Trump supporters and conspiracy theory - Part 2

[Rick Plant]

Doug Mastriano condemned for ties to an anti-Semitic website that hosted synagogue shooter



On Thursday, CNN reported that far-right Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano is facing a fresh wave of bipartisan criticism — this time, for his ties to an infamous alt-right social network that hosted the perpetrator of an anti-Semitic terrorist attack in Pittsburgh.

Specifically, Mastriano has a close relationship with Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab — a site that has become infamous as a haven for white supremacist and anti-Semitic extremism.

"Mastriano has had a formal relationship with Torba and Gab since at least April, when Mastriano's campaign paid Gab $5,000 for 'consulting' services, according to state records first published by Media Matters for America, a left-leaning watchdog organization that has documented the relationship between Mastriano and Torba," reported Dan Merica. "Following his campaign's payment to Gab, Mastriano -- who rarely speaks with reporters from traditional media outlets -- sat down for an interview with Torba and lauded the site founder, telling him, 'Thank God for what you've done.'"

Matthew Brooks, director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, fiercely condemned Mastriano's involvement with Gab: "Jewish voters expect candidates to condemn antisemitism whether it comes from the far left or the far right — and to shun those who espouse it. We strongly urge Doug Mastriano to end his association with Gab, a social network rightly seen by Jewish Americans as a cesspool of bigotry and antisemitism."

"Gab, founded in 2016, brands itself as the 'free speech social network' and has grown in popularity with conservatives, alt-right figures and some extremists as a counter to more traditional social media spaces such as Twitter and Facebook," noted the report. "The site's lax approach to content management has made it a haven for QAnon conspiracy theories, misinformation and antisemitic commentary."

Most infamously, Gab played host to Robert Bowers, the man who perpetrated the deadly mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Prior to that attack, Bowers, who had posted numerous anti-Semitic screeds, announced on the platform that he was "going in." Immediately after that incident, investors pulled funding from the site and the web host shut it down, but it went live again a few days later.

"Representatives for Mastriano did not respond to CNN's requests for comment," noted the report. "And the Republican Governors Association responded with a broad statement on the race that did not address Mastriano's relationship with Gab."

Read More Here: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/28/politics/doug-mastriano-gab-pennsylvania-republican/index.html


Why Marjorie Taylor Greene’s 'troubling' endorsement of Christian nationalism is an 'urgent threat'



Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia set off yet another controversy when, during a Saturday, July 23 interview conducted at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Florida, she proudly described herself as a “Christian nationalist” and urged the Republican Party to openly embrace an ideology of “Christian nationalism.” One of the people who is calling Greene out is Amanda Tyler, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) and the main organizer for Christians Against Christian Nationalism.

Greene told Taylor Hanson of the right-wing Next News Network, “We need to be the party of nationalism, and I’m a Christian. And I say it proudly: We should be Christian nationalists. When Republicans learn to represent most of the people that vote for them, then we will be the party that continues to grow without having to chase down certain identities or chase down certain segments of people.”

In an op-ed published by CNN’s website on July 28, Tyler lays out some reasons why she finds Greene’s “Christian nationalist” talk incredibly dangerous.

“For years, I have been closely tracking Christian nationalism and sounding the alarm about it,” Hanson explains. “Greene’s recent comments mark an alarming shift in the public conversation about Christian nationalism. Until recently, the public figures who most embrace Christian nationalism in their rhetoric and policies have either denied its existence or claimed that those of us who are calling it out are engaging in name-calling. But Greene is evidently reading from a different script now, explicitly embracing the identity as her own and urging others to join her.”

Tyler continues, “She is not alone in doing so. Greene’s embrace of Christian nationalism follows closely after troubling remarks from Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert: ‘The church is supposed to direct the government, the government is not supposed to direct the church,’ she said at a church two days before her primary election and victory in late June. ‘I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk.’”

