sharpie-gate jacobs

aha, partially just famous narcisism, but also spec ops keep head down, keep moving, deny all [roger?]

nb lincoln and others seen as gt prez b/c they grew;

note, never admit wrong, deny, no correction:

3/10

https://www.alternet.org/2020/03/new-report-reveals-the-bewildering-reason-trump-is-reluctant-to-declare-an-emergency-over-coronavirus/

https://www.alternet.org/2020/10/trumps-sharpiegate-grudge-may-have-led-to-noaas-acting-chief-scientist-losing-his-job/

also fraudit

https://www.mediamatters.org/steve-bannon/how-steve-bannon-made-election-denier-mark-finchem-maga-hero-and-launched-his-campaign

on the June 13 episode of the War Room podcast, host Steven Bannon railed against the January 6 committee for not inviting one of his favorite election deniers to testify at its public hearings. “They want to see the receipts?” Bannon ranted. “They don’t have Finchem. Let’s hear from the guys that have the receipts.”

Bannon was referring to Mark Finchem, Arizona state representative, candidate for secretary of state, and arguably the standard bearer of the 2020 election denialist movement. Finchem’s role in Bannon’s universe is difficult to overstate. As Bannon’s remark that day illustrated, Finchem serves as one of a handful of characters who — in this epistemologically closed feedback loop — has the goods that prove Joe Biden is an illegitimate president.

Finchem, of course, does not have the goods. But in Bannon, Finchem has found a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship wherein each person’s fantastical claims have an eager recipient. He has been on at least 57 episodes of Bannon’s podcast since late 2020, during which the two have tossed baseless conspiracy theories back and forth, much to the delight of Bannon’s devoted audience. Finchem’s history in law enforcement (he retired with a “poor rating”) and modest role in Arizona’s state government gave his early War Room appearances the patina of legitimacy; to the show’s listeners, he was the rare whistleblower ready to risk it all to uncover the truth. Bannon rarely — if ever — mentions Finchem’s membership in the extremist militia the Oath Keepers, though that would likely just underscore his conservatives bona fides for the War Room audience.

Finchem now stands a good chance of becoming Arizona’s top election official, tasked with overseeing the voting operations of a swing state whose congressional delegation and electoral votes could have profound national consequences. Bannon has been his champion every step of the way, providing a crucial platform that helped transform Finchem from local oddball to MAGA hero with a national fanbase.

His ubiquitous presence in Bannon’s orbit has provided him not only with a massive audience, but also with access to the MAGA donor class. Finchem’s campaign has raised more than $1.2 million through early October, including $5,000 from former President Donald Trump’s Save America PAC and $9,300 from Wendy’s franchise kingpin Lewis Topper. Brian Kennedy, another election denier and *War Room* favorite, donated $5,000 to Finchem as well.

Finchem’s fundraising has far outpaced his Democratic challenger, despite — or because of — his extremist positions, which are manifold.They also align almost completely with Bannon's stated beliefs. Finchem has repeatedly called for a decertification of Arizona’s 2020 election results, including in a debate last month, despite zero evidence of widespread voter fraud. Last month, he said it was “fantasy” that Biden could win legitimately in Arizona, telegraphing his belief that a Democratic win is, by definition, evidence of fraud. He has embraced QAnon, just as Bannon has provided a platform for the conspiracy theory. During a June fundraiser, he vowed that he wouldn’t concede if he loses. “Ain't gonna be no concession speech coming from this guy,” Finchem said. He could've been reading from a transcript of Bannon's election-day show in 2020, when Bannon advised Trump to declare victory before all the votes were counted.

Finchem floundered early in his career; in 2013 he pushed a conspiracy theory that then-President Barack Obama was planning to establish a “totalitarian dictatorship.” Following the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Finchem said the event was likely a “deep state PSYOP” — that is, a false flag. But with Stop the Steal, and Steve Bannon, Finchem’s conspiracy-mongering found a home.

“You're becoming a star”

Finchem was a little known local politician before becoming one of the most prominent election deniers in the country. His meteoric rise occurred nearly simultaneously with his first appearance on War Room, on December 4, as he went from 3,000 Twitter followers in late November 2020 to more than 33,000 by December 8.

