Principia Discordia

"GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn Floats Conspiracy Theory On Titanic Sub And Hunter Biden"

As per the article:

"Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has appeared to suggest that an announcement about the fate of the missing Titan submersible was somehow planned to distract from accusations against the president's son Hunter Biden.

"If the U.S. Navy suspected that the Titan Submersible imploded just hours after it began its voyage, why did the Coast Guard wait until Thursday—the same day the IRS whistleblowers testified before Congress—to make their announcement to the public?" asked the senator in a Friday night tweet."

The Titanic is a conspiracy theory magnet, and the Republicult™ loves them some conspiracy theories.

Here's the link:   https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-sen-marsha-blackburn-floats-conspiracy-theory-on-titanic-sub-and-hunter-biden_n_6496ff86e4b08f753c2c5720 (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gop-sen-marsha-blackburn-floats-conspiracy-theory-on-titanic-sub-and-hunter-biden_n_6496ff86e4b08f753c2c5720)

'I don't take medications': Marjorie Taylor Greene says TV turns on 'by itself' to spy on her

As per the article:

"In a message posted to Twitter on Sunday, Greene cited strange behavior from her home electronics.

"Last night in my DC residence, the television turned on by itself, and the screen showed someone's laptop trying to connect to the TV," she wrote.

The lawmaker offered assurances that she was not in mental distress."

Perhaps Greene should take some medications. Given her current condition, what harm could they possibly do?

Here's the link:   https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-smart-tvs/ (https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-smart-tvs/)

"Biden ribs GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville for touting broadband funds he voted against"

As per the article:

"President Joe Biden trolled Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., on Wednesday for touting the arrival of federal funds to his state from a bill he voted against.

"See you at the groundbreaking," Biden tweeted at Tuberville after the senator praised the news that Alabama was set to receive $1.4 billion to improve broadband access in the state.

The funds are from the $555 billion infrastructure bill Biden campaigned for and signed into law in November 2021. Tuberville was one of 30 Republican senators to vote against the legislation, but he praised the arrival of the funds on social media this week."

I suppose it's no wonder the majority of Alabama voters love this guy. Hypocrisy and the Republicult™ are joined at the hip.

Here's the link:   https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-ribs-tommy-tuberville-touting-funds-voted-rcna91629 (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/biden-ribs-tommy-tuberville-touting-funds-voted-rcna91629)

"Republicans reignite the red scare in service of Trump"

As per the article:

"Conservatives have been screaming about socialists scheming to destroy everything Real Americans hold dear for as long as anyone alive can remember. Going back more than a hundred years to the first Red Scare in 1919, when the government rounded up thousands of socialists, anarchists and communists during the Palmer raids, there have been periodic paroxysms of outrage aimed at this perennial boogeyman."

Further along in the article:

"For instance, just last year, when the Democrats were hammering out the details of President Biden's Build Back Better bill, the GOP caterwauled constantly about it. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wailed that it was "paving a path to socialism" while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., whined: "The American people didn't vote for a massive socialist transformation." And this guy couldn't shut up about it:

Suffice it to say that the old cudgel is still in use."

Still further along in the article:

"Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared at White Nationalist conventions referring to the "Democrats, who are the Communist Party of the United States of America." South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem wrote an op-ed in which she said, "the idea that Georgia, of all places, could elect two communists to the United States Senate was ridiculous." And then there's Trump, of course, who told his ecstatic followers at a rally in Ohio in 2020:


Some things never change.

Here's the link:   https://www.salon.com/2023/06/28/reignite-the-red-scare-in-of/ (https://www.salon.com/2023/06/28/reignite-the-red-scare-in-of/)

"GOP declares war on ... Barbie"

As per the article:

"In a Barbie world, who controls the South China Sea?

That's the question a handful of Republican lawmakers — not to mention much of Southeast Asia — is asking thanks to a background detail in the upcoming "Barbie" movie due out later this month.

The detail in question is a dashed line drawn on a map off the coast of Asia that critics have identified as the nine-dash line, a contested maritime boundary that Beijing draws more than a thousand miles off its own coast to claim the vast majority of the South China Sea as its territory.

GOP lawmakers accuse filmmakers of pandering to Chinese censors. But Warner Bros. Film Group, which produced the movie, said Thursday the map is not intended to "make any type of statement."

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who leads a select House panel aimed at countering the influence of China, said the map "illustrates the pressure that Hollywood is under to please CCP censors.""

It never ends with The Republicult™. I can't help but wonder who, or what, they'll go after next.

Here's the link:   https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/07/gop-declares-war-on-barbie-00105154 (https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/07/gop-declares-war-on-barbie-00105154)

"MTG Ousted From MAGA-Loving Freedom Caucus"

As per the article:

"Marjorie Taylor Greene has been booted from the MAGA-loving, far-right House Freedom Caucus after calling caucus member Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) "a little bitch" on the House floor last month.

"A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she's done," Rep. Andy Harris (R-Colo.) told Politico's Jordain Carney on Thursday.
 
"I think the straw that broke the camel's back was publicly saying things about another member in terms that no one should use," Harris said."

So, that's what it took to get wacko MTG voted off the island. Who knew? Anyway, in their far-right world of performance art and reality TV, a really realistic name for that gang would be "The House Takeaway Your Freedom Caucus."

Here's the link:   https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/marjorie-taylor-greene-ousted-freedom-caucus-1234783965/ (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/marjorie-taylor-greene-ousted-freedom-caucus-1234783965/)

"What would the GOP have prosecutors do with evidence against Trump?"

If prosecutors have evidence of Trump committing felonies, what do Republicans think they should do? It's a question the GOP doesn't know how to answer.

As per the article:

"When it comes to the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack, former Vice President Mike Pence has a unique perspective. After all, the Indiana Republican was one of the key targets being hunted by rioters who intended to do him harm, and as Pence himself has explained, Donald Trump's lies put his own family in danger.

But as the former president faces the prospect of another criminal indictment, his former right-hand man still isn't on board with the idea of legal accountability."

And, further in the article:

"It's not just Pence. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sat down with CNN's Jake Tapper last week, and the host asked effectively the same question that Pence dodged yesterday.

"If [special counsel] Jack Smith has evidence of criminality, should Donald Trump be held accountable?" the host asked. The GOP presidential candidate responded by denouncing "criminalizing political differences," which was an answer to a different question."

As we get closer to the 2024 election, the talking heads are going to ask The Republicult's^tm remaining presidential hopefuls whether or not they'll pardon TFG for his numerous crimes if they're elected. And, if they're squirming now, they'll be soiling themselves over that question. So, it may not be too early to think about filling the ol' popcorn silos.

Here's the link:   https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/gop-prosecutors-evidence-trump-rcna95900 (https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/gop-prosecutors-evidence-trump-rcna95900)

"House Republicans aren't done slashing food assistance and fighting over social issues"

As per the article:

"After clamping down on food stamps in the debt ceiling deal, House Republicans now want to take a whack at WIC, the food assistance program for low-income women, infants and young children.
GOP lawmakers have proposed curtailing funding for WIC in the chamber's version of the US Department of Agriculture's annual spending bill. The legislation could force some families to wait for aid for the first time in years, as well as limit their ability to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

It's among the party's latest efforts to cut federal spending by limiting benefits, reducing enrollment and adding work requirements to the nation's safety net."

Nothing more clearly shows The Republicult^tm is the willing tool of the oligarchs than this type of legislation. Tax cuts are more important to THEM than feeding poor women and their children. 

Here's the link:   https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/wic-benefits-cut-culture-war/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/wic-benefits-cut-culture-war/index.html)

It sucks seeing family sucked into this cult. God dammit, why couldn't you be a part of something cool, like a sex cult?

Quote from: QuestionsTheSoil on August 25, 2023, 11:43:50 PM
It sucks seeing family sucked into this cult. God dammit, why couldn't you be a part of something cool, like a sex cult?

It occurred to me that if it were based upon the behavior of their adored leader, a Republicult™ sex cult would condone nonconsensual sex, and much of the consensual sex would be quite expensive.

Quote from: Brother Mythos on August 01, 2023, 08:08:05 AM
"House Republicans aren't done slashing food assistance and fighting over social issues"

As per the article:

"After clamping down on food stamps in the debt ceiling deal, House Republicans now want to take a whack at WIC, the food assistance program for low-income women, infants and young children.
GOP lawmakers have proposed curtailing funding for WIC in the chamber's version of the US Department of Agriculture's annual spending bill. The legislation could force some families to wait for aid for the first time in years, as well as limit their ability to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

It's among the party's latest efforts to cut federal spending by limiting benefits, reducing enrollment and adding work requirements to the nation's safety net."

Nothing more clearly shows The Republicult^tm is the willing tool of the oligarchs than this type of legislation. Tax cuts are more important to THEM than feeding poor women and their children. 

Here's the link:   https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/wic-benefits-cut-culture-war/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/wic-benefits-cut-culture-war/index.html)

This doesn't have anything to do with tax cuts, making sure poor people starve is important to their agenda, tax cuts are too, and they will sometimes pretend starving poor people is to make them possible.

Quote from: Pergamos on September 18, 2023, 07:20:30 PM

Quote from: Brother Mythos on August 01, 2023, 08:08:05 AM
"House Republicans aren't done slashing food assistance and fighting over social issues"

As per the article:

"After clamping down on food stamps in the debt ceiling deal, House Republicans now want to take a whack at WIC, the food assistance program for low-income women, infants and young children.
GOP lawmakers have proposed curtailing funding for WIC in the chamber's version of the US Department of Agriculture's annual spending bill. The legislation could force some families to wait for aid for the first time in years, as well as limit their ability to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

It's among the party's latest efforts to cut federal spending by limiting benefits, reducing enrollment and adding work requirements to the nation's safety net."

Nothing more clearly shows The Republicult^tm is the willing tool of the oligarchs than this type of legislation. Tax cuts are more important to THEM than feeding poor women and their children. 

Here's the link:   https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/wic-benefits-cut-culture-war/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/31/politics/wic-benefits-cut-culture-war/index.html)

This doesn't have anything to do with tax cuts, making sure poor people starve is important to their agenda, tax cuts are too, and they will sometimes pretend starving poor people is to make them possible.

Some of the low and mid-level MAGAt cultists I have the misfortune of knowing are into this type of intentional cruelty. I suspect the oligarchs make good use of those members inclinations, when selling their tax cuts to The Republicult™. Then again, the oligarchs don't really need to make much of a sales pitch to the cultists when it comes to tax cuts. So, that really does make the intentional cruelty a feature of the cult.

"Senate Republicans watch McCarthy ouster with alarm, disbelief"

As per the article:

"The growing strength of far-right populists in the House raises disconcerting questions about how next year's primaries will play out for the GOP and whether candidates with more appeal with swing voters can advance to the general election.
 
"These insurgents have no plan and now they've created even more chaos and it's not good for the House, it's not good for Republicans and they have no clear path forward," fumed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate GOP leadership team.
 
"A handful [of] House members just want to blow up the institution and themselves in the process. Sad," Cornyn posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, immediately after the vote to ouster McCarthy."

This is a long article, but it's mostly just more cultists complaining about their cult.

Here's the link:   https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4236826-senate-republicans-watch-mccarthy-ouster-with-alarm-disbelief/ (https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4236826-senate-republicans-watch-mccarthy-ouster-with-alarm-disbelief/)

"The MAGA Zombie Apocalypse Is Upon Us"

As per the article:

"The Daily Show has finally returned and with it, Jordan Klepper hit the Trump Trial, er, I mean, Trail, to put his finger back on the pulse of America.

I don't know about their pulse, but the MAGAts that Klepper interviewed sure as hell were brain dead. From the moron that couldn't understand that Trump's mugshot was in fact photographic evidence that he surrendered to the guy complaining about the economy even though he admitted that he spent thousands of dollars on Trump clothing and Trump swag."

My favorite part of the included video is the interview of the guy wearing a "TFG Never Surrender" tee shirt at about the 1:01 mark. But, there are some other gems in the video as well.

Here's the link:   https://crooksandliars.com/2023/10/maga-zombie-apocalypse-upon-us (https://crooksandliars.com/2023/10/maga-zombie-apocalypse-upon-us)

"Were there baby dinosaurs on Noah's Ark? New House Speaker Mike Johnson worked for organization that pushes extreme creationist claims"

"Johnson sued the government on behalf of a life-sized creation of Noah's Ark."

As per the article:

"Speaker Johnson actively worked to advance and help fund the belief that the earth is an infant on the geological scale, and that humans and dinosaurs peacefully coexisted.
 
Before his election to the House, Johnson worked as a spokesman and senior attorney to what's now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal advocacy group working to erase the boundary between church and state. In this capacity, Johnson—a Louisiana state senator at the time—filed suit against the state of Kentucky on behalf of Ken Ham, who runs the same Answers in Genesis website, which serves as a "scientific" backstop attempting to justify the validity of YEC."

For what it's worth, YEC stands for "Young Earth Creationism." What a guy.

Here's the link:   https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mike-johnson-noahs-ark-dinosaurs/ (https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mike-johnson-noahs-ark-dinosaurs/)

"New Speaker Wants IRS Budget Cuts To Pay For Israel Aid Package"

"Because as we know, the only Republican priority is millionaire tax cheats."

As per the article:

"House Republicans want to pay for emergency aid for Israel's war by cutting IRS funds aimed at cracking down on rich tax cheats and improving taxpayer service. Isn't that delightful?"

And, further in the article:

"And here's the really outrageous part -- it won't even save money. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office had estimated in 2022 that the $80 billion IRS expansion would cut the deficit by more than $100 billion by improving collections and enforcement."

It's always good to know a political party's real number one priority.

Here's the link:   https://crooksandliars.com/2023/10/new-speaker-wants-irs-budget-cuts-pay (https://crooksandliars.com/2023/10/new-speaker-wants-irs-budget-cuts-pay)

"MTG Is Trashing Lauren Boebert as a 'Whore' to GOP Colleagues"

" Green and Boebert have been going at it for nearly a year now. But Green's latest move is straight out of the high school cafeteria playbook."

As per the article:

"After Rep. Lauren Boebert helped get Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene kicked out of the House Freedom Caucus over the summer, Greene has been on a payback mission against her former friend-turned-nemesis. And after a date at Beetlejuice The Musical turned into a national conversation about groping, Greene has resorted to a playbook familiar to any woman who survived high school: She's telling GOP colleagues, according to lawmakers, that Boebert is a "whore.""

And, further in the article:

"When The Daily Beast asked Greene about these accusations this week, the Georgia Republican didn't deny them. Instead, she went on a tirade against this reporter." 

There can be only one Queen of the Republicult^TM! Stay classy, ladies.

Here's the link:   https://www.thedailybeast.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-is-trashing-lauren-boebert-as-a-whore-to-gop-colleagues?ref=home (https://www.thedailybeast.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-is-trashing-lauren-boebert-as-a-whore-to-gop-colleagues?ref=home)

""It was damning": Brian Stelter excavates Fox News' culture, the Big Lie and Tucker Carlson's exit"

"The media analyst told Salon about reading the Dominion docs, Rupert Murdoch and why Maria Bartiromo is baffling"

This is a long piece, but I found the following to be of particular interest:

As per the article:

"In our conversation we discussed his findings on what – or rather, who — drives Fox's "news" coverage, Rupert Murdoch's abdication of responsibility in allowing his hosts to promote false claims about election fraud, and Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo's key role in fertilizing The Big Lie."

And, further along in the article:

"You also mention something in the book that I think people will comprehend but may be shocking nevertheless, which is that Fox really is just letting the audience drive the narrative as opposed to serving the audience by giving them information. Now, to anybody who watches Fox, that's pretty apparent. However, to hear it confirmed by voices from within Fox is pretty damning.

It is damning, and I think it's important for all of us to reckon with. We lack a shared reality in the United States because tens of millions of people are subscribing to Fox's mirror world. And that mirror world is basically being generated by the audience. It's uncanny . . . it is in one way simplistic, but I do find it confusing to explain because producers wake up and have to program shows. But at Fox, the audience is in control because the producers and hosts are afraid of repelling the audience, afraid of turning the audience off."

And, still further along in the article:

"There's this notion that The Big Lie began shortly after midnight on election night [in 2020] when Trump declared without proof that there had been massive fraud. But then it was picked up not long after that by [Fox Business anchor] Maria Bartiromo, and that's when Dominion was first mentioned on the air, with words taken directly from an email from a woman named Marlene Bourne. Was that in the Dominion filing?

So this email from Marlene Bourne, this random woman in Minnesota who alleges a vast conspiracy, this email was found by Dominion during the discovery process. It's very clearly a kooky email, several pages long, full of conspiracy theories and ideas. And the woman admits herself that some of the ideas are quote, "wackadoodle." She sent this email to Sidney Powell, who was going to be Maria Bartiromo's guest [on the Nov. 8, 2020 episode of "Sunday Morning Futures"]. Maria Bartiromo also sent it on to Eric Trump, so it reached the Trump family. And this random email became the predicate for the Dominion smear on live TV.

