An Italian comedian named Sabina Guzzanti is facing up to five years in jail for making fun of the Pope. Here's the sort of criticizing of religion that can get you in jail in Italy:
"But then, within 20 years the Pope will be where he ought to be — in Hell, tormented by great big poofter devils, and very active ones, not passive ones."
Keelhauling women for insolence appears to be a common theme in these kind of things.
The same Fox News reporter who on Monday revealed he did not understand some very basic issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, forcing the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki to explain it to him, on Tuesday again failed to grasp some very basic issues surrounding the pandemic, again forcing her to again explain the basics to him.
"Why did the President say, 'If you've been fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask? Let me repeat if you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask,' if it was possible that was going to turn out not to be true?" Fox News' Peter Doocy asked on Tuesday, referring to the news CDC today is expected to tighten mask guidance to include vaccinated people in high-transmissible areas of the country.
"Oh, Peter, I think we're all dealing with an evolving virus where there's no playbook and no historic precedent," Psaki replied, being forced to remind him that viruses mutate, and the direction of pandemics change. "And what the American people should feel confident in is that we are going to continue to be guided by science, look at public health data, in order to provide new guidance, if it's needed to save lives, protect the American people. When he made those comments back in May, we were dealing with a very different strain of the virus than we were than we are today. And Delta is more transmissible. It's spreading much more quickly. It was nearly non-existent in the United States back in May."
Psaki went on to note that in May, when the guidance changed to those who are vaccinated do not need to wear a mask, the Delta variant accounted for just 5% of infections. It is now well over 80% of infections.
The Washington Post just reported those "infected with the delta variant appear to carry a viral load that is 1,000 times higher than earlier versions of the virus, they said, and can easily spread it."
Watch:
Jen Psaki swats away a Peter Doocy gotcha about why Biden didn't have foreknowledge about new Covid variants and ho… https://t.co/70OdVHYpG1— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1627407167.0
A former NYPD cop charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection says he was merely performing a defensive "hockey type of move" when he allegedly tried to gouge a Capitol police officer's eyes.
The claim by Thomas Webster is one of numerous revelations about his case contained in a new report from the New York Times, which chronicles his descent from a highly respected NYPD officer — once assigned to an intelligence detail protecting Mayor Michael Bloomberg — to the insurrectionist who became known as "#EyeGouger."
"Webster said he was not trying to gouge the officer's eyes, but called grabbing his mask a kind of defensive maneuver: 'a hockey type of move type thing where you don't want to fight somebody,'" the Times reports.
@FBIWFO #EyeGouger is wanted for assaulting a police officer and trying to gouge out his eye. If you know this pers… https://t.co/7XupP38oro— Cleavon MD 💉 (@Cleavon MD 💉) 1611983855.0
Webster's former NYPD colleagues told the Times they were shocked to learn that he committed one of the more violent attacks during the insurrection, after he apparently got swept up online in former president Donald Trump's false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
"He was not known for voicing political extremes, had no social media presence or ties to extremist groups, and once worked to protect the halls of New York City governance," the Times reports. "Now he had attacked an officer doing essentially the same duty in Washington, charging at a man who, one may imagine, looked to be both enemy and mirrored reflection."
Webster, a former Marine, had retired from NYPD and started a landscaping company, Semper Fi, in Florida, New York. He has a wife and three children, and his neighbors described him as "a cheerful family man with little visible interest in politics." He taught local children how to ride ATVs, and would mow the lawns of sick neighbors without even telling them.
Webster told FBI agents he had never protested before and on the day of the insurrection, he "just went down there just to show support for something." However, prosecutors have pointed out that Webster came to Washington "armed and ready for battle" with body armor, a map of the area, M.R.E.s, and a handgun, the Times reports.
Webster also claimed he was acting in self-defense — saying he had been sucker-punched — when he slammed through a police barricade and attacked a Capitol officer using his Marine flagpole, yelling "Commie" and shouting profanities.
"You wanna attack Americans?" he shouted, challenging the Capitol officers to "take your sh*t (body armor) off."
"In seconds, he and the officer are on the ground, Mr. Webster on top, reaching down for the officer's gas mask," the Times reports. "The officer later told investigators that he was being choked by his own chin strap and could not breathe for 10 seconds."
Webster then quickly disappeared into the crowd, but later looked into another man's camera outside the Capitol and said, "Send more patriots. We need some help."
Following a weeks-long manhunt that played out online, thanks to video and images released by the FBI, Webster turned himself in on Feb. 22. He was initially denied bond and spent four months in jail before being released, following a hearing during which his attorney said the weapon he used — a flagpole — weighs less than a pound, and claimed his client was angry because he had seen the Capitol officer push a woman to the ground earlier.
Webster is now on house arrest pending trial, barred from having firearms or using the Internet. He declined comment when a reporter from the Times knocked on his door.
Watch the full video from Webster's attack on the Capitol officer below.
NEW: Justice Dept. just released horrifying new footage from 1/6. Feds say this is ex-NYPD officer Thomas Webster (… https://t.co/Wj8BDJ6olI— Marshall Cohen (@Marshall Cohen) 1623966157.0
Some conservatives in recent months have speculated that more Americans are believing in QAnon because they don't go to church as much anymore and instead look to conspiracy theories to fill the void.
However, Economist Pollster G. Elliott Morris on Tuesday shared new data showing that the exact opposite is true -- namely, that church-going evangelical Christians are the most likely to believe in QAnon.
"And it's not just QAnon," Morris adds. "Our Economist/YouGov data show white evangelical Christians are also disproportion likely to believe other conspiracies -- eg about the 2020 election, but also about vaccines and the moon landing. True even after controlling for demographics and politics."
In contrast to this, writes Morris, people who express no religious beliefs are the "least credulous" about conspiracy theories about Bill Gates using vaccines to implant people with microchips.
Pollster Daniel Cox of the American Survey Center replied to Morris's tweet and essentially confirmed his findings in his own poll.
"This is consistent with our work as well," he wrote. "Evangelical Republicans are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories."
@gelliottmorris @BenSasse This is consistent with our work as well. Evangelical Republicans are more likely to beli… https://t.co/v40R284mJE— Daniel Cox (@Daniel Cox) 1627409845.0
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