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Now, let's give due coverage to the lie:

Partisan lies about the recent problems caused by Helene, meant to advance the Trump campaign, are symbolic of the rot at the core of the Maga/fascist movement and its leaders.

MTG pretends to believe Democrats somehow caused and directed the storm to do damage in Republican strongholds. Wednesday, MTG posted on X, “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”

Trump has claimed that Democrats, including N.C. Governor Cooper, are withholding aid from Republicans. Trump said, “They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas.”

Trump has claimed that FEMA has no money to help victims of Helene because it spent it all to help undocumented workers.

Musk posted that the FAA was blocking private relief planes headed for N.C.

Alex Jones, the same man who said the massacre at Sandy Hook was staged, posted on X, “Victims of Hurricane Helene Confirm The Federal Government Purposely Blocking Rescuers and Stealing Aid In an Attempt to Keep Deep Red Areas From Voting.”

At the local level some Republicans reflect the courage and honesty of Liz Cheney and other anti-Trump Republicans. N.C. state Senator Kevin Corbin-R, posted on Facebook, “Will you all stop this conspiracy theory junk…Please don’t let these crazy stories consume you.”

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Republican climate science deniers are murderers.

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As well as the biggest liars on Earth. There should be no oxygen given to liars on any media. And yet, look at the pickle we find ourselves in.

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Yeah, really! Lara Trump was on Dana Bash and was able to lie and filibuster the entire segment. An online commentator used his site to say "Watch this interview, Dana Bash really pushes back on Lara Trump's lies!" I watched the segment, getting more and more infuriated because Dana Bash sat there looking like-who knows what...while Lara was able to go on and on about Kamala's boarder and her illegals - "we all know its Kamala's fault"...lies about the election how we need election integrity. Bash did point out that the reason why Trump voters believe the elections are rigged, is because Trump tells them that Dems commit voter fraud every time he loses.

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Alex Jones and Jim Bakker and Steve Bannon and Donald and Vlad and Elon and Rupert and Roy Cohn all figured out long ago that there's no money in honesty. Lies can make you billions! $19 Billion in Murdoch's case. Going over to the dark side is tempting to humans who have little regard for ethics.

See "The Longest Con" chapters 12-14. Fun and funny and tragic read! A compilation of Donald's and his family's successful grifts. Tell your journalist friends: Follow the Money.

Trump-MAGA-GOP-RNC World is all about stealing money. That is all it is. None of it is about government leadership or policy. The rubes buy the lies and give money to criminals. And then the MAGA gulibles vote the crooks into government offices where they can steal more money. And take billions in bribes from foreign governments.

Remind yourself of this fact when you watch the next CNN/ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox pundit panel. The experts talk about politics and policy. When they should be revealing that Donald doesn't give a shit about any of it. He will put on a show for 90 minutes for his MAGAs and complicit reporters and none of it is real. NONE OF IT IS REAL! It is all a scam for money.

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Although law breakers should be prosecuted and spend time in prison, don't think too harshly about the scammers. They are good at what they do. This is their vocation.

Donald learned from the masters on how to lie for money. He's successfully convinced 50 million humans that they should vote for him and give him money because he cares about them and their needs. And he's conned formerly skeptical journalists and politicians that he's a real candidate for an office of public trust. And even though he's violated his oath of office and has broken the law many, many times, he's their hero and will never let them down.

Quite a trick! Steal and live the high life until they catch you or you pass.

(Donald doesn't read history. If he did he might learn from the fate of Oliver "The Protector" Cromwell. His head was displayed on a spike for 30 years.)

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you nailed it.

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A vote for Trump is actually a vote for Vance. Many people do not seem to realize that.

Norma Frank

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True, because trump will not survive long in office , if he ever gets there again. He’s been their useful idiot for a long time but won’t be needed once the smarter MAGAt types get their hand on the power.

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The core problem is the absence of critical thinking skills that would allow these credulous listeners to detect that Trump’s and his campaign’s claims are lies.

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It doesn't take critical thinking to realize they're lies; the bullshit is seriously that obvious. They just accept what he says as truth because he and all the MAGA acolytes have convinced them that government and institutions cannot be trusted - just trust TFG. This is the authoritarian playbook spinning out in real time before our eyes.

Although I agree that critical thinking skills are generally lacking.

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If most of the Magats can only read at a 6th grade level, their critical thinking skills are not honed enough to differentiate lies from truthful statements. They’re like most preteens who march to the drum of their peers and that’s when the phenomenon of “group think” begins to take hold in their developing brains.

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I was wondering what would happen if you gave a statement that claims to be factual to ChatGPT and asked ChatGPT to decide whether that statement is true or false or something else?

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They want to believe.

