It will of course have been rather challenging to have missed this news items from the past week – Colorado Supreme Court kicks Trump off ballot, citing ‘insurrection’. This is the first-ever use of Section 3 of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment to disqualify a presidential candidate.
For anybody living inside the right-wing echo chamber, here is a quick primer on what actually happened …
The inevitable responses to it all have of course proceeded to flow. Here is one notable example…
Vivek Ramaswamy responded with “I pledge to withdraw from the Colorado GOP primary ballot until Trump is also allowed to be on the ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley do the same immediately – or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country.“
- Vivek should indeed threaten us all with a good time by dropping out as a protest, that will show “them” who is boss.
- Andrew L. Seidel: “As a constitutional attorney, I just want to say that upholding the Constitution is in no way an “unconstitutional maneuver” and upholding the law is not “illegal.” It’s not anti-democratic to bar someone from office for committing anti-democratic acts, like insurrection.“
- To be clear, Vivek knows he can never win, especially in CO, he is simply auditioning for a position in Trump’s cabinet.
As for what comes next, well yes, it will go to appeal in the US Supreme Court. How will it pan out when we have multiple justices brought and paid for by the billionaire demographic who are eager to see more tax cuts? (No psychic powers needed to predict that one).
It’s a weird hill to opt to die on. Trump lost Colorado by a wide margin in the last presidential election, and so the next one will most probably play out in a similar manner.
For those unsure about what is going on here, then permit me to spell it out for you. 2024 is a decision on whether Mr 91-Indictments gets to sit in either the White House or the Big House. I’ve no doubts that he ponders over this 24/7 and will do whatever it takes to win.
Whatever it takes.
Oh, and since we are on the topic of you-know-who, then regarding his immigrant comment this past week, “they are poisoning the blood of our country.“. You really should not care if he has or has not read Mein Kampf. The focus of your concern should be the realisation that he seems to think Hitler made a lot of great points.
Moving on, below you will once again find my usual selection of some truly bizarre and extreme claims that have popped up during the last 7 days. Each is laced with my snarky commentary.
With my usual hat tip to my various sources, let’s once again dive into this very murky pool of absurdity and stupidity.
Christian Nationalism
The Blaze’s Jason Whitlock rails against universal suffrage at TPUSA’s AmFest: “Not everyone has to have a vote”
- 56 year old guy who is not married and has no kids, promotes the idea that there should only be one vote per family.
- I’m not exactly convinced that this non-white guy fully grasps what his place would be within the world of the 1840s that he appears to be calling for us to all return to.
- Snarky Speculation – next week he will be advocating that not everybody needs to be a free emancipated human. I mean, it’s sooo hard having to make decisions for yourself!
The Cult of Trump
Kim says she talks to liberals and Democrats all the time and they all say that the court cases against Trump are unfair…
- Hey Kim, name one … just one who actually said that to you. I’ll wait.
- The only unfair thing is that it is all taking so goddamn long. Anybody else equally guilty would be behind bars by now.
- Kim, please do call so I can set you straight. Trump is being prosecuted after four grand juries, made up of every day normal citizens, determined there is probable cause
Briefly returning back to the Trump quote from the past week … “They’re poisoning the blood of our country. That’s what they’ve done,” This was said in New Hampshire. Jeff Tiedrich points out that we now all have such a hard decision coming up in 24 …
- Side Question: Is Trump’s latest immigrant stance his way of breaking up with Melania?
Trump also said this past week, “Catholics, you cannot vote for the Democrats. You cannot even think about voting for Biden,” because the FBI is “planning to send undercover spies into Catholic churches just like in the old days of the Soviet Union,” but he will stop it and save them.
- Yes indeed Catholics, don’t vote for the devout Catholic, pick the con-artist instead and see how well that works out.
- I’m not sure he grasps that Catholics tend not to be as susceptible to his con as Evangelicals are. He has basically reached the stage where he is tossing everything against the wall in the hope that something sticks (apparently Ketchup does).
- I guess somebody will now need to go explain to him that Communion is not the same as Communism.
Christian “Love”
Oklahoma Baptist parents were told that their church’s associate kids pastor was leaving to pursue “the next step in God’s plan for his life.” They weren’t told that he was the target of a child sex abuse investigation in Arkansas.
- I think we can all sincerely hope that God’s plan includes a lengthy stay in a prison.
- Via the Arkansas Gazette (Dec 17): “Smith, Immanuel’s pastor since early 2017, opted not to inform his congregation about the allegations, the arrest or the criminal proceedings … Reissig submitted her resignation, writing in a letter shared with the Democrat-Gazette that the “lack of transparency, accountability, and handling” of the “abuse situation makes my position here untenable.”
Homophobia on Steroids
… but, given the observation that as far as the pope is concerned gay couples still can’t get married, and also *definitely* can’t consummate the relationship, so I’m really not looking at it as an actual equal rights move. All it does is to pop a light dusting of sugar on their existing anti-LGBTQ stance that remains unchanged.
So why do this?
It’s not a move to accommodate the gay community, but is instead targeting the majority of Catholics. It is designed to keep them on the team and donating.
Next we have “Moms for Threesoms” or should that be “Threesomes for Trump”. The issue is not what consenting adults do, but rather is the raw hypocrisy in play. Bridget helped write helped write Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. …
- Seriously now … what motivates someone to try to criminalize what they themselves do, try to shame others for who they themselves are, and try to ban or outlaw things they themselves participate in?
- Will Moms for Liberty be launching an OnlyFans account soon?
