Top 10 Conservative Idiots #17-2: I Sold My Soul For MAGA Edition

[Top 10 Idiots]

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #17-2: I Sold My Soul For MAGA Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yoooooooooooooooooo!!! What’s up, Montreal? We made it! We are here in French Canada, how cool is this? Well, you might be wondering – “Why did we decide to come to Canada?”, which to you, I answer “why not?”. Well, because we’ve spent so much time touring places like Washington, upstate New York, and Michigan, we’ve got a lot of fans up in Canada, and so we got a lot of requests to come to the Great White North. Well, you may consider that fulfilled! We’re trying to fit in as much of the US and the world as we can before the inevitable eventually happens. So yeah let’s do this, Montreal! Well this is awkward. It seems like every time we leave the country or have a week off, something crazy happens. Like remember in 2020 when we took a week off? Boom, we come back and not just the entire country, but the entire world is completely shut down because of COVID. Now we’re visiting our neighbors in the Great White North, and you know what happens? Joe Biden quits! And because of that, we have to do a lot of retooling, especially for what’s coming the rest of this season. And we’re even going to have to change our graphic for our feature segment Road To The White House! Yeah so we have to do something like this now:



Which – we’re not entirely sure who the nominee will be exactly, but it’s looking more and more like it’s going to be current vice president Kamala Harris, and we’re all 100% on board with that! We’re willing to do whatever it takes to sink Trump and Project 2025 for good! So until it’s official, our new graphic is going to be this:



Yeah so next week we’ll definitely be delving in full on what it means, and our piece on Canada’s MAGA problem will get moved to next week. And now it looks like Harris will be the presumptive nominee so this will be our graphic:



OK, enough of the intro. We have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first – John Oliver is back and he exposes the Fox News lie about migrant crime, and it’s a must watch!:

So where do we begin for our first ever Canadian edition? Well in the number one slot, we have to talk about the biggest story of the year, and probably of the decade – and that’s Joe Biden quitting the presidential election. Yes, it’s totally insane, but we will support our nominee 100%. In the second slot this week is of course that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (2). Yes, there was an attempt on his life. But I don’t need the psychos who’ve been demonizing and weaponizing Rush Limbaugh’s anti-liberal rhetoric for the last 8 years to suddenly start lecturing us about “unity”. Fuck off with that shit. And speaking of unity, at the RNC (3), their calls for for unity lasted… *checks notes* 48 hours. Also, can we talk about Trump’s fucking weird obsession with the movie Silence Of The Lambs? WTF is that about? In the number 4 slot this week, look, we don’t want to talk about it. But we must address the subject – what’s going on with calls for Joe Biden to drop out of the election? He had one bad debate and was probably set up to fail. We will talk about the pros and cons of this, and if it’s even possible at this point. In the number 5 slot this week, we have a new edition of This Fucking Guy (5) and this week we have to talk about yet another right wing dark money billionaire sugar daddy – the Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo and his plans to implement the best judiciary money can buy. Sick. 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 – what’s up with megachurches and their increasing support of the unholy Dark One? Well, get your talking points ready because Spiritual Warfare 2024 is coming and it’s gonna get ugly! In the number 7 slot this week, we’re bringing back our segment “Explaining Jokes To Idiots” (7). And this week, our good friends Jack Black and Kyle Gass – you know them better as the comedy rock duo Tenacious D, are in some very hot water over comments that KG made during his birthday celebration about the Trump attack. But should the D be canceled over this? We’ll look at the pros and cons of this argument! In the number 8 slot this week is of course our weekly venture into the never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner (8) and this week, racist and sexist internet conspiracy theorists are turning the attack on Trump into an attack on DEI policies, but why? It’s totally insane and had nothing to do with what happened! In the number 9 (NEIN!!) slot this week, is a new “I Need A Drink”, and if you think you have seen expensive, elaborate weddings, this couple in India is saying “hold my naan”, and taking things to a whole new level, and it’s every bit as crazy as you can imagine! Finally this week, it’s our look at all things dealing with the 2024 election in “Road To The White House” (10), and in keeping with the Canadian theme of this week’s edition, we recently discovered that Justin Trudeau has a backup plan should the United States break out into a civil war, and let’s just say neither side wants this to happen! Plus to cap things off, we have the legendary Canadian punk band Sum 41 joining us! Buy their new album “Heaven X Hell” or you’re no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Joe Biden Quits
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Holy shit. We got to admit that we were totally blindsided by the news last week that Joe Biden is stepping aside after finishing his term. This may be the biggest story of the year, of the decade, maybe even of the century so far. Like most of us, we were not sure what to feel knowing that the 2024 election was going to be a rematch of 2020. And while most of us seemed like we accepted fate that the Dems may not have the momentum needed to win the 2024 election while the United States slides into the realm of neo-fascism, it seems like this may be not the end, but rather a new beginning of what is going to happen for the Dems' future. The way President Biden handled this was definitely with the grace and class we’ve come to expect from him, and a complete 180 from that other guy. But this last week has been an absolute onslaught of news about who the nominee is going to be and what lies ahead for the Dems. Hell, we’re having trouble just keeping up with all of it. One thing we do know – is that Joe Biden is going out with a bang, and riding into the sunset with an almost completely revitalized and energized party that’s ready to do anything to help current Vice President Kamala Harris sink Trump, Fox, and MAGA hopefully for good! Seriously, we haven’t seen this kind of reenergized momentum since Barack Obama first appeared on the scene way back in 2006.

President Joe Biden on Sunday dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee, bowing to weeks of growing pressure by his own party members to quit his re-election bid against former President Donald Trump.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden wrote in a post on the social media site X.

“And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote.

“I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision,” wrote Biden, whose bombshell decision came after a sharp spike in recent days in the number of congressional Democrats publicly calling for him to step aside for another nominee.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/21/biden-to-drop-out-of-2024-presidential-race.html

Yeah so Joe Biden is out. And you know what? We’re relieved and the way things are going, we have to feel good about what’s coming. The DNC hasn’t even happened yet, and we’re definitely looking forward to it. And it’s such a different time from 2020, isn’t it? I mean in 2020, we were all locked in our homes and we couldn’t go anywhere, and Joe Biden was running a campaign from his couch. And we managed to successfully flush Trump down the drain in 2020. Now, unfortunately, we’re going to have to do it again, and this time, it looks like we might have a chance of succeeding with the momentum gaining behind Harris!

The likely 2024 presidential election campaign between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump begins with no clear leader, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS after President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection.

Trump holds 49% support among registered voters nationwide to Harris’ 46%, a finding within the poll’s margin of sampling error. That’s a closer contest than earlier CNN polling this year had found on the matchup between Biden and Trump.

The survey finds voters widely supportive of both Biden’s decision to step aside and his choice to remain in office through the end of his term. Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters are broadly enthusiastic about Harris and willing to coalesce around her as the new presumptive nominee, even as they remain deeply divided on whether Biden’s Democratic successor should seek to continue his policies or chart a new course.

The poll, conducted online July 22 and 23, surveyed registered voters who had previously participated in CNN surveys in April or June, both of which found Trump leading Biden by 6 points in a head-to-head matchup. Checking back in with the same people means that shifts in preferences are more likely to reflect real changes over time and not just statistical noise.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/24/politics/cnn-poll-kamala-harris-donald-trump/index.html

Yeah look, we may be having our final regular season this year, but like most of us, we were dejected and just hating anything coming out of the news about the election. It seemed like Biden was doing everything wrong, and Trump could do no wrong, as disgusting as that sounds. But before you go and pop the champagne, we’re not out of the woods yet. There’s literally 102 days left until the election and unless something absolutely shocking happens or Fox News attempts to pull the big lie again like they did in 2020, Kamala should be a shoe-in. Of course, Asshole 45 was up to his usual brand of tricks and Fox News is turning up the hate to new levels.

Ever since rioters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the Democratic Party has sought to claim the mantle of democracy, painting Donald Trump and his allies as extremists willing to deny the will of voters to cling to power.

Now, after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and Democrats swiftly aligned behind Vice President Kamala Harris as a replacement, Republicans are trying to flip the argument.

In a series of statements and social media posts, Republicans have argued that Democrats, by pressuring Biden to quit, have “disenfranchised” the 14 million people who voted for him in the party primaries.

