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Top 10 Conservative Idiots #12-7: This Honky Warlord Be Trippin' Edition
Top 10 Conservative Idiots #12-7: This Honky Warlord Be Trippin’ Edition
Welcome back to the Top 10 Conservative Idiots! What’s up Denver, how you guys doing? You doing fucking good? Great! Happy St. Patrick’s Day everybody! As such I am going to be imbibing some Guiness and Jack through the duration of this program. Always great to be back in the Mile High City, but now that weed is legal here, could we start calling it the Really High City? My assistant thought that joke was funny. Anyway, we took a week off last week but we back, tanned, rested and ready to dive right into Stupidest State 2022! I hope everyone filled out their brackets! Do we have time for the thing? Yeah so I know that this is Broncos territory. But can we all agree that we’ve all had an ass full of Tom Brady? Just when I actually enjoyed the Super Bowl for once because he wasn’t in it. Like is this going to be the new Brett Farve – is he or isn’t he coming out of retirement? And I’m sure that’s really got to chafe the ass of the guy who spent $513K on Tom Brady’s last game ball. That’s now officially worthless. Which is actually kind of funny because it’s like the people who get whatever team name tattooed on their arm with Super Bowl Champions!!, even though everyone knows damn well that ain’t happening. But seriously, $518K? That is nuts. Like you know the old saying “a fool and their money are soon parted”. I wonder if PT Barnum saw the depths of stupidity that are rampant in modern society? Because I bet that there’s no way that he could have predicted that! OK enough of the intro, we have a lot of idiocy to get to. But first John Oliver is back and he delves into the atrocities in the concert ticket industry – an issue that is very near and dear to me!
Holy shit where do we begin this week? Well premier Russian warlord Vladimir Putiin continues his bloodbath across the Ukraine and there is a lot of news about this, all of it is bad, but we will try to make it palatable for you! And don’t worry, we’re also not above dick jokes either. In the second slot is American Russian Agents (2). Yes, Pooty has people working for him here in the States and things are going to get really ugly really quickly, and yes our old buddy Tucker Carlson may actively be a Russian agent! Taking the 3rd slot this week is the guy who we used to call president, That Former Guy (3) and he held another one of his idiotic MAGA rallies, but when you hear his latest commentary on windmills, whew, he is losing it big time! Taking the number 4 slot this week, is highlights from the State Of The Union (4) and isn’t it great to have competency back in the White House? And then there’s the lowest of the low, Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene. In the number 5 slot this week, we have a new Top 10 Investigates (5)! So if you rented a car from Hertz in the last year there may be a warrant out for your arrest – is it a rental car or a stolen car? Tonight at 11! In the number 6 slot this week is of course our weekly visit to the Holy Church Of The Top 10 in “Holy Shit”, and this week our resident pastor has had enough of self-proclaimed Christian nationalist Lance Wallnau (6), and he’s getting crazier with each sermon, and we are ready to throw down! Taking the number 7 slot this week, we have a brand new segment to debut for you – The Zoo From Hell (6)! Just when you thought it was safe to get over the murder hornets, now comes giant parachuting spiders that are going to blanket the south! In the number 8 slot this week is a new Conspiracy Corner (8) – Hawaii’s Tusli Gabbard is going to run for president in 2024 in a 3rd party scenario, but is she being groomed by the Russians? We will put on our trusty tin foil hats and find out! Taking the number 9 (NEIN!!!) slot this week is a new People Are Dumb (9) because there may be a shortage of gas, but there’s no shortage of stupid people! Finally this week it's time for the big dance! Stupidest State 2022 kicks off live from Las Vegas where Arizona battles Colorado in the batshit conference, while #1 Alabama takes on red hot #2 North Carolina in the Family Values Conference! Plus to cap things off, what better band to hang out with us on St. Patricks Day than Flogging Molly? They are promoting their Sweet 17 tour! Enjoy! And as always don’t forget the key!
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[font size="8"]Vladimir Putin
[br] [/font] [br]
God where do we even begin this week? It seems like the news is changing on Vladimir Putin’s illegal and immoral occupation of the Ukraine by the minute. We are not going to get into the worst of the death and destruction because that’s simply too horrifying to make fun of. And the news is all bad! So what’s the latest thing happening on this war? It gets crazier by the minute and it seems to be escalating very quickly but nobody really seems to know what to do with Vladimir Putin. But first you know nobody seems to really know where he is! He doesn’t live at the Kremlin. And he has 8 gigantic mansions all over Russia. You know doesn’t this all sound familiar? If it does sound familiar then it’s because it sounds almost exactly like what happened with Saddam Hussein. Remember the massive man hunt that went on for years trying to find him because he owned so many properties around Iraq? And then we found him in a underground bunker. That could very well turn out to be the case in Russia because the similarities are frightening.
After diplomatic talks in Turkey ended without a breakthrough, the war between Russia and Ukraine looks set to continue for some time, leading to more loss of life and people fleeing their homes.
As we enter the fourth week of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president has sent many young soldiers into Ukraine. With thousands of casualties already reported - and more to come as the war goes on - where is the Kremlin leader himself?
Unlike the leaders of other countries who reside in governmental offices like the White House and Number 10, Putin doesn’t live at the Kremlin. Instead, he could be holed up in one of his eight luxury properties...
Putin usually resides in the Grand Kremlin Palace, which is located in western Moscow.
The palace, which has been the official residence of Russia's president since 1911, is a lavish building in the Cathedral Square of Moscow within the Kremlin complex, which spreads across 69 acres of land.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/putin-now-russia-ukraine-conflict-26461863
As we enter the fourth week of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president has sent many young soldiers into Ukraine. With thousands of casualties already reported - and more to come as the war goes on - where is the Kremlin leader himself?
Unlike the leaders of other countries who reside in governmental offices like the White House and Number 10, Putin doesn’t live at the Kremlin. Instead, he could be holed up in one of his eight luxury properties...
Putin usually resides in the Grand Kremlin Palace, which is located in western Moscow.
The palace, which has been the official residence of Russia's president since 1911, is a lavish building in the Cathedral Square of Moscow within the Kremlin complex, which spreads across 69 acres of land.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/putin-now-russia-ukraine-conflict-26461863
And by the way it’s not just Vladimir Putin that’s missing. In fact some big name Russian oligarchs are missing, as is their supervillain looking yachts. These are the people that need to answer for these atrocities in the Ukraine. And their greed knows no boundaries. They make the Koch Brothers look poor by comparison! Yeah so if you happen to be in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and you come across a ghost yacht, then you might know where to look for Putin!
It’s a 230-foot superyacht with room for 28 guests and crew—and yet, in the last week, it has seemingly vanished, just as other vessels belonging to Russian billionaires have been frozen or seized.
The Galactica Super Nova, owned by Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov, sailed in recent weeks from Barcelona to Tivat, Montenegro, arriving on March 1. But just a day later, the boat departed, according to data from the ship-tracking company MarineTraffic.
An official at the port in Montenegro confirmed that the yacht was no longer there.
Soon after it left, Galactica’s automatic tracking system, also known as AIS, stopped pinging out signals, reports MarineTraffic and its competitors VesselFinder and VesselsValue. As of Wednesday afternoon Central European Time, the boat had yet to update its location.
It is legally required for all yachts of Galactica’s size to have their AIS turned on “at all times,” said Sam Tucker, head of superyachts at VesselsValue. “For the past 12 months, we have had a very reliable signal coming from this vessel, so after seeing it [leave] Porto Montenegro, we are very surprised that there has been no signal received from either our satellites or ground stations.”
Duncan Bateson, a marine lawyer based in London, said it was likely that “if captains of Russian-linked boats are turning off their AIS tracker, then it's because they're trying to evade being tracked.”
Lukoil did not respond to requests for comment.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-billionaire-vagit-alekperovs-superyacht-galactica-super-nova-mysteriously-vanishes?ref=home
The Galactica Super Nova, owned by Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov, sailed in recent weeks from Barcelona to Tivat, Montenegro, arriving on March 1. But just a day later, the boat departed, according to data from the ship-tracking company MarineTraffic.
An official at the port in Montenegro confirmed that the yacht was no longer there.
Soon after it left, Galactica’s automatic tracking system, also known as AIS, stopped pinging out signals, reports MarineTraffic and its competitors VesselFinder and VesselsValue. As of Wednesday afternoon Central European Time, the boat had yet to update its location.
It is legally required for all yachts of Galactica’s size to have their AIS turned on “at all times,” said Sam Tucker, head of superyachts at VesselsValue. “For the past 12 months, we have had a very reliable signal coming from this vessel, so after seeing it [leave] Porto Montenegro, we are very surprised that there has been no signal received from either our satellites or ground stations.”
Duncan Bateson, a marine lawyer based in London, said it was likely that “if captains of Russian-linked boats are turning off their AIS tracker, then it's because they're trying to evade being tracked.”
Lukoil did not respond to requests for comment.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-billionaire-vagit-alekperovs-superyacht-galactica-super-nova-mysteriously-vanishes?ref=home
So if you see ghost yachts popping up all over the place in Russian waters, carry on, that’s just the Russian oligarchs hiding in international waters. But in case you’re wondering how things are going in the Russian Occupation, they are not going well for Putin. The entire world hates him and is united against him, and the Ukrainians are fighting back with everything they got. And if you’re keeping score at home, Putin just fired 8 of his most trusted generals. How badly do you have to fuck up to be fired by that guy? About the same as getting fired by Trump.
According to people with knowledge of Mr. Putin’s conversations with his aides over the past two years, the president has completely lost interest in the present: The economy, social issues, the coronavirus pandemic, these all annoy him. Instead, he and Mr. Kovalchuk obsess over the past. A French diplomat told me that President Emmanuel Macron of France was astonished when Mr. Putin gave him a lengthy history lecture during one of their talks last month. He shouldn’t have been surprised.
In his mind, Mr. Putin finds himself in a unique historical situation in which he can finally recover for the previous years of humiliation. In the 1990s, when Mr. Putin and Mr. Kovalchuk first met, they were both struggling to find their footing after the fall of the Soviet Union, and so was the country. The West, they believe, took advantage of Russia’s weakness to push NATO as close as possible to the country’s borders. In Mr. Putin’s view, the situation today is the opposite: It is the West that’s weak. The only Western leader that Mr. Putin took seriously was Germany’s previous chancellor, Angela Merkel. Now she is gone and it’s time for Russia to avenge the humiliations of the 1990s.
It seems that there is no one around to tell him otherwise. Mr. Putin no longer meets with his buddies for drinks and barbecues, according to people who know him. In recent years — and especially since the start of the pandemic — he has cut off most contacts with advisers and friends. While he used to look like an emperor who enjoyed playing on the controversies of his subjects, listening to them denounce one another and pitting them against one another, he is now isolated and distant, even from most of his old entourage.
His guards have imposed a strict protocol: No one can see the president without a week’s quarantine — not even Igor Sechin, once his personal secretary, now head of the state-owned oil company Rosneft. Mr. Sechin is said to quarantine for two or three weeks a month, all for the sake of occasional meetings with the president.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/opinion/putin-russia-ukraine.html
In his mind, Mr. Putin finds himself in a unique historical situation in which he can finally recover for the previous years of humiliation. In the 1990s, when Mr. Putin and Mr. Kovalchuk first met, they were both struggling to find their footing after the fall of the Soviet Union, and so was the country. The West, they believe, took advantage of Russia’s weakness to push NATO as close as possible to the country’s borders. In Mr. Putin’s view, the situation today is the opposite: It is the West that’s weak. The only Western leader that Mr. Putin took seriously was Germany’s previous chancellor, Angela Merkel. Now she is gone and it’s time for Russia to avenge the humiliations of the 1990s.
It seems that there is no one around to tell him otherwise. Mr. Putin no longer meets with his buddies for drinks and barbecues, according to people who know him. In recent years — and especially since the start of the pandemic — he has cut off most contacts with advisers and friends. While he used to look like an emperor who enjoyed playing on the controversies of his subjects, listening to them denounce one another and pitting them against one another, he is now isolated and distant, even from most of his old entourage.
His guards have imposed a strict protocol: No one can see the president without a week’s quarantine — not even Igor Sechin, once his personal secretary, now head of the state-owned oil company Rosneft. Mr. Sechin is said to quarantine for two or three weeks a month, all for the sake of occasional meetings with the president.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/opinion/putin-russia-ukraine.html
Not all of is bad, I will assure you that! Because this story came across my desk. While the world is looking for answers on what to do with ol’ Pooty, one person might have actually found a solution and that’s our old buddy Elon Musk! See? There is a lighter side of war! So anyway, Elon apparently wants to challenge Pooty to a good old fashioned duel. Yeah this is one of those things that you really can’t make up, and real life is stranger than fiction!
Elon Musk apparently wants to take his support for Ukraine to the next level.
SpaceX has been sending terminals and other gear for its Starlink satellite-internet system to Ukraine, which has been struggling to maintain communications capabilities since being invaded by Russia on Feb. 24.
And on Monday (March 14), the company's founder and CEO offered a simple way to bring that invasion to an end.
"I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat. Stakes are Ukraine," Musk tweeted on Monday, spelling out Putin's name and Ukraine in Russian. (Translation provided by Google.)
"Do you agree to this fight?" he asked (in Russian) in another tweet, which tagged @KremlinRussia_E, the official account of the Russian president.
https://www.space.com/elon-musk-spacex-challenges-vladimir-putin-duel
SpaceX has been sending terminals and other gear for its Starlink satellite-internet system to Ukraine, which has been struggling to maintain communications capabilities since being invaded by Russia on Feb. 24.