Tyler describes Christian nationalism as “a political ideology and cultural framework that merges Christian and American identities, distorting both the Christian faith and America’s promise of religious freedom.”

“Though not new, Christian nationalism has been exploited in recent years by politicians like former President Donald Trump to further an ‘us vs. them’ mentality and send a message that only Christians can be ‘real’ Americans,” Tyler observes. “Growing support for Christian nationalism comes at a time when the political ideology behind it poses increasingly urgent threats to American democracy and to religious freedom. Perhaps the most chilling example of Christian nationalism came on the most public of world stages, from some Trump supporters during the January 6 insurrection.”

On February 9, BJC published a disturbing report that details the role Christian nationalism played in the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

“I care about dismantling Christian nationalism both because I’m a practicing Christian and because I’m a patriotic American,” Tyler writes. “And no, those identities are not the same. As Christians, we can’t allow Greene, Boebert or Trump to distort our faith without a fight.”

Read More Here: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/opinions/christian-nationalism-marjorie-taylor-greene-tyler/index.html


Ron DeSantis gets blasted by Florida congresswoman for vilifying schools



Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for trying to turn schools into a "haunted house" and scaring parents into thinking that their children are somehow being turned into monsters.

Republicans in Florida have been waging what they call a battle for parents to have a greater say over what their children learn in school.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Wilson explained she's not sure that DeSantis is a "little Trump" because Trump isn't "smart enough" to come up with issues like critical race theory or the 'don't say gay' bill to attack public education.

"This man has taken a theory that's only available in colleges, universities, and law schools," Wilson explained. "Critical race theory has never been mentioned, taught or even considered in any public school across this country. Never! And he has made people think that little children are learning critical race theory across the nation... then he turned around and called it a culture war."

The Republican governor is seen as a possible presidential contender for his party in 2024 -- possibly challenging Trump if he decides to runs again.

The state's so-called "don't say gay" law bans teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity "in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

The education war in Florida also centers on teaching of critical race theory, the doctrine holding that racism is an inherent part of law and legal institutions in America in that they serve to maintain social, economic and political inequality.

Wilson said that DeSantis is pretending to stand up for the children, but the reality is far from it.

"The difference is — one is Mr. Trump is dumb, Mr. DeSantis is smart. What he has done is created little vignettes to mislead the American people. He's made parents think that they should run the public schools when we have principals and administrators who we have trusted for years," Wilson continued, pointing out that DeSantis is a product of public schools.

"Parents don't have to show up at a school board meeting to run a school. They know to respect the will of the parents and what parents need for their children. These are trained experts. I was one of them. So, I know. But he has made the school district as a sinful place. That they talk about 'gays!' I mean, hello. Give me a break. This man has taken little vignettes of culture and made them into haunted houses and monsters. He has permeated fear not just in Florida but it has permeated across the nation. That's what's so amazing."

AFP

[Rick Plant]

Report: Cassidy Hutchinson Is Cooperating With the DOJ’s Jan. 6 Trump Inquiry
https://truthout.org/articles/report-cassidy-hutchinson-is-cooperating-with-the-dojs-jan-6-trump-inquiry/

[Rick Plant]

Mark Finchem and Wendy Rogers are ‘honored’ to be endorsed by Gab founder, a prominent antisemite



Two Arizona Republicans are trumpeting an endorsement from Andrew Torba, the CEO of far-right social media platform Gab, who said earlier this month that Jewish people aren’t welcome on Gab — and should be exiled from the conservative movement altogether.

Mark Finchem, who is running for secretary of state, and state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who is seeking re-election, this week both touted their endorsements from Torba and praised him. Both said on social media that they were “honored” to have Torba’s endorsement, and Rogers included the hashtag #GabCaucus, the name that the Gab CEO has used for the collection of Republicans he supports across the country.

“These people aren’t conservative. They’re not Christian, right? They don’t share our values. They have inverted values from us as Christians. So don’t fall for the bait, right?” he said in a video defending Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano. Torba is serving as a consultant to Mastriano’s campaign.

