Actor/director Jordan Peele manipulates video of Barack Obama to make statement about fake news.

Courtesy of Buzzfeed: 

“We’re entering an era in which our enemies can make it look like anyone is saying anything at any point in time — even if they would never say those things,” says “Obama,” his lips moving in perfect sync with his words as they become increasingly bizarre. “So, for instance, they could have me say things like, I don’t know, [Black Panther’s] Killmonger was right! Or Ben Carson is in the sunken place! Or, how ’bout this: Simply, President Trump is a total and complete dipshit.” 

As the video soon reveals, the man speaking is not the former commander-in-chief, but rather Oscar-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele with a warning for viewers about trusting material they encounter online. 

“This is a dangerous time. Moving forward, we need to be more vigilant with what we trust from the internet,” says Peele as Obama. 

The PSA for the Internet Age was a project first imagined by Peele and BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti, the filmmaker’s brother-in-law. 

The pair wanted to warn the public about the rapidly evolving threat posed by digital misinformation after discussions between them about new technologies and the erosion of a shared reality.

Okay I am not going to lie, that is straight up terrifying.

And not so much because somebody MIGHT create a fake video of somebody saying something shocking or controversial (We know that they will.), but that it allows people caught on tape saying something shocking or controversial to claim that THEY were the target of video manipulation.

Think about it.

This means that news outlets might broadcast a completely legitimate video of Donald Trump saying something truly stupid or embarrassing and the Right Wing media can manipulate their own video, claim it is the real one, and call the mainstream media version "fake news."

You know it is going to happen. In fact it probably already has.

Believe it or not it may be retiring Congressman Trey Gowdy who put the final nail in the "secret memo" coffin.

When Trey Gowdy says Trump's vindication claim is garbage, Republicans are cooked. pic.twitter.com/zesgMvMKNN

— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 4, 2018

Courtesy of The Hill: 

CBS's Margaret Brennan pressed Gowdy on whether he believes the memo has "no impact on the Russia probe." 

"Not to me, it doesn't — and I was pretty integrally involved in the drafting of it," Gowdy, who recently announced he will not seek reelection, said. 

"There is a Russia investigation without a dossier. So to the extent the memo deals with the dossier and the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] process, the dossier has nothing to do with the meeting at Trump Tower. The dossier has nothing to do with an email sent by Cambridge Analytica." 

He added that the dossier has "nothing to do with George Papadopoulos's meeting in Great Britain." 

"It also doesn't have anything to do with obstruction of justice. So there's going to be a Russia probe, even without a dossier," he said.

And that my friends, is that. 

Also keep in mind that Gowdy was the one that Nunes sent to read the actual documentation behind those FISA applications.

He then brought his notes to Nunes and his staff, and that is where this memo originated.

So if Gowdy is stating emphatically that the memo has "no impact on the Russia probe" THAT is game over.

Bill Kristol, the man who "discovered" Sarah Palin, finally admits that she helped to usher in the Trump presidency.

Kristol: Palin a harbinger of GOP to come from CNBC.

Courtesy of CNBC: 

Harwood: There are people who trace a direct line from Sarah Palin to Donald Trump. It is characterized as "the dumbing down of Republican politics," an anti-intellectual movement, which is odd from you because you are an intellectual. 

Kristol: Yeah, she turned out to be a disappointment. I mean, when she was picked, she was a popular governor of Alaska who had taken on the oil companies and so forth. I thought Palin as [John] McCain's VP would be a way to almost channel a certain kind of populism into what I would say is a healthy conservatism. 

Harwood: You discovered her on a Weekly Standard cruise, right? 

Kristol: She invited Fred Barnes and me and our families over to lunch at the governor's residence there. And we were impressed by her. And she was charming. And she was different — 42-year-old governor of Alaska, kind of an exotic state. 

I had been originally for John McCain picking Joe Lieberman — a centrist play against Barack Obama. And they chose not to go that way. And then I thought, 'OK, well, why not take the gamble with Palin?' 

