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Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-6: Put Me In Coach, I'm Ready To Play Edition
Last edited Thu Mar 23, 2023, 05:43 PM - Edit history (10)
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #14-6: Put Me In Coach, I’m Ready To Play Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! Yoooooooooooo! What’s up, Portland? Believe it or not, this is our first time in the ME! Yeah how about that? And you guys are in for a treat because it’s my favorite Top 10 of the entire year aside from our Year In Review edition. Because it’s time for Stupidest State 2023! Yes folks the NFFSA is back! I hope y’all filled out your brackets because we’ve got a whopper of a tournament planned this year and some shake ups and hook ups! But that being said it’s going to be a hell of a tournament this year! And by the way after we come back from France, our following edition may be cut into a Top 4. But don’t worry, it won’t affect Holy Shit or Stupidest State. OK do we have time for the thing? Of course we do. So you know the Oscars are this weekend and depending on how things go, we may have discuss this in next week’s I Need A Drink. But anyway after last year’s incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock, the Academy is taking no chances on a repeat of the infamous pimp slap heard ‘round the world. But come on, you know that they’re planning to make this year’s festivities incident free. The thing is, folks, is don’t do what Will Smith did. We all know that he set a bad precedent with that slap, and we most certainly don’t need anyone imitating… hey what are you doing up here? Uh… security??? Oh come on now! That was uncalled for. You know the key to good comedy is always timing! OK enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to, but first John Oliver is back (yay!) and he delves into the subject of Artificial Intelligence, and I’m sure you’ve heard of ChatGPT by now:
So where do we begin this week? In the number one slot this week, is the GOP (1). So Joe Biden spent President’s day visiting war torn Kiev and Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky, which caused the MAGA conspiracy theorist nutcases to melt down and the conspiracy theories to fly! In the second slot this week is that guy who we inexplicably used to call president, Donald J. Trump (2). He went to East Palestine to tour that devastating train collision, which was a product of his own doing, and handed out Big Macs and red hats to anyone who cared to listen to his nonsense. Taking the number 3 slot this week is Kevin McCarthy (3). That’s right – the speaker of the house, in one of the most blatantly partisan dick moves in House history, simply handed obtained footage of January 6th over to Tucker Carlson, because, spite. Yeah Fox News owns that party and it’s insane. Speaking of insanity in the number 4 slot, we’re going to play our favorite game “IS IT RACIST?” because conservatives can’t help themselves saying racist stuff, and Dilbert creator Scott Adams stepped in it because of some racist comments he said on a podcast, so stop saying racist stuff! In the number 5 slot this week is a new edition of We’re All Gonna Die (5). After COVID, you know that disease patrol is on high alert to stop the next pandemic, but is the recent Marburg virus outbreak in West Africa going to kill us all? Maybe, maybe not. In the number 6 slot this week is of course, our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit” (6) and this week, our pastor is going to expose who’s really behind those insanely cryptic and annoying “He Gets Us” series of advertisements. In the number 7 slot this week, after refusing aid from the train derailment disaster, we add Ohio governor Mike DeWine (Q – Batshit) (7) to the ever growing list of People Who Somehow Got Elected! Taking the number 8 slot this week is a new edition of Conspiracy Corner – Marjorie Three Names (8) suggests that the USA is heading for a “national divorce” of blue states and red states, so we’ll break down exactly what that means! In the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week is a new “I Need A Drink” (9) and this week, you know how we say that social media is going to kill us all, well the latest Tik Tok challenge, the “Kool Aid Man Challenge” may do just that. Holy crap. Finally to close things out this week it’s that time! Stupidest State is here! It’s time for Stupidest State Selection Sunday (10)! This week, we’re live at the fabulous YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California and we have all of the states, stats, odds, and info you need to fill out those brackets! Plus to close things out, we have some live music from our good friend Post Malone joining us! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
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[font size="8"]The Biden Ukraine Visit
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You know in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a war going on. And an extremely bad man is looking to take over the world. I’m of course talking about Vladimir Putin and his increasingly evil regime in the Kremlin. Let me explain basic diplomacy to the MAGAs and Fox News hosts who may happen to be lurking here. When countries like each other, they help each other out. When countries realize there’s a threat out there, they also help each other out. So last week, PRESIDENT Joe Biden decided to do something to look presidential by visiting the war torn country of Ukraine. Which naturally caused the right wing echo chamber to enter full blown meltdown mode. But before we get into the right wing meltdown, we have to talk about what actually happened first.
Appearing in a war zone under regular attack, White House officials describe Joe Biden's unexpected visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv as "unprecedented in modern times".
They say previous presidential trips to wartime Iraq and Afghanistan had the back up of a heavy US military presence.
And despite widespread speculation among the press corps that Mr Biden might be planning a trip to Ukraine while he was in Poland, the visit still took everyone completely by surprise.
The sight of him appearing beside President Volodymyr Zelensky in the heart of Kyiv and under the sound of air raid sirens, makes a louder statement than anything he can say in a speech in Poland.
"It was risky and should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that Joe Biden is a leader who takes commitment seriously," said White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64710479?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_medium=social&at_format=link&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_link_type=web_link&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_id=B310605A-B140-11ED-B96A-40ED4744363C&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_link_origin=BBCNews
They say previous presidential trips to wartime Iraq and Afghanistan had the back up of a heavy US military presence.
And despite widespread speculation among the press corps that Mr Biden might be planning a trip to Ukraine while he was in Poland, the visit still took everyone completely by surprise.
The sight of him appearing beside President Volodymyr Zelensky in the heart of Kyiv and under the sound of air raid sirens, makes a louder statement than anything he can say in a speech in Poland.
"It was risky and should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that Joe Biden is a leader who takes commitment seriously," said White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64710479?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_medium=social&at_format=link&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_link_type=web_link&at_campaign_type=owned&at_link_id=B310605A-B140-11ED-B96A-40ED4744363C&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_link_origin=BBCNews
Hell yeah! That’s what real leaders do instead of wallowing around watching TV and figuring out how to score points with the echo chamber. And no, MAGAs, I don’t want to hear about how things would have been different if Trump were president. Seriously, fuck off with that shit already. But here’s the thing, while conservatives are migrating towards helping Putin with his illegal and immoral invasion, democrats are firming up their support. So yeah while the world is watching in horror with what Vlad is doing to Ukraine, we’ve got their backs!
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made an unannounced trip to Kyiv on Monday to emphasize the Biden administration’s continued support for Ukraine as the country prepares for Russia’s highly-anticipated spring offensive.
“I bring to Kyiv a clear message from President Biden and the American people: We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Yellen said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Yellen said she particularly hoped to highlight the White House’s “close partnership in providing economic and budgetary support” for Ukraine.
“As you have said, our support is not ‘charity,’” Yellen told Zelenskyy. “It’s an ‘investment in global security and democracy.’”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/27/treasury-sec-trip-ukraine-00084557
“I bring to Kyiv a clear message from President Biden and the American people: We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Yellen said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Yellen said she particularly hoped to highlight the White House’s “close partnership in providing economic and budgetary support” for Ukraine.
“As you have said, our support is not ‘charity,’” Yellen told Zelenskyy. “It’s an ‘investment in global security and democracy.’”
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/27/treasury-sec-trip-ukraine-00084557
Right? Well here’s where the bad part comes in. it’s truly scary and disheartening to see the GOP fall under the spell of Vladimir Putin. But then again it’s also totally on brand for them. Because as we have seen time and time again, the GOP really is becoming the “fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me” party so if you tell them that Vladimir Putin is the bad guy, then the GOP will somehow mistake him as being the good guy. That’s what happens when your mind is rotted by a continuously operating echo chamber that spews hate and lies 24 hours a day.
While President Biden projected that the U.S. is united in backing Ukraine during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday and in Poland on Tuesday, the Republican response to his trip exposed division in the party on Ukraine support as the war fighting off Russian invasion hits the one-year mark this week.
-snip-
On one end of the spectrum, firebrand Republicans criticized Biden for visiting Ukraine and called for an end to Ukraine funding.
“They need to be encouraging diplomatic solutions,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said of the Biden administration on Fox Business on Tuesday. “They’re going to ratchet it up … You’re going to see more and more people die through violent means.”
-snip-
On the other end, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) echoed Biden in projecting support for Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference last week, declaring that “reports about the death of Republican support for strong American leadership in the world have been greatly exaggerated.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-ukraine-visit-exposes-gop-110000056.html
-snip-
On one end of the spectrum, firebrand Republicans criticized Biden for visiting Ukraine and called for an end to Ukraine funding.
“They need to be encouraging diplomatic solutions,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said of the Biden administration on Fox Business on Tuesday. “They’re going to ratchet it up … You’re going to see more and more people die through violent means.”
-snip-
On the other end, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) echoed Biden in projecting support for Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference last week, declaring that “reports about the death of Republican support for strong American leadership in the world have been greatly exaggerated.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-ukraine-visit-exposes-gop-110000056.html
I know, right? But don’t worry, we’ll get to Former President Goofus’ visit to Ohio in a minute, and no, MAGAs, I really don’t care what would have happened if the other guy did it, OK? I care about what’s happening now. What’s happening now is that there is a fucking mad man in the Kremlin who’s out for world domination and he’s waging a war that he shouldn’t have, and is getting absolutely humiliated on a global stage, like he should have been. History isn’t kind to tyrants, and Vladimir Putin may be one of the biggest in world history.
Some right-wing United States Republicans are slamming Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine, invoking crises at home that they accuse the president of ignoring as he pledges support for Kyiv.
The opposition to Biden’s previously unannounced visit on Monday highlighted the views of a small but vocal cohort of ultraconservative US legislators who are sceptical of US support for Ukraine.
First-term Republican Congressman Andy Ogles accused Biden of prioritising “political field trips” on Monday.
“America-last Biden visited UKRAINE before visiting the people living through an environmental crisis in East Palestine, Ohio,” Ogles wrote on Twitter, referring to a toxic chemicals spill after a train derailment in Ohio earlier this month.
Still, the trip earned praise from Democrats who lauded Biden’s “leadership” in supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/20/389
The opposition to Biden’s previously unannounced visit on Monday highlighted the views of a small but vocal cohort of ultraconservative US legislators who are sceptical of US support for Ukraine.
First-term Republican Congressman Andy Ogles accused Biden of prioritising “political field trips” on Monday.
“America-last Biden visited UKRAINE before visiting the people living through an environmental crisis in East Palestine, Ohio,” Ogles wrote on Twitter, referring to a toxic chemicals spill after a train derailment in Ohio earlier this month.
Still, the trip earned praise from Democrats who lauded Biden’s “leadership” in supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/20/389
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[font size="8"]That Former President
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Let me ask you something, Portland – how many people here were born in the 80s and 90s? OK show of hands, don’t be shy! OK we’ve got a few of you. I’m an 80s kid personally. So now how many of you growing up remember Highlights Magazine? Oh really? That’s still a thing? I had no idea. Well if you know that magazine, they used to have a comic feature called Goofus And Gallant. The thing about this comic is that Gallant would be the good one, and show you what to do in a situation. And then there’s Goofus, who shows you what not to do. So let’s take a look at two presidents. Joe Biden, who looks like Gallant, and went to the Ukraine, and was awesome. Former president Goofus, on the other hand, went to East Palestine, Ohio to visit the train disaster. Which he caused. But how cute that he’s trying to look presidential in an effort to win back Fox voters and other swing voters that he may have disenfranchised in the last few years.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday, the site of a train derailment that led to a toxic spill near the border with Pennsylvania.
He made a speech in support of officials and emergency responders dealing with the crisis—before visiting a McDonald's restaurant to buy food for local firefighters and his flight home. He criticized the federal response to the incident as a "betrayal," echoing recent comments from the town's mayor, Trent Conaway, who was standing behind Trump during his speech.
With Trump came pallets of bottled water, including some the former commander-in-chief—who has announced his intention to run for a third time in 2024—said he had brought on his plane. However, many social media users have suggested that the Trump-branded water he delivered was 13 years old.
During his visit, Trump spoke alongside local officials and J.D. Vance, a freshman Republican senator for Ohio, at a firehouse roughly half a mile from the crash site. On February 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed with 38 cars coming off the tracks, 11 of which were carrying toxic chemicals.
https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-donald-trump-bottled-water-east-palestine-1783322
He made a speech in support of officials and emergency responders dealing with the crisis—before visiting a McDonald's restaurant to buy food for local firefighters and his flight home. He criticized the federal response to the incident as a "betrayal," echoing recent comments from the town's mayor, Trent Conaway, who was standing behind Trump during his speech.
