The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

The stunning success of Ukraine’s recent counteroffensive has exposed the rotten reality behind Russia’s reputation as a military superpower. More than six months since the onset of Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion, it is now obvious that his army is in fact a deeply flawed institution that bears almost no resemblance to the immaculate fighting force of Red Square parades and Kremlin propaganda. Instead, the Russian military suffers from endemic corruption, low morale, and poor leadership, with individual initiative in short supply and commanders deeply reluctant to accept personal responsibility. Last week’s disastrous defeat in northeastern Ukraine will only worsen the situation, with officers gripped by fear as Moscow seeks scapegoats for what is shaping up to be one of the most shameful military defeats in Russian history.

The scale of Ukraine’s recent victory has stunned the entire world, but perhaps nobody was as surprised as the Russians themselves. Naturally, the Kremlin sought to suppress news of the counteroffensive, but the speed of events and the sheer scale of the collapse meant that details of the unfolding disaster could not be completely censored despite the best efforts of the authorities. The resulting realization was a huge psychological blow for the Russian public, who learned for the first time that their soldiers in Ukraine were demoralized and beaten. The rout of Russian forces in Kharkiv Oblast was also a painful wake-up call for Ukrainian collaborators, who realized that Russia cannot be relied upon and will abandon them without thinking twice.

Beyond these immediate implications, Ukraine’s counteroffensive also says much about the broader state of the Russian military and provides valuable indications of what we can expect to see next. From now on, fear will shape every single decision made by Russian commanders in Ukraine. This will not be fear of losing precious lives or damaging Russia’s national interests; it will be a very personal fear of retribution from a vindictive hierarchy seeking culprits to blame for the rapidly declining fortunes of the Russian army. (our emphasis)

The bad:

Before Trump came along, antisemites had little investment in American politics. His rhetoric articulates themes they recognize as compatible with their own, and he has given them a reason to marshal their energies on behalf of one side in a two-party system from which they had been excluded.

There is a simple test to measure their influence. If antisemites were too marginal to pose any danger, it would be easy enough for the party to cut them off. (If you want to know what it looks like when Republicans decide to really throw somebody out of their party, look at their treatment of Liz Cheney.) Instead, they vacillate. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy declined to comment on [Arizona Rep. Paul] Gosar’s attendance at white nationalist Nick Fuentes’s conference. McCarthy has likewise promised to restore [Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor] Greene’s committee privileges if Republicans regain the majority.

Prosecutors have found that Trump’s January 6 rally attracted a significant number of people who share Hitler quotes, hold membership in neo-Nazi organizations, have a fixation with “white genocide,” and the like, making the party leadership’s desire to sweep the whole thing under the rug all the more dangerous. Whatever misgivings the remaining old-line Republicans may have toward the militant cadres Trump inspired, Republicans fear their political and even terroristic power. They no longer imagine they have the gatekeeping force to exclude the antisemites, less still to steer the party away from the kind of paranoid rhetoric that invites their participation.  (our emphasis)

The ugly:

After winking at QAnon for years, Donald Trump is overtly embracing the baseless conspiracy theory, even as the number of frightening real-world events linked to it grows.

On Tuesday, using his Truth Social platform, the Republican former president reposted an image of himself wearing a Q lapel pin overlaid with the words “The Storm is Coming.” In QAnon lore, the “storm” refers to Trump’s final victory, when supposedly he will regain power and his opponents will be tried, and potentially executed, on live television.

As Trump contemplates another run for the presidency and has become increasingly assertive in the Republican primary process during the midterm elections, his actions show that far from distancing himself from the political fringe, he is welcoming it.

He’s published dozens of recent Q-related posts, in contrast to 2020, when he claimed that while he didn’t know much about QAnon, he couldn’t disprove its conspiracy theory.  (our emphasis)

A sick, sociopathic demagogue seeks his own level.

Regrets, They've Had A Few (Cont.)

