Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-8: I Wanna Be Woke With Somebody Edition

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Last edited Mon Jun 12, 2023, 02:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-8: I Wanna Be Woke With Somebody Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yoooooooooo! What’s up Miami? How are you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Hey look, I’m not going to get arrested for making fun of Ron DeSantis, am I? Because that guy is a fucking nutjob and we’re ready to unload tonight! You know we make fun of Florida a lot on this show, but you know what? We love Florida. After all, Ron DeSantis is giving me plenty of material for the next several years! Oh don’t worry, we will get to him once we get started with our program. Also by the way, we told you on Mastodon that our source for all the wacky clips we bring you – Right Wing Watch – is back! And to celebrate, we’re going to be sprinkling in some of our patented (patent pending) Clips Without Context! First off, congratulations to Japan for winning the World Baseball Classic. And as an Angels fan, how cool was it to see Shohei Ohtani face off against Mike Trout for the final out? That was utterly surreal! And I’m sure it was for them too. Do we have time for the thing? Of course we do. So Broadway’s got a disgusting problem on its’ hands. And it’s mainly happening at the Shubert Theater – a favorite Broadway venue of New York’s elite and traveling celebrities. Currently they’re running the musical version of Some Like It Hot. Well, two celebrities happened to be in attendance – Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. The problem that the Shubert Theater is having? They have a serial pooper on the loose. That’s right – some guy pooped in the middle of the aisle during the performance. Now, the official policy here at the Top 10 is that we believe poop belongs in the toilet. This of course caused the right wing conspiracy world to go into overdrive, and we may have expand on this in next week’s Conspiracy Corner. But yeah that happened… hey stop that guy!!! Security!!! Whew. OK that’s enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first John Oliver is back and he delves into the subject of Timeshares, which are about as hard to get rid of as bad weeds and unwanted house guests:

Where do we begin this week? Well if I could sum up the entire week in question in one word, that word would be “woke”. It has dominated the news this week. So as such, our number one idiot this week is of course Ron DeSantis (1). Yes, the governor of Florida has been going off the deep end lately and we’re going to dispel some of his nuttier actions lately! And speaking of woke, in the second slot this week, we got to talk about how conservatives (2) don’t know what the word woke means, they just know that because Tucker Carlson said it, it makes it the most dangerous thing on earth. In the number 3 slot this week, is that former president’s hidey hole on the internet, Truth Social (3). Yes, the social media of choice for MAGA insurrectionists is under investigation by the DOJ for being a money laundering front for Russian oligarchs! Shocker, I know! In the number 4 slot this week is the SVB Bank Collapse (4) and guess what Fox News and other conservatives are blaming for the collapse, despite that it's an archetype product of conservative design? Wokism. That’s right. Sigh, this is why we can’t have nice things, people! And speaking of not being able to have nice things, in our segment on exponentially increasing corporate greed, Late Stage Capitalism (5), we have to talk about the feud between Robert Smith of the legendary 90s band The Cure, and Ticketmaster. Because Ticketmaster once again, reminds us how evil of a company it is and how much it is likely to fuck up your ticket sales! 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 we have to talk about the 7 Mountains theory of Christian dominionism, and it’s back in the news this week, and it’s becoming self-aware, and that’s going to pose a challenge for anyone who dares to attempt to run against the cult in bright red states! In the number 7 slot this week, after a series of insane mishaps, we are profiling Tennessee Lt. Governor Randy McNally (Q – Batshit) in a new edition of This Fucking Guy (7). In the number 8 slot this week we have a new edition of Conspiracy Corner (8) and this week, we have to ask the question “Is My Pillow Going Broke?”. Short answer: yes. But between Steve Bannon’s right hand being arrested and My Pillow begging for cash, conspiracy theorists are going to have to find a new outlet to spew their bile and garbage. In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week is a new People Are Dumb (9) and as usual, whenever we visit the Sunshine State, we have to do an all Florida edition! Because Florida never stops bringing the crazy! Finally this week, it’s time for Stupidest State 2023 (10)! This week it’s Round 1 Week 2 and it’s a battle for Batshit Conference supremacy as #1 Florida takes on rivals #2 Kentucky! Meanwhile, in the Family Values Conference, it’s a fight between red hot #3 Utah against fan favorite #4 Oklahoma! We are live from the T-Mobile Arena in fabulous Las Vegas for all the exciting action! Plus to close things out, we have legendary heavy metal supergroup The Winery Dogs joining us! Buy their new album III or you’re no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Ron DeSantis
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Hey everyone here’s one of our Clips Without Context!

Well so much for separation of church and state! I mean come on really. These guys are batshit crazy. I mean are they putting something in the holy water there? Just asking. Now onto our regularly scheduled programming!

Folks, we’re here in the Sunshine State and we can’t help but wonder just how fucking evil Ron DeSantis is going to get. You know he’s out on his multi-state conservative echo chamber book tour, for his new book, which ironically is titled “The Courage To Be Free”, but his policies are promoting everything but, you know, actual freedom. In the last few weeks, we saw his hostile takeover of Central Florida’s New College, and Reedy Creek, the governing body that oversees development of the land including and surrounding Disney World. Which begs the question “how far is he going to go?”. And my answer to you, ladies and gentlemen, is that there’s no limit to how far he’s going to go in his quest to bring Americans the full fascist authoritarian experience. To start with, this is one of the many truly evil bills that are being proposed in regards to America’s transgender community. And it’s going to get worse, so much worse.

Ron DeSantis requested the information of trans students who sought care at Florida's public universities. Now students are planning a statewide walkout.

Students across Florida are planning a statewide walkout after Gov. Ron DeSantis requested all public universities comply in delivering data from student health services on transgender students who sought gender-affirming care at the institutions.

DeSantis asked to see a breakdown of the medical data of students who received gender-affirming care from public entities. This includes anyone in the general public who sought gender-affirming care at the hospitals located at these public universities. In addition, he wants their ages and the dates they received gender-affirming care. The deadline to submit those records was February 10.

Insider has confirmed that University of Florida, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, Florida A&M University, Florida International University, and the University of North Florida have complied with the request, but has yet to hear back from the rest.

Students at these universities are now planning rallies for next week along with the statewide walkout on February 23. Ben Braver, a junior at the University of South Florida and the outreach officer for the school's College Democrats chapter, is leading the initiative, known as the Stand for Freedom Florida Walkout.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/ron-desantis-requested-the-information-of-trans-students-who-sought-care-at-florida-s-public-universities-now-students-are-planning-a-statewide-walkout/ar-AA17zjrQ

Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Oh and by the way, that’s not even the worst thing he’s done this week. You know how we’re constantly railing on internet conspiracy theorists on this program? We do so for a good reason. That reason is that we should be united and fighting against the real bad guy who’s trying to take over the world – Vladimir Putin, and his illegal and immoral invasion and occupation of Ukraine. Well, conservative conspiracy theorists are attempting to “please disperse” their way out of helping by siding with Russia and painting Ukraine as the country of Nazis and terrorists. Yup. Sigh.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has sharply broken with Republicans who are determined to defend Ukraine against Russia’s invasion, saying in a statement made public on Monday night that protecting the European nation’s borders is not a vital U.S. interest and that policymakers should instead focus attention at home.

The statement from Mr. DeSantis, who is seen as an all but declared presidential candidate for the 2024 campaign, puts him in line with the front-runner for the G.O.P. nomination, former President Donald J. Trump.

The venue Mr. DeSantis chose for his statement on a major foreign policy question revealed almost as much as the substance of the statement itself. The statement was broadcast on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” on Fox News. It was in response to a questionnaire that the host, Mr. Carlson, sent last week to all major prospective Republican presidential candidates, and is tantamount to an acknowledgment by Mr. DeSantis that a candidacy is in the offing.

On Mr. Carlson’s show, Mr. DeSantis separated himself from Republicans who say the problem with Mr. Biden’s Ukraine policy is that he’s not doing enough. Mr. DeSantis made clear he thinks Mr. Biden is doing too much, without a clearly defined objective, and taking actions that risk provoking war between the U.S. and Russia.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/13/us/politics/ron-desantis-ukraine-tucker-carlson.html

You know that old saying about how a broken clock is right twice a day? Well, MAGA conservatives don’t have that clock. In fact, if you root for the MAGA people at this point, it would be like playing Super Mario Brothers, except in this version, you want Bowser to kill Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach after Mario rescues the princess. That’s fucked up. They never have the right answer to any subject, and Ron DeSantis is one of those people. But of course, conservatives are currently eating their own and well, Desantis’ insane anti-“woke” crusade would ultimately be the end of them.

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed the Florida legislature to join his crusade against “wokeness” in public schools, First Amendment experts warned that like many of the anti-“critical race theory” laws around the country, the bills were written so broadly that they could be reasonably interpreted as de facto prohibition on anything other than specifically state-sanctioned speech.

Even critics of “wokeness” have argued that prohibitions on “divisive concepts” and definitions of “truth” are subjective, vague, and destined to sweep up far more content than was originally intended.

And wouldn’t you know it, now that schools across Florida are removing innocuous books because they bump up against certain “divisive” interpretations of gender, sexuality, and racism that could conceivably run afoul of Florida law—DeSantis is crying, “Hoax!”

The governor and his gaggle of sycophantic right-wing media influencers insist the book bans were only meant to go after the “porn” in books like Gender Queer or the “racism” in books like How to Be an Antiracist—and that most of the hundreds of other books facing state censorship were mistakenly included in the purge, or deliberately removed by educators to make DeSantis look bad.

