House Republicans fume at Speaker Johnson over handling of CR: ‘A total dumpster fire’

Mychael Schnell Tue, December 17, 2024 at 11:28 AM EST

(Once again, Johnson and lies and starts a fire in the country)

House Republicans fume at Speaker Johnson over handling of CR: ‘A total dumpster fire’.

House Republicans are fuming at Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) handling of an end-of-year measure to extend government funding until March, saying it is more like a sprawling omnibus — which they abhor — than a simple temporary funding measure.

The continuing resolution (CR), which will keep government funding at current levels through March 14,is also set to include $100.4 billion in disasteraid for those affected by hurricanes earlier this year and $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, lawmakers said, among other provisions.

“It’s not a CR, which is a continuation of the budget. It’s turning into an omnibus,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said.

The final text of the measure has not yet been released, as congressional leaders work through the remaining hangups ahead of Friday’s funding deadline. But as the package begins to come into clear focus, Republicans of all stripes — including hard-line conservatives, committee chairs and moderates — are hammering away at Johnson for its contents, the process he followed to craft it, and how he plans to bring it to the floor for a vote.

“It’s a total dumpster fire. I think it’s garbage,” said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. “This is what Washington, D.C., has done. This is why I ran for Congress, to try to stop this. And sadly, this is happening again.”

“We get this negotiated crap, and we’re forced to eat this crap sandwich,” echoed Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), another Freedom Caucus member. “Why? Because freaking Christmas is right around the corner. It’s the same dang thing every year. Legislate by crisis, legislate by calendar. Not legislate because it’s the right thing to do.”

Johnson received an earful of criticism during a closed-door House GOP conference meeting Tuesday, where he briefed members on the emerging details of the government funding package.The gripes are not just coming from hard-line conservatives. Rep. Mike Lawler(R-N.Y.), who represents a district won by President Biden in 2020 and Vice President Harris last month, stood upduring the GOP conference meeting and told Johnson the government funding process has not been member-driven, according to a source in the room.

Lawler also aired grievances about Democrats playing a key role in the funding process, telling Johnson at one point,“I’m not a f ing Democrat.”

“Lawler just went to the microphone and he said, ‘This is no way to due process. … This is bulls ,’”the source said. “He’s like, ‘Look, why are you telling me, if I want something I need to go talk to [Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer], and [House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries] hasn’t blessed this.’”

“He literally said, ‘because I’m not a f ing Democrat,’” the source added. “He said, you know, I should be able to go move the concerns and priorities for my district without having to go talk to these guys. He said it hasn’t been a member-driven process.”

At one point, when Johnson told his members that the CR was a collaborative effort that had committee involvement, Rep. JasonSmith (R-Mo.), the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, responded “not true,” according to a source in the room. Smith declined to answer questions from reporters as he left the meeting.

Johnson, for his part, sought to sell the emerging package to his conference during the meeting, claiming to members that Schumer negotiated in bad faith and that Democrats did not secure any wins in the bill, another source in the room told The Hill.

After the gathering, the Speaker downplayed concerns from Republicans who said the bill is akin to an omnibus.

“This is not an omnibus, OK? This is a small CR that we had to add things to that were out of our control,”Johnson said in a press conference. “These are not man-made disasters. These are things that are — the federal government has an appropriate role to do.”

“So, I wish it weren’t necessary. I wish we hadn’t had record hurricanes in the fall. And I wish our farmers were not in a bind so much that creditors are not able to lend to them. We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits,” Johnson said….

https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-republicans-fume-speaker-johnson-162811403.html

Walmart employees are now wearing body cameras in some stores

Tue, Dec 17 2024 7:35 AM EST Gabrielle Fonrouge

Key Points

• Some Walmart employees are now wearing body cameras in U.S. stores as part of a pilot program.

• The tech, widely deployed in law enforcement, is now being expanded into retail to help deter conflict and prevent theft.

• TJX Companies said earlier this year that its loss prevention employees are using body cameras in some locations.