But I will say this. For all the alleged dumbing down, the people who ran and won in 2010 and 2012 were pretty impressive, a lot of them. The Republican ticket in 2012 was Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. Whatever again you think of them, that's not a dumbed-down ticket. 

So I thought, 'OK, Palin, they didn't win.' And I thought, 'OK, she chose to be a celebrity rather than a politician.' I didn't realize that we were going into a celebrity culture — such a celebrity culture that Trump would actually as a celebrity run and win in 2016. 

I don't think Palin really led to Trump. Was this somehow a bit of a precursor or something? I'm willing to say, 'Maybe so.'

I think that this is as close to an admission of guilt by Kristol, that his infatuation with Palin, and fan like articles on her behalf, directly led to Donald Trump's campaign, that we are likely to get.

But in fact that is exactly how all of this went down.

Make no bones about it, without a Sarah Palin there would simply NOT be a President Trump.

And both Bill Kristol and John McCain are going to have to live with that for what remains of the rest of their lives.

Actor Morgan Freeman challenges Donald Trump to come out and admit that we are under attack by Russia.

For generations, ppl have fought to protect democracy. Now it’s our turn. Watch Morgan Freeman explain Russia’s plot to undermine the U.S. pic.twitter.com/t65wckbmxS

— Investigate Russia (@InvestigateRU) September 19, 2017

Morgan Freeman has played Colonels, Generals, the Director of Intelligence, Presidents, and even God, so I definitely trust his opinion above that of a guy who just played himself a bunch of times in movies and TV.

And of course he is right.

We WERE indeed attacked in 2016, and since that attack actually caused more damage to the fabric of our Democracy than any conventional explosive device or military attack, then yes it is safe to say that it was an act of war.

However we all know that Donald Trump will NEVER declare that to be true, because he does not serve our interests.

He serves the interests of another.

And we need to remind the American people of that every single chance that we get, until even they can no longer deny the truth of it.

P.S. On an interesting side note I found this video over on YouTube, and when I visited it only had two comments, both from men with Russian sounding names, one declaring that Freeman was hired by the "deep state" and the other saying that he was "officially insane."

You cannot make this stuff up folks.
 

Okay well this can't be good.

An ocean used to be here. #HurricaneIrma stole it away. https://t.co/p2kzbakCWq pic.twitter.com/7KqwL49D0t

— CNN (@CNN) September 10, 2017

That is just incredibly humbling to witness the awesome power of nature.

And now that being demonstrated all over Florida.

You can click here to see how Florida is handling it.

In many cases not too well.

Though apparently there is not enough devastation of loss of life to impress Ann Coulter.

I wish cables would mention the hurricane. There is a decidedly heavier-than-average morning dew in Miami; Palm Beach bordering on breezy.

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 10, 2017

Things aren't all bad however.

He's got my vote.

.@VicenteFoxQue is the president America needs. pic.twitter.com/to2e4QWUyk

— Super Deluxe (@superdeluxe) September 7, 2017

Vicente had me when he described Trump as a "worn out baseball glove tightly gripping a turd."

That is the kind of speechifying which just inspires support.

NRA threatens the New York Times with a.....fisting?

.@DLoesch has a message for the @nytimes: “We're coming for you.” One
non-#fakenews story is not enough. #NRA #ClenchedFistofTruth pic.twitter.com/Hm1QkJi5Tp

— NRATV (@NRATV) August 3, 2017

Courtesy of The Hill: 

Conservative political pundit and National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch took on The New York Times in a video posted by the NRA on Friday in which she says "we're coming for you." 

"We've had it with your constant protection of your Democrat overlords, your refusal to acknowledge any truth that upsets the fragile construct that you believe is real life," Loesch told the Times in the video. 

"And we've had it with your pretentious, tone-deaf assertion that you are in any way truth or fact-based journalism," Loesch continued. 

"Consider this the shot across your proverbial bow. We're going to fist the New York Times and find out just what deep rich means to this old gray hag. This untrustworthy, dishonest rag that has subsisted on the welfare of mediocrity for one, two, three more decades?

