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Initech
Initech's Journal
Initech's Journal
June 17, 2016
Most excellent news.
Mateen's Wife, Father Added To FBI No Fly List
The wife and father of Orlando gay club shooter Omar Mateen have been added to federal no-fly lists as investigators determine what role they played, if any, in Sunday's massacre, according to a report.
Federal officials added Noor Salman, as well as her father-in-law Seddique Mateen, to the lists, ABC reports.
A grand jury is continuing to investigate if she played a role in the massacre that killed 49 clubgoers — considered the worst mass shooting in the nation's history.
Salman was with her husband when he recently bought ammunition and a holster, according to sources.
While holed up in a bathroom with hostages at club Pulse early Sunday morning, about two hours after launching the horrific attack, Mateen tapped out a message to his wife to ask if she had seen the news, according to CNN. She typed back and said she loved him.
Salman claimed she tried to persuade her 29-year-old husband, who was killed during a shootout with cops at the club, not to go forward with his sick plot.
Being added to a no-fly list will bar Salman and her father-in-law from being able to travel on a commercial airline.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/feds-add-orlando-gay-club-shooter%e2%80%99s-father-wife-to-no-fly-lists/ar-AAhdXeL?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp#image=AAfyGgY|4
Federal officials added Noor Salman, as well as her father-in-law Seddique Mateen, to the lists, ABC reports.
A grand jury is continuing to investigate if she played a role in the massacre that killed 49 clubgoers — considered the worst mass shooting in the nation's history.
Salman was with her husband when he recently bought ammunition and a holster, according to sources.
While holed up in a bathroom with hostages at club Pulse early Sunday morning, about two hours after launching the horrific attack, Mateen tapped out a message to his wife to ask if she had seen the news, according to CNN. She typed back and said she loved him.
Salman claimed she tried to persuade her 29-year-old husband, who was killed during a shootout with cops at the club, not to go forward with his sick plot.
Being added to a no-fly list will bar Salman and her father-in-law from being able to travel on a commercial airline.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/feds-add-orlando-gay-club-shooter%e2%80%99s-father-wife-to-no-fly-lists/ar-AAhdXeL?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp#image=AAfyGgY|4
Most excellent news.
June 16, 2016
This could have been a hell of a lot worse than it was. Glad he was there.
Pulse Bouncer And Former Marine / Afghanistan Vet Tells How He Saved Dozens During Shooting
Imran Yousuf, a bouncer at the Pulse nightclub, had an advantage. A Marine who had served in Afghanistan, Yousuf was able to use his training to quickly identify the impending threat and remain clear-headed as people died around him, according to the Marine Corps Times. Because of the 24-year-old’s decisive actions, he is being credited with saving dozens of lives.
He told CBS News that he knew something was horribly wrong as soon as he heard the familiar crack of gunfire. It was then, he said, that his training took over.
“The initial one was three or four” shots, said Yousuf, a former sergeant who left the Marine Corps last month. “That was a shock. Three of four shots go off, and you could tell it was a high-caliber [weapon]. Everyone froze. I’m here in the back, and I saw people start pouring into the back hallway, and they just sardine-pack everyone.”
Yousuf told CBS that he knew there was a door behind the panicked crowd, but people were too overwhelmed to unlatch it.
“And I’m screaming, ‘Open the door! Open the door!’ ” Yousuf said. “And no one is moving because they are scared.”
If they did not act, they could be targeted by the gunman, who could have appeared at any moment. They were a few feet from relative safety. Yousuf told CBS that there was “only one choice.”
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-a-heroic-marines-military-training-helped-him-save-dozens-from-orlando-gunman/ar-AAh5rRc
He told CBS News that he knew something was horribly wrong as soon as he heard the familiar crack of gunfire. It was then, he said, that his training took over.
“The initial one was three or four” shots, said Yousuf, a former sergeant who left the Marine Corps last month. “That was a shock. Three of four shots go off, and you could tell it was a high-caliber [weapon]. Everyone froze. I’m here in the back, and I saw people start pouring into the back hallway, and they just sardine-pack everyone.”
Yousuf told CBS that he knew there was a door behind the panicked crowd, but people were too overwhelmed to unlatch it.
“And I’m screaming, ‘Open the door! Open the door!’ ” Yousuf said. “And no one is moving because they are scared.”
If they did not act, they could be targeted by the gunman, who could have appeared at any moment. They were a few feet from relative safety. Yousuf told CBS that there was “only one choice.”
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-a-heroic-marines-military-training-helped-him-save-dozens-from-orlando-gunman/ar-AAh5rRc
This could have been a hell of a lot worse than it was. Glad he was there.
June 15, 2016
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #31: Making America Vulnerable Again Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! You know I had an entirely different edition planned for this week prior to last Sunday’s horrifying tragedy at the Pulse night club in Orlando. There’s absolutely no words to accurately express this tragedy and I almost considered not even doing a list this week to honor the victims. But then I remembered that the first list that I did way back last October was in response to the mass shooting in San Bernardino. Which to me that one hit way too close to home for comfort. So with that in mind we will press on with half of what we originally had planned. I mean this tragedy was horrible, and unlike the shooting in Paris, because this took place in an LGBT night club, this has brought out some of the worst in people. So with that in mind normally I’d reserve this space for some comedy sketch or something from a late night show like SNL, John Oliver, or Stephen Colbert, but instead I’m going to show the difference between the two parties with President Obama’s reaction to the shooting.
Now juxtapose that with Donald Trump who takes up the top two spots. In the first spot, Donald Trump is going full conspiracy theory on why he thinks President Obama may have had a hand in Saturday’s terrorist attack (hint: he didn’t). In the second spot, Don the Con has a brilliant idea for stopping terrorism among other things. The third spot is going to Omar Mateen (3) and his father’s influence on him and the shooting. In the number four spot, we are going to talk about Shooting Apologists (4) because unlike Paris, the religious right is secretly loving this, and people like Pastor Stephen Anderson are saying what they’re all thinking. Taking the fifth spot this week, is Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick who has that good old fashioned republican empathy they’re famous for on display. Taking the sixth spot, Pat Robertson (6) has what could quite possibly be the most batshit insane response to the shooting yet, which prompted the 700 Club to do some major damage control. Taking the number 7 seed is Brock Turner (7), remember Stanford’s *alleged* rapist that was last week’s outrage-du-jour? It’s not going away, in fact it’s getting weirder and creepier. And like all creepy weirdos in movies and TV, can I guess that his favorite song is “Hey Venus”? At number 8, the Bathroom Police (8) are taking things too far in their war on bathrooms, while Mt. Prospect, IL residents are fuming over a new store that sells adult diapers. Not to mention an anti-gay pastor was caught with child porn. In the number 9 slot, we’ve got another installment of “People Who Somehow Got Elected” and this week we’re going to tell you about Iowa Senator Charles Grassley who was blasted by Iowa newspapers for – and I’m quoting – “lacking a spine”. Finally this week, I love this story. We’re not going to leave you on a down note after all the horror that has gone on this week, because what kind of host would that make me? Not a very good one if you ask me! And this story involves Donald Trump and one of my favorite actors, Bruce Campbell. Who is the star of one of the best TV shows of the last few years, USA's Burn Notice, and the creator and star of the legendary horror-comedy movie franchise The Evil Dead. So this story involves the much retweeted picture of the bloodied Trump supporter which does not make liberals look good. Well, Bruce Campbell, the man himself recently found this to be a hoax and put an end to the madness himself in the most Ash way possible. Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
So this week everyone by now knows about the terrible tragedy in Orlando this week where there were not one, but two horrific shootings. The first was surrounding singer Christina Grimmee who was gunned down after her own concert during a meet and greet session. The second was the shooting at the Pulse LGBT night club. Well the reason why I showed that video of Obama’s reaction to the shooting is to juxtapose that with Donald Trump, who well showed the exact opposite of the kind of sympathy that should be coming from a leader in a time of tragedy. Can we throw that Tweet up there?
Yup! That’s right – in a time of tragedy people are congratulating Trumpenfuror on being right about radical Islam this entire time! Which of course prompted a wave of backlash coming from all kinds of people, and who had the strongest words for Trumpenfuror was coming from that of the great George Takei:
So how did Trumpenfuror take a tragedy and turn it into “Ha! I was right and the liberals were wrong”? Well…
“Well… congratulations to me! I am right about everything! We are going to build the best wall, we are going to keep all the Muslims out, it’s gonna be huge!”
And of course this has prompted a widespread backlash from all kinds of people. We’ve already pointed out Mr. Takei’s response to Donald Trump’s gloating but who else is pissed off? Well naturally a lot of people:
Well as you can imagine all this glorious backlash has people pointing fingers at Trumpenfuror over his stance of radical Islam being the thing that caused Saturday’s terrible tragedy. But Trumpenfuror even goes so far as to suggest Obama might have had a hand in the carrying out of this attack (he didn’t) :
Yup. He went there all right. Excuse me a minute…
But there is good news – Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of the amazing musical “Hamilton” was the anti-Trump at the Tonys and handled the tragedy with the class that you would expect. He’s definitely one of the good guys in show biz. Can we roll the tape on that?
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Ladies and gentlemen… I give you the 45th president of the United States – Donald J. Trump, on exactly how he plans to curtail terrorism, in the good old fashioned American sense. If you guessed he was going to consult the NRA on how to curtail terrorism, you are absolutely 100% correct sir / madam! You get points! Now first though we have to once again point out how the NY Daily News nails it yet again:
Yes! That’s exactly the kind of leadership we need because if you haven’t noticed, we Americans are scared shitless that we might be the victims of the next time some insane lunatic decides to open fire in a public place! This week alone we have had 3 shooting incidents – that insane incident where a guy shot a rock at Dallas Love Field, the horrible death of Christina Grimmee, and this mass shooting. Is he also going to consult McDonalds on how to curtail obesity or the Jack Daniels distillery on how to curtail drunk driving? #DonaldTrumpProblemSolvers
But nope, Trumpenfuror champions himself as a friend of the LGBT community! Here’s more on that:
“The best LGBT Americans live near Trump Tower in NYC! I love gays!!!”
But how much does Trumpenfuror love the LGBT community? Well let’s do some fact checking here.
And that’s just a hypothetical situation, ladies and gentlemen!
But Trumpenfuror even contradicted himself in his own stance on North Carolina’s HB-2:
[font size="8"]Omar Mateen[/font]
So Omar Mateen might be the first mass murderer to ever make the Top 10. Whew. Boy this guy was a gem. And I say “was” because he was killed by the police after murdering 51 innocent people who were just out to party at the Pulse. So let’s go back and explore just what drove Mateen insane to the point where he committed this act of terror and a hate crime on top of that. But first you know a senseless tragedy like this absolutely could have been prevented.
Yup! So with that in mind, Congress allowed this to happen. They allowed an alleged terrorist suspect like Mateen, who had previously been questioned by the FBI 3 times, to buy weapons of mass destruction. And yes, the AK 47 is a weapon of mass destruction, no matter how gun nuts will try to spin the argument. And believe me I am prepared to tangle if you want, gun nuts.
And here’s what might have drove him insane:
Yup! So he was on a watch list and allowed to legally purchase a weapon. But there’s more:
So Omar Mateen was an unhinged homophobe. But he might have been one of, no offense to our LGBT viewers, the biggest closet cases known to man:
And he was a frequent customer and regular visitor of Pulse:
But wait we’re still not done yet, the news has been coming fast and furious:
Twice! Twice the FBI had been investigating Mateen. But both investigations turned up nothing. The fact that he purchased a semi automatic 12 days ago should have been a tip off! In fact the roots of the problem can easily be traced back to Congress backing the NRA in that bill I talked about. And we’re still not done. Mateen’s father apparently ran for president of Afghanistan, hosted a TV show and pledged allegiance to the Taliban:
And what’s even scarier? Mateen was caught surveying Disneyworld:
So the question on the table now is where did Mateen purchase the weapons needed to carry out this horrific tragedy? Well the gun store in Orlando where he purchased the assault rifles needed to carry out this attack may offer some clues. But first read where a reporter was able to buy an AR-15 in the same amount of time it takes one to send back their order at Starbucks:
Recently news broke that an astonishing 91% of suspected terrorists were able to buy assault rifles. And now read about the gun shop that sold the guns to Mateen. They were shut down by the ATF twice. Twice!!!
Holy shit! They were shut down by the ATF not once but twice for illegal weapons sales. Twice! Let’s go further.
Wow, with that kind of hate-filled rhetoric coming from the owner of a gun store, that guy sounds like a real winner!
[font size="8"]Gun Nut Apologists[/font]
So gun nuts are in a very awkward position now. This is yet another chapter in the circular firing squad of shit. And it screws us all. So the protocol is now this:
1. Gun nut commits mass shooting.
2. Gun nut apologists like Alex Jones spread propaganda that Obama is going to take guns away, which he hasn’t in, um 8 FUCKING YEARS!!! Give it a rest already!!!
3. Gun nuts buy up assault rifles in droves thinking that guns are going to be banned.
4. The NRA influences Congress on proposed assault weapons ban.
5. Congress does absolutely nothing and lets proposed assault weapons ban fail.
6. Repeat step #1.
And this week because the shooting took place in an LGBT night club, this also puts Christian fundamentalists in an awkward position. Because they hate anything associated with the LGBT community. And normally when a mass shooting happens, such as the one in Paris this week, they are usually the first to offer their “thoughts and prayers”. Like this:
Yup! That’s the first thing they do. But this week they’re oddly silent and very hypocritical on the situation. Behind Door #1, I give you Tennessee Rep Andy Holt, who announced a raffle of an AR-15 not even 24 hours after news of the shooting broke:
And behind door #2 – the inevitable ISIS paranoia:
So you know there's a lot of solidarity with the Orlando victims now. And you know Obama ordered the flags at half staff. And there’s one county in Missouri, that naturally won’t have any of it. Why? Because they’re assholes. Read on:
And there’s Arizona pastor Stephen A. Anderson, who offered the usual sort of compassion that you would expect from an ultra far right winger:
And of course Alex Jones wasted no time in offering his usual bullshit that the Orlando attack was a false flag operation (it wasn’t) :
You know there’s some people who absolutely should have their guns taken away. Alex Jones is definitely one of them.
[font size="8"]Dan Patrick[/font]
Since news of the shooting broke there’s been a lot of stuff that has been coming fast and furious. And This might be one of the absolute saddest stories to come out of the tragedy at the Pulse:
I can’t imagine what those two families must be going through right now since a wedding is now turning into a joint funeral. Now as I said earlier that one thing that is unusual about this tragedy is that the Christian right has been oddly silent. No “thoughts or prayers” coming from anybody in this tragedy. And then there’s Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick who tweeted this:
Yup – in response to one of the worst shootings in US history, Dan Patrick not only thumps the Bible, but proves that far right Christians are every bit as insensitive and assholish as you would expect.
A "reap what you sow" tweet from Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick that went out hours after approximately 50 people were killed at a Florida LGBT nightclub has been deleted amid backlash.
At precisely 7 a.m. Sunday Dan Patrick tweeted a photo with the words of Galatians 6
. The verse reads, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."The Twitterverse circled the tweet, commenting that it was inappropriate and insensitive considering the context of the day's events. The Texas Democratic Party called for Patrick to apologize.
"Tweeted as new breaks of mass casualties at a gay nightclub. Vile," one Twitter user said. "Have you no shame?"
Patrick's adviser Allen Blakemore issued a statement explaining that the tweet was an unfortunate coincidence.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Texas-Lt-Governor-Dan-Patrick-tweets-reap-what-8076147.php
Unfortunate coincidence? Get the fuck out of here.
In fact his PR team had to do some damage control on Monday because of the “hateful comments he was getting”. It’s no secret that Dan Patrick is no friend to the LGBT community. But why did he post that Tweet if it was meant for Thursday?
Yes so Dan Patrick hired a guy who is a longstanding proponent of social intolerance, and it’s no secret among Texans that Patrick was opposed to gender-neutral bathrooms:
Yup! That’s the kind of tolerance you would absolutely expect from far right Christian supremacists. I mean what else is Dan Patrick hiding? Why his defense of this guy:
[font size="8"]Pat Robertson[/font]
So you’ve heard some of the most extreme spin on the shootings in Orlando so far, but no one and I repeat no one is as batshit crazy or more extreme than Pat Robertson on this. So here’s how Pat Robertson attempted to spin this. Can we roll the tape on that?
Yup, Pat Robertson is pulling the “kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out” argument. Let’s explain what he meant. Which is exactly that:
So if you read that correctly the two biggest enemies of America’s right wing evangelical community are two groups embraced by the left – Muslims and gays. Well let’s go explore further:
That’s right – Pat Robertson’s statement on the shootings was so extreme that it prompted the 700 Club to do some major damage control.
Oh no, 700 Club. You’re wrong. You’re dead wrong. There’s the “extremist left wing” blog sites that you refer to, and then there’s the Top 10 Conservative Idiots. See the other sites have to be careful about the things they say because of you know that thing called “liability”. We here at the TTCI do not have that. So with that in mind here’s some of Pat’s greatest hits about the LGBT community and people he does not agree with:
Or:
Or:
Or:
Or:
Or:
Or:
Or my personal favorite:
Your move 700 Club.
[font size="8"]Brock Turner[/font]
You know… remember a week ago when the biggest thing we had to worry about was a pig headed Stanford athlete getting caught by Swedish tourists raping a woman behind a dumpster and getting off* because he and a judge shared the same thing in common – their alma matter? Man that seems like an eternity ago, but it was really last week. So let me remind you about that story for a minute.
That’s just one of the things this creep might have done but we still don’t know anything just yet about what’s real and what isn’t. But you know what’s even weirder than that? Judge Persky ran for being a judge in Palo Alto’s district for being tough on rape. Yes, you read that correctly oh fair readers of the Top 10!
But now Turner’s own parents are playing the “move along, nothing to see here” card!
Cue the sad Hulk music:
OK the safety thing might actually be a legitimate concern. Oh and he was banned from USA Swimming:
Ed. Note – poor choice of words, I know! Bad Initech!
[font size="8"]The Bathroom Police[/font]
I cannot wait to tell you about this next story. You know, there’s so much homophobia and transphobia that’s been going on all year thanks to North Carolina’s horrific HB-2 bill. But you know, I’ve often said that if the bathroom police are going to take away a group of people’s right to pee in a public place they’d better start providing alternatives. Like what about adult diapers? Surely no one has a problem with that, do they? Well one entrepreneur in Mt. Prospect, Illinois has begun selling adult diapers. The company is called “Tykables” and not only have they been selling adult diapers, the company’s founder has begun expanding their brand to include things to cater to America’s active adult babies including onesies, giant play pens, and adult size cribs and high chairs. Well, the people of Mt. Prospect naturally won’t have any of it:
Well I think I know who Tykables’ biggest customer might be:
I hear he’s looking for a house close to Mt. Prospect, Illinois.
But in other stranger bathroom police news, they’re taking things way too far. In fact this happened in a Target restroom this week. As you may know, we talked about this story a couple of weeks ago but I think we need to bring it back up again in order to provide a proper context for the next story:
Yup, so the American Family Asshats are so paranoid about bathroom crimes involving trans people that they’ve resorted to testing the waters by sending people into Target’s restrooms to make sure that nothing kinky is happening. Hey AFA, you know who actually committed a crime in a fucking bathroom? Why Omar Marteen! Who hunted people down in the bathroom of the Pulse and began mowing them down with an AK 47! That’s exactly what a bathroom crime is, so shut the fuck up about trans people who need to use the restroom! So here’s what happened in a Target bathroom in Illinois this week.
Well this is one of those stories that clearly needs some more information. With that in mind we can only speculate but from my youth there’s only one solution that I can think of coming from the Bathroom Police:
And remember when I said I would post an actual sex offender story every single time the fundies feel the need to harass innocent trans people? Well first off I don't need to point out how Mateen went into the bathroom and murdered all the people in the bathroom during the nightclub shooting because I already did that. Well they leave me with no shortage of material once again:
Ooh ooh! I think I know what his favorite song is! Can I guess?
I just watched 10 Cloverfield Lane last week. John Goodman's character played that song and it was creepy as shit. Every time I hear that song I can't help but think of the Trinity killer from Dexter...
[font size="8"]Charles Grassley[/font]
Now it’s time for another installment of:
This week we’re going to tell you about Iowa Senator Charles Grassley (R-Obviously). So how did Mr. Grassley get elected? He’s the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee – you know the people who make decisions about who gets nominated as a justice for the Supreme Court? This guy picks the people who make the supreme laws of the land. Well recently he had absolutely no problems with Donald Trump picking the next justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia:
This prompted Iowa’s leading newspaper to call Sen. Grassley “completely spineless”:
And attempts to find a formidable challenger to dethrone Sen. Grassley have otherwise been futile at best:
But where is he? Some say it’s like playing a really fucked up game of “Where’s Waldo”:
Which of course has nothing to do with him complaining to the media about the fact that he could lose his job. Once again we need the Sad Hulk Music:
So not showing up at your own campaign events, being soft on domestic issues, and whining to the media about possibly losing your job. That’s Charles Grassley. Yet another inexplicable offering in the vast wasteland that is:
[font size="8"]Ash Vs. Evil Trump Supporters[/font]
Ash Vs. Evil Dead. How fucking great is that show? I don’t put in too many plugs, but in fact season 2 will premiere on appropriately enough, Halloween of this year so set your DVRs. I recently rewatched "Army Of Darkness" (the second movie) and it still holds up amazingly well. And well this story involves a beaten Donald Trump supporter, Donald Trump, and Bruce Campbell, the star of Ash Vs. Evil Dead. So here’s how the news media reported it:
So the police were called to a Donald Trump protest and counter protest. Arrests were made. Fights broke out. And that resulted in this image:
That’s a pretty horrific image, right? Well let’s explore further, shall we? Here’s how another news story spun it, and *spoiler alert* - it’s not in our favor. In fact it makes us look like violent thugs:
Now wait! Go back! You know we reported on the violence happening at the New Mexico rally back in Idiots #29! And here’s that story:
Now wait a minute – the story called these morons “anti Trump” activists. They never said anything about whether or not they were liberal or conservative. There’s plenty of conservative anti-Trump people out there.
Oh! Someone’s got some ‘splainin to do! So since anti-Trump was not clearly defined, what else could be going on in San Jose that weekend? It certainly wasn’t the Sharks vs Pengiuns game. I have been to a lot of hockey games, never got into fights with the crowd that badly, although at the Stanley Cup Finals that might be expected.
Yup! That wasn’t a Trump rally picture! That was a publicity shot for season 2 of Ash Vs. Evil Dead, which is currently filming in New Zealand. So Bruce… you got some ‘splaining to do!
#AshVsEvilTrumpSupporters
That’s it for this week. I appreciate you baring with us through this difficult time this week. This was certainly not an easy one to do. However, I assure you that next week we will be back to our usual hijinks and we might even bring back the Wheel O’ Corruption, which we originally planned for this week, for the next edition.
See you next week!
Ed. Note: The Top 10 has moved to Wednesdays! Now on Wednesday at 10:00 AM PST. Also please join our Twitter feed at @DUInitechTop10, and join the fight, won’t you?
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #31: Making America Vulnerable Again Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #31: Making America Vulnerable Again Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! You know I had an entirely different edition planned for this week prior to last Sunday’s horrifying tragedy at the Pulse night club in Orlando. There’s absolutely no words to accurately express this tragedy and I almost considered not even doing a list this week to honor the victims. But then I remembered that the first list that I did way back last October was in response to the mass shooting in San Bernardino. Which to me that one hit way too close to home for comfort. So with that in mind we will press on with half of what we originally had planned. I mean this tragedy was horrible, and unlike the shooting in Paris, because this took place in an LGBT night club, this has brought out some of the worst in people. So with that in mind normally I’d reserve this space for some comedy sketch or something from a late night show like SNL, John Oliver, or Stephen Colbert, but instead I’m going to show the difference between the two parties with President Obama’s reaction to the shooting.
