Shall we now send them the three words, “thoughts and prayers”, that they always deploy after every shooting?
What this latest verdict reveals is that they were never about “defending” the 2nd amendment rights of their members. Instead, it was about financing Wayne LaPierre’s lifestyle.
If you are wondering whom you should be thanking for holding them to account, then here you go …
You do have to admit that she is doing her job rather well …
However, we should also not forget to thank these folks …
Meanwhile, rumour has it that after the jury found former NRA chief Wayne LaPierre liable for $4 million for financial misconduct, a tearful LaPierre said that he would now be forced to sell 20 Republican congressmen.
The NRA is now in a death spiral and is thankfully loosing members and also political influence. However, going forward we should not remember it as a financially corrupt organisation, but instead as a morally bankrupt one. If we are to remember it at all, then that needs to be with a focus on the utter carnage that it has caused by standing for decades in the way of reasonable gun safety laws that are supported by the vast majority. What has just happened is a little bit of justice, and a step in the right direction, but honestly there is still so much more that now needs to happen. That can only be enacted by making sensible choices at the ballot box.
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 raw absurdity and pure stupidity.
Christian Nationalism
William Wolfe says the term “Christian nationalism” is an attack on all Christians: “These secular scholars aren’t trying to silence ‘Christian nationalists’ — they are trying to silence you, the average conservative Christian who reads and believes your Bible and then votes accordingly.”
- Er … no. There is a line. When religious fanatics strive to impose their beliefs on all of us by force then they have crossed that line and will face pushback. Example: The Amish might indeed believe lots of deeply weird stuff, but they only seek to impose that on themselves and not on you and me. That’s all fine. If however they interfered in your life, which is what Christian Nationalism seeks to do, then a line has been crossed.
- Reminder: Willian Wolfe is the same Christian crusader who was saying Christian should take up arms a few months back.
Michigan state Rep. Josh Schriver thinks that Prohibition might be “worth revisiting.”
- In his case, as with almost everything he says, I really don’t believe any “thinking” was involved.
- It was a huge failure the first time, so why does he think giving it another go is worth a shot?
- What would Jesus Do? Turn more water into wine is my guess.
Kent Christians claims that “when our forefathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, they were making a covenant with God.”
- If true, then this would be big news to historians.
If you think Kent above wins the craziest religious stance of the week, then Ali Alexander says “Hold my beer” and came out with this – He thinks the 19th Amendment (votes for women of course) should be repealed and that “voting should be reserved for families” in order to build a “Christian republic” that will “ban abortion, blasphemy, and usury.” Unfortunately, “you can’t run on any of this because the people are demonically possessed.”
- Translation: “people are demonically possessed.” = people laugh at the deeply absurd things he says as they unreservedly mock him.
Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers was explaining this past week that he wants to change a law just so that its punishment aligns with various Bible verses.
- It’s not an abstract wish, this is Senate Bill 1825. It would take the crime of “willfully, knowingly and without probable cause [making] a false report”. Filing a false report is already illegal in OK. What is new is that if you falsely charge somebody with anything, then you yourself will face the penalty for what you accused them of if that charge is false. (For example “wilfully, and knowingly without probable cause” falsely accusing somebody of Rigging an election)
- All the bible verses he cites to justify his currently proposed Oklahoma law are exclusively Old Testament verses.
- It’s all rather revealing that these guys just never get inspired by verses about canceling debts, welcoming the stranger, or the many other verses regarding justice and mercy.
- Also, when it comes to OT law, when will he be taking Trump out to be stoned for committing adultery?
- How about other OT laws, for example, explicit instructions on how to correctly beat your slave? Permit me to put this another way, exactly how does he filter this stuff and decide what to reject and what to make law? (It’s clearly all very subjective and arbitrary, which in the context of the claim that the Bible is the ultimate moral yardstick, deeply stupid).
Reminder: David Barton is never going to stop repeating his lies, no matter how many times they are debunked.
- There really is a reason why his “history” book was voted to be “the least credible history book in print”, and also why his Christian publisher pulled the book and disassociated themselves from him once they discovered the depths of his dishonesty.
- As the father of lies, he remains popular in evangelical circles because he whispers fiction into their ears and assures them it is “truth”. It also generates him a handsome income.
You might have heard Christian nationalists make a lot of ridiculous arguments over the years, but few can match Gene Bailey’s assertion that the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights were “written in the language and the prose of the [King James] Bible.”
- Sadly there are indeed people who will buy this David Barton inspired BS as “truth”.
Jason Rapert is not happy with the RRW coverage of the comments Oregon state Rep. E Werner Reschke made on Rapert’s show, or the controversy that has resulted from them: “You have to love the godless liberal Leftists, they have no shame. They attack Christians constantly, twist their words, try to demean them, and then go ask for money to fight Christian ‘extremism’. It is a racket and Right Wing Watch is one of the worst offenders.”
- No “twist” of Reschke’s comments needed, simply reporting exactly what he said in context is all that was needed.