Walmart has started giving store-level associates body cameras to wear as part of a pilot program at some of its U.S. locations, CNBC has learned.

It’s not clear how many of Walmart’s stores have the recording devices, but some locations now have signs at entry points warning shoppers that it has “body-worn cameras in-use,” according to witnesses and photos posted online.

In at least one store in Denton, Texas — about 40 miles north of Dallas — an associate checking receipts was seen wearing a yellow-and-black body camera earlier this month, according to a shopper who shared a photo with CNBC.

“While we don’t talk about the specifics of our security measures, we are always looking at new and innovative technology used across the retail industry,” a Walmart spokesperson told CNBC. “This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any longer-term decisions.”

Walmart, the largest nongovernmental employer in the U.S., is testing the technology after smaller retailers started trying body cameras at their own stores as a way to deter theft. Body cameras and the footage they gather are commonly advertised as a way to prevent shoplifting, but Walmart intends to use the tech for worker safety — not as a loss prevention tool, according to a person familiar with the program.

In a document titled “Providing great customer service while creating a safer environment,” staff are instructed on how to use the devices, according to a photo of the document posted on an online forum for Walmart employees and customers. It instructs employees to “record an event if an interaction with a customer is escalating” and to not wear the devices in employee break areas and bathrooms. After an incident occurs, staffers are told, they are to discuss it with another team member, who can help them log the event in the “ethics and compliance app,” according to the document.

The body cameras at Walmart come during the thick of the holiday shopping season, when retail employees work long hours and face tough interactions with customers that can be more tense and hostile than usual.

“There’s too much harassment that goes on throughout the year, but especially during the holiday season … it’s even worse,” said Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. “Everyone is stressed out. If they can’t find the item they’re looking for, they get upset and whom do they blame? They blame the shop worker.”

However, it’s unclear whether body cameras actually help to deescalate conflict. Appelbaum, whose union does not represent Walmart employees but includes staff from retailers such as Macy’s and H&M, said the RWDSU is concerned that body cameras are more about surveillance and deterring theft than making employees safer.

“Workers need training on deescalation. Workers need training on what to do during a hostile situation at work. The body camera doesn’t do that. The body camera doesn’t intervene,” said Appelbaum. “We need safe staffing and we need panic buttons.”

Bianca Agustin, the co-executive director of United for Respect, a workers organization for Walmart and Amazon staffers, said the group has asked Walmart to provide more training for its employees but that the company hasn’t met those demands. She said body cameras could be part of the solution but cameras alone are “no substitute” for proper training.

“There’s a claim that the body cams are going to promote deescalation just organically. We don’t think that’s true,” said Agustin. “You see a lot of violence against workers already at the self-checkout kiosks when they even are attempting to [deter theft] … there’s a potential that this might hurt that [deterrence] … it also could provoke people.”

Plus, “there’s already cameras in stores,” said Agustin.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/17/walmart-employees-wearing-body-cameras.html

VICTORY — American Airlines Agrees to End Illegal Discrimination in Hiring, Recruiting, and Employment Practices Following AFL’s Civil Rights Complaint

December 17, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) notified America First Legal (AFL) thatAmerican Airlines has agreed to abandon the discriminatory employment practicesAFL outlined in its federal civil rights complaint against the company.The airline acknowledged that recruiting and hiring based on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) violates federal laws and equal employment opportunities.

On January 17, 2024, AFL filed a complaint against American Airlines with the OFCCP, requesting an immediate investigation into the airline for non-compliance with federal contracting requirements. Despite receiving over $140 million in federal government contracts since 2008 and promising in accordance with Executive Order 11246 that it will not discriminate in hiring, promotion, or employee training because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,American Airlines has explicitly engaged in race and sex discrimination in hiring programs, Cadet Academy recruitment, and promotional processes.

On December 13, 2024, the OFCCP held an informal compliance conference with American Airlines in accordance with 41 CFR §60-1.24 (c) (2) to address the allegations detailed in AFL’s complaint. OFCCP’s investigation indicated a violation of the equal opportunity clause, requiring a compliance conference with American Airlines to resolve the matter. Following the compliance conference with OFCCP,American Airlines acknowledged and agreed to end its illegal race and sex-based discrimination in hiring and promotional practices.

