If American democracy falls on November 5 this bullshit about weather control is only a small taste of what will be shoved down our throats by the theocratic despots who take over on “Day One.” Their MAGA mantra will be scrapped that day and will be replaced by “Believe Us Or Die.” Vote like your life depends on it.
Exactly. Jay is right about foreign press noticing how STOOPID some Americans are. It is such an indictment of our education system that people believe these things and that we elect such stupid people into office. We need an robust educational system that will help graduate people who know how unlikely some of these hoaxes are. It is both pathetic and angering at those who allow this to happen. No country is stronger without a well educated population. Here is Deutsche Welle, explaining in English what some Americans think about the hurricane and fact checking it.
It is shocking and terrifying. My hearts go out to the people who will lose their lives and homes and all of their belongings or family members, because of this disinformation.
I posted this on another Substack, but I don’t think the author appreciated my take on the situation. Anyway, here it is again.
So when I first heard about the “laser beam” conspiracy theory, I laughed so hard that a tear ran down my leg. Surely she had taken fifth grade science and heard about lightning, right? It has long since ceased to be funny. It’s not even laughable the conspiracy theories that the other “they” believe. Sadly, I live in Moscow Marjorie’s district and I cannot wait to vote her out. Even if I’m the only vote I would crawl there to vote for my neighbor’s dog if that was the only other candidate. I did something I have never done before, I googled her. I need to see if she had actually gone to college. I learned that she had, smh. So I now have a conspiracy theory of my own. I believe that the Russian laser beam from the planet urottayurmynd planted a brain worm that actually controlled her body and took her to class. Then “they“ manipulated the computer systems to give her passing grades. And now she’s in illegal alien from out of space trying and failing miserably to pass as a human being. I also think she’s eating the neighbors pet skunks.
Retired climate scientist here. Funny (or not) story: Several years ago—2017–we invited our Texan Trump-supporting neighbors over for dinner on the eve of Hurricane Harvey that battered Houston. When they walked in the door, the mister said, “So, what do you think of all this and climate change?” My answer: “It’s exactly what the science predicts.” That was the last time we talked to them.
Just saw a bumper sticker that reflects our lived reality today: “Everything is a conspiracy theory when you don’t understand how things work.”
On Morning Joe this am, they played a tape of a caller into a radio show, I think, who said that his father in law, a maga, is flat out refusing to accept any aid from FEMA, as it's all some sort of conspiracy. They've tried reasoning with him, sent him info, etc, etc, and he won't budge. The caller flat out called maga a cult.
Remember this line? "I love the poorly educated!". The Orange Felon, speaking about his "base", and one can then readily appreciate that "Jewish space lasers", " 'they' can control the weather", "eating our pets", and the entire corpus of tropes and memes that guide the very limited thought processes of tRump's people have found such fertile ground.
The only "weather modifications" that ever have been put in practice is simple cloud-seeding, which has a near-zero-energy input, compared to -what, the millions or billions of joules required to "create" and "guide" a hurricane over "selected" areas. The mind boggles at the astounding mindlessness that accepts these claims at face value...Jesus wept.
Heartbreaking. I just keep coming back to probably the most crutial thing Walz said during the debate- what the president says matters. It is the crux of all the BS that has gone on since 2016. And nobody has the decency or the balls to stop him
I can’t imagine the feeling of helplessness those who’ve lost loved ones to this cult must experience when shit like this happens. It draws the victim closer to Donald and MAGA because they’re the *only ones telling the real, unvarnished truth*. Meanwhile, those who’ve got to watch it happen are driven further away from them. This is such a cult tactic. Alienate the target from their loved ones. This country is in serious danger right now and I don’t know if people realize it.
There are many folks, as falsely proud as they are ignorant, who live by this philosophy (we don't need no stinking federal gubbment help, we take care of our own), in Appalachian mountains. This is so unfortunate.
I'm really, really, really happy Kamala is running, because America's hot takes about Joe were just too much for him to overcome, but his initiial reaction to the question showed that he is still sharp as hell. He laughed at first. May not have wanted to. Definitely not a scripted reaction, either way. HIs response the other day about jumping back into the race was also gold.
History is going to be very, very kind to Joe Biden, assuming MAGA doesn't win and remove him from the history books.
Sadly, I have a family member who texted me the day after the hurricane with the story about the land grab and even sent “proof” by sharing weather manipulation patents. The QAnon echo chamber works quickly.
I would counter that calling this trash “misinformation” implies they are innocent in passing the information, which is not accurate. This is a major disinformation campaign and should be disqualifying. But then again, everything he does should be disqualifying.