And on Monday (March 14), the company's founder and CEO offered a simple way to bring that invasion to an end.
"I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat. Stakes are Ukraine," Musk tweeted on Monday, spelling out Putin's name and Ukraine in Russian. (Translation provided by Google.)
"Do you agree to this fight?" he asked (in Russian) in another tweet, which tagged @KremlinRussia_E, the official account of the Russian president.
https://www.space.com/elon-musk-spacex-challenges-vladimir-putin-duel
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[font size="8"]Who Is A Russian Asset?
[br] [/font] [br]
This isn’t really a war. It’s an illegal and immoral occupation of a sovereign democracy by an evil foreign dictator who’s intent on bombing the shit out of those poor people and taking their land. But the longer this… whatever you want to call it… The Illegal And Immoral Occupation Of The Ukraine… nah let’s give it something with more zing. Yes!! This Honky Warlord Be Tripping! Excuse me a minute… that may be one of the best ones we’ve done yet! Starring Tracy Jordan of course. But the longer this occupation drags on, the more it exposes who’s really on Russia’s side. I noticed that Fat Donny is remaining oddly silent on the issue, which to me speaks volumes! Last week we talked a lot about how Tucker Carlson might be a Russian asset and how Fox News is trying to actively and openly sell the GOP on the war in the Ukraine and how it might be necessary (it isn’t, which means that Fox News is actively aiding and abetting an enemy of the United States). But remember how Trump was exposed as a Russian agent back in 2016? It turns out there’s more to that than meets the eye!
Donald Trump was a tool in a long-running Russian campaign to weaken the United States. That’s been documented in Republican-led investigative reports, and now it has been updated with new evidence, thanks to the U.S. Intelligence Community’s assessment of the 2020 election. The report, drafted by the CIA, the FBI, and several other agencies, was released in unclassified form on Tuesday, but it was presented in classified form on Jan. 7. In other words, it was compiled, written, and edited during Trump’s administration. It destroys his lies about the election, and it exposes him as a Russian asset.
The report debunks conspiracy theories, promoted by Trump and his lawyers, that hackers in other countries robbed him of victory. “We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to interfere in the 2020 US elections by altering any technical aspect of the voting process,” including “ballot casting, vote tabulation, or reporting results,” says the document. A separate analysis released by the Department of Justice reaches the same conclusion. The IC report adds that evidence of such operations, if they existed, would have shown up in U.S. surveillance or in “post-election audits of electronic results and paper backups.” The report implicitly mocks insinuations from Trump’s lawyers that former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013, somehow rigged Trump’s defeat. “We have no information,” it notes drily, that “current or former Venezuelan regimes were involved in attempts to compromise US election infrastructure.”
During the campaign, Trump, his national security appointees, and his allies in Congress insisted that China was meddling in the election to help Joe Biden. They even claimed that China’s interference was more dangerous than Russia’s. The report shreds that fiction. China “did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US Presidential election,” says the assessment. It finds no attempt by China to “provide funding to any candidates or parties,” and it challenges the Republican spin that China feared Trump because he was too tough. It argues, to the contrary, that Beijing saw Trump as a weaker adversary because he “would alienate US partners,” whereas Biden “would pose a greater challenge over the long run because he would be more successful in mobilizing a global alliance against China.”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/03/trump-russian-asset-election-intelligence-community-report.html
The report debunks conspiracy theories, promoted by Trump and his lawyers, that hackers in other countries robbed him of victory. “We have no indications that any foreign actor attempted to interfere in the 2020 US elections by altering any technical aspect of the voting process,” including “ballot casting, vote tabulation, or reporting results,” says the document. A separate analysis released by the Department of Justice reaches the same conclusion. The IC report adds that evidence of such operations, if they existed, would have shown up in U.S. surveillance or in “post-election audits of electronic results and paper backups.” The report implicitly mocks insinuations from Trump’s lawyers that former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013, somehow rigged Trump’s defeat. “We have no information,” it notes drily, that “current or former Venezuelan regimes were involved in attempts to compromise US election infrastructure.”
During the campaign, Trump, his national security appointees, and his allies in Congress insisted that China was meddling in the election to help Joe Biden. They even claimed that China’s interference was more dangerous than Russia’s. The report shreds that fiction. China “did not deploy influence efforts intended to change the outcome of the US Presidential election,” says the assessment. It finds no attempt by China to “provide funding to any candidates or parties,” and it challenges the Republican spin that China feared Trump because he was too tough. It argues, to the contrary, that Beijing saw Trump as a weaker adversary because he “would alienate US partners,” whereas Biden “would pose a greater challenge over the long run because he would be more successful in mobilizing a global alliance against China.”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/03/trump-russian-asset-election-intelligence-community-report.html
Yeah so this honky warlord be trippin’! And also, really, shut the fuck up Donny. Nobody cares where you pulled that conspiracy theory out of your ass! But in case you’re wondering who’s actually defending Russia’s egregious human rights violations, look no further than Candace Owens. You may recall Candace Owens from the Herman Cain Awards and Toilet Paper USA as the “Angel Of Death” because of her anti-vaccine stance. Well, her pro-Russia stance isn’t really that far out of the norm for these idiots, either!
Conservative commentator Candace Owens is not backing down after one of her tweets criticizing the treatment of Russian citizens received support from the Russian embassy in the United States.
Last week, Owens posted on Twitter that she found the treatment Russian citizens in the United States and around the world are receiving is "appalling." It was a message that was amplified and retweeted by two official Russian embassy accounts.
On Monday, Owens said she stood by those words, doubling down on her earlier message. She went on to compare the treatment of Russian citizens abroad to that of Japanese-American citizens during WWII.
Owens' initial tweet on March 9 drew a comparison to the treatment of Russians in the U.S. to the Black Lives Matter movement.
https://www.newsweek.com/candace-owens-doubles-down-tweet-promoted-russias-us-embassy-1687718
Last week, Owens posted on Twitter that she found the treatment Russian citizens in the United States and around the world are receiving is "appalling." It was a message that was amplified and retweeted by two official Russian embassy accounts.
On Monday, Owens said she stood by those words, doubling down on her earlier message. She went on to compare the treatment of Russian citizens abroad to that of Japanese-American citizens during WWII.
Owens' initial tweet on March 9 drew a comparison to the treatment of Russians in the U.S. to the Black Lives Matter movement.
https://www.newsweek.com/candace-owens-doubles-down-tweet-promoted-russias-us-embassy-1687718
And don’t think we haven’t forgotten about Tucker Carlson either! The story of whether or not he’s a Russian agent get weirder and weirder and weirder. In fact as we were airing last week’s edition, news broke that Russian State Media actively pursued wanting to air clips of his program on Russian State TV in order to sell the war. So does that make Tucker Carlson a Russian agent and if so is he actively aiding and abetting a known enemy to the United States? You’ll see where I am going with this in a minute because it’s truly insane.
The Kremlin instructed Russian state media to feature Fox News host Tucker Carlson "as much as possible," according to Mother Jones.
A leaked 12-page war memo, titled "For Media and Commentators," told Russian media that it is "essential" to use more Carlson segments in their coverage because of his positions on the war in Ukraine, Mother Jones reported.
Carlson "sharply criticizes" the actions of the United States and NATO and their "negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine," the memo said, per the media outlet.
He is also critical of the "defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards the Russian Federation and towards President Putin, personally," the memo continued.
https://www.businessinsider.com/kremlin-memo-ukraine-war-russian-tucker-carlson-mother-jones-2022-3
A leaked 12-page war memo, titled "For Media and Commentators," told Russian media that it is "essential" to use more Carlson segments in their coverage because of his positions on the war in Ukraine, Mother Jones reported.
Carlson "sharply criticizes" the actions of the United States and NATO and their "negative role in unleashing the conflict in Ukraine," the memo said, per the media outlet.
He is also critical of the "defiantly provocative behavior from the leadership of the Western countries and NATO towards the Russian Federation and towards President Putin, personally," the memo continued.
https://www.businessinsider.com/kremlin-memo-ukraine-war-russian-tucker-carlson-mother-jones-2022-3
Oh and by the way Tucker might not be the only Fox propagandist on the channel or on Putin’s payroll at that. That entire network might be compromised from top to bottom. Just last week there was this clip of Maria Baritromo baselessly flaunting a conspiracy theory that Biden wanted the Ukraine “snuffed out” and now there’s this coming from another Fox News staffer and Fox & Friends correspondent. Like is it seriously time to sanction Fox News for aiding and abetting the enemy? Well, they should be!
Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy on Sunday asserted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would rather be fighting a war while Donald Trump was president even though the former American leader was impeached for trying to blackmail Ukraine over weapons.
During a segment on Fox & Friends, co-host Will Cain suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris is unaware that Ukraine is not part of NATO.
"Indeed the question of whether Ukraine should or shouldn't be in NATO is the reason we're in this entire situation!" Campos-Duffy chimed in. "So it's not some small little -- we all make a mistake here and there but that's pretty decisive of a mistake."
"This is a shooting war," co-host Pete Hegseth opined, "and we send Kamala Harris over there to reassure the world, to reassure Zelenskyy, to reassure Poland that we stand behind them."
https://www.rawstory.com/rachel-campos-duffy-volodymyr-zelenskyy/
During a segment on Fox & Friends, co-host Will Cain suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris is unaware that Ukraine is not part of NATO.
"Indeed the question of whether Ukraine should or shouldn't be in NATO is the reason we're in this entire situation!" Campos-Duffy chimed in. "So it's not some small little -- we all make a mistake here and there but that's pretty decisive of a mistake."
"This is a shooting war," co-host Pete Hegseth opined, "and we send Kamala Harris over there to reassure the world, to reassure Zelenskyy, to reassure Poland that we stand behind them."
https://www.rawstory.com/rachel-campos-duffy-volodymyr-zelenskyy/
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[font size="8"]That Former Guy
[br] [/font] [br]
We can all agree that the guy who we used to call president has completely lost his damn mind, am I right about that, Denver? Well yeah if you disagree with that, you’re in the wrong place! And of course he had another rally out in the middle of nowhere, which people stood on a farm in extremely shitty conditions in the rain, for another edition of Trump Barfs His Brain. But when this story came across my desk at the Top 10 Home Office in Santa Ana, California, I had to literally stop what I was doing because I was laughing so damn hard at this. Because this is precisely who Trump is, and since losing the 2020 election, he has gone off the deep end. And this is the case when he appeared on a UFC podcast, and the subject was about Putin’s illegal invasion of the Ukraine. And instead, he spends the next 10 minutes rambling about… windmills. Seriously, I want to know – exactly what the hell do people see in this guy because he’s a rambling crazy person!
Donald Trump hasn’t had a great feel for how to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He started by calling it “genius.” Then, days later, he called it a “Holocaust.” He’s bashed President Biden for being weak, but when asked what he would do differently, he said he couldn’t say.
The former president doesn’t seem to have anything coherent to add about how the conflict might end, either. When he was asked about what to expect going forward during a recent appearance on the podcast of the popular creator collective the Nelk Boys, Trump’s thoughts turned to … windmills.
“What do you see happening next, then?” Trump was asked. “It seems like the tensions are high. How does this all end? Is this going to be a long-term thing? How do you see this unfolding?”
“Well, and I said this a long time ago, we are playing right into their hands with the green energy,” Trump began. “The windmills. They don’t work. They’re too expensive. They kill all the birds. They ruin your landscapes. Yet, the environmentalists love the windmills. I’ve been preaching this for years. The windmills. I had them way down. The windmills are the most expensive energy you can have, and they don’t work. They last a period of 10 years and by the time they start rusting and rotting all over the place nobody ever takes them down. They just go onto the next piece of prairie or land and destroy that. It’s incredible.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-windmill-rant-nelk-boys-podcast-ukraine-conflict-1319321/
The former president doesn’t seem to have anything coherent to add about how the conflict might end, either. When he was asked about what to expect going forward during a recent appearance on the podcast of the popular creator collective the Nelk Boys, Trump’s thoughts turned to … windmills.
“What do you see happening next, then?” Trump was asked. “It seems like the tensions are high. How does this all end? Is this going to be a long-term thing? How do you see this unfolding?”
“Well, and I said this a long time ago, we are playing right into their hands with the green energy,” Trump began. “The windmills. They don’t work. They’re too expensive. They kill all the birds. They ruin your landscapes. Yet, the environmentalists love the windmills. I’ve been preaching this for years. The windmills. I had them way down. The windmills are the most expensive energy you can have, and they don’t work. They last a period of 10 years and by the time they start rusting and rotting all over the place nobody ever takes them down. They just go onto the next piece of prairie or land and destroy that. It’s incredible.”
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-windmill-rant-nelk-boys-podcast-ukraine-conflict-1319321/
Tell me you don’t know how windmills work without telling me that you don’t know how windmills work. Also, Trump, can you show us on this doll where the windmill hurt you? That would help. Now moving on… excuse me a minute… OK moving on. We now have to switch gears and talk about his latest rally in Florence, South Carolina. Where does he find these places? And it was quite the shit show as you can imagine with the added bonus of his supporters literally standing in piles of shit.
During the rally, Trump said there’s overwhelming evidence the election was fraudulent, but offered no evidence. He also said Republicans need a landslide win in the midterm elections, suggesting that the Democrats would try to cheat.
There was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election that would’ve changed the outcome. The Associated Press looked at election fraud in states where Trump claimed he won, even though he didn’t. In those states, the Associated Press found fewer than 475 instances of voter fraud, not nearly enough to change the outcome.
