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Wilfredo Lee

Chinese medicines are packed with endangered animal DNA

“Dried geckos are used as an aphrodisiac; monkey skeletons are used to treat general pain”.

MORE SHOULD BE done to curb the use of endangered species in traditional medicines, a new study says.

In an article published the journal Forensic Science Medicine and Pathology, Professor Roger Byard, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Medicine says that Chinese medicines drive the illegal wildlife trade.

The World Health Organisation says that around 80% of people in developing countries rely on traditional medicines. This can be for a plethora of reasons, Professor Byard says.

“Rhinoceros horn is used to “cure” disorders ranging from cerebral haemorrhage to AIDS, selling for as much as US$50,000 per kilogram; the powdered bones of tigers and mole rats are used to treat arthritis; shell extracts of freshwater turtles are used to treat cancer; dried geckos are used as an aphrodisiac; monkey skeletons are used to treat general pain; and moon bears are milked for their bile through catheters in order to provide people with a treatment for digestive illnesses,”

Around 13% of all Chinese traditional medicines are suspected to contain animal derivatives, the article says.

Professor Byard would like more to be done to control the use of endangered and threatened animals in traditional medicines.

“Wildlife crime has been estimated to cost between US$10 and 20 billion per year globally.”

Byard says that the problem is more widespread than just in China.

“Surprisingly, even a Chinese medicine product purchased over the counter in Adelaide, Australia, was found to contain traces of snow leopard.

“This illegal and very damaging trade needs to stop, however, unfortunately, for a number of species, it may already be too late.”

Read: Extremely rare (and cute) animal photographed for the first time in 20 years

Read: Check out these beautiful, super-rare photos of mountain lions up close

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16 Comments
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    Mute Joe Toner
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    May 21st 2020, 7:01 AM

    Not this w/anchor again….. Give us a break.

    158
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    Mute Connoroconner
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    May 21st 2020, 7:44 AM

    @Joe Toner: they don’t report half the stuff he does. The whole truth is much worse.

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    Mute Mick.
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    May 21st 2020, 7:22 AM

    His threat was baseless as he doesn’t control the funding, Congress does. And he and his Press Secretary were caught out openly lying about it.

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    May 21st 2020, 7:35 AM

    @Mick.: it’s called “quid pro quo”… but I am sure in his mind it was another “perfect” call

    52
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    Mute Connoroconner
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    May 21st 2020, 7:56 AM

    @Mick.: he probably doesnt even know that.

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    Mute Ed
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    May 21st 2020, 11:02 AM

    @Mick.: A few weeks ago he was convinced he was some sort of king when it came to deciding when states reopened.

    16
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    Mute tuco
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    May 21st 2020, 8:04 AM

    Richard Nixon resigned on a scandal that this buffoon seems to do on a daily basis and gets away with it.the role of president of America has been reduced to a daily sitcom with this gobdaw

    179
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    Mute Bramley Hawthorne
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    May 21st 2020, 7:34 AM

    We are watching a slow-moving coup d’etat as the limited democracy of the USA is being eaten away step by step.

    106
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    Mute Anthony John Cotter
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    May 21st 2020, 7:05 AM

    Dictator Donald minds himself while 100,000 of his people die.

    138
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    Mute Gary O CONNOR
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    May 21st 2020, 7:13 AM

    Gotta love the Trumpy bashing stories..
    Sure a Boris one is due ..

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    Mute Willie Murphy
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    May 21st 2020, 7:19 AM

    @Gary O CONNOR: He’s the gift that just keeps giving !!!

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    Mute Bennett blaster
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    May 21st 2020, 9:46 AM

    @Gary O CONNOR: He keeps supplying the ammo

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    Mute Al Fresco
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    May 21st 2020, 5:10 PM

    @Gary O CONNOR: yes, it’s very easy to both Trump,
    So let’s do it!!!

    2
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    Mute Stan Kowalskis
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    May 21st 2020, 8:18 AM

    Come on lads jokes over get rid of him.

    43
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    Mute Edward Boyle
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    May 21st 2020, 7:49 AM

    For a nation that prides itself as the land of the free, why are they not seeing that this man is single handedly trying to erode this. I would have any voting machine/ process that is in use checked as it sounds that the most untrustworthy of individuals thinks he knows something that the sheep don’t.

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    May 21st 2020, 8:17 AM

    @Edward Boyle: He’s losing.. its over,

    Biden can stay in his basement till November and still win because Trump has dropped the ball so badly, Trump claimed covid was 15 cases soon to be zero and now we have 100k dead and Depression era unemployment levels,

    most voters will ask themselves are they better off now than they were in 2016 and given the fact he lost the popular vote in 2026 by 3million votes ..Trump is toast.

    44
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    May 21st 2020, 9:11 AM

    @Diaspora’d: if only it were that easy. 32% of likely voters strongly approve of him. 46% approve.