Earlier this year, AFL filed similar complaints against United Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The OFCCP has since confirmed that each airline has agreed to end illegal, discriminatory hiring practices, including quotas and benchmarks for recruiting and hiring based on race and sex.

American Airlines, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines have a combined airline market share of approximately 50 percent. AFL will continue to fight against illegal DEI policies and ensure that taxpayer dollars do not fund unlawful discrimination through federal contracts with non-compliant corporations.

Statement from Will Scolinos, America First Legal Counsel:

“American companies must return to using merit—not the desire to check a DEI box—to select the most skilled and qualified employees. American Airlines’ agreement with the OFCCP is AFL’s latest victory in our fight to put illegal discrimination on the no-fly list,” said Will Scolinos.

Read the letter here.

https://aflegal.org/victory-american-airlines-agrees-to-end-illegal-discrimination-in-hiring-recruiting-and-employment-practices-following-afls-civil-rights-complaint/

America First Legal Launches Investigation to Examine Connection Between Loudoun County School Board, Former FBI Deputy Director Andy McCabe, and the Infamous AG Garland October 4th Memo Used to Target American Parents

December 13, 20241/2

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal(AFL) launched an investigation to determine the role of former FBI Deputy Director and Loudoun County resident Andy McCabe and his wife Jill McCabe, advisor to the Loudoun County School Board, in Attorney General Merrick Garland’s October 4th, 2021 memothat mobilized federal counter-terrorism resources against concerned parents speaking up during school board meetings.

In 2020, parents in Loudoun County began speaking out againsta variety of issues involving their public schools, includingschool closures, Critical Race Theory (CRT), transgender bathroom and locker room policies, and the politicizationof the Loudoun County School Board as it related to those issues.

In March 2021, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office opened a criminal investigation into a private Facebook group called “The Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County” after members suggested targeting parents for speaking out at school board meetings against school closures and CRT in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS). Among the group members were six school board members, the Commonwealth Attorney, and a member of the Board of Supervisors. Later, the FBI launched a parallel probe into the matter.

On May 28, 2021, LCPS announced that there was an incident in the main office of Stone Bridge High School but that there was no safety threat.That “safety incident” was in reference to an upset father, not the underlying sexual assault of his daughter.

(Snapshot 1)

Later that evening, an FBI agent called the Loudoun CountyEmergency Communications Center and asked about “the incident at Stone Bridge HS today.” When the operatorinformed the FBI agent that it was a sexual assault investigation being handled by local law enforcement, the FBI agent lost interest.

Snapshot 2

Since the beginning of2021, members of the Loudoun County School Board and allied community members made reports to local and federal law enforcement, alleging that they had been threatened and harassed for their advocacy in support of school closures, CRT, and the district’s transgender policies.Community members have also publicly discussed having contact with the FBI which was monitoring local issues in Loudoun County.

Snapshot 3

Notably, on December 17, 2020, Jill McCabe was appointed as a formal advisor to the Loudoun County School Board. On June 22, 2021, the Loudoun County SchoolBoard held a meeting to discuss the adoption of “transgender” bathroom and locker room policies. Jill McCabe was the second speaker and spoke in favor of the policies. The school board ended public comment after members of the audience applauded a speaker who was critical of the board’s policies. Following the closing of the meeting,Scott Smith, whose daughter had been sexually assaulted in the school restroom, was arrested during a confrontation with a member of “The Anti-Racist Parents” of Loudoun County.

Ms. McCabe was also a candidate for Virginia Senate in 2015 and received over $700k in campaign donations from entities controlled by then-Gov. and 2021 gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe. Shortly after the issuance of the Attorney General’s October 4, 2021 memo, Andy McCabe served as a keynote speaker at a Loudoun County Public Schools event on cybersecurity.

