Top 10 Conservative Idiots #17-5: The Cybertruck House Rules Edition

[Top 10 Idiots]

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #17-5: The Cybertruck House Rules Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yoooooooooooooooooooooo!!! What’s up Vancouver, how are you guys doing? Sold the place out, for that we thank you guys! Ready to have some fun? Good, because we’ve got a lot of idiocy to get to this week, and holy crap there was some batshit crazy stuff that happened! Too much! So next week, we begin our college tour and we’ve got a lot of fun things planned. Starting with the kickoff at USC’s world famous Shrine Auditorium, with of course the famous Wheel Of Corruption! Then we’ve got lots more planned as we head towards what may be the end. But at least for a while. We need to take a break after the election because this has been one insane election cycle and it’s been exhausting covering everything. So who’s been watching the DNC in Chicago this week? Isn’t everyone loving watching Harris and Walz surge while the Trump campaign is literally living out a real life Spinal Tap? Yeah we’re personally loving that Biden’s last act as president was to pay MAGA back for the utterly abysmal way they treated him during his presidency by showing Trump as the absolute loser that he is. Of course we do know that there’s less than 100 days left until the election and literally anything can happen. Right now, the best thing is that the Democratic party is gaining momentum, and Fox News is struggling enough that they’re bringing back a very unwanted feature – the nightly Trump batphone! Ugh… how do people watch and listen to this shit without wanting to throw their TVs out the window? Yeah, we’re totally baffled by it, too, sir! But tonight… everyone should be watching the DNC finale where Harris will be accepting her nomination with an overwhelming majority! Yeah, how about that? And trust us, we’ll have a full recap of the DNC next week, and it should be good! OK, enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first our buddy John Oliver is back and he delves into the ever-horrifying subject of hospice care, and think twice about those nursing homes! But again, all of our problems can once again be tied back to billionaires and Wall Street:

So where do we begin this week? In the number one slot, we’ve got to have a very frank discussion about a very troubling topic (1) – what happens if the vote fails to certify on election night? Trump has loyalists everywhere and including in some pretty powerful positions that could do some damage, but there are plans to fight back, hopefully the lesson from Bush V Gore was learned! In the second slot, is of course that guy who we inexplicably used to call president – Donald Trump (2) and man did he have quite a week. And it was all bad. His rallies continue to be one disaster after another and it’s almost like watching a real life This Is Spinal Tap! Taking the number 3 slot this week, is also that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (3) and we have to talk about something that’s been going on for 8 years now – the absolutely bizarre obsession MAGA has with Taylor Swift and her massive globe-spanding fanbase that only seems to be getting larger! In the number 4 slot this week is Elon Musk (4) and he may or may not have potentially violated several international treaties by gifting, of all people, Chechnyan dictator Razman Kadyrov a heavily armored Cybertruck. And the story gets even weirder the more you dig into it! In the number 5 slot this week is a new “We’re All Gonna Die” (5) and this week – there’ s dueling viruses to choose from, and we’ve got a Choose Your Own Adventure planned! Do you want monkeypox or humanparvovirus? Either one could cause headaches for the WHO, and of course, you can’t tell MAGA what to do! So are we all gonna die? Probably. In the number 6 slot this week is of course our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and this week, our resident pastor is becoming increasingly alarmed by the extremism of North Carolina’s dark horse gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, and whew, there’s a lot to unpack there! Taking the seventh slot this week is a new edition of our segment that looks at the dark side of the never-ending, relentless pursuit of extreme corporate greed in Late Stage Capitalism (7). Yes, we got a lot of requests for it, and yes, we do have to talk about this criminally insane ruling from Disney over a wrongful death lawsuit, and you should probably read more when you click the “I agree” button. In the number 8 slot this week is our weekly venture into the never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, and once again Trump makes maybe one of the most bizarre claims he’s ever made by being in a crashing helicopter with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown – and not at all surprising – this didn’t happen! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week is a new People Are Dumb (9) because of course they are! Finally this week in our ongoing coverage of the 2024 election to end all elections in Road To The White House (10), we have to talk about Trump’s increasing series of truly bizarre press conferences – and each one is more bizarre than the next. And to cap things off, we have some live music from The Decemberists! Buy their new album “As It Ever Was, So Will It Ever Be”, or you are no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]Election Night 2024
[br] [/font] [br]

Look, ladies and gentlemen, we have to talk. And I know that whenever anyone says that, it’s usually not good. And we understand that. If you want to focus on the previous week’s insanity, you are free to skip to the next entry. But we don’t just have to talk, we need to talk. Yes, we understand that the rejuvenated Democratic party uniting behind Kamala Harris and Joe Biden stepping down has been a complete whirlwind. What we have to talk about though, is election night 2024. Yes, the election happens on November 7th. Which is a mere less than 100 days away. We saw what happened in 2020 when MAGA lost the election – they went nuclear in their attempt to stop the election from being certified on January 6th, 2021. In fact, since then, several electors in various states have been outed and arrested as being fake plants by the Trump administration. But we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of what could happen on November 7th. We’ve only just begun…

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow warned Monday that Republicans on election boards across the country could refuse to certify the 2024 election results should former President Trump lose in November.

“Election boards across the country now include Republican officials who have not only propounded Mr. Trump’s lies about the last presidential election being ‘stolen,’ they have tested how far they can go in denying the certification of the vote,” Maddow wrote in an op-ed published with The New York Times.

Maddow argued the spread of what she called “refusenik Republicans” began in 2020, when Trump and then-Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel allegedly pressured two election officials to certify vote totals in a key Michigan county.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4834951-rachel-maddow-msnbc-trump-election-denialism/

Yes, my friends! Heed Rachel Maddow’s warning! MAGA is plotting some shit! And they’ve got the help of the Trump backed SCOTUS and nearly every right wing TV, radio and podcast outlet in the United States to do their every evil bidding. Which is no wonder why a guy who got tried and convicted on 34 felony counts of fraud and obstruction will definitely try something – because he’s that desperate to hang onto the power he once had. What we have to watch are the swing states. Yes, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Ohio – these are the states that could sway the election. And some of their election boards are corrupt as fuck.

A new rule in Georgia could allow some local election boards to refuse to certify results, raising concerns ahead of November’s election in the crucial swing state.

It’s the latest partisan flashpoint in a battleground state over certification — a step in the election process that’s usually ministerial and routine.

Local boards confirm the number of voters who cast ballots matches up with the total votes. Legal challenges to results are heard in the courts.

But when it came to certifying the May primary in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta, one board member refused.

“It’s time to fix the problems in our elections by ensuring compliance with the law, transparency in elections conduct and accuracy in results,” Republican Julie Adams said before abstaining from the vote.
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/08/nx-s1-5065909/a-new-rule-in-georgia-could-allow-some-election-boards-to-refuse-to-certify-results

It’s not a final one. It’s a preliminary one! Like we keep saying – MAGA is certainly plotting some shit, and the shit hasn’t even begun to hit the proverbial fan yet. But it’s not just the national elections we have to watch, the local ones could be at stake too. It’s criminal what is going on, and we can’t help but wonder what our other rights that the GOP is going to threaten should they assume power and worm their way back to the White House again. Let’s take a look at the Silver State, Nevada, to see what they could be cooking up on a national level on election night.

Three Republican commissioners in a key Nevada swing county have refused to certify an election recount, creating new turmoil in a community that since the 2020 election has been a hotbed for election skepticism, misinformation, and vitriol against public officials.

The members make up a majority of the Washoe County Commission, a five-member board in the Reno area that signs off on all election results in the county and will be responsible for holding a similar vote after the Nov. 5 presidential election.

The secretary of state and attorney general said Wednesday night the commissioners have failed to uphold a nonpartisan law and are asking the Nevada Supreme Court to require the entire county commission to meet their legal obligations and certify the results.

"It is unacceptable that any public officer would undermine the confidence of their voters," Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said in a statement. "The importance of this issue cannot be overstated."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/11/nevada-republicans-refuse-to-certify-reno-election/74352699007/

Yes, that could happen! The good news is that, last I checked, the United States is still a democracy, and we have a system of checks and balances as defined by the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights. As we have said from the beginning, there is a lot at stake in the 2024 election. It’s a battle between righteousness and lawlessness. We’ve seen the Trump administration at its’ lowest. And they will sink even lower than that if they are given a full blown dictatorship with unlimited, unchecked power. There is still hope though, is that ultimately the law will prevail and those who are looking to upend the election process will face justice. Phew, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk!