With Trump came pallets of bottled water, including some the former commander-in-chief—who has announced his intention to run for a third time in 2024—said he had brought on his plane. However, many social media users have suggested that the Trump-branded water he delivered was 13 years old.
During his visit, Trump spoke alongside local officials and J.D. Vance, a freshman Republican senator for Ohio, at a firehouse roughly half a mile from the crash site. On February 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed with 38 cars coming off the tracks, 11 of which were carrying toxic chemicals.
https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-donald-trump-bottled-water-east-palestine-1783322
Boy this really screams “put me in coach, I’m ready to play”, doesn’t it? Like the song! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… I could imagine Tucker Carlson’s face on Lucy while pulling the football away from Biden’s Charlie Brown, that’s a good one! But of course like most things he does, Trump’s claims are greatly overexaggerated. Trump is that guy on the sidelines who thinks that he could do a better job of coaching than the actual coach does. Hell that’s practically how he wormed his way into the White House by claiming he could do everything better than Obama could. It worked for a while, but then it didn’t.
The other rules scrapped by the 45th president were for recurring safety audits of railroads and the requirement of having at least two crew members aboard freight trains. (Though the Norfolk Southern train that derailed had three crew members aboard, Politico notes that in regard to the two-member rule, the Trump administration claimed “a train crew staffing rule would unnecessarily impede the future of rail innovation and automation.”)
“Congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail-industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. He added that GOP lawmakers “laid the groundwork” for the Trump administration to get rid of safety requirements and, while he was at it, claimed House Republicans want to “defund our ability to protect drinking water.” (House Republicans last year proposed major cuts to the EPA, including scrapping its Surface Water Protection Program.) “There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail-industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA.”
Could Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have publicly addressed the disaster sooner and visited the site before Trump? Yes, sure. (In an interview with CBS on Tuesday, Buttigieg admitted as much, saying: “I was focused on just making sure that our folks on the ground were all set but could have spoken sooner about how strongly I felt about this incident, and that’s a lesson learned for me.“) Is it completely ridiculous for Trump to show up while failing to acknowledge the damage done by his administration? Also yes!
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/donald-trump-east-palestine-ohio-train
“Congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail-industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. He added that GOP lawmakers “laid the groundwork” for the Trump administration to get rid of safety requirements and, while he was at it, claimed House Republicans want to “defund our ability to protect drinking water.” (House Republicans last year proposed major cuts to the EPA, including scrapping its Surface Water Protection Program.) “There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail-industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA.”
Could Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have publicly addressed the disaster sooner and visited the site before Trump? Yes, sure. (In an interview with CBS on Tuesday, Buttigieg admitted as much, saying: “I was focused on just making sure that our folks on the ground were all set but could have spoken sooner about how strongly I felt about this incident, and that’s a lesson learned for me.“) Is it completely ridiculous for Trump to show up while failing to acknowledge the damage done by his administration? Also yes!
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/donald-trump-east-palestine-ohio-train
Yeah and that’s about the playbook for this whole exercise. Like are we really supposed to believe that Trump is presidential material after that stunt? He brought a pallet of cheap looking bottled and went and bought some McDonalds, while mocking the staff there, and somehow that makes him suddenly a man of the people? And we really got to stop letting him get away with the blame game, because this shit is getting really old now. I mean he’s getting really predictable and this is coming from someone who used to predict what he was going to say back when he was president.
Trump’s 10-minute speech — loaded with other political finger-pointing — came as the political blame for both the crisis and the response cascades toward both parties. Residents remain worried about air and water safety, long-term health and environmental effects and the compounded impact those fears will have on local businesses.
Republicans have seized on the derailment to hammer Biden and his administration. A number of Republicans — including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential contender — have criticized Biden for not visiting the village, saying his priorities were out of order because he chose to visit Ukraine instead.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has also become a focus of the partisan attacks, with at least one Republican senator calling for his resignation. Buttigieg has also not visited East Palestine since the derailment; he is expected to be here Thursday.
Democrats have rapped the GOP, meanwhile, for lax regulation of the freight railroad industry, including the Trump administration’s 2017 suspension of a requirement that trains carrying flammable liquids be outfitted with faster brakes.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-points-fingers-biden-administration-east-palestine-visit-rcna71568
Republicans have seized on the derailment to hammer Biden and his administration. A number of Republicans — including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential contender — have criticized Biden for not visiting the village, saying his priorities were out of order because he chose to visit Ukraine instead.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has also become a focus of the partisan attacks, with at least one Republican senator calling for his resignation. Buttigieg has also not visited East Palestine since the derailment; he is expected to be here Thursday.
Democrats have rapped the GOP, meanwhile, for lax regulation of the freight railroad industry, including the Trump administration’s 2017 suspension of a requirement that trains carrying flammable liquids be outfitted with faster brakes.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-points-fingers-biden-administration-east-palestine-visit-rcna71568
Oh fuck off! Nothing the Biden administration was going to do was going to be the correct response in the eyes of the MAGA Fox News cult. Like Biden could make a speech about the sky being blue and Hannity and Tucker would be on the air every night arguing that the sky is neon pink. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Nice one again! But leave it to former President Goofus to screw everything up and make it about himself. Just ugh… this is going to be a ridiculously long time until the 2024 election isn’t it? I can’t even…
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday described the federal response to the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as a “betrayal” as visited the village amid mounting frustration from residents and local leaders more than two weeks after the disaster.
Trump, wearing his trademark red “Make America Great Again” cap and an overcoat, said the community needs “answers and results,” not excuses. He spoke at a firehouse roughly half a mile from where more than three dozen freight cars — including 11 carrying hazardous materials — came off the tracks near the Pennsylvania state line.
“In too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal,” Trump said. He appeared with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Mayor Trent Conaway and other state and local leaders, giving the visit the look of an official trip.
The former president and other Republicans have intensified criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the Feb. 3 derailment, which led to evacuations and fears of air and water contamination after a controlled burning of toxic chemicals aboard the rail cars. The Biden administration, meanwhile, has blasted Trump and other Republicans for loosening rail safety measures and environmental protections when Republicans were in charge in Washington.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-visits-east-palestine-train-derailment-site-calls-response-a-betrayal
Trump, wearing his trademark red “Make America Great Again” cap and an overcoat, said the community needs “answers and results,” not excuses. He spoke at a firehouse roughly half a mile from where more than three dozen freight cars — including 11 carrying hazardous materials — came off the tracks near the Pennsylvania state line.
“In too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal,” Trump said. He appeared with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Mayor Trent Conaway and other state and local leaders, giving the visit the look of an official trip.
The former president and other Republicans have intensified criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the Feb. 3 derailment, which led to evacuations and fears of air and water contamination after a controlled burning of toxic chemicals aboard the rail cars. The Biden administration, meanwhile, has blasted Trump and other Republicans for loosening rail safety measures and environmental protections when Republicans were in charge in Washington.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-visits-east-palestine-train-derailment-site-calls-response-a-betrayal
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[font size="8"]Kevin McCarthy
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It's completely insane that conservatives are still gung ho on getting their petty revenge for everything that happened in 2020, and we may never hear the end of it. The latest clusterfuck coming from House Speaker and guy who looks like he just dragged his red tie through a pile of mud, Kevin McCarthy (Q – Batshit) may be the ultimate partisan fuck you move. This is utterly despicable that he would do such a thing, but totally on brand for today’s MAGA conservatives. I mean seriously, if Fox News told their viewers to jump off the Grand Canyon, they would be pushing and shoving each other to be the first in line. But what we got out of this latest political stunt is that Fox News completely fucking owns the GOP and they can’t get away with it. Hell, Fox is replacing what few sane conservatives are left with crazy MAGA bootlickers. Well enough of my rambling, let??s get to the latest political stunt in what is going to be a ridiculously long two years. Hold your boos.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) move to give Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to tens of thousands of hours of Capitol security footage from the Jan. 6 attack has the potential to warm his relationship with cable television’s most powerful conservative commentator.
Over the last few years, Carlson has taken high-profile jabs at McCarthy, knocking the GOP leader as a “puppet” Democrat better suited for MSNBC than the Speakership. In granting Carlson exclusive access to the footage, McCarthy fulfilled an explicit request from Carlson during last month’s Speaker’s fight.
The move has sparked a firestorm of controversy on Capitol Hill, where Democrats are hammering the decision to give sensitive security footage to a media figure whose 2021 “Patriot Purge” documentary series suggested the riot was a “false flag” operation designed to persecute Trump supporters.
Yet Carlson has become the most-watched cable news pundit not despite such controversies, but largely because of them. And Carlson’s influence is unmatched by any other commentator in the conservative ecosystem — a dynamic, sources say, that likely influenced McCarthy’s decision to grant him exclusive access to the Jan. 6 footage.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3876292-mccarthy-woos-one-time-critic-tucker-carlson-with-jan-6-tapes/
Over the last few years, Carlson has taken high-profile jabs at McCarthy, knocking the GOP leader as a “puppet” Democrat better suited for MSNBC than the Speakership. In granting Carlson exclusive access to the footage, McCarthy fulfilled an explicit request from Carlson during last month’s Speaker’s fight.
The move has sparked a firestorm of controversy on Capitol Hill, where Democrats are hammering the decision to give sensitive security footage to a media figure whose 2021 “Patriot Purge” documentary series suggested the riot was a “false flag” operation designed to persecute Trump supporters.
Yet Carlson has become the most-watched cable news pundit not despite such controversies, but largely because of them. And Carlson’s influence is unmatched by any other commentator in the conservative ecosystem — a dynamic, sources say, that likely influenced McCarthy’s decision to grant him exclusive access to the Jan. 6 footage.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3876292-mccarthy-woos-one-time-critic-tucker-carlson-with-jan-6-tapes/
It’s like conservatives are trying to out crazy each other. No one is that evil and stupid right? Well come on, we’re living in the post Donald Trump era. It seems no matter how low conservatives go, other conservatives can go even lower. Shit, there’s a bill being proposed in Florida right now that would completely eliminate the Democratic party. I mean come on, that’s some totalitarian third world shit right there. And seriously, the hate and division in this country is completely insane. And giving all of this to Tucker Carlson is just more fuel for the fire.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday defended his decision to hand over tens of thousands of hours of security video from the Jan. 6 insurrection to Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
McCarthy told reporters that he was following the precedent of the House Jan. 6 committee in giving a news network early, exclusive access to video that he said he would later release more widely. "So he’ll have an exclusive, then I’ll give it out to the entire country," McCarthy said.
Asked when the video would be released to other outlets and the public, McCarthy said, “As soon as possible.” A group of news organizations, including NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, asked McCarthy on Friday to share the security video with them.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is among the Democrats who have denounced McCarthy, saying his decision to share thousands of hours of Jan. 6 video “poses grave security risks” to lawmakers and Capitol staff members.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/scalise-defends-mccarthys-decision-give-jan-6-tapes-tucker-carlson-spe-rcna72674
McCarthy told reporters that he was following the precedent of the House Jan. 6 committee in giving a news network early, exclusive access to video that he said he would later release more widely. "So he’ll have an exclusive, then I’ll give it out to the entire country," McCarthy said.
Asked when the video would be released to other outlets and the public, McCarthy said, “As soon as possible.” A group of news organizations, including NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, asked McCarthy on Friday to share the security video with them.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York is among the Democrats who have denounced McCarthy, saying his decision to share thousands of hours of Jan. 6 video “poses grave security risks” to lawmakers and Capitol staff members.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/scalise-defends-mccarthys-decision-give-jan-6-tapes-tucker-carlson-spe-rcna72674
Yeah BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Insane that they think this is all a game to them. Don’t give a shit if it’s exclusive or not, I have Fox News blocked from my DVR in the off chance I may come across it, because fuck Rupert Murdoch. And by the way I love that Trump thinks that this is a threat because he wasn’t consulted on it. But hey, leave it to the My Pillow guy to the rescue! I mean come on, this is what is representing the Republican party these days. Talk show hosts and shitty product influencers for shitty products. Is that all they got? No wonder no one is taking them seriously anymore. This just shows you how far gone the GOP is.