Team DeSantis wants to have it both ways. They deny book bans are even happening, but the erstwhile small government, free marketplace of ideas-supporting conservatives are also openly contemptuous of the free inquiry and open debate trappings of liberal democracy. Better to ban the “bad” ideas than debate them, defeat them, or teach them in a larger context. (But don’t call it a ban, which they contend in the face of all evidence is a “hoax.”)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/ron-desantis-anti-free-speech-crusade-would-cancel-fox-news

So you know what? Fuck it, let them fight. Because while they’re fighting with each other over who’s the most woke, the competent adults in charge will ultimately prevail. Because while hate is more popular than ever, it’s actually losing popularity. But make no mistake that this is a man who is even more bloodthirsty than Donald Trump is, was, or could ever be. And his wars on education and private enterprise would be that much worse if he were elected president. It would be like China or North Korea with some religious totalitarianism thrown in the mix. We’re heading into uncharted territory here.

Let’s review some of what has happened on his watch with the help of a rubber-stamp Republican state legislature.

The Parental Rights in Education Act, better known as “don’t say gay”, prevents teachers from talking about gender identity and sexual orientation in some elementary-school grades.

The so-called Stop Woke Act restricts how race is discussed in Florida’s schools, colleges and even private workplaces.

Another law pulled a slew of books from public school libraries while they are reviewed for their supposed suitability. (There are no limits to the craziness: after one parent’s complaint, many high schools yanked The Bluest Eye, the literary masterpiece by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.)

There’s more, including on the healthcare front. Florida’s medical boards now bar transgender youth from gender-affirming medical care such as hormone therapy. State law bans most abortions beyond 15-weeks gestation; a new bill would tighten that to only six weeks.

more...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/10/ron-desantis-florida-governor-media-coverage-rightwing-agenda

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[font size="8"]Conservative Anti-Woke Authors
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We’re 3 months into the year 2023. If this year could be summed up in one word, it would be simply “woke”. I swear to the highest of high gods that I have heard this word spoken or seen it typed about 8,342,545,252,101 times. And that’s a conservative estimate by the way. It’s everywhere, and like a bad weed, the more times you try to kill it, the more it grows back. Hell at this point, I’m surprised there haven’t been whole songs written about it. Like… how about “I Wanna Be Woke With Somebody”. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Come on, we can’t besmirch the late, great Whitney Houston like that! But what’s really scary about this whole anti-“woke” thing that’s been going on in far right states like Oklahoma and South Dakota and Florida, is that nobody really knows what the fuck it is. That’s what happens when you hate watch a heavily one sided propaganda network 24 hours a day like Fox News, it scrambles your brain. So if people like Ron DeSantis are writing this shit into law and are trying to run for president, could you at least explain what the fuck is going on?

Gray, a left-leaning commentator and former Bernie Sanders adviser, argued that there is indeed a recent movement which posits there’s a “cultural cache that’s emerged of hierarchies of oppression” within the education system. At the same time, Gray said she’s seen “frustration” with that language across the political spectrum, and wondered how Mandel sees this solely as “a war” being waged by the left on conservatives.

“Because framing it that way when I think this is a broad concern that a lot of folks have a problem does also recreate this kind of victim paradigm, where you have people saying we're being under attack by the left instead of kind of coming together and trying to resolve what I think is a broadly understood phenomenon.” the Rising host added.

While saying she hoped that “parents of all political stripes” would pick up her book, Mandel claimed that “this is sort of a woke reimagining that is very, very, far-left.” Additionally, she asserted that “only seven percent of Americans consider themselves very liberal, and probably fewer of them consider themselves woke.” Gray, however, wasn’t going to just leave it there.

“What does that mean to you? Would you mind defining woke?” Gray pressed. “It’s come up a couple of times. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.??
https://www.thedailybeast.com/conservative-author-bethany-mandel-freezes-up-when-pressed-to-define-woke

Seriously, right? Like if you’re going to write an entire fucking book on the subject of “woke”, at least tell us what the fuck you’re talking about. The conservative spin cycle has been working on overdrive lately, and they’ll literally spin, twist, and distort anything to suit their sick, twisted agenda. This latest thing with everything being “woke” is no exception. And this wasn’t even a thing until last year because Fox News was mad that they lost their nightly Batphone to the Trump White House. Well, this whole thing gets weirder as you can possibly imagine.

In 2023, the word "woke" seems to be at the top of conservatives' minds.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely 2024 presidential contender, has declared that his state is "where woke goes to die." Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana has floated the idea of an "anti-woke" caucus in the House. And a Department of Labor rule pertaining to socially-conscious investment decisions, derided by the right as "woke," has teed up what will be the first veto of Joe Biden's presidency.

But at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) — a yearly confab where the Republican Party's most die-hard activists and political hangers-on hear from conservative influencers and politicians — the precise definition of the ubiquitous word remains elusive.

-snip-

"That's tough. Let me think on it. Give me like two minutes to come up with something good," said Johnny McEntee, the CEO of a right-wing dating app that explicitly declares that "other dating apps have gone woke."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/we-asked-cpac-attendees-what-they-think-woke-means-their-answers-were-all-over-the-place/ar-AA18cwQP

Seriously! They couldn’t define what the word “woke” meant at CPAC! And come on, this term is popular with the young and hip crowd. And because kids are watching the same networks that their parents do, kids are naturally going to object to their parents using the term “woke”. Hey come on mom and dad, that’s our word for making fun of you! And of course when everyone uses that word, you know it stops being cool. But let’s face it, we all know that in certain context, the word “woke” can have a certain derogatory definition, and well, it’s the same tactic that the Nazis used.

To attend the Conservative Political Action Conference is to find oneself on the front lines of the war against woke.

During her speech on Friday, 2024 hopeful Nikki Haley deemed “wokeness” a “virus more dangerous than any pandemic.” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued Americans ought not to be governed by “deeply weird, nauseously woke people who hate George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Seuss, and Mr. Potato Head.” Ron DeSantis, grand poobah of the anti-woke, wasn’t there, but Moms for Liberty, the DeSantis-championing “parents’ rights” group, was, its members milling outside the main hall in navy “STOP WOKE” T-shirts.

To the young Republicans in attendance, the vernacular feels a bit cringe. “We don’t really use ‘woke’ as our term,” says Evan Masse, a student at the Community College of Rhode Island. Chris Johnson, the managing director of Young Conservatives for Carbon Dividends, likened its use to how an out-of-touch uncle might search for the words to describe a nephew at the Thanksgiving table. “I think a lot of older folks use it if they don’t really know what they’re referring to,” he says. “It’s a catchall colloquialism.”

Several young conservatives I spoke with at CPAC echoed some version of that criticism of party elders. Some worry that going so hard on “woke” — a term now used almost entirely derogatorily by Republican detractors — will turn off upcoming generations of voters already disinclined to support the GOP. Others simply said it had lost its meaning, as many once-favored slang terms do, when the septuagenarians in Congress started punctuating their Fox News hits with it. This next generation of GOP activists nevertheless support the principles behind the “woke” wars — the market basket of education- and gender-related policies being passed in red states across the country. They just really wish the Olds would stop saying “woke.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/cpac-young-republicans-culture-wars-nikki-haley-marjorie-taylor-greene-woke-1234690875/

Yeah maybe that’s how we get this whole “owning the libs” nonsense to stop. The parents should get in on it. But the parents probably watch Fox News too, so there’s that. But this whole exercise is among the latest in the conservative world of weaponized propaganda. Yeah they throw the word “woke” around a lot. And like most things that they are doing, it’s going to get worse. So much worse. But we also know that this is also an exercise in conservatives not knowing exactly what the fuck they are talking about. But we all know what they’re talking about – they just won’t say the quiet part out loud.

The conservative writer Bethany Mandel, a co-author of a new book attacking “wokeness” as “a new version of leftism that is aimed at your child,” recently froze up on a cable news program when asked by an interviewer how she defines woke, the term her book is about.

On the one hand, any of us with a public-facing job could have a similar moment of disassociation on live television. On the other hand, the moment and the debate it sparked revealed something important. Much of the utility of woke as a political epithet is tied to its ambiguity; it often allows its users to condemn something without making the grounds of their objection uncomfortably explicit.

A few years ago, I wrote, “Woke is a nebulous term stolen from Black American English, repurposed by conservatives as an epithet to express opposition to forms of egalitarianism they find ridiculous or distasteful.” This is what people mean when they refer to “woke banks” or “woke capital,” when they complain that the new Lord of the Rings series or the new Little Mermaid is “woke” because it includes Black actors, or when they argue for a “great unwokening” that would roll back civil-rights laws. Part of the utility of the term is that it can displace the criticism onto white liberals who are insincere about their egalitarianism, rather than appearing to be an attack on egalitarianism itself. In fact, woke has become so popular as a political epithet that providing an exhaustive list of definitions would be difficult. It is a slippery enough term that you can use it to sound like you are criticizing behavior most people think is silly, even if you are really referring to things most people think of as good or necessary.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/bethany-mandel-woke-interview-definition/673454/

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[font size="8"]Truth Social
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Here's another one of our Clips Without Context!

Yeah these are the people I think of when I think of charisma! Come for the suave, stay for the white supremacist conspiracy theories! Back to our regularly scheduled program!

So anyone remember from way back in the early days of the Top 10, when the whole Russian probe was going on, that we used to joke about not talking about Russia if you’re under investigation for possibly colluding with Russia? Well, how can anyone possibly be shocked at the news this week that Trump’s Truth Social is a Russian money laundering haven? I can honestly say that I’m not! But as we’re waiting for news of Trump’s possible arrest in the Stormy Daniels case (and don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of material saved for next week!), this news got absolutely buried in the avalanche of stories coming out of Mar-A-Shithole. But while everyone is paying attention to whether or not Trump will be arrested this week for using campaign contributions to pay out Stormy Daniels, people need to be paying more attention to what’s going on at some of his other businesses!

