Ken Starr, for those that don’t know, is the lawyer and judge who famously went after Bill Clinton for the “crime” of having a consensual blow job. This past week, he passed away.
Some had a few thoughts on that …
There are perhaps a few things that Ken Starr should also be well-remembered for. To be specific …
- He rather famously defended Jeffrey Epstein
- He also rather famously defended Trump for impeachment using the exact reverse of the arguments he had used against Clinton, and justified that he had been wrong to use those arguments against Clinton.
- He oversaw the systematic cover-up of multiple instances of rape on the Baylor University campus
- To be clear, a 2017 court filing reveals that “former Baylor University President Ken Starr and other school officials helped a student they knew had been accused of sexual harassment“. He even told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he hosted a fundraiser at his home for the legal defense fund of [a star football player accused of sexual assault]
So yes, he did stuff, some good, and some bad. People are complicated. In some respects, via the above track record, it would appear that he was a guy who only had a problem with consensual sex. I don’t think that is a legacy he would have wanted to be remembered for, but by his actions that’s what he is stuck with.
Moving on, below you will find my usual selection of some truly bizarre 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 dive in.
Enjoy.
Homophobia
Jack Hibbs asks, “What does a nation look like when it starts to receive the judgement or the cursings of Almighty God?” His answer? LGBTQ characters in “Blue’s Clues.”
- In other words, never mind the lying, the pussy grabbing, the sexual abuse, or the intolerance, racism or bigotry, a cartoon character is apparently “evil incarnate” while the rest gets a free pass.
- To be clear his “judgement of God” example consists of a cartoon that has Blue the dog sitting in the lower left, his expression is questioning, his ears flopping. Behind Blue is a picture frame dominated by a happy person with big purple hair and a small crown. They are wearing a rainbow-themed skirt, a heart-shaped shirt, and purple mittens. That’s it, that is what he is choking on.
- The truly terrifying observation here is not that he said this, but rather that he has an audience listening in rapt attention taking it all very seriously
Remembering 9/11
Laura Loomer remembered 9/11 by declaring that today “our biggest enemy isn’t hiding in a cave in a far away land speaking Arabic. Our biggest enemy is sitting in a Building located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, plotting and planning the eternal destruction of the United States of America and American Patriots with the tools made available through the creation of the Patriot Act.”
- I don’t think she quite grasps that the enemy of democracy is found within her mirror. She literally rejects all election results that don’t result in her or her MAGA friends winning.
Racism
Matt Evans—a proud “internet racist livestreamer,” America First activist, and Nick Fuentes ally known as “Beardson Beardly”—is sick of all these Black “naggers” telling him he can’t say the N-word or fly the Confederate flag.
- Actually … he can in fact do all that. He simply does not want the well deserved ridicule, mockery, rejection, and contempt that it then generates.
More on Biden’s speech
Some of them are still foaming at the mouth about it.
Scott Lively warns that President Joe Biden’s speech on the danger that MAGA Republicans represent to Democracy “wasn’t just hate-speech, it was the launch of a marketing campaign, a rhetorical call to domestic political war and very possibly the psychological preparation of the nation for actual war against Russia.”
- Scott is simply pissed because Biden was talking specifically about him.
Shane Vaughn says that Biden was under “the power of Satan himself” when he delivered that speech: “This was something that was set up by Satan himself.”
- Since Shane is the guy who went to jail for fraud, while a pastor, I’m not exactly convinced he is a reliable source for anything.
- Quote: … “Police describe Vaughn as a chameleon, changing his look and name repeatedly. The 37-year-old is accused of stealing a 2-year-old’s identity to defraud a life insurance company. He is accused of swiping $20,000 from an annuity he sold to a person that didn’t even exist.“
Hypocrisy on Steroids
Dalton Clodfelter believes in “free speech for everyone, as of right now,” but “once we take power, I see no problem with silencing our opposition.”
- How to say “I have never been laid”.. without saying “I have never been laid”
- Incidentally, if you think he is an outlier, then permit me to remind you that McConnell, when Democrats wanted to pick a SCOTUS, said it was too close to election day, yet when they had a chance to pick a SCOTUS in the exact same circumstances, that rule suddenly didn’t apply.
Christian Nationalism
Right-wing pastor Paul Blair declares that “Christian missionaries need to be invading the school boards to take back that ground. We need to be invading public education.”
- One can only wonder what he would think if teachers invaded his church services to teach reason, critical thinking, compassion, and common sense.
- He appears to not grasp that education and indoctrination and not the same thing.
- At least he is being honest about going full Putin. The word “invading” is indeed the right word for what he describes.
Homophobia on Steroids
Jesse Kelly warns that “if you can’t see how a federal gay marriage bill will be used to attack the largest political opponent (churches) of Democrats, you’re so stupid you should be institutionalized. FBI gonna be knocking on your pastor’s door for refusing to marry a couple dudes. Morons.”
- He is lying (no surprise there). The bill does not mandate that pastors have to marry a gay couple. It is a bill that gives federal protection and stops individual states from refusing to recognise an existing same-sex marriage.
- Reality Check: Pushing back against bigotry and discrimination is not an “attack”, it is a defence of those being discriminated against.
- The fact that his strand of belief sincerely believes that Trump has strong moral values and is God’s chosen one is a bit of a clue that his moral compass is seriously banjaxed and that his grasp upon reality is deeply dubious.
Scott Lively proclaims that “Russia may be the only hope for stopping the globalists in Europe and saving the Ukrainians (and all Europeans) from a fate worse than death – the LGBT enslavement of their progeny.”