The Associated Press reported that not every instance of voter fraud discovered were votes for Biden and in most cases the fraudulent ballots were not even counted.
Brandon Judd, one of Trump’s guest speakers made this claim. According to NPR, 1.7 million migrants were apprehended at the border in the 2021 fiscal year, but that number may not represent the number of people who illegally entered the United States. NPR reports that migration patterns have changed over the last 20 years. NPR attributed the increase in people trying to cross more than once and said the number may not accurately account for people who crossed into the U.S. illegally.
https://www.wbtw.com/news/pee-dee/florence/fact-check-trumps-florence-rally-contained-false-misleading-claims/
There was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election that would’ve changed the outcome. The Associated Press looked at election fraud in states where Trump claimed he won, even though he didn’t. In those states, the Associated Press found fewer than 475 instances of voter fraud, not nearly enough to change the outcome.
The Associated Press reported that not every instance of voter fraud discovered were votes for Biden and in most cases the fraudulent ballots were not even counted.
Brandon Judd, one of Trump’s guest speakers made this claim. According to NPR, 1.7 million migrants were apprehended at the border in the 2021 fiscal year, but that number may not represent the number of people who illegally entered the United States. NPR reports that migration patterns have changed over the last 20 years. NPR attributed the increase in people trying to cross more than once and said the number may not accurately account for people who crossed into the U.S. illegally.
https://www.wbtw.com/news/pee-dee/florence/fact-check-trumps-florence-rally-contained-false-misleading-claims/
People in the Trump camp are lying about something? I’m shocked, SHOCKED! Well.. not that shocked. I mean literally everything Trump says is a lie. But here’s where things take a turn. I’m sure you have heard your Fox loving neighbors talk trash about Critical Race Theory. Which is something that they just completely made up to boost ratings because they got butt hurt over their man losing the 2020 election and now he and Hannity can’t whisper sweet nothings to each other every night. But this… might be taking things just a bit too far.
Former President Donald Trump called on his supporters to "lay down their lives" to fight against critical race theory (CRT) during his rally in Florence, South Carolina, on Saturday night.
The former president rallied his base by criticizing Republican lawmakers who have opposed him, and doubled down on his hardline conservative positions including CRT, which is the study of institutional racism in the legal system. The subject has emerged as a hot button issue for conservatives who argue it is divisive and shouldn't be taught in schools. Others, however, say the concept is only taught in higher education.
During the rally, Trump invoked CRT as being a "matter of national survival," calling on his supporters to fight to keep it "out of our schools."
"We have no choice. The fate of any nation ultimately depends on the willingness of its citizens to lay down and they must do this—lay down their very lives to defend their country," he said. "If we allow the Marxists and commies and socialists to teach our children to hate America, there will be no one left to defend our flag or to protect our great country or its freedom."
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-says-supporters-should-lay-down-their-very-lives-fight-crt-1687545
The former president rallied his base by criticizing Republican lawmakers who have opposed him, and doubled down on his hardline conservative positions including CRT, which is the study of institutional racism in the legal system. The subject has emerged as a hot button issue for conservatives who argue it is divisive and shouldn't be taught in schools. Others, however, say the concept is only taught in higher education.
During the rally, Trump invoked CRT as being a "matter of national survival," calling on his supporters to fight to keep it "out of our schools."
"We have no choice. The fate of any nation ultimately depends on the willingness of its citizens to lay down and they must do this—lay down their very lives to defend their country," he said. "If we allow the Marxists and commies and socialists to teach our children to hate America, there will be no one left to defend our flag or to protect our great country or its freedom."
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-says-supporters-should-lay-down-their-very-lives-fight-crt-1687545
Yeah where’s that guy when you need him? Look this is the type of thing that is going to get people killed is because of this bullshit. And honestly if people die over this crap it will be far less MAGAs to vote for Trump in a future election. Which, you know if you’re running for office, you want less of your supporters voting for you. And here’s the thing too, Donny, is that January 6th was bad enough. If you’re willing to take up the fight on Critical Race Theory to be an actual fight, we’ll be there waiting this time!
A Trump critic fears his latest comments about critical race theory could be interpreted by his most ardent supporters as a call for a violent uprising like the January 6, 2021, Capitol siege.
Former President Donald Trump's message that eliminating critical race theory from schools is a "matter of national survival" puts "a target on the back of every educator" who teaches the truth about history and systemic inequalities, Sumi Cho, of the African American Policy Forum, wrote in an email to Insider.
His Saturday speech during a South Carolina rally, she said, promotes "anti-democratic vigilante violence," just as his call to "fight like hell" stoked white power militias and paramilitary extremists who breached the US Capitol last year to try to overturn the 2020 election results.
Depending on the listener, Trump's comments were interpreted as either a statement of truth, an attempt to stay relevant, or, to Cho, as a call to arms from someone who knows his followers will understand his message as "white national survival."
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-critical-race-theory-call-to-violence-january-6-insurrection-2022-3
Former President Donald Trump's message that eliminating critical race theory from schools is a "matter of national survival" puts "a target on the back of every educator" who teaches the truth about history and systemic inequalities, Sumi Cho, of the African American Policy Forum, wrote in an email to Insider.
His Saturday speech during a South Carolina rally, she said, promotes "anti-democratic vigilante violence," just as his call to "fight like hell" stoked white power militias and paramilitary extremists who breached the US Capitol last year to try to overturn the 2020 election results.
Depending on the listener, Trump's comments were interpreted as either a statement of truth, an attempt to stay relevant, or, to Cho, as a call to arms from someone who knows his followers will understand his message as "white national survival."
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-critical-race-theory-call-to-violence-january-6-insurrection-2022-3
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[font size="8"]State Of The Union Highlights
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Look I realize it’s old news by now but we really got to talk about the State Of The Union. Isn’t it nice to have a competent leader in the White House? One who can actually pronounce the word “union” correctly (see: [link: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210171139 | Idiots #4-4] ) and doesn’t kick out fathers who lost their kids to gun violence (see: [link: https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212982373 | Idiots #8-6] ) and used the platform to threaten his political opponents (see: Idiots #6-6 ). It is nice isn’t it? And no I’m not going to talk about the shitbags yet. First I want to talk about what a great leader Joe Biden really is and how he handled his first SOTU like a real president should. It was nice to see him up there and we’re not subjected to that Former Guy’s incoherent ramblings anymore! But you know in the truly dark times in which we live right now it’s nice to have some optimism for even a brief minute isn’t it?
Most Americans who watched President Biden's first State of the Union address approved of what they heard, and many said it made them feel optimistic and proud.
After nearly two years of the coronavirus pandemic, more than half who tuned in Tuesday night said the speech made them feel like the coronavirus is mostly behind us.
Older Americans who watched the speech were a bit more likely to say the speech made them feel the coronavirus will be with us for a while. CBS News interviewed speech viewers immediately after the president's speech.
Overall, about 8 in 10 of speech watchers approved of Mr. Biden's address tonight, including majorities of both Democrats and independents. Among members of his own party, his speech received high marks among both liberals and moderates.
In the latest CBS national poll released earlier this week, 34% of Americans identified themselves as Democrats. Among those who watched tonight's speech, that percentage was 49%.
Former President Trump received a high approval rating for his first State of the Union address in 2018, among a viewing audience who leaned more Republican than the nation as a whole.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-state-of-the-union-speech-watchers-reactions/
After nearly two years of the coronavirus pandemic, more than half who tuned in Tuesday night said the speech made them feel like the coronavirus is mostly behind us.
Older Americans who watched the speech were a bit more likely to say the speech made them feel the coronavirus will be with us for a while. CBS News interviewed speech viewers immediately after the president's speech.
Overall, about 8 in 10 of speech watchers approved of Mr. Biden's address tonight, including majorities of both Democrats and independents. Among members of his own party, his speech received high marks among both liberals and moderates.
In the latest CBS national poll released earlier this week, 34% of Americans identified themselves as Democrats. Among those who watched tonight's speech, that percentage was 49%.
Former President Trump received a high approval rating for his first State of the Union address in 2018, among a viewing audience who leaned more Republican than the nation as a whole.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/poll-state-of-the-union-speech-watchers-reactions/
Yeah it’s nice to have some optimism isn’t it? Especially after 5 years of pessimism and narcissism ruling the realm. But you might be asking “How’s Biden going to handle the threat from Putin?” and “Is COVID still a thing for 2022?”. The answer, my fair audience is both of those things are being handled by a competent leader, and not an incompetent man child buffoon. So if you’re looking for the other guy to ignore rationality and reason you’ve come to the wrong place.
Addressing a concerned nation and anxious world, President Joe Biden vowed in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night to check Russian aggression in Ukraine, tame soaring U.S. inflation and deal with the fading but still dangerous coronavirus.
Biden declared that he and all members of Congress, whatever their political differences, are joined “with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.” He asked lawmakers crowding the House chamber to stand and salute the Ukrainians as he began his speech. They stood and cheered.
It was a notable show of unity after a long year of bitter acrimony between Biden’s Democratic coalition and the Republican opposition.
Biden’s 62-minute speech, which was split between attention to war abroad and worries at home — reflected the same balancing act he now faces in his presidency. He must marshal allied resolve against Russia’s aggression while tending to inflation, COVID-19 fatigue and sagging approval ratings heading into the midterm elections.
https://apnews.com/article/biden-state-of-the-union-4d6eb9fed9a46bb4efb63ea4e015725c
Biden declared that he and all members of Congress, whatever their political differences, are joined “with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny.” He asked lawmakers crowding the House chamber to stand and salute the Ukrainians as he began his speech. They stood and cheered.
It was a notable show of unity after a long year of bitter acrimony between Biden’s Democratic coalition and the Republican opposition.
Biden’s 62-minute speech, which was split between attention to war abroad and worries at home — reflected the same balancing act he now faces in his presidency. He must marshal allied resolve against Russia’s aggression while tending to inflation, COVID-19 fatigue and sagging approval ratings heading into the midterm elections.
https://apnews.com/article/biden-state-of-the-union-4d6eb9fed9a46bb4efb63ea4e015725c
Now let’s talk about the shit bags. Because there were a lot of them. And a lot of conservatives skipping out on the SOTU. Like the pompous jackasses they are. But can we agree there’s no lower form of pond scum than the representing members of the Q-Batshit party – Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who I am going to refer to as Wingus and Dingus? So we won’t get to this next week, but next week we will be covering how Dingus is becoming increasingly hostile and radicalized. But anyway here’s what happened.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., repeatedly interrupted and interjected during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Greene was heard grumbling through the entire part of Biden's speech about Covid policy before she shouted a remark about women's sports when Biden mentioned new laws targeting transgender Americans and their families.
Boebert and Greene tried to start a "build the wall" chant — a reference to former President Donald Trump's calls to construct a wall across the U.S. southern border — when Biden referred to securing the border and reforming immigration law.
But the moment that stood out most was when Boebert shouted "13 of them" — referring to the 13 U.S. service members who died in an attack in Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal last year — when Biden discussed battlefield conditions that may contribute to veterans' developing cancers "that would put them in a flag-draped coffin."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/gop-reps-greene-boebert-heckle-biden-throughout-sotu-address-n1290558
Greene was heard grumbling through the entire part of Biden's speech about Covid policy before she shouted a remark about women's sports when Biden mentioned new laws targeting transgender Americans and their families.
Boebert and Greene tried to start a "build the wall" chant — a reference to former President Donald Trump's calls to construct a wall across the U.S. southern border — when Biden referred to securing the border and reforming immigration law.
But the moment that stood out most was when Boebert shouted "13 of them" — referring to the 13 U.S. service members who died in an attack in Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal last year — when Biden discussed battlefield conditions that may contribute to veterans' developing cancers "that would put them in a flag-draped coffin."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/gop-reps-greene-boebert-heckle-biden-throughout-sotu-address-n1290558
Yeah so that happened. While Biden was talking about his now-deceased son. And in case you’re wondering if this is an isolated incident or not, they are exactly the same boorish jackasses that they’ve been since we’ve known them. You know what, GOP? This is your future – a bunch of insecure sniveling children who behave like the screaming toddler at Target begging for a toy and who embrace conspiracy theories and hardcore internet racism. Is that what you want or is that what you’ve always been? I’d say a little from column A, a little from column B.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and other Republicans who heckled President Biden during his State of the Union address Tuesday should “just shut up.”
During his address, Biden spoke about his late son, Beau Biden — an Iraq War veteran who died of brain cancer in 2015 — as he called on Congress to pass legislation to aid veterans exposed to toxins while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The toxins, he said, lead to cancers “that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.”
For years, Biden has said his son’s death might have been caused by exposure to toxins while he served in Iraq and Kosovo. Beau Biden was a major in the Army National Guard.
Boebert interrupted the president as he mentioned the flag-draped coffins, yelling from her seat: “You put them there. Thirteen of them!”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/03/pelosi-boebert-biden-heckles/
During his address, Biden spoke about his late son, Beau Biden — an Iraq War veteran who died of brain cancer in 2015 — as he called on Congress to pass legislation to aid veterans exposed to toxins while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The toxins, he said, lead to cancers “that would put them in a flag-draped coffin.”
For years, Biden has said his son’s death might have been caused by exposure to toxins while he served in Iraq and Kosovo. Beau Biden was a major in the Army National Guard.
Boebert interrupted the president as he mentioned the flag-draped coffins, yelling from her seat: “You put them there. Thirteen of them!”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/03/pelosi-boebert-biden-heckles/
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[font size="8"]Top 10 Investigates: Rental Car or Stolen Car
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Hey everyone it’s time to investigate beyond the headlines! This is Top 10 Investigates!
