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Tommy Carcetti

Tommy Carcetti's Journal
Tommy Carcetti's Journal
September 22, 2022

For those keeping score at home:

Trump mentally declassified the documents that the FBI planted on him, which were in fact Hillary Clinton’s emails.

I’m sure several additional layers of bullshit will be added on over the coming weeks.

September 21, 2022

"Great, well there goes my weekend plans."

Said the sole DOJ employee charged with investigating all allegations regarding Donald Trump.


September 7, 2022

BREAKING NEWS: Legally embattled Trump lands in Puerto Rico, demands asylum

Facing an ever-increasing number of mounting legal woes—from the investigation into the January 6th insurrection to the recent FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago property revealing top secret documents in his possession—former President Donald Trump arrived in Puerto Rico today, demanding he be granted “full and complete political asylum” by authorities in that United States territory.

“Because I have been treated so unfairly and so terribly by the laws of the United States—from the Russia hoax to the Ukraine hoax to the January 6th hoax and now this document hoax—I hereby request that I immediately be given total asylum and protection here in the free and independent sovereign nation of Puerto Rico,” Trump said while standing in front of the staircase leading to his chartered jet parked on the tarmac of San Juan’s Luis Munoz Marin International Airport. “Also commonly referred to as ‘Water Mexico.’”

“Water Mexico,” Trump reiterated. “A lot of people like to call it that. Myself included. But lots of people do.”

When asked why he specifically chose to flee to Puerto Rico as his destination for asylum, Trump claimed “they pretty much owe it to me.”

“You may recall that when I was President, Puerto Rico was hit by a terrible, terrible storm,” Trump explained. “It was called Hurricane Katrina. And as the winds howled and the waters raged, at risk to my own life I personally came in to hand deliver critical supplies, saving the lives of hundreds—if not thousands—of Puerto Ricites.”

Trump appeared to be referring to 2017’s Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm that devastated the island. As President, Trump did not visit until several weeks after the storm. During his trip, he harshly criticized local authorities for perceived disloyalty to him and participated in a widely-mocked photo opportunity where he threw rolls of paper towels at relief workers.

Nonetheless, at present date the former President appeared to maintain a gracious attitude towards his new island host, which has been a Commonwealth subject to U.S. laws since its annexation in 1898 following the Spanish-American War.

“As a newly-minted Puerto Ricoer, I very much look forward to sampling some of the local cuisine, such as their famed Taco Bowl,” Trump said. “Which might not measure up to the Trump Tower Taco Bowls, but then again, very few do.”

“And also the Choco Taco,” he quickly added.

Trump also said he was looking forward to engaging in some of Puerto Rico’s native customs and traditions, of which he listed “waterskiing” and “the hotel breakfast bar” as specific examples.

Trump then launched into a narrative where he praised the “democratic spirit” of the island.

“Remember that for years, Puerto Rico suffered under the oppressive regime of Fidel Castro,” Trump said. “Until one Cinco of Mayo, Puerto Ricovillians proclaimed in one loud voice ‘Uno mas!’ and rose up and overthrew that brutal dictator. It’s true. They even made a musical about it. It’s called Evita.”

The Former President said he felt optimistic he would be greeted warmly and with open arms in the U.S. territory.

“I am confident that in virtually no time, I will join the ranks of Puerto Rico’s most beloved native citizens,” Trump proclaimed. “Such as the great and legendary singer Bob Marley.”

After his remarks at the airport, Trump asked locals where he should go to make his official request for asylum. He was promptly directed to the address of the local FBI field office in San Juan.

DETAILS AT ELEVEN.


August 26, 2022

DU EXCLUSIVE: Transcript of alleged "Swatting" call to 911 regarding Marjorie Taylor Greene

[Note: On August 24, 2022, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene alleged she was the victim of a so-called "Swatting" call to 911. "Swatting" is a tactic where a anonymous emergency call is made alerting police to a fake crisis situation at the victim's residence, resulting in a team of Special Weapons and Tactical--or SWAT--being called to respond to the situation and potentially endangering the victim. In the interests of full public disclosure, local authorities have made the decision to release the following transcript of the full and complete call at issue.]

