The Independent: “Donald Trump asked intelligence officials to investigate a bizarre conspiracy theory that Chinese thermostats changed votes in the 2020 election, a new book claims. The one-term president was said to be ‘intrigued’ by the theory presented to him by Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, according to the forthcoming book Betrayal, by Jonathan Karl of ABC News. Mr Clark led the DOJ’s civil division and worked with Mr Trump to cast doubt on the result of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. ‘(Clark) believed that wireless thermostats made in China for Google by a company called Nest Labs might have been used to manipulate voting machines in Georgia,’ Mr Karl wrote in the soon-to-be-released book. ‘The idea was nuts, but it intrigued Trump, who asked Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to look into it'”

“On Sunday, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) appeared on ‘Fox News Sunday’ where host Chris Wallace pressed him on the question Republicans hate to answer: Was Biden legitimately elected? ‘If you look at a number of states, they didn’t follow their state-passed laws that govern the election for president,’ Scalise replied. ‘That is what the United States Constitution says. They don’t say the states determine what the rules are. They say the state legislatures determine the rules.’ Wallace pressed him on the point. Was the election stolen?”

“‘What I said is there are states that didn’t follow their legislatively set rules. That’s what the United States Constitution says,’ Scalise replied. ‘And I think there are a lot of people that want us to get back to what the Constitution says we should be doing. Not just with elections, but a lot of other things, too.’ Over and over, Wallace asked for a straight answer and, over and over, Scalise offered the same evasive one. Consider what Scalise is doing. He’s intentionally trying not to say that Biden won fairly because that position is anathema to the loudest part of his party’s base. And to avoid saying that, he’s seizing not upon unproven claims of fraud but a similarly inflated assertion that states made it too easy to vote. He doesn’t allege that this led to more fraud or anything along those lines, though others have; he’s simply claiming that because states made it easier to vote, that was the equivalent of an illegitimate Biden win or an election being stolen. Because legal voters cast votes in a manner that their states have authorized” – Philip Bump, Washington Post.

Hi, Senator. I wrote that article. Where did you hear that there is a shortage due to the vaccine mandate?

— Leslie Josephs (@lesliejosephs) October 11, 2021

Left unmentioned in that “Let’s go Brandon!” article earlier Monday was that the MAGA cult are blaming Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for this weekend’s clusterfuck at Southwest Airlines. There is no vaccine mandate in force for Southwest Airlines currently, and only on Saturday did the pilot’s union say they would soon start requiring their members to get the shot. The article literally quotes a Southwest PR person saying “It’s inaccurate. There’s a lot of unfounded rumor and speculation circulating” when asked if vaccine requirements had anything to do with the mess.

The Sun: “Russia stole the formula for the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab and used it to help create its own vaccine, ministers have been told. Security services say they have proof one of Vladimir Putin’s spies swiped the vital data. They say they have proof that vital data was pinched from the drugs firm – including the blueprint for the Covid jab. Russia’s Sputnik jab uses similar technology to the Oxford designed vaccine. Security teams are now sure it was copied. It is understood the data was stolen by a foreign agent in person. Last year spies pointed the finger at President Vladimir Putin. They said they were ‘more than 95 per cent’ sure Russian state-sponsored hackers had targeted UK, US and Canadian bodies developing a Covid vaccine.”

“The late security minister James Brokenshire said at the time: ‘We are very careful in terms of calling these things out, ensuring we can have that confidence in attribution. We believe we have this here.’ Tory MP Bob Seely, an expert in Russian affairs, said: ‘I think we need to get serious about Russian and Chinese espionage. ‘Whether it is stealing the design for Astra- Zeneca or blackmailing us over energy by these authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, we need to get wise to them.’ Home office minister Damian Hinds said today: ‘We live in world where there’s state activity seeking to engage in industrial and economic espionage. ‘We face threats of this type that are different, they are more sophisticated, they are more extensive than they ever have been before.”

https://twitter.com/JoshMandelOhio/status/1447545776549376001

“Let’s go Brandon!” – The current top comment on the Breitbart article “Southwest Cancels 1,800 Flights Days After Pilots Fight Vaccine Mandates, Airline Claims ‘Bad Weather’” posted Sunday.

