Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Initech
Initech's Journal
Initech's Journal
June 9, 2016
WTF is going on here? How did this guy get off the hook?
Doctors Say Turner May Have Lied About Previous Drug And Alcohol Use
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Brock Turner, the ex-Stanford swimmer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, lied about his history of drinking and drug use when he portrayed himself in a statement to probation officials as an "inexperienced drinker and party goer," prosecutors contended in a sentencing memo.
Turner is serving a six-month jail sentence for three counts of sexual assault, but can be released in as soon as three months. He faced a maximum of 14 years in jail and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky's sentence has led to widespread outcry and a campaign to recall him.
Turner has also come under fire for the statement, obtained by CBS News, in which he blames his behavior on alcohol and the "college lifestyle." In the statement, he also implies he hadn't had experience with partying and drinking prior to the sex assault.
"Coming from a small town in Ohio, I had never really experienced celebrating or partying that involved alcohol," he said in the statement.
<snip>
On Dec. 24, 2014, according to the memo, Turner received a message from a friend that read, "I've got a hankerin for a good acid trip when we get back." Prosecutors say Turner replied: "I'm down for sure."
The memo says he responded to a friend bragging about "candyflippin" - referring to taking LSD and MDMA together - by saying, "I gotta [expletive] try that. I've heard it's awesome."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/docs-brock-turner-lied-about-drinking-doing-drugs/ar-AAgOpS9
Turner is serving a six-month jail sentence for three counts of sexual assault, but can be released in as soon as three months. He faced a maximum of 14 years in jail and Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky's sentence has led to widespread outcry and a campaign to recall him.
Turner has also come under fire for the statement, obtained by CBS News, in which he blames his behavior on alcohol and the "college lifestyle." In the statement, he also implies he hadn't had experience with partying and drinking prior to the sex assault.
"Coming from a small town in Ohio, I had never really experienced celebrating or partying that involved alcohol," he said in the statement.
<snip>
On Dec. 24, 2014, according to the memo, Turner received a message from a friend that read, "I've got a hankerin for a good acid trip when we get back." Prosecutors say Turner replied: "I'm down for sure."
The memo says he responded to a friend bragging about "candyflippin" - referring to taking LSD and MDMA together - by saying, "I gotta [expletive] try that. I've heard it's awesome."
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/docs-brock-turner-lied-about-drinking-doing-drugs/ar-AAgOpS9
WTF is going on here? How did this guy get off the hook?
June 9, 2016
This wouldn't be my first choice if going electric but this is definitely a good thing here to ditch the gas guzzlers!
City Of LA Workers Will Be Driving Electric BMWs
Most public employees would never dream of driving a BMW -- at least on the job.
But that's what going to be happening in Los Angeles, thanks to deal to lease 100 of BMW's small i3 electric cars in a bid to enhance the city's sustainability efforts.
The Los Angeles Police Department has taken out a three-year lease on the the fleet. It will pay $387 per month per car, including maintenance. It gets cheaper yet: Since they are electric cars, there will be no gasoline costs and as part of the deal, a company called Greenlots is supplying chargers.
Even though the leased i3s are BMWs, city and BMW officials went to lengths to dispute that, at least in this case, they would be considered luxury cars.
"Other car manufacturers competed, they couldn’t beat the price," said Vartan Yegiyan, director of police transportation for the police department, at a press conference near police headquarters to show off the fleet."So BMW did do their homework and they wanted to sell the cars."
The cars will be driven by detectives and police staff, often for follow-ups to criminal cases. Those workers still expect to get plenty of use from the cars, up to 10,000 miles per car a year. They won't be used as black-and-white patrol cruisers. And they say they're hoping to get electric-powered patrol cars in the next few years.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/la-city-workers-will-be-driving-bmws/ar-AAgOMpb
But that's what going to be happening in Los Angeles, thanks to deal to lease 100 of BMW's small i3 electric cars in a bid to enhance the city's sustainability efforts.
The Los Angeles Police Department has taken out a three-year lease on the the fleet. It will pay $387 per month per car, including maintenance. It gets cheaper yet: Since they are electric cars, there will be no gasoline costs and as part of the deal, a company called Greenlots is supplying chargers.
Even though the leased i3s are BMWs, city and BMW officials went to lengths to dispute that, at least in this case, they would be considered luxury cars.
"Other car manufacturers competed, they couldn’t beat the price," said Vartan Yegiyan, director of police transportation for the police department, at a press conference near police headquarters to show off the fleet."So BMW did do their homework and they wanted to sell the cars."
The cars will be driven by detectives and police staff, often for follow-ups to criminal cases. Those workers still expect to get plenty of use from the cars, up to 10,000 miles per car a year. They won't be used as black-and-white patrol cruisers. And they say they're hoping to get electric-powered patrol cars in the next few years.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/la-city-workers-will-be-driving-bmws/ar-AAgOMpb
This wouldn't be my first choice if going electric but this is definitely a good thing here to ditch the gas guzzlers!
June 8, 2016
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #30: Army Of Beyonces Edition
Welcome Back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! You know we were off last week in observance of Memorial Day but we are back ladies and gentlemen! And we're going to start something much different. In the last edition I said that the Top 10 would return June 12th. But now that the dust has been settled, and it is indeed going to be Hillary Clinton (still hoping for a Bernie Sanders VP nomination!) against Donald Trump in the general election, it seems like June 12th might be an eternity away. And especially with the new rules just announced, we need to tool the Top 10 accordingly. But, some good news - we might finally bring back the biweekly format that we tried when the Top 10 first started! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! The kids, boy they love this idea! But that might not happen until at least the conventions. So the Top 10 will start being posted on Wednesdays instead of Sundays in the interest of bringing back some biweekly editions for the time being. But while we were gone, we missed covering the clusterfuck that was the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla murder. Which we might touch on in a mini edition in the future, but with the way the internet moves, that is already last week's news. However, we got to talk about John Oliver – he did a truly amazing thing last week. Talking about the horrors of America’s debt collection industrial complex, John Oliver started his own debt collection agency and bought up some $15 million of uncollected medical debt (which he only paid a mere $60K for) and simply forgave it. Yes, that is what he did and it’s something truly amazing. In fact let’s roll the tape on it:
Boom. Drop the mic. Top that, Oprah! So where do we begin this week? To start with Bill Kristol (1), cried wolf in his attempt to find a suitable challenger to Donald Trump with conservative lawyer David French, and failed big time. In the second slot, the Bathroom Police (2) are harassing trans athletes in Alaska, while an elementary school principal in Brevard County, Florida was arrested for child pornography. In the third slot this week, we are going to school the bathroom police on what an actual sex criminal is. We’re going to my father’s alma matter Stanford University to tell you how Brock Turner (3) a member of Stanford's swim team, practically got off the hook for raping a woman behind a dumpster because prison would be “severely impactful”. Yes, those words were spoken. While Christian bathroom police are crying wolf about sex crimes taking place in bathrooms and locker rooms, actual sex criminals are getting nothing more than a slap on the wrist! Trumpenfuor takes up the fourth and fifth slots this week. In the fourth slot we’re going to tell you how Donald Trump is trying to weasel his way out of Trump University lawsuits in the most Donald Trump way possible. While in the fifth slot, we’re going to tell you about how Donald Trump once got owned by late, great Muhammad Ali. In the sixth slot we’re going to talk about Donald Trump Supporters (6) including South Carolina Governor Nikki Hayley, some raging gun nuts, and North Korea. Yes, while we were gone last week, North Korea announced unwavering support for Trumpenfuror. Taking the number 7 slot, we are going to talk about how Alex Jones (7) doubled down on his previous theory that Beyonce is a CIA mole to get people to declare war on police. In the number 8 seed, we have another installment of “People Who Somehow Got Elected” and we’re going to talk about Florida’s 23rd District representative Deborah Wasserman-Shultz. Wait, what? A registered democrat makes the list? Well her repeated support of predatory pay day loan vendors has landed her in some hot water with the higher ups in the party and may get dismissed as Florida’s DNC chair for being “too conservative”. So technically that counts, right?
In the number 9 slot (NEIN!!), Axl Rose (9) is laying the DCMA smack down and trying to sue Google to get the memes removed about how fat he was during Guns N Roses’ Chinese Democracy tour (hint: this can’t be done). Finally this week, Captain America. Right? How great was “Captain America: Civil War”? Well I’m going to spoil it for you (not really) because did you know that Steve Rodgers has secretly been a double agent working for the evil H.Y.D.R.A. organization the entire time! Neither did we! And of course the internet being the internet, fanboys lost their collective shit over this, and we will tell you all about it. Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
[font size="8"]Bill Kristol[/font]
Never before in America have we seen a candidate quite like Donald Trump. And now with Donald Trump being the presumptive front runner for the GOP, he has almost quite literally split the party down the middle. On one half you have people who will vote in line lock step like Paul Ryan. Despite that, um, this happened:
That’s right! Just hours after meeting with Interfaith leaders to try and bridge the gap between America and America’s Islamic population, Paul Ryan turned his back on the very people he met with just a few hours before hand and endorsed… Donald Trump. So with that in mind if you’re Bill Kristol, you’re probably thinking that you can dethrone Trumpenfuror with an even crazier right wing fringe candidate! So what happened last week?
So that happened. But what did Bill Kristol come up with? Who would be the saving grace of the Republican party? David French? Some guy nobody has ever heard of, ever? Who the fuck is that guy? Excuse me a minute…
Yup! That’s real all right! That happened! And of course Trumpenfuror… wait, I actually agree with Trumpenfuror on something for a minute! But Bill Kristol hasn’t been wrong for two years. He’s been wrong on, well, absolutely everything! What else was he wrong about?
Yes according to Salon, Bill Kristol predicted President Obama would lose to Hillary Clinton and that 1993 was the pinnacle of the LGBT rights movement. So here’s how wrong Bill Kristol is this week – Um… David French is not running.
[font size="8"]The Bathroom Police[/font]
So by now you find that the Bathroom Police have been firing on all fours. But they’re coming up with insane solutions to a non existent problem that happens – um absolutely nowhere! So when controversial star of the cult classic teenage comedy “Clueless” – Stacy Dash, who is now moonlighting as a Fox News pundit, was confronted about her stance on Caitlyn Jenner, what is her solution to the growing non problem of trans bathroom use?
Wow, that is a Palin esque response. So trans people should “use the bushes”? And then what? Get arrested for public urination and defecation? Wow, what a great idea!
But once again, the bathroom police are completely clueless in their efforts to harass trans people just needing to use a bathroom, locker room, or changing facility. In fact there’s more instances of Christians harassing trans people than trans people harassing well, anybody. So with that in mind, here’s some of the lesser known victims of the Bathroom Police, as evidenced by one cancer survivor:
So the bathroom police have stooped to harassing cancer survivors. How low is that? Well… you can definitely go much lower than that! We head to Alaska where a trans athlete wanting to compete in her real gender was met with… a very small, and incredibly angry group of 12 Christian protestors. 12. 12. Yes, 12 protestors. Don’t these people have anything better to do?
Whose voice are you defending, exactly? I mean if you would wake up and look around, you would realize that, um…………. Nobody cares but you!!! You have a group of 12! That’s the estimated passenger capacity of a Mercedes Sprinter! The protestors to non protestor ratio there is 0.01%, or about the same as how much cash you actually get back on a Capital One card. It sucks that happened. By the way, remember when I said that I would post an actual sex crime every single time Christian people feel the need to harass trans people like the above story? Well they leave us with no shortage of material for this week. So this happened in Florida:
Holy fuck!!! Did you see that quote from the superintendent of the district? “Words can’t express how disgusted I am.” Gee, really? Did we learn nothing from Jerry Sandusky? I mean the parallels are freightingly similar. Jerry Sandusky was investigated in the 90s for unwanted advances toward young males. This guy was investigated in the 90s for unwanted advances toward young males. I mean if they had caught him earlier and hauled his ass off to prison a long time ago, then well, I can’t say I feel sorry for thee Super in this case. At least this guy will be sharing a cell with Jared Fogel and Jerry Sandusky.
