92 Comments

People of Jones' ilk are grifters on a massive scale. They aren't engaging in political speech. They are selling a product that stimulates rage and paranoia. To be more precise, they make money from amoral advertisers. I also wonder which Reublican politicians have appeared on his show over the years.

I suppose it's beating a dead horse, but imagine what would have to be true for Jones' lies about Sandy Hook to be true. Everyone in the town's police, fire and emt agencies would have to be in on it. Every school and hospital staffer, every funeral director and religious figure, every family, every local reporter would have to be in on it. Hospitals would have to submit fraudulent bills to insurance companies. And so on.

How could such an obvious lie gain currency? How could it drive people to acts of the utmost cruelty to the victims' families? We all know who made the ground fertile for such lies: the conservative media and political industrial complex.

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I’m glad he’s getting some comeuppance, but literally yesterday at Walmart I saw someone wearing an infowars t-shirt that said Fauci should be imprisoned. 😬

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Aug 7, 2022·edited Aug 7, 2022

As an attorney I wish people would stop saying Alex Jones attorney screwed up by turning over those text messages. When you get a discovery request you can't choose not to turn over stuff that's damaging to your client. It is an egregious ethical violation for you to withhold evidence or make privilege claims you know are false. What the plaintiffs attorney did was total bush league by saying publicly and falsely that the other attorney screwed up. It made me sympathetic to Alex Jones's attorney even though Jones is a wretched human being who I would never represent no matter how much he paid me.

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The massive hit of schadenfreude I enjoyed watching Phat Alex squirm under cross and being hit with massive awards was almost worth the wait. We can only hope he is prosecuted for multiple counts of perjury. Now, I have a proposal for all Bulwarkians: what are the odds that Alex Jones is fueled by rhoid rage: the bellicosity frequently associated with anabolic steroids. I put the odds at over even: the tells - his hoarse voice and muscle mass. Place you bets!!!!

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Not saying you’re wrong except that fat is not muscle mass!

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No, it's not. Where did I say that?

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Very likely; he has the physique and the rage. One can't live like that for long.

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Anabolic steroid abuse causes liver failure, increases atherosclerosis and heart disease and other problems - including gynecomastia which explains Jones’ lovely breasts. He’s a maidenform guy

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The schadenfreude was indeed delicious, almost overwhelmingly so! But the better treat is that the DOJ and Jan 6 committee can now access all of Alex Jones’ texts/emails including those with Stone. There will be a whole ton of seditious material.

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I like the way the judge spoke to Jones like he was in kindergarten.

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Aug 7, 2022·edited Aug 7, 2022

Jones does not live in reality. He lives inside his own head, a world of abjectly dangerous mental illness. The reality of the court room has little effect upon him. He is the same demagogue. The same utterly foul human being. The court judgement will only provide fodder for even more grievance linked to perceived lib persecution. And given his stashed away millions on millions of loot, his ability to scam unlimited more, and good old Texas law limiting punitive damages (what a marvelous place to live), well, Jones is all copacetic and set for many more years of spew.

Unless, of course, he's in the slammer. For overt perjury.

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Actually, I don't think he's mentally ill. I think it's all part and parcel of his shtick, sick, yes, dangerous, yes, but incredibly lucrative. Same as Rush, same as Trump, etc. Among the Trump Pets, there are a few who actually believe the lies, but the rest of them - the ones who seemed to have brains in the past, they know damn well the election was legitimate but they see power and lots of cash. Now, their true believers, the "deplorables" - the ones who send them money and dote on every word - they're divided between the ones soaking it for every penny they can and ones looking for payback for every real or imagined slight done to them.

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In my Big Book of Humans, Jones is in the chapter on evil. There's even a pic - darting, unable-to-look-at-you eyes, all red in the face, mouth agape. Where compassion is located in typical human - heart? brain? both together? -these parts of Jones are full of $$$ lust, engorged ego, revenge. All the money and attention in the world will not bring a good night's sleep, the connection of family and friends, love of life. And I sure would like to see him do some jail time for perjury.

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Wow! You just described what I've long thought about TFG himself. And some of his minions. And possibly Mitch and some of his cronies.

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founding

Ditto. Times 10 to the 10th.

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founding

The best way to hold Jones accountable has now arrived through his own actions. He should be indicted and tried on charges of perjury forthwith. The judgement in this civil case is a start, but because of what likely will be near endless appeals and other legal and financial maneuvering, I doubt this miscreant will feel any real financial pain anytime soon. Nor do I believe the loss of any $$ will hurt him in the end as much as the loss of his freedom for however long the law would allow in such a case.

Money can be replaced. Time, on the other hand, cannot.

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I've been thinking a lot lately about the whole issue of lying and how normalized it has become within the GOP. Beyond compromising a number of core principles, heretofore deemed inviolable and supposedly what people teach their offspring not to do, it is a cautionary tale of how things get twisted when the end becomes so important that the means no longer matter.

