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11 hours ago, Brisketexan said:


I mean....Oklahoma is trying to unload $2 million worth of worthless HCQ that it bought in order to please the Orange lord. They’ve figured out that it was bullshit.

So let’s get this straight, Laura....Oklahoma is smarter than you. You should probably drink hemlock now.

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I watched nearly 30 minutes of Tucker Carlson.  He was always as histrionic whore, even in his MSNBC infancy days. But to listen to him now makes me understand so how many of my racist Republican friends, and family, honestly and truly believe they are not racist.  Actually that is a FUCKING LIE!!!!!  They KNOW they are racist for the most part, but it a lot better to say you love Trump than, "yep you got me... did the damn war of Northern Aggression ferret me out?"

I honestly had not watched Tucker in a long while.  I have little doubt that Tucker Carlson is NOT a racist.  He honestly believe he is not.  He is however a complete whore! And if fomenting racism givens him even a 5% overall nationwide audience...   So basically Tucker would suck cock, for just 2% more attention.  But then he would need to push Lindsay's head aside...

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8 minutes ago, LurkingHorn said:

According to the Google, that amount seems to be about one quarter's worth of revenue. That would be a pretty big kick in the nuts. 

I doubt Dominion'll get billions, but I could see a few hundred million. It's gonna be a painful haircut regardless. 

Edit: oh shit, this isn't even Dominion, it's smartmatic. Dominion will be coming for that ass soon too. 

Edited by Hookah Horns
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5 minutes ago, Hookah Horns said:

I doubt Dominion'll get billions, but I could see a few hundred million. It's gonna be a painful haircut regardless. 

If these settle -- and they WILL settle -- an element of the settlement needs to be 1) a public, on the air statement by each of the psychopaths that contains the words "I lied about the election and Dominion/Smartec, repeatedly and without shame.  I traffic in lies, and I admit that I am a habitual liar," and 2) a chyron on screen, for the entire broadcast by each such personality for so long as they are allowed to continue to broadcast on Fox that says clearly and plainly "Tucker Carlson [or whoever]: Admitted Serial Liar."

Otherwise, take this motherfucker to trial, get the evidence of their lying into the public record, and take them for a billion plus.

Edited by Brisketexan
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4 minutes ago, Hookah Horns said:

I doubt Dominion'll get billions, but I could see a few hundred million. It's gonna be a painful haircut regardless. 

Edit: oh shit, this isn't even Dominion, it's smartmatic. Dominion will be coming for that ass soon too. 

Hopefully Smartmatic and Dominion also require an admission of guilt but we all know the settlement almost always includes a refusal to do that. The key is that Fox will not allow their on-screen talent to be disposed. If they can't get the case tossed out before that, the settlement will occur at that point.

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18 minutes ago, bolverk said:

I'm curious. How is Fox going about reporting news of themselves being sued? Will their audience, who gets 90% of their information from Fox, even know about this lawsuit? I don't see anything about it on the front page of their website.

They will not report it at all.  Not a peep.  Because it's not a news channel, it's a propaganda outlet.

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6 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

If these settle -- and they WILL settle -- an element of the settlement needs to be 1) a public, on the air statement by each of the psychopaths that contains the words "I lied about the election and Dominion/Smartec, repeatedly and without shame.  I traffic in lies, and I admit that I am a habitual liar," and 2) a chyron on screen, for the entire broadcast by each such personality for so long as they are allowed to continue to broadcast on Fox that says clearly and plainly "Tucker Carlson [or whoever]: Admitted Serial Liar."

Otherwise, take this motherfucker to trial, get the evidence of their lying into the public record, and take them for a billion plus.

I feel like Dominion wants a trial more than anything else. I'd be mildly surprised to see a settlement unless defendants agree to do basically what you wrote above. 

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28 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

don't skip this quick read, 8 tweets

It still blows my mind that Fox's lawyers let all that shit go down, day after day. And that feeble and bizarre attempt to clear things up after they got the Dominion demand letter made it seem like they had no idea before then that they had exposure there. Torbush. 