From the outset, Bannon and Finchem were singing from the same sheet music. On the December 15 show — Finchem’s fifth appearance — Bannon introduced him as “the driving force” making sure only “legal votes” were counted in Arizona. He contrasted Finchem with the “fantasists” who “all want to be James Bond.” The level-headed Finchem, on the other hand, was working to make sure Dominion voting machines were “seized” for a full forensic audit.

Bannon continued the segment by calling Finchem “a perfect example of a deplorable,” which the MAGA crowd has reappropriated as a term of endearment. “You’re an American patriot and an American hero,” Bannon told Finchem, later adding, “You’re becoming a star."

[vid]

finchem appeared on the show several more times in the following weeks, including on January 6 and 7 to discuss Trump’s attempted fascist coup. By then, he had amassed over 55,000 Twitter followers and was well on his way to conservative stardom. He’d also developed a keen ear for taking Bannon’s leading questions and running with them.

As the fascist mob was beginning to retreat from the Capitol, Bannon and Finchem fantasized about a looming constitutional crisis. “Are we going to be in a situation that becomes evident to everybody that the electors that were awarded to Biden were illegally elected — er, put forward, by the governor?” Bannon speculated. “And that there’s a swath of overwhelming evidence that Trump actually won Arizona?”

“What situation are we going to be in then to the people in Arizona?” he continued.

“I’ve said this over and over, and I’m not going to stop saying it,” Finchem said, not missing a beat. “This ain’t over." [vid]

"How are we gonna get your folks to show up?”

After his initial burst of appearances, Finchem became a mainstay in the War Room bullpen of regular guests.Over the course of 2021, Finchem would regularly push election conspiracy theories out to the War Room audience, sometimes following Bannon’s lead and sometimes introducing the absurd ideas himself. His appearances often take on a millenarian quality; there is always some impending, dramatic denouement — a report, or audit, or hearing — that will change everything and undo the historic wrong of the 2020 election. When that moment fails to arrive, the two simply move forward with their faith unshaken.

In February, Finchem cited a report from Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft — a conspiracy theory peddler who has repeatedly been voted “dumbest man on the Internet” — to argue that Maricopa County’s own audit of the 2020 election was “fake.” In fact, both the county’s election and audit were reliable and sound.

In July, Finchem appeared on War Room to push the debunked theory that Dominion voting machines were connected to the internet and therefore their vote counts were unreliable. Finchem argued that a recent Arizona senate hearing had found that Dominion’s “anti-virus software [was] not updated since August, 2019.” He then added, “If you're not going to be on the Internet, why would you need to have an antivirus update on a regular basis” — the implication being that the supposed presence of the software was proof the machines had been connected to the internet.

This idea would’ve been familiar to War Room listeners, as Michigan election denialist Patrick Colbeck had been pushing it to Bannon and anybody else who would listen to him since Trump’s loss in 2020. There was no truth to it when Colbeck pushed it, and there was no truth to it when Finchem pushed it.

By that point, Finchem was already running for secretary of state — he’d announced his candidacy in March of 2021 — and keeping the War Room audience on the line would be key to juicing turnout the following November. [vid]

just a few days later, Finchem again appeared on War Room, and again cited a conspiracy theory put forward by Hoft’s Gateway Pundit site. This theory became known as“SharpieGate,” and traveled widely in right-wing activist and media circles. It was completely and totally false.

“Apparently one of the election workers high up in the food chain, Kelly Dixon, ordered her staff to use ballpoint pens for early voting from 10/23 to 11/2 then they suddenly switched positions and they said we need — emphasis added — to use markers on Election Day,” Finchem said. “We've now seen with the evidence collection — paper that does not have the bleed proof coating on it that was just used for the ballot on demand thing."

“What that does is that actually forces post-ballot casting adjudication, which is an area that is fraught with potential for mis-assigning ballots because they have to interpret what the voter meant,” Finchem continued, incorrectly.