EXPLAINER: This is so fucking bad it’s almost kind of depressing. Stupid story short, after the end of a recent NASCAR race the crowd were chanting “FUCK JOE BIDEN!” during an interview with the winner, Brandon Brown. The NBC NASCAR reporter Kelli Stavast mistakenly (though most likely willingly pretended to have) misheard them as yelling “Let’s go Brandon!”.

Yeah. That’s what they’re getting excited about. That Breitbart comment has 283 upvotes as of 7:59 AM EST on Monday. Ted Cruz loves it. Notorious dipshit Newsmax host Greg Kelly changed his Twitter handle to “Greg Kelly–LET’S GO BRANDON!“. There’s even a “Let’s Go Brandon Limited Edition Flag” available for $29.99 plus shipping at “faithnfreedoms.com”.

Now, just because I say this is fucking stupid does not make it objectively so. Humor is in the eye of the beholder and naturally a Biden voter is not going to think an overblown code phrase for “Fuck Joe Biden” is funny under any circumstances, sort of like how the MAGA kids sometimes freak out when others mocked the insane shit that Trump or his minions propagated. That being said, I will freely admit that back when the shoe was on the other foot the “It’s Mueller Time!” and “My Attorney Got Arrested” memes were pretty embarrassing. And that the original video of the NBC reporter pretending she didn’t hear those hillbillies scream “Fuck Joe Biden” is actually pretty funny. But this extended, ongoing “Let’s go Brandon” circlejerk is just freaking stupid.

The Atlantic: “Evergrande group, one of China’s largest property developers, is tottering on the brink of bankruptcy. Its founder, Hui Ka Yan, is scrounging to find the cash to meet payments on the $300 billion his company owes. Beijing has warned local officials to prepare for possible fallout if the gargantuan firm collapses. Around the world, financial analysts are wondering if Evergrande is China’s ‘Lehman moment,’ the starting gun for a destructive wave of defaults that could take down the nation’s banks and set back the country’s – and the world’s – already shaky recovery from the pandemic-induced economic downturn. All of that is reason enough to care about what’s happening at this otherwise little-known Shenzhen-based real-estate company.”

“But Evergrande and the problems it faces tell an even more important and fundamental story about China and its future. The crisis exposes the deep, dangerous, and often unrecognized weaknesses in the Chinese economy that could derail its advance and, with it, Beijing’s quest to challenge American primacy on the world stage. That may seem like far too much to hoist onto the shoulders of a troubled company that builds apartments. Officials in Washington, and Americans more generally, tend to think that China’s economic progress rests on 5G mobile technology and artificial intelligence. But in reality, Evergrande is just as core to the future global balance of power, because it represents just how broken China’s economic model really is.”

“Hungary’s first-ever opposition primary mobilized voters, helping the united bloc widen its lead over Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling party, a poll showed. Six opposition parties that have banded together had a cumulative 52% backing among decided voters, compared with 44% for Orban’s Fidesz party, Telex reported on Monday, citing a Republikon poll. The opposition leads 40% to 34% among eligible voters. The poll had a 3.2-point margin of error” – Bloomberg.

Daily Beast: “After a GOP donor accused Corey Lewandowski of sexual misconduct late last month, the former top aide and confidant to ex-PresidentTrump didn’t just lose his cushy job leading a pro-Trump super PAC. He was also fenced off socially – quietly blacklisted at several Trump properties and clubs, MAGA events, and private social gatherings, especially if alcohol is served.”

“The temporary directive, which three people familiar with the matter said came with Trump’s personal blessing, was handed down shortly after a big Republican donor accused Lewandowski of sexually assaulting and harassing her over the course of an evening at a late-September charity function. Others close to Trump have already told subordinates, as well as fellow players in the party and in the conservative movement more broadly, to remove Lewandowski (at least for now) from invitations and emails for upcoming GOP and MAGA festivities, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The message was also delivered in an email viewed by The Daily Beast. Although the news of blackballing the once-top Trump adviser rocketed across MAGAworld, Lewandowski – who has long been loathed throughout prominent MAGA and GOP circles, as well as within Trump’s own family – apparently had not been informed until contacted for this article.”