The accusation isn’t based on any party rule or supposed legal violation. Instead, it is the Republicans’ latest attempt to muddy the waters on an issue that helped Democrats win key races two years ago. Since Trump’s attempt to overturn his defeat in 2020, which led to the Jan. 6 riot and criminal charges against the former president, Democrats have cast Republicans as a threat to democratic norms.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-tries-flip-script-democracy-113823346.html

Oh they’re not done yet. In fact, the racist attacks on VP Harris are just getting started. You can expect the right wing to use their favorite buzzword “DEI” – the hiring policies of diversity, equity, and inclusion – as a reason why Harris shouldn’t be elected. In fact the right wing have already been floating everything from invoking the 25th amendment to say that Biden is unfit to serve office, to one MAGA asshole already filing articles of impeachment against Harris. Don’t worry, we will get to Harris’ VP pick next week. So get ready for our 47th president – Kamala Harris! Yes, the news is going to be great, and it’s going to be fun watching MAGA squirm!

One of Donald Trump's pollsters is warning the former president’s campaign that support for Vice President Kamala Harris will likely skyrocket in the coming weeks.

In a memo to Trump’s team, pollster Tony Fabrizio warned of a “Harris Honeymoon” among voters. Bolstered by positive media coverage and President Joe Biden's unprecedented decision to pass the torch, Harris’ popularity is likely to show in upcoming polls, Fabrizio said in the memo.

“The coverage will be largely positive and will certainly energize Democrats and some other parts of their coalition at least in the short term,” Fabrizio said. “That means we will start to see public polling — particularly national public polls — where Harris is gaining on or even leading President Trump.”

https://www.salon.com/2024/07/24/pollster-lowers-expectations-warns-the-harris-honeymoon-will-last-a-while/?in_brief=true

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[font size="8"]The Trump Assassination
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OK, in the last 8 years, we’ve seen mass shootings at schools, churches, sporting events, concerts, movie theaters, supermarkets, and more schools. And the response coming from the GOP is literally the same every single time. We need more guns!! All the guns!! Yes, as MAGA prepares to arm teachers in case of an attack… yeah, what could go wrong there? Well, as the events of the Trump rally outside of Milwaukee happened, it gave us here at the Top 10 home offices in Santa Ana quite the conundrum. What happens when the world’s longest running circular firing squad turns into an actual firing squad? Well, we were wondering whether or not we should even broach that subject. But the GOP being the current abusive psychopaths that we are, we totally have to call them out for their stance on “unity” since the incident happened. Because, as you can plainly see, it’s damn near impossible to break bread with people who’ve wanted you dead the last 45 years, and it’s hard to play nice with people who are currently calling for civil war, because their precious Orange Man Baby isn’t their god emperor. Get how that works?

On Sunday afternoon, the day after being targeted by an assassination attempt, Donald Trump used his social media platform to promote a simple message. “UNITE AMERICA!” the former president wrote.

Those who saw this and hoped that the terrifying events in Pennsylvania on Saturday might force a shift in the political climate quickly learned otherwise.

On Monday afternoon, Trump published an angry and conspiratorial message that sounded an awful lot like the sort of content the Republican published before the shooting. Soon after, the former president announced his running mate: Sen. JD Vance, a relentlessly partisan lawmaker who, just two days earlier, blamed President Joe Biden and his campaign team for the gunman who targeted Trump.

Then the Republican National Convention got underway. As a Washington Post report summarized:
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/clear-present-danger-republican-convention-abandons-unity-push-rcna162068

Yeah, MAGA, I’m not sure you quite understand what the concept of “unity” means. Though considering that MAGA wants to do away with the Department Of Education, we’re sure that they don’t understand what a lot of things mean. But after the attack on the MAGA rally, their calls for unity quickly lasted a total of… *checks notes* 48 hours. Yes, it lasted 1 / 10th of one Scaramucci, to use a unit of measurement from back in the Trump era. The republicans are unified, all right. They’re unified on delivering another country to the neo-fascist authoritarian cabal that’s been slowly knocking off once neutral or left-leaning countries like Hungary, Turkey, the Philippines, and Argentina one by one.

Mere moments before former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley pledged her allegiance to MAGA during her Tuesday speech at the Republican National Convention, much of the crowd erupted in boos when she walked on stage, furious at a woman who had, however temporarily, defied their leader by running against him in the presidential primary. Throughout much of her doomed campaign, Haley had harsh words for the man who had given her the United Nations ambassadorship: "unhinged," "diminished," "mentally unfit," and "suicide for our country." But as she stood at the podium Tuesday, she seemed assured the delegates would come around. It was an easy crowd to win over. All she needed to do was extravagantly debase herself before Trump, who sat only a few yards away, eating up her submission.

After surviving a failed assassination attempt in Pennsylvania days before the start of the convention, Trump impulsively declared that "unity" was the watchword of the week. In conversations with delegates in the convention hall, they've dutifully repeated the word "unity," though it's entirely unclear what they mean by it. A unified country? A unified party? A collective agreement that shooting people is bad? An agreement that shooting Republicans is bad? Haley's speech left no doubt how she defines "unity": bending the knee to Trump.
https://www.salon.com/2024/07/18/at-convention-are-unified-by-one-thing-debasing-themselves-for-donald/

Yeah, remember the Black Sabbath greatest hits comp “I Sold My Soul For Rock N’ Roll”? The GOP should use as their convention motto: “I sold my soul for MAGA”!. Yeah it doesn’t have the same ring to it. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! I’ll expect a call from Ozzy’s lawyers shortly. But one thing is for certain – we won’t ever hear the ending of Trump’s shooting at the rally. Hell, there was even a damn song written by MAGA rapper Tom MacDonald about it. Yeah it’s as bad as you think! Though, herein lies the difference between the two parties. We were all horrified by what happened and we will expect that MAGA will try something in the future. MAGA on the other hand… blamed everyone but the actual problem itself.

Even as Mr. Trump made numerous false claims accusing his political opponents of widespread election fraud, he presented the continuing push by some Democrats to replace Mr. Biden on their ticket as an anti-democratic effort.

By contrast, Mr. Trump — who falsely insisted he won the 2020 election and whose effort to overturn it spurred a violent attack on the Capitol that threatened the peaceful transfer of power — presented himself as an almost martyr trying to protect the United States from its downfall. … They keep saying, ‘He’s a threat to democracy,’” Mr. Trump told the crowd of thousands inside the Van Andel Arena. “I’m saying, ‘What the hell did I do with democracy’? Last week, I took a bullet for democracy.”

The line — one of the few additions to a speech that culled from Mr. Trump’s standard rally repertoire — came as Mr. Trump was trying to rebut Democrats’ claims that he was an extremist and distance himself from Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals for a potential second term that would overhaul the federal government.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/20/us/politics/trump-vance-michigan.html

Hey MAGAs, at least you tried and you can’t blame a guy for trying. But in case you are wondering if Trump has literally no shame or dignity whatsoever, guess what? He turned the attempt on his life into another attempt to sell his stupid merchandise. Yeah, I can already hear some of you starting to boo, but just you wait – it gets even more disgusting! Yes, for the low, low price of $299, you can buy a pair of shoes with his face on it just after the shooting took place. And why do people keep calling this image of him iconic? Personally I think it’s revolting. And it’s even more revolting that he turned this into yet another money making opportunity. Seriously, one of his family members would die and Trump’s the kind of slimebag who would sell an NFT of the coffin.

A Trump-owned company is selling limited-edition sneakers depicting former President Trump with blood on his cheek and his hand raised in a fist for $299 a pair.

Why it matters: It's the latest indication that pro-Trump vendors are capitalizing off iconic images of the Republican presidential nominee in the aftermath of Saturday's assassination attempt on him as they push for his election.

The big picture: There are 5,000 pairs of the "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT High-Tops" for sale, according to the product webpage.

Ten pairs of the shoes will be "randomly autographed."
The site urges customers to show their support "and patriotic pride with these exclusive sneakers, capturing a defining moment in history."
https://www.axios.com/2024/07/17/trump-sneakers-shooting-pre-order

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[font size="8"]RNC 2024 highlights
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Yeah, so everyone was thinking that the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at the Wisconsin rally before the RNC was going to be the thing that cemented his White House victory. In fact, Fox News and other right wing sources were quick to point out that this country has a unity problem. To which they are right – but which side is responsible for that? Well, if you saw our edition last week, you know which side is damn well responsible! Oh yeah it’s the side for the last 8 years who’s been belittling our side with vicious name calling, death threats, bullying, lying, and threatening to reduce salaries to zero dollars, or $1 if they’re feeling generous. That’s MAGA. And their calls for unity lasted, exactly… *checks notes* 2 days. But if there is good news to come out of the RNC, it’s that it seems like people are growing increasingly tired of Trump’s authoritarian schtick. In fact, since Trump loves to brag that his favorite “news” network gets more ratings than the other guy’s, let’s check in and see how that is doing – and in fact, as we often say around here, it ain’t good!

