Top 10 Conservative Idiots #11-16: C.R.E.A.M.: Conspiracies Rule Everything Around Me Edition

[Top 10 Idiots]

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #11-16: C.R.E.A.M.: Conspiracies Rule Everything Around Me Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Welcome welcome welcome! What’s up New York City??? How you guys doing? You doing fucking good? It’s great to be back in the Big Apple here at the beautiful Grammercy Theater! Now that we have 5 full years under our belts, it’s time to start thinking about the next five! What will happen? Will Trump declare himself god? Will the Q nuts rise up and burn down Dealy Plaza? Will Kanye start a suicide cult in Wyoming? Will COVID-19 morph into a super virus that takes out all the red state voters? Only one way to find out! Next year is our annual wrap up of the year and what a truly insane and crazy year 2021 was! But we’ve got one more regular Top 10 for you and here it is! Do we have time for the thing? Of course we do! You know Bill Maher was right – the longer you spend in the virtual world the harder it is to relate to the real one. I mean come on, people have had entire wedding ceremonies in Minecraft. Now get ready for the next evolution of that – Metaverse weddings! That’s right – the Meta corporation, formerly known as Facebook has used VR technology to create an entire virtual world in which we live. It’s almost similar to the plot of that movie from a couple of years ago called “Ready Player One”. So yeah get ready for a whole slew of events to take place on your VR headset. Goodbye reality, it was nice knowing you! So if we have virtual weddings, does that mean that virtual divorces are far behind? And if we have virtual marriages, does that mean that virtual babies are far behind? Holy shit! We really are going to live in the Matrix! Goodbye, nice knowing everyone! OK enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first I have to play Bill Maher’s new rule - are you Kylie Jenner or are you Greta Thunberg?

So where do we begin for our penultimate Top 10 of 2021? We’ve got a lot for you so let’s not waste time in our next to last edition, shall we? In the number one slot this week is the Supreme Court (1). Yes, our far right Supreme Court is now deciding the fate on America’s stance on abortion and it’s left to a crazy cult member and a sloppy drunk known for assaulting women. Thanks MAGAs! In the second slot this week is the King MAGA himself (2) and the white washing of the January 6th attack on Congress has begun, so what is he concerned with? That’s right – the size of the crowd that attended the rally before hand! You can’t make this stuff up! In the number 3 slot this week is also That Guy (3). There’s a stunning, though hardly shocking revelation that he went through with the 2020 televised debate after getting infected, because that’s the kind of psychopath that he is. In the number 4 slot is the return of We’re All Gonna Die (4). So – Omicron Variant – mild version of what we’ve been through in the last 2 years or is it going to kill us all? Depends on what your media source is. In the number 5 slot this week is also the return of Top 10 Investigates! Stores like Apple and Neiman Marcus are getting hit hard with a series of “smash n grab” robberies, so what’s fueling this madness? We don’t know either! In the number 6 slot this week is our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and this week our resident pastor is becoming increasingly alarmed at the popularity of Q Anon and it’s becoming as popular as some major religions, so… what the fuck people? In the number 7 slot this week, we have a new “This Fucking Guy” (7) and this week we’re profiling far right Canadian self help guru Jordan Peterson who jus announced a huge speaking tour for 2022, and if he’s coming to your city, run the other way! In the number 8 slot this week, we have a new Conspiracy Corner (8) and this week, after 3 major NFL players got busted for presenting fake vaccine cards, how many more are out there? Adjust your tin foil hat accordingly! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week is a new I Need A Drink and this week, wait for your town to get bombarded by Santas who don’t care if you’re naughty or nice, they just want to drink and get rowdy! It’s the return of Santa Con! Yay!!! Finally this week, in Red State Diaries – what’s Marjorie Taylor Greene’s beef with Ilhan Omar? Well… you could say it’s racist, and well yeah it absolutely is racist. Plus we have some live music from our good friend Tom DeLonge and his band Angels & Airwaves! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]The Supreme Court
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America’s march towards a totalitarian religious theocratic society isn’t going to be something that makes the front page news. It’s happening behind the scenes. Ever wonder how the worst president in United States history got three Supreme Court justices including a guy who drinks too much and got accused of something called “boofing” (whatever that is)? Yeah it’s to decide these upcoming cases right here. Putting a guy who got blackout drunk and raped women in charge of handing the abortion issue is like putting the most socially awkward guy in the world in charge of social media. Oh wait, we actually did that. But one of the cooler heads in the room is absolutely Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who called it out how much this whole thing stinks. It’s literally the definition of partisan politics and we unfortunately have the deck stacked against us in deciding this issue.

The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which challenges the constitutionality of the 2018 Mississippi law known as the “Gestational Age Act.” The legislation bans abortions after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy—five weeks earlier than the state’s typical abortion restriction—and directly challenges the ruling of Roe vs. Wade in which the Supreme Court ruled that abortion access should be available up until at least the 24-week point of viability, or longer if the pregnancy threatens a patient’s life or health.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a consistent supporter of reproductive rights, challenged Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart late Wednesday morning about even taking up and overturning precedents that have been set by both Roe and the 1992 landmark Supreme Court case Casey vs. Planned Parenthood in which the court reaffirmed the 1973 Roe ruling. She then set her sights on just how damaging the present case could be to not just the court itself, but to the constitution and the country, as well.

“What hasn’t been at issue in the last 30 years is the line that Casey drew of viability. There has been some difference of opinion with respect to undue burden, but the right of a woman to choose, the right to control her own body, has been clearly set since Casey and never challenged. You want us to reject that line of viability and adopt something different. Fifteen justices over 50 years have, or, I should say, 30 since Casey, have reaffirmed that basic viability line. Four had said no, two of them members of this court, but 15 justices have said yes, of varying political backgrounds. Now, the sponsors of this bill, the house bill in Mississippi, said we’re doing it because we have new justices,” Sotomayor said.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/12/1/2060512/--How-will-we-survive-Sonia-Sotomayor-calls-out-threat-to-SCOTUS-in-Mississippi-abortion-law-case

Yeah it’s truly disturbing that the fate of women’s rights in this country is being put in the hands of a guy who wants to date his own daughter. That’s like putting someone who endorses a fried chicken chain on a weight loss program. Oh wait, we did that too. But enough of that. What’s the future of abortion and women’s rights in America after this case goes through SCOTUS? Well it’s not a very good one from the future outcomes that are being predicted.

Dr. DeShawn Taylor considers herself fortunate to have spent a career working in states where the laws governing abortion are relatively straightforward.

But the owner of the Desert Star Family Planning clinic in Arizona knows the drama unfolding at the Supreme Court over Mississippi’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy could have immediate consequences for her practice as well.

"With the court's current composition, I am very concerned," said Taylor, an OB-GYN, noting the 6-3 conservative advantage on the high court. "Abortion would be outlawed in Arizona if we lost Roe v. Wade, and I don't think people understand that."

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a major challenge to Mississippi’s 15-week ban. The justices' decision could quickly involve other conservative states that have approved abortion bans in anticipation of a ruling.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/supreme-courts-decision-in-abortion-case-will-affect-dozens-of-states-beyond-mississippi/ar-AARi9UL

Happy Thursday everybody! Glad I could cheer everybody up! But then again this program is called “Top 10 Conservative Idiots” and we are here to report on the idiots. And here’s the thing about this too – the unholy trinity of Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch - they were all grilled extensively about their allegiance to the court precedence in their Senate confirmation hearings. And these are the people who are going to decide the future of women’s rights in this country. Just… AHHH!!!!

During his contentious 2018 confirmation process, Kavanaugh won vital support from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), an abortion rights supporter, in part because she said he had privately reassured her that Roe was “settled law.”

On Wednesday, Kavanaugh listed more than a half-dozen major decisions in which the court had reversed its previous positions. The list included groundbreaking decisions about gay rights and school desegregation.

