Good Bee! Roll Over! Find the COVID-19!

For starters, dogs can detect anything with their superhuman sense of smell, including COVID-19.

Proving Bees have the same superpower, a group of Dutch scientists enlisted the help of bees.

That's the sweet and short summary of this story. A group of scientists trained 150 bees to detect the virus.

They say dogs are man's best friend in the animal kingdom, but perhaps a second look at bees is in order.

"Roll over buzzy!" Now there's a good bee."

What's really amazing is the fact the bees can be trained in minutes. Yes, minutes. Dogs take a bit longer to be trained as we all know.

The simple apparatus - the method of delivery - can achieve a roughly 95 percent accuracy rate by using multiple bees per sample.

The good news is that the scientists developed a prototype machine that can train bees to detect the virus. Bees are everywhere, so low-income countries now would have an alternative to PCR tests.

The internet is abuzz with this latest tool to detect the virus. It's good news in the battle against the pandemic that has affected millions of people.

Trumpies Take On Democracy: A Cult Threatens Our Constitution

The Democrats beef isn't with Republicans per say, but with the Cult of Trump which has effectively castrated the GOP.

The litmus test for Trump supplicants is promoting The Big Lie. That's followed by GOP state lawmakers willing to turn back the results of the 2020 election.

The so-called "audit" in Arizona by a Trump group, and a Trump-loving company, Cyber Ninjas, is a staged event to rally the faithful and make them think there's still a chance to overturn the election results.

Based on a lie, the audit has not conformed to state election rules. The Department of Justice has stepped in to question the methodologies and reasoning for the stunt.

The whole sordid affair is just one example of how Trump's cult is undercutting the foundations of our country by attacking our electoral system.

Then you have hypocritical creeps like Sen. Lindsey Graham who claims the party can't move forward without Trump.

Republican controlled state legislators are busy disenfranchising voters by passing legislation that will make it harder to vote in the 2022 mid terms.

Even the Federal Election Commission has fallen prey to Trump's minions. 

Two Trumpies on the board voted against taking action against Trump in the Stormy Daniels hush money payment case.

That left the case deadlocked and Trump got away with more corruption to add to his long list of achievements against Democracy.

The irony is Trump's longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, was convicted of being involved with Trump to silence Daniels with a $130,000 payout. But Trump skipped, despite being referred to as the #2 person in the investigation.

Trump's roots are sinking into states that are controlled by his lackeys. The effect on fair elections, and more, could be devastating in the months and years ahead.

There's never been a bigger threat against the United States of America like the one Trump and his acolytes have brought to the table.

The way to fight back is to tell the truth and fight against all the misinformation Trump followers are feeding to the public.

Our Democracy depends upon it.

Ex-Cheater-In-Charge Tries To Fool Twitter After Facebook Ban Extended

Trump didn't get the message when Facebook extended his ban another six months.

We know this because he immediately tried to launch a workaround with Twitter (who also banned him).

Trump has a website that's essentially a blog for him to perpetuate The Big Lie. Followers can "like" and circulate the posts on social media, but that's as far as it went.

His new Twitter website (an extension of his blog) -  was launched on Tuesday and shut down on Wednesday. In bold headlines Twitter suspended Trump's - @ DJTDesk account - which violated Twitter rules.

Perhaps if Trump and his minions were able to read something other than Dr. Seuss, they would have noticed Twitter's rules and policies page, which leads to their policy forbidding people from circumventing permanent suspensions.

Trump was de-platformed back in January, after his supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

There's little doubt that Trump will continue to try to utilize social media in any way possible. He's already tried to get around Twitter by having his supplicants rebroadcast his blog rants.

Those attempts have been plucked from the Twitterverse and suspended. But new ones keep popping up. 

It'll always be a challenge as long as Trump continues to use every resource to circumvent his social media bans. 

As an authoritarian populist, and someone who doesn't believe in Democracy, Trump's legacy will be toxic for years to come.

GOP Threatens Facebook After Upholding It's Ban on Trump

After finding out that Facebook was not going to let Trump back on their platform today, Mark Meadows and other Republicans lost their shit!

Moments after the company made the announcement threats poured in, as enraged Trumpies sought revenge for outlawing their idol.

Meadows suggested that retribution will come from Republicans in Congress who'll draw a target on the company by seeking some legislation to hamper it.

Hardline Trump pols and assorted minions in the media want to keep the Big Lie alive and fresh for the 2022 mid term elections.

The Republican strategy of bullying private businesses is a new tactic born of desperation.

McConnell has come out and told corporations that censor the Republican effort to change reality and claim Trump won the election, that he may look for a way to hurt them by using some corrupt legislation.

The new litmus test among the GOP has become "Who won the 2022 election?"

Supplicants have been lining up to claim Trump did. Any member of the GOP that dares to acknowledge reality and Biden's presidency has become an outcast.

The number three Republican, Liz Cheney is a perfect example. She's a real Republican with conservative values and has been calling out Trump's lies. Now she's become an outcast and her seat  is in jeopardy.