"We're going to laser-focus on your so-called 'honest pursuit of truth.' In short, we're coming for you," Loesch said in the video.

Uhhh, so is the NRA threatening the new York Times with violence, of some kind of super aggressive sex play.

As you know I am just an innocent from up North, but isn't "fisting" something that should only take place between two consenting adults, and not inflicted on another person as a form of punishment? #Askingforafriend.

As it turns out, thanks to Dana Loesh's killer spokesperson skills, I, like many others, misheard Loesch who now claims that what she said was,  "We're going to FISK the New York Times."

Huh?

She later took to Twitter to defend herself.

What’s more embarrassing: A hack reporter & acolytes who don’t know what “fisk” means or a hack who apparently thinks about “fisting?” Geez.

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 4, 2017

For the people whose parents didn’t love them enough to buy them Hooked on Phonics as kids: pic.twitter.com/O0IUMx25R3

— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) August 4, 2017

Okay well I am fairly well read, and pride myself on having a rather extensive vocabulary, and I have NEVER heard the word "fisk" before.

So I guess I will leave it up to each of you to decide whether or not Dana Loesch offered to sexually gratify the staff of the New York Times,  or whether she is simply making up her own batshit crazy vocabulary as she goes along.

The other day Morning Joe presented a video montage of Trump lies that would be jaw dropping if it represented any other politician.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

A “Morning Joe” panel examined President Donald Trump’s lie-filled rally in Iowa, where his supporters cheered each falsehood and jeered when he attacked the media. 

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham compared the display to former President Richard Nixon’s lies during the Watergate scandal, but he said Trump’s rally was even more like something seen in a totalitarian regime like Nazi Germany or fascist Italy. 

“Even now, in regimes like North Korea, where the dear leader speaks and we’re all supposed to salute, that what the dear leader says has to be followed, whether it’s associated with reality or not, whether it’s grounded in reality or not,” Meacham said. 

The segment opened with a video montage of Trump’s falsehoods, which the panel fact-checked against previous reporting, and Meacham said the president’s lies undermined some of America’s founding principles.

 I really don't watch Morning Joe anymore so I missed this when it was first broadcast. 

However after I watched the video I was shocked, and knew I had to share it here.

I mean we all know that Trump lies like some people take a breath, but this is amazing even by those standards.

It is like he is allergic to the truth and his followers seem to think the only truth tumble from his tangerine tinted maw.

Every day I wake up saying I will not be shocked by what Donald Trump does, and every day I am wrong.

Young Turks reporter has meltdown because elderly Congresswoman brushed his microphone out of her face.

Michael Tracey tweeted Maxine Waters "shoved" him. Here's the video. This is what he is calling a shove. pic.twitter.com/5LXc59eOcE

— Zachary Fedell 🇪🇺 (@zatchry) June 3, 2017

Yes THAT is the horrendous attack that poor little Michael Tracey suffered at the hands of big mean Maxine Waters.

Here is more courtesy of Raw Story: 

Saturday evening, “Young Turks” reporter Michael Tracey tweeted that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) “shoved” him after a testy exchange in Los Angeles.

“Members of Congress shouldn’t be initiating unwanted physical contact with reporters,” he fumed, in an apparent reference to the vicious attack on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs by Republican Rep. Greg Gianforte, which left Jacobs injured and his glasses smashed. 

Tracey said that he asked the 78-year-old Waters two questions after a “March for Truth” event. 

“(S)he became agitated, stormed off, and ‘shoved’ my arm,” he fumed, going on to say that while the move wasn’t “excessively violent,” it was “unwanted physical contact.” 

He said that while he doesn’t want to argue “semantics,” the incident “shows Waters to be erratic, intemperate, and unprofessional.”

For one thing anybody attempting to compare this, in any way, to the Ben Jacobs body slamming is really demonstrating a pathetic cry for attention.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters is a tiny little woman, I doubt she could inflict any serious harm even if that were her intent.

Which clearly it was not.

The response from Twitter was quick and unsparing.

I'm humiliated for you.

— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) June 3, 2017

You crowded an elderly woman half your size and whined when she brushed your arm as she walked away. I'm embarrassed for your entire family.

— Molly Knight (@molly_knight) June 3, 2017

Let's all have a moment of silence for Michael Tracey's manhood, which was brutally snatched by Maxine Waters.

— Allan Brauer (@allanbrauer) June 3, 2017

I have essentially ignored The Young Turks since the election, so I had no idea that they had become quite so pathetic.

I can only imagine how much worse this would have been for this delicate flower if he had actually had physical contact with Greg "I'll body slam ya" Gianforte.

Rachel Maddow digs up more evidence to suggest that the Russians are continuing to exert influence over policy in this country.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

“What’s getting to be, I think, particularly unsettling, is that simultaneously, we are … number one, nailing down more direct connections between the Trump campaign and the Russian government at the time the Russian government was influencing our election,” Maddow began. “Number two, at the same time, we are also starting to see what may be signs of continuing influence in our country. Not just during the campaign but during the administration. Basically, signs of what could be a continuing operation.”

Maddow once again revisits the fact that the Trump campaign demanded that the language in the GOP platform concerning Russia invasion in Ukraine be softened.

She then pointed out that this was predicted in that infamous Russian dossier.

Rachel goes on to suggest that the Russians did not help Trump win this election for kicks, they wanted a return on their investment. And she further suggests that this recent Wikileaks dump of CIA data, which could severely impact the agency's ability to do its job, is also part of that return on their initial investment.

“The Russian government attacked our election,” Maddow said. “The Russian government was in contact with multiple campaign sources while they were doing it. Russian nemeses in the American government, U.S. State Department, the CIA, are not fairing well since Donald Trump came to power. Is the operation that Russia started during the campaign — is it over? Or are they still running it? Are we still in this now?

Remember Trump has still tweeted NOTHING about this latest Wikileaks dump.

Rachel Maddow is currently doing some of the best investigative journalism available on cable news concerning Trump's connection to the Kremlin and I think that it behooves all of us to pay attention to what she uncovers, because she is tying these threads together every night.

New video emerges that apparently shows Donald Trump tirade against top advisor Steve Bannon.

Courtesy of the Daily Mail: 

Footage has emerged of a heated row in the Oval Office on Friday that saw Donald Trump erupt into a 'ballistic' tirade against Steve Bannon and other senior advisors. 

The president reportedly unleashed his anger on Bannon and chief of staff Reince Priebus for failing to fight off the firestorm surrounding attorney general Jeff Sessions' recusal amid links to Russia. 

A furious Trump told Bannon and Priebus they weren't flying on Air Force One with him to Florida before reportedly storming out and heading down to Mar-a-Lago. 

Now, video has emerged of what appears to be the exchange during the fiery meeting inside the Oval Office, CNN reports. 

Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Sean Spicer were spotted in the background of the footage. 

Trump had accused his staff of fumbling the situations with Sessions after the attorney general recused himself from all FBI investigations regarding Russia on Thursday. 

The president is said to have then taken it out on his senior staff the following day. 

I reported on this yesterday, but that was before this video had emerged. 

The first thing I thought when I saw this is who in the hell was in a position to film this?

It would have to be somebody on the staff, right?

I mean I don't think they have reporters simply hanging around outside of the Oval Office filming what goes on through a window.

And then I thought of how much money a video of President Obama like this would have been worth to the Right Wing media.

Except we know that no such video would ever have been taken during the Obama Administration, because that was back when we had grownups running the White House and not petulant, tantrum throwing, toddlers.

Asked why he is not holding town halls Senator Marco Rubio replies Because "people get rude and stupid."

We finally caught up with Senator Marco Rubio at @FIU. He told us that he won't host a townhall because people act "rude and stupid." pic.twitter.com/DrefDkvrFD

— Tomas Kennedy (@Tomaskenn) February 23, 2017

Courtesy of HuffPo:When a constituent confronted Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) Thursday about why he wasn’t holding a town hall event during this week’s congressional recess, Rubio gave what seemed an honest answer. 

