Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-3: House Of Chinese Spy Balloons Edition

[Top 10 Idiots]

Last edited Thu Feb 9, 2023, 08:49 PM - Edit history (1)

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-3: House Of Chinese Spy Balloons Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yoooooooooooo!!! What’s up Philadelphia? How you guys doing? You doing fucking good? And how about those fuckin’ Eagles huh? I predicted that the Eagles were going to be in the Super Bowl early in the season, but damn they are just the team that cannot be beat! It has been way too long since our last trip to the PHL! Last time we were here was what, 2018 I think? Yeah so it’s been way too long! But we got some fun things planned to get you through all the dark shit in the news happening right now. By the way, we're in the home stretch here. This is Idiots #294! We are 6 editions away from our big 300th edition shindig in France! You know people give us shit because we don’t give the East Coast enough love. Well that’s not true. Part of it is that we’re based in Southern California, Orange County to be exact. And the other part of it has been because, you know that whole COVID thing we’ve had to deal with the last 3 years. And if you haven't noticed lately, travel is fucking expensive. I mean holy shit! Have you priced plane tickets and hotels lately? I mean, damn! But moving on, do we have time for the thing? You all watching that AI Seinfeld on Twitch? If you haven’t been watching, there’s a Twitch stream where these people programmed an AI to run episodes of Seinfeld. And we may have to expand on this in I Need A Drink next week. But this is some weird, wild stuff and the creators believe that AI generated content is the future of entertainment. What? Who’s going to host our Z grade podcasts then? I mean we may have to use ChatGPT to run a fully AI generated version of the Top 10. Wait, where are you taking me? Where are you throwing me???? OK that’s enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. but first Christopher Titus is back, and the Armageddon Update is one of the best podcasts on Youtube, and he delves into the right wing book banning insanity that’s going on:

Where do we begin this week? In the first slot this week, we nearly had an international incident pending last week when an unidentified aircraft appeared in Montana airspace , which was later identified as belonging to China. Conservatives (1) naturally went apeshit and many joked about the idea of shooting it down with AR-15s, and this is why we can’t have nice things, people! In the second slot this week is our old buddy Ron DeSantis (2). In case you’re unaware, Florida has a college that’s simply called New College that was at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement back in the 60s. Well, last week Ron went nuclear on the college in his quest to be “anti-woke” and fired the head of New College in a preview of him bringing you Rupert Murdoch’s full sadistic agenda. In the number 3 slot this week is AT&T (3). Remember when AT&T gave OAN the heave ho (see: Idiots #11-12 )? Well this week they’re also giving Newsmax the heave ho, which is causing the MAGA wing of the GOP to melt down, but don’t get too comfortable because Newsmax is being replaced with more right wing horseshit. Sigh, the reason we can’t have nice things, people! In the number 4 slot this week is our old friend Marjorie Taylor Greene (4) who can’t help but show her addiction to the right wing conspiracy theory bullshit machine and got suspended from Facebook and Twitter again. Right wing propaganda rots your brain, people! In the number 5 slot this week is a new Top 10 Investigates (5)! This week a viral Tik Tok video exposed just how easy it is to break into some late model Hyundai and Kia SUVs, which are making them the most stolen cars on the road, but are Allstate and State Farm right to deny coverage to owners? Well it’s definitely a grey area which we will explore further. In the number 6 slot this week is of course our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and this week, our resident pastor is going to take a look at the National Prayer Breakfast, and what seems to be the increasingly inevitable hostile takeover of the state by the church. And it’s not going to be pretty when that happens, if it does! In the number 7 slot this week, we add Texas’ batshit crazy Q Anon representative Ronny Jackson (7) to the ever growing list of People Who Somehow Got Elected! In the number 8 slot this week we have a new Conspiracy Corner (8)! A recent Vice article exposed that right wing homeschoolers are trending towards Nazism, and if you’re not scared about this, well, you ain’t seen nothing yet! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week is a new People Are Dumb because of course they are! Finally this week it’s stop #3 of 6 on our 2023 World Tour and this week we’re heading to Germany’s next door neighbors, Poland (10) ! Finally to close things out we’ve got some live music from the Dirty Heads who are promoting the Cali Vibes Festival! Buy their new album “Midnight Control” or you’re no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]The Chinese Spy Balloon Incident
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Last week is one of those times when I absolutely thank the highest of high gods that Joe Biden is president and not the orange bloviating asshole. Because we had an incident and you may have heard about it, involving a Chinese spy balloon that appeared over Montana airspace. Of course it sent the MAGA conspiracy theory wing of the GOP into batshit overdrive mode. And you know what? For the purposes of this segment, let’s name this week’s edition after the Weeknd’s debut album “House Of Balloons”. Though let’s change it a bit and call it “House Of Chinese Spy Balloons”. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! By the way before next week’s edition we want to know who wore it better – Marjorie Greene or the Howler Monkey? Our money’s on the monkey. Let us know in the comments section! But OK getting back to the story though, this whole thing is insane. And like most things that have happened in the last 7 years, this story is the stuff of insanity and it only gets weirder the more you dig into it.

A mysterious object high above commercial air traffic. Military aircraft scrambled, then ordered to stand down. Urgent phone calls between U.S. and Chinese officials.

A single missile, fired from an F-22 stealth fighter jet.

As a Chinese spy balloon made its way east across the United States last week, a military and diplomatic crisis played out on the ground.

Here’s a day-to-day timeline of events leading up to the dramatic shootdown over the water off the East Coast on Saturday. The following is based on interviews with three senior U.S. officials, all of whom asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/05/timeline-a-chinese-spy-balloons-7-day-trip-across-the-united-states-00081222

Yeah calm your t’s, people! Come on really! By the way, Fox News and the MAGA conspiracy theory wing of the GOP, no, we don’t give a flying fuck about what Trump would have done if he had been in the same situation. Trump would have launched a nuke over St. Louis and caused tons of casualties and we’d be dealing with nuclear fallout damage for the next century. That much we know is true! But apparently one thing we do know is true is that China apparently did spy on us with these balloons during the Trump administration, and he of course did nothing about it. I would assume because all the Big Macs and Diet Cokes went straight to his head during his rage tweeting toilet sessions.

A US military intelligence report from last year that focused on China’s use of high-altitude balloons mentioned sightings in Hawaii and Florida during the Trump presidency, according to an excerpt of the report reviewed by CNN.

The April 2022 report, titled “People’s Republic of China High-Altitude Balloon,” found a Chinese spy balloon “circumnavigated the globe” in 2019 – while Donald Trump was president – at an altitude of roughly 65,000 feet, and “drifted past Hawaii and across Florida before continuing its journey,” the US Air Force document states.

The Air Force intelligence report is the first indication that the US military was aware of Chinese spy balloons well before the latest incident.

However, it is not clear from the documents when US officials first became aware of the Chinese flights or what they assessed regarding their purpose.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/06/politics/military-intelligence-report-china-balloon-trump/index.html

And here’s where it gets weird, because you knew it was going to. Of course, like most weird things, it involves our good friend Marjorie Three Names. So any time something doesn’t go 100% in favor of the Fox News MAGA America First Taliban Oath Keepers Proud Boys Conspiracy Theory cult, their natural instinct is to assume that there’s some kind of underlying conspiracy or it didn’t happen or it was a false flag. It’s so hard to keep their bullshit straight anymore. But one thing we do agree on is that something doesn’t pass the smell test here.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Monday called for a probe into why former President Trump was apparently not informed of previous Chinese surveillance balloons that Biden officials are saying crossed over the U.S. at least three times during the previous administration.

“If it’s true the Pentagon purposely did NOT tell President Trump of Chinese Spy Balloons during his administration then we had a serious breach in command during the Trump admin,” Greene said on Twitter.

“The POTUS is the Commander in Chief. We must investigate and hold accountable those who broke rank,” the longtime Trump ally said.

