Last Wednesday U.S. Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) claimed “no solution anyone has offered would have prevented any mass shooting“. He added to that his claimed reason for a gun violence crisis: abortion.
Yes, one paragraph into this week’s posting and it is already a cue for you to face-palm. That’s why I call it the “Cult of Fools”.
Rep Bill Long’s claim is demonstrably pure unfettered rampant bullshit. Every other nation state on the planet that has access to abortion does not have a gun violence problem. Rinse and repeat for all the other talking points such as violent Video Games. Again, nations where they are even more popular don’t have a mass shooting problem.
It is literally “The Onion” Incarnate. “No Way to Prevent This”, Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens. That is their rinse and repeat article that they have been publishing on frighteningly regular basis since 2014.
The beloved second amendment that is cherished by gun fans is not actually the problem, but instead contains the solution. The clue there are the words “well-regulated“. If I was to claim that a “well-regulated militia” slaughtered 19 kids and two teachers in Uvalde because it was “necessary to the security of a free State”, then I would be rightly ridiculed.
This is not simply about Uvalde. Since that utterly tragic and very preventable event on May 24, just 12 days ago, the following 26, yes really 26, mass shootings have taken place … (and this list keeps growing on a daily basis, so it is highly probable that by the time you read this, many more mass shootings will have happened) …
The ongoing GOP “solution” has been lots of “Thoughts and Prayers” … (better known as the “do absolutely nothing” option) …
What is clear is that a vote for any Republican is a vote to continue complete tolerance for the ongoing sacrifice of children to ensure a continuation of donations from the NRA.
Do I sound more than a little bit mad?
I am, and I’m not alone …
(Here endeth this week’s rant)
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, especially those that send me tips, let’s dive in.
Hell & Satan
Mychal Massie declares that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is “wicked harridan” who will spend “eternity in the fiery pit of hell.”
- As the speaker of the House that already has lots of elected Republican lunatics, she is already in hell.
- Side Note: The link there is from WND. Supposedly WorldNet Daily, but in reality is actually better known as WingNut Daily.
Weird Conspiracies
Liz Crokin believes that Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump have “meticulously orchestrated” a plan to take down the deep state and finally “break people out of The Matrix.”
- She has been banned from every social media platform. I suspect this latest updated from her gives you a clue to an explanation for that.
- Well gosh, a Russia-loving white nationalist and conspiracy theorist plays the false-flag claim … I’m shocked I tell you, shocked.
- She is also a rather strong QAnon supporter of the idea that there exists a nefarious conspiracy to sacrifice children. What she fails to grasp is that this is literally what she is herself doing. Her fellow conspiracists are the GOP and they have indeed conspired to literally sacrifice children to appease their Gun God on a very regular basis.
- Other noteworthy Lauren claims: that she was once a drug–runner for “Mexican cartels,”, and that the earth is flat. I’m not exactly convinced that her grasp of reality is robust.
Truly Bizarre
Televangelist Kenneth Copeland says the Uvalde shooter was “demon possessed” so don’t blame him, hold “the devil responsible.”
- I guess this Scamvangelist is suggesting that there should be a background check that looks into “demon possession” before any gun sale can proceed. This is definitely a rock-solid case for gun control because we don’t want to arm the devil.
- Is this a get-out-of-jail-free card for anything else … “Sorry, I did not want an abortion, but the devil made me do it”, so don’t blame me, I’m innocent.
Stew Peters is “an alpha male” and that is why he “will NOT be gaslighted into just believing” that the Earth is round.
- For Stew, education is clearly a nefarious Democrat plot that only other gullible people experience.
- The end of Stew’s posting is also a real hoot. Not only does he assert that the world if flat, but his parting shot is the claim that viruses are not real.
- I can only speculate that next week Stew will be advising all his followers that 2+2=7 and anybody daring to suggest it is 4 is clearly satanic.
Kandiss Taylor, the “Jesus, Guns, and Babies” lady, who received 3.4 percent of the vote in Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial primary, claims the election was stolen and refuses to concede, praying that those responsible for this “crime” will “feel so guilty [that] they come forward”: “We pray for guilt.”
- It was a GOP primary, she is claiming that the GOP “stole” the election from her.
- Being a Jesus lady, I’d assume that she prayed to win. So what happened, did Republican Jesus refuse to fix the election for her, or is she claiming that those that supposedly stole the Republican primary from her are far more powerful than Republican Jesus.
Jackson Lahmeyer declares that “it’s only a matter of time until the left tries to normalize pedophilia and add it to their rainbow flag.”
- Nobody have ever seriously advocated for that … except perhaps pedophiles, and perhaps also some Catholic Priests.