“I don’t know man, because town halls, people get rude and stupid ― on both sides,” the senator told the man. 

A community organizer for the Florida chapter of the Service Employees International Union tweeted a video of the encounter, which happened in a lecture hall at Florida International University, where Rubio teaches a class. The questioner appears to be Rafael Velasquez, a member of the Florida Democratic party’s board of trustees.

Not to give Rubio too much credit, but at least that sounds more honest that Louie Gohmert stating that he is afraid of getting shot like Gabby Giffords. 

However I would be willing to bet that the will live to regret this statement.

Sarah Palin attacks President Obama for reacting in a reasonable manner in response to Facebook torture video.

If you have been watching even a little of the news yesterday I am sure you all saw a portion of this video showing some African American teenagers (One is actually in her twenties.) torturing a white mentally handicapped young man.

It was shown on virtually every news outlet yesterday and roundly condemned by everybody who reported on it, without regard to their race or political affiliation.

And in an interview President Obama also condemned the "despicable" actions.

However that was not good enough for Snowdrift Snooki.

No she was so incensed that she fired up the ole ghostwriter and called in a favor over at Breitbart in order to attack the media and the President directly:

It’s time for a screaming wake-up call, America. 

My extended family discussed the tragedy last night. We concluded we do not care about arguing the legalities involved in categorizing this as a “hate crime” or not a “hate crime.” Obviously it is a hateful, hate-filled crime centering on politics and race. Proof is on tape. Debating the merits of categorizing the disgusting racist and political taunts vomited up by thugs during their brutal beating of a helpless young man is, to us, a media distraction. I leave it to others to focus on that.

After that venom laced diatribe Palin talks about her sister Heather working with developmentally delayed youths in public school, and of course Trig, as if that gives her some authority on the topic.

Then she goes on the attack against our last duly elected President:  

But President Obama… shush. Just shush with your reaction to this racist attack with claims that race relations have improved under your reign. That is BS. And why, even in this, do you have to make it all about you, all the time? Your suggestion yesterday that there’s some silver lining in this shows how completely out of touch you are. Attacks on the helpless and vulnerable — no matter skin color — are society’s cancer. You still don’t get it. A better reaction is to acknowledge, for one, that your pride and joy hometown of Chicago is a mess. 

Further, acknowledge that you’ve helped perpetuate a culture that disrespects innocent life by pretending that babies aren’t really babies, so their lives don’t matter; by mocking special needs children on national television (as the President!); by promoting vile gangsta “artists” and their cultural depravity; and by wasting time and public resources instead of using them to better society by, for instance, creating jobs and expecting able-bodied persons to work for self-respect and responsibility instead of incentivizing a lawless, selfish, hard-hearted entitlement culture. You have no credibility when twisting this into somehow being about your “accomplishments.” You fail by making this about you.

Palin goes on, and on, and on trying to somehow make all of this about Obama's support of a woman's right to choose.

She also spits venom in the direction of the media, rappers, celebrities, Colin Kaepernick, and something called the "PC thought police."

However the statement by our President that seems to have pissed in her Wheaties, is simply this:  

Obama said he doesn’t believe racial tensions have gotten worse, but that the public exposure is more prevalent in the digital age. 

“In part because we see visuals of racial tensions, violence, and so forth; because of smart phones and the Internet,” the president said. 

“What we have seen as surfacing, I think, are a lot of problems that have been there a long time. 

“Whether it’s tensions between police and communities, hate crimes of the despicable sort that has just now recently surfaced on Facebook.”

I would bet you dollars to doughnuts that if this video featured white folks beating on a black person Palin would welcome those comments.

As for the silver lining comment that got her crusty panties all in a twist, that was simply this: 

“The good news is that the next generation that’s coming behind us … have smarter, better, more thoughtful attitudes about race. 

“I think the overall trajectory of race relations in this country is actually very positive. It doesn’t mean that all racial problems have gone away. It means that we have the capacity to get better.”

So all the President is doing is expressing hope in the future and confidence in the generations that will follow our own.