Now juxtapose that with Donald Trump who takes up the top two spots. In the first spot, Donald Trump is going full conspiracy theory on why he thinks President Obama may have had a hand in Saturday’s terrorist attack (hint: he didn’t). In the second spot, Don the Con has a brilliant idea for stopping terrorism among other things. The third spot is going to Omar Mateen (3) and his father’s influence on him and the shooting. In the number four spot, we are going to talk about Shooting Apologists (4) because unlike Paris, the religious right is secretly loving this, and people like Pastor Stephen Anderson are saying what they’re all thinking. Taking the fifth spot this week, is Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick who has that good old fashioned republican empathy they’re famous for on display. Taking the sixth spot, Pat Robertson (6) has what could quite possibly be the most batshit insane response to the shooting yet, which prompted the 700 Club to do some major damage control. Taking the number 7 seed is Brock Turner (7), remember Stanford’s *alleged* rapist that was last week’s outrage-du-jour? It’s not going away, in fact it’s getting weirder and creepier. And like all creepy weirdos in movies and TV, can I guess that his favorite song is “Hey Venus”? At number 8, the Bathroom Police (8) are taking things too far in their war on bathrooms, while Mt. Prospect, IL residents are fuming over a new store that sells adult diapers. Not to mention an anti-gay pastor was caught with child porn. In the number 9 slot, we’ve got another installment of “People Who Somehow Got Elected” and this week we’re going to tell you about Iowa Senator Charles Grassley who was blasted by Iowa newspapers for – and I’m quoting – “lacking a spine”. Finally this week, I love this story. We’re not going to leave you on a down note after all the horror that has gone on this week, because what kind of host would that make me? Not a very good one if you ask me! And this story involves Donald Trump and one of my favorite actors, Bruce Campbell. Who is the star of one of the best TV shows of the last few years, USA's Burn Notice, and the creator and star of the legendary horror-comedy movie franchise The Evil Dead. So this story involves the much retweeted picture of the bloodied Trump supporter which does not make liberals look good. Well, Bruce Campbell, the man himself recently found this to be a hoax and put an end to the madness himself in the most Ash way possible. Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
So this week everyone by now knows about the terrible tragedy in Orlando this week where there were not one, but two horrific shootings. The first was surrounding singer Christina Grimmee who was gunned down after her own concert during a meet and greet session. The second was the shooting at the Pulse LGBT night club. Well the reason why I showed that video of Obama’s reaction to the shooting is to juxtapose that with Donald Trump, who well showed the exact opposite of the kind of sympathy that should be coming from a leader in a time of tragedy. Can we throw that Tweet up there?
Yup! That’s right – in a time of tragedy people are congratulating Trumpenfuror on being right about radical Islam this entire time! Which of course prompted a wave of backlash coming from all kinds of people, and who had the strongest words for Trumpenfuror was coming from that of the great George Takei:
So how did Trumpenfuror take a tragedy and turn it into “Ha! I was right and the liberals were wrong”? Well…
Sunday morning's shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando is now the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, killing 50 people and injuring another 53.
Donald Trump's response to the tragedy was initially to express sorrow at the incident, but he later attacked Hillary Clinton over her first general election ad, congratulated himself for warning the American public about Islamic extremism, and had an aide go on television and describe Mitt Romney as a "coward."
On Twitter, Trump initially posted a brief message about the "really bad shooting" that left "many people dead and wounded" at around 8 a.m. Sunday. About 90 minutes later, he followed it up with this tweet responding to Clinton's new ad:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-gets-self-congratulatory-after-orlando-mass-shooting/
Donald Trump's response to the tragedy was initially to express sorrow at the incident, but he later attacked Hillary Clinton over her first general election ad, congratulated himself for warning the American public about Islamic extremism, and had an aide go on television and describe Mitt Romney as a "coward."
On Twitter, Trump initially posted a brief message about the "really bad shooting" that left "many people dead and wounded" at around 8 a.m. Sunday. About 90 minutes later, he followed it up with this tweet responding to Clinton's new ad:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-gets-self-congratulatory-after-orlando-mass-shooting/
“Well… congratulations to me! I am right about everything! We are going to build the best wall, we are going to keep all the Muslims out, it’s gonna be huge!”
And of course this has prompted a widespread backlash from all kinds of people. We’ve already pointed out Mr. Takei’s response to Donald Trump’s gloating but who else is pissed off? Well naturally a lot of people:
Donald Trump faced a backlash on Twitter after tweeting his response to the deadly Orlando shooting Sunday morning, when he acknowledged “congrats” for “being right” on terrorism.
Like much of what Trump does, it inspired a wave of responses. It angered Republicans and Democrats as well as some celebrities who criticized with a familiar line: that Trump is self-centered even in moments of tragedy — the shooting killed at least 50 people and is the deadliest mass shooting in American history. The motives of suspected shooter Omar Mateen were not immediately clear.
John Legend, the singer and songwriter, Chris Sacca, the venture capitalist and George Takei, best known for his role on Star Trek, called Trump out on Twitter.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-faces-backlash-tweets-175646647.html
Like much of what Trump does, it inspired a wave of responses. It angered Republicans and Democrats as well as some celebrities who criticized with a familiar line: that Trump is self-centered even in moments of tragedy — the shooting killed at least 50 people and is the deadliest mass shooting in American history. The motives of suspected shooter Omar Mateen were not immediately clear.
John Legend, the singer and songwriter, Chris Sacca, the venture capitalist and George Takei, best known for his role on Star Trek, called Trump out on Twitter.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-faces-backlash-tweets-175646647.html
Well as you can imagine all this glorious backlash has people pointing fingers at Trumpenfuror over his stance of radical Islam being the thing that caused Saturday’s terrible tragedy. But Trumpenfuror even goes so far as to suggest Obama might have had a hand in the carrying out of this attack (he didn’t) :
Donald Trump seemed to repeatedly accuse President Obama on Monday of identifying with radicalized Muslims who have carried out terrorist attacks in the United States and being complicit in the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando over the weekend, the worst the country has ever seen.
"Look, we're led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he's got something else in mind," Trump said in a lengthy interview on Fox News early Monday morning. "And the something else in mind -- you know, people can't believe it. People cannot, they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the way he acts and can't even mention the words 'radical Islamic terrorism.' There's something going on. It's inconceivable. There's something going on."
In that same interview, Trump was asked to explain why he called for Obama to resign in light of the shooting and he answered, in part: "He doesn't get it or he gets it better than anybody understands -- it's one or the other and either one is unacceptable."
For months, Trump has slyly suggested that the president is not Christian and has questioned his compassion toward Muslims. Years ago, Trump was a major force in calls for the president to release his birth certificate and prove that he was born in the United States. On the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly stated as fact conspiracy theories about the president, his rivals and Muslims, often refusing to back down from his assertions even when they are proven to be false.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/13/donald-trump-suggests-president-obama-was-involved-with-orlando-shooting/
"Look, we're led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he's got something else in mind," Trump said in a lengthy interview on Fox News early Monday morning. "And the something else in mind -- you know, people can't believe it. People cannot, they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the way he acts and can't even mention the words 'radical Islamic terrorism.' There's something going on. It's inconceivable. There's something going on."
In that same interview, Trump was asked to explain why he called for Obama to resign in light of the shooting and he answered, in part: "He doesn't get it or he gets it better than anybody understands -- it's one or the other and either one is unacceptable."
For months, Trump has slyly suggested that the president is not Christian and has questioned his compassion toward Muslims. Years ago, Trump was a major force in calls for the president to release his birth certificate and prove that he was born in the United States. On the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly stated as fact conspiracy theories about the president, his rivals and Muslims, often refusing to back down from his assertions even when they are proven to be false.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/13/donald-trump-suggests-president-obama-was-involved-with-orlando-shooting/
Yup. He went there all right. Excuse me a minute…
But there is good news – Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of the amazing musical “Hamilton” was the anti-Trump at the Tonys and handled the tragedy with the class that you would expect. He’s definitely one of the good guys in show biz. Can we roll the tape on that?
Lin-Manuel Miranda accepted the Tony Award for best original score tonight not with the freestyle rap many may have expected, but a sonnet. And not the sonnet he likely expected, either; a visibly emotional Miranda addressed the mass killings in Orlando, Florida by referring to when “senseless acts of tragedy remind us that nothing here is promised, not one day.” He began the speech by thanking his wife Vanessa, “a perfect symphony of one,” and ended with the insistence that “love is love is love is love is love. It cannot be killed or swept aside.”
My wife’s the reason anything gets done
She nudges me towards promise by degrees
She is a perfect symphony of one,
Our son is her most beautiful reprise
We chase the melodies that seem to find us
Until they’re finished songs and start to play
When senseless acts of tragedy remind us
That nothing here is promised, not one day
This show is proof that history remembers
We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger
We rise and fall and light from dying embers
Remembrances that hope and love lasts long
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love
Cannot be killed or swept aside,
I sing Vanessa’s symphony, Eliza tells her story
Now fill the world with music love and pride
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/06/lin-manuel-miranda-tony-speech
My wife’s the reason anything gets done
She nudges me towards promise by degrees
She is a perfect symphony of one,
Our son is her most beautiful reprise
We chase the melodies that seem to find us
Until they’re finished songs and start to play
When senseless acts of tragedy remind us
That nothing here is promised, not one day
This show is proof that history remembers
We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger
We rise and fall and light from dying embers
Remembrances that hope and love lasts long
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love
Cannot be killed or swept aside,
I sing Vanessa’s symphony, Eliza tells her story
Now fill the world with music love and pride
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/06/lin-manuel-miranda-tony-speech
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Ladies and gentlemen… I give you the 45th president of the United States – Donald J. Trump, on exactly how he plans to curtail terrorism, in the good old fashioned American sense. If you guessed he was going to consult the NRA on how to curtail terrorism, you are absolutely 100% correct sir / madam! You get points! Now first though we have to once again point out how the NY Daily News nails it yet again:
"I will be meeting with the NRA...to discuss how to ensure Americans have the means to protect themselves in this age of terror."
We have seen, as Clinton campaign chair John Podesta said, that Donald Trump has nothing close “to resembling a real strategy for fighting terrorists and keeping our people safe.” In fact, the Republican response all around seems to be a recipe for more guns and less regulation.
In this environment there was nothing to stop Donald Trump from upping the ante of downright stupid, announcing yesterday that he would be seeking anti-terrorism advice from the NRA. After all, who knows more about using guns to kill innocent people than the NRA, unless it is the Republican Party itself, which insists on the God-given right of terrorists to buy guns?
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/14/trump-seek-anti-terrorism-advice-domestic-terrorist-nra.html
We have seen, as Clinton campaign chair John Podesta said, that Donald Trump has nothing close “to resembling a real strategy for fighting terrorists and keeping our people safe.” In fact, the Republican response all around seems to be a recipe for more guns and less regulation.
In this environment there was nothing to stop Donald Trump from upping the ante of downright stupid, announcing yesterday that he would be seeking anti-terrorism advice from the NRA. After all, who knows more about using guns to kill innocent people than the NRA, unless it is the Republican Party itself, which insists on the God-given right of terrorists to buy guns?
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/14/trump-seek-anti-terrorism-advice-domestic-terrorist-nra.html
Yes! That’s exactly the kind of leadership we need because if you haven’t noticed, we Americans are scared shitless that we might be the victims of the next time some insane lunatic decides to open fire in a public place! This week alone we have had 3 shooting incidents – that insane incident where a guy shot a rock at Dallas Love Field, the horrible death of Christina Grimmee, and this mass shooting. Is he also going to consult McDonalds on how to curtail obesity or the Jack Daniels distillery on how to curtail drunk driving? #DonaldTrumpProblemSolvers
But nope, Trumpenfuror champions himself as a friend of the LGBT community! Here’s more on that:
http://new.www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-clinton-lgbt_us_575f0200e4b0e4fe5143371d?utm_hp_ref=politics
“Ask yourself,” he added, “who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community: Donald Trump with his actions, or Hillary Clinton with her words? Clinton wants to allow radical Islamic terrorists to pour into our country — they enslave women and murder gays. I don’t want them in our country.”
Omar Mateen, the suspect in the Orlando shooting, was a U.S. citizen born in New York City who reportedly declared his allegiance to the Islamic State militant group before carrying out the massacre — not a refugee or foreigner who would be affected by Trump’s proposed immigration restrictions. There’s no clear evidence that Mateen was acting as part of a larger terrorist network, President Barack Obama said Monday.
LGBT voters support Clinton over Trump, 84 percent to 16 percent, according to a recent Whitman Insight Strategies survey. Trump has gone on record opposing national marriage equality. Over the weekend, he also assured a conference of Christian conservatives that he stood with them on the matter
“Ask yourself,” he added, “who is really the friend of women and the LGBT community: Donald Trump with his actions, or Hillary Clinton with her words? Clinton wants to allow radical Islamic terrorists to pour into our country — they enslave women and murder gays. I don’t want them in our country.”
Omar Mateen, the suspect in the Orlando shooting, was a U.S. citizen born in New York City who reportedly declared his allegiance to the Islamic State militant group before carrying out the massacre — not a refugee or foreigner who would be affected by Trump’s proposed immigration restrictions. There’s no clear evidence that Mateen was acting as part of a larger terrorist network, President Barack Obama said Monday.
LGBT voters support Clinton over Trump, 84 percent to 16 percent, according to a recent Whitman Insight Strategies survey. Trump has gone on record opposing national marriage equality. Over the weekend, he also assured a conference of Christian conservatives that he stood with them on the matter
“The best LGBT Americans live near Trump Tower in NYC! I love gays!!!”
But how much does Trumpenfuror love the LGBT community? Well let’s do some fact checking here.
http://www.hrc.org/blog/four-ways-donald-trump-would-roll-back-lgbt-equality-as-president
1) Trump Has Promised to Roll Back Nationwide Marriage Equality
Donald Trump has long opposed nationwide marriage equality, calling himself a “traditional” guy, even waffling on whether he supports civil unions. Heading into the South Carolina Primary, Trump tripled down on his opposition to nationwide marriage equality.
2) Trump to Sign a Law Sanctioning Kim Davis-Style Discrimination
Donald Trump supports the so-called “First Amendment Defense Act,” (FADA), a bill to enable Kim Davis-style discrimination against LGBT people nationwide. FADA would undermine the rule of law and promote taxpayer-funded discrimination against same-sex couples. In a letter to the far-right organization the American Principles Project, Trump wrote in December, “If Congress considers the First Amendment Defense Act a priority, then I will do all I can to make sure it comes to my desk for signatures and enactment.”
1) Trump Has Promised to Roll Back Nationwide Marriage Equality
Donald Trump has long opposed nationwide marriage equality, calling himself a “traditional” guy, even waffling on whether he supports civil unions. Heading into the South Carolina Primary, Trump tripled down on his opposition to nationwide marriage equality.
2) Trump to Sign a Law Sanctioning Kim Davis-Style Discrimination
Donald Trump supports the so-called “First Amendment Defense Act,” (FADA), a bill to enable Kim Davis-style discrimination against LGBT people nationwide. FADA would undermine the rule of law and promote taxpayer-funded discrimination against same-sex couples. In a letter to the far-right organization the American Principles Project, Trump wrote in December, “If Congress considers the First Amendment Defense Act a priority, then I will do all I can to make sure it comes to my desk for signatures and enactment.”
And that’s just a hypothetical situation, ladies and gentlemen!
But Trumpenfuror even contradicted himself in his own stance on North Carolina’s HB-2:
During a town hall on NBC, Trump said North Carolina’s anti-LGBT bathroom measure, which has hurt the state economically, wasn’t necessary and sought to address a problem that wasn’t really a big issue. The bill also prohibits local municipalities from passing additional measures to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination.
“North Carolina did something that was very strong and they’re paying a big price. There’s a lot of problems,” Trump said. “You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate, there has been so little trouble, and the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife, and the economic punishment that they’re taking.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-north-carolina-bathroom-bill_us_5718ca1ee4b0c9244a7aec8c
“North Carolina did something that was very strong and they’re paying a big price. There’s a lot of problems,” Trump said. “You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate, there has been so little trouble, and the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife, and the economic punishment that they’re taking.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-north-carolina-bathroom-bill_us_5718ca1ee4b0c9244a7aec8c
[font size="8"]Omar Mateen[/font]
So Omar Mateen might be the first mass murderer to ever make the Top 10. Whew. Boy this guy was a gem. And I say “was” because he was killed by the police after murdering 51 innocent people who were just out to party at the Pulse. So let’s go back and explore just what drove Mateen insane to the point where he committed this act of terror and a hate crime on top of that. But first you know a senseless tragedy like this absolutely could have been prevented.
Bill Rejected By The GOP 6 Months Ago Would Have Stopped Florida Shooter From Gun Purchase
As it turns out, America’s elected Republican officials could have stopped Orlando’s gay nightclub shooter from being able to purchase the assault rifle ....
Not only are Republicans responsible for stigmatizing members of the LGBT community as anti-god deviants, but they could have thrown a huge wrench in Mateen’s massacre plans had they passed a law proposed six whole months before this morning’s mass shooting occurred.
“Senate Republicans rejected a bill that aims to stop suspected terrorists from legally buying guns, on Thursday. The vote came a day after at least 14 people were killed during the San Bernardino massacre in California ....
http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/06/12/fail-bill-rejected-by-the-gop-6-months-ago-would-have-stopped-florida-shooter-from-gun-purchase/
As it turns out, America’s elected Republican officials could have stopped Orlando’s gay nightclub shooter from being able to purchase the assault rifle ....
Not only are Republicans responsible for stigmatizing members of the LGBT community as anti-god deviants, but they could have thrown a huge wrench in Mateen’s massacre plans had they passed a law proposed six whole months before this morning’s mass shooting occurred.
“Senate Republicans rejected a bill that aims to stop suspected terrorists from legally buying guns, on Thursday. The vote came a day after at least 14 people were killed during the San Bernardino massacre in California ....
http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/06/12/fail-bill-rejected-by-the-gop-6-months-ago-would-have-stopped-florida-shooter-from-gun-purchase/
Yup! So with that in mind, Congress allowed this to happen. They allowed an alleged terrorist suspect like Mateen, who had previously been questioned by the FBI 3 times, to buy weapons of mass destruction. And yes, the AK 47 is a weapon of mass destruction, no matter how gun nuts will try to spin the argument. And believe me I am prepared to tangle if you want, gun nuts.
And here’s what might have drove him insane:
Investigators are operating under the theory that the attack was inspired by Islamic State .
Mateen had been interviewed by the FBI twice and had once been on a terrorist watch list .
President Obama called the shooting an act of terror that was an attack on all Americans.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-orlando-nightclub-shooting-live-updates-htmlstory.html
Mateen had been interviewed by the FBI twice and had once been on a terrorist watch list .
President Obama called the shooting an act of terror that was an attack on all Americans.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-orlando-nightclub-shooting-live-updates-htmlstory.html
Yup! So he was on a watch list and allowed to legally purchase a weapon. But there’s more:
... Daniel Gilroy said he worked the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift with G4S Security at the south gate at PGA Village for several months in 2014-15. Mateen took over from him for a 3 to 11 p.m. shift.
Gilroy, a former Fort Pierce Police officer, said Mateen frequently made homophobic and racial comments. Gilroy said he complained to his employer G4S Security several times but it did nothing because he was Muslim. Gilroy quit after he said Mateen began stalking him via multiple text messages — 20 or 30 a day. He also sent Gilroy 13 to 15 phone messages a day, he said.
"I quit because everything he said was toxic," Gilroy said Sunday, "and the company wouldn't do anything. This guy was unhinged and unstable. He talked of killing people" ...
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/crime/2016/06/12/who-omar-mateen/85791280/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
Gilroy, a former Fort Pierce Police officer, said Mateen frequently made homophobic and racial comments. Gilroy said he complained to his employer G4S Security several times but it did nothing because he was Muslim. Gilroy quit after he said Mateen began stalking him via multiple text messages — 20 or 30 a day. He also sent Gilroy 13 to 15 phone messages a day, he said.
"I quit because everything he said was toxic," Gilroy said Sunday, "and the company wouldn't do anything. This guy was unhinged and unstable. He talked of killing people" ...
http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/crime/2016/06/12/who-omar-mateen/85791280/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=
So Omar Mateen was an unhinged homophobe. But he might have been one of, no offense to our LGBT viewers, the biggest closet cases known to man:
A former classmate of Omar Mateen’s 2006 police academy class said he believed Mateen was gay, saying Mateen once asked him out.
The classmate said that he, Mateen and other classmates would hang out, sometimes going to gay nightclubs, after classes at the Indian River Community College police academy. He said Mateen asked him out romantically.
“We went to a few gay bars with him, and I was not out at the time, so I declined his offer,” the former classmate said. He asked that his name not be used.
He believed Mateen was gay, but not open about it. Mateen was awkward, and for a while the classmate and the rest in the group of friends felt sorry for him.
“He just wanted to fit in and no one liked him,” he said. “He was always socially awkward.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/orlando-shooter-omar-mateen-was-gay-former-classma/nrfwW/?ecmp=pbp_social_twitter_2015_sfp
The classmate said that he, Mateen and other classmates would hang out, sometimes going to gay nightclubs, after classes at the Indian River Community College police academy. He said Mateen asked him out romantically.
“We went to a few gay bars with him, and I was not out at the time, so I declined his offer,” the former classmate said. He asked that his name not be used.
He believed Mateen was gay, but not open about it. Mateen was awkward, and for a while the classmate and the rest in the group of friends felt sorry for him.
“He just wanted to fit in and no one liked him,” he said. “He was always socially awkward.”
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/orlando-shooter-omar-mateen-was-gay-former-classma/nrfwW/?ecmp=pbp_social_twitter_2015_sfp
And he was a frequent customer and regular visitor of Pulse:
At least four regular customers of Pulse, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender nightclub where the massacre took place, told the Orlando Sentinel on Monday that they believed they had seen Mateen there before.
"Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent," said Ty Smith, who also uses the name Aries.
He saw Mateen at the club at least a dozen times, he said.
"We didn't really talk to him a lot, but I remember him saying things about his dad at times," Smith said. "He told us he had a wife and child."
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-orlando-nightclub-shooting-20160613-snap-story.html
"Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent," said Ty Smith, who also uses the name Aries.
He saw Mateen at the club at least a dozen times, he said.
"We didn't really talk to him a lot, but I remember him saying things about his dad at times," Smith said. "He told us he had a wife and child."
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-orlando-nightclub-shooting-20160613-snap-story.html
But wait we’re still not done yet, the news has been coming fast and furious:
Mateen was a ‘known quantity’ to federal law enforcement before he killed 53 people in the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Omar Mateen of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, came to the attention of federal authorities twice prior to being identified as the gunman in the Orlando nightclub mass shooting, a senior law enforcement source told The Daily Beast.
Mateen 53 people and shot more than 100 in total at the Pulse gay nightclub early Sunday morning, in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
The senior law enforcement source reports that Mateen became a person of interest in 2013 and again in 2014. The Federal Bureau of Investigation at one point opened an investigation into Mateen but subsequently closed the case when it produced nothing that appeared to warrant further investigation.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/12/omar-mateen-id-d-as-orlando-killer.html
Omar Mateen of Port Saint Lucie, Florida, came to the attention of federal authorities twice prior to being identified as the gunman in the Orlando nightclub mass shooting, a senior law enforcement source told The Daily Beast.