“We are going to take back this country for the glory of God. This is an explicitly Christian movement because this is an explicitly Christian country,” he added.

Gab has long been a haven for antisemites and violent extremists since launching in 2017 as an alternative to Twitter, which in recent years has more strictly enforced its policies against hate speech and violent rhetoric.

In 2018, a prolific user of the site who had posted neo-Nazi propaganda and calls for violence against Jewish people massacred 11 worshippers in a Pittsburgh synagogue, fueled by the so-called great replacement theory that has motivated white supremacist mass murderers around the world.

Gab has also openly courted racists to join the platform, HuffPost reported in 2018: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/andrew-torba-gab-robert-bowers_n_5bd8ed0be4b019a7ab582762?as=

Torba, who likes to portray himself as a free speech warrior under attack by big tech, liberals and the media, describes Gab as a censorship-free version of Twitter. But as Gab’s CEO, he has rooted for prominent racists, vilified minorities, fetishized “trad life” in which women stay at home with the kids, and fantasized about a second American civil war in which the right outguns the left. And despite Torba’s supposed commitment to free speech, Gab often blocks its critics on Twitter and rails against journalists.

White supremacists and members of the alt-right like Gab because Torba speaks their language: People who learn to embrace far-right politics have been “red-pilled,” people who know what’s going on are “based.” Even Gab’s logo is a nod to white supremacists: The green frog is clearly reminiscent of Pepe the Frog, a cartoon character that became popular in racist memes.

Torba has also become increasingly open with his antisemitism since the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting.

“We’re building a parallel Christian society because we are fed up and done with the Judeo-Bolshevik one,” he tweeted last year, using language that the Nazi Party popularized in the 1930s.

This past February, he was a featured speaker at a white nationalist conference; his speech focused on the great replacement, an idea popular among white racists which holds that white Americans are being replaced by immigrants. (Rogers also spoke at the event, using her speech to fantasize about killing her political opponents.)

And in May, after a white supremacist gunman targeted Black people at a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store and slaughtered 10 people, Torba pleaded with Gab users to marry and have babies only with white people.

Rogers has openly courted many of the same racist and antisemitic groups that Torba promotes. She has espoused the great replacement theory, claimed that the federal government is behind white supremacist mass murders, made nakedly antisemitic social media postings and appeared on an antisemitic news show multiple times.

Torba on July 26 posted on Gab that he was endorsing a slate of Arizona Republican candidates: Kari Lake, who is running for governor; Blake Masters, who is running for U.S. Senate; U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, who are both seeking re-election; Finchem; and Rogers.

The Gab posting has since been deleted.

Only Finchem and Rogers have promoted Torba’s endorsement. The Arizona Mirror asked the candidates he backed or their representatives whether they accept or reject Torba’s endorsement, given his recent antisemitic comments and his history of antisemitism.

Lake’s campaign was the only one to respond. “It goes without saying, the Kari Lake Campaign for Governor absolutely denounces bigotry in all its forms, especially anti-semitism. We have never sought this endorsement,” spokesman Ross Trumble said in an emailed statement.

https://www.azmirror.com/2022/07/28/mark-finchem-and-wendy-rogers-are-honored-to-be-endorsed-by-gab-founder-a-prominent-antisemite/

[Rick Plant]

'Coverup of treason': Trump-appointed IG under investigation knew of missing agency texts far earlier



The Dept. of Homeland Security scandal is growing larger, with its embattled Inspector General increasingly appearing to be at the center of what one noted political scientist is calling a "coverup of treason."

DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2019, was aware of Secret Service agents' deleted text messages from January 5 and 6, 2021, and deleted texts from top Homeland Security officials, months earlier than first disclosed, according to reports from CNN and The Washington Post.

