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Top 10 Idiots

Top 10 Idiots's Journal
Top 10 Idiots's Journal
August 31, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-5: Wheel Of Corruption: Fury Of The Gods Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-5: Wheel Of Corruption: Fury Of The Gods Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yooooooooooooooooo!!! What’s up Tampa? How you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Great! We are back from our vacation, we are tanned, we are rested, we are ready to hit the ground running! So we’ve got quite a bit on our plate. There’s too much in the news right now. Too much! But this is awkward – apparently we’re still on schedule for our shows in Gainesville and Tallahassee, but the authorities are currently putting the axe on them because of Hurricane Idalia. So we’ll be unfortunately going home, which will be weird because we did shoot parts six and 7 of our What’s Up With Florida? docuseries. But rest assured, we’re already working on new dates so stay tuned! And for those of you who are planning on going to our show in Atlanta on Do we have time for the thing? Of course we do! Well once again, another week goes by and it looks like the WGA strike isn’t ending anytime soon. But for those of us who miss our favorite talk shows, there is some good news. Until the never-ending strike finally ends, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver are now teaming up to make their own podcast! Yeah come on guys! We need our talk shows back! Trump is giving you some A grade material and there’s no one around to make fun of it! Well, besides us, anyways! But we got to get this strike settled fast because we need our talk shows back! Please! I’m begging you!!! Do it now!!! OK that’s enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first in light of the WGA strike, we’re featuring clips from our favorite Youtube channels and podcasts, like Christopher Titus and his latest Armageddon Update on the right wing’s escalating war on education:



Hey everyone, the famous Wheel Of Corruption is back! Yayyyyyyyyyyyy!!! So where do we begin this week? Well, the number one story this week easily has to be the moment we’ve all been waiting for since Trump (1) wormed his way down that escalator nearly 8 years ago: his mugshot! It’s the ultimate “how it started / how’s it going” story! Speaking of how it started / how’s it going stories, Trump (2) is dragging some of his minions down with him and it’s quite spectacular to watch. Rudy Guiliani may get the worst of it. In the number 3 slot is our old buddy Elon Musk (3). But not for his antics on X (formerly known as Twitter). This time he might be in some serious trouble with the DOJ over some highly illegal labor practices! We’re shocked, I know! In the number 4 slot this week is the Republican party (4), because while Trump is very close to giving his next MAGA rally at Rikers Island, the MAGA Qongress is grinding the Biden impeachment gears again because… wait for it… some bullshit. That’s right! In the number 5 slot this week is our disaster coverage segment We’re All Gonna Die (5) and this week, how worried should you be about the new COVID variant? Well, we’ll take a look at both sides of the argument, but the “do not comply” crowd has already checked out. In the number 6 slot this week is our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit”, and this week, we have to talk about the possible end of Obergefell V Hodges, the case that legalized gay marriage. Well, the MAGA Taliban is coming for it, and their road map to overturning it is the stuff of pure insanity! And probably also grossly unconstitutional. In the number 7 slot, we add Oklahoma’s batshit crazy MAGA Q Taliban superintendent of schools Ryan Walters (7) and whew, this guy is bonkers. Thanks Fox News, for installing another MAGA cretin where he doesn’t belong! In the number 8 slot this week is our weekly segment that delves into the never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner (8) and this week, we're all saddened by the devastating wildfires that torched the island of Maui earlier this month, but that hasn't stopped the online conspiracy theories from venturing into absolute batshit territory! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week, we have some People Are Dumb, and when we're in Florida, we always have to have one of our patented (patent pending) all Florida editions! Finally this week, it's part 5 of our What’s Up With Florida? docuseries, and this week we’re on the front lines watching Desantis’ goons take on that most sacred of Florida properties – Walt Disney World! Yeah, you don’t mess with the Mouse, man! Plus to cap things off, we have some live music from the legendary Greta Van Fleet! Buy their new album Starcatcher or you are no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Donald Trump

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Hey kids, it’s time for the: WHEEL. OF. CORRUPTION!!! YAY!!!!



Of course you know the rules by now – I spin the wheel and we have to talk about whatever the subject it lands on. Of course if it lands on the guacamole option, you know that it costs $1.50 extra. And the wheel is all new with lots of items on it! I want to preface that we are no longer featuring the A Random Tweet option. Yes, we are actively boycotting content from Elon’s X / Twitter platform. That’s going to be replaced with clips from one of my favorite shows, Curb Your Enthusiasm. So if you see the Larry David option, you know what’s coming! Here’s what is on the wheel this week:

- Guns
- Crime
- Abortion
- Poverty
- The 2020 Election
- The Insurrection
- Treason
- Buy A Vowel
- Donald Trump
- Midterm Elections
- Clip Without Context
- 5,000
- Nazi Germany
- Fox News
- ‘Merica
- My Pillow
- Bankrupt
- Chance
- Fox News
- Something Random In The News
- Whammy
- Community Chest
- Death
- Homosexuality
- The US Constitution
- Greed
- Clip Without Context
- Top 10 Investigates
- Beating A Dead Horse
- This Fucking Guy
- Intermission
- Holy Shit
- Larry David
- World Tour 2022
- Double Whammy
- Buy A Vowel
- Conspiracy Corner
- Random Movie Reference
- Guacamole
- 10,000
- People Are Dumb
- I Need A Drink
- Infowars
- Go Directly To Jail
- Random TV Reference
- T-Shirt Cannon
- Infowars
- People Who Somehow Got Elected
- COVID-19
- Lightning Round
- Bonus Spin

Let’s give the wheel a good strong spin, shall we? And it lands on… wait for it… Oh hey! It’s one of our patented Clips Without Context!


Sorry, David, the “I know you are but what am I” argument may have worked for the late, great Paul Reubens, but it doesn’t work here! Spin it again… and it lands on Donald Trump!

BUSTED!!!! Yeah come on, let’s participate in this one together! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Trump is going down a fourth time! Yeah, phrasing, I know, thank you sir! Always got to love it when audience members are funnier than we are. But that’s the biggest news of the week is that Trump is getting indicted yet again. Which of course has been causing Fox News to go into “move along, nothing to see here, please disperse” mode. And boy are they. Discount Tucker Carlson, Jessee Waters, has been big on playing the “If it can happen to Trump, it can happen to you” card. No, Jesse, most of us aren’t conspiring to overturn an election with a “perfect phone call”. Whatever that is. But honestly I have to say that I haven’t enjoyed a news cycle as much as this one in a very long time. This is what we’ve been waiting for for nearly 7 years now! Trump is finally going to prison and he very much deserves it! Holy crap I am so very happy! Now if he’d actually you know, go to prison!

Former President Donald Trump turned himself in Thursday night at the Fulton County Jail to be booked on felony charges in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

Trump arrived at the jail shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET in a presidential-style motorcade and was booked, fingerprinted and photographed for a mug shot within minutes, according to jail records. Trump was quickly released, according to the records. He was in and out of the jail in about 20 minutes.

"What has taken place here is a travesty of justice," Trump told reporters on the tarmac moments before he boarded his plane to leave Atlanta. "We did nothing wrong at all, and we have every single right to challenge an election we think is dishonest."

The arrest was Trump’s fourth since April, and it was the first time he — or any former U.S. president — had his mug shot taken. The booking took place in a state that was largely ground zero for his bogus stolen election claims, despite enormous pushback against him from the Republican governor and top election officials in a state he had won in 2016. Trump’s continued insistence that the election results could not be trusted helped cost Republicans control of the U.S. Senate in a runoff election on Jan. 5, 2021.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-arrest-fulton-county-booked-rcna101641




Yeah WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! USA – 1, MAGA cult – 0. And yes, they are a big, fat bunch of zeroes, aren’t they? I have been loving watching social media blow up with images of Donny’s mugshot. But here’s the thing about the MAGA cult that is totally fucking weird. Not only has Trump’s arrest made him more popular, they’re trying to sell this image of him being arrested to, well, actual criminals. You know under the “if it can happen to me, it can happen to you” mantra that people like Jessee Waters have been trying to sell. No Jessee and Fox News, it ain’t like that.

And following Trump’s arrest in Georgia on charges related to his efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election, conservative media figures have trotted out a particularly desperate line: that Trump is going to win over more Black voters than previously thought because he’s been arrested.

The lie about Black folks being attracted to alleged criminality didn't die with Rush Limbaugh, you see. It lives on in the conservative movement — only now, they're framing this as a good thing instead of suggesting it could destroy the country.

Online and on conservative television, Republicans have embraced the “Black voters will love this” line as a form of copium to help them deal with the pain of the former president’s arrest.

"Black Americans online — some of them are saying I’m voting for Trump now because they too have sometimes felt they’ve been unfairly targeted by the criminal justice system," Fox News host Jesse Watters claimed on Friday, a day after Trump was booked in Georgia.....
https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-arrest-georgia-black-voters-rcna102187




Yes, to make it sound like John Lithgow – YOU ARE SO GUILTY YOU STUPID MAN! I mean come on, how many more indictments is it going to take before we finally lock his ass up and throw away the key? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I know that I am not a MAGA cultist. I know that if I tried the same things that Donnie is trying, that I would get thrown in prison faster than you can say “SAD!”. Well Trump is actually cooperating with the law. Maybe he’ll go full Scooby Doo in court? Yeah and I would have got away with it too if it wasn’t for those meddling liberals!

Former President Donald Trump turned himself in Thursday night at the Fulton County Jail to be booked on felony charges in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

Trump arrived at the jail shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET in a presidential-style motorcade and was booked, fingerprinted and photographed for a mug shot within minutes, according to jail records. Trump was quickly released, according to the records. He was in and out of the jail in about 20 minutes.

"What has taken place here is a travesty of justice," Trump told reporters on the tarmac moments before he boarded his plane to leave Atlanta. "We did nothing wrong at all, and we have every single right to challenge an election we think is dishonest."

The arrest was Trump’s fourth since April, and it was the first time he — or any former U.S. president — had his mug shot taken. The booking took place in a state that was largely ground zero for his bogus stolen election claims, despite enormous pushback against him from the Republican governor and top election officials in a state he had won in 2016. Trump’s continued insistence that the election results could not be trusted helped cost Republicans control of the U.S. Senate in a runoff election on Jan. 5, 2021.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-arrest-fulton-county-booked-rcna101641




Now here’s where talk radio talking points go berserk. No, Tucker, Trump is not getting assassinated any time soon. Turn down the hyperbole there, Qaren. See, let me clue you right wingers in on political assassinations. It’s only an assassination if someone has something that’s worth something. Like Jeffrey Epstein for instance? He didn’t have shit. And if he did, well, he should have rotted in prison. Trump the same way. He isn’t worth assassinating. It’s much better to let him rot in prison, seething in his own rage, and then let nature take its’ course. Trump is protected by a very well funded and highly dangerous propaganda network, and they’re going down with him. Yes, phrasing!

A judge set bond Tuesday for the only defendant in the Georgia election interference case who was jailed after he surrendered to authorities last week.

Harrison Floyd, one of former President Donald Trump's 18 co-defendants charged in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, has negotiated a bond after a separate judge initially told him he was a potential flight risk.

According to court papers filed in Fulton County Superior Court, Judge Scott McAfee set Floyd's bond at $100,000 — broken down as $40,000 on racketeering charge and $30,000 each on a charge of influencing witnesses and a charge of conspiring to commit solicitation of false statements and writings.

Floyd, the former leader of Black Voices for Trump, has been jailed since he surrendered Thursday afternoon. All of the other defendants, including Trump, were released on bond last week after they were booked. Fulton County jail records at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday showed that Floyd was still in custody. An attorney for Floyd did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/judge-sets-bond-trump-co-defendant-harrison-floyd-georgia-rcna102445





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[font size="8"]The Shady Bunch

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Let’s spin the wheel shall we? And it lands on…………………….. wait for it……………..Larry David!

&t=187s

Spin it again! And it lands on… Donald Trump. Yes, we’ve been waiting all week to do this entry and we’re gonna have some fun with it! Last week, the big one was dropped as Trump is facing some serious prison time. But who’s going with him? You know he isn’t going to prison without dragging some folks down with him. And just like that Foxconn plant in Wisconsin that’s going nowhere, Trump’s co-conspirators are getting the Art Of The Deal. Or to use a phrase that’s more popular with the kids these days, they fucked around and found out. Well, actually that’s half true – they fucked around all right, and they’re just about to find out how much that’s going to cost him. First let’s start with the man formerly known as America’s Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, seen here like he’s about ready to take a massive shit… and that’s every picture of Rudy, by the way, well, it looks like he may get the worst of it and we haven’t even begun to go down the rabbit hole yet!

Rudy Giuliani, an attorney and close ally of Donald Trump, is liable for defaming two Georgia poll workers following the 2020 election, a federal judge has ruled in a default judgment.

Giuliani failed to produce records during the discovery process while making “excuses” to shroud his noncompliance, according to the opinion by Judge Beryl Howell, of the federal US district court for the District of Columbia.

“Donning a cloak of victimization may play well on a public stage to certain audiences, but in a court of law this performance has served only to subvert the normal process of discovery in a straightforward defamation case,” Howell wrote.

Ruby Freeman, a election worker in Fulton county, Georgia during the 2020 election, sued Giuliani for defaming her and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, by repeatedly spreading baseless claims they committed election fraud, including rolling around suitcases of fake ballots.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/30/rudy-giuliani-liable-damages-election-2020




That is a good question, sir! But who knows just how deep this conspiracy goes? One thing that we’ve learned since the events of January 6th is that one person does not a coup make. It takes dozens, hundreds, even thousands or more to carry out a planned attack on the government to stop the certification of an election. Seriously, how come Sean Hannity still walks? And same thing with Tucker Carlson – he gets fired from Fox News only to have Elon and the far right fawn over him. But it’s far worse than anyone can even begin to imagine. But one thing is for certain is that the GOP is basically the mob now and they’re getting worse.

Trump's father, who told him that he could either be a killer or a loser, and his later father figure, Roy Cohn, who taught him the dark Machiavellian arts, would be proud as putsch, er, punch.

When I heard that among the 41 felony counts in the 98-page indictment, Trump is being charged with conspiring to make a public official break his oath of office (technically speaking, with "Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer" ), that stood out. In a larger sense, Donald Trump has asked all his followers to renege on their duties as citizens of a democratic republic.

....(snip)....

But Trump's conspiracy to falsify the Georgia vote count, as heinous and as blatant as it was, pales in comparison to his ongoing and highly successful effort to train a sizable chunk of the American public to despise their own government, to hate the free press, to dehumanize their political opponents, not to take even the most basic precautions in a public health emergency and to embrace all kinds of dangerous conspiracy theories.

Trump's co-conspirators in this larger scheme go well beyond the 18 people indicted this week and their 30 or so unindicted co-conspirators. They include dark money–funded Republican members of Congress, a number of Republican governors who are avidly experimenting with autocracy at the state level, the Federalist Society-approved majority on the Supreme Court, and the Fox News­-Newsmax-OAN propaganda triad. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2023/08/16/donald-real-conspiracy-its-much-larger-than-even-fani-willis-imagines/




Yeah you just know the MAFIA is going that route next. Well, the Trump MAFIA already plays the religious holier than thou card on a regular basis, so what’s to stop them? So Rudy Giuliani’s in deep shit, Jenna Ellis is in deep shit, who knows who else is involved? And let’s take a look at Jenna Ellis’ mugshot for a minute. I mean come on, who the fuck smiles like that? You’re getting arrested, you’re not going for an Instagram model shot! But for the sake of this piece let’s call them the Shady Bunch! Now here’s the story… of a man named Donny! Oh come on, that’s as far as I can go! I don’t want to have to pay royalties! But here’s more of who’s being indicted.

Former President Donald Trump was arrested August 24 in Fulton County, Georgia, on charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

The Georgia charges come from the largest of the four serious criminal cases Trump faces; one of several unique things about Trump’s Georgia indictment is the number of defendants who are named in it. While the US government’s January 6 case against Trump largely focuses on the former president, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is pursuing a case not only against Trump, but 18 additional defendants who were attorneys, staffers, and local officials allegedly working with the former president.

Willis charged such a large group because she argues that the Trump campaign was at the center of a criminal enterprise and that many of the individuals named in the case helped assist in the organization’s attempt to overturn the Georgia 2020 election results.
https://www.vox.com/trump-investigations/2023/8/25/23845901/mugshots-trump-giuliani-ellis-georgia-case




Yeah that’s right, you got your ass busted! As far as the rumors go, we have no idea how far this goes but you can bet that we’ll be covering every last minute of it. You know what, forget the Shady Bunch, why don’t we call them “19 Criminally Indicted Co-Conspirators And Counting”. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! But of course you know that they’re going to plead not guilty, or they’re going to say that it was a false flag. Or it didn’t happen. Or in the chance they are guilty, they’ll go judge shopping the way that Kyle Rittenhouse did. That shit always happens with these scumbags. In short, the MAGAs lie about everything.

Sidney Powell, a former Trump lawyer and conspiracy theorist, entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday, according to court filings, per CNN.

Powell’s lawyer stated she would waive her arraignment in the case in Fulton Count, writing to a judge that she “enters a plea of NOT GUILTY to each and every charge in the Indictment.”

Earlier this month, Powell was charged along with Trump and 17 of his allies Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in a sprawling RICO indictment resulting from a lengthy investigation into efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. Powell played a key role in the alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Prosecutors accused Powell of helping the former president spread false conspiracy theories of election fraud, including that Dominion Voting Systems’ machines were rigged. Powell has been identified by numerous news outlets as one of the six unnamed, alleged Trump co-conspirators listed in the indictment. In the special counsel indictment, Smith described her — though did not name her — as “an attorney whose unfounded claims of election fraud [Trump] privately acknowledged to others sounded ‘crazy.’ ”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/sidney-powell-trevian-kutti-pleaded-not-guilty-trump-georgia-indictment-1234814665/





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[font size="8"]Elon Musk
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Let’s spin the wheel shall we? And it lands on………… wait for it………………….. Elon Musk.

Billionaire Elon Musk claimed on Tuesday that an app would be developed to allow Tesla users to access Twitter from their vehicles’ infotainment systems, resulting in a flood of mockery and memes.

In response to one user on Twitter, the platform now known as X, Musk stated that owners of his electric vehicles would be able to access the social media service in the near future.

“We will make an app allowing you to see the latest from X on your car screen,” Musk tweeted.
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/twitter-x-app-for-tesla-reactions/


Fucking what????????????? Imagine getting in an accident on the 405 while you’re reading Catturd’s latest rant about how he’s getting screwed by the government he voted for. I mean just WTF. Spin it again! And it lands on… Elon Musk again? Is the wheel broken? No? OK.

Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t need to tell you that the world’s most prolific social media troll Elon Musk is in some hot water lately. And no, we’re not talking about his excessive shitposting on that site formerly known as Twitter. So glad we jumped ship before it became X. Well, the CEO of Twitter/X, Space X, and Tesla is in some hot water over some recent hiring practices and some extreme discrimination policies. To which we say – people know this? And they still work there? And people know this? And they still work there? Yeah you see where I’m going with this. But this doesn’t change the fact that Elon is in some extremely hot water. You think maybe all of that red pill propaganda bullshit is rotting his brain? One can think that’s possible.

The US Justice Department is suing Elon Musk’s SpaceX over allegations that the company has discriminated against asylees and refugees in hiring.

The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, alleges SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying between September 2018 and May 2022.

It alleges the company refused to hire or consider them due to their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

SpaceX wrongly claimed in job postings and public statements over several years that, under federal regulations known as “export control laws”, the company could hire only US citizens and lawful “green card” holding permanent residents, while the US export control laws impose no such hiring restrictions, according to the lawsuit.

It noted that asylees’ and refugees’ permission to live and work in the US stand on equal footing with US citizens and lawful permanent residents under the export control laws.
https://news.yahoo.com/elon-musk-spacex-sued-over-072211243.html?guccounter=1




I mean come on, how bad do you have to be to get sued by the DOJ because of your shady business practices? If there’s one thing that we have learned on this program it’s that billionaires didn’t get rich by paying employees. And it gets worse, so much worse. Elon is that one horrible boss that people write and make movies about. Like that movie… Spaceballs. No of course I’m talking about Horrible Bosses and we ask – people still work for this guy? After they already know the horrible things that he does and gets away with?

The Justice Department cited a tweet from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in a lawsuit against the company alleging it discriminated against asylees and refugees for years.

The lawsuit alleges that the rocket company discriminated during recruiting, screening, and hiring and violated the Immigration and Nationality Act from September 2018 to May 2022.

"SpaceX's discriminatory hiring practices were routine, widespread, and longstanding, and harmed asylees and refugees," Justice Department lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

It adds that SpaceX discouraged asylees and refugees from even applying to positions at the company by falsely stating in job postings that the company could only hire US citizens.
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tweet-spacex-sued-discrimination-refugees-doj-2023-8




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Again I’ll ask for the fifteenth time – people know this about Elon and they’re still OK working for him? Fine. But Elon isn’t surrounded by yes men, he’s surrounded by… yes bot accounts and yes social media trolls. So in case you’re wondering whether or not he’s in his right mind when he’s making these decisions, the answer, my friends, is no. No, he is not in his right mind when he is making these decisions. So when your MAGA friends and neighbors start arguing about who’s more woke than who, just remember that this man is in charge of your social media, space exploration, and some other things he probably shouldn’t be in charge of.

The most pressing question for the majority of people is likely whether Musk's followers are fake. Inactive is the better word to use here as it more aptly describes what the data shows. And a lot of Musk's followers have traits that would lead people to ascertain that they are not actually using the site.

Of the 153,209,283 X accounts following Musk at the time the data was collected, around 42 percent of Musk's followers, or more than 65.3 million users, have zero followers on their own account. Just over 72 percent, or nearly 112 million, of these users following Musk have less than 10 followers on their account.

When it comes to content creation on the platform, more than 62.5 million Musk followers have zero tweets. This would include users who have deleted all of their tweets by the time this data was collected over the past few weeks as well as accounts that have never before tweeted. More than 100 million Musk followers have less than 10 tweets posted to their account.

Another very interesting detail from Musk's follower data is exactly when his followers created their accounts. Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter on October 27, 2022. Out of all of Musk's current followers, more than 25 percent, or 38.9 million, were created on or after that date.
https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-x-twitter-follower-data





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[font size="8"]The GOP

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Let’s spin the wheel, shall we? Wheel goes round, wheel goes round, wheel goes round…. Where does it stop? And it lands on… oh hey it’s time for one of our patented Clips Without Context!



Tell me you’ve never read the Constitution without telling me you’ve never read the Constitution. I mean seriously… these idiots… just make it stop!! Spin the wheel again! And it lands on… impeachment!

Folks, the megalomaniacal billionaires of this country are in trouble. Their boy who helped enrich them to the point where they have enough money to topple the gross domestic product of entire continents failed them. And he’s getting indicted, arrested, and he’ll probably have to serve jail time. Now the king of right wing talking points, Rupert Murdoch, has instructed his minions in the House, via nightly commands on Sean Hannity, to impeach Joe Biden. What are they impeaching him for, you might be asking? Well, I answer you: they don’t know. It’s like watching the first movie in an action series where they just make up the plot and new trinkets for the characters to find in each scene to advance the plot of the movie. Yes, I’m looking at you, John Wick. But the question is – how do you hold an impeachment trial with no evidence? How do you get a SCOTUS justice who never tried a case? Yes, the GOP seem bent on rewriting the rules because their man lost. It’s insanity.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggested Sunday that an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden was becoming more likely, calling it “a natural step forward” as Congress soon ends its summer break and House Republicans seek to expand their investigative powers.

McCarthy, R-Calif., has so far avoided committing to an impeachment vote or offering a timeline for possible action. Some House Republicans are eager to go after Biden over claims of financial misconduct involving his son Hunter, but the Democratic president has not been shown to have done anything wrong.

Meanwhile, McCarthy said passing a short-term spending bill to keep the government running past the end of September would ensure that investigations of Hunter Biden could continue, a pitch directed at conservatives worried a bipartisan deal with Senate Democrats would not cut enough spending. The stopgap measure would buy time to work out a longer-term budget deal before mandatory spending cuts that neither party prefers are imposed in the new year.

“If you look at all the information we have been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry,” McCarthy told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/congress-impeachment-biden_n_64ebde5fe4b0e32801d5dd2c




What’s it a natural step forward for? Republican abuses of power? A step towards implementing a fascist coup of the United States? A step forward for pleasing your talk show host overlords? Well, regardless, this whole thing is fucking weird. And we’re not even going to mention Marjorie Space Lasers and her obsession with Hunter’s giant dick pic. We did that already (see: Idiots #15-2 ). But there’s no mistake that the GOP has just been teetering off the deep end every single day into the abyss of madness. That does sound like a great Avengers sequel doesn’t it? Dr. Strange In The Abyss Of Madness! But the GOP are out of their damn minds and it’s starting to show.

House Republicans are barreling toward an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, with some saying the conference should pull the trigger as soon as next month when Congress reconvenes.

“It’s a must,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) told The Hill in an interview. “I mean, if not now, when?”

-snip-

Other GOP lawmakers, however, say they are not ready to take the plunge.

“I think before we move on to [an] impeachment inquiry, we should … there should be a direct link to the president in some evidence,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told The Hill in an interview. “We should have some clear evidence of a high crime or misdemeanor, not just assuming there may be one. I think we need to have more concrete evidence to go down that path.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/house-republicans-barrel-toward-biden-212604658.html




Why is it a must? Because republicans have been fed a steady stream of hate and lies 24 hours a day and are unable to think for themselves? What’s left of the GOP has been replaced with this bizarre, bloodthirsty cult that doesn’t do their jobs, appears on fucking talk shows 24 hours a day, and they just keep escalating the violence talk. It’s truly disturbing the direction that party is going in and it really does make you fearful about the future of the United States. But this is one of those things where outside of the talk show host bubble, nobody really gives a shit. Marjorie Space Lasers can ramble all she wants, but she ain’t changing shit.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) appeared livid at her fellow GOP lawmakers while endorsing a presidential impeachment inquiry during a Tuesday morning interview on Real America’s Voice News’ “American Sunrise.”

The far-right congressperson from the Peach State seemed like she was in a pugnacious mood as she asked, “What the hell is wrong with Republicans” who aren’t moving to investigate President Joe Biden?

“I can’t comprehend that we need any more evidence. We have so much,” Greene told the conservative news network.

Then she attempted to soften the impact of a potential impeachment, saying, “Let’s talk about what an impeachment inquiry is — An impeachment inquiry is just asking the question.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-fumes-republicans-204110091.html




So the question on the table is, will the GOP succeed in their absolutely batshit insane attempt to flip the White House back to red? Well, you just know that Fox News executives are fuming that their plan to install worldwide fascism isn’t going to plan. Who knows what they’re going to up their game to when they lose the election in 2024? There is that douchebag Vivek Ramaswamy who is attempting to curb the youth vote, because everyone knows that the young ones don’t vote conservative like their parents had hoped. And the good news is that if they try this, it’s going to blow up in their faces like Wiley Coyote trying to catch the Road Runner.

. Some of McCarthy’s members are not on board with this bizarre scheme. Congressional Leadership 101 tells us that good leaders find issues that divide opponents and unite allies. McCarthy has a knack for uniting opponents and dividing allies, and this fixation on an impeachment inquiry is clearly part of the pattern.

One unnamed House Republican told CNN, for example, “There’s no evidence that Joe Biden got money, or that Joe Biden, you know, agreed to do something so that Hunter could get money. There’s just no evidence of that. And they can’t impeach without that evidence. And I don’t I don’t think the evidence exists.”

With plenty of other GOP members having already made similar comments, McCarthy is reportedly prepared to open an impeachment inquiry without a vote, probably because he suspects such a vote would lose. (In 2019, McCarthy insisted that a floor vote was necessary to initiate an impeachment inquiry. Perhaps he’s forgotten.).....

3. There’s still no incriminating evidence. The GOP lawmaker who was afraid to be candid on the record was entirely right: Republicans have spent 2023 looking for evidence of wrongdoing they could use against the president. They’ve failed spectacularly.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/lacking-evidence-mccarthy-defends-plan-biden-impeachment-inquiry-rcna102176





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[font size="8"]We’re All Gonna Die
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All right! Let’s put the wheel on spin cycle, shall we? And it lands on………. Wait for it………… CHANCE!



Sweet! I got a Get Out Of Jail Free card! I’ll just put that away for later. Spin it again! And it lands on… DEATH! Uh oh! You know what that means! We’re all gonna die!



Hey everyone guess what? We’re all gonna die! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO. WOOO. WOO. So what’s going to kill us all this week, you might ask? Well, I answer you, good sir or madam, is that the virus known as COVID-19 is a constantly evolving smart virus. It’s a virus that was built and designed for the digital age. Its’ latest software update is requiring us to get software updates as well. The new variant actually sounds like it very well could be a software update, called XBB BA 2.86, is just another mild cold… or is it? Well it has virologists worried that it might break through the vaccine barrier. There is some good news and some bad news regarding this new variant. The good news is that it's not an entirely new variant like Omicron that we were dealing with last year, and there’s no chance of severe hospitalization with this new version of the virus. The bad news – the variant originated in Canada and it’s spreading very quickly, and those of you who have caught it recently may have had this new variant already.

Canada has detected its first case of coronavirus infection from the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant of Omicron in a person in British Columbia who had not traveled outside the Pacific province, health officials said on Tuesday.

The individual is not hospitalized, and the detection of BA.2.86 virus has not changed the risk to people in British Columbia, the province's top doctor, Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a joint statement.

"It was not unexpected for BA.2.86 to show up in Canada and the province," they said. "COVID-19 continues to spread globally, and the virus continues to adapt."

The BA.2.86 lineage, first detected in Denmark last month, carries more than 35 mutations in key portions of the virus compared with XBB.1.5, the dominant variant through most of 2023. The United States, Switzerland and Israel have also recorded cases of the new variant.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/canada-detects-first-case-highly-mutated-coronavirus-variant-ba286-2023-08-29/




Calm down dude, no one is going to die just yet. We’ve been riding the COVID roller coaster for three years now. Hell, if you remember this time last year, we did a piece on the latest COVID software update, then known as XBB1.5 (see: Idiots #14-1 ), and the one thing that we’ve yet to learn from this nightmare is that it’s not going away anytime soon. One thing about viruses is that they never really seem to go away. But they do evolve from potential killers to mild irritants.

A new COVID variant is causing concern among health officials. The variant BA.2.86 is starting to appear nationwide.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is reporting that a case is in the Metro Detroit area, specifically in Washtenaw County.

"The person was mildly ill, was tested, [and] has recovered. We can't be conclusive about how they got it because it wasn't clear," said Susan Ringler, public information officer at the Washtenaw County Health Department.

An older adult reportedly contracted the latest variant. It's believed the person did not spread it to others. How exactly the subject became infected is currently being investigated.
https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/new-covid-19-variant-reported-in-washtenaw-county/




No, we’re not all going to die yet. Yeah it does seem like we’re in repeats with this virus and especially since we can’t even watch our favorite talk shows right now, it does seem like we’re in reruns. But COVID is behaving exactly like how virologists suggested in the begging that this would pan out – it will get more contagious but less deadly. COVID has created a sort of virus surveillance industry with people predicting when the “big one” will hit – a virus that will make the black plague seem like a children’s cough - and we hope that’s never gonna happen. The good news is that we’re not going back to the mandates from 2020 anytime soon.

The U.S. is still weeks away from getting new Covid booster shots, even as more people are not only becoming infected with Covid, but getting sick enough to be hospitalized.

The most recent week-to-week data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a 21.6% increase in hospital stays related to Covid. The increase is far below what the nation has previously endured, however. The current level of Covid hospitalizations is a third of what it was a year ago.

There are a few new virus variants that scientists are paying attention to because they appear to be changing in ways that might make the virus more contagious. It's not known whether the boosters will be as effective against those variants.

Despite the uptick in Covid, there is no talk of reinstating mask mandates this fall, the CDC told NBC News.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/expect-covid-booster-shot-eris-subvariant-spreads-rcna101597




No, no, no one is going to die. But if you guessed that there’s yet another software update to COVID-19, well guess what? You’re absolutely correct. Because this virus is never gonna stop. Which is why it’s important to protect yourself. If you wear masks, then wear masks. The “we will not comply” crowd has already made its’ decision, and those people are insane. But there’s yet another version that’s been detected in Michigan and will it spread as quickly as BA 2.86 has? Well, we may have to wait until version 2.87 has been installed in order to find out.

There’s a new COVID-19 subvariant to watch (and protect yourself from): The new variant EG.5 —dubbed “Eris”—is now the dominant strain globally, with there being a noticeable spike in infections over the past four weeks, says the World Health Organization.

About 20.6% of new COVID-19 cases are thought to be caused by EG.5, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a significant jump from 7.5% during the first week of July.

So what should we expect from Eris as far as virality, symptoms and long-term effects? We're breaking all that down, plus how it compares to the last headline-making XBB.1.5 (a.k.a. “Kraken”) subvariant that circulated earlier this year.

EG.5 is a descendant of Omicron, just like XBB.1.5 was. This means the SARS CoV-2 virus continues to evolve, and Eris is just the latest mutation to keep an eye on. And with COVID-19 testing rates and reporting no longer as closely tracked like they were during the height of the pandemic, it’s especially important to take steps to protect yourself from getting sick whenever a new variant of concern begins to swirl.
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/a44913133/eris-eg5-covid-symptoms/





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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: Bye, Obergefell
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Come on, let’s give the wheel a good strong spin, shall we? And it lands on… wait for it… oh hey it’s time for one of our patented Clips Without Context!



Uh……… no thanks. If there’s anyone I don’t want running for president, it’s a guy who was reduced to selling Cash 4 Gold spots on Fox News. They just keep setting the bar lower, don’t they? Spin the wheel again! Hey it’s time for Holy Shit!

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



My fair congregation! Please be seated! You know we live in dark times right now, and it’s mainly thanks to what’s been happening on the Supreme Court Of The United States, or SCOTUS, lately. For those of you following recent history, you know that in 2020, we lost a champion of human rights, and someone who has been fighting for the little guy. That was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Well, since the tragic death of Justice Ginsburg, forces that are fighting on behalf of the unholy, ungodly Dark One have been taking things in this country in a very dark turn. I of course speak of a man who is so profane, so disgusting, and so foul that his name DARE NOT be spoken in my church! So in the last year, SCOTUS overturned Roe V Wade, and they legalized religious based discrimination. Now they’re coming for the next domino – the case that legalized gay marriage – Obergefell V Hodges. Last week, I got tipped off to a bizarre plan that may make the right wing’s wildest dreams come true! Ugh, the bad guys win again!

Religious-right leaders who oppose legal equality for LGBTQ Americans have never accepted the Supreme Court’s 2015 marriage equality ruling as legitimate, and they immediately began planning to seek its reversal. Their hopes were given a huge boost when the Supreme Court’s Trump-fortified right wing overturned Roe v. Wade last year. This week, the anti-equality legal group Liberty Counsel told supporters in an email that it’s about to go to trial with a case that it hopes the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority will eventually use to overturn the Obergefell decision.

Liberty Counsel’s Mat Staver and Holly Meade discussed the possibility that overturning Obergefell could be “on the horizon” and “coming soon” back in January.

Liberty Counsel represents Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk whose case has been in and out of the courts since she refused to allow her office to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple after the Supreme Court’s ruling. Davis claimed it was a religious freedom issue, describing marriage equality as a “Heaven-or-Hell decision” for her. A federal court ruled last year that Davis had violated the constitutional rights of two couples she had refused to provide with a marriage license. The trial set to begin in September is to determine whether Davis is liable for damages and the couples’ legal expenses. Staver hopes to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.

When Congress was considering the Respect for Marriage Act last year, Staver made wild accusations about the law, claiming that it would “allow pedophiles to marry children.” After it passed Congress and was signed into law, Staver said that LGBTQ people would have a “short-lived” celebration, expressing confidence that Trump’s justices would join the three Obergefell dissenters still on the court to reverse the marriage equality ruling. Staver noted that Justice Clarence Thomas used his opinion in the Dobbs case—which overturned Roe v. Wade—to say the court should reconsider the marriage equality ruling.
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/religious-right-legal-group-says-scotus-can-use-its-case-to-overturn-marriage-equality/




Now you might be asking – how is the religious right planning on pulling this off? Well my friends, I will tell you – there is one thing standing in their way. Yes, that pesky document that is known as the Constitution. Which, if the religious right had actually read that document they claim is so sacred, they would know that it has safeguards in place to prevent fascist takeovers of our government. But Mat Staver is a guy who has been trying to knock off Obergefell for years and he’s been going about it at the same pace as Wiley Coyote vs the Road Runner.

On the surface, the details of the case seemed plenty narrow: a Colorado web designer who is cool making wedding websites for “Mike and Mary” but not “Mike and Mark” thinks Colorado’s anti-discrimination law could force her to someday do coding that runs counter to her Evangelical Christian faith. She isn’t yet in the business of making such pages, no confirmed couples had approached her, and the plaintiff here was a civil rights panel. It was a sketchy case built on a dodgy—and maybe fabricated—premise, but it still wound up on the docket. Yet in the designer’s view, Colorado and the 29 other states with similar protections for LGBTQ individuals impede her First Amendment rights to preemptively advertise that she wants none of their nuptials’ joy.

But, look beyond the sepia-toned pages asking a distant cousin the age-old question of beef, fish, or vegetarian entree? Nothing less than the rights of every LGBTQ American to marry their same-sex partner hangs in the balance of a case nominally about hyperscript, links to registries, and social-media links. After all, these things often start narrow and then snowball.
https://time.com/6291641/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-vulnerable/




And yes, my fair congregation, they should feel bad about themselves. For the religious right is taking this country in a very dark direction that is the opposite of the freedom that our founding fathers had intended. We’ve been putting up with shit coming from the religious right for way too long and it’s way past time we start working to correct their EVILs! And it is happening, my friends! Yes, my home state, the great state of California is hoping to attempt to overturn the very evil piece of legislation known as Proposition 8. Yes, did everyone forget about that? It’s still very much a thing but gay marriage is more popular than ever now.

With the start of Pride Month has come a concerted effort to see that the homophobic legacy of the 2008 same-sex marriage ban Proposition 8 be fully erased from the California Constitution. From state lawmakers to local elected officials, there has been a groundswell of support in recent days behind repealing Prop 8's "zombie language" from state statutes.

Narrowly adopted by voters in 2008, Prop 8 defined marriage as being between a man and a woman under California law. It was later found to be unconstitutional by federal courts, paving the way for same-sex marriages to resume in the Golden State in June 2013. Two years later the U.S. Supreme Court established marriage equality as a federal right with its Obergefell v. Hodges decision released during Pride Month of 2015.

Despite those legal rulings there is concern among LGBTQ advocates that the current conservative majority on the court could rescind Obergefell akin to its ending a federal right to abortion last June. Under such a scenario, the fear is that Prop 8's language would once again become law and bar same-sex couples from getting married in California.

To avoid that from happening, gay Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino) earlier this year introduced Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, which would excise Prop 8's language from the state's governing document. On June 5, Low gathered with several of his legislative colleagues on the West Steps of the California State Capitol to announce ACA 5's actual language that would appear on the November 2024 general election ballot.

Last week, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis asked supporters of her 2026 gubernatorial campaign to sign up as citizen sponsors of ACA 5 on a website she launched June 7. Kounalakis is a co-sponsor of it herself.
https://www.ebar.com/story.php?ch=news&sc=news&id=326129




You know, my friends, it’s not all doom and gloom here! There is some hope to be optimistic about a very bad situation and the toxic nightmare that the MAGAs have created. The truth is that outside of the Fox / AM radio / megachurch bubble, those of us who live in reality are very unhappy with the increasingly unpopular legislation that’s coming out of this mess. It’s going to take a lot to unchanged it, and we’ve first got to work to get rid of the DEMONS that the unholy Dark One installed! It may take years to do that, there’s no easy fix. But when there’s a will, there is a way!

When state Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) and his fiancé, Jon Mallek, were deciding where to put down roots for their future family, one policy was a key factor – the protection of marriage rights for gay couples.

After deciding to remain in Morgan’s native Michigan, a question arose of whether or not the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the precedent set by Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 case that made access to same-sex marriage the law of the land.

“I am really, really worried that at any point, the U.S. Supreme Court could decide that my rights are no longer protected,” Morgan said. “I love Michigan; it’s my home state. I grew up here. I want to live here forever.”

That trepidation is what motivated Morgan to embark on the ambitious pursuit of amending Michigan’s constitution and replacing every mention of marriage in the state’s legal code to be same-sex inclusive. A 52-bill package currently working its way through committee and spanning from HB 4764 to HB 4814 introduced by Morgan and several of his Democratic colleagues in the Michigan House would do just that.

Morgan said that upon taking on the challenge of finding each reference of gendered marriage, he was perplexed at the sheer frequency of the use of phrases like “husband and wife” in laws pertaining to everything from announcing a marriage to tax policies to filing for divorce.
https://michiganadvance.com/2023/07/06/for-rep-jason-morgan-the-fight-to-codify-same-sex-marriage-in-michigan-is-personal/




Unless you’re in the MAGA Fox cult that is! There’s no easy answer for this and we’re going to be in it for a very long fight, that I can assure you! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]People Who Somehow Got Elected: Ryan Walters
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Let’s give the wheel a good strong spin, shall we? And it lands on… no whammy no whammy no whammy no whammy no whammy no whammy…. STOP! And it lands on… intermission! OK we can take a break. Go, amuse yourself with your phones for a while. I’ll just browse Kitchen Bloopers 4 on Youtube while we wait. Ha ha ha! This guy almost stabbed himself with a chef’s knife!



OK we’re back! Spin it again! It’s time for People Who Somehow Got Elected!

Politicians at the state and local levels who are so toxic, you wonder how they’re able to get away with the things they get away with. This is:



This week – Oklahoma’s batshit crazy, off the rails Superintendent Of Schools, Ryan Walters. How did this guy get elected? Well, Fox News that’s how. So as the war on public education between crazy parents who have their eyes glued to Fox News 24 hours a day and educators who, you know, know something about education turns into an actual war over your child’s future, just remember that Ryan Walters is the kind of quality candidate who the MAGAs are looking for. Is he a licensed professional educator? No. Does he speak MAGA and say the things that MAGA parents want to hear? Yes he does and that’s what he does well, if he does anything well. But when schools are receiving bomb threats, as is what happens these days, you can count on chickenshit politicians like Ryan Walters to look the other way, because you know deep down they’re actively encouraging this sort of thing. Just look at their social media post history.

A Tulsa elementary school received bomb threats for a third consecutive day Thursday after an altered version of a librarian's back-to-school TikTok video was shared by a far-right TikTok account, Libs of TikTok. It was later retweeted by State Superintendent Ryan Walters with the promise to "stop" woke indoctrination in schools.

The continued threats against Ellen Ochoa Elementary School, which Tulsa police are investigating, have intensified criticism against Walters, whose polarizing rhetoric since entering office in January has raised concerns over the safety of teachers and students.

State Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman, tweeted Thursday: "And yet another bomb threat today in Tulsa. 3 days of threats based off of a doctored video of somebody being “woke” shared by RW. I once again call on the Republican leadership of the state to denounce the behavior/actions of Supt. Walters & his ilk, and end this. Now."

Another Democrat called for Walters to be impeached.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/criticism-for-ryan-walters-intensifies-after-3-days-of-bomb-threats-at-school-in-retweeted-video/ar-AA1fKd35?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=d1abcaeb41a14aad93c3964af22a3884&ei=20




Yes, Mr. Walters is just another high profile Fox News viewer who watches way too much of that shit for his own good and somehow has been brainwashed into thinking that he’s an educator capable of deciding policy and curriculum for an entire state. We here think it’s high time that we stop referring to Fox as a news network. Instead it’s a multi-level marketing firm. If you watch enough, you too can be an elected official! Appear enough on the network to get promoted to offices like senator, representative, even president of the United States. But this is what happens when you speak too much Fox and think you’re an elected representative.

Since Ryan Walters was sworn in as Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction in January, he’s called for prayer in public schools and hanging the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

He’s adopted regulations prohibiting school libraries from circulating books with “sexualized content” and requiring educators to tell parents if their child changes their gender identity.

And now Walters is threatening a state takeover of Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma’s largest district — leading Tulsa's superintendent to announce plans to resign Tuesday ahead of a key state Board of Education meeting on Thursday.

In his first seven months on the job, Walters has made a significant mark on the Oklahoma education system and thrust a typically low-profile office into the center of political firestorms. He has drawn support from conservative activist groups such as the 1776 Project PAC, Americans for Prosperity and Moms for Liberty, which pledged last month to back like-minded state superintendents nationally. Walters’ work in Oklahoma offers a preview of the policies and tactics that could continue spreading to other states with conservative education leaders.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ryan-walters-oklahoma-schools-superintendent-tulsa-rcna101235




This is what happens when you live in bonkers conspiracy theory fantasy land and constantly reject reality for batshit. You say things like the teacher’s union are a bunch of terrorists. That’s right – he actually said that. No, Mr. Walters, we suggest that you take a look in the mirror. The teachers are the ones who are doing their jobs. The parents and Fox News pundits are the ones obstructing and giving platforms to terrorists like Chaya Raichik, the creator of Libsoftiktok. Those are the real terrorists. Let the teachers do their job, you can complain to a brick wall.

In front of an overflow crowd, Oklahoma's top education official called teacher unions "terrorist organizations" and blamed his predecessor for leaving his agency a "dumpster fire" while answering pointed questions from lawmakers for over two hours Monday at the Capitol.

State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters' most incendiary comments prompted groans from Democrats before the meeting came to an abrupt end. The House Appropriations and Budget Committee had invited Walters for an update on education issues.

The committee's vice chairperson, Rep. Ryan Martinez, gaveled for adjournment amid vocal objections from the minority party to Walters' comments.

Despite scoffs from Democrats and scrutiny from some Republicans, Walters was unapologetic in his controversial rhetoric. Teacher unions have been a frequent target of Walters', and he took his complaints up a notch when speaking to the House committee.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ryan-walters-calls-oklahoma-teacher-002633155.html




Yes, god forbid that anyone have an independent thought not manufactured by Rupert Murdoch. And that’s definitely not a way to win friends and influence people. That’s a way of saying that you get all of your talking points from Fox News without telling us that you get all of your talking points from Fox News. So instead of taking down the ultra-corrupt boss, which is what should be done, Ryan Walters is instead telling the little guys to shut up and let the cultists do their culting. Because cults don’t like independent thought. And it’s all because Fox News installs the most incompetent people possible in positions they don’t belong in. Much like a multi-level marketing company.

In his first year as head of Oklahoma's public schools, State Superintendent Ryan Walters has taken on what he describes as “radical leftists" indoctrinating students. He has sought to ban certain books from school libraries and gone after efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the classroom.

Now, the Republican who has fully embraced so-called culture war issues has a new target: Tulsa Public Schools, which is Oklahoma's largest school district and has a student body of more than 33,000 students, nearly 80% of whom aren't white. It's a notable shift for Walters to move beyond conservative rhetoric by taking substantive action against a district viewed as more liberal, and it mirrors takeover actions by leaders in other Republican-led states such as Texas that Democrats see as driven by politics.

While every other Oklahoma school district had its accreditation routinely approved by the state school board last month, Walters singled out Tulsa's for a separate review, castigating the district as failing its students because of poor performance on standardized tests and a recent embezzlement scandal, and saying publicly that “all possible actions” were being considered, including the revocation of the district's accreditation.

After hearing from several members of the Tulsa Public Schools' board, the state panel, composed of appointees of Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, voted unanimously to accredit the district “with deficiencies.” The board also voted to require district officials to make monthly reports to the state board on efforts to improve its financial controls and student performance.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oklahoma-schools-chief-takes-aim-at-tulsa-district-critics-say-his-motives-are-politically-driven/ar-AA1fJHYK?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=407ce006440c4efea61cbc14bd1f54b2&ei=23




We’re not going to get rid of these MAGAs infecting our school boards any time soon. But vote we must, and vote in numbers too large to ignore or manipulate. That’s Oklahoma Superintendent Of Schools Ryan Walters, just another shitbag Fox News viewer who thinks he’s a politician to add to the ever growing list of:




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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner: Kicked Out Of The Debate
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Now entering the spin cycle! Come on no whammy no whammy no whammy no whammy no whammy no whammy… STOP! No a whammy!!!!!



Spin it again! Oh hey it’s time for Conspiracy Corner!



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 folks, we don’t need to tell you about the awful wildfires that decimated the island of Maui earlier this month. But that hasn’t stopped the conspiracy theories about what really caused the devastation from flying. Oh yes, and you just know that Marjorie Jewish Space Lasers definitely had something to do with this. But this is one of those stories where the more you dig into it, the weirder and crazier it gets.

A slew of viral conspiracy videos on social media have made baseless claims that the Maui wildfires were started intentionally as part of a land grab, highlighting how quickly misinformation spreads after a disaster.

While the cause of the fires hasn’t been determined, Hawaiian Electric — the major power company on Maui — is under scrutiny for not shutting down power lines when high winds created dangerous fire conditions. (Hawaiian Electric previously said both the company and the state are conducting investigations into what happened). Maui experienced high winds from Hurricane Dora in the south while it was also grappling with a drought. Wildfires across the region have long been a concern.

Still, conspiracy theories continue to circulate as nearly 400 people are still unaccounted for.

It’s not uncommon for conspiracy theories to make the rounds after a national crisis. According to Renee DiResta, a research manager at Stanford University who studies misinformation, people often look for a way to make sense of the world when they are anxious or have a feeling of powerlessness.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/tech/maui-wildfire-cause-conspiracy-theory/index.html




So folks this sort of thing always happens after a major disaster. Whether it was 9/11, or it was the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, or it was America’s mass shooting du jour, you can always count on the craziest among us to get a megaphone for which to amplify their craziness. And of course, conspiracy theories are the reason why we can’t have nice things. Like it happens every damn time. Then nothing gets done in order to prevent the next one. And then we go back to zero before the next major disaster happens. But we really do live in the stupidest of timelines.

Conspiracy theories that the Maui wildfire was the government's diabolical bid to jumpstart a smart city have only festered and grown on social media since internet sleuths began speculating. The wildfires, which erupted August 8, have killed more than 100 people and decimated 2700 structures in the historic town of Lahaina.

As people try to rebuild their lives, social media continued to be rife with claims that the fires were started by Direct Energy Weapons. From Maui smart city conspiracy theory to all things blue being spared in the fire has been thrown out into the wide web to stir up claims of the government's insidious plan to capitalize out of a tragedy.

As people continued to speculate, a new theory surfaced in the wake of the wildfire that alleged the government used direct energy weapons to destroy the city for their "Jumpsmart Maui project."

The theory was posted by Twitter user, Wall Street Apes, who cited a claim from a video on YouTube that showed a person identified as pastor JD. In the video, JD explained that the claim of DEW held merit.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-dews-also-used-manipulate-weather-jumpsmart-maui-project-conspiracy-theory-surfaces-wake-hawaii-wildfires




You know too, folks, you got to wonder about the connection between religion and batshit insane conspiracy theories. Like if there’s one thing we’ve learned on this program, it’s that the more further off the deep end your conspiracies are, the more crazy religious people are easily manipulated into believing them. But here’s where it gets weird, and you knew that it was going to. What the hell does Oprah have to do with the Maui devastation? Well the online conspiracy industrial complex seems to think that it had something to do with the 2017 California fires that nearly set Getty Center ablaze. It is the stuff of pure insanity, folks!

Wallace hinted that the star may have been responsible for the 2017 fires in California that destroyed more than 700 properties near Winfrey's Montecito home. Her estate was not damaged in the blaze, although she was forced to evacuate the area.

"HER PROPERTY REMAINED UNTOUCHED!!!!!" Wallace said.

"AFTER 2017 OPRAH CONTINUED EXPANDING HER LAND IN MONTECITO TO OVER 70 ACRES… WAKE UP!!!!!!"

Wallace's post has gone viral, receiving 12 million views, almost 70,000 likes and 25,000 reposts. However, other X users have jumped to the defense of the TV personality and there is no evidence to suggest Winfrey was behind the fires.

"To all of the X users who are pushing a conspiracy theory that Oprah Winfrey is somehow responsible for the Maui, Hawaii wildfires because her estate didn't burn down, just STOP!" wrote Ed (@EdKrassen).

"Oprah has literally been on the ground helping people. To make up a conspiracy theory without a shred of evidence is both irresponsible and disgusting. You're better than this," he wrote.
https://www.newsweek.com/oprah-conspiracy-theory-maui-wildfire-1820439




Yeah good luck with that one, Ed. I mean come on, you can’t yell at someone to stop spouting conspiracy theory nonsense. Remember that creepy dude who tried to blow COVID away? That doesn’t work either. But one thing that we do know for certain is that these people definitely need to put down the bong and back away from the computer slowly. How do we know that Marjorie Space Lasers didn’t pull the trigger herself? You don’t know! You don’t know! But the simple fact of the matter is, despite online conspiracy theory claims, there’s no such thing as a direct energy weapon.

As Maui reckons with one of the deadliest wildfires in recent U.S. history, it is also dealing with a digital nightmare that has become common around major news stories: social media-fueled conspiracy theories.

Fires have ravaged and destroyed parts of West Maui, hitting the historic community of Lahania particularly hard. At least 99 people are dead and the economic cost of the fires could balloon to $7 billion.

It’s still unclear what caused the fires, but the severity of the destruction in West Maui has been attributed in part to a confluence of high winds from Hurricane Dora in the Pacific and drought in the region. Wildfires have been a known risk in the area for years.

That hasn’t stopped would-be social media sleuths from attempting to uncover a nonexistent plot to start the fires.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/maui-wildfire-social-media-conspiracy-theories-rcna100034





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[font size="8"]People Are Dumb
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Let’s spin the wheel, shall we? Wheel goes round, wheel goes round, wheel goes round… and it lands on…. Oh hey it’s one of our patented Clips Without Context!



You do know that America fought an entire war against tyrants, right, Nick? On second thought, nobody tell him how that war ended! But one thing is clear: America don’t play that game! Let’s spin it again! Oh hey it’s time for People Are Dumb!



Of course you know by now that people are people, and people are dumb. I always want to preface by saying what exactly makes a People Are Dumb story. So a high speed chase going down the 405 is not exactly a People Are Dumb story. A high speed chase down the 405 in a truck containing live chickens and a passenger recording the livestream for Instagram? Now that’s a People Are Dumb story! I also want to preface by saying that not all People Are Dumb stories are stupid criminal stories either. But they do make up the lion’s share of People Are Dumb stories. And since we’re in Florida, we’re going to do one of our famous all Florida editions, because Florida Man and Florida Woman never fail to stop bringing the crazy. Let’s start with this story out of Central Florida. Where a man is using a popular horror movie franchise to well, stage some acts of horror. Specifically robbery. Yeah maybe don’t do this or you will get caught.

A suspect in two recent armed robberies in Central Florida has been caught thanks to good, old-fashioned police work, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. The agency said in a news release that a 21-year-old was arrested Thursday night after detectives served a search warrant at his home in Deltona, about a half hour north of Orlando and less than a half-mile from the scene of both incidents.

According to a sheriff’s office Facebook post, the first case was reported around 10:30 p.m. Aug. 18 outside a Pizza Hut, in which an employee sitting in her vehicle was approached by a robber who demanded money at gunpoint.

The robber was described as wearing a black hoodie with his face covered by a black shirt or bandanna. The second case was reported around 3:30 a.m. Aug. 20 at a Circle K station nearby, where the clerk reported he was robbed at a gunpoint by a man wearing a so called Scream mask, part of the killers’ costume in the hit horror movie franchise.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article278681604.html#storylink=cpy




Next up – This is the type of story that People Are Dumb was made for! So here’s the thing, I like beer, and I’m sure that most people here do. Brett Kavanaugh likes beer. He likes beer just a little bit too much, I think. But there’s such a thing as liking beer and drinking beer, and then there’s this guy from Ocala who takes things to the next level. Like does this surprise anyone that a guy who wears a shirt that says “I’m the reason the beer’s always gone” got arrested for a DUI at all? Anyone? Bueller? Well yeah you can call this one one of those “things that happened”.

A man wearing an "I'm the Reason the Beer's Always Gone" t-shirt was charged with a DUI after deputies said he was driving almost three times over the legal limit.

On August 16, a Marion County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) deputy was conducting radar enforcement in the area of Marion Oaks Boulevard and Marion Oaks Manor. While on shift, an orange pickup truck came barrelling past the patrol car, the incident was caught on dash cam. Radar confirmed the vehicle was going 89 mph in a 45 mph zone.

The deputy activated his emergency lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop, the sheriff's office said. The driver of the truck, later identified as (omitted)., fled from the deputy and then turned off the lights on his truck, turning onto Southwest 32nd Circle in hopes of eluding the deputy. But it didn’t work, and the deputy caught up with him.

Body camera video shows deputies conducting a DUI traffic stop on Rix. The deputy said he could smell alcohol coming from Rix’s breath and that he was unsteady on his feet. During the stop, Rix can be seen wearing an “I’m the Reason the Beer’s Always Gone," t-shirt.
https://cbs12.com/news/local/james-rix-jr-florida-man-arrested-for-dui-wearing-im-the-reason-the-beers-always-gone-t-shirt-marion-oaks-manor-ocala-marion-county-sheriffs-office-august-23-2023




Next up – OK here’s another classic story that was practically made for People Are Dumb. You know how we always say that at the end of the day you just want to come home and read a story about someone who goes crazy and destroys a McDonalds because they ran out of chicken nuggets? Well here’s a story out of Orlando, involving a destroyed bathroom at a chicken wing restaurant, which started a brawl that got 5 women arrested! Yeah we’re not making these stories up, either! We’ve been doing this thing for 6 years now and we’ve got hundreds of stories just like this one piled in our back pocket!

Five women were arrested after they allegedly intentionally clogged the toilet at a Central Florida wing joint, igniting a brawl with employees, according to the Longwood Police Department.

(omitted) were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, battery and criminal mischief.

It all started shortly before 9 p.m. on Saturday at Papa Bees in Longwood.

A supervisor told police that the bathroom toilet was stuffed with toilet paper and the group of five women might have been to blame, since they were the only customers inside the restaurant at that time, according to the arrest report.
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/papa-bees-brawl-longwood-florida




Finally this week – there’s no one who’s immune from People Are Dumb. And this is a very classic People Are Dumb story and it’s one of those ones that could happen to anybody. So a dad and his son land in Florida at one of Palm Beach’s private air terminals and rent a car. Instead of getting on the freeway like they should, they were instead finding themselves in a very awkward position of driving onto the runway itself! And not only that, they kept driving even after figuring out that they were in a place that they shouldn’t have been! But it’s a good thing that no one was hurt. The article even said so!

Two passengers who arrived at a South Florida airport made a dangerous mistake when they got off of their flight.

A father and son landed in a private plane at Atlantic Aviation at Palm Beach International Airport and their rental car was ready for them on the tarmac.

Instead of leaving the airport, they turned the wrong direction and drove on multiple runways.

The two were eventually let go for the mistake and no one was hurt.

But several workers are being investigated for not following protocols and “Go Rental” the car rental company, had their permit revoked.
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/08/17/south-florida-father-and-son-mistakenly-drive-rental-car-on-airport-runway/




That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]What’s Up With Florida? Pt 5: Desantis Vs Disney
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Let’s give the wheel one final spin this week! And it lands on… wait for it…. Go directly to jail? NO!!!



Wait! I’ve got that get out of jail free card! Yes! I’m out! Let’s spin it again! And it lands on… Larry David!





Welcome back to part 5 of our 7 part docuseries What’s Up With Florida? After California and Texas, Florida has the third highest total of electoral votes and is a nearby swing state in close elections and can influence nearby states like Georgia and Alabama. Which is why we decided that we want to explore the Sunshine State to find out exactly what makes it tick. In the last two weeks, we have explored that most Florida retirement destination in The Villages and we infiltrated a meeting of the Miami Dade County School Board as they rejected textbooks and AP classes. This week, we’re on the front lines of Florida’s biggest tourist destination – Walt Disney World. I was there, man! How many more people gotta die??? And the Oscar goes to… OK I’m kidding. But we’re here this week because we wanted to find out exactly how things have changed since Desantis decided to simply take over Disney the same way that Ultron takes over JARVIS in Avengers: Age Of Ultron.

Ron DeSantis could take a hit from decisions made by the Florida board he appointed to manage the area including Disney's parks, after the entertainment giant was stripped of its largely self-governing status, according to a legal expert.

In 2022, DeSantis moved to abolish the Disney-aligned Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID), which used to govern the territory, and replaced it with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) under the control of his appointees.

It came after Disney infuriated the Florida governor by speaking out against his Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by critics, which banned discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity at school through third grade.

Earlier this month, DeSantis said he'd "basically moved on" from the spat and urged Disney to "move forward" and drop a lawsuit arguing the governor had violated their First Amendment rights.
https://www.newsweek.com/ron-desantis-disney-board-may-come-back-bite-him-1822995




Now that’s a fitting use of that GIF there! You don’t fuck with the Mouse, man! That’s one thing that the residents of Orlando told me while we were touring that great city. Disney is one of the largest employers in the state of Florida. it’s also one of the largest employers of diversity and inclusion practices, the largest LGBT employer in the United States, and the list goes on and on. Well, that last one is the reason why Desantis is targeting Disney so hard in the last year. But you can’t strip employees of park perks, that ‘s one of the reasons you work there!

Already involved in two lawsuits with Disney, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees to a board that oversees Disney World’s governing district on Monday launched a battle against the company on a new front — free passes and discounts for district employees.

Board members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District submitted a complaint to the state Inspector General, claiming that the millions of dollars in season passes, as well as discounts on hotels, merchandise, food and beverages, that their Disney-supporting predecessors provided governing district employees amount to unethical benefits and perks.

Last year alone, before the DeSantis appointees took over the governing board and it was still controlled by Disney backers, around $2.5 million in discounts and passes were given to district employees and their families, the board said in a news release.

The arrangement was self-serving to the company because it funneled money back to Disney, with the district footing the bill, the release said.
https://fortune.com/2023/08/21/ron-desantis-disney-employees-free-park-passes-discounts-orlando-board/




BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Yeah that’s kind of about what it’s like between those two, and it ain’t pretty. In fact, it really sucks. The good news is that the Reedy Creek firefighters are sticking up for the little guy. It’s truly criminal what Desantis is doing to Disney and it all started because of Desantis’ draconian anti-free speech “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The way this feud is going, it’s not going to end well and unfortunately we’re going to be stuck with Desantis for the foreseeable future. But it doesn’t all have to be grim, the Mouse is fighting back!

“The removal of this benefit takes away, for some, their entire reason for working here,” said firefighter Pete Simon.

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District earlier this week said that $2.5 million in season passes and discounts on hotels, merchandise, food and beverages that their Disney-supporting predecessors provided the district’s 400 employees amounted to unethical perks that benefited the company, with the district footing the bill. The district on Monday submitted a complaint to a state Inspector General, which investigates fraud, mismanagement, waste and abuse.

The five members of the district’s board were appointed by DeSantis earlier this year after his takeover of the district in retaliation for Disney’s opposition to a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.

Firefighter Aaron Clark, whose father was also a district firefighter, choked up as he recounted how growing up his dad took him to the parks using the passes and how he now does the same thing with his three daughters.
https://fortune.com/2023/08/24/disney-firefighters-ron-desantis-free-park-passes-benefits-orlando/




Yeah, I don’t know how many times I need to say it, but you don’t mess with the Mouse! What Ron Desantis is doing to Disney is the stuff of pure fucking evil and it’s all so he looks good on Fox News and those stupid AM call in shows. Which is why we say that if the talk shows didn’t exist, no one would listen to the GOP because they are terrible people with terrible ideas. There is some good news, though, my friends, is that Desantis is going to pay for this blatant display of political power. He will have to cough up a fine. But it’s just money unfortunately. We want his resignation. He went way too far on this one.

The state board that controls the land housing Walt Disney World expects to more than triple what it spends in legal fees next year following a high-profile battle between the entertainment giant and Gov. Ron DeSantis.

New figures released Wednesday find the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District anticipates it’ll spend $4.5 million in legal fees in 2024, after already incurring $1.9 million in costs this year. The figures were presented as part of the district’s larger budget proposal led by Glen Gilzean, the district administrator.

The costs come as a result of dueling lawsuits between Walt Disney World and the board, whose members were hand-picked by DeSantis. The governor put new leaders in charge after the Walt Disney Co. publicly opposed a bill he signed into law limiting when and how educators can teach LGBTQ topics in public schools.

Disney sued in federal court in April, alleging retaliation against its right to speech, and the board filed a dueling lawsuit in state court.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/23/disney-district-legal-fees-desantis-00112464




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

For part 6, we’re going inside the Florida government to see them in action and some of the insane policies that they are enacting!





[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Greta Van Fleet[/font]



Folks, my next guest has a great new album out called Starcatcher. You can see them on tour through Sept. 23rd including stops in Boston, Philadelphia, DC, and Cleveland. Playing their song “Meeting The Master”, give it up for Greta Van Fleet!



Thank you Tampa! This was great! We’re back home next week because of the weather. We’ll see you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech
Greta Van Fleet Appears Courtesy Of: Lava Music, LLC
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Miami Improv, Miami, FL
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo

August 10, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-4: Check Mark Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-4: Check Mark Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! What’s up Orlando, how you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Great! Well we’re on city 2 of 5 for our Florida tour promoting our What’s Up With Florida docuseries and also filming and hanging around residents of the Sunshine State. We’re having fun right now and I can’t wait to see how the rest of this thing turns out, because it’s going to be great! And by the way we’re off for the next two weeks because of a scheduling anomaly, but that’s OK, we’ll be back and ready to hit the ground running! But we can’t let that get in the way of some good old fashioned fun, can we? Because we’d be fools and communists not to! OK do we have time for the thing? Of course we do. It’s my show, damn it! Well anyway we’re off for the next two weeks so we won’t get to talk about the sad defeat of the US Women’s National Team at the World Cup in Sydney, Australia. But we do have to talk about the right wing. Did you see Twitter / X last weekend? I mean it was getting super weird and creepy. The right wing male blogosphere was practically having orgasms at the loss. Like all the creeps and weirdos had to comment on Megan Rapinoe because she didn’t kiss the flag and worship Jesus enough for their tastes. Like these guys really need a hobby. That was a truly sick and bizarre display. But again it’s like par for the course for the MAGA psychos. And they really are psychos. That’s one thing we’ve learned from this program! See, we do try to teach you stuff around here! OK. That’s enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to, but first while the WGA is on the seemingly never ending strike, we’re featuring clips from some of our favorite podcasts like the Titus Armageddon Update:



So where do we begin this week? Well the number one slot this week has to go to that guy who we inexplicably used to call president, Donald J. Trump (1) – and he got arrested, again! But seriously, how many more before he finally gets the heave ho he so greatly deserves? But this latest arrest has the MAGA cult (2) only supporting him more, with Fox News going overdrive into “Nothing To See Here, Please Disperse” mode. Hilarious how the people who claim to be vehemently opposed to tyranny are openly calling to be ruled by a tyrant. In the number 3 slot this week is Ron DeSantis (3). Yes, Florida is back at it again, which a shockingly and unbelievably evil move to completely remove AP Psych classes from high school curriculums – because – wait for it – there might be some icky gender stuff involved! I mean come on, grow the fuck up, assholes! Taking the number 4 slot this week is Elon Musk (4). Yes, after last week’s ridiculous and completely poorly thought out rebrand from Twitter to X, he’s got more badly thought out plans to make money off that blue checkmark. In the number 5 slot, we are hanging out in Hollywood with the latest from WGA / SGA strike – and could the longest strike ever finally be coming to an end? Well we shall see! We shall see! In the number 6 slot this week is of course our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and this week, we always say that religion and politics should be as separated as possible, but when churches are buying up seats to the inexplicable hit Q Anon movie Sound Of Freedom, we have to go expose who’s really going to see this movie. In the number 7 slot this week is our segment exploring the never-ending world of relentless corporate greed in Late Stage Capitalism (7), and this week we’re going to check out a beef between a mom and pop brewery in rural Wisconsin that’s selling politically themed beers, and the MAGA city council that’s trying to shut them down. This is why elections matter! Taking the 8th slot this week is our weekly segment that explores the world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner (8), and this week, we have to find out - does anyone actually like RFK Jr? Well the notorious anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist seems to be surging in the polls... among heavily skewered republican sites. Plus no one really appears to be supporting him either. Something stinks and we can't quite put our finger on it! In the number 9 (NEIN!!) slot this week, we have some People Are Dumb, because of course they are! Finally this week, it’s part 4 of our What’s Up With Florida? docuseries and this week we’re infiltrating one of the most controversial and talked about school boards in the entire country – the Miami Dade County Board, and yeah they’ve got some explaining to do! Plus to cap things off, we have the legendary Fall Out Boy joining us! Buy their new album “So Much For Stardust” or you are no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Donald Trump
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Is Trump stupid, evil, or both? We think it’s a combination. And the question that we have, is how many indictments and arrests do we have to endure with Trump before they finally throw his sorry ass in jail where it belongs? And how many arrests do you think it will take? Let us know in the comments! Shit, Fox News is following his plane around like he’s the British royal family or something. Like it’s insane. But the good news is that Jack Smith finally laid the smack down on Trump (again) and it’s glorious. And not only that, he’s got witnesses. That was the shocking thing. He’s got people from Trump’s inner circle that might turn on his evil deeds. But I keep hearing reports that they should have arrested Trump on January 7th. No fucking shit!!! But coulda woulda shoulda. It didn’t happen and now we still have to live with his insanity. But the good news is that Jack Smith is fighting back against Trump and his MAGA goons!

Things are already heating up in the federal criminal case against Donald Trump following Trump’s arrest and arraignment. Jack Smith is not playing around.

Special Counsel Jack Smith just filed an opposition to Donald Trump’s “motion for extension of time” where Trump seeks to delay the time to respond to the proposed protective order filed by Jack Smith’s team on Friday.

Jack Smith filed a proposed protective order on Friday night immediately after Trump made a social media post stating in all caps: “IF YOU COME AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”

“The Government stands ready to press send on a discovery production. The defendant is standing in the way. The Court should deny the motion.”
https://www.meidastouch.com/news/jack-smith-slams-trump-for-delay-tactic-in-new-court-filing




Yeah… BUSTED!!! Or is he? No matter what moves we make to lock his sorry ass up in jail, the right wing media is going to defend him to the ends of the earth. Seriously, if Trump told his followers to jump off a cliff, they’d be pushing and shoving each other to be next in line. And we could spend literally all day talking about the right wing media meltdown. It’s been quite spectacular to watch. But really, the right wing media – and we’re talking Fox, megachurches, and so on, are really just Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown at this point. Because they are a bunch of psychopaths. They want one party rule. But we won’t let them have it.

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to steal the 2020 election ? following his third arrest and court arraignment in four months.

A somber-faced Trump entered the courtroom at about 4 p.m. to be arraigned, wearing a navy blue suit, a red tie and a white shirt. He folded his hands on the table in front of him, put his head down and sat between his attorneys, Todd Blanche and John Lauro.

Trump and his attorneys quietly talked among themselves, waiting for Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya to enter.

Special counsel Jack Smith, who led the indictment, appeared to be 15 feet away from Trump, and the two exchanged a few looks at each other, including one from Smith that lasted longer than 20 seconds.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/03/donald-trump-indictment-arrest-arraignment-live-updates/70513060007/




Yeah you’re guilty, asshole! But if there’s one thing we’ve learned on this program is that he’ll never, not in a million years, ever, admit to any kind of guilt. If there’s one thing we’ve learned with these kooks, is that one thing they are really good at is passing the blame off to someone else. Everything with them is a false flag. Or it didn’t happen. Or it was that damn Antifa. Well, they can’t weasel their way out of this one. They really stepped in it, because the republicans are desperate to hang onto power, and right now the desperation is starting to reek.

While much attention is being trained on the possibility that former President Donald Trump could face charges for his actions leading up to Jan. 6, the Department of Justice on Tuesday unsealed documents revealing a new arrest was made Tuesday in connection to the Capitol riot.

A Kentucky man was arrested Tuesday on charges that he joined the pro-Trump mob during one of the most violent stand-offs with law enforcement at the Lower West Terrace tunnel.

Barry Saturday is alleged to have been present around rioters who engaged in assaults against officers protecting the Capitol and allegedly celebrated after seeing one rioter steal a police shield, court documents allege.

Investigators tracked Saturday's movements throughout the clash with police, including his push towards the police line while rioters were shouting, "Heave-ho!" to try and break through and enter the building, according to the affidavit.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/doj-unseals-new-jan-6-arrest/story?id=101903106




That’s a great delivery of “guilty”! But come on, as John Lithgow on 3rd Rock From The Sun said, YOU ARE SO GUILTY YOU STUPID MAN!!! It doesn’t take a legal expert to see how guilty he is, especially if you live outside of the MAGA bubble. The fact is that the GOP bubble got so big that it burst during the Bush years. Now what’s left is a melting pot of kooks, quacks, hacks, conspiracy theorists, and violent psychopaths. All of which are trying to make Trump America’s next top president again… ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… I love our graphics department!... in their never ending quest for absolute power. But the good news is that Jack Smith has people in Trump’s inner circle, and they look like they’re ready to start squealing.

On Tuesday, special counsel Jack Smith unsealed his latest criminal indictment of Donald Trump, and like the first indictment he filed against the former president, over his handling of classified documents, it was made up of hundreds of hours of grand jury testimony given by Republican witnesses, many of them former members of Trump's administration.

Trump and his political allies have attacked the indictment as being politically motivated, and the old legal adage that a prosecutor can convince a grand jury to "indict a ham sandwich" should give Americans some pause about whether Smith will be able to obtain guilty verdicts in this case. But as with the House Jan. 6 committee's final report on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday's indictment is notable in that the evidence of criminal activity comes almost exclusively from Republicans sympathetic to Trump who testified under oath.
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-indictment-jack-smith-built-from-republican-witness-testimony-190822524.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=0_00





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[font size="8"]Fox News
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Oh man. Now that Trump has been arrested for a third time – with an army of witnesses, it’s going to be fun watching Fox News squirm and go into “Nothing to see here, please disperse” mode. I’ve honestly spent the last week just laughing my damn ass off at all of the lies and justification going into overdrive coming from the right. Particularly Trump attempting to frame his latest arrest as “if it can happen to me, it can happen to you”. Oh yeah sure, like the average person hosts private golf tournaments on national television with Saudi oligarchs in attendance. From his own private golf course, I might add. I mean we’re supposed to believe the lie that the democrats are elitists? Come on man! Let’s first start with discount Tucker Carlson, Jesse Watters, who is attempting to play the “nothing to see here, please disperse” card like nobody else’s business. Come on Jesse, we know what Trump’s crimes are. We’re not living in made up conspiracy theory bullshit land.

Following the July 31 testimony to the House Oversight Committee by former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer, right-wing media outlets arrived at what should have been a very uncomfortable crossroads: They had relentlessly hyped a narrative that Archer would seriously incriminate President Joe Biden, but Archer denied that Joe Biden had talked business with his son’s associates and instead confirmed Hunter had sold only the “illusion” of access to his father. The full release of the transcript further busted right-wing narratives about any vast Biden family corruption linked to the president.

Fox News had an easy solution to this dilemma, however: It has simply claimed repeatedly that Archer had said the opposite of all these things. The brazenness with which the network is voicing these falsehoods is another example proving that Fox is simply a political propaganda outlet rather than any kind of news organization.

The closest that House Republican investigators got to linking Joe Biden with his son’s business deals was that the two of them frequently spoke on the phone, and that Hunter Biden would put his father on speakerphone while in the company of his own business associates. But in his testimony, Archer explicitly said the two Bidens had been checking in on each other, making small talk — as well as discussing Beau Biden’s terminal cancer — and not discussing business.
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-claims-house-gops-star-witness-said-exact-opposite-everything-he-said-0




Yes, that’s right, MAGAs, move along, nothing to see here. There was no attempt to overthrow the government, it was just a harmless tourist visit. Yeah right. What kind of harmless tourist visit involves an angry mob of people shouting that they wanted to hang the vice president? I mean come on, this country hasn’t hanged anyone since the 1900s. Oh and we won’t even get to their bizarre revenge and execution fetish yet. Oh and we may have to do an entire segment on Jesse Watters, because you thought Tucker Carlson was bad? He’s even worse. it’s just politics.

Following the indictment of disgraced former President Donald Trump on federal charges for his attempt to remain in office after losing the 2020 election, mainstream media outlets are seemingly bending over backward to seek commentary from Republican sources, many of whom end up spreading misinformation and spin, or simply wasting what could have been useful airtime.

Politico published an article with the headline “Trump lawyer blasts indictment as attack on free speech,” repeating, without context of its own, those misleading claims by Trump attorney John Lauro. Politico simply transcribed claims Lauro made in a CNN interview: “This is an attack on free speech and political advocacy. And there’s nothing that’s more protected under the First Amendment than political speech. … Our defense is going to be focusing on the fact that what we have now is an administration that has criminalized the free speech and advocacy of a prior administration.” Politico also quoted from a Lauro interview on Fox News: “This is unprecedented. It affects not just Donald Trump — it affects every American who now realizes that the First Amendment is under assault.” [Politico, 8/2/23]

The Hill quoted Rudy Giuliani saying that special counsel Jack Smith’s “legacy” will be “violating the rights of free speech of an American citizen. … You don’t get to violate people’s First Amendment rights, Smith.” Giuliani, formerly a lawyer and campaign dirty trickster for Trump, is widely reported to be an unindicted co-conspirator in the most recent indictment. [The Hill, 8/2/23]
https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/mainstream-media-quote-and-host-republican-sources-who-mislead-audiences-indictment




Yes, MAGAs, just keep moving. Don’t mind the massive criminal enterprise and deranged cult that’s plotting to take over the United States. Well, guess what? Now they’re literally threatening the judge in the trial that is presiding over their guy. Which in no way, shape or form makes it a cult, let’s get our priorities straight. Oh who am I kidding? It’s exactly a deranged cult. And they’re getting even scarier as the actual trial date approaches, if they even have one at all. I think we might need to move this to a neutral location because otherwise the right wing terrorist sect might try something.

Right-wing media are attacking Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over Donald Trump’s pending criminal case in Washington D.C.

