Truth, Consequences, and Hope for the Holidays
While many worldwide are busy preparing for the holidays, the news world has also had a rough week. So here are a few of our favorite, and not so favorite, things from the week.
Eight stories to follow:
1) Starting with some hope this season, CBS News had a short interview with Patrick Riccards, founder of Life After Hate, a non-profit dedicated to helping people come out of extremist groups. Riccards’ work demonstrates that even if you spend the holidays with someone caught in conspiracy or extremist thinking, there is a way out. AVC is also working on resources to help in this area, too.
2) Yesterday was Dec 21, and if you’re reading this newsletter, you already know that the prophecy to install Trump as president was a lie. That graphic was from the Oct 21 QAnon conference, where a pastor prophesied that Trump would return to office on Dec 21, 2022.
3) The House Ways and Means Committee voted to release Trump’s tax returns to the public. But if you can’t wait for the tax returns themselves, the committee has already released a report on his tax records showing that Trump’s tax bill fluctuated wildly when he was president.
4) Kari Lake continues to do her best Trump impression by presenting her election fraud claims in an Arizona county court. The NYTimes even reports that Lake will call as witness some of the very same folks who are peddling former President Trump’s election fraud lies.
5) An update on who David DePape, the man who broke into the Pelosi home and attacked Paul Pelosi, planned to attack next may be confusing to those who did not think DePape was a product of QAnon and conspiratorial thinking. DePape’s list included Hunter Biden, Gavin Newsom, and Tom Hanks. For those not following along, Tom Hanks is widely considered the worst of pedophiles and trafficker of children by QAnon supporters.
6) Teen Vogue has an interview with a public librarian, Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, detailing the kinds of harassment the public library system faces from those wishing to ban books “with huge lists of books that for the most part they haven’t even read.”
7) Writing for his The Atlantic newsletter, David French offers some hope on why Trump’s con may end. French reminds us that Trump offered a promise of hope in 2016 but that after six long years of enduring one MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT after another that turned out to be less than significant, Trump’s conservative base may now be looking to others to promise them hope.
8) Finally, the Jan 6th Committee ended their hearings this week, and the members voted to refer former President Donald J. Trump to the Department of Justice on four criminal charges. These charges include inciting an insurrection, obstructing an official government proceeding, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. For a good summary, check out Amanda Carpenter at The Bulwark.