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2 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

don't skip this quick read, 8 tweets

You ain't kidding.  I initially scoffed at the massive claims in damage, but cheered it on in the spirit of bombastic retribution.  Nope.  Those damages are being directly related to market devaluation and the current inability to obtain future contracts on account of their name now being recognized as a lightning bolt dipped in poison and sprinkled with spiders.  Acquiring a contract today is probably similar to meeting with county officials and kicking things off by rolling a hand grenade into the conference room.  These defendants will have to confirm dozens of lies in depositions and it's going to be the funniest massacre in world history.

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5 hours ago, Hookah Horns said:

I feel like Dominion wants a trial more than anything else. I'd be mildly surprised to see a settlement unless defendants agree to do basically what you wrote above. 

 

I thought Dominion has said they have no plans on settling.

a trumper co worker explained to me that guliani is going to screw them over this his discovery request. he knows exactly what to look for and will get all the evidence he needs. i asked him where guliani was going to get the money to pay all these lawyers 

Edited by tx 3 putt
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11 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

I thought Dominion has said they have no plans on settling.

a trumper co worker explained to me that guliani is going to screw them over this his discovery request. he knows exactly what to look for and will get all the evidence he needs. i asked him where guliani was going to get the money to pay all these lawyers 

Dominion isn't scared of discovery. And they're in federal court too, so there won't be any fucking around.

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51 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

I thought Dominion has said they have no plans on settling.

a trumper co worker explained to me that guliani is going to screw them over this his discovery request. he knows exactly what to look for and will get all the evidence he needs. i asked him where guliani was going to get the money to pay all these lawyers 

Rudy probably thinks Trump is going to pay for this shit and is going to be so confused when Trump doesn't take his calls after he starts asking about it. 😂

Can't wait to hear about the batshit discovery requests Rudy sends them. This whole case is going to be delicious. 

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5 hours ago, Hookah Horns said:

Rudy probably thinks Trump is going to pay for this shit and is going to be so confused when Trump doesn't take his calls after he starts asking about it. 😂

Can't wait to hear about the batshit discovery requests Rudy sends them. This whole case is going to be delicious. 

Unless Rudy has some sort of age related decline and entirely possible, he and Trump go way back so it's not like he doesn't know how he rolls. He knows Trump doesn't pay direct if at all so Rudy must've had either some other side scheme or someone else pays the bills. Trump brought Rudy on in 2017 as some sort of cyber security advisor as a front since Giuliani was chairman of Giuliani Partners, the 'international security' firm. Remember, Giuliani took his name off the list for Secretary of State (prior to Tillerson getting the nod) and the vetting for that in the Senate may have been some of his concern.

I doubt Rudy is going to believe Trump will pay for it and nothing will happen to Rudy. He's got friends in high and low places. He may, however, pass on from causes of a mysterious manner if things get tense.

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8 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Unless Rudy has some sort of age related decline and entirely possible, he and Trump go way back so it's not like he doesn't know how he rolls. He knows Trump doesn't pay direct if at all so Rudy must've had either some other side scheme or someone else pays the bills. Trump brought Rudy on in 2017 as some sort of cyber security advisor as a front since Giuliani was chairman of Giuliani Partners, the 'international security' firm. Remember, Giuliani took his name off the list for Secretary of State (prior to Tillerson getting the nod) and the vetting for that in the Senate may have been some of his concern.

I doubt Rudy is going to believe Trump will pay for it and nothing will happen to Rudy. He's got friends in high and low places. He may, however, pass on from causes of a mysterious manner if things get tense.

Not sure if it's age, but he's declined like a mf that's for sure. I hope you're wrong about nothing happening to him. Like reeeeally wrong. 

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Relevant excerpt from the complaint included below.  Yikes.  I really hope they go for the jugular.  I'd bet that 60% of the country would be more than happy to crowdsource funding of their legal expenses, if that aspect enters into their calculus at all.  I'm not sure a win here would kill the right-wing media beast altogether, but it would at least slow them down a bit.

 

Spoiler

The Earth is round. Two plus two equals four. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 election for President and Vice President of the United States. The election was not stolen, rigged, or fixed. These are facts. They are demonstrable and irrefutable.