Snapshot 4

On ==September 29, 2021, the partisan “National School Boards Association” made public a “letter” demanding federal

action under the PATRIOT ACT to stop parents from objecting to mask mandates and CRT. The group demanded Federal action because parents were engaged in First Amendment activities, including “posting watchlists against school boards and spreading misinformation that boards are adopting critical race theory curriculum== and working to maintain online learning by haphazardly attributing it to COVID-19.”

https://aflegal.org/america-first-legal-launches-investigation-to-examine-connection-between-loudoun-county-school-board-former-fbi-deputy-director-andy-mccabe-and-the-infamous-ag-garland-october-4th-memo-used-to-targe/

>>22182753

2/2

On October 4, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued his infamous memo to the FBI and all United States Attorneys, promising the Department would “protect all people in the United States from violence, threats of violence, and other forms of intimidation and harassment.” The press release announcing the memo also encouraged people to report to the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center.

Almost immediately, on October 7, 2021, AFL requested the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General investigate “whether the Attorney General’s memo was formulated and issued based on improper considerations.”

AFL highlighted serious irregularities, including evidence demonstrating that the memo stated justification was a fabricated pretext by the Biden White House to chill parents’ speech and political action. Among other things, AFL pointed out that “the normal clearance process and standard order both within the department (including legal sufficiency review by the Office of Legal Counsel, the Civil Rights Division, the Criminal Division, the Office of Legal Policy, and other components), and between the department and the White House Counsel’s Office and the Office of Management and Budget, [had been] bypassed or corrupted.”

On May 21, 2023, the House Weaponization Committee released a report revealing that the FBI had opened 25 assessments with the threat tag “EDUOFFICIALS” and assigned seventeen of those investigations to the Criminal Investigative Division, six to the Counterterrorism Division and two to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate. Of those 25 investigations, the FBI determined that only one warranted a full investigation.

The Committee also revealed that the Attorney General’s memo was an attempt to silence parents critical of Democratic education policies(policies like school closures, Critical Race Theory, transgender bathroom, and locker room policies) ahead of the 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial election between Glenn Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe.

On December 21, 2023, AFL released additional records confirming that the Garland memo was the means by which leftist political officials weaponized the government against parents.

There was no place in Virginia where parents were more critical of far-left school policies than Loudoun County. AFL demands complete transparency in the FBI’s involvement and collusion in the unconstitutional attack on American parents defending their children from leftist ideology.

Statement from Will Scolinos, America First Legal Counsel:

“The FBI exists to protect everyday Americans from critical threats—not to target them for speaking out against injustice. AFL and Congressional investigators have established that the Biden-Harris Administration in Washington, DC, had weaponized the federal government to target parents without reason and contrary to law. This investigation follows up on our prior work by focusing on whether the FBI was directly or, through former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s wife Jill McCabe, indirectly involved in the whole-of-government assault on parental rights in Loudoun County,” said Will Scolinos.

Read the FOIA request here.

https://aflegal.org/america-first-legal-launches-investigation-to-examine-connection-between-loudoun-county-school-board-former-fbi-deputy-director-andy-mccabe-and-the-infamous-ag-garland-october-4th-memo-used-to-targe/

>>22181413, >>22181508, >>22181623 BREAKING - LIZ CHENEY REFERRED FOR PROSECUTIONpn

VIDEO ATTACHED

Real America's Voice (RAV)

@RealAmVoice

BREAKING: CHENEY REFERRED FOR PROSECUTION

Witness tampering, just like we always knew she'd presented 'evidence' of testimony where Cassidy Hutchinson lied in her statements.This is worth up to 20 years in prison.

@JSolomonReports

@WorkingWomanTV

@DBrodyReports

@TBatesNews

https://x.com/RealAmVoice/status/1869022808895828284

Bidan will now rush a pardon

Corrupt Media Obsess Over Luigi Mangione After Memory Holing Trump’s Would-Be Assassins

By: Beth Brelje December 13, 20241/2

The media builds a mystique around an alleged murderer while ignoring two gunmen who targeted a presidential candidate.