Mateen 53 people and shot more than 100 in total at the Pulse gay nightclub early Sunday morning, in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
The senior law enforcement source reports that Mateen became a person of interest in 2013 and again in 2014. The Federal Bureau of Investigation at one point opened an investigation into Mateen but subsequently closed the case when it produced nothing that appeared to warrant further investigation.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/12/omar-mateen-id-d-as-orlando-killer.html
Twice! Twice the FBI had been investigating Mateen. But both investigations turned up nothing. The fact that he purchased a semi automatic 12 days ago should have been a tip off! In fact the roots of the problem can easily be traced back to Congress backing the NRA in that bill I talked about. And we’re still not done. Mateen’s father apparently ran for president of Afghanistan, hosted a TV show and pledged allegiance to the Taliban:
The father of Omar Mateen, identified by police as the man behind the carnage at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning, is an Afghan man who holds strong political views, including support for the Afghan Taliban. In a video he posted on Saturday, he appears to be portraying himself as the president of Afghanistan.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/12/orlando-shooting-suspects-father-hosted-a-political-tv-show-and-even-tried-to-run-for-the-afghan-presidency/?postshare=2441465759392185&tid=ss_tw
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/12/orlando-shooting-suspects-father-hosted-a-political-tv-show-and-even-tried-to-run-for-the-afghan-presidency/?postshare=2441465759392185&tid=ss_tw
And what’s even scarier? Mateen was caught surveying Disneyworld:
The gunman behind the Orlando nightclub shootings, the deadliest mass shooting in American history, recently scouted Walt Disney World as a potential target, a federal law enforcement source tells PEOPLE.
Omar Mateen and his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, visited Walt Disney World in April, the source says. Salman told federal authorities on Sunday that her husband had more recently been "scouting Downtown Disney and Pulse for attacks."
http://www.people.com/article/omar-mateen-disney-world-scouted-attacks
Omar Mateen and his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, visited Walt Disney World in April, the source says. Salman told federal authorities on Sunday that her husband had more recently been "scouting Downtown Disney and Pulse for attacks."
http://www.people.com/article/omar-mateen-disney-world-scouted-attacks
So the question on the table now is where did Mateen purchase the weapons needed to carry out this horrific tragedy? Well the gun store in Orlando where he purchased the assault rifles needed to carry out this attack may offer some clues. But first read where a reporter was able to buy an AR-15 in the same amount of time it takes one to send back their order at Starbucks:
That's how long it took me to buy an AR-15, the semiautomatic rifle used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
Seven minutes. From the moment I handed the salesperson my driver's license to the moment I passed my background check.
It likely will take more time than that during the forthcoming round of vigils to respectfully read the names of the more than 100 people who were killed or injured.
It's obscene. Horrifying.
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/helen_ubinas/20160614_Ubinas__I_bought_an_AR-15_semi-automatic_rifle_in_Philly_in_7_minutes.html
Seven minutes. From the moment I handed the salesperson my driver's license to the moment I passed my background check.
It likely will take more time than that during the forthcoming round of vigils to respectfully read the names of the more than 100 people who were killed or injured.
It's obscene. Horrifying.
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/helen_ubinas/20160614_Ubinas__I_bought_an_AR-15_semi-automatic_rifle_in_Philly_in_7_minutes.html
Recently news broke that an astonishing 91% of suspected terrorists were able to buy assault rifles. And now read about the gun shop that sold the guns to Mateen. They were shut down by the ATF twice. Twice!!!
The terrorist who massacred 49 people at an Orlando gay nightclub bought the guns he used in the slaughter from a Florida store owned by a retired NYPD officer.
ATF Agent Sal van Susteren confirmed to the Daily News Monday that Omar Mateen, 29, bought the weapons at St. Lucie Shooting Center.
Authorities have said Mateen purchased an assault-style rifle and handgun within roughly the last week.
An employee at the store also said “The ATF shut us down,” apparently exaggerating why no customers were being allowed in the store.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/orlando-club-shooter-bought-guns-store-owned-ex-nypd-article-1.2671663
ATF Agent Sal van Susteren confirmed to the Daily News Monday that Omar Mateen, 29, bought the weapons at St. Lucie Shooting Center.
Authorities have said Mateen purchased an assault-style rifle and handgun within roughly the last week.
An employee at the store also said “The ATF shut us down,” apparently exaggerating why no customers were being allowed in the store.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/orlando-club-shooter-bought-guns-store-owned-ex-nypd-article-1.2671663
Holy shit! They were shut down by the ATF not once but twice for illegal weapons sales. Twice! Let’s go further.
“I have a business,” he said. “I follow the law, I don’t make the law.”
In December of last year, Henson posted to Facebook an image reading “In the name of freedom: F--k Islam, F--k Allah. F--k Muhammad. F--k the Koran. F--k people who support terrorism.”
In December of last year, Henson posted to Facebook an image reading “In the name of freedom: F--k Islam, F--k Allah. F--k Muhammad. F--k the Koran. F--k people who support terrorism.”
Wow, with that kind of hate-filled rhetoric coming from the owner of a gun store, that guy sounds like a real winner!
[font size="8"]Gun Nut Apologists[/font]
So gun nuts are in a very awkward position now. This is yet another chapter in the circular firing squad of shit. And it screws us all. So the protocol is now this:
1. Gun nut commits mass shooting.
2. Gun nut apologists like Alex Jones spread propaganda that Obama is going to take guns away, which he hasn’t in, um 8 FUCKING YEARS!!! Give it a rest already!!!
3. Gun nuts buy up assault rifles in droves thinking that guns are going to be banned.
4. The NRA influences Congress on proposed assault weapons ban.
5. Congress does absolutely nothing and lets proposed assault weapons ban fail.
6. Repeat step #1.
And this week because the shooting took place in an LGBT night club, this also puts Christian fundamentalists in an awkward position. Because they hate anything associated with the LGBT community. And normally when a mass shooting happens, such as the one in Paris this week, they are usually the first to offer their “thoughts and prayers”. Like this:
Yup! That’s the first thing they do. But this week they’re oddly silent and very hypocritical on the situation. Behind Door #1, I give you Tennessee Rep Andy Holt, who announced a raffle of an AR-15 not even 24 hours after news of the shooting broke:
One day after the worst mass shooting in American history, Rep. Andy Holt, is firmly standing behind his decision to give away a semi-automatic rifle similar to the one used in the Orlando shooting.
While announcing his plans last week to hold his first annual "Hog Fest and Turkey Shoot," Holt, R-Dresden, said he will give away an AR-15 as a door prize to an attendee of his June 25 fundraiser.
The event is also scheduled to include a turkey shoot — participants are encouraged to bring their own rifle and ammo.
Holt said despite Sunday's massacre in Orlando that left 50 people dead and 53 wounded, he remains stalwart in his belief that the weapon used in the mass shooting is not to blame.
Read more: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/government/state/tennessee-rep-holt-to-give-away-ar-15-at-fundraiser-352f00e2-f4cc-176a-e053-0100007fb102-382739961.html
While announcing his plans last week to hold his first annual "Hog Fest and Turkey Shoot," Holt, R-Dresden, said he will give away an AR-15 as a door prize to an attendee of his June 25 fundraiser.
The event is also scheduled to include a turkey shoot — participants are encouraged to bring their own rifle and ammo.
Holt said despite Sunday's massacre in Orlando that left 50 people dead and 53 wounded, he remains stalwart in his belief that the weapon used in the mass shooting is not to blame.
Read more: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/government/state/tennessee-rep-holt-to-give-away-ar-15-at-fundraiser-352f00e2-f4cc-176a-e053-0100007fb102-382739961.html
And behind door #2 – the inevitable ISIS paranoia:
It was sick-making to see one hypocrite after another offering up thoughts and prayers for the LGBT victims, when for years their thoughts and prayers have been fervently directed towards oppressing and even terrorising them. You might imagine that it would be exquisitely difficult, even painful, to square that circle, but Donald Trump was not the only massive idiot willing to try. One after another, conservative lawmakers, flush with funds from the gun lobby, lined up to offer their useless 'thoughts and prayers' and to drag everyone's attention away from all the dead homos and onto the killer's invisible friend, Allah.
Never mind that he was an unstable and aggressive man whose psychosis hooked onto radical Islam as the quickest way to earth for the lightning bolt of deranged violence building up within him. Never mind that the murderous arse-clowns of ISIS knew exactly nothing of him until they saw it all on Twitter and rushed out a press release to take a nice hot bath in all of the blood he'd spilled. Never mind that the gay community of Orlando… remember them, the victims? Well, never mind that they resisted any and all attempts to gather their surviving members into an anti-Muslim pogrom.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/blunt-instrument/orlando-shooting-thoughts-and-prayers-from-hypocrites-do-nothing-to-help-20160613-gpi6rp.html
Never mind that he was an unstable and aggressive man whose psychosis hooked onto radical Islam as the quickest way to earth for the lightning bolt of deranged violence building up within him. Never mind that the murderous arse-clowns of ISIS knew exactly nothing of him until they saw it all on Twitter and rushed out a press release to take a nice hot bath in all of the blood he'd spilled. Never mind that the gay community of Orlando… remember them, the victims? Well, never mind that they resisted any and all attempts to gather their surviving members into an anti-Muslim pogrom.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/blunt-instrument/orlando-shooting-thoughts-and-prayers-from-hypocrites-do-nothing-to-help-20160613-gpi6rp.html
So you know there's a lot of solidarity with the Orlando victims now. And you know Obama ordered the flags at half staff. And there’s one county in Missouri, that naturally won’t have any of it. Why? Because they’re assholes. Read on:
Commissioner Kris Scheperle (R) similarly suggested that the Orlando shooting just doesn’t rise to the occasion. “I want to honor those who have served our country,” he said, “but we can’t lower it for every event like this that occurs. I do feel for those who were gunned down, but I don’t think it warrants lowering the flag.”
Neither commissioner elaborated any further as to why exactly they think the victims of the country’s deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11 did not deserve the honor.
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/06/14/3788497/cole-county-missouri-flag-orlando-shooting/
Neither commissioner elaborated any further as to why exactly they think the victims of the country’s deadliest terrorist attack since 9/11 did not deserve the honor.
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/06/14/3788497/cole-county-missouri-flag-orlando-shooting/
And there’s Arizona pastor Stephen A. Anderson, who offered the usual sort of compassion that you would expect from an ultra far right winger:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/06/12/christian-pastor-celebrates-nightclub-massacre-theres-50-less-pedophiles-in-this-world/
Pastor Steven Anderson, whose hate knows no bounds, celebrated the deaths of 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando in a 4-minute mini-sermon that cited the Bible as justification for why they needed to die. (And if it didn’t happen via a shooter, it should have happened by way of government execution.)
It’s the most disturbing, hateful response to a mass shooting you’ll ever hear, and it was provoked by Anderson’s complete hatred of LGBT people.
Pastor Steven Anderson, whose hate knows no bounds, celebrated the deaths of 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando in a 4-minute mini-sermon that cited the Bible as justification for why they needed to die. (And if it didn’t happen via a shooter, it should have happened by way of government execution.)
It’s the most disturbing, hateful response to a mass shooting you’ll ever hear, and it was provoked by Anderson’s complete hatred of LGBT people.
And of course Alex Jones wasted no time in offering his usual bullshit that the Orlando attack was a false flag operation (it wasn’t) :
Jones repeatedly called the deadly Orlando terror attack a “false flag” and accused the government of letting the attack happen for political reasons. Jones’ website defines a false flag as a covert and deceptive operation that is used to “influence elections, guide national and international policy, and [to] cynically ... formulate propaganda and shape public opinion as nations go to war.”
Jones posted a YouTube video shortly after the shooting and claimed the “attacks on Orlando were a false flag terror attack. But before the mainstream media takes that out of context, I want to be clear. Our government and the governments of Europe allowed these huge hordes of radical jihadis in and have even allowed them in without vetting them on record, landing at airports across the country and not even checking their passports, IDs or visas. Our governments are bringing these people in and they’re allowing them to operate openly in our society so they can attack us and then have our freedoms taken.” He then concluded that President Obama “let it happen” so he can “pass laws and hate laws banning your speech” and taking “your guns.”
https://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/06/13/trump-ally-alex-jones-calls-orlando-shooting-false-flag-take-your-guns-and-speech/210889
Jones posted a YouTube video shortly after the shooting and claimed the “attacks on Orlando were a false flag terror attack. But before the mainstream media takes that out of context, I want to be clear. Our government and the governments of Europe allowed these huge hordes of radical jihadis in and have even allowed them in without vetting them on record, landing at airports across the country and not even checking their passports, IDs or visas. Our governments are bringing these people in and they’re allowing them to operate openly in our society so they can attack us and then have our freedoms taken.” He then concluded that President Obama “let it happen” so he can “pass laws and hate laws banning your speech” and taking “your guns.”
https://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/06/13/trump-ally-alex-jones-calls-orlando-shooting-false-flag-take-your-guns-and-speech/210889
You know there’s some people who absolutely should have their guns taken away. Alex Jones is definitely one of them.
[font size="8"]Dan Patrick[/font]
Since news of the shooting broke there’s been a lot of stuff that has been coming fast and furious. And This might be one of the absolute saddest stories to come out of the tragedy at the Pulse:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/couple-killed-orlando-shooting-hoped-185908326.html
A couple who was deeply in love when they were killed during a gunman’s shooting rampage inside an Orlando nightclub will have a joint funeral service, their families said Monday.
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22, and his 32-year-old boyfriend, Christopher “Drew” Leinonen, were among the 49 people who lost their lives Sunday in the worst mass shooting in American history. Services still need to be planned by the reeling families, but they want the two to be side-by-side when loved ones bid farewell, said Guerrero’s father, who has the same name as his son.
A couple who was deeply in love when they were killed during a gunman’s shooting rampage inside an Orlando nightclub will have a joint funeral service, their families said Monday.
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22, and his 32-year-old boyfriend, Christopher “Drew” Leinonen, were among the 49 people who lost their lives Sunday in the worst mass shooting in American history. Services still need to be planned by the reeling families, but they want the two to be side-by-side when loved ones bid farewell, said Guerrero’s father, who has the same name as his son.
I can’t imagine what those two families must be going through right now since a wedding is now turning into a joint funeral. Now as I said earlier that one thing that is unusual about this tragedy is that the Christian right has been oddly silent. No “thoughts or prayers” coming from anybody in this tragedy. And then there’s Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick who tweeted this:
Yup – in response to one of the worst shootings in US history, Dan Patrick not only thumps the Bible, but proves that far right Christians are every bit as insensitive and assholish as you would expect.
A "reap what you sow" tweet from Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick that went out hours after approximately 50 people were killed at a Florida LGBT nightclub has been deleted amid backlash.
At precisely 7 a.m. Sunday Dan Patrick tweeted a photo with the words of Galatians 6
. The verse reads, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."The Twitterverse circled the tweet, commenting that it was inappropriate and insensitive considering the context of the day's events. The Texas Democratic Party called for Patrick to apologize.
"Tweeted as new breaks of mass casualties at a gay nightclub. Vile," one Twitter user said. "Have you no shame?"
Patrick's adviser Allen Blakemore issued a statement explaining that the tweet was an unfortunate coincidence.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Texas-Lt-Governor-Dan-Patrick-tweets-reap-what-8076147.php
Unfortunate coincidence? Get the fuck out of here.
In fact his PR team had to do some damage control on Monday because of the “hateful comments he was getting”. It’s no secret that Dan Patrick is no friend to the LGBT community. But why did he post that Tweet if it was meant for Thursday?
What's interesting about the statement is that the point of contact was not Patrick's press team, but Allen Blakemore, of Houston-based political strategists Blakemore and Associates.
The implication is that Blakemore (who Patrick clearly has on speed dial) had been brought in to run some kind of damage control. However, the damage has already been done, and it's not really about Patrick's response to the Orlando shooting. It's that Texans (including the multiple people that liked the original post) think that this is exactly the kind of tweet that Patrick would send out in the aftermath of a mass shooting of gay people.
Moreover, if it was scheduled on Thursday, then his staff were planning to put this tweet out while Patrick was making national headlines for opposing gender-neutral bathrooms.
So Blakemore is left defending an officeholder who is a) a longstanding proponent of religiously-inspired intolerance and b) really bad at social media. Which is probably easier than trying to defend Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, who seemed to believe the worst mass shooting in U.S. history would have been avoided if everyone in a darkened club had been carrying guns.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2016-06-12/dan-patrick-excoriated-over-orlando-shooting-tweet/
The implication is that Blakemore (who Patrick clearly has on speed dial) had been brought in to run some kind of damage control. However, the damage has already been done, and it's not really about Patrick's response to the Orlando shooting. It's that Texans (including the multiple people that liked the original post) think that this is exactly the kind of tweet that Patrick would send out in the aftermath of a mass shooting of gay people.
Moreover, if it was scheduled on Thursday, then his staff were planning to put this tweet out while Patrick was making national headlines for opposing gender-neutral bathrooms.
So Blakemore is left defending an officeholder who is a) a longstanding proponent of religiously-inspired intolerance and b) really bad at social media. Which is probably easier than trying to defend Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, who seemed to believe the worst mass shooting in U.S. history would have been avoided if everyone in a darkened club had been carrying guns.
http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2016-06-12/dan-patrick-excoriated-over-orlando-shooting-tweet/
Yes so Dan Patrick hired a guy who is a longstanding proponent of social intolerance, and it’s no secret among Texans that Patrick was opposed to gender-neutral bathrooms:
his morning, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick – who has led the charge against Ft. Worth ISD for its transgender inclusive policies – announced the next steps in his crusade against transgender rights. Patrick is requesting a legal opinion from fellow anti-LGBTQ state official Attorney General Ken Paxton to see if the ISD’s guidelines, which allow transgender students to use the restroom facility that corresponds to their gender identity, are illegal and whether or not Superintendent Kent Scribner had the authority to adopt the policy. Patrick signaled he and other lawmakers would delve into the transgender restroom issue during the next legislative session (but in what capacity is unclear). "When we have a rogue, runaway superintendent, and a rogue, runaway school board, then the Legislature this session will have to look at this issue," said Patrick during a Tuesday morning Capitol press conference. “… This fight is just beginning.”
http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2016-05-31/dan-patrick-ignore-obamas-transgender-policy/
http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2016-05-31/dan-patrick-ignore-obamas-transgender-policy/
Yup! That’s the kind of tolerance you would absolutely expect from far right Christian supremacists. I mean what else is Dan Patrick hiding? Why his defense of this guy:
As the horror of the Orlando nightclub massacre was unveiled Sunday, Texas political leaders offered prayers, perspective and the occasional politically charged comment.
<snip>
Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, replied: “Yes, let’s address radical Islamic terrorist & eliminate gun-free zones where you can’t defend yourselves.”
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/orlando-shooting-texas-leaders-respond-with-prayer/nrfKN/
<snip>
Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, replied: “Yes, let’s address radical Islamic terrorist & eliminate gun-free zones where you can’t defend yourselves.”
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/orlando-shooting-texas-leaders-respond-with-prayer/nrfKN/
[font size="8"]Pat Robertson[/font]
So you’ve heard some of the most extreme spin on the shootings in Orlando so far, but no one and I repeat no one is as batshit crazy or more extreme than Pat Robertson on this. So here’s how Pat Robertson attempted to spin this. Can we roll the tape on that?
Yup, Pat Robertson is pulling the “kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out” argument. Let’s explain what he meant. Which is exactly that:
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/pat-robertson-gays-islamists-are-allies-so-let-them-kill-themselves
Today on “The 700 Club,” televangelist Pat Robertson reacted to the massacre at an Orlando gay club by making the absurd claim that liberal LGBT rights advocates have aligned themselves with radical Islamists and are now reaping what they have sowed.
Robertson said that liberals are facing a “dilemma” because they love both LGBT equality and Islamic extremism, and that it is better for conservatives like himself not to get involved but to instead just watch the two groups kill each other.
“The left is having a dilemma of major proportions and I think for those of us who disagree with some of their policies, the best thing to do is to sit on the sidelines and let them kill themselves,” he said.
Earlier in the program, Robertson went into more detail about what he called “the dilemma of the liberals, the so-called progressives, because they have two favored groups. One, the Muslims. Number two, the homosexuals.”
Today on “The 700 Club,” televangelist Pat Robertson reacted to the massacre at an Orlando gay club by making the absurd claim that liberal LGBT rights advocates have aligned themselves with radical Islamists and are now reaping what they have sowed.
Robertson said that liberals are facing a “dilemma” because they love both LGBT equality and Islamic extremism, and that it is better for conservatives like himself not to get involved but to instead just watch the two groups kill each other.
“The left is having a dilemma of major proportions and I think for those of us who disagree with some of their policies, the best thing to do is to sit on the sidelines and let them kill themselves,” he said.
Earlier in the program, Robertson went into more detail about what he called “the dilemma of the liberals, the so-called progressives, because they have two favored groups. One, the Muslims. Number two, the homosexuals.”
So if you read that correctly the two biggest enemies of America’s right wing evangelical community are two groups embraced by the left – Muslims and gays. Well let’s go explore further:
UPDATE: The Christian Broadcasting Network released a statement today saying that Robertson was “clearly” using the word “killing” metaphorically during his discussion of a mass murder.
That’s right – Pat Robertson’s statement on the shootings was so extreme that it prompted the 700 Club to do some major damage control.
Oh no, 700 Club. You’re wrong. You’re dead wrong. There’s the “extremist left wing” blog sites that you refer to, and then there’s the Top 10 Conservative Idiots. See the other sites have to be careful about the things they say because of you know that thing called “liability”. We here at the TTCI do not have that. So with that in mind here’s some of Pat’s greatest hits about the LGBT community and people he does not agree with:
Or:
Or:
Or:
Or:
Or:
Or:
Or my personal favorite:
Your move 700 Club.
[font size="8"]Brock Turner[/font]
You know… remember a week ago when the biggest thing we had to worry about was a pig headed Stanford athlete getting caught by Swedish tourists raping a woman behind a dumpster and getting off* because he and a judge shared the same thing in common – their alma matter? Man that seems like an eternity ago, but it was really last week. So let me remind you about that story for a minute.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/11/brock-turner-may-have-sent-friends-photo-of-victim-during-sexual/
The Stanford University student convicted of sexual assault in a case that has inflamed American public opinion may have sent a photograph of his victim's breasts to friends during the attack.
Detectives subsequently saw a notification appear on Turner's phone reading "WHOS TIT IS THAT" (sic), court documents show. The message came from a fellow member of Stanford's swim team.
Based on the timing of the message and the fact that the victim's bra had been pulled off one of her breasts, police concluded that Turner had probably sent a photograph, though after obtaining a search warrant for his phone they were unable to locate it.
The Stanford University student convicted of sexual assault in a case that has inflamed American public opinion may have sent a photograph of his victim's breasts to friends during the attack.
Detectives subsequently saw a notification appear on Turner's phone reading "WHOS TIT IS THAT" (sic), court documents show. The message came from a fellow member of Stanford's swim team.
Based on the timing of the message and the fact that the victim's bra had been pulled off one of her breasts, police concluded that Turner had probably sent a photograph, though after obtaining a search warrant for his phone they were unable to locate it.
That’s just one of the things this creep might have done but we still don’t know anything just yet about what’s real and what isn’t. But you know what’s even weirder than that? Judge Persky ran for being a judge in Palo Alto’s district for being tough on rape. Yes, you read that correctly oh fair readers of the Top 10!
http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2016/06/07/how-judge-aaron-persky-went-from-battling-sexual-predators-to-coddling-one/jcr:content/body/inlineimage.img.800.jpg/48843363.cached.jpg
Judge Aaron Persky of Santa Clara Superior Court takes pride in having once been a sex crimes prosecutor.
“I became a criminal prosecutor for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, where I now prosecute sex crimes and hate crimes,” he wrote in a biography for the California League of Women Voters when he was running for a judgeship in 2002. “I focus on the prosecution of sexually violent predators, working to keep the most dangerous sex offenders in custody in mental hospitals.” Persky likely figured that his résumé would go over well with women, but he nonetheless lost the election to a fellow prosecutor. He was appointed to the bench the following year by then Gov. Gray Davis.
The one-time battler of sexual predators is now reviled everywhere as the judge who sentenced a 20-year-old former Stanford swimming star named Brock Turner to a term of just six months for assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.
Judge Aaron Persky of Santa Clara Superior Court takes pride in having once been a sex crimes prosecutor.
