Daily Archives: May 28, 2022

Amber Heards Lawyer Asks Jury To Stand Up For Freedom Of Speech In Final Words In Johnny Depps $50M Defamation Trial Against Ex-Wife; Deliberations…

Posted: May 28, 2022 at 8:14 pm

UPDATE, 11:58 AM PT: We ask ladies and gentlemen, that you hold Mr. Depp accountable for his actions, Amber Heards lawyer Ben Rottenborn exclaimed today in the final moments of Johnny Depps $50 million defamation trial against his ex-wife. Stand up for victims of domestic abuse everyone. Stand up for freedom of speech. Give Amber Heard her life back.

With less than ten minutes left in their closing statement allotment, Heards defense team went for the constitutional juggler with the very last word in the lurid case that has captivated America and the world over the past nearly two months.

Its simple, if you believe that Depp was abusive to Amber one time ..then your job is very easy, Rottenborn said to the jury in the Virginia courtroom. You can not only deny Mr. Depps claim, but affirm Ambers counterclaim

Directly following Heard being repeatedly called a liar and playing the role of her life and Depps vile communications being swept under the rug as a dark, ugly humor, in the plaintiffs rebuttal from attorney Camille Vasquez, the defenses last stand was the definition of short and sharp, as it had to be to have any impact.

Spilling over six weeks in a Virginia courtroom, this widely covered trial all stems from Depps March 2019 lawsuit against Heard over the late 2018 Washington Post op-ed she penned. In that piece for the Jeff Bezos-owned broadsheet, Heard called herself a public figure representing domestic abuse and detailed the blast radius that she and other women face.

While he said nothing to this effect during the couples 2016 restraining order-filled divorce, Depp has insisted over the last three years that he never abused Heard. The fired Fantastic Beasts actor actually claims that he was the victim of abuse in the relationship Proving unsuccessful in getting the lawsuit dismissed, Heard filed a $100 million countersuit in the summer of 2020. That countersuit came just a few months before Depp proved unsuccessful in his UK libel suit against The Sun tabloid for calling him a wife beater.

Casting off from the closing arguments and final instructions from Judge Penny Azcarte after six weeks of trial, the seven-person jury now goes into deliberation on the defamation case. Check out the jury form they will take with them as a guide here.

Even though Depps Brown Ruddick legal team provided the sharpest POV for most of the trial, Heards defense went hard for the First Amendment in their closing. Perhaps too little, too late amidst the lurid accusations of physical, emotional, verbal and sexual abuse and parade of less than stellar witnesses that have dominated the trial since its April 11 start, the power of the defenses 11th hour pivot now rests with the jury.

Of course, this will not end regardless if Depp triumphs in his defamation case or Heard wins with her $100 million counterclaim. Outside the Fairfax County Courthouse, the reputations of both parties are in tatters. Inside the court system, you can almost bet the Black Pearl therell be an appeal. For the record, Depp has unsuccessfully attempted to mount an appeal in his loss in his 2020 UK libel suit against the Rupert Murdoch-owned The Sun.

Now we wait.

PREVIOUSLY, 9:24 AM PT: This whole case is about blaming Amber Heard for things she didnt do, the Aquaman stars lawyer told a Virginia courtroom today in closing arguments in the $50 million defamation trial from Johnny Depp against his former wife.

But thats what Mr. Depp does, thats what hes always done, started attorney Ben Rottenborn for the defense to the jury and Judge Penney Azcarate on Friday. Blame other people, refuse to take accountability. But the problem for him here is hes running head long into the United States Constitution.

How To Watch The Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Trial: Livestream Link & Trial Schedule

Most of what you have heard in this trial, you do not need to make a decision on, a mainly measured Rottenborn asserted after six weeks of heinous abuse claims and highly explicated testimony recounted by both Depp and Heard, various staffers, doctors, family members, friends and well paid hangers-on. Rottenborn termed the whole case and trial as victim blaming at its most disgusting on the part of the Depp and his Brown Ruddick lawyers.

Having stumbled into various traps by Depps team and seemingly losing the plot over and over, Heards team today came out with precision on Americans sacred document, finally.

Does the First Amendment give Ms. Heard the right to write the words she wrote in this article on December 18, 2018? Rottenborn asked rhetorically. Should someone be able to write an article like that in the United States of America without going through Hell? he went on to say of the focus of the trial.

Ladies and gentleman, let me be very clear, if Amber was abused by Mr. Depp even one time, then she wins, Rottenborn added, calling it ridiculous Depp assertion that he never abused his Rum Diary co-star. They are trying to trick you to believe that Amber has to be perfect to win. Actually, if he fails to prove he didnt abuse Amber one time, she wins.

Depp sued Heard in March 2019 over a December 18, 2018 Washington Post op-ed the actress wrote about becoming a public figure representing domestic abuse. Though the op-end never mentioned Depp by name, the past Oscar nominee claimed it devastated his already waning career. As his attorneys have proclaimed over and over in the April 11 starting trial, Depp also said back in 2019 that he was in fact the one who was abused in the relationship. As was brought up this morning, those claims by Depp are an apparent contradiction to what both sides said publicly in their temporary restraining order filled 2016 divorce.

Characterizing Depp as vindictive on Friday, Rottenborn said the actor will do everything he can to destroy your life, destroy your career.

Just because people might read the article and remember that Amber Heard used to be married to Johnny Depp and she accused him of abuse, that doesnt mean that she designed and intended defamatory implications in writing about herself, Rottenborn also noted in the opening of the defenses closing argument, which are expected to last several hours today.

Having failed to get the case dismissed or moved out of Virginia, Heard in 2020 countersued for $100 million. That countersuit came months before Depps UK libel case against The Sun tabloid for calling him a wife beater proved dramatically unsuccessful in November 2020.

This is the real Johnny Depp, the lawyer said, noting the sexual assault claims and reading out and showing numerous texts from the former Pirates of the Caribbean star to friends like The Avengers Paul Bettany and staffers threating death, sexual violence and global humiliation against Heard. Audio tapes of self-describing monster Depp screaming at Heard that she is a f*cking c*nt and a disturbing 2016 video of an enraged Depp smashing up a kitchen bellowing motherf*cker were also played for the jury for maximum impact following the scorched Earth closing argument from the plaintiffs legal team. Thats abuse, Rottenborn said, noting Depps habit of snickering when such evidence was shown in the Fairfax County Courthouse.

