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    Trump tells another massive whopper: Our military has plenty of bullets -- thanks to Obama

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory
    October 09, 2019

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    President Barack Obama (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb) and President-Elect Donald Trump (Michael Vadon/Flickr)

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory

    We know that Donald Trump lies every single day as he creates his own reality. But Monday he told a ridiculous whopper that also showed he is a mentally unstable moron.


    At the core of this delusional observation lies a conspiracy theory so bizarre that the National Rifle Association labeled it baloney.

    Speaking to television cameras Monday at the White House, Trump asserted that the U.S. military was without ammunition in January 2017.

    “When I took over our military, we did not have ammunition, I was told by a top general, maybe the top of them all. 'Sir, I'm sorry sir, we don't have ammunition.' I said I will never let that happen to another president."

    The military had so much more ammunition than it could use that Congressional investigators recommended giving more away.

    Not only did the military have literally tons and tons and tons of ammunition, it has so much more than it could use that Congressional investigators recommended giving more away to state and local policing agencies.

    That report was for the year 2016, Obama’s last in office, putting the lie to what Trump fantasized that he encountered in January 2017.

    GAO has published a wall’s worth of audits since 1965 on procuring ammunition, prices paid for bullets, inventories, etc. There are at least 371 GAO reports on ammunition with the recurring theme that the armed services have more than they need.

    But wait, what Trump said gets even crazier.

    Trump’s delusional claims on Monday built on his earlier crazy-making claims.

    False Claims at Rallies

    We embedded a reporter with the audience at Trump’s Sept. 16 campaign rally outside Albuquerque. The venue was small, which made his crowd seem large, many of them regulars who follow Trump around the country.

    Trump told the faithful that our military had “very little–slash—no ammunition.”

    He also said:

    “You know, when I came here three years ago almost, General Mattis told me, ‘Sir, we’re very low on ammunition.’ I said, ‘That’s a horrible thing to say'.”

    “I’m not blaming him. I’m not blaming anybody, but that’s what he told me,” Trump claimed.

    “We were in a position where with a certain country — I won’t say which one — we may have had conflict. And he said to me, ‘Sir, if you could, delay it, because we’re very low on ammunition.’ And I said, ‘You know what, general, I never want to hear that again from another general.’ No president should ever every hear that statement. And we now have more ammunition, more rockets, more tanks, we have more of everything than we ever had before…”

    So, where did this nonsense come from? Partly Trump misheard whatever Mattis told him or, as he often does, Trump just made it up.

    Congress Says 'Too Much'

    What makes his delusional whopper hard to understand is that back in 2013 legislation was introduced to restrict how much ammunition the Obama administration could buy.

    Rep. Frank Lucas, an Oklahoma Republican, introduced a bill to limit ammo purchases to the levels of the George W. Bush administration.

    What promoted Lucas and Sen. James Inhofe, also an Oklahoma Republican, to propose these restrictions?

    Investors Business Daily, a newspaper full of stock market charts, reported that a “lack of a credible official explanation for such awesome ammunition acquisitions” by Obama era federal law enforcement agencies fueled conspiracy theories. Other rightwing websites carried similar stories.

    Lucas and Inhofe claimed that Obama was buying up bullets to create a shortage of ammo available to individual gun owners. Lucas said the military already had two years of bullets stockpiled so it didn’t need to buy more.

    The notion that the Obama administration was buying up ammo to limit civilian access was so insane that even the National Rifle Association called nonsense. It issued a statement warning about “internet rumor mill” theories that are nonsense.

    The crazy Lucas and Inhofe tale of Obama’s people buying up bullets to keep them from civilians, especially the hollow point bullets that mushroom on impact and ensure maximum bodily damage, is the exact opposite of what Trump claimed.

    That’s the way it is now with high-level Republicans in Washington – they tell mutually exclusive and polar opposite stories and hope you are too dumb to notice.

    The theory was so insane that even the National Rifle Association said it was baloney. You know a theory is absolutely crazy when the NRA denounces it.

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

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    Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
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    Survey: Should Donald Trump be prosecuted after he leaves office?

    Right-wing media waged 'uncivil war' all through Biden's Inauguration Day

    Ray Hartmann
    January 21, 2021

    While most of the nation was enjoying the Inaugural festivities Wednesday, Fox News host Sean Hannity ignored all that -- as did his network all night --and instead went right into this note of "history:"

    "Today after a historic and groundbreaking four years in the White House, President Trump departed Washington D.C., a huge crowd awaiting him all along his route to Mar-a-Lago," Hannity proclaimed. He then launched into a passionate soliloquy about Trump's wondrous achievements and about how his movement was just beginning and that "I'm not going away."