 

... although likely not this low IQAnon missing link who went to her just reward thinking she had "bacterial pneumonia":

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!”  [Ed.:  "Yeah!  They're not smart =cough= like me! =hack=")

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).” (our emphasis)

Talk about dying to own the libs.  Once again, Darwin rules.

Needless to say, fellow lowIQAnon conspiracists aren't taking this news well.  And, as one might expect, the deluded dolts are aiming their rage at precisely the wrong targets:

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.”  (our emphasis)

We're not lawyers or law enforcement, but that sounds like a terrorist threat.  Time to put that "Patriot Streetfighter" behind bars (but make sure he has plenty of horse de-wormer, though, in case he comes down with "bacterial pneumonia"). 

(Image: Weldon, via YouTube screenshot)

Armed Conspiracy Loon Arrested On Way To White House

First, a little palate stimulator from Jose A. Del Real on the "American tradition" of conspiracy theories:

QAnon followers believe that former president Donald Trump spent his time as president battling a cabal of Satan-worshiping “deep state” Democrats who traffic children for sex, a paranoia that has often led to valuable resources being diverted away from real missing children cases. Since the 2020 election, they have also come to believe that Trump’s loss was the result of massive fraud, a disproved conspiracy theory that has in turn created a real threat to our democracy and elections. Going further than the 7 in 10 Republican voters who believe the same election conspiracy, Q followers also assure with prophetic zeal that Trump will be reinstated imminently. Mass arrests of the country’s corrupt elite and a “Great Awakening” will follow, they say. [snip]

Across screens and servers, it has also become easier for opportunists to mobilize conspiratorial thinking for political strength and influence.

More questions unfold from there.

What eases the slide from harmless skepticism, to mainstream doubt, to militant conspiracism?

Where is the line?

Who is most susceptible to crossing it?

We have a case in point, hot off the police blotter!

News item:  Armed man with "hit list" including Biden, Fauci arrested in Iowa on way to White House

Authorities in Iowa have arrested a man who was found during a traffic stop to be carrying a rifle and a "hit list" that included President Biden and Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Kuachua Brillion Xiong, from Merced, Calif., was taken into custody last week after allegedly telling police who pulled him over for driving aggressively that he was on his way to the White House "to kill persons in power," according to federal court records that were unsealed Tuesday.

Authorities said they found an AR-15-type rifle, ammunition, body armor, medical kits and a grappling hook in Xiong's vehicle, per court records.

Xiong's "hit list" of targets was compiled from TikTok videos, according to court records. In addition to Biden and Fauci, the Times reported that the list included former Presidents Clinton and Obama and Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, among others.

 “Xiong believes that he is the only person remaining who can free the United States of evil and it is necessary for him to kill those in positions of power,” Secret Service agent Justin Larson said in an affidavit, according to the Times.

From the Probable Cause charging document (click to enlarge)

 

There's the low IQAnon link -- the sex abuse of children by top government officials that exists only in the fevered brains of those cultists. Del Real's article, which delves into the history, scope and conditions that foster conspiracy theories is a fascinating read.  

But we have a fairly prosaic observation out of all of this:  a clearly mentally ill person was able to purchase an AR-15.  It's illegal in Xiong's home state of California to possess, make or sell an assault rifle. If he purchased it somewhere else and had no criminal record, it's likely he passed a background check.  Our guess is authorities will look into how he got the AR-15, and doubtless will find he purchased it legally (though possessing it in California was illegal).   That's because we have a patchwork of ineffective "gun laws" across the states that do little to keep killing machines out of the hands of mentally unstable people like Xiong -- and, for that matter the Denver shooter -- much less your ordinary apolitical psychopath.  That's another "American tradition" that we can't seem to overcome.

(Photo:  Xiong mugshot via Cass County, IA, sheriff's department)

The Freaks Are Feasting On Each Other

Eventually, delusion, paranoia and brain worms just take over what little there is in the MAGA/ low- IQAnon / fascist mind, conspiracies beget conspiracies, and uncivil "civil wars" are waged.  Let's feast on their fighting:

On Saturday night, pro-Trump lawyer and QAnon booster Lin Wood released a recording of what purports to be a phone call between Wood and Flynn on Telegram. The audio’s publication comes amid a right-wing civil war pitting Wood against one-time allies like Flynn and other figures involved in the 2020 attempt to overturn the election.

