GOP ‘Platform’ Features Fake Lincoln Quote, Video from Russia and Ukraine

Buck Banks

When Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich unveiled his “Contract with America” in 1994, you might have been forgiven for not engaging your dial-up modem to fact check it. But in 2022 there’s no reason why, with the search capabilities of today’s internet and the widely available cheap stock images and video, the Republican Party employed a quote from an advert and attributed it to Abraham Lincoln and used video shot in Russia and Ukraine to represent scenes of American exceptionalism.

Maybe they should have stuck with their 2020 strategy of going platform-free. Apparently, the GOP’s “Commitment to America” does not include a commitment to either accuracy or American videographers.
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Florida Schools Have Banned 560 Books Over the Past Year

Buck Banks

According to the Temple Terrace Patch, many of the books have been made into movies and TV shows.

More than 560 books were targeted by school districts in the Sunshine state over the past year, according to the report from PEN America, a New York-based literary and free expression nonprofit advocacy group. The report highlights how challenges to books have become a political issue nationwide. A majority of the targeted books focus on sexual identity, race and racism.

The report, “Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools,” said the majority of book bans weren’t “spontaneous, organic expressions” of concern by parents and citizens, but rather “reflect the work of a growing number of advocacy organizations that have made demanding censorship of certain books and ideas in schools part of their mission.”

Nobel Prize and Pulitzeer Prize winner Toni Morrison was a repeat offender with “The Bluest Eye” and “Beloved.”

Newsom Signs Gun Bill Based on Texas’ Abortion Vigilante Law

Pensito Editors

Politico: “California has issued the U.S. Supreme Court a direct challenge at the confluence of gun and abortion rights as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a firearms bill embracing the doctrine of private enforcement.

“The new law allows Californians to sue manufacturers and citizens who distribute banned assault weapons or ghost guns. Newsom explicitly modeled the concept on a Texas law, preserved by the high court, that allows people to pursue legal claims against abortion providers.

“By calling for and then signing the bill, Newsom has set up a legal test while illuminating the gulf between liberal California and a conservative Supreme Court on politically charged issues.”

Joe Rogan Endorses DeSantis

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Daily Beast: “Joe Rogan escalated his one-sided feud with Donald Trump on Monday, suggesting during his podcast that the former president’s outsized energy derives from Adderall and calling him a ‘man baby…’

“While Rogan said during the 2020 election that he would rather vote for Trump than Biden, he has since confirmed that he didn’t vote for either candidate. Last month, he endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the 2024 race and said he was “not interested” in helping Trump by hosting him on his popular podcast, despite multiple overtures from the former president.

Florida Dems Meet, See for Signs of Hope

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Politico: “Various Democrats said during the three-day “Leadership Blue” conference that they see openings that can be used to overcome Republican advantages. They see their best hope for a statewide victory in Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), who is challenging Sen. Marco Rubio and has bested him in fundraising in successive quarters even as she trails in most polls.

“But party leaders also say that voters are alarmed by the Supreme Court decision to undo abortion rights and are upset with Republican resistance to address gun violence. They contend some Republicans were turned off by the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol that left several people dead and has led to a negative headlines in recent weeks as the Jan. 6 committee holds hearings that uncover damning details about Trump and several Republicans, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

“’This is not about ‘all right, let’s just take our best shot,’ Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz said in an interview. ‘This is a real belief in winning.’”

New DeSantis Law Requires Students, Professors to Reveal Their Political Views

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Salon: “Public universities in Florida will be required to survey both faculty and students on their political beliefs and viewpoints, with the institutions at risk of losing their funding if the responses are not satisfactory to the state’s Republican-led legislature.

“The unprecedented project, which was tucked into a law signed Tuesday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, is part of a long-running, nationwide right-wing push to promote “intellectual diversity” on campuses — though worries over a lack of details on the survey’s privacy protections, and questions over what the results may ultimately be used for, hover over the venture.

“Based on the bill’s language, survey responses will not necessarily be anonymous — sparking worries among many professors and other university staff that they may be targeted, held back in their careers or even fired for their beliefs.”

Normalizing Ron: Right-Wing Columnist Says the Left Should Welcome the DeSantis Alternative to Trump

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Rich Lowry in Politico: “Progressives have to decide two things. One is if they really want Trump gone, or if they want him as a foil for the duration. If it is the former, they should welcome DeSantis as a potential vehicle for ending what they believe is the ongoing state of political emergency represented by Trump. If it is the latter, DeSantis could spoil everything. The second is whether they consider Trump-led efforts to undermine the 2020 election the chief threat to our system, or whether they consider populist-inflected conservatism itself the threat. Again, if it is the former, DeSantis is the way out of the purported crisis. If it is the latter, DeSantis is indeed a bigger threat than Trump, since he’d have a better chance of winning a 2024 race and a much better chance of governing effectively. By any reasonable standard, DeSantis’ supposed sins are peccadilloes compared to those of Trump.”

MAGA Lawyer: Trump Could Be Reinstated If Dems Lose Congress in November

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Newsweek: “Christina Bobb, an attorney who has supported Donald Trump’s legal challenge to overturn the 2020 election, has suggested a scenario in which the former president could be reinstated after the midterm elections in November. Bobb told the conservative news outlet the Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) what she thought could happen in states in which there was “evidence that Joe Biden cheated” in the election Trump and his allies have continuously claimed was fraudulent.”

Here’s the quote:

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