Viewer interest in Day 2 of the 2024 Republican National Convention dipped compared to Day 1. All of the news networks saw lower viewership numbers with 14.81 million viewers—down from 18.1 million for the opening day—tuning in across 11 outlets, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. The lack of major star power speeches from within the GOP ranks likely contributed to the drop in viewership.

Speakers on Tuesday included Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Housing & Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson and Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump. Fox News repeated as the most-watched network, averaging 5.357 million total viewers and 830,000 viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo viewers during the primetime window of 8-11 p.m. ET. Compared to Monday night, Fox News was down -13% in total viewers and -19% in the demo.

CNN overtook MSNBC to land in second place in total primetime viewers and held onto its No. 2 position in the demo with 896,000 viewers. It was down in both measured categories by a respective -13% and -25% compared to Day 1. MSNBC finished third in both total viewers and the demo with a respective 804,000 viewers and 98,000 viewers. That translates into sharp day-to-day drops of -44% and -46%, respectively.

https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/rnc-2024-ratings-fox-news-nbc-news/

Thank you Nelson! Of course, most people have grown very tired of what American politics in general has turned into. So it’s understandable that people don’t want to turn into the RNC to see the same shit they already know that Trump is going to say. And it’s the exact reason why we stopped covering his rallies – because we know he says the same stupid shit over and over and over. Not only is Trump morally bankrupt but so are most of his followers, which you can see here wearing these stupid ear bandages in some kind of weird solidarity… yeah that’s right! None are more morally or even physically bankrupt than Rudy Giuliani and My Pillow’s Mike Lindell. Wait, aren’t these guys supposed to be broke as shit? How did this happen?

Rudy Giuliani’s trip to Milwaukee for last week’s Republican National Convention was bankrolled by the media platform started by “My Pillow Guy” Mike Lindell, Giuliani’s lawyer told a bankruptcy court that is scrutinizing the former New York City mayor’s finances.

The letter from Giuliani’s lawyer said that both Giuliani’s flight and hotel were covered by FrankSpeech and included in the submission to the court was a statement signed by Lindell on behalf of the media company confirming it paid for the trip. A CNN reporter saw Giuliani in the first class section of a flight to Milwaukee before the RNC, and Giuliani’s attorney said he wanted to clear up “an unsubstantiated rumor” that the former Donald Trump lawyer paid for the trip himself.

Lindell told CNN on Tuesday that Giuliani is an employee of the media company, but declined to say how much he was being paid for the job, which he said started July 1. The letter comes after a federal judge has struggled to close the proceedings in his bankruptcy case because of a dispute over Giuliani’s ability to pay for the expenses related to the case.

Giuliani owes about $350,000 for a forensic accountant, which the bankruptcy judge is trying to get him to pay or reach a deal to partially pay now. That’s in addition to the approximate $150 million Giuliani owes to creditors, including to two Georgia election workers he defamed after the 2020 election while he was working for Trump. The election workers, mother and daughter Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, are likely to pursue the two properties he owns, in New York City and Palm Beach, Florida, to satisfy a few million dollars of Giuliani’s debt to them.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/23/politics/rudy-giuliani-mike-lindell-travel-rnc/index.html

You know – here’s the thing – if you’re being sued for defamation in the 10 figures category, maybe, you might want to refrain from purchasing expensive items such as private jet travel. Just saying. Where’s this imaginary money coming from? It must be nice to live in an alternate universe. But perhaps the most wild part of the entire convention was that the GOP somehow managed to gain enough delegates that they handed the nomination to Trump and vice president JD Vance – who used his platform to engage in some thinly veiled racism and a Jeb Bush style “please clap” moment. But while Trump thinks he's going into the top of the 8th with the game tied, the democrats are poised to line the bases with a walk off home run.

Hello and happy Thursday. There are 109 days until the election and Lord help me, I’m in Milwaukee.

Nothing against cheese curds and it’s certainly not a “horrible city,” as Trump described it. But I am on Day 3 of the Republican National Convention, and that is a lot of RNC.

I am not going to start by making fun of Trump’s giant bandage, taped over his ear like he was sleeping with Barbie and her pillow got drool-stuck to his head, because it’s too soon, people. Too soon!

But I’m here to walk you through what’s it’s like to be on the ground with 2,000-plus Republican delegates and an additional 48,000 MAGA guests (though, honestly, I think half of those might be press).

https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2024-07-18/2024-election-chabria-column-convention-trust-republicans-politics

And come on let’s face it, you know Trump’s the kind of guy who would pose as a child to avoid going down with the ship! Well, he kind of is a child when you think about it. But the reviews of the RNC are in – and, well, it’s exactly what you’d expect. It’s a sniveling cavalcade of batshit conspiracy theories peddled by racist old white men. Even some of the most staunch republicans that you know aren’t exactly onboard with Trump Train v. 2.0. So while the Democrats are uniting behind Kamala, it looks like the GOP infighting is going to cost them some votes. Somebody get me the world’s tiniest violin, quickly, because we’re not sorry for what the GOP is turning into!

Usually, the quadrennial nominating conventions are opportunities for both major political parties to unite their base around their respective nominee ahead of the general election. But former President Donald Trump's speech at the Republican National Convention has one former Republican sounding the alarm about what he believes are significant cognitive issues plaguing the ex-president.

In his latest essay for the Atlantic, U.S. Naval War College professor emeritus Tom Nichols — who was a Republican until 2016 — voiced his concerns about the mental fortitude of the 45th president of the United States. He opined that Trump's rambling, 93-minute speech on Thursday night demonstrated what he believes is evidence of rapid, ongoing mental decline.

"[T]he Republican National Convention was a searing reminder that Trump is a vengeful autocrat with obvious mental deficits who has surrounded himself with a crew of vicious goons," Nichols wrote.

Nichols has previously written that he he's been politically active since the Carter administration, and had even once worked in politics as an aide to an unnamed "senior Republican U.S. senator." On Friday, he wrote that he watched Trump's nomination speech with "genuine curiosity" to see if the former president's tone had changed since a would-be assassin nearly shot him to death on Saturday.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/carl-gibson/111025/rnc-was-searing-reminder-that-trump-has-obvious-mental-deficits-former-republican

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[font size="8"]Invasion Of The Crypto-Bros
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Look, the 2024 election is 102 days away. While we’re enjoying a newly awakened and energized Democratic party that’s ready to flush Trump and Fox down the sewer for good, there’s one little talked about aspect of the election that no one is talking about. And it’s something that could potentially have a big impact on voter turnout. Crypto currency. Yes, the crypto-bros, partly aided by Dogecoin creator Elon Musk, are going all in on MAGA. So what’s the appeal? It’s partly because the reigning king of cheesy merchandise and NFTs, Donald J. Trump, is not just a sales person, he’s also a fan. But there’s no mistake that the crypto bros are using their fake money and social media influence as a way to buy votes in the 2024 election. And if we learned anything from the 2016 election and the 2020 election, attempting to buy votes doesn’t always work out as planned. But in every election going forward, the crypto bros are definitely going to be a massive problem, and one that will definitely need to be addressed.

Outside political groups tied to the cryptocurrency industry have raised more than $102 million to spend on the upcoming U.S. congressional elections in order to elevate candidates who are friendly to digital assets, according to a report from Public Citizen.

Only two other political groups, or super PACs, have raised more money than the crypto sector this election cycle, Public Citizen said. The money raised by crypto-backed super PACs shows how crypto companies are hoping to influence policies in their favor as the industry is facing increased scrutiny from regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as lawmakers.

About $54 million of the crypto industry's political war chest comes from direct corporate expenditures, primarily from Coinbase and Ripple Labs, according to the report.

The remainder comes from crypto executives and venture capitalists: $11 million each from the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, $5 million from crypto exchange Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and $1 million from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2024-05-06/us-crypto-super-pacs-have-raised-more-than-100-million-report-says

Damn right, Bernie! But you know, anyone else stop to think that maybe, just maybe, the ultra-controversial 2010 decision Citizens United vs FEC, the infamous decision that said that money was free speech and that corporations are people, was a terrible idea? One thing we will say, though, is that attempts to buy elections – as seen in the most recent 2020 election, totally backfired on the conservatives, and it will backfire on them again when they find that they will be unable to buy back votes for Kamala Harris. But one thing we can’t overlook is that, as the technology gets better, we will not be able to properly assess the threat that the crypto bros possess. Yes, we may laugh at them now, but soon there’s not going to be a way to avoid them. Even after the reigning kings of fake money are gone, they’ll still be around.