In the call, Wood complains to Flynn that his QAnon supporters had attacked Wood online. But Flynn attempts to disown QAnon, claiming it’s a “disinformation campaign” created by the CIA.

“I think it’s a disinformation campaign,” Flynn said on the call. “I think it’s a disinformation campaign that the CIA created. That’s what I believe. Now, I don’t know that for a fact, but that’s what I think it is. I think it’s a disinformation campaign.”

Later in the recording, Flynn called QAnon “total nonsense.”

“I find it total nonsense,” Flynn said. “And I think it’s a disinformation campaign created by the left.”  [snip]

Wood’s publication of the audio comes as part of a growing feud between Wood and Flynn and other figures active in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election. The fight kicked off last week when recently acquitted Kenosha shooting defendant Kyle Rittenhouse, a former Wood client, accused Wood in a Fox News interview of deliberately keeping him in jail to raise money off of his case.

Suddenly under attack by Rittenhouse, Wood grew publicly furious that allies like Flynn and pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell weren’t strenuously defending him. The ensuing clash has consumed QAnon and other far-right communities over the past week, while Wood grows increasingly hostile, even claiming at one point that a plane he was set to take a flight on was sabotaged in an attempt to kill him.

At roughly the same time, loyal MAGAt Steve Cortes was fired from uber- right- wing Newsmax:

Former Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes is out at Newsmax and will host his last primetime broadcast for the right-wing cable channel early next week, if not sooner, five sources familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast.

Tensions between Cortes and the MAGA cable network had long been simmering, sources suggested, but it was the Trump loyalist’s vehement disagreement—which he wasn’t shy about publicly voicing—with Newsmax’s company-wide vaccine rules that was the final straw. [snip]

“I will not comply w/ any organization’s attempt to enforce Biden’s capricious & unscientific Medical Apartheid mandate,” he blared in one tweet. “I will not be forced into the injection, nor will I disclose my vaccination status. No one should be pressured to choose between medical privacy & their job.”

Cortes publicly bashing his employer’s decision may have been the final straw, but insiders said the former Trump campaign strategist and ex-CNN contributor has long conflicted with Newsmax.

“It’s been ongoing for a while,” one current Newsmax staffer told The Daily Beast, adding that Cortes is “a constant risk” due to his penchant for making controversial and inflammatory comments.

“He’s on a delay. Can’t trust him,” the staffer further noted, claiming Cortes’ nightly program utilizes a broadcast delay to give the network an opportunity to censor potentially inappropriate content.  (our emphasis)

Then there's the split among low- IQAnon adherents as to whether John F. Kennedy, Jr., is still alive and ready to join the Malignant Loser in his quest to regain the presidency:

The theory is strange even by the standards of QAnon – which claims Democrats and Hollywood celebrities are involved in a secret cannibalistic cult which Donald Trump is secretly battling, a theory expounded in cryptic internet messages by a mysterious prophet-like figure known as Q. And while only a fraction appear to believe the JFK Jr angle, experts say it is still damaging to their relationships and their grasp on reality.

Will Sommer, author of the upcoming book Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Reshaped America and a longtime observer of the conspiracy theory, estimates that about 20 per cent of Q followers believe in JFK Jr’s re-emergence, but that those who do, “100 per cent believe”.

“QAnon itself is obviously pretty dangerous. It’s hard to say whether the people who believe the JFK Jr [conspiracy] are more dangerous than the QAnon people who don’t,” he told The Independent.

To settle things, our modest proposal is that everyone adhering to these "theories" and half- baked "beliefs" -- anti- vaxxers, low -IQAnon, Stop the Steal- ers, etc. -- need to engage in hand- to- hand combat, with appropriate medieval weaponry, with no quarter given!  Last person standing will get the handsome hat pictured above.