The media has raised the curiosity bar, and the new measure is Luigi Mangione, the accused assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Legacy media has shown a rare burst of old-fashioned reporting chops, digging deep into the life of Luigi Mangione, 26, who grew up in an $800,000 Towson, Maryland, home, had a wealthy real estate mogul grandfather, and suffered from back pain made worse after he went surfing in Hawaii and again when he slipped on a piece of paper, according to an ABC News report. Mangione was the 2016 valedictorian at the Gilman School in Baltimore, a private boys’ school with current tuition of nearly $38,000. The details are plentiful and the digging continues.

Rich kids are fascinating. Murder is fascinating. Manhunts are fascinating. Check, check, check. It’s like catnip to readers. And bonus, Luigi Mangione is, well of course we can’t say it, but folks have noticed: he happens to be good looking. And something about health insurance? His platform is not super clear. But health insurance is important, and way too expensive. The all-knowing media can fill in the gaps on that issue.

Mentally unstable media pieces popped up, like The Atlantic’s “This Is How Political Violence Goes Mainstream: The UnitedHealthcare shooting marks a new moment of normie extremism,” which describes Mangione as an average guy and argues, “The killing demonstrates how mainstream political violence is becoming.”Business Insider published a sympathetic, 1,500-word background on his life that talks about how he once started a book club, and how, friends say, even if he is found guilty, Mangione is a nice guy and they would be comfortable alone in a room with him.

You’ll need mouthwash if you read this headline from The Guardian out loud: “Luigi Mangione is the median American voter: He’s a highly educated, heterodox, politically homeless moderate – and that fact should terrify us all.”

Yuck. The media is building a mystique around an alleged murderer because he meets the magic media formula for a good story.

What is a good story?One that is easy to write, guaranteed to get clicks, and will distract readers from important news that might affect their lives. It is a story that promises to make you look here, not there.

With the media’s new bar,the importance of all shootings could be measured on a scale from Thomas Crooks (Forget this happened) to Luigi Mangione (Made-for-TV movie potential).

Who is Thomas Crooks? He should be a household name, but legacy media was not so interested in him. Crooks was the rooftop sniper who shot Donald Trump in the head at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally on July 13. Crooks killed attendee Corey Comperatore and injured several others before he was shot and killed by the Secret Service on the scene. If not for a divinely timed turn of the head, Trump might have been killed.

Why is the media disinterested in the motivebehind the attempted assassination of a then-presidential candidate and now president-elect?Should we have a national conversation about what happened there? Nah. That boy was probably just touched in the head. That’s all you need to know. Move on folks, nothing to see here.

https://thefederalist.com/2024/12/13/corrupt-media-obsess-over-luigi-mangione-after-memory-holing-trumps-would-be-assassins/

>>22182993

2/2

The Washington Post and CNN had July 15 stories about Trump’s classified documents case being dismissed. The same day, NPR had a story on the Republican convention with a brief mention of the assassination attempt.

The shooting shocked Democrats and Republicans alike.The public was hungry for details. But legacy media shamefully quit that story cold turkey within days. In less than a week, the news was focused on the Republican convention and downplaying the shooting. They sure weren’t trying to understand Crooks.

It was more important not to make Trump look like a sympathetic victim so close to the election.

Obviously, Ryan Routh scores low on the Crooks-Mangione scale: Broke financially, a robust criminal history, and only handsome at certain angles with a soft camera filter. Also, he didn’t kill anyone. But he could have changed the course of world history.

Routh, 58, allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump Sept. 15, by hiding in the bushes at International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida and pointing his gun through the fence where Trump was golfing. He was arrested before harming anyone.

Again, the media moved on quickly, not even vaguely curious about his motive.

Media has spoken to Mangione’s classmates and acquaintances. We know his family pedigree and his education background. But we have yet to get Mangione-level reporting on Crooks or Routh.

Despite a congressional investigation into the attempted assassination of Trump, there is still much we don’t know about Crooks and Routh.

