Palisades has been abandoned. Job sites are having their tools and materials stolen, random vehicles prowl the streets. The only time Karen Bass had a police presence here was to harass fire victims with seatbelt tickets when they came in to mourn their losses.
I was a lifelong Democrat. I thought most conservatives were ignorant or evil or lying. I believed almost everything written in the New York Times, The New Republic, and the Atlantic. I was horrified when conservatives criticized the authorities. Every criticism I saw: I thought all of it was motivated by animus, resentment, self-interest, or ignorance.
Whatever truth there might have been in the criticism, I saw as a mere "half-truth": an exploitation of this or that cherrypicked fact being weaponized. Why did I see it in terms of weaponization? Because I was biased: I saw liberal establishment institutions and figures as fundamentally good, so all criticism of them was automatically interpreted as being in bad faith.
Didn't the critics know that these institutions or figures were fundamentally good? If they didn't, they were ignorant. If they did, they were evil. It was that simple. This meant that any legitimate criticisms would just be dismissed, as if bouncing off of an impenetrable bulletproof shield.
This all changed once I started writing about the pandemic. Soon people started talking about me the way I once thought about conservatives. This led to a complete identity collapse as I came to understand that my old worldview was hateful and ignorant, that I hadn't understood what I had been judging.
I cannot forget the hearing that led to my dismissal from medical school a year after I started writing. During the hearing, people talked about me as if I wasn't human. My behavior was interpreted in the worst possible light. Complete fabrications were created. Nobody was concerned with the truth, only horrified at my apparent "unprofessional behavior", which was really a mirror of their unprofessional behavior directed at me. They structured the hearing to make it virtually impossible for me to speak and explain that what was being said was a lie. And nobody seemed to have any problem with this. Why? Because I was bad. If I am bad, then every mistreatment and every violation of the school's own policies became justified. A person who is bad does not deserve any rights. They only deserve punishment.
But the thing I remember most was the allusions to my social media activity. They said, "Kevin is driven by resentment from his childhood." I wasn't. I was on good terms with my parents. They alleged that I needed psychotherapy to deal with this trauma. It was a completely fake story that they had constructed about me, to demean me, to marginalize me, to try to explain the views I had expressed: that something terribly wrong had happened during the pandemic. They couldn't imagine that I might have legitimate points. So they reduced me to the same kinds of psychological caricatures that I once reduced conservatives to in my own mind.
When I was dismissed, I was broken. But I had help from friends who helped me understand what happened. And I came to realize that a hysteria had overtaken the left. I spent a lot of time reading about show trials, about witch trials, and so on. I also connected with people who had experienced similar things and came to realize that something similar had happened to hundreds of physicians around the country. My story wasn't unique. It was all the same story over and over again.
I cannot believe the person I once was. I cannot believe that I could exist like that. I still don't understand how I could be like that, or how millions of people in this country could continue being like that. It disturbs me greatly.
One thing I know is that whatever this thing is that is driving people crazy needs to be destroyed. It is hostile to civilization and to our humanity. It causes us to dehumanize each other and try to destroy each other. It is the very same monstrous thing that I once attributed to conservatives. But it had been inside me, and I could now see it inside others. This is something I still grapple with.
Elon Musk just posted “AOC is an actor”
He’s 100% correct, and here’s the proof. AOC was chosen to be in Congress by a Democrat casting call. She’s a political actor that was picked out of 10,000 applicants
AOC’s brother submitted her application and she was chosen by the Executive Director of Justice Democrats Out Of 10,000 Candidates
It’s all on camera. There is even footage of AOC and Alexandra Rojas both confirming this on camera
“Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is not really the congresswoman of New York's 14th congressional district. She is essentially an actress. She's merely playing the part of a New York congresswoman. I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me. In 2017, a group called the Justice Democrats held auditions for potential congressional candidates that they would run on their platform for various congressional seats throughout the country. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's brother Gabriel submitted her for the role”
- In 2017 Justice Democrats, a progressive PAC founded by former Bernie Sanders staffers and allies put out a public call for congressional candidates
- They received over 10,000 nominations
- AOC’s younger brother, Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez, submitted her name. AOC was working as a bartender
Justice Democrats vetted nominees and chose AOC. They then trained her and installed her as their candidate
Read this post today and it sounded familiar - "hottest on record/fossil energy greed" yada yada yada.
Did some digging and like clockwork - the good Senator puts up nearly identical posts every summer when it gets hot - dating back to 2016.
Here a sample of the last ten years - skipping several for brevity.
2016
August 16, 2016: "July was the hottest month ever recorded. When do Republicans stop putting fossil fuel profits over people's health?"
2019
( a particularly active summer for the Senator)
July 5, 2019: "It was 115 degrees Fahrenheit in France last week – the highest temperature they have ever recorded. Still think climate change is a hoax, @realDonaldTrump ? You are delusional."
July 19, 2019:
"The past 5 years are the hottest on record This June is the hottest June recorded Thousands die in heatwaves around the world. Trump's ignorance is threatening the lives of our children. For their sake, we must stand up to the fossil fuel industry and build a green economy."