“I became a criminal prosecutor for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, where I now prosecute sex crimes and hate crimes,” he wrote in a biography for the California League of Women Voters when he was running for a judgeship in 2002. “I focus on the prosecution of sexually violent predators, working to keep the most dangerous sex offenders in custody in mental hospitals.” Persky likely figured that his résumé would go over well with women, but he nonetheless lost the election to a fellow prosecutor. He was appointed to the bench the following year by then Gov. Gray Davis.
The one-time battler of sexual predators is now reviled everywhere as the judge who sentenced a 20-year-old former Stanford swimming star named Brock Turner to a term of just six months for assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated woman, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object.
But now Turner’s own parents are playing the “move along, nothing to see here” card!
Cue the sad Hulk music:
She said she hasn’t been able to decorate a new home because she can’t bear to put up happy photos of her family. She said Turner was just “trying to fit in with the swimmers he idolized.”
She continues later that Turner will have to register as a sexual offender, and is concerned that he will have to register at the highest tier.
“Brock will have to register at the highest tier which means he is on the same level as a pedophile/child molester. There is no differentiation,” she writes. “The public records will reflect a Tier 3 so people will wrongly assume he is a child molester. I fear for his lifelong safety.”
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/rapists-mother-wrote-letter-to-judge-complaining-about-decorating-and-not-one-word-about-the-victim/
She continues later that Turner will have to register as a sexual offender, and is concerned that he will have to register at the highest tier.
“Brock will have to register at the highest tier which means he is on the same level as a pedophile/child molester. There is no differentiation,” she writes. “The public records will reflect a Tier 3 so people will wrongly assume he is a child molester. I fear for his lifelong safety.”
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/rapists-mother-wrote-letter-to-judge-complaining-about-decorating-and-not-one-word-about-the-victim/
OK the safety thing might actually be a legitimate concern. Oh and he was banned from USA Swimming:
“‘USA Swimming condemns the crime and actions committed by Brock Turner, and all acts of sexual misconduct. Brock Turner is not a member of USA Swimming and, should he apply, he would not be eligible for membership,’ USA Swimming spokesman Scott Leightman said in a statement obtained by ABC News today. ‘Had he been a member, he would have been subject to the USA Swimming Code of Conduct. USA Swimming strictly prohibits and has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, with firm Code of Conduct policies in place, and severe penalties, including a permanent ban of membership, for those who violate the Code of Conduct.'
http://abcnews.go.com/US/usa-swimming-bans-stanford-student-brock-turner-life/story?id=39752826
http://abcnews.go.com/US/usa-swimming-bans-stanford-student-brock-turner-life/story?id=39752826
Ed. Note – poor choice of words, I know! Bad Initech!
[font size="8"]The Bathroom Police[/font]
I cannot wait to tell you about this next story. You know, there’s so much homophobia and transphobia that’s been going on all year thanks to North Carolina’s horrific HB-2 bill. But you know, I’ve often said that if the bathroom police are going to take away a group of people’s right to pee in a public place they’d better start providing alternatives. Like what about adult diapers? Surely no one has a problem with that, do they? Well one entrepreneur in Mt. Prospect, Illinois has begun selling adult diapers. The company is called “Tykables” and not only have they been selling adult diapers, the company’s founder has begun expanding their brand to include things to cater to America’s active adult babies including onesies, giant play pens, and adult size cribs and high chairs. Well, the people of Mt. Prospect naturally won’t have any of it:
CHICAGO -- A new business, a baby store for adults, is sparking outrage in suburban Mt. Prospect, Illinois, CBS Chicago reported.
Dozens of residents showed up at village hall Tuesday night, calling for the business to be shut down or moved.
However, officials said they had no legal basis to bar the business, Tykables, which includes features such as a seven-foot crib, an over-sized high chair and adult-sized playpen.
"Things for people to come and play, take pictures with. Not everybody has access to a nursery," the owner says in a YouTube video.
The owner of the store on Northwest Highway said the primary focus of the business is selling adult diapers for medical needs and for "ABDL" or "Adult Baby Diaper Lovers," some with baby or sexual fetishes.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/locals-up-in-arms-over-new-fetish-store-in-illinois-town/
Dozens of residents showed up at village hall Tuesday night, calling for the business to be shut down or moved.
However, officials said they had no legal basis to bar the business, Tykables, which includes features such as a seven-foot crib, an over-sized high chair and adult-sized playpen.
"Things for people to come and play, take pictures with. Not everybody has access to a nursery," the owner says in a YouTube video.
The owner of the store on Northwest Highway said the primary focus of the business is selling adult diapers for medical needs and for "ABDL" or "Adult Baby Diaper Lovers," some with baby or sexual fetishes.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/locals-up-in-arms-over-new-fetish-store-in-illinois-town/
Well I think I know who Tykables’ biggest customer might be:
I hear he’s looking for a house close to Mt. Prospect, Illinois.
But in other stranger bathroom police news, they’re taking things way too far. In fact this happened in a Target restroom this week. As you may know, we talked about this story a couple of weeks ago but I think we need to bring it back up again in order to provide a proper context for the next story:
The American Family Association has been "testing" Target's new policy allowing employees and customers to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity by sending men to women's bathrooms, according to the conservative group's director of governmental affairs, Sandy Rios.
"I think there’s no question that when you say that there are no barriers in the bathroom, and that if men or women feel like they are men or women, the opposite of however they are equipped, and you have no restrictions, the net effect will be, people will not be stopped," Rios told "Breitbart News Daily" on Monday. "We’ve already had people testing this, going into Targets and men trying to go into bathrooms. There is absolutely no barrier."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/american-family-association-testing-target-bathrooms
5
"I think there’s no question that when you say that there are no barriers in the bathroom, and that if men or women feel like they are men or women, the opposite of however they are equipped, and you have no restrictions, the net effect will be, people will not be stopped," Rios told "Breitbart News Daily" on Monday. "We’ve already had people testing this, going into Targets and men trying to go into bathrooms. There is absolutely no barrier."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/american-family-association-testing-target-bathrooms
5
Yup, so the American Family Asshats are so paranoid about bathroom crimes involving trans people that they’ve resorted to testing the waters by sending people into Target’s restrooms to make sure that nothing kinky is happening. Hey AFA, you know who actually committed a crime in a fucking bathroom? Why Omar Marteen! Who hunted people down in the bathroom of the Pulse and began mowing them down with an AK 47! That’s exactly what a bathroom crime is, so shut the fuck up about trans people who need to use the restroom! So here’s what happened in a Target bathroom in Illinois this week.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/small-bomb-blows-up-target-bathroom-while-company-faces-right-wing-wrath-for-transgender-policy/
A small bomb detonated in a women’s bathroom at a Target store in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Wednesday afternoon. Officials are not yet sure if the bomb was related to the right-wing wrath the company has endured as a result of their bathroom policy, but investigators are looking into it.
Commander Joe Dugan told WGNT that says there were no people inside the bathroom when the explosion occurred. While it caused minor damage, no person was injured. The bomb was made with a plastic bottle but did not contain nails, tacks or other projectiles like we saw with the Boston Marathon bombing. He said that they are reviewing the security footage to find the individual responsible.
Target announced that any customer of the store could use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity. Since then, over 1,330,585 people have signed an American Family Association petition saying that they will boycott the store. Since Target announced the policy, have been several reports of protesters walking through the aisles of Target while shouting transphobic comments and citing biblical passages.
A small bomb detonated in a women’s bathroom at a Target store in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Wednesday afternoon. Officials are not yet sure if the bomb was related to the right-wing wrath the company has endured as a result of their bathroom policy, but investigators are looking into it.
Commander Joe Dugan told WGNT that says there were no people inside the bathroom when the explosion occurred. While it caused minor damage, no person was injured. The bomb was made with a plastic bottle but did not contain nails, tacks or other projectiles like we saw with the Boston Marathon bombing. He said that they are reviewing the security footage to find the individual responsible.
Target announced that any customer of the store could use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity. Since then, over 1,330,585 people have signed an American Family Association petition saying that they will boycott the store. Since Target announced the policy, have been several reports of protesters walking through the aisles of Target while shouting transphobic comments and citing biblical passages.
Well this is one of those stories that clearly needs some more information. With that in mind we can only speculate but from my youth there’s only one solution that I can think of coming from the Bathroom Police:
And remember when I said I would post an actual sex offender story every single time the fundies feel the need to harass innocent trans people? Well first off I don't need to point out how Mateen went into the bathroom and murdered all the people in the bathroom during the nightclub shooting because I already did that. Well they leave me with no shortage of material once again:
This is Dave Reynolds, the recently fired pastor of the Cornerstone Bible Fellowship in Sherwood, Arkansas. He’s currently facing 70 counts of distributing, possessing, or viewing child pornography.
Oh, and he’s also vehemently antigay.
The 40-year-old pastor regularly preached that marriage is between a man and a woman and that all homosexual activity is a sin.
He was arrested after police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which claimed that a social media account in Sherwood was storing pages and pages of child pornography.
https://unitedhumanists.com/2016/06/10/anti-gay-pastor-arrested-on-70-counts-of-child-pornography/
Oh, and he’s also vehemently antigay.
The 40-year-old pastor regularly preached that marriage is between a man and a woman and that all homosexual activity is a sin.
He was arrested after police received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which claimed that a social media account in Sherwood was storing pages and pages of child pornography.
https://unitedhumanists.com/2016/06/10/anti-gay-pastor-arrested-on-70-counts-of-child-pornography/
Ooh ooh! I think I know what his favorite song is! Can I guess?
I just watched 10 Cloverfield Lane last week. John Goodman's character played that song and it was creepy as shit. Every time I hear that song I can't help but think of the Trinity killer from Dexter...
[font size="8"]Charles Grassley[/font]
Now it’s time for another installment of:
This week we’re going to tell you about Iowa Senator Charles Grassley (R-Obviously). So how did Mr. Grassley get elected? He’s the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee – you know the people who make decisions about who gets nominated as a justice for the Supreme Court? This guy picks the people who make the supreme laws of the land. Well recently he had absolutely no problems with Donald Trump picking the next justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia:
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says “there’s no problem with” presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump “appointing people to the Supreme Court,” according to the Associated Press. Grassley’s statement is informative in no small part because, while the senator apparently can find no reason why a reality show host who has built his presidential campaign on overt racism and appeals to violence should not choose a Supreme Court justice, Grassley has taken a very different position on whether President Obama should be allowed to do the same.
Almost immediately after news of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia’s death broke, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) announced that the GOP intended to offer massive resistance to anyone Obama chose to replace Scalia. Grassley has wholeheartedly supported this strategy, refusing even to hold a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/05/10/3776868/senate-judiciary-chair-no-problem-trump-appointing-people-supreme-court/
Almost immediately after news of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia’s death broke, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) announced that the GOP intended to offer massive resistance to anyone Obama chose to replace Scalia. Grassley has wholeheartedly supported this strategy, refusing even to hold a confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/05/10/3776868/senate-judiciary-chair-no-problem-trump-appointing-people-supreme-court/
This prompted Iowa’s leading newspaper to call Sen. Grassley “completely spineless”:
Democrats and Republicans are never going to agree on where the blame lies for the alarming number of judicial vacancies in the federal court system.
But it is surprising to see the office of Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dismiss these vacancies as a “manufactured crisis” undeserving of public attention. Regardless of who is to blame for the vacancies, the senator should at least recognize the value in having those critical positions filled.
This is, after all, a long-running problem. Eight years ago, federal judges began retiring or moving to “senior judge” status at a rapid clip, at times averaging one new retirement every week. It didn’t take long before the number of vacancies in the U.S. district courts had doubled, resulting in dramatically increased caseloads in certain regions of the country. In Tucson, Arizona, for example, three judges were each juggling 1,200 criminal cases. Predictably, the increased workload angered judges and fueled even more retirements.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/06/08/editorial-grassley-ignores-judicial-crisis-and-trumps-racism/85549460/
But it is surprising to see the office of Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dismiss these vacancies as a “manufactured crisis” undeserving of public attention. Regardless of who is to blame for the vacancies, the senator should at least recognize the value in having those critical positions filled.
This is, after all, a long-running problem. Eight years ago, federal judges began retiring or moving to “senior judge” status at a rapid clip, at times averaging one new retirement every week. It didn’t take long before the number of vacancies in the U.S. district courts had doubled, resulting in dramatically increased caseloads in certain regions of the country. In Tucson, Arizona, for example, three judges were each juggling 1,200 criminal cases. Predictably, the increased workload angered judges and fueled even more retirements.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/06/08/editorial-grassley-ignores-judicial-crisis-and-trumps-racism/85549460/
And attempts to find a formidable challenger to dethrone Sen. Grassley have otherwise been futile at best:
'With Senator Charles E. Grassley under attack for his handling of the Supreme Court nomination process, a formidable Democratic challenger will run against him this November, the most significant sign yet that Democrats see the court and the candidacy of Donald J. Trump as twin liabilities for Republicans.
Patty Judge, a former Iowa lieutenant governor and state agriculture secretary, is expected to announce her challenge this weekend to Mr. Grassley, who is seeking a seventh Senate term and had previously been seen as having little opposition to re-election.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/us/politics/charles-grassley-patty-judge-iowa-senate-race.html?
Patty Judge, a former Iowa lieutenant governor and state agriculture secretary, is expected to announce her challenge this weekend to Mr. Grassley, who is seeking a seventh Senate term and had previously been seen as having little opposition to re-election.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/us/politics/charles-grassley-patty-judge-iowa-senate-race.html?
But where is he? Some say it’s like playing a really fucked up game of “Where’s Waldo”:
So, where is Chuck?
The few events he is holding (just 3 during the 15 day recess) are in three of the most Republican counties in Iowa. He wanted to cherry pick his audience.
We've also heard a few rumors about other events. Instead of holding more public events, he's having private events. And closed-door meetings. He's scheduling 'media availabilities' ... without notifying the media.
It's almost as if he doesn't want any attention. And it's no surprise he wants to hide. Iowans have been speaking out in the tens of thousands, calling on Senator Grassley to stop his obstruction of the Supreme Court nominee. He's using his powerful position as Chair of the Judiciary committee to block hearings, and his constituents are frustrated and disappointed that he won't do his job.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10514192
The few events he is holding (just 3 during the 15 day recess) are in three of the most Republican counties in Iowa. He wanted to cherry pick his audience.
We've also heard a few rumors about other events. Instead of holding more public events, he's having private events. And closed-door meetings. He's scheduling 'media availabilities' ... without notifying the media.
It's almost as if he doesn't want any attention. And it's no surprise he wants to hide. Iowans have been speaking out in the tens of thousands, calling on Senator Grassley to stop his obstruction of the Supreme Court nominee. He's using his powerful position as Chair of the Judiciary committee to block hearings, and his constituents are frustrated and disappointed that he won't do his job.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10514192
Which of course has nothing to do with him complaining to the media about the fact that he could lose his job. Once again we need the Sad Hulk Music:
FORT DODGE, Ia. — Sen. Chuck Grassley told delegates at the 4th Congressional District convention Saturday that he’s facing a “severe” campaign for re-election.
Grassley, seeking his seventh term, said people may think he’s safe because of his past “slam dunk” wins. “This is not going to be such a race and so I’m calling on you, I’m asking you, I’m begging you, I’m imploring you — will you do all you can to help me win re-election?” (…)
Grassley is known for never taking re-election for granted but he said this is not just his way of appearing humble. “You know, the situation’s a lot different now. When you’ve got the White House organizing a campaign against you … it’s still something that you’ve got to take into consideration.”
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/4/11/1513825/-Chuck-Grassley-whines-about-how-he-could-lose-his-job
Grassley, seeking his seventh term, said people may think he’s safe because of his past “slam dunk” wins. “This is not going to be such a race and so I’m calling on you, I’m asking you, I’m begging you, I’m imploring you — will you do all you can to help me win re-election?” (…)
Grassley is known for never taking re-election for granted but he said this is not just his way of appearing humble. “You know, the situation’s a lot different now. When you’ve got the White House organizing a campaign against you … it’s still something that you’ve got to take into consideration.”
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/4/11/1513825/-Chuck-Grassley-whines-about-how-he-could-lose-his-job
So not showing up at your own campaign events, being soft on domestic issues, and whining to the media about possibly losing your job. That’s Charles Grassley. Yet another inexplicable offering in the vast wasteland that is:
[font size="8"]Ash Vs. Evil Trump Supporters[/font]
Ash Vs. Evil Dead. How fucking great is that show? I don’t put in too many plugs, but in fact season 2 will premiere on appropriately enough, Halloween of this year so set your DVRs. I recently rewatched "Army Of Darkness" (the second movie) and it still holds up amazingly well. And well this story involves a beaten Donald Trump supporter, Donald Trump, and Bruce Campbell, the star of Ash Vs. Evil Dead. So here’s how the news media reported it:
SAN JOSE, Calif. —Protests outside a Donald Trump rally in downtown San Jose spun out of control Thursday night when some demonstrators attacked the candidate’s supporters.
Protesters jumped on cars, pelted Trump supporters with eggs and water balloons, snatched signs and stole “Make America Great” hats off supporters’ heads before burning the hats and snapping selfies with the charred remains.
Several people were caught on camera punching Trump supporters. At least one attacker was arrested, according to CNN, although police did not release much information.
“The San Jose Police Department made a few arrests tonight after the Donald Trump Rally,” police said in a statement. “As of this time, we do not have specific information on the arrests made. There has been no significant property damage reported. One officer was assaulted.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/03/ugly-bloody-scenes-in-san-jose-as-protesters-attack-trump-supporters-outside-rally/
Protesters jumped on cars, pelted Trump supporters with eggs and water balloons, snatched signs and stole “Make America Great” hats off supporters’ heads before burning the hats and snapping selfies with the charred remains.
Several people were caught on camera punching Trump supporters. At least one attacker was arrested, according to CNN, although police did not release much information.
“The San Jose Police Department made a few arrests tonight after the Donald Trump Rally,” police said in a statement. “As of this time, we do not have specific information on the arrests made. There has been no significant property damage reported. One officer was assaulted.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/03/ugly-bloody-scenes-in-san-jose-as-protesters-attack-trump-supporters-outside-rally/
So the police were called to a Donald Trump protest and counter protest. Arrests were made. Fights broke out. And that resulted in this image:
That’s a pretty horrific image, right? Well let’s explore further, shall we? Here’s how another news story spun it, and *spoiler alert* - it’s not in our favor. In fact it makes us look like violent thugs:
The violence from liberal protesters is continuing at events for supporters for Donald Trump. After a rally in San Jose, California, a left-win mob threw bottles at Trump backers — bloodying one Trump voter who spoke with the media after the violence.
Liberal activists have created a tense and violent-prone environment outside rallies for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for weeks. That potential for violence came to a head in New Mexico recently when one Trump voter in a wheelchair was assaulted.
http://www.lifenews.com/2016/06/03/mob-of-liberal-protesters-attack-and-bloody-donald-trump-supporter-after-rally/
Liberal activists have created a tense and violent-prone environment outside rallies for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump for weeks. That potential for violence came to a head in New Mexico recently when one Trump voter in a wheelchair was assaulted.
http://www.lifenews.com/2016/06/03/mob-of-liberal-protesters-attack-and-bloody-donald-trump-supporter-after-rally/
Now wait! Go back! You know we reported on the violence happening at the New Mexico rally back in Idiots #29! And here’s that story:
It's not just a fight between Trump and a prominent Republican Latina. Martinez is also the chairwoman of the Republican Governors Association, tasked with electing GOP governors this fall, with Trump leading the party on the ballot.
Trump's event in New Mexico was most notable for the protests that erupted afterward, with anti-Trump activists breaking through police barricades, throwing rocks and bottles, setting signs ablaze and in one case smashing a glass door into Albuquerque's convention center, where Trump held his rally.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/politics/susana-martinez-donald-trump-fight/
Trump's event in New Mexico was most notable for the protests that erupted afterward, with anti-Trump activists breaking through police barricades, throwing rocks and bottles, setting signs ablaze and in one case smashing a glass door into Albuquerque's convention center, where Trump held his rally.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/25/politics/susana-martinez-donald-trump-fight/
Now wait a minute – the story called these morons “anti Trump” activists. They never said anything about whether or not they were liberal or conservative. There’s plenty of conservative anti-Trump people out there.
Oh! Someone’s got some ‘splainin to do! So since anti-Trump was not clearly defined, what else could be going on in San Jose that weekend? It certainly wasn’t the Sharks vs Pengiuns game. I have been to a lot of hockey games, never got into fights with the crowd that badly, although at the Stanley Cup Finals that might be expected.
The original photograph of Weaving was actually posted by the actress herself (as well as by her make up artist Hannah Wilson) way back in January when she was filming comedy horror television series 'Ash vs Evil Dead'.
However, its most recent use illustrates what is becoming a disturbing trend among Trump fans to circulate disturbing hoax images, claiming to be evidence of attacks from liberals.
This comes after several Trump supporters were legitimately attacked outside a rally for the presumptive GOP nominee in San Jose, California, last week.
While several real pictures of supporters post-rally are being circulated online, such as the one shared by NBC News reporter Jacob Rascon (below), the photograph of Weaving is not one of them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/06/07/the-only-horrifying-thing-about-this-photo-is-how-its-being-use/
However, its most recent use illustrates what is becoming a disturbing trend among Trump fans to circulate disturbing hoax images, claiming to be evidence of attacks from liberals.
This comes after several Trump supporters were legitimately attacked outside a rally for the presumptive GOP nominee in San Jose, California, last week.
While several real pictures of supporters post-rally are being circulated online, such as the one shared by NBC News reporter Jacob Rascon (below), the photograph of Weaving is not one of them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/06/07/the-only-horrifying-thing-about-this-photo-is-how-its-being-use/
Yup! That wasn’t a Trump rally picture! That was a publicity shot for season 2 of Ash Vs. Evil Dead, which is currently filming in New Zealand. So Bruce… you got some ‘splaining to do!
Over the course of the last six months, violence has escalated on the campaign trail, particularly during Donald Trump rallies. After an image went viral last week, showing a blonde young woman covered in blood, allegedly from violent liberal protesters, it turns out it was all a hoax.
Trump campaign violence
When Trump campaigned in San Jose, California last week, protesters clashed with supporters, as video tape evidence shows at least one woman being hit with bottles and eggs, and man with blood running down the side of his face. However, another image made the rounds on the internet, which was quickly debunked by a horror movie icon and star of the hit show "Ash vs Evil Dead," as reported by Mediaite on June 8.
http://us.blastingnews.com/news/2016/06/bloody-donald-trump-supporter-exposed-as-actress-never-attacked-by-liberals-at-rally-00958683.html
Trump campaign violence
When Trump campaigned in San Jose, California last week, protesters clashed with supporters, as video tape evidence shows at least one woman being hit with bottles and eggs, and man with blood running down the side of his face. However, another image made the rounds on the internet, which was quickly debunked by a horror movie icon and star of the hit show "Ash vs Evil Dead," as reported by Mediaite on June 8.
http://us.blastingnews.com/news/2016/06/bloody-donald-trump-supporter-exposed-as-actress-never-attacked-by-liberals-at-rally-00958683.html
#AshVsEvilTrumpSupporters
That’s it for this week. I appreciate you baring with us through this difficult time this week. This was certainly not an easy one to do. However, I assure you that next week we will be back to our usual hijinks and we might even bring back the Wheel O’ Corruption, which we originally planned for this week, for the next edition.
See you next week!
Ed. Note: The Top 10 has moved to Wednesdays! Now on Wednesday at 10:00 AM PST. Also please join our Twitter feed at @DUInitechTop10, and join the fight, won’t you?
June 10, 2016
Tell 'em Dave!
David Letterman: Donald Trump Is "Despicable"
Brokaw: "Listen, you're not on the air during one of the wackiest, potentially dislocating election years of our lifetime. Donald Trump, Hillary, Bernie Sanders. Are there times when you just say, "God, I'd like to be on tonight. I'd like to be talking about this?"
Letterman: "Well, I understand that he's repugnant to people. But, you tell me, the men putting together the Constitution, witnessing this election, wouldn't they have just said, 'That's part of the way we set it up. Good luck'"?