News media writes the first copy of history, but because legacy media hates Trump so much, they did not dig deep enough to tell the story of why two people tried to kill Trump on the campaign trail. That failure is like tearing important pages out of tomorrow’s history books.

https://thefederalist.com/2024/12/13/corrupt-media-obsess-over-luigi-mangione-after-memory-holing-trumps-would-be-assassins/

Argentinian President Javier Milei plans to attend Trump inauguration

By Fin Gómez December 17, 2024 / 10:49 AM EST / CBS News

Argentina's President Javier Milei plans to attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January, a spokesperson for Milei confirmed Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the Trump transition team did not reply to a request for comment.

Milei, a Trump acolyte who was elected last year and describes himself as an "anarcho-capitalist," on Monday posted on X a link to a news report and wrote "Make Argentina Great Again Make America Great Again," adding a handshake emoji between U.S. and Argentine flag emojis.

Bloomberg News was first to report on Milei attending the inaugural, citing an Argentine government spokesperson.

Milei is the first world leader expected to be in Washington for the Jan. 20 event, though arrangements are underway for others to join. CBS News reported last week that Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom Trump personally invited to the inauguration, was unlikely to attend, according to multiple sources.

Trump confirmed Monday that he has exchanged letters with Xi and would "love to have him [at the inauguration], but there's been nothing much discussed" in terms of whether he'll accept the invite.

Trump added that he has fielded calls from more than 100 world leaders since winning the electionand, initially when asked, he said that he had not invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, "if he'd like to come, I'd like to have him," Trump said.

State Department records dating back to 1874 show that no world leader has attended an American transfer-of-power ceremony. Traditionally, foreign ambassadors and their spouses represent their governments at the quadrennial event.

Milei met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago shortly after the November election.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/argentina-president-javier-milei-likely-to-attend-trump-inauguration/

Young girl’s (hilarious) Christmas speech goes viral.

''My class is very sweet except one little boy"

https://youtu.be/uH50HqPT7ms

Trump War Room

@TrumpWarRoom

==CAPITOL HILL — Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee

@RobertKennedyJr is swarmed by the press as he arrives for meetings with U.S. Senators==.

MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN!

4:01 PM · Dec 16, 2024

·279.1K Views

https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1868763303541194854

American Values 🗽

@AV24org Dec 16 •

Trump just dismantled the lies about RFK Jr. and vaccines on live TV.

No—RFK is not going to take away your vaccines.

Yes—RFK is going to find out the truth of the chronic disease crisis.

Watch this incredible exchange:🧵

REPORTER: “Do you believe there's a connection between vaccines and autism?”

TRUMP: “Look, right now, you have some very brilliant people looking at it.

I had dinner the other night with the head of Pfizer, the head of Eli Lilly, and, RFK, as you know, and Oz … If you look at autism 30 years ago, I've heard numbers of like 1 in 200,000, 1 in 100,000. Now, I'm hearing numbers of 1 in 100.

So something's wrong. There's something wrong, and we're gonna find out about it.”

Trump said that RFK Jr. is going to be “much less radical” than corporate media tells you.

REPORTER: “What do you say to people who are worried that RFK Jr.’s views on vaccines will translate into policies that'll make their kids less safe?”

TRUMP: “I think he's gonna be much less radical than you would think. I think he's got a very open mind, or I wouldn't have put him there.

But there are problems. I mean, we don't do as well as a lot of other nations, and those nations use nothing. We're gonna find out what those problems are.

We're paying far too much because we're paying much more than other countries and we have laws that make it impossible to reduce.

We're gonna get drug costs down at levels that nobody has ever seen before.”

Follow us for more threads breaking down EVERYTHING new in the MAHA movement!🧵

REPORTER: “What about the polio vaccine?”

TRUMP: “Well … I think everything should be looked at, but I'm a big believer in the polio vaccine.”

Trump made it clear that his Administration will OPPOSE vaccine mandates.

REPORTER: “Do you think schools should mandate vaccines?”

TRUMP: “I don't like mandates. I'm not a big mandate person. So, you know, I was against mandates.