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They want to believe, because it’s the only way to be in the club. And they want to be in Trump’s club. That’s more important than the truth.

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Most of them do I think.

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Well, we have Mark Robinson University in Greensboro, North Carolina that has churned out a lot of MAGA graduates.

We have the MAGA Senate Candidate from Minnesota who said the bad guys won World War 2. He graduated with a major in History. We have Marjorie Taylor Greene who dual majored in Astronomy and Climate Science. We have Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee who majored in Social Work. We have Nikki Haley who also majored in History with an emphasis on the Civil War. We have Rick Scott who majored in Finance. The only MAGA who did not get in was Lauren Boebert — she needs to complete her High School Equivalency first.

This fine school is yielding MAGA scholars and we are, of course, the better for it.

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You left out those precious Trump sons who are the Road Scholars of the clan?

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I fear some Magats would take your satire seriously, only taking umbrage at your criticism of one of their favorite crazies, the wild-eyed Boebert.

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She has a shot at Chump University. The standards are lower.

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A double-major in Chump beauty pageant modeling & red-carpet floor vacuuming.

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Are we talking about boebert the penis grabber here?

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Oh Boobert, what a gal!

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With all due respect, Marsha Blackburn was a Home Economics teacher. There is no major in college called “Social Work”, though “Sociology” is a major offered. Having earned a Masters of Social Work degree, I can safely say that Blackburn never worked in that field.

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Yes. It was meant as satire and Blackburn can best be described as an Anti Social Worker. Because just about every piece of Federal legislation that would help her constituents in Tennessee, she has voted against. She deplores government childcare assistance as “communism.” She opposes the ACA and wants to eliminate it even for people with serious health problems. She has voted against FEMA funding. She has not even been able to support legislation dealing with violence against women — it is government intrusion to her. All of that is as Anti-Social as it gets.

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I love it John !

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You really need to put the "/s" tag afterward to let people know that last line is satiric. That said, I knew none of this, so thank you. Christ, what the hell do they teach? Simply the opposite of all that's true?

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Chauncey Gardiner and Captain Queeg….vintage Schmidt!

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I think Maggie megaphone For Trump, needs a sort of Clock Work Orange intervention. Made to sit in a chair, with headphones playing trumps speeches over and over.

Then head phones removed and see if she can sane wash those . Without a looming book deal she likely no be able and just simply go mad. And the world would be better served

Blaming an “ industry on the left” for her and the NYTs failings is pathetic

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But the nyt just reflects the ennui among every professional class, unwilling to risk the slightest discomfort in the name of, fill in the blank personal fav.

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I'm not as offended by Maggie's explanation as everyone else. Clearly she's *hearing* the criticism, and the Times DID respond. All during this fake news age, standard journalism, in the interest of fairness, has tried to do what it's always done by airing all sides. As time has evolved, we see that this just gives false claims legitimacy, and sane-washimg someone's words isn't editing for clarity but instead just makes a demagogue more palatable.

Should they have caught their error sooner? Maybe. But this all is so unprecedented. We've never dealt with such foul propaganda on such a massive scale. That Times article was great, if late.

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Slow learners. In charge of educating the people. What could go wrong?

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I get it. Too little, too late. I was a news reporter years ago, so I know how hard reporters and editors try to get it right. But trying doesn't mean that they didn't get this one wrong. They need to write a mea culpa.

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When all else fails, go with truth. The nyt failed.

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It did. But how to report on someone's mental state as a news story is challenging as subjective information is inevitably part of it. (Although they seemed to do fine reporting on Biden, probably because it was easier, knowing they would get little pushback from readers who could clearly see he was ill. It's not so easy doing the same reporting when the magaverse will freak.)

That said, the Times had nine long years to figure out this challenge to standard reporting when the one candidate engages in pure propaganda. It took actual protests outside the Times building to wake them up.

Yet that Trump story still wasn't first page, right?

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Any public school teacher in the US could have done a better job educating us on an incorrigible, sociopathic offspring who got to be president.

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Calling balls and strikes isn’t partisan, it’s fidelity to the facts. This is something corporate media has forgotten or deemed harmful to their bottom line. An informed electorate is the only thing standing between democracy and tyranny. Our media has abdicated their fundamental responsibility.

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Trump is a serious threat to our well-being and survival:

His love of dictators, emphasis on Putin, portends two disasters, support for Russian aggression culminating in nuclear war, and a loss of our fundamental rights as Trump assumes the mantel of authoritarianism.

He wants to end the ACA and replace it with a plan he doesn't have.

He hates labor unions, collective bargaining, strikes, overtime and anything else that benefits poor, working and middle class Americans, including Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

He calls climate change a hoax and will end EPA protections of the environment by putting a fossil fuel stooge in as Secretary of the EPA, or dismantle it entirely. Drilling and fracking will replace the current administration's push toward clean renewable energy.