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    Mute finbarr quirke
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    May 21st 2020, 9:46 AM

    @Edward Boyle: just going from twitter but his supporters believe the Democrats/liberals/the left are satan’s minions. The dems (in their mind) are baby kiillin, gun restricting, criminal releasing, LBGTQ+ loving idiots and apparently Trump is the opposite of this.

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    Mute Carlin Ite
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    May 21st 2020, 7:48 AM

    That guy is finished. The only problem is his opposition have no real policies, no real promises to undo the laws he passed and a candidate that has a rich history of voting with the republicans on some truly despicable bills!

    34
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    Mute Alan McArdle
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    May 21st 2020, 7:53 AM

    Half-statements and half-threats. That’s the way to conduct business, it seems.

    33
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    Mute David A. Murray
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    May 21st 2020, 7:08 AM

    Widespread voting by mail favours Democrats over Republicans. There is a very long history of dirty tricks by both parties.

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    Mute Coco86
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    May 21st 2020, 7:25 AM

    @David A. Murray: How so?

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    May 21st 2020, 7:41 AM

    @David A. Murray: Trump set up a commission to look into Democrat leaning voter fraud after he lost the popular vote in 2016 and lo and behold they couldn’t find anything worth reporting. maybe you have some solid evidence they missed so please share with us..

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    Mute Cupid Stunt
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    May 21st 2020, 7:53 AM

    @Coco86: His supporters don’t know what a pen is!

    31
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    May 21st 2020, 8:30 AM

    @David A. Murray: yet there’s a republican operative due for trial for tampering with mail in ballots. Number of Dems on trial 0. The only way it favours Dems is that the more people that vote (legally) the better Dems do. There’s nothing dodgy or unethical about that. On the other hand trying to make it more difficult for people to vote (legally) is both dodgy and unethical.

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    Mute DJ François
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    May 21st 2020, 8:33 AM

    @David A. Murray: voter fraud is minimal in the US. Gerrymandering on the other hand…

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    May 21st 2020, 8:45 AM

    @DJ François: exactly right….for state legislatures and local elections. Both parties are guilty.

    Gerrymandering makes no difference in a presidential election because it goes by state lines however higher turnout usually favors the democratic candidate and republicans know the more voter suppression/difficult they make it for poorer people to vote the better the republican/conservative candidate does against the democratic candidate.

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    May 21st 2020, 8:47 AM

    @Coco86: Sorry, but I assumed my criticism of Republicans and Trump was obvious. Postal votes meaning greater support for Democrats has been very widely covered over the last 2 years. Trump/GOP have fought against postal voting.

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    May 21st 2020, 8:54 AM

    @David A. Murray: Okay, my original comment was badly worded and very unclear. Post voting rebalances GOP dirty tactics to suppress Democratic votes. That’s what I meant, but failed to communicate.

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    Mute David A. Murray
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    May 21st 2020, 8:58 AM

    @David A. Murray: And it is true that both parties manipulate the voting system and engage in dirty tricks. This is historical record, not accusations. So my current sympathy for Democrats is completely relative.

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    Mute 8-Bit-Relic
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    May 21st 2020, 9:06 AM

    @David A. Murray: Well, to have people with rifles in the South who are deciding who is allowed to go to the ballots might be a reason…

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    Mute eddie horgan
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    May 21st 2020, 2:18 PM

    @Coco86: Because Democrats are more likely to be more able to put an X in the box

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    Mute D H
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    May 21st 2020, 2:54 PM

    @David A. Murray: The last voting by mail “anomalie” favoured republicans but any way, you keeping spouting Donalds conspiracy theories

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    Mute John Byrne
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    May 21st 2020, 8:26 AM

    The movie idiocracy is so relevant now , from the Whitehouse down . It is an embarrassment to the human race .

    25
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    Mute Barry Teehan
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    May 21st 2020, 7:45 AM

    Wun wabbit, wun wabbit, wun wun wun …

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    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
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    May 21st 2020, 7:44 AM

    Postal votes… sounds legit!

    * Yes, I am aware postal votes have been allowed for certain segments of voters to date, but a blind man can see the reasons for the attempted widespread implementation of them now. I ain’t no Trump fan but he’s correct to think this may be an attempt to subvert democratic process.

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    Mute Dec Quinlan
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    May 21st 2020, 7:54 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: Emm…yes. It says so right there in the article. Postal voting is recommended by the CDC as a safe option of voting during the pandemic.

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    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
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    May 21st 2020, 7:56 AM

    @Dec Quinlan: LOL The CDC recommend? A truly impartial and apolitical organization, I’m sure. Dream on.

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    May 21st 2020, 8:07 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: This is just another Trump diversion tactic. Nobody is getting a presidential election “ballot” in the mail yet. The election is in November and It’s not even June yet, the Democratic Party candidate hasn’t even been confirmed, so ballots haven’t even been printed yet.

    Every citizen is entitled to make an ‘application’ to register for absentee mail-in ballots for any upcoming state, local or federal elections and with the covid19 crisis more people are now looking to vote by mail.