Pro-Trump local election officials may try to slow down the certification of election results in November based on unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud – but legal experts say those efforts alone won’t secure the White House for the former president.

Instead, legal experts say they’re more concerned about the role of state legislatures and the Trump-friendly Supreme Court coming to Trump's aid as he sows the kind of discord and doubt in the nation’s electoral processes that preceded the violence of the riot in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I think there's every indication that Trump and perhaps other candidates will try to disrupt or overturn results if they lose,” said Ben Berwick, a former DOJ trial attorney who is now counsel leading advocacy group Protect Democracy’s election law and litigation team.
https://www.salon.com/2024/08/17/experts-pro-officials-could-face-severe-punishments-if-they-refuse-to-certify/

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]Donald Trump
[br] [/font] [br]

Look, it’s no secret that the guy who we inexplicably used to call president, Donald J. Trump, has had quite the week. And all of it is insane. Look at how much time he’s spent the last week just shit posting on his social media hidey hole, Truth Social. Just one insane rant after another. And we’re seriously wondering if he’s actually slept in weeks or not. We stopped covering his stupid rallies for the better part of a year and a half, and yes, there have been requests. And yes, we have denied literally all of them, because he says the same things in his rallies over and over and over. But since the “assassination attempt”, this may be one of the most batshit insane things we’ve seen yet. Apparently, the Secret Service has come up with a solution in case of a future attack. Bulletproof glass! That’s right – they’re literally going to install bulletproof glass in front of the podium whenever he speaks! Now we can measure the spit that comes out of his mouth – if there is any!

Surrounded by bulletproof glass and enhanced security measures, former President Donald Trump spoke Wednesday at an outdoor rally for the first time since the assassination attempt over five weeks ago in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Speaking to an audience of a few thousand, according to the campaign, Trump took the stage with bulletproof glass in front and behind him, and mobile storage units and large trucks were brought in to block any views of the rally from potential vantage points outside of the immediate security perimeter. There was a heavy law enforcement presence, enveloping the venue with multiple snipers placed on rooftops near where the former president spoke on Wednesday.

Per two federal law enforcement officials, the rally had a series of Secret Service assets – counter-sniper teams, drone deployment, counter UAS or counter drone technology, plus advance countersurveillance teams. Advance teams walked the rally site a week ago, a type of robust walkthrough that did not happen before July 13.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-bulletproof-glass-outdoor-rallies-assassination-attempt/

Holy shit, we really do live in the weirdest timeline, don’t we? But the one thing that we got to talk about – that really gets his gourd – is the dwindling crowd numbers. Yes, it’s hilarious that we’re watching what might be the best instance of a real life This Is Spinal Tap that we’ve ever seen. Do you see what’s going on, here? Trump used to fill huge arenas. Now he’s filling small ones. Soon it’ll be children’s birthday parties and puppet shows. Worst clown ever, right? But we’re seriously loving that this is really yanking Trump’s chain. After all, he’s spent the last 8 years bragging about his crowd sizes, only OK that we return the favor, right?

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign trolled former President Donald Trump on Friday with a video of empty seats at his recent rally in Montana.

Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in the upcoming election, drew large crowds to her campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday night. Her campaign estimated there to be over 15,000 attendees, which is her largest crowd yet.

Last night, the vice president's campaign shared a video of the roaring crowd when Harris walked on stage in Arizona on X, formerly Twitter. The post has received more than 1.5 million views as of Saturday morning.

In a follow-up post, Harris' campaign showed a video of Trump's rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday with many empty seats. Attendees remained seated and quiet, but this is to be expected given that they were waiting for other speakers to give remarks before Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, went on stage hours later. The follow-up post received more than 1.7 million views as of Saturday morning.
https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-donald-trump-rally-size-1937390

Yeah, seriously, what a loser! Unlike Spinal Tap, this is extremely sweet to watch Trump’s demise from arena headliner to… a sore-headed washed up old kook who can’t even keep a children’s birthday party entertained. Maybe Trump will find solace when he makes good on his threat to move to Venezuela if he loses the election. Seriously, you heard that, right? A candidate for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is threatening to move to a NON EXTRADITION COUNTRY if he loses the election! What is it about Nazis moving to South America when they lose? I wonder…

Donald Trump hinted that he might flee to Venezuela if he loses the election this November.

The former president made the comment as part of a fear-mongering prediction during his X interview with Elon Musk on Monday.

“If something happens with this election, which would be a horror show, we’ll meet the next time in Venezuela,” Trump said.

He elaborated, explaining that Venezuela — a dictatorship where nearly two dozen people have been killed in crackdowns on political protests — would be far safer than the US if Vice President Kamala Harris wins in 2024.

“We’ll have a meeting and dinner in Venezuela,” Trump said, “Because that’s what’s happening—their crime rate’s coming down and our crime rate’s going through the roof.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-flee-venezuela-election-b2595836.html

Seriously… when you’re accused of wanting to be a dictator on day one… you threaten to move to a country that’s run by a real dictator? A guy who actually is attempting to suspend the election process and squash all opposition to his authoritarian regime? That’s the country you pick. What the ever-loving, actual fuck??? Well, despite the fact that Trump is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week this week, he’s only digging his own political grave here. So between fake electors and bulletproof glass, it seems only natural that Trump is musing about crowd sizes by accusing Harris of using artificial intelligence to inflate her crowd size. Something’s being inflated, all right.

Donald Trump falsely claimed in a series of social media posts Sunday that “nobody” attended Vice President Kamala Harris’ Michigan rally last week — and said his Democratic rival should be “disqualified” over a “fake crowd picture.”

The former president appeared to have fallen for a far-right conspiracy theory — one easily disproved by photos and videos captured by attendees and media showing thousands of supporters at the event at an airport hangar near Detroit.

The false claims about attendance at Harris’ event come as Trump navigates the contours of a changed presidential race, with the vice president riding a wave of new Democratic enthusiasm after replacing President Joe Biden atop the ticket. The GOP nominee, who regularly draws large crowds of his own, has long been fixated on audience size, with his speeches often filled with exaggerated boasts about the turnout.

Trump, on his social media website Truth Social, made the fabricated claim that Harris had been “turned in” by an airport maintenance worker who “noticed the fake crowd picture.”
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/11/politics/trump-harris-crowd-size-conspiracy-theory/index.html

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]JD Vance
[br] [/font] [br]

Look, it’s been two years since the devastating and shocking, but entirely expected overturning of Roe V Wade in the United States. And there’s no secret that abortion is going to be the biggest talking point in the election going forward. But the GOP is even going a step further and has been hinting that they will ban pornography in a second Trump term, meaning that they won’t stop at Roe V Wade. So what does that have to do with MAGA’s vice presidential nominee, JD Vance? Well, let’s put it this way – Donald Trump picked who may be the most creepy, socially awkward weirdo that’s ever been nominated to the vice presidency since Spiro Agnew! Last week, we pointed out how much of a sexist pig JD Vance is and his history of extremism towards women. In fact, this nominee has not only sunk, it’s pretty much obliterated the women vote for the 2024 election. But here’s something even weirder is that Vance is more unpopular with men than with women!

GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance is less popular among men than women, a poll shows.

The Ohio senator has come under scrutiny by both liberals and conservatives for his comments about women and reproductive rights, but a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll released Friday found that the candidate struggles more with male voters than female voters.

The survey, conducted among 2,336 respondents between August 9 and 13, found that Vance has a -12 favorability rating among men and a -8 favorability rating among women. It also showed that his comments have not done much to alienate voters without children, given that his net favorability rating is -10 among both parents and those without children at home.

Newsweek reached out to Vance via email for comment.