- Meanwhile he himself about a year ago has personally faced false accusations of pedophilia. When it happened to him he called it “ugly”, now here he is dishing out the same “ugly” by the bucket load.
Christian Fanatics
Lance Wallnau is outraged that the new quarter design depicts George Washington facing away from “In God We Trust”: “There’s significance in these things, dunderhead!”
- Lance has turned “being offended” about random trivial stuff into a profession. This is the same guy who labels anybody who does not agree with him about absolutely everything a “snowflake”, and yet here he is have a meltdown.
- Fun fact: The US only adopted the motto “In God We Trust” in 1956 (180 after its founding) after being pressured to do so by power-hungry Christian Identity Political Activists, even though it directly conflicts with the first clause in the Bill of Rights. The original was E pluribus unum (Out of many, one).
Right-wing pastor Kent Christmas used a recent Sunday sermon to curse Disney: “May Disney go bankrupt for standing for such ungodliness and filth!”
- When Disney is your enemy then clearly you are playing on the wrong team.
- It is not exactly a great way to win the up and coming next generation to come play on your team.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says there is nothing to fear about Christian nationalism because it’s the only thing that can stop school shootings, crime, and sexual immorality, declaring that anyone who opposes it is a “domestic terrorist.”
- It truly is deeply weird that the Republican response to school shootings is to claim Americans have less faith, morality, and family values than Europeans or Asians, where these shootings don’t happen.
- Meanwhile over in Netherlands: ⁃ 50% of the population is atheist ⁃ Assault weapons are banned = gun violence rate is 0.29 ⁃ Prostitution was legalized in the Netherlands = human trafficking and rape were eliminated ⁃ Sex Ed is mandatory at age 4 = lowest amount of teen moms in EU.
- Hot Tip: God told her to run for President … and then Jesus dumped her and she lost.
Education
Jarrin Jackson declares that public school curriculum “isn’t developed by people who love Jesus Christ, but by people who hate America.”
- Jarrin Jackson Translator: Schools don’t indoctrinate kids into my specific religious and political beliefs therefore those that assembled the curriculum are evil.
- I think what Mr Jackson fails to grasp is that a secular curriculum is a feature, not a bug.
The False Profit$
Christian “prophetess” Kat Kerr says there are skating rinks in Heaven… and “the skateboards fly!”
- Kat’s gift is her ability to cobble up some truly weird fan-fiction for Christianity
- I’m guessing she hopes that nobody remembers her inspiration – Back to the Future.
Christian scamvangelist Jerry Savelle (a colleague of Kenneth Copeland) defended his bank account. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. A vow of poverty? Why would anybody take a vow of poverty?”
- I’d guess that the bit in the bible where Jesus tells the rich man to sell all he has is also “the dumbest thing he ever heard”.
- For these con artists, adhering to what Jesus actually said truly is off the agenda. They have literally replaced the cross with the $ symbol as the focus of their worship.
Interesting Articles
- Alexandra Berzon @ The New York Times: Lawyer Who Plotted to Overturn Trump Loss Recruits Election Deniers to Watch Over the Vote.
- Peter Smith And Deepa Bharath @ The Associated Press: Christian nationalism on the rise in some GOP campaigns.
- Thomas Lecaque @ The Bulwark: Doug Mastriano, Christian Nationalism, and the Cult of the AR-15.
- Will Sommer @ The Daily Beast: This QAnon Leader Could Control Key Elections in 2024.
- Media Matters: Laura Ingraham blames marijuana for mass shootings.
- Hemant Mehta @ OnlySky: In campaign ad, GOP Senate candidate claims his church was ‘shut down.’
- Cristina Cabrera @ Talking Points Memo: Cruz Wags Finger At GOPers Who Skipped NRA Convention After Uvalde.
- Sky Palma @ Raw Story: GOP congressman fumes after Eric Swalwell accuses Republicans of siding with the Uvalde gunman.
- Patricia Mazzei and Alan Feuer @ The New York Times: How the Proud Boys Gripped the Miami-Dade Republican Party.
Statistic of the week
Republicans who may soon face a vote for gun control in Congress should seriously consider this …
Hilariously Funny – Jason Selvig at the NRA Convention
Comedian Jasen Selvig registered and attended the NRA convention. (Hint: he is not a gun fan)
Here are a few of my favourite tweets from him where he very successfully puncked them.
He stands up and heaps praise upon Wayne LaPierre for all his “thoughts and prayers”. Nobody works out that he is mocking them, he gets a round of applause …
Also at the convention … facts …
NRA revelation – guns are dangerous, so have to be banned.
My point here is this – Humour and satire is a very powerful weapon for fighting the insanity of it all.