Two things were extraordinary about this. One, Dominion went searching through Fox's servers looking for all the mentions of Dominion before the smear started. And this email was the only email the Dominions lawyers found."

It's amazing to read that the Fox News' conspiracy claims promoting "The Big Lie" actually started with an email received from a totally unreliable viewer. So, it appears the inmates truly are running The Republicult^TM Asylum.

Here's the link:   An Analysis of Fox News' Culture (https://www.salon.com/2023/11/14/brian-stelter-fox-network-of-lies-tucker-carlson-maria-bartiromo/)

"Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows sued by book publisher for breach of contract"

As per the article:

"Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is being sued by his publisher for contradicting his book's claim about the the 2020 election.

All Seasons Press alleges that sworn testimony by Meadows undermined "The Chief's Chief," in which he wrote that the election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.

In a breach of contract lawsuit filed Friday in Florida, All Seasons cited media reports from last month alleging that Meadows knew Trump had lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

"Meadows' reported statements to the Special Prosecutor and/or his staff and his reported grand jury testimony squarely contradict the statements" in "The Chief's Chief," according to the lawsuit, filed in Sarasota, Florida. A central theme of Meadows' book is that "President Trump was the true winner of the 2020 Presidential Election and that election was 'stolen' and 'rigged' with the help from 'allies in the liberal media,'" the court papers read in part."

So, opportunity knocked AND karma hunted him down.

Here's the link:   Mark Meadows Sued by Publisher (https://apnews.com/article/mark-meadows-trump-breach-contract-book-publisher-c76972d8f51df9ad74bc7797584c7436)

"Wisconsin fake electors acknowledge actions were used to overturn Biden election"

As per the article:

"MADISON — Ten Wisconsin Republicans who posed as electors for Donald Trump in 2020 despite the former president's election loss have acknowledged their actions were part of an attempt to overturn an election.

The statement was made Wednesday as part of a settlement in a lawsuit filed against the Republicans by Democratic electors for Joe Biden that sought $2.4 million in damages."

And, further in the article:

"In the statement released by the false Trump electors, the Republicans wrote they met in the Wisconsin State Capitol to sign paperwork falsely claiming to be electors to be "in compliance with requests from the Trump campaign and Republican Party of Wisconsin."

"The Elector Defendants took the foregoing action because they were told that it was necessary to preserve their electoral votes in the event a court challenge may later change the outcome of the election in Wisconsin. That document was then used as part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results," the Republicans wrote."

This lawsuit is ongoing. And, while some of the defendants are now off the hook, others notable ones are not.

Here's the link:   Some Wisconsin Fake Electors Settle Ongoing Lawsuit (https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2023/12/06/wisconsin-fake-electors-acknowledge-steps-to-overturn-biden-election/71825138007/)

""Can't Even Bring Themselves To Denounce Neo-Nazis": Texas GOP's Internal War Over Hitler Apologists"

As per the article:

"Don't hang out with people who praise Adolf Hitler! It should seem like an easy guideline for anyone to follow, as well as the personal preference of most people. But for Republicans in Texas, asking them to stay away from neo-Nazis is seen very differently. To conspiratorially-minded conservatives, it is a "Marxist" plot against them. Which is why, on Saturday, leaders of the Republican Party of Texas voted down a resolution barring members from associating with anyone "known to espouse or tolerate antisemitism, pro-Nazi sympathies or Holocaust denial."

That that this even had to be put up for a vote is a sign that the "don't pal around with Nazis" rule is viewed by many in the Texas Republican Party as too onerous a restriction. This entire situation started in October when it was revealed that Jonathan Stickland, a former state representative and current leader of the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, held a 7-hour meeting with some of the most repugnant people in American society, including Nick Fuentes, a loudmouthed Hitler apologist who has called for "holy war" on Jews and declared, "all I want is revenge against my enemies and a total Aryan victory." Matt Rinaldi, the chair of the Republican Party of Texas, was also seen entering the building during this time but denies being at the meeting, despite being an outspoken ally of Stickland and his far-right agenda."

It's really just another case of Republicans being Republicans.

Here's the link:   Republicans vote against denouncing Neo-Nazis (http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/amanda-marcotte/108668/can-t-even-bring-themselves-to-denounce-neo-nazis-texas-gop-s-internal-war-over-hitler-apologists)

Quote from: Brother Mythos on December 13, 2023, 03:04:14 PM
""Can't Even Bring Themselves To Denounce Neo-Nazis": Texas GOP's Internal War Over Hitler Apologists"

As per the article:

"Don't hang out with people who praise Adolf Hitler! It should seem like an easy guideline for anyone to follow, as well as the personal preference of most people. But for Republicans in Texas, asking them to stay away from neo-Nazis is seen very differently. To conspiratorially-minded conservatives, it is a "Marxist" plot against them. Which is why, on Saturday, leaders of the Republican Party of Texas voted down a resolution barring members from associating with anyone "known to espouse or tolerate antisemitism, pro-Nazi sympathies or Holocaust denial."

That that this even had to be put up for a vote is a sign that the "don't pal around with Nazis" rule is viewed by many in the Texas Republican Party as too onerous a restriction. This entire situation started in October when it was revealed that Jonathan Stickland, a former state representative and current leader of the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, held a 7-hour meeting with some of the most repugnant people in American society, including Nick Fuentes, a loudmouthed Hitler apologist who has called for "holy war" on Jews and declared, "all I want is revenge against my enemies and a total Aryan victory." Matt Rinaldi, the chair of the Republican Party of Texas, was also seen entering the building during this time but denies being at the meeting, despite being an outspoken ally of Stickland and his far-right agenda."

It's really just another case of Republicans being Republicans.

Here's the link:   Republicans vote against denouncing Neo-Nazis (http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/amanda-marcotte/108668/can-t-even-bring-themselves-to-denounce-neo-nazis-texas-gop-s-internal-war-over-hitler-apologists)

I dunno, I'm personally very careful about anything restricting anti-semitism, since there's a bill stating that any opposition to the actions of the Israeli government is anti-semitism.  Considering the Israeli government is currently committing genocide barring folks from associating with anyone who opposes them seems a bit problematic to me.

Quote from: Pergamos on December 13, 2023, 07:03:48 PM
I dunno, I'm personally very careful about anything restricting anti-semitism, since there's a bill stating that any opposition to the actions of the Israeli government is anti-semitism.  Considering the Israeli government is currently committing genocide barring folks from associating with anyone who opposes them seems a bit problematic to me.

First off, I am not at all comfortable discussing antisemitism on this forum. However, I strongly believe that criticism of the government of the State of Israel should not be considered antisemitic, and should not in any way be made illegal by the government of the United States of America. And, I also strongly believe that the government of the State of Israel is knowingly and willingly committing war crimes, and that the government of the United States of America is doing little to stop them.

While attempting to compose a response to your post, I quickly found myself wrestling with the perceptions of the terms Semitism, antisemitism, Zionism, anti-Zionism, and neo-Nazism, versus formal definitions of those terms. Then, to make matters even worse for me, I found that, apparently, the definition of "Semitism" has changed during my own lifetime.

In any case, I suspect you are referring to House Resolution 894. So, here's a link:      H. RES. 894 (https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/hres894/BILLS-118hres894ih.pdf)

Now then, as per H. RES. 894:

"Whereas the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's
working definition of antisemitism is widely accepted and
serves as a critical tool to help individuals comprehend
and identify the various manifestations of antisemitism;"

So, here's a link to  the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) website:   IHRA - What is  antisemitism? (https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definitions-charters/working-definition-antisemitism)

And, here's the IHRA's working definition of antisemitism:

""Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.""

But, further along on their website, as a specific example of antisemitism, the IHRA lists the following:

"Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis."

Now then, I, for one, do have a serious problem when "contemporary Israeli policy" actually does look to me very much like "historical Nazi policy," but I'm to be labeled a very bad boy by the IHRA if I say that out loud. Then, I found that my congresswoman voted "Present" when H. RES. 894 came up for a vote. So, it appears she also has at least one problem with this resolution. In any case, I think you and I may be in agreement on this particular issue. Do you agree, or disagree?

But, on the other hand, as I once did years ago during a heated "discussion" on this forum concerning documented facts about the life of former Schutzstaffel (SS) Major Wernher von Braun, and his use of slave labor during WWII, I have no problem calling out a Nazi, former or otherwise, for being a Nazi. And, I also believe it's a duty to call out neo-Nazism when it's blatantly apparent.

I'd say we agree on what Israel is doing not being ok, I also think we agree that nazis should be called out, and that associating with nazis is no good.  Where it looks like we disagree is in being ok with a legal conflation of anti-semitism with nazism, which for me is completely due to the legal conflation of anti-semitism and anti-zionism.  Anyone who thinks Jews are any worse than any other sort of people is a racist at best, and probably a nazi, but a Jew who criticizes Israel's actions in strong and appropriate ways (comparing the treatment of Gaza with the Nazis clearing of the ghettos, for instance) is legally an anti-semite, and if the law you are angry about Republicans passing had passed, would legally be a nazi.

Quote from: Pergamos on December 14, 2023, 05:58:50 PM
I'd say we agree on what Israel is doing not being ok, I also think we agree that nazis should be called out, and that associating with nazis is no good.  Where it looks like we disagree is in being ok with a legal conflation of anti-semitism with nazism, which for me is completely due to the legal conflation of anti-semitism and anti-zionism.  Anyone who thinks Jews are any worse than any other sort of people is a racist at best, and probably a nazi, but a Jew who criticizes Israel's actions in strong and appropriate ways (comparing the treatment of Gaza with the Nazis clearing of the ghettos, for instance) is legally an anti-semite, and if the law you are angry about Republicans passing had passed, would legally be a nazi.

I don't claim to have a deep understanding of the differences between any "legal definitions" of antisemitism and anti-Zionism, as I'm not a lawyer. But, I believe I'm correct in assuming that the IHRA's definition of antisemitism is widely accepted as a "legal definition."

I haven't been able to find an IHRA definition of anti-Zionism. However, I have found an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) definition. So, here's the link:   ADL Definition of anti-Zionism (https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounder/anti-zionism)

Within the long ADL definition is the following statement:

"Anti-Zionism is distinct from criticism of the policies or actions of the government of Israel, or critiques of specific policies of the per-state Zionist movement, in that it attacks the foundational legitimacy of Jewish statehood." [emphasis added]

And, I'm totally fine with this statement.

"Rudy Giuliani sued again by Georgia election workers seeking to bar more defamation"

As per the article:

"Rudy Giuliani was sued again by two former Georgia election workers who last week won a nearly $150 million defamation verdict against him for false statements the lawyer made about them while representing Donald Trump after the 2020 election.

The latest federal lawsuit seeks an injunction to "permanently bar" Giuliani from making further defamatory statements against the mother and daughter, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss."

Well, that didn't take long. I can't help but wonder if ol' Rudy is trying to set up a "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity" defense for his upcoming criminal trials. Still, it really does look like the elevator doesn't go all the way to the top.

Here's a link:   Giuliani Sued Again by the Same People (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/18/rudy-giuliani-sued-by-election-workers-over-defamation.html)

"An Iowa fight over a Satanic display reminds us: Republicans believe "free speech" is only for them"

As per the article:

"It's become a holiday tradition, especially in the red states. Every year, in response to overtly Christian displays put up in government buildings, the Satanic Temple petitions to set up a display honoring Lucifer in state capitols. They usually succeed. See, the Supreme Court long ago created a loophole in the First Amendment to allow religious displays, by arguing that as long as every group gets to have one, it doesn't violate the "no establishment of religion" clause. By putting up altars to Satan next to the annual nativity scenes, the Satanic Temple makes their point about the silliness of this loophole.

More important, however, is the trolling part. Every year, Christian conservatives discover the Satanic display and have a loud, public temper tantrum about it. In this, Satanists prove their point: Conservatives claim to respect religious plurality, but it's a lie. The overt religious iconography on government property was always about promoting the Christian nationalist view that theirs is the only "real" American religion." 

So, this is just one more example of the Republicult^TM being the Republicult^TM.

Here's a link:      The Republicult^TM Position on "Free Speech" (https://www.salon.com/2023/12/12/an-iowa-fight-over-a-satanic-display-reminds-us-believe-free-speech-is-only-for-them/)

"'The devil is real': Ex-candidate rallies young GOPers after beheading Satanic statue"

Today, there's a twofer!

As per the first article:

"A former Republican candidate who has admitted to beheading a Satanic Temple statue recalled why he acted at a rally with young Republicans.

At Turning Point Action's America Fest conference on Tuesday, a crowd cheered as former Mississippi candidate Michael Cassidy took the stage.

Cassidy previously admitted to Fox News that he beheaded the Baphomet statue at the Iowa State Capitol."

Here's the link:   Satanic Holiday Display Beheaded (https://www.rawstory.com/michael-cassidy-satanic-statue/)

But, not to worry. Here's the second article:

"Who is Michael Cassidy? Man Who Beheaded Satanic Statue in Iowa Charged"

As per the second article:

"In a statement sent to Newsweek, a spokesperson for the Satanic Temple Iowa said: "We were excited to participate in our Capitol's Holiday display for the first time this year. As you can expect, we were saddened to find our holiday display vandalized on the morning of December 14th. We believe that everyone should have the freedom to celebrate together and participate in the holiday season.

"We have rebuilt our display, and will complete our time in the Capitol on Saturday, with a few words about religious plurality and freedom of speech. The person responsible for the vandalism was identified, and we are pursuing legal recourse. We want to thank our community and everyone who has supported us at this time. We plan to return next year, with a sturdier and statelier display, and we hope that our community will continue to show up and assist with those efforts.""

Here's the link:   Satanic Temple Iowa Rebuilt Holiday Display (https://www.newsweek.com/who-michael-cassidy-man-who-beheaded-satanic-statue-iowa-charged-1852749)

So, the Satanic Temple Iowa has the situation under control. Our American First Amendment rights are still being legally exercised and defended.

TST is an entryist neo-Nazi grifting organization run by a man so horrible that anyone choosing to associate themselves with him should be given the same treatment he deserves. We're talking Stormfront-tier levels of bad.

https://queersatanic.com/lucien-greaves-and-the-satanic-temple-have-a-lot-to-answer-for/

In other news, since I'm choosing to finally speak up about your nonsense, how fucking dare you parrot the fucking ADL, the biggest Zionist propaganda organization in the Western fucking world, about anti-Zionism. Multiple rabbis have written at extraordinary length about how Israel as it stands is a project that goes directly against Torah, and how every Israeli soldier and citizen that goes onto the Temple Mount is risking entering the Holy-of-Holies, which given none of these motherfuckers are the right kind of priests (because there currently can't even be the right kind of priests, a whole lot of preconditions are necessary for that!) is an ENORMOUS sin. Like capital punishment sin. Like buddy, you better just convert to another religion, because you're fucked forever sin. Not to mention shit like an IDF soldier touching a Torah parchment (!) with a FUCKING KNIFE (!!!!!!!) ON FUCKING CAMERA. Any Jew can tell you that's layers upon layers of oh god fuck no what the fuck is wrong with you fucking holy shit holy fuck. And Israeli ministers are literally saying shit like "we should turn Gaza into Auschwitz". That's not a misquote or a paraphrase.

The leadership and the upper classes of Israel are all bloodthirsty monsters who have not just forgotten their history but have chosen to repeat it but with themselves in the driver's seat. Their actions will lead to a rise in anti-semitic violence because people will blame Jews as a whole for them, because they claim to speak for all Jews while actively shitting on Torah. Anti-Zionism isn't just okay, it should be the position of any right-thinking fucking person on the goddamn planet.

You are cheering on neo-Nazi entryists and blithely repeating the propaganda arm of a group of genocidal monsters that just so happen to be Jewish. I, a Jew, am saying shut the fuck up forevermore, you politically illiterate dunce. You may speak again when you have the barest fucking understanding of how to check whether the shit you spew is based in anything but the PR wing of a bunch of horse-laughing movie villains.

"See 10 pieces of classic literature banned from schools in a Florida county"

As per the article:

"A law often touted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that restricts the kinds of books that can be available in public schools has led teachers in the state's Orange County to remove hundreds of books from their shelves — including some that are widely considered literary classics.

The Orlando Sentinel has compiled a list of all 673 books pulled from the shelves in the county, and it shows that Florida's law resulted in the removal of books that go well beyond often-targeted titles such as "Gender Queer" by author Maia Kobabe."

Just 10 of the 673 books taken from the shelves on Florida's Orange County are described in this article. And, among them is Catch-22, by Joseph Heller.