Brokaw: "You're absolutely right. He didn't cheat by getting the nomination."
Letterman: "Right. There's nothing illegal going on. It's just he's despicable ... And in everybody's school, you hear, 'The great thing about America is anybody can grow up to be President.' Oh, jeez. I guess that might be true."
The exchange comes a day after another clip was released where Letterman declared he "couldn't care less" about late-night TV anymore, and suggested a woman should have taken over the Late Show instead of Stephen Colbert.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/letterman-slams-trump-hes-despicable/ar-AAgT6lw
Letterman: "Well, I understand that he's repugnant to people. But, you tell me, the men putting together the Constitution, witnessing this election, wouldn't they have just said, 'That's part of the way we set it up. Good luck'"?
Brokaw: "You're absolutely right. He didn't cheat by getting the nomination."
Letterman: "Right. There's nothing illegal going on. It's just he's despicable ... And in everybody's school, you hear, 'The great thing about America is anybody can grow up to be President.' Oh, jeez. I guess that might be true."
The exchange comes a day after another clip was released where Letterman declared he "couldn't care less" about late-night TV anymore, and suggested a woman should have taken over the Late Show instead of Stephen Colbert.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/letterman-slams-trump-hes-despicable/ar-AAgT6lw
Tell 'em Dave!
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!!!
May 29, 2016
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #29: Springtime For Trumpenfuror Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Taking the darkest of humanity and juxta positioning it with hilarious memes and random video clips since 2015. So I love Lewis Black. He’s one of the best stand up comedians working today. No one delivers a “fuck you” with a straight up middle finger better than Mr. Black does. I have most of his stand up albums and I’ve even seen him live a couple of times. And some of the best bits on the Daily Show are usually his. He had a great rant about Donald Trump back during the 2012 election (which mostly proved to be true) and my all time favorite segment of his had to be his “don’t fuck with New York” infomercial that he did for the Daily Show in response to an ad campaign from Rick Perry. Well this week, Mr. Black was on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And Stephen asked him how he manages to keep the rage so fresh. He says “I usually wake up cheerful. Then I read the paper and go… SON OF A BITCH!!!”. Can we roll tape on that?
So where do we begin this week? Well in the number one slot, that is going to the State Of Oklahoma (1). You thought North Carolina was up to some evil human rights violating shit? Wait until you see what Oklahoma has in store! Donald Trump takes up not one, but 3 slots this week. So in the second slot we’ll talk about how Donald Trump was not just wanting the 2008 housing crash to happen, he was quite literally salivating over it. Ew. The third slot is going to cover the shit storm that is Donald Trump’s campaign and this week he visited Walter White’s home state of New Mexico, and my home town of Anaheim, California. And both stops were complete shit shows. And in the fourth slot, we’re going to talk about Trump’s transition to full blown Nazism. That plus a long time favorite Top 10 conservative idiot – Martin Shkreli, heartily endorses Trumpenfuror! Taking the fifth slot this week is the San Diego Padres (5). So the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus was invited to Petco Park to sing the National Anthem. But what should have been an incident free situation turned into a total clusterfuck and that’s before the first pitch was thrown at Sunday’s 17 inning marathon game between the Padres and the Dodgers. In the number 6 slot is the Bathroom Police (6). We have shown you the Bathroom Police at their craziest, and they may lose the College World Series in Lincoln because of it. But this week, we’re going to turn around and show you the flip side and people who are actively coming up with some unique solutions to a non existent problem. At number 7 we’re going to channel John Oliver and tell you about “People Who Somehow Got Elected”. This week, I give you Louie Gohmert, who saw “The Martian” and is taking things way too literally. Taking the number 8 slot, we’re going to take a dip in the international conservative idiots file and head to Brazil where a real life coup is taking place, and of course failing big time. In the number 9 slot (NEIN!!!), America’s neo-Nazis and white supremacists have chosen their pop icon, and, well, it’s Taylor Swift. Who naturally is horrified at this aspect of her fan base. Finally this week we’re going to talk about the movie Frozen. It’s one of the biggest hits Disney has had on their hands in quite some time. It’s spawned a gigantic wave of merchandising and a sequel is being planned. But there’s some interesting turmoil over the sequel. Particularly the love interest of the main character in the story, ice queen Elsa. Now there’s two sides to this debate – should she, or should she not have a female love interest? We’ll present both sides of this debate and let you be the judge! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
[font size="8"]The State Of Oklahoma[/font]
Oklahoma. You know them better as the state that musical is named after. And if you’re an NBA fan you might also know them as the state with the current West kings – the Oklahoma City Thunder. So no matter how bad you think North Carolina’s HB-2 is, there’s states out there that are doing some evil shit that makes HB-2 look like HB number 2. Yes, couldn’t resist a poop joke. But I give you Oklahoma – a state that is about to make North Carolina look like human rights activists by comparison. Here’s some of the truly evil shit that they have been up to this week. Behind door #1:
Yes you read that correctly. If this bill passes students could theoretically choose a segregated bathroom because they do not wish to change next to a trans person on religious grounds. As if that wasn’t bad enough here’s what else Oklahoma has been up to:
Holy fuck! Of all the states in the union, Oklahoma leads the pack in the number of botched executions. The mere fact that this list exists should be alarming enough, but to have Oklahoma at the top of the list? Something has definitely got to be done! And they clearly don’t give a shit if you read into what the AG has found in their investigation, and the plans to shut down said investigation:
So after… AFTER Governor Mary Fallin was told that the drug being used to execute a prisoner was the wrong drug, she went ahead with the execution anyways! This is a stunning, jaw dropping level of evil right here. Now as if that wasn’t enough, what else has Oklahoma been up to? Well rolling women’s rights back to the stone ages for one thing:
Yes the Oklahoma house republicans have purposefully crafted this bill so it would overturn Roe V Wade in the hopes that they would get to penalize women for having abortions once again. So did this evil bill pass the House? Why yes it did!
Now there’s just one step left and that’s for Governor Fallin to veto or approve it. And which stance did the governor take?
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Before we get into all things Trumpenfuror this week, I have to give props to this meme from the great George Takei:
But what was Trumpenfuror been up to this week? You know last week we covered the fact that he devalued his own golf course. “Well auditing is for stupid losers. Real winners just make up the dollar amounts as they go along!”. Well now he pulled the equivalent of a George W. Bush “Watch this drive” moment as he talked about how climate change does not exist and is an expensive hoax – at a Trump brand golf course:
But speaking of Donald J. Trump and fiscal irresponsibility, now that Trumpenfuror is the presumptive front runner in the 2016 election, people are going to be delving into his past big time. And one particular aspect of his past seems to be hitting the front pages of every news paper. Mainly what did he think of the big housing crash of 2008? Well according to Elizabeth Warren, why he wanted it to happen of course! Because… money!
“Well, I’m a very smart business man. I have the best words and I make the best decisions, I buy the best houses. I make the most money off the best houses.”
Oh and by the way, in case you weren’t already comparing Donald Trump to C. Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons, this is a new low that he tried to pull this week. Why yes he had attempted to skim $1 million from veterans:
And not just Baltimore – Trump visited my home town this week and of course it was a total shit show:
How come I always find out about these things after the fact? If I had known I would have absolutely been there! But I will be there for the next one! Can we roll tape?
But I do love this Tweet from Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King):
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
No. That’s not Fallujah. That’s an actual picture from the Trump rally in none other than my home town of Anaheim, California. Yes, Trumpenfuror was on my home turf last week! So there’s so much Donald Trump news that it’s spilling over into a second entry this week. So Trumpenfuror is the candidate of choice for white trash Americans and rightfully so. In fact so much that this picture recently surfaced of Trump’s wife Melania posing with a gun, boots and a thong:
Gun, Boots, And A Thong - I think I have that country music album somewhere. Where's Wheeler Walker Jr. at and how come he's not writing this now? “See my wife is going to be the hottest first lady in the world. How many other countries could say that about their first ladies?”
Elsewhere in the world of Donald J. Trump, what exactly happened at a Trump rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico last week? Yes the home of Walter White and Saul Goodman was also the home of some rampant violence and looting in the name of Trumpenfuror:
Holy shit! But what are Donald Trump’s positions on well, just about anything? Will the real Donald Trump please stand up? Please stand up? Please stand up?
By the way Politico took the time to compile a very, very long list of ways that Trumpenfuror has contradicted himself over the years and that whole article is a gem. But what else is he right or wrong about? Remember with Trump, there is no wrong answer to any given question and if you ask it twice you’ll get a different answer! By the way in case you were wondering, why yes – the bookings at Trump properties are declining in rapid numbers:
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Yes that's the potential 45th American president Donald J. Trump doing a chicken dance on SNL. Before we get into the real meat of this week’s Top 10, I fucking love this. You know billionaire CEOs are a member of the quid pro quo club - “I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine”, right? Well guess what? It should come as no surprise to anyone that a favorite punching bag of the Top 10 – pharma douche Martin Shkreli, has endorsed Trumpenfuror:
That should tell you all you need to know about Trump fans. In case you were wondering if Donald Trump’s slide into becoming a full Adolf Hitler Jr. were ever more relevant, he is actually calling on the Republican party to become a worker’s party. If that term sounds familiar to you, perhaps you remember it from 20th century history. As you may know – the German Deutsche Arbieter Partei (DAP) is the party that went on to become the party known as Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. Which is, um, actually the Nazi Party. So here’s what happened:
But… Trumpenfuror claims to be the guy who’s going to create the best workers. “I’m going to create the best workers, I’m going to create the most productive workers, we’ll build walls around the least productive workers. What? Why do people keep calling me a Nazi?”. Well if you look, his track record would suggest that he’s not a man who’s for the workers like his claim is. I give you exhibit A:
That’s right! Not just one, or maybe two, but HUNDREDS of former Trump Inc. workers have sued Trump Hotels International over the years. But that’s not all that’s plaguing Trump International. What else could he might be hiding, that say, an auditor might be interested in? I give you exhibit B! Trump really *IS* a white supremacist!
Holy shit!! So I give you a worker’s party representation, horrible treatment of workers, and just flat out blatant white supremacism. But how much is Donald Trump like Hitler? Hypocrisy, thy name is Trump:
Even Trump’s own models don’t like working for Trump!
But even then – what else is Donald Trump hiding that auditors might be interested in? I give you:
So not only is Donald Trump a racist, he’s also one of the biggest hypcrites known to man! But Donald Trump not only wants the best workers, he wants to make the republican party the working class party!
[font size="8"]San Diego Padres[/font]
So last week we ended on talking about some baseball. Well we’re going to talk some more baseball this week. Mainly because a really fucked up thing happened with the San Diego Padres this week and the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego. But first let’s roll tape and then discuss:
That’s real. That happened. The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus was drowned out by the wrong tape during their singing of the National Anthem. And that game between the Padres and the Dodgers? Went on to last a whopping 17 innings. So let’s discuss in further detail:
So who’s responsible? Don’t go getting the league involved here just yet guys! Let’s calm down and seek an investigation shall we? Was it Kevin Swanson? Rick Wiles? Franklin Graham? Alex Jones? Let’s go further.
But the league has conducted an investigation but has turned up inconclusive so far:
And how did that pan out for the Padres? Well they won on a walk off after a grueling 17 innings of play against the LA Dodgers. But what happened? Who is to blame? Well the DJ who started the whole brew ha ha got fired even after issuing a formal apology to the SDGMC:
But now the SDGMC wants the Padres to reinstate the fired DJ after the apology was issued:
So someone somewhere did the wrong thing and it’s a total clusterfuck that ended very poorly and we will keep you posted with any further updates. And by the way the Padres extended an invitation for the SDGMC to come back:
By the way this is not the first time the National Anthem has been desecrated in San Diego. You might remember this:
Ow! Ow! My ears are bleeding!!!
[font size="8"]The Bathroom Police[/font]
So the bathroom police are back at it. At number 1 this week we talked about a law that Oklahoma was going to propose that was similar to North Carolina’s HB-2. Did you know that Nebraska has a similar bill being proposed on the books? And that said bill would jeopardize Nebraska’s long standing relationship with the NCAA? Well this could be a huge middle finger to Chrsitian fundamentalists trying to police bathrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms because if this bill passes, the College World Series will leave Lincoln:
But that’s not the only thing the bathroom police have been doing this week. In case you were wondering just how far trans paranoia goes, check out this incident from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where a lesbian couple was denied entry to their Catholic High School’s prom because one was not wearing a dress:
Wait – Catholic high schools let LGBT couples go to prom? Since when? Wow, times have changed!
But some good news in the war on bathrooms – we go to Austin, Texas for this where the owner of a theater chain called the “Alamo Drafthouse” is considering redesigning it’s bathrooms in response to North Carolina’s HB-2. Should be interesting to say the least:
And by the way first off there’s a great piece on Facebook that you should read about the Bathroom police – I won’t post the whole thing, but will link to it. You know these assholes are like the assholes patrolling our borders. They’re not going to find anything but they believe in the cause because it’s an excuse to show off their precious (and by precious, I mean gun). Someone is going to get hurt or die by this, and it is not going to end well. And remember when I said I’d post an actual sex crime for every time the fundies feel they need to harass trans people? Well this happened:
Holy fucking shit. Sex crime with a hate crime on top of that!
[font size="8"]Louie Gohmert[/font]
Allow me to channel John Oliver again and it’s time to go into:
So this week in “People Who Somehow Got Elected”, I give you Louie Gohmert. Representative of the first district of Texas (TX-1). Where most people have embraced and accepted LGBT culture, Louie Gohmert has not. In fact Mr. Gohmert has an almost cartoonish, Yosemite Sam level of hate for the LGBT communuity. In fact Mr. Gohmert goes out of his way to make absurd claims about America's LGBT community. In this case, he actually argued on the House Of Representatives floor that we shouldn’t send gay people into space because Gay Space Colonies don’t exist. By the way, if there’s no band tomorrow called “Gay Space Colonies”, I will have really lost all hope in the internet.
Yes, he actually argued this on the Congressional floor. He argued this on the Congressional floor. Why is this guy a representative? Why is he not behind padded walls? Which is where he would be in most developed countries! Well anyway here’s some of the details:
OMG. I mean seriously. OMG. Most people have that filter that blocks thoughts from becoming words. Louie Gohmert does not.
So there's lots of take aways from Mr. Gohmert's speech. The first is that he has some bizarre fantasies about space colonization. But the second is that trans people are "perverse". No they're not. And the third is that in a surprising turn, for an end times Christian conspiracy theorist like Mr. Gohmert, he actually acknowledged the existence of dinosaurs. So that's good.... we guess....?
And here's some more of Mr. Gohmert's greatest hits. He also suggested once that we “put gay people on an island to see which one nature favors” and see if they will survive in 100 years:
And that SCOTUS declared itself “God” in reversing the ruling on gay marriage:
And made an absurd claim that the US will not help Nigeria fight terrorism:
And even suggested that Obama was brining in “truck loads of illegals to help Obama win elections”:
He also said that Central American gang violence was a hoax:
But what happens if you double cross Mr. Gohmert? Why you will get death threats from talk show hosts!
And yet he tries to prove on the Senate floor that God exists:
That’s Louie Gohmert.
[font size="8"]Coup De Brazil[/font]
So with Motorhead in mind, we’re going to Brazil for this next entry. See, conservative idiocy isn’t just limited to these great United States of ours. Nope, it’s an international problem that stems far and wide, and conservatives being just plain dumb and fucking evil as they are here in America. We previously explored what’s happening in Brazil in Idiots #2 when the fallout from the World Cup and the Olympics nightmares resulted in a possible coup against the former Brazilian prime minister. Well it did happen. And it was a spectacular fail.
So the political unrest in Brazil is so bad that they actually attempted a real impeachment trial against their incumbent president which in turn sparked fear of counter-violence against the party that initiated the proceedings. But what happened when they tried that again?
That’s right! The new interim president of Brazil was accused of taking bribes and kickbacks from Brazil’s state run oil company! Holy shit! And then the new prime minister attempted to dissolve the state’s culture ministry which led to thousands protesting in the streets. This is quite literally insane.
Wow, so the new prime minister didn’t even last 10 days and tried to get rid of the government culture department. Why isn’t he an American republican? Sounds like a conservative thing to do!
[font size="8"]White Supremacists[/font]
You know I won’t normally use the Top 10 to talk celebrity tabloid nonsense. But when America’s Neo Nazi and white supremacist population latches onto a pop idol like Taylor Swift, and she subsequently rejects their affliction, I must report it damn it! So here’s what happened:
So why has Taylor Swift become such an idol among America’s white supremacist community? Well if you read these quotes they are just absolutely gushing over her, in the way that you would expect from a certifiably creepy stalker:
OMG that is creepy. Like seriously creepy. And what would Taylor herself say about that?
And in fact she actually did say that to some effect, by having her lawyer write a letter to the blog that broke the story:
[font size="8"]Frozen 2: Elsa Gets A Girlfriend (?)[/font]
Yes. That’s John Travolta introducing the winner of 2015’s best original song at the Oscar awards as “Adele Dazeem”. Who is really Idina Menzel – voice actress on Disney’s unbelievable smash hit “Frozen” and the subsequent singer of the smash hit song that came from that movie – “Let It Go”, which won the Best Original Song that year. So for the final entry this week we are going to be talking about Frozen. Well more specifically – the upcoming sequel Frozen 2. Now there’s a petition going around the internet with a rather unusual request. We’ll show you what’s going on and then we’ll explain in further detail.
Yes – there’s a campaign on the internet to make Frozen’s lead character a lesbian. Now… you might be thinking “why”? Well I answer you good sir / madam - the rationale is simple – Disney has been very progressive in recent years in its’ support of LGBT rights and even hosted the Orlando Pride parade at Epcot Center. Not to mention Disney is one of the largest active employers of LGBT citizens not just in America, but around the world. So why not support its’ LGBT community and give Elsa a girlfriend? Why not? Well of course the Christian “pro family” rights groups – you know them as the ruiners of everything (by the way, that’s my new band name ), well, naturally it's backfiring big time:
Of course batshit crazy pastor Franklin Graham would call this a lie. That Huffington Post article went on to argue that it’s really the LGBT youth who could benefit from such representation. Here’s where things get weird – Kevin Swanson, who we talked about in previous Idiots editions as saying that rock concerts were tools of Satan (see Idiots #1 ). Well before we go into why he’s here this week, let’s talk about his past reasons for denouncing the film:
Yes. So a movie that teaches kids about love and compassion is somehow evil and going to teach kids about beastiality. You know is it any wonder why Jesus isn’t coming back? So here’s Swanson’s rationale this week:
Someone needs to put Kevin Swanson on a sex offender watch list because he cares way too much about the sexual orientation of cartoon characters doesn’t he? In fact if you go back to Idiots #9, I pointed out that he has an unusually unhealthy obsession with the sexual orientation of Harry Potter characters. Mr. Swanson, it’s time to admit you have a problem. #KevinSwansonHasAProblem
The Christian right has in the last 2 years since Frozen was in theaters, developed an almost cartoonish level of hate for this movie. Which is funny because the movie is about love and acceptance, which are things that you know, Jesus might have actually taught us about. In fact the right wing hates Frozen so much that they actually held a seminar – yes, a fucking seminar, to tell its’ followers that Elsa was already promoting homosexuality and the song “Let It Go” is considered “Satan’s rebellion anthem”. I wish I were making this up!
You know what Disney? I say just fucking do it. You’ve got nothing to lose. The Christian right is like Dean Wormer from Animal House – they’re going to despise every move you make because of your LGBT support, so why not give Elsa a girlfriend? What’s the worst that could happen? These fun ruining assholes condemn you for supporting LGBT rights? Who gives a shit?
And it’s not like money is a problem – you’ve got Lucasfilm and Marvel at your disposal. So even if you do give Elsa a girlfriend and Frozen 2 bombs, then what? Make another Iron Man or Star Wars and you’ll recoup the loss in a week and a half. So how do you weigh in on the subject? Do you think Elsa should or should not have a girlfriend in Frozen 2? #ElsaGirlfriendYes #ElsaGirlfriendNo But before you answer that, well… let’s ask Idina Menzel herself.
Yes! Idina Menzel herself has weighed in and fully supports the idea! So how do you feel about this? Tweet us @DUInitechTop10, with the hashtag #ElsaGirlfriendYes or #ElsaGirlfriendNo, and we'll post the results in the next edition. Come on everyone, let’s close out this week and make some fundie heads explode and sing it with me!
In fact every time you sing that song, fundie heads will do this:
We're going to take a week off next week in observance of Memorial Day this Monday, but we'll be back on June 12th with a brand new celebratory 30th edition of the Top 10! See you in two weeks!
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #29: Springtime For Trumpenfuror Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #29: Springtime For Trumpenfuror Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Taking the darkest of humanity and juxta positioning it with hilarious memes and random video clips since 2015. So I love Lewis Black. He’s one of the best stand up comedians working today. No one delivers a “fuck you” with a straight up middle finger better than Mr. Black does. I have most of his stand up albums and I’ve even seen him live a couple of times. And some of the best bits on the Daily Show are usually his. He had a great rant about Donald Trump back during the 2012 election (which mostly proved to be true) and my all time favorite segment of his had to be his “don’t fuck with New York” infomercial that he did for the Daily Show in response to an ad campaign from Rick Perry. Well this week, Mr. Black was on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And Stephen asked him how he manages to keep the rage so fresh. He says “I usually wake up cheerful. Then I read the paper and go… SON OF A BITCH!!!”. Can we roll tape on that?
So where do we begin this week? Well in the number one slot, that is going to the State Of Oklahoma (1). You thought North Carolina was up to some evil human rights violating shit? Wait until you see what Oklahoma has in store! Donald Trump takes up not one, but 3 slots this week. So in the second slot we’ll talk about how Donald Trump was not just wanting the 2008 housing crash to happen, he was quite literally salivating over it. Ew. The third slot is going to cover the shit storm that is Donald Trump’s campaign and this week he visited Walter White’s home state of New Mexico, and my home town of Anaheim, California. And both stops were complete shit shows. And in the fourth slot, we’re going to talk about Trump’s transition to full blown Nazism. That plus a long time favorite Top 10 conservative idiot – Martin Shkreli, heartily endorses Trumpenfuror! Taking the fifth slot this week is the San Diego Padres (5). So the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus was invited to Petco Park to sing the National Anthem. But what should have been an incident free situation turned into a total clusterfuck and that’s before the first pitch was thrown at Sunday’s 17 inning marathon game between the Padres and the Dodgers. In the number 6 slot is the Bathroom Police (6). We have shown you the Bathroom Police at their craziest, and they may lose the College World Series in Lincoln because of it. But this week, we’re going to turn around and show you the flip side and people who are actively coming up with some unique solutions to a non existent problem. At number 7 we’re going to channel John Oliver and tell you about “People Who Somehow Got Elected”. This week, I give you Louie Gohmert, who saw “The Martian” and is taking things way too literally. Taking the number 8 slot, we’re going to take a dip in the international conservative idiots file and head to Brazil where a real life coup is taking place, and of course failing big time. In the number 9 slot (NEIN!!!), America’s neo-Nazis and white supremacists have chosen their pop icon, and, well, it’s Taylor Swift. Who naturally is horrified at this aspect of her fan base. Finally this week we’re going to talk about the movie Frozen. It’s one of the biggest hits Disney has had on their hands in quite some time. It’s spawned a gigantic wave of merchandising and a sequel is being planned. But there’s some interesting turmoil over the sequel. Particularly the love interest of the main character in the story, ice queen Elsa. Now there’s two sides to this debate – should she, or should she not have a female love interest? We’ll present both sides of this debate and let you be the judge! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
[font size="8"]The State Of Oklahoma[/font]
Oklahoma. You know them better as the state that musical is named after. And if you’re an NBA fan you might also know them as the state with the current West kings – the Oklahoma City Thunder. So no matter how bad you think North Carolina’s HB-2 is, there’s states out there that are doing some evil shit that makes HB-2 look like HB number 2. Yes, couldn’t resist a poop joke. But I give you Oklahoma – a state that is about to make North Carolina look like human rights activists by comparison. Here’s some of the truly evil shit that they have been up to this week. Behind door #1:
Oklahoma lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow students to request on religious grounds that their public schools provide a bathroom or other facility that bars transgender people.