Report: QAnon Weaponized By Russia, China (And Others)

Surprise, surprise:

Foreign adversaries like Russia and China "weaponized" QAnon messaging to sow further discord among the American population in the months leading up to, and following, the January 6 attack, according to a new report released Monday that details how these countries are not only utilizing the same false narratives to peddle disinformation on social media, but also fueling a conspiracy theory that could incite more violence by domestic extremists.

The findings, which are detailed in a report produced by the Soufan Center, suggest "that foreign states are utilizing the QAnon conspiracy theory to sow societal discord and even compromise legitimate political processes," the independent non-profit group, which is focused on global security, said in a press release. [snip]

 

While the QAnon movement is widely believed to have originated within the US, the report notes that these foreign actors were incredibly active in pushing the conspiracy theory in late 2020 and during the first two months of this year.

 

"In both 2020 and for the first two months of 2021, almost one-fifth of all QAnon posts on Facebook originated from administrators overseas," the report states.

 

While the report found that Russian actors were behind the majority of this activity last year, it says China emerged as "the primary foreign actor touting QAnon-narratives online" in 2021, timing that coincides with Beijing's ramp up of disinformation efforts targeting the US more broadly. 

 

But they weren't the only ones stirring up trouble:

"Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran also contribute to amplifying the QAnon conspiracy theory online to reach a broader audience," the report adds. "Such activity blurs the line between domestic and foreign disinformation, representing a significant challenge for the U.S. government and international action." 

 

Our "ally" Saudi Arabia, acting in concert with our adversaries?   Land of Crown Prince Bone Saw?  One of the most repressive, murderous regimes in the world that we still support?  The one that had Trump and Little Prince Jared eating out of its hand? ... Oh, right, that makes sense.

 

Continuing:

There is a "cognitive opening among the US population that can be manipulated by violent extremist groups and recruiters in support of the QAnon movement," it adds, noting that foreign actors are also seeking to capitalize on this vulnerability as well.

 

"These findings suggests the QAnon conspiracy theory has the potential to serve as a force multiplier for domestic violent extremism (DVE), including racially and ethnically motivated violent extremists (REMVEs) who are already seeking to recruit them into their ranks," it says. 

 

In short, we've provided plenty of rope (unregulated social media, the vast right- wing media echo chamber, and the extremism- norming "mainstream media") with which to hang ourselves.  That our worst enemies are taking advantage of a "cognitive opening" among the QAnon/ MAGA crowd should come as no surprise.  What is a surprise is that it seems that so many have taken their eye off the existential menace this all represents -- just a little over 100 days since January 6, 2021.

(Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images, Getty Images (3))

"Crawling Back To Trump": The Republican Death Spiral

 

 

It's a snowy day across swaths of the country, so if you're snowbound (and even if you're not), we have some reading from our hometown newspaper for you.  The only thing is, it's a bit lacking in diversity. That's because the topic in general is the death spiral of the rotted out Republican Party.  These are just snippets, so please go to the links for the full articles/op ed.

Starting off with the Washington Post editorial, "Crawling Back to Mr. Trump," a consistent theme for the day emerges:

FOR A moment, it seemed as if the Republican Party might exorcise former president Donald Trump. After four years of submission, GOP leaders were telling the truth. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared that Mr. Trump had “provoked” the Jan. 6 Capitol invasion, having “fed lies” to the rioters. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Mr. Trump “bears responsibility” for refusing to calm the insurrectionists. There was talk that enough GOP senators might be willing to join Democrats to convict the former president in an impeachment trial.

Days later, the era of glasnost seems to be ending. Senior Republicans are crawling back to Mr. Trump. The big lie of election fraud lives on...[snip]

Republicans should ask: What principle instructs them to bow to a man whom the country has rejected? How can they continue to excuse the attempted overturning of a fair and free election? What is the value of sitting in the Senate, or of being speaker of the House, if they continually humiliate themselves before a small, dishonest man leading their party to nowhere?

