The ayes have it. 69 yes, 30 no. Moscow Mitch and Lindsey Graham were among the Republican yes votes of note. Bill heads to House, facing a restive Dem caucus and likely few if any GOP votes.

https://youtu.be/RYwUIHq3uyY

Fox News host Bill Hemmer claims he made a pilgrimage to the hometown of Karl Marx to learn about the book Mein Kampf, which Hemmer says Marx wrote.  The Miami University of Ohio alumnus said that he journeyed to Trier, Germany while studying overseas to get perspective on the manifesto, which was actually written by Adolf Hitler.  Marx wrote Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto (with Friedrich Engels) which laid out the basis for communism.

“I remember at twenty years old going to Trier, Germany trying to find the home of Karl Marx ’cause, y’know…. 1848… he wrote Mein Kampf,” Hemmer told co-host Dana Perino enthusiastically.  “I wanna know what it was all about.  It’s part of the education in America if you so choose.”

He could’ve chosen to actually read the book, y’know.

Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers vetoed a series of bills passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature that would put significant restrictions on the ability of voters to cast absentee ballots, the Associated Press reports.

Wisconsin Republicans have claimed that the legislation is vital to eradicating fraudulent votes although there is no evidence that anything more than a few scattered ballots nationally were cast fraudulently.  A key battleground state, Wisconsin has not reported any prosecution of people who intentionally voted fraudulently.

Republicans do not have enough votes to override Evers veto, and no Democrats in the state legislature support the bills.  Wisconsin Republicans have approved a review of the 2020 election by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has authorized a separate investigation led by a former state Supreme Court justice.

“STATEMENT FROM CONGRESSWOMAN MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE ON TWITTER’S LATEST ATTEMPT TO SILENCE HER: I have vaccinated family who are sick with COVID. Studies and news reports show vaccinated people are still getting COVID and spreading COVID. I’ve talked with numerous people who have scary side effects like Myocarditis, blood clots and miscarriages. And nearly 7,000 deaths are reported in VAERS on the CDC website. In my opinion, the FDA should not approve these vaccines until more research is done. But Twitter suspended me for speaking the truth, and tweeting what so many people are saying.”

https://youtu.be/2iYTFFVX5jo

Mike Lindell took the stage on the first day of his Cybersecurity Symposium, during which he declared he would provide incontrovertible proof that Donald Trump won the November 2020 election and foreign entities from China Italy Russia somewhere hacked into thousands of voting machines to change votes.

“We probably expected this, so we have a backup plan they’re hooking up now,” Lindell says to dozens of people who attended the event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  “This was an attack–the whole technology was attacked.  We expected that.”

“Coronavirus misinformation has spiked online in recent weeks, misinformation experts say, as people who peddle in falsehoods have seized on the surge of cases from the Delta variant to spread new and recycled unsubstantiated narratives. Mentions of some phrases prone to vaccine misinformation in July jumped as much as five times the June rate, according to Zignal Labs, which tracks mentions on social media, on cable television and in print and online outlets. Some of the most prevalent falsehoods are that vaccines don’t work (up 437 percent), that they contain microchips (up 156 percent), that people should rely on their ‘natural immunity’ instead of getting vaccinated (up 111 percent) and that the vaccines cause miscarriages (up 75 percent).”

“Such claims had tailed off in the spring as the number of Covid cases plummeted. Compared with the beginning of the year and with 2020, there was an observable dip in the volume of misinformation in May and June. (Zignal’s research isn’t an accounting of every single piece of misinformation out there, but the spiking of certain topics can be a rough gauge of which themes are most frequently used as vehicles for misinformation.) The latest burst threatens to stymie efforts to increase vaccination rates and beat back the surge in cases. The vast majority of people testing positive for the virus in recent weeks, and nearly all of those hospitalized from the coronavirus, were unvaccinated. Public health experts, as well as doctors and nurses treating the patients, say misinformation is leading to some of the vaccine hesitancy” – New York Times.

“While Newsmax has not reviewed the Dominion filing, in its coverage of the 2020 Presidential elections, Newsmax simply reported on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors and members of Congress – Dominion’s action today is a clear attempt to squelch such reporting and undermine a free press. Newsmax may have additional comment on the suit later” – Statement from Newsmax responding to monster Dominion lawsuit filed Monday.

Local10.com: “As a result of the increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, the state of Florida requested 300 ventilators from the federal government, according to a Department of Health and Human Services planning document obtained by ABC News. The request was made on Friday ‘to replace expended state stores,’ the document said. The ventilators were expected to be delivered on Monday, though it was not said how they will be allocated. It comes as doctors are stressed and hospitals are tapped for resources, their beds continuing to fill with unvaccinated patients infected with the virus. ‘The nurses, the physicians, they have passed burnout a long time ago,’ said Dr. Joshua Lenchus, Broward Health’s chief medical officer. ‘This is sheer exhaustion'”.

