125 Comments
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Butt Actually's avatar

It's just situational awareness. Thats all the IRS was looking for when they audited Matt too. This is all just a nothing-burger and is so 2023. Please move on to something more joyful and relevant. Learn to be unburdened by what has been!

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Indecisive decider's avatar

To be unburdened, you have to have kneepads and be the side piece of a dude twice your age ready to be serviced. Unburdened indeed.

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Tardigrade's avatar

"Move on to something more Joy™ful and relevant."

Fixed it for ya.

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Hawker's avatar

For harris , not capitalize for good reason, she was joy and (full) as she advanced her self interest! Fixed it for ya!

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Homing Mantis's avatar

Sarcasm detected. Meter pegged.

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RAO's avatar

Thus sayeth Big Brother.

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Bill Heath's avatar

Just making sure other responders understand that you are joking

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Skip Scott's avatar

Where you gettin' all these "likes"? Tell the rest of us who loves you.

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Butt Actually's avatar

The Butt Actuallys are even crazier than Swifties. If one more of them DM’s me to send them my underpants I’m gonna delete my Substack account.

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Skip Scott's avatar

Wow! 32 at my last count. People here already know me. Who are you?

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Butt Actually's avatar

I'm Butt Actually!

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Bill J's avatar

Hah! Transparency is so yesterday.

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Mike's avatar

He loved Big Brother.

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John Kelleher's avatar

The thing I can’t get over - which I should- is that any number of what I guess are liberals think this is no big deal

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Clever Pseudonym's avatar

None of this happens without the entire liberal class being so blasted by fearmongering propaganda that they now sincerely believe that their opponents are some combo of KKK and Nazis, that anyone who disagrees with them is some sort of "extremist" bigot, that every single day is 1932 Germany, and that if they lose the next election (or really any election) then "Democracy" will die and migrants and various sexual minorities will be put in concentration camps.

I wish I were exaggerating!

Trying to talk sense to any normie Dem liberals is like trying to debate a Scientologist—they are terrified that someone in their cult might catch them talking to an enemy, they know you are evil incarnate trying to deceive them, and what they most want is to denounce you and find some way to socially destroy you.

There is just no way to talk sense to any of these people now that their brains have been swallowed by some version of a tribalist cult. In fact, any cognitive dissonance only makes them angry and uncomfortable. I don't see this ending well.

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Tardigrade's avatar

Most of my friends are liberal Democrats, as I used to be. It's kind of funny talking to them about things like Joe Biden's senility, which they helpfully inform me is just a conspiracy theory, and then proceed to tell me that Donald Trump has been faking his assassination attempts.

(The original version of this comment did not mention Joe Biden, but rather Hunter's laptop; I changed it because my liberal friends have never heard about the laptop.)

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TruthCanHurt23's avatar

Share your distress that heretofore liberals would even think of going along with this censorship effort.

I say this in part because in some respects we ARE similar to 1932 Germany. It was around then the Christian Democrats approved "emergency measures" including state controls on speech and communications, which Hitler invoked not long after to consolidate his power.

Even when I ask my so-called liberal friends if they believe government sensors will get their orders from Democrats only going forward, and would they trust Trump to exercise that power judiciously, they don't seem moved.

Don't see it ending well, either. Sad.

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France's avatar

You are so right on all counts. But at this point, I'm over wishing I could "talk with" my still Democrat friends. My worry now is how to live in a world where crazy is so powerful and has a significant impact on who gets elected and what legislation is passed.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

I'm sure there are some unbowed ppl/organizations/groups that are preparing for the worst. I'm hopeful that SS will still provide a venue to communicate to others, if the Dems prevail. It is heartening to read so many others that are of the same mind about some of these issues. Coming to SS & connecting with others feels like I'm arriving at the door of a speakeasy whispering the password 'samizdat'.

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josh shuffman's avatar

That, and the fact that nothing like this makes it within a football field's distance of the NYT front page. Not only are the front pages of the major newspapers given over to narrative, they are woefully narrow in their coverage. If that is your news source (and don't let's get started about cable news, which is worse) you are MIS informed- at best.

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Cranky Frankie's avatar

News reporting outlets have an audience. Each has a newsroom vibe. Viewpoint diversity costs subscribers. It goes both ways, though firing an opinion editor for running an op-ed by a sitting US Senator is a pretty telling move. The good news is that those who throw off the yoke (or are shown the door) have a way to do even better through the disintermediation and disruption of the Internet. So, yeah, that thing needs to go.

