https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/oh-goody-a-trump-official-once-called-ebola-a-scam/
Showing posts with label scam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scam. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Oh Goody, a Trump Official Once Called Ebola a “Scam” – Mother Jones
Tim Meisburger, who was then the head of USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, Enrich testified, “specifically noted that Ebola was a ‘scam’ because there had only been ‘one death.’” Enrich attempted to “explain that Ebola was still in an incubation period, and that we should see the response through,” but to no avail. Instead, he continued, his superiors decided to “deprioritize activities related to neglected tropical diseases, MPox, Polio, Ebola, and any monitoring and surveillance activities.”…
Sunday, May 17, 2026
The AI Slop Machine is Worse Than You Think [feat Mallory DeMille] (Conspirituality podcast #308)
Many of the ads and videos you see for supplements and health and fitness products (which might be scams) are being churned out using AI, and generating huge incomes for the creators of the videos, in addition to sales for the vendors.
Then Mallory DeMille went down a YouTube and TikTok rabbit hole and found the men making millions from these accounts. Today we’re going to look at what they’re doing, how they’re doing it, and the cultural and racial dynamics at play in their slop.
Interview:
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Monday, May 4, 2026
David Kirkpatrick on Trump’s Shameless Profiteering (Al Franken podcast on YouTube)
One of Donald Trump's most successful initiatives in his second term has been making himself and his family richer than ever. In this Best Of episode, we revisit our November 2025 conversation with The New Yorker’s David Kirkpatrick, who wrote a piece outlining all the ways the legendary grifters have cashed in during Trump’s presidency.
The Trump family has long been associated with shameless cash grabs, but we have reached new levels of corruption by using his office for their money-making schemes: international real estate deals, Trump-branded merchandise, and cryptocurrency.
David lays out the long list of ethical implications involved and calculates the staggering amount of money Donald Trump and his family have made off his presidency.
Interview:
The Trump family has long been associated with shameless cash grabs, but we have reached new levels of corruption by using his office for their money-making schemes: international real estate deals, Trump-branded merchandise, and cryptocurrency.
David lays out the long list of ethical implications involved and calculates the staggering amount of money Donald Trump and his family have made off his presidency.
Interview:
Thursday, April 9, 2026
Thursday, March 26, 2026
Sunday, March 22, 2026
Christian Candidate Too Extreme for Australia (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #627)
— Federal judge blocks Arkansas law forcing Ten Commandments displays in public schools. (0:37)
— South Australia political party dumps Christian candidate over anti-gay, anti-feminist rants. (14:47)
— Nebraska “prophet” says God needs him to have access to a private jet. (26:28)
— Indiana judge says state’s abortion ban violates religious freedom of those seeking abortions. (40:08)
— A Utah lawmaker didn’t try to codify the Mormon “Word of Wisdom.” He was just making a point. (51:30)
— Extremist pastor plots comeback campaign in deep-red Oklahoma district. (1:06:55)
— Alabama House passes bill forcing public schools to begin day with student-led prayer. (1:17:50)
Interview:
— South Australia political party dumps Christian candidate over anti-gay, anti-feminist rants. (14:47)
— Nebraska “prophet” says God needs him to have access to a private jet. (26:28)
— Indiana judge says state’s abortion ban violates religious freedom of those seeking abortions. (40:08)
— A Utah lawmaker didn’t try to codify the Mormon “Word of Wisdom.” He was just making a point. (51:30)
— Extremist pastor plots comeback campaign in deep-red Oklahoma district. (1:06:55)
— Alabama House passes bill forcing public schools to begin day with student-led prayer. (1:17:50)
Interview:
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
Tax scams are up this season compared to previous years. Here's what to know | PBS News
Robocalls, texts, and phishing emails from scammers are up this tax season compared to previous years, with artificial intelligence likely increasing fraud attempts, according to the consumer protection bureau of the Federal Trade Commission. Consumer advocates and government officials urge the public to stay wary, to stop and think before engaging with phone or text messages, and to remember the IRS will not contact you directly by text or phone…
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Donald Trump’s Plan to Be King of the World – Mother Jones
Trump is essentially cooking up a global slush fund over which he will exert complete control. Countries that get in early—while he's president—will certainly be in a strong position to request preferential treatment in state affairs. The opportunities for graft and grift are immense. He will probably ask Congress to kick in the $1 billion pay-to-play membership fee to guarantee he'll have a pot of money to spend (or pocket) at his fancy...