Citing anonymous sources, the Guardian reports federal prosecutors in New York expanded their criminal probe into Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Trump’s Truth Social platform, at the end of last year to scrutinize the $8 million in payments.

The payments were reportedly made in two installments, with $2 million being paid to the company in December 2021—when the Guardian notes it was on the “brink of collapse” after its planned merger with DWAC got delayed—and another $8 million was paid two months later.

The payments came from Paxum Bank, which is registered in Dominica, and ES Family Trust, and the Guardian reports Paxum Bank is partly owned by Anton Postolnikov, an apparent relation of Aleksandr Smirnov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who worked for Putin’s government until 2017 and now runs the Russian-controlled maritime company Rosmorport.

Investigators were reportedly tipped off about the payments in October 2022 by whistleblower Will Wilkerson, a former executive at Trump Media, who told the Guardian the payments initially “caused alarm” at Trump Media and executives considered returning the money but decided not to, in part because they couldn’t afford to lose it.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/03/15/trumps-media-company-reportedly-under-federal-investigation-for-money-laundering-linked-to-russia/?sh=1b57f30968a1

Yes, that’s what they want you to think! I mean it’s truly crazy to think how much the GOP just doesn’t give a fuck about this sort of thing. Here we have a megalomaniacal totalitarian dictator in the Kremlin, who’s fond of weaponizing social media in order to destabilize entire nations, so there will be nobody to stop his illegal wars, and nobody seems to care! People are too busy being distracted by the shiny objects on Fox News and Facebook in order to realize what’s really going on. But the bottom line is that Trump is a career criminal and he probably won’t stop until he’s caught.

Federal prosecutors in New York involved in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s social media company last year started examining whether it violated money laundering statutes in connection with the acceptance of $8m with suspected Russian ties, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The company – Trump Media, which owns Trump’s Truth Social platform – initially came under criminal investigation over its preparations for a potential merger with a blank check company called Digital World (DWAC) that was also the subject of an earlier investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Towards the end of last year, federal prosecutors started examining two loans totaling $8m wired to Trump Media, through the Caribbean, from two obscure entities that both appear to be controlled in part by the relation of an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the sources said.

The expanded nature of the criminal investigation, which has not been previously reported, threatens to delay the completion of the merger between Trump Media and DWAC, which would provide the company and Truth Social with up to $1.3bn in capital, in addition to a stock market listing.

...the money was never returned, (co-founder turned whistleblower) Will Wilkerson said, in part because losing $8m out of the roughly $12m cash that Trump Media had in its accounts at that time would have placed significant stress on its financial situation.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/15/trump-media-investigated-possible-money-laundering

Yeah that’s pretty much Putin’s plan for Europe. But make no mistake that since the vulture capitalist disaster that is Elon Musk’s Twitter, the Russian trolls have been forced to retreat to the even darker corners of the internet in order to ignite the violent lunatics that populate it. Truth Social just happens to be one of those sites. Which is honestly not surprising if you’ve been following the MAGA clan as long as we have. So does this mean that they’re guilty of Russian collusion by association? It’s no secret that Vladimir Putin has been weaponizing social media for as long as he has, but this is the least shocking news in a while.

Russian trolls thriving on right-wing apps like Gab, Parler, and Truth Social, study finds

Some of Russia’s most notorious propagandists, largely blocked on Twitter and Facebook, have resurrected on under-moderated social media apps designed for conservatives, according to new research from Stanford University.

A report published Tuesday by the Stanford Internet Observatory and the social media analytics firm Graphika indicates that some of the same people tied to Russia’s Internet Research Agency are active on the four major platforms launched in recent years to target those who deem mainstream social media companies too liberal: Gab, Gettr, Parler, and former President Donald Trump’s service, Truth Social.

Some of the most effective content from the Russia-tied accounts came by mimicking fan pages for Kid Rock, the rock-rap persona of 51-year-old Robert James Richie, whose career found a second life as a high-profile supporter of former President Donald Trump.

In an emailed statement, Gettr CEO Jason Miller said the company “takes a robust and proactive approach to moderation.” Emails to Gab’s address for press inquiries bounced back. Parler and Truth Social didn’t respond to a request for comment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/blacklisted-russian-propagandists-thrive-wing-235939600.html

I mean how can anyone possibly by shocked by this? Well I mean those of us who aren’t brainwashed cult members. And speaking of the brainwashed cult, don’t ever, ever think for a minute that Russia is the bad guys, or that Fox News is a full blown Russian propaganda outlet. Oh no! The real threat, my friends, is us! At least according to that orange guy who we inexplicably called president for 4 insane years of our lives. Yeah that’s right, he’s literally pulling a page straight out of Hitler’s playbook and using it against us. I mean come on, does he really think we’re that stupid? Well, at least his people are. But nice attempt at a Jedi Mind Trick anyways.

The Putin wing of the GOP is in the minority. A new poll from Gallup shows diminishing support for Russia in the U.S., dropping from 15% holding a favorable view to 9%. And 68% in the U.S. view Ukraine favorably.

Well, yeah. Of course. As it happens, aggressively invading a country while bombing hospitals and maternity rooms while raping women and children isn't popular. Oh, and Russia has kidnapped countless numbers of Ukrainian children, too.

But if you're Donald Trump, Russia is super cool and not a threat. And his Vladykins is an alpha male!

The former President is having another Helsinki moment. Trump was slammed in 2018 after he stood next to Putin, and a reporter asked him if he believed U.S. intelligence agencies or the Russian President when it came to the allegations of meddling in the elections.

"President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be," he replied.
https://crooksandliars.com/2023/03/donald-trump-americans-are-real-threat-not

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[font size="8"]SVB Bank Collapse
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Look here, MAGAs. I’ve heard the word “woke” so many times in the last year and a half that I’m about ready to throw my monitor out the window, OK? And not everything is part of your sick, twisted conspiracy theory agenda, OK? Actually the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank might be, but that’s only because it’s your own damn fault! You know how we got to this point? It’s forty years of ridiculous conservative anti-regulatory policies that got us here. We have these things called rules and regulations to prevent what happened to Silicon Valley Bank from happening. But since conservatives don’t believe in the rule of law, these things happen. But it’s like a broken record with this crowd. Or maybe it’s like 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, except there’s just one degree and Kevin Bacon is a woke Marxist who is out to destroy America. Well, yeah it’s kind of like that.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank was a “Lehman moment” for the technology industry, according to a top Goldman Sachs deal maker.

Cliff Marriott, co-head of technology, media and telecoms in Europe for the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs, said that the March 10 shutdown of SVB was “pretty stressful,” as the lender’s clientele scrambled to figure out how they would make payroll.

“That first weekend was a little bit like the Lehman moment for technology and it was really more operational for those companies,” Marriott told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal in an interview at a Goldman Sachs tech symposium that aired Tuesday on “Squawk Box Europe.”

“They needed access to capital. A lot of their balances were on SVB. And, secondly, SVB was propelling and making a lot of their payments for payroll to pay their employees.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/21/svb-collapse-was-lehman-moment-for-technology-goldman-sachs.html

Yeah so that’s really what happened. But if you watch Fox News, and let’s face it, if you’re here, you don’t watch Fox News unless you get paid to do so. And I mean come on, it would be an interesting job to monitor all the crap that gets said on Fox News 24 hours a day because they certainly don’t care about all the crazy shit they say. And of course, god forbid that someone have an independent thought that goes against the Rupert Murdoch Christofascist MAGA cult. Can’t have anyone speaking out against a cult. Otherwise you get shit like this.

A popular conservative talking point in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank failure is that the financial institution went down because it was too “woke.”

Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky claimed that the bank was too focused on policies around diversity and its consideration of environmental and social factors in investments — known as ESG.

But on Thursday, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., had a twist on this talking point, saying Silicon Valley Bank was actually “too woke to fail.”

The Missouri Republican told NBC News that the bank received the federal government’s help because it invested in climate change solutions backed by powerful people.

"'Too woke to fail' says that they're really politically connected and pursuing an agenda, which I’m sure that they put forward to people here, who see that — 'This is important, we've invested all this stuff, you can't let this go under!' My view is they should be treated like everybody else," Hawley said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/josh-hawley-labels-silicon-valley-bank-woke-fail-rcna75351

OMFG. Tell me you watch Tucker Carlson without telling me you watch Tucker Carlson, Josh. The right wing is getting weirder and nuttier with every single passing day. They’ve gone so far off the deep end that they’re currently circulating the bottom of the Marianus Trench! For my geography challenged friends, that’s pretty fucking low! But they could still go lower. At least they’re giving America’s professional fact checkers plenty of material to work with for the next several years! But yeah of course Fox News has to go there and they have to ruin everything. And they have to twist and distort every single thing that happens in the news to their twisted agenda. It’s like a broken record with this crowd.

GOP Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, slammed Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB, as "one of the most woke banks" in the US.

"We see now coming out they were one of the most woke banks in their quest for the ESG-type policy and investing," Comer said, referring to environmental, social, and governance policies.

"This could be a trend and there are consequences for bad Democrat policy," the Kentucky congressman continued on Sunday's episode of Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."

Comer did not explain which environmental sustainability-linked investments would have caused SVB's failure, or how they would have done so.