Silicon Valley’s penchant for using its money to distort politics has vexed American democracy for the better part of a decade. Now a new tech titan, the cryptocurrency industry, is running a similar playbook – but it is moving much faster.

Last month, a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives passed dangerous legislation that ticks box after box on the cryptocurrency industry’s wish list.

Tech and finance titans in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street are building an ever-larger war chest with the same goal Bankman-Fried had: to create a Congress that turns a blind eye to their shady practices – including rampant money laundering, vanishing investor money, and weaponized dark money – that do harm to the American public and our democracy.

They’ve announced that they will spend significant money in the Montana, Ohio, Michigan, and Maryland Senate races—crucial states that will decide who controls Congress.
https://couriernewsroom.com/news/tiffany-muller-and-lisa-donner-cryptocurrency-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-threats-against-our-democracy/

Yeah so put the pieces together, and this could present a proverbial nightmare scenario for whichever party is in charge, years on out. The United States is not an oligarchy the way that Saudi Arabia and Russia are, but a few elections and a highly partisan and ultra corrupt SCOTUS could see us potentially getting there. As long as the threat being posed by the crypto-bros is there, it will keep growing and it will be something that we can no longer ignore. The underlying problem in all of this is of course, the SCOTUS decision that we mentioned, Citizens United Vs FEC – another terrible idea brought to you by who else? The Heritage Foundation.

Silicon Valley’s penchant for using its money to distort politics has vexed American democracy for the better part of a decade. Now a new tech titan, the cryptocurrency industry, is running a similar playbook – but it is moving much faster.

Last month, a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives passed dangerous legislation that ticks box after box on the cryptocurrency industry’s wish list. It’s critical we examine how they’ve managed to get to this point so quickly and what they’re willing to do to buy access, gain power, and ultimately shape policy to reward a business model that puts consumers, investors, and financial stability at risk.

Last election cycle, we were deluged with fawning headlines about crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, who, prior to his fall from grace, doled out over $100 million to Washington’s power players to buy access and influence. The goal was to drive crypto-friendly policies that would prevent accountability for the industry and help him and his friends amass greater wealth.
https://couriernewsroom.com/news/tiffany-muller-and-lisa-donner-cryptocurrency-is-one-of-the-most-overlooked-threats-against-our-democracy/

Yeah so $100 million to buy politicians and policies is an amount that some in the business of econ would call a “spicy meatball”. They probably don’t call it that. We would assume that they would use some sort of boring technical term like “a lot of money”. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of all of this is that some of the same technology gurus that helped get Obama elected in 2008 are now helping to steer the United States towards this new brand of neo-fascist authoritarianism headed by Moscow mad man Vladimir Putin, that’s been knocking off once free or politically neutral countries to the side of fascism and not looking back. So yeah, if we’re not approaching this very carefully, it could spell major trouble in forthcoming elections. And you can bet that we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this situation as it develops!

A wave of Silicon Valley leaders has publicly lined up behind Donald Trump since Saturday’s assassination attempt — including some who had previously denounced the former president or supported his rivals — cementing a political shift in the tech world years in the making. ... In recent months, many tech elites quietly latched on to Trump, the perceived front-runner, drawn by Trump’s promises of industry-friendly policies on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence and driven away from President Biden by scrutiny of the sector they see as kneecapping innovation.

But since the shooting in Butler, Pa., tech leaders have enfolded Trump in a very public embrace. ... It took barely half an hour for Tesla chief executive Elon Musk to tweet his endorsement. On Monday, a super PAC aligned with Trump reported it had raised $8.5 million from prominent tech leaders, including investor David Sacks, who previously backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s GOP presidential bid; venture capitalist Doug Leone, who denounced Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection; and Musk himself, who previously voted for Biden and said as recently as March that he wouldn’t donate to either candidate in 2024.

And on Tuesday, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, founders of one of Silicon Valley’s most notable venture capital firms, endorsed Trump in a 1½-hour podcast, arguing that a thriving technology sector is critical to sustaining America’s global dominance. They also criticized the Biden administration for stymieing crypto; their firm has raised $7.6 billion to invest in crypto companies. ... Meanwhile, Trump’s decision to pick Sen. J.D. Vance, a former venture capitalist, as his running mate has elated billionaire Peter Thiel and some other Silicon Valley investors, who see Vance as one of their own and a potential ally in the White House.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/07/18/trump-jd-vance-silicon-valley-musk-gop/

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[font size="8"]This Fucking Guy: Leonard Leo
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This week’s This Fucking Guy is yet another right wing dark money billionaire sugar daddy – one of the heads and founding members of that right wing judicial cult known as the Federalist Society - Leonard Leo! This fucking guy is basically a lighter version of Trump in that he’s not a loudmouth blowhard, he’s more the quiet guy who sits in the corner and is not bothering anybody. But what you may not know about Leonard Leo is that he’s one of the key architects of the court shifting rightward. He’s also one of the people who’s responsible for seating the 3 hard authoritarians on the Supreme Court, which led to the overturning of Roe V. Wade. Yeah, he’s just an all around billionaire scumbag. But he’s definitely not done yet, oh no, he’s just getting started! Well, remember last year’s insane Bud Light boycott because they happened to hire trans activist Dylan Mulvaney? Guess what? We recently learned that he’s partly responsible for how that boycott came to life.

Tax filings obtained by the Guardian show how the rightwing dark money impresario Leonard Leo helped fuel the Bud Light boycott in response to ads featuring the transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, an effort that generated threats against Mulvaney, violence against consumers and layoffs by Anheuser-Busch.

Uncovered by the watchdog group Accountable.US, the filings for 2022 show the Concord Fund, a group linked to Leo, gave $350,000 to Consumers Defense, an arm of Consumers’ Research, not long before that group played a central role in the Bud Light boycott.

Leo is a Catholic conservative activist widely known as the force behind the Federalist Society, which has helped transform the US courts system, ultimately through the installation of three hardline justices on the supreme court that has handed down epochal rulings on abortion rights, presidential immunity and more.

But Leo’s fundraising work ranges wider.

Consumers’ Research was formed in 1929 to champion consumers’ rights, but went largely dormant before being revived as a rightwing watchdog. It now claims to lead “the fight against ESG”, or environmental, social and governance policies, in corporate America. It issues “woke alerts” concerning companies it deems to be “putting progressive activists and their dangerous agendas ahead of customers”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/18/bud-light-boycott-funding

Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Hey Leonard: Fuck you! See look, we’re making it our mission to educate everybody about the dangers of the Heritage Foundation’s proposed, completely reckless attempt to undo the last 100 years of progress and sink the United States into a neo-authoritarian dark age from which it might not ever recover – Project 2025. And Leonard Leo isn’t just stopping at the courts. He’s going after AG offices too. In fact just look at the Show Me State, the state of Missouri, for what he wants to accomplish there. Now picture that across the country. Yeah it’s a stunning level of evil!

Missouri’s attorney general has sued Planned Parenthood and President Joe Biden, tried to force clinics that provide gender-affirming care to hand over their records, and pushed a liberal prosecutor to resign.

Despite those decidedly conservative moves, some prominent conservative groups from outside Missouri are spending millions ahead of the Aug. 6 primary to boost Andrew Bailey's opponent, Will Scharf, a member of former President Donald Trump's legal team. In the GOP-dominated state, the primary winner has a huge advantage in November's general election.

The tumult demonstrates how important state attorneys general have become as they've taken on increasingly nationalized roles in addition to using the positions as springboards to run for governor or U.S. Senate. Both senators representing Missouri previously served as AG.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/big-gop-funders-sending-millions-042635658.html

Yeah… you think darkness is your ally? Hey right wing billionaires – you can hide in the shadows all you want, but we’re going to find out who you are. In fact, Senate Democrats know who Mr. Leo is, and they’re pissed. In fact he’s been subpoena’d to appear before a senate subcommittee. But you and I both know that, just like the MAGA he is, he’ll do anything and everything to avoid appearing before said subcommittee. As the right wing is out to make its’ version of an America that we never knew existed, Leonard Leo tends on going a step further. Which is way too far, if you ask us! We don’t want this crap in our country!

Groups aligned with the conservative legal movement and its financial architect, Leonard Leo, are working to promote a publicly funded Christian school in Oklahoma, hoping to create a test case to change the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment’s separation of church and state.

At issue is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma’s push to create the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, which would be the nation’s first religious school entirely funded by taxpayers. The school received preliminary approval from the state’s charter school board in June. If it survives legal challenges, it would open the door for state legislatures across the country to direct taxpayer funding to the creation of Christian or other sectarian schools.