Shortly after former President Donald Trump announced Vance as his running mate, clips have resurfaced of the senator referring to Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democratic figures as "a bunch of childless cat ladies" and saying that parents should have more electoral power. Since then, the Ohio Republican has doubled down on his comments.
https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-less-popular-men-women-new-poll-shows-1940287

Yes, that cat lady comment has cost Vance big time. But can he be replaced on the ticket this late in the game – even nearly a month after being nominated at the RNC? The answer is most likely a big fat no, and you know what? We’re OK with that! Whatever it takes to stop Trump from being the supreme overlord of the US! But there’s no secret that JD Vance’s ongoing sexist comments are alienating the female vote. In fact look at this picture from his most recent rally. Does anyone get vibes from the Four Seasons Total Landscaping fiasco from 2020? We do! Well, here’s how much of a creep Vance is perceived from registered female voters.

In an election defined by a historic gender gap, former President Trump and Sen. JD Vance have a big gap in how they think and talk about the other gender, compared to most men in American politics.

For Trump, it's his unusual vulgar and sexist language. For Vance, it's anachronistic-sounding views on the role of women in modern society.

Why it matters: Women are more reliable voters than men. And polls suggest they'll reliably vote by big margins for Vice President Harris.

A Quinnipiac Poll out this week found a gender gulf among likely voters in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania: Women backed Harris 54% to 41%, while men went for Trump, 49% to 42%. (Overall, Harris was up 48% to 45%.)
https://www.axios.com/2024/08/16/trump-vance-women-problem-voters

Yes, make no mistake that there is going to be a massive gender gap when the dust finally settles on November 7th, 2024. Which it seems like that day is never coming, but rest assured, my fair audience, that day is only a mere 90 days away! And we must do everything that we can to flush Trump and his fascist tyrannical regime down the sewer that they came from! We don’t need to keep stressing that there is a lot at stake in this election, especially since the bad guys revealed their true agenda with the terrifying Project 2025. But the choice in the 2024 election is clear – it’s Kamala Harris and Tim Walz against well, creepy white guy, and creepier white guy. Ha ha ha ha… I’d like to see that election poster on a wall! So yeah, why don’t you just keep talking, JD? You’re only hurting yourself and the MAGA cause, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer group of assholes!

Ohio Sen. JD Vance is a man with an obsession. The video of Donald Trump's running mate raving on Fox News in 2021 about "childless cat ladies who are miserable" went viral in part because host Tucker Carlson's practiced "dumbfounded" face adds an extra layer of weirdness to any clip of right-wing absurdity. But fantasizing about the secret unhappiness of all those pretty single ladies hugging kitties on Instagram was pretty much Vance's full-time job for years. Media Matters dug up a whopping 13 other instances of Vance railing about childless women, calling them "sociopaths" who "must be stopped." Repeatedly, he singled out cat ownership as a sure sign that one belonged to the "cabal" of non-mothers he believes are single-handedly destroying the nation.

But while Vance views our feline friends as a medieval witch-hunter would — as a sign that a woman is dangerously independent and therefore evil — dog owners should not feel safe from the ire of Vance and his friends in the uterus-obsessed MAGA movement. Vance wrote the forward to "Dawn's Early Light: Taking Back Washington To Save America" by Kevin Roberts of the Heritage Foundation. Roberts is one of the leaders of Project 2025, which was developed to build Trump's policy agenda without the larger public finding out about it. (That failed, and now the campaign is pretending to reject Project 2025.) "Dawn's Early Light" was meant to be an airport book version of Project 2025, a snappy and readable volume that nonetheless displays the granular level of control MAGA Republicans want to assert over the choices of Americans in how to worship, whether to have kids and who they'll marry.
https://www.salon.com/2024/08/16/jd-vance-isnt-just-out-to-get-cat-ladies--his-weird-plans-target-dog-people-and-grandmas-too/

Oh come on, like the GOP suddenly cares about grandmas! Remember back in the Obama administration when Fox News trotted out the abysmal “Obamacare is going to kill your grandma!” talking point? And then during COVID, we were told that “COVID is going to kill your grandma”? Well, it looks like all those predictions are wrong, because Trump and Vance are the ones who are going to finish granny off for good! But republicans haven’t just been weird about women since Trump and Vance assumed the nomination a month ago, it’s been that way since the Nixon administration! This is just adding one more to the pile!

COLUMNISTS
You're not imagining it. Republicans have been weird about women for years.
It's impossible to see the way Republican men talk about women and not notice the misogyny.
Sara Pequeño
USA TODAY

If it feels like the misogyny just won’t stop, you’re not crazy. You’re just paying attention.

And yes, it is only going to get worse with Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic Party ticket.

We're less than a month into her presidential campaign, and the attacks have only been amplified since Harris became the presumptive nominee after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid. Notice the first wave of attacks that had nothing to do with her policies.

So, here’s a little reminder of who and what the Republican Party is elevating, and who they're tearing down in the process. They've been doing it for years.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/08/14/trump-sexist-vance-republican-misogyny-women/74631430007/

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]Razman Kadyrov
[br] [/font] [br]

There’s no better poster child for what going down the right wing internet conspiracy theory wormhole does to a person than Elon Musk. There’s also no better poster child for being a Putin inspired batshit crazy dictator like Chechnya’s Razman Kadyrov. So what do these two people – on seemingly opposite ends of the world – have in common? The Cybertruck. Yes, the most controversial vehicle of the decade, and maybe the century. Think of it like Doc Brown’s DeLorean and Walter White’s Pontiac Aztek had a love child, and that love child dropped a huge batch of LSD. While the Cybertruck is enjoying the popularity of the MAGA dude bro segment and fascism-embracing celebrities like Kanye West and Justin Bieber, it also has another audience that you might not be aware of – third world dictators! That’s right, and one fan in particular has been making the news. That’s right, Razman Kadyrov. He’s apparently a big fan of the Cybertruck, and has been showing off his modified, heavily armored Cybertruck in the Chechnyan capital of Grozny. Because that’s what you want to see when you’re driving down the freeway is a giant electronic, bulletproof (?) armored tank that looks like a rejected scene from an Apocalypse Now reboot.

The leader of Russia's Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, published a video on Saturday of himself driving a Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab Cybertruck with what looked like a machinegun mounted on top, saying he would send it to the Ukraine conflict zone.

Kadyrov, known for extravagant publicity stunts, heaped praise on both the vehicle and Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk on the Telegram messaging app, calling him the "strongest genius of modern times" and inviting Musk to Chechnya.

"We... await your future products that will help us finish the special military operation," Kadyrov wrote, using the official term by which Russia describes its war in Ukraine.

There was no immediate comment from Tesla.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-kadyrov-equips-tesla-truck-with-machinegun-war-2024-08-17/

You know, considering there’s a cross section of MAGA dude bros and gun nuts who buy this… whatever you’re supposed to call this vehicle… we’re amazed someone hasn’t tried that here yet. But let’s give Elon the benefit of the doubt here. Yes, he probably didn’t know that Kadyrov had a giant sub-machine gun mounted to the base of the Cybertruck’s bed like it was in some sort of weird fucked up, modern day reboot of Mad Max! But instead of Mad Max, why don’t we name this after another early 90s movie – the Cider House Rules? And why don’t we call it instead… the Cybertruck House Rules? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… our graphics department does it again! But one thing we do know, judging from his latest tirades on X, is that Elon probably is into this sort of thing.

"We received a Tesla Cybertruck from the esteemed Elon Musk. I was pleased to test this new technology and personally witnessed why it's rightfully called the 'Cyberbeast,'" he wrote, according to a translation.

"The Cybertruck will soon be sent to the SVO zone, where it will be in demand under the appropriate conditions. I am confident that this 'beast' will greatly benefit our soldiers," he added. SVO is a reference to the "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, which was sent outside regular working hours.

Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed leader of Chechnya, has long been a prolific social media user and is known for publicity stunts — he has been photographed playing soccer against the late Argentine star Diego Maradona and once had actor Hilary Swank attend his birthday party.
https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-cybertruck-machine-gun-ukraine-chechnya-putin-elon-musk-2024-8

OK that’s awesome! If there’s one thing you should never, ever do, it’s turn memes into reality. And Kadyrov’s version of the Cybertruck definitely looks like some kid who spends way too much time thinking about his future military recruitment would come up with in his free time. And that does look like something you’d see in your post-apocalyptic fantasy world, doesn’t it? So Elon is saying that no, he didn’t know that Kadyrov had purchased a Cybertruck and is sending it to the Ukraine combat zone. So what could possibly go wrong there? Even we don’t know. Of course that’s the thing with fascist types is that they definitely deny that thing that they didn’t do, even though everyone knows that they did that thing they did. Yes, make that make sense!

