an attack against Americans.
She was detained in Afghanistan in 2010. She tried to kill an American army captain.
The FBI said that woman is at Criswell. The woman is imprisoned for being an "al-Qaeda operative and facilitator."
The suspect's brother condemned the actions of the suspect. They said they are "absolutely devastated" that the suspect was killed by the law.
"We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident."
This threat was isolated.
On social media he added, "Although my brother was suffering from mental health issues we were confident that he would not harm the hostages ... Later a firefight has taken place and he was shot and killed ... There was nothing we could have said to him or done that would have convinced him to surrender. We would also like to add that any attack on any human being be it a Jew, Christian or Muslim, etc. is wrong and should always be condemned. It is absolutely inexcusable for a Muslim to attack a Jew or for any Jew to attack a Muslim, Christian, Hindu, vice versa etc., etc.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the civil rights organization and the brother of the woman held in federal time out condemned the actions.
This incident was "wicked" and the "heinous" crime doesn't not represent the views of American Muslims. It "has nothing to do with Dr. Aafia, her family, or the global campaign to get justice for Dr. Aafia."
Take a time to hug your family members.
The suspect apparent knew he would die and apologized to the rabbi and the perishers numerous times.
But of course, was the suspect armed?
If he was... I guess that means that the state of Texas must have really weak gun control laws. A foreign national can purchase a firearm without having any background check.
The so-called 2nd Amendment crowd believe that guns are "god's given rights." They seem to not understand that mentally ill folks are obtaining firearms too. But given that mental illness is a cop-out and the insurrection was a motivated attack by a demi-god who lost an election, you'll expect more of this.
So while the far-right will point fingers at the Muslim community, Biden and those who support gun control, the next terrorist is plotting to attack. The FBI manage to stop the suspect before he harmed an innocent victim.
Was there any other way?
Hostage situations often involve the hostage taker usually not surrendering peaceful. But every scenario doesn't look like a movie.
Rosa Lee Hawkins, the founding member of The Dixie Cups passed away.
One of the original members of the R&B soul group The Dixie Cups passed away.
Rosa Lee Hawkins, whose group the Dixie Cups bumped the Beatles off the No. 1 position on the charts in 1964 with their hit “Chapel of Love,” died Tuesday at age 76 in Tampa, FL.
She was 76 and passed from internal bleeding resulting from complications during surgery at Tampa General Hospital, according to her sister, Barbara Ann Hawkins, who was also a member of the group.
“Chapel of Love” was the debut single from the Dixie Cups, and replaced the Beatles “Love Me Do” as No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song had a bit of a revival on the soundtrack of Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Vietnam War film, Full Metal Jacket.
The Dixie Cups were big in the 1960s.
Rosa Lee Hawkins was born on Oct. 23, 1945, in New Orleans. The group started at a talent show (along with Joan Marie Johnson, who died in 2016). A scout for Red Bird Records heard them at the event and invited them to audition for the label. They impressed, and scored a contract.
The Dixie Cups received two Gold Records, one for “Chapel of Love” and another for the hit “People Say.” They were inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
The group recorded a total of four albums, and toured on the oldies revival circuit. In 2011. Johnson left the group, but the Hawkins sisters remained, employing a rotating cast of replacements.
Rosa Lee Hawkins is survived by Barbara and another sister, Shirley; a son, Eric Blanc; and two grandchildren.
A man is holding four people hostage at a Colleyville synagogue. The situation is considered a terrorist attack due to the man's demands to release a federal intern.
The suspect was heard in a livestream demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan.
The Colleyville Police Department said it has deployed SWAT teams to Congregation Beth Israel on Saturday and evacuated residents from the area.
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Texas governor Karen Abbott and the U.S. Justice Department are aware. The FBI has talked to the suspect and so far no one is injured.
Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press news agency that at least four hostages were believed to be inside the synagogue. They spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to discuss the ongoing investigation.
One of the officials said the synagogue’s rabbi was believed to be among the hostages.
Authorities are still trying to discern a precise motive for the attack.