Brett Farley, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, acknowledges that public funding of St. Isidore is at odds with over 150 years of Supreme Court decisions. He said the justices have misunderstood Thomas Jefferson’s intent when he said there should be a wall separating church and state, but that the current conservative-dominated court seems prepared to change course.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/29/oklahoma-public-christian-schools-00132534

God, what could possibly go wrong there? But yeah, while all the attention in the media is being paid to Trump’s loud mouth blowhard style of politics, you gotta watch that quiet billionaire in the corner. And in case you’re wondering if Mr. Leo is part of some super-secret religious cabal that we’re not aware of, guess what? You’re right! And there’s lots of big name right wingers who are a part of it – including Trump judge Aileen Canon, and justice Samuel Alito. So yeah, while the loud mouth blowhard is yelling “I’m going to deport everyone I don’t like!!!”, the quiet guy in the corner is buying judiciaries and making some extremely shady deals behind the scenes!

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at his New Jersey beach house. The flag’s close association with both far-right Christian nationalists and the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 raises serious questions about Alito’s ability to rule impartially. The conservative court on which Alito sits is largely the product of right-wing dark-money overlord Leonard Leo, and — wouldn’t you know it — Leo flew the same “Appeal to Heaven” flag outside of his house in Maine.

Murray Ngoima, a Bar Harbor resident, provided Rolling Stone with a photo she took of the flag hanging outside of his house on Feb. 25. Ngoima says that residents were outside Leo’s house that day to protest the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision declaring that IVF embryos are people under the law.

A spokesman for Leonard Leo, reached by Rolling Stone on Thursday, provided a statement from Leo, who wrote that he flies the flag because “it was the first flag of the navy of the US” and that it symbolizes “civic duty and philanthropy toward one’s country”; because he “like naval flags”; and because as a resident of Maine he “likes pine trees.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/appeal-to-heaven-flag-flew-leonard-leo-house-1235026491/

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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, I don’t need to keep reminding you that we live in extremely dark and unprecedented times! We keep hearing from our regular viewers who say that we spend a lot of time talking about just one subject – the rise of Christian nationalism and white supremacy through manufactured talking points. Well, my friends, I say that we’re not talking about this subject enough! Because as we keep saying, fascism comes to America – but only if we let it! Our brothers and sisters on the right have been increasing the violent rhetoric and extremely harsh undertones of their true intentions – the wretchedly evil Project 2025. These are not people who worship GAWD or JAYSUS! No, they 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! But here’s the thing – if Project 2025 doesn’t scare you, then what will? It is not our friend and things will get really horrible really quickly! The nationalists have their cards showing.

Christian nationalists and right-wing fascists have never been shy about their agenda, but lately many of them have become increasingly bold in laying out the future they envision for this country.

For instance, during a recent podcast, Christian nationalist pastor Douglas Wilson declared that, “In the republic I envision, Hindus would not be able to hold public office.”

Christian nationalist pastor Joel Webbon used his own podcast to explain what “true revival” in America would look like: “It would look like millions of people being deported. It would look like mothers getting death row for murdering their children” through abortion.

During a recent appearance on “The Byce Eddy Show,” Christian nationalist activist Ben Zeisloft proclaimed that “our role as Christians who are involved in the political process is not to compromise with them, but to make them do what we want.”

For his part, antisemitic Christian nationalist fascist Vincent James used his program to proclaim that “the only way to start the return to moral order in the country is by force. … People have to start to realize that faith in God [and] Christian understanding of morality [has to be] the foundation. And this is not gonna be done by choice.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/its-not-gonna-be-by-choice-christian-nationalists-lay-out-their-agenda/

Look, white supremacist nationalists of the internet – we don’t want what you want! We’ve literally fought entire wars over this, and your side has lost every single time, OK? Yes, thank you, my fair congregation! And I don’t know if they know this or not, but this is the United States Of America, not the United States of White Nationalist Jesusland! But if you think they’re not stopping with the hate and the nationalism, our friends at Moms For Liberty definitely aren’t playing nice. In fact they’re upping the ante even though the rest of the country – those of us with actual brains not warped by Fox and megachurch propaganda – are sick of their bullshit!

After a rough year of scandal, electoral defeats, and effective counter-organizing, the anti-LGBTQ, book-banning Moms for Liberty put on a show of force at the Republican National Convention.

A Moms for Liberty town hall Tuesday afternoon drew two governors, three members of Congress, and three state attorneys general. Also addressing the crowd were former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who now runs the Young America’s Foundation; Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts; anti-abortion activist and “Stop the Steal” leader Ed Martin; and Michael Seifert, who heads Public Square, a fast-growing network of “anti-woke” businesses.

The event started with a promotional video including footage of Donald Trump calling Moms for Liberty “the best thing that’s ever happened to America.” Martin, who was on the leadership team of the Trump-controlled RNC platform process, delivered an opening prayer and told the crowd that the Trump platform’s chapter on education—which denounces “gender indoctrination,” critical race theory, and “left-wing propaganda” while endorsing “universal school choice” and the abolition of the federal Department of Education—reflects the “fingerprints” and “extraordinary influence” of M4L.

The Trump campaign’s reported plans to shift to a more unifying message were not on display at the town hall. “They’re coming after our kids,” said M4L cofounder Tiffany Justice in her opening remarks. She claimed, “Radical Marxists are trying to steal our children’s future.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/moms-for-liberty-makes-show-of-force-deploys-spiritual-warfare-rhetoric-at-rnc/ [div]



Well that’s what you get on the front lines of spiritual warfare! But that’s a joke – something that our friends on the right do not have a cognitive grasp of! And probably none are more prevalent than the Bilal to the unholy Dark One’s Diablo, Tucker Carlson. Yes, the Dark One’s servant had some choice words at the RNC – even after being banned from Fox. And when you’re too divisive for Fox, that’s pretty damn divisive, am I right? But we’re not in a literal war here. Those who seek to do damage should get out now! They are not there to do the LAWRD’s work! They are out to do the work of the unholy Dark One! And imagine how paranoid you must be to believe bullshit like this!

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson closed out the all-day Heritage Foundation policy fest on the first day of the Republican National Convention. He warned the crowd that they are in a “spiritual battle” against “anti-human” forces that want to “eliminate” Christians.

In a strange choice for talking to political activists, Carlson began by describing politics as a “repulsive” process and politicians in general as ruthless and power-hungry and miserable people. But he said he is “thrilled” by Trump picking Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate, because “every bad person I’ve ever met in a lifetime in Washington was aligned against J.D. Vance.” Carlson said that was because “they thought he would be harder to manipulate and slightly less enthusiastic about killing people…that he would be an impediment to their exercising power.”

Carlson veered into spiritual warfare rhetoric, saying that since he spoke at the Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary celebration 15 months ago, he has experienced “a total change in the way that I see the world,” explaining, “this is not ultimately political. This is much deeper…There is a spiritual battle underway.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/tucker-carlson-tells-rnc-attendees-they-are-in-a-spiritual-battle-against-people-who-want-to-kill-christians/

No it’s not over, but people on the right certainly think that! But, GAWD forbid, should the Unholy Dark One and his cronies somehow worm their way back to the White House in November, they plan to take Spiritual Warfare out of the churches and into a place where it shouldn’t belong – the White House. Yes, the unholy Dark One plans on implementing one of his bizarre “prophets” in his cabinet should he become president again! And these are people who should never be in charge of that kind of power, because they will do no good with it! It’s insane to think that this could ever be a problem, but thanks to a certain news network, well, here we are!

On Monday, Clark appeared on a program hosted by self-proclaimed “prophet” Julie Green, where he revealed that his current plan is to leverage the access he has gained to place a “prophet” in Trump’s cabinet if the former president returns to the White House.

After bragging that Eric Trump had personally invited him to attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, Clark recalled how Eric had asked him to organize a right-wing prayer call for the Trump family earlier this year.

“For the president’s son to ask [us] to organize a night of prayer, that’s just not normal of what you would expect, and it shows that God is moving on him,” Clark said. “I feel like the purpose of the ReAawaken Tour is to flip the [organization] chart [so] you have God at the top, prophets second, and then the politicians third.”

