Gilead
Donald Trump
Coup attempt
Fig. 1. Department of Justice photograph of seized materials, reportedly partially redacted, via the Washington Post, August 31, 2022,[1] public domain.
Chauncey DeVega, “‘They are going to convict very quickly’: Glenn Kirschner on the trial of Donald J. Trump,” Salon, October 17, 2022, https://www.salon.com/2022/10/17/they-are-going-to-convict-very-quickly-glenn-kirschner-on-the-trial-of-donald-j/
Zoe Tillman, “Trump Special Master Has ‘No Patience’ for Records Spats,” MarketWatch, October 18, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-18/trump-special-master-says-he-has-no-patience-for-records-spats
Chris Strohm, “DOJ prosecutors say there’s sufficient evidence to charge Trump with obstruction of justice: report,” MarketWatch, October 19, 2022, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/doj-prosecutors-say-theres-sufficient-evidence-to-charge-trump-with-obstruction-of-justice-report-01666188831
Lindsay Whitehurst, “Testimony: Oath Keepers Ready to Use ‘Any Means Necessary,’” Military.com, October 19, 2022, https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/10/19/testimony-oath-keepers-ready-use-any-means-necessary.html
Chris Walker, “Report: DOJ Prosecutors Say There’s Enough Evidence to Prosecute Trump,” Truthout, October 20, 2022, https://truthout.org/articles/report-doj-prosecutors-say-theres-enough-evidence-to-prosecute-trump/
Devlin Barrett, “Mar-a-Lago classified papers held U.S. secrets about Iran and China,” Washington Post, October 21, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/10/21/trump-documents-mar-a-lago-iran-china/
Chris Brennan, “Doug Mastriano will flirt again with the QAnon crowd as another election approaches,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/doug-mastriano-josh-shapiro-governor-election-mike-flynn-rudy-giuliani-20221021.html
Spencer S. Hsu and Rachel Weiner, “Steve Bannon sentenced to 4 months in prison for contempt of Congress in Jan. 6 probe,” Washington Post, October 21, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/10/21/bannon-sentence-contempt-jan6/
Pennsylvania
2022 election
Fig. 2. There’s much too much of this kind of thing to be seen around Pittsburgh. Photograph taken by author through his windshield, May 17, 2022, just outside Braddock, Pennsylvania.
Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, is scheduled to be the final speaker Saturday evening at a two-day festival of fringe known as ReAwaken America, a multistate speaking tour for QAnon proponents, 2020 election liars, COVID vaccine doubters, and other sundry and sullied conspiracy theorists.
Sound familiar? That’s because Mastriano spoke just a few weeks before May’s primary at a similar event. That prompted plenty of headlines, which led to a very public tantrum as Mastriano hung up in the middle of a conservative podcast interview when asked about it.
Clay Clark, who serves as ringmaster for the culture-war-heavy tour, told Clout that Mastriano’s campaign asked for a spot in the lineup, which features about 70 speakers over two days at the sprawling Spooky Nook Sports complex in Lancaster County. Tickets go for $250 or $500 for VIP front-row seats. Clark expects a crowd of about 5,000.[2]
Doug Mastriano might be fasting and praying,[3] but it sure doesn’t look like he wants to be governor.
Chris Brennan, “Doug Mastriano will flirt again with the QAnon crowd as another election approaches,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/doug-mastriano-josh-shapiro-governor-election-mike-flynn-rudy-giuliani-20221021.html
Student loans
Fig. 3. Unattributed and undated image via James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal,[4] fair use.
Associated Press, “Justice Barrett rejects appeal over Biden student debt plan,” October 20, 2022, https://apnews.com/article/us-supreme-court-amy-coney-barrett-wisconsin-government-and-politics-business-650cf994711d429701722c97fedd2bb7
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, “Judge dismisses GOP-led states lawsuit to block student loan forgiveness plan,” Washington Post, October 20, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/10/20/student-loan-forgiveness-lawsuit-rejected/
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, “Appeals court temporarily halts Biden’s student debt relief program,” Washington Post, October 21, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/10/21/student-loan-forgiveness-temporary-stay/
- [1]Devlin Barrett, “Justice Dept. says Trump team may have hidden, moved classified papers,” Washington Post, August 31, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/31/trump-documents-removed-storage-room/↩
- [2]Chris Brennan, “Doug Mastriano will flirt again with the QAnon crowd as another election approaches,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 21, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/doug-mastriano-josh-shapiro-governor-election-mike-flynn-rudy-giuliani-20221021.html↩
- [3]William Bender and Jonathan Tamari, “As campaign struggles, Doug Mastriano plans ‘40 days of fasting and prayer,’” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 28, 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/news/doug-mastriano-fasting-prayer-campaign-rally-struggling-20220928.html↩
- [4]Richard K. Vedder, “Eliminate or Radically Restructure Federal Student Loans,” James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, September 16, 2020, https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2020/09/eliminate-or-radically-restructure-federal-student-loans/↩