[font size="8"]The Stanford Rapist[/font]
There is going to be a serious trigger warning for this next entry. So I will give you an out and allow you to skip over this one now before you go down the rabbit hole, for this is a very disturbing story. You can take the red pill and go down the rabbit hole, or take the blue pill and skip ahead. You want to take the red pill?
So you’re taking the red pill then? OK. Well something really fucked up happened at my father’s alma matter over last week. So last year, Brock Turner, a star athlete at Stanford, was caught creating a real rape of an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. And not only that the judge who sentenced him – was a Stanford graduate! You know I would expect this kind of cronyism coming from the Ivy Leagues but not on the West Coast damn it! Well this happened:
Yes. That happened. And it’s just about as disgusting as one could possibly imagine. So while the bathroom police are going on and on about trans people committing sex crimes (despite that there has never been a single instance of this reported), an actual rapist gets off the hook. Well done, fundies! Bravo! Let’s go further down the rabbit hole on this – the judge is facing a possible recall because of what he did:
Yes so the moral of the story is that if you’re white and going to an upper class university, and you deliberately commit a crime of this caliber and you face a judge who is from the same university, well he’s got your back! But there’s something that is even more fucked up about this case and I can’t quite put my finger on it:
Wait – so the authorities waited for *MONTHS* to release Turner’s photo? Have they not read The Smoking Gun? You can see people’s mug shots and arrest warrants like minutes after they are posted! I mean what the fuck? This is a real life cover up here folks! Several people involved in this case are going down with the judge included! By the way, read the statement from the victim – it’s pretty harrowing. But by the way, in case you were wondering, why yes Brock Turner doesn’t blame himself for the incident. He blames it on……..
………. Wait for it…….. the Stanford party system!
Party culture? Of Drinking? You know you can go to parties without feeling the need to assault someone unconscious in an alley way right? That is on you. It’s entirely on you. And you have a judge backing this creep. Just what the fuck. Wow. But there are some people who do have Mr. Turner’s back – read this article from the Onion’s AV Club about a female fronted rock band called “Good English” that got pulled from multiple festivals and appearances because of their support for Mr. Turner. But in fact here’s where Turner was quite literally caught with his pants down by two Swedish tourists who were biking through Palo Alto:
That is how it is done.
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
This year’s Super Bowl seems to be the nexus of time and space. When time travel is invented, somehow time travelers will travel back to that exact pin point to tell all of humanity that this is where it all went wrong. I mean you have Alex Jones claiming that Beyonce’s appearance at the Super Bowl is the beginning of a government sponsored race war. And well this interview resurfaced with MVP Peyton Manning and SF Gate about his views on a lot of different things. One item in particular stood out:
Yes, you heard that correctly ladies and gentlemen. Not only did Peyton Manning undermine his own intelligence with that Palin-esque grammar defying sentence explosion, he let the entire world know that he kind of…. Sort of…. But not really… endorses Trumpenfuror… ? Well we’ll talk about celebrity endorsements in a little bit. But first we got to talk about Trump University. So the New York AG has come down hard on Trumpenfuror and his sham of a university. Before we go further let’s roll tape on John Oliver’s segment on Trump U:
“That AG doesn’t know what he’s talking about! I like my fraud served straight up with a slice of lime in a tall glass of ice. It will be the best ice, I use the best limes. It’s gonna be huge”!
But is this the kind of thing you learn at Trump University?
Let’s go further.
Holy shit! That’s either taking a page out of Scientology or it’s taking a page from Carl’s Jr. “I would like to buy a #6.” And no I don’t want iced coffee or cake. When does anyone ever buy dessert at a fast food restaurant? For me? Um never! And let’s take a look at this ad for Trump University that was posted 6 years ago!
Wait – As Seen On TV Network? They seem trustworthy! I would get an education from them! Let’s look at the intro, shall we?
Yes that is what Trump himself was teaching – “The Art Of The Deal”. Or the art of the scam:
But now Donald Trump is trying to weasel his way out of the lawsuits in the most Donald Trump way possible:
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Damn, I love the Lonely Island. I won’t pimp too many recommendations here, but go see their new flick “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping”. I would compare it to a modern day Spinal Tap. It’s absolutely hilarious and a great escape from 24 / 7 Donald Trump news. But please hear me out before you go see it though. Donald Trump. I don’t think I need to say anything further, do I? Well CNN caught him in a lie about his stance on Japan having nukes. Well let’s roll tape on that, shall we?
Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh!!!!!!!!!!! No they didn’t! You can’t fact check Trumpenfuror while he’s lying on prime time television! Because that’s all he does, every minute of every day! But for this particular entry we’re going to tell you about the time Donald Trump got in a feud with the late, great Muhammad Ali. So here’s what Trumpenfuror did in the hours just after it was announced to the world that Ali had passed. But first can we throw that Tweet up there?
Which is ironic, especially when you consider that just last December – Donald Trump called for an all out ban on Muslims traveling to and from the United States. Can we throw that up there?
But of course that didn’t stop Trumpenfuror. Remember in the last edition I said that with Donald Trump, there is no wrong answer to any given question, and that answer changes daily.
Yup! So the Champ was a devout Muslim and activist! But in fact back in December, Trump was taken down by Ali shortly after that Tweet had gone public:
Yes so Trump and President Obama both honored Muhammad Ali in their own way, but no one is more hypocritical about it than Trumpenfuror.
[font size="8"]Donald Trump Supporters[/font]
It’s been a while since we’ve brought up Donald Trump supporters but there are a lot of them it seems in growing numbers. Well… really the only thing that’s really growing is the number of Z-list celebrities, white supremacists and fascist dictatorships that are quickly joining the fury that is the Donald Trump campaign. Sure we already mentioned Paul Ryan giving a hearty dose of some good old fashioned GOP hypocrisy, but here’s who is *NOT* endorsing Trumpenfuror this week – South Carolina governor Nikki Hayley:
Yup – according to Gov. Hayley, Donald Trump’s increasingly divided rhetoric will lead to some very bad things, but we won’t touch that one with a 10 foot pole. But who is endorsing Trumpenfuror? Why it’s campaign bench warmer Marco Rubio!
“Well I welcome Mr. Rubio’s endorsement and by the way, my penis is huge! And so are my hands!”
But Donald Trump supporters are getting crazier and scarier by the day. Look at what two are suggesting, the first – a gun lobbyist says that we might have to “resort to the bullet box”. But you know when they launch a threat like that, they’re not going to do anything, it just makes them look like tough guys and gives them any excuse they can to whip out their precious:
When are gun rights in jeopardy ever? I mean seriously in this country guns have more rights than people do! Congratulations NRA, you won! You don’t need any more gun rights! Well even crazier Trump supporters have emerged:
Wait… gun nuts held their own Continental Congress? Seriously? These people are about as batshit crazy as it gets! Well we still have to talk about one of the biggest endorsements Trumpenfuror has landed so far. No it’s not white supremacists or Z grade celebrites. It’s North Korea!
[font size="8"]Alex Jones[/font]
Infowars. That site you go to when you think Beyonce might literally be trying to kill you and eat your brains. And I’m serious about this one. So Alex Jones had batshit crazy, extreme far right end times conspiracy theorist pastor James David Manning on the Infowars show. Can we roll tape on that?
See this is where Alex Jones loses me. He claims that he can see through the government’s lies when he really can’t and in fact makes up his own. So let’s see if I can dissect Infowars “logic” in this insane story – Viacom runs CBS. CBS airs the Super Bowl. Beyonce played this year’s Super Bowl. And Beyonce is involved with the Black Panther organization. I know! This is all plot of a government plot to get people arrested, set up and put in jail because the government wants to declare war on police! Oh my god there really is a conspiracy here!
But that wasn’t the only crazy thing Alex Jones has said lately. So Donald Trump as we’ve already discovered this week, is trying to weasel his way out of Trump University lawsuits in the most Donald Trump way possible – by race baiting the judge. Let’s roll tape on that shall we?
Race based brainwashing. Try saying that one 5 times fast! Does Alex Jones even know what brainwashing is? Does he know Infowars is practically a cult?
[font size="8"]Deborah Wasserman-Shultz[/font]
And now it’s time for another installment of:
This week in People Who Somehow Got Elected – Deborah Wasserman-Shultz. She’s the elected representative of Florida’s 23rd district and chairman of the Florida Democratic National Committee (DNC). Wait, what? Why the hell is a democrat on the list of Top 10 Conservative Idiots? Well let’s explain further.
Yes, Wasserman-Shultz attacked banks but isn’t above taking handouts from predatory pay day loan companies. You know, those very evil companies you see with cute commercials like this:
But as John Oliver pointed out, they’re just plain fucking evil:
After all, how can you trust a company that spells the word “Quick” with a W? You don’t see Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick spelling his name like that, do you?
Yes that’s a terrible attempt at Photoshop humor at the expense of my hockey rivals. Well Wasserman-Shultz earned the scorn of Democratic chair Elizabeth Warren and they’ve chosen a suitable candidate to run against her:
Yes, Shultz’ logic makes about as much sense as Donald Trump saying that he wants to build a wall around Mexico, then in the next Tweet, brags about how much he loves Hispanics:
But Wasserman-Shultz also draws ire from the Democratic Party for her views on Florida’s marijuana legalization referendum:
That’s straight from challenger Tim Canova. But as you may have guessed, Ms. Wasserman-Shultz has had a change of heart, albeit too little too late. Cue the sad Hulk music:
And yes that is Deborah Wasserman-Shultz:
[font size="8"]Axl Rose: Internet Police[/font]
Fat shaming. That thing you do when your 370 pound cousin comes for Thanksgiving dinner and you try to hide the extra mashed potatoes. “Hey only the thin people can have the cheese topped potatoes, John!”. While we don’t know Axl Rose’s actual political leanings, but considering he’s trying to censor the internet we can only guess he’s conservative. And that’s exactly what he’s doing in this case.
So the site that I got this article from can’t show the picture. But we can!
Even as an overweight guy myself, I can’t help but laugh at some of the hilarious memes created at Axl’s expense. Like this one:
Or:
Or:
Wait – my lawyers are saying that we shouldn’t go any further or risk being sued by Axl himself. OK, I’ll sign. Wait just a minute…
[font size="8"]Hail Hydra!![/font]
The Avengers. You know them. You love them. Of course the recent flick Captain America: Civil War divided the Avengers in their views about government intervention when it comes to deploying super heroes for action. On one hand you have Tony Stark (Iron Man), Col. Rhodes (War Machine), Vision, King T’Challa of Wakanda (Black Panther), Natasha Romanova (Black Widow), and Peter Parker (Spiderman). And they are pro government intervention on super heroes. However, on the anti government intervention team, you have Steve Rodgers (Captain America), Sam Wilson (Falcon), Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier), Scott Lang (Ant-Man), Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch), Cliff Barton (Hawkeye), and Sharon Carter, Peggy Carter’s daughter. But could the reason for Captain America’s feud with Iron Man stem from the fact that Captain America is secretly a double agent working for the sinister HYDRA organization this entire time? Well here’s the panel in question:
Even Chris Evans himself was shocked at the news! This news was so shocking that it prompted the great Stan Lee himself to weigh in on the fanboy backlash:
Yes! Even Stan Lee himself has weighed in on the subject. In fact per a non binding contractual obligation, we have to include our Stan Lee cameo:
“You can’t buy love but you can rent it for 3 minutes!”