This book has special meaning for me, as I had purchased it just prior to a long cruise, when I was in the military. After reading it, I had loaned it to a number of my shipmates, and the book was very popular. Before too long, the guys were nicknaming some of our officers, and others, after characters in the book. I fondly remember many a discussion about who most deserved to be called "Colonel Cathcart," as we had several, truly worth candidates. And, I found myself honored with the nickname "Yossarian." Now, in truth, it may not have been entirely intended to be an honor, but at least it wasn't obscene, as was my previous nickname. Further, the book was required reading in one of my classes at "uni," as the British often call university.

Here's the article link:      10 Pieces of Classic Literature Banned from Florida County Schools (https://www.rawstory.com/florida-banned-books-2666728303/)

And, here's a non-login, non-paywall link to the full 673 book list:   All 673 Books Removed from Orange County Classrooms (https://archive.is/Nz9Qu)

I'm surprised Fahrenheit 451 isn't on this list.

"Haley declines to say slavery was cause of Civil War"

Seriously, did this woman really think no one would notice her omission?!

As per the article:

"Nikki Haley declined to say that slavery was a cause of the Civil War on Wednesday evening, placing the blame, instead, on the role of government.

The former UN Ambassador and South Carolina governor, who has seen her star rise in the first-in-the-nation primary state, was appearing at a town hall event in Berlin, New Hampshire, when a voter asked her to identify the cause of the war."

As the US Civil War started in South Carolina, is a truthful answer really too much to expect from a former governor of that state, who also aspires to be the future president of the republic?!

Here's the link:   Candidate Haley Won't Admit Actual Cause of Civil War (https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/27/haley-slavery-cause-of-civil-war-00133254)

"Iowa Won't Participate In US Food Assistance Program For Kids This Summer"

As per the article:

Iowa will not participate this summer in a federal program that gives $40 per month to each child in a low-income family to help with food costs while school is out, state officials have announced.

The state has notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it will not participate in the 2024 Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children — or Summer EBT — program, the state's Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education said in a Friday news release.

"Federal COVID-era cash benefit programs are not sustainable and don't provide long-term solutions for the issues impacting children and families. An EBT card does nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic," Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said in the news release."

So, Reynolds doesn't want to feed any children in low-income families this summer, because some of them might be overweight. Now, if TFG were still in office, he'd probably award her the Presidential Metal of Freedom for this non-action, because it's just so emblematic of the non-priorities of The Republicult™.

Here's the link:   Iowa Stops Summer Food Assistance for Kids (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/iowa-wont-participate-in-us-food-assistance-program-for-kids-this-summer_n_6589e501e4b03e698a141252)

"New Poll Finds Republicans Seriously Think Trump Is the Greatest Person of Faith"

"More Republican voters believe Donald Trump is a person of faith than nearly any other politician."

Seriously?! Somehow or other, I'm just not seeing it.

As per this article:

"A new survey suggests that an increasing number of Republicans view Donald Trump as a person of faith, with Trump earning higher ratings than even some of the more vocally religious members of the Grand Old Party, including former Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Mitt Romney.

Despite Trump's sin-filled legal tribulations, 64 percent of Republicans reported that they viewed him as a person of faith, according to a new poll conducted by HarrisX for Deseret News in November, up from 53 percent in a similar poll conducted in October."

And, as per further along in this article:

"Meanwhile, President Joe Biden, who attends mass every week, per his White House schedule, was only branded as a person of faith by 13 percent of Republicans—though slightly more, 26 percent, conceded that he was religious."

I'm pretty sure we don't need a poll to tell us how these same people view Discordians.

Here's the link:   Republicult^TM Thinks TFG Greatest Person of Faith (https://newrepublic.com/post/177873/poll-republicans-trump-greatest-person-faith)

And, here's the link to the original, quoted article:   Deseret News Original Article (https://www.deseret.com/2024/1/3/23982720/republicans-think-donald-trump-is-person-of-faith-we-asked-why)

"Stephen Miller loses it: 'They're trying to imprison, bankrupt, and destroy Donald Trump!'"

I suppose it really was too much to hope for a Faux News talking head to then asked him, "So, what's your point?"

As per this article:

"The former White House aide raised his voice as he spoke about Trump's legal problems.

"They're trying to imprison, bankrupt, and destroy Donald Trump using the awesome power of the state, like something out of a failed third-world country, and they're leaving our border wide open to import a new generation of voters that they believe will be more favorable to big government and top-down control!" he shouted. "That's their plan. And so I will tell you what is happening on the border every single day is one of the greatest crimes in human history!""

So anyway, let's hear it for "They," and the awesome power of the state!

Here's the link to this article:      Former White House Propagandist Whines (https://www.rawstory.com/stephen-miller-donald-trump/)

"A martyr? Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt's past tells a more complex story"

As per this article:

"The first time Celeste Norris laid eyes on Ashli Babbitt, the future insurrectionist had just rammed her vehicle three times with an SUV and was pounding on the window, challenging her to a fight.
Norris says the bad blood between them began in 2015, when Babbitt engaged in a months-long extramarital affair with Norris' longtime live-in boyfriend. When she learned of the relationship, Norris called Babbitt's husband and told him she was cheating."

And, further along in this article:

"But the life of the Air Force veteran from California who died while wearing a Trump campaign flag wrapped around her shoulders like a cape, was far more complicated than the heroic portrait presented by Trump and his allies.

In the months before her death, Babbitt had become consumed by pro-Trump conspiracy theories and posted angry screeds on social media. She also had a history of making violent threats."

It's unfortunate if this woman was gullible, taken in by the con artist, and lost her life because of her gullibility and temperament. But, I'm certain many of the people who showed up to support TFG on Failed Coup d'état Day didn't really care one way or the other that TFG had been telling the world the Big Lie. And, this woman may very well have been one of the latter.

Here's the link:   Ashli Babbitt's Past Exploits (https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2022/01/03/a-martyr-air-force-veteran-ashli-babbitts-past-tells-a-more-complex-story/)

Quote from: Brother Mythos on January 10, 2024, 02:14:13 PM
"A martyr? Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt's past tells a more complex story"

As per this article:

"The first time Celeste Norris laid eyes on Ashli Babbitt, the future insurrectionist had just rammed her vehicle three times with an SUV and was pounding on the window, challenging her to a fight.
Norris says the bad blood between them began in 2015, when Babbitt engaged in a months-long extramarital affair with Norris' longtime live-in boyfriend. When she learned of the relationship, Norris called Babbitt's husband and told him she was cheating."

And, further along in this article:

"But the life of the Air Force veteran from California who died while wearing a Trump campaign flag wrapped around her shoulders like a cape, was far more complicated than the heroic portrait presented by Trump and his allies.

In the months before her death, Babbitt had become consumed by pro-Trump conspiracy theories and posted angry screeds on social media. She also had a history of making violent threats."

It's unfortunate if this woman was gullible, taken in by the con artist, and lost her life because of her gullibility and temperament. But, I'm certain many of the people who showed up to support TFG on Failed Coup d'état Day didn't really care one way or the other that TFG had been telling the world the Big Lie. And, this woman may very well have been one of the latter.

Here's the link:   Ashli Babbitt's Past Exploits (https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2022/01/03/a-martyr-air-force-veteran-ashli-babbitts-past-tells-a-more-complex-story/)

Personally I see Babbit as one more victim of the police, along with folks like Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, or Patrick Lyoya.  I don't agree with her politics but that doesn't excuse her murder.

Quote from: Pergamos on January 10, 2024, 05:49:18 PM
Personally I see Babbit as one more victim of the police, along with folks like Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, or Patrick Lyoya.  I don't agree with her politics but that doesn't excuse her murder.

I believe Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd were clearly victims of the police.

It appears that the case against Christopher Schurr, the police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, has yet to go to trial. However, if the Court of Appeals allows the current charge of second-degree murder to stand, I suspect Schurr, now a former police officer, will rightly be found guilty.

But, I don't believe Ashli Babbitt was an innocent bystander, or innocent peaceful protester on January 6th. And, here's some of what the Wikipedia article, "Killing of Ashli Babbitt," has to say:

"Babbitt attempted to climb through a shattered window beside a barricaded door into the Speaker's Lobby, and was shot in the left shoulder by a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer.[5][6][7][8][9] After a USCP emergency response team administered aid, Babbitt was transported to Washington Hospital Center, where she died.[10][11] The USCP deemed the shooting was "lawful and within Department policy" and "potentially saved Members (of Congress) and staff from serious injury and possible death".[12][13]"

And, further along in this article:

"Public remarks by CSPD Officer Lt Byrd

"After being cleared of wrongdoing, Byrd made his name public in an August 2021 interview for NBC News.[73][74][75][76][77] He said his name had been previously revealed in right-wing media and online forums and that he had received racist (Byrd is African-American) and violent threats, causing him to remain in hiding for several months. Looking back on his January 6 experience, Byrd said: "Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were. There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out. If they get through that door, they're into the House chamber and upon the members of Congress." He stated that he had pulled the trigger as a "last resort" after the mob of protesters ignored his repeated orders to get back, and that he had no idea at that moment that Babbitt was unarmed and was a woman. Byrd commented: "I know that day I saved countless lives. I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that's my job".[59]"

Now, it's been a while since I last watched the video clip of Babbitt climbing through that broken window. But, nothing I saw on the several occasions I did watch that video, or have heard, or have read, since January 6th, has made me any more sympathetic to her fate, than what I have already written in my original post. So, I think we should agree to disagree about Ashli Babbitt.

Quote from: Brother Mythos on January 10, 2024, 09:24:23 PM

Quote from: Pergamos on January 10, 2024, 05:49:18 PM
Personally I see Babbit as one more victim of the police, along with folks like Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, or Patrick Lyoya.  I don't agree with her politics but that doesn't excuse her murder.

I believe Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd were clearly victims of the police.

It appears that the case against Christopher Schurr, the police officer who killed Patrick Lyoya, has yet to go to trial. However, if the Court of Appeals allows the current charge of second-degree murder to stand, I suspect Schurr, now a former police officer, will rightly be found guilty.

But, I don't believe Ashli Babbitt was an innocent bystander, or innocent peaceful protester on January 6th. And, here's some of what the Wikipedia article, "Killing of Ashli Babbitt," has to say:

"Babbitt attempted to climb through a shattered window beside a barricaded door into the Speaker's Lobby, and was shot in the left shoulder by a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer.[5][6][7][8][9] After a USCP emergency response team administered aid, Babbitt was transported to Washington Hospital Center, where she died.[10][11] The USCP deemed the shooting was "lawful and within Department policy" and "potentially saved Members (of Congress) and staff from serious injury and possible death".[12][13]"

And, further along in this article:

"Public remarks by CSPD Officer Lt Byrd

"After being cleared of wrongdoing, Byrd made his name public in an August 2021 interview for NBC News.[73][74][75][76][77] He said his name had been previously revealed in right-wing media and online forums and that he had received racist (Byrd is African-American) and violent threats, causing him to remain in hiding for several months. Looking back on his January 6 experience, Byrd said: "Once we barricaded the doors, we were essentially trapped where we were. There was no way to retreat. No other way to get out. If they get through that door, they're into the House chamber and upon the members of Congress." He stated that he had pulled the trigger as a "last resort" after the mob of protesters ignored his repeated orders to get back, and that he had no idea at that moment that Babbitt was unarmed and was a woman. Byrd commented: "I know that day I saved countless lives. I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that's my job".[59]"

Now, it's been a while since I last watched the video clip of Babbitt climbing through that broken window. But, nothing I saw on the several occasions I did watch that video, or have heard, or have read, since January 6th, has made me any more sympathetic to her fate, than what I have already written in my original post. So, I think we should agree to disagree about Ashli Babbitt.

Perhaps.  I'm sad to see someone who understands that Trump is a monster but not that ACAB, meanwhile I'd like to see more folks who don't understand that Trump is a monster learning that ACAB, between Babbit and they way that they've gone after that particular monster I think a few are starting to understand.

Cops can be bastards AND occasionally act appropriately. These things are not in conflict. In fact, it's much easier for the system to perpetuate itself as long as there are people who are behaving correctly in difficult situations.

I don't like cops killing people, I don't like anyone killing people, I'm also not a virtue driven moron who thinks that no conflict is ever doomed to end in death, or that my enemies are incapable of making the right decision sometimes just because they make the wrong ones so often.

Quote from: Pergamos on January 10, 2024, 05:49:18 PM

Personally I see Babbit as one more victim of the police, along with folks like Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, or Patrick Lyoya.  I don't agree with her politics but that doesn't excuse her murder.

Go fuck yourself.

"GOPers embrace a crazy new term to refer to jailed Jan. 6ers"

"After trying to portray Jan. 6 rioters as "tourists" and "political prisoners," Republicans have a new absurd term: "hostages.""

As per this article:

"First they were "tourists." Then they were "political prisoners." And now they're "hostages."

Ever since Jan. 6, 2021, Republicans have treated the Capitol rioters like martyrs. In the latest example, Republicans are following Donald Trump's lead in referring to the pro-Trump confederates jailed in the deadly attack as "hostages.""

They keep using that word, I do not think it means what they think it means. It occurred to me that, conspicuous by its absence, there is another term they might have used for the many paramilitary types, who wore tactical gear and carried assorted weaponry, forced their way into the United States Capitol, but are now serving time in The Big House. And, that term is "prisoners of war" (POWs). However, since The Republicult™ lost both their battle and their war, they now refer to their soldiers using more deceptive, sympathetic language.

I write this because, if The Republicult™ had actually succeeded in their coup d'état, instead of being "hostages," those same paramilitary types would now be proudly parading around with medals dangling from chests, openly carrying more lethal weapons, and calling themselves "patriots," "heroes," "victorious warriors," "freedom fighters," and some such.

Here's the link to this article:      The Republicult's™ New Term (https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/republican-elise-stefanik-jan-6-hostages-rcna132866)

"DC bar authorities file disciplinary charges against pro-Trump 2020 election lawyers"

"The charges are the latest in a slew of disciplinary proceedings against attorneys who aided Donald Trump's bid to subvert the election." 

As per this article:

"Washington, D.C., bar investigators have filed disciplinary charges against three lawyers who aided Donald Trump ally Sidney Powell's campaign to mount discredited legal challenges to the 2020 election results.

Filings made public Friday accused attorneys Juli Haller, Lawrence Joseph and Brandon Johnson of making knowingly false representations to courts about a slew of lawsuits they filed in the weeks after the 2020 election."

But, but ... TFG said he only hires the best people. It appears that finding quality partners in crime is harder than it's portrayed to be in the movies.

Here's the link:   TFG's Election Lawyers Face Disciplinary Charges (https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/19/dc-trump-2020-election-lawyers-00136667#:~:text=Washington%2C%20D.C.%20bar%20investigators%20have,to%20the%202020%20election%20results)

"Judge denies Peter Navarro's bid to remain out of prison while appealing contempt of Congress case"

As per this article:

"A federal judge on Thursday denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro's bid to remain out of prison while he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction for refusing to cooperate with an investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Navarro was sentenced last month to four months behind bars after being found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 Committee. The former White House trade adviser under President Donald Trump had asked to be free while he fights that conviction and sentence in higher courts."

So, this guy doesn't have a job, doesn't have a job prospect, and has been pleading poverty while spending a small fortune on legal fees to avoid four months in what is probably going to be a minimum security "Club Fed" lockup. And now, poor little Peter is going to the Big House anyway. It would appear that choosing to be an opportunistic co-conspirator was not a wise career move. Who'd a thunk it?

Here's the link:   A TFG Co-conspirator Is Going to the Big House (https://apnews.com/article/peter-navarro-white-house-capitol-riot-contempt-e7919426d4db3f70c8a4ad4eb9498fb8)

Eric Prince (Betsy DeVos's brother and founder of Blackwater) wants to bring back full blown military colonialism.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tHXzrtmHrJ8&autoplay=1

Quote from: Bruno on February 13, 2024, 05:13:51 AMEric Prince (Betsy DeVos's brother and founder of Blackwater) wants to bring back full blown military colonialism.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tHXzrtmHrJ8&autoplay=1

I don't doubt a new and improved US Imperial Business Model (USIBM) would be quite lucrative for a guy like Prince. And, since he can't sell mercenary services to Putin unless TFG is reelected, and Ukraine may not be interested in giving Prince a contract, he may very well be trying to drum up business opportunities elsewhere.

It appears that showing poster board size dick pics of Hunter Biden at a House Oversight Committee hearing last year wasn't enough for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. She's come up with yet another way to attract the attention she craves.

"Greene says Judge Engoron 'should be disrobed'"

As per this article:

"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) went after New York Judge Arthur Engoron on Thursday, demanding he be "disrobed" for his $355 million business fraud verdict against former President Trump last week.