August 6, 2019:
"July 2019 was the hottest month in recorded history. Make no mistake: this is an emergency. We cannot afford to simply wait Trump out. Congress must act boldly to tackle the climate threat—the fate of our children and grandchildren depend on it."
August 16, 2019:
"It's confirmed: July was the hottest month ever recorded. How insane is it that our Environmental Protection Agency is now run by a former coal lobbyist? We must stand up to the fossil fuel industry and say: you will no longer dictate our climate policy."
2021
June 27, 2021:
Pacific Northwest "most severe heat in ... history ... 'historic, dangerous, prolonged and unprecedented'" per National Weather Service; "Yes. We have to act BOLDLY to address climate change."
August 12, 2021
(and similar August 13th and 21st posts):
"A huge fire in Siberia ... Greece: burning. California: burning. Oregon: burning. July 2021 was the hottest month ever recorded. We must combat climate change now." /
"July was the hottest month EVER recorded on Earth. ... how can we afford NOT to [act on climate change]?" /
Global fires, Italy heat wave, July hottest, unite to combat climate change.
2024
July 28, 2024: "Each of the last 13 months has been the hottest on record. This summer alone has shattered hundreds of heat records across the United States. Billions of people have suffered worldwide. Climate change is not a hoax. The future of the planet is at stake."
August 7, 2024:
"Last month, July 21 broke the record for the hottest day ever recorded on Earth. Then, July 22 broke the record again. Don’t tell me climate change isn’t real. We’re seeing it right before our eyes."
And - just like clockwork 👇👇👇👇
January 2010. Obama’s DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announces that she signed the Haitian TPS order:
"It will be good for 18 months from the date of the issuance. So that will be in July of 2011."
That's how it was introduced. 16 years ago.
Full Clip Transcript:
"Lastly, as has been widely reported yesterday, I signed the order beginning for the process of TPS status for Haitians already in the United States. This is a kind of an intermediate immigration status that allows those who are here to remain and to work, and as they work, of course, many send remittances back home.
This in and of itself, is a form of support to Haiti and a form of economic assistance to Haiti. To qualify, you must have been in the United States before January the 12th, the date of the earthquake.
It will be good for 18 months from the date of the issuance. So that will be in July of 2011. So for Haitians in the country who were here before the earthquake, we are now opening up the process of TPS, that intermediate immigration status for you."
The Save America Act is simple: Go back to Election Day—not election month—and require voters to prove they are who they say they are.
That’s how we earn back the American people’s trust.
Arizona State University @ASU is in court fighting 89 year old Robert Young to take the home he's owned since 1975 for their "green space." I'm calling on ASU's President, @michaelcrow to reach out to me ASAP. This is not ok. We must defend this man.
(Pls Watch/Repost/Comment)
The people that resist audits are stealing.
The people that push censorship are lying.
The people that fight election Integrity are cheating.
Everyone clear?
The SCOTUS ruling on mail-in ballots being allowed AFTER Election Day
is complete vindication for our work to pass the SAVE America Act
& only makes the way I was treated in South Dakota look even more profoundly unfair.
The timing is impeccable.
It’s almost poetic.
NYT: <<Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Friday that he and his husband had been separated from their 4-year-old twins after an anonymous report falsely accused Mr. Buttigieg of posing a threat to their children.The separation lasted for 24 hours and required their children to sit for interviews with Children’s Protective Services, Mr. Buttigieg said.>>
Michigan law: CPS cannot immediately remove your children from your home solely based on an anonymous, unsubstantiated accusation without a court order or unless law enforcement determines the child is in imminent, life-threatening danger.
https://t.co/A4o8ckm2dV
If Mitch McConnell and family want privacy, that's fine, but he should resign. Otherwise, he needs to reveal his condition and his ability to do his job.
🚨 HOLY CRAP! In response to the Supreme Court upholding mail-in ballot election month, President Trump tells Senate Republicans like Lisa Murkowski BY NAME to PASS THE SAVE AMERICA ACT
“Our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to SAVE OUR COUNTRY. There can be no more excuses!” 🔥
“In light of the tremendous loss in the Supreme Court today concerning Voter’s Rights, and the fact that “people’s” votes are allowed to be counted LONG AFTER an Election is over, it is more important than ever to pass THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.”
He’s right!
With today's Supreme Court ruling that "Election Day" (somehow) does not mean "Election Day," Congress has no more excuses:
1. Cancel August recess
2. Send the SAVE America Act to President Trump's desk for his signature
3. Pass legislation making crystal clear votes for federal offices must be received by Election Day
https://t.co/4uXgyB5sdP
🚨 JUST IN: Elon Musk calls for the invocation of the Communist Control Act, declaring communism has the “highest death count of ANY philosophy”
HE’S RIGHT 💯
It’s time for a war on communism.
They are on the rise and are remaking the Democratic Party to destroy America and western civilization.
COMMUNISTS CAN NEVER WIN 🇺🇸 @elonmusk
For a US official to fly the flag of another country after having sworn an oath of citizenship that requires sole loyalty to America is nothing but treason!