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SEMI-NEWS: A Satire of Recent News

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SEMI-NEWS/SEMI-SATIRE: August 21, 2022 Edition

Citizens' Audit Finds Vote Fraud

A team of citizens led by Marly Hornik conducted an extensive audit of the 2020 election results for New York and uncovered evidence of massive election fraud, including unlawful election acts, misconduct of election officers, phantom registrations and illegal voting—all of which "materially affected elections in the state."

Hornik said "the fact that the certified count of 8,690,614 votes differed from the 8,418, 179 persons who were reported to have voted was the inspiration for our in depth study of the data. We discovered a hidden algorithm that appears to have calculated the number of votes needed to reverse the outcome of close races and then created ballots using the names of persons known to have not voted. Because this knowledge isn't available until after the legitimate ballots are all accounted for the 'counting' phase of the process must continue many hours or days after the polls have closed."

"Another indication of fraud was manifested by vote totals exceeding the number of voting-age persons," Hornik observed. "In Nassau County the 'voter turnout' was 62% larger than the number of voting-age residents, in Wyoming County it was 25% larger, in Erie County it was 41% larger, and in Westchester County it was 40% larger. As a result, 38% of state Senators and Assembly members who were allegedly elected in 2020 had margins of 'victory' smaller than the number of obviously fraudulent ballots."

Based on their findings, the citizens' team petitioned State Attorney General Letitia James to decertify the 2020 election results. Thus far, James has rebuffed the request, calling it "moot. Once the results are certified they can't be overturned. The date of certification is like a 'statute of limitations' for all alleged election crimes. After that no evidence of any kind is admissible for either reversing the outcome or prosecuting the perpetrators of the alleged fraud."

In related news, the "invalid signature" rate on the petitions to recall soft-on-crime Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was 27%. The "invalid signature" rate on 2020's mail-in ballots was less than 1%. Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Gonzalez attributed the dramatic differences to "the fact that the 2020 mail-in ballots were handled by professionals. The petitions were submitted by amateurs. As for the petitioners complaint that they weren't allowed to observe the signature verification process, well, neither was anyone allowed to observe the signature verification of the mail-in ballots. In both cases the procedures were consistent. So, there are no grounds for challenging the outcomes."

McConnell Makes Election Forecast

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken) predicted that "Republicans won't win a majority in the Senate this Fall. Trump's endorsements led to too many primary victories for poorly qualified Republican candidates."

"Take Pennsylvania, for example," McConnell suggested. "Dr. Oz—the man Trump urged GOP voters to choose in the primary—is trailing Democrat Lt. Gov Fetterman by double digits. Fetterman says he agrees with Bernie Sanders on every issue, has a 'soft on crime' history, pulled a gun on an unarmed black jogger, and recently had a debilitating stroke. He's one of the worst candidates ever. However, Oz's latest campaign ad focusing on the high cost of vegetables used in the concoction of a dish I never heard of is not likely to win him many votes. Fetterman can probably win with the same kind of nothing campaign President Biden used against Trump."

"Fortunately, this scenario is not without a 'silver lining,'" the Minority Leader pointed out. "Though our Party's numbers might be smaller we'll be a more cohesive contingent. The number of Trump-supporting Senators will be smaller and, therefore, less disruptive and distracting. And, best of all, I will still be Minority Leader."

In related news, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo) lost her bid for reelection by a 66% to 29% margin. Nevertheless, she vowed that "Donald Trump will be hurt far more than I have been because now I will be free to devote all of my energy to running against him in the 2024 presidential election. With me splitting the Republican votes Trump will be crushed by Biden, or Harris, or whoever the Democrats nominate. So, while I have merely lost a seat in the 435-member House, Trump will lose his chance to make America great again. My revenge will be sweeter than that achieved by the late Sen. McCain whose vote stopped a Republican senate majority from repealing Obamacare."

Scientists Recreate Spanish Flu 

A team of US and Canadian scientists announced that they have been successful in their efforts to recreate the Spanish Flu virus that killed an estimated 25 to 50 million people between 1918 and 1920.

Speaking off-the-record, a person close to one of the team members explained that "the recent coronavirus pandemic exposed holes in our knowledge of potential biological weapons. The gain-of-function research on the covid virus conducted in China with funding forwarded by Dr. Fauci was only successful in producing a strain that could reliably kill the old and infirm members of society. Even at that, the rapid mutation of the virus weakened its lethality such that it could no longer be relied upon to kill even the weak."

