The all-new "US Politics and coronavirus" thread

[newyorkguy]

A gentleman named Tony Giannini is the owner of White House Gift Shop...

The man who operates White House Gift Shop (he lists himself as Board Chairman and CEO) Anthony Giannini seems to be a strange person. He has a Linked In page but when you try to trace some of his positions and companies he claims to work for -- always in a top position -- you mostly come to dead ends. For instance, he lists himself as the current "CEO of Strategic Systems Corporation [which] guides a unique team in the research and development of supercomputer systems for neural network mapping, simulation and AI models for use in neuroscience research as well as synergistic intelligence and defense systems modeling." When you Google "Strategic Systems Corp." you reach a dead end. He also lists himself as the current CEO of Strategic Defense Systems, but Googling that name also produces nothing. Executive Director United States Secret Service Fund. Ditto.

Information he lists for his family background includes this nugget:

One ancestor assisted Walt Disney by funding Disney's first animated full-feature film, SNOW WHITE, when no investor would touch Disney's unique visions. At Monticello, another ancestor nurtured many of the gardens at Monticello at the request of Thomas Jefferson.

This seems hard to prove, too. An "ancestor" financed Walt Disney's Snow White? Disney's website says Walt Disney mortgaged his house to finance part of it. There was a gardener at Monticello with Thomas Jefferson named Antonio Giannini, but is Anthony Giannini of Pennsylvania a descendant? That at least seems possible, at a recent reunion the Giannini family said there were an estimated 10,000 other descendants in the U.S. Giannini claims his father designed the first monorail system that was installed in Disneyland. Was his father a Disney employee? Disney history suggests the monorail was largely designed and built in-house.

I notice the name Disney keeps recurring. An inside joke, maybe?

 

[Andy_Ross]

Multiple armed gunmen storm Michigan’s State House, State police are protecting Governor Whitmer and blocking the gunmen from gaining access to the house floor.

Beautiful 1st and 2nd amendment on display

 

[newyorkguy]

They're armed -- so were the demonstrators protesting the lockdown at the state capitol last week -- but this seems to be a protest about the Covid-19 shutdown not an assault.
Twitter

Demonstrators arriving at Michigan's state capitol. People in the state building say so far the protesters are just yelling.

 

[The Atheist]

Multiple armed gunmen storm Michigan’s State House, State police are protecting Governor Whitmer and blocking the gunmen from gaining access to the house floor.

Beautiful 1st and 2nd amendment on display

USA! USA! USA!

More on the story here: https://boingboing.net/2020/04/30/armed-gunmen-storm-michigan.html

 

[Stacyhs]

That's... the dumbest, saddest thing I've ever seen.

Goes to prove the old saying that "A fool and his money are soon parted."

 

[William Parcher]

Trump Tweets

Beautiful and Well Regulated Militia with American Made Assalt weapons Have covfefed the UGLY Michigan Governer.

 

[johnny karate]

They're armed -- so were the demonstrators protesting the lockdown at the state capitol last week -- but this seems to be a protest about the Covid-19 shutdown not an assault.
Twitter

Demonstrators arriving at Michigan's state capitol. People in the state building say so far the protesters are just yelling.

It’s probably already been pointed out a thousand times and will be pointed out a thousand more, but let’s all imagine the response if a group of armed and angry black people stormed a government building.

I mean, we already know what happens when one black child plays by himself with a toy gun in the park, so I’m guessing in this case... flame-throwers and chainsaws?

 

[newyorkguy]

Polls show most Americans support the lockdown. Most say their main concern is the shutdowns will be ended before it is truly safe to resume normal life.

The poll, conducted April 28-29 among 1,099 respondents, found 50 percent strongly support at least another two weeks of social distancing measures, with another 25 percent saying they supported them. Six percent said they opposed continuing the measures, compared to 4 percent who were strongly opposed. A larger portion—14 percent—said they had no opinion. Link

The people protesting in Michigan today, like the guy in the image below. Who do they represent? The suspicion is they're small right wing groups that are orchestrating these protests for the optics. That they exist mostly on social media.

