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A dozen co-defendants reportedly affiliated with the right-wing militia organization are facing conspiracy and other charges over their alleged roles in the storming of the Capitol.

Last week, another member of the Oath Keepers, Jon Ryan Schaffer, became the first defendant following Jan. 6 to plead guilty and agree to cooperate with law enforcement.

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This approach has been catastrophic for public discourse in an age of asymmetric polarization. The Republican Party and the conservative movement more broadly are far more dishonest in their rhetoric than their liberal opponents; their policy positions are largely flatly disproven and disregard clear scientific consensus; and their tactics are far more extremist, dangerous to democracy and morally indefensible. Continuing to maintain a sense of false “balance” in this context does a disservice to readers and viewers, abandoning what is actually true about public policy and the practice of politics in favor of a narrative that is comfortably convenient to journalists themselves. It is easier to write stories that take quotes from both sides as credible than to come down in favor of either position by referencing what is actually true, and it theoretically dodges accusations of bias (though conservatives constantly level the accusation regardless.)

But perhaps nowhere is it more damaging than in misconstruing popular opinion and the potential political effects of taking popular stances that fall outside of centrist elite consensus. In the standard “view from nowhere” model, the centrist position between the two parties is naturally both the most popular and the most responsible because it, by definition, falls the farthest from the “extremes.” In reality, however, the most popular positions fall well to the left of center–sometimes well to the left of the center of the Democratic Party, much less the actual political center. One of the most inconvenient realities for centrists is that “radical” left policies tend to be extremely popular. Put in the terms of personality politics, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ positions are far more popular than Joe Manchin’s or Kyrsten Sinema’s.

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ORLANDO — For House Republicans, it’s less about how they can win back the majority and more about: How do they avoid messing things up?

That’s the question on the minds of GOP lawmakers as they huddle in America’s theme park haven for their three-day annual legislative retreat — the Republican conference’s first such gathering since the coronavirus shut down the country and their first since former President Donald Trump lost the White House.

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In a New York Post op-ed titled “Corporations that undermine American values don’t deserve GOP support,” the Florida Republican threatens American companies with increased regulation and taxes, merely for exercising their First Amendment rights, now that they no longer support the Republican Party’s far-right extremism on social issues.

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Gov. Greg Abbott posted a screengrab from Fox News. The title of the slide was “up in your grill,” with the sub-headline reading, “Biden’s climate requirements.”

The three bullet points said “cut 90% of red meat from diet,” “max 4 lbs per year,” and “one burger per month.”

“Not gonna happen in Texas!” Abbott tweeted.

But it’s not going to happen anywhere as Biden has not proposed any such thing. Snopes has rated it false.

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This article was originally published at The Signorile Report

It was a grotesque, homophobic and violent display, as Dan White was the anti-gay killer of gay civil rights leader and San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Mascone, both of whom White assassinated in 1979 at City Hall in a horrendous act of gun violence and a homophobic hate crime.

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● WA-04: Far-right ex-cop Loren Culp announced Thursday that he would challenge Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse, who is one of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump in January. Culp, who was the GOP’s 2020 nominee for governor, made it very clear he’d be making his campaign all about that vote: After accusing the incumbent of having a “spine made of jelly,” Culp, without offering any evidence, accused Newhouse of making “some kind of deal” with Democrats.

Newhouse was already facing intraparty challenges on his right from state Rep. Brad Klippert and businessman Jerrod Sessler in next year’s top-two primary, and more could still join. It’s possible that a crowded field of opponents could split the anti-Newhouse GOP vote in the 4th District and allow the congressman to advance to a general election with a Democrat, but that’s far from assured. This 58-40 Trump seat is red enough that Newhouse went up against a fellow Republican in both 2014 and 2016, and this eastern Washington seat will almost certainly remain very conservative turf after redistricting.

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Far Right Extremism Is Influencing State Republican Parties | The 11th Hour | MSNBC

MSNBC’s Brian Williams discusses the rise in extremism affecting Republican parties at the state level with Melissa Ryan, author of the Ctrl Alt-Right Delete newsletter, who is an expert in disinformation and the dark corners of the internet. Aired on 04/24/2021.

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“How dare you insult the memory of all those who suffered real suffering under Jim Crow laws,” Beck bellowed. “To say this is worse than Jim Crow is an even bigger insult to the memory of all those who actually suffered, were imprisoned, were tortured, were beaten, were lynched. It is an insult to all those who not only didn’t make it through but [those who] did and led people into freedom. How dare you!”

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Schielke says the video shows the three arresting officers, including Austin Hopp who allegedly was the one who injured Garner, watching bodycam video of the arrest, laughing about their use of excessive force, and even fist-bumping over the fact that one of the officers intimidated a citizen who made a complaint about the arrest.

The video was uploaded to YouTube by the Life and Liberty Law Office, which is the law firm that Schielke represents, and shows Hopp telling another arresting officer, Daria Jalali, to listen for the “pop” in Garner’s shoulder as they watch bodycam video of the arrest at the police station as Garner sat in a cell just a few feet away “confused and crying in pain.”

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Additionally, Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon will each gain one seat in Congress.

California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia will all lose congressional seats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

The results – which show that political power in the country is shifting from states in the Midwest and Northeast to those in the South and West – will have wide-ranging impacts on numerous aspects of American life, ranging from each state’s representation in Congress to the amount of money each state will get from the federal government. The numbers could shift the political makeup of Congress and set up what will likely be contentious redistricting battles in the coming months.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland said the probe, which will focus on both the police department as well as the Louisville Jefferson County metro government, will look at whether the police engage in “a pattern or practice of using unreasonable force, including with respect to people involved in peaceful expressive activities.”

The probe will also examine whether the police “engages in unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures as well as whether the department unlawfully executes search warrants on private homes,” Garland added.

The announcement came five days after the department began a similar review of the Minneapolis Police Department after its former officer, Derek Chauvin, was found guilty of murdering George Floyd, a Black man, in May.

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The mayor of Elizabeth City declared a state of emergency Monday as authorities in North Carolina worked to redact body-cam footage of the fatal shooting of Andrew Brown Jr. before allowing the Black man’s family and lawyers to view it.

The family and its representatives plan on viewing the video at the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office, lawyers said at a news conference where they urged immediate release of the video.

“City officials realize there may potentially be a period of civil unrest within the city following the public release of that footage,” Mayor Bettie Parker said in the emergency declaration.

Lawyer Harry Daniels said the family was told they could see the video at 11:30 a.m. Monday, only to be told about an hour before that time that the video was being redacted and would not be available until later in the day. County Attorney R. Michael Cox said in a statement that state law allows for blurring of faces to protect an active internal investigation, and “that process takes time.”