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Monday, January 19, 2026
How Crypto Is Used for Political Corruption (Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, podcast and transcript)
This new source of money is giving the administration unprecedented new powers.
"So there is the risk when it comes to the asset itself in the sense that these assets are highly volatile. Many of them, you don’t know who has created the asset. You don’t know who is running the business. You don’t know their credibility or their background. They aren’t required to disclose it under the current regulatory regime. There have been many, many cryptocurrencies that are known as “rug pulls,” where, essentially, the creators of these assets inflate the price artificially and then sell all their tokens, profiting immensely themselves but at the expense of everyone they convinced to purchase the tokens...."
"So there is the risk when it comes to the asset itself in the sense that these assets are highly volatile. Many of them, you don’t know who has created the asset. You don’t know who is running the business. You don’t know their credibility or their background. They aren’t required to disclose it under the current regulatory regime. There have been many, many cryptocurrencies that are known as “rug pulls,” where, essentially, the creators of these assets inflate the price artificially and then sell all their tokens, profiting immensely themselves but at the expense of everyone they convinced to purchase the tokens...."
Monday, January 12, 2026
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Dr Jessica Knurick talks MAHA and diet and nutrition misinformation (Conspirituality podcast #288)
Derek sits down with Dr Jessica Knurick at the Eudemonia Summit for this special live recording. They discuss combating health misinformation online, what MAHA gets right and wrong, whether or not "nutritionist" should be a protected term, and Jessica's possible political ambitions.
Interview:
Friday, December 19, 2025
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Monday, November 17, 2025
Does Calley Means Get Anything Right? (Conspirituality podcast)
RFK Jr's senior advisor and supplements salesman, Calley Means, has repeatedly fabricated the story of Abraham Flexner and the birth of the modern medical system. Derek looks into his historical revisionism and what it could mean for the MAHA movement.
Interview:
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Demolishing Anti-Vaccine Frauds in Live Debate (Steve Kirsch and Pierre Kory Exposed) (Professor Dave Explains YouTube channel)
Professor Dave says:
As part of Pangburn's Anti-RFK tour, I traveled to New York City for a live debate against prominent anti-vaxxers and douchebags supreme, Steve Kirsch and Pierre Kory. Given that they have profited off of human life, nobody in the history of my channel deserves to be exposed more, and I got to do it right to their dumb grifter faces. Aiding me in this endeavor was Dr. Dan Wilson of Debunk the Funk. Between the two of us, these jerks didn't know what hit them, so sit back and enjoy the carnage.Interview:
Saturday, October 11, 2025
How To Activate Scam Protection On iPhone | HuffPost Life
Once you activate the iOS call screener, Apple's Siri will become your phone's bouncer and in its robotic voice, it will ask your caller who is calling and the reason for the call. The transcribed conversation will appear as a message and you can direct Siri to ask more questions, pick up the phone or reject the call.
But this feature is not a default setting ― you need to turn it on yourself if you're an iPhone user. Here's how…
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iphone-call-screening-ios-26_l_68e543a3e4b038265cc82dde
Sunday, September 21, 2025
The Christian Right's Anti-Woke SAT Alternative (Hemant Mehta and Jessica Bluemke, The Friendly Atheist podast #601)
— TN high school football coach suspended after pushing religion on kids during game. (4:13)
— Appeals Court says Vermont public league must reinstate anti-trans Christian school. (22:06)
— U.S. military academies plan to accept the Christian Right’s inferior alternative to the SAT. (41:42)
— Colorado pastor and wife ordered to repay $3.4M to victims of their crypto scam. (1:00:30)
—- Oklahoma’s Supreme Court blocks Ryan Walters’ Bible-heavy Social Studies standards. (1:10:16)
Interview:
— Appeals Court says Vermont public league must reinstate anti-trans Christian school. (22:06)
— U.S. military academies plan to accept the Christian Right’s inferior alternative to the SAT. (41:42)
— Colorado pastor and wife ordered to repay $3.4M to victims of their crypto scam. (1:00:30)
—- Oklahoma’s Supreme Court blocks Ryan Walters’ Bible-heavy Social Studies standards. (1:10:16)
Interview:
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