[vid]

finchem continued to appear on War Room throughout the year and into 2022, as Bannon gave him crucial boosts in the run-up to Arizona’s primaryon August 2. Bannon interviewed Finchem at least once in June, twice in July, and once on August 1, in a final push before the primary the following day. In each of those segments, Bannon was effusive in his praise of Finchem, offering him not only a platform for his ideas but also opportunities to drive traffic to his website for fundraising and organizing purposes.

“You got their heads blowing up, Finchem,” Bannon told him in June.

The following month, Finchem appealed to Bannon’s audience for help in the final push of his primary campaign. “We can always use another contribution,” Finchem said. Moments later, he gushed to Bannon: “God bless you and this platform.”

The day before the primary, Bannon had Finchem on again. “This is all about who shows up. How are we gonna get your folks to show up?” Bannon asked. “Where do they go, how do people volunteer, what do they have to do in the next 24 hours?”

Then, the day after the primary, when Finchem had clinched the nomination, Bannon again invited him on for a victory lap — and to do more fundraising for the impending general election. “We’re gonna have to raise about $2 million, brother,” Finchem said, as Bannon enthusiastically gestured at him to underline the point. “If people would click on the donate button — we’ve spent every single penny on this primary, so we are now back to ground zero.”

Bannon’s roadmap forward

In Finchem, Bannon has an uncompromising zealot who knows in his gut — as Bannon does — that Democrats can’t win elections. “If they can’t cheat they can’t win,” Bannon has said while interviewing Finchem. And in Bannon, Finchem has a household name in his corner, singing his praises month after month, incentivizing the Arizona politician to hold the extremist line.

Arizona is arguably the leading edge of the MAGA movement, as Finchem is joined on the ticket by fellow election deniers in Kari Lake, who is running for governor, Blake Masters, running for senator, and Abe Hamadeh, running for attorney general. As of publication, Finchem is slightly leading his opponent, according to a recent CNN poll, and all of the other races are close.

Mainstream reporters often overstate Bannon’s supposed strategic prowess. He endorses extreme, politically weak candidates — Roy Moore comes to mind — who adhere to his uncompromising approach to electoral politics. But if Finchem wins control of Arizona’s elections, it will be in no small part due to Bannon’s mentorship. There would be little difference between Finchem’s approach to election administration in Arizona and the way Bannon himself would run elections in one of the country’s most critical swing states.

Bannon’s show also offers conspiracy theorists like Finchem an opportunity to hone their media skills and talking points prior to being subject to mainstream scrutiny, like working the regional boxing circuit before walking into the ring at the MGM Grand. Finchem put these skills to good use last week, taking advantage of a weak interview from CBS’s Ed O’Keefe to spread his bogus ideas and lies on a national platform with zero pushback.

Two days later, Bannon celebrated the interview. One of his guests on the show that day was Mark Finchem.

aaas sci mag

climate change denialist given top role at major U.S. science agency

By Scott Waldman, E&E NewsSep. 14, 2020 , 9:50 AM

:{:{Originally published by E&E News:(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}::(style="box-sizing:inherit"):}:

A controversial researcher who rejects climate science was hired by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a senior position, in a move suggesting the Trump administration is asserting growing influence over the study of rising temperatures.

David Legates, a geography professor at the University of Delaware, has a long history of questioning fundamental climate science and has suggested that an outcome of burning fossil fuels would be a more habitable planet for humans.

He was hired as deputy assistant secretary of Commerce for observation and prediction, according to a report by NPR.

The move marks an escalation within the Trump administration to undermine the agency's ability to warn the public of climate risks, observers said.

Legates has spent his career denying consensus climate science while elevating the work of fringe researchers and industry-funded scientists. He has claimed that addressing climate change would do more harm than good, and he has said pumping more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere would benefit humanity.

When testifying before the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee last year, Legates blamed natural variations for the unprecedented level of warming that scientists say is caused by the release of carbon dioxide from human activity.

"Climate has always changed, and weather is always variable, due to complex, powerful natural forces," Legates said. "No efforts to stabilize the climate can possibly be successful."

