I commented on a right-wing tweet

[jarnon]

Twitter (now known as X) alerted me to a tweet by George Papadopoulos (I don't know why they thought I'd be interested). It discussed the drowning death of the Obamas' personal chef near Edgartown, Mass., and speculated he was a victim of foul play. I wrote a season-appropriate comment: The ghost of Mary Jo Kopechne pulled the chef into the water. Several conservatives with long memories have liked my comment.

[BackInTex]

I hadn't even heard about this.

[flockofseagulls104]

I hadn't even heard about this.

That is because you are not 'right-wing'. I just assume you are conservative. Right-wing's are a construct that the left-wing's have created to label their opposition, and have loaded that construct with all manner of nasty images and emotional garbage. Anybody who challenges any of their narratives automatically becomes 'right-wing'. And if they get really threatened, they become 'right-wing extremist'.
Notice, NEVER do they label themselves as 'Left-Wing'. I don't think I've ever seen any democrat politician labeled as 'left-wing' in the Main Stream Media Conglomerate. Even Tlaib is not 'left-wing' to them. And there is no extremism on the left.

[silverscreenselect]

And there is no extremism on the left.

There are extremists on the left. We just have the sense not to elect them to positions of power.

I got a chuckle when I read today someone in the press describing Liz Cheney as a "moderate" Republican. Her positions on social and economic issues are as conservative as you're going to get. She just has the sense to reject the fanatical anti-democratic extremism that has gripped the majority of the Republican party and she says Donald Trump as the existential threat to democracy he is.

So the MSM labels her a moderate and Republicans excoriate her as a RINO.

[Beebs52]

And there is no extremism on the left.

There are extremists on the left. We just have the sense not to elect them to positions of power.

The squad perhaps?!

[Bob78164]

And there is no extremism on the left.

There are extremists on the left. We just have the sense not to elect them to positions of power.

The squad perhaps?!

The Squad has no real power. They're a small handful of back-benchers who do not have positions of influence within the Party.

Moreover, The Squad is decidedly not unified. I received an e-mail a few days ago attacking AOC from the left because of her position on the conflict in Israel.

Having watched her carefully for a while, I adhere to my position that AOC is really, really smart. I'm not so sure about the rest of The Squad. --Bob

[Beebs52]

Define power

[Bob78164]

Define power

The ability to get legislation passed or prevent it from passing. Or just the ability to prevent an entire chamber of Congress from functioning. --Bob

[Beebs52]

Piece of work.
AOC is some sort of waffler. Hmmm.
I question your def of power.

[Weyoun]

I hadn't even heard about this.

That is because you are not 'right-wing'. I just assume you are conservative. Right-wing's are a construct that the left-wing's have created to label their opposition, and have loaded that construct with all manner of nasty images and emotional garbage. Anybody who challenges any of their narratives automatically becomes 'right-wing'. And if they get really threatened, they become 'right-wing extremist'.
Notice, NEVER do they label themselves as 'Left-Wing'. I don't think I've ever seen any democrat politician labeled as 'left-wing' in the Main Stream Media Conglomerate. Even Tlaib is not 'left-wing' to them. And there is no extremism on the left.

What is this even about? The story of the Obama chef drowning was widely reported. Frankly more so than the story deserved.

[flockofseagulls104]

I hadn't even heard about this.

That is because you are not 'right-wing'. I just assume you are conservative. Right-wing's are a construct that the left-wing's have created to label their opposition, and have loaded that construct with all manner of nasty images and emotional garbage. Anybody who challenges any of their narratives automatically becomes 'right-wing'. And if they get really threatened, they become 'right-wing extremist'.
Notice, NEVER do they label themselves as 'Left-Wing'. I don't think I've ever seen any democrat politician labeled as 'left-wing' in the Main Stream Media Conglomerate. Even Tlaib is not 'left-wing' to them. And there is no extremism on the left.

What is this even about? The story of the Obama chef drowning was widely reported. Frankly more so than the story deserved.

Reported as a 'right-wing' conspiracy theory, wasn't it? You left-wingers have no idea of anything outside your bubble. Your whole party has gone extremist left, and you don't even notice it, like a lobster being boiled.

[silverscreenselect]

What is this even about? The story of the Obama chef drowning was widely reported. Frankly more so than the story deserved.

Reported as a 'right-wing' conspiracy theory, wasn't it? You left-wingers have no idea of anything outside your bubble. Your whole party has gone extremist left, and you don't even notice it, like a lobster being boiled.

The man was a relatively inexperienced swimmer who went paddleboarding without wearing a life vest or tethering himself to the board. The police investigated and released a report a month later ruling the death accidental. Which should have been the end of the story, except for the right-wing sites that have kept it alive. Here's what NBC News had to say shortly after the death:

Evidence-free conspiracy theories about the Obamas’ chef get a boost on X, formerly known as Twitter

The social media platform X, newly renamed from Twitter, is hosting wild conspiracy theories without evidence claiming that there was foul play in the death of the Obamas’ personal chef on a Martha’s Vineyard pond. The platform has pulled back many of the rules it once had around misinformation under owner Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter last year while vowing to make speech as free as possible. The Massachusetts State Police called the death of Tafari Campbell, 45, an accident after divers recovered his body Monday from Edgartown Great Pond, about 100 feet from shore. Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, who own a house there, were not home, police said in a statement.