"Earlier this month, Secret Service officials told congressional committees that DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari, the department’s independent watchdog, was aware that texts had been erased in December 2021," CNN reports. "But sources tell CNN, the Secret Service had notified Cuffari’s office of missing text messages in May 2021, seven months earlier."

That means that four months after the January 6 insurrection the Dept. of Homeland Security knew Secret Service agents' text messages, from the day before and day of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, were missing and did not inform Congress or the National Archives, which is required by law to retain those records.

The deleted Secret Service texts are not the only missing data at DHS.

"Text messages for President Donald Trump’s acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf and acting deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli are missing for a key period leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol," The Washington Post was first to report, on Thursday night.

As with the missing Secret Service texts, Cuffari knew early on – as early as May – but did not inform Congress or the National Archives.

Earlier this month the Project On Government Oversight (POGO), a nonpartisan independent watchdog, reported on Cuffari, Wolf, and Cuccinelli.

"Cuffari’s actions shielded high-level DHS political appointees, including then-acting Secretary Chad Wolf and his acting deputy secretary, Ken Cuccinelli, from fuller questioning by investigators, according to government records and interviews," a POGO press release stated.

Back in February POGO reported that Cuffari "faces a previously undisclosed and escalating investigation — one that will apparently address persistent questions about whether he illegally 'retaliated' against former high-ranking employees. As such, the probe signals the latest phase of a nasty internecine battle that refuses to fade away, despite Cuffari’s successful bid to force out his former top deputy, as other internal critics left amid bitter recriminations."

That investigation, according to the POGO report, began in May of 2021, more than one year ago.

In. April POGO sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to remove Cuffari from his role as DHS IG.

Late Thursday night noted political scientist Norman Ornstein, who sits on the POGO board, called the situation a "coverup of treason."

POGO, Ornstein tweeted, "has been calling for a long time for the resignation of DHS IG Joseph Cuffari. He sat on the information of missing texts from the top DHS 'acting' officials, put there by Trump to do his bidding. Stinks to high heaven. Coverup of treason."

Appointed by Trump, Cuffari assumed office on July 25, 2019. Less than one year later, in May of 2020, The Washington Post reported, "DHS inspector general’s office nearly dormant under Trump as reports and audits plummet."

Read More Here: https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/29/politics/secret-service-missing-texts-january-6-dhs-inspector-general/index.html

https://www.pogo.org/investigation/2022/02/homeland-securitys-embattled-watchdog-faces-probe



Bannon’s trial wasn’t the joyride he expected it to be: legal expert



In an op-ed published at Cafe this Friday, legal expert Elie Honig writes that Steve Bannon's trial for contempt of Congress "wasn’t as much of a joyride as he had hoped."

"Leading up to the trial, Bannon went hogwild, using his indictment as a launching point for all manner of disjointed rants against Democrats, and DOJ, and the January 6 Committee. He pronounced that his case would be the 'misdemeanor from hell for Merrick Garland, Nancy Pelosi, and Joe Biden.' I’ll hand it to Bannon here: 'misdemeanor from hell' is a punchy turn of phrase (though what the heck do Pelosi or Biden have to do with anything?). I won’t do Bannon the favor of reprinting his predictable stemwinders on his podcast and on the courthouse steps. He plainly relished the attention; one almost got the sense he was enjoying his status as a criminal defendant. Hey, it’s all about relevance, right?" Honig writes.

According to Honig, it was a different story inside the courtroom.As he points out, Judge Carl Nichols shut down Bannon's "bogus defenses" before trial began and prevented him from turning the trial into a "silly circus."

Bannon, who led Trump's 2016 presidential election campaign, was among hundreds of people called by a House of Representatives committee to testify about the storming of Congress by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

The 68-year-old Republican strategist did not appear on the summons date or provide requested documents, and was indicted on two charges of contempt of Congress.

Honig writes that the prosecution's case was simple: Bannon defied a congressional subpoena and offered no defense at his trial. He was found guilty within hours. "This wasn’t the 'misdemeanor from hell' for DOJ; this was a cake party for the feds."