For. Telling. The. Truth.

The outside board that recommended Trump not be restored right now, decided to punt the situation back to Zuckerberg.

The board suggested he come up with a decision in six months as to whether to ban Trump for life.

That leaves the issue in limbo. But the possibility that Facebook may change it's mind by then is remote.

This was just another small victory against the worst president this country has ever had. There'll be more coming in the courts.

Facebook To Announce Whether Trump Can Return To Their Platform

Tomorrow may be a big day for Trump.

Facebook is going to share it's decision on allowing Trump back into the fold. 

It wasn't Trump's favorite attack platform however. That honor was reserved for Twitter (who banned him for life).

Still, it'll open another avenue of attack against our democracy should Facebook decide to let Trump back with his constant lies.

Facebook's own version of the supreme court will deliver its decision on Trump's fate tomorrow morning.

Trump was banned indefinitely from Facebook and Instagram on Jan.7, one day after his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in an effort to thwart certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory.

Right now the last thing we need is Trump doubling down on lies on any platform. Before his Facebook account was shuttered he had 35 million followers.

It's interesting to see a private company even considering reaping the whirlwind by allowing the biggest troll on the internet access to their domain.

Unlike Republicans supplicants, Facebook doesn't have to worry about being re-elected and there's no good reason to enable a world class liar.

I'm reasonably sure that Facebook will continue on if it maintains it ban on Don the Con. 

The Oversight Board is faced with a decision based on either getting more revenue from Trump minions, or to protect our democracy from the most corrupt president in American history.

Let's hope it's a no-brainer.

After 5 Years a Mystery Illness Is Still Affecting American Diplomats and Spies

It's a mystery to me why American spies and diplomats have been sickened abroad for years now. And, apparently to Congress.

The mystery attacks became known as the Havana syndrome and first appeared in 2016.

Speculation has centered around radiofrequency energy, a type of radiation that includes microwaves, as the culprit.

A committee of 19 experts in medicine and other fields cited "directed, pulsed energy" as the most likely reason to explain the illness.

The state department first discovered the illness that struck dozens of C.I.A. officers, first at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, and then China followed by other countries.

Complaints by victims:

Many of the officers suffered from dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and loss of hearing, memory and balance, forcing some into retirement.

The committee found the immediate symptoms that patients reported - including strange sensations of pain, pressure and sound that often appeared to come from a particular direction, or occurred in a specific spot in a room - were more consistent with a directed "attack" of radiofrequency energy.

No Action Taken

The Trump administration pretended the attacks weren't happening and dead-ended reports from the state department. 

That's right. We've known for years these attacks have threatened American lives - with the latest just outside of the White House with a security official experiencing the known symptoms.

A report by the National Academies contains a stark warning about the possibility of future episodes, and the U.S. government's ability to detect them, or to mount a response.

Trump officials were pressed by lawmakers who were upset with their secrecy and their inaction. But nothing happened.

Enter Joe Biden whose taking steps to discover how to combat it, and who is responsible.

Biden's state department is currently working on the threat. 

Now there's a chance we'll solve the mystery that's been so shamelessly covered up by the past administration.

'Mirror Mirror On The Wall Whose The Most Trumpiest Of Them All?'

Lately Republican's have been holding competitions among themselves as to who is most like their beloved leader Trump.

Suspending reality and "owning the libs" seems to be the only thing that counts as Republicans prepare for the 2022 mid-term elections.

One Republican strategist, David Kochel, summed the situation up in a recent interview; "It's a contest about who can trigger the media and Democrats the most."

Trump-style pugilism is currently popular among some conservative voters. In order to win seats in Congress the GOP is openly espousing racism, conspiracy theories, and the Big Lie.

But what does the majority of conservative voters really want?

The current strategy to do battle with the left, preferably in viral-video snippets, is more compelling to activists than amassing a record of achievement or painstakingly building coalitions.

At the end of the day we're talking about a vocal - yet powerful cabal - of conservatives willing to be cult followers.

There wasn't enough supplicants to re-elect Trump in 2020, and despite increasing polarization, there's not enough die-hards to sweep the 2022 mid-terms.

Those same die-hards turned out in droves when Trump held rallies last year, but their enthusiasm wasn't enough.

For Trump followers however those massive rallies proved Trump must have won, and he was cheated at the polls.

Which led to the Stop the Steal propaganda and eventually a coup attempt by orange Kool aid drinkers steeped in the Trump Universe.

Alternate reality GOP lawmakers are back with a vengeance, using the same loser playbook. Lie. Whine. Lie.

Will history repeat itself for Democrats allowing them to hold onto the majority in Congress? 

If they do, it'll probably be thanks to the cranks among the reality-denying Republicans.

Shameless Pence Pursues Presidential Possibility

Pence has no pride.

Despite Trump's relentless attacks against him, Pence is still pledging total fealty in a bid to run for the presidency in 2024.

He doesn't talk about when Trump's supporters marauded through the Capitol on Jan.6, threatening to hang him. Or, that they even built a scaffold outside in anticipation of lynching him.