Engoron ruled that Trump and his company committed business fraud by manipulating the value of assets, including inflating the value of his Florida home, the Mar-a-Lago club."

Well, Tricky Dick Nixon had Spiro T. Agnew, so maybe MAGAt Marge is the appropriate choice for Dishonest Don's next running mate. After all, Marge has a way with words too, just like Agnew, and we can always count on her to stay classy.

Here's the link to this article:      MAGAt Marge Wants Judge Disrobed (https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4484097-greene-trump-judge-engoron-disrobed/)

By the powers invested in me, I hereby recognize Alabama Senator Katie Britt (R) as a Distinguished Demagogue of the Political Order of THE PARTY FOR WAR ON EVIL, as defined in our Wholly Holy Principia Discordia (Except for the Distinguished Demagogue (DD) part. I just made that up.). I have been inspired to do so after watching her most recent Official Political Performance Art Piece (OPPAP).

"Katie Britt calls Biden a 'diminished leader' in GOP response to the State of the Union"

As per this particular article:

"WASHINGTON (AP) — Sitting at her kitchen table in Alabama, Sen. Katie Britt called President Joe Biden a "dithering and diminished leader" and warned of a bleak American future under his presidency in the Republican rebuttal to his State of the Union address Thursday evening.
 
The first-term Alabama Republican, the youngest woman in the Senate, delivered a stinging election-year critique of the president. She argued that "the country we know and love seems to be slipping away" and appealed directly to her fellow mothers, who she said are probably "disgusted" with Washington."

This is a short article, and contains only a short video of cuts from Britt's entire performance. I wouldn't force, or even encourage a Discordian to watch her entire act, unless you're an experienced, hardened critic. Seriously, I still find it hard to believe that what she did and said during her act was not intentional political satire. So, you have been warned, and you're welcome.

Here's the link to this particular article:      Katie Britt OPPAP (https://apnews.com/article/katie-britt-state-of-union-40cd6634bb0343d8c3c7d70dbd9524d1)

After watching the senator's rebuttal to the SOTU, it occurred to me that the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, the people who hand out those infamous "Razzies," should be encouraged to branch out from only critiquing movies, and create two (2) new categories. I suggest calling them Worst Actor, and Worst Actress in an Official Political Performance Art Piece. It's still early, of course, but I believe it will be difficult to underperform Senator Britt for a possible 45th Golden Raspberry Award.

I learned a new meme! And, it explains what was going on with Alabama Senator Katie Britt during her SOTU rebuttal last week.

"Ever hear of "Fundie Baby Voice"? If you haven't, you missed what was going on. It gets worse."

As per this article:

"While Senator Katie Britt has gotten a lot of flak for her performance (and it was a performance), something else was going on. People have commented on her presentation — they way she emoted, the way she sounded, 'the woman in the kitchen talking about her kids' context.

Tom Sullivan at Digby's Place picked up on some videos that make her performance even creepier when you understand where she is coming from, and what she is messaging. Sullivan found several videos that contrast the way she speaks normally with the way she spoke that night. This video from Jess Piper explains exactly what kind of dog whistle Britt was blowing — the Fundie Baby Voice:

There's a name for it...fundie baby voice. https://t.co/qsmswSAavn

— Jess Piper (@piper4missouri) March 8, 2024
 
Piper plays several video clips from other women beside Britt to show what it sounds like, and then explains what it means to people who recognize it.

"...I was born and raised an evangelical, a fundamentalist. That is called the fundie baby voice. It means you're submissive. It means you're a good woman. It means you're kind and you support your husband. The better you are at the baby voice, the better woman you are.""

This is a long, strange article. But, it did get me thinking about this special religious voice thingy. For instance, if evangelical fundamentalists speak in a special voice on certain occasions, shouldn't Discordian Fundamentalists also consider speaking in a special voice(s) when proselytizing, and possibly on other special occasions?

Here's this article's link:   Fundie Baby Voice (https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/3/10/2228575/-Ever-hear-of-Fundie-Baby-Voice-If-you-haven-t-you-missed-what-was-going-on-It-gets-worse)

To #46

Quote from: Brother Mythos on March 11, 2024, 09:07:16 AMAfter watching the senator's rebuttal to the SOTU, it occurred to me that the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, the people who hand out those infamous "Razzies," should be encouraged to branch out from only critiquing movies, and create two (2) new categories. I suggest calling them Worst Actor, and Worst Actress in an Official Political Performance Art Piece. It's still early, of course, but I believe it will be difficult to underperform Senator Britt for a possible 45th Golden Raspberry Award.

At first I thought these awards would be an easy win for the USA. But after thinking about who would be second I realized, there are a lot of politicians who only and badly perform an act. The UK has some, Australia, .... From a comedy podcast with Indian guests I know India will be a contender in this. Germany and Austria have their Pappenheimer (Rascals (euphemism, mostly Nazis)), but they can't speak English so you won't hear from them.

That's why people who engage in politics are either fanatics of some ideology or frustrated.

Quote from: ein Gefrorener Würfel on March 14, 2024, 06:43:28 PMTo #46

Quote from: Brother Mythos on March 11, 2024, 09:07:16 AMAfter watching the senator's rebuttal to the SOTU, it occurred to me that the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation, the people who hand out those infamous "Razzies," should be encouraged to branch out from only critiquing movies, and create two (2) new categories. I suggest calling them Worst Actor, and Worst Actress in an Official Political Performance Art Piece. It's still early, of course, but I believe it will be difficult to underperform Senator Britt for a possible 45th Golden Raspberry Award.

At first I thought these awards would be an easy win for the USA. But after thinking about who would be second I realized, there are a lot of politicians who only and badly perform an act. The UK has some, Australia, .... From a comedy podcast with Indian guests I know India will be a contender in this. Germany and Austria have their Pappenheimer (Rascals (euphemism, mostly Nazis)), but they can't speak English so you won't hear from them.

That's why people who engage in politics are either fanatics of some ideology or frustrated.

I admit, I don't pay as much attention to politics and politicians outside the USA as I do inside. But, I have no reason to doubt that the rest of the world has its share of "Official Political Performance Artists."

However, I think there is yet another category of people who choose to enter the political arena. And, I believe our former president is a prime example. I don't believe TFG chose to enter politics late in life for any other reason(s) than power and greed. Other than being fanatically opposed to paying taxes and obeying laws, and frustration because our form of government expects him to do both, the only other motivation I see in him is his massive ego.

I concur. US politics is special. Your "the winner takes it all"-voting system truly has a lot of undemocratic consequences. The biggest, I think, is the two-party system and the extremely unhinged pre-vote period/year.

Quote from: ein Gefrorener Würfel on March 20, 2024, 09:38:20 PMI concur. US politics is special. Your "the winner takes it all"-voting system truly has a lot of undemocratic consequences. The biggest, I think, is the two-party system and the extremely unhinged pre-vote period/year.

Yes, our type of republic is different, and problematic. We were taught that our founding fathers didn't chose a parliamentary system because they wanted a clear separation of governmental powers, with an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch, with all three branches acting as checks and balances on each other. And, although far from perfect, our system did work moderately well in the 20th century, before today's hyper-partisan, no compromise era.

And, although it may look like it, our two-party system is not written into our republic's constitution. There are currently four (4) registered political parties in my state. And, Mrs. Mythos and I are both registered to vote in our general elections as "non affiliated." (All that means in our state is that we can't vote in the primary elections of any of the four (4) registered political parties. For the little that it's worth, our not joining a registered political party is a protest, as our state's primary elections are held so late in the year that all of the party candidates for president and vice-president have already been chosen by voters in the other states that held their primary elections much earlier.)

Tennessee is trying to ban chemtrails.

It is going well, so far.



https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2024/03/20/tennessee-senate-passes-bill-banning-chemtrails-what-to-know/73027586007/


ETA: Fuck, if this passes, I'm starting a flyer campaign to get people to call every representative who voted for it every time they see an airplane.

Quote from: Bruno on March 22, 2024, 02:28:36 PMTennessee is trying to ban chemtrails.

It is going well, so far.



https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2024/03/20/tennessee-senate-passes-bill-banning-chemtrails-what-to-know/73027586007/


ETA: Fuck, if this passes, I'm starting a flyer campaign to get people to call every representative who voted for it every time they see an airplane.

I love it! The Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory is one of my favorites!

I think the more obsessed they are with things that aren't real and don't exist, the less time and resources they'll have to infringe on the civil rights of people who are real and do exist. Also, they'll get increasingly frustrated with their reps who are totally ineffective at stopping the thing that isn't happening.

Quote from: Bruno on March 22, 2024, 04:37:02 PMI think the more obsessed they are with things that aren't real and don't exist, the less time and resources they'll have to infringe on the civil rights of people who are real and do exist. Also, they'll get increasingly frustrated with their reps who are totally ineffective at stopping the thing that isn't happening.

It never occurred to me that a prank could have real world, positive results. But, I agree, encouraging members of the Republicult™ to waste their time really does reduce the time they have available to do real harm.

I'm beginning to suspect that, at least, some of the high-ranking Republicult™ comrades in Tennessee are a skittish lot.

"Tennessee Republican Warns America: Cannibals Are Coming!"

As per this article:

"Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett told Steve Bannon that murdering cannibals are poised to migrate to the US."

<sigh> And, I thought Tennessee was such a nice, normal place the last time I was there.

Here's the link to this article:      Tennessee Republicult™ Comrade's Cannibal Warning! (https://crooksandliars.com/2024/03/cannibals)

It appears that Congressman Burchett doesn't believe Mark Knopfler either:   Mark Knopfler - Cannibals (Official Video) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc4egSH5Kd0)

Tennessee was only the beginning! The Republicult's™ Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory has spread like a virus to Pennsylvania!

"Mastriano proposes bill to combat 'chemtrails' rooted in conspiracy theory and climate science"

"Pennsylvania requires those seeking to modify the weather to get a license, but no one has ever applied"

As per this article:

"A state senator who was the 2022 GOP nominee for Pennsylvania governor has proposed legislation to outlaw experimental weather modification techniques falsely associated with the "chemtrail" conspiracy theory.

The false belief that condensation trails left by high flying aircraft are actually trails of chemicals released by the government for nefarious reasons has become conflated with techniques being explored to reduce the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the atmosphere.

In a memo seeking support for his bill, Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) said new technology and a proliferation of weather modification patents "owned by a combination of Federal Government Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, and large multinational corporations" have brought forward the need to update Pennsylvania's law."

So, how long will it be before the Chemtrail Conspiracy Theory becomes a "plank" in the Republicult's™ party platform? Oh, wait ... the Republicult™ doesn't have an actual platform. Silly me.

Here's the link to this article:      Bill Proposed to Combat Chemtrails in PA (https://penncapital-star.com/energy-environment/mastriano-proposes-bill-to-combat-chemtrails-rooted-in-conspiracy-theory-and-climate-science/)

Uh-oh, it looks like there's trouble in paradise.

"Republican blame game heats up as their majority thins"

As per this article:

"The internal blame game has highlighted both the deep divisions dogging the House GOP — where conservative agitators are bashing moderates as apostates, and moderates are bashing the hard-liners as obstructionists — and the minuscule majority that's made it all but impossible for Republican leaders to unite the warring camps for the sake of passing the party's policy priorities."

And, further along in this article:

""Every time a Mike Gallagher or a Ken Buck leaves early, that brings our numbers down and brings us dangerously closer to being in the minority," Greene said Tuesday in an interview with Real America's Voice, a conservative cable channel.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has largely downplayed the departures, noting that both parties are losing a number of veteran lawmakers next year to retirement or bids for higher office — a natural trend that accompanies virtually every election cycle.

"When I last checked, we're about on par with other Congresses," he told reporters after Buck's announcement. "It just — it always feels like that when you're in the midst of one."

Yet the number of resignations, as opposed to retirements, has been more pronounced this cycle. And some of the departing lawmakers are citing an extraordinary reason behind their decision: The environment on Capitol Hill has become so toxic, they say, that they simply can't bear to stick around."

I guess some members of the Republicult™ don't want to drink their Kool-Aid. And worse, I just may run out of popcorn before this act of their show is even over.

Here's the link to this article:      Trouble in the Republicult™ (https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4564432-republican-blame-game-majority/)

Congratulations (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68716894.amp?fbclid=IwAR0yhEEeVl-uwaIOls-jKCSzX1EtUWr-wLDd7aNdKC6HUgi1q0Gbn6Xho9M_aem_AUvYHcWMRkEQWW7EQ2_s0GCayYJNLdGE7iLDJx-mXOs1UXI_Yzn89abdWEaUHf51MHTDIXUHd5TBx6l2pxZO0N0L), Tennessee. You did it.

You made chemtrails illegal.

Quote from: Bruno on April 03, 2024, 10:26:36 PMCongratulations (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68716894.amp?fbclid=IwAR0yhEEeVl-uwaIOls-jKCSzX1EtUWr-wLDd7aNdKC6HUgi1q0Gbn6Xho9M_aem_AUvYHcWMRkEQWW7EQ2_s0GCayYJNLdGE7iLDJx-mXOs1UXI_Yzn89abdWEaUHf51MHTDIXUHd5TBx6l2pxZO0N0L), Tennessee. You did it.

You made chemtrails illegal.

(https://i.imgur.com/Fm1MFZg.jpg)


Eternal vigilance paranoia is the price we they pay for believing conspiracy theories.

An Arizona state senator and some of his closest weirdo friends praying and speaking in tongues on the floor (literally) of the state senate to get God to help the state supreme court rule that a law from 1864 banning abortion was still valid. (they later did rule that)

https://youtube.com/shorts/PYVfAvpbh9A?si=tbx15E4k9y0dEx9u

Quote from: Bruno on April 11, 2024, 02:37:13 AMAn Arizona state senator and some of his closest weirdo friends praying and speaking in tongues on the floor (literally) of the state senate to get God to help the state supreme court rule that a law from 1864 banning abortion was still valid. (they later did rule that)

https://youtube.com/shorts/PYVfAvpbh9A?si=tbx15E4k9y0dEx9u

I'm pretty sure those very same people also believe that Discordianism is a strange religion.

Quote from: Bruno on April 11, 2024, 02:37:13 AMAn Arizona state senator and some of his closest weirdo friends praying and speaking in tongues on the floor (literally) of the state senate to get God to help the state supreme court rule that a law from 1864 banning abortion was still valid. (they later did rule that)

https://youtube.com/shorts/PYVfAvpbh9A?si=tbx15E4k9y0dEx9u

Sounds like their magic worked...

First, the good political news:

"Tennessee lawmakers send bill to ban first-cousin marriages to governor"

And, the good political news includes some totally expected Republicult™ news:

As per this article:

"NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Republican-led Tennessee Legislature has overwhelmingly voted to send GOP Gov. Bill Lee a proposal that would ban marriage between first cousins.

The House cast a 75-2 vote Thursday on the bill after the Senate previously approved it without any opposition.

But a particularly vocal opponent, Republican Rep. Gino Bulso, took up most of the debate time, as he argued for an amendment to allow first-cousin marriages if the couple first seeks counseling from a genetic counselor.

And, as per further along in this article:

"Republican Rep. Monty Fritts was the other lawmaker to vote against the bill."

So, just another glimpse into the reality of 21st century "Merica.

Here's the link to this article:        Tennessee Republicult™ Support for First-cousin Marriages (https://apnews.com/article/tennessee-first-cousin-marriage-ban-5f7336dbce53f8f74092fd706347b2ec#:~:text=Photo%2FMark%20Zaleski)-,NASHVILLE%2C%20Tenn.,approved%20it%20without%20any%20opposition.)

The Republicult's™ adoration of TFG is a truly amazing thing. In reality, here's a guy who's a nepo baby, a sociopath, a pathological liar, a malignant narcissist, a serial draft dodger, a career white-collar criminal, a rapist, and an insurrectionist. And, that's not even a complete, repugnant list of his obvious character flaws. Yet, despite all that, some in the cult still go as far as to compare him to JFC.

In truth, if there were a Con Artists' Hall of Fame, TFG would be nominated, and elected to full membership on the very first ballot. After all, TFG makes Charles Ponzi look like a dilettante. Anyway, it just occurred to me that Peter's Placebo, a term originally coined by Dr. Laurence J. Peter of The Peter Principle fame, clearly explains TFG popularity within the Republicult™. And so, here is Peter's Placebo:

 "An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance."

A rule for Republicult™ talking heads:

Never let an easily verifiable fact get in the way of a political talking point.

It's happening again in Pennsylvania. And, the strangest thing about it is that Pennsylvania isn't even a 'blue state.'

"Can These Clowns Not Find A Single Republican Who Lives In Pennsylvania To Run For Senate In Pennsylvania?"

