Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to make sure he has every advantage heading into his fall reelection. And that apparently includes taking what some Republicans have called “welfare for politicians.”
Take the money and run — DeSantis on Thursday filed all his campaign-related paperwork to qualify for reelection, and that included — surprise — a request to accept public matching funds. It’s a move that will probably result in the GOP governor receiving millions in added financial help. (DeSantis got $3.2 million in his initial campaign for governor.)
How does this happen? — Wait, you ask — how can someone who has raised in excess of $113 million so far (a figure that will go up even more today when May reports are filed) get taxpayer help? Well, because he can.
No, and Florida deserves him. One quarter of eligible voters sat out 2016 and 2018 handing him a razor thin margin of victory and TFG won the state by 125K votes. Florida had the power to to stop TFG in his tracks back in 2016 and chose not to.
As my mother would say, this is why we can’t have nice stuff.
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from his sale of more than $2.7 million worth of various unregistered pesticides to numerous victims based on false representations that these products were registered pesticides with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and on EPA’s “List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2” that EPA deemed to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus).
Paul Andrecola, 63, of Maple Shade, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden federal court to an information charging him with one count of knowingly distributing or selling an unregistered pesticide in violation of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), one count of wire fraud and one count of presenting false claims to the United States.
“Andrecola not only cheated dozens of people out of millions of dollars, but also endangered the health of those who relied on his fraudulent virucidal products,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting such crimes to the fullest extent possible.”
Andrecola, who owns and operates three companies based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, manufactured various disinfectant products, including liquids and wipes, under the brand name “GCLEAN.”
GCLEAN products were unregistered pesticides under FIFRA and none of the products were on EPA’s “List N of Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2.”
Rather, Andrecola placed another company’s EPA Registration Numbers on his company’s products, and falsely marketed that his products were EPA-approved to kill Coronavirus by creating numerous false documents to support his claims.
The count of illegal sale of an unregistered pesticide carries a statutory maximum prison sentence of one year, and a fine of up to $25,000.
The charge of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and the count of false claims against the United States is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison.
Both the charges of wire fraud and false claims against the United States are each also subject to fines of the greater of $250,000, twice the gross profits to Andrecola, or twice the gross loss suffered by the victims, whichever is greatest.
As part of the plea agreement, the defendant agreed to forfeit more than $2.7 million of the proceeds from the sale of the illegal product and to make full restitution for all losses resulting from his commission of the charged crimes.
Sentencing is October 11th.
He made more than $2.7 million selling unregistered pesticides he claimed could kill COVID-19, officials say.https://t.co/TUVHRwSR2C
Why would so many people trust him? Watch the video. Production values and grandfatherly actor speaking slowly and confidently like they do on Fox News.
He looks like the Hollywood stereotype of a good doctor: older, white male, white facial hair, articulate and well dressed and well groomed. surrounded by orderly clutter and talks at a level that a scientific illiterate can understand. Then paraphrase the usual grifter tropes:
My moisturizer is the best, believe me. The government doesn’t want you to have this because the doctors will make more money if you stay sick. Then he goes on to demonstrate that it is a product that is non-flammable and safe for the kids and grandkids, which has nothing to do with anti-viral efficacy. Anti-bacterial vs. anti-viral. Same difference, amirite?
Voila! if you look like an expert and don’t talk down to people who think their horse sense is just as good as your fancy degree, then they feel respected if you don’t use big words and can use memorable parlor tricks that look very science-y so that you can look smart when you explain it to your even dumber friends. It’s made in New Jersey, the mecca of scientists. Princeton is located there!.
“Number one, you gotta accept the results of an election. Get your legal team out there. You go ahead and pursue it aggressively, responsibly.
“And after that, when William Barr, your greatest ally turns around and said there is nothing there, when your MVP Mike Pence who has with you through every step of the way, says there is nothing there, when Ivanka Trump and Jared say we can’t see any proof that there is anything there, you turn the page.
