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Top 10 Conservative Idiots #7-9: Suicide With A Chance Of Murder Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #7-9: Suicide With A Chance Of Murder Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! What’s up Lexington? It’s good to be back in the KY! Not that KY, sir! How you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Go Wildcats! Yeah I know what town I’m in… you guys make every other basketball team look like chumps. And is it me or does John Calipari always look like he’s going to just blow a gasket? I guess that just goes with the occupation, I would like to know what his blood pressure levels are during a game and afterward, I bet it is crazy. Do we have time for the thing? Of course we do! OK so I love it when corporations have a sense of humor, and the brewers of Natural Light have a couple of new concoctions for your consumption. Yes, that Natural Light – the same beer for when Coors Light is too cheap for you. Breweries are debuting their own lines of hard seltzer, for the undiscerning alcoholic who tries to pass it off as Perrier. And Natural Light has a couple of new flavors for you. My personal favorite is a nod to one of my favorite comedies of the last few years – the “Catalina Lime Mixer”. As you can already guess, that’s a nod to Stepbrothers.
And yes, that’s actually on the can! We don’t endorse products here (which is why we’re playing the coveted Wednesday at 2:00 PM time slot), but if you look at the Natural Light Twitter page there’s some very hilarious comments and zings coming from the company itself. My personal favorite was the actual announcement – “Yes, we made a fucking seltzer!”. Gotta love it! OK that’s enough of the intro – we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first John Oliver is back and he delves into why dictators are a bad thing by exploring the strange world of Turkmenistan president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow:
So where do we begin this week? So the entire world was shocked this week when convicted billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (1) was found dead in his cell, although we’re not really sad. But was a suicide… or was it MURDER??? And who did it? Well before we hear any evidence the conspiracy theories were flying on social media, and they’re all bullshit. In the second slot this week, is Donald J. Trump (2), and did anyone really expect him to be the consoler-in-chief that everyone expects him to be? Well if you answered yes to that question, you’re in the wrong place! In the number 3 slot this week is a new installment of “NO!”. Look, after two mass shootings in one day we don’t need a movie about hunting humans for political reasons, and Trump doesn’t quite get satire, among many other things! In the number 4 slot is the owner of the Miami Dolphins among other business ventures and that’s Stephen Ross (4). Yeah if you’re working out on a Soul Cycle bike, maybe don’t give us a political lecture, OK? Also this is probably the wrong time to host a $250K a plate fundraiser for Trump. In the fifth slot this week is our weekly investigative piece, Top 10 Investigates (5) and what’s up with a grasshopper colony in Las Vegas that’s visible from space? We will find out what’s up with that? In the sixth slot this week is our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6), and get ready for war people! Our resident pastor will help you draw your battle plans in the fight for spiritual superiority! Taking the seventh slot this week is a new “Beating A Dead Horse” (7). Hey look people, this argument has been around for 25 years, but video games do not cause mass shootings! Stop it, just.. stop it!! In the number 8 slot this week is a new “How Is This Still A Thing” and this week after yet another blunder this time involving white supremacy, we’re going to ask “The Tucker Carlson Show – How Is This Still A Thing?”. This fucking guy!! And in the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week, we have a new People Are Dumb (9) because of course they are! And finally this week we have an all new Keeping Up With The Candidates, and this week we’re going to discuss everyone’s favorite Texas presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke (10) and don’t worry, we will keep it tasteful! Plus to round out this week, we have some live grunge music from Seattle’s Alice In Chains! Really, buy their latest album “Rainer Fog” or you’re no friend of this program. Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
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[font size="8"]Jeffrey Epstein
[br] [/font] [br]
By now you should know that it’s not in the nature of the Top 10 to speak ill of the dead, and that includes accused billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But really, fuck billionaire pedophiles, am I right about that? So for this entry, we’re not going to make fun of Jeffrey Epstein. Instead, we’re going to make fun of *YOU*. Yes, you! Because unless you were a fly on the wall in Epstein’s cell the moment he died, do you really know what happened? No you don’t, and both sides are guilty of spreading bullshit Epstien conspiracy theories. For this entry, we’re going to cut through the bullshit now. There’s no point in spreading baseless conspiracy theories unless you’re Trump or a member of the MAGA base, and that is one thing that they’re great at. So what are the latest developments?
News that wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein was found dead Saturday morning in his jail cell has raised questions of how a high-profile suspect was able to apparently kill himself inside one of the country’s most high-security prisons.
Epstein, who was arrested in July for the alleged sex trafficking of minors, died at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, located in downtown New York City. The FBI and DOJ have launched investigations into Epstein’s death.
With a lack of answers coming from prison officials, conspiracy theories flourished on social media over the weekend with #EpsteinMurder trending worldwide.
Citing ongoing investigations into Epstein’s death, the Bureau of Prisons has been hush about specific details that led to the former financier’s apparent suicide, leaving only a few known facts in a pool of unanswered questions.
What we know about Epstein’s death
The Bureau of Prisons has released only one official statement since Epstein’s death on Saturday. The statement confirmed that around 6:30 am on 10 August, Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell in the Special Housing Unit of the prison “from an apparent suicide”. The Bureau of Prisons has not released any further information .
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/12/jeffrey-epstein-death-suicide-prison
Epstein, who was arrested in July for the alleged sex trafficking of minors, died at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, located in downtown New York City. The FBI and DOJ have launched investigations into Epstein’s death.
With a lack of answers coming from prison officials, conspiracy theories flourished on social media over the weekend with #EpsteinMurder trending worldwide.
Citing ongoing investigations into Epstein’s death, the Bureau of Prisons has been hush about specific details that led to the former financier’s apparent suicide, leaving only a few known facts in a pool of unanswered questions.
What we know about Epstein’s death
The Bureau of Prisons has released only one official statement since Epstein’s death on Saturday. The statement confirmed that around 6:30 am on 10 August, Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell in the Special Housing Unit of the prison “from an apparent suicide”. The Bureau of Prisons has not released any further information .
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/aug/12/jeffrey-epstein-death-suicide-prison
Today’s forecast calls for suicide with a slight chance of government sanctioned murder, please do not go outside or on social media unless you have your tin foil hat securely fastened to your head! So we basically had to wade through a gigantic, steaming pile of grade A bullshit just to get to some actual facts and we’ll leave you with that image. And I mean come on, if you’re the president of the US, maybe you shouldn’t tweet garbage? Oh wait, it’s Donald Trump, of course all he does is tweet garbage and retweet garbage. Should we be at all surprised by this?
President Donald Trump on Saturday promoted a conspiracy theory linking the Clinton family to the death of multimillionaire and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the latest instance of Trump propagating baseless conspiracy theories and falsehoods.
Trump shared a tweet and video from conservative comedian Terrence Williams that claimed without evidence that former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- Trump's 2016 presidential election rival -- were responsible for Epstein's death. The Federal Bureau of Prisons and Attorney General Bill Barr said Epstein died in an "apparent suicide" while in federal custody.
As a result of Trump's retweet, the video received more than 3 million views on Twitter by Sunday morning -- more than triple Williams' most recent videos. Both Trump and Bill Clinton were friendly with Epstein in previous decades, but Trump seized on the conspiracy theory Saturday in his latest dig at the Clintons. The tweet also falsely claimed that Epstein died while on suicide watch, even though Epstein had been taken off of suicide watch before his death.
Angel Ureña, a spokesman for the former president, called the conspiracy theory "ridiculous, and of course not true."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/11/politics/jeffrey-epstein-trump-conspiracy-theory-clintons/index.html
Trump shared a tweet and video from conservative comedian Terrence Williams that claimed without evidence that former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton -- Trump's 2016 presidential election rival -- were responsible for Epstein's death. The Federal Bureau of Prisons and Attorney General Bill Barr said Epstein died in an "apparent suicide" while in federal custody.
As a result of Trump's retweet, the video received more than 3 million views on Twitter by Sunday morning -- more than triple Williams' most recent videos. Both Trump and Bill Clinton were friendly with Epstein in previous decades, but Trump seized on the conspiracy theory Saturday in his latest dig at the Clintons. The tweet also falsely claimed that Epstein died while on suicide watch, even though Epstein had been taken off of suicide watch before his death.
Angel Ureña, a spokesman for the former president, called the conspiracy theory "ridiculous, and of course not true."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/11/politics/jeffrey-epstein-trump-conspiracy-theory-clintons/index.html
Same! We have a very low tolerance for bullshit here in the Top 10. So why is it a bad thing that bullshit is being spread about Jeffrey Epstein’s death? Well as we all know, the spread of bullshit is like a virus and it helps conservatives and hurts us. In an era where you don’t know who to believe and what to trust, bullshit is bad for you. Bullshit is everywhere! And in the age of social media, bullshit spreads faster than that giant pile of dinosaur poop from Jurassic Park!
Epstein, who was set to stand trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, killed himself in his jail cell in New York, prison officials said. He was accused of running a "vast network" of underage girls for sex, and pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.
The 66-year-old was known to court famous friends and acquaintances. President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and the UK's Prince Andrew all had ties to him. Some of his powerful associates have been embroiled in the allegations against him, which has only served to fuel the conspiracy theories and misinformation.
Many rumours have centred on what politicians may have known about Epstein's alleged crimes and whether some may have wanted him dead. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest this was the case. And yet, the hashtag #EpsteinMurder trended worldwide on Saturday.
Joke images and memes - suggesting everything from a faked suicide to an orchestrated hit-job - were shared thousands of times throughout the day. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were rife with unfounded theories about what may have happened to the financier.
<snip>
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said it was "way too convenient" that Epstein could no longer incriminate others.
"What a lot of us want to know is, what did he know?" he told reporters. "How many other millionaires and billionaires were part of the illegal activities that he was engaged in?"
Questions like these alluded, without evidence, to a malevolent conspiracy and fed the feverish speculation on social media.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49312746
The 66-year-old was known to court famous friends and acquaintances. President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, and the UK's Prince Andrew all had ties to him. Some of his powerful associates have been embroiled in the allegations against him, which has only served to fuel the conspiracy theories and misinformation.
Many rumours have centred on what politicians may have known about Epstein's alleged crimes and whether some may have wanted him dead. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest this was the case. And yet, the hashtag #EpsteinMurder trended worldwide on Saturday.
Joke images and memes - suggesting everything from a faked suicide to an orchestrated hit-job - were shared thousands of times throughout the day. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were rife with unfounded theories about what may have happened to the financier.
<snip>
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said it was "way too convenient" that Epstein could no longer incriminate others.
"What a lot of us want to know is, what did he know?" he told reporters. "How many other millionaires and billionaires were part of the illegal activities that he was engaged in?"
Questions like these alluded, without evidence, to a malevolent conspiracy and fed the feverish speculation on social media.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49312746
Yes it is, sir! That is a steaming pile of shit. But look, we can’t escape that social media disinformation is doing more harm than good. Anyone can put a spin on anything. And conspiracy theorists are out there, and they are everywhere. They ruin just about everything they touch, and they have completely ruined this story by tying it to the Clintons, and shame on Trump for repeating the bullshit. Bullshit starts at the top, and we have a president who is currently full of it. Where does it end?
The death of Jeffrey Epstein set off a wave of conspiracy theories online that demonstrate both how social media fuels misinformation and threatens to erode public acceptance of the results of any investigation.
Mr. Epstein, 66, was found unresponsive in his Manhattan jail cell Saturday morning after hanging himself, authorities said. He faced trial on charges of orchestrating a yearslong sex-trafficking operation involving girls as young as 14. He had been on suicide watch but was taken off in late July following daily psychiatric evaluations, a person familiar with the matter said.
The news prompted outrage from government officials and Mr. Epstein’s victims, all wondering how the suspect was allowed to take his own life before facing the courts in a case that threatened to implicate others. Authorities have launched investigations into why the death happened, but the slow process of fact-gathering isn’t keeping pace with the rapid spread of theories online.
Among the more outlandish theories gathering attention on social media: Mr. Epstein, who for decades mingled with the rich and politically powerful, including President Trump and former President Bill Clinton, was murdered by someone fearful of what he may say. Another theory postulates Mr. Epstein isn’t even dead.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/conspiracy-theories-fly-online-in-wake-of-epstein-death-11565561364
Mr. Epstein, 66, was found unresponsive in his Manhattan jail cell Saturday morning after hanging himself, authorities said. He faced trial on charges of orchestrating a yearslong sex-trafficking operation involving girls as young as 14. He had been on suicide watch but was taken off in late July following daily psychiatric evaluations, a person familiar with the matter said.
The news prompted outrage from government officials and Mr. Epstein’s victims, all wondering how the suspect was allowed to take his own life before facing the courts in a case that threatened to implicate others. Authorities have launched investigations into why the death happened, but the slow process of fact-gathering isn’t keeping pace with the rapid spread of theories online.
Among the more outlandish theories gathering attention on social media: Mr. Epstein, who for decades mingled with the rich and politically powerful, including President Trump and former President Bill Clinton, was murdered by someone fearful of what he may say. Another theory postulates Mr. Epstein isn’t even dead.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/conspiracy-theories-fly-online-in-wake-of-epstein-death-11565561364
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[font size="8"]Donald Trump
[br] [/font] [br]
The country has been still shaking and utterly horrified at 3 mass shootings in less than a week. First it was Gilroy at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Next was the El Paso Wal-Mart shooting, and then the shooting at Dayton. While we’re mourning the victims who were senselessly taken from us, who do we turn to if the president of the United States is a raging egomaniacal sociopath? Well, Trump continued to prove, in a not at all shocking way, that he is still that raging egomaniacal sociopath that we’ve all come to expect from him by now. In fact this might be Trump at his most sickening and disturbing to date. Don’t boo yet.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump‘s recent visit to El Paso, Texas, was criticized by some following the tragic Walmart mass shooting there.