Presenting the government's case, prosecutor Amanda Vaughn told the jury that Bannon was "not above the law" and had made a "deliberate decision" not to obey the subpoena.

Bannon's attorneys did not call any witnesses during the brief trial and he did not testify in his own defense.

"Now Bannon will go to federal prison for at least thirty days, no matter what. Contempt of Congress is the rare misdemeanor that carries a mandatory minimum sentence," writes Honig. "Sure, Bannon can appeal, but I don’t see much chance this verdict gets thrown out, despite his lawyer’s boisterous claim that he has a “'bulletproof appeal.'

According to the Jan. 6 committee, Bannon spoke to Trump the day before thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to block the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's election victory.

They had been egged on by Trump in a fiery speech near the White House, during which he repeated his false claims of election fraud.

After refusing to testify for months, Bannon finally agreed to cooperate with the House investigation, a move prosecutors dismissed as a "last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability."

Read More Here: https://cafe.com/elies-note/note-from-elie-steve-bannons-moment-of-accountability/

[Rick Plant]

Tickets for Trump's Saudi-backed golf tournament were selling for $1 as crowds stayed away: WSJ



Donald Trump has long been fixated on crowd sizes, but his partnership with Saudi Arabia's LIV golf tournament has reportedly failed to bring in the crowds.

His administration got off to a bizarre start when Sean Spicer lied about his inauguration crowd sizes and Kellyanne Conway attempted to defend his "alternative facts." Five years later, he was still complaining about his crowd size coverage.

And Trump has repeatedly bragged about the crowd size at his Jan.6 "stop the steal" rally on the eclipse that was part of his unsuccessful coup attempt.

In June, it was reported that Trumpland acknowledges his rally crowds have gotten smaller.

"The delicate politics of this new tour took a marquee role at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster for LIV’s third event. Mr. Trump has emerged as a rare politician in favor of the Saudi-backed venture, as many on Capitol Hill have raised concerns over it," The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

"The golf itself, meanwhile, wasn’t exactly supercharged—light crowds were spread across much of the vast grounds here on the first day of the tournament. Tickets for the Saturday session were available on stubhub.com for as little as $1," Rupert Murdoch's newspaper reported.

Read the full report.: https://www.wsj.com/articles/liv-golf-trump-bedminster-saudi-arabia-11659148739

[Rick Plant]

Busted: Matt Gaetz caught on tape promising Roger Stone a pardon from 'the boss' before trial



According to a bombshell report from the Washington Post, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was filmed promising Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone clemency from the "boss" as he prepared to stand trial in 2019.

In a video clip taken by a documentary filmmaker following Stone, Gaetz spoke with him in Florida after he complained that federal prosecutors were pressing him to turn on the now-former president.

According to the report, "At an event at a Trump property that October, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) predicted that Stone would be found guilty at his trial in Washington the following month but would not 'do a day' in prison."

In the video, which can be seen here or below, Gaetz told Stone, "The boss still has a very favorable view of you,” adding he “said it directly," before claiming, “I don’t think the big guy can let you go down for this.”

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1553389704065626112

The Washington Post report adds, "Gaetz at one point told Stone he was working on getting him a pardon but was hesitant to say more backstage at the event, in which speakers were being filmed for online broadcast. 'Since there are many, many recording devices around right now, I do not feel in a position to speak freely about the work I’ve already done on that subject,' Gaetz said."

Gaetz also added, "They’re going to do you, because you’re not gonna have a defense,” Gaetz told Stone.

The recording, the Post reports, was picked up by a lapel microphone Stone was wearing as part of the documentary filming.

You can read more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/07/30/roger-stone-matt-gaetz-pardon-mueller/

[Rick Plant]

Add witness tampering to Matt Gaetz’s legal problems: legal experts



Legal experts on Saturday weighed in on the bombshell report that GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida was caught on tape discussing a pardon for Roger Stone if he did not testify against Donald Trump.