Right-wing figures cast doubt without evidence on the police statement and found a home for their views on the website X, the new name for Twitter after Musk rebranded it Sunday. A post in which Ian Miles Cheong, an online pundit, asked followers what they thought “really happened” got 5.6 million views on X. A post from the X account @libsoftiktok noted that the pond is 8 feet deep where Campbell was found and that he had posted swimming videos on Instagram — facts other people said in replies indicated he was killed. That post had more than 14.5 million views. The influential right-wing account @catturd2, with 1.8 million followers on X, said he did not believe anything the government or the media said about the death. “I won’t believe a word of it,” @catturd2 wrote. “Why would they start telling the truth now?” A post from the X account @dom_lucre that got 3.8 million views suggested without evidence that Campbell’s death was somehow related to the potential indictment this week of former President Donald Trump on new charges. The four accounts did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. Representatives for X also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the spread of the conspiracy theories.

Massachusetts police said Campbell was paddleboarding when he died. They said a second paddleboarder was on the pond with him and saw him go under the water after he briefly struggled to stay on the surface. Police responded at 7:46 p.m. Sunday, they said. They did not release a suspected cause of death for Campbell or say what factors might have contributed to his death. Campbell was a chef in the White House before he went to work for the Obamas when they left in 2017. The Obamas mourned him in a statement Tuesday as a “beloved part of our family.” State police did not immediately respond to a request for copies of any written incident reports.

Some online conspiracy theorists tried to draw a connection between Campbell’s death and the drowning death of another former White House chef, Walter Scheib, in New Mexico in 2015. Scheib had worked for former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Medical examiners ruled his death an accident, and there is no evidence to connect his death with Campbell’s.

About 4,000 people drown in the U.S. every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While children are at the highest risk, anyone can drown, according to the agency. Factors that can make drowning more likely are not wearing life jackets, drinking alcohol and taking certain drugs and medications, the CDC says. Edgartown Great Pond is a saltwater pond on the south shore of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a barrier island. Several organizations work to conserve the area, according to the Great Pond Foundation, which does restoration work and science projects there.

Then after the police released their findings, another round of conspiracy theories:

In a Sept. 20 post on X (direct link, archive link), conservative commentator Benny Johnson made allegations about the Obamas and their late personal chef, Tafari Campbell, who drowned in a paddleboarding accident on the Obama’s estate on Martha’s Vineyard in July. In the video, Johnson shows the police report of the incident on the screen and claims Campbell was found “allegedly naked." Johnson also claims officials lied about the whereabouts of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama during the incident. “They literally lied, they said (the Obamas) weren’t on the island – they were,” Johnson said.

Our rating: False
The police report shows more than once that Campbell was not naked. Officials have stated consistently that the Obamas were on the island but not at home when the accident occurred. Campbell was paddleboarding with another person on July 23 in Edgartown Great Pond, located near the Obamas’ estate, when he fell into the water and drowned, as USA TODAY previously reported.

Dave Procopio, spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police, told USA TODAY the claims about Campbell being naked and the Obamas' location are false. “Mr. Campbell was not naked,” Procopio said. “President and Mrs. Obama were on the island at the time of the drowning but were not at the residence. We have been consistent in that statement since the incident.” The police report, obtained by the conservative activist Judicial Watch, shows that Edgartown Police arrived at the scene along with the Edgartown Fire Department, Massachusetts State Police, medical teams and others. Edgartown Police Lt. Chris Dolby confirmed that Secret Service agents were also on hand and aiding in the search. Campbell’s body was not found until the next day, using side-scan sonar.

As per state law, the District Attorney’s office handled the investigation of Campbell’s death, Dolby said. It was ruled an accident. There is nothing in the report about Campbell's body being recovered naked. Johnson bases this claim on one line in the report that states law enforcement “recovered the paddle board and clothing” of Campbell. This, however, does not mean the man was naked when he died. A description of Campbell given by members of the Secret Service states he was last seen wearing "all black" while on the paddle board.

Johnson also claimed in his post that the police report said there had been 42 past incidents at the Obamas' home, something he criticized. That's wrong. Dolby told USA TODAY the majority of those incidents occurred before the Obamas bought the property in December 2019. A police incident log shows 43 incidents at the address from 2007 to June 2023, including a hunting complaint and numerous fire, burglary and gas alarms that were tripped off over the years. A few 911 calls were also made. The Obamas were the owners of the estate for 11 of those incidents reported, with many of those being gas, fire or burglar alarms. There was one hang up 911 call listed from August 2021. USA TODAY reached out to Johnson for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/fac ... 993398007/

The reason this nonsense is reported as "right-wing conspiracy theories" is because they are right-wing conspiracy theories. For those like Flock who accept them as the gospel truth, they are proof of, in this case, Obama skullduggery of some unspecified sort. When police investigators and actual news organizations examine the facts, the stories turn out to be selective misreadings of official reports mixed with wild conjecture.

[tlynn78]

Piece of work.
AOC is some sort of waffler. Hmmm.
I question your def of power.

Not to mention "smart"

[BackInTex]

Piece of work.
AOC is some sort of waffler. Hmmm.
I question your def of power.

Not to mention "smart"

Probably used it as a relative term...among other congressional Democrats.