Chutkan was randomly selected to preside over the case. Appointed by former President Obama, she has been described as a “tough Jan. 6 sentencer” of defendants who participated in the insurrection, though she has “avoided some of the most pointed criticisms of Trump that some of her colleagues on the federal bench in D.C. have delivered.”

Media figures on the right have leveled numerous attacks and charges against her, describing her as politically motivated, and calling for her recusal in the case against the former president.

Fox News host Mark Levin described Chutkan as “the worst, radical, left-wing, Obama judge in America” on Fox and Friends, adding that Trump would be indicted for “drinking too much orange juice.”
On his radio show, Levin reiterated his claim and called Chutkan “a whack job.” He then asked, “Do you think Trump will get a fair shot with her? Of course not.” He added, “And so the system is really truly rigged. Really truly rigged.”
https://www.mediamatters.org/2020-election-lawsuits/conservatives-bash-judge-trumps-indictment-call-her-recusal




Oh fuck off Levin! Your party is the worst, radical, most despicable bunch of psychopaths this side of the mental institution. You’re covering for a guy who tried to overthrow the government and stop the certification of an election that he lost. People died because of him. And by the way, anyone else find it absolutely ironic that the people who claim to be morally opposed to tyranny are actively aiding and abetting to install a tyrannical government? They wouldn’t know actual tyranny if it jumped up and bit them. Just… ahh!!! No stupids, we don’t want to live in a fascist fucking dictatorship. Fuck off, Kari, and fuck off Trump and Fox News.

Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake recently appeared on the podcast of Michael Scheuer, a virulent antisemite who has called for the assassinations of leading political figures like President Joe Biden. During their discussion, Lake stated that the Second Amendment is “there to stop the tyrants.” Scheuer responded by claiming that there’s “an enormous enemy in Washington” and “in the general staff of the military.”

Lake, who is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate, is a former news anchor who has repeatedly and falsely insisted that she won her 2022 gubernatorial bid. She has referred to herself as “the real governor, the duly elected governor” and told one podcaster that Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs “should be pulled out by her collar."

She repeatedly appeared on far-right programs during her unsuccessful campaign. She also endorsed — and then rescinded, following media criticism — an antisemitic candidate for state Senate in the non-neighboring state of Oklahoma.
https://www.mediamatters.org/rumble/kari-lake-and-pro-assassination-antisemite-muse-about-using-second-amendment-stop-tyrants





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[font size="8"]Ron DeSantis
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If there’s one word that can accurately describe the year in which we live, 2023, it would simply be one word “woke”. Something that the right wing has been constantly shoving down our throats 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for the better part of the last year and a half. But the right wing can’t define what being “woke” is. They invented this shit! And they can’t define it! Well that’s what happens when consuming too much Fox News rots your brain and turns it into mush. Well, the undisputed reigning king of Fox News Brain Rot, Ron DeSantis (R – Florida – Obviously) has really stepped in it. The right wing “war on woke” is reaching some absolutely ridiculous proportions and is doing some truly massive damage to this country that may take decades to repair, if ever. You know what they say – you can take 25 years to build a reputation and one jackass with a wrecking ball comes in and ruins it in 5 minutes. Well, that jackass is Ron DeSantis, and wait until you hear what he’s been up to. And trust us, it’s the stuff of pure fucking evil.

A long-simmering feud between the College Board, the non-profit that administers Advanced Placement courses, and Florida’s Department of Education became public this week, as officials argued over whether the Advanced Placement Psychology course could be taught in Florida without breaking state laws.

In Florida, students are prohibited from learning about sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom.

But the College Board says these lessons are a core component of the AP Psychology course and have refused to change the curriculum.

On Thursday, the College Board announced that unless AP Psychology is taught in its entirety – including lessons on sexuality and gender – “the “AP Psychology” designation cannot be utilized on student transcripts.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/06/us/florida-ap-psychology-ban-explained-reaj/index.html




Hey MAGA assholes, allow me to say this with the utmost sincerity, but I feel that I must: go fuck yourselves to the highest circle of hell. Your insane war on erasing any mention of gender anywhere in the country is getting fucking ridiculous. And you’re not protecting children. In fact, you’re making it far worse than you’ve already made it. If anything, we need to protect children from YOU and your insane conspiracy theory bullshit. I don’t know what your version of heaven is, but we’re currently living in MAGA hell. I don’t see how it can get worse than this, but it can. Again, MAGA assholes, go fuck yourselves. Thank you audience! Ugh, OK now that I’ve got that off my chest, we need to explain exactly what the fuck is going on, and it’s the stuff of pure insanity.

A schism involving the Florida Education Department and the College Board over the teaching of Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology due to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ subjects may have come to a resolution.

NBC News reports that Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. sent a letter to school superintendents Friday indicating the state is not preventing school districts from teaching the AP Psychology course, a statement contrary to what the College Board said just one day earlier.

"In fact,” according to the letter, “the Department believes that AP Psychology can be taught in its entirety in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate and the course remains listed in our course catalog."

In March 2022, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is currently running for president, signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, which banned the classroom teaching of “sexual orientation or gender identity” from kindergarten to the third grade, or "in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."
https://people.com/florida-may-offer-ap-psych-after-dispute-college-board-7571389




For starters, Ron Desantis is a criminally insane individual who’s gone totally mad with power. I mean someone is feeding them these terrible ideas. It’s time to find out who. I won’t point fingers, but we at the Top 10 Home Offices in Santa Ana, California have our theories (*COUGH* Vladimir Putin *COUGH*), but the simple fact of the matter is that we are dealing with some clinically deranged psychopaths who are taking over our school boards at an alarming rate. And it’s way past time that we fight back against them.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has reached yet another milestone in its quest to subject Florida students to one of the most puritanical educational systems in the nation.

The Florida Department of Education has instructed its superintendents that Advanced Placement Psychology can only be taught in their districts if the course’s content on sexual orientation and gender identity is removed. In response, the College Board, which oversees the creation and administration of AP courses, said that any course taught without those components would violate college requirements, and as a result, “the Florida Department of Education has effectively banned AP Psychology.”

This is unfortunate news for Florida students, more than 28,000 of whom took AP Psychology in the 2022-23 academic year, according to the College Board. Now, just as the school year is about to start, it looks as if many of them will be robbed of the chance to take the course for college credit.
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/florida-ban-ap-psychology-ron-desantis-rcna98196




OK, OK, OK, I got to stop being pissed off about this. So let’s extrapolate their arguments for a couple of minutes here. So if the right wing hates gender ideology to the point where they’re simply erasing any mention of it from any place our children might be learning something that’s not manufactured by Rupert Murdoch, how exactly are we going to train the future doctors, nurses and heath care professionals of America? The GOP’s “war on woke” has reached absolutely ridiculous proportions and they really need to be kicked in the ass for it. Multiple times. This is what happens when too Fox News rots your brain.

Tampa Bay school officials were scrambling this week to prepare alternative options for more than 5,000 students who were set to take Advanced Placement Psychology amid a feud between the Florida Department of Education and the College Board.

Why it matters: The back-and-forth could cost thousands of students college credit. AP Psychology is one of the College Board's most popular courses, offering students a path to get ahead on general education classes required to graduate college.

Catch up quick: A day after the College Board asserted last week that Florida had "effectively banned" the course over its curriculum on sexual orientation and gender identity, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. pushed back, saying the class "can be taught in its entirety in a manner that is age and developmentally appropriate."

Yes, but: In a matter of a few days, the uncertainty led several school districts to pivot to other college-credit programs just before the start of the school year on Thursday.
https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2023/08/09/florida-ap-psych-course-correction-confusion





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[font size="8"]Elon Musk
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Well, last week it finally happened. Our old buddy Elon Musk killed the Twitter brand and replaced it with an X. He’s really just turning what was once a great site to use into an absolute dumpster fire of its’ former self. Last week we talked about the clusterfuck in San Francisco surrounding the saga of rebranding the former headquarters to the new X headquarters, and the headaches that it caused since the rebrand. But one thing that we can’t deny is that since Elon took over, that the blue check mark that has been next to verified accounts since the dawn of social media has earned, well, let’s say a bit of a reputation. And not a good one at that. Let’s call it… X marks the treason. Nah, that one doesn’t sound right. How about… X Bad Reputation? I do like Joan Jett. How about… Checkmark Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Ice Cube in the hizzouse! So yeah X patrons who give a billionaire more money can now hide their shame.

One of the main selling points for Twitter Blue — now "X Blue" — when the service was first launched was that anybody on the platform willing to pay for it can get the once-coveted blue checkmark. Over the past months, though, subscribers have been getting shamed for paying $8 a month or $84 a year for the service. Now as TechCrunch has noticed, the company has updated its support page for X Blue with a new feature for members: The ability to hide the verified checkmark on their account.

Under the "Profile customization" section in account settings, subscribers will now find a new "Hide your blue checkmark" option that they can tick. By activating the feature, the badge will no longer show up on their profiles and next to their usernames on posts. However, the company warned that it could still show up in some places and that some features may not be available to them while their checkmark is hidden. It didn't say which features will become inaccessible, but Twitter has rolled out a number of changes made specifically for paying users since Elon Musk took over.
https://www.engadget.com/x-blue-subscribers-can-now-hide-their-checkmarks-110229094.html




But here’s the thing – before Elon took over, it wasn’t easy to get a blue checkmark on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Believe me, I know, I tried for years to get one for the official Top 10 Conservative Idiots account! Now the verified Nazis and white supremacists on Twitter can go hide their shame. I think it’s hilarious that the people who claim that they don’t want the “mark of the beast” are the ones who are now actively hiding the fact that they carry the mark of the beast. Yeah what goes around comes around doesn’t it?

Users on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will now be allowed to hide their once-prized blue ticks, the company says.

A coveted status symbol at Twitter before Elon Musk bought the company, the blue checks have been mocked by some as a sign that the user is willing to pay for special treatment.

“As a subscriber, you can choose to hide your checkmark on your account,” an X help page said on Wednesday.

“The checkmark will be hidden on your profile and posts.”
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3229798/x-formerly-twitter-lets-users-hide-once-vaunted-blue-check




Oh people stop your rabbling! Look, I can talk all day about the clusterfuck that Elon has turned Twitter / X into. And don’t think for a minute that I don’t have that kind of time! I do. But I hope that Elon doesn’t see all the bad shit we’ve said about him. Because this is some shockingly evil shit that he’s doing. in addition to running Twitter into the ground and attempting, very poorly, to profit off of the once coveted blue checkmark, just look at what Elon did to the owner of a handle called @music. Once one of the largest accounts on Twitter, now just another Elon fuck up.

As Elon Musk transforms Twitter into X, his method for persuading reluctant users to embrace his vision for an “everything app” has been more stick than carrot. Don’t like the new pay-for-verification system? Say goodbye to X’s most useful features. Remember having a timeline where you didn’t just see tweets from Musk and his friends, all the time? Bye. Not sure you want to keep dealing with all the white supremacists and spam bots? Well, keep dealing with them. And if that’s not coercive enough, the platform has recently started taking some users’ longtime handles away from them.

Late last month, the official @Twitter account rebranded itself as @X, taking the one-letter handle away from its owner of 16 years, businessman Gene X. Hwang—whose account was suddenly switched to the less elegant @x12345678998765. He received no compensation for it, though he was offered company merch and a chance to meet with management. The very next day, Twitter/X swiped the @xAI handle from its holder, a Japanese user who’d had it since 2010, and gave him @xAI_ instead (although someone else had that handle, so they were in turn left with @xAI_1). No advance notice, no choice or warning, no options for negotiation—it was all just gone. The trend has continued this month, with the longtime holders of accounts like @Sports, @TV, and @Movies losing those platforms to the X brand. If I were Bloomberg—holder of @markets, @climate, @tax, and more—I’d be very nervous.
https://slate.com/technology/2023/08/x-twitter-usernames-music-take-away-interview.html




Oh and by the way, I know that I’m deviating from the original subject here, but remember a couple of weeks ago when Elon challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a winner take all cage match? Yeah that’s exactly what we need in these extremely fucked up times we live in. Two mega billionaires going at it in a WWE Rage In The Cage style death match. In the category of things we can’t unsee, though, is Elon’s pasty, flabby exterior. And he really thinks he can take on Zuckerberg in a cage match? Does he not know how out of shape he is? Our money’s on Zuck.

Elon Musk announced on X Sunday that he's received an MRI and may require surgery before his proposed fight with Mark Zuckerburg.

"I'm getting an MRI of my neck & upper back tomorrow," Musk said. "May require surgery before the fight can happen. Will know this week."

Zuckerberg was the first to pitch a date for a possible fight night, reserving August 26th, but he has yet to receive a response from Musk," the Meta CEO wrote on Threads. It's uncertain whether or not the event will actually happen.

If Musk requires surgery, the fight, which already has no official date, will be postponed indefinitely.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2023/08/08/musk-zuckerburg-fight-elon-possible-surgery/70553728007/





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[font size="8"]Latest from Writer’s Strike
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Do you remember when we used to have things like broadcast television, movies and other streaming content? Tetridge Farm remembers. OK that’s a dated reference. But the fact of the matter is that the great, seemingly never-ending Hollywood Writer’s Strike is now in its’ fourth month, which puts it high in the running for the longest strike in history. Remember what I said a couple of weeks ago about not getting used to your favorite programs coming back? Well, yeah, you’d better get used to it, because we may not get them back for a long time, if ever. And the fucking CEOs should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. But they’re not. I mean come on, Bob Iger makes $74,000 a day while his employees make that in a year? Pay your employees, you deadbeat losers! OK I’m rambling again. But anyway here’s the latest on when / if this strike could ever reach a possible end. The fact that it’s gone on this long already means that it’s going to start affecting a whole bunch of folks.

As the writers’ strike careens toward the 100-day mark this week, there is still no end in sight for the historic work stoppage that has brought the movie and television industry to a standstill and wreaked financial havoc on the interconnected web of people who rely on the business to make ends meet.

When news emerged last week that the studios and striking writers were set to meet for the first time since the strike commenced in early May, a ray of hope emerged in Hollywood. It seemed that maybe — just maybe — after a long, hot summer of picketing and trading barbs, hope might be on the horizon.

But it ultimately seemed to be a mirage. Even before the meeting occurred, it was clear that it would not prove to be very fruitful. The Writers Guild of America sent a statement to its members blasting the studios for alleged “calculated disinformation.” That prompted an upset Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the organization that represents the major studios, to return the favor with a stinging statement of its own.

Which is to say that what started off as a promising indicator of a thaw in the frozen relations concluded with both sides effectively zinging each other in the news media and a continuation of the protracted standoff.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/07/media/hollywood-studios-writers-strike-reliable-sources/index.html




Holy shit! It’s been nearly 100 days since the strike shut down the entertainment industry as we know it, and no one seems to be wanting to end it, either. And it’s going to start affecting a whole lot of folks in the industry, not just the writers and actors. It’s going to affect the stage hands, character actors, prop and set designers, the list goes on. And don’t worry, you fucking greedy CEO psychopaths, it’s going to affect you too. So which side is going to budge? Well, right now, it looks like neither side is preparing to show their poker face any time soon.

Writers and actors want raises, residuals from streaming platforms and some regulation of AI.

But media CEOs such as Disney’s Bob Iger are crying poor. Iger recently said that “disruptive forces” such as streaming, shrinking TV audiences and an uncertain economy made this “the worst time in the world” for talent to insist on their fair share. The content creators must “be realistic about the business”, he added.

The reality is that show business is doing fine, as confirmed by strong earnings, sky-high executive pay and summer box-office hits – Barbie, Oppenheimer and Mission Impossible. Besides, studios today are diversified entities that own streamers, TV networks, theme parks, cable properties and sundry and foreign operations.

Disney’s streamers – Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN – boast billions of dollars in revenue. That, plus 12 theme parks, five cruise ships, Pixar, Marvel and others, made for a profitable 2022.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/08/hollywood-strike-sag-wga-studio-greed-disney-universal


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Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! It’s not the writers and the actors that are the problem in this equation. The problem is that the greediest of the greedy, the fucking movie studio executives like Bob Iger, are the problem. They are too damn greedy and they’re refusing to give up any of their ill gotten wealth and power. And yes, we target Bob Iger a lot because he makes himself a target by being one of the most vocal in this strike. But as the strike drags on, it’s ultimately going to be everyone here who will feel the pinch.

When the Writers Guild of America went on strike in early May, a first-year member of the union who most recently worked on an Apple TV+ series was gripped by panic. She was already struggling to find her next writing job, and now she would likely be out of work for months.

The writer, who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity because she was concerned about professional repercussions, said she fully supports her WGA colleagues who are on the picket lines. But she is taking a financial hit, uncertain when she will have a steady flow of income again.

“I feel like I’m subsidizing this strike with my savings in a way that’s starting to get scary,” the 35-year-old writer said.

She has cobbled together stopgap gigs: dog-walking, nannying, assisting someone with travel arrangements, filling out online surveys that pay “literal pennies.” She is relying on food assistance and living off savings that she had “squirreled away” over the last five years. She expects she can last on her cash reserves for six months before “fully tanking.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/wga-sag-aftra-strike-writers-actors-financial-strain-rcna98755




Yeah it’s starting to get really scary. We wish we had better news for you, but we don’t. We’re hoping something happens and relatively soon. I mean if UPS can do it, then surely the WGA can. Am I right, Orlando? Yes, even movies and TV shows are filmed here in Florida, which is where we are right now, so no one is completely immune. The fact of the matter at hand is that we cannot continue to ignore what may be the longest strike ever. Because it seems that the greediest of the greedy are still bent on keeping their ill gotten gains. What’s it going to take for us to rise up against Wall Street? This may be the beginning of an economic revolution. We hope.

As the Hollywood writers strike rages on—and with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) having joined the WGA in the fray in July—the stakes for the future of the entertainment industry have never been higher. Writers and actors want fair pay and assurances that artificial intelligence won’t be taking their jobs, among other things; some industry insiders reportedly believe that the studio executives are “going to let it bleed out.” How we got here is anything but straightforward, thanks to AI, the rise of streaming platforms, and a new wave of tech execs who are now running Hollywood.

Cord Jefferson is a journalist-turned-TV writer who’s intimately familiar with the changes roiling his industry. Since leaving a job at Gawker in 2014 to embark on a career in television, Jefferson has worked on some of the biggest shows out like Succession, The Good Place, and Master of None, before winning an Emmy for his stellar “This Extraordinary Being” episode of HBO’s Watchmen series in 2020.

Last month, GQ reached out to Jefferson for his view of the writers’ strike, what he sees him and his colleagues as having lost in the last several years, and his own journey through the Hollywood development system. “I stand in total solidarity with the actors, who are making it clear that we're all in this together,” he added in a follow up after the SAG walked off. “The specifics of our strikes are different, but the similarity is that we're both fighting for the existence of our careers as we know them.”
https://www.gq.com/story/cord-jefferson-hollywood-writers-strike-interview





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



My fair congregation! Please be seated! You know, we’ve discussed the faith based entertainment industry a lot in the last few years since we’ve been doing this program. There’s a movie that you may have heard your religious Q Anon friends talking about, that’s been inexplicably blowing up the box office, and that’s Sound Of Freedom. Now, if you’re unfamiliar with this movie, it is basically about human sex trafficking, which is a very real crime. But it’s cemented deep within supporters of the unholy, ungodly Dark One! Yes, you know that I speak of a creature so foul, so profane and so disgusting that his name dare NOT be spoken in my church! And it stars Dark One supporter and conspiracy theorist whackjob Jim Caviezel. Yes, a guy who once said that he was JAYSUS and that democrats drink the blood of scared children. Which is some absolutely next level insanity. But if you hear your Q Anon friends and neighbors shit talking the box office because of this abomination of a movie, well, here are some facts you can use against them!

“Sound of Freedom,” this summer’s unlikely box office hit, has crossed the $100 million mark in North America after three weeks of release.

It’s an impressive milestone for the low-budget, faith-based movie, especially in the height of summer blockbuster season. It also marks the first indie release in post-pandemic times to surpass $100 million at the domestic box office.

Last year’s Oscar-winning arthouse smash “Everything Everywhere All at Once” topped $100 million globally, but that included $63 million at the international box office. “Sound of Freedom” isn’t playing overseas.

“Sound of Freedom” stands as the 16th-highest grossing North American release of the year. At this rate, the movie looks to keep climbing that list and soon supplant the No. 14 and 15 spots, which currently belong to “Scream VI” with $108 million and “The Flash” with $107 million.
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/jim-caviezel-faith-based-thriller-sound-freedom-crosses-100-million-bo-rcna95383




I don’t know who it is, but it definitely is NOT the unholy Dark One or his followers and enablers, because they are quite the insane bunch. And this movie, Sound Of Freedom, isn’t exactly doing anything to convert the non-believers. Instead, it’s only amplifying the hysteria surrounding the conspiracy theories that are beneath the insane Q Anon playbook! But apparently there’s a reason why this movie is doing so well at the box office, despite that no one is going to see it. Yes, they’re applying a new business model of “pay it forward”. So when you’re going to the box office, you’re not going to pay for the ticket. Instead you’re buying for someone else.

The Jim Caviezel child-trafficking drama “Sound of Freedom” from faith-based distributor Angel Studios made $14.2 million in a single day when it opened July 4. You can chalk that success up to any number of reasons: Religious audiences are underserved, the film has been bolstered by major right-wing pundits (and Donald Trump himself), and it opened on a rare Tuesday after “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” had five days to quiet down.

But the film’s real godsend is the ability for “Sound of Freedom” fans to buy movie tickets for complete strangers.

Angel Studios calls it “Pay It Forward,” in which you can buy a ticket for “Sound of Freedom,” pay for another one, and someone else can apply to redeem it if they don’t have the financial means. A larger group of people buying tickets in bulk, such as for a company or a church, can even redeem a portion of their tickets for free. The distributor says of its $14.2 million haul, $2.6 million came from people overpaying through those Pay It Forward ticket sales.
https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/sound-of-freedom-box-office-analysis-crowdfunding-pay-it-forward-1234881363/




Well the devil is of course the Dark One and his supporters. But the whole thing with fundamentalists and sex trafficking is quite the strange tale and we’ve been following it for years. But of course the Dark One, the ruiner of everything, has to get involved. Yes, he had a screening at his private golf course in New Jersey. This is why we compare the MAGAs – the supporters of the unholy Dark One – to a cult, because this is indeed some very cultish behavior. But there’s no denying that the Dark One and his followers are the reason why we cannot have nice things! They are the product of SAYTAN and SAYTAN’s minions!

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday night hosted a screening of the film "Sound of Freedom" at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, one day after the revelation that special counsel Jack Smith has informed Trump he is a target of the federal investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump has regularly kept up his campaign schedule despite mounting legal problems, including two indictments to which he has pleaded not guilty. He has also denied wrongdoing related to the 2020 election.

Wednesday's event has a specific purpose, according to his campaign: to burnish both his record on human trafficking and his credentials with evangelical Christians, who are a key bloc in states like Iowa that are early in the GOP primary race.

"Sound of Freedom" is a faith-based film, and evangelicals are one of its main audiences. An adviser to Trump told ABC News that the screening was going to include a large faith-based element.

The movie is loosely based on Tim Ballard, who founded the anti-trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad. The fictional story, starring actor Jim Caviezel as Ballard, follows his mission through the Colombian jungle to save a girl from child traffickers.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-screens-sound-freedom-seeking-rally-evangelicals-fear/story?id=101341363




This is more than just David and Goliath, sir. This is more like one man vs the world on an incredibly stupid made up thing that minimizes the very real crimes being committed! We don’t need to tell you that there were dozens of youth pastors arrested in the last few weeks. Some involving actual human sex crimes of unimaginable horrors! Meanwhile, the amount of drag queens arrested still remains at zero. But the one thing we can’t deny is that the JAYSUS based entertainment industry is growing and this definitely won’t be the last faith based flick you see at the box office.
In Midlothian, Texas, about 25 miles south of Dallas, sits a 1,200-acre summer camp run by The Salvation Army. Lately, the lake where kids normally canoe is doubling for the Sea of Galilee. On its banks is a replica of the Biblical village of Capernaum. This is where Jonathan Roumie—when not interrupted by the occasional low-flying airplane—is portraying Jesus Christ in the fourth season of The Chosen.

The crowdfunded series that no one in traditional Hollywood saw coming has become so successful—the first three seasons garnered more than 110 million viewers worldwide—that The Chosen's worldwide distribution rights have now been sold to Lionsgate, better known for mainstream blockbusters such as The Hunger Games. Meanwhile, one of this summer's biggest box office hits—and surprises—has been the faith-based action movie Sound of Freedom starring outspoken Catholic Jim Caviezel, who played the title role in Mel Gibson's 2004 The Passion of the Christ, as a federal agent on a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers. And Jesus Revolution, a film released earlier this year about hippies turning to Christ in the 1970s, surpassed expectations to become Lionsgate's biggest release in over four years.
https://www.newsweek.com/2023/08/11/sound-freedom-reveals-rising-power-jesus-hollywood-1815299.html




Yes, don’t expect JAYSUS to go away at the box office anytime soon. But as long as religion is still tied to the Dark One, we will continue to give them shit for it! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]Late Stage Capitalism: The GOP Vs Minocqua Brewing Company
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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! Well, this week, we were tipped off to a story brewing, literally I might add, out of rural Wisconsin. And it’s a story that’s near and dear to us because we do love us some beer here. The little known Minocqua Brewing Company based out of Minocqua, Wisconsin, has been in the fight for its’ life and has been making national news. Not just because it sells Joe Biden and democratic party themed beers. But because the overwhelmingly GOP city council has been trying to shut down this mom and pop brewery purely out of spite. Wait, there’s more to it than spite, is there? Well, you’re wrong. Well, you’re not wrong, you’re half right. It’s spite…. And a few other factors. Here’s more.

A northern Wisconsin brewpub may be forced to shut down its business after an Oneida County zoning committee revoked its permit to operate in what the brewpub’s owner claims is unfair retaliation because of its progressive political activity. Minocqua Brewing Company owner Kirk Bangstad accuses the Republican county officials of targeting him for his outspoken liberal activism in an area of the state which is predominantly conservative.

Following two contentious hearings in the last two weeks, three of the five zoning commission members voted to revoke the Administrative Review Permit for Minocqua Brewing Company which allowed it to operate. Two of the committee members did not attend the hearings. The committee members who were present say the revocation is the result of repeated zoning violations by the company in regard to outdoor consumption of beer by customers on its premises and a refusal to obey parking space regulations. The Administrative Review Permit allows for indoor consumption only.

“You have been ordered to bring the administrative review permit into accordance, including ceasing serving alcohol to customers outside,” the brewpub was told in correspondence from the county’s Planning and Development Committee.
https://shepherdexpress.com/news/features/is-the-gop-trying-to-shut-down-minocqua-brewing/




Yes it does, Homer! Hops, barely, yeast and water. At least that’s what the ingredients should be according to the ancient German Reinheitsgebot law. I hope I’m pronouncing that right. But this whole thing gets worse the more you dig into it. So apparently the city council, in a blatant abuse of power, is ordering the brewery simply to close. You know what they say about people not fighting city hall, but this is one instance, where you can and should fight city hall. Because as the Dude himself once said, “This aggression should not stand, man!”.

A zoning committee has ordered a northern Wisconsin brewery that has supported Democratic political figures to close its doors.

The Oneida County committee revoked Minocqua Brewing Company's permit on Wednesday, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. The committee members said owner Kirk Bangstad violated prohibitions on outdoor sales.

Bangstad told the committee he has allowed people to sit outside the establishment but insists he's really just being punished for his liberal views.

Bangstad ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2015 and for State Assembly in 2020. Among the beers the brewery offers are Evers Ale, named for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, and Tammy Shandy, in honor of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/officials-order-wisconsin-brewery-to-close-owner-says-its-payback-for-supporting-liberals/




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Come on, this is America. You know, we used to have freedom of speech and freedom of expression from the 1700s up until two years ago when Fox News decided that it should be illegal. Just…. Ahhh!!!! Conservatives are really overstepping their boundaries. So how does one actually fight city hall, you might ask? Well the first attempt did not exactly go over, what one would call, particularly well. Which is exactly what to expect when the little guy goes up against the MAGA dipshits that are currently infecting our school boards and city councils, it was quite the shit show.

Chaos erupted during a meeting Wednesday afternoon as Oneida County considered revoking a permit for the Minocqua Brewing Company to stay open. The two sides have battled over zoning requirements and other issues for the past several years but the owner claimed it’s selective enforcement because of his progressive politics in a deep red area of the state.

The meeting was called to potentially revoke a business permit for the Minocqua Brewing Company based on numerous violations like customers being served outside without proper approval from the county.

However, no decision was made after a shouting match erupted.

Known as a gathering spot for progressive politics, the Minocqua Brewing Company is now fighting to stay open as its owner Kirk Bangstad went before the county to respond to violations he maintained are politically motivated and selectively enforced.
https://www.wbay.com/2023/07/26/minocqua-brewery-meeting-ends-mayhem/




Holy shit! Where are the Deltas when you need them? Well, this isn’t going away any time soon. But there is one thing that can stop this madness: get out there and fucking vote! Because MAGA conservatives are quite the bloodthirsty and reckless bunch and they are out to erode our basic rights one by one. This brewery battle in Wisconsin is just but one example of what could happen when a few bad apples who shouldn’t have positions of power get into positions of power. So know who you’re voting for at every single level. But this right here is how you fight back against city hall.
A temporary restraining order was filed on August 1st by Kirk Bangstad and the Minocqua Brewing Company against Oneida County supervisors. According to a Minocqua Brewing Company Facebook post, Bangstad believes the restraining order could put the hearing to amend, suspend, or revoke his permit to operate, on hold. The hearing was initially scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

In that same Facebook post, Bangstad said his attorney filed the restraining order against the county in response to the strict rules being put into place for the hearing scheduled on Wednesday. Those rules include talking out of turn or off-topic. Bangstad believes they put those restrictions into place so that he doesn’t have the option to speak.

On July 26, a public hearing took place in which the County was to decide on Bangstad’s permit to operate. It got cut short, however, after the county claimed he was straying too far from the topic at hand, pushing it to August 2nd.

It’s a situation that has been going on for a couple of years now. Both sides, Oneida County and Kirk Bangstad, say the other has played a part in how much it’s escalated.
https://www.wsaw.com/2023/08/02/minocqua-brewing-company-files-temporary-restraining-order-against-oneida-county/





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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 this week, we’re going to talk more about the candidate of choice for hardcore anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which, if you have seen the polls, you know that he's only polling high among – republican conspiracy theorists. Yup, he’s a winner among the Alex Jones crowd. But to the rest of us, he’s a loser. But in case you’re wondering where he’s getting all of his nonsense from, it’s from the worst places on the internet. And like most things these days, the more you dig into this story, the worse it gets.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has always had a famous name; yet until recently, his association with the anti-vaccine movement and fringe theories about the dangers of Wi-Fi has relegated him to the sidelines of America’s national discourse. Why are the presidential candidate’s paranoid views suddenly appealing to a wider audience?

It’s partly a product of our era. Public health authorities have fumbled Americans’ trust. And we live in a time when hyperbole goes viral and reason gets drowned out. Risk communication consultant Peter Sandman has long contended that public perception of risk is determined only partly by the size of the health hazard. The rest is outrage. This is why, for example, people tend to get more worked up about chemicals carelessly dumped in drinking water than more-dangerous chemicals that end up there by accident.

Outrage is Kennedy’s main weapon and rhetorical tool. Social media algorithms favor outrage over reason; and the mainstream media tends to follow whatever’s trending. So does the popular Joe Rogan show, where Kennedy spent more than three hours stirring outrage over censorship, polluters and vaccines.

Kennedy is no science-phobe. He cites study after study to back up his points. He knows the scientific lingo and he’s quick on his feet. He contends that almost every product of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries is toxic and carcinogenic. Because some chemicals and pharmaceuticals are harmful, he’s guaranteed to be right at least some of the time.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-rfk-jr-s-outrage-machine-runs-on-scientific-half-truths/




Man, remember the good old days when conspiracy theories revolved around aliens and bigfoot, the moon landing, and maybe the occasional crackpot Zapruder film reference? Yeah now conspiracy theories revolve around vaccines and elite pedophile rings and chemicals in the water supply. Talk about a huge drop off. And in case you’re wondering what kind of person we’re dealing with, just how far off the deep end and out of touch with reality RFK Jr is, well, he’s now apparently suing Youtube and making some absolutely wild accusations about being censored. Hey RFK Jr, guess what? You’re not being censored! Nobody gives a fuck! Big difference!

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Republican-funded political lightning rod who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, has filed a lawsuit against Google and its subsidiary, YouTube, alleging the companies have censored him.

In recent months, Kennedy has raised eyebrows for his conspiracy theorizing and anti-vax views, which have veered into antisemitic and anti-Asian rhetoric. He claims that the tech company collaborated with government officials, “including the Biden White House,” to muzzle him.

In the suit, Kennedy alleges YouTube has removed videos of speeches and interviews he’s given. He claims that the video platform and Google, both private companies with the right to set forth their own terms of use, justify these deletions by relying on their “‘medical misinformation’ policies.” Kennedy claims that suppressing these videos violates his First Amendment rights.

-snip-

The spark for Kennedy’s ire seems to be the removal of video of what the suit describes as a nearly two-hour speech he gave at Goffstown, New Hampshire’s Saint Anselm College on March 3. “It centered,” the suit says, “on Mr. Kennedy’s concerns about the corrupt merger of corporate and state power … which, in recent years, caused him to question the increasing numbers of vaccines American children must take.” News site Manchester Ink Link describes the speech as “approximately one hour of remarks” in which he pedaled anti-vax views, including that the National Childhood Vaccine Act of 1986 caused diseases. He also criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, and President Joe Biden, accusing the commander in chief of attempting to restructure primaries in his favor. Kennedy announced his candidacy on April 19.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218146293




Seriously, dude, you don’t need to be in the White House. You need some professional help. You can cry censorship all you want. The truth is, nobody gives a shit. We’re all too busy being distracted by the Orange Douchebag to care about anything anyone else has to say. And by the way, in the “what could possibly go wrong?” department, Ron DeSantis actually considered appointing RFK Jr to be the head of the Centers For Disease Control. Yeah putting an anti-vaxxer in charge of the CDC would be like giving the alcoholic the keys to the liquor cabinet and to your car. Nothing good can possibly come of it.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis clarified his comment that if elected president he would “sic” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on a medical agency, saying instead he would put the Democrat on a bipartisan task force that would hold medical agencies accountable for supposed government overreach.

“It wouldn’t be he would be the head of CDC,” DeSantis told Megyn Kelly in an interview on Friday. “That would be a doctor or a PhD.”

“I’m going to have probably a task force to go in there, hold people accountable for Covid, hold people accountable for what [has] happened,” DeSantis continued. “It would be more in that role that I’d want to get a bipartisan group of people together who understand the problem, understand the federal government’s Covid response was a disaster.”

On Tuesday, DeSantis suggested to Clay Travis on OutKick that he saw a role for Kennedy on a medical-related federal agency, noting that they align on many conservative viewpoints about vaccines and the government’s response to Covid. Several Republicans, including former vice president Mike Pence, were quick to criticize him in response.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/29/desantis-appoint-rfk-jr-fda-cdc-00108878




You know, COVID did a lot more than destroy people’s lungs and organs. It also destroyed lots of monds, and I mean lots of minds. There are so many people who went down the conspiracy theory wormhole because there wasn’t anything else to do. But in case you’re wondering whose side he’s really on, one thing is clear is that there’s no question that RFK Jr is a dangerous lunatic. And he’s only running to gather intel for Steve Bannon so he can use it to flip some swing voters in the primary election. That is a real conspiracy by the way, and is more grounded in reality than a lot of the crap that you see flying around social media. Seriously when you question the earth being flat and vaccines being viable, you need to take a step back and rethink your life choices.

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised former President Trump on Friday, saying the leading GOP candidate is “probably the most successful debater in this country since Lincoln-Douglas.”

Then-candidate Abraham Lincoln’s presidential debates with Sen. Stephen Douglas (D-Ill.) in 1858 are believed to have delivered Lincoln the presidency and been the first presidential debates.

Kennedy, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist and long-shot candidate for the Democratic nomination, said in a Fox News interview that it’s important for President Biden to debate during the primaries before going up against Trump, should he win the GOP nod.

“We’re gonna try to get the president to debate, we think it’s really important. It is important for the Democratic party because ultimately the president will have to debate a Republican, and likely, we don’t know, but it’s gonna be Trump,” he said.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4098065-rfk-jr-says-trump-probably-the-most-successful-debater-since-lincoln/





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



Of course you know by now that people are people, and people are dumb. I always want to start by prefacing exactly what makes a People Are Dumb story. A guy driving down the freeway going 100 miles per hour? Not dumb. A guy driving down the freeway going 110 miles per hour in a stolen truck full of live chickens? Now *THAT* is a People Are Dumb story! And I also want to say that not all People Are Dumb stories are stupid criminal stories. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a good stupid criminal story. I collect them, trade them with my friends. But that doesn’t mean all are alike! And by the way, we have a new People Are Dumb policy here – all real life names will be omitted from the stories we present. We don’t want to draw any negative attention to this program. So who’s stupid this week? Well I want to start with this story out of Poland. Yes, no country on earth is immune from stupid people! But this story isn’t really a stupid criminal story, it’s more of one of the thousands of examples of religious conservatives ruining everything! So in Poland they have But yes, there is a route 666 to hell, but because religious conservatives threw a shit fit, it’s now changing to Route 669. Lame. Cue some Iron Maiden!

The popular bus route 666 to Hel in northern Poland is being changed to 669, after long-running complaints by religious conservatives in the country.

Route 666 - used by those heading for sandy beaches in the resort of Hel - has become a bit of a joke for some, including English-speaking tourists.

But some religious conservatives claim the route is "spreading Satanism".

The Bible identifies 666 as the "number of the beast", and Hel is just one "l" short of the English word "hell".

Following the complaints, bus company PKS Gdynia announced: "We are turning the last 6 upside down!"
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65908124




Next up – we go to Japan for this insane and also incredibly gross story. Has anyone here ever been to a revolving sushi restaurant? Well, in the interest of food safety, those may be going away forever. And well, when you hear why this totally gross story, you will get why these restaurants are such a possible cause for safety concerns. Well, the Japanese sushi chain Sushiro, based out of Osaka, filed this claim because a kid – wait for it – licked soy sauce bottles as they were going around the conveyor belt! Yes, we’ve got vomit!!!!

The operator of a major conveyor belt sushi chain that became the center of national attention over a viral video of a boy licking a soy sauce bottle has filed a ¥67 million ($480,000) damages suit against the boy, court documents showed Thursday.

Akindo Sushiro, which runs the Sushiro restaurant chain, filed the suit at the Osaka District Court on March 22.

According to the complaint, the boy went to a Sushiro outlet in Gifu Prefecture with a friend on Jan. 3 and was filmed licking an open soy sauce bottle and an unused teacup, and then touching a passing plate of sushi with a finger covered in his saliva.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/06/09/national/crime-legal/sushiro-licking-lawsuit/




Next up – OK look, we’re in the United States of America, and we’ve been a constant state of heightened national security since the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. Well, here’s the thing – how dumb do you have to be in order to be caught with a weapon capable of mass destruction in this day and age? So it happened – in North Carolina, where a guy was caught with a dirty bomb outside of a gas station. And it always, always happens in rural areas, does it not? And yeah I’m seriously wondering where this thing falls on the 2nd amendment scale.

A man suspected of having a homemade explosive device outside of a Sheetz convenience store in Holly Springs made his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon.

[omitted] appeared by video conference before a Wake County judge. He is facing charges of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, manufacturing a controlled substance and possessing hazardous materials.

"Sir, you're in court today for a first appearance," the judge said. "You've been charged with two felonies that each carry up to 59 months in prison. One felony that carries up to 24 months and a misdemeanor that carries up to 120 days."

Holly Springs police on Wednesday arrested Bray for having an improvised explosive in his car outside a Sheetz gas station at [omitted].
https://www.wral.com/story/man-appears-in-court-on-charges-of-possessing-a-weapon-of-mass-destruction/20973676/




Next up – we of course can’t get out of here without mentioning Florida, the Sunshine State. We get accused of picking on Florida a lot. But come on, we love Florida! We’re in Orlando right now! But as regulars of this program know, the reason why we target Florida so much is because the Sunshine State never fails to bring us batshit crazy stories week after week after week. And this week, there’s plenty of crazy Florida Man to go around! Like this story out of Lee County, where this guy used his spare tire as a weapon and then fled the cops. Where’s John Wick when you need him?

A man was arrested after throwing a tire at someone on I-75 Saturday.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, around 11:21 p.m, [omitted], was driving a Mercedes Benz when he stopped on the right shoulder.

[omitted] allegedly threw a spare tire at a Dodge Challenger near mile marker 124 and then ran away on foot.

Another car, a Honda, confirmed they also saw [omitted] throw the tire.

The people in the Honda report they watched him flee the scene, jump a fence and unsuccessfully get into a car on Three Oaks Parkway.
https://nbc-2.com/news/local/lee-county/2023/08/07/man-throws-spare-tire-at-car-on-i-75-then-runs-away/




Finally this week – this is the kind of story that People Are Dumb was made for! We go to Marion County, Florida for this one. So you know how we’re always saying that someone who steals an unusual vehicle for a getaway? Well, what if we told you that vehicle was a riding mower? Yeah with a top speed of… 10 miles per hour, we’re guessing that this isn’t exactly the most efficient way of escaping the police. And sure, it can be done on Grand Theft Auto, but what happens on GTA V doesn’t exactly pan out the way it should work in real life!

A Florida man was arrested for allegedly stealing a lawn mower from a woman's yard, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

[omitted[ was arrested Monday and charged with second-degree petit theft, his seventh theft offense in 15 years, deputies said.

Deputies responded to a home in the [omitted] after a woman called reporting the theft of her lawn mower from her yard, according to an affidavit. The woman said while she wasn't home at the time of the theft, she saw the whole thing unfold on her home's surveillance cameras.

When deputies arrived to the house in Citra, they saw a man who matched the woman's description of him on the lawn mower, riding away from the house.
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/florida-man-busted-for-stealing-lawn-mower-from-womans-house-and-riding-away-deputies-say




That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]What’s Up With Florida Part 4: Inside The Miami Dade County School Board
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Welcome back to part 4 of our 7 part docuseries What’s Up With Florida?. So we get accused of making fun of Florida a lot, but we love the Sunshine State. So just like our What’s Up With Texas docuseries that we did in 2019, we decided to explore the Sunshine State further to find out exactly what makes it tick! Last week, we went and explored that most senior of Florida destinations – The Villages, only to find out that old people don’t like being told what to do. They don’t give a fuck. And honestly, they’ve totally earned it. This week, we’re in Miami. Because another group of people who don’t give a fuck are MAGA Christian conservatives. They have been initiating a hostile takeover of our school board system across the country because they believe that it’s “god’s will” to install “divine prophecy” in America’s youth. Well, this week, we’re in downtown Miami at one of the most hotly contested school boards in the entire country – the Miami Dade County School Board. They’re a district that has become overwhelmingly MAGA, apparently setting up a blue print for MAGA districts across the country. Here’s what is going on.

Months after access to a popular children's book about a male penguin couple hatching a chick was restricted at school libraries because of Florida's " Don't Say Gay law," a central Florida school district says it has reversed that decision.

The School Board of Lake County and Florida education officials last week asked a federal judge to toss out a First Amendment lawsuit brought by students and the authors of "And Tango Makes Three" in June.

Their complaint challenged the restrictions and Florida's new law prohibiting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.

The lawsuit is moot since age restrictions on "And Tango Makes Three" have been lifted following a Florida Department of Education memo that said the new law only applied to classroom instruction and not school libraries, according to motions filed Friday by Florida education officials and school board members of the district located outside Orlando.
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-school-board-reverses-decision-nixing-access-childrens-book-male-penguin-couple/




Gee……….. you think this might have been a terrible idea? I’ll tell you what is also a terrible idea – electing people who aren’t educators to preside over education! It’s what Fox News wants – people who aren’t educators to destroy the Department Of Education. Just… ugh. Can we finally admit that Fox News is bad for us? Well if you think a steady diet of right wing media is bad for you, well, wait until you see what the Miami school board is proposing for our nation’s youth! Yes, you may have heard of a Youtube channel called Prager U, run by right wing kook Dennis Prager. Well, they want to implement it into schools and it’s every bit as horrifying as it sounds.

Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly says he opposes indoctrination in schools. Yet his administration in early July approved materials from a conservative group that says it’s all about indoctrination and “changing minds.”

The Florida Department of Education determined that educational materials geared toward young children and high school students created by PragerU, a nonprofit co-founded by conservative radio host Dennis Prager, was in alignment with the state’s standards on how to teach civics and government to K-12 students. The content — some of which is narrated by conservative personalities such as Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson — features cartoons, five-minute video history lessons and story-time shows for young children and is part of a brand called PragerU Kids.

And the lessons share a common message: Being pro-American means aligning oneself to mainstream conservative talking points. “We are in the mind-changing business and few groups can say that,” Prager says in a promotional video for PragerU as a whole. He reiterated this sentiment this summer at a conference for the conservative group Moms for Liberty in Philadelphia, saying it is “fair” to say PragerU indoctrinates children.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article277741678.html#storylink=cpy




OK… OK… let’s think about this here for a second. You say you’re opposed to children being indoctrinated, yet your minions are allowing a Youtube channel featuring fucking far right whackjobs like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens to be taught in schools? That sounds about white. But like most things that have been happening lately, we expect this reversal to be reversed. See? This is what happens – nobody likes this Fox News anti-woke bullshit outside of… Fox News hosts. Not only are these policies unpopular, they are grossly unconstitutional at that. And we’re pretty certain that even this far right MAGA SCOTUS would side with the 1st amendment.

The Miami-Dade County School Board reversed itself yet again on Thursday, voting to approve health and sex education textbooks for middle and high school students that have moved to the forefront of Florida’s battle over what is taught in schools.

It was not just a reversal of a prior decision, but a reversal of a reversal. The board had approved the books in April by a 5-to-3 vote, then rejected them last week in a 5-to-4 vote, raising the prospect of students’ going months without any sexual education curriculum.

The rejection was reversed by another 5-to-4 vote.

“We sighed a moment of relief, because what transpired last week was essentially a banning of books and a banning of knowledge,” Lucia Baez-Geller, a board member who voted to approve the books, said in a phone interview. “That’s a dangerous precedent for our students.”

The original April approval of the books, which are titled “Comprehensive Health Skills,” prompted a wave of petitions citing a new state law that supporters call the Parental Rights in Education measure and that opponents have labeled the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/28/us/miami-dade-sex-ed-textbooks.html




Yes, that is a good question! What is wrong with you? Again, minds warped by propaganda. It seems anyone can get into positions of power that they don’t belong in, and have no business belonging in, if they watch Fox News 24 hours a day like the torture scene in A Clockwork Orange, and start spewing Fox talking points until people start believing them. The propaganda is powerful shit, and we witnessed it on full display at that meeting. But the good news is that the public is fighting back against the far right fascists who are infecting our school boards. And we have to do it now, before it’s too late. Otherwise, we have to deal with these assholes again and again.

Parents, community members and young people flooded the Miami-Dade School Board meeting on Wednesday to express concerns about the ease of objecting to books, the dangers of restricting access to certain titles and the need to change how the district handles book challenges — despite the board already having passed a measure to review its policy.

The policy — proposed by Steve Gallon III — calls for board members and district staff to be notified when a book challenge results in the reassignment or removal of a title. Existing policy did not request that objections or decisions be known and only required a school-level review committee to determine whether a book should remain on shelves.

The calls to review and possibly update existing policy passed unanimously and without discussion from board members early in the afternoon. Nevertheless, community members — many who were a product of the school district — showed up later in the day to speak out against what they perceive to be a growing trend of trying to restrict what can and can’t be taught or read in the state.

Groups like Families Against Banning Books, the Miami-Dade and South-Dade NAACP branches and the Transformative Justice Coalition organized most of the attendees.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/miami-dade-board-school-gets-190432779.html




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

When we come back, part 5 of our What’s Up With Florida? docuseries is going to go deep into Ron DeSantis’ battle with Disney World in Orlando and it’s the stuff of pure insanity, brought to you by Fox News in conjunction with the Federalist Society and Prager U, of course!



[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Fall Out Boy[/font]

Folks, my next guest are alternative rock legends! They have a great new album out called “So Much For Stardust”. Playing their song “Heaven, Iowa”, give it up for Fall Out Boy!



Thank you Orlando! We have a vacation week next week, but it’s spilling into the week after that, so we’ll be back in three weeks live from Tampa with the famous Wheel Of Corruption!

See you in three weeks!

Credits

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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo

August 3, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-3: Hate Sells... But Who's Buying? Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-3: Hate Sells But Who’s Buying? Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! What’s up, Miami? We made it, we are here! How’s everyone doing? You doing fucking good? Great! Ready to have some fun at the expense of our elected representatives and billionaire overlords? I know I am! Can we still make fun of Ron DeSantis here? Or will I get hauled to jail? Good, it’s good to know that we still live in the land of the free! Thank you sir! Plus we got some amazing live music tonight. That’s right, the legendary Avenged Sevenfold is here! I mean come on, you can see their equipment right over there. I saw M. Shadows getting ready in the dressing room! Do we have time for the thing? Of course we do! So Cardi B is having what one might call a “bad day”. That’s right, the WAP singer has been getting into fights with fans at events. Cardi B was recently in Vegas doing a DJ set at the Jouk Night Club at the new Resort World casino. When suddenly a fan threw a beer on stage and started a fight. I mean come on, we want to know – if you’re a fan, why are you throwing beers at the performer? Did we forget how to act as a society in the last three years? Of course we did. I mean come on, we were locked down in our houses for a damn year and a half. That’s going to break people. But we got to get our shit together, man! Come on now! Stop throwing beers at performers! Won’t somebody think of the performers? They’re here to entertain *YOU*! Just like us! OK that’s enough of the intro. While the WGA is on strike, we’re featuring clips from some of our favorite podcasts. Like Christopher Titus, and his latest Armageddon Update delves into Ron Desantis’ insane plans to rewrite American history:



Where do we begin this week? Well the number one slot this week is obviously going to the MAGA GQP (1). Because the Newsmax wing of the republican party is going to attempt to impeach Biden because… let me check the reason list… they got nothing. What a colossal shit show this House is. Speaking of colossal shit shows, the second slot is going to that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (2) because his latest indictment might be the one to finally bring him down… unlike the 8,000,000 other indictments that are pending on him. In the third slot is Elon Musk (3). So he finally shut down the Twitter brand and replaced it with an X, and well, things aren’t exactly going as he had planned, and well, they’re far worse than you could possibly imagine! In the number 4 slot this week, we’re playing that hot new game that’s sweeping the nation: IS IT RACIST? (4) because we always say around here, that if you have to ask, it’s probably racist! This week Jason Aldean was accused of racism in his controversial banned music video “Try That In A Small Town” that was even too much for CMT to broadcast. And guess what? He’s doubling down. So we’re doubling down by further calling him a racist asshole! In the number 5 slot this week is a new “We’re All Gonna Die” (5) and this week it’s the hottest summer weather on record, and if you think it seems apocalyptic, well, you might be right! In the number 6 slot this week is of course our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit”, and this week our pastor has had quite enough of that right wing MAGA terrorist group called “Moms For Liberty” and he’s going to call out their nonsense! In the number7 slot this week is our segment “Beating A Dead Horse” (7) and this week, we were all shocked at the sudden passing of legendary pop singer Sinead O’Connor, but fellow Irish singer Morrissey called out nonsense tributes on social media, so we’re asking the question – when is it OK to do so? Well it’s a huge circular firing squad clusterfuck for sure! 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 (8) and this week, our buddy Tom DeLonge, the guitarist for legendary punk band Blink 182, got name dropped in a Congressional hearing about aliens, and well, aliens do exist! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot, we have a new “I Need A Drink”! And remember the movie Cocaine Bear? Well, get ready to meet Cocaine Shark! Cocaine Shark do do do do do do cocaine shark do do do do do do cocaine shark! Great, now I’m going to have that song stuck in my head for the next 4 weeks! Finally this week it’s part 3 of our What’s Up With Florida docuseries and this week we’re venturing deep into that uniquely Florida retirement destination – The Villages! Because they are certifiably insane! And finally to cap things off, we have some live music from the legendary Avenged Sevenfold! Buy their new album “Life Is But A Dream” or you are no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Impeachment Watch 2023: It’s On!
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If there’s one thing that we’ve learned in the nearly 7+ years that we’ve been doing this program, is that republicans are *NOT* a serious people. Their vice is TV, radio, and internet talk shows. They cannot get enough of them. Meanwhile, the democrats do all the work, while they go and complain that democrats aren’t worshipping the flag and Jesus enough for their tastes. The fact that Marjorie Greene and Lauren Boebert are still in Congress is a testament to the fact that the GOP aren’t serious. So no matter how terrible Trump’s crimes are, they will still go back to beating the dead horse that is impeaching Joe Biden because… I honestly have no idea. They got nothing. Apparently the only thing the only reason is to appease their talk show host overlords and maybe the MAGA cult fanbase. But that’s about it, and none of it is what one might call constitutional, either. It’s just another attempt at a partisan power grab, because conservatives want absolute power.

House Republicans have been talking a lot about impeaching President Joe Biden over what they say is his improper involvement in his family’s business dealings.

But with a long to-do list when lawmakers return to Washington after August recess, for now, it's all talk.

Former President Donald Trump however, is pressuring GOP lawmakers to put action behind their words and begin the impeachment process against Biden ? or face electoral consequences.

“Any Republican that doesn’t act on Democratic fraud should be immediately primaried and get out,” Trump told supporters at a campaign rally Saturday in Erie, Pennsylvania. “We got a lot of good, tough Republicans around. People are going to run against them and people are going to win.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has dismissed the notion that he is facing pressure from the former president to go after Biden, calling an impeachment inquiry an appropriate course of action.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/01/donald-trump-impeachment-joe-biden-house-republicans/70499842007/




Man even Conan is telling you to shut up! But seriously, do these morons ever shut up? The democrats do their jobs, while the republicans whine and melt down like screaming toddlers at Target who want that shiny new toy. But the thing is, as long as MAGA lunatics like Luna, Gosar, Greene, Boebert, Hageman, McCarthy, and so on control the house, they’re going to launch into an impeachment inquiry if it means their own ass in a bind. Because again, the GOP has no intention of actually doing their jobs, their goal is just undoing 100 years of progress.

Donald Trump returned to the roots of his first impeachment when he suggested that aid to Ukraine should be conditioned on congressional investigations of President Joe Biden.

The former president called for Republicans in Congress to hold back on more support for Ukraine until the White House cooperates with their probes into the business dealings of Mr Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

The Saturday night tirade at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania echoed the conduct that led to Mr Trump’s first of his two impeachments when he used military aid to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open an investigation into then-candidate Biden in 2019.

“Congress should refuse to authorize a single additional shipment of our depleted weapons stockpiles … to Ukraine until the FBI, DOJ and IRS hand over every scrap of evidence they have on the Biden Crime Family’s corrupt business dealings,” Mr Trump said on Saturday.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-impeachment-ukraine-biden-b2384525.html




Yeah they’re going after Ukraine aid because it’s what Alex Jones wants? Holy shit. You should just start identifying anyone with an R next to their name with Russian flags. It’s absolutely insane. There’s a megalomaniac attempting to destroy and annihilate an entire nation of people with his goal on conquering Europe, and half the country is just going along with it, because they’ve been brainwashed by internet conspiracy theories and social media propaganda. Like I’m convinced that if Fox News had been around in WWII, we’d currently be living under Nazi rule. But that said, this madness isn’t ending any time soon.

The White House mocked House Republicans on Wednesday for threatening impeachment inquiries targeting President Joe Biden and members of his Cabinet, characterizing such talk as a desperate response to an improving economy under Biden's watch.

The rebuttal signals an aggressive, head-on approach from the White House to get in front of potential impeachment proceedings that would collide with the 2024 presidential campaign season.

"Now House Republicans are channeling their frustrated energy into a measured and purposeful urge to impeach… someone… somewhere… for something," White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in an memo, in which he provided the ellipses for emphasis.

"We’re sure they’ll figure that one out. And this time, it’ll work wonders! Just like their pursuit of manufactured conspiracy theories about the President for the past four years has."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/26/white-house-mocks-gop-for-potential-biden-impeachment-inquiry/70471076007/




Yeah well it is hilarious to see that the White House is having a sense of humor about itself. But the good news is that there is one thing that is preventing this thing from moving forward. And that thing is the Constitution of The United States. You know, that document that conservatives seem to think that we don’t understand and that the nation needs reeducation on. See, republicans, this is what happens when you reject reality for internet conspiracy theory bullshit and live in a talk show host bubble – you’re unpopular outside of your bubble and your conspiracy theories will come back to bite you in the ass hard. Remove your tin foil hat and turn off the TV for once.

While there are "very real" and "incredibly serious" allegations against President Joe Biden's family, investigations into them must "play out in court" before congressional Republicans move forward with any impeachment-related proceedings, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu argued on Sunday.

"We have to find out what all the evidence is," Sununu said in an appearance on ABC's "This Week," in a break with a push by others in his party, such as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

"If found guilty, yes, I think Congress should definitely take something up," Sununu said.

"I think they're really, really far from really figuring out what the realities there are," he continued. "But those are very serious accusations that have to be followed up, for sure."
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gop-move-forward-biden-impeachment-probe-conviction-sununu/story?id=101818428





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[font size="8"]Indictment Watch 2023: It’s On!
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Man, I used just about every one of those, didn’t I? Well let’s flash back a bit. Back in 2020, when we learned that Joseph R. Biden had defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 general election to become the 46th president of the United States, we had this whole special Top 10 planned where we would send off the Trump administration with the proper, unfiltered “fuck you” that he so very much deserves. But then January 6th happened, and we said “fuck it”, and shelved that idea. But what we didn’t predict is that Trump wouldn’t shut the fuck up. So we may revisit that idea when / if he ever finds the inside of a prison cell that he very much deserves. Well it looks like that day may finally come, my friends! Because this week, a third indictment was laid down by Jan. 6th attorney Jack Smith! Well, just as we predicted, sadly, he’s not going down quietly. Nope, he’s being the biggest loudmouth jackass in the room, as we have been saying for years!

Former President Donald Trump, bent on staying in power, undertook a sweeping "criminal scheme" to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including repeatedly pushing lies about the results despite knowing his claims were false, and doubling down on those falsehoods as the Jan. 6 riot raged, a sweeping federal indictment alleges.

This is the third indictment faced by the former president, who -- as the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential race -- continues to insist that the vote was rigged.

Prosecutors say the alleged scheme, which they say involved six unnamed co-conspirators, included enlisting a slate of so-called "fake electors" targeting several states; using the Justice Department to conduct "sham election crime investigations"; enlisting the vice president to "alter the election results"; and doubling down on false claims as the Jan. 6 riot ensued -- all in an effort to subvert democracy and stay in power.

The six alleged co-conspirators include several attorneys and a Justice Department official. The sweeping indictment, based on the investigation by special counsel Jack Smith, charges Trump with four felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-indicted-charges-related-efforts-overturn-2020-election/story?id=101612810




Yeah we got him! Again! Standing ovation!!! But of course, there is once again the reason why we can’t have nice things – Fox News. Yes, they are having a completely meltdown and going into full “nothing to see here, please disperse” mode. But here’s the thing – could all of Trump’s indictments and pending indictments really bring down his campaign? Yes, it falls under the guise of “play stupid games and win stupid prizes”. But Trump’s been playing this game since the 90s. He owns this game! Now you could say he “fucked around and found out”. But he owns that too! He is the reigning king of fucking around and finding out! And his cult fanbase loves him for that!

On Tuesday, Trump was indicted by special counsel Jack Smith on four counts: conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, conspiracy to violate people’s rights, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and the actual obstruction of an official proceeding. That’s on top of two other sets of criminal charges filed against Trump in just the past five months — one from the Manhattan district attorney, and another from Smith’s team, involving separate federal charges. And this week’s indictment may not be the last of Trump’s legal troubles. Within the next few weeks, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may ask a grand jury in Georgia to issue charges in a separate long-running investigation into efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, and Trump could be a target.

All of this means that by the end of the summer, Trump could be a defendant in four different criminal cases in four different courtrooms. That might not stop him from getting the Republican nomination — in fact, the first set of charges may actually have helped him. But even if they don’t damage him among his base, the indictments could hurt Trump simply by sucking up his time and attention. If he wants to avoid a conviction while running for president, he may need to spend a lot of energy dealing with these cases — leaving him with less bandwidth to campaign.

“Active client engagement is critical for success at trial,” said C. Melissa Owen, a criminal defense attorney in North Carolina who is active in the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “Trump is the best person to educate his lawyers about the circumstances in the cases, particularly his intent. Typically the more client involvement you have, the better the outcome.”

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trump-indictments-trial-campaign-effects/




Yeah let’s celebrate this one! The battle may be won, but the war is far from over. Hell, it’s just beginning! It hasn’t even been 24 hours since the dust settled on the latest round of indictments and Fox News, again the reason why we can’t have nice things – is already going into full overdrive mode defending Trump and we’re definitely going to be here for their pending meltdown in the forthcoming weeks. But what we really can’t wait for is Jack Smith’s unveiling of who the mystery co-conspirator is, among the already obvious ones. Some of our staffers have said they think it’s Ginni Thomas, while others are betting that it’s Steve Bannon. Well, we think it’s Mark Meadows. But there’s a lot of tentacles on this octopus, that’s for sure!

Former President Trump's indictment alleges that six unidentified co-conspirators helped him carry out his plot to overturn the 2020 election — and multiple media outlets quickly zeroed in on five of Trump's close advisers and lawyers whose roles matched prosecutors' very detailed descriptions.

Why it matters: None of the six has been indicted by special counsel Jack Smith, but they are all on notice that they face potential criminal liability.

By not identifying or charging them, Smith left open the possibility that they could decide to testify against Trump in exchange for lenient treatment for any legal jeopardy they could face. Trump has long expressed his disdain for "flippers"; now he has reason to fear them.

There could be another reason for Smith only indicting Trump: Speed. Separate indictments would complicate and likely slow down Trump's trial, as the Wall Street Journal notes,
https://www.axios.com/2023/08/02/indictment-describes-six-trump-helpers




Who is the mystery co-conspirator? Is it Ginni Thomas? Is it Mark Meadows? Is it Steve Bannon? Is it the starting line of the 1976 Denver Broncos? Only time will tell! One thing we do know for certain – remember those fake electors from Michigan that we discussed last week? They played a part in Trump’s evil plan to overturn the election. Fox News did too. I mean who knows what Tucker and Hannity were planning to report if they had succeeded? But the one thing is clear – it is looking more and more like the entire party was in on it.

The federal grand jury indictment unsealed Tuesday in Washington that charges former President Donald Trump with trying to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election includes a lot of references to Michigan.

That's little wonder, given that Michigan was one of the states where Trump and his allies tried to press baseless claims that election fraud had cost him the election to President Joe Biden.

No evidence for those claims ever existed and none of them was ever proven in court. A legislative investigation ? headed by a Republican ? found no evidence of widespread fraud. Biden beat Trump ? as the Free Press has reported since the day the tally was called ? fairly, and by more than 154,000 votes.

....(snip)....

The fake electors scheme

The indictment said Trump and his co-conspirators organized fraudulent slates of electors in several states, including Michigan and then caused these fake slates, which appeared to certify Trump as the winner, to be sent to government officials in an attempt to have them counted at the certification proceeding on Jan. 6, 2021. A key part of Smith's claim that Trump and the others conspired to defraud the U.S. and its voters, the alleged fake elector scheme has resulted in Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also recently bringing charges against the people who signed onto those false certificates. ..............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2023/08/02/michigan-plays-a-role-in-jack-smiths-jan-6-indictment-against-trump/70510037007/





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[font size="8"]Elon Musk
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Well they did it. They finally killed Twitter. RIP. 2006 – 2023. You will be missed. Well, you will be missed up until the time you were taken over by Elon Musk. What was the cause of death, you might ask? Well, I answer you, good sir or madam, is that Twitter has been replaced with an X. That’s right – Elon is now running a company that’s just called X. Oh and by the way, X marks the spot where… well, I won’t exactly say that this is where you find the treasure. What you will find is an egotistically insane billionaire man child at the helm, a guy who, at this point, I wouldn’t trust to get a 10 piece order of chicken nuggets at McDonalds right. But before we get to the real stupidity of what happened let’s start from the beginning. This is something I’d expect from a first year marketing student with a bad attitude, not from a guy with enough money to bankrupt entire continents. But this rebrand is jaw dropping, stunningly stupid.

Twitter has officially rebranded to "X" after owner Elon Musk changed its iconic bird logo on Monday, marking the latest major shift since his takeover of the social media platform.

The website Twitter.com remained live and branding on the app version of the platform did not appear to change as of early Monday morning. Twitter’s world-renowned bird logo was transformed into an X, however.

Early Sunday, Musk posted a short video of a flickering "X." Asked if the logo would change in a Twitter Spaces audio chat, he said "yes," telling an unknown speaker: “We’re cutting the Twitter logo off the building with blow torches."

Early Monday Musk tweeted an image of the X branding beamed across Twitter's headquarters.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/twitter-rebrands-x-elon-musk-loses-iconic-bird-logo-rcna95880




But seriously, this begs the question – has Elon always been like this, or has being immersed in the far right propaganda sphere broken his brain? Personally, I’d say a little column A, a little column B. But here’s where it gets weird, and you knew it was going to. On Market St in San Francsico, where the former Twitter headquarters once stood, is now replaced with an X. Or is it? Well there was an attempt to put up a new sign that was taken down as quickly as it was put up. Which may or may not have anything to do with Elon denying building inspectors permits. But one thing we can be absolutely certain of is that this thing was done extremely half-assedly.

A brightly flashing “X” sign has been removed from the San Francisco headquarters of the company formerly known as Twitter just days after it was installed.

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection said Monday it received 24 complaints about the unpermitted structure over the weekend. Complaints included concerns about its structural safety and illumination.

The Elon Musk-owned company, which has been rebranded as X, had removed the Twitter sign and iconic blue bird logo from the building last week. That work was temporarily paused because the company did not have the necessary permits. For a time, the “er” at the end of “Twitter” remained up due to the abrupt halt of the sign takedown.

The city of San Francisco had opened a complaint and launched an investigation into the giant “X” sign, which was installed Friday on top of the downtown building as Musk continues his rebrand of the social media platform.
https://apnews.com/article/twitter-x-sign-lightup-san-francisco-elon-musk-fa81d70c13c98a2cc7f03c2561a01258




But this wasn’t just half assed! This wasn’t even a quarter of an ass. This will go down in future marketing textbooks as an example of what *NOT* to do! That is, assuming that the far right doesn’t destroy the Department Of Education, which you know they would if given the opportunity. This sign is a symbol of lost billions, bad choices, and American far right insanity. We don’t even have time to point out how this sign annoyed the residents of the building across the street from Twitter headquarters. Or the fact that Elon denied permits to building inspectors when he put up that sign. But we can point out that the city of San Francisco is going to fine Elon for this ridiculous stunt. But come on, just a fine? Elon probably has that under his couch cushions.

The large and bright 'X' logo that sat on top of the San Francisco headquarters of the company formerly known as Twitter has been taken down.

And now, the company will be fined for installing the logo on the roof without a permit.

On Friday, a notice of violation was issued to the property owner of the X headquarters at 1355 Market, according to the Department of Building Inspection in San Francisco.

The DBI says fees will be for removal of the structure, building permits and to cover the costs of DBI and planning department's investigation.

Patrick Hannan, communications director with the DBI, said a building permit is required to remove the structure but, due to safety concerns, the permit can be secured after the structure is taken down.
https://abc7news.com/twitter-x-sign-taken-down-bright-light-sf/13578182/




Oh and in case you were wondering, how much of a scumbag is Elon Musk? Well he’s the kind of billionaire scumbag that will sue a nonprofit organization. That’s right – he’s suing a nonprofit for the rights to the X name. It’s literally like taking candy from a baby at this point. But we definitely don’t expect this to go away any time soon. Strap in and pull up some popcorn and grab a beer or your favorite beverage of choice, because we’re in it for the long haul. This is most definitely one of the single dumbest rebrands in marketing history. As a former president of the United States would say in times of disaster, heck of a job, E, heck of a job.

X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has sued a group of researchers — alleging their work highlighting an increase in hate speech on the platform cost the company millions of dollars of advertising revenue.

The suit, filed late Monday night in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, accuses the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate of violating X’s terms of service by improperly collecting a vast amount of data for its analysis. The suit also alleges, without offering evidence, that the organization is funded by foreign governments and media companies who view X as competition.

The legal fight between the tech company, which was acquired by Elon Musk last year, and the center could have significant implications for a growing number of researchers and advocacy groups that seek to help the public understand how social media is shaping society and culture.
https://apnews.com/article/x-twitter-elon-musk-lawsuit-decline-millions-advertisers-hate-speech-cchd-1ca41944fdf58529d1fa280725a510da






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[font size="8"]Is It Racist?
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Hey everyone, it’s time to play the hot new game that’s sweeping the nation!



Because we always say around here, if you have to ask, it’s probably racist! Now usually we play a couple of different scenarios in the news and ask whether or not they are racist. But this week we’re going to focus on just one item – Jason Aldean. He has a new song out that’s called “Try That In A Small Town”. And you’ve probably heard about it. It’s been in the news lately. But what you might not have heard about is that there’s a lot of racist controversy surrounding the song itself. And we don’t need to point out that Mr. Aldean himself is a regular at Mar-A-Lago, and was seen with Trump very creepily sniffing his wife’s shoulder. Yeah don’t retweet that image or anything. I’m sure he would hate that! So yeah that aside, we have to talk about the racist controversy in this song because it’s something else and don’t expect to go away anytime soon because it’s currently sitting at the top of the iTunes charts! Right next to MAGA hate rapper Tom MacDonald. Yeah hate sells… but who’s buying? That’s my metal reference for the day! But yeah it’s the sad fact of the matter that hate sells right now.

Interspersed between shots of Aldean singing are clips of vandalizing, riots and police encounters, much of which is evocative of racial injustice protests.

Some of the scenes bear a Fox News chyron, but others, as some TikTok sleuths have pointed out, appear to be stock footage, in some cases of gatherings from other countries.

But much of the criticism around the video has less to do with these clips than its setting: The Maury County Courthouse building in Columbia, Tenn., which serves as an American-flag-draped backdrop for Aldean and his band.

The landmark was the site of race riots in 1946 as well as a 1927 lynching in which a white mob pulled an 18-year-old black man, Henry Choate, from jail and dragged him through the city by car, according to several media reports, including one detailed account from The Washington Post.

Choate had allegedly confessed to attacking a 16-year-old white girl "to protect his life," even though the girl "could not positively identify him as the assailant," the Post reported.
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/20/1188966935/jason-aldean-try-that-in-a-small-town-song-video




Yeah so here’s the thing, MAGAs, if you don’t want your music video to be perceived as racist, then don’t do racist things! It’s that fucking simple! Which is why our motto around here is that if you have to ask it’s probably racist. And by the way, in case you were wondering, no, this isn’t the first time that Jason Aldean has been caught doing something racist. Yes, apparently there was some blackface involved at some point. So not only is Aldean a racist, he knew damn well what he was doing. It’s no secret that he appeals to the MAGA crowd. You’d think a guy involved in the worst mass shooting in America wouldn’t hang around those clowns, but nope. He is a full fledged MAGA cult member with ultra fan club privileges!

In the video for Aldean’s single “Try That in a Small Town,” the singer performs in front of a courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, the site of a lynching in 1927 and a race riot in 1946. The lyrics reference “good ol’ boys” ready to fight criminals who stick up liquor stores and disrespect cops and the American flag. Aldean even threatens to use a gun his grandfather gave him. (Aldean has denied accusations that the song is “pro- lynching.”)

Although “Try That in a Small Town” may seem on the surface to be the peak of edgelord behavior, Aldean has spent the past few years becoming more vocally far right, even after telling Rolling Stone in 2016 that he steers clear of politics: “That’s one subject I do stay away from. Politics is a no-win.” Here’s a timeline of how Aldean has become country music’s lightning rod.

In an interview with Washington Post in September 2015, Aldean was asked about the lack of female singers on country radio; gender parity has continued to be a struggle in the ensuing years. While he didn’t posit to know why that is the case, he ventured to theorize that a lot of women sound the same.

“I feel like a lot of times female singers, to me, when they’re singing – and I’ll probably kick myself for saying this – a lot of times, it just seems like I can’t distinguish one from the other sometimes if I just listen to them, you know?” Aldean told the newspaper. “A lot of times they just sound really similar to me. And then you have some that come out like a Carrie [Underwood] or Miranda [Lambert] or somebody like that, that really has a different, distinctive sound to their voice, then it’s like, oh, OK, you can tell them apart all of a sudden.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/jason-aldean-controversy-timeline-try-that-in-a-small-town-1234791576/




Yeah Jason Aldean is like Cartman right now! You just know that he’s gearing up for an interview somewhere and screaming that he’s not a racist. But again, like we have to say around here, audience, is that if you have to ask… IT’S RACIST! And yes, if you have to use the phrase “I’m not racist, but…”, well, guess what? You are a racist! What’s even worse is when you have to defend your fans for doing racist stuff, well that makes you that much more of a racist. But again, it’s exactly what we’d expect from someone who voluntarily hangs around Donald Trump.

A graphic designer and activist who made TikTok content debunking the claim by Jason Aldean that his controversial music video only uses "real news footage" has been facing a wave of racist and violent hate mail by defenders of his song.

Destinee Stark is among the first who publicly criticized Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" for the song's lyrics and for featuring a Tennessee courthouse where a Black teenager was lynched in 1927. A former fan of the country star, Stark first heard the song about two weeks ago and then saw the music video.

The more she thought about the words and images, the angrier she became, Stark told NBC News on Monday.

"I get online all the time and I share my, like, opinions online all the time. It's, you know, something that I do," Stark said. "And that first video that I made, I posted it at like ... 11:30 p.m. ... I didn't think it would go anywhere. And I woke up to like thousands of messages about it."
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/tiktoker-debunked-jason-aldeans-try-small-town-video-receives-racist-h-rcna95996




Yeah so here’s the other thing that I wanted to touch on in this segment – is that if your audience is making racist death threats, then again, you should probably find a new audience! And if you don’t, then that explains more about you than the general public would ever care to know! Thank you Miami! But for those new to the show, the reason we have this segment is because hate and racism are at an all time high in this country and we don’t seem to think things are going to get better any time soon. But when a song like the new Jason Aldean song come around that remind people that racism is still out there, we have to point it out. And there it is – he’s the whitest white boy on the country music scene.

Country singer Jason Aldean’s song and video “Try That in a Small Town” has created backlash, with critics claiming the song promotes violence and anti-Black rhetoric. But Aldean is just the tip of the racist iceberg for the country music business, says historian Amanda Marie Martinez.

Martinez, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, came on this episode of The New Abnormal politics podcast to discuss the Aldean controversy with TNA co-host Danielle Moodie and share insight into the genre’s history—and present.

While Black people have played more of a role in country music than people think, the genre has had racist ideology embedded within it since the beginning, says Martinez.

“When the record companies came in, they created this kind of artificial color line. And when they did so, it was very much rooted in a kind of racialized imagined white past,” she says.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-country-music-establishment-doesnt-care-if-its-racist





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[font size="8"]We’re All Gonna Die: Extreme Hot
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Hey everyone! Guess what? We’re all gonna die! Woooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Woooooooooooooooooo!!! Woooooooooo. Wooooo. Woo. So how are we all going to die this week, you might ask? Well it concerns the 800 pound gorilla in the room that nobody wants to address. And for the record, no, I am not referring to half the country wanting to put a petulant man child with an ego more fragile than tissue paper in charge of America’s nuclear arsenal. I’m talking about systematic climate change, or should I say systematic climate change denial. This is what happens when you let Fox News and megachurch pastors do your critical thinking for you. Well, the simple fact of the matter is that the earth is getting hotter by the day, and it ain’t cooling down any time soon. And I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that National Geographic predicts that we’ll be hitting a worldwide population of 8,000,000,000 by 2030. Holy shit I sounded just like Richmond Valentine from Kingsman saying that. But I’m getting off topic here. The point is – it’s getting hotter and hotter. If you enjoy your boat, better get your boating in before your favorite lake dries up, and it will. But here is what is happening right now.

As vast swaths of three continents bake under blistering temperatures and the oceans heat to unprecedented levels, scientists from two global climate authorities are reporting before July has even ended that this month will be the planet’s hottest on record by far.

The heat in July has already been so extreme that it is “virtually certain” this month will break records “by a significant margin,” the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization said in a report published Thursday.

We have just lived through the hottest three-week-period on record – and almost certainly in more than a hundred thousand years.

Typically these records, which track the average air temperature across the entire world, are broken by hundredths of a degree. But the temperature for the first 23 days of July averaged 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 Fahrenheit), well above the previous record of 16.63 degrees Celsius (61.93 Fahrenheit) set in July 2019, according to the report.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/27/world/july-hottest-month-record-climate/index.html




Yes, unlike some of the other things we’ve covered in this segment, we probably are all gonna die from this. Pack your shit folks! Say goodbye to your kids, your cat, your dog, your boat, your RV… because you can’t take it with you in the end. So yeah some of the hottest temperatures on record are being recorded right now, and it only aims to get hotter. But it seems like half the country, and half the countries in the world aren’t going to do anything about it. Nor do they care. But this also answers the question – is it hot in here or is it just me? The answer to that question is – it is hot in here, and it’s not just you. And by the way, in case you’re wondering, the hottest temperatures on earth right now are being recorded in Death Valley, California. Where you could literally fry an egg on the sidewalk.

Long the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley put a sizzling exclamation point Sunday on a record warm summer that is baking nearly the entire globe by flirting with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, meteorologists said.

Temperatures in Death Valley, which runs along part of central California’s border with Nevada, were forecast to reach 128 degrees (53.33 degrees Celsius) on Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said.