They had a chance, after Jan. 6, to reject their narrowing future as a party of lies and voter suppression and try, once again, to widen their appeal by standing for something positive. What a shame to throw that chance away.  (our emphasis)

Dana Milbank puts an even finer point on the takeover of the party by the low-IQAnon Trumpists:

The supposed civil war within the Republican Party is over. The neo-Confederates have won.

Just three weeks ago, congressional GOP leaders set out to reclaim their party from President Donald Trump and his violent supporters. Trump had frequently emboldened white supremacists and domestic terrorists, but never more visibly than when he recruited and incited those who sacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 — and then did nothing for hours as they rampaged, hunting for lawmakers, in hopes of overturning the election.

From that deadly spree emerged a glimmer of hope that Republicans would, finally, distance themselves from Trump. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) said Trump “bears responsibility” for the “attack on Congress by mob rioters” and for failing to “immediately denounce the mob when he saw what was unfolding.” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said that the violent attackers were “fed lies” and were “provoked by the president.” He let it be known that he might vote to convict Trump after an impeachment trial.

Yet just three weeks after feebly trying to quit Trump, they have relapsed. It’s as though Abraham Lincoln had offered the Union’s unconditional surrender after the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter.

Thanks to the cowardice of McCarthy and the perfidy of McConnell, the GOP now comprises two relatively harmonious factions: those who actively sabotage democracy, and those who tacitly condone the sabotage. Trump is gone; Trumpism reigns.  (our emphasis)

Historian Robert Dalleck sees echoes to an earlier time when Republicans had to exile a crackpot fringe, whose descendants have now come back with a vengeance, and seem unlikely to be easily cast out:

It seems unlikely, but it’s happened once before. In the postwar decades, a slash-and-burn conspiratorial style took hold of the right wing, posing a challenge to several pillars of American democracy, including free and fair elections, the acceptance of facts in political debates and the peaceful transfer of power. Just as QAnon followers see a deep-state conspiracy to destroy Trump, some John Birch Society members viewed liberals as communist agents and dupes. The armed Minutemen of the 1960s echo in the gun-toting pro-Trump extremists in Charlottesville and Lansing, Mich. Talk radio kingpins such as Rush Limbaugh share a heritage with right-wing media stars Dan Smoot and Clarence Manion. And the Proud Boys share a sensibility with the white supremacists who formed Citizens’ Councils in reaction to the Supreme Court’s Brown decision desegregating schools.

By stigmatizing, punishing and outvoting the forces that wanted to burn it all down in the 1950s and 1960s, Americans ostracized them; the United States put a lid on the toxic stew of bigotry, conspiratorial thinking and White Christian identity politics, and defended democratic values like truth, equality and racial justice. It was a whole-of-society strategy, more effective than anything unfolding today. Clearly, it didn’t keep those forces at bay forever. But in the right circumstances, it could work again.

He concludes, 

The postwar decades show how Trumpism emerged and how democratic society might turn it into a minority within the Republican Party. Only by imposing political consequences on Trump’s wackiest followers can Americans hope to loosen their grip on the GOP, a strategy that some Never Trump organizations (Republican Voters Against Trump, the Lincoln Project and the Republican Accountability Project) have grasped, even if they have found limited success so far.

It is never too late to intensify that effort. Anything that works to define anti-government extremists as toxic threats to our country is helpful. This work held off the far right for a time. And any period, short or long, that this fringe spends in the wilderness is a boon to American democracy.

We agree with the notion of imposing political consequences (as well as legal and financial ones) on these enemies of democracy, but we would argue that the time for their exorcism of the low-IQAnon fringe has come and gone.

A few conservative takes are also offered in the paper today.  Here's cutesy writer Kathleen Parker's conclusion to "The GOP Isn't Doomed. It's Dead":

Going forward, not only will House Republicans be associated with a colleague who “liked” a Twitter post calling for Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s murder. They’ll be attached to QAnon, which promotes the extraordinary fiction that Trump was leading a war against Satan-worshiping pedophiles and cannibals, whose leadership includes Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks and, oh, by the way, yours truly, as well as U2’s Bono.