After that initial denial, Kadyrov's claim continued to spread like wildfire on social media. In response, Musk doubled down on his denial, this time piggybacking off another user's post.

"I seriously doubt that Elon Musk is giving free Cybertrucks to Russian officials," the user wrote alongside a screenshot of an article repeating Kadyrov's claim. "Perhaps the guy got [it] from someone who sold it to him. But I can’t see Elon Musk giving Cybertrucks to Russia."

In response, the South African-Canadian tycoon suggested that the Chechen leader, who encouraged and led the country's infamous gay purges in 2017, was probably just joking.

"This is completely false," Musk wrote. "He is trolling."

At the end of the day, the serial entrepreneur is probably telling the truth — but given his weirdly pro-Russian stance amid Putin's lengthy invasion of Ukraine, it makes sense why people would believe the Chechen warlord here.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-insists-didn-t-012931296.html

You know that’s how I want to spend the war – being chained up to various objects like that! This is perhaps the strangest marketing turnaround we’ve ever seen. When Tesla first started, anyone remember how much the brand was valued by environmentalists? Now it’s valued by MAGA celebrities and third world dictators. But hey if there’s one thing that links the third world with the first world, now, it’s the Tesla brand. And it’s loved by fascists all over the world. Not all Tesla owners are fascist, but all fascists are Tesla owners! So think about this – Razman Kadyrov owns a Cybertruck. Kanye West owns a Cybertruck. And now guess who else owns one? That’s right – the 45th president of the United States, everybody. Mic. Dropped.

After Donald Trump sat down for an interview with a social media influencer whose past guests have included an accused rapist and an avowed white supremacist, the host gave the former president a Tesla Cybertruck as well as a Rolex watch in what could amount to a campaign finance violation.

Trump’s campaign has since said that it will seek guidance from the Federal Election Commission on how to handle the gifts. The internet celebrity who hosted Trump, Adin Ross, has not publicly commented on the gifts in relation to campaign finance laws, which limit individuals’ contributions to political candidates they support to $3,300 – far below the value of the truck and watch.

Ross, a 23-year-old professional video game streamer, has risen to fame by hosting interviews of guests such as Andrew Tate – who is facing rape and human trafficking charges in Romania – and the white supremacist provocateur Nick Fuentes.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/06/trump-adin-ross-tesla-rolex

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]We’re All Gonna Die: Dueling Viruses
[br] [/font] [br] B



Hey everyone, guess what? We’re all gonna die!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! WOOOOOO. WOOOO. WOO. So what’s going to kill us all this week, you might ask? Well, good question! This week, we’ve got not one, but two killer viruses to choose from! So what’s behind door number one? Tell ‘em, Johnny! Well, behind door number one is the return of monkeypox! Which if left untreated could cause another massive global pandemic, maybe worse than what we saw with COVID-19. And what’s behind door number two? Door number 2 is a fabulous case of humanparvovirus! You might be thinking – “wait, doesn’t parvo virus only affect dogs? Yes, but as we learned from COVID, parvovirus is what’s called a “zoonotic” virus meaning that it can jump from animals to humans! And like we learned with COVID, there’s already a percentage of us who are going to tell the WHO to go fuck themselves no matter what life-saving measures they actually come up with. So let’s start with monkeypox. Could monkeypox actually affect the world the way COVID did? Well, there’s a reason to be safe for now.

Mpox is now considered a global health emergency as cases surge in Central Africa and a new subtype of the virus, which causes severe illness, spreads to multiple countries — prompting concerns about a lockdown over the virus formerly known as monkeypox in the U.S.

Mpox is a highly contagious viral disease, which can cause flu-like symptoms and painful skin lesions. It's caused by the mpox virus, which spreads through close contact.

In response to a growing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring countries in Africa, the World Health Organization on Aug. 14 declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), WHO's highest level of alarm.

This is the second time WHO has declared mpox a PHEIC in two years. The first was in response to a multi-country outbreak in 2022, which sickened nearly 100,000 people, including 32,000 in the U.S., per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.today.com/health/news/monkeypox-virus-lockdown-global-emergency-rcna167133

Yeah so TWICE, the WHO has declared that mpox is a public health emergency of global concern, and when that happens, you know what we say around here – it ain’t good! And again, if there’s any lesson we learned in the last pandemic – is that half of the population just will not listen to the other half. Like you could tell them “HEY! DON’T JUMP OFF THAT CLIFF!!!” and they will be pushing and shoving to be the first in line to jump off the cliff! But now the question is – could mpox present a challenge to hospitals like COVID-19 did? Well, the good news is that there is a vaccine that’s been developed for mpox, and no, your MAGA conspiracy theory loving friends aren’t going to like it!

As concerns mount about a type of mpox spreading across Africa that’s believed to cause more serious illness, infectious disease experts expressed cautious optimism that this branch of the virus would not spread as broadly in the U.S. or cause health impacts as severe.

The risk of this subtype of mpox to the U.S. could be mitigated by a number of factors, including immunity from vaccination and previous infection from the outbreak of a different variant that began in 2022; the lack of viral circulation in wild animals; and better health care access, living standards and public health.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization reinstated the status of mpox (formerly monkeypox) as a public health emergency of international concern. This was in response to a large ongoing outbreak of clade I of mpox — a clade is an evolutionary branch — in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, that has spread to other African nations.

Sweden announced the first clade I case outside of Africa on Thursday.

“It was only a matter of time before we saw this extend beyond the African continent,” Dr. Boghuma Titanji, an infectious disease specialist at Emory University, said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-mpox-threat-cause-significant-harm-us-rcna166937

Now what’s behind door #2, you might ask? Humanparvovirus! Yes, it’s a disease that, normally, the CDC doesn’t track. But there’s a new mutation on the horizon – the B19 variant – that could really do some damage. But again, remember what we said could be the catalyst for these two diseases we’ve been discussing getting out in the open? It’s because half of the United States will simply tell the other half of the country to go fuck themselves when it comes to preventative public health measures. Which means that if a disease of this status were to reach pandemic levels like we saw in 2020, we could see some serious shit hit the fan!

Cases of parvovirus B19 are on the rise in the United States, the CDC announced last week.

The CDC issued a health advisory on Aug. 13 that said there is an "increase in human parvovirus B19 activity" in the U.S.

The U.S. doesn't routinely monitor for cases of parvovirus, the CDC said. However, it said there has been an increase in reports of parvovirus B19 complications in pregnant people and people with sickle cell disease.

It also said there has been a rise in lab-tested specimens positive for parvovirus B19.

Here's what to know about the advisory and how to protect yourself.
https://www.telegram.com/story/news/2024/08/20/cdc-parvovirus-b19-warning-outbreak-cases-infections-health-advisory-diseases-unitedstates/74824600007/

No, not really. In fact here’s the difference between humanparvovirus and COVID-19 – and get ready to have your mind blown – you’ve probably already been exposed to this disease at some point in your lifetime. So could it be a problem in the future? Not likely, but again that entirely depends on some weird, unknown mutation that we’ve seen. And also, unless you’ve actually read through the entire article and not just the headlines, you know that the chances of this disease reaching COVID pandemic levels are slim to nil. Which goes to show that all the fearmongering from the media and from your friendly neighborhood anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorists… ha ha ha ha… I’ll be expecting a cease and desist from Stan Lee’s lawyers soon… is that it always helps to cut through media fearmongering by doing that weird thing called, you know, reading.

Chances are you’ve already been exposed to the virus in your lifetime. Roughly half of adults have detectable antibodies by the age of 20, according to the CDC, and more than 70% have them by the time they turn 40. While no parvovirus B19 vaccine exists, these antibodies may help protect you against reinfection.

Like the common cold, parvovirus B19 spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets including sputum, saliva, and nasal mucus. You’re also at risk if you touch an item that has the virus on it. Practicing basic public health hygiene such as washing your hands, covering your mouth when you cough, wearing a mask in crowded settings, and staying home when you’re sick can help prevent disease. Don’t forget to disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs, countertops, and light switches.