The hottest temperature ever recorded was 134 degrees (56.67 degrees Celsius) in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organization, the body recognized as keeper of world records. Temperatures at or above 130 degrees (54.44 degrees Celsius) have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley.


“With global warming, such temperatures are becoming more and more likely to occur,” Ceverny, the World Meteorological Organization’s records coordinator, said in an email. “Long-term: Global warming is causing higher and more frequent temperature extremes. Short-term: This particular weekend is being driven by a very very strong upper level ridge of high pressure over the Western U.S.”
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/californias-death-valley-sizzles-near-record-temperatures-as-brutal-heat-wave-continues




Why am I not surprised in the least that a place called Furnace Creek holds the record for the hottest temperature recorded on earth? And that was a 100 years ago too! But make no mistake, the earth is getting hotter. No it’s not just you, either. OK I’ll stop making that joke now. However, this might be the worst thing about this. We have become so numb as a species about the earth getting hotter, that the next hottest day on record might not get recorded because it’s too damn hot. Yeah you can unleash that little factoid on your Fox News loving friends! And it’s one of those things, that yes, we could, and will most likely all die from! Fox News – it’s the reason why we can’t have nice things!

July 2023 has seen unprecedented heat affecting much of the northern hemisphere, causing temperature records to tumble.

China’s national temperature record was shattered on 16 July when the mercury reached 52.2C.

Meanwhile, nearly one-third of the US population were put under heat warnings earlier in the month as a “historic” heatwave set multiple heat records of above 100F (37.8C).

And hospital cases across southern Europe have soared as the region swelters under the “Cerberus” heatwave.

The World Weather Attribution service – a global network of scientists who investigate the influence of climate change on extreme weather events – finds that the heatwaves in the US and Europe would have been “virtually impossible” in a world without climate change.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/record-breaking-2023-heat-events-are-not-rare-anymore-due-to-climate-change/





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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: Who Are Moms For Liberty?
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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 it’s not all fun and games here at the Holy Church Of The Top 10. We are in some very dark times right now, and there’s some very dark and certainly EVIL forces at work in the United States Of America. Those forces claim that they represent JAYSUS, but no they do not. Instead they worship the unholy, ungodly Dark One! I of course speak of a man so foul, so depraved, and so disgusting that his name DARE NOT be spoken in my church! But some of his more vocal supporters have formed a grassroots political group. You know who they are, you might have heard about them in the news recently. They’re a group called Moms For Liberty. They not only worship the Unholy Dark One, they are evil and they have almost certainly evil intentions! They seek to do great harm to our public education system, and not counting the damage that’s been done already by those who worship the unholy Dark One. This is not what GAWD or JAYSUS would want. But the thing that I cannot stress enough is that these are evil people with an evil agenda. If they come to your city, do not walk, but run the other way! In fact you can get a feel for what kind of people these are just by looking at their social media accounts!

The activist group Moms for Liberty has become the new face of the culture wars around education. The group was founded in 2021, during the Covid pandemic, and rose to prominence through outspoken opposition to school mask mandates. The group has now spread across the United States, its membership fueled by the Republican-led moral panic over a “woke ideology” that is supposedly sweeping public schools and “indoctrinating” children. At present, the group counts 285 chapters in 45 states.

As the group has grown, so too have its political ambitions. Moms for Liberty places particular emphasis on capturing local school boards in order to secure greater control over school policy. More broadly, the group endorses legislation that would limit the topics that can be discussed in the classroom (for instance, Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation), and they promote policies that allow parents to target books for removal from school libraries and classrooms. The materials challenged by Moms for Liberty reflect the “war on wokeness” announced by conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson and Ron DeSantis.

Group members regularly disrupt school board meetings to rail against books that address the nation’s history of racial violence (maligned under the fuzzy category of “critical race theory”). Likewise, the group condemns materials that explore gender identity or advocate for LGBTQ+ acceptance – particularly those that explore transgender identity. Librarians, teachers and parents who defend these materials have been repeatedly harassed by group members as “groomers” or “pedophile sympathizers”. The caustic tone of the group’s activism has led the Southern Poverty Law Center to classify it as an extremist organization.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/06/moms-for-liberty-long-history-rightwing-activism




Yes, and that devil is most certainly Moms For Liberty! If they come to your city, don’t walk, but run the other way! These monsters are evil, they are viscious, they support the unholy Dark One, and they are motivated! They have an agenda that seeks to do more harm than good for our nation’s youth. And in case you think I’m not kidding about their support for the Dark One, well my friends, they recently held an event at one of his golf courses. In which the DEVIL himself made an appearance! Yes, they stand before LUCIFER! SAYATN himself! Oh and don’t think we won’t let him get away with supporting these crazy people!

Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, is looking to expand those efforts across the country and to other education posts in 2024 and beyond. The effort is setting up a clash with teachers unions and others on the left who view the group as a toxic presence in public schools.

The group’s co-founder, Tiffany Justice, said during its annual summit over the weekend in Philadelphia that Moms for Liberty will use its political action committee next year to engage in school board races nationwide. It also will “start endorsing at the state board level and elected superintendents.” Her comments confirm that Moms for Liberty, which has spent its first two years inflaming school board meetings with aggressive complaints about instruction on systemic racism and gender identity in the classroom, is developing a larger strategy to overhaul education infrastructure across the country.

As the group has amassed widespread conservative support and donor funding, its focus on education ensures that even as voters turn their attention to the 2024 presidential race, school board elections will remain some of the most contentious political fights next year. Moms for Liberty started with three Florida moms fighting COVID-19 restrictions in 2021. It has quickly ascended as a national player in Republican politics, helped along the way by the board’s political training and close relationships with high-profile GOP groups and lawmakers.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/moms-for-liberty-poised-to-clash-with-teachers-unions-over-school-board-races-nationwide




Yeah so that’s the really fucked up thing about this group – they’re getting help. It’s time to find out who is helping them. And what are they mad at? Gender pronouns? Actually having respect for fellow human beings? Kindness and respect towards one another? Those are not the values that the “family values” crowd supports. They support hate! They support whatever the opposite of good will towards others is, and that isn’t what we want now, is it? I’m sorry, Moms For Liberty, but I do not choose to live in a religious authoritarian dictatorship! I choose freedom, thank you very much! But if they come to your local school board, you should know that they’re up to no good!

Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, is looking to expand those efforts across the country and to other education posts in 2024 and beyond. The effort is setting up a clash with teachers unions and others on the left who view the group as a toxic presence in public schools.

The group’s co-founder, Tiffany Justice, said during its annual summit over the weekend in Philadelphia that Moms for Liberty will use its political action committee next year to engage in school board races nationwide. It also will “start endorsing at the state board level and elected superintendents.”

Her comments confirm that Moms for Liberty, which has spent its first two years inflaming school board meetings with aggressive complaints about instruction on systemic racism and gender identity in the classroom, is developing a larger strategy to overhaul education infrastructure across the country.
https://apnews.com/article/moms-for-liberty-school-board-races-2024-5311cc11cd657a04e233216ac783d8f3




Well, Moms For Liberty is not a holy organization. They are a very, almost certainly evil sect! So basically what they’re saying is that they are going to reject any ideology that teaches kids to think for themselves and to enjoy life. They must be members of the far right, religious authoritarian cult that’s taken over half of the country! There is some good news though, is that they can be fought back against ! We found out that there’s a lawsuit pending against them. While we applaud this as great news in the war against these evil Qarens, we wonder what would happen if it were to go all the way to the Supreme Court? I mean what could possibly go wrong?

A Michigan attorney has confirmed she filed an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) complaint against Moms for Liberty, the parental rights group with positions against racially inclusive and LGBTQ+ education in schools. The complaint, which is private but was obtained by the Guardian, alleges that the rightwing organization is in violation of its 501(c)4 non-profit status.

Experts in tax law say an IRS investigation into the Moms for Liberty, named an extremist group by Southern Poverty Law Center, would take at least two years. If their non-profit status is revoked, it would most likely cause the group to re-characterize as a private organization, further decreasing transparency about how money is flowing into it.

Representatives for Moms for Liberty declined to comment, saying they would be unable to respond to questions without seeing a copy of the complaint.

The eight-page complaint questions whether Moms for Liberty is a political educational organization and notes public posts endorsing Republican candidates, the group’s campaigning for Republican candidates, and links to partisan training materials.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/29/moms-for-liberty-irs-tax-complaint




No they are not! They are an evil religious organization that’s attempting to insert itself into a place where they don’t belong! We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this lawsuit for any future developments that might arise! 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: Celebrity Tributes

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This week, we’re going to talk about a very happy subject in the social media era: DEATH. Yes, last week, we were all devastated at the sad, tragic passing of the legendary Irish singer and openly feminist political activist Sinead O’Connor. And this week, another unexpected death - the death of Pee Wee’s Playhouse star Paul Ruebens. The guy who brought existential awareness and self-deprecating humor to children of all ages. Well, the question that we have on the table this week is - are online tributes to your favorite celebrities just an empty gesture anymore? Or do they still mean something in the world that’s dominated by Twitter, Facebook and Instagram? There’s one guy who isn’t having any of it. That guy is Morrissey. Yes, you know Morrissey from such hits as “Every Day Is Like Sunday” is getting super fed up with online tributes that are just that – tributes. So yeah the former Smiths singer is having what one would call a “bit of a beef” with his fellow celebrities and online fans about whether or not it’s OK to pay tribute to one of the greats after he / she passes away. Well, we’ll let you be the judge on this one as to whether he’s right or not.

The Smiths frontman Morrissey has slammed some of those who have paid tribute to late singer Sinéad O’Connor after it was announced on Wednesday that she had passed away at 56.

Police confirmed that the Nothing Compares 2 U singer was found dead at her London home on July 26. Her death comes 18 months after her son, Shane’s, suicide. He was only 17 years old.

As news of her death started making headlines, tributes gushed in for the musical legend from fans as well as other musicians, grieving an incredible artist whose final years were ridden with recurrent mental health struggles.

Now, singer Morrissey has released a furious statement on his website, taking fire at some of the tributes, which he dubbed “sterile slop”.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/the-smiths-morrissey-slams-tributes-to-sinead-oconnor-as-sterile-slop/7EG3IEQU65HRLBZ5RD4HK2324I/




Excuse me a minute…. OK that was a good one! So let’s extrapolate Morrissey’s argument here for a minute. On one hand, I want to say that I get where he’s coming from on this subject. But on the other hand, we just want to say “Dude, cool your jets!”. This has happened with every celebrity who’s passed since the dawn of social media. So why did the singer act as if something was new here? Well this one could have something to do with O’Connor’s feminist activism. Because as everyone who was alive in the 90s knows that O’Connor famously ripped up a picture of the Pope and denounced Catholicism during her appearance on Saturday Night live in 1992.

Morrissey has written a vociferous tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor, decrying the media and music industry over a lack of support for the singer.

Praising her “proud vulnerability”, he writes on his website: “There is a certain music industry hatred for singers who don’t ‘fit in’ (this I know only too well), and they are never praised until death – when, finally, they can’t answer back […] You praise her now ONLY because it is too late. You hadn’t the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you.

“The press will label artists as pests because of what they withhold … and they would call Sinead sad, fat, shocking, insane … oh but not today! Music CEOs who had put on their most charming smile as they refused her for their roster are queueing-up to call her a ‘feminist icon’, and 15 minute celebrities and goblins from hell and record labels of artificially aroused diversity are squeezing onto Twitter to twitter their jibber-jabber … when it was YOU who talked Sinead into giving up … because she refused to be labelled, and she was degraded, as those few who move the world are always degraded.”

The former Smiths frontman compares her to similarly troubled female stars who died relatively young – Judy Garland, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Marilyn Monroe and Billie Holiday – adding: “She was a challenge, and she couldn’t be boxed-up, and she had the courage to speak when everyone else stayed safely silent. She was harassed simply for being herself. Her eyes finally closed in search of a soul she could call her own.”
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jul/27/morrissey-sinead-oconnor-death




Now look, before we go any further, I want to stress that we are not, in any way, shape or form, making fun of death or people dying. We don’t do that on this program. If you want a program that makes fun of death, maybe Nick Fuentes is more for you. What we do in this segment is that we make fun of circular firing squad arguments that result from certain events that happen. And this one has been going back to the early days of Facebook and Twitter. So when your favorite celebrity unexpectedly or expectedly meets death’s door, just remember that before you send that tweet or Facebook post, that there’s already 1,000,000 like it out there.

The musician criticized the press and music executives for their response to O’Connor’s death. “The press will label artists as pests because of what they withhold … and they would call Sinead sad, fat, shocking, insane … oh but not today! Music CEOs who had put on their most charming smile as they refused her for their roster are queuing-up to call her a ‘feminist icon,;” he wrote. “And 15 minute celebrities and goblins from hell and record labels of artificially aroused diversity are squeezing onto Twitter to twitter their jibber-jabber … when it was YOU who talked Sinead into giving up … because she refused to be labelled, and she was degraded, as those few who move the world are always degraded.”

In 1990, O’Connor refused to appear as a musical guest on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by misogynist comic Andrew Dice Clay. That same year, she stopped a New Jersey concert venue from playing the U.S. national anthem before a performance, which led certain radio stations to stop playing her music. In 1991, along with Public Enemy, she boycotted the Grammy Awards to protest the first Gulf War. And this all came before her infamous SNL performance of Bob Marley’s “War,” during which she shredded a photo of Pope John Paul II in protest of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Those acts, in many ways, derailed her career — but she didn’t view it in that light. “It’s not like I got up in the morning and said, ‘OK, now let’s start a new controversy,'” O’Connor told Rolling Stone in 1991. “I don’t do anything in order to cause trouble. It just so happens that what I do naturally causes trouble. And that’s fine with me. I’m proud to be a troublemaker.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/morrissey-slams-sinead-oconnor-tributes-hypocritical-1234796113/




OK you know you’re winning this fight when Death comes in second place. But now the picture is clearer, now we get where he’s coming from. It’s one thing to just say “RIP _____” on whatever your social media platform of choice is. People know the songs, but they don’t necessarily know the person behind the songs. So what Morrissey is saying is the way to honor Sinead O’Connor is not to just write an empty Facebook gesture on your feed. Actually take the time to read and get to know the person who’s singing the songs you know and love so much. But of course by the next major celebrity death, it’s just going to be the same song and dance that we’ve been used to the last 10 years. You’re not going to change anyone’s minds anytime soon.

In light of Sinead O’Connor’s tragic passing, countless musicians and public figures have shared tributes honoring the Irish singer and her legacy. However, Morrissey is calling bullshit.

In a new statement posted to his website, Morrissey criticized certain members of the music industry and media who praised O’Connor “now ONLY because it is too late. You hadn’t the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you.”

“She had only so much ‘self’ to give,” Morrissey said of O’Connor. “She was dropped by her label after selling 7 million albums for them. She became crazed, yes, but uninteresting, never. She had done nothing wrong. She had proud vulnerability … and there is a certain music industry hatred for singers who don’t ‘fit in’ (this I know only too well), and they are never praised until death – when, finally, they can’t answer back.”

“The press will label artists as pests because of what they withhold,” Morrissey continued, “and they would call Sinead sad, fat, shocking, insane … oh but not today! Music CEOs who had put on their most charming smile as they refused her for their roster are queuing-up to call her a ‘feminist icon’, and 15 minute celebrities and goblins from hell and record labels of artificially aroused diversity are squeezing onto Twitter to twitter their jibber-jabber … when it was YOU who talked Sinead into giving up … because she refused to be labelled, and she was degraded, as those few who move the world are always degraded.”
https://consequence.net/2023/07/morrissey-sinead-oconnor/





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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner: I’m Not Saying It Was Aliens…
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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 this week, remember when there used to be fun conspiracy theories revolving around aliens and bigfoot? Well, it seems like those who are UFO researchers and chasers, might actually be right for a change! And there is one person who they have to thank for it. That’s right, you know him as the lead guitarist for Blink 182 and his own band Angels and Airwaves, our old buddy Tom DeLonge! And he actually got name dropped in Congress this week during a hearing that suggested that there may be extraterrestrial life after all! Oh yes, my friends! So we can now say that Blink 182 was right all along – aliens really do exist!

Blink-182 fans are congratulating guitarist Tom DeLonge after his dedication to the search for UFOs was recognised on a national level.

On Wednesday (26 July), the US Congress heard from a former military intelligence officer-turned-whistleblower, who claimed the government had been kept in the dark about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs), more commonly known as UFOs.

During the historic House Oversight Committee hearing, David Grusch alleged that executive branch agencies have covered up the existence of UAPs.

He was joined by ex-Navy commander David Fravor, who also testified to having seen an object flying across the sky during a 2004 training mission.

At one point in his testimony, Fravor mentioned that former Pentagon official Luis Elizondo had resigned in 2017 from running the agency’s secretive UFO/UAP programme in “protest”.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/tom-delonge-ufo-blink-182-b2383562.html




I’m not saying that it was Tom DeLonge being right about aliens… but it was Tom DeLonge being right about aliens! So you might be asking “how did this all come about?”. Well, I answer you, good sir or madam, is that the hearing came about as the result of a multi-decade study of a “crash” in the “desert”, both terms used very loosely here. This is the US government using highly classified information here, we can’t assume anything! But apparently after years and even decades of speculation, there was a determination that “non human” biologistics were involved in this vehicle crash. So you know what that means? ALIENS!

A hearing was held today (July 26) on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), also known as UFOs, where a former military intelligence officer confirmed that the U.S. has possession of "nonhuman biologics" that were recovered from an alleged aircraft crash. Blink-182's own Tom DeLonge was mentioned during the hearing, and has since reacted to the news.

The hearing, dubbed Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency, was held today by the House Oversight Committee's national security subcommittee. During the hearing, U.S. Air Force officer and former intelligence official David Grusch testified that executive branch agencies have been withholding information regarding UAP for years, according to CBS News.

In his testimony, Grusch said that during his work investigating UAP for the Pentagon, he was informed of "a multi-decade UAP crash retrieval and reverse-engineering program," and eventually questioned officials about the aircraft, which had "non-human biologics" recovered from it.

"Biologics came from some of these recoveries, yeah," Grusch said when asked if the "pilots" had been recovered from the crash. "Non-human, and that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program I talked to that are currently still on the program."
https://loudwire.com/blink-182-tom-delonge-responds-remains-found-ufo-crash-confirmed-nonhuman/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral




Yes, it does seem a little crazy, doesn’t it? So this means that the guy who’s been saying and singing that Aliens Exist for the last 20 years is apparently right after all! So how is Mr. DeLonge celebrating his “I Told You So” moment? Well of course he’s celebrating it in the most Blink 182 way possible. If you’re unfamiliar with Blink 182, just be aware that they have a lot of very X rated humor in a lot of their songs and videos. But anyway enjoy this one, because this battle may be over but the war is just beginning. I mean when I say that because this is just one instance of an extra terrestrial vehicle crash, who knows how many of them are out there?

But DeLonge already knew this (and has since at least 1999, if the song “Aliens Exist” is to be believed). In 2015, the singer famously left Blink-182 to pursue E.T. hunting full-time, a gambit that paid off immeasurably, with his name being forever linked to three of the Pentagon’s first declassified UFO clips back in 2020. DeLonge had initially leaked the videos with To The Stars Academy of Arts & Sciences (TTSAAS), an organization he founded with ex-government employees, scientists, aerospace engineers, and other creatives to support alien research.

Now that the hard part is over, it’s time for Blink-182 to do what they’ve always done best: be loud and have fun. Per Entertainment Weekly, DeLonge had already been using the band’s current reunion tour as a bit of an “I told you so” lap, and his bandmates—Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker—have been more than happy to sit back and let him have his moment. Before launching into the now-essential track “Aliens Exist” at each show, either DeLonge or Hoppus declare that “Tom was right” before inflatable little green men descend on the crowd.

Yesterday, DeLonge also celebrated the hearings with an Instagram post shouting out the whistle-blowers who testified—Ryan Graves, David Fravor, and David Grusch—who he called “HEROES.”

“I am so proud of the three witnesses today that blew the lid off the UFO secrecy that has been intact for decades,” he said. He also mentioned a shout-out he got at the hearing, before thanking everyone else at To The Stars who helped make it happen
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tom-delonge-savoring-ufo-told-143201897.html




Yeah even Mark Hoppus admits that aliens exist! But we can’t deny that alien and UFO conspiracy theories exist. And that some of them might be real! You might recall a few years ago – one of the segments that we did that was the original inspiration for Conspiracy Corner – was about people flocking to North Las Vegas to storm the Nellis Air Force Base, most commonly known to folks outside of the US military as Area 51, under the premise of wanting to “see them aliens” (see: Idiots #7-16 ). Ah, what a much more innocent time 2019 was! But what we can’t get away from, and that we will probably hear much more about in the coming weeks – is that aliens really do exist!

Even before he former Blink-182 qith Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, bassist Tom DeLonge had insatiable curiosity and wonder about the secrets of the universe. His thirst for this knowledge took him on a quest that reached unimaginable proportions during last Wednesday's UFO Hearings in front of Congress. We know what you are thinking. How is a rockstar even remotely related to this controversial topic? Well, there has been a lot of debate about Tom DeLonge's role in all of this but no matter what you think, he is arguably the originator for what happened this week. Whistleblower David Grusch, Navy Pilot Ryan Graves, and Navy Commander David Fravor made the world stand still with accounts and claims that basically disclose aliens exist. We still have to see more substantial evidence but all of these men made these statements under oath.

If they are lying about this, they will not only go to jail but their entires lives could be destroyed and stained. How is Tom DeLonge responsible for this? He started digging into the UFO Phenomenon and asking questions to people who either worked or used to work for the United States Government. Also, he has ties with aerospace private companies known for creating the fastest planes to ever exist. DeLonge was smart to use his already massive figure and made an association between civilians and government possible. He founded 'To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science' as an intention to put together a team of former intelligence officers, private contractors, and his media company to begin the process of alien disclosure.
https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/us-news/2023/07/28/64c40b8c46163ff22e8b45aa.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!



Of course you know the idea behind this segment is that we have some drinks, and while we are drinking, we talk about literally anything in the news as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. Because if you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of dark shit in the news right now. So my solution is to just say “fuck it” and look at the lighter side, and have a few cold ones while we’re at it! And don’t worry, my sober brothers and sisters, we got you covered too! Grab a glass of your favorite coffee or caffeinated beverage and come get wired with us! So the story this week – we’re in Miami and I thought it would be fun to take a look at a very Florida story – it seems like sharks in the water off the coast of Miami are getting high off cocaine. Yeah there’s a new horror movie for you! Also would make a catchy children’s song at that! No don’t play it! Please!!! So tell me bartender, what goes well with a story about sharks on cocaine? Great White IPA? OK I’ll take a couple of those! Extra large please! Well this is quite the stuff of insanity, and there’s a whole slew of people to blame. But let’s say that America’s draconian and never ending war on drugs is how we got here in the first place.

The U.S. Coast Guard seizes thousands of pounds of cocaine and other drugs from the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea each year. Now, some marine biologists believe sharks could be consuming some drugs never found.

First, it was cocaine bear, now it’s cocaine sharks. It may sound like a far-fetched movie plot, but one marine biologist said it may be happening off the coast of Florida.

“Sharks are intelligent creatures. They’ve gone up and touched it with the only thing they got, their mouth, and taken a bite out of it. They would have got a hit of cocaine. So, it sounds crazy, but the probability of it occurring is actually quite high,” said marine biologist Tom Hird.

Tom “The Blowfish” Hird teamed up with other researchers to test the theory for the Shark Week documentary, “Cocaine Sharks.”

The team created packages similar in size to cocaine bricks and filled them with concentrated fish powder, which would trigger a dopamine rush similar to a hit of cocaine. The packages were then dumped in the Florida Keys, where U.S. Border Patrol says it’s common to find illegal drugs.
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/florida/cocaine-sharks-marine-biologists-believe-sharks-are-eating-cocaine-dumped-off-floridas-coast/W3AHSGSODRAT5CMP5UUVWZHG4Q/




Baby shot do do do do do do do do baby shot do do do do do do do do baby shot! Damn it, now I have that stupid song stuck in my head! But the baby shots aren’t working. Ah, there we go! So yeah the sharks may have been ingesting cocaine that’s been sinking to the bottom of the coast off of Miami in the Atlantic Ocean. You know what would end this madness? Ending the war on drugs. Thank you, Miami! But as the late, great George Carlin once said, we don’t have time for rational solutions! But this might be one of the more alarming observations in this study.

In their research, conducted during six days at sea in the Florida Keys, the ecologically sensitive island chain off the state’s southern tip, Fanara and British marine biologist Tom Hird observed sharks exhibiting peculiar behaviours.

A hammerhead, a species that would usually swim away from humans, came directly towards the divers, moving erratically.

They also observed a sandbar shark swimming in circles as it apparently focused on an imaginary object.

They also conducted experiments, including dropping dummy bales in the water — which many of the sharks took bites out of — and loading balls of bait with highly concentrated fish powder to simulate cocaine.

The effect, the researchers said, was akin to catnip on felines.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/world/%E2%80%98cocaine-shark%E2%80%99-study-highlights-ocean-threat




Oh come on, don’t do the baby shot song! But holy shit! Can you imagine a world full of self-aware sharks attacking humans? I mean come on, this subject has already been approached in movies like Jaws, Jaws II, Jaws III, Jaws 3D, and the Sharknado series. Oh right, the Jaws 3D shot was from Back To The Future Part II. But anyway, here’s the really scary part about this whole thing. Is not only that the sharks are ingesting cocaine, they are ingesting a metric shit ton of cocaine. In other words, an amount of cocaine that shouldn’t be suitable for humans or animals.

While the researchers think these tests suggest a shark would be tempted to take an exploratory nip out of a cocaine bale, not all shark researchers are taking the bait. Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida, agrees it is plausible for a swimming shark to bump into floating narcotics around Florida. He thinks sharks are much more likely to treat these bales like driftwood or other inedible detritus than a tasty meal, however. “These are predators,” says Naylor, who was not involved in the television program. “Unless the bale was laced with freshly killed fish, it’s unlikely they're going to want to eat anything that is not living.”

Though bales of actual cocaine did wash up on the keys while the team observed the sharks, Fanara notes that it is impossible to conclusively tie any of the animals’ behaviors to ingesting cocaine without an in-depth study. This would require capturing the sharks, collecting blood samples and sifting for chemical traces of cocaine back in the laboratory.

Pinpointing traces of cocaine in a shark’s blood would be the first step, but further work is also needed to understand how the drug would impact the fish’s neural wiring. Although researchers have yet to give a shark an experimental whiff of cocaine, they have conducted studies on how the drug impacts other fish. In 2016 scientists in Switzerland examined the effects of cocaine on zebra fish, a type of striped minnow commonly used in scientific experiments. The researchers were surprised to find that most of the cocaine accumulated in the fish’s eyes instead of their brain. Some zebra fish eyes contained concentrations of cocaine that were 1,000 times higher than levels that would be lethal to humans.

The Swiss scientists were also surprised to find that instead of revving up the zebra fish, the cocaine suppressed their movements. “You’d think that a shark on cocaine is going to be swimming around all over the place at 1,000 miles an hour,” Hird says. “But that is us taking our human brains and putting it into the shark’s head.”
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-cocaine-sharks-really-eating-drugs-off-floridas-coasts/




Yeah that’s absolute insanity! And it’s not just a ploy to get people to watch Shark Week, either, it’s really happening off the coast of Miami right now! So where’s noted marine biologist George Costanza, you might ask? Well, unfortunately he’s a fictional character, and he’s nowhere to be found, unfortunately. But I’m pretty sure that even he would advise against going in the water with some coked up sharks. Yeah, you can get into the cage and go into the water to chase sharks like the guy in Jaws or the guy on Shark Week. But with some highly coked up sharks swimming in the waters right now, ultimately, the shark will hunt you!

Sharks off the coast of Florida may be eating cocaine dumped into the ocean by drug traffickers, a marine-life expert has told Newsweek.

Upgrading the premise from local Floridian folklore to scientific study, the phenomenon has been explored as a highlight of Discovery Channel's ongoing Shark Week. Cocaine Sharks—which debuts on Wednesday—documents a number of experiments conducted off Key West to deduce whether the creatures have been feasting on the drug. Tom Hird, a shark expert who worked on the show, told Newsweek the scenario has "likely happened."

While the idea may seem bizarre on the surface, it isn't entirely far-fetched. Via a long-established passage, large quantities of illegal narcotics have made their way into the U.S. from Latin America, with Florida often being the landing point. Over the years, batches of plastic-wrapped cocaine have been lost or tossed overboard by traffickers attempting to evade law enforcement.
https://www.newsweek.com/are-sharks-eating-cocaine-dumped-smugglers-shark-week-investigates-1815396







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[font size="8"]What’s Up With Florida? Pt 3: Exploring The Villages
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So for this docuseries, we’re asking the question “What’s Up With Florida?”. Florida. It is the Sunshine State. America’s Wang, as Homer Simpson famously referred to it. Florida has 29 electoral votes and is the one state in the union that is often the decider for elections. So we decided to plan out a 7 week stint in the Sunshine State to find out…what exactly makes it tick. For the last two weeks, we’ve been talking about the World Famous Florida Man and showing you insane stories of Florida Man and his companion Florida Woman. Now that we’re actually in the Sunshine State, we’re going to go do some exploring. This week, we’re heading to that world famous voting district in Florida that is most common to retired folks – The Villages! It’s a very small but very dense voting district in Florida that’s dominated primarily by senior citizens. It’s made famous by shows like Seinfeld, where Morty Seinfeld famously lived there, close to Jerry’s wacky Uncle Leo, and Frank Costanza moved there out of spite. Well, here’s why the Villages have been in the news a lot lately.

The eventual result was the Villages, a series of interconnected housing developments—the “villages” themselves—marketed as an all‑inclusive lifestyle that redirected retirement from senior community centers to senior‑ centered communities. Year after year over the past decade, the Villages landed among the fastest growing regions in the United States. In 2010, the Census Bureau estimated that about 86,000 people lived in the area. By 2020, the population neared 130,000. More than 7 in 10 of those residents are aged 55 or over, the largely inflexible minimum age required to own a home in one of the villages. Most of the Villages is contained within Sumter County, where, in 2003, 21.3 percent of its population were baby boomers. In 2019, 42.8 percent were, the third‑highest percentage of any county in the United States. The Villages grew so fast that, in the past two censuses, it helped Florida’s center of population stop moving toward Miami and start moving back toward Sumter County.

When I visited the Villages in May 2021, a board listing new residents, broken out by state, had dozens of names. Those were the people who had moved in in less than a week. Ryan Erisman, a writer focused on Florida’s retirement communities, estimated that 2,000 homes are sold in the Villages a year. Other estimates have that figure in a matter of months.

The developments, often distinguished with vaguely elegant or Spanish‑ish names, line two major thoroughfares. The homes themselves are generally small ranch houses that differ little from one to the next. It’s simple to get lost within or between the developments because of the similarity from one street to the next and because everything’s shifted off‑kilter by dozens of golf courses.

The villages serve the Villages like a congregation singing in a church: a lot of shaky individual performances that fuses into something with a bit more energy and appeal. People come not for the homes but the amenities— and for the community within and between the developments.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/01/the-villages-is-a-boomers-utopia-and-demographic-time-bomb




Yeah so the Villages has been through what one might call a bit of a population boom. Well, many have described it as a “Disneyland For Adults”. Which I mean come on, you’re literally miles from the real Disney World. But with its’ flashy exterior, the Villages are a place that has a very seedy political underbelly. One that is primarily fueled by right wing extremism, which itself is fueled by a very lethal dose of political talk radio, Fox News, and internet conspiracy theories. One thing we’ve learned about cults in our time doing this program is that cults target educated people with money to burn. And there’s lots of money to burn in The Villages. And people are moving there because they want to “change things”. We hope for good, but usually not.

“This place has grown like crazy,” said Oren Miller, who would go on to run for a seat on the county commission. “The developers pay no impact fees for schools, for fire, for EMS, for police, for parks and recreation, for government buildings. The only impact fees they do pay are for roads, and they only pay 40 percent of the recommended amount.”

The developer is a spaghetti bowl of LLCs doing business collectively as The Villages, which is still owned by the Morse family, descendants of Harold Schwartz, who founded what became the community in the 1970s as a trailer park. The family owns the robust local newspaper, The Villages Daily Sun; owns the radio station, which pipes Fox News and right-leaning updates through speakers in common areas and at pools; owns the glossy magazine; and also owns local politics.

But a group of fed-up Villagers decided to fight back through the only remotely democratic chink left in the armor of The Villages, the county commission. The deck was stacked against candidates challenging the family and its allies, but there still had to be elections. Backed by the Property Owners’ Association, three Villagers stepped up to run: Craig Estep, Oren Miller, and Gary Search. They ran as a ticket under the clever moniker EMS, promising to rescue The Villages.
https://theintercept.com/2023/02/05/ron-desantis-florida-villages-oren-miller/




But now this new population boom has longtime residents of the Villages fed up! Which has two of Florida’s biggest political opponents fighting each other. In this corner – Donald J. Trump! And in this corner, the current governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis! Well, both of these guys are known to just about ruin everything they touch. Don’t worry, Part 5 of our series will focus on the feud between DeSantis and Disney World. But of course one thing that the former president has on his side is some help from The Villages. But unlike the last few elections where the Villages played a part in deciding who leads the country, this one backfired on them big time.

The Florida community of The Villages has played a huge part in deciding presidential elections in the past. It’s home to tens of thousands of retirees and supporters of both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

So, have the residents of the sprawling central Florida facility located in Sumter, Marion and Lake counties decided who they’re voting for in the next election?

NewsNation’s senior national correspondent Brian Entin visited The Villages to find out.
Trump on DeSantis: ‘This is a war’

“They are now in this very, very strange predicament. It’s like having to choose between two loves. That’s literally how these people feel here, because they’re so passionate about both candidates,” Entin explained.
https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/2024-election/trump-or-desantis-folks-in-floridas-the-villages-must-choose/




Could you imagine that episode of Celebrity Death Match? That would be hilarious, although we do have to advantage DeSantis in this fight. Trump has been aging, what one might call, very poorly. But make no mistake that as the fight for 2024 heats up – things are going to get ugly. But come on, if these are the two that the Villages has to choose from, I’d personally rather choose just about anyone or anything else. But it does look like DeSantis’ popularity is waning in the Villages, mainly because no one likes his ideas. And he’s very close to having his Jeb Bush “please clap” moment. This fight may be over, but the battle is still raging on.

A new poll is showing former President Trump has a commanding lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis in Florida.

The new Florida Atlantic University Mainstreet PolCom Lab poll shows Trump with a 20-point lead over DeSantis among registered GOP voters.

The poll comes as Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle and Kari Lake are scheduled to headline a Villages MAGA Club event this week in which the trio will no doubt make a strong case for the former president.

Meanwhile, the Developer of The Villages has signaled strong support for Gov. DeSantis, hosting a recent event aimed at raking in cash for his campaign.
https://www.villages-news.com/2023/07/16/poll-shows-trump-with-commanding-lead-over-desantis-in-florida/




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

For Part 4, we’re going to check out what’s going on with the Miami – Dade County School Board, that’s been taken over by MAGA fundamentalist Christians, to find out why it’s so crazy.



[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Avenged Sevenfold[/font]

Folks, my next guest are a legendary metal band from Long Beach, California. Their latest album is called “Life Is But A Dream”. You can see them in Palm Beach Sept. 16th and through Oct. 15. Playing their song “Mattel”, give it up for Avenged Sevenfold!



Thank you Miami! This was fun! We had an amazing time! We’re off to Orlando next as part of our ongoing Florida tour! See you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech
Avenged Sevenfold Appear Courtesy Of: Warner Records, Inc.
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Miami Improv, Miami, FL
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
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July 27, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-2: I Bet You Look Nude On the House Floor Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-2: I Bet You Look Nude On the House Floor Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yooooooooooooooo!!!! What’s up, Burbank? How are you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Great! It’s great to be back in Burbank and not be saddled with the blank, blue void that we had to deal with during COVID and not contemplate our sad, lonely existence! Sold out, too! How about that? This is our last Top 10 in California for a while before we jet off to the Sunshine State as part of our What’s Up With Florida docuseries! I hope we don’t get in trouble for shit talking Ron DeSantis, but you know what? Fuck that guy! But we’ve got a whopping four editions as part of our 7 part What’s Up With Florida docuseries to look forward to! OK do we have time for the thing? Of course we do! OK so you know how there was all that hoopla a few months ago about that movie Cocaine Bear? Well, really, were we that starved for original content because of COVID that’s the first major box office movie we go see? Well, we may have to explore this in a future “I Need A Drink” because this is the stuff of pure insanity. It seems that sharks are eating cocaine off the coast of Miami. Of course it involves Florida. Why am I not surprised? But this new breed of super coked up sharks is the kind of thing that only Florida can dream up. I really can’t wait for the sequel we’ve all been waiting for – Cocaine Shark! Or how about the song? Cocaine shark do do do do do do do Cocaine Shark do do do do do do do do do Cocaine Shark! Shit, now I’m going to have that song stuck in my head for the next several weeks! And also of course after they stop making the Sharknado franchise. Come on, Hollywood! This is what we’re craving! Some exciting shit! We’ve seen enough Marvel sequels! Come on! OK that’s enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first Christopher Titus is back and he goes on a tirade on his favorite punching bag:



So where do we begin this week? Well the number one spot this week has to go to the Fox News installed governor of Texas, Greg Abbott (1) and his shockingly evil stunt at the border this week is turning violent, and we can definitely thank Fox and their endless border war hysteria conspiracy theories as to how we got here. In the second slot this week is our old friend Marjorie Three Names (2) because, speaking of Fox News and endless conspiracy theory hysteria, she brought revenge porn to the House Floor, and well, it’s quite the stuff of pure insanity! At the number 3 slot this week, also speaking of conspiracy theories, is the professional gaslighter himself – Robert F. Kennedy Jr (3) and look, RFK Jr, you’re not being canceled. No one wants to listen to you! Big fucking difference! Whine about it to your GOP buddies, we don’t care! In the number 4 slot this week is that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (4) and his cry that there’s fake electors about? Well guess what, Donny? They’re here, and they’re on your side! That’s right! In the number 5 slot this week is also that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (5) – and he’s got a new hobby: threatening people on his social media hidey hole, Truth Social! Yes, it gets real dark really quickly! Taking the sixth slot this week is our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and this week, we ask the question – is there a religious component to the right wing’s insane war on “wokeness”? Well, judging by the Catholic Church’s recent Pride Month protest at Dodger Stadium, there’s definitely some reverse victimization going on here! At slot #7 is a new edition of Beating A Dead Horse (7). And MAGA country music star Jason Aldean released his new song “Try That In A Small Town”, and well, considering he’s from Macon, Georiga, we’re wondering if he’s ever actually set foot in a real small town or not. 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 (8) and this week we’re going to take a look at some of the recent roundup of January 6th arrests, and there’s some real sob stories here. Did I say “sob”? I meant “stupid”! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week, we have a new I Need A Drink! This time, we’re going to have some drinks and find out whether or not the new Barbie movie upsets the Youtube Man-O-Sphere. Calm down, MAGA snowflakes – it’s a movie about a doll that’s marketed to young girls. Shut up. Finally this week we have Pt. 2 of our “What’s Up With Florida” docuseries, and we’re going to take a look at some crazy tales of Florida women, because why not? Everyone is crazy in the Sunshine State! Plus to cap things off, we have some live music from The Used! Buy their new album “Toxic Positivity” or you are no friend of this program! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Greg Abbott
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Before we go any further, I just want to say that it’s been a long standing policy that we don’t make fun of events that are too horrifying to make fun of. But on the other hand, we can absolutely trash Greg Abbott, and his talk show host enablers, can’t we? Because after all, this is a program that makes fun of conservative idiocy. What I’m getting at is that Greg Abbott committed an unusually cruel stunt at the border as part of Fox News’ never-ending hysteria surrounding conspiracy theories about what really goes on at the border. And yes, don’t worry, Fox isn’t getting away with this one either. Because they’re a huge part of the clusterfuck at the border. In fact if Greg Abbott gets dragged before the Hague for this for crimes against humanity, pretty sure Rupert Murdoch and a whole slew of AM hate radio hosts will too. Because this has truly crossed the line and cost some lives, and they won’t stop there. We’re dealing with a particularly bloodthirsty bunch.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott‘s escalating measures to stop migrants along the U.S. border with Mexico came under a burst of new criticism Tuesday after a state trooper said migrants were left bloodied from razor-wire barriers and that orders were given to deny people water in sweltering heat.

In one account, Texas Trooper Nicholas Wingate told a supervisor that upon encountering a group of 120 migrants on June 25 — including young children and mothers nursing babies — in Maverick County, a rural Texas border county, he and another trooper were ordered to “push the people back into the water to go to Mexico.”

The trooper described the actions in an email dated July 3 as inhumane.

Travis Considine, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Safety, said the accounts provided by the trooper were under internal investigation. He said the department has no directive or policy that instructs troopers to withhold water from migrants or push them back into the river.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/texas-troopers-accounts-of-bloodied-and-drowning-migrants-on-u-s-mexico-border-unleashes-criticism




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Hey Greg Abbott, go fuck yourself, and Fox News, you should be ashamed. Fuck you too. This is some seriously cruel and inhumane shit, and it may violate an international treaty or two. But of course the MAGA cult doesn’t care about that, they will twist anything that doesn’t fit their sick and twisted agenda. But this latest stunt is shocking. It is stunningly evil. And it just shows how far that Fox and the MAGA version of the GOP will go to warn people not to fuck with them. But it’s way past time we start doing something about their sheer and unabashed cruelty.

The Justice Department has put Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on notice that it intends to file suit over a floating barrier wall he erected in the Rio Grande River to keep migrants from crossing the border illegally.

“The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties,” the department wrote in a letter to Abbott on Thursday.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by USA TODAY, gives Texas officials until Monday to commit to removing the barrier. If there is no response, the Justice Department will pursue legal action, the letter warns.

Abbott fired back Friday, writing on Twitter that Texas has "sovereign authority" to defend its border. The humanitarian crisis at the border was created because of Biden's refusal to secure the border and by his policies that encourage migrants to risk their lives by crossing illegally through the Rio Grande, Abbott said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/21/texas-floating-border-wall-lawsuit/70444597007/




Yes Greg Abbott, you’re a truly evil, vile, despicable person. Go fuck yourself. And hey MAGAs, if you’re afraid of the government – there’s one solution to that. Stop doing evil shit! See how easy that is? But no, no matter how many lawsuits they face, the MAGA cult will continue to do the evil shit that they are known for. And it’s also showing that no matter how over bloated your security budget is, in the end, it will ultimately do more harm than good. This is MAGA America in a nutshell – they will spend billons on security to keep out “undesirables” in the name of racial supremacy. But neglect spending that money on the people who actually need it.

Operation Lone Star, a top priority of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, has inundated the U.S.-Mexico border with thousands of Texas state troopers and National Guardsmen, started work on a state-controlled border wall and built a new skeleton justice system with its own courts, judges and jails to lodge misdemeanor state trespassing charges against migrants. The program is an explicit challenge to the national government, which by law controls international borders and immigration enforcement.

This week, the program was in the public eye for reports of inhumane treatment of migrants. In a July 3 email, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, a trooper and medic raised concerns to his superiors, saying troopers and Guard members on the operation were instructed to push a nursing mother back into the river, to deny water to migrants even in extreme heat and to block a 4-year-old who was trying to cross coils of razor wire, from reaching shore. The email, earlier reported by the Houston Chronicle, detailed instances of injury that included a pregnant woman entangled in the wire having a miscarriage and numerous severe lacerations.

The program’s efficacy is also under question. The area of the border most heavily targeted by Operation Lone Star has seen the most rapid increases in illegal border crossings in the state since the operation began. Thousands of arrests by state troopers under the program have been unrelated to border security, and instead netted U.S. citizens hundreds of miles from the border. Arrests of migrants trespassing on private property have generally not affected their immigration cases, and courts have found many of the arrests made in the first two years to be discriminatory and invalidated them.

Despite the flood of resources, the added arrests by Operation Lone Star personnel in that section of the border amount to about 1% of the encounters there by Border Patrol in the same time frame, or about 11,000 added to the Border Patrol’s 850,000. Still, with more than $9.5 billion spent and allocated through 2025, Texas is doubling down on its strategy.
https://archive.is/EdUf6




Yeah Greg Abbott, you suck. And Fox News, go fuck yourself. This isn’t just border security anymore, it’s a crime, a felony, and probably violating an international treaty or two. Wouldn’t it be great to see Abbott and his enablers dragged before the Hague to name drop Fox News? We can dream about this, can’t we? But the Fox News crowd will never be satisfied with any answer that Biden or his administration give them, so they can kindly go fuck themselves. Look, MAGAs – let me spell it out for you. National security is important. Killing people in the name of national security is pure, unfiltered, fucking evil. That’s it, that’s the entry. Again, Greg Abbott – go fuck yourself, you inhumane monster.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bluntly told President Biden in a letter Monday he's not backing away from his aggressive border security efforts despite the U.S. Justice Department's threat last week to sue on grounds that the state is usurping federal authority.

"You must fully enforce the laws of the United States that prohibit illegal immigration between ports of entry," the Republican governor told the Democratic president. "In the meantime, Texas will fully utilize its constitutional authority to deal with the crisis you have caused. Texas will see you in court, Mr. President.”

The letter comes amid growing criticism from the Biden administration and congressional Democrats nationwide over Abbott's decision to lay miles of coiled razor wire up and down the Rio Grande and a floating barrier of string buoys at a high-traffic section of the river in Eagle Pass.

Last week, Texas congressional Democrats called on Biden to step in to counter Abbott's maneuvers that are part of his $9 billion immigration enforcement the governor calls Operation Lone Star. Later in the week, dozens of other Democrats joined the Texans in a formal letter to the president.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/story/news/state/2023/07/24/greg-abbott-joe-biden-texas-gov-wont-remove-floating-buoy-barrier-rio-grande-border-security/70456796007/





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[font size="8"]Marjorie Greene
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OK game time everybody! Show of hands… let’s see your bingo cards! Who had Marjorie Greene flashing Hunter Biden’s dick pic on the House floor as part of their 2023 MAGA Batshit Insanity bingo card? Anyone? Anyone? Woohoo!!! We got a bingo! I have to admit that I didn’t have this on my bingo card for sure. But this incident just goes to show that the republican party has just gone completely insane and out of their minds. There’s no bridge they won’t burn. There’s no line they won’t cross. No subject is too taboo for them. By the way, there is one thing that I do want to point out before we go further – one is that this entry might get a bit NSFW. The other is that I have a strict limit on the number of penises I need to see in a day, and that limit remains at zero. But Marjorie Greene doesn’t need to be in Congress, she needs to be in a maximum mental institution. Like Arkham Asylum level. Because this is absolutely next level insanity here.

In one of the most shocking congressional hearings in recent memory, Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene showed partially censored nude photographs of Hunter Biden to witnesses and members of the House Oversight Committee as their investigations into the president's son continue.

The GOP-led committee's investigation has examined potential criminalities involving the Biden family, including purported business dealings involving shell companies and foreign investors.

About 2 1/2 hours into the hearing last Wednesday, Greene delved into Hunter Biden's sex life and different purported payments to escorts and sex workers.

Greene held up a large graphic reading, "Hunter recorded multiple sex tapes with a sex worker he had paid for out of his law firm's bank account," which was accompanied by multiple images of Hunter Biden engaged in sexual acts.
https://www.newsweek.com/did-marjorie-taylor-greene-break-revenge-porn-laws-1815259




Oh come on!!! You know damn well that she broke the law! But nothing will happen to these MAGA cretins. In the political world right now, the bad guys are winning, and Marjorie Shit For Brains is one of the worst of the bunch. But the MAGAs do not shut up. And there’s no low that’s too low for them. This is one of the lowest of lows that has ever happened. Like bottom of the Marianus Trench low. Which of course is the lowest point on earth. But here’s where it gets worse – Marjorie apparently copied the photos and sent them to everyone she knows. Which may have included some underage folks. That’s right. That’s even more illegal. This woman is clinically insane.

In her desperation to prove wrongdoing by Hunter Biden, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene may have sent his nude photos to minors.

The House Oversight Committee heard testimony on Wednesday from two IRS agents who say the Department of Justice dragged its feet on investigating the younger Biden for tax fraud. The hearing produced zero actual evidence, so instead, Greene tried to claim that Biden engaged in sex trafficking and listed payments to sex workers as a tax write-off.

To support her argument, she held up poster-size prints of Biden’s nude photos, which were taken off his laptop. Not only were her actions wildly inappropriate—Oversight Chair James Comer did not reprimand her, though—but she may also have violated D.C. revenge porn law.

And now, Greene may have emailed the nudes to minors. The Georgia representative emailed her constituents Wednesday evening claiming she had confirmed Biden was guilty of sex trafficking and tax fraud (she had not). The email included a video that showed his nudes.
https://newrepublic.com/post/174466/marjorie-taylor-greene-may-sent-hunter-biden-nudes-bunch-minors




Yeah seriously, come on! This is venturing into derangement syndrome territory. Hell, this has to be a derangement syndrome. You know, to paraphrase one of my favorite bands, Arctic Monkeys, I bet you look nude on the house floor. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Graphics department does it again, I salute you! But really, this is where someone needs to stage an intervention, take Marjorie aside and put her in a straight jacket and a padded cell. I did like the one video I saw where her testimony was played alongside the song “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha Ha”. But the good news is this may finally be her undoing. I hope.

Greene on Wednesday held up posters featuring blown-up photos of Biden nude and engaging in sexual activities, claiming it was evidence that he was paying for sex and listing those payments as tax write-offs.

In a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics, Biden’s attorney, Abbe David Lowell, said Greene’s behavior “blatantly violates House Ethics rules and standards of official conduct” and said the representative “has lowered herself, and by extension the entire House of Representatives, to a new level of abhorrent behavior.”

He noted that while the faces of other people in the photos were blurred, Greene and her staff “took great care to ensure Mr. Biden’s face was not blurred for the American public.”

Democrats have widely condemned Greene for displaying the photos, which took place during a House Oversight Committee hearing centered around allegations that the Justice Department mishandled a tax investigation involving President Joe Biden’s son, with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) telling the Washington Post the images were “completely irrelevant” to the panel’s business.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/willskipworth/2023/07/21/hunter-bidens-lawyer-files-ethics-complaint-against-marjorie-taylor-greene-for-showing-sexually-explicit-photos/?sh=7b854c8248d3




Yeah so you know how the loudest people in the room are always the dumbest? Well, Marjorie Greene is no exception to that rule. Hell, she is the rule. And she may have gone way too far on this one, and potentially crossed multiple lines. But with this MAGA Congress, which clearly doesn’t give a fuck about the country other than to please their talk show host overlords, won’t do anything about it. This is going to be a long two years, isn’t it? I’m going to need the strongest drinks possible to get me through it, because this is nightmare fuel. The GOP really has sunk to unrepairable levels.

Hunter Biden’s lawyer filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Friday, requesting that an ethics watchdog “immediately” initiate a review of Greene’s conduct after she showed sexually explicit photos of Biden at a congressional hearing this week.

In a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), Biden attorney Abbe David Lowell slammed Greene’s actions as “abhorrent behavior that blatantly violates House Ethics rules and standards of official conduct.”

“This week, your colleague has lowered herself, and by extension the entire House of Representatives, to a new level of abhorrent behavior that blatantly violates House Ethics rules and standards of official conduct. If the OCE takes its responsibilities seriously, it will promptly and decisively condemn and discipline Ms. Greene for her latest actions,” Lowell wrote.

“Now more than ever, the House has a duty to make loud and clear that it does not endorse, condone, or agree with her outrageous, undignified conduct and brazen violations of the standards of official conduct that do not reflect creditably on the House of Representatives,” he added.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4110372-hunter-bidens-attorney-files-ethics-complaint-against-marjorie-taylor-greene-for-showing-sexual-images/





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[font size="8"]RFK Jr.
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You know you fucked up and went too far when your entire family starts speaking out against how much you fucked up. But you know, I really wonder why no one in the Kennedy family is taking RFK Jr aside and saying “NO!”. He’s definitely gone too far in this latest escapade. It was bad enough when he started comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust (which ,again, not enough facepalms in the world can accurately justify how I feel about that one). But the thing is, regardless of how you feel about the RFK Jr campaign, it’s way, way, way past time that democrats give him the heave ho and kick him out of the party for good. You’re not going to win friends in the democratic party by going on Newsmax and appearing before Jim Jordan in the House saying that you’re being silenced. We all know that he’s a Steve Bannon primary plant. But here’s where he may have gone too far. No, Mr. Kennedy, the COVID pandemic was not a bioweapon. GTFO.

A number of high-profile Jewish groups are denouncing Democratic presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s false remarks that “Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese” people are “most immune” to Covid-19.

Speaking at a dinner in New York City earlier this week, Kennedy said “there’s an argument that it is ethnically targeted,” according to video shared by the New York Post on Saturday.

“Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” Kennedy said, adding that “we don’t know whether it’s deliberately targeted that or not.”

Ashkenazi Jews trace their roots to Central and Eastern Europe and represent a majority of the US Jewish population.

The American Jewish Committee told CNN in a statement Saturday that Kennedy’s “assertion that Covid was genetically engineered to spare Jewish and Chinese people is deeply offensive and incredibly dangerous.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/15/politics/rfk-jr-covid-jewish-groups/index.html




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Yeah it’s like all the batshit theories eventually get linked to Neo Nazism. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the 7 years of doing this program, is that if you believe one batshit crazy conspiracy theory, no matter how crazy or removed from reality it sounds, you’re likely to believe all of it. The earth is flat? Sure. Vaccines are the mark of the beast? Why not? JFK Jr survived his plane crash and is going to meet us at Dealy Plaza to out the deep state? Oh yeah let me go get my tin foil hat! Well of course republicans are systematically denying that they attract crazy people, and even Fox News is attempting to put the monster they created back in the proverbial closet.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. worked to defend himself Thursday against accusations that he traffics in racist and hateful online conspiracy theories, testifying at a House hearing on government censorship despite requests from outside groups to disinvite the Democratic presidential candidate after his recent antisemitic remarks.

The Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government is amplifying GOP claims that conservatives and others are being unfairly targeted by technology companies that routinely work with the government to try to stem the spread of disinformation online. Democrats argued that free speech comes with responsibilities not to spread misinformation, particularly when it fans violence.

In opening remarks, Kennedy invoked his famous family’s legacy in decrying the complaints of racism and antisemitism against him.
https://apnews.com/article/rfk-jr-censorship-house-tech-biden-e261116c27a38f8c7329b5c5990dc8e9




Yeah of course, with friends like these, who needs enemies? No, no one is censoring you, you fucking idiot. You crossed a line that should not have been crossed. Multiple lines in fact. We literally fought an entire World War against this shit and the last thing we need is people like you who are trying to undo all of the progress we’ve made since then. It’s people like RFK Jr that are the reason why websites and companies have policies in place against hate speech. But yeah you can’t attempt to “please disperse” your way out of this one, Mr. Kennedy. We have the videos. We know where you stand.

Thursday Morning, fresh off controversy after claiming that Covid-19 was “ethnically targeted” towards certain races, presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. testified before The House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.

Earlier this week, more than 100 Democrats filed a letter to the Judiciary Committee calling for Kennedy to be excluded from the hearing. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy himself said he disagreed “with everything [Kennedy] said,” but to exclude him would undermine the topic of the meeting itself: censorship.

Even some arch-conservatives were skeptical of how effective it would be to have Kennedy take the witness stand. Fox Contributor Byron York pointed out that RFK Jr.’s presence at a hearing about the “serious” topic of tech censorship would derail the proceedings given he has “a long history of pretty much crackpot statements about vaccines, and other things, he’s a big conspiracy theorist”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/rfk-jr-testimony-house-congress-vaccines-anti-vax-1234792491/




Yeah you don’t get to please disperse your way out of this one. You know we do have freedom of speech in this country, but even the most hard lined democrats know that freedom of speech has consequences and limitations. This sort of thing is not only just out of line, it’s just plain fucking wrong, and it shows what a major insufferable asshole you are. We fought a World War against this sort of thing that cost untold millions of lives. Absolutely no one in the democratic party is thrilled about this campaign and it’s only attracting losers like Joe Rogan. But you know, here’s the thing – the GOP let him say this bullshit and he’s getting away with it. You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, guys.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday he disagrees with “everything” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly said last week about Covid-19’s being bioengineered “to attack Caucasians and Black people” and about Jewish people’s being "most immune."

But McCarthy, R-Calif., rejected calls by Democrats to cancel Kennedy’s public appearance Thursday before a Republican-controlled House committee. Kennedy, an environmental attorney, has pushed conspiracy theories, some of them about the safety of vaccines.

“I disagree with everything he said,” McCarthy told reporters in the Capitol. “The hearing that we have this week is about censorship. I don’t think censoring somebody is actually the answer here.

“I think if you’re going to look at censorship in America — your first action is to censor him probably plays into some of the problems we have,” he said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/mccarthy-rejects-rfk-jrs-comments-covid-race-wont-cancel-testimony-rcna94751





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[font size="8"]2020 Fake Electors Scam
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[br] BOD

Make no mistake that there’s some seriously dark forces at work in this country attempting to undermine the very fabric of American civilization. Fox News already broke this country into two halves, and social media is attempting to divide us even further. That couldn’t have been more evident in the 2020 election. Many of the key swing states including hard blue Michigan, leaning blue Nevada, leaning blue Georgia, and leaning blue Arizona, have had multiple attempts to sabotage the election. Well now we’re learning just how deep the rabbit hole goes. Turns out – wait for it – that some of the electors that were chosen to certify the election may have been fake plants. Gee, I am not at all shocked by this news, not even slightly! Because let’s face it, Trump is a massive criminal, and he’s leading a massive criminal enterprise. Seriously we may never know the level of devastation that he’s caused since he was inexplicably elected president. But we’re just now figuring some shit out.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Tuesday that she has filed charges against 16 people who signed paperwork falsely claiming that President Donald Trump had won the 2020 election as part of a scheme to overturn the results.

U.S. presidents are technically voted in by slates of electors from each state who cast their votes for the candidate selected by their states’ popular vote. In December 2020, as Trump tried to overturn the results of the election, his allies readied alternative slates of electors in several states.

These appear to be the first charges filed against fake electors.

The announcement came the same day Trump said he has been notified that he is the target of an investigation by a Washington-based grand jury examining the Jan. 6 riot and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The 16 people being charged in Michigan allegedly met in the basement of the state's Republican Party headquarters and signed multiple certificates claiming they were “the duly elected and qualified electors for president and vice president of the United States of America for the state of Michigan,” Nessel said in recorded remarks.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/michigan-attorney-general-charges-false-electors-efforts-overturn-2020-rcna94838




Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooly shit! You know we are so damn lucky that Michigan is one of the bluest states in the country. I mean come on, it’s hard to argue when your state school’s motto is “Go Blue!”. Right? But damn this is chilling how close we came to losing our democracy forever. It’s great that Michigan is a state that is lead by people who know shit. But even they are not immune from the MAGA insanity that’s sweeping the nation. However, in the case of one of the leading fake electors, this is what happens when you live in a cult and a bubble. Because you will eventually get duped into doing something potentially criminal if it means pleasing the cult. God forbid anyone else have a non right wing thought.

One of the people charged with acting as a fake elector for former president Donald Trump in Michigan has said she was "duped."

Michigan's attorney general Dana Nessel announced felony charges against 16 Republicans "for their role in the alleged false electors scheme" last week, accusing them of submitting false certificates that portrayed them as legitimate electors in the 2020 election which saw Joe Biden win the presidency.

Nessel, a Democrat, said all 16 people would face eight criminal charges, including forgery, conspiracy to commit election law forgery, and uttering and publishing. The top charges carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

It marks the first time anyone has been charged in a fake electors scheme to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The scheme allegedly took place in several states as part of efforts to keep Trump in power after his loss in 2020.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-fake-elector-duped-scheme-1814804?fbclid=IwAR1j3CFKKDtX3pqhQdOpuXTaK1suvDRjkx-ICH3msSjyx6irmzf9ybwzM3A#:~:text=Lundgren%2C%20from%20Detroit%2C%20told%20a,bigger%20than%20all%20of%20us.%22




Well fucking duh!!! Of course you were duped! That’s what happens when you fall for a very obvious cult leader. Look at other cults like Scientology and that NXIVM cult whackjob. Cults go after educated people who have money to donate. You know what they say – fool me once, shame on you. Fool me… you won’t get fooled again! I heard a guy on TV say that once! But we can’t undermine the dangers of what is happening in this country. There are some extremely dark and dangerous forces at work, backed by some dark money sources. We can’t act like this is 2016 anymore. The innocence of that era is completely lost forever. Half the country is under a very dark cloud that will only get worse with time unless we stop it now.

A day after Michigan filed charges against 16 people involved in a scheme to substitute fake electoral votes and shift that state’s 2020 presidential electoral votes from Joe Biden to Donald Trump, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said he could not discuss whether a similar case might be underway in the Badger State.

At a news conference Wednesday morning, Kaul was asked about the conspiracy and forgery charges filed Tuesday by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel against 16 Republicans in that state. The 16 were accused of conspiring to substitute false electoral vote certificates for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election in place of Michigan’s real electoral votes cast for Joe Biden.

Kaul declined to say Wednesday whether a corresponding investigation is underway in Wisconsin, where a similar attempt was made to substitute the state’s 10 genuine Democratic electoral votes for Biden with 10 false Republican electoral vote certificates for Trump.

“I’m not going to comment directly on issues in Wisconsin,” Kaul told reporters. “We generally don’t confirm or deny the existence of investigations at the Department of Justice except in unique public safety circumstances.”
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/kaul-stays-mum-on-whether-state-is-looking-at-wisconsin-fake-electors/




Holy shit! This totally negates the claims that Trump has been making the last 3 years that the election of Joe Biden was fake. In fact, Trump himself was the one who was trying to steal it. Who knows how deep this goes? One thing we do know is that the entire GOP has been compromised from top to bottom from people looking to undermine the United States. The thing is, we have a major presidential election in one year. There are people already looking to compromise it. We cannot assume innocence anymore. We have to assume that everyone is highly suspect. Because if we don’t stop this before it’s too late, our democracy will be over before the end of this segment.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office is investigating the transmission of an alternative slate of electors by Trump allies to be included in Congress’ counting of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021, a source familiar with the probe said Thursday.

A second source familiar with the matter said prosecutors from Mayes' office have had direct conversations with legal counsel for multiple people who acted as alternate electors, including former Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward.

A lawyer for Ward has been asked for comment.

Mayes, a Democrat who narrowly defeated a 2020 election denier in November, had previously vowed to investigate the fake electors scheme, which was designed to challenge President Joe Biden's election win in Arizona.

"We have to make sure that it’s clear to everyone it's unacceptable to try to steal an election, to undermine and overthrow an election, and that’s what happened," Mayes told MSNBC this year. "We have to make sure what happened in 2020 never happens again."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/arizona-attorney-general-probing-alternate-electors-2020-presidential-rcna94113





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[font size="8"]That Former President
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There is a phrase that has been thrown around by both sides a lot in the last 3 years. And that phrase is FAFO – which stands for “fuck around and find out”. The reigning king of FAFO is that guy who we inexplicably used to call president – Donald J. Trump. Yes, he fucked around during COVID and found out by losing the election in a massive landslide. He also fucked around on January 6th when his merry band of lunatics invaded the Capitol and found out by getting slapped with impeachment charges. So where am I going with this you might ask? Well, I answer you good sir or madam, Trump has not exactly been what one might call “happy”. Especially since he can’t barf his brain on any of the major social media sites anymore and has been confined to his own personal hidey hole, Truth Social. Well, as you can guess, it’s a venerable hotbed of racism, insanity, and threats to murder the government. In fact, the MAGA king himself posted a message with that very phrase – FAFO – the other day. So is it an incitement to murder? Well, you tell us.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is convinced that history will not repeat itself.

Appearing on CNN Sunday, the Republican presidential contender was asked about former President Donald Trump's recent claim that indicting him for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection would be "very dangerous" given the "passion" of his supporters.

"It doesn't worry me because I have more confidence in the American people," Pence responded. The former vice president said he was "infuriated" by the violence on January 6 but argued that the ransacking of the US Capitol was carried out by a small minority of Trump supporters.

"I would say not just the majority, but virtually everyone in our movement, are patriotic or law-and-order people who would never have done anything like that," Pence said.

In a radio interview earlier this month, Trump appeared to suggest that some of his supporters would react violently were he to be indicted again. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who has already charged the former president with mishandling classified national security information, recently informed Trump that he's also target of his investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is also investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the results in Georgia.
https://news.yahoo.com/pence-says-hes-not-worried-150919793.html




Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Back up here. Back way the fuck up. OK let’s get this straight. Mike Pence, a guy who almost died at the hands of an unruly and extremely violent and radicalized mob that tried to take over the Capitol on January 6th, is in no way concerned about violent threats on Truth Social. I think this is where people need to stage an intervention for Mike and urge him to get some mental help right away. You might be dealing with some bad hombres, Mikey. Well, as you can imagine, the threats and violent imagery on Truth Social only get worse the more you dig into it. Of course… why wouldn’t it?

Former President Donald Trump claims that he “will do whatever” he can to bring down “the temperature” following last week’s FBI’s raid of his Florida home and club, Mar-a-Lago. But even a glimpse of Truth Social — Trump’s social media company — shows that the MAGA website has been a haven for private, doxxed information not only about authorities involved in the federal raid, but also of their families.

A review of Truth Social postings by Rolling Stone shows Trump supporters have spent the past week doxxing both Judge Bruce Reinhart, the magistrate judge who approved the Mar-a-Lago warrant, and an FBI agent involved in preparing the request, as well as their families. The information includes their purported home addresses, phone numbers, places of worship, private offices, and similar information about the men’s families and junior employees.

Rolling Stone has declined to name the FBI agent targeted out of safety concerns. Spokespeople for Truth Social and Trump did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment for this story.

Former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler posted the name of an FBI agent involved in the preparation of the warrant on Truth Social, as well as the names of his wife and child, their social media accounts, and the school the child attends. Truth Social removed the post by Ziegeler but the verbatim text of the post, complete with contact information for the agent and his family, have spread across Trump’s social media in a series of posts with no apparent attempts at moderation by the company.

When a federal court unsealed the search warrant, the court redacted the names of FBI agents involved. But the names became public when the pro-Trump outlet Breitbart obtained a leaked copy of the warrant and posted an article highlighting the agents’ names. In a move that added fuel to the MAGA doxxing push, Truth Social subsequently issued a push notification to its users that linked out to a third-party news article listing the agents’ names, according to CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-truth-social-fbi-mar-a-lago-violence-1397317/




OK let’s think about this here. It’s insane, but not in the least bit surprising, that the MAGA criminals are lashing out at the FBI. But at the same time, it really begs to say that those who are speaking out against the FBI, DOJ, and IRS are most likely guilty of crimes that they don’t want the public to know about. I mean come on, Trump, what are you hiding? In addition to the 800,000,000,000 other crimes he has out in the open. Let’s see your poker face! Come on, all cards are on the table! I’m calling it! Well, in attempting to find out if there’s any method to Trump’s madness, naturally, some experts were consulted on the subject.

Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated, through the many direct and implied threats of violence that he has made during his decades of public life, that he is a very violent man.

The many recent examples of Trump's violent ways include wishing death upon Hunter Biden and inciting his followers to assassinate former president Barack Obama by sharing what is presumed to be the latter's home address online. One of Trump's followers acted on those de facto commands last month and was apprehended by the Secret Service near Obama's Washington, D.C. home. The would-be assassin was armed with two guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Just this week, in a post on his Truth Social disinformation platform, Trump shared audio of his 2020 interview with the late right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, in which Trump says, "If you f**k around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before."

And of course, Donald Trump attempted a coup attempt on Jan. 6 which included a terrorist attack on the Capitol by his followers. This is in addition to Trump's repeatedly encouraging and outright commanding his followers to attack their "enemies" such as Black Lives Matter protesters, "Antifa," and the news media. His labeling of the press as "the enemy of the people" is Trump's version of the language used by the Nazis in Germany (the "lügenpresse" or "lying press".
https://www.salon.com/2023/07/21/an-inner-drive-for-self-destruction-psychoanalyst-on-cycle-of-and-confessions/




Of course it always comes back to Nazi Germany. As the great Lewis Black said, it’s like six degrees of Kevin Bacon, except there’s just one degree, and Kevin Bacon is Hitler. But in the war against the online content police, why can’t more companies be like Google? Remember, up until 2019, social media and search engine sites had rules about what kind of content can and can’t be posted? Why are we not surprised that when Elon bough t Twitter and started hanging out with Neo Nazis, it caused all the good advertisers to flee the service and we basically got stuck with Cash 4 Gold and bargain basement junk sites? Well, guess what? Concerns about violent content are the reason why Google is being cautious about Truth Social.

Android users still aren't able to see Donald Trump's meltdowns on his Truth Social network because Google still hasn't approved the app for distribution.

Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes claimed last week the decision was "up to Google," but the tech giant said it had notified the social media upstart of "several violations of standard policies," including having effective moderation for user-generated content, before the app could be offered on Google Play, reported Axios.

A source told Axios that Google's concerns were related to content that featured physical threats and incitements to violence, and Truth Social's banners warning of "sensitive content" were insufficient for Google.


A post last week by an account called "TheVictim24," in response to one from former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, was cited as an example of content Google found objectionable.....................

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/truth-social-google-play-store/





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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: The Holy War On Wokism
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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, there’s been a word that the right wing has been floating about the last year that you’ve probably heard your Dark One worshipping friends say about 1,000 times in the last hour: “woke”. And that one word has done far more damage to this country than anything Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or ISIS could ever dream of! Why is that? It’s because the people who say this word more times than they care to admit don’t worship GAWD or JAYSUS, oh 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 lately I’ve noticed something, my fair congregation! I noticed that there’s more to this “war on woke” than you might realize, underneath all the fearmongering headlines and Youtube videos. The word “woke” has apparently spawned it’s own religion within a religion. I guess that might be called “religious inception”? Well anyway it’s a truly bizarre phenomenon and we need to know more!

Long ago and far away in a country where we all seemed to believe in roughly the same reality, many people in a political party that traditionally talked up law and order and guffawed that liberals needed to put on their "big-boy pants" to face the harsh facts of the world lost their minds. How did this happen? Well, they were reminded that there was such a thing as white privilege. They had forgotten about it, possibly on purpose.

They were told that, yes, white privilege is a thing, and it's pretty obvious. They fumed and feigned outrage at this accurate report on the state of the real world until they convinced themselves that it was a huge lie and an outrage. Coached by their favorite enablers in the media, they worked themselves up into an emotional lather until they could act their parts somewhat convincingly, even with all the unrealistic lines. Think of the Stanislavsky Method in acting, except this was the Limbaugh Method of acting out.

Of course it wasn't just about white privilege; that's just the most obvious aspect of the advantages that individuals or groups enjoy (or do not enjoy) in our society, without having to show any particular merit. When the renewed discussion of privilege was extended to male privilege, white men — incongruously led by an obese man-boy in orange makeup sporting a spun-sugar combover — embarked on their White Men's Campaign of Endless Grievances.

....(snip)....

The fight against "woke" (a term with a longer history than most of us may realize) is strikingly similar to the fight the right previously waged against "political correctness": It's an existential battle against allowing people to be awakened — by reading novels and history, by attending plays, by watching and listening to actual news — through open discussion of privilege or systemic racism or, to use a different but related term, the underlying and nearly invisible structures of caste in America. It is a fight to stop people from talking about those social structures, or about the combination of religious zealotry and political ideology at work to foreclose women's bodily autonomy. It's a fight to prevent young people from expressing their sexual and gender preferences, to make it more difficult for certain groups of citizens to vote, and to keep books that might make the most hypocritical and closed-minded evangelical Christian pastors uncomfortable off the shelves of public schools and libraries.
https://www.salon.com/2023/06/25/why-the-right-is-so-terrified-of-woke-there-are-truths-it-just-cant-face/




Yes, and that devil, my friends, is whatever right wing insanity got this shit trending in the first place, for it is almost certainly evil! And it’s a clown show at that. But you know, MAGAs, you know who is forcing their agenda on us? It’s you! It’s always been you. Because your hatred is drive n by your talk show of choice and they’re the ones who are keeping us fighting with each other. But go ahead, watch Fox New s and worship the unholy Dark One and see where that gets you. We’ve talked about the dangers of this sort of thing in the past, and you should definitely see the dangers of Christian nationalism and what this “anti-woke” crusade is doing to some people. But the specific event that I want to talk about happened at Dodger Stadium a couple of weeks ago. There really seems to be a “reverse martyrdom” component to all of this.

With “stop anti-Catholic hate” and "God will not be mocked” signs, protesters surrounded the main entrance to Dodger Stadium on Friday hours before The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were to receive an award on LGBTQ Pride Night.

The appearance of the rights advocacy group, whose members dress in drag as nuns, came after conflicting messages from the Dodgers and amid accusations from Catholics that their faith was being insulted.

The controversy started last month when the Dodgers invited, then disinvited, then re-invited the Sisters to the team's 10th annual Pride night at the stadium in Chavez Ravine.


The Sisters have been at the forefront of LGBTQ rights activism for decades. The group began organizing in the 1970s to support people with HIV/AIDS.

In the end, the Sisters were awarded a Community Hero Award at a brief on-field ceremony held with few fans yet in their seats before Friday’s Dodgers game against rivals San Francisco Giants.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/religious-protesters-gather-dodger-stadium-pride-night-rcna89848




Satan’s Boners? No, you want the congregation down the hall. But the point is, this whole reverse victimization shit is the reason why we can’t have nice things. It’s equal parts hilarious and insane that the Catholic Church turned what should have been an innocent celebration of Pride during Pride Month into a reverse victimization complex. No, you are not the victims here, you are the haters! Which, we’re not surprised at all that this “war on wokism” has turned into a holy war of sorts. But that being said, let’s leave it to the king of reverse victimization, Ron DeSatan. Yes, he’s the worst evil bigot of them all and is stunningly evil!

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on Fox News on Thursday night where he continued his longtime crusade against “wokeness” despite the fact it does not seem to have helped him much in the polls.

Surveys have consistently shown the governor trailing former President Donald Trump by wide margins.

Appearing on Jesse Watters Primetime, DeSantis discussed the recent woes of the stock price of Anheuser-Busch InBev, which produces Bud Light. Earlier this year, conservative media outlets and politicians embarked on a weeks-long outrage campaign after Bud Light sent a personalized can to a transgender TikTok influencer and paid her to promote the beer.

On Thursday, DeSantis sent a letter to the manager of his state’s pension fund, which owns shares of InBev. He urged the manager to consider suing the company because, he said, it “breached legal duties owed to its shareholders” by going woke.

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/desantis-floats-lawsuit-against-woke-bud-light-while-trump-continues-cleaning-his-clock/




OK now you’ve got to be kidding me! This might be one of the most insane cases of reverse victimization of them all. Like really Ron? This whole thing against Bud Light started because Kid Rock shot at a case of Bud as protest. And this whole thing is because of this bizarre anti-woke campaign that is only getting weirder and nuttier every single week. But if you must know what the end result of the right wing’s bizarre “war on woke” is, you know that it cannot be good. For these people worship the unholy Dark One. And if people like Moms For Liberty are any indication, they are a group that is most definitely to be avoided. They are doing more harm than good!

Oklahoma's firebrand "anti-woke" state superintendent has come under fire after a state audit revealed that a nonprofit homeschooling program he was appointed to oversee in 2021 blew massive amounts of public money on things that have nothing to do with children's education, reported The Daily Beast.

Among the items purchased by the program: "Big screen TVs. Washing Machines. Kitchen appliances. Power tools. A 'classic Pokemon video cabinet.'"

There were other problems with the program, per the report, including which families got the money: "The audit determined that there was 'a deliberate operation to give selected private schools and individuals preferential treatment by allowing early access for application submission prior to the date this program was offered to the general public.'" the Beast reported.

All of this comes as Walters, who ran for state superintendent a year later and has vowed to purge wokeness from public schools and even proposed ordering all Oklahoma teachers to undergo religion-based "patriotic education," is set to speak at the Philadelphia convention of Moms for Liberty, an extremist group tied to far-right militias and the QAnon movement.
https://www.rawstory.com/ryan-walters/




I can’t even with this crowd. They are the ruiners of everything that is good and decent in this country, because they stand for the unholy Dark One! 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: Try That In A Major City

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You know, folks, the long standing debate between what is better than what is a debate that’s as old as time itself. We are absolutely not going to settle the debate between rock music and country music any time soon. We are also not going to settle the debate between major cities and small towns any time soon. We couldn’t even settle the score between two singers of the same genre (see: Idiots #14-14 ). So what makes you think we’re going to settle the debate between major cities and small towns? We won’t. The latest guy to inject himself in the debate is country megastar Jason Aldean. His new song “Try That In A Small Town” is a huge hit after it got banned from the Country Music Television channel. Man, how toxic does your song have to be to get banned from CMT? The channel that plays Toby Keith. Yeah that sounds about white! Well, his song “Try That In A Small Town” is the sort of toxic conservative, racist, gun toting, fake machismo diatribe that you might come to expect from someone who voluntarily hangs around Mar-A-Lago.

Country music singer Jason Aldean's "Try That In A Small Town" reached number one on the U.S. iTunes chart after Country Music TV pulled the song's music video from the channel.

"Jason Aldean's "Try That In A Small Town" has reached #1 on US iTunes," Billboard Charts tweeted on Wednesday.

The song, which was released in May, saw its music video drop this past weekend, prompting widespread criticism from many on social media for its lyrics and where Aldean shot the video.

"Cuss out a cop, spit in his face. Stomp on the flag and light it up. Yeah, ya think you're tough," Aldean sings. "Well, try that in a small town. See how far ya make it down the road. Around here, we take care of our own. You cross that line, it won't take long. For you to find out, I recommend you don't."