As per this article:

"This time around, the GOP nominee battling incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D) will be hedge fund millionaire David McCormick, who lost to Oz back in the 2022 Republican primary; as we noted last week, McCormick overcame that by running unopposed this year. The most notable news about that election was that Zombie candidate Nikki Haley got 17 percent of the vote even though she ended her campaign weeks ago.
 
However, we kind of skipped over a thing about McCormick last week, because we were mainly focused on Haley. Like "Dr." Oz, McCormick isn't so much from Pennsylvania as from another state, but this time it's Connecticut. We regret the oversight."

But, on the plus side, this one isn't known to be a puppy killer.

Here's the link to this article:      Another GOP Senate Candidate in PA Doesn't Live in PA (https://www.wonkette.com/p/can-these-clowns-not-find-a-single)

This internet list caught my attention this afternoon:

"All The GOP Lawmakers Telling Trump To Drop Out After His Felony Conviction"

"These are the Republican leaders standing up and putting country before party."

As per the article:

"(This list will be updated as the GOP statements come pouring in.)"

Please note, at the time of this initial posting, it's a short list.

Here's the link:   All Republicult™ Lawmakers Telling TSF to Drop Out of the Presidential Race (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/republican-lawmakers-donald-trump-guilty-verdict-resign_n_6658fafde4b08f9fa13ff7aa)

"Louisiana Obliterates Separation of Church and State With Wild New Law"

"The Bayou State just got one step closer to Christian nationalism."

As per this article:

"Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a law Wednesday mandating that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom, in a startlingly clear demonstration of the blurring lines between church and state.
 
According to the legislation, the commandments displays would be paid for through donations, not through state funds. The law also authorizes classrooms to put up the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, and the Northwest Ordinance—but it does not require those documents to be displayed.
 
The law describes the Ten Commandments not as the religious edict that they plainly are, but as "foundational documents of our state and national government.""

Here's the link:   A Win for Christian Nationalism (https://newrepublic.com/post/182896/louisiana-church-state-law-schools-ten-commandments)

Everyday, it gets harder and harder for me to believe the calendar says we're well into the 21st century. But then, it is the relatively new, heathen calendar. It's the Year of Our Lady of Discord 3190 for some of us, and that does make me feel a little better about the situation.

So, Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia!

This is news I wanted to know about the incident:

"Donald Trump rally shooting live: Killed suspect was registered Republican"

Here's the link to this article:      TSF's Shooting Suspect Was a Registered Republican (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/13/donald-trump-live-news-ex-us-president-walked-off-stage-after-shots-heard)

In light of recent events, I can't help but wonder how many members of the Republicult™ are proudly carrying their AR-15 flags, and wearing their AR-15 pins, AR-15 t-shirts, AR-15 hats, etc., at the RNC.

I mean, after all, it was one of their very own who fired on their very own favorite convicted felon with an AR-15, their very own favorite firearm.

Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 15, 2024, 05:47:10 PMIn light of recent events, I can't help but wonder how many members of the Republicult™ are proudly carrying their AR-15 flags, and wearing their AR-15 pins, AR-15 t-shirts, AR-15 hats, etc., at the RNC.

I mean, after all, it was one of their very own who fired on their very own favorite convicted felon with an AR-15, their very own favorite firearm.

Well bearing in mind that the person he shot at was the tangerine titwanker, I'm gonna go out on a limb & say the kind of republican he was must have been a "Never Trump" one. The kind that backed both Killary & Creepy Joe. Like the Bush family for example. But certainy having 8 years of steady DNC rhetoric which literally stated "Trump is an existential threat to our democracy" Presumably because he's popular among actual people and lord knows the political establishment doesn't want them involved in choosing their rulers. What's to become of Nepotism if the common folk begin choosing representatives based on their own thoughts and interests, eh?

So anyway as a filthy foreigner it's going to be fascinating watching your evil empire tear itself asunder over the next four months. That January 6th fiasco was hilarious.

Funny thing is the last time the seceret service offed a President it was because he'd just withdrawn 100,000 tropps from Vietnam & was setting about bringing the rest back as well. Trump has clearly signalled that there's to be no more funding of The Ukraine and that the financing of Israel's genocode in Gaza will be under review as well.

Any opinions on that or is "Orange man bad. Was funny when he fell down" your intellectual limit on this topic?

https://youtu.be/0c_6Ta51tBc

Someone shot at someone who settled out of court with a girl 14 year old would be a better example, most people would call that a pedophile.

Calling Biden creepy joe at this point is defunct because trump won that prize too.

And there's not a hope of trump defunding Israel, he spent his first presidency appeasing them with embassies and whatnot.

Heres my hope: whichever one dies first get elected president and serves Cadavar synod style.

Quote from: Mandelbrot Slapper on July 15, 2024, 07:22:16 PMFunny thing is the last time the seceret service offed a President it was because he'd just withdrawn 100,000 tropps from Vietnam & was setting about bringing the rest back as well. Trump has clearly signalled that there's to be no more funding of The Ukraine and that the financing of Israel's genocode in Gaza will be under review as well.

Your knowledge of 'Merican history, politics, and spelling is truly underwhelming.

Quote from: Brother Mythos on July 15, 2024, 05:47:10 PMIn light of recent events, I can't help but wonder how many members of the Republicult™ are proudly carrying their AR-15 flags, and wearing their AR-15 pins, AR-15 t-shirts, AR-15 hats, etc., at the RNC.

I mean, after all, it was one of their very own who fired on their very own favorite convicted felon with an AR-15, their very own favorite firearm.

Too many to count. It wouldn't make them reflect anyway, we all know they'll immediately deflect to the kid being a psyop or something. Anyway, I don't know if I would personally associate this kid with the general base of MAGApedes. I read that he was bullied in school and also searched dates and places of appearances for Biden as well, so it sounds like he was a school shooter loser that opt to shoot at a presidential rally rather than his cafeteria.

For me, I am personally blown away by the reaction of pure cognitive dissonance given by Republicans in relation to his assassination attempt. These are the same people who chanted to hang Mike Pence just a few years ago but are now clutching their pearls whenever they see people joke about the assassination or wish that the bullet hit. The same people who would constantly whine "We're not allowed to tell jokes anymore!" are now saying that you can't joke about things they find personally distasteful. I shouldn't be surprised, but the sheer hypocrisy pisses me off. They so desperately want to have their cake and eat it too.

It's also depressing because it proves you cannot treat conservatives like they treat other people. They will go nuclear and try to destroy your life if you regard one of theirs with the same casual cruelty they have so freely for all sorts of people. Worthless gutter trash.

Quote from: Sophia the Altered on July 20, 2024, 06:07:16 AMIt's also depressing because it proves you cannot treat conservatives like they treat other people. They will go nuclear and try to destroy your life if you regard one of theirs with the same casual cruelty they have so freely for all sorts of people. Worthless gutter trash.

Yes, they certainly are an unpleasant lot. I try to avoid having anything to do with them. In my experience, it was a complete waste of time attempting to have an adult, intelligent conversation with any of them. Sometimes, in the past, I used to 'toy' with them for my own amusement. But again, I've come to the point where I no longer want anything to do with them.

Okay, who gave TSF a Discordian Pope Card? Come on now, speak up! Now, I know handing out Pope Cards is a sacred act, duty, and part of our Erisian Evangelical Mission™; well ... at least I think it is. But, this has gone way too far, and it just isn't funny any more!

"Republicans Are Literally Treating Trump Like He's the Pope at Convention"

"Pope Donald I is hardly a Biblical scholar, but his grip over his followers is definitely infallible."

As per this article:

We were given fair warning that Donald Trump's relationship to God had strengthened (even more) after the attempted assassination on Saturday. Shortly after the shooting in Milwaukee he posted on Truth Social, "It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening."

But no-one could have been prepared for the former president attracting Pope-like devotion as he administered to the congregation, I mean audience, at the RNC convention this week.

A CNN reporter noted on Tuesday night that the behavior of the audience at the RNC was more akin to a Catholic mass. The audience-turned-congregation was now taking a cue from the priest, in this case Trump, he reported. As the ex-president grants speakers at the podium a standing ovation, his flock, and also, pointedly, his disciples in the VIP seating area, quickly follow suit.

John 13:15: Jesus says, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."

Here's the link to this article:      Pope TSF Crowned with Sanitary Napkin at RNC Convention (https://www.thedailybeast.com/republicans-are-literally-treating-trump-like-hes-the-pope-at-convention?ref=home?ref=home)

So, come on now, fess up! It had to be a misguided Discordian who instigated this outrageous, sacrilegious abomination!

I found this latest performance from Drama Queen Greene to be especially entertaining:

"MTG says prison 'would lead to the murder' of Trump in freak out over felony sentencing"

As per this article:

"Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) expressed alarm this week that former President Donald Trump could be murdered if he is sentenced to prison after a conviction on 34 felony felony counts in New York.

At Tuesday's House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Greene slammed Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) over a bill that would strip the former president of his Secret Service protection if he was sentenced to prison."

Here's the link to this article:      MTG Concerned Over TSF's Safety in Prison (https://www.rawstory.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-prison/)

Now, the Republicult™ has always claimed to be the party of fiscal responsibility. So, I'm shocked, shocked to find this sudden about-face on an issue of obvious fiscal importance! So, I ask you, what truly fiscally responsible person would not take immediate action to reduce the totally redundant, unnecessary workload on the resource limited, overstretched Secret Service, and reduce the already exorbitant tax burden on every single, patriotic 'Merican citizen?! Seriously, I, for one, am not seeing any downside to stripping a former president of Secret Service protection if he/she is sentenced to prison, as punishment for the felonies he/she has been found guilty of committing.

The title of this article made me smile:

"MTG's boyfriend says 'estrogen loaded' all-woman ticket would be 'scary' and dangerous'"

As per this article:

"Right-wing correspondent Brian Glenn, the boyfriend of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), is worried that Democrats could put only women candidates on an "estrogen-loaded" presidential ticket that would be "dangerous" for the country.

While speaking to Real America's Voice earlier this week, Glenn speculated about who Democrats could choose to run against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance."

Here's the link to this article:      All-woman Ticket Scares Republicult™ Member (https://www.rawstory.com/brian-glenn-women/)

I really hate to make excuses for an obvious cult member. But, given that this guy is, apparently, willingly dating Drama Queen Greene, I can kind of understand why he might feel the way he does.

This article places a spotlight on exactly who the members of the Republicult™ really are:

"WH Spox Flames GOP Over Its 'Stop Being Racist' Meeting"

"In a closed-door meeting this week, party leaders in the House had to ask Republican lawmakers to refrain from making comments about Vice President Kamala Harris' race and gender."

As per this article:

"White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pointed out on Thursday that it speaks volumes that Republican congressional leaders had to admonish members to refrain from "being racist" and sexist towards Vice President Kamala Harris.
 
Asked about a Politico report about a closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning in which party leaders begged lawmakers to stop attacking Harris on the basis of identity, Jean-Pierre replied, "When you have the Speaker of the House [Mike Johnson]... set up a meeting to tell Republican leaders to stop being racist, to stop being misogynist, to stop being sexist, I think that says a lot that they have to be told to not do that.

"But more broadly," she continued, "I think it's—I think it's desperate. I think it's disgusting and I think it's a dog whistle. And we should not forget that she is the vice president of the United States. She's the vice president of the United States. She should get that respect.""

Here's the link to this article:      Republicult™ Held 'Stop Being Racist' Meeting (https://www.thedailybeast.com/karine-jean-pierre-needles-gop-for-needing-to-tell-members-to-stop-being-racist?ref=home)

It's inexcusable that this is the USA in the 21st century.

I should have bought more popcorn.

"MAGA Rages at Kyle Rittenhouse for Not Backing Trump: 'Disloyal'"

As per this article:

"Kyle Rittenhouse has received backlash from MAGA supporters after revealing that he is not voting for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

Rittenhouse, who was found not guilty of murdering two people after shooting them during civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020, revealed that he is not supporting the former president in November because Trump is "bad on the Second Amendment."

Rittenhouse, who turned into a Republican poster boy after he was cleared of murder in the divisive trial, said instead he will be writing in former GOP congressman Ron Paul on his ballot.

"Unfortunately, Donald Trump had bad advisers, making him bad on the Second Amendment, and that is my issue," Rittenhouse said in a video posted on social media. "If you cannot be completely uncompromisable on the Second Amendment, I will not vote for you, and I will write somebody else in. We need champions for the Second Amendment or our rights would be eaten away and eroded each day.""

Here's the link to this article:      Killer Kyle Not Voting for TSF (https://www.newsweek.com/maga-kyle-rittenhouse-vote-trump-second-amendment-1933839)

So, Killer Kyle is a single-issue voter. How about that.

Well, that didn't take long at all.

"Kyle Rittenhouse Backtracks and Says He's Voting Trump After MAGA Backlash (https://www.thedailybeast.com/kyle-rittenhouse-backtracks-and-says-hes-voting-trump-after-maga-backlash)"

I didn't even have time to finish the popcorn I have on hand.

I haven't clicked on drudgereport.com in years. So, I don't know for certain how influential the website still is with the Republicult™. But, this got my attention:

"Drudge Uses Walz Announcement to Slam JD Vance: 'And He Doesn't Wear Eyeliner'"

As per this article:

"Matt Drudge is using the occasion of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's announcement as Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate to ridicule the apparent use of eye makeup by Senator and Vice Presidential hopeful JD Vance.

On the well-trafficked and wildly influential political media website, the top headline blares, "IT'S WALZ!' Just underneath that, however, is the similarly all-capped "AND HE DOESN'T WEAR EYELINER,' followed by "71% NEVER HEARD OF HIM.""

Here's the link to this article:      Drudge Confirms Tim Waltz Doesn't Wear Eyeliner (https://www.mediaite.com/online/drudge-uses-walz-announcement-to-slam-jd-vance-and-he-doesnt-wear-eyeliner/)

Call me superstitious, but I don't think an old, established Republicult™ website making fun of the party's VP candidate is a good omen for TSF. On the other hand, it's a great omen for the Resistance!

I'm surprised anyone at the Ministry of Propaganda dared to say this:

"Fox News Pundit Admits Trump Has 'Mild' Mental Disorder After 'Unhinged' Behavior"

"Fox News pundit Mary Katherine Ham suggested Donald Trump's recent erratic press conference at Mar-a-Lago could be attributed to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)."

Here's the link to this article:      Ministry of Propaganda Pundit Suggests the Unthinkable (https://crooksandliars.com/2024/08/fox-news-pundit-admits-trump-has-mild)

I'm also surprised TSF isn't calling for Ham to be fired, and accusing the Ministry of Propaganda itself of high treason. But, perhaps no one has dared to bring this iniquitous transgression to his deficient attention.

wonkette.com is becoming one of my favorite political commentary websites. I especially enjoyed reading the following article:

"Nikki Haley Wishes Trump Was Totally Different Person Who ISN'T Whining Racist Loser"

As per this article:

"Nikki Haley, the coward who ran against Donald Trump, actually siphoned a meaningful number of votes from him (even long after she dropped out), then crawled back to him like a dog to vomit as soon as she was beckoned — she even endorsed him at the RNC! — has some critiques of Trump's run against Kamala Harris.

Could he, like, be an entirely different person? At least that's how we're interpreting her critiques. Surely she's not such a moron that she thinks these are changes Trump is actually physically capable of making?"
 
Here's the link to this article:      Nikki Haley Wishes Trump Was Totally Different Person (https://www.wonkette.com/p/nikki-haley-wishes-trump-was-totally)

Sure, it could happen!

This article's caption immediately caught my attention:

"The Internet Lights Up As Donald Threatens Us With A Good Time"

As per this article:

"At one point, Lumpy painted a picture of what it would be like if Kamala became president.

"And you're not going to be allowed; you're all going to be thrown into a communist system," Trump said.

"It's a communist system; you're going to be thrown into a system where everybody gets healthcare."

Here's the link to this article:      TSF Threatens that Everybody Gets Healthcare (https://crooksandliars.com/2024/08/internet-lights-donald-threatens-us-good)

Oh no! We're going to be thrown into a communist system and a system where everybody gets healthcare! Now if I were only going to be thrown into a socialist system, I could have lived with that, but ... but, now they're even going to make me be healthy too! Where, oh where will it every end with these Democratic Party fiends?!

The Ministry of Propaganda is getting desperate:

Fox News Flames Harris: Real Leaders Don't Eat Doritos (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-elisabeth-hasselbeck-flames-kamala-harris-on-sean-hannity-real-leaders-dont-eat-doritos?ref=home?ref=home)

When they have to resort to nonsense like this, they know TSF is in serious trouble.

Quote from: Brother Mythos on August 18, 2024, 02:19:30 PMWhen they have to resort to nonsense like this, they know TSF is in serious trouble.

They are grasping at straws. The grift is crumbling around them.