As long as Republicans feel that winning is more important than how the victory is achieved, and that any tactic is appropriate as long as owning the libs is the outcome, our republic will never be safe from their scheming, because there will never be any restraints placed upon how far they will go to obtain the desired results. It becomes a bottomless pit of deception and rewriting of truth to suit a purpose, and if bottom ever is reached, they will simply break out the shovels and start digging.

How sad that so much our society has allowed anger and hatred to become not just a mainstream approach to governance, but also an unlimited supply of rocket fuel to this end. I wish I could live long enough to read how future history books will judge this era, not to mention what it will lead to before the worm eventually turns, as it usually does, somehow, some way.

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I think the GOP is down with believing whatever their base believes. What their base believes is heavily influenced by the bots and cyborgs of foreign adversaries.

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RemovedAug 7, 2022·edited Aug 7, 2022
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This is so true. Republicans, at least in the past 75 years have had to keep their voters distracted because they have no policies to improve the lives of ordinary people. They are only concerned with keeping taxes low to make the rich more prosperous. Unfortunately today's GOP has taken this to new extremes with various phony crises such as CRT, gay "groomers", Antifa, the border, etc.

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Because they know that trafficking in people's fears gets them both more attention and more votes than wonky policy statements -- less informed but more passionate voters. When was the last time that the GOP told us, beyond generalities, what they are for instead of what they are against?

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MC, a subscriber to JVL's The Triad, posted a comment on JVL's "Deplorables are Real" with a link indicating that, by TX law, the max punitive damages Jones will have to pay is $750,000 - not $45 mil: https://mobile.twitter.com/greg_doucette/status/1555568718830346243

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founding

Wouldn't the plaintiff's lawyers have known of that "minor" fact when bringing the case in a Texas court?

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I don't know TX law but I do know personal injury lawyers (it's found in some other civil cases too of course) who will simply ask for whatever the law allows them to ask for, knowing full well they won't get it. The "rule" is "if you want a star, ask for the sun and the moon and all the stars." In my state, you are not allowed to do that but we're a rarity I suspect.

OTOH, there are several cases waiting in the wings in other states, like CT, and each state is different in this regard. He's just beginning this.

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Probably, but if the info in the tweet thread is accurate, the jury is not informed of Texas law capping damages, but the lawyers surely know about. I'm not a lawyer, let alone a TX lawyer - just relaying info that JVL 'liked' and commented on. Also, google TX cap on punitive damages and you'll find lots of links.

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Schadenfreude for breakfast! My favorite.

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There is a huge market for the crap that Jones and those like him peddle. HUGE. There are many that hate reality and so they take refuge in their favorite lies. Jones is merely one among many who are willing to sell them those lies.

Jones, at least, can be sued and deterred somewhat. Those that follow him will be more adept at avoiding this while still peddling their goods--and the politicians can rarely be touched...

and if there is one group that should be definitely harshly punished by lying it is politicians... put we very rarely punish them for their lies, because we LIKE their lies.. we WANT their lies.. and se we elect and re-elect.

And then bitch about what a mess things are. Bitch about what liars politicians are. Bitch about how corrupt they are.

And then re-elect them.

Politicians just do and say what they think the voters (or enough of them to get the politician into office) want them to do and say. Entertainers, like Jones, do and say what they think will make them money.

The problem isn't the sellers, it's the buyers.

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founding

Though she got my vote in 2016, I don't care for H. Clinton for a number of reasons. But credit where credit is due...that 'basket' remark, despite the self-righteous blather from both the Right and some in the MSM, was spot on. The only thing I think none of us fully realized at the time is just how large that basket was, or how it would come to behave as a 'market'.

With the success of the sellers that we've since witnessed, about all that can be said to expand on that famous line is a take on another well-known one...We're gonna' need a bigger basket.

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Yeah, turned out she mis-estimated by about half.

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I was unaware of this until a day or two ago, but Alex Jones has a book coming out at the end of the month, brought to you by Skyhorse Publishing, the same folks who are bringing us Paul Manafort's personal apologia, due out later this month as well. More rewards for human excrement. I took a peek at the Amazon preview for Jones's book, and it looks like the work of a college kid who wrote a term paper of required length, but didn't do any research and has no idea about the subject area, and so went with huge margins and extra line spacing to get the paper to the required length.

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Excellent!

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founding

I realize this is a civil trial, but it would be interesting to know if Judge Gamble can order "community service" in addition to the cash payouts.

If so, Puddin'head Jones should be forced to recant all the lies about Sandy Hook reading off a prepared script with FACTS about the incident, names of those killed, and his heinous behavior on a recording, in a style of a news program, along with interviews of those affected, medical personnel, law enforcement, and other professionals.

In addition, Jones''s "merch ads" will be him voicing over PSAs about alleviating gun violence, mental health/counseling opportunities for those in need, community services, etc.

For one week straight that will be his programming.

Then, on an indescriminant basis over the next month, the recording would be played once a week.

Finally, for as many days that he snorted about Sandy Hook, the PSA would play over the following years, once a week on days determined by a court appointed producer.