“If you think about some of the most important cases, the most consequential cases in this court’s history, there’s a string of them where the cases overruled precedent,” Kavanaugh said in an exchange with Julie Rikelman, the lawyer representing Mississippi’s sole abortion clinic, Jackson Women’s Health.

“If we think that the prior precedents are seriously wrong,” he added, why isn’t the proper approach to “not stick with those precedents in the same way that all those other cases didn’t?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/12/01/kavanaugh-who-told-senate-roe-v-wade-was-settled-precedent-signals-openness-overturning-abortion-decision/

That’s an understatement! Who knows where this is headed? We’re currently in a chess match with the religious right and they’re close to checkmate. So what’s at stake in the event that Roe V. Wade is actually overturned? Let’s look at Texas where the issue of abortion, well, pretty much they have the worst abortion laws in the country, save for Mississippi. But this part of Texas’ abortion laws make it clear what the ultimate end game for the Christian right is on the abortion issue.

If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, most abortions in Texas would be a felony, the result of a recent state law that could hinge on a Mississippi case argued before the court earlier this month.

Justices on Dec. 1 took up a Mississippi law that prohibits abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. During the arguments, the court’s conservative justices appeared open to upholding the state’s law. There also seemed to be some support for rescinding Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed Roe’s earlier decision. A decision is expected around June.

Texas’ new abortion law effectively bans abortions after about six weeks. But during the same session lawmakers also passed what’s often called a “trigger” law in which abortion would be banned if the Roe or Casey rulings were overturned, “wholly or partly.” The law would go into effect 30 days after the decision. Those who perform an abortion could face up to 20 years in prison and up to life if “an unborn child dies as a result of the offense.”

“The goal of this bill is to end the practice of abortion in Texas,” said Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a Southlake Republican who authored House Bill 1280.

Read more at: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article256286182.html

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[font size="8"] That Former Guy
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Moving on to much lighter news – treason! So we’re just three weeks away from the 1 year anniversary of the clusterfuck known as the January 6th insurrection of Congress. And as predicted, the conservatives are attempting to white wash the disaster they created as a sort of “MOVE ALONG! NOTHING TO SEE HERE! PLEASE DISPERSE!” kind of thing. As we have pointed out before, they attempted to commit treason against the United States government, that is a crime that is defined in the United States Constitution! We cannot under any circumstances let them get away with this. Oh but they’ll certainly try. And they will convince the people who turn into Fox, OAN, Newsmax, and all of the other conservative shit out there to comply with their every evil bidding. But none are so stupid and headstrong to try to whitewash the treason as the MAGA commander himself. While his useful idiots like Steve Bannon and Roger Stone are getting arrested in droves, guess what he’s complaining about? That’s right – his crowd size!

Hundreds of former President Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, breaking into Congress in a violent attempt to overthrow democracy that resulted in five deaths, dozens of injuries, and an untold number of questions about how it was allowed to happen, how to hold those responsible to account, and how to contend with the growing thirst for violence among the American right.

Trump has a question about Jan. 6, too: Why is no one talking about his crowd size at the rally that preceded the riot?

“It was a massive rally, with hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people. I think it was the largest crowd I’ve even spoken in front of before,” Trump told British conservative Nigel Farage in an interview broadcast on Wednesday, adding (falsely) that the real insurrection took place on Election Day.

“If you would have looked at the crowds, nobody wants to talk about that,” he continued. “I believe it was the biggest and most people — and I’ve spoken to very big crowds — I have never spoken in front of a crowd that size. Nobody ever talks about that.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-complains-jan-6-rally-crowd-size-coverage-1265771/

Remember last year when Trump literally compared himself to Nero? That analogy isn’t really that far off. People fucking DIED because of his bullshit. There was damage done to the Capitol complex in the fucking MILLIONS. His supporters were out for blood – quite literally! But in the Trump world, this is a new definition of the Wu Tang classic album C.R.E.A.M., but in this case we’ll call it “Conspiracies Rule Everything Around Me”. Thank you graphics department! Trump played the fiddle while Washington DC was literally burning around him!

The cost of repairing damages from the attack on the U.S. Capitol and related security expenses have already topped $30 million and will keep rising, Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton told lawmakers on Wednesday.

The events of Jan. 6, he said, were "difficult for the American people and extremely hard for all of us on campus to witness."

Blanton said that congressional appropriations committees have already approved a transfer request of $30 million to pay for expenses and extend a temporary perimeter fencing contract through March 31.

But more money will be needed, he added: "History teaches us that project costs for replacements and repairs beyond in-kind improvements across campus will be considerable and beyond the scope of the current budgetary environment."

The price tag will go even higher, Blanton told lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee, if the fence and other security measures are needed beyond March.
https://www.npr.org/sections/insurrection-at-the-capitol/2021/02/24/970977612/architect-of-the-capitol-outlines-30-million-in-damages-from-pro-trump-riot

Sorry GOP but you don’t get to “MOVE ALONG! NOTHING TO SEE HERE!” your way out of this one, because it’s truly insane what happened and we may never know everyone who was there and we may never know the true extent of the damage that was done. And same goes for you, Mark Meadows, where were you on the 6th? There’s no way Trump was mortified by what was going on, he was probably toasting with his shit-eating grin and a thumbs up to the madness that was happening.

Former President Donald Trump was "mortified" in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot, Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, wrote in his new book.

"In the aftermath of the attack, President Trump was mortified," Meadows wrote in "The Chief's Chief."

Trump "knew that the media would take this terrible incident and twist it around. He also knew that his days on Twitter were probably numbered," the book said.

Trump was ultimately booted off most major social media platforms in the wake of the failed insurrection, including Facebook and Twitter, which cited the threat of additional violence. Multiple reports have also said that Trump watched the riot play out on television from his perch at the White House and ignored pleas from White House advisors and national security officials to step in and call off his supporters who were storming the Capitol.

When he did release a video as the violence was unfolding, Trump was sharply criticized for repeating the same lies about the election that provoked the frenzied mob in the first place, and for telling the rioters that "you're very special" and "we love you."
https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-meadows-says-trump-was-mortified-after-capitol-riot-2021-12

And by the way in case you’re wondering the caliber of person that Donald Trump attracts, let’s just say that he’s not attracting America’s best people. We’ve brought you countless tales of people who’ve been arrested and just can’t handle prison life, like real estate agent who inexplicably flies to the rally in a private jet, Jenna Ryan (see: Idiots #10-1 ) or that Q Anon Shaman guy (see: Idiots #10-4 ). But this is the quality person that went to the Capitol Riot and well, it’s quite possible these are the dumbest people on the planet.

The FBI has arrested a Donald Trump supporter from Michigan who was captured on video attacking law enforcement officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and whose identity was confirmed with the help of a “FUCK YOU” tattoo on the middle finger of his left hand.

Justin Jersey of Michigan ― who was No. 106 on the FBI’s Capitol wanted page and known to online “Sedition Hunters” as #Fingerman ― was charged by indictment for his role in the Capitol attack. Authorities arrested him on Thursday and he is being held until a hearing before a D.C. judge. At the moment, a court-appointed lawyer is representing him in Detroit.

One of the citizen sleuths who helped identify Jersey told HuffPost that his identification was sent in to the FBI in August, about a month after the bureau circulated a video of Jersey attacking officers and asked the public to help identify him.

Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fingerman-capitol-attack-justin-jersey-trump_n_61a9091ee4b025be1af50402

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[font size="8"]The Michigan Shooting
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So normally we don’t talk about this sort of thing on the Top 10. Because shootings unless they make world news aren’t exactly something to make fun of. But this is one of the weirder and more fucked up stories of 2021 so far. I’m sure by now you know about the horrifying story of a bullied kid from Michigan who went in and shot and killed four of his classmates. But that’s not the end of this story, oh no, it gets really weird really quickly. And this is also kind of a story about life imitating art because if you know popular music, it is pretty much a real life recreation of the Foster The People song “Pumped Up Kicks”. You know what? Let’s play that, shall we?