Briefly listing off all the accusations and dirty laundry that has stunk up most of this circus of a trial, Rottenborn exclaimed none of that is in the article. He added: It would be a very different article if shed written about what she suffered, what she told you about the past six weeks.

The facts are absolute overwhelming of abuse, Rottenborn reiterated near the end of his presentation, which was momentarily interrupted by an Amber alert going off on numerous courtroom attendees phones. Any damage to Mr. Depps career is self-caused.

Rottenborn will be succeed in the courtroom by his fellow defense attorney Elaine Bredehoft, who will argue the counterclaims. After that, Depps side will have an hour for rebuttal and then Heards team will have another hour themselves to address the jury. If all goes to schedule, later this afternoon, the seven-person jury will go behind closed doors to consider their verdict.

In theory, we could see a verdict today, before the Memorial Day long weekend begins. However, but in all likelihood, deliberations will continue into next week after the holiday.

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Amber Heards Lawyer Asks Jury To Stand Up For Freedom Of Speech In Final Words In Johnny Depps $50M Defamation Trial Against Ex-Wife; Deliberations...

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Inside Amber Heards childhood, journey to atheism and early acting career – HITC – Football, Gaming, Movies, TV, Music

Posted: at 8:13 pm

American actor Johnny Depps defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard concluded on 27th May after six long weeks of testifying, cross-examination and various witnessesbeing called to the stand.

During the trial that took place in Virginias Fairfax County Court, Heard recalled her early childhood along with details of her first interactions with the Depp on the set of 2011s movie The Rum Diary.

Lets take a look inside Amber Heards childhood, journey to atheism and early acting career. Where is the Hollywood star from and how did she gain onscreen success?

Long before Amber Heards marriage disagreements were making headlines, the actress was described as a shy girl from her hometown.

On 22 April 1986, Heard was born inAustin, Texas to an internet researcher named Patricia Paige (formerly Parsons) and business owner David Clinton Heard.

Her father owned a small construction company and she has a younger sister named Whitney Henriquez who is now aged 34.

Independent reports that the Heard sisters were raised in a conservative Catholic household with modest finances. The 36-year-old now resides in Los Angeles.

Heard competed in beauty pageants in her younger years. In 2018, she told Glamour that her family made her responsible for raising the funds that she needed, so shed often ask businesses in her area to sponsor her ahead of the competitions.

However, the former beauty queen expressed her mixed feelings when asked how she feels about the industry now as she admitted: Pageants are weird, and I cant support the objectification.

Aside from her time spent on stage, Amber Heard had a few hobbies with her dad, who worked construction and broke horses in his free time. She told Glamour: I was his hunting and fishing buddy.

Prior to becoming a Hollywood star with a private life now the trending subject of a media frenzy, Heard was seen as an introverted schoolgirl.

Recalling the actress old school days, a former classmate told the Daily Mail that she was very quiet, and even earned herself the nickname Amber seen and not Heard because she was so timid.

However, the classmate said that Amber was always ambitious: She always seemed almost like her mind was just off somewhere else and she always said, Im going to go and be an actress and that is what I want to do.

When Heard was only 16, her best friend tragically died in a car accident. Independent states that as a result, she became an atheist. Amber previously told USA Today: That was the hardest blow emotionally that I have ever had to endure. Suddenly, you realize tomorrow might not come. Now I live by the motto, Today is what I have.

After her best friends death, Heard reportedly met her first serious boyfriend who introduced her to the writings of Russian-born atheist Ayn Rand. Nicki Swift reports that after reading all of her books, Heard stated: Ever since then, I have been obsessed with her ideals. All Ive ever needed is myself.

In an interview with Rob Brink for Misbehave, as per Friendly Athiest, the subject of religion came up and Heard was asked about her Catholic upbringing.

She said: Id like to thank the way I was raised for giving me enough knowledge about organized religion to make the adult decision to live the rest of my life without it. I dont think you can believe or not believe in anything unless you know a lot about it. I know Christianity, especially Catholicism, like the back of my hand. And my education has given me the freedom to know that it is completely absurd for me to believe it.

Amber later dropped out of school to pursue a modelling career in New York until switching gears to try acting in Los Angeles.

Heard began by sending her pictures to NYC agencies and doing modelling gigs, as she told The Independent.

While the young teenager apparently had no interest in being a model, she loved how different the big city was from her home in conservative Texas: I thought I had died and gone to heaven, she stated: From that moment on I was different.

The stars father previously told the Daily Mail that his daughter always had her heart set on becoming an actor. He added that she had dropped out of her private Catholic school at age 16 to pursue fame:

She wanted this for her career since she was 12-years-old, from the time she was a little girl.

Although Heards family eventually convinced her to return to Texas, she left again once she was aged 18.

According to USA Today, she later earned her diploma by going through a home-study program.

As an actor, she relived her competition days by playing Miss San Antonio in the action film Machete Kills.

Heard received her first leading role in the unconventional slasher filmAll the Boys Love Mandy Lane. The production premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival but was not released in Europe until 2008 and in the US until 2013 due to distribution problems, Wikipedia states.

During the defamation case that concluded on 27th May, Heard shared details of her first interactions with Johnny Depp on the set of 2011s movie The Rum Diary in Puerto Rico.

On 18th December 2018, Amber Heard wrote an op-ed forThe Washington Post, which was titled Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our cultures wrath. That has to change.

In the article, theAquamanactress detailed her exposure to abuse from a very young age and her experience of sexual harassment in college.

Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard for defamation because of an op-ed she published in the Washington Post in 2018. Heard is countersuing Depp. The case is set to continue.