On Monday, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — a close Trump associate who has been one of the largest financial backers of the election-denialism movement since late 2020 — told Rolling Stone he’s now working with two attorneys, Doug Wardlow and Pat McSweeney, to file a lawsuit against McCarthy as soon as within the “next few days.” Lindell says he and his legal team have drafted a suit arguing his streaming program, Lindell TV, is being “injured” and discriminated against by not enjoying equal access to the unreleased Jan. 6 trove. The Trump ally, who often finds himself to the pro-Trump right of Fox News, notes that he doesn’t trust Fox’s “agenda” with these tapes, and dubs McCarthy’s decision “disgusting” and allegedly unconstitutional.
“As you correctly and publicly stated, the footage ‘belong[s] to the American public.’ Accordingly, I request the same access for my media company, Lindell TV,” the MyPillow CEO wrote to McCarthy in a Feb. 23 letter he provided to Rolling Stone. “Please have your staff reach out to me to arrange for access.”
As it were, lawyer Charles Tobin — on behalf of news organizations such as Axios, ProPublica, and Politico — sent a letter to congressional leaders last week, calling for broader media access to the videos, writing that “the incredible public interest in understanding what transpired on January 6 crosses party lines.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kevin-mccarthy-jan-6-tucker-carlson-tapes-maga-lawsuit-1234687833/
“As you correctly and publicly stated, the footage ‘belong[s] to the American public.’ Accordingly, I request the same access for my media company, Lindell TV,” the MyPillow CEO wrote to McCarthy in a Feb. 23 letter he provided to Rolling Stone. “Please have your staff reach out to me to arrange for access.”
As it were, lawyer Charles Tobin — on behalf of news organizations such as Axios, ProPublica, and Politico — sent a letter to congressional leaders last week, calling for broader media access to the videos, writing that “the incredible public interest in understanding what transpired on January 6 crosses party lines.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kevin-mccarthy-jan-6-tucker-carlson-tapes-maga-lawsuit-1234687833/
To the idiot mobile! That’s so hilarious that all they do is sue people. And they sue them for ridiculous amounts of money at that. And no real good or bad or any kind of change will happen as a result of these lawsuits. All it will do is tie up the courts and that’s about it. This whole stunt was just a way to score points with Fox News viewers and batshit insane conspiracy theorists, and that’s it. Come on, we all know what Tucker’s going to say and do with this. He’s going to paint it as a false flag or some other bullshit. Fox News is in full blown “nothing to see here, please disperse” mode. After all, a failed coup is a dress rehearsal for a successful one. And this should be more proof that Fox News is an ever increasing threat to the stability of this country.
Back in December, Congress held a bipartisan ceremony honoring Capitol Police officers who died after defending the building from an armed insurrection by supporters of former President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. Families of fallen officers received gold medals on behalf of their loved ones. Then a bunch of them publicly dissed Republican leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.
There’s no kind way to say it: they left the soon-to-be Speaker of the House hanging.
“This is an integrity issue,” explained Craig Sicknick, brother of Officer fallen officer Brian Sicknick.
“They took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. And when somebody challenges it, like Trump, they do nothing,” he added. Sicknick was grossed out by GOP leaders' systematic efforts to undermine and obstruct accountability for the insurrection and coup attempt. That same week, this newsletter warned that McCarthy could only hold onto his wavering speaker bid by proving to the Trumpist GOP he’s an obedient pursuit of their pro-coup agenda.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ake54p/kevin-mccarthy-tucker-carlson-jan-6
There’s no kind way to say it: they left the soon-to-be Speaker of the House hanging.
“This is an integrity issue,” explained Craig Sicknick, brother of Officer fallen officer Brian Sicknick.
“They took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. And when somebody challenges it, like Trump, they do nothing,” he added. Sicknick was grossed out by GOP leaders' systematic efforts to undermine and obstruct accountability for the insurrection and coup attempt. That same week, this newsletter warned that McCarthy could only hold onto his wavering speaker bid by proving to the Trumpist GOP he’s an obedient pursuit of their pro-coup agenda.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ake54p/kevin-mccarthy-tucker-carlson-jan-6
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[font size="8"]Scott Adams
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Hey everyone, let’s play the hot new game that’s sweeping the nation!
Because we always say that if you have to ask, it’s probably racist! Look, look. Look. Here’s the thing, conservatives. We’ve been going through this shit every day for the last 8 years. And I’m getting really tired of having to explain this side of the circular firing squad. If you don’t want to get pegged as a racist, then don’t say racist stuff. You’re not getting “banned” or “canceled” because you’re a conservative posting conservative views on a social media website. You’re getting banned or canceled because your views that you’re posting are incredibly racist and sexist! So let’s take into account our latest subject this week. Scott Adams. You probably know him best as the creator of the long running workplace comic strip centered around uber nerd Dilbert. Dilbert, which spawned a TV show and tons of merchandise, is now not going to be a thing anymore. Because, the strip’s creator got caught saying racist stuff on a podcast. So , audience, how racist is it? Well, as you can guess, it’s extremely fucking racist.
The creator of the Dilbert comic strip faced a backlash of cancellations Saturday while defending remarks describing people who are Black as members of “a hate group” from which white people should “get away.”
Various media publishers across the U.S. denounced the comments by Dilbert creator Scott Adams as racist, hateful and discriminatory while saying they would no longer provide a platform for his work.
Andrews McMeel Syndication, which distributes Dilbert, did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment. But Adams defended himself on social media against those whom he said “hate me and are canceling me.”
Adams, who is white, repeatedly referred to people who are Black as members of a “hate group” or a “racist hate group” and said he would no longer “help Black Americans.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/animation-and-comics-business-e2266a2356d4159b7f43fdc095be9fcb
Various media publishers across the U.S. denounced the comments by Dilbert creator Scott Adams as racist, hateful and discriminatory while saying they would no longer provide a platform for his work.
Andrews McMeel Syndication, which distributes Dilbert, did not immediately respond Saturday to requests for comment. But Adams defended himself on social media against those whom he said “hate me and are canceling me.”
Adams, who is white, repeatedly referred to people who are Black as members of a “hate group” or a “racist hate group” and said he would no longer “help Black Americans.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/animation-and-comics-business-e2266a2356d4159b7f43fdc095be9fcb
Honestly there’s not enough facepalms for this one. I mean come on, have we learned nothing in the last 8 years since the dawn of the Trump administration? If you don’t want to be racist, then don’t say racist stuff. Seriously, remember when “Papa” John Schnatter went and said that he actually had to have someone tell him not to use the N word (see: Idiots #10-7 )? But this is one of those things that we love to point out on this program about actions having consequences. Look, this is the social media era. You can’t say racist things and expect that you’ll get off scot-free. You will be punished for this at some point.
The comic strip “Dilbert” disappeared with lightning speed following racist remarks by creator Scott Adams, but it shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who has followed them both.
Adams, who is white, was an outspoken presence on social media long before describing Black people as a “hate group” on YouTube and, to some, “Dilbert” had strayed from its roots as a chronicler of office culture.
The editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, which dumped “Dilbert” last year, said the comic strip “went from being hilarious to being hurtful and mean.” The Los Angeles Times, which joined dozens of other newspapers in dropping the comic following last week's remarks, had quietly replaced four of Adams' strips last year.
“He kind of ran out of office jokes and started integrating all this other stuff so after a while, it became hard to distinguish between Scott Adams and ‘Dilbert,’” said Mike Peterson, columnist for the industry blog The Daily Cartoonist.
He's attracted attention for comments he's made in the past, including saying in 2011 that women are treated differently by society for the same reason as children and the mentally disabled — “it's just easier this way for everyone.” He said 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina had an “angry wife face.”
https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/dilbert-distributor-severs-ties-to-creator-over-17807588.php
Adams, who is white, was an outspoken presence on social media long before describing Black people as a “hate group” on YouTube and, to some, “Dilbert” had strayed from its roots as a chronicler of office culture.
The editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, which dumped “Dilbert” last year, said the comic strip “went from being hilarious to being hurtful and mean.” The Los Angeles Times, which joined dozens of other newspapers in dropping the comic following last week's remarks, had quietly replaced four of Adams' strips last year.
“He kind of ran out of office jokes and started integrating all this other stuff so after a while, it became hard to distinguish between Scott Adams and ‘Dilbert,’” said Mike Peterson, columnist for the industry blog The Daily Cartoonist.
He's attracted attention for comments he's made in the past, including saying in 2011 that women are treated differently by society for the same reason as children and the mentally disabled — “it's just easier this way for everyone.” He said 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina had an “angry wife face.”
https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/dilbert-distributor-severs-ties-to-creator-over-17807588.php
Oh yeah that’s definitely racist all right! Is someone just implanting these ideas in people’s heads now to make them go full racist and sexist? Did Scott Adams get replaced with Jordan Peterson? Well, think about it, have you ever seen the two of them in the same room together? But even the right wing echo chamber is outraged at what Adams is saying. But to them, he’s basically saying the quiet part out loud, because you know that’s what they’re secretly thinking. I’m not saying all republicans are racist, but all racists are republican. Let that sink in! And you know you fucked up when Newsmax complains!
Newsmax hosts on Monday condemned Dilbert comic strip creator Scott Adams after he posted a "racist tirade" on Twitter.
In his rant, Adams alleged Black Americans are a "hate group" and said white people should "get away" from them. Many newspapers dropped the Dilbert comic following the remarks.
"These comments are not good; they need to be addressed," Newsmax correspondent Christina Thompson said at the top of her report on Monday.
Thompson described Adams' remarks as a "racist tirade."
"I can't believe people like this are out there," she continued, "and that they have any sort of platform. I'm so sick of this type of hate; I'm so sick of this anger in the world. Can we please all just be kind? I don't understand why it's so hard for some people."
https://www.rawstory.com/newsmax-scott-adams-racist-tirade/
In his rant, Adams alleged Black Americans are a "hate group" and said white people should "get away" from them. Many newspapers dropped the Dilbert comic following the remarks.
"These comments are not good; they need to be addressed," Newsmax correspondent Christina Thompson said at the top of her report on Monday.
Thompson described Adams' remarks as a "racist tirade."
"I can't believe people like this are out there," she continued, "and that they have any sort of platform. I'm so sick of this type of hate; I'm so sick of this anger in the world. Can we please all just be kind? I don't understand why it's so hard for some people."
https://www.rawstory.com/newsmax-scott-adams-racist-tirade/
So come on people, if you don’t want to get pegged as a racist then don’t say racist stuff. We honestly cannot emphasize this enough. So don’t be a Scott Adams. If you don’t want your life’s work to be canceled and disposed of, don’t be a douche. That’s all we can say here, and have been saying for years here. We always like to point out that actions have consequences, and if you say racist and sexist stuff, then you’ll get pegged as a racist and sexist. Once again, this is the same shit and different year and conservatives seem bent on taking us backwards. Is it racist? Yeah probably.
The longtime comic-strip character Dilbert has been banished from his regular cubicle at hundreds of U.S. newspapers, and this time the only annoying co-worker to blame for his plight is the dude who draws him. The mass-cancellation began soon after Dilbert creator Scott Adams made a number of racist statements on his YouTube channel, effectively destroying his own comic strip after more than three decades in syndication. Over the weekend, billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk not only came to Adams’s defence, but claimed that the media was racist against white people, in response.
Adams broadcasted his racist rant on his YouTube show on Wednesday after being triggered by a questionably designed Rasmussen poll which suggested just over half of Black Americans agreed with the statement “It’s okay to be white” — a phrase the Anti-Defamation League has linked to the white supremacist movement which has gained broader popularity as a right-wing meme. In response to the poll, Adams called Black people a “hate group,” blamed them for “not focusing on education,” implied Black Americans were targeting “non-Black citizens” with violence, and effectively advocated for segregation:
Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people. Just get the fuck away. Wherever you have to go, just get away. Because there’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed. So I don’t think it makes any sense as a white citizen of America to try to help Black citizens anymore. It doesn’t make sense. There’s no longer a rational impulse. So I’m going to back off on being helpful to Black America because it doesn’t seem like it pays off.