Aafia Siddiqui is serving an 86-year bid.
The officials said the hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda, who sentenced in 2010 to 86 years in prison on charges that she assaulted and shot at US military officers after being detained in Afghanistan.
The punishment sparked outrage in Pakistan among political leaders and her supporters, who viewed her as victimised by the American criminal justice system. Siddiqui is in federal time out in Criswell, Texas.
The officials said the hostage-taker also said he wanted to be able to speak with Siddiqui.
The officials said investigators have not identified the man and cautioned that the information was based on a preliminary investigation as the situation was still rapidly developing.
Texas law enforcement wants a peaceful situation.
ABC News, citing an official briefed on the matter, said the hostage-taker is claiming to be Siddiqui’s brother. But the official also said authorities are yet to confirm his identity.
Katie Chaumont, spokeswoman for FBI Dallas, said an FBI SWAT team was also at the scene and that crisis negotiators had been communicating with someone inside the synagogue. But she could not say whether the person was armed and she declined to describe what the person had said to authorities, citing operational sensitivity.
Chaumont said police were first called to the synagogue around 11am (17:00 GMT) and people were evacuated from the surrounding neighborhood soon after that.
There have been no reported injuries.
“It’s an evolving situation, and we have a lot of law enforcement personnel on scene,” Chaumont said.
American rabbi is trying to calm suspect.
The services were being livestreamed on the synagogue’s Facebook page for a time. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that an angry man could be heard ranting and talking about religion at times during the livestream, which did not show what was happening inside the synagogue.
The man could be heard repeatedly saying he did not want to see anyone hurt and that he believed he was going to die, the newspaper said.
Barry Klompus, a member of the congregation since it opened in 1999, said he tuned into the livestream.
“It was horrible listening and watching, and it’s that much more horrible not knowing,” Klompus said in a telephone interview.
Though he was not able to clearly understand what the man wanted, Klompus believes the man wanted to talk to his sister.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Saturday evening that the president had been briefed and was receiving updates from senior officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he was monitoring the situation closely. “We pray for the safety of the hostages and rescuers,” he wrote on Twitter.
The president of the Union for Reform Judaism, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, said on Twitter the union was “very grateful to law enforcement who are working to free the hostages.”
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, said it was aware of the standoff, and CAIR, a U.S. Muslim advocacy group, condemned the man’s actions.
“This latest antisemitic attack on Jewish Americans worshipping at a synagogue is an act of pure evil,” CAIR said in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with the Jewish community, and we pray that law enforcement authorities are able to swiftly and safely free the hostages. No cause can justify or excuse this crime.”
The federal government is shutting down white nationalist militia group The Oath Keepers. It also arrested its founder and will add more toppings on the federal sandwich. About 10 members of this group are facing sedition.
The seditious conspiracy case against members and associates of the Oath Keepers militia group marks the boldest attempt so far by the government to prosecute those who attacked the U.S. Capitol, but invoking the rarely used charge carries considerable risks.
Still, legal experts who have reviewed the indictment unsealed this past week against Oath Keepers founder and 10 others said prosecutors stand a good chance of winning convictions on allegations that the defendants were working together to use force to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power.
The Civil War-era charge is hard to prove, and scholars say overzealousness in applying it, going back centuries, also discredited its use.
The experts who examined the indictment against the 11 Oath Keepers members and associates said the government’s case is supported by detailed allegations that participants in the plot discussed their plans in encrypted chats, traveled to the nation’s capital from across the country, organized into teams, used military tactics, stashed weapons outside Washington in case they felt they were needed and communicated with each other during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
“This is as a good a case as you could bring,” said Carlton Larson, a law professor at the University of California at Davis who is an expert in treason law.
In the weeks leading up to the insurrection, the indictment alleged, Oath Keepers discussed trying to overturn the results of the 2020 White House election, preparing for a siege by purchasing weapons and setting up battle plans.