The word "woke" points to an awareness of how some systems can be unjust, but it has also been used by right-wing figures as a catch-all term for progressive policies.
https://www.businessinsider.com/james-comer-woke-silicon-valley-bank-2023-3

Gee, why did I have to guess that this interview was being conducted on Fox News? Like does the GOP really do anything else but go on Fox News and conspiracy theory talk shows and complain? Oh who am I kidding, of course they don’t. I mean god forbid that someone has an independent thought in that party, and they do love some group speak. That is one thing we know! But in case your MAGA friends and neighbors start spewing these talking points, you know where they got them from. Seriously, they don’t call it an echo chamber for nothing, you know! But here’s what really happened.

President Biden called for Congress to step in and enact tougher banking regulations on Monday morning after U.S. regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank on Friday.

Small businesses, many of them tech startups, rushed to withdraw their funds all at once, sparking panic at other regional or specialized banks. Signature Bank failed on Sunday night. Shares of First Republic Bank stock fell 60% on Monday.

In a speech from the White House on Monday, the President sought to assuage fears of a broader economic collapse, and kicked off a debate over ways to prevent banks from failing in the future.

"I'm going to ask Congress and the banking regulators to strengthen the rules for banks to make it less likely this kind of bank failure would happen again," Biden said.
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/politics/missouri-illinois-representatives-silicon-valley-bank-reaction/63-aae2dca1-cf09-488d-a9ee-f65377b0edf2

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[font size="8"]Robert Smith Vs Ticketmaster
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Here’s another one of our Clips Without Context!

Flat Earthers truly are a stupid bunch. So the sun is round, Mars is round, Saturn is round, but somehow the Earth is flat? GTFO. Back to our regularly scheduled program!

Gather around ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s history time! Come on, don’t be shy! If you’ve been trying to buy concert tickets in the post COVID-19 era, you know what a truly colossal pain in the ass it is to buy tickets to any major show these days. Like, case in point. In 2017, I paid $30 for floor seats to see Blink 182 and The Used at the Forum. In the post COVID era, tickets to see the Blink 182 reunion tour with Tom DeLonge, you know how much floor seats to their June 19th show at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles were? $322 minimum, and that’s before you start tacking on the bullshit fees. Well, the history part of all of this is that back in the early 90s, Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam became famous for being the band to take on the corporate ticket making and taking machines. Well, compare ticket buying in the 90s to ticket buying in the post COVID era. It seems like people forgot how to handle large, highly in demand events. Well, the latest band to take on the machine is a little band that I like to call The Cure. And take notes, bot sellers and bot accounts, Robert Smith isn’t having any of your nonsense.

The Cure’s Robert Smith recently convinced Ticketmaster to refund ‘unduly high’ fees to their fans – could this be the start of artists holding the ticket-selling giant to account?

At present, you’d be hard-pressed to find a music fan with any positive thoughts about Ticketmaster. While from two very different musical camps, The Cure’s Robert Smith and his goth army seem ready to join the Swifties in a battle against the ticketing giant as another fan base burned by pricing.

As tickets went on sale for the band’s US tour, prices were nearly doubled thanks to hefty service fees, facility charges and a processing fee. Despite purposefully setting their prices at an accessible limit with tickets as low as $20 and opting out of dynamic prices during apparent conversations with the platform, Cure fans still got shafted. In a series of tweets to fans, Smith has said he is “as sickened as you all are” and has actually convinced Ticketmaster to refund fans their fees. But the fact this happened at all when The Cure supposedly did everything ‘right’, following recent horror stories from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s ticket sales, begs the question: what can be done about the Ticketmaster problem?

The carnage of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour pre-sale is still in the news, where Ticketmaster claimed bots hacked the verified fan presale, causing ticket prices to hike into the tens of thousands from the original price range of $49 to $499 for tickets. Despite the insane prices, the platform somehow managed to sell every ticket to the tour, causing the general pre-sale to be cancelled after 2.4 million tickets were sold. This was all a result of ‘dynamic pricing’, but what does that even mean?
https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/58476/1/could-artists-solve-the-problem-with-ticketmaster-robert-smith-taylor-swift

Look, Mr. Smith, I know you’re British and not from America. Well, in America, we completely deregulated capitalism. America has become a haven for billionaires, and we’ll eventually have trillionaires. Meanwhile, the average person (meaning you and me) are the ones who get screwed while the billionaires make off with all of our hard earned dollars. Late Stage Capitalism is a virus and it’s spreading very rapidly. Few have tried to take on Ticketmaster, and many have failed. But that’s what happens when the bad guys win and everyone else fails.

The days of crowding the box office are long gone, and now is the era of the online queue where Ticketmaster reigns supreme.

Frustrated Taylor Swift fans and even members of Congress have taken on the ticketing giant, arguing the company manipulated sales to make a profit.

Now, another internationally-renowned musician has joined the choir – Robert Smith, frontman of The Cure.

Smith blasted Ticketmaster on Twitter on Thursday, saying the fees charged for the band’s upcoming tour were “sickening.”

“I’ve been a fan since I was 12 years old,” said Chris Mirabueno, a Seattle musician and longtime fan of The Cure. “It was never a struggle like this.??
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/frustrated-seattle-concertgoers-calling-out-ticketmaster-over-high-ticket-fees-cure-tour/CHPXH6OEJFHVDGLE4KOHST6Q6A/

Seriously, Taylor Swift fans and The Cure fans are currently doing that same Spiderman routine, like yeah we both have that in common now! But whether it’s The Cure, or Taylor Swift, or Depeche Mode, or Blink 182, or whatever your favorite band happens to be, many are just waking up and saying “fuck Ticketmaster”. There's so many bot and 3rd party sellers that are unaccounted for, that it may take years and even decades to sort out this mess. Robert Smith may be one of the more successful artists who have been able to take on the Machine, but there’s a long way to go.

Whether or not Robert Smith intended it, the Cure’s ticketing on-sale this week became a worthy case study for anyone to learn about all the efforts, and the complications, that come with making the ticketing marketplace a more equitable experience for fans.

Readying its first U.S. tour in seven years, the English goth rockers had established what many live music experts would say were the ideal measures for a fan-centered experience to keep tickets at face value even as demand is higher than supply. The Cure likely left some money on the table when they declined to use dynamic pricing that now often accompanies high-profile arena shows, and they kept tickets non-transferable to make it harder for scalpers to sell tickets at hefty premiums.

Despite those efforts, by the time the sale started on Wednesday, Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation were once again facing the vitriol of fans, this time over fees that in some cases amounted to more than the price of the ticket itself, alongside the more common tech issues that hold buyers in line for long periods of time or prevent them from purchasing tickets after selecting them.

But for two days, Smith had been vocal about the band’s intent to ensure fans only bought tickets at face value, calling out everything from scalpers to platinum tickets to the fees themselves, and by Thursday evening, he’d announced a rare move in which customers would get a small refund from Ticketmaster over the fees, stating that the company “agreed the fees were unduly high.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-cure-ticketmaster-fees-scalpers-1234698953/

Yeah that may be the solution, start your own literal spite store! I mean come on, everyone knows that Netflix was started by a guy who refused to pay Blockbuster’s late fees. Maybe Robert Smith is the guy who needs to start a spite store to combat Ticketmaster! Well, it may be a bit more difficult than that because this was just a small victory in the battle against never ending corporate greed. The war is far from over. And this will keep happening again and again. And again. And those of us who want to see our favorite bands will have to bend over and say “thank you sir, may I have another?”.

It’s hard to blame musicians for how Ticketmaster treats its customers.

The ticketing giant can do almost anything it pleases in the current marketplace. There’s no sizable competitor, and even grunge rockers like Pearl Jam tried and failed, to provide a suitable alternative.

Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 and, according to CNBC, “now control an estimated 70% of the ticketing and live event venues market.”

The problem is so entrenched that the U.S. Government is looking into Ticketmaster following its tech meltdown tied to Taylor Swift’s current tour. The Justice Department is also investigating the company over potential antitrust matters.

Both movements share rare bipartisan support.

That makes what happened in music this week all the more shocking. The Cure just won a small but symbolic victory against the ticketing behemoth.
https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/the-cure-bruce-springsteen-ticketmaster/

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[font size="8"]Holy Shit
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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, as I have said many times on this program now that we are currently living in some very dark times. And it’s all mainly thanks to the radical Christian right, who seem bent on going full fascist authoritarian in the years to come. Previously we’ve spoken about a little theory you may have heard of called “7 Mountains” (see: Idiots #7-7 and Idiots #11-5 ). Well, for those of you who don’t know what 7 Mountains is, it’s a theory that’s rooted in Christian white supremacy extremism that says that they must control the 7 areas of influence: family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business, and government. So basically everything. And also they forget that our founding fathers wrote into our Bill Of Rights, the idea of separation of church and state . But lately it seems that the Christian right is going full in on the systematic destruction of these rights. No, we don’t want to live in a fascist country OK? And we certainly don’t want to live under those who worship 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! And we definitely don’t need extremists like this calling the shots now, do we?

In 2022, MAGA pastor Leon Benjamin was the Republican nominee in the race for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District, where he challenged Democratic incumbent Rep. Donald McEachin. Benjamin made Christian nationalism and Seven Mountains Dominionism central components of his campaign, declaring that “the role of the church is to anoint the politicians” and proclaiming that “God’s about to send people like me” to Congress.

Despite the fact that Benjamin was positive that he had been chosen by God to fill that seat, he was thoroughly routed by McEachin. But only weeks after the election, McEachin suddenly passed away, setting the stage for a special election on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023 to fill the vacant seat in Congress. In response, Benjamin relaunched his campaign and again was chosen as the Republican nominee.

And once again, Benjamin is making Christian nationalism and Seven Mountains Dominionism central components of his campaign.