President Biden ordered the U.S. military on Saturday to shoot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that had spent days floating over the country in what defense officials later said was a clear effort to spy on sensitive sites.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3845713-greene-calls-for-probe-into-why-trump-was-unaware-of-previous-chinese-balloons/

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! OK, MAGAs, let’s play your conspiracy theory game here for a minute. What if this were a bigger story in 2019? It would have absolutely broken social media feeds everywhere, and it probably would have triggered an international incident. But Trump always takes the wrong side on everything and he would have reacted very poorly. It must suck to be a fact checker these days because the claims coming from conspiracy theorists get weirder and nuttier by the hour. No, the Pentagon didn’t detect these balloons back in 2019. Sorry, Tucker and Hannity.

A top U.S. general said that the Pentagon did not detect previous Chinese spy balloons as they were in the air, after former President Trump and members of his administration vehemently denied a claim from defense officials that such balloons had flown over the U.S. at least three times during his presidency.

Gen. Glen VanHerck, the head of U.S. Northern Command, said Monday that the Defense Department “did not detect” the previous balloons, adding that the intelligence community was made aware of them through other means of information collection.

“We did not detect those threats,” VanHerck told reporters. “The intel community after the fact — I believe as has been briefed already — assessed those threats from additional means of collection and made us aware of those balloons that were previously approaching North America or transited North America.”

President Biden ordered the latest Chinese surveillance balloon, which spent days in U.S. airspace, to be shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. The U.S. is currently trying to recover the debris, hoping to glean intelligence from the wreckage.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3846363-pentagon-did-not-detect-previous-chinese-spy-balloons-us-general/

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[font size="8"]Florida GOP
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History time, kids! Gather around, don’t be shy! There’s a small liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida that’s simply called “New College Of Florida” that was founded as a forefront of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and eventually became a full blown member of the University Of Florida collegiate system. Well now that college has been the target of conservatives, particularly the reigning king of Florida, the Fox News installed wannabe dictator Ron DeSantis (Q – Florida Man). See, DeSantis has been utterly sadistic in his quest to bring you the full Fox News / America First / right wing outrage machine “anti-woke” agenda. And he hasn’t even hit peak evil yet. Don’t worry, it’s going to get worse, so much worse. But, make no mistake – this attack on New College was a deliberate and intentional political hit job, carefully calibrated, timed, and executed with the precision of a high end Rolex watch, and that’s about the only thing conservatives do now these days.

The whirlwind unleashed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that rapidly is reshaping New College of Florida picked up speed Tuesday with the president fired amid a broad leadership overhaul that capped a momentous few hours for the Sarasota school.

A slate of new board members installed by DeSantis earlier this month replaced college President Patricia Okker with former GOP House speaker and education commissioner Richard Corcoran, installed a DeSantis appointee as the new board chair, moved to hire a former Republican lawmaker as the school's new general counsel and began the process of abolishing programs aimed at increasing diversity, equity and inclusion on campus, turbo charging a dramatic conservative culture shift.

Corcoran has been an eager participant in the governor's education culture war battles, and soon will take the lead in his experiment in overhauling a public university to match his conservative approach to higher education. Corcoran can't takeover as interim president until March, so a college administrator will serve in the role until then.

The board also selected DeSantis' appointee Debra Jenks as the new chair and voted to negotiate with Bill Galvano, a former GOP state Senate president from Bradenton, to become the college's new general counsel.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2023/01/31/richard-corcoran-becomes-interim-president-of-sarasotas-new-college/69858928007/

Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! There’s no mistake that the hardcore right wing is out to remake education. Because a party that wants the church and state to merge and is run by a billionaire media mogul with a world domination complex doesn’t want a well educated populace that’s capable of critical thinking. Education is not in Rupert Murdoch’s best interests, which is why Fox News intentionally is making people stupid. Florida has basically become a product development test bed for News Corporations’ new line of fascist American legislation, coming soon to a municipality near you!

The New College of Florida Board of Trustees is moving quickly to finalize an agreement with former Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran to take over as interim president after the board ousted former President Patricia Okker last week.

A meeting is scheduled for Feb. 13 to vote on Corcoran's contract, which is the only item on the agenda.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed six new trustees to New College's board on Jan. 6, and 25 days later they all voted to fire Okker without cause during a contentious meeting on the Sarasota campus. The leadership shakeup is part of an effort to transform Florida's liberal arts honors college into a showcase for conservative ideas about higher education.

After firing Okker, DeSantis board appointee Matthew Spalding, a dean at conservative Hillsdale College, moved to hire Corcoran as interim president, calling him a longtime friend.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/06/ally-of-gov-ron-desantis-set-to-become-sarasota-college-president/69878635007/

Yeah this is absolutely insane! And it’s also completely bonkers that Desantis can just fire people like that and install lackeys, ass kissers and bootlickers. The GOP really is going hard totalitarian in Florida and if there’s one thing we know it’s two things. The first is that too much right wing propaganda rots your brain. The second is that the GOP echo chamber is really going way too far here. They must seem to be testing the limits of what people will tolerate before we rise up as one and overthrow the fascist tyrants like DeSantis. So why does the GOP want to take over New College so badly and make it an example of Fox News’ fascist policies? Well the answers are few and far between.

Ron DeSantis has made a tiny liberal arts college the latest target of his public education culture war. And the students on campus say they feel like they’ve been turned into guinea pigs in a right-wing social experiment.

The Florida Republican governor’s aggressive move to fundamentally change the character of New College, a tiny public liberal arts school with fewer than 700 students in Sarasota, is his latest plan to dramatically remake Florida’s educational system in his image and build his right-wing bona fides ahead of a likely presidential run. In a few short weeks he’s appointed a hard-right board of trustees who promptly fired the school president and are promising wholesale changes to remake the college in their image. And it’s left the school’s tight-knit community shaken to its core.

“This last month has felt a little dystopian. These people like DeSantis and the people he’s appointed, they clearly don’t know what New College is, but they’re trying to control what we’re learning and who we are,” Madison Markham, a fourth year sociology major, told VICE News.

Students on campus see DeSantis’ aggressive efforts as part of a wider program of right-wing educational indoctrination—an effort that could go national if he becomes president.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/5d37g3/ron-desantis-new-college-christopher-rufo

Yeah expect more independent thought alarms and fewer criticisms of Ron DeSantis and Fox News in the event that he should become president. It’s truly beyond the pale and a slap in the face to the Bill Of Rights what is going on in Florida. The Christian right really is stepping in it, and we can’t help but wonder why DeSantis and Tucker Carlson haven’t been dragged before The Hague yet to answer for these disgusting crimes against humanity. But DeSanits seems bent on remaking Florida education to answer to conservative white males and it’s not going to stop at New College. If you’re not frightened by this, you’re not paying enough attention. What Fox and Desantis are doing to Florida education is stunningly evil and we can’t have this happen on a national level. Fuck.

The Ron DeSantis takeover of Florida higher education was on full display Tuesday. First the Republican governor announced plans to defund diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at state colleges and universities. Then, later that day, his handpicked trustees at New College of Florida convened for their first board meeting, where they ousted the president and began the process of reshaping the institution into a facsimile of Hillsdale College, a private Christian institution in Michigan.

DeSantis, now in his second term, launched the opening act on Tuesday when he announced promised higher education reforms. He proposed defunding DEI efforts and restricting the use of DEI statements in hiring practices, giving boards and presidents the power to review tenure at any time, and requiring that state research universities spend $50 million annually on research related to STEM and business initiatives. Lawmakers are likely to take up the reforms when the state Legislature convenes in March.

The legislation DeSantis championed mandates that “any general education course be based on providing a strong educational foundation, and not promote ideological indoctrination.” DeSantis also announced plans to develop civics institutes at the University of Florida, Florida International University and Florida State University.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/02/01/desantis-puts-action-his-plan-end-woke-activism

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[font size="8"]AT&T
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Well, we did have a brief bit of good news last week as it announced that the network that I’ve heard on Twitter being referred to as “Fox News on bath salts”, Newsmax, was getting the heave ho from DirecTV that it so richly deserved. But it’s causing the right wing outrage machine to melt straight the fuck down and we’re here for every second of it. But don’t get too comfortable. Because right wing media is so easily interchangeable, there’s thousands of shows out there. Whether it’s Alex Jones or Tucker Carlson or Ben Shapiro or Candace Owens or Charlie Kirk or Sean Hannity or Dennis Prager. Right wing propaganda is so highly specialized that you can get your shows custom tuned to your level of racism and sexism. Of course you know the one guy who has to ruin everything managed to stick his nose in this crap. Yes, I’m talking about the grand exalted leader of the MAGAs, that guy who we inexplicably used to call president. You know, him. He is the ruiner of all things that are considered good and decent. So naturally when he sticks his nose into someone else’s businesss, it’s not going to end well for anybody involved. But don’t boo yet. Hold your boos.