Parvovirus B19 can also spread through blood or blood products, though infection through transfusion is rare. In addition, pregnant people who are infected can spread the virus to their unborn child. When this happens early in a pregnancy, the risk of miscarriage increases slightly, the CDC says. In some cases, the fetus may become anemic. If you’re expecting, the virus likely won’t impact your pregnancy—especially if you’ve been previously infected—but be sure to let your doctor know if you think you’ve been exposed.
https://www.aol.com/parvovirus-b19-spreading-across-u-210526172.html

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]Holy Shit
[br] [/font] [br]

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, for the better part of the last year and a half now, we’ve been talking about the rise of Christian nationalism through manufactured talking points. Last week, we talked about how extreme one can get through indoctrination – particularly “Pastor” Joel Webbon. But Joel Webbon isn’t running for office anytime soon. This week, we’re going to talk about someone who is, and their extremism. That man is Mark Robinson, who is running to be the governor of the great state of North Carolina! Mark Robinson claims to be a man of GAWD, but in reality, he worships the unholy, ungodly Dark One! I of course speak of a man who is so foul, so depraved and disgusting, that his name DARE NOT be spoken in my church! Anyway, let’s first get into the history of this depraved individual. One of the things that you have to be aware of is his style of discipline, which is very Ayn Rand-ish. Remember that episode of the Simpsons where they stick Maggie in the Ayn Rand School For Tots? Yeah, it turns out that there’s actually a real life school like that! And it was ran by the guy who wants to be North Carolina’s new governor!

North Carolina’s Republican nominee for governor, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, is threatening-to-sue-letter-writing mad after Democratic nominee Attorney General Josh Stein aired this spine-tingling horror-short of an ad pointing out how Mark Robinson ran a dirty, understaffed, dangerous daycare, and you’ve just gotta watch! Unless your triggers are creepy screechy noises, a toddler fixing to bash her head on a tile floor, dangling electrical cords, and hauntingly lonely, crying children.

Robinson’s lawyers fired off a huffy letter to the Stein campaign, to “demand that Stein and his campaign cease and desist from these knowingly false attacks, or as they say, ‘dramatic visualizations.’”

LOL, no shit! The set of the ad at least looks clean, with toys, and the North Carolina childhood-center credentialing reporters said that the Robinson daycare, Precious Beginnings, had “no dolls and other appropriate books and toys.” AT ALL! LIKE NONE! In addition to being understaffed and unsanitary.

Robinson’s wife started the daycare center in Greensboro, and then it was managed by Mark, badly, in 2006 and 2007. Also unlike the ad, the Robinson daycare did have employees, just not enough of them, and they were unsupervised and too busy on their phones to refrigerate formula. And they weren’t background checked or trained in safety, either. So the Robinsons, instead of background-checking them or training them like they were supposed to, tried to turn in FAKE credentials to the state. They got immediately busted, and hurriedly shut the center down before they got into bigger trouble.
https://www.wonkette.com/p/nc-gop-nominee-mark-robinson-ran

Yeah no wonder this guy is a raving, blithering psychopath. Which to me is totally disturbing given that the godliest among us, elect crazy people like this. And that says more about them then it does about anything else, doesn’t it? But of course, now that he’s claiming to be a man of GAWD, what does that really say about the GAWD he worships? Because I can tell you – our GAWD doesn’t play that game at all, no sir! But what is it with the right wing right now thinking that we’re in some kind of holy war? I mean where is this shit coming from? Well I answer you, my fair congregation! It is coming from people like Mark Robinson, who are listening to the vile, foul, dark corners of the internet that are filling their minds with hate, bile, and garbage! That’s what! And of course, he’s walking back on the vile, disgusting things that are coming out of his mouth, but we’ve got the tapes!

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, a Republican running to be governor of the red-tinted battleground state, often claims mixed-race Native American descent. But that has not stopped the candidate, known for making incendiary remarks that have embarrassed some fellow party members, from casting doubt on the European role in destroying Native American society, condemning sports teams' efforts to get rid of racially insensitive names and passionately defending Christopher Columbus.

In a series of social media posts from 2015 onwards, Robinson complained about posts he saw from other people that described a settler-colonial genocide in which huge numbers of indigenous peoples were displaced, forcefully assimilated and killed from the Hudson Bay to the Strait of Magellan, calling them "ludicrous" and "VERY historically inaccurate."

"It would seem that a Nation that is as blessed as we are would be too busy giving THANKS on Thanksgiving to have time to make silly memes and ludicrous posts about how we 'killed the Indians,'" he groused, calling anyone who would post such information an "IDIOT" and "INGRATE."
https://www.salon.com/2024/08/20/silly-memes-mark-robinson-claimed-history-of-settlers-natives-was-exaggerated/

Yes, the right wing just continues to get increasingly more insane and deranged with each passing election cycle, and, sadly, my brothers and sisters, I fear that we may not have seen them at their very worst yet! And of course there’s only one entity to blame for this atrocity – the favorite “news” network of the unholy Dark One, aka He Who Shall Not Be Named – Fox News! Yes, Fox props up these garbage politicians and insane lunatics every night because peace and prosperity aren’t good for their ratings! So that’s right, my fair congregation! And there’s no bigger hypocrite than Mr. Robinson – one minute he says that “some folks just need killing”, and then the next he says that “abortion is murder”. So which is it? Pick a lane, and both lanes lead to the same wall, unfortunately.

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) called mass killings in America karma for the “murder of infants” — and “chickens coming home to roost.” He compared supporters of reproductive rights to people who fought to preserve slavery. Robinson noted that he’s been advised, as a candidate for office, “not to say that abortion is murder. What else am I supposed to call it? Abortion is murder.”

A Rolling Stone review of the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s public comments and social media posts reveal he has called abortion murder dozens of times. While Robinson has expressed radical views on a range of topics, his views on abortion have drawn significant controversy in his latest statewide bid. His Democratic opponent has run ads packing as many anti-abortion sound bites from Robinson as will fit in a 30-second spot.

“Let’s say I was the governor, I had a willing legislature, we could pass a bill saying you can’t have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason,” he says in one clip. In another, Robinson says, “For me there is no compromise on abortion, it makes no difference to me why or how that child ended up in that womb.” Elsewhere, he says: “Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers. It’s about killing a child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/mark-robinson-abortion-murder-north-carolina-1235082406/

Yes, he does! And you might be wondering why we’re focusing on one particular individual this week – much like hate pastor Webbon, these are the faces of white supremacist Christian nationalism. Yes, Mark Robinson may seem like a rejected Saturday Night Live character, but the thing we have to realize in our ongoing fight against the rise of fascism and authoritarianism in not just the United States, but around the world, is that fascism only comes if we as a people let it! And by the time it does, it will be too late to do anything about it. We have to realize the dangers of what people like Mark Robinson and Joel Webbon are saying. Because tomorrow may be too late!

Mark Robinson, the extremist GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina, appeared to endorse political violence in a bizarre and extended rant he delivered on June 30 in a small-town church.

“Some folks need killing!” Robinson, the state’s lieutenant governor, shouted during a roughly half-hour-long speech in Lake Church in the tiny town of White Lake, in the southeast corner of the state. “It’s time for somebody to say it. It’s not a matter of vengeance. It’s not a matter of being mean or spiteful. It’s a matter of necessity!”

Robinson’s call for the “killing” of “some folks” came during an extended diatribe in which he attacked an extraordinary assortment of enemies. These ranged from “people who have evil intent” to “wicked people” to those doing things like “torturing and murdering and raping” to socialists and Communists. He also invoked those supposedly undermining America’s founding ideals and leftists allegedly persecuting conservatives by canceling them and doxxing them online.
https://newrepublic.com/article/183443/mark-robinson-north-carolina-gov-candidate-hateful-rant-killing

Yes, my friends, we’re profiling the fascists who claim to be in the name of GAWD as long as they keep presenting their extremism! And that doesn’t sit well with us, because it does not paint a very bright future for the United States! Next week we promise we’ll have a fun one, though! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"] Late Stage Capitalism: Disney Vs Disney Plus Customer
[br] [/font] [br]

Top 10 Conservative Idiots Presents:

“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” – Gordon Gekko, Wall St. (1987)

When corporate profits are at an all time high, there is nowhere else to go but to make more millions.