Now that people are starting to venture out of the house again, you may have noticed that there has been a huge spike in rental cars, hotels, and travel properties. However, if you rent from one car company, there could be an added stipulation that you might be totally unaware of. There could be a warrant out for your arrest. And one company in particular – Hertz, seems to be turning in its’ customers at an increasingly alarming rate. But why is this happening? There are many reasons why Hertz seems to be turning its’ customers over to the police, and none of them are particularly good. In fact here’s what happened when one St. Louis resident got arrested for stealing after renting a car from Hertz. And this customer in particular is part of a massive nationwide class action lawsuit alleging that they are not alone in being arrested for car theft after renting a car.
Today, Cindi is one of more than 230 claimants in an ongoing class action lawsuit against Hertz, which is making national news.
Her arrest, it turns out, stems from flaws in the company’s rental system, which causes it to report cars as stolen for reasons as trivial as an update to the rental agreement, or a customer trading one rental for another.
In Cindi's case, Hertz seems to have reported the Altima stolen when she and her husband extended the rental through their insurance.
Temika Thompson, of Walnut Park West, is also among the claimants. Four months after she rented from Hertz in September, 2017 the car vanished. She called the company to report it stolen, at which time employees "told her not to worry, it was just repossessed" by Hertz, according to a court filing.
Months later, Thompson learned Hertz had filed a police report against her for stealing, and there was a warrant out for her arrest.
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/rent-a-car-from-hertz-get-arrested-for-stealing/Content?oid=37303292
Her arrest, it turns out, stems from flaws in the company’s rental system, which causes it to report cars as stolen for reasons as trivial as an update to the rental agreement, or a customer trading one rental for another.
In Cindi's case, Hertz seems to have reported the Altima stolen when she and her husband extended the rental through their insurance.
Temika Thompson, of Walnut Park West, is also among the claimants. Four months after she rented from Hertz in September, 2017 the car vanished. She called the company to report it stolen, at which time employees "told her not to worry, it was just repossessed" by Hertz, according to a court filing.
Months later, Thompson learned Hertz had filed a police report against her for stealing, and there was a warrant out for her arrest.
https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/rent-a-car-from-hertz-get-arrested-for-stealing/Content?oid=37303292
No that’s what an actual car theft looks like. But these were ordinary people just renting a car, whether it was for vacation, auto repair, or business trips. And these aren’t isolated incidents either – Hertz is rather notorious for throwing its’ customers in jail. What makes this story even worse is that attempts to contact customer service have not been successful. So if you do get arrested and try to contact Hertz about it, you will be shit out of luck.
Tederhi Usude, a dentist from Santa Clarita, California, rented a car from Hertz in June 2020 to drive to a job at a nonprofit health clinic in rural Mendocino County. He extended the rental several times with Hertz's permission and paid a total of $7,000.
Usude, 55, says that in his last conversation with a Hertz agent he explained that he was temporarily quarantined because of a COVID-19 outbreak at the clinic, and would return the car as soon as he was cleared to travel again. On Dec. 18, 2020, he was on his way to return the vehicle the week before Christmas — in fact, he had turned onto the very street where the Hertz office was located.
That's when his nightmare began. A police car flashed its lights behind him. He pulled over and was ordered out of the car. By then six or eight squad cars were on the scene. He was told to lie on the ground, was handcuffed and was taken to the local jail, where he spent the night.
According to a declaration Usude filed in court, an officer informed him that Hertz had reported him for theft and "embezzlement."
When he showed the officer his rental agreement and an invoice on his cellphone showing that Hertz had billed his debit card $3,973.45 just two days earlier, he recalls, the officer told him, "There's nothing I can do," because Hertz had reported the car stolen.
https://www.hastingstribune.com/ap/health/michael-hiltzik-renting-a-car-from-hertz-you-could-wind-up-in-jail/article_9010f32b-3aed-5256-adcf-3ab94c04f2e0.html
Usude, 55, says that in his last conversation with a Hertz agent he explained that he was temporarily quarantined because of a COVID-19 outbreak at the clinic, and would return the car as soon as he was cleared to travel again. On Dec. 18, 2020, he was on his way to return the vehicle the week before Christmas — in fact, he had turned onto the very street where the Hertz office was located.
That's when his nightmare began. A police car flashed its lights behind him. He pulled over and was ordered out of the car. By then six or eight squad cars were on the scene. He was told to lie on the ground, was handcuffed and was taken to the local jail, where he spent the night.
According to a declaration Usude filed in court, an officer informed him that Hertz had reported him for theft and "embezzlement."
When he showed the officer his rental agreement and an invoice on his cellphone showing that Hertz had billed his debit card $3,973.45 just two days earlier, he recalls, the officer told him, "There's nothing I can do," because Hertz had reported the car stolen.
https://www.hastingstribune.com/ap/health/michael-hiltzik-renting-a-car-from-hertz-you-could-wind-up-in-jail/article_9010f32b-3aed-5256-adcf-3ab94c04f2e0.html
So among other things, you can get arrested, land in jail, and even land with crippling debt. Just for renting a car. But there is some good news – despite all of these claims against Hertz, a judge has ordered them to disclose just how many renters it had thrown in jail. And no matter what number you think it is, even one is astronomically high. But if you ever sit down and actually read the terms of service in your rental car agreement, there’s some pretty wild stuff in there. But most of the more sane rental car companies don’t have provisions that can get you thrown in jail.
It all started with Hertz being less than helpful when a man was falsely accused of murder. Michigan resident Herbert Alford was arrested and convicted for a murder he didn’t commit. He maintained his innocence, claiming he was at the airport in Lansing, Michigan during the time the murder occurred. And he could have proven it, too, if he had just been able to produce the receipt showing he had been renting a car at Hertz twenty minutes away from the crime scene.
It wasn’t until Alford had spent five years in prison that Hertz got around to producing the receipt. Three of those years can be laid directly at Hertz’s feet. The receipt was requested in 2015. Hertz handed it over in 2018. Alford sued.
That’s not the only lawsuit Hertz is facing. It apparently also has a bad habit of accusing paying customers of theft, something that has resulted in drivers being accosted by armed officers and/or arrested and charged.
Nine months later, another lawsuit rolled in. A proposed class action suit — covering more than 100 Hertz customers — claimed the company acts carelessly and engages in supremely poor recordkeeping. The lawsuit, (then) representing 165 customers, contains details of several customers who have been pulled over, arrested, and/or jailed because Hertz’s rental tracking system is buggier than its competitors’. Hertz takes pain to point out these incidents only represent a very small percentage of its renters. But that’s essentially meaningless when this small error rate doesn’t appear to occur at other car rental agencies.
https://www.techdirt.com/2022/02/23/hertz-ordered-to-tell-court-how-many-thousands-renters-it-falsely-accuses-theft-every-year/
It wasn’t until Alford had spent five years in prison that Hertz got around to producing the receipt. Three of those years can be laid directly at Hertz’s feet. The receipt was requested in 2015. Hertz handed it over in 2018. Alford sued.
That’s not the only lawsuit Hertz is facing. It apparently also has a bad habit of accusing paying customers of theft, something that has resulted in drivers being accosted by armed officers and/or arrested and charged.
Nine months later, another lawsuit rolled in. A proposed class action suit — covering more than 100 Hertz customers — claimed the company acts carelessly and engages in supremely poor recordkeeping. The lawsuit, (then) representing 165 customers, contains details of several customers who have been pulled over, arrested, and/or jailed because Hertz’s rental tracking system is buggier than its competitors’. Hertz takes pain to point out these incidents only represent a very small percentage of its renters. But that’s essentially meaningless when this small error rate doesn’t appear to occur at other car rental agencies.
https://www.techdirt.com/2022/02/23/hertz-ordered-to-tell-court-how-many-thousands-renters-it-falsely-accuses-theft-every-year/
Let’s extrapolate this for a moment – if you rent from Hertz and you’re accused of a crime, Hertz will go out of their way to be less than helpful if you get arrested. And if you buy a used car from a major vendor like Carvana, that’s not exactly helpful either. But rental car, stolen car, or damaged car, watch out because that car company’s terms of service agreement could be a one-way ticket to the slammer and you won’t be alone either. In fact thousands of people are arrested each year for the simple act of renting a car.
Hertz filed for bankruptcy in May 2020, as the pandemic devastated the travel industry and the company owed $17 billion in debt. The complaints against Hertz are filed into groups, depending on when the lawsuits were filed in terms of Hertz's bankruptcy case. Many of the lawsuits were filed before the bankruptcy, and they remained after the company emerged from Chapter 11.
A judge cleared 17 cases against Hertz to move forward last week, joining more than about half of the 230 that are also currently pending. Other claims will be decided at a later date.
Francis Alexander Malofiy, the Pennsylvania-based lead attorney for the claimants, indicated to USA Today that “230 is not the majority. … It's the tip of the iceberg,” and “you're talking 20,000 people who were stuck in the criminal justice system because they had a dispute or an issue with their rental, or that (Hertz) couldn't find their car.”
According to court documents, the current group of claimants has spent a total of 2,742 days in jail or prison because of false arrests.
https://www.thestreet.com/investing/heres-why-you-might-get-arrested-for-renting-from-hertz
A judge cleared 17 cases against Hertz to move forward last week, joining more than about half of the 230 that are also currently pending. Other claims will be decided at a later date.
Francis Alexander Malofiy, the Pennsylvania-based lead attorney for the claimants, indicated to USA Today that “230 is not the majority. … It's the tip of the iceberg,” and “you're talking 20,000 people who were stuck in the criminal justice system because they had a dispute or an issue with their rental, or that (Hertz) couldn't find their car.”
According to court documents, the current group of claimants has spent a total of 2,742 days in jail or prison because of false arrests.
https://www.thestreet.com/investing/heres-why-you-might-get-arrested-for-renting-from-hertz
That’s it this week for Top 10 Investigates. Good day.
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[font size="8"]Holy Shit: The Musings Of Lance Wallnau
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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! You ever encounter someone in your travels who is so far off the deep end ridiculously batshit crazy that you have no choice but to mock and ridicule the shit out of them so that you don’t resist the urge to punch them in the face? Well, I give you who may be one of the worst political pundits out there not named Greg Gutfeld, Lance Wallnau. But I must digress. Because the good LAWRD JAYSUS would not advocate for violence, now, would he? I mean it says right in our Good Book that JAYSUS was a passive, he would not fight. But instead, since I do fight, I don’t fight with actual violence. I fight with words instead. See, our founding fathers guaranteed a right to free speech, so Mr. Wallnau is free to say whatever he wants. But that said, we here at the Holy Church Of The Top 10 are also free to say what we want too. But here’s why he made my list this week.
During last Tuesday’s “Flashpoint” program, which airs on megachurch televangelist Kenneth Copeland’s “Victory Channel” network, unabashed Christian nationalist and self-proclaimed “futurist” Lance Wallnau gave the audience a crash course in Seven Mountains Dominionism, a radical theology that advocates having right-wing Christians control all aspects of society.
Followers of Seven Mountains theology believe that they are to “do whatever is necessary” to take control of the seven main “mountains” that shape our culture—education, government, media, business, arts and entertainment, family, and religion—in order to implement the will of God throughout the nation and the world.
Wallnau, a Trump-loving evangelist who had access to the White House during the Trump administration, said that the United States won’t be saved just by converting more people to Christianity because all the “mountains” in society are currently controlled by “roughly 3 to 4 percent of the population [who] are radical leftist elites.”
“They neutralize the church because they’re also in religion,” Wallnau said. “They changed the definition of marriage, so they’ve taken over family. They’ve totally taken over academia, so the education institutions are teaching leftist theology or leftist ideology and silencing conservatives. They’re controlling government right now. They’ve taken over legacy media, Hollywood, entertainment and the arts. And now they’ve got Wall Street.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/we-want-nations-lance-wallnau-preaches-seven-mountains-dominionism/
Followers of Seven Mountains theology believe that they are to “do whatever is necessary” to take control of the seven main “mountains” that shape our culture—education, government, media, business, arts and entertainment, family, and religion—in order to implement the will of God throughout the nation and the world.
Wallnau, a Trump-loving evangelist who had access to the White House during the Trump administration, said that the United States won’t be saved just by converting more people to Christianity because all the “mountains” in society are currently controlled by “roughly 3 to 4 percent of the population [who] are radical leftist elites.”
“They neutralize the church because they’re also in religion,” Wallnau said. “They changed the definition of marriage, so they’ve taken over family. They’ve totally taken over academia, so the education institutions are teaching leftist theology or leftist ideology and silencing conservatives. They’re controlling government right now. They’ve taken over legacy media, Hollywood, entertainment and the arts. And now they’ve got Wall Street.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/we-want-nations-lance-wallnau-preaches-seven-mountains-dominionism/
No, no one is neutralizing the church! You’re only perceiving that crap in your head because as I have often said the most devout are also the most paranoid and that’s why they fall for scammers, hucksters, and conspiracy theories every single time. But there’s no more conspiracy theory huckster greater than Mr. Wallnau himself. And come on, do we really need more supporters of the unholy, ungodly Dark One poisoning the halls of our Congress? No! In fact that’s exactly what the America First crowd wants, and they go exactly against our beliefs! They stand for everything wrong in society!
Unabashed Christian nationalist and self-proclaimed “futurist” Lance Wallnau held a livestream on his Facebook page Tuesday night in which he prayed that God will bring “such a cleansing of a House in November” that Congress will be filled with Christian nationalists and “great leaders” like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz, and Madison Cawthorn.
