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Facebook Blocks Trump Account For ‘At Least’ Two Weeks

Donald Trump

Facebook has blocked Donald Trump's account for at least two weeks
Donald Trump (image: public domain)
Donald Trump has been blocked from his Facebook and Instagram accounts for at least two weeks according to a statement by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This comes in response to yesterday’s invasion of the Capitol building by pro-Trump cultists. “We believe the risks of allowing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great,” read a statement on the Facebook Newsroom Twitter account. “Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram accounts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peaceful transition of power is complete.” Twitter, on the other hand, restored access to Trump’s account Thursday morning after a 12 hour time-out for blasting out a series of falsehoods as rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. As of this writing, the Donald has not posted any new tweets. But it’s early in the day…

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Obama On Today’s Violence: GOP Can Stoke Fires Or Choose America

President Barack Obama addresses the violence that took place in the nation's Capitol today

President Barack Obama addresses the violence that took place in the nation's Capitol today
President Barack Obama (screen capture via Instagram)
President Barack Obama issued this statement today denouncing the hideous violence that occurred today in our nation’s capitol.

History will rightly remember today’s violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise.

For two months now, a political party and its accompanying media ecosystem has too often been unwilling to tell their followers the truth — that this was not a particularly close election and that President-Elect Biden will be inaugurated on January 20.

Their fantasy narrative has spiraled further and further from reality, and it builds upon years of sown resentments. Now we’re seeing the consequences, whipped up into a violent crescendo.

Right now, Republican leaders have a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy. They can continue down this road and keep stoking the raging fires. Or they can choose reality and take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames. They can choose America.

I’ve been heartened to see many members of the President’s party speak up forcefully today. Their voices add to the examples of Republican state and local election officials in states like Georgia who’ve refused to be intimidated and have discharged their duties honorably.

We need more leaders like these — right now and in the days, weeks, and months ahead as President-Elect Biden works to restore a common purpose to our politics. It’s up to all of us as Americans, regardless of party, to support him in that goal.

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Twitter Locks Trump’s Account Over Policy Violations

Donald Trump reportedly took classified top secret documents from the White House when his administration came to an end.

Twitter locks Donald Trump's account
Donald Trump (screen capture)
Twitter has locked Donald Trump’s personal Twitter account for 12 hours due to “repeated and severe violations of our Civic Integrity policy” as his nutjob cultists invaded the US Capitol on Wednesday. According to the @TwitterSafety account, the violations were connected to three tweets. One included a video message shared to his followers and another defended the extremists who invaded the Capitol today: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long.” Those tweets have since been deleted. “If the Tweets are not removed, the account will remain locked,” Twitter added. “Future violations of the Twitter Rules, including our Civic Integrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspension of the @realDonaldTrump account.” Facebook and YouTube also removed his video message to the insurrectionists.

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Jon Ossoff Projected As Winner Of Georgia Runoff Election

Jon Ossoff projected to win his Senate race in Georgia

Jon Ossoff projected to win his Senate race in Georgia It’s official – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jon Ossoff has been projected as the winner of his race in the Georgia runoff elections. His win, a final backhand to Donald Trump, will give Democrats control of the Senate. From the New York Times:

The Rev. Raphael Warnock defeated Senator Kelly Loeffler, becoming the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from the South. And Jon Ossoff, the 33-year-old head of a video production company who has never held public office, defeated David Perdue, who recently completed his first full term as senator.

Both Democrats now lead their defeated Republican opponents by margins that are larger than the threshold required to trigger a recount under Georgia law.

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Trump To Cultists: ‘We Love You, You’re Very Special’

Donald Trump tells his cultists to go home while repeating lies about his reelection loss After hours of violent insurrection by mobs of MAGA cultists, Donald Trump asked his cultists who violently breached the U.S. Capitol to go home while still pushing his baseless claims of election fraud.

I know your pain. I know you’re hurt. We had an election that was stolen from us. It was a landslide election. And everyone knows it. Especially the other side.

But you have to go home now. We have to have peace. We have to have law and order. We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt.

It’s a very tough period of time. There’s never been a time like this, where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us. From me, from you, from our country. This was a fraudulent election. But we can’t play into the hands of these people. We have to have peace.

So go home. We love you. You’re very special. You’ve seen what happens. You see the way others are treated that are so bad and so evil. I know how you feel. But go home and go home in peace.

As you can see, Twitter tagged the video for its “disputed claim of voter fraud.”

Prior to Trump’s video, President-elect Joe Biden issued his own message calling on Trump to call off the domestic terrorists. “I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitution and demand an end to this siege,” Mr. Biden said from Wilmington, Delaware. Biden urged the insurrectionists to end what was effectively an armed occupation of the Capitol. Biden also called out Trump for not speaking out against the violence. “At their best, the words of a president can inspire. At their worst, they can incite,” said Biden. “This is not dissent. It’s disorder. It’s chaos. It borders on sedition, and it must end now. I call on this mob to pull back and allow the work of democracy to go forward.”

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Congress Under Lockdown As Trump Cultists Storm The Capitol

Screen capture via CNN

Screen capture via CNN
(screen capture via CNN)
Several news outlets are reporting that Vice President Mike Pence has been evacuated from the Senate Chamber as Trump cultists have breached security barricades outside the Capitol. According to reports, there is an armed standoff at the door to the House floor. From the New York Times:

The Capitol building was placed on lockdown, with senators and members of the House locked inside their chambers, as Congress began debating President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. President Trump addressed supporters near the White House before protesters marched to Capitol Hill.

Chaos engulfed the Capitol on Wednesday as a faction of Republicans sought to overturn President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory in Congress and a group of protesters loyal to President Trump tried to storm the building, demanding to be heard.

