Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has Covid19.

He’s the Donald Trump of Brazil.  He poo-pooed masks and began pushing restarting the country to save the economy.

Bolsonaro said he was taking hydroxychloroquine, which is first cousins with snake oil.

Look, I am not celebrating anybody being sick, but people who tell others to take risks with their heath and prescribe bad medicine probably deserve … oh hell, yes. Good that he got sick because that sumbitch killed a lot of other people.

Thought the miracle of modern investigative journalism, The Daily Beast brings an amazing story of how rightwing “news media” got suckered by some foreign nationals.

Conservative sites like Newsmax and Washington Examiner have published Middle East hot takes from “experts” who are actually fake personas pushing propaganda.

The Beast isn’t just making claims, they have proof.  And, it’s not just those two – there are others.

It’s a complicated story with lots of players.

One of the main virtual players is a guy named Raphael Bedani …

Badani is part of a network of at least 19 fake personas that has spent the past year placing more than 90 opinion pieces in 46 different publications. The articles heaped praise on the United Arab Emirates and advocated for a tougher approach to Qatar, Turkey, Iran and its proxy groups in Iraq and Lebanon.

Following this article’s publication, the Washington Examiner removed its article written by “Badani,” leaving only an editor’s note: “This op-ed has been removed after an investigation into its provenance and authorship.”

Remember: the things they accuse you of doing is exactly what they are doing.

Thanks to Judy for the heads up.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner let it be known that he couldn’t stop Republicans from coming to Houston for their convention / viral spreading of epic proportions.

But, they better leave their attitude at home.

“Health inspectors will be on-site for the entire convention to ensure all guidelines are being followed,” Turner’s office tweeted. “If they are not, the inspectors have the authority to shut down the convention.”

Houston is following Republican Governor Greg Abbott’s order that everyone in Texas has to wear a mask once they leave their own front door.  Republicans made this bed. Let them sleep in it.

I think it’s a game they are playing with Houston’s Mayor.  They want Turner, a Democratic African American, to call off the convention so they can politicize him stopping their convention but not Black Lives Matter protests.  He won’t do it. Instead, he’s going to make them follow their own rules.

It might be fun to watch.

You know how Trump and Company didn’t want us to know where the PPP money is going?

Grover Norquist took between 150-300 K because the millions and millions he already has just can’t tide a boy through these tough times when a president too weak to whimper makes us long for the days of Franklin Roosevelt.

Grover Norquist and the Ayn Rand Institute want you to know government is intrusive, taxes are bad and socialism is horrific – and they will after they get their handouts.

They will now resume their regularly scheduled vitriol about liberal overreach & the evils of big government.

But wait, isn’t this kinda like if matter hits anti-matter?  Shouldn’t the Ayn Rand Institute be crumbling into nothingness?  Or is this just a clever plot for Grover to shrink government until he can drown it in the bathtub?

Thanks to Deb T for the heads up.

You know, money ain’t everything and when J P Morgan talks like this, there’s some people listening.

JPMORGAN: “The consensus view is that a Democrat victory in November will be a negative for equities. However, we see this outcome as neutral to slight positive.”

I bet they choked on that last part.  Or at least the building shook.

The stock market has always done better under Democrats.  And, the fact that a stock market will exist with a Democratic win is certainly a slight improvement over carnage and chaos.

Simon & Schuster is moving the up publication of Mary Trump’s book by two weeks.  I suspect because they think Trump’s not going to last much longer than that.

There is a hint of what is to come on the back cover.  Click here to read it.

I certainly hope this book does not expect me to feel sorry for him.  I hear Stalin had a rough childhood, too.