[Call begins]

Dispatch (D): 911. What’s your emergency?

Caller (C): (in heavily affected deep male voice) Yes, this is Adolph Stalin. I’m the Grand Dragon Wizard and Executive Vice Secretary Treasurer of Antifa, Incorporated. “Allauh Akbar,” that’s our slogan. We love to eat your babies.

D: That’s not really important right now. Do you have an actual emergency to report?

C: Yes, I would like to report that Greene Lady.

D: I’m sorry. You’d like to report…a green lady? I don’t quite understand.

C: Yes! That Greene Lady! You know—Marjorie Taylor Greene? That Congresswoman who loves America and freedom so much and hilariously owning the libs. I’d like to report her.

D: Well, why? What is she doing?

C: Oh, I’m pretty sure she’s praying, and flying her flag, and eating real meat. And as we all know, President Sleepy Joe Biden—who I very much support—has expressly made all those things illegal and punishable by death. So, it’s my God-given duty by law to report her. Even though I actually hate God. Hail Satan!

D: Okay, ma’am…or, err, sir—

C: Hey! Hey! None of that pronoun nonsense there! I’m transgressive!

D: Yes, you most certainly are. Anyways, none of those things are actually illegal, so unless you have an actual emergency to report—

C: Fine, fine! She has guns!

D: So, you’re saying she’s armed?

C: Yes, she’s heavily armed. I heard she has all sorts of AR-15s. Which libtards like me think means “assault rifle,” but actually means “Armalite,” and that one fact alone automatically disqualifies us from ever discussing any sort of gun control. Ha-ha! Owned!

D: Again, that’s not really important. But you do say she has guns.

C: She has guns, and she intends to use them according to the true intended purpose of the 2nd Amendment, which everyone knows is to support the overthrow of a government that they believe has become tyrannical.

D: I copy. So, you say Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is heavily armed and is seeking to overthrow the government.

C: Yes.

D: Very well. I’ll send someone over—

C: Wait! Wait! Did I say that? I didn’t mean to say that! That would just be silly and wrong.

D: I do believe it would be very wrong, yes.

C: But anyways, she does have guns and you should send the Gazpacho to her house right now.

D: The Gazpacho?

C: Yes, the Gazpacho. You know, the guys with all the guns and clubs and stuff.

D: You want me to send her soup?

C: Oh, you think you’re funny, don’t you? A real regular Catturd, eh?

D: I honestly don’t know who that is.

C: Of course you wouldn’t. Just send the police, okay? She’s doing some really terrible stuff over at her house. A real Peach Tree Dish of illegality.

D: And where are you right now at the moment?

C: I’m at the house next door, 5382 [REDACTED] Street.

D: Okay, I’m looking that up and…well, my records show that 5382 [REDACTED] Street is actually Congresswoman Taylor Greene’s house.

C: Dammit! I’m so terrible at numbers! You have to understand, nobody ever taught me math at school. They were too busy teaching me Critical Race Theory, all so that I could go to college and major in 19th Century Black Gay Women’s Theoretical Historical Contemplative Clay Basket Weaving History Theory. And now you get to pay for my education, sucker! Loser!

D: Thank you. Anything else?

C: Just so the police should know, Congresswoman Taylor Greene is, like, super strong and physically fit. I heard she goes to Crossfit all the time to work out. And when she goes there, all the men at the Crossfit club are like, “Oh, she’s so hot.” And then they’re like, “Yeah, but I heard she’s married.” But then they all say, “Sure, but I heard she’s more than willing to overlook that little fact, wink-wink”—

D: All right, that’s enough. Anything else I should know?

C: Do you want to hear about the Rothschild Family’s nefarious plan to launch lasers into space in order to ignite forest fires around the globe?

