Category Archives: Five Facts

Local, national, and global news that is easy to process.

Five Facts, National

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell smothered by Twitter

Five Fast Facts

  • Mike Lindell is the CEO of MyPillow, and had fame from his TV ads that were widely seen on basis cable and OTT, he is also a major Trump supporter
  • Lindell has been using his personal and business Twitter accounts to push QAnon theories and baseless claims of election fraud
  • After multiple warnings from Twitter, his accounts were permanently banned from the service
  • Lindell filled a lawsuit against the British tabloid the Daily Mail, claiming defamation in a story that he was secretly dating Jane Krakowski of 30 Rock
  • Lindell’s support for Trump include paying to bus protesters to events across the country for two weeks in December

Twitter has permanently banned My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell’s account after he continued to perpetuate the baseless claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Twitter decided to ban Lindell, who founded bedding company My Pillow, due to “repeated violations” of its civic integrity policy, a spokesperson said in a statement. The policy was implemented last September and is targeted at fighting disinformation.

Read more from the Associated Press

Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

COVID Five Facts for January 21, 2021

Video

From Malcontentment Happy Hour, January 21, 2021

Five Facts about COVID-19 for January 21, 2021

The news shifts as the Biden Administration moves to tackle COVID-19 as a top priority

  • Congressman Steve Silvers (R-OH) proposes that a third-round stimulus check should be tied to vaccination compliance
  • President Joe Biden mandates masks worn at all federal properties and on commercial aircraft flights
  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce gives its full support to the Biden Administration plan for fighting COVID-19
  • USA Today reports that Alzheimer’s deaths increased 16% in 2020, attributed to the social isolation created by COVID restrictions
  • One year ago today, the first COVID-19 case in the United States was confirmed at Providence-Everett Hospital in Washington state
BIPOC, Five Facts, National

Lloyd Austin confirmed by Senate becomes first Black Secretary of Defense

Five Fast Facts

  • Lloyd Austin cruised through confirmation approved 93-2 in a floor vote of the Senate, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Senator Mike Lee ( R-UT) were the only members to vote no
  • Austin’s approval has some controversy attached to it – a Secretary of Defense is supposed to be a civilian for at least 7 years before holding the position – Austin retired from the Army in 2016 – a waiver was given by both the House and Senate
  • Austin is not the first Secretary of Defense to receive a waiver and the tactic was used by the Trump Administration to approve James Mattis
  • Austin was a four star general in the Army, was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat, and the commanding general of U.S. forces in Iraq
  • Austin is another person in the BIPOC community breaking barriers within the Biden Administration

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Friday confirmed Lloyd Austin as the nation’s first Black defense secretary, the second nominee of President Joe Biden to be confirmed by the chamber.

Austin is a retired four-star Army general who will be the first Black secretary of defense. He was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat and also the first to oversee an entire theater of operations as the commanding general of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Read more at USA Today

BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, LGBTQIA, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 21, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 21 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Seattle inauguration protests highlight questionable tactics by protesters and police
  • Keystone XL Pipeline is canceled by the Biden Administration on day one
  • COVID Five Fast Facts
  • Officer Eric Whitehead and his strange trip to the ER
  • Abusive Head Trauma – the legacy of Shaken Baby Syndrome, the questionable science behind it, and the targeting of the poor, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA community for abuse allegations
  • Insurrection update
Five Facts, LGBTQIA

Dr. Rachel Levine nominated by Biden for HHS role

Five Fast Facts

  • President-elect Joe Biden announced his nomination of Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as assistant secretary of health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Dr. Levine is the Secretary of Health for the state of Pennsylvania
  • Dr. Levine is a graduate of Harvard College and the Tulane Univesity School of Medicine
  • The Republican-controlled Senate of the state of Pennsylvania confirmed her as Secretary of Health 3 times
  • Dr. Levine has faced harassment and threats due to her role in dealing with C Disease and for being openly transgender

President-elect Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he has nominated Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. If confirmed by the Senate, Levine would be the first openly transgender federal official in a Senate-confirmed role, according to the Biden-Harris transition team. 