“You’d have God, and then you’d have the prophets, and then you would have President Trump listening to them and treating them in the same way that he might talk to the Secretary of Defense, or the same way that he might talk to the head of Homeland Security,” Clark continued. “I would like to see President Trump have a prophet in his cabinet.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/conspiracy-theorist-clay-clark-is-working-to-place-a-prophet-in-trumps-cabinet/

Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:

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[font size="8"]Beating A Dead Horse: Tenacious D Vs The Establishment
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Yes, it’s the segment where we in the comedy profession explain the concept of humor to the folks who just don’t quite get it. This week, we have to talk about the Tenacious D incident in Australia. Do you ever have one of those moments when you say something, then 10 minutes later you have no idea how bad that thing you just said was and you have to have someone explain it to you? Like that scene from the movie Anchorman when Ron Burgundy cursed San Diego. And look, we always say around here that comedy is subjective, but there’s a couple of rules that you just don’t break for any reason. But it looks like Kyle Gass, half of the legendary comedy-rock duo Tenacious D with Jack Black, may have done just that. Here’s the thing – Donald Trump may be one of the most polarizing figures in American history, and what happened last Saturday was an absolute clusterfuck. One thing we will say is that don’t lead by Mr. Gass’ example. Yeah, what was said was said. And you cannot take that one back after it was said. But needless to say, the fallout from the scandal has been truly insane to watch. But please, MAGA, keep lecturing us about “cancel culture”, which is yet another thing that the right wing made up to discredit liberals. So anyway, here’s what happened with the D. Look, we love the D, but really, don’t do this.

Comedian and actor Jack Black has canceled all remaining dates on his popular comedy-rock duo Tenacious D’s “Spicy Meatball” world tour after bandmate Kyle Gass made a joke onstage about the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump last weekend.

Tenacious D went onstage in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, some hours after 20-year-old registered Republican Thomas Matthew Crooks fired shots at Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump escaped with a bloodied ear and was rushed away by Secret Service.

The Sydney concert date was on Gass’ 64th birthday. A robot sporting a party hat appeared onstage with a birthday cake that was presented to him.

When asked to make a wish, Gass replied, “Don’t miss Trump next time.”
https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/07/19/what-did-kyle-gass-say-tenacious-d-tour-canceled-trump/74462260007/

Yes, that was great wasn’t it? But oh yeah that’s just a movie. You know what? Let’s compare this to a very similar incident, when Fat Mike, the lead singer of NOFX, made some quips about the Vegas shooting while he was in Vegas (see: Idiots #5-1 ). Holy shit, if you look at the parallels, this is really a classic case of history repeating itself, and the results are about what you’d expect! And here’s the thing a lot of people don’t realize – performers say a lot of really stupid shit – and don’t realize they’ve said or done stupid shit until way after the performance. If you ever saw the Steve Martin show “Only Murders In The Building”, there’s an episode about this very phenomena.

Jack Black has said he’s cancelled the rest of the Tenacious D world tour after his bandmate Kyle Gass sparked an outcry with a comment about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

The comedy rock group were on stage in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday when Gass was asked to make a wish after being presented with a cake for his 64th birthday.

He appeared to reply: "Don’t miss Trump next time."

In a statement on Instagram, Black said he was "blindsided" by the comment.

"I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form," the comedian and actor wrote.

He said he didn’t feel it was "appropriate to continue the Tenacious D tour", and that the rest of the group’s "creative plans are on hold".
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0dmx4p4m0lo

Yeah so if you’re going to go out and perform, it’s probably a good idea to *NOT* say what everyone is thinking, because you could get into serious trouble. In fact, not only did the D set off a firestorm in America, it also set off a firestorm in Australia. Where that’s another country that has a MAGA problem on its’ hands. In fact, since the common anomaly with MAGA seems to be that everything they don’t like should be defunded, deported or whatever else they may deem is the worst possible answer and solution to everything. It’s totally insane. And again, one of the reasons why we can’t have nice things in this, or any country.

An Australian senator has called for the comedy rock band Tenacious D to be deported after remarks on Trump’s assassination attempt during a concert in Sydney. A poorly timed bad taste quip, or an assault on free speech?

During a recent concert in Australia, the comedy rock band Tenacious D – helmed by Jack Black and Kyle Gass – a birthday wish was shared on stage, one which has gotten the band into hot water.

While performing in Sydney’s ICC Sydney venue on Sunday (14 July), Black sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to his bandmate, who turned 64, before asking him to make a wish. Gass shared his wish with the audience: “Don’t miss Trump next time” - a reference to the less-than-day-old botched assassination attempt on the former President of the United States, which claimed the life of one rally attendant.

The comment elicited laughs from the audience, but has drawn criticism once a video of the moment was posted on social media, with many condemning the duo.

Today (Tuesday 16 July), Australian federal senator Ralph Babet has called for Tenacious D to be deported from Australia following the remarks onstage.
https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/07/16/dont-miss-trump-next-time-australian-politician-calls-for-deportation-of-rock-band-tenacio

Come on, can you guys please keep this shit confined to the US? We don’t need our right wing bullshit spreading to other countries, thanks. But look, when you compare it to the NOFX incident from a few years ago, this has a lot of eerie similarities. And yes, both bands lost a lot just because of a few years, and if NOFX can bounce back and is on their final tour, people will eventually forget about this incident and move on. But if this is what it took for the D to call off their tour, it looks like the D’s got way more problems than a joke for some people who can’t take it.

T Tenacious D‘s Kyle Gass has been dropped by his agent Michael Greene of Greene Talent in the wake of Gass’ onstage joke about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, Greene confirmed with Billboard. The news was first reported by Rolling Stone.

The joke came during a Tenacious D show at the ICC Syndey Theatre in Sydney on Sunday (July 14) after Gass’ Tenacious D partner Jack Black implored him to “make a wish” when Gass was presented with a birthday cake on stage. Gass responded, “Don’t miss Trump next time,” a reference to the attempted assassination of the former president (and newly-crowned Republican presidential nominee) during a rally in Butler, Pa. on Saturday (July 13). The tragic incident resulted in the death of one audience member and led to serious injuries for two others.

After video footage of Gass’ joke began circulating online, Black wrote via Instagram on Tuesday (July 16) that he had been “blindsided” by the comment and that “and all future creative plans” for the duo would be put on hold. “I would never condone hate speech or encourage political violence in any form,” he added.
https://www.billboard.com/pro/tenacious-d-kyle-gass-agent-trump-assassination-joke/

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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. Ah, there we go! They are trying to read yours and my thoughts after all! So last week, there was a shooting at a Trump rally in Wisconsin before the big shindig at the Republican National Convention. Well, naturally while people were shocked and horrified, the MAGA wing of the GOP got busy doing what they do best, and that is floating wild conspiracy theories while addressing anything but the actual problem itself (hint: THE GUNS!). And the problem that the white supremacist man-o-sphere came up with? The problem is the Secret Service. Yes, one of America’s oldest institutions – the branch of the government that protects the president and analyzes threats to the country – is the problem. To which we say – fucking what??? Oh, yeah they are concerned about the Secret Service and their DEI hiring policies. Yes, DEI – diversity, equity, and inclusion – is to blame, despite that it had nothing to do with it.

Some have faulted Democrats’ rhetoric for fanning partisan tensions; conspiracy theorists baselessly suggest the incident was staged by Trump himself; and a growing cohort, particularly on the right, is zeroing in on the failures of the Secret Service and its supposed prioritization of “DEI”—the acronymous shorthand for initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, which Republicans have opposed across federal agencies, schools, and other organizations, as well as at the state level.

Footage focused on the female agents in Trump’s security detail quickly gained traction on social media, along with re-circulated clips of a CBS report from 2023 that repeated the Secret Service’s goal to increase its representation of women to 30% by 2030.

“DEI got someone killed,” the inflammatory account Libs of TikTok said in a post on X that’s been seen by millions.

“Absolute humiliation for this gaggle of female Secret Service agents,” right-wing commentator Benny Johnson posted. “DEI Secret Service make Presidents LESS Safe.”
https://time.com/6998539/trump-shooting-republicans-blame-dei-secret-service-women/

Uh…………… fucking what???? Yeah person who is famous for doxing and harassment, and possibly inspired one and possibly multiple murders (see: Idiots #16-4 ) is suddenly concerned with getting people killed? That’s a good one! Well, of course, listening to the right wing the last week, it’s devolved into an absolutely impressive display of insanity. Especially when the shooter was revealed to be a registered republican. So when this bursts a bubble in their plans to blame people who aren’t them? What do you do? Well, like most MAGA solutions, you vote to defund the one agency that’s trying to help. Sigh… it’s why we can’t have nice things in this country!

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called for the Secret Service to be defunded after the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump raised questions about the service’s ability to keep elected officials safe.

Roy joined Fox News’s Laura Ingraham Friday after he attended the funeral of Pennsylvania firefighter Corey Comperatore — the rallygoer who was killed during the shooting at Trump’s rally outside Pittsburgh last weekend.