During a trip to victims at University Medical Center, the first couple took a photo with Paul Anchondo, an infant whose parents were killed in the shooting.
Jordan and Andre were shopping for school supplies for their 5-year-old daughter on Aug. 3 when gunfire erupted, Jordan’s aunt Elizabeth Terry told CNN. During the incident, Jordan shielded her baby while Andre shielded his wife, Jordan’s father, Paul Jamrowski, told the Today show.
On Thursday, Mrs. Trump was seen holding the baby, whom a senior White House official confirmed to CNN is the son of Jordan Anchondo, 25, and Andre Anchondo, 24. The president gave a thumbs-up and smiled for the photo op with the baby’s relatives, including the infant’s uncle Tito Anchondo.
Tito also told the Associated Press that President Trump “was just there to give his condolences and he was just being a human being.” Tito previously told NPR that his brother was a Trump supporter and he is, too.
Some liberal critics of the president criticized the tone of the photographed moment, following criticism that Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric was at the least an echo of a manifesto the suspected El Paso shooter is believed to have written.
https://people.com/politics/trump-backlash-holding-el-paso-orphaned-shooting/
During a trip to victims at University Medical Center, the first couple took a photo with Paul Anchondo, an infant whose parents were killed in the shooting.
Jordan and Andre were shopping for school supplies for their 5-year-old daughter on Aug. 3 when gunfire erupted, Jordan’s aunt Elizabeth Terry told CNN. During the incident, Jordan shielded her baby while Andre shielded his wife, Jordan’s father, Paul Jamrowski, told the Today show.
On Thursday, Mrs. Trump was seen holding the baby, whom a senior White House official confirmed to CNN is the son of Jordan Anchondo, 25, and Andre Anchondo, 24. The president gave a thumbs-up and smiled for the photo op with the baby’s relatives, including the infant’s uncle Tito Anchondo.
Tito also told the Associated Press that President Trump “was just there to give his condolences and he was just being a human being.” Tito previously told NPR that his brother was a Trump supporter and he is, too.
Some liberal critics of the president criticized the tone of the photographed moment, following criticism that Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric was at the least an echo of a manifesto the suspected El Paso shooter is believed to have written.
https://people.com/politics/trump-backlash-holding-el-paso-orphaned-shooting/
Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! How dare you use an infant whose parents were murdered as a photo op? Seriously just when you think that Trump couldn’t stoop any lower, new lows are achieved. Just how low is posing with a baby with dead parents as a photo op? Well, Trump could go even lower by attacking comedians who are mocking and trashing him. The mockery is well deserved and Trump deserves every bit of shit flung at him:
The president tweeted insults at the 'Real Time' host and one of his latest guests, Anthony Scaramucci, over the span of several hours on Saturday.
President Donald Trump on Saturday made it clear on Twitter that he wasn't a fan of the latest episode of Real Time With Bill Maher.
Early in the day, the president tweeted that he saw the comedian's HBO show that aired Friday night "by accident," then proceeded to detail his thoughts: "So many lies. He said patients in El Paso hospital didn’t want to meet with me. Wrong! Had really great meetings with numerous patients. Said I was on vacation. Wrong!" He added, "Working almost all of the time, including evenings. Don’t have to be in W.H. to do that...And sooo many other false statements. He is right about one thing, though. I will win again in 2020. Otherwise, he pays 95% in taxes!"
During his opening monologue on Friday's episode, Maher joked, "What a shitty week. Poor El Paso and Dayton, still reeling from two disasters: a mass shooting, and a Trump visit," he said, referring to the visits Trump made to communities affected by mass shootings that left 31 dead the previous weekend.
Continued Maher, "Everyone is asking the same questions, 'Why? Why? Why? Why does his hair look like that?" He said the president was going to head to a two-week vacation, "which will be different from working, how?" and added, "They want you to know that the president will be made available at all times if there is an emergency that needs to be made worse."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trump-lashes-at-bill-maher-commentary-el-paso-visit-1230729
President Donald Trump on Saturday made it clear on Twitter that he wasn't a fan of the latest episode of Real Time With Bill Maher.
Early in the day, the president tweeted that he saw the comedian's HBO show that aired Friday night "by accident," then proceeded to detail his thoughts: "So many lies. He said patients in El Paso hospital didn’t want to meet with me. Wrong! Had really great meetings with numerous patients. Said I was on vacation. Wrong!" He added, "Working almost all of the time, including evenings. Don’t have to be in W.H. to do that...And sooo many other false statements. He is right about one thing, though. I will win again in 2020. Otherwise, he pays 95% in taxes!"
During his opening monologue on Friday's episode, Maher joked, "What a shitty week. Poor El Paso and Dayton, still reeling from two disasters: a mass shooting, and a Trump visit," he said, referring to the visits Trump made to communities affected by mass shootings that left 31 dead the previous weekend.
Continued Maher, "Everyone is asking the same questions, 'Why? Why? Why? Why does his hair look like that?" He said the president was going to head to a two-week vacation, "which will be different from working, how?" and added, "They want you to know that the president will be made available at all times if there is an emergency that needs to be made worse."
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trump-lashes-at-bill-maher-commentary-el-paso-visit-1230729
Ooh tell me! You don’t want to go there, Trump, because you will not win this war. Bill Maher is smarter and funnier than you will ever be! But yeah someone really needs to take Twitter away from Trump because he just can’t help being a complete horse’s ass. I mean really, any sane person would literally have to *TRY* to be as big of a dick as Trump is, but with him, it just comes natural.
Just a few hours after President Donald Trump visited with first-responders and people wounded in a shooting that claimed nine lives in Dayton, Ohio, he lashed out at the city’s mayor and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, claiming they “misrepresented” what happened during the trip.
Confusingly, neither seem to have criticized the President’s hospital visit, with Brown saying he was “glad” that Trump comforted the patients during the visit on Wednesday.
As he flew on Air Force One to visit victims of another shooting in El Paso, Trump tweeted images of himself visiting with victims and medical staff in Dayton. He also fired off a pair of tweets attacking Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and Brown, who are both Democrats.
“It was a warm & wonderful visit. Tremendous enthusiasm & even Love,” the president wrote. “Then I saw failed Presidential Candidate (0%) Sherrod Brown & Mayor Whaley totally misrepresenting what took place inside of the hospital. Their news conference after I left for El Paso was a fraud. It bore no resemblance to what took place with those incredible people that I was so lucky to meet and spend time with. They were all amazing!”
https://time.com/5646318/donald-trump-el-paso-dayton-visits/
Confusingly, neither seem to have criticized the President’s hospital visit, with Brown saying he was “glad” that Trump comforted the patients during the visit on Wednesday.
As he flew on Air Force One to visit victims of another shooting in El Paso, Trump tweeted images of himself visiting with victims and medical staff in Dayton. He also fired off a pair of tweets attacking Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and Brown, who are both Democrats.
“It was a warm & wonderful visit. Tremendous enthusiasm & even Love,” the president wrote. “Then I saw failed Presidential Candidate (0%) Sherrod Brown & Mayor Whaley totally misrepresenting what took place inside of the hospital. Their news conference after I left for El Paso was a fraud. It bore no resemblance to what took place with those incredible people that I was so lucky to meet and spend time with. They were all amazing!”
https://time.com/5646318/donald-trump-el-paso-dayton-visits/
So is this really the guy who you want consoling you in a time of mass tragedy where there’s no answers coming from the top? He is the top!!! I mean really he’s the only guy on earth with maybe the exception of Boris Johnson, Modi, Duterte, Putin, and so on who could make a mass tragedy all about him, and that’s what he does. He’s all about that ego. Really, just don’t invite him anywhere, and if he insists on coming, stop him.
President Trump spent Wednesday traveling to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, visiting communities that were the sites of mass shootings last weekend. It’s the sort of thing presidents do, offering condolences and comforting those affected by a disaster. When there was a mass shooting at a church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015 for example, Barack Obama visited the city and gave a speech eulogizing a pastor who had been killed and decrying gun violence.
Trump’s visits were a bit more opaque. The White House kept journalists at a distance during his stops at hospitals in both cities, telling reporters at one point that this was because the visit was “about the victims” and “not a photo op.”
Asked if Trump was well received, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told reporters on Air Force One, “I don’t think that there was a supportive/not supportive element to this. This was a ‘How are you feeling?’ ‘We’re with you.’ We’re sorry this happened to you.' It wasn’t about supportive or not supportive."
And then Trump tweeted some videos from his trip.
The first was an overview of his stop in Dayton. It’s framed entirely as a documentation of his trip, beginning with a shot of the Dayton skyline from the presidential motorcade and then pairing brief shots of Trump shaking hands with an evocative musical score. Several snippets show Trump posing for photos with police officers or medical staff, with the president smiling and giving a thumbs up.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/08/trumps-videos-showing-his-visits-dayton-el-paso-are-mostly-about-trump/
Trump’s visits were a bit more opaque. The White House kept journalists at a distance during his stops at hospitals in both cities, telling reporters at one point that this was because the visit was “about the victims” and “not a photo op.”
Asked if Trump was well received, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told reporters on Air Force One, “I don’t think that there was a supportive/not supportive element to this. This was a ‘How are you feeling?’ ‘We’re with you.’ We’re sorry this happened to you.' It wasn’t about supportive or not supportive."
And then Trump tweeted some videos from his trip.
The first was an overview of his stop in Dayton. It’s framed entirely as a documentation of his trip, beginning with a shot of the Dayton skyline from the presidential motorcade and then pairing brief shots of Trump shaking hands with an evocative musical score. Several snippets show Trump posing for photos with police officers or medical staff, with the president smiling and giving a thumbs up.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/08/08/trumps-videos-showing-his-visits-dayton-el-paso-are-mostly-about-trump/
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[font size="8"]No!!!
[br] [/font] [br]
Hey look, left or right, liberal or conservative, one thing I can think we all can agree on is just don’t hunt humans, OK? Doesn’t matter if it’s for sport or for… well any scenario in which you can hunt humans will never have a good outcome. And since we live in an era where mass shootings are at an all time high and you can buy a gun at the same place where you buy your pants, do we really need this? Even in the off chance that the creators of this movie don’t understand satire, one thing is almost certainly clear – Donald Trump doesn’t understand satire, along with the hundreds of other things he doesn’t quite understand! But yeah if the key to good comedy is timing, this is what one would call “bad timing”.
On Saturday, Universal announced that it was pulling the September 27 release of its thriller, "The Hunt."
The latest movie from Blumhouse Productions follows 12 strangers who suddenly wake up in a remote location and learn they have been chosen to be hunted in a game by a group of rich elites. It stars "Glow" star Betty Gilpin, Emma Roberts, and Hilary Swank. The movie is directed by Craig Zobel ("Compliance," episodes of HBO's "The Leftovers"
.
Universal halted the marketing for the movie following the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Gilroy, California in early August. Now the studio has taken the movie off its slate entirely, with no indication of when it will be released.
"While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for 'The Hunt,' after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film," Universal said in a statement that went out on Saturday. "We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film."
https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-not-release-the-hunt-sparks-hollywood-debate-2019-8
The latest movie from Blumhouse Productions follows 12 strangers who suddenly wake up in a remote location and learn they have been chosen to be hunted in a game by a group of rich elites. It stars "Glow" star Betty Gilpin, Emma Roberts, and Hilary Swank. The movie is directed by Craig Zobel ("Compliance," episodes of HBO's "The Leftovers"
.
Universal halted the marketing for the movie following the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Gilroy, California in early August. Now the studio has taken the movie off its slate entirely, with no indication of when it will be released.
"While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for 'The Hunt,' after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film," Universal said in a statement that went out on Saturday. "We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film."
https://www.businessinsider.com/universal-not-release-the-hunt-sparks-hollywood-debate-2019-8
Yeah so we don’t really need this. But the damage has already been done and the controversy is getting weirder and scarier. Because this is 2019 and we have social media. And conservatives on social media tend to hold grudges that are not escapable! As you know satire is one thing that conservatives and Trump don’t even begin to understand or comprehend. And of course any time Trump weighs in on a subject, he ruins whatever that subject happens to be! #addTrumpruinanything
After days of seeming to focus on comforting mass-shooting victims, pushing expanded background checks for gun purchases, lashing out at political nemeses, and making fun of Fox host Shepard Smith, President Trump took time out of his busy Friday to highlight yet another personal grievance: an upcoming “Racist” movie from “Liberal Hollywood,” the satirical point of which the president couldn’t understand or seemingly didn’t care to grasp.
“Hollywood, I don't call them the elites,” Trump complained to reporters at the White House on Friday. “I think the elites are people they go after in many cases, but Hollywood is really terrible. You're talking about racists? Hollywood is racist.”
He added, “What they’re doing with the kind of movies they're putting out, it's actually very dangerous for our country. What Hollywood is doing is a tremendous disservice to our country.”