The bill appears to be one of the first state-level legislative actions to challenge the Obama administration’s directives, issued last week, that said students must be allowed to use the facilities that match the gender they identify as, even if that is different from their anatomical sex.
The Senate bill introduced on Thursday in Oklahoma defined “sex” as the “physical condition of being male or female, as identified at birth” by an individual’s anatomy.
It says any student can request a “religious accommodation” from a school for restrooms, athletic changing facilities or showers that are exclusively used by people with the anatomical sex at birth that is similar to their own. This means that a male student could request that the school provide facilities only for use by other students who were male when they were born.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/separate-bathrooms-by-religion-oklahoma-opens-new-front-in-transgender-debate/ar-BBthT06?li=BBnb7Kz
The bill appears to be one of the first state-level legislative actions to challenge the Obama administration’s directives, issued last week, that said students must be allowed to use the facilities that match the gender they identify as, even if that is different from their anatomical sex.
The Senate bill introduced on Thursday in Oklahoma defined “sex” as the “physical condition of being male or female, as identified at birth” by an individual’s anatomy.
It says any student can request a “religious accommodation” from a school for restrooms, athletic changing facilities or showers that are exclusively used by people with the anatomical sex at birth that is similar to their own. This means that a male student could request that the school provide facilities only for use by other students who were male when they were born.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/separate-bathrooms-by-religion-oklahoma-opens-new-front-in-transgender-debate/ar-BBthT06?li=BBnb7Kz
Yes you read that correctly. If this bill passes students could theoretically choose a segregated bathroom because they do not wish to change next to a trans person on religious grounds. As if that wasn’t bad enough here’s what else Oklahoma has been up to:
An Oklahoma grand jury looking into the state's troubled executions said in a report released on Thursday that jail staff did not verify what drugs they were using for lethal injections and were unaware when the wrong drugs were administered.
The report, running more than 100 pages, offered a stinging rebuke of state officials, especially those in the Department of Corrections, for their handling of executions, which are currently on hold in Oklahoma due to the troubles in the death chamber.
"Today, I regret to advise the citizens of Oklahoma that the Department of Corrections failed to do its job," Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a statement.
Oklahoma drew international condemnation following a troubled execution in 2014 in which medical staff did not properly place an intravenous line on a convicted murderer, Clayton Lockett.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oklahoma-execution-idUSKCN0YA31Y
The report, running more than 100 pages, offered a stinging rebuke of state officials, especially those in the Department of Corrections, for their handling of executions, which are currently on hold in Oklahoma due to the troubles in the death chamber.
"Today, I regret to advise the citizens of Oklahoma that the Department of Corrections failed to do its job," Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a statement.
Oklahoma drew international condemnation following a troubled execution in 2014 in which medical staff did not properly place an intravenous line on a convicted murderer, Clayton Lockett.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-oklahoma-execution-idUSKCN0YA31Y
Holy fuck! Of all the states in the union, Oklahoma leads the pack in the number of botched executions. The mere fact that this list exists should be alarming enough, but to have Oklahoma at the top of the list? Something has definitely got to be done! And they clearly don’t give a shit if you read into what the AG has found in their investigation, and the plans to shut down said investigation:
The top lawyer for Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin urged prison officials to go forward with a planned execution even though they received the wrong drug, telling a deputy attorney general to “Google it” to confirm it could be used, a grand jury said in a report Thursday.
The grand jury faulted many officials for three botched execution attempts but issued no indictments after its months-long investigation. But the panel noted that Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, advocated for the use of potassium acetate in the 30 September execution of Richard Glossip, even though the state’s lethal injection protocol calls for potassium chloride, which stops the heart. Fallin later issued a last-minute stay for Glossip, who remains on death row.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/19/oklahoma-botched-execution-drug-mary-fallin
The grand jury faulted many officials for three botched execution attempts but issued no indictments after its months-long investigation. But the panel noted that Fallin’s general counsel, Steve Mullins, advocated for the use of potassium acetate in the 30 September execution of Richard Glossip, even though the state’s lethal injection protocol calls for potassium chloride, which stops the heart. Fallin later issued a last-minute stay for Glossip, who remains on death row.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/19/oklahoma-botched-execution-drug-mary-fallin
So after… AFTER Governor Mary Fallin was told that the drug being used to execute a prisoner was the wrong drug, she went ahead with the execution anyways! This is a stunning, jaw dropping level of evil right here. Now as if that wasn’t enough, what else has Oklahoma been up to? Well rolling women’s rights back to the stone ages for one thing:
The bill , which abortion rights group Center for Reproductive Rights says is the first of its kind in the nation, also would restrict any physician who performs an abortion from obtaining or renewing a license to practice medicine in Oklahoma. It passed 33-12 Thursday with no discussion or debate; a handful of Republicans joined with Democrats in voting against the bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, an anti-abortion Republican, has until Wednesday to sign the bill into law or veto it. Spokesman Michael McNutt said she also could also allow the bill to become law "without approval" after the five-day period has elapsed. He also said she will withhold comment until her staff has time to review it.
Dahm made it clear that he hopes his bill could lead to overturning Roe v. Wade. "Since I believe life begins at conception, it should be protected, and I believe it's a core function of state government to defend that life from the beginning of conception," said Dahm, R-Broken Arrow.
https://www.mail.com/news/politics/4356028-oklahoma-lawmakers-bill-criminalizing-performing-a.html#.23140-stage-hero1-3
Dahm made it clear that he hopes his bill could lead to overturning Roe v. Wade. "Since I believe life begins at conception, it should be protected, and I believe it's a core function of state government to defend that life from the beginning of conception," said Dahm, R-Broken Arrow.
https://www.mail.com/news/politics/4356028-oklahoma-lawmakers-bill-criminalizing-performing-a.html#.23140-stage-hero1-3
Yes the Oklahoma house republicans have purposefully crafted this bill so it would overturn Roe V Wade in the hopes that they would get to penalize women for having abortions once again. So did this evil bill pass the House? Why yes it did!
In a setback for women's health advocates, the Oklahoman state legislature passed a bill on Thursday that makes performing an abortion a felony.
The bill, SB 1552, was passed with a vote of 33-12 Thursday and would make the medical procedure punishable with up to three years in prison and would suspend the medical licenses of Oklahoma doctors who perform the procedure, local media reported. The bill next heads to the desk of Gov. Mary Fallin.
The bill was proposed by Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm and the Center for Reproductive Rights said it the first of its kind in the U.S., the Associated Press reported.
http://www.ibtimes.com/oklahoma-passes-anti-abortion-bill-making-procedure-felony-2371387
The bill, SB 1552, was passed with a vote of 33-12 Thursday and would make the medical procedure punishable with up to three years in prison and would suspend the medical licenses of Oklahoma doctors who perform the procedure, local media reported. The bill next heads to the desk of Gov. Mary Fallin.
The bill was proposed by Republican Sen. Nathan Dahm and the Center for Reproductive Rights said it the first of its kind in the U.S., the Associated Press reported.
http://www.ibtimes.com/oklahoma-passes-anti-abortion-bill-making-procedure-felony-2371387
Now there’s just one step left and that’s for Governor Fallin to veto or approve it. And which stance did the governor take?
On Friday afternoon, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin vetoed a bill that would have made performing most abortions a felony in the state. On Thursday, the Oklahoma Senate passed the bill 33-12, with no floor debate. During the voting process, Sen. Ervin Yen, the sole state senator who is a physician, called the measure "insane."
As Mother Jones reported in April, the bill would make performing abortions, except for those intended to save a woman's life, a felony punishable by a minimum of one year in prison.
More at link:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/05/oklahoma-governor-vetoes-insane-abortion-bill
As Mother Jones reported in April, the bill would make performing abortions, except for those intended to save a woman's life, a felony punishable by a minimum of one year in prison.
More at link:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/05/oklahoma-governor-vetoes-insane-abortion-bill
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Before we get into all things Trumpenfuror this week, I have to give props to this meme from the great George Takei:
But what was Trumpenfuror been up to this week? You know last week we covered the fact that he devalued his own golf course. “Well auditing is for stupid losers. Real winners just make up the dollar amounts as they go along!”. Well now he pulled the equivalent of a George W. Bush “Watch this drive” moment as he talked about how climate change does not exist and is an expensive hoax – at a Trump brand golf course:
Donald Trump says he is “not a big believer in global warming.” He has called it “a total hoax,” “bullshit” and “pseudoscience.”
But he is also trying to build a sea wall designed to protect one of his golf courses from “global warming and its effects.”
The New York billionaire is applying for permission to erect a coastal protection works to prevent erosion at his seaside golf resort, Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland, in County Clare.
A permit application for the wall, filed by Trump International Golf Links Ireland and reviewed by POLITICO, explicitly cites global warming and its consequences — increased erosion due to rising sea levels and extreme weather this century — as a chief justification for building the structure.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/donald-trump-climate-change-golf-course-223436#ixzz49UVZChN4
But he is also trying to build a sea wall designed to protect one of his golf courses from “global warming and its effects.”
The New York billionaire is applying for permission to erect a coastal protection works to prevent erosion at his seaside golf resort, Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Ireland, in County Clare.
A permit application for the wall, filed by Trump International Golf Links Ireland and reviewed by POLITICO, explicitly cites global warming and its consequences — increased erosion due to rising sea levels and extreme weather this century — as a chief justification for building the structure.
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/donald-trump-climate-change-golf-course-223436#ixzz49UVZChN4
But speaking of Donald J. Trump and fiscal irresponsibility, now that Trumpenfuror is the presumptive front runner in the 2016 election, people are going to be delving into his past big time. And one particular aspect of his past seems to be hitting the front pages of every news paper. Mainly what did he think of the big housing crash of 2008? Well according to Elizabeth Warren, why he wanted it to happen of course! Because… money!
Reports emerged late last week that Trump expressed his desire for a market crash two years before the housing bubble burst in 2008.
“I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy,” he said in a 2006 audiobook for Trump University. "If there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know, you could make a lot of money. At the same time, I don’t think that will happen.”
Trump on Tuesday said he had merely optimized a poor economic situation to benefit his real estate business.
“I am a businessman and I have made a lot of money in down markets, in some cases as much as I’ve made when markets are good,” he said in a statement.
“Frankly, this is the kind of thinking our country needs — understanding how to get a good result out of a very bad and sad situation. Politicians have no idea how to do this — they don’t have a clue."
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/elizabeth-warren-donald-trump-feud-attacks-insecure-small-dodd-frank
“I sort of hope that happens because then people like me would go in and buy,” he said in a 2006 audiobook for Trump University. "If there is a bubble burst, as they call it, you know, you could make a lot of money. At the same time, I don’t think that will happen.”
Trump on Tuesday said he had merely optimized a poor economic situation to benefit his real estate business.
“I am a businessman and I have made a lot of money in down markets, in some cases as much as I’ve made when markets are good,” he said in a statement.
“Frankly, this is the kind of thinking our country needs — understanding how to get a good result out of a very bad and sad situation. Politicians have no idea how to do this — they don’t have a clue."
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/elizabeth-warren-donald-trump-feud-attacks-insecure-small-dodd-frank
“Well, I’m a very smart business man. I have the best words and I make the best decisions, I buy the best houses. I make the most money off the best houses.”
Oh and by the way, in case you weren’t already comparing Donald Trump to C. Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons, this is a new low that he tried to pull this week. Why yes he had attempted to skim $1 million from veterans:
He tried to weasel out of it for months and hoped no one would notice.
When he finally got caught, he ponied up grudgingly and insulted the reporter who caught him.
Even among sleazebags, this is not normal behavior. This is pathological sleaziness. It's literally beyond belief. Do not let Trump distract you with his latest barrage of insults. Do not turn your attention to the latest polls. Do not let this be normalized away as "just another Trump thing."
Maybe we need to put this in simpler terms. $1 million is one ten-thousandth of Trump's claimed wealth. The average American household has a net worth of about $50,000. One ten-thousandth of that is $5. In terms of its effect on his personal finances, what Trump did was the equivalent of promising five bucks to a homeless vet and then trying to weasel out of it. What kind of person would do that?
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/05/donald-trump-tried-cheat-veterans-out-1-million
When he finally got caught, he ponied up grudgingly and insulted the reporter who caught him.
Even among sleazebags, this is not normal behavior. This is pathological sleaziness. It's literally beyond belief. Do not let Trump distract you with his latest barrage of insults. Do not turn your attention to the latest polls. Do not let this be normalized away as "just another Trump thing."
Maybe we need to put this in simpler terms. $1 million is one ten-thousandth of Trump's claimed wealth. The average American household has a net worth of about $50,000. One ten-thousandth of that is $5. In terms of its effect on his personal finances, what Trump did was the equivalent of promising five bucks to a homeless vet and then trying to weasel out of it. What kind of person would do that?
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/05/donald-trump-tried-cheat-veterans-out-1-million
And not just Baltimore – Trump visited my home town this week and of course it was a total shit show:
Supporters and critics of Donald Trump squared off Wednesday in Anaheim as the presidential candidate held a rally, with police officers making several arrests after some demonstrators threw objects at them.
After Trump departed, a small group of protesters remained in the area and ignore demands by police to leave the area. At least one trash can was set o fire, and large groups of police were trying to push the remaining demonstrators away.
Lines of police officers on horseback were moving through the streets near the Anaheim Convention Center, with a several dozen protesters in front of them.
Trump's talk was interrupted at one point by a protester inside the center. After pausing for a moment, Trump said: "The safest place to be in our country is a Trump rally." Trump ended his speech to loud applause.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-trump-anaheim-security-20160525-snap-story.html
After Trump departed, a small group of protesters remained in the area and ignore demands by police to leave the area. At least one trash can was set o fire, and large groups of police were trying to push the remaining demonstrators away.
Lines of police officers on horseback were moving through the streets near the Anaheim Convention Center, with a several dozen protesters in front of them.
Trump's talk was interrupted at one point by a protester inside the center. After pausing for a moment, Trump said: "The safest place to be in our country is a Trump rally." Trump ended his speech to loud applause.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-trump-anaheim-security-20160525-snap-story.html
How come I always find out about these things after the fact? If I had known I would have absolutely been there! But I will be there for the next one! Can we roll tape?
But I do love this Tweet from Stephen King (yes, that Stephen King):
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
No. That’s not Fallujah. That’s an actual picture from the Trump rally in none other than my home town of Anaheim, California. Yes, Trumpenfuror was on my home turf last week! So there’s so much Donald Trump news that it’s spilling over into a second entry this week. So Trumpenfuror is the candidate of choice for white trash Americans and rightfully so. In fact so much that this picture recently surfaced of Trump’s wife Melania posing with a gun, boots and a thong:
Well there you have it… He thinks he is King of the World and she poses like she in an auditon for a James Bond movie. The NRA endorsed Trump.. HA. totally classless and they call themselves conservative. Hypocritical right wing trashed our First Lady because she bared her arms differently.
I guess to get millions of voters on the right has proven that all you have to do is bully, threaten violence and have a wife show her ass. So much class...Oh my. I just can’t see these people in the White House.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/21/1529429/-Trump-s-wife-posing-with-gun-Thong-and-Boots-And-they-had-a-problem-with-Michelle-s-bare-arms?detail=email&link_id=1&can_id=929e73d7d0662c9384a389eb8b503297&source=email-trumps-wife-posing-with-gun-in-thong-and-boots-and-they-had-a-problem-with-michelles-bare-arms-2&email_referrer=trumps-wife-posing-with-gun-in-thong-and-boots-and-they-had-a-problem-with-michelles-bare-arms-2&email_subject=trumps-wife-posing-with-gun-in-thong-and-boots-and-they-had-a-problem-with-michelles-bare-arms
I guess to get millions of voters on the right has proven that all you have to do is bully, threaten violence and have a wife show her ass. So much class...Oh my. I just can’t see these people in the White House.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/21/1529429/-Trump-s-wife-posing-with-gun-Thong-and-Boots-And-they-had-a-problem-with-Michelle-s-bare-arms?detail=email&link_id=1&can_id=929e73d7d0662c9384a389eb8b503297&source=email-trumps-wife-posing-with-gun-in-thong-and-boots-and-they-had-a-problem-with-michelles-bare-arms-2&email_referrer=trumps-wife-posing-with-gun-in-thong-and-boots-and-they-had-a-problem-with-michelles-bare-arms-2&email_subject=trumps-wife-posing-with-gun-in-thong-and-boots-and-they-had-a-problem-with-michelles-bare-arms
Gun, Boots, And A Thong - I think I have that country music album somewhere. Where's Wheeler Walker Jr. at and how come he's not writing this now? “See my wife is going to be the hottest first lady in the world. How many other countries could say that about their first ladies?”
Elsewhere in the world of Donald J. Trump, what exactly happened at a Trump rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico last week? Yes the home of Walter White and Saul Goodman was also the home of some rampant violence and looting in the name of Trumpenfuror:
In yet another example of violence on the campaign trail, Donald Trump's rally in New Mexico went up in flames. Protested crashed the event, burning pro-Trump flags, while attacking police horses with bottles and rocks.
Hundreds turned out to voice their opposition to the billionaire real estate mogul in Albuquerque Tuesday night. Following a disturbing trend over the last few months, angry protesters took to the streets and started a violent outbreak. As reported by The Hill on May 24, via reports from the Albuquerque Police Department, the evening quickly turned sour.
"Protesters are now throwing bottles and rocks at our Police Horses," the Albuquerque Police Department tweeted out. Conflicting accounts reported possible gun shots and tear gas being used, though the Albuquerque Police Department were quick to silence the rumors.
http://us.blastingnews.com/news/2016/05/violence-erupts-at-donald-trump-rally-fires-started-police-horses-attacked-00936429.html
Hundreds turned out to voice their opposition to the billionaire real estate mogul in Albuquerque Tuesday night. Following a disturbing trend over the last few months, angry protesters took to the streets and started a violent outbreak. As reported by The Hill on May 24, via reports from the Albuquerque Police Department, the evening quickly turned sour.
"Protesters are now throwing bottles and rocks at our Police Horses," the Albuquerque Police Department tweeted out. Conflicting accounts reported possible gun shots and tear gas being used, though the Albuquerque Police Department were quick to silence the rumors.
http://us.blastingnews.com/news/2016/05/violence-erupts-at-donald-trump-rally-fires-started-police-horses-attacked-00936429.html
Holy shit! But what are Donald Trump’s positions on well, just about anything? Will the real Donald Trump please stand up? Please stand up? Please stand up?
“Stay as close to home as possible. Travel is time-consuming and, in my opinion, boring—especially compared with the fun I have doing deals in my office. I can never understand people who say that if they had a lot of money they would spend their time traveling. It’s just not my thing.” (Trump: Surviving at the Top, 1990)
“There’s no excuse for staying home; the world’s too fantastic to miss out on it. I wish I could travel more.” (Trump: Think Like a Billionaire, 2004)
“Well, I read a lot … and over my life, I’ve read so much.” (The Hugh Hewitt Show, February 25, 2015)
“I don’t read much. Mostly I read contracts, but usually my lawyers do most of the work. There are too many pages.” (Veja, February 2014)
“I don’t have a lot of time for listening to television.” (New York Times, July 28, 2015)
“I actually love watching television.” (The Hugh Hewitt Show, February 25, 2015)
“I’m a thinker, and I have been a thinker. … I’m a very deep thinker.” (Palm Beach, Florida, March 11, 2016)
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-contradictions-213869
“There’s no excuse for staying home; the world’s too fantastic to miss out on it. I wish I could travel more.” (Trump: Think Like a Billionaire, 2004)
“Well, I read a lot … and over my life, I’ve read so much.” (The Hugh Hewitt Show, February 25, 2015)
“I don’t read much. Mostly I read contracts, but usually my lawyers do most of the work. There are too many pages.” (Veja, February 2014)
“I don’t have a lot of time for listening to television.” (New York Times, July 28, 2015)
“I actually love watching television.” (The Hugh Hewitt Show, February 25, 2015)
“I’m a thinker, and I have been a thinker. … I’m a very deep thinker.” (Palm Beach, Florida, March 11, 2016)
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-contradictions-213869
By the way Politico took the time to compile a very, very long list of ways that Trumpenfuror has contradicted himself over the years and that whole article is a gem. But what else is he right or wrong about? Remember with Trump, there is no wrong answer to any given question and if you ask it twice you’ll get a different answer! By the way in case you were wondering, why yes – the bookings at Trump properties are declining in rapid numbers:
http://priceonomics.com/bookings-at-trump-hotels-plummet/
The Trump brand is associated with a variety of hotels, apartments, and products. On one hand, a growing number of political supporters could boost sales of Trump products; on the other, a growing number of political detractors could lead people to avoid his brand. So which of these two forces is stronger?
To answer this question, we analyzed hotel data from Hipmunk, a Priceonomics Customer. Focusing on Trump Hotels’ most-booked locations, we compared bookings this year to the previous year (before Trump attracted national political attention).
The results? Bookings at Trump Hotels are down big time: they have decreased 59% compared to the same period last year on Hipmunk. It seems that customers willing to spend $500 a night on a Trump Hotel room may not be fans of Trump the political candidate.
The Trump brand is associated with a variety of hotels, apartments, and products. On one hand, a growing number of political supporters could boost sales of Trump products; on the other, a growing number of political detractors could lead people to avoid his brand. So which of these two forces is stronger?
To answer this question, we analyzed hotel data from Hipmunk, a Priceonomics Customer. Focusing on Trump Hotels’ most-booked locations, we compared bookings this year to the previous year (before Trump attracted national political attention).
The results? Bookings at Trump Hotels are down big time: they have decreased 59% compared to the same period last year on Hipmunk. It seems that customers willing to spend $500 a night on a Trump Hotel room may not be fans of Trump the political candidate.
[font size="8"]Donald Trump[/font]
Yes that's the potential 45th American president Donald J. Trump doing a chicken dance on SNL. Before we get into the real meat of this week’s Top 10, I fucking love this. You know billionaire CEOs are a member of the quid pro quo club - “I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine”, right? Well guess what? It should come as no surprise to anyone that a favorite punching bag of the Top 10 – pharma douche Martin Shkreli, has endorsed Trumpenfuror:
Martin Shkreli, the embattled former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, endorsed Donald Trump for president Thursday night, saying he supports him over Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.
“I haven’t been called by the Trump camp. I support him vs. Hillary,” Shkreli tweeted Thursday. “He should find a VP candidate who is seasoned in politics, an ugly game.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/281465-embattled-pharma-ceo-endorses-trump
“I haven’t been called by the Trump camp. I support him vs. Hillary,” Shkreli tweeted Thursday. “He should find a VP candidate who is seasoned in politics, an ugly game.”
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/281465-embattled-pharma-ceo-endorses-trump
That should tell you all you need to know about Trump fans. In case you were wondering if Donald Trump’s slide into becoming a full Adolf Hitler Jr. were ever more relevant, he is actually calling on the Republican party to become a worker’s party. If that term sounds familiar to you, perhaps you remember it from 20th century history. As you may know – the German Deutsche Arbieter Partei (DAP) is the party that went on to become the party known as Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. Which is, um, actually the Nazi Party. So here’s what happened:
Under a President Donald Trump, the Republican Party would become a different one, a broad, populist coalition focused on workers who have gone too long without a raise and on social programs the party establishment has long seen as anathema to its long-term success.
“Love the question,” Trump said in response to a question from Bloomberg Businessweek's Joshua Green in a profile of Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus published Thursday. The article bears the headline, "How to Get Trump Elected When He’s Wrecking Everything You Built."
“Five, 10 years from now — different party. You’re going to have a worker’s party," Trump said in the May 17 interview. "A party of people that haven’t had a real wage increase in 18 years, that are angry."