"As Roger Stone prepared to stand trial in 2019, complaining he was under pressure from federal prosecutors to incriminate Donald Trump, a close ally of the president repeatedly assured Stone that 'the boss' would likely grant him clemency if he were convicted, a recording shows," The Washington Post reported.

On July 10th, Stone told journalist Howard Fineman that Trump "knows I was under enormous pressure to turn on him. It would have eased my situation considerably. But I didn’t.”

Trump commuted Stone's sentence later that day.

“The boss still has a very favorable view of you,” Gaetz said in the new recording. "I don’t think the big guy can let you go down for this.”

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance said, "sounds like how mobsters talk."

"The Republican Party was — and is — mobbed up," said longtime GOP operative Bill Kristol, who served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle.

Prominent conservative lawyer George Conway attempted to translate the tweet into full mob talk to make his point.

Conway said, "our friend, you know, da big guy, da big orange guy in da big house, he'll take care of it, you know, that thing, not that thing, de udder thing, you know, the one wid the guy wid da badge."

But Art Acevedo, who served as chief of police in Austin and Houston, didn't find it funny.

"Mobsters, the whole lot. It’s past time they are all held accountable like everyday Americans," Acevedo said. "The rule of law should be applied equally to all, regardless of societal status."

Read More Here: https://twitter.com/ArtAcevedo/status/1553394937022058497

[Rick Plant]

DOJ focusing on RNC's 'election integrity' director in fake elector plot



According to a report from Politico, the Department of Justice's investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection appears to be adding a major focus on a top Republican National Committee official.

As part of their investigation into the fake elector plot, the name of Joshua Findlay --currently the RNC's director of election integrity -- is appearing in subpoenas being issued by the DOJ.

As Politico's Betsy Woodruff Swan wrote, "At least three witnesses in DOJ’s investigation of so-called alternate electors in the 2020 election — two in Arizona and another in Georgia — have received subpoenas demanding communications to and from Joshua Findlay," adding, "Findlay’s appearance in the documents means the Justice Department has taken interest in his communications as part of its probe related to pro-Trump GOP officials and activists who presented themselves as legitimate electors from states where Joe Biden won."

The report notes that Findlay previously worked for Donald Trump in various capacities including serving on the former president's campaign legal team.

Of note, the DOJ subpoenas are asking the recipients to "share all documents and communications from October 2020 on, '[t]o, from, with, or including' a list of people, including Findlay."

The report points out that Findlay's name has come up in testimony before House Jan. 6 panel and that an email was "sent to him on December 12, 2020, showing David Shafer — head of the Georgia Republican Party, and himself an alternate elector — directing one of his subordinates to contact Findlay about the alternate elector plans."

Woodruff Swan also reported that when Findlay assumed his new job after Joe Biden was inaugurated, RNC head Ronna Romney McDaniels introduced him by stating his job would center on "ensuring voters have confidence in future election processes.”

Read More Here: https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/30/doj-jan-6-capitol-riot-joshua-findlay-00048809


Following Trump's lead, Republicans push bill to make federal workers fireable 'at will'



U.S. Rep. Chip Roy's introduction Friday of a bill to make federal bureaucratic personnel at-will employees further stoked fears that marginalized workers will suffer discriminatory firings under a future Republican administration or even GOP-controlled Congress.

"This is obviously a huge and major change, an effort to gear up a major assault on the federal employment system."

The Public Service Reform Act "will empower federal agencies to swiftly address misconduct and remove underperforming or ill-willed employees, creating a federal workforce focused on service to the American people," Roy (R-Texas) said in a statement.

The bill "would make all federal bureaucrats at-will employees—just like private sector workers—and claw back the inordinate protections some federal employees grossly abuse," he added.