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Skip Scott's avatar

"Liberal" is a word that no longer has any meaning when referring to politics.

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Turd_Ferguson's avatar

We Liberals are now Center Right Independents who see the Republicans as closer to our beliefs.

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Skip Scott's avatar

It depends on which "Republicans." All those labels have become obsolete.

Tell me what you think, and let's drop the labels. I pray for peace every day, and I'm not even sure who I'm praying to.

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Turd_Ferguson's avatar

Praying gets you nowhere. Nobody is listening. I believe in Workers rights, Freedom of Speech, Religion (though I am agnostic), I wish there was a better system than Capitalism, but at the time of this writing there is none. I do believe in sex, drugs, and Rock and Roll, though I've never done drugs, have sung rock and roll for money, and ... well... believing in sex means believing in all sort of un-Christian things.... LOL

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Skip Scott's avatar

I hope the world of mindfulness is bigger than I can imagine. That is my prayer.

We all learn as we go. In the end we all all one. I pray for peace.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

I'm sticking with God - as in Father, Son & Holy Spirit - King of Kings - Creator - Lord... you get my drift... for now.

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josh shuffman's avatar

Well, you just answered your own question. You should pray to Allah, because praying for peace makes you a Hamas apologist.

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Skip Scott's avatar

Evil is as evil does, no matter what flag it's flying. We all learn as we go; I suppose that makes me a universal apologist.

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TruthCanHurt23's avatar

Great point, though some of us are Center Left Independents who fled from or were excommunicated by the illiberal Bolsheviks who currently run the Democratic party.

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Turd_Ferguson's avatar

Very very very true. I mean... There are actual Trotskyists in the Pacific Northwest. They openly claim that title.

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Heyjude's avatar

Is it time yet for all those FKA liberals to start examining core beliefs? They keep telling me they believe in free speech and civil rights, but they won’t let go of the idea that government can fix all social ills. You can’t tell me you want Medicare For All, but still think you can have free speech.

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Dean's avatar

(Post-modern)Liberalism has become a combo of statism and materialism, which is shined up as "meritocracy." Anything done to advance or protect government power and promote (their own) wealth, status, privilege, advantage, credentials and convenience is justified. They're so compartmentalized that they can't see their own hypocrisy or realize that they're two remaining ideals can only be bound to clash at some point, at their own expense.

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ElgeeR's avatar

They love controlling speech while they are in power (especially with the the Deep State firmly on their side). They don’t worry about the affect of censorship because they can’t imagine the other side being in power and having it directed at them.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

They seem unfamiliar with the phrase: "Be careful what you wish for... you just might get it."

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ElgeeR's avatar

That said, the threat of being labeled a hypocrite doesn’t deter the Dems because they are never held to account. The MSM ignores it while promoting the Dem message.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

Ain't THAT the truth.

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rob's avatar

How about they support it !

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Lawyers Guns & Money's avatar

Pardon my French, but fuck them. Please continue to give us updates. The list is growing: Colin Allred, Blinken, the the lady who's a wannabe member of Congress from the Virgin Islands.

Garland's pretty busy trying to jail Trump, but maybe he'll join the fight to silence you. He'll have about as much a chance of doing that as he does of ever coming within sniffing distance of the Supreme Court.

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Robert Hunter's avatar

You can't make this stuff up. They "steal" a piece in an American major media and translate it into Russian for their Russian speaking audience and the US security state prints it poorly translated for American audiences in an American publication. That's plagiarism on an international scale. When you need to lie like that despite having the largest indoctrination industrial complexes in the world by far, you know the product the US is hustling is really crappy! Way to go Matt!

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ResistWeMuch's avatar

thats similar to how US politicians launder money, too.

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Giant asteroid for 24's avatar

- I think that would make them Useful Idiots in the parlance of the day...

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Dunboy2020's avatar

Matt's work is critically important, but I fear they have a "six ways from Sunday" to keep doing the same thing. I'm not sure how it gets fixed without a will in Washington.

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Clever Pseudonym's avatar

If anyone at the turn of the century had said that only one generation later the deciding factor in the American Empire's classification of Friend/Enemy would be which states, people, and organizations believed that men could become women (and vice versa) just by speaking the magic words—and that those who quibbled with this would be branded public enemies of the State Dept—well, that person would have been a madman or genius or probably both.