I guess living with that feral brood of wife beaters, drunks, and mattress backs that Palin calls family, must make it a little harder to drum up the same enthusiasm for the future.

However for the record the President is essentially right. The millennials are indeed far less likely to discriminate based on race, gender, or country of origin.

You know, the millenials that are not being raised in that compound by the dead lake that is.

I think this one photograph adequately sums up my feelings about 2016.

Source

So many highs, followed by so many lows.

The year had such great promise.

It was filled with so much hope.

By the end I sort of felt like poor Ronda Rousey from last night's fight.

Source

But you know what? We are fighters as well.

So let's pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and prepare for the next battle.

Because as every fighter knows, sometimes it takes getting knocked down, to remind us what it takes to win. 

Here I am thinking that nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can get me into the holiday spirit. But then I forgot about these two.

In 2008 this country got perhaps one of the greatest gifts in its short history.

So instead of lamenting the loss of that gift, instead perhaps we should simply take pride in knowing that we lived in time when Barack Obama led this great nation.

I don't know what the future may bring, but I know how amazing these past eight years have been.

And I would not have missed them for the world.

Merry Christmas my friends.

Remember that Trump supporter who harassed a plane load of passengers? Yeah well he might be hitchhiking to his next vacation spot.

The epitome of post-election white privilege. He wasn't put off the plane in spite of multiple requests. pic.twitter.com/9ZvMhLgLYs

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) November 24, 2016

(Every time you watch he just becomes an even bigger asshole.)

Courtesy of CTV News: 

Delta Air Lines is banning for life a passenger who rudely professed his support for Republican President-elect Donald Trump and insulted those who didn't on a flight to Pennsylvania, the company's CEO said Monday. 

Edward Bastian said in an internal memo that the airline is also refunding the cost of tickets for other passengers on the Nov. 22 flight from Atlanta to Allentown. 

A video posted on Facebook by a passenger shows a man standing in the aisle, yelling and insulting supporters of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. 

The man asks loudly: "We got some Hillary bitches on here?" He proceeds to clap and yell Trump's name a few times while other passengers seemingly try to ignore him, some staring at phones and tablets, others with arms folded.

Referring to Trump's victory, he says: "If you don't like it, too bad."

Careful Delta Airlines you might actually revive my faith in America with this kind of response.

I knew these assholes existed, but now that one of their own is headed to the White House they're coming out of the woodwork like cockroaches.

No I take that back. It's just not fair to cockroaches.

Not Safe For Work, but definitely safe for this election.

Yeah, I think that pretty much says it all.

Rachel Maddow discusses Sarah Palin's past, and wonders what her role might be with Trump TV.

I thought this was a great segment last night.

The only quibble I have with it is when Rachel suggests that Sarah Palin would have finished her first term as governor and run for a second term if she had not been tapped by John McCain.

In fact Palin was already in trouble here in Alaska, Troopergate, and many of the ethics charges that were filed against her after the pick as VP might still have occurred.

However I will admit that her arrogance and sense of entitlement was taken up to eleven by the time that she returned to Wasilla, and that because of her experience on the national stage she felt much too important to waste her time on anything as silly as Alaska politics.

As for her ability to "help" Donald Trump launch a new media empire?

The only thing that Palin could show him how to do is to fail, and then quit, which is essentially what she is now famous for doing.

Hillary Clinton's first ad using Trump's words from the second debate is brutal.

Does Trump have the discipline to be a good leader? You decide. pic.twitter.com/KfdtXNeFfE

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 11, 2016

I have said repeatedly that the Clinton campaign should be paying Trump for helping them write these incredibly effective ads.

Damn that is devastating!

Pulitzer prize winning New York Times reporter "There is no evidence that Donald Trump is a billionaire."

Courtesy of Business Insider:

David Cay Johnston, former New York Times reporter, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of "The Making of Donald Trump," has investigated Donald Trump for nearly three decades. He reveals how Trump calculates his supposed billion dollar net worth.

I love this part:

"He had a negative net worth of 295 million."

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING about this idiot is bullshit.