My SIL is convinced that the government controls the weather. Of course, she also believes in lizard people and all the other insane Q stuff. My husband and his other siblings just shake their heads. (Edited for out of control typing.)
I understand your point, but I don’t think we should get bogged down in semantics. There are good leaders and really terrible ones. Putin leads Russia, Orban leads Hungary, Trump leads the GOP. We may not like it, but that is where we are.
We need to stop acting like science is something you believe in! It is NOT a religion! Either you understand science or you don’t. We need to elect people who UNDERSTAND science!
"Notably, however, when Democrats presented the North Carolina legislature, which has a GOP supermajority, with a proposal to extend the time for affected voters to register and to allow absentee votes more time to arrive, not a single GOP legislator voted in favor of it."
This is a good example of Repubs in NC in some rural areas. (Cut of your nose to spite your face Christians, lol.) I would say maybe 30-40%.
I want to let you know about the other 60%. This storm brought unparalleled death and destruction in the Western NC and Northern TN mountains. There are still hundreds missing. Entire families, stores, Urgent Care, you name it were washed into the slurry bounding down the hills at an inescapeable pace. I saw where entire 3 BR homes were floating down the rivriver intact.
That other 60% has responded with caravans of average Carolinians taking food, paper supplies, drinks, medical supplies, you name it to the effected area. I just passed a caravan from Eastern NC today and multiple trucks/trailers loaded with generators, bbackhoes, other grading equipment, and workers. All these are volunteers rushing in to comfort, rescue, and provide care. Some are sponsored by churches. The drive can be up to 6 hours. This response is on top of the stellar response by FEMA, the NC Govenor, his staff, and many contracted repair personnel from NC Guard and US Mulitary. I am just so humbled by the empathy, the outpouring of money, goods. And time by average N Carolinians.
To have a few notorious politicians use this as a chance to benefit only themself is a travesty. It is so disrespectful and a slap in the face to fellow human beings in misery.
One woman I heard waited for a week for them to find her only child, a son about 23 y.o. he was found, and had succumbed to the storm. There are many stories like these, I feel so deeply for these people.
Thank you Jay. I have a legal question: Can trump, vance, musk, mtg be prosecuted for spreading misinformation about 1) FEMA and Hurricane Milton, and 2) Venezuelan Immigrants in PA who are here legally seeking asylum and are contributing to the economy by working hard and living peaceful lives? The Haitian American community in Springfield Ohio has already filed a law suit against them.
No, there’s not any grounds for prosecution. Saying a lie isn’t illegal. Stochastic terrorism isn’t even illegal. That’s the breadth of protection the First Amendment offers.
Ge rid of all the immigrants . . . then the MAGAs will have to do all the low-paying but also tax income, hard work that immigrants do to help keep the country running. Who cleans your bathroom, Elon?
Unless the President who has been given immunity by the SCOTUS decides to instruct the DoJ to shut down a broadcaster, say CNN, because it says things he doesn’t like or “fake news” as he likes to call it?
If “they” control the weather then they’re pretty damn smart and have my vote.
But seriously, MTG doesn’t think at all. If “they” actually had that power, why didn’t “they” send rains during the summer months to put out the wildfires ravaging the blue PNW states? I suppose because the Jewish Space Lasers were too powerful.
This makes me so sad. It's the end of my understanding of how the world is supposed to work. I can no longer create a vision of what we will do if Harris does not win this election. I can barely imagine the work involved just countering the insanity from these crazies when she does. It's all just so disheartening. I'm of that GD generation that thought we were moving toward peace and love.
If we could control the weather, this storm would have been centered on Mar-a-Lago!
If American democracy falls on November 5 this bullshit about weather control is only a small taste of what will be shoved down our throats by the theocratic despots who take over on “Day One.” Their MAGA mantra will be scrapped that day and will be replaced by “Believe Us Or Die.” Vote like your life depends on it.
It won't even exist any more. Project 2025 will see to that as it eliminates NOAA and FEMA.
In the name of fair and balanced news, I gotta say that a storm cloud raining elephant dung seems to follow the human cesspool wherever he goes.
Honestly, I was hoping he was dumb and stubborn enough to stay at Mar-a-Lago to weather out the hurricane. And I don't even feel bad about it.