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In other news, A look at Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko's relationship amidst affair rumours

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Reason and Religion Go Hand in Hand Especially Paganism – Patheos

Posted: at 8:13 pm

Over on the atheist website OnlySky, Dr. Will Gervais has a very good article titled The treasured atheist idea that reason undercuts faith just doesnt hold up. Dr. Gervais is a Senior Lecturer of psychology at the Centre for Culture and Evolution at Brunel University London hes a social scientist and he knows what hes talking about. The summary of this article says:

In 2012, a paper co-authored by Will Gervais and Ara Norenzayan in the journal Science claimed that confronting religious beliefs with rationality tends to lead people toward atheism. But when more rigorous subsequent studies found zero effect of rationality on religious beliefs, he and Norenzayan publicly disavowed their findings.

The data shows that rationality and atheism have a weak and fickle correlation.

To an individual person who left religion, rationality can seem like the most important factor. But in aggregate looking across the entire population of everyone who was raised in a religious home and who tries to apply rationality in their life theres nogeneraltrend whereby rationality leads people to atheism. Peoples individual narratives arent invalid, they just cant speak to broader trends.

Ive always considered myself a reasonable and rational person. I was able to leave the religion of my childhood because it wasnt reasonable I was told I had to believe things I couldnt honestly believe. But I never seriously considered atheism.

Im not going to go deeper into Dr. Gervais article. Read it for yourself I you like. Its not a quick read, but its written for a general audience. The comments section is amusing, in that it demonstrates how atheists like to hang onto their preconceived notions as much as everyone else.

Instead, I want to explore why religion in general and Paganism in particular are very reasonable things.

When most people atheists or otherwise complain about religion what theyre really complaining about is Christianity and conservative Christianity at that. But neither the Southern Baptist Convention nor the Roman Catholic Church are normative of all religions and all religious people.

As a non-Christian, I stay out of the arguments about who is or isnt a true Christian. But as an amateur religious scholar, I will say with confidence that the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, and UU Christians are as much a part of the Christian tradition as the more conservative denominations.

Further, if what you say about religion isnt true of Buddhism, Hinduism, and the worlds remaining indigenous religions, then you arent talking about religion youre talking about Christianity.

Fundamentalism is a bad thing and Im happy to ally with atheists and other people of good will to oppose it. But direct your arrows toward the real enemy, not against religion.

I say this frequently, but its worth repeating until it sinks in. The idea that religion is primarily about what you believe is a modern, Western, Protestant idea. For most people throughout most of history throughout most of the world, religion was and is about what you do, who you are, and whose you are.

Religion is about what you do in your daily practice. Its about what holy days you observe, and how you observe them. Its about what you eat and drink and wear and what you dont.

Mainly, religion is about what values you live by, and what virtues you prioritize over others. My Paganism isnt about rules to follow, its about virtues to embody. Hospitality and reciprocity are my most important virtues, but honesty, courage, and perseverance are also of great importance.

The English word religion comes to us in part from the Latin religare, meaning to bind together. Religion is what makes us a community and a family and not just a collection of individuals.

Belief isnt unimportant. But dont say religion when what you mean is belief religion is much more than belief.

Reason is the proper attribution of cause and effect. Its a process that examines available evidence and comes up with a conclusion supported by that evidence. Done right, it acknowledges the confidence we can have in those conclusions. Some conclusions are 100% certain (or very close to it) while others are likely but do not have enough evidence to be absolutely sure.

Many who call religion unreasonable are operating from a foundation of materialism the philosophical assumption that all that exists is matter and the products of its interactions. It assumes that Gods and spirits not only do not exist, they cannot exist.

Materialism is an assumption, not a conclusion based on evidence. Materialists simply dismiss all the evidence for the existence of Gods and spirits (which is largely experiential evidence). Meanwhile, most people around the world examine their experiences and come to the quite reasonable conclusion that they involved Gods and other spirits.

If all religions were to somehow disappear overnight, we would start building new religions almost immediately. Not because people have a need for belief (and certainly not because they just want to control everybody) but because people have religious experiences. People experience birth and death and they wonder about it. They have an encounter with something they cant explain, and a God spoke to me is the most reasonable explanation they can come up with.

Too many of us minimize our religious experiences, or we rationalize them away. We dont want to appear irrational in a society that often acts more atheist than Christian, or were afraid to talk to our Christian friends about something outside the limits of proper Calvinistic Protestantism.

My Pagan polytheist religion is grounded not in myth but in experience. Our religious experiences are always real. Our interpretations of those experiences may be more accurate or less accurate, more helpful or less helpful. But the experiences themselves are always real.

Science tells us with high confidence that life on Earth evolved once. All living things are related some more closely than others. Humans share 98% of our DNA with chimps and bonobos and 50% with bananas (and all other plants). We were not placed on the Earth as some religions claim. We grew out of the Earth.

Given that, what does it mean to say that the Earth is our mother? What does it mean to acknowledge our relations with every other living thing?

What does it mean that we must consume other living things or we will die?

Nature is not fallen and bad things dont happen because of sin. Bad things happen to us because were one part of Nature, not the head and not the center. We are no more and no less important than every other part.

Deep down, all religions arent the same. They have different assumptions, different goals, and different priorities. And some acknowledge the realities of Nature better than others.

None of us got here on our own. We all have parents, grandparents, and many-times-great grandparents, without whom we simply would not be. We go to schools we didnt build to learn knowledge discovered by those we dont know. We have received much, and the virtue of reciprocity teaches that as we have received, so should we give.

Certainly, we can and should pay it forward to the next generation. But what can we do for those who came before us?

We can remember them. We can call their names, tell their stories, offer them food and drink. That they do not physical consume it is not important. It is the offering that counts.

In remembering them, we learn a little about why we are the way we are.

And we are reminded that some day we will be the ancestors, so let us live so as to be worthy of the honor of those who come after us.

Spirits are the essence of a person, the core of their being. I dont have a spirit, I am a spirit who has a body for now. Gods are simply the mightiest of spirits.

When I have an experience of what I interpret as the God Cernunnos, I am a human spirit interacting with a divine spirit. As a polytheist, I believe Cernunnos is a real, distinct, individual being with His own sovereignty and agency. But perhaps Im overstating things. Perhaps Cernunnos is merely a metaphor and personification of Nature, of the wild, of the hunter and the hunted. Either way I can form a relationship with that spirit.