But now that the dust has settled from another day in the American gun toting society nightmare where you can be shot at, at any time of day, at anywhere, this is what we are stuck with. And the parents in this situation definitely aren’t helping things. But the weird part of this story actually starts at the beginning of it. Here’s what happened.

The day earlier, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley was found by a teacher to be viewing images of bullets on his phone during class. When questioned by a counselor and another staff member, Crumbley said he and his mother had recently gone to a shooting range and that shooting was a family hobby. The next day, Throne wrote, his parents confirmed his account.

The morning of the shooting, a teacher noticed drawings and writings allegedly done by Crumbley and reported them to school counselors and the dean of students. Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald described a violent drawing that included the words, “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.” ... “Blood everywhere” was scrawled next to a drawing of a bullet, and a sketch of a bloody figure with two gunshot wounds was also found.

Crumbley was brought to the guidance counselor’s office, where he said the drawings were merely “part of a video game he was designing," Throne said in the note. Crumbley told counselors that he wanted to pursue video game design as a career. ... Crumbley’s parents were summoned to the school, and while waiting for them, he stayed in the office for an hour and a half, Throne wrote, “while counselors continued to observe, analyze and speak with” him.

Once they arrived, his parents were informed that they were to seek counseling for him within 48 hours or the school would contact Child Protective Services. His parents refused to take him home and left, leading counselors to send him back to class “rather than sent home to an empty house," Throne wrote.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/12/05/oxford-shooting-school-investigation-ethan-crumbley/

So that is the most fucked up thing about this story. The parents were called into school that day. The kid was meeting with the principal that day. He was caught searching for ammo on his phone, and he had the gun in his backpack that day. Oh and in case you were wondering – yes this story does get weirder and more fucked up the more you peel back the layers! So what happens when you find out your son is a murderer? You flee the cops! Because that’s what perfectly innocent people do, right?

The parents of the Michigan high school shooting suspect have reportedly gone missing after being charged in relation to the incident, CNN reports.

Local authorities confirmed they are searching for James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of accused Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, hours after they were each announced to face four counts of homicide involuntary manslaughter on Friday (December 3).

The parents were scheduled for an arraignment at 4:00 p.m. ET.

On Thursday (December 2), Oxford County prosecutor Karen McDonald criticized Crumbley's parents' actions as being "far beyond negligence" in relation to the incident and said a charging decision was expected to come by Friday.

Read more: https://1430kasi.iheart.com/content/2021-12-03-parents-of-michigan-shooter-have-gone-missing-after-charges-filed/.

Unless they disappear themselves, that is! So now the parents ran from the cops. And it’s no secret that the kids’ mom is a huge fan of our former president. Gee, you think that he might have been a bad role model for your son? Garbage in, garbage out. But like every mass shooting that’s happened in the last 20 years, the same damn question gets asked “could this have been prevented?”. Of course it could have been prevented! But we live in America, where guns have more rights than people do. And it’s absolutely concerning. So what happened the day of that could have prevented this?

Detailed descriptions of a wish to massacre classmates on his cellphone and in a journal. At least one social media post pointing to elation at access to a handgun bought by his dad. A mom who thanked Trump for “my right to bear arms.” And a meeting between his parents and school administrators about his conduct just hours before the attack.

Authorities on Wednesday identified the teenage suspect in the mass shooting a day earlier at Michigan’s Oxford High School as 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, painting a picture of a clear-eyed teen who planned and executed a rampage that left at least four students dead and seven others, a teacher among them, injured.

Crumbley, a sophomore, was previously flagged by administrators for “behavior in the classroom that they felt was concerning,” Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said Wednesday. He was called in to talk with school officials on Monday and Tuesday. Then, his parents were brought into the school the morning of the shooting for a face-to-face meeting about their son’s behavior, according to Bouchard. He wouldn’t say what the behavior was, and police weren’t informed about any potential issues prior to the tragic event.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/ethan-crumbley-identified-as-oxford-high-school-michigan-mass-shooter

Well except in this case when you’re literally in the principal’s office with the fucking gun in your backpack!!! Just… I can’t even. Good thing we’re going on a break after next week because I need a long one after this story. It is in every sense of the word, an absolute clusterfuck. Don’t worry we will be following this story and bringing you any updates for now. But if that mother is any indication, yes, there is a connection to that former president we all know. This family is going to be in a whole heaping mess of trouble.

The boy’s father, James Crumbley, 45, has worked as a tech salesman and recently ran into legal trouble in Florida regarding child support payments. It is unknown if James’ current wife, Jennifer Crumbley, is Ethan’s mother. Two of James’ exes did not respond to The Daily Beast’s requests for comment.

Jennifer Crumbley, 43, worked as a real estate broker in the Oxford area, but her staff bio has now been taken down. Although James’ online presence demonstrates a preference for the Seattle Seahawks, his posts were not overtly political.

Jennifer, however, in November 2016, penned an open letter to President-Elect Donald Trump, which she posted on her blog.

“Mr. Trump, I actually love that you are a bad public speaker because that showed sincerity, and humility,” she wrote. “You changed your mind, and you said ‘so what.’ You made the famous ‘grab them in the pussy’ comment, did it offend me? No. I say things all the time that people take the wrong way, do I mean them, not always. Do I agree that you should of (sic) shown your tax returns? No. I don’t care what you do or maybe don’t pay in taxes, I think those are personal and if the Gov’t can lock someone up over $10,000 of unpaid taxes and you slipped on by, then that shows the corruption.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ethan-crumbley-identified-as-oxford-high-school-michigan-mass-shooter

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[font size="8"]We’re All Gonna Die: Omicron Variant
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Hey everyone! Guess what? We’re all gonna die! Woooooooooooooooooooooooo! Wooooooooo! Wooooo! Woo. Of course that’s been the mentality the last 18 months that we’ve been living under this virus called COVID-19. And I remember when I first brought this to everybody’s attention in Idiots #8-4. Of course who knew that we’d be in this mess two years later and that it would fundamentally alter the entire world as we once knew it? Well, nearly half the Greek alphabet later, we’re up to the Omicron variant that originated in South Africa. So what does this hold for the latest round of COVID madness? Well, let’s say that if you haven’t got your vaccine by now… what the hell are you waiting for? This virus is an absolute menace and the sooner it’s controlled the better! So by now of course the entire world is coming to grips with the latest mutant variant. Could it do more damage than Delta? Probably. But then again everything so far is “probably”.

A potentially more transmissible variant of the coronavirus, which causes covid-19, is raising concern around the globe.

Health authorities say the new variant, known by the Greek letter omicron, was first identified in southern Africa. Scientists there quickly put the world on alert, noting that the variant had an unusually high number of mutations, including some that could make it adept at evading the body’s natural or vaccine-acquired immune response.

Cases have since been confirmed in more than four dozen countries — including the United States, where officials say there are signs of community spread.

World leaders have responded by placing new restrictions on travel, boosting vaccination drives, increasing testing and encouraging an already pandemic-fatigued public to double down on such measures as wearing masks and social distancing. Vaccine makers say they stand ready to tweak their shots if needed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/11/26/faq-new-variant-omicron/

Calm down, we’re not gonna die. Of course I said that back in 2020 and look what happened – we spent nearly 20 months of our lives stuck at home with nowhere to go and literally reaching the end of our Netflix and Hulu cues. But two years later, we’ve got a cure people! And since we live in a country where half the population refuses to listen to the other half, we’ve got a large percentage of the population not taking a free cure and going out of their way to not take it! At least the WHO has the answers and if you’re thinking of throwing out those face masks, don’t do it just yet!

Measures used to counter the delta variant should remain the foundation for fighting the coronavirus pandemic, even in the face of the new omicron version of the virus, World Health Organization officials said Friday, while acknowledging that the travel restrictions imposed by some countries may buy time.