This guy looks like he should be on a leash!

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Polls show most Americans support the lockdown. Most say their main concern is the shutdowns will be ended before it is truly safe to resume normal life.


The people protesting in Michigan today, like the guy in the image below. Who do they represent? The suspicion is they're small right wing groups that are orchestrating these protests for the optics. That they exist mostly on social media.

This guy looks like he should be on a leash!

Wouldn't surprise me if some of these guys are also spurred on by Russia, whether they know it or not.

 

[Andy_Ross]

There's kids there.
They don't see anything wrong with this behaviour do they!! What are they gonna do, shoot the virus?
America is literally mental!

 

[Stacyhs]

There's kids there.
They don't see anything wrong with this behaviour do they!! What are they gonna do, shoot the virus?
America is literally mental!

And a lunatic is running the asylum.

 

[Andy_Ross]

if you can't test 100 senators, how the hell are you going to test
320 million Americans? Or even 25% of Americans?

 

[Resume]

Polls show most Americans support the lockdown. Most say their main concern is the shutdowns will be ended before it is truly safe to resume normal life.


The people protesting in Michigan today, like the guy in the image below. Who do they represent? The suspicion is they're small right wing groups that are orchestrating these protests for the optics. That they exist mostly on social media.

This guy looks like he should be on a leash!

Many of these dip ***** look to be exactly in the virus' co-morbidity wheelhouse. Too bad they'll take others with them.

 

[Shalamar]

Trump Tweets

Beautiful and Well Regulated Militia with American Made Assalt weapons Have covfefed the UGLY Michigan Governer.

PLEASE tell me he didn't tweet that?

 

[William Parcher]

Daily Mail: Armed gunmen with guns hurricaned the state capitol killing at least 17 Michigan Governors. A witness described it as, "a typhoon of bullets that were launched from the tips of the armed guns." Authorities stated that only about ten Governors returned fire using bullets emitted from guns that emitted them. Another witness who witnessed the tornado of flying projectiles was Elizabeth Orcyardtanglesten who said that he felt that, "again the making of great America again greatly made." A local resident called police after finding a half-eaten cheeseburger on a park bench nine miles from the capitol of Governor Capitol. She believed that it may have been evidence with helpfulnessitude for investigators.

 

[The Atheist]

Wouldn't surprise me if some of these guys are also spurred on by Russia, whether they know it or not.

You need to realise that White Nationalists love Russia. It's racist, anti-gay, antisemitic and suppresses women's rights.

What's not to like?

 

[Armitage72]

Another poll, unrelated to the previous one.
A joint project by Northeastern University, Harvard, and Rutgers surveyed 22,912 people in all 50 states and DC, between April 17th and April 26th. Trump's approval rating on his handling of the coronavirus was below that of the Governors of Every Single State.

 

[newyorkguy]

This is what I don't understand about these protests. Okay, the demonstrators want the shutdown ended. They want to go back to work. But polls show a huge majority of Americans don't agree. Only ten percent disagree with the measures and only half of those say they "strongly disagree."

I understand protesting the shutdowns, but not demanding states reopen, not when it's clear the majority of Americans DON'T want the shutdown ended. To demand the states do something contrary to the wishes of the majority is VERY un-American. They're not patriots, they're the opposite.

 

[crescent]

Remember how many gaskets got blown when a couple of self-proclaimed Black Panthers with billy clubs stood outside an election polling place?

Can one imagine what would happen if a half-dozen such Panthers stood in the State house balcony with billy clubs?

I mean, the gun thing is odd. I think these sorts of protesters would be happy to see black people with guns doing this - IF (BIG IF) the black people had long guns and military-looking tacticool accessories. Like, the long guns and the pseudo-military look make it all good.

But if black men in berets with pistols or clubs did this, the militia types would throw gaskets aplenty. That would not fit their perceptions of what "freedom" looks like.

Crazy times.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

if you can't test 100 senators, how the hell are you going to test
320 million Americans? Or even 25% of Americans?

But they can test Pence and everyone around him all the time.