Wallnau, a Trump-loving Seven Mountains Dominionist who had regular access to the White House during the Trump administration, prayed that “the Christian populace would begin to rise up to restore the nation” by unleashing “a backlash against the elite” in the midterm elections.
“I pray for a moment when you will raise up, Lord,” Wallnau prayed. “Your wisdom is greater than ours, but I believe you’ve given us this understanding that there’s a moment to put a backlash against the elites and to cause your church to rise up. We’re not leading right now, Lord. We’re not a big voice right now. Nobody’s quoting us except for an apology.”
“Lord, I pray that you will raise up spirit-inspired leaders of the populist movement,” he continued. “That even in America, the Christian populists would begin to rise up to restore the nation; Christian nationalists that love America and that are sane and rational and want to see America not destroyed by the globalists. I pray that you raise a church that is so powerful and so disruptive to the agendas of these elites that Psalm 2 has to happen: Why do the heathen rage and the rulers imagine a vain thing?”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/christian-nationalist-lance-wallnau-prays-that-god-will-raise-up-more-great-leaders-like-reps-greene-gaetz-and-cawthorn/
Wallnau, a Trump-loving Seven Mountains Dominionist who had regular access to the White House during the Trump administration, prayed that “the Christian populace would begin to rise up to restore the nation” by unleashing “a backlash against the elite” in the midterm elections.
“I pray for a moment when you will raise up, Lord,” Wallnau prayed. “Your wisdom is greater than ours, but I believe you’ve given us this understanding that there’s a moment to put a backlash against the elites and to cause your church to rise up. We’re not leading right now, Lord. We’re not a big voice right now. Nobody’s quoting us except for an apology.”
“Lord, I pray that you will raise up spirit-inspired leaders of the populist movement,” he continued. “That even in America, the Christian populists would begin to rise up to restore the nation; Christian nationalists that love America and that are sane and rational and want to see America not destroyed by the globalists. I pray that you raise a church that is so powerful and so disruptive to the agendas of these elites that Psalm 2 has to happen: Why do the heathen rage and the rulers imagine a vain thing?”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/christian-nationalist-lance-wallnau-prays-that-god-will-raise-up-more-great-leaders-like-reps-greene-gaetz-and-cawthorn/
No, Mr. Wallnau, these people are a cancer on our body politics and they must be eradicated! Thank you my fair congregation! And by the way in case you’re wondering if the tenants of Christian nationalism are rooted in racism, you are… 100% correct! But that don’t matter to people like Lance Wallnau, no sir or madam! So now let’s extrapolate this for a minute – people who are becoming “woke” are not OK in the eyes of people like Mr. Wallnau, are they? No apparently – wokeness is reverse racism, and what I’ve learned is that racists don’t like being called racist!
Lance Wallnau used the Oct. 29 episode of his podcast to rail against the “woke industrial complex” and to portray “wokeness” as “a weird new religion.” Wallnau, a Christian nationalist author, speaker, and life coach who promotes Seven Mountains Dominionism, urged Christians to recognize that proponents of “Wokeianity” are their enemies.
“The Wokeianity of the Antichrist system is an extorted confession of faith,” he said, “where you have to use the gender pronoun arbitrarily chosen by a student” even if that student’s reality “isn’t real for you.”
Wallnau reaches a wide audience through his books, podcasts, conference speeches, and appearances on religious-right media. He has more than 735,000 followers on Facebook and more than 60,000 on Twitter. In advance of the 2016 election, Wallnau claimed that former President Donald Trump was God’s anointed “chaos candidate.” He became enough of an insider among Trump’s Pentecostal supporters that he was invited to the White House for a briefing on the administration’s Middle East peace plans. In 2020, Wallnau said that Trump’s reelection would set the stage for the church to take greater authority in the world. When that didn’t happen and Joe Biden was sworn in as president, Wallnau declared Biden to be “an illegal counterfeit.”
On last Friday’s podcast, Wallnau portrayed the political situation in the United States as a “spiritual battle,” something even more powerful and “sinister,” he said, than the political battles as covered by right-wing pundits on Fox News. “It’s a whole invasion of Western civilization with ideas that are grounded in the destruction of America as we’ve known it and freedom as we’ve experienced it,” he claimed.
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/lance-wallnau-wokeness-is-an-antichrist-religion-systemic-racism-doesnt-exist/
“The Wokeianity of the Antichrist system is an extorted confession of faith,” he said, “where you have to use the gender pronoun arbitrarily chosen by a student” even if that student’s reality “isn’t real for you.”
Wallnau reaches a wide audience through his books, podcasts, conference speeches, and appearances on religious-right media. He has more than 735,000 followers on Facebook and more than 60,000 on Twitter. In advance of the 2016 election, Wallnau claimed that former President Donald Trump was God’s anointed “chaos candidate.” He became enough of an insider among Trump’s Pentecostal supporters that he was invited to the White House for a briefing on the administration’s Middle East peace plans. In 2020, Wallnau said that Trump’s reelection would set the stage for the church to take greater authority in the world. When that didn’t happen and Joe Biden was sworn in as president, Wallnau declared Biden to be “an illegal counterfeit.”
On last Friday’s podcast, Wallnau portrayed the political situation in the United States as a “spiritual battle,” something even more powerful and “sinister,” he said, than the political battles as covered by right-wing pundits on Fox News. “It’s a whole invasion of Western civilization with ideas that are grounded in the destruction of America as we’ve known it and freedom as we’ve experienced it,” he claimed.
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/lance-wallnau-wokeness-is-an-antichrist-religion-systemic-racism-doesnt-exist/
So now in case you were wondering, yes, Mr. Lance is on the side of the unholy, ungodly Dark One – a man who of course as you know is so disgusting, foul, and depraved that his name dare not be spoken in my church! In fact Lance is so steeped in the propaganda of the Dark One that he is trying to whitewash what happened on January 6th. You can’t Jedi mind trick your way out of this one, Lance! We know damn well what you and your cohorts were trying to pull!
In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection in which supporters of former President Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s electoral victory, Trump-loving Christian nationalist Lance Wallnau immediately began blaming the entire attack on left-wing activists.
“I know it’s antifa,” Wallnau said in the days following the insurrection despite having and producing no evidence to support that claim. In the year since, Wallnau, like many other right-wing activists, has continued to insist that the events of Jan. 6 were a government operation designed to entrap Trump supporters and cover up the supposed scheme to steal the 2020 election from Trump.
On the anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, Wallnau joined fellow conspiracy theorist Anna Khait on her YouTube program, where he baselessly blamed “union guys” for planting pipe bombs the night before the insurrection and prayed that God will “gut” the Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections so Republican can take control of Congress and “do a reverse investigation” into what really happened on Jan. 6.
“This was a peaceful assembly of over 1 million people,” Wallnau ranted. “Many of them were Christians with shofars up there praying. And I think what happened was you had infiltration of a couple of elements. One was probably rowdy Americans—who, by the way, after looking at all the cities burning on the left, I guess you could give one group of Republicans an opportunity to ventilate their frustration—but 95 percent of the people were actually not there for that purpose.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/lance-wallnau-prays-republicans-gut-democrats-in-midterms/
“I know it’s antifa,” Wallnau said in the days following the insurrection despite having and producing no evidence to support that claim. In the year since, Wallnau, like many other right-wing activists, has continued to insist that the events of Jan. 6 were a government operation designed to entrap Trump supporters and cover up the supposed scheme to steal the 2020 election from Trump.
On the anniversary of the Capitol insurrection, Wallnau joined fellow conspiracy theorist Anna Khait on her YouTube program, where he baselessly blamed “union guys” for planting pipe bombs the night before the insurrection and prayed that God will “gut” the Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections so Republican can take control of Congress and “do a reverse investigation” into what really happened on Jan. 6.
“This was a peaceful assembly of over 1 million people,” Wallnau ranted. “Many of them were Christians with shofars up there praying. And I think what happened was you had infiltration of a couple of elements. One was probably rowdy Americans—who, by the way, after looking at all the cities burning on the left, I guess you could give one group of Republicans an opportunity to ventilate their frustration—but 95 percent of the people were actually not there for that purpose.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/lance-wallnau-prays-republicans-gut-democrats-in-midterms/
So that’s Mr. Wallnau in a nutshell – the kind of hardcore racist and extreme Christian nationalist that is reminiscent of the Dark One himself! I need a beer after this one – it’s OK to drink at our church! Mass has ended, may you go in peace! That’s it this week for:
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[font size="8"]The Zoo From Hell
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YOU CAN’T ESCAPE IT! IT’S:
THE ZOO FROM HELL!!!!
Welcome everyone to the Zoo From Hell! That’s right – mother nature can be quite the cruel mistress as we have seen in the last 2 years with a killer bat virus that shut down the whole planet which was immediately followed by a storm of massively large killer insects (see: Idiots #9-8 ). Well, once again the people at Mother Nature Industries obviously have a cruel sense of humor because they said “What other giant insects can we conjure up to scare the shit out of people? I know! Giant parachuting spiders!”. Yes, that’s right – there’s spiders the size of your fist that are coming. And they’re not coming by just naturally appearing. No, they’re coming in by parachute! That’s right – giant parachuting spiders are ready to take over the void left by the murder hornets.
The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the waterspout … and all across the East Coast.
Except in this case, the spider in question is not so little, according to Benjamin Frick, coauthor of a study of the Jorō spider species published in the journal Physiological Entomology.
READ MORE:
Senate Passes Bill That Would Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent Across U.S.
Jorō spiders, or Trichonephila clavata, can grow up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) in length — about the size of the palm of your hand or larger — and they could spread into the northeastern United States, he said.
With spindly legs and a striking black, yellow and gray-striped abdomen, the spiders are native to southeastern Asia, but already spread nearly a decade ago to the southeastern United States with its warm climate, said Frick, an undergraduate ecology student at the University of Georgia in Athens.
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2022/03/10/giant-parachuting-spiders-northeast/
Except in this case, the spider in question is not so little, according to Benjamin Frick, coauthor of a study of the Jorō spider species published in the journal Physiological Entomology.
READ MORE:
Senate Passes Bill That Would Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent Across U.S.
Jorō spiders, or Trichonephila clavata, can grow up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) in length — about the size of the palm of your hand or larger — and they could spread into the northeastern United States, he said.
With spindly legs and a striking black, yellow and gray-striped abdomen, the spiders are native to southeastern Asia, but already spread nearly a decade ago to the southeastern United States with its warm climate, said Frick, an undergraduate ecology student at the University of Georgia in Athens.
https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2022/03/10/giant-parachuting-spiders-northeast/
And it’s not just the north east that could get invaded by these larger than life insects! No, our old friends in Florida could get them too, as they prefer warm climates! And you know how we often refer to Florida as America’s Wang, as Homer Simpson famously put it. Well, now imagine that covered in a giant blanket of spiderwebs. So yes, Mother Nature can be a cruel mistress but at least you know that she’s got a weird sense of humor. Because imagine Florida covered in a giant blanket of spiderwebs… guess you could call that Nature’s Condom?
Large enough to cover your palm, the Joro spider is quite colorful.
But the spider is an invasive species. Settled presently in Georgia, likely after it hitchhiked on a cargo ship from Asia.
"In their native range, in east Asia and Japan, they do go pretty far south in some tropical climates," Andy Davis said.
At the University of Georgia, Davis has studied the Joro and believes that while it's been in Georgia for nine years now, it may likely expand its range north, and south, including Florida as soon as this spring.
But, not to worry.
"These Joros are really wimpy. They're more likely to run away than attack anybody. And even if they wanted to, their fangs are so short, they likely couldn't do any damage," Davis said.
Some are likely saying out loud, 'we have those here already!' Apparently, not so. They are the very similar Banana spider which is also a no-risk creature, unless you unwittingly stride into a web.
https://www.wesh.com/article/east-coast-parachuting-spiders/39401462
But the spider is an invasive species. Settled presently in Georgia, likely after it hitchhiked on a cargo ship from Asia.
"In their native range, in east Asia and Japan, they do go pretty far south in some tropical climates," Andy Davis said.
At the University of Georgia, Davis has studied the Joro and believes that while it's been in Georgia for nine years now, it may likely expand its range north, and south, including Florida as soon as this spring.
But, not to worry.
"These Joros are really wimpy. They're more likely to run away than attack anybody. And even if they wanted to, their fangs are so short, they likely couldn't do any damage," Davis said.
Some are likely saying out loud, 'we have those here already!' Apparently, not so. They are the very similar Banana spider which is also a no-risk creature, unless you unwittingly stride into a web.
https://www.wesh.com/article/east-coast-parachuting-spiders/39401462
At least the giant spiders are pretty harmless. But we can all agree that the solution is to kill them with fire, am I right? No? No takers on that one? But before everyone takes out their flame throwers and wants to torch these things, and I have no doubt in my mind that will happen – these things might actually be beneficial for us. Wait, what??? Yes – that is correct good sirs and madams. The giant parachuting spiders from hell might actually have some benefits for us.
They're huge and scary-looking, and could soon be moving into most of the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S., according to new research.
But don't worry too much: Joro spiders are harmless to humans — and even do some good.
"People should try to learn to live with them," Andy Davis, a research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology and one of the authors behind the recent study, told UGA Today, a publication by the University of Georgia.
Published in the journal Physiological Entomology, the study says that the palm-sized joro spider, which has been largely confined to warmer southeastern states for nearly a decade, could soon be expected to colonize regions with colder climates.
That's because researchers have discovered the large arachnids, with their brightly hued blue-black and yellow striped legs, have a higher probability of surviving a brief freeze than other closely related species of the same genus.