Dan and Jennifer Mead are suing a Michigan school district. The alleged crime? The adults at the middle school used their trans son’s name and pronouns without telling them. (If your kid doesn’t trust you with that kind of info, you’re bad parents.)
- It is deeply tragic that a child feels safe to be out at school but not out at home, just like this. Instead of going after the district, they need to figure out why their child feels unsafe at home and what they need to do in order for them to feel safe.
- It turns out that the school staff are better parents than the actual parents.
Weird
Greene: We have stupid people in Washington DC and I can say that for a fact because I work with many of them…
- Indeed yes, every time @RepMTG has to look at @mtgreenee she’s reminded of how ignorant people can get elected to office in this country.
- Will she ever grasp that she is taking about herself? … probably not, she really is too stupid to work that out.
- And yes, this really is a cue for the hot dog guy meme.
AiG is trying to claim that Christians have an exclusive remit on holidays …
- Examples of holidays that have nothing to do with religion because the meaning of words evolve: New Year’s Day; Martin Luther King’s Birthday; Washington’s Birthday; Memorial Day; Juneteenth; Independence Day; Labor Day; Columbus Day; Veterans’ Day; and Thanksgiving Day;
- In other words, of all the public holidays, only one has a religious connection. Ironically, the reason for Dec 25th is rather arbitrary, no actual date is recorded. The earliest date of it being observed is 354 AD, which is literally centuries after. We are all also using the wrong date because Dec 25th was the Julian Calendar at that time.
- It is of course a very old concept – getting together for a meal, giving gifts, having a party, also doing a few religious things as well. This was the Roman Saturnalia and was there long before Jesus was born. That was Dec 17 by the Julian calendar which is behind our Gregorian calendar and so is rather closer to our Dec 25 than some might appreciate. When Xmas became popular, the fun bits from Saturnalia transitioned over. Humans like their solstice fun, regardless of what label you use – no actual beliefs are required.
Ted Cruz says liberal women are unhappy and pissed off all the time because liberal men don’t satisfy them in bed.
- Ted does indeed greatly please his wife on a regular basis … by leaving the house.
- I’m not exactly convinced that this dollar store Grandpa Munster has it in him to gather any empirical evidence on this.
- Rep Sean Casten (Il 06th district): “The guy who folded like a Montgomery chair when an obese 77 year old said his wife was ugly has opinions on how to satisfy your spouse.“
Kellyanne Conway, yes she of the “Alternative Facts”, popped up on Fox News to say this past week: “I think Democrats wake up every morning and they look at the calendar on the iPhone and it says January 6th. The date never changes. And then they get into an electric vehicle and go get an abortion.“
- Oh come on now … a daily abortion … in *this* economy?!
- She appears to be claiming that Democrats are more fertile than the pro breeding republicans, apparently we ovulate everyday!
- You would think by now that Fox News would have learned their lesson after having to pay a $787 million settlement … but apparently not.
Joe Rogan is being Joe Rogan
- So … when they think it is Biden “he is done”, but when it is their boy Trump it’s “oh you can tell he just messed up his words” And some wonder why people don’t respect either @joerogan or MAGA.
- It really is a cult.
Lies, Damn Lies, and Charlie Kirk
- Not being open is one of the many reasons for being unable to get a decent meal at a Thru-way stop
- It’s really not rocket science – if you want to setup an outlet on a Thru-way stop then you will find there are some sensible constraints.
- Also, Charlie has no clue how food service works – if you pull a Sunday shift then you get another day off.
The False Profit$
Christian preacher Kent Christmas, who routinely makes political prophecies, says believers should “stay away from prophets” if “every single thing they prophesy about is political.” “God generally doesn’t do it that way,” he says.
- It’s truly wild that he is advising his own followers to stay away from himself. It would appear that he really in that unaware of himself.
- You don’t need to take my work on this, here is a twitter query that illustrates the deeply political nature of all his supposed “prophecies”
MAGA ‘Prophet’ and ‘Patriot’ Julie Green says she just received another message from God. God says Putin is about to expose all the “evil plans & strategies” of Obama & Biden and present “shocking information” that the 2020 election was stolen.
- … and as has been successfully demonstrated by the failure of every single one of her previous prophecies, it’s all BS.
- You would think that random chance would enable “prophets” to get something right occasionally, but apparently not. For clarity she might believe she is Nostra-damus and not appreciate that she is really Nostra-dumbass.
Ideas
Ingraham on Fox News: We’re going to win. Our ideas are better …
- Wait what … they have ideas! …. (Narrator: “They don’t have ideas.“)
- Apparently their big book of “ideas” turns out to be the old testament.
- Meanwhile, are AA meetings still a thing? (Just asking for a “friend”)
- As for “ideas” and actually doing stuff, she needs to have a chat with Chip Roy (R-Texas 21st District) and bring him up to speed, or perhaps he needs to enlighten her (the following was from last month) …
Immigrants & Texas
Stephen A Smith, the TV and Radio sports guy, throws a spotlight on a new Texas law that comes into force next March, and it really is horrific stuff …
- The same people who are screaming about how an insurrectionist ex-President is being denied “due process” because he’s being taken off the ballot in Colorado are full-throatedly endorsing arresting people of the crime of being brown without “due process.”
Onion of the week
Working out what is satire and what is real is a tad challenging these days …
On a More Positive Note: Be Encouraged, there are still good people out there
This matters because there are more of us than them.
Meanwhile …
This is what happens when your new policy requires “In God We Trust” in classrooms, but it doesn’t prohibit other messages on the donated posters…
… and he also has it on this poster as well …
.. and in Arabic …
Finally, hats off to the WWF for this rather smart ad which has got to be in the top most creative ads list (if anybody actually has one)…