He didn't blink an eye when Trump scolded him for not blocking Congress's recognition of Biden's victory. 

He pretends to ignore Trump supporters who are still mad it him for not lying and subverting the electoral process.

Since the election Pence has holed up in North Virginia, sealing a book deal and writing an occasional op-ed for the Daily Signal, a publication run by the extremist Heritage Foundation.

Last week Pence carefully orchestrated a reemergence onto the public stage - meeting with evangelic pastors and top donors to lay the groundwork for a potential 2024 bid.

The challenge for Pence is those loyal Trump supporters who are livid with him for recognizing Biden's win despite Trump's urging not to.

Thus far all of Pence's speaking engagements have banned the mainstream media from attending.

But he can't ignore the reality of his total sell-out to Trump, the most unpopular president the nation has ever had.

As time goes on tough questions will dog Pence and he'll find himself trying to defend his pride and manhood.

The fact is there's no good reason for selling one's soul.

Florida Joins Other States Suppressing Voters, Passes New Restrictions

               If it isn't broke why fix it?

According to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis the 2020 election went flawlessly in Florida. No cases of fraud.

Yet, DeSantis is preparing to sign a new voter suppression law imposing restrictions on ballot boxes and mail-in voting.

Despite the push from activists, corporate leaders, and Democrats, voter restriction laws are popping up in Republican controlled states like toxic mushrooms.

This unprecedented effort among states to enact legislation with new hurdles to casting a ballot is the result of Trump supporters who can't accept reality, and that Joe Biden is our president.

According to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, nearly every state has introduced bills like this and at least five have already been enacted.

Republicans admit the last election was successful. but they argued the changes will keep Florida's elections accessible while establishing "guardrails" to prevent potential fraud in the future.

Guardrails for who?

Republicans restricting Democratic voters to ensure a chokehold on the state's politics?

Particularly irksome is the claim Republicans are trying to preserve the sanctity of our elections, when in fact they're busy assaulting our electoral system.

Lawsuits are being filed against states who adopt voter suppression laws. Hopefully they'll be successful in protecting voter's rights.

US Intel Report Says Giuliani Was Lead Facilitator for Russian Effort To Smear Candidate Joe Biden

Trump's fellow traitor Rudy Giuliani got a rude surprise yesterday when the feds raided his Manhattan apartment and seized his cell phone, computer, and other materials.

It's highly unusual for prosecutors to execute a search warrant on a lawyer. There are some exceptions however like Michael Cohen's case.

The warrant described an investigation into possible violation of foreign lobbying laws and and sought communications between Giuliani and people including a former columnist for The Hill, John Solomon.

One cannot help but wondering who else may get swept into this apparently far-reaching investigation.

It's obvious that Giuliani's communications with Trump and his campaign staff from November and December 2020, and January 2021, will be included in the investigation.

Giuliani has been under scrutiny by Manhattan federal prosecutors since early 2019.

But he always had Trump's puppet Bill Barr to stall and even squelch investigations into his traitorous attempt to frame Biden, and helping Russia in it's public disinformation attempts like "Stop The Steal."

That's all changed now because there's a new AG in town; Merrick Garland. He revoked Rudy's free pass and freed-up the prosecutors to finally do their job.

Giuliani faces a wide range of federal crimes, including violations of the federal election and lobbying laws, as well as money laundering.

Former Senator Claire McCaskill got it right when she told Brian Williams that Giuliani was a "treasonous traitor" who was working directly with a hostile power - Russia - to undermine our democracy.

Republican Playbook: Performers Not Policy-Makers

When was the last time you heard Trump or any of his minions push actual policies as opposed to rewarding personalities with no brains or ethics?

To be a GOP star includes having an abrasive personality, the ability to glibly lie, and a knack for putting on a circus every time they're near a media source.

I had to laugh when Republicans got together earlier this week to plot the way forward as a party. Words like policy were batted around like badminton birdies.

Afterwards the closest the members could come to was a future plan to continue to demonizing the democrats as socialists.

No actual policy. No surprise.

Republican voters have been spoiled with the biggest circus performer in the land, former president Trump.

The idea of putting on a good show was very attractive, especially to former Apprentice fans of Trump.

Following in his footsteps, actors and con men became popular as politicians. Most with no experience, but all ready to perpetrate the BIG LIE.

This extreme strategy failed in the 2020 elections, but Republicans are loath to giving it up because they fear Trump and his rabid base.

Some Republicans know that personality is not as important as making policies. Third-ranked House GOP leader Liz Cheney has said as much in their recent planning session.

Not that it matters. 

The goal for GOP lawmakers is to raise money through extremist members like Devin Nunes - a political hack and traitor (see Ukraine scandal).

As long as people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Jim Jordan, and Josh Hawley are pulling in sizable donations they'll continue to be stars for the party.

Republicans abdicated policies when Trump was elected, choosing to be entertained by a clown con man who is a serial liar.

Until Republicans are able to sever their toxic relationship with Trump cult followers, they're going to be held hostage by a sea of lies.