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/05/1084692989/giant-spiders-east-coast
But don't worry too much: Joro spiders are harmless to humans — and even do some good.
"People should try to learn to live with them," Andy Davis, a research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology and one of the authors behind the recent study, told UGA Today, a publication by the University of Georgia.
Published in the journal Physiological Entomology, the study says that the palm-sized joro spider, which has been largely confined to warmer southeastern states for nearly a decade, could soon be expected to colonize regions with colder climates.
That's because researchers have discovered the large arachnids, with their brightly hued blue-black and yellow striped legs, have a higher probability of surviving a brief freeze than other closely related species of the same genus.
https://www.npr.org/2022/03/05/1084692989/giant-spiders-east-coast
So you can’t kill them with fire and you can’t freeze ‘em. So what can you do? You might have to just live with ‘em and let them do their thing. Because this is just Mother Nature doing what she does best and using species to rid us of other species. It’s a classic dog eat dog scenario. Now I know that your arachnophobia might be turned up to 11 – and whose isn’t? I say we just let our new spider overlords take over and do their thing and we’ll see what comes next! Let’s close the door on the Zoo From Hell!
They're not after you. And they don't "parachute" from the sky.
The internet is awash in news about the spread of the invasive Joro spider, a big, striking arachnid that almost certainly hitched a ride to the U.S. aboard a shipping container, as many invasive species do. Since 2013, the palm-sized animals have colonized northern Georgia, and new, important research published in the science journal Physiological Entomology presents compelling evidence that the species will inevitably expand around the Southeast and along the Eastern Seaboard.
Crucially, these spiders may look imposing, but they aren't a dangerous menace to people. Their potential impact on the environment remains unknown. (They might even have ecological benefits.) And the sizable mature adults definitely aren't going to "parachute" down from the sky en mass, like something out of a low-budget horror film.
Instead, the ways Joros will often expand to new regions in the U.S. are rather mundane.
https://mashable.com/article/spider-joro-spread-us-parachute
The internet is awash in news about the spread of the invasive Joro spider, a big, striking arachnid that almost certainly hitched a ride to the U.S. aboard a shipping container, as many invasive species do. Since 2013, the palm-sized animals have colonized northern Georgia, and new, important research published in the science journal Physiological Entomology presents compelling evidence that the species will inevitably expand around the Southeast and along the Eastern Seaboard.
Crucially, these spiders may look imposing, but they aren't a dangerous menace to people. Their potential impact on the environment remains unknown. (They might even have ecological benefits.) And the sizable mature adults definitely aren't going to "parachute" down from the sky en mass, like something out of a low-budget horror film.
Instead, the ways Joros will often expand to new regions in the U.S. are rather mundane.
https://mashable.com/article/spider-joro-spread-us-parachute
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[font size="8"]Conspiracy Corner
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Welcome back to our ongoing segment where we delve into the crazy and the unexplainable, Conspiracy Corner! 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 tin foil hat for maximum government interference – they are trying to read your thoughts and my thoughts, don’t you know? So last week we had asked the question of whether or not Fox News’ Tucker Carlson is a Russian agent or not. And the answer there is probably. This week we are wondering whether or not a potential presidential candidate could possibly be a Russian agent. That’s right – who knows what high level government officials are on Putin’s payroll? Well, this one in particular happens to be Hawaii’s Tulsi Gabbard. Yes, Tulsi may be working for Putin. And Tulsi also wants to be president. See? You get where this is going? Although 3rd party candidates in the US typically go nowhere, this is still pretty alarming that Putin is targeting the US presidency. And well since he lost one of his playthings in 2020 he’s been very angry about it.
Former U.S. representative and current Army Reserve officer Tulsi Gabbard, known for controversial positions that have often been supportive of Russian interests, was accused Sunday of pushing a "treasonous lie" by Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, after her latest social media video promoted a debunked theory about biolabs in Ukraine.
In the video, which was posted to Gabbard's TikTok and other social media accounts, the former congresswoman mischaracterized U.S. support for several dozen former Soviet biolabs in Ukraine, falsely implying that the labs work with diseases like COVID-19 and that the Biden administration had been "trying to cover this up."
The claim is a variation on a Russian disinformation allegation about U.S. support for the labs that dates back to at least 2014, according to EUvsDisinfo, a watchdog group that advises the European Union and its members on disinformation.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/army-officer-tulsi-gabbard-faces-ire-peddling-russian-disinformation-about-ukraine-biolabs.html
In the video, which was posted to Gabbard's TikTok and other social media accounts, the former congresswoman mischaracterized U.S. support for several dozen former Soviet biolabs in Ukraine, falsely implying that the labs work with diseases like COVID-19 and that the Biden administration had been "trying to cover this up."
The claim is a variation on a Russian disinformation allegation about U.S. support for the labs that dates back to at least 2014, according to EUvsDisinfo, a watchdog group that advises the European Union and its members on disinformation.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/03/14/army-officer-tulsi-gabbard-faces-ire-peddling-russian-disinformation-about-ukraine-biolabs.html
Yeah probably. Hey Tulsi… shut up. And no really, shut up. There’s no biolab and nobody has been trying to cover this up. Of course in your warped brain would you think this. You might want consider putting the bong down and backing away from the computer very slowly. COVID-19 isn’t a bioweapon. Of course that’s what they want you to think! But is this any justification for the current war? Of course it isn’t by any stretch of the imagination. Just the sheer stupidity of people in this day and age.
Former Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard has been condemned as a "traitor" and accused of being a "Russian asset" for comments her detractors said lent credibility to Kremlin propaganda that U.S.-funded laboratories are working on bio weapons in Ukraine. Gabbard had asserted, accurately, that the U.S. funds bio labs in Ukraine, not bio weapons labs.
In a tweet posted on Sunday, the 2020 presidential hopeful cited the risk posed by biological laboratories at a time Moscow has been pushing a consipiracy theory that they are working on bio weapons in an apparent attempt to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In a video, Gabbard said the "undeniable facts" are that 25 to 30 "U.S.-funded bio labs" in Ukraine are conducting research into dangerous pathogens. Gabbard went on to express concerns that these "deadly pathogens" could be released if the labs in Ukraine are targeted amid the conflict with Russia.
"Like COVID, these pathogens know no borders," Gabbard said. "If they are inadvertently or purposely breached or compromised, they will quickly spread all throughout Europe, the United States and the rest of the world, causing untold suffering and death."
https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-bio-labs-ukraine-russia-conspiracy-1687594
In a tweet posted on Sunday, the 2020 presidential hopeful cited the risk posed by biological laboratories at a time Moscow has been pushing a consipiracy theory that they are working on bio weapons in an apparent attempt to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
In a video, Gabbard said the "undeniable facts" are that 25 to 30 "U.S.-funded bio labs" in Ukraine are conducting research into dangerous pathogens. Gabbard went on to express concerns that these "deadly pathogens" could be released if the labs in Ukraine are targeted amid the conflict with Russia.
"Like COVID, these pathogens know no borders," Gabbard said. "If they are inadvertently or purposely breached or compromised, they will quickly spread all throughout Europe, the United States and the rest of the world, causing untold suffering and death."
https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-bio-labs-ukraine-russia-conspiracy-1687594
Oh come on, Tulsi, are we just going to overlook the fact that most conspiracy theorists love to make claims about illegal immigrants and the border? There’s so many of these out there that I really can’t keep them all straight anymore. And the scary thing is that Tulsi used to be one of us, OK maybe she wasn’t hiding underneath a doomsday shelter in the sweltering New Mexico desert wearing tin foil hats, but still… yeah this is some really scary stuff here. But here’s where it gets weird, and you knew it was going to, with her infighting with Mitt Romney.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney strongly condemned former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, seemingly responding to comments she has made in recent days about US biological laboratories in Ukraine.
"Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives," Romney said in a tweet on Sunday afternoon. A representative for Romney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on what specifically he was referring to.
Earlier in the day, Gabbard, who ran for president in 2020, posted a video on Twitter repeating claims about US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. She also appeared on Fox News host Tucker Carlson's show last week and said she was "deeply concerned" about claims of bioweapons in Ukraine.
Russia has spread a baseless claim that the US is funding the development of bioweapons in labs in Ukraine. Russian and Chinese state media amplified the claims, while the US warned they could indicate that Russia is planning to use chemical weapons in its invasion of Ukraine.
https://news.yahoo.com/sen-mitt-romney-accused-tulsi-055336362.html
"Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives," Romney said in a tweet on Sunday afternoon. A representative for Romney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on what specifically he was referring to.
Earlier in the day, Gabbard, who ran for president in 2020, posted a video on Twitter repeating claims about US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. She also appeared on Fox News host Tucker Carlson's show last week and said she was "deeply concerned" about claims of bioweapons in Ukraine.
Russia has spread a baseless claim that the US is funding the development of bioweapons in labs in Ukraine. Russian and Chinese state media amplified the claims, while the US warned they could indicate that Russia is planning to use chemical weapons in its invasion of Ukraine.
https://news.yahoo.com/sen-mitt-romney-accused-tulsi-055336362.html
So if you’re looking for the answer to where your crazy uncle is posting those whackadoodle memes on his Facebook page, don’t look down or up. Instead look to Mother Russia. You know I’m not a violent person but I wouldn’t mind one well placed missile targeting Putin’s troll bot farm. And also Putin himself. But going back to Tulsi if we need any further proof that she’s become a Russian agent, well this story is pretty alarming – her only donor? A Russian agent. Oooooooooooooooooooh shit!
The largest individual donor to former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard’s (D-Hawaii) PAC in 2021 is an apologist for Vladimir Putin who runs a nonprofit that aims to foster cooperation between the U.S. and Russia. Gabbard has long taken pro-Russian positions, most recently on Sunday when she gave credence to a baseless Russian-supported conspiracy about U.S. involvement in biological-weapons laboratories in Ukraine.
In 1983, towards the end of the Cold War, Sharon Tennison, an American activist, founded the Center for Citizen Initiatives. Its mission is to “begin a series of citizen-to-citizen initiatives and exchanges, buttressed by official media PR and social-media networks across America and across Russia,” according to its website. During its 40 years, the center claims to have set up exchanges, helped launch Alcoholics Anonymous in Russia and taught business skills to Russian entrepreneurs. On a visit to Russia in 2016, the Federal Security Service detained Tennison for a few hours on suspicions of being a foreign agent, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
While advocating for peace, Tennison has repeatedly championed Russia’s dictator. For example, in 2018, she wrote, “Putin isn’t the problem, friends. The problem is the projection of our own ‘shadow’ on Putin and Russia.” In September 2020, Tennison observed, “Putin seems to ignore detractors and continues efforts to create venues to bring peoples and countries together despite vilifications.” And the day after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Tennison posted, “I am deeply concerned about a NATO country being on Russia’s borders in Ukraine … As for Putin’s current dilemma, I’m sorry he felt he had to intervene in Ukraine!” Ukraine is not and has never been a NATO member.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2022/03/14/tulsi-gabbards-biggest-political-donor-in-2021-is-a-putin-apologist/?sh=4a4273be4cd6
In 1983, towards the end of the Cold War, Sharon Tennison, an American activist, founded the Center for Citizen Initiatives. Its mission is to “begin a series of citizen-to-citizen initiatives and exchanges, buttressed by official media PR and social-media networks across America and across Russia,” according to its website. During its 40 years, the center claims to have set up exchanges, helped launch Alcoholics Anonymous in Russia and taught business skills to Russian entrepreneurs. On a visit to Russia in 2016, the Federal Security Service detained Tennison for a few hours on suspicions of being a foreign agent, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
While advocating for peace, Tennison has repeatedly championed Russia’s dictator. For example, in 2018, she wrote, “Putin isn’t the problem, friends. The problem is the projection of our own ‘shadow’ on Putin and Russia.” In September 2020, Tennison observed, “Putin seems to ignore detractors and continues efforts to create venues to bring peoples and countries together despite vilifications.” And the day after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Tennison posted, “I am deeply concerned about a NATO country being on Russia’s borders in Ukraine … As for Putin’s current dilemma, I’m sorry he felt he had to intervene in Ukraine!” Ukraine is not and has never been a NATO member.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2022/03/14/tulsi-gabbards-biggest-political-donor-in-2021-is-a-putin-apologist/?sh=4a4273be4cd6
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[font size="8"]People Are Dumb
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Hit it!
Of course you know by now that people are people, and people are dumb. I always want to clarify what makes a People Are Dumb story. Let’s put it this way – someone who gets arrested for stealing a car isn’t dumb. Someone who gets arrested for stealing a car while taking it out for a test drive with the car salesman in the car, now that’s a People Are Dumb story! So who’s stupid this week? So remember back in the beginning of the pandemic when people were selling everyday essentials like toilet paper and bottled water for ridiculously high prices? Well now that the war in Ukraine is a thing, the Russian people are taking to drastic measures to sell… Big Macs. That’s right – since McDonalds has ceased operating in Russia because of the war, Big Macs are going for ridiculous prices. But if you know McDonalds quality, they’re not good after 15 minutes.
Russians are trying to sell McDonald's menu items online, following branch closures.
Popular items like Big Macs and McMuffins have been offered at inflated prices.
One listing on a classified ads website offered McDonald's packaging for up to $373.
Russians are attempting to sell McDonald's menu items online at highly inflated prices, following the closure of more than 800 restaurants in the country.
One Moscow-based seller advertised a Big Mac for the equivalent of around $36. The figure is based on exchange rates at time writing. In Russia, the burger would usually cost 135 roubles, or around $1, according to The Economist's Big Mac index.
Another seller recently posted a "McDonald's Breakfast," including McMuffins, potato pancakes, and sauces for around $18.
https://news.yahoo.com/russians-trying-sell-big-macs-122120599.html
Popular items like Big Macs and McMuffins have been offered at inflated prices.
One listing on a classified ads website offered McDonald's packaging for up to $373.
Russians are attempting to sell McDonald's menu items online at highly inflated prices, following the closure of more than 800 restaurants in the country.
One Moscow-based seller advertised a Big Mac for the equivalent of around $36. The figure is based on exchange rates at time writing. In Russia, the burger would usually cost 135 roubles, or around $1, according to The Economist's Big Mac index.
Another seller recently posted a "McDonald's Breakfast," including McMuffins, potato pancakes, and sauces for around $18.
https://news.yahoo.com/russians-trying-sell-big-macs-122120599.html
Excuse me a minute… OK OK enough making fun. Though Richie Rich is just a young Trump, right? I mean come on last week people paid thousands for the VIP line at Trump’s speech and got served Big Macs. Moving on… OK we’ve had a lot of discussion about idiots with guns on this program. But you know who we have never discussed? Idiots with crossbows. And you know one place where you should never put a sharp, pointed metal object? That’s right – in your pants. I can see the guys everywhere in the audience right now already cringing at this story.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey on Tuesday posted surveillance video to Facebook showing a man who he said attempted to steal a crossbow earlier this month by shoving it into his pants and walking away on a crutch.
On Feb. 6 at the True Value store on Highway 1 in Mims, Darren Durrant, 46, was allegedly seen on unshared portions of the video stealing a pair of cutting tools from a shelf and using them to snip zip ties holding a Raven Rio crossbow in place. Entering the video after turning the corner with the compound bow and proceeding to conceal it with his clothing, Durrant then walked out of the store undetected, Ivey said.
Employees later noticed that two crossbows had been stolen, and deputies were able to obtain an arrest warrant for Durrant following an investigation, citing two prior felony theft convictions already on his record, Ivey said.
Durrant was located in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant where he allegedly tried to run from a Brevard deputy before being arrested and booked into jail on Feb. 8. ..............(more)
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/02/23/florida-man-accused-of-stealing-crossbow-by-stuffing-it-down-his-pants/
On Feb. 6 at the True Value store on Highway 1 in Mims, Darren Durrant, 46, was allegedly seen on unshared portions of the video stealing a pair of cutting tools from a shelf and using them to snip zip ties holding a Raven Rio crossbow in place. Entering the video after turning the corner with the compound bow and proceeding to conceal it with his clothing, Durrant then walked out of the store undetected, Ivey said.
Employees later noticed that two crossbows had been stolen, and deputies were able to obtain an arrest warrant for Durrant following an investigation, citing two prior felony theft convictions already on his record, Ivey said.
Durrant was located in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant where he allegedly tried to run from a Brevard deputy before being arrested and booked into jail on Feb. 8. ..............(more)
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/02/23/florida-man-accused-of-stealing-crossbow-by-stuffing-it-down-his-pants/
Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! And of course it happened to take place in Florida, which as you know is the penis of America. And we’ll have more Florida for you in a minute. But next up – we go to the border town of San Yasidro, that’s in my home state of Southern California don’t you know? And this story gives new meaning to the phrase “Is that a snake in your pants or are you happy to see me?”. You can also call them “trouser snakes” and that would have a way too literal connotation here!
US Border Patrol agents found dozens of horned lizards and snakes hidden in a man's clothing as he crossed into the US from Mexico last month.
The scaly discovery occurred at the San Ysidro border crossing near San Diego around 03:00 local time on 25 February.
The man was driving a pickup truck when he was pulled over for inspection. Officers discovered 43 horned lizards and nine snakes in plastic bags "concealed in the man's jacket, pants pockets and groin area," agents said.
More
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60685663
The scaly discovery occurred at the San Ysidro border crossing near San Diego around 03:00 local time on 25 February.
The man was driving a pickup truck when he was pulled over for inspection. Officers discovered 43 horned lizards and nine snakes in plastic bags "concealed in the man's jacket, pants pockets and groin area," agents said.
More
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60685663
I could literally sit here and make jokes about this story all day long! Moving on… look people got to stop taking their games way too seriously. Remember that episode of Seinfeld where Kramer and Newman played Risk? Well this is one of those rare People Are Dumb where it starts out innocently enough but then things just go way too far. I mean this story has everything. And well let’s get to it because it’s freaking spectacular.
A Rogersville woman is facing multiple charges after she allegedly lost her temper while playing a board game, hit her husband, and then fought police who responded to the incident.
On Dec. 20 shortly after 3 a.m. Rogersville Police Department Officer Eric Pease responded to a domestic assault complaint at the apartment complex at 701 Dennis Drive.
The alleged victim stated that his wife, Madison Lee Collins, was intoxicated and became irate while they were sitting and playing a board game.
The husband stated that Collins, 22, turned the table over and started striking him on the side of the head.
https://www.therogersvillereview.com/rogersville/article_ae666d50-b729-5d0a-8066-43fc89156bc2.html?
On Dec. 20 shortly after 3 a.m. Rogersville Police Department Officer Eric Pease responded to a domestic assault complaint at the apartment complex at 701 Dennis Drive.
The alleged victim stated that his wife, Madison Lee Collins, was intoxicated and became irate while they were sitting and playing a board game.
The husband stated that Collins, 22, turned the table over and started striking him on the side of the head.
https://www.therogersvillereview.com/rogersville/article_ae666d50-b729-5d0a-8066-43fc89156bc2.html?
Finally this week in People Are Dumb, of course we have to go to the Sunshine State for this one, and this is the exact kind of thing that makes a People Are Dumb story! We can all agree that people with serious foot fetishes are super creepy, right? And you should never, ever take candy or pretty much anything from strangers. Although we do have to say that anyone who is dumb enough to accept any offerings from this guy probably deserves what they get. But at least one more creep behind bars!
Pinellas sheriff’s detectives have arrested a Tarpon Springs man who they say coaxed minors into committing sexual acts by offering them vaping devices and marijuana.
Brandon Michael White, 22, is facing 11 charges, including lewd and lascivious molestation, battery and conduct; and unlawful use of a communications device, Pinellas sheriff’s officials reported Thursday.
Officials said the victims are under age 16.
Sheriff’s officials said the crimes are believed to have begun in April. Detectives learned White had been contacting minors through Snapchat and Instagram.
“White asked to smell and touch the victims’ feet in exchange for nicotine and marijuana products,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “Detectives say White also received various sexual acts from the victims.” ..................(more)
https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2022/02/17/pinellas-man-offered-vaping-devices-to-minors-for-sex-acts-and-to-smell-their-feet-deputies-say/
Brandon Michael White, 22, is facing 11 charges, including lewd and lascivious molestation, battery and conduct; and unlawful use of a communications device, Pinellas sheriff’s officials reported Thursday.
Officials said the victims are under age 16.
Sheriff’s officials said the crimes are believed to have begun in April. Detectives learned White had been contacting minors through Snapchat and Instagram.
“White asked to smell and touch the victims’ feet in exchange for nicotine and marijuana products,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “Detectives say White also received various sexual acts from the victims.” ..................(more)
https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2022/02/17/pinellas-man-offered-vaping-devices-to-minors-for-sex-acts-and-to-smell-their-feet-deputies-say/
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[font size="8"]Stupidest State 2022
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16 states will enter and only one state will become the new Top 10 Conservative Idiots Stupidest State!
Welcome everyone to the first round of the Stupidest State tournament! It’s going to be a great one this time around so let’s get to introducing the teams, shall we? Representing the Batshit Conference, we have Georgia, Iowa, Arizona, and South Dakota! From the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference, we have Kansas, Delaware, Nevada, and Nebraska! From the Gun Nut Conference, we have Texas, Idaho, Florida, and Missouri! And finally last but certainly not least, we have representing the Family Values Conference – Alabama, North Carolina, Indiana, and Tennessee! Since this is the first round we don’t really have any highlights to bring you but we do have this highlight reel from last year’s tournament! Now let’s do this thing!
[font size="4"]Batshit Conference Round 1: Arizona Vs South Dakota [/font]
[font size="2"]Arizona [/font]
The Grand Canyon State is no stranger to the big dance and they have their work cut out for them being a #3 seed. But their credentials in the Batshit Conference are strong! They are of course led by MAGA governor Doug Ducey. And assistant coach MAGA representative Paul Gosar. They were the home of that bizarre election audit from a group that had no idea what they were doing. But if you think Paul Gosar is one of the worst representatives that has ever been elected to Congress in American history, I see your Paul Gosar and I raise you Wendy Rodgers!
Arizona state Rep. Wendy Rogers was among elected representatives who spoke at the white nationalist America First Political Action Conference Friday night, where she delivered a short prerecorded message via video that perfectly displayed why she is adored by the far-right extremists within the white nationalist America First movement.
Rogers, a one-term 67-year-old grandmother, made a name for herself pushing the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump and has openly embraced white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the “Groypers” who make up the core of his America First movement. The radical speech she delivered to her “fellow patriots” at Fuentes’ conference last week shows just how far off the deep end she has gone.
“I’m constantly making the fake news mad,” Rogers bragged. “For example, when I say the word ‘Groyper,’ they go absolutely nuts. You know why I say? Because the fake new hates when I say it, because Gettr doesn’t let people say it. Banning of the word is truly the only reason I say it. The more they attack me, the more I want to say, ‘Gropyer!'”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/wendy-rogers-tells-white-nationalist-afpac-conference-you-and-your-fellow-patriots-are-the-future/
Rogers, a one-term 67-year-old grandmother, made a name for herself pushing the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from President Donald Trump and has openly embraced white nationalist Nick Fuentes and the “Groypers” who make up the core of his America First movement. The radical speech she delivered to her “fellow patriots” at Fuentes’ conference last week shows just how far off the deep end she has gone.
“I’m constantly making the fake news mad,” Rogers bragged. “For example, when I say the word ‘Groyper,’ they go absolutely nuts. You know why I say? Because the fake new hates when I say it, because Gettr doesn’t let people say it. Banning of the word is truly the only reason I say it. The more they attack me, the more I want to say, ‘Gropyer!'”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/wendy-rogers-tells-white-nationalist-afpac-conference-you-and-your-fellow-patriots-are-the-future/
Yes, if you appear at a racist white nationalist convention, you might be a racist. I’m just saying. If that’s not enough, remember last year when Arizona recount went completely fuck up? Well, not only did it totally trash the reputation of the company that initiated it, Cyber Ninjas, it might have a terrible effect on future Arizona elections! And come on, if you call your company “Cyber Ninjas”, your reputation is already tarnished!
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates told a national panel Wednesday he has “great concerns about the future” of election integrity in Arizona, after threats following the 2020 election and as election deniers run for Secretary of State in 2022.
Gates was joined on the McCain Institute panel by local officials from other states that became the focus of election challenges in 2020, after former President Donald Trump pushed baseless claims that election fraud cost him a second term.
In the frenzy that followed Trump’s charges, election officials found themselves and their families the targets of threats and needing police protection for doing a job that the moderator said is “supposed to be relatively boring.”
“This isn’t a partisan issue at all, this is a leadership issue,” Gates said about the decision to support Arizona election workers’ certification of the election.
Read more: https://coppercourier.com/story/maricopa-official-concerned-big-lie-election-integrity/
Gates was joined on the McCain Institute panel by local officials from other states that became the focus of election challenges in 2020, after former President Donald Trump pushed baseless claims that election fraud cost him a second term.
In the frenzy that followed Trump’s charges, election officials found themselves and their families the targets of threats and needing police protection for doing a job that the moderator said is “supposed to be relatively boring.”
“This isn’t a partisan issue at all, this is a leadership issue,” Gates said about the decision to support Arizona election workers’ certification of the election.
Read more: https://coppercourier.com/story/maricopa-official-concerned-big-lie-election-integrity/
[font size="2"]South Dakota [/font]
The Mt. Rushmore State! This is their first appearance in the big dance and they are no stranger to being absolutely full of 100% grade A guano! Because at the helm of the Mt. Rushmore State is of course governor Kristi Noem, who in the last two years took the annual gathering of people who love Harley Davidson motorcycles and politicized it into a gathering of the MAGAs known as the Sturgis Biker Rally, and repeatedly flaunted COVID-19 protocols, has a huge celebration planned for July 4th this year, or it might not happen. Come on, do you really want to torch the forest around Mt. Rushmore? Seems like a bad idea!
The National Park Service denied South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s permit application for the 2022 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration on Tuesday, according to a release from Noem's office.
Tuesday's notice is Noem's latest rejection in her efforts to celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks at Mount Rushmore. The NPS also rejected her application for the 2021 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration.
“Mount Rushmore is the best place in America to celebrate our nation’s birthday – I just wish President Biden could see that,” stated Noem in the release. “Last year, the President hypocritically held a fireworks celebration in Washington, D.C., while denying us our own event. This year, it looks like they are planning to do the same.
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2022/03/15/mount-rushmore-fireworks-2022-south-dakota-kristi-noem-denied/7051015001/
Tuesday's notice is Noem's latest rejection in her efforts to celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks at Mount Rushmore. The NPS also rejected her application for the 2021 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration.
“Mount Rushmore is the best place in America to celebrate our nation’s birthday – I just wish President Biden could see that,” stated Noem in the release. “Last year, the President hypocritically held a fireworks celebration in Washington, D.C., while denying us our own event. This year, it looks like they are planning to do the same.