“Right now, the president of the United States — the former president and hopefully soon to be president of the United States Donald Trump — is alive not because of what the Secret Service did, but because he providentially turned his head,” Roy said on “The Ingraham Angle,” adding “that’s the truth of the fact and the fact is, the American people are sick of it.”

Roy also criticized members of the Biden administration, saying the public is “sick” of leaders keeping their jobs after events like the assassination attempt and President Biden’s withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4783651-chip-roy-donald-trump-shooting-defund-secret-service/

Oh come on, really? That’s your solution? Weren’t you guys just absolutely screaming for more Secret Service after the incident? Now you want to “defund”? That’s literally their solution to everything is to defund. Hell, we could do an entire edition just based on things that MAGA wants to defund. For those of you viewing at home, that’s a ridiculously long list! Because of course, MAGA does the dirty work for America’s real president – the billionaire class, they act like screaming toddlers when things don’t go exactly their way. Hell, toddlers have more dignity than a lot of these representatives do.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was skewered by a visibly frustrated House Oversight Committee on Monday after she said she took responsibility for security failures that led to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump but sidestepped several major questions.

Cheatle, who was subpoenaed to testify, did not provide clear answers when committee members asked about whether the Secret Service had secured the building that the gunman fired from and how he gained access to the roof.

“I’m not going to get into specifics of the day,” she said, citing an ongoing investigation. “There was a plan in place to provide overwatch, and we are still looking into responsibilities.”

It prompted committee members from both parties to tell her to resign over her “incompetence,” her “lame excuses,” and her lack of answers to what they called basic questions.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/secret-service-director-kimberly-cheatle-expected-tell-house-hearing-a-rcna163010

So just remember, my friends, when MAGA talks about “DEI”, it’s because they want to say words that they can’t normally say. Like… think of George Carlin’s 7 words you can’t say on TV level of bad. But the one thing we cannot overlook is how much of a total clusterfuck this was. Look, it most suck being a Secret Service agent or even the head of the Secret Service under the Biden administration. Just the sheer amount of threats that are happening every day must be. And if there was a lesson learned from Uvalde is that the myth of “you can never have too many cops”, is just a straight up lie. But do you really threaten the one person that’s trying to help? I mean really, it’s insane.

The top Democrat on a House committee joined its Republican chairman Monday in urging embattled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign after a brutal hearing on her agency’s failure to prevent the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13.

Cheatle earlier told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee that “we failed” to maintain the agency’s “solemn mission to protect our nation’s leaders” during the shooting at the Republican presidential nominee Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and ranking Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, in a joint letter to Cheatle wrote, “the United States Secret Service under your leadership failed to protect former President Donald Trump from an assassination attempt that took the life of Corey Comperatore and seriously injured at least two other people.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/22/secret-service-failed-trump-shooting-cheatle-house.html

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[font size="8"]I Need A Drink
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Hey everyone, I don’t know about you, but I could really use a drink!



So the idea behind this segment is that we have some drinks, and while we’re drinking, we talk about literally anything in the news as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. Because, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s a lot of really dark shit in the news right now. So we always feel that the best course of action is to kick back, grab a couple of cold ones, and escape reality for a few minutes. Only rules we got in this bar – no fighting, no cussing, and no politics! Some mild cussing is allowed, as long as it’s never at someone. My sober brothers and sisters, don’t worry, we got you covered too! Just grab a glass of your favorite coffee, tea, or energy drink and come get wired with us! So the subject on the table this week is weddings! And specifically, the most expensive wedding in the entire world. So tell me, bartender, what goes well with a story about weddings? The brides’ cocktail? What’s in it? I’ll just stick to my usual Jack Daniels mixed with Jack Daniels. I call it the Double Jack. Anyway, if you thought your wedding was crazy, just wait until you see the tab that this couple in India racked up. Like, if this isn’t the ultimate “fuck you” to poor people, I don’t know what is!

As London came to a standstill this weekend to celebrate and then commiserate the Euros, there was a wildly different public event shutting down the streets in Mumbai. Billed as the world’s most expensive wedding, the three day long nuptials of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant — the son of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, and the daughter of pharmaceutical tycoons — took place this weekend, totalling an estimated $600m.

As well as the Ambani’s already high profile status in India, their wealth has afforded the event an unbelievably high star quality globally, with pre-wedding performances from the likes of Rihanna, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, who all allegedly pocketed multi-million dollar cheques.

The event was frequently referred to as “India’s own royal wedding” by domestic media, with other commentators claiming that the Ambanis want to be seen as “the Windsors of India.”

And the guestlist for the big day was just as astounding, with Kim and Khloé Kardashian, Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas, John Cena, Tony Blair, Boris and Carrie Johnson all in attendance. This Ambani wedding dethrones the last Ambani wedding — between Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha Ambani and her husband Anand Piramal in 2018 — as the most expensive wedding of all time, according to estimates. But it’s just another drop in the ocean for the Ambanis, with the $600m price tag only making up 0.5 per cent of their total wealth.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/ambani-wedding-the-world-s-most-expensive-ceremony-and-its-462m-bill/ar-BB1q0H7O?item=flightsprg-tipsubsc-v1a%3Futm_source&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1

Royal wedding? Oh please kindly go fuck yourselves. Imagine the ego that it takes to call yourselves “royalty” when you don’t even live in a damn monarchy! You live in a country with an elected parliament and prime minister! Holy shit. And come on, I may have to break our one rule here for a second, but this is why we need to tax billionaires. Seriously, if you have enough money to have Justin Beiber and Beyonce perform at your wedding, you have too much fucking money. Especially in a country where nearly 60% lives in poverty. Look, here’s the thing – literally nobody do this! This is absolutely insane on multiple levels.

Weddings are all about extravagance and grandiosity and recently at India’s most talked about wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, both were in abundance. The opulent displays of wealth and the star-studded guest list including the likes of Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian made the headlines as the Indian billionaire heir recently tied the knot. Before the big day, the Ambani family’s pre-wedding festivities included Rihanna and Justin Bieber as performers. Wondering what it takes for an A-list singer or band to perform at your wedding? Take a look at the highest paid and most expensive wedding performers ever.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani brought the city of Mumbai to a standstill with elaborate wedding festivities for his son, Anant Ambani, who is set to marry on July 12. Notably, their pre-wedding festivities have already become the talk of the town, with large-scale events comparable to private concerts held across India and Italy. From having Rihanna perform at the Indian ceremony to commissioning 90s pop sensation Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli to take the stage at their European cruise party, the family has spared no expenses when it comes to making the wedding a grand affair.
https://www.prestigeonline.com/hk/people/the-most-expensive-wedding-performers-in-the-world-justin-bieber-beyonce/

Yeah now you’re talking! Look, we know that every bride and bride to be out there has their idea of the perfect dream wedding. At least do something modest and fun. Don’t spend the fucking GDP of a third world country on your wedding. Just don’t. And holy shit, how many parties do you need to have? Like most weddings just have the bachelor and bachelorette parties and call it a day. These guys have had parties for months! They served enough food to feed half the population of Africa. This indulgence in excess is what some might consider to be criminal. Like it’s absolutely insane the level that this couple went to… for their wedding.

What do Mark Zuckerberg, Kim Kardashian and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson have in common? The three of them are set to attend the same wedding in India, along with plenty of other prestigious guests.

On Friday, the great and the good and a few thousand others are expected to descend on a 25-acre Mumbai convention center owned by Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia. There, he’ll throw a wedding that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and has prompted police in the city of more than 20 million to reroute traffic around the venue.

So lavish is the party — or series of parties — that the Reliance Industries chairman is hosting for his son Anant Ambani and his fiancée, Radhika Merchant, both 29, that it’s technically been going on for a week and a half.

But pre-wedding events began in March, with a Bollywood-star-studded party at which 500 dishes were served, 1,200 guests were invited and Rihanna gave only her second performance in six years.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ambani-wedding-india-mumbai-global-elite-kardashians-bill-gates-rcna161364

Seriously! That’s the only thing keeping me from just not wanting to take my TV set and throw it out the window. Like if you’re one of the privileged few who gets to attend the wedding, what gift do you give the bride and groom? I can’t imagine they’re registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond or Nordstrom, that’s for sure! And what kind of games do you have at the pre-parties? What kind of games do you have at the pre-parties? Let us know in the comments! But when you have a contest measuring how expensive your watch is compared to the next guy’s, you have too much damn money. Again, don’t spend the GDP of a third world country on your wedding, we can’t stress this enough!