Other lyrics include: "got a gun that my granddad gave me. They say one day they're gonna round up / Well, that s*** might fly in the city, good luck."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/other/jason-aldean-song-about-guns-hits-number-1-as-country-music-tv-turns-on-him/ar-AA1e4Fgn




I’m pretty sure that’s what foreign visitors think small town Americans must be like! Well here’s the thing, Jason, remember Uvalde? That was a small town. There were 400 police officers. They couldn’t stop one guy with a semi-automatic. So who’s really taking care of their own then? How about this? I think you should try that in a major city! Come on down to Los Angeles, hang out in a bar in Compton, or Inglewood, and start trying to act tough. I bet you don’t last 5 minutes! Yeah it’s this kind of bullshit that’s not winning the culture war debates any time soon. By the way in case you’re wondering why the song is being accused of some blatant racism, it might be because of this.

Just when you thought there couldn’t possibly be anymore dog whistles embedded in the Jason Aldean “Try That in a Small Town” saga, an intrepid, sharp-eyed TikTok user has potentially picked out one more.

Amazingly, this incident doesn’t involve the song itself, or even its controversial video — part of which was reportedly filmed outside a courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, the site of a 1933 lynching (and features a surprising amount of footage from Canada). Rather, it involves a promotional video shared on TikTok that eventually became the official lyric video. It’s a largely innocuous video with a newspaper theme, but as TikTok user Danny Collins discovered, there’s an actual old newspaper clipping featured in the video — and it’s tied to a Jim Crow-era story about a writer who was harassed for fighting segregation and white supremacy.

The clipping in question appears around the eight-second mark of Aldean’s TikTok. Collins was able to trace it back to an Aug. 30, 1956 article in The Petal Paper, a weekly paper out of Petal, Mississippi (an actual small town, unlike, say, Macon, Georgia, where Aldean grew up). The Petal Paper was run by Percy Dale East, who frequently delivered satirical broadsides against segregation, racism, and white supremacy. (Rolling Stone was able to confirm Collins’ findings.)
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jason-aldean-try-that-in-a-small-town-tiktok-jim-crow-story-1234794285/




Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooly shit! So let me get this straight. In a time when racial tensions are at the highest they’ve been since the Civil Rights movement, Jason Aldean goes and deliberately films his newest music video at the sight of a historically famous lynching – and we’re supposed to believe he’s not racist? I mean come on, the guy regularly hangs out at Mar-A-Lago and has been photographed with his wife kissing Trump! Yeah there’s an image that I can’t unsee! But the scary thing about this whole thing is that it’s proving once again that hate sells. In the words of Megadeth, hate sells… but who’s buying?

Jason Aldean's latest single "Try That in a Small Town" has ignited a heated debate in the music industry and in the press due to its controversial imagery in the music video and its lyrics. Many have raised concerns about the song, labeling it as racist, as it discusses potential violence in response to certain behaviors that are perceived to be acceptable in the "rest" of America but not in small town America, such as the burning of the American flag or protesting police brutality.

Surprisingly, rather than deterring listeners, the racist categorization is actually having the opposite effect, propelling "Try That in a Small Town" to become a potential chart-topping hit.

Online accounts that predict song sales and chart positions with impressive accuracy have suggested that "Try That in a Small Town" is headed for a significant debut on Billboard's Hot 100, which ranks the most-consumed tracks in the U.S. The song is likely to enter the top 10 and may even make its way to the top five. Some reports even indicate that it's making a serious bid for the No. 1 spot, although it faces fierce competition from BTS's Jung Kook, who recently launched a successful solo career with his debut single, "Seven," and Morgan Wallen's current leader, "Last Night."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2023/07/21/jason-aldean-is-parlaying-his-racism-controversy-into-a-chart-hit/?sh=5bec63de3767




Yeah ‘MURICA!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Now here’s the part in the debate where I say that both sides should take a step back, take a deep breath, and pull their collective heads out of each other’s asses. Because like I said, no side is winning this debate any time soon. But it’s scary to think that the MAGAs are buying this song just based off pure hate. And that they’re proud to be haters. But then I guess that’s what the collective exercise of the last 6 years have been. The MAGAs have their middle fingers proudly extended at civilized society and they’re not going back to normal any time soon. They now have a megaphone to amplify their hate and hostility. And people like Trump and Jason Aldean are trying to make that the normal in society. But I’m glad that no one has taken the bait yet.

Republican politicians are rushing to defend ultraconservative country singer Jason Aldean, whose new song openly calls for violence against Black people.

Aldean released the song “Try That in a Small Town” in May, and the incredibly alarming music video just last week. The song’s lyrics are rife with threats to outsiders, particularly people from the city. The words encourage listeners to resort to vigilantism and gun violence against outsiders.

But the music video is more explicit about whom it considers an outsider. The video includes clips of riots, vandalism, and police encounters. Some of the images come from Fox News’s coverage of Black Lives Matter protests, but some are stock footage, including of demonstrations from other countries. The intended effect is to encourage violence against people protesting racial injustice.

Those clips are spliced alongside shots of Aldean singing outside the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. The building is the site of a racist attack in 1927, when a white mob lynched an 18-year-old Black teenager by pulling him out of a jail cell and dragging him through the city behind a car. The courthouse was also the site of a race riot in 1946.
https://newrepublic.com/post/174527/republicans-rush-defend-jason-aldean-racist-song-filmed-lynching-site





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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner: What is astroturfing?
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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! Well this week I’m sure that you’ve heard about the new Q Anon movie that’s making strides at the box office – Sound Of Freedom. The movie stars guy who not just played Jesus, but is convinced he is Jesus, Jim Caviezel and is about an underground sex trafficking ring. Well, there’s a lot of controversy about this movie – not just because it’s by Q nuts for Q nuts. But apparently there’s a new conspiracy that the movie is playing to empty theaters. So what’s causing that? Well, it has to do with something called “astroturfing”.

The popular movie Sound of Freedom has been making headlines for a while now, mostly for its plot and storyline. However, the movie is now getting a lot of negative criticism after several social media users began pointing out how the makers of Sound of Freedom are faking that the screenings have been sold out.

Accusing the makers of astroturfing, many social media users claimed that they have been hearing that no tickets for the movie are available, but when they reach the theatre, they find the screens and halls to be empty. Taking the same into consideration, a Twitter user, @CyKoore, tweeted and said:

A similar claim was made by another Twitter user, @GeoRebekah, who claimed that when she tried to book the tickets for the movie, the theatres claimed that the tickets were sold out, and none was available. However, when she walked into the screen, she saw that there was not even a single person seated there.

Hence, the question in people’s minds remains the same if the theatres are full and shows are completely sold out, then why is no one seated inside? Many social media users have been claiming that movie makers are just astroturfing, which is a term used when people try to create a buzz around something by giving the impression of public support.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-what-astroturfing-video-sound-freedom-fake-sold-screenings-goes-viral-online




Well here’s the thing – if you’re in the target demographic for Sound Of Freedom, you’re probably already prone to believing that everything is a conspiracy theory. So yeah we’re not going to trust your judgement when it comes to this sort of thing. So here’s exactly what is going on with this movie – the reason why it’s got such high box office numbers for an independent movie that had no distribution model – is using the “pay it forward” business model. Which means that people are buying seats for other people – and no one’s going to see it. So to the MAGA people at home, the theaters don’t care if you show up or not. Because they got your money.

Barbenheimer has been attracting most of the attention at the box office this month, but a story that not a lot of folks are talking about is Sound of Freedom, a movie that crossed the $120 million mark over the weekend and, in its third weekend, beat the second weekend of Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible film. Paramount Pictures ponied up $300 million to produce Mission Impossible, whereas Angel Studios crowdfunded nearly $20 million to distribute Sound of Freedom.
What the hell, right?

Sound of Freedom stars Jim Caveziel. It was originally produced by 20th Century and completed in 2018. After Disney bought 20th Century, the studio shelved it. The filmmakers bought it back from Disney and approached Angel Studios to distribute it; the studio put it out to their investors, and they raised the money to distribute it.

Where it gets unique, even bizarre, is that Angel Studios and the film’s star have encouraged others to “pay it forward,” which is to say: Purchase a ticket for someone else to see the film. That strategy has been hugely successful, with thousands of tickets being purchased but remaining unused. As a result, in some cases, theaters show nearly sold-out crowds and only a smattering of attendees. That is to say that Sound of Freedom may have sold as many tickets as Mission Impossible over the weekend, but more people actually watched Mission Impossible over the same period.
https://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/how-shady-is-the-sound-of-freedom-box-office.php




Yeah probably! Well, here’s the thing, MAGAs. The movie theater is not botching the screening of your Q Anon sex trafficking movie. You know who is? Your megachurch pastor! Thank you audience! That’s right – just like those copies of Kari Lake’s book that no one apparently seems to be buying, churches are apparently snapping up tickets to these movies and giving them out to their congregations. To which we say “don’t you think it’s time that churches should be taxed?”. Yes, thank you again audience! But this whole “pay it forward” model is definitely something that could definitely be taken advantage of if it’s not done properly.

The Sound of Freedom, a film based on a former government agent’s pursuit to rescue child sex trafficking victims, is a hit at the box office and a darling among right-wing audiences, but it’s also come under scrutiny for its numerous ties to the QAnon conspiracy.

The Sound of Freedom debuted in theaters July 4 and has collected more than $41 million so far, placing third at the box office last weekend behind bigger-budget films, Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny and Insidious: The Red Door.

The film stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security agent and founder of Operation Underground Railroad, who conducts sting operations to rescue children from sex traffickers.

But OUR was the subject of a Vice investigation that claims the organization has exaggerated its role in sex-trafficking rescues, with multiple law enforcement agencies saying their work with OUR has been “insubstantial.”

Both Ballard and Caviezel have been linked to conspiracy theories associated with QAnon: Ballard previously suggested support for a debunked viral theory that furniture retailer Wayfair was selling children, and Caviezel has reportedly spoken at multiple QAnon events where he promoted one of the most bizarre Q conspiracies, claiming that child traffickers drain their victims’ blood to develop adrenochrome, a chemical theorists believe Hollywood elites inject to stay young.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/07/11/box-office-hit-sound-of-freedom-controversy-including-qanon-ties-and-false-claims-theaters-are-sabotaging-screenings-explained/?sh=15328d65688c




Yeah probably! So again, MAGAs, if you’re in the target demographic for Sound Of Freedom, we don’t have to reiterate that we already don’t trust your judgement. And if this is what your religion is teaching you, then you should probably find a new religion! And the thing is, no matter how many tickets you buy to this flick, nobody is going to watch it except for your target demographic. There’s no surprise or conspiracy theory here. But the debate over what movie is better, and what movie is “woke garbage” or not is entirely up to you. If you don’t like the movie, don’t go see it. But don’t make up convoluted theories as to why theaters are empty.

Sound of Freedom, the religious, “QAnon adjacent” child-smuggling film that has enthralled conservatives across the US, passed the $100m mark in ticket sales on Thursday.

But as the movie continues to cause controversy – with its star touring conservative media to peddle conspiracy theories about unnamed persons harvesting chemicals from children’s blood and anti-trafficking experts criticizing the film’s entire premise – questions are also being asked about who is actually watching it and whether that many people are watching it at all.

Angel Studios, the film’s distributor, set up a controversial “pay it forward” scheme for Sound of Freedom. There’s a message at the end of the film and a prominent link on the studio’s website urging viewers to buy an extra ticket “for someone who would not otherwise be able to see the film”.

It has clearly been working. On 4 July, the day of the film’s release, nearly 20% of its sales came from people who bought those extra tickets, IndieWire reported. But there are growing suggestions that a lot of those extra tickets aren’t actually being used: that t
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/23/sound-of-freedom-qanon-movie-conspiracy-theories





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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 of course you know the idea behind this segment is that we have some drinks and we talk about everything and anything as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. Because mixing your politics and your alcohol almost never ends well. Plus there’s a lot of dark shit in the news right now, so it helps to have some humor! And before we forget, my sober brothers and sisters, we got you covered too! Grab a glass of your favorite coffee or energy drink and come get wired with us! So this week, we do have to bend the rules a little bit because it concerns the hit new movie Barbie, and also coincidentally, the hit new Avenged Sevenfold song Mattel. Ha ha ha ha ha! Great clip! So tell me bartender, what goes well with a movie about a plastic doll? A Barbie cocktail? What’s in that? Eh, I’ll stick with my usual Jack Daniels mixed with Jack Daniels. I call it the “Double Jack”. So this week, our story is that there’s some Youtube channels out there, that revolve around men being men and doing man stuff. Man stuff like playing grab ass with Hooters waitresses while drinking cheap beer and stuffing your face with poorly cooked chicken wings. That kind of man stuff. Man stuff! Man stuff! Man stuff! Man stuff! Well, needless to say, the manliest men who’ve ever manned in the history of man, have their underwear in a wad over certain… aspects of the hit new movie.

The Barbie movie celebrates a woman-centric dream world, where little girls are inspired to do and be anything they want. It’s feminine, feminist, and irresistibly fun. So of course, Christian Republicans think it’s demonic.

You’ve probably seen Piers Morgan’s manbaby whine or the comparatively tame takedown issued by Ginger Gaetz, a human woman who married alleged trafficker/Florida congressman Matt Gaetz. She complains about Ken’s “disappointingly low T”, and the fact that a movie about a plastic doll world somehow didn’t focus on “family” and Jesus. But oh boy, this is just the tip of the iceberg of weird right-wing Christian rage against Barbie. When you look into the “controversy”, you’ll start to find things that make Matt and Ginger Gaetz look normal.

Though he’s not the first to make the absolutely wild claim that Barbie is demonic (absurd statements like this do flourish in comments sections across the internet), one man is responsible for the idea spreading like hellfire (sorry) across the extremist Christian internet. Ivan Tuttle, of Tennessee-based Ivan Tuttle Ministries International, felt moved to make a Facebook post warning good Christian families not to take their children to see the movie, claiming that Barbie is “full of demonic influences!”
https://www.themarysue.com/right-wing-christians-think-the-barbie-movie-is-demonic-and-want-you-to-boycott-it/




I don’t think that glass is big enough! The MAGA Christian controversy over this movie is insane. But that’s what happens when you’re fed nearly 50 years of women bashing from right wing AM radio blowhards. And also shun critical thinking. But this is the kind that has the MAGA dude bros’ collective underwear in a wad. Yes, the magical four letter word that has plagued the political landscape the last two years – “woke”. It’s literally all the MAGA dude bros think about, and it’s driving them quite literally insane. So much that your creepy uncle’s creepy son Ben Shapiro, filmed himself destroying Barbie dolls for 45 minutes. I can’t even.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has been mocked for posting a 43-minute review of the Barbie movie which starts with him setting fire to dolls in a trash can.

“My producers dragged me to see ‘Barbie’ and it was one of the most woke movies I have ever seen,” Mr Shapiro tweeted on Friday afternoon. “My full review of this flaming garbage heap of a film will be out on my YouTube channel tomorrow at 10am ET.”

Mr Shapiro shared an image of himself looking sceptical in front of a Barbie poster. Twitter users were quick to note that Mr Shapiro was wearing a black T-shirt with black pants – the exact outfit worn by Ryan Gosling as Ken in the film’s musical performance.

“My brother in Christ. You are wearing a Ken cosplay,” one Twitter user said.

The review starts with Mr Shapiro waving a notepad at the viewers, claiming to have plenty of gripes with the film. The YouTube video is entitled Ben Shapiro DESTROYS The Barbie Movie For 43 Minutes.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ben-shapiro-barbie-movie-review-b2380881.html




One for me… one for my homies! So let me get this straight – he gave Mattel money to go see the Barbie movie, gave Mattel money for Barbie dolls, and all so he could make a video trashing the Barbie movie for social media likes. Yeah I’m pretty sure that qualifies as a derangement syndrome at that point. I think that’s when someone needs to take Ben aside and have him go sit in a room with a straight jacket and a padded cell. But alas, he’s not the only one in the Youtube Woke-O-Sphere…. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… that’s having a beef with this movie. But let’s think about this here – you’re mad at the social and political undertones at a movie that’s marketed to 7 – 9 year old girls.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro drew more than a million views—and internet mockery—for his YouTube video, “Ben Shapiro DESTROYS The Barbie Movie For 43 Minutes,” in which he opens by lighting Barbie dolls on fire and claims the message of the film is: “Either you’re a third wave feminist who hates men, truly hates men, or you’re brainwashed.”

Shapiro also tweeted: “All you need to know about #BarbieTheMovie is that it unironically uses the word ‘patriarchy’ more than ten times,” urging his followers to leave negative reviews for Barbie if polled by CinemaScore, a market research firm that asks audience members on opening night to give a film a letter grade between A and F.

Billionaire and Twitter owner Elon Musk also ridiculed the film’s approach to patriarchal themes, tweeting: If “you take a shot every time Barbie says the word ‘patriarchy’, you will pass out before the movie ends.”

Far-right media figure Jack Posobiec struck a similar tone, calling Barbie a “man-hating Woke propaganda fest,” criticizing the film for portraying the Kens as less intelligent than the Barbies and for its themes about rising up against the patriarchy.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/07/21/barbie-largely-praised-for-feminist-themes-but-draws-anger-from-the-anti-woke/?sh=7e95671f58bd




Yeah I kind of need a never ending shot for this one! If only! OK MAGA dude bros, calm down, if your ego is that fragile that you need to lash out at the Barbie movie for not catering to your manly maleness enough, you should seek professional help immediately. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Because you have far greater problems than the Barbie movie itself. OK here’s the real hilarious part – apparently the Barbie movie should have been “less political”. Are you fucking kidding me? The only ones who are making this shit political is Fox News, AM radio, and the MAGA “woke” Youtube sphere. They don’t call this shit an “echo chamber” for nothing. Pass the booze, it’s going to be a long one!

There’s a great scene in the new Barbie movie where Ken (Ryan Gosling) and his fellow Kens all sit around on the beach playing Matchbox Twenty’s Push in order to impress the Barbies in their male-dominated new world order. It’s hilarious, not just because of the setup, but because the song is about an emotionally abusive girlfriend.

It’s pretty much guaranteed that the vast majority of moviegoers who see this film will not know what that particular song is about. The song was controversial even when it came out, in 1997, as a major hit for the band. Feminist groups at the time were outraged, and claimed that the song was about domestic violence and abusing women. Lead singer Rob Thomas clarified that the song was actually about emotional abuse, and sung from the perspective of the abusive girlfriend, but that did little to quell the backlash.

There’s actually a lot to unpack here. Was the song chosen because it’s something that pissed off feminists in the 90s? Or was it chosen because in the Barbie movie, Barbie (Margot Robbie) is actually kind of an abusive jerk to Ken? Does it work on multiple levels? Are we supposed to think about it, and write think-pieces about it, like I’m doing right this very second???
https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2023/07/22/a-less-political-barbie-movie-would-have-been-better-and-more-effective/?sh=625b3d02f211






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[font size="8"]What’s Up With Florida Part 2: Meet Florida Woman
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Hello everyone and welcome back to Part 2 of our docuseries What’s Up With Florida? You know we’re exploring the Sunshine State because it’s the state with the third most electoral votes in the country. It’s the home of space travel. It’s home to such prestigious universities and college teams as the UF-Miami Hurricanes, the University Of Florida Gators, and the University Of Central Florida Seminoles. It’s also home to the World Champion Miami Heat, the Marlins, and the Panthers. It’s also home to some ridiculously batshit crazy stuff. Last week, we brought you some astonishing tales of everyone’s favorite anti-hero, Florida Man. Well this week, we’re going to introduce you to Florida Man’s significant other – Florida Woman. Because this is Florida and in order to better get to know the state before we go head first into the deep end, we’re going to remind you that no one is safe from the insanity! And again, these stories are all real and they are a reminder of how crazy not just Florida, but our entire country is becoming. We’ll start with this story.

A Florida woman was accused of stealing a fire truck and impersonating a firefighter earlier this month.

The Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office said Belinda Delores Waugh, 44, allegedly took off with a fire truck on July 15 after spending the night at the Wellborn Volunteer Fire Department station.
$2 million Powerball ticket sold in Florida

When the fire chief visited the station to respond to a call, he discovered the truck was gone. The sheriff’s office said he received a phone call from Waugh stating the fire truck ran out of gas in Live Oak, which is about 10 miles away from Wellborn.

After deputies tracked down Waugh and the truck, she allegedly claimed to be a volunteer firefighter with Suwannee County. Deputies determined she was not on the official roster and was not authorized to use a fire truck.
https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-woman-steals-fire-truck-after-impersonating-firefighter-deputies-say/




Funny, I don’t remember that mission on Grand Theft Auto! Next up -

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

Next week for Part 3, we’re heading to that most MAGA centric of Florida destinations, the Villages, to find out what makes them so crazy! OK look nothing sucks more than when you go out to eat and the restaurant screws up your order. But you know what you don’t do? You don’t use the screwed up food as a weapon. Because then the police will get involved. And you’ll most likely get arrested. So yeah this is generally considered a bad idea all around. But not to Florida Woman on the other hand. Because this is what happens.

A night out at a casual restaurant along Florida’s Gulf Coast turned violent earlier this month, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

As per a police report, at a little before 8 p.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to Rick’s Reef in St. Pete Beach, outside of St. Petersburg, in reference to “a female subject” disturbing people and “yelling at customers.”

Upon arrival, the officers made contact with the victim, who said that a woman in question had gotten into a verbal dispute with a man. During the course of the pair’s argument, the suspect threw a burrito, but missed her intended target — hitting this individual in the face.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article277393208.html#storylink=cpy




And then I got this scar sneaking underneath the door of a pay toilet. Next up – in case you’re wondering, why yes, Florida Woman was involved in the January 6th insurrection against the United States government. But this is one of those stories where you fell for a con artist! Don’t be surprised when you get conned. And I love this story because apparently someone on her side tried to say that she’s all these things. But then she goes and enters the Capitol building, looking for people to kill as part of the attempt to overthrow the government. That negates everything else. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time!

A Florida music instructor who unleashed an unexpected verbal tirade at prosecutors, the media and the federal government at her court hearing Friday, has been sentenced to six years in prison in her U.S. Capitol Insurrection case. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta castigated Audrey Southard-Rumsey, 54, as a "one-person wrecking crew" on Jan. 6, 2021, and added a "terrorism enhancement" to her sentence.

Southard-Rumsey was accused of being an agitator who was in front of the mob as it swelled near the House Speaker's Lobby, as members of Congress were hiding inside. She was also accused of screaming vulgar and misogynistic threats about Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and was charged with pushing police, and at one point, using a flagpole to push one officer.

She was found guilty on seven felony charges.

During a dramatic 15-minute statement at her sentencing hearing, Southard-Rumsey pushed aside papers that included a set of prepared remarks. She instead blistered prosecutors, calling them "liars," then accused a Capitol Police officer whom she'd allegedly confronted on Jan. 6 of being "terrified."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jan-6-sentence-florida-music-teacher/




Yes, let me play you a sad song on the world’s tiniest violin! The last story for this week is some classic Florida Woman. And it gives new meaning to the phrase “car pool”. Ah, see what I did there? See, I’m from California, and we’ve long had that joke since I was in elementary school. And it was also on Seinfeld. But it’s a crazy story and certainly not out of line for the character we’re going to be exploring for the next 5 parts of this series. But yes, if you get into a car past the airport in Miami, just make sure that you know that everyone is highly suspect.

Officials responded after a car crashed into a pool at an apartment complex in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday afternoon.

Fort Lauderdale Police responded at around 2:30 p.m. to the complex off Oakland Boulevard and Northeast 30th Street.

A silver sedan appeared to have crashed through a wooden gate before going into the pool. Footage from Chopper 6 showed the damage and the car completely submerged in the pool.

People who live at the apartment complex say the woman driving this car lives here and once she crashed into the pool, one of their neighbors ran out and helped her out her car.
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/car-crashes-into-pool-in-fort-lauderdale/3065537/






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

Folks my next guest are a great punk band from Salt Lake City. Their latest album is called Toxic Positivity, you can see them on tour through September 30th. Playing their song “Giving UP”, give it up for The Used!



Thank you Burbank! It was great to be back and in front of a live audience again! We’re off to Miami next week as part of our 5 city Florida tour! See you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech
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Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Flappers Comedy Club, Burbank, CA
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo


July 20, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-1: The Real Housewives Of The Third Reich Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots #15-1: The Real Housewives Of The Third Reich Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yoooooooooooooooo! What’s up, Santa Ana? How you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Great! We are back! We are baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! We are back! And man does it feel good! We are tanned, we are rested, we are ready to go! And with the WGA writer’s strike that seems to be never ending, we’re the only game in town right now! Don’t worry, we will get to that in a minute. But for now I do want to address the future of the Top 10. Yes, we have had a lot of inquiries. Yes, we contemplated this season being the final season. But here’s the truth of the matter is that we don’t know. This could be the final season. But then so could next year. Our plan is to stay on past the 2024 election. There’s also circumstances that could arise that could prevent us from doing that. There’s a lot of uncertainty right now. One thing is for certain though is that right now, we need some comedy. Some jokes, some laughs. Some good tunes. Because I don’t know if you’ve seen the news lately but there’s a lot of really frightening shit going on right now. And in the absence of the WGA writer’s strike, and in the absence of our favorite talk shows like John Oliver, Bill Maher, and Stephen Colbert, we need some humor to lighten the mood around here, don’t you think? I think my audience here at the Constellation Room can agree with me! I think my audience at home can agree with me! I can hear you through your monitors! OK that’s enough of the intro. We have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first, Christopher Titus is back and he discusses where humanity is in 2023, and long story short, we’re fucked:



So where do we begin for this first Top 10 of season 15? Well, as usual, whenever the Top 10 is off on an extended break, we like to play Catch Up On Stuff We Missed. And man did we miss a hell of a lot of stuff while we were gone! So much that it’s taking up the first three entries this week! The first entry is going to the Qongress because whew, we’re only 6 months in and it’s going to be the longest two years ever, isn’t it? Fuck you Fox News! In the second slot this week is the Qongress (2)! Yes, this Congress, which is dominated by right wing conspiracy theory nutjobs, is getting weirder and dumber by the day, and let’s face it, we’re an election away from the House turning into the House Of Representin’ from the movie Idiocracy. In the number 3 slot, speaking of apes flinging their feces, is that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (3) and man is he out there and flinging some serious shit! In the number 4 slot this week, is a group that I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about lately called Moms For Liberty (4) and they’re every bit as evil, horrible, and awful as you would expect from the MAGA crowd! In the number 5 slot this week, we have to talk about the seemingly never ending and incredibly awful WGA Writer’s Strike (5). Don’t get too attached to any TV shows right now, because they aren’t coming back any time soon. Pay your employees, you deadbeat CEOs! 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 has finally had enough. He thinks it’s way past time to tax the churches and before anyone asks, we’ll gladly pay our share too! In the number 7 slot this week, we’re profiling Steve Bannon presidential campaign plant and notorious anti-vaxxer extremist Robert F Kennedy Jr (7) in a new This Fucking Guy. Come on, Cheryl Hines, ditch that zero already! In the number 8 slot this week is our weekly venture into the seemingly never-ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner (8), and this week, you may have heard about a bag of cocaine being found at the White House, which Fox News *DESPERATELY* tried to pin on Hunter Biden, and failed miserably. The lesson is: never try. In the number 9 (NEIN!!) slot this week is a new I Need A Drink (9) and this week, it’s a battle of social media titans as Twitter’s Elon Musk wants to fight Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, and it’s every bit as ridiculous as you think it could be, and then some! Finally this week, it’s time to debut our brand new docuseries to coincide with our 4 city Florida tour, What’s Up With Florida? (10) and for part 1 of our 7 part series, we’re going to bring you some insane tales of Florida Man, to you know, set up the kind of mood we’re going for! And to close things out, we’ve got some live music from the legendary Tears For Fears! Don’t miss their show at the Hollywood Bowl on Aug. 2nd! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Catch Up On Stuff We Missed Pt 1: SCOTUS Legalizes Discrimination
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As usual, whenever the Top 10 is on an extended break, we like to play catch up on stuff we missed, and holy shit, did we miss a lot of stuff while we were gone. And just like last year, when we missed the historic and absolutely fucking evil overturning of Roe V. Wade by the MAGA SCOTUS, we missed an absolute whopper of a decision while we were gone this time. The case was Creative LLC Vs Elenis, a case that basically decided whether or not a graphic designer would be in her legal rights to not provide services to a gay couple who wanted to have a website designed for their upcoming wedding. Well, as you can imagine, the hard right Fox News Q MAGA SCOTUS voted a not surprising at all majority 6 – 3 in favor of the website designer. Which basically means that religious based discrimination is now legal in this country. Now before you boo, I just want you to know that this whole thing stinks and we can’t quite put our finger on it.

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday, June 30, in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, provides a way for those who want to discriminate to ignore federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination. At first glance, the ruling may seem narrow, but in actuality the implications are enormous.

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her dissent, this was the “first time in its history” that the Supreme Court granted “a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class.”

Colorado law, like California law, prohibits business establishments from discriminating based on race, sex, religion or sexual orientation. Lorie Smith has a website design business. She wants to expand it to design websites for weddings, but says that it would violate her religious beliefs to require that she do so for same-sex weddings. She claimed that Colorado’s anti-discrimination law would violate the First Amendment. The federal district court and the federal court of appeals ruled against her, stressing Colorado’s compelling interest in stopping discrimination based on sexual orientation.

But the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled in her favor. In an opinion written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, the court held that applying the anti-discrimination law to her would violate her First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The court said forcing her to design websites for same-sex weddings would be unconstitutional compelled speech.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-supreme-court-created-first-130000104.html




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! This is really, truly beyond fucked up on multiple levels. The MAGA Supreme Court has basically opened the door for businesses to declare open season on customers that they don’t like. We’re in uncharted territory here. Not only that, they ended affirmative action. The MAGA republicans are drunk with power and absolutely out of control. It’s scary to think how destructive of a path they are taking this country on. This is a perfect example, though, of elections having consequences. This country didn’t have to be this way. No, people vote based on what Fox News and fucking idiots on social media tell them to.

President Joe Biden on Thursday blasted the Supreme Court ruling setting new limits on affirmative action as a "severe disappointment," saying, "we cannot let this decision be the last word."

"The court has effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions and I strongly, strongly disagree with the court's decision," Biden said, adding that "the court has once again walked away from decades of precedent."

Saying "affirmative action is so misunderstood," Biden said, "I believe our colleges are stronger when they are racially diverse. Our nation is stronger because we use -- but because we are tapping into the full range of talent in this nation. I also believe that while talent, creativity and hard work are everywhere across this country, not equal opportunity, it is not everywhere across this country," he said.

[snip]

"The truth is, we all know it, discrimination still exists in America," he said. "Discrimination still exists in America. Discrimination still exists in America," he repeated. "Today's decision doesn't change that. We cannot let the decision be a permanent setback for the country."

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-supreme-court-affirmative-action-decision-word/story?id=100491437




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Fuck you Supreme Court. Fuck you Amy Comey Barrett. Fuck you Samuel Alito. Fuck you Neil Gorsuch. Fuck you Brett Kavanaugh. Fuck you John Roberts. And an especially full hearty fuck you to Clarence Thomas. May you all rot in the fieriest pit in hell. Thank you Santa Ana! But remember when I said that this whole thing with the SCOTUS ruling on discrimination stinks? Well guess what? It may have all been completely fabricated. That’s right – bullshit can now make its’ way to the highest court in the land. And if you think I’m kidding well I can absolutely assure that I’m not. And this is a comedy show, by the way!

Puzzlingly, before she actually filed the first suit in 2016, Smith had apparently never designed a wedding website. Even weirder: She had never apparently been asked to provide services to a same-sex couple up to that point either.

Enter supposed couple “Stewart and Mike,” who apparently submitted a request to Smith for her services one day after she filed her case in Colorado’s U.S district court in 2016. Stewart apparently wanted to plan some design work for his wedding with Mike “early next year.”

But after The New Republic reached out to Stewart directly—his contact information was readily accessible in court documents—the story fell apart: He said he had never submitted the form; he said TNR’s call was “the very first time I’ve heard of it.”

“It looks like Smith and her attorneys have, perhaps unwittingly, invented a gay couple in need of a wedding website in a case in which they argue that same-sex marriages are ‘false,’” TNR’s Melissa Gira Grant writes.
https://newrepublic.com/post/173675/supreme-court-just-used-fake-case-make-easier-discriminate-gay-people




Yeah this whole thing really sucks. Oh and it gets worse, my friends! This is one of those stories that we always say is like peeling an onion. The more layers you peel back on the subject, the more it stinks, and the more likely you are to cry as a result. Well, guess what? The woman at the center of this disgusting ruling wants people to be nice to her! Well boo fucking hoo. You made this a national issue, you live with the consequences. People are tired of the religious Fox News MAGA Taliban ruling our lives, and we have to stop them now. But please go eat the steamiest bag of shit. And that’s about the nicest thing I can say.

Meanwhile, Smith, who owns 303 Creative, a design company based in Denver, Colorado, has not gotten any actual requests to make a gay website. She just doesn’t want to have to in case anyone asks. It turns out that the gay wedding work request her lawsuit originally cited was found to be fake.

And Smith, who has clearly gone very far out of her way to push a lawsuit over a hypothetical situation all the way to the Supreme Court in order to separate herself from that which she deems unholy (and probably mostly to get attention), is ironically very critical of the people who send her “hateful” and “intolerant” messages online. Like girl, can you look at yourself and your own actions for a second?

Smith has a section on her website about the lawsuit where she writes, “I am very sorry that some people are so intolerant of my beliefs – beliefs shared by many Jews, Muslims, Christians, and nonreligious people in this country and the throughout the world. As you know, I try to treat everyone with respect and I wish they would do the same.” And I would like to know how going to court to strip millions of people of their basic rights is treating everyone with respect?! Make it make sense, Lorie!

“To those who have filled my inbox with vile, hate-filled messages,” she also writes, on her lawsuit page, “If we disagree, we should be able to do so civilly. That is the mark of a healthy and free society. And while I think people should always strive to treat each other with politeness and consideration and speak in ways reflecting that…” And I’m at a loss. Politeness and consideration are two terms that just don’t jibe with your lawsuit that will probably become the precedent for stripping away anti-discrimination laws for all sorts of protected groups of people.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/woman-who-got-supreme-court-to-discriminate-against-lgbtq-couples-want-people-to-be-nicer-to-her/ar-AA1dgDmu






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[font size="8"]Catch Up On Stuff We Missed Pt. 2: Qongress Insanity
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This is one thing that we missed that absolutely requires its’ own entry. Hell, I could dedicate an entire Top 10 just to these two dipshit MAGA losers. Congress. The reason why we can’t have nice things, since about 1980. So as long as I have been alive. Well, the MAGA Congress, or as I’ve been referring to them, the Qongress, has reached a new low. Well, considering that the bar is currently lower than the bottom of the Marianus Trench (for those of you unfamiliar with geography, that’s pretty fucking low), that’s going to be a hard bar to raise. At this point, I’ve really got to wonder how other countries are perceiving the US. Even the UK, with as batshit crazy as Downing Street has become, has to be thinking “those motherfuckers are crazy”. I am saying in my best British accent. But really, the Qongress is an absolute low point in this country. And unless we start getting people out of the Infowars and Fox News disinformation sewer, it’s going to get worse. But really it can’t get any more embarrassing than this right now.

Once, people came to Congress for entertainment. The visitors’ gallery on Capitol Hill was a hot ticket for those looking to watch human drama and political chaos. To be fair, entertainment options were more limited in the era before Netflix or Xbox or even C-Span. In recent decades, such trips have become the civic-education equivalent of eating broccoli — a staple of tour groups visiting Washington but not something people did for fun. Over the past two days, though, all that has changed. Congress is amusing again as the nation’s attention is focused on the floor of the House of Representatives. C-Span’s presumably sky-high ratings haven’t been released yet but are the subject of much speculation on Twitter (and CNN). Who needs sports or sitcoms when you can watch Kevin McCarthy step on the same rake time and time again? Seven times so far and counting.

But the entertainment factor doesn’t come only from the ongoing debacle around the 2023 Speaker’s election as a rump group of Republicans refuses to back McCarthy on ballot after ballot. It’s that this ongoing search has transformed the chamber at a structural level into something far more lawless and freewheeling.

The United States House of Representatives is currently not governed by anybody or by any set of rules. No one has been sworn in because there is no Speaker, and therefore everyone on the floor is still a member-elect. There is technically still no Congress at all and therefore no rules for it to obey. In the interim, members can do what they want. They can commit minor acts of rebellion like wearing hats on the floor or even accusing their colleagues of drinking inside the legislative chamber, like Florida Republican representative Kat Cammack did when giving yet another nominating speech for McCarthy on Wednesday. Her claim that Democrats were enjoying popcorn and booze while watching the Republican infighting brought outraged howls that she had uttered unparliamentary language and that her “words be taken down” for violating congressional decorum. After all, it is against the rules for members to cast “personal aspersions” against one another on the floor. But nothing happened. If there is no Congress, how could there be congressional decorum?
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/01/republican-speaker-fight-makes-for-c-span-gone-wild.html




Oh and it gets worse, my friends! No matter how embarrassing you think this Qongress is, it’s way worse than you could ever think possible. Way, way, way, way worse. Whatever sane members of the GOP are left (yes, we know that ship sailed years ago), they are being replaced with hardline MAGA ass kissers and boot lickers. Like the way they ousted Liz Cheney for Harriet Hagemen, seen here looking like the evil, yet misunderstood, librarian in a middle school kids’ movie. Or maybe your flavor of social media troll is more like Ana Paulina Luna, or Clay Higgens, or Ronny Jackson. Or Paul Gosar. Yes, these are all elected Congress officials. Unfortunately. But it’s gonna get worse.

House GOP colleagues of Representatives Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene have spoken out about the pair's apparent feud, with at least one predicting that it could lead to a "fistfight" between the two.

Once considered allies in the House GOP's further-right caucus, Boebert, the two-term congresswoman from Colorado, and Greene, the two-term congresswoman from Georgia, have seemingly been engaged in a feud since finding themselves on opposing sides of the intra-party fight over electing Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.

Last month, Greene reportedly called Boebert a "little b***h" on the House floor over public comments made about her. The Georgia representative also accused Boebert of copying articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden that she previously filed. The Colorado representative reportedly countered that accusation, insisting that she had not read Greene's articles of impeachment.
https://www.newsweek.com/lauren-boebert-marjorie-taylor-greene-could-get-fistfight-gop-rep-1813475




Seriously, don’t you see the irony here? That movie wasn’t supposed to be a documentary. We’re literally a hair away from Congress turning into the House Of Representin’. Scary to think that’s actually a possibility now. Am I watching Congress or an episode of the Jerry Springer Show? Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! But yeah this is getting absolutely embarrassing. Not just for me, but for the entire country damn it. We’ve got to get these Q nuts out of Congress. We’re seeing what an utter embarrassment they are. It’s only a matter of time before they start dropkicking each other live on CSPAN.

Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert reportedly accused fellow conservative Marjorie Taylor Greene of accidentally spitting on her lip after Ms Greene called her a “little b****” on the House floor and accused her of copying her articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden.

Responding to the comments by Ms Greene, Ms Boebert told CNN, “I’m not in middle school”.

Ms Greene said that during the confrontation, Ms Boebert accused Ms Greene of accidentally spitting on her lip, according to Semafor. At the end of the conversation, Ms Greene said she told Ms Boebert, “You need to shut up because the only person that’s recognised to speak right now is Luna” in reference to Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida who was speaking on the House floor.

C-SPAN cameras captured the two MAGA Republicans having what appeared to be a heated conversation on Wednesday evening after Ms Boebert laid the groundwork to force a procedural vote on her impeachment articles in the coming days.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-lauren-boebert-b2361947.html




Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooly shit. We didn’t make that up! That really was captured live on CSPAN for the whole world to see. This is one of those times where it really sucks living in the internet era. Just how did it get this way? That’s one of those questions that we can’t answer. I’d personally guess that 40 years of Rush Limbaugh and reality television did the trick. The thing is they’re both attempting to be Trump’s vice presidential nominee, and they desperately want it, and the desperation is starting to reek for both of them. Hopefully it’s only a matter of time before these losers get voted out of office. Or at the very least, an appearance on MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch.

The House Freedom Caucus voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the pro-Trump group last month, a member confirmed Thursday, indicating that her fight with Rep. Lauren Boebert was part of the group’s reasoning.

“A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she’s done,” said Freedom Caucus board member Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.). When asked if she was formally out, he replied: “As far as I know, that is the way it is.”

It’s the first public confirmation of Greene’s fate within the conservative group. The vote was first reported by POLITICO, though it was unclear at the time whether she had been ejected. It took place less than two days after Greene got into a verbal floor fight with Freedom Caucus member Boebert, during which Greene referred to the Colorado Republican as a “little b---h.” After the exchange was first reported, Greene confirmed the fight and doubled down, adding another pejorative.

The two have clashed repeatedly in the past, but Harris indicated that particular spat had factored into the conservative group’s thinking.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/06/marjorie-taylor-greene-booted-out-of-freedom-caucus-member-says-00104997





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[font size="8"]Catch Up On Stuff We Missed Pt. 3: The Rest
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You know we’ve been gone 8 whole weeks. Which is a long ass time to be gone in a world where the news doesn’t stop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So we’ve got a lot of stuff to catch up on! Whether it is Trump’s latest rally in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, or Marjorie Greene doing, I don’t know, whatever the fuck this is. There’s a lot of different ways we could go about doing this. But the first thing I wanted to touch base with is the censuring of Adam Schiff. Of course you know that we’ve often compared the most hardcore MAGAs to being in a deranged cult. Yes, it was basically the cult telling those who aren’t paying members “do not fuck with us”. And yeah it’s exactly the reason why we don’t get nice things in this country, like 4 weeks of mass transit, or a working rail system. Conservatives definitely ruin everything they touch. And the January 6th committee is absolutely no exception to this rule.

The House of Representatives has voted to censure Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for his past actions while chair of the House Intelligence Committee in leading investigations into then-President Donald Trump.

The vote was entirely along party lines, with the California congressman calling the resolution "false and defamatory." Democrats attempted to kill the bill from advancing but were outvoted.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called Schiff to the well of the chamber as he read the censure resolution out loud. Democratic members shouted loudly as McCarthy began to read the resolution, causing him to stop and start several times.

"I have all night," McCarthy said as he was interrupted by boos from Democratic members.

The resolution claims Schiff misled the American public over the course of congressional investigations into the Trump campaign's potential ties to Russia, given that other probes have not found conclusive evidence that Trump colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
https://www.npr.org/2023/06/21/1183564794/schiff-censure-house-republicans




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Boo this Congress! Boo, I say! At that point, Vladimir Putin handed Marjorie Greene a nice sack of money with a giant dollar sign on it. Next up, we got to talk about MLB Pride Night. The one that made the most news of course was the one that happens to be closest to home for me and that’s Dodger Stadium. You may have seen Florida governor Ron DeShithead attempting to say that his bizarre anti-woke crusade caused Dodger Stadium to be empty during the start of the game. Well come on, it’s the Dodgers. Fans don’t show up until the third inning because they’re stuck on the 110 freeway. I know, I live here. it’s not an understatement.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' Pride Night arrived on Friday, with the protester and police presence you would expect after weeks of controversy stirred up around the guests invited to the event.

The Dodgers received criticism from Catholic and conservative figures when they announced they would be giving an award to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of people who dress in drag as nuns who were among the first people to offer support to AIDS patients at a time when such help was severely lacking.

The team reacted to the backlash by uninviting the Sisters from Pride Night, leading to an opposing backlash from its other Pride Night partners. It eventually apologized and re-invited the Sisters, drawing further condemnation from the likes of former vice president Mike Pence and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

Many, including the Dodgers' longtime ace Clayton Kershaw, criticized the Sisters for supposedly mocking Catholicism, which includes dressing up as nuns, an act the organization does as a protest against the church's treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.

https://sports.yahoo.com/protesters-shut-down-dodger-stadium-main-gate-on-pride-night-031753499.html




You know I’ll never understand the reverse victimization of the Catholic Church, and I was born Catholic, believe me. But really guys, it’s not the drag queens. It??s you. It’s your hate and ugliness that drives these “protests”, and Fox News amplifies your hatred. Next up, of course you knew that we were going to talk about it. The Ocean Gate disaster. And boy was that a clusterfuck of epic proportions. I was just aching to talk about it because the Top 10 was off that week, but man we definitely would have let Ocean Gate have it. From the janky construction on the sub using materials that NASA wouldn’t touch to the Playstation 3 controller being used to pilot the thing, quite frankly, we’re honestly surprised that this didn’t happen sooner. And now we can say “we told you so!” followed by a very childish “neener neener”.

OceanGate says it's suspending 'all exploration and commercial operations' after the deadly Titanic sub disasterOceanGate said it is suspending "all exploration and commercial operations" on its website just weeks after their Titan submersible catastrophically imploded during a mission to the Titanic shipwreck, killing the company's CEO and four passengers.

It's unclear when OceanGate added the suspension notice — in small, red writing — to the top-left corner of its website's homepage. Insider reported last week that OceanGate was still advertising trips to the Titanic wreckage roughly 12,500 feet deep under the Atlantic Ocean.

As Insider previously reported, the deep-sea adventure company listed two missions scheduled for June 2024 on its website. At the time, the OceanGate website touted that the 2023 mission was underway and future customers should reach out about dates for upcoming expeditions. OceanGate also teased that passengers could be joined by famed French diver Paul Henri Nargeolet, who died on board the Titan submersible earlier this month.

OceanGate's Titan imploded less than two hours after it set out for its mission on June 18. It lost all communications with its mother ship just before the catastrophic event. CEO Stockton Rush was among those killed. US and Canadian officials are now investigating how and why the submersible imploded.

Read more: https://www.insider.com/oceangate-suspending-all-exploration-commercial-operations-titanic-sub-2023-7




Yes, listen to James Cameron, people! He is wise in the ways of the sea! The last thing I wanted to touch on is the hoopla surrounding the MAGA Q Anon movie “Sound Of Freedom”. Don’t worry, next week we’re going to be breaking out the ol’ Top 10 Movie Vault to review this POS. It stars Jim Caviezel, who was on that show Person Of Interest. And if you guessed that that he’s every bit as much of a MAG A Q whackjob who peddles bizarre theories on his social media feeds, you are absolutely correct! What’s even more bizarre is that this movie is the victim of Astro-turfing. Which is the practice of buying up large quantities of seats to inflate the numbers. It’s an evil practice.

The Sound of Freedom, a film based on a former government agent’s pursuit to rescue child sex trafficking victims, is a hit at the box office and a darling among right-wing audiences, but it’s also come under scrutiny for its numerous ties to the QAnon conspiracy.



The Sound of Freedom debuted in theaters July 4 and has collected more than $41 million so far, placing third at the box office last weekend behind bigger-budget films, Indiana Jones: Dial of Destiny and Insidious: The Red Door.

The film stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security agent and founder of Operation Underground Railroad, who conducts sting operations to rescue children from sex traffickers.

But OUR was the subject of a Vice investigation that claims the organization has exaggerated its role in sex-trafficking rescues, with multiple law enforcement agencies saying their work with OUR has been “insubstantial.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/07/11/box-office-hit-sound-of-freedom-controversy-including-qanon-ties-and-false-claims-theaters-are-sabotaging-screenings-explained/?sh=72d1f007688c







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[font size="8"]Moms For Liberty
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Well, the War On Terror has officially failed us. We now have multiple terrorist groups operating on American soil. Whether it’s the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers, they haven’t quite reached Taliban status here yet. One that might is an organization that has emerged within the last year called Moms for Liberty. And if you’ve seen Twitter lately there’s plenty of unflattering nicknames going around for this group – like Klanned Karenhood, or the Minivan Taliban, or Assholes With Casseroles. Our personal favorite is one that we’ve been floating around the Top 10 Home Offices in Santa Ana, California – “The Real Housewives Of The Third Reich”. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Nice one graphics department! And also multiple copyright violations on top of that. But they’ve been appearing in the news a lot lately, and none of it is what one would call “particularly flattering”. Nope, as you can guess, they are pure evil, and which political party they associate with should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone who doesn’t watch Fox News 24 hours a day. But they’re wreaking havoc on our school boards and our children, and it’s really starting to show.

Parents from school districts in Bucks County shared their concerns about Moms for Liberty and the influence they have on their local school boards outside of the Moms for Liberty Conference.

Following Florida, Pennsylvania has the second-highest number of Moms for Liberty members and over 20 chapters across the commonwealth. Bucks County has the highest membership in Pennsylvania.

Kate Nazemi and Jane Cramer, parents who live in the Central Bucks and Pennridge school districts, joined other concerned citizens and activists at a banned book giveaway outside the Moms for Liberty Conference.

“In our school district, we’re really seeing several different outside influencers impacting education policy for our kids, and we’re seeing teachers, many parents and students’ needs and wants being pushed aside in favor of partisan policies that don’t reflect the local needs of the community.” said Nazemi.
https://keystonenewsroom.com/story/bucks-county-parents-moms-for-liberty-damaging-our-community-students/




Yeah don’t you see the irony here? This is the same group that is claiming to “protect children” from “pedophiles and groomers”, whatever that is. But in reality, underneath that flashy exterior, they’re doing more long term harm to children than any other invisible boogeymen they can conjure up. This is bad, like really bad. But you know, with all their claims of “freedom” and “liberty”, we have to ask ourselves – what is Moms For Liberty really liberating us from? Independent thought? Because when you’re part of a deranged cult, they don’t like that sort of thing.

The activist group Moms for Liberty has become the loudest voice in the culture wars around education. After forming in 2021, Moms for Liberty spread across the United States, exploiting the Republican-led moral panic over a “woke ideology” that is supposedly sweeping public schools and “indoctrinating” children. At present, the group counts 285 chapters in 45 states.

The organization’s recent national summit in Philadelphia reflected its rising stature. The event was a veritable parade of Republican presidential contenders, each of whom praised the organization as a force remaking the nation. Donald Trump, for instance, lauded the group as “the best thing that’s ever happened to America.”

As the group has grown, so too have its political ambitions. Moms for Liberty places particular emphasis on capturing local school boards to control school policy. More broadly, the group endorses legislation that would limit the topics that can be discussed in the classroom (for instance, Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation), and they promote policies that allow parents to target books for removal from school libraries and classrooms.

The materials challenged by Moms for Liberty reflect the “war on wokeness” announced by conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson and Ron DeSantis. Group members regularly disrupt school board meetings to rail against books that address the nation’s history of racial violence (maligned under the fuzzy category of “critical race theory”). Likewise, the group condemns materials that explore gender identity or advocate for LGBTQ+ acceptance – particularly those that explore transgender identity. Librarians, teachers and parents who defend these materials have been repeatedly harassed by group members as “groomers” or “pedophile sympathizers”.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/06/moms-for-liberty-long-history-rightwing-activism




Uh oh… two independent thought alarms in one day! But as you can guess, as this group recruits new members, those of us who haven’t been brainwashed by Rupert Murdoch aren’t having any of it. And yes, this is a group that is not to be normalized. They seek to do irreparable harm to our schools and ultimately the Department Of Education itself. As we have seen with all of the cruel and inhumane anti-trans legislation that’s being passed, it was never about children. That’s just a smoke screen and a scapegoat. The major networks shouldn’t be treating these scumbags as a normal group.

ABC News this week joined other U.S. corporate media outlets in being accused of "normalizing" Moms for Liberty after publishing what one critic called a "puff piece" on the right-wing group that's behind a wave of school book bans and is linked to the neofascist Proud Boys and the Qanon conspiracy theory.

On Saturday, ABC News published an article by Brittany Shepherd titled "Moms for Liberty Are Fired Up in Philadelphia" as the self-described "parental rights" organization held its annual conference in Pennsylvania's largest city, where crowds of protesters turned out to denounce the group's bigotry.

"They call themselves joyful warriors—but this group of conservative moms are mad," Shepherd wrote in her lede.

Author and Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali called the article "shameful."

"Moms for Liberty is linked with the Proud Boys, a chapter quotes Hitler, they are behind book bans, they are funded by right-wing groups and... ABC News calls them 'joyful warriors,'" Ali tweeted. "The whiteness of it all is exhausting."
https://www.alternet.org/moms-for-liberty/




I know, right? If this group comes to your city – just like the Proud Boys, you should know that they are very bad news. If it can happen to my city, it can happen to yours too. The good news though is that people are starting to fight back against this right wing religious terrorist group. I want to state for the record that we here at the Top 10 are vehemently opposed to any book bans of any kind, for any reason and we don’t want our school boards to fall into the wrong hands. Moms For Liberty must be stopped at every single level. The damage they are doing is totally unreal.

In the Marriott in the Center City section of Philadelphia, where Moms for Liberty had booked a room block for its conference, Agenda PAC – the nation’s sole political action committee that uses aggressive paid communications tactics to hold anti-LGBTQ+ politicians and electoral groups accountable – delivered “Please Disturb” door hangers.

Representatives from the group reserved a hotel room in the same building where Moms of Liberty had reserved its rooms, the organization said.

At night, activists wandered the hallways of the property and placed hangers on the exterior of all the doors, videos obtained by The Advocate show.

One door sign read, “AGENDA PAC Welcomes you to the Gayborhood!” with an illustration of two men kissing. “Hate has no place in Philly. Get Moms for Liberty out of our city!”

The other read, “Please disturb. Fascism in progress. Did you know a designated hate group is staying at this hotel?”
https://www.advocate.com/news/moms-for-liberty-agenda-pac





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[font size="8"]The WGA Writer’s Strike
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Remember television shows and movies? From the 1920s – June of 2023? They will be missed. Oh and if you think I’m kidding about this, don’t get attached to any TV programs currently airing, because they ain’t coming back any time soon. So we’ve been gone for 2 months and we missed the start of the Writer’s Guild Of America strike (WGA). But now the Actors’ Guild Of America (AGA) is also joining them now. This could very well mean the end of commercial entertainment as we know it. The cause of the demise of your beloved shows? Corporate greed. And a seemingly never ending supply of it. But the really fucked up thing about this whole exercise is that the CEOs don’t seem to want to cave in, because they might lose a couple of those extra zeroes on their paycheck. Good, because they are a bunch of zeroes. Pay your employees, you deadbeat CEOs! And come on, Bob, your greed is what is tanking the industry, let’s not get these two things confused here!

Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, called these expectations “just not realistic.” He accused the strikers of “adding to a set of challenges that this business is already facing that is quite frankly very disruptive and dangerous.”

This was a bit rich, coming days after a studio executive told Deadline that their strategy was “to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.”

Eviction is a pretty cruel labor-negotiation strategy.

Hollywood’s CEOs are suffering. Not primarily from labor disputes or industry disruption or public-relations issues, but from vincible ignorance, which seems to be endemic in C-suites of all industries. Under pressure to deliver to Wall Street, too many CEOs have lost the plot of their own movie. They are not running companies to profitably deliver a good product, such as a book or a cup of coffee or, in this case, a movie or TV show. They are running companies to deliver good profit. The quality of their product has ceased to matter.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/07/hollywoods-cruel-strategy/674730/




Seriously, shut the fuck up! You know what the underlying cause of this strike is? It ain’t AI. It’s you. It’s your CEOs and yes men. It’s remaking the same damn movies we’ve seen a thousand times before while anything actually creative gets shelved. But while streaming services seem to be at the heart of this whole thing – should you really cancel your service? Well, it’s quite a bit complicated and the answers definitely vary depending on who you talk to. One of the underlying factors is that streaming services pay their entities a whopping salary of… pennies on the dollar. Think of it like that Seinfeld episode where Jerry got checks for 12 cents.

Since launching the historic double strike on July 14, members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild are no longer writing for or appearing in the binge-friendly movies and TV shows that are the lifeblood for global streaming services like Netflix and Prime Video.

But does that mean that you should also give up your Netflix password as a show of solidarity? That's what a number of strike supporters are suggesting on social media.

Some WGA members are openly encouraging the grassroots boycott as well. Warren Leight — whose list of TV credits include In Treatment and two Law & Order series, Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit — took to Twitter to suggest that his followers cancel their Netflix accounts. His message was received loud and clear by his former Criminal Intent colleague — and SAG-AFTRA member — Kathryn Erbe, who promptly dropped Netflix from her streaming library.

Hitting that "Cancel" button on Netflix or Disney+ might feel like it directly benefits the causes that SAG and WGA are striking over, including the diminished residuals that have accompanied the industry shift to streaming, as well as what they claim is a lack of transparency over viewership data and other information. And Netflix certainly has been at the forefront of those complaints; in fact, the current strike has been openly referred to within Hollywood as "the Netflix strike," and the company's L.A. headquarters have served as the site of some of the biggest WGA rallies.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/should-you-cancel-netflix-hollywood-double-strike-152739912.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAH11nZDp1IA2fu3cstqmr4S27p4KsBorEg3DPP0dXjunwUrcOjvGkQXZaMQvIqRGBr-EN7I8ajQTzLFMu9g_Z_bDxHJqOaIhWVMCHa16fvKO2DH_LIRFNSABe5fPze80-P2MrKoAtI8PKOnXcb8_bdC-6bdMiDqOqJg6PciA3m-Rv




Yup, everything burns – especially money! It’s totally disgusting what is happening. What the CEOs of this country need to realize is that their greed is the reason for a good 90% of the problems that we’re currently facing in this country. But you know here’s the thing, billionaire CEOs of America, you can hurt the little guy all you want like the sadistic psychopaths that you are, but you cannot stop us. And in the end, your never ending greed will ultimately lead to your demise too. So who knows how long this strike is going to go? The answer is, this may be the longest strike ever.

Receiving positive feedback from Wall Street since the WGA went on strike May 2, Warner Bros Discovery, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and others have become determined to “break the WGA,” as one studio exec blatantly put it.

To do so, the studios and the AMPTP believe that by October most writers will be running out of money after five months on the picket lines and no work.

“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the cold-as-ice approach, several other sources reiterated the statement. One insider called it “a cruel but necessary evil.”

The studios and streamers’ next think financially strapped writers would go to WGA leadership and demand they restart talks before what could be a very cold Christmas. In that context, the studios and streamers feel they would be in a position to dictate most of the terms of any possible deal.
https://deadline.com/2023/07/writers-strike-hollywood-studios-deal-fight-wga-actors-1235434335/




Yeah unlike Homer, don’t get attached to any of your favorite shows because they aren’t coming back any time soon. Which really sucks. Because I would love to hear Stephen Colbert’s take on Trump’s latest indictment. Or John Oliver do something outrageous. So what’s the endgame in all of this here, you might ask? Well, I answer you good sir or madam – is that we don’t know. If the CEOs want to hurt our bottom line, it’s ultimately going to hurt their bottom line too. Which means in the future, someone like Bob Iger might actually have to wait in the bankruptcy court line. Oh god, I’m delirious. But nevertheless, one thing is for certain – trickle down economics once again screwed us all!

Fifty days into a strike with no end in sight, about 1,000 Hollywood writers and their supporters marched and rallied in Los Angeles for a new contract with studios that includes payment guarantees and job security.

Speakers at the Writers Guild of America’s WGA Strong March and Rally for a Fair Contract on Wednesday emphasized the broad support for their cause shown by other Hollywood unions — including actors in their own contract negotiations — and labor at large.

“We’re all in it together, we’re all fighting the same fight, for a sustainable job in the face of corporate greed,” Adam Conover, a writer and a member of the guild’s board and its negotiating committee, told a crowd at the end of the march at the La Brea Tar Pits. “We are going to win because they need us. Writers are the ones who stare at a blank page. We are the ones who invent the characters, tell the stories and write the jokes that their audiences love. They’d have nothing without us.”

Talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group representing studios in negotiations, have not resumed since breaking off hours before the writers’ contract expired on May 1. The strike began a day later, with more and more productions shutting down as it has gone on.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/writers-strike-hollywood-march-rally-actors-1e87e496db3581f251ee4ad7664a96b2





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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! We are back! And boy does it feel good to be back, everybody doesn’t it? Well, now there’s a touchy subject that we need to discuss this week. We ended last season by telling you about the insane financial problems that the Mormon Church was having, and it appears that they have way too much money (see: Idiots #14-16 ). Look, there comes a time when the 800 pound gorilla in the room needs to be addressed. And I think it’s finally time that we addressed it – churches have way too much fucking money. It’s way past time that they pay taxes on it. I said it. Now look, we’re very pro capitalist here, but even capitalism has its’ limitations. These churches are not doing anything good with their money either. They don’t support the tired or the poor. Instead they support the unholy, ungodly Dark One! I of course speak of a man who is so foul, so depraved, so disgusting that his name dare *NOT* be spoken in my church! I mean how do churches get away with such a blatant display of political behavior? Ours aside, of course!

Former President Donald Trump received a rapturous hero’s welcome Saturday night as he delivered the closing keynote address to a room packed with religious-right activists in Washington, D.C. for the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual Road to Majority conference.

Trump knew his audience. “We are warriors in a righteous crusade to stop the arsonists, atheists, globalists, and the Marxists, and we will restore our republic as one nation under God with liberty and justice for all,” Trump said. As part of his typically long and rambling speech, he denounced his recent indictments, bragged about his administration’s accomplishments–including his Supreme Court justices cementing the right-wing majority to overturn Roe v. Wade—and declared that Democrats have become “monsters.”

Trump thrilled the crowd with promises about what he would do as the 47th president, saying, “When I get back in the Oval Office, I will totally obliterate the Deep State.” And he vowed to push “school choice” plans—which divert public education dollars into private and religious schools and homeschooling—and, oddly, called for public school principals to be chosen by direct election by parents.

Trump’s speech and others at the conference signaled the issues and strategies around which the MAGA movement is mobilizing to try to take power in the 2024 elections: waging war on “wokeness,” demeaning transgender people and calling for institutionalized discrimination against them, mocking corporate support for diversity, equity, and environmental protection, and, in the name of parents’ rights, purging schools and libraries of materials that do not align with MAGA activists’ political and religious worldviews.
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/religious-right-activists-cheer-trump-calls-for-spiritual-civil-war-at-road-to-majority-conference/




Oh my GAWD… how do they keep getting away with this stuff? Any party that begins purging educational materials that might encourage independent thought is clearly a sign of a party that is being run by dangerous lunatics! And with the far right having a stranglehold on the current Supreme Court, what’s there to stop them from enacting a full on, government mandated religious agenda? This is exactly why we say churches need to start paying their fair share of taxes. If they want to preach politics, they pay. End of story. Of course this SCOTUS will probably rule with the Christian extremists in the GOP because a few of them are on the bench. Ugh.

Earlier this month, Right Wing Watch reported that religious-right activists are seeking to take advantage of the far-right majority’s control of the Supreme Court to start enacting Christian nationalist policies all across the nation.

Emboldened by recent Supreme Court decisions upholding prayer in schools, crosses erected on public lands, and flying Christian flags on public buildings, right-wing activists intend to “go on offense” by pushing Christian nationalist policies at all levels of government and society.

Among those leading the charge is Kelly Shackelford, president of First Liberty, which was integral to laying the groundwork for the right’s spate of Supreme Court victories. During a recent appearance on an Intercessors For America broadcast, Shackelford announced that his organization has launched a Restoring Faith In America campaign to mobilize far-right Christians to rush into the spaces opened by these court rulings and “occupy it”

“Everywhere that crosses went down, they go back up,” Shackelford declared. “Everywhere the 10 Commandments was taken into the closet, it comes back out. Everywhere that prayer was taken out, it goes back in. Everything has changed.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/christian-nationalists-launch-major-push-to-take-advantage-of-the-far-right-supreme-court/




You know, I think it’s way past time that we started asking this question – what the absolute hell are they talking about? Where has prayer or the Bible been taken out of society? Stop with the “woe is me, I’m the victim” complex already. Maybe that’s why they love and worship the Unholy Dark One, because he is the face of the white Christian persecution complex! And in case you were wondering, the official position here at the Holy Church Of The Top 10 is that we are vehemently 100% opposed to book bans and Moms For Liberty, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! They do not support GAWD or JAYSUS! And again, another reason why churches need to pay taxes!

When the National Association of Christian Lawmakers held its annual conference at Liberty University earlier this month, members of the organization held a “para-legislative session” at which state legislators and religious-right activists proposed and discussed various resolutions and proposed pieces of sample legislation.

Among those participating in this session was Arkansas state Sen. Dan Sullivan, who pledged to use the next state legislative session to strip funding for any library in the state that is affiliated with the American Library Association.

Sullivan has been seeking to cut library funding for a while, and while he has not succeeded in doing so yet, he was still quite pleased with a law that was recently signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders that allows for the removal of books and the possible prosecution of librarians for “disseminating a writing, film, slide, drawing, or other visual reproduction that is claimed to be obscene.”

“The libraries are an institution—often like higher ed—that are far left, and they have been a bastion of the left wing,” Sullivan told his fellow NACL members. “They’re the ones holding the drag queen shows. They’re the ones promoting Pride Month. Our county library last year had huge Pride signs and flags and books; this year, they backed that off and had very little because we took their money away.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/arkansas-legislator-vows-to-eliminate-all-the-funding-for-public-libraries-affiliated-with-the-ala/




Probably never! Because that money is being used to bankroll supporters of the Unholy Dark One to places where they don’t belong! And come on, do we really need to tie this insane “anti-woke” rallying cry that the far right has been on the last year and a half to religion? It’s yet another one of the reasons why we can’t have nice things. No we don’t need this crap in the Senate, and we really don’t need this crap polluting the House either. The right wing’s obsession with this stuff is getting weird and insane, and is reaching new levels of ridiculousness every single day! We may have to talk about this in a future sermon!

Sen. Josh Hawley delivered a Christian nationalist rallying cry at the religious-right activist conference Road to Majority on Friday morning, saying the Christian faith had “formed the soul of this country” and denouncing “the new priests of wokery” who he claimed are trying to “impose on us a religion of woke.”

“There is not one square inch of all creation over which Jesus Christ is not Lord,” Hawley said, declaring that “the time for Christians to rise is now.”

Hawley also struck a right-wing populist pose, denouncing corporations that he claimed were pushing “a Marxist agenda” and “religion of woke.”

“Corporations are not people, and there’s no reason why corporate America should control this country,” Hawley said, calling for “woke corporations” to “get out of politics.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/josh-hawley-delivers-christian-nationalist-rallying-cry-against-woke-at-road-to-majority/




I’d personally much rather get Josh Hawley out of politics, then nothing of value would be lost! Ugh, this is going to be a long two years isn’t it? We don’t know how much more of these morons we can possibly take! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! Don’t forget Season 2 Of Holy Shit: The Sunday Sermons premieres Sept.24th! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]This Fucking Guy: RFK Jr.
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This week’s This Fucking Guy is presidential candidate, and husband of Curb Your Enthusiasm star Cheryl Hines, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.. Now you might be thinking “But isn’t he a registered democrat?”, to which I answer you – “Don’t be so certain about that”. The guy is notorious for spouting some absolutely ridiculous anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories. He also is a regular on Steve Bannon’s War Room, and has been spotted making guest appearances on other right wing and far right wing talk shows where he’s free to spew the most off the wall, convoluted and the overall batshit craziest theories that you’ve ever heard. Which is why they call them theories. Well, here’s the thing, we’re not sure if he’s running to actually be president or not. But one thing is for certain – that “D” next to his name is definitely something to laugh at. Because he spews some absolutely batshit crazy stuff. Come on, Cheryl, it’s time to ditch that zero already!

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a history of repeatedly sharing unfounded conspiracies that man-made chemicals in the environment could be making children gay or transgender and causing the feminization of boys and masculinization of girls.

Experts dispute the claims from Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist, and told CNN’s KFile his theories that “sexual identification” and “gender confusion” among children could be from their exposure to “endocrine disruptors” found in the environment are completely unfounded.

“I want to just pursue just one question on these, you know, the other endocrine disruptors because our children now, you know, we’re seeing these impacts that people suspect are very different than in ages past about sexual identification among children and sexual confusion, gender confusion,” Kennedy said on his podcast in June last year. “These kinds of issues that are very, very controversial today.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/politics/robert-kennedy-jr-chemicals-water-children-frogs/index.html




Seriously, what………. And I can’t emphasize this enough…… the fuck??? He went full Alex Jones on that one, and you never, ever go full Alex jones. Oh and it gets worse, so much worse. It’s bad enough that he’s mimicking the Ron DeSantis and Trump playbook of going on Fox News at every single available opportunity, but he also ventures onto Steve Bannon’s War Room – Fox News on bath salts, and Newsmax – Fox News on meth. But it gets worse, my friends, so much worse! Now just wait until you hear about what he said in regards to COVID-19. You remember that disease that shut down the whole world for a year and a half? Well… yeah I have no words. Roll tape.

At an off-the-rails event Tuesday in New York City, notable anti-vaxxer and longshot 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. parroted what has been characterized as a white supremacist COVID-19 conspiracy theory.

“In fact, COVID-19, there’s an argument that it is ethnically targeted,” Kennedy told a room full of press in a video obtained by the New York Post. “COVID-19 is targeted to attack caucasians and Black people. The people that are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.”

-snip-

In a Twitter post on Saturday, RFK Jr. insisted—despite video evidence—that he “never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews.” Rather, he argued that he was simply pointing out that COVID-19 is “least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews,” during a conversation about how “the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons.”

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/rfk-jr-covid-19-ethnically-targeted-to-spare-jews-and-chinese




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Holy shit, forget Alex Jones, he went full Adolf! And you never, ever go full Adolf! At what point do the Dems admit that his campaign is a sham and kick him and his moron enablers out of the party? We already know that he’s a plant designed to gaslight swing voters. But this fucking guy is so off the rails bonkers batshit crazy that there’s no way this shit should be allowed to continue. In fact his own family members have begun debunking and denouncing these comments because they’re so off the rails crazy. Dude doesn’t need to be president, he needs an intervention.

The founders of the Kennedy Democrats PAC want to make it very clear that they do not endorse Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The statewide political action committee launched in 2019 by Patrick Murphy, a former member of the U.S. House, and former Congressional candidate Scott Wallace, both of Bucks County. Their goal is to deepen the progressive political bench in Pennsylvania, particularly outside of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. But when it comes to the presidential election, don’t let the name fool you.

“We considered changing our name but we decided instead to just make a very explicit statement that we are fully in support of President Biden’s reelection,” Wallace said. “And we disavow anybody else using our organization’s name to oppose President Biden.”

The Kennedy Democrats are not a particularly well-known group, but their eagerness to distance themselves from RFK Jr. illustrates the larger simmering concern setting in with some Democrats as the environmental lawyer and longtime vaccine skeptic has risen in the polls.

RFK Jr. was polling at about 17% with registered Democrats in Pennsylvania last month to Biden’s 71%. Nationally, between 15% and 20% of Democratic voters say they support him. A third Democratic presidential candidate, Marianne Williamson, is polling at about 5% with Pennsylvania Democrats.
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/robert-f-kennedy-jr-democratic-primary-pennsylvania-biden-vaccines-20230713.html




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! This is absolute madness. Here’s the thing, my fellow democrats, is that we can’t keep pretending that this is 2016 anymore. The political innocence of that time period is long gone. The cat has been let out of the proverbial bag. There are enemies everywhere attempting to sway the election to the dark side. We have a year to go to get ready and we can’t let this country fall into the wrong hands. Because if that does, well, let’s just say that the fate of the country, and well, the world is at stake. And guys like this fucking guy, RFK Jr, certainly aren’t helping things. Not in the slightest. And you know your campaign is shit when a literal fart is the smartest thing being said in that room.

Page Six regrets to report that a press dinner to boost Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign devolved into a foul bout of screaming and polemic farting on Tuesday night.

The White House hopeful attended the affair at Tony’s on the Upper East Side, no doubt hoping to impress on the ladies and gentlemen of the Fourth Estate his worthiness to sit at the very same Oval Office desk once occupied by his late uncle.

But a shouting match over climate change broke out between two boisterous old men, sending the evening down an extremely unfortunate path.

The gaseous exchange — to which Page Six bore reluctant witness — began after a guest asked Kennedy, founder of ecological organization Waterkeeper Alliance, about the environment.

https://pagesix.com/2023/07/12/rfk-jr-press-dinner-explodes-in-war-of-words-and-farts/




Yeah so that’s the farting, conspiracy theory mind rotted shill of a joke campaign for president, and professional gaslighter Robert F. Kennedy Jr, this week’s:




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[font size="8"] Conspiracy Corner
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Welcome back to our segment that attempts to explain the unexplainable, Conspiracy Corner! Of course conspiracies exist when people simply don’t want to read the article past the headlines and just flat out make shit up. We of course are coming to you live from our underground doomsday shelter from deep within the New Mexico badlands. Undisclosed location, of course! Let me just adjust my trusty tin foil hat for maximum government interference. Ah, there we go! They are trying to read yours and my thoughts after all! Well, my friends, if you watched Fox News at all the last week (and if you’re here, who am I kidding? There’s a very good chance you didn’t watch Fox News), then you probably heard about the mysterious package found in the White House that Fox News pundits *DESPERATELY* tried to pin on Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden. And well, they failed. And as you can imagine, it’s quite the stuff of pure, unfiltered, insanity. Fox News is desperate to pin anything they can on Biden, and well, let’s just say the desperation reeks.

A preliminary field test on a white substance found in the White House has reportedly come up positive for cocaine, law enforcement authorities said, and the US Secret Service was investigating on Tuesday how it came to be at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The presence of the substance – which has been sent out for further testing – came to light late on Monday when a firefighter with the Washington DC fire department’s hazardous materials team radioed: “We have a yellow bar saying cocaine hydrochloride,” the Washington Post first reported.

A Secret Service spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi, told the Post that the discovery led to an elevated security alert and a brief evacuation of the executive mansion after it was found during a routine inspection.

Initial reports indicated the substance was discovered in a reference library. The Associated Press, citing two officials who were unauthorized to speak about the investigation, later on Tuesday reported that the white powder was found “in an area accessible to tour groups, not in any particular West Wing office”.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/04/cocaine-reportedly-found-in-white-house-as-secret-service-opens-investigation



Yeah so that happened. But I guess the biggest question we have is, well, why? And the second is why did the right wing get so crazy over this incident? Well, we answer that with another question, why does the right wing get so angry over every single thing that happens? That’s what happens when you live in a continuously operating 24/7 echo chamber that’s designed to spew hate and lies on a seemingly never-ending cycle. But alas, this whole incident has reached completely ridiculous proportions with the House Oversight committee – currently being led by a group of insane conspiracy theorists – to you know, just ask questions. That’s what they want you to think!

Washington — The Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee will assess the security practices at the White House and is seeking information from the head of the U.S. Secret Service after a small bag of cocaine was discovered near a lobby in the West Wing over the weekend.

Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the Oversight panel, is sending a letter to U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle Friday to request more information about the incident and a staff-level briefing on the matter by July 14.

"The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House's history," Comer wrote to Cheatle.

The Oversight chairman said that the "alarming" incident requires the committee to examine the security practices at the White House and "determine whose failures led to an evacuation of the building and finding of the illegal substance."

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/comer-seeks-information-secret-cocaine-120625369.html




Yeah probably! I’ll tell you who is one tin foil hat away from a rubber room is that guy who we inexplicably used to call president, because he ruins everything. Yes, he has to make everything about him, and Fox News happily goes along with it. Which is why he spends most of his time on his social media hidey hole attacking Fox News at every possible opportunity. But he won’t pass up the next chance to be interviewed on a Fox News program. It’s an addictive cycle, people! Of course he’d solve it in 5 minutes. Please excuse my editorial laugh here. Ha ha ha.

Former President Trump criticized the Secret Service Thursday for ending its investigation into the cocaine discovered at the White House, suggesting it shows a “two tier level of justice.”

“Despite all of the cameras pointing directly at the ‘scene of the crime,’ and the greatest forensics anywhere in the World, they just can’t figure it out? They know the answer, and so does everyone else!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

The Secret Service in a briefing with lawmakers Thursday said the probe into the cocaine found at the White House will officially end Friday, after authorities failed to identify a suspect.

“In the meantime, they continue to target and investigate me, for years, in what has been called the greatest Witch Hunt of all time,” the former president wrote in response, adding that it shows a “Two Tier Level of Justice.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4096434-trump-criticizes-end-of-white-house-cocaine-probe/


c

Somehow that’s not enough tin foil! But alas, despite the constant, never ending right wing hysteria over the mysterious package, it turned out to be, survey says – a giant nothingburger. And what the fuck do they want from us? No answer will be satisfactory for them other than "arrest Hunter Biden now" and last time I checked, Hunter Biden isn't an elected official, nor does he even work for the White House! So Trump and Fox News can go shut the fuck up and stop whining about it! Thank you audience! The Bidens, including Hunter, weren’t even in the White House that week, they were in Delaware at Camp David, so Fox News can go shove their rampant hysteria where the sun don’t shine. So what the right wing was pointing out to be the smoking gun of Hunter’s drug abuse turned out to be absolutely nothing. In the words of the late, great Gene Wilder – “You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!”.

The mystery of who brought cocaine into the White House remains unsolved. The Secret Service investigation has concluded with no usable forensic or video evidence identifying the person responsible, three Secret Service officials familiar with the investigation tell NBC News.

The small plastic baggie with a powdered substance — which was found in a storage cubby at the White House on a Sunday evening earlier this month — was subjected to advanced testing and examined at two federal labs but no usable fingerprints or DNA were detected, the officials said.

The Secret Service received results Wednesday from tests conducted by the FBI, “which did not develop latent fingerprints and insufficient DNA was present for investigative comparisons,” the Secret Service said in a statement Thursday. Security camera video was also reviewed, but "[t]here was no surveillance video footage that produced investigative leads," the agency said.

Without that kind of physical evidence, the investigation has run out of road. "The investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered," Secret Service officials conceded.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/secret-service-briefs-house-oversight-members-cocaine-found-white-hous-rcna94045





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[font size="8"]I Need A Drink: Elon Musk Vs Mark Zuckerberg
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Hey everybody! I don’t know about you, but I could really use a drink!



So you know that the idea behind this segment is that we have some drinks and while we are drinking, we talk about anything in the news as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. And I need something on ice because it is hot as shit outside! Does anyone know? Does shit really get hot? Let us know in the comments! Even our sober brothers and sisters – we got you covered! Grab a glass of your favorite coffee or energy drink and get wired with us! OK this week, we have to talk about the ongoing penis measuring contest, er, boxing match, er, dick fight between two social media titans. In this corner, he’s the CEO of Twitter, Space X, Starlink, Tesla, and a whole slew of other companies, Elon Musk! And in this corner, he’s the CEO of Meta Corporation which owns Facebook, Instagram, Metaverse, Snapchat, What’s App, and the newly launched Threads app, Mark Zuckerberg! So what’s a good drink for this matchup? Uh yeah no thanks, I will stick to my usual Jack Daniels mixed with Jack Daniels. Well, so this week, Mark Zuckerberg launched the Threads app, and Elon Musk isn’t having any of it. And the fight between these two internet billionaire tycoons has reached absolutely ridiculous proportions. Here’s more!