Levine, who is the secretary of health for Pennsylvania, is currently leading the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Read more at CBS News

BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, Local, National, Weather

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 18, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 18, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Dr. Martin Luther King Day 2021 – his words continue to be taken out of context more than 50 years after his death
  • Seattle Police Department is off to a very bad start in January
  • Five Fast Facts about COVID -19 – our COVID update
  • Insurrection update
  • Will it snow next week?
Five Facts, National

Robert Sanford, who struck D.C. police with fire extinguisher, denied bail

Five Fast Facts

  • Robert Sanford, a Chester, Pennsylvania retired firefighter was arrested on a list of charges for his involvement in the Washington D.C. insurrection
  • Sanford is accused of striking at least three Capitol police officers, including one with no helmet, with a fire extinguisher during the attempted coup
  • This is a different incident than the individual that struck Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who later died of his injuries, Sandford is not a suspect in that incident
  • Sanford was turned in to authorities by a friend after discussing his actions at the Capitol and telling them he was wanted for the assault on the officers
  • U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry S. Perkins denied bail based on the danger Sanford represents to the public, him being bussed for free to Washington D.C., and the discovery of white supremacist clothing in his home during a search

A retired Pennsylvania firefighter accused of hurling a fire extinguisher at U.S. Capitol Police officers during the attack in Washington last week is a danger to the public with suspected ties to white supremacists, a prosecutor said in court Thursday.

Robert Sanford, who retired from the Chester Fire Department in March, was arraigned in federal court in Allentown on charges that include assault of a police officer, disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder and unlawfully entering the Capitol. He is being held in Lehigh County Jail.

Read more at The Morning Call

Editor Note: Chicago Firefighter David Quintavalle was misidentified in social media as the man wanted for the fire extinguisher attack, and also misattributed to be responsible for the death of Brian D. Sicknick. We state in the strongest terms that Firefighter Quintavalle was not involved in any way in the insurrection. Malcontent News never reported at any time that Quintavalle was a supsect or a person of interest.

BIPOC, Editorial, Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: January 14, 2021

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from January 14, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.

  • Black Coffee Northwest of Shoreline, Washington, releases security video of the September 30 – October 1 firebombing – forced to close for at least two days due to racism, vandalism, and ongoing threats against employees
  • Behind the Pole – a special interview with Nate Gowdy, Seattle area photographer who was in Washington D.C. for the January 6, 2021, insurrection
  • Who is John Sullivan – a household name among conspiracy theory circles for the Washington D.C. insurrection, we analyze the story and history behind the polarizing figure
  • Five Fast Facts about COVID -19 – our COVID update
  • Insurrection update – Donald Trump is impeached for the second time, more arrests, and Parler videos scraped form the security breach show what was going on inside the Capitol during the attempted coup

WARNING – tonight’s show contains graphic content that some people may find disturbing

Five Facts, National

NRA files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Five Fast Facts

  • The National Rifle Association has been under investigation for financial malfeasance by diverting millions in donor money to senior leaders for lavish personal expenses
  • As early as 2018, the NRA indicated they were in financial trouble
  • By June 2020, the NRA had shed more than 200 employees
  • The NRA wants to incorporate in Texas as a non-profit, in part to avoid ongoing litigation in the state of New York
  • The NRA filed a lawsuit against New York state Attorney General Letitia James saying she has violated the NRA’s right to free speech and seeking to block her ongoing investigation

The National Rifle Association on Friday filed petitions with a U.S. bankruptcy court seeking protection from creditors by restructuring, the gun rights advocacy group announced.

The NRA filed the Chapter 11 petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas, it said in a news release.

Read more at Reuters

Five Facts, Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

National stockpile of COVID vaccine doesn’t exist

Five Fast Facts

  • The Trump Administration stated they would release the national stockpile of COVID-19 vaccinations to accelerate stalled out efforts
  • The Administration set a goal of 20M vaccinated by December 31, but less than 3M were vaccinated by the end of the year
  • The Administration said they were holding back the stockpile to assure that second doses would be available for the first round of immunizations
  • Governor Kate Brown of Oregon said she was notified by General Perna, head of Operation Warp Speed, there is no national stockpile
  • The stockpile is wiped out, resulting in no possible way to accelerate vaccination efforts

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington and other states will not receive increased doses of COVID-19 vaccine from a strategic reserve promised by the Trump administration because the stockpile does not actually exist, according to Gov. Jay Inslee and other officials.

According to officials, the reserve stockpile was initially meant to be used for second doses of the two-shot vaccine, but the administration had already begun shipping out what was available beginning at the end of December.

Read more at KOMO News