“The megachurch run by Joel Osteen, the famed pastor who preaches humility and drives a Ferrari, has returned $4.4 million in pandemic loans.  Osteen caught flack last December after it was revealed that his church had taken out loans from the Paycheck Protection Program for COVID-19 relief, meant for small businesses” New York Daily News reports.

“His Lakewood Church in Houston used the funds to keep 368 employees afloat during the coronavirus lockdown, the institution said in a statement to KPRC-TV in December.  The loans are meant for businesses with fewer than 500 employees, but the coronavirus funds were distinguished by the number of religious institutions that took advantage of the funds. In Texas alone, more than 1,000 religious groups got money from the federal program, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported last December.”

“Osteen himself is worth a reported $100 million, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Osteen has said he makes his money off speaking engagements and his best-selling books, which have netted him upwards of $55 million a year. He forgoes the $200,000 salary he’s entitled to as Lakewood’s pastor.  A Lakewood spokesman has provided bank statements showing that the loan had been fully repaid, The Daily Beast reported. PPP loans did not have to be paid back if a company used it to keep all its employees on full payroll and to pay expenses such as mortgages.”

A Navy nuclear engineer and his wife from Annapolis, Maryland were arrested by federal agents for attempting to pass military secrets to an undisclosed country, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Jonathan and Diana Toebbe were arrested Sunday in Jefferson County, West Virginia, allegedly as they were on a trip to deposit another SD card with classified information on it at a drop point.  The FBI says it would’ve been the third time Toebbe provided information on the microchips.

What didn’t Toebbe didn’t know is that he had been dealing with FBI agents the entire time  A Navy veteran, Toebbe sent a package to the government of the unnamed foreign country in April 2020 saying he was providing restricted info.  “This is not a hoax,” he wrote.  Eight months later, the FBI had the package and had opened up communications with Toebbe.  It is not known how the FBI got the information.

5/ I can attest that, after this experience, I am even more dedicated to fighting against vaccine mandates. Instead of enriching the pockets of Big Pharma and corrupt bureaucrats and politicians, we should be advocating the monoclonal antibody infusion therapy.

— Allen West (@AllenWest) October 10, 2021

The Orange Sheikh issued a chilling message recorded at his secluded compound in a swampy wasteland on Sunday. It it he vowed revenge on federal law enforcement for killing one of his fanatics during an attack on the United States government in January and said the jihadi was smiling down from heaven upon her family. The Orange Sheikh did not specify whether the dead terrorist was gifted a harem of 72 virgins by Allah upon her ascension into the hereafter.

“Residents in multiple communities in central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire reported hearing a loud boom or felt shaking Sunday morning. A Hubbardston native who emailed WCVB said that she heard a very loud boom while horseback riding near Lake Dennison in Winchendon. She also said that she felt a shock wave pass by her in the air and that the horses reacted to the sound, but noted that she did not feel the ground move. People who live in Fitchburg, Ashburnham, Gardner and Winchendon reported hearing what sounded like a loud explosion. Others say they felt their house and windows shaking. Meanwhile, WCVB’s sister station in Manchester, New Hampshire, WMUR, received similar reports from Granite Staters. One person in Fitzwilliam who emailed WMUR said they felt about 10 seconds of shaking around 11:30 am.”

“Neither Weston Observatory nor the U.S. Geological Survey have reported any earthquakes in Massachusetts or New Hampshire as of 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Paul Caruso, a geophysicist at the USGS National Earthquake Center in Golden, Colorado, told WMUR he checked the seismographs for the New Hampshire area from Sunday morning and said he did not see anything that looked like an earthquake. Paul Raymond with the New Hampshire Department of Safety told WMUR that the FAA Regional Ops Center had no military plane activity over the state this morning” WCVB reports.

In April, a massive gender reveal bomb was detonated at a New Hampshire quarry, shaking the very same area of both states, so the cops shouldn’t rule that out. If they still can’t find any suspects, then it’s probably best to just say it was aliens fucking around and scaring people on purpose.

In an interview with a batshit harridan, Kevin McCarthy asserted everyone knows “how Google tries to control our thoughts” which is about as vague as it gets, but probably referring to the search giant’s recent decision to pull the plug on ad revenue for climate change deniers.