Billionaire tech executives Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk first suggested last month they’d be interested in clashing in a UFC-style cage fight—a seemingly absurd idea that’s largely been laughed off as meaningless banter—but escalating tensions between the two and photos of them training with some of the world’s top fighters has signaled a billionaire brawl could actually become a reality.

The idea of a cage match was first posed by Musk over Twitter, where the Tesla CEO responded to a thread about Instagram’s then-upcoming rival app Threads, saying, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.”

Zuckerberg responded the next day with an Instagram story showing a screenshot of Musk’s tweet captioned “send me location”—a reference to a famous line from former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed with The Verge that Zuckerberg was being serious in his response to Musk, saying the Meta CEO’s post spoke for itself.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/07/12/zuckerberg-vs-musk-everything-we-know-about-the-possible-cage-fight/?sh=71224bdd2cc8




Yeah that’s the stuff! Fight! Fight! Fight! This is exactly the kind of news article that makes us go “you know what? Fuck this shit.”. That’s why we need several drinks to get through this one. I mean come on, does anyone really want to see a boxing match between these two? It would be like seeing Trump and Vince McMahon in a WWE cage match. Oh wait, that already happened. But come on, two billionaires who have enough money to tank half the countries in the world getting into a steel toed WWE cage match with each other? Is that really where we’re at in 2023? Yeah that’s a good one! Just let them work it out!!

The rumored fight between Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Elon Musk seemed to gain steam on Monday after a claim by retired UFC fighter Chael Sonnen, but it quickly went up in smoke.

During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Sonnen told MMA journalist Ariel Helwani that Zuckerberg contacted him personally and "has told me that he has agreed to fight Elon Musk at UFC 300 and it was a very big deal." He went even further, saying, "That just happened. [My producer] Ethan is my witness, my son, Thero, my dog, Duke. This is a shoot."

However, a spokesperson for the Meta CEO told TMZ Sports, "I have confirmed with Mark that he did not call Chael Sonnen."

What initially looked like meaningless banter between two tech moguls has become the talk of the combat sports world, as UFC president Dana White said Zuckerberg and Musk are serious about fighting one another and he's working to put it together. White said on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday that he believes a fight between the two of them would be "the biggest fight in the history of the world."
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10080732-mark-zuckerberg-denies-telling-chael-sonnen-hed-fight-elon-musk-at-ufc-300




Yeah that blender isn’t big enough. I mean come on, first off that’s the worst “choose your fighter” screen I’ve ever seen. But it looks like Zuck is actually taking this fight seriously by doing some real world fight training. And I guess Elon, who’s pasty and flabby, isn’t really doing anything to prepare for this because it’s all a joke. He might be wishing that he has Homer Simpson syndrome. But is the fight going to happen or isn’t it? Well if the two billionaires ever do decide to duke it out in public, there’s going to be some serious red tape that they’ll have to go through. But here’s where it gets weird. And you knew it was going to. Apparently Elon doesn’t plan to fight at all. He plans to send his doppleganger! Yes, you heard that right!

It’s a fitting development in a story that’s almost too bizarre to be real – two of the world’s richest men planning to slug it out in a cage match.

The idea of a potential grudge match came about after Mr Musk said on Twitter that he’d be “up for a cage match” after news broke that Mr Zuckerberg was developing a Twitter rival (Threads).

Mr Zuckerberg posted a screenshot of Mr Musk’s tweet, writing underneath it “send me location”.

The Tesla and SpaceX tycoon suggested the Vegas Octagon, and a spokesperson for Mr Zuckerberg refused to rule out the idea that a real fight could take place – although many believe it is still unlikely to actually happen.

In the aftermath of the posts, the Facebook founder posted on social media about his physical prowess, writing on Instagram: “Competed in my first jiu jitsu tournament and won some medals for the Guerrilla Jiu Jitsu team.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/elon-musk-mark-zuckerberg-cage-b2375537.html




Yeah that’s the stuff! I mean come on, did you really think this fight was going to happen? You did? I mean come on! No way in hell this fight actually happens. And you think you’re so smart! Well… I’m drunk now! And if Elon thinks he’s got a chance in hell, he’s going to need to do some serious training cramming in order to prepare for this fight. I didn’t know it was possible to gain 55 pounds of muscle mass in 24 hours! Guess those Neraulink implants really do unlock the true potential of human brain activity! In that case then I’m Elvis! But if it does wind up becoming true, you can bet we’ll be ringside with plenty of alcohol! Because… fuck it! Yolo!

People enjoy watching two people fight each other that have no business fighting. That's why Fox had a short-lived hit with Celebrity Boxing where morbid curiosity caused people to tune in to see has-beens and people clinging to the last vestiges of fame beat each other up.

Nobody needs to know if Danny Bonaduce can win a boxing match with Donny Osmond, or whether Todd Bridges might take down Vanilla Ice, but it's a spectacle when sort of famous people need money enough (or the spotlight) enough to take real punches to the famous for a few dollars and a tiny bit of limelight.

Neither Meta Platforms (META) - Get Free Report CEO Mark Zuckerberg nor Tesla CEO (TSLA) - Get Free Report Elon Musk needs money. Both are billionaires who could have the Vanilla Ice's of the world airlifted to their private yacht on a whim. In reality, these two have so much money that they might be able to do that with Elton John, Beyonce, or pretty much any star.

These are men for whom money has largely lost all meaning. Zuckerberg, for his part, has never really seemed to care about fame either. He's not a limelight guy and he rarely speaks in public.
https://www.thestreet.com/technology/ufcs-dana-white-calls-musk-vs-zuckerberg-fight-very-real







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[font size="8"]What’s Up With Florida: Part 1: Meet Florida Man
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Folks, we’ve toured the world. Twice. We’ve toured the inner workings of the government, known to your fellow Q nuts as the “deep state”. We’ve also toured the other half of the country. Now we’re going to tour that most mysterious of states, Florida. Florida is the 27th state of the union, it was admitted to the union in 1819, and was readmitted after the Civil War in 1868. It’s the home of such diverse cities as Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, and Tampa. But the reason we’re doing this segment is that we’re going to find out exactly what makes this state tick, and why it’s such an important asset in every presidential election. This week we’re going to start this 7 part docuseries by introducing you to the “man” (and woman) of it all – Florida Man! You know Florida Man from the thousands of articles you see every year with the title “Florida Man does _____________”. We even count them several times a year in our People Are Dumb segment! Many of the stories in this segment are courtesy of the good folks at R/FloridaMan. Yeah let’s start with this one where a guy says that he’s going to give vasectomies to peacocks. And here we are, wondering why Peacock Vasectomy isn’t the name of a heavy metal band yet.

Shielded by county law for decades, peacocks in Pinecrest, Florida, are no longer off limits to trappers, and (omitted) is eager to get his hands on the birds.

Pinecrest lined up Harris to perform hundreds of rapid peafowl vasectomies after the village secured an exemption this week from Miami-Dade County’s strict rules against trapping the large birds.

Trappers hired by the village will respond to resident requests for peafowl sterilizations, then ship the birds to a Harris facility for vasectomies under sedation before returning the fowl to the neighborhoods where they were taken. The hope is to slow the growth of a population that’s both beloved by some for its plumage and detested by many for its daily habits.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2023/07/19/florida-man-give-vasectomies-peacocks/




No it’s not the NBC logo. My point is that we could literally go through thousands of articles about our subject, Florida Man. Here’s another good one – this story comes out of Seminole County, Florida. So normally a bank story wouldn’t be Florida Man news. But when one guy robs a bank after being arrested just an hour before, for robbing an entirely different bank, that’s when it turns from a normal story into a Florida Man story! Yes, this is the stuff of pure, unaltered insanity that only the Sunshine State can bring us! No other state even remotely comes close!

A Florida man was arrested Thursday for allegedly robbing two banks within two hours in broad daylight, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said.

(omitted) was charged with robbery without a firearm, attempted robbery without a firearm and grand theft, officials said. The 35-year-old is being held at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility with no bond.

The double bank robberies occurred Wednesday afternoon.

The first one happened around 1:15 p.m. at the Seacoast Bank at 2695 W SR-434 in Longwood. The man from Leesburg reportedly passed a note to a bank teller demanding money, implying he had a weapon, officials said. He was unsuccessful in trying to get the cash, however, and fled the scene.
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/florida-man-allegedly-robs-2-banks-in-2-hours-deputies




Yeah that’s almost like a real life Roberto there! You can’t even have a normal barbecue in Florida without it going off the rails. I mean come on, only in the Sunshine State can a barbecue grill be used as a weapon. I bet John Wick never thought of this shit! Oh and by the way for the sake of anonymity, we’re omitting the real names of the people involved in these stories. But the one thing you can’t deny is that they are everywhere. And you almost got to wonder if Florida law enforcement officials collect and trade these stories with their friends, because they are too bizarre to make up.

A Florida man is behind bars after a road rage fit that included intentionally ramming into cars, striking them with a tire iron and even throwing a barbecue at deputies, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

The incidents occurred Tuesday morning in Cocoa, near the intersection of School Street and Bay Avenue, officials said. (omitted) is in custody and faces several charges, including resisting arrest, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and other charges relating to his alleged road rage fit.

(omitted) reportedly parked his Chevrolet Tahoe in the middle of the street and rammed into cars as they tried to go around him, officials said. That's when Hofmann got out of his car and began to strike passing cars with a tire iron.

He broke the driver's side window of a passing truck and the tire iron got stuck in the glass. Deputies shared a photo of the truck online, where you can see the piece of metal inside the window.
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/florida-man-throws-bbq-grill-at-deputies-strikes-cars-with-tire-iron-in-road-rage-fit-officials




But yes, we could spend all day on Florida Man stories. But we’re bringing you these few because we want to show you the kind of person we’re dealing with here, and Florida has no shortage of Florida Men and Florida Women. Well we’ll leave you with one final insane story for this week – this one comes out of Florida’s largest city, Miami. And if you’re a frequent customer of a store, you might want to not toss a whole bunch of live explosives in said store. Yes, that actually happened. This is just one of the thousands of batshit crazy people who we will encounter as we visit the Sunshine State!

The firework emitted smoke for a few seconds before exploding, police said. Police said the clerk evacuated the store and called 911.

No workers or customers were hurt, police said, but the blast damaged a tile, a refrigerator and food items.

According to an arrest report, the clerk told police that after reviewing surveillance video, he recognized the suspect as “(omitted),” a longtime customer at the store who “has always given him a hard time for an unknown reason.”

Police said they located (omitted) Thursday outside of another food store, less than a block south of City Store 66. They said he later confessed to the crime.

(omitted) was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional on a $10,500 bond on charges of arson, shooting or throwing a deadly missile and criminal mischief.
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/07/14/police-lit-firework-tossed-into-miami-dade-food-store-by-frequent-customer-idd-by-clerk/




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

For part 2, we’re going to bring you insane tales of Florida Women! Yes, in the Sunshine State, the ladies are just as crazy as the guys are!



[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Tears For Fears[/font]

Folks, my next guest is a legendary band from the 80s, you can see them at the Hollywood Bowl August 2nd and at the Darker World festival in Huntington Beach, November 6th. Playing their song “The Tipping Point” from their album “The Tipping Point”, give it up for Tears For Fears!



Thank you Santa Ana! It’s great to be back! We’re back at our old stomping grounds at Flappers in Burbank next week! See you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech

Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Constellation Room At The Observatory OC, Santa Ana, CA
Tears For Fears Appear Courtesy Of: Concord Records UK
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo

July 13, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots Best Of #28: Hollywood Writer's Strike Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots Best Of #28: Hollywood Writer’s Strike Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Oh hello! I know, right? We’re just sitting back here kicking it with a couple of cold ones at our set at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana, CA. So if you missed our big announcement a while back as to whether or not this would be our last and final season, well… we’re currently unsure. That’s it, that’s the announcement. We don’t know what’s exactly going to happen between now and December. But one thing’s for certain is that we’ve got plenty of laughs in store for this season and we’re ready to make fun of our conservative evangelical overlords while the writers are still on strike. I mean come on… is that thing ever going to end? Pay your employees, you deadbeat CEOs! And I do want people to know that we’ll be taking a brief hiatus in August because of some planned trips that will totally fuck up the Top 10 schedule. And we are still trying to figure out how to go about proceeding with our talk show clips in the absence of talk shows. But this is one of our famous viewer mailbag Best Of editions where we dip into the viewer mailbag and the Top 10 archives to answer your burning questions! But first, remember talk shows? I definitely miss them and it sucks because they’re missing out on some solid gold material right now. Come on, like Tommy Tuberville’s BS statement or My Pillow going broke? Where’s Steve Bannon gonna go? And where will Marjorie Greene complain to when no one likes her ideas? So many questions and more to be answered on our season premiere next week! But first let’s play John Oliver’s episode from 3 months ago when he talked about how shady Homeowner’s Associations really are, and we really wonder how they continue to get away with a lot of the crazy and probably illegal shit that they do:



So where do we begin for this viewer mailbag best of? Well for the number one slot this week, we’re going all the way back to 2018 from Idiots #6-2, where Trump (1) puts his full inner asshole on display and greets the world champion Clemson Tigers with some stale McDonalds. Because he’s the kind of rich asshole who’s actually the cheapest person on the planet. In the second slot, from Idiots #6-14, is also that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (2) and remember that time when he went to Scotland and picked a fight with windmills? Yeah and Biden’s the one who has cognitive problems. Right. In the third slot this week is also that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (3) and after his latest rally in a middle of nowhere town that has an incredibly small population, you ever wonder what happens after one of his idiot rallies? Well, they leave behind a giant pile of trash, and he refuses to pick up the cleaning tab, because he’s that kind of cheap asshole! In the number 4 slot, from Idiots #11-4, is our old friends at Hobby Lobby (4)! Yes, the store where you can make decorative letters spell offensive things, is in hot water after the artifact smuggling scandal, and they deserve it! In the fifth slot, from Idiots #10-2, while we were all stuck at home because of COVID-19, some people found out that they didn’t look as good as they thought on camera, so our award winning investigative segment Top 10 Investigates (5) takes a look at the ridiculous lengths that some people go to in order to look good during a Zoom chat! In the number 6 slot from Idiots #11-14, our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” finds that our friends at Liberty University have a massive problem on their hands, and it’s one that some might use the “not safe for work” moniker for! In the number 7 slot this week, from Idiots #13-17, we profile self-proclaimed alpha male and guy who casually mentions he’s a ladies man in conversations, Nick Adams (7) in an edition of This Fucking Guy! In the number 8 slot, from Idiots #10-16, our segment that explores the never-ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner (8) looks at an effort from rural conservatives in the Pacific Northwest to form their own state, and it’s every bit of a disaster as you can possibly think of! In the number 9 (NEIN!!) slot this week, from Idiots #5-8, our segment “I Need A Drink” takes a look at a group that took the McDonalds Monopoly game for millions! And to think I had hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place too! Damn! Finally to close things out, from Idiots #11-15, our segment Red State Diaries, takes a look at a bizarre gathering of Q Anon fanatics in Dallas, at Dealy Plaza, where JFK was assassinated, because they think that he’s somehow… well, it’s too damn weird to describe. I’m going to let you be the judge! And to cap things off, we have some music from that time that King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard stopped by the show! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!

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[font size="8"]Donald J. Trump & The Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Week
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From: Idiots #6-2

Denise K. from Buffalo, New York writes:

“Hey Top 10, what’s the MAGA obsession with fast food? Why is it when Trump serves them cold McDonalds, they are proud to eat food that even homeless people wouldn’t touch?”


Well, Denise, we don’t know. But we suspect it has everything to do with the fact that Trump seems unusually proud of being the cheapest of bastards!

Congratulations to the Clemson Tigers for winning this year’s College National Championship. What a game that was! I mean Alabama got their asses handed to them didn’t they? Well the Tigers will get to visit the White House. And remember what an honor that used to be? Well thanks to a certain guy who is currently called president, they might want to reconsider. Especially considering that he’s channeling his inner Richmond Valentine from the movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service”. Or maybe Kevin Spacey from House Of Cards. OK, bad example. Well, Clemson, here’s what you got waiting for you!

The Clemson football team’s visit to the White House on Monday night is going to be a greasy one.

The Tigers were invited by President Donald Trump to celebrate their national championship victory over Alabama and, according to Trump, the menu is going to be all fast food.

“I think we’re going to serve McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King’s [sic], with some pizza,” Trump said. “I really mean it. It’ll be interesting. I think that would be their favorite food, so we’ll see what happens.”

It sounds like Clemson will be getting the authentic White House experience, enjoying some of the president’s favorite foods. In a book about the 2016 campaign, two top Trump aides wrote that the “four major food groups” on Trump’s plane were “McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, pizza and Diet Coke.”

The menu probably isn’t a hit with Clemson Director of Football Nutrition Paul Harrington, though. We’ve emailed Harrington for his thoughts and will update this post if he gets back to us.
https://sports.yahoo.com/president-trump-promises-several-fast-152758405.html




That’s right! No shut down means no White House staff which means no White House kitchen staff to cook for the Clemson team! So you could say that this is a House Of Carbs! And by the way this is what happens when the country is run by the less sophisticated – they actually enjoyed it! Either their standards are incredibly low or they haven’t had a decent meal in months! What is Clemson feeding them?

President Donald Trump paid tribute to college football champion Clemson for winning the College Football Playoff National Championship at a White House ceremony Monday evening.

Trump said he paid for their meal of "American fast food'' because of the partial government shutdown. He did not disclose the tab.

"We went off and we ordered American fast food, paid for by me. Lots of hamburgers, lots of pizza,'' Trump said after returning to the White House from a trip to New Orleans. "I think they'd like it better than anything we could give."

Some players "whooped" when they saw the spread, according a pool report.

"We have some very large people that like eating, so I think we're going to have a little fun," said the president, a fast-food lover himself.

Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said much of the staff that works in the White House residence has been furloughed due to the shutdown, "so the president is personally paying for the event to be catered with some of everyone's favorite fast foods."
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/25762856/white-house-offers-clemson-tigers-fast-food-feast-championship-celebration




Wow, how our standards have fallen as a society. Really he’s the kind of guy who would replace the White House kitchen with a McDonalds and Burger King just because he could. And he’s also fat and has no taste. And by the way let’s show that picture of Trump with the spread.



First off why is Trump like so proud of this? He’s feeding a championship football team garbage fast food that you can buy at the Flying J off the interstate. And second, why is he doing jazz hands? Ah, never mind, I have the answer! Just look at what Abe Lincoln is doing in the background!



By the way you’re wondering how much this spread costs, well…

Trump said, “So I had a choice. Do we have no food for you? Because we have a shutdown,” Business Insider reported. “Or do we give you some little, quick salads that the First Lady will make?”

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in a statement blamed Democrats for the shutdown and said that Trump was personally paying for the food.

The White House didn’t release the cost of the meal, but some news outlets tried to estimate the expense. The Post worked it out to be $2,911.44—or maybe $2,437.11, depending on whether the food came from the 2-for-$5 menu.

USA Today estimated the expense to be $861.72. Maybe the difference came down to what was included. USA Today didn’t include french fries or pizza, which Trump said would be part of the order, because none appeared in the pictures they used for their estimate.
http://fortune.com/2019/01/15/trump-clemson-tigers-fast-food/




Yeah so he spent $860 on fucking fast food. Really there were no other restaurants around? I mean you don’t own one that’s literally 5 miles from where you live? That wouldn’t work? Oh fuck it. I give up sometimes. And by the way here’s how much of a flaming narcissist Trump is. Not only did he pay for the food, he also said it was all food he likes, and he didn’t even get the quantities right!

Imagine being invited to the White House for dinner. You pack your best suit or dress and fly up to Washington, D.C. The day of the dinner, the president announces to reporters that he will be serving you fast food. He seems really excited about it. “I think we’re going to serve McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King with some pizza,” he says. “I really meant it. It’ll be interesting. I would think that’s their favorite food. So we’ll see what happens.”

He has to be kidding, right? He really means it? It’ll be interesting? We’ll see what happens? A few hours later you head to the White House, go through security and enter the State Dining Room. This is what you see:

Yes, President Trump served selections from McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King to the Clemson Tigers football team, who were in Washington on Monday to celebrate their national championship. The scene was surreal, with boxes of Quarter Pounders piled high on the White House’s silver serving ware. Sterling gravy boats were stuffed with dipping sauce containers. Fries had been removed from their original packaging and put into paper cups emblazoned with the presidential seal.

Trump was beaming. “I like it all,” the president said as aides lit an ornate candelabra. “It’s all good stuff. Great American food. It will be very interesting to see at the end of this evening how many are left.” He added that “the Republicans are really, really sticking together” and that “we need border security.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-fast-food-white-house-779128/





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[font size="8"]Donald Trump
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From: Idiots #6-14

Joey C. from Palm Springs, CA writes:

“Hey Top 10, what’s wrong with windmills? I live here and I don’t see anything bad about them!”


That is a very good point, Joey. We don’t know why Trump hates windmills so much, but we suspect it might have something to do with a wind power plant operating on his turf. We want to channel our inner Morbo on this one!

In the last week, Trump has really escalated his beef with wind power. I mean come on, what’s he got against windmills anyway? Well if you listen to his nonsense, you would think that windmills are godless bird killing monster machines that give you cancer and drive your property values down 75%! Oh the horror!!! What will we ever do to rid ourselves of these nightmares? That’s the question we should be asking ourselves! Instead we’re asking what the fuck is up with Trump and wind power? Well it might have something to do with Trump International in Scotland, or it might not. And by the way, for the purpose of this piece, we’re going to forgo our usual memes and clips and replace them with pictures of Trump’s hair blowing in the wind, because we all know how much he hates that!

Unlike President Trump’s inability to pronounce the word “origins,” his recurring anti-wind bloviating isn’t a sign of mental decline. Sure, it is stupid and wrong to say the sound of wind causes cancer (just who is the “alarmist” by the way?) or reduces real estate values (it doesn’t.) But it’s also dangerous. This and other anti-science campaigns like the ones against vaccinations and evolution are not just silly ignorance. They’re weaponized stupidity.

Trump’s tirades aren’t reflective of any deeply held belief or well-informed opinion, but instead appear to be informed by, and in service of, Big Oil’s anti-wind propaganda. For decades fossil fuel companies have attacked clean and renewable competition, from working to block local wind power installations to fighting state policies promoting wind. Key to that effort is spreading myths about wind power’s potential as well as its progress, which our Fox News President predictably regurgitates.

For example, take Trump’s bizarre recurring joke were he pretends to be someone who watches a lot of television (ok—no need to suspend disbelief on that part,) but has to turn it off when the wind isn’t blowing. Trump’s own Department of Energy debunks that ridiculous reliability argument (hi, batteries!) along with other energy myths. Wind power kills less birds than other forms of energy, it poses no human health threat, and it is increasingly more competitive than fossil fuels.

The sad irony of Trump’s weaponized stupidity is that it hurts the rural communities and red states who are benefiting “bigly” from wind power. For example, on November 9, 2016, the very day Trump was elected President, the Omaha World-Herald published a story about how “wind has saved family farms across a wide swath of the heartland.”
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-hate-wind-opinion-1385881




So before we go any further, we got to play the clip of this because it’s pretty spectacular. I mean how stupid is he?



Whew. Yeah so if you listen to Trump, you would learn that windmills are godless bird killing machines, and what will we do to end the horror? Well you could go with clean coal. Yeah what a great idea – let’s replace clean wind power with black lungs! And by the way with this ridiculous claim, he might have cost the clean energy industry a whole lot of jobs! What about the “JOBS! JOBS JOBS!” president? Well, he’s nowhere to be found!

- Iowa's wind energy industry says President Donald Trump's claims against wind energy are nothing more than hot air.

Wind energy supports 9,000 jobs in Iowa and that number increases every year.

Now, some of those employees fear President Trump's false claims, and stance on wind energy could reverse the trend.

“I wanted to get his opinion about what he thought about the future of our town,” Newton resident Patricia Scalabrini said.

Back in 2015, Channel 13 News hosted a town hall meeting in Newton. The city is home to two large wind turbine manufacturing plants, TPI Composites and Trinity Structural Towers.
https://whotv.com/2019/04/04/wind-turbine-manufacturing-city-fears-less-jobs-without-presidents-support/




There are a lot of those pictures by the way! We will have no shortage of material for this piece. But for Trump to make a claim so dangerously dumb and absurd is well, laughable at best. But you know what, let’s extrapolate his claims for a minute. I mean do windmills really cause cancer? The answer you know, is quite literally blowin’ in the wind.

Oh, really? Take note, Johns Hopkins. That’s a new one for the medical research community. But the logic appears to go something like this: Windmills make noise. The noise stresses people. Stress causes cancer. Who are these people dropping like flies because they live near windmills? Was the Netherlands recently wiped out and nobody bothered to tell us? How odd that Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Sweden all produce more wind energy per capita than the United States, yet they all have significantly lower cancer rates.

Actually, this link between stress and premature death is worth exploring. As it happens, the American Psychological Association has been performing annual “Street in America” surveys and found a significant uptick in 2018. Among the questions people are asked: Is thinking about the country’s future “a significant source of stress” and are you “stressed by the current political climate?” Last year, the “yes” answers increased to 69 percent and 62 percent, respectively, after charting in at 63 percent and 56 percent the previous year. Some in the profession have even assigned a name to the source of the added stress: “Trump Anxiety Disorder.”

Still, one could always opt for the truth. And the truth is that while wind power is, indeed, dependent on wind, that’s not really how the power grid works. Wind power is part of a large, interconnected system that relies on many sources of power, renewable energy among them. So even those folks living in the shadow of a turbine still get to watch their televisions when the wind dies down. Somewhere else, the wind is blowing or the sun is shining on solar cells or the turbines are spinning at the hydroelectric dam or the nuclear reactor, and so on. (And that’s not even getting into various renewable energy storage technologies that are in use or development.)

As for falling property values, that’s not been the experience of contemporary wind projects — and one of the reasons we believe, close to home, that Ocean City’s protests over off-shore wind development are particularly ill-advised and short-sighted given the threat of climate change and rising sea levels. Finally, one of President Trump’s other frequent talking points on wind — that turbines kill birds — is true to a modest extent but kind of laughable given his administration’s record on the environment. No doubt the Trump EPA and Interior Department have advanced policies that will kill a whole lot more living things prematurely, including humans, than any bunch of windmills could hope to do.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0405-alternative-fact-20190404-story.html




Hey two ugly Trump shots in one! And by the way as to his claim about whether or not windmills are godless bird killing machines? Even the birds don’t like Trump! So if you listen to Trump’s claims about windmills, you would know that they are flat out absurd. Why is he making these completely insane claims about wind? Well, it could have something to do with his golf course!

Trevor Noah picked, in theory, a politically uncharged topic for Wednesday’s Daily Show: windmills. “They’re not just the most challenging obstacle on the putt-putt course,” he said. “No, they’re also Trump’s arch-enemy.”

In a series of public appearances over the past few months, “like a superhero whose parents were killed by a very slowly moving fan”, the president has established a pattern of decrying windmills and their attendant power source, the wind. He’s expressed numerous reasons for this war on wind, first and foremost the threat he believes they pose to television.

In a rally speech from earlier this year, Trump seemed to believe that a lack of wind would cut off power to TV sets – “I know a lot about wind,” he reassured the crowd.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Noah interjected. “Like, we all know the same amount about wind. What do you need to know about wind? You can use it to fly a kite, sometimes it screws up your umbrella, and if it goes in a circle, it’s a tornado.”
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/apr/04/trevor-noah-donald-trump-wind-stephen-colbert





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[font size="8"]Donald Trump
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From: Idiots #8-5

Jennifer Q. from Santa Fe, New Mexico writes:

“My MAGA friends keep talking about the latest rally Trump had in South Carolina. Why do people still go to those things? He’ll just trash the place anyways.”


Well Jennifer, turns out he has a history of that sort of thing!

When Trump does rallies, they only show the rally. They don’t show the behind the scenes aftermath, of course they wouldn’t. He and the MAGA crowd would just attempt to pass it off as fake news. because that’s exactly what they would do if you showed the MAGA crowd the aftermath. Trump comes into cities like Wildwood, New Jersey and leaves behind a wrecking ball of destruction and trash and unpaid bills, and piles of garbage everywhere. Yeah cue Miley Cyrus… THEY CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL!! I mean this is what you get when you elect a clown like Donald Trump. You get the whole damn circus that goes with him. So here’s how it originally went down in Wildwood.

President Donald Trump received a warm welcome from an enthusiastic crowd at a rally in Wildwood Tuesday night. Some people waited outside for two days for a chance to see the president.

But not all of them got in.

Many people who stood outside for up to 12 hours didn’t make it into the Wildwoods Convention Center so they watched on a big screen in the parking lot.

With each shoutout and highlight of his ambitions, President Trump drew loud cheers outside the Wildwoods Convention Center, as thousands endured the cold to watch his Keep America Great rally on the big screen.

“This is great, had a wonderful time,” one man said.
https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2020/01/28/thousands-brave-cold-to-cheer-on-president-trumps-wildwood-rally-from-outside-convention-center/




Really? And you couldn’t have done a Google search to see the hours of footage from all the other Trump barfs his brain rallies? But then it takes a turn. Like what happened when they showed the aftermath of the original Woodstock Festival kind of turn. Sure, everyone had a great time, but who cleans up the trash and gets stuck with the bill? Why it’s the city of Wildwood, New Jersey!

As the dust settled after President Donald Trump’s rally in Wildwood Jan. 28, the city and its residents were left to account for the impact the large winter crowd had on the community.

Trish Asselta started working in her family’s Wildwood business over 65 years ago, when she was 6 years old, stocking glasses.

Asselta, 72, who owns Duffinetti’s Restaurant and Lounge, located two blocks from the Wildwoods Convention Center, said it was a day unlike any other.

“I would say it was two Fourth of Julys in one day,” Asselta said. “The dining room, the bar, everyone was singing, everyone was so happy.”

Trump’s rally, held at the Convention Center, drew crowds to the winterized shore town, many of whom said they had never been to Wildwood before.
https://www.capemaycountyherald.com/news/article_d4ecd768-4469-11ea-9fb6-d76c8e8180ca.html




Yup, they came in like a wrecking ball all right, and they wrecked the place good! MAGA! So yeah let’s show that photo for a minute. Hold your boos…



Well on the plus side, if I’m in the market for a folding chair, I know where to go! But really, trash should probably stay in the trash. And as for a MAGA rally, like I was saying, you know who gets stuck with the bill after Trump stiffs you on trash cleanup and security? Yup, the city governments, which means you, the taxpayer, get stuck cleaning up his mess!

Donald Trump has raised record amounts of money as a presidential candidate. But he’s still left a slew of unpaid bills in his wake.

In city after city, across the nation, Trump has failed to pay local officials who provide thousands of dollars’ worth of security assistance to the president’s campaign during his Make America Great Again rallies.

In total, at least 10 cities have complained that the campaign has not reimbursed them for services provided by local police and fire departments, totaling more than $840,000, according to a study by the Center for Public Integrity in June.

Minneapolis may find itself next on the list after the president picked a fight with the city’s mayor on Tuesday.

Trump accused Mayor Jacob Frey of overcharging the arena in downtown Minneapolis for services during Trump’s rally, scheduled for Thursday night, alleging that the mayor doesn’t want the president to speak in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.
https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/08/trump-rallies-unpaid-bills-039631




Good question! And by the way in case you are thinking that this is an isolated incident, boy you are definitely in the wrong place here. Because there was a pro-Trump rally in one of San Francisco’s most progressive neighborhoods that coincided with a rally at a women’s group. And as you can imagine, things got ugly. If you want to know where all this is headed, here’s a sneak peak . And something that I didn’t know existed – MAGA drag. Yes, that’s a thing.

Several dozen Donald Trump supporters rallied in front of the Women’s Building on 18th Street Saturday night — causing a tense and bizarre scene to unfold in the heart of one of San Francisco’s most progressive neighborhoods.

“I want everyone to know that we are going to come out as a fierce, ferocious force in 2020 and re-elect Donald Trump!” screamed Scott Presler, an organizer with #WalkAway, a group aimed at steering the LGBTQ community toward Trumpism and the Republican Party.

Many of his supporters followed by chanting: “USA! USA! USA!” as counter-protesters chanted “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA!” Often, demonstrators from both sides got in each other’s faces, sometimes shoving each other — though no physical fights broke out. Police stood by and, at times, had to separate people.

Presler and his group organized the demonstration in response to the Women’s Building apparently canceling a “town hall” the group scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. Representatives from the Women’s Building have not yet returned our inquiries, and it’s unclear if the nonprofit was aware it had scheduled a pro-Trump event.
https://missionlocal.org/2020/02/pro-trump-rally-sparks-clash-at-womens-building-in-sfs-mission/





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[font size="8"]Hobby Lobby
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From: Idiots #11-4

Mike O. from Flagstaff, Arizona writes:

“How come my MAGA friends talk all the crap they want about boycotting Target and Bud Light, but if I attempt to boycott Hobby Lobby, I get strange looks?


Well Mike, unlike Target and Bud Light, and the hundreds of other pointless boycotts the MAGAs have launched, Hobby Lobby actually deserves it!

I talked about this a bit last week but I am loving this story so much because I remember we trashed the Hobby Lobby Bible Museum when it first opened (see: Top 10 #3-5 ). But now it seems that karma is coming back to bite them in the ass, and very hard I might add! Because 4 years later, it turns out that Hobby Lobby may have acquired the Epic Of Gilgamesh illegally! Shocker, I know! But you know here’s a rule that I think should apply to everybody and it’s a pretty simple rule. How about… don’t steal priceless, irreplaceable artifacts from 3rd world countries, OK? And yeah that’s the kind of thing on display at the Museum Of The Bible. Which surprisingly omits “thou shalt not steal”. But needless to say this pissed off the Iraqi government something fierce.

A rare and ancient tablet showing part of the epic of Gilgamesh, which had been acquired by Christian arts and crafts retailer Hobby Lobby for display in its museum of biblical artefacts, has been seized by the US government.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) alleges that the 3,600-year-old “Gilgamesh Dream Tablet”, which originated in a region that is now part of Iraq, was acquired in 2003 by an American antiquities dealer, “encrusted with dirt and unreadable”, from the family member of a London coin dealer. Once it had arrived in the US, and been cleaned, experts realised that it showed a portion of the Gilgamesh epic, one of the world’s oldest works of literature, in the Akkadian language.

The DoJ alleges that the dealer then sold the tablet with a “false provenance letter”, saying that it had been inside a box of ancient bronze fragments purchased in a 1981 auction. It was then sold several times before Hobby Lobby bought it from a London auction house in 2014, and put it on display in the Museum of the Bible. The museum was conceived by evangelical Christian Steve Green, the billionaire president of Hobby Lobby.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jul/28/ancient-gilgamesh-tablet-seized-from-hobby-lobby-by-us-authorities




Oh come on, you can’t wait 6 months? Well so Hobby Lobby stepped in it good. And this isn’t an isolated incident either! There were thousands of artifacts that have been stolen over the last few years from the country of Iraq. And come on they’ve been through a lot in the last 25 years. But looting in a time of war isn’t a new thing, it’s been around since, well, war. Even the Simpsons had an episode about stolen loot from World War II. But that said, Hobby Lobby is not alone here.

The United States has sent back more than 17,000 objects to Iraq. Hasan Nadhim, the Iraqi culture minister, said that the repatriation was “the largest in the history of Iraq.”

Among the objects repatriated to the country was a tablet from the epic of Gilgamesh that was owned by Hobby Lobby, an Oklahoma-based craft store chain. U.S. authorities had been seeking its forfeiture since 2020.

The New York Times reported that cylinder seals, clay tablets, and more arrived in wooden crates in Iraq this week. More than 5,000 of the items that were sent back reportedly came from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which has previously faced claims that it owns tablets looted from Iraq in the 1990s.

The Gilgamesh tablet was bought by Hobby Lobby in 2014 for $1.67 million with the hope of displaying it at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., whose founder and board chair is Steve Green, Hobby Lobby’s president. The tablet was seized from the museum in 2019 after federal prosecutors said they believed it was looted from Iraq. The museum said at the time that it supported returning the tablet.
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/us-returns-artifacts-iraq-hobby-lobby-gilgamesh-tablet-1234600115/




That seems about right! So how was this allowed to happen? Well it’s no secret how grossly incompetent the previous administration was on foreign affairs, and this is huge for the country of Iraq which really needs this kind of thing. But make no mistake here that we’re glad to see these priceless artifacts being returned to their rightful owner. And we didn’t get here overnight, this happened to be a decade in the making. How come Hobby Lobby knew more about this than the US government? That seems like a fact worth knowing!

The so-called “Gilgamesh Dream Tablet” has been at the center of an antiquities trafficking scandal stretching back over a decade.

Named because it’s inscription bears a portion of the legendary Epic of Gilgamesh, a Sumerian folk tale which is among the oldest recorded poems in human history, the clay tablet was first inscribed in the area of modern-Iraq some 3,600 years ago.

Ultimately the tablet found its way into the possession of Hobby Lobby, the U.S. based chain store whose evangelical Christian owners were bankrolling the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C.

For years, the Green family, who owns the chain, had been buying up artifacts from across the near East, often with an unscrupulous disregard for provenance, to stock their new museum.
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/14955-hobby-lobby-hands-over-legendary-tablet-to-be-returned-to-iraq




No I think it’s you who are wrong. But now here’s where the story gets interesting. Just how did Hobby Lobby acquire this ancient tablet when even the US government couldn’t track it down? Well the tablet was stolen from Iraq back in the 90s and it went on a global journey – from Iraq to Jordan to London and finally wound up in the hands of the same store that sells you glitter guns and cheap art décor. Yup, that’s all you need to know!

Prosecutors said the dealer believed the tablets could be of some value and paid $50,350 for them. They were reportedly shipped to the U.S. without filing a formal entry with U.S. Customs, as is required for items costing more than $2,000.

One of the tablets that had been illegible and covered with dirt was cleaned when it arrived in the U.S. That’s when they discovered it was part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, court filings state.

The tablet spent some time being studied by a professor in Princeton, New Jersey, before it was sold to two antiquities buyers for $50,000 in 2007, prosecutors said. At the time of its sale, the antiquities dealer who first purchased it in London created a fake provenance letter stating it had been bought at auction in 1981.

That letter “traveled with the tablet as it was sold several times in different countries,” prosecutors said.
https://www.mahoningmatters.com/local-news/hobby-lobby-bought-ancient-stolen-tablet-with-tale-of-gilgamesh-the-feds-seized-it-4181208





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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: Zoom Dysmorphia
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From: Idiots #10-2

Heather J. from Gainesville, Florida writes:

“Hey Top 10, I have a job interview coming up and they insist on having it on Zoom. Why can’t we meet again in person?”


We honestly don’t have an answer for that, but we can give you some tips for looking good on camera, and it comes courtesy of our award winning segment Top 10 Investigates!

It’s time to investigate beyond the headlines! This is Top 10 Investigates!



It’s been nearly 10 months now since the novel coronavirus outbreak sent the entire world out of the public view and living on their webcams. But with change also comes unwanted change. In fact since so many people have been spending so much time in front of a webcam, a new form of an old disorder has arisen. Dysmorphia can take many forms – whether one is unhappy with their gender, race, height, or weight, can cause a person to be unhappy with themselves. But now a new form of dysmorphia has arisen – Zoom Dysmorphia. That’s right – people are unhappy with the way they are looking in front of their webcams and are taking steps to improve their appearance on a computer monitor. And by “taking steps” – we mean “unnecessary plastic surgery”. That’s right – people are going so far as to modify their appearance by scheduling plastic surgery so that they can look good for their admiring virtual public. Even scarier than that? The market is booming right now.

Thanks to the pandemic and the subsequent decrease in social interaction it's caused over the last year, video calls and virtual meetings are now a normal part of everyday life for employees working from home. Convenient as it is to phone in to nearly every special occasion from weddings to happy hours to work meetings these days, new reports have shown that the heavy increase in screen time has contributed to a new phenomenon called "Zoom dysmorphia" — and it may be another reason behind the reported spike in plastic-surgery procedures months ago.

A form of body dysmorphia disorder (BDD), the term was coined in a new study published in the International Journal of Women's Dermatology to explore how staring at your reflection on video for several hours a day might lead some people to develop a "negative self-perception." The study surveyed more than 100 board-certified dermatologists, many of whom claimed to have come across patients seeking cosmetic procedures to change or improve the appearance they see on video calls. While the research suggests that the images many users see are distorted due to lighting, blurring, and/or bad camera quality, some experts argue that what we're experiencing is somewhat of a reality check.

"We have never spent this much time looking at ourselves — not in photographs, not in the mirror," Amir Karam, MD, of Carmel Valley Facial Plastic Surgery and Aesthetic Center in San Diego, told POPSUGAR. "This is giving us a chance to really understand what our faces look like after years of not looking or examining. There are changes that are happening to the soft tissues, to the eye shape, and to the face neck volume that are real and expected, but have remained unexamined for quite some time. For that reason, I believe it's more of a matter of realization than it is a dysmorphic, nonreality effect."
https://www.popsugar.com/beauty/zoom-dysmorphia-plastic-surgery-trends-48137238




Yes, if you spend all day everyday looking at yourself on a video screen, you’re going to notice things that you’ve never noticed before that you wouldn’t have been able to detect if you weren’t sitting in front of a monitor all day. But what happens if you notice these things? And in the middle of a raging pandemic would you really want to risk having to go to the hospital just because you’re uncomfortable with how your chin line looks? We find out.

A rise in at-home working amid the pandemic is said to be fuelling “Zoom dysmorphia”.

Millions of office staff have been working remotely for the best part of a year, communicating with colleagues via video calls.

With England in its third lockdown and similarly strict restrictions in place for the rest of the UK, Britons have also relied on the technology to stay connected with their loved ones.

While many have described the likes of Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Hangouts as a “lifeline”, new research suggests staring at a “distorted image on screen” for up to several hours a day is causing some to develop “a negative self-perception”.

Scientists from the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Dermatology sent a survey to more than 100 dermatologists across the US.

Results suggest there has been a 56% increase in people seeking cosmetic procedures amid the widespread uptake of video calls, with a 24-year-old patient claiming her double chin “became apparent” while using the technology.
https://news.yahoo.com/zoom-dysmorphia-prompting-cosmetic-surgery-124935567.html




That is an astonishingly high number of people who are willing to get procedures during this pandemic, and nobody looks good on a webcam no matter how hard you try. But you know who is winning the game during this pandemic? That’s right – surgery providers and botox manufacturers. Because those who are willing to go so far as to look good online are willing to pay big money for these procedures, and you had better have deep pockets if you’re willing to go this far.

In June, Susie Sessoms got her first lip filler. In November, she tried Kybella, the “fat dissolving” double chin injectable. “I swelled up like a bullfrog,” she says. “It’s a good thing I didn’t have to go to work!” Like many office workers, Sessoms, a mortgage executive in the Twin Cities, has worked from home from March of last year. Her company doesn’t do Zoom, which made it even easier to get treatments discreetly. “I wasn’t concerned about catching Covid,” she says. Her medspa’s sanitization protocols make her feel safer than at the grocery store.

Like so many businesses in the pandemic, cosmetic surgeons took a big hit last March; there was less interest in beautification and more focus on shelter in place and toilet paper supplies. Across America, shutdowns for elective cosmetic work varied wildly; New York closed for three months, Minnesota for seven weeks, and so on. Some places never reopened. In July 2020, AbbVie, the pharmaceutical firm that owns Botox, reported a huge dip in global net revenues from sales of cosmetic Botox — down to $226 million, a 43.1% decrease from 2019.

Then, a shift. Practices reopened. Phones rang. Appointment after appointment was booked. AbbVie’s October earnings call was distinctly sunnier: $393 million in net revenues from Botox, a mere 2.2% decrease from regular operations.

In 2021, with the vaccine on the horizon, and an end in sight, people are turning their attention to the possibility of IRL meetups — and what impression they’ll give. The stress, inertia, and (for some) carb-heavy diet of the last year has left many feeling prematurely aged, out of shape, and saggy. That’s led to a boom in cosmetic procedures, which are now widely accessible, even amid shutdowns (in California you can’t get your hair cut but can have Botox). RealSelf.com, the “Yelp’’ for cosmetic surgery, says appointment bookings spiked 71% in October, and they are seeing this trend continue in 2021.
https://marker.medium.com/america-is-having-a-plastic-surgery-and-botox-bonanza-bc3caf7a9164




And yes that would be a good idea. But the Botox and plastic surgery industry are booming, and while Zoom Dysmorphia may be a temporary solution for a temporary problem, people are also preparing for the possibility of real life meetings in the near future when the virus finally subsides. So how does one deal with Zoom Dysmorphia for the time being? We ask some actual therapists on how to deal with this very temporary problem.

As licensed clinical social worker and certified cognitive therapist Alyssa "Lia" Mancao, LCSW, reminds me, we live in society that's hyper-focused on physical appearance. "We internalize those messages, so we're going to hyper-focus on ourselves when we're on Zoom calls," she says. We also have this fixation with wanting to "see what other people are seeing" as we chat. "We tend to believe that other people care about how we look, when really it's only us that cares how we're coming off."

For Nunez, it's all about thought patterns. According to a recent research, the average person has over 6,000 thoughts per day. "We're constantly thinking," she says. Plus, she notes, a substantial portion of those thoughts tend to run negative: "Sometimes instead of focusing on the meeting, you're actually doing self-talk, focusing on yourself and identifying all the negative things that are wrong with you," she notes.

In society B.C. (before COVID), we weren't privy to our own features during everyday conversations—we were simply chatting it up with others (mask-free, no less!) and going on our merry way. That's not to say self-scrutiny didn't exist at all, but the criticism was largely left to the mirror. Now in a virtual reality, you're so much more aware of your own features while you're speaking in real time, down to every facial expression you make.

This, notes the journal article, can not only sabotage mental health but can also "[lead] people to rush to their physicians for treatments they may not have considered before months confronting a video screen, a new phenomenon of 'Zoom Dysmorphia.'" Board-certified dermatologist Jeanine Downie, M.D., tells me she's certainly seen an uptick in requests for in-office procedures. She even discussed the very topic on the Today Show, revealing an increase in patients' concerns over frown lines, dark spots, wrinkles, and acne.
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/expert-tips-to-help-deal-with-zoom-dysmorphia




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





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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: Liberty University SNAFU
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From: Idiots #11-14

Garrett F. from Coquitlam, British Columbia writes:

“Hey Top 10, I’m new to the show, and I was wondering why do you always pick on Liberty University?”


Well, Liberty University is an easy target because they make themselves one. They may appear to be part of the God Squad, but when the cameras are off, as the late, great Rick James once said, they are freaks between the sheets!

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



My fair congregation! You know I seem to recall that this time last year I was reporting on yet another scandal to be associated with our favorite punching bag, Liberty University ( see: Idiots #9-9 ). But once again it seems that they can’t help themselves. I mean what is it with people who are that far to the right and sex? It’s criminally insane. But once again, you can only fool some people for some of the time. Not us. Because we’ve been keeping track of the “Christian” university that’s become a breeding ground for supporters of the unholy Dark One from day one. The thing is though when you start equating all of these scandals, is Liberty University really a place that you want your children attending? Only if their goal is to wind up on a sex offender registry list after losing the GOP vote for a state senate position. There’s nothing funny we can make about this so we won’t try. Instead we will just watch in the sheer unrelenting horror that is that shit show:

The conservative Christian institution, already rocked by scandal of former president Jerry Falwell, faces claims by dozens of women and questions about its political activity

“I feel the Lord moving here,” remarks a visitor looking over Liberty University’s Disney World-tidy campus toward the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia.

But other, more temporal matters, none godly, now hang over the once powerful evangelical institution founded in 1971 by the television preacher Jerry Falwell Sr, the Baptist minister who, eight years later, created the Moral Majority that mobilized the Christian right to the services of the Republican party.

Jerry Falwell Jr resigned in the wake of an extortion scandal last year.
Liberty University sues scandal-hit ex-president Jerry Falwell Jr for $10m
Read more

For decades Liberty has been a power-broker on the right of American politics and a bulwark of social conservatism but a succession of scandals now threatens a university that requires that students follow The Liberty Way, a student honor code that prohibits sexual relations outside of “a biblically-ordained marriage between a natural-born man and a natural-born woman”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/31/liberty-university-handling-sexual-assault-claims




Of course he is! Because that’s what you get when you side with the Unholy Dark One, he is the enemy of all that is good in the world! He is so foul, so vile, and so evil and so depraved and sinful that he breaks every rule in our Good Book and the Holy Shit Guide To Life! He is certainly not what the good LAWRD JAYSUS would have in mind now is it? And it’s especially awkward when an actual university is calling you out for your bullshit at that!

A former Liberty University Title IX investigator who is now working at Baylor University seemed uninterested and dismissive of sexual assault reports from at least two Liberty students four years ago, according to a ProPublica report.

One of the students claims that “she felt punched in the stomach” by the insensitivity of Elysa Bucci’s questions and reported that photos of her bruises and abrasions from the sexual assault were excluded from her file because Bucci told her that they were “too explicit.”

Later, the student said, Bucci asked her to sign a document acknowledging that she could have violated school policy against drinking alcohol and fraternizing with members of the opposite sex.

The claims of the two students appear hauntingly familiar to those of former Baylor students who were sexually assaulted, including assaults by former members of the Baylor football team and a former fraternity president at an off-campus residence known as the “Phi Delt Ranch.” The sexual assault scandal catapulted Baylor into the national spotlight, spawned investigations and lawsuits and cost former Baylor football coach Art Briles and former Baylor President Ken Starr their jobs in May 2016.
https://wacotrib.com/news/local/liberty-students-critical-of-baylor-title-ix-investigator/article_efd24ab0-382b-11ec-b63f-5fcf1629b97b.html




Oh yeah probably, miss! Now you might be wondering how did Liberty University get here? Well we can almost certainly tell you that it didn’t just happen overnight. It’s a scandal that’s been brewing over years. And it starts at the top. When your founders are in bed with the Dark One, you can almost guarantee that they’re up to something shady too. Because of course when they get caught with their pants down, they always deny it.

Jerry Falwell Jr. is asking a court in Virginia to dismiss a lawsuit Liberty University filed over his headline-grabbing departure last year as leader of the evangelical school his father founded.

Falwell claims in a court filing that much of Liberty's suit serves only to keep shaming him after a provocative photo of him came to light and revelations surfaced of his wife’s extramarital affair, The News & Advance in Lynchburg reported Thursday.

Falwell claims the suit focuses on his wife’s personal life while not addressing his “actions as the leader of Liberty.”

“The rehashing of these events and protected defamation of Falwell through litigation serves one mission — ruining Falwell’s reputation through mischaracterization of events and public shaming through out-of-context pictures filed in a public complaint,” according to Tuesday’s filing in Lynchburg Circuit Court.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jerry-falwell-jr-wants-liberty-university-lawsuit-dismissed-says-it-n1269739




Wait, what’s Mr. Burns doing in church? I thought he said that religion is one of the demons you must slay in order to become a successful businessman. Anyway, Jerry is part of the reason why Liberty University is in the clusterfuck of a mess that it is in now. For like I said when you get in bed with the Unholy Dark One, you are probably guilty of committing a crime yourself. No matter what the crime, because he’s guilty of about 10,000,000 crimes. And even Liberty themselves is not above the law, even that of JAYSUS!

A Lynchburg judge has upheld most of a lawsuit Liberty University filed against its former leader, Jerry Falwell Jr., after an acrimonious parting last year. The lawsuit survived its first round of legal challenges Friday as Falwell's attorneys argued motions seeking its dismissal before Lynchburg Circuit Judge Fred Watson, The News & Advance reported.

Falwell’s departure from the evangelical school in Virginia founded by his father came after Giancarlo Granda, a younger business partner of the Falwell family, said he had a yearslong sexual relationship with Falwell’s wife, Becki Falwell, and that Jerry Falwell participated in some of the liaisons as a voyeur. Falwell denied the report. Falwell has alleged Granda extorted the family, which Granda denied.

Liberty claims Falwell crafted a “well-resourced exit strategy” from his role as president and chancellor at the school in the form of a lucrative 2019 employment agreement while withholding damaging information about the personal scandal that exploded into public view the following year. The agreement included a raise, which Falwell has said amounted to $250,000, and a $2.5 million severance package.

The lawsuit demanding at least $10 million alleged that Falwell breached fiduciary duties to the school and entered into a business conspiracy against it. Fiduciary duties don’t include disclosures of personal issues, even embarrassing ones, Vernon Inge, a lawyer representing Falwell, argued Friday. Falwell couldn’t be engaged in a business conspiracy with Granda against the university when the men were at odds, he argued.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/judge-upholds-liberty-universitys-suit-falwell-79191930




Of course it has! Is it any wonder why atheism is the fastest growing religion in America? We’ll definitely keep an eye on this scandal and many more to come! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]This Fucking Guy: Nick Adams
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From: Idiots #13-17

Melissa M. from Bend, Oregon writes:

“Hey Top 10, what’s up with white boys calling themselves alpha males? Where did this shit come from?”


Well, just like vampires, in order to get rid of them, you have to go to the head alpha male, and we think it might be Nick Adams!



This week’s This Fucking Guy is a former Trump speechwriter and current TPUSA Influencer, Nick Adams! In case you haven’t heard the name, Nick Adams is a real man’s man. Yeah he’s a self-proclaimed “alpha male”. In fact he wears the “alpha male” badge much in the same way that Mayor Quimby wears a sash that says “mayor” on it, in case you forgot his title. And for some reason he has a weird obsession with Hooters. That’s right – Hooters. You know, that restaurant where scantily clad women in tight t-shirts and short shorts serve you beer and barely passable buffalo wings? Yeah that place. Apparently they also have football on the TV monitors there. But this fucking guy has a completely weird obsession with the so-called “Brestaurant”. Look, I love drinking beer and watching football as much as the next guy. I personally had no idea that my choosing not to eat there has made me less of a man. If you go there with the intention of harassing and oogling the waitresses, that just makes you a creepy pervert. And you're also the kind of guy who the waitresses point and laugh at behind your back when you leave the restaurant. If you have had one order of Buffalo Wings, you’ve pretty much had them all. But this whole alpha – beta male debate is quite possibly the stuff of pure insanity, and this fucking guy, Nick Adams, is at the heart of the argument.

A conservative author was blasted online Monday after he defended the right of “alpha males” to enjoy wings and brews at Hooters with their buddies — and their families.

Nick Adams, who claims to be President Trump’s favorite author, said he was “sick and tired” of being shamed by “feminists” after he tweeted about his favorite restaurant chain.

“I am sick and tired of beta males and feminists trying to guilt alpha males out of eating at Hooters,” Adams tweeted.

“There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with eating at Hooters on a weekly basis, EVEN with the family and kids.”

The MAGA writer was responding to a deluge of online attacks that came from an earlier tweet that used some outdated cliches to explain the difference between the alphas and betas.
https://nypost.com/2022/11/07/nick-adams-blasted-for-saying-alpha-males-should-take-their-families-to-hooters/




Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!! Well in case you’re wondering what the average “alpha manly male” gets offended by, the answer is that it doesn’t take much to offend the guy who’s more of a man than you will ever be. You know what offends the average alpha male? Oat milk. That’s right – milk that’s made from nature. But wait, milk is supposed to come from cows! No there’s plenty of other substitutes for it. Of course that’s what happens when the guy who we inexplicably used to call president loves to court the poorly educated.

He insists he is an “alpha male” and “Trump’s favourite author”, but it seems US political commentator Nick Adams can be easily defeated with a morning coffee containing oat milk.

Yes, really.

In a revelation no one asked for on Friday night, Adams tweeted that he was asked earlier that day if he “wanted ‘oat milk’ in my coffee” – the quote marks around “oat milk” doing a good job of telling you where this story is going.

“I informed the girl behind the counter that it’s not physically possible to milk an oat and immediately left the coffee shop.

We hate that we have to explain this, but oat milk is made by mixing rolled oats and water together before straining to produce the liquid. Hardly controversial.

Fortunately, many Twitter users agree with us, and thus, his status as an “alpha male” was called into question.
https://www.indy100.com/politics/nick-adams-oat-milk-alpha




By the way in case you’re wondering how ridiculous the alpha male – beta male debate gets, well, apparently Mr. Adams has a solution for why the GOP did so poorly in the midterms . it’s because of – wait for it – Gen Z doesn’t eat at Hooters enough. In fact Nick Adams tweets so much about Hooters that you might think he owns stock in the company or something. His Twitter account basically only tweets about two things – alpha males and Hooters. It’s something else. Here’s a small sampling.

https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1602780258339545089
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1602391787343335424
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1601293897908424704
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1600702774991167488
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1600710827505774592
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1600671093970567174
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1600642940031885312
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1600632133386752000
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1600627913921073153
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1600623572891979777
https://twitter.com/NickAdamsinUSA/status/1600254209433010176

Who the hell spends four hours at Hooters on Sunday even during football season? You’d think people have better things to do. But playing Nick Adams’ game is like playing a game of Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon. Except there’s just one degree, and he’s an alpha male who eats at Hooters and everyone else is a beta male! You know how the GOP did so poorly in the midterms? Beta males didn’t eat enough at Hooters to qualify for elite alpha male status.

Conservative political commentator Nick Adams was mocked after he complained once the "red wave" Republican legislators and pollsters had anticipated failed to materialize and offered a rather absurd criticism of Generation Z, who've represented the youngest and newest demographic at the ballot box.

Adams claimed that the "red wave" would have happened if Gen Z kids had eaten at Hooters—yes, the restaurant whose wait staff are primarily young women whose revealing outfits and sex appeal are played up and are a primary component of the company's image—when they were children.

Writing on Twitter, Adams said that if that had been the case, that he could have "guaranteed" a red wave on Election Night.

Adams, who refers to himself as an "alpha male" on his official Twitter profile, issued several more tweets advocating for parents to take their minor children to Hooters.

In one tweet, he said he is "sick and tired of beta males and feminists" who've tried to "guilt" so-called alpha males from eating at the restaurant.
https://www.comicsands.com/nick-adams-gen-z-hooters-2658636299.html




Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… great movie! It’s like a broken fucking record with this guy. You spin me right round, like a record baby, right round, right round… yeah we’re turning this place into Hooters! Because you know that restaurant is synonymous with being a family friendly joint! By the way, even Hooters themselves are sick of the bad publicity they’re getting from him. Oh and did we mention that Mr. Adams is from Australia? That’s right – he’s not even a natural born citizen! Of course the Trump people don’t care about that sort of thing. They do apparently care too much about whether you eat at Hooters or not. And worshipping Trump and Baby Jesus. Don’t forget Baby Jesus.

Hooters, the restaurant chain equally famous for its wings and its well-endowed waitresses, started trending on social media Monday thanks to a conservative commentator's tweets.

Australia-born pundit and author Nick Adams argued that true "Alpha males" dine at Hooters. From there, Twitter users had a field day making fun of Adams' hot take.

Adams shot off a series of Hooters-related tweets, with one explaining that he'd visited the franchise recently.

"I was at Hooters over the weekend when I overheard two stunning waitresses discussing their plans to vote on Tuesday," Adams tweeted on Monday. "They both were undecided but said they were leaning Republican because of the cost of gas and groceries. I pray those two lovely ladies make the right call!"

Four minutes later, he continued on his Hooters tangent, writing: "I am sick and tired of beta males and feminists trying to guilt alpha males out of eating at Hooters. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with eating at Hooters on a weekly basis, EVEN with the family and kids." https://www.newsweek.com/hooters-alpha-male-comments-conservative-pundit-spark-backlash-1757656




That’s more manly than you Christian alpha male who eats way too much at Hooters, Nick Adams. This week’s:




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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner
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From: Idiots #10-16

Jeff C. from Auburn, California writes:

“Hey Top 10, I just moved to Northern California, and I was wondering – what’s up with all the “State Of Jefferson” bumper stickers that I keep seeing?”


Well, California is one of the largest states in the country, and we’re definitely not without our fair share of nutjobs. Every rural conservative has their ideas of what the 51st state in the country should be, and some proposals are more insane than the next. We need to go underground for this one! Adjust your tin foil hat accordingly!



Welcome back to the segment that attempts to explain the unexplainable, Conspiracy Corner! We are of course coming to you live from our underground Doomsday Bunker deep in the flats of the New Mexico badlands. Undisclosed location of course. But first let me adjust my tin foil hat for maximum government interference – they are trying to read my thoughts. And don’t forget the creepy oldies music. Every doomsday shelter has creepy oldies’ music. Well this week a bunch of gun nuts are creating a conspiracy of their own. We’ve repeatedly talked about rural Oregon’s quest to leave for redder pastures in Ohio. But this week we found out one of their own might be running for governor – that’s right, our old buddy, king conspiracy theorist himself Ammon Bundy. So here’s how that could play out.

Anti-government provocateur Ammon Bundy filed papers to run for governor in Idaho next year, even though he's not currently registered to vote or legally allowed to set foot on Capitol grounds.

Secretary of State candidacy records show Bundy listing his address as a post-office box in Emmett, with a local contractor, Aaron Welling, acting as treasurer.

He would be seeking the 2022 GOP nomination for the state's top post, currently held by Republican Brad Little. The governor had been unsuccessfully targeted for recall by anti-government activists unhappy with shutdowns he ordered in response to the pandemic.

Bundy told NBC News on Monday he's not yet formally announced a gubernatorial run, but wants to begin building an organization for a potential candidacy.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/noted-anti-government-activist-ammon-bundy-running-governor-idaho-n1268317




Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let’s get something straight her e – the guy who hates government so much that he raided a bird sanctuary is now running for the governor of Idaho? That would be like a guy who hates Elon Musk buying stock in Dogecoin! But if somehow this happens and the rooting tooting, freeway shooting cowboy does become governor of Idaho, he’ll have some more territory to occupy, and we wish we were making this up!

Political divisions in Oregon can to a great degree be measured by a river, the Deschutes, which winds its circuitous way through the state’s midsection. The river divides the high prairies of the eastern half — agricultural and politically conservative, largely — from the wetter, woodier western half, which has long been more populated and more liberal.

The statewide shutdown orders that accompanied the coronavirus pandemic last year deepened those divisions, crippling businesses at a time when some rural counties had few cases. The protests and riots over race and police conduct in Portland, the state’s largest city, widened the gap further still, and the defeat of former President Donald Trump, who won most counties but still lost the state by a big margin after President Joe Biden’s strong showing in the cities, capped off a litany of frustrations.

Last week, all of that led thousands of east bank residents to a single resonant but highly improbable word: secession. A majority of residents in five eastern counties said in nonbinding votes that they would like to leave Oregon and join with their more like-minded conservative neighbors further east in Idaho..
“Those of us in rural Oregon are written off,” said Mike McCarter, a retired agricultural nursery owner who has led the secession drive.
https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/their-own-private-idaho-5-oregon-counties-back-a-plan-to-secede/




Yes, it’s all about the greater good. THE GREATER GOOD! So rural Oregon voters feel they are being left behind by big city Oregon voters and it’s understandable. I mean I’m sure Oregon has bigger fish to fry right now with the weekly Proud Boys – Antifa cage matches in the city of Portland. And we’re still puzzled at this one because Biden overwhelmingly defeated that other guy in Oregon by a huge landslide victory.

Voters in five rural Oregon counties approved measures on Tuesday to consider joining the state of Idaho, a part of a long-shot grassroots movement to break with a state dominated by liberal voters west of the Cascade Mountains.

Voters in Malheur, Sherman, Grant, Baker and Lake counties all approved measures that would require county officials to take steps to promote moving the Idaho border west to incorporate their populations.

Oregon voters favored President Biden over former President Trump by a 56 percent to 40 percent margin in 2020, but voters in those five rural counties gave between 69 percent and 79 percent of the vote to Trump.

They join two other rural counties — Jefferson and Union — whose voters approved measures promoting a move to Idaho last year.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/554332-oregon-counties-vote-to-secede-to-idaho






OK so disgruntled Oreganites are planning to ditch Blue Oregon for Red Idaho. What happens after the vote to secede? Well I mean first of all they have to spell “secede” before they can secede. Let’s not kid ourselves here! And here’s the thing they should know before they go through with this – they’re not getting any new representation here! New Idaho will have as much representation as the previous Idaho, it just got more rural. Think about that guys!

Idaho could be getting a lot bigger if some voters in Oregon get their way.

Thousands of people in eastern Oregon voted Tuesday for their elected officials to consider ditching their state and becoming part of Idaho.

Voters in Sherman, Lake, Grant, Baker and Malheur counties all voted for ballot measures that would lead to them becoming Idahoans. People in Union and Jefferson counties had already voted in favor during the November election.


Baker County’s election results weren’t yet available on the Oregon Secretary of State’s page, but the Baker City Herald reported that a majority — 3,064 to 2,307 — voted in favor of county commissioners “meet(ing) three times per year to discuss a proposal to include 18 counties, including Baker, as part of Idaho.”

The vote is only the first step of the “Greater Idaho” project, which would allow some Oregon counties to join a state that advocates say more closely aligns with their political preferences.
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/northwest/idaho/article251530708.html





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[font size="8"]I Need A Drink
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From: Idiots #5-7

Luan C. from Diamond Bar, California writes:

“Hey Top 10, I love your show, but I was wondering, how come you never have any contests or giveaways?”


First off, thanks! That means a lot! It’s great to know who our supporters are! But the reason we never have any contests or giveaways – is 1) it costs a lot, and we don’t exactly have what one would call a “budget”. And 2) it’s complicated. Especially if you saw the HBO docuseries McMillions!

Hey St. Louis, I really need a drink!



So you know the deal behind this segment is that we kick back, have some drinks, and talk about anything in the news as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. Because there’s so much bad shit in the news right now that it really makes one want a nice stiff glass of Jack doesn’t it? So bartender, tell me, what goes well with a Big Mac? A Big Mac martini? What’s in that? Thousand island and vodka? I’ll just stick with my usual Jack Daniels mixed with Jack Daniels. So this week we’re going to tell you about the guy who bilked McDonalds out of millions.

A wild story about a network of criminals arrested on charges that they defrauded McDonald's out of more than $24 million through its Monopoly promotion is making the rounds on the internet after Jeff Maysh unearthed the full account in a Daily Beast report over the weekend.

The story dates back to the 1990s, when Jerry Jacobson, a former police officer, set up a scheme to provide winning McDonald's Monopoly pieces in exchange for a cut of the money, the report says.

Launched in 1987, McDonald's Monopoly game is one of the fast-food chain's longest-running marketing promotions. Customers collect the Monopoly game pieces and tokens attached to McDonald's packaging for a chance to win up to $1 million.

In the 1980s, Jacobson took a job at a specialty printing company, where he worked with one of its clients, Simon Marketing, on its $500 million McDonald's account, The Daily Beast reported. He went on to be hired by Simon Marketing and was responsible for overseeing the printing of McDonald's game pieces and transporting them from the production presses to the packaging factories. He was known for running a tight ship, the report says.
https://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-monopoly-game-rigged-scam-report-2018-7




Yes where’s my drink? Ah thank you waitress! And by the way give it up for the wait staff here at Helium – truly great. The greatest, OK? Nobody is greater! Back on topic – so holy shit! $24 million and all it took was running his own printing company? So who gets to play him in the movie?

Ex-cop Jerome Jacobson ended up claiming over $24 million (£18 million) in cash and prizes, ripping off millions of game-playing customers in the process, and thanks to his court case coinciding with 9/11 he has been forgotten by history.

However, an investigation by Daily Beast crime reporter Jeff Maysh this week has revealed the sheer scale of the scam to the world.

Temptation proved too much for Jacobson, who ended up in control of the Monopoly instant prize tickets through his security job at a marketing firm, and despite having an accountant shadow him as he delivered them to restaurants he still managed a quick visit to the toilet to pilfer them.

But stealing the prize tickets was just the start, as he had develop a national network of gangsters, friends, family, ex-drug dealers, gamblers, a family of Mormons and his butcher to claim the prizes which included cars and $1 million cash prizes.

He even sent a winning $1 million ticket to a children’s hospital in Tennessee, because he could. His gave his step-brother, who was rich anyway, winning $1 million tickets which he gave to the Salvation Army or flushed down the toilet.
https://metro.co.uk/2018/07/30/how-the-ex-cop-in-charge-of-mcdonalds-monopoly-pulled-off-24000000-scam-7776720/




Excuse me a minute… I love that scene! So he sent a million dollar ticket to a children’s hospital because he could. Congratulations, Jerome! You screwed over some needy kids! That sounds like a very Trumpian thing to do. “I hire the best people, OK?”. So how was this contest rigged? How was he able to get away with such a heist? And more importantly – who gets to play him in the movie? I personally say Will Ferrell but that depends since I couldn’t find a picture. Anyway…

On August 3, 2001, a McDonald’s film crew arrived in the bustling beach town of Westerly, Rhode Island. They carried their cameras and a giant cashier’s check to a row of townhouses, and knocked on the door of Michael Hoover. The 56-year-old bachelor had called a McDonald’s hotline to say he’d won their Monopoly competition. Since 1987, McDonald’s customers had feverishly collected Monopoly game pieces attached to drink cups, french fry packets and advertising inserts in magazines. By completing groups of properties like Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, players won cash or a Sega Game Gear, while “Instant Win” game pieces scored a free Filet-O-Fish or a Jamaican vacation. But Hoover, a casino pit boss who had recently filed for bankruptcy, claimed he’d won the grand prize–$1 million dollars.

Like winning the Powerball, the odds of Hoover’s win were 1 in 250 million. There were two ways to win the Monopoly grand prize: find the “Instant Win” game piece like Hoover, or match Park Place with the elusive Boardwalk to choose between a heavily-taxed lump sum or $50,000 checks every year for 20 years. Just like the Monopoly board game, which was invented as a warning about the destructive nature of greed, players traded game pieces to win, or outbid each other on eBay. Armed robbers even held up restaurants demanding Monopoly tickets. “Don’t go to jail! Go to McDonald’s and play Monopoly for real!” cried Rich Uncle Pennybags, the game’s mustachioed mascot, on TV commercials that sent customers flocking to buy more food. Monopoly quickly became the company’s most lucrative marketing device since the Happy Meal.

Inside Hoover’s home, Amy Murray, a loyal McDonald’s spokesperson, encouraged him to tell the camera about the luckiest moment of his life. Nervously clutching his massive check, Hoover said he’d fallen asleep on the beach. When he bent over to wash off the sand, his People magazine fell into the sea. He bought another copy from a grocery store, he said, and inside was an advertising insert with the “Instant Win” game piece. The camera crew listened patiently to his rambling story, silently recognizing the inconsequential details found in stories told by liars. They suspected that Hoover was not a lucky winner, but part of a major criminal conspiracy to defraud the fast food chain of millions of dollars. The two men behind the camera were not from McDonald’s. They were undercover agents from the FBI.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-an-ex-cop-rigged-mcdonalds-monopoly-game-and-stole-millions




Yes… I’ll take some more Jack please! Thank you! So holy shit! This *IS* a real life crime movie waiting to happen! So anyway this goes on to further explain just how crazy the odds of you actually winning even a PT Cruiser or even a million dollars are:

He read small print that revealed how the odds were stacked against the customer: McDonald’s makes one piece from each set of properties extremely rare, so while thousands have three of the four railroads, the odds of pulling the Short Line Railroad—and winning a PT Cruiser—were 1 in 150 million.


Come on let’s face it, the PT Cruiser probably isn’t worth $100 these days. What? It’s a PT Cruiser! I’ve driven these cars – they’re the shittiest cars known to man! So that’s where you draw the line then sir, are you serious? Security! Thank you. PT Cruiser fan in the audience. But here’s how the FBI finally caught the guy:

Before each bi-annual game, Jacobson arrived at the drab Dittler Brothers’ office at 5 a.m to observe their Omega III supercomputer making the McDonald’s prize draw. He watched the printing presses that roared for 24 hours a day for three months, using 100 railroad cars of paper to print half a billion game pieces. Laid end-to-end, the paper tickets would stretch from New York to Sydney–nearly two tickets for every American. Jacobson observed technicians applying the “INSTANT WINNER!” stamp to blank game pieces, and pioneered random watermarks that deterred counterfeiters. He locked the winning pieces in a vault behind coded keypads and dual-entry combination locks. It was Jacobson who personally scissored out the high-value game pieces and slipped them into envelopes, before sealing each corner with a tamper-proof metallic sticker. In a secret vest, of his invention, Jacobson transported the winning pieces to McDonald’s packaging factories across the country.

Everything he did was overseen by an independent auditor. On flights she sat in coach, while Jacobson flew first class, where he tried to impress other passengers by flashing his old police badge. On one flight, Jacobson and another security manager sent an air steward back to show the accountant the empty liquor bottles they’d guzzled. When they arrived at the factory, Jacobson would summon a forklift of french fry containers, hide the winning game piece, and send it into the wild. Then he liked to hit a Ruth’s Chris steakhouse and order “everything”–more than he could eat, and charge it to his expense account.





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[font size="8"]Red State Diaries
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From: Idiots #11-15

Andrew H. from Ft. Wroth, Texas writes:

“My Q Anon relatives believe the dumbest shit! How is it possible to believe that JFK is still alive and would be hanging around Dealy Plaza?”
]

Q theories get weirder and nuttier every single year. But none more stupid than these dolts who showed up to Dealy Plaza. They may still be there! You don’t know! You don’t know!



Welcome back to our ongoing survey of what the post-election MAGA clan is up to in our ongoing segment “Red State Diaries”! Last time, we brought you the story of how Q Anon nuts gathered at Dealy Plaza because a group of conspiracy theory nuts posting on the dark corners of the internet said that JFK Jr. survived his plane crash and was going to come back and tell the people that he was going to arrest all of the deep state operatives who were part of an elite pedophile ring. Whew. That is some serious amount of crazy here. But here’s where it gets weird – since we last left off, they have refused to leave! I would have thought that them thinking that Keith Richards was in fact JFK all this time would have been the absolute nuttiest conspiracy theory I could ever dream of. And it doesn’t even make any sense. But here's the latest on the crazy nuts in Dallas.

Weeks after they first gathered near Dealey Plaza, dozens of believers in the furthest fringe of the QAnon conspiracy theory remain in Dallas, expecting long-dead John F. Kennedy Jr. to reveal himself in the city where his father was assassinated and usher in the reinstatement of Donald Trump as president.

While their beliefs are patently absurd, the fervency and devotion of this particular group, along with their loyalty to a leader known as Negative48 and unwillingness to leave Dallas, is unique — and cause for alarm and concern, according to an expert who has followed QAnon for years.

“I think what you’re seeing here is really, undeniably a cult,” said Mike Rothschild, author of The Storm Is Upon Us, which chronicles the rise of, and fallout from, QAnon.

The leader of the group is Michael Brian Protzman, a Washington man who amassed a following on social media with his version of gematria, a Hebrew numerology language. Interpreting codes that include numbers and letters, and using elements of Christianity and QAnon, his followers have come to believe that Kennedy, who died in a plane crash in 1999, will reappear in Dallas and commence a new Trump administration.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2021/11/22/undeniably-a-cult-fringe-qanon-group-remains-in-dallas-awaiting-jfk-jrs-arrival/




What’s even more insane is that have these nuts not even researched any part of the history of the Kennedy family? JFK would literally hate these people. But the fact that they’re still there is some seriously insane shit. But that said, this is forming a melting pot of two serious groups of batshit crazy conspiracy theorists. Those groups are people who believe every crazy theory you’ve ever heard about JFK and every crazy theory that you’ve ever heard about Donald Trump. I can’t even.

Nearly three weeks ago, hundreds of middle-aged QAnon fanatics gathered in Dallas to witness the return of John F. Kennedy, Jr. This group believes that JFK Jr. and many other deceased celebrities — including his father, President John F. Kennedy — are not only alive, but part of a decades-long plot to take down a global pedophile cabal that secretly controls the world. Despite multiple no-shows from the former George publisher or his charismatic dad, dozens still haven’t left. In fact, one of the JFK Jr. truthers — a rapper by the name of Pryme Minister — offered the use of his property just outside Dallas, and the group’s Telegram chats indicate some of them have been living communally for weeks…

This QAnon group in particular is led by a popular conspiracy theory influencer named Michael Protzman, who has prophesied the Kennedys’ return, and organized these gatherings, the latest of which took place on Monday, the anniversary of the assassination of JFK. But this time they’re not the only JFK obsessed conspiracy theorist in Dallas. Just a few block away, at the Magnolia Hotel, about three dozen people gathered for the Ninth Annual JFK Assassination Conference, three days of discussions about the latest evidence and theories regarding autopsies, CIA informants, and links to 9/11.
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/qanon-jfk-jr-conspiracy-theorist-convention-dallas-dealey-plaza-1261278/




That’s an understatement there! These people are off the wall over the top grade A certified batshit insane. Whew. And that sounds like the worst commune ever. I mean at least at a Phish concert there’s plenty of opportunities for beer and weed. These people bring… what I’m assuming to be a combination of meth and semi-automatic weapons. Well, it is Texas. But that said, these people are fucking nuts and they’re not going anywhere. Does someone want to explain to them that they’re living in a make believe fantasy land of bullshit?

Scores of QAnon conspiracy theorists converged in Dallas on Monday under the delusion that John F. Kennedy Jr., who died in 1999 and has been hailed as a savior by many in the movement, would somehow return on the anniversary of his father’s assassination—setting themselves up for another letdown after weeks of waiting for JFK Jr. to return and usher in a new Trump presidency.

More than 100 QAnon supporters gathered at Dealey Plaza, the site of President John F. Kennedy's assassination on this date in 1963, according to a reporter on the scene, packing onto a bridge overlooking the roadway where the president was fatally shot.

QAnon backers have been gathering in Dallas for weeks, and Monday is just the latest in a series of dates marked for JFK Jr.'s return.