D: Not really, no.

C: Then no.

D: Okay, and just for the record, what is your address again, so that police can get a statement from you?

C: It’s 5382 [REDACTED] Street.

D: Very good. I’ll send the police over there right away.

C: No, wait, shit—

[Line disconnects]
August 15, 2022

BREAKING NEWS: New upstart venture Trump Nuclear announces start of business operations

Shockwaves reverberated all across the Military-Industrial Complex as word of a new player in the game of nuclear weapons was announced. But in a twist, this newest player has a very familiar name to it.

Today, the Trump Organization publicly announced the founding of its newest business venture, Trump Nuclear, which it says will focus on the research, development, production, marketing and distribution of nuclear energy, materials and weaponry across the globe.

“We’re here to offer our clients a variety of the finest products in fission technology,” a Trump Organization spokesperson said. “From specialized battlefield tactical nukes all the way up to massive thermonuclear hydrogen bombs, we aim to please by delivering products that not only provide maximum explosive firepower, but do so with the utmost level of panache and class.”

Trump Nuclear said their mission was to change the way countries and paramilitary organizations looked at nuclear proliferation, and to remove the red tape typically associated with development of such weapons by outsourcing it to the private sector, thus allowing a stress-free environment for those seeking to gain an added advantage in global geopolitics.

“And we’re going to have some fun with it, too,” the spokesperson enthused. “People think ‘nuclear weapons’ and they think dull, drab olive-green mechanical devices. Trump Nuclear is going to change that completely. All of our weaponry is going to come in a choice of silver, gold or platinum coating, signifying that the person detonating it will spare no expense in annihilating his or her sworn enemies.”

“And we’re going to have guaranteed two-day shipping for all products!” he added.

While the official grand opening of Trump Nuclear isn’t scheduled to take place until sometime this fall, the company has already been quietly been doing business on a beta-test level for several months. Trump Nuclear officials state that plans to develop the company began at some point in early 2021.

So far, sources say a review of the list of Trump Nuclear’s clients reveals both some familiar and expected names as well as some surprises.

“North Korea, Russia, and Saudi Arabia all have made inquiries,” one intelligence official said. “Also, Iran, which is a bit of a surprise given the level of antagonism that existed during the Trump administration. But I think the Trump Nuclear thinking on Iran is that if you can’t beat them, supply them.”

But not all countries looking to do business with Trump Nuclear were traditional rogue powers.

“There were a few names that came completely out of left field,” the intelligence official noted. “For example, Liechtenstein! That’s right—Liechtenstein! You can’t blame them, though. Little people wanting to think big. And when I say ‘little people,’ I’m not just speaking metaphorically. Honestly, I don’t think there was a Liechtensteiner government representative over 5 foot 8 at the sales pitch meeting.”

Besides officially recognized governmental entities, several paramilitary organizations and unrecognized nation states also have already sought out the services of Trump Nuclear. Representatives from the Islamic State, the Donetsk People’s Republic in Eastern Ukraine, and a confederation of separatist militias from Eastern Oregon have all either already purchased materials from Trump Nuclear or have inquired about doing so.

While the entry of Trump Nuclear into the weapons of mass destruction market has undoubtedly created a tremendous level of excitement, many questions still remain about the actual quality and effectiveness of the products being sold. Even Trump Nuclear has admitted that not all customers have been satisfied with the inventory stock so far.

“We have received at least one complaint so far,” a company spokesperson said. “Specifically, from the East Oregonian Nationalists. Apparently, the Donald Junior Tactical Explosive Device they had purchased from us failed to detonate outside the gate of a National Guard installation near Pendleton. And yes, they were initially quite upset about that. However, we reached out to them and quickly assuaged their concerns. They’re now currently at the top of the waiting list for the new Ivanka Boosted Fission Weapon that’s due out in December. Just in time for Christmas!”