    Sadly, despite Trump's fixation on audience size mattering, multiple outlets reported that the "huge" crowds -- no more than two or three deep along his South Florida motorcade route, had at best mushroomed to "hundreds." Hannity promised his audience video and then apparently forgot.

    Hannity devoted the rest of his show to all the old lies and savage attacks on Biden, Harris and all of the rest of the radical Socialists who want to destroy America and goodness everywhere. Running throughout the program were dark references to how tonight will bring unimaginably horrific bombshells about America's number one concern: the contents of Hunter Biden's laptop.

    By happy coincidence, "you don't want to miss" Hannity's show tonight, he suggests, because even though he says he hasn't seen the "salacious" things in contains, his sources assure Hannity that it's almost too much to bear. Tune in to bear it though. (Sad face).

    Earlier in the day, as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were being sworn in, Rush Limbaugh was already whimpering that "they have not legitimately won yet." Limbaugh acted apoplectic -- outrage sells -- about how singer Garth Brooks had "abandoned his base" by performing at the Inaugural and about how Biden's address "was least memorable" and this beauty: "Every literate American should read Trump's farewell address, every word. It should be required reading for every student."

    Well, that's a good one on several levels. Why Limbaugh would want to exclude so much of the Trump base with that "literate" reference is unclear. And what about the former president himself? The phrase "Trump's address" is oxymoronic unless one's referring to Mar-a-Lago or eventually somewhere like Riker's Island. As for the government torturing students, that doesn't seem right.

    Today, Limbaugh continued to hammer away with such pearls as "the Left knows you exist and they want to wipe you out" and the brilliant sarcasm, "hundreds dead so far from COVID-19 due to President Biden's mishandling of the virus." That last one's a real knee-slapper except for the huge portion of those 400,000 souls who might not have perished had Trump not treated the virus as "15 cases maybe down to zero" that would go away like magic.

    The message is clear: Right-wing media will not allow its audience of tens of millions to be exposed to a single thing President Biden and Vice President Harris can say or do that could ever be shed in a positive light. Nada. Not one moment of the Inaugural would be allowed to interfere with what Biden termed the "uncivil war" in his address.

    Here's a brief metaphorical spaceship tour of the wing-nut galaxy from Inauguration Day:

    Lou Dobbs on Fox Business: "Today almost no one was there to attend. Despite receiving 80 million votes, President Joe Biden was talking with a select group of dignitaries before a National Mall devoid of people and filled only with flags." Dobbs wistfully said he's heard Trump might form a new political party -- the Patriot Party--adding "Personally, I think that's got a great ring to it, don't you?"

    Fox News' Tucker Carlson was especially offended by the notion that Biden wasn't cool with white supremacy: ""Now that we're waging war on white supremacists, can somebody tell us in very clear language what a white supremacist is?" Carlson asked.

    "Innocent people could be hurt in this war. They usually are," the host continued. "There could be collateral damage in this war. And the casualties will be Americans. So again, what is a white supremacist? You might be surprised to learn just how broad the definition for that has become."

    Then there was "One America News" -- OANN, the network for people for whom Fox News' red meat doesn't even seem pink -- with this lovely coverage, as reported by the New York Times:

    "On One America News, viewers saw a lengthy documentary-style segment called "Trump: Legacy of a Patriot" instead of the inauguration," the Times reported. "One of the network's commentators, Pearson Sharp, provided the voice-over and offered only flattering words about the former president while he leveled false claims about voter fraud.

    "Mr. Sharp repeated many of the discredited excuses that have formed the alternate version of events that Mr. Trump and his followers are using to explain his loss. The host claimed, for instance, that Mr. Trump couldn't have been defeated because he won the bellwether state of Ohio and carried so many more counties than Mr. Biden did. 'And yet somehow we're still expected to believe that Joe Biden got more votes than any president in history,'" Mr. Sharp said.

    "Then he issued a rallying cry to Trump supporters. 'Now it's up to the American people to continue President Trump's fight, or all the progress we've made as a nation will quickly unravel,' Mr. Sharp said."

    Then there was this act of patriotism from Newsmax -- Newsmax, the network for people for whom OANN's red meat doesn't even seem pink -- via host Greg Kelly:

    "How do you feel about Joe Biden? He is the president of the United States. It's OK, ladies and gentlemen, to say you do not wish the president success. It is. Now I wish him no harm, of course, and I want him to be happy and healthy in his life, but I wish Joe Biden no success. I don't want him to reenter the Paris Climate Accord. It's OK to say that. I don't him stacking the Supreme Court, as he pretty much said he would during the campaign. I don't want him to succeed at that. I don't want him reentering any nuclear deal, that was so flawed, with the Iranians. I don't want to see that. So, it's actually OK to say you don't want to see Joe Biden succeed. Remember, he is the head of the executive branch. OK? And we've got three branches, they are all co-equal. Fair enough? Fair enough."





