Later, he posted to Twitter, “Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate!” and that “the movie coming out” is made to “inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others.”
Though he did not name the movie, Trump was almost certainly referring to The Hunt, an upcoming, blood-soaked satire starring Hilary Swank, Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinholtz, and Emma Roberts, and produced by Jason Blum. The thriller takes place at “the manor,” where wealthy, liberal elites hunt and kill for sport a group of political “deplorables” who’ve been captured as prey. On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter published a story revealing that The Hunt features “blue-state characters” selecting their targets based on whether they expressed anti-abortion opinions or uttered the N-word on Twitter.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-freaks-out-over-the-hunt-a-satirical-film-he-doesnt-understand-as-us-reels-from-mass-shootings
“Hollywood, I don't call them the elites,” Trump complained to reporters at the White House on Friday. “I think the elites are people they go after in many cases, but Hollywood is really terrible. You're talking about racists? Hollywood is racist.”
He added, “What they’re doing with the kind of movies they're putting out, it's actually very dangerous for our country. What Hollywood is doing is a tremendous disservice to our country.”
Later, he posted to Twitter, “Liberal Hollywood is Racist at the highest level, and with great Anger and Hate!” and that “the movie coming out” is made to “inflame and cause chaos. They create their own violence, and then try to blame others.”
Though he did not name the movie, Trump was almost certainly referring to The Hunt, an upcoming, blood-soaked satire starring Hilary Swank, Betty Gilpin, Ike Barinholtz, and Emma Roberts, and produced by Jason Blum. The thriller takes place at “the manor,” where wealthy, liberal elites hunt and kill for sport a group of political “deplorables” who’ve been captured as prey. On Tuesday, The Hollywood Reporter published a story revealing that The Hunt features “blue-state characters” selecting their targets based on whether they expressed anti-abortion opinions or uttered the N-word on Twitter.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-freaks-out-over-the-hunt-a-satirical-film-he-doesnt-understand-as-us-reels-from-mass-shootings
So... Trump and his supporters are a race now? Who knew? Let's extrapolate on this for a minute - if they are a race, it's very easy to discriminate against their stupidity. And we can also add satire to the growing list of things Trump supporters don't understand. He definitely doesn't have a sense of humor and neither do they! You know what conservatives, let me clue you in as to how the movie industry works. Someone had to come up with this idea and then pitched it to an executive or group of executives who said “Hey! This idea will work!”. And then it has to go through thousands of hours and channels before we even see the finished product. So that said, who saw this and thought it was going to be a good idea?
Universal Pictures has canceled the release of its upcoming thriller The Hunt, which was previously scheduled to hit theaters on Sept. 27, Variety reports. The film, a “Most Dangerous Game” riff from director Craig Zobel and screenwriters Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse, features coastal elites hunting “deplorables” for sport. Universal had already put a hold on the film’s marketing in the wake of mass shootings in Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton—the trailer has scenes of civilians fleeing rifle fire and a point-of-view shot of a woman begging for her life before being shotgunned—but the last straw seems to have been an angry Twitter thread from Donald Trump on Friday, in which he alleged that Hollywood “is Racist at the highest level” and that The Hunt was “made in order to inflame and cause chaos.”
Whether or not Universal Pictures agrees with Trump about the filmmakers’ intentions, the company seems to have concluded that releasing a movie in which “deplorables” and coastal elites do their best to murder each other at this particular moment would indeed inflame and cause chaos. In an all-caps statement on The Hunt’s website, Universal announced that the film would not be released at this time and explained their thinking:
While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for The Hunt, after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film. We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.
Naturally, Donald Trump didn’t come up with the idea of railing against The Hunt all on his own; as Slate’s Rhodes Murphy noted, Fox News has been on a tear about it for about a week. The introduction to a segment on Friday night’s Ingraham Angle, headlined “NBC Universal still planning to release The Hunt despite backlash,” gives a pretty good sense of the way a story like this gets incepted into the vast echo chamber that is our president’s skull:
We were the first to tell you earlier this week about that NBC/Universal movie, and now they’re facing some backlash for moving forward with this controversial film The Hunt. The film is about wealthy liberals hunting and killing “deplorables” on a reserve. The studio pulled ads for the film after the El Paso and Dayton shootings, but a source told Fox News, “there are no plans to not release the movie,”—double negative—“No plans to move the release.” Will this be a decision they come to regret? Joining me now is actor Robert Davi.
https://slate.com/culture/2019/08/the-hunt-canceled-universal-craig-zobel-betty-gilpin-hilary-swank.html
Whether or not Universal Pictures agrees with Trump about the filmmakers’ intentions, the company seems to have concluded that releasing a movie in which “deplorables” and coastal elites do their best to murder each other at this particular moment would indeed inflame and cause chaos. In an all-caps statement on The Hunt’s website, Universal announced that the film would not be released at this time and explained their thinking:
While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for The Hunt, after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film. We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.
Naturally, Donald Trump didn’t come up with the idea of railing against The Hunt all on his own; as Slate’s Rhodes Murphy noted, Fox News has been on a tear about it for about a week. The introduction to a segment on Friday night’s Ingraham Angle, headlined “NBC Universal still planning to release The Hunt despite backlash,” gives a pretty good sense of the way a story like this gets incepted into the vast echo chamber that is our president’s skull:
We were the first to tell you earlier this week about that NBC/Universal movie, and now they’re facing some backlash for moving forward with this controversial film The Hunt. The film is about wealthy liberals hunting and killing “deplorables” on a reserve. The studio pulled ads for the film after the El Paso and Dayton shootings, but a source told Fox News, “there are no plans to not release the movie,”—double negative—“No plans to move the release.” Will this be a decision they come to regret? Joining me now is actor Robert Davi.
https://slate.com/culture/2019/08/the-hunt-canceled-universal-craig-zobel-betty-gilpin-hilary-swank.html
That is a good point, Dude. And of course Trump didn’t come up with this idea on his own, did you really expect him to? But in all the outrage and hype, does anyone know what “The Hunt” is even about? Did you read the novel and watch the trailer? Did you even watch the trailer? Or did you just read the IMDB description and go with that? Seriously, WTF? For those of you outraged by “The Hunt”, I urge you to look up a Tim Allen flick called “Big Trouble” and all the outrage over when that movie was released, and what happened to it after it eventually was.
But there’s another factor that, in all likelihood, fed into the decision not to release “The Hunt,” and that factor is undeniably political (which doesn’t necessarily make it wrong). In the nine days since the El Paso massacre, many have felt that that shooting, not just in its horror but in its overtly articulated white-supremacist underpinnings (which are part of the horror), may, at long last, have marked a tipping point in the national dialogue about gun laws. For the first time in maybe forever, the right seems not just on the defensive about this issue. The right seems on the run.
Is Mitch McConnell’s declaration about a new Republican openness to background checks a piece of political posturing or an actual shift? It’s too soon to say (I lean toward thinking it’s posturing), but the very fact that we’re having this dialogue right now is meaningful. It may mark a shift in something more important than the Republican Party: namely, the consciousness of the American public itself. And if that’s indeed the case, that the liberal — or, as I think of it, the common-sensical and humane — position on gun laws is, in the wake of this tragedy, gaining a traction that it has sought and failed to gain for years, then it would be sheer folly, in the midst of all that, to release a high-profile piece of entertainment that depicts the “elites” the Trump camp has declared to be its sworn foes hunting down their “lowly” adversaries as a kind of gleeful bloodsport. In blunt political terms, the optics are horrendous. And so, for the sake of finally grappling with this issue in a way that could save lives in the future, the notion of putting “The Hunt” on the shelf makes practical and human sense.
Will it stay on the shelf forever? One of the reasons I’m not too concerned about the specter of censorship — and this, admittedly, is sheer speculation — is that my gut tells me that “The Hunt,” at some point, will be released. But if that’s the case, then why didn’t the studio just say so? Because in the realpolitik realm of corporate image management, it would be awkward, if not untenable. “We believe the release of this film, in the wake of El Paso and Dayton, would be unseemly…but six months from now, it will be just fine!” That could well prove to be how it works, but by saying that it’s “canceling” the release of “The Hunt” instead of “postponing” it (to some indefinite future), Universal is doing what it feels like it has to do right now, which is to put out the fire.
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/the-hunt-universal-right-call-1203298926/
Is Mitch McConnell’s declaration about a new Republican openness to background checks a piece of political posturing or an actual shift? It’s too soon to say (I lean toward thinking it’s posturing), but the very fact that we’re having this dialogue right now is meaningful. It may mark a shift in something more important than the Republican Party: namely, the consciousness of the American public itself. And if that’s indeed the case, that the liberal — or, as I think of it, the common-sensical and humane — position on gun laws is, in the wake of this tragedy, gaining a traction that it has sought and failed to gain for years, then it would be sheer folly, in the midst of all that, to release a high-profile piece of entertainment that depicts the “elites” the Trump camp has declared to be its sworn foes hunting down their “lowly” adversaries as a kind of gleeful bloodsport. In blunt political terms, the optics are horrendous. And so, for the sake of finally grappling with this issue in a way that could save lives in the future, the notion of putting “The Hunt” on the shelf makes practical and human sense.
Will it stay on the shelf forever? One of the reasons I’m not too concerned about the specter of censorship — and this, admittedly, is sheer speculation — is that my gut tells me that “The Hunt,” at some point, will be released. But if that’s the case, then why didn’t the studio just say so? Because in the realpolitik realm of corporate image management, it would be awkward, if not untenable. “We believe the release of this film, in the wake of El Paso and Dayton, would be unseemly…but six months from now, it will be just fine!” That could well prove to be how it works, but by saying that it’s “canceling” the release of “The Hunt” instead of “postponing” it (to some indefinite future), Universal is doing what it feels like it has to do right now, which is to put out the fire.
https://variety.com/2019/film/news/the-hunt-universal-right-call-1203298926/
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[font size="8"]Stephen Ross
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You know how there’s always that one guy who shows up late to the party after it’s crashed and burned and makes a total ass of himself before quietly bowing out? Well, that guy is Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. You might be wondering why you saw Equinox and SoulCycle trending on Twitter. You also might be wondering what the hell Equinox and SoulCycle are. Well they’re gyms and workout classes aimed at celebrites and people with a lot of money to throw around. And the guy in charge of them is billionaire Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. While the rest of the country was pissed at Trump for fuming the racism fires after the El Paso and Dayton shootings, Stephen Ross was planning a $250K a plate fundraiser for Trump at Hard Rock Stadium. Yeah, too soon, guys.
Those of us with lighter wallets can only imagine that when one is wealthy enough to have it all, that luxury might come with a sense of entitlement. Of expecting to have it both ways, all ways, any way the billionaire desires.
Doesn’t always work that way, of course, as Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross is being reminded.
Ross’ net worth is estimated at $7.7 billion, but he doesn’t have enough money to buy his way out of this controversy of his own design, this distraction his football team hardly needs as it prepares for the NFL season.
You still say sports and politics don’t mix? Ross just mixed them, and with combustible results.
Ross hosted a $250,000-per-person luncheon fundraiser for Donald Trump on Friday at The Hamptons in New York, raising $12 million for the president’s reelection campaign — then appeared stunned there might be a negative backlash. News website Axios.com reported Ross “freaked out” over the reaction. The New York Post reported Trump joked about the controversy during the fundraiser, saying, “Steve Ross got into a little bit of trouble this week. I said, ‘Steve, welcome to the world of politics.’”
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/greg-cote/article233779147.html
Doesn’t always work that way, of course, as Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross is being reminded.
Ross’ net worth is estimated at $7.7 billion, but he doesn’t have enough money to buy his way out of this controversy of his own design, this distraction his football team hardly needs as it prepares for the NFL season.
You still say sports and politics don’t mix? Ross just mixed them, and with combustible results.
Ross hosted a $250,000-per-person luncheon fundraiser for Donald Trump on Friday at The Hamptons in New York, raising $12 million for the president’s reelection campaign — then appeared stunned there might be a negative backlash. News website Axios.com reported Ross “freaked out” over the reaction. The New York Post reported Trump joked about the controversy during the fundraiser, saying, “Steve Ross got into a little bit of trouble this week. I said, ‘Steve, welcome to the world of politics.’”
https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/greg-cote/article233779147.html
Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! So if you’re keeping score at home, there’s two more businesses to add to the “do not buy” list – SoulCycle and Equinox, but that’s only if you’ve got some serious money to burn. As if that’s not enough there’s two *MORE* businesses connected to Stephen Ross and now @realDonaldTrump – upscale Japanese restaurants Majordomo and Momofuku, who basically said “fuck you” to the protestors on the same day:
David Chang’s restaurant Majordomo donated all of its profits on Friday after one of its investors threw a fundraiser for President Donald Trump the same day.
The menu at the Chinatown restaurant featured a section saying profits would be donated to charities including Planned Parenthood, RAICES, Everytown and Sierra Club. A diner at the restaurant Friday evening said a server confirmed the move was done in response to the fundraiser held the same day by billionaire Stephen Ross, a real estate developer and the owner of the Miami Dolphins. Ross is the chairman of RSE Ventures, a private investment firm that is one of the backers of Chang’s restaurant group.
Those same charities also will receive money from Chang’s Momofuku Noodle Bar. In an email newsletter Monday, the Manhattan restaurant said: “Throughout the month, a portion of proceeds from sales will be donated to City Harvest as well as these organizations that support causes we care about: Everytown, Planned Parenthood, RAICES Texas, Sierra Club and the Serge Ibaka Foundation.”
It was unclear whether other Momofuku restaurants participated and how much was donated. A call to Majordomo’s manager on Saturday was not returned, and a Momofuku spokeswoman declined to comment Monday afternoon.
https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2019-08-12/majordomo-momofuku-david-chang-stephen-ross-trump
The menu at the Chinatown restaurant featured a section saying profits would be donated to charities including Planned Parenthood, RAICES, Everytown and Sierra Club. A diner at the restaurant Friday evening said a server confirmed the move was done in response to the fundraiser held the same day by billionaire Stephen Ross, a real estate developer and the owner of the Miami Dolphins. Ross is the chairman of RSE Ventures, a private investment firm that is one of the backers of Chang’s restaurant group.
Those same charities also will receive money from Chang’s Momofuku Noodle Bar. In an email newsletter Monday, the Manhattan restaurant said: “Throughout the month, a portion of proceeds from sales will be donated to City Harvest as well as these organizations that support causes we care about: Everytown, Planned Parenthood, RAICES Texas, Sierra Club and the Serge Ibaka Foundation.”
It was unclear whether other Momofuku restaurants participated and how much was donated. A call to Majordomo’s manager on Saturday was not returned, and a Momofuku spokeswoman declined to comment Monday afternoon.
https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2019-08-12/majordomo-momofuku-david-chang-stephen-ross-trump
That they do! and you know what? I say let them blow their money, they are going to be on the wrong side of the battle anyways come 2020. We want these fascist pieces of shit out of the White House, but as long as big money controls politics, they can do this kind of shit. And come on, Stephen Ross, this is 2019, we have social media. Don’t be surprised when the outrage machine finds out when you support the bad guys. I can’t feel too sorry for you.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross didn’t flinch in response to criticism over his decision to hold a six-figure fundraiser for President Trump. But Ross thought about it.
Jonathan Swan of Axios.com reports that Ross “freaked out” over the reaction to the situation, and that he considered canceling the event due to pressure directed to SoulCycle and Equinox, two fitness brands he owns. Trump associates persuaded Ross to continue as planned.
“Stay strong, it’s not going to be that bad. Not that many people are going to boycott the gym,” an unnamed source told Swan, paraphrasing the message directed to Ross.
The New York Post reports that President Trump joked about the situation at one of two fundraisers on Friday.
“Steve Ross got into a little bit of trouble this week, I said, ‘Steve, welcome to the world of politics,'” Trump said.
Welcome to the world of politics indeed. Plenty of NFL owners have supported President Trump for the past four years with no backlash. As opposition to racially divisive rhetoric and tweets emanating from the Oval Office grows, public figures who continue to support him necessarily will feel more and more pressure to sever ties.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/08/11/report-stephen-ross-freaked-out-over-reaction-to-presidential-fundraiser/
Jonathan Swan of Axios.com reports that Ross “freaked out” over the reaction to the situation, and that he considered canceling the event due to pressure directed to SoulCycle and Equinox, two fitness brands he owns. Trump associates persuaded Ross to continue as planned.
“Stay strong, it’s not going to be that bad. Not that many people are going to boycott the gym,” an unnamed source told Swan, paraphrasing the message directed to Ross.
The New York Post reports that President Trump joked about the situation at one of two fundraisers on Friday.
“Steve Ross got into a little bit of trouble this week, I said, ‘Steve, welcome to the world of politics,'” Trump said.
Welcome to the world of politics indeed. Plenty of NFL owners have supported President Trump for the past four years with no backlash. As opposition to racially divisive rhetoric and tweets emanating from the Oval Office grows, public figures who continue to support him necessarily will feel more and more pressure to sever ties.
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/08/11/report-stephen-ross-freaked-out-over-reaction-to-presidential-fundraiser/
Yeah let me play a sad song for you, Stephen Ross. Like this. But seriously when you hang with the bad guys don’t be surprised when it comes to bite you in the ass. With as toxic as our current political environment is, hanging out with the bad guys might be, I don’t know, bad for business? We’ve seen time and time again how it creates buyer’s remorse, but this is buyer’s remorse for people who have way too much money:
Kenny Stills isn’t the only Stephen Ross employee to publicly question with Ross this week.
Like the receiver who plays for the football team Ross owns, the CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality disagrees with the decision of the nonprofit’s founder to host a fundraiser for President Donald Trump.
“This is a decision I personally wish Steve had not made,” Diahann Billings-Burford told Jason Reid of ESPN.com. She admitted that she has had “difficult conversations” regarding the impact of that decision on the credibility of RISE with black athletes.
“I totally understand, empathize — I don’t know what word is more powerful — [with] the disappointment and criticism toward Steve for making this decision,” Billings-Burford told Reid. “I would have to lack perspective to not understand why this decision would not make athletes hesitate to work with RISE.”
Billings-Burford understands that, in the end, RISE may have less support from professional athletes.
https://sports.yahoo.com/ceo-rise-wishes-stephen-ross-161106255.html
Like the receiver who plays for the football team Ross owns, the CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality disagrees with the decision of the nonprofit’s founder to host a fundraiser for President Donald Trump.
“This is a decision I personally wish Steve had not made,” Diahann Billings-Burford told Jason Reid of ESPN.com. She admitted that she has had “difficult conversations” regarding the impact of that decision on the credibility of RISE with black athletes.
“I totally understand, empathize — I don’t know what word is more powerful — [with] the disappointment and criticism toward Steve for making this decision,” Billings-Burford told Reid. “I would have to lack perspective to not understand why this decision would not make athletes hesitate to work with RISE.”
Billings-Burford understands that, in the end, RISE may have less support from professional athletes.
https://sports.yahoo.com/ceo-rise-wishes-stephen-ross-161106255.html
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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: Grasshoppers!
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Hey it’s time to investigate beyond the headlines! This is Top 10 Investigates!
The city of Las Vegas – you know them best as the booze soaked gambling empire that’s been the home of bad choices since the 1960s. But Vegas is currently under attack. By a grasshopper invasion that’s literally visible from space. Grasshoppers From Outer Space might be a good 1950smonster movie, by the way. But in all serious, there’s a lot of grasshoppers. And what is fueling the invasion? What is causing it? And how can it be solved? These are the questions that must be asked.
Sometimes all you need is a wild weekend in Las Vegas, amongst the lights, sounds, and attractions of the Sin City.
And it seems like grasshoppers are no exception, descending on Las Vegas last week in such numbers that you can even see them on the weather radar.
The images from the ground are just as intense – flocks of grasshoppers congregating near the many lights and neon signs in Vegas would make anyone think twice before going and hitting the slot machines.
But breathe easy, these aren't locusts and this isn't the second coming. Instead there's a perfectly scientific explanation for this bizarre phenomenon: rain.
Nevada has already had much more rain in 2019 than in an average year, making for an especially great season for the pallid-winged grasshopper (Trimerotropis pallidipennis).
They're native to the desert regions across America, and this isn't the first time we're seen them explode in numbers.
https://www.sciencealert.com/check-the-weather-radar-grasshoppers-have-descended-on-las-vegas
And it seems like grasshoppers are no exception, descending on Las Vegas last week in such numbers that you can even see them on the weather radar.
The images from the ground are just as intense – flocks of grasshoppers congregating near the many lights and neon signs in Vegas would make anyone think twice before going and hitting the slot machines.
But breathe easy, these aren't locusts and this isn't the second coming. Instead there's a perfectly scientific explanation for this bizarre phenomenon: rain.
Nevada has already had much more rain in 2019 than in an average year, making for an especially great season for the pallid-winged grasshopper (Trimerotropis pallidipennis).
They're native to the desert regions across America, and this isn't the first time we're seen them explode in numbers.
https://www.sciencealert.com/check-the-weather-radar-grasshoppers-have-descended-on-las-vegas
Yes, patience young grasshopper. These insects came for the neon lights and the hard partying lifestyle of Las Vegas. And they’re hanging around because they’re attracted to neon. But as we look around, what’s causing these insects to multiply in such large numbers this way? Well there’s a great many reasons why the grasshoppers have stuck around but there’s also a lot of reasons why they are most likely here to stay.
Watch out where you're walking because grasshoppers have invaded the Las Vegas valley.
You've probably seen them, the little flying bugs are suddenly everywhere. But where did they come from?
Nevada's state entomologist held an impromptu press conference on Thursday to set the record straight.
RELATED: Grasshoppers invade Las Vegas valley again
"The grasshopper that just came in the last couple days to Las Vegas is the pallid-winged grasshopper," said Jeff Knight, the state entomologist with the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
Knight says the grasshoppers are not new. He remembers swarms flying this far north several times since the 1960's.
"The ones that started down probably in Laughlin or southern Nevada, or even Arizona, are the ones that are moving up to central Nevada. So a couple hundred miles," said Knight.
https://www.ktnv.com/news/grasshoppers-invade-las-vegas-valley
You've probably seen them, the little flying bugs are suddenly everywhere. But where did they come from?
Nevada's state entomologist held an impromptu press conference on Thursday to set the record straight.
RELATED: Grasshoppers invade Las Vegas valley again
"The grasshopper that just came in the last couple days to Las Vegas is the pallid-winged grasshopper," said Jeff Knight, the state entomologist with the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
Knight says the grasshoppers are not new. He remembers swarms flying this far north several times since the 1960's.
"The ones that started down probably in Laughlin or southern Nevada, or even Arizona, are the ones that are moving up to central Nevada. So a couple hundred miles," said Knight.
https://www.ktnv.com/news/grasshoppers-invade-las-vegas-valley
So it’s really part of a grasshopper invasion. Grasshopper Invasion, by the way, saw them at the Troubadour this weekend, awesome band. While people are pondering what to do with their insect overlords (another great band), how are the citizens of Las Vegas coping with the situation? Some are worried about their lawns, of course. And these are the types of things you don’t want on your yard, where is Clint Eastwood?
Grasshoppers in Southern Nevada hit the national news. They’re not a problem for humans or large animals because they carry no diseases and they don’t bite, but let’s talk about your home yard.
Just like anything else that’s living, grasshoppers need something to eat and something to drink. Home landscapes provide both water and food. So do resort landscapes. So why leave? Looks like they will be here until fall, when cooler temperatures arrive.
Our very wet spring made all this happen. Our spring rains also caused diseases like bunch rot on grapes to occur when it has been rare here in the past. It caused leaf diseases that defoliated some varieties of peach trees. Cicadas came out of the ground in abundance, and their mating noises attracted the wasp-looking cicada killers as well. In short, our weird spring caused many weird things to happen in our desert.
Grasshoppers or locusts? Locusts are social grasshoppers. Whereas grasshoppers operate alone, locusts operate en masse. Locusts make legends with their voracious community swarming and appetites. Locusts feed and destroy everything in their path. Grasshoppers don’t. Their voracious appetites aren’t legendary, and their huge mandibles don’t bite people but can take some big chunks out of garden and landscape plants. Grasshoppers are destructive but not like locusts.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-columns/bob-morris/grasshoppers-can-be-destructive-to-yards-1820167/
Just like anything else that’s living, grasshoppers need something to eat and something to drink. Home landscapes provide both water and food. So do resort landscapes. So why leave? Looks like they will be here until fall, when cooler temperatures arrive.
Our very wet spring made all this happen. Our spring rains also caused diseases like bunch rot on grapes to occur when it has been rare here in the past. It caused leaf diseases that defoliated some varieties of peach trees. Cicadas came out of the ground in abundance, and their mating noises attracted the wasp-looking cicada killers as well. In short, our weird spring caused many weird things to happen in our desert.
Grasshoppers or locusts? Locusts are social grasshoppers. Whereas grasshoppers operate alone, locusts operate en masse. Locusts make legends with their voracious community swarming and appetites. Locusts feed and destroy everything in their path. Grasshoppers don’t. Their voracious appetites aren’t legendary, and their huge mandibles don’t bite people but can take some big chunks out of garden and landscape plants. Grasshoppers are destructive but not like locusts.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-columns/bob-morris/grasshoppers-can-be-destructive-to-yards-1820167/
Yes, get off our lawns. While some are worried about the grasshopper invasion and some see it as the second coming of the plague, others however have a different opinion. Some business owners in Vegas have been cashing in on the opportunity to make money off the insects. One such business owner has turned the grasshoppers into… a pizza topping. Yes, you can now get Grasshopper Pizza (another awesome band name). Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
In the kitchen of a Las Vegas pizzeria, there’s a new ingredient landing atop New York-style slices.
And you might call it chicken of the desert: grasshoppers.
“The Canyon Hopper” pizza at Evel Pie hit the menu this week after a biblical-level migration of pallid-winged grasshoppers swarmed Sin City’s neon lights and sidewalks – an invasion so thick it looked like a storm on weather radar.
"It's hit the world by swarm," Branden Powers, Evel Pie's managing partner and creator, told the USA TODAY Network.
If you stop into the parlor at 508 Fremont St. in downtown Las Vegas, a slice will cost $5.50. But supplies are selling out fast.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/03/las-vegas-pizzerias-new-grasshopper-pizza-takes-world-swarm/1909124001/
And you might call it chicken of the desert: grasshoppers.
“The Canyon Hopper” pizza at Evel Pie hit the menu this week after a biblical-level migration of pallid-winged grasshoppers swarmed Sin City’s neon lights and sidewalks – an invasion so thick it looked like a storm on weather radar.
"It's hit the world by swarm," Branden Powers, Evel Pie's managing partner and creator, told the USA TODAY Network.
If you stop into the parlor at 508 Fremont St. in downtown Las Vegas, a slice will cost $5.50. But supplies are selling out fast.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/03/las-vegas-pizzerias-new-grasshopper-pizza-takes-world-swarm/1909124001/
That’s it for Top 10 Investigates. Good day.
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[font size="8"]Holy Shit
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Gather around my fair brothers and sisters of Lexington! 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!! There is a war brewing among the spiritual left and the spiritual right, and the right thinks they have a monopoly on all of those who are holy! But they don’t. In fact they have an ego larger than the city of Gammorah. That being said, are these the fires of SAYTAN that are being fanned by the unholy wicked among us and they will burn in hell for all eternity! Welcome to Holy Shit, everybody! So is this something that is needed according to our brothers and sisters on the right? They seem to think so, and they are fighting a war that nobody asked for or wanted.
Lance Wallnau, a “prophetic” author and promoter of Seven Mountains Dominionism, makes his money in part as a life coach/motivational speaker. He’s now inviting his followers to shell out about $1000 in registration fees for a “spiritual warfare” gathering at Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. over Labor Day weekend.
Meeting in Trump’s D.C. hotel has become a way for entities ranging from foreign governments to lobbying groups to showcase their support for Trump while enriching the Trump family. But it’s even more than that for the subset of conservative Christians who believe Trump was anointed by God to save America and, some believe, to help bring about the second coming of Christ. In his conference promotion, Wallnau says that Trump International “has angelic activity at a different level” than other resorts. In an accompanying video message, he adds that the hotel is “Grand Central for spiritual activity.” At an earlier dominionist gathering at the hotel, prayer warriors asked God to unleash his angel armies against Trump’s enemies in the deep state.
One thing that Wallnau and other dominionist leaders offer their followers is the belief that they play a key role in the raging spiritual warfare over the fate of this country and humanity itself in the end times. “We have entered the timing of angelic warfare over the destiny of NATIONS!” Wallanu said in an email marketing his “Dream Trip” conference, which had the subject line, “Your Blueprint to ADVANCE in the Heavenly Battle.” He told his supporters, “Your destiny is wrapped up in a heavenly battle—the battle over the harvest of souls and nations.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/spiritual-warfare-event-at-trumps-dc-hotel-to-feature-pro-trump-prophet-lance-wallnau/
Meeting in Trump’s D.C. hotel has become a way for entities ranging from foreign governments to lobbying groups to showcase their support for Trump while enriching the Trump family. But it’s even more than that for the subset of conservative Christians who believe Trump was anointed by God to save America and, some believe, to help bring about the second coming of Christ. In his conference promotion, Wallnau says that Trump International “has angelic activity at a different level” than other resorts. In an accompanying video message, he adds that the hotel is “Grand Central for spiritual activity.” At an earlier dominionist gathering at the hotel, prayer warriors asked God to unleash his angel armies against Trump’s enemies in the deep state.
One thing that Wallnau and other dominionist leaders offer their followers is the belief that they play a key role in the raging spiritual warfare over the fate of this country and humanity itself in the end times. “We have entered the timing of angelic warfare over the destiny of NATIONS!” Wallanu said in an email marketing his “Dream Trip” conference, which had the subject line, “Your Blueprint to ADVANCE in the Heavenly Battle.” He told his supporters, “Your destiny is wrapped up in a heavenly battle—the battle over the harvest of souls and nations.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/spiritual-warfare-event-at-trumps-dc-hotel-to-feature-pro-trump-prophet-lance-wallnau/
Yes, Brother Lance, it’s not about Jesus. No, JAYSUS gave up a long time ago because of the nonsense coming from you. What’s it really about? It’s about the almighty dollar!! Yes, the good LAWRD has taken monetary form and he needs all of the cash money bling bling! Can I get an amen??? But spiritual warfare comes in many forms and you never know what it’s going to take!
Frank Amedia, the tsunami-stopping and ant-reviving pastor who served as an unofficial Christian liaison between Donald Trump and the Religious Right during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, spoke at a “National Apostolic and Prophetic Gathering” in Florida last week, where he revealed the transactional nature of the relationship between Trump and the Religious Right.
Amedia, who now runs POTUS Shield—a “prophetic” network conceived to wage spiritual warfare on behalf of Trump—explained that Trump is a “street-fighter president” who will fight dirty on behalf of the Religious Right because knows that he needs their support, so much so that he will do their bidding without even knowing what he is talking about.
“When I met Donald Trump, he wasn’t a man of God,” Amedia said. “God didn’t call a man of God, he called a warrior. He called a street fighter. How many of you have ever been in a street fight? You don’t go into a street fight to fight fair, you go in to come out and win; you come out to hurt the other guy and come out to win. And if they hit you, you hit back. Sometimes you hit first. That’s what we have. We have a street-fighter president.”
“So don’t expect him to be gracious,” Amedia continued. “He fumbles words: Two Corinthians, this and that. He has people telling him stuff and he listens to it and politically he wants the support of the faith group but he also knows the faith group put him in office. He knows two things put him in office because I had the opportunity to prophesy to him before it happened. I put it in his hands, I know he received it. And one was if you bless Israel, you shall be blessed; if you curse her, you shall be cursed. And when he stood up and said those things at AIPAC in March of 2016, he didn’t even know what he was saying.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/frank-amedia-exposes-the-transactional-relationship-between-trump-and-the-religious-right/
Amedia, who now runs POTUS Shield—a “prophetic” network conceived to wage spiritual warfare on behalf of Trump—explained that Trump is a “street-fighter president” who will fight dirty on behalf of the Religious Right because knows that he needs their support, so much so that he will do their bidding without even knowing what he is talking about.
“When I met Donald Trump, he wasn’t a man of God,” Amedia said. “God didn’t call a man of God, he called a warrior. He called a street fighter. How many of you have ever been in a street fight? You don’t go into a street fight to fight fair, you go in to come out and win; you come out to hurt the other guy and come out to win. And if they hit you, you hit back. Sometimes you hit first. That’s what we have. We have a street-fighter president.”
“So don’t expect him to be gracious,” Amedia continued. “He fumbles words: Two Corinthians, this and that. He has people telling him stuff and he listens to it and politically he wants the support of the faith group but he also knows the faith group put him in office. He knows two things put him in office because I had the opportunity to prophesy to him before it happened. I put it in his hands, I know he received it. And one was if you bless Israel, you shall be blessed; if you curse her, you shall be cursed. And when he stood up and said those things at AIPAC in March of 2016, he didn’t even know what he was saying.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/frank-amedia-exposes-the-transactional-relationship-between-trump-and-the-religious-right/
Really? They couldn’t come up with a better name than POTUS Shield? POTUS Shield sounds like the name of a product that you’d find in the adult incontinence section of your local pharmacy! Thank you my fair congregation! But really when it comes to spiritual warfare, you have to look at how crazy supporters of the Unholy Dark One, whose name shall *NOT* be spoken in my church are! And really, is anyone surprised that POTUS Shield has been up to some shady activity?
Frank Amedia, the tsunami-stopping and ant-reviving pastor who served as an unofficial Christian liaison between Donald Trump and the Religious Right during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, spoke at a “National Apostolic and Prophetic Gathering” in Florida last week, where he revealed the transactional nature of the relationship between Trump and the Religious Right.
Amedia, who now runs POTUS Shield—a “prophetic” network conceived to wage spiritual warfare on behalf of Trump—explained that Trump is a “street-fighter president” who will fight dirty on behalf of the Religious Right because knows that he needs their support, so much so that he will do their bidding without even knowing what he is talking about.
“When I met Donald Trump, he wasn’t a man of God,” Amedia said. “God didn’t call a man of God, he called a warrior. He called a street fighter. How many of you have ever been in a street fight? You don’t go into a street fight to fight fair, you go in to come out and win; you come out to hurt the other guy and come out to win. And if they hit you, you hit back. Sometimes you hit first. That’s what we have. We have a street-fighter president.”
“So don’t expect him to be gracious,” Amedia continued. “He fumbles words: Two Corinthians, this and that. He has people telling him stuff and he listens to it and politically he wants the support of the faith group but he also knows the faith group put him in office. He knows two things put him in office because I had the opportunity to prophesy to him before it happened. I put it in his hands, I know he received it. And one was if you bless Israel, you shall be blessed; if you curse her, you shall be cursed. And when he stood up and said those things at AIPAC in March of 2016, he didn’t even know what he was saying.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/frank-amedia-exposes-the-transactional-relationship-between-trump-and-the-religious-right/
Amedia, who now runs POTUS Shield—a “prophetic” network conceived to wage spiritual warfare on behalf of Trump—explained that Trump is a “street-fighter president” who will fight dirty on behalf of the Religious Right because knows that he needs their support, so much so that he will do their bidding without even knowing what he is talking about.
“When I met Donald Trump, he wasn’t a man of God,” Amedia said. “God didn’t call a man of God, he called a warrior. He called a street fighter. How many of you have ever been in a street fight? You don’t go into a street fight to fight fair, you go in to come out and win; you come out to hurt the other guy and come out to win. And if they hit you, you hit back. Sometimes you hit first. That’s what we have. We have a street-fighter president.”
“So don’t expect him to be gracious,” Amedia continued. “He fumbles words: Two Corinthians, this and that. He has people telling him stuff and he listens to it and politically he wants the support of the faith group but he also knows the faith group put him in office. He knows two things put him in office because I had the opportunity to prophesy to him before it happened. I put it in his hands, I know he received it. And one was if you bless Israel, you shall be blessed; if you curse her, you shall be cursed. And when he stood up and said those things at AIPAC in March of 2016, he didn’t even know what he was saying.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/frank-amedia-exposes-the-transactional-relationship-between-trump-and-the-religious-right/
And in case you’re wondering why our brothers and sisters on the right are always talking and acting like they’re fighting in a war, that’s because they are fighting a war that no one asked for or even wanted to start! If you’re looking for your first assignment, here it is – the religious right is coming for my home state of California and they’re going to flip or die trying. We must make sure that doesn’t happen!
Murillo is not the only one hoping to bring change to California. Christian nationalist David Lane’s California Renewal Project hosted pre-election sessions last year encouraging conservative pastors to get more involved in politics. Lane’s pastor-politician Rob McCoy told an Engage California rally the Saturday before the midterm elections that if Christians would only show up to vote, “we would dominate every election up and down the state.”
As it turned out, the midterms were a disaster for the Republican Party in California. As we noted this week, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is hoping to revive the GOP’s influence in the state with a group called New Way California; its recent summit featured National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference leader Samuel Rodriguez and GOP Assemblyman Chad Mayes, who was the “special guest” at a 2016 California Renewal Project event.
Of course, Wallnau has said that Democratic victories in the mid-term elections were part of God’s “brilliant” strategy to allow voters to see how radical the party has become, which will help Trump win re-election.
One of the first few responses to Wallnau’s recent Facebook post included a link to a Q-conspiracy video about the world-destroying conspiracy of globalist and “deep state” criminals—and Trump’s role in dismantling “the cabal.” The commenter wrote that Jesus Christ has plans to save America and the world using “our President and ALL the Patriots, and Biblical Christians who will stand up.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/saving-california-and-america-from-occult-empowered-activists-socialism-and-the-devil/
As it turned out, the midterms were a disaster for the Republican Party in California. As we noted this week, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is hoping to revive the GOP’s influence in the state with a group called New Way California; its recent summit featured National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference leader Samuel Rodriguez and GOP Assemblyman Chad Mayes, who was the “special guest” at a 2016 California Renewal Project event.
Of course, Wallnau has said that Democratic victories in the mid-term elections were part of God’s “brilliant” strategy to allow voters to see how radical the party has become, which will help Trump win re-election.
One of the first few responses to Wallnau’s recent Facebook post included a link to a Q-conspiracy video about the world-destroying conspiracy of globalist and “deep state” criminals—and Trump’s role in dismantling “the cabal.” The commenter wrote that Jesus Christ has plans to save America and the world using “our President and ALL the Patriots, and Biblical Christians who will stand up.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/saving-california-and-america-from-occult-empowered-activists-socialism-and-the-devil/
Actually these people are! In fact they are dangerous and crazy and fighting a war that nobody asked for or wanted! So when you go out on the battlefield, choose wisely! 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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Whenever mass shootings occur, the first thing that people want to know is “why”. What caused this mass murderer to go off the rails and shoot up a whole bunch of people? Well, since mass shootings are becoming more frequent, and getting worse and worse, our excuses as to why they happen are getting dumber and dumber. And there have been some jaw-droppingly stupid excuses, like after the Gavelston shooting when Dan Patrick proposed that the reasons that school shootings occur is that schools have “too many exits” (see: Idiots #4-19 ), and yes that’s a thing that has happened. There’s been a lot of stupidity about this lately. So much that we’ve reverted our arguments to using one of our favorite age-old excuses as to why they happen: violent video games! Yes, everyone’s favorite circular firing squad argument has now literally come full circle.
President Donald Trump called for curbing “gruesome and grisly video games” that contribute to a “culture of violence” as a response to the horrific shooting sprees in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, but it had the ring of the familiar.
Trump and other political figures have put blame at the industry’s doorstep after other shooting tragedies, but the big difference Monday was the swift rebuke that greeted it.
Gun-reform advocates are more vocal now than they were in February 2018, when Trump’s administration last pointed a finger at the video game industry in the wake of the school massacre in Parkland, FL. Within minutes of Trump’s new comments today, those reformists called him out and “VideoGamesAreNotToBlame” surged as a trending hashtag, while debate began raging about which posed the greater threat to American society, pervasive first-person shooter games or the availability of real-world firepower.
The hashtag soon roused a major social media constituency that rarely devotes much screen time to Beltway topics: Gamers and the video-game industry began professing their passion for their virtual pastime and comparing the current criticism to previous eras when comic books, heavy metal music, horror films and hip-hop took their turns in the hot seat.
https://deadline.com/2019/08/video-game-violence-trumps-blame-game-leads-to-backlash-from-gamers-gun-law-reformists-1202661958/
Trump and other political figures have put blame at the industry’s doorstep after other shooting tragedies, but the big difference Monday was the swift rebuke that greeted it.
Gun-reform advocates are more vocal now than they were in February 2018, when Trump’s administration last pointed a finger at the video game industry in the wake of the school massacre in Parkland, FL. Within minutes of Trump’s new comments today, those reformists called him out and “VideoGamesAreNotToBlame” surged as a trending hashtag, while debate began raging about which posed the greater threat to American society, pervasive first-person shooter games or the availability of real-world firepower.
The hashtag soon roused a major social media constituency that rarely devotes much screen time to Beltway topics: Gamers and the video-game industry began professing their passion for their virtual pastime and comparing the current criticism to previous eras when comic books, heavy metal music, horror films and hip-hop took their turns in the hot seat.
https://deadline.com/2019/08/video-game-violence-trumps-blame-game-leads-to-backlash-from-gamers-gun-law-reformists-1202661958/
So it’s basically the same circle jerk over and over and over again. And while we’re at it, let’s blame everything but the guns. In fact let’s go Biblical and start blaming the lack of God for mass shootings, because why not? There’s many reasons that you could blame for the shootings last week, but let’s blame anti-republican values. Just act like it’s not the fault of the gun at all. That’s what one Ohio lawmaker did:
State Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown, said in a post to her Facebook page that blame for the Dayton shootings should be placed on the breakdown of the traditional family, gay marriage, violent video games, professional athletes who protest the American flag, recreational marijuana and “snowflakes, who can’t accept a duly-elected President.”
When reached by phone Sunday, Keller said she posted something to her private, personal Facebook page. When a reporter read the entire statement to her, Keller said it sounded like part of her posting but she couldn’t be sure if it had been altered.
The posting apparently has been removed, but screen grabs of the post were circulated on social media.
Keller said following mass shootings, there is a move to lay blame and attack the 2nd Amendment. “There needs to be a time for healing before we lash out at the Constitution and one another,” she said.
Keller called the Dayton shooting tragic, stunning and alarming.
Butler County Democratic Party Chairman Brian Hester said “She loves to fan the flames and play the role of victim here, not the nine people who were killed….She is fundamentally unfit for office. She is an embarrassment to her party, to conservatives, to Butler County and to the state Legislature.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dayton-shooting-due-to-family-breakdown-gay-marriage-video-games-state-lawmaker-says/ar-AAFkAGc?li=BBnbcA1
When reached by phone Sunday, Keller said she posted something to her private, personal Facebook page. When a reporter read the entire statement to her, Keller said it sounded like part of her posting but she couldn’t be sure if it had been altered.
The posting apparently has been removed, but screen grabs of the post were circulated on social media.
Keller said following mass shootings, there is a move to lay blame and attack the 2nd Amendment. “There needs to be a time for healing before we lash out at the Constitution and one another,” she said.
Keller called the Dayton shooting tragic, stunning and alarming.
Butler County Democratic Party Chairman Brian Hester said “She loves to fan the flames and play the role of victim here, not the nine people who were killed….She is fundamentally unfit for office. She is an embarrassment to her party, to conservatives, to Butler County and to the state Legislature.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dayton-shooting-due-to-family-breakdown-gay-marriage-video-games-state-lawmaker-says/ar-AAFkAGc?li=BBnbcA1
Just remember that Joseph Goebbles himself said “accuse the other side of which you are guilty”. And no one loves to play the victim more than conservatives do. So why bring up the argument about violent video games? As if Trump fans need yet *ANOTHER* thing to boycott. Is it a crime that they don’t want to play Wolfenstein – a game where the job is to literally kill Nazis? Yeah that would be bad for business right now! Well, what’s worse – the games or the guns? Walmart has the answer:
Walmart is taking down displays of violent video games in its stores in the wake of recent shootings. But the company plans to still sell the controversial video games -- and guns.
The change in policy does not apply to the sale or display of actual firearms. As the nation's largest retailer, Walmart is also one of the largest sellers of guns and ammunition in the world.
Walmart (WMT) has previously promoted violent video games in its stores with displays that demonstrate the games. Some shoppers could conceivably mistake the soundtrack of those games for actual gunshots. Walmart and its customers are particularly sensitive to gun shot sounds following two recent fatal shootings at Walmarts in Texas and Mississippi.
"We've taken this action out of respect for the incidents of the past week, and this action does not reflect a long-term change in our video game assortment," said Walmart spokesperson Tara House.
The company will also stop playing violent movies and shows on televisions in its electronics section. It will similarly stop playing hunting videos in its sporting goods section. A memo to store personnel directing the change in policy was first publicly disclosed on social media Thursday.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/09/business/walmart-violent-video-games/index.html
The change in policy does not apply to the sale or display of actual firearms. As the nation's largest retailer, Walmart is also one of the largest sellers of guns and ammunition in the world.
Walmart (WMT) has previously promoted violent video games in its stores with displays that demonstrate the games. Some shoppers could conceivably mistake the soundtrack of those games for actual gunshots. Walmart and its customers are particularly sensitive to gun shot sounds following two recent fatal shootings at Walmarts in Texas and Mississippi.
"We've taken this action out of respect for the incidents of the past week, and this action does not reflect a long-term change in our video game assortment," said Walmart spokesperson Tara House.
The company will also stop playing violent movies and shows on televisions in its electronics section. It will similarly stop playing hunting videos in its sporting goods section. A memo to store personnel directing the change in policy was first publicly disclosed on social media Thursday.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/09/business/walmart-violent-video-games/index.html
Yeah so Walmart took a stance that should be in no way shape or form be surprising to anyone, especially to frequent viewers of this program! Really this is why we can’t have nice things, people! So if we can’t ban guns or the sale of guns then what? I’m starting to think we really should start infringing on the second amendment because… we can’t keep living like this. This is definitely no way to live.
Since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, and even before that, researchers have been studying the effects of playing violent video games. What they've found is simply put: Playing violent video games doesn't lead to real-life violent acts.
"Recent research has shown that as video games have become more popular, children in the United States and Europe are having fewer behavior problems, are less violent and score better on standardized tests," Christopher J. Ferguson, a psychology professor at Texas A&M International University, wrote in the science journal Review of General Psychology back in 2010. "Violent video games have not created the generation of problem youth so often feared."
In 2017, the American Psychological Association outright warned against journalists and lawmakers connecting real-life violence with video-game violence:
"Journalists and policy makers do their constituencies a disservice in cases where they link acts of real-world violence with the perpetrators' exposure to violent video games or other violent media. There's little scientific evidence to support the connection, and it may distract us from addressing those issues that we know contribute to real-world violence."
When the APA looked at various studies of violent video games and whether playing them had any relation to aggressive acts, it found "scant evidence ... that makes any causal or correlational connection between playing violent video games and actually committing violent activities."
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-blames-mass-shootings-on-video-games-versus-guns-2019-8#there-is-a-long-history-of-claims-that-playing-violent-video-games-leads-to-real-life-violence-it-has-been-proven-false-repeatedly-yet-politicians-continue-to-claim-a-connection-that-doesnt-exist-2
"Recent research has shown that as video games have become more popular, children in the United States and Europe are having fewer behavior problems, are less violent and score better on standardized tests," Christopher J. Ferguson, a psychology professor at Texas A&M International University, wrote in the science journal Review of General Psychology back in 2010. "Violent video games have not created the generation of problem youth so often feared."
In 2017, the American Psychological Association outright warned against journalists and lawmakers connecting real-life violence with video-game violence:
"Journalists and policy makers do their constituencies a disservice in cases where they link acts of real-world violence with the perpetrators' exposure to violent video games or other violent media. There's little scientific evidence to support the connection, and it may distract us from addressing those issues that we know contribute to real-world violence."
When the APA looked at various studies of violent video games and whether playing them had any relation to aggressive acts, it found "scant evidence ... that makes any causal or correlational connection between playing violent video games and actually committing violent activities."
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-blames-mass-shootings-on-video-games-versus-guns-2019-8#there-is-a-long-history-of-claims-that-playing-violent-video-games-leads-to-real-life-violence-it-has-been-proven-false-repeatedly-yet-politicians-continue-to-claim-a-connection-that-doesnt-exist-2
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[font size="8"]Tucker Carlson
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It’s time once again to ask:
This week – the Tucker Carlson Show – how is this still a thing? With racism and mass shootings being linked in the news, you can always count on the one guy who repeatedly says that there’s a war on white people, and that person is not David Duke. It’s Tucker Carlson, the guy who Fox News brought in to replace Bill O’Reilly. And if you’re too toxic for Fox News, that’s pretty fucking toxic to begin with. So what did Tucker say to piss off his advertisers this week? Well, he thinks that white supremacy is – wait for it – a hoax. Yes, he and the NRA are both in “move along, nothing to see here” mode. And their whiteness is really starting to show.
Fox News and host Tucker Carlson have lost more advertisers in the wake of the racist and false remarks the conservative commentator made this week about white supremacy — specifically, that it is a “hoax just like the Russia hoax” that has been promoted by the media.
“It’s a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power,” Carlson alleged Tuesday night before he claimed that he had evidence to support his false claim.
“I’ve lived here 50 years, and I’ve never met anybody — not one person — who ascribes to white supremacy,” the Fox News host offered as his apparent form of proof. “I don’t know a single person who thinks that’s a good idea.”
Carlson’s racist remarks earned the praise of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, one of the nation’s most infamous white supremacists, who declared on Twitter that “Tucker is RIGHT! White Supremacy is a ZioMedia Conspiracy Theory! The term itself is a lie.”
Carlson’s comments were otherwise widely condemned. They came just days after an avowed white supremacist opened fire in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people and injuring more than two dozen others.
https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/fox-news-advertisers-jump-ship-as-tucker-carlson-comes-under-fire-for-calling-white-supremacy-a-hoax/
“It’s a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power,” Carlson alleged Tuesday night before he claimed that he had evidence to support his false claim.
“I’ve lived here 50 years, and I’ve never met anybody — not one person — who ascribes to white supremacy,” the Fox News host offered as his apparent form of proof. “I don’t know a single person who thinks that’s a good idea.”
Carlson’s racist remarks earned the praise of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, one of the nation’s most infamous white supremacists, who declared on Twitter that “Tucker is RIGHT! White Supremacy is a ZioMedia Conspiracy Theory! The term itself is a lie.”
Carlson’s comments were otherwise widely condemned. They came just days after an avowed white supremacist opened fire in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people and injuring more than two dozen others.
https://www.alternet.org/2019/08/fox-news-advertisers-jump-ship-as-tucker-carlson-comes-under-fire-for-calling-white-supremacy-a-hoax/
Fox News and host Tucker Carlson have lost more advertisers in the wake of the racist and false remarks the conservative commentator made this week about white supremacy — specifically, that it is a “hoax just like the Russia hoax” that has been promoted by the media.
“It’s a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power,” Carlson alleged Tuesday night before he claimed that he had evidence to support his false claim.
“I’ve lived here 50 years, and I’ve never met anybody — not one person — who ascribes to white supremacy,” the Fox News host offered as his apparent form of proof. “I don’t know a single person who thinks that’s a good idea.”
Carlson’s racist remarks earned the praise of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, one of the nation’s most infamous white supremacists, who declared on Twitter that “Tucker is RIGHT! White Supremacy is a ZioMedia Conspiracy Theory! The term itself is a lie.”
Carlson’s comments were otherwise widely condemned. They came just days after an avowed white supremacist opened fire in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people and injuring more than two dozen others.
In the wake of controversy, two companies have announced they will no longer advertise on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Nestlé and HelloFresh, which have both advertised on Carlson’s show in the past, told The Hollywood Reporter (THR) they have no plans to continue advertising on Carlson’s show.
Long John Silver will no longer advertise on Fox News, according to Media Matters.
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/08/more-advertisers-flee-after-fox-news-host-tucker-carlson-falsely-claims-white-supremacy-is-a-hoax/
“It’s a conspiracy theory used to divide the country and keep a hold on power,” Carlson alleged Tuesday night before he claimed that he had evidence to support his false claim.
“I’ve lived here 50 years, and I’ve never met anybody — not one person — who ascribes to white supremacy,” the Fox News host offered as his apparent form of proof. “I don’t know a single person who thinks that’s a good idea.”
Carlson’s racist remarks earned the praise of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, one of the nation’s most infamous white supremacists, who declared on Twitter that “Tucker is RIGHT! White Supremacy is a ZioMedia Conspiracy Theory! The term itself is a lie.”
Carlson’s comments were otherwise widely condemned. They came just days after an avowed white supremacist opened fire in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people and injuring more than two dozen others.
In the wake of controversy, two companies have announced they will no longer advertise on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” Nestlé and HelloFresh, which have both advertised on Carlson’s show in the past, told The Hollywood Reporter (THR) they have no plans to continue advertising on Carlson’s show.
Long John Silver will no longer advertise on Fox News, according to Media Matters.
https://www.rawstory.com/2019/08/more-advertisers-flee-after-fox-news-host-tucker-carlson-falsely-claims-white-supremacy-is-a-hoax/
And you know when Long John Silvers decides not to sponsor you anymore, you’re pretty much a lost cause. So how can you say you don’t know any white supremacists? You are one! Of course when that happens and you catch the eye of KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, just seriously stop what you are doing and get some help. Really, how stupid does Tucker Carlson get?
Carlson is not a fringe figure in the conservative movement. He is one of Trump’s favorite pundits who has privately advised the president on policy and host of one of the highest-rated shows on television during his timeslot. He founded the Daily Caller, one of the largest conservative news websites, and was a keynote speaker at the recent “National Conservatism” conference (a gathering of conservative luminaries that aimed to develop an intellectual scaffolding for the new nationalist populism).
The fact that Carlson is not only tolerated in the movement, but celebrated, points to a serious problem for conservatism today: the movement’s impoverished understanding of race and racism.
For decades, the modern conservative movement has depended on racial appeals — sometimes coded, sometimes overt — to seize political power. From Nixon’s “Southern strategy” to Reagan’s rhetoric about “welfare queens” to Trump making the subtext the text, whites with high levels of racial grievance have been a crucial part of the Republican political coalition. Conservative movement agenda items that hurt working-class whites, like cuts to the welfare state, are made palatable to them through racially coded rhetoric.
“What Reagan had succeeded in doing was tarnishing liberalism as a giveaway to people of color,” Ian Haney López, a professor at UC Berkeley who studies race and American politics, told me in a 2017 interview. “Investment in our cities, investment in our schools, investment in social welfare programs, all of that was branded as giveaway to undeserving minorities.”
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/8/7/20757366/tucker-carlson-white-supremacy-hoax-el-paso
The fact that Carlson is not only tolerated in the movement, but celebrated, points to a serious problem for conservatism today: the movement’s impoverished understanding of race and racism.
For decades, the modern conservative movement has depended on racial appeals — sometimes coded, sometimes overt — to seize political power. From Nixon’s “Southern strategy” to Reagan’s rhetoric about “welfare queens” to Trump making the subtext the text, whites with high levels of racial grievance have been a crucial part of the Republican political coalition. Conservative movement agenda items that hurt working-class whites, like cuts to the welfare state, are made palatable to them through racially coded rhetoric.
“What Reagan had succeeded in doing was tarnishing liberalism as a giveaway to people of color,” Ian Haney López, a professor at UC Berkeley who studies race and American politics, told me in a 2017 interview. “Investment in our cities, investment in our schools, investment in social welfare programs, all of that was branded as giveaway to undeserving minorities.”
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/8/7/20757366/tucker-carlson-white-supremacy-hoax-el-paso
Yes, nothing to see here. Except that conservatism has a huge white supremacy problem. They used to be able to hide their racism. But electing a president who’s as racist as they are, they are brining their racism out into the open for the whole world to see. And now that they actually have a mass shooter who quoted the president and wrote a whole racist manifesto, how are they going to do damage control on this? You can’t really. And like usual, just like Laura Ingraham, even a full advertising boycott won’t work this time.
Twenty-four hours after Fox News fixture Tucker Carlson stirred up a hornet’s nest by characterizing the country’s white supremacy scourge as “a hoax,” the host of the network’s 8 p.m. hour informed viewers that he would be “taking several days off.” The sudden vacation, which Carlson announced at the end of Wednesday night’s program—“[I’m] headed to the wilderness to fish with my son”—is a stratagem familiar to Fox News watchers; in the past two years, Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly have all taken time off from their respective shows after things they’d said or done sent advertisers packing. (In O’Reilly’s case, he never returned from his spontaneous vacation; Carlson set up shop in the “Factor” time slot on April 24, 2017, a mere five days after the previous occupant was let go.)
However you care to interpret this latest disappearing act (in every instance, Fox News has characterized the time off as a “planned vacation”), the familiar call for marketers to pull their advertising from Carlson’s show has sounded. As The Hollywood Reporter’s Jeremy Barr notes, there’s been no mass exodus from Carlson’s show thus far, although Nestlé has said it will no longer promote its Proactiv brand via that particular 60-minute vehicle.
Questions as to the validity of quizzing Carlson’s sponsors about their media planning aside—in such cases it’s arguably difficult to separate journalism from advocacy—the obsessive chronicling of advertisers who may be jumping ship at the moment is a bit of an empty exercise, given that a reallocation of spend from Carlson’s show to another Fox News program has no material impact on Fox News’ bottom line. In this case, the only individual brand that could actually inflict damage on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” is MyPillow; per iSpot.tv estimates, the direct-response marketer thus far in 2019 has invested $26.7 million in “TCT,” accounting for one-third of the program’s overall sales tally. And, no, MyPillow’s not going anywhere.
https://adage.com/article/media/why-tucker-carlson-hoax-related-advertiser-boycott-wont-work/2190741
However you care to interpret this latest disappearing act (in every instance, Fox News has characterized the time off as a “planned vacation”), the familiar call for marketers to pull their advertising from Carlson’s show has sounded. As The Hollywood Reporter’s Jeremy Barr notes, there’s been no mass exodus from Carlson’s show thus far, although Nestlé has said it will no longer promote its Proactiv brand via that particular 60-minute vehicle.
Questions as to the validity of quizzing Carlson’s sponsors about their media planning aside—in such cases it’s arguably difficult to separate journalism from advocacy—the obsessive chronicling of advertisers who may be jumping ship at the moment is a bit of an empty exercise, given that a reallocation of spend from Carlson’s show to another Fox News program has no material impact on Fox News’ bottom line. In this case, the only individual brand that could actually inflict damage on “Tucker Carlson Tonight” is MyPillow; per iSpot.tv estimates, the direct-response marketer thus far in 2019 has invested $26.7 million in “TCT,” accounting for one-third of the program’s overall sales tally. And, no, MyPillow’s not going anywhere.
https://adage.com/article/media/why-tucker-carlson-hoax-related-advertiser-boycott-wont-work/2190741
Yeah so the only brand that could do serious damage to Tucker Carlson is My Pillow, and that guy is a hardcore Trump fan. So that’s enough to make you ask – the Tucker Carlson show:
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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. And I love these stories and this segment, I could talk about stupid people all day. Wait – I do talk about stupid people all day! So who is dumb this week? Well I want to start with this story out of Bettendorf, Iowa, because this is multiple levels of crazy. You’ve got casinos, you’ve got boats, and you’ve got a very poorly planned scheme gone horribly wrong. And really, if you’re going to steal a boat, maybe, I don’t know, learn how to navigate the waters or you might accidentally steer your boat into a construction zone where there’s cops everywhere!
A naked man was arrested after he stole a boat and floated into the I-74 bridge construction area Sunday night.
Tobias Hartsfield, 43, from Bettendorf, was naked when he took a boat from the Isle of Capri marina and floated towards a barge in the new bridge construction area on August 11, before 11 p.m. according to a statement from Lauran Haldeman, a spokeswoman for the city.
Hartsfield got onto the barge and untied ropes, causing the barge to shift, before he went back to the stolen boat where he was arrested by police.
Upon arrest, police were unable to find Hartsfield's clothing, according to the statement. A tug boat was also called to move the barge back into place.
Hartsfield was given clothes at the jail. He was charged with theft, trespassing and first degree and second degree criminal mischief.
https://wqad.com/2019/08/12/naked-bettendorf-man-stole-a-boat-arrested-near-isle-casino/
Tobias Hartsfield, 43, from Bettendorf, was naked when he took a boat from the Isle of Capri marina and floated towards a barge in the new bridge construction area on August 11, before 11 p.m. according to a statement from Lauran Haldeman, a spokeswoman for the city.
Hartsfield got onto the barge and untied ropes, causing the barge to shift, before he went back to the stolen boat where he was arrested by police.
Upon arrest, police were unable to find Hartsfield's clothing, according to the statement. A tug boat was also called to move the barge back into place.
Hartsfield was given clothes at the jail. He was charged with theft, trespassing and first degree and second degree criminal mischief.
https://wqad.com/2019/08/12/naked-bettendorf-man-stole-a-boat-arrested-near-isle-casino/
Next up – don’t look a gift car in the mouth. We go to Indiana for this story. So what happens if you ask for a Jaguar and get a BMW? I don’t know anyone who would choose a Jaguar over a BMW but whatever floats your boat I guess. And in what seems like a page from Homer Simpson’s playbook, this guy tried to plunge his car into the river and got caught doing it. Really, this is a great one for the “Simpsons Did It” file:
An Indian man apparently angered at getting a BMW for his birthday - instead of a Jaguar - pushed the new vehicle into a river.
Video posted on social media shows it floating away on the river in the northern Indian state of Haryana.
It later got stuck on a bank of tall grass and the man, said to be the son of a local landlord, tried to rescue it.
Police are investigating the incident, local media report.
BMW cars cost around 3.5m rupees (£41,400; $49,000) locally, with Jaguars costing about 4-5m rupees.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49305126
Video posted on social media shows it floating away on the river in the northern Indian state of Haryana.
It later got stuck on a bank of tall grass and the man, said to be the son of a local landlord, tried to rescue it.
Police are investigating the incident, local media report.
BMW cars cost around 3.5m rupees (£41,400; $49,000) locally, with Jaguars costing about 4-5m rupees.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49305126
Next up we go to Nashville for this story. I have so many questions about this story. A flight attendant hid in the overhead bin on a flight from Nashville to Philadelphia. And I’m not sure who’s stupider – the person hiding in the overhead bin or the crew who didn’t discover this person until after they land? I mean come on, I have to check my bag when the overhead bin is too full!
Overhead space is at a premium on most planes, but passengers on a recent Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville to Philadelphia found their carry-ons crowded out by a flight attendant who had climbed inside the overhead compartment.
The incident, which occurred before the plane doors were closed, was filmed by passenger Veronica Lloyd, who returning home to Pennsylvania.
In the clip, the unnamed female attendant can be seen on her side and then rolling onto her stomach. It appears she was starting to say something when the video cut off.
Lloyd told Fox News she was "perplexed" by the attendant's impromptu hide-and-seek, noting she was up there for at least 10 minutes. "It was very interesting. I think she was doing it to try and be funny and make the passengers laugh."
"Southwest Employees are known for demonstrating their sense of humor and unique personalities. In this instance, one of our flight attendants attempted to have a brief moment of fun with customers during boarding. Of course, this is not our normal procedure, and Southwest crews always maintain safety as their top priority."
https://www.newsweek.com/southwest-airlines-flight-attendant-overhead-compartment-1451892
The incident, which occurred before the plane doors were closed, was filmed by passenger Veronica Lloyd, who returning home to Pennsylvania.
In the clip, the unnamed female attendant can be seen on her side and then rolling onto her stomach. It appears she was starting to say something when the video cut off.
Lloyd told Fox News she was "perplexed" by the attendant's impromptu hide-and-seek, noting she was up there for at least 10 minutes. "It was very interesting. I think she was doing it to try and be funny and make the passengers laugh."
"Southwest Employees are known for demonstrating their sense of humor and unique personalities. In this instance, one of our flight attendants attempted to have a brief moment of fun with customers during boarding. Of course, this is not our normal procedure, and Southwest crews always maintain safety as their top priority."
https://www.newsweek.com/southwest-airlines-flight-attendant-overhead-compartment-1451892
I like when a news story that they just can’t get enough words to meet the bare minimum has the generic PR copy at the bottom. Next up you know we make a lot of jokes about America’s most penis-shaped state, the Sunshine State, you know them better as Florida. And we may have reached Peak Florida with this story. Rather than intro it, I will let the story do the talking!
Surveillance video captured a man driving a golf cart through a Hillsborough County Walmart.
On Thursday afternoon, deputies were called to the Walmart at 9205 Gibsonton Dr. for reports of a man on a golf cart blocking the liquor store entrance, refusing to leave and demanding to speak with a manager.
This is the same Walmart where a Walmart worker's son was arrested for threatening to shoot up the store days ago.
Deputies began speaking to the man on the golf cart, Michael Hudson.
While speaking with deputies, Hudson suddenly accelerates through the heavily congested pedestrian area in front of the store toward the main entrance nearly striking numerous pedestrians who ran to avoid being hit.
https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-hillsborough/florida-man-drives-golf-cart-into-walmart-as-deputies-chase-him-with-a-taser
On Thursday afternoon, deputies were called to the Walmart at 9205 Gibsonton Dr. for reports of a man on a golf cart blocking the liquor store entrance, refusing to leave and demanding to speak with a manager.
This is the same Walmart where a Walmart worker's son was arrested for threatening to shoot up the store days ago.
Deputies began speaking to the man on the golf cart, Michael Hudson.
While speaking with deputies, Hudson suddenly accelerates through the heavily congested pedestrian area in front of the store toward the main entrance nearly striking numerous pedestrians who ran to avoid being hit.
https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-hillsborough/florida-man-drives-golf-cart-into-walmart-as-deputies-chase-him-with-a-taser
That is a good question, sir! And yes I do think this story requires the Benny Hill theme! Next up – staying in the Sunshine State, what the hell do they sell at a store called “Rockhard Lovestuff”? No wait don’t tell me – I’m guessing they sell sex toys and porno? And really if you’re that mad at a store, at least maybe, I don’t know, get dressed before leaving the house?
The man angrily tore off his clothes in front of a Wilton Manors restaurant, got on his bicycle and rode nude to a store called RockHard Lovestuff. It was early evening with rush-hour traffic passing the man.
“It was like he was mad at them,” said Skip VandeLinde, who was driving by at the time. “It was just strange.”
The man went in, took an article of clothing from the store and put it on, police said. He said he was trading his bike for it and walked out.
When officers found him, he was once again nude and walking up and down the block, exposed to passersby, police said.
He was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious exhibition and obstruction by disguised person. He wouldn’t give his name. Later, police put out the man’s mug shot — he was booked under the name John Smith — in hopes of identifying him.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article233730927.html
“It was like he was mad at them,” said Skip VandeLinde, who was driving by at the time. “It was just strange.”
The man went in, took an article of clothing from the store and put it on, police said. He said he was trading his bike for it and walked out.
When officers found him, he was once again nude and walking up and down the block, exposed to passersby, police said.
He was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious exhibition and obstruction by disguised person. He wouldn’t give his name. Later, police put out the man’s mug shot — he was booked under the name John Smith — in hopes of identifying him.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article233730927.html
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Don’t show that one again! finally this week – hey a story from the state we’re in, Kentucky! And was Florida woman visiting the Bluegrass State or something? Because this story has Florida written all over it, and it was from Kentucky!
While handcuffed behind her back in the rear of a Kentucky squad car, a suspect removed a bag of narcotics from her vagina and snorted the white powder inside, according to police who arrested the woman on drug possession and other charges.
Responding to a report about an intoxicated couple preparing to drive a car, cops in Winchester, a city 20 miles east of Lexington, encountered Kathryn Ahlers, 28, and her boyfriend outside a vehicle on Main Street around 11:30 PM Friday.
Upon determining that Ahlers’s 17-month-old son could not be properly cared for since his mother was “manifestly under the influence and a danger to herself and others,” a Winchester Police Department officer arrested Ahlers around 2 AM Saturday and placed her in his cruiser.
Pictured above, Ahlers was handcuffed behind her back when she somehow “pulled a clear plastic baggie from her vagina cavity” and “dumped some white substance on the seat.” Ahlers then “began to inhale it through her nose.”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/kentucky-houdini-739825
Responding to a report about an intoxicated couple preparing to drive a car, cops in Winchester, a city 20 miles east of Lexington, encountered Kathryn Ahlers, 28, and her boyfriend outside a vehicle on Main Street around 11:30 PM Friday.
Upon determining that Ahlers’s 17-month-old son could not be properly cared for since his mother was “manifestly under the influence and a danger to herself and others,” a Winchester Police Department officer arrested Ahlers around 2 AM Saturday and placed her in his cruiser.
Pictured above, Ahlers was handcuffed behind her back when she somehow “pulled a clear plastic baggie from her vagina cavity” and “dumped some white substance on the seat.” Ahlers then “began to inhale it through her nose.”
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/kentucky-houdini-739825
That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]Keeping Up With The Candidates Ep. 4: Beto O’Rourke
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Welcome back to Keeping Up With The Candidates. We’ve promised you that we will get to all 24 candidates who are running for president. In the last couple of weeks though we’ve explored the Alabama Senate and told you about the batshit crazy grifter running against Ilhan Omar in Minnesota’s 5th district. This week we’re going to talk about our first actual candidate for president – and that’s Beto O’Rourke. Everyone knows Beto – he previously ran against Ted Cruz in the 2018 election and actually gained enough votes to get Cruz scared, but not enough to knock Cruz out of the senate. But how is Beto doing in the polls? Trump is going to claim some insane number (0%!!!!) but we suspect otherwise that he’s wrong.
It’s rare to get a second chance to make a first impression, to go home again, to get your groove back. Beto O’Rourke has done all three as he climbed down from running for president to remain in his hometown of El Paso in the aftermath of the greatest trauma in Texas since JFK was assassinated.
From the moment the Walmart became a morgue, O’Rourke was back where he belonged, amid 680,000 residents of a community that is among the safest in the country. He stopped campaigning immediately, not to make a video of himself at a staged hospital visit, but to live among the mourners, some his neighbors, many his constituents when he served them in Congress. Vigils? He was there. A soccer fundraiser? He and his family were at the one to make up for the one outside Walmart that ended last Saturday with two coaches wounded. He donated blood, hugged everyone, spent time with those wounded while trying to save a child or spouse. He skipped the Iowa State Fair, the nation’s premier political event (and dining event too, if you like deep-fried Twinkies), where 16 other candidates bucking to win the first-in-the-nation caucuses appeared.
It was the right choice. Being in El Paso tapped into his natural gifts: empathy, wearing his heart on his sleeve, weaving policy into emotion, one hand chop at a time.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/beto-orourkes-finest-hour-came-off-the-presidential-campaign-trail-in-el-paso
From the moment the Walmart became a morgue, O’Rourke was back where he belonged, amid 680,000 residents of a community that is among the safest in the country. He stopped campaigning immediately, not to make a video of himself at a staged hospital visit, but to live among the mourners, some his neighbors, many his constituents when he served them in Congress. Vigils? He was there. A soccer fundraiser? He and his family were at the one to make up for the one outside Walmart that ended last Saturday with two coaches wounded. He donated blood, hugged everyone, spent time with those wounded while trying to save a child or spouse. He skipped the Iowa State Fair, the nation’s premier political event (and dining event too, if you like deep-fried Twinkies), where 16 other candidates bucking to win the first-in-the-nation caucuses appeared.
It was the right choice. Being in El Paso tapped into his natural gifts: empathy, wearing his heart on his sleeve, weaving policy into emotion, one hand chop at a time.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/beto-orourkes-finest-hour-came-off-the-presidential-campaign-trail-in-el-paso
Yeah so you’re telling me that there’s a guy who is running for president right now who’s an even better leader than the guy who we currently call president? I am shocked!! So Beto is the first actual candidate that we’re profiling in our 2020 voters’ guide. And keep in mind that this… probably in no way will help you make an informed decision come primary season. That said let’s get into what Beto actually stands for.
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke wants to eliminate racial inequality in the education system through a proposed $500 billion fund that aims to shrink funding gaps.
O’Rourke on Wednesday announced his plan, which also calls for measures to increase the diversity of educators, end racial disciplinary disparities and offer complete relief of student loan debt for teachers, CBS reported. The campaign cited a February EdBuild study that found a funding gap of $23 billion between majority white and majority nonwhite districts.
"Sixty-five years after Brown v. Board of Education, and America's schools still remain segregated," O'Rourke said in a statement to CBS.
Emerging from his narrow loss to Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate race, O’Rourke was viewed as a rising star and a prominent challenger for the presidential nomination, raising $6.1 million within 24 hours of announcing his campaign.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/elections-2020/2019/07/24/beto-orourkes-plan-eliminate-racial-inequality-education-system
O’Rourke on Wednesday announced his plan, which also calls for measures to increase the diversity of educators, end racial disciplinary disparities and offer complete relief of student loan debt for teachers, CBS reported. The campaign cited a February EdBuild study that found a funding gap of $23 billion between majority white and majority nonwhite districts.
"Sixty-five years after Brown v. Board of Education, and America's schools still remain segregated," O'Rourke said in a statement to CBS.
Emerging from his narrow loss to Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 Senate race, O’Rourke was viewed as a rising star and a prominent challenger for the presidential nomination, raising $6.1 million within 24 hours of announcing his campaign.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/elections-2020/2019/07/24/beto-orourkes-plan-eliminate-racial-inequality-education-system
Yes, good luck with that because with white supremacists currently in charge, it’s going to take a lot of effort to eliminate racial inequality. But you can definitely start by kicking the racist in chief to the curb in the 2020 election! Another hot button issue – guys who kneel for the national anthem! You know that from the Colin Kaepernick controversy led by Fox News, but at least Beto definitely gets it when it comes to something like this.
When Democrat Beto O'Rourke takes the stage in the second round of presidential primary debates on Tuesday, three young black men from Michigan who were inspired by ex-NFL player Colin Kaepernick to kneel during the national anthem before their high school football games will be in the audience as guests of the former Texas congressman.
O'Rourke reached out to ex-Lansing Catholic High School football players Michael Lynn III, Matthew Abdullah and RoJe Williams and spoke with them by phone last week. Teammate Kabbalah Richards is away at college and unable to attend the debate but also was on the call.
O'Rourke had learned of the men's story when one of their families donated to his U.S. Senate campaign after seeing his viral defense of NFL players who chose to take a knee to protest police brutality and racism, his campaign said.
In a statement to The Associated Press on Monday, O'Rourke said the four "have served their community in one of the most American ways possible."
Read more: https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/ap/politics/o-rourke-debate-guests-are-black-men-who-kneeled-for/article_9df08761-eeef-5cbe-a154-0cce1b4ee8b4.html
O'Rourke reached out to ex-Lansing Catholic High School football players Michael Lynn III, Matthew Abdullah and RoJe Williams and spoke with them by phone last week. Teammate Kabbalah Richards is away at college and unable to attend the debate but also was on the call.
O'Rourke had learned of the men's story when one of their families donated to his U.S. Senate campaign after seeing his viral defense of NFL players who chose to take a knee to protest police brutality and racism, his campaign said.
In a statement to The Associated Press on Monday, O'Rourke said the four "have served their community in one of the most American ways possible."
Read more: https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/ap/politics/o-rourke-debate-guests-are-black-men-who-kneeled-for/article_9df08761-eeef-5cbe-a154-0cce1b4ee8b4.html
Yeah well it could be worse, it could be that. But people here’s the thing – this is going to be a long ass election cycle. And it seems like every single day it gets longer and Trump keeps getting crazier. But in our effort to knock Trump and the Christian right out of the White House, let’s make one thing perfectly clear – at least *WAIT* before calling for your own candidate’s exit from the election. That is only going to make things worse than they already are.
For more than a week since the shooting, O’Rourke served as a passionate voice for his border city and for immigrants more generally, with his wrenching criticism of President Donald Trump. And if O’Rourke had wanted to run for Senate, this would have been the time to make the jump — summoned home by tragedy, not limping back amid a sputtering campaign.
But O’Rourke has never expressed interest in running for Senate this year, after his near-miss loss to Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018. The El Paso massacre only redoubled his resolve to campaign against Trump, according to sources close to his campaign, while persistent calls for him to run for Senate exasperated his supporters.
In an op-ed for CNN on Tuesday, O’Rourke said the country is facing a “defining moment of truth.” A politician who has long tethered his political core less closely to ideology than to the culture and geography of his border city, O’Rourke wrote, “I believe El Paso can light our path forward, even as America now stands in sympathy and solidarity in its hour of heartbreak and anger.”
Or, as a more guttural O’Rourke put it to a television reporter recently, “He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals … Members of the press, what the fuck?”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/14/beto-orourke-2020-democrats-senate-run-1461533
But O’Rourke has never expressed interest in running for Senate this year, after his near-miss loss to Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018. The El Paso massacre only redoubled his resolve to campaign against Trump, according to sources close to his campaign, while persistent calls for him to run for Senate exasperated his supporters.
In an op-ed for CNN on Tuesday, O’Rourke said the country is facing a “defining moment of truth.” A politician who has long tethered his political core less closely to ideology than to the culture and geography of his border city, O’Rourke wrote, “I believe El Paso can light our path forward, even as America now stands in sympathy and solidarity in its hour of heartbreak and anger.”
Or, as a more guttural O’Rourke put it to a television reporter recently, “He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals … Members of the press, what the fuck?”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/14/beto-orourke-2020-democrats-senate-run-1461533
[font size="4"]Next Week:[/font]
Next week we’re going to Colorado to hang out with governor John Hickenlooper!
[font size="4"]Report Card:[/font]
Key Issues: Racial Inequality, Border Security
Target Demographic: People who don’t like Trump
Probability Rating: 5:1
Likelihood Of Going Far In Election: Very far, will most likely make it to primaries
Overall Grade: B+
[font size="8"]And Now This:[/font]
[font size="8”]Alice In Chains[/font]
Ladies and gentlemen, my next guest is a legendary grunge band from Seattle, their latest album is called “Rainier Fog”. You can see them on tour with Korn through Sept. 20th. Playing their song “So Far Under”, give it up for Alice In Chains!
https://media.pitchfork.com/photos/5b8035379fa68e462661c250/1:1/w_320/Alice%20in%20Chains_Rainier%20Fog.jpg
Thank you University of Kentucky! This was fun! We’re off to New Jersey and Rutgers University next! See you next week!
Credits
Host: Initech
Top 10 Conservative Idiots Recorded In Front Of Live Audience At: Comedy Off Broadway, Lexington, KY
Special Thanks To: University Of Kentucky, COB Management
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo
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See you in two weeks!