The proposed legislation comes a week after reports that aides to former President Donald Trump are working to revive a plan to reclassify federal civil service personnel who worked under both Democratic and Republican administrations as at-will workers subject to easier termination.

Don Kettl, professor emeritus and former dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, told Government Executive that "this is obviously a huge and major change, an effort to gear up a major assault on the federal employment system" that "is being helped and aided unquestionably by a set of groups like America First Works, Heritage Action for America, FreedomWorks, and Citizens for Renewing America, who have endorsed the bill."

"Much of the debate has largely been about if Trump is reelected," he added, "but what this makes clear is the efforts to try to change the civil service aren't just Trump necessarily, and if Republicans take control of Congress following the midterms, this may very well go from idea to specific action."

According to Government Executive:

Although the bill stands nearly zero chance of passing in the current Congress, experts say that it, combined with recent news that conservative political operatives with Trump's endorsement have devised plans to revive Schedule F, a proposal to strip the civil service protections from tens of thousands of federal employees in "policy-related" positions, indicates the civil service system as we have known it for the last 150 years will be under attack under the next Republican administration.

Although Roy says his bill "will provide justice to federal employees who are victims of discrimination or whistleblower retaliation," Kettl warned that the measure "dramatically limits the amount of whistleblowing activity that's possible," noting that "it creates a disincentive to blow the whistle because your retirement benefits could be reduced."

"When you put it together," he added, "it's a very big deal" and "would dramatically change the incentives for individuals who are being dismissed because of whistleblowing."

Author and transgender activist Brynn Tannehill worries that, should at-will employment become reality, "a purge of trans people from federal service" would follow a return of Trump or another Republican president to the White House.

Commenting on the mass firing of progressive staffers by San Francisco's new tougher-on-crime district attorney following Chesa Boudin's recall, socialist organizer Julian LaRosa recently argued for a codified employment termination standard similar to the one realized in the limited laws that labor activists led by Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union helped enact in Philadelphia and New York.

"You can bet your ass that every transgender federal employee who falls under this classification... is getting fired posthaste."

"Can we just get universal just cause in the workplace already?" he asked.

Testifying before New York City Council members in support of that city's 2021 just-cause law, former Chipotle worker Melanie Walker said she was suddenly fired by her manager one day for not smiling, even though there were no customers in the store.

"Everyone who's working needs to have some type of stability in your life," she said. "You should be able to go to work without thinking you have to be on eggshells all day, thinking that you can be fired at any moment for any cause."

"I'm loyal to you as a worker and you should be loyal to me," Walker added. "People still have to feed their families."

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-makes-easier-to-fire-fed-workers/


Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed by colleague for support of Christian nationalism



Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) recently weighed in with a critical assessment of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) support of Christian nationalism.

On Friday, Kinzinger tweeted a response to Greene's call for the Republican Party to operate as the "party of Christian Nationalism." The Illinois lawmaker compared Greene's remarks to the Taliban's claims of being "the party of Islamic nationalism."

We need to prove to people we are the party of Christian Nationalism,” Kinzinger tweeted echoing Greene's remarks. He added, "Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene 'We are the party of Islamic nationalism…' Taliban. I oppose the American Taliban."

Greene's recent remarks follow a string of similar comments where she has advocated for such practices within the Republican Party. In the past, former President Donald Trump has also publicly referenced Christianity recently saying, "Americans kneel to God, and God alone."

According to Christianity Today, the ideology behind Christian nationalism is "the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way."

Similar to Greene's remarks, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) recently shared her opposing view on the separation of church and state. According to Boebert, the church should "direct the government."

"There is no difference between this and the Taliban. We must opposed [sic] the Christian Taliban. I say this as a Christian," Kinzinger tweeted.

Kinzinger has been quite vocal about his opposing stance when it comes to far-right Republican lawmakers like Greene. He and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) are the only two House Republicans who have stood with Democratic lawmakers to hold Trump and his allies accountable for the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.

https://twitter.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1552988769665548288