- Scott, who has devoted his entire life to deploying ignorant bigotry, is indeed the guy who has written open Love letters to Putin.
- So who wants to break it to him that Putin did not invade Ukraine to save them from gay people.
Truly Bizarre
Gizmodo: Evangelical missionaries in Latin America are also preaching the gospel of crypto currency.
- These missionaries are pushing something that’s unreliable, benefits those near the top of the pyramid at the expense of others, and probably won’t be worth it in the long term. Oh yes, and they are also promoting crypto.
- “My god loves you … and also wants you to buy my cyber coin.”
- I guess nobody is too poor to be scammed.
Vincent James thinks that slavery in America “was probably mostly kind of like camping.”
- Do you think he would be willing to demonstrate this by being taken, against his will, on a “camping” trip that recreates the slavery experience … with no option of ever ending it.
Right-wing preacher Andrew Wommack claims to have a friend who “actually knows a teacher that comes to school as a furry and wears ears and a tail and uses a litter box at the front of the classroom to relieve himself.“
- This is how it works. He has a friend without a name who knows a guy without a name who does this thing that never happens – that’s all the proof needed, and so the urban legend is once again “fact”.
- Reuters Fact Check (from last July): it never happened. Iowa Capitol Dispatch also debunked it … last February, as did many others over the years when it pops up … yet here it is once again doing the rounds. #unboundedGullibility
- If you still don’t get it, then permit me play it back for you once more. He knows a teacher that goes to the bathroom in the classroom in front of students dressed as a cat and this teacher has not been fired. True story? If “yes”, then I have an amazing deal for you, I have a bridge to sell at a really special discount just for you.
- If only this preacher had some guidance within his religious beliefs about lying.
Al Mohler also spoke at the Pray, Vote, Stand summit, where he said that it’s “absolutely necessary” for all Christians to vote in the 2022 midterms and warned that any Christian who votes “wrongly” is being “unfaithful” to God.
- GOP election. Make the voters vote again and again until they get the answer right.
- Mr Mohler was “unfaithful” with his “wrongly” vote in 2016.
- Reminder: Acting “wrongly” and being “unfaithful” to God is when you support people who covered up rampant sexual abuse as Mr Mohler did within the SBC. He only “regretted” it when it become public knowledge.
Outraged about the FBI seizing the cell phone of election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell, Stew Peters wants to see all the top-level officials at the FBI, CDC, FDA, CIA, and NSA fired and imprisoned.
- The NSA and the CIA!!
- I’m honestly not sure who he thinks will be doing all this arresting.
The False Profit$
- Predictably, there is never ever are credible evidence for these supposed miracle claims. You would think that if it was actually true they would be trumpeting the proof … but no, nada.
- Who gets to decide who is an “Apostle” or a “prophet”?
QAnon conspiracy theorist Dave Hayes (aka “The Praying Medic”) says the military must step in and order that the 2020 election be redone while also insisting that “it’s not a coup, because a coup is when the military removes a duly elected president.”
- If indeed he has been elected twice, then he can’t run in 2024.
- Mr Hates has no choice here. This “self-appointed” prophet predicted a win for Trump in 2020, so he either backs down and admits to his supporters that he is a failed prophet, or he just keeps doubling down like this so that the donations carry on rolling in.
- So yes, this is really all about “Profits” for the “Preying Medic”
Interesting Articles
- Tim Dickinson @ Rolling Stone: Caught on Tape: Doug Mastriano Prayed for MAGA to ‘Seize the Power’ Ahead of Jan. 6.
- Joe Jervis: Southern Baptist Leader: The Left Invented Christian Nationalism In Order To “Suppress Patriotic Beliefs.”
- Hemant Mehta @ OnlySky: Demon-obsessed Democrat Kim Daniels re-elected to Florida House.
- Josh Kovensky @ Talking Points Memo: Judge Ridicules Trump Lawsuit As Yet Another Grievance Manifesto.
- Jose Pagliery @ The Daily Beast: Trump Sons to Share a Stage With Racist-Joking Guv Candidate.
- Steve Benen @ The Maddow Blog: What Sarah Palin and the GOP don’t understand about her defeat.
- Frederick Clarkson and André Gagné @ Religion Dispatches: Christian Right Denialism is More Dangerous Than Ever: A Reporter’s Guide to the New Apostolic Reformation.
- Bob Brigham @ Raw Story: Lauren Boebert causes scene by refusing to agree to debate rules.
- Alex Henderson @ Salon: Plaintiff in Florida GOP primary loser Laura Loomer fraud lawsuit drops out: “I’m not going to lie.”
- Will Sommer and Philippe Naughton @ The Daily Beast: Man Murdered Wife, Shot Daughter After Being Sucked Down ‘Q Rabbit Hole,’ Family Confirms.
- Aaron Pellish and Marshall Cohen @ CNN: Republican congressman presents convicted January 6 rioter with flag flown over US Capitol after her release from prison.
- David Gilbert @ Vice News: Trump’s Not Even Pretending to Hide His Support for QAnon Any More.
- Adam Rawnsley and Asawin Suebsaeng @ Rolling Stone: Alex Jones Spied on His Wife and Ex-Wife, Texts Reveal.
- Michael Daly @ The Daily Beast: Even by Florida GOP Standards, This Is Lunacy.
- Brandy Zadrozny @ NBC News: Satanic panic is making a comeback, fueled by QAnon believers and GOP influencers.
Statistic of the week
Via Pew …
Honestly, is anybody actually surprised. They have been working very very hard to eject decent people. Being obnoxious and intolerant really does have consequences.
Meanwhile …
Finally …
This “Republican Jesus” clip was simply too good to not share …