Initial product related hiccups or not, one thing is certainly undeniable: Trump Nuclear wants to make a huge impact on consumers that they say will translate into a true game-changer when it comes Mutually Assured Worldwide Destruction.

“We’ve all seen the power of the Trump name,” the spokesperson said. “Whether it is casinos, steaks, vodka, airlines, universities or any number of products whose stories exemplify the unparalleled level of business success of the Trump Organization throughout the years, we could think of no product more fitting to bring it all to a fantastic conclusion than a Trump Nuclear weapon.”

DETAILS AT ELEVEN.

August 9, 2022

BREAKING NEWS: Trump makes impromptu 2024 announcement as federal agents search his estate

Approximately 20 minutes after first receiving word that his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida was in the process of being searched by FBI agents pursuant to a court-executed search warrant, former President Donald Trump formally announced he was seeking the Republican nomination for President in 2024.

Attempting to recapture the atmosphere of his original campaign announcement back in June 2015, Trump was seen once again descending down the golden escalator in his Manhattan office tower. A lone staffer stood behind him, holding up his phone upright and playing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” at maximum volume, until it was interrupted by a paid ad for eczema relief medication. Down at the base of the escalator, several employees of the Trump Ice Cream Parlor were marshalled out by Trump staff, who forcibly placed red “Make America Great Again” hats on their heads and instructed them to act as loyal supporters.

The former President took to a podium featuring a white cardboard placard with “Trump 2024” crudely written on it in black Sharpie marker. Wearing a white Trump National Golf Club Bedminster golf shirt featuring what appeared to be several prominent ketchup stains on it, staffers quickly placed a black blazer over Trump’s shoulders and a loosely knotted red necktie around his neck as he begun his speech.

“Today, at this moment, this very moment right now, exactly right now, I am announcing that I am once again seeking to become your President in order to make America great again,” Trump declared. “And of course, that means I am now officially by law and under threat of prosecution for treason exempt and immune from any sort of fake and phony law enforcement investigation of any kind, and that anyone wishing to conduct some ridiculous and baseless witch hunt must stop immediately.”

“I mean, as in right this very second,” he added to affect.

When one of the few members of the media who had managed to arrive at Trump Tower—given the short notice of the announcement—asked Trump as to what possible basis he had to make such a claim, the former President retorted that it was “in the Constitution” and that “a lot of people don’t know it’s in the Constitution, but it’s right there, right next to, you know, that other thing.”

One awkward moment occurred early on when Trump turned to acknowledge his family, only to realize that the only individual present was his younger daughter Tiffany, who appeared to have been brought on stage by Trump’s handlers without any prior knowledge or awareness as to why she was there.

“Oh, great, they brought f__g Tiffany, my least favorite kid,” the former President remarked, seemingly unaware that his comments were being captured by the microphone. “Tiffany. Great f__g job, guys. Really great. You couldn’t have tried a little harder to get someone in my family who actually f__g matters? Whatever. Let’s just get this done with, okay?”

It was later learned that Trump’s older daughter Ivanka was in Cayman Islands with her husband, Jared Kushner; eldest son Donald Trump, Jr. was reportedly vacationing in Culiacan, Mexico while his brother Eric was spending the week at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in nearby Jackson, New Jersey.

Reports say that Trump’s wife Melania could not make the announcement due to a previously scheduled conflict with her tennis pro lessons, and their son Barron simply expressed no interest in leaving his room to be at his father’s side for the event.

Expectedly, Trump’s speech was rather light on policy specifics, with one notable exception, as he expressed a desire to “defund the police.”

“But you know, just those ones,” Trump quickly added. “You know, the one’s down there now. Down there at Mar-a-Lago. Defund them. Like right now, okay? Time for them to go home. Time for them to go bye-bye.”

Trump also took time to attack potential GOP rivals for the 2024 nomination, although he appeared to struggle to come up with some of his patented nicknames that he frequently likes to give opponents.

