Nation

McCarthy to meet with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: Her conspiracy theories may strip her of committee assignments

Published

3 years ago

February 2, 2021

Staff Writer

This story was first published by The Dark Wire Investigation Foundation

It was November 2018 when then Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, wrote in a Facebook post of a conspiracy linking Rothschild Inc. to “lasers or blue beams of light” that she alleged caused the devastating 2018 wildfires in California. At the time she wasn’t an elected official but a businesswoman who ran one of the most successful cross fit gym’s in the nation.

The Facebook post has since been deleted, according to Media Matters, which first reported on the lengthy social media statement.

The Rothschild family, a wealthy Jewish family, has been the target of antisemitic tropes for centuries.

“These comments are deeply disturbing and Leader McCarthy plans to have a conversation with the Congresswoman about them.”
-A Mccarthy spokesperson

A number of Jewish organizations condemned Greene’s post, including the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC). Their statement, released last Friday, renewed the group’s commitment to speak out “against antisemitic comments from individuals on both sides of the political aisle” and defended that “the RJC has never supported or endorsed Marjorie Taylor Greene.”

The statement added, “We opposed her as a candidate and we continue to oppose her now. She is far outside the mainstream of the Republican Party, and the RJC is working closely with House Republican leadership regarding next steps on this matter.

Greene’s recently-unearthed posts, along with other conspiracies she’s touted regarding the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, and the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, may cost her her recent assignments to the House Committee on Education and Labor and the House Budget Committee.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-MD, has reportedly given House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, a 72-hour ultimatum to strip Greene of her seats on those committees, according to Politico.

“The resolution introduced at today’s pro forma would remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments,” Hoyer said in a statement. “It is my hope and expectation that Republicans will do the right thing and hold Rep. Greene accountable, and we will not need to consider this resolution. But we are prepared to do so if necessary.”

A McCarthy spokesperson told this reporter Tuesday that the Republican Leader found Greene’s comments to be “deeply disturbing” and “plans to have a conversation with the Congresswoman about them.”

The Dark Wire Investigation Foundation contacted Rep. Greene’s office, asking if she would apologize for her past remarks and provide a statement, but didn’t received a response.

Both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, have outwardly denounced Greene’s past statements.

On Monday, McConnell condemned Greene’s “loony lies and conspiracy” theories” as a “cancer for the Republican Party.”

“Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality,” McConnell said in a statement first reported by The Hill. “This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.”

Watchdog StopAntisemitism.org stands by the move.

“StopAntisemitism.org supports the removal of Marjorie Taylor Greene from all committee assignments,” said StopAntisemitism.org’s Director Liora Rez in a statement to The Dark Wire Investigation Foundation. “Her ludicrous conspiracy theories and racist views do not belong in the halls of Congress.”

After McConnell made the statement, Greene tweeted that “the real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully.”

She continued, “This is why we are losing our country.”

Pelosi on Monday told reporters that her concern is with “the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives who was willing to overlook, ignore those statements.”

“Assigning her to the Education Committee when she has mocked the killing of little children at Sandy Hook Elementary School, when she has mocked the killing of teenagers in High School at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, what could they be thinking? Or is thinking too generous a word for what they might be doing?”

Meanwhile, Greene took to Twitter Tuesday morning, calling House members pushing for her expulsion “hypocrites.”

In one tweet, Greene asked, “Who should be removed from those committees? Me – brand new to Congress?” adding “OR… The career politicians who enslaved Americans to nearly $30 trillion in debt, puts up walls to protect themselves but no wall to protect you?

Follow Jennie Taer on Twitter @JennieSTaer

Click here to read the original report.

Nation

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Returns After 7-Year Journey with Asteroid Samples

Published

2 hours ago

September 22, 2023

Alexander Carter

After a remarkable seven-year voyage spanning nearly 4 billion miles in space, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is set to make its triumphant return to Earth on Sunday. OSIRIS-REx, an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer, was launched in 2016 on a groundbreaking mission to collect material from an asteroid in space.

The capsule, holding a precious cargo of nearly 9 ounces of rocks, dust, and dirt gathered from the asteroid Bennu, will detach from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft before making an anticipated landing inside the Defense Department’s Utah Test and Training Range. According to reports from Fox News, teams from NASA and Lockheed Martin, the vehicle’s builder, will eagerly await its arrival.

Describing the precision required for this endeavor, OSIRIS-REx Deputy Project Manager Michael Moreau likened it to a challenging game of accuracy, stating, “It’s like putting a dart board at one end of a basketball court and throwing the dart from the other end and getting a bull’s-eye.”

This years-long mission holds significant scientific importance. It will aid researchers in investigating the formation of planets, shed light on the origins of life, and enhance NASA’s understanding of asteroids that could pose potential threats to Earth.

Furthermore, the collected sample is expected to offer “generations of scientists a window into the time when the Sun and planets were forming about 4.5 billion years ago,” according to NASA.

Moreover, the mission could contribute crucial information to Earth’s defense against a potential collision with Bennu, an asteroid roughly the size of the Empire State Building. NASA estimates a 1-in-2,700 chance of Bennu impacting Earth in the latter half of the 2100s.

The journey leading up to this momentous return has been a long and meticulous one. OSIRIS-REx arrived at Bennu in 2018 and spent two years closely orbiting the asteroid, gathering vital data.

In 2020, the spacecraft made history with a successful landing on Bennu’s surface, collecting a “touch and go” sample in under a minute. Despite an initial setback due to a jammed door that led to the loss of some space dust, the sample collected still surpasses the mission’s requirement of two ounces.

Once the capsule safely touches down in the Utah desert, a dedicated NASA team will transport the precious material to a meticulously clean environment. Subsequently, the Bennu samples will find their way to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Approximately 70% of the asteroid material will be preserved for future research endeavors, allowing scientists worldwide to delve into its mysteries. Additionally, a portion of the sample will be shared with the Japanese Space Exploration Agency as part of an exchange for samples collected by Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft.

Looking ahead, OSIRIS-REx is set to continue its mission by studying another asteroid named Apophis, named after a demon serpent in ancient Egyptian mythology, symbolizing evil and chaos. This ambitious mission marks another chapter in humanity’s ongoing exploration of our solar system and beyond.