    What’s bothering Trump? he is so low in the polls he’s worried a high turnout/votes cast will be bad for him. He himself votes by mail but he doesn’t want that convenience to be afforded to so many people who will probably vote against him.

    Trump is just worried that if it’s

    42
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    Mute Stephen Rogan
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    May 21st 2020, 8:12 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: at first glance, I would broadly agree with your point. But then i saw that Trump, as an official Palm Beach County resident, voted by mail in the Florida presidential primaries in March – presumably for himself – while at the same time screaming that noone else should be allowed to do so. His objection to it is 100% self-serving.

    34
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    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
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    May 21st 2020, 8:13 AM

    @Diaspora’d: Trump had a 1.2% chance of winning the Presidency according to “the polls”. How did that work out? It’s all propaganda.

    If you can’t look beyond your dislike of Trump and see what’s going on here, then it’s true that mass media propaganda works.

    I dislike Trump. But I really despise cheap propaganda tactics and attempts to subvert democracy.

    8
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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    May 21st 2020, 8:29 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: the effort to suppress turnout is being instigated by Trump and the GOP. I live in a state where voters including myself had to queue for 2 hours to vote because Trump and the GOP wanted a recent election to go ahead during the covid19 lockdown because the usual number of polling stations were reduced and voters had to travel to polling stations further away. Trump and the GOP thought this would suppress turnout so the GOP/conservative candidates would win. It turned out that the “anybody but Trump” sentiment is rising and the conservative candidates lost.

    Trump is in trouble and he knows.

    30
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    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
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    May 21st 2020, 8:38 AM

    @Diaspora’d: I am NOT disputing that there are constant attempts to affect polling numbers and also gerrymander from BOTH parties.

    I AM saying that this postal voting move is a little “too obvious” and needs to be called out for what it is.

    *I am not a Trump supporter and ridiculous that I am receiving horrific DMs and threats to Dox me to my twitter account merely for saying that he may have a point.

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    Mute Diaspora'd
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    May 21st 2020, 8:56 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: the whole “widespread voter fraud by mail” thing is a myth.

    The more people who can vote in an election the better in my opinion. I normally vote in person in every state and federal election but if I know I won’t be in town, I “apply” a week or two in advance and get a mail-in ballot. The system has been working fine for years. Trump is bringing it up now as an issue because it’s in his and the GOPs interest to get a low turnout.

    23
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    Mute Drunk in Dublin
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    May 21st 2020, 9:46 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: US military who work overseas have been voting by post for decades. Absentee voting also happens by mail and it’s a secure process. There is far more fraud to be had with electronic voting machines than with paper ballots, and Trump knows this. That’s why he doesn’t like paper, it leaves a trail.

    17
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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    May 21st 2020, 1:51 PM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: which party has an operative awaiting trial for interfering with mail in ballots?

    5
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    Mute Gerald OBrien
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    May 21st 2020, 9:15 AM

    That’s a good sign. He must be clutching at straws.

    18
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    Mute Dave Thomas
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    May 22nd 2020, 12:29 AM

    @Gerald OBrien: he usually is.

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    Mute Keith O'Reilly
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    May 21st 2020, 12:06 PM

    I’m still convinced that if he loses in November (I don’t think he will unfortunately) he won’t give up the office voluntarily.

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    Mute A2 Poster
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    May 21st 2020, 12:42 PM

    This is very dangerous talk. He’s planting the seed that these votes are suspect before the election even takes place. If he loses, he already has his excuse baked in. There will be legal challenges after that, and then the question of if he will leave office peacefully. Either way it’s a long road and it could be a major effort to wrest power away from this nutcase.

    10
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    Mute Charles Coughlan
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    May 21st 2020, 8:20 AM

    Any chance of a Trump filter on the Journal pretty please.

    6
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    Mute Brian McHale-Boyle
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    May 21st 2020, 8:23 AM

    Oh, no, I didn’t scream that I hate Trump enough, so that must mean that I support him, so it looks like my opinion has been cancelled. No thumbs up for Brian! /sadface emoji

    My voter’s in the post, baby!

    11
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    Mute DJ François
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    May 21st 2020, 8:35 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: eh?

    20
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    Mute Bennett blaster
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    May 21st 2020, 9:47 AM

    @Brian McHale-Boyle: Do you need attention Brian?

    13
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    Mute ger o' dwyer
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    May 21st 2020, 10:54 AM

    You’d have to hand it to Trump. He knows that no matter what he says or does the clowns that vote for him will continue to do so.

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    Mute Ed
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    May 21st 2020, 11:01 AM

    I’ve seen excrement that is more appealing.

    7
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    Mute Mary N. Cooke
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    May 21st 2020, 12:09 PM

    Didn’t Nero fiddle while Rome burned?
    Or is it the Queen in Snow White?
    ” yes i told everybody again today how great I really am”

    3
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    Mute Sean Fahey
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    May 21st 2020, 8:53 PM

    I like how Trump has strategically assigned his vote to the biggest swing state of them all. Just in case. Text book stable genius move.

    2
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