To those Republicans who can read: You own all of this. The party isn’t doomed; it’s dead. The chance to move away from Trumpism, toward a more respectful, civilized approach to governance that acknowledges the realities of a diverse nation and that doesn’t surrender to the clenched fist, has slipped away. What comes next is anybody’s guess. But anyone who doesn’t speak out against the myths and lies of fringe groups, domestic terrorists and demagogues such as Trump deserves only defeat — and a lengthy exile in infamy. Good riddance.

In a case of "too little, too late," former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor echoes Sen. Mitt Romney's advice that Republicans should start telling their voters the truth.   That would have been nice during the years Cantor was in power, where he and his caucus told vicious lies daily to their base (remember Obamacare "death panels"?).  A lot more honesty and atoning is in order for you.

(Image: Oliver Munday, via Mother Jones)

QAnon Sad Sacks See Their World Implode

Yesterday, according to domestic terrorist cult QAnon, was supposed to be the "Great Awakening," when at noon a great storm would cleanse the nation of its sex trafficking, treasonous leaders (like =snicker=  the Clintons, Obamas, and Bidens).  Anxious watch parties of low- IQ, high gullibility QAnon sad sacks waited for the moment yesterday at noon when the arrests and executions would begin. 

Then as Kamala Harris then Joe Biden took their oaths of office, countless tiny, damaged brains started exploding around the country:

“Well this popcorn just got cold,” one QAnon supporter wrote. “When do the arrests start??” another questioned. Still, they continued clinging to hope while counting down the minutes until their long-awaited “great awakening.”

But as noon arrived, and a grinning Biden placed his hand on a Bible to be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, reality came crashing down.

“I can’t stop crying. Fuck. Why?” one person pleaded. “It’s over,” another conceded. Some wondered how they could possibly mend their broken relationships with the loved ones they’d pushed away over their obsessions with Q.

Like a flipped switch, the attitude inside online QAnon communities shifted from glee to shock and misery: “NOTHING FUCKING HAPPENED!!!”; “So now we have proof Q was total bullshit”; “I feel sick, disgusted and disappointed”; “Have we been duped???”; “You played us all”; “HOW COULD WE BELIEVE THIS FOR SO LONG? ARE WE ALL IDIOTS?” [Ed.: Yes!] [snip]

But even some of QAnon’s most prominent influencers reluctantly acknowledged that it was time to move on. MelQ, a major QAnon leader, turned off commenting in her Telegram channel as Biden’s swearing-in drew nearer and members appeared to lose faith, in order to “have everyone take a breather.” But once the ceremony was complete, she changed her tune: “Ok let it all out,” she wrote, later adding, “We’ll get through anything together.”

Ron Watkins, the former administrator of 8kun — a platform that has long been vital to Q’s communication with believers — also pulled the plug: “We gave it our all,” he told his nearly 120,000 Telegram subscribers. “Now we need to keep our chins up and go back to our lives as best we are able."

Yep, disregard the threats and violence and wreckage -- nothing to see here, move along!  

Sadly, people inclined to swallow even the most outrageous, illogical conspiracy theories will continue to look for a "system" that explains what they can't understand or don't like about their lives or the world.  That they've been made to look like fools is temporarily satisfying, but ultimately many will gravitate to other scams that reinforce what they want to believe despite all evidence and facts to the contrary.  They're still a danger to themselves and to us -- and at least two QAnon crackpots are Members of Congress (for now).  Deep breath!

(h/t Silver Spring Bureau Chief Brian)

BONUS:  The attorney for QAnon "shaman" and organic food fancier Jacob Anthony Chansley had hoped for a pardon for his client from Mango Mussolini, which was not forthcoming.  His response to the snub is a pure schadenfreude moment:

 
“The request was of extraordinary value in that it accorded Trump an opportunity to do what his followers believed would have been the ‘honorable’ thing to do,” said [attorney Al] Watkins. “Mr. Chansley, along with many others who were similarly situated, are now compelled to reconcile a betrayal by a man whose back they felt they had for years. In turn, they are compelled to be introspective and evaluate how they got where they are, the role of their former leader in that tragic course, and the vulnerabilities they share such as to be led down a primrose path by a man whose back is now squarely fading into the Mar Lago sunset as he walks spiritually hand-in-hand with Lil Wayne.”