Seven Mountains Dominionism is a right-wing theology that teaches that far-right Christians are to “do whatever is necessary” to take control of the seven main “mountains” that shape our culture—education, government, media, business, arts and entertainment, family, and religion—in order to bring every aspect of law and society into alignment with their right-wing “biblical worldview.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/leon-benjamin-wants-to-bring-seven-mountains-dominionism-to-congress/

Look, you know I hate to keep repeating myself, but I have often said that when you play with extremist nationalism, you might as well burn the place down. These people are evil. And you wonder why they’re called a cult? Well I will tell you why, my fair congregation. Is because it’s all connected. Far right psychopaths, insane Congressional representatives, even crazier local representatives. Like what would these insane lunatics do if social media didn’t give them a megaphone? Well I will tell you I would be much happier knowing a lot of these people didn’t walk among us!

Stew Peters, a far-right broadcaster who has built a network featuring white nationalists and Christian nationalists, has long used his nightly program, speeches, and social media accounts to spread wild conspiracy theories, bigotry, and calls for violence.

Despite his well-documented extremism, Peters has regularly managed to get Republican leaders, elected officials, and candidates for office to appear on his program. On Monday night, Peters scored his latest interview with a Republican member of Congress when far-right Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona stopped by for a nearly 30-minute interview.

In 2022, Peters and Gosar both addressed the white nationalist America First Political Action Conference, organized by racist, misogynistic, antisemitic, America-hating, Christian fascist Nick Fuentes, whom Gosar has repeatedly promoted and defended.

During Monday’s interview, Peters praised Gosar for being one of the few Republicans in Congress who are willing to appear on his program to which Gosar responded that he “loves” being on Peters’ show “because people deserve to know” the truth.

“We hope that you will come back,” Peters later told Gosar. “We appreciate you being here.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/rep-paul-gosar-cozies-up-to-far-right-conspiracy-theorist-stew-peters/

No it’s not rock and roll. It’s hate and white nationalism, but rock and roll it definitely is not! Because these are people who don’t like any kind of fun, and god forbid that you dare speak out against the cult or the absolute insanity that they are building up to. But you should also be aware of what your local church’s after hours activities are. Because if they invite TPUSA over for an event, you know they are not on the side of good. They are on the side of the unholy Dark One, and they should immediately lose their tax exempt status.

Right-wing commentator and youth organizer Charlie Kirk continues to host TPUSA Faith’s monthly Freedom Night in America events at churches around the nation where he consistently spreads historically baseless claims about the Constitution and the founding of this country.

On Wednesday night, Kirk and right-wing radio host Dennis Prager of Prager U appeared at Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, where the duo misrepresented American history in order to promote the Christian nationalist agenda. During his remarks, Prager assured the largely Christian audience that despite their theological differences, they were all on the same side because it is his calling as a Jew to bring Christians “to God, and to the Ten Commandments, and the Bible.”

“I have a love affair with America’s Christians,” Prager said. “It’s reciprocated. I feel very loved by America’s Christians.”

Kirk kicked things off by asking Prager, who is Jewish and who has produced several books and lectures on the Torah, to explain just how vital the Bible was to the founding of this nation.
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/charlie-kirk-keeps-spreading-baseless/

Yes, Charlie, like we need your opinion on everything! And there’s nothing that worshippers of the Dark One won’t do to twist and mold everything into their disgusting agenda. 7 Mountains and Christian Nationalist ideals are very dangerous. And if you’re playing with them, you might as well be playing with fire and burn the whole damn place to the fiery ground! But you can’t keep a good troll down, and no matter how many times you tell them “no”, they will still continue to defy your bidding, because that’s apparently GAWD’s rule now, to be the bigger loud mouthed jackass than the next person! Which of course I refer to our old buddy Sean Feucht and his nonsense is coming back, and that’s something we didn’t ask for!

Church musician turned political activist Sean Feucht has teamed up with the religious arm of right-wing youth organizing group Turning Point USA for a two-year, 50-state road trip designed to bring Feucht’s mix of worship and hard-right politics to every state capitol. After a kickoff event attended by seven members of Congress in the U.S. Capitol rotunda March 9, the “Kingdom to the Capitol” tour headed south with a swing through Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jackson, Mississippi, and Montgomery, Alabama this past weekend. In Alabama, Chief Justice Tom Parker, a longtime ally of the disgraced former Chief Justice Roy Moore, participated and invited Feucht to pray in the Supreme Court chamber.

Rep. Lauren Boebert was among the members of Congress who joined a small crowd in the U.S. Capitol to sing along with Feucht as he strummed his guitar. Afterwards, Feucht tweeted, “The Capitol became an Altar…There is ONE KING over America…”

Feucht, a missionary musician associated with controversial Northern California megachurch Bethel, ran for Congress in 2020 in what he said was obedience to a call from God. Despite playing up a Dec. 2019 visit to the Oval Office where he prayed over former President Donald Trump, Feucht did not make it through the primary, but the failed run hooked him on politics, and he formed a political group called Hold the Line in 2020. Feucht ramped up his activism in opposition to public health restrictions on church gatherings that were designed to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Since then, Feucht has held “Let Us Worship” rallies on the National Mall featuring appearances by Sen. Josh Hawley, New Apostolic Reformation leader Ché Ahn, and dominionist Lou Engle, as well as video remarks from Trump. Feucht also started a podcast; when Boebert was a guest, Feucht praised her as a “gangster for Jesus.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/sean-feucht-and-tpusa-faith-launch-50-state-kingdom-to-the-capitol-tour/

No, Sean, we don’t need your bullshit nonsense back. And we definitely don’t need any 7 Mountains government officials participating in this crap either. This is why we can’t have nice things, people! I can’t even. Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]This Fucking Guy: Randy McNally
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Well look! It’s another one of our Clips Without Context!

Trying and failing. Hell, I think Brain from Pinky And The Brain has a more successful rate of trying to take over the world at this point. No one wants religious totalitarianism. We want freedom. Back to our regularly scheduled program!



This week’s This Fucking Guy is Tennessee Lt. Governor Randy McNally. Look, after the last week, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to have our elected officials on social media 24 hours a day. Because you get shit like what McNally has done. And Ronnie Jackson. And Majrorie Taylor Greene. And Paul Gosar. And Lauren Boebert. And Sarah Sanders. And the list goes on. But this latest stunt may top them all. In the six plus years we’ve been doing this. As the right wing, in bright red states like Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama are working to ban drag shows and police human thought that wasn’t manufactured by Rupert Murdoch, the right wing is in fact pulling out all of the stops. Yes, phrasing. Thank you, sir. But this latest story also begs the question – what if the religious right stopped making sex so taboo in society? We’ve pointed out in the past how much the radical religious right likes to get their freak on when the cameras aren’t rolling, and they’re the ones who are the most vocal and most obnoxious about it. So that may be the solution to all of our problems. Well, maybe not all, but a large majority of them. But in the Bible Belt, we do know that sex reigns supreme!

Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, who has been supportive of his state's new laws cracking down on drag shows, has made a habit of liking and sending compliments to what Daily Beast reporter Will Sommer describes as a "raunchy" gay Instagram account.

The Instagram account in question belongs to 20-year-old Franklyn McClur, a resident of Knoxville, Tennessee who frequently posts suggestive photos of himself wearing nothing but underwear.

In response to one photo that showed a closeup of McClur's rear end, for example, McNally enthusiastically wrote, "You can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!"

McNally responded to another photo of McClur with his underwear barely covering up his genitals with a simple heart emoji.

https://www.rawstory.com/tennessee-republican-randy-mcnally/

You know here’s a thing about social media that needs to be said to the MAGAs. A little rule, if you will for this segment. People can see what you like! See this tab on Twitter? It’s called “likes” and it can show what your like history is. So if you’re an elected official, maybe you shouldn’t use your government business account to post personal information! If you like gay porn or a video featuring white supremacists and neo nazis, people can see that shit! And it’s made even worse if you’re an elected representative. Social media companies are private enterprises too, and they have rules, you know.

Prior to a Senate floor session Monday, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said the public criticizing his social media was a fair assessment.

McNally said he will be taking a break from social media. This comes after McNally's habits came to light of him commenting on nearly nude photos of a 20-year-old gay man in East Tennessee. Some called McNally a hypocrite in the aftermath for his stances on LGBTQ policies that activists have deemed hurtful, and the story reached national fervor as it attracted the likes of Saturday Night Live and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

"Criticism of my social media activity is fair, and I have taken it to heart," McNally said. "All I ask is that people look at the facts and my actual record. Again, conservative and “anti-gay” are not synonymous. Not generally and certainly not for me. While I realize it may not happen immediately, I am hopeful this examination of my social media activity will conclude and we can soon all get back to ensuring Tennessee remains the best state in the union to live, work and raise a family.”

NewsChannel 5 Investigates interviewed McNally, asking if McNally had a relationship with the man. The lieutenant governor said he did not.

Read more: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/lt-gov-randy-mcnally-criticism-of-my-social-media-is-fair

Yeah I thought that I had been there and done that when it came to the internet, and I had no idea what a “thirst trap” was. Apparently a “thirst trap” is when you post a revealing photo of yourself that’s meant to illicit likes. But this definitely paints the picture of a Christian right troll – because as we’ve often said, we know that the radical Christian right likes to get their freak on when the cameras aren’t rolling. Netflix made an entire documentary about this (see: Idiots #13-15 ). And of course with the social media era, there’s no such thing as an off switch.

The lieutenant governor’s office is defending frequent posting by Randy McNally on the racy Instagram pictures of a young gay man over the last three years even though he voted for anti-LGBTQ legislation recently.

The story was initially reported by the Tennessee Holler and followed up by several TV stations.

McNally, 79, often posted on the Instagram of a young man who identifies as gay nicknamed Franklyn Superstar, according to a review of his account.