Trump spoke to the National Religious Broadcasters convention towards the end of the week and promised the audience filled with Christian nationalists that if he returns to the White House, they’ll have political power “at a level that you’ve never used it before.”
- This is why they love him. They have lost the battle for ideas, so the only card they have left is to impose their beliefs by force.
- “in every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. he is always in alliance with the Despot abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. it is easier to acquire wealth and power by this combination than by deserving them” – Thomas Jefferson to Horatio G. Spafford, 17 March 1814
The Cult of Trump
MAGA cultist Pastor Shane Vaughn completed his pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to visit the shrine dedicated to his beloved messiah. I’m not sure if he managed to touch the helm of his garment. He does however report that he was overwhelmed: “I felt as if I was in the castle of the King of a nation.” Vaughn also reported that he proudly donated to the GoFundMe created to help Trump pay off his massive fines.
- It’s literally the inverse of classic Christianity where Jesus supposedly pays the penalty for our crimes. In this case, the followers of this fake messiah literally pay the penalty for the crimes of their beloved lord and savour.
- Now that Vaughn has “donated”, that no doubt leaves Trump to find the other $354,999,999 of the $355 million fine.
Lance Wallnau likens Trump to the biblical figure Job and lashes out at Christians who refuse to support him: “We prayed him into position and he’s the Job going through an American trial right now.”
- Ah yes, Job from the bible, a character who was famously “persecuted” for sexually assaulting women, had 91 indictments against him, committed commercial fraud on an industrial scale, and much much more.
- If he wants to identify Trump as a biblical character then a far better comparison would be the antichrist. As the destroyer of not only an entire political demographic but also an entire religious demographic, it’s a rather good match.
- To put this another way, Lance’s Bullshit is as deep as the Mariana Trench.
Christian “Love”
Read the headline. Then read the subheading …
Meanwhile, “Blame the Victim” is alive and well …
- Translation: What the pastor below is saying is that women are sexual objects and not full human beings, so they need to be covered up
Homophobia on Steroids
Ben Zeisloft says conservatives must “avoid using phrases like ‘gay marriage’ or ‘same-sex marriage’” because “both terms lie about reality”: “Instead use phrases like ‘purported same-sex marriage’ or ‘so-called same-sex marriage.’ Another is ‘same-sex mirage.’ The tried and true ‘sodomy’ will work too.”
- This would of course be Mr Zeislott’s … “purported Christianity” … or … “so-called Christianity” … or … “Christian delusion” … however the tried and true “Hate Filled Bigot” will work too.
- What is rather obvious is that Mr Zeislott is rather eager to ensure everybody knows that he hates everyone … just like Republican Jesus would.
- Irony Alert: The guy who believes in talking snakes, 900 year old men, and a global flood, wants to talk about “reality”
This past week there was also this (see tweet below) …
- Guess what religion he is? (Yep, you nailed it)
- The truly jaw dropping aspect here is that his “filth” statement was part of his response after being asked about the death of 16 year old Nex Benedict who died after being assaulted in the school bathroom in Oklahoma
- Reminder: He doesn’t want the “filth” of LGBTQ people in Oklahoma because he’s “Christian” but he’ll gladly support a thrice married adulterer, and fraudster, who sexually abuses women, and pays hush money to porn stars.
Meanwhile, we have one more example of a strongly outspoken anti-gay guy being outed as gay, this time it is Michael Voris of Church Militant …
IVF
Well yes, there is no avoiding this lunacy, so here it is.
As I’m sure you are aware, this all happened …”Alabama clinics pause IVF treatments after frozen embryo ruling” …
She said the court ruling made it “impossible” for IVF treatments to happen in the state, adding that “there will be fewer babies in Alabama because of this”. She pointed out that Alabama already had one of the lowest net population growths in the nation.
Dr McLean explained: “If an embryo is considered a child, the legal ramifications are too far-reaching and scary. We cannot put our practice or our embryology team at the risk of significant legal penalty or even jail time. And unfortunately, our patients are bearing the burden of this misguided ruling.”
After the Alabama ruling, Republicans realised from the pushback they got that they had gone too far and are now moving to protect IVF. Here is a quick reminder that after Roe V Wade fell, Dems tried to pass a bill to protect IVF, but Republicans stopped that from happening (There should be no rewriting of history here, this is a direct consequence of their actions) …
- In other words the real story here is that Republicans are now running away from their own platform after realizing that what they’ve been demanding, and got, is patently insane.
They are also now pretend that stuff like this never happened …
Even Weirder
Outraged that Meghan McCain rejected Kari Lake’s effort to make amends after insulting her father, Trump campaign troll Brenden Dilley, who is also close to Lake and her campaign, used his show and social media platforms to attack McCain and call her mother a “whore.”
- Well, I guess that’s Dilley off the McCain’s Christmas card list then.
- Reminder: Dilley is the guy who famously declared that he just makes stuff up. In this case he is clearly not very good at it, all he came up with was school playground “your mother is a …” rhetoric. So how old is this guy … 6 … or perhaps even 7.