Decadence comes in so many forms!

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josh shuffman's avatar

The culture wars do a good job of keeping your eyes off The American Empire's hand in your pocket.

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Ctommy1969's avatar

This. 100%. Very few of the people that actually have any power give a shit about the cultural nonsense du jour.

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josh shuffman's avatar

They have no problem USING it…. 😉

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Pacificus's avatar

The Dems have gone full fascist. Where are the Harris supporters on this site willing to defend the gross censorship that Matt describes? Let's hear your arguments--if you have any.

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Ctommy1969's avatar

They wouldn’t dare come here. Haven’t you heard? Matt is a right wing, Russian propagandist.

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Patrick's avatar

They won't, because they don't.

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Indecisive decider's avatar

It's the Russians! Trump is a Putin puppet. There's a golden shower tape of him with Russian hookers! Free speech is dangerous! Hillary says you should be arrested if you bring up Billy Boy hopping on the Epstein express and then hopping on underage girls.

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Patrick's avatar

The regime -

If you can’t win on merits, policy, and issues - gaslight and censor by any means necessary.

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Skip Scott's avatar

And don't forget the ballot stuffing.

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Sheila Dean's avatar

Speaking up now is very very important. This is an emboldened global trend couched as unopposed new policy that is cannon everywhere in history; which seems daunting at first. Once you tear through the historical revision of facts, demonstrating the UN Human Rights charter provides for opposition political speech and speaking globally, you'll be fine. That is why K. Jean Pierre needs to be thoroughly blasted on and off of her autocratic White House podium for telling [Peter] Doocy that questioning her about partisan biased rhetoric aimed as US domestic threat level, as opposition press, was "dangerous". Get beyond it now. Call it down now. Excoriate people who aggressively use struggle shaming psychology in the press for mass psychological hammering. Reject it. Reason at it. Debate the terms of absolute crimination for things that are not crime using large decibel levels on a Karaoke machine, like a leftist cartoon if you have to. They should be howling like scalded dogs after hearing a full-throated call down of their rhetoric based on Constitutional legal forensics. HOW DARE THEY!!

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Julinthecrown's avatar

Some countries are resisting this 'global trend' which I agree will swallow all of 'wethepeople' if we don't start pushing back - HARD.

To wit: these articles were all posted between Sept 5, 2024 to Sept. 19, 2024

"HUGE: Sweden SCRAPPING climate tax on flying: The right-wing government is reversing the tax imposed by the Socialists."

https://www.petersweden.org/p/huge-sweden-scrapping-climate-tax?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=547128&post_id=148551349&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=b7jkn&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

"IT’S HAPPENING: Germany implement BORDER CONTROLS to protect their country:

After huge wins by the right-wing party, the German government is now tightening border controls across the country."

https://www.petersweden.org/p/its-happening-germany-implement-border?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=547128&post_id=148701232&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=b7jkn&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

"IT BEGINS: Sweden PAYING people to remigrate: Something that was once considered unthinkable, is now happening"

https://www.petersweden.org/p/it-begins-sweden-paying-people-to?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=547128&post_id=148899155&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=b7jkn&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

"Netherlands REJECTS the EU migration pact: Major changes are happening in Europe."

https://www.petersweden.org/p/netherlands-requests-opt-out-of-eu?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=547128&post_id=149111730&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=b7jkn&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

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Jim Kavitsky's avatar

Being discredited by the state department should come with an Olympic-style gold medal for service to your country. They are always willing to expend far more effort to squelch any inconvenient truths than they are to go out and correct the record when someone is merely lying.

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GVFischer's avatar

Should we start sending our subscription payments in envelopes filled with cash? What if they block Matt’s credit cards and bank accounts?

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Angie M.'s avatar

I’ve thought the same thing. I also wish there was an actual physical printed newsletter.

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rob's avatar

You joke , but it would not surprise me if the fed was tracking the subscribers accounts under the guise we might be foreign assets

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GVFischer's avatar

Only a half joke, it is a real concern and I think Matt is in a vulnerable position. Maybe those of us who support his journalism are as well.

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ResistWeMuch's avatar

we should all start going back to cash as often as possible.