McNally posted hearts and fire emojis in comments on photos of the nearly nude man and in one such case told the young man, using a nickname, “Finn, you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!”

The man has spoken publicly to multiple media outlets.

McNally spokesman Adam Kleinheider confirmed Wednesday the posts are McNally’s and said he plans to keep making the social media posts.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217713853

So here’s the thing, my fellow social media trolls – if you’re going to like something frequently that may be considered controversial, maybe don’t use your official government account to like those things. I mean, yeah we know about Marjorie Greene’s insanity, it’s very well documented. But another thing we have learned about the right – you can’t keep a good social media troll down. Like they can’t stand it not to be without their toys, much like the spoiled kid who cries to his mom in Target because he’s not getting a new toy until she breaks down and buys him one. Don’t worry though, he’ll be back.

After getting caught repeatedly leaving comments on a 20-year-old twink’s thirst traps, Tennessee lieutenant governor Randy McNally, a Republican, announced Monday that he is pausing all social media activity.

“I apologize for any embarrassment my postings have caused my family, friends and colleagues,” McNally said in a statement. “For this reason, I will be pausing my social media activity in order to reflect and receive more guidance on the use of social media.”

Progressive local news outlet Tennessee Holler broke the news of McNally’s internet history last week, sharing screenshots of flirty Instagram comments that the politician left on gay social media influencer Franklyn McClure’s (a.k.a. Franklyn Superstar) Instagram posts. McNally has left comments featuring crying emojis, heart emojis, and flame emojis on McClure’s nearly-nude photos.

“Finn, you can turn a rainy day into rainbows and sunshine!” he wrote on one such post.

https://www.them.us/story/randy-mcnally-tennessee-social-media

That’s Tennessee Lt. Governor, professional shit poster, and semi-professional “thirst trapper” Randy McNally, this week’s:






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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner
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Welcome back to our segment that attempts to explain the unexplainable, Conspiracy Corner! Of course conspiracies exist when people simply don’t want to read the article past the headlines and just flat out make shit up. We of course are coming to you live from our underground doomsday shelter from deep within 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! Ah there we go! This week, my friends, in one of the darkest corners of the internet is Mike Lindell’s social media site, Frank Speech TV.com, which is one of the most batshit crazy things on the internet. Of course there’s where you will find Steve Bannon and Marjorie Three Names barfing their brains on whatever crazy thing they can spout that comes out of their brain. You know what they say, come for the cheap pillows, stay for the religious conspiracy theory indoctrination! But last week – Mr. Creepy Pillow Man himself revealed that he may have well, overspent in his efforts to combat the non-existent election fraud.

MyPillow Founder and CEO Mike Lindell claims the company has had to borrow almost $10 million to keep the lights on. The MyPillow guy has been embroiled in a series of lawsuits brought by voting machine manufacturers who allege Lindell defamed them by spreading conspiracies regarding their role in the 2020 election.

“The machine companies continue to sue us for billions of dollars, and we had to borrow almost $10 million at MyPillow,” Lindell told far-right radio host and former Trump advisor Steve Bannon on Wednesday.

In January, Lindell claimed that the sleep sundry company had lost more than $100 million in retail in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The claim has been contradicted by Dominion Voting Systems, one of the companies suing Lindell, who alleges the CEO has used his claims of electoral fraud to boost sales.

But while Lindell claims to be hemorrhaging cash, the company continues to liberally distribute discount codes for its sponsorship program. An investigation by the progressive watchdog Media Matters found that MyPillow was helping fund at least 17 QAnon-affiliated shows and personalities by offering them a cut of sales made through their sales code.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/mypillow-ceo-broke-defending-election-fraud-claims-1234697700/

Yeah so here’s the thing, my fellow tin foil hatters – if you spend a shit ton of money chasing something that turns out to be a lie, maybe, I don’t know, stop chasing that thing! Thank you! But of course, one thing we’ve learned following the MAGA party as long as we have is that it’s never their fault. It’s always someone else’s fault. Or it didn’t happen. Or it’s a false flag. Or their wallet is in their other pants. But the bottom line is that My Pillow has lost, to use technical accounting terminology, a metric fuck ton of money. But once again, grifters gotta grift!

MyPillow founder Mike Lindell is one of three candidates running for the most powerful position in the Republican party -- the Chair of the Republican National Committee. The election is next week.

This comes as Lindell is facing a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit over his promotion of the Big Lie -- as well as the FBI's seizure of his cell phone.

Lindell says the reason he can win is because Republicans are so divided -- and, as he points out, he has a lot of supporters.

Dominion Voting Systems is suing him for defamation over his claims about their voting machines and the Big Lie.

Dominion's lawsuit claims it's all been good for his business and that "Lindell has increased MyPillow sales by 30-40% and continues duping people into redirecting their election-lie outrage into pillow purchases." Lindell says that is not true.
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/mike-lindell-says-mypillow-lost-100-million/

Good question! Not entirely sure, but I’m sure that the janky Amazon probably sells something of that nature. But as we have said, the recent news surrounding the embattled Minnesotan drug addicted pillow salesman, is that Frank Speech TV is also home to Steve Bannon’s show, called, ironically, Steve Bannon’s War Room. Which is basically just Bannon spending hours on Zoom chats with his guests just barfing their brains on whatever subject comes to mind. Now I don’t mean to put two and two together, but our mutual acquaintance may be in some big trouble in the foreseeable future.

Exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, an associate of former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, was arrested by federal authorities in New York on Wednesday morning, accused of orchestrating a $1 billion fraud scheme, prosecutors announced.

Guo, charged in court papers as Ho Wan Kwok and who also goes by Miles Guo and Miles Kwok, was charged with 12 counts including wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud and money laundering in an indictment unsealed Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a news release.

The same day the news of his arrest came to light, Guo’s Manhattan apartment in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel on Fifth Avenue was found on fire, a source familiar with the matter said. An FBI spokesperson said agents were executing law enforcement activity at Guo’s apartment when the blaze broke out, after he was already in custody.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that Guo had led a complex conspiracy to defraud thousands of his online followers out of more than $1 billion.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chinese-billionaire-associate-steve-bannon-arrested-1-billion-fraud-co-rcna75124

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! That is some next level crazy there! Well, so how does the right wing do it? How do they fall for scammers and con artists and hucksters and grifters every single time? You would think at some point they’d wise up and realize that they’ve been had. But no, that’s what happens when their favorite president loves to court the poorly educated. So the bad guys bilk people out of millions and potentially billions of dollars. So that’s one thing that Steve Bannon and Mike Lindell have in common – they’re all about that sweet, sweet grifting money.

Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, appeared in court Tuesday with a new crop of lawyers who promptly decried the "explosion" of evidence disclosures from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and asked for additional time to review them.

"Now we have 32 terabytes of discovery," defense attorney Harlan Protass said. "We, like prior counsel, need time to get our hands around that discovery before we are able to set a motion schedule."

Bannon, who appeared in a black jacket over a black untucked button down, is charged with defrauding donors to We Build the Wall, an online fundraising mechanism for former President Trump's signature domestic project.

Bannon hired new lawyers after his prior counsel, David Schoen and John Mitchell, withdrew, citing "a complete breakdown in communication" with their client. The new attorneys sought a 90-day delay.

"All of us at this table are experienced at doing complicated cases," defense attorney John F. Carman said. "We have to, in some general sense, get our arms around what we're talking about."
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/judge-steve-bannon-trial-dragging/story?id=97532626

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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. The fact that we’re in the Sunshine State means that we must do an all Florida edition! You know before we go any further, you know we always give Florida a hard time, but that’s only because so many batshit crazy off the rails stories happen here that it’s almost insane itself. And we do a lot of stupid criminal stories, but not every People Are Dumb story is a stupid criminal story. But I do want to preface by saying that a good People Are Dumb story is someone who leads a freeway chase with a truck full of loaded chickens, because that’s just animal endangerment. Well, I want to start with this story out of West Palm Beach, and this is the perfect reason why People Are Dumb exists. So guy walking naked down the main street is enough to be crazy, right? Well even weirder when he adds some flat earth nonsense to the mix and some even wilder theories on top of that!

It happened around 9 p.m. on March 8 when an employee who works at Taboo, located in the 200 block of Worth Avenue, told police a naked white male walked past the establishment in front of numerous people.

Upon arrival, an officer located Jason Smith, 44, in the 300-block walking with no clothes on, fully exposing his genitals to the public.

Smith was taken to the Palm Beach Police Department, where he initially refused to provide his name and date of birth. He told officers he did not have a social security number or an ID card from any state.

He also said he resided on a different earth; then later said he lived in West Palm Beach.

Smith was subsequently charged with one count of indecent exposure, resisting an officer without violence and disorderly conduct.
https://www.wpbf.com/article/lance-reddick-s-wife-shares-emotional-tribute/43356360

Next up – OK this is another great People Are Dumb story. Like you know how we always say that at the end of the day you really want to hear a story about how someone goes crazy and destroys a McDonalds because they ran out of chicken nuggets? Well this story out of Tarpon Springs is kind of like that. You know if you work at a coffee shop that’s called “We Spy Coffee & More”, you should probably, at some point, expect to get spied on. I mean come on, it’s in the name, right? But if there’s one thing no business should ever, ever do is put cameras in the bathroom. I mean come on, have we learned nothing from Chuck Berry?

An employee of “We Spy Coffee & More,” located on the gorgeous Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, has been arrested after a camera was found in the men’s restroom.

On Saturday, Officers from the Tarpon Springs Police Department arrested Spyridon Voulgarakis, 31, on charges of Battery and Video Voyeurism.,

The victim was a customer of “We Spy Coffee & More,” located at 505 Dodecanese Boulevard.

