If you watched, then I can only offer you my sincerest condolences. It was quite honestly mind blowing to see how bad all of these people are at public speaking. What I do now have for you are a few quirky reactions …
- Chris Christie destroyed Mike Pence’s chances by unequivocally praising him.
- Mike Pence’s solution to homelessness? More law enforcement. Somehow.
- Ron DeSantis avoided answering if he accepts science and whether he’d support a federal ban on abortion – why do the moderators never press when they duck questions like that.
- Ron DeSantis was also threatening to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci … but he retired nine months ago and is no longer employed by the U.S. government. That alone tells you literally everything you need to know about the Republican Party.
- We need education, not indoctrination, says DeSantis, whose state just authorized literal indoctrination in schools via far-right PragerU videos in the classroom.
- They all kept claiming they’re worried about the debt … these would be the same folks who happily added $8 trillion to the national debt under Trump, and about a quarter of that was tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations.
- “I’m intensely proud of the record of the Trump-Pence administration,” … says man who ended the Trump-Pence administration by running from a crowd of Trump supporters trying to kill him.
- Vivek Ramaswamy managed to make Mike Pence look good in a debate.
I really don’t need to tell you this, but all of them, without any exceptions, are decoupled and untethered from reality …
So, Obama got a mention …
Guess who endorsed some points raised in the debate … (Oh come now, you knew this was going to happen) …
We also got to see an example of “Every Indian mother yelling at her son” …
Abortion also got a mention …
So who actually won that debate?
Biden did … by a landslide.
As for who the GOP candidate will be?
Well basically, it will be the criminal who was not there, because he was busy getting ready to have his mug shot taken in GA, and here it is …
Moving on, below you will once again find my usual selection of some of the other 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
Right-wing Christian apologist Alex McFarland is proud to declare himself a Christian nationalist: “I proudly own the term Christian nationalist. The left can call me that all they want.”
- Alex, calling you that was never a slur, but simply an accurate description of your beliefs. Glad you agree.
- To be honest, the term “Christian Nationalism” is a rather polite term. The less polite and more accurate term is “Religious Fascism”
- “Nationalism” and “Patriotism” are not the same thing. So here is a quote that encapsulates the difference rather well, “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.” – Charles de Gaulle
Sam Rohrer asserts that our elected leaders must have a biblical worldview because, according to the Bible, they are to serve as a “deacon” and literally “a leader in worship”: “Its very difficult, if not impossible, for someone who is in office who does not know the God of Heaven to ever lead, make laws, votes, [or] craft public policy that reflects, in any way, the will of God.”
- Er … that’s a hard “nope” on that. What “elected leaders” actually do is that they put their hand on a Bible and swear to protect the Constitution. What they do not do is to put their hand on the Constitution and swear to protect the Bible.
While the entire right-wing movement fumes about progressive adults supposedly using their positions of authority to “indoctrinate” children, Christian pollster George Barna continues to advocate for Christians to do precisely that.
- Consider what he is actually advocating in the clip linked to above. He is encouraging your neighbour to go invite your kids into their house and then proceed to brainwash your kids. Just imagine how freaked out they would be if you did the same, and invited their kids into your house to tell them all about Kahless and how they can go to Sto-vo-kor in the afterlife if they are good little warriors.
- It gives a whole new twist to “Stranger danger”
GOP Rep. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma is obviously a fan of Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton because during a recent appearance on the “Truth & Liberty” program, he repeated Barton’s nonsense several times.
- Barton is clearly the father of those specific lies, but as for being the “father of lies”, I guess that position is already taken … by Trump.
The Big Lie
Kandiss Taylor, a flat-earth, election-denying conspiracy theorist who unsuccessfully ran for governor in Georgia in 2022 under the banner of “Jesus, Guns, and Babies”, was among those who attended Mike Lindell’s wacky “Election Crime” summit last week. During an interview there she claimed the indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election is “treason” and could lead to “bloodshed.”
- A tweet with the clip of her actual “interview” can be found here.
- Wait … sorry, which Indictment is she referencing here … there are lots to choose from.
- Translation: She is pissed that US law enforcement is doing its job and if they don’t stop doing that then she and her “friends” (fascists) will also break the law.
- To illustrate her rather elusive grasp upon reality, here is a tweet of her claim that the earth is flat and that “Everywhere there’s globes … and that’s what they do to brainwash.“
Also in the news this past week …
- Charlie Nash @ Mediaite: Mar-a-Lago Tech Director Retracts Testimony, Reportedly Implicates Trump In Obstruction of Justice.
- Josephine Harvey @ HuffPost: John Eastman’s Lawyer Suggests Why His Client Won’t Flip On Trump.
- John Fea @ Current: Jenna Ellis jumped on the Trump train. Now she has a mug shot.
- Media Matters: On Newsmax, Sarah Palin calls for civil war.
The Cult of Trump
In the wake of former President Donald Trump’s arrest, MAGA cultist Mark Burns likens Trump to Martin Luther King Jr.: “Trump is in good company persecuted for standing up for the people. Arrested a total of 29 times by democratic district attorneys, crooked judges, and law enforcement.”
- “Persecuted for being a social justice warrior promoting civil rights” … is not exactly a thought that naturally springs to mind when you think of the orange muffin.
Milo Yiannopoulos declares that Trump is “a secular saint” and America’s only “universally relatable civil rights hero.”
- Hi Milo, name one “civil right” that Trump and actually championed and not trampled and pissed all over?
- “secular saint” … er … I think his evangelical cult followers would beg to differ on that take.
Following Trump’s arrest, Nick Fuentes pledged his allegiance: “Forget the Constitution, I swear allegiance to Donald Trump … Long live the rightful king of America.”
- Given Nick’s previous expression of a deep love for Hitler, this rather naturally flows from that.
James Lasher of Charisma media is outraged that MSNBC host Joe Scarborough and Eugene Robinson dared to mock Christians who support Trump.
- Since they have worked ever so hard to earn all the mockery, why disappoint them.
- If they really do not like being mocked for touting insanely hypocritical stuff that is completely at odds with everything Jesus said or taught, then perhaps they should consider what they are saying and doing … on the other hand, if they opt to continue then the open season for mockery will indeed continue.
More Trump Cult News …
- Igor Derysh @ Salon: “He literally just surrendered”: Trump declares “never surrender” in first tweet in years.
- Charlie Nash @ Mediaite: Trump Capitalizes on Jail Photo With T-Shirts, Mugs, and Bumper Stickers.
Actions really do have consequences
There truly is something darkly hilarious about supporting a torture lawyer who openly hates workers and then going “wait he’s taking away our job benefits? How could this be”
Twitter “Love”
The fact that unhinged QAnon conspiracy theorist Liz Crokin is “literally in tears” over the fact that she is now able to make money on Twitter tells you all that you need to know about what Elon Musk has done to the platform.
- When you morph the business model into one that pays people to stir the pot with crazy claims, tweets like hers will no doubt accelerate the Twitter descent into an abyss of shitfuckery as the lunatics ramp up their rhetoric to simply glean $$$
- Meanwhile, yes “unhinged” is not a slur, it really is who she is.
- In less enlightened times it was once popular for people to visit Bethlem hospital to gawk are the antics of the crazy people. Elon appears to have now revived that tradition.
Of related interest, I was writing a few days ago about how Elon is now suing CCDH for pointing out how much of a cesspit Twitter has become …
Homophobia on Steroids
Liberty Counsel is hoping to use the Kim Davis case to overturn to the Supreme Court’s 2015 marriage equality ruling: “We intend to take Kim’s case back to the Supreme Court to (1) win the right to religious accommodation, and (2) overturn Obergefell.”
- So yes, a religiously inspired group of bigots that has “Liberty” in their name wishes to obliterate basic human rights
- Kim Davis is the religious fanatic who, in her role as Rowan County Clerk, refused to grant marriage licenses to gay people.
Colorado Democrats recently established free pre-K across the state. The Archdiocese of Denver is suing because the program won’t allow them to discriminate against LGBTQ people… and they claim the program is bad for business.
- It is only bad for “business” because the core of their “business” is blatant discrimination
- It is only ever gay people that are targeted. To illustrate the hypocrisy in play, the diocese does not demand that they reject children with parents who are divorced and remarried, or Baptist or Mormon families. Those are all equally sinful to Catholics.
Also in the news this past week …
- David Gilbert @ Vice News: Man Who Shot Store Owner for Flying Pride Flag Was a Far-Right Conspiracist.
- Alex Bollinger @ LGBTQ Nation: Rightwing podcaster suggests Hurricane Hilary is God’s punishment for drag queens.
- John Russell @ LGBTQ Nation: Fox host claims schools are installing litterboxes for students in bizarre rant.
Jenna Ellis & Her Bible Verses
Given that the picture within her tweet below is her mug shot in GA after her arrest for Racketeering (RICO) and violation of oath by a public officer, she might also want to very seriously consider this next bible verse as well. It comes from the exact same chapter in Matthew that she cites …
“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.“
Matthew 5:25
Whacky Weirdness
Nick Fuentes can’t understand why he is a pariah just because his “views are consistent with what everyone believed one century ago.”
- If you think he is exaggerating about his views being a tad out of step with the rest of us, then here is a quick link to his “Hitler is Fucking cool and awesome” speech from earlier this year.
“Praying Medic” Dave Hayes, a Christian conspiracy theorist, says his prayers healed a friend with ALS, which has no known cure. He adds that neurodegenerative diseases are a “little bit tougher” to heal and require more prayers than other medical conditions.
- “you are not going to believe what happened” … yep, you nailed it Dave, the complete lack of any actual evidence that this actually happened leads exactly to that outcome.
A guy in North Carolina believes that Beyoncé is “satanic,” that the 1969 moon landing may have been fake and that there’s a ruling class of secretive reptiles. This guy is Mark Robinson, the leading GOP candidate to be the state’s next governor.
- This is not new, he has been like this for a long time. RRW have been documenting has absurd claims for years
- Jennifer Bendery @ HuffPost: The Unbelievably Bonkers Conspiracy Theorist Running For Governor Of North Carolina.
We appear to have an epademic of “bonkers” at the moment …
- John Knefel @ Media Matters: Kyle Rittenhouse’s new foundation is run by a Pizzagate conspiracy theorist and a gun extremist who appeared on a white nationalist program.
- Hemant Mehta @ Friendly Atheist: Creationist Ken Ham’s potential successor? A fellow conspiracy theorist from Australia.
- Kelly Weill @ The Daily Beast: Layoffs Gut Project Veritas: ‘What the F*ck Happened Here?’
- Steven Monacelli @ The Texas Observer: These Christians Think God Needs You Rich and to Rule the World.
Charlie Kirk knows that witches made him “super sick” once before, but this time around, he is better prepared.
- He does not appear to grasp that the guys pumping up witch paranoia in “The Crucible” were not the good guys.
- Charlie’s new TPUSA policy … “witch trials”.
- Speculation: As an anti-vaccine advocate, the term “super sick” probably means he got COVID. Since he was also anti-mask, his “solution” is to blame witches rather than his own ignorance.
Jon Miller’s virulent antisemitism has now reached the point where he is openly posting videos on Telegram of Adolf Hitler ranting about Jews.
- … because that all worked out so well for those who rolled with that policy last time.
And here is some more whacky weirdness from the past week …
- Eric Hananoki @ Media Matters: Donald Trump Jr. and Trump allies to appear with antisemite who praised Hitler for having “a vision” and trying “to straighten everything out.”
- Hannah Gais @ Hatewatch: Orthodox Priest, Jan. 6 Participant Supports Russian Government Scheme Enticing Conservatives To Move to Russia.
- David Gilbert @ Vice News: Jan. 6 Rally Organizer Created Her Own Mugshot Because She Felt Left Out.
The False Profit$
“Apostle” Tim Sheets repeatedly proclaimed the word “reset” over the White House, declaring that now “you diabolical leaders will lose your position, in the name of Jesus.”
- His delivery leaves a lot to be desired, if you check the clip you will find that he needs to check his notes to remember what he is supposed to say.
- Since the US is a democracy, then how exactly does this work, is he asking god to corruptly rig the next election?
Self-appointed “prophet” Hank Kunneman proclaims that God will use Trump’s Georgia indictment to bring forth evidence of election fraud: “The devil went down to try to steal the soul of a nation. … They’re gonna wish they never did that which they thought that they could do.”
- Will this “evidence” of a stolen election claim at the trial proceedings be carved on stone tablets?
- In one sense Hank is correct, evidence of an attempt to rig the election will indeed be presented in the GA case … but I’m not so sure Hank will be thrilled when he discovers who the guilt party is.
- A far better prophet for GA is of course Charlie Daniels with his tune “The devil went down to Georgia” … enjoy.
Conspiracy of the Week
Stew Peters insists that nobody has ever had COVID-19 because COVID is “fake.”
- The over 1 million US citizens who died have a different opinion … but they are not here to refute him because they are all dead.
- Claim: “Because the “covid-19 virus” was never isolated” – Fact Check: It has been isolated and its complete genome has been sequenced.
- You can use transmission electron microscopy imaging to actually see an isolated example of SARS-CoV-2. If you used the same technology on Stew Peters, then you would not be able to find any evidence of truth, honesty, or intelligence.