Michigan state Rep. Josh Schriver just keeps doubling down on his white nationalism: “Wake up! We’re being replaced!”
- He had his budget, staff and committee assignments stripped when he first adopted this stance. Last Wednesday he pleaded with the House speaker, in writing, to give it all back. Later that same day he then doubled down with the above. If I was to guess, I’d speculate that the speaker said “Nope”, and so Schriver thought, “Ah F**k it” and proceeded to double down. Not exactly the smartest of moves, but hey, this guy is not exactly a rocket scientist.
If you have terminal cancer and your doctor writes you a prescription to attend a Mario Murillo tent revival meeting, perhaps you should find a new doctor. (Yes, Murillo claimed that actually happened)
- Side Note: There is no actual evidence that this really happened. Murillo simply claims it happened.
- Fact Check: Number of verified miracle cures of cancer, or for that matter anything else, at a Mario Murillo tent crusade is so far (insert drum roll here) … exactly zero. (To be wholly clear, there are lots of claims, but nothing is ever verified. There is a reason for that lack of verification).
Mark Burns is still spreading the baseless conspiracy theory that Alex Soros issued a coded assassination threat against former President Donald Trump.
- This is of course the same MAGA Pastor Mark Burns who makes stuff up … such as his entire biography.
The False Profit$
Chief Justice Tom Parker of the Alabama Supreme Court, which recently ruled that frozen embryos are people, sat down for an interview with QAnon conspiracy theorist/self-proclaimed “prophet” Johnny Enlow.
- “FFS” does not even begin to scope the correct reaction to this one.
Historians Ranked all Presidents – Guess who came last?
As reported by The Hill (and many others) on Presidents day …
In a recent survey conducted by a panel of experts specializing in the American presidency, President Biden was ranked the 14th-best president, while his likely 2024 presidential opponent former President Trump found himself at the very bottom of the list.
The experts ranked Abraham Lincoln as America’s greatest president.
Biden was placed ahead of Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan and Ulysses S. Grant. Former President Obama was ranked No. 7, eight spots higher than when the experts were polled last year.
Trump received the lowest ranking in the survey at 45th, placing below James Buchanan at 44th, Andrew Johnson at 43rd, Franklin Pierce at 42nd and William Henry Harrison at 41st.
… and of course some promptly threw a hissy fit when they found out …
- After two impeachments, a coup, an insurrection, and 91 indictments, yes, OK kids, he’s the best ever. Also, up is down
Dubious Statistic of the Week – Nailed by Ryan Burge as BS
Ryan Burge, who is himself a baptist pastor and also an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University, and is well-recognised as “one of the leading data analysts of religion and politics in the United States.”, sees the Tony Perkins “statistics” from the past week, and calls them out as complete hogwash (he is a tad more polite about it than I am). Hat tip to Ryan for truly nailing it …
Ryan then later got some further details, and honestly it does not help them make their case at all …
- It turns out that they are counting their own persecution of liberal Christians as persecution against themselves
They never thought this through
Right-wing media is now panicking because they realize a Republican bill to make it easier to sue the “liberal media” for false statements is actually going to hurt them more because false statements are their bread and butter.
- Right-wing media, in their infinite wisdom, crafting a bill to slay the dragon of “liberal media,” only to find out the sword they’ve been sharpening is double-edged. Who could have predicted that?
- If curious, it’s this SB-1780 bill
Meanwhile also in Florida the decision to pick an idiot to be Surgeon General is working out well (Blame it on there Governor he picked him) …
Republicans also revealed to be Useful idiots for Russian deployment
FAFO Weekly Champion – The Russian “Paradise”
Speaking of Russia, we also have this gem of a story that emerged this past week.
Strongly Christian (very vocally anti-LGBTQ) Canadian family decided to move to Putin’s Paradise. Last Monday Daily Kos published details on just how much of a hell it has been for them …
- They did indeed get the “freedom” they wanted.
- Irony Alert: I’d also speculate one of the things they really hated in Canada were all those immigrants turning up who did not speak the language
- Like you, I have exactly zero sympathy for them, and 100% sympathy for their very young kids
A rather encouraging Wisconsin Update
They never really thought this through at all
Politics Girl Nails it – with message for Mike Johnston
Finally…
John Oliver made a Jaw dropping offer to Clarance Thomas …
Yes, John Oliver was back with Episode 1 of Season 11. In the latest Last Week Tonight he did a SCOTUS deep dive to expose the astonishing degree of very blatant in-your-face bribery and corruption.
(Side note: HBO have shaken things up a bit and don’t make segments available on YouTube until 4 days after broadcast. So here it is below, Last Sunday’s segment as made available from Thursday (its the full 30 min segment and honestly is his best yet) …
Sorry non-US folks, the clip is restricted to the US only.
Embryos are now tax deductions for taxpayers in Alabama?
And state tax revenue plunges in Alabama.
I do wonder how the I.R.S. will deal with this…