"The ineffectiveness of the covid virus to take out more valuable members of a society sparked a quest for a more potent pathogen," the source said. "The so-called Spanish Flu's success in killing large numbers of the young and vigorous cohort of the population made it an attractive option. By adding this virus to our bio-warfare arsenal we will have the capability to decimate Chinese armed forces and, thus, be able to credibly deter potential Chinese biological attacks against us."

The announcement prompted President Biden to assert that "there is no proof that China would even consider attacking us with bio-weapons. Hunter has assured me that China is interested in doing business with us, not making war on us as long as we behave ourselves. Besides, both China and the United States are democracies. Historically, democracies have never gone to war against each other."

IRS Audits Will Collect More from Middle Class

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) wanted to know "why did all the Democrats of the Senate vote against my amendment to the legislation that would have prohibited any use of funds to audit Americans with taxable incomes below $400,000 when President Biden's promise was that 'people earning less than $400,000 per year won't pay a penny more in taxes.'"

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office admitted that the just enacted "Inflation Reduction Act" will initiate IRS audits that are projected to result in $20 billion more taxes being collected from people making less that $400,000.

Presidential Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that "what the President was trying to say was that no one making less than $400,000 would see their tax rates go up. The funding for an additional 87,000 armed IRS agents is intended to ensure that all these people pay as much as the IRS determines they should pay. That is not a tax increase."

The Senator was not impressed by her answer. "The bottom line is that the middle class will be asked to pay more than they have been paying," he pointed out. "IRS audits are intrusive and harrowing. The easiest option for the average taxpayer is to simply pay whatever the IRS says they should pay rather than being put through the wringer."

Jean-Pierre insisted that "the choice as to whether to just pay or endure the audit demonstrates the voluntary nature of the income tax. The IRS doesn't freeze bank accounts or seize assets as long as taxpayers comply with the demands of the agency."

Assault in NYC a "Misdemeanor"

A brutal unprovoked assault from behind by Bui Van Phu was made on Jesus Cortes as he was leaving a diner in New York City. Originally charged with attempted murder by the arresting officers, his offense was downgraded by the Bronx District Attorney to a misdemeanor. This made Phu eligible for release without bail, which Judge Giyang An promptly ordered. Mr. Cortes' skull was fractured. He is currently in a coma with bleeding on the brain at the hospital.

The victim's sister, Veronica Cortes expressed disgust and anger with the quick release of the assailant, saying "that kind of person shouldn't be out on the street. If he can hit my brother for no reason he is too dangerous to be out of jail."

City District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed to understand "how she feels, but we can't allow personal feelings to obstruct the wheels of justice. The decision regarding Mr. Phu must be proportionate to the alleged offense. That's what justice reform is all about. Mr. Phu is no stranger to law-enforcement. In 1991 he was convicted of robbery. In 1994 he was convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl at gunpoint. He is a registered sex offender and has previously been incarcerated. Obviously, he is capable of much worse than merely punching an unsuspecting stranger. Given that Mr. Phu has already paid his debt to society for his earlier crimes. He deserves a lighter hand now to balance out the scales. Of course, if Mr. Cortes dies from his injuries we may need to reevaluate how we've handled the case."

In related news, Jersey City Councilwoman Amy DeGise is resisting calls that she resign for hitting cyclist, Andrew Black with her SUV and then leaving the scene, saying "as a member of the City Council my work is too important. Voters elected me to do this job. I can't let them down by resigning over a minor traffic incident. I mean, it's not like the guy I hit died or anything. Worse criminals are being let go almost everyday."

NYC Mayor Objects Illegals Bused from Texas

York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) called Gov. Gregg Abbott (R-Tex) "hateful and anti-American for forcibly busing illegal border-crossers from his state to my City against their will. If they had wanted to come to New York they would've flown or sailed here. Busing them violates their constitutional rights as Americans."

Abbott said "Mayor Adams is mistaken. Just like all the other illegal immigrants that the Biden Administration is busing or flying around the country, we are asking those stuck in Texas where they want to go. For the ones saying they want to go to New York--a sanctuary city, by the way--we are compassionately chartering buses to take them there."

Adams complained that "we are being given no say is this. We can't afford to add these people to our already overloaded welfare rolls. If we had a say, we'd warn the immigrants that New York is a high crime area where dangerous criminals are allowed to roam free. It is also a high tax city and a lot colder than Mexico or Texas. I'm sure Abbott isn't telling them this. They wouldn't get on those buses if he did."