While about three dozen countries worldwide have reported omicron infections, including India on Thursday, the numbers so far are small outside of South Africa, which is facing a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases and where the new variant may be becoming dominant. Still, much remains unclear about omicron, including whether it is more contagious, as some health authorities suspect, whether it makes people more seriously ill, or whether it can evade vaccine protection.

“Border control can delay the virus coming in and buy time. But every country and every community must prepare for new surges in cases,” Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, told reporters Friday during a virtual news conference from the Philippines. “The positive news in all of this is that none of the information we have currently about omicron suggests we need to change the directions of our response.”

That means continuing to push for higher vaccination rates, abiding by social-distancing guidelines, and wearing masks, among other measures, said WHO Regional Emergency Director Dr. Babatunde Olowokure.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-philippines-manila-world-health-organization-77142314f66839f0aa15d47c8d0850a8

Oh calm down cute CGI characters! We’re not going to die yet! So yeah we have a new mutant on our hands and nobody has any answers! But remember when we said “get the vaccine”? I mean exactly that – GET THE DAMN VACCINE! Trust me, I’m related to an emergency room doctor, you do not want any part of this! And yeah not at all surprisingly, the new mutant is occurring among… DRUM ROLL… the unvaccinated population! I’ve been slapping my head so much that my forehead is now a bright red color, and I’m literally all out of fucks to give at this point!

South Africa’s rapid increase in COVID-19 cases attributed to the new omicron variant is resulting in mostly mild symptoms, doctors say.

“We’ve seen a sharp increase in cases for the past 10 days. So far they have mostly been very mild cases, with patients having flu-like symptoms: dry coughs, fever, night sweats, a lot of body pains,” said Dr. Unben Pillay, a general practitioner in Gauteng province where 81% of the new cases have been reported.

“Most of these patients have been treated at home,” Pillay told an online press briefing Monday. “Vaccinated people tend to do much better. We have not seen a vast increase in hospitalizations, but this is still early days. Hospitalizations often come several days after a rise in confirmed cases.”

Most of the new cases in South Africa have been among people in their 20s and 30s, and doctors note that age group generally has milder symptoms of COVID-19 in any case. They warn that older people infected by the new variant could have more severe symptoms.
https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2021/11/omicron-variant-cases-in-south-africa-mostly-among-unvaccinated-president-biden-speaks-about-us-efforts.html

Yeah probably. Just give the anti-vaxxers enough time to work their… um… what’s the opposite of magic? Yeah whatever that is! But that said it is great to live in the information age isn’t it? While it has brought out the best and worst in society, one thing it has done is that it has made identifying this latest virus that much faster and we’re able to deal with it now, where we weren’t able to in 2020. But what if COVID is an evolved version of the common cold? That’s something that scientists are rushing to find answwes to with this latest version of the virus. Could we all die? Probably. And probably not. That’s the beauty of science!

The Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up a snippet of genetic material from another virus - possibly one that causes the common cold - present in the same infected cells, according to researchers.

This genetic sequence does not appear in any earlier versions of the coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, but is ubiquitous in many other viruses including those that cause the common cold, and also in the human genome, researchers said.

By inserting this particular snippet into itself, Omicron might be making itself look "more human," which would help it evade attack by the human immune system, said Venky Soundararajan of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based data analytics firm nference, who led the study posted on Thursday on the website OSF Preprints.

This could mean the virus transmits more easily, while only causing mild or asymptomatic disease. Scientists do not yet know whether Omicron is more infectious than other variants, whether it causes more severe disease or whether it will overtake Delta as the most prevalent variant. It may take several weeks to get answers to these questions.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/omicron-variant-may-have-picked-up-piece-common-cold-virus-2021-12-03/

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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: Smash N Grabs
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It's time to investigate beyond the headlines. This is Top 10 Investigates!

High end retailers and department stores across America are becoming the victims of something called “Smash n grab robberies”. There’s even an AC/DC song called “Smash N Grab”:

It’s hit everything from mom and pop businesses at the Del Amo, California swap meet to ultra-high end retailers like Louis Vuitton. But these aren’t just a mere string of robberies, these are carefully planned attacks designed to quickly go in, loot the place, and leave. But what’s fueling these mobs? There’s many different theories out there about what is causing this phenomenon. Authorities are baffled and few arrests, if any have been made. It’s left retailers and store owners stunned about what to do in case this happens again. And there’s even been several attempts to stop future smash and grab robberies from happening. But right now there’s nothing that can stop them and the police don’t have a lot of answers or solutions to what’s causing these problems. Can they be prevented? That is something that authorities are looking into. But the business owners are looking into solutions because they want to protect their stores and their merchandise from being looted.

C-Bond Systems (the “Company” or “C-Bond”) (OTC: CBNT), a nanotechnology solutions company, announced today that its Patriot Glass Solutions division is urging business owners and landlords to protect businesses and property from smash-and-grab robberies, gunfire, and break-ins with Patriot Glass Solutions’ forced entry and ballistic-resistant window film applications. To see our security solutions in action, watch our video here: https://bit.ly/3l93oZV

This month thieves have smashed windows and looted stores for thousands of dollars in merchandise. Patriot Glass Solutions can help prevent this criminal activity by protecting personal, commercial and government property from looting, rioting, break-ins, and gunfire. Its leading products are C-Bond BRS, a ballistic-resistant film system, and C-Bond Secure, a multi-purpose glass strengthening primer and window film mounting solution that deters forced entry.

“Businesses from Home Depot to Apple to Nordstrom and many more have been hit by smash-and-grab robberies this November and this illegal trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down,” stated Michael Wanke, President of Patriot Glass Solutions. “Our window film solutions are in use at numerous schools, government offices, media headquarters, jewelry stores, and more to prevent potential loss of property and protect personal safety. We provide a cost-effective way to reinforce glass and windows and empower business owners and landlords to fortify their facilities and protect against this type of crime.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/given-recent-increase-smash-grab-133000562.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACUQ131MT_dcPo_8iu_hM1Y7GwerkyPMAJRuvASRZkCl-8X8hraiOTQT5g1SW85eI7E7ZyKpTx8TprSirbuaCiZIX3mL-7sM_zihqG5IHehj-jI3JeRStaqL_PQ3pEM8B-lAf01Cb9ZRRInXK5Ot9-O2UHVvHt0YhXaIM31spD2_

The bad thing is that you can’t arrest them if you don’t know who they are, or can even attempt to find the stolen loot. But we do know what happens during one of them. Footage obtained on a Nordstrom security camera of one of the stores that was looted caught footage of a robbery in progress – the masked robbers smash the store windows, grab whatever they can, and get into cars that are waiting outside for a quick getaway. Just look at what happened to a Nordstrom in downtown Los Angeles during one of these robberies.

A Nordstrom (JWN.N) department store in a Los Angeles mall on Monday night became the latest target in a string of "smash-and-grab" robberies that have hit luxury retailers in California and Illinois as the holiday shopping season approaches.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it had taken three suspects into custody. Local reports said as many as 20 people may have been involved in the break-in and theft.

Law enforcement authorities say they are alarmed by the brazen nature of the burglaries -- some involving dozens of people -- which have targeted high-end stores in the two states in the past week.

Videos from the chaotic burglaries, called "smash-and-grabs", have flooded social media in recent days, showing masked figures breaking into stores, running out with bags of merchandise, and fleeing in cars idling outside.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/holidays-near-smash-and-grab-robbers-hit-us-luxury-retailers-2021-11-23/

But Los Angeles wasn’t just an isolated incident. There’s tons of these popping up all over the country and even all over the world. Just look at what happened at this store in the Bay Area in Walnut Creek, California. It’s exactly part of the same pattern of robberies that happened in Los Angeles and Del Amo – suspects get out of a car, smash, loot, then quickly get away. But now police want to know who is behind these robberies? Can they be stopped again?

An Oakland clothing store was stripped Monday night after nearly 30 people stormed the place, according to a police report.

