Trump called Arizona Senate president to thank her ‘for pushing to prove any fraud’ in election, emails show

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Newly released emails sent to and from Arizona state senators reveal that President Donald Trump and his lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani reached out personally to urge GOP officials there to move forward with a partisan recount of the 2020 election, despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud or other issues.

Hundreds of pages of emails related to the GOP-ordered audit underway in Maricopa County were obtained by the nonprofit legal watchdog group American Oversight through a records request under the Freedom of Information Act. The group published them Friday, along with a scathing statement that decried the audit as a “sham partisan crusade.”

In one email dated Dec. 2, Arizona state Senate President Karen Fann (R) told two constituents that she had spoken with Giuliani “at least 6 times over the past two weeks.” Continue reading.

HC Commissioner Chris LaTondresse (Dist. 6) Update: June 4, 2021

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June 4, 2021

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Please join me tomorrow for my monthly ‘Coffee with Chris’ series where we sit down over a cup of coffee for an informal conversation. This Saturday, June 5, you can join me by clicking here.

Updates you’ll find in this week’s newsletter:

☕ Coffee with Chris: Tomorrow from 10:00 am- 10:45 am. Join by clicking here.

🏛 Hennepin County Board actions this week: The Board approved funding for Emergency Rental Assistance, Opioid Response Services, and the Vocational Services Program.

Continue reading “HC Commissioner Chris LaTondresse (Dist. 6) Update: June 4, 2021”

Trump condos scooped up at rock-bottom prices as ’50 percent of people’ refuse to live in them: report

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Former President Donald Trump’s once-sprawling real estate business has taken a major hit ever since he got into politics, and the Associated Press has found that Trump-branded condos are now selling at steep discounts because so many people refuse to live in them.

According to the AP, condos in Trump buildings are now the targets of “bargain hunters” across the United States, as the twice-impeached one-term former president’s deep unpopularity in urban areas has made prospective buyers reluctant to live in them.

“Fifty percent of the people wouldn’t want to live in a Trump building for any reason… but then there are guys like me,” bargain-hunting car dealer Lou Sollecito tells the AP. “It’s a super buy.” Continue reading.

The Biden administration seeks to rally allies and the private sector against the ransomware threat

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No longer considered only a criminal matter but a danger to national security

For years, the federal government treated ransomware as a criminal menace — not as urgent as hacking by foreign spies. But after a spasm of high-profile attacks that jarred the nation, the U.S. government now has begun framing the issue as a matter of national — and global — security.

The FBI director this week compared it to the challenge posed by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. On Thursday, a top White House cyber official urged corporate America to strengthen its computer security. And on Friday, the White House said that President Biden will raise the issue of Russia’s harboring ransomware criminals when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin June 16 in Geneva.

“We know that the ransomware threat is urgent, it’s complex, and it’s been increasing over the last several years,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. “It feels new to us over the last couple of weeks, but it has been increasing rapidly around the world over the last several years.” Continue reading.

Republicans scrambling as the number of reliable evangelical voters becomes increasingly smaller: report

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According to a report from NPR, the Republican party’s dependence upon Christian evangelical voters as a reliable voting bloc is coming back to bite them as Americans increasingly abandon the church.

For decades the GOP has been able to count on evangelical Christians to turn out on election day due to their opposition to hot button cultural issues like abortion and gay rights but with, church attendance collapsing, Republicans are faced with either ginning up new controversies to keep Christians who are tuning out in their camp.

According to NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben, “For the first time, a majority of Americans are not church members, Gallup found this spring. Over the last decade, the share of Republicans who are church members fell from 75% to 65%, according to Gallup. That’s a solid majority but also a sizable fall. The key bloc of white evangelicals is also shrinking as a share of the population, while the share of religiously unaffiliated Americans grows.” Continue reading.

Gohmert speaks at conference where QAnon supporters push for coup to oust Biden

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Donald Trump associates Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell were also in attendance at the conference in Texas.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) spoke at a conference over the weekend at which prominent QAnon conspiracy theorists advocated for a military coup to oust President Joe Biden, downplayed the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, and spread lies about the 2020 election.

Gohmert was the only member of Congress to speak at the conference, and was part of the conspiracy-theorizing that took place.

He said in remarks at the event that the perpetrators of the Jan. 6 insurrection weren’t “just right-wing extremists,” continuing the false GOP messaging that the failed attempt to block Congress’ certification of Biden’s Electoral College win was incited by left-wing groups. Continue reading.

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: June 4, 2021

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‘Your Shot to Summer’ Rewards Request Form Opens

‘Your Shot to Summer!’ campaign rewards you for getting your shot, protecting yourself, and kicking off summer the right way.

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This week, Governor Walz announced the rewards request form for the ‘Your Shot to Summer’ vaccine incentive campaign is now open for submissions at mn.gov/covid19/summer. Minnesotans 12 years of age and older who have gotten their first COVID-19 vaccine dose since May 27, 2021 are eligible to fill out the request form and choose their preferred vaccine reward.

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: June 4, 2021”

The paradoxes of the conservative mind derive from a simple principle

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Observers of the Republican Party and the American right wing have noticed a perplexing pattern of beliefs about the COVID vaccines. While many in conservative media are critical or skeptical of the vaccines, highlighting supposed dangers while also downplaying the risk from the virus itself, many have also insisted that former President Donald Trump deserves much more credit for the vaccine than he’s getting.

It creates something of a paradox in the conservative mind: The vaccines are dangerous and overhyped, but also they’re something Trump deserves endless praise for having helped create. These ideas do not easily fit together. It’s not exactly clear how many people are making these exact claims in parallel, seemingly contradicting themselves, but there’s no question that both strands of thought exist comfortably in right-wing discourse without appearing to come into conflict. And there’s no real sign of major right-wing figures resolving the contradiction by saying: “The vaccines are bad, and Trump is bad for having had a hand in their creation.” Such a thought is anathema.

There have been some conservative figures, such as Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera, who have fought against the anti-vax strains in their movement while praising Trump for his administration’s role overseeing the development. This is a more consistent view, but it’s more marginal in right-wing circles, which tends to be welcoming of anti-vax sentiment, like Fox News prime time host Tucker Carlson. Continue reading.

Koch Networks Using Dark Money To Kill Voting Rights Bills

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Earlier this year, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives took a stand against voter suppression when they passed House Resolution 1, a.k.a. the For the People Act — a comprehensive voting rights/election reform bill that now faces an uphill climb in the U.S. Senate under the rules of the filibuster, which requires 60 or more votes for most legislation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and many other Senate Republicans are vehemently opposed to HR 1, and according to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, “dark money” from “the Koch network” is helping to fuel that opposition.

In an article published on May 28, CREW’s Meghan Faulkner and Miru Osuga explain, “There’s a whole lot of dark money behind the opponents of democracy reform. The Koch network alone has spent tens of millions backing many of the senators who are opposing the For the People Act, which would overhaul campaign finance rules and enforcement and make it harder for dark money groups, like those in the Koch network, to secretly influence our elections.”

Faulkner and Osuga note how much “the Koch network” has spent “backing” GOP opponents of the For the People Act, including $5.6 million spent on Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, $1.3 million on Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, $4.9 million on Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, $4.3 million on Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, $5.7 million on Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and $4.3 million on Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas. Continue reading.