Exactly. Jay is right about foreign press noticing how STOOPID some Americans are. It is such an indictment of our education system that people believe these things and that we elect such stupid people into office. We need an robust educational system that will help graduate people who know how unlikely some of these hoaxes are. It is both pathetic and angering at those who allow this to happen. No country is stronger without a well educated population. Here is Deutsche Welle, explaining in English what some Americans think about the hurricane and fact checking it.
https://www.dw.com/en/ahead-of-us-elections-disinformation-on-hurricanes-spiralling/a-70459827?maca=en-newsletter_en_bulletin-2097-xml-newsletter&at_medium=Newsletter&at_campaign=EN%20-%20Daily%20Bulletin&at_dw_language=en&at_number=20241010&r=67371142376962691&lid=3143791&pm_ln=269615
It is shocking and terrifying. My hearts go out to the people who will lose their lives and homes and all of their belongings or family members, because of this disinformation.
I posted this on another Substack, but I don’t think the author appreciated my take on the situation. Anyway, here it is again.
So when I first heard about the “laser beam” conspiracy theory, I laughed so hard that a tear ran down my leg. Surely she had taken fifth grade science and heard about lightning, right? It has long since ceased to be funny. It’s not even laughable the conspiracy theories that the other “they” believe. Sadly, I live in Moscow Marjorie’s district and I cannot wait to vote her out. Even if I’m the only vote I would crawl there to vote for my neighbor’s dog if that was the only other candidate. I did something I have never done before, I googled her. I need to see if she had actually gone to college. I learned that she had, smh. So I now have a conspiracy theory of my own. I believe that the Russian laser beam from the planet urottayurmynd planted a brain worm that actually controlled her body and took her to class. Then “they“ manipulated the computer systems to give her passing grades. And now she’s in illegal alien from out of space trying and failing miserably to pass as a human being. I also think she’s eating the neighbors pet skunks.
LOL I think this theory holds water! And MTG is definitely a skunk eater :)
Retired climate scientist here. Funny (or not) story: Several years ago—2017–we invited our Texan Trump-supporting neighbors over for dinner on the eve of Hurricane Harvey that battered Houston. When they walked in the door, the mister said, “So, what do you think of all this and climate change?” My answer: “It’s exactly what the science predicts.” That was the last time we talked to them.
Just saw a bumper sticker that reflects our lived reality today: “Everything is a conspiracy theory when you don’t understand how things work.”
On Morning Joe this am, they played a tape of a caller into a radio show, I think, who said that his father in law, a maga, is flat out refusing to accept any aid from FEMA, as it's all some sort of conspiracy. They've tried reasoning with him, sent him info, etc, etc, and he won't budge. The caller flat out called maga a cult.
Remember this line? "I love the poorly educated!". The Orange Felon, speaking about his "base", and one can then readily appreciate that "Jewish space lasers", " 'they' can control the weather", "eating our pets", and the entire corpus of tropes and memes that guide the very limited thought processes of tRump's people have found such fertile ground.
The only "weather modifications" that ever have been put in practice is simple cloud-seeding, which has a near-zero-energy input, compared to -what, the millions or billions of joules required to "create" and "guide" a hurricane over "selected" areas. The mind boggles at the astounding mindlessness that accepts these claims at face value...Jesus wept.
I wonder if it would help to use Moscow Marjorie as the cloud seed. Just shove her out and she can fix everything on her way down.
I bookmarked that clip this AM. Here it is if y’all want to see it. It’s utterly heartbreaking.
https://youtu.be/3wzW8fHaRmA
Heartbreaking. I just keep coming back to probably the most crutial thing Walz said during the debate- what the president says matters. It is the crux of all the BS that has gone on since 2016. And nobody has the decency or the balls to stop him
I can’t imagine the feeling of helplessness those who’ve lost loved ones to this cult must experience when shit like this happens. It draws the victim closer to Donald and MAGA because they’re the *only ones telling the real, unvarnished truth*. Meanwhile, those who’ve got to watch it happen are driven further away from them. This is such a cult tactic. Alienate the target from their loved ones. This country is in serious danger right now and I don’t know if people realize it.
There are many folks, as falsely proud as they are ignorant, who live by this philosophy (we don't need no stinking federal gubbment help, we take care of our own), in Appalachian mountains. This is so unfortunate.
Just like people dying of covid and disbelieving it until their last breath…hades is not hot enough for these conspiracy spreading loons.
I'm really, really, really happy Kamala is running, because America's hot takes about Joe were just too much for him to overcome, but his initiial reaction to the question showed that he is still sharp as hell. He laughed at first. May not have wanted to. Definitely not a scripted reaction, either way. HIs response the other day about jumping back into the race was also gold.
History is going to be very, very kind to Joe Biden, assuming MAGA doesn't win and remove him from the history books.
When he was president, Trump did try to control the weather - with a Sharpie.
Sadly, I have a family member who texted me the day after the hurricane with the story about the land grab and even sent “proof” by sharing weather manipulation patents. The QAnon echo chamber works quickly.