A DailyKos/Civiqs poll found that 42% of Republican-identifying respondents don’t believe the history of racism in the United States should be taught in schools at all, edged out by 44% who responded “Yes, as a minor topic”, and only 9% saying “Yes, as a major topic” and 5% “Unsure”.

54% of Republicans also said they were “Not worried at all” about Delta Coronavirus, 31% “Not too worried”, with only 12% and 2% “Somewhat” and “Very worried”, respectively. Read more here.

The quest to uncover voter fraud is again landing at the GOP’s front door:  the wife of rumored Republican candidate in the upcoming US Senate race in Georgia reportedly voted illegally in Georgia, even though she’s a resident of Texas, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Julie Blanchard cast an absentee ballot in Fulton County using an address in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, where she owns a house, even though she and her former football player-husband live in Westlake, Texas.

Walker, a Texas resident who was a celebrated running back at the University of Georgia, is being touted as a high-profile candidate in the 2022 Senate race against Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock.  He has enthusiastically taken up the mantle of Donald Trump’s Big Lie regarding the 2020 election and called for people who voted fraudulently to be prosecuted. 

AP: “Russian authorities have opened a new criminal case against the two closest allies of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the latest in a series of moves to stifle his already embattled team. The Investigative Committee on Tuesday announced a probe against Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov, accusing them of raising funds for extremist groups.”

“The charge carries a punishment of up to eight years in prison. In June, a court outlawed Navalny’s Foundation for Fighting Corruption and a network of his regional offices as extremist organizations. The designation barred people associated with the groups from seeking public office and exposed them to lengthy prison terms. The foundation suspended its crowdfunding efforts shortly before the court ruling to mitigate the risks for its supporters. Last week, however, Navalny’s team announced it was resuming fundraising through the use of encrypted transactions that bypass the Russian banking system and would allow donors to remain anonymous.”

Tucker Carlson, Hannity and the rest couldn’t exist without fear. They have gonzo ratings because they purposely scare the shit out of their audience. I know because I used to do some of that myself.

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) August 10, 2021

“Police in Laurens say they are working to identify an individual seen giving a tattoo to someone at a McDonalds in the Laurens area. According to police, officers are also working to identify the person receiving that tattoo as well as the employees and managers on duty. Laurens Police Department says it is working with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to hold those who participated accountable” Fox Carolina reports.

“Police in Laurens say they are working to identify an individual seen giving a tattoo to someone at a McDonalds in the Laurens area. McDonald’s released a statement about the alleged incident on Monday. ‘In our restaurants, nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our customers & employees. The conduct reported yesterday is not in line with the values of our organization or in line with our expectations for how restaurants should be run. We are investigating the incident and will take appropriate action to ensure that my restaurant is both a safe place for my employees to work and for my customers to enjoy.'”

Never heard of FreeTalk45? That’s okay. Apparently neither have the ISIS propaganda team. Or maybe they did but decided it wasn’t worth their time since no one would ever see their Free Talks promising holy vengeance against the degenerate infidels in the name of Allah.

“CNN ‘New Day’ hosts suggested on Monday a travel ban for states like Florida where the number of COVID cases are rising. ‘New Day’ co-host Brianna Keilar told viewers that one in five people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States are coming from Florida. She then referenced a comment from CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. ‘It’s so high in Florida that I think if Florida were another country, we would have to consider banning travel from Florida to the United States. He [DeSantis] needs to understand that he’s painted himself into a corner. People are dying in Florida, it’s going to get much worse. The hospitals are filling with people,’ Reiner said.”

“Fellow co-host John Berman asked CNN analyst Harry Enten, ‘if Florida or Louisiana were foreign countries, would we ban travel at this point?’ The CNN reporter said Dr. Reiner was ‘on to something’ about a travel ban against states like Florida. Enten said countries like the United Kingdom, Greece, and France, which have travel restrictions imposed on them by the CDC, currently have lower COVID rates than Florida and Louisiana” Fox News reports.

Ron Brownstein, CNN: “The blue-collar barricade looms as the most stubborn obstacle to President Joe Biden enlarging his base of support. As both candidate and president, Biden has devoted enormous effort to regaining ground with working-class voters, particularly the White voters without college degrees who have drifted away from the Democrats since the 1970s. But in the campaign, he improved on Hillary Clinton’s anemic 2016 performance with those voters only modestly. And in office, an array of recent polls show he’s failed to increase his approval rating with those non-college-educated White voters much, if at all, beyond the roughly one-third of them who he attracted last November – even though he’s aimed much of his rhetoric and presidential travel at them and formulated an agenda that would shower them with new government benefits.”