Well now that we got that out of the way, who else has an opinion on Captain America suddenly changing alliances to Hydra? Well it turns out that being shocking pays:
Yup, the issue is completely sold out everywhere folks! But here’s where things get weird – the sudden change in Steve Rodgers’ character prompted a wave of donations to the Holocaust Museum and a huge interest in the role that Nazism plays and played in the original creation of Captain America. I mean the first issue of Captain America ever showed him punching Hitler in the face!
By the way is it weird that the late great Gary Shandling’s final scene filmed for his character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the sleazy Senator Stern who once grilled Tony Stark on Capital Hill about his use of the Iron Man suit, was being hauled off to prison after revealing that he was a Hydra mole?
Who else could be a member of Hydra? I know! Oh!!!!
#DonaldTrumpHailsHydra
[font size="8"]And Now This:[/font]
[font size="8"]Neil DeGrasse Tyson Schools Bill Maher On Science[/font]
See you next week!
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #30: Army Of Beyonces Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #30: Army Of Beyonces Edition
Welcome Back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! You know we were off last week in observance of Memorial Day but we are back ladies and gentlemen! And we're going to start something much different. In the last edition I said that the Top 10 would return June 12th. But now that the dust has been settled, and it is indeed going to be Hillary Clinton (still hoping for a Bernie Sanders VP nomination!) against Donald Trump in the general election, it seems like June 12th might be an eternity away. And especially with the new rules just announced, we need to tool the Top 10 accordingly. But, some good news - we might finally bring back the biweekly format that we tried when the Top 10 first started! Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! The kids, boy they love this idea! But that might not happen until at least the conventions. So the Top 10 will start being posted on Wednesdays instead of Sundays in the interest of bringing back some biweekly editions for the time being. But while we were gone, we missed covering the clusterfuck that was the Cincinnati Zoo gorilla murder. Which we might touch on in a mini edition in the future, but with the way the internet moves, that is already last week's news. However, we got to talk about John Oliver – he did a truly amazing thing last week. Talking about the horrors of America’s debt collection industrial complex, John Oliver started his own debt collection agency and bought up some $15 million of uncollected medical debt (which he only paid a mere $60K for) and simply forgave it. Yes, that is what he did and it’s something truly amazing. In fact let’s roll the tape on it:
Boom. Drop the mic. Top that, Oprah! So where do we begin this week? To start with Bill Kristol (1), cried wolf in his attempt to find a suitable challenger to Donald Trump with conservative lawyer David French, and failed big time. In the second slot, the Bathroom Police (2) are harassing trans athletes in Alaska, while an elementary school principal in Brevard County, Florida was arrested for child pornography. In the third slot this week, we are going to school the bathroom police on what an actual sex criminal is. We’re going to my father’s alma matter Stanford University to tell you how Brock Turner (3) a member of Stanford's swim team, practically got off the hook for raping a woman behind a dumpster because prison would be “severely impactful”. Yes, those words were spoken. While Christian bathroom police are crying wolf about sex crimes taking place in bathrooms and locker rooms, actual sex criminals are getting nothing more than a slap on the wrist! Trumpenfuor takes up the fourth and fifth slots this week. In the fourth slot we’re going to tell you how Donald Trump is trying to weasel his way out of Trump University lawsuits in the most Donald Trump way possible. While in the fifth slot, we’re going to tell you about how Donald Trump once got owned by late, great Muhammad Ali. In the sixth slot we’re going to talk about Donald Trump Supporters (6) including South Carolina Governor Nikki Hayley, some raging gun nuts, and North Korea. Yes, while we were gone last week, North Korea announced unwavering support for Trumpenfuror. Taking the number 7 slot, we are going to talk about how Alex Jones (7) doubled down on his previous theory that Beyonce is a CIA mole to get people to declare war on police. In the number 8 seed, we have another installment of “People Who Somehow Got Elected” and we’re going to talk about Florida’s 23rd District representative Deborah Wasserman-Shultz. Wait, what? A registered democrat makes the list? Well her repeated support of predatory pay day loan vendors has landed her in some hot water with the higher ups in the party and may get dismissed as Florida’s DNC chair for being “too conservative”. So technically that counts, right?
In the number 9 slot (NEIN!!), Axl Rose (9) is laying the DCMA smack down and trying to sue Google to get the memes removed about how fat he was during Guns N Roses’ Chinese Democracy tour (hint: this can’t be done). Finally this week, Captain America. Right? How great was “Captain America: Civil War”? Well I’m going to spoil it for you (not really) because did you know that Steve Rodgers has secretly been a double agent working for the evil H.Y.D.R.A. organization the entire time! Neither did we! And of course the internet being the internet, fanboys lost their collective shit over this, and we will tell you all about it. Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
[font size="8"]Bill Kristol[/font]
Never before in America have we seen a candidate quite like Donald Trump. And now with Donald Trump being the presumptive front runner for the GOP, he has almost quite literally split the party down the middle. On one half you have people who will vote in line lock step like Paul Ryan. Despite that, um, this happened:
On Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) hosted a meeting with the nation’s oldest interfaith peace organization, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, who pleaded with him to publicly stand up to the Islamophobia in his party and promote tolerance of refugees.
A few hours later, Ryan announced he’d be voting for the person who has been the loudest voice stoking fear of Muslims and refugees: Donald Trump.
Following their meeting at his Janesville, Wisconsin office, the Fellowship of Reconciliation said Paul promised the group that he would “speak out against anti-Muslim rhetoric” and visit the new Muslim Community Center and Masjid in his hometown. Anthony Grimes, the Fellowship of Reconciliation’s Director of Campaigns and Strategy, told ThinkProgress the meeting included a local Muslim faith leader and his daughter, Salih Erschen and Sabrina Erschen, who “shared their stories about what it’s like to be Muslim in this country.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/02/3784357/paul-ryan-trump-islamophobia/
A few hours later, Ryan announced he’d be voting for the person who has been the loudest voice stoking fear of Muslims and refugees: Donald Trump.
Following their meeting at his Janesville, Wisconsin office, the Fellowship of Reconciliation said Paul promised the group that he would “speak out against anti-Muslim rhetoric” and visit the new Muslim Community Center and Masjid in his hometown. Anthony Grimes, the Fellowship of Reconciliation’s Director of Campaigns and Strategy, told ThinkProgress the meeting included a local Muslim faith leader and his daughter, Salih Erschen and Sabrina Erschen, who “shared their stories about what it’s like to be Muslim in this country.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/02/3784357/paul-ryan-trump-islamophobia/
That’s right! Just hours after meeting with Interfaith leaders to try and bridge the gap between America and America’s Islamic population, Paul Ryan turned his back on the very people he met with just a few hours before hand and endorsed… Donald Trump. So with that in mind if you’re Bill Kristol, you’re probably thinking that you can dethrone Trumpenfuror with an even crazier right wing fringe candidate! So what happened last week?
Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol announced via Twitter Sunday that his plan to get an independent candidate to enter the race has finally come together.
"Just a heads up over this holiday weekend: There will be an independent candidate — an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance," wrote Kristol.
If Kristol's announcement is legitimate it would mean his months-long #NeverTrump campaign has successfully convinced a third-party challenger to jump in to fend off the presumptive Republican nominee, who has begun to not only be competitive with Hillary Clinton in national polls, but is even edging her in a few.
Though Kristol gave no indication about who exactly the nominee would be, he did meet with Mitt Romney earlier in May. Kristol has suggested a few names in the past, including Marco Rubio and retired Marine Corps Gen.James Mattis, but thus far no one has publicly committed.
http://www.dailywire.com/news/6139/bill-kristol-impressive-independent-candidate-james-barrett
"Just a heads up over this holiday weekend: There will be an independent candidate — an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance," wrote Kristol.
If Kristol's announcement is legitimate it would mean his months-long #NeverTrump campaign has successfully convinced a third-party challenger to jump in to fend off the presumptive Republican nominee, who has begun to not only be competitive with Hillary Clinton in national polls, but is even edging her in a few.
Though Kristol gave no indication about who exactly the nominee would be, he did meet with Mitt Romney earlier in May. Kristol has suggested a few names in the past, including Marco Rubio and retired Marine Corps Gen.James Mattis, but thus far no one has publicly committed.
http://www.dailywire.com/news/6139/bill-kristol-impressive-independent-candidate-james-barrett
So that happened. But what did Bill Kristol come up with? Who would be the saving grace of the Republican party? David French? Some guy nobody has ever heard of, ever? Who the fuck is that guy? Excuse me a minute…
Washington (CNN)Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol and Donald Trump on Tuesday traded fresh blows after the conservative commentator had suggested that an "impressive" independent conservative presidential candidate is forthcoming.
Speaking at a news conference in Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday, Trump repeatedly called Kristol a "loser." He said The Weekly Standard publication was "failing" and questioned Kristol's political judgment.
"He's been wrong for two years," Trump said.
Kristol soon fired back on Twitter.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/29/politics/bill-kristol-donald-trump-independent-candidate/
Speaking at a news conference in Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday, Trump repeatedly called Kristol a "loser." He said The Weekly Standard publication was "failing" and questioned Kristol's political judgment.
"He's been wrong for two years," Trump said.
Kristol soon fired back on Twitter.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/29/politics/bill-kristol-donald-trump-independent-candidate/
Yup! That’s real all right! That happened! And of course Trumpenfuror… wait, I actually agree with Trumpenfuror on something for a minute! But Bill Kristol hasn’t been wrong for two years. He’s been wrong on, well, absolutely everything! What else was he wrong about?
But first, by way of review, whatever Kristol says, the opposite must be true. Some of his greatest hits include:
“Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.”
1993 was the “high water mark” of the LGBT rights movement.
After encouraging John McCain to invoke Bill Ayers during his campaign for president, Kristol chastised the campaign for doing exactly that, calling it “stupid” politics.
“[The Iraq War] will clarify who was right and who was wrong about weapons of mass destruction. […] It will reveal the aspirations of the people of Iraq, and expose the truth about Saddam’s regime.”
http://www.salon.com/2015/09/17/bill_kristol_is_almost_always_wrong_how_the_pundit_catastrophically_undermined_his_excellent_donald_trump_argument/
“Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.”
1993 was the “high water mark” of the LGBT rights movement.
After encouraging John McCain to invoke Bill Ayers during his campaign for president, Kristol chastised the campaign for doing exactly that, calling it “stupid” politics.
“[The Iraq War] will clarify who was right and who was wrong about weapons of mass destruction. […] It will reveal the aspirations of the people of Iraq, and expose the truth about Saddam’s regime.”
http://www.salon.com/2015/09/17/bill_kristol_is_almost_always_wrong_how_the_pundit_catastrophically_undermined_his_excellent_donald_trump_argument/
Yes according to Salon, Bill Kristol predicted President Obama would lose to Hillary Clinton and that 1993 was the pinnacle of the LGBT rights movement. So here’s how wrong Bill Kristol is this week – Um… David French is not running.
The anti-Trump folks are still without a candidate.
David French, a lawyer and staff writer for the National Review, has announced that he won't be running for president as a conservative alternative to Donald Trump.
Just last week, French was identified as the champion picked by Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol to dispatch Trump, whom Kristol has deemed unfit for the Republican nomination and the presidency.
French, an author and Army veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq, is unknown to the vast majority of American voters and had little realistic prospect of gaining much support.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/06/05/no-david-french-presidential-run/85467342/
David French, a lawyer and staff writer for the National Review, has announced that he won't be running for president as a conservative alternative to Donald Trump.
Just last week, French was identified as the champion picked by Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol to dispatch Trump, whom Kristol has deemed unfit for the Republican nomination and the presidency.
French, an author and Army veteran who was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq, is unknown to the vast majority of American voters and had little realistic prospect of gaining much support.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/06/05/no-david-french-presidential-run/85467342/
[font size="8"]The Bathroom Police[/font]
So by now you find that the Bathroom Police have been firing on all fours. But they’re coming up with insane solutions to a non existent problem that happens – um absolutely nowhere! So when controversial star of the cult classic teenage comedy “Clueless” – Stacy Dash, who is now moonlighting as a Fox News pundit, was confronted about her stance on Caitlyn Jenner, what is her solution to the growing non problem of trans bathroom use?