There is corporate greed, and then there is:



Welcome back to our segment on the relentless pursuit of never-ending corporate greed, Late Stage Capitalism! Sure, it’s not enough to make $50 billion, you need $150 billion! You need to be able to tank entire countries while you jet off in your penis-shaped rocket to the vast emptiness of deep space! This week, let’s talk about a company that has gained notoriety on both sides of the aisle: the Walt Disney Corporation. Yes, Disney, the home of Mickey Mouse. Purveyor of theme parks. Streamer of Bluey and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, among other things. Well, the Mouse House is under fire this week for something that is both completely unbelievable, and downright, batshit crazy. It’s also completely evil, and will make you think twice before you click on that Terms Of Service Agreement. And before people complain, this segment is not about making fun of someone’s death. Instead, we’re trashing Disney for how relentlessly evil this is. So here’s what happened and it’s shocking, and it’s not a good look for Disney the more you dig into it.

Re-read your Disney+ and ESPN+ Subscriber Agreement. (You’ve read it before, right?) This time, read it a bit more closely. A man named Jeffrey Piccolo is learning this lesson the hard way — as if his life as of late has not been hard enough already.

Piccolo is suing the Walt Disney Company after his wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan, died following an allergic reaction to food served at Disney World’s Disney Springs restaurant Raglan Road. Piccolo says in a lawsuit (obtained by IndieWire) that he and Tangsuan, who were aware of her food allergies, had repeatedly been “assured” her food as served there was “allergen free.” A medical examiner’s report found Tangsuan’s cause of death was “anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system.”

Disney does not own or operate Raglan Road, though it is on Disney property. Great Irish Pubs Florida, Inc., which is also a listed defendant in the lawsuit, leases the property from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Financially, one of those companies is not like the other.
https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/disney-plus-lawsuit-streaming-wrongful-death-1235036150/

Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Look, we’ve defended Disney ad nauseum on this program and even on this segment. But this is completely inexcusable. And it’s another excuse for relentless corporate greed because this poor guy can’t get any compensation for his wife’s untimely and completely preventable death. But like the famous South Park episode said, Americans, and most people, are notorious for clicking on the “I Agree” button on the Terms Of Service Agreement before they agree to signing up for a service. It turns out that Disney is not the only corporation that is using this practice.

Every day, consumers may be unknowingly signing away their rights to sue companies – such as online retail platforms, gig economy apps, and streaming services – even if the claims have no relation to the service a person signed up for.

In a current lawsuit, Walt Disney World is arguing that the contract a widower entered when signing up for the Disney+ streaming service several years ago means that a wrongful death lawsuit he’s brought against Disney and a restaurant not owned by Disney on the grounds of the expansive Florida resort cannot go forward in court.

Disney joins other companies such as Airbnb and Walmart that are using increasingly aggressive strategies in attempts to steer lawsuits they face from consumers into arbitration, a private legal process viewed as disadvantaging plaintiffs. Customers more and more must agree to contracts with sweeping arbitration clauses to use their services, but the consequences can be larger than they can be expected to comprehend.

“The Average Joe in society doesn’t know what arbitration is, let alone understand the content of what they’re signing,” said Creighton University Law Professor and arbitration expert Hossein Fazilatfar.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/16/politics/arbitration-signing-away-rights-disney-plus-wrongful-death-lawsuit/index.html

Of course they don’t! That’s what happens when one political party tries to fuck with the education system of this country to bend to the will of a power hungry media mogul who’s out for world domination to line his pockets! Whew, now that we got that off our chest… that’s a different subject altogether. But Disney, of course, never one to back down from controversy, attempted to double down on the subject of the lawsuit in question. But again – this is one of those subjects where we say – be careful what you wish for, especially in the so-called Happiest Place On Earth! So is Disney right or wrong in this debate? Well, most will probably say they are wrong.

One Orlando trial lawyer says people should be aware of what’s in legal agreements when they sign up for services around the country

The issue has come to the forefront after Disney pushed back against a wrongful death lawsuit.

Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor from New York, died after dining with her husband and mother-in-law at a restaurant located on Disney Spring property.

According to court documents, Disney wants to move the lawsuit to arbitration because the plaintiff signed up for Disney+ and the agreement states that is how disagreements with the entertainment company have to be settled.
https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2024/08/16/some-question-how-subscriber-agreement-with-disney-plus-streaming-can-force-arbitration-in-woman-s-death-caused-by-food-allergies-

Come on, you agreed to this! You all agreed to this! From now on, upon entering Walt Disney World Orlando, or Disneyland Anaheim, or any of our Disney cruise lines, you will now officially be employees of Disney! Yes, you heard me! In addition to worshipping us and our merchandise, you will now officially be our property! Yeah, see what the dangers of not reading your terms of service agreement can lead to? It can lead to things like that. So yes, that South Park episode was totally accurate. Again, you agreed to this! You all agreed to this! At least the good news is that for now, Disney is bowing to public pressure and dropping out of the lawsuit. But let it be a lesson for next time, ha ha! We did it! Success! We fought the law!

Disney is no longer asking a Florida court to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit on the grounds that the victim’s family had signed up for its streaming service Disney+.

The company filed a notice in Orange County court on Tuesday to withdraw the motion, which had drawn swift backlash when it became public.

Josh D’Amaro, chairperson of Disney’s theme park division, said in a statement emailed earlier to The Associated Press that the entertainment giant will waive its arbitration rights and allow the suit, brought by the husband of a New York doctor who suffered a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a restaurant in Disney Springs, to proceed in court.

“At Disney, we strive to put humanity above all other considerations,” he said in the Monday night statement. “With such unique circumstances as the ones in this case, we believe this situation warrants a sensitive approach to expedite a resolution for the family who have experienced such a painful loss.”
https://apnews.com/article/disney-allergy-death-lawsuit-b66cd07c6be2497bf5f6bce2d1f2e8d1

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner
[br] [/font] [br]



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 this week, the king of conspiracies, the guy who inexplicably became the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, floated an absolutely batshit story that set off conspiracy theorists alike on the internet. The story goes like this – Trump was in a helicopter with former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown. Willie Brown – the then fiancée of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris – said some unflattering things about her as the helicopter was going down. Now here’s where it gets weird. He wasn’t in a helicopter with Willie Brown. He was in a helicopter with former California governor Jerry Brown! And this still may not have happened. Facts, yeah!

From Mar-a-Lago, the former president dramatically recalled a story about almost crashing on a flight while traveling with Willie Brown, who briefly dated Vice President Kamala Harris several decades ago.

“I went down in a helicopter with him; we thought maybe this was the end,” Trump said. “We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together, and there was an emergency landing. This was not a pleasant landing.”

Trump claimed that Brown had made critical comments about Harris, but the former mayor refuted those remarks, stating that he was always on good terms with his former protégée, even after their breakup.

“And Willie was — he was a little concerned, Trump explained. “So, I know him, but I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven’t seen him in years. But he told me terrible things about her. But this is what you’re telling me, anyway, I guess. But he had a big part in what happened with Kamala. But he — he, I don’t know, maybe he’s changed his tune. But he — he was not a fan of hers very much, at that point.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/08/09/trumps-helicopter-crash-story-untrue/74734945007/

Oh this story gets even weirder depending on who you talk to! Because apparently not only does this story not make a lick of sense, Willie Brown claims that they never even met in the first place! Oh sure, that’s what they want you to think! But now Trump says “screw you”, they actually have the flight records that prove he was on the chopper! Ya, ya… get to tha choppah! Arnold Schwarzenegger approves! Well, that nonsense aside, Willie Brown is going to give Trump a taste of his own medicine – the lawsuit! Yes, the party that claims to hate trial lawyers files more lawsuits than anyone else on the planet! So it will be interesting and sweet for them to get a taste of their own medicine!

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown warned he may consider legal action against former President Donald Trump over a story he recently told about almost crashing in a helicopter with Brown.

In an interview this week with CBS News, Brown said that he has never been in a helicopter with Trump and threatened to sue the former President because "somebody has got to make sure that he stops lying."