I can't wait to see the Republicult's™ donors lining up for photo ops at this upcoming event:

"Trump's Outrageous January 6 Gala Is a Giant Flashing Warning Sign"

"Donald Trump is hosting a fundraiser for the insurrectionists who tried to kill democracy on January 6."

As per this article:

"Donald Trump has taken January 6 denialism to a new level: He's going to be hosting an awards ceremony dedicated to the Capitol riot.
 
On September 5, a "J6 Awards Gala" will be held at Trump's golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey. The event will include a raffle to win a plaque recognizing the "Justice For All" song performed by Trump and the "J6 Prison Choir," which briefly reached the Billboard Music Chart. The choir is made up of defendants serving prison sentences for their actions in the Capitol in 2021."

Here's the link to this article:      TSF J6 Awards Gala (https://newrepublic.com/post/185199/trump-january-6-gala-fundraiser)

I just don't see this event as being something a 'stable genius' would arrange. I wonder if our very own Antifa agent provocateurs have gone undercover, and have successfully infiltrated the Republicult™.

Drama Queen Greene gifted us with some more political performance art yesterday. Here's one of the better reviews:

"Marjorie Taylor-Greene Begs For Her Socialist Biden Bucks"

"These MAGA creeps scream about federal agencies every single say and demand we get rid of them all until they need something."

As per this review:

"Georgia Klan Mom Marjorie Taylor Greene told Real America's Voice Monday that she's demanding to get her fair share of socialist dollars from the federal government to help the people of Georgia after the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

It's the height of hypocrisy when these creeps scream about defunding or eliminating all federal agencies every single say until they need something.
 
Then they come begging. Or they take credit for Democratic legislation that helps their districts and states, but hide that they voted against it."

Here's the link:   Drama Queen Greene Demands Socialist Dollars (https://crooksandliars.com/2024/09/marjorie-taylor-greene-begs-her-socialist)

It appears to me that evoluition has firmly encoded 'hypocrisy' into the The Republicult's™ DNA, as they unashamedly display more than their fair share of that trait. I would be more optimistic about the situation, if I believed is was actually a 'nurture vs. nature' thing. But ...

DOWN WITH DRUMPF!

Floriduh will soon be hit with a Category 5 hurricane, but Governor Ron DeSilliness is still playing politics.

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis refuses call from VP Kamala Harris ahead of Hurricane Milton: Source"

As per this article:

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has refused to take a call with Vice President Kamala Harris about Hurricane Milton, a source close to the governor told ABC News.

The DeSantis team claim the vice president's outreach is politically motivated, according to the source.

DeSantis staffers also said the governor has not spoken to President Joe Biden in the last few days.

DeSantis later said he was unaware that the vice president had reached out.

"No, I didn't know she called me. I saw [the report], but I was not aware of that," DeSantis said.

The governor also said he had not spoken to Biden but noted he was "thankful" that Biden "has approved what we asked for."

In response to DeSantis' purported snub, Harris called it "utterly responsible" and "selfish" to play "political games" at a time of crisis.

"People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games with this moment, in these crisis situations, these are the height of emergency situations, it's utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish," Harris told reporters before boarding Air Force Two on Monday afternoon."

Here's the link:   DeSilliness Snubs VPOTUS Over Hurricane Disaster Aid (https://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-gov-ron-desantis-refuses-call-vp-kamala/story?id=114570089)

I suppose this is all that can be expected from a Republicult™ leader in Floriduh. But, given the potential severity of this hurricane, I would have hoped that even a turd like DeSilliness would be more than eager to gratefully accept all of the help he can possibly muster.

I think Hurricane Milton is going rank among the most destructive storms to ever hit the US of A.

Drama Queen Greene has gifted us with yet another performance. She's actually starting to make Louis Gohmert, the former Representative from Texas, look like a genius by comparison. And, I didn't think that was even remotely possible.

And, this time around Alex Jones followed up with a meme of her act.

"Hurricane Helene conspiracy theories about lithium mining, weather control spread widely"

As per this article:

"The false claim that the government controlled the weather to manipulate Helene's path to hit majority Republican areas has racked up millions of views on social media.

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X , saying: "Yes they can control the weather. It's ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can't be done." The post, which had more than 40 million views at the time of writing, was also debunked via a Community Note on X.
 
Greene also posted what she described as a map of areas affected by Helene – in states including Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas — with an overlay showing the area is home to a majority of Republican voters.
 
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones also amplified the claim, saying "Bottom line the federal government could have killed the storm in the Gulf of Mexico." Both Greene and Jones pointed to cloud seeding as evidence that the government controlled Hurricane Helene."

Here's the link to this article:      Drama Queen Greene and Alex Jones Spread a Weather Control Conspiracy (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-helene-conspiracy-theories-lithium-mining-weather-control-fact-check/)

I'll have to do a little research on this topic, but my memory tells me that Weather Control Conspiracies have been around for quite a while.

Has anyone said why the GOP is not controlling the weather too?

Quote from: Pergamos on October 15, 2024, 08:22:17 PMHas anyone said why the GOP is not controlling the weather too?

Actually, the GOP is controlling the weather. They're just not doing it right. And, that's why we have Climate Change today.

Whoever thought of this is absolutely brilliant!

"Mysterious Monument On Capitol Hill 'Honors' Jan. 6 With A Bronze Turd"

As per this article:

"WASHINGTON ― A mysterious bronze-colored monument was installed Thursday morning across the street from the U.S. Capitol grounds "honoring" the people behind the Jan. 6 insurrection with a massive turd.

The monument depicts an emoji-style pile of poop sitting on a desk with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) nameplate next to it and a plaque underneath that reads:

This memorial honors the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 to loot, urinate and defecate throughout those hallowed halls in order to overturn an election.

President Trump celebrates these heroes of January 6th as "unbelievable patriots" and "warriors." This monument stands as testament to their daring sacrifice and lasting legacy."

Here's the link:   A Fitting January 6th Memorial (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bronze-turd-monument-honors-jan-6_n_671a50c5e4b00589e7dc10af)

Can we get a "Down with Drumpf!" in the chat!? Lemme hear a "Down with Drumpf!" from everyone reading!

DOOOOOOOOOOWN WITH DRUMPF!

Quote from: Sophia the Altered on November 09, 2024, 06:19:49 AMCan we get a "Down with Drumpf!" in the chat!? Lemme hear a "Down with Drumpf!" from everyone reading!

DOOOOOOOOOOWN WITH DRUMPF!

DOOOOOOOOOOWN WITH DRUMPF!

Feel better now?

Quote from: Brother Mythos on November 09, 2024, 01:01:42 PM

Quote from: Sophia the Altered on November 09, 2024, 06:19:49 AMCan we get a "Down with Drumpf!" in the chat!? Lemme hear a "Down with Drumpf!" from everyone reading!

DOOOOOOOOOOWN WITH DRUMPF!

DOOOOOOOOOOWN WITH DRUMPF!

Feel better now?

Yes, thank you my brother in glands :fnord:

This is an interesting development:

"Trump's Gaetz pick as AG triggers audible gasp among some congressional Republicans"

As per this article:

"Reaction among Republicans on Capitol Hill to President-elect Donald Trump's choice of Matt Gaetz to be his attorney general on Wednesday ranged from shock to support.

Several House Republicans meeting behind closed doors said there was an audible gasp in the room when they heard Trump had picked Gaetz.

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins was among those who said they were shocked, appearing to refer to Trump's demand that his nominees be done with recess appointments -- without Senate confirmation."

Here's the link to this article:      Capital Hill Republicans Gasp at Gaetz AG Nomination (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trumps-gaetz-pick-ag-triggers-audible-gasp-congressional/story?id=115839790)

I can't help thinking this particular nomination is a "smokescreen" meant to distract us from the many other horrible cabinet nominations being made. In any case, we'll now get to watch how the Republicult™ deals with the fallout from this stellar cabinet choice.

Bo Bo is Back!

"Boebert questions UFO experts on underwater civilizations"

As per this article:

"Members of the House Oversight Committee have spent more than a year trying to uncover secret government research into alien life and UFOs, also referred to as "unidentified anomalous phenomena" or UAPs. Wednesday's hearing, titled "Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth," featured four experts who said the U.S. government and the Pentagon should be more transparent about UFO sightings and research.
 
Boebert agreed, saying, "The American people are being kept in the dark." She then questioned the experts on rumors she'd heard about aliens.
 
"There are rumors that have come up to the Hill of a secretive project within the Department of Defense involving the manipulation of human genetics with what is described as non-human genetic material for the enhancement of human capabilities, hybrids," Boebert said. "Are any of you familiar with that? Yes, or no?"

All of the experts said they were not familiar with that claim. Boebert spent most of her time asking about non-human civilizations in the ocean's depths."

Here's the link to this article:      Bo Bo and the Alien Cover-up (https://www.9news.com/article/news/politics/national-politics/rep-lauren-boebert-republican-ufo-alien-coverup/73-0e3a0c31-c0d8-4b50-ba2d-3b864a12c777)

No doubt her new constituents are finding this to be highly entertaining.

I usually avoid posting stuff that may be perceived as being too outlandish in topics on the Aneristic Illusions Board. But, I couldn't resist posting this particular article here:

"Was Tulsi Gabbard In A Cult That Eats Its Leader's Toenails? Is She Still?"

As per this article:

"Sure, any religion is kind of weird, if you look at it too closely. It is faith, after all, not science. But the group Tulsi Gabbard grew up in (and possibly is still in) sure sounds like a cult. Or to use the more polite term, a "High Demand, Closed Group," wherein the leader was worshipped like a God and some of his followers even ate his toenails, and sand from where he'd walked. Oh sorry, were you eating?"

And, this rather long article continues on in the same vein.

Here's the link to this article:       Was Tulsi Gabbard In A Cult? (https://www.wonkette.com/p/was-tulsi-gabbard-in-a-cult-that)

So, today I learned the more polite term for a "cult." Who knows, that may actually come in handy someday.

Apparently Drama Queen Greene isn't getting the attention she craves from her anointed one, so she posted this on Elmo the Oligarch's site:

Drama Queen Greene Challenges Congress on Ethics (https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1858848622206742717?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet)

I'm going to have to start buying popcorn in bulk.

Well, Hulk Hogan did entertain at the RNC. So, for the Reality TV President, this is a perfectly logical appointment:

"Trump expected to name Linda McMahon as education secretary, CNN reports"

As per this article:

"WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Linda McMahon as education secretary, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing four sources familiar with the matter, putting the former pro-wrestling mogul at the helm of a department Trump has proposed abolishing."

Here's the link to this article:      WWE Co-founder Tagged to Destroy United States Department of Education (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-expected-name-linda-mcmahon-education-secretary-cnn-reports-2024-11-19/)

So, the question now is, will it be a tag team match, a cage match, or what?

Sex crimes are, apparently, not a bug in the Republicult's™ leadership, but a feature:

"Linda McMahon, Trump's Education pick, was sued for allegedly enabling sexual abuse of children"

As per this article:

"A recent lawsuit alleges Linda McMahon, who President-elect Donald Trump tapped to lead the Department of Education, knowingly enabled the sexual exploitation of children by a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) employee as early as the 1980s — allegations she denies.
 
McMahon is the former CEO of the WWE, which she co-founded with her husband, Vince. As head of the WWE, Linda McMahon oversaw its transformation from a wrestling entertainment company into a publicly traded media empire. She stepped down in 2009 to run for Senate, but she lost in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012.
 
As McMahon — who co-chairs Trump's transition team — vies to be confirmed as Education secretary, a recent lawsuit raises questions about her care for children's safety at the WWE.
 
The suit alleges McMahon, her husband, the WWE and TKO Group Holdings, the league's parent company, knowingly allowed employee Melvin Phillips Jr. to use his position as ringside announcer to sexually exploit children."

Here's the link to this sordid article:      TSF's Secretary of Education Pick's Sexual Exploitation Lawsuit (https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/21/business/linda-mcmahon-abuse-wwe-trump-education/index.html)

I don't remember any other women in Republicult™ leadership who have allegedly committed sex crimes. So, does that mean Linda McMahon deserves credit for shattering yet another "glass ceiling?"

I thought he was going to eliminate the DOE? 

Quote from: Brother Mythos on November 20, 2024, 02:03:48 AMWell, Hulk Hogan did entertain at the RNC. So, for the Reality TV President, this is a perfectly logical appointment:

"Trump expected to name Linda McMahon as education secretary, CNN reports"

As per this article:

"WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Linda McMahon as education secretary, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing four sources familiar with the matter, putting the former pro-wrestling mogul at the helm of a department Trump has proposed abolishing."

Here's the link to this article:        WWE Co-founder Tagged to Destroy United States Department of Education (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-expected-name-linda-mcmahon-education-secretary-cnn-reports-2024-11-19/)

So, the question now is, will it be a tag team match, a cage match, or what?

Quote from: Pergamos on November 22, 2024, 05:18:51 PMI thought he was going to eliminate the DOE? 

I attempted to convey that information in my above Post # 104. Apparently my sense of humor obscured my complete message.

So, the question still is, will it be a tag team match, a cage match, or what?

Uh-oh, there's trouble in Paradise Motel-a-Lame-duck!

"'Huge fight': Warring factions inside Trump transition get into 'big blowup' at Mar-a-Lago"

As per this article:

"According to the Post, three different factions have formed — each with their own leaders and strategic goals. One of those camps is led by Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr., with Vice President-elect JD Vance on his side as well as "longtime MAGA warriors" like former Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson, Vance advisor Andy Surabian and ex-Trump White House official Cliff Sims.

Another faction is led by Trump White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who also co-chaired Trump's 2024 campaign. Wiles' camp mostly includes her advisors and acolytes, like Trump campaign political director James Blair and deputy campaign officials Taylor Budowich and Robert Gabriel. And a third group consists of transition co-chair and Secretary of Education-designate Linda McMahon and alumni from the America First Policy Institute like Brooke Rollins (who was rumored as a finalist for chief of staff) and Keith Kellogg, who was former Vice President Mike Pence's national security advisor."

Here's the link to this article:      Warring Factions in TSF's Transition Team (https://www.rawstory.com/trump-infighting/)

I thinking the 'Merican Macho Man way to solve this problem is for each faction to challenge the others to a series duels. But, I'd be willing to settle for a simple circular firing squad.

Even though I keep an eye on them, as I'm not a member of the Republicult™, I never heard of this guy until he was nominated to be Secretary of Defense. But, the MSM knows who he is, as follows:

"To Confirm Hegseth at DOD Betrays Those Who Serve With Honor | Opinion"

As per this article:

"If Hegseth were an honorable man, would he have advocated for President-elect Donald Trump to override the longstanding and respected military justice system and pardon war criminals? Does anyone believe he will protect our men and women in uniform against Trump's inclinations to unethically use the military against fellow Americans? Trust is the currency behind effective leadership in our military. How can we trust this man to be honest? To serve for a higher cause than just mere loyalty to Trump? To have the backs of the millions of Americans entrusted with defending our nation? Based on his background, I have little faith that we can."

Here's the link to this article:      Yet Another Questionable Presidential Cabinet Nomination (https://www.newsweek.com/confirm-hegseth-dod-betrays-those-who-serve-honor-opinion-1991561)

As 'Merica just reelected the Reality TV President, I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised that TSF nominated a television presenter for a critical cabinet position.

This guy was originally sponsored by Eric "Gums" Trump for membership in the First Crime Family: 

"Top Trump Aide Asked For Payments From Those Hoping For White House Jobs: Reports"

"Trump's own lawyers concluded Boris Epshteyn had asked at least two people for the monthly payments."

As per this article:

"A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump allegedly tried to profit from his relationship with the new administration, asking potential appointees for large retainer fees in exchange for promoting them to get plum jobs, according to multiple reports on Monday.

An internal investigation by Trump's own attorneys concluded Boris Epshteyn — a longtime aide who coordinated Trump's criminal defenses in recent years — had asked at least two people for the monthly payments. One of those people was Scott Bessent, a billionaire hedge fund manager who was recently tapped to be the next treasury secretary."

Here's the link to this article:      Top TSF Aide Asked for "Finders Fees" (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/boris-epshteyn-donald-trump-transition_n_67455cbce4b03640703b0b9c)

So, what's the problem here? This is mildly interesting, but I don't understand what the brouhaha is about. I mean, it's not like this guy is going to be charged with a crime. And, I assume TSF was always going to be given his percentage, as we've been told is the custom in those other, lesser crime families.

Quote from: Pergamos on November 22, 2024, 05:18:51 PMI thought he was going to eliminate the DOE? 

The bill is already in motion.  Well, it's been introduced into committee.

Well ... maybe this guy owns a really, really big, expensive yacht:

"Trump Picks Big Donor with Background in Finance and Little Experience with the Military for Navy Secretary"

As per this article:

"John Phelan is President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of the Navy, the first service leadership position that the incoming administration has announced as it prepares to put its stamp on the military.