By Friday, a growing number of newspapers were rapidly severing ties with Adams. “This is not a difficult decision,” wrote Cleveland Plain Dealer editor Chris Quinn on Friday, dismissing the notion that dropping Adams’s Dilbert was somehow related to so-called cancel culture:
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/scott-adams-dilbert-cancelled-over-racist-rant-elon-musk-attacks-media.html
Adams broadcasted his racist rant on his YouTube show on Wednesday after being triggered by a questionably designed Rasmussen poll which suggested just over half of Black Americans agreed with the statement “It’s okay to be white” — a phrase the Anti-Defamation League has linked to the white supremacist movement which has gained broader popularity as a right-wing meme. In response to the poll, Adams called Black people a “hate group,” blamed them for “not focusing on education,” implied Black Americans were targeting “non-Black citizens” with violence, and effectively advocated for segregation:
Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people. Just get the fuck away. Wherever you have to go, just get away. Because there’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed. So I don’t think it makes any sense as a white citizen of America to try to help Black citizens anymore. It doesn’t make sense. There’s no longer a rational impulse. So I’m going to back off on being helpful to Black America because it doesn’t seem like it pays off.
By Friday, a growing number of newspapers were rapidly severing ties with Adams. “This is not a difficult decision,” wrote Cleveland Plain Dealer editor Chris Quinn on Friday, dismissing the notion that dropping Adams’s Dilbert was somehow related to so-called cancel culture:
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/scott-adams-dilbert-cancelled-over-racist-rant-elon-musk-attacks-media.html
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[font size="8"]We’re All Gonna Die
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Hey everyone, guess what? We’re all gonna die! Wooooooooooooooooooooo! Woooooooooooo!! Wooo! Wooo. Woo. So what’s going to kill us all this week? Well, it looks like the nightmare that’s completely upended our way of life, the COVID-19 pandemic, might finally be a thing of the past and we can’t wait for that to happen soon enough! But another pandemic just might be rearing its’ ugly heads so we’d better watch out! That’s right over in Central Africa, the reappearance of the Marburg virus has been enough to cause some alarm. I mean come on, haven’t we all had an ass full of “the alarm” by now, am I right? I can’t tell you how many hundreds of articles I read back at the beginning of the pandemic and every new variant where the headline was “Scientists sound the alarm”. So is there cause for alarm right now? Well there’s a lot to unpack here and the thing about the Marburg virus that you need to know is that it causes a very painful death. Like think if COVID and Ebola had a love child – yeah that painful! But for now you should probably avoid going to central Africa, but the right will go there anyways because their official motto is “fuck all y’all”.
Two more people in Equatorial Guinea have died of Marburg hemorrhagic fever, a cousin of the Ebola virus, bringing the toll of fatalities to 11, the authorities say.
"Two days ago, the monitoring system recorded eight notifications, including the deaths of two people with symptoms of the disease," Health Minister Mitoha Ondo'o Ayekaba said in a statement issued late Tuesday.
Work is underway "to strengthen assessment of the spread of the epidemic," said the statement, read on national television.
"Forty-eight contact cases have been documented, four of whom have developed symptoms, and three who have been quarantined in hospital," it added.
The Marburg virus is a rare but highly dangerous pathogen that causes severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.
https://www.voanews.com/a/death-toll-in-equatorial-guinea-marburg-outbreak-rises-to-11/6982164.html
"Two days ago, the monitoring system recorded eight notifications, including the deaths of two people with symptoms of the disease," Health Minister Mitoha Ondo'o Ayekaba said in a statement issued late Tuesday.
Work is underway "to strengthen assessment of the spread of the epidemic," said the statement, read on national television.
"Forty-eight contact cases have been documented, four of whom have developed symptoms, and three who have been quarantined in hospital," it added.
The Marburg virus is a rare but highly dangerous pathogen that causes severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.
https://www.voanews.com/a/death-toll-in-equatorial-guinea-marburg-outbreak-rises-to-11/6982164.html
Hooooooooooooooooooooooooly shit! That is a pretty fucked up way to die. Thankfully I can’t imagine a scenario in which I would travel to Equatorial Guinea any time soon! But in the off chance you do it’s always wise to take the necessary precautions. I mean in this day and age you can’t have too much protection if you know what I’m saying! But again what we’re dealing with here is an extremely dangerous pathogen. And we don’t want a repeat of 2020 under any circumstances. A second pandemic would be worse than the first!
Canada is advising travellers to avoid non-essential travel to a specific province in Equatorial Guinea currently experiencing an outbreak of the infectious Marburg virus.
Equatorial Guinea has placed more than 200 people in quarantine and restricted movement in its Kie-Ntem province, where the hemorrhagic fever known as Marburg disease was first detected earlier this month.
As of Feb. 21, the World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting cases in nine people, including one confirmed, four probable and four suspected, all of whom have died.
"It's not unusual that we see, a week or two later, that there are more cases that appear and that emerge," Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases expert at Toronto's University Health Network, told CTV's Your Morning on Monday.
"But of course, simultaneous with that you've got public health teams that are trying to quell this, trying to identify cases, trying to provide support for patients, and of course support for close contacts, informing people what to do and where to go if they think they have a suspected case."
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/what-is-the-marburg-virus-canada-s-travel-advice-as-outbreak-confirmed-in-africa-1.6290854
Equatorial Guinea has placed more than 200 people in quarantine and restricted movement in its Kie-Ntem province, where the hemorrhagic fever known as Marburg disease was first detected earlier this month.
As of Feb. 21, the World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting cases in nine people, including one confirmed, four probable and four suspected, all of whom have died.
"It's not unusual that we see, a week or two later, that there are more cases that appear and that emerge," Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases expert at Toronto's University Health Network, told CTV's Your Morning on Monday.
"But of course, simultaneous with that you've got public health teams that are trying to quell this, trying to identify cases, trying to provide support for patients, and of course support for close contacts, informing people what to do and where to go if they think they have a suspected case."
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/what-is-the-marburg-virus-canada-s-travel-advice-as-outbreak-confirmed-in-africa-1.6290854
That’s a little extreme there isn’t it? Well again you can’t be too careful these days especially after we’re coming out of a worldwide pandemic. We definitely don’t want to be the cause of the next one if we can help it at all! But here’s where it helps to cut through the fear mongering, my fair audience. Is because bullshit is everywhere. It’s free and readily available. So here’s why we are saying this. Because reports were coming out about a mysterious pathogen being identified in Barcelona. Which of course prompted the media to go into full “we’re all gonna die” mode. So was it the Marburg virus or not? That’s the mystery.
Spain has identified its first suspected case of Marburg disease.
The Spanish patient is a 34-year-old man who had recently traveled to the Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea.
He was in a private hospital but has been transferred to an isolation unit at Hospital La Fe in Valencia for further tests, regional medical officials said.
Marburg virus disease, or MVD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “is a rare but severe hemorrhagic fever which affects both people and non-human primates… Primates [including people] can become infected with Marburg virus, and may develop serious disease with high mortality.”
Spanish health officials said Saturday that more than 200 people in Equatorial Guinea have recently been quarantined because of Marburg disease.
https://ptvnews.ph/spain-detects-first-suspected-case-of-marburg-disease/
The Spanish patient is a 34-year-old man who had recently traveled to the Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea.
He was in a private hospital but has been transferred to an isolation unit at Hospital La Fe in Valencia for further tests, regional medical officials said.
Marburg virus disease, or MVD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “is a rare but severe hemorrhagic fever which affects both people and non-human primates… Primates [including people] can become infected with Marburg virus, and may develop serious disease with high mortality.”
Spanish health officials said Saturday that more than 200 people in Equatorial Guinea have recently been quarantined because of Marburg disease.
https://ptvnews.ph/spain-detects-first-suspected-case-of-marburg-disease/
No we’re not going to die… YET. This is why I say that this is why you need to pay attention to the bullshit. And seriously do the words “quarantine” or “containment” mean nothing to anybody anymore? I mean what the hell would you possibly travel to that specific region of Equatorial Guinea for other than safari or hunting? And even then there’s probably some much better places that you could travel to. Anyway look I know that we can’t police the next pandemic enough as it is, but we’ve all got to do our part. After all, they don’t call it “public” health for nothing!
The Biden administration may soon deploy experimental doses of vaccine to a new outbreak of Marburg virus, officials told an "urgent" meeting convened by the World Health Organization this week, as health authorities are racing to contain the spread of the highly lethal disease in Equatorial Guinea.
The WHO says nine deaths have so far been reported of people with symptoms of Marburg, which like Ebola often include severe fever, diarrhea and bleeding. Up to 88% of Marburg cases have died after being infected in past outbreaks, usually within nine days after symptoms begin.
An additional 16 suspected cases have been identified to date across Equatorial Guinea and 21 more are being monitored, the WHO said. No additional cases have been spotted in neighboring countries, although investigations are ramping up.
"No confirmed cases have been reported in Cameroon or Gabon. But WHO is working with the ministry of health of Cameroon to investigate an alert in that country. We're also supporting the governments of Cameroon and Gabon to prepare to rapidly detect, isolate and provide care for any suspected cases," said Tedros.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marburg-outbreak-equatorial-guinea-us-experimental-vaccines/
The WHO says nine deaths have so far been reported of people with symptoms of Marburg, which like Ebola often include severe fever, diarrhea and bleeding. Up to 88% of Marburg cases have died after being infected in past outbreaks, usually within nine days after symptoms begin.
An additional 16 suspected cases have been identified to date across Equatorial Guinea and 21 more are being monitored, the WHO said. No additional cases have been spotted in neighboring countries, although investigations are ramping up.
"No confirmed cases have been reported in Cameroon or Gabon. But WHO is working with the ministry of health of Cameroon to investigate an alert in that country. We're also supporting the governments of Cameroon and Gabon to prepare to rapidly detect, isolate and provide care for any suspected cases," said Tedros.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marburg-outbreak-equatorial-guinea-us-experimental-vaccines/
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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: He Gets…Us?
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Gather around my fair brothers and sisters! 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! Please be seated! You know my friends, we recently had a grand spectacle if you will. A giant pageant full of lights, pageantry, music, flashing lights, and carefully coordinated dance numbers. I’m not talking about Christmas. I’m not talking about Mardi Gras. I’m of course talking about the Super Bowl. And I know it was three weeks ago, which feels like an eternity in this day and age, but we’re not letting a certain company get away with a certain advertisement. You may have been seeing these advertisements pop up a lot lately. It’s call the “He Gets Us” campaign. You know what? Can we show one of these advertisements before we go any further? Roll the clip!
Wow, there’s a lot to unpack there. But I will say that these commercials are brought to you by David Green, the billionaire CEO of an arts and crafts store that you might have head of called Hobby Lobby, yes, *THAT* Hobby Lobby. You know we’ve covered Hobby Lobby’s past exploits in Holy Shit before (see: Top 10 #13-1 and Idiots #3-23 ). And these are people who do not support GAWD, they support the Unholy, Ungodly Dark One! I of course speak of a man so disgusting that his name dare NOT be spoken in my church last week. And we almost broke our one rule last week, I might add. But that being said, these commercials are strange and we definitely want to bring you up to speed on them.
What's the big deal? It's part of a well-funded campaign that is just getting started.
The advertisements are part of an effort to shift away from a negative public perception of Christians, and towards Jesus, says Bob Smietana, national reporter for Religion News Service, in an interview with NPR.
Smietana says that the campaign is attempting to appeal to groups that may have felt excluded or repelled by the church in recent years, like members of the LGBTQ community, different races and ethnicities, those who lean more liberal politically, or people who have kept up with scandals of abuse.
The group behind the campaign has also purchased an advertisement slot for this Sunday's Super Bowl, one of the most expensive brand platforms out there. The estimated costs for those ads will run around $20 million.
In an interview with Christianity Today, the branding firm for the campaign said the plan included investing $1 billion over the next three years, a budget comparable to that of a major brand.
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/06/1154880673/jesus-commercial-super-bowl-billboard-he-gets-us-hobby-lobby-evangelical-billion
The advertisements are part of an effort to shift away from a negative public perception of Christians, and towards Jesus, says Bob Smietana, national reporter for Religion News Service, in an interview with NPR.
Smietana says that the campaign is attempting to appeal to groups that may have felt excluded or repelled by the church in recent years, like members of the LGBTQ community, different races and ethnicities, those who lean more liberal politically, or people who have kept up with scandals of abuse.
The group behind the campaign has also purchased an advertisement slot for this Sunday's Super Bowl, one of the most expensive brand platforms out there. The estimated costs for those ads will run around $20 million.