“We aren’t getting through this without a civil war. Too late for that. Prepare your mind, body, spirit,” the indictment quoted Rhodes as writing in a November 2020 chat after Washed Up 45 was projected to have been defeated by Democrat Joe Biden.
Authorities say several members of the Oath Keepers shouldered their way through the crowd on Jan. 6 and into the Capitol in a military-style stack formation. Group members are accused of setting up “quick reaction force” teams that stationed weapons outside of Washington and were prepared to deliver arms to group members and associates if they believed the need arose.
In late December 2020, Rhodes wrote in a chat that the only chance the former president had to succeed in overturning the election outcome was if he and the Oath Keepers frightened members of Congress and “convince them it will be torches and pitchforks time is (sic) they don’t do the right thing. But I don’t think they will listen,” according to the indictment.
Rhodes did not enter the Capitol building on Jan. 6, but authorities say he was communicating with Oath Keepers outside on the Capitol grounds. Phillip Linder, one of the lawyers representing Rhodes, said his client intends to fight the charges. Rhodes remains jailed in Texas and has a detention hearing this coming Thursday.
“We believe he is not a flight risk, not a danger and should be released,” Linder said after Rhodes’ first court appearance on Friday.
Rhodes has said in interviews with right-wing hosts that there was no plan to storm the Capitol and that the members who did so went rogue. But he has continued to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
University at Albany assistant professor Sam Jackson, author of the book “Oath Keepers: Patriotism and the Edge of Violence in a Right-Wing Antigovernment Group,” said it wasn’t clear to him before the indictment whether Rhodes or Oath Keepers leaders were involved in a plot to attack the Capitol.
“Now it’s clear that that is the case,” he said. “It’s also clear that national leadership was not solely focused on some anticipated or perceived threat from antifa or other opponents of Donald Trump. But they really were thinking about, ‘OK, how do we prevent the certification of the Electoral College vote if members of Congress don’t see things the way that we do?’”
The last sedition case was filed in 2010 against members of a Michigan militia. Two years later, they were acquitted by a judge who said their hateful diatribes didn’t prove they ever had detailed plans for a rebellion.
Lawyer William Swor, who represented Hutaree militia leader David Stone, said prosecutors in the decade-old case failed to prove that group members were “more than just talking” and were “actively planning to oppose the government.”
“It’s a substantial burden on the government and it is a substantial risk,” he said. “If the government fails to meet its burden, they’re out on the street.”
Among the last successful convictions for seditious conspiracy stemmed from the storming of the Capitol in 1954 when four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on the House floor, wounding five representatives.
Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism, said the collapse of earlier sedition cases against far-right extremists suggests that judges and juries may have difficulty believing that a small group of people “seriously thought they could take on the entire U.S. government.”
Pitcavage said prosecutors in the case against Oath Keepers appear to have a “tremendous amount of evidence about planning beforehand” as well as compelling video evidence of the group members storming the Capitol.
“That sort of evidence was largely missing from all these previous cases,” Pitcavage said. “Sedition cases, in my opinion, are always inherently risky to a certain degree. But I do think prosecutors in this case have a far stronger case to make for the jury than some of their predecessors did.”
If convicted of seditious conspiracy, the defendants could face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, compared with five for the other conspiracy charges.
In all, more than 700 people have been arrested and charged with federal crimes in the Jan. 6 riot. More than 70 defendants remain detained on riot charges. At least 186 defendants have pleaded guilty to riot-related charges as of Thursday.
DirecTV will eliminate OANN from its lineup in spring.
AT&T's DirecTV has formally announced it was no longer a carrier of a far right network that they bankrolled. The One America News Network will no longer be catering to 70 million homes.
By April, the satellite company will drip the network most notorious for peddling election fraud lies and downplaying the insurrection.
Some say this is a blow to the network. It sought to be an alternative to mainstream far right networks like Fox and Newsmax.
Washed Up 45 has encouraged his supporters to watch the network.
The satellite-TV provider informed Herring Network, Inc., that it plans to stop carrying the company's two channels when their contract expires. Herring Networks also owns AWE, a lifestyle channel that stands for "A Wealth of Entertainment."