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Jala's avatar

GV could be a plan B. Like getting County Highway in the mail. Another reason To support the USPS, which is the only form of confidential communication left in this country. Mail letters, buy stamps, renew passport, talk with people while picking up mail. DeJoy was a mistake and another unfulfilled “promise” by Joe to replace him.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

I think it's a good idea to have a 'back up generator' of sorts, just in case. "Chance favors the prepared mind." ~~ Louis Pasteur

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GVFischer's avatar

I am waiting for my first issue of County Highway.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

Other alternatives - snail mail, carrier pigeons, Pony Express, telegrams, smoke signals? 🤔

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GVFischer's avatar

Can you make payments with smoke signals?

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Giant asteroid for 24's avatar

Barflies send checks to the Moon of Alabama. b prefers it...

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Candi Wease's avatar

What scares me the most about this whole misinformation crusade is that the culprits aren't even pretending that it's about getting to the truth or protecting the truth. This is about no one having the ability to point out their lies. They manufacture what we are supposed to except as truth. It's extremely dangerous.

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josh shuffman's avatar

Ironically, I feel like George Orwell thought he was pushing the boundaries of credibility in his descriptions of Oceania- really standing things on their head: Freedom IS Slavery. We're so far past that by now. What's false is true, and what's true- is "disinformation".

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Julinthecrown's avatar

IMO - part of this egregious behavior is that those who are offended or disbelieving haven't pushed back hard enough. (Easy to say as I sit at my laptop all cozy & cute. I just threw that 'cute' part in there for fun. 😉) We have to call out their behavior STAT as loudly as possible.

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Candi Wease's avatar

Exactly, before it becomes a crime to do it. I have lost many (successful, educated) friends trying to explain why telling a truth isn't always a conspiracy theory. The glazed look they get in their eyes when you try to explain why something they have heard ad nauseam can't be true when you add common sense and a couple of stray facts you manage to scrape up despite the establishment effort. A basic example would be trying to explain that I don't like Joe Biden because I disapprove of his work on the Crime Bill and his stated influence on the Patriot Act or that Kamala Harris was terrible toward small offenders but not the corporate bad actors as a prosecutor. They hear only that I love Donald Trump. (I don't but he may be the lessor evil now.) I have never voted for a Republican in my life up to this point because I am for progressive taxes and I'm against war. (now a reason I can't support Democrats.) It's like a mass propaganda effort that is turning people into empty shells incapable of original thought or reason. It's not truth the culprits are protecting. It's their propaganda and the power it affords them. It is a threat to our way of life in so many ways if people are incapable of basic comprehension. The movie Idiocracy keeps coming to mind.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

While it seems so plain & simple as to what Kamala et al are going to do to our country, it is so very hard to understand why others won't even engage in a conversation about it. I just can't believe that they don't realize that when the other side gets in power someday that these same tactics/laws/whatever can be used against them. 😳

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Candi Wease's avatar

That would require reasoning.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

🎯

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Julinthecrown's avatar

🎯

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Lyon's avatar

+100

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David 1260's avatar

As a former fan of the Hardy Boys, I absolutely loved your homage to "meddling kids."

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Tardigrade's avatar

I read all the Hardy Boys books as a kid, and I don't remember that phrase (to be fair it has been six decades). I don't doubt it was there—maybe that's where Scooby Doo got it.

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Mike Zillion's avatar

That's a Scooby Doo-ism, not Hardy Boys

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Refenestrated's avatar

"The State Department and its counter-messaging arm, the Global Engagement Center, wanted so badly to create the impression Banks acted in service of Russian propaganda that they forgot to use the original Banks quote, instead re-translating the Russian version back to English. This resulted in the quote being reproduced incorrectly, ironic given GEC’s ostensible mission."

What a perfect snapshot of this country's institutional and "elite"/"expert"-class corruption. At this point they merit as much trust as an untrained dog alone in the kitchen with a plate of cheese left out on the counter, and like that dog, they're too stupid to cover their own tracks.

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Susan Steffner's avatar

The shit pile on the kitchen floor explains it all....

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Refenestrated's avatar

And our “elites” keep stepping in that pile and tracking it all over the house, and lack the brains & self-awareness to understand why the normals are disgusted by them.

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Basil Rathbone's avatar

99.99% of Americans will never hear a word about this and couldn't possibly understand what it portends if they did. This is deep in the weeds Twitter Files stuff almost no one knows or cares about. I do, but I've been a leftie dropout weirdo for 50 years.

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Julinthecrown's avatar

Which is exactly why we have to keep saying it. "A lie doesn't become truth, wrong doesn't become right & evil doesn't become good, just because it's accepted by a majority."

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