Surveillance video from inside Prime 356, located on 14th Street in downtown Oakland, shows a group running through the store and snatching hats, shoes, and clothing from shelves.

The suspects are shown on video dressed in black with latex gloves on and most of their faces concealed. They are seen moving swiftly through the store with an alarm blaring in the background. That alarm system is what alerted the store's owner who then called the police.

Officers made it to the scene within 10 minutes, but no arrests were made.

The shop was looted following a string of other retail thefts across the Bay Area from shops in San Francisco's Union Square to Nordstrom in Walnut Creek.
https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-clothing-store-raided-by-smash-and-grab-thieves

That said what can be done about these robberies? There have already been a number of measures taken to prevent future robberies. But the Nordstrom in Los Angeles that was the subject of the first robbery in question is already taking drastic steps to prevent future robberies from happening. And those measures include a very dangerous and far more potent spray that’s used on bears, think of it as an upgraded version of commonly used pepper spray.

Los Angeles police said Monday that among the implements used in the holiday season's spree of smash-and-grab crimes is bear spray, a chemical irritant similar to pepper spray but more potent.

The police department said in a statement that someone who was part of a group of suspects at a Nordstrom in the city's San Fernando Valley on Nov. 24 used bear spray on a security guard.

Police released security video of the guard being sprayed.

The incident was part of a spree of smash-and-grab and flash-mob thefts last month that police said resulted in about $330,000 in losses for about 10 retailers.

For comparison, the police department's defunct, two-person Art Theft Detail recovered nearly $4.4 million every year in stolen items since 1993, according to the police department's figures.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bear-spray-used-california-smash-grab-theft-rcna7828

That’s it this week for Top 10 Investigates. Good day.

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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: Lakewood Church Found Money
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Gather around my fair brothers and sisters! It’s time to take a seat in the pew and pass the collection plate, for the Holy Church Of The Top 10 has convened and it’s time to remind you that the holiest among us are the most full of:



My fair congregation! You know this is our next to last sermon of the year. We hope that you have a very happy holiday, whatever holiday that is you happen to be worshipping. So that said, we decided that we were going to have some fun with this week because there’s a lot of dark shit out there. Though one church has a bit of a money laundering problem on its’ hands. Of course you probably already know the church in question. That’s right, our old buddy Joel Osteen and his Lakewood Church that’s in a giant stadium in Houston, Texas. Yes, Joel Osteen – the pastor that has more money than his entire congregation combined, drives multiple Ferraris and Lamborghinis, and owns a mansion that practically has its’ own zip code. Now see, the GOOD LAWRD wants you to be rich, and wealth is a sign of prosperity, is it not? But there’s wealth and then there’s “fuck you” wealth. Joel Osteen is someone who has “fuck you wealth”. With tax exempt status on top of that! But that said, with this little find of $600,000, Mr. Osteen’s got some ‘splainin to do!

A plumber doing repair work last month at televangelist Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas discovered a reported $600k in cash and checks stuffed in envelopes. The funds are believed to be part of a 2014 robbery at the venue.

The plumber revealed his story Thursday to Houston radio station KILT-FM, according to a report from the city’s KPRC-TV. The caller claimed to have found hundreds of envelopes of cash and checks hidden in a wall inside the church, where he was repairing a loose toilet.

Police were called to the scene on Nov. 10. according to a statement from the Houston Police Department.

“Church members stated that during a renovation project, a large amount of money — including cash, checks and money orders — was found inside a wall,” the statement said.
https://deadline.com/2021/12/joel-osteen-plumber-lakewood-church-discovers-600k-behind-toilet-1234884951/

Yeah these are the kind of preachers who do not say for the LAWRD, their god is the almighty dollar, though they really don’t care about prosperity either. They only care about greed. And it’s no surprise that Pastor Osteen is hiding money in the walls of his church. But that said, Osteen’s got some ‘splainin to do because this isn’t just found money – it could also be the evidence of a crime. Or is it money laundering? We wouldn’t put anything past anybody here and we do not want to assume guilt either, though he’s probably guilty.

For more than seven years, no one has known what happened to $600,000 in checks and cash that was stolen from a safe at Pastor Joel Osteen's Houston megachurch, which has one of the largest congregations in the country.

Now, there's a possible plot twist in the case: The money might never have left the church and a plumber could have helped solve the mystery.

Houston police are investigating whether cash and checks discovered by a plumber during repair work that was being done at Lakewood Church is connected to the money that was stolen in 2014.

The revived investigation comes after a plumber on Thursday called "The Morning Bullpen with George, Mo & Erik on 100.3 The Bull" during a segment on the Houston radio station in which people were asked to talk about the most unusual things of value they had ever found.
https://www.wxii12.com/article/texas-plumber-find-megachurch-theft/38427194

Yes and that devil is the one who has all the money in the world! And by the way if you want to know what “fuck you” money looks like in the world of the televangelist, I will say that I have lived like a televangelist (see: Idiots #7-1 ). It’s a pretty sweet life but it does come at a cost, and the cost is that those people will hate you. So that said, we don’t live like televangelists here at the Holy Church Of The Top 10. So really, Joel Osteen has gains, but most of them are of the ill-gotten variety.

The Bible says it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven, but one celebrity pastor does not seem terribly concerned with the warning.

Joel Osteen, one of the wealthiest and most popular preachers in the US, has come under fire after evidence of his luxurious lifestyle was made public on social media.

Mr Osteen, who leads the Lakewood Church in Houston - one of the enormous congregations that are dubbed "megachurches" - was criticised after it was revealed the pastor owns a Ferrari sportscar that costs more than $300,000 dollars.

Users on Twitter lambasted the pastor, arguing his ownership of a Ferarri is a good argument for the government taxing churches.

"Ferrari is trending. That means either someone won a race or Joel Osteen took some of the money Jesus told him to give to the poor and went on another shopping spree," one user said.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/joel-osteen-preacher-luxury-lifestyle-b1888237.html

These people don’t feel anything bad, Reverend. In one breath they say that JAYSUS gave to the poor then in the other breath they buy hundred million dollar estates and have a small army of luxury sports cars that the average person could not afford. That is not how GAWD wants us to live, that is most certainly an atrocity! I do realize I’m contradicting myself, but the real HOLY BIBLE is full of contradictions, is it not? Surely they could spare some cash for found money, couldn’t they?

The plumber who found a large sum of money hidden inside the wall of a Houston megachurch said he should get a reward.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, found hundreds of envelopes of cash and checks that could be connected to a 2014 theft at the church.

“I didn’t solve their case, but I solved very key important clues as to what could or may have happened there,” said the plumber who found the stash at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church.

Houston police said the discovery could be linked to the 2014 case, in which someone stole $600,000 from the church.

At the time of the theft, Crime Stoppers offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. No arrests have so far been made in the 2014 case.
https://www.wave3.com/2021/12/05/plumber-who-found-money-wall-joel-osteens-houston-church-says-he-deserves-reward/

Yeah so the guy who found money gets pennies on the dollar while the man who has more money than GOD, JAYSUS and his entire congregation combined gets to live that swanky billionaire lifestyle! Aint the system great? Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]This Fucking Guy: Eric Zemmour
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This week’s This Fucking Guy is Eric Zimmour. I don’t need to remind you that our mission statement here at the Top 10 Conservative Idiots home office in Santa Ana, California, is that conservative idiocy isn’t just a uniquely American problem. No, it’s a global problem with every country breeding its’ own unique brand of far right insanity. Folks, if you want to get a preview of where America’s GOP is headed, just look to France. That’s right, the country that America once ridiculed and changed the name of French Fries to “Freedom Fries” is in the process of breeding its’ own breed of batshit crazy conservatives. And they make our conservative seem like the sane ones in the room for some reason, and that’s saying a lot! So before we get into what makes this man so controversial, who is he? Well he’s a far right French radio pundit, media personality, and social media troll. Which perfectly suits him to be among other social media trolls like Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. In fact he’s even going so far as to mimic Trump’s famous “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Éric Zemmour does not mind comparisons to Donald Trump.