The network once had a place at the White House. During the pandemic, agitator and cartoonist Karen Rion was briefly pulled after the White House Correspondents' Association had a place at the White House Briefing Room. She continued to violate the terms of the COVID-19 restrictions. Then press secretary Karen Grisham, gave her a temporary return pass. It's not clear if she's even in this time.
With a new president, the OANN folks has been somewhat sidelined.
I guess "Q" sent me to the graveyard. We are quickly approaching 900,000 Americans dead from the coronavirus.
We will surpass this milestone in mid-January.
The idiots on the Supreme Court said that the government can't impose federal mandates on companies.
Thursday's decision delivers a blow to President Joe Biden's attempts to restore the country back to normal. The extremists within the Republican Party want to own the libs. Yes, own the libs by dying of a disease you think is the flu.
A leading QAnon promoter who urged both her followers and strangers she passed on the street not to take the COVID vaccine died Thursday of the coronavirus, making her just the latest vaccine opponent killed by the disease.
Cirsten Weldon had amassed tens of thousands of followers across right-wing social media networks by promoting the pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy under the screenname “CirstenW.”
She was prominent enough to become a sort of QAnon interpreter for comedian conspiracy theorist Roseanne Barr and started recording videos about QAnon with her.
Weldon focused on attacking vaccines and other efforts to fight COVID-19, saying in one video that Dr. Anthony Fauci “needs to be hung from a rope.” She claimed the vaccine killed people and even recorded herself yelling at people standing in line to receive vaccines.
“The vaccines kill, don’t get it!” Weldon warned the waiting vaccine recipients in an undated video posted to one of her online accounts. “This is how gullible these idiots are. They’re all getting vaccine!”
In late December, however, Weldon started showing symptoms of coronavirus infection. In her last video, posted on Dec. 28, Weldon struggled through her remarks about the coming overthrow of the United States government, coughing and complaining that she was exhausted.
Three days later, Weldon was hospitalized in Camarillo, California. She posted a picture of herself wearing an oxygen mask to Instagram and claimed she had “bacterial pneumonia.” Weldon wrote in a post on the social media network Telegram that she refused to take coronavirus treatment remdesivir, calling it “Dr Fauci’s Resmedervir (sic).”
Weldon’s death from COVID is just the latest instance of a far-right personality who opposed vaccination being killed by the virus. On Jan. 3, radio host Doug Kuzma died while infected with the coronavirus. In August, QAnon promoter Robert David Steele died of the virus shortly after posting a picture of himself in an oxygen mask and vowing to still refuse the vaccine.
In September, a QAnon follower named Veronica Wolski became a cause celebre in QAnon circles after she was hospitalized with the coronavirus. QAnon fans besieged the hospital with phone calls demanding that Wolski receive ivermectin, the deworming drug used by some as an unproven coronavirus treatment. Wolski died of the disease later that month.
In the face of these deaths, their surviving friends and supporters have started to allege that the dead QAnon figures are being murdered, either because they were refused internet folk remedies like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine, or because they were killed by the deep-state to cover up their conspiracy theories. In December, Kuzma and a number of other conspiracy theorists were sickened with COVID-like symptoms after appearing together at a conference. Rather than acknowledge that they had COVID, the far-right influencers suggested they had been targeted by an anthrax attack.
After Weldon’s death, her QAnon allies threatened to pursue violent action against staff at the hospital where she died. Scott McKay, a QAnon personality known as the “Patriot Streetfighter,” said he would publicize the names of doctors and nurses involved in treating Weldon, saying he wanted to “put the fear into these medical professionals” in a Telegram post. McKay proposed the hospital staff be sentenced to death, or be murdered in vigilante violence.
“If it’s not done in a military tribunal then it’s going to be done in the street eventually and not to my wishes,” McKay wrote. “That’s my greatest fear. But if it’s necessary, it’s going to be necessary.”
Far right troll fucked around and found out.