In an interview with Christianity Today, the branding firm for the campaign said the plan included investing $1 billion over the next three years, a budget comparable to that of a major brand.
https://www.npr.org/2023/02/06/1154880673/jesus-commercial-super-bowl-billboard-he-gets-us-hobby-lobby-evangelical-billion
Sorry Hobby Lobby, you can spend all the money you want, but I will continue the stance that I’ve had from the beginning is that we will not be a part of the United States’ slide into becoming a religious fascist totalitarian country! Again these are people who are not on the side of GAWD! They are on the side of the Unholy Dark One! So you can run all of the advertisements that you want, but we won’t join your cult! Do you get that? Thank you Portland! But is there really a controversy about this? Either you are religious or you’re not. And the fastest growing religion is none of the above. So these commercials might be wasted on the youth.
Anything even slightly controversial will have its fair share of detractors.
There are always two sides to every issue, and a massive $100 million dollar campaign about Jesus is not immune to criticism — even among those who support the underlying cause.
For a little background, the He Gets Us campaign is meant to paint Jesus Christ in a new light, someone who understood the lowly and overlooked. It’s mostly a marketing campaign with a message for the masses. The organization behind He Gets Us even ran a Super Bowl commercial recently, which is when most of the controversy started.
Many of the comments on their Facebook post about the Super Bowl ad are positive and supportive. A few are happy to see a campaign that raises awareness like this. Yet, for every encouraging post there is one that blasts the campaign as expensive and unnecessary.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbbrandon/2023/02/23/social-media-users-cant-decide-if-they-love-or-hate-the-he-gets-us-campaign/?sh=460729077621
There are always two sides to every issue, and a massive $100 million dollar campaign about Jesus is not immune to criticism — even among those who support the underlying cause.
For a little background, the He Gets Us campaign is meant to paint Jesus Christ in a new light, someone who understood the lowly and overlooked. It’s mostly a marketing campaign with a message for the masses. The organization behind He Gets Us even ran a Super Bowl commercial recently, which is when most of the controversy started.
Many of the comments on their Facebook post about the Super Bowl ad are positive and supportive. A few are happy to see a campaign that raises awareness like this. Yet, for every encouraging post there is one that blasts the campaign as expensive and unnecessary.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbbrandon/2023/02/23/social-media-users-cant-decide-if-they-love-or-hate-the-he-gets-us-campaign/?sh=460729077621
Yeah they should feel bad about themselves! But they won’t! But in regards to the Super Bowl this year, do you really need some ads featuring JAYSUS? I mean whatever your vice is, they got it covered – whether it’s booze or gambling or vaping! So in between ads for Draft Kings, and beer and expensive cars and the insurance needed to drive those expensive cars, sure why not Jesus? But do you really need to reduce the lord and savior to being an influencer and product hawker? Well have you seen the hundreds of Bible based apps out there? Yeah let’s not cheapen the image of the LAWRD here with your insanity.
And “He Gets Us,” an ad campaign introduced last year to reintroduce Jesus, ran 90 seconds of advertising time at a cost of around $20 million, according to Jason Vanderground, president of Haven, the creative agency that works with the campaign.
The campaign, from a nonprofit of the same name, targets people who are spiritually open but skeptical of Christianity because they may view it as hypocritical, discriminatory or judgmental, Mr. Vanderground said.
“What we’re trying to do is put the world’s biggest influencer on TV’s biggest stage,” he said before the game.
The “He Gets Us” campaign also includes digital and social media, out-of-home advertising and ads on Uber vehicles, the organization said. Mr. Vanderground said messages such as “Jesus let his hair down, too” are meant to show that Jesus took part in celebrations.
Mr. Vanderground said he hopes consumers will view the ads and come to the organization’s website, where they can read articles, watch videos, live chat with someone from the organization, find a number to text for prayers or find people in their communities to get coffee with.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-2023-super-bowl-ads-will-feature-booze-betting-and-jesus-d8dff447
The campaign, from a nonprofit of the same name, targets people who are spiritually open but skeptical of Christianity because they may view it as hypocritical, discriminatory or judgmental, Mr. Vanderground said.
“What we’re trying to do is put the world’s biggest influencer on TV’s biggest stage,” he said before the game.
The “He Gets Us” campaign also includes digital and social media, out-of-home advertising and ads on Uber vehicles, the organization said. Mr. Vanderground said messages such as “Jesus let his hair down, too” are meant to show that Jesus took part in celebrations.
Mr. Vanderground said he hopes consumers will view the ads and come to the organization’s website, where they can read articles, watch videos, live chat with someone from the organization, find a number to text for prayers or find people in their communities to get coffee with.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-2023-super-bowl-ads-will-feature-booze-betting-and-jesus-d8dff447
Nah, we’re not going to be doing that. So what’s the truth behind these ads? I mean why run them now and not like in the 1980s? Well they’re obviously trying to tie this into social media. But if you trace the money behind this campaign, you know that the people behind it are not on the side of GAWD. They are on the side of the Dark One and everything he stands for, which we learned last week includes bringing back public executions fire and brimstone style! My fair congregation, you ever hear of the phrase “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”? Well that’s exactly what this Hobby Lobby campaign looks to do. It might convert a few of the non-believers but that’s it. If you see the preachers on the street corner or on your TV like this one, beware!
Green discussed his involvement in the campaign, and the Super Bowl ad spots, during a November 2022 interview with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck.
“We are wanting to say — ‘we’ being a lot of different people — that he gets us,” Green said. “[Jesus] understands us. He loves who we hate. I think we have to let the public know and create a movement.”
“He Gets Us” does not list donors on its website. “Funding for He Gets Us comes from a diverse group of individuals and entities with a common goal of sharing Jesus’ story authentically,” the site’s funding information page reads. “Most of the people driving He Gets Us, including our donors, choose to remain anonymous because the story isn’t about them, and they don’t want the credit.”
Jason Vanderground, spokesperson for He Gets Us and president of creative marketing firm HAVEN, told CNN that The Servant Foundation uses a fund which “unites donors to provide pooled support for organizations while ensuring the organizations can operate without donors impacting specific messages.”
“Funding for the campaign comes from a diverse group of individuals and entities with a common goal of sharing Jesus’ story authentically,” he said.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/us/he-gets-us-super-bowl-commercials-cec/index.html
“We are wanting to say — ‘we’ being a lot of different people — that he gets us,” Green said. “[Jesus] understands us. He loves who we hate. I think we have to let the public know and create a movement.”
“He Gets Us” does not list donors on its website. “Funding for He Gets Us comes from a diverse group of individuals and entities with a common goal of sharing Jesus’ story authentically,” the site’s funding information page reads. “Most of the people driving He Gets Us, including our donors, choose to remain anonymous because the story isn’t about them, and they don’t want the credit.”
Jason Vanderground, spokesperson for He Gets Us and president of creative marketing firm HAVEN, told CNN that The Servant Foundation uses a fund which “unites donors to provide pooled support for organizations while ensuring the organizations can operate without donors impacting specific messages.”
“Funding for the campaign comes from a diverse group of individuals and entities with a common goal of sharing Jesus’ story authentically,” he said.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/11/us/he-gets-us-super-bowl-commercials-cec/index.html
Yes, everyone needs JAYSUS, or they don’t. That’s at least the official stance here at our church, not the church of Hobby Lobby! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]People Who Somehow Got Elected: Mike DeWine
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Politicians at the state and local levels who are so toxic, you wonder how they’re able to get away with the things they get away with. This is:
This week – Ohio governor Mike DeWine (Q – Batshit). How in the ever loving fuck did this guy get elected? He seems hell bent on taking the Buckeye State to third world status. The Fox News installed governor of Ohio is facing increasing calls for his resignation thanks to his part in the great railroad disaster in East Palestine. Well how did that happen? The thing is there is a lot of finger pointing and blame gaming going on the news rounds as to who’s directly responsible for this easily preventable tragedy and the resulting environmental disaster that going to be the inevitable result. Think of it like the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 but on a much larger scale. Deregulated capitalism is eventually going to be the death of the United States and may result in the death of humanity. While most people are pointing and blaming, this is the end result of years of reckless conservative deregulation policies, each one crazier than the next. And Mike DeWine is the Louis DeJoy of Tom DeLays in sorting the logistics of this disaster out.
The Governor of Ohio and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) faced protests at the weekend over the state's response to a train derailment near the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania and the shipment of toxic waste from the site.
Mike DeWine faced calls to resign over the state's handling of the crash, while the federal agency was told by lawmakers and concerned residents in other states to dispose of the waste in Ohio.
The demonstrations came as the EPA told railway operator Norfolk Southern—whose contractors were responsible for waste disposal—to "temporarily pause" shipping of waste to disposal sites in Michigan and Texas.
On Sunday, it said it would now be taken to two sites within Ohio, and stressed its "decades of experience dealing with hazardous waste."
https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-train-derailment-governor-mike-dewine-calls-resign-toxic-waste-1783956
Mike DeWine faced calls to resign over the state's handling of the crash, while the federal agency was told by lawmakers and concerned residents in other states to dispose of the waste in Ohio.
The demonstrations came as the EPA told railway operator Norfolk Southern—whose contractors were responsible for waste disposal—to "temporarily pause" shipping of waste to disposal sites in Michigan and Texas.
On Sunday, it said it would now be taken to two sites within Ohio, and stressed its "decades of experience dealing with hazardous waste."
https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-train-derailment-governor-mike-dewine-calls-resign-toxic-waste-1783956
Yes, boo this man! He could resign, but you know that he won’t. Because the conservative right propaganda machine is out for absolute power and they don’t care what incompetent buffoons they run or who they stomp on in order to get it. They are a really bloodthirsty cult. But don’t you dare speak out against the cult because something really bad could happen to you. These are the people who scream about freedoms one minute, then want to lock up anyone who dares to question their motives the next minute. And governor Mike DeWine is certainly no exception to this rule – he’s just as crazy as the next elected MAGA politician.
Police in Ohio arrested a NewsNation journalist on Wednesday as state Gov. Mike DeWine (R) was speaking at a news conference announcing that an evacuation order over last week's train derailment in East Palestine had been lifted.
The latest: NewsNation published video Thursday of its reporter Evan Lambert being pushed to the ground before being handcuffed during his arrest.
Police said Thursday Lambert was talking loudly while DeWine was speaking and allegedly got into an argument with the Ohio National Guard commander. Lambert's attorney strongly rejected the police account and called claims that he was aggressive "patently false," per NewsNation.
Police said Maj. Gen. John Harris Jr. asked Lambert to stop broadcasting and alleged that the D.C.-based correspondent of the Nexstar Media Group-owned cable channel responded aggressively.
Harris pushed Lambert away because he was "convinced" Lambert "was prepared to do harm to me," according to the police statement, which NewsNation published in full on Thursday.
https://www.axios.com/2023/02/09/newsnation-reporter-arrested-ohio-governor-press-conference
The latest: NewsNation published video Thursday of its reporter Evan Lambert being pushed to the ground before being handcuffed during his arrest.
Police said Thursday Lambert was talking loudly while DeWine was speaking and allegedly got into an argument with the Ohio National Guard commander. Lambert's attorney strongly rejected the police account and called claims that he was aggressive "patently false," per NewsNation.
Police said Maj. Gen. John Harris Jr. asked Lambert to stop broadcasting and alleged that the D.C.-based correspondent of the Nexstar Media Group-owned cable channel responded aggressively.
Harris pushed Lambert away because he was "convinced" Lambert "was prepared to do harm to me," according to the police statement, which NewsNation published in full on Thursday.
https://www.axios.com/2023/02/09/newsnation-reporter-arrested-ohio-governor-press-conference
Yes, at least you tried, Gov. DeWine. But the thing with this group of politicians is that we wouldn’t trust them to run a convenience store or get our order right at McDonalds. So what makes people think that someone like Gov. DeWine would be great in a disaster situation? Well, not a whole lot. But then again, our standards of what makes a great politician were significantly lowered in 2016. Allowing people like Gov. DeWine to take over states where they’re dominated by AM talk radio. But this whole thing regarding the situation in East Palestine is getting weirder by the minute and may take years to sort out this mess.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine won’t be declaring East Palestine a disaster area unless such a declaration can bring federal assistance to the village as it recovers from the Norfolk Southern derailment, fire, and chemical spill.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown sent a letter to DeWine calling on the governor to declare a disaster to obtain more federal resources and aid to the town.
The Governor’s office announced on Thursday that the state is not currently eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Spokesman for DeWine, Dan Tierney told 21 News that under federal law, FEMA assists disaster-stricken communities pay for property damage not covered by insurance or another entity.