“Let’s face it, I am the only one in the Republican Party who stands a chance to beat Old Sleepy Joe Biden in 2024,” the former President proclaimed. “Who else could they possibly get? Ron DeSantis? Ron…Ron…um…Ron...Ronny…Runny…Little Runny Ronny DeSantis? Give me a break.”

Despite the haphazard and impromptu nature of the announcement, Trump nonetheless managed to speak for roughly two and a half hours in rambling, scattershot fashion, covering a wide myriad of subjects such as gruesome and graphic descriptions of murders purportedly committed by undocumented immigrants, windmills, the “most beautiful” chocolate cake he served at Mar-a-Lago, why he would never enter a bicycle race, sex parties held on yachts owned by his late friend William Levitt, the “genius” of Vladimir Putin who once gave him a “most dazzling” soccer ball, windmills again, and the extreme hazards of walking down a 10 degree inclined ramp after addressing cadets at West Point.

Besides the announcement itself, the one other major surprise coming out of the former President’s speech was his proclamation that he had already chosen a running mate: his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Meadows was present at Trump’s announcement, although—much like Tiffany Trump—it appears he was procured there against his will and that he was not previously aware that the former President would be announcing his campaign that day or that he would be naming him as his running mate.

While the selection of a running mate typically does not occur until after a candidate has at least unofficially clinched his or her party’s nomination and around the time of the party’s convention, Trump said it was necessary to buck such traditions because of what he deemed “urgent circumstances.”

Specifically, Trump insisted without explanation that like Presidential candidates, Vice Presidential candidates are also immune from any and all prosecution. Furthermore, Trump claimed any and all conversations he has ever had--and will ever have--with Meadows are protected by what he termed as “Presidential-Vice Presidential privilege,” thus prohibiting Meadows from ever being compelled to testify against Trump under any circumstances.

“It’s right there in the Constitution,” Trump said.

DETAILS AT ELEVEN.

July 22, 2022

That Bannon verdict came in so quickly...

...you'd think Josh Hawley was hand delivering it himself.

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all night.

July 20, 2022

The Republican nominee for US Senate in Maryland appears to be functionally illiterate. Not joking.

His name is Chris Chaffee. He also ran for US Senate in 2016 and 2018 (placing twice both times in the Republican primary) and for Congress against Steny Hoyer in 2014 (where he was the Republican candidate in the General).

He doesn't even have a campaign website. He does, however, have a Facebook page, a Twitter page (with a grand total of 189 followers to date), and Ric Flair's hairstylist from 1987.

Despite a lack of any sort of visibility or publicity, he has so far managed to capture 41,567 votes (with additional mail in votes to be counted), nearly twice as many as his closest competitor.

And if you go to his social media pages, his positions are...well, one might charitably describe as "interesting."

Remember the famous joke from The Simpsons showing a cut-away of a newspaper article about Grandpa Abe Simpson titled "Old Man Yells At Cloud?"?



Well, that literally is him. Not even joking. He hates those clouds. There's something in those clouds.







He also thinks that the First Trump Impeachment was brought on by an unnamed "Foreign Country":



And--not surprisingly--he has a lot to say about the 2020 elections and the January 6th insurrection:







Now, barring a massive scandal or unspeakable turn of events, should incumbent US Senator Jeff Van Hollen wipe the floor with Chaffee come November? Absolutely.

But will thousands of Maryland Republicans still vote for Chaffee despite the fact he's a conspiracy theorist who struggles to put a comprehensible sentence into written form? Sadly, also yes.

And it's just another example of a fringe joke candidate gaining full acceptance in today's Trumpist Republican Party. In 2020, the Republican nominee for Senate in the Delaware general election was Lauren Witzke, an open and avowed White Supremacist. She lost her election, but somehow still got over 37% of the electorate to vote for her. Not an inconsequential number.