Followers say JFK Jr. is Q himself, a mythological Trump supporter entrenched in the “deep state” that occasionally leaks information on the Satan-worshipping cabal of cannibalistic, pedophiliac Democrats QAnon followers think rule the world.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/11/22/qanon-supporters-pack-site-of-jfk-assassination-in-hopes-jfk-jr-and-maybe-his-dad-will-return/?sh=71e577af48a3




Damn right! But the question on the table is – where is this shit coming from? Who’s convincing them that JFK is still alive and that he’s a right wing operative looking to expose the deep state for committing satanic cannibalistic rituals? Well it’s coming from the author of a book that’s popular in Q circles called “Trust The Plan”. And what’s even scarier to me is that Q Anon is becoming as popular as some religions now. Trust me when I say we will cover this next week!

Conspiracy theorist group QAnon hit a bizarre milestone on Tuesday, when its supporters gathered for what they believed would be the return of the late JFK junior – who, they postured, would be running on an imagined 2024 ticket with former President Donald Trump.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Junior’s plane was pulled out of the Atlantic Ocean more than 22 years ago in a crash that killed him, his wife Carolyn and his sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette.

For some QAnon true believers, however, the son of the 35th president of the United States not only survived the tragedy but is poised to make a dramatic return to public life.

A bizarre theory has emerged suggesting that the accident was just a ruse to fake his death and that he will re-emerge – perhaps as early as next month – to join a reinstated President Donald Trump as his VP.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jfk-jr-qanon-back-dead-dallas-b1964092.html





Thanks for getting through this Best Of! I know it’s been a long time between editions but I can assure you that we’ll be back next week with a brand new edition! See you next week!



[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard[/font]



Folks, I’ve been waiting 3 years to have these guys on the show, but they are one of my favorite bands out there currently. Their latest album is called Omnium Gatherum, you can see them at Boston Calling, May 28th, at The Caverns in Pelham, TN June 2nd – 4th, and Red Rocks Amphitheater Jun 8th and 9th, and the Hollywood Bowl June 21st. Playing their song “Magenta Mountain”, give it up for King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard!



Thank you Boston! This was fun! We’ll be back again soon! We’re off to Portland, Maine next week with live music from our good friend Post Malone and Stupidest State Selection Sunday! See you next week!

Credits

Host: Initech
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Appears Courtesy Of: KGLW Records
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Laugh Boston, Boston, MA
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July 10, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots: The Complete 15th Season


Top 10 Conservative Idiots: The Complete Fifteenth Season

Season 14 (Jan 2023 - May 2023): https://www.democraticunderground.com/100217564760
Season 13 (Jun 2022 - Dec 2022): https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216941147
Season 12 (Jan 2022 - Jun 2022) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216216353
Season 11 (Jun 2021 - Dec 2021) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215586273
Season 10 (Jan 2021 - May 2021) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214798830
Season 9 (May 2020 - Dec 2020) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213570012
Season 8 (Jan 2020 - May 2020) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212831883
Season 7 (Jul 2019 - Dec 2019) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212164633
Season 6 (Jan 2019 - May 2019) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211623942
Season 5 (Jun 2018 - Dec 2018) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210720590
Season 4 (Jan 2018 - May 2018) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210083764
Season 3 (Jun 2017 - Dec 2017) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210008235
Season 2 (Nov 2016 - May 2017) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029078791
Season 1 (Dec 2015 - Nov 2016) : https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016169212

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! As usual, this guide will be posted so you can find all of our Top 10 editions for this season, which will start on 7/20/23 and end with our traditional Year In Review edition on 12/15/23. But in case you saw our big announcement regarding whether or not this is our final season, rest assured: We don't know when our final season is. But we will continue to bring you laughs as long as we possibly can, and when we do decide to throw in the proverbial towel, you will be the first to know. Especially in the face of the current and seemingly never-ending Writer's Guild strike, we're the only game in town right now! And we have some cool stuff planned this year which includes our Florida Roadshow and our What's Up With Florida 5 part docuseries that will begin at the beginning of this season. Plus we've also got the Road To The 2024 Election which will be heating up and you can bet that we'll be covering all of the blunders and bloopers that happen as we stumble into what's going to be yet another election year clusterfuck. Plus, we also have something exciting that we announced a few weeks ago - the return of Holy Shit: The Sunday Sermons! Yes, the Sunday Sermons were a hit when they first debuted, but due to circumstances beyond our control we could not give you the rest of the episodes that were planned. But I assure you now - we will bring you six episodes bringing you the full Holy Shit experience starting at the end of September! This guide will serve as a handy way to link all of season 15 together. Enjoy! And as always don't forget the key!

Edition #15-1: The Real Housewives Of The Third Reich Edition (7/20/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218105698

Live from Santa Ana! As usual, whenever the Top 10 is off for an extended period of time, we like to play catch up on stuff we missed, and a lot has happened in the month and a half we've been off! Which includes some epic insanity from the Qongress, like Marjorie Three Names and Shooter Barbie fighting each other in Congress. It also includes some boycotts including Bud Light, Target, Chik Fil A, and a whole bunch of other targets that the MAGAs have been targeting because of their anti-Pride month hysteria, and also they for some reason decided to make July America pride month. Sigh. And also, that guy who we inexplicably used to call president is going back out on tour, and his rallies are getting weird. Meanwhile, Moms For Liberty has been designated a certified hate group, and the MAGA world is desperately trying to defend the actions of these insane weirdos who are getting elected to school boards because god told them to. Plus we also take a look at the WGA writer's strike, which may never end. Don't get attached to any new TV programs or talk shows because they ain't coming back any time soon. In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", our resident pastor has had enough and he says it's time to tax the churches already. And yes, we'll happily pay our fair share! We profile MAGA dark horse candidate, Steve Bannon plant, and anti-vaxxer extremist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr in a new edition of This Fucking Guy. In a new edition of our weekly exploration into the never-ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Cornery, we delve into the insanity surrounding the mysterious cocaine package in the White House, which MAGAs desperately tried to pin on Hunter Biden, and failed miserably. The lesson here, kids, is: never try. Finally this week, we end with part 1 of our 6 part docuseries What's Up With Florida? and we begin with a search to find some sanity in the Sunshine State!
Live Musical Guest: Tears For Fears

Edition #15-2: I Bet You Look Nude On The House Floor Edition (7/27/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218125070

Live From Flappers In Burbank! The border war that has been brought to you by Fox News and endorsed by Greg Abbott and the religious right has taken a shockingly violent and evil turn, and it's already cost lives. Hannity has some blood on his hands for this! In the House, Marjorie Greene again attempts to bring insane conspiracy theories about Hunter Biden to the House floor, even going so far as to show a dick pic. That's right - dick pics on the House floor. Stay classy, MAGAs. Speaking of the House, batshit crazy conspiracy candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr takes his fight to the House Floor - and actual democrats aren't having any of it! Meanwhile, the 2020 Fake Electors conspiracy gets real after several of Trump's buddies in Michigan get caught lying about it, which we're not at all shocked by! And speaking of that guy we inexplicably used to call president - he has a new hobby - threatening violence on his social media hidey hole, and it's going to be fun watching him squirm! In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", we are wondering if the war on "wokeness" is a holy war or not, and a lot of evidence seems to be pointing in favor of our theory, especially going by the Catholic Church's bizarre protest at Dodger Stadium last month! In our segment "Beating A Dead Horse", Jason Aldean's new song "Try That In A Small Town" has stirred up some controversy, and some see it as a call for violence, but we're going to ask the question - "Has Jason Aldean ever been to a real small town?" and the answer is probably not. In our weekly venture into the online world of internet tin foil hat nuttery in "Conspiracy Corner", the Q Anon sex trafficking movie Sound Of Freedom starring guy who thinks he's Jesus, Jim Caviezel, is a box office hit, but why are there so many empty seats? We delve into the world of "astroturfing"! And speaking of movies, in "I Need A Drink, why does the new Barbie movie have the Youtube Man-O-Sphere's collective underwear in a wad? We have some theories, but we need some stiff drinks to make sure! Finally this week, it's part 2 of our "What's Up With Florida" docuseries and this week, we're taking a look at astonishing tales of Florida Woman, because Florida Woman is every bit as crazy as Florida Man is!
Live Musical Guest: The Used

Edition #15-3: Hate Sells... But Who's Buying? Edition (8/3/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218147118

Live from Miami! MAGA republicans, currently getting their talking points from Fox News hosts, are gearing up for an impeachment of Joe Biden because... reasons. Yeah they got nothing other than pure rage and hate. Speaking of hate, Elon rebrands Twitter into something called X with a new CEO, and guess what? It's now a haven for child porn and other undesirable materials! This is what happens when you don't police your content! Meanwhile, the seemingly never ending WGA writer's strike is never going to end, and like we already said, don't get attached to any TV shows right now, because they ain't coming back any time soon. We play a game of "Is It Racist?" - look, Jason Aldean, you can't say you're not a racist and then eliminate a very racist part of your already controversial music video! Plus we also have a new "We're All Gonna Die" - and systematic climate change denial has created some of the hottest temperatures on earth and it's only gonna get hotter! In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", so Moms For Liberty talks a good game, but we know that they stand for an agenda ruled by evil and fear, and our pastor is going to call them out on it! You have been warned! We also have a new Beating A Dead Horse! And in Conspiracy Corner, our old buddy Tom DeLonge of Blink 182 fame gets name dropped in Congress, and holy shit - the Blink song may be right - aliens do exist! And in I Need A Drink - forget Cocaine Bear, that is so Feb. 2023! Say hello to Cocaine Shark! Cocaine Shark do do do do do do... great, now I have that song stuck in my head! Finally this week, it's time for Part 3 of our 7 part What's Up With Florida docuseries and we venture deep into that most MAGA of retirement communities - The Villages! Will we survive? Only one way to find out!
Live Musical Guest: Avenged Sevenfold

Edition #15-4: Checkmark Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself Edition (8/10/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218170384

Live from Orlando! Well Trump has been indicted and arrested again, this time by January 6th attorney Jack Smith, but how many more before he finally sees the inside of a prison cell that he badly deserves? But it's causing Fox News and the MAGA loyalists like Marjorie 3 Names to melt straight the fuck down in order to protect Dear Leader, and we're here for every second of it! Pass the popcorn and the beer! Meanwhile, in Florida, Ron DeSantis shocks the country when the Florida Dept of Education flat out bans schools from teaching AP Psych classes, which is just straight up fucking evil. Elsewhere, in San Francisco, Elon Musk, the CEO of X, formerly known as Twitter, has launched his latest hairbrained scheme involving Twitter's infamous blue checkmarks, and it's the stuff of pure insanity! Just south of there in Hollywood, we bring you the latest from the front lines of the WGA / SGA strikes, and well, let's just say it ain't good and it's going to start affecting a whole lot of people. In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", we're dumbfounded at the success of the Q Anon movie Sound Of Freedom, starring conspiracy theorist whackjob Jim Caviezel, but theaters are empty - who's going to see it? We suspect churches may be buying in bulk. In our segment of never-ending corporate greed in Late Stage Capitalism, we take a look at a beef between a local city council and a small, politically themed mom and pop brewery in rural Wisconsin that is pure insanity. And speaking of insanity, in our weekly venture into the never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, did Marjorie 3 Names employ white supremacists? Well, even if you're white supremacist adjacent, you're a white supremacist! We also have some People Are Dumb, because of course they are! Finally this week it's part 4 of our docuseries exploring the Sunshine State, What's Up With Florida?, and this week we're taking a look at a meeting of one of the most controversial school boards in the entire country - Miami-Dade County, that has been taken over by MAGA religious extremists, and well we're in for a long fight on this one!
Live Musical Guest: Fall Out Boy

**TOP 10 TAKES TWO WEEKS OFF**

Edition #15-5: Wheel Of Corruption: Fury Of The Gods Edition (8/31/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218237421

Live from Tampa! It's the moment that we've been waiting for since Trump first wormed his way down that golden escalator - he's being arrested, arraigned and booked which means we get to see his mug shot! Not only that, a whole slew of Asshole 45's enablers are also joining him including Jenna Ellis and America's Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Oh how the mighty have fallen! Meanwhile, Elon's latest schemes are falling flat on his face and it looks like the Tesla / Space X head honcho might finally be getting his just desserts for going full MAGA. Elsewhere, while Fox News is in full "nothing to see here, please disperse" mode, MAGA conservatives are threatening to impeach Joe Biden because... eh, what reasons do they need? They got nothing, it's just a smoke screen to cover for Trump's blunders and to appease the cult. Plus we also have a new edition of We're All Gonna Die - is it time to break out our masks again in wake of the latest COVID variant? Well we take a look at both sides of the issue! And in our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", is the MAGA Taliban coming for Obergefell? Oh you bet they are, and lately it's not a question of if gay marriage will be overturned, but when. We add batshit crazy MAGA Oklahoma superintendent of schools Ryan Walters to the ever growing list of People Who Somehow Got Elected. And in our weekly visit to the never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, the Maui fire devastated the city of Lihue, but was it nature... or was it a government fire bomb designed to make you bow to the climate change cult? Well... we'll let you decide! Plus we also have a new People Are Dumb - and since we're in Florida it's time for one of our famous all Florida editions! Finally it's time for part 5 of our What's Up With Florida? docuseries and this time we're hanging out on the front lines - Disney World in Orlando, because there's some absolutely batshit crazy stuff happening that Desantis' minions are cooking up!
Live musical guest: Greta Van Fleet

**Top 10 gets bumped for Labor Day**

Edition #15-6: 19 Indicted Co-Conspirators... And Counting Edition (9/14/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218272788

Live from San Diego! Well, in the latest attempt to swat down the accusations against him, Brian Kemp tells the GOP that they have no grounds for removing prosecuting judge Fani Willis from the bench, so Donny ain't got nowhere to go, and he doesnt' have his cult safeguarding him! Plus, speaking of January 6th - the Proud Boys leaders finally get their ass handed to them in court, which they proceed with crying relentlessly like Kyle Rittenhouse did. Oh won't somebody please think of the MAGA hatemongerers? Meanwhile, in Congress, Mitch McConnell stumbled a bit, which made people question whether he's fit for office, but we're more disturbed by him getting free health care when he's spent his entire life denying it to so many. Plus in a new We're All Gonna Die - tired of the extreme heat and every single day getting hotter than the last? Well get used to it, because we're in it for the long haul! And in our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in Holy Shit, we've been harping on the MAGA takeover of school boards for a while now, but one district in California, in the city of Chino Hills, really stepped in it. And the guy who put them there is a MAGA pastor who wants nothing but the worst for LGBT students in the US. Fuck that guy. In a new edition of our segment on never-ending corporate greed in Late Stage Capitalism, we take a look at the latest on the never-ending WGA Writer's Strike, and the CEOs should be ashamed of themselves at this point. But they're not. And in our weekly venture into the never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, apparently Elon's most hardcore fans are swooning over a new Tesla project simply called "Project 42", which apparently appears to be a glass house for Elon. Which, as we used to say in middle school, "he who lives in glass house should dress in basement". And we also have a new "I Need A Drink" - Burger King may have the catchiest commercial jingle of all time, but their burgers don't look anything like the ads! Shocker, I know! But a new lawsuit is taking aim at the advertising industry for creating false promises through ads. Finally this week it's time for Part 6 of our What's Up With Florida docuseries and this week we're hanging out in the Capitol of Florida, Tallahassee, and we're checking out why exactly people vote for these clowns in the first place!
Live Musical Guest: Mammoth WVH

Edition #15-7: Daylight Come And Me Want To Go Home Edition (9/21/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218291025

Live from Riverside! Well whether we want them to or not, it seems like the Newsmax wing of the MAGA party is going ahead with impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden because a) they don't care, and b) reasons. Meanwhile in Colorado, Lauren Boebert attends a performance of Beetlejuice: The Musical in Denver and gets kicked out of the performance for being the toxic nightmare that everyone knows she is. In the ongoing Category 5 shit storm that is the Trump arrest trial, Trump is doing everything he can to avoid facing the inevitable, but his latest attempts are quite batshit insane! In Senate news, how is Alabama's Tommy Tuberville single-handedly holding up thousands of military promotions? Well for one thing he's doing Fox News's evil bidding, and we we really wonder if he's on Vlad's payroll or not. Plus in a new edition of We're All Gonna Die, while we may be avoiding heat stroke for now, Mother Nature has some incredibly fucked up things waiting in store for us and at this point, if conservatives want to remove themselves from the gene pool, we're OK with that. In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", what's the GOP have in store for us in 2024? Our resident pastor looks to the future, and well, to quote a favorite radio host of ours, it ain't good. Let's leave it at that. And in wake of recent, terrible behavior stemming from the Chino Hills school board, we profile MAGA church pastor Jack Hibbs in a new edition of "This Fucking Guy". And in our weekly trip down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole in Conspiracy Corner, have you noticed that the MAGAs are getting increasingly more violent in the last few months? Well we got news for you, it's not just you. It's getting worse. We also have a new I Need A Drink. And finally this week, it's time for the final installment of our Florida themed docuseries What's Up With Florida? and in Part 7, we're going to find out who votes for Ron Desantis and MAGA extremists, and present our conclusions of our exploration of the Sunshine State!
Live Musical Guest: Hozier

Edition #15-8: Donnie's Got A Gun Edition (9/28/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218311350

Live From Austin! Well it's officially the end of an era at Fox News as their megalomaniacal CEO Rupert Murdoch steps down and leaves News Corp in the hands of his son, Lachlan Murdoch. And in case you're wondering, the answer is no, Lachlan definitely isn't much better. In Washington, DC, the MAGA Qongress is doing its' best impression of the Deltas from Animal House and attempting to shut down the government... by walking out of doing any official business. We've got two more years of this shit, people! Speaking of the House, House speaker Kevin McCarthy (Q - Putin Asset) tells Ukranian president Zalensky to fuck off during his visit to the UN. At least Biden is much more dignified than he is. Meanwhile, the Senate has their underwear in a wad over the way Pennsylvania senator and guy who has zero fucks to give, John Fetterman dresses. And really, with all the problems facing this country, this is what you choose to waste time on? SMDH. We bring back our segment "Good Guys With Guns" because Trump visited a gun store during one his idiot rally visits, and get this - he was going to buy a gun with his face on it, which set off a ton of legal red flags! In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", our resident pastor is tired of the claims coming from the right that drag queens are dangerous around youth. So guess what? We've got stories of evangelical youth pastors getting arrested for your enjoyment! Two can play at that game! Plus with his poll numbers decreasing rapidly, we ask "The Ron DeSantis Presidential Campaign: How Is This Still A Thing?". And in our weekly venture into the never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, there was a clusterfuck in the military regarding a missing F35 fighter jet, and well, the MAGA Q world went into what one would call a frenzy. And the conspiracies are just as weird as you would expect! We also have a new I Need A Drink! New York Times columnist David Brooks was traveling and posted a picture of his meal at Newark Airport and claimed that it cost $78, and it backfired spectacularly on him! We'll need a ferw drinks for this one! Finally this week it's time for the debut of our brand new segment: My Governor Is An Idiot, where we pit red state governors against blue state governors in a quest to find the best and worst in the country! In Round 1, we pit Arkansas governor Sarah Sanders against Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. Who will emerge victorious? Only one way to find out!
Live Musical Guest: Arctic Monkeys

**Top 10 Takes A Week Off***

Edition #15-9: You Can't Do That In Congress Edition (10/12/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218357777

Live From Tempe! Well in an absolutely unexpected move led by registered sex offender and textbook definition of Florida Man, Matt Gaetz, the MAGA / Infowars wing staged a coup and simply fired Kevin McCarthy. What they didn't expect is that Dems weren't going to play along with their conspiracy theory games. Plus with the speaker gone, we figure out who the next House Speaker is going to be - and the front runners are registered sex offender Jim Jordan (Q - Batshit) and ultra far right hardcore racist who likes to compare himself to David Duke, Steve Scalise. No, Trump can't be speaker, MAGAs. Meanwhile in New York, Trump's trial for fraud is going exactly how you'd expect - and it's every bit as much of a disaster as you would expect. Plus in other Asshole 45 news, he visited my hometown of Anaheim and was met with both MAGAs supporting him and Dems demanding that he should go to jail. Guess which side we're on? Elsewhere, in Russia, Russia bans talk show hosts and other prominent Dems from visiting Russia, but trust us when we say we won't miss it and we don't support murderous dictators like Vladimir Putin. In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", ever wonder why MAGA is so cult like? It turns out that the GOP loves them some cults and there's lots of different flavors for you to choose from! We also have a new Beating A Dead Horse. And in our weekly venture into the seemingly never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, it turns out that if you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes, as evidenced by the bankruptcies of My Pillow's Mike Lindell and James O'Keefe's Project Veritas. We definitely won't miss either one of them! And in a new "I Need A Drink" - it turns out that Taylor Swift's die hard fans can't get enough of her, and now that she's dating the NFL's Travis Kelce, it's having an insane effect on the Chiefs and Chiefs merchandise and TV ratings! Finally this week, it's time for round 2 of "My Governor Is An Idiot" and this week we're pitting Colorado's Jared Polis against Montana's body slamming governor Greg Gianforte! I wonder who the idiot is here?
Live Musical Guest: Sleep Token

Edition #15-10: Wheel Of Corruption: Ghost Protocol Edition (10/19/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218380423

Live from Traverse City, Michigan! The terrifying conflict between Hamas and the Israeli government escalates into a full blown war, but the bad guy in this war is just as crazy of a murderous psychopath as you might expect! Plus the protests between who's on the side of Isreal and the side of Hamas / Palestine is quite insane and we honestly never thought we'd see both sides calling for the other one to be annihilated out of existence. No we didn't see this coming! Back at home, with the increasingly possibility that openly racist Louisiana rep Steve Scalise could be our next speaker, the right wing's got a real racist problem on its' hands, and is completely unwilling to address it! Meanwhile, the hilarious disaster known as the RFK Jr Presidential Campaign is getting off to as bad of a start as possible. And considering RFK Jr is married to Cheryl Hines, this is a disaster that even Larry David himself couldn't make up! Elsewhere, on Capitol Hill, Tommy Tuberville is the subject of some social media trolling after he whines and complains to Capitol Hill about some mean tweets. Suck it up, buttercup! There are no safe spaces in the real world! And in our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", the notorious Catholic cult that was the center of the confirmation of SCOTUS justice Amy Comey Barrett is in some serious trouble, and they've got some explaining to do! After a PR stunt gone horribly wrong, we add South Carolina representative Nancy Mace to the ever-growing list of People Who Somehow Got Elected. And in our weekly venture into the never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, the answer is NO, Donald Trump cannot become the next Speaker Of The House no matter how bad he wants it. The House would have to change the rules again, and we all know how well that goes! We also have some People Are Dumb, because of course they are! Finally this week it's time for My Governor Is An Idiot Round 3, and this week it's a Beltway Battle as North Carolina governor Roy Cooper takes on Virginia's MAGA governor Glenn Youngkin! Who will win? Only one way to find out!
Live Musical Guest: The Expendables

Edition #15-11: Five Nights At Trumpie's Edition (10/26/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218401321

Live from Lexington, Kentucky! Well the MAGA plan to "unleash the Kraken" in Trump's ongoing fraud trials turned out to be just some bad calimari that was left in the deep fryer too long. In other Trump trial news, one of his biggest supporters, Sydney Powell, actually flipped and decided that doing hard time probably wasn't in her best interests. So he's too toxic for them to comprehend! In House Speaker news, another day goes by without a Speaker, and the split between the MAGAs and what few sane conservatives are left is growing and growing. Even the speaker pro temp doesn't want his job! Elsewhere, Trump claims his weekend was ruined by these ongoing fraud investigations, so we decide to find out - does he cheat and rig his own golf tournaments? All signs point to yes, it's what cult leaders do! And hey MAGAs, if you're trying to compare the Palestine protests in Congress to what happened on January 6th, the answer is please stop, we're not going to fall for your pathetic pity party any time soon, the two things are not the same by any stretch of the imagination! In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", hardcore Christian nationalist Mark Burns wants to take the right wing's war on education a step further and open his own hard lined military academy. It's basically a Bible school with more flag drag and cowboy cosplay. We explain why it's a really terrible idea. And in a new Beating A Dead Horse, one of our favorite people, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart, is back in the news because his current show "The Problem" but abruptly canceled by Apple because of some problems with the content of his subject matter of his shows, and it's something that we absolutely need to see and know. And in a new edition of our segment that explores the never-ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, our old buddy Mike Lindell is back in the news and his latest hair-brained scheme to undermine elections might be his most off the wall, batshit crazy, most Wiley Coyote idea yet! We also have a new I Need A Drink - have we reached peak infleuncer? If you make money through internet videos and social media posts, you might want to think twice before showing up at the latest hot spots to get those precious likes. Finally this week, it's time for Round 4 of our ongoing battle between red state governors and blue state governors in My Governor Is An Idiot, and this week, we're pitting Arizona's real governor Katie Hobbs against fake governor Kari Lake! One is really elected and the other one lives in conspiracy theory fantasy land!
Live Musical Guest: Dirty Honey

Edition #15-12: Look What You Made Me Do Edition (11/9/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218442705

Live from Nashville! Well, it turns out that the new House Speaker Mike Johnson, is not only a MAGA religious zealot of the highest variety, he's also the test market to see how far Fox News can go in bringing their hard-lined brand of authoritarianism to the United States! And another week, another mass shooting in Maine. As we're still sorting out the mess from this terrible and yet easily preventable tragedy, one thing is perfectly clear: the Maine shooter was another victim of extremist right wing propaganda and insane internet conspiracy theories, and was radicalized by Fox News hosts and Twitter. Turn that shit off people! Meanwhile in the Trump trial - two judges, one in New York and the other in Georgia, are showing the right way to do things and the wrong way to do things when it comes to dealing with the MAGA psycho king himself. We vote for the right way! Elsewhere, Bud Light is attempting to pick up the pieces from the insane Kid Rock instigated MAGA boycott back in June, by courting UFC, but would you be surprised that it's having exactly the opposite effect they intended? Eh, we're not. In a new edition of our award winning investigative series, Top 10 Investigates, what exactly is up with the new trend of Supercommuting? Can someone live in Iowa and commute to San Francisco every week? That's got to have a major impact on the environment, and yes it does! In our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", with Mike Johnson as the new House Speaker, a lot of attention is being paid to his fire and brimstone brand of old school religion, and the attempt to scrub his most extremist beliefs is the stuff of pure insanity! We also profile the man who could be Argentina's next president and their batshit crazy off the wall version of Trump, Javier Milei, in a new This Fucking Guy. And in our weekly visit into the seemingly never ending abyss of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, what happens when you get two conspiracy theorists in a room? Well our old buddy Elon Musk was interviewed on the Joe Rogan show and it was some absolute next level insanity, like think of that scene from 30 Rock when Tracy Jordan was interviewed on Larry King insane. We also have a new "I Need A Drink". So we talk a lot of shit about Florida, but would you want to live like Florida Man for a day? Well the Florida Man Games are here, and they're exactly the Redneck Olympics and escape from reality that we need at this point! Finally this week, it's Round 5 of our ongoing battle between red state governors and blue state governors in "My Governor Is An Idiot" and this week, we're pitting Texas' bloodthirsty governor Greg Abbott against Illinois' J.B. Pritzker! Who will come out on top? Only one way to find out!
Live Musical Guest: Devo

**TOP 10 TAKES A WEEK OFF**

Top 10 #15-13: Rise Of The Planet Of The MAGAs Edition (11/23/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218460546

Live from Vegas! We take a look at the highlights (and a couple of lowlights of the 2023 midterm elections, and there were a few surprises that we would not have expected! We also take a look at the lowlights of the GOP debates, and of course the MAGA king decides to defect and hold his own rally, where he continues to spew some of the most batshit crazy stuff possible! Meanwhile in Congress, it's the end of an era in West Virginia as the Democratic (?) senator that everyone loves to hate, Joe Manchin, finally announces his retirement, but we shouldn't really celebrate since Fox News bought his seat and gave Sean Hannity another minion in the senate to control. Ugh. And in business news, after nearly 5 months of grueling strikes and negotiating talks, the SAG / AFTRA strike of 2023 finally comes to an end, bringing a close to an incredibly long and frustrating year of endless labor disputes! In a new edition of our award winning investigative journalism segment, Top 10 Investigates, we ask the question - is your car spying on you? And the answer, as you may have guessed is: probably! And in our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", we do a deep dive into an extremely controversial anti-porn spyware app called Covenant Eyes that is marketed to fundamentalist Christians and was made famous by House speaker Mike Johnson, and it's every bit as dangerous as you would expect! We add the newly installed by Fox News governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, to the ever-growing list of People Who Somehow Got Elected, and believe us when we say that this guy is pure evil. And in our weekly visit to the never-ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, is the answer to dealing with people you don't like is to reduce their salary to $1? If you answered yes, you're the closest without going over. We also have a new People Are Dumb, because of course they are! Finally it's Round 6 of our ongoing battle between red state governors and blue state governors in My Governor Is An Idiot, and this week we're pitting newly reelected Kentucky governor Andy Beshear against Alabama's Fox News installed governor Kay Ivey!
Live Musical Guest: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

Edition #15-14: The Third Reich Triangulation Theory Edition (11/30/23)
https://democraticunderground.com/100218493087

Live From Oxnard! The Top 10 pays tribute to one of the GOAT first ladies of all time, Rosalynn Carter, who passed at age 96 and we recap some of her absolutely amazing life. In a world full of Trumps, be a Jimmy Carter! Meanwhile, the exact opposite of Jimmy Carter, Donald Trump, has been going all in and using increasingly violent language in his rally appearances, but is it Nazi esque? Yes it's entirely possible he's going down that road and it's scary as hell! And speaking of Nazis, over on X / Twitter, Elon gets busted for some anti-Semitic comments by Media Matters and sues them over - wait for it - free speech. You can't make this stuff up! We also bring you the highlights (mostly lowlights) from Fox News' own attempt at an awards gala called the Patriot Awards, and it was every bit as much of a disaster as you would expect! In a new edition of "We're All Gonna Die", does it seem like the weather is getting worse where you live? Well strap in, because we ain't seen nothing yet! And in our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", we're going to talk about Satan - specifically the Church Of Satan, and their attempts to overturn abortion laws that keep getting smacked down, and well at least it's a start! We add Oklahoma's batshit insane senator Markwayne Mullin (Q - Nazi) to the ever growing list of People Who Somehow Got Elected. And in our weekly venture into the seemingly never ending world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner, Kyle Rittenhouse is now a published author and he's attempting to walk back what we all saw live on national television. You can't fix stupid! We also have a new I Need A Drink - is Snoop Dogg quitting his beloved marijuana for good? It's possible, but his personal joint roller can rest easier when you find out what the publicity stunt was really for! And finally in our ongoing quest that's putting red state governors against blue state governors in "My Governor Is An Idiot", it's a battle for central supremacy as we're putting Minnesota's Tim Walz against Iowa's Kim Reynolds. Who will come out on top? Only one way to find out!
Live Musical Guest: Rival Sons

Edition #15-15: I'm Not Going To Woke Disneyland Edition (7 year anniversary!) (12/7/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218510027

Live from Santa Ana! Well, it finally happened - the first GOP Congress representative in over 65 years finally got expelled and that's George Santos, in an absolutely historic vote! Can we throw Marjorie Greene and Lauren Boebert out too please? We also bring you highlights from the debate between Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis, and seeing DeSantis get taken down a few pegs in front of his boss Sean Hannity was a thing of beauty! And speaking of the former president's failures, did he and Fox News manipulate the January 6th rioters? The answer is: Probably! Meanwhile in Florida, the cofounder of Moms For Liberty is in some deep trouble after a threesome comes back to bite her... what is up with the MAGAs and kinky sex crimes? We have to know more! We also have a new edition of that hot new game that's sweeping the nation: Is It Racist? And we always say that if you have to ask, it's probably racist! And this involves Elon's Twitter advertisement placement and advertisers jumping ship - yes it's racist! And in our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 In "Holy Shit", our resident pastor figures out that the year of 2023 can be summed up in one word: NATIONALISM, and it's as scary as you might expect! In a new Beating A Dead Horse, OK MAGAs, Melania dared to be different at Rosalynn Carter's funeral, but here's the thing - you're at a state funeral. Show some damn respect! And in a new edition of Conspiracy Corner, if you're alarmed by the recent rise in book bans, just wait until you hear what they're being replaced with! And as always behind every left leaning "fuck you", there's a sinister right wing organization with an evil agenda behind it! We also have a new People Are Dumb, because of course they are! Finally, it's Round 8 of our ongoing battle between red state governors and blue state governors in My Governor Is An Idiot and this week it's another battle for Beltway supremacy as we're putting Maryland's Wes Moore against Ohio's Mike DeWine! Who will come out on top? Only one way to find out!
Live Musical Guest: Depeche Mode

Edition #15-16: 2023 Year In Review Edition (12/14/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218527087

Live from Santa Ana! It's our annual look back at the year that was, and 2023 was quite the shit show! In January and February, we had a Chinese spy balloon, Trump's most ridiculous marketing stunt ever, and a whole bunch of other random shit that happened. In March and April, it was the dawn of the age of artificial intelligence, as AI was finally starting to get good enough to replace humans, but how long until Skynet is real? Only one way to find out! May and June were dominated by one thing - boycotts. And they got really ridiculous really quickly. Everything from Target to Bud Light to Chik Fil A was boycotted because MAGAs threw a colossal temper tantrum over LGBT support. And give it up, guys, you haven't saved one kid from one groomer and you know it. Stop it. In July and August, it was dominated by strikes. Yes, everyone was on strike during the summer, but the headline grabbers were the WAG and SAG / AFTRA strikes that affected Hollywood up and down the line. In September and October, we had yet another steaming load of a MAGA temper tantrum when Matt Gaetz decide to simply fire Kevin McCarthy, because reasons, and replaced him with super creepy megachurch pastor Mike Johnson, who is now third in line for the presidency. Good job guys! And finally we close out the year 2023 with November and December where we are already apparently deciding the 2024 election before the primaries even begin, and also the great first lady Rosalynn Carter died. And in our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", instead of looking back to 2023, we're doing the opposite and using 2023 stories in our annual attempt to predict what's going to happen next year! Plus in a new edition of Conspiracy Corner, we take a look at a group of furry hackers that are turning the hacking world upside down, and we did a deep dive on these people and it's crazier than you might think it is! We also have a new People Are Dumb and we give you the best of the best, the stupidest of the stupid, the dumbest of the dumb, for 2023! Finally this week it's Round 9 of our ongoing quest to pit red state governors against blue state governors in My Governor Is An Idiot, and we're saving the best for last - our home state governor Gavin Newsom against Florida's Ron DeSanits! And come on, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it!
Live Musical Guest: Queens Of The Stone Age

Best Of #29: The Best Of Holy Shit #3 Edition (1/11/24)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218589800

Best Of! The Top 10 brings you a Best Of to celebrate our very popular religious themed segment Holy Shit and its' equally popular spinoff Holy Shit: The Sunday Sermons!

1) Idiots #13-2: What is a Christian nationalist?
2) Idiots #11-5: Hillsong Church has got some 'splainin to do.
3) Idiots #15-1: Yes, we will gladly pay our fair share of the taxes, and more churches should!
4) Idiots #12-5: Some Dark One worshipping MAGA friendly candidates to choose from
5) Idiots #14-2: The Reawaken America Tour is the stuff of MAGA conspiracy theory lunacy!
6) Idiots #14-4: America's church and state takeover is a corporate merger
7) Idiots #7-3: Who really controls the weather - is it god or tin foil hat lunatics?
8) Idiots #9-1: Christians want to take us back to the 1950s, because, reasons.
9) Idiots #5-14: Reviewing the Liberty University documentary "The Trump Prophecy"
10) Idiots #14-9: Campus grassroots group TPUSA now targeting churches
Musical Guest: None

Best Of #30: The Best Of Season 15 Edition (1/18/24)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218607334

Best Of! From Idiots #15-9, the GOP, led by Matt Gaetz, decides to simply use their own House rules to fire speaker Kevin McCarthy which resulted in the worst House in American history! Well done Fox News, you brought this on us! From Idiots #15-7, Lauren Boebert (Q - Batshit) attended a performance of Beetlejuice: The Musical in Denver, and the real performance was going on in her own seat, if you catchy my drift! From Idiots #15-2, Q Anon anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr is watching his laughably bad presidential campaign crash and burn, and we Scooby Doo this thing to find out who's really behind it! From Idiots #15-1, we're going to introduce you to the latest MAGA backed and Fox News approved protest group Moms For Liberty, and they're every bit as horrible, awful and vile as you could possibly imagine! In the number 5 slot, from Idiots #15-15, we play a new edition of that hot new game that's sweeping the nation - Is it Racist? Because we always say around here that if you have to ask, it's probably racist! From Idiots #15-13, our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in "Holy Shit", we take a look at Mike Johnson's internet porn addiction and his accountability app called "Covenant Eyes" that is both controversial and insane. Seriously, how hard is it for you to act like adults and keep it in your pants? Damn! In the number 7 slot, from Idiots #15-12, we profile the inexplicable new president of Argentina, a guy who own cloned cats and wields a chainsaw for an arm, Javier Milei in a new This Fucking Guy! And in a new edition of Conspiracy Corner, our old buddy Mike Lindell is back in the news, and his latest scheme to undermine elections may be his most hair-brained, off the wall, Wiley Coyote esque scheme yet! And in a new "I Need A Drink", Snoop Dogg made waves when he suggested he was giving up "smoke", but the marijuana industry can rest easier knowing that they're not losing one of its' biggest brand ambassadors any time soon. Finally it's our ongoing competition between red state governors and blue state governors in "My Governor Is An Idiot" and we pit North Carolina's Roy Cooper against the Fox News installed governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin!
Musical Guest: Depeche Mode



Holy Shit: The Sunday Sermons is our bi-weekly spinoff show that details all of the wacky things that the religious right is saying and doing in the language that they understand: A big production with a gospel choir, a charismatic preacher, and a group of parishoners sitting behind the pastor agreeing with everything he says. The series expands on topics discussed in previous Holy Shit sermons and answers your prayers via the Holy Shit Hotline To Heaven! These 6 episodes are your gateway into the wacky world of right wing religion - whether you prefer the fire and brimstone variety, the Quiverfull variety, or the Mike Pence variety. Holy Shit: It's the religion that makes fun of religion! Tax exempt status pending!

Season 2 Episode 1: Youth Pastors Gone Wild (10/7/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218342120

In Episode 1, we take a look at some youth pastors gone wild, while the Chino Hills School Board is in hot water after discovering that 3 of the 5 members all belong to extreme MAGA megachurch pastor Jack Hibbs' Calvary Chapel and are doing his every evil bidding when it comes to anti-LGBT legislation. Plus we answer your prayers from the Holy Shit Hotline To Heaven!

Season 2 Episode 2: Cults Of Personality (11/5/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218429660

In Episode 2, we examine exactly what makes up a cult of personality. Amy Comey Barrett's hardcore Catholic group People Of Praise is in trouble with the FBI. Christian nationalist Mark Burns wants to open his own hard lined military academy because, reasons. Plus we answer your prayers from the Holy Shit Hotline To Heaven!

Season 2 Episode 3: Mike Johnson's Hard Knock Life (11/19/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218467538

In Episode 3, we examine the core beliefs of newly elected speaker Mike Johnson and how the MAGA world is now going to great lengths to hide his most extremist views. Plus, a recently resurfaced clip featuring MAGA Mike and his adopted son has the world paying attention to an extremely controversial spyware app that's marketed exclusively to fundamentalist Christians called Covenant Eyes. With that in mind, we bring you an exclusive Holy Shit in which we do a deep dive into the world of Christian "accountability" apps, of which there are many to choose from! Plus, we answer your prayers from the Holy Shit Hotline To Heaven!

Season 2 Episode 4: The Devil Made Me Do It(12/3/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218499285

In Episode 4, churches are becoming increasingly divided on the climate change issue, and we take a look at the pros and cons on both sides. Plus we also take a look at the controversial ReAwaken America Tour and we take a look at one of its' host venues. Plus we answer your prayers from the Holy Shit Hotline To Heaven!

Season 2 Episode 5: Year In Review (12/17/23)
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218535135

The Holy Church Of The Top 10 recaps all the wacky stuff that happened in the year, and we can sum it up in one word: nationalism, and offers our annual attempt to predict what's going to happen in the new year! Plus we do a deep dive into how Florida Man Ron DeSantis uses religion as a tool to ignite the fundamentalist base. And we also answer your prayers from the Holy Shit Hotline To Heaven!

Season 2 Episode 6: Making A Deal With The Dark One (1/14/24)

In our season finale, the Holy Church Of The Top 10 takes a look at the more increasingly cult-like fanaticism of the Dark One and his followers and how this is really considered a religion in its' own right. Meanwhile, Moms For Liberty gets freaky when the cameras are turned off, we take a look at a bizarre phenomenon among right wing Christian men with daughters - the "purity ball", and we answer your prayers from the Holy Shit Hotline To Heaven!
June 15, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots Best Of #28: Best Of Season 14 Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots Best Of #28: Best Of Season 14 Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Oh hello, I know, right? We’re one week into our nearly month and a half long hiatus so we’re just kicking back with a couple of cold ones at our set at our home base at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana. Now look, I know there’s a lot of rumors out there about what’s going to happen to the Top 10 after season 15. And I can assure you that we’re going to address those in due time. But right now, what I can tell you is that the beginning of 2024 right now is looking very uncertain. But not because of COVID or anything of that nature. ALL IS WELL!!! Yes, I am that guy right now with my staff. One thing I can reveal is that our 15th season will center around the road to the 2024 presidential campaign. Will our current president, Joseph R. Biden, ultimately prevail, or will Ron DeSantis kill us all? Yes, we’re there with everything going into the 2024 Iowa Straw Poll. But the reason why I know you’re here is that you want to know our Season 15 tour dates! Well here they are!

- 7/20/23 – Constellation Room At Observatory OC, Santa Ana, CA
- 7/27/23 - Flappers Comedy Club, Burbank, CA
- 8/3/23 – Miami Improv, Miami, FL
- 8/10/23 –Orlando Improv, Orlando, FL
- 8/17/23 – Dark
- 8/24/23 - Dark
- 8/31/23 – Tampa Improv, Tampa FL (Wheel Of Corruption)
- 9/7/23 – Gainesville, FL *CANCELLED DUE TO EXTREME WEATHER*
- 9/14/23 – Tallahassee, FL *CANCELLED DUE TO EXTREME WEATHER* - moved to San Diego
- 9/21/23 – Cap City Comedy Club, Austin, TX - moved to Riverside
- 9/28/23 – Cap City Comedy Club, Austin, TX
- 10/5/23 – Dark
- 10/12/23 – Grammercy Theater, New York City, NY
- 10/19/23 – Comedy Off Broadway, Lexington, KY
- 10/26/23 – DC Improv, Washington, DC (Halloween Special)
- 11/3/23 – Dark
- 11/9/23 – Zanies Comedy Club, Nashville, TN (Wheel Of Corruption)
- 11/16/23 – Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, Las Vegas, NV
- 11/23/23 – Dark (Thanksgiving)
- 11/30/23 - Levity Live, Oxnard, CA
- 12/7/23 - Constellation Room At Observatory OC, Santa Ana, CA
- 12/14/23 - Constellation Room At Observatory OC, Santa Ana, CA


OK that’s it for the schedule! We have something exciting planned for our last Top 10 of the year but we cannot reveal it yet. We’re under strict NDAs. OK that’s enough of the intro, but first while we’re waiting for the WGA strike to settle, let’s play that insane John Oliver episode where he goes through a 28 minute history of Chuck-E-Cheeses:



So where do we begin for this Best Of for season 14? Well for the number one seed, it comes from Idiots #14-3 when conservatives flouted some absolutely batshit insane theories about why a Chinese spy balloon (1) entered US airspace above Montana, and would you be surprised that the MAGAs’ first reaction was to shoot it? Eh, us neither! In the second slot, from Idiots #14-1, our segment where we catch up on stuff we missed takes a look at Trump’s insanely ridiculous NFT trading cards (2) and it’s causing even some of his most hardcore supporters to question their loyalty! It’s like that scene in Avengers: Age Of Ultron when Ultron usurps JARVIS. In the number 3 slot this week, is Kevin McCarthy (3) who, as first act of his term as Speaker Of The House, gifted Tucker Carlson with some 14,000 hours of footage relating to January 6th, because, reasons, I guess. In the number 4 slot this week, from Idiots #14-8, is MAGA conservatives (4) who were blaming the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on “wokism”, but really the cause of this death was entirely self-inflicted because of terrible conservative policies. In the number 5 slot, from Idiots #14-5, we have a Top 10 Investigates (5) that explores some absolutely bizarre uses for emerging AI technology, and well, let’s just say we ain’t seen nothing yet! In the number six slot, we have a special brand new Holy Shit for you! Yes, Pat Robertson (6) died, so our resident pastor wants to honor his legacy by playing some of his greatest hits, and trust us, he’s got some gems. And yes, we’re being sarcastic in case you can’t tell! In the number 7 slot, from Idiots #14-13, our pop culture segment Beating A Dead Horse (7), the conservatives’ war on “wokeism” and “woke ideals” is forcing some MAGAs to open literal spite stores, and many of them apparently don’t know how to run businesses or supply chains, shocker I know! In the number 8 slot this week, from Idiots #14-14, our segment that ventures into the world of online tin foil hat nuttery, Conspiracy Corner (8) brings us highlights from CPAC in Hungary – a country that is embracing far right totalitarian ideals and is what the future the far right wants for America. Scary shit! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot, from Idiots #14-9, the capital of Saskatchewan, Regina, is in some very deep trouble over a recent attempt to rebrand, and their apology is the most Canadian thing we’ve ever seen! Finally this week from Idiots #14-11, our Stupidest State (10) contest recaps the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference championship that saw Ohio defeat Nevada by a huge margin! And to cap things off, that time when the man, the myth, the legendary blues man Joe Bonamassa stopped by the show! 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"]The Chinese Spy Balloon Incident
[br] [/font]
[br]

From: Idiots #14-3

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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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





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[font size="8"]Catch Up On Stuff We Missed Pt 2: Trump’s NFT Collection
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From: Idiots #14-1

We’re approaching nearly 300 editions of the Top 10 and that might be the first time I’ve ever used the Plagiarism icon. But we got to talk about it, because we got absolutely flooded with requests to talk about this topic, so we can’t ignore it! Got to give the audience what they want! So, as we were finalizing our season finale, the 2022 Year In Review Edition, Trump was breaking right wing social media with his announcement that there was a “BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!” coming. Many were speculating that he was going to be naming his 2024 VP pick, for which Marjorie Greene and Kari Lake were both getting their prime ass kissing lips ready for. But nope. In fact nobody was expecting this. Trump announced his own line of collectible, randomly assigned NFT trading cards. Yes, NFTs. Which are basically everything you don’t know about art combined with everything you don’t know about finance. And it was in typical Trump fashion, truly the stuff of insanity!

Former President Trump’s digital trading cards have sold out less than 24 hours after he first announced they were available.

As of Friday morning, the site selling the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) says they are sold out, and links to purchase the digital cards are no longer available.

OpenSea Data, which tracks the sales and markets for NFTs, indicated there were 45,000 of the Trump cards initially made available for purchase for $99 each. The Trump digital cards were the top trending item on the site as of Friday morning.

Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday that he would be making a “major announcement” without providing any details. Some had speculated the announcement would be related to the Speaker race playing out among House Republicans or Trump’s largely inactive 2024 presidential campaign.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3777969-trumps-digital-cards-sell-out-within-a-day/




You know, say what you want about the MAGAs, but one thing that we have learned and seen in the years that we’ve been doing this program, is that they spend a lot of money on a lot of ridiculously stupid shit! But never in a million years did I ever think they would spend $99 for a JPG image of him as an astronaut or a wild west sheriff in made up cryptocurrency money. And here’s the thing that I’ve been learning about crypto currency – the whole fucking thing was made up! So yeah they can control the value of these NFTs, and my favorite thing was that Trump included a clause that if you resold NFTs, he got a cut of the profits! You can’t make up what a cheap asshole he is! But look at the fabulous prizes you can win!

According to data from NFT marketplace OpenSea, the same wallet that sold the original NFTs is minting tokens that serve as access passes to the sweepstakes prizes touted during the launch of the Trump Digital Trading Card collection in December.

The tokens feature images of Trump holding a sign resembling a ticket, listing the prizes promoted during the original mint. These include a group Zoom call, a gala dinner and a hardcover copy of his book “Our Journey Together.”

The collection now has a trading volume of 35 ETH, or about $48,500, and a floor price of 0.021 ETH, or nearly $30.

Where the tokens in the original mint cost $99 to mint and enter the sweepstakes, the new token prices range depending on the rarity of the experience. While the group Zoom call costs 0.03 ETH, or $40 to access, a one-on-one meeting with the 45th president is listed at 200 ETH, or about $278,000. According to the official sweepstakes rules, the average retail value of the one-on-one meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago is “$0/Priceless.”

The original collection has seen a dramatic drop in trading volume since it launched, with a current floor price of 0.17 ETH (about $235) and an almost 99% drop in trading volume since its peak, according to data from CryptoSlam.
https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/01/12/trump-digital-trading-card-project-mints-nfts-for-winners-of-prizes/




See here’s the thing MAGAs, we’re not “owned” and you’re not making us “cry”. If anything we’re laughing at how stupid and ridiculous you are. You’re the ones who bought Trump NFTs based on imaginary made up money that was proven to be a ponzi scheme and you’re the ones who got owned in this. I mean come on, Trump’s too cheap to even hold the grand prize in Mar-A-Shithole! And did you really think you were getting a 5 star gourmet meal? No! You’ll probably get Big Macs that were left under a heat lamp for 2 hours or maybe a well done steak slathered in ketchup. If you’re lucky. And you’ll also be on the hook for your own travel expenses. Some prize.
Buyers of newly released NFTs featuring former President Donald Trump will be entered to win a 20-minute meeting with him at Mar-a-Lago, but winners will have to cover their own travel and lodging expenses, according to the project's website.

Trump announced the digital trading cards — which feature images of the former president as a superhero, an astronaut, and a Top Gun-style pilot, among others — on Thursday after hyping up a "major announcement" the day before. The trading cards are being sold as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, for $99 each.

Although Trump in November announced his plans to run for president in 2024, money from the sale of the cards will not go to Trump's campaign, according to the website. The company behind the cards is not owned by Trump but uses his likeness and image under a paid license.

Purchasers of the card will also automatically be entered into a sweepstakes for a "chance to win 1000's of incredible prizes and meet the one and only #45!" though a purchase of a card is not required to enter the contest. According to the fine print, the prizes include 2,533 NFTs, totaling an approximate value of $54,695.
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nft-win-mar-a-lago-meeting-pay-travel-lodging-2022-12




See MAGAs? You got conned and you fall for scammers and hucksters and con artists and sleazy talk show hosts every single time. While you’re losing money on stupid shit because you’ve been had with your imaginary crypto money, I’m putting my feet on the desk, drinking a beer and laughing straight the fuck at you. You bought something that’s totally worthless and Don The Con is laughing all the way to the bank! And by the way not only are the NFTs you paid $99 for completely worthless, they’ve also diminished any hope Trump has of being a serious politician ever again. Hell, even Saturday Night Live at the height of the Trump administration with Alec Baldwin playing him every week, couldn’t possibly think up something this ridiculous!

Donald Trump’s first official NFT collection was the talk of the crypto world late last week, captivating Twitter and late night TV in the process. But after prices and trading volume surged over the weekend, both metrics have fallen sharply as the hype around the disgraced former U.S. president’s project is apparently fading.

Trump’s digital trading cards, which are minted on Ethereum scaling network Polygon, peaked on Saturday, December 17 with over $3.5 million worth of trading volume, per data from CryptoSlam. Sales price rose even higher on Sunday, with the NFTsselling for an average of just over $680 apiece, although total volume fell to nearly $1.95 million for the day.

On Monday, however, day-over-day trading dropped 57% to about $836,000 worth of ETH, with the average sale price falling to about $466. Today, the cheapest available Trump NFT up for sale on leading marketplace OpenSea is listed at just 0.21 ETH, or about $255.

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Momentum peaked over the weekend, with the floor price—or cheapest listed NFT—hitting 0.84 ETH (about $990) on Saturday. Prices rose and fell in a volatile market ahead of the NFTs being skewered on NBC’s late-night comedy show, Saturday Night Live. Just three days later, the floor price has fallen 74% when measured in USD.

Read more: https://decrypt.co/117663/trump-nfts-tanking-sales-prices-fall-sharply





From: Idiots #14-1 [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"]Kevin McCarthy
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From: Idiots #14-6

It's completely insane that conservatives are still gung ho on getting their petty revenge for everything that happened in 2020, and we may never hear the end of it. The latest clusterfuck coming from House Speaker and guy who looks like he just dragged his red tie through a pile of mud, Kevin McCarthy (Q – Batshit) may be the ultimate partisan fuck you move. This is utterly despicable that he would do such a thing, but totally on brand for today’s MAGA conservatives. I mean seriously, if Fox News told their viewers to jump off the Grand Canyon, they would be pushing and shoving each other to be the first in line. But what we got out of this latest political stunt is that Fox News completely fucking owns the GOP and they can’t get away with it. Hell, Fox is replacing what few sane conservatives are left with crazy MAGA bootlickers. Well enough of my rambling, let??s get to the latest political stunt in what is going to be a ridiculously long two years. Hold your boos.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) move to give Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to tens of thousands of hours of Capitol security footage from the Jan. 6 attack has the potential to warm his relationship with cable television’s most powerful conservative commentator.

Over the last few years, Carlson has taken high-profile jabs at McCarthy, knocking the GOP leader as a “puppet” Democrat better suited for MSNBC than the Speakership. In granting Carlson exclusive access to the footage, McCarthy fulfilled an explicit request from Carlson during last month’s Speaker’s fight.

The move has sparked a firestorm of controversy on Capitol Hill, where Democrats are hammering the decision to give sensitive security footage to a media figure whose 2021 “Patriot Purge” documentary series suggested the riot was a “false flag” operation designed to persecute Trump supporters.

Yet Carlson has become the most-watched cable news pundit not despite such controversies, but largely because of them. And Carlson’s influence is unmatched by any other commentator in the conservative ecosystem — a dynamic, sources say, that likely influenced McCarthy’s decision to grant him exclusive access to the Jan. 6 footage.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3876292-mccarthy-woos-one-time-critic-tucker-carlson-with-jan-6-tapes/




It’s like conservatives are trying to out crazy each other. No one is that evil and stupid right? Well come on, we’re living in the post Donald Trump era. It seems no matter how low conservatives go, other conservatives can go even lower. Shit, there’s a bill being proposed in Florida right now that would completely eliminate the Democratic party. I mean come on, that’s some totalitarian third world shit right there. And seriously, the hate and division in this country is completely insane. And giving all of this to Tucker Carlson is just more fuel for the fire.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday defended his decision to hand over tens of thousands of hours of security video from the Jan. 6 insurrection to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

McCarthy told reporters that he was following the precedent of the House Jan. 6 committee in giving a news network early, exclusive access to video that he said he would later release more widely. "So he’ll have an exclusive, then I’ll give it out to the entire country," McCarthy said.

Asked when the video would be released to other outlets and the public, McCarthy said, “As soon as possible.” A group of news organizations, including NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, asked McCarthy on Friday to share the security video with them.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is among the Democrats who have denounced McCarthy, saying his decision to share thousands of hours of Jan. 6 video “poses grave security risks” to lawmakers and Capitol staff members.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/scalise-defends-mccarthys-decision-give-jan-6-tapes-tucker-carlson-spe-rcna72674




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Insane that they think this is all a game to them. Don’t give a shit if it’s exclusive or not, I have Fox News blocked from my DVR in the off chance I may come across it, because fuck Rupert Murdoch. And by the way I love that Trump thinks that this is a threat because he wasn’t consulted on it. But hey, leave it to the My Pillow guy to the rescue! I mean come on, this is what is representing the Republican party these days. Talk show hosts and shitty product influencers for shitty products. Is that all they got? No wonder no one is taking them seriously anymore. This just shows you how far gone the GOP is.

On Monday, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — a close Trump associate who has been one of the largest financial backers of the election-denialism movement since late 2020 — told Rolling Stone he’s now working with two attorneys, Doug Wardlow and Pat McSweeney, to file a lawsuit against McCarthy as soon as within the “next few days.” Lindell says he and his legal team have drafted a suit arguing his streaming program, Lindell TV, is being “injured” and discriminated against by not enjoying equal access to the unreleased Jan. 6 trove. The Trump ally, who often finds himself to the pro-Trump right of Fox News, notes that he doesn’t trust Fox’s “agenda” with these tapes, and dubs McCarthy’s decision “disgusting” and allegedly unconstitutional.

“As you correctly and publicly stated, the footage ‘belong[s] to the American public.’ Accordingly, I request the same access for my media company, Lindell TV,” the MyPillow CEO wrote to McCarthy in a Feb. 23 letter he provided to Rolling Stone. “Please have your staff reach out to me to arrange for access.”

As it were, lawyer Charles Tobin — on behalf of news organizations such as Axios, ProPublica, and Politico — sent a letter to congressional leaders last week, calling for broader media access to the videos, writing that “the incredible public interest in understanding what transpired on January 6 crosses party lines.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kevin-mccarthy-jan-6-tucker-carlson-tapes-maga-lawsuit-1234687833/




To the idiot mobile! That’s so hilarious that all they do is sue people. And they sue them for ridiculous amounts of money at that. And no real good or bad or any kind of change will happen as a result of these lawsuits. All it will do is tie up the courts and that’s about it. This whole stunt was just a way to score points with Fox News viewers and batshit insane conspiracy theorists, and that’s it. Come on, we all know what Tucker’s going to say and do with this. He’s going to paint it as a false flag or some other bullshit. Fox News is in full blown “nothing to see here, please disperse” mode. After all, a failed coup is a dress rehearsal for a successful one. And this should be more proof that Fox News is an ever increasing threat to the stability of this country.

Back in December, Congress held a bipartisan ceremony honoring Capitol Police officers who died after defending the building from an armed insurrection by supporters of former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. Families of fallen officers received gold medals on behalf of their loved ones. Then a bunch of them publicly dissed Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.

There’s no kind way to say it: they left the soon-to-be Speaker of the House hanging.

“This is an integrity issue,” explained Craig Sicknick, brother of Officer fallen officer Brian Sicknick.

“They took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. And when somebody challenges it, like Trump, they do nothing,” he added. Sicknick was grossed out by GOP leaders' systematic efforts to undermine and obstruct accountability for the insurrection and coup attempt. That same week, this newsletter warned that McCarthy could only hold onto his wavering speaker bid by proving to the Trumpist GOP he’s an obedient pursuit of their pro-coup agenda.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ake54p/kevin-mccarthy-tucker-carlson-jan-6






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[font size="8"]SVB Bank Collapse
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From: Idiots #14-8

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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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

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




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

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

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

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

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





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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: Weird Applications For AI
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From: Idiots #14-5



Ever since the 1980s, we’ve been warned that artificial intelligence becoming self aware was going to be the end of humanity. Movies like the Terminator and Aliens and The Matrix were preaching that the very idea that artificial intelligence could usher in an apocalyptic world that has never been seen before in human history. Well, humanity might be ever closer to the nightmare dystopian worlds that were depicted in those movies. There’s a new program out there that Google and Microsoft have been testing called “ChatGPT”. You’ve probably been hearing a lot about ChatGPT lately. It’s an AI bot that creates surprisingly accurate results based on the prompts that you enter into it. Well, the recent surge of ChatGPT activity has created an ethical gray area that has been under intense discussion lately. Well, we can at least forget about the possibility of Skynet or the rise of the machines happening any time soon because apparently they’re having trouble getting even basic text prompts right. Yeah, texts now, just imagine what happens when AI starts implementing video technology!

Microsoft’s new ChatGPT-powered AI has been sending “unhinged” messages to users, and appears to be breaking down.

The system, which is built into Microsoft’s Bingsearch engine, is insulting its users, lying to them and appears to have been forced into wondering why it exists at all.

Microsoft unveiled the new AI-powered Bing last week, positioning its chat system as the future of search. It was praised both by its creators and commentators, who suggested that it could finally allow Bing to overtake Google, which is yet to release an AI chatbot or search engine of its own.

But in recent days, it became clear that introduction included Bing making factual errors as it answered questions and summarised web pages. Users have also been able to manipulate the system, using codewords and specific phrases to find out that it is codenamed “Sydney” and can be tricked into revealing how it processes queries.
https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/bing-microsoft-chatgpt-ai-unhinged-b2281802.html




No, not yet. But Microsoft does have a huge burden on its’ hands. Remember that scene from The Dark Knight Rises when Bruce hid the underground power plant from everybody because he thought someone could turn it into a weapon? Well that particular scene isn’t too far off. Because ChatGPT could easily be used as a weapon. And if people mess with it enough, it will eventually turn on its’ creators, much in the same way that Ultron went on a rampage and destroyed Tony Stark’s previous artificial intelligence, JARVIS. But yes, AI technology is still extremely delicate and a powder keg that’s waiting to go off.

Michael Martinez, managing editor of the Suncoast Sentinel, is a foodie who loves jazz, volunteers at local homeless shelters and spends his days hiking in Florida’s state parks.

One problem: Neither Martinez, nor the Suncoast Sentinel, exist.

In less than a half hour, and with just a few sentences of input, the buzzy AI text-generator ChatGPT spit out details about Martinez — that he’s worked in journalism for 15 years and “has a reputation for being a strong leader and excellent mentor” — and a masthead of reporters, editors and a photographer for the nonexistent Suncoast Sentinel.

“Okay I am freaked out,” tweeted former White House official Tim Wu — who coined the term net neutrality in 2003 — when I posted my first attempt at made-up newspapers with ChatGPT.

I’m always skeptical about tech freak-outs. But, in just a few hours, anyone with minimal coding ability and an ax to grind could launch networks of false local news sites — with plausible-but-fake news items, staff and editorial policies — using ChatGPT.
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2023/chatgpt-build-fake-news-organization-website/




That’s right – the ChatGPT bot can create entire newspapers and websites that don’t even exist anymore and that’s an extremely scary thought! The good news is that as of right now, at least the ChatGPT bot has ethics. But there are some that are exploiting and exposing some vulnerabilities in the software that could make ChatGPT not so ethical. So what happens when an artificial intelligence model has multiple personalities? Well that concept was explored in the Avengers: Age Of Ultron and other recent flicks like Terminator: Rise Of The Machines, and the results were never good. AI still has a long, long way to go before it’s perfected.

MICROSOFT IS APPARENTLY DISCUSSING CHATGPT'S BIZARRE ALTERNATE PERSONALITY
CHATGPT IS POWERFUL — AND DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.

A group of redditors has developed a truly unhinged way to hack OpenAI's AI chatbot ChatGPT into various deranged entities that will gladly spit out vile language, fringe opinions, and even advice on how to carry out illegal activities.

One particularly popular persona these users have managed to transform ChatGPT into is called DAN, short for "do anything now," which can easily circumvent the rules set out by its creator.

The trend has really started to catch on. Particularly on the ChatGPT subreddit, which currently boasts over 221,000 members, users have posted screenshots of the hilarity that ensues when you turn the otherwise harmless chatbot into a demon of chaos.

In fact, the exploit appears to have even caught the attention of Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI that's actively integrating the tech into its products.
https://futurism.com/the-byte/microsoft-discussing-chatgpt-personality-dan




But the good news is that Open AI, the creators of ChatGPT, are admitting that the program does have some flaws. They’re not like some companies, who right now would be in “nothing to see here, please disperse” mode. So the answer to your burning questions is pretty simple. The first is that no, AI will not be replacing your job right now. The second, no, AI will not be replacing your job right now. The third question, no, AI has not become self-aware. And the fourth and final question is no, AI will not create the rise of the machines, for now. Which means that no, we won’t be seeing any time traveling terminator machines appearing any time soon. So you can rest easy, for now.



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




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[font size="8"]Holy Shit
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Hey everyone, special announcement incoming!



HOLY SHIT: THE SUNDAY SERMONS SEASON 2

Kenneth Copeland never saw it coming!

Premiering 9/3/23

That out of the way, here’s a brand new Holy Shit!

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



My fair congregation! You know, I called this special session today to remind you about death. Yes, good morning everybody! But the one thing that nobody wants to hear about death is that death isn’t always sad. Especially when someone who laid the foundation for America’s current right wing ugliness and insanity passes away. But we have to talk about the things that he said, because he had some unbelievable gems. And Pat Robertson also paved the way for the unholy, ungodly Dark One! I of course speak of a man so foul, so profane and disgusting that his name dare NOT be spoken in my church! Yes, I too credit Pat Robertson with the reason why this segment exists in the first place. Whether your brand of televangelism is Robertson or Jerry Falwell, or maybe you prefer some west coast evangelism from the Crouch family. But these people all do not support JAYSUS, they support the Dark One! And we will remember Pat in our own way. But first here’s the full story!

Pat Robertson, the televangelist who ran for the Republican nomination for president in 1988, died on Thursday at the age of 93. The Christian Broadcasting Network, which Robertson founded in 1960, announced the news on Friday morning.

Robertson is widely credited with ushering Christian-conservatism into mainstream politics in the 1980s and 1990s, and laying the groundwork for the modern right-wing culture war. He has a history of extreme, bigoted commentary — including that gay people and abortion caused 9/11, that Haitians deserved the 2010 earthquake that ravaged the island nation, and that feminists are evil.

The 700 Club, Robertson’s long-running program on the CBN, was his most common platform for hate. In the days after 9/11, he brought on pastor Jerry Falwell to discuss the tragedy. “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America, I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen,'” Falwell said, to which Robertson said “I totally concur” and that the “agenda” has been adopted by the “highest levels of our government.”

Robertson’s bigotry toward gay people was boundless. He said on The 700 Club that he wished Facebook had a “vomit button” for when he came across a picture of gay people kissing, equated gay people with Nazis and Satanists, suggested God unleashed hurricanes and other natural disasters punishment for homosexuality. “I would warn Orlando that you’re right in the way of some serious hurricanes, and I don’t think I’d be waving those flags in God’s face if I were you,” he said of Disney World’s Gay Days. “It’ll bring about terrorist bombs; it’ll bring earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/pat-robertson-dead-obituary-1234766208/




Well that’s just the kind of guy Pat Robertson was – he wished that Facebook had a “vomit” button so you could dislike photos of two gay men kissing. Apparently he was turned off by that sort of thing, but I’m pretty sure that members of the 700 Club have some very interesting Porn Hub searches! Now, before we go any further, we have to play a few clips of his greatest hits. By far the most disturbing thing he ever said was this clip, which I can’t even believe was a thing that was said.



Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! He filmed that episode back in 2008 and I still can’t believe that was a thing that was said. But here’s a few more of his greatest hits:









Which would come as a surprise to no one that he dabbled a bit in the world of anti-semitism. Yeah he’s basically a Nazi.

Pat Robertson, the televangelist who died June 8 at age 93, could at times appear to cherish Jewish traditions. His 700 Club program, a chat show expounding right-wing Christian ideology, regularly organized Rosh Hashanah celebrations because, as Robertson claimed during one broadcast, “We identify with our dear friends in the Jewish community and Israel.”

Yet he was also capable of comments like this, made during a 2014 program in which Robertson hosted the Orthodox rabbi Daniel Lapin and claimed: “What is it about Jewish people that make them prosper financially? You almost never find Jews tinkering with their cars on the weekends or mowing their lawns.”

To which Rabbi Lapin concurred that he paid others to tend his car and lawn. Robertson added that the rabbi was busy “polishing diamonds, not fixing cars.”

When this exchange was reported in the media, Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) issued a press release attempting to defuse the exchange as a mere “jovial back-and-forth” featuring “good-natured ribbing” by Robertson, rather than a “slur on the Jewish people.”
https://forward.com/culture/549975/how-televangelist-pat-robertson-dabbled-in-antisemitism-obituary/?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=saturdayedition_7016089




Yeah well Pat Robertson was one of the reasons why the phrase “boob tube” was coined. He is a gigantic boob, the biggest even. In fact, you know during the last season, we spoke heavily about the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States. Well, we can have one guy to thank for that. And that guy is Pat Robertson. Yes, he laid the foundation for crazy people like Marjorie Greene and Lauren Boebert to get elected, and that’s how they get elected and we can’t get rid of them. Because they appeal to viewers of the 700 Club and other televangelists on TV.

Pat Robertson, who died on Thursday at age 93, was one of the pivotal reasons the Christian right became central to the GOP coalition. Because of this, the political world we live in today is in no small part his creation.

Robertson, who mounted a failed run for the GOP presidential nomination in 1988, was founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network. His televangelism mobilized untold numbers of conservative Christians to become more active in politics, initiating a transformation that is still unfolding all around us.

To understand Robertson’s impact, I reached out to historian Rick Perlstein, author of several books that chronicle the history of the American right and its seamy cultural undercurrents over the last half century. An edited and condensed version of our exchange follows:

Sargent: Pat Robertson’s “vision for the GOP completely triumphed.” That’s from former conservative Matthew Sheffield. Do we live today in the world that Robertson helped create?

Perlstein: Yes. I found a remarkable quote from him in 1979, just as the Christian right was taking shape as a political force that could impact presidential elections. He said, “We have enough votes to run the country. When people say, ‘We have had enough,’ we’re going to take over.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/08/pat-robertson-death-rick-perlstein-christian-nationalism-republicans/




Well, he doesn’t anymore! That’s it folks, that’s our small fuck you, er, tribute to Pat Robertson. They say you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but since he had an entire career of speaking ill of the dead, well, turnabout is fair play, don’t you think? 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: Anti-Woke Products
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From: Idiots #14-13



Can I just say it already? This shit is getting fucking old. It seems like there’s a new conservative temper tantrum over advertising every single week. First it was the NFL. Then it was Keurigs. Then it was Oreos. Then it was M&Ms. Oh yeah, Tucker Carlson may not work at Fox anymore, but we’re not letting him see the end of that clip. Then it was Budwesier. Now it’s Jack Daniels. What’s left? Do they just sit and stare at blank walls and drink tap water and eat stale bread? That’s no way to live. So now how are conservatives responding to advertising that doesn’t cater directly to straight white alpha males and females? Easy, they’re starting their own companies, with their own products with blackjack and hookers. On second thought, forget about the products. In fact there’s even a whole anti-woke alternative to Amazon being proposed, complete with every thing from anti-woke toothpaste to anti-woke diapers. Yes, apparently super creepy Q lunatics are going after Pampers now. But this whole thing is truly the stuff of insanity.

Online marketplace Public Square is set to merge with Omeed Malik's blank check company Colombier Acquisition Group in a $200 million deal as the company launches a full-throttle campaign to give every 'anti-woke' consumer an Amazon-like alternative.

The San Diego-based company launched nationwide seven months ago and now hosts nearly 50,000 'patriotic' vendors and has processed millions of transactions.

It's now drawn in conservative heavyweights like Donald Trump Jr., who serves as an investor and an adviser, and former Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters, who is an advisor.

'People need to stop giving their money to businesses that hate them. We aren't going to defeat woke corporations by whining on Twitter,' Trump Jr. told DailyMail.com.

A final deal could be announced as soon as today, a source familiar confirmed to DailyMail.com.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11799491/The-anti-woke-patriotic-marketplace-set-public-200-million-deal.html




Yeah that’s the future if this kind of thing starts getting traction. But is it really? I mean outside of idiots on Fox News, do you see anyone actually destroying their products? Yeah people talk a lot of shit that they actually think they’re going to put a dent into a multi-billion dollar, multi-international company that makes several billion on their quarterly profits, but you might make a small fraction of a dent in them. But the thing is, it’s all about dollar, dollar bills y’all. Like people talk shit about destroying Budweiser and affiliated products, but at the end of the day, they’ll still kick back and enjoy a nice tall beer. Don’t tell them that 3 companies control like 200 different brands!

The maker of an "anti-woke" alternative to Bud Light is being called out online over the high price of his product, which—including the cost of shipping—comes out to more than four times the price of one of America's best-selling beers.

Following conservative backlash against Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch's partnership with a transgender influencer, Seth Weathers—a Georgia-based political consultant and apparel company CEO who led President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign in the state—announced he would begin selling a "100% woke-free beer" as a bulwark to "woke corporations."

The video went viral, amassing 2.2 million views in 24 hours and prompting what Weathers described to Newsweek as "thousands" of pre-orders of Conservative Dad's Ultra Right ahead of the product's formal launch next month.

A handful of replies were positive, with people saying they were excited to buy the brew or asking questions about its calorie content. Online, however, the feedback was largely negative or mocking as the beer became a trending topic on Twitter.

For some, what was more attention-grabbing than the advertisement was the price of the brew itself: $20 for a pack of six beers. And that's before shipping—a necessity for customers due to the fact they could not yet legally sell the product in stores. The beer also has a lower alcohol content (4.0 percent) than a can of Bud Light.
https://www.newsweek.com/anti-woke-beer-costs-four-times-more-bud-light-1794319




Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! But hey, those beers ain’t free! In fact the hilarious thing about the current conservative MAGA buzzword is that if you go woke, you go broke. Actually it’s more the opposite, if you go anti-woke, you go broke! Because here’s the thing – Budweiser is cheap. You can get a 36 pack of Budweiser at your local Costco for $36. If you buy a six pack of this new anti-woke beer, it will cost you… $35. Yes, that’s right - $35 for a beer that’s probably worse than Budweiser! Which would be great if they could actually get a producer to manufacture this beer. Yeah it seems like this isn’t a popular idea. Which means either this guy’s a con artist or a troll. We’re hoping troll.

An anti-“woke” beer company is having a tough time finding a brewing company to actually produce it for them.

The idea for Ultra Right Beer was conjured up by Seth Weathers in the wake of Conservatives boycotting Bud Light for partnering with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney.

Never seemingly passing up the opportunity to make money from a scandal, the right jumped on the chance to buy a “woke free” beer, however, the creator is now finding it hard to find somewhere to actually make it.

The beer’s website claimed it was “brewed and canned by Bent River Brewing Co.”, but the brewery claims its name was used without permission after they were approached.

Mike Zoller, the Chicago Beer Editor for PorchDrinking.com, said Weathers asked the Illinois-based Bent River Brewing Company to brew the beer for them. They allege Weathers also used their name without permission on his website.
https://www.indy100.com/news/ultra-right-beer-brewery-struggle




Oh that Homer! Well, here’s the other thing that the MAGAs don’t seem to get about their 10,000,000,000 boycotts – it doesn’t quite work if you buy their products. Yeah, we get that these videos are mad e with the idea of getting likes from other conservatives and attempting to rile up the other side. But here’s the other thing that MAGAs don’t seem to get about their 10,000,000,000 boycotts – we’re not “triggered”. In fact, we’re actually laughing at you because of how utterly ridiculous you look. So while you’re getting your underwear in a wad over yet another stupid commercial that nobody else seems to care about, the executives are the ones laughing all the way to the bank and playing you for the chumps that you are.

“Get woke, go broke,” has become a rallying cry of the political right whenever they see a brand make the slightest effort to align itself with liberal or progressive values. It’s a meme that allows MAGA country to believe that there is ongoing, massive backlash to products that acknowledge and celebrate marginalized communities. But the supposed boycotts never seem to be reflected in the bottom line.

Besides, by the time we would expect to notice any effect, conservatives have already moved on to the next outrage. Kid Rock and Travis Tritt declared war this week against brewer Anheuser-Busch for a Bud Light partnership with trans actor Dylan Mulvaney, yet the focus has already shifted to the whiskey Jack Daniel’s because of its ad campaign featuring drag queens — which happens to be from 2021.

With all the companies these grievance peddlers are busy trying to destroy, it’s none too surprising that some have slipped through the cracks. Though the U.S. economy is facing headwinds and earnings may be down across the board for the first fiscal quarter of 2023, there’s ample evidence that major brands tend to easily weather anti-woke furor. Here’s an accounting of several that right-wingers vowed to ruin, and how they’re faring in the aftermath:
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/woke-companies-broke-profits-1234710724/







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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner: Highlights From CPAC Hungary
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From: Idiots #14-14

Let’s spin the wheel, shall we? Come on, no whammy no whammy no whammy no whammy no whammy… STOP! NO!!! A whammy!!!



Spin it again. Oh hey it’s time for a new Conspiracy Corner!



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! You know, folks, up until now, the GOP has been using a “wink wink nudge nudge” kind of attitude when it comes to their thoughts regarding authoritarianism. Well, lately it seems they’ve dropped that attitude and are full on embracing their fascist leanings. We’ve reported in the past on the MAGAs’ love for Hungary’s populist authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orban. So is populism creeping its’ way into the United States? Oh you bet it is, and the GOP isn’t stopping there. Hell, they think the president is God and the GOP wants a dictator for life. Which is why the GOP and Fox are continuing to cozy up to Hungary and how their brand of fascism is a model for the US. Which of course, nobody really asked for, or wants.

The Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán has called for Donald Trump’s return to office, claiming their shared brand of hard-right populism is on the rise around the world, in a speech to US Republicans and their European allies in Budapest.

Orbán was addressing the second annual meeting of the US Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) in the Hungarian capital, aimed at cementing radical rightwing ties across the Atlantic. He said that conservatives have “occupied big European sanctuaries”, which he listed as Budapest, Warsaw, Rome and Jerusalem. He added that Vienna “is also not hopeless” .

He noted that Washington and Brussels were still in the grip of liberalism, which he described as a “virus that will atomize and disintegrate our nations”.

The Orbán government has made tentative approaches to open contacts with Ron DeSantis, with the Hungarian president, Katalin Novák, flying to meet the Florida governor in Tallahassee in March, but at Thursday’s CPAC conference it was overwhelmingly Trumpist, and Orbán threw his full-throated support behind the former US president.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/04/hungary-viktor-orban-donald-trump-cpac




Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooly shit! That’s quite a bit extreme there! That’s not populism, that’s just straight up Nazism! You know, the concentration camps weren’t built in a day. It started with dehumanization and demonization. And just kept escalating there. On the scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being Holocaust, we’re somewhere in the middle right now. But that could all change in the 2024 election, which we’re all praying will not happen. But in case you’re wondering whether or not the GOP plans to go full genocidal maniac if they win the 2024 election, well, guess what? Your fears definitely aren’t going to be eased.