Donald Trump is famously addicted to television, obsessing over ratings throughout his presidency and even preferring to watch the Capitol riot play out live across the rolling news channels on 6 January 2021 rather than intervene as members of his inner circle begged him to do.

While the Republican was once dependent on Fox News for favourable coverage, he has more recently experienced a more fractious relationship with the conservative broadcaster and preferred its upstart right-wing rivals like Newsmax and One America News (OAN).

But, on Wednesday, US streaming service DirecTV – formally part of AT&T but now an independent entity – announced that it would be dropping Newsmax from its lineup, just as it had previously ditched OAN. The move provoked a furious reaction from the ex-Apprentice host.

“WOW. AT&T DIRECTV REMOVES NEWSMAX FROM ITS CHANNEL LINEUP,” Mr Trump complained on his Truth Social platform. “This disgusting move comes after ‘deplatforming’ OAN last year. The Radical Left seems to have taken over the mind and soul of AT&T. This is a big blow to the Republican Party, and to America itself.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-at-t-newsmax-directv-oan-b2269881.html

Come on, I said don’t boo just yet! Calm down MAGA conspiracy theory addicts, you’ll get your next fix. Right wing news is a powerful drug and some are helpless when they fall under its’ spell. So guess what the conservative Congress is doing? They’re holding hearings and investigations! Because this was a blatantly political hit job! No it wasn’t, it was just another one of those DirecTV subscriber disputes that they use as an excuse to jack up your satellite bill. And these hearings are going to accomplish… absolutely nothing! That’s right, just like most of their outrage nonsense.

Republican lawmakers have rushed to the defense of far-right TV network Newsmax after the channel was dropped by AT&T’s DirecTV. According to the satellite television provider, the split stemmed from a carriage fee dispute that would have resulted in “significantly higher costs” and increased customer fees. The channel claims they are being wrongfully censored for their political viewpoints, and have already found allies amongst Republican lawmakers.

The party of free-market capitalism has responded to DirecTV booting Newsmax by arguing that the network should carry the Trump-loving propaganda network, financial considerations be damned. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) told Newsmax, which is still available for free on their website, that the “censorship” of conservative voices has “got to stop.”

“They’re trying to shut down our voices, and we’ve gotta fight for this,” Scott said.

House Republicans — who have prioritized petty cultural grievances over actual issues like the debt ceiling crisis — are even calling for an investigation. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), and Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) all called for hearings to be held, as did Scott.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/newsmax-dropped-att-republicans-hearings-1234668934/

Ooooooooooooooooooh… big threat conservatives! Just like your Disney bullshit. It’s hilarious that the party of free enterprise is busy literally dictating and threatening business enterprises that they don’t agree with politically. But then again, that’s what happens when a political party morphs into a way too literal death cult. Now here’s where you can boo. We’re not getting rid of right wing propaganda, it’s merely being replaced by – wait for it – more right wing propaganda! Remember what I said about propaganda being custom tailored to your level of racism and sexism? Well, it’s basically the same shit on Newsmax but with a different label!

Fox News castaway Bill O’Reilly and Donald Trump sycophant Liz Wheeler, formerly of OAN, lead The First’s lineup of talent, which also includes former Breitbart editor Dana Loesch. Adding insult to injury, The Daily Beast reports The First will take over the very channel formerly occupied by Newsmax.

“On multiple occasions, we made it clear to Newsmax that we wanted to continue to offer the network, but ultimately Newsmax’s demands for rate increases would have led to significantly higher costs that we would have to pass on to our broad customer base,” DirecTV told the Daily News on Wednesday.

Newsmax spun the unsuccessful negotiations differently.

“This is a blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax,” the network’s CEO Christopher Ruddy claimed.

Former President Donald Trump called DirectTV’s split with Newsmax “disgusting” on social media, blaming the “Radical Left” for the separation. Donald Trump, Jr. called for a boycott on Twitter. Numerous Republican congressmen signed a letter urging DirecTV and its parent company AT&T to explain its decision before learning a new conservative network would replace Newsmax.
https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-newsmax-replace-the-first-directv-20230126-ckerivy4f5dghjsjip4x4k52qa-story.html

OK! Now you can boo! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Come on, AT&T, if there’s one thing we don’t need in this country, it’s more right wing bullshit polluting our airwaves, stop it with that nonsense! There’s too much of this shit out there. Right wing propaganda is a perfect example of a perfectly competitive industry for you economics majors who might be tuned in – there’s thousands of shows out there and they all show the same bullshit. It’s fear porn, bombastic headlines, and talking points. Just stop it with this nonsense already! But the MAGA conspiracy theory junkies won’t have to wait long before their next fix.

Last week, DirecTV announced it would be dropping the right-wing TV channel Newsmax from its lineup, which Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy called “a blatant act of political discrimination.” Pouring cold water on this accusation, DirecTV has since announced it will be replacing Newsmax's empty slot with a different right-wing channel, The First, whose on-air personalities include former NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch and disgraced Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. Newsmax's removal has sparked a chorus of condemnations from GOP lawmakers, including House Oversight Chair James Comer, who promised last week to hold congressional hearings into the matter, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who vowed Monday, “You’re going to see action taken.”

But while right-wing outrage might abound in Congress, the same, surprisingly, cannot be said for the country's leading conservative news network. The Daily Beast reported Monday that Fox News “has only devoted 35 seconds of airtime to Newsmax getting the boot—via a brief mention from Howard Kurtz,” who undermined Newsmax’s claims of discrimination against conservatives in noting “that DirecTV replaced Newsmax with another right-wing channel.” Newsmax railed against Fox’s silence in a statement to The Daily Beast Monday, with a rep telling the outlet, “The fact Fox News won’t cover this blatant censorship of a conservative network like Newsmax demonstrates they can’t be trusted to be the only source of news for millions of Americans.” (Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.)
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/newsmax-directv-fox

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[font size="8"]Marjorie Greene
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Holy crap. We’re nearly a month into this Congress and it feels like a fucking eternity has passed, hasn’t’ it? And we still have two more years of this shit show? OMG it’s going to be a long two years, isn’t it? At least there is some good news to report out of this preview of what American fascism is going to look like. It’s at least good to know that there’s at least a few rules that are still being enforced on Elon Musk’s insane version of Twitter. Cause our old friend Marjorie Three Names (Q – Batshit) got suspended yet again, and this time it looks like it may be permanent. Which is pretty sad. You’re in Congress! You’re not supposed to be a social media troll or an Infowars correspondent! Stop going on Steve Bannon’s show, nobody wants to hear your white supremacist replacement theory bullshit besides other white supremacists. They don’t call it an “echo chamber” for nothing. But I do love that Marjorie is the only person from this Congress who so far got permanently suspended. We can’t help but think that Lauren Boebert, Ronny Jackson, and Paul Gosar won’t be too far behind her.

Twitter permanently suspended the personal account of far-right politician Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for repeated violations of the social network’s policy prohibiting COVID misinformation.

Greene’s @mtgreenee account on Twitter has been permanently suspended; she still has access her official congressional account, @RepMTG. Before Twitter banned the @mtgreenee account, it had 465,000 followers. The account’s bio read, “Congresswoman for GA-14, Christian, Wife, Mom, Small Business Owner, Proud American 100% Pro-Life Pro-Gun Pro-Trump.”

Twitter banned Greene after she tweeted false information on New Year’s Day (Saturday, Jan. 1) about COVID vaccines. In a post on Twitter, she in part called vaccines “dangerous” and made the bogus claim that “extremely high amounts of Covid vaccine deaths are ignored.” The U.S. currently is experiencing a massive spike in COVID cases related to the spread of the omicron variant of the virus.