When rebutted with the argument that transgender people don't choose what they feel is their true gender identity, Dash said "OK, then go in the bushes. I don't know what to tell you, but I'm not gonna put my child's life at risk because you want to change a law. So that you can be comfortable with your beliefs -- which means I have to change my beliefs and my rights? No."
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/entertainment/stacey-dash-book-transgender-guns/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/entertainment/stacey-dash-book-transgender-guns/index.html
Wow, that is a Palin esque response. So trans people should “use the bushes”? And then what? Get arrested for public urination and defecation? Wow, what a great idea!
But once again, the bathroom police are completely clueless in their efforts to harass trans people just needing to use a bathroom, locker room, or changing facility. In fact there’s more instances of Christians harassing trans people than trans people harassing well, anybody. So with that in mind, here’s some of the lesser known victims of the Bathroom Police, as evidenced by one cancer survivor:
http://aplus.com/a/christi-salcedo-breast-cancer-transgender-bathroom?
A 32-year-old breast cancer survivor bravely shared a photo of her chest on Facebook after having a double mastectomy and getting her lymph nodes removed. She posted her photo to show that "the great bathroom debate of 2016 has hurt more than just the transgender community."
Christi Salcedo is a Texas mom who was diagnosed with Stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma. After she chose to forgo reconstruction surgery, she says she began noticing people staring at her in ways that made her feel uncomfortable while in shops and other public places. She speculated that they were wondering if her flat chest indicated that she was transgender, and if, by extension, she might possibly be legally obligated to use a different public restroom.
"I notice more eyes trying to figure me out," she wrote. "At the grocery store, restaurants... Walmart was the worst. I want to scream, 'YES! You are seeing it right! This is breast cancer... Please check yourself!' But instead I let my eyes meet theirs in an almost plea for a change in what has become our society."
A 32-year-old breast cancer survivor bravely shared a photo of her chest on Facebook after having a double mastectomy and getting her lymph nodes removed. She posted her photo to show that "the great bathroom debate of 2016 has hurt more than just the transgender community."
Christi Salcedo is a Texas mom who was diagnosed with Stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma. After she chose to forgo reconstruction surgery, she says she began noticing people staring at her in ways that made her feel uncomfortable while in shops and other public places. She speculated that they were wondering if her flat chest indicated that she was transgender, and if, by extension, she might possibly be legally obligated to use a different public restroom.
"I notice more eyes trying to figure me out," she wrote. "At the grocery store, restaurants... Walmart was the worst. I want to scream, 'YES! You are seeing it right! This is breast cancer... Please check yourself!' But instead I let my eyes meet theirs in an almost plea for a change in what has become our society."
So the bathroom police have stooped to harassing cancer survivors. How low is that? Well… you can definitely go much lower than that! We head to Alaska where a trans athlete wanting to compete in her real gender was met with… a very small, and incredibly angry group of 12 Christian protestors. 12. 12. Yes, 12 protestors. Don’t these people have anything better to do?
http://usatodayhss.com/2016/transgender-track-athlete-makes-history-as-controversy-stirs-around-her
Haines (Alaska) senior sprinter Nattaphon “Ice” Wangyot made history at Alaska’s state track meet, becoming the first transgender student-athlete to compete individually for a high school state championship, according to the Alaska Dispatch News. As you might expect with any progressively historical event, it did not come without controversy.
Alaska Family Action president Jim Minnery and a dozen supporters of his conservative group gathered outside the state track meet to protest an 18-year-old who was trying to live her life, according to multiple local media reports.
“We are here today as a voice from the community to ensure that female athletes are not denied the playing opportunities and scholarships otherwise available to them and to make the playing field even again,” Minnery said during a press conference at the state meet, per the Alaska Dispatch News. “… Allowing students to play on teams of the opposite sex disproportionately impacts female students, who will lose spots on track, soccer and volleyball teams to male students who identify as female.”
Haines (Alaska) senior sprinter Nattaphon “Ice” Wangyot made history at Alaska’s state track meet, becoming the first transgender student-athlete to compete individually for a high school state championship, according to the Alaska Dispatch News. As you might expect with any progressively historical event, it did not come without controversy.
Alaska Family Action president Jim Minnery and a dozen supporters of his conservative group gathered outside the state track meet to protest an 18-year-old who was trying to live her life, according to multiple local media reports.
“We are here today as a voice from the community to ensure that female athletes are not denied the playing opportunities and scholarships otherwise available to them and to make the playing field even again,” Minnery said during a press conference at the state meet, per the Alaska Dispatch News. “… Allowing students to play on teams of the opposite sex disproportionately impacts female students, who will lose spots on track, soccer and volleyball teams to male students who identify as female.”
Whose voice are you defending, exactly? I mean if you would wake up and look around, you would realize that, um…………. Nobody cares but you!!! You have a group of 12! That’s the estimated passenger capacity of a Mercedes Sprinter! The protestors to non protestor ratio there is 0.01%, or about the same as how much cash you actually get back on a Capital One card. It sucks that happened. By the way, remember when I said that I would post an actual sex crime every single time Christian people feel the need to harass trans people like the above story? Well they leave us with no shortage of material for this week. So this happened in Florida:
http://kfor.com/2016/06/06/elementary-school-principal-arrested-on-child-pornography-charges/
The principal of a Florida elementary school is in hot water after he was arrested on child pornography charges.
Police arrested 59-year-old Ricky Sheppard following a search of his home.
Investigators say they are still sifting through 1,100 files that they claim are “child notable.”
Sheppard, who is the principal of Spessard Holland Elementary School in Satellite Beach, was placed on administrative leave.
While this was his first year as a principal at the school, officials told WESH that he has worked for the district for the last 35 years.
In fact, WESH reports that Sheppard was officially reprimanded in 1999 for allegedly giving inappropriate gifts and making inappropriate statements to a first-grader.
“Honestly, words can’t express just how saddened and disgusted I am,” said Dr. Desmond Blackburn, Brevard County Schools superintendent.
If convicted, Sheppard could face up to 20 years in prison.
The principal of a Florida elementary school is in hot water after he was arrested on child pornography charges.
Police arrested 59-year-old Ricky Sheppard following a search of his home.
Investigators say they are still sifting through 1,100 files that they claim are “child notable.”
Sheppard, who is the principal of Spessard Holland Elementary School in Satellite Beach, was placed on administrative leave.
While this was his first year as a principal at the school, officials told WESH that he has worked for the district for the last 35 years.
In fact, WESH reports that Sheppard was officially reprimanded in 1999 for allegedly giving inappropriate gifts and making inappropriate statements to a first-grader.
“Honestly, words can’t express just how saddened and disgusted I am,” said Dr. Desmond Blackburn, Brevard County Schools superintendent.
If convicted, Sheppard could face up to 20 years in prison.
Holy fuck!!! Did you see that quote from the superintendent of the district? “Words can’t express how disgusted I am.” Gee, really? Did we learn nothing from Jerry Sandusky? I mean the parallels are freightingly similar. Jerry Sandusky was investigated in the 90s for unwanted advances toward young males. This guy was investigated in the 90s for unwanted advances toward young males. I mean if they had caught him earlier and hauled his ass off to prison a long time ago, then well, I can’t say I feel sorry for thee Super in this case. At least this guy will be sharing a cell with Jared Fogel and Jerry Sandusky.
[font size="8"]The Stanford Rapist[/font]
There is going to be a serious trigger warning for this next entry. So I will give you an out and allow you to skip over this one now before you go down the rabbit hole, for this is a very disturbing story. You can take the red pill and go down the rabbit hole, or take the blue pill and skip ahead. You want to take the red pill?
So you’re taking the red pill then? OK. Well something really fucked up happened at my father’s alma matter over last week. So last year, Brock Turner, a star athlete at Stanford, was caught creating a real rape of an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. And not only that the judge who sentenced him – was a Stanford graduate! You know I would expect this kind of cronyism coming from the Ivy Leagues but not on the West Coast damn it! Well this happened:
Brock Allen Turner, the former Stanford swimmer who was discovered raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster on campus in January of last year, will be sentenced to six months in county jail and probation. Prosecutors had recommended that Turner receive a sentence of six years, but judge Aaron Persky determined that Turner's age — 20 — and lack of criminal history warranted him a much shorter sentence.
“A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him," Persky said at Turner's sentencing on Thursday. "I think he will not be a danger to others." Meanwhile, the 23-year-old victim in the rape case, who had had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit at the time of the rape and who had no memory of the attack, gave important testimony at the trial.
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/06/stanford-swimmer-brock-allen-turner-sentenced.html?mid=fb-share-thecut
“A prison sentence would have a severe impact on him," Persky said at Turner's sentencing on Thursday. "I think he will not be a danger to others." Meanwhile, the 23-year-old victim in the rape case, who had had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit at the time of the rape and who had no memory of the attack, gave important testimony at the trial.
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/06/stanford-swimmer-brock-allen-turner-sentenced.html?mid=fb-share-thecut
Yes. That happened. And it’s just about as disgusting as one could possibly imagine. So while the bathroom police are going on and on about trans people committing sex crimes (despite that there has never been a single instance of this reported), an actual rapist gets off the hook. Well done, fundies! Bravo! Let’s go further down the rabbit hole on this – the judge is facing a possible recall because of what he did:
The presiding judge in the Stanford sexual assault case is now facing recall after handing down a farcical sentence to a former Stanford student convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside of a fraternity party.
In a lamentable ebullition of the “old boys club” mentality that has seen sexual violence become endemic on college campuses, Judge Aaron Persky, a former captain of the Stanford lacrosse team, sentenced Brock Turner, a former Stanford student-athlete, to a mere six months in county jail. The wrist slap handed down by the judge is less than half of the two-year state minimum prescribed by California law for the convicted felon’s offenses.
Persky’s dubious sentencing and comments made by Turner’s father, who reduced his son’s transgressions to “twenty minutes of action,” have been met with widespread outrage and condemnation. Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University and outspoken critic of sexual assault policies on campus, is leading the charge to oust Persky saying, “the judge bent over backwards in order to make an exception … and the message to women and students is ‘you’re on your own,’ and the message to potential perpetrators is ‘I’ve got your back.’”
http://occupydemocrats.com/2016/06/07/judge-gave-slap-wrist-stanford-rapist-facing-recall/
In a lamentable ebullition of the “old boys club” mentality that has seen sexual violence become endemic on college campuses, Judge Aaron Persky, a former captain of the Stanford lacrosse team, sentenced Brock Turner, a former Stanford student-athlete, to a mere six months in county jail. The wrist slap handed down by the judge is less than half of the two-year state minimum prescribed by California law for the convicted felon’s offenses.
Persky’s dubious sentencing and comments made by Turner’s father, who reduced his son’s transgressions to “twenty minutes of action,” have been met with widespread outrage and condemnation. Michele Landis Dauber, a law professor at Stanford University and outspoken critic of sexual assault policies on campus, is leading the charge to oust Persky saying, “the judge bent over backwards in order to make an exception … and the message to women and students is ‘you’re on your own,’ and the message to potential perpetrators is ‘I’ve got your back.’”
http://occupydemocrats.com/2016/06/07/judge-gave-slap-wrist-stanford-rapist-facing-recall/
Yes so the moral of the story is that if you’re white and going to an upper class university, and you deliberately commit a crime of this caliber and you face a judge who is from the same university, well he’s got your back! But there’s something that is even more fucked up about this case and I can’t quite put my finger on it:
It was the epitome of white privilege, the narrative went — a student and star swimmer at prestigious Stanford University is arrested on rape-related charges, and after more than 16 months, he's sentenced to only six months.