Extravagant weddings and grand pre-wedding festivities are quite common when it comes to renowned celebrities. But while a lot of expensive weddings have showcased a spectacle of grandeur, none could compare to the world’s most expensive wedding between Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, attended by global celebrities like John Cena, Nick Jonas, and even the Kardashians.

Spending a staggering $1B budget that attracted global attention, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s extravagant wedding not only showcased the couple’s sophistication but also provided a glimpse into the world of elites and their luxurious lifestyles. While the occasion featured celebrities donning an array of brands, the one thing that caught the most attention was high-end luxury watches.

With extensive celebrations spanning into the Mediterranean cruise alongside lavish parties, Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant set a new standard for wedding extravagance, which was attended by global icons and popular figures. While the occasion featured a glimpse into the world of renowned icons, it also allowed people to get an idea of their lifestyle based on the watches worn.

Catching people’s attention on social media, Hollywood personalities like John Cena and Nick Jonas’ timepieces made headlines for their grandeur. But surprisingly, compared to Anant Ambani and other Indian celebrities, Cena’s watch in particular turned out to be a fine example of modesty. According to @ifuckinglovewatches on Instagram, the video offered a closer look into the watches and their prices.
https://fandomwire.com/even-80-million-rich-john-cenas-watch-pales-in-comparison-to-other-celebrities-ultra-luxury-watches-at-worlds-most-expensive-wedding/

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[font size="8"] Road To The White House 2024
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Welcome back to our segment where we’ve got all your election coverage in one handy, easy to find place, travel sized package – Road To The White House! So of course, we’re doing things a wee bit different since we’re spending the next three editions touring the Great White North. This week, we recently learned that Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has a plan. But what is the plan? In case you haven’t noticed, we here in the United States are incredibly divided. And one side was basically gifted a 900 page playbook on how to turn a working democracy into a fascist nightmare that could potentially destroy the United States government for good and plunge the country into chaos and possibly a civil war. So what happens should the United States descend into Civil War? Well, as you can imagine, it will probably have devastating consequences for world stability. Especially with a mad man sitting in the Kremlin who’s plotting world domination and killing anyone who opposes him. Well, Trudeau has a plan if the United States does the unthinkable and plunges into a Civil War.

When Justin Trudeau meets Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Italy this week, Trudeau will probably not ask whether the United States is at risk of erupting in civil war in the next few years.

A think tank housed within Trudeau’s government is already pondering that question.

In a spring report titled “Disruptions on the Horizon,” a quiet office known as Policy Horizons Canada proposed American civil war as a scenario that Ottawa should consider preparing for.

This hypothetical was tucked into the middle of the 37-page document, which sketched the possibility in 15 spare words: “U.S. ideological divisions, democratic erosion, and domestic unrest escalate, plunging the country into civil war.”

It’s an unsettling thing to find out your immediate neighbor is getting nervous about the possibility of gruesome violence in your home.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/06/11/canada-us-civil-war-00162521

Wow. Holy shit. There’s so much to unpack there. Look, to our Canadian friends, here’s something that you need to know about us. Talk of another civil war isn’t anything new. In fact, it has been a thing since, well, since the last Civil War. Which of course, was an absolutely brutal conflict between the North and the South that lasted 5 years, took nearly 2 million lives, and ended with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. So could it happen again? Yes, the talk has escalated in the days since Rush Limbaugh was on the scene, and things have only got worse since Donald Trump appeared on the political scene. We are hopeful that it doesn’t happen in our lifetime, but these days you don’t know. But what the Americans who want civil war to happen, it would have a massive effect on the entire world, not just the US.

Policy Horizons Canada (PHC) — which describes itself as "the Government of Canada's centre of excellence in foresight" — titled the report "Disruptions on the Horizon." PHC is a Canadian government organization that provides the government with future-oriented proposals to influence decision making; however, its publications are not necessarily government policy. In "Disruptions on the Horizon," PHC noted its content "does not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Canada."

In a section titled "Reflections on key disruptions," which "explores 18 disruptions that could have significant impact for Canada," the document cited the possibility of a second civil war erupting in the U.S. as an "underanticipated disruption."

It said escalating ideological divisions, democratic erosion, and domestic unrest could plunge the U.S. into civil war, which is why Canada needed to be prepared for such an event. However, it did not say the Canadian government had started preparing for a civil war.

Other underanticipated disruptions deemed necessary for Canada to prepare for included antibiotics no longer working, the basic daily needs of Canadians — such as housing, food and water — not being met, and a third world war breaking out.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/canada-preparing-us-civil-war/

Now of course, Canada’s got a right to be concerned. Should the US break out into a civil war, it will have a huge effect on not just the United States, but the entire continent of North America as well, and it will be disastrous. Look, MAGA, a civil war is not something you can just wish for, and it’s certainly nothing you actually want. Yes, American democracy may be hanging on by a thread thanks to the merger of the GOP with the far right conspiracy theory wing of the internet. Could it happen in our lifetimes? It’s possible. Anything is possible. With the right wing increasingly hating everything the left does, mainly thanks to one news network, anything can happen.

According to a new Marist National Poll, almost half of Americans think the United States could erupt into a second civil war in their lifetime, 163 years after the first Civil War started. The demographics of voters were also split into political parties, generations, racial identities, and genders.
Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox!

Overall, 34% of voters said it was likely to happen and 13% said it was very likely. While 47% said it was likely, 38% said it was not very likely that we could see a second civil war in this lifetime, 14% said it was not likely at all, and 1% were unsure.

Of Republican, Democratic, and independent parties, Republicans are more likely to say that an incoming civil war is likely at 53% believing so. 40% of Democrats and 41% of independents agree.
Siena poll: Trump favored by 1% over Biden

58% of Gen Z and Millenial voters believe a civil war is likely, which is more than three times the beliefs of the Silent Generation with 19% of those voters seeing a civil war in the future. Gen X voters who see the likelihood of a civil war total at 46% and Baby Boomers are at 34%.

Beliefs also differ based on race, with 57% of Black Americans thinking there’s some likelihood, and of that 57%, 22% say domestic conflict is very likely. 50% of Latinos and 43% of whites think the possibility of a civil war is either very likely or likely to occur during their lifetime.
https://www.news10.com/news/national/poll-47-of-americans-think-a-civil-war-is-likely/

Yeah, 47% is a shockingly high number! But here’s the thing that nobody realizes – all the MAGA Q Anon fantasies about things like martial law, military tribunals, public executions, declaring Trump a dictator for life – none of these things are good! In fact, they’re fucking evil. They’re acts of war and hatred. You don’t want any of this! So of course, like we said, Canada and Mexico have a right to be concerned about our increasingly erratic behavior. There is a solution – turn off Fox! Turn off all of the right wing horse shit you consume 24/7! It’s not good for you! Because in an actual civil war, it’s nothing you would actually want to happen. And it’s not pretty when it does!

A recent Washington Post headline says: “In America, talk turns to something not spoken of for 150 years: Civil war.” The story references, among others, Stanford University historian Victor Davis Hanson, who asked in a National Review essay last summer: “How, when, and why has the United States now arrived at the brink of a veritable civil war?” Another Washington Post story reports how Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King recently posted a meme warning that red states have “8 trillion bullets” in the event of a civil war. And a poll conducted last June by Rasmussen Reports found that 31 percent of probable US voters surveyed believe “it’s likely that the United States will experience a second civil war sometime in the next five years.”

Is that legitimately where we stand today in the era of Donald Trump, particularly in the wake of the ramped-up rhetoric stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow, or is Civil War talk just crazy hyperbole? BU Today put three questions to Nina Silber, a College of Arts & Sciences professor of history and American studies and the current president of the Society of Civil War Historians. Silber has done extensive research on the Civil War over more than two decades and has written several books on the subject, including Divided Houses: Gender and the Civil War (1992), Daughters of the Union: Northern Women Fight the Civil War (2005), and most recently, This War Ain’t Over: Fighting the Civil War in New Deal America (University of North Carolina Press, 2018). Along with her teaching and research, she has worked on numerous public history projects, including museum exhibitions at the Gettysburg National Military Park and film projects on the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/are-we-headed-for-another-civil-war/

[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Sum 41[/font]

Folks, my next guest are also currently on their farewell tour! Their brand new album is called “Heaven X Hell”. You can see them on tour through Oct. 21st pretty much everywhere. Playing their song “Dopamine”, give it up for Sum 41!

Thank you Montreal! This was fun! Our first trip to Canada was completely sold out and a very rousing success! We’ll be back again soon! We’re off to Edmonton next! See you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech
Sum 41 Appears Courtesy Of: Rise Records
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Montreal Comedy Club, Montreal, Quebec
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