“We permanently suspended the account you referenced (@mtgreenee) for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy,” a Twitter rep said in a statement to Variety. “We’ve been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy.”
https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-twitter-banned-covid-1235145900/

Thank you Nelson! Well, in case you’re wondering how the MAGA / America First / Infowars / American Taliban / Fox News agenda is going in the 2023 Congress, well, it’s not going well. People are waking up to how dangerous this ideology is, and it could end very badly for America if it is not dealt with in a timely manner. Because tomorrow may be too late. Apparently the latest outrage du jour in MAGA conspiracy theory crazy land is that Joe Biden was selling oil to the Chinese Communist Party (which is a MAGA racist dog whistle), but even conservatives knew this bill was a steaming pile of bullshit.

For the last year, President Joe Biden has released a record amount of oil from America's petroleum reserves in order to increase oil supply and lower the price of gasoline that skyrocketed at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

-snip-

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Thursday proposed an amendment that would have prevented Biden from selling oil in the future to combat high gas prices.

In justifying the amendment, Greene argued that "we need to chart a path back to energy independence and ensure President Biden is not able to sell our critical oil supplies to China and other enemy nations," this is why she wants to "prevent Biden from claiming an emergency to further reduce our strategic oil supplies."

It seems that the vast majority of members of Congress -- including the vast majority of her Republican colleagues -- thought that this was a bad idea, as a vote on the amendment ended with just 14 votes in favor and a whopping 418 votes opposed.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-s-amendment-to-bar-biden-from-selling-oil-goes-down-in-massive-bipartisan-defeat/ar-AA16MAbk?cvid=73ea0b2fdbc64a489c9650af7cf1b05f

Ha ha!!! OK Nelson, we heard you! See, MAGA, you can cue up the outrage, hyperbole, and fear porn all you want. But the truth is that we’re not “owned” or “melting down” by your shenanigans. We’re laughing at you, because you have no original thoughts of your own! Your thoughts are all manufactured by the right wing outrage machine, which includes Fox, right wing talk radio, Infowars, TPUSA, Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, nearly 2,000 right wing talk shows your megachurch pastor, I could go on and on! Thank you New York! Right wing propaganda is so highly specialized that you can get it tuned to your preferred level of racism and sexism. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!! But moving on, it’s just proving more and more that these are losing ideals that have no place in post COVID America.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) offered an amendment on Thursday ― and it quickly went down in flames.

New House rules put in place by the Republican majority allow any lawmaker to offer an amendment. The Hill reported that led to some 140 amendments being proposed for a bill regarding the use of the strategic petroleum reserve. Greene’s proposed amendment would have forbidden President Joe Biden from selling oil from the reserve.

The conspiracy theorist ― who spoke last year at a white nationalist event ― was joined by just 13 others as the amendment failed 14-418.

Some believe Greene frenemy Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was subtweeting her with this boast later in the day:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/oof-marjorie-taylor-greene-mocked-095052768.html

Yes, “working”. You keep using that word, but I do not think it means what you think it means. I mean come on, what actual work have you done other than be a social media troll? This is going to be a long two years, isn’t it? And I love when MAGAs scream that they didn’t do anything wrong but post a message on a social media board. You got suspended for being racist and posting COVID conspiracy theory bullshit! You did everything wrong! I like Congressional representatives who aren’t social media trolls. I’ll make an exception for Ted Lieu though, because that guy knows how to troll these morons good. Argh I’m so tired of these idiots!

Facebook suspended an account of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's for 24 hours for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, a day after Twitter permanently suspended the Republican's personal account on that platform.

On other social media platforms Monday, Greene shared a screenshot of a message from Facebook, alerting her that her account had been blocked.

"Facebook has joined Twitter in censoring me," Greene reportedly wrote in posts on the Telegram and Gettr networks. "This is beyond censorship of speech."

A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook, told NPR: "A post violated our policies and we have removed it; but removing her account [permanently] for this violation is beyond the scope of our policies."
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/02/1069753102/twitter-bans-marjorie-taylor-greenes-personal-account-over-covid-misinformation

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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: Hyundai And Kia Thefts
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It's time to investigate beyond the headlines! This is Top 10 Investigates!

Certain late model Hyundai and Kia vehicles have recently become the target of car thieves. A viral Tik Tok video has been showing thieves just how easy it is to break into vehicles such as the Hyundai Kona, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Optima, Optima Hybrid, and Kia Soul. The models can range anywhere from 2015 – 2021. Thieves can break into these cars and start them using nothing more than a flat head screwdriver and a USB-A cable. And the reason why these cars were so easy to break into is because they lack engine immobilizers which means that the car could be started without a key fob present in the cabin. But does this mean that insurance companies are right to blacklist the owners of these vehicles? Two of the biggest insurance companies – State Farm and Progressive are declining coverage of these cars because of how easy it is to break into them. Which really is more punishing the owners than it is anything else.

he aftermath of the Kia Boys continues, as major insurance companies now refuse to insure new Hyundai and Kia models for being too easy to steal. Now, according to a recent report from WWL-TV in New Orleans, two State Farm employees have provided a list of all the Hyundai and Kia models that are blacklisted from being added to insurance policies. The list allegedly applies to Louisiana, Georgia, Oregon, Washington, and Pennsylvania. Although, the Louisiana Department of Insurance claims it hasn't been made aware of such restrictions.

The Drive has reached out to Hyundai for a statement and will update this story when we get one.

Earlier this year, stealing certain Hyundai and Kia models became so popular it was a TikTok trend. If thieves had access to the inside of the car, they could get away with certain models in under a minute, using nothing but a flathead screwdriver and a USB-A cable. Stealing the cars was as simple as yanking down on bottom of the plastic steering wheel column housing, thus breaking it off, ripping out the ignition cylinder, and using the end of a USB cable to turn the ignition.

The reason why such a simple theft worked was because a shocking amount of Hyundai and Kia models lacked engine immobilizers, which meant they didn't require a key or keyfob present to start the engine. However, Hyundai made engine immobilizers standard on all models starting in 2021, while Kia made them standard in 2022. Certain models received immobilizers earlier, such as the Kia Optima Hybrid (2016), Kia Sorento, and Hyundai Veloster (2018).
https://www.thedrive.com/news/these-hyundai-and-kia-models-are-blacklisted-by-state-farm-insurance-over-thefts

Things have got so bad because of this video that State Farm and Allstate are declining coverage of these vehicles. A lot of owners of these cars are screaming that this isn’t their fault that video is out there and causing people to break into these cars. So what is Hyundai and Kia doing to reassure owners that it’s OK to own these vehicles? Well both the insurance companies and the car manufacturers are exploring lots of different options to combat theft, much like Toyota is doing with late model Priuses and catalytic converter thefts. But it’s a complicated scenario with no easy solution.

Progressive and State Farm have dropped some older Hyundai and Kia vehicles due to their lack of anti-theft features, according to the companies and multiple reports.

The move comes after social media posts showed how to start certain Kia and Hyundai cars without the use of a key, prompting theft warnings from police.

James Bell, a spokesperson for Kia, said Monday the insurance companies' move impacts certain Kias built between 2011 and 2021 that are equipped with a steel key to "insert and turn to start" the ignition.

Ira Gabriel, a Hyundai spokesperson, hoped the actions would be temporary, he said in a Monday email to USA TODAY, but did not specify which vehicle years were affected.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2023/01/30/kia-hyundai-theft-issues-state-farm-progressive/11148537002/

One of the solutions being talked about is that could be just a simple fix in the car’s Bluetooth system. A car dealer in St. Louis has a novel solution called a “Bluetooth Interrupter” that would prevent the cars from being stolen. So is that all it would take? Anything is possible, and insurance companies and the car manufacturers are exploring different options to prevent car thefts. Hyundai is also exploring the option of simply providing a software update that could fix the issue. But software is only as good as the hardware. This could end the crisis. O r not.