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2022/03/15/mount-rushmore-fireworks-2022-south-dakota-kristi-noem-denied/7051015001/
But they’re not done! Oh no, my friends! You can’t keep a good MAGA symbolic rah rah patriotism display down! They’re going to take this fight all the way to SCOTUS! But you can tell the MAGAs anything and if it’s not exactly what they 100% want to hear, they go fling their poo at you like apes in a zoo and accuse you of being un American and not supporting the Baby Jesus. These people are nuts and they are even willing to quite literally die in a fire if it means keeping those good ol’ American symbols flying!
This year’s Fourth of July weekend will see no fireworks show at Mount Rushmore following a legal battle between the state’s Republican governor and the Biden administration.
Last year, Mount Rushmore played host to an event some suspected it would never hold again: a fireworks display commemorating the United State’s Independence Day. Despite being cancelled indefinitely a decade ago over increased risk of wildfires following a widespread infestation of pine beetles that decimated the local forests, the state’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem landed a deal with the Trump administration to bring the event back for 2020 --- with then-President Donald Trump in attendance.
But when the state went back to the Department of the Interior this year to renew the permit to hold the event, the feds denied the request. The National Park Service cited worries over the park itself as well as Covid-19 safety concerns for the employees and visitors in attendance in its decision.
Following the denial in March, Noem quickly filed a lawsuit against Biden administration officials with claims that the government unfairly pulled out of a fair deal struck with the Trump administration and asked the court to reverse the permit denial.
https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-keeps-independence-day-mount-rushmore-fireworks-show-on-ice-for-2021/
Last year, Mount Rushmore played host to an event some suspected it would never hold again: a fireworks display commemorating the United State’s Independence Day. Despite being cancelled indefinitely a decade ago over increased risk of wildfires following a widespread infestation of pine beetles that decimated the local forests, the state’s Republican Governor Kristi Noem landed a deal with the Trump administration to bring the event back for 2020 --- with then-President Donald Trump in attendance.
But when the state went back to the Department of the Interior this year to renew the permit to hold the event, the feds denied the request. The National Park Service cited worries over the park itself as well as Covid-19 safety concerns for the employees and visitors in attendance in its decision.
Following the denial in March, Noem quickly filed a lawsuit against Biden administration officials with claims that the government unfairly pulled out of a fair deal struck with the Trump administration and asked the court to reverse the permit denial.
https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-keeps-independence-day-mount-rushmore-fireworks-show-on-ice-for-2021/
[font size="2"]And The Winner Is: [/font]
And it’s absolutely no contest here – Arizona utterly routes South Dakota by a final score of 85 – 60, with 25 unanswered points! Arizona moves on and South Dakota goes home!
[font size="4"]Family Values Conference Round 1: Alabama Vs North Carolina [/font]
[font size="4"]Alabama [/font]
You know, we asked this last year, but why is Alabama’s flag a giant letter X? I have never been able to understand this one. If you know or have a theory let us know in the comments! But the Crimson Tide are no strangers to the big dance, having won a championship in our 2019 Stupidest State contest, and they are back and rested and ready for more! But in the Family Values Conference, the war on abortion reigns supreme and no state in the entire country is going more draconian on their abortion laws than Alabama is. Except for maybe Texas.
“Red states” like Alabama are often written off by the reproductive rights movement as beyond help. But you can’t secure the right to abortion for anyone unless and until everyone has access.
Alabama still has its pre-Roe v. Wade abortion ban on the books, as well as a near-total ban that was temporarily blocked by the courts. But once Roe falls, all bets are off—and the Alabama Constitution even bars the protection of abortion as a right.
Last year, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit (appointed by Reagan, Clinton, and Obama, respectively) upheld a federal court decision blocking parts of Alabama’s parental consent law.
But the rest of the court, including several Trump appointees, took the case back on appeal and vacated the earlier decision, reinstating the state’s parental consent law—just one of many abortion restrictions effective as of January 1, according to the Guttmacher Institute, including:
https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2022/02/28/alabama-lawmakers-aiming-to-ban-medication-abortion/
Alabama still has its pre-Roe v. Wade abortion ban on the books, as well as a near-total ban that was temporarily blocked by the courts. But once Roe falls, all bets are off—and the Alabama Constitution even bars the protection of abortion as a right.
Last year, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit (appointed by Reagan, Clinton, and Obama, respectively) upheld a federal court decision blocking parts of Alabama’s parental consent law.
But the rest of the court, including several Trump appointees, took the case back on appeal and vacated the earlier decision, reinstating the state’s parental consent law—just one of many abortion restrictions effective as of January 1, according to the Guttmacher Institute, including:
https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2022/02/28/alabama-lawmakers-aiming-to-ban-medication-abortion/
Yes, don’t you put that evil on us, Alabama! You may claim to be on the side of Baby Jesus, but you’re really on the side of the Old Testament God, and that god is a raging asshole! Thank you my fair audience! And Alabama’s abortion laws are so draconian that they’re actually considering banning abortion medication! See, this is what you get when you elect a bunch of white male religious wing nuts – you get people who don’t care about anything but what goes on in the bedroom!
An Alabama House committee Wednesday approved a bill that would ban the use of medication in inducing abortions.
The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Sorrell, R-Muscle Shoals, on a voice vote after a brief debate. It would make it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a doctor to prescribe medication that would induce an abortion.
"I did not realize until one year ago that four out of 10 abortions today are committed with chemical abortion pills," Sorrell said. "We think of abortion as going to an abortion facility and having a surgical abortion. But the new trend in abortion is chemical abortion."
Kaitlin Welborn, an attorney with the ACLU in Alabama, condemned the legislation.
"Study after study has found that this medication is safer than either Tylenol or Viagra," Welborn said in a statement. "Let’s call this bill what it is: another excuse for the Alabama Legislature to play doctor and meddle in the healthcare options available to people in this state.”
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2022/02/23/alabama-house-committee-approves-bill-banning-medication-abortions/6911773001/
The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Sorrell, R-Muscle Shoals, on a voice vote after a brief debate. It would make it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a doctor to prescribe medication that would induce an abortion.
"I did not realize until one year ago that four out of 10 abortions today are committed with chemical abortion pills," Sorrell said. "We think of abortion as going to an abortion facility and having a surgical abortion. But the new trend in abortion is chemical abortion."
Kaitlin Welborn, an attorney with the ACLU in Alabama, condemned the legislation.
"Study after study has found that this medication is safer than either Tylenol or Viagra," Welborn said in a statement. "Let’s call this bill what it is: another excuse for the Alabama Legislature to play doctor and meddle in the healthcare options available to people in this state.”
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2022/02/23/alabama-house-committee-approves-bill-banning-medication-abortions/6911773001/
[font size="4"]North Carolina [/font]
This is the Tar Heels’ first appearance in the big dance believe it or not! They trounced their rivals in Mississippi in the qualifying tournament with an upgraded squad and a new coach. But this time around things are different. Their qualifications in the Family Values Conference go far beyond just mere anti-abortion laws. They’re full on drinking the Christian nationalist and white supremacist Kool-Aid and they’re being led by and electing some absolutely batshit crazy leaders. If you thought that Virginia’s Glen Youngkin was absolutely bonkers, I give you Mark Robinson.
North Carolina’s Christian nationalist Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has been under fire since Right Wing Watch posted various clips of him making outrageous comments, particularly his rant that Christians must take control of public schools and ban the teaching about “filth” like LGBTQ issues.
On Tuesday, Robinson appeared on a conference call hosted by radical right-wing pastor and radio host E.W. Jackson, who shares Robinson’s aversion to gay people and LGBTQ rights. During the call, Robinson continued to defend his anti-LGBTQ tirade and announced that there is a 95 percent chance that he is going to run for governor in North Carolina in 2024.
“We’re about 95 percent sure we’re gonna run for governor,” Robinson said. “Our current governor is term-limited. He’s on his second term. He’s on his way out, thank God. We have a guy we believe is behind him on that side who will be just as bad, if not worse, than him. We’re in the vein right now of gearing up for that. We haven’t announced, but we’re about 95 percent sure that that’s the direction that we’re going in. … We need to stay here North Carolina to protect North Carolina from some of the craziness that’s going on at the federal level and continue to help the state rise under conservative principles. So, we have not announced that we’re going to run for governor, but we’re about 95 percent there, and it’s a logical step for us to take. So, be on the lookout for that.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/north-carolinas-christian-nationalist-anti-lgbtq-lt-gov-mark-robinson-is-95-percent-sure-hes-going-to-run-for-governor/
On Tuesday, Robinson appeared on a conference call hosted by radical right-wing pastor and radio host E.W. Jackson, who shares Robinson’s aversion to gay people and LGBTQ rights. During the call, Robinson continued to defend his anti-LGBTQ tirade and announced that there is a 95 percent chance that he is going to run for governor in North Carolina in 2024.
“We’re about 95 percent sure we’re gonna run for governor,” Robinson said. “Our current governor is term-limited. He’s on his second term. He’s on his way out, thank God. We have a guy we believe is behind him on that side who will be just as bad, if not worse, than him. We’re in the vein right now of gearing up for that. We haven’t announced, but we’re about 95 percent sure that that’s the direction that we’re going in. … We need to stay here North Carolina to protect North Carolina from some of the craziness that’s going on at the federal level and continue to help the state rise under conservative principles. So, we have not announced that we’re going to run for governor, but we’re about 95 percent there, and it’s a logical step for us to take. So, be on the lookout for that.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/north-carolinas-christian-nationalist-anti-lgbtq-lt-gov-mark-robinson-is-95-percent-sure-hes-going-to-run-for-governor/
Well fucking duh! Of course it is! But you can’t tell the people against Critical Race Theory that because you know they don’t like independent thoughts! But here’s why Mark Robinson is alarming because he’s part of a movement to get more Christian nationalists into office, and that idea is absolutely scary. Think about it this way – it’s much more than just abortion. It’s everything from free speech to freedom of religion and if those things get taken away, we’re all screwed!
Lauren Witzke, the Republican Party’s nominee for U.S. Senate from Delaware in 2020, gushed with praise for Vladimir Putin this week after the Russian dictator unleashed a military invasion against Ukraine. While somewhat shocking given the timing, Witzke’s admiration of Putin’s “Christian nationalism” has a long precedent among U.S. Christian right leaders, who embraced Putin as a “savior of Christian civilization” during the Obama administration.
Shortly after Donald Trump became president, far-right activist Pat Buchanan praised Putin as “a God-and-country Russian patriot” and champion of Christianity “against the Western progressive vision of what mankind’s future ought to be.”
In 2018, prominent Trump-aligned dominionist Lance Wallnau brushed aside Putin’s tendency to kill journalists and run the country “like a mafia state,” and praised Putin’s anti-LGBTQ policies as having been “shaped by Christians,” adding, “I fear more liberals in America than I fear Putin in Russia.”
At an infamous 2018 press conference with Putin and Trump, the U.S. president said he was more inclined to believe Putin than U.S. intelligence agencies that had concluded the Russian government had interfered with the 2016 election. Far-right figures like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were thrilled when Putin mentioned philanthropist George Soros, who many on the far-right portray as the embodiment of sinister globalism. InfoWars’ Jerome Corsi declared Trump and Putin were working together in a “fight to death with the deep state.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/u-s-far-right-adore%e2%80%8bs-vladimir-putins-christian-nationalism-more-than-freedom-and-democracy/
Shortly after Donald Trump became president, far-right activist Pat Buchanan praised Putin as “a God-and-country Russian patriot” and champion of Christianity “against the Western progressive vision of what mankind’s future ought to be.”
In 2018, prominent Trump-aligned dominionist Lance Wallnau brushed aside Putin’s tendency to kill journalists and run the country “like a mafia state,” and praised Putin’s anti-LGBTQ policies as having been “shaped by Christians,” adding, “I fear more liberals in America than I fear Putin in Russia.”
At an infamous 2018 press conference with Putin and Trump, the U.S. president said he was more inclined to believe Putin than U.S. intelligence agencies that had concluded the Russian government had interfered with the 2016 election. Far-right figures like conspiracy theorist Alex Jones were thrilled when Putin mentioned philanthropist George Soros, who many on the far-right portray as the embodiment of sinister globalism. InfoWars’ Jerome Corsi declared Trump and Putin were working together in a “fight to death with the deep state.”
https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/u-s-far-right-adore%e2%80%8bs-vladimir-putins-christian-nationalism-more-than-freedom-and-democracy/
[font size="2"]And The Winner Is: [/font]
Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first upset of the tournament! Alabama goes home! North Carolina sinks a last second 3 pointer to hit and they will move on to the Elite 8! Wow, what a performance by the Tar Heels! Final score: 90 – 87!
[font size="4"]Next Week: [/font]
Next week we’re live from Phoenix at the home of the Arizona Wildcats, the Wells Fargo Arena, for some action action action! In the Fiscal Irresponsibility Conference, red hot Nevada takes on challenger Nebraska, while over in the Gun Nut Conference, Florida shoots their way to the top against fan favorite Missouri! Be sure to follow the official Top 10 Conservative Idiots account @10Idiots for updates and more!
[font size="4"]And Now This: [/font]
[font size="4"]Flogging Molly: [/font]
Ladies and gentlemen, my next guest is a great LA band that’s pretty synonymous with St. Paddy’s Day, they are promoting their show at the Hollywood Palladium and their subsequent tour with the Interrupters and Tiger Army. Playing their song “Devil’s Dance Floor”, give it up for Flogging Molly!
Thank you Denver! This was fun! We’re off to Phoenix next! See you next week!
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