And the authorities refuse to let the public see his arrest photo.
Until Monday...
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/after-months-requests-mugshots-stanford-rapist-brock-turner-finally-emerge-n586936
And the authorities refuse to let the public see his arrest photo.
Until Monday...
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/after-months-requests-mugshots-stanford-rapist-brock-turner-finally-emerge-n586936
Wait – so the authorities waited for *MONTHS* to release Turner’s photo? Have they not read The Smoking Gun? You can see people’s mug shots and arrest warrants like minutes after they are posted! I mean what the fuck? This is a real life cover up here folks! Several people involved in this case are going down with the judge included! By the way, read the statement from the victim – it’s pretty harrowing. But by the way, in case you were wondering, why yes Brock Turner doesn’t blame himself for the incident. He blames it on……..
………. Wait for it…….. the Stanford party system!
The woman who was assaulted by former Stanford student Brock Turner has received international attention for her powerful statement describing the trauma she and her family have suffered. One particularly compelling part of the victim’s testimony is her anguish over Turner’s refusal to express remorse and take responsibility for sexually assaulting her while she was unconscious – an attack that led a jury to convict him of three felonies.
The Guardian has since obtained a copy of Turner’s full statement to judge Aaron Persky, who gave him a lenient sentence of six months in county jail, sparking widespread outrage and a recall campaign.
The letter from the former swimmer offers a close look at the many ways Turner has refused to even acknowledge that he assaulted the woman, despite the guilty verdicts, and has instead continued to place blame on a “party culture” of “drinking”.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/07/brock-turner-statement-stanford-rape-case-campus-culture
The Guardian has since obtained a copy of Turner’s full statement to judge Aaron Persky, who gave him a lenient sentence of six months in county jail, sparking widespread outrage and a recall campaign.
The letter from the former swimmer offers a close look at the many ways Turner has refused to even acknowledge that he assaulted the woman, despite the guilty verdicts, and has instead continued to place blame on a “party culture” of “drinking”.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/07/brock-turner-statement-stanford-rape-case-campus-culture
Party culture? Of Drinking? You know you can go to parties without feeling the need to assault someone unconscious in an alley way right? That is on you. It’s entirely on you. And you have a judge backing this creep. Just what the fuck. Wow. But there are some people who do have Mr. Turner’s back – read this article from the Onion’s AV Club about a female fronted rock band called “Good English” that got pulled from multiple festivals and appearances because of their support for Mr. Turner. But in fact here’s where Turner was quite literally caught with his pants down by two Swedish tourists who were biking through Palo Alto:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/emaoconnor/meet-the-two-swedish-men-who-caught-brock-turner?utm_term=.sb6yo28Az#.ebMX0RDvb
Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson, the two Swedish Ph.D. students who found Brock Turner sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster at Stanford, said they immediately knew something was wrong.
Nearly a year and a half ago Arndt and Jonsson were biking to a party on Stanford’s campus when they saw Turner, 20, on top of his victim behind a dumpster. They managed to tackle Turner as he ran away and they called the police.
The two men were key witnesses in the case against Turner, who was eventually found guilty of three counts of sexual assault and was sentenced by Judge Aaron Persky to three months of a six-month sentence in county jail with probation. He said a longer sentence in prison would have a “severe impact” on the Stanford athlete.
“Thank you to the two men who saved me, who I have yet to meet,” the victim wrote. “I sleep with two bicycles that I drew taped above my bed to remind myself there are heroes in this story. That we are looking out for one another. To have known all of these people, to have felt their protection and love, is something I will never forget.”
Carl-Fredrik Arndt and Peter Jonsson, the two Swedish Ph.D. students who found Brock Turner sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a dumpster at Stanford, said they immediately knew something was wrong.
Nearly a year and a half ago Arndt and Jonsson were biking to a party on Stanford’s campus when they saw Turner, 20, on top of his victim behind a dumpster. They managed to tackle Turner as he ran away and they called the police.
The two men were key witnesses in the case against Turner, who was eventually found guilty of three counts of sexual assault and was sentenced by Judge Aaron Persky to three months of a six-month sentence in county jail with probation. He said a longer sentence in prison would have a “severe impact” on the Stanford athlete.
“Thank you to the two men who saved me, who I have yet to meet,” the victim wrote. “I sleep with two bicycles that I drew taped above my bed to remind myself there are heroes in this story. That we are looking out for one another. To have known all of these people, to have felt their protection and love, is something I will never forget.”
That is how it is done.
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
This year’s Super Bowl seems to be the nexus of time and space. When time travel is invented, somehow time travelers will travel back to that exact pin point to tell all of humanity that this is where it all went wrong. I mean you have Alex Jones claiming that Beyonce’s appearance at the Super Bowl is the beginning of a government sponsored race war. And well this interview resurfaced with MVP Peyton Manning and SF Gate about his views on a lot of different things. One item in particular stood out:
On Donald Trump: “I played a round of golf with him in Tahoe. I didn’t play real well, so I was kind of focused on trying to find my ball... The times I’ve been around him, he’s been extremely nice to me. ... I’m just a meathead. I can’t talk politics.”
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Peyton-Manning-On-Cam-Newton-Donald-Trump-Tom-6799635.php
http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Peyton-Manning-On-Cam-Newton-Donald-Trump-Tom-6799635.php
Yes, you heard that correctly ladies and gentlemen. Not only did Peyton Manning undermine his own intelligence with that Palin-esque grammar defying sentence explosion, he let the entire world know that he kind of…. Sort of…. But not really… endorses Trumpenfuror… ? Well we’ll talk about celebrity endorsements in a little bit. But first we got to talk about Trump University. So the New York AG has come down hard on Trumpenfuror and his sham of a university. Before we go further let’s roll tape on John Oliver’s segment on Trump U:
(CNN)New York's attorney general, who is leading a lawsuit against Trump University there, made his view of the case clear on Thursday: "It's fraud. This is straight up fraud."
Eric Schneiderman laced into presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump over the suit during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," repeatedly describing the businessman as dishonest and manipulative in his role with the now-defunct program.
"The law is very clear. The law protects the gullible as well as the sophisticated. As we've seen over the course of the last year, there are a lot of people who fall for Mr. Trump's promises and rhetoric," Schneiderman said.
Trump is currently facing three separate lawsuits -- two class action suits filed in California and one in New York by Schneiderman -- which argue the program that took in an estimated $40 million, but was mired in fraud and deception.
Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/02/politics/eric-schneiderman-attorney-general-trump-university-fraud/index.html
Eric Schneiderman laced into presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump over the suit during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," repeatedly describing the businessman as dishonest and manipulative in his role with the now-defunct program.
"The law is very clear. The law protects the gullible as well as the sophisticated. As we've seen over the course of the last year, there are a lot of people who fall for Mr. Trump's promises and rhetoric," Schneiderman said.
Trump is currently facing three separate lawsuits -- two class action suits filed in California and one in New York by Schneiderman -- which argue the program that took in an estimated $40 million, but was mired in fraud and deception.
Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/02/politics/eric-schneiderman-attorney-general-trump-university-fraud/index.html
“That AG doesn’t know what he’s talking about! I like my fraud served straight up with a slice of lime in a tall glass of ice. It will be the best ice, I use the best limes. It’s gonna be huge”!
But is this the kind of thing you learn at Trump University?
Let’s go further.
Nearly 400 pages of Trump University "playbooks" were publicly released Tuesday, detailing aggressive sales techniques and investing strategies taught at the real estate seminar business founded by Donald Trump.
The documents are evidence in a California class action suit -- Art Cohen v. Donald J. Trump -- that alleges the now-defunct Trump University failed to deliver on its promises to provide a premier real estate education with instructors "hand-picked" by Trump. The suit also alleges that the University would "upsell" students from one seminar to more expensive ones.
The order to release the documents was granted by U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel after a request by the Washington Post. Trump's attorneys had fought to keep the playbooks private, on the grounds that they contained trade secrets. Curiel, however, didn't find enough merit in that argument.
And, Curiel noted, there is now public interest in them since Trump "became the front-runner in the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race, and has placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue."
Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/31/news/companies/trump-university-playbook-documents/
The documents are evidence in a California class action suit -- Art Cohen v. Donald J. Trump -- that alleges the now-defunct Trump University failed to deliver on its promises to provide a premier real estate education with instructors "hand-picked" by Trump. The suit also alleges that the University would "upsell" students from one seminar to more expensive ones.
The order to release the documents was granted by U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel after a request by the Washington Post. Trump's attorneys had fought to keep the playbooks private, on the grounds that they contained trade secrets. Curiel, however, didn't find enough merit in that argument.
And, Curiel noted, there is now public interest in them since Trump "became the front-runner in the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race, and has placed the integrity of these court proceedings at issue."
Read more: http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/31/news/companies/trump-university-playbook-documents/
Holy shit! That’s either taking a page out of Scientology or it’s taking a page from Carl’s Jr. “I would like to buy a #6.” And no I don’t want iced coffee or cake. When does anyone ever buy dessert at a fast food restaurant? For me? Um never! And let’s take a look at this ad for Trump University that was posted 6 years ago!
Wait – As Seen On TV Network? They seem trustworthy! I would get an education from them! Let’s look at the intro, shall we?
Yes that is what Trump himself was teaching – “The Art Of The Deal”. Or the art of the scam:
Donald Trump was personally involved in devising the marketing strategy for Trump University, even vetting potential ads, according to newly disclosed sworn testimony from the company’s top executive taken as part of an ongoing lawsuit.
In the testimony, part of a trove of records made public as a result of a federal judge’s Friday order, the executive said that the real estate mogul was involved in discussions and signed off “any time we had a new ad.”
“Mr. Trump understandably is protective of his brand and very protective of his image and how he’s portrayed,” Michael Sexton, Trump University’s president, said in the 2012 deposition. “And he wanted to see how his brand and image were portrayed in Trump University marketing materials. And he had very good and substantive input as well.”
The order Friday from U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel came in response to a request by The Washington Post, which argued that the public had an interest in learning about a business run by a potential president. Lawyers for Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, opposed the release, arguing that the records contained trade secrets.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-involved-in-crafting-controversial-trump-university-ads-executive-testified/2016/05/31/f032a488-2741-11e6-ae4a-3cdd5fe74204_story.html
In the testimony, part of a trove of records made public as a result of a federal judge’s Friday order, the executive said that the real estate mogul was involved in discussions and signed off “any time we had a new ad.”
“Mr. Trump understandably is protective of his brand and very protective of his image and how he’s portrayed,” Michael Sexton, Trump University’s president, said in the 2012 deposition. “And he wanted to see how his brand and image were portrayed in Trump University marketing materials. And he had very good and substantive input as well.”
The order Friday from U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel came in response to a request by The Washington Post, which argued that the public had an interest in learning about a business run by a potential president. Lawyers for Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, opposed the release, arguing that the records contained trade secrets.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-involved-in-crafting-controversial-trump-university-ads-executive-testified/2016/05/31/f032a488-2741-11e6-ae4a-3cdd5fe74204_story.html
But now Donald Trump is trying to weasel his way out of the lawsuits in the most Donald Trump way possible:
Donald Trump has become obsessed with the Mexican heritage of the judge overseeing two Trump University lawsuits — and refuses to recognize his attacks on racism.
The Donald doubled down against U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel on Sunday, saying the Hispanic justice has "got bias" against him.
The presumptive GOP nominee even expanded his bigotry to other ethnicities — claiming he wouldn't get a fair trial from Muslim justices, either.
Asked on CBS's "Face the Nation" if a Muslim judge would treat Trump unfairly — since he has vowed to ban Muslims from entering America — the monster mogul said: "It's possible, yes. That would be possible, absolutely."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/donald-trump-amplifies-racist-attacks-mexican-muslim-judges-article-1.2662144
The Donald doubled down against U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel on Sunday, saying the Hispanic justice has "got bias" against him.