“With my device on the car, even if they have a USB cord and turn it, it won’t start the car at all,” Silk said. “My product will keep the car from starting. Hence, they can’t steal it.”

So far, Silk has sold the product for $99, or $199 with technician installation.

He told NewsNation that Hyundai had reached out to him and asked him to send his product to them because they are not having any luck with their own product.

“They are actually looking at my product to possibly work together to stop this,” Silk said.

Due to the popularity of his product, Silk launched a website for the device so that Americans across the nation can have access to it. In addition to the device, he offers a sticker for $5 for the vehicle window that warns possible thieves that the car is equipped with the technology.

A Hyundai spokesman told Fox News Digital the company is aware of Silk’s product but is exploring options to provide a free software solution for customers that it hopes to make available by March.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/kia-hyundai-thefts-solution/

And by the way if you’re an owner of these cars and wondering just how bad it’s got, well you ain’t seen nothing yet. Well there’s reports of these thefts all over the country. In fact the DC Metro area reported something like 1/3 of all car thefts in the last two months were just Hyundai and Kia alone and nothing else even came close. So a software update could fix the problem – or it could make it worse. But there’s one thing we do know – is that thieves are not using these cars for good, and it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.

Own a Hyundai or Kia? Well, you should know they’ve proven to be popular brands for car thieves in D.C. this year.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), those two brands accounted for 31% of all stolen cars in D.C. through the first three weeks of the year.

D.C. Police Department data also showed, through the last three months of 2022, an uptick in the number of those cars stolen from District streets.

Two Northeast D.C. residents, living in the same apartment building, off the 1600 block of Maryland Avenue, Northeast, said their Kia Souls were targeted by thieves this week too.

On Saturday, Northeast D.C. resident and 'Congress Heights on the Rise' blogger Nikki Peele, said someone took her Kia Soul out of her garage at the Union Heights apartment building.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/mpd-kia-hyundai-thefts-made-up-one-third-of-dcs-stolen-cars-in-early-january/65-d5aa395c-1443-4667-ba61-97ab0c046447

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

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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: Satanic Panic At The Grammys
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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! Please be seated! You know we live in strange times. The social media era has brought about new levels of conservative nuttery that we’ve never seen before. For my audience members who were alive during the 80s, you all remember the Satanic Panic? It was when conservative Christians everywhere reported satanic abuse rituals. It was kind of the modern day version of the Salem Witchcraft Trials from the 1600s. It may have been started by a book called “Michelle Remembers”. OK, enough history. Let’s fast forward to the present. Last week was the Grammy Awards. Since the news has been replaced with conspiracy theories, people who speak MAGA wouldn’t know what a real musical performance is if it jumped up and bit them. But Sam Smith and Kim Petras may have sparked a new modern Satanic Panic movement and it’s the stuff of insanity. And the more you go down the wormhole, the weirder it gets.

The post Ted Cruz Calls Sam Smith and Kim Petras “Evil” as Right Spreads Satanic Panic Conspiracies appeared first on Consequence.

Following Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ performance of “Unholy” at the 2023 Grammy Awards, Senator Ted Cruz called the artists”evil” and conservatives flooded social media with Satanic panic and anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.

Smith, who is nonbinary, and Petras, a transgender woman, performed their international smash hit “Unholy” in moody red lighting, with Smith dressed like the display window in a Spirit Halloween while centered in a circle of dancers who looked like they’d just stepped out of the television in The Ring. Afterwards he threw it back to Petras, writhing suggestively inside a cage in front of a fiery backdrop.

“This… is… evil,” Cruz wrote on Twitter, the ellipses perhaps representing the breaks he took to consume more pornography. His post was a re-tweet from conservative commenter and former OANN presenter Liz Wheeler, famed for having the kind of brain you normally find in an aquarium. “Demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan,” she wrote. “I could throw up.”
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/ted-cruz-calls-sam-smith-163422752.html

Evil??? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! That’s a good one, Teddy! You might want to take a look in the mirror, because you are EVIL! You and your Christian right buddies! Because you do not stand for anything good in this world. You represent darkness! Your favorite president is the unholy, ungodly Dark One! I of course speak of a man so foul, so depraved and disgusting that his name DARE NOT be spoken in my church! But I do love that Sam Smith’s performance at the Grammys is causing conservatives to let their conspiracy theory freak flag fly!

Conservatives are clutching their pearls in horror over Sam Smith and Kim Petras' cheeky performance at the Grammys.

During Sunday night's ceremony, the pair took center stage to perform their hit song "Unholy," which also won the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The hell-themed showcase featured several red-robed dancers, cages, whips and Smith sporting a top hat adorned with red devil horns.

Naturally, conservative critics took offense at this apparent love letter to the Prince of Darkness and took to Twitter to slam the performance. The comments ranged from interpreting the number as an actual Satanic ritual to – what else? – an attempt to advance the vaccine agenda.

"If as a Christian, you think we are reaching when we talk about the dominance and normalization of Satan worship in pop music, you need discernment," wrote Christian life coach Solomon Buchi. "Sam Smith's performance at the Grammy's last night was satanic, gory. No, it's not art; it's symbolic of who they serve."
https://www.salon.com/2023/02/06/sam-smith-grammys-satan-phizer-unholy/

You know what conservatives? If this bothers you, I highly suggest turning off Fox News and coming back to the real world, OK? But it’s not just conservatives, it’s the usual group of MAGA idiots and Fox News hosts that are sparking the outrage machine. But why are they fueling anti-vaccine hysteria too? Well it’s because Mr. Smith’s performance was sponsored by Pfizer. So yeah naturally link the vaccine to SAYTAN hysteria! Because you know that it’s the conservative thing to do. Sigh, you know this is going to get worse before it gets better.

Right-wing influencers in the US on Monday stoked moral panic over Sam Smith dressing as Satan for a performance at the Grammy Awards.

In a posting on Twitter, Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene criticized the performance and referenced anti-vaccine conspiracy theories about pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer, one of the sponsors of the awards.

Some right-wing figures have pushed baseless claims about the COVID-19 vaccines developed by the company.

"The Grammy's featured Sam Smith's demonic performance and was sponsored by Pfizer. And the Satanic Church now has an abortion clinic in NM that requires its patients to perform a satanic ritual before services. American Christians need to get to work," said Greene.
https://www.businessinsider.com/conservatives-kim-petras-sam-smith-satan-unholy-grammy-devil-2023-2

Come on, conservatives, live a little! It’s just music! If you’re offended by Sam Smith’s performance, well I’ll have to tell you about this band called Twin Temple. Or maybe Ghost is more to your liking. But that’s some light satanism. You know what they say about the devil being in the details. Well, of course here, in my church, we’re pretty much for anything that would cause the Christian right to get their collective underwear in a wad. And of course it’s more culture war bullshit being brought to you by Fox News and Christian right megachurch pastors. You know what? I say let ‘em melt down. Just grab some popcorn and watch your religious right friends’ heads explode.

“I know we on the right probably use the word satanic too often but this performance from Sam Smith is literally a tribute to Satan,” wrote Human Events editor Ben Kew.

While many conservatives were melting down over Smith and Petras’ performance, the majority of Grammy viewers were celebrating the duo’s historic evening. “Unholy” won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance, making Petras the first openly transgender woman to win in the category.

“I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open before me so I could be here tonight,” Petras said in her acceptance speech. When asked about the fiery performance backstage at the Grammys, Petras said it was inspired by not feeling accepted by religion.