Tierney says that the derailment did not cause major property damage in the village, and so far, Norfolk Southern has been paying for environmental testing and other needs like bottled water.
https://www.wfmj.com/story/48396229/for-now-dewine-nixes-disaster-declaration-idea-for-east-palestine
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown sent a letter to DeWine calling on the governor to declare a disaster to obtain more federal resources and aid to the town.
The Governor’s office announced on Thursday that the state is not currently eligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Spokesman for DeWine, Dan Tierney told 21 News that under federal law, FEMA assists disaster-stricken communities pay for property damage not covered by insurance or another entity.
Tierney says that the derailment did not cause major property damage in the village, and so far, Norfolk Southern has been paying for environmental testing and other needs like bottled water.
https://www.wfmj.com/story/48396229/for-now-dewine-nixes-disaster-declaration-idea-for-east-palestine
That’s right – conservatives! These are the people who you elected to help keep you safe in a disaster that is really one that they themselves caused! Doesn’t matter how incompetent these buffoons are, apparently divisional politics and voting for the least qualified people because you want to “own the libs” is apparently more important than you know, actually living. And by the way you keep doing this to yourselves, MAGAs. You can blame Mike DeWine all you want, but really, the cause of this current wound in East Palestine is self-inflicted and you keep bringing it on yourselves by voting for these people.
Republicans have spent weeks criticizing the response to the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, lobbying attacks at any target close enough for something to stick. Seldom have they directly confronted the clear as day culprit: corporate-bought deregulation. The charade has now hit another milestone, as Republicans line up behind a party-wide push to deregulate water protection in the United States.
On Tuesday, the Republican-led House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted to reverse a Biden administration rule on water protection—which would affect communities contaminated by disaster like in East Palestine.
In 2015, the Obama administration announced a rule that expanded the definition of what kinds of bodies of water can be covered under the Clean Water Act, the now 50-year-old law tasked with overseeing water pollution and protecting the integrity of the country’s waterways.
In 2020, the Trump administration rolled back Obama’s changes, letting polluters off the hook and leaving regulators with less jurisdiction over protecting waterways. The approach limited federal protection to cover only “permanent” bodies of water and not other smaller but still impactful waterways, like streams of water that flow only part of the year. As a result, Trump’s rule deferred to states to determine what would and wouldn’t be protected by the Clean Water Act. In a case like Ohio, where the local government has been slow to respond to the contamination of water, such limits could make communities worse off.
https://newrepublic.com/post/170848/fake-outrage-east-palestine-republicans-push-weaken-water-protection
On Tuesday, the Republican-led House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee voted to reverse a Biden administration rule on water protection—which would affect communities contaminated by disaster like in East Palestine.
In 2015, the Obama administration announced a rule that expanded the definition of what kinds of bodies of water can be covered under the Clean Water Act, the now 50-year-old law tasked with overseeing water pollution and protecting the integrity of the country’s waterways.
In 2020, the Trump administration rolled back Obama’s changes, letting polluters off the hook and leaving regulators with less jurisdiction over protecting waterways. The approach limited federal protection to cover only “permanent” bodies of water and not other smaller but still impactful waterways, like streams of water that flow only part of the year. As a result, Trump’s rule deferred to states to determine what would and wouldn’t be protected by the Clean Water Act. In a case like Ohio, where the local government has been slow to respond to the contamination of water, such limits could make communities worse off.
https://newrepublic.com/post/170848/fake-outrage-east-palestine-republicans-push-weaken-water-protection
That’s disaster deregulating Ohio governor Mike DeWine – yet another inexplicable addition to the ever growing list of:
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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner
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Welcome back to our segment that attempts to explain the unexplainable, Conspiracy Corner! Of course conspiracies exist when people simply don’t want to read the article past the headlines and just flat out make shit up. We of course are coming to you live from our underground doomsday shelter from deep within the New Mexico badlands. Undisclosed location, of course! Let me just adjust my trusty tin foil hat for maximum government interference. They are trying to read yours and my thoughts after all! So folks, the last two weeks you may have heard about our old friend Marjorie Three Names (Q – Batshit) spouting some insane conspiracy theories about how the red states and the blue states need to separate from the red states. But that could absolutely never happen under any circumstance. And we’ll get into the reasoning why in a minute here. And it’s criminally insane to even suggest such a thing might happen.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) resurrected her calls for a “national divorce” on Monday, arguing that Republican and Democratic states needed to be separated and the federal government needed to shrink, although it is unclear what prompted the thought.
“We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government,” Greene said on Twitter on Monday. “From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done.”
It was not the first time that Greene has suggested the idea of a “national divorce.” In late 2021, Greene said voters who brought “ruin” to California shouldn’t be allowed to do the same to a state like Florida.
“All possible in a National Divorce scenario,” Greene wrote on Twitter in December 2021. “After Democrat voters and big donors ruin a state like California, you would think it wise to stop them from doing it to another great state like Florida. Brainwashed people that move from CA and NY really need a cooling off period.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3866590-marjorie-taylor-greene-calls-again-for-a-national-divorce/
“We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government,” Greene said on Twitter on Monday. “From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done.”
It was not the first time that Greene has suggested the idea of a “national divorce.” In late 2021, Greene said voters who brought “ruin” to California shouldn’t be allowed to do the same to a state like Florida.
“All possible in a National Divorce scenario,” Greene wrote on Twitter in December 2021. “After Democrat voters and big donors ruin a state like California, you would think it wise to stop them from doing it to another great state like Florida. Brainwashed people that move from CA and NY really need a cooling off period.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3866590-marjorie-taylor-greene-calls-again-for-a-national-divorce/
That is a good question and I’m not entirely sure how that would work! So let’s break it down for the MAGA conspiracy theorists who might be lurking here. Marjorie Greene wants a national divorce. OK – here’s what’s at stake. The Red States would basically be on the hook for creating their own country from scratch. Which means – no military. Gone. No House representation. Gone. Which means that Marjorie would be out of job, and we’re OK with that. Also, no police, fire, post office, no US money, no constitution, no Washington DC. All gone. And they don’t regulate anything or enforce rules. Which means their little experiment would go broke in about a week. But please, do continue.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been shopping her idea for a “national divorce” — effectively, conservative secession from the U.S. — for years now.
This week, though, the conspiracy theorist’s claims garnered more attention than ever, thanks in part to her willingness to pitch it to any media outlet willing to platform her.
It’s a ludicrous proposal, of course, as our very own Joy Reid explained on Wednesday’s episode of “The ReidOut.”
Somehow, amid the public flaying of Greene’s proposal, it seems that one of its most absurd components may have gotten lost. So, at our own risk, let’s dive a little deeper into the mind of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Pitching her plan to right-wing podcaster and professional money-waster Charlie Kirk this week, Greene went on a diatribe about employees of big entertainment companies (from the film, television and music industries) migrating to Georgia. Greene and Kirk both complained that this has made the state’s population more liberal, with Kirk even referring to “Will Ferrell and the Hollywood cabal.” (Which honestly sounds like an awesome movie.)
https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/marjorie-taylor-greene-divorce-hollywood-georgia-rcna72212
This week, though, the conspiracy theorist’s claims garnered more attention than ever, thanks in part to her willingness to pitch it to any media outlet willing to platform her.
It’s a ludicrous proposal, of course, as our very own Joy Reid explained on Wednesday’s episode of “The ReidOut.”
Somehow, amid the public flaying of Greene’s proposal, it seems that one of its most absurd components may have gotten lost. So, at our own risk, let’s dive a little deeper into the mind of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Pitching her plan to right-wing podcaster and professional money-waster Charlie Kirk this week, Greene went on a diatribe about employees of big entertainment companies (from the film, television and music industries) migrating to Georgia. Greene and Kirk both complained that this has made the state’s population more liberal, with Kirk even referring to “Will Ferrell and the Hollywood cabal.” (Which honestly sounds like an awesome movie.)
https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/marjorie-taylor-greene-divorce-hollywood-georgia-rcna72212
Well here’s the thing, Marjorie – no one likes this idea. I think raw sewage and naval lint are polling higher numbers than the idea of the red states and the blue states separating. But this whole thing is criminally insane. I love the headlines that are like “MARJORIE GREENE HUMILIATES HERSELF WITH LATEST DIATRIBE!!!”. Really? Did she really HUMILIATE herself? Did that require all caps? Because Marjorie knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s saying and doing stupid things because it gets her name in the press and that’s about it. But this idea is so unpopular that even your creepy uncle’s creepy uncle, Steve Bannon, wouldn’t go there.
Steve Bannon has savaged Marjorie Taylor Greene's proposal for a "national divorce" between Republican and Democrat states, comparing it to spitting on the graves of civil war veterans at Arlington National Cemetery.
A clip of Bannon responding to the House Republican's suggestion was posted on Twitter by Grace Chong, who works for his War Room podcast.
The footage begins with Chelle, a social media commentator who describes herself as a "Hispanic conservative," saying she's heard Greene "talking about splitting up the red states from the blue states."
Bannon, who briefly worked as Donald Trump's chief White House strategist, replied: "If there's anything that I am one million percent opposed to its this entire concept." https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greenes-national-divorce-idea-too-much-steve-bannon-1783808
A clip of Bannon responding to the House Republican's suggestion was posted on Twitter by Grace Chong, who works for his War Room podcast.
The footage begins with Chelle, a social media commentator who describes herself as a "Hispanic conservative," saying she's heard Greene "talking about splitting up the red states from the blue states."
Bannon, who briefly worked as Donald Trump's chief White House strategist, replied: "If there's anything that I am one million percent opposed to its this entire concept." https://www.newsweek.com/marjorie-taylor-greenes-national-divorce-idea-too-much-steve-bannon-1783808
Holy shit, I never in a million years ever thought I would agree with Steve Bannon on anything, but he’s 100% right about this. You know that old saying about broken clocks. Anyway this is a great example of the complete and glorious lack of a proper education and critical thinking skills that today’s hardline MAGA conservatives just do not possess. This is an absolutely terrible idea on just about every single level. And it would be about as fucked up as Brexit – it would be a clusterfuck that would take years and decades to properly sort out, and it would never be properly implemented. It would just be a disaster and a waste of time. So yeah, we’re not falling for that crap anymore.
Let’s talk about American Brexit economically.
Investment in Britain’s economy dropped 30 percent after Brexit, says the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, doubling forecasts. Brexit has cost 330,000 UK jobs – in the US economy, that projects to about 1.6 million. Overall, the UK has had Europe’s weakest major economy since 2019 – and is now doing nearly as badly as Russia, reeling from sanctions and war.
It would be much worse than that as red states form the new territory Marjorie Taylor Greene is pitching.
Let’s begin with the simplest observation: Counties that voted for President Joe Biden generate 70 percent of gross domestic product.
Fourteen of the poorest 15 states voted Republican in 2020. All 12 richest states chose Biden. Only four red states have median household incomes in the top half of the 50 states.
The nine red states that seceded in 1861 get, on average, 42 percent of their budgets from Washington, according to SmartAsset. Mostly that buys health care – 70 percent of federally funded state spending in Tennessee goes towards health and social services. So much for shrinking DC being good (or survivable) for Marge-istan.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/america-divorce-marjorie-taylor-greene-brexit-b2291216.html
Investment in Britain’s economy dropped 30 percent after Brexit, says the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, doubling forecasts. Brexit has cost 330,000 UK jobs – in the US economy, that projects to about 1.6 million. Overall, the UK has had Europe’s weakest major economy since 2019 – and is now doing nearly as badly as Russia, reeling from sanctions and war.
It would be much worse than that as red states form the new territory Marjorie Taylor Greene is pitching.
Let’s begin with the simplest observation: Counties that voted for President Joe Biden generate 70 percent of gross domestic product.
Fourteen of the poorest 15 states voted Republican in 2020. All 12 richest states chose Biden. Only four red states have median household incomes in the top half of the 50 states.
The nine red states that seceded in 1861 get, on average, 42 percent of their budgets from Washington, according to SmartAsset. Mostly that buys health care – 70 percent of federally funded state spending in Tennessee goes towards health and social services. So much for shrinking DC being good (or survivable) for Marge-istan.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/america-divorce-marjorie-taylor-greene-brexit-b2291216.html
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[font size="8"]I Need A Drink
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Hey everyone, I don’t know about you, but I could really use a drink!