"If he keeps it up, at some point, I'm going to give him a taste of his own conduct," Brown said. "If he sues The New York Times for printing that I said he lied, I'm going to sue him."

Facing questions about the validity of his story last week, Trump threatened to sue the New York Times.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/willie-brown-donald-trump-helicopter-kamala-harris/

So this is one truly bizarre story. Made even worse by Donald Trump, a guy who doesn’t know when exactly to shut the fuck up! And again, why was it that we were questioning Joe Biden’s mental capabilities again? Why aren’t we questioning this guy’s? And of course, once again, because Trump doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up, despite that this tale never happened, he’s doubling down on the deal. Apparently they’ve got flight logs that prove that this happened, but Trump, of course is always going to make this story about him, no matter what. But this whole story reeks of a “he who smelt it, dealt it” kind of situation.

Brown, a longtime Democratic power broker who also served as speaker of the California State Assembly, told the San Francisco Chronicle after Trump's press conference that he was never in a helicopter with the former president. He also denied that he had ever said anything disparaging about Harris to Trump.

Another Black former California politician, Nate Holden, told Politico late on Friday that he had been in a turbulent helicopter ride with Trump in New Jersey, likely in 1990.

Earlier on Friday, Trump had dug in, insisting in posts on his Truth Social platform that his helicopter ride had been with Willie Brown and that it had occurred in New Jersey, not California.

"There were "Logs," Maintenance Records, and Witnesses. There was also a story on "Willie and Me," Trump said.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-apparently-confuses-willie-brown-with-jerry-brown-helicopter-tale-2024-08-09/

Yes, one can never have too much tin foil! But seriously, if Trump was on a helicopter that nearly went down in Sacramento, and also one that nearly went down in New Jersey… how many helicopter near crashes has he been in? I feel like some huge details are missing here! Or maybe it’s just one helicopter crash and he doesn’t remember the details. Which that would be totally on brand for him. Anyway, the fact that this guy could once again become the leader of the free world is certifiably scary. Especially when he can’t get his 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 stories straight! But this definitely isn’t the first time he's told this whopper, so it must just be all living in… whatever functions remain left in, whatever he calls a “brain”.

Former President Donald Trump’s apparently false tale of surviving a helicopter emergency landing with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown wasn’t a one-off.

Trump, who told the story in a rambling news conference at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, recounted it at least once before — in a 2023 book.

In either case, it’s not true. At least not according to Brown, a political icon in California who served as the Assembly Speaker for 14 years in the 1980s and 1990s.

“You would have known if I had gone down on a helicopter with Trump,” Brown told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’ve never been on a helicopter with Trump.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/09/trump-false-helicopter-crash-story-book-00173473

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]People Are Dumb
[br] [/font] [br]

Hit it!

Of course, you know by now that people are people, and people are dumb. I always want to preface by saying exactly what makes a People Are Dumb story. A Florida man getting arrested for driving down the freeway – not a People Are Dumb story. A Florida man getting arrested for attempting to ride a live alligator, now that’s a People Are Dumb story! And think of how uncomfortable it must be for the alligator too! Not all People Are Dumb stories are stupid criminal stories, either. But we do love them here, we collect them, trade them with our friends, etc. We also omit all real names and addresses for the sake of these stories. Don’t want to draw any negative attention! Now that we got that out of the way, I want to start with this story from Merry Ol’ England – specifically the Isle Of Wright. I love stories where people steal ridiculous amounts of a very specific item in insane quantities. Like give me a story about a guy who steals $50,000 worth of chicken nuggets and I’m in! Well this guy stole nearly 800 of that favorite holiday treat that only comes once a year – Cadbury Cream Eggs! Nearly 800 of these is totally insane!

A shoplifter who stole 798 Cadbury's Creme Eggs has been jailed for eight months.

Portsmouth Magistrates' Court heard on Friday that (omit) in Portsmouth, had been charged with 24 shoplifting offences.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said he had stolen the chocolate between 6 January and 18 April.

(omit) targeted 19 shops across Hampshire, Dorset and West Sussex, and took £3,463.96 worth of produce and products.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2gxev3515o

Not only that, we have another story where someone steals a ridiculous amount of one specific item in vast quantities. But this one – we’re totally baffled on. Yes, it was COVID. And yes, it was a very strange time to be living in. The question that we have though, is that how is it possible to steal nearly $2 million worth of chicken wings? I mean holy shit, we know inflation is bad, but there’s no way you could steal that amount of chicken wings to add up to that amount, is there? We suspect that anything is entirely possible in this day and age, but still, this is one of the stranger stories we’ve seen. We do have to admit that the scheme is actually pretty brilliant on this one. But still.

While many people have pondered the lengths they'd go for a Klondike ice cream bar, have you ever wondered what you'd be willing to do for chicken wings? 68-year-old Illinois school worker (omit) was willing to go as far as steal for them, but she didn't stop with just one. Over the course of 19 months during the COVID-19 pandemic, (omit) stole over 11,000 district-provided take-home meals (the majority of them being chicken wings) meant for students taking remote classes as part of a free school meal program.

(omit) had experienced financial issues in the past, with multiple bankruptcies on her record. As the food service director for Harvey School District 152, it was a simple scheme for her to pull off. She had also earned the district's trust after working there for over 13 years. (omit) plot involved making unauthorized orders to Gordon Food Services, the district's main food distributor, and picking them up in a district van. After the pandemic ended, however, her plot was uncovered.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/school-worker-faces-prison-stealing-200901750.html

Next up – of course you know that we can’t get out of here without mentioning our favorite state of them all, the one that’s given us so much material and continues to each and every week, the Sunshine State. Florida. As Homer Simpson and Tracy Jordan have both famously referred to it as of course, America’s penis. Let’s start with this story – it doesn’t mention the city or even a name in the story where this takes place. But really people, one thing you should never do – use a wild animal that can possibly kill you to open your beer! You really don’t want to be the stereotype for “Hold my beer and watch this!”.

Video of a Florida man using an alligator to open a can of beer has gone viral on X.

The popular X account Wall Street Silver posted a nearly 30-second video on Wednesday, which shows a man on a boat using an alligator to open a beer can. The video has gone viral and has since been viewed nearly two million times.

"Florida man uses a gator to open a beer can," Wall Street Silver wrote in the post's caption.

Video shows the man placing his hand into the water to get the small, but dangerous animal's attention, then using its sharp teeth to pierce the can and proceeding to drink from the opening. After successfully opening the can, the other individuals on the boat can be seen celebrating. ..............(more)

https://www.local12.com/news/offbeat/florida-man-uses-alligator-to-open-beer-can-gators-gator-danger-dangerous-animals-unusual-activity-cincinnati-viral-x-post-trending-internet-culture-meme-exchange-information-america-american-cultural-thirty-second-video-fishing-trip-millions-views

And that’s why alligators shouldn’t be used to open beer cans! Next up – here’s another thing you shouldn’t do with alligators – tie them to a fence! Yes, there’s not one but two insane Florida Man stories this week involving alligators! We go to Brevard County for this one, and really that’s where so many of the insane Florida Men and Women are! Yes, Brevard County may be home to the world famous Cape Canaveral, but it’s also home to some absolute batshit insanity, and it’s also home to some animals who you wouldn’t want to touch with a ten foot pole, much less lasso them and tie them to a fence!

A 71-year-old Florida man is under arrest after police say he lassoed an alligator, tied it to a fence, and called 911 to report it.

The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office arrested (omit) on July 31 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, an hour outside of Orlando.

(Omit) told police he arrived at a local canal with plans to capture an alligator he had spotted, according to the arrest affidavit. There, police say Colin used a white nylon rope to “lasso” the alligator.

He succeeded, according to the affidavit, capturing the creature by its jaw and tying the rope to a handrail. .................(more)

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/florida-man-lasso-alligator-cape-canaveral-b2591015.html

Seriously, even Batman has a hard time wrestling with alligators! Finally this week – you know that the GOP loves to make the fact that gas prices were $2 a gallon when Trump was president. But what they don’t tell you is that gas prices were $2 a gallon – in May of 2020, when the entire country and most parts of the world were completely locked down because of COVID-19. Well, cut to 2024 where two guys arguing about who paid more for gas took their insanity to a whole new level. And it’s always the kind of top quality story that you’ll find coming out of the Sunshine State, and what keeps us coming back for more!