“I think a lot of people, honestly, have kind of labeled what I stand for and what Sam stands for as religiously not cool, and I personally grew up wondering about religion and wanting to be a part of it but slowly realizing it didn’t want me to be a part of it,” Petras said. “So it’s a take on not being able to choose religion. And not being able to live the way that people might want you to live, because as a trans person I’m already not kind of wanted in religion. So we were doing a take on that and I was kind of hell-keeper Kim.”
https://variety.com/2023/music/news/ted-cruz-slams-sam-smith-kim-petras-grammys-evil-performance-1235514438/

Well, like I said, just sit back and watch the meltdown! It’s fun to watch the Christian right be in hysterics over a music performance. Next week’s outrage du jour will be fun to watch too! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]People Who Somehow Got Elected: J.D. Vance
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Politicians at the state and local levels who are so toxic, you wonder how they’re able to get away with the things they get away with. This is:



This week: newly installed Ohio senator, trust fund manager, and self-proclaimed hillbilly with money, J.D. Vance. How did this guy get elected? Well the qualifications for running for any office in the republican party are simple: speak Republicanese. And spout the stupidest shit that comes to mind no matter how toxic it can get. JD Vance is a fundamentalist Christian conspiracy theorist. He’s so devout that he might as well be a member of the American Taliban. So of course he’s going full in on the conspiracy theory train. Starting with some insane beliefs about Ukraine. Yes, the Ukraine war has been going on for over a year now and we’re doing everything possible to humiliate Vladimir Putin and his terrorist army. But American MAGA republicans on the other hand, might as well start kissing Putin’s ass because they’re on his side. And you can’t tell us that there was no Russian collusion in the 2016 election because there absolutely was.

When JD Vance took over for Rob Portman on Jan. 3 it may have been a Republican replacing a Republican in the U.S. Senate, but in the Northeast Ohio Ukrainian Community there was a stark contrast between the two men.

"Senator Portman was one of the leaders in the Senate, he was co-chair of the Senate Caucus on Ukraine,” said Andy Fedynsky, director, Ukrainian Museum-Archives. “And JD Vance ,in his campaign, came out very negatively on Ukraine— so sure it's a big concern."

Concerns that grew last week when Vance penned a letter to the Biden administration demanding an accounting of funds the U.S. has sent to Ukraine. Money that Portman pushed hard for.

“I’ve been very skeptical from the beginning that our Ukraine policy is actually accomplishing much other than destroying the country of Ukraine,” Vance told News 5 Wednesday. “And, obviously raising the risk of potential escalation down the road in a way that can affect us, can affect a lot of our allies in Europe.”

But regardless of where you stand on the war, he said it’s just a question of fiscal responsibility.
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/politics/ohio-politics/ohio-sen-jd-vance-has-concerns-about-ukraine-sending-tanks-overseas

Yes, we’re booing. A somewhat sane republican got replaced with a hard lined MAGA ass kisser and bootlicker. But what accounting are they looking for? Obviously, there is no playing nice with the MAGAs, because they’re just looking to fuck things up and be against anything remotely resembling progress, and that’s about it. What do they want? No matter what answer we give them, they’ll just dismiss it as saying that it’s a fake or it didn’t happen or it was a false flag. Because there is no accountability with the MAGAs. None, whatsoever.

Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance will call on the Biden administration to release an "accounting" of how U.S. aid to Ukraine is being used.

The freshman senator told WLWT his office is circulating a letter among fellow Republican colleagues in Congress to try and shore up support.

"We've sent close to $120 billion to Ukrainians, who, of course, are fighting off a really bad invasion from Russia. If you compare that, we spend $60 billion on our own homeland security," Vance said. "All I'm asking for at this stage is just some accounting of where we're spending that money."

The exact amount of aid the U.S. has sent to Ukraine is unclear. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The UNHCR reports as of October 2022, more than 7.7 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-sen-jd-vance-letter-u-s-accounting-of-aid-to-ukraine/42474381

And by the way, you may have heard your MAGA conspiracy theorist friends and neighbors spouting crap about the Biden administration and gas stoves. Well, the MAGA crowd has to make everything an issue and we’re not going to hear the end of the gas stove controversy anytime soon. So expect plenty of pictures on right wing social media feeds about lighting up every single burner on your gas stove and just letting it run. Sure, you may kill yourself by asphyxiation or by a gas fire explosion, but hey, you’re owning the libs! Anyway, here’s where J.D. Vance stands on the issue:

In an interview with WLWT, freshman Sen. JD Vance says the Biden administration was caught “pretty red-handed” with a push to step in over gas stoves.

“Now they face some political blowback. They're kind of rolling it back and that's a good thing. But that's why you try to raise these issues and try to elevate these issues is to make sure that the administration doesn't get too far ahead of the science or public opinion on this,” Vance said.

A consumer safety official recently suggested to Bloomberg that the Consumer Product Safety Commission pursue a ban over gas stoves. One study links an associated risk of developing asthma in kids to gas stoves. Vance says Ohio itself has a robust industry in the appliance field and thousands of Ohioans, like the Vance household, already use them.

“Depending on which numbers you're looking at, between 20 to 40% of Ohioans cook their meals every night. So just banning those would be destructive economically, really, really challenging to a lot of families. But the flip side of it is we've got a home appliance industry in Ohio that's close to $5 billion in wages, 26,000 employees,” Vance said.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/ohio-senator-jd-vance-biden-gas-stoves/42476539

Yeah so that’s happening. In the MAGA world, anything that we might be for, they’re automatically against. It’s the “I know you are but what am I” logical fallacy. That might have worked on the Pee Wee’s Playhouse show, but it doesn’t work in real life. And in case you’re wondering what Mr. Vance’s political beliefs are, well, let’s just say that he’s on the side of MAGA and the side of insane right wing religious conspiracy theory beliefs. Yes, he’s in a war on pornography and women’s rights. He thinks the Handmaid’s Tale is an instruction manual. It isn’t. In case you’re wondering who he’s endorsing for the 2024 election, well, you’ll be shocked.

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a rising conservative star who won a hard-fought race to replace retired Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), announced Tuesday that he will back Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

Vance, who won Ohio’s competitive Senate Republican primary last year after receiving Trump’s endorsement, told radio host Hugh Hewitt “the simple fact is Donald Trump’s policies were incredibly good for this country and he’s very popular among Republican voters.”

“In Ohio Republican circles, I’d say well over half the people in our party want Trump to run and will vote for him in the primary if he does. You know, look, I’m planning to support the [former] president in ’24,” Vance said.

“I’m actually going to have an article come out here in the next couple of days that explains why,” he added.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3837732-vance-says-he-will-back-trumps-2024-presidential-campaign/

That’s newly installed Ohio MAGA senator J.D. Vance – living proof that anyone speaking republican and being in tune with the cult can get elected in red areas. Just another one of the toxic politicians to add to the ever growing list of:




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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner

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Welcome back to our segment where we attempt to explain the unexplainable, Conspiracy Corner! See, conspiracies are for people who don’t want to read beyond the headlines or think for themselves, which is why they are getting weirder and weirder with each day. We of course are coming to you live from our underground doomsday shelter in the New Mexico badlands, undisclosed location of course! Let me just adjust my trusty tin foil hat for maximum government interference – they are trying to read yours and my thoughts after all! There we go! So this week we’re going to lighten the mood and talk about Nazis, that’s right! Nazis and white supremacy are becoming fashionable again, thanks to Donald Trump dining with neo Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes and embattled social media troll and former shoe salesman Kanye West, who famously said that we should love everyone, including Hitler. So no surprise that Nazism is filtering into places where we least expect it.

An alleged “Nazi homeschooling group” based in Ohio has been widely condemned, amid reports that it distributed lesson plans which included writing exercises based on quotes by Adolf Hitler.

A couple calling themselves “Mr and Mrs Saxon” established the “Dissident Homeschool” channel on Telegram in 2021, according to reporting by Anonymous Comrades Collective, an anti-fascist research group, verified by Huffpost and Vice.

The channel, which has almost 2,500 subscribers, distributes “ready-made lesson plans”, Huffpost reported, including history lessons which praise the Confederate general Robert E Lee as a “grand role model for young, white men” and denigrate Martin Luther King Jr as “the antithesis of our civilization and our people”.

The Saxons were identified by Huffpost and Vice as Logan and Katja Lawrence, from Upper Sandusky, a town of about 7,000 in northern Ohio.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/01/nazi-homeschooling-group-ohio-condemned

So for those of you who don’t know what Telegram is, it’s a Russian owned social media service that’s way more racist than Twitter. Not at all surprised that there are Nazis lurking on that platform. But the good news is that the people who found out about the alleged scheme gave the man who founded the group the heave ho. But it’s scary to think that there’s actual Nazis on American soil. If I recall, didn’t we fight an entire World War against them? But really it’s truly insane that this is happening in this country right now.

