Louisiana Voice

No collusion indeed.

You’d think they’d be a little more careful not to make it so obvious by vetting images that accompany their political ads.

The “they” is Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again Committee and the image is that of a silhouette of three soldiers, presumably American in a political ad asking that Americans “Support our Troops.”

The problem is, the stock photo is of Russian models posing as American soldiers and the military jets shown to be purportedly “supporting our troops” are Russian MiG-29s and the soldier on the far right is carrying a Russian-made AK-47 assault rifle.

The composite photo also includes Russian sky, Greek mountains and French ground, according to photo’s creator, Arthur Zakirov, a photo hobbyist who lives in the Russian city of Perm.

The ad ran from Sept. 8 to Sept. 12.

Check out Trump’s Russian-made ad HERE.

Oops.

Let’s see if this pops up on Q-Anon’s radar (probably not because it doesn’t fit their twisted agenda).

Besides, we know this was just another stupid mistake by the Trump organization…

But was it, really?

Again, oops.

Read Full Post »

“Remember, Miami Cubans gave me the highly honored Bay of Pigs Award for all I have done for our great Cuban Population!”

—Donald Trump tweet on Sunday. [Uh, no such award exists. Why would he claim that? No one knows.]

“It’ll start getting cooler. You just — you just watch. I don’t think science knows, actually.”

—Donald Trump, on global warming. [Uh…didn’t he say the same thing about the coronavirus? Just askin’. But then, Trump, that “very stable genius,” knows more than all the scientists.]

 “I was in the White House a couple of days ago. Meeting of 10 people in the Oval Office. And a guy sneezed, innocently. Not a horrible—just a sneeze. The entire room bailed out, okay? Including me, by the way.”

—Donald Trump, during one of his interviews with Bob Woodward. [This is the same guy who wanted to “Liberate Michigan,” and who insisted, “Everything we did was right,” and who has opposed the wearing of masks and encouraged schools to return to person-to-person learning.]

“Some Conservatives, but not many elected ones, defended the president for remaining calm saying you don’t yell fire in a crowded movie theater. It’s true. But you do if the theater is actually on fire.”

— Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, rebuking conservative defenses of Trump’s decision to “downplay” the severity of the coronavirus.

“Publicly identifying with the Trump campaign scandalously associates the Christian faith itself with brazen bigotry. [I]f a racist campaign does not shake Christian support, what possible difference is that faith making?”

—Conservative columnist Michael Gerson, on Sept. 14, 2020.

Read Full Post »

There are only seven (7, VII) weeks left to pull this country back from the abyss (though some reading this post still believe – at Donald Trump’s insistence – that if Joe Biden wins, Blacks will overrun the suburbs, rioters, looters, thugs and arsonists will invade our homes and (gasp) rape our wives and daughters).

As Earl Long said of similar warnings from the White Citizens Council way back in 1959, “You never heard such claptrap in your life.”

And this, mind you, coming from a man who told Bob Woodward he wanted to play down the coronavirus because he didn’t want to throw the country into a panic.

Yet, those same Trumpettes still insist on ignoring Trump’s fear-mongering while trying to sow the seeds of dissent and distrust at the feet of Democrats – the socialists, communists and fascists out there just lying and waiting for an opportunity to take over and take down the “Murican way of life.”

Somehow, I just can’t see the face of Donald Trump superimposed onto the body of John Wayne astride a horse as he rides to the rescue of the wild west. A golf cart is Trump’s preferred mode of transportation across the rugged terrain of one of his golf courses. (the very image of Trump on a horse is itself a form of cheap comedy, but that’s another story for another day.)

The Q-Anon types, those delightful disciples of Alex Jones, the Boogaloo Boys, Patriot Prayer and the like (along with the Russian bots, of course) are going to do everything in their power to convince the easily duped into thinking that a Biden win would be the moral equivalent to Armageddon.