    Biden’s LGBTQ executive order is just the start – here's what else his administration is doing

    David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
    January 21, 2021
    President Joe Biden is quickly establishing himself as America's most pro-LGBTQ president ever. In his first 24 hours President Biden has signed a wide-ranging executive order on LGBTQ equality, added gender-neutral pronouns options to the White House website, nominated a Pennsylvania physician who will become the nation's first Senate-confirmed openly-transgender government official, nominated the first openly-LGBTQ person to his Cabinet, and announced he will reverse Trump's ban on open service for transgender military members. The Biden administration Secretary of State nominee, Antony Blinken, has also announced the State Dept. will allow U.S. embassies to fly the LGBTQ pride flag again, and reinstate the Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons role. But there's more. Before the election the former Vice President promised to pass the Equality Act in his first 100 days. Last week an administration official said it might not happen that quickly but it is still a priority. The Biden administration has also committed to hiring LGBTQ people. It now has the first openly-LGBTQ State Dept. spokesperson, Ned Price. Karine Jean-Pierre is the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, and Pili Tobar is the White House Deputy Communications Director. Biden's LGBTQ+ executive order is garnering tremendous praise. It is "the most substantive, wide-ranging executive order concerning sexual orientation and gender identity ever issued by a United States president," the Human Rights Campaign says. Calling it "a revolution," Slate's Mark Joseph Stern sums up the Biden administration's focus on LGBTQ equality, describing it as "the most sweeping expansion of LGBTQ rights in American history." The executive order mandates the federal government enforce federal law, as defined in last year's landmark Supreme Court Bostock case, "to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, health care, housing, and education, and other key areas of life," as HRC notes. The language in President Biden's order is a striking departure in tone, motivation, and deed from anything ever seen in the Trump administration. "Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love," Biden's LGBTQ executive order begins. "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports. Adults should be able to earn a living and pursue a vocation knowing that they will not be fired, demoted, or mistreated because of whom they go home to or because how they dress does not conform to sex-based stereotypes. People should be able to access healthcare and secure a roof over their heads without being subjected to sex discrimination. All persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation." The order is not just a directive, it is an educational document. "Discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation manifests differently for different individuals, and it often overlaps with other forms of prohibited discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race or disability," it says. "For example, transgender Black Americans face unconscionably high levels of workplace discrimination, homelessness, and violence, including fatal violence." "It is the policy of my Administration to prevent and combat discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation, and to fully enforce Title VII and other laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation," it specifies. "It is also the policy of my Administration to address overlapping forms of discrimination."

    Biden allows Dr. Fauci to finally speak the truth about the science of COVID-19

    Agence France-Presse
    January 21, 2021

    In his first White House briefing as President Joe Biden's top advisor on Covid-19, Anthony Fauci said it was "liberating" that he could focus on science without fear of repercussion now that Donald Trump had left office.

    The top infectious disease scientist was briefing reporters Thursday on the state of the US outbreak that has claimed more than 408,000 lives.

    Asked to compare his experience under the previous administration to the new one, the 80-year-old responded a little coyly at first, saying he wasn't sure he could "extrapolate" based on first impressions.

    "But one of the things that was very clear as recently as about 15 minutes ago, when I was with the president, is that one of the things that we're going to do is to be completely transparent, open and honest.

    "If things go wrong, not point fingers but to correct them and to make everything we do be based on science and evidence."

    Toward the end of Thursday's briefing, Fauci was asked by another reporter to expand on his "jokes" about the differences in the management styles between the two leaders.

    "I was very serious about it, I wasn't joking," he said, laughing.

    "Obviously I don't want to be going back over history, but it was very clear that there were things that were said, be it regarding things like hydroxychloroquine and other things like that -- that really was uncomfortable because they were not based on scientific fact."

    He added he took no pleasure in having to contradict the president and that "it was really something that you didn't feel that you could actually say something, and there wouldn't be any repercussions about it."

    "The idea that you can get up here and talk about what you know. What the evidence, what the science is, and know that's it -- let the science speak -- it is somewhat of a liberating feeling."

    Fauci's honest takes on America's failures to get to grips with its epidemic brought him into conflict with Trump, who repeatedly declared premature victory over the virus, equivocated on mask use and lockdowns, and pushed unfounded miracle cures.

    Trump eventually banished the respected scientist from the White House and took to attacking him on Twitter.

     
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