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Uh-Oh: Chinese Balloons Crossed U.S. Three Times When Trump Was President
@HunterDK
February 06 | 2023
Mark Esper
Youtube Screenshot
The precise nature of the Chinese balloon that drifted through the high atmosphere above the United States before being shot down by the American military off the coast of South Carolina is still not known, though the military seems confident it was a "surveillance" balloon and seemingly every conservative pundit put in front of a microphone believes it was carrying either some sort of zombie-producing spores or, worse, thousands of green M&M's to be scattered through the American landscape, turning our wildlife "woke."
What we do now know, however, is that these balloon flights seem to be a regular occurrence—and one that nobody has attempted to stoke a public panic over until now. The Department of Defense's own news site reports that Chinese balloons appeared over the United States at least three times during the Trump administration. None of those other balloons appear to have been intercepted. There were no Republican politicians posing with guns promising that they'd personally take care of them balloons if they floated over their neck of the woods. None of them appear to have scattered zombie spores, M&M's, or anything else.
Indeed, if we're to take the word of Trump Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and there are absolutely zero reasons why we should, not even hewas made aware of those overflights. That's how unremarkable the previous "Chinese spy balloon" events appear to have been.
But Republicans are going to Republican, and we have a full slate of it this weekend. Here's House Republican Andy Barr insisting that why if this had ever happened under Trump, he would have been impeached.
\u201cBarr: If it was a Russian spy balloon over the United States in 2018, President Trump would have been impeached over this.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1675576237
You're saying he would have been impeached five times? Goodness. Just one more after that and he would have qualified for a free sandwich.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor "Jewish Space Lasers" Greene took to Twitter to brag that she personally "just spoke with" the twice-impeached blowhard in question and that Trump "would never have allowed China to fly a spy balloon over our country and our military bases and our assets. Pres Trump would have shot it down before it entered the US."
Our own U.S. military is saying otherwise, and if we're to believe Esper it never even rose to the secretary level of giving-a-damn, but Marjorie Taylor "Jewish Space Lasers" Greene is among the top experts on space stuff that House Republicans have.
Honestly, I imagine the Department of Defense never told Donald Trump about the balloon overflights because they were afraid he would call up China to demand he be allowed to build a hotel on one of them. Or he might have indeed demanded it be blown up over Missouri or South Carolina, raining a seven-mile fuzz of debris onto whatever voters happened to be underneath at the time.
Among Republicans who still try to at least pretend at seriousness—badly—the ever-pathetic Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) hitched his wagon to the "Biden is too weak to do anything about this" talking point even as preparations to, sigh, pop the balloon via American military force were underway. "[I]f Biden wouldn’t even shoot down a balloon, he isn’t going to do jack if China takes territory from India or Japan or invades Taiwan," tweeted the candidate who was humiliated into submission by a clownish television showboater.
One popped balloon later, Rubio somewhat foolishly appeared on the Sunday shows to pretzel himself into a new position.
\u201cMarco Rubio's line about why Chinese balloon fights are worse under Biden than they were under Trump is because the flight path for this one was different. Alrighty then.\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1675606937
That's just sad. I don't think any of us can imagine a reality in which this pathetic creature actually became president. It's impossible to expect anything of your average Marjorie Jordan Gaetz, but watching the gears turn in this man's head as he switches his Deep Convictions in and out like 8-Track tapes in an old Ford Pinto is almost enough to make a person feel sorry for him.
If Marco Rubio ever wants to raise campaign money again, he can put a Sarah McLachlan song under that video along with a 1-800 number and a plea to save him from the Senate shelter. Look at those eyes. Those are the eyes of a dog that's given up.
Rubio may be able to string together more coherent sentences than your average Republican of the House, but in every case the rhetoric has been the same: Why isn't Biden shooting the balloon down? Trump would have shot the balloon down! Wait, Biden shot the balloon down? Huh, Trump didn't shoot the balloons down?
THIS IS VERY CONFUSING, SO NOW WE WILL LAUNCH AN INVESTIGATION.