And Maryland's Republican Party, after having its most successful 8 years in recent history with Governor Larry Hogan--a moderate who openly disavowed Trump--shows that it has no interest in building on that success. Their gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox is an anti-vaxer who has spoken at Q-Anon sponsored conferences. Their attorney general candidate Michael Peroutka is a neo-Confederate. And now we have Chris "What's in the Clouds" Chaffee as their candidate for US Senate.

God help us. Our fringe candidates are no longer on the fringes.

June 14, 2022

Well, that was demoralizing: A lunchtime anecdote.

Decided to get something for lunch at the Chinese place down the street. Figured I would go early to avoid the crowds given the ongoing health situation.

I get to the place around 11:45 and predictably it's almost completely empty. Just me, the waitstaff and two other customers sitting at a table.

I take a seat sufficiently spaced from the two other customers; however, because there's no one else in the restaurant, I can still hear their discussions rather clearly.

It's two men. They look most likely to be in their 70s, and they're dressed as if they had just been out on the golf course. (For all I know, maybe they had.)

And before my eggroll is even brought out, I can already surmise that they're talking politics. And unfortunately, I can't say any of it is good politics, either.

My back is turned to them, so I don't know who is saying what. They do seem to be in agreement with one another, though. It's not a debate of any sort.

And while I can't say I heard them word for word, I can hear various snippets here and there. And all of it underscores a rather sobering truth that's been plaguing us for at least six years, if not longer.

And that truth is that there are plenty of Americans who will just repeat whatever crazy disinformation they've heard without questioning it for a nanosecond if it reinforces their beliefs.

"Did you know that Adam Schiff's niece is married to George Soros' son?"

"Trump offered Nancy Pelosi 20,000 National Guard troops the day before January 6th but she refused them."


And there were a couple of other wonderful nuggets of "Did you know..." information that Old Golf Dude 1 conveyed to Old Golf Dude 2--or visa versa--that I heard as well.

What's so tragic is that it literally takes less a minute to debunk both of those stories. It's so incredibly easy.

I'm presuming this is the one about Schiff and Soros:

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/oct/11/viral-image/no-george-soross-son-isnt-married-adam-schiffs-sis/

And here's the one about the supposed 20,000 National Guard troops offered by Trump:

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/jun/13/sean-hannity/no-evidence-pelosi-rejected-trumps-authorization-2/

But we have people in this country who will refuse to listen to any sort of fact checking. And if you do bring up fact checking, they'll just claim it's biased and summarily dismiss it.

What they will do, however, is to continue to repeat these lies, even after they know it's all lies. And why? Because they don't want to rock their own precious little world.

Now, this was just two septuagenarian golfing buddies talking in a nearly-deserted Chinese restaurant. Given the demographics of my particular area, I think it wouldn't be too hard to cancel them out.

But nonetheless, that we have people in 2022 who still casually act as conduits of disinformation, who repeat lies at will without any effort to determine their veracity, is extremely sobering and depressing.

After the 2016 election, the amount of viral disinformation being spread all came to light front and center. If there was ever a time for people who were susceptible to these things to reconsider, we've had six years to do that.

But far too many of them haven't done anything in terms of logic, discernment and investigation of the things they hear. Nothing.

If I were someone of a different personality, I would have walked right up to the golfing buddies and read them the riot act, show them how they were wrong and how stupid it was for them just to bullshit-in, bullshit-out without so much as a second thought.

I'm not that type of person though.

On my way out of the restaurant as I passed them, I did mutter--and not inaudibly, either--"You guys are full of shit."

I don't know if they heard me. And even if they did, I don't know if it would have made any difference at all.

My fortune cookie for lunch read, "Pleasant experiences make life delightful. Painful experiences lead to growth."

And yet, six years post Trump, I see very little growth from the people who need it most.

May 18, 2022

Serious question: Was former DUer Catherina some sort of Russian disinfo op?