“Donald Trump would probably would have 68% approval ratings right now and ready to be Grover Cleveland, ready for four more years.
“Not that they can’t do that.” – Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade, reacting to last night’s riot hearing.
Interesting comment from Kilmeade given the guy to his right still doesn't accept the results of the 2020 election https://t.co/Jhd8v71p3m
I thought of that too but also could be they’re just trying to get the base to look forward. They know that having the narrative about 2020 still be the talking point will turn off some of their moderate less extreme MAGAt viewers and could hurt turn out this fall.
The Republican Establishment wants Trump to stop looking “backwards” — to stop obsessing about the 2020 election — and to instead start painting a picture of the future. Tell the American people what he and they envision for the future of America. Ya know… no darkies allowed into our country, no saying “gay” in schools, etc. Instead, the sexual predator is stuck in the past.
Rethugs with half a brain know that he is incapable of doing that. Trump has two motivators: money and revenge. He has no “picture of the future,” except him standing, like a rooster on a dunghill, celebrating victory.
DARREN BEATTIE (GUEST): There’s a reason that, people like us, when we talk about federal involvement in January 6th, it’s met with the most vicious and hostile response from the regime imaginable.
But no matter how dark and uncomfortable these truths are, the American people need to learn about them from themselves.
I encourage everyone, if you’re skeptical, if you’re not, if you know someone who is skeptical, go to revolver dot news right now.
Read our report and challenge others to do so as well and tell them to look you in the eye and say that the feds weren’t involved in this. It’s a clear hoax.
We know what’s happened but there’s unfinished business and we need to expose the feds for what they’ve done because, as I’ve said on your show before, until we bring the national security state to heel, our politics will be nothing but fake and performative.
White House appointee & former @RepMattGaetz staffer Darren Beattie is a white supremacist. While Nazis were storming the Capitol, Darren was telling Black people to “take a knee to MAGA” and “learn their proper place in society.” pic.twitter.com/lPKCvSX4co
Carlson: The Rioters Were Justified In Their Actions
“Above all, they lie about the reason that January 6th happened in the first place. And you know what it is — the entire country watched Joe Biden get what they claimed was 10 million more votes than Barack Obama himself.
“Joe Biden got 10 million more votes than Barack Obama got? And a lot of those votes arrived after the election.
“In a lot of places voting was stopped in the middle of the night. Why? In the biggest states in the country, voter ID was optional. Why is that okay?
“A lot of the protesters on January 6th were very upset about that, and they should have been. All of us should be.
“But the January 6th committee ignored all of that completely. Instead, on the basis of zero evidence, no evidence whatsoever, they blame the entire riot on white supremacy.” – Tucker Carlson, last night.
DeSantis says he wants CPS to probe parents taking kids to drag shows
Ron DeSantis says he wants his state’s child protective services to look into the recent phenomenon, after video of kids attending a performance at a Dallas gay bar surfaced online.
Mark Burns, an unabashed Christian nationalist MAGA pastor who is running for Congress in South Carolina, declared that if he is elected, he will reinstate the House Un-American Activities Committee so that the government can “start executing people” guilty of treason.
Who does Burns believe is guilty of treason? Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham whose supposed crime is potentially supporting some gun control measures, and LGBTQ-supporting parents and teachers.
During an appearance on “The Stew Peters Show” Wednesday, Burns was asked by guest host Lauren Witzke what he would do to fight “LGBTQ indoctrination” if elected to Congress. Burns replied that the LGBTQ agenda represents “a national security threat” and therefore anyone promoting it is guilty of treason and should be executed.
As you may recall, in 2016 Burns literally jumped out of his chair and fled a CNN interview after he was busted for lying about his military service and for lying about having a college degree. It must be what Jesus would want. Burns later claimed he was “attacked” by CNN because he’s a black man who supports Trump.