Douglas Kuzma, a conservative radio host who contracted COVID-19 after attending a far-right gathering in Texas, died earlier this week. The far-right podcast host died while battling the coronavirus, which he contracted after attending a QAnon-friendly gathering in Texas that right-wingers baselessly claimed was the victim of an anthrax attack.
His daughter, Amanda Kuzma, confirmed his death to the Daily Beast. She said he was a great father.
His friends told that outlet that Kuzma became ill after attending the far-right “ReAwaken America Tour” event in Texas, which happened in mid-December. Lin Wood, a prominent pro-Trump attorney, told his followers on Telegram at the end of last month that Kuzma had “taken a turn for the worse” after he was admitted to hospital.
“Doug is suffering from Covid after returning from a recent patriot conference,” Wood wrote, adding that the host’s lungs were “not responding to treatment. Another Telegram post around that time, from Kuzma’s employer the Frog News Network, said he was in need of prayers and had been put on a ventilator.
Kuzma is not the first vaccine skeptic to generate headlines in this way. Conservative hosts Phil Valentine and Marcus Lamb also died of COVID-19.
Unvaccinated QAnon Trump supporter Cirsten Weldon, who recently died of COVID-19, believed Kobe Bryant was still alive and in witness protection to takedown a network of evil people in sports including LeBron James. pic.twitter.com/jlmGF4wIJC
Dr. Anthony Fauci had to square off with Sen. Karen Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Karen Marshall (R-KS) this week. The two Karens were invested in spreading conspiracies about Fauci and it infuriated him.
Fauci showed a screenshot of Paul's campaign donation site saying that he wants to "Fire Fauci." He also pointed out that Paul's idiotic comments led to death threats against him.
Marshall on the other hand was branded a "moron" when Fauci's mic was hot. When questioned about his financial records, Fauci said that they can be found because it's public knowledge. Marshall didn't want to hear that. After Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) told Marshall to stop badgering him, Fauci injected, "what a moron, Jesus Christ!" while leaving the table.
The omicron variant is more contagious, but is considered less serious. Cases of breakthrough infections are increasing. Thanks to those who refuse to get vaccinated, the coronavirus is mutating and its becoming more infectious. Those who got vaccinated are getting mild symptoms.
Those who are unvaccinated are either experiencing mild to severe symptoms. They are overwhelming the hospitals.
If only Americans got vaccinated, we would have been back to normal. Alas, they wanna fuck around and now they're going to find out. Matter of fact, we all are going to find out.
Of course, there's folks who are fully vaccinated but end up getting the coronavirus. As with vaccines, nothing is 100%. The vaccines are capable of preventing the coronavirus. At best, it's a 94% prevention rate which means 1 out of 500 could be infected even if they're vaccinated.
President Joe Biden had hopes that Americans would take this shit seriously. Unfortunately, Republicans so fucking eager to return to power will keep Americans fixated on the culture wars. Now vaccinations are part of this culture war.
But those fighting the culture war by not vaccinating, not wearing face mask in public, not following protocols, and deliberately ignoring federal and international rules when traveling are going to be the first casualties of the war.
With this pandemic mostly affecting states where Republican governors are, we may have to return to wearing facial protection and cutting back services to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
We came so far only to have a bunch of selfish idiots set it back. Just because they hate President Joe Biden.
The Republicans are so devoted to destroying Biden and the country for what....to regain power.
Pathetic.
The coronavirus doesn't care about your age, race, gender, sexuality, nationality, religion, politics, economic or social standings. It doesn't care about your business, your performances, your personal finances and travel. It doesn't care about the funerals, the birthday parties, the weddings, the vacations, the events and your graduations. It doesn't care about anything. It's a living organism that causes mild symptoms that include: fever, sore throats, chills, respiratory issues, loss of taste or smell and other unknown symptoms. If you have a weak immune system or health issues, your risk increases.
Death does happen to at least 40% of those who are affected by COVID-19.
If you're not vaccinated, your chances of death increases to 48%.
Healthy people can die from this. Take this seriously. You only have one life!
If you need more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov.