The money damage won't hurt him...it is his ego that needs to be brought down in size.

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Community service isn't usually part of civil penalties; though I suppose a jurisdiction could make it one. But the judgment does not mean it costs him one penny. Now comes "discovery" of where his assets are and how to access them and that is a long and usually frustrating process since defendants have usually already hidden their money from the courts (not unlike when the wealthy divorce; happens there too). And among his fans, all of whom seem to enjoy inflicting harm, it just makes him a martyr. Nor do I think he is capable of being shamed or humiliated anymore than the rest of his ilk.

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Jones declared bankruptcy, and then tried to tell the judge he was bankrupt because he declared bankruptcy. She replied that just because he declared bankruptcy doesn't mean he is actually bankrupt.

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Good for her. But if he's already declared, his assets were probably well hidden before that.

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Perjury is a criminal matter. I doubt anyone's ever been caught more red-handed... .

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founding

Don't know enough about the law to know whether or not this is doable, but if so, it would be close to a masterstroke of both justice and fairness.

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The Travis County DA is a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Their DAs don't believe in prosecuting anything. Perjury isn't often prosecuted and this is likely to be no exception, even though it is an open and shut case. The nutty far left is no different from Alex Jones.

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Perjury often isn't prosecuted because it doesn't carry much penalty. Or just because it isn't a "serious" crime and there are too many criminal cases in the pipeline already (plus there are time limits on criminal trials being brought promptly and often the number of cases let's someone off the hook).

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Experts attribute absence of indictments and convictions for perjury to the highly technical nature of the offense. They point to problems in drafting indictments, in proving material relevance of the alleged false testimony and in meeting the stringent evidentiary rules.

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"Their DAs" lol

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The “nutty far left” has not supported treason and insurrection. Neither has “the nutty far left” lied for years about the reality of gun violence killing children, causing emotional distress and real-time threats of violence to the parents of those dead children. The “nutty far left” may have policies you don’t like or support but they have not made fortunes telling lies that threaten the political stability of the United States. Whataboutery and bothsidesism try to equate the harm done by Jones, Trump, Stone, Carlson et al with what in other democracies is called social democratic policy - countries that, measured by health care, education, equality and social cohesion, score far above the US - a country which is dangerously close to becoming a failed democracy precisely because of dangerous liars like Alex Jones.

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The nutty far left doesn't want to enforce gun laws. We lost a decade of progress on reducing homicides in NYC when De Blasio, at the behest of the NFL, ordered NYPD to stop enforcement. Hundreds more died from homicides after that. :(

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Thanks for being so clear on your positions. You're another one who I can scroll past.

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Huh? Are you talking about Stop and Frisk? NYPD stops plummeted after national outrage about the dramatic rise in the use of stop-and-frisk, litigation by the NYCLU and other organizations, and community organizing. Since Mayor de Blasio came into office in January 2014, the NYPD now reports only 10,000 stops per year. As stops have receded, crime in New York City has dropped significantly. In 2018, New York City recorded the lowest number of homicides in nearly 70 years.

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No.

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Then what are you talking about?

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Yes, just who is “the nutty far left”.

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The “nutty far left” also hasn’t pushed climate denialism.

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Their opposition to nuclear power shows that their agenda is something other than addressing climate change.

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When opposition to nuclear power was a thing, climate change wasn't yet--other than among some climatologists.

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Opposition to nuclear power generation is still “a thing”. Rachel Carson published “Silent Spring” in 1962 which was one of the first alarms that began to make people aware of the harm humans were doing to the planet.

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Burning fossil fuels has done more damage to people and the environment than nuclear power has or could, even using 60's technology.

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Not a problem. EVs will mostly be charged overnight when demand for electricity is lowest.

That assumes of course that we don't replace fossil fuel heating of buildings with electric heat, which the nutty far left wants to do. Electric resistance heating works great -- at multiple of the cost of gas or oil heating. Or, how to impoverish the poor and middle class. Atmoshperic heat pumps do not work well in the Cold Belt. Geothermal heat pumps are too expensive and can't work in dense urban environments.

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There are, indeed, practical existing alternatives to fossil fuels - geo-thermal, solar, wind, passive heating, proper insulation… these work on the individual level. If homes were built or retrofitted to these existing technologies, we could drastically reduce total national fossil fuel consumption. Offices, factories, most work places could also retrofit. We could stop the crazy consuming of stuff we use three times or once and throw out. There is no one innovative solution that will “save” us. We have to work together with what we have.

In the late seventies and early eighties there was a concerted effort to educate people about the dangers of nuclear technologies and the radioactive waste that has a toxic half-life of 125,000 years. Since then, the nuclear energy industry went quiet for a couple of generations and now is making a big campaign to greenwash nuclear energy as an answer to the climate crisis when, in fact, nuclear energy is part of the problem.

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Glass vitrification.

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The alternatives are fossil fuels which actually kill people, unlike civilian nuclear power plants in the US.

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