Normally, I don't give much thought about long gone DUers, but I was searching Twitter and I came upon an old--and yet very familiar--Twitter handle: @Catherina_News

@Catherina_News was the Twitter handle for an individual who posted here at DU between 2008 and 2015 under the name Catherina. During that time period she posted over 35,000 times and grew quite the following here at DU, with many fans and admirers calling for her opinion and take on various topics. I can recall more than one "Catherina Appreciation thread."

She wasn't just a regular poster; she was a bit of a board superstar, and she came with her very own fan contingent.

Her focus, however, seemed to be aimed for the most part at various international conflicts that she seemed to pin as overreaching acts of American imperialism. First it was Libya, then it was Syria, and finally it was Ukraine.

Either coincidentally, or very much not, Catherina's take seemed to closely mirror a lot of talking points on Russian state media. This particularly became very prominent towards the end when she weighed in on news surrounding the 2014 Maidan revolution in Ukraine, the subsequent Russia's seizure and annexation of Crimea, and the proxy Russian separatist war in Eastern Ukraine that erupted thereafter.

With benefit of 20/20 hindsight (or is it 2022 hindsight?) we can see how much of Catherina's positions on Ukraine here at DU were simply parroting raw Russian disinformation. However, because she came with her own cheering section, a lot of people bought into the information in her posts and repeated it without questioning. And that really put a cloud over events that were happening in Ukraine and Russia during that time period and many DUers' understanding of the situation.

But what was most tragic about the Catherina situation was that even as many DUers seemed to admire her as a vocal advocate against reckless western imperialism, she was on Twitter laying attack against American Democrats and progressives, viewing them as brainless sheep and eviscerating President Obama (who was the sitting president at the time, mind you) in rather plain, unequivocal terms:

https://twitter.com/Catherina_News/status/123757361172189185

https://twitter.com/Catherina_News/status/147483399756587008

https://twitter.com/Catherina_News/status/269472857858383872

https://twitter.com/Catherina_News/status/514784639118884866/photo/1

Meanwhile, she was far, far kinder to the head of the Russian Federation during that same time period:

https://twitter.com/Catherina_News/status/469301888014221312

https://twitter.com/Catherina_News/status/505584740762533888

Anyways, Catherina remained extremely popular with a segment in DU up through the end in 2015 before running into the buzzsaw that was the 2015-16 DU primary wars. She posted this rather obnoxious and self-indulgent GBCW post announcing her departure in November 2015:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10027366316

Now, again with the benefit of hindsight, we know there was a huge amount of Russian originated disinformation that flooded social media and the internet from 2014 and on forward. We know that a lot of this permeated into DU, both as it related to issues about Ukraine-Russia in 2014-15 and about the 2016 presidential election itself (for both primaries and general). We also know that DU was taken down in a DDOS attack for two weeks following the 2016 election. I have no idea who was behind this, and if it was a domestic or a foreign attack, but perhaps the admin knows more?

But about Catherina in particular--and note that I usually don't care about the real-life alter egos of our posters. I do have to wonder what her "deal" was/is, because she did have a rather considerable persuasive hold on a lot of her fellow DUers.

Clearly, one look at her Twitter account (starting with her avatar) seems to indicate she holds Russia in very high esteem and the US in very low esteem. Is this just the case of a very enthusiastic "Tankie" (i.e. an apologist for the Soviet Union and its history)? Or are we looking at some sort of Internet Research Agency/Savushkina Street styled operation here? And is DU even important enough to merit such a targeted operation?

There were not a whole lot of details about Catherina that we knew. A few of her fellow posters claimed she lived somewhere in Latin America or abroad, and that she was supposedly a woman of color. At this point, who knows? Maybe she was. Then again, her close tracking of Russian disinformation does make me wonder.

And for whatever it's worth, the @Catherina_News twitter account mysteriously went silent around September 2014 about the same time many people (including myself) began to note of her anti-Democrat, anti-American progressive postings on Twitter.

It remained silent for 8 years...until a month ago, when the account suddenly began retweeting posts about the war in Ukraine.

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