Defendants have always known these facts. They knew Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 U.S. election. They knew the election was not stolen. They knew the election was not rigged or fixed. They knew these truths just as they knew the Earth is round and two plus two equals four.

Defendants did not want Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to win the election. They wanted President Donald Trump and Vice President Michael Pence to win re-election. Defendants were disappointed. But they also saw an opportunity to capitalize on President Trump’s popularity by inventing a story. Defendants decided to tell people that the election was stolen from President Trump and Vice President Pence.

Defendants had an obvious problem with their story. They needed a villain. They needed someone to blame. They needed someone whom they could get others to hate. A story of good versus evil, the type that would incite an angry mob, only works if the storyteller provides the audience with someone who personifies evil.

Without any true villain, Defendants invented one. Defendants decided to make Smartmatic the villain in their story. Smartmatic is an election technology and software company. It was incorporated in Delaware and its U.S. operations are headquartered in Florida. In the 2020 U.S. election, Smartmatic provided election technology and software in Los Angeles County. Nowhere else. Smartmatic had a relatively small, non-controversial role in the 2020 U.S. election.

Those facts would not do for Defendants. So, the Defendants invented new ones. In their story, Smartmatic was a Venezuelan company under the control of corrupt dictators from socialist countries. In their story, Smartmatic’s election technology and software were used in many of the states with close outcomes. And, in their story, Smartmatic was responsible for stealing the 2020 election by switching and altering votes to rig the election for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Having invented their story, and created their villain, Defendants set about spreading the word. In November and December 2020, Fox News broadcasted thirteen (13) reports stating and implying that Smartmatic had stolen the 2020 U.S. election. They repeated the story in articles and social media postings. Night after night, publication after publication, Fox News reached out to its millions of viewers and readers around the world with a story: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did not win the 2020 election; Smartmatic stole the election for them.

Defendants’ story evolved over time as they claimed evidence had come to their attention supporting the story. The story came to consist of eight themes:

  • Smartmatic’s election technology and software were widely used in the 2020 U.S. election, including in six states with close outcomes.
  • Smartmatic’s election technology and software were used by Dominion Voting Systems Corporation (“Dominion”) during the 2020 U.S. election.
  • Smartmatic’s election technology and software were used to steal the 2020 U.S. election by rigging and fixing the vote.
  • Smartmatic’s election technology and software sent votes to foreign countries for tabulation and manipulation during the 2020 U.S. election.
  • Smartmatic’s election technology and software were compromised and hacked during the 2020 U.S. election.
  • Smartmatic was previously banned from being used in U.S. elections.
  • Smartmatic is a Venezuelan company that was founded and funded by
    corrupt dictators from socialist and communist countries.
  • Smartmatic’s election technology and software were designed to rig and fix elections.

Defendants’ story was a lie. All of it. And they knew it. But, it was a story that sold. Millions of individuals who saw and read Defendants’ reports believed them to be true. Smartmatic and its officers began to receive hate mail and death threats. Smartmatic’s clients and potential clients began to panic. The company’s reputation for providing transparent, auditable, and secure election technology and software was irreparably harmed. Overnight, Smartmatic went from an under-the-radar election technology and software company with a track record of success to the villain in Defendants’ disinformation campaign.

Smartmatic’s loss was Defendants’ gain. Fox News used the story to preserve its grip on viewers and readers and curry favors with the outgoing administration – one of their anchors was even able to get a pardon for her ex-husband. Ms. Powell used the story to raise money and enrich herself. Mr. Giuliani used the story to guarantee himself a flow of funds from the sitting President and to sell products. Defendants knew the story could not change the outcome of the election. It could, and did, make them money.

The story, of course, did more than just make Defendants’ money and jeopardize Smartmatic’s survival. The story undermined people’s belief in democracy. The story turned neighbor against neighbor. The story led a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol. Defendants started a fire for selfish and financial reasons and they cared not the damage their story caused to Smartmatic, its officers and employees, and the country.

With this action, Smartmatic says: Enough. Facts matter. Truth matters. Defendants engaged in a conspiracy to spread disinformation about Smartmatic. They lied. And they did so knowingly and intentionally. Smartmatic seeks to hold them accountable for those lies and for the damage that their lies have caused.

