What Else Is News?
Never mind what was said before
There’s exaggerating. Then there’s bending the truth. And then there’s outright lying. We’ve got a little bit of everything in these latest headlines.
New York Representative Accused of Making up Resume
First of all, his real name is Anthony Devolder. At some point, he changed his name to George Santos. He also changed a lot about his past.
In November, the man now known as George Santos was duly elected as a representative of New York’s 3rd congressional district. Since that time, it has been reported that Santos, a Republican, fabricated several parts of his personal and professional history. For example, Santos claimed that:
He previously worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup
He ran a venture investment firm (Devolder Organization) that managed client assets totaling about $80 million
Four of his employees were killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando
He attended primary school at New York City’s elite Horace Mann
He held degrees from Baruch College and NYU
His assets in 2022 totaled between $2.6 million and $11.5 million, even though in 2020 he claimed an annual salary of $55,000 and no assets
His grandparents were Jews who escaped the Nazis in Europe and moved to Brazil
His mother was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11.
You could say, “Stop right there.” But there’s more. Santos is said to have started a fundraiser for a homeless veteran whose service dog required a $3,000 surgery to remove a growth. After raising the funds, Santos allegedly finagled his way out of giving the money to the veteran.
Santos has not admitted to the story above. He has, however, admitted that he never attended college and did not directly work for Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. He has also insisted that he said he was “Jew-ish,” not “Jewish,” because his “maternal family had a Jewish background.” And records show that his mom was in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 11, 2001.
Some groups and individuals have been justifiably upset by Santos’ fabrications. The Republican Jewish Coalition stated that Santos “deceived us and misrepresented his heritage.” Nick LaLota, an incoming Republican representative from New York’s first congressional district, wants a probe of Santos by the House Ethics Committee.
Santos, nevertheless, was sworn into his position in January and was rewarded with seats on two House panels: the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. He was also, for better or worse, the inspiration for a funny skit on Saturday Night Live.
Tesla Autopilot Video Left Out Key Details
"Tesla drives itself (no human input at all) thru urban streets to highway to streets, then finds a parking spot." That’s what Elon Musk tweeted in response to a video in 2016 demonstrating Tesla’s Autopilot features. In the video, a Tesla Model X drives with no help from the human in the driver’s seat. The car seems to deftly maneuver around various locations, automatically stopping at red lights and stop signs. The car also parks itself - after the human has exited the car.
The problem, as reported in this article and many others, was that the car had been programmed before the video was created, meaning that it was “told” where to go and when to stop. In sworn testimony, Ashok Elluswamy, the director of Autopilot software, said, "The intent of the video was not to accurately portray what was available for customers in 2016. It was to portray what was possible to build into the system.” What was built into the system for the video, according to Elluswamy, were 3D maps that pre-programmed the route the Model X was going to take, including stops. Elluswamy also noted that the Tesla ran into a fence at some point during the self-parking demo. That was edited from the video.
So does Autopilot really work in Teslas? “Despite years of work and many incremental software updates, Tesla's cars still can't completely drive themselves,” according to an article in Inside EVs. “The company insists that a driver must be present and ready to take control at any time.” Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.
Classified Documents Found…Everywhere
From Florida to Delaware and now to Indiana, classified documents are popping up in the homes of former and current members of the executive branch. First, more than 300 classified documents were found at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Palm Springs resort. A special counsel is currently looking into the handling of those documents.
In November, classified files dating to when Joe Biden was Vice President were discovered at the now-President’s think tank at the University of Pennsylvania. Then, more documents were unearthed at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, some of them next to the Corvette that his son Hunter supposedly had access to. Another special counsel has been set up to probe the handling of those documents.
And now, just to add even more insanity to the situation, classified documents have been found at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump, who recently claimed on social media that he didn’t take classified documents, only the “cool” folders they came in, told Sean Hannity back in September that he had “declassified” the documents that were found. Yes, that’s confusing.
Meanwhile, President Biden’s administration did not reveal until well after the midterm elections that classified documents had been found. Biden told reporters he had “no regrets” about that. “I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do – that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said, adding, “There’s no there, there.” Brings back memories of Bill Clinton’s famous quote when asked if he had an affair with Monica Lewinsky:
“It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If the—if he—if ‘is’ means is and never has been, that is not—that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement.”
Pence, for his part, was asked point blank a few weeks ago if he had taken documents from the White House. “I did not,” was his response. When asked why anyone would remove classified documents, Pence replied, “There’d be no reason to have classified documents, particularly if they were in an unprotected area.”
Oh dear.
And even more mystifying is they ran this guy in the 2020 election for the same seat! HOW did this not become common knowledge then? By the way, this information all came from Ballotpedia which is a good source of election information.
I find it odd that opposition reasearch found nothing about his lies before the November election. He had an opponent who was a sitting NY Assemblyman, not a political novice. He had no primary opposition in either the Republican or Conservative parties, but there were five Democrats running for the seat, you would think one of them would have looked into his background. And the Nassau County Republicans should be censured for accepting him as a candidate.