Around 2:15 p.m., the proceedings ground to a halt as security rushed Vice President Mike Pence out of the Senate chamber and the Capitol building was placed on lockdown, with senators and members of the House locked inside their chambers.

The extraordinary day in Washington laid bare deep divisions both between the two parties and within Republican ranks, the ceremonial counting of electoral votes that unfolds every four years in Congress was transformed into an explosive spectacle, with President Trump stoking the unrest.

 

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Georgia: Warnock Wins, Ossoff Victory ‘Very Likely’

Jon Ossoff & Rev. Raphael Warnock

Jon Ossoff & Rev. Raphael Warnock
L-R Jon Ossoff, Rev. Raphael Warnock (images via Twitter)
Democrat Raphael Warnock has been projected to win his Senate race in Georgia beating Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, and fellow Dem Jon Ossoff is currently leading in his race against GOP Sen. David Perdue by 17,000+ votes. The remaining votes to be counted are mainly in Democratic strongholds, so it’s expected that Ossoff and Warnock will only increase their leads. From the New York Times:

At a news conference, Gabriel Sterling, a top official from the Georgia secretary of state’s office, refers to Jon Ossoff as “Senator to be, probably, Ossoff.” Sterling says he anticipates that all but a few votes will be counted by 1 p.m. today and that Jon Ossoff will very likely defeat David Perdue.

With more than 60,000 absentee votes uncounted, mostly from Democratic-leaning counties, a Georgia elections official says Ossoff is the likely winner and no recount will likely be necessary.

The energy in the race has been enormous with the two Dems outpacing the Republicans in fundraising during the weeks leading up to the runoff election. Warnock becomes only the 11th Black U.S. Senator in the history of the nation and the first from Georgia. If he wins his race as expected, Ossoff will be the youngest Democratic senator to be elected since – Joe Biden. With the two wins, the U.S. Senate will be comprised of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans leaving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes. Say it with me: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Raphael Warnock declared the winner of his Senate race in Georgia
(graphic via NY Times)
Democrat Jon Ossoff his Senate race in Georgia
(graphic via NY Times)

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News Round-Up: January 5, 2021

Nicholas Yatromanolakis

Nicholas Yatromanolakis of Greece
Nicholas Yatromanolakis (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • The Independent: Greece has appointed its first openly gay minister as Nicholas Yatromanolakis, 44, (above) made history after he was named the new deputy minister of culture on Monday. • Instinct Magazine: Out radio host Larry Flick announced on Monday he will be taking a sabbatical from his Sirius XM duties in order to cope with some serious health issues as well as embrace some well-deserved ‘me time.’ • Variety: The Grammy Awards are being postponed until March 14 due to coronavirus-related concerns, a rep for the show confirms to Variety. The show, which is scheduled to be hosted by “The Daily Show”‘s Trevor Noah, was originally scheduled for January 31st.

• NPR: Kyle Rittenhouse, a young gunman facing criminal charges in the killing of two men and the serious injury of a third this summer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, entered not guilty pleas to all charges during an arraignment Tuesday. The 18-year-old faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional reckless homicide, and violation of curfew the night of the shootings. • Washington Post: There is compelling evidence that covid-19 will have long-term effects on the brains and nervous systems of survivors as they age, and researchers on Tuesday announced a large international study to investigate the correlation between the coronavirus and cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia in later life. • TikTok: The video influencers are coming for the muscle gays who ignore commonsense guidelines to try and curtail the COVID-19 pandemic.

@dylanhorner1#fyp #covid19 #gay #lgbt #Bye2020 @sam.cushing @tylerspelane @koatysum @jakegrez♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod

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Funny: ‘Bad Boy’s Daddy Issues’

Artie O'Daly in 'Bad Boy's Daddy Issues'
Artie O’Daly in ‘Bad Boy’s Daddy Issues’
Artie O’Daly shares the latest installment of his wild and wacky ‘Bad Boys’ web series. In the episode (titled ‘Bad Boy’s Daddy Issues’), Scott (played by O’Daly) comes home from the gym and is surprised to find Jim (Drew Canan) preparing for an impromptu memorial service for his dead father who was the victim of an apparent wood chipper incident. Jim’s Aunt Whitney (Theresa Ryan) barges in and immediately becomes obsessed with Scott’s short shorts setting up a series of butt crack bits. Jim’s ‘best brah’ James (Alex Dyon) arrives for the memorial service as we find out the dead dad looks a whole lot like Nick Jonas. #NotMadAtThat But as Jim begins his tribute it seems the only memories he has of his dad involve felonies, child abandonment, and orange chicken. #GoodTimes
Drew Canan and Alex Dyon in 'Bad Boy's Daddy Issues'
Drew Canan and Alex Dyon in ‘Bad Boy’s Daddy Issues’
James reminisces about the time he peeked at the dad naked in the shower: “And that’s when I knew that I was going to be ‘gay for pay.’” Turns out James is a ‘brah-stitute,’ which is totally not a prostitute because he only charges $50 (although he offers Scott a senior discount at $40). When Scott tries to point out that Jim clearly has daddy issues, Jim disagrees: “What kind of issues would I have because of my dad? I feel like a kid, I like older men, and I have a daddy. Like, I’m all set.” Eventually, the bad boys flip the script on Scott and confront him about his own ‘daddy issues.’ But don’t worry, we don’t get mired in anything deep as soon there are suggestions for wrestling in pudding and a group rinse-off. Group hug in Bad Boy's Daddy Issues If it all sounds absurd, that’s because it is. Between the sharp, rapid-fire dialogue, Scott’s short-shorts, the eccentric characters plus the requisite shot of Jim shirtless, it all adds up to a brief yet worthy escape from the madcap world we’re living in today. Check out my previous coverage of the ‘Bad Boys’ web series here.