 

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22 minutes ago, Gap03 said:

I'm not sure a win here would kill the right-wing media beast altogether, but it would at least slow them down a bit.

A $2.7B admission that they were straight up lying would be impossible to keep quiet. It would be monumental. Seth Rich is a rounding error to them; this one would sting and force them to think twice the next time they took on someone with the means to fight back. Moreover, while they would find ways to rationalize the decision to their viewers ("We only exaggerated a couple of elements; we were right about everything else" or some bullshit), it would finally implant an annoying voice in the far reaches of their brain that they're being lied to. 

Honestly, I can see Fox paying every cent that's decided on before agreeing to any settlement that would require them to admit to purposeful deception. The only thing that could truly begin the decline of their influence is having to admit to lying--and knowing it was a lie--on air.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up because they'll probably fine a way to weasel out of it with a slap on the wrist, and some completely fabricated explanation that they ran with a story without properly vetting the sources.

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1 minute ago, aggie08 said:

A $2.7B admission that they were straight up lying would be impossible to keep quiet. It would be monumental. Seth Rich is a rounding error to them; this one would sting and force them to think twice the next time they took on someone with the means to fight back. Moreover, while they would find ways to rationalize the decision to their viewers ("We only exaggerated a couple of sources; we were right about everything else" or some bullshit), it would finally implant an annoying voice in the far reaches of their brain that they're being lied to. 

Honestly, I can see Fox paying every cent that's decided on before agreeing to any settlement that would require them to admit purposeful deception. They only thing they could truly begin the decline of their influence is having to admit to lying--and knowing it was a lie--on air.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up because they'll probably fine a way to weasel out of it with a slap on the wrist, and some completely fabricated explanation that they ran with a story without properly vetting the sources.

Any really really top legal minds who have an interest in the welfare of this country--is there anything to stop them from offering free assistance to the plaintiffs?

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11 hours ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Holy cow. Just speechless. I knew stuff was screwy, but that was just...wow.

I am a bit as well - I honestly thought there was some kind of relationship between Dominion and Smartmatic, and didn't realize they were direct competitors.

I also, and this is the bigly part that will cost Fox News dearly, didn't realize that Smartmatic was only used in one county in the nation (in Los Angels County in California no less, an area that Trump was never going to win).

I was under the impression that Smartmatic was used extensively across the US.

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1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

I am a bit as well - I honestly thought there was some kind of relationship between Dominion and Smartmatic, and didn't realize they were direct competitors.

I also, and this is the bigly part that will cost Fox News dearly, didn't realize that Smartmatic was only used in one county in the nation (in Los Angels County in California no less, an area that Trump was never going to win).

I was under the impression that Smartmatic was used extensively across the US.

When Trump started the BIG LIE, they decided to go even bigger.

My oldest is in LA county and she absolutely loves how they vote there. She hated showing up in person because there were never enough polling locations (when in Texas).

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30 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Any really really top legal minds who have an interest in the welfare of this country--is there anything to stop them from offering free assistance to the plaintiffs?

I see that you're asking me. I'll have to research this and get back to you.

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https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/05/media/smartmatic-fox-news-reliable-sources/index.html

"This is the definition of defamation."

That's what CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates told Erin Burnett Thursday night when discussing Smartmatic's $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, three of the network's hosts (Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro), Rudy Giuliani, and Sidney Powell.

"When you are making statements that are knowingly false, and you make them with malice, and you actually tarnish reputations and it has a financial consequence — that's why you have defamation lawsuits in the first place," Coates said, explaining the seriousness of the lawsuit.

Coates is not alone in believing Smartmatic's suit poses real threat to Fox. University of Georgia media law professor Jonathan Peters noted on Twitter that "libel law makes it difficult to prevail where the plaintiff is a public figure and/or where the speech involved a matter of public concern. In various ways, these will be key issues in litigation." But, Peters added that he believed the "smart money" is on Smartmatic.