A small family-run business that employed one of the purported leaders of a White supremacist, pro-Nazi homeschooling network announced he is no longer an employee as a result of “this disturbing and secretive behavior.”

The Lawrence Insurance Agency, with an office in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, released a statement condemning the messages and so-called lessons that have come to light from the social media-based homeschooling network.

“The viewpoints & ideology recently expressed by Logan Lawrence and his wife in no way represent the values of Lawrence Insurance Agency,” the statement said. “We emphatically denounce what they have said and done & we wholeheartedly empathize with all who have been hurt, upset, and disturbed by their conduct.”

Based on an investigation by online anti-fascist research group Anonymous Comrades Collective and resulting media reports, local officials believe the group is run out of Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The online research group named Logan and Katja Lawrence as the leaders of the homeschooling network, otherwise known as “Mr. Saxon” and “Mrs. Saxon.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/02/us/ohio-white-supremacist-homeschooling-network-employment/index.html

You know with friends like these, who needs enemies? And you might be asking where are the real educators in all of this? Well the superintendent of said area where the Saxons reside spoke out, and naturally they’re beyond horrified. Even one Nazi is too many but the fact that there’s 2,500 of them out there? That’s some really scary shit. And you know we all know the only acceptable thing to do with Nazis – is to throw them in the dumpster and that’s about. Instead we have a megalomaniacal billionaire who pays $44 billion for a social media network to give them a megaphone!

The school superintendent of an Ohio city where neo-Nazi-themed home-schooling curriculum is reportedly being used and widely shared online says his "district vehemently condemns any such resources."

"The allegations are egregious," Eric Landversicht, superintendent of Upper Sandusky Exempted Village Schools, wrote in a letter to the school community that he provided Monday to the USA TODAY NETWORK Ohio.

The curriculum made national news in an article published online by Vice News based on a report published last week by the anti-fascist research group Anonymous Comrades Collective.

The Vice article claims that a couple from Wyandot County created the "Dissident Homeschool" channel, a social media outlet that distributes its lesson plans for elementary students to more than 2,400 subscribers nationwide.
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/state/2023/01/30/ohio-superintendent-speaks-against-nazi-curriculum-created-by-family/69854810007/

Wow, I did not see that coming! Oh come on, that’s the joke you choose to walk out on? You knew that one was coming! So America’s got a Nazi problem on our hands and it’s definitely going to get worse before it gets better. And you might be wondering – how did it get this bad? Well, I answer you good / sir madam, it’s once again thanks to reckless conservative policies. And we always say that what the parents watch has an effect on how the kids grow up. If the parents spend all day listening to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Tucker Carlson, don’t be surprised when they grow up to be raving, gun toting neo nazis with an ego complex and a grudge against the government.

Bishop Sycamore was laid bare in 2021 when its football team was getting beaten so badly during a nationally televised game in Canton that the analysts on ESPN were heard expressing concern for the boys' safety.
Charita Goshay

It was later discovered that the team at times played two games a week, and that the school itself barely existed.

But Bishop Sycamore is Harvard University compared to an online charter school in Upper Sandusky in which hundreds of American children are being instructed in the elements of Nazism.

Until recently, "The Dissident Homeschool" channel on Telegram offered pro-Nazi lesson plans for elementary-age kids.

It has been subscribed to by more than 2,400 families.
https://www.the-review.com/story/opinion/columns/2023/02/05/neo-nazi-school-in-ohio-was-made-possible-by-the-states-weak-policies/69856822007/

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[font size="8"]People Are Dumb
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Hit it!

Of course you know by now that people are people, and people are dumb. And before I begin I always like to preface what makes a People Are Dumb story. And not all People Are Dumb stories are stupid criminals, but I do love me a good stupid criminal story. Like give me a story where a guy steals a car and then runs over the “do not back up” tire spikes, or a guy who steals a car and doesn’t know how to operate a manual stick shift, and I’m a happy guy! I want to start with this story out of New York City, that surprisingly isn’t a stupid criminal story. But it is the epitome of People Are Dumb. So New York City has been busy building a shiny new Grand Central Station to the tune of $11 billion dollars. Now since the opening of said train station, one plaque has been getting a lot of attention. See, here’s the thing, if you’re spending $11 BILLION on a new train station, you’d better make sure everything is perfect, otherwise you might want to skip town for a bit. Wanna get away ?

New York gained a bright, shiny new train terminal last week and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority decorated the walls with brilliant and moving quotes about the Big Apple from some of the city’s most famous residents. Unfortunately, one quote features an embarrassing typo.

“One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt,” is attributed to one “Georgia O’Keefe” and adorns the mezzanine wall in Grand Central Madison. That name is only one letter off from the name of one of the most important modernist American painters of the 20th Century.

“We clearly f-ed this one up and it’s being fixed,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority Communications Director Tim Minton said in a statement to Bloomberg, referring to the missing F in the name.

Known primarily for her modernist paintings of flowers, animal skulls and skyscrapers, O’Keeffe learned her craft at the Art Students League in New York, as well as lived in the city early on in her career. Here’s what the Georgia O’Keeffe museum says about her connection to New York:
https://jalopnik.com/nycs-brand-new-11-billion-train-terminal-misspelled-ge-1850055134?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=dlvrit&utm_content=jalopnik

Next up – we go to this story out of Mexico. Because as we say, there’s no shortage of stupid people anywhere in the world! OK so here’s the thing – you’re at a Christmas or holiday party and someone is serving up some really good grub. Well, what if that person was a zoo director and the animals were part of said zoo? Yeah this whole story is absolutely insane and it’s a perfect example of People Are Dumb because if there’s one thing you never want to do, it’s get caught. And how this guy got caught is really the stuff of insanity. I really can’t wait for the Netflix documentary on this guy!

The former director of a zoo in southern Mexico killed four of the zoo’s pygmy goats and served them up at a Christmas-season party, authorities said.

José Rubén Nava was replaced as director of the local zoo in the city of Chilpancingo on Jan. 12 following the death of a deer there.

But officials said Tuesday that an investigation found some of the animals in the zoo’s collection had allegedly been sold off, traded or eaten under Nava’s orders.

The state environment department said a zebra was traded for tools and deer and Watusi cattle were traded off to private individuals, without proper accounting.

It was not clear if Nava had been formally charged in the case, or if he had a lawyer.

But the most shocking accusation was made by Fernando Ruiz Gutierrez, the state environment department's director of wildlife. He said Nava had four of the zoo's male pygmy goats killed and cooked for an end-of-year banquet.
https://www.fox5dc.com/news/former-mexico-zoo-director-killed-cooked-4-goats-for-christmas-party?taid=63dbbe659511e10001d540cd&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

Next up – Florida Man, what are you doing? Florida has been consistently putting out quality People Are Dumb stories since the inception of this program. We don’t mean to pick on Florida all the time, but we do pick on Florida all the time. Because of stories like this. So when you see “Florida Man threatens to fight everyone after the bars close”, you gotta click on it, right? I’ve been to a lot of bars in my lifetime, and I’ve consumed quite a lot of drinks. But I’ve never been so drunk that I wanted to fight everyone who was hanging out at the bar!

The line between night and morning was blurred Saturday in Cape Coral. Last call had come and gone, and the lingering crowd was beginning to disperse.

Cape Coral Police watched the clock click past three in the morning, yet the street outside the establishments was still a frenzy of activity.

“Can you go over and take care of that guy?”

A random citizen approached the patrol car, concerned about a half-naked man turning the evening celebrations into chaos. “He spit in my friend’s face and was running around grabbing people.” As another man, swiping spittle from his face, confirmed the act of aggression, police made their way to the mass of alcohol-induced to check the situation. ...........(more)

https://nbc-2.com/news/crime/2023/01/27/florida-man-challenges-all-comers-to-fight-following-dixie-roadhouse-last-call/amp/

Next up – bodily waste! Yes, they have a story for everything in the Sunshine State. So here’s a guy who broke into a Joe’s Crab Shack… and really of all the chain restaurants, you pick Joe’s Crab Shack? The discount Red Lobster? But when your police nickname is the “Pooping Perpetrator” then you should probably take a step back and rethink your life choices. Though I will say that “Pooping Perpetrators” are an awesome band, I saw them at the Troubadour!