A Polk County man is accused of stabbing his roommate over an argument regarding who spent the most on fuel for their shared vehicle.

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, (Omit) was arrested and charged with attempted second-degree murder after he stabbed his roommate in Davenport.

Deputies responded to (Omit) at around 7 p.m. on Saturday where they were met by (Omit), who said he stabbed a man, and he would cooperate with the investigation.

Rodriguez said he and his roommate got into an argument over which one purchased the most fuel for their shared vehicle. He told deputies he then grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the victim four times.
https://www.fox13news.com/news/polk-county-man-stabbed-roommate-over-argument-who-spent-most-fueling-car-pcso

That’s it this week for:

[div style="padding: 20px; background-color: #ffffff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0px 2px 4px 1px #aaa;"][div style="font-family: arial, helvetica; font-weight: bold; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999; padding-bottom: 8px;"]
[font size="8"]Road To The White House: Trump’s Press BS
[br] [/font] [br]



Welcome back to our segment that lumps all of the election coverage of the 2024 election to end all elections in: Road To The White House! Yes, while the Democratic party is enjoying an unprecedented surge thanks to Joe Biden’s exit of the race and Kamala’s rise in popularity, Fox News, in an act of desperation has resorted to bringing back a very unwanted feature that we had to endure every night in 2020: The Trump batphone! Anyone remember when Trump was doing so bad in the polls that he had to call into Sean Hannity’s show every night to have him whisper sweet nothings in Trump’s ear? Oh yes, that happened, and we have the receipts! Now, of course since Trump will only speak to his bubble of podcasters and dude bros, when the attendance at his stupid rallies drops, he goes back to where he is most loved – his properties. And his megaphones and most hardcore fans follow him everywhere. Yes, while Kamala is held to a much different standard, Trump is allowed to spew unfiltered hate and lies, and nobody questions him on it.

Trump attacked the economic record of the Biden-Harris administration at the campaign event Aug. 15 at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, delivering remarks beside tables arranged with common grocery store items such as breakfast cereal, bread and milk.

"Grocery prices have skyrocketed," Trump said at the news conference, according to video of the event shared by C-SPAN. "Cereals are up 26%. Bread is up 24%."

Trump went on to list price increases for other grocery items since Biden took office, but he did not say the quote in the Threads post. Footage of the event shows Trump said nothing about purchasing cereal by the pound or using a "grocery ID." There are no credible news reports about him saying that or saying cereal is $100 per pound.

The X post shown in the Threads post also did not include any corroborating evidence to support the claim.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/08/20/cereal-quote-trump-fact-check/74860738007/

Seriously, why does everything Trump does look like it’s out of a weird cartoon that you’d see on a foreign language channel? Anyone remember his pic with the Easter Bunny? But show that picture of him standing in front of the cereal boxes and other grocery store products attempting to explain why the economy sucks:



Isn’t that fucking weird? But I really love how Fox is claiming that Kamala hasn’t spoken to the press in the 27 days since she became the nominee for president. She has, she just isn’t giving the deranged cultist press any fuel for their fire, and I am loving that. But this might be one of the most disturbing things of all of them – is that Trump used his microphone speech to say that he’s entitled to keep attacking Harris. Uh… no, he isn’t. not by a long shot.

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he thinks he’s “entitled to personal attacks” on his Democratic rival, adding he’s “very angry” at Vice President Kamala Harris and questioning her intelligence.

Trump was asked during a news conference whether his campaign needs more discipline as he faces a Democratic ticket newly energized since Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the party’s presidential candidate.

“As far as the personal attacks, I’m very angry at her because of what she’s done to the country. I’m very angry at her that she would weaponize the justice system against me and other people, very angry at her. I think I’m entitled to personal attacks,” Trump said at his New Jersey golf club, where he invited reporters in his quest to saddle Harris with Biden’s unpopular economic record.

“I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence and I think she’ll be a terrible president,” he added.
https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-press-conference-9af8036585d6727b6bb07008c0690cdf

Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! While yes, our Constitution guarantees you the right of freedom of speech, is it really necessary to use it to attack someone repeatedly? And where are the people questioning Trump’s cognitive abilities? Last week, we pointed out that even the most hardcore dude bro Trump fans questioning their life choices because of Trump’s latest series of flubs, each one more embarrassing than the next. But it’s insane that Trump keeps rambling incoherently and nobody ever questions his cognitive abilities. Where are the 8,000,000,000 articles and 24/7 TV coverage about how Trump should drop out of the race? None? God damn it.

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump sought to tie his Democratic rival Kamala Harris to the Biden administration's economic record on Thursday during a meandering, 80-minute press conference at his New Jersey golf club, his latest effort to blunt her momentum.

Flanked by tables stacked with assorted grocery items, Trump blamed Harris, the U.S. vice president, for the inflation that has caused the price of everyday goods to rise during President Joe Biden's term in office.

"Harris has just declared that tackling inflation will be a day one priority for her," he said. "But day one for Kamala was 3-1/2 years ago. Where has she been?"

The event was aimed at drawing a contrast with Harris, who has rarely answered questions from reporters since replacing Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket in late July.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-hold-press-conference-his-campaign-adds-senior-advisers-2024-08-15/

Seriously, does this man ever shut the fuck up? Who am I kidding, of course he doesn’t. In fact, like Marge, Beetlejuice, Ronny, and other MAGA folks, he is simply incapably of staying quiet. It’s not a bug of MAGA, it’s a feature. But even MAGA is having a hard time staying on message, and really, we’ve been hearing their sick, twisted, hateful message 24/7 every day for the last 8 years. It’s awesome watching Trump and his puppet masters in Fox News squirm. And even more pathetic than his pity parties at his golf courses is his attempt to paint Kamala and Tim Walz as some kind of Chinese government groomed puppets. And unlike what they did to Hillary, this message definitely isn’t sticking as much as it has calling MAGA “weird”. As any comedian will tell you – trying new material doesn’t always work.

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign speeches have plenty of phrases that get repeated so much they get stuck in your head, like an earworm.

Those catchphrases include the vows for the “largest deportation effort” in history, boasts about his poll numbers and attacks on “Crooked Joe Biden.”

But since Biden dropped out of the presidential race a month ago and Vice President Harris became his new opponent, Trump hasn’t really remixed his message to keep up with an audience clamoring for new material.

“I think, frankly, I'd rather be running against somebody else,” Trump said at an August press conference at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. “But that was their choice. They decided to do that, because Kamala's record is horrible. She's a radical left person at a level that nobody's seen.”
https://www.npr.org/2024/08/22/nx-s1-4998500/donald-trump-rally-speech-comrade-kamala-harris

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

Ladies and gentlemen, our next guest is one of the best bands out there currently. Their new album “As It Ever Was, So Will It Ever Be”, is out everywhere! Playing their song “Oh no!”, give it up for The Decemberists!

Thank you Vancouver, and thank you Canada! Our Canadian tour was a huge success despite the all the pitfalls we had! We’re back home starting our college tour at the University Of Southern California and the world famous Shrine Auditorium with the famous Wheel Of Corruption!

See you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech
The Decemberists Appear Courtesy Of: YABB Records
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: The Improv Center, Vancouver, BC
Images: All images copyright belongs to respective copyright holders.
Videos: All videos copyright belongs to respective copyright holders
Articles: All article content copyright belongs to respective copyright holders
Writing: Top 10 Writing Department
Graphics: Top 10 Graphics Department
Research: Top 10 Research Department
Lighting & Stage Props: Top 10 Lighting Department
Legal: Top 10 Legal Department
Advertising: Top 10 Advertising Department
HR: Top 10 Human Resources Department
Initech’s Wardrobe Provided By: JAB Inc.
Wheel Of Corruption By: Studio 1 Stage Props, Burbank, CA
Management: Initech Productions, CCC Management
Follow The Top 10 On Mastodon at: [e-mail]
Follow The Holy Church Of The Top 10 On Mastodon at: [e-mail]
Questions? Comments? Complaints? Hate mail? E-mail The Top 10 at: [e-mail]


Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo