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Top 10 Conservative Idiots #7-3: Keeping Up With The Nazis Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #7-3: Keeping Up With The Nazis Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! What’s up Austin? You guys doing fucking good? It’s good to be back! Yeah so you’re probably wondering -what the fuck happened in San Antonio? Well, we had quite a SNAFU with our host venue – and we will make up that tour stop at a later date. We also produced the second part of our “What’s Up With Texas” docuseries where we visited the border town of Laredo – and we will air that at a later date. But this was our Spinal Tap moment – we basically got bumped for a fucking puppet show. OK moving on . Is anyone really that surprised that Florida is the state who is going all in on autonomous cars? I mean we’ve seen the kinds of accidents that humans ca cause when they’re driving them. What makes them think that this is a good idea? Well let’s think about this here – this is the state of Florida. We may have to do a deep dive on this next week, but is anyone really surprised that Ron DeSantis is behind this? You think that self driving cars are a danger now, wait until they become self aware! Yes, on the day Skynet is deployed and our machines start turning on us, I can say “I told you so!!!”. And I love how the people involved are like “Oh it’s going to be treated like any other car”. Yeah, just wait until some guy in accounts payable who’s had too many vodka sodas at the Hilton bar gets in the car and passes out. You really think that the autonomous car is going to be safe? No, it’s going to be a safety hazard! Gee, Florida, there’s a reason why you’re the craziest state in the union – you’re that stupid and insane to try such tech like this that hasn’t been tested and approved yet, is still in the infant cycle, and has already been proven to be a danger. OK that’s enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to, but first John Oliver is back and he destroys the notion of climbing the world’s tallest and most dangerous mountain just to get a selfie for Instagram:
So where do we begin this week? Well in the first slot we’re going to do something a bit differently from what you’re used to. There’s been a lot of comparisons to the Nazis lately and it seems like we’re heading on that path, but how close are we? We’re going to break down some myths and urban legends in a piece that we’re calling “Keeping Up With The Nazis” (1). In the second slot, do we really need 4 more years of these lunatics calling the shots? Yes we’re going to recap Trump’s announcement of his reelection bid, not like we didn’t need that one. In the third slot this week, Congress held a very serious discussion on whether or not reparations should be paid out to the families of former slaves, and of course Mitch McConnell (3) derailed the whole thing, but that’s completely beside the point. For the fourth slot this week, he’s baaaaaaaaaaaaack! Trump’s long time WHPC leader Sarah Huckabee Sanders has departed the administration meaning that she is the latest tribute eliminated from the Trumper Games! In the fifth slot this week of course is our weekly investigative piece, Top 10 Investigates (5) and this week, Facebook is launching it’s own brand of Cyber Currency called the Libre. Is this a good idea or a bad idea? We will find out. In the sixth slot this week is our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and the Christian right has once again hilariously stuck its’ head where it doesn’t belong, in regards to the Amazon show “Good Omens”, and our resident pastor can’t wait to revel in their stupidity! In the seventh slot this week is an all new “Beating A Dead Horse” – normally we don’t talk about Trump in this segment but we got to get a hold of why he’s going after the Central Park 5 this late in the game, and I’m sure there’s a lot of reasons why, but we think there’s only one… *COUGH* RACISM *COUGH*. In the number 8 slot this week, is the return of People Who Somehow Got Elected! Yay! This week we’re adding embattled San Diego representative Duncan Hunter (8) to that ever growing list! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week is an all new People Are Dumb (9), because of course they are! Finally this week we’ve got the third installment of our “What’s Up With Texas” (10) docuseries and as we figure out whether or not Texas will flip in the 2020 election, we tour the state capital of Austin, and to hopefully score an interview with Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Obviously) as he passed an insanely stupid law regarding protecting "religious freedoms" for Chik-Fil-A after they got banned from the San Antonio Airport. And for putting up with my shit, we’ve got the Viking metal gods themselves, Amon Amarth stopping by! Really, buy their new album Berserker or you’re no friend of this show!Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
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[font size="8"]Keeping Up With The Nazis
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It’s very easy to make comparisons to what Adolf Hitler did in regards to what the current American political climate is doing. In fact it’s so easy that Hitler comparisons have become their own logical fallacy. It’s a real thing, in fact go to Wikipedia and look up Ad Hitlerum. Still not convinced that it’s a real thing? Well, after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made the comparison that the camps running along the border are likened to Nazi concentration camps, And there’s no making fun of this so as is Top 10 policy, we won’t try. So for this piece, we thought we’d take a minute to unpack all the Nazi references coming from both sides. See – conservatives are there to remind you that they’re not Nazis, until they start doing things that are horrifying. Let’s call this piece “Detention camps are not concentration camps”, or to use the parlance of our times, “Keeping Up With The Nazis”. So just how close are we?
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused President Donald Trump's administration of running "concentration camps" in its detention of migrants at the southern border.
Conservatives quickly slammed the New York Democrat for her use of the term, which is most commonly associated with Nazi death camps during the Holocaust.
"The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border, and that is exactly what they are -- they are concentration camps," Ocasio-Cortez told an Instagram Live audience Monday evening. "And if that doesn't bother you ... I want to talk to the people that are concerned enough with humanity to say that we should not, that 'never again' means something," a reference to a phrase commonly invoked by Jews about the Holocaust.
"The fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing, and we need to do something about it," she added.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-concentration-camps-migrants-detention/index.html
Conservatives quickly slammed the New York Democrat for her use of the term, which is most commonly associated with Nazi death camps during the Holocaust.
"The United States is running concentration camps on our southern border, and that is exactly what they are -- they are concentration camps," Ocasio-Cortez told an Instagram Live audience Monday evening. "And if that doesn't bother you ... I want to talk to the people that are concerned enough with humanity to say that we should not, that 'never again' means something," a reference to a phrase commonly invoked by Jews about the Holocaust.
"The fact that concentration camps are now an institutionalized practice in the home of the free is extraordinarily disturbing, and we need to do something about it," she added.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/politics/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-concentration-camps-migrants-detention/index.html
Holy shit!!! As if that’s not horrifying enough, there was the possibility of SS-like ICE raids that Trump was going to start last week but delayed it because it will allow even more time to blame the democrats on this issue. Yeah I said it – that’s all they care about – owning the libs, they’re not good for much of anything else at this point.
President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he's delaying for two weeks US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that were planned to take place Sunday in 10 major US cities, saying deportations will proceed unless Congress finds a solution on the US-Mexico border.
The President's pullback was an about-face in a matter of hours on enforcing his signature immigration policy, following deep criticism from the cities' mayors, top Democrats and immigration activists who called the coordinated arrests and deportations on targeted migrant families "heartless."
"At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border,'" Trump said on Twitter Saturday. "If not, Deportations start!"
A senior immigration official had told CNN on Friday that ICE was planning on arresting and deporting about 2,000 migrant families with court-ordered removals in 10 cities beginning Sunday.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/22/politics/ice-raids-sunday-10-cities-donald-trump-defends-arrests/index.html
The President's pullback was an about-face in a matter of hours on enforcing his signature immigration policy, following deep criticism from the cities' mayors, top Democrats and immigration activists who called the coordinated arrests and deportations on targeted migrant families "heartless."
"At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border,'" Trump said on Twitter Saturday. "If not, Deportations start!"
A senior immigration official had told CNN on Friday that ICE was planning on arresting and deporting about 2,000 migrant families with court-ordered removals in 10 cities beginning Sunday.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/22/politics/ice-raids-sunday-10-cities-donald-trump-defends-arrests/index.html
Wow, just… fucking wow. In one corner we literally are having a debate about whether or not US detention centers are concentration camps and it’s only because not enough people died in those camps to warrant that status. Now in the interest of this piece, according to the US Holocaust Museum, here’s where we are at right now.
1933–1938
Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as German chancellor on January 30, 1933, the Nazi state (also referred to as the Third Reich) quickly became a regime in which citizens had no guaranteed basic rights. The Nazi rise to power brought an end to the Weimar Republic, the German parliamentary democracy established after World War I. In 1933, the regime established the first concentration camps, imprisoning its political opponents, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others classified as “dangerous.” Extensive propaganda was used to spread the Nazi Party’s racist goals and ideals. During the first six years of Hitler’s dictatorship, German Jews felt the effects of more than 400 decrees and regulations that restricted all aspects of their public and private lives.
https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1933-1938
Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as German chancellor on January 30, 1933, the Nazi state (also referred to as the Third Reich) quickly became a regime in which citizens had no guaranteed basic rights. The Nazi rise to power brought an end to the Weimar Republic, the German parliamentary democracy established after World War I. In 1933, the regime established the first concentration camps, imprisoning its political opponents, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others classified as “dangerous.” Extensive propaganda was used to spread the Nazi Party’s racist goals and ideals. During the first six years of Hitler’s dictatorship, German Jews felt the effects of more than 400 decrees and regulations that restricted all aspects of their public and private lives.
https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1933-1938
So let’s make one thing clear – the holocaust didn’t start with death camps. They started out very much like what we’re seeing now, and AOC is absolutely correct here. So we have round ups and internment camps a very real part of the Donald Trump administration – and it’s absolutely frightening. But why aren’t we doing enough to educate people about the holocaust? You might recall that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. And here’s where that might lie.
Oregon became the 11th state in the nation to mandate that public schools teach students about the Holocaust and other genocides, just last month. As an American Jew who attended public school in the late 1970s and 1980s, I was surprised to hear that learning about a defining piece of world history apparently requires specific legislation. As a resident of Oregon — a state founded as a white utopia, with both a history of structural racism and an all-too-current glut of emboldened white nationalists — I was fascinated to read that the bill was a collaboration between a nonagenarian Holocaust survivor and a 14-year-old public school student.
As a person who has witnessed the sharp rise of American anti-Semitism in the past decade, I worry that the bill is too little and too late.
Yesterday, the absurdist game of Mad Libs that is the national news brought us a Twitter faceoff between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., sparked by the former’s assertion that the Trump administration’s detention facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border are “exactly like concentration camps” and the latter’s subsequent finger-wagging reprimand of Ocasio-Cortez that the comparison trivialized the 6 million Jews who died in such camps.
Before you could ask “war profiteer’s daughter says what?” Twitter had become a pedantic Hydra of arguments that were less about the actual existence of such camps than about what we should be calling them. (For the record, concentration-camp historians agree that using the general term “concentration camp” to describe conditions at the border is accurate.)
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/aoc-was-right-compare-trump-s-border-internment-camps-concentration-ncna1019381
As a person who has witnessed the sharp rise of American anti-Semitism in the past decade, I worry that the bill is too little and too late.
Yesterday, the absurdist game of Mad Libs that is the national news brought us a Twitter faceoff between Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., sparked by the former’s assertion that the Trump administration’s detention facilities at the U.S.-Mexico border are “exactly like concentration camps” and the latter’s subsequent finger-wagging reprimand of Ocasio-Cortez that the comparison trivialized the 6 million Jews who died in such camps.
Before you could ask “war profiteer’s daughter says what?” Twitter had become a pedantic Hydra of arguments that were less about the actual existence of such camps than about what we should be calling them. (For the record, concentration-camp historians agree that using the general term “concentration camp” to describe conditions at the border is accurate.)
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/aoc-was-right-compare-trump-s-border-internment-camps-concentration-ncna1019381
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[font size="8"]Donald Trump
[br] [/font] [br]
Now that we got the Hitler talk out of the way, let’s lighten things up and talk about the guy who we currently call president, Donald J. Trump. And the absolutely insane things he’s been doing in the last week since we’ve been off. Like the fact that he held another one of his insane rallies in Orlando announcing his bid for reelection. I mean when your rally features these guys outside, what’s it like inside?
Link to tweet
I think I've found Brett Kavanaugh's side hustle! Worst strip club ever, by the way. And judging by the color of their skin tone and their guts, I think this is the most exercise these guys have got all year. And who are they being the hype men for? DJ MAGAs? I don't know! So here’s how that went down:
President Trump will officially kick off his 2020 reelection campaign with a rally in Florida on Tuesday night. But in reality, he has been running for a second term ever since he took office.
The former reality TV star and real estate mogul — the first president without prior political or military experience — used an unorthodox campaign style to notch an upset win in 2016, with massive rallies to excite supporters. And he's employed that same strategy, with a heavily blurred line between official duties and trying to sell his agenda muddled with outright politicking, since taking office.
In fact, Trump filed his official paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 20, 2017 — mere hours after he was inaugurated. And less than a month later, he would hold a rally (also in Florida) that was paid for by his campaign committee. When asked by a reporter if this was too early in his presidency to hold such an event, Trump replied, "Life is a campaign." As president-elect, he also launched a "victory tour" of sorts to battleground states.
So while the Trump campaign may bill this as the official start of the president's bid for a second term, it's truly anything but. Since 2017, Trump has held more than 60 rallies. Nearly three-quarters of those occurred during 2018, where he was often stumping for down-ballot candidates in the midterm elections.
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/18/733505037/trump-set-to-officially-launch-reelection-but-hasnt-he-been-running-all-along
The former reality TV star and real estate mogul — the first president without prior political or military experience — used an unorthodox campaign style to notch an upset win in 2016, with massive rallies to excite supporters. And he's employed that same strategy, with a heavily blurred line between official duties and trying to sell his agenda muddled with outright politicking, since taking office.
In fact, Trump filed his official paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 20, 2017 — mere hours after he was inaugurated. And less than a month later, he would hold a rally (also in Florida) that was paid for by his campaign committee. When asked by a reporter if this was too early in his presidency to hold such an event, Trump replied, "Life is a campaign." As president-elect, he also launched a "victory tour" of sorts to battleground states.
So while the Trump campaign may bill this as the official start of the president's bid for a second term, it's truly anything but. Since 2017, Trump has held more than 60 rallies. Nearly three-quarters of those occurred during 2018, where he was often stumping for down-ballot candidates in the midterm elections.
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/18/733505037/trump-set-to-officially-launch-reelection-but-hasnt-he-been-running-all-along
Ah come on, NPR, it’s summer. Everything is in reruns now. Trump literally held his campaign rally giving the exact same speeches he’s given 100 times before. And if you thought the madness was bad outside, just take a look at the trail of destruction that his supporters left behind in their quest to see the MAGAt in chief.
They came, they partied, they left a mess. Downtown Orlando is slowly getting back to normal, after President Donald Trump’s visit on Tuesday evening to officially launch his 2020 re-election bid.
It’s time to take out the trash downtown. After Tuesday night’s party, downtown is feeling a bit hungover but many are happy about the money they brought in at the the "45 Fest" party.
Lots of items and trash were left behind. The city says it’s up to the Trump campaign to take out the trash and pay for it. Meanwhile, businesses nearby felt the effects of the rally Tuesday night.
“It was a pretty busy day. We probably did double the amount of sales than we normally do,” said Chef Eddie’s owner Eddie James.
http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/after-trump-rally-comes-the-clean-up
It’s time to take out the trash downtown. After Tuesday night’s party, downtown is feeling a bit hungover but many are happy about the money they brought in at the the "45 Fest" party.
Lots of items and trash were left behind. The city says it’s up to the Trump campaign to take out the trash and pay for it. Meanwhile, businesses nearby felt the effects of the rally Tuesday night.
“It was a pretty busy day. We probably did double the amount of sales than we normally do,” said Chef Eddie’s owner Eddie James.
http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/after-trump-rally-comes-the-clean-up
Yeah really where’s that guy when you need him? I mean is anyone really that surprised by this? Just when you think they can’t sink any lower… fuck it, let’s show it.
Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Also something else that’s hardly at all surprising – only at a Trump rally could two guys get arrested for fighting inside while a large group yelled homophobic slurs at both of them:
Two people were arrested Tuesday evening while President Donald Trump was hosting a rally in downtown Orlando to announce that he is seeking re-election in 2020, records show.
Orlando police said the first arrest happened around 7:30 p.m., about a block away from the Amway Center.
Steven Ashley Ingram, 33, was involved in a heated conversation with another man, Gary Snow, that turned violent when Ingram shoved the other man with his left hand, according to the affidavit.
Ingram said in an email to News 6 that he came to the rally to protest Trump's appearance and show support for Orlando's LGBTQ+ community.
He said Snow and a group of about 20 others spewed homophobic insults toward him because he was wearing a rainbow flag pin on his jacket. He wrote that Snow put his hand on his shoulder and made threats.
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/these-two-men-were-arrested-at-president-donald-trumps-orlando-rally
Orlando police said the first arrest happened around 7:30 p.m., about a block away from the Amway Center.
Steven Ashley Ingram, 33, was involved in a heated conversation with another man, Gary Snow, that turned violent when Ingram shoved the other man with his left hand, according to the affidavit.
Ingram said in an email to News 6 that he came to the rally to protest Trump's appearance and show support for Orlando's LGBTQ+ community.
He said Snow and a group of about 20 others spewed homophobic insults toward him because he was wearing a rainbow flag pin on his jacket. He wrote that Snow put his hand on his shoulder and made threats.
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/politics/these-two-men-were-arrested-at-president-donald-trumps-orlando-rally
Those guys could use some boundaries but that’s pretty typical behavior and standard operating procedure for Trump fans at this point. And you know here’s the thing – Trump Derangement Syndrome may not be a thing, but Clinton Derangement Syndrome is – and Trump’s got an extremely bad case of it. Really, he just won’t let this shit go.
President Donald Trump revived the greatest political show on Earth on Tuesday night.
Swimming in nostalgia, Trump played all the old hits. He bashed Hillary Clinton, jabbed the "fake news," invoked fear over immigrants and marveled at the glory over his shock election win.
He partied like it was 2016.
Holding forth from the pounding heart of a rapturous crowd, the President spelled out a defiant, demagogic, fact-blurring record of promises kept that could win him reelection.
But Trump's ceremonial 2020 campaign launch rally also reverberated with the unity-shredding grievances that threaten to whip up equal fervor against him and could make him a one-term President.
The rally, in a cacophonous Florida arena, and the first Democratic debates next week will lift the nascent 2020 campaign to a new level of intensity that will clarify a fateful choice that voters must make about the most disruptive, unconventional President in American history.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/politics/donald-trump-election-2020-democrats/index.html
Swimming in nostalgia, Trump played all the old hits. He bashed Hillary Clinton, jabbed the "fake news," invoked fear over immigrants and marveled at the glory over his shock election win.
He partied like it was 2016.
Holding forth from the pounding heart of a rapturous crowd, the President spelled out a defiant, demagogic, fact-blurring record of promises kept that could win him reelection.
But Trump's ceremonial 2020 campaign launch rally also reverberated with the unity-shredding grievances that threaten to whip up equal fervor against him and could make him a one-term President.
The rally, in a cacophonous Florida arena, and the first Democratic debates next week will lift the nascent 2020 campaign to a new level of intensity that will clarify a fateful choice that voters must make about the most disruptive, unconventional President in American history.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/politics/donald-trump-election-2020-democrats/index.html
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[font size="8"]Mitch McConnell
[br] [/font] [br]
Really, Mitch, you just had to go there, didn’t you? Amid all the Nazi talk, something that got lost in the news last week was talk of reparations for slavery. We’ve all heard the arguments for and against reparations since the days of Martin Luther King. But this week, Mitch McConnell accidentally opened a can of worms that probably shouldn’t have been opened. So when HR40, which studied the possibility of slavery reparations being implemented – which is still a very real possibility that this could happen in our lifetime, assuming we survive this administration, what could happen? And when did Mitch McConnell have surgery on his middle finger to put it into a fully upright position?
The debate over reparations catapulted from the campaign trail to Congress on Wednesday as lawmakers heard impassioned testimony for and against the idea of providing compensation for America’s history of slavery and racial discrimination.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, the sponsor of a resolution to study reparations, put a fine point on the discussion: “I just simply ask: Why not and why not now?”
It was Congress’ first hearing on reparations in more than a decade, and came amid a growing conversation both in the Democratic Party and the country at large about lingering racial disparities in the United States. Once considered a fringe topic, mostly pushed aside in Congress, the possibility of reparations was treated with seriousness by the witnesses and lawmakers alike, though Republicans made clear their opposition.
One of the most striking moments came as writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author of a widely read 2014 essay making the case for reparations, challenged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s assertion that no one alive today is responsible for the past treatment of black Americans.
“It’s impossible to imagine America without the inheritance of slavery,” Coates told the House Judiciary panel.
https://www.apnews.com/a0bccbcc80324280aedd58ed401db797
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, the sponsor of a resolution to study reparations, put a fine point on the discussion: “I just simply ask: Why not and why not now?”
It was Congress’ first hearing on reparations in more than a decade, and came amid a growing conversation both in the Democratic Party and the country at large about lingering racial disparities in the United States. Once considered a fringe topic, mostly pushed aside in Congress, the possibility of reparations was treated with seriousness by the witnesses and lawmakers alike, though Republicans made clear their opposition.
One of the most striking moments came as writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, the author of a widely read 2014 essay making the case for reparations, challenged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s assertion that no one alive today is responsible for the past treatment of black Americans.
“It’s impossible to imagine America without the inheritance of slavery,” Coates told the House Judiciary panel.
https://www.apnews.com/a0bccbcc80324280aedd58ed401db797
Ah, I miss Chappelle’s Show. So not only did Mitch McConnell completely poo poo this idea for now – which means that he’s probably guilty of it. Well, maybe not slavery directly but he’s guilty of something, that’s for sure! In fact here’s where McConnell goes full asshole – he said that the reason why we don’t need slavery reparations is shockingly stupid and evil.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said that he does not support reparations for descendants of slaves, a topic that has become a point of debate in the 2020 election cycle.
"I don't think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none us currently living are responsible is a good idea," McConnell said. "We've tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights legislation. We elected an African American president."
McConnell was asked about reparations during a weekly press conference, which comes a day before the House Judiciary Committee will hold the first hearing on the issue in a decade.
"I think we're always a work in progress in this country, but no one currently alive was responsible for that, and I don't think we should be trying to figure out how to compensate for it. First of all, it would be pretty hard to figure out who to compensate. ... No, I don't think reparations are a good idea," McConnell continued.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/449136-mcconnell-reparations-arent-a-a-good-idea
"I don't think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none us currently living are responsible is a good idea," McConnell said. "We've tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights legislation. We elected an African American president."
McConnell was asked about reparations during a weekly press conference, which comes a day before the House Judiciary Committee will hold the first hearing on the issue in a decade.
"I think we're always a work in progress in this country, but no one currently alive was responsible for that, and I don't think we should be trying to figure out how to compensate for it. First of all, it would be pretty hard to figure out who to compensate. ... No, I don't think reparations are a good idea," McConnell continued.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/449136-mcconnell-reparations-arent-a-a-good-idea
Except that McCcnnell’s idea of not a good idea is a bad idea. Yeah let that sink in for a minute – he actually said that reparations were not a good idea. And since we need to know more, he actually doubled down on this claim. Of course McConnell is wealthy himself and doesn’t know what it is like to pay for anything, let alone slavery. In fact he not only doubles down, he literally goes full asshole on this one.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's remarks over the last week have been making headlines, but the latest may be the most controversial.
When asked about reparations for slavery on the eve of a House hearing on the issue, McConnell said reparations "for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently living are responsible," were not a good idea. Besides, he suggested acts, such as electing Barack Obama president, could be considered a form of compensation.
"We tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a Civil War, by passing landmark civil rights legislation, elected an African American president," McConnell said. "I don't think we should be trying to figure out how to compensate for it. First of all, it would be hard to figure out whom to compensate."
The backlash, as it often happens with McConnell, came swiftly.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/19/mitch-mcconnell-reparations-slavery-compensation-not-needed-after-obama-presidency/1501650001/
When asked about reparations for slavery on the eve of a House hearing on the issue, McConnell said reparations "for something that happened 150 years ago, for whom none of us currently living are responsible," were not a good idea. Besides, he suggested acts, such as electing Barack Obama president, could be considered a form of compensation.
"We tried to deal with our original sin of slavery by fighting a Civil War, by passing landmark civil rights legislation, elected an African American president," McConnell said. "I don't think we should be trying to figure out how to compensate for it. First of all, it would be hard to figure out whom to compensate."
The backlash, as it often happens with McConnell, came swiftly.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/19/mitch-mcconnell-reparations-slavery-compensation-not-needed-after-obama-presidency/1501650001/
Wait, wait, wait… wait, wait, wait, wait. You’re saying that we paid for slavery by electing Obama president? Have you been paying attention to the last 3 years, Mitch? Have you seen how racist and ignorant people have become in that length of time? Oh wait, he’s primarily responsible for it. So of course he’d think that this is a bad idea. Oh well, at least he’s getting called out for his bullshit and it’s very well deserved:
Ta-Nehisi Coates, the celebrated and influential author of “The Case for Reparations,” on Wednesday directly challenged remarks made by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) the day earlier, during which the Republican leader came out against reparations arguing that “none of us currently living are responsible” for slavery.
“I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible is a good idea,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday. According to McConnell, the historic racism stemming from slavery had largely ended with the Civil Rights Act and the election of the first African American president.
“This rebuttal proffers a strange theory of governance, that American accounts are somehow bound by the lifetime of its generations,” Coates said in his opening remarks at the first congressional hearing in a decade on reparations. “But well into this century, the United States was still paying our pensions to the heirs of Civil War soldiers. We honor treaties that date back some 200 years despite no one being alive who signed those treaties.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/ta-nehisi-coates-mitch-mcconnell-reparations/?fbclid=IwAR0QzTCie04PXHgVkmg2fIco94jnUW1IwTEI6yBaE9myPKPIVpX4LqBnNzg
“I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible is a good idea,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday. According to McConnell, the historic racism stemming from slavery had largely ended with the Civil Rights Act and the election of the first African American president.
“This rebuttal proffers a strange theory of governance, that American accounts are somehow bound by the lifetime of its generations,” Coates said in his opening remarks at the first congressional hearing in a decade on reparations. “But well into this century, the United States was still paying our pensions to the heirs of Civil War soldiers. We honor treaties that date back some 200 years despite no one being alive who signed those treaties.”
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/06/ta-nehisi-coates-mitch-mcconnell-reparations/?fbclid=IwAR0QzTCie04PXHgVkmg2fIco94jnUW1IwTEI6yBaE9myPKPIVpX4LqBnNzg
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[font size="8"]Sarah Sanders
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I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!! Yes, my pretties, I am back for the latest installment because people keep leaving this administration so it is my duty to report on it and make fun of it while I imbibe on this freshly carbonated alcoholic beverage! Damn it, Charlie… oh wait that’s right, Charlie left in the last episode that we did this so I must confide in my new assistant Nathaniel. So I say, Nathaniel… bring me the champagne! This week, it was Tribute Sanders from the 1st district who was eliminated, and Tribute Sanders has been in the Trump administration the longest! In fact, Tribute Sanders was at one point considered a lock to win the whole games. What was the final straw that broke the camel’s back? Well it might have been this.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is leaving the Trump administration after a turbulent tenure marked by attacks on the media, dissemination of false information and the near-disappearance of the daily press briefing.
“Our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas,” President Donald Trump said Thursday in a tweet.
Speaking at a White House event later Thursday, Sanders said it was the “honor of a lifetime” to serve in the Trump administration. “I’ve loved every minute -- even the hard minutes,” she said.
Asked by reporters later whether she plans to run for governor in her native Arkansas, she didn’t rule it out.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-13/sanders-to-resign-as-white-house-press-secretary-trump-says
“Our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas,” President Donald Trump said Thursday in a tweet.
Speaking at a White House event later Thursday, Sanders said it was the “honor of a lifetime” to serve in the Trump administration. “I’ve loved every minute -- even the hard minutes,” she said.
Asked by reporters later whether she plans to run for governor in her native Arkansas, she didn’t rule it out.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-13/sanders-to-resign-as-white-house-press-secretary-trump-says
Ah it’s good to be back! I mean can you imagine having to be in her position and having to lie 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for what is essentially the world’s biggest reality show? I know I cannot! So Tribute Sanders has resigned, what is next for her? I know! Let’s put her in charge of running the entire state of Arkansas, I mean how hard could it be?
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has resigned and will leave the job by the end of June.
This was announced by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
“After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas,” Trump tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
Trump also advised her to accept a political role and run for the office of Arkansas governor.
Sarah Sanders has been the press secretary since July 2017. She was deputy press secretary when Trump took over in 2016 and later succeeded Sean Spicer.
Sarah belongs to a political family. Her father, Michael Dale Huckabee, popular as Mike Huckabee was the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007.
https://www.ibtimes.com/sarah-huckabee-sanders-resigns-could-run-governor-arkansas-2800572
This was announced by President Donald Trump on Thursday.
“After 3 1/2 years, our wonderful Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the White House at the end of the month and going home to the Great State of Arkansas,” Trump tweeted on Thursday afternoon.
Trump also advised her to accept a political role and run for the office of Arkansas governor.
Sarah Sanders has been the press secretary since July 2017. She was deputy press secretary when Trump took over in 2016 and later succeeded Sean Spicer.
Sarah belongs to a political family. Her father, Michael Dale Huckabee, popular as Mike Huckabee was the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007.
https://www.ibtimes.com/sarah-huckabee-sanders-resigns-could-run-governor-arkansas-2800572
Now to be fair, Mr. President, that would give Sarah Sanders more political experience than you had when you ran for the highest office in the land. Remember when the republicans said that they didn’t want a “celebrity” running the show? Oh wait, they elected Ronald Reagan and now they support President Trump, whose cabinet is the largest revolving door ever. What poor sap, er, prospect is going to replace Tribute Sanders? I mean the only qualifications are that you have to lie 24 hours a day in an administration that has seen everything from Nazi camps to accidental war. Good luck! Well, meet Tribute Grisham from the 10th District!
A spokeswoman for Melania Trump known for issuing terse but pointed public comments will take over as White House press secretary, the First Lady announced Tuesday.
The former owner of an Arizona public relations firm, Stephanie Grisham has been with the Trump team since 2015, most recently serving as Melania Trump’s deputy chief of staff and communications director. She had been seen as a top contender for the White House press secretary job since Sanders announced her resignation from the position earlier this month.
In recent months, the White House press secretary has been less visible, with Sanders setting records for the number of days since the last press briefing, a question-and-answer period often covered live on cable TV that was standard in previous administrations.
At the time that Sanders’ departure was announced on June 13, she had not held a formal press briefing in more than 90 days.
https://time.com/5613967/stephanie-grisham-white-house-press-secretary/
The former owner of an Arizona public relations firm, Stephanie Grisham has been with the Trump team since 2015, most recently serving as Melania Trump’s deputy chief of staff and communications director. She had been seen as a top contender for the White House press secretary job since Sanders announced her resignation from the position earlier this month.
In recent months, the White House press secretary has been less visible, with Sanders setting records for the number of days since the last press briefing, a question-and-answer period often covered live on cable TV that was standard in previous administrations.
At the time that Sanders’ departure was announced on June 13, she had not held a formal press briefing in more than 90 days.
https://time.com/5613967/stephanie-grisham-white-house-press-secretary/
Wait, there had been no formal press briefings in 90 days? Shit, during the previous administration, we knew what the president had for breakfast. Blueberry waffles with whip cream, light syrup, and a glass of orange juice. But that said, this latest tribute is going to be in for a wild ride as the Trump administration goes full in on Nazism. But for now, consider Tribute Sanders… ELIMINATED!!!
Sarah Huckabee Sanders will resign from her position as White House press secretary at the end of the month, President Trump announced on Twitter Thursday afternoon.
Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, succeeded Sean Spicer as White House press secretary in July 2017. She first joined the administration as Spicer’s deputy after joining the Trump campaign as a communications aide in the wake of her father’s failed presidential bid in 2016.
The traditional White House press-briefing process broke down on Sanders’s watch. She last held a briefing on March 11, 94 days ago, and earlier in her tenure, when briefings were more frequent, she was routinely accused of misleading reporters from the White House podium and contradicting Trump’s public statements.
Most recently, Sanders was pilloried after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report revealed that she had misled reporters about Trump’s motivations for firing former FBI director James Comey.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/sarah-sanders-to-resign-at-end-of-june/
Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, succeeded Sean Spicer as White House press secretary in July 2017. She first joined the administration as Spicer’s deputy after joining the Trump campaign as a communications aide in the wake of her father’s failed presidential bid in 2016.
The traditional White House press-briefing process broke down on Sanders’s watch. She last held a briefing on March 11, 94 days ago, and earlier in her tenure, when briefings were more frequent, she was routinely accused of misleading reporters from the White House podium and contradicting Trump’s public statements.
Most recently, Sanders was pilloried after Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report revealed that she had misled reporters about Trump’s motivations for firing former FBI director James Comey.
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/sarah-sanders-to-resign-at-end-of-june/
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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: Facebook Money
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Hey Austin, it’s time to investigate beyond the headlines. This is Top 10 Investigates!
Cryptocurrency is currently one of the hottest commodities in the game. It’s also one of the most volatile out there. So naturally when Facebook announced that it was launching its’ own currency, called the Libra, people were very skeptical of what it could bring to the table. It could be the most revolutionary currency since the dollar. But also considering the security risks involved with going in on cryptocurrency, it could be an utter financial disaster. According to actual economic experts, there’s plenty of pros and cons with the world’s largest social media site launching the world’s largest virtual currency.
Are you kidding me? Facebook, the company that thinks privacy is a challenge to be overcome rather than an essential right to be protected, is launching its own currency. Good lemmings that we are, we're all supposed to transfer our hard-earned dollars or euros or rupees or yen into Zuckerbucks?
Okay. Okay. Let's back up a second. What exactly is Facebook doing? Let's break it down.
Facebook has announced it will be launching a new cryptocurrency called Libra sometime next year. The company is going to integrate payment and currency transfer capabilities right into Facebook's mobile app, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Presumably, we'll see it show up in the Facebook-owned Instagram app sometime later.
Libra, according to Facebook, is like Bitcoin in that it's a blockchain-based currency. But it's not like Bitcoin because Facebook claims it's put a structure in place to stabilize the value of Libra.
Libra is also not like Bitcoin because you can't mine Libra. Although cryptocurrency mining rigs are hugely expensive these days, you can still mine Bitcoin. But you have to buy Libra. In that way, getting Libra is a lot more like buying in-game currency in World of Warcraft by spending real money than it is like Bitcoin, where you at least have the option to apply prodigious computing power and get cryptocoin in return.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/do-we-really-need-or-want-facebook-to-reinvent-money/
Okay. Okay. Let's back up a second. What exactly is Facebook doing? Let's break it down.
Facebook has announced it will be launching a new cryptocurrency called Libra sometime next year. The company is going to integrate payment and currency transfer capabilities right into Facebook's mobile app, Messenger, and WhatsApp. Presumably, we'll see it show up in the Facebook-owned Instagram app sometime later.
Libra, according to Facebook, is like Bitcoin in that it's a blockchain-based currency. But it's not like Bitcoin because Facebook claims it's put a structure in place to stabilize the value of Libra.
Libra is also not like Bitcoin because you can't mine Libra. Although cryptocurrency mining rigs are hugely expensive these days, you can still mine Bitcoin. But you have to buy Libra. In that way, getting Libra is a lot more like buying in-game currency in World of Warcraft by spending real money than it is like Bitcoin, where you at least have the option to apply prodigious computing power and get cryptocoin in return.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/do-we-really-need-or-want-facebook-to-reinvent-money/
Yes probably. While there will be plenty of ways to make money off the virtual currency, its’ applications will be very limited, because it will be a virtual currency. Because we all know how stable blockchains are, oh wait, they aren’t. It’s incredibly risky to go blockchain and there’s plenty of ways that such a currency can go very very wrong.
Mark Zuckerberg and friends are going to save the world. They are going to bring a form of capital to the unbanked, most of them residing in emerging and frontier markets. Economies of scale, and all. It's going to be great.
But imagine this: a foreign company, arguable one of the most distrusted names in social media, comes to India and tells its microlenders that they want to compete against them. They have this cryptocurrency called Libra. It doesn't charge banking fees. What are the odds of nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, sure guys, come in on!
This is not only regulatory nightmare in the U.S., it's not even something microlenders in India are going to want to welcome in.
"Indian regulators already have United Payments Interface and 24/7/365 real-time free payments across India," says Shamir Karkal, CEO at Sila and a pioneer of Simple Bank, a digital bank founded in 2009 and later acquired by BBVA for $117 million in 2014 .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2019/06/20/facebooks-libra-coin-is-both-vampire-project-and-regulatory-nightmare/#12d098c21067
But imagine this: a foreign company, arguable one of the most distrusted names in social media, comes to India and tells its microlenders that they want to compete against them. They have this cryptocurrency called Libra. It doesn't charge banking fees. What are the odds of nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, sure guys, come in on!
This is not only regulatory nightmare in the U.S., it's not even something microlenders in India are going to want to welcome in.
"Indian regulators already have United Payments Interface and 24/7/365 real-time free payments across India," says Shamir Karkal, CEO at Sila and a pioneer of Simple Bank, a digital bank founded in 2009 and later acquired by BBVA for $117 million in 2014 .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2019/06/20/facebooks-libra-coin-is-both-vampire-project-and-regulatory-nightmare/#12d098c21067
Yes, this cryptocurrency is so new that it has the potential to be an international relations nightmare, and financiers around the world can’t wrap their heads about how such a plan is going to be carried out worldwide. So how are authorities going to regulate this new currency? There’s many possibilities, it’s still going to be a nightmare, but the Fed is going to be closely watching their new competition.
Facebook’s plan to expand into payments is not expected to be on the agenda of this week’s G20 summit in Japan, but the social media giant’s intentions could lead regulators to take a closer look at crypto assets, a G20 regulatory group said on Tuesday.
Randal Quarles, chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) which coordinates financial rules for G20 countries, said crypto-assets did not currently pose a risk to global financial stability, but gaps may occur where they fall outside the remit of regulators or from the absence of international standards.
Facebook said last week it wanted to expand into payments and launch its own coin, Libra.
“A wider use of new types of crypto-assets for retail payment purposes would warrant close scrutiny by authorities to ensure that they are subject to high standards of regulation,” Quarles said ahead of a summit of Group of 20 countries in Japan this week.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-fsb/facebooks-libra-coin-closely-watched-by-authorities-fsb-idUSKCN1TQ1Z5
Randal Quarles, chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) which coordinates financial rules for G20 countries, said crypto-assets did not currently pose a risk to global financial stability, but gaps may occur where they fall outside the remit of regulators or from the absence of international standards.
Facebook said last week it wanted to expand into payments and launch its own coin, Libra.
“A wider use of new types of crypto-assets for retail payment purposes would warrant close scrutiny by authorities to ensure that they are subject to high standards of regulation,” Quarles said ahead of a summit of Group of 20 countries in Japan this week.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g20-fsb/facebooks-libra-coin-closely-watched-by-authorities-fsb-idUSKCN1TQ1Z5
This is incredibly risky, incredibly brave, and incredibly stupid at the same time. Think of the ending of the movie Kingsman where Samuel L. Jackson had the entire world going crazy thanks to his freely distributed SIM cards. Any time you add the words “on a global scale” to anything, it gets immensely more horrifying. Facebook… on a global scale. That about says it all. But how can you make money off this new venture? There are plenty of ways.
Since Facebook announced its planned Libra currency June 18, the bitcoin market has gone haywire. The original cryptocurrency surged from $9,000 to $11,000 this past week, as investors perceived Facebook’s crypto initiative as a vote of confidence in blockchain-based assets.
Bitcoin’s price has steadily risen since April, and this week, it surpassed $10,000 for the first time in 15 months—dating back to March 2018.
News of the Libra, and its effect on bitcoin, has understandably piqued the interest of crypto speculators, some of whom may be anticipating a Libra boomlet. For investors hoping to cash in on Facebook’s crypto plans, there are two obvious choices: 1) buy Facebook shares or 2) buy Libra—that is, when it becomes available in early 2020.
Cryptocurrency traders, in particular, might think Libra offers an enticing investment opportunity. After all, unlike most of its crypto predecessors, Libra will be backed by actual reserves, in this, cash and government bonds.
https://qz.com/1651598/how-to-make-money-off-facebooks-libra/
Bitcoin’s price has steadily risen since April, and this week, it surpassed $10,000 for the first time in 15 months—dating back to March 2018.
News of the Libra, and its effect on bitcoin, has understandably piqued the interest of crypto speculators, some of whom may be anticipating a Libra boomlet. For investors hoping to cash in on Facebook’s crypto plans, there are two obvious choices: 1) buy Facebook shares or 2) buy Libra—that is, when it becomes available in early 2020.
Cryptocurrency traders, in particular, might think Libra offers an enticing investment opportunity. After all, unlike most of its crypto predecessors, Libra will be backed by actual reserves, in this, cash and government bonds.
https://qz.com/1651598/how-to-make-money-off-facebooks-libra/
That’s it for Top 10 Investiages. Good day.
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[font size="8"]Holy Shit
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Gather around my fair brothers and sisters of Austin! It’s time to take a seat in the pew and pass the collection plate, for the Holy Church Of The Top 10 has convened and it’s time to remind you that the holiest among us are the most full of:
My fair congregation! You know as I repeatedly say that we live in the most troubled of times. And it’s really hard to find joy when the world is going to hell right now. But I must say that I have taken some true delight in the sheer stupidity of what our brothers and sisters on the right have accomplished! You really can’t get much dumber than this. For there is a show on Amazon about good vs EEEVIL that you must watch. That show is called “Good Omens”. Of course we all know that there aren’t any, that title is an oxymoron. So what did they do to deserve this? Well they’re so steeped in their outrage machine that they don’t even know who they are mad at!
Good Omens beam the focus of a petition to have the series removed from Amazon Prime.
More than 20,000 signatures were on the petition set up on Christian campaign site Return to Order.
The petition was in protest at the way the series depicted heaven and hell and even “mocked God’s wisdom”.
Good Omens was also accused of presenting “devils and Satanists as normal and even good.”
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1143179/Good-Omens-petition-why-is-there-a-petition-for-Good-Omens-Amazon-Prime-series
More than 20,000 signatures were on the petition set up on Christian campaign site Return to Order.
The petition was in protest at the way the series depicted heaven and hell and even “mocked God’s wisdom”.
Good Omens was also accused of presenting “devils and Satanists as normal and even good.”
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1143179/Good-Omens-petition-why-is-there-a-petition-for-Good-Omens-Amazon-Prime-series
Of course the DEVIL walks among us! That’s what he does, and we see him literally everywhere, but that’s not what this sermon is about, now is it? But this, my fair congregation, this is where people can get so caught up in being outraged at something that they don’t even know what they’re mad at or who they are mad at. Enter the group Return To Order. So they had 20,000 signatures to cancel the show which went to… the wrong network! That’s hilarious.
When it comes to spearheading a petition drive, the devil is in the details.
Look no further than the Christian group Return to Order which managed to amass more than 20,000 petitioners demanding Netflix give the boot to the supernaturally religious series “Good Omens.”
Unfortunately, the organization was divinely unaware that the show plays on Amazon Prime.
“This type of video makes light of Truth, Error, Good and Evil, and destroys the barriers of horror that society still has for the devil,” states the group calling for its cancellation.
It also blasted “Good Omens” as “another step to make Satanism appear normal, light and acceptable.”
The six-episode series about an impending Armageddon stars Michael Sheen as angel Aziraphale who teams up with earthly demon Crowley — portrayed by David Tennant — to prevent the arrival of the Antichrist.
https://themercury.com/oops-outraged-christians-petition-netflix-to-cancel-supernatural-series-good/article_b163a32b-732a-5a2a-91cc-4340e3287a05.html
Look no further than the Christian group Return to Order which managed to amass more than 20,000 petitioners demanding Netflix give the boot to the supernaturally religious series “Good Omens.”
Unfortunately, the organization was divinely unaware that the show plays on Amazon Prime.
“This type of video makes light of Truth, Error, Good and Evil, and destroys the barriers of horror that society still has for the devil,” states the group calling for its cancellation.
It also blasted “Good Omens” as “another step to make Satanism appear normal, light and acceptable.”
The six-episode series about an impending Armageddon stars Michael Sheen as angel Aziraphale who teams up with earthly demon Crowley — portrayed by David Tennant — to prevent the arrival of the Antichrist.
https://themercury.com/oops-outraged-christians-petition-netflix-to-cancel-supernatural-series-good/article_b163a32b-732a-5a2a-91cc-4340e3287a05.html
Yes, I got to say that even SAYTAN himself is laughing at you! Now in doing a deep dive on this subject, I had to look up exactly who Return To Order are. And they are a group of Catholics who, quite frankly have no sense of humor. I mean I have to believe that the GOOD LAWRD has a sense of humor because I’ve been doing this thing for a while and I have yet to be smited! So just who are these humorless killjoys who have to ruin everything?
But what The Return to Order campaign lacks in attention to detail, it makes up for in passion. An offshoot of the US Foundation for a Christian Civilisation, the campaign takes issue with the biblically-inspired series on several counts.
The first is that, “An angel and demon are good friends, and are meant to be earth’s ambassadors for Good and Evil respectively.” The second grievance is: “This pair tries to stop the coming of the Antichrist because they are comfortable and like the earth so much.” The third: “God is voiced by a woman.”
The list goes on, deploring the fact that The Antichrist is portrayed as a “normal kid” and that the four riders of the Apocalypse are “a group of bikers.” In short, it believes that the show “mocks God’s wisdom”.
This isn’t the first time that the Return to Order campaign, and its controversial orchestrator, have concerned themselves with policing the world of entertainment.
Using John Horvat II's catchily titled tome Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society – Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here and Where We Need to Go as its sourcebook, the campaign spends a considerable amount of time objecting to pop culture it deems unchristian.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/0/movie-hating-catholic-group-behind-good-omens-petition/
The first is that, “An angel and demon are good friends, and are meant to be earth’s ambassadors for Good and Evil respectively.” The second grievance is: “This pair tries to stop the coming of the Antichrist because they are comfortable and like the earth so much.” The third: “God is voiced by a woman.”
The list goes on, deploring the fact that The Antichrist is portrayed as a “normal kid” and that the four riders of the Apocalypse are “a group of bikers.” In short, it believes that the show “mocks God’s wisdom”.
This isn’t the first time that the Return to Order campaign, and its controversial orchestrator, have concerned themselves with policing the world of entertainment.
Using John Horvat II's catchily titled tome Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society – Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here and Where We Need to Go as its sourcebook, the campaign spends a considerable amount of time objecting to pop culture it deems unchristian.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/0/movie-hating-catholic-group-behind-good-omens-petition/
Now maybe that’s in your good book, Reverend. But in my Good Book, it says that we can, and we can also taunt, so suck it!! OK that maybe went a step too far there. So GAWD has to have a sense of humor even if these losers don’t. But if we can’t laugh about the devil, at least Netflix and Amazon can get a good laugh at them. And yes, even the GOOD LAWRD JAYSUS is laughing at you and not with you!
Netflix has moved to assuage religious zealots who mistakenly petitioned the service to stop producing the Amazon Prime Video produced series Good Omens, with a sarcastic pledge not to make any more.
The streaming service mix-up saw Netflix petitioned by 20,000 people angered at the production of the fantasy adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel, which they accused of ‘making a mockery of God’s order and religion’ with its religious overtones.
US Christian group, Return to Order, spearheaded the backlash with a disorganized petition calling on Netflix to scrap the show, having taken issue with the fact that God was voiced by a woman and the depiction of an angel and demon, played by Michael Sheen and David Tennant, as friends.
Partially conceding the error of its ways the religious group wrote: “Due to an oversight by Return to Order staff, this petition originally listed Netflix as responsible for the offensive series Good Omens. Amazon Video released the series on May 31. We regret the mistake, and the protests will be delivered to Amazon when the campaign is complete.”
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/06/24/netflix-sarcastically-bows-erroneous-petition-calling-good-omens-ban
The streaming service mix-up saw Netflix petitioned by 20,000 people angered at the production of the fantasy adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel, which they accused of ‘making a mockery of God’s order and religion’ with its religious overtones.
US Christian group, Return to Order, spearheaded the backlash with a disorganized petition calling on Netflix to scrap the show, having taken issue with the fact that God was voiced by a woman and the depiction of an angel and demon, played by Michael Sheen and David Tennant, as friends.
Partially conceding the error of its ways the religious group wrote: “Due to an oversight by Return to Order staff, this petition originally listed Netflix as responsible for the offensive series Good Omens. Amazon Video released the series on May 31. We regret the mistake, and the protests will be delivered to Amazon when the campaign is complete.”
https://www.thedrum.com/news/2019/06/24/netflix-sarcastically-bows-erroneous-petition-calling-good-omens-ban
So there you have it, Return To Order might not have a sense of humor, but Netflix and Amazon do, and that makes them automatically better! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]Beating A Dead Horse
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At some point you got to tell yourself “just let it go, man”. Of course letting go of a grudge doesn’t apply to Donald J. Trump. Because he doesn’t know the meaning of the word “exonerated”. I’d also be willing to bet that he doesn’t know the meaning to a lot of words. So why does Trump, on the 30th anniversary of one of the most horrifying crimes to happen in New York City, still care? Even after the men accused were actually, completely exonerated? And it doesn’t matter what happened to the accused. Oh man, if Trump holds a grudge against you, oh man, he love it long time! So this whole thing started because of a new Netflix series examining the legacy of the controversial Central Park 5 case, which reignited Trump’s beef with the group. And this is taking “Beating A Dead Horse” to a whole new level of meta here.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday refused to apologize for his role in raising public fury against the now-exonerated Central Park Five, repeating his infamous phrasing that there were people on “both sides” of the case.
April Ryan, White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks, asked Trump if he would apologize for the full-page ads he took out in 1989 calling for the five black and Latino teenagers to face the death penalty for allegedly raping a woman in Central Park.
“You have people on both sides of that,” Trump responded. “They admitted their guilt.”
Despite telling the court that their confessions had been coerced by law enforcement, the teenagers spent six to 13 years in prison for the crime. In 2002, DNA evidence found that a convicted serial rapist had been responsible, and the Central Park Five were exonerated. The city of New York made a $41 million dollar settlement with the men for the ordeal, and the case has largely been seen as an indictment of institutional racism in the criminal justice system.
“If you look at Linda Fairstein and if you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should never have settled that case,” Trump told Ryan. “So we’ll leave it at that.”
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-central-park-five-no-apology-both-sides
April Ryan, White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks, asked Trump if he would apologize for the full-page ads he took out in 1989 calling for the five black and Latino teenagers to face the death penalty for allegedly raping a woman in Central Park.
“You have people on both sides of that,” Trump responded. “They admitted their guilt.”
Despite telling the court that their confessions had been coerced by law enforcement, the teenagers spent six to 13 years in prison for the crime. In 2002, DNA evidence found that a convicted serial rapist had been responsible, and the Central Park Five were exonerated. The city of New York made a $41 million dollar settlement with the men for the ordeal, and the case has largely been seen as an indictment of institutional racism in the criminal justice system.
“If you look at Linda Fairstein and if you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city should never have settled that case,” Trump told Ryan. “So we’ll leave it at that.”
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-central-park-five-no-apology-both-sides
Shut up!!! Of course there’s both sides to every case, that’s why we have cases. I believe that’s in law school 101. At least unlike Trump, the men who were exonerated in the Central Park 5 case are likely to stay that way. I mean this is a guy who won’t let things go! So why won’t Trump admit that he’s wrong here about the Central Park 5? Hey when I’m wrong about something I admit it. I still think I’m right about 7-11 chicken sandwiches though. For $2 there’s no way you can call them “awesome”. But that’s besides the point. What in god’s holy name is he blathering about this time?
President Donald Trump responded to a question about the Central Park Five during his appearance before reporters on Tuesday, once again declining to apologize for his actions following the incident.
When asked by a reporter if he would apologize for his actions surrounding the case -- he took out full-page newspaper ads calling for the death penalty that read: "Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!" -- Trump instead asked why the topic was relevant.
"Why do you bring that question up now? It's an interesting time to bring it up. You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt," he said.
The five teenagers who were accused of raping a jogger were pressured into giving false confessions. They were later exonerated when DNA evidence linked another person to the crime. The teenagers sued the city and the case was settled.
Trump insisted that some of the prosecutors believe the lawsuit was mishandled.
"They think the city should never have settled that case. We'll leave it at that," Trump said.
https://www.kmov.com/news/trump-doesn-t-apologize-for-his-central-park-five-ads/article_101cd88e-9294-11e9-8879-4fc517e34d0d.html
When asked by a reporter if he would apologize for his actions surrounding the case -- he took out full-page newspaper ads calling for the death penalty that read: "Bring Back The Death Penalty. Bring Back Our Police!" -- Trump instead asked why the topic was relevant.
"Why do you bring that question up now? It's an interesting time to bring it up. You have people on both sides of that. They admitted their guilt," he said.
The five teenagers who were accused of raping a jogger were pressured into giving false confessions. They were later exonerated when DNA evidence linked another person to the crime. The teenagers sued the city and the case was settled.
Trump insisted that some of the prosecutors believe the lawsuit was mishandled.
"They think the city should never have settled that case. We'll leave it at that," Trump said.
https://www.kmov.com/news/trump-doesn-t-apologize-for-his-central-park-five-ads/article_101cd88e-9294-11e9-8879-4fc517e34d0d.html
At this point, 30 years after the fact – you just got to let this shit go! And let’s be honest here – did you really expect Trump to apologize for his 30 year old ad which is now coming back to bite him in the ass hard? No! Trump doesn’t apologize for anything! Even the director of the series isn’t surprised by Trump’s behavior in this regard.
Director Ava DuVernay didn’t expect President Donald Trump to apologize for urging the execution of the five teenagers known as the Central Park Five, more than 30 years after they were falsely accused of raping a jogger, as dramatized in her Netflix miniseries “When They See Us.”
“It’s expected,” she said at a screening of the show Tuesday night in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. “There’s nothing he says or does in relation to this case, or the lives of black people, or people of color, that has any weight to it. It’s not our reality, there’s no truth to it.”
In the immediate aftermath of the 1989 incident, Trump notoriously took out a full-page newspaper ad to call on New York officials to reinstate the death penalty for the five black and Latino teenagers: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise.
On Tuesday, when asked by reporter April Ryan if he plans to apologize, the president declined, using a familiar refrain — claiming there were “people on both sides,” appearing to side with the prosecutors who wrongfully convicted the teenagers.
After the president’s comments, DuVernay also tweeted a clip from the series that briefly references the ad and features Trump appearing on TV at the time.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ava-duvernay-trump-central-park-five_n_5d0a3abee4b0e560b70c8050
“It’s expected,” she said at a screening of the show Tuesday night in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. “There’s nothing he says or does in relation to this case, or the lives of black people, or people of color, that has any weight to it. It’s not our reality, there’s no truth to it.”
In the immediate aftermath of the 1989 incident, Trump notoriously took out a full-page newspaper ad to call on New York officials to reinstate the death penalty for the five black and Latino teenagers: Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Korey Wise.
On Tuesday, when asked by reporter April Ryan if he plans to apologize, the president declined, using a familiar refrain — claiming there were “people on both sides,” appearing to side with the prosecutors who wrongfully convicted the teenagers.
After the president’s comments, DuVernay also tweeted a clip from the series that briefly references the ad and features Trump appearing on TV at the time.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ava-duvernay-trump-central-park-five_n_5d0a3abee4b0e560b70c8050
So at this point – we’re all not surprised at Trump’s lack of apologizing because he really doesn’t apologize for anything. Hell, conservatives haven’t apologized for anything they’ve done since Nixon got elected. But at least when the Central Park 5 are completely exonerated, they don’t have any other crimes that they may be guilty of. Trump, on the other hand, has plenty! So who’s the real guilty party here?
Trump has previously taken an unrepentant stance on his 1989 ads calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty only ten days after the assault occurred.
"They admitted they were guilty," he told CNN during the 2016 campaign. "The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty."
Trump's 1989 ad proclaimed in bolded, all-caps lettering: "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY."
"I want to hate these murderers and I always will," it read. "I am not looking to psychoanalyze or understand them, I am looking to punish them."
After the actual perpetrator of the crime, a serial rapist serving decades in prison, opened up about his culpability in 2002, evidence used to convict the five was retested and they were subsequently exonerated and released from prison.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-claims-people-both-sides-central-park-five-culpability-despite-complete-1444683
"They admitted they were guilty," he told CNN during the 2016 campaign. "The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty."
Trump's 1989 ad proclaimed in bolded, all-caps lettering: "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY."
"I want to hate these murderers and I always will," it read. "I am not looking to psychoanalyze or understand them, I am looking to punish them."
After the actual perpetrator of the crime, a serial rapist serving decades in prison, opened up about his culpability in 2002, evidence used to convict the five was retested and they were subsequently exonerated and released from prison.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-claims-people-both-sides-central-park-five-culpability-despite-complete-1444683
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[font size="8"]People Who Somehow Got Elected: Duncan Hunter
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Politicians at the state and local levels who are so toxic, you wonder how they’re able to get away with the things they get away with. This is:
This week – San Diego, California representative Duncan Hunter (R – Obviously). You might recall Rep. Hunter from when he famously tried to get his pet rabbit a seat on a Southwest flight (see: Idiots #5-10 ) that cost taxpayer money to the tune of $600. For his rabbit. And that’s not all – Rep. Hunter is in some seriously deep doo doo that is costing him big time. And when your wife says “she’s talking to prosecutors”, that’s never a good thing now is it? But for some reason, San Diego not only elects Duncan Hunter, they keep reelecting him time and time again.
California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter's wife Margaret pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring with her husband to "knowingly and willingly" convert campaign funds for personal use. She has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Both Hunters previously pleaded not guilty to federal charges that they had stolen a quarter of a million dollars in campaign funds to furnish a lavish lifestyle that was beyond their means.
Margaret Hunter's agreement to cooperate with prosecutors was a huge development in the federal case that poses a legal and political threat to her husband, the sitting congressman.
Margaret Hunter appeared alone with her lawyers in a federal district court in San Diego before Judge Thomas Whelan, where she changed her plea in the high-profile case. The congressman did not appear with his wife on Thursday.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/13/politics/margaret-hunter-duncan-hunter-california/index.html
Both Hunters previously pleaded not guilty to federal charges that they had stolen a quarter of a million dollars in campaign funds to furnish a lavish lifestyle that was beyond their means.
Margaret Hunter's agreement to cooperate with prosecutors was a huge development in the federal case that poses a legal and political threat to her husband, the sitting congressman.
Margaret Hunter appeared alone with her lawyers in a federal district court in San Diego before Judge Thomas Whelan, where she changed her plea in the high-profile case. The congressman did not appear with his wife on Thursday.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/13/politics/margaret-hunter-duncan-hunter-california/index.html
So Duncan Hunter may have stolen a small fortune of campaign contributions and used it to live the high life. Who wouldn’t? Oh that’s right, most of us have this thing called “integrity”, which you must lack in order to be a member of today’s republican party. So just how deep does this Duncan Hunter scandal go and how much worse could it get? Well, a whole lot worse. Think of this like Arrested Development.
Margaret Hunter, wife of Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), pleaded guilty to charges in the campaign finance case she and her husband were indicted in last summer, saying that she — and the congressman — used campaign funds for personal use, including a $10,000 trip to Italy.
Margaret Hunter, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with her husband to using $25,000 in campaign funds for personal use, according to an agreement she signed with federal prosecutors Tuesday and read out in court on Thursday. She is scheduled to be sentenced in September and faces up to five years in prison for the one charge. Prosecutors dismissed the other charges she was facing.
The plea agreement represents a potentially awkward split with her congressman husband, who has pleaded not guilty to the four charges against him. As part of the deal, she has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they continue to work their case against her husband, and to testify in any grand jury proceedings or trial that she is asked to. Prosecutors said that the congressman obtained a credit card tied to his campaign funds for his wife, “recognizing that she would spend campaign funds for the Hunters’ personal benefit.”
“I am deeply remorseful, and I apologize,” Margaret Hunter said in a statement. “I am saddened for the hurt I have caused my family and others. I understand that there will be more consequences stemming from my actions but, as demonstrated by my plea today, I have taken the first step to face them.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/13/rep-duncan-hunters-wife-admits-couple-misused-campaign-funds-she-may-have-testify-against-him/?utm_term=.aa1006243527
Margaret Hunter, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with her husband to using $25,000 in campaign funds for personal use, according to an agreement she signed with federal prosecutors Tuesday and read out in court on Thursday. She is scheduled to be sentenced in September and faces up to five years in prison for the one charge. Prosecutors dismissed the other charges she was facing.
The plea agreement represents a potentially awkward split with her congressman husband, who has pleaded not guilty to the four charges against him. As part of the deal, she has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they continue to work their case against her husband, and to testify in any grand jury proceedings or trial that she is asked to. Prosecutors said that the congressman obtained a credit card tied to his campaign funds for his wife, “recognizing that she would spend campaign funds for the Hunters’ personal benefit.”
“I am deeply remorseful, and I apologize,” Margaret Hunter said in a statement. “I am saddened for the hurt I have caused my family and others. I understand that there will be more consequences stemming from my actions but, as demonstrated by my plea today, I have taken the first step to face them.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/13/rep-duncan-hunters-wife-admits-couple-misused-campaign-funds-she-may-have-testify-against-him/?utm_term=.aa1006243527
Well yeah if you have the worst attorneys, you probably should be aware that a husband and wife can be charged with the same crime. That’s law 101. So what would be the implications if Mr. Hunter is indicted for these crimes? Well, Margaret Hunter flipping on her husband could have serious implications for Mr. Hunter himself – and that can’t be a good thing. Remember that Arrested Development episode? Well, she might wind up sharing a cell with him.
Downtown attorney Jeremy Warren had work to do Thursday, but he took time to comment on what transpired in the federal courthouse a few blocks away.
A veteran criminal defense lawyer, Warren opined on Margaret Hunter changing her plea to guilty in the corruption case enveloping herself and her husband, Rep. Duncan D. Hunter.
“This deal gives her an excellent chance of not going to jail as long as she continues to cooperate against her husband,” he tweeted several hours after the 9-minute morning hearing.
Federal prosecutors recommended in a plea agreement that she get a far lighter sentence than the 5-year maximum for the single count she admitted. (She also confirmed that the couple illegally spent $200,000 in campaign funds on personal goods and travel).
The deal Hunter signed Tuesday drops her sentencing range into Zone B of the federal guidelines, Warren told Times of San Diego in a phone interview.
https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2019/06/13/flipping-on-congressman-husband-may-spare-margaret-hunter-any-prison-time/
A veteran criminal defense lawyer, Warren opined on Margaret Hunter changing her plea to guilty in the corruption case enveloping herself and her husband, Rep. Duncan D. Hunter.
“This deal gives her an excellent chance of not going to jail as long as she continues to cooperate against her husband,” he tweeted several hours after the 9-minute morning hearing.
Federal prosecutors recommended in a plea agreement that she get a far lighter sentence than the 5-year maximum for the single count she admitted. (She also confirmed that the couple illegally spent $200,000 in campaign funds on personal goods and travel).
The deal Hunter signed Tuesday drops her sentencing range into Zone B of the federal guidelines, Warren told Times of San Diego in a phone interview.
https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2019/06/13/flipping-on-congressman-husband-may-spare-margaret-hunter-any-prison-time/
No, no light treason here. Just massive greed on a massive scale. You can’t just steal $250K – that’s a quarter of a million dollars. So Duncan Hunter threw his wife under the bus, and now she got behind the wheel and is driving it. This is what we believe one would call a “circular firing squad”, and things could get that much worse for the embattled San Diego representative.
Margaret Hunter, the wife of longtime East County Congressman Duncan D. Hunter who was co-indicted with her husband last summer, has agreed to change her plea of not guilty and is scheduled to appear in federal court Thursday morning.
The announcement was posted on the U.S. District Court docket late Wednesday morning without any supplemental documentation.
“Notice of hearing as to defendant Margaret E. Hunter,” the docket entry states. “Change of Plea hearing set for 6/13/2019.”
Both Hunter and his wife were indicted in August on 60 criminal counts related to what prosecutors allege was a years-long misuse of campaign donations to the congressman’s re-election fund. Each of the defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges last year.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/watchdog/story/2019-06-12/margaret-hunter-pleads-out-in-case-against-congressman-husband
The announcement was posted on the U.S. District Court docket late Wednesday morning without any supplemental documentation.
“Notice of hearing as to defendant Margaret E. Hunter,” the docket entry states. “Change of Plea hearing set for 6/13/2019.”
Both Hunter and his wife were indicted in August on 60 criminal counts related to what prosecutors allege was a years-long misuse of campaign donations to the congressman’s re-election fund. Each of the defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges last year.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/watchdog/story/2019-06-12/margaret-hunter-pleads-out-in-case-against-congressman-husband
Apparently they can. And in case you’re wondering how Hunter repeatedly gets elected in San Diego, yeah, you don’t really need to look far. In today’s republican party all you have to do is talk about how much you hate Islam and you’re in. In fact they’ll elect you to the highest levels of government. It really is that easy – if you’re a republican.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), who ran a 2018 reelection campaign rooted in Islamophobia, said Saturday that he had posed for pictures with dead combatants during his time as a Marine in the Middle East.
Hunter was defending Navy SEAL chief Eddie Gallagher, one of several servicemen charged with war crimes who may soon receive a pardon from President Donald Trump.
Gallagher is currently awaiting trial for numerous acts allegedly committed during his time in Iraq, including firing a machine gun haphazardly into residential neighborhoods and killing a young girl and an old man with targeted sniper fire. Gallagher also allegedly stabbed a wounded teenage ISIS fighter who had been taken prisoner, and shared photos of himself holding the dead boy’s head later, boasting that he “got him with my hunting knife.”
“Eddie did one bad thing that I’m guilty of too, taking a picture of the body and saying something stupid,” Hunter said over the weekend.
https://thinkprogress.org/congressman-with-history-of-islamophobia-says-he-took-pictures-with-dead-combatants-as-a-marine-98a38c048063/
Hunter was defending Navy SEAL chief Eddie Gallagher, one of several servicemen charged with war crimes who may soon receive a pardon from President Donald Trump.
Gallagher is currently awaiting trial for numerous acts allegedly committed during his time in Iraq, including firing a machine gun haphazardly into residential neighborhoods and killing a young girl and an old man with targeted sniper fire. Gallagher also allegedly stabbed a wounded teenage ISIS fighter who had been taken prisoner, and shared photos of himself holding the dead boy’s head later, boasting that he “got him with my hunting knife.”
“Eddie did one bad thing that I’m guilty of too, taking a picture of the body and saying something stupid,” Hunter said over the weekend.
https://thinkprogress.org/congressman-with-history-of-islamophobia-says-he-took-pictures-with-dead-combatants-as-a-marine-98a38c048063/
So war crimes, fraud, high crimes and other misdemeanors, that’s just a day in the life of San Diego’s Duncan Hunter. Yet another in the ever-growing list of:
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[font size="8"]People Are Dumb
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Hit it!!!
Of course you know by now that people are people and people are dumb. So who might you ask is dumb this week? Well there’s plenty of stupid people out there. And I love all of these stories. And I also feel like they could all come from Florida. Well, most of them do, but a few out there that don’t. I want to start with this story out of Iowa – and really Iowa is giving Florida a run for its’ money. And I am always curious as to the types of things that people get arrested for driving drunk on, but have we ever had someone get arrested for a DUI on a children’s truck? Well, there’s a first time for everything, sir!
A South Carolina woman who police say was driving drunk will not be cited with a DUI because her vehicle of choice was a toy truck.
News outlets quote police as saying that instead they charged 25-year-old Megan Holman with public intoxication.
They say they spotted her cruising down the road in a Power Wheels electric toy truck after a caller reported a suspicious person on the street.
Officers say she was driving about a mile (1.5 kilometers) from her home in Walhalla when they stopped her.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/no-dui-toy-truck-megan-holman_n_5d040a2de4b0304a120f9645
News outlets quote police as saying that instead they charged 25-year-old Megan Holman with public intoxication.
They say they spotted her cruising down the road in a Power Wheels electric toy truck after a caller reported a suspicious person on the street.
Officers say she was driving about a mile (1.5 kilometers) from her home in Walhalla when they stopped her.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/no-dui-toy-truck-megan-holman_n_5d040a2de4b0304a120f9645
Yeah that’s not the message that we will give you here. But you get the idea. Next up – the Sunshine State, America’s penis, Florida – never fails to disappoint week after week. You think they’d do something about the sheer amount of crazy in Florida but they have yet to. For this story yeah, I’m not entirely sure that poop is what one would call “protein-diet friendly”.
Court officials say a Florida man charged with burglary defecated during his criminal trial and tried to throw his feces at the judge.
The Miami Herald reports 33-year-old Dorleans Philidor was sitting in a wheelchair next to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Lisa Walsh when officials say he tried to throw his excrement at her. It did not reach her. There were no jurors present during Friday’s incident.
"It's protein. It's good for you," Philidor yelled, reports the Miami Herald.
Witnesses say dozens of corrections officers responded and the trial was moved while the courtroom was sanitized.
Read more: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2019/06/22/florida-man-dorleans-philidor-defecates-court-trial-throw-feces-judge-acquitted-lisa-walsh/1538567001/
The Miami Herald reports 33-year-old Dorleans Philidor was sitting in a wheelchair next to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Lisa Walsh when officials say he tried to throw his excrement at her. It did not reach her. There were no jurors present during Friday’s incident.
"It's protein. It's good for you," Philidor yelled, reports the Miami Herald.
Witnesses say dozens of corrections officers responded and the trial was moved while the courtroom was sanitized.
Read more: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2019/06/22/florida-man-dorleans-philidor-defecates-court-trial-throw-feces-judge-acquitted-lisa-walsh/1538567001/
Yeah well it’s probably a good thing that the poop doesn’t talk in this case. Next up – sticking with the Sunshine State, when you go to McDonalds, I don’t remember this being on the menu! And this might be the worst use of a playground ever, by the way.
As diners at a McDonald’s in Florida enjoyed their Big Macs, a 62-year-old man removed his clothes and performed a “strange dance” before apparently “trying to have relations with a railing,” according to a police report.
Investigators say that John Morgan was arrested Sunday after his impromptu 7:30 PM performance at the restaurant in Collier County. Charged with trespassing, the homeless Morgan was booked into the county jail on the misdemeanor count. He is scheduled for arraignment on July 3.
Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the McDonald’s due to a report of “Male taking clothes off doing a strange dance, subject possibly on drugs.” A 911 caller also reported that “it looked as though the male was trying to have relations with a railing.”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/florida/strange-dance-at-mcdonalds-739506
Investigators say that John Morgan was arrested Sunday after his impromptu 7:30 PM performance at the restaurant in Collier County. Charged with trespassing, the homeless Morgan was booked into the county jail on the misdemeanor count. He is scheduled for arraignment on July 3.
Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the McDonald’s due to a report of “Male taking clothes off doing a strange dance, subject possibly on drugs.” A 911 caller also reported that “it looked as though the male was trying to have relations with a railing.”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/florida/strange-dance-at-mcdonalds-739506
Damn right! This is a family restaurant! Our basic freedoms!!! Next up – there is a lot of crazy happening in the Sunshine State. Look there’s only two guys in the entire world who can acceptably wear short shorts, one is Tobias Funke, and well, yeah let’s just leave it at Tobias Funke. So leading by example maybe isn’t the best approach here.
As soon as Jason Hilley walked into the room, the laughter started.
"I feel humor brings more meaning to discipline than yelling and screaming and all that," Hilley explained.
His 14-year-old daughter, Kendall, had shorts that he felt showed too much daughter so he put on his own.
"I will pick you up in school every day with these on you don't put them on," Hilley told Kendall as he convinced her to wear a pair of short shorts with him.
The thinking is that neither would like the other's short shorts.
"She has a pair of short shorts and I need to get my point across. I will wear a pair of short shorts, a kind of little tit for tat on the clothing idea," Hilley said.
https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Florida-man-sports-short-shorts-to-teach-daughter-a-lesson-511702541.html
"I feel humor brings more meaning to discipline than yelling and screaming and all that," Hilley explained.
His 14-year-old daughter, Kendall, had shorts that he felt showed too much daughter so he put on his own.
"I will pick you up in school every day with these on you don't put them on," Hilley told Kendall as he convinced her to wear a pair of short shorts with him.
The thinking is that neither would like the other's short shorts.
"She has a pair of short shorts and I need to get my point across. I will wear a pair of short shorts, a kind of little tit for tat on the clothing idea," Hilley said.
https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Florida-man-sports-short-shorts-to-teach-daughter-a-lesson-511702541.html
Hey did he go to the conference this year too? Finally this week – we’ve got yet *ANOTHER* Florida Man story for you. And this guy is either an advertising genius – or just an idiot. Either way, if you’ve got coke on you, this is probably not the place to advertise, and it’s definitely not in front of the popos.
A career criminal with multiple narcotics convictions on his rap sheet was wearing a shirt with “red lettering on the front that said ‘COKE’” when he sold four crack cocaine rocks to a Florida undercover agent, according to an arrest affidavit.
Terry Leon Simmons, 53, was arrested Friday afternoon at his home in Fort Pierce on a felony cocaine sales charge. He was also hit with a second felony count after arresting officers spotted a marijuana joint and a bag of MDMA in plain view inside the residence.
Cops charge that Simmons sold crack cocaine to a driver who pulled up outside of a convenience store a couple of blocks from the ex-con’s apartment.
At the time of the $40 transaction, Simmons was wearing a “two toned blue shirt with red lettering on the front that said ‘COKE’ on the front.” The arrest does not indicate whether the lettering was in the style of the popular soft drink.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/cocaine/coke-shirt-collar-680513
Terry Leon Simmons, 53, was arrested Friday afternoon at his home in Fort Pierce on a felony cocaine sales charge. He was also hit with a second felony count after arresting officers spotted a marijuana joint and a bag of MDMA in plain view inside the residence.