Police in Florida are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a man they have dubbed the “pooping perpetrator.“

Around 2:30 a.m. Jan. 21, a man caught on surveillance video broke into a Joe’s Crab Shack in Fort Myers, police say.

He allegedly climbed through a small window that he broke prior to stealing multiple items, including alcohol, and defecating on the floor prior to leaving.

He also stole a Joe’s Crab Shack hat off a shelf and wore it as he walked around the restaurant, WFLA-TV reports. ..............(more)

https://nypost.com/2023/01/23/florida-man-dubbed-pooping-perpetrator-sought-by-police-for-break-in/

Finally this week – this is the kind of story as to why People Are Dumb exists. You know I always say that at the end of the day after you hear all the bad news in the world, you really just want to see a story about someone who goes crazy and destroys a McDonalds because they ran out of chicken nuggets. So this story is along those lines.

That’s it this week for:

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[font size="8"]World Tour 2023 Destination #3 Of 6 - Poland
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Part of our mission statement here at the Top 10 Conservative Idiots is that we view conservative idiocy not just as a uniquely American problem. No, it’s a global problem and conservatives are ruining everything they touch all around the world. Which is why we present to you:



[font size="4"]Destination #3 Of 6: Poland [/font]





We’re nearly at the end of our 2022 / 2023 World Tour and we’ve spanned the globe once again looking for conservative idiocy across this big blue marble floating in space that we call Earth. Or as it’s called by beings from another world, Midgard. This week we’re heading to Germany’s next door neighbors, the almighty Poland! Poland is of course home to ejector seats on helicopters and screen doors on submarines. Oh come on! I kid! I kid! Poland is the home to the world’s oldest salt mines and the world’s largest castle. It’s also the home of Vodka. That’s right, vodka didn’t originate in Russia, it originated in Poland. It’s also the home of Ekstralasa, it’s national football league. What else is Poland the home of? It is the home of what could possibly be the subject of Vladimir Putin’s next hostile takeover. But we learned a lot from the current Ukraine conflict and we hope to meet Putin at the door with advanced artillery the next nation he chooses to invade.

The US plans to sell Poland about $10 billion in weapons including 18 Himars rocket launchers and ammunition for the highly accurate mobile platform, the Pentagon announced Tuesday, shoring up a crucial NATO ally as Russia presses its war in neighboring Ukraine.

The package will also include the ATACMS long-range missile system and the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, according to a Defense Department statement. Two people familiar with the matter said Congress has been notified of the proposed deal, under the Foreign Military Sales program.

The sale builds on stepped-up US assistance since Russia’s Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago. Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, including successfully pressing Germany for permission to send German-made Leopard II tanks to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s forces.

“The proposed sale will improve Poland’s military goals of updating capability while further enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies,” the Pentagon said. “Poland intends to use these defense articles and services to modernize its armed forces and expand its capability to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-07/us-to-sell-poland-10-billion-in-himars-ammunition

You know what? This seriously feels like we’re living in that movie Don’t Look Up, except replace the meteor in that movie with a megalomaniacal dictator with his finger on the nuclear weapons trigger who’s attempting to take over the world. And if too many people don’t stop his crap, his taking over the world may be inevitable. So we must stop him with everything that we got! You know what else Poland is the home of? Windmills! That’s right, windmills - you know that thing that Trump says will decrease your property values and give you cancer. That’s right. I still cannot believe that was a thing that happened, and that people want this guy to be a leader.

Poland's parliament on Wednesday passed two pieces of legislation the government hopes will unblock billions in European Union funds, but doubts remained over whether the president would sign the judicial reform bill into law.

Brussels has withheld 35.4 billion euros ($38 billion) in COVID-19 recovery funds in a row over the rule of law, and has set milestones on issues such as judicial independence and green energy which Warsaw must fulfil to get the cash.

The most contentious reforms for those in Poland's ruling camp concern the judicial system.

The bill would mean the Supreme Administrative Court would deal with disciplinary cases of judges instead of a contested chamber of the Supreme Court, which critics say has been used to punish judges critical of the government's judicial reforms.

It would also mean judges would not face disciplinary action for questioning the independence of colleagues appointed by organs that critics say are politicised.
https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/polish-parliament-passes-law-changing-rules-wind-power-investments-2023-02-08/

Now here’s something interesting – it turns out that Poland is the home of some long lost World War II treasures. That’s right – there apparently were some underground Nazi bunkers from World War II that were being excavated in Warsaw, and they were finding treasures in, of all places – the toilets! Yes, it’s quite the disgusting tale but it has a pretty interesting outcome. So what did they find in the old toilets, you might ask? Well I answer you good sir or madam – they found a lot of interesting stuff like gild, sculptures, medallions, fragments of destroyed artwork… interesting finds!

For most people, a trash-filled toilet is a headache to be dealt with, a mess to be cleaned or both. For archaeologists in Poland, however, a trash-filled toilet was a curiosity to be explored. Archaeologists in Warsaw were excavating the ruins of Saxon Palace — a 400-year-old structure destroyed by Nazi troops during World War II — when they found something in the cellars, according to a Jan. 26 news release from Science in Poland.

In the cellar, archaeologists uncovered a number of toilets and wells, most filled with trash. The structures had become less of a sewage system and more of a garbage can, explained excavations coordinator Maria Wardzyńska in the release.

Shoved between the bricks of one toilet, researchers found a diamond ring made of silver and gold. The valuable item is one of nearly 46,000 artifacts unearthed from the royal rubble
Archaeologists have also found coins, pottery vessels, fragments of destroyed sculptures and medallions, according to the release. Videos from Polska Agencja Prasowa, the Polish Press Agency, shows the red-brick palace ruins.

The Saxon Palace was originally built in the 1660s and became a royal residence in the 1720s, according to the State Archives in Warsaw. The building was expanded as its functions shifted throughout the 1700s.
Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article272219173.html#storylink=cpy

But remember what I said about that movie Don’t Look Up? It turns out that Poland was one of the countries that first alerted the world to the dangers of what Russia and the Vladimir Putin regime are up to, and all of their evil shenanigans. And Don’t Look Up is a very prophetic movie for the times that we live in right now. Everyone wants to go about living their lives like it’s no big deal, but there’s a mad man with nuclear weapons out for global domination. He’s knocking countries and governments off one by one and is going after the big prize. We need to stop him before it’s too late!

Ramzan Kadyrov, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has begun rattling off threats about attacking Poland after Ukraine.

Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, suggested Monday that Russia should “denazify and demilitarize” Poland next.

“What if, after the successful completion of the NMD, Russia begins to denazify and demilitarize the next country? After all, after Ukraine, Poland is on the map! I will not hide that I personally have such an intention,” Kadyrov said on Telegram. “I personally have such an intention, and I have repeatedly stated that the fight against Satanism should continue throughout Europe and, first of all, on the territory of Poland.”

Kadyrov warned Tuesday that the time has come for the West to fall to its knees before Russia, predicting that the so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine, would be over by the end of 2023.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/top-putin-ally-ramzan-kadyrov-says-he-will-not-hide-intention-to-invade-poland-anymore

[font size="4"]Scorecard: [/font]

Tourism: B
Culture: B
Political Spectrum: C
Liberal Appeal: C-

Overall: C-

Change from 2017: Poland is probably a good place to avoid right now, especially if Putin does target the country after he’s done with Ukraine. Hopefully they won’t have to use those tanks and rockets.

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

For destination #4 of 6, we’re heading back to Africa and specifically South Africa! Cue up some Toto for this one!


[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]The Dirty Heads [/font]



Folks my next guest has a great new album out called Midnight Control. You can see them at the Cali Vibes festival in Long Beach on Feb. 19th. Playing their song “Island Glow”, give it up for the Dirty Heads!

Thank you Philadelphia! This was fun! Go Eagles! We’re heading to Boston next week. See you next week!

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