He will fire all 50,000 federal workers and replace them with Trump loyalists, regardless of their ability to do the job.

He will further strip women of their rights while creating an increasingly patriarchal society and government.

He is an idiot, a fool, without the intelligence or skills to be mayor if a small city.

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Trump has no thoughts or policies about governing. His mind is gone and he is being propped up by far right think tanks with loads of money, with hopes of installing Vance as President after Trump serves briefly in office. We must prevent this scheme from ever taking place by voting in Kamala Harris as our next President.

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Have suspected for quite a while that Maggie Haberman was protecting Trump. Not surprised.

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You are right about that!

Maggie is laughing all the way to the bank!

She cannot cover her sympathy and support for Trump up!

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It was obvious from day one

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Brilliant and a"Warning" you've shown us today! Screw the NYT they're

a Day late and a Dollar short. We all need to get the Votes Out and Vote Blue Up and Down the Ballot! Every educated person has known trump lost his mind Years ago, but we still have to Stay the Course,support the Harris/Walz ticket and VOTE BLUE 🇺🇸💙🌊🌊

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Steve, you mean finally the NYT is watching the advanced mental and physical decay of Trump?

They report on everything else! How could they miss or ignore that very obvious state?

Amazing. Maybe the assigned journalists are not putting in the effort and time on identifying this condition that is seen and heard by the World? But, We the People can wake up and VOTE!

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Trump is the figurehead king; Vance is the evil wizard who will run him out of his throne and steal the kingdom. There are so many things in place to cheat us of our votes, no matter how big a lead Kamala will get. His lies are deadly, and still so many believe him. It's so hard to turn his people around, so we don't even try anymore, but those who haven't decided have a chance, or they will swing toward Trump. I have no idea why, but it's true.

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There is one born every minute. Apparently there were millions born then brainwashed into believing Trump is somehow good for our country.

Do some of us non-believers secretly, down deep, wish trumpers would get their wish and have Trump elected just to prove how dangerous our country will become? The same ones who bought his vodka, water, and steaks. The ones who attended his university, buy his bibles, trading cards, watches, coins, tokens and anything else they can be fleeced into buying. The anti-vaccers, Ivermectin and bleach ingesting, conspiracy inventing or repeating, LGBT hating, ah, God it goes on and on…Yeah, those people.

Critical thinking? They can’t even spell it.

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“But I actually think the media has done a very good job of covering Trump”. You think? I’d be more inclined to say to Ms Haberman that she and the rest of the NYT were all in on Trump and his acolytes until it became truly clear as a bell that the orange menace had declined farther down the cognitive markers of dementia than Biden has ever reached. I say she deserves ten lashes with a wet noodle.

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I’m having an irony orgasm, thanks Steve!

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See "The Longest Con" by Joe Conason. Donald admits he's "not a politician". He's also not a legit candidate for public office. Donald's vocation is "Flim Flam Man". "Snake Oil Peddler". "King of the Conmen". Like Tina, Donald's law breaking accountability is coming.

The New York Times and the rest of the legit Press are as fooled as the MAGA rubes. Do you think, before the election, they will wake up to the fact that Trump World is a Money Scam? That MAGA and GOP and RNC are all about stealing money by deceit. Donald doesn't want to be President. It's all about the scam. The money. And getting away with it. "Obtaining money under false pretenses" is his job, his vocation, his career. His hobby is cheating for fun. And for money. ITS ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!

Roy Cohn taught Donald that there's no money in honor or honesty. But you can make millions with lies. Donald lied to his banks and insurance companies and the IRS and made hundreds of millions. He lied about the 2020 election and his rubes sent him $250 million. That's damn good compensation for one little (BIG LIE) deception. Said with a plain face. "The election was rigged!"

"They're eating the dogs!"

"Buy my invisible trading cards, bibles, gold watches and shoes."

"Crooked Joe Biden" "Mentally ill Kamala" "Lyin Ted" "Little Mario"

It's all a SCAM. For Money. Wake up Fourth Estate. "The enemies of the people!"

Donald put a for sale sign on the White House and $1.8 billion in foreign bribes rolled in. And government payments for "service charges" to his companies. His cabinet appointees scammed millions from the government. The money was there for the taking. It doesn't bother them to be crooked. Donald and the kids just want one more chance to steal America (and Americans) blind.

Living on the dark side is pretty darn compelling. Witness the 147 Objectors. Witness Elon and Thiel and Putin and Murdoch and Maduro and Orban. "Take the MONEY!"

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Quick corrollary: Donald doesn't give a shit about policy. News media, stop playing the game that he cares about anything but himself.

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