Predictit Website Ordered to Close

Rostin Behnam, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has decided that PredictIt website must cease operations by February 15, 2023. PredictIt allows people to bet on election outcomes. Lately, the betting shows that only 20% expect Biden to be reelected in 2024.

Behnam chastised the website, saying "by allowing its customers to bet against President Biden PredictIt undermining the unity that the President is trying so hard to attain. They are also engaging in same kind of election interference that Russia did in 2016 that enabled Trump to steal victory from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton."

"There's also the issue of defrauding their customers," Behnam added. "All the experts, as well as people in the position to know how the 2024 election will turn out, are confident that Biden will easily defeat whoever runs against him just like he did in the 2020 election. No other Democrat stood a chance in the primaries. In the general election Biden got a record shattering 81 million votes. Even if Trump or DeSantis gets 100 million votes in 2024 it won't be enough to overcome Biden's projected 120 million. Predictit must be shutdown to protect its customers from ending up losing millions on a bad bet."

CDC Admits Mistakes

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky admitted that "we are responsible for some pretty dramatic public mistakes in our handling of the covid pandemic. Among these mistakes were (1) an inadequate cover-up of the fraudulent testing of the covid vaccines, (2) too much transparency in covid death data, (3) failure to conceal data proving that the vaccines, the masks, and lockdowns were unsafe and ineffective, and (4) hit-and-miss censorship of dissenting views from doctors and scientists."

"We need to do better," she said. "That is why I am ordering a reorganization of the agency. First and foremost, this reorganization will establish a Special Forces branch that will be authorized to exert more effective coercive measures to address any future medical crises that may arise. Rather than continuing to rely on the type of persuasion and deceit that were deployed over the past two years we need to take a page out of China's playbook and start welding people into their homes, arresting any who escape, and culling the herd when needed to stop the spread of disease. We can no longer afford to allow an unwarranted respect for individual freedom to stymie actions necessary to protect public health."

Meanwhile, England and Wales are now averaging around 1,000 extra deaths each week, none of which are due to Covid. Prof Robert Dingwall, of Nottingham Trent University, speculates that "these deaths likely result from the delay and deferment of treatment for other conditions, like cancer and heart disease. Further, the poverty caused by the lockdown of businesses and depression brought on by forbidding church attendance and social gatherings led to increases in suicide. The lockdowns also increased the sedentary lifestyles that lead to obesity and its related toll on health."

Another possible explanation for the excess non-covid deaths is the mRNA vaccines. A study done in Thailand showed 30% of young adults experiencing cardiovascular effects including tachycardia, palpitation, and myo/pericarditis in the weeks following the injection of these vaccines. More than 40% of the pregnant women participating in Pfizer's pre-market trials of their covid vaccine experienced miscarriages. The normal rate for miscarriages in the absence of injecting these vaccines is between 15% and 20%. Covid vaccination data in the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database for 2021 shows that miscarriages and cancers among members of the US military increased by about 300% over the five year average.

Walensky insists that "the publication of the excess death data and other negative news regarding the public measures taken against the disease is precisely the type of thing that needs to be prevented and will be prevented once our Special Forces are in place and up to speed."

Manchin Deal Falling Apart

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) thought he had a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)--his vote for the White House's $739 billion climate change spending and tax hike in exchange for passage of his oil and gas permitting bill. It doesn't look like Manchin's bill will pass the House.

Schumer denied that he double-crossed Manchin, saying that "my leverage is confined to the Senate. As Majority Leader I can punish Democrats who don't fall in line. As for the House Democrats, all I can do is urge them to support the deal. Unfortunately for Sen. Manchin, too many House Democrats hate his guts. Now that his vote has already been cast for the Inflation Reduction Act they say they don't need to give him a payoff."

Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) said "Sen. Manchin got taken. He was so eager to side with President Biden that he shoved spending and tax hikes down America's throat based on the falsehood that liberals would allow more domestic oil pipelines. Even a freshman senator should have seen that coming. Manchin's been in politics for 40 years and in the senate since 2010. He's failed his constituents and America."

A spokesperson from Manchin's office tried to rebut Mooney's contention by asserting that "the Senator has always had West Virginia's best interest in mind. The Inflation Reduction Act delivers for West Virginians and Americans. He remains confident that his efforts to enact a comprehensive oil and gas permitting reform will be successful."

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