While using the male restroom at the business, the victim discovered he was being video recorded by a camera placed underneath the sink.

The victim confronted the Voulgarakis, who is an employee of “We Spy Coffee & More.”
https://www.tampafp.com/florida-sponge-docks-coffee-shop-we-spy-coffee-more-employee-arrested-over-spying-in-mens-bathroom/

Good question! Next up – this story comes straight out of Broward County – where a lot of our People Are Dumb Florida stories are based out of, it seems. I mean come on, are people putting something in the water supply in Broward County that makes people turn crazy? And seriously – what does one do with 70 bottles of lotion unless they were using it for a frat party like in Old School? Well, this happened and if you’re going to steal that much, you probably shouldn’t use a gallon size trash bag to carry out your stolen merchandise. Use a box, come on, people!

In a case of lotion larceny gone awry, a man and his accomplice were caught red-handed – or rather, red-skinned – after stealing over 70 bottles of lotion from a local Walgreens.

On March 3, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported lotion theft in progress at the Walgreens located at 6401 West Commerical Boulevard.

According to the report, the manager on duty at Walgreens recognized the alleged thief, later identified as Anthony Nigel Sealey, 34, of Miramar, from a prior incident and immediately alerted the police.

The report says Sealey was observed by employees and on surveillance footage entering the store and filling a garbage bag with several bottles of various brands of lotions from the cosmetic section of the store before exiting the store past all points of sale without attempting to pay.
https://tamaractalk.com/lotion-looters-land-in-jail-43631

EWWWWWWWWW!!!! No wait. Yeah, Ew. Next up – speaking of drugs, one thing you shouldn’t ever do if you if you work for the Drug Enforcement Agency is get high on your own supply. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… right? Love me some Scarface! Rule #1: Don’t get high on your own supply. Rule #2: Never underestimate the OTHER guy’s greed! But yeah sometimes the cops are the criminals themselves and when that happens, it almost never ends well! Made even worse is that this guy was named the Federal Highway Patrol Trooper of The Year! I mean come on, people! This is a classic People Are Dumb story!

A former Florida Highway Patrol Trooper of the Year who was assigned to a Drug Enforcement Agency task force is accused of buying drugs from a confidential source, according to a criminal complaint obtained by First Coast News.

According to the complaint, the FBI found probable cause to arrest Joshua Earrey on Friday for being an "unlawful user or addict of controlled substances" in possession of a firearm.

Earrey has worked for FHP for approximately 22 years and has been assigned to the DEA Task Force since Sept. 2020. In 2009, he was honored by the Florida Cabinet as trooper of the year.

Attempts to reach Earrey by phone were unsuccessful. Messages left for his attorney were not immediately returned.

The criminal complaint says a confidential informant told the FBI that Earrey had been addicted to Oxycodone since 2021. The man he was buying the drugs from is a confidential source for the DEA, the document says.
https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/crime/florida-highway-patrol-drug-enforcement-agency-gun-possession-drug-possession/77-828d41ee-0d1c-4adc-b903-29d9b00726bb

Finally this week – this is a classic Florida story that really has everything. Most people associate getting a DUI with cars. But in reality you can get a DUI for literally any moving vehicle. Doesn’t matter if it’s a car, a bicycle, a motorcycle, airplane, tractor, or in this case a boat. And this story comes out of the city of Cape Coral. And it’s got literally everything that makes a classic People Are Dumb story, and also a classic Florida Man story. And if you do a ven diagram between the two, you will find they have a lot more in common than you might think!

A man was arrested Thursday night after police say he caused a scene in Cape Coral canals while drunk and fled on his boat after striking several docks.

According to the Cape Croal Police Department, Kurt Snowden, 51, was arrested after officers went to the 2100 block of Southwest 45th Terrace. A call had come in regarding a boating hit-and-run around 9:15 p.m.

The call notes said a man later identified as Snowden was operating a boat inside the canals while highly drunk, causing a scene. He played music loudly, screamed, disturbed the peace and struck several docks in the area with his boat.

Witnesses at the scene gave similar accounts of what happened. They led officers to where Snowden was still operating the boat. Officers ordered him to dock his boat, which he refused to do, steering the boat toward his home.
https://winknews.com/2023/03/17/boater-accused-of-dui-chaos-in-cape-coral-canals-evading-police/

That’s it this week for:

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[font size="8"]Stupidest State 2023: Single Elimination Round Week 2
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Let’s do one final clip this week!

Yeah so is buying anything that Jim Bakker sells you. I mean who needs 13 gallons of industrial grade mac and cheese? Seriously, marketing to doomsday preppers has got to be a racket. SMH. Now it’s time for Stupidest State!

16 states will enter and only one state will become the new Top 10 Conservative Idiots Stupidest State!



Folks, Stupidest State 2023 Round 1 Week 1 is officially in the books! Last week, it was a nail biter as Kansas edged out Nevada to take the lead in the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference. While over in the Gun Nut Conference, Montana shot their way to the top against Idaho to advance to the Elite 8! This week it’s going to be a good one, as Kentucky battles red hot Florida for Batshit Conference supremacy, while over in the Family Values Conference, it’s #3 Utah is taking on #4 Oklahoma for a shot to advance to the Elite 8! We’re live at the home of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the fabulous T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip for all the exciting action! Let’s go to the floor, shall we?

[font size="4"]Batshit Conference: Florida Vs. Kentucky [/font]

[font size="2"]Florida [/font]


Everyone knows the Sunshine State. They are the home of many sports teams such as the Tampa Bay Lighting and Rays, and the Miami Marlins and Heat. And universities, namely the Florida Gators and the Miami Hurricanes, and some of the best beaches and beautiful women in the world. It’s also home to Donald Trump’s mega mansion Mar-A-Lago and also to the Walt Disney World Resort & Epcot Center, which as you know, is currently under control of the state. That’s right – Florida’s governor is Ron DeSantis, who has been in the news an awful lot lately. And none of it is particularly flattering for him, but you know what they say – even the worst news gets your name in the news!

A passage in Gov. Ron DeSantis' new book that talks about his upbringing and values is attracting attention, with some mocking it as pandering to voters in two key Midwestern states.

"I was geographically raised in Tampa Bay," DeSantis wrote. "but culturally my upbringing reflected the working-class communities in western Pennsylvania and northeast Ohio — from weekly church attendance to the expectation that one would earn his keep. This made me God-fearing, hard-working and America-loving."

"I was geographically raised in Orlando with a cultural perspective that allows me to easily detect BS when I see it," tweeted state Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat.

"I was geographically raised in Plurality-of-the-Caucuses, Iowa but culturally my upbringing reflected the working-class communities in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada," tweeted Democratic operative Max Steele, referencing other important early states on the primary election calendar.
https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/20/ron-desantis-florida-governor-book-passage-on-midwest-upbringing-mocked/70029710007/

Is there anything these creeps won’t just flat out lie about? They lie about everything. One thing that DeSantis is not lying about is that he’s a bloodthirsty tyrant who’s out for absolute power. In the last few weeks we’ve seen him take over Disney’s governing body Reedy Creek and Central Florida’s New College, and he’s not stopping there! Oh no, my friends! In fact he’s plotting to take over the world and he wants America’s help to do so! So what does he want with his own private army? Well… this is something that could go incredibly wrong very quickly!

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is requesting $98 million in funding this year to boost the Florida State Guard, which one critic has branded "a private army", according to local network News 7.

DeSantis revived the Florida State Guard (which was originally created for home defense during World War II) in 2022, and is now seeking to expand it from 400 soldiers to 1,500, saying it is needed to help with emergency response measures and to back up the Florida National Guard.

Unlike the Florida National Guard, which can be called up by the President, the State Guard cannot..

However, the move proved controversial with Florida Democrats, with state Senator Annette Taddeo accusing DeSantis of establishing a "vigilante militia" under his command. Representative Charlie Crist went even further, comparing the plan to a "handpicked secret police." ...

https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-100m-private-florida-army-raises-questions-1786877

[font size="2"]Kentucky [/font]


Kentucky. What is there to say about the Blue Grass State that hasn’t been said already. Kentucky is home to some absolutely beautiful scenery. It’s also home to bourbon country, of course Blue Grass music, and the Kentucky Derby. Its’ signature food is the Kentucky Hot Brown, which is basically a turkey sandwich covered in mornay sauce and topped with bacon, tomato, and more cheese. Yeah it’s a heart attack on bread. Kentucky is also home to Louisville and University Of Kentucky – two schools who won’t be making it to this year’s Sweet 16. But the state that keeps electing Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell also has it’s own share of problems.

A group opposing a ballot question to eliminate abortion as a constitutionally protected right has amassed more than $3 million ahead of the high-stakes referendum that will likely foretell the future of abortion access in Kentucky.

Abortion-rights group Protect Kentucky Access had raised more than $3 million by October 12, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday evening. More than $1.25 million of PKA’s money was raised in the last 30 days. The group urging a “no” vote on Constitutional Amendment No. 2, has raised roughly five-times as much as Yes for Life.

PKA’s earnings in 2022 have been buttressed by hefty donations from national groups, including Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union. Combined in 2022, those organizations fronted more than $1 million.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/ky-abortion-amendment-opponents-raises-153804931.html

Yeah there’s some dark money involved in this country right now. Time to figure out where it’s coming from! Louisville is also home to another religious business that thinks that it’s above the law. That’s right, just like Colorado’s Christian cake maker, Kentucky has its’ own problem with a religious business that thinks that it’s above the law. Really which begs the question – is there only one wedding photographer in the entire state of Kentucky? Seriously, stop patronizing these people!