“We are not the same but we have points in common,” the far-right TV pundit, who Tuesday declared his candidacy for French president, told NBC News at a recent book signing outside Lyon. “He is very American and I am very French, almost to the point of being a caricature.”

In fact, a central plank of his political vision echoes Trump’s “Make America Great Again” message: “I want a French France,” he has said.

Slight and charismatic Zemmour, whose parents were French Algerian Jews, may be very French, but the media frenzy surrounding him and his background as an outspoken star of the small screen is drawing parallels to the former American president’s meteoric rise. A recent video of Zemmour pointing a sniper rifle at journalists in Paris has been watched by millions. His controversial opinions on women and France’s role in World War II have shocked many.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/eric-zemmour-far-right-pundit-runs-president-france-rcna6783

Oh really now this is a personal call! But here’s the thing – we all laughed when Trump announced his candidacy for president and the same with Jair Bolsonaro. So when a white nationalist media personality like Eric Zemmour runs for president, we can’t look the other way. Yes, sir, fuck these people! What that guy in the back said! So that being said, just how dangerous could a man like Eric Zemmour be if he ever got to the highest level of office possible? He could be incredibly fucking dangerous.

After some false signals and feints, the French populist, polemicist, and ultra-nationalist Éric Zemmour announced on Tuesday, in one of the most bizarre videos ever offered by a would-be leader to his nation, that he is running for President of France. In the video, which is ten minutes long, he reads a prepared statement, head down, as music by that echt-Gallic composer Beethoven plays solemnly—the slow movement of the Seventh Symphony, which, as Zemmour perhaps knew, perhaps did not, was broadcast on wartime German radio on Hitler’s birthday. As he continues to read, the video shows street violence and football players taking a knee, among other things, as well as Muslims praying, all apparently exemplifying the grand remplacement he warns against, along with a collage of images of the douce France that he thinks is being “replaced.” This last is represented by a strange mélange of characters, including the radical republican Victor Hugo and his oppressed Cosette, the sixties chanteuse Barbara (the Paris-born daughter of a Ukrainian-Alsatian Jewish family who spent her wartime childhood in hiding from the government of Marshal Pétain that Zemmour now defends), and Charles Aznavour (who was born in Paris to Armenian parents who named him Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian). Images illustrating the grandeur of French heritage include the Louvre pyramid, which was designed, of course, by I. M. Pei, an Asian American. It’s an odd roll call for a hyper-nationalist manifesto, made odder by the reality that Zemmour, for all that he casts himself as the last defender of the legacy of Jeanne d’Arc, the perpetual heroine of the far right, is the offspring of an immigrant Algerian Jewish family welcomed into France in the nineteen-fifties. This shouldn’t be any real surprise: leaders of extreme nationalist fervor always tend to rise from the extremities of a nation—Napoleon the Corsican, Stalin the Georgian, and even Hitler the Austrian.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-ultra-nationalist-eric-zemmour-makes-a-bizarre-bid-for-the-french-presidency

Yeah seriously. We can no longer afford to ignore these people. Look at how dangerous people like Candace Owens are here, and if they run for any kind of office, they’d be incredibly dangerous. And this is a guy who does not mind being compared to a certain American politician either. So the thing is we have to take these people seriously, I know we shouldn’t because their policies suck. But we can’t afford to let the white supremacists claim another country for their own. Just look at what they did to America after 4 years of ruining it.

The retro choreography was heavy-handed, its intent obvious: Éric Zemmour in a dark tie, eyes averted from the camera, reading into an old-fashioned microphone from sheets of paper, just like Charles de Gaulle in his famous speech from London on June 18, 1940, when he called for the liberation of a fallen France.

Mr. Zemmour is not a towering general, and France is not on its knees. But Mr. Zemmour, the far-right polemicist who this week announced his run for next year’s presidential election, understands the power of provocative imagery. Effrontery and scandal have propelled his outsider candidacy.

His campaign-launching video was a nationalistic call for reborn French glory. From Joan of Arc to the singer Johnny Hallyday, from Napoleon Bonaparte to Brigitte Bardot, from Voltaire to Versailles, from Notre Dame to village church bells, it took viewers on a tour of Mr. Zemmour’s imaginary France.

The France that — in the telling of Mr. Zemmour, a Jewish journalist of North African descent whose family arrived in France 70 years ago — existed before immigrants, Muslim veils, vandalism and mealy-mouthed elites led the country to its most recent strange defeat.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/04/world/europe/eric-zemmour-france.html

And here’s the thing – if you think I’m kidding about the French alt right being the next evolution of the American alt right, I can assure you that I am not. I can also assure you that the alt right powers that be (namely Vladimir Putin) have learned a thing or two from the Trump and Bolsonaro administrations, and it’s going to get really ugly. Just look at the kind of crowd that Zemmour attracts and these are the people who you wouldn’t want to be anywhere near. And the really scary thing? He’s ahead in the French polls, too!

French authorities opened an investigation on Monday into a fight that erupted at a presidential campaign rally for far-right candidate Eric Zemmour over the weekend.

The rally was held late Sunday and the fight broke out between supporters and anti-racism activists who'd protested the event in Paris.

More than 60 people were arrested and prosecutors intend to charge them criminally if the investigation warrants.

Some of the people who were attacked were injured.

Zemmour's assailant was among those arrested, and faces an assault charge.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2021/12/06/france-eric-zemmour-rally-fight-investigation/1401638809003/

Yeah that’s pretty much what it is going to be like! But that’s Eric Zemmour, expect to hear more of this guy – he’s France’s Donald Trump. And he’s this week’s:




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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner
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Welcome back to the segment that attempts to explain the unexplainable – Conspiracy Corner! We are coming back to you live from our underground doomsday shelter deep in the heart of the New Mexico badlands! Undisclosed location, of course! Now just let me adjust my trusty tin foil hat for maximum government interference – they are trying to read our thoughts after all! There… got it! Well folks this week, the anti-vaccine movement is going to strange new levels, which includes everything from fake vaccine passports to this guy in Italy who used a fake arm to attempt to get a vaccine and was caught red handed. So while he’s a hero to the anti-vaxxer movement he’s really just a blithering idiot and will get the criminal prosecution that he so deserves. But the virus denial is out there, folks. And the anti-vaccine movement is getting weird. So here’s what happened with the guy in Italy.

A 50-year-old man tried to pass off a silicone arm as his own at a Covid-19 vaccination clinic in northern Italy, in an attempt to get a vaccine certificate without actually getting inoculated.

The deception was spotted by a nurse, Filippa Bua, as she was about to administer the vaccine in Biella, Piedmont on Thursday. Bua told CNN she noticed something odd about the arm.
"The color of the skin was anomalous, much lighter compared to the hands or the face of the patient," she said.

After inspecting the area, she realized that the arm was fake, made of silicone.

"I first felt sorry for the man, thinking that he had a prosthesis and wondering if I had somehow forced him to give me the wrong arm," Bua said. "But then he admitted he was wearing the fake arm on purpose to avoid getting the vaccine!"
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/03/europe/italy-man-silicone-arm-vaccine-intl-scli/index.html

Yeah that’s not how that works but I wouldn’t trust Dr. Nick to carry out this operation. I’m just saying, that’s all. But the war on vaccines is heating up and heading in strange and bizarre new directions, and I’m not shocked in the least that those who aren’t taking the vaccine are dying in huge numbers. But don’t tell that to people like Antonio Brown, who used a fake vaccine card to get around NFL safety protocols and got busted red handed for it!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians left the door open on Antonio Brown's future this week in his first comments after the receiver was suspended three games for violations of the NFL-NFLPA COVID-19 protocols.