The presumptive GOP nominee even expanded his bigotry to other ethnicities — claiming he wouldn't get a fair trial from Muslim justices, either.
Asked on CBS's "Face the Nation" if a Muslim judge would treat Trump unfairly — since he has vowed to ban Muslims from entering America — the monster mogul said: "It's possible, yes. That would be possible, absolutely."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/donald-trump-amplifies-racist-attacks-mexican-muslim-judges-article-1.2662144
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Damn, I love the Lonely Island. I won’t pimp too many recommendations here, but go see their new flick “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping”. I would compare it to a modern day Spinal Tap. It’s absolutely hilarious and a great escape from 24 / 7 Donald Trump news. But please hear me out before you go see it though. Donald Trump. I don’t think I need to say anything further, do I? Well CNN caught him in a lie about his stance on Japan having nukes. Well let’s roll tape on that, shall we?
Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh!!!!!!!!!!! No they didn’t! You can’t fact check Trumpenfuror while he’s lying on prime time television! Because that’s all he does, every minute of every day! But for this particular entry we’re going to tell you about the time Donald Trump got in a feud with the late, great Muhammad Ali. So here’s what Trumpenfuror did in the hours just after it was announced to the world that Ali had passed. But first can we throw that Tweet up there?
Which is ironic, especially when you consider that just last December – Donald Trump called for an all out ban on Muslims traveling to and from the United States. Can we throw that up there?
But of course that didn’t stop Trumpenfuror. Remember in the last edition I said that with Donald Trump, there is no wrong answer to any given question, and that answer changes daily.
Days after he first called for a total ban on Muslim immigration to the United States last December, Donald Trump questioned whether there is such a thing as a Muslim sports hero.
It was unfathomable that Trump could forget Muhammad Ali, the consensus greatest boxer in history, a world-renown activist-athlete who always put his identity as a Muslim front and center.
Meanwhile, the Obamas released a statement acknowledging Ali’s Muslim faith and and remembering the champ as having a name “as familiar to the downtrodden in the slums of Southeast Asia and the villages of Africa as it was to the cheering crowds in Madison Square Garden.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/04/3784821/donald-trump-suddenly-remembers-muhammad-ali/
It was unfathomable that Trump could forget Muhammad Ali, the consensus greatest boxer in history, a world-renown activist-athlete who always put his identity as a Muslim front and center.
Meanwhile, the Obamas released a statement acknowledging Ali’s Muslim faith and and remembering the champ as having a name “as familiar to the downtrodden in the slums of Southeast Asia and the villages of Africa as it was to the cheering crowds in Madison Square Garden.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/06/04/3784821/donald-trump-suddenly-remembers-muhammad-ali/
Yup! So the Champ was a devout Muslim and activist! But in fact back in December, Trump was taken down by Ali shortly after that Tweet had gone public:
WHAT political lesson should Americans draw from the death of Muhammad Ali, an event so large that it united such figures as Barack Obama and Donald Trump in public mourning? As news broke of the boxer’s passing at 74, the Republican businessman tweeted that the former heavyweight was “a truly great champion and a wonderful guy” who will be “missed by all!”
For his part the president noted that in his private study, just off the Oval Office, he keeps a pair of Mr Ali’s gloves on display, just under an “iconic photograph” of the young champion “roaring like a lion over a fallen Sonny Liston”.
Some will see nothing more than opportunism by two politicians pandering to popular grief. Though Mr Ali provoked much fury in his youth by refusing to serve in Vietnam and by converting to Islam, ditching his “slave name” of Cassius Clay along the way, he died a national treasure, his explosive reputation made safe by time, suffering and stoicism—and above all his long fight with Parkinson’s disease and the damage caused by years in the ring.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2016/06/champ-and-chump
For his part the president noted that in his private study, just off the Oval Office, he keeps a pair of Mr Ali’s gloves on display, just under an “iconic photograph” of the young champion “roaring like a lion over a fallen Sonny Liston”.
Some will see nothing more than opportunism by two politicians pandering to popular grief. Though Mr Ali provoked much fury in his youth by refusing to serve in Vietnam and by converting to Islam, ditching his “slave name” of Cassius Clay along the way, he died a national treasure, his explosive reputation made safe by time, suffering and stoicism—and above all his long fight with Parkinson’s disease and the damage caused by years in the ring.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2016/06/champ-and-chump
Yes so Trump and President Obama both honored Muhammad Ali in their own way, but no one is more hypocritical about it than Trumpenfuror.
[font size="8"]Donald Trump Supporters[/font]
It’s been a while since we’ve brought up Donald Trump supporters but there are a lot of them it seems in growing numbers. Well… really the only thing that’s really growing is the number of Z-list celebrities, white supremacists and fascist dictatorships that are quickly joining the fury that is the Donald Trump campaign. Sure we already mentioned Paul Ryan giving a hearty dose of some good old fashioned GOP hypocrisy, but here’s who is *NOT* endorsing Trumpenfuror this week – South Carolina governor Nikki Hayley:
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) warned that the divisive rhetoric presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump is known for can lead to tragic events like the racially-motivated massacre last summer at a Charleston church ...
The South Carolina governor, who is of Indian descent and endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the 2016 race, has spoken out against Trump’s “irresponsible” rhetoric about immigration many times during the campaign.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/nikki-haley-links-trump-dylann-roof
The South Carolina governor, who is of Indian descent and endorsed Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the 2016 race, has spoken out against Trump’s “irresponsible” rhetoric about immigration many times during the campaign.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/nikki-haley-links-trump-dylann-roof
Yup – according to Gov. Hayley, Donald Trump’s increasingly divided rhetoric will lead to some very bad things, but we won’t touch that one with a 10 foot pole. But who is endorsing Trumpenfuror? Why it’s campaign bench warmer Marco Rubio!
During the campaign, Marco Rubio called Donald Trump a “lunatic” and a “con artist.” He said that Trump has spent “40 years sticking it to the little guy” and “has no ideas of any substance.” He blasted Trump for refusing to condemn “white supremacists and the Klu Klux Klan.” Rubio said that the comments Trump made on the trail disqualified him from being commander in chief.
Now, Rubio has endorsed Trump for President. In an interview with CNN, he went further than that, saying that he would speak on behalf of Trump at the Cleveland convention if asked, calling Trump “the ultimate change agent.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/05/29/3783076/marco-rubio-publicly-apologizes-trump-saying-small-hands/
Now, Rubio has endorsed Trump for President. In an interview with CNN, he went further than that, saying that he would speak on behalf of Trump at the Cleveland convention if asked, calling Trump “the ultimate change agent.”
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/05/29/3783076/marco-rubio-publicly-apologizes-trump-saying-small-hands/
“Well I welcome Mr. Rubio’s endorsement and by the way, my penis is huge! And so are my hands!”
But Donald Trump supporters are getting crazier and scarier by the day. Look at what two are suggesting, the first – a gun lobbyist says that we might have to “resort to the bullet box”. But you know when they launch a threat like that, they’re not going to do anything, it just makes them look like tough guys and gives them any excuse they can to whip out their precious:
The former head of an influential pro-gun lobbying group said over the weekend that losing the White House could mean pro-gun activists “have to resort to the bullet box” to protect the Second Amendment.
In a conversation on his “Gun Owners News Hour,” Larry Pratt, executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America, interviewed Robert Knight, a fellow at the conservative American Civil Rights Union, who said a Democrat taking the White House and replacing the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would pose “great peril” to gun rights.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/larry-pratt-bullet-box-scotus
In a conversation on his “Gun Owners News Hour,” Larry Pratt, executive director emeritus of Gun Owners of America, interviewed Robert Knight, a fellow at the conservative American Civil Rights Union, who said a Democrat taking the White House and replacing the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would pose “great peril” to gun rights.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/larry-pratt-bullet-box-scotus
When are gun rights in jeopardy ever? I mean seriously in this country guns have more rights than people do! Congratulations NRA, you won! You don’t need any more gun rights! Well even crazier Trump supporters have emerged:
Last December, Donald Trump's presidential campaign approved David Riden to be a delegate candidate on the Tennessee ballot, and when the state held its primary in March, voters selected Riden to go to the Republican National Convention. When Riden represents Trump there in July, it will not be his first time as a delegate to a political gathering. Seven years ago in Illinois he attended the so-called "Continental Congress of 2009," where he and other delegates put forth "Articles of Freedom" that called for abolishing all federal firearms laws, replacing the Department of Homeland Security with citizen militias, and, if necessary, launching an insurrection against the federal government.
Riden explains that his views today go even further than those of the Continental Congress of 2009—his involvement in which he says he explicitly disclosed to the Trump campaign when he applied to be a delegate. Riden told Mother Jones in an interview that US leaders who violate the Constitution may have to be done away with: "The polite word is 'eliminated,'" he said. "The harsh word is 'killed.'"
Riden said he keeps in contact with a militia group based in Tennessee, though he is not a militia member himself. He said all three branches of the US government are "way off away from the Constitution right now." Americans may need to attack with assault weapons and bombs in the nation's capital and elsewhere, he said ...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/trump-delegates-patriot-movement-militias
Riden explains that his views today go even further than those of the Continental Congress of 2009—his involvement in which he says he explicitly disclosed to the Trump campaign when he applied to be a delegate. Riden told Mother Jones in an interview that US leaders who violate the Constitution may have to be done away with: "The polite word is 'eliminated,'" he said. "The harsh word is 'killed.'"
Riden said he keeps in contact with a militia group based in Tennessee, though he is not a militia member himself. He said all three branches of the US government are "way off away from the Constitution right now." Americans may need to attack with assault weapons and bombs in the nation's capital and elsewhere, he said ...
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/trump-delegates-patriot-movement-militias
Wait… gun nuts held their own Continental Congress? Seriously? These people are about as batshit crazy as it gets! Well we still have to talk about one of the biggest endorsements Trumpenfuror has landed so far. No it’s not white supremacists or Z grade celebrites. It’s North Korea!
SEOUL North Korea has backed presumptive U.S. Republican nominee Donald Trump, with a propaganda website praising him as "a prescient presidential candidate" who can liberate Americans living under daily fear of nuclear attack by the North.
A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic state's mouthpieces, described Trump as a "wise politician" and the right choice for U.S. voters in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.
It described his most likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as "thick-headed Hillary" over her proposal to apply the Iran model of wide sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula.
Trump instead has told Reuters he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear program, and that China should also help solve the problem.
North Korea, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is under U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear tests. South Korea and the United States say its calls for dialogue are meaningless until it takes steps to end its nuclear ambitions.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-trump-idUSKCN0YN35S
A column carried on Tuesday by DPRK Today, one of the reclusive and dynastic state's mouthpieces, described Trump as a "wise politician" and the right choice for U.S. voters in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election.
It described his most likely Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as "thick-headed Hillary" over her proposal to apply the Iran model of wide sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula.
Trump instead has told Reuters he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear program, and that China should also help solve the problem.
North Korea, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is under U.N. sanctions over its past nuclear tests. South Korea and the United States say its calls for dialogue are meaningless until it takes steps to end its nuclear ambitions.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-trump-idUSKCN0YN35S
[font size="8"]Alex Jones[/font]
Infowars. That site you go to when you think Beyonce might literally be trying to kill you and eat your brains. And I’m serious about this one. So Alex Jones had batshit crazy, extreme far right end times conspiracy theorist pastor James David Manning on the Infowars show. Can we roll tape on that?
Jones and Manning make a great pair because between conspiracy theories and religious dogma, they cover the whole spectrum of blind faith. Think they can see through agendas and lies, which is why they host their own shows and try to tell people about their theories. Fair enough! One thing they said that seemed promising had to do with Beyoncé herself, which is reasonable considering that to some people, she practically is a religious symbol.
Jones said that the “Viacom, CIA-run weapons system is activating the Beyoncés and all the rest of the folks to say, ‘Go out and kill the pigs.’”
His reference, of course, was to her Black Panther-inspired Super Bowl performance. She has denied that the message had anything to do with killing cops and has maintained that her real message was a plea for cops to stop killing unarmed black people.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/alex-jones-latest-conspiracy-theory-is-that-obama-will/
Jones said that the “Viacom, CIA-run weapons system is activating the Beyoncés and all the rest of the folks to say, ‘Go out and kill the pigs.’”
His reference, of course, was to her Black Panther-inspired Super Bowl performance. She has denied that the message had anything to do with killing cops and has maintained that her real message was a plea for cops to stop killing unarmed black people.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/alex-jones-latest-conspiracy-theory-is-that-obama-will/
See this is where Alex Jones loses me. He claims that he can see through the government’s lies when he really can’t and in fact makes up his own. So let’s see if I can dissect Infowars “logic” in this insane story – Viacom runs CBS. CBS airs the Super Bowl. Beyonce played this year’s Super Bowl. And Beyonce is involved with the Black Panther organization. I know! This is all plot of a government plot to get people arrested, set up and put in jail because the government wants to declare war on police! Oh my god there really is a conspiracy here!
But that wasn’t the only crazy thing Alex Jones has said lately. So Donald Trump as we’ve already discovered this week, is trying to weasel his way out of Trump University lawsuits in the most Donald Trump way possible – by race baiting the judge. Let’s roll tape on that shall we?
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones went to bat for Donald Trump over the weekend, saying that the judge overseeing the Trump University lawsuit is practically the Mexican version of a Ku Klux Klan grandmaster.
The mogul set off a new controversy by repeatedly slamming Judge Gonzalo Curiel and saying that his Mexican heritage is a clear sign of a “conflict of interest” against Trump’s rhetoric.
Jones brought up the subject with Roger Stone, and he opined that Trump should turn up the heat because Curiel has promoted “race-based brainwashing” for decades.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/alex-jones-trump-u-judge-is-a-hispanic-grand-dragon-who-operates-like-the-kkk/
The mogul set off a new controversy by repeatedly slamming Judge Gonzalo Curiel and saying that his Mexican heritage is a clear sign of a “conflict of interest” against Trump’s rhetoric.
Jones brought up the subject with Roger Stone, and he opined that Trump should turn up the heat because Curiel has promoted “race-based brainwashing” for decades.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/alex-jones-trump-u-judge-is-a-hispanic-grand-dragon-who-operates-like-the-kkk/
Race based brainwashing. Try saying that one 5 times fast! Does Alex Jones even know what brainwashing is? Does he know Infowars is practically a cult?
[font size="8"]Deborah Wasserman-Shultz[/font]
And now it’s time for another installment of:
This week in People Who Somehow Got Elected – Deborah Wasserman-Shultz. She’s the elected representative of Florida’s 23rd district and chairman of the Florida Democratic National Committee (DNC). Wait, what? Why the hell is a democrat on the list of Top 10 Conservative Idiots? Well let’s explain further.
A law professor running against U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of South Florida says she is in the pocket of big banks and isn’t looking out for consumers who get crushed by debt from payday loans.
"My opponent, after taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street banks, has voted to prevent the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFTP) from regulating payday loans and addressing racial discrimination in car loans," said Tim Canova on his website.
Canova, a first-time candidate and professor at Nova Southeastern University, is challenging Wasserman Schultz in the August Democratic primary in a Broward/Miami-Dade district. The race has drawn national attention because Wasserman Schultz is the Democratic National Committee chair.
http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2016/mar/30/tim-canova/debbie-wasserman-schultz-attacked-bank-donations-a/
"My opponent, after taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street banks, has voted to prevent the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFTP) from regulating payday loans and addressing racial discrimination in car loans," said Tim Canova on his website.
Canova, a first-time candidate and professor at Nova Southeastern University, is challenging Wasserman Schultz in the August Democratic primary in a Broward/Miami-Dade district. The race has drawn national attention because Wasserman Schultz is the Democratic National Committee chair.
http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2016/mar/30/tim-canova/debbie-wasserman-schultz-attacked-bank-donations-a/
Yes, Wasserman-Shultz attacked banks but isn’t above taking handouts from predatory pay day loan companies. You know, those very evil companies you see with cute commercials like this:
But as John Oliver pointed out, they’re just plain fucking evil:
After all, how can you trust a company that spells the word “Quick” with a W? You don’t see Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick spelling his name like that, do you?
Yes that’s a terrible attempt at Photoshop humor at the expense of my hockey rivals. Well Wasserman-Shultz earned the scorn of Democratic chair Elizabeth Warren and they’ve chosen a suitable candidate to run against her:
Wasserman Schultz says she doesn’t want to stab GOP members of her own delegation in the back. But liberal bloggers say she’s killing her own while aiding and abetting the enemy.
Just for the record, I’m not in favor of knocking out all Republicans either — so perhaps I have a bit of the Wasserman Schultz sin in my own file. I was for instance supportive of Maryland Eastern Shore anti-Iraq war Republican Wayne Gilchrest who lost his primary battle recently.
But the Diaz-Balart brothers and Ros-Lehtinen are not moderate in any sense of the word, are embracers of Bush’s wars, and have been responsible for sustaining a counter-productive embargo of Cuba by the United States that 183 nations of the world voted against us on this past year in the United Nations.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is helping to defend the political turf of not the best in the Republican Party — but the worst.
http://washingtonnote.com/venting_about_d/
Just for the record, I’m not in favor of knocking out all Republicans either — so perhaps I have a bit of the Wasserman Schultz sin in my own file. I was for instance supportive of Maryland Eastern Shore anti-Iraq war Republican Wayne Gilchrest who lost his primary battle recently.
But the Diaz-Balart brothers and Ros-Lehtinen are not moderate in any sense of the word, are embracers of Bush’s wars, and have been responsible for sustaining a counter-productive embargo of Cuba by the United States that 183 nations of the world voted against us on this past year in the United Nations.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is helping to defend the political turf of not the best in the Republican Party — but the worst.
http://washingtonnote.com/venting_about_d/
Yes, Shultz’ logic makes about as much sense as Donald Trump saying that he wants to build a wall around Mexico, then in the next Tweet, brags about how much he loves Hispanics:
But Wasserman-Shultz also draws ire from the Democratic Party for her views on Florida’s marijuana legalization referendum:
In Florida, I supported the 2014 medical marijuana referendum that garnered about 58 percent of the vote state-wide, falling just short of the required 60 percent mark. My opponent, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is a drug warrior who opposed the medical marijuana referendum. Calling marijuana a “gateway” drug, she refuses to allow her constituents in South Florida, in consultation with their doctors, to decide for themselves whether to utilize this plant-based medicine to alleviate pain and other symptoms of various illnesses and the side effects of other medications
https://timcanova.com/issues
https://timcanova.com/issues
That’s straight from challenger Tim Canova. But as you may have guessed, Ms. Wasserman-Shultz has had a change of heart, albeit too little too late. Cue the sad Hulk music:
Return with us now to the saga of Debbie Wasserman Schultz and the soul of the Democratic Party. First, a quick recap: Rep. Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), chair of the Democratic National Committee, also has been an advocate for the payday loan industry. The website Think Progress even described her as the “top Democratic ally” of “predatory payday lenders.” You know — the bottom-feeding bloodsuckers of the working poor. Yes, them.
Low-income workers living from paycheck to paycheck, especially women and minorities, are the payday lenders’ prime targets — easy pickings because they’re often desperate. Twelve million Americans reportedly borrow nearly $50 billion a year through payday loans, at rates that can soar above 300 percent, sometimes even beyond 500 percent. Bethany McLean at The Atlantic recently reported that the government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) studied millions of payday loans and found that “67 percent went to borrowers with seven or more transactions a year and that a majority of those borrowers paid more in fees than the amount of their initial loan.”
Yet when the CFPB was drawing up new rules to make it harder for payday predators to feast on the poor, Rep. Wasserman Schultz co-sponsored a bill to delay those new rules by two years. How, you ask, could the head of the party’s national committee embrace such an appalling exploitation of working people? Just follow the money. Last year, the payday loan industry spent $3.5 million lobbying; and as we wrote two weeks ago, in Wasserman Schultz’s home state, since 2009, payday lenders have bought protection from Democrats and Republicans alike by contributing $2.5 million or so to candidates from both parties, including her. That’s how “Representative” Wasserman Schultz, among others, wound up representing the predators instead of the poor. ...
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/06/08/wasserman-schultz-has-change-heart-too-little-too-late
Low-income workers living from paycheck to paycheck, especially women and minorities, are the payday lenders’ prime targets — easy pickings because they’re often desperate. Twelve million Americans reportedly borrow nearly $50 billion a year through payday loans, at rates that can soar above 300 percent, sometimes even beyond 500 percent. Bethany McLean at The Atlantic recently reported that the government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) studied millions of payday loans and found that “67 percent went to borrowers with seven or more transactions a year and that a majority of those borrowers paid more in fees than the amount of their initial loan.”
Yet when the CFPB was drawing up new rules to make it harder for payday predators to feast on the poor, Rep. Wasserman Schultz co-sponsored a bill to delay those new rules by two years. How, you ask, could the head of the party’s national committee embrace such an appalling exploitation of working people? Just follow the money. Last year, the payday loan industry spent $3.5 million lobbying; and as we wrote two weeks ago, in Wasserman Schultz’s home state, since 2009, payday lenders have bought protection from Democrats and Republicans alike by contributing $2.5 million or so to candidates from both parties, including her. That’s how “Representative” Wasserman Schultz, among others, wound up representing the predators instead of the poor. ...
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/06/08/wasserman-schultz-has-change-heart-too-little-too-late
And yes that is Deborah Wasserman-Shultz:
[font size="8"]Axl Rose: Internet Police[/font]
Fat shaming. That thing you do when your 370 pound cousin comes for Thanksgiving dinner and you try to hide the extra mashed potatoes. “Hey only the thin people can have the cheese topped potatoes, John!”. While we don’t know Axl Rose’s actual political leanings, but considering he’s trying to censor the internet we can only guess he’s conservative. And that’s exactly what he’s doing in this case.
Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose is actually forcing users who share his infamous ‘fat photo’ to take it down — or face legal action. The photo has been widely used online for various memes about Axl Rose and is one of the first times in history that someone has actually tried to erase a meme from the internet.
TorrentFreak reports that Google received a DCMA notice from representatives of Axl Rose (Web Sheriff) requesting the photos be removed — or further legal action would be taken.
We can’t share the photo (directly) due to the legal threats of Axl Rose’s copyright hounds at Web Sheriff, so we’ll describe it to you. The picture shows Axl wearing a red headband, looking quite heavyset (he’s in good shape now) with his hair in disarray after what appears to be a science experiment gone wrong.
While the photo was taken at one of his shows and the photographer does retain the rights to the image, Axl’s camp says he signed an agreement giving oversight to him. I’m not sure why Axl doesn’t understand that these efforts will not be successful and will ultimately lead to MORE people sharing the meme on Facebook. There’s no way you can monitor millions of individuals uploading photos of you.
http://www.rockfeed.net/2016/06/06/axl-rose-fat-picture/
TorrentFreak reports that Google received a DCMA notice from representatives of Axl Rose (Web Sheriff) requesting the photos be removed — or further legal action would be taken.
We can’t share the photo (directly) due to the legal threats of Axl Rose’s copyright hounds at Web Sheriff, so we’ll describe it to you. The picture shows Axl wearing a red headband, looking quite heavyset (he’s in good shape now) with his hair in disarray after what appears to be a science experiment gone wrong.