Christian nationalist MAGA pastor/GOP congressional candidate Mark Burns says that "LGBTQ indoctrination" represents "a national security threat" and anyone engaged in it should be executed for treason. https://t.co/lTLkeOlgQ3pic.twitter.com/8L3sBIncYI
Rep. @tedlieu (D-CA) calls out Republicans for passing bills targeting the LGBTQ community:
“I just thought I would now recite for you what Jesus Christ said about homosexuality … [30 seconds of silence] … I yield back.” pic.twitter.com/3QNciI2lep
There’s nothing more nauseating than a person from a marginalized community who makes bigoted threats against other marginalized communities. This man is sickening.
I’ve said for years that the only difference between openly hateful groups like Westboro and “mainstream” evangelicals is their choice of words. But looks like even that difference is vanishing.
It’s becoming a new trend among the deplorables, saying all the horrible things they’ve always wanted to say. Here’s Pastor Dillon Awes of Stedfast Baptist Church in Watauga, TX, a suburb of Fort Worth, saying the quiet part out loud during a recent sermon:
“These people should be put to death. Every single homosexual in our country should be charged with a crime. The abomination of homosexuality that they have, they should be convicted in a lawful trial. They should be sentenced with death. They should be lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head,” he said.
We’re born this way, just as he was born black. Would he be OK with being executed because he was born black? It makes just as much sense. At any rate I hope he goes down in flames early. I’m sick of his crap. It’s really insulting to have a candidate for congress threatening to execute 70% of the population. Why is this even OK?
A new Supreme Court ruling reversed a precedent that gives even more power to federal agents, especially Border Patrol agents, by limiting civilians’ abilities to sue agents for abusing their Fourth Amendment privacy rights. Now, Border Patrol agents can pretty much ignore the Fourth Amendment when acting out their duties which has far-reaching implications, since civilians cannot sue the agency for monetary compensation for damages involved in violations of the Fourth Amendment and can easily be applied to other federal agencies. Cenk Uygur and Adrienne Lawrence discuss on The Young Turks.
“In a 6-to-3 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that border agents may unconstitutionally enter a person’s home without a warrant and assault him and … federal courts are powerless to do anything about it.
Preacher Dawson Awes went on a completely unhinged rant calling for all gay people in the country to be murdered by the government. Awes also went on to call all homosexuals pedophiles while saying it’s God permits the murder of gay people, typical far-right wing talking points. Cenk Uygur and Adrienne Lawrence discuss on The Young Turks.
“The comments were made during Pride Month by Dillon Awes of Stedfast Baptist Church, a Texas-based, anti-vax, racist, transphobic and homophobic church, which has created several documentaries including titles like The Sodomite Deception and AIDS: The Judgment of God. The church is considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In his 5 June sermon titled “Why We Won’t Shut Up”, Awes said: “What does God say is the answer, is the solution, for the homosexual in 2022, here in the New Testament, here in the Book of Romans? “That they are worthy of death! These people should be put to death! “Every single homosexual in our country should be charged with the crime, the abomination of homosexuality, that they have.
They should be convicted in a lawful trial. They should be sentenced with death. “They should be lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head! That’s what God teaches.
“That’s what the Bible says. You don’t like it? You don’t like God’s Word, because that is what God says.””
Journalist Abby Martin confronted the hypocrisy of Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the U.S.’s inaction on journalist violence in Israel and Saudi Arabia, our two closest allies in the Middle East. Martin highlighted how the U.S. postures as a bastion of free speech while simultaneously putting no political or economic pressure on our allies after the state-sanctioned murders of journalists Shireen Abu Akleh and Jamala Khashoggi. Cenk Uygur and Jayar Jackson discuss on The Young Turks.
“@AbbyMartin calls out hypocrisy of Sec Blinken: you lecture about press freedom but do nothing when Shireen Abu Akleh and Jamal Khashoggi, two journalists and US citizens, are murdered.
Why are you buying bullets for the worst abusers of journalists like Saudi Arabia & Israel?”
Scottie's Playtime 