Mostly Democrat governors did the mandates … they made a big mistake, having to do with the education of children.

They lost a year or two years of their lives. The mandate was a bad thing.”

REPORTER: “Do you want RFK Jr. to revoke any vaccines?”

TRUMP: “No, I want him to come back with a report as to what he thinks.”

“You’re not gonna lose the polio vaccine. That's not gonna happen.”

“I think you're gonna find that Bobby is a very rational guy. I found him to be very rational.”

“We're doing two things. We're gonna have tremendous cost savings … That's a minimum. And we're also gonna have, and I think, very serious discussions about certain things … Europe doesn't use pesticides, and yet they have a better mortality rate than we do.

So, we're gonna have reports.

I saw what happened with the polio. I have friends that were very much affected by that. I have friends from many years ago and they're still in not such good shape because of it.”

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1868716005100601829.html

LA Times Owner’s Pro-MAGA ‘Meddling’ Ramps Up to Demand Ed Board ‘Take a Break From Writing About Trump’: ReportSarah RumpfDec 16th, 2024, 11:27 pm

The tension between Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong and thenewspaper’s staff is growing, reported Oliver Darcy (the worst liar of all time) Monday evening, after demands that the editorial board “take a break from writing about Trump” — an odd request about an incoming president.

Soon-Shiong was criticized after he blocked the Times from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, a move that led to three staffers resigning as members of the editorial board.

In the aftermath of the controversy, Soon-Shiong posted on social media and spoken publicly about his intention to have a more “balanced” editorial board with a range of views— including specifically voicing his approval of Jennings, a conservative supporter of President-elect Donald Trump who has frequently made headlines for his on-air spats with fellow CNN panelists.

A spokesperson for Soon-Shiong abruptly ended a phone interview late last month with Darcy on this topic after it became “combative,” and the Status newsletter publisher had an update for his readers Monday evening about the festering conflicts at the Times.

According to Darcy, Soon-Shiong’s “meddling” has become “more pervasive than previously realized,” including taking a more active role in dictating the paper’s editorial columns and actively thwarting the publication of those critical of Trump.

Darcy reported that he had obtained a memo sent “in the last few days” to Times Executive Editor Terry Tang and signed by “several members of the newspaper’s Opinion section” that detailed “a number of previously unreported steps” Soon-Shiong had taken.

“Most notably, the staffers said in the memo that Soon-Shiong has requested the newspaper’s editorial board outright ‘take a break from writing about Trump,’ a move that would prevent the body from weighing in on the president-elect as he appoints extremists to key government posts, wades into foreign policy, teases mass deportations, floats upending vaccine requirements for children, issues threats to the news media, and more,” wrote Darcy.

Last week,New York Times media reporter Katie Robertson reported that Soon-Shiong had killed an op-ed bashing Trump’s Cabinet picks, requiring that it be accompanied by an op-ed supporting the nominees — a last-minute demand that the editors deemed impossible to satisfy before the print deadline.

But Soon-Shiong’s meddling has been “much broader in scope” than the quashing of that one op-ed, wrote Darcy, quoting the memo to Tang as accusing the owner of having “instituted a new policy” — applying only to Trump — “that prohibits editorials containing criticism of the president-elect unless they are presented side-by-side with another opinion piece representing the ‘opposing view.’”

This has “effectively killed or indefinitely delayed multiple editorials that have been written and edited but remain unpublished,” the memo continued, and Soon-Shiong has also mandated that the editorial board email him “the text of every editorial and the name of its writer” before anything can be published.

“Morale in the newsroom has plummeted in recent weeks,” Darcy wrote, with one staffer rating the “spirit of the newsroom” as “[o]n a scale of 0 to 10, it’s a negative 5.”

Read the full report at Status.

https://archive.is/ZatPz#selection-797.0-1093.1

(I’m pretty sure these reporters/writers/editors don’t realize that they can be fired any time. Oliver Darcy 1st. The oriental races do not take disrespect well, at all.)