That seemed to be the general consensus among legal experts who commented on the case Thursday. Despite Fox describing the suit as "meritless," Powell calling it a "political maneuver," and Giuliani saying he looked forward to discovery, most legal experts believed it to have some bite. "This lawsuit is a legitimate threat — a real threat," CNN legal analyst Ellie Honig said. "There is a real teeth to this." And Roy Gutterman, who directs the Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University, echoed to WaPo, "This complaint establishes a compelling narrative in its 270-plus pages. It will certainly be interesting to see how the defendants frame their responses."

This is not a nuisance suit

Brian Stelter writes: "Libel suits against media organizations are typically filed on a slippery slope. Journalists have good reason to be concerned about these types of cases. And nuisance lawsuits against newsrooms are a real problem. But I think it's safe to say that Smartmatic's action against Fox is not a nuisance suit, and it has little to do with news. It's going to be hard for Fox to wrap its hosts in a press freedom flag. This case is about entertainers who gave fuel to lies in a desperate bid to keep Trump in power."

"Disinformation has free reign right now"

When I spoke with Smartmatic's lawyer, Erik Connolly of "pink slime" fame, about the case, I did press him on whether he was worried his suit could set a precedent that could ultimately harm press freedoms. His response was that the lawsuit would actually be beneficial to legitimate news orgs. "I think it's the type of case that has to be brought right now to try to get us away from disinformation," Connolly told me. "Disinformation has a free rein right now. This kind of case can be a shot across the bow that courts can deliver that says, 'Let's get back to reality. Let's get back to factual reporting.'"

A world of people "telling outright lies"

Stelter writes: "I was struck by something Roberta Kaplan, a lawyer representing author E. Jean Carroll, told the NYT. Carroll is suing Trump for defamation. Kaplan 'stated that the profusion of defamation circumstances associated to the previous president was notable,' since there's been a perception that such cases are hard to win. 'What's changed,' Kaplan said, 'and why we're seeing so many more defamation cases today than ever before, is because, frankly, we're living in a world in which people with legitimacy and authority seem to feel no compunction whatsoever about just telling outright lies.' This is partly why other legal experts are saying Smartmatic has a strong argument -- the lies are explicit and easily debunked. And that's why it may not be so hard to prove that Fox and its hosts knew, or should have known, that they were telling lies -- which is the 'actual malice' standard that public figures have to meet in defamation cases..."

The lies have consequences

It's crucial to point out the consequences the slew of conspiracy theories pushed against Smartmatic have had for the company. In its lawsuit, Smartmatic detailed some of the ramifications: a wave of threats against its employees, a "meteoric rise" in cyberattacks, and hundreds of millions of dollars in projected revenue losses. CEO and founder Antonio Mugica told me that there was "no choice" the company had but to file the lawsuit. "The disinformation campaign that was launched against us is an obliterating one. For us, this is existential, and we have to take action."

/end article

+++

nasd:nwsa is up 10% overnight on positive quarterly earnings.

like the gamestop redditors, let's hope smartmatic has the cajones to make this go to trial and not cash out.

a trial is the only hope for proper karma assignment.

 

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17 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

 

THis should be grounds for fucking prosecution. This is literally in the body of the article:

 

Quote

Biden, who has a home outside Wilmington, Delaware, is expected to fly on Air Force One and will avoid much of the travel risks associated with commercial flights or traveling on other methods of public transportation like bus or train.

The CDC is also recommending that those who must travel first complete their vaccinations, if they are eligible to receive them, and then wait two weeks after the second dose before departing.

The president, who is 78 years old, has also received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine, and received the second dose of the vaccine three weeks ago.

Which means the headline itself is a literal attempt to deceive and foment discontent. It's not news. 

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1 minute ago, Beau Vine said:

 

That's because the current GOP strategy is to continue to seed the military with people disloyal to the country, and then the next time they stage a violent revolt, the military will take their side.

They've told us this.  Openly and shamelessly ("the military will come to Trump's rescue!  It will seize voting machines and conduct the election!")  

And yes, we are in a place as a country where we need to actually be concerned about disloyal military units, and we need to stamp out extremism in our own military.  Congratulations, Republicans.  You've turned us into Egypt, El Salvador, Myanmar.....name your non-functioning democracy, and we're like it now.

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