I can speak to Cernunnos and listen for His reply. I can practice good hospitality and make offerings. I can meditate on His values and virtues, embody them in my life, and in doing so become more like Him.

These are good things, regardless of whether my beliefs about Cernunnos are more accurate or less accurate.

And just as I can form and maintain relationships with my Gods, so can I form and maintain relationships with the spirits of land where I live, the spirits of the elements and directions, the spirits of virtues and values, and all the spirits present in our world and in our lives.

Fundamentalist Christians make the error of assuming that religion their religion, anyway has all the answers to all the questions. Fundamentalist atheists make the error of assuming religion has no answers to any questions.

I say we should use the right tool for the right job.1 What science does, it does very well. We are dishonest if we dismiss the findings of science and believe things that are clearly not true, such as Young Earth Creationism.

But science doesnt do a very good job of telling us what if anything comes after death. Its completely inadequate to tell us how we should live our lives and what it all means. It can tell us what will likely happen if we promote certain values over others, but it cannot tell us whether or not thats a good thing.

I cannot tell you that my Pagan and polytheist religion is true in some objective way and neither can anyone from any other religion, if theyre being honest. What I can tell you is that my life has been significantly better since I started this path. It has more meaning and less stress. I no longer fear what may come after death. Perhaps most importantly, Im part of something bigger than myself.

And that makes my religion a very reasonable thing.

1 Biologist Stephen Jay Gould argued for non-overlapping magisteria the idea that science and religion each represent different areas of inquiry, fact vs. values and the two domains do not overlap. This is not that. As this post explains, my religion is grounded in science and is informed by science, but it goes beyond the bounds of science. Some of the boundaries of science are artificial, because too many scientists are wedded to materialism. Other boundaries represent things science does not yet know, but someday will discover. And some boundaries represent things we will never know (at least not with certainty) because theyre beyond the capacity of our powerful but finite human brains to comprehend.

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Letter to the Editor: Find Out for Yourself What College Students Are Learning – Centralia Chronicle

Posted: at 8:13 pm

I recently retired from Centralia College as a tenured professor of criminal justice on March 18 at age 63. I was privileged to instruct three generations of students over 22 years of unblemished academic service. I did not plan to retire early. Until recently, I had planned on teaching several more years. However, I found myself morally and ethically compelled to sever ties with Centralia College when I realized a clear majority of current administrators, faculty and staff now embrace and promote Marxism, critical race theory, transgenderism and atheism to students as young as age 16. Even more troubling is the fact these young and impressionable students are being indoctrinated into accepting and adopting these radical political beliefs and sexuality lifestyles as the new normal for our culture under the false pretense of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

Anthropology students are required to view graphic and disturbing gender reassignment surgery videos in class. History and political science students are told, If you want to be more like Jesus youll become a communist. English composition students are assigned essays on topics like Who would you like to kill and why? A student I know failed an English composition essay he wrote about his Christian upbringing. When he asked his professor how to improve his grade, she told him, Go ask your God how you can get a better grade. Chemistry professors spend class time discussing witchcraft, sorcery and incest as depicted in the Game of Thrones television series with their students. The list of inappropriate conduct and classroom practices that routinely occurs at Centralia College is staggering.

In addition, the few remaining faculty members on campus who are moderately conservative now believe they are being targeted for elimination. Their belief is well founded by the fact that senior administrators continue hiring leftist vice presidents and deans from outside Lewis County when many well qualified individuals reside locally. The current board of trustees has done nothing to stem these inexplicable executive leadership and hiring decisions.

My purpose in writing this letter is to sound an alarm and call to action. I implore everyone with children or grandchildren enrolled at the Centralia College to talk with them about these issues. Ask probing questions. Discuss these concerns with your friends, coworkers, neighbors and clergy. Find out for yourself what your childs professors are actually teaching them. I am confident that once you discover the degree of political, sexual and atheistic brainwashing and grooming your children are subjected to daily, you will either withdraw your student from the college, demand new trustees and executive leadership, or both.

Gregory Gilbertson

Naples, Florida

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Republican primaries offer look into future of Trumpism without Trump – The Guardian US

Posted: at 8:12 pm

In his campaign heyday, Donald Trump would declare it the greatest movement in the history of politics and promise: Were going to win so much, youre going to be so sick and tired of winning.

What never occurred to him was that the Make America Great Again movement or Maga might get sick and tired of him first.

The former US president suffered some humiliation on Tuesday when four candidates he handpicked in Georgia lost Republican primary elections in a landslide. It was a stinging rebuke in what has become ground zero for his big lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

But it was no rebuke of Maga and all it stands for.

The hard-right, nativist-populist strain of Republican politics predates Trump and will surely survive him. This years primary season winners in Georgia and elsewhere have been careful not to disavow the movement, or its patriarch, even when they lack his blessing.

Donald Trump has transformed the Republican party over the past five years and it is now a solid majority Trumpist party with everything that entails in policy and in tone, said Bill Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington. On the other hand, Republicans, including very conservative ones, are clearly willing to entertain the possibility of Trumpism without Trump.

Trump is now 75 and could be living a quiet, golf-playing retirement like other past presidents. But against the counsel of some of his inner circle, he chose to make this years midterm elections about him and the primaries votes in states and districts to decide which Republicans will take on Democrats in November a referendum on his continued influence.

Trump endorsed candidates in nearly 200 races, from governor to county commissioner, often in contests that are not particularly competitive and help bolster his list of wins. But others have been reckless, vengeful bets aimed at dislodging incumbents who defied his claims of election fraud. So far, the results have been a mixed bag.

The month began well enough in Ohio, where venture capitalist and author JD Vance leaped from third to first place following Trumps late-stage endorsement in the Senate primary.

In North Carolina, Trump helped the 26-year-old former college football player Bo Hines win the nomination for a seat in the House of Representatives. In Pennsylvania, voters chose his preferred candidate for governor, Doug Mastriano, who said he would not have certified Joe Bidens 2020 win of the state.

But other governor races, which often turn on specific local issues, have proved more elusive. Trumps pick in Nebraskas primary, Charles Herbster, lost after allegations surfaced that he had groped women. In Idaho a week later, Governor Brad Little comfortably beat a Trump-backed challenger.