With Brown and safety Mike Edwards penalized for misrepresenting their vaccination status, Arians was asked if they'll remain on the team and he said, “We’ll address their future at that time.” The answer appropriately fueled speculation.

One source said no decision has been made on whether Brown will return to the team after his suspension, and another said it is possible the team keeps the players -- with the insinuation being that it's possible they do not.

Arians was particularly frustrated, considering the efforts his team made in getting to 100% vaccination status. He also said he hoped the league would continue to look for players who were not honest about their vaccination status.
https://www.nfl.com/news/bucs-wide-receiver-antonio-brown-s-future-up-in-the-air-following-suspension-for

Then again no one wants to deal with this deadly virus and the battle over fake vaccine passports has just begun. Hey anti-vaxxers, you can run, you can hide, but you’re going to have to face reality and it’s something that is the opposite of what your stupid Facebook memes convey. Just take a look at what happened in Germany when police raided a group that was caught making fake COVID passports. Yeah you do not want to be involved in this.

German police on Wednesday arrested 12 individuals suspected of being involved in the production and sale of falsified COVID-19 vaccine certificates.

Criminal investigators in the state of Hesse said in a press statement that more than 200 officers had taken part in raids on a total of 23 locations throughout the central German state, as well as two cities in the neighboring state of Baden-Württemberg.

Vaccine passports — either shown as a QR code or in an official vaccine paper booklet — are required as evidence of vaccination. Most bars, restaurants, and entertainment facilities require proof of vaccination or recovery from an infection. Some also allow proof of a recent negative test.

Germany has one of the highest rates of vaccine deniers who refuse to be vaccinated against the virus.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-police-arrest-12-in-fake-covid-vaccine-passports-raids/a-59847837

And if you think this is just a first world problem, oh no! That I can assure you it is not – it’s a global problem and the more it spreads the more it becomes a thing. And this is a thing you don’t want coming to your country, but just like the Omicron variant, it might already be here! And here’s the irony – the vaccine is free and it’s reliable and it works! If you don’t take the vaccine it’s going to cost you, and the harder you work to not do the easy thing, the more difficult is going to be for you as we attempt to get out of this nightmare pandemic. Yeah that makes sense.

A prolific Irish drug dealer is selling fake Covid-19 vaccine certificates on the dark web for as much as €350 each.

It is believed the digital certificates are likely functional and are being sold to people who want to travel abroad on holidays but do not want to be vaccinated.

The seller is one of a number of people advertising what are purporting to be Irish vaccine certificates on dark web marketplaces. Also available on other sites are fake negative PCR tests and fake documents stating the holder has recently recovered from Covid-19.

While many such items have been available for months, prices increased after the Government announced in October that vaccine passports will be required for the immediate future.

Gardaí said they are consulting with health officials on how to respond. The Department of Health said it is working with other EU countries to put in a system to revoke or invalidate fraudulent certificates at short notice.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/fake-irish-vaccine-passports-for-sale-on-dark-web-for-350-1.4722949

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[font size="8"]I Need A Drink: 2021 GOOP Holiday Gift Guide
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Hey everyone I don’t know about you but I could really use a drink!



So of course you know by now that the idea of this segment is that we have some drinks and while we drink we talk about literally anything in the news that doesn’t relate to politics or COVID. Because there’s currently a lot of dark shit in the world, and all we want to do is have some fun. This week it’s 2021 and after the nightmare year that was 2020, the holidays are back in full swing. And since it’s that time of year again, you know who else is back at it? Our friends in New York are going to really hate the coming weekend because you know what’s back? Santa Con! That’s right the annual gathering of the Santas and these Santas really don’t care if you’re naughty or nice. They’re just here to drink the egg nog loaded with rum. So tell me bartender, what goes well with a story about drunk Santas? A large glass of egg nog loaded with rum? Excuse me a minute… yeah I will take that! Oh come on, as Homer Simpson says, we only get 30 sweet days of noggy goodness then the government takes it away! Well, while I’m waiting for my extra large glass of the nog, here’s more!

Dozens of “Santas” are expected to take to the streets of Newport on Saturday, December 4 to take part in the annual event known as SantaCon.

SantaCon is a free-to-attend non-commercial, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year for charity. It’s a mass gathering where people dress in Santa Claus costumes or as other Christmas / Holiday characters and parade throughout Newport and several cities around the world.

According to a Facebook Event, SantaCon Newport will run from 12 pm to 7 pm and will make stops at Celtica at 12 pm, Skiff at 1 pm, a stop for a group photo at 2:30 pm, a stop at Fastnet at 3 pm, and One Pelham East at 4:30 pm. The event will conclude with live music with Rusty until 6:30 pm at One Pelham East.

Prizes are awarded to the best dressed Santa and winner of the Santa dance-off. Participants are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy to be donated to Toys For Tots.
https://whatsupnewp.com/2021/12/santacon-returns-to-newport-on-saturday/

Oh yeah sure it’s non political until the Santas get a few shots of peppermint schnapps in, then it’s anything goes! But that said, Newport is not the only area where Santas will be descending upon the area pubs to drink heavily. Well, in case you’re wondering why New Yorkers hate SantaCon so much, well, just take a look at some of the incidents from past SantaCons. There’s plenty of very naughty activities going on, so naughty that the police and the emergency room are involved. Though this year that’s probably the last place you want to end up.

Bad SantaCon, a different twist on the annual SantaCon event, is coming to Highland.

If you aren't familiar with SantaCon, it's a popular pub crawl that takes place annually, all over the world where people dress up as Santa Clause or other Christmas characters. SantaCon has gotten a lot of negative feedback in recent years, especially in New York City where the event has led to drunken brawling, public urination, and disorder.

In 2013: A wild video was released of a SantaCon brawl in NYC.

In 2018: Police say a Hudson Valley man punched a woman at NYC SantaCon and another Hudson Valley Man assaulted an officer at the Hoboken SantaCon

In 2019: A knife wielding man brawled with Santas on a train.

Despite the problems, SantaCon will be returning to NYC this year with a vengeance after Covid hiatus.

There was actually a Poughkeepsie SantaCon that existed for a short time but while researching the event, it doesn't appear that there has been one in at least five years.

Read More: Bad SantaCon Event Coming to Hudson Valley Area | https://wibx950.com/bad-santacon-coming-to-hudson-valley/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Yeah chug, Santa, chug! But here’s the thing – are the people here really just “dorks for Christmas” or are they here to get loaded? Just like we’re doing… ah sweet egg nog! But come on, are Santa and Mrs. Santa really just kissing underneath the mistletoe or are they just making out? Oh oh… Santa just got cold clocked! This isn’t really much a SantaCon as it is a Santa… Con. Emphasis on the word “con” because there’s plenty of holly jolly, but some more emphasis on being naughty than being nice! I am using this metaphor way too much.

Megan Lewman and Bethany Reycraft consider themselves big nerds about Christmas. Both have December birthdays with Lewman being a Christmas baby and Reycraft’s middle name is a variation of Noel.

And for the past two years, Lewman and Reycraft have been the coordinators for SantaCon, an annual Christmas-themed bar-crawl event through downtown Lakeland that will take place Dec. 11 this year.

“It’s a labor of love. We’re just dorks about Christmas. It’s festive and it’s just something we love,” Lewman added.

Lewman attended her first SantaCon in 2016, when it was organized by Robert Wagner, after seeing a flyer on Facebook. After the first year, she started helping plan the pub crawl event.
https://www.theledger.com/story/entertainment/holiday/christmas/2021/12/02/lakeland-santacon-has-grown-recent-years-event-format-has-changed/8792159002/

I think Santa’s had just a bit too much there! That said, while SantaCon puts the emphasis on booze and bad behavior, if you’re a Santa and a teetotaler, then where do you go for a solution to your holly jolly party atmosphere? Then you should check out the neighboring ElfCon, which is the booze free, family friendly solution to the holiday mayhem. At ElfCon, instead of getting a booze high, you’ll be getting a chocolate infused sugar and caffeine high, so instead of ending up like Billy Bob Thornton in “Bad Santa”, you’ll end up more like Will Ferrell’s Buddy The Elf in “Elf”.