Trump must be getting a little desperate. I somehow got on his campaign mailing list and yesterday, I received a “very personal” email from every member of the Trump family, plus his campaign manager, each one soliciting campaign contributions and some even offering me a signed photo of Der Führer. Others offered me a chance to sign up for a possible trip to Washington to be seen with Dear Leader and maybe even be photographed with him, all contributions appreciated.

It reminded me of when I was on Bobby Jindal’s email list and kept getting those updates about how he was being swept along with a groundswell support for his Republican presidential nomination (he never made it past the 1% mark).

So, the only logical thing for us to do as we head down the stretch is to remind you there are still plenty of “Nope” T-shirts and face masks, both adorned with the trademark orange hairpiece and extra-extra-long red tie.

Shirts are $18.99 for sizes Small, Medium, Large and EL. 2XL shirts are $21.99 and 3XL are $23.99 each.

Face masks are $9 each for one or two masks, $24 for three or four masks, $36 for five, $66 for 10 and $120 for 20. Add $4.95 for shipping.

You can order by clicking on that infamous yellow in the column to the right of this post to pay by credit card or by sending a check for the correct amount to:

LouisianaVoice

P.O. Box 922

Denham Springs, LA. 70727 

You can also contribute to LouisianaVoice’s fund drive the same way (hint, hint).

Here’s what the masks (on two of our professional models) and shirts look like: MASKS AND SHIRTS

Read Full Post »

“When Donald Trump refuses to stand down at the inauguration, the shooting will begin. If you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it’s going to be hard to get.” 

—Michael Caputo, the top communications official at the Department of Health and Human Services, in a Facebook post on Sunday. [This is a government official, a member of the Trump administration. Let’s see Outlaw try this reconcile this with his cut-and-paste comment of yesterday.]

“Mr. Caputo is a critical, integral part of the President’s coronavirus response, leading on public messaging as Americans need public health information to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.”

—Statement issued by HHS. [So, this is who we’re supposed to trust to keep us informed of any updates on the coronavirus. Wonderful.]

“I get along very well with Erdogan even though you’re not supposed to, because everyone says, ‘What a horrible guy.’ But you know, for me, it works out good. It’s funny, the relationships I have, the tougher and meaner they are, the better I get along with them. You’ll explain that to me someday, OK? But maybe it’s not a bad thing. The easy ones are the ones I maybe don’t like as much or don’t get along with as much.”

—Donald Trump, in excerpt from recorded interview with Bob Woodward.

“It’s difficult to measure the effect exactly, but the polling sort of shows it and in focus groups it shows up, with people deeply questioning the Democrats, and referring to the ‘deep state’ in particular — that there’s a real conspiracy against the president from the inside. There’s a strain in our political culture that’s accustomed to conspiracy theories, a culture that’s accustomed to coup d’etats.”

—Eduardo Gamarra, pollster and director of the Latino Public Opinion Forum at Florida International University, on the conspiracy theories being promoted against Joe Biden among Latinos by Q-Anon.

Read Full Post »

Tomorrow marks the midway point of LouisianaVoice’s September fund drive and we’re still short of our goal of $5,000 to be able to keep churning out investigative pieces like the one below this post.

If you have not been adversely impacted financially by the coronavirus, I humbly ask for your help in meeting our goal to keep us going until next April. We did not hold a fund drive last April because that was right in the midst of a national shutdown that sharply curtailed businesses across the U.S.

But if you can do so, I would greatly appreciate your help. There are fuel expenses, costs of documents and occasionally legal expenses in efforts to force compliance with Louisiana’s public records laws.

Because LouisianaVoice is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit, all contributions are fully tax-deductible and anyone giving $100 or more will receive a signed copy of my latest book, Louisiana’s Rogue Sheriffs: A Culture of Corruption.

To give by credit card, click on the yellow  button in the column to the right of this post. If you prefer, you may give by mailing a check to:

LouisianaVoice

P.O. Box 922

Denham Springs, Louisiana 70727

Thank you for your continued support,

Tom Aswell

Read Full Post »