In North Carolina, meanwhile, voters rejected Trumps plea to give a scandal-plagued congressman Madison Cawthorn a second chance. And in Pennsylvania, a Senate primary featuring Trump-endorsed TV doctor Mehmet Oz remains too close to call.

This week Trump again notched some wins including Sarah Sanders, his former White House press secretary, in the primary for governor of Arkansas. But it was all overshadowed by Georgia, where he has pushed his personal vendetta hardest and so squandered political capital.

It was not just that former senator David Perdue, whom Trump had lobbied to run, lost to Governor Brian Kemp, who had refused to overturn the results of the 2020 election in his state. It was also the crushing margin: Kemp beat Perdue by a staggering 52 percentage points.

Rubbing salt into the wound, Georgias secretary of state Brad Raffensperger, who defied Trumps call to find the votes to change the outcome two years ago, also won his partys nomination. Attorney general Chris Carr and insurance commissioner John King, both opposed by Trump, prevailed in their primaries too.

Galston, a former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, commented: The results in Georgia were really stunning. Few, if any Republicans, have aroused Donald Trumps ire so much as Governor Kemp and Brad Raffensperger and they both did substantially better than expected. Donald Trump went all out in Georgia and he ended up an egg on this face, which is significant.

It may be that the people who have been in the bulls eye of Trumps big lie campaign have started resenting it and took their resentment out. More generally, I think an increasing number of people are asking themselves a question that they werent asking previously: would we be better off with a Trumpist candidate whos not named Donald Trump?

Among those asking the question is Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, who campaigned for Kemp in Georgia and told the Politico website: Trump picked this fight. Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul have also felt at liberty to campaign for midterm candidates denied Trumps imprimatur.

Then there is Mike Pence, the former vice-president, who defied his old boss by rallying with Kemp on Monday and telling the crowd: Elections are about the future. Pence, himself a former governor of Indiana, has made a habit of speaking with pride about the accomplishments of the Trump-Pence administration while distancing himself from the big lie.

Should he run for president in 2024, he may pay close attention to how Little, Kemp and others have studiously avoided criticising Trump while capturing swaths of his base by shifting right on abortion, gun rights and culture wars issues and signing legislation to prove it. Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is another likely student of the formula.

That means there is still little room for more old school Republicans such as Senator Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, who lost the presidential election in 2012. Few are making an impact in the primaries. A Republican who wants to pretend that 2016 through 2020 never happened and go back to the Romney-Ryan era is not going to do well in todays Republican party, said Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center thinktank in Washington.

But Trump does face a further challenge to his authority from the far right.

Some on this wing effectively accuse him of not being Trumpy enough, as demonstrated last year when he was booed for urging supporters to get vaccinated against the coronavirus (he now barely mentions vaccines in his speeches).

Kathy Barnette, a Senate candidate who mounted a late surge in Pennsylvania with ideas even more extreme than Oz, told the Reuters news agency: Maga doesnt belong to him. Trump coined the word. He does not own it.

Kandiss Taylor, a similarly far-right candidate for governor of Georgia, backs Trumps false claims of voter fraud but is unsure whether she would vote for him again in 2024. She said in an interview with the Guardian: Its not about him. The people of America chose him and hes the one that we elected. Will I vote for him in 2024? It all depends on what happens between now and then and who runs against him.

A further sign of fracturing came this week when Cawthorn, smarting from his defeat in North Carolina, swore revenge on cowardly and weak members of his own party and declared: Its time for the rise of the new right, its time for Dark Maga to truly take command.

The anti-democratic implication was that the end justifies the means in an existential struggle for America. Cawthorn named allies including the Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Trump himself, suggesting that the former president has already turned to the dark side.

Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman who belonged to the rightwing Tea Party movement, said: Magas dark enough on its own Trumpism has metastasised beyond Trump and itll go in a bunch of different dark, eerie places but its all the same thing. Trumpism now is the dominant strain in the party.

Magas identity crisis comes as Biden and other Democratic leaders seek to brand their opponents as Ultra-Maga Republicans in the hope that labelling the entire party as extremist will be more effective in the midterms than a singular focus on Trump (though he and his supporters have embraced Ultra-Maga in merchandise and fundraising emails).

Yet while Trumps status as a kingmaker has been diminished, and his Stop the steal obsession is wearing thin, it would be unwise to extrapolate too much from primaries where it was always going to be hard to oust popular, well-funded incumbents.

Trump continues to raise vast sums of money and command loyalty from most Republicans in Congress as well as from the Republican National Committee. Polls suggest that he is more popular with the Republican base now than when he won the nomination for president in 2016. His America first mantra is now in the partys DNA; even the candidates he does not endorse typically do endorse him.

Walsh, who challenged Trump in the 2020 presidential primary and now hosts a podcast, added: Nothing has changed. This is Trumps party and everything thats happened this primary season just continues to reflect that Wake me up when an anti-Trump Republican wins a primary. That would be news.

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Republican Governors Lose Their Dread of Trump – The New York Times

Posted: at 8:12 pm

There are two Republican parties.

Thats a vast oversimplification, of course. Republican pollsters have been known to sort G.O.P. voters into seven categories or more, ranging from committed Christians to pro-business types to squishy never-Trumpers.

But when it comes to choosing sides in primaries, a split is widening. Theres the national party, led by Donald Trump in Florida and Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House, with Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, toggling between foe and ally as the occasion warrants.

And then theres the G.O.P. that is rooted in state power, run by a core group of pragmatic, often less hard-line governors who represent states as different as libertarian-leaning Arizona and deep-blue Massachusetts.

This week, the Republican Governors Association happened to be gathering in Nashville for its annual meeting. The guest of honor: Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, fresh off his 50-percentage-point drubbing of David Perdue, a former senator and businessman who had been dragooned into a primary by Trump. Kemp spoke at a dinner in Nashville on Wednesday night, thanking his donors and fellow governors for their support.

It was a celebratory moment for a tight-knit, fraternal group that was often in close contact during the crises of the coronavirus pandemic and the chaotic end of Trumps presidency. Trump has leaned particularly hard on two of the most influential governors of the bunch, Kemp and Doug Ducey of Arizona, to support his fictional stolen-election narrative.