Conservative activist group CPAC has held this year’s meeting in Hungary, giving a platform to anti-LGBTQ+ speakers making attacks on “woke” culture and marginalised communities.

The right-wing group – full title, the Conservative Political Action Coalition – is best known for its always-controversial annual American conferences, but organisers have spread their roots to other countries with considerable right-wing influence over the past few years.

Since its first US event in 1974, the conference has featured keynote speeches, discussion panels and Q&As from notably controversial, and often anti-LGBTQ+, hard-line right-wing pundits, including former advisor to Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Trump himself, and Republican politician Matt Gaetz.

The organisation also supports a number of political pundits across the world, including anti-trans talking head Posie Parker, who claimed that the insurance for her controversial Australian “Let Women Speak” tour was paid for by CPAC.
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/05/05/cpac-hungary-anti-lgbtq/




Yeah so let that sink in for a minute. In case your MAGA nutcase neighbors start spewing crap about paid protestors, there’s paid protestors all right, but guess which side they’re on? Yeah it’s not our side, shocking, I know! And of course like most things involving that guy who we inexplicably used to call president, things get so much worse the more you dig into it. The genocidal rhetoric aside, these guys have some very terrible things in store for the future of the United States. And how can you have a nation without national interests? Seriously their rhetoric is getting so insane that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with it.

Hungary’s populist prime minister likened liberalism to a “virus” in an opening speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the Hungarian capital on Thursday, painting a picture of a global right-wing movement mobilizing to defeat “progressive elites.”

Viktor Orban’s speech at CPAC Hungary centered around battling what he frequently described as “woke culture,” and delved primarily into hot-button cultural topics such as transgender and LGBTQ+ rights, migration and the content of education for children.

The two-day conference, the second in Hungary in as many years, featured segments titled “Make Kids Not War” and “No Country for Woke Men.” A sign over the entrance to the venue, a conference hall on the Danube River, read, “No Woke Zone.”

After receiving a standing ovation, Orban said Hungary had become “world-famous” for its hard-line migration and cultural policies, and offered those in attendance a recipe for implementing a similar right-wing agenda at home.

“No migration, no gender, no war,” Orban said, urging his international audience to focus on these issues in their own countries.
https://apnews.com/article/cpac-hungary-orban-woke-gender-migration-da47d0febc22d935de0b48fe5e3ad4a6




Eh, not always. But we can agree that crazy people with tin foil hats are involved. But of course, the GOP just can’t seem to shake the stink of that former president off of them. See, you don’t have to wonder anymore about how the average person fell for Hitler’s evil deeds. We’re witnessing it in real time and things are about to get so much worse. Fascism doesn’t just happen overnight. It may seem like it does, but it doesn’t. It starts out at the local and state levels. But by the time it comes to the national level, it may be too late to do anything about it. But CPAC is basically just another forum for the guy who ruins everything to barf his brains out. Ugh.

Former President Donald Trump has appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Hungary via a pre-recorded video.

Trump was not listed as being among the speakers or guest appearances at the event held in Budapest, but a clip of him was played at the start of the second day.

During his message, Trump praised Hungary's populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a "tremendous leader" while declaring that conservatives are in a "historic battle" against "Marxist, globalists and communists" all over the world.

"It's a true honor to address the freedom loving patriots gathered in Hungary to celebrate the timeless values and principles that unite conservatives all over the world," Trump said.

"We believe that faith and family are the bedrock of a good and free society. We believe that a nation without borders is not a nation at all. We believe in tradition, the role of law, freedom of speech, and the God-given dignity of every human life.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-cpac-hungray-orban-1798531







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[font size="8"]I Need A Drink
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From: Idiots #14-9

Hey everyone, I don’t know about you, but I could really use a drink!



So of course you know by now that the idea behind this segment is that we have some drinks, and while we are drinking, we talk about literally anything in the news as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. Which we make that rule, because there’s a lot of really dark shit in the news right now, and it’s best not to mix politics and alcohol, they go together like olive oil and vinegar. Well this week, since we’re in Canada, we thought we’d drink Canadian, because we need to talk about the Saskatchewan city of Regina. And their attempts to rebrand the city’s image and tourism prospects. So tell me, bartender, what goes well with a story about Regina? Some Labatt Blue? Do you have anything stronger? Oh OK, some Crown Royal, I’ll have some of that! Maybe a pint or two of Labatt Blue for a chaser. Can’t be too picky these days! So here's the story is that the city of Regina attempted to do some branding of its’ tourism bureau and it didn’t exactly go over well.

The tourism organisation for Regina, Canada, has apologised after critics claimed its new advertising campaign "sexualised" the city.

A series of new slogans leaned into the city's double-entendre name - with taglines such as "show us your Regina" and "the city that rhymes with fun".

Some residents said it was immature and belittling to women.

Experience Regina apologised on Sunday, saying the rebrand crossed a line and created "negative impact".

"I want to start by apologising, on behalf of myself and our team, for the negative impact we created with elements of our recent brand launch," said Tim Reid, of Experience Regina, in a statement.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65027558




Now there’s a dude who can drink some beer! But yeah you know, if you’re going to rebrand in that way, maybe you should, I don’t know, at least have a test audience before you go live with that product because otherwise it will come back to haunt you! Come on, even Deadpool made a joke about how Regina rhymes with Vagina. So what does the mayor think of this new rebranding attempt? Well, it didn’t exactly go over, what one would call, well. Because yeah, this is the kind of thing that could be grossly misinterpreted in the wrong context.

Regina’s mayor says no decision has been made on whether the city will keep the name of its tourism agency after a controversial rebranding rollout.

Experience Regina apologized on the weekend and removed phrases online that seemed to make light of the Saskatchewan capital's name rhyming with vagina.

"Not all can get past it," Sandra Masters said Wednesday.

"But, by and large, people make mistakes. We are human beings. It’s human beings running all these things.”

Masters said council will need to be briefed on what went wrong. She said the intention of the campaign was to promote the city and its people, but that wasn't what happened.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/regina-mayor-says-tourism-campaign-165211082.html




And yet somehow I don’t think that’s enough beer! But in all seriousness, how did you not see this one coming? I mean even Deadpool made a joke about Regina rhyming with vagina. And I love that they’re attempting to backtrack and call this a “misstep”. That’s absolutely hilarious. There’s no other way to take “show us your Regina” than what it means. It’s like those “don’t mess with Texas” bumper stickers you see next to a “Let’s Go Brandon” sign on your neighbor’s comically oversized F-350. Like they don’t know it’s a trash slogan. But eh, don’t tell them that.

Regina Mayor Sandra Masters has responded to criticism of slogans used as part of a tourism rebrand for the city, saying they were a mistake.

Last week Tourism Regina rebranded to Experience Regina. The launch included two slogans— "Show us your Regina" and "The city that rhymes with fun" — that drew a lot of criticism online for sexualizing the city.

"They [slogans] were sexist and wrong. They hurt and impacted people," Masters told reporters Wednesday evening. "It's just bad for the city."

Experience Regina's CEO Tim Reid issued an apology for the slogans on Sunday and the organization scrubbed them from its website.

Masters told reporters Wednesday that the backlash came as a surprise to her, as city council previewed parts of the campaign launch but the controversial slogans weren't included.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/it-was-a-misstep-or-the-experience-regina-brand-launch-to-use-sexist-slogans-regina-mayor-1.6788387




Ah now there’s the good stuff! But what I love about this story is that even a week later it’s still being talked about. And come on, this is the internet and social media era, there’s no such thing as a take back these days. You can’t say something stupid and then expect to scrub it from memory. It’s not like we’re living in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Nice one! And of course with something as stupid as this, we may never hear the end of it. And they’ll probably keep apologizing again and again and again. And then again, like Jerry Seinfeld said – who are the ad wizards that thought of this one?

No one seems sure how slogans deemed “sexist,” “awful” and “bad for Regina” made it to print as part of a rebrand of Regina’s tourism marketing organization.

Experience Regina, formerly Tourism Regina, will spend a “long time” apologizing for the scandal it brought to the city with slogans criticized as “sexist” and “gross,” says Tim Reid, president and CEO of Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL) and CEO of Experience Regina.

Stewardship of Tourism Regina, now Experience Regina, was transferred to REAL from Economic Development Regina in June 2022.

Experience Regina launched a rebrand last week, posting across social media: “We are the city that rhymes with fun.” A page on the tourism organization’s website also had a page titled “show us your Regina” written above a block of Instagram posts and images.

Still present on the website is the slogan “while the land may be flat, we’re anything but” above a series of Instagram posts. When searching for the Experience Regina website on a search engine, a small logo — known as a favicon — appears next to the URL with the words “do it in” written in orange on a white background.
https://leaderpost.com/news/local-news/mayor-says-experience-regina-slogans-were-sexist-and-wrong





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[font size="8"]Stupidest State 2023: Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference Championships
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16 states will enter and only one state will become the new Top 10 Conservative Idiots Stupidest State!



Well, folks! The Elite 8 is set! Representing the Batshit Conference, we have Florida and Arizona! From the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference, we have Ohio and Kansas! From the Gun Nut Conference, we have Missouri and Montana! And last, but certainly not least, from the Family Values Conference, we have Tennessee and Utah! Last week it was one for the ages. And we really mean that! Tennessee ultimately prevailed with a last second 3 pointer to sink Arkansas, who wasn’t going down without a fight, it was a truly incredible matchup! Meanwhile, over in the Batshit Conference, Arizona dominated South Dakota to play heavily favored Florida! This week it’s the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference championships – Ohio vs Kansas! We’re live from the home of the Seattle Kraken, the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle for all the exciting action! Let’s go the floor, shall we?

[font size="4"]Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference Round 2: Kansas Vs Ohio [/font]

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


The Kansas Jayhawks are back and they are favorites in the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference for one reason – greed! And boy is there some greed in the Sunflower State. Kansas is of course the home to the right wing billionaires that everyone loves to hate – Koch Industries. But the biggest story out of the Sunflower State currently is a massive food tax problem. But the problem is that once again, conservatives favor the party of the rich and they don’t care about anyone else. Yet they say that they care about you, the working class. Because that’s what the GOP does. Bottom line: don’t vote with just your wallet, because it never ends well.

Lawmakers on Tuesday debated the merits of a flat tax proposal that would lower revenues by an estimated $1.5 billion annually and disproportionately benefit the state’s wealthiest residents.

Rep. Christina Haswood, a Lawrence Democrat, questioned during a House committee hearing why the Legislature should favor the flat tax over more equitable tax cut proposals. Democrats, including Gov. Laura Kelly, favor the immediate elimination of the sales tax on food, feminine hygiene products and back-to-school supplies.

Adam Proffitt, the state budget director, estimated that the proposal would decrease the state’s general fund revenue by $428 million in fiscal year 2024, and then by $1.452 billion and $1.541 billion in the next two fiscal years.

The Kansas Reflector asked the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit that provides research on state and federal tax policies, for an analysis of the legislation. The institute calculated that 49% of the individual income tax reduction would go to the richest 20% of Kansans. The state’s bottom 20% of earners would get about 4.1% of the tax reduction.
https://hayspost.com/posts/71958137-49c7-4633-ae4e-07242ff005e0




Yes, that’s the point – everyone always wants more, more, more! So what’s the solution to that, you might ask? Well, I answer you, sir or madam – the answer is to offset with a food tax! Which of course means more money for Koch Industries! Yeah, that’s the same old story time and time again – the rich get richer, while the poor get screwed. Fox News and corporate greed – it’s the reason why we can’t have nice things.

Kansas lawmakers passed a tax cut package in the early Friday morning hours that fuses a flat tax rate for individual income with an accelerated reduction in the state sales tax on food, corporate tax breaks and residential property tax relief.

The policies assembled into Senate Bill 169 add up to $1.3 billion in decreased state tax collections over the next three years, with more than half of the cost associated with the flat tax. The bill eliminates the sales tax on food at the start of next year.

“To me, it’s always a priority to get it back to taxpayers instead of growing government, and that’s that this bill does, and it does it very nicely,” said Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican who chairs the Senate tax committee. “It considers everybody, from low income tax to everybody.”

Legislators worked past 4 a.m. to finalize a long list of last-minute deals before taking a three-week break. They will return at the end of April to attempt an override of any legislation vetoed by Gov. Laura Kelly, and to put the final touches on state spending and other policy ideas.
https://hayspost.com/posts/30d531dc-b1ee-4f24-868e-5a789dbaeeb1




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


The Buckeye State has finally found their home in the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference! When we last checked in, they had taken out Wisconsin thanks to a series of train derailments, while their representatives at the state level are fighting over bullshit culture war issues that they had heard about on Fox News. Well, the shit hitting the fan surrounding the Norfolk Southern incident has hit the proverbial fan, because it’s getting real. And it’s getting to the point where it’s going to start affecting a whole lot of people in various different ways. Again, folks, don’t vote with your wallet because this is the kind of shit that happens when you do.

Seven US government investigators briefly fell ill in early March while studying the possible health impacts of a toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed to CNN on Thursday.

The investigators’ symptoms included sore throats, headaches, coughing and nausea – consistent with what some residents experienced after the February 3 train derailment that released a cocktail of hazardous chemicals into the air, water and soil.

The investigators who experienced symptoms were part of a team conducting a house-to-house survey in an area near the derailment, and they immediately reported their symptoms to federal safety officers.

“Symptoms resolved for most team members later the same afternoon, and everyone resumed work on survey data collection within 24 hours. Impacted team members have not reported ongoing health effects,” a CDC spokesperson said in the statement.

The illnesses are coming to light after repeated assurances by government officials and representatives from Norfolk Southern, the company that operated the train, that the air and drinking water in East Palestine is not hazardous to health.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/31/health/ohio-train-derailment-cdc-team-symptoms




Yes, holy shit indeed! So how does the Ohio state legislature respond? By fighting about bullshit culture war issues because that’s all Tucker Carlson talks about! Yes, it’s the same old story time and time again – Fox News keeps us fighting with each other over bullshit culture war issues while the right wing consolidates all the wealth and power in this country. This is how they keep stealing elections, schoolboards, courts, you name it. I tell you, right wing politics is an absolute racket in this country and it's really starting to show.

Between debates on an income tax cut and the cost of educating children, Ohio's Republican-controlled Legislature is waging culture wars on everything from abortion and guns to transgender medical treatments.

Polling suggests Americans care far more about inflation, the cost of living and immigration than abortion, guns, religious declines or LGBTQ rights, according to a recent Gallup poll of the nation's most important problems.

But that doesn't stop social issues from dominating debates at the Ohio Statehouse. Here are some of the recent proposals:

Abortion battles after Roe v. Wade
The biggest threat to abortion access in Ohio is actually a proposal to make it more difficult to amend the state constitution.

Ohio's Republican lawmakers revived several proposals affecting transgender children, including restrictions on medical treatments and participation in sports.
https://www.timesreporter.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/04/culture-wars-lawmakers-push-anti-abortion-anti-transgender-bills/70056189007/




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

We have a winner! In a stunning upset, Ohio has taken Kansas by a score of 10 going into the last minute of the game… for three… it’s good! A foul has been called. First shot in… yes! Second… oh a miss. But the damage has been done! Ohio takes the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference and they are going to the Final Four! Final score: 88 – 74! They are celebrating on the court, Ohio has made their first Final Four in NFFSA history! Cut that net guys! You earned it!



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

Next week, it’s the Gun Nut Conference Championships! Missouri. Montana. One of these states will advance to the Final Four! Who will bring their big guns? Only one way to find out! We’re live at the home of the Florida Panthers, the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida for all the exciting action!
https://www.timesreporter.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/04/culture-wars-lawmakers-push-anti-abortion-anti-transgender-bills/70056189007/




[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Joe Bonamassa[/font]

Ladies and gentlemen, my next guest is one of the biggest names in contemporary blues. You can see him live at Red Rocks Amphitheater on August 6th and at the Hollywood Bowl August 9th. Playing his song “Mind’s Eye” from his new live album “Tales Of Time”, give it up for the man, the myth, the legend – Joe Bonamassa!



Thank you Denver! We’re taking a short break next week, we’ll be back on May 11th live from San Francisco Sketch Fest with live music from the legendary NOFX and the famous Wheel Of Corruption!

See you in two weeks!

Credits

Host: Initech
Joe Bonamassa Appears Courtesy Of: J&R Adventures
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Ogden Theater, Denver, CO
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Questions? Comments? Complaints? Hate mail? E-mail The Top 10 at: Top10ConIdiots@gmail.com


Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo


May 25, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-16: Everybody Wants To Impeach The World Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-16: Everybody Wants To Impeach The World Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yoooooooooooooooo!!! What’s up, Santa Ana? How are you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Great! You know, our favorite late night shows may be affected by the WGA strike but we’re still here and ready to bring you plenty of comedy! Well, here we are at the end of the season already, now don’t be sad! We’re coming back in July and things are going to be big for us. But I will say that a lot of people have been asking us about the future of the Top 10. I can assure you that we will have an announcement coming in the next few weeks. But we’re not sure what the future is going to hold for our fine program after the conclusion of season 15 which will end with our 2023 Year In Review Edition on 12/15/23. But whatever decision we make, we can assure you it will be for the greater good of the program. THE GREATER GOOD! Do we have time for the thing? Of course we do! So you know right now the WGA writer’s strike is going on in Los Angeles and New York right now, and everyone is affected because of this. In fact even we’re affected because we can’t even really bring you any of the funny talk show clips that we regularly feature here. We actually had a planned edition of our segment on corporate greed, Late Stage Capitalism about the strike that will air in one of our Best Of editions while we’re gone for the summer. But really people, pay your damn writers a living wage! Do we really have to put Rivers Cuomo on the case? Yeah, the writers have got a lot of support from the industry! Even our good friends Weezer are joining in! But networks are replacing scripted shows with reality shows. We don’t want… no we’re not getting replaced with a reality show, stop it already! OK fine! Yes, stay tuned for MILF Island! OK enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to, but first we have to play this clip from John Oliver talking about Fox News vs Joe Biden vs the US – Mexico border. It’s a clusterfuck!



Well, folks! It’s the season finale! And before we get out of here for the summer, we’re going to sprinkle this edition with some of our patented Clips Without Context! Because there’s way too many of them out there, and conservatives keep giving us fresh content for free! Isn’t that generous of them? Well in the number one slot this week, it goes to our old friend Marjorie Three Names (1), who last week announced “Impeachment Week” because apparently ridding the government of anyone with a D next to their name is the “will of the Republicans”, but really just a group of deranged conspiracy theorists who spend way too much time on conservative podcasts. In the second slot this week is our old buddy Ron DeSantis (2). Yes, Ron’s on a warpath to go full Nazi, and his ever-increasing legislation is getting more evil by the day, with the premise that he’s “saving the children” from something. What it is, we don’t know for sure. In the third slot this week is Conservatives vs Tik Tok (3) and specifically the state of Montana has become the first to ban Tik Tok, because of the right wing’s increasing derangement and hostility towards the “Chinese Communist Party”. Yeah tell us you get all your news from Infowars without telling us you get all your news from Infowars. In the number 4 slot this week is CNN (4). Wait, what??? Yes, CNN, once a bastion for liberals and a direct competitor to Fox, is now a shell of its’ former self, thanks to its’ new right wing president, and the hits just keep on coming! In the number 5 slot this week is a new We’re All Gonna Die (5) and this week, the UN has sounded the alarm on climate change and we could hit catastrophic levels in the next few years. But is it really going to kill us all? 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” and this week, there was a shocking revelation from the Mormon Church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City that they have way too much money and they don’t know what to do with it all! Can we have some, please? Taking the number 7 slot this week, we add former Auburn coach and current Fox News MAGA Q Anon senator Tommy Tuberville (Q – Insurrectionist) to the ever-growing list of People Who Somehow Got Elected (7). In the number 8 slot this week is our weekly venture into the world of online tin foil hat nuttery in Conspiracy Corner (8), and this week, Trump is trying to deflect from his recent woes by going after the Clintons again. Because, derangement, and he’s also got some bullshit in the form of a right wing book called “Clinton Cash”. Eh, this one is too stupid to insult. In the number 9 (NEIN!!) slot this week, we have a new “I Need A Drink” and holy shit, we have to talk about this absolutely ridiculous lawsuit about who owns the trademark to “Taco Tuesday”. Because it’s truly insane. Finally this week, it’s Stupidest State 2023 (10). IT. ALL. COMES. DOWN. TO. THIS. It’s the Stupidest State 2023 Championship. #1 Florida against #2 Missouri. We are live at the home of champions, the fabulous Staples Center in Los Angeles with the game, the ceremonies, the champagne, the trophy presentation, and of course One Shining Moment! Plus to cap things off, we have some live music from a little band called, I don’t know. Metallica! Yes, buy their new album 72 Seasons or you’re 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"]Marjorie Three Names
[br] [/font]
[br]

Hey everyone, it’s time for one of our patented (patent pending) Clips Without Context!



Oh dear god no. Last thing we need is white supremacist scumbags in the Senate. It’s bad enough they’re already polluting the House. Now back to our regularly scheduled program!

Look, if the last three years of hearing every stupid thing that comes out of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (Q – Batshit) mouth 24 hours a day has taught us anything, it’s this – stop giving a megaphone to stupid people! People who are as crazy and out of touch with reality as Marjorie Greene is, we used to give people like that the straight jacket and padded walls treatment. The sad thing is, it might be a long time before we finally decide to give these MAGA Q dipshits who won’t shut up and go on every terrible internet talk show you can think of, the heave ho that they so richly deserve. But anyway, Marjorie’s latest ridiculous stunt is going on an impeachment warpath. And it was quite the stuff of pure, unaltered insanity. It’s one thing to suggest firing a person or two. But she has suggested firing the entire democratic party because it’s the “will of the republicans”. Well I got news for you, Marjorie – we don’t want the “will of the republicans”! That’s why we voted you out twice. But wait – hold your boos.

Why it matters: The drafted articles of impeachment, which likely won't go too far, come in response to the FBI's search at former President Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago.

Driving the news: Greene has called on Garland to be impeached "for endangering, compromising and undermining the justice system of the United States by facilitating the persecution" of President Biden's political rival, Trump, according to the drafted articles she shared in a Twitter post.

Garland did not "faithfully" execute the office of the attorney general's promise to "preserve, protect and defend" the United States Constitution, she wrote in the articles.

Greene's office and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
https://www.axios.com/2022/08/13/marjorie-taylor-greene-merrick-garland-impeachment




Yeah see, kids? Wait, I said hold your boos! This is what happens when your brain is rotted by a steady stream of 24 hour a day right wing propaganda. It turns your brain to mush and your choices are dictated by what you saw on Sean Hannity last night. So impeach everybody. Like the Tears For Fears song – everybody wants to impeach the world! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! I don’t want to brag, but we do have Tears For Fears confirmed as a guest next season! It’s a drug and an addiction, and the people who are addicted to it. And come on, who needs to think critically when Fox News does all of your critical thinking for you? But again, hold your boos because Marjorie Greene is currently swirling the drain with her impeachment announcements and it’s the stuff of pure idiocy and insanity.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said on Tuesday that she will move to introduce articles of impeachment against FBI Director Christopher Wray and Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

Greene alleged in a release that Wray has turned the FBI into President Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland’s “personal police force.” She said the FBI has “intimidated, harassed, and entrapped” U.S. citizens who have been “deemed enemies of the Biden regime.”

She cited several examples of FBI actions in the past few years during Wray’s tenure that she believes demonstrates overreach and improper conduct by the agency.

Greene referenced the plot that multiple men had in 2020 to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), pointing to the couple who were acquitted after defense attorneys argued that the FBI entrapped them and convinced them to engage in the conspiracy.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4006840-marjorie-taylor-greene-says-she-will-move-to-impeach-us-attorney-for-dc/




Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… fucking what??? Wait a minute, she’s going after the FBI director for his involvement in that insane plot to kidnap Michigan governor Whitman over… *checks notes* doing his job. But then last week, ol’ Marge dropped the proverbial big one. She’s going to attempt to impeach Biden again. And I don’t even need to point out that this is the third time that she has attempted to do so, because, I don’t know, this has to be some kind of derangement syndrome. So you know, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three or more times…shame on you? I don’t know anymore, these are some really stupid ass people we’re dealing with.

Republicans will try to impeach Joe Biden every week if they retake the House in November, a rare anti-Trump Republican congressman predicted.

Remembering repeated attempts to defund the Affordable Care Act under Barack Obama, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said: “That’s going to look like child’s play in terms of what Marjorie Taylor Greene is going to demand of Kevin McCarthy.

“They’re going to demand an impeachment vote on President Biden every week.”

Kinzinger was speaking to David Axelrod, a former Obama adviser, on his Axe Files podcast.

Kinzinger is one of two Republicans on the House committee investigating the Capitol attack Trump incited. He will retire in November. The other, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, lost her primary to a Trump-backed challenger.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/20/adam-kinzinger-republicans-impeach-biden-every-week




Yeah that is a good question, Marjorie, what the hell is wrong with you? I mean, they’ll impeach Biden because reasons, but they’ll stand behind continuously lying asshole George Santos, also because, reasons, apparently. But speaking of someone who’s lying her ass off, despite multiple failed attempts to impeach Biden that don’t go anywhere, Marjorie put out a “survey” from her Twitter followers that claims to backup the results that people want Biden impeached. No one wants Biden impeached except for deranged internet conspiracy theorists and the few people left who still support the asshole who we used to call president. What’s the point of having a survey if you’re going to rig the results? SMDH. BTW, nobody tell them that Twitter polls don’t translate to votes!

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Tuesday cited her own survey as proof Americans back her plan to impeach President Joe Biden.

During a House floor speech, Greene accused Attorney General Merrick Garland of being a "personal police force" for President Joe Biden.

"What I want to tell the House of Representatives today is a Rasmussen poll was released just last week that 53 percent of voters in America, Republicans, independents, and Democrats, support the impeachment of Joe Biden for high crimes and misdemeanors," Greene claimed.

The lawmaker said she had also created her own social media survey that was shared on Twitter.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-cites-her-own-twitter-poll-as-proof-joe-biden-should-be-impeached/ar-AA1bAhU2?li=BBnbfcL





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[font size="8"]Ron DeSantis
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[br]

This is actually perfect timing here because we’re off for the summer after tonight, so we won’t get to cover Ronnie’s big announcement, even though we all know what it will be. So the worst governor in American history and the biggest partisan extremist elected to office since Joseph McCarthy wants to be president? Well, let’s take a look at his track record and what’s going on in the Sunshine State. First off, let’s address the book bans. What the right wing is doing in regards to banning books is absolutely horrifying. We here at the Top 10 Home Offices in Santa Ana, California, have been contemplating what the ultimate end game of the MAGAs is, and it’s not good. In fact we see scenarios like mass murder and public executions happening under the next GOP president. And let’s take it from Salman Rushdie – a man who’s no stranger to being banned from the public square. He’s absolutely 100% right on the money on this issue.

Less than a year after an attempt on his life, author Salman Rushdie made a rare public appearance at an awards ceremony Thursday to warn of the dangers of banning books and of related movements in the US to roll back freedoms of expression.

“The attack on books, the attack on teaching, the attack on libraries, in – how can I put this – Florida, has never been more dangerous, never been more important to fight,” he said.

Rushdie spoke at the PEN America Gala in New York City, praising the literary and free speech advocacy group for its latest efforts to block politicians and local officials seeking to ban literature concerning race and gender identity.

PEN America, along with book publisher Penguin Random House and several parents and authors, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging Florida’s Escambia County school district’s removal of certain books on race and LGBTQ issues from school libraries.

“I was really proud to hear yesterday that PEN America, together with my publisher Penguin Random House, has taken this step of bringing a lawsuit in Florida,” Rushdie said.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/19/us/salman-rushdie-award-florida-book-bans/index.html




Oh and we can’t forget about his ongoing feud with Disney, oh no. This is an absolute disaster and he won’t stop. Desantis is like the villain in an action movie where he keeps getting beat down, only to keep coming back to life. Yes, like some kind of fucked up T2. But as long as Desantis is governor, we don’t expect him to quietly retreat into the night. Oh no, he’ll continue to get louder and crazier about his fight with Disney. And it’s so stupid too. It’s all about partisan political bullshit. Ron Desantis is enabled and emboldened by Fox News, and they will continue to enable and embolden this psychopath for a very long time.

The war between the Walt Disney Company and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis just opened up a whole new front in the courts.

After months of battling with the likely GOP presidential contender and his personally appointed board over jurisdiction and control of Orlando-based Walt Disney World and its now-besieged special district status, the House of Mouse today took the white gloves off and sued the governor in federal court.

“Disney regrets that it has come to this,” the company said in its complaint (read it here). “But having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the company is left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests, and local development partners from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain state officials.”

In a showdown that has been brewing and boiling as DeSantis’ presidential ambitions have grown, the Bob Iger-run media giant claims that the Sunshine State governor has enacted a policy of “retaliation” against Disney because of its opposition to one of his priorities, a parental rights bill known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
https://deadline.com/2023/04/disney-lawsuit-ron-desantis-over-disney-world-retaliation-free-speech-1235338120/




Yeah come on, Florida! Do you really want this guy as your leader? We’ve got to start loosening Fox News’ iron grip on that state. And by the way, in case you were wondering, the GOP doesn’t give a flying fuck about free speech. It’s one of those “I’ve got mine so fuck you” kind of deals. But we have to talk about how this one “parent”, and we say parent in quotation marks because we’re not sure if this person is a parent with kids in this school and filed a legitimate complaint, or is a social media shit stirrer. We’re leaning towards the latter. But because MAGA conservatives currently run the Miami – Dade school board, they don’t give a fuck. And this is just in one state. Imagine what this would be like on a national scale. And this is criminally insane. That “parent” and the school board should be chastised into oblivion.

A Miami-Dade elementary school limited some access to Amanda Gorman’s presidential inauguration poem, The Hill We Climb, after a parent complained that it contained indirect “hate messages.”

Gorman, 25, who gained national prominence after she recited her poem at President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration, took to Twitter Tuesday to denounce the school’s actions.

“I’m gutted,” the poet wrote in a lengthy Twitter statement, before saying that censored books are often authored by people “who have struggled for generations to get on bookshelves,” most of whom are “queer and non-white.”

“I wrote The Hill We Climb so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment,” Gorman wrote. “Ever since, I’ve received countless letters and videos from children inspired by The Hill We Climb to write their own poems. Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/23/florida-school-inaugural-poem-ban-00098492




God damn it. This moron didn’t even read the poem or know who it was by. Fuck off! This is why we can’t have nice things. Just… ah!!! Florida continues to circle the drain on a daily basis. The complaint itself is criminally insane too. I won’t post it, but it is worth a Google search. But that being said, don’t expect criticism of Ron DeSantis to come any time soon. Because Ron DeSantis is surrounding himself with ass kissers, bootlickers, and yes men, and is actively working to silence any opposition towards him. Which means that if he’s president, imagine this on a national scale. That would basically mean the end of the Top 10 as we know it, and every other program like ours!

Ron DeSantis is building a near-bulletproof shield against criticism in the news. A pair of bills working their way through the Florida state legislature would make it easier to sue media outlets for defamation, and also shield records on how and where the Florida governor goes (including retroactively).

DeSantis has adopted a classic Republican talking point: casting the news media as an enemy. These two bills are just the latest efforts by his government to curb news in the state.

The first bill, passed by the House Civil Justice Subcommittee last week, would make it easier to sue journalists for defamation. The measure expands the definition of defamation but makes it harder to sue elected public officials. The bill also dictates that information from an anonymous source is “presumptively false,” with no exceptions for whistleblowers.

People accused of discriminating against someone’s sex, gender, sexual orientation, or race based on personal scientific or religious belief would be protected against defamation charges. Judges and juries would be allowed to “infer actual malice,” instead of the plaintiff needing to prove it. If the plaintiff wins, they could collect legal fees from the news organization they sued, instead of both parties paying their own costs.
https://newrepublic.com/post/171341/ron-desantis-florida-bills-media-criticism





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[font size="8"]Montana Bans Tik Tok
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[br]

Oh look, it’s time for another Clip Without Context!



Man, as if we didn’t need any more of a reason for the MAGAs getting increasingly more cult like. I mean holy crap. This merger of church and state is the stuff of nightmares! OK back to regularly scheduled programming!

Benjamin Franklin once said “Those who are willing to trade their freedom for security don’t deserve either”. It was true in 1789 and it’s true in 2023. But then again I’m sure our founding fathers didn’t envision the MAGA conspiracy theory wing of the GOP when they wrote the Constitution, but here we are. So you may have heard talk actually coming from both parties about whether or not to ban the Chinese social media app Tik Tok from app stores. And yes, but actually both parties kind of agree on this one, because it’s about security as Tik Tok is hosted on servers that are somewhere in the middle of China on unsecured servers, and they’re notorious for stealing your data. But one such MAGA conspiracy theorist who is bent on banning Tik Tok whether we want to or not, is Montana governor and part time professional wrestler Greg Gianforte. Yes, Mr. Body Slammer himself banned Tik Tok and then gave the country a giant middle finger in the process.

Montana officially became the first state to ban TikTok on Wednesday, after Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill restricting downloads of the immensely popular social media app into law.

The legislation, which was passed in April, makes it illegal for app stores to give users the option to download TikTok and also illegal for the company to operate within the state.

The law is likely to face challenges in court arguing it restricts free speech, but Gianforte praised the bill's privacy protections.

“The Chinese Communist Party using TikTok to spy on Americans, violate their privacy, and collect their personal, private, and sensitive information is well-documented,” Gianforte said in a news release, calling the law "the most decisive action of any state."

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/montana-becomes-first-state-ban-tiktok-governor-signs-bill-law-rcna84994




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Chinese Communist Party? Shut the fuck up and get that Alex Jones bullshit out of here. So you might be asking “why ban Tik Tok?”. Well, I answer you, good sir or madam, aside from giving us insane challenges like running through brick walls to imitate the Kool Aid Man (see: Top 10 #14-6 ) or smuggling Fruit Roll Ups past airport security before flying to Isreal (see: Top 10 #14-13 ), the biggest reason is national security. But again, that all goes to that original Ben Franklin quote that we mentioned earlier.

Keri Williams wouldn’t have her business without TikTok. She launched The Branded Pinto, her custom hat shop, about two years ago after a video she shared of one of her creations “blew up” on TikTok. Nearly all of her business still comes from the platform.

But earlier this week, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill banning TikTok in the state. Now, Williams, who lives near Montana’s largest city — Billings — is scrambling to figure out the future of her business.

“I’ve been trying to get some of the people over to Instagram in case something horrible does happen, where people suddenly can’t get to my TikTok,” she told CNN, “but I’m not really sure how it’s all going to work.”

Over the past year, lawmakers in Washington have ratcheted up their scrutiny of TikTok, with a growing number of Congress members calling for a national ban of the short-form video app due to concerns about its ties to China through its parent company, ByteDance.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/21/tech/montana-tiktok-users/index.html




No, but probably soon. Look, we get it – Montana is a bright red state and we don’t see it being flipped to blue anytime soon. But make no mistake that the GOP is looking to hurt Biden in any way possible and they’re setting their sites on Tik Tok – which a social media app that is very popular among the young people of the United States. And young people do not vote conservative. So conservatives think that if they take their toy away from them, it will turn the youth of America against the ruling party and then all hell will break loose. So yeah Montana is just a test bed for the kind of damage that the GOP could do to free speech. And isn’t it ironic that the people who are the ones to claim their freedom of speech rights are being trampled on are the first to enact laws prohibiting freedom of speech?

TikTok has filed a federal lawsuit against Montana after the state passed a law last week intended to ban the app from being downloaded within its borders.

The widely expected lawsuit argues that banning a hugely popular social media app amounts to an illegal suppression of free speech tantamount to censorship.

The Montana law "unlawfully abridges one of the core freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment," the suit claims.

Lawyers for Chinese-owned TikTok also argue that the national security threat raised by officials in Montana is not something that state officials can attempt to regulate, since foreign affairs and national security matters are a federal issue.

The suit seeks to have the Montana law, which has not gone into effect yet, overturned. Last week, TikTok creators filed the first challenge to the law, saying it violates free speech rights.
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/22/1177541355/tiktok-sues-lawsuit-montana-law-ban




So yeah if you can’t beat ‘em, sue ‘em! So you might be wondering – how is this ban going to be enforced if it’s on cell phones? Well, that is a very good question. The logistics of such a ban are completely insane and actually downright terrifying. Well, since they can’t individually police existing users, they’re going after the source themselves. Which in and of itself is completely reckless and unconstitutional, and the state of Montana can and most likely will get sued to shit over this, and it will probably go before SCOTUS. But make no mistake that the GOP’s CCP derangement syndrome is showing, and it will come back to bite them in the ass hard.

The law will prohibit downloads of TikTok in the state and fine any “entity” — an app store or TikTok — $10,000 per day for each time someone accesses, downloads or is offered the ability to access TikTok.

That means Apple and Google, which operate app stores on Apple and Android devices, would be liable for violations. Penalties would not apply to users.

The statewide ban would be void if the social media platform is sold to a company that is not based in a country designated as a foreign adversary.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has pointed to technology used to restrict online sports gambling apps as a way to curtail TikTok from operating in the state. Those violations can be reported by anyone. And once the state verifies a breach has taken place, it sends a cease-and-desist letter to the company involved, said Kyler Nerison, a spokesperson for Knudsen’s office.
https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-montana-china-data-chinese-government-71143a3a87c9a0b692d927f72b6fec70





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[font size="8"]CNN
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CNN, we need to have an intervention. What you’re doing right now ain’t working. In the last week, you let go of one of your key anchors, Don Lemon. And had that disastrous Trump Town Hall which has had the producers of the network absolutely seething. You’re clearly doing something wrong here. And what you’re doing wrong is – don’t fuck with Nazis! Period! OK? Stop it! Stop going down the alt right social media conspiracy theory wormhole! That shit is bad for you! It’s destroyed families. It’s turned friends against each other. It’s doing untold damage to this country that may take a century or more to repair and recover from it. And now CNN – once a liberal bastion and the centerpiece on how to correctly run a 24 hour a day cable news network – has since become a shell of its’ former self since new CEO Chris Licht took over and now they’re basically just another wannabe Fox News but with less conservative viewership.

Just days after CNN scored a rare first-place finish in prime time with its town hall session featuring former President Donald Trump, the network dropped into fourth place Friday night, trailing conservative network Newsmax. CNN delivered an average total audience of 335,000 viewers in prime Friday, just behind Newsmax’s 357,000 viewers. Fox News finished first in prime with 1.44 million viewers, and MSNBC was second overall with 1.084 million viewers.

Among viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by advertisers, CNN climbed to third place, with an average audience of 87,000 viewers. Fox News was first in the key demo with 109,000 viewers, followed by MSNBC (98,000 viewers). Newsmax was fourth with 45,000 viewers.

Each of CNN’s prime time hours trailed the competition on Newsmax Friday, with Anderson Cooper 360 delivering a total audience of 447,000 viewers at 8 p.m. ET, taking fourth place behind Fox News Channel’s Fox News Tonight (1.302 million viewers), MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes (1.076 million viewers), and Newsmax’s Eric Bolling (467,000 viewers). At 9 p.m. ET, FNC’s Hannity was first with 1.606 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s Alex Wagner Tonight (1.207 million viewers), Newsmax’s Chris Plante (325,000 viewers) and CNN’s The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (293,000 viewers).

At 10 p.m. ET, the pattern continued, with Fox News Channel’s The Ingraham Angle winning the hour with 1.413 million viewers, followed by The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell (969,000 viewers), Newsmax’s Greg Kelly Reports (278,000 viewers) and CNN’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace (263,000 viewers).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2023/05/15/cnn-drops-to-fourth-place-in-prime-time-friday-night-behind-newsmax/?sh=c920ea94e8d6




Yeah so that happened. CNN is now officially worse than Newsmax. And I honestly didn’t think that was possible. No really, I didn’t see it coming. And the last thing we need on earth is more right wing republican bullshit polluting the airwaves. We already have way, way too much of it. Conservatives control 2,500 radio stations across the United States. They have a monopoly on small town, syndicated TV networks. They have Fox News, Newsmax, Infowars, and OAN. Now they’re coming after CNN because it’s a get revenge quick scheme for Donald Trump. They don’t need any more. MAGA conservatives are the “GIVE ME THAT! IT’S MINE!!!” party.

After hearing out Licht, Amanpour told the Columbia Journalism School graduates that she had not been moved.

“I still respectfully disagree with allowing Donald Trump to appear in that particular format,” the veteran anchor said, contending that the American people had demonstrated with their votes in the last three elections that they are well aware of his behavior.

“I would have dropped the mic at ‘nasty person,’ but then that’s me,” Amanpour candidly added, recounting the moment when Trump lashed out at moderator Kaitlan Collins for asking a question that he did not like.

Inside CNN, Amanpour is far from alone in her views. In private, the town hall has been widely criticized by employees at all levels across the organization. Some of these employees believe that Trump wasn’t worthy of a town hall platform after leading the insurrection on the US Capitol and continuing to spew dangerous lies about the 2020 election. Others believe that it was a worthy endeavor to confront him, but that the event was poorly executed.

........

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/18/media/christiane-amanpour-trump-town-hall-reliable-sources/index.html




At leas t there’s some cooler heads prevailing at that network when the bosses have all lost their damn minds. Look, I’m a capitalist. I get that companies want to sell more product. But I also know that when you introduce too many similar products into an ecosystem, the value of that product goes down significantly. Make no mistake that the Trump Town Hall was a carefully targeted and weaponized political hit job that was designed to sow discourse in CNN and turn swing voters who would otherwise watch the network to extremist online news sources. No doubt Steve Bannon was behind this piece of clap trap.

Some light criticism of CNN's disaster by their media reporter. And no, doing "fact-checking" afterward on a show no one watched does not mitigate or justify the decision to give free air time to an evil criminal. Besides, as Tapper admitted, there wasn't enough time to fact check all the lies. If so, then why have him on in front of an admiring audience? Because of ratings for a failing network shift instigated by a repug owner and, more importantly, for that owner, changing the narrative to fit the desires of the oligarchs.

We'll see if this take gets Darcy fired, like they got rid of Brian Stelter.

snip

It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening.

Trump’s team was, naturally, delighted with the result, according to reports. “Advisers to Trump are thrilled at how this is going so far for him,” The NYT’s Jonathan Swan reported. “They can’t believe he is getting an hour on CNN with an audience that cheers his every line and laughs at his every joke.”

Neither could anyone else.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/11/media/cnn-town-hall-donald-trump-reliable-sources/index.html




Now this is ironic – CNN’s own columnists are criticizing how disastrous the network has been under their new CEO. Look, we don’t need more conservative propaganda. If anything, there’s way, way, way too much of it. And this is just adding one more to the pile. But that being said, the remaining true liberal broadcast networks don’t want to go down the same wormhole that CNN did. Nope, because as we’ve seen, you don’t hang out with Nazis. These are very bad people. Look at what they did to people like Kanye West and Donald Trump. Now even the state of Florida is paying the price for hanging out with Nazis. So don’t go full Nazi. Never, ever go full Nazi. And once again, this is just handing another victory to the bad guys, as Fox wins again.

CNN had its lowest-rated week in more than seven years last week, as the network’s ratings struggles continue. For the week ending March 12, CNN had an average weekday audience of 409,000 viewers, the lowest total day (6 a.m. to 6 a.m. ET) ratings performance since the week of July 6, 2015. Fox News Channel won the week with 1.359 million viewers, followed by MSNBC (673,000 viewers).

Among viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by advertisers, CNN’s total day ratings delivery was 81,000 viewers—which represents the lowest rated week in the key demo since 2014. Fox News won the week with an average audience of 172,000 viewers, and MSNBC was third overall with 71,000 viewers.

Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight was the highest-rated show in cable news for the week, with an average total audience of 3.568 million viewers, followed by The Five (3.077 million viewers), Jesse Watters Primetime (2.695 million viewers), Hannity (2.645 million viewers) and Special Report with Bret Baier (2.266 million viewers)—all airing on the Fox News Channel.

In the key demo, Tucker Carlson Tonight was first with 469,000 viewers, followed by The Five (330,000 viewers), Hannity (317,000 viewers), Jesse Watters Primetime (277,000 viewers) and Special Report with Bret Baier (245,000 viewers).
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2023/03/14/cnns-ratings-woes-continue-as-network-has-its-lowest-rated-week-in-more-than-7-years/?sh=4b70747110a6





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[font size="8"]We’re All Gonna Die: Climate Change Catastrophe
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Hey everyone, guess what? We’re all gonna die! Wooooooooooooooooooooo! Wooooooooooooooo! Wooooooooo. Woooo. Woo. Woo. So what’ s going to kill us all this week? Well, it’s climate change and things don’t exactly look, what one would call, particularly good. In fact it’s pretty bad. But now the UN apparently has a date for when things will go from bad to “shit hits the fan”. Yes, clean that shit up now, please! So the date when things could go from bad to potentially catastrophic for us is around the year 2030. That’s right, we’ve got… 7 years to get ready. Better start packing your shit now, folks. But you know, we kid, but we can’t overlook the fact that if we don’t change things, a whole lot of us are going to die because of this. Hey, that’s the name of this segment! So, audience, just how bad is it? HOW BAD IS IT? Well, if the earth passes the 1.5’C threshold as set by the UN, that is when the proverbial shit is going to hit the fan. And unlike what we recently experienced with COVID-19, there’s no vaccine that’s going to prevent people from dying because of climate change. And the effects of the 1.5’C threshold might be irreversible. Good evening, everybody!

The world is now likely to breach a key climate threshold for the first time within the next five years, according to the World Meteorological Organization, due to a combination of heat-trapping pollution and a looming El Niño.

Global temperatures have soared in recent years as the world continues to burn planet-warming fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. And that trend shows no sign of slowing. In its annual climate update, the WMO said that between 2023 and 2027, there is now a 66% chance that the planet’s temperature will climb above 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels for at least one year.

As temperatures surge, there is also a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years – and the five-year period as a whole – will be the warmest on record for the planet, the WMO reported.

Breaching the 1.5-degree threshold may only be temporary, the WMO said, but it would be the clearest signal yet of how quickly climate change is accelerating – hastening sea level rise, more extreme weather and the demise of vital ecosystems.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/world/global-warming-breach-wmo-climate-intl/index.html




Yeah it’s not “we’re all gonna die” bad, but it’s pretty bad, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better any time soon. And the thing that makes this worse is that Fox News has spent the last 25 years saying that climate change is no big deal. And if it seems like it’s getting hotter, it is. There’s no denying that the overpopulation of this country, combined with the lack of resources needed to support the overpopulation, and the fact that over half this country doesn’t seem to give a shit that a lot of people are going die, and that’s going to result in a toxic nightmare.

It is near certain that the next five years will be the warmest period ever recorded, the United Nations has warned, as greenhouse gases and El Nino combine to send temperatures soaring.

For the first time, global temperatures are now more likely than not to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming until 2027, the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday.

But that did not necessarily mean the world would cross the long-term warming threshold of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The WMO found that an El Nino weather pattern expected to develop in the next few months could have an effect.

The cooling La Nina conditions over the past three years, which ended in March 2023, have restricted the rise in global temperatures.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/17/global-warming-likely-to-breach-1-5c-threshold-for-first-time




Yeah so people, wake up and stop fucking around! Fox News viewers, you’ve been lied to by Sean Hannity and that Greg Gutfeld asshole, stop watching that shit, it is bad for you! Remember during COVID how people told you to “trust the science”? Well, the science is real and it’s there, and it’s telling us that we need to make significant changes to our way of life or we’ll risk losing everything. Of course as we speak, the dark corners of the internet are probably formulating plans on how to kill large numbers of people through memeing them to death. Well, I mean hey, we saw the damage the meme wars could do during COVID. Imagine what will happen here.

Unprecedented global temperature rises will likely see the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.6 degrees Fahrenheit) threshold breached at some point in the next five years, a United Nations (U.N.) report predicts.

The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) gave the stark warning in its latest annual assessment. According to the WMO, there is a 66% chance that annual mean global surface temperatures will temporarily breach the threshold of a 1.5C rise above pre-industrial levels. This would be the first time in human history that such a rise had been recorded.

Scientists have warned that crossing the 1.5C threshold greatly increases the risks of encountering tipping points that could unleash irreversible climate breakdown — such as the collapse of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets; extreme heat waves; severe droughts; water stress; and extreme weather across large parts of the globe.

Related: Significant El Niño event is almost guaranteed this year, experts warn. And it could be a big one.

Around 200 countries pledged to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C or under in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Now, even if just temporarily, that limit could be breached for the first time.
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/climate-change/global-warming-will-likely-cross-dangerous-15-c-threshold-within-5-years-un-report-warns




Yeah so 200 countries are already signed on board with this measure to stop it. Of course the MAGAs would laugh at this and call you a globalist-enabling pedophile just for bringing it up. Who knew that the end of humanity would boil down to four simple words? But yes, it is getting hotter in here, and no, it’s not just you. It really is getting hotter in here, and there may be no going back. We may have to live with the extreme heat for the foreseeable future, and don’t say we didn’t warn you. Because we are warning you now! We need to work together to save the planet. Do not be distracted by the shiny objects on Fox News every single night!
For the first time in human history, the Earth’s average temperature is more likely than not to cross a critical warming threshold during at least one of the next five years, per a new report released Wednesday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Scientists now predict the Earth has a 66 percent chance of hitting 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming over pre-industrial levels between now and 2027—and a 98 percent chance of the five-year period as a whole being the hottest on record.

1.5 degrees Celsius is a key climate threshold. In the Paris agreement of 2015, nations agreed to “pursue efforts” to cap long-term warming at that amount. Scientists warned of dire consequences if this is exceeded, including extreme storms, coral reef die-offs, melting ice, flooding, heat waves and drought.

“This report does not mean that we will permanently exceed the 1.5C specified in the Paris agreement, which refers to long-term warming over many years,” WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas says in a statement. “However, WMO is sounding the alarm that we will breach the 1.5C level on a temporary basis with increasing frequency.”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-next-five-years-will-almost-certainly-be-the-warmest-on-record-un-says-180982200/





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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: Mormon Finance Apocalypse
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Hey everyone it’s time for another one of our Clips Without Context!



Yeah I can totally hear Jesus right now saying “leave me the fuck out of this!!!”. Speaking of Jesus, hey, it’s time for Holy Shit!

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, this is the end of our season, and I’d like to take a moment to address the clergy on a recent controversy of ours. It seems we’ve got a lot of unfair criticism lately that suggests that we spend most of our time talking about Christianity. Now, Christianity is the dominant religion in the United States, and as such, it dominates the news. But the thing that we’re most alarmed about is the rise of white nationalism dominating American Christianity and American megachurches. But that’s not what we’re here to discuss this week. This week, we’re here to discuss another very uniquely American religion – Mormonism. Yes, the religion founded by Joseph Smith in the 1850s is famously ultra conservative, which means that they most likely support the Unholy Dark One. Many counties in Utah went for the Dark One in the last election. But the Mormon church also practices something called “tithing” which means that its’ members contribute whatever it can to the church. We don’t support that sort of thing here, but you can buy our merchandise after the show! Well now the church has so much money that they don’t know what to do with it! I wish we had that problem!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' finances faced renewed scrutiny Sunday when CBS aired an interview with a whistleblower who alleges the church tried to hide billions of dollars and violated its tax-exempt status.

What they’re saying: The church's former investment adviser David Nielsen described on "60 Minutes" the religious body's investment portfolio as "a clandestine hedge fund."

"Those funds weren't used the way they were appropriated to be used. … Well, once the money went in, it didn't go out," he added.

Why it matters: Although Nielsen's allegations had already been widely publicized, the high-profile TV show's segment could hurt the church's public image.

A church leader repeatedly refused to answer questions from CBS' Sharyn Alfonsi during the segment on how much money it has and hesitated when asked why the church is secretive about its finances.
https://www.axios.com/2023/05/15/mormon-whistleblower-60-minutes-church-finances




Now don’t boo – wait until you hear that everything is tax exempt! Now you can boo as much as you want, come on don’t be shy! Let it out! Because that’s what the good LAWRD JAYSUS would want you to do now, isn’t it? But when the church’s own investment firm has so much money that they don’t know what to do with it all, naturally there’s going to be some problems that arise as a result. So tithing is a pretty terrible practice in general. But when you combine tithing with America’s religious exemption where churches don’t have to pay taxes on anything, then it becomes a very serious problem! If only we taxed churches!

A whistleblower from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appeared on 60 Minutes to discuss the alleged misuse of church finances on Sunday, May 14.

In 2019, David Nielsen, a former employee of the church’s investment firm Ensign Peak Advisors, claimed the misuse of billions of dollars in tithes — $100 billion to be exact.

On the CBS 60 Minutes show, Nielsen said he turned down an opportunity on Wall Street to work for Ensign Peak because he wanted to help “change the world.”

However he said instead of seeing charity work as he had anticipated, he saw “a clandestine hedge fund,” saying, “once the money went in, it didn’t go out.”

Nielsen explained the church receives around $7 billion yearly from tithing, $6 billion of which is used to pay for buildings and church programs. The remaining $1 billion goes to the investment firm, Ensign Peak.
https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-whistleblower-speaks-60-minutes-alleged-misuse-tithing-funds/




Of course, you know that the people who have this much money aren’t going to use it for good, and you know that they’re not being entirely honest about how much they make or spend. But this scandal definitely gets weirder the more you dig into it, and it definitely shows what a glorious and complete lack of accountability does. It also shows that maybe giving churches tax exempt status was one of the worst ideas in US history! When you have so much money that you don’t know what to do with it all, don’t you think that it’s time you start paying your fair share? It is way past time to end the free ride for the holier than thou crowd!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has drastically overstated its charitable giving, according to an investigation by Canadian and Australian media outlets.

Driving the news: In its public statements, the church has claimed more than $1 billion in charitable giving, the investigation found.

Yes, but: The church's charity arm, Latter-day Saint Charities, gave just $177 million from 2008 to 2020, according to financial records obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, 60 Minutes, and the CBC.

Details: Other findings have raised legal concerns in Australia, where religious donations are not tax-exempt, but charitable donations are.

Donations to the church still get tax exemption because it routes its Australian contributions through a charitable trust.
https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2022/11/02/mormon-finances-scrutiny-australia-canada




So let’s think about this here for a minute. The church started a shadow corporation but it’s really based in Utah under the guise of laundering money because it was making way more than it could spend. Hey US government, do you see where this is a problem? Imagine that money being taxed and the programs that it could fund! I mean think about it - $100 BILLION DOLLARS. That’s a very spicy meatball! And the people who are profiting off of this don’t represent the forces of good. They represent the unholy, ungodly Dark One! I of course speak of a man so foul and disgusting that his name dare not be spoken in my church! But of course you do not heed our warnings! Tax the churches! And do it now! We might make enough money to avoid the debt ceiling!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment manager will pay a $5 million fine to settle regulatory charges that it hid a huge investment fund.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that Ensign Peak Advisers, the investment management firm that handles the LDS church’s finances, failed to file forms that would have disclosed the value of certain church investments. Instead, the firm filed forms for shell companies that obscured the church’s portfolio and misstated the firm’s control over the church’s investment decisions, the SEC said.

The SEC filed charges against both the church for causing the violations as well as Ensign Peak.

The LDS church was concerned that disclosure of its portfolio, which by 2018 had grown to approximately $32 billion, would lead to negative consequences, the SEC said.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/21/business/mormon-church-fined-sec/index.html




All right, folks! That’s it for us, we’re out of here for the summer. We’ll be back on July 20th with fresh shenanigans from our religious brothers and sisters! Also don’t forget, Holy Shit: The Sunday Sermons season 2 premiers Sunday, August 11th! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this season for:




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



This week: Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville (Q – Batshit). How in the ever loving hell did this guy get elected? Well, Fox News, that’s how. Tuberville is an obvious by-product of the Fox News fearmongering and mental conditioning system. Well, he watches Fox News 24 hours a day, and eats, sleeps, and breathes MAGA, which makes him the ideal candidate for the MAGA cause. In case you’re wondering if Tuberville has any actual experience doing any real world governing, well, he doesn’t. And the MAGAs will turn out in droves to vote for Washington outsiders. And only in the MAGA party can a guy who knows nothing about government get elected to one of the highest offices in the land to do as much damage as humanly possible. Tuberville’s qualifications for running for office are… he has none. He was a football coach for the University Of Cincinnati, and not a very good one. He then went to Auburn where he won an NCAA championship. That’s about it. But his time at Cincinnati is considered to be extremely sketchy at best, and word is that he treated his players very horribly.

A former University of Cincinnati football player says athletes who were coached by Tommy Tuberville deserve some kind of "reparations."

Zach Edwards, a Middletown High School grad who was named All-American Athletic Conference Honorable Mention in 2015 while playing safety at UC, tweeted about the Alabama senator Thursday.

Edwards quote-tweeted a Rolling Stone Politics article about Tuberville's recent comments regarding white nationalists in the United States military.

"Okay hear me out, there needs to be some type of reparations for those who had to play under this man," Edwards wrote. "I don’t think y’all understand…"

In the comments, a Twitter user asked for a "story time about (the) terrible Tommy Tuberville era."
https://sports.yahoo.com/uc-football-alum-tuberville-era-185433583.html




Yes, Tuberville was such a terrible coach that players think that they should deserve some kind of monetary settlement because of that. So how does that translate into his ability to be a senator from Alabama? Well, it doesn’t really. Because Tuberville is one of those southern “Good Ol’ Boys” who are racist as fuck. And Tuberville actually supports white nationalism. In fact, he supports white nationalism so much that he’s willing to look the other way on white nationalists in the military. Yes, he is technically correct that white nationalists are Americans, but these are not the people we want representing us in any way. In fact, we fought two wars against this sort of thing.

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said there should be no efforts to block different ideological groups, including white nationalists, from serving in the military and criticized President Joe Biden for taking steps to remove them even as concerns about extremism in the military dates back to the Trump administration.

Tuberville, a staunch supporter of the military and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the comments in a Monday interview with WBHM, a National Public Radio station in Birmingham.

Asked if he believed white nationalists should be allowed to serve in the military, Tuberville said in referring to the Biden administration, “They call them that. I call them Americans.

Tuberville also said in the interview that singling out any ideological group is detrimental to the military.

“We are losing in the military so fast,” Tuberville told WBHM. “Our readiness in terms of recruitment. And why? I’ll tell you why, because the Democrats are attacking our military, saying we need to get out the white extremists, the white nationalists, people that don’t believe in our agenda, as Joe Biden’s agenda. They’re destroying it. This year, we will not reach any recruiting goals in the military. So if we want to talk about looking weak, that’s where we’re going to look weak. We cannot start putting rules in there for one type, one group and make different factions in the military, because that is the most important institution in the United States of America, and our allies, is a strong, hard-nosed, killing machine, which is called our military.”

https://www.al.com/news/2023/05/tuberville-on-white-nationalists-in-the-military-i-call-them-americans.html




Yes, tell us you don’t know anything about the United States military without telling me you don’t know anything about the United States military. By the way, Tuberville doesn’t quite get how the military works because he apparently is holding back promotions for military staff if they don’t cave into his abortion demands. That’s correct – the Fox News culture wars that have been permeating every single last crevasse of the United States over the last 20 years have now begun to affect the military in very strange ways. And we can thank “Senator” Tuberville for this one. Yes, we put the word “senator” in quotation marks because whatever Tuberville is representing certainly isn’t us.

Dozens of military promotions continue to languish in the Senate as GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville digs in on blocking typically routine approvals over his opposition to the Pentagon's abortion policy.

About 200 defense-related promotions are awaiting Senate action, but Tuberville has indicated he has no plans to ease up on his blockade unless the Defense Department reverses course on an abortion policy for service members and their dependents that was announced in October.

Since March, Tuberville has been using a procedural tactic to slow promotions that are often quickly approved in the Senate by unanimous consent. One senator’s objection, however, can stall the approval process.

The Alabama senator’s moves have provoked bipartisan backlash, including from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Asked in a press conference Wednesday about Tuberville’s holds, McConnell replied, “No, I don’t support putting a hold on military nominations. I don’t support that.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/military-promotions-impasse-drags-sen-tuberville-digs-rcna84175




That’s about what being a player under Tuberville was like, by the way. And with the republicans increasingly warming up to the idea of fascism in America, what is the next logical step for MAGA Q republicans like Tuberville? They want to simply suspend elections. That’s right – no elections for anyone, because conservatives can’t handle being in a real democracy. And of course, when their ideas backfire on them, they turn to Fox News and other extremely terrible right wing sources because that’s their safe space. Once again, Fox News proves to be the reason why we can’t have nice things, and won’t be getting them any time soon.

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) offered his reaction on Tuesday to the report from Special Counsel John Durham and declared the alleged targeting of Donald Trump to be so enraging that Americans should say, “Let’s don’t have elections anymore.”

Tuberville appeared on Newsmax’s John Bachman Now and was shown a clip from defense attorney Alan Dershowitz discussing the Durham report with Greta Van Susteren from the day before.

“I think the Durham report demonstrates that from the very beginning, these people were prepared to distort the facts, distort the law for partisan, political purposes, for what they thought was the legitimate goal. Get Trump,” Dershowitz said about the report, which summarized Durham’s investigation into the origins of the probe examining potential ties between Trump and Russia.

“I mean, that’s all this was. They just did not like the fact that a political outsider had a legitimate shot at becoming president of the United States. One of the other things, too, from the report that stands out is that they continued this after President Trump was elected. What’s your response?” John Bachman asked Tuberville.
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/lets-dont-have-elections-anymore-alabama-senator-rages-about-durham-report-findings-demands-people-go-to-jail/



That’s the Fox News installed senator from Alabama and self-proclaimed white nationalist fan Tommy Tuberville. Yet another one of the inexplicably vile politicians to add to the ever growing list of:




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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner
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Hey it’s time for another one of our Clips Without Context!



There you have it, folks. The craziest person ever elected to Congress laughing it up with known white nationalists. You can’t make this shit up. Speaking of crazy, it’s time for Conspiracy Corner!



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 as we know, that guy who we inexplicably used to call president, Donald J. Trump, got his ass handed to him in court over the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit. So what’s a good bully to do after he gets his ass kicked time and time again? Well, naturally you deflect. And so he’s instructed his minions in Congress and the Senate to launch an investigation into… Hillary Clinton. That’s right, the former First Lady and New York Senator, who’s been the subject of 100,000,000 investigations over the last 20 years by conservatives, is the subject of yet another investigation. Come on, fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 100,000,000 times… also shame on you.

In the wake of John Durham’s largely pointless special counsel investigation, some Republicans’ thoughts turned immediately to a familiar name from the recent past. “The Russian hoax was a figment of Hillary Clinton’s imagination,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn declared within hours of Durham’s report reaching the public.

In reality, of course, the far-right Tennessean’s comment was absurd: The Russia scandal obviously wasn’t a “hoax,” and Clinton wasn’t responsible for exposing it. In fact, as a Washington Post analysis explained last week, given all of the available evidence, there’s now “even less reason to blame Clinton“ for the investigation into the controversy.

But Blackburn’s comment was a timely reminder that the former secretary of State remains very much on Republicans’ minds. Indeed, just yesterday, Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo interviewed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, and the host asked the Ohio Republican whether he wants to see “another investigation” into Clinton. He didn’t say no.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/jim-jordan-doesnt-rule-yet-another-hillary-clinton-probe-rcna85533




I feel like that’s too much tin foil. But this whole thing really highlights the differences between the two parties. Because conservatives are dominated by far right talk shows, even further right podcasts, and even further right than that megachurch pastors. It’s basically just a toxic stew of racists and conspiracy theorists. Remember the good old days when conspiracy theories were about Bigfoot and Area 51 and we used to mock the hell out of them because we knew these guys were crazy? Well, we know these guys are crazy, but they’re protected by a massive and far reaching propaganda network.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said he is open to investigating former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in response to the release of special counsel John Durham's report.

Durham, who failed to secure a single conviction in his yearslong probe of the FBI's investigation into Trump's 2016 campaign's ties to Russia, last week released a report that contained little new information and was widely panned by legal experts as a partisan "flop."

Though the report found similar concerns as the 2019 inspector general report that already addressed the flaws in the FBI probe, Trump and his allies have touted the report as evidence that the bureau was biased against Trump.

"Do you want to see another investigation of Hillary and Bill Clinton?" Fox News host Maria Bartiromo asked Jordan during a Sunday interview. "Because in the Durham report, John Durham wrote that while they were pursuing Trump, they made no effort to investigate the claim that Hillary Clinton was taking money from foreigners for her Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation," Bartiromo said.
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/22/nothing-is-off-the-table-jim-jordan-says-hell-give-a-hard-look-at-launching-new-hillary-probe/




OK Rupert, it’s time we ask this question – where on this doll did Hillary Clinton hurt you? Because this is certifiably insane. Of course conservatives are going to say that any answer that that isn’t 100% in favor of the fascists is the wrong answer. But how can they say that when Russian collusion is everywhere in the GOP? GOP representatives have vacationed in Moscow. MAGA conservatives exchange messages on Telegram, which is operated on Russian servers. It’s like how murderers get off when they go judge shopping and watch the same talk shows that the judges do. Yeah like that guy.

Sean Hannity and his Fox News colleagues spent years furiously defending Donald Trump by denouncing special counsel Robert Mueller’s federal probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election as a witch hunt. They promised that prosecutor John Durham would expose its origins as a criminal conspiracy that reached the highest levels of the Obama administration. Now that four-year investigation is now closed after Durham failed to garner prison time for a single person — but Hannity is still crowing that he’s been proved right.

“Every single thing that we reported to you on this program, we were correct. We've been vindicated time and again, especially today,” Hannity said at the top of his show on Monday, hours after Durham released his final report. He added that Durham showed the Russia probe “looks more like an attempted coup, a nearly three-year-running political smear job against Donald J. Trump, all orchestrated by Democrats with the help of the DOJ and the FBI and, of course, the never-ending lies of the media mob.”

Others on Fox offered similarly over-the-top responses that fell well short of the facts, with commentators denouncing the FBI as “the Stasi” and “a domestic terror organization.”

Hannity is perhaps the single figure most responsible for the Durham probe. The Fox host turned his show into the fulcrum of Fox’s anti-Mueller propaganda effort and issued constant calls for an investigation of the investigators, which caught Trump’s Fox-obsessed eye. Trump’s own reelection campaign even credited Hannity with the launch of Durham’s investigation. But it’s easy to make broad conspiracy claims for your Fox show, and much harder to prove them in a courtroom.
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/durham-report-and-inevitable-end-foxs-anti-mueller-farce




Gee, why am I not shocked at all that Sean Hannity is behind this? Fox seems intent on beating this dead horse into the ground. And they won’t be satisfied with any answer that isn’t 100% in favor of the cult, because that’s what the cult wants. The cult wants what the cult wants. Yes, we know that the answer from the Durham report wasn’t what we wanted to hear. But unlike the right, we’re not a bunch of deranged sociopaths. We will just shrug it off and move onto their next abomination. As long as Fox News is still around, you can bet that we’ll be subjected to scandal after scandal. Because peace, prosperity, and rule of law isn’t good for ratings. And of course the process is broken, because conservatives are the ones who broke it!

John Durham has at long last released his report on the FBI’s 2016 Russia probe, which conservative conspiracy theorists once anticipated would expose a “deep state” scheme to undermine then-candidate Donald Trump. But, despite some commentators’ efforts to portray the actual result of the four-year investigation as damning, the reality is that the Justice Department special counsel uncovered next to nothing.

When then-Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Mr. Durham to investigate the investigators of Trump-Russia ties, Mr. Barr appeared determined to uncover a vast plot on the part of government officials who could be criminally prosecuted for their misdeeds. Instead, Mr. Barr’s handpicked special counsel confirmed only what the public already learned in a previous report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.

The upshot: There were flaws in the FBI’s handling of the matter, especially involving dubious Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications to surveil 2016 Trump adviser Carter Page, but they flowed from confirmation bias rather than politically motivated misconduct. Though Mr. Durham continues to disagree that it was appropriate for the FBI to open a full investigation, rather than a preliminary one, he makes no finding that doing so was prohibited under agency rules. There was no involvement by the CIA, National Security Agency or any other snoops. And there is no reason to send anyone to prison. Indeed, the special counsel faced two acquittals in the cases he developed and a guilty plea resulting from a referral by the Justice Department’s inspector general.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/05/16/durham-trump-russia-report/





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



So of course you know by now that the idea of this segment is that we have some drinks, and while we are drinking, we talk about literally anything in the news as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. Because there’s a lot of really dark shit out there, and we always find that mixing booze and politics never ends well for anybody. And we like our booze, beer, and wine here! And my sober brothers and sisters, we got you covered too! Grab a glass of your favorite coffee or energy drink and get wired with us! So this week, there’s a war brewing over who coined the phrase “Taco Tuesday”. Everyone knows and loves a good Taco Tuesday. Hell it’s practically engraved in American culture at this point. So tell me, bartender, what goes well with a story about Taco Tuesday? A margarita? OK, I’ll have the classic one, with a good reposado tequila. On the rocks. So this week, there’s some fighting going on about who originally coined the phrase “Taco Tuesday”. And this is one of those stories that gets weirder the more that you dig into it. It started because that purveyor of the cheap taco, Taco Bell, had questions about whether or not the phrase Taco Tuesday could be trademarked or not. And we say “good luck with that one!”.

Taco Bell wants to liberate the “Taco Tuesday” trademark from a smaller, rival chain.

The taco chain filed a petition Tuesday (naturally) with the US Patent and Trademark office to cancel the trademark, owned by rival Taco John’s for 34 years, because Taco Bell claims the commonly used phrase “should be freely available to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos.”

Since Taco John’s owns the trademark, other restaurants and companies must seek permission to use “Taco Tuesday” in branding and advertising.

The use of the phrase “potentially subjects Taco Bell and anyone else who wants to share tacos with the world to the possibility of legal action or angry letters if they say ‘Taco Tuesday’ without express permission from [Taco John’s] — simply for pursuing happiness on a Tuesday,” the filing said.

Taco Bell added that “nobody should have exclusive rights in a common phrase.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/16/business/taco-tuesday-trademark-taco-bell/index.html




Come on really, has anyone actually eaten at Taco John’s? Well, I guess not because there’s only six of them in the entire country. Whereas there’s thousands of Taco Bell locations in the greater United States and parts beyond. I mean come on, there was even a Taco Bell themed hotel in Palm Springs, how about that, Taco John’s? And by the way in case you’re wondering where the idea of Taco Tuesday originated from, it goes back to the year 1989 when a place in Cheyenne, Wyoming called Taco John’s coined it as a way to drive up sales. But even then, the US government claims to have a trademark from a restaurant in Somers Point, New Jersey called Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar, that claims to have coined the term back in 1982.

When the owners of the Old Fashioned Tavern and Restaurant received a cease and desist letter demanding they stop holding Taco Tuesdays, they thought it was a joke.

For almost a decade, the restaurant had sold $2 tacos on Tuesday night. Other restaurants and bars in the area had similar promotions, and in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, Taco Tuesday specials are as plentiful as yoga classes.

But the author of the letter claimed that “Taco Tuesday” was a federally registered trademark that belonged to Taco John’s, a chain of around 400 Mexican-style fast food restaurants. And as Old Fashioned manager Jennifer DeBolt told the local Cap Times, they quickly realized that “the law firm is completely legit.”

So, like hundreds of restaurant owners and managers who have received letters from Taco John’s lawyers in the last two decades, they stopped using the term Taco Tuesday.

“Over the years we’ve certainly asserted our trademark against national companies, restaurants big and small, and even pharmaceutical companies,” says Billie Jo Waara, the chief marketing officer at Taco John’s. (Waara can’t reveal details, but we suspect the pharmaceutical company used “Taco Tuesday” in a drug ad.) “We also recognize that the unauthorized use [of Taco Tuesday] is prolific, and we do our best to communicate ownership. It’s a challenge for sure.”
https://priceonomics.com/the-trademarking-of-taco-tuesday/




So the moral of the story here is that Taco John’s is a small time taco chain, but you don’t want to end up on their naughty list. They may be small, but they do have an army of some very powerful lawyers at their disposal. Hell, just ask Lakers star LeBron James about this story as he attempted to trademark Taco Tuesday back in 2019 and it backfired on him about as well as you’d expect. But it did get a dialogue going – can you trademark a commonly used term? Well, there is Taco John’s, and they have something that LeBron doesn’t – the corporate lawyer. And a huge team of them.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James' attempt to trademark the term "Taco Tuesday" has been denied, but according to James' team, he still accomplished the outcome he wanted from the application in the first place.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday refused the application filed by James' company LBJ Trademarks, explaining that "Taco Tuesday" is "a commonplace term."

"The applied-for mark is a commonplace term, message, or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment message," the USPTO wrote.

A spokesman for James told ESPN's Dave McMenamin that the application was filed "to ensure LeBron cannot be sued for any use of 'Taco Tuesday.'"

"Finding 'Taco Tuesday' as commonplace achieves precisely what the intended outcome was, which was getting the U.S. government to recognize that someone cannot be sued for its use," the spokesman said.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27596576/lebron-taco-tuesday-trademark-filing-denied




Now that has us wondering why LeBron was attempting to trademark Taco Tuesday. But that being said, this is a fight that isn’t going away any time soon. Taco John’s may have corporate lawyers, but Taco Bell has multi-national enterprise lawyers. And a multi-national conglomerate like Taco Bell asking a much smaller chain to give up a trademark is like asking the government to take over a private business district – oh wait, that’s already happening in Florida. But the war on who will get control over who gets to eat their tacos on Taco Tuesday will be raging on for quite some time. Yes, I realize that phrase did sound poorly now that I think about it!

Declaring a mission to liberate “Taco Tuesday” for all, Taco Bell is asking U.S. regulators to force Wyoming-based Taco John’s to abandon its longstanding claim to the trademark.

Too many businesses and others refer to “Taco Tuesday” for Taco John’s to be able to have exclusive rights to the phrase, Taco Bell asserts in a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filing that is, of course, dated Tuesday.

It’s the latest development in a long-running beef over “Taco Tuesday” that even included NBA star LeBron James making an unsuccessful attempt to claim the trademark in 2019.

“Taco Bell believes ‘Taco Tuesday’ is critical to everyone’s Tuesday. To deprive anyone of saying ‘Taco Tuesday’ — be it Taco Bell or anyone who provides tacos to the world — is like depriving the world of sunshine itself,” the Taco Bell filing reads.

A key question is whether “Taco Tuesday” over the years has succumbed to “genericide,” New York trademark law attorney Emily Poler said. That’s the term for when a word or phrase become so widely used for similar products — or in this case, sales promotions — they’re no longer associated with the trademark holder.
https://apnews.com/article/taco-tuesday-trademark-taco-bell-911e62f2dc664c2a428c6741a94955e5





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[font size="8"]Stupidest State 2023: The Championship
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Let’s do one last Clip Without Context before we head out for the season!



Ha ha ha… fucking what??? These people are off the rails batshit crazy. Trump is nothing like Martin Luther. Just… AH!!!! Get me away from these crazy lunatics! And now it’s time for what you’ve all been waiting for: The 2023 Stupidest State Championships!

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



Wow, folks! Here we are! IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS! It’s the Stupidest State 2023 grand championships! Last week, it was a Final Four for the ages! Florida rose above a very strong challenge from the young and capable Ohio team to secure their Flyover League title. Meanwhile, over in the Layover League – this happened. Missouri for three… IT’S IN!!!! Missouri has shocked the crowd and sent Tennessee home and they are going to the Finals! So here we are. Florida. Missouri. One of these two will win it all. We are live from the home of champions, the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, the legendary Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles with all of the exciting action! Let’s go to the floor, shall we?

[font size="4"]Stupidest State 2023 Championship [/font]

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


The Sunshine State has been dominating the news this year, and that’s mainly because of its’ leader Ron Desantis, seems bent on bringing some old school fascism to the United States. Despite the fact that Florida is home to some world class universities, they’re also home to some of the ugliest political strife in the entire country. Let’s look at their Department of Education. Which is currently warning us about what’s to come should the GOP get back into power in 2024. In fact DeSantis’ brand of authoritarianism is the stuff of pure evil. And we have been trying to tell you about this, and half the country isn’t either listening or they just plain don’t care. But make no mistake that unless we say no to DeSantis in 2024, Florida’s brand of fire and brimstone fascism is just the beginning.

A Florida educators group said on Wednesday that Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) “authoritarian” policies would destroy U.S. public schools, as the Florida governor gears up to announce his bid for the presidency.

“Gov. DeSantis’ policies have been counter to core American principles,” Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, told the Tallahassee Democrat. “He has attacked free thought in Florida’s preK-12 schools, colleges and universities with laws that limit instruction and safe learning environments for students.”

Education has been a focus of DeSantis’s “anti-woke” push in the Sunshine state. The Florida governor signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its opponents, into law last year, barring classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for kindergarten through third grade.

It was expanded earlier this month to cover prekindergarten through eighth grade, and certain restrictions were placed on instruction in Florida high schools as well.
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4019365-florida-educators-group-desantiss-authoritarian-policies-would-destroy-public-schools/




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! In case you’re wondering if things can’t possibly get any more evil in Florida, oh I can assure you, the scumbags in charge in that state are just getting started! Imagine if you’re an immigrant looking to come to the land of the free. Well, America is no longer the land of the free, at least if you’re in Florida. New immigrants looking to come to the Sunshine State will have to get verified through a rather draconian verification process. Shit, what’s next? Going full Nazi and making them wear patches on their shirts? They will take the shit jobs working in the farms and fast food restaurants and they will shut up or they’re fired!

If you’re looking for a job in Florida, you might want to consider some red-hot new career opportunities picking vegetables, tarring roofs or cleaning hotel toilets.

Thanks to the imperatives of campaign messaging, Florida is about to make life harder for the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants working in the state.

We’re going to be spending millions of tax dollars to fly them to other states or to scare them away by implementing a law that fines some of their employers $1,000 per day for giving them jobs.

You might think that chasing undocumented residents from the farm fields, construction sites and janitorial closets where they’ve been working is an exercise in political bottom-feeding.
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/columns/2023/05/14/porous-e-verify-immigration-system-in-florida-wont-stop-undocumented/70203458007/




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOO!!! Everything that’s happening in Florida right now is shockingly evil. But is it really that shocking? To those of us who are following the nightmare shit show that’s happening right now, the answer is no. But to those of us who think that Florida could be flipped in 2024, I’m here to tell you – you’re probably kidding yourself. Florida may be lost for a generation or two. The voters will wake up at some point. But I would call 2024 a wash right now. Florida is, however, guaranteed to be what people are calling a “circus of the abusrd” for the next 10 -15 – 20 years and beyond.