In a post to his social media site, Truth Social, Trump said that he is naming Phelan, a financier who appears to have no military experience or experience working on military policy and has never worked for a large defense contractor, to lead the Navy."

Here's the link to this article:      Big TSF Donor Buys Awarded Big Navy Job (https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/11/27/trump-picks-big-donor-background-finance-and-little-experience-military-navy-secretary.html)

Or, maybe this guy has booked a lot of cruises on some of those really. really, big cruise ships. I mean, hey, that kind of thing has got to count for something too!

The Philadelphia Tribune is not on board with TSF's nomination for Secretary of Defense:

"Why Trump's Hegseth nomination for defense is a danger to the U.S. military"

As per this article:

"At a now-notorious 2017 Pentagon meeting, where Mattis tried to explain to Trump how alliances and trade agreements benefit the United States, Trump became so irate he called the generals "losers," "dopes" and "babies." More recently, Trump has suggested that retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a traitor who, in times past, might have deserved execution.

So now, rather than choosing nominees from the highest military echelons, Trump is opting for nominees who served in more-junior roles in the military: Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), a retired Army National Guard colonel, as national security adviser; Fox News host Pete Hegseth, an Army National Guard major, as defense secretary; and former member of Congress Tulsi Gabbard, an Army Reserve lieutenant colonel (with a troubling affinity for Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad), as director of national intelligence.

Trump seems to hope that these former field-grade officers will be more compliant than their more-senior predecessors — and in the case of Hegseth, Trump seems to be hoping that his nominee for defense secretary will purge the "woke" generals that he has come to loathe.

It is, in fact, Hegseth's animosity toward the current military leadership, combined with his rugged good looks and frequent Fox News appearances, that seem to have recommended him to Trump despite his lack of obvious qualifications to run one of the world's largest bureaucracies. The choice of Hegseth drew immediate criticism on those grounds, and the nominee ran into further trouble later in the week with reports emerging of sexual misconduct allegations against him. Hegseth denied wrongdoing, and given Trump's own record of sexual misconduct, it isn't clear that the president-elect would withdraw a nominee who shares his antipathy toward current Pentagon leadership."

Here's the link to this article:       Hegseth Nomination a Danger to the Military (https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/why-trump-s-hegseth-nomination-for-defense-is-a-danger-to-the-u-s-military/article_3c2afb1e-e8a5-5fae-bda6-344511a0699a.html)

It appears that if one is a member of the Republicult™, appears on TV often enough, and pledges allegiance to TSF, that's all the "qualifications" necessary for a cabinet position.

Oh, I almost forgot, those "reports emerging of sexual misconduct allegations" get a check mark in the "Plus Column" of the his "Official Republicult™ Fitness for Office Evaluation Form."

It's a Republicult™ trifecta!

"Is weather modification real? A Florida lawmaker is trying to ban it. What are chemtrails?"

As per this article:

"Miami state Sen. Ileana Garcia has introduced legislation banning "weather modification activities" in Florida.

It is uncertain what actual practice she may be addressing, although the language of the bill and her social media reposts suggest she is seeking to ban "chemtrails," the fear of a long-running conspiracy theory that nefarious people or government agencies are spreading toxic chemicals on an unsuspecting populace through the white trails in the sky left by airplanes.

If SB 56 passes, it would repeal nearly a dozen provisions in Florida statutes that allow state-licensed weather modification such as cloud-seeding to cause rain, block any future innovations, and prohibit the injection, release or dispersion of any substance or apparatus into the atmosphere within Florida's borders "for the express purpose of affecting the temperature, the weather, or the intensity of sunlight."

The bill also adds a fine of up to $10,000 for violations.

"As a leader in the community, I'm committed to addressing the real issues affecting our communities," Garcia said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, where she also shared a post from a user praising her bill and pointing out suspicious contrails. "As a mother, daughter, and community member, I care deeply about our neighborhoods.""

Here's the link:   Floriduh, Weather Modification, and Chemtrails Trifecta! (https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2024/12/03/florida-ileana-garcia-weather-modification-chemtrails/76728150007/)

More elected officials should be as "committed to addressing the real issues affecting our communities."

Actually, I don't have a problem with this particular pick:

"Clown Show Almost Complete; Alina Habba Named WH Counsel"

As per this article:

"Alina Habba, who served as Donald's attorney, was just named on Truth Social as the disgraced former President, who will soon be President again because some Americans don't care if this country crashes and burns, as White House counselor to the bloviating blowhard.
 
It's almost as if taxpayers will shovel out cash for his attorney, something his supporters usually front the bill for. She's such a great attorney that she lost the E. Jean Carroll civil suit against her sexual-abusing hero. Still, Donald insists Habba "has become a role model for women in Law and Politics.""

Here's the link to this article:      Alina Habba Named WH Counsel (https://crooksandliars.com/2024/12/donalds-clown-show-almost-complete-he)

Seriously, what's the downside for the Resistance 2.0? It's not like she's suddenly going to become a competent attorney.

Do I detect a bit of paranoia in an esteemed Republicult™ mouthpiece?

"'Fox & Friends' Star Steve Doocy's Home Is Haunted by Mysterious Drones"

As per this article:

"Since mid-November, dozens of mysterious, huge drones have alarmed and panicked residents of New Jersey's Bergen County, flying overhead at night without explanation or any seeming origin.

One of those residents is Steve Doocy.

The Fox & Friends co-host and Bergen County resident revealed Tuesday that the mystery flying objects—which some New Jerseyans described as "car-sized"—have visited the airspace directly above his house."

Here's the link:   Paranoia in the Republicult™? (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-friends-star-steve-doocys-home-is-haunted-by-new-jerseys-mysterious-drones/?utm_source=twitter_owned_tdb&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_campaign=owned_social&via=twitter_page)

If these things really are "car-sized," they're probably black helicopters. Personally, I'd be much more concerned about black helicopters flying above the house than any drones. But, that just me.

It's an Iranian Mothership Drone (IMD) very possible conspiracy! A Republicult™ congressman from New Jersey revealed this to the 'Merican public yesterday:

"Mystery NJ drones are coming from Iranian mothership offshore, congressman suggests: 'Should be shot down'"

As per this announcement:

"A New Jersey congressman claimed Wednesday that the mystery drones over the Garden State are from Iran, and they're being launched by a mothership parked off the East Coast.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican, said the drones "very possibly could be" from Iran, citing confidential sources during an appearance on Fox News Wednesday morning.

"I'm going to tell you the real deal. Iran launched a mothership that contains these drones," Van Drew said. "It's off the East Coast of the United States of America. They've launched drones."

"These drones should be shot down," he said, adding that "the military is on full alert with this.""

And, of course:

"The Pentagon has later rebuked Van Drew's claims, insisting there is "no evidence" the drones belong to a foreign adversary – but did not offer any explanation whatsoever as to what they actually are."

Here's the link:   Republicult™ Congressman Reveals NJ Drones Coming From Iranian Mothership (https://nypost.com/2024/12/11/us-news/mystery-nj-drones-are-coming-from-iranian-mothership-offshore-congressman-claims-these-drones-should-be-shot-down/)

Now, I still think those "car-sized" drones are really black helicopters. But, I admit, I'll never be elected to the US House of Representatives by the citizens of New Jersey. Still, why would the Pentagon admit to the Republicult™ that those "car-sized" drones are really big ol' 'Merican made black helicopters? If the Republicult™ really thinks those black helicopters are Iranian drones, then the Pentagon's "leaked" cover story is working to perfection!   

Note:   IEDs and IMDs are not identical, although both could be be utilized conspiratorially by "bad hombres."

Quote from: Brother Mythos on December 05, 2024, 11:16:27 PMIt's a Republicult™ trifecta!

"Is weather modification real? A Florida lawmaker is trying to ban it. What are chemtrails?"

As per this article:

"Miami state Sen. Ileana Garcia has introduced legislation banning "weather modification activities" in Florida.

It is uncertain what actual practice she may be addressing, although the language of the bill and her social media reposts suggest she is seeking to ban "chemtrails," the fear of a long-running conspiracy theory that nefarious people or government agencies are spreading toxic chemicals on an unsuspecting populace through the white trails in the sky left by airplanes.

If SB 56 passes, it would repeal nearly a dozen provisions in Florida statutes that allow state-licensed weather modification such as cloud-seeding to cause rain, block any future innovations, and prohibit the injection, release or dispersion of any substance or apparatus into the atmosphere within Florida's borders "for the express purpose of affecting the temperature, the weather, or the intensity of sunlight."

The bill also adds a fine of up to $10,000 for violations.

"As a leader in the community, I'm committed to addressing the real issues affecting our communities," Garcia said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, where she also shared a post from a user praising her bill and pointing out suspicious contrails. "As a mother, daughter, and community member, I care deeply about our neighborhoods.""

Here's the link:   Floriduh, Weather Modification, and Chemtrails Trifecta! (https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2024/12/03/florida-ileana-garcia-weather-modification-chemtrails/76728150007/)

More elected officials should be as "committed to addressing the real issues affecting our communities."

This, combined with actual climate science, would ban internal combustion engines...

Quote from: Pergamos on December 12, 2024, 05:28:42 PMThis, combined with actual climate science, would ban internal combustion engines...

I just don't see banning internal combustion engines ever becoming a Republicult™ priority. But, maybe that's just me, 'cause I've been wrong about stuff before.

The Republicult™ will not let this go away:

"Bill forcing hospitals to administer ivermectin, other requested treatments nears finish line"

As per this article:

"COLUMBUS, Ohio – Senate Republicans on Wednesday passed legislation that would enable patients to force hospitals into administering drugs for off-label use if the hospital's own physicians refuse.

The legislation comes after a COVID-19 pandemic when conservatives came to believe that drugs like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin, neither of which have been proven to benefit COVID-19 patients, would cure, treat or prevent their infections. It also comes amid a resurgence in anti-vaccination attitudes within the Republican Party."

Here's the link:   Ohio Senate Wants Horse Dewormer Available For Hospital Patients On Demand (https://www.cleveland.com/open/2024/12/bill-forcing-hospitals-to-administer-ivermectin-other-requested-treatments-nears-finish-line.html)

I can now imagine what the Republicult™ will attempt to do if their messiah ever publicly extols the practice of bloodletting in order to reduce the ill effects of plethora to our humours.

"Methinks he doth protest too much:"

"'Shove it!' Steve Bannon unleashes profane attack on billionaires cutting checks for Trump"

As per this article:

"Far-right Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon laid into tech billionaires who are donating money to Trump's inaugural fund on his "War Room" podcast Friday — accusing them of being fair-weather friends who are only trying to suck up to Trump because they weren't able to defeat him in the election."

Here's the link:    Self-serving Propagandist for The Republicult™ Whines 'cause Billionaires Don't Fund Him Anymore (https://www.rawstory.com/rs-exclusive/steve-bannon-inauguration/)

Awh, the poor little guy. Things just haven't been the same for him since the billionaire Mercers kicked him out of Breitbart News. And, not a single other billionaire has stepped in to take their place either. It's tough being the scum of the Earth.

The Republicult's ™ Drama Queen Green is now tag teaming with their Highest Ranking Anarchist:

"Rand Paul floats Elon Musk for Speaker"

As per this article:

"Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) suggested Elon Musk serve as Speaker in a Thursday morning post on X following contentious debates over the continuing resolution (CR).

"The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . . ," Paul wrote.

"Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk . . . think about it .  . . nothing's impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka 'uniparty,' lose their ever-lovin' minds)."

Later Thursday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she would be open to supporting Musk to replace Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a post quoting Paul.

"I'd be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House. DOGE can only truly be accomplished by reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency," Greene wrote on X.

"The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday. This could be the way," she added."

Here's the link:   Highest Ranking Anarchist Floats Unelected Co-president Elmo the Oligarch (UCEO) for Speaker of the House (https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5048431-rand-paul-elon-musk-speaker/)

This idea is highly entertaining. Still, if I were the UCEO, I would consider that move to be a demotion. And, I would be insulted enough to threaten both of those clowns with being primaried. But, with Elmo the Oligarch being Elmo the Oligarch, he's probably basking in all of the free publicity.

No matter how well you may have made out in the gift department this holiday, or will make out tomorrow, for those of you who celebrate Boxing Day, your haul of loot is probably paltry compared to that of at least one of 'Merica's Supreme Court Justices.

"Senate review of Supreme Court ethics finds more luxury trips and urges enforceable code of conduct"

As per this article:

"The investigation found that Thomas has accepted gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors worth more than $4.75 million by some estimates since his 1991 confirmation and failed to disclose much of it. "The number, value, and extravagance of the gifts accepted by Justice Thomas have no comparison in modern American history," according to the report."

Here's the link:   Accepting Millions of Dollars Worth of Gifts and Travel From Wealthy Benefactors is Beneficial to 'Merican Supreme Court Justice (https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-ethics-clarence-thomas-billionaire-democrats-senate-5669f8f02b843be31d474a075cd50666)

So, according to The Republicult's ™ ethics, it's unobjectionable for Supreme Court Justices to be maintained by their very own Emotional and Financial Support Billionaires. Is this a great country, or what?

As the author of this article admits, the following scenario seems unlikely:

"House GOP Fixin' To Screw Up Speaker Vote, Imperil Trump's Inauguration, Cause Us To Die Laughing"

As per this article:

"Could the January 6 counting of the electoral votes get delayed because the Republicans will still be fighting over which one of them gets the "honor" of leading the House of Representatives for the next two years?

Honestly, it seems unlikely. But what the hell, convicted felon/bronzed baby shoe Donald Trump is going to be President of the United States in three weeks and we need something to replenish our depleted schadenfreude reserve. The GOP starting off the next Congress with a long, drawn-out, dramatic leadership battle just might do it."

Here's the link:   Will The Republicult™ Chose a Speaker of the House of Representatives Before TTSS's Inauguration? (https://www.wonkette.com/p/house-gop-fixin-to-screw-up-speaker)

Again, it is hard to imagine even The Republicult™ being this dysfunctional. But, in these dark times, we of the Resistance 2.0 have to get our laughs where and when we can.

Republicult™ antics like this don't surprise me anymore:

"GOP senator calls for repealing new law designed to prevent money laundering and terrorism"

As per this article:

"Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) took to X on Friday to try to drum up public support for his plan to repeal a recently enacted law intended to crack down on money laundering and the finance of terrorism.

"I've got a bill — the Saving Privacy Act — that would repeal the Corporate Transparency Act," wrote Lee, quoting a post from several months ago by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) railing against the law. "Do you agree that the CTA is unduly intrusive and needs to be repealed?"

Lee's comment generated praise from armies of Trump supporters and right-leaning small business owners; however, it also drew criticism from some experts.

"Why do @BasedMikeLee and @TTuberville want to protect money launderers?" questioned national security reporter Marcy "emptywheel" Wheeler."

Here's the link:    Republicult™ Senators Believe Money Laundering and Financial Terrorism Are Acceptable (https://www.rawstory.com/mike-lee-2670691721/)

Still, these kind of bills from The Republicult's ™ elected officials should never be accepted as being "normal."

The Republicult™ lost one of their zealots today:

'Pizzagate' Gunman Fatally Shot by Police During Traffic Stop in North Carolina (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/pizzagate-gunman-edgar-maddison-welch-killed-by-police-1235230814/)

My sympathy is for the police officers who had to deal with that menace to society. I hope they're not traumatized by this incident.

The Republicult™ "Dancing" to Y.M.C.A. (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-hosts-crack-up-at-clip-of-iowa-republicans-terrible-dancing-skills/)

I'll bet they can't jump either.

Drama Queen Greene is, of course, at it again:

Marjorie Taylor Greene: Dems want to 'line us up in front of a firing squad and kill us' (https://www.rawstory.com/marjory-taylor-greene/)

Now, in my state there are four (4) officially recognized political parties, as follows:

1. Democratic
2. Green
3. Libertarian
4. Republican

Or, one can register to vote as having "No Affiliation."

For what it's worth, the only real down side to being registered as having "No Affiliation" in my state is that one can not vote in any of four (4) officially recognized political party primary elections. But, on the other hand, my state holds our political party primaries so late in an election year that the candidates for President and Vice President have already been long decided by the other states. Further, there is a real upside to being registered as having "No Affiliation," as Mrs. Mythos learned after donating money to Hillary Clinton's Presidential Campaign. The number of landline phone calls we received seeking additional donations to Clinton, and just about every other Democratic candidate for office within a hundred miles of our home, quickly crossed the line from political advocacy to outright harassment. (Mrs. Mythos finally dropped her affiliation with the Democratic Party, simply to reduce the high volume of nuisance phone calls we receive daily.)

Anyway, if I myself were affiliated with the Democratic Party, I would be highly offended by Drama Queen Greene's wildly inaccurate statement. For, I'm certain her claim applies to members of other officially recognized political parties, as well as to voters with "No Affiliation."

Schadenfreude Alert! Schadenfreude Alert!

Posted without further comment:

This Storm-Battered Town Voted for Trump. He Has Vowed to Overturn the Law That Could Fix Its Homes. (https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-biden-ira-climate-red-states)

As per this article:

"Donald Trump has said he will overturn a law that helps communities better weather the effects of climate change. If he follows through, he'll be reversing an initiative that has disproportionately benefited areas that make up his base.

Cynthia Robertson could be forgiven for feeling that the banner was aimed at her. Its white-on-black lettering — "FUCK BIDEN AND FUCK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM" — hung from the wooden house right across the street from her own.

Hostility toward the outgoing Democratic president is no surprise in Sulphur, Louisiana, a red town in a red state in a country that has handed the White House and Congress to Republicans. Yet the message felt like a poke in the eye at a time when Robertson was seeking funding through Biden's signature climate law so her nonprofit organization could repair and retrofit hurricane-battered houses in the area — including her neighbor's. Not even a fraying tarp, a tar patch or the piece of corrugated metal tacked on the roof could keep the rain from pouring inside.

Donald Trump has vowed to overturn the law that would provide the funding, the Inflation Reduction Act, which he has referred to as the "new green scam."

If he follows through once he assumes office, Trump would be rolling back a law that has disproportionately benefited red areas like Sulphur that make up his base."

Another one bites the dust:

Jan. 6 rioter recently pardoned by Trump shot, killed by Indiana sheriff's deputy while resisting arrest (https://fox59.com/indiana-news/jan-6-rioter-recently-pardoned-by-trump-shot-killed-by-indiana-sheriffs-deputy-while-resisting-arrest/)

I doubt this will be the last of "the January 6th Patriots" to be shuffled off this mortal coil by law enforcement, the military, or a civilian standing their ground. But, I do find comfort in the words of the hypocrite Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

This goes to the heart of what the opportunistic leaders, the kleptocracy of the Republican Party, are all about:

A GOP lawmaker is defending Trump by describing poor kids as freeloaders (HTTP://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/head-start-free-lunch-rich-mccormick-rcna189702)

As per this article:

"CNN anchor Pamela Brown raised concerns to Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., Tuesday that Head Start, an early childhood educational program that also provides food to low-income children, could be affected by President Donald Trump's attempt at a federal funding freeze. McCormick responded with the head-spinning suggestion that the country's child labor laws are too restrictive and that plenty of kids are freeloaders who ought to work for their lunch." 

This MAGAt currently represents Georgia's 6th congressional district. Now, it appears to me that the 6th is a "swing district." So, there's a very good chance that if this kleptocrat keeps "saying the quite part out loud," he won't survive the 2026 elections.

Anyway, if you want to know what the Republican Party's wealthy donor class, their partisan media, and their kleptocrats are all about, I believe that all anyone need do is to FOLLOW THE MONEY.

Their party's wealthy donor class, their partisan media, their opportunistic elected leaders, and their electorate call themselves the Republican Party, aka the Grand Old Party (GOP). And, I've been calling the latest version of them The Republicult™ for some time. But, I'm beginning to believe that their wealthy donor class and their partisan media, their most unmistakably dangerous people, should be called something that differentiates them from their opportunistic elected leaders, and their masses of thoughtless, undereducated, sectarian, redneck trailer trash who customarily vote their party's opportunistic elected leaders into public office. Of course, the word "oligarchs" is already in use for their wealthy donor class. But, to me, that particular word does not completely describe who and what their wealthy donor class, and their partisan media really is.

And, the following article does use the word "kleptocracy" to describe how the Republican Party's opportunistic elected leaders, their very own kleptocrats, operate to benefit themselves: 

The foreign policy of an American kleptocracy (https://popular.info/p/the-foreign-policy-of-an-american)

However, when attempting to stand back and look at the "big picture" of the Republican Party, what I believe I'm seeing is a wealthy donor class and partisan media that is, in reality, the Disloyal Opposition. That is, I find it hard to believe that people like Musk, Murdoch, Adelson, Uihlein, Kock, the Mercers, et al, actually give a damn about our country's form of government being a republic, our republic's constitution, or the health and well being of our country's citizens. But, to comprehend what the Republican Party's wealthy donor class, their partisan media, and their kleptocrats really want, I do believe that all anyone need do is to FOLLOW THE MONEY.

My first thought was to post this on the "No, It's Not an Article On "The Onion."" thread. But, this article is not in the least bit funny:

Stop attending panels meant to improve air travel, FAA tells employees (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/04/air-travel-faa-improvement-committees-00202407)

As per this article:

"The Federal Aviation Administration has barred its employees from participating in a host of advisory committees intended to help come up with solutions to issues facing the aviation industry, including those related to safety and air traffic control.

A directive to employees, obtained by POLITICO, states that employees appointed to these committees "should not attend (in-person or virtually) ... until further notice." The directive comes as the agency and the airline industry are reeling from last week's collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the first fatal crash of a U.S. airline in nearly two decades."

So, if you have the misfortune of living in 'Merica in these dark times, you may want to consider contacting your U.S. representative and your two (2) U.S. senators in congress about this nonsense. Such actions won't take much more time than your normal social media activity, it might actually help rectify the current situation, and it just might make you feel a little better about yourself for having made the positive effort.

As per this announcement, the USCEO and his private Gestapo are going to be intimately involved with the new U.S. Secretary of Transportation:

Trump's Transportation Secretary Announces Elon Musk's DOGE Will 'Plug In' To 'Upgrade Our Aviation System' (https://www.mediaite.com/news/trumps-transportation-secretary-announces-elon-musks-doge-will-plug-in-to-upgrade-our-aviation-system/)

Now, with me being old, unhip, and unfamiliar with the latest slang, I have to ask those who are much cooler than myself: Is Secretary Duffy using the term 'Plug In' as a polite euphemism for 'Be Pegging Me?' Of course, I do sincerely doubt that Secretary Duffy would even bother to utilize a euphemism, if that is indeed the case, what with the TSS regime being so honest and forthright about their real intentions and all.

Reading this article got me thinking:

NIH chops support for some medical research costs (https://www.axios.com/2025/02/08/nih-cut-university-medical-research-costs)

Is there any R&D money in the NIH budget for future spinal column replacement surgery? I mean, given the critical shortage of functional spines among the Disloyal Opposition Party's kleptocracy, that alone should be reason enough to declare a national medical emergency. (I am, of course, referring to their party's numerous, spineless, opportunistic, elected officials.)

Now, I know lumbar disk replacement is already a thing, but what about the future availability of completely artificial spinal columns for surgical implantation? I write this because I don't believe enough suitable spinal columns for transplants can be obtained from human donor cadavers to ever fulfill the actual need. Therefore, there should be R&D money put into cloning spinal columns, and 3D printing spinal columns as well.

I guess I'm just going to have to send another round of emails to my two (2) Disloyal Opposition Party elected officials in congress, to bring this specific issue to their attention. And, I think I'm going to rather enjoy writing these particular emails.

To me, this guy is a poser of no importance to anyone but himself. But, he did make me smile this afternoon when I read this:

Kid Rock cuts Nashville performance short, storms off stage after audience won't clap (https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/kid-rock-cuts-nashville-performance-182134575.html)

So, maybe his next appearance will be with that other has-been,Ted Nugent. That professional asshole's "bankability" is so low he's probably not even be on the D List anymore. After all, he didn't perform at the TSS's 2025 inauguration festivities.

Anyway, as an added bonus, the article made me smile a second time in remembrance of the 15 minutes of fame I had almost secured back in the day, when I told family and friends I occasionally had lunch with one of Bon Jovi's uncles. In truth, my fame didn't even last an entire 15 minutes after I told them, "No, I'm not going to impose on the guy by asking him to get his nephew's autograph for you." And, such I learned is the fleeting nature of fame.

The transgender community said that the right was using them as a lever, before moving onto others.
This week we see RFK talking about lists for autistic people, and that things like adhd didn't exist when he was a kid.
It starts by vilifying the disabled party, then it moves on to talking about how much of a burden on society they are, then it's camps.

They are already in the process of normalising the kidnapping and forceful removal of citizens of their own country, so at this current pace I'd say you have less than a year before we are at planned extermination.

Getting a little overly dramatic, aren't we?

Once the Wall Street oligarchs tell our fascist regime's leaders that an actual Euthanasia Program would be bad for business, that will be the end of it.

Quote from: Abbot Mythos on April 23, 2025, 10:07:41 PMGetting a little overly dramatic, aren't we?

Hopefully. I can't see any other reason for thr party desiring to "register" people on the autistic spectrum then to be able to target them directly.

Quote from: Faust on April 23, 2025, 08:41:48 PMThe transgender community said that the right was using them as a lever, before moving onto others.
This week we see RFK talking about lists for autistic people, and that things like adhd didn't exist when he was a kid.
It starts by vilifying the disabled party, then it moves on to talking about how much of a burden on society they are, then it's camps.

They are already in the process of normalising the kidnapping and forceful removal of citizens of their own country, so at this current pace I'd say you have less than a year before we are at planned extermination.

We sorta skipped the middle bit and went straight for the camps.

Not for the disabled.  Yet.

Give it a couple of weeks

https://dailyboulder.com/ice-can-now-enter-your-home-without-a-warrant-to-find-migrants-doj-memo-says/

It literally happened! Yesterday, on Saturday, June 14th, The Republicult™ actually went on parade bigly! The Turd Reich, in honor of its dictator wannabe, staged their version of a Moscow Victory Day Parade in Washington, D.C.

Unfortunately for a fascist regime that produces reality TV performances for its adoring, shit-eating MAGAt followers, this show appears to have been a ratings bust. Now, the official TV rating numbers aren't in yet, but the video footage clearly shows near empty bleachers along the parade route. And, I haven't seen any estimates of the parade crowd size above 10,000 people.

In conclusion, I don't foresee the Turd-in-chief being awarded an Emmy for this reality TV show either.

I guarantee you the attendance numbers didn't matter and most of the event was contracted to trump family subsidiaries at a premium cost.

Quote from: Faust on June 15, 2025, 08:18:29 PMI guarantee you the attendance numbers didn't matter and most of the event was contracted to trump family subsidiaries at a premium cost.

Given the turd-in-chief is an entity of classless, bottomless greed, I don't doubt the First Crime Family made every effort to monetize their reality TV performance.

On a couple of the short video clips of the parade that I bothered to watch, I was surprised to learn that the appearance of the U.S. Army was sponsored by Coinbase, and Palantir. It had never occurred to me that the U.S. Army needed corporate sponsors to show up for photo ops. You can not make up stuff like this.

I am just amazed at how thoroughly Trump ruined the army's 250th birthday.

I shouldn't be, but I am.

Interesting note:  The soldiers were not impressed.  They were out of step, for chrissakes.  My drill sergeant would have unscrewed my neckpipe and shat down it if I had marched to the chow hall like that at the end of week one.

That has to be deliberate.

Quote from: Doktor Howl on June 16, 2025, 03:47:02 AMInteresting note:  The soldiers were not impressed.  They were out of step, for chrissakes.  My drill sergeant would have unscrewed my neckpipe and shat down it if I had marched to the chow hall like that at the end of week one.

That has to be deliberate.

I've encountered two narratives:  Either they were intentionally out of step, as a volitional expression of disrespect (i.e., Foxtrot Delta Tango), or they were pissed that they had to spend their weekend doing this, and were just really half-assing it.

I consider the first explanation more likely.  Anyway, it seems that der Fuhrer has not earned the loyalty of the Wehrmacht, which may be important if he attempts to override the results of the mid-term elections (if any).

As of the time of this posting, the turd-in-chief has not called Governor Walz of Minnesota to offer his condolences after the politically motivated shootings of two Democratic politicians and their wives, one couple of which did not survive their attacks. Further, when the MSM has asked the turd about any communications he may have had with Governor Walz, the piece of shit responded with political insults.

The English language simply does not contain words strong enough to describe my disgust with the turd, and the shit-eating MAGAts who adore him. I can no longer look at a video, or a picture of that piece of shit, and see anything even remotely resembling a human being.

Quote from: Abbot Mythos on June 15, 2025, 07:02:34 PMUnfortunately for a fascist regime that produces reality TV performances for its adoring, shit-eating MAGAt followers, this show appears to have been a ratings bust. Now, the official TV rating numbers aren't in yet, but the video footage clearly shows near empty bleachers along the parade route. And, I haven't seen any estimates of the parade crowd size above 10,000 people.

I know myself and quite a few others were able to register for tickets and then simply not show up, among friends we were able to block out about 50 seats for everyone from Ben Dover to Homme Orange

Quote from: Pope Mome Apocrypha on June 16, 2025, 07:42:42 PMI know myself and quite a few others were able to register for tickets and then simply not show up, among friends we were able to block out about 50 seats for everyone from Ben Dover to Homme Orange

As we used to say, back in the day, in my old neighborhood, "Ya done good!"

It occurred to me that The Next Billionaire's Big Bonus would be a much more descriptive, not to mention honest, name for the sociopath-in-chief's The One Big Beautiful Bill, that is currently being worked on in the U.S. Senate.

That is all. Carry on!

The sociopath-in-chief has announced a reality TV event for 2026 where the UFC will perform on the White House lawn. You can not make up stuff like this.

This almost looks like how the Roman patricians used to provide "Bread and Circuses" to their plebeians to keep them under control. I write "almost" because it's my understanding that the plebeians got their "Bread and Circuses" for free. But, under the Turd Reich, the 'Merican version of the ol' Roman plebeians must pay for everything. And, it's the oligarchs, the 'Merican version of the Roman patricians, who get all of the free rides.

You can not make up stuff like this.

Today, in an extra-special episode of "Turd Reich Reality TV," a notorious, foreign war criminal endorsed the sociopath-in-chief for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I've come to realize I really am a captive member of an audience, and I'm being forced to watch a TV show I don't like, and don't want to watch, but I can't turn the nauseating thing off by myself.

Well, its official, your president protects pedophiles because they had the money to pay for it, and in his mind that's all that matters.

Obscenely wealthy pedophiles, politically popular, genocidal war criminals, and powerful dictators who commit crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and high volume war crimes, are all supported by the sociopath-in-chief. Because, 'Merica.

It's kind of a shame that photographs of missing children aren't posted on milk cartons anymore. If they were, maybe someone might have found David Richardson, the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), by now.

One would think that with over one hundred people known dead, and nearly two hundred people still missing after the flooding, a production like Turd Reich Reality TV would have wanted their boy's concerned face dominating the news cycle in the deep, deep, redneck state of Texas.

I don't know ... maybe he really took the sociopath-in-chief's directive to shut down FEMA to heart, and shut himself down. Still, I would have thought he might have, at least, turned off the lights, and locked the door to the building when he left. Or, he could have left a note, or something.

Quote from: Faust on July 08, 2025, 09:58:41 PMWell, its official, your president protects pedophiles because they had the money to pay for it, and in his mind that's all that matters.

Yep. Just like every past President & every Presidential hopeful in living memory. Just like the British royal family. The film stars & rock gods. Disney execs. BBC Djs. All at it like wrongcock rabbits.  The Vatican, the Grand Mosque &  the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. The Dalai cunting Lama & his saffroned robed diddlers in Tibet. They've spent cemnturies demanding 6 year old boys as tribute from every family in Tibet.

If people of the world had the will to protect our kids against the evil overlords, we'd have done it a fucking long time ago.

https://youtu.be/ahzNnXex5fY

It happens occasionally, Montbatten got blown up for being a pedo, shame it didnt happen to him 30 years earlier, and there wasnt more will against the others.

I don't know how much significance to attach to this brouhaha:

Trump can't stop MAGA from obsessing about the Epstein files (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-maga-jeffrey-epstein-files-rcna219073)

"MAGA-friendly media has been torn on how to respond to a base wanting more on the Epstein files and a president who wants them to move on."

As per this article:

"Donald Trump is once again angry, but this time his ire is directed at a new audience: his own MAGA supporters.
 
In a blistering post on Truth Social on Wednesday morning, Trump continued to push his backers to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein, an issue that has driven what appears to be one of the most significant rifts between him and the political movement he built.
 
"Let those weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work," he wrote. "Don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore.""

Although this article does not mention it, some political sites have written that some of the sociopath-in-chief's shit-eating MAGAts have convinced themselves that it was the Democrats who had Epstein killed in prison, and it's their messiah who is trying to cover up their crime. Go figure.

I find it hard to believe this will cost any Republican politicians any votes in the 2026 elections. But, it's fun to watch the sociopath-in-chief squirm because he's suddenly lost control of the MSM narrative. I guess producing a reality TV show is not always as personally rewarding as it looks.