Many G.O.P. governors emerged from the Trump years in strong political shape, despite intense criticism. All 10 of the most popular governors in the country are Republicans, according to polling by Morning Consult. And sitting Republican governors have kept their hands mostly clean of Jan. 6, a toxic subject among corporate donors in particular.

To an extraordinary degree, these G.O.P. governors have joined forces to fight off Trumps handpicked challengers as well as those currying his favor raising millions and intervening in primaries to support their colleagues like never before.

The president was on this campaign of vengeance, said Bill Palatucci, a Republican National Committee member from New Jersey who is close to former Gov. Chris Christie, describing the thinking of those gathered in Nashville this week.

But for lots of former and current Republican governors, its about doing the right thing for colleagues who have acquitted themselves well, Palatucci added. Christie, a previous R.G.A. chairman who now helps run one of the groups main fund-raising arms, remains actively involved in the organization.

Those running for office, like Kemp, have studiously avoided tangling with Trump. But others have been remarkably open about standing up to the man in Mar-a-Lago, unlike most of their colleagues in Washington.

Pete Ricketts, the governor of Nebraska and current co-chairman of the governors group along with Ducey, sided against Trumps pick in his states Republican primary, Charles Herbster, and flew to Georgia to help Kemp.

Larry Hogan, the governor of Maryland and an R.G.A. board member, has spoken of fighting Trump cancel culture and called for a course correction away from Trump; Christie seems to be quoted criticizing the former president daily, including in a recent article in The Washington Post detailing the governors plans to stop what he called Trumps vendetta tour.

Opposing Trump is costly, though.

Governors races dont tend to attract the same big money that Senate races do. Why not? Because more donors across the country care more about the next majority leader than, say, who runs Nebraska.

But the cash Republican governors have raised to support one another is significant.

They spent $4 million in Ohio to help Gov. Mike DeWine, $5 million to help Kemp in Georgia, $2 million to support Gov. Kay Ivey in Alabama and put more than $80,000 behind Gov. Brad Little in Idaho, who was fending off a bizarre challenge from his own lieutenant governor.

To complicate matters further, there are states where Trump and the R.G.A. are on the same side. In Texas, Trump and the governors supported Gov. Greg Abbott. In South Carolina, both sides are backing Gov. Henry McMaster. And Trump is also supporting Mike Dunleavy, the governor of Alaska.

It gets trickier when there is no incumbent governor.

The most interesting test is coming up in Arizona, where Trump has endorsed Kari Lake, a charismatic former television presenter who is an avid proponent of his baseless election-fraud claims. Lake is leading in polls of the primary, ahead of the favorite of the local Republican establishment and the business community, Karrin Taylor Robson, and Matt Salmon, a former member of the U.S. House who was the Republican nominee for governor in 2002, losing by a whisker to Janet Napolitano.

Ducey, who is term-limited, has said that he reserves the right to endorse a candidate in the primary, and Robson, a developer who founded her own land-use strategy firm, would be the logical choice. In 2017, he appointed her to the Arizona Board of Regents, which governs the states public universities. Robson was in Nashville this week, according to a local ABC affiliate in Phoenix.

The primary begins earlier than the Aug. 2 date on the calendar suggests. Arizonans vote heavily by mail, and early ballots go out to voters in July. That means the next few weeks are critical, and an endorsement could happen soon.

Will Ducey come off the sidelines? His confidants arent saying. If he did so, it would be in his personal capacity. But because he is co-chairman of the R.G.A., his imprimatur would send a signal to donors and other insiders that Robson is the one to back.

It would also set off another confrontation with Trump, who has blamed Ducey for failing to overturn Arizonas election results in 2020.

Back in the fall, when Ducey was contemplating a run for Senate, Trump blasted him as the weak RINO Governor from Arizona and said he would never have my endorsement or the support of MAGA Nation!

He said much the same about Kemp and lost.

Blake

Is there anything you think were missing? Anything you want to see more of? Wed love to hear from you. Email us at onpolitics@nytimes.com.

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After 21 people were killed, the Republican party’s newest enemy is doors | Arwa Mahdawi – The Guardian

Posted: at 8:12 pm

Sign up for the Week in Patriarchy, a newsletter on feminism and sexism sent every Saturday

It can be hard to get your head around what rightwingers in the US actually believe. On the one hand, they claim to love babies; on the other hand, theyre against government funds going towards helping to feed babies. They claim to love freedom and hate government meddling, but then theyre frenetically trying to pass bills that would take away a womans freedom over her own body and allow the government to meddle in intimate reproductive choices. Like I said, theyre a complex bunch! Still, Ive mapped their moral compass as best I can, and compiled this handy cheatsheet to help understand where conservatives stand on various issues. Here you go.

Essential to life, liberty and the pursuit of freedom; should remain freely available and shouldnt be controlled:

Highly dangerous and must be banned or tightly controlled:

Yep, you read that last item right: it seems doors are the newest enemy of the Republican party. In the wake of the horrific elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas where 19 children and two teachers were killed by a teenager with military-grade weapons some Republicans are choosing to channel their energy towards the important question of door control.

You want to talk about how we could have prevented the horror that played out across the street? the Texas senator Ted Cruz said on Wednesday, while standing outside Robb elementary school. Having one door that goes in and out of the school, having armed police officers at that one door.

An ordinary person would have paused for a second after saying something so patently ridiculous and then, hit by the realization that they had just blamed the massacre of school children on the problem of too many doors and not enough guns, curled up into a little ball of shame. Not Cancn Cruz, though. Cruz has demonstrated time and time again that he is incapable of shame. No, instead of realizing hed said something inane, Cruz just doubled down on it; he was so pleased with the concept of door reform that he repeated the idea later that day on Fox News.

Cruz isnt the only Republican waging a war on doors: the issue has long been a favourite talking point among conservatives trying to deflect from the idea of gun reform. After a 2018 shooting at a high school in Houston, for example, the Texas lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, blamed the massacre on doors. From what we know, [the shooter] walked in with a long coat and a shotgun under his coat, Patrick said during a news conference. Its 90 degrees. Had there been one single entrance possibly for every student, maybe he would have been stopped There are too many entrances and too many exits to our over 8,000 campuses in Texas.