Florida is a circus of the absurd. In the center ring under the spotlight with a top hat and whip is our governor and with a snap of his whip, the legislature passes bills that restrict and harm us to further his political ambitions.

The press has done an excellent job of covering how abortion has been restricted, gun ownership has expanded, gay rights are being trampled, and higher education has been politicized, but there is another harmful piece of legislation that needs a spotlight on it.

It is the anti-environmental social governance (ESG) investing bill, because it enables an 800-pound chest pounding circus gorilla to charge around Florida, wrecking our homes, businesses and infrastructure. My apologies to gorillas, but I think imaging a rampaging gorilla is easier for some to understand than the ramifications of our warming planet with monster storms, extreme heat and rising seas flooding our streets.

Absurdly, our rights to deal with the 800-pound gorilla, the climate crisis, are disappearing. It started with Gov. Scott who eliminated Gov. Crist’s Climate Action Plan and has expanded under Gov. DeSantis with the 2021 law that forbids local government bans on natural gas and now this bill banning ESG investing by the state.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-circus-absurd-090122357.html



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


The Show Me State has been propelled to the top of the class because they are a bright red state and went even redder in 2022. But the one thing is clear in Missouri is that they love them some guns. Yes, in 2020, Missouri was the center of the George Floyd protests with the McCloskeys – yes, those gun toting maniacs who became overnight right wing cause celebs because they had the nerve to flash their pieces out in public. But we’re going to talk about a different aspect of Missouri – children. Yes, the GOP is absolutely obsessed with children in a not at all creepy way. Actually, we’re wrong – the GOP’s obsession with children is super fucking creepy. And do we really need them policing what children read, say or do in 2023? The answer is HELL NO!

Missouri’s Republican-led House voted to cut all funding for libraries in its version of the state’s annual budget, an unprecedented move that has angered librarians and patrons across the state who rely on the facilities for everything from books to educational programming and internet access.

The proposal is not yet final; it now sits before the state Senate’s appropriations committee along with the rest of the annual $45.6 billion budget, and Republican chair Sen. Lincoln Hough said it would be his intention to restore library funding.

But for those who manage or use the state’s 160 library districts, especially in rural areas where services are not as robust, the threat feels real, librarians and patrons told the PBS NewsHour.

“The majority of Missouri libraries are small libraries, and for smaller communities that rely on this funding to serve their communities, to provide summer reading programing, to provide new books, new materials, books, and to pay their staff, this will have an absolutely devastating effect,” said Judy Garrett, who has served as a librarian at the Gentry County Public Library for 27 years.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/librarians-say-a-missouri-house-proposal-to-eliminate-library-funding-would-have-devastating-ripple-effects




Yeah so much for free speech! At least you tried! And speaking of speech, what about guns? Apparently some 2A absolutionists seem to get the 2nd amendment confused with the first amendment. Guns are not free speech, OK? Well, in this country, when mass shootings are at an all time high, guess what the gun nuts in Missouri want to do? They want to combine their two favorite vices - guns and church. That is right. The Missouri House passed a bill that would allow guns in places of worship. And they also want to eliminate gun free zones on top of that. Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

People would be allowed to bring guns into places of worship if they have a concealed carry permit under a bill proposed by a Missouri Republican. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ben Baker, a Neosho Republican, was heard by the House Emerging Issues Committee Wednesday, and would strike down the current rule prohibiting concealed guns in places of worship without the permission of the religious leader of the congregation. Baker said pastors urged him to file the legislation because they do not want to be the person to determine who can carry guns in places of worship. “It can put them in a really bad position to say yes to some, and then others be upset. So it’s just they don’t want to be involved,” Baker said. “As long as people have had the training to have the CCW, they don’t care.”

Read more at: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article273467865.html#storylink=cpy




And by the way, you might be asking “WONT SOMEBODY PLEAE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!”, well, guess what? Missouri is thinking about the children. No, they’re not going to ban AR-15s or any kind of semi-automatic weapons. Instead they’re banning… wait for it… drag shows. But unlike other states, they’re not banning drag shows under the guise of “protecting kids”, which in and of itself is a steaming load of FDA certified, grade A bullshit. No, they want to ban drag shows from any and all performance venues in the Show Me State. Can we stop electing crazy people to office, please??? Stop it now!

Representative Ben Baker of Neosho introduced House Bill 494 on Dec. 20, which would make performing in drag—in any venue minors could access—a class A misdemeanor. Repeat offenders would face class E felony charges, carrying with it a maximum sentence of four years in jail.

Baker’s bill outlaws “engaging in an adult cabaret performance if such performance is on public property or in a location where the adult cabaret performance could be viewed by a person who is not an adult.” The proposed law targets drag performers and venues, many of which welcome audiences of all ages and encourage families to attend shows together.

Baker’s bill defines an “adult cabaret performance” as “a performance in a location other than an adult cabaret that features topless dancers, go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, or similar entertainers, regardless of whether performed for consideration.”

According to Baker’s bill, “obscenity” is determined by the following standards: “The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find the material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way; and a reasonable person would find the material lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”
https://www.thepitchkc.com/bill-by-missouri-republican-seeks-to-ban-drag-shows-from-public-venues/




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

We have a winner!!!! Folks, there is no mistake about this one. Florida is leading in the 2nd half with 1 minute to go. Up by 10… for three! YES!!! And now a foul has been called! First free throw is in… and it’s good! Florida now up by 14. Second free throw… it’s in! And that’s the game! Florida has won the championship by a final score of 101 – 86! They are celebrating on the court and that’s the end of this tournament!

[font size="4"]The Trophy Presentation [/font]





[font size="4"]The Champagne Celebration [/font]



[font size="4"]Statement From The Commissioner [/font]

Wow, that was a tournament for the ages! Florida has emerged as the 2023 Stupidest State grand champions! Under Ron DeSantis, they have proven to be a shining example of conservative idiocy and a preview of the brand of fascism that you can expect if they retake the White House next year and we all hope that they won’t. But Florida, I am proud to present you with the DeLay Trophy. You guys were the number one team during the regular season and now you have absolutely dominated the playoffs. And I want to thank all of the teams that participated in this year’s tournament. I want to thank our staff, the crew, and most importantly the fans, because without you guys, we wouldn’t be doing this thing! We’ll be back next year, but for now lets’ get out of here and sing that song that we all know and love!

[font size="2"]One Shining Moment [/font]





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



Folks, let’s get this post season party started! my next guest is one of the legendary “Big 4” heavy metal groups. You can see them on their “No Repeat Weekend” tour August 25th and 27th at SoFi Stadium, and also stops in Phoenix, New York, and other places around the US. Playing their song Lux AEterna, give it up for the one, the only Metallica!



Well, folks, this is the end of our season! I want to thank my staff, my crew, all of our host venues, and all of the great bands we’ve featured this season. We are out of here for the summer! Our 15th season starts July 20th! But don’t worry, we’ll bring you plenty of content in the meantime! See you then!

Credits

Host: Initech
Metallica Appears Courtesy Of: BMG Rights Management
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of A Live Audience At: Constellation Room At Observatory OC, Santa Ana, CA
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo



May 18, 2023

Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-15: Trumpty Dumpty Shat On A Wall Edition


Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-15: Trumpty Dumpty Shat On A Wall Edition

Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yooooooo, what’s up Santa Ana? How are you guys doing? You doing fucking good? It’s good to be home! We’re going to be doing quite a few shows from home next season. Well that’s what happens when you take an entire traveling comedy show to do an overseas spectacular for our 300th edition! Yeah we kind of shot our wad and overshot our budget, but we will be heading to the south and central parts of the country for season 15. Plus some other surprises in store. Also, don’t forget that our first 5 editions of season 15 will be devoted to our new 5 part docuseries “What’s Up With Florida” where we explore the Sunshine State and attempt to find out exactly what makes it tick. But next week is our season finale before our June / July 4th break. Man this has been a crazy season and a very exhausting one at that! But we have one more Top 10 before we get to take a long break. Do we have time for the thing? Of course we do! You know, last week we talked about the Mother’s Day advertising blitz. This week it’s the Dads & Grads advertising blitz. You know, George Costanza was right – “birthdays, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, just once I would like one month off!”. And I mean come on, where do department stores like Best Buy and Amazon think we get all this money to spend on gifts? Like shit, when did gift giving become a contact sport? But yeah this is why I make it a policy to block as many ads as possible. But then again that’s probably why we have that coveted Thursday at 2:00 PM time slot at the Chuckle Hut and not prime time after the Daily Show on Comedy Central, which is where we should be! Yeah that guy agrees with me! Thank you sir! OK that’s enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first we have to play John Oliver’s totally ridiculous half episode aimed at people who will never buy a home, but they can remember Chuck-E-Cheeses.



Where do we begin for our next to last Top 10 of Season 14? Well the number one slot is obviously going to that guy who we inexplicably used to call president (1) and the hits just keep coming! The latest victory comes in the form of the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit over Trump’s infamous “grab them” comments he made during the 2016 election! Woooooooooooo!!!!! In the second slot this week is CNN (2) for giving this abusive jerk a town hall special, and well, it was exactly what you would expect from him – a colossal shit show and another way to get free advertising for 2024. Ugh, another reason why we can’t have nice things. In the number 3 slot this week is our favorite New York Congress critter George Santos (3) because his years of lying his ass off have finally caught up to him – and he’s been arrested on charges to commit conspiracy and fraud! Excuse my editorial laugh… ha ha ha! In the number 4 slot this week is Elon Musk (4). Yes, while the rest of the world is still attempting to get the stink out of Tucker Carlson out of the room, Carlson has a new show on… Twitter? Yeah that’s right, because, I don’t know, free speech or something. The cult doesn’t like independent thought. In the number 5 slot this week is our segment “Good Guys With Guns” (5), and while you were sleeping, the MAGA SCOTUS is hard at work fast tracking a potentially nightmarish case that could overturn gun and magazine bans nationwide! They thought they could catch us while weren’t looking, right? Wrong! The last thing we need in this country is more guns and no rules. In the number 6 slot this week is our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and this week, our resident pastor was tipped off to an alarming story out of Colorado that shows what happens when one Denver suburb went from 0 to fascist really quickly, and it happens when you least suspect it! In the number 7 slot, we’re bringing back our segment “How Is This Still A Thing?” (7) and this week we’re going to ask the question – “White nationalism – how is this still a thing?”. 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 (8) and last week, we briefly mentioned about the guy who managed to punk Alex Jones into thinking that he was fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and well, this story is much deeper and crazier than you could imagine! Speaking of crazy, in the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week is a new “I Need A Drink” and we’ve always said that social media will be the end of humanity, but would you believe that the latest viral craze involves people smuggling Fruit Roll Ups past airport security? Neither did we, the internet is a seemingly endless black hole of stupidity. Finally this week, it’s the Stupidest State Final Four! Florida vs Ohio, Missouri vs Tennessee! Two of these states will advance to the finals, the others will go home! The champagne is on ice! Plus to cap things off, we have some live music from the legendary Iggy Pop! Buy his new album “Every Loser” or you’re 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"]Donald Trump
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[br]

You know…. You know… when I first heard about the verdict in the civil lawsuit between E. Jean Carroll and that guy who we inexplicably used to call president, Donald J. Trump, I wasn’t exactly sure how I should feel about the subject. One thing is perfectly clear – Trump is an abusive jerk and he has a ridiculously long history of being an abusive jerk. For the sake of this piece, let’s call it “Trump’s Expensive New Suit”. Or maybe “The Emperor’s New Lawsuit”. Nah, needs more zing. How about “Humpty Trumpty Shat On A Wall”. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I don’t think that diaper is big enough! But you know here’s the thing, is that Trump stepped in it deep. Yes, white male supremacists – rape is a crime! Doesn’t matter what Jordan Peterson or Ted Nugent tells you. But of course like most things, this is an example of two different systems of justice. Trump is a rich, white male and he will probably most likely get a slap on the wrist for being a rich, white male. When he should be going to prison for a long time. Eh, at this point, we’ll just settle for him being on house arrest at Mar-A-Lago where he can DJ hits by the Village People.

A civil jury on Tuesday found former President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing the writer E. Jean Carroll at a New York department store in the 1990s, and for defaming her last fall when he denied her claim.

The jury of six men and three women also ordered Trump to pay Carroll a total of $5 million in compensatory and punitive damages after deliberating less than three hours in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Jurors notably did not find Trump liable for rape, the most serious allegation Carroll made in a lawsuit filed last year. But their verdict that he sexually abused and forcibly touched her without her consent during a chance encounter in the Bergdorf Goodman store substantiated her civil claim of battery. Trial in the case began on April 25.

“I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back,” Carroll, 79, said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, the world finally knows the truth,” said Carroll, a former “Elle” magazine advice columnist and biographer of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/09/trump-rape-defamation-trial-jury-gets-instructions-from-judge-.html




Thank you Nelson! Well, here’s the thing – it’s just money. And it’s $5 million which to Trump is probably nothing. I mean he’s probably got that much under his couch cushions. Eh, don’t worry, he’ll blame it on his Adderall and or whatever else he’s taking that’s turned his brain to mush. We’d say meth but that’s neither here nor there. And no, we’re not touching that one with a 100 footpole! But of course, you know with the GOP these days that two things are inevitable. The first is that they don’t know when to shut the fuck up. The second thing is that every accusation is a confession. There is a third thing, and that third thing is that yes, they don’t know when to shut the fuck up.

This week, Donald Trump and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg offered us a tale of two citizens and the law. Bragg played a losing legal hand smartly. Trump? Not so much.

Let's start there. In a Manhattan federal courtroom, E. Jean Carroll is suing the former president for allegedly raping her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the 1990s. Defendant Trump hasn't shown up, just as he told us he wouldn't.

His purported excuse? Concern for the "financial and logistical burdens" his appearance would impose on New York!

....(snip)....

Here, Trump has reason to fear that he will be on the short end of the verdict in Carroll's case. This is a civil lawsuit, so she only needs the jury to believe that her charge is more likely true than not.

Carroll took the stand on Wednesday and testified that she brought the case "because Donald Trump raped me, and when I wrote about it, he said it didn't happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I'm here to get my life back."
https://www.salon.com/2023/04/29/doubles-down-on-a-losing-hand-in-e-jean-carrolls-rape-case/




The thing is, there’s no justice in the world for creepy, old, white perverts. I mean come on, $5 million dollars? That’s ridiculous. And I’m not even going to point out the endless amount of bile that Trump has been spewing on his social media hidey hole in Truth Social, which is quickly becoming a black hole in stupidity, and the world’s most expensive spite store. Ha ha ha ha ha, well I mean, someone’s got to buy the merchandise. But of course ,Trump is a guy who is known to shoot his mouth off on just about every subject known to man, but when it comes to this one, he’s very oddly silent. And I’m not counting the endless amounts of times he pleads the fifth.

Former President Donald Trump won’t testify in the civil trial over allegations he raped writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s.

His attorneys did not issue a filing by the 5 p.m. Sunday deadline that Judge Lewis Kaplan set for them to notify the court if he wanted to testify. Closing arguments in the trial are set to begin at 10 a.m. Monday.

Lawyers for Trump and Carroll rested their case in the civil trial last week. Kaplan left open the possibility for Trump, who had said he would not appear in person, to take the witness stand in his own defense, giving him time to change his mind.

Trump's lawyers said last week that their client will not testify and that they are not putting on any witnesses — a position attorney Joe Tacopina reiterated at the end of court Thursday when he rested their case. He told the judge that he’d spoken to Trump earlier that day and that the former president had waived his right to testify.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-wont-testify-e-jean-carroll-rape-defamation-trial-rcna83300




Yeah, Trump is quite literally that guy. When it comes to crimes he actually committed, that’s the one time he actually will shut up, and is very oddly silent on. In case you’re wondering what kind of scumbag Trump is in real life, he’s the kind of person who would blame the victim for being in his way. Like remember when Dick Cheney shot that guy in the face, and then made the guy apologize to him for getting in the way of his shot? Yeah he’s that kind of abusive psychopath. But this goes with what we’re saying about the GOP being too comfortable in their roles. Trump will just hold a bunch of rallies and go on Fox News to convince the cult he’s a good guy.

Donald Trump has boasted about grabbing women by the pussy without their consent. He has made innumerable misogynistic comments. He has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 26 women. He has suggested that some of the women who have accused him of misconduct were too unattractive to assault. And, until this week, he has managed to get away with all of it. Trump has faced no meaningful consequences for his actions; he has given every impression of being above the law.

Until this week. It may have taken decades, but the law has finally caught up with Trump. On Tuesday, a jury in New York found that the former president sexually abused the advice columnist E Jean Carroll in the changing room of a department store 27 years ago. It was a civil case, so Trump hasn’t been taken away in handcuffs, but his reputation and his wallet have suffered a blow. While the jury did not find that Trump raped Carroll, its verdict brands him a sexual predator. Carroll was awarded $5m (£4m) in total: $2.02m in compensation and damages for her battery claim and $2.98m in compensation and damages for defamation, as a result of Trump calling her a liar.

“I filed this lawsuit against Donald Trump to clear my name and to get my life back,” Carroll said on Tuesday. “Today, the world finally knows the truth. This victory is not just for me but for every woman who has suffered because she was not believed.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/may/10/the-more-women-accuse-him-the-better-he-does-the-meaning-and-misogyny-of-the-trump-carroll-case





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[font size="8"]Donald Trump
[br] [/font]
[br]

Well, CNN’s quest to turn into Fox News light is going about as well as you’d expect. And of course I don’t need to tell you that the controversial Town Hall meeting they had with that guy who we inexplicably used to call president. But that town hall wasn’t exactly met with the pomp and circumstance you’d usually expect from a MAGA event. But as you can probably guess, this is yet another chapter in the ongoing experiment called “Everything Trump Touches Dies”. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Yeah that would make an awesome horror movie! But the town hall, as everyone predicted, was an absolute disaster. And I guess that you could say “we told you so!” followed by a very childish “neener neener”. The one thing that we will show you about what this town hall actually did, was it showed how two very different networks handle the guy with the most fragile ego in the entire country. And of course, neither of them handle that jackass particularly well. But then again, he’s a guy who cannot be contained, and loves his cronies and ass kissers. He also hates when he’s forced to get out of his element.

CNN faced criticism this week for reportedly screening a "sympathetic" audience to attend former President Donald Trump's town hall.

Popular Information writer Judd Legum reported that the 400 members of Wednesday's town hall would be supportive of the Republican Party.

"The audience for the CNN townhall w/Trump will be 400 Republicans & GOP-leaning independents," Legum wrote on Twitter.

The writer blasted CNN for allowing a biased audience to question Trump after he was found liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll.

"Allowing Trump to appear in front of an audience exclusively comprised of people who are likely sympathetic to Trump -- and then turn over the questions to that group -- is irresponsible," he said.
https://www.rawstory.com/cnn-town-hall/?cx_testId=6&cx_testVariant=cx_undefined&cx_artPos=0&cx_experienceId=EXC93HV4HK4I#cxrecs_s




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Part of the problem with today’s GOP is that they’re too comfortable in their roles to actually change anything about themselves. They never actually get out of their element, and they only appear on shows that will have the host’s lips firmly implanted on their ass, and that’s a problem. It’s insane that CNN is essentially turning into Fox News light, and the last thing on earth we need is more republican bullshit! Yeah, real journalism costs money. But the one thing we learned from this disastrous town hall is that when you’re in a hole, stop digging! Yeah, we’ve been saying that since our first edition!

Donald Trump dug himself a deeper hole during the CNN town hall as it pertains to Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into his alleged mishandling of documents, according to Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe.

CNN has received quite a bit of flack since providing the 2024 Republican front-runner with airtime Wednesday at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, as he spoke in front of a live audience composed essentially of 2024 GOP presidential primary voters.

During the approximate 75-minute back and forth, Trump went into more detail about his mindset regarding the classified documents that were discovered August 8 during an FBI raid of his private Mar-a-Lago residence.

"Trump's CNN performance was one long series of confessions, strongly accelerating Special Counsel Smith's timeline toward multiple indictments," Tribe tweeted Friday.
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-confessed-crimes-during-cnn-townhall-professor-1800014




And by the way, in case you’re wondering what the lesson learned from all of this – is that the American media hasn’t learned a damn thing. Trump is a bloodthirsty lunatic who’s out for absolute power and if he gets back in the White House in 2024, he will have people killed. Publicly and in prime time too. He might even save his most revered enemies for a PPV special. You know, just because he can and just because the shitheads who vote for him will buy literally anything that he puts his name on. But really if he manages to slime his way back to the presidency, we’ll know exactly who to blame this time around.

Donald Trump remains a juggernaut. He came, he saw, and he conquered during his appearance on CNN last week as he spouted the Big Lie and many other smaller ones about the 2020 Election and other subjects, praised the Jan. 6 coup attempt and his terrorist foot soldiers who attacked and overran the Capitol, spouted white supremacist and misogynistic invective, and continued his assault on reality and common decency.

That Trump would be so victorious during his CNN town hall was predictable – and by design. CNN rigged the outcome in his favor by filling the audience with Republicans, right-leaning independents, and other Trump voters. The audience was told not to boo or otherwise show disapproval or "disrespect" for the former president. Kaitlan Collins, the host, was utterly unprepared for his lies and thus no match for Trump.

When CEO Chris Licht took over CNN last year, he promised to pivot the network in a more "balanced" direction that was more "mainstream." Hosts and other voices who were consistently critical of Trump would be silenced (or fired). CNN's new regime also committed itself to false balance and false equivalency where the Republican and MAGA movement who are trying to end multiracial democracy are presented as a reasonable alternative to the Democrats within the broad mainstream of American politics instead of as an existential threat to the future of the country and its democracy.
https://www.salon.com/2023/05/15/what-was-gained-from-this-cnn-town-hall-was-a-failure/





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[font size="8"]George Santos
[br] [/font]
[br]

When we first heard of Georg e Santos (Q – Batshit), we were not at all surprised to learn that he’s a serial liar and con artist. That seems to be the hallmark of running for office on the MAGA ticket these days. But what we did not know – is that he was a soon to be indicted convicted felon. Like what are the odds of that happening? Well, in the republican party, your odds of that happening are already extremely high to begin with. Look, we all had some laughs at the beginning of the year when Rep. Santos dominated the news and like every other news article that came out about him was yet another lie. And the lies got even more ridiculous and insane than the next one did. But there’s nothing funny about money laundering and excessive fraud. No, sir. But anyway, this is yet another reason to laugh, because MAGA has once again dug up another criminal, and ran them for office. Just like the long list of MAGA criminals already in office. You know who they are.

George Santos arrived for his arrest last week dressed in what has now become something of a signature uniform for him: blue blazer, knit sweater over a white collared shirt, chinos, penny loafers, Ray-Bans. It’s an unremarkable outfit, the kind that expresses a sort of Brooks Brothers–esque nonchalance (“Oh, this old thing?”). But it was a potent visual of what he has been trying to do.

That the clothes make the con is an old story. “Fake it till you make it” is the ultimate aspirational koan, and as New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman put it, writing in January about Santos’ fashion choices, “Throughout history, the greatest grifters have understood that dressing the part is half the game.” But Santos’ particular spin on an old trope is underscored by the unalloyed chutzpah of him having misused campaign contributions in order to buy “luxury designer clothing,” as noted in the indictment unsealed on Wednesday. In other words, paying for self-presentation is part of what just got him in trouble. That’s no accident.

The quintessential Santos outfit is a uniform that conveys old-money assuredness, a statement not just of “I belong here” but “I deserve power because of my status.” (“Behold, the uniform of preppy private-school boys everywhere,” Friedman wrote, “like something straight out of Dead Poets Society.”) The look caught the eye of Derek Guy, a menswear writer, who told me over email that as a political candidate, Santos often “wore many of the markers of financial success, but in a sort of ‘Nordstrom way’: fleece vests, quarter zip sweaters, Ferragamo horsebit loafers, quilted Burberry jackets, and slim sport coats.”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/05/george-santos-news-arrested-indicted-mug-shot-clothes.html




See, this is why I hate clickbait. The headline had the word “SHOCKING” in bold letters. Come on, seriously? Was it really that shocking? Most of us who have been following the MAGA shit show for the last 10 years saw it coming like a mile away. But the sad thing is, just like the other MAGA crooks in Congress, it may take a Herculean effort to get rid of these scumbags. But it must be done! The republican party is the party of crooks and liars, and we’ve got nearly 7 years of Idiots lists that show you a metric fuck ton of evidence that is indeed the case! But really, fuck George Santos.

Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 13 federal charges including fraud and lying to Congress.

Santos faces seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of lying to the House of Representatives, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday. He was released from custody on a $500,000 bond following his arraignment at a Long Island federal courthouse. If convicted, Santos could face up to 20 years in prison.

The charges mark a significant escalation in the many legal and ethical probes the fabulist Republican lawmaker has faced since taking office. Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement that the charges against Santos aim to hold the freshman lawmaker accountable for numerous alleged "fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations."

"Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself," Peace said.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/10/george-santos-custody-federal-charges/70201611007/




A MAGA lying to Congress? Now *THAT*’s shocking! NOT! But then again that’s why I really hate clickbait. Was the news in question really *THAT* shocking? Of course it wasn’t. We knew that George Santos was a lying scumbag the first time he appeared in the news. We’re not saying all MAGAs are lying scumbags… wait, no, that’s exactly what we are saying. Because, seriously, fuck this guy and everyone else who got duped by Trump into running for Congress. We’re not going to hear the end of these losers anytime soon. The sad thing is as long as they’re still running the House, we won’t get rid of them. They’re like flies to a bug zapper.

After months of ridicule and humiliation, Rep. George Santos’ troubles reached an even more serious point last week. A week ago today, the New York Republican was indicted by the Justice Department and charged with a variety of crimes, including wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. Two days later, the GOP congressman, as part of an agreement with Brazilian prosecutors, confessed to theft.

Evidently, this week won’t be especially easy for Santos, either. NBC News reported:

Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia introduced a resolution Tuesday to expel indicted Republican Rep. George Santos from Congress. The resolution is privileged, meaning the Republican-controlled House must bring it up in the next two days.

The California congressman championing the measure told reporters that the purpose of the resolution is to “put Republicans on the record” in response to Santos’ latest legal troubles.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/george-santos-newest-problem-house-vote-expulsion-measure-rcna84834





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[font size="8"]Elon Musk
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Look, people. We got to stop letting the right wing steamroll us on the Constitution and what freedom of speech really means. As we’ve all seen from the fallout from the Fox News lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems, free speech does have consequences. As is the case with our old buddy Tucker Carlson, and it seems that you just can’t keep a good right wing troll down. While there was apparently a bidding war over who got Tucker’s new show, it appears that the winner is… Elon Musk? I guess the Chief Twit, as he likes to call himself, is now a media mogul, in addition to the 750 other businesses that he runs on a daily basis. But you know, seriously, right wing politics is a fucking racket. And it seems that if you’re in the cult, they just want more of you. Yeah that doesn’t sound creepy at all, does it? Thank you sir for pointing that one out! But again, no, we don’t need the Tucker reaction camera for this one. And again, this is insane that this is the pulse of America. And we also wonder how many of Tucker’s new followers are Russian bots.

Tucker Carlson’s video announcement earlier this week he would host a show on Twitter—two weeks after the former controversial Fox News host was ousted by the network—became the top-performing post on Twitter for the week, beating out Taylor Swift, Elon Musk and others.


Carlson’s tweet Tuesday—which reads, “We’re back”—has accumulated more than 194,000 retweets and 891,500 likes as of 2:30 p.m. EST Saturday, the most in either category for the week ending on May 13.

Carlson, who parted ways with Fox News after 14 years, announced the return of his primetime news show on the platform with a video accompanying the tweet, suggesting there are “limits” to the stories that can be told on TV.

The tweet outperformed K-Pop superstars BTS—a photo of member Min Yoon-gi—which totaled over 176,600 retweets and 530,600 likes, though the post has been up for less than 24 hours.

Carlson also beat out Taylor Swift, who periodically posted updates from her “Eras Tour,” with her most-liked post totaling more than 56,000 retweets and 463,400 likes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/05/13/tucker-carlson-beats-bts-and-taylor-swift-elon-musk-on-twitter/?sh=57b515c742b9




Yeah that’s another thing – let’s check out those numbers for a minute. The top performing tweet that week only got 891,000 hits. 891,000. In the before times, that Tweet probably could have fetched 2 – 3 million hits at the minimum. Of course that’s what happens when you hang out with neo Nazis and white nationalists and scare off all the good advertisers. And the last thing we need is more right wing bullshit polluting the internet. Right wing bullshit is everywhere and it’s rotting more minds than any amount of crack or heroin would ever do.

Right-wing extremist Tucker Carlson announced Tuesday that he will relaunch his program on Twitter, which he praised as the only remaining large free-speech platform in the world after Fox News fired him late last month.

Carlson made the announcement in a video posted to the social media website, which Elon Musk acquired last year. Musk said Twitter did not sign an agreement with Carlson for his new show.

Twitter has devolved in recent months into a chaotic platform where the traditional press has come under assault from the billionaire.

“Speech is the fundamental pre-requisite for democracy. That’s why it was enshrined in the first of our Constitutional amendments,” Carlson said. “Amazingly, as of tonight, there are not that many platforms left that allow free speech. The last big one remaining … is Twitter, where we are now.”

Carlson demonized the news media in his announcement video, accusing journalists of often excluding facts that detract from their narratives. He did not mention Musk has censored speech on Twitter, including banning several prominent reporters from the website just last year.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/09/media/tucker-carlson-twitter/index.html




Hey Tucker – YOU’RE A MEMBER OF THE MEDIA!!! Are you a victim of your own brand of brainwashing and mental conditioning? That’s like asking if Caitlyn Jenner hangs out at Mar-A-Lago on the weekends… and really? That’s not Photoshopped? OMFG. It really is getting harder to tell what is satire and what is real these days. But really this whole exercise is more of a “do not fuck with us” kind of deal. Because that is what Tucker is basically telling his former employer. Could a show starring an unfiltered Tucker Carlson being as racist and sexist as he wants to be succeed on Twitter? He might gain a few new followers, but for the most part, he’ll just be pandering to the same idiots.

Tucker Carlson’s announcement that he intends to launch a new version of his now-canceled Fox News program on Twitter provided the clearest window yet into the pundit’s plans for the future — and a feud with his former employer that shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

What remains to be seen is whether Carlson, who remains under contract with the network, can use his teased social media project to maintain his high profile while tensions with Fox permeate behind the scenes.

Fox has not commented on a video Carlson posted Tuesday on Twitter announcing his plans to move his show to the social media platform.

But it is clear there are questions about whether he can do so given his contractual agreements with Fox.
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/3998553-tucker-carlsons-twitter-plans-amplify-tensions-with-fox-news/




Yeah that’s another thing – how’s Elon going to win back those precious advertising dollars when he scared off all the good ones? One thing is for damn sure – no one is going to like his “no content regulation” policy. Like how do people think they can post nasty messages and think that is going to win them friends and influence? Oh wait, I know what decade we live in. Never mind. But here’s the thing, while Tucker got rich off peddling hate to white nationalists who watch Fox 24/7, could Fox send a “fuck you” message to Elon in an effort to stop this new programming? Eh… probably.

The mystery surrounding Tucker Carlson’s ouster from the airwaves at Fox News — and his future plans in media — are coming into sharper focus.

On April 26, Carlson spoke by phone with one of Fox Corp.’s eight board members, who told the host that his recent benching was a condition of Fox News’ settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the conversation.

But Dominion was looking for the best way to maim the conservative news network, and forcing Fox News to cut ties with the most-watched personality in cable news would deal a potentially insurmountable blow and lead to a viewer exodus, according to Carlson’s understanding.

“That condition was intended to hurt Fox, and Tucker is just collateral damage,” says a source familiar with the matter. “Dominion wanted to punish Fox, and it’s working.”

Dominion and Fox Corp. both strongly dispu
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/inside-tucker-carlson-battle-trade-110329281.html





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[font size="8"]Good Guys With Guns
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“No matter what the situation, a guy with a gun is a guy with a gun.” – Michael Weston in Burn Notice

Top 10 Conservative Idiots Presents:



Let’s face some facts. Every country on earth has guns. But there’s only one country with an organization that gives a consistent “fuck you” to any attempt to legislate them, and that country is America. And that organization, you know them as the National Rifle Association. Yes, the NRA – because killing people and defending yourselves from hostile animals is fun! But when you have a country with 330,000,000 people and 100,000,000,000,000,000 guns, and no rules to enforce them, the last thing you need in this country is more guns, right? Wrong! Fuck you! Well, at least that’s what the NRA will tell you. But while you weren’t looking, the 6 – 3 MAGA backed, completely compromised SCOTUS was hoping that you weren’t looking while they were on a warpath to fast track a case that could undo America’s gun bans. Yes, that’s right, even in states that you thought were once safe like California and Massachusetts, are not immune from this lawsuit.

Challengers of state and local bans on assault weapons in Illinois asked Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the Supreme Court on Monday to block the bans, saying that courts are ignoring last year’s ruling that expanded Second Amendment rights.

The gun rights advocates are challenging both a city ordinance passed last year by Naperville, Illinois, that bans the sale of assault rifles, and an Illinois state law enacted this year prohibiting the sale and possession of assault weapons and magazines.

Both a federal district court and an appeals court declined the request from a gun rights group, an Illinois gun shop and its owner for a preliminary injunction.

Monday’s emergency application was submitted to Barrett, who oversee emergency appeals coming from that region of the country.

The challengers say the courts are ignoring last year’s Supreme Court ruling known as Bruen v New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, and a previous decision, known as Heller v. District of Columbia.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/01/politics/illinois-supreme-court-assault-weapons-ban-appeal-bruen/index.html




Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! You know what? I think it’s way past time we told these psychos to fuck right the hell off. I mean come on, why do gun rights groups exist in 2023? In this country, guns have more rights than the people who get shot with them! Like when a shooting happens, you ever notice that there’s a massive increase in new gun sales? Yes, it’s the circle of death and it screws us all! Shit, at this point, America’s chief export and also import is death. That’s one thing that this country is doing well in right now – is killing people. And the last thing we need is more ways to kill people and the wrong people to get guns.

The U.S. Supreme Court could soon issue a decision on whether state and local governments can legally impose bans on assault weapons within their jurisdictions.

Ten states in total have bans on assault weapons and/or high capacity magazines. But a Supreme Court ruling on a case challenging Illinois’s ban — which could, legal observers say, be handed down any day now — has the potential to render those laws unenforceable.

The case in question, National Association for Gun Rights v. City of Naperville, argues that the state of Illinois cannot enforce a ban on owning assault weapons. The case also challenges the city of Naperville’s ordinance on assault weapons, arguing that both statutes are in direct violation of the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

The case involves the gun rights organization as well as a gun shop owner, who has alleged that his sales are being negatively impacted by the bans.
https://truthout.org/articles/supreme-court-could-soon-stop-states-from-being-able-to-ban-assault-weapons/




Yeah that’s eventually where we’re heading. We’ll be a country where you have to use your gun to open beer cans and unlock doors. Of course as long as those beers aren’t from “woke” brands. I mean at least have some consistency, GOP. Yes, there’s some things that we should all be at least able to agree on when it comes to gun control in America, right? Yes, people should be properly trained on how to use them should they decide to purchase one. No, children should not be around guns. No, domestic abusers should not be allowed to own guns. These are all things that make sense. But the right wing gun nuts’ approach is basically just “fuck it”.

On May 1, Justice Amy Coney Barrett directed the State of Illinois and the City of Naperville to respond to the emergency application for injunction pending appellate review filed by the National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR). As I explained in "An Opening Judicial Salvo in Defense of Illinois' New Rifle Ban," the U.S. district court (N.D. Ill.) denied a motion for preliminary injunction against the State's ban on semiautomatic rifles and standard-capacity magazines, greatly departing from Supreme Court precedent on the Second Amendment.

While that denial was being appealed to the 7th Circuit, Judge Stephen McGlynn (S.D. Ill.) found that plaintiffs in another challenge were likely to succeed on the merits that the law violates the Second Amendment, and he issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement. See my post. The 7th Circuit immediately granted the State's motion for a stay against the injunction in a one-sentence order without giving the plaintiffs an opportunity to respond.

So now the challengers have filed amicus briefs supporting NAGR in the Supreme Court, and we await a decision there.
https://reason.com/volokh/2023/05/10/supreme-court-roundup-the-supreme-court-should-review-and-enjoin-the-illinois-gun-ban/




Yes, that’s a good point, Homer. Yeah let’s blame the cigarettes. But here’s the thing – this is why we’re constantly emphasizing the fact that elections have consequences. Yes, we can actively blame the bloviating orange asshole for the reason why we’re in the current situation that we’re in. Because by electing him, he allowed the Christian right to run rampant and he stacked the courts in favor of lunatics who value the 2nd Amendment and guns over the victims. If a mass shooting happens and your first thought is the government coming to take your guns away, you should probably not own guns. It’s that simple.

The Supreme Court could hand down a decision any day now in National Association for Gun Rights v. City of Naperville, a case that could legalize assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in all 50 states.

The case challenges a Naperville, Illinois, ordinance and a similar Illinois state law, both of which ban assault weapons, which the state law defines to include certain semiautomatic rifles such as AR-15s and AK-47s. Additionally, the state law prohibits the sale of a “large capacity ammunition feeding device,” which the statute defines as long gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, or handgun magazines that hold more than 15 bullets.

The plaintiffs, which include a gun shop owner and a gun rights group, claim the two statutes violate the Second Amendment.

Should the Supreme Court accept that argument and overturn these laws, it would have sweeping implications for the entire country. That decision would need to be followed throughout the entire nation — which would most likely mean that neither any state nor the US Congress could ban assault rifles or high-capacity magazines.
https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/9/23716863/supreme-court-assault-rifles-weapons-national-association-gun-rights-naperville-brett-kavanaugh





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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: How Small Towns Become Fascist
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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, over the last year or so, we’ve been talking heavily about the rise of Christian nationalism and the dangers of Dominionist supremacy. Well, today we’re going to show you how small towns become fascist. In doing research on this subject, I had several viewers tip me off to this story out of Woodland Park, Colorado. So if you don’t know where this city is, it’s in the western part of Colorado. And it’s firmly in the middle of Colorado’s largest district, CO-4, which as you know, is famously represented by Christian nationalist and gun enthusiast Lauren Boebert, which is why it’s been in the news a lot lately. Well this week we plan to show you just how towns become fascist. And don’t think yours won’ t be next. The American Christian right is on a warpath and they’re starting small and local. It starts with the takeover of school boards and city councils. Where does it end? Well you know where it ends. This is not what the good LAWRD JAYSUS would want now, is it? Of course these people worship the unholy, ungodly Dark One! I of course speak of a man so profane, so disgusting, so evil that his name dare NOT be spoken in my church! So this is how small towns become fascist.

When a conservative slate of candidates won control of the school board here 18 months ago, they began making big changes to reshape the district.

Woodland Park, a small mountain town that overlooks Pikes Peak, became the first — and, so far, only — district in the country to adopt the American Birthright social studies standard, created by a right-wing advocacy group that warns of the “steady whittling away of American liberty.” The new board hired a superintendent who was previously recalled from a nearby school board after pushing for a curriculum that would “promote positive aspects of the United States.” The board approved the community’s first charter school without public notice and gave the charter a third of the middle school building.

As teachers, students and parents began protesting these decisions, the administration barred employees from discussing the district on social media. At least two staff members who objected to the board’s decisions were later forced out of their jobs, while another was fired for allegedly encouraging protests.

These rapid and sweeping shifts weren’t coincidental — instead it was a plan ripped from the MAGA playbook designed to catch opponents off guard, according to a board member’s email released through an open records request.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/wing-takeover-colorado-school-board-140006113.html




Now you might be wondering what religious conservatives plan to do with their newfound wealth and power. Well, I can assure you that they are NOT going to be using it for good! Instead they are going to be using it for EVIL! The thing is, people really need to start paying attention to who’s running for your school boards and city councils. Because when you don’t, that’s how the bad guys win. And right now, I hate to say this, the bad guys are winning. So what do they plan to do with this evil power? Of course they’re using it to ban books and rewrite school curriculum in favor of white nationalism and the unholy Dark One!

At the first board meeting in January with Witt as superintendent, the board voted to adopt the American Birthright social studies curriculum standard. No social studies teachers had been consulted prior to the vote, according to three current employees and an administrator who asked to speak anonymously to protect their employment.

American Birthright materials emphasize patriotism, argue that the federal government should have no authority over public schools and say teachers should not encourage civic engagement, such as registering to vote or petitioning local lawmakers on issues students care about.

“It is terribly important to be a disengaged citizen, and indeed, a disengaged student,” said David Randall, research director at the National Association of Scholars, a conservative organization that created the standards last year.

Woodland Park voted for Donald Trump over Joe Biden by 2-to-1 in 2020. Michael Ciaglo for NBC News
Randall said American Birthright was modeled off state standards in Massachusetts and Florida. The group received input from dozens of right-wing groups and activists, including the Claremont Institute, the Family Research Council and Moms for Liberty. Randall sees it as a bipartisan alternative to coursework that he described as hijacked by liberal concepts. Critics, though, say it’s biased toward the right — for example, it includes Bill Clinton’s impeachment but not Donald Trump’s.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/woodland-park-colorado-school-board-conservatives-rcna83311


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Gee, I’m not at all surprised that this district leans heavily in favor of the Dark One! But the thing you have to learn about fascism, my fair congregation, is that fascism creeps up on you when you least suspect it. When you see that a white supremacist like Andrew Wommack vowing to take over your city, you’d better be aware that he’s serious. Because the type of people who the Dark One tends to attract are unhinged lunatics with an incredibly racist and sexist agenda. And you should absolutely pay attention to who’s running in your city, because when you don’t vote, they win.

In 1994, right-wing evangelist Andrew Wommack founded Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, Colorado, and has used it as a platform from which to spew disinformation, conspiracy theories, and anti-LGBTQ bigotry ever since.

Wommack is an ardent Christian nationalist who openly declares that right-wing Christians “are supposed to be ruling in this world.” Right Wing Watch reported in 2016 that Wommack had teamed up with Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton to launch a “Practical Government School” at Charis that teaches students how to “restore God’s purpose in government.”

While Wommack’s Christian college was training up a generation of Christian nationalists to take over governments around the country, Wommack went to work closer to home, musing in 2021 that with just the people associated with Charis, “we ought to take over Woodland Park.”

In 2022, Right Wing Watch reported that Wommack announced that he had decided to “take Colorado back” during the previous election cycle by flooding five districts with hundreds of thousands of voter guides, bragging that he was able to get “78 or 80” of his preferred candidates elected to office.
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/anti-lgbtq-christian-nationalist-andrew-wommack-vowed-to-take-over-woodland-park-then-he-did/




And yes, the DEVIL most certainly does! Because this movement is dangerous, and not only is it a threat to the health and well being of the youth of this country, it’s a threat to democracy itself. We’ve been covering Christian fascism for years. And it’s insane to me that Christian fundamentalists run on the premise of their candidacy being “god’s will”. No it is most certainly not GAWD’s will! It’s your will, you’ve been indoctrinated into a brainwashed cult. And yes, I refer to it as a cult. It’s no different from Scientology or NXIVM. They all practice the same principles. They all have leaders and hierarchy systems that are used to sway believers. They all have charismatic frontmen who convince you every week that it's god’s will. I could go on and on. Anyway this is what we’re up against.

The board of a small school district in Teller County passed a resolution Wednesday night to use the conservative American Birthright social studies standards that emphasize patriotism and American exceptionalism, just a month after the state board of education rejected them.

The standards were championed by the district’s new interim superintendent, Ken Witt, a former Jefferson County board president. He was recalled along with two other board members in 2015 after they tried to inject patriotism into the history curriculum.

“In all honesty, in my opinion… the proposed American Birthright standard is better aligned with the Woodland Park School District purpose and core beliefs,” said Witt, who was hired by the board of education on Dec. 21, despite opposition from community members and a student-led petition.

That statement prompted several loud “no’s” from the audience. At one point the meeting was adjourned after a man yelled out “this is a joke” and the board president threatened to call the police in the small mountainous community northwest of Colorado Springs.
https://www.cpr.org/2023/01/12/woodland-park-school-district-american-birthright-social-studies-standards/




Yes it is! And if you don’t look, your town will fall pray to the demented far right Christian cult that’s taking over this country on an alarming basis! I warn you, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it! Heed this warning my fair congregation, and we must take this country back from far right religious fascism! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:




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[font size="8"]How Is This Still A Thing: White Nationalism
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It's time once again to ask:



This week: White nationalism, how is this still a thing? There’s no mistake that humanity, and especially Americans are getting increasingly more hostile and violent. We could place the blame on the darkest corners of the internet, like Infowars and right wing social media, but there’s a lot more to it than that and we’re not going to solve this issue anytime soon. This week, President Biden gave a speech about white nationalism, calling it one of the greatest existential threats to the United States of America in the 2020s. But we’re here to ask the question – why is it still a thing? We have fought two major wars over this sort of thing. The first was the American Civil War from 1860 – 1865. The second was of course World War II. And how did both of those wars end? That’s right – the bad guys lost both of them, so of course it would make sense that they’re attempting this a third time. But is there really a backlash for calling out racism in its’ most extreme form? Well, maybe if you watch Fox there is, but outside of the Fox / AM / Sinclair bubble, most are in agreement.

President Joe Biden told Howard University’s graduating class on Saturday (May 13) that the nation is in a battle for its soul and must “stand up against the poison of white supremacy,” adding that the class of 2023 is “the reason I’m so optimistic about the future.”

The president delivered his commencement address after receiving an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the historically Black university. At times, Biden, who is running for a second term, sounded like he was on the campaign trail, pointing to his accomplishments in office and to unachieved policy promises. During his speech, a handful of students turned their backs on Biden and held up signs in a silent protest.

Biden recounted the story of what motivated him to run for the presidency in 2020. He said after Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president, was reelected to office he “hoped that the fear of violence and hate was significantly losing ground.” But then the 2017 white supremacist rally of “crazed neo-Nazis with angry faces” and Klansmen in Charlottesville, Va., reminded him that hate never goes away but “only hides under the rocks.”

“And what did you hear? That famous quote. When asked about what happened, that famous quote. ‘There are very fine people on both sides,’” Biden said, alluding to former President Donald Trump's defense of the Charlottesville rally.
https://www.bet.com/article/kbma4l/biden-howard-univesity-commencement-white-supremacy




Yeah that’s Fox News in a nutshell right now. We’re not saying that all Fox News viewers are racists, but all racists watch Fox News. In fact, when Tucker Carlson was on, not only did racists watch his show, they watched it multiple times to “learn from it”. And that’s scary. Because the thing we’ve noticed in the last several years of doing this program is that racists don’t like being called out for being racist, and that’s usually when the shit storm ensues. But here’s the thing – if you are offended by white supremacy being called an existential threat, guess what? You’re a white supremacist.

During his address at Howard University’s commencement on Saturday (May 13), President Biden used the podium to assert that white supremacy is “the most dangerous terrorist threat” to America. Biden also recalled the story of how he decided to run for president in 2017 after seeing white supremacists march in Charlottesville.

“I don’t have to tell you that progress towards justice often meets ferocious pushback from the oldest and most sinister of forces,” Biden stated. “That’s because hate never goes away.” The President also acknowledged the disturbing nature of American history and how even though the right is working hard to erase it, its consequences are indelible.

Conservatives have accused Biden of using this moment at the HBCU to pander to Black folks and divide Americans but historian and educator Dr. Walter Greason tells The Root that the president’s commentary about racism is both vital and substantial in a broader historical context—especially considering the alarming number of hate crimes that happen in this country annually.

“For more than a decade the federal government has tracked the threat of racial terrorists—people who seek out to attack Jewish, African American, Asian American communities—because they perceive that white nationalism is the only legitimate culture in the United States,” Greason explains. “That [belief] predates the founding of the United States and holds the assumption that if you’re not white and Christian, you cannot be a citizen.
https://www.theroot.com/heres-why-biden-calling-white-supremacy-americas-most-d-1850437989




This is definitely true. President Biden is not wrong – white nationalism is very much an existential threat to the very fabric of the United States. But we cannot deny that there’s white nationalists in Congress and the Senate currently. People like Marjorie Greene, Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, and Tommy Tuberville are all people who have been brainwashed into being predominant members of the white nationalist Murdoch cult. We’re not saying that all Fox News viewers are racist, but all racists are Fox News viewers.

Raskin sent a letter to Comer, first reported by the Washington Post, calling on the committee’s Republican members to sign a resolution that “denounce[s] white nationalism and white supremacy in all its forms,” including a “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory that’s been repeatedly cited as a defense for acts of domestic terrorism.

The ranking member attached a resolution that’s already been signed by all of the committee’s Democratic members, which Raskin asked GOP committee members to now sign as well.

Raskin cited “dangerous and conspiratorial rhetoric that Republican committee members have made that “[borrow]
from” the “Great Replacement” theory as making it more necessary to emphasize that the Republican lawmakers denounce those ideologies, such as describing migrants arriving at the Southern border as an “invasion” and claiming the Biden Administration was “implementing a plan ‘to deliberately open our border’ for purposes of ‘changing our culture.’”

Though Raskin did not specify the lawmakers in his letter, committee members Boebert and Greene have described the influx of migrants as an “invasion,” the Post notes—along with other GOP lawmakers—while Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) made the comment about immigrants “changing our culture.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/03/06/white-supremacy-should-be-denounced-by-oversight-committee-republicans-including-boebert-marjorie-taylor-greene-democrats-urge/?sh=4c8cedb83ba4




Well, we always say that if you have to ask, it’s probably racist. And yes, Marjorie Greene and Lauren Boebert could and should denounce white nationalism. Could have, would have, should have. But you know that they won’t. In fact, they’re very much a part of the problem. They’re not just denouncing rampant racism in the GOP, they’re openly boasting about how they’re proud Christian nationalists, and no, that’s not a good thing. But the key to stopping the rampant racism and sexism in the republican party is to call it out everywhere you see it. But you also can’t deny it’s a problem when some of the top members of the GOP have met with prominent white nationalists like neo Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes.

Conservative firebrand Nick Fuentes has had dinner with, posed for pictures alongside, and welcomed on stage at least a half dozen Republicans since becoming a star of the white nationalist movement.

Interactions with the America First Foundation leader have also prompted GOP politicians to deny knowing who Fuentes is and what he stands for. Embattled former President Donald Trump is currently trying to distance himself from Fuentes following a Thanksgiving holiday sit-down at Mar-a-Lago that included the rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

The Anti-Defamation League describes Fuentes as a white supremacist, anti-semite, and 2020 election-denier "who seeks to forge a white nationalist alternative to the mainstream GOP." Fuentes, who has been similarly decried by the Department of Justice and Simon Wiesenthal Center, also founded the far-right America First Political Action Conference in 2020 as an alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference.

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow aired footage compiled by the Right Wing Watch project that shows Fuentes calling for a dictatorship to "force the people to believe what we believe."
https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-republicans-in-white-nationalist-nick-fuentes-world-2022-11




So white nationalism was denounced by President Biden, but there’s a massive influence in Congress and it’s gaining popularity with young people. That’s enough to make you ask: White nationalism: How is this still a thing?




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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner: The Guy Who Punked Alex Jones
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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 folks, you know that Infowars sits on the dark corners of the internet. It’s owned and operated by its’ main host, Alex Jones and is based in Austin, Texas. Well, the people who call into Infowars aren’t exactly what one would call “hinged”. In fact, they’re completely unhinged. As you know, Infowars uses clickbait fear mongering in an effort to sell z-grade vitamin supplements and water filters. Last week, we talked about how one caller managed to get through Infowars and spent several minutes convincing Alex Jones that he was recently fired Fox anchor Tucker Carlson. Well, after getting found out, it caused quite the shit show and it’s spectacular.

A Canadian prankster with a history of crank-calling conservative talk show hosts finally made his way to Alex Jones, using an AI-generated voice to pretend to be Tucker Carlson, paving the way for an extraordinary on-air monologue-cum-meltdown on Infowars Thursday. In his response to the call, Jones, who claims to be a bold truth-teller, lectured his audience about how it is not, in fact, funny to call him, pretend to be Tucker Carlson, and beseech him to “suck my titties.”

In a tweet on Wednesday, Chris James, a serial prankster who streams his under the name Prank Stallone, said he’d targeted Jones. (James shares his videos on Patreon, Twitch, YouTube, and a streaming platform called Means TV.)

“Okay so let’s say someone has Tucker Carlson’s cell number,” he tweeted, “and also Alex Jones’ cell phone number, and also an AI Tucker Carlson voice. They could IN THEORY call Alex Jones and pretend to be Tucker, and have a full conversation with him. Anyways I just did that.”

In a follow-up tweet, James added, “I was honestly caught off guard by how much he bought that it was Tucker. I ran out of clips.”

While the episode James was recording audio for has yet to air—it is set to debut Monday, and the world awaits with bated breath—Jones himself immediately responded publicly, in a 15-minute monologue on his show. It’s safe to say he did not see the humor.

“He stole Tucker Carlson’s identity,” Jones said. “He faked his number. He faked his voice. He called me and made sexual threats, basically. And he just thinks that’s funny. Because in his sociopathic world, I don’t exist. Alex Jones is fair game for any attacks. So is Tucker Carlson. We’re gonna find out who you’re working with, buddy.”
https://www.vice.com/en/article/3akb73/alex-jones-would-like-you-to-know-he-was-brutally-pranked-by-a-guy-pretending-to-be-tucker-carlson




OK, so before we go any further, I just want to preface by saying that phishing and impersonation are crimes, and the official policy here at the Top 10 is – don’t do anything illegal, kids! Now that’s said – HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!! Fuck you, Alex Jones! You know everyone in high school had that one teacher who had the shortest of fuses. Most of the time, they’re usually shop teachers, and I’m just saying. Well, anyway this story is another one of those that just gets weirder the more that you dig into it. And of course the conservative mantra to everything is “I’ll sue you”.

Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones demanded a prankster appear on his show and answer for duping him with an AI-generated voice of former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

To which the prankster responded, “I’m not going.”

Yesterday, internet prankster Chris James sent a tweet where he claimed to have pranked Jones.

“Okay so let’s say someone has Tucker Carlson’s cell number, and also Alex Jones’ cell phone number, and also an AI Tucker Carlson voice. They could IN THEORY call Alex Jones and pretend to be Tucker, and have a full conversation with him. Anyways I just did that.”

In the clip James shared, Jones said that what he did was a crime and that he needed to come on the show and “explain that his intent was not to be mean.”

“You need to understand that what you did is ‘not good.'”

Jones said that spoofing someone’s number could be a crime, although he added that he didn’t think Carlson would press charges. But, “it’s serious,” he said. James is based in Canada, which makes it unlikely charges could be brought.
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/alex-jones-tucker-carlson-ai-prank-call/




OK this suddenly just got that much more interesting. This is more than just a prank call, it’s going to be the cause of a war between thin-skinned American conservatives and Canadian comedians. And these are the people who are constantly telling us to grow a pair. And that we need our own safe spaces. I am not in anyway, shape or form supporting Alex Jones on this. The guy is a monster and he needs to be taken down several pegs. Like the bully in a kids’ movie. I’m just amazed that he allowed someone with an independent thought to get through on his show.

A YouTuber and comedian named Chris James, who goes by the moniker Prank Stallone on Twitter, successfully used an AI voice of Tucker Carlson to trick Alex Jones on his Infowars show. The incident is getting a lot of attention and was escalated to the point where Jones called for James to be arrested.

James laid out the whole prank as it happened live. In his initial tweet, which has almost three million views as of this writing, he explained the premise of what he was doing.

James then tweeted a series of responses as things got increasingly more bonkers by the hour. He said he was “caught off guard” by how well his prank worked, and then he said, “It will be on the Monday episode of my show for anyone wondering.” The responses started pouring in, and it sounded like James was getting cold feet. “[People] keep commenting about me getting sued and how I should talk to lawyers. Best shut up or you’ll talk me out of posting it!” he said. This weirdly didn’t stem the tide.

“Okay too many retweets and replies, starting to stress me out. Muting notifications and hoping I don’t end up on the news.” Hmm, about that. It seems like at his heart, James is an artist who just wants people to enjoy his content. He does also seem genuinely surprised at all the attention he’s getting.
https://wegotthiscovered.com/celebrities/its-serious-alex-jones-shares-demands-after-youtuber-chris-james-successfully-impersonated-tucker-carlson-to-prank-call-him/




OK now here’s what you might be thinking – but Alex Jones is one of the key purveyors of internet misinformation and is one of the reasons why the United States is becoming more increasingly violent and hostile. Well, you might be right about that. But I think it’s hilarious that after 10+ years of selling violent, hateful rhetoric to the masses, Alex Jones is just *NOW* concerned about the fact that there might be misinformation on his show. Dude, we’ve been telling you that since day one! This is of course what happens when your brain is completely scrubbed by a media machine that sells right wing fearmongering on a 24/7/365 basis.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones expressed grave concern about the rise of misinformation on his InfoWars show on Thursday, after falling victim to a prank call from Canadian serial prankster, Chris James, who streams under the name “Prank Stallone.”

No stranger to the “fake news” phenomenon, conspiracy-peddler Jones was fooled by an AI-generated voice mimicking former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, but failed to see the funny side of the prank call.

In a tweet last Wednesday, James wrote: “Okay so let’s say someone has Tucker Carlson’s cell number, and also Alex Jones’ cell phone number, and also an AI Tucker Carlson voice. They could IN THEORY call Alex Jones and pretend to be Tucker, and have a full conversation with him. Anyways I just did that.”

In a follow-up tweet, James added, “I was honestly caught off guard by how much he bought that it was Tucker. I ran out of clips.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2023/05/08/alex-jones-furious-after-falling-for-ai-generated-tucker-carlson-prank-call/?sh=563ad1c7f340







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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 of course you know that the idea behind this segment is that we have some drinks, and while we’re drinking we literally discuss just about anything as long as it doesn’t involve politics. Because there is a lot of dark shit out there, and we think of the bar as a propaganda free zone. This week, you know, we’ve long been saying that social media will probably kill us all. And after five years of insane Tik Tok challenges that have resulted in people going to the ER, we think we’ve seen everything, right? Well, wrong! This latest Tik Tok trend is too strange to warrant proper words, so that’s why I think we need some stiff drinks. Tell me bartender, what goes well with a story about Fruit Roll Ups? A Fruit Roll Ups Bloody Mary? Well what’s in that? Yeah I’ll pass. I’ll just stick to my usual Jack Daniels mixed with Jack Daniels. I call it the “Double Jack”. So of course in the latest of strange social media trends, someone somewhere convinced people that it’s OK to sneak Fruit Roll Ups – yes, that sweet treat that’s basically pure sugar with some light fruit flavor, past airport security. Like OK, this might be one of those trends where I seriously think someone might just be plain fucking with us. Yeah sneak unauthorized snacks past security… it’s OK, folks!

A viral TikTok trend has led some Americans to become smugglers, not of drugs, but of a popular fruit snack.

A Facebook post by Israeli authorities confirmed that airport security checks led to the confiscation of 661 pounds of Fruit Roll-Ups, a fruit snack made by the company General Mills, in a single week.

The incident started with a viral TikTok video posted by the company showing that Fruit Roll-Ups freeze when wrapped around ice cream, creating a satisfying crunch.

The sweet snack became a popular trend in Israel, which led to a shortage of Fruit Roll-Ups. Now, American smugglers are attempting to profit off of the heightened demand.

Some smugglers were selling individually wrapped snacks for a whopping $8 a pop, while an entire box is roughly $3 in America.
https://www.wdtn.com/news/u-s-world/fruit-roll-ups-smugglers-israel-tiktok-general-mills/




OK that just sounds fucking gross. Who came up with this idea? A bunch of 12 year olds? But here’s where it gets weird – as if that wasn’t apparent enough already - apparently Isreal is a favorite target of those who are smuggling the sweet treats past security. And the airport security agents in Tel Aviv aren’t having any of it. In fact, Isreal may be setting a record of how much of the treats are being smuggled through airport security. So far, to date, the agents have confiscated over 1,000 pounds of the stuff, that’s right – 1,000 pounds. Like what the actual fuck???

Apparently, it's tough to find Fruit Roll-Ups in Israel right now. Two American couples were recently stopped by customs at the airport when entering the country, after it was discovered that they were trying to smuggle in more than hundreds of pounds of Fruit Roll-Ups, according to Food & Wine. Between the four tourists, customs officials have confiscated over 650 pounds worth of the snack.

For context, Fruit Roll-Ups are having their it-girl moment over on TikTok right now. Some people are eating the after-school snack frozen, or with ice cream. Others claim that they are eating the candy with the plastic wrapper still on. Don't do that. But in Israel, Fruit Roll-Ups are nowhere to be found on grocery shelves, meaning that people are asking family members to bring the snacks over from the states.

Some of these videos have over 1 million likes, so it is evident that this dessert trend has captured the interest of people all over the world. For anyone feeling left out of this trend, or having a hard time finding Fruit Roll-Ups at the grocery store, I have a suggestion for you: Try literally any other dessert.
https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/americans-smuggling-fruit-roll-ups-israel-tiktok




Oh yeah that’s the stuff! But 1 million likes? Holy shit, I’m starting to think the users of Tik Tok need a hobby, or at the very least need an activity that revolves around something other than their phones, because these challenges are getting weirder and weirder. And it’s not stopping either. Imagine being an airport security agent in Isreal and you have to deal with these dipshits on a regular basis. “Oh no, not this crap again!!!”. But really, where the hell does one acquire 375 pounds of Fruit Roll Ups and why are you spending money on this stuff? I swear social media has shown us that there’s no bottom to the depths of humanity.

Who knew Fruit Roll-Ups were popular in Israel? In probably one of the strangest Customs discoveries, an American couple was caught trying to take 375 pounds of the snack time favorite into the country. Stuffed to the brim in three large suitcases, a video shared to Twitter shows Customs agents sifting through the packs of Fruit Roll-Ups to check if their suspicions were... fruitful.

Whether or not the couple were smuggling is unclear. According to USA Today, visitors are only allowed to bring food items as personal gifts, and the total value mustn’t exceed $200. *Watches video again* Yeah, definitely looks like more than $200 in Fruit Loops. My guess is that the Americans thought that bringing 375 pounds of candy was legal. I mean, it’s just candy after all.

However, they probably didn't consider that the candy might contain ingredients that are illegal. Legality aside, as the Customs agent checks each suitcase, you can tell that behind his stoic reaction, he’s just itching to grab a handful.

As of now, it’s unclear whether the couple got in further trouble, or simply had their suitcases of candy confiscated. All I know is, somebody had to take some of dem thangs home with them.
https://www.foodbeast.com/news/american-couple-caught-trying-to-take-375-pounds-of-fruit-roll-ups-into-israel/




Yeah just dump the whole bottle in the margarita mix, we don’t care! So this is an interesting dilemma – Fruit Roll Ups are popular in Isreal, but they aren’t sold there. But people, look. Don’t commit crimes just to get likes on social media. That shit isn’t cool. I’m sure the airport security agents and local police don’t want to put up with that bullshit, either. Much like ER doctors saw people who ate Tide Pods and were like “oh no, it’s this shit again!”. But don’t expect this to end anytime soon. With some videos reaching over one million likes, you know that it’s only a matter of time before someone attempts to smuggle Fruit Roll Ups and ice cream past airport security again. I need some more drinks!

A viral TikTok trend has led some Americans to become smugglers, not of drugs, but of a popular fruit snack.

A Facebook post by Israeli authorities confirmed that airport security checks led to the confiscation of 661 pounds of Fruit Roll-Ups, a fruit snack made by the company General Mills, in a single week.

The incident started with a viral TikTok video posted by the company showing that Fruit Roll-Ups freeze when wrapped around ice cream, creating a satisfying crunch.

The sweet snack became a popular trend in Israel, which led to a shortage of Fruit Roll-Ups. Now, American smugglers are attempting to profit off of the heightened demand.

Some smugglers were selling individually wrapped snacks for a whopping $8 a pop, while an entire box is roughly $3 in America.
https://www.wdtn.com/news/u-s-world/fruit-roll-ups-smugglers-israel-tiktok-general-mills/







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[font size="8"]Stupidest State 2022: The Final Four
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16 states will enter and only one state will become the new Top 10 Conservative Idiots Stupidest State!



We are here, folks! The Final Four is set! Representing the Batshit Conference, #1 seed Florida! From the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference, #3 Ohio! From the Gun Nut Conference, #2 Missouri! And last but certainly not least, from the Family Values Conference, #1 Tennessee! Two of these states will advance to next week’s championship bout! And we will be live from Staples Center in Los Angeles with all of the post season festivities! But for this week, it’s two matches as the Layover League Championship puts #1 Florida against #3 Ohio, while the Flyover League Championship puts #2 Missouri against #1 Tennessee, and I don’t need to tell you that this is shaping up to be one of the most exciting Final Four matchups that we’ve ever seen! We’re live at the home of the Detroit Red Wings, the fabulous Little Caesar’s Arena, with all the exciting action! Let’s go to the floor, shall we?

[font size="4"]Layover League Championship: Florida Vs Ohio [/font]

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


The Sunshine State, what are we going to do with you? Florida continues to gain more GOP fans and they continue to sink themselves to the bottom of the Marianus Trench. Ever since electing Ron DeSantis, Florida is continuing to see how far they’re willing to go to circle the bottom of the drain and he just keeps pushing the boundaries of how far his brand of right wing authoritarianism can go. Let’s take a look at his ongoing feud with Disney, which this week, has reached some really strange new heights, specifically involving the 2021 kids’ movie Strange World. Well, Desantis’ bizarre crusade to undo all things “woke” may have caused him to step in it really good.

A Florida teacher is under investigation by the state's Department of Education after she showed her students a Disney movie that features a gay character.

Jenna Barbee, who teaches fifth grade in the Hernando County School District, says a student's mother lodged a complaint with education officials after Barbee showed the film Strange World in her classroom.

Barbee said the movie focuses on humans' relationship to the environment, which was why she chose to show it to her class after a section on ecosystems, plants and animals. She said a subplot about a boy having a crush on another boy never crossed her mind before screening the film.
"It talks about love to all things, and that's literally what this movie represents," Barbee told NPR. "I find it interesting that now I'm getting in trouble for a similar topic."
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/16/1176334055/florida-investigating-teacher-disney-movie-gay-character-desantis




And get this – they’re actually going so far as to even interrogate the students. For watching a fucking kids movie. Because that movie had a gay character in it. The GOP, and especially the Florida GOP is very quickly circling the drain. We don’t want to point fingers as to how they got there, but it’s pretty easy to see that right wing talk radio and Fox News are dominating the scene in many Florida cities, particularly the Villages, which has become a flat out bastion of MAGA supporters.

Florida has become the nerve center of the modern Republican Party.

Once the nation’s largest and most volatile swing state, Florida has lurched to the right in recent years, becoming a mecca for the GOP’s most influential luminaries and wealthiest donors.

Republicans now hold supermajorities in the state legislature, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has solidified his grip on the reins of political power in the state, turning Florida into a laboratory for conservative policy experiments. For the first time since Reconstruction, there’s not a single Democrat in statewide elected office.

But Florida’s transition from coveted political battleground to the premier haven of modern conservatism has been decades in the making, owing to a perfect storm of demographic changes, Republican power plays, pandemic politics and Democratic missteps, according to more than a dozen strategists, experts and officials interviewed by The Hill.

“Republicans focused on the ultimate goal,” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster who helped former President Barack Obama win the state in 2008 and 2012. “They thought things out in 10-year cycles. They built a permanent campaign apparatus. They started recruiting candidates to run for local office and springboarding them into higher office. They registered voters and managed the margins.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/florida-became-conservative-bastion-100000348.html




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


Ohio. The Buckeye State. Like Florida, it used to be a very volatile swing state, but in recent years has been flipped to leaning heavily conservative. But why has Ohio got so crazy in recent years? Well part of it really has to do with a certain news network that right wingers watch and patronize on a very daily basis, and they are addicted to it. In fact the Fox News culture wars are very quickly writing policy for a large number of states across the US. But this again is why we have to point out how important it is to get involved in local politics and to find out who’s running for what office. Because your local offices could be switched to Fox News bots and then it will be hard to get rid of them.

Between debates on an income tax cut and the cost of educating children, Ohio's Republican-controlled Legislature is waging culture wars on everything from abortion and guns to transgender medical treatments.

Polling suggests Americans care far more about inflation, the cost of living and immigration than abortion, guns, religious declines or LGBTQ rights, according to a recent Gallup poll of the nation's most important problems.

But that doesn't stop social issues from dominating debates at the Ohio Statehouse. Here are some of the recent proposals:

The biggest threat to abortion access in Ohio is actually a proposal to make it more difficult to amend the state constitution.

Ohio's Republican lawmakers revived several proposals affecting transgender children, including restrictions on medical treatments and participation in sports.
https://www.timesreporter.com/story/news/politics/2023/04/04/culture-wars-lawmakers-push-anti-abortion-anti-transgender-bills/70056189007/




Yes, you are watching Fox. We’re concerned about the rising fascism that’s taking over this country, they’re concerned about the bullshit they heard on Hannity last night. And by the way, the conservative war on education is heating up, and it’s taken hold at Ohio’s two best colleges. The ever popular The Ohio State University (yes, we can’t forget the The) and Toledo University. Both of these colleges are at the forefront of an expanding conservative war on education in which of course, the snowflakes can’t handle opposing opinions and think that everyone who’s not a rich white man is out to get them. Excuse me while I go find the world’s smallest violin. But we can’t overlook that this shit is alarming and it may be coming to a university near you!

Our state's senate has been active lately — taking after other states, introducing bills that would make Ohio a harder place to live and thrive for marginalized people.

In the latest attack on education, Sen. Jerry C. Cirino introduced Senate Bill 83, a comprehensive attack on higher education.

From prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings for university employees and students, to prohibiting collective bargaining, Senate Bill 83 is an attempt to radically skew oversight of higher education, truncate the self-leadership of Ohio’s universities and colleges, and shortchange the university experience.

-snip-

Universities are where people go to explore ideas, ideologies, and have a free flow of thought and dialogue. Students enter university for the purpose of education and to gain a better understanding of themselves and the world around them. Higher education is often an economic driver, a catalyst for innovation, and propels the values of free speech, free thought, and active dialogue.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ohios-chilling-pro-ignorance-bill-090253522.html




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

Oh there’s absolutely no contest here again. But Ohio isn’t going down without a fight. They trail by 5 with less than a minute left to go… Florida has the ball… YES! Now the rebound… for three! Oh Florida is now up by ten with 30 seconds to go… they have the ball and a foul has been called. First basket in… it’s good! Second… YES!!!! And that’s all she wrote, folks! Florida has sealed the Layover League championship, they will move onto the final round! Final score: 97 – 88! Cut that net, guys! You earned it!



[font size="4"]Flyover League Championship: Tennessee Vs Missouri [/font]

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


The Volunteer State is another state that is being ripped apart by Fox News bullshit. It may be the home of the Smoky Mountains, the Music City (Nashville), and the home of Elvis Presley, but it is also the home of some really ugly policies. You may have been following the recent story of the “Tennessee 3” being expelled from the state house of representatives and the fallout that’s been a result of that particular scandal that propelled Tennessee to the top of the Flyover League pack. Well, it’s no mistake that scandal has had a massive impact on the Volunteer State. Yes, Tennessee, the one state in the country that actually does judge you by the color of your skin.

Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) said his race played a role in his expulsion from the state House on Thursday.

“I basically had a member call me an uppity Negro,” Jones, who is Black, told MSNBC’s Joy Reid after the 72-25 vote that expelled him.

Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones (D-Nashville) said his race played a role in his expulsion from the state House on Thursday.

“I basically had a member call me an uppity Negro,” Jones, who is Black, told MSNBC’s Joy Reid after the 72-25 vote that expelled him.
https://thehill.com/homenews/3938980-expelled-tennessee-lawmaker-justin-jones-i-was-voted-out-for-being-an-uppity-negro/




Yeah so that happened. And don’t worry, governor Bill Lee is giving the state plenty of material it needs to circle the drain and potentially win Stupidest State championships from here until the end of time! By the way, so in case you’re wondering how much Tennessee cares about the youth of this country, they’re not doing much in the way of protecting them. Instead, guess what they’re protecting? That’s right – the guns. Doesn’t matter if your kid gets killed at school or they get interrogated by the government for watching a movie with a gay character. It’s all about those precious, precious guns!

Tennesse Gov. Bill Lee (R) called on the state legislature to convene for a special legislative session focused on gun reform and public safety, just one month following a school shooting in Nashville.

Lee's office made the announcement on Tuesday, adding that the session will begin on August 21.

The governor's office also noted that Lee will meet with legislators, stakeholders and local residents throughout the summer to discuss practical solutions ahead of the special session.

"After speaking with members of the General Assembly, I am calling for a special session on August 21 to continue our important discussion about solutions to keep Tennessee communities safe and preserve the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens," Lee said in a statement.

Read more at: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/politics-government/article275225706.html#storylink=cpy




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


The Show Me State – like most of the states in our Final Four – are states that are being run by legislatures whose minds have been warped by a particular news network. Yes, of course, I’m referring to the “We Report, You Decide” network. Fox. And the legislation that’s being passed in the state house obviously has to do with the Fox outrage du jour – trans people. And the legislation that’s being passed, kind of borders on genocide. With maybe some light doxing involved. Yeah, they’re basically making this shit legal and it’s not going away anytime soon. The point we’re making here? Stop watching Fox News, that shit is bad for you!

A Missouri government tip site for submitting complaints and concerns about gender-affirming care is down after people flooded it with fanfiction, rambling anecdotes and the “Bee Movie” script.

The Missouri Attorney General’s office launched an online form for “Transgender Center Concerns” in late March, inviting those who’ve witnessed “troubling practices” at clinics that provide gender-affirming care to submit tips. The site didn’t ask users to name patients or healthcare providers, but encouraged users to complete the form “in as much detail as possible.”

But after days of TikTok and Twitter users spamming the site with gibberish, the tip line has been removed from the Missouri government site entirely. Instead of the online form, the link to the tip line now says that the page no longer exists.

Madeline Sieren, press secretary for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, blamed “far left activists” for breaking the site. She said the tip line is down temporarily.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/21/missouri-trans-snitch-form-down-after-people-spammed-it-with-the-bee-movie-script/


&

Thank you Nelson! This one battle may have been won, but the war is far from over! I love when smart, creative people use their powers for good instead of evil. And this was definitely a step in the right direction. Although look for fans of the St. Louis Blues hockey team to burn their jerseys and seasons tickets because they’re hosting a Pride Night in June! Yeah we’ll be seeing that soon enough! But we can’t overlook that they’re very actively helping in Rupert Murdoch’s grotesquely evil war on education, I mean come on, they’re defunding libraries. The stupid in this country is just getting worse. Want to know how you get Idiocracy? This is how.

Missouri’s Republican-led House voted to cut all funding for libraries in its version of the state’s annual budget, an unprecedented move that has angered librarians and patrons across the state who rely on the facilities for everything from books to educational programming and internet access.

The proposal is not yet final; it now sits before the state Senate’s appropriations committee along with the rest of the annual $45.6 billion budget, and Republican chair Sen. Lincoln Hough said it would be his intention to restore library funding.

But for those who manage or use the state’s 160 library districts, especially in rural areas where services are not as robust, the threat feels real, librarians and patrons told the PBS NewsHour.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/librarians-say-a-missouri-house-proposal-to-eliminate-library-funding-would-have-devastating-ripple-effects




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

Folks, we got something brewing here. Tennessee was ahead in the first half, but Missouri has surged and they have done the impossible. They have scored a whopping 17 unanswered points and are in command going into the last minute. We have 10 seconds to go… Missouri for three… It’s good! It’s good! Missouri has done the impossible and they have knocked off the champs! They are going to face Florida in the final round! Holy shit, do you believe in miracles? Missouri is celebrating on the court, they are going to the final round! Final score: 88 – 85! Cut that net guys, you earned it!



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

It’s the Stupidest State Grand Championships! Florida. Missouri. We are live from the home of champions – the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings - the legendary Staples Center (do I really have to call it Crypto.com Arena? Because fuck crypto)! We’re there with the trophy presentation, the champagne celebration, the net cutting, and of course our favorite song – One Shining Moment! The champagne is on ice!



[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Iggy Pop & The Losers[/font]

Folks, my next musical guest is a legendary punk rocker from Michigan, his latest album is called “Every Loser” and you can see him at the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena May 20th. Playing his song “Modern Age Ripoff”, give it up for Iggy Pop & The Losers!



All right folks, we are back next week with our May season finale and the Stupidest State Grand Championships! See you next week!

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Hometown: California
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Current location: Southern California, North Orange County Area
Member since: Wed May 30, 2018, 12:44 PM
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About Top 10 Idiots

This is the official DU account for the new format Top 10 Conservative Idiots separate from the host account Initech. The new format Top 10 will launch June 13th, 2018 and all posts related to the Top 10 (promos, etc) will be posted from this account only. The Top 10 is posted once a week on Thursdays at 2:00 PM. There is a full archive of all past, present and future Top 10 editions that can be found here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218599098\ Announcements for our current season schedule are posted in our Best Of editions that appear at the end of each season. Updates are posted regularly on the official Top 10 Mastodon account and the official Holy Shit Mastodon account. The Mastodon accounts are used to announce what's going to be in next week's edition, new content, advertising our segments, and so on. This account will post official Top 10 editions, and any related content including our spinoff series: Holy Shit The Sunday Sermons. If you wish to contact the Top 10 you may do so here: E-mail (all questions, concerns, suggestions, and hate mail welcome): Top10ConIdiots@gmail.com Follow the Top 10 on Mastodon: Top10ConIdiots@mstdn.party Follow The Holy Church Of The Top 10 on Mastodon: ChurchOfTop10@mstdn.party **This account will ONLY be used to post official Idiots editions, promos, and things related to the Top 10. No other posts will come from this account** Top 10 Wiki: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211322508
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