Trump reiterated that cutting Social Security would be a "big mistake" for the GOP, remarking that "[c]utting it the wrong way is a big mistake, and even cutting it [at all]."
www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trump-gop-workers-party-223598
“Love the question,” Trump said in response to a question from Bloomberg Businessweek's Joshua Green in a profile of Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus published Thursday. The article bears the headline, "How to Get Trump Elected When He’s Wrecking Everything You Built."
“Five, 10 years from now — different party. You’re going to have a worker’s party," Trump said in the May 17 interview. "A party of people that haven’t had a real wage increase in 18 years, that are angry."
Trump reiterated that cutting Social Security would be a "big mistake" for the GOP, remarking that "[c]utting it the wrong way is a big mistake, and even cutting it [at all]."
www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trump-gop-workers-party-223598
But… Trumpenfuror claims to be the guy who’s going to create the best workers. “I’m going to create the best workers, I’m going to create the most productive workers, we’ll build walls around the least productive workers. What? Why do people keep calling me a Nazi?”. Well if you look, his track record would suggest that he’s not a man who’s for the workers like his claim is. I give you exhibit A:
Offscreen, hundreds of current and former Trump Organization employees have accused the company of being less than fair and more than tough. Multiple lawsuits have targeted Trump's businesses over the years with allegations ranging from anti-union intimidation to hiring undocumented workers. In one case, the Trump Organization paid $475,000 to settle a claim with nearly 300 Los Angeles golf club employees in a class-action suit alleging unpaid wages and age discrimination, among other offenses.
In another instance, in 1999, the Trump Organization settled for an unknown sum more than 15 years after unionized workers first accused the company of employing undocumented Polish immigrants at a New York demolition site. The workers allegedly "were paid $5 an hour or less when they were paid at all," and "worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week with no overtime," according to the Daily Beast.
http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/hundreds-donald-trumps-employees-have-sued-alleged-labor-infractions-2336166
In another instance, in 1999, the Trump Organization settled for an unknown sum more than 15 years after unionized workers first accused the company of employing undocumented Polish immigrants at a New York demolition site. The workers allegedly "were paid $5 an hour or less when they were paid at all," and "worked 12-hour shifts, seven days a week with no overtime," according to the Daily Beast.
http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/hundreds-donald-trumps-employees-have-sued-alleged-labor-infractions-2336166
That’s right! Not just one, or maybe two, but HUNDREDS of former Trump Inc. workers have sued Trump Hotels International over the years. But that’s not all that’s plaguing Trump International. What else could he might be hiding, that say, an auditor might be interested in? I give you exhibit B! Trump really *IS* a white supremacist!
It was only recently that Republican presidential candidate and front-runner Donald Trump said he'd be willing to physically fight Black Lives Matter activists if they interrupted him on stage. Now, a new report from the New Yorker relays an alarming account of how black employees at one of Donald Trump's Atlantic City properties were routinely kept from view when the real estate magnate came to town. From writer Nick Paumgarten:
I met a bus driver named Kip Brown, who worked the Port Authority route, up and back each morning, for Academy Bus Lines. He had been at Academy for fifteen years and was No. 3 in seniority, out of seventy drivers in the region. As ridership has fallen, Academy has been cutting back on its schedule. The number of visitors arriving by bus is an eighth of what it was a quarter century ago. In the spring, Brown, just forty-seven, retired.
http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2015/08/trump-casinos-black-employees
I met a bus driver named Kip Brown, who worked the Port Authority route, up and back each morning, for Academy Bus Lines. He had been at Academy for fifteen years and was No. 3 in seniority, out of seventy drivers in the region. As ridership has fallen, Academy has been cutting back on its schedule. The number of visitors arriving by bus is an eighth of what it was a quarter century ago. In the spring, Brown, just forty-seven, retired.
http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2015/08/trump-casinos-black-employees
Holy shit!! So I give you a worker’s party representation, horrible treatment of workers, and just flat out blatant white supremacism. But how much is Donald Trump like Hitler? Hypocrisy, thy name is Trump:
Workers at Donald Trump's Washington DC hotel - which is currently under construction - are blasting the presidential hopeful for comments he made about immigration.
'The majority of us are Hispanics, many who came illegally,' admitted Ivan Arellano, who spoke in Spanish and added he eventually became a citizen through marriage.
'And we’re all here working very hard to build a better life for our families.'
Ramon Alvarez, from El Salvador, was more blunt, saying; 'Do you think that when we’re hanging out there from the eighth floor that we’re raping or selling drugs?'
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3151738/Do-think-hanging-raping-selling-drugs-Workers-Donald-Trump-s-D-C-hotel-blast-mogul-admitting-came-illegal-immigrants.html
'The majority of us are Hispanics, many who came illegally,' admitted Ivan Arellano, who spoke in Spanish and added he eventually became a citizen through marriage.
'And we’re all here working very hard to build a better life for our families.'
Ramon Alvarez, from El Salvador, was more blunt, saying; 'Do you think that when we’re hanging out there from the eighth floor that we’re raping or selling drugs?'
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3151738/Do-think-hanging-raping-selling-drugs-Workers-Donald-Trump-s-D-C-hotel-blast-mogul-admitting-came-illegal-immigrants.html
Even Trump’s own models don’t like working for Trump!
A Jamaican-born fashion model is taking on Donald Trump, saying the modeling agency owned by the presidential candidate lured her to New York to work at age 17 with the promise of riches and fame and then treated her “like a slave.”
The model, Alexia Palmer, said in a lawsuit against the agency that she received only $3,880 plus cash advances totaling $1,100 over a three year period, even though Trump Model Management filed immigration documents to obtain a special work visa, called an H-1B, for Palmer, certifying she would work “full-time” and earn $75,000 a year.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-model-felt-slave-working-donalds-agency/story?id=37313993
The model, Alexia Palmer, said in a lawsuit against the agency that she received only $3,880 plus cash advances totaling $1,100 over a three year period, even though Trump Model Management filed immigration documents to obtain a special work visa, called an H-1B, for Palmer, certifying she would work “full-time” and earn $75,000 a year.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-model-felt-slave-working-donalds-agency/story?id=37313993
But even then – what else is Donald Trump hiding that auditors might be interested in? I give you:
Donald Trump has built billions of dollars in personal wealth. His employees aren't getting much of it.
The Republican presidential candidate operates a stingy 401(k) plan for his workers, according to government filings.
If you can jump through hoops and endure years of working for Trump, his matching contributions are actually more generous than average. If you contribute 6 percent of your salary, Trump will kick in 4.5 percent.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-07/donald-trump-s-employees-don-t-share-wealth-in-401-k-plan
The Republican presidential candidate operates a stingy 401(k) plan for his workers, according to government filings.
If you can jump through hoops and endure years of working for Trump, his matching contributions are actually more generous than average. If you contribute 6 percent of your salary, Trump will kick in 4.5 percent.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-07-07/donald-trump-s-employees-don-t-share-wealth-in-401-k-plan
So not only is Donald Trump a racist, he’s also one of the biggest hypcrites known to man! But Donald Trump not only wants the best workers, he wants to make the republican party the working class party!
[font size="8"]San Diego Padres[/font]
So last week we ended on talking about some baseball. Well we’re going to talk some more baseball this week. Mainly because a really fucked up thing happened with the San Diego Padres this week and the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego. But first let’s roll tape and then discuss:
That’s real. That happened. The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus was drowned out by the wrong tape during their singing of the National Anthem. And that game between the Padres and the Dodgers? Went on to last a whopping 17 innings. So let’s discuss in further detail:
The San Diego Gay Men's Chorus, set to perform the national anthem before a Padres game on Saturday, instead left the field to some jeers and heckling.
Instead of the chorus singing along to a pre-recorded track, the stadium heard a recording of a woman singing the anthem.
The Padres said late Sunday it had disciplined an employee and stopped working with a contractor who was responsible for marring the performance - which happened during "Out at the Park." The event is meant to be part of a special LGBT pride event at the stadium.
Members of the chorus accused the Padres of homophobia and called for an investigation by Major League Baseball.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/san-diego-padres-botch-anthem-by-gay-chorus/article_614e6ef5-6c08-58be-8ccf-5a71497f2c02.html
Instead of the chorus singing along to a pre-recorded track, the stadium heard a recording of a woman singing the anthem.
The Padres said late Sunday it had disciplined an employee and stopped working with a contractor who was responsible for marring the performance - which happened during "Out at the Park." The event is meant to be part of a special LGBT pride event at the stadium.
Members of the chorus accused the Padres of homophobia and called for an investigation by Major League Baseball.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/san-diego-padres-botch-anthem-by-gay-chorus/article_614e6ef5-6c08-58be-8ccf-5a71497f2c02.html
So who’s responsible? Don’t go getting the league involved here just yet guys! Let’s calm down and seek an investigation shall we? Was it Kevin Swanson? Rick Wiles? Franklin Graham? Alex Jones? Let’s go further.
Lehman called on the San Diego City Attorney's Office and San Diego Human Relations Commission to look into the incident.
"What should have been a night of joy and celebration at Petco Park last night instead turned into a nightmare, raising serious questions about homophobia within the San Diego Padres organization and its relationship with the LGBT community," Lehman said in the lengthy statement Sunday.
Lehman said that no attempts were made to stop the recording and allow the 100 volunteers from the chorus to sing the anthem. When the recording ended, the chorus members were escorted off the field to heckling from some "fans shouting homophobic taunts, including 'You sing like a girl,'" he said.
At first, the Padres issued a statement Sunday night announcing the results of an internal investigation about the incident.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15665189/san-diego-gay-men-chorus-group-slams-san-diego-padres-anthem-mixup
"What should have been a night of joy and celebration at Petco Park last night instead turned into a nightmare, raising serious questions about homophobia within the San Diego Padres organization and its relationship with the LGBT community," Lehman said in the lengthy statement Sunday.
Lehman said that no attempts were made to stop the recording and allow the 100 volunteers from the chorus to sing the anthem. When the recording ended, the chorus members were escorted off the field to heckling from some "fans shouting homophobic taunts, including 'You sing like a girl,'" he said.
At first, the Padres issued a statement Sunday night announcing the results of an internal investigation about the incident.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/15665189/san-diego-gay-men-chorus-group-slams-san-diego-padres-anthem-mixup
But the league has conducted an investigation but has turned up inconclusive so far:
Major League Baseball is investigating a situation involving the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus and the national anthem Saturday at Petco Park.
MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told the Union-Tribune that baseball’s investigations department will begin to gather information to determine why the chorus was unable to perform as a pre-recorded voice of a previous singer played.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/23/mlb-padres-anthem-gay-chorus/
MLB spokesman Pat Courtney told the Union-Tribune that baseball’s investigations department will begin to gather information to determine why the chorus was unable to perform as a pre-recorded voice of a previous singer played.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/23/mlb-padres-anthem-gay-chorus/
And how did that pan out for the Padres? Well they won on a walk off after a grueling 17 innings of play against the LA Dodgers. But what happened? Who is to blame? Well the DJ who started the whole brew ha ha got fired even after issuing a formal apology to the SDGMC:
Question #1: Why did no one stop the National Anthem when they realized it was incorrect?
The Padres told Outsports that they quickly realized the correct audio file was not loaded, so they had no good audio to broadcast in the stadium. The microphones also were not live, so they couldn't go to a live performance. I'm not sure why they couldn't have stopped it all and turned on the microphones, but in a split-second decision to fix a disaster none of them had seen before, they made the choice to stick with the incorrect recording.
Question #2: Why not have the Chorus stick around and perform the Anthem during the seventh inning stretch?
The Padres told Outsports that team management immediately began discussing this option in the first inning, but many of the Chorus members had left the stadium (understandable given what had just happened). It took the team a while to get hold of Chorus executive director Bob Lehman, who had already left the facility.
http://www.outsports.com/2016/5/24/11765158/san-diego-padres-national-anthem-gay-chorus-stop
The Padres told Outsports that they quickly realized the correct audio file was not loaded, so they had no good audio to broadcast in the stadium. The microphones also were not live, so they couldn't go to a live performance. I'm not sure why they couldn't have stopped it all and turned on the microphones, but in a split-second decision to fix a disaster none of them had seen before, they made the choice to stick with the incorrect recording.
Question #2: Why not have the Chorus stick around and perform the Anthem during the seventh inning stretch?
The Padres told Outsports that team management immediately began discussing this option in the first inning, but many of the Chorus members had left the stadium (understandable given what had just happened). It took the team a while to get hold of Chorus executive director Bob Lehman, who had already left the facility.
http://www.outsports.com/2016/5/24/11765158/san-diego-padres-national-anthem-gay-chorus-stop
But now the SDGMC wants the Padres to reinstate the fired DJ after the apology was issued:
Responding to Monday's apology from the DJ who mistakenly played the wrong national anthem tape at Saturday's Padres game, the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus has called on the Padres to reinstate the performer known as DJ ArtForm.
The chorus on Tuesday issued the following statement on its Facebook page:
"As a community outreach organization dedicated to bringing positive change to the world through music, we applaud the San Diego Padres organization and its chief executive Mike Dee for its ongoing efforts to make something good come out of unfortunate recent events. We have met with Mr. Dee and he has agreed to meet with and work closely with the LGBT community to bring our communities together with constructive, positive change.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/24/padres-dj-artform-san-diego-gay-mens-chorus-anthem/
The chorus on Tuesday issued the following statement on its Facebook page:
"As a community outreach organization dedicated to bringing positive change to the world through music, we applaud the San Diego Padres organization and its chief executive Mike Dee for its ongoing efforts to make something good come out of unfortunate recent events. We have met with Mr. Dee and he has agreed to meet with and work closely with the LGBT community to bring our communities together with constructive, positive change.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/may/24/padres-dj-artform-san-diego-gay-mens-chorus-anthem/
So someone somewhere did the wrong thing and it’s a total clusterfuck that ended very poorly and we will keep you posted with any further updates. And by the way the Padres extended an invitation for the SDGMC to come back:
The Padres reiterated their support "to inclusion" and apologized to the "members of the chorus and their families." It was the team's second apology after a first statement acknowledging the incident was released Saturday night.
In response to tweets Sunday night asking that the team invite the chorus back for a second chance, the team tweeted that an "invitation has been extended."
In response to tweets Sunday night asking that the team invite the chorus back for a second chance, the team tweeted that an "invitation has been extended."
By the way this is not the first time the National Anthem has been desecrated in San Diego. You might remember this:
Ow! Ow! My ears are bleeding!!!
[font size="8"]The Bathroom Police[/font]
So the bathroom police are back at it. At number 1 this week we talked about a law that Oklahoma was going to propose that was similar to North Carolina’s HB-2. Did you know that Nebraska has a similar bill being proposed on the books? And that said bill would jeopardize Nebraska’s long standing relationship with the NCAA? Well this could be a huge middle finger to Chrsitian fundamentalists trying to police bathrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms because if this bill passes, the College World Series will leave Lincoln:
LINCOLN — Passing a transgender bathroom law could jeopardize Nebraska’s long history with the College World Series and its hopes of hosting future volleyball championships and basketball regionals.
The Nebraska Republican Party called for such a law at its state convention last weekend.
But the proposal could collide with a new NCAA policy opposing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The college sports organization’s board of governors adopted the policy April 27, after North Carolina and some other states passed laws allowing people to be refused services based on being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/nebraska-gop-s-transgender-bathroom-proposal-defies-ncaa-could-void/article_476d4f2a-b990-5e15-90fd-29efaef93d9b.html
The Nebraska Republican Party called for such a law at its state convention last weekend.
But the proposal could collide with a new NCAA policy opposing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The college sports organization’s board of governors adopted the policy April 27, after North Carolina and some other states passed laws allowing people to be refused services based on being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/nebraska-gop-s-transgender-bathroom-proposal-defies-ncaa-could-void/article_476d4f2a-b990-5e15-90fd-29efaef93d9b.html
But that’s not the only thing the bathroom police have been doing this week. In case you were wondering just how far trans paranoia goes, check out this incident from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania where a lesbian couple was denied entry to their Catholic High School’s prom because one was not wearing a dress:
A teenage girl from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who was barred from entering her high school's prom because she was wearing a suit earlier in the month, was able to attend a different one nearby this weekend.
Aniya Wolf's mother bought her the new suit early in May, but said that a day-of email informed parents and students that dresses were required for girls attending the prom at her Catholic high school. So when Aniya showed up to the prom in her suit, she was kept from entering by police at Bishop McDevitt High School, where she is a junior.
This past Saturday, Wolf was invited to attend the prom at William Penn Senior High School, and she happily accepted.
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/05/how-to-wear-pants-to-prom-if-your-school-says-no.html
Aniya Wolf's mother bought her the new suit early in May, but said that a day-of email informed parents and students that dresses were required for girls attending the prom at her Catholic high school. So when Aniya showed up to the prom in her suit, she was kept from entering by police at Bishop McDevitt High School, where she is a junior.
This past Saturday, Wolf was invited to attend the prom at William Penn Senior High School, and she happily accepted.
http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/05/how-to-wear-pants-to-prom-if-your-school-says-no.html
Wait – Catholic high schools let LGBT couples go to prom? Since when? Wow, times have changed!
But some good news in the war on bathrooms – we go to Austin, Texas for this where the owner of a theater chain called the “Alamo Drafthouse” is considering redesigning it’s bathrooms in response to North Carolina’s HB-2. Should be interesting to say the least:
AUSTIN, TX (KXAN) — Alamo Drafthouse founder, Tim League, is seeking input on the hot button issue of the moment, bathrooms and the genders able to use them.
He decided to scrap the approved bathroom for the new Mueller location which is currently under construction, and go back to the drawing board with Drafthouse Architect Richard Weiss.
“We’ve been thinking about what an inclusive commercial gender-neutral restroom design might look like so that these challenges are not even part of the dialogue,” League said in a Facebook post.
The working draft, which was posted on Facebook, is one large bathroom with a section of urinals behind one door and individual stalls for seated toilets. League said he is considering a type of urinal both men and women can use. So, what does an all gender urinal look like?
http://nbc4i.com/2016/05/25/texas-movie-chain-considering-new-gender-neutral-bathroom-design/
He decided to scrap the approved bathroom for the new Mueller location which is currently under construction, and go back to the drawing board with Drafthouse Architect Richard Weiss.
“We’ve been thinking about what an inclusive commercial gender-neutral restroom design might look like so that these challenges are not even part of the dialogue,” League said in a Facebook post.
The working draft, which was posted on Facebook, is one large bathroom with a section of urinals behind one door and individual stalls for seated toilets. League said he is considering a type of urinal both men and women can use. So, what does an all gender urinal look like?
http://nbc4i.com/2016/05/25/texas-movie-chain-considering-new-gender-neutral-bathroom-design/
And by the way first off there’s a great piece on Facebook that you should read about the Bathroom police – I won’t post the whole thing, but will link to it. You know these assholes are like the assholes patrolling our borders. They’re not going to find anything but they believe in the cause because it’s an excuse to show off their precious (and by precious, I mean gun). Someone is going to get hurt or die by this, and it is not going to end well. And remember when I said I’d post an actual sex crime for every time the fundies feel they need to harass trans people? Well this happened:
Three white high school football players from Dietrich, Idaho have been charged in the brutal sexual assault of a black teammate, The Washington Post reports. The alleged assault took place on October 23rd last year in the men’s locker room at Dietrich High School. Law enforcement officials allege that one of the football players restrained the victim while another shoved a coat hanger up his rectum and another repeatedly kicked the coat hanger.
Two of the alleged perpetrators, 18-year-old John R.K. Howard and 17-year-old Tanner Ward, are being charged as adults. An unnamed 16-year-old football player is being charged in the case as a juvenile. Howard has not yet filed a plea in the case and it isn’t yet known whether Ward has filed a plea, the Post says.
The unidentified victim’s family also filed a $10 million lawsuit earlier this month alleging that this vicious sexual assault was the culmination of a harassment campaign against him. The family alleges that his teammates would regularly insult him with racially charged terms and the suit alleges he was regularly called “‘Kool-Aid’ ‘chicken eater’ ‘watermelon’ and (the N-word),” the Post reports.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/white-football-players-brutally-raped-black-teammate-during-racist-assault-in-hs-locker-room-police/
Two of the alleged perpetrators, 18-year-old John R.K. Howard and 17-year-old Tanner Ward, are being charged as adults. An unnamed 16-year-old football player is being charged in the case as a juvenile. Howard has not yet filed a plea in the case and it isn’t yet known whether Ward has filed a plea, the Post says.
The unidentified victim’s family also filed a $10 million lawsuit earlier this month alleging that this vicious sexual assault was the culmination of a harassment campaign against him. The family alleges that his teammates would regularly insult him with racially charged terms and the suit alleges he was regularly called “‘Kool-Aid’ ‘chicken eater’ ‘watermelon’ and (the N-word),” the Post reports.
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/05/white-football-players-brutally-raped-black-teammate-during-racist-assault-in-hs-locker-room-police/
Holy fucking shit. Sex crime with a hate crime on top of that!
[font size="8"]Louie Gohmert[/font]
Allow me to channel John Oliver again and it’s time to go into:
So this week in “People Who Somehow Got Elected”, I give you Louie Gohmert. Representative of the first district of Texas (TX-1). Where most people have embraced and accepted LGBT culture, Louie Gohmert has not. In fact Mr. Gohmert has an almost cartoonish, Yosemite Sam level of hate for the LGBT communuity. In fact Mr. Gohmert goes out of his way to make absurd claims about America's LGBT community. In this case, he actually argued on the House Of Representatives floor that we shouldn’t send gay people into space because Gay Space Colonies don’t exist. By the way, if there’s no band tomorrow called “Gay Space Colonies”, I will have really lost all hope in the internet.
Yes, he actually argued this on the Congressional floor. He argued this on the Congressional floor. Why is this guy a representative? Why is he not behind padded walls? Which is where he would be in most developed countries! Well anyway here’s some of the details:
Earlier today, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, put a new spin on his “gay island” story, arguing on the House floor that the push for LGBT rights is wrong because we would never choose to send gay couples or gay animals into space to start a new colony like in the Matt Damon movie “The Martian.”
He said that if lawmakers had to decide “whether humanity would go forward or not” in case of an imminent asteroid collision by putting people in a “space ship that can go, as Matt Damon did in the movie, plant a colony somewhere, we can have humans survive this terrible disaster about to befall, if you could decide what 40 people you put on the spacecraft that would save humanity, how many of those would be same-sex couples? You’re wanting to save humankind for posterity, basically a modern-day Noah, you have that ability to be a modern day Noah, you can preserve life. How many same-sex couples would you take from the animal kingdom and from humans to put on a spacecraft to perpetuate humanity and the wildlife kingdom?”
But due to the attacks on “natural order” and religious freedom, Gohmert said, “we don’t have much longer to go.
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/louie-gohmert-no-gay-space-colonies#sthash.uQn611st.dpuf
He said that if lawmakers had to decide “whether humanity would go forward or not” in case of an imminent asteroid collision by putting people in a “space ship that can go, as Matt Damon did in the movie, plant a colony somewhere, we can have humans survive this terrible disaster about to befall, if you could decide what 40 people you put on the spacecraft that would save humanity, how many of those would be same-sex couples? You’re wanting to save humankind for posterity, basically a modern-day Noah, you have that ability to be a modern day Noah, you can preserve life. How many same-sex couples would you take from the animal kingdom and from humans to put on a spacecraft to perpetuate humanity and the wildlife kingdom?”
But due to the attacks on “natural order” and religious freedom, Gohmert said, “we don’t have much longer to go.
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/louie-gohmert-no-gay-space-colonies#sthash.uQn611st.dpuf
OMG. I mean seriously. OMG. Most people have that filter that blocks thoughts from becoming words. Louie Gohmert does not.
Every once in a while, the US House of Representatives allows lawmakers to make “general speeches” on the floor so that they can put remarks about their pet issues on the official Congressional record. Thursday, Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert used this time to let everyone know that he firmly believes the US should not make gay space colonies.
The bizarre speech hit many notes—he started by calling trans people “perverse,” then railed against gay marriage for a bit, before suggesting that, should humanity be faced with an Earth-ending event, we should definitely have a Noah’s Ark-type spaceship that could perpetuate the human race but added that we should definitely not put gay people on this spaceship.