It probably wont surprise you to hear that the National Rifle Association (NRA), who bankroll a long list of Republican politicians, including Cruz, are the ones responsible for coming up with the too-many-doors talking point. In 2013, in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, the NRA assembled a taskforce to come up with a school safety proposal that didnt involve meaningful gun control. The result was a dystopian 225-page report that included recommendations like: arm teachers; build bigger fences; get rid of trees; design windows, framing, and anchoring systems to minimize the effects of explosive blasts, gunfire and forced entry. These are recommendations, let me remind you, for schools. Not for maximum security prisons for schools. The report also contains pages and pages of recommendations about doors, including the idea that there should be a single, controlled entry point and that doors should have ballistic protective glass.

Many of the NRAs recommendations, it should be said, had been implemented by Robb elementary. In 2020, the Uvalde school district received $69,000 in state grants to enhance physical security in Texas public schools, which included installing exterior doors with push bars and door-locking systems. None of that stopped the shooter. It shouldnt need to be said, but doors are not responsible for school massacres. Guns are.

To be clear: Cruz and his buddies in the NRA may be morally bankrupt but they are not entirely stupid. They know very well that guns are dangerous. Thats why guns were banned from Donald Trumps speech at the NRA conference on Friday. It seems that they decided door control wouldnt quite cut it in that particular situation.

Perhaps you saw this headline and thought it probably referred to something that happened a very, very long time ago? Nope. The Chilean state has just apologized to a woman who was forcibly sterilized by doctors in 2002 because she was HIV positive. This wasnt a one-off: according to a 2004 study of the 23 women who were sterilized after learning they were HIV-positive, 50% did so under pressure or had been sterilized without their knowledge. Theres also, of course, a very long history of sterilization being forced on Indigenous women around the world. Rather than being a thing of the past, it still happens in places like Canada today.

For years Anthony Dixon was considered Britains most influential pelvic surgeon. Now a government inquiry has found that more than 200 women were harmed after he carried out unnecessary procedures on them.

I bloody hope so.

The bill makes it clear that silence or passivity dont equal consent.

Three hundred and twenty-nine years ago a woman called Elizabeth Johnson Jr was accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. By some sort of witchery she managed to escape being hanged but was still branded as a witch. And shed still be considered a witch to this day if it werent for a bunch of meddling kids: in 2021 a group of middle-schoolers in Massachusetts took on her case and have finally cleared her name. Shes the last of the Salem witch trials convicted to be cleared.

After 19 years on air, Ellen DeGeneres has walked away from her famous talkshow. The last few years havent been great for DeGeneres: shes faced accusations of being one of the meanest people alive and presiding over a toxic workplace. Still, while shes very far from perfect, its important to remember that Ellen has done an enormous amount for the LGBTQ+ community. As a gay woman, Ill never forget the impact of her bravely coming out in 1997.

In a plot twist that everyone could have seen coming the romance novelist who wrote an essay titled How to Murder Your Husband has been found guilty of murdering her husband. You might be wondering if he was murdered with a door seeing as how deadly those things are? No, weirdly enough, it was a gun.

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Opinion | Is Ron DeSantis the Future of the Republican Party? – The New York Times

Posted: at 8:12 pm

To the Editor:

In DeSantis Is the New Republican Party (Opinion guest essay, Sunday Review, May 15), Rich Lowry states that Ron DeSantis points to the Republican future.

If so, its a future of publicly bullying children, punishing the press and whistle-blowers, ignoring medical science and trash-talking world-renowned scientists in epidemiology, big government intruding on womens health, big government intruding on corporate freedom, big government handcuffing teachers about what they can say in the classroom and what books they can use, and the 24/7 politics of anger, resentment, hate, cynicism and demagogy.

Whatever this dystopian political future may hold, it isnt conservative. Its radical right, and has more in common with the politics of totalitarian states than it does with democracies.

Stuart RojstaczerPalo Alto, Calif.

To the Editor:

Rich Lowry praises Gov. Ron DeSantis as a Republican hero for his response to Covid-19. By doing so, he perpetuates a dangerous myth that Governor DeSantiss approach to Covid was the right path. This is tragically untrue.

The data tells the story. New York and Florida offer a comparison: They have fairly similar population size and numbers of Covid deaths. Florida has had 346 deaths per 100,000 people and New York 350 deaths per 100,000, as of May 24.

The difference is that New York had almost half of its Covid deaths from March to July 2020, when we knew little and had few protections. Florida, by contrast, saw over two-thirds of its Covid deaths in 2021 and 2022, when many were preventable.

The facts are clear, and history will judge that Governor DeSantiss Covid-19 policy had tragic consequences no matter how he is mythologized.

Stephen LevinBrooklyn

To the Editor:

As a conservative (though not a Republican), I am not as pleased as Rich Lowry is with Gov. Ron DeSantiss rise in the Republican Party, for one reason: his use of political power to bludgeon private businesses into conformity with his cultural preferences.

He should stick with traditional Republican doctrine and dont try to tell me how to run my business. If I want to spout off about laws I dont like or require my employees and customers to wear masks, thats none of his business.

To the Editor:

Regarding the Opinion online interactive and the May 22 Sunday Review article showing final text messages of those who died of Covid:

More than any obituary, death notice or tribute to a deceased individual, those simple text exchanges conveyed the sadness and pain of losing a loved one to Covid. The poignant and quotidian expressions of concern and anxiety were searing and unforgettable.

Estelle B. WadeNew York

To the Editor:

Re We Must Prepare for Putins Worst Weapons, by Mitt Romney (Opinion guest essay, May 23):

With some surprise, this liberal agrees with Mr. Romney on Vladimir Putins possible use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Unlike past nuclear confrontations, if Mr. Putin used them in crazed desperation, it would be against people who he claims are really Russians, rather than against the United States or other NATO countries.

He would be detonating them above his own troops, and depending on wind patterns heavy fallout could end up on Russian territory. Mr. Putin must know that NATO could quickly sink the entire Russian Navy and decimate his army with conventional weapons if he crossed the nuclear Rubicon.