Sad!

(Photo: The aforementioned QAnon "shaman" Chansley, center, currently in custody -- no pardon for you!)

QAnon Seditionists Now Getting "Deep State" Attention

Nicholas Grossman has some bad news for the violent QAnon/ Trump mental defectives who were in the vanguard of sacking the Capitol on January 6: "What you did was on another level, and the reaction will be too." Here's what is coming your way:

No matter what anyone’s told you, Deep State operatives weren’t spending their time messing with your internet discussions. That’s below their radar. It wasn’t until May 2019 that an FBI intelligence bulletin warned of the potential for terrorism from “conspiracy theory-driven domestic extremists,” using QAnon and Pizzagate as examples. But it didn’t become a law enforcement or counterterrorism priority. [snip]

But now that QAnon was involved in violent sedition, the national security state is paying attention. Arrests of people caught on camera storming the Capitol have already begun. Prosecutions will follow. Big tech companies — who, while powerful, are weaker than, and have a healthy fear of the government — are now treating QAnon almost like how they treat ISIS. A giant federal apparatus built to fight al Qaeda will shift some capacity to fighting you, especially the white nationalist and anti-government militias in your orbit.

You cheered on lawyers who said they’d release the Kraken. But now you’ve poked Leviathan.

This is what you need to absorb: QAnon and “stop the steal” are forever associated with a violent attack against the United States. Maybe that’s not what it’s meant to you, maybe you think that’s a misread of last week’s events, but that’s how the real Deep State, a lot of elected officials, and much of the public sees it.  (our emphasis)

Now you finally have just cause to be paranoid.  Congratulations, you woke up the real Deep State, and now you richly deserve what's coming to you.

BONUS:  70,000- plus accounts that spread QAnon garbage have been banned by Twitter.  Also, Facebook is taking down "Stop the Steal" content.  Seems violent insurrection focuses the mind.

(Image:  Trump/QAnon Capitol sackers, including currently incarcerated QAnon "shaman" Jake Chansley - aka Angeli - in the horn chapeau/ Getty Images)

Threats To Ballot Processing Centers Being Monitored, Foiled

News item I:

While no large-scale protests have taken place since Election Night, national security officials said they are tracking the small gatherings at vote processing centers across the country where Trump supporters, some armed with guns, are demanding vote counting stop.

“As we work through the last vote, I urge intelligence and law enforcement officials to execute their independent, apolitical efforts and our political leaders to urge calm and voice confidence in the systems that are the model for free and open societies,” [former deputy DNI director Sue] Gordon said.

News item II:

Philadelphia police are investigating an alleged plot to attack the Pennsylvania Convention Center where ballots are being counted.

Action News has learned Thursday night that police got a tip about a group driving up from Virginia in a Hummer to unleash an attack at the Convention Center.

Police said they found a weapon and two people were transferred to Central Detectives.

However, it's unclear how or if the people are connected to the investigation.

Early Friday morning, the Hummer was still on 13th Street near Vine.

The vehicle had a window sticker and a hat with the logo for the internet group QAnon, which is known for spreading conspiracy theories. The FBI has labeled them a domestic terror threat.

This is just one example, although it's the most potentially violent one we've seen.  Expect more in the days and weeks ahead, but so far law enforcement (local, State and Federal) is stepping up, just as they did with the arrest of the domestic terrorists in Michigan who plotted to kidnap and kill the Governor. We need that vigilance and proactive enforcement to be the final guardrail as cornered rat COVID Donnie becomes more and more unhinged in the days and weeks ahead.

So far, most of the agitation is, luckily, along these lines --

 

Where are all the tacticool microdicks and hillbilly Hezbollah?

This is just dough-faced aunties and loser nephews harassing volunteers. https://t.co/FX2a69hg0N

— Peter Wolf (@peterawolf) November 5, 2020