Of course you know by now that the purpose of this segment is that we have some drinks, and while we are drinking, we talk about anything in the news as long as it doesn’t relate to politics. Because let’s face it, politics are everywhere these days, and we really need to take a break, chill out, belly up to the bar, and have a glass of your favorite beverage and talk about literally anything else. And don’t worry, our sober brothers and sisters, we got your backs too! So this week, we have to talk about social media, particularly Tik Tok. Tell me bartender, what goes well with a story about a Kool Aid Man social media challenge? The Kool Aid cocktail? Just vodka and Kool Aid? Have you ever heard of Jonestown? Come on, man! Yeah I’ll just stick to my usual Jack Daniels mixed with Jack Daniels. So my audience, I pose to you this – you know we always say here that social media may be the death of humanity. Well, the latest challenge now is that it literally has kids and teenagers attempting to recreate a popular commercial from the 1980s. It may have worked in cartoons, but it doesn’t necessarily work in real life.
The so-called "Kool-Aid Man Challenge" on TikTok is leading to a rash of vandalism in Omaha and surrounding areas.
In the challenge, someone runs into and destroys random fences in an effort to mimic the mascot of the popular powdered drink. The damage is not an easy fix, especially these days.
Surveillance video that was recently captured shows a group of several people charging another fence at a different home in West Omaha.
The footage went viral on social media which is getting the attention of law enforcement.
“They get into a group mentality where one of them thinks they have a good idea and the others ones go along with it," said Lt. James Wrigley, Sarpy County Sheriff's Office.
"Once we meet up with these kids individually they tend to say they're sorry and wouldn't do this by themselves,”
https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/kool-aid-man-challenge-tiktok-trend-targets-fences-across-omaha
In the challenge, someone runs into and destroys random fences in an effort to mimic the mascot of the popular powdered drink. The damage is not an easy fix, especially these days.
Surveillance video that was recently captured shows a group of several people charging another fence at a different home in West Omaha.
The footage went viral on social media which is getting the attention of law enforcement.
“They get into a group mentality where one of them thinks they have a good idea and the others ones go along with it," said Lt. James Wrigley, Sarpy County Sheriff's Office.
"Once we meet up with these kids individually they tend to say they're sorry and wouldn't do this by themselves,”
https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/kool-aid-man-challenge-tiktok-trend-targets-fences-across-omaha
Yeah that was an actual commercial from the 80s – which I grew up in the 80s, I knew that commercial very well. You know what? Let’s run the original ad.
That was a real commercial! So it’s literally got kids running into walls attempting to crash through them in the same way that commercial did. Come on, Tik Tok users, what the actual fuck are you doing here? I mean I thought eating laundry detergent pods was the epitome of stupid, and that was over 5 years ago, but now you seem to have outdone yourselves. I seriously wonder if the ER doctors who were on duty when these kids came in, couldn’t help but laugh at the stupidity when they were having drinks after their shift at the hospital.
A half-dozen young people are facing charges after damaging fences as part of a supposed TikTok "Kool-Aid Man" challenge on Long Island, authorities said.
According to Suffolk County police, a homeowner on Centereach's Cobblestone Court reported hearing loud noises Monday around 1 a.m. and noticed on surveillance cameras that six males had knocked down parts of his fence.
The homeowner, retired corrections officer Charles Damiani, was the target of the prank. He said that it "sounded like a gun go off," which is when he ran out in the middle of the night and spotted the vehicle the alleged culprits arrived in. That's when he noticed several sections of his fence missing, and security video showed the teens break right through it.
Police said that members of the group were recording themselves blasting through the fence, and that Damiani's house was not the only one hit.
"On the night in question, it looks like four homes were hit and tied to these individuals," said Suffolk County Chief of Patrol Gerard Hardy, noting that the case is still under investigation.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/long-island-news-6-arrested-in-tiktok-kool-aid-man-challenge-fence-smash/4117586/
According to Suffolk County police, a homeowner on Centereach's Cobblestone Court reported hearing loud noises Monday around 1 a.m. and noticed on surveillance cameras that six males had knocked down parts of his fence.
The homeowner, retired corrections officer Charles Damiani, was the target of the prank. He said that it "sounded like a gun go off," which is when he ran out in the middle of the night and spotted the vehicle the alleged culprits arrived in. That's when he noticed several sections of his fence missing, and security video showed the teens break right through it.
Police said that members of the group were recording themselves blasting through the fence, and that Damiani's house was not the only one hit.
"On the night in question, it looks like four homes were hit and tied to these individuals," said Suffolk County Chief of Patrol Gerard Hardy, noting that the case is still under investigation.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/long-island-news-6-arrested-in-tiktok-kool-aid-man-challenge-fence-smash/4117586/
Somehow I don’t think that bottle is going to be big enough! So not only will you get seriously hurt running into a wall, but if you damage a fence you could land property damages charges against you, and the last thing anybody wants is to go to court for your social media stupidity. But the crazy thing is that this shit is happening all over the country. All in this absurd quest to get likes and social media notoriety. Well, you’ll be notorious all right. Notorious as that dumbass who got hurt doing something stupid in order to make a viral video. And the last thing anyone wants to do right now is to go to the emergency room.
Six teens were arrested Monday in connection with damaging fences as part of the Kool-Aid Man TikTok Challenge in the Centereach and Selden areas, Suffolk police said.
A homeowner on Cobblestone Court in Centereach heard loud noises on Monday at around 1 a.m., and saw on surveillance cameras that six males between 12 and 18 years old kicked several sections of his fence down, and then returned just after 4 a.m., running through the fence at the same time.
The practice mimics the iconic fruit drink mascot's penchant for smashing things as he runs through them.
The homeowner called 911 and 6th Precinct officers saw a black Hyundai sedan matching the description of a vehicle seen nearby, police said, adding that the officers arrested the teens on Hammond Road at around 4:15 a.m.
Detectives found there were at least two other instances where some of the teens damaged fences in Centereach and Selden, prompting further investigation, police said.
https://patch.com/new-york/sachem/teens-nabbed-tiktok-kool-aid-man-challenge-suffolk-police
A homeowner on Cobblestone Court in Centereach heard loud noises on Monday at around 1 a.m., and saw on surveillance cameras that six males between 12 and 18 years old kicked several sections of his fence down, and then returned just after 4 a.m., running through the fence at the same time.
The practice mimics the iconic fruit drink mascot's penchant for smashing things as he runs through them.
The homeowner called 911 and 6th Precinct officers saw a black Hyundai sedan matching the description of a vehicle seen nearby, police said, adding that the officers arrested the teens on Hammond Road at around 4:15 a.m.
Detectives found there were at least two other instances where some of the teens damaged fences in Centereach and Selden, prompting further investigation, police said.
https://patch.com/new-york/sachem/teens-nabbed-tiktok-kool-aid-man-challenge-suffolk-police
So people don’t do this. Don’t be a stupid idiot just to get likes. Although I will say that a lot of our currently elected representatives aren’t exactly being role models when it comes to doing and saying stupid things! Hey o! Oh shit that’s right, I forgot our one rule! Destroying property and hurting yourself in order to make a viral video when it’s happening all over the country is ridiculously stupid. You don’t want to get the police, fire department, and paramedics involved just because you were being a dumbass on social media. Stop it people, just stop it already! Because as I warned – social media has the potential to kill us all.
The Kool-Aid Man challenge is a popular TikTok trend where people forcefully kick open a door or run into a fence and yell “Oh Yeah,” as the Kool-Aid Man did in the ads.
The trend first became popular in July 2021 when kids were reportedly breaking fences in a bid to take part in the trend.
The trend resurfaced in February 2023 when kids tried to redo the trend to make it go viral.
Six kids were ticketed for criminal mischief
As per Suffolk County police, six kids were recently ticketed for criminal mischief as they tried to carry out the trend by breaking a fence.
A homeowner on Centereach’s Cobblestone Court reported hearing loud noises around 1 am in the morning. After looking at the surveillance camera it was found that six males had knocked down part of the fence.
The video also captured the culprits recording the entire scene. The police were able to identify the six kids who participated in the trend. They all were aged between 12 to 18.
https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2023/02/24/what-is-the-kool-aid-man-challenge-police-warn-against-tiktok-trend/
The trend first became popular in July 2021 when kids were reportedly breaking fences in a bid to take part in the trend.
The trend resurfaced in February 2023 when kids tried to redo the trend to make it go viral.
Six kids were ticketed for criminal mischief
As per Suffolk County police, six kids were recently ticketed for criminal mischief as they tried to carry out the trend by breaking a fence.
A homeowner on Centereach’s Cobblestone Court reported hearing loud noises around 1 am in the morning. After looking at the surveillance camera it was found that six males had knocked down part of the fence.
The video also captured the culprits recording the entire scene. The police were able to identify the six kids who participated in the trend. They all were aged between 12 to 18.
https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2023/02/24/what-is-the-kool-aid-man-challenge-police-warn-against-tiktok-trend/
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[font size="8"]Stupidest State 2022: Selection Sunday
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16 states will enter and only one state will become the new Top 10 Conservative Idiots Stupidest State!
Welcome back to the National For Fuck’s Sake Association’s annual Stupidest State tournament! Yes, the time has come to pit 16 states into a March Madness style tournament to select the best of the best, the stupidest of the stupid! The most idiotic and off the wall state in this great nation that we call the United States Of America! The winner of course will get the coveted DeLay trophy, which was named after NFFSA hall of famer Tom DeLay, who took Texas to an unprecedented 6 Stupidest State titles. We’re here live in Los Angeles at the fabulous YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California for all of the festivities, so let’s end the introductions and go to the floor, shall we?
[font size="4"]Statement From The Commissioner [/font]
Welcome, welcome, welcome! We are back everybody for the 6th year in a row! We’re extremely proud of last year’s champion, underdog #4 seed Tennessee, who trounced fan favorite #1 seed Georgia to take home the title! This year we have a lot of surprises in store for you as we look to head up this year’s tournament. Now allow me to explain the rules of the tournament. The first round will consist of two matches each week, while the second round will consist of one match each week. Then the Final Four will consist of two matches, and the Championship will consist of a single match. And also because we encourage gambling here, we give you the odds for each state in the tournament. You know the conferences – The Batshit Conference, The Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference, The Gun Nut Conference, and The Family Values Conference. 4 states will represent each conference, but only one will take home the title. So let’s do this thing!
[font size="4"]The Batshit Conference [/font]
Since 1894, the Batshit Conference is the largest and most distinctive conference in the league. These states are typically run by two parties – the right and the far right. States that have crazy people living in them and are represented by the craziest of the crazy. Sure, it’s one thing to let your MAGA freak flag fly in the back of your oversized gas guzzling pickup, you need 25 flags to express your love for that guy who we used to call president. You also think that the green M&M is hot and let all of your gas burners on the stove burn for the sake of owning the libs. The Batshit Conference – Proudly representing crazy since 1894!
1. Florida – After being humiliated in the last two years in the Gun Nut Conference, Florida finally made the decision to switch back to the Batshit Conference, where it has multiple opportunities to fly. Florida is represented by who could possibly be the craziest politician in America, Ron DeSantis. Florida is also home to Mar-A-Lago, the home of that former president, who has turned it into some sort of weird Studio 54 for insane conspiracy theorists on bath salts.
Smoking Gun: Ron DeSantis has initiated a hostile takeover of Reedy Creek, the governing body that controls Disney’s special tax district in Orlando, in what is sure to be a preview of what we can expect from his madness on a national level.
Odds: 2:1, Florida didn’t earn a top seed for nothing. They were one of the favorites during the regular season and are expected to go very far.
2. Kentucky – Kentucky is a fan favorite in this conference, but they’re facing some very stiff competition this year. Kentucky is home to beautiful scenery, bourbon, horse racing, bluegrass music, and some very ugly inner political strife. The state represented by Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell may be one of the most poorly educated states in the entire United States, and they are also one of the consistently unhappiest. Kentucky is home to monster truck jams and redneck rallies, but they’re also the home of some very sinister right wing politics!
Smoking Gun: A federal court has ruled in favor of a Louisville photographer who opposes same sex weddings.
Odds: 5:1: Kentucky is another that had a strong showing in the regular season, but their odds of overcoming Florida are extremely slim and may take a miracle.
3. South Dakota This may be a first for the Mt. Rushmore State, who had a strong showing last year. The home of Mt. Rushmore and the Sturgis Biker Rally, which became a staple for how to hold large groups of insane conspiracy theorists and vaccine deniers during the COVID pandemic, is represented by Kristi Noem. A woman who has advocated for years for holding a big Americagasm fireworks display behind Mt. Rushmore despite many warnings from the National Parks Department that the surrounding forest is a massive fire hazard waiting to happen.