I would counter that calling this trash “misinformation” implies they are innocent in passing the information, which is not accurate. This is a major disinformation campaign and should be disqualifying. But then again, everything he does should be disqualifying.
Yeah, misinformation is an honest mistake. Disinformation is on purpose, for a reason.
My SIL is convinced that the government controls the weather. Of course, she also believes in lizard people and all the other insane Q stuff. My husband and his other siblings just shake their heads. (Edited for out of control typing.)
This list of patents has appeared on U.K. based SM too. Goodness knows what they think it proves.
I wish everyone would just simply call them LIES. Calling it "misinformation" is misleading!
I suppose she thinks if trump could do it we can too. Perhaps we're not using the right Sharpie.
/snark, of course.
Perhaps a different word for politicians other than “leaders?” What the said isn’t leadership. It’s lying. Let’s be blunt. Elected Political Liars.
I understand your point, but I don’t think we should get bogged down in semantics. There are good leaders and really terrible ones. Putin leads Russia, Orban leads Hungary, Trump leads the GOP. We may not like it, but that is where we are.
Unfortunately true
We need to stop acting like science is something you believe in! It is NOT a religion! Either you understand science or you don’t. We need to elect people who UNDERSTAND science!
That would be Harris and Walz.
"Notably, however, when Democrats presented the North Carolina legislature, which has a GOP supermajority, with a proposal to extend the time for affected voters to register and to allow absentee votes more time to arrive, not a single GOP legislator voted in favor of it."
This is a good example of Repubs in NC in some rural areas. (Cut of your nose to spite your face Christians, lol.) I would say maybe 30-40%.
I want to let you know about the other 60%. This storm brought unparalleled death and destruction in the Western NC and Northern TN mountains. There are still hundreds missing. Entire families, stores, Urgent Care, you name it were washed into the slurry bounding down the hills at an inescapeable pace. I saw where entire 3 BR homes were floating down the rivriver intact.
That other 60% has responded with caravans of average Carolinians taking food, paper supplies, drinks, medical supplies, you name it to the effected area. I just passed a caravan from Eastern NC today and multiple trucks/trailers loaded with generators, bbackhoes, other grading equipment, and workers. All these are volunteers rushing in to comfort, rescue, and provide care. Some are sponsored by churches. The drive can be up to 6 hours. This response is on top of the stellar response by FEMA, the NC Govenor, his staff, and many contracted repair personnel from NC Guard and US Mulitary. I am just so humbled by the empathy, the outpouring of money, goods. And time by average N Carolinians.
To have a few notorious politicians use this as a chance to benefit only themself is a travesty. It is so disrespectful and a slap in the face to fellow human beings in misery.
One woman I heard waited for a week for them to find her only child, a son about 23 y.o. he was found, and had succumbed to the storm. There are many stories like these, I feel so deeply for these people.
What a bunch of morons.
We are living in outrageous and absurd times. Thanks for this piece. Rep. Jackson's message was great, and I enjoyed the Jimmy Kimmel video.
Thank you Jay. I have a legal question: Can trump, vance, musk, mtg be prosecuted for spreading misinformation about 1) FEMA and Hurricane Milton, and 2) Venezuelan Immigrants in PA who are here legally seeking asylum and are contributing to the economy by working hard and living peaceful lives? The Haitian American community in Springfield Ohio has already filed a law suit against them.
No, there’s not any grounds for prosecution. Saying a lie isn’t illegal. Stochastic terrorism isn’t even illegal. That’s the breadth of protection the First Amendment offers.
Ge rid of all the immigrants . . . then the MAGAs will have to do all the low-paying but also tax income, hard work that immigrants do to help keep the country running. Who cleans your bathroom, Elon?
Elon is an immigrant himself.
Maybe he does it himself?
Unless the President who has been given immunity by the SCOTUS decides to instruct the DoJ to shut down a broadcaster, say CNN, because it says things he doesn’t like or “fake news” as he likes to call it?
Far fetched? I hope so.
If “they” control the weather then they’re pretty damn smart and have my vote.
But seriously, MTG doesn’t think at all. If “they” actually had that power, why didn’t “they” send rains during the summer months to put out the wildfires ravaging the blue PNW states? I suppose because the Jewish Space Lasers were too powerful.
This makes me so sad. It's the end of my understanding of how the world is supposed to work. I can no longer create a vision of what we will do if Harris does not win this election. I can barely imagine the work involved just countering the insanity from these crazies when she does. It's all just so disheartening. I'm of that GD generation that thought we were moving toward peace and love.