Legates has also said that teaching children about climate change was an effort "to satisfy the climate change fearmongering agenda that pervades our society today."

The hiring of Legates comes as wildfires are burning uncontrollably in the West after a period of intensely hot temperatures that many scientists link to climate change. It also comes amid a highly active hurricane season that NOAA research suggests could be a sign of strengthening storms.

Legates' appointment points to the direction the Trump administration will take on climate science if the president is re-elected in November, said Myron Ebell, the former head of President Trump's EPA transition team and the director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

It shows that Trump wants to do more than roll back climate policy by actively trying to reshape climate science. Legates is a critic of climate modeling used to predict future conditions. Ebell said Legates could play a significant role in shaping the next National Climate Assessment.

NOAA and NASA are among the world's premier science agencies, and the data collected by their satellites and other equipment has informed climate research around the world."It's a very good sign that after sitting on their hands for three-and-a-half years, the administration is finally going to inject some science into official climate science," Ebell said. "This is the kind of thing we have been pushing for since before Trump was elected, to get real science into the assessment, instead of junk science, which NASA and NOAA have been doing for years."

NASA peer-reviewed research has shown that climate models have largely been accurate in predicting future conditions. The National Climate Assessment, an influential report required by Congress that's released every four years, has identified the unique ways climate change is affecting regions across the country. It has been used in local emergency preparedness, in infrastructure planning, and for development in communities across the country.

The National Climate Assessment is a comprehensive summary of the peer-reviewed science on how climate is changing and is the work of hundreds of scientists and authors around the world, said Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University and one of the report's lead authors. She said attempts to skew the report away from consensus science could harm people.

"Any attempt to censor, skew or limit the information it presents will hamstring the ability of federal and state agencies to make decisions based on sound science and harm every citizen of this country who relies on their government to provide an accurate assessment of the increasingly dangerous risks they face from a changing climate," she said.

Legates was appointed the Delaware state climatologist in 2005 but was later asked to step down by officials with the University of Delaware and was told in 2007 by then-Governor Ruth Ann Minner (D) to stop using the title.

Even as Trump rejects climate change by calling it a hoax and directing his administration to roll back emissions regulations, the climate work at NOAA and NASA has generally been untouched.

Legates is expected to report directly to acting NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs, who was recently criticized in an inspector general report for allowing the agency's science to be politicized. Jacobs was cited by the independent watchdog for his role in "Sharpiegate," when Trump displayed a map with a hand-drawn path during Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

Jacobs was pressured by the White House to criticize the work of his own weather forecasters after they corrected Trump's false claims that Dorian was going to hit Alabama, the report said.

Neither Legates nor an NOAA spokesperson responded to requests for comment.

Legates has taken a dim view of the role the government plays in creating climate policy. He is a frequent guest at events sponsored by the Heartland Institute, which works to muddy public understanding of climate science.

In September 2019, Legates claimed that regulating carbon dioxide was actually a government control program designed to restrict the lives of ordinary Americans.

"Most governments want to keep control, and most governments get bigger and bigger over time," he said. "Carbon dioxide becomes that molecule by which we can take control of your lives, of your efforts, and everything that goes on."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Secretary_of_Commerce_for_Oceans_and_Atmosphere

Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, or USC(OA), is a high-ranking official in the United States Department of Commerce and the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of Commerce on the environmental and scientific activities of the Department. The Under Secretary is dual hatted as the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Commerce Department.

The Under Secretary is appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate to serve at the pleasure of the President. The current acting Under Secretary is Neil Jacobs, the agency’s assistant secretary for environmental observation and prediction, who took office on February 25, 2019, after being promoted to replace Timothy Gallaudet so that Gallaudet could focus on his Senate-confirmed post as the assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere.