A federal district court has ruled in favor of a Louisville photographer who filed a lawsuit against the city in 2019, alleging its Fairness Ordinance violated her constitutional rights as a Christian because it could force her to take on same-sex wedding assignments.

In a 44-page ruling Tuesday from U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton, the court granted a request by Chelsey Nelson, owner of Chelsey Nelson Photography, for an injunction against the city's ordinance, saying the city could not use the law to compel her to photograph same-sex weddings or "otherwise express messages inconsistent with Nelson's beliefs," and could not prohibit her from advertising on her website that she only photographs opposite-sex ceremonies.

Her lawsuit had claimed through the Fairness Ordinance, the city was forcing her to promote and participate in ceremonies that she opposed for religious reasons. And the judge agreed, saying in the ruling that while she had never been asked to photograph a same-sex wedding, "state law protects her photography and associated blogging from the burdens the City seeks to impose."
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2022/08/31/federal-court-rules-chelsey-nelson-photography-vs-louisville-fairness-ordinance/65465495007/

[font size="2"]And The Winner Is: [/font]

Come on, was there any doubt about this one? Florida utterly routs Kentucky to advance to the next round. In fact they’re so far ahead of Kentucky that their players are performing Harlem Globetrotters style stunts. And that’s all she wrote! Final score – 88 – 63. Florida will advance, Kentucky goes home!

[font size="4"]Family Values Conference: Utah Vs. Oklahoma [/font]

[font size="4"]Utah [/font]


This is the first time Utah is in this tournament and for good reason! They narrowly edged out fan favorite Indiana for a spot in this year’s tournament! The Beehive State is home to some gorgeous scenery and some of the best skiing in the entire country. It’s also home to the godfather of all small town film festivals - Park City Film Festival – a place where stars go to be seen and new films go to get sold and applauded for 25 minutes after the film ends. I mean, seriously, how long can people clap? Well what else is Utah the home of? Utah is also the home of the Mormon Church, and also it’s famously the home of polygamy! That’s right – you can have 7 wives, but that’s not exactly what one would call “legal”.

Family and followers of Samuel Bateman gather around as he calls from police custody after he was arrested in September in Arizona. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

The self-proclaimed prophet claimed it was “impressions of Heavenly Father’s will” that spurred him to force his followers, including children, to engage in sexual acts, according to new allegations from the FBI. ...Samuel Rappylee Bateman, a leader of an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, allegedly counted his own daughter and other juvenile girls among his more than 20 “wives.” Many of them were younger than 15, an FBI agent wrote in a court document filed Friday.

Bateman’s alleged foray into polygamy began in 2019, when he was married to one woman and had a daughter who was roughly 14. While in the car one day, the daughter later told investigators, Bateman said that he felt like she was his wife and that he would make her have a child if his feelings turned out to be right.

When Bateman told his actual wife, she moved out of their home with their daughter and got a restraining order against him, according to the court filing, previously reported by the Salt Lake Tribune. But Bateman allegedly continued to tell his daughter that he wanted to kiss and touch her. From then on, the FBI agent wrote, he accumulated wives.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/12/05/arizona-polygamist-wives/

Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Utah is also the home of some good ol’ fashioned right wing authoritarianism! That’s right – the right wing battle with trans conspiracy theories is coming to a state near you! And the hate is only going to get worse. But this certainly isn’t an isolated incident – there’s this type of humiliation happening all over the country. If you want to stop the problem, stop the source – Fox News. But this type of thing is fucking evil and it’s not going away. Does everything have to be a conspiracy with these fucking morons? Probably.

When a girl left her competitors in the dust at a state-level school sports competition in Utah last year, not everyone was impressed with her inspiring athleticism. The parents of the girls who came in second and third couldn’t accept the winner had simply “outclassed” their daughters—so they called her gender into question, sparking a secret investigation that delved into the winner’s personal history.

At a meeting of Utah Legislature’s Education Interim Committee on Wednesday, a school sports official recounted the grim probe, and added that it wasn’t an isolated incident. David Spatafore, the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) legislative representative, told the committee that his organization had received multiple complaints in which parents claimed “that female athlete doesn’t look feminine enough.”

Spatafore would not disclose the sport or the school associated with the case where the winner had outclassed her competitors last year. But he did reveal that the UHSAA asked the student’s school to investigate by looking back through her school-enrollment records. “The school went back to kindergarten,” Spatafore said, “And she’d always been a female.”

Neither the pupil nor her family were told about the investigation. “We didn’t get to the parents or the student simply because if all of the questions about eligibility were answered by the school or the feeder system schools, there was no reason to make it a personal situation with a family or that athlete,” Spatafore explained, according to The Desert News.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/sore-loser-utah-parents-spark-investigation-to-see-if-winning-girl-is-transgender?ref=home

[font size="4"]Oklahoma [/font]


The Sooner State is back for another go round in the tournament! The Sooner State is home to some of the craziest high school and college football in the entire country with dueling universities Oklahoma and Oklahoma State battling it out for superiority every year. But in terms of family values, Oklahoma’s got it all, no matter what your preferred flavor of batshit crazy conservativism is. Whether it’s racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, the Sooner State has it all! And one of the things that Oklahoma is known for? Prisons! And also racism! So what happens when you combine the two? Well you get a security guard who was using some white supremacists as his own personal army! But hey you know, won’t somebody please think of the children?

An Oklahoma corrections officer is headed to prison after he was caught using white supremacist gangs to go after Black inmates in his own personal hit squad.

The Justice Department reported on Monday afternoon that Matthew Ware of the Kay County Detention Center (KCDC) was sentenced to 46 months, nearly four years, in prison. It's unclear if the prison will be the one where he worked, however.

"This defendant is being held accountable for abusing his position of power and authority to, among other things, facilitate an attack carried out by white supremacists on a Black inmate,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement on the DOJ site. "This sentence handed down reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s actions and ensures accountability for his unlawful conduct. The Justice Department will continue to hold corrections officials accountable, including those in leadership positions, when they willfully violate the constitutional rights of detainees and inmates in their custody and control."

“A jury found that Mr. Ware abused his position of power over the individuals in his custody,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester who serves the Western District of Oklahoma. "Today’s sentence holds him accountable for that conduct. Mr. Ware violated the laws he was sworn to uphold, betrayed the public trust and dishonored the many brave corrections officials who lawfully perform their important work each day. My office remains committed to protecting the civil rights of all Oklahomans, including those in custody."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oklahoma-corrections-officer-imprisoned-for-using-white-supremacist-gang-as-his-own-personal-hit-squad/ar-AA14WPKj?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=ea3af62e786c434ab5417099562645cc

Nah, I’d say if anything they have too much Jesus! But the Family Values Conference is extremely competitive and has been since the horrifying and deliberate overturning of Roe V. Wade last year and the Christian right isn’t stopping there. In fact they’re just getting started. Because the Christian right is currently being controlled by Satan, and they have some utterly satanic laws that are coming down the pike in store for us. Because when you vote with family values in mind, you’re not getting any actual family values. You’re getting shit like this.

A new Oklahoma abortion ban is a futuristic nightmare of government control of women’s bodies, made real. This law, which comes in the wake of the news that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, is one of the most restrictive in the country.

To know how sinister and scary this Oklahoma law really is, consider this: The law bans abortions at the point of “fertilization,” which it defines as “the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum.” Previously, Oklahoma had banned abortions at six weeks—a point when most women do not know they’re pregnant. Now the state has banned abortion at the point when by definition the pregnant person cannot know they are pregnant. The only exceptions to the law are in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the pregnant woman—exceptions that are increasingly rare in abortion legislation. In all other ways, this is a sweeping forced birth law.

“Oklahoma is now the only state in the United States to successfully outlaw abortion while Roe v. Wade still stands,” the Center for Reproductive Rights wrote in a press release. “A coalition of Oklahoma abortion providers and a reproductive justice organization will imminently file a challenge to the ban and seek to block it in court.”
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/details-oklahoma-abortion-ban-horrifying-170000623.html

[font size="2"]And The Winner Is: [/font]

Oh man was this a close one! We’re down to the last minute here… Utah has the ball! For three… it’s good!!!! Oh a foul has been called with 20 seconds left! Shot number one… it’s in! Shot number two… and it’s also good! And that’s all she wrote, folks! Utah sinks Oklahoma in a nail biter, final score 91 – 87! Utah moves on to the Elite 8, Oklahoma goes home!

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

It’s Round 1 Week 3! And it’s a battle for who can go for broke in the Beltway in the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference showdown as #3 Ohio takes on #4 Wisconsin! Meanwhile, it’s a battle of Gun Nut Conference heavyweights as #1 Texas takes on red hot #2 Missouri! We're live at the home of the Phoenix Coyotes, the Talking Stick Resort Arena, in Glendale, Arizona for all the exciting 1st round action! The Elite 8 is shaping up, folks! Be sure to follow top10conidiots @ mstdn.party for updated brackets and stats!


[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]The Winery Dogs[/font]

Folks, my next guest is a legendary heavy metal supergroup. Their latest album is called III. You can see them on tour through May 25th! Playing their song "Xanadu", give it up for the Winery Dogs!

Thank you Miami! This was fun! We’re going to Vancouver, Canada next for our Canadian edition! See you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Miami Improv, Miami, FL
The Winery Dogs Appear Courtesy Of: Three Dog Music, LLC.
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Writing: Top 10 Writing Department
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Initech’s Wardrobe Provided By: JAB Inc.
Wheel Of Corruption By: Studio 1 Stage Props, Burbank, CA
Management: Initech Productions, CCC Management
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo