Given the possible indictment for Trump via the New York case, or the Georgia case, or the Special Counsel case, the response by many Republicans has been utterly bizarre.
Apparently, when it comes to the law, Trump is supposedly a special exception. Republicans are demanding that those that seek to hold Trump accountable should be thrown in jail without trial or any reason at all, but for simply doing their jobs.
PoliticsGirl has a truly excellent breakdown of this utter madness …
I really love this line … “Trump is not being Persecuted, he is being prosecuted“.
If, when presented with solid evidence that Trump has broken the law, then any DA opting to not prosecute him would be committing an illegitimate action.
The accusations being tossed about is that any indictment of Trump, no matter what he did should slide because “holding him to account would be political“. In reality, do you know what would actually be “political”? – The answer is “Not holding accountable“.
Is this the weirdest bit of Republican Behaviour?
Perhaps not, but rather is very much on message. The “Freedom loving” politicians tell us that they want to ban people, books, clothing, education, history, art, apps, but when it is suggested that banning specific guns that are exceptionally dangerous might be a good idea, they then tell us “Bans don’t work”, and all their supporters cheer.
(Sigh!).
What can one do expect to simply quote exactly what they say and then proceed to mock and laugh at the utter absurdity of it all.
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 dive in.
Enjoy.
Christian Nationalism
Christian nationalist MAGA evangelist Lance Wallnau hopes to one day see Steve Bannon speak in tongues and the entire Trump family become Charismatic Pentecostals.
- I hope that one day fairies riding on unicorns will deliver a pot of gold to my house. The odds for that are very much the same as the odds for Lance’s hopes.
- Then again … sometimes people do come out of prison changed people, so who knows.
Christian nationalist Lance Wallnau, yes him again, proposes launching a traveling prayer tour heading into the 2024 election in order to break the “demonic strongholds” over the swing states that are preventing Republican candidates from winning elections.
- Basically he wants to run a grift tour to collect money that is driven by the illusion of doing something “supernatural” when it fact nothing would actually be done at all.
- Even Jesus is rolling his eyes at stunts like this: In the bible Jesus literally tells those that follow him to not do this … “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.” – Matthew 6:5
Fanatical Extremists
Christian hate-preacher Jason Graber spent part of a sermon claiming Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is sub-human. “If it’s not a beast, it’s a literal alien… I will not address whatever ‘it’ is as a human being… It’s a horrible beast, you know, that needs to be dealt with.“
- He makes a very compelling case for … being an Atheist.
Homophobia
AP: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ′ administration is moving to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades. It was never about “protecting children.” It was always about eliminating LGBTQ people from public life and making it illegal to even discuss our existence. This law was modeled on the Russia “Gay Propaganda” law.
- White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre: … “It’s wrong, it’s completely, utterly wrong.” She called it “part of a disturbing and dangerous trend that we’re seeing across the nation” of targeting LGBTQ people.
- Brandon Wolf, press secretary for the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida: … “Everything he does is about what can further his own career ambitions, And it’s clear he see the anti-LGBTQ movement as his vehicle to get him where he wants to go.”
- This is a trend, not an isolated incident that targets LGBTQ. It comes on the heels of Florida pushing bills that would ban drag, effectively ban all gender affirming care for all trans people, and criminalize trans people using the bathroom.
- Be under no illusions here, we live in a society that does not grant the same basic rights to all regardless of the state they live in.
Dan Kelly, a conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, campaigned at an event featuring far-right anti-choice activist Matt Trewhella. Here’s Trewhella saying gay people are “messed up in the head” and homosexuality “needs to be suppressed through the force of law.”
- Matt is a guy devoted to burning all his time and energy spreading hatred, it has totally consumed him.
This tweet very nicely sums up things right now …
Trump Arrest
In the event that Donald Trump is arrested, radical right-wing broadcaster Pete Santilli calls on the military and law enforcement to round up Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Susan Rice, and other members of the “criminal cabal,” line them up against a wall and execute them.
- So he wants to round up and execute just them because … (Hint: what race are they all?)
- I suspect the secret service detail that still protects Obama might have something to say about this “proposal”.
- Meanwhile the FBI tip site can be found here.
Tucker: You don’t fantasize about your political opponents going to jail
- Er … polite reminder for anybody who needs it. Republicans (2016-2023): “Lock her up! … Lock her up!“
- Tucker coming out with this on Fox “News” is akin to going on ESPN to say “Grown men shouldn’t play with balls.“
Unintentional Parody
Ms Lucey is a WSJ reporter. To be honest, such reporting would go a lot better if the most influential news outlets employed people who actually followed the news.
Climate Denialism
Illinois State Rep. Chris Miller (R-Charleston) says we should not worry about climate change because God made trees: “We’re not having a climate crisis … Green leafy plants actually absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. It’s the way God made it.“
- The man was elected to represent and advocate for people, not plants. This is what happens when you elect a farmer who is also a bit of an idiot.
- We have known that CO2 is a greenhouse gas that traps heat for over 100 years. We also know that we now keep more of the sun’s energy because of all the CO2 we have created. His argument is not an argument with you, me, or even climate scientists, but rather it is an argument with the laws of physics. He is really not going to win that one.
- Literally Millions of Climate Scientists from every nation state on the planet: “Climate is the greatest threat our species has ever faced, we better do something about it“; Rep Chris Miller who is a politician and a farmer: “Plants love all the CO2 and a God will supernaturally sort it out” – So who are you going to listen to? (Damn, this is such a hard decision to make)
Truly Bizarre
Alan Dershowitz says prosecution of Trump is “a violation of the Bible“
- Like you are right now, I’m also fighting the urge to explain how the law actually works to Epstein’s buddy.
- Least you wonder who he is, he is notable for defending not just Epstein, but also O.J Simpson, Julian Assange, Jim Bakker, Harvey Weinstein, and of course Donald Trump. When it comes to having “interesting clients” this guy does not just have a couple, but a full house.
NYT article “20 Years On, a Question Lingers About Iraq: Why Did the U.S. Invade?”
- Er … sorry what was that question again NYT, is it possibly a question that could be answered by the observation that you yourselves published the completely false article on your front page in the run-up to the war suggesting Iraq had WMDs. And let’s not forget the other brazen pro-war coverage you pumped out at the time.
- To be fair, the NYT did in 2004 confess that their coverage had been totally wrong and that they had been misled … “Looking back, we wish we had been more aggressive in re-examining the claims as new evidence emerged – or failed to emerge“
It’s been reported that russia has recruited Steven Seagal to teach martial arts to its soldiers.
- Ukraine Defence Statement: “Rumour has it that the Seagal-style running technique will be included in the training. Russian soldiers will now be able to run away from their positions with weird hand motions.“
- Fact Check: Yep, he has gone full Russian. In March 2014 he hailed Putin as “one of the great living world leaders” and also supported them taking Crimea from Ukraine in July 2014. That was all enough to get him Russian citizenship. In Nov 2016 it was personally granted to him by Putin. This next bit is not a shock; Ukraine has banned him from ever visiting Ukraine.
- Also Not a surprise: If you are wondering why, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that he left behind a very long trail of sexual harassment and sexual trafficking lawsuits. Also Seagal’s ex-wife Kelly LeBrock said she was “constantly raped and abused my entire life,”. Honestly, Russia truly is welcome to keep him. Hopefully he stays there.
Ali Alexander hopes to have children one day, but doesn’t want to be burdened with having to actually raise them because he’s too busy being “a great man”: “I’m a man to be revered and written about.“
- He is indeed written about and “greatness” is not the reason. In previous weeks he has claimed to be a time traveller and also the same as Jesus.
- To be honest, I support the idea that any kids he has should be brought up by people who will bestow love upon them and teach them tolerance, empathy, and rationality.
- Life Tip: Anybody telling you how great they are is really not.
Fake Miracles
At the James River Church in Missouri, where a lady claimed to regrow three amputated toes, guest speaker Bill Johnson said he helped regrow a man’s leg.
- As is always the case with these “miracle” claims … no medical records to verify the claim, nada, nothing at all … we just have to take his word for it … except I don’t, and you should not do so either. Stuff like this is easy to verify, medical before and after records would do it … but nope, never available, and so all we have is a gullibility test.
- What has mysteriously grown rather long is the nose of everybody promoting such claims.
- As was once noted “Credulity may be a form of innocence, but it provides a standing invitation for the wicked and the clever to exploit“
- The Pastor popped up to claim that he has seen “proof” for the toes lady … but he also has an excuse for why he will not share it. He said that he is not interested in proving it, because people outside his circle are anti-evangelical. In other words, we just have the claim with no evidence. Basically fake promises mixed with fraudulent claims to keep the grift show on the road. It is deeply weird that he thinks asking for evidence for such claims is anti-evangelical. Number of “miracles” verified with credible evidence – zero.
The False Profit$
Trump lawyer Christina Bobb appeared on “Up Front In the Prophetic,” a show hosted by fervent QAnon conspiracy theorist Francine Fosdick, where they had a totally normal conversation about whether President Joe Biden has been replaced by a clone.
- There really is no ducking the observation that we currently have a very real mental health and poor education crisis.
- Finding a flow of stuff like this is very much akin to finding a festival porta potty overflowing on 105 degree day – the response to both is very much the same.
- Reminder – This is a Christian talk show on a Christian network promoting a Human Cloning claim
“Praying Medic” Dave Hayes, a Christian conspiracy theorist who said faith-healing would make modern hospitals obsolete, says he was admitted to a hospital yesterday due to a “potentially dangerous cardiac arrhythmia.“
- “Quick, take me to church” … said nobody in need of medical care … ever.
- Context: This is the guy who claimed that people needed to accept God’s healing powers — and if they did, it would make our traditional health care system obsolete.
- You know what happens next. When medical science and dedicated Doctors and Nurses have sorted him out, it will be wall-to-wall constant claims of “God cured me”.
MAGA pastor/Trump cultist Shane Vaughn reacts exactly as you’d expect to the reports that Trump paid hush money to cover up the extramarital affair he had with an adult film actress: “I don’t know and I don’t care.“
- Reminder: Shane was convicted of fraud and went to jail … when he was a pastor. He has always been a con artist.
- He is a fanatical Trump supporter these days because that stance gets him lots of donations from the gullible.
- To appreciate the depth of his hypocrisy here, simply imagine his reaction if Biden had slept with a porn star and then paid her off using campaign funds.
Interesting Articles
- Nick Visser @ HuffPost: Michigan GOP Refuses To Back Down After Comparing Gun Reform To The Holocaust.
- Joe Jervis: GOP Rep With Five Personal Bankruptcies Opposes Biden’s Student Loan Relief: “Debt Cannot Be Canceled.”
- Ken Meyer @ Mediaite: Rudy Giuliani Claims George Soros Personally Chased Him and Tried to Stop His Plane From Taking Off During Ukraine Trip.
- Alex Henderson @ AlterNet: WI Supreme Court hopeful spoke at event with pastor who says killing abortion doctors is ‘justifiable homicide.’
Statistic of the week
Raskin really is very good
If we had lots more politicians like Raskin, then the world would be a far better place.
LOL
Latest Update from the Nebraska Filibuster
Rep Gerry Connolly exposes the utter mess Trump left behind
Meanwhile …
…wait … there is more …