\u201cHouse Republicans are in the very early stages of considering taking up a resolution that would criticize President Biden\u2019s handling of the Chinese spy balloon, three Republican aides with direct knowledge tell NBC News.\n\nW @JulieNBCNews @jonallendc \n\nConfirming @Olivia_Beavers\u201d— Haley Talbot (@Haley Talbot) 1675616985
Sure, there ya go. They're also in the very early stages of cleaning up several days worth of talking points so this one may take a while. Bring cat litter; it’s supposed to soak messes like that up quite well.
The truth of the Great Balloon Crisis of 2023 will likely not be known for some time, but the news that this was not anyone's first balloon rodeo does suggest that those who were trying to sell us a theory of such flights being unprecedented were, from the moment they piped up, overinflated. Even if the balloon does have military purpose, and anyone who still shudders at the phrase "aluminum tubes" is likely taking military interpretations here with a grain of salt until the military has fished enough wreckage out of the Atlantic to prove their case, it appears nobody involved considered it a dire threat. To anything.
The reality of these things remains the same: China is the military equal of the United States when it comes to surveillance satellites, and the United States already has been obliged to assume Chinese satellites are able to photograph anything they want to. The relatively half-assed nature of setting loose a balloon halfway across the planet with no idea of where the winds will take it other than "generally east, unless..." still pales in comparison, and nobody is daring to shoot down the orbital versions for fear of what would happen next.
Though if Republicans continue their opposition-to-whatever-the-rational-people-are-saying sprees, that might be the next demand. You never know with these people.
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
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Why Experts Believe George Santos Probably Has A 'Personality Disorder'
February 06 | 2023
George Santos
Youtube Screenshot
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has faced a litany of accusations in his short time as a lawmaker. From financial mishandling, professional embellishments, and personal occurrences, Santos has been accused of lies across the board.
Now, a new analysis is breaking down the dynamics of compulsive lying. According to Business Insider, psychological experts have explained how compulsive lying is often a characteristic of a personality disorder.
"Many psychologists say compulsive lying is often a feature of a personality disorder, such as antisocial-personality disorder or narcissistic-personality disorder," Insider's Alia Shoaib wrote. "Compulsive lying is not, in itself, classified as a disorder in the DSM, the handbook healthcare professionals use as the guide to classifying mental-health disorders."
Speaking to Insider, Christian Hart —a psychology professor at Texas Woman's University— weighed in with a detailed explanation of pathological lying.
Hart admitted that he cannot deliver a formal diagnosis of the New York lawmaker because he doesn't have specific details about his background but he also insisted that it does appear he engages in pathological lying.
According to Hart, Santos said, "lied about being a star athlete on a volleyball team at a kind of a lower-tier college — that wouldn't carry any cachet for most people. But just because we can't see the purpose of the lie doesn't mean the purpose doesn't exist for him. Perhaps, he's always had a sense of inferiority about not being an athletic person, and so to be seen that way means a lot to him where it would mean nothing to other people."
"In the sense that most people use the term 'pathological lying,' I'd say yes, it seems like he's got this long track history preceding his entering into politics where he's cultivated this reputation of being an extremely dishonest person," Hart said.
So what is the purpose of lying? According to Hart, "people don't lie unless there is some incentive to do so — though this incentive might not always be obvious to an outsider."
He also noted that: "When people have historically defined pathological lying, many of them have said these people lie with no apparent reason. But I argue that it does serve a purpose, it's just a purpose that we are unfamiliar with."
Offering a similar perspective, Drew Curtis, a psychology professor at Angelo State University, also offered an explanation about the origin of compulsive lying. Curtis explained that "pathological lying is often due to a combination of factors involving environment and genetics, both nature and nurture, and typically begins in later childhood and adolescence."
He also pointed out that Santos' deception appears to be a conscious act.
"I think in the case of Santos, he's come out, at least from my understanding, he's come out and apologized and said, you know, this wasn't necessarily true," Curtis said. "So then if someone's claiming that what they said wasn't true, then I think it's easier to say that was a deception, not a delusion."
Reprinted with permission from Alternet.
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