In a somewhat progressive move, Gohmert did acknowledge the existence of dinosaurs, which, I guess that’s a win for science.
“I really wonder how many people in [Congress], who have the ultimate power to decide whether humanity would go forward or not—if it were an asteroid coming, something that would end humanity on earth as dinosaurs were ended at one time—we have a space ship that will go as Matt Damon did in the movie, plant a colony somewhere, we can have humans survive this terrible disaster about to befall. If you could decide what 40 people you put on the spacecraft that would save humanity, how many of those would be same sex couples?,” Gohmert said.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/texas-congressman-louie-gohmert-says-us-should-not-make-gay-space-colonies
The bizarre speech hit many notes—he started by calling trans people “perverse,” then railed against gay marriage for a bit, before suggesting that, should humanity be faced with an Earth-ending event, we should definitely have a Noah’s Ark-type spaceship that could perpetuate the human race but added that we should definitely not put gay people on this spaceship.
In a somewhat progressive move, Gohmert did acknowledge the existence of dinosaurs, which, I guess that’s a win for science.
“I really wonder how many people in [Congress], who have the ultimate power to decide whether humanity would go forward or not—if it were an asteroid coming, something that would end humanity on earth as dinosaurs were ended at one time—we have a space ship that will go as Matt Damon did in the movie, plant a colony somewhere, we can have humans survive this terrible disaster about to befall. If you could decide what 40 people you put on the spacecraft that would save humanity, how many of those would be same sex couples?,” Gohmert said.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/texas-congressman-louie-gohmert-says-us-should-not-make-gay-space-colonies
So there's lots of take aways from Mr. Gohmert's speech. The first is that he has some bizarre fantasies about space colonization. But the second is that trans people are "perverse". No they're not. And the third is that in a surprising turn, for an end times Christian conspiracy theorist like Mr. Gohmert, he actually acknowledged the existence of dinosaurs. So that's good.... we guess....?
And here's some more of Mr. Gohmert's greatest hits. He also suggested once that we “put gay people on an island to see which one nature favors” and see if they will survive in 100 years:
And that SCOTUS declared itself “God” in reversing the ruling on gay marriage:
And made an absurd claim that the US will not help Nigeria fight terrorism:
And even suggested that Obama was brining in “truck loads of illegals to help Obama win elections”:
He also said that Central American gang violence was a hoax:
But what happens if you double cross Mr. Gohmert? Why you will get death threats from talk show hosts!
And yet he tries to prove on the Senate floor that God exists:
That’s Louie Gohmert.
[font size="8"]Coup De Brazil[/font]
So with Motorhead in mind, we’re going to Brazil for this next entry. See, conservative idiocy isn’t just limited to these great United States of ours. Nope, it’s an international problem that stems far and wide, and conservatives being just plain dumb and fucking evil as they are here in America. We previously explored what’s happening in Brazil in Idiots #2 when the fallout from the World Cup and the Olympics nightmares resulted in a possible coup against the former Brazilian prime minister. Well it did happen. And it was a spectacular fail.
The credibility of Brazil’s interim government was rocked on Monday when a senior minister was forced to step aside amid further revelations about the machiavellian plot to impeach president Dilma Rousseff.
Just 10 days after taking office, the planning minister, Romero Jucá, announced that he would “go on leave” following the release of a secretly taped telephone conversation in which he said Rousseff needed to be removed to quash a vast corruption investigation that implicated him and other members of the country’s political elite.
It is unlikely to be the last blow for the interim president, Michel Temer, whose centre-right cabinet includes seven ministers implicated by the Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation into kickbacks and money laundering at the state-run oil company Petrobras.
Temer took power earlier this month after the senate initiated an impeachment trial of Rousseff, who is suspended for up to six months pending the upper house’s verdict on allegations that she manipulated government accounts before the last election.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/23/brazil-dilma-rousseff-plot-secret-phone-transcript-impeachment
Just 10 days after taking office, the planning minister, Romero Jucá, announced that he would “go on leave” following the release of a secretly taped telephone conversation in which he said Rousseff needed to be removed to quash a vast corruption investigation that implicated him and other members of the country’s political elite.
It is unlikely to be the last blow for the interim president, Michel Temer, whose centre-right cabinet includes seven ministers implicated by the Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation into kickbacks and money laundering at the state-run oil company Petrobras.
Temer took power earlier this month after the senate initiated an impeachment trial of Rousseff, who is suspended for up to six months pending the upper house’s verdict on allegations that she manipulated government accounts before the last election.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/23/brazil-dilma-rousseff-plot-secret-phone-transcript-impeachment
So the political unrest in Brazil is so bad that they actually attempted a real impeachment trial against their incumbent president which in turn sparked fear of counter-violence against the party that initiated the proceedings. But what happened when they tried that again?
A key figure in Brazil’s interim government has resigned after explosive new transcripts revealed how he plotted to oust President Dilma Rousseff in order to end a corruption investigation that was targeting him. The transcripts, published by Brazil’s largest newspaper, Folha de São Paulo, document a conversation in March, just weeks before Brazil’s lower house voted in favor of impeaching President Rousseff. Romero Jucá, who was then a senator but became a planning minister after Rousseff’s ouster, was speaking with a former oil executive, Sérgio Machado. Both men had been targets of the so-called Car Wash investigation over money laundering and corruption at the state-controlled oil firm Petrobras.
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/25/this_confirms_it_was_a_coup
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/5/25/this_confirms_it_was_a_coup
That’s right! The new interim president of Brazil was accused of taking bribes and kickbacks from Brazil’s state run oil company! Holy shit! And then the new prime minister attempted to dissolve the state’s culture ministry which led to thousands protesting in the streets. This is quite literally insane.
Michel Temer, Brazil’s interim president, has restored the country’s culture ministry after his decision to dissolve it by folding it into the Ministry of Education caused Brazilian artists to protest throughout the country, according to Reuters. Temer’s plan to merge the two was a part of his crusade to reduce the number of the country’s ministries from thirty-two to twenty-three. This is one of a series of reversals he has made during the government’s recent transition in leadership. Marcelo Calero, a diplomat, took up the position of culture minister on Monday, May 23.
http://artforum.com/news/id=60243
http://artforum.com/news/id=60243
Wow, so the new prime minister didn’t even last 10 days and tried to get rid of the government culture department. Why isn’t he an American republican? Sounds like a conservative thing to do!
[font size="8"]White Supremacists[/font]
You know I won’t normally use the Top 10 to talk celebrity tabloid nonsense. But when America’s Neo Nazi and white supremacist population latches onto a pop idol like Taylor Swift, and she subsequently rejects their affliction, I must report it damn it! So here’s what happened:
If her pop stardom ever stalls, Taylor Swift has another solid career option waiting in the wings: fascist dictator—or at least symbol of the fascist movement, if said fascists would not consent to being ruled over by a woman. Apparently, neo-Nazis already consider Swift an “Aryan goddess,” according to Broadly: Her blond hair, her thin frame, and her roots in country music make her the perfect avatar for the people who populate the internet’s “alt-right” subculture.
It may have started as a meme, but now actual white supremacists count themselves as fans of Swift, and some of them insist that she shares their beliefs: “It is also an established fact that Taylor Swift is secretly a Nazi and is simply waiting for the time when Donald Trump makes it safe for her to come out and announce her Aryan agenda to the world,” one white supremacist told Broadly. This is not an association the pop star has courted, but if you read her public profile selectively, there are a few elements it’s easy to see why the alt-right might find appealing: She’s never revealed her political beliefs in public, and because she started as a country singer, some people think that qualifies as conservative. And conservative, as we all know, is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Nazi.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/05/23/taylor_swift_has_a_surprising_number_of_fans_among_neo_nazis_white_supremacists.html
It may have started as a meme, but now actual white supremacists count themselves as fans of Swift, and some of them insist that she shares their beliefs: “It is also an established fact that Taylor Swift is secretly a Nazi and is simply waiting for the time when Donald Trump makes it safe for her to come out and announce her Aryan agenda to the world,” one white supremacist told Broadly. This is not an association the pop star has courted, but if you read her public profile selectively, there are a few elements it’s easy to see why the alt-right might find appealing: She’s never revealed her political beliefs in public, and because she started as a country singer, some people think that qualifies as conservative. And conservative, as we all know, is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Nazi.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/05/23/taylor_swift_has_a_surprising_number_of_fans_among_neo_nazis_white_supremacists.html
So why has Taylor Swift become such an idol among America’s white supremacist community? Well if you read these quotes they are just absolutely gushing over her, in the way that you would expect from a certifiably creepy stalker:
Now, actual fascists adore Swift. The Daily Stormer has published 24 posts about Swift, including "Aryan Goddess Taylor Swift Accused of Racism for Behaving Like an Ape in a Music Video" and "Memification: Top Feminist Calls Taylor Swift a Nazi." As Yiannopoulos points out, blogger Michael Collins worries that Swift has "succumbed" to the "Merchant," which is Nazi code for "Jewish."
"It's incredible really that she's surrounded by these filthy, perverted Jews, and yet she remains capable of exuding 1950s purity, femininity and innocence," Anglin says. "She is the anti-Miley. While Miley is out having gang-bangs with colored gentlemen, she is at home with her cat reading Jane Austen."
Yiannopoulos writes that Swift works as an avatar for the ultra right because she comes across as a born conservative but also keeps politics out of her public identity. The blonde, pale star grew up in Pennsylvania, one of the original 13 colonies, while her father worked as a wealth manager and senior vice president of Merrill Lynch. She originally sang country music, the genre beloved by the same people who voted twice for George W. Bush.
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/cant-shake-it-off-how-taylor-swift-became-a-nazi-idol
"It's incredible really that she's surrounded by these filthy, perverted Jews, and yet she remains capable of exuding 1950s purity, femininity and innocence," Anglin says. "She is the anti-Miley. While Miley is out having gang-bangs with colored gentlemen, she is at home with her cat reading Jane Austen."
Yiannopoulos writes that Swift works as an avatar for the ultra right because she comes across as a born conservative but also keeps politics out of her public identity. The blonde, pale star grew up in Pennsylvania, one of the original 13 colonies, while her father worked as a wealth manager and senior vice president of Merrill Lynch. She originally sang country music, the genre beloved by the same people who voted twice for George W. Bush.
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/cant-shake-it-off-how-taylor-swift-became-a-nazi-idol
OMG that is creepy. Like seriously creepy. And what would Taylor herself say about that?
And in fact she actually did say that to some effect, by having her lawyer write a letter to the blog that broke the story:
Swift’s team has pushed back against Pattinson’s activities. Pattinson provided the following letter to Broadly sent by Swift’s lawyer, J. Douglas Baldridge:
The association of Ms. Swift with Adolf Hitler undisputedly is ‘harmful,’ ‘abusive,’ ‘ethnically offensive,’ ‘humiliating to other people,’ ‘libelous,’ and no doubt ‘otherwise objectionable.’ It is of no import that Ms. Swift may be a public figure or that Pinterest conveniently now argues that the Offending Material is mere satire or parody. Public figures have rights. And, there are certain historical figures, such as Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson and the like, who are universally identified in the case law and popular culture as lightning rods for emotional and negative reaction.
A representative for Swift was not immediately available for further comment, but it’s safe to say the singer is not amused.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/taylor-swift-has-a-neo-nazi-following_us_57446fd3e4b045cc9a71f98a
The association of Ms. Swift with Adolf Hitler undisputedly is ‘harmful,’ ‘abusive,’ ‘ethnically offensive,’ ‘humiliating to other people,’ ‘libelous,’ and no doubt ‘otherwise objectionable.’ It is of no import that Ms. Swift may be a public figure or that Pinterest conveniently now argues that the Offending Material is mere satire or parody. Public figures have rights. And, there are certain historical figures, such as Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson and the like, who are universally identified in the case law and popular culture as lightning rods for emotional and negative reaction.
A representative for Swift was not immediately available for further comment, but it’s safe to say the singer is not amused.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/taylor-swift-has-a-neo-nazi-following_us_57446fd3e4b045cc9a71f98a
[font size="8"]Frozen 2: Elsa Gets A Girlfriend (?)[/font]
Yes. That’s John Travolta introducing the winner of 2015’s best original song at the Oscar awards as “Adele Dazeem”. Who is really Idina Menzel – voice actress on Disney’s unbelievable smash hit “Frozen” and the subsequent singer of the smash hit song that came from that movie – “Let It Go”, which won the Best Original Song that year. So for the final entry this week we are going to be talking about Frozen. Well more specifically – the upcoming sequel Frozen 2. Now there’s a petition going around the internet with a rather unusual request. We’ll show you what’s going on and then we’ll explain in further detail.
Fans have taken to social media to petition for Disney to give "Frozen's" lead character Princess Elsa a female love interest in the film's sequel.
The hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend began trending on Monday as many Twitter users voiced their support for a gay character in the Disney movie.
However, not everyone was supportive of the idea.
If Disney were to create a lesbian character for "Frozen," it would not be the first time a Disney character has been gay.
A recent episode of "Once Upton a Time" on ABC featured a kiss between Ruby and the "Wizard of Oz's" Dorothy.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/05/03/fans-petition-for-frozens-elsa-to-have-female-love-interest-in-sequel.html
The hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend began trending on Monday as many Twitter users voiced their support for a gay character in the Disney movie.
However, not everyone was supportive of the idea.
If Disney were to create a lesbian character for "Frozen," it would not be the first time a Disney character has been gay.
A recent episode of "Once Upton a Time" on ABC featured a kiss between Ruby and the "Wizard of Oz's" Dorothy.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/05/03/fans-petition-for-frozens-elsa-to-have-female-love-interest-in-sequel.html
Yes – there’s a campaign on the internet to make Frozen’s lead character a lesbian. Now… you might be thinking “why”? Well I answer you good sir / madam - the rationale is simple – Disney has been very progressive in recent years in its’ support of LGBT rights and even hosted the Orlando Pride parade at Epcot Center. Not to mention Disney is one of the largest active employers of LGBT citizens not just in America, but around the world. So why not support its’ LGBT community and give Elsa a girlfriend? Why not? Well of course the Christian “pro family” rights groups – you know them as the ruiners of everything (by the way, that’s my new band name
), well, naturally it's backfiring big time:
Alas, the religious right is trying to ruin everything.
The social conservative group CitizenGo started a petition demanding that Disney not “give in to the pressures of the liberal agenda” and instead “follow its normal trend and create a Prince character to fall in love with Queen Elsa.” Right Wing Watch reported. They even have their own (less catchy) hashtag: #CharmingPrinceForElsa.
We’re suggesting a much better idea… An idea that promotes solid family values to our children and represents the natural family. Sign our petition, now, to Disney asking that Elsa fall in love with a Prince. #CharmingPrinceForElsa. The alternative idea is frightening. Last week, the LGBT lobby and liberal Hollywood stood together demanding Disney create Queen Elsa’s character into a Lesbian. If fact, they claim, based off of her views in Frozen, she is already a lesbian and now only needs a girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Franklin Graham, the son of evangelical minister Billy Graham, had his own hissy fit about Elsa possibly getting a girl to call her own. He took to Facebook to slam the possibility, writing:
In the social media campaign for this, one proponent tweeted, “Little kids need to learn that there’s nothing wrong with being gay.” What a lie! This reveals their agenda to get the LGBT message to young children and influence their lives. God calls His people to be salt and light in a dark world. Pray for our nation, and get involved by standing up for God’s truth and His righteousness
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/frozen-elsa-girlfriend-religious-right_us_57348595e4b077d4d6f23290
The social conservative group CitizenGo started a petition demanding that Disney not “give in to the pressures of the liberal agenda” and instead “follow its normal trend and create a Prince character to fall in love with Queen Elsa.” Right Wing Watch reported. They even have their own (less catchy) hashtag: #CharmingPrinceForElsa.
We’re suggesting a much better idea… An idea that promotes solid family values to our children and represents the natural family. Sign our petition, now, to Disney asking that Elsa fall in love with a Prince. #CharmingPrinceForElsa. The alternative idea is frightening. Last week, the LGBT lobby and liberal Hollywood stood together demanding Disney create Queen Elsa’s character into a Lesbian. If fact, they claim, based off of her views in Frozen, she is already a lesbian and now only needs a girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Franklin Graham, the son of evangelical minister Billy Graham, had his own hissy fit about Elsa possibly getting a girl to call her own. He took to Facebook to slam the possibility, writing:
In the social media campaign for this, one proponent tweeted, “Little kids need to learn that there’s nothing wrong with being gay.” What a lie! This reveals their agenda to get the LGBT message to young children and influence their lives. God calls His people to be salt and light in a dark world. Pray for our nation, and get involved by standing up for God’s truth and His righteousness
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/frozen-elsa-girlfriend-religious-right_us_57348595e4b077d4d6f23290
Of course batshit crazy pastor Franklin Graham would call this a lie. That Huffington Post article went on to argue that it’s really the LGBT youth who could benefit from such representation. Here’s where things get weird – Kevin Swanson, who we talked about in previous Idiots editions as saying that rock concerts were tools of Satan (see Idiots #1 ). Well before we go into why he’s here this week, let’s talk about his past reasons for denouncing the film:
Frozen, the Oscar-winning Disney cartoon adapted from Hans Christian Andersen, is a vehicle for pro-gay propaganda as well a promoting bestiality, according to a Christian radio show in Colorado.
Pastor Kevin Swanson of the Reformation Church, who hosts Generations Radio, denounced the film as "very evil", and that Disney was "one of the most pro-homosexual organisations in the country".
Swanson said: "You wonder sometimes if maybe there's something very evil happening here ... I wonder if people are thinking: 'You know I think this cute little movie is going to indoctrinate my 5-year-old to be a lesbian or treat homosexuality or bestiality in a light sort of way.'"
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/12/frozen-gay-propaganda-christian-pastor-colorado
Pastor Kevin Swanson of the Reformation Church, who hosts Generations Radio, denounced the film as "very evil", and that Disney was "one of the most pro-homosexual organisations in the country".
Swanson said: "You wonder sometimes if maybe there's something very evil happening here ... I wonder if people are thinking: 'You know I think this cute little movie is going to indoctrinate my 5-year-old to be a lesbian or treat homosexuality or bestiality in a light sort of way.'"
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/12/frozen-gay-propaganda-christian-pastor-colorado
Yes. So a movie that teaches kids about love and compassion is somehow evil and going to teach kids about beastiality. You know is it any wonder why Jesus isn’t coming back?
So here’s Swanson’s rationale this week:
“Anybody who has the guts to stand up against the homosexualizing of kids in the present day will be shamed for it,” he said, “and that means that the homosexualizing of kids will be, I think, wholesale happening across this country in the next two, three, four, five, 10 years. Of course Elsa is going to get her girlfriend eventually. That’s the way you destroy sexuality. That’s the way you destroy an entire civilization. The entire social system of the United States of America is collapsing.”
“You have got to be sure that you have homosexualized four-year-olds and six-year-olds and eight-year-olds and ten-year-olds in order to destroy a civilization,” he added, “because the destruction of a civilization happens over two or three or maybe four generations max. In order to bring a civilization down, you’ve got to homosexualize the kids.”
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/05/12/frozens-elsa-girlfriend-homosexualizing-isnt-thing.html
“You have got to be sure that you have homosexualized four-year-olds and six-year-olds and eight-year-olds and ten-year-olds in order to destroy a civilization,” he added, “because the destruction of a civilization happens over two or three or maybe four generations max. In order to bring a civilization down, you’ve got to homosexualize the kids.”
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/05/12/frozens-elsa-girlfriend-homosexualizing-isnt-thing.html
Someone needs to put Kevin Swanson on a sex offender watch list because he cares way too much about the sexual orientation of cartoon characters doesn’t he? In fact if you go back to Idiots #9, I pointed out that he has an unusually unhealthy obsession with the sexual orientation of Harry Potter characters. Mr. Swanson, it’s time to admit you have a problem. #KevinSwansonHasAProblem
The Christian right has in the last 2 years since Frozen was in theaters, developed an almost cartoonish level of hate for this movie. Which is funny because the movie is about love and acceptance, which are things that you know, Jesus might have actually taught us about. In fact the right wing hates Frozen so much that they actually held a seminar – yes, a fucking seminar, to tell its’ followers that Elsa was already promoting homosexuality and the song “Let It Go” is considered “Satan’s rebellion anthem”. I wish I were making this up!
According to Botkin, “Let It Go” is, “furthering America’s rebellion against God.” Supposedly, we’re already in deep sh*t with the Almighty because “the country is already under 50 divine judgments that will only subside once the government and the wider culture begin to abide by biblical law.”
Oh dear, oh dear. That will teach the Founding Fathers to curse us with something like the very liberal and very secular United States Constitution!
That evil song you listened to above, “Let it Go” is, he says, “Satan’s rebellion anthem.” If you like Let it Go, you are “rejecting God’s law,” become “enemies of God” and God “does go to war against you.”
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/11/10/wing-freedom-seminar-god-war-fans-disneys-frozen.html
Oh dear, oh dear. That will teach the Founding Fathers to curse us with something like the very liberal and very secular United States Constitution!
That evil song you listened to above, “Let it Go” is, he says, “Satan’s rebellion anthem.” If you like Let it Go, you are “rejecting God’s law,” become “enemies of God” and God “does go to war against you.”
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/11/10/wing-freedom-seminar-god-war-fans-disneys-frozen.html
You know what Disney? I say just fucking do it. You’ve got nothing to lose. The Christian right is like Dean Wormer from Animal House – they’re going to despise every move you make because of your LGBT support, so why not give Elsa a girlfriend? What’s the worst that could happen? These fun ruining assholes condemn you for supporting LGBT rights? Who gives a shit?
And it’s not like money is a problem – you’ve got Lucasfilm and Marvel at your disposal. So even if you do give Elsa a girlfriend and Frozen 2 bombs, then what? Make another Iron Man or Star Wars and you’ll recoup the loss in a week and a half. So how do you weigh in on the subject? Do you think Elsa should or should not have a girlfriend in Frozen 2? #ElsaGirlfriendYes #ElsaGirlfriendNo But before you answer that, well… let’s ask Idina Menzel herself.
Idina Menzel is on the side of thousands of “Frozen” fans who want Queen Elsa to get a girlfriend in the much-anticipated sequel of the hit Disney movie.
“Entertainment Tonight” caught up with the actress and signer, who voices Elsa, on the red carpet at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards Sunday night in Las Vegas and asked her thoughts on the recent viral Twitter campaign, #GiveElsaAGirlfriend. The petition, started by a girl named Alexis Isabel, is asking Disney to write a same-sex romance into “Frozen 2.”
Menzel is all for it.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “Disney’s just gotta contend with that. I’ll let them figure that out. No matter what, changed my life.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/idina-menzel-frozen-petition-give-elsa-girlfriend_us_5742fe05e4b00e09e89f751f
“Entertainment Tonight” caught up with the actress and signer, who voices Elsa, on the red carpet at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards Sunday night in Las Vegas and asked her thoughts on the recent viral Twitter campaign, #GiveElsaAGirlfriend. The petition, started by a girl named Alexis Isabel, is asking Disney to write a same-sex romance into “Frozen 2.”
Menzel is all for it.
“I think it’s great,” she said. “Disney’s just gotta contend with that. I’ll let them figure that out. No matter what, changed my life.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/idina-menzel-frozen-petition-give-elsa-girlfriend_us_5742fe05e4b00e09e89f751f
Yes! Idina Menzel herself has weighed in and fully supports the idea! So how do you feel about this? Tweet us @DUInitechTop10, with the hashtag #ElsaGirlfriendYes or #ElsaGirlfriendNo, and we'll post the results in the next edition. Come on everyone, let’s close out this week and make some fundie heads explode and sing it with me!
In fact every time you sing that song, fundie heads will do this:
We're going to take a week off next week in observance of Memorial Day this Monday, but we'll be back on June 12th with a brand new celebratory 30th edition of the Top 10! See you in two weeks!
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