“Biden’s small gains with these voters last fall still helped him tip the critical Rust Belt battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and many Democrats say that any progress with them will be critical to the party’s electoral fortunes in 2022 and 2024. ‘The key is you have a president who is speaking to them and fighting for them, non-college-educated voters of all races,’ says John Anzalone, who served as a lead pollster for Biden during the campaign. ‘I think he has their attention, and that’s what is really important for the future, whether the 2022 election or 2024.’ But the continuing resistance confronting even Biden – a 78-year-old White Catholic who highlights his working-class roots at every turn – underscores the challenge an increasingly diverse and culturally liberal Democratic Party will face in recovering as much support as it attracted from these voters as recently as in Barack Obama’s two campaigns. It may be too strong to say Biden represents the Democrats’ last chance to restore their competitiveness with working-class White voters. But it seems likely that if he can’t do so, there are few others in the Democrats’ next generation of emerging leaders who have a better chance.”

“Suzanne Morphew, a Colorado mother-of-two who vanished without a trace while out on a bike ride on Mother’s Day last year, had a prolonged affair before her disappearance, investigators revealed in court on Monday. The shocking revelation came during the start of a two-day preliminary hearing for the trial of her husband, Barry, who is accused of killing the 49-year-old on May 10, 2020. Morphew, 53, is facing several charges, including first-degree murder after deliberation and tampering with physical evidence, in connection with his wife’s disappearance. Morphew has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. According to Dru Nielsen, Morphew’s defense attorney, Suzanne was ‘spying’ on her husband because she believed he was having an affair. In reality, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Commander Alex Walker said during cross-examination, the mother of two was having a two-year affair with a man named Jeff Libler, with whom she had attended high school in Indiana. Walker said that over the two-year affair, Suzanne frequently spoked with Libler and met up with him at least six times in different cities across the country.”

“On May 5, 2021, nearly a year after his wife’s disappearance, Barry Morphew was arrested and charged with murder. Days later, he was hit with new charges after he allegedly submitted a mail-in ballot on behalf of his wife for the 2020 election. The ballot for former President Donald Trump was submitted in October 2020 – and included the defendant’s signature on the witness line. ‘I wanted Trump… to win,’ Morphew told FBI agents in April when questioned about submitting his wife’s voting ballot, insisting that she was going to ‘vote for Trump anyway’ and thought he was allowed to vote on behalf of his spouse. ‘I just thought, give him… another vote. I figured all these other guys are cheating'” reports the Daily Beast.

Like a great many of the comings and goings we here at National Zero end up reporting on, this story begins in the dregs of the MAGA internet, where facts and beliefs are interchangeable:

The article reads like some unemployed incel’s third attempt at a “cyber thriller” movie script but he hasn’t get around to writing any actual dialogue yet. It’s rehashed shit from Telegram posts by “CodeMonkeyZ”, aka 8chan founder Ron Watkins, aka the man widely-rumored to be the “real” Q of QAnon fame, alleging that Dominion Voting Systems ballot tabulation devices can be connected to the internet, thus “proving” the 2020 presidential election was hacked and stolen from Trump, and so on and so forth. Various pieces of the alleged whistleblower’s “evidence” was included in the article, along with a video posted on right wing YouTube knockoff Rumble.

Office of the Texas Governor press release: “Governor Greg Abbott today announced a series of actions the State of Texas is taking to mitigate the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will be utilizing staffing agencies to provide medical personnel from out-of-state to Texas health care facilities to assist in COVID-19 operations. The Governor has also sent a letter to the Texas Hospital Association asking hospitals to voluntarily postpone elective medical procedures, for which a delay will not result in loss of life or the deterioration of a patient’s condition, in order to increase hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients.”

“Governor Abbott is directing the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) and DSHS to open additional COVID-19 antibody infusion centers in communities across the state. These infusion centers will treat COVID-19 patients who do not need hospitalization with therapeutic drugs that can prevent their condition from worsening and requiring hospital care. These centers also help increase bed capacity in hospitals so that resources are available for the most ill patients. The existing infusion center in Lubbock will expand capacity this week, and DSHS will launch five new centers throughout Texas beginning with a facility in San Antonio tomorrow. The State deployed similar measures in early 2021 to communities across Texas. Patients must meet certain criteria and have a referral from a doctor.”