While the photo was taken at one of his shows and the photographer does retain the rights to the image, Axl’s camp says he signed an agreement giving oversight to him. I’m not sure why Axl doesn’t understand that these efforts will not be successful and will ultimately lead to MORE people sharing the meme on Facebook. There’s no way you can monitor millions of individuals uploading photos of you.
http://www.rockfeed.net/2016/06/06/axl-rose-fat-picture/
So the site that I got this article from can’t show the picture. But we can!
Even as an overweight guy myself, I can’t help but laugh at some of the hilarious memes created at Axl’s expense. Like this one:
Or:
Or:
Wait – my lawyers are saying that we shouldn’t go any further or risk being sued by Axl himself. OK, I’ll sign. Wait just a minute…
The tried and tested method is to issue a DMCA takedown notice to webhosts and platforms such as Google, Facebook and YouTube. Millions of these requests are sent and processed every week.
However, while copyright holders are fully entitled to protect their work, there are many instances that cause controversy. These cases often amount to ham-handed efforts at taking down infringing content but others arouse suspicions that censorship is the likely goal.
Details of several such cases appeared in the Lumen Database’s DMCA archive this week, having been filed there by Google. They all relate to a wave of copyright claims sent to Blogspot and GoogleUserContent on May 31, 2016 demanding the removal of pictures depicting Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose.
https://torrentfreak.com/axl-rose-sends-dmca-notices-to-google-targeting-fat-photo-160605/
However, while copyright holders are fully entitled to protect their work, there are many instances that cause controversy. These cases often amount to ham-handed efforts at taking down infringing content but others arouse suspicions that censorship is the likely goal.
Details of several such cases appeared in the Lumen Database’s DMCA archive this week, having been filed there by Google. They all relate to a wave of copyright claims sent to Blogspot and GoogleUserContent on May 31, 2016 demanding the removal of pictures depicting Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose.
https://torrentfreak.com/axl-rose-sends-dmca-notices-to-google-targeting-fat-photo-160605/
[font size="8"]Hail Hydra!![/font]
The Avengers. You know them. You love them. Of course the recent flick Captain America: Civil War divided the Avengers in their views about government intervention when it comes to deploying super heroes for action. On one hand you have Tony Stark (Iron Man), Col. Rhodes (War Machine), Vision, King T’Challa of Wakanda (Black Panther), Natasha Romanova (Black Widow), and Peter Parker (Spiderman). And they are pro government intervention on super heroes. However, on the anti government intervention team, you have Steve Rodgers (Captain America), Sam Wilson (Falcon), Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier), Scott Lang (Ant-Man), Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch), Cliff Barton (Hawkeye), and Sharon Carter, Peggy Carter’s daughter. But could the reason for Captain America’s feud with Iron Man stem from the fact that Captain America is secretly a double agent working for the sinister HYDRA organization this entire time? Well here’s the panel in question:
On Wednesday, with the launch of Captain America: Steve Rogers No. 1, Marvel let loose one of the biggest revelations in recent memory: Captain America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers, a.k.a. America's greatest hero, is actually a Hydra agent.
Rogers is the guy who's famous for punching Hitler before America joined World War II. He's fought Nazis, and Hydra by association, on several occasions. He's saved the world and his friends. And in the latest Marvel movie, Captain America: Civil War, he showed that he's a true American hero who will fight for justice even when things looks grim.
So how did this happen? And is it possibly just a marketing stunt?
Putting Captain America in bed with the enemy is good for building buzz
The crucial thing to keep in mind — before the feelings roll in and the hurt starts to ache — is that the comic book industry is a business. Publishers want people to buy and talk about their comic books.
http://www.vox.com/2016/5/26/11780394/captain-america-hydra-spoilers
Rogers is the guy who's famous for punching Hitler before America joined World War II. He's fought Nazis, and Hydra by association, on several occasions. He's saved the world and his friends. And in the latest Marvel movie, Captain America: Civil War, he showed that he's a true American hero who will fight for justice even when things looks grim.
So how did this happen? And is it possibly just a marketing stunt?
Putting Captain America in bed with the enemy is good for building buzz
The crucial thing to keep in mind — before the feelings roll in and the hurt starts to ache — is that the comic book industry is a business. Publishers want people to buy and talk about their comic books.
http://www.vox.com/2016/5/26/11780394/captain-america-hydra-spoilers
Even Chris Evans himself was shocked at the news! This news was so shocking that it prompted the great Stan Lee himself to weigh in on the fanboy backlash:
In the wake of the reveal that Captain America may be a secret Hydra agent, many fans have speculated what Cap's creators would think of the story. While Joe Simon and Jack Kirby have both passed, Stan Lee, who modernized Captain America alongside Jack Kirby, has weighed in in favor of the shocking twist.
"It's a hell of a clever idea,” Lee told an audience at MegaCon (via Comicbook). “I don't know that I would ever have thought of it for him to be a double agent, but it's going to make you curious, it's going to make you want to read the books, they'll probably do a movie based on it. So I can't fault it; it's a good idea. I think it's crazy, but it's a good idea."
Lee and Kirby authored several stories in which Captain America professes to align himself with his enemies, including Tales of Suspense #67, when a mind controlled Steve Rogers pledges his allegiance to Red Skull and the Third Reich.
Others have also weighed in on the twist, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Clark Gregg telling writer Nick Spencer via Twitter, "You tell your story. I'll wait and see where it goes."
http://www.newsarama.com/29522-stan-lee-responds-to-cap-hydra-twist.html
"It's a hell of a clever idea,” Lee told an audience at MegaCon (via Comicbook). “I don't know that I would ever have thought of it for him to be a double agent, but it's going to make you curious, it's going to make you want to read the books, they'll probably do a movie based on it. So I can't fault it; it's a good idea. I think it's crazy, but it's a good idea."
Lee and Kirby authored several stories in which Captain America professes to align himself with his enemies, including Tales of Suspense #67, when a mind controlled Steve Rogers pledges his allegiance to Red Skull and the Third Reich.
Others have also weighed in on the twist, with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Clark Gregg telling writer Nick Spencer via Twitter, "You tell your story. I'll wait and see where it goes."
http://www.newsarama.com/29522-stan-lee-responds-to-cap-hydra-twist.html
Yes! Even Stan Lee himself has weighed in on the subject. In fact per a non binding contractual obligation, we have to include our Stan Lee cameo:
“You can’t buy love but you can rent it for 3 minutes!”
Well now that we got that out of the way, who else has an opinion on Captain America suddenly changing alliances to Hydra? Well it turns out that being shocking pays:
Captain America: Steve Rogers #1, by Nick Spencer and artist Jesus Saiz, was already a hugely anticipated title for Marvel fans, with a rejuvinated Steve Rogers making a return to the mantle of Captain America. Fans were thrown for a loop, however, when the final page of the issue revealed Cap speaking the words "Hail Hydra". The story even implies that Cap may have been a Hydra plant throughout his entire career. Now, it's been revealed via ComicBook.com that the issue has sold out and has gone back to press for a second printing. “It was difficult to keep this big of a twist a secret until the very last minute,” says Marvel SVP Sales & Marketing David Gabriel. “Since it hit, it’s been exciting to watch it take the world by storm. Sales have skyrocketed and despite a massive overprint, we’ve completely sold out of the 1stissue and will rush it back to print with 3 different covers.”
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/comics/comics-controversial-captain-america-steve-rogers-1-sells-out-a142283
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/comics/comics-controversial-captain-america-steve-rogers-1-sells-out-a142283
Yup, the issue is completely sold out everywhere folks! But here’s where things get weird – the sudden change in Steve Rodgers’ character prompted a wave of donations to the Holocaust Museum and a huge interest in the role that Nazism plays and played in the original creation of Captain America. I mean the first issue of Captain America ever showed him punching Hitler in the face!
In all the online sound and fury over the plot turn, a surprising response emerged among disappointed fans to challenge the comic: donate the price of the issue to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Rockscanfly, the name of the Tumblr user who came up with the idea, saw it shared far and wide across the Internet, finding favour among fans of the comic book character created by two Jewish cartoonists in the middle of WWII – whose very first cover saw him knocking auld Adolf’s blocks off with a single punch.
While it is unclear how many fans actually made the effort to donate the small fee to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Steve Rogers name, but the comic’s publication has sparked a huge debate amongst the Captain’s fans, both younger and older, over the role of Nazism in the character’s development and the impact of the Holocaust on popular culture.
http://www.newstalk.com/When-Marvel-turned-Captain-America-into-a-Nazi-fans-donated-to-the-Holocaust-Memorial-Museum
Rockscanfly, the name of the Tumblr user who came up with the idea, saw it shared far and wide across the Internet, finding favour among fans of the comic book character created by two Jewish cartoonists in the middle of WWII – whose very first cover saw him knocking auld Adolf’s blocks off with a single punch.
While it is unclear how many fans actually made the effort to donate the small fee to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Steve Rogers name, but the comic’s publication has sparked a huge debate amongst the Captain’s fans, both younger and older, over the role of Nazism in the character’s development and the impact of the Holocaust on popular culture.
http://www.newstalk.com/When-Marvel-turned-Captain-America-into-a-Nazi-fans-donated-to-the-Holocaust-Memorial-Museum
By the way is it weird that the late great Gary Shandling’s final scene filmed for his character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the sleazy Senator Stern who once grilled Tony Stark on Capital Hill about his use of the Iron Man suit, was being hauled off to prison after revealing that he was a Hydra mole?
Who else could be a member of Hydra? I know! Oh!!!!
#DonaldTrumpHailsHydra
[font size="8"]And Now This:[/font]
[font size="8"]Neil DeGrasse Tyson Schools Bill Maher On Science[/font]
See you next week!
June 6, 2016
Top that, Oprah!!!
John Oliver Makes TV History By Forgiving $15 Million In Medical Debt
As part of a scathing takedown of the debt-purchasing industry, late night comedian John Oliver forgave nearly $15 million of medical debt with a tap of a giant red button on Sunday night.
Oliver called the giveaway the "largest one-time giveaway in television history." He just about doubled the value of Oprah Winfrey's famous "You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" giveaway to her entire studio audience in 2004.
The stunt followed a long look at debt collectors on his HBO show "Last Week Tonight," in which Oliver sharply rebuked debt purchasers for unscrupulous behavior that is limited by hardly any regulatory oversight. (HBO is owned by CNNMoney's parent company, Time Warner.)
The segment included a hidden camera brought into a Debt Buyers Association conference by "Last Week Tonight" staffers, which showed panelists appearing to scoff at how Americans don't understand their legal rights about paying their debts.
To further illustrate the lack of regulation and ease at which debt collectors can harass people over money they owe, Oliver said "Last Week Tonight" spent $50 to create its own debt collection agency, based in Mississippi.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/06/technology/john-oliver-medical-debt/
Oliver called the giveaway the "largest one-time giveaway in television history." He just about doubled the value of Oprah Winfrey's famous "You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" giveaway to her entire studio audience in 2004.
The stunt followed a long look at debt collectors on his HBO show "Last Week Tonight," in which Oliver sharply rebuked debt purchasers for unscrupulous behavior that is limited by hardly any regulatory oversight. (HBO is owned by CNNMoney's parent company, Time Warner.)
The segment included a hidden camera brought into a Debt Buyers Association conference by "Last Week Tonight" staffers, which showed panelists appearing to scoff at how Americans don't understand their legal rights about paying their debts.
To further illustrate the lack of regulation and ease at which debt collectors can harass people over money they owe, Oliver said "Last Week Tonight" spent $50 to create its own debt collection agency, based in Mississippi.
http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/06/technology/john-oliver-medical-debt/
Top that, Oprah!!!
Profile Information
Member since: Sat Apr 2, 2005, 03:11 PMNumber of posts: 100,063