Cops charge that Simmons sold crack cocaine to a driver who pulled up outside of a convenience store a couple of blocks from the ex-con’s apartment.
At the time of the $40 transaction, Simmons was wearing a “two toned blue shirt with red lettering on the front that said ‘COKE’ on the front.” The arrest does not indicate whether the lettering was in the style of the popular soft drink.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/cocaine/coke-shirt-collar-680513
That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]What’s Up With Texas? Pt. 3
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What is up with Texas? That’s the question that we have on the table for you in our 5 part docuseries and right now, we’re on part 3. In part 2, we took a 550 mile road trip down the Texas border to the border town of Laredo – a town that literally shares two sides of the city, roads and municipal governments - on the US border with Mexico to find out the real truth behind our nation’s illegal immigration crisis. Turns out the real problem is with Texas republicans. This week, our journey takes us to the Lone Star State’s capitol in Austin to find out what is going on. Right now the state is being led by governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick. And when I stayed at the Austin Airport Hilton, what did I see to my amazement when I got my complimentary newspaper and saw this insane headline?
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a controversial measure that supporters say provides religious protections but Democrats and critics argue would allow discrimination against the state's LGBTQ community.
Abbott, a Republican, signed Senate Bill 1978, nicknamed the "Save Chick-fil-A" bill, on Monday, according to the Texas legislature's website, after the legislation cleared the state House and Senate last month. The chain has come under fire for its charitable donations to religious organizations, including the Salvation Army, that oppose same-sex marriage.
The measure prohibits the government from taking "adverse action" against any individuals or businesses based on membership, support or donations to religious groups. Before being sent to the governor, the bill was amended to remove language that would have allowed the Texas attorney general to bring action against any government entity or employee that refused to comply with the bill.
Abbott's office did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment on Wednesday.
The legislation comes after the San Antonio City Council in March approved a new concessions contract for the San Antonio International Airport on the condition that fast food chain Chick-fil-A be excluded. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation that month into whether the city violated Chick-fil-A's religious liberty with its decision.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/12/politics/texas-save-chick-fil-a--bill-greg-abbott/index.html
Abbott, a Republican, signed Senate Bill 1978, nicknamed the "Save Chick-fil-A" bill, on Monday, according to the Texas legislature's website, after the legislation cleared the state House and Senate last month. The chain has come under fire for its charitable donations to religious organizations, including the Salvation Army, that oppose same-sex marriage.
The measure prohibits the government from taking "adverse action" against any individuals or businesses based on membership, support or donations to religious groups. Before being sent to the governor, the bill was amended to remove language that would have allowed the Texas attorney general to bring action against any government entity or employee that refused to comply with the bill.
Abbott's office did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment on Wednesday.
The legislation comes after the San Antonio City Council in March approved a new concessions contract for the San Antonio International Airport on the condition that fast food chain Chick-fil-A be excluded. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation that month into whether the city violated Chick-fil-A's religious liberty with its decision.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/12/politics/texas-save-chick-fil-a--bill-greg-abbott/index.html
I had to know more. So we went to the Capitol building in Austin where my attempts to score an interview with Gov. Abbott were met with “who the fuck are you?” and “no further questions”. After many attempts, the answers that I got from one of Gov. Abbott’s interns was that he feels that Chik-Fil-A’s “religious freedoms” are under attack. Whatever that is. My quest to know more about this went further down the rabbit hole. Really, crappy fast food is the hill they choose to die on?
It’s a red-meat issue, but it feeds on chicken.
San Antonio’s decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from its airport continues to resound in political circles. Legislators passed a religious freedom bill that gained steam after it was rebranded as the ‘Save Chick-fil-A bill.’ Gov. Greg Abbott beamed over its success on Twitter.
And Attorney General Ken Paxton, declining to wait for his own department to rule on a public records request, on Monday filed suit against the city to force it to hand over records he wants for his office’s investigation.
“The Constitution’s protection of religious liberty is somehow even better than Chick-fil-A’s chicken,” Paxton wrote in a letter to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg early in his clash with the city. “Unfortunately, I have serious concerns that both are under assault at the San Antonio airport.”
The decision to exclude the restaurant made national headlines in March after some City Council members said they couldn’t support Chick-fil-A because of its anti-LGBT reputation and Nirenberg cited economic reasons related to its policy of closing on Sundays.
https://www.expressnews.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/Texas-Attorney-General-Paxton-sues-city-of-San-13921346.php
San Antonio’s decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from its airport continues to resound in political circles. Legislators passed a religious freedom bill that gained steam after it was rebranded as the ‘Save Chick-fil-A bill.’ Gov. Greg Abbott beamed over its success on Twitter.
And Attorney General Ken Paxton, declining to wait for his own department to rule on a public records request, on Monday filed suit against the city to force it to hand over records he wants for his office’s investigation.
“The Constitution’s protection of religious liberty is somehow even better than Chick-fil-A’s chicken,” Paxton wrote in a letter to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg early in his clash with the city. “Unfortunately, I have serious concerns that both are under assault at the San Antonio airport.”
The decision to exclude the restaurant made national headlines in March after some City Council members said they couldn’t support Chick-fil-A because of its anti-LGBT reputation and Nirenberg cited economic reasons related to its policy of closing on Sundays.
https://www.expressnews.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/Texas-Attorney-General-Paxton-sues-city-of-San-13921346.php
That still didn’t answer my inquiry. Further inquiries with the aide who was assigned to answer whatever questions I had only did not give me the answer that I wanted. So they seem obsessed with the religious culture of greasy fast food. My attempts to find answers turned up very empty. Back at the hotel and flipping through the channels, I happened to find this.
Adding insult to injury, the conservative hosts of Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends celebrated Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s signing of legislation dubbed the “Save Chick-fil-A Bill” by eating food from the notoriously homophobic fast-food chain on-air.
There has been a recent spate of pushback to Chick-fil-A stores opening in airports and on college campuses across the country, but the bill Abbott signed this Pride Month prohibits Texas and its cities and counties from punishing individuals or businesses because of affiliation with or donations to religious organizations (including those that are anti-LGBTQ).
"The bill is to protect private entities from punishment over actions they take due to their religious beliefs," Fox & Friends cohost Steve Doocy said.
“So, San Antonio airport — I used to live there, flew into that airport all the time — and they have obviously restaurants, their food court. And Chick-fil-A wants to move in there,” cohost Ainsley Earhart attempted to explain. “Well, the area lawmakers — the local lawmakers said no because there is some controversy with this restaurant. Whether or not — what their beliefs are on LGBT — and so they voted no. Well, it went all the way to the governor's desk, and he just signed it."
https://www.advocate.com/media/2019/6/13/fox-friends-celebrates-antigay-legislation-chick-fil-feast
There has been a recent spate of pushback to Chick-fil-A stores opening in airports and on college campuses across the country, but the bill Abbott signed this Pride Month prohibits Texas and its cities and counties from punishing individuals or businesses because of affiliation with or donations to religious organizations (including those that are anti-LGBTQ).
"The bill is to protect private entities from punishment over actions they take due to their religious beliefs," Fox & Friends cohost Steve Doocy said.
“So, San Antonio airport — I used to live there, flew into that airport all the time — and they have obviously restaurants, their food court. And Chick-fil-A wants to move in there,” cohost Ainsley Earhart attempted to explain. “Well, the area lawmakers — the local lawmakers said no because there is some controversy with this restaurant. Whether or not — what their beliefs are on LGBT — and so they voted no. Well, it went all the way to the governor's desk, and he just signed it."
https://www.advocate.com/media/2019/6/13/fox-friends-celebrates-antigay-legislation-chick-fil-feast
Yeah probably. So my quest to seek answers from the governor’s office got nothing. Why are they wasting time on crappy fast food at the airport terminal when there’s far more important matters out there? And all I get was Fox & Friends stuffing their faces with this crap to stick it to LGBT people somehow? What are they proving? Nothing. But I did find out that the State, in their quest for grease and calories, sued one of its’ own cities to protect a bullshit fast food joint. Yes, that is what is going on in Texas at the capitol.
Escalating the fight over Chick-fil-A’s religious rights, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued San Antonio on Monday as part of his investigation into the city’s decision to reject the chicken chain as an airport vendor.
The lawsuit, filed in state district court in Travis County, seeks a court order requiring San Antonio to turn over emails and other internal communications in which council members and city employees discussed the Chick-fil-A contract with each other and outsiders.
San Antonio officials previously rejected Paxton’s demand for the internal documents.
Like other Texas Republican leaders, Paxton has blasted the airport decision as a violation of Chick-fil-A’s religious freedom, particularly because blocking the chain as an airport vendor was proposed by Council Member Roberto Trevino, who cited Chick-Fil-A’s “legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior,” including opposition to same-sex marriage by corporate leaders. Trevino’s proposal was approved 6-4 on March 21.
https://www.statesman.com/news/20190603/state-of-texas-sues-san-antonio-escalating-chick-fil-a-fight
The lawsuit, filed in state district court in Travis County, seeks a court order requiring San Antonio to turn over emails and other internal communications in which council members and city employees discussed the Chick-fil-A contract with each other and outsiders.
San Antonio officials previously rejected Paxton’s demand for the internal documents.
Like other Texas Republican leaders, Paxton has blasted the airport decision as a violation of Chick-fil-A’s religious freedom, particularly because blocking the chain as an airport vendor was proposed by Council Member Roberto Trevino, who cited Chick-Fil-A’s “legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior,” including opposition to same-sex marriage by corporate leaders. Trevino’s proposal was approved 6-4 on March 21.
https://www.statesman.com/news/20190603/state-of-texas-sues-san-antonio-escalating-chick-fil-a-fight
[font size="4"]Next Week:[/font]
For part 4 of our docuseries “What’s Up With Texas”, we’re heading to Houston and the Gulf Coast to find out how post-disaster cleanup is going and what the political climate is like in the largest city in the Lone Star State.
[font size="8"]And Now This:[/font]
[font size="8”]Amon Amarth[/font]
Ladies and gentlemen, my next guests are the Gods of Viking metal themselves! Their latest album is called Berserker, you can see them on tour this fall with Arch Enemy and At The Gates. Playing their song “Raven’s Flight”, give it up for the one, the only Amon Amarth!
Thank you Austin! Always love it when we are here! We’re off to Houston next with the famous Wheel Of Corruption! See you next week!
Credits
Host: Initech
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of Live Audience At: Cap City Comedy Club, Austin, TX
Special Thanks To: Cap City Management
Holy Shit Gospel Choir: UTA Choir Club, Austin, TX
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