Move over, Santa! The elves are taking over New York City.

Hundreds of New Yorkers in elf garb will be congregating at some of NYC's best hot chocolate purveyors for ElfCon, a brand-new, family-friendly hot cocoa crawl in the city.

ElfCon is an adventure without a particular route. Instead, elves are supposed stop at several Manhattan cocoa locations on a provided map and get their special Elf Passports stamped for a special prize at the end. And yes, participants are asked to wear elf garb. (Think: jingle bells, pointy shoes, striped stockings...)

While imbibing on that sweet, sweet hot chocolate and getting a major sugar high, elf crawlers will also be raising money for two charities—The Trevor Project, an organization that helps protect LGBTQ youth, and Making Headway, a foundation dedicated to helping families with children with brain tumors.

The jolly jaunt around the city is one high schooler's answer to SantaCon, the infamous beer crawl that is either the best day of the year or the worst depending on who you are. (Yes, that's also still on this year.)
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/this-hot-chocolate-crawl-is-a-local-high-schoolers-answer-to-santacon-120221

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[font size="8"]Red State Diaries
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Welcome back to our ongoing survey of what the post 2020 MAGA insurrectionists are up to in Red State Diaries! Because we can no longer afford to ignore these people and all the damage that they are causing, and let’s face it, MAGA is no longer a political ideology but a full blown cult! Last week, we talked about how Q Anon fans were waiting in Dallas for JFK Jr and announce that he was arresting most of Trump’s political opponents. This week, we have a beef! You know me, I love a good beef. And this beef is between the Squad (Omar, Ocasio-Cortez, Jones, Talib) and what I’m going to start referring to as the Bonehead Squad (Boebert, Greene, Gaetz, Jones, Cawthorn). But this week we’re going to analyze the beef between these two groups – and really Marjorie, we don’t hate you because you’re a conservative Christian white woman. We hate you because you’re a raging racist asshole who belongs in the dumpster instead of in Congress. Thank you audience! But that said here’s what is happening with this delightful bunch. /sarcasm

Six months after a shooting war in Gaza, Congress is more involved in controversies over Islamophobia and anti-Semitism than it is in resuscitating a two-state solution in the Middle East.

Support for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel has notably declined on Capitol Hill as poisonous rhetoric replaces policy debates about long-term security in a region where conflict has flared for more than a generation. For many lawmakers — and more prominently in the GOP as of late — the weaponization of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism has become the rule, not the exception.

This past week alone, two videos emerged of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali-born Muslim who's outspoken in favor of Palestinian rights, is a terrorist; and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called Omar a jihadist. The Democratic Party has its own internal fractures over the U.S.-Israel relationship: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) was criticized by a far-left activist group last week for simply meeting with Israeli leaders, even as he has been critical of the country’s right-wing-led coalition government.

Lawmakers and two-state advocates alike are wincing at those episodes, warning about a serious undermining of what used to be an overwhelmingly bipartisan goal to help end the decadeslong Middle East conflict — not to mention the intimidation of those on both sides of the aisle seeking real solutions.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/06/islamophobia-anti-semitism-controversies-congress-523724

Yeah that’s what happens when you elect social media trolls to Congress! You get them trolling with racist and hateful shit in real life. Thanks to the Alex Joneses and Steve Bannons of the world, Congress is devolving into a cesspool of racist and hateful shit. But what happens when the racist beef goes way too far? Well Ilhan Omar is putting the pressure on Nancy Pelosi to do something. The sad thing is any other job these idiots would have been fired on the first day. So why can’t we get rid of Boebert and Greene?

The House only has four days left in session this year. And Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar said Sunday she expects Speaker Nancy Pelosi to use at least some of that time to sanction Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert for suggesting that she was a terrorist.
"I have had a conversation with the speaker, and I'm very confident that she will take decisive action next week," Omar told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday. She also noted that "it's important for us to say, this kind of language, this kind of hate cannot be condoned by the House of Representatives. And we should punish and sanction Boebert by stripping her of her committees, by rebuking her language, by doing everything that we can to send a clear and decisive message to the American public that, if the Republicans are not going to be adults and condone -- condemn this, that we are going to do that."
Which, well big deal!

What to do about Boebert has been percolating in Congress since just after Thanksgiving when remarks by the controversial Colorado Republican came to light.

"I was getting into an elevator with one of my staffers and he and I were leaving the Capitol, we're going back to my office and we get in the elevator and I see a Capitol Police officer running hurriedly to the elevator. I see fret all over his face," Boebert recounted. "And he's reaching. The door is shutting. I can't open it. What's happening? I look to my left and there she is, Ilhan Omar, and I said, 'Well she doesn't have a backpack, we should be fine.'"
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/06/politics/ilhan-omar-lauren-boebert/index.html

Yeah probably! And what happens when even the mediators can’t control the beast that has been unleashed? Well the racist piece of garbage known as Marjorie Greene (I refuse to use all 3 of her names) can’t stop fighting with people. And as I have said if I treated my coworkers like this I would have been out on my ass a long time ago. But the sad thing is the more you tell Marjorie no or the more you say that you hate her, that only makes them stronger. You can’t get rid of social media trolls no matter how much you try.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tried — without success — Tuesday night to end an ugly battle between two of his GOP freshmen.

The California Republican implored Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), in separate private meetings, to stop attacking one another after their back-and-forth online spat dragged on for hours earlier Tuesday.

After speaking with the GOP leader, Greene said she told McCarthy that she would quit attacking Mace. But as she was leaving the meeting, Greene suggested to CNN that she was interested in seeing Mace get a Republican primary challenger, something former President Donald Trump has called for.

Mace, after meeting with McCarthy, also didn’t back down after being asked about Greene’s primary challenger comments.

“All I can say about Marjorie Taylor Greene is bless her fucking heart,” Mace told reporters.
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/11/30/mace-greene-feud-mccarthy-523587 [/div



Damn is right! That is a low blow if there ever was one! That said, we’ll be keeping an eye on these two in case Marjorie goes insane and climbs to the top of the watchtower. Which, let’s face it, will be the inevitable end of her career as a politician. I mean come on, you can only hate the media so much before they start turning on you, which I am pretty sure has happened. But don’t complain about them, they will troll on right wing news programs about how they’re being silenced and censored. But yeah then at least start calling out their bullshit!

Under rising pressure from the left, House Democratic leaders are eyeing several options to respond to Rep. Lauren Boebert's Islamophobic comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar — all of which fall short of progressives' demands.

Referring Boebert to the House Ethics Committee or calling up a measure tackling Islamophobia are among the actions being discussed by Democratic leaders to deal with the Colorado conservative, according to three people familiar with the matter. That might not be enough to satisfy progressives, who want their leadership to act and on Wednesday introduced legislation to boot Boebert from her committees.

"If leadership does not act accordingly, we are condoning that behavior. Not just here in Congress, but we are sending the message across the country, around the world, that anti-Muslim hate is OK," Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday.

Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) added that “we cannot be complicit as members of this body trample on the fundamental right of religious freedom and put people’s lives in danger."
https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/08/anti-islamaphobia-bill-boebert-omar-523953

[font size="4"]Next week:[/font]

For our last Red State Diaries of 2021, what’s up with Congressional representatives sending out themselves with pictures of guns on their holiday greeting cards? We will find out what’s fueling this weird and dangerous new trend!

[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Angels & Airwaves [/font]


My next guest of course you know him best as Tom DeLonge and his band Angels & Airwaves! Their latest album is called “Lifebloods”. Playing their song “Timebomb” give it up for Angels & Airwaves!

Thank you New York City! We had a great time on our East Coast trek! We’re back home next week for our final Top 10 of the year! See you next week!

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