Smoking Gun: Noem *AGAIN* petitioned the Biden administration for a fireworks show at Mt. Rushmore, but was very quickly denied.
Odds: 7:1, underdogs for sure in this tournament. But a quick upset and they could have the potential to turn things upside down in this tournament!
4. Arizona – The Grand Canyon state turned blue in the 2020 election and even bluer in the 2022 election, but that doesn’t mean that the state doesn’t have its’ fair share of insane MAGA lunatics attempting to fuck things up. After all, the state is the home of Maricopa County, a center for election denial theories and former batshit crazy gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, and for years elected Sheriff Joe Arpaio to head the police. A man who is so crooked and disgusting that he’s the national symbol of police corruption and brutality.
Smoking Gun: Kari Lake again attempted to overturn the results of the 2022 election with massive lawsuits, only for them to be shot down in court, again.
Odds: 7:1 – Arizona may be the underdogs this year, but don’t rule them out completely. They had a strong showing during the regular season and an upset could have them going very far.
[font size="4"]The Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference [/font]
Excessive greed is the name of the game in the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference! You peasants make peanuts working for the man, who owns six mansions, a tax free haven in the Cayman Islands, and more luxury cars than you. It’s one thing that your boss makes ten zeroes on his paycheck. He needs another two or three zeroes on top of that. And there’s no discerning difference between the fact that your bills went up a significant amount and the fact that the company those bills are going to had their highest quarterly profits ever last year. Also since the inception of this conference, all of these states’ representatives are bought and paid for by Koch Industries, which is headed by ultra far right wing billionaire David Koch. The Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference: Proudly Going For Broke Since 1952!
1. Kansas – Dorothy may have gone to the Land Of Oz, where there’s no place like home, but Kansas is going for broke and it definitely shows. The state has the potential to turn into a blue state in the 2024 election but that’s going to be a very long climb out of the red – both literally and figuratively. Kansas, the home of Koch Industries, has long been a fan favorite in this conference and is expected to go very far in this tournament.
Smoking Gun: Kansas has voted against food relief in favor of passing a bill relieving their state debt. That’s right, the right wing would literally starve themselves before helping someone else.
Odds: 2:1, Kansas had another strong showing in the regular season this year, but they have shown injuries and weakness. But a healthy team will go very far in this tournament.
2. Nevada – Nevada is a swing state in the general election, and determining which way they go, they have the potential to be a major player in how elections turn out. So you can imagine that the corruption and greed flow very freely in the Silver State. But the Silver State is home to the casino and gambling industry. Nevada’s largest employers – MGM Resorts International, and Caesar’s Group, never fail to exploit workers and politicians in Las Vegas and Reno.
Smoking Gun: The Mirage Casino has had three dolphins die in the last year in what some are calling to be very suspicious and abusive treatment of animals.
Odds: 4:1 – Nevada was a fan favorite during the regular season and an upset could prove to be interesting during the tournament.
3. Ohio – After being humiliated in the Family Values Conference, Ohio went and came back crazier than ever. The state is represented by Mike DeWine and former hedge fund billionaire turned MAGA United States senator J.D. Vance. The recent train derailment disaster in East Palestine is a perfect example of what happens when excessive corporate greed goes way too far. That disaster was a conservative clusterfuck and could cement Ohio’s place in the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference.
Smoking Gun: Ohio is home to some of the highest prescription drug prices in the entire country. Just don’t get sick and you should be fine.
Odds: 5:1 – Ohio is a very popular team and has the potential to shock the pundits and go extremely far in this tournament. Upsets could make bank!
4. Wisconsin – The Badger State is always a fan favorite in this tournament. The state can go either way in an election, and depending on how they vote, a whole bunch of the surrounding states may vote with them or against them. Wisconsin may be turning into a blue state, but that doesn’t stop the GOP supermajority from screwing over the state in favor of gerrymandering and record corporate profits. Wisconsin is home to America’s cheese industry and also the doomsday prepper and sovereign citizens movements. So yeah it’s a melting pot of corporate greed and right wing insanity, for sure.
Smoking Gun: An 8 lane highway expansion has been intentionally routed through one of the poorest neighborhoods in the state because, reasons.
Odds: 10:1 – A decent showing in the regular season put Wisconsin ahead of its’ competition, but injuries could deter the Badger State from going far in the regular tournament.
[font size="4"]The Gun Nut Conference [/font]
When the phrase “family protection” means that you don’t have enough guns and your kids can’t get enough ammo, then the Gun Nut Conference is for you! It’s the conference where the debate between concealed carry and open carry is considered to be a contact sport. It’s not enough to have some big guns, you have to have the biggest guns who’ve ever gunned. You don't just need an AR-15, you need a rocket launcher capable of taking out a police helicopter. You’re a loud and extremely proud ammosexual who’s not afraid to take his or her semi-automatic weapon on a dinner date to Chili’s. And being an ammosexual means that you spend your days shooting the rats that hang out in your backyard and your nights on Zoom conferences with other gun nuts trying to figure out the best way to overthrow the government. You want enough weapons and ammo to take out a small army. It’s the conference where “Shall not be infringed” means that you shall not literally infringe. So yeah buy all the guns and ammo you want because nobody’s stopping you! These are also the states where your gun accidentally going off isn't just a metaphor, either! And yes, that is also a gun in your pants, The Gun Nut Conference: Shooting First And Asking Questions Later Since 1896.
1. Texas – Texas is a state so synonymous with America’s undying love of the firearm that it’s been the butt of jokes in movies, TV shows, and stand up comedy worldwide. And it wears its’ gun pride on its’ sleeve. It’s the home of cowboy billionaires and rural gun nuts alike, and they had a ridiculously strong showing in the regular season after long time rivals Florida ditched the Gun Nut Conference for greener pasters in the Batshit Conference. But really nobody does guns like the Lone Star State does guns!
Smoking Gun: Texas shot down (ha!) what could have been one of the biggest and most expansive gun control bills in the country, in a move that everybody saw coming.
Odds: 2:1 – Texas owns this conference, and was one of the highest seated teams in the regular season. They didn’t earn that #1 seed for nothing. Expect them to go far!
2. Missouri – The Show Me State may have bowed out of last year’s tournament early, but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t upgrade their arsenal to advance to the #2 slot in this year’s tournament. While Texas may be #1 when it comes to their love of the gun, is coming for Texas and they could make for a great first showing in this tournament. In fact, Missouri has some of the craziest gun laws in the world and also are a hot bed for some of this country’s white supremacist activities.
Smoking Gun: Newly elected MAGA representative Eric Burlison is attempting to repeal one of the oldest gun regulation laws in the country!
Odds: 5:1 – A massive upgrade propelled Missouri to have the second best record in the Flyover League. They could give Texas a serious run for their money!
3. Montana – The Treasure State is a hot bed for Christian nationalism and white supremacist activities. In fact so much that their governor – Greg Gianforte – a man who became famous after body slamming a reporter for asking questions about his run for governor – is the head of this state now. Not to be outdone, the state’s sole representative is Ryan Zinke – yes that’s right. A famous anti-government activist and noted white supremacist douchebag – is also a representative of the state. So you know that their cowboy and right wing freak flags are flying loud and proud!
Smoking Gun: Greg Gianforte said that Montana won’t enforce a strict new ATF rule banning pistol braces. Go ahead, shoot yourselves, they don’t care!
Odds: 7:1 – Montana had a strong showing in the regular season, but some key injuries could prevent them from going far in the tournament.
4. Idaho – The Gem State is back for another go round in this year’s tournament. They are continuing to be a fan favorite in the Gun Nut Conference and they also had a strong showing in the regular season. Outside of Boise, Idaho is represented by the farm industry and with farmers come some really big guns and really insane politicians that don’t care who owns them. Taking your gun on a dinner date to Chipotle has never been easier in the Gem State!
Smoking Gun: Idaho is considering bringing back death penalty execution by firing squad.
Odds: 10:1 – They came back from near elimination in the regular season, but some key upgrades could have them see a strong showing in the Gun Nut Conference!
[font size="4"]The Family Values Conference [/font]
All things are about Jesus in the Family Values Conference! It’s the conference where you wear the double edged sword on your sleeve, and other parts of your body! It’s the states where your social circle and all forms of entertainment come from the church. These states are run by the church and make laws based on who’s holier than thou. It’s the states where your highest aspirations are Liberty University or maybe Brigham Young is more to your liking. Where the women are supposed to spend all day in the kitchen and their nights making babies. And the men are supposed to be the manliest men who have ever manned. It’s the states where the Red Hot Chili Peppers are replaced with Mercy Me on the radio, and Nicholas Cage movies are replaced with Left Behind flicks. The Family Values Conference: Proudly representing those old fashioned fire and brimstone values since 1896!
1. Tennessee Last year’s champions handily took the number one seed for a very good reason. Abortion. Especially in the aftermath of last year’s devastating overturn of the Supreme Court decision known as Roe V. Wade. The Volunteer State also has another ace up their sleeve – their banning of gender affirming care and trans women in sports based on insane internet conspiracy theories. Tennessee legislative bodies have been dominated by the holier than thou crowd for the last few years and it really shows.
Smoking Gun: A law that could eliminate gender affirming care for minors has passed the TN house.
Odds: 2:1 – Coming in as one of the hottest teams in the tournament, Tennessee has the potential to go very far and could take the Layover League!
2. Arkansas – Arkansas is one of the best in the Family Values and for good reason. They are a state of, by, and for the church. The Razorbacks also are led by governor Sarah Sanders, who hasn't even been the governor for too long, but has already laid waste to Arkansas' educational system and has rolled back our basic constitutional rights. Oh and she's also said the quiet part out loud on multiple occasions.
Smoking Gun: New Arkansas governor Sarah Sanders signed into law a rollback of child labor provisions.
Odds: 7:1, Always a favorite in the Family Values conference, but some key injuries kept them from reaching the #1 seed. They could go far, or bow out early.
3. Utah – A brand newcomer to the tournament, the Beehive State may have been the home of the 2023 NBA All Star Game, but they’re also home to the Mormon Church, which dominates all aspects of day life and night life in the Beehive State. The state may be home to some of this country’s most scenic natural beauty, some amazing skiing opportunities, and the Park City Film Festival, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not hiding this state’s inner ugly with some insane religious laws.
Smoking Gun: Utah at the request of a whining parent, subjected a female athlete to some horrifying tests to prove her gender.
Odds: 5:1 – Utah proved the pundits wrong in their quest to make their first tournament in NFFSA history and it shows! Ones to watch for sure!
4. Oklahoma – Texas's neighbors to the north are trying to outdo their neighbors in the craziest ways possible with some draconian anti-trans and anti-LGBT legislation in the works. The state is led by family values champion Kevin Stitt, whose sun got caught intoxicated while possessing a firearm. Oklahoma conservatives also seem bent on ending public education and support for the Cherokee Nation. And they also have some major hateful anti-LGBT laws in the books and a GOP supermajority with nothing to stop them from passing.
Smoking Gun: Oklahoma's draconian anti-trans laws that have already been passed are considering people to think twice about moving to the Sooner State!
Odds: 7:1 - Don't rule out Oklahoma to win the Family Values Conference. They were a fan favorite during the regular season and it was for a good reason!
[font size="4"]The Schedule: [/font]
[font size="4"]The Bracket [/font]
[font size="4"]Next Week: [/font]
When we come back on March 16th, it’s Round 1 Week 1, and that will put #1 Kansas against #2 Nevada in the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference, while over in the Gun Nut Conference, #3 Missouri takes on #4 Idaho! And we're live at the home of the world champion Los Angeles Football Club, the BMO Stadium for the tournament kick off! Let’s do this! Don’t forget to follow us on Mastodon for updates and updated brackets!
[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Post Malone[/font]
Folks my next guest, you know him, you love him, his latest album is called “Twelve Carat Toothache”, you can see him with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mars Volta through June 30th. Playing his song “I Like You”, give it up for Post Malone!
Thank you Portland! This was fun! We’ll be back again soon! We’re taking a short break next week, we’ll be back on March 16th live from Washington, DC! See you in two weeks!
Credits
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Initech Productions: Yes, We Got The Memo
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Indiana has made it very far in previous tournaments though! 