McCarthy then said recently read something that said Google is telling the Biden Administration who’s putting certain search items into Google. Almost as if he doesn’t want federal law enforcement to know if someone’s searching for “how to build a bomb with ammonium nitrate” or “what’s the best date rape drug to use on teenagers”, probably because the kind of people who would search for those sort of things are the kind of people he wants the GOP to appeal to.

Worth noting is that Google’s corporate parent Alphabet Inc employs tens of thousands of California residents and generates hundreds of billions in economic activity for the state annually. That this dumb fucking idiot casually makes up bullshit about one of the leading companies in his home state’s most important industry just for a little rage stroke from the Fox News audience shows how wide the delta between the Republican Party and the real world has grown.

“Wednesday morning, just before 4 a.m., Broward Sheriff’s deputies were sent to the Playhouse Gentlemen’s Club at 5775 W. Hallandale Beach Boulevard after getting reports of gunfire. When they arrived they found a man had been shot in the parking lot,” reports CBS Miami.

“Witnesses told them Patrick Clark, 40, had argued with several people inside the club during the night. When he went out to his car and he was shot at multiple times by 25-year old Roy Stewart and 46-year old Burton Harjo, according to the sheriff’s office. The fatally wounded Clark fell between two parked cars. When the shooting started, a stray bullet went through the club’s metal door and grazed a woman on the wrist.”

“Senior Taliban officials and United States representatives have discussed ‘opening a new page’ in their countries’ relationship as they kicked off talks in Qatar, according to a top Afghan diplomat. The in-person meetings that began in Doha on Saturday are the first since US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August – ending a 20-year military presence – and the Taliban’s rise to power,” reports Al Jazeera.

“Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, said the focus of the Afghan delegation was humanitarian aid, as well the implementation of the agreement the Taliban signed with Washington last year which paved the way for the final US withdrawal. The minister said the Afghan delegation had asked the US to lift its ban on the reserves of Afghanistan’s central bank. He added that the US would offer Afghan people vaccines against COVID-19.”

Sunday’s CBS News/YouGov survey finds President Biden’s job approve/disapprove rating at 50/50 among adults sampled. On the question of “How important is it to you personally whether or not Congress passes…” the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Build Back Better plan, 75% the sample answered “very or somewhat important” on the former and 71% very/somewhat important on the latter, suggesting the path to improving Biden and Dem’s electoral outlook is pretty damn simple.

Talking Points Memo: “It was getting late in the day on Sunday, Jan. 3 in the Oval Office. Trump was arguing with top Justice Department officials over whether to fire the attorney general in a bid to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The conversation was interrupted, however: Trump wanted to make a call. ‘Get Bobby Christine on the phone,’ Trump thundered to an administrative assistant. The move bewildered Richard Donoghue, the deputy attorney general. ‘I didn’t understand where he was going with this,’ Donoghue recalled in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Less than two hours after the Sunday meeting concluded, Donoghue would be on the phone with U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, BJay Pak, telling him that he needed to resign immediately, and to do so quietly.”

“Bobby Christine, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, would be replacing Pak. Pak’s forced resignation came days before the Georgia special Senate elections, and after weeks in which Trump had pushed state officials to accept bogus claims as fact and award the state’s electoral votes to him. That culminated in a Saturday, Jan. 2 call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, during which Trump demanded that officials ‘find’ the votes for him to win. But the drama of Pak’s ouster and the effort to enlist the Justice Department in the election subversion played out over four crucial days in early January – from Saturday, Jan. 2 to Tuesday, Jan. 5. It was an extraordinary few days that saw Trump nearly hollow out the entire Justice Department by firing the attorney general and replace him with someone willing to fight to overturn Biden’s win. In the end, this story shows, it was only Pak who was forced to leave. Senate investigators confirmed that Pak was forced to resign because Trump ordered it out of a belief that the prosecutor was a ‘never-Trumper,’ while the report reveals new details about the manner in which Pak’s out-of-order replacement, Bobby Christine, was appointed.”

Said House Intel Committee Chairman Adam Schiff on CBS’s Face The Nation: “We have a Republican Party that is now an autocratic cult around Donald Trump. It is not interested in governing. It is not interested in even maintaining the solvency and the creditworthiness of the country, and we have to recognize that they’re not interested in governing. So we’re going to have to govern. We’re going to have to do it, we’re going to have to do it with our own votes.”