Donald Trump nominated former AccuWeather CEO Barry Myers to serve as Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere on Oct 12, 2017. His nomination was returned to President Trump by the Senate on January 3, 2018,^[1] resubmitted on January 8, 2018 returned again on January 3, 2019,^[2] and resubmitted again on January 16, 2019.^[3] In November 2019, Myers withdrew his nomination, citing health concerns.^[4] A month later, Trump nominated Jacobs to be the 11th administrator.^[5]

Overview

As the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Under Secretary oversees the day-to-day functions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as laying out its strategic and operational future.^[6]

Components of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the Administrator oversees include the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Ocean Service, National Weather Service, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, Marine and Aviation Operations, and the NOAA Corps.^[6]

With the rank of Under Secretary, the USC(OA) is a Level III position within the Executive Schedule^[7] Since January 2010, the annual rate of pay for Level III is $165,300.^[8] The Under Secretary ranks fifth in the line of succession for the office of Secretary of Commerce.^[9]

History

The position of Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Fisheries Program Authorization Act of 1985. The position was created to serve as the Administrator of NOAA. It also created an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere to serve as Deputy Administrator of NOAA.^[10] William Evans was the first person to have the title of Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. The position of Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was created earlier by the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970.^[11]

Reporting officials

Officials reporting to the USC(OA)/Administrator include:

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Conservation and Management/Deputy Administrator
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction/Deputy Administration
NOAA Chief Scientist
Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Operations
Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service
Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service
Assistant Administrator, National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service
Assistant Administrator, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Assistant Administrator, National Weather Service
Assistant Administrator, Program Planning and Integration

Officeholders

...

Conrad C. Lautenbacher December 10, 2001[15] October 31, 2008 2517

- William J. Brennan William J. Brennan October 31, 2008 March 19, 2009 81

(139 total) Barack Obama

9 Jane Lubchenco Jane Lubchenco March 20, 2009 February 28, 2013 1441

10 Kathryn D. Sullivan Kathryn D. Sullivan March 1, 2013 March 6, 2014 370

March 6, 2014 January 20, 2017 1051

(1421 total)

- Benjamin Friedman Benjamin Friedman January 20, 2017 October 25, 2017 278 Donald Trump

- RDML Timothy Gallaudet Timothy Gallaudet October 25, 2017[16] February 25, 2019[17] 488

- Neil Jacobs Neil Jacobs February 25, 2019[17] Present 567+

October 25, 2017, after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gallaudet took office as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere within the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In this function, he fulfills the role of Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Acting Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere is appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate to serve at the pleasure of the President.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, a nonprofit consortium of more than 100 colleges and universities providing research and training in the atmospheric and related sciences, supported Gallaudet's nomination.^[11]

In February 2019, Gallaudet was replaced as Acting NOAA Administrator by Neil Jacobs while still remaining as the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.^[12] At the time of the announcement, the Senate has yet to confirm a permanent administrator for NOAA.

Neil Jacobs is an American scientist and government official serving as the acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.^[1]

Education

Jacobs earned two Bachelor of Science degrees, in mathematics and physics, from the University of South Carolina, followed by a Master of Science and PhD in atmospheric science from North Carolina State University.^[2][3]

Career

Prior to serving in the Trump administration, Jacobs was the chief atmospheric scientist at the Panasonic Avionics Corporation in Lake Forest, California. He also worked on a small team of atmospheric scientists at World Meteorological Organization and served as chair of the American Meteorological Society’s Forecast Improvement Group.

In 2017, Jacobs was nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction.^[4] Jacobs was later selected to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction, performing the duties of the Under Secretary in an acting role.

Role in Sharpiegate

Main article: Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy

In September 2019, President Donald Trump claimed that Hurricane Dorian would make landfall over Alabama. After receiving several inquiries from residents, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a statement that Dorian would not reach Alabama. On an Oval Office briefing with reporters, Trump later displayed a map including the altered projection that Dorian would make landfall in Alabama. On September 6, the NOAA released a statement in support of Trump's claim, including Alabama in the list of states that Dorian was expected to reach.^[5][6] In June 2020, an internal investigation found that Jacobs had violated the NOAA's code of ethics by issuing a statement in support of Trump's claim, in addition to criticizing employees at the National Weather Service office in Birmingham, Alabama for correcting Trump.^[7][8][9]

Personal life

Jacobs lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife and two children.^[10] Jacobs is an avid surfer in the Outer Banks region.^[11]