President Biden and NATO cannot repeat the peace for our time mistakes of Neville Chamberlain by surrendering parts of Ukraine to Mr. Putin in a vain attempt to pacify this fascist.

Carl MezoffStamford, Conn.

To the Editor:

Re The Great Erasure, by Charles M. Blow (column, May 22):

The erasure of street art created after the killing of George Floyd is symbolic of the waning support for the Black Lives Matter movement. It is saddening, but it is not discouraging.

As a young Black person in America, I still believe in change. I dont expect change to come quickly or easily, and I expect many more unjust killings before it arrives, but I believe that it is possible.

I have this faith not because I am fond of Americas past, present or even immediate future, but because I know that change is needed and I believe that there are enough people who wont give up on fighting for it until it happens.

Rebekah BoiteyFayetteville, N.C.The writer is a high school student.

To the Editor:

Re How Far Should You Go to Save a Life?, by Daniela J. Lamas (Opinion guest essay, Sunday Review, May 15):

This article discussed the question of how far doctors and patients should go in cases in which an experimental treatment is the only alternative to certain death. My years as a psychiatric consultant to the medical services at a major teaching hospital taught me the value of hope.

We know that emotions affect the immune system, which affects the growth of many cancers. Sometimes the mere awareness of the possibility that an experimental drug could provide a miracle cure helps to regulate a patients immune system sufficiently to slow the progression of metastatic cancer.

The compassionate use program should be greatly expanded to allow more patients to benefit from this.

Harvey M. BermanWhite Plains, N.Y.

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Keep the Republican convention out of Milwaukee – Wisconsin Examiner

Posted: at 8:12 pm

Having the RNC in Milwaukee is a disaster waiting to happen. Milwaukee and other cities in southeast Wisconsin have been rocked by tragedies and violence as of late. Our communities are hurting and grieving. Some of the most marginalized are finding ways to heal. We are anxious. We are on edge. Not even two weeks ago, a white supremacist murdered 10 people at a grocery store in a predominately Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. The killer had been radicalized by racist misinformation online. In Wisconsin, weve seen attacks on the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and anti-Semitic fliers left in peoples yards.

What does all of this have to do with the RNC? There is only one party that helps push out misinformation that costs people their lives. There is one party that demands a rebuttal to the phrase Black Lives Matter. There is one party at uplifts and supports the NRA. Obviously, there are exceptions but we see a pretty consistent pattern in the Republican partys stands on these issues. The Republican party is a party of hate. Former Chair of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party Chris Walton, sums it up pretty easily.

In a city where the majority of residents are people of color, the Republicans have largely stayed away. It was only in 2020 that the Republican party opened an office in Milwaukee for the first time. Their delayed engagement feels like its sole intent is to extract and chip away votes, not actually work on our issues. After not engaging with Milwaukee for so long, why would the Republicans want to have their convention here? I cant help but think that the party wants to antagonize an already hurting and broken city. The racial tensions are high and bringing in a party that represents hate puts our city in danger. Given the tragedy in Buffalo, a newsurvey says that 75% of Black people are afraid of another racially motivated attack.

We just hit the two-year anniversary of George Floyds murder and our country is still ripped apart at the seams, unable to move forward and protect Black lives. The Republican party, both nationally and locally, has consistently blocked legislation and real policy that would protect Black lives. But they want to hold their largest convention in the city of Milwaukee? A city that is only referred to by Republicans through racist dog whistles. Proposing having the RNC in our city feels as if leaders are spitting in the face of our real pain. Pain from the Republican party. Pain from a party that props up Kyle Rittenhouse, who murdered two people in Kenosha as they demonstrated to defend Black lives. There is a very real possibility that in the city of Milwaukee, the RNC will feature people like Rittenhouse.

Ive sat on this and thought about this for quite some time. What would this mean for our city? Sure there is an economic impact, but I struggle to find more benefits. Hate should not be welcomed in our city and its absurd that at this moment, with everything we have seen lately, we are considering this. The economic impact is not worth the potential violence (both physical and emotional).

Voces de La Frontera and other community organizations were right when they wrote in an open letter to the common council that this is a different Republican party. This is a party that seeks to lock up more Black and brown people, a party that proposes legislation in Madison aimed solely at hurting Milwaukee and starving the city of funds. With all of these dynamics, I cant help but think that we run the risk of turning Milwaukee into another Charlottesville, which violent white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups made a symbol of racism. Conventions already push out our most vulnerable, and bring additional law enforcement into our communities. There is no reason the RNC wants to have its convention here outside of scaring and terrorizing communities that they have already left behind, and communities they often attack. We have had so many conversations about safety recently. Right now we have an opportunity to keep our community safe by not allowing hate into the city we love so much.

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Physician explains why heterodox views on COVID led to his Republican conversion – Fox News

Posted: at 8:12 pm

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Physician Dr. Pierre Kory explained how his anti-establishment views on COVID-19 affected his change in political parties Friday on "The Ingraham Angle."

DR. PIERRE KORY: Science should not be involved with politics, and I'm seeing these divisions breaking out in medicine that seem to be influenced by political allegiances. And I'm not for that. But when you look at some of the things that have been going on, we're literally talking about disinformation boards and people going after my medical license because my scientific opinions are different from theirs and there's this single truth. It's extremely dystopian, and I find it really disorienting, and it's bad for medicine. It's bad for patients. The lack of self-awareness of really what I'm seeing now from the Left and from Left-leaning media that they're abandoning their principles. I used to be for free expression, free speech and really questioning authority, and now they're the authoritarians. And so like Elon [Musk], I'm very disoriented by it.

DRUG AGAINST COVID: US MOVES TO MAKE ANTIVIRAL MORE ACCESSIBLE

If you see how [Dr. Fauci's] opinions have shifted over time and that goes back to my point we need open, honest, scientific, transparent debate. That's how medicine advances. This is so bad for patients. For one person sitting atop the federal government health agencies telling us what is true and we're not allowed to debate that or question that's not how medicine advances. That's not how we discover how to help patients. It's absolutely going to hurt medicine if he